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This week’s Funniest Blog on the Internet inductee is ThisIsWhyYoureFat.com It kind of goes along with some of my New Year’s Goals. No, not to eat as much fattening stuff as I can find, in order to clog my every artery. I’ve got that goal totally covered. No, I’m trying to get healthy. I’ve spent lots of time researching this and it turns out, I need to MOVE MORE and EAT LESS. Huh, who knew?

This blog makes me feel pretty darn healthy. In the picture above, you see the aptly named Double Coronary Burger. As you read this description, you might feel your arteries harden. Don’t worry, that’s a normal reaction:

A burger topped with five slices of bacon, four slices of cheese, two fried eggs, mayo, lettuce, tomato, and onion between two grilled cheese sandwiches.

Here’s the weird part….all of that seems okay until I see it’s between two grilled cheese sandwiches. Seriously? Wow.

I have a sweet tooth. I don’t deny it. I love cake (this reminds me of a Friends episode, but that’s for another post). But this next item seems too much, even for me:

Feast your eyes (pun intended!) on the French Toast Cupcake with Maple Frosting and Bacon.

That actually sounds pretty good. Hmmm, maybe This is Why I’m Fat!

The picture is one thing, but check out this description of the Deviled Corndog:

Corndog hotdogs pureed with cheese, mayonnaise and tater tots, then re-baked inside a corndog shell.

Ug . The layout of this site is a picture of food and a breif description, but I’ll tell you, this stuff sticks with you. So, enjoy This Is Why You’re Fat!

We have house guests! Lovely, lovely guests…my husband’s grandparents. Wonderful, fun and spicy! The company, that is.

This dish is really simple to make and it looks impressive, to boot. Awesome!

Here we go:

Baked Greek Shrimp with Feta Cheese

Ingredients:

1/4 cup olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 lb plum tomatoes, chopped (I use 4 romas)

4 cloves garlic, minced (I use jarred)

1/2 t dried thyme

1/2 t dried oregano

salt and pepper to taste

1 cup fresh spinach leaves, cut julienne style (packed)

2 ounces anchovies in olive oil (even if you don’t like anchovies, give it a try)

1 lb medium uncooked shrimp, shelled and deveined with tails left on (I take the tales off…less fancy, but way easier to eat)

4 oz Feta cheese

grated Parmesan cheese

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
• Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add onion, tomatoes, garlic, thyme, oregano, salt, pepper, spinach leaves and anchovies with oil. Saute 8-10 minutes until saucy and all vegetables are wilted.
• Add shrimp and simmer until shrimp turn opaque, about 2-4 minutes. Divide all of the skillet ingredients equally among 4 individual ramekins. Sprinkle with Feta and Parm.
• Bake on top rack of oven for 15 minutes (I place then on a baking sheet in case it spills over).

This is great served with crusty french bread.

Enjoy!

PS-Thanks to Aunt Patty!

Here in the Pacific Northwest, we are Havin’ a Heat Wave…a Tropical Heat Wave. That means it’s been over 80 for 3 or 4 days in a row. Here’s the funny thing…when the sun first comes out EVERYONE is outside! We have gray skies so often we seriously soak up the sun. But, when it stays hot for a few days in a row, we PNW folks don’t know what to do with ourselves!

Tonight for dinner I made one of my favorite hot weather dinners. It’s called “Trader Vic’s Salad.” There are probably 387 versions of this, but here’s mine:

• 5 cups cooked chicken (We put our on the George Foreman Grill. I often have cooked chicken in the freezer because when it’s on sale, I buy a bunch, cook it and freeze it.)
• 1 c sliced water chestnuts (I used apples instead)
• 2 c pineapple tidbits
• 1/2 c diced celery
• 1/2 c sliced green olives (I left these out)

Dressing is 1/2 c sour cream, 1/2 c mayo and 1 tsp curry. (I use 1 T curry ’cause we love our curry.)

Throw it all together. When you are ready to serve, sprinkle hard Chinese noodles over the top.

I try to make this early in the day and chill it until dinner time. Tasty, cool and delicious!

What do you like to make on a hot day?

With a 2 and 4 year old in the house, things are bound to get broken. Why does it always seem to be something brand new or something precious to me?

This teacup is from my grandma’s china set, which was given to me as a wedding pressent. My grandparents were like a second set of parents to me and I loved them both dearly. My grandma passed away in March of 1995 and this last March she would have been 100 years olf.

I vowed to keep her china on display and not hidden away because I want to remember her. About two weeks ago through some strange series of events involving both my girls and the kitty condo, the sugar bowl was broken. Yep, I cried.

