Breakfast for Breakfast: Fly on the Wall

  

Welcome to our monthly Fly on the Wall, a blog post written in snippets. Marcia, Diane, and I invite you to catch a glimpse of what you’d see if you were a fly on the wall in our homes, at our writing desks, and in our worlds. Come on in, buzz around, see what we've been up to. Bet you laugh! 

PurDude comes home for a few weeks each year right around now, from just before Thanksgiving to the beginning of December. I always serve his favorite meals, snacks, ad desserts. It's a lot, so I start stocking up on the groceries I'll need ahead of time.

Me: I was talking to PurDude, we haven't had bacon wrapped fillets in a really long time. I'm going to add them to the menu this year.

Hubs: Sounds good to me, I love them, and we haven't had them in a while.

Me: Well, they're super expensive. 

Hubs: All meat is expensive.

Me: Yeah, but the bacon wrapped fillets cost a fortune, so will the prime rib we always get when he's home. And those thick rib eyes aren't cheap either.

Hubs: You only live once.
Me: I'm pretty sure the next part of that quote isn't "so you may as well eat all the meats."

It's rare that I get the chance to see all of the sports teams I want to see. Often, streaming channels buy the rights to a specific game, a channel we may or may not have. And it's difficult, in the Midwest, to pretty much ever get to see a Patriots game. But one Thursday:

Me: This is going to be a fun weekend, on Friday, the Purdue basketball game is streaming on a channel we have, on Saturday, Purdue football is on a channel we get, and we actually get the Patriots game on Sunday.

Hubs: That'll be three great days.

Me: Yeah! I'll probably lose my voice by Monday.

Hubs: So four great days. 

Sometimes you just need to limerick. Am I right?

There once was a woman from Boston, 

her baking obsession, got lost in,

she made some mistakes,

like completely flat cakes,

but perhaps that fact best be forgotten.

There once was a moron named trump,

whose actual surname is Dumpf,

teamed up with some jerks,

immorality among their quirks,

who say "how high" when dumpf says to jump.

In the spirit of the old saying "glutton for punishment," we were watching a Purdue football game, and they were playing the #1 team. 

During the game, they showed the Big Ten rankings.

Hubs: Poor Purdue, they're in last place.

Me: Yeah, but there's good news.

Hubs: How do you get good news out of being in last place?
Me: They're not in last place, they're tied for last place.

Hubs: As good news goes, that's a stretch.

You know that saying "when life gives you lemons, make lemonade?"

Sure hope those Purdue players like lemonade. A whole lot.

I don't eat breakfast, I'm a coffee in the morning girl. My family does, but none of them cook, so I always have bread, bagels, English muffins, an assortment of cereals, and oatmeal packets on hand. They know to fend for themselves.

But I do love breakfast, so I make it for dinner now and then, which makes everyone happy, including me.

I had an idea for a new recipe, a Breakfast Club Sandwich, which I thought might be a good brunch idea for over the holidays when I'd have a full house. I decided to give it a try yesterday morning.

Hubs came into the kitchen, went to grab a bowl for cereal and noticed I was cooking.

Hubs: What are you making?
Me: Breakfast.

Hubs: In the morning? 

Breakfast Club Sandwich

I have to admit, I'm a little freaked out. OK, a lot. I know all of our electronics can and are being use to track us and to target us. There is no such thing as privacy or anonymity.

But what happened last night took targeting to a whole new level.

I was in my room, flipping through the channels when I noticed a message in the lower left corner of the screen. It jarred me. I moved on with my channel surfing and found a show to watch.

Later, flipping through the channels again, although a different show was on, the message was there again. Now I'm starting to get concerned.

I took a picture with my cell phone, then googled the channel and the message. Nothing.

So, this is meant for me? And this is no subliminal message. Far from it, it's downright overt.

Should I make a run for it? Pull my sim card out of my phone and crush it, dye my hair, start wearing a ball cap, grab some cash and head for the border?

'Cause I don't think the idea of playing sitting duck is going to turn out well for me.

 

I'm not a fan of AI. In fact, I've said that AI is the next step in the extinction of humanity. 

But further than that it has, many times been just plain wrong. And I've heard of friends tell me that AI has stolen from both their books and articles they've written without permission or attribution.

We were watching a Purdue basketball game and there were a lot of players who were new to us.

Hubs: Who is that on the floor, #17?

Me: I'm not sure, I don't know who that is either.

Luckily, through Google, a whole lot of information is right at our fingertips. So I googled "which Purdue basketball player is wearing #17 this season?"

Top response on the page is AI, telling me that no Purdue basketball player currently wears #17.

That's either wrong, or Hubs and I are sharing a hallucination.

Fortunately, the Purdue website was able to tell me who it is.

I need a little advice from my girls:

I was watching TV, and a commercial came on for a Viagra substitute. It claimed to be easier to take, faster acting, bla bla bla. They ended their pitch with the promise of earning you a round of applause.

