I broke her kitty...

So we welcomed my girlfriend's cat, Lucy,  into the family. 

 

The family being myself, my son, my daughter, our cat Maddux and our other cat Irish. Poor Maddux is outnumbered.

My girlfriend made a point of telling me and the kids that her cat is very independent, does not like to be petted, picked up, or given treats.  I think she even used the word "skid-dish" when she described how Lucy was around other people, even members of her own family. 

Well...Lucy, you had only met me once prior to the move in, and now...she is my pal.  Lucy takes treats from me, lets me pick her up, lets me pet her, and has even slept on my feet. 

Initially Lucy just hissed at Maddux and Irish.  Poor Maddux, our resident Lothario...he was sooo trying to woo Lucy.  He followed her everywhere, she would just hiss at him.  Irish was constantly on the attack when Lucy was out.

Now...Lucy is breaking up cat fights between Irish and Maddux.  My girlfriend saw Irish and Maddux fighting at the top of the stairs and Lucy just watching...watching to make her stealth move.  She accessed the situation, jumped and landing right in the middle of the fight.  Irish and Maddux scattered, one went upstairs, the other down.  Lucy then sat guard at the top of the stairs.

Now Lucy wants to be freed from her little bed in the master bedroom closet.  She paws the door to get out, just like the other 2 cats.  She's also padding around the house, not caring if she brushes past one of the kids (early on she would hiss and run).

So the other night my girlfriend said "you broke my kitty".  And I said "great title for a blog post."


Lola's Diner ©2008-2012

Review: Guiltless Gourmet Crunchy Snacks (Gluten Free And Vegan)

I received both the Cashew and Almond flavors.  When I was contacted to do product reviews, I asked if a few Gluten Free products could be included if they were available.  Much to my surprise I received these, as well as some other Gluten Free goodies, and products for the Jewish Holidays which I will be reviewing shortly.

My daughter and I gave these a big thumbs up, however my son (he is allergic to gluten) said they were "ok".  I guess if it's not smothered in chocolate...it's just ok.  Lol! 

These pouches are the perfect size to take along for a healthy snack.  They have no GMO ingredients, are Gluten Free, and Vegan.  They taste great, texture was good and they weren't too sweet.  They were just right.  They reminded me of a snack I had as a kid, though not as healthy as this.

You can find these in your local chain grocers.  If you don't see them...ask because these are a must try, especially if you eat Gluten Free or Vegan.

Lola's Diner Disclaimer: I was given Guiltless Gourmet products to review. This review is 100% my opinion and has not been edited or reviewed by anyone. I was not compensated in any other way for this book review.

Lola's Diner ©2008-2012

Grinding on my last nerve/The Sound Of Silence

Ahh...the sound of silence.  Can you hear it?  Any of my long time readers will recall these posts:
No Longer A Party Animal
Drummer Boy aka Metallica Head Is Clueless
Get Off My Lawn/Busted!
Get Off My Lawn/Busted Part 2
I just had a wicked rough day today.  No money for gas to get home from work.  Praying to make it home or find someone who owes me money to pay me some.  Got out of work 45 minutes early, only to get home at my regular time (wtf?).  And then I pull down my street and I hear IT.  I hear music at top volume.  You've got to be kidding me!  I pull all the way up my driveway, close all my windows, the car is running and I can STILL hear it.  I got out my car, got my backpack, set my alarm and walked down the driveway.  I hollered over 3 times.  Not once!  Not Twice! Three times!  "TURN DOWN THE MUSIC".  Nope, still going.  I get in the house.  The window a/c units are running and we can still hear that infernal music!  I went up to my room.  Yup, 2nd floor, a/c unit on, I can hear it as if it were in my bedroom.  That's it!  I called the non-emergency number, hit the button for "you want a squad sent to your house or you want to file a complaint".  I got through immediately and reported the issue.  An hour later and the sheriff was no show, so I got comfy.  A short time later my daughter is calling me, sheriff is at the door.  I go down and explain to him that I have 2 mentally ill children, one not doing very well right now.

"The music is way too loud, listen for yourself officer." - Lola
"Yes, I hear it." - Officer
"I understand our county has no noise ordinance, but this is just too much." - Lola
"Mam, actually we do have a noise ordinance right now.  Is that dog loose over there too?" - Officer
"Yes." - Lola
"Is he dangerous?  Because those dogs seem to love brown polyester." (Referring to his uniform.) - Officer
"Those dogs are just big and goofy, I doubt they'd bite." - Lola

And I go on to explain my history with Drummer Boy and Animal Control.

