I am not being a very good blogger. I dont know whats up with that. I usually think of a million ideas to blog on.. unfortunatly you are getting another "whats goin on with us" blog. and not anything deep.
I am also fired as a foodie wanna be. I have been so lazy this week about cooking. Old standbys and (GASP) food out of a box has been the trend this week.
chicken nuggets (from a box)
instant mashed taters
neckbone bog
green beans
mac and cheese (from a box.. and not even the deluxe kind... Thing Two only likes the powdered kind.. ew? I know.)
15 bean soup
itty bitty baking powder biscuits
Basketti and Meat bulbs
(Translation: Spagetti and meatballs...one of the only "baby word phrases" that remains in Thing Two's vocabulary.. and probably my fault. Its so darn cute I never bothered to correct her. Reminds me of my cousin Joey. He called fig newtons "chewy chewies" and we never corrected him.. he is 20 something and only recently discovered that they are in fact called "newtons")I do make some really yummy meat"bulbs" that have italian sausage in them and the sauce is semi homemade with cruched tomatos and my own herbs and garlic. So thats better than just opening a jar and throwing in some browned turkey burger.
french bread
salad
Cheese grits (this recipe is Paula Dean. It is the BEST grits you will ever have.. ever. They are made with milk and velveeta (only Ms Paula could write VELVEETA into a recipe and still remain a respected chef) and parmessano and you wisk em until your arm falls off.)
sausage
poached eggs (who likes poached eggs anymore? MY KIDS.. wierdos)
dressed out dogs
oven fries
Pretty sad huh? I'll have to see if I can do better next week. I have a craving for some homemade enchiladas...although when I crave mexican I am so tempted to just make some mexican rice and make refried bean burritos with it. I make such a good guacamole that it really seems a waste of time to make the enchiladas when Id be just as happy with a rice burrito.Steven also mentioned a need for some steak. I saw a recipe that called for blue cheese butter to be melted over the top of a grilled steak and He said that it sounded tasty.
In other news we are busy the end of this week at the church.. setting up for the annual "Fall Festival" its a big time and the kids look forward to it all month. Im always glad to see it come along... but then glad to see it go too! Its a big set up and then over so fast. It includes a cake walk and I am still looking for my recipe this year. I set a precident last year with my pumpkin spice cake (I decorated it to look like an actual pumpkin and it sold for $35) So I gotta represent this year so people wont think it was a fluke.
Thing One's great grandma is dying.She has been moved to hospice house in Florence (about 45 miles from here.)Drs didnt expect her to live through the weekend so we rushed up there friday night. But she hung on and we may take a run out there tonight.. maybe. Am I selfish to think that maybe it isnt really my responsibility to get Jasmin back and forth since this is her mother's grandma? Should I have to pay for the gas money and all to run her back and forth since its her mama's people?
I am gearing up for the holidays. Shopping online and looking around.. I admit that I already started my shopping. I dunno if its me loving Christmas OR me loving the cold weather. :)
Monday, October 16, 2006
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
sick
Thing one and I have the flu.. Its a nasty puking flu.. not so much on a fever or anything else.. But nothing wants to stay inside! UGH
I dont think I'll die. At least I dont think so.
I dont think I'll die. At least I dont think so.
Friday, October 06, 2006
martha, pumpkins and death by chocolate
What a great fall day! I loved the weather today. Allllmost chilly and a nice breeze. rainy and dark. Made me light all the candles and snuggle on the couch with the girls who were home today since it was a teacher work day.I have cinnamon sticks simmering on the stove and we plan to have soup and grilled cheese for supper. (wich spells comfort food to me) We were snuggling and watching a movie when Thing One said it was very "Martha Stewart" of me to do one thing or another.(smarta**)
I got to thinking about that, thing is? Those homey simple things that used to be Martha's trademark? They arent any more. Just watch her show! I used to ADORE her shows. I watched the old Marth Stewart Living show over and over in syndication (The first runs were a little before my time)I loved her magazine and all the great easy ideas that were in it. The new martha isnt like that at all. Its all commercialized and Buy This! (on our website martha.com) The show too is so much about hollywood and whatever happens to be going on there. (GAG!) I just cant get into it this season. Especially when I have Rachel Ray to compare to.. love that show. She shows me fun ideas.. but doesnt make me feel inferior. I always feel like Martha is mocking me.. "HA HA! try making THAT sucker!)
This morning on GMA there was a story about the Great Pumpkin Shortage of 2006. (GASP! Shocked? I know!) It was kind of amusing. They used all these graphics and had an on the scene reporter. Seems that the very wet very hot summer didn't grow a very good pumpkin crop this year.. and sellers are having to go as far as.. (get this!) SOUTHERN CANADA to get thier gourds this year!!! (Ohhh my GOD that is a travesty)There was a farmer who told the tale and he was a chocked up.. I suppose if pumpkins were your major cash income for the year it could be a bad thing.. but it did seem a little dramatic to be so torn up over vine rot.
It REALLY seemed over dramatic when it led over the funerals of those poor babies in Amish Country. My heart broke for those Mama's who burried thier little girls today and yesterday. I wished that all the press would just go away and leave them in peace to grieve. Its hard enough to say goodbye to a loved one without having cameras and reporters all over the place. Having girls of my own it hit home hard. No Mother should have to burry her children. I dont understand the wisdom.. and its one of those times when you ask God "why?" Especially innocent little girls.. ones who lived far more innocently than most kids. The forgiveness of the families has been amazing. I cant say that I'd have been so willing to reach out to the family of the man who shot and killed my babies.
I am baking a cake right now for one of my favorite cousins (yeah yeah.. I have favorites.. You do to. get over it) She is turning 27 today and I am making death by chocolate cake for her. Chocolate cake with toffee bits baked into it. Chocolate icing with chocolate chunks and toffee bits in it. Topped with chocolate curls.
YUMM-O! Happy Birthday Tammy!
I got to thinking about that, thing is? Those homey simple things that used to be Martha's trademark? They arent any more. Just watch her show! I used to ADORE her shows. I watched the old Marth Stewart Living show over and over in syndication (The first runs were a little before my time)I loved her magazine and all the great easy ideas that were in it. The new martha isnt like that at all. Its all commercialized and Buy This! (on our website martha.com) The show too is so much about hollywood and whatever happens to be going on there. (GAG!) I just cant get into it this season. Especially when I have Rachel Ray to compare to.. love that show. She shows me fun ideas.. but doesnt make me feel inferior. I always feel like Martha is mocking me.. "HA HA! try making THAT sucker!)
This morning on GMA there was a story about the Great Pumpkin Shortage of 2006. (GASP! Shocked? I know!) It was kind of amusing. They used all these graphics and had an on the scene reporter. Seems that the very wet very hot summer didn't grow a very good pumpkin crop this year.. and sellers are having to go as far as.. (get this!) SOUTHERN CANADA to get thier gourds this year!!! (Ohhh my GOD that is a travesty)There was a farmer who told the tale and he was a chocked up.. I suppose if pumpkins were your major cash income for the year it could be a bad thing.. but it did seem a little dramatic to be so torn up over vine rot.
It REALLY seemed over dramatic when it led over the funerals of those poor babies in Amish Country. My heart broke for those Mama's who burried thier little girls today and yesterday. I wished that all the press would just go away and leave them in peace to grieve. Its hard enough to say goodbye to a loved one without having cameras and reporters all over the place. Having girls of my own it hit home hard. No Mother should have to burry her children. I dont understand the wisdom.. and its one of those times when you ask God "why?" Especially innocent little girls.. ones who lived far more innocently than most kids. The forgiveness of the families has been amazing. I cant say that I'd have been so willing to reach out to the family of the man who shot and killed my babies.
I am baking a cake right now for one of my favorite cousins (yeah yeah.. I have favorites.. You do to. get over it) She is turning 27 today and I am making death by chocolate cake for her. Chocolate cake with toffee bits baked into it. Chocolate icing with chocolate chunks and toffee bits in it. Topped with chocolate curls.
YUMM-O! Happy Birthday Tammy!
Thursday, October 05, 2006
"nobody is feeling me up!!"
No.. that is not an invitation.
Tonights Greys Anatomy was great as usual.. I realize I gush about this show.. I know I know.. yeah yeah yeah get over it.
So the show opens with TAHDAH.. OMG Meredith in bed with BOTH MCDREAMYs. GAH! I hate that girl who gets to be in bed with Patrick Dempsey AND Chris ODonell AND get paid a zillion dollars for it? BLAH... I never get two cute guys in my bed and I change poopy diapers all day. Somewhere I went wrong.
The teaser at the end of the show really left me a little worried. Is Meredith pregnant? I think that this would be a FATAL writing error for them. That particular story line is so old. YICK.
Not to much else is going on. Steven's days off were very concentrated this pay period so he is on a 6 day stretch with no days off.. it sucks. But at least the shifts are varied so he can be really tired all of the time.
Yall know anyone who wants to buy a 1994 chevy lumina with major engine trouble? HA! For now its killing grass in our yard. Im hoping someone will need parts or whatever and we can sell it somehow.. at least get a little cash out of it.
