Yikes! The week got away from me. I’ve been fighting the same silly head cold and fever all week, but I’m better today. I also have voice for the first time in almost a week. (Yes, my husband and kids have enjoyed that.)
Soooo… Lots to catch up on. Even though I’ve been sick, I’ve been working hard. In addition to the columns this week, I turned in six new proposals to my agent. We’ll see what she says. I’ve also made it to page 130 on my YA. Yea! I was a little burned out after turning in Like A Charm last week, but I woke up Tuesday with an urge to get back to my YA.
I’ve had trouble sleeping because of the stuffy head thing so I’ve been watching a lot of old musicals late at night. Man I miss the days of Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire. I’ve also been reading. Elaine Spencer, the agent I hung out with in Nashville, had given me Night Rising by Chris Marie Green and I really liked it. It’s a vampire slaying tale, but has a very fresh take and is set in Hollywood. I also read the anthology Sex and the Single Witch, which was a lot of fun. There were two others, both of which I liked, but I’d have to go upstairs to tell you the titles. So those will have to wait. :-)
I’m having a get together for a few friends tonight and my house is more trashed than usual. I’ll do some decluttering, but I don’t know how clean it will be. :-) My husband informed me that he would do all the vacuuming. I think he’s really afraid I’m going to die or something. Maybe it’s the cough, but he’s been really nice this week.
I am going to the store for snacks, probably will pick up fruit and veggie trays as I don’t think anyone wants me touching their food. :-)
Any ideas for party snacks? (Easy ones)
What’s the craziest name you’ve ever heard? I have a distant cousin named Penatha. They call her Penny. I’ve lived with “Candy” (What flavor are you?) all my life. So Penatha doesn’t seem that bad to me, really. :-)
Candace Havens 
My great-grandmother’s name was Aramantha which is kind of odd but pretty. She had a sister named California and a daughte whose middle name was Sophronia. :) I have a distant (very, very distant) whose wife was named Missouri. Come to think of it, my family (on both sides) have some pretty strange names. *g*
Er, that should be a very distant COUSIN. I must have been half asleep when I type this. *rolling eyes*
Sorry, can’t help with the easy party foods. When I cook, I go all out. I don’t know how to do easy LOL
As for crazy names, I won’t exactly say crazy. I’ll say “unusual”. But one of my boyfriend’s friends name is Ioana (pronounced E-o-wa-na). But she always goes by the name Joanna, the english version of her Romanian name. But I love her name. I think it’s unusual and very pretty.
Had I been male, my name would have been Adaniran, after a gr-gr-grandfather who was a Baptist preacher.
Snacks you personally don’t have to touch — cheese cubes in a bag!
EAsy snacks
Friday’s has those frozen versions of their appetizers in the grocery stores. The spinach-artichoke dip is really good and only takes a couple or so minutes in the micro.
Sam’s has lots of appetizer things in their freezer section. I prefer the boxes that say ‘Set on counter and let thaw’. I can totally do that!
Have a great party!
Sorry can’t think of any unusual names at the moment. Nothing funny anyway.
Angela
My mother-in-law’s name is Arbdella. Strange.
My father’s middle name is Utah. I sort of love this one but it is weird too.
Kim
I have a nephew named Blaze and I think its kind of weird for a name.But my younger daughters are Shyne and Rein and some people think I was weird for those,I like them and thats what counts.
Hugs,Danette
My boyfriend has a cold. I am desperately trying not to catch it. I hate being sick, and it makes my anxiety and OCD worse. He especially doesn’t want a cold now, because we’ll be moving in a few weeks, but I think he should be better by then.
I have an idea for something that’s a little more than a snack, more of an easy dessert. Philadelphia Cream Cheese has a cheesecake filling in a tub, and all you have to do is put it in a ready-made graham cracker crust (or whatever you prefer), spread it to fill evenly, and add any topping you like. You don’t have much in the way of touching the food, but if you think it’s too risky, it would be really easy for your husband to make. I used Comstock’s cherry topping (in the cake aisle, where you can get the ready-made graham cracker crust, too–I used Honey Graham), and I got more on this week’s shopping trip, only I got Comstock’s strawberry topping this time to try. You can also mix stuff into the filling, like Oreos, if you like. It’s not as good as a fresh-made cheesecake, but it is pretty good.
Chips and dip are easy and need no touching. Salsa and tortilla chips. You could get a deli tray with meats and cheeses, and include some crackers or finger sandwich bread (you can buy mini bread like that). Onion rings (frozen in a bag, which you heat up) and a spicy mustard dip and/or ranch dip. Pizza bites.
