ND Fans Live Here

There's no mistaking it.....

When you pull into our driveway you will know right away that Notre Dame fans live here...

We know it...we show it!

And John's "Man Cave" is bursting at the seams with it!

Even though they didn't win the championship, Kelly thought about skipping out to the pro's and we found out that Manti is actually human, we had a great season!  They went undefeated!  

Now that the college football season is over, we are not done cheering ND on.  There is basketball. John and I both like the Lady Irish and go to some of the home games and he watches the men's team too.  

                                       

Luckie didn't have a choice... if she is going to live here she's a fan too!

GO IRISH!!!

Brrrr!

We had been spoiled so far here in Indiana this winter, but the cold and snow blew in last night. Area kids got the day off school today because of the low temps and I had some shoveling to do this morning. I waited for it to warm up a bit (to 6 degrees) before I went out to do this...

I don't like the snow, but I love taking pictures of it before it gets messed up!

Stay inside if you can and keep warm!  

Saturday Outing

When it is 63 degrees on a Saturday, in January, in Indiana, you can't stay indoors!

John and I started our day here at the Cock A Doodle Cafe. A hot spot in Jimtown:

I know it doesn't look like much, but they have the best breakfast in town.  

After our tummy's were full, we headed out on the road to find out if someone else's junk could become our treasure! Here's just a couple of the places we went:

We didn't find a lot but we did get some books for Lisa's classroom...

...and I got this wooden decoy duck....why? I don't know. I just liked the way it looked. 

I also got some old door knobs for a project I want to make. So maybe you'll see those at another time.

On the way home we stopped at my mom's condo to feed her cat, Missy....and the fish.

Believe it or not, that took up our whole day. Hope your Saturday was a good one! 

Pet Peeves

Are there things that tick you off? That irritate you? Things that OTHER people do that just grate on your nerves? 

Definitions from Wikipedia:

A pet peeve (or pet hate) is a minor annoyance that an individual identifies as particularly annoying to them, to a greater degree than others may find it.

Yes, these things are called Pet Peeves and I have a few (maybe a lot) of them...


Restroom Pet Peeves:

- Not replacing the toilet paper when you used the very last square. This also applies to paper towels & kleenex.

- Walking into a public restroom stall and the toilet wasn't flushed.  Who does that?  Do these people not flush at home?

- Public restrooms that have toilet paper so thin you can see through it.  They aren't saving any money when we have to use 10 times as much!

- Public restrooms that only have hand blow dryers.  Who has time for that? I need paper towels please!

- Public restroom stalls with broken or missing locks.

- Public restroom stalls with 2" gaps around the doors....Peek-A-Boo!

Driving Pet Peeves:

- Parking Spot Hogs...the person that parks over the line taking up 2 parking spots.



Love this! I need to get some chalk!



- Parking Spot Stealers: The person that pulls into your spot when you were clearly sitting there with your turn signal on, patiently waiting for the spot to be empty.

- When someone pulls out in front of you and then             drives  r  e  a  l  l  y   s  l  o  w. 

- People that don't clean the snow or ice off their car windows. 

- Children not seat belted or in car seats.

- Pot Holes.

Looks like Lincolnway between Mishawaka  & Elkhart  in Indiana/

- Speed limit signs under 45 mph.

- Traffic lights that turn red when there are no other cars in sight.

-Getting caught behind school buses, city buses, snow plows, mail trucks, garbage trucks or semi trucks.

Restaurant Pet Peeves:

- Dirty sticky menus.

-Restaurants with long waits and absolutely no room to sit or stand while you are waiting.


-Getting a big basket of rolls and only getting one thing of butter.

- 2 bites into my meal, the waitress asks if I'm ready to order dessert.

- When the drive-thru attendant tells you to pull forward and they will bring your order out to you. True statement: One time I told the girl "Oh, that's ok, I'll just wait right here" and I didn't pull forward! :)

- Being carded when ordering an alcoholic beverage.

