My Middle Child cracks me up.   The other day she got some college literature in the mail.  It was from Deree College in GREECE.  The photos on the mailing were stunning.  In fact, I might want to go back to school.   There.   Anyhoooo….she looked at it and said…”I wanna go HERE!”   Doesn’t care what courses they offer…..or, if they even offer her major.  But she wants in.   That’s my girl.
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MC also came home very proud that she had volunteered and was accepted to work at the school blood drive.   Her job would be to sit and chat with (calm down) those students who are donating blood.

But…the night before….she began to think about it.  A little too much I think.  She brought up painful repressed memories of a ‘bad stick’ that she suffered through a couple years ago.  She had a ‘phlebotomist in training’ who stuck her in the arm 7 (yes, SEVEN) times before handing her off to his supervisor.    Poor kid.

Anyhow, she spent a couple hours thinking about it and then it began to make her sick to her stomach.   She wasn’t sure if she could do it anymore.   I told her she’d be fine and to stop being dramatic.   Next morning, she texts me….”I couldn’t do it.  They had to give me another job”.    That afternoon I got the full story….When the nurse stuck the needle into her friends arm….MC (just watching) started to get very warm….her hearing got muffled and everything went black, white and tingly.    So the supervisor had her switch jobs and handle the passing out of juice and cookies.

I remember last year when my older daughter volunteered, one of the kids passed out and fell SMACK into the floor face down.  Busted his chin and had to get stitches.  Yuck.
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I’ve been asked to represent my hometown over at Blogtrotting today!  So, as your host *opens door and smiles*, “Please, come in…and welcome to Northeast Ohio!”

I’m actually from a suburb outside of Cleveland, Ohio…oh, about 8 minutes from the heart of the city.   But my town is relatively small and the only thing happening here lately is that my Mayor wrote a book.   Which wouldn’t be very interesting except for he included a chapter on the size of his genitalia.   But we don’t want to discuss that here.  Yuckie-Bleh-*spitting*

So today I’ll be presenting the big picture and giving you some insight into the larger area in which I call home.    Many a joke has been made about the City of Cleveland.   And lately it seems like we’ve been hit with a number of unfavorable outcomes in ‘polls’…such as the Most Miserable and ranking on lists of the worst place to live, fattest and worst weather.   I say, bull poopie.   I’d really like to know who actually VOTES in these things.   Northeast Ohio is a wonderful place to raise a family…yeah, it’s cold in the winter but duh, it’s Northeast Ohio!

Summertime in Cleveland is beautiful.  We have bazillions of festivals and street fairs, tons of unique restaurants (like MELT!) and taverns and Downtown Cleveland is clean and beautiful.   The beautiful breeze coming off Lake Erie on a scorching hot summer day is relaxing and welcome.   There are so many sights to see Downtown and in and of itself it’s a great vacation destination!

Summertime – Tall Ships come to the Lakefront
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Labor Day Weekend, Air Show
In the pics above you can see the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Science Center, Browns Stadium and the beautiful lakefront.   Every summer Cleveland is host to the Gravity Games, Rib Festivals, Weekend Outdoor Summer Concerts and more.  There is always something happening in the City.

We have the Cleveland Zoo which includes a huge wolf exhibit, a Rainforest, an Australian Outback exhibit and lots of bird shows and demonstrations.   Oh!  And the stingrays that you can touch.

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Our fall season is spectacular with colors so vibrant it will knock your socks off.

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We even have a couple ski resorts very close to home (Brandywine and Boston Mills)

Like spooky and scary stuff?    Haunted Cleveland during Halloween time will take you on a tour of haunted places!  Or, visit the Mansfield Reformatory a little further south of Cleveland.  Or, a little bit East, check out  Gravity Hill (on the Kirtland Mentor border.  Put your car in neutral and it will go uphill.  Whoooooo.)

We also have a HUGE National Park System with so many different trails to blaze and things to do that I couldn’t possibly list them all here.   If you are a hiker, biker, nature lover, explorer….our Cuyahoga Valley National Park System is worth checking into!  You can even explore it by train!  We hike local trails all the time, but haven’t touched more than 5% of them yet!

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No matter where you go there is something to do. Whatever your interest, you’ll surely find it in Northeast Ohio! From our Children’s Museum, to the USS Cod, Put-In-Bay (a mega resort area….There’s many places to visit on the Islands including many wineries), Cedar Point and the nearby drive thru African Safari, one of our many museums including the Natural History Museum and world renown Cleveland Museum of Art….you’ll find it here!

To all those pollsters who give Cleveland a bad name? I bet they have never even been here!

