tynajoymetzner

Music, Home, Family, Relationships, Life and Living. Daily Life

My Stepford Wife Exsistence Leads Me To Have Casual Conversations By Myself

Oatmeal Scotchies! Oh yum!

I baked these according to the directions on the butterscotch morsel package. I actually baked these to send off to my in laws in California. I decided that I would bake and send a batch of cookies to them a month. A different kind of cookie each month. They seem to appreciate the baking side of me. They don’t even know I have a musical side. Isn’t it funny that people seem to choose what they want to know about you? The determine the extent in which they want to know you.

My husband isn’t at all supportive of the musical side of me and so, his parents have no clue. They don’t know me other than I cook, bake and am their sons wife…

My husbands brother knows that I play and sing. Because I don’t read music, he and his wife will make snarky comments that I should take lessons and music theory classes. They snicker and sneer at my musical attempts. I never bring it up in conversation as it’s clear that they could care less about what I’m doing and what I’m trying to accomplish. It has made me indifferent. In fact, I really believe in their eyes I am merely
Howard’s wife. I am a non person in my own right. His brother is a professional camera man. He worked as a videographer for a prestigious news station here. He has worked on music videos for his church friends trying to break into the music biz. He now does documentary pieces. He surely could have shown a little bit of interest or conversation for my YouTube channel? No… I must just be an embarrassing joke.

No bones about it, my husband has no interest to share in my musical side. If I try to talk to him about it, he walks away from me. He only finds me important if I am what he wants me to be and do. I am a non person to him other than what he wants
and needs from me. Ouch!!! I am surrounded by people in my life who only see me as filling a need they have.

So I sneak a few hours here and there to remind myself that I am a person in my own right with hopes, dreams and  personal goals to achieve! Otherwise I become invisible! Discouraging! Some days I feel as if I’m living in the Twilight Zone… Stepford wife existence.

There is more that I want to be and do than all of this domesticity! I enjoy homemaking to a certain degree. I grow weary of being just what everyone wants and needs me to be!!!

Casual Conversation is written by Rick Davies of Supertramp…

I wrote this song and to date my husband hasn’t  listened to it…

Something More Than Nothing

I spent the afternoon in the kitchen baking and cooking. Above you see my homemade chicken and dumplings… The quick version… I semi cheat as I bought a bag of frozen veggies that are specifically for soup. I did however add a big sweet onion, some shallots and I minced some sweet basil to throw in this.

I simmered 5 chicken thighs for about 35 min. In water that just covered the thighs. Remove the thighs to a bowl. Add your seasonings and a carton of chicken broth. I added  about a teaspoon of each, Italian seasoning, and garlic 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Two cubes of chicken boullion. Stir well and add the frozen veggies. Simmer and stir occasionally. Stir together 1/2 cup flour and 1 cup of cold water. Stir well, no lumps pour into soup. Stir well ! Simmer for 10 minutes. Add 1 small carton of heavy cream. Stir and simmer for about 10 more min. Soup won’t be thick, but will better resemble stew.

*Bisquick is a great shortcut for these dumplings! Follow the directions on the box.bI added parsley flakes to my dumplings. Spoon onto boiling soup. Cook uncovered for 10 min. Cover and cook for another 10 min. Turn off heat and let it rest for 15-30 min! Yum!!!!!!

A friend of mine has asked me to work on putting together a song for a set of lyrics that she sent to me. I love the challenge of this and hope to put together something her band likes and can use! I love that she asked me to do this or them! It’s fun to be included in on a musical project!

Baked Ziti And Them Some Lonesome Comes To Mind

Edit Post ‹ tynajoymetzner — WordPress

Baked Ziti! A cross between spaghetti and lasagne! Delicious and straight out of the oven. A crowd pleaser around here... There is so much more to me than this ziti. I aspire to be great at something lol. I want to leave my mark somewhere doing something!