I decorated for Halloween today. SHUT UP.. that is if you have opinions about Halloween as a holiday. Its fun and the kids like it.. and I didnt use any witches. Just tons of pumpkins. I like pumpkins. We are still in discussion about costumes for this year.. ha.. sounds a lot like last year at this time. We vacilated between ideas right up until the night of trick or treat. Thing Two wants to be a "china girl" Im not really that sure what that means.. she wants a red silk dress and her hair "up" and red lipstick. I dont know where I will come up with a red silk dress by then... anyone going to china?
Thing One is thinking about going as "Abbie" from NCIS.. you know all goth and cutsie in fishnets and lots of black. Its only one night and I will keep the sex appeal to a minimum. However, Steven, who has a really unhealthy attraction to the character is all freaked out by it.. (he wants her).. yeah its ok with me. We all gotta dream.. I figure if she ever comes along and wants him? He can have her.. as long as I can have Patrick Dempsey! He says if Thing One dresses as the character he wont be able to look at Abbie as sexy anymore.. Awwww poor baby. But I guess I can try to talk her into something a little less racy..I wouldnt want to de-sexy-ify his dream girl.. because after all.. what would life be if I couldnt imagine that Chris Odonell would bring ME homemade strawberry ice cream in the middle of the night.?
Tonights Greys Anatomy was great as usual.. I realize I gush about this show.. I know I know.. yeah yeah yeah get over it.
So the show opens with TAHDAH.. OMG Meredith in bed with BOTH MCDREAMYs. GAH! I hate that girl who gets to be in bed with Patrick Dempsey AND Chris ODonell AND get paid a zillion dollars for it? BLAH... I never get two cute guys in my bed and I change poopy diapers all day. Somewhere I went wrong.
The teaser at the end of the show really left me a little worried. Is Meredith pregnant? I think that this would be a FATAL writing error for them. That particular story line is so old. YICK.
Not to much else is going on. Steven's days off were very concentrated this pay period so he is on a 6 day stretch with no days off.. it sucks. But at least the shifts are varied so he can be really tired all of the time.
Yall know anyone who wants to buy a 1994 chevy lumina with major engine trouble? HA! For now its killing grass in our yard. Im hoping someone will need parts or whatever and we can sell it somehow.. at least get a little cash out of it.
I decorated for Halloween today. SHUT UP.. that is if you have opinions about Halloween as a holiday. Its fun and the kids like it.. and I didnt use any witches. Just tons of pumpkins. I like pumpkins. We are still in discussion about costumes for this year.. ha.. sounds a lot like last year at this time. We vacilated between ideas right up until the night of trick or treat. Thing Two wants to be a "china girl" Im not really that sure what that means.. she wants a red silk dress and her hair "up" and red lipstick. I dont know where I will come up with a red silk dress by then... anyone going to china?
Thing One is thinking about going as "Abbie" from NCIS.. you know all goth and cutsie in fishnets and lots of black. Its only one night and I will keep the sex appeal to a minimum. However, Steven, who has a really unhealthy attraction to the character is all freaked out by it.. (he wants her).. yeah its ok with me. We all gotta dream.. I figure if she ever comes along and wants him? He can have her.. as long as I can have Patrick Dempsey! He says if Thing One dresses as the character he wont be able to look at Abbie as sexy anymore.. Awwww poor baby. But I guess I can try to talk her into something a little less racy..I wouldnt want to de-sexy-ify his dream girl.. because after all.. what would life be if I couldnt imagine that Chris Odonell would bring ME homemade strawberry ice cream in the middle of the night.?
The man at Bethesda.
Lately I have heard a few sermons on the man at Bethesda. You know the story.
In case you dont here is a synopsis. There is a guy. He is badly malformed, paralyzed somehow. He has been for most of his life. In his town there is a pool, a pond or small lake with a spring that is famed to heal people. The legend says that once in a while the water would begin to swirl, this was believed to be caused by angels, or God or whatever, but the first person in the pool when this occured was legend to be healed.
He believed he could be healed by the water, and sat by the pool for 38 years. (GAH! thats a long time) But when Jesus came to him and asked him why he had not been healed he said " I dont have anyone to put me into the water when the water stirs" Jesus just said. "Take up your bed and walk"
The messages Ive heard (three different preachers, three different sermons Think someone is trying to say something to me?) Have been not about the miracle, but making excuses. Jesus asked the man. Why havent you recieved your miracle. And the man handed him an excuse. Granted it was pretty valid. But how many of us dont have a valid excuse for not recieving our miracle? Do we like to lay in our filth and revel in our pain? Do we enjoy blaming, god, or whomever else for whatever we happen to be going through? Maybe.
Sometimes things cant be helped. They happen. Bad things do. Its the nature of life. Stuff breaks, people die, and $7000 mistakes get made on tax returns (ugh) A theme in my life lately is the way that I deal with my problem. Do I accept my situation and move on? Or do I sit on my bed and make excuses as to why things cant get better or resolve?
A friend recently said this.
Got a problem? Pray about it. Now go play.
In case you dont here is a synopsis. There is a guy. He is badly malformed, paralyzed somehow. He has been for most of his life. In his town there is a pool, a pond or small lake with a spring that is famed to heal people. The legend says that once in a while the water would begin to swirl, this was believed to be caused by angels, or God or whatever, but the first person in the pool when this occured was legend to be healed.
He believed he could be healed by the water, and sat by the pool for 38 years. (GAH! thats a long time) But when Jesus came to him and asked him why he had not been healed he said " I dont have anyone to put me into the water when the water stirs" Jesus just said. "Take up your bed and walk"
The messages Ive heard (three different preachers, three different sermons Think someone is trying to say something to me?) Have been not about the miracle, but making excuses. Jesus asked the man. Why havent you recieved your miracle. And the man handed him an excuse. Granted it was pretty valid. But how many of us dont have a valid excuse for not recieving our miracle? Do we like to lay in our filth and revel in our pain? Do we enjoy blaming, god, or whomever else for whatever we happen to be going through? Maybe.
Sometimes things cant be helped. They happen. Bad things do. Its the nature of life. Stuff breaks, people die, and $7000 mistakes get made on tax returns (ugh) A theme in my life lately is the way that I deal with my problem. Do I accept my situation and move on? Or do I sit on my bed and make excuses as to why things cant get better or resolve?
A friend recently said this.
Got a problem? Pray about it. Now go play.
The white load
I got a silly little meme today and it asked. If you could obliterate one and only one household chore, what would it be and why?
Easy. The white load
I dont mind washing other loads.Jeans, Darks, colors, lights... but that one load that goes in with HOT water and bleach and is full of the most nasty parts of laundry? I hate it.In fact I hate the whites so much I usually save them for last to wash.. more often than not I lose interest in or run out of time for washing clothes and they go back into the hamper a couple times.. until steven threatens to turn his underwear inside out to wear a second time.Backwards right? Youd think Id want them to get done first and out of the way...
There are a lot of reasons why I hate doing whites First, I have to actually separate them. They are all usually inside out and wierd. Steven pulls his socks off in a way that one sock ends up inside out inside the other sock. They must be separated otherwise the inside sock is still dirty and they never dry all the way. Then, the smell. I do not care for the smell of bleach. EW. Its yuk.I also hate hate folding that particular load of clothes. There are also all those unmentionables belonging to my husband. I hate folding tighty whities. They dont have a good shape that folds easily and SOCKS. I hate to match socks. Mostly I have illiminated our sock matching problem. Steven has tiny pygme feet so he wears womens socks (this in no way threatens his manhood thank god) Thing One has really really impossibly huge feet (for an 11 yr old) and I am somewhere in the middle. SO I buy the same kind of socks for all three of us. White socks with no indentifying markings (like grey toes and heels.. or that weirdo pink stripe accros the toe) All the socks match with no problem now. Thing Two has hers.. but they are all also white. There is almost always one lone leftover sock without a mate.. but for the most part they match up easily..
But I still hate it.
Easy. The white load
I dont mind washing other loads.Jeans, Darks, colors, lights... but that one load that goes in with HOT water and bleach and is full of the most nasty parts of laundry? I hate it.In fact I hate the whites so much I usually save them for last to wash.. more often than not I lose interest in or run out of time for washing clothes and they go back into the hamper a couple times.. until steven threatens to turn his underwear inside out to wear a second time.Backwards right? Youd think Id want them to get done first and out of the way...
There are a lot of reasons why I hate doing whites First, I have to actually separate them. They are all usually inside out and wierd. Steven pulls his socks off in a way that one sock ends up inside out inside the other sock. They must be separated otherwise the inside sock is still dirty and they never dry all the way. Then, the smell. I do not care for the smell of bleach. EW. Its yuk.I also hate hate folding that particular load of clothes. There are also all those unmentionables belonging to my husband. I hate folding tighty whities. They dont have a good shape that folds easily and SOCKS. I hate to match socks. Mostly I have illiminated our sock matching problem. Steven has tiny pygme feet so he wears womens socks (this in no way threatens his manhood thank god) Thing One has really really impossibly huge feet (for an 11 yr old) and I am somewhere in the middle. SO I buy the same kind of socks for all three of us. White socks with no indentifying markings (like grey toes and heels.. or that weirdo pink stripe accros the toe) All the socks match with no problem now. Thing Two has hers.. but they are all also white. There is almost always one lone leftover sock without a mate.. but for the most part they match up easily..
