Far too busy...

I know it's no fun reading a blog when the blogger never blogs. I am absolutely going to make an excuse here so be prepared. I have been online all week, meaning, about 40 hours this week trying to get my online classes off the ground. I will blog more starting next week hopefully! :)

The coffee conversation

Last night around 10pm or so I was craving something sweet. And, since I have cut out most whites from my diet, white bread, pasta, refined sugar, I decided I had been good enough over the last couple of weeks and wanted a couple of cookies and some decaffeinated coffee. After all, it was 10pm so caffeinated coffee was not an option. My old standby - McDonald's coffee. I love it, it loves me, and it doesn't hurt that we can see McDonald's from our doorstep....yeah, it's that close. Anyway, this is what the conversation was like at the drive-thru last night:

Window Guy: Welcome to McDonald's! What can I get for you?
Me: A large decaffeinated coffee please.
Window Guy: What?
Me: A large de-caff-ein-a-ted coffee please.
Window Guy: We don't have that kind.
Me: **silence** dumbfounded at what I just heard. I think my exact words were, "Uhhhhh, what?"
Window Guy: We don't have that kind, but we do have decaf coffee.

Roasted Tomato Basil Soup

The soup came out great. The recipe I posted serves 6-8 people. I LOVED the chunkiness of the soup, my husband did not. He prefers a much smoother soup. So, if you have picky eaters in the house, just puree everything. The flavor was good, although, I thought it needed quite a bit more basil. But, I did add fresh basil to the top of the soup, and that helped. I do think that it would have been better with another tablespoon of basil during the cooking process. Next time I will add two and see how it comes out. I tend to like really strong flavors (and again, the husband does not), so sometimes I try to compromise. All in all this is a keep recipe.

Roasted Tomato Basil Soup

I just made this soup for lunch today. In fact, it is still simmering on the stove for about 40 more minutes. But, even the 'young' soup is amazingly good. This recipe is adapted from Ina Garten's Roasted Tomato Basil Soup, and oh so good.

3 pounds ripe plum tomatoes, cut in half (I used Roma Tomatoes)
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons good olive oil (I used less)
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper (I am not a big pepper fan, so I used about 1/2 a teaspoon total)
2 cups chopped yellow onions (2 onions)
6 garlic cloves, minced (garlic lover here - I used almost 10 cloves)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter (I only had salted on hand, and it came out fine)
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (this is a MUST, but if you don't like spicy, cut that in half)
1 (28-ounce) canned plum tomatoes, with their juice
4 cups fresh basil leaves, packed (who has 4 cups of basil leaves on hand? I used 1 tablespoon dried, crushed in my hand)
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves (1/4 teaspoon dried and crushed in my hand)
1 quart chicken stock or water (uh yeah - stock is expensive, so I used broth made from bullion cubes)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Toss together the tomatoes, 1/4 cup olive oil, salt, and pepper. Spread the tomatoes in 1 layer on a baking sheet and roast for 45 minutes.

In an 8-quart stockpot over medium heat, saute the onions and garlic with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, the butter, and red pepper flakes for 10 minutes, until the onions start to brown. Add the canned tomatoes, basil, thyme, and chicken stock. Add the oven-roasted tomatoes, including the liquid on the baking sheet. Bring to a boil and simmer uncovered for 40 minutes. Pass through a food mill fitted with the coarsest blade. Taste for seasonings. Serve hot or cold.

Personal Adaptations: In the ingredients list above, I have obviously made notes. Other than that, and because I don't have a food mill, after sauteing the onions and garlic, I put the tomatoes from the oven and onion mixture in the food processor and pulsed it until pretty smooth, but still had small lumps in it. Then, I put the whole can of tomatoes in the food processor and gave that a rough-ish chop, but somewhat smooth. (I tend to like my soups with some substance. My husband does not, so when it's done, I will probably have to put a few servings in the blender or food processor for him to make it really smooth). When serving, I will put a chiffonad of fresh basil on the top and serve it with some parmesan crisps from the oven. You can also serve this cold with a dollop of creme fresch on top (but that stuff tastes like sour cream to me and I don't really like cold soup). Enjoy!!!!

The Finished Product

The letters are 95% complete. All that needs to be done now is a seal coat. I should be sending these out at the start of next week. Hopefully the new mommy will like them.

The newest project

Here is a picture of the latest project I am working on. I am hardly creative, so this project has been quite frustrating for me. Ugghhhh!

My friends baby's name is Tyler. She was born about a week ago, and I am painting letters for the nursery....that is, if what I am doing in fact goes with the nursery she has put together. The "T" and the "L" are experimental. I think I am going to sand down the "T", and just to polka dots to outline the letters instead of doing willy-nilly polka dots. My eyes tend to like uniformity quite a bit instead of chaos. I don't know, I'm too tired to think right now. What do you think?

UPDATE: I just changed the letters to look like this. Two letters will be painted like the "E", and three will look just like the "R". I think this is a better plan!

Doctorate in Education

I decided to pursue the Doctorate in Eduction - under one stipulation......that I wouldn't have to take out students loans. The whole program costs about $40k, which is quite a bit of money. I still have a VERY small residual student loan out from a number of years ago and don't like it very much. So, here's the deal, if I can get into a TA program or a Research Assistantship Program at Sacramento State (which they currently do not offer), I'm gonna bite the bullet and go for it. There is little to no government funding for those of us that want to pursue higher education, which sucks BIG TIME. I guess I leave it up to God, cause there's nothin' I can do except be the squeaky wheel.