Here ya go... Here's my inked, with the Library of Congress, stamped original, Something More a Than Nothing. I have been tweeting this and slinging this around like no other to get it heard... Any of you that follow my blog have probably seen my posts about this song!

It bares repeating and if it doesn't, too bad, here it is again...lol.

"I want to know that there's more than nothing- In my heart, I know that there's something!

Something More Than Nothing

Today was a crazy day. Along with being a busy day, it would have been my Mom's 91st birthday. I thought about her several times today although I never did light a candle in her honor like I usually do. I suppose it's enough to remember how truly talented and amazing she was! Too many talents to list! I love and miss her! Love ya Mom! Happy Birthday wherever you dwell!

My MiracleGro Fun Day Sunday

The MiracleGro Sunday Fun Day

The weather can’t be beat here the past few days. Breezy but warm enough, not too hot yet. I love this time of year. By next month we will have turned the corner into HEAT. I planted seed pods yesterday. My oldest daughter Britt, sent away for project kits from Miracle Gro for us .They had some kind of promotional thing in which they send you seed pods of your specified choice. She picked cherry tomatoes for herself and selected a kit of cucumbers in mine. We split them up!  30 pods came in each of kit. I am assuming that these were intended to be for classrooms. They came with tags that suggest this idea. Anyway, I had a fun Sunday getting my planter box and many pots cleaned out and ready to plant. Lots of fresh air and exercise yesterday. What a nice day to be outside! These pods were cool. Wish I had thought to take a pic to show you what they are. I have seen them at Home Depot, they are called Growables. They are made with a biodegradable pod shaped container. In this container is dirt, seed and fertilizer. You just plant them in loose soil, flush with the dirt, you don’t cover them since the seed is already encased in dirt. Water and they should begin to grow!  I’m looking forward to watching this process!

Something about planting things is just fun. Alissa helped me in the whole process of getting the bed and pots cleaned out and ready to plant. I broke up and turned the soil as well. If you look closely here you can see the pods in the center of the pots. Couldn’t be easier to plant!

Although this looks like a viney mess, in this box we are still getting a large amount of cherry tomatoes! In back we are still yielding eggplant which, I happen to love!

These are my flower pots which I rescued from the Javelina’s and rehomed to the backyard lol.

 Still rather dark at 6:15 AM…

Obviously, I had several pods left over that I couldn’t plant not enough containers! I took the remainder around to my neighbor friends and shared the wealth. I got to visit with friends and share this food source project… In my estimation, it doesn’t get much better than that! What a great way to spend Sunday! It was so much fun to share these and catch up with my neighbors! I enjoyed every minute of my Sunday…

Who Owns Who

Happy Sunday! I am planning on spending some time outdoors while we still can! The temps are beautiful here today in Phoenix! Planning to serve a nice brunch on the patio for my family… I ran across this silly little video that I put together of my BFF’s…

A friend of mine mixed this MP3 for me. My cover of I Put A Spell On You. While looking at my cat pics, I realize that they really do think they own you lol! Who owns who??? So I put this together from the cats’ perspective.

Have a great Sunday all!

Temp-tations Dessert Is Colouring My World

It came! This beautiful stoneware,  Temp-tations casserole dish in poppy. I was so excited about this lovely piece. I indulged and bought myself two seasonal pieces of Temp-tations. I can see this being used for all of my spring, summer and even fall big family get togethers. Can’t you just see homemade Mac & Cheese in this? Baked Beans with onions and bacon… Potato salad, fruit salad you name it!  I will probably put this dish to good use over the weekend. I am thrilled to own something so lovely to serve in. I have a thing for decorating for the seasons. If you follow my blog you know that I decorate for every major holiday. I have only been doing this for the past 10 years or so. It’s a lot of moving stuff around and work but I love the outcome. I know that my daughter Zoe appreciates it too. My 7 grandkids get a kick out of it as well I’ve been told. I love Temp-tations for this very reason, they sell the most beautiful seasonal pieces! They sell out so fast that unless I’m watching when they debut them, they are gone! I can think of two pieces of Temp-tations that  I, (dearly wanted ), but sold out before I could buy them. A 13×9 in. multi colored leaf patterned baker, perfect for stuffing! The other is also a 13x 9 in. baker with beautiful spring colored Easter eggs. Beautiful pieces that one day, I hope to display for my holiday feasts. Maybe the next time they appear on QVC I will be in the know and can snatch them up! It’s the little things that make a home, homey!