But I still hate it.
"What does this mean Meredith?"
Tonight was the season premiere of my most favorite show in the telesphere. ( telesphere: everything that is on television.. a word I heard on MSNBC this morning. YAY ME)
Grey's Anatomy is all new tonight. Sexy, smart with just a little bit of medical stuff to keep me interested. The characters are intense, but they seem real, like this stuff could actually happen to some medical interns in Seattle. It also leaves me thinking all the time.love that.
Basically it was great and everything that I expect out of the show We were left with a couple cliffhangers last season and with the death of a major character. I think had we had to wait all summer to know that he died.. I would have been really really mad.
One thing bothers me though. She slept with him.. HE IS MARRIED.. yet she did it. Before she knew he was married it wasnt like that.. she didnt know.. it was only adulterous on his part .She was all pissed at him for it.. But NOW? She is as bad as he was. She did to addison what Addison did to Derek. BLARGH. Does that make it ok? nah.
In the end she is still between her two beaus.. what a hard life eh? hmmm Should I do Patrick Dempsey or Chris Odonnell?
Grey's Anatomy is all new tonight. Sexy, smart with just a little bit of medical stuff to keep me interested. The characters are intense, but they seem real, like this stuff could actually happen to some medical interns in Seattle. It also leaves me thinking all the time.love that.
Basically it was great and everything that I expect out of the show We were left with a couple cliffhangers last season and with the death of a major character. I think had we had to wait all summer to know that he died.. I would have been really really mad.
One thing bothers me though. She slept with him.. HE IS MARRIED.. yet she did it. Before she knew he was married it wasnt like that.. she didnt know.. it was only adulterous on his part .She was all pissed at him for it.. But NOW? She is as bad as he was. She did to addison what Addison did to Derek. BLARGH. Does that make it ok? nah.
In the end she is still between her two beaus.. what a hard life eh? hmmm Should I do Patrick Dempsey or Chris Odonnell?
I am a stupidhead
Today someone asked me why I hadnt blogged recently.. and I said. "uhhh I have.. in fact often.. well pretty often anyway" When I logged onto my computer I realized that I am a dork. I have been blogging and then putting them into a "post later" folder. Stupdhead.
So.. today you will get what will seem like a whole lot of blather from me.. but wont seem so much when you realize that it is over a weeks worth of thoughts.uhhh enjoy
So.. today you will get what will seem like a whole lot of blather from me.. but wont seem so much when you realize that it is over a weeks worth of thoughts.uhhh enjoy
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
And another thing...
This month is the one year anniversary of my blog.. I took some time off here and there. But there is a pretty good year of archives to read.. This year has been kind of rough... Weve been through a lot.. but we are in such a good place now. Things arent all smooth and yeah there are so many things that are still floating around wild and willy nilly. But mentally I am in such a great place.
We have kind of a major thing going on.. a possibility of a MAJOR life change for us in the next few months.Im trying not to invest to much into it emotionally, and get excited over nothing, but its a distant possibility. I cant really go into details yet, but when I can, I promise to share.
This is premire week for television. I have enjoyed the season premiers of CSI NY and CSI Miami. As well as for Two and a half Men. (funny stuff) and Tonight watched the opener of "dangerous minds". Mostly though I am looking forward to tommorow night and the return of Grey's Anatomy.(YEAH!)
As far as new stuff there isnt much I am happy about. I dont assume I'll be watching "SMITH" or "Jericho" I dont like all that dramatic stuff.. I didnt get into LOST and I am assuming that Jericho will be a lot like that kind of show. Nah.. no thanks.One new thing that I am LOVING is the new Rachel Ray talk show. She is a taaaad hyper for 9 am, but I am adjusting. That girl is just to darn happy all the time.. maybe thats the reason I like her. She reminds me of my friend Michelle McGarity.
I dont care to much for Katie Couric on the evening news... I havent really weighed in on the change yet. I wanted to give her a chance.. heck yay for the gals I say, you know? But I cant take her seriously. I miss grandpa news. Old guys who know what they are talking about... well Im sure.. actually positive that Katie more than knows what she is talking about. But I want an old guy in a suit. I want a Papa to tell me about Iraq and plane crashes...a Grandaddy to be strong when bad things happen. Katie just doesnt hold the reassurance in her voice that I need when things are going wrong.
Charlie Gibson is still kinda fresh from Good Morning America but he is growing on me.I actually LOVED him on that show. I still prefer it to the other morning shows..but I miss the chemistry between Dianne Sawyer, Robin Roberts and Charlie Gibson. The today show was OK before, but I HATE Meridith Vierra... She is sarcstic and way way to liberal. I hated her on The View (Actually I hate the whole show...and they didnt make it any better for me by adding Rosie Odonnell... whom I LOVED on her talk show..but have found her less and less appealing as I grow older and more conservative.. Her being a lesbian having NOTHING to do with it. I just dont care to listen to people who feel obligated to spew thier convictions and condenm others for thiers all the time... liberal OR conservative. She can have hers.. I can have mine. We can keep them to ourselves and talk about shoes and handbags and recipes and have a great time.. Yeah, we can ALL be Rachel Ray and the world would be SOOO much better.
We have kind of a major thing going on.. a possibility of a MAJOR life change for us in the next few months.Im trying not to invest to much into it emotionally, and get excited over nothing, but its a distant possibility. I cant really go into details yet, but when I can, I promise to share.
This is premire week for television. I have enjoyed the season premiers of CSI NY and CSI Miami. As well as for Two and a half Men. (funny stuff) and Tonight watched the opener of "dangerous minds". Mostly though I am looking forward to tommorow night and the return of Grey's Anatomy.(YEAH!)
As far as new stuff there isnt much I am happy about. I dont assume I'll be watching "SMITH" or "Jericho" I dont like all that dramatic stuff.. I didnt get into LOST and I am assuming that Jericho will be a lot like that kind of show. Nah.. no thanks.One new thing that I am LOVING is the new Rachel Ray talk show. She is a taaaad hyper for 9 am, but I am adjusting. That girl is just to darn happy all the time.. maybe thats the reason I like her. She reminds me of my friend Michelle McGarity.
I dont care to much for Katie Couric on the evening news... I havent really weighed in on the change yet. I wanted to give her a chance.. heck yay for the gals I say, you know? But I cant take her seriously. I miss grandpa news. Old guys who know what they are talking about... well Im sure.. actually positive that Katie more than knows what she is talking about. But I want an old guy in a suit. I want a Papa to tell me about Iraq and plane crashes...a Grandaddy to be strong when bad things happen. Katie just doesnt hold the reassurance in her voice that I need when things are going wrong.
Charlie Gibson is still kinda fresh from Good Morning America but he is growing on me.I actually LOVED him on that show. I still prefer it to the other morning shows..but I miss the chemistry between Dianne Sawyer, Robin Roberts and Charlie Gibson. The today show was OK before, but I HATE Meridith Vierra... She is sarcstic and way way to liberal. I hated her on The View (Actually I hate the whole show...and they didnt make it any better for me by adding Rosie Odonnell... whom I LOVED on her talk show..but have found her less and less appealing as I grow older and more conservative.. Her being a lesbian having NOTHING to do with it. I just dont care to listen to people who feel obligated to spew thier convictions and condenm others for thiers all the time... liberal OR conservative. She can have hers.. I can have mine. We can keep them to ourselves and talk about shoes and handbags and recipes and have a great time.. Yeah, we can ALL be Rachel Ray and the world would be SOOO much better.
Friday, September 15, 2006
lean into the wind
We recently got satalite tv. Its an extravagance we never justified before now, but we figured we never go out, we spend a lot of time at home (especially me) so it was an expense that would be worth it. Since then we have watched a LOT of weirdness on tv..You cant imagine some of the pointless junk they put on television. You just cant look away.. its like a train wreck, you dont want to look, but you do.
The other day, when I should have been doing something constructive,I was watching a sailboat race of some kind. Some wierdo documentary about these guys who raced accross the Atlantic.Two teams were racing against eachother, and the time of another team who had completed the race another time for a world record. Things went well until there was a storm. A really really big bad one.
So you have team one and team two. Team one is floudering, so is team two. Seems like things are not going to turn out well for either team. They are bickering and fighting amoungst eachother and cant seem to get together on how to fight the storm and still make headway.Both teams head for safe harbor, drop anchor and batten down to ride out the storm stationary.Team one burries themselves in thier bunks and goes to sleep. Crying over thier loses and bitter over the circumstance.
Then team two makes a decision, They lean into the wind. The storm isnt blowing in the direction that they need to go, and they will surely lose time on the world record, and likely team one. The wind isnt sending them in the direction they THINK they need to go. But the yeild to the wind and follow it. They are flying at an AMAZING breakneck speed..wild and unsure but trusting in the strength of thier mast and in a direction they did not plan. They assume the race lost and resolve to just survive the storm.
Eventually they outrun the storm. They harness the wind of the hurricane to blow them ahead of it. Out of harms way they make thier way to the finish line. They are whole and unbroken revived by the new wind. They win the race beating the world record by hours and team one by 12 hours.. the 12 hours that they leaned into the storm. Team one finished... barely... broken, bitter, and battered by the storm.