"Mam, I'd be happy to go over there and write 2 tickets.  $150 for the noise and another for not following the leash law." - Officer
"Go for it!  Thank you officer." - Lola

So the officer goes over there for about a 1/2 hour and then comes back and explains to me and my gf that he wrote Drummer Boy 2 tickets.  Then he apologized profusely for taking so long to come out to answer the call.  I told him no worries, I know Fridays are busy and there are more important calls out there and that we really did appreciate that he did come out and write those tickets.  We all shook hands and the officer left.

I'm not a spiteful person, I know this guy claims to be on disability and rides his bicycle to the liquor store every day for a 12 pack of Bud, and gets into donnybrooks on the lawn with his neighbor to the east.  But gosh darn it, I've got no money for food or gas and dude, you're grinding on my last nerve.  We've had years of this.  Enough is enough.  And hey...I did warn him...THREE times.

If nothing else happens this weekend...I will feel I have accomplished something.

I have gained silence.  And...it's golden.


Lola's Diner ©2008-2012

Cookbook Review: "Tortillas To The Rescue" By Jessica Harlan

A while back (longer than I'd care to admit) I received a copy of Tortillas To The Rescue.  I was really excited when I learned I'd be reviewing this cookbook.  When we learned that my son has an allergy to Gluten, we really scrambled to come up with new and different meal ideas.  Since Corn Tortillas are on his allowed food list, this book is right up our alley.

I'm always looking for ways to make foods he can't have with ingredients that he can, so when I saw the following recipes I was very excited:

Breakfasts:
Egg In A Hole
New Mexican Benedicts
Shortcut Blintzes
Snacks & Appetizers:
Spinach & Cheese Empanadas
Chorizo & Cojack Taquitos
Baked Wontons With Sweet & Sour Dipping Sauce
Mexican Snack Mix (For Gluten Free, use Gluten Free varieties of Chex Mix and Gluten Free Pretzels)
Meat Main Courses:
Burger Pouches
Meatless Main Courses:
Broccoli-Cheddar Quiche
Tortilla-Crusted Eggplant With Spicy Tomato Sauce
Roasted Vegetable Napoleons
Comforting Casseroles:
Mexican Lasagna
Broccoli-Chicken Casserole

This is nowhere near a complete list of the recipes.  There are also many recipes for roll-ups, burritos, wraps and desserts.  I selected the above recipes to highlight those items that I can convert to Gluten Free by using Corn Tortillas.  All the recipes are quick, easy and fun.

Included in the 100 Quick & Easy Recipes, are recipes to make your own Flour Tortillas and Corn Tortillas at home.  For someone who has made pasta at home and knows the delicious difference between homemade and store bought, homemade tortillas are also delicious and make for a real homemade meal with simple ingredients.

This is definitely going to become one of my go-to cookbooks.  You can find Tortillas To The Rescue at Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble.com and your local bookseller.  It is also available on Kindle and The Nook.  This would make a great stocking stuffer for your favorite cook, or student who is off to college.  Yes, the recipes are that quick and easy.


Lola's Diner Disclaimer: I was given the cookbook Tortillas To The Rescue to review. This review is 100% my opinion and has not been edited or reviewed by anyone. I was not compensated in any other way for this book review.

Lola's Diner ©2008-2012

Meet Bubba

Bubba officially moved in Saturday night and spent up until this morning hiding in various spots in the master bedroom.  Yesterday I started working on cleaning out my closet and I nearly jumped out of my skin when I pulled a box out of my closet and there she was.  She would not let me take her out, Ms. Attitude would have none of that.  She didn't eat, drink or use the litter box until this morning when I told my gf that she needed to put her in the bathroom where her box and food were and just shut the door.  She'll figure it out eventually.  She did, she used the litter box and had a snack.

After about 2 hours my son let her out of the bathroom when Irish and Maddux were out.  It was kind of like a prize fight where they kind of circled around each other and gave each other the evil eye.  Then Bubba made a beeline for her sofa, stood on the arm, plotting her exit and jumped down and under the end table and hid there until Irish and Maddux went back upstairs.  Maddux did manage to hiss at her once, that was about it.

Lola's Diner ©2008-2012

Hey Ann Romney...What's a "real marriage"?

Oh my blogger, pals, I know you saw this post coming...

The Huffpost Gay Voices has her speech in video as well as text.

"What Mitt Romney and I have is a real marriage."

Is that a jab at the LGBT community?  Is that a jab at the same sex marriage movement?