- Not being carded when ordering an alcoholic  beverage!


Misc. Pet Peeves:

-When I'm flipping between 2 different tv shows and the volume is different for each show. 

-When I'm flipping between 2 different tv shows and their commercials are airing at the exact same time. 

-When a tall person sits right in front of me at a movie, sporting event, or theatre....happens every single time!

- People that bring small children to "R" rated movies.

-Receiving 12 bags of groceries with only 2 items in each bag.

-Anything uneven or crooked.

- Stores that have 25 check out lanes and only have 3 of them open.  Even worse, the 3 that are open are by the exit clear on the other side of the store.....the exit you didn't park by!


WAIT! ! !  I'm starting to get embarrassed by how many pet peeves I have!  So I will stop now.

I would like to add that I don't mind 25 mph speed limit signs in school zones. I never get into the 10 Item or Less line with more than 10 items.  And even if I'm in a hurry, I don't mind getting caught behind an Amish horse and buggy. 

Game Night

Every so often John and I have Lisa and Ty come over for a "Game Night". We play board games and card games and we have a big spread of snacks. This past Friday night "Game Night" was at their house and since we didn't get to see our niece Sarah and her brothers (our nephews) Joey and Tommy at Christmas we thought it would be nice to invite them too.

Friday morning I decided to make some Puppy Chow to take over and boy did I have a mess!

I decided to forgo the paper bag shaking method this time and use my large Tupperware bowl and lid.  The bags always seem to rip with all the shaking and online, they say using the bowl is better....

Well, I found that when shaking the bowl somehow pressure built up and when I removed the lid a big POOF of powder sugar came flying out! I had powder sugar everywhere...even on my pant leg!

Mess aside, it turned out really yummy. I also made dill pickle roll-ups and took some cold shrimp & sauce. 

We had a really good time and it was nice getting to see Sarah. The boys decided not to come...maybe we can talk them into it next time.  

John's BBQ Ribs

Some of you may have heard about my husband John's famous (at least in or family)  BBQ Ribs.  His ribs are the most requested thing that we (he) makes.  In fact, he had to make the ribs twice this holiday season because both sides of the family wanted him to make them. 

Here's John and how he does it:

First he starts with the ribs. They have to be pork Baby Back Ribs. No other kind will do!

He always pulls this stuff off the back side of the ribs. He calls it the membrane...I call it gross!

Then he generously seasons both sides with "Bad Byron's Butt Rub".

You can use any rub seasoning you like, but this stuff is great.  It's hard to find in stores but you can order it online at:  https://shop.buttrub.com/SearchResults.asp?Cat=3 

Once both sides are seasoned you tightly wrap the rack of ribs with plastic wrap and then wrap them again with aluminium foil.  Make the rib packs nice and tight.

 

 

 

 

Place the rib packs in the fridge for several hours or over night.



Remove rib packs from the fridge and let set for 30 mins or so before placing them on a baking sheet.  Note: One that has a lip will save a mess in the oven.

Bake at 300 degrees for 3 hours.  Note: You will want to start your grill to be ready when the ribs come out of the oven.

Once the ribs are out of the oven let them sit wrapped for about 10 mins or so and then remove the foil and plastic wrap. 

Place the ribs on the grill and brush on your favorite BBQ sauce. The ribs are on the grill just long enough to brown the sauce a bit and to give that great grilled flavor...don't over do this step...the ribs were already cooked thru when they came out of the oven.

Once off the grill we normally cut them into 2 bone pieces. 

I'm sorry I didn't have pictures of the grilling process but I got busy making the side dishes for our meal!  Let me know if you give this a try and how you liked it.

FYI: The first time John made these ribs I had a fit when he was going to use plastic wrap on them!  The ribs were expensive and I thought he was going to ruin them by melting this plastic onto them.  But I now know it is an important step and it doesn't ruin them, so don't skip it!