  
 Here is the second piece that I purchased from QVC. This piece is a 13×9 in. baker. So versatile that you can do darn near anything in it! It has been on clearance for awhile so I snatched it up as well on easy pay. It’s so beautiful that I can’t wait to bake a cake in it! Beautiful vibrant colors! I appreciate being able to find pieces that help my home be a nice place to come home to!

 
I see my vanilla flavored cake with whipped icing and lots of fresh sliced fruit on top, in this baker… That is my vision and the first thing I want to bake in this. My plan is to frost and decorate this cake while Alissa is at visitation today.
This child is so sweet and has a real appreciation for all of the domestic housewife stuff that I do. Sweet! She appreciates pretty desserts as well as fresh clean laundry!

 
First, I have to get everyone out the door. Zoe to school and Alissa ready for visitation!  Alissa started supervised visits with her Mom. A CPS caseworker picks her up and takes her to a CPS office to visit with her Mom, twice a week, two hours a visit. The caseworker then drives her back here to me. This first visit was really hard on Alissa. She had been holding up well and seemed to be adjusting like last time until she saw Mom. She cried many tears after returning back to me. Alissa’s previous attorney was reinstated as her attorney, in court on Tuesday. My daughter and her husband were supposed to be at that hearing but didn’t show up! The judge rescheduled the hearing for a date in mid May. Not a good way to present your case huh?! Alissa’s attorney is coming out to see her/us, on Tuesday. I will be able to ask questions to find out where all of this is headed… I had heard that the attorney is moving for severance of paternal rights which then makes Alissa adoptable … This will be a huge change in our family! A big undertaking but bless her heart she is precious! I hope to be able to fill the void and eventually enhance it, if called to do so.  I’m still so mad at my daughter for failing so badly! I love my kid but don’t understand her inability to be a good parent. Plenty of grandparents are raising kids, the statistics are staggering! It is however a long way back and wouldn’t be my 1st choice of things to do at 53 years old! I had a different vision of how life would go as I’m sure many Grandparents are feeling.

I still have a 13 year old daughter to get through highschool and her teenage years as well! Plenty to do. Zoe is academically minded and is a straight A student. A choice that she has driven for herself with very little coaching from us. We only hope to be able to help guide her to continue on this great path in highschool.
I’m grateful for my new purchases which help me focus on the goal of making my home feel like home. It was fun looking online at these beautiful pieces with Alissa. She seemed to genuinely be interested in them.  We looked at the whole Temp-tations line together, before I made these selections lol. We both looked forward to them coming. I’m hoping that coming back here to this cake will help to soften the hurt of missing her Mom just a little…
Thanks Tara @ Temp-tations for colouring our world a bit!

 

Colour My World written by Chicago. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Ra4dq8IeMw

My Feminine Perspective Gives Me Pause Sometimes It's Just The Challenge!

If I told you how difficult this song is to do you  probably wouldn’t understand why. It’s not my best song, it’s not full of piano solos… It by far is the most challenging cover I have done to date. So much going on in it from timing, to vocals, to lots of lyrics… Not to mention the length of the song… I haven’t mastered it because I probably won’t. I can’t sing well in this range, but for this song, I tried. I cover other songs that this artist does but I don’t even try to sing them. The meaning of this song just hits home in so many ways that my heart is so full, I dare try to sing this. Here is the link to my home video that appears on my Facebook page. I keep wanting to delete it as I can barely get through watching it myself. I look terrible. Hair is awful, and barely any makeup…The quality of the video isn’t that good. My camera was too close in proximity to my PA speaker so the vocals are more prevalent. I can give you a bunch of reasons why this isn’t perfect. If I’m honest, it wouldn’t be no matter how many times I try to redo this. It is however, a true representation of me, trying! Only Roger Hodgson can do this justice. It is however, a very difficult song that he makes look effortless! To cover an artist you find an appreciation and total respect for their genuis and efforts. My heart is full for this man!