Craziest name? Hmmm. Aloicious/Aloisius is an unusual name, to me. I have a cousin named Lavonia. I couldn’t pronounce her name when I was a little kid, so I called her “Pennsylvania,” and everyone started calling her that. :D There’s a sports reporter named Vai (pronounced Vie, last name Sikahema). There is or was a sportscaster for KYW-TV news in Philadelphia named Ukee (Washington). His actual name is Ulysses, I just found out, but that’s pretty unusual these days, too, I think.
Well because of the time I’m posting this, your get together is already in swing and maybe over. But, for the next time, a really easy appetizer, which is surprisingly good try:
1 8 oz bar of cream cheese softened. Place on a nice little serving dish and cover with “Pick a Peppa”(sp?) Sauce, kind of looks like A-One, but not in taste. It is with the bottled sauces, like steak sauce. A brown bottle with a label kind of the color of a cardboard box, but with green and orange lettering. Anyway, you serve it with crackers like Wheat Thins or similar.
I also, for a sweeter version, use the same cream cheese base and put a Robert Rothschild product called Cranberry Bagle Butter on it. Same cracker thing. THIS IS GREAT STUFF. I guess it would be good on a bagle too, but I’ve never had it this way. ;-) It’s really a great thing to have for easy snacking when playing cards or board games with a crowd or just the family.
Odd names. Two spring to mind very quickly. My grandmother and her sister had names I never heard anywhere else – Ottie and Orvalene. Now, I don’t know if this is somehow related to their Cherokee mother or what, but odd anyway. I’m not too fond of my first name either. While not unheard of, it is very old fashioned – Myrna (it’s why I go by middle name.)
Lynn reminded me of two more names. My grandmother’s name was Etta. I also had an aunt named Clotine (pronounced Kloh-teen).
One of my sister’s friends named her boy Blue Jean (BJ for short)
I went to school with a girl named Gay. Her sisters names were Star and Dawn.
My mother’s name is Zona. My grandmother’s name was Electa.
But the craziest one is this one: I read in the paper about a man naming his son Espn Montana (after his favorite TV channel and Joe Montana)
Great Merciful Heavens!
When I was posting about unusual names, I somehow forgot Emar (a corruption of his family’s surname) who has a daughter named Haron and a son named Delano.
Living in rural west Texas, one does come across unusual names. Of course, Marva and Nelda and Velma aren’t really that unusual. Joburta is. (Her mama is Jo, her daddy is Burton, hence…though her daddy goes by Buck. Guess they didn’t want to name her Jobucka…) Oneta, Marva’s mother-in-law, passed on last year, and Marva’s little girl is Chaucey. Let’s see, Cleta lives a couple of blocks over from me…and Cula Jo Trout goes to my church. (Cula is like Beulah, not Coola) I’m pretty sure Tiny is a nickname…
The folks who built our house and lived in it till they passed on and we bought it were Heckle and Derelle Stark. (She was 104!!) I have no idea how he wound up with the name Heckle…
I did have a great-grandmother with Columbia for a middle name… Oh, and I met a lovely lady over in Claude whose name was Koma Beryl. The Beryl was pronounced like Burl, and she went by both names together, like Mary Ann, only it was Koma Beryl. Koma is a Comanche name. Her mama had a teacher named Koma who was Comanche.
And a friend’s mother-in-law had Pebble for a middle name–way, WAY before the Flintstones–before television, because her daddy said that she was the “prettiest pebble on the beach.”
Penny has a good one. You can look at our sciencefair winners list for a few! Beebee (Her real name is Beatrice, though, I found out), Charmin (like the toilet paper), and many others. I can put you in touch with my inner city teaching friends; they have all sorts of stories I should not type here, many due to names!
I big puffy heart trader joes and whole foods, my favorite caterers for all parties these days (my sister and her fab friends rank, too, but I feel guilty for all their work!) Maybe that similar big store by Southlake (sorry; I forget the name!) Too late for you, but yes, if sick then do not touch a thing. Hummus, mini pitas, vegetables, pre-sliced apples are a dream! Cheese plate, some frozen already cooked shrimp that I defrost and a Carr’s mixed cracker box sets me up. Butter crisp Toasteds for the Stephen man. I also do mini eggrolls or taquitos too. Guac and salsa with whole wheat or scoops. Amy’s pita chips are also tasty. Onion dip with Lipton and Total 0% fat or 2% fat Greek yogurt. salted nuts.
We do impromptu parties during the holidays a ton. Used to do them all year round but fewer these days. I think our first summer here I made potatoe salad and eggs every other weekend, though.
I am a huge fan of the 3-cheese platter.
Plus my guests/ILs drink, so if there is alcohol and diet coke they could care less. Now that I know that, it has reduced my hostess anxiety.