Friday, August 08, 2008

Cerebral Contusions with Some Pickles and Spice

Construction in AlaskaWith all the construction going on here we've got this gigantic dumpster sitting in our driveway that's slowly being filled with debris. I've been after Andrew to have them haul it away because I hate how ugly it looks and then it's been a problem for the kids.

Lillian's thrown two balls in there. The first one wasn't hers so I felt obligated to make some kind of an effort to go get it (otherwise she'd be out of luck). There's a huge iron door on the end that locks with a rotating iron T-bar and I pried the whole thing open and threw my weight against it so that David could go retrieve the ball. It was so heavy I had to really anchor myself to keep it from clanging shut and once he was safely out all I could do was to dodge out of the way to let the door clang shut.

Fair enough except that I forgot about that T-bar and as the door shut behind me the bar swung around and caught me full across the head as it crashed shut. It was a good thing the flat part of the bar hit me straight along the side because it only knocked me senseless rather than crushing my skull or anything (always a good thing) but I was pretty dazed for a minute or two as I wondered what had happened. I would have made a good candidate for America's Funniest Home Videos if someone had had a camera.

I picked myself up and tried to walk it off but now I've got this amazing bruise all along the left side of my head today that hurts so bad I can feel it when I smile or chew--yet another reason I'm glad I have hair, to cover up mistakes like that. The last thing I need is visual evidence of my grace and poise.

At any rate now that I've revealed the genius behind the curtain here I'm going to leave you this weekend with five great recipes I've found lately and five new blogs I've recently added to my already overflowing reader:

Three Sides of Crazy has a recipe for watermelon jelly
that I simply must try--I'm getting into my jam and jelly season here (I've made 12 jars of strawberry rhubarb this week) and this sounds like a way to bottle some summery goodness.

OhCripes.com (a new-to-me site) has a recipe for refrigerator pickles that sounds intriguing. I've never made pickles of any kind before and this could be a good place to start.

Emily Rose has a recipe for 5 Minute Chocolate Cake. You'd think this would be the time it takes to eat such a delicious morsel but no, she's talking about preparation time. Wowzers! I'll be sure to try this one.

Fat Free Vegan Kitchen has Ridiculously Easy Pineapple Sorbet which has prompted me to dig out the ice cream maker once again. I've got sorbet on the menu for the week.

One of my favorite food blogs, The Bread Blog, has a recipe for Strawberry with White Chocolate Truffle Icing that makes you wonder if there could be anything tastier invented. It's like food utopia.

And here are five blogs I've just added to my feed list:

Little Window Shoppe is a blog with a sweet layout and design plus sweet products and fun finds for people like me who hate to physically shop but love to have other people do all the work by bringing me the cutest things on the internet from the comforts of my own keyboard.

Overstuffed is an elegant blog with the pictures and posts to prove it--Lara is a mom of three living in Utah who takes terrific photos to go with her interesting posts.

TJ Hirst.com--I've been watching this one for several months now so it's not the most recent addition but it's another well-written blog by an aspiring writer/mother of three living in Minnesota (she's also fun to talk to).

The Wonder Years written by Sonja, mother of four beautiful blondies, who manages to fill each of her posts with interest and wonder. Perfect title for her blog.

Mommy's Martini--written primarily by Mommytime but also occasionally joined by two other professional moms. Intelligent and interesting, plus I really like her art deco template which is different and classy. I've been popping in on this blog for a while now but it's taken me a while to add new feeds lately. Blame it on the summer--if you had 24 hours of daylight would YOU spend all your time reading at the computer??

So . . . if you're hankering for new material to read besides cereal boxes and junk mail check out some of these great recipes and blogs. Good stuff!

Sponsored by Dimples and Dandelions--for the Serena and Lily Bedding Collection for Children

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27 comments:

Beth Cotell said...

Ouch! That sounds painful! I hope you are o.k.

Thanks for the recipes and new blogs. Can never have too many of either!

Heather said...

As my hubby would tease, there aren't enough o's in smooth for you. OUCH! Hope its better soon. On the bright side, when one of your kids whines about something you can just play the amnesia card and pretend you don't know who they are. :o)
I'll check those sites out this weekend.

United Studies said...

