Friday, December 16, 2011

You Can Do it All!

I have always dreamed of going to college, but it never happened...until now. I'm working towards a bachelor's in English and PR/Marketing. I was so smart, I even enrolled in college when my 2nd son was three months old! Guess I forgot that babies get bigger and more demanding before they get any

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Raising Readers

I experienced one of my proudest moments as a mother recently, when all four of my children requested books for Christmas. (And other stuff too, like: ninjas, shirts that always stay warm, pizza and everything they've seen on TV since last year - but who cares!? BOOKS!) To be fair, the baby could

Don't like Christmas Cake? Want my famous Cape Brandy Tart Recipe?

Hello Beautiful OTDE Readers. Some of us (me) are not too fond of the old Christmas Cake. I'm not a Raisin person. Blech Puke Gross. So.... I thought I would share my AWESOMELY DELICIOUS MOISTEST BEST EVER Cape Brandy Tart recipe with you. This recipe uses Dates... Nom Nom - I loves me some d

Christmas means...pajamas?

Excuse me, but when did holiday pajamas become such a thing?  I am 99% certain we never had them as a child (although I certainly intend to call my mother to find out if she was just neglecting us), but every freakin’ children’s clothing manufacturer has filled my inbox with emails featuring cu

It's Beginning To Look a Lot Like...Creepy...

  In this season of holiday cheer, decorating, caroling, wassailing, present-buying, partying, eating, TV watching  and other celebratory goodness, I can't help but be disturbed at the seemingly overlooked creepiness of Christmas. Anyone with me? I know, I know.  Calling Christma

Editors Gone Wild!

While Teri, Cheryl and I were all planning out the Thanksgiving post, Teri started a Google document in which we could collaboratively type up an introduction. Google Documents rock because one of the features is character-by-character collaboration. It lets you see others updates as you edit presen

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Have Ex-Lax, Will Travel

The holidays can be a very stressful time of year, but with careful planning--and by being anyone but me--you can enjoy it without undue stress. Whether you're cooking, traveling, shopping or performing other holiday related tasks, these tips will help you not screw up the holiday season. 1. Neve

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

White Chicks Dig Lenny

There, I said it. OUT LOUD. And “in public.” I don’t even think I need to say more. However, me being me, there is little chance that I can just leave it at that! First of all, I want the world to know that I coined this phrase and have filed the appropriate paperwork to copyright it.

How Much Is That Doggie In The Window?

People tend to have very strong opinions about where to find a new dog to add to their family. I have had many people say “I only go to shelters, because otherwise those animals would be dead.” I also hear people say they prefer to go to a breeder, because then they can get the breed they wa

Monday, December 12, 2011

Nerdtastic Holiday Gift Guide

It is well known throughout the lands that I love all things nerdy or geeky - from pocket protectors to Harry Potter Legos and all things in between. And, really, nerd is where it is at ladies - always pick the nerd - trust me on this one. There are many nerdy, geeky things that I covet...and

Nerdtastic Holiday Gift Guide

It is well known throughout the lands that I love all things nerdy or geeky - from pocket protectors to Harry Potter Legos and all things in between. And, really, nerd is where it is at ladies - always pick the nerd - trust me on this one. There are many nerdy, geeky things that I covet...and

Windows Need Fingerprints

I really miss my husband, even though he is in the same house with me, 24/7. What I want for Christmas is a simpler life with fewer toys and more togetherness. J is a superior employee and a damned good engineer and the large tech company he works for knows it. Because of this, he is the lead eng

Do I Really Need to Know This?

You know how kids are always complaining that what they have to learn in school is dumb or pointless or whatever excuse is cool these days to get out of homework? Do you remember your teachers insisting that every bit of knowledge they bestow upon you is absolutely vital to adult life? How if you fa

Friday, December 9, 2011

A Book to Read When You Are Having One of Those Days

I was having "one of those days" not too long ago. It was a pretty bad day, too. One that left me crying in a bathroom of a bookstore I frequented. When I finally calmed down and put enough make-up on disguise the redness that popped up on my face (known to happen to me when tears have been in th

The Holidays Overwhelm Me, Send Cookies?

Is it just me, or was 2011 the year that time sped up? I truly feel like I blinked in January and ended up in December, which is moving just as quickly as the months before it. Admittedly, I look forward to Christmas about as much as I look forward to a root canal. To say I'm a Grinch is an u

Thursday, December 8, 2011

The Beauty Contest

I show my dogs in AKC conformation dog shows. I promised in a previous post to explain what this means. I will caution you that the sport is more detailed than what I share here, but this will at least give you a general idea of what happens at a conformation show. First, you need to have a pureb

To Plugin Or Not To Plugin - My 10 Favorite Plugins

In the Sunday Strip Down on 12-4 Cheryl called me the "resident internet marketing specialist." I am not sure that I am a specialist in anything much less Internet Marketing, but that is my love and the niche that my main blog deeannrice.com is in. So for my post this time I thought that I

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Dear Santa, I'm only allowed to ask for 5 things...

NEWS FLASH... as per a recent news show, parents should discourage their kids from writing letters to Santa that included a list of more than 4 or 5 presents. WHAT! It’s hard enough trying to get kids to believe in Santa past the age of 6 these days, and now we have to tell them to limit their li

I got nominated!

My friend Dee Ann has nominated me for the 7 Links Challenge! Here are The Rules... Blogger is nominated to take part Blogger publishes his/her 7 links on his/her blog – 1 link for each category. This shouldn’t take you long to do –

You say Potato, I say Potahto.

The English Language. Supposedly the most difficult language to learn to speak. If you can read this... pat yourself on the back & help yourself to another cookie -  We are all superbly clever right now. Yay for us! The English Language fascinates me - it was always my favourite subject a

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

A Welcome Birthday Guest

Those of you who know me or have read my blog for a while know that I'm not very religious. I don't talk about it often, if at all, and usually when I do, its only with my mother. I will admit, I have been a little lax in discussing God with Connor. First of all, our life has pretty much been

Monday, December 5, 2011

It's Christmas!

We stepped outside the door as the snow started to fall down on our warm faces. The joy in Paige's face could light up an entire town. We were rushing out the door because we were late, as always, but I had to stop to take in the first real snow of the year. "It's Christmas!" she squealed! Image

Friday, December 2, 2011

Swimming in the Deep End

We’ve all heard the expression “sink or swim.” When you're in the Deep End and don’t know how to swim, you better have a floatation device handy. The good news is that I know how to swim. As the youngest of 8, learning how to swim at a very early age wasn't only because my parents thoug

Picking a Breed

People pick their breed of dogs for lots of reasons. They want one that is small, or one that is easy-going, or one that isn’t going to affect their allergies (PSA: there is no such thing as a hypoallergenic breed, because most people are allergic to dander, and all dogs produce it. You really hav

My Kid's First Rant = Parenting Fail

Oh yes, you read the title right. His first rant. Ever. He's 5-years-old. And it's totally my fault. Yesterday, my mother came over to visit so I could go to an appointment. At one point, Connor wanted to go get something, but as I already had one in the room, I called to him to stop. He kept goi