Thursday, December 24, 2009

Merry Christmas

Here's wishing everyone the happiest of holidays, the most lovely of gifts (given and received) and the biggest smiles all year.

Have a very Merry Christmas everyone!

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Attention Shoppers

Important announcement for Christmas/Holiday shoppers everywhere:

Quit. Being. A Douche.

'Tis the season of peace on earth, good will towards man, family friends and love and.... theft from someone else's cart?

Come on people.

If you failed to get your butt out of bed in time to hit the store before all of that item was gone, then too bad.

This is especially despicable, in my mind, when it's kids' toys. I mean really, what exactly gives you the right to steal from one child to give to another?

Nothing, that's what, so stop doing it.

If that one thing happened to be the one thing that little Jimmy asked for this year (fairly unlikely, considering) then if you see someone who has that item in their cart, talk to them.

I know if I were purchasing something that I thought one of my nephews would like, that wasn't a special thing for them, and someone came to me saying that their child/grandchild/whatever had asked for that specific item and it was very important to the child, I would let them have it.

And how will the parent or grandparent feel if that thing was the one thing that Billy really, really wanted, and they scrimped and saved and worked overtime to be able to afford it and the other things they wanted to give to the child they love, and had it in their cart but when they got to the checkout, it was gone.

Stop being selfish little dillholes and think about what the season is supposed to be about for a minute. And while you're at it, why don't you pick up an extra toy or two and drop in the toy drive box, for the kids that aren't as lucky as the ones that you're buying for.

Generosity of spirit is a good thing people. Give a little if you're lucky enough to have a little extra, because some people don't have anything, and a ten dollar toy can bring a smile to a child that will warm the hearts of everyone around them.

Wouldn't you like to be able to say that you brought happiness to that many people this season, not because you bought them the most expensive gifts, and not because you braved four hour lines to get the hot toy this year, but just because you stopped thinking about yourself and liked the thought of bringing joy to a child's Christmas, without him or her ever knowing who you are.

That is the true spirit of the season.

So stop being a douche and go do something to make someone smile just because you can.

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Scrappy Nibbles aka Rocky Mountain Oysters

At Blogorado I played a practical joke on the attendees. I made some Rocky Mountain Oysters and wouldn't tell folks what they were till they had tried them. The results were quite funny.

Some of the folks there knew exactly what they were eating but others had no clue. Some had a bit of a problem after they found out what they were but admitted that they were tasty. The recipe has been asked for so here ya go everyone. And for those that really had a hard time with the practical joke I apologize. But not very hard.

First things first. Round up a bunch of cattle, sort off the young bulls and cut their nuts off.

If you don't have access to cattle then your local grocery store will be able to get bull fries for you.

If the nuts aren't cleaned make a slice lengthways and peel off the tough outer layer. Then slice the nuts about 1/4 inch thick.

Crush saltine crackers very fine. ( a Magic Bullet or blender works well for this) Add salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper and a bit of Cumin to the crackers. If you want spicy nuts just add more cayenne.

Coat the nuts in the cracker mixture and deep fry to a deep golden brown. If fried too long they tend to get tough.

A good spicy mustard sauce or Ranch dressing make good dips.

Enjoy!

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Deer Hunters

I've heard a couple of stories lately of stray shots from deer hunters.

Whether they actually damaged anything is fairly irrelevant, as it falls under the whole "Know your target and what's behind it" bit.

Or as I like to call it, "pay attention!"

Since the Farm Fam has actually had a horse shot for being mistaken for a deer (not kidding) I thought I'd take this chance to remind everyone.

Please, be sure what you're shooting at is your intended target, that there isn't something behind your deer in line-of-sight that you might not want to put a hole in if you happen to miss, and that you remember ALL of the gun safety rules while you're hunting.

That being said, happy hunting and here's rooting for everyone!

Monday, December 7, 2009

Blargh

It's snowing here, and it's truly that time of year when I become as much of a hermit as possible, and spend my time daydreaming of warmer climes.

During the winter I tend to ask myself when I'm thinking of doing something "Will this make me go outside? If so, is it worth it?"

Sometimes it is. Sometimes I get that weird mid-blizzard craving for ice cream, and just have to go find some, in spite of the fact that everyone else in the world is smarter than me and all tucked up in their nice warm houses with blankets and hot drinks.

Most of the time, it's not. Generally in this kind of weather the only thing that gets me out of the house is the need to break ice on stock tanks or otherwise do something that just can't wait for a warmer day.

And I don't want to hear anything about a white Christmas. When I'm rich and famous I'm dragging the Fam to Hawaii or Australia or somewhere else that has nice toasty Holidays.

Since I heard Lady Antebellum's cover of "Baby It's Cold Outside" it's been running through my head. Now all I need is some handsome young man to hum it while he's fixing me a hot Toddy and wrapping me up in a warm fuzzy blanket before rubbing my feet and doing my laundry.

Hey, a girl can dream, can't she?

Sunday, December 6, 2009

People's Press Collective

Last night at the book signing I met three of the guys from The People's Press Collective... since they gave me a button, I decided to pimp their site.

Actually, if you're in the Denver area and interested in Second Amendment Activism and generally just getting around the bias of the main stream media, it's a good site to check out.

They're far more motivated than I am.

Eldest Nephew

Since Bro and Sis In Law okayed it, the Farmparents decided to get Eldest nephew a very special Christmas present this year which he is going to love.

This year, Eldest Nephew gets his first rifle, a Savage .22 youth model. We picked it up yesterday on the way to the book signing, from the place where Salamander works. It was an excellent excuse to visit with him again and meet the Newt who is just cute as a button.

Eldest Nephew will probably ask to go shooting as soon as he opens his present, as he loves shooting with his dad but having to have help to support the big people .22's has been beginning to disappoint him. Now he'll be able to start learning marksmanship for himself.

I predict a happy munchkin come Christmastime.