Oh my! I do hope you feel better and the bruise goes away!

And thanks for sharing the other blogs, I'm off to check a few out!

SarahHub said...

Oh, I'll have to check these out!

Glad you're okay!

threesidesofcrazy said...

Michelle I'm so glad you're okay! I feel our pain after the 3 dumpsters we've had here!

I hope you enjoy the jelly. It's best in January when there isn't a watermelon in sight her in the north woods.

Thanks for the new sites to visit - I looooooooooooove new recipes!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the link and the comic relief about the dumpster, which I am sure was not at all funny. When we built our house the dumpster being taken away was the symbol of its completion. We were already moved in long before that happened!

ames said...

Ooh, ouch! Hope the noggin' heals up quickly. I'm always worried when I smack my head hard enough to disorient myself that I'm going to get a concussion. Those few minutes of "what just happened?" are the worst!

Munchkins and Music said...

Yeah, that dumpster is pretty ugly. Glad you are okay!

Lara Neves said...

Oh, ouch, ouch, ouch! Just thinking about that makes my head hurt. And, it totally sounds like something I would do.

Thanks for the link/shout out! Made my day. :)

Brandi said...

Glad you're okay! That ould've turned otu all wrong! Thank God for his angels!

Gotta check out those blogs. Been looking for a few new recipes.

Anonymous said...

Did you see little birdies or stars circling your head?

Seriously, though. I'm glad you're O.K. That coulda been a whole lot worse...

Anonymous said...

Gosh - I hope you are okay.

Thanks for the chocolate cake plus - I'll keep 'em coming.

Sonja said...

That bonk probably would have had me out of commission for days. Yet, here you are, you resilient person, you.

I really love new recipes~ almost as much as compliments from people I admire. Thanks! :)

Stacy said...

Ouch! Glad you are ok, but that sounds really painful.

Thanks so much for the link to the pickles recipe. My grandma used to make these all the time and I was just talking about finding a recipe for them. They are awesome. Thanks for giving me a little bit of my childhood back.

Maddy said...

Hmm could have done with the recipes yesterday with guests coming, nevermind.

Sorry about the boink. It's always a pain when reality bangs into us so rudely.

Best wishes and lots of ice

You know, come to think of it, you might want to use some of that sorbet!

Kayris said...

Goodness! Glad you are okay!

I'd love it for someone to bring a dumpster and put it in front of my house just for a day or two. I'd get rid of all my husband's junk. It's so hard living with a packrat!

Daisy said...

That sorbet sounds delicious! I'm reading more and more food blogs these days.

Lapa37 said...

I'm sorry to hear that happened I hope all is well. Doesn't it stink when something like that happens.I hope you feel better soon.

Emily ~ Little Window Shoppe said...

Michelle, I am so honored that you like my site, that made my day, thank you. So glad to hear that you are doing OK and that you have made a good story out of an ouchy situation. :)

AlaneM said...

Ouch!!
I hope you heal soon.

Belinda said...

Ouch! I winced as I read your post,I bet that hurts:(

Anonymous said...

With the usual overabundance of cukes and zukes in our garden, I was just looking for a new pickle recipe - 'Oh, Cripes' refrigerator pickles fits the bill - thanks!!! Hope your head is feeling better!!!

Damselfly said...

Ouch! Glad you're OK.

carrie said...

I hope your head's ok!!

I did something like that once, but not as bad as yours sounds. It involved my van hatch coming down right on the lower part of my temple above my ear. I had the same pain in my jaw ans while chewing for the longest time!

And I looked pretty stupid in Walmart's parking lot slamming the hatch door down on my head.

Good times were not had by all.

Janet said...

Holy cow - I hope the bruise is the only long-term problem. If anyone notices just blame it on Andrew. :)
Home remodeling should really come with combat pay.

Andrea said...

Ohhh I winced when I read that and actual tears came to my eyes. How painful. I hope your kids and hubby are taking great care of you. :0) We have a boo-boo bunny made out of a washcloth to put a piece of ice in and take care of any owies. I would be happy to send one your way. (Or I can blow boo-boo bunny kisses your way to your head .. they will get there quickly you are just across town!)

John and Laura said...

OUCH! How brave of you to tell such a story, but I noticed you left off pictures. :)