Oh hello there! Yes, I DID have a happy birthday, thank you very much for asking. It was a lovely, lazy day. Jimmy made me breakfast in bed...
...then he set up a spot for me in the living room - complete with roses and a fire in the fireplace. Jimmy does good birthday.
What did I do in my little spot? Well, as I may have mentioned before (mmm...possibly a number of times), I have given up my video games for Lent. HOWEVER, as every good little Catholic child who was unfortunate enough to be born during the Lenten season knows, it is absolutely fine and dandy for you cheat on your vow on your birthday. That's what my Mama taught me anyway. I'm not sure if this is actually written somewhere in Catholic dogma, but I choose to believe it is correct. So...I played me some games. Hehe.
In order to share my day more efficient, I have created for you a pie chart, a la Becky...
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How was everybody's St. Patrick's day? I made the best damned Corned Beef and Cabbage that I have ever made. It was like butter, I tell you, like BUTTER. I just mixed up a bunch of recipes I found on the internet and I am gonna tell you the recipe because I'm afraid that if I don't write it down here, I won't remember it next year! Also, I'm pretty sure that one reason it was so tasty was because of that homemade Sweet & Hot Honey Mustard I made for Christmas gifts. So check that out too. And then stow this recipe away for next St. Paddy's.
Corned Beef and Cabbage
2 - 2 1/2 lbs. corned beef
little packet that comes in the corned beef package
1 large onion, sliced into wedges
10 cups water (I was gonna pour in a bottle of beer, but decided tlo drink it instead)
10 baby potatoes (halved)
3 carrots (peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces)
1 small cabbage, sliced into thick wedges
Remove the corned beef from it's wrapping, and rinse it well in a colander. Place in a large Dutch oven with a lid. Arrange onions around the beef, then sprinkle the top with the package of seasoning. Pour water all around it. Cover, place on top of the stove and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for 2 1/2 hours.
Remove lid and add the potatoes and carrots. Simmer for 15 minutes more, then add cabbage and simmer for yet another 15 minutes.
Slice across the grain, and serve with au jus and vegies plus some of that good mustard.
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Jude and I went and saw Oz the Great and Powerful the other day.
I was pretty disappointed. I don't know what I expected. I mean it wasn't as bad as the dreaded Space Chimps (the thought of which still makes all the muscles in my neck convulse) but I wasn't impressed. I mean, the special effects were pretty outrageous, but seriously, I am SO BLOODY TIRED OF 3D!! It just gives me a stinking headache! Hate it! James Franco was horribly miscast. He's very cute and charming and all that, but he just couldn't wrap his mouth around the dialogue. It was sort of embarrassing. And Mila Kunis was so terrible it was startling. At one point I actually said OUT LOUD "She's just horrible!" and people turned around and looked at me and nodded. Michelle Williams and Rachel Weisz were pretty good though, they both had the chops to pull off the style of the piece. But it all just seemed like a kind of sacrilege. They should have just left The Wizard of Oz alone.
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These cracked me up - 15 Signs Improved By Hilarious Graffitti. My faves...
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And I LOVE this! Detailed Floor Plans Reveal Apartment Layouts of Fictional New York Characters. This artist has accurately and artfully rendered floor plans for tv sets...
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That's all the random for today! Go see Stacy!
I also made an amazing corned beef this year. Love that stuff.
Sorry the movie was a bust. But hey, at least you got out for a bit, right?
Posted by: Missy | 03/19/2013 at 03:04 AM
Oz WAS bad and I really thought it was going to be better. Franco was bad, the three women were bad; all bad! Happy belated b-day. I seem to know A LOT of people (IRL and bloggers) with March birthdays; weird. Also, that breakfast looks amazing!
Posted by: Claire | 03/19/2013 at 06:18 AM
I'm so glad you had such an awesome birthday - and Jimmy sure did treat you right! He's a keeper! :) And yes, I'm pretty sure there's an exception to the rule of Lent on your birthday. ;)
To my recollection, I've never had corned beef! I'm not a cabbage lover, though I do like a friend's cabbage rolls, so I think maybe, just maybe I'll have to try this recipe out! :)
Princess Nagger and I were thinking about going to see Oz - but now maybe we'll wait until it comes out on DVD. She's REALLY looking forward to the next Hunger Games movie that will be released exactly one week after her birthday. :)
The graffiti is hysterical! :)
How cool would it be to be the artists that create fictional TV characters living spaces? And yes, she totally should have drawn in the cereal boxes. ;)
Posted by: Stacy Uncorked | 03/19/2013 at 06:46 AM
I talked about my Irish feast today on my blog :-) I have never made corned beef before so I need to try that. And your husband is awesome...can he give T some tips?
Posted by: Alaina | 03/19/2013 at 06:57 AM
Good show, Jimmy! Well done (yes, I applauded.)
I can't get off the damn graffiti site now. Thanks for that.
As for Oz, I wasn't interested and neither was the girls so...
Posted by: Arnebya | 03/19/2013 at 07:18 AM
The minute we saw the commercials for Oz, Beloved and I cringed. I'm glad to know we didn't recoil in vain.
I laughed at your pie chart; I'm glad your birthday was a good one!
Posted by: Jan's Sushi Bar | 03/19/2013 at 08:15 AM
Well played Jimmy!
Wouldn't everyday be nice if that was what the pie chart looked like?
The graffiti site is hilarious!
Posted by: Michele | 03/19/2013 at 09:22 AM
Birthdays are awesome! And yes, the 'free' day totally applies during Lent. If more than 1 Catholic says it, it's true. That's my story...
Posted by: Tina | 03/19/2013 at 03:11 PM
Looks like an awesome breakfast! Jimmy did good.
We had a fabulous time today, thanks so much.
Posted by: VandyJ | 03/19/2013 at 07:36 PM
Happy belated birthday, Gretchen! Glad you had a loving and peaceful day.
I saw the first season of Homeland on discs from Netflix then signed up for Showtime in January just to see season 2!
Posted by: Michele R | 03/20/2013 at 04:25 AM
I am back to say I just spent 30 mins on the sites about funny signs LMAO.
Posted by: Michele R | 03/20/2013 at 04:49 AM