Fun facts about Cleveland:
*The original spelling was CLEAVELAND (after it’s founder, Moses Cleaveland) but the ‘a’ was dropped to fit into the newspapers’ masthead.
*Euclid Avenue was once called Millionaire’s Row. John D. Rockafeller resided there.
*Playhouse Square is the nations 2nd largest performing arts center!
*We had the first traffic light, by local inventor Garret Morgan.

And last but not least….if you have not visited Blogtrott yet…what are you waiting for?  Trot on over there right now!

I am 5 foot 1 1/2 inches. This baby comes to about my ankle!
(my neighbors house)

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Don't these look like old saggy legs?

This is my cousin Laura's thigh. She was attacked by a very mean and nasty 40 lb. cicle.

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For more Wednesday Fun go to Seven Clown Circus.

I don’t know what it is in this house. Are people afraid of the garbage can?

Why do people take the sticker off fruit and leave it stuck to the counter?

If you're gonna cut it off, why not just throw it away?

Are people just so damned lazy to walk a couple steps and throw out their junk?

Any time Shane takes a tag off something…he leaves it on the dresser.   As if he’s cherishing it.  Weirdo.

And I’m thrilled that MC takes fruit in her lunch but what’s with leaving the sticker on the counter when the garbage can is a mere 8 feet away?

My dog got a pre-approved credit card application. Hmmmm. Am I liable for her purchases? lol

Then there’s this. My dog gets mail. Lot’s of mail. Once she got a dollar and was asked to complete a grocery survey. I filled it out according to what I thought she’d buy…if of course she was able to drive to a store. (but she can’t as she was born with paws and not hands)  ((She’s a DOG)) Plus, they don’t allow dogs into stores.

She gets MANY pre-approved credit card applications, which is odd because she doesn’t own anything.  To be pre-approved, don’t you have to have a social security number and some credit history?

Yeah, I normally don’t post recipes, but this is really good…..*Makes 2 pies of 8 slices each

1.5 lbs. chicken strips cut into bite sized pieces
4 medium potatoes diced or cubed (bite sized)
2 cans (10 3/4 oz. ea.) Campbell’s Cream of Potato Soup
Milk
2 packages of Pillsbury (or similar) Pie Crusts (2 crusts rolled up per package. Need 4 crusts total)
1 can of sliced carrots  (or fresh**)
1 can of green beans  (*or fresh)
Salt & Pepper
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Cut up the chicken and potatoes into bite sized pieces. Place in a pot with water and bring to a boil. Turn heat down to Medium and continue to boil for 10-12 minutes. Drain. Also, drain the water from your canned veggies and put the veggies into the chicken and potatoes.  (*if using fresh veggies, you can boil them with the chicken and potato.  Carrots may take longer.)

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Unroll your pie crust(s) and place the bottom crust into the pan.  Pour your Cream of Potato Soup + 1/4 CAN of Milk into the pie crust.

Pour half your filling mixture into each pie.  **It doesn’t matter if you put the filling in first or the soup/milk in first.  Shown here both ways.

Use the last two crusts to cover the pie, tucking the top crust over the edge of the bottom crust.

Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 45-50 minutes

Each pie serves 4-5 depending on the hardiness of the appetite.  (Approx. 8   ’slices’ per pie)

OMG I’m so sick of this weather.   Every day or two it’s another 3-5 inches.   It just keeps coming and coming.  Shovel in the evening.   Shovel in the morning.   Seriously, everyday for the past week and there is one system after another on it’s way.  STOP!

To quote our local newscaster ….”It’s like being nibbled to death by ducks.”

It could be worse.  We could be getting hit like the East Coast and getting a big giant wallop all at once like Cara.   Plus, that link is only the beginning…..they’ve got more than double of that since then!  Crazy.

There’s only one person at our house who is enjoying the heck out of this weather.

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Are YOU sick of the winter yet….or still lovin it?
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Shane's combo Valentine's & Anniversary Gift to me. A cute hanging planter-thing. Way better than a last minute candy bar & lottery ticket. But too bad I cannot keep plants alive.

The kids entertaining themselves with my gift...priceless

Yes, Shane and I have been married 21 year today. That’s the 7 year itch 3 times over. I’m pretty sure we’ve made it.

Although….I knew that many years ago when we hung wallpaper together that went horizontally rather than the normal vertical way.  (Putting up 15 foot long pieces of wallpaper horizontally and not killing each other is a very huge sign that things’ll work out just fine)

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February 18 1989

We married one year after the date we met (again) and started dating.   (We went to high school together but never dated.  We were in the same homeroom.   His then girlfriend cheated on him with my then boyfriend….how’s that for a co-inky-dink?

Then, we ran into each other 5 years after high school at a corner convenience store.  I gave him and his friend a ride home because they had a flat tire.)

The rest is history.

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