And I gotta know, like, is that a thing? Am I supposed to jump up and start clapping . . . you know . . . after?

 

I went to use my laptop and it was purring. Loudly. Fortunately, I'd been texting with PurDude.

Me: I have a problem. I think a cat is hiding in my laptop.

PurDude: I'm going to need an explanation.

Me: It's purring.

PurDude: Does it sound like a fan?
Me: Well, yeah.

PurDude: Then it's the fan.

Me: I've never heard it on before, and I've had this laptop for a year. 

PurDude: The fan turns on when the computer does something intensive.

Me: I wasn't even using it. So now I have a bigger problem.

PurDude: What's that?
Me: What was it doing behind my back?

Funny, he never answered me.

I had tried out a new recipe, a dessert. It was so easy, had very few ingredients, was no bake, and was topped with a chocolate whipped cream.

I had finally set it up for pictures the way I wanted, took out a large serving spoon, scooped out a serving and put it onto a plate.

Once all the pictures were taken, I needed to taste it to be sure it came out as I'd hoped. Since there was some on the serving spoon, I just took a big mouthful off of the spoon.

The doorbell rang. Perfect timing, I hate when I'm distracted while taking pictures, but I was done.

I answered the door, the salesman gave his spiel, all the while giving me a strange look. Whatever.

I declined, shut the door, and as I was walking away, glanced in the mirror next to the door.

Those strange looks? They probably had something to do with the big blob of whipped chocolate on the end of my nose.

Good thing I'll never have to face him again.

 

Now click on the links below and see what my friends have to share:

Menopausal Mother 

On the Border

Breakfast Club Sandwich

                                                                       ©www.BakingInATornado.com

Printable Recipe

Ingredients (per sandwich):

3 slices bread

2 TBSP butter

1 TBSP green onions, chopped

1 TBSP red pepper, chopped

2 eggs

2 TBSP milk

2 slices sharp cheddar cheese

2 pieces bacon

Directions:
*Preheat oven to a warm temperature, 200 degrees.

*Toast the bread. Butter them all on one side. Place in the oven to keep warm.

*Melt the remaining butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the green onions and red pepper. Cook and stir until they soften, about a minute or 2. While the vegetables are in the pan, whisk 1 of the eggs with the milk. Add to the pan.

*Omelet style, cook the eggs, flipping once. Fold into quarters.

*Place one slice of toast, butter side up, onto an oven safe serving plate. Top with the omelet, then one slice of cheese, a second slice of toast, and the second slice of cheese. Return to the oven and keep warm.

*In the same skillet, cook the bacon. Drain, cut in half, place on top of the the second slice of cheese on the sandwich. Keep warm.

*In the same skillet again, fry the egg to your liking. Place it on the bacon, top with your final slice of toast (butter side down), cut into quarters (add long toothpicks if you want, to hold the sandwich together) and serve.

Call Me Victor: Use Your Words

 

Today’s post is a monthly writing challenge. If you’re new here, this is how it works: my friend Diane and I picked 4 – 6 words or short phrases to submit to each other to craft into a post. All words must be used at least once. Both posts will be unique as we each have our own set of words we're working with.

At the end of this post, you'll find the link to Diane's post, be sure to check it out, see what words I sent her and how she used them.

 
I'm using:  super ~ silent ~ sinuous ~ snake ~ serious


                 

         
 

It was driving her mad. She was sitting at her desk but not getting a bit of work done, completely unproductive, consumed by her thoughts.

This was serious. Her super talented co-worker was to blame here. Yes, she was included in the daily break room gathering wth her colleagues this morning, talking and smiling before heading to their work stations, but that had only served to whet her appetite. Fuel her current obsession.

So, she came up with a plan.

Stealth is the key to success here. She must be silent. Follow a sinuous trail through the office. Duck into the lady's room, from there to the copy room, slip into that empty work station. And she would have to take this circuitous route, all while acting nonchalant.

Yeah, she was that far gone.

Clearly, she had no pride, she thought, finally slithering into her destination like as a snake.

But success! A classsic case of the ends justifying the means. To the victor go the spoils.

Bagel Breakfast Bake

That last piece of Bagel Breakfast Bake. It's mine!

 

Here's the link to Diane's Use Your Words posts:

On the Border

Bagel Breakfast Bake

                                               ©www.BakingInATornado.com

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

1/2 stick butter, melted

1# everything seasoned bagels (5 large bagels)

3 oz Canadian Bacon slices

10 eggs

1 cup milk

1/3 cup shredded cheddar

1/2 tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

2 green onions, chopped

1/4 cup chopped red pepper

Directions:

*Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9 X 13 baking pan.

*Slice the bagels in half, then chop them. In a bowl, mix the chopped bagels with the butter. Chop the Canadian Bacon and mix into the bowl.

*Arrange the ingredients from the bowl evenly into the prepared pan.

*In the same bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, cheese, salt, pepper, green onions, and red pepper. Pour evenly over the bagels.

*Bake for 40 minutes. 