The documentary struck me as ironic. How much are we like the sailboats? How often, when storms blow do we feel like dropping anchor and going to bed? What if we leaned into the wind? What if we allowed our storms to blow us in directions we didnt plan for? It might seem like the hurricane might sink us, and that we'd rather stay in safe harbor and venture out when things look safe. But what if we trusted the strength of the mast??
Lately it has seemed like my storm might break the ship apart. One storm after the other rocking my boat. "Such is life" they say.. Its all storms and trials.. but I guess its more how you weather them. How you deal with the problem that makes your life easier or harder.I was never promised calm seas. I wasnt even promised favorable winds. But what I was promised was that if I trusted the strength of the mast? Id make it to the end of the race in one piece.. possibly broken, possibly battered. But comepletely whole.
The other day, when I should have been doing something constructive,I was watching a sailboat race of some kind. Some wierdo documentary about these guys who raced accross the Atlantic.Two teams were racing against eachother, and the time of another team who had completed the race another time for a world record. Things went well until there was a storm. A really really big bad one.
So you have team one and team two. Team one is floudering, so is team two. Seems like things are not going to turn out well for either team. They are bickering and fighting amoungst eachother and cant seem to get together on how to fight the storm and still make headway.Both teams head for safe harbor, drop anchor and batten down to ride out the storm stationary.Team one burries themselves in thier bunks and goes to sleep. Crying over thier loses and bitter over the circumstance.
Then team two makes a decision, They lean into the wind. The storm isnt blowing in the direction that they need to go, and they will surely lose time on the world record, and likely team one. The wind isnt sending them in the direction they THINK they need to go. But the yeild to the wind and follow it. They are flying at an AMAZING breakneck speed..wild and unsure but trusting in the strength of thier mast and in a direction they did not plan. They assume the race lost and resolve to just survive the storm.
Eventually they outrun the storm. They harness the wind of the hurricane to blow them ahead of it. Out of harms way they make thier way to the finish line. They are whole and unbroken revived by the new wind. They win the race beating the world record by hours and team one by 12 hours.. the 12 hours that they leaned into the storm. Team one finished... barely... broken, bitter, and battered by the storm.
The documentary struck me as ironic. How much are we like the sailboats? How often, when storms blow do we feel like dropping anchor and going to bed? What if we leaned into the wind? What if we allowed our storms to blow us in directions we didnt plan for? It might seem like the hurricane might sink us, and that we'd rather stay in safe harbor and venture out when things look safe. But what if we trusted the strength of the mast??
Lately it has seemed like my storm might break the ship apart. One storm after the other rocking my boat. "Such is life" they say.. Its all storms and trials.. but I guess its more how you weather them. How you deal with the problem that makes your life easier or harder.I was never promised calm seas. I wasnt even promised favorable winds. But what I was promised was that if I trusted the strength of the mast? Id make it to the end of the race in one piece.. possibly broken, possibly battered. But comepletely whole.
Monday, September 11, 2006
We wont forget.
Today is the 5 year anniversary of the loss of 2973 americans. People like you and me who were just doing thier jobs.. making the coffee.. checking email.. making weekend plans...being a hero. All of them, just gone. I am listening to the loved ones of those we lost read the names at ground zero as I write this.I cant imagine the loss and pain this past 5 years has held for them. They gave up so much, just so someone who was angry could express thier madness.Steven just called, on his way to work, and left a message on our internet answering machine. Just everyday stuff, "I put this much money in the bank, I filled up the car... I love you, and I'll see you tonight." Usually I listen to the message and then erase it. But today... I think I'll leave it. How many wives did the same thing five years ago today?
I am watching President Bush stand bravely at the pentagon and listen. As much as he has been a disapointment. This is one instance where I am glad that he was there that day... and responded with words that still make me proud of him... even if living up to the promises he has been harder than even he imagined.
Tonight I plan to make a nice dinner and hold my kids till bedtime and to look at Steven with the eyes of a woman who lost her husband on a september morning five years ago.
I am watching President Bush stand bravely at the pentagon and listen. As much as he has been a disapointment. This is one instance where I am glad that he was there that day... and responded with words that still make me proud of him... even if living up to the promises he has been harder than even he imagined.
Tonight I plan to make a nice dinner and hold my kids till bedtime and to look at Steven with the eyes of a woman who lost her husband on a september morning five years ago.
Friday, September 08, 2006
This is our master bedroom. Pretty girly huh? Steven deals with it. I love the purple flowers above the bed. They were part of the trellis decoration at our wedding reception. The paint color on the wall looks more orange-y in the pictures but it matches the pink/salmon color in the bedspread exactly!
Roasted Pork Loin
I got a really great deal on some really fresh pork loin and some muchrooms yesterday and this is what I did with it... I entered this particular recipe in a "Make it with Mushrooms" contest for the mushroom council of America (I didnt actually know there was a MCA before yesterday)when I was looking up the name of the mushrooms I had bought... They were BUTTON mushrooms... tasty.
Funny story about this recipe.. it has white wine in it. Every few months I have to buy a bottle of red and a bottle of white wine.I freeze it in ice cube trays and store it for cooking in the freezer.As I dont drink generally, and as I live in a really small town where everybody knows everybody else, its interesting to actually BUY the wine. I go to a conservative church and since I am involved in ministry it is especially sticky... so anyway yesterday I was in the wine aisle at our grocery store (Id really LIKE to get my wine from a real wine shop.. but GAH! Try explaining THAT to sister Bertha better-than-you!)I was deciding between an Australian white and something random from California (never cook with wine that wouldnt taste good to drink, luckily our local Bi-lo has a pretty good selection as far as my budget goes) and round the corner? You guessed it. I looked like a guilty little kid... I stammered something like.. "hellosisterberthahowareyou?I ambuyingthiswinetogoinarecipeIamtryingtonightallthealcoholcooksoutIpromise" She just kinda stood there looking at me.... and I noticed her hand slowly moving into her cart..to sneakily cover something up. And then I saw it. A six pack of winecoolers. I had to giggle to myself.
Here is my recipe entry.
2 lb pork loin trimmed of excess fat
1 cup white wine
1/2 cup olive oil
1 tsp dried rosemary
3 or 4 garlic cloves minced
salt and pepper
1 lb mushrooms cleaned and cut in half
1 large onion sliced thinly
In a bowl combine wine,olive oil,rosemary and garlic. Salt and pepper the pork and place inside a roasting bag. Place onion and mushrooms over and around the pork and let rest in refrigerator at least one hour.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake pork loin for 35-45 minutes.
remove pork and vegtables. Strain drippings and thicken with flour and water until gravy consistency. Serve over potatoes.
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
rapidfire
I havent really felt much like blogging lately. Just a lot of BLARGH! going on. Here is a rapidfure update of junk and whatever.
1. Things One and Two were sick over the weekend. Some mystery wierdness. Fever,sore throat and tummy ache. It went as mysteriously as it came. Both are right as rain today. hmmmm
2. Our waterheater finally gave up the ghost last week. Saturday we purchased another one. Monday my Dad, my cousin, and my husband went to war with it, won, and it was installed. After some fine tuning and reversing all of the connections.. we turned it on? The heating element is bad in our BRAND SPANKING NEW GE WATERHEATER. GAH! *&%&^$*^(*^$%%#$%@$&^(!!!!!!!!! Of course I didnt use the actual bad language.. but it came close. Its been a week since I have had reliable running water.. and even longer since my house was normal.
3. I am SO sad over the loss of Croc Hunter Steve Irwin. We all realize that in the back of our minds we are all thinking. "Umm yeah.. Im not surprised that a wild animal killed him" But still. He has little kids, and he was an amazing advocate for the animal kingdom. We lost a good guy Sunday.
4. Recently our Sr Pastor resigned when he was promoted to be the overseer of the Northwest Region in the Church of God. This Sunday a vote was made and Bishop Joe Grice from Columbia was elected as our new shepheard. I am pretty happy with the selection. Since Things One and Two were ill, I was not there to make the vote, but Id have agreed had I been there. Pastor Joe had formerly been a member of the staff at Dillon Church of God, so he is not a stranger, and will make a good leader.
5.I am making Tortilla soup this week. I saw several chefs make it this week on FN and Im going to try it on my family. Kinda a dumbed down version, since no one here eats many onions or ANY peppers. I might make my very own little pot of it with all the yummy veggies in it. Other menu items this week include meatloaf and augrautin potatoes, with sauteed cabbage and beet salad, breakfast casserole and homemade sourdough toast, baked pesto pene with grilled chicken, and dressed out hot dogs with curly fries.Want some?
Did I miss anything?
1. Things One and Two were sick over the weekend. Some mystery wierdness. Fever,sore throat and tummy ache. It went as mysteriously as it came. Both are right as rain today. hmmmm
2. Our waterheater finally gave up the ghost last week. Saturday we purchased another one. Monday my Dad, my cousin, and my husband went to war with it, won, and it was installed. After some fine tuning and reversing all of the connections.. we turned it on? The heating element is bad in our BRAND SPANKING NEW GE WATERHEATER. GAH! *&%&^$*^(*^$%%#$%@$&^(!!!!!!!!! Of course I didnt use the actual bad language.. but it came close. Its been a week since I have had reliable running water.. and even longer since my house was normal.