Yesterday, my little dears broke a big ceramic cat, also from my grandma. Keep in mind, the china is beautiful. The cat…not so much. But, as a kid I played with the cat all the time.

So now I’m wondering. Should I have these precious things on display? The china is in a china cabinet with a few open shelves, so it’s not like I have things just laying around, hey, here’s a gravey boat under the rug.

How about you? What do you do with your precious momentoes? Do you keep them safe and hidden? Do you h ave them on display and figure whatever happens, happens? I would love to hear your thoughts and ideas.

Giveaway Deadline extended until August 17. See the other items from

Miss Mouthy’s Massive Mid-Summer Giveaway

I’m not a super green person. I try to make eco-friendly choices, but mostly when it’s convenient and inexpensive. Sometimes I even feel offended if I feel pressured to be green. For example, I drive an SUV because we tow a camping trailer in the summer. I don’t drive very much, so I really don’t worry too much. Some people give me dirty looks for driving an SUV. WTHeck?

Anyhow, I bought some canvas bags to use for grocery shopping. Not too expensive, not too much trouble. However, I forget the bags nearly every time. I often forget them in my house. Why? I have no idea. There are huge, so that’s not it. Basically, this has been a foray into the eco-scene that hasn’t been successful. Sorry, I tried.

Then, along came Joey Totes. Can I say I love these? ‘Cause I do. Each of the totes has a little pocket on the inside seam. Basically, I just stuff it in the pocket. I don’t have to know a complex origami pattern to get these to fit. As a matter of fact, I can get all three from my set right into one little bag. The entire kit n caboodle fits inside my purse, and I don’t carry one of those huge hobo bags.

Joey Totes are machine washable and need to be hung to dry. I will probably only wash them if something spills. I have enough laundry to do!

Can they hold much? Oh, yeah! I don’t like to grocery shop. It’s kind of an ordeal with my two darling angels. So when I do go shopping, baby I shop. I try to get enough groceries so I never have to come back again. It hasn’t worked so far, but maybe some day!

Would you like to WIN a set of Joey Totes? Yes, that’s FREE!! It’s another GIVEAWAY!! To enter, swing by Joey Totes and check it out. Then come back here and tell me your favorite feature!

This rule MUST bed followed to enter the contest. You can earn extra entries, too!

2 additional entries-Tweet about this post. Maybe something like, “I just entered an awesome contest on MissMouthy.com. I hope I win the Joey Totes!”

3 additional entries-follow my RSS feed

4 additional entries-blog about this giveaway on your blog.

Contest closes on Wednesday, May 13 at 8 PM.

What if you don’t win? Or you don’t like to go through the trouble of entering? Through May 31, Joeytotes is offering a 10% off coupon code to Miss Mouthy readers. Just enter MISSMOUTHY in the coupon area and you’ll be set! Happy Shopping!!

I was checking out some blogs today, because that’s what I do…when I should be, oh, I don’t know…vacuuming, folding laundry, reading to my girls. Anyhoo…

Over at Banana Frog Blog, Julie had an awesome idea to stamp dish towels. Her suggestion was to stamp “You Wash, I’ll Dry.” It would be cute to stamp each day of the week, ala FlyLady. You could even stamp “Powder Room” or something funny like, “Guest Towels. Do NOT Use.” teehee

Here’s Julie’s example:

I love it! I like to look at crafts but rarely attempt them. This one, however, I might actually do. Thanks Julie! You rock!

So, am I the best mom ever? Or the worst mom ever? Last week at the store, my daughters really wanted me to buy ice cream cones. I had some at home, so I said we’d have them for lunch. Hmmm…how can I make that a lunch?

Genius? I slathered peanut butter on the inside, filled the cone with gold fish. Whole wheat goldfish, I might add. Then I put PB on top. Carbs and protein, right?

My girls LOVED it. They thought it was awesome! My oldest Little Miss Mouthy said, “You are such a good mommy. You are almost as good as Miss Mama Bear. *Not her real name*,” who is a dear friend of mine.

What are your creative lunch ideas? Bring on the good ones, the lunch-in-two-minutes kind, whatever.

Okay, I’ll admit it. I have tried FlyLady again and again and it just doesn’t fit me. It’s a fantastic program and lots of people find success, but not me. I’m a FlyLady Failure (if you have no idea what I’m talking about…are you living under a rock? Just kidding…checkout FlyLady.net. It really is great!)

Why am I a failure? I really think the abundance of emails overwhelms me. I know I can delete them but it still gets to me. Second, it’s computer based. That’s like hosting an AA meeting at the local bar.  Seriously. I like the computer. I love the computer. The computer is why I can’t seem to fold laundry. Or clean a toilet. Or…do anything productive. So, I’m supposed to sit at the computer, see what to do, then get off the computer and go do it? Sorry. Not going to happen. I tried it.