Bring it on beyotch!

So you you think just because you're heterosexual you have a "real marriage"?  All gays and lesbians who are married have a "real marriage".  And even the ones who aren't married, but are in committed relationships would easily mirror a "real marriage".  As gays and lesbian couples, we love each other, support each other, care for each other in good times and bad, we bring children into our lives and nurture them and love them.  We too have values...values that are centered on "family, faith and love of one's fellow man" AND woman.  We are not valueless creatures.  In fact all of us, whether we have a piece of paper that says we're married or not, have values, care about what's going on in the world and want better lives for our children.  We go to work, or one of us stays home with the children.  We take them to school or daycare.  We have dinner together as often as we can.  We juggle our kids after school activities.  We struggle to make ends meet in a tough economy.  We celebrate love and togetherness. 


"Tonight I want to talk to you about love."  We too have deep and abiding love and the love "so deep only a Mother could fathom it".  And that love is for children we did not necessarily create.  We adopt, we foster, we use fertility clinics.  We find a way to complete our families that you would never comprehend.  The things we go through to become a family and live our lives every day as a family is both difficult and amazing.

I had coffee with a friend of mine yesterday.  Yes, a fellow lesbian.  And we talked about Mrs. Romney's speech.  We were both offended.  The things that just the two of us have gone through in our separate lives about relationships with women.  Our long term relationships mirror "real marriage".  Each of us has taken on the role of spouse in those relationships and created families, even if hers were fur families (families with no children, but with pets).  One thing we pondered was, what if only people following the "Christian way" could vote?  That would mean the following of us could not vote:

Those of us in gay and lesbian relationships.  (Ok, many of us would argue this one to the death about what the bible says about gays and lesbians, but for the sake of argument, lets include this one and move on.)
Those of us who have had premarital sex.
Those of us who have had children out of wedlock.
Those of us who "live in sin".  Meaning living together and not married.
Those of us who have had abortions.
Those of us who have had an affair.
Those of us (oh and this one makes me go eww!) those of us who swallow semen instead of using it for procreation.
Those of us who use contraceptives. 

How many people could actually vote?

None of us are perfect, none of us are "perfect Christians" or have "storybook marriages".  I'm willing to bet at some time in the future we will find out how really "un-perfect" the Romney's lives are.  Remember John Edwards anyone?


Lola's Diner ©2008-2012

A Lesbian's Review of "Fifty Shades Of Grey" by E.L.James

A friend of mine posted a question on Facebook, "Have any lesbians read Fifty Shades of Grey and what did you think?"  That got me to thinking.  Hmm...with all the articles I've read about the dramatic increase in sex toy sales, and people referring to it as "Mommy Porn", maybe there is something a lesbian could learn from the book.  It was only $9.99 for my Kindle, so I figured what the heck, let's see what all the fuss is.

 

It was an easy quick read.  I can't say that I really learned all that much, other than a kind of sadistic side of BDSM.  That turned me off.  Also, all the descriptions of Christian Grey's "member".  As a lesbian, that icked me out, but then, I'm not really the intended audience for these books.  I learned more than I really ever cared to learn about Doms and Subs.

The book starts out as every virgin's wet dream.  Millionaire, handsome, Adonis-like man, with a perfect body who is into BDSM, decides he is willing to initiate this virgin in the ways of vanilla sex, and then move on to the stuff he really gets into.  Christian Grey is the millionaire, Anastasia Steele is the virgin.

There is no limit to the excesses of riches he bestows upon her.  A Mac Book, an Audi, a Blackberry, a closet full of expensive clothes, first class upgrades when she flies to see her Mom, helicopter rides, etc.  Anastasia worries that she looks like or feels like a ho, with all these expensive gifts.

The ending, which I won't spoil for you, was kind of anti-climactic, and pretty much sets the stage for the 2nd book, and so on.  Will I read the 2nd book?  At this point, I'd say probably not.  Not unless someone can convince me that it's worthwhile, in terms of what I was looking for in the book...learning some new tips and tricks.  Yes, it was hetero sex people, but 1/2 of that hetero couple is a woman, and a lesbian could glean a few good ideas...were there to really be any in the first book.

So, have you read the first book?  Second book?  Third book?  What did you think?

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 Lola's Diner Disclaimer: I purchased "Fifty Shades of Grey" for my Kindle. This review is 100% my opinion and has not been edited or reviewed by anyone. I was not compensated in any way for this review.

Lola's Diner ©2008-2012