3. I am SO sad over the loss of Croc Hunter Steve Irwin. We all realize that in the back of our minds we are all thinking. "Umm yeah.. Im not surprised that a wild animal killed him" But still. He has little kids, and he was an amazing advocate for the animal kingdom. We lost a good guy Sunday.
4. Recently our Sr Pastor resigned when he was promoted to be the overseer of the Northwest Region in the Church of God. This Sunday a vote was made and Bishop Joe Grice from Columbia was elected as our new shepheard. I am pretty happy with the selection. Since Things One and Two were ill, I was not there to make the vote, but Id have agreed had I been there. Pastor Joe had formerly been a member of the staff at Dillon Church of God, so he is not a stranger, and will make a good leader.
5.I am making Tortilla soup this week. I saw several chefs make it this week on FN and Im going to try it on my family. Kinda a dumbed down version, since no one here eats many onions or ANY peppers. I might make my very own little pot of it with all the yummy veggies in it. Other menu items this week include meatloaf and augrautin potatoes, with sauteed cabbage and beet salad, breakfast casserole and homemade sourdough toast, baked pesto pene with grilled chicken, and dressed out hot dogs with curly fries.Want some?
Did I miss anything?
Friday, September 01, 2006
Bloggy Parade of homes bathrooms!
In this weeks parade of homes we are showcasing our bathrooms.This is our master bath and I didnt realize it, but photographing a bathroom that size (teensie tinesie) is quite difficult. The angles dont allow for any sort of continuity. You cant tell that my theme really flows and it isnt so odd. I like our bathroom. The theme is dragonflies and I have had fun collecting them. I love the mosiac picture frames on the back of the toilet.. although I have yet to find an appropriate picture to go in them.. whos face do you put on the back of the pooper?
The other mosiac things I have in there are the garden stepping stones. I know they belong in the garden, but they were so cute I threw them up on the wall.
Cant wait to see how everyone else managed to photograph thier bathroom!
Thursday, August 31, 2006
fun meme
In order to keep my blogg from sucking your will to live :) I am going to perk up some.
I saw this meme on www.kaylynskitchen.blogspot.com and thought it was pretty neat. Id love to hear about your favorite MUST have foods. SO.. respond suckers!
give me a list of five of your most favorite food memories.. or your favorite foods in the world, I mean special foods that you go back to again and again.The eye rolling tummy rubbers..
Here are mine
1.King Crab... no, not just any king Crab. One summer I dated a proffesional fisherman on and off (in those days I dated a LOT of guys on and off)... in Alaska thats not a hard thing to come by.He often went to sea for days and days at a time and one day he called me out of the blue and said for me to drop whatever I was doing,grab some girlfriends and buy a case of Alaskan Pale Ale (a really yummy and VERY popular micro brew)some butter and a few pounds of lemons and get my butt to Homer. Homer is a fishing town on the Kenai Peninsula of Alaska about 3-4 hours away from where I grew up. So being me ;> I was game. When I arrived on the beach there was a crowd of fishermen, and a huge bonfire.. on the bonfire were these giant pots of boiling water.. beside the pots were these orange garbage bags.. full of live Alaskan King Crabs. I swear I have never tasted better crab.. really better than anything I have ever tasted. It is litterally not possible to have fresher seafood. mmm mmm
2. Red Robin Buzzard wings.
Red Robin is a gourmet burger chain. I worked there when I was in college. They have this wing sauce that is SO good. I mean it is absolute perfection. There are things in there that I still cant figure out. Even better than on wings? They have chicken strips called "clucks" and you can have em tossed in the sauce. Then you dip them in the amazing cucumber ranch dressing they have? YUM
3. Phad Thai, Yellow curry over Jasmine rice,spring rolls and Thai iced tea from a genuine thai resturant
I know to those of you from more metropolitan areas this might seem less desireable. BUT we dont have a thai resturant. Not one.. not for 75 miles.. or even anywhere close.. Ive been craving it for 5 years. The person that takes me to a REAL thai resturant and not just a chinese place that has a few thai items on the menu would be my friend for life. Pad Thai is a rice noodle dish with chicken and shrimp, spring rolls are like super crispy egg rolls made on really thin wrappers. and yellow curry is curry made with coconut milk and chicken and potatos. Thai iced tea is a spicy creamy tea made with sweetened condensed milk.
4. Guidos Super Sub
In anchorage there is a pizza place that makes a calzone/sandwich that is sooo yummy. It has ham,turkey,pastrami, bacon, lettuce, tomato, onion, mustard, mayo and all kinds of good stuff... I havent had one in 5 years. We used to order them for delivery on friday nights when I was a kid and all sit around and watch tv together.
5 Basically anything I ate in Italy wood oven Roman pizza, tuna in olive oil on italian bread.. fresh olives, cheese, gelato,tirimisu, I honestly cant remember eating anything I didnt love,
But most memorably Fish Florentine...
I have had in several resturants including in Florence Italy. It was so perfect and fresh and makes me shiver when I eat itIf its on the menu? I want it. It is a simple sole or cod filet stuffed with spinach, bread crumbs, shrimp..usually parmessno depending on the place and then cooked in some kind of lemon garlic white wine sauce. Usually served with some kind of pasta here in America.. I think it came with potatoes of some sort in Italy. I love basically anything cooked in lemon white wine garlic sauce.
sooo what are your faves?
I saw this meme on www.kaylynskitchen.blogspot.com and thought it was pretty neat. Id love to hear about your favorite MUST have foods. SO.. respond suckers!
give me a list of five of your most favorite food memories.. or your favorite foods in the world, I mean special foods that you go back to again and again.The eye rolling tummy rubbers..
Here are mine
1.King Crab... no, not just any king Crab. One summer I dated a proffesional fisherman on and off (in those days I dated a LOT of guys on and off)... in Alaska thats not a hard thing to come by.He often went to sea for days and days at a time and one day he called me out of the blue and said for me to drop whatever I was doing,grab some girlfriends and buy a case of Alaskan Pale Ale (a really yummy and VERY popular micro brew)some butter and a few pounds of lemons and get my butt to Homer. Homer is a fishing town on the Kenai Peninsula of Alaska about 3-4 hours away from where I grew up. So being me ;> I was game. When I arrived on the beach there was a crowd of fishermen, and a huge bonfire.. on the bonfire were these giant pots of boiling water.. beside the pots were these orange garbage bags.. full of live Alaskan King Crabs. I swear I have never tasted better crab.. really better than anything I have ever tasted. It is litterally not possible to have fresher seafood. mmm mmm
2. Red Robin Buzzard wings.
Red Robin is a gourmet burger chain. I worked there when I was in college. They have this wing sauce that is SO good. I mean it is absolute perfection. There are things in there that I still cant figure out. Even better than on wings? They have chicken strips called "clucks" and you can have em tossed in the sauce. Then you dip them in the amazing cucumber ranch dressing they have? YUM
3. Phad Thai, Yellow curry over Jasmine rice,spring rolls and Thai iced tea from a genuine thai resturant
I know to those of you from more metropolitan areas this might seem less desireable. BUT we dont have a thai resturant. Not one.. not for 75 miles.. or even anywhere close.. Ive been craving it for 5 years. The person that takes me to a REAL thai resturant and not just a chinese place that has a few thai items on the menu would be my friend for life. Pad Thai is a rice noodle dish with chicken and shrimp, spring rolls are like super crispy egg rolls made on really thin wrappers. and yellow curry is curry made with coconut milk and chicken and potatos. Thai iced tea is a spicy creamy tea made with sweetened condensed milk.
4. Guidos Super Sub
In anchorage there is a pizza place that makes a calzone/sandwich that is sooo yummy. It has ham,turkey,pastrami, bacon, lettuce, tomato, onion, mustard, mayo and all kinds of good stuff... I havent had one in 5 years. We used to order them for delivery on friday nights when I was a kid and all sit around and watch tv together.
5 Basically anything I ate in Italy wood oven Roman pizza, tuna in olive oil on italian bread.. fresh olives, cheese, gelato,tirimisu, I honestly cant remember eating anything I didnt love,
But most memorably Fish Florentine...
I have had in several resturants including in Florence Italy. It was so perfect and fresh and makes me shiver when I eat itIf its on the menu? I want it. It is a simple sole or cod filet stuffed with spinach, bread crumbs, shrimp..usually parmessno depending on the place and then cooked in some kind of lemon garlic white wine sauce. Usually served with some kind of pasta here in America.. I think it came with potatoes of some sort in Italy. I love basically anything cooked in lemon white wine garlic sauce.
sooo what are your faves?
Oh no Earnesto!
Here he comes! It has been raining cats and dogs here all day long. The wind is picking up and we are snuggling down here at Casa De Lane to weather the storm. We likely wont see much more action than what we are seeing now, but it sure is making for a messy day.
I am still having a hard time over the loss of our dog. I am not usually an overly emotional person, so this is new for me. I cant identify if I am mourning the loss of Jakey or the trauma of seeing what happened.. the pain of it for my Dad or what. Every time I close my eyes I see his happy little face..and then the scene of his death, and I cry.I keep telling myself to suck it up.. its just a dog.. puppies die.. things happen, its the way of nature. But it isnt helping. Im still so incredibly sad over it.