Aloe and Snowflakes: Use Your Words

Today’s post is a monthly writing challenge. If you’re new here, this is how it works: participating bloggers picked 4 – 6 words or short phrases for someone else to craft into a post. All words must be used at least once. All of the posts will be unique as each writer has received their own set of words. That’s the challenge, here’s a fun twist; no one who’s participating knows who got their words and in what direction the recipient will take them. Until now.

At the end of this post you’ll find links to the other blogs featuring this challenge. Check them all out, see what words they got and how they used them.
I'm using:  swim ~ towel ~ aloe ~ snowflake ~ hot dog ~ Kool-aid  They were submitted by Dawn of Cognitive Script.

                          
We recently brought my younger son home from college. I'm still traumatized. Don't get me wrong, I love having him home. In my nice, neat, clean home. But what I saw up there, and especially when we unpacked back here, well, I can never un-see. I mentioned in an earlier post that I thought he was living in a house with a few friends. It wasn't until I got there that I realized he was living in a cave. A dark, disorganized, dilapidated cave. 

I know he's a boy, and I know boys will be boys, but I cannot believe the way he had been living. I am the most organized person on the planet. Apparently he is the least organized person on the planet. 

Somehow he had decided that he would only pack up what he needed or wanted at home for the next few months, then when his lease ran out in July he'd drive 10 hours back, pack up his 2nd floor room, and move it all down a thin staircase and out of the house by himself. So he was partially packed. Or so he said. 

In his bedroom upstairs were a half filled trunk, a half filled suitcase, and a body sized duffel bag I was too afraid to open. In his outer room were about 40 partially filled bags and 6 boxes completely covered in white dust and plaster (management had replaced his door at some point, who knows how long ago). It took me two days to convince him that he had to move his furniture out while we were there to help him, and that it made no sense to move partially out, then drive back for the rest of his belongings.

I did consolidate his trunk, suitcase, and bags before we left so we could fit everything into our cars. I didn't have a chance to go through anything, just noting that there was no rhyme or reason to what was where. Unfolded clothes were packed with toiletries, papers, whatever.

Once home (and after spending 2 days explaining that we would not be leaving everything in his unpacked until he moved out again), I worked with him to be sure he had everything organized. I still cannot believe what we'd transported home. 

I threw out about 10 pounds of trash. There were old receipts, plastic silverware, empty packaging. He had 3 bottles of aloe (which had apparently moved with him twice) from when he got a sunburn freshman year at a football game ("I'll skype with you, Mom, but don't freak out when you see me", just what every mom wants to hear). There were 14 sticks of deodorant, 10 bottles of hand lotion. Apparently the way toiletries work is that you use them once, misplace them in the morass and just buy another. Who knew?

There were about 50 batteries, a can of lighter fluid for the lighters he didn't have, and 3 packets of Kool-aid, which he does not drink. Had I found a half-eaten hot dog, I would not have been surprised. The body bag, I'm relieved (but bewildered) to say, was completely full of cords.

He had almost all of my missing beach towels, though I don't know why. And he had a new beach towel as well. Seems the one time he had an opportunity to swim, when he went with friends to Vegas for the weekend, he'd forgotten to pack a bathing suit and towel so bought new ones there. 

It wasn't until we got to the boxes that I realized he had packed them covered in dust, drove them home covered in dust and moved them into his room (yes, you guessed it) covered in dust. My turn to roll my eyes at one of my kids. I told him to take them outside and wipe the dust off of them so we could find what treasures lay inside. 

Later that morning College Boy and I were taking breakfast out to the deck. The outdoor dining table was covered in white. "What is all over the table?" College Boy asked. "Looks like snowflakes".

Loaded Egg in a Bagel Basket

Yes, it was plaster and dust. Guess I should have been specific, pretty much the only place I didn't want him to clean off those boxes in all of the outdoors would have been on my table. {{sigh}}.

If I ever, ever, am in the position to move this kid out of anywhere again (other than my house), the process will be simplified. Everything goes straight to the trash {{claps hands back and forth with finality}}. Done.

Here are links to all the other Use Your Words posts:

On the Border
 The Bergham Chronicles
The Blogging 911
Cognitive Script  
Climaxed
Part-Time Working Hockey Mom
Wannabe Linguistics 

Loaded Egg in a Bagel Basket

                                               ©www.BakingInATornado.com

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

1 bagel
2 TBSP butter
3 eggs
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup cooked salmon, chopped
1 green onion, sliced

Directions:
*Slice the bagel lengthwise into thirds so you have 3 round slices with a hole in the center.
*Melt 1 TBSP butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the bagel slices and cook for 2 minutes. Remove from pan.
*Melt the remaining butter in the skillet. Put the bagel slices back in the pan, cooked side up. Crack one egg into the center of each slice. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and cook for 2 minutes. 
*Carefully flip the bagel slices over. Cook for 1 - 2 more minutes or until the egg is done to your liking. 
*Remove bagels from pan. Serve topped with salmon and green onion.