I am delighted to introduce you to Motivated Moms. Here’s the basic idea…there are daily routines for you to complete, including:

• Make Beds
• Load/Run/Empty Dishwasher
• Wipe Out Bathroom Sinks
• Plan and Cook Dinner

Then there are the assigned chores each day. For today, I need to

• Clean the dishwasher door
• Clean refrigerator door shelves
• Sweep porch
• Change sheets-master bedroom
• Do a quick tidy/put away in each room of the house
• Sort kitchen & bath towels and cloths-buy new if needed
• Spend time on a craft/hobby

Why do I love Motivated Moms so much? I like that I print it out and check off each item. I can post this on my fridge or in my MomAgenda.  I like that. I can take it around my house if I want to. I don’t have to sit at the computer so I know what to do next! Hey, at some point my husband or kids might even see the list and do something. You never know!

I really like that seasonal chores are included (change furnace filter), regular chores are broken down (this week I only clean the refrigerator doors shelves, not the entire refrigerator). The Motivated Moms system even includes clipping your child’s nails, something I always forget until we’re in public and I see they are way too long. I forget about it, then think about it when I can’t cut them, then forget. Arg!

So, how much would you pay for this? $300 per month? Of course not! If you will, email me for…something…I’ll sell you something! Anyhow, it’s only $8 per YEAR. Heck, that’s a latte and a muffin. There are several different formats…all week on one page, one day at a time, both in half-sheet sizes and you can get each choice with or without daily Bible reading suggestions to read through the entire Bible in a year. You download the entire year, then you can print it all out at once or just one or two sheets at a time.

Seriously, if you are someone who has difficulty “keeping house,” this is the perfect solution!

I’m gonna be upfront. I don’t like to blog about other blogs because, well, I want you to read Miss Mouthy and think to yourself, “Isn’t she just the wittiest thing?” If you’ve never read another blog or talked with another human, or smart dog, I might have you. Today, I’ve decided to alter my strategy. I’m going to share the FUNNIEST blog on the internet…I’m not kidding. It is not my blog, but I wish it was.

Now, I’m no cake decorator. I’ve made a couple of birthday cakes for Little Miss Mouthy 1 and Little Miss Mouthy 2. Not really pretty. I’m not a very good speller (my co-worker Lauri tells me that all the time, in case I forget). But these…I can’t NOT say it…take the cake!

I’m not even sure where to start. Cake Wrecks is so funny I laughed until I cried. None of this “lol” but I didn’t even really smile stuff. No, I had actual tears wetting my cheeks. The pictures of disaster cakes are hilarious on their own. But when you add the witty commentary, it sent me over the edge. If you are having a bad day and you want to make it better…or you are having a good day and you want to make it great, check out Cake Wrecks.

A couple of my favorites: Cakes for Any Occasion (you know, release from jail, thanks for posting my bond, potty training and “happy vasectomy.” )

What I REALLY Wanted for my Wedding Cake…the rough thing with wedding mistakes is that you usually don’t know about them until it’s too late.

This is what I wanted, and This Is What I Got.

Warning: You might pee your pants. I’m just sayin’.

As I was writing about the neat grape trick, I realized I haven’t shared one of my favorite kitchen organizing tools. I don’t know about you, but my food storage area was once a disaster. I had containers of all different sizes and lids of all different sizes. Often, I had lids with no containers and containers with no lids.

Then I found this

~~~aaahhhh~~~ angels singing~~~

This little bit of lovelyness has one piece to hold everything, 24 lids and 24 containers in 3 sizes. EVERY LID fits every continer (GENIUS!!). The containers are 22 ounces, 12 ounces and 6 ounces. They fit most everything I need. When I cook up a big batch of hamburger, the large container holds about 2 cups of cooked burger, perfect for my next meal. The little once are great to hold snacks for my little ones.

Mr. Mouthy is kind of a freak when it comes to microwaving in plastic. These containers are dishwasher, freezer and microwave safe. Super helpful!

A couple of notes…these aren’t super strength Tupperware products than you can pass down to your grandchildren. However, I’m going on my 5th year and some are a bit pitted, but still very usable.

Secondly, the piece that actually holds them all works great, spins well, but it isn’t super sturdy. You won’t be stacking anything on top of it.

Lastly, I do still have other kitchen storage items. I keep all lids in one container and I threw out anything without a top and bottom. I know, what a novel concept.

What are your favorite kitchen storage solutions?