Things One and Two dealt SO well with it. Only a few tears from Thing Two..and that
surprisingly was over the loss of BOTH the dogs.. she felt compassion for Taynus.. the one who commited the crime. I was shocked, when my 6 yr old could feel such compassion, And I? punched him in the skull and ordered his execution.She is an incredible little kid. Thing One is stoic about such things. I remember when she was about 6 and her great grandad died. She tilted her head to one side and said "ohh thats too bad" or something equally as unemotional. A year later when Steven's Grandmother,someone Thing One had been very close to,died very suddenly she barely shed a tear. She is just more internal than most.
In other news about Thing Two, I am a little worried about her. She has something called "selective mutism" wich is basically a fancy term for "really really shy in certain situations" And it is getting worse.
It is debilatating for her in some situations. She clams up when men speak to her (and I know the first inclination would be to ask Who messed with her? She has rarely been out of my sight.. as a victim of abuse in my childhood (a teacher) It doesnt play out like that) and she REALLY freaks out over situations where she will be in a crowd or loud noise. Im trying to think of a way to deal with it, and to help her be more approachable by loved ones. Any advice?
I am still having a hard time over the loss of our dog. I am not usually an overly emotional person, so this is new for me. I cant identify if I am mourning the loss of Jakey or the trauma of seeing what happened.. the pain of it for my Dad or what. Every time I close my eyes I see his happy little face..and then the scene of his death, and I cry.I keep telling myself to suck it up.. its just a dog.. puppies die.. things happen, its the way of nature. But it isnt helping. Im still so incredibly sad over it.
Things One and Two dealt SO well with it. Only a few tears from Thing Two..and that
surprisingly was over the loss of BOTH the dogs.. she felt compassion for Taynus.. the one who commited the crime. I was shocked, when my 6 yr old could feel such compassion, And I? punched him in the skull and ordered his execution.She is an incredible little kid. Thing One is stoic about such things. I remember when she was about 6 and her great grandad died. She tilted her head to one side and said "ohh thats too bad" or something equally as unemotional. A year later when Steven's Grandmother,someone Thing One had been very close to,died very suddenly she barely shed a tear. She is just more internal than most.
In other news about Thing Two, I am a little worried about her. She has something called "selective mutism" wich is basically a fancy term for "really really shy in certain situations" And it is getting worse.
It is debilatating for her in some situations. She clams up when men speak to her (and I know the first inclination would be to ask Who messed with her? She has rarely been out of my sight.. as a victim of abuse in my childhood (a teacher) It doesnt play out like that) and she REALLY freaks out over situations where she will be in a crowd or loud noise. Im trying to think of a way to deal with it, and to help her be more approachable by loved ones. Any advice?
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
RIP little buddy
I barely have words. My heart is breaking...
We lost our little Jake puppy today.I find it very ironic that I just posted his little pug face here a few days ago. He escaped his fenced yard and our guard dog killed him. We had been calling and calling him all morning,looking and looking and somehow he snuck by me,behind the house and tangled with the german shephard.I screamed and punched him so hard I sprained my wrist.I pulled him out of his doghouse and just blindly beat at him ... in horror at what he had done and in grief of losing our friend.I didnt do much damage to the great brute, but I wanted to kill him.... I still do...and he wont survive the day. When Steven comes home he will go wherever bad mean dogs go.
I'll have to tell the babies this afternoon... worse, my Dad who is at work, will have to be told. Jake was his good best friend. They walked and talked and played together every single day. Daddy had taught him some little tricks and Jake pined for him whenever he was gone from the house.Just last night we shared ice cream with him and he played with the kids..."speaking" for his share of the goodies. Going through his repetoire without being told in hopes of a scoop. I am having a hard time imagining our evenings without him.
I called my uncle to come take care of him.. so Daddy wouldnt have to... He burried him in our pet cemetary near the garden where he can hear the kids playing...and he can be close to my Dad.
We lost our little Jake puppy today.I find it very ironic that I just posted his little pug face here a few days ago. He escaped his fenced yard and our guard dog killed him. We had been calling and calling him all morning,looking and looking and somehow he snuck by me,behind the house and tangled with the german shephard.I screamed and punched him so hard I sprained my wrist.I pulled him out of his doghouse and just blindly beat at him ... in horror at what he had done and in grief of losing our friend.I didnt do much damage to the great brute, but I wanted to kill him.... I still do...and he wont survive the day. When Steven comes home he will go wherever bad mean dogs go.
I'll have to tell the babies this afternoon... worse, my Dad who is at work, will have to be told. Jake was his good best friend. They walked and talked and played together every single day. Daddy had taught him some little tricks and Jake pined for him whenever he was gone from the house.Just last night we shared ice cream with him and he played with the kids..."speaking" for his share of the goodies. Going through his repetoire without being told in hopes of a scoop. I am having a hard time imagining our evenings without him.
I called my uncle to come take care of him.. so Daddy wouldnt have to... He burried him in our pet cemetary near the garden where he can hear the kids playing...and he can be close to my Dad.
Saturday, August 26, 2006
recipe repeats and general news
hello kids. Things are pretty quiet here at Casa De Lane. Steven is working all weekend and Things One and Two after doing chores went off to play.
Our car is on the fritz.. really sick. Hopefully not TOO sick though. But for now Steven is driving the Mamamobile (My mom's van) to work. BLAH!
I am a chronic recipe repeater, so tonight I revisited the zuppa Tuscana that I made last weekend. It was a winner then and with less spicy sausage it was an even bigger hit. I didnt however get around to making any rolls. Store bought had to suffice.
This weeks menu is kinda boring. I found that it was exhausting to go all Food Network Foodie wannabe on the food last week. So I went a little simpler this week.
Chicken breast sandwiches
fries
Zupa Tuscana
Rolls
Shrimp and Grits (Im pretty excited about this one.. I got some shrimp on special and plan to toss them with some fried chicken tenders,mushrooms,smoked sausage and pour it all over some really creamy cheese grits. YUMM-O!)
Salmon Patties
Homemade mac and cheese
speckled butterbeans
Hamburger Helper ( ew. but the kids like it)
Corn
Baked Potatoes with a choice of chili and/or
broccoli and cheese
I am planning on working on another cookie recipe this week.Its never to early to get ready for Christmas! I lost my favorite Lemon White Chocolate Cashew cookie recipe so I gotta find one online. Im thinking it shouldnt be tooo hard. I just wish I could remember where I got that recipe from. They are AWESOME. I am also going to try and replicate the sweet spicy sauce from Zaxby's. That stuff is like ummm liquid joy. mmmm MMMM mmmm
Our car is on the fritz.. really sick. Hopefully not TOO sick though. But for now Steven is driving the Mamamobile (My mom's van) to work. BLAH!
I am a chronic recipe repeater, so tonight I revisited the zuppa Tuscana that I made last weekend. It was a winner then and with less spicy sausage it was an even bigger hit. I didnt however get around to making any rolls. Store bought had to suffice.
This weeks menu is kinda boring. I found that it was exhausting to go all Food Network Foodie wannabe on the food last week. So I went a little simpler this week.
Chicken breast sandwiches
fries
Zupa Tuscana
Rolls
Shrimp and Grits (Im pretty excited about this one.. I got some shrimp on special and plan to toss them with some fried chicken tenders,mushrooms,smoked sausage and pour it all over some really creamy cheese grits. YUMM-O!)
Salmon Patties
Homemade mac and cheese
speckled butterbeans
Hamburger Helper ( ew. but the kids like it)
Corn
Baked Potatoes with a choice of chili and/or
broccoli and cheese
I am planning on working on another cookie recipe this week.Its never to early to get ready for Christmas! I lost my favorite Lemon White Chocolate Cashew cookie recipe so I gotta find one online. Im thinking it shouldnt be tooo hard. I just wish I could remember where I got that recipe from. They are AWESOME. I am also going to try and replicate the sweet spicy sauce from Zaxby's. That stuff is like ummm liquid joy. mmmm MMMM mmmm
Friday, August 25, 2006
Whats in Your Bag???
I got tagged to do this fun little meme.. and here you are.. what I lug around in my pocketbook.
gum,oragel(Thing One is cutting 12 yr molars and often has sore gums) carmex, a fuzzy purple pen (for obviously, no one should live life without a fuzzy purple pen) children's pepto (Thing Two has a delicate tummy) dramamine (I have a delicate tummy)
hand sanitizer, hairbows (until yesterday I had hair that was to the middle of my back.. today? right at my neckline AKK!) lip glossy, change, a little cash, checkbook, various ID and insurance cards, copies of the custody thingee so that I can take Thing Two to the Dr (they ask every single time If I have authority to take her for medical attention)various coupons and a little black bag that holds all the little junk and a mirror, it is embroidered with my church's name.
thats it.. sooo... Whats in YOUR bag?
Bloggy parade of Homes week 4
This is my cute Coke kitchen. It is SMALL. Dinky, Tiny and otherwise LITTLE. But fo rnow Ive tried to make it fun and workable. As a cook I rely a lot on my kitchen table for workspace.