In my arrangement, I changed it slightly to be from a female perspective. I incorporated a rather fairy tale aspect/reference. I tried to make it feminine. I don’t know how it comes across but that was my intent…

A friend of mine made a comment on my page about she thinks it’s great that I put myself out there… I thought about this as a minute. At first that comment stung a little. I was embarrassed…Then, I thought about why I do any of this… I’m obviously not very good. Nobody has tried to sign me or snatch me up… So realistically I keep doing this because???

I’m pretty shy? It’s kind of like Toastmasters, public speaking. It puts me out there being rather brave and risking humiliation. I’m not very confrontational in life so this puts me out there being rather confrontational! It also exerts a kind of might within my will. Keeps me from being a victim, my way of speaking out! Otherwise, I become invisible to myself. My way of exerting /excercising my will and spirit! Also, it uses areas of my brain that hopefully stave off Alzheimer’s or dementia lol. These are all of my justifications for doing this…

The biggest desire of doing this song is it’s creator. I have the biggest appreciation for Roger Hodgson’s music. He is an idol of mine who’s music has permiated my soul… To cover his songs, gives me a deeper appreciation for his music.

Click here for my Facebook link…Hide In Your Shell

Good or bad it took my effort, time and purposeful thought to generate this. Say what you will but sometimes it’s just the challenge!

PaddleFest Lake Pleasant And Plenty To Do Thanks To A Few!

   
   

This was so funny, to me anyway… I couldn’t stop laughing! I guess you would have to know him for this to be funny?

Anyway, a good time was had by all.  We spent a few hours out at Lake Pleasant on Saturday.the weather was a little chilly and overcast as we were expecting rain on Sunday. We did get rain here in the desert yesterday! The big kids Zoe and her BFF, Paige tried Paddleboarding and kayaking! This event allows you to try Paddleboarding . Looks like a lot of fun but takes practice. It was a free event as well. A $6.00 cost to get into the park but that was the only cost.

After we left the lake, we met relatives for lunch who live on that side of the Phoenix. They brought a ton of clothes that their daughter had worn when she was small. This little gal is now in the 6th grade but her smaller clothes were in such great shape! She seemed happy to donate them to Alissa. When Alissa came to me just over a week ago she came with almost nothing but what she was wearing. I have been scrambling to shop and put together a wardrobe for Alissa. Mission accomplished thanks to Monique! 

  
This was an awesome help as it will save us a lot of money and stress! So very sweet! We also received help from my oldest, Britt. She came over Saturday eve to do homework with my youngest, Zoe and BFF, Paige. Zoe and Paige are in honors math and good at Algebra. 31 year old sis Britt who is attending W.P. Carey Business School,  at A.S.U. was struggling. Zoe and Paige worked for several hours on Saturday and now Britt feels much more confident about her final coming up on Saturday! This was so sweet and made me do happy to see!

  
I’m so glad that they worked with Britt on getting this Algebra out of the way!

Sunday, Britt contacted a group of ladies that she is friends with and they gathered up gently used toys for Alissa as well! I was thrilled to feel the support from this group of ladies! Wow, just wow. I feel like  very relieved to have been able to Alissa settled in so nicely!

   
Doll houses with play furniture!

 
Even a precious doll stroller!

   
Tea cups, dolls and fun things to do! 

 
Magic wands and tiaras! Even a bike to ride when she wants to learn how to ride! 

I didn’t have much other that stuffed animals here before these ladies helped to pull this room together. We now have a whole box of toys for her to play with! I so appreciate the help!

  

Community support feels so great. I will make sure to give back, as well!