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
This is our Pug friend JAKE
This is our sweet family puppy Jake. He is 3 years old. Ive been reading other people's blogs that included thier pets. I cant be outdone. ;)
Foodie wannabe day 3
Hang on Brian.. just a few more days :)
Tonight I tried making Manicotti from "almost" scratch. (I didnt make my own noodles) It was tasty.. like a really gloppy and badly constructed lasagna. I have no idea what I did that made it all fall apart. But it did. Luckily it all goes to the same place. Im not even going to include the recipe.. since obviously it isnt a good one. Maybe I'll try again next time riccotta cheese is on special at bi-lo.
Ever find a product that you just LOVE? I love soap and bathtime and pretty much anything having to do with warm water and me being in it. BUT, I am out of my favorite body soap. It is making me SAD. I use Johnson and Johnsons Moisture wash with the amber/tan label(there is a scent with pink in the label..but it doesnt smell as good)I cant find it ANYWHERE. It has a pleasing yet mild scent.. and believe me with Steven's allergies? When I find one that pleases both of us I hang on to it..Bath and Body Works makes one he can pretty much handle (Moonlight Path) but I get sick of the same ole same ole.If you see some J&J let me know? I hate when I find something really good and the company discontinues it. GRRR
Tonight I tried making Manicotti from "almost" scratch. (I didnt make my own noodles) It was tasty.. like a really gloppy and badly constructed lasagna. I have no idea what I did that made it all fall apart. But it did. Luckily it all goes to the same place. Im not even going to include the recipe.. since obviously it isnt a good one. Maybe I'll try again next time riccotta cheese is on special at bi-lo.
Ever find a product that you just LOVE? I love soap and bathtime and pretty much anything having to do with warm water and me being in it. BUT, I am out of my favorite body soap. It is making me SAD. I use Johnson and Johnsons Moisture wash with the amber/tan label(there is a scent with pink in the label..but it doesnt smell as good)I cant find it ANYWHERE. It has a pleasing yet mild scent.. and believe me with Steven's allergies? When I find one that pleases both of us I hang on to it..Bath and Body Works makes one he can pretty much handle (Moonlight Path) but I get sick of the same ole same ole.If you see some J&J let me know? I hate when I find something really good and the company discontinues it. GRRR
Snickerdoodles
Today I decided to give the girls one of the great benefits of having a Stay at Home Mom. Freshly baked cookies when they come home from school. This is a recipe that I saw on a food network show about a cookie competition.The dough is pretty sticky to work with, so keep it chilled. The cookies are awesome.They are moist and chewy with just a slight cinnamon flavor. You dont taste the cayanne at all, but I wouldnt want to leave it out since these taste so good.. it might be important! :)
Snickerdoodles
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
For the cookie dough:
3 1/2 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup butter
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/8 tsp ground cayanne pepper
In a small bowl, stir together the sugar and cinnamon and set aside.
To make the cookie dough, stir together the dry ingredients.
In a bowl with a paddle attachment, cream the butter. Add the sugar and continue to mix, then add the eggs, corn syrup, and vanilla, and mix thoroughly. Add the dry ingredients and mix until blended. Chill dough 1 hour if it's sticky or difficult to handle.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Roll balls of dough about the size of a walnut then roll them in the cinnamon sugar to coat. Place on an un-greased sheet pan 2 1/2 inches apart. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until puffed up and the surface is slightly cracked. Let cool on the sheet pan a few minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool.
Snickerdoodles
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
For the cookie dough:
3 1/2 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup butter
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/8 tsp ground cayanne pepper
In a small bowl, stir together the sugar and cinnamon and set aside.
To make the cookie dough, stir together the dry ingredients.
In a bowl with a paddle attachment, cream the butter. Add the sugar and continue to mix, then add the eggs, corn syrup, and vanilla, and mix thoroughly. Add the dry ingredients and mix until blended. Chill dough 1 hour if it's sticky or difficult to handle.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Roll balls of dough about the size of a walnut then roll them in the cinnamon sugar to coat. Place on an un-greased sheet pan 2 1/2 inches apart. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until puffed up and the surface is slightly cracked. Let cool on the sheet pan a few minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool.
Monday, August 21, 2006
Foodie wannabee day 2
Today was my second day of fun recipes for the week. Yesterday (Sunday) we ate viking style.. (pillage the fridge) just kinda whatever sounded good.Just making sure to use up leftovers and not open anything new. I made some quesadillas and guacamole for lunch and Steven ate the leftover soup. The kids ate bolgna and were pretty happy with it.
Tonights dinner menu was
Scarborough Fair Roasted Chicken
Garlic smashed potatoes
Steamed green beans and carrots
yeast rolls
I hadnt planned on making more rolls, but instead of sourdough pancakes for later this week I decided to make frenchtoast casserole and for that I wanted some great bread.. so I made another loaf of the Amish bread since we ate the other loaf as toast with fried eggs for sunday breakfast.(YUMM-OH!)
This time I used WAY less oil and baked it a little longer and it set up a little stiffer.. wich I think was better for bread.. but too stiff for the rolls.. should have watched them better so they didnt get dry.
The chicken is a creation of my own...A few months ago, I was bored with regular roasted chicken and was looking over my spice collection. I kept singing that Simon and Garfunkle song "Scarborough Fair".. you know the one "Parsley, Sage Rosemary and Thyme". And I thought, hmmm why not? I created... and I saw that it was good.
Scarborough Fair Roasted Chicken
chicken (I use leg quarters since they are cheap and nice and moist)
1 tsp each Parsley, Sage,and thyme
1/2 tsp rosemary ( I learned the first time that Rosemary is STRONG. You dont need much to give it a BIG flavor.)
salt and pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
Preheat oven to 400
in a bowl mix together spices
trim excess fat off of chicken
genourously salt and pepper chicken and roll around in a bowl to coat totally.
Place in a baking pan youve sprayed with pam
sprinkle with spice mixture
Roast until juices run clear from a piece of chicken youve pierced at the joint.
Garlic Smashed Potatoes
6 or 7 potatoes peeled and cut in half and then into 1 inch cubes
1 can chicken stock
2 or 3 large cloves garlic whole (do not mince!)
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup sour cream
salt and pepper to taste
In a pot place potatoes, whole garlic cloves chicken stock and enough water to cover. Boil on med high heat until soft. Drain and fish out the garlic cloves. Discard. Smash potatoes with a masher until chunky. Dont smoosh them till they are smooth you want them to have some bite to them. I do not like them gluey. Fold in butter and sour cream again be careful.If you overmix them they will feel and look like wallpaper paste. Salt and Pepper to taste.
Tune in tommorow for adventures in Italian cooking..Baked Manicotti! I also watched a cookie competition on FN last night.. I might start working on some good cookie recipes I saw. mmmmm snickerdoodles.
Tonights dinner menu was
Scarborough Fair Roasted Chicken
Garlic smashed potatoes
Steamed green beans and carrots
yeast rolls
I hadnt planned on making more rolls, but instead of sourdough pancakes for later this week I decided to make frenchtoast casserole and for that I wanted some great bread.. so I made another loaf of the Amish bread since we ate the other loaf as toast with fried eggs for sunday breakfast.(YUMM-OH!)
This time I used WAY less oil and baked it a little longer and it set up a little stiffer.. wich I think was better for bread.. but too stiff for the rolls.. should have watched them better so they didnt get dry.
The chicken is a creation of my own...A few months ago, I was bored with regular roasted chicken and was looking over my spice collection. I kept singing that Simon and Garfunkle song "Scarborough Fair".. you know the one "Parsley, Sage Rosemary and Thyme". And I thought, hmmm why not? I created... and I saw that it was good.
Scarborough Fair Roasted Chicken
chicken (I use leg quarters since they are cheap and nice and moist)
1 tsp each Parsley, Sage,and thyme
1/2 tsp rosemary ( I learned the first time that Rosemary is STRONG. You dont need much to give it a BIG flavor.)
salt and pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
Preheat oven to 400
in a bowl mix together spices
trim excess fat off of chicken
genourously salt and pepper chicken and roll around in a bowl to coat totally.
Place in a baking pan youve sprayed with pam
sprinkle with spice mixture
Roast until juices run clear from a piece of chicken youve pierced at the joint.
Garlic Smashed Potatoes
6 or 7 potatoes peeled and cut in half and then into 1 inch cubes
1 can chicken stock
2 or 3 large cloves garlic whole (do not mince!)
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup sour cream
salt and pepper to taste
In a pot place potatoes, whole garlic cloves chicken stock and enough water to cover. Boil on med high heat until soft. Drain and fish out the garlic cloves. Discard. Smash potatoes with a masher until chunky. Dont smoosh them till they are smooth you want them to have some bite to them. I do not like them gluey. Fold in butter and sour cream again be careful.If you overmix them they will feel and look like wallpaper paste. Salt and Pepper to taste.
Tune in tommorow for adventures in Italian cooking..Baked Manicotti! I also watched a cookie competition on FN last night.. I might start working on some good cookie recipes I saw. mmmmm snickerdoodles.
Saturday, August 19, 2006
Food week Day 1.
Much to the chagrin of my friend Brian.. today is day one of a week of food madness. I was a little bored with our recent dinner menus.. so I am spicing things up a little with some handmade, experimental dishes. I plan to make things from scratch and see how my family likes that versus the from the hamburger helper madness we have been experiencing lately. After this week I'll go back to my normal blathering about the day to day here at Casa'de Lane.
Today I made Zuppa Toscanna from a recipe that I got from Olive Garden. Its what Steve-o orders every time we go there so I thought Id try my hand at it. In a word? YUMM-OH! (as Rachel Ray would say)This stuff was fantastic. I cant say that I followed the recipe to the letter.. I substituted whipping cream for the heavy cream (it was on special) and I used chicken stock instead of water and chicken base.
Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana
Author/Submitted by: Sonia Borges, guest relations for Olive Garden Italian Restaurant. Published 3/13/96 in the Minneapolis Star Tribune Taste Section.
Servings: 5
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups Sausage links, spicy; about 12 links
3/4 cup Diced onions
6 slices Bacon
1 1/4 teaspoons Minced garlic
2 tablespoons Chicken stock base
1 quart Water
2 medium Potatoes, cut in half and then into 1/4 slices
2 cups Kale, cut in half and then sliced
1/3 cup Heavy whipping cream
Directions:
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Place sausage links onto a sheet pan and bake for 25 minutes, or until done; cut into half lengthwise, then cut at an angle into 1/2 inch slices. Place onions and bacon in a large saucepan and cook over medium heat until onions are almost clear. Add garlic and cook an additional 1 minute. Add chicken base, water and potatoes, simmer 15 minutes. Add sausage, kale and cream. Simmer 4 minutes and serve
I also attempted Tyler Florence's Amish Bread recipe. It was good also. Being that this was my very first attempt at making bread.. I am VERY pround of myself. Bread making is an art.. It takes a whole semester at most Culinary Arts schools to learn to make a proper loaf of good quility bread. Someday, (when I am independantly wealthy and have nothing else to do) I plan to go to culinary school. But for now? I'll be proud of my food network bread. I didnt have two loaf pans.. so I made some rolls out of half of the dough. We ended up eating those with dinner and I plan to make toast and poached eggs for breakfst before church tommorow with the loaf of bread.
Tyler FLorence's Amish Bread Recipe
2 cups warm water (110 degrees )
2/3 cup white sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons active dry yeast
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup vegetable oil
6 cups bread flour
In a large bowl, dissolve the sugar in warm water, and then stir in yeast. Allow to proof until yeast resembles a creamy foam.
Mix salt and oil into the yeast. Mix in flour one cup at a time. Knead dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth. Place in a well oiled bowl, and turn dough to coat. Cover with a damp cloth. Allow to rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
Punch dough down. Knead for a few minutes, and divide in half. Shape into loaves, and place into two well oiled 9x5 inch loaf pans. Allow to rise for 30 minutes, or until dough has risen 1 inch above pans.
Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 minutes.
Today I made Zuppa Toscanna from a recipe that I got from Olive Garden. Its what Steve-o orders every time we go there so I thought Id try my hand at it. In a word? YUMM-OH! (as Rachel Ray would say)This stuff was fantastic. I cant say that I followed the recipe to the letter.. I substituted whipping cream for the heavy cream (it was on special) and I used chicken stock instead of water and chicken base.
Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana
Author/Submitted by: Sonia Borges, guest relations for Olive Garden Italian Restaurant. Published 3/13/96 in the Minneapolis Star Tribune Taste Section.
Servings: 5
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups Sausage links, spicy; about 12 links
3/4 cup Diced onions
6 slices Bacon
1 1/4 teaspoons Minced garlic
2 tablespoons Chicken stock base
1 quart Water
2 medium Potatoes, cut in half and then into 1/4 slices
2 cups Kale, cut in half and then sliced
1/3 cup Heavy whipping cream
Directions:
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Place sausage links onto a sheet pan and bake for 25 minutes, or until done; cut into half lengthwise, then cut at an angle into 1/2 inch slices. Place onions and bacon in a large saucepan and cook over medium heat until onions are almost clear. Add garlic and cook an additional 1 minute. Add chicken base, water and potatoes, simmer 15 minutes. Add sausage, kale and cream. Simmer 4 minutes and serve
I also attempted Tyler Florence's Amish Bread recipe. It was good also. Being that this was my very first attempt at making bread.. I am VERY pround of myself. Bread making is an art.. It takes a whole semester at most Culinary Arts schools to learn to make a proper loaf of good quility bread. Someday, (when I am independantly wealthy and have nothing else to do) I plan to go to culinary school. But for now? I'll be proud of my food network bread. I didnt have two loaf pans.. so I made some rolls out of half of the dough. We ended up eating those with dinner and I plan to make toast and poached eggs for breakfst before church tommorow with the loaf of bread.
Tyler FLorence's Amish Bread Recipe
2 cups warm water (110 degrees )
2/3 cup white sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons active dry yeast
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup vegetable oil
6 cups bread flour
In a large bowl, dissolve the sugar in warm water, and then stir in yeast. Allow to proof until yeast resembles a creamy foam.
Mix salt and oil into the yeast. Mix in flour one cup at a time. Knead dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth. Place in a well oiled bowl, and turn dough to coat. Cover with a damp cloth. Allow to rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
Punch dough down. Knead for a few minutes, and divide in half. Shape into loaves, and place into two well oiled 9x5 inch loaf pans. Allow to rise for 30 minutes, or until dough has risen 1 inch above pans.
Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 minutes.
Friday, August 18, 2006
I wish I was a foodie
I go through Blog phases. I go for long stretches reading about one subject or another. For a long time I read blogs written by people adopting from China... no particular reason. We wouldnt qualify for it at all, and arent interested in adopting for ourselves. But I am captivated by watching the drama of it unfold. Then I read tons and tons about people who own certain breeds of dogs, travel to foriegn lands, and make lots and lots of money.I also like reading blogs from other moms and thier adventures.
My latest obsession is foodie blogs.
According to www.Wikipedia.com
FOODIE: a person with a discriminating palate and who is knowledgeable in fine food and drink. The word is a corruption of the French word groumet, a valet in charge of the wines. It is often used as an adjective for meals of especially high quality, whose makers or preparers have used especial effort or art in presentation or cooking the meal, or for facilities equipped for preparing such meals, such as a restaurant.
These people arent merely COOKS.. I mean they make food an event. They plan all day what will be for dinner tonight and then immediatly begin planning breakfast.They go to green markets and gourmet food shops. They spend entire weekends searching for the perfect wine pairing and the most beautiful tomatoes. It looks to be a charmed life... of course they are mostly singles..or proffesionals with no kids.. or affluent couples with one wierdo precocious child... Still, it looks like a lot of fun.
Of course living in Dillon, (somewhat of a gourmet wasteland) and with a man whose idea of being gastronomically adventureous is eating a green salad that involves more than cucumbers and iceberg. I am limited.. BUT I am going to give a little shot to being more interesting with what I cook.
Heres a sample of this weeks menu
Zuppa Toscanna
homemade bread
sourdough blueberry pancakes
bacon
Rosemary Roasted Chicken
roasted red potatoes and carrots
almond green beans
Turkey Chili over baked potatoes
chicken quesadillas w fresh salsa
Baked Manicotti
breadsticks
Im going to make everything from scratch.. so wish me luck.. and enjoy the pictures..
My latest obsession is foodie blogs.
According to www.Wikipedia.com
FOODIE: a person with a discriminating palate and who is knowledgeable in fine food and drink. The word is a corruption of the French word groumet, a valet in charge of the wines. It is often used as an adjective for meals of especially high quality, whose makers or preparers have used especial effort or art in presentation or cooking the meal, or for facilities equipped for preparing such meals, such as a restaurant.
These people arent merely COOKS.. I mean they make food an event. They plan all day what will be for dinner tonight and then immediatly begin planning breakfast.They go to green markets and gourmet food shops. They spend entire weekends searching for the perfect wine pairing and the most beautiful tomatoes. It looks to be a charmed life... of course they are mostly singles..or proffesionals with no kids.. or affluent couples with one wierdo precocious child... Still, it looks like a lot of fun.
Of course living in Dillon, (somewhat of a gourmet wasteland) and with a man whose idea of being gastronomically adventureous is eating a green salad that involves more than cucumbers and iceberg. I am limited.. BUT I am going to give a little shot to being more interesting with what I cook.
Heres a sample of this weeks menu
Zuppa Toscanna
homemade bread
sourdough blueberry pancakes
bacon
Rosemary Roasted Chicken
roasted red potatoes and carrots
almond green beans
Turkey Chili over baked potatoes
chicken quesadillas w fresh salsa
Baked Manicotti
breadsticks
Im going to make everything from scratch.. so wish me luck.. and enjoy the pictures..
Bloggy Parade of Homes week 3
This is my dining "room"... well actually its the section of my kitchen in wich the dining table is resident. My kitchen is done in a coca cola motif and it spills into the dining area too. The flowers in the coke pitcher are silks that we used in the centerpieces at my wedding reception and the dried corsages are ones Steven has given me for one reason or another over the years.In case you cant tell I live in an old refurbished trailer house. It is a 1978 model and in pretty unique. You step up three stairs into the kitchen area.. it makes it really interesting and allows for a really high ceiling in the livingroom.I love the BIG window in the dining area and am looking for the right coke themed window treatment. But havent found the right one yet.
Cant wait to see everyones dining rooms!
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