I had a pretty in-depth conversation with the director of the program yesterday, and he said that he's going to talk to the graduate studies department to see if there is anything they can offer, but until then, I sit and wait. I will email him in a month to check and see if he has gotten any further with it. I was very frank on the phone and said simply that we can't afford it, and that loans weren't an option for us. I don't think it's wise to take out $40k in loans at this point in our lives. So, that leaves me with the option of a TA program or Research Assistantship Program. Come on God, open one up please - oh yeah, and an divine acceptance would be good too (sometimes those TA programs and Research Assistantship Programs are fairly competitive.....I have been accepted to one before that was highly competitive, but that was a whole different situation).

Ducks need to be lined up, and God knows what needs to be done in order for me to get there. So now, I study for the GRE, and wait!

Expensive Decisions

For those of you who actually read this blog - which I think is down to maybe 3 people now (despite the HIGH amount of traffic my blog gets, only 3 people comment regularly), but you know that I have been trying to figure out if I want to go back to school for a PhD, EdD or another Master's Degree. Something inside of me is telling me that my education is not over. The other 'something' inside of me says that I simply don't want to put that much effort into an education that I may not use when we start to foster or adopt children. But, there is this nagging feeling, and has been for the last 4 years since I completed my Masters Degree, that I'm not done. In the last 4 years, I have ordered information from college's all around the country that offer doctoral degrees. I have also sent numerous emails to people trying to get more information, only to correspond back and forth, then lose interest because the effort is SO great for these programs.

The most recent program is the EdD program at Sacramento State. This program is nice because it is tailored to folks who are working full time. The classes are minimal - on Friday nights and all day Saturday's. The downside - the program is an additional 60 units, which would take me 3 more years - YEAR ROUND!!!! I would not be able move for 3 years if I start this program, and did I mention that it would take 3 WHOLE YEARS - - - - - - - - YEAR ROUND? I am finally coming to a point that I need to stop wavering back and forth and come to a decision.

Here's the kicker - I know that I will be disappointed in myself if I do not go "all the way" and get that doctoral degree. I will be settling because I don't want to put in the effort to get that additional degree. So, what do I do?

The program is quite inexpensive, but still out of our price range. It's $12k a year. That's an additional $40k, which is a bargain for a doctoral degree, but QUITE expensive for us. Unfortunately the government, with all of the money they give away for school, does not take into account how much you paid for you house, and how much it costs to live per month. Ugghhhh! I've got a lot to think about. Any suggestions?

I can't even think straight!

Have you ever been so damn irritated that you can't even think straight? That's where I am right now. I think I need a glass of wine and should probably go hang out in the hot tub...alone!

The wonders of a young star...

I just read these quotes from Misha Barton:

"It kind of irritates me that I'm seen as this pretty face. People also say I'm too thin. The truth is pretty people aren't as accepted as other people. It comes with all these stigmas."

Uh, yeah - Miss Barton, studies have proven that "pretty people" as you call them are MORE accepted as other people AND have more opportunities than other people. Get an education and stop being so ignorant! This leads me to my second quote from this "pretty person":

"I do intelligent roles. I don't want to be labeled as doing silly movies. I'm more mature than kids my age because I'm constantly surrounded by adults."

Why does she HAVE to mention that she is "MORE MATURE" than "KIDS" her age? Uh yeah, if you have to tell people that you are mature means that you probably aren't or it means you are aspiring to be more mature, but in fact haven't achieved this yet. I have heard countless people say this (remember, I come in contact with late teens, early 20-something's constantly because of teaching and hear this all the time). But uh, yeah - if the phrase, "I'm so mature" or any variation of that has to be spoken, it means you're probably not. If someone really is that grown up beyond their years, it wouldn't need to be talked about, their maturity will shine through. (My students say this crap all the time, and their actual maturity level amazes me - but then again, I am the one making the judgement, so I could be wrong here because I have limited contact with these young-ins).

I have come in contact with some of the most mature people I have ever met in the last year or so. This last summer session I instructed, there was a 17 year old girl who was one of the most mature 17 year olds I have ever met. She never once mentioned that she 'thought' she was mature, even in our long conversations after class which we had quite often, but her behavior screamed that she was much older than her age. In fact, when meeting her I remember thinking that she was probably in her mid-twenties - not because she looked it, but because she acted it.

I remember saying things like this when I was in my late teens, primarily when I was 16 or 17. Looking back on it now, I should have embraced my immaturity and shortly after turn 18 or 19, I can't remember now, I remember telling people that I was going to be a Toys-R-Us kid forever. Even now I simply didn't want to grow up. I strongly embrace my immaturity even now. Plus, being 'mature' is no fun and mature people bore me. But, I guess if I have to tell people that I am embracing immaturity, does that mean I'm not? Or does that mean I'm trying too hard?

I don't ever wanna grow up - never, never, never!

Thanks for letting me rant about one Miss Misha Barton! :)

Neighbors

One of our neighbors was planning on selling her house. She fixed it up a bit, and put it on the market about a year ago. We just spoke to her today and she said she isn't going to sell the house, rather 'spend the rest of her days' there. Selling the house concerned me a bit because her driveway is right outside the masterbedroom window. If professionals moved in there, they would be leaving for work at o'dark-hundred in the morning and wake me up. Purely selfish - I am SO glad that she is going to stay. It's a 5 bedroom house, 3 stories, and would attract a seriously large family coming in and out all day long. At least for the next 5 - 10 years we will have a great neighbor. Today I gave her some home grown tomatoes for her sandwiches that she eats everyday. And, we got to talking, and she's going to teach me how to sew. It's a favorite pass time for her. I'm excited to get to know her better. Maybe, eventually, I can talk to her about God. One can hope that the door for that is opened right?

It pays to look....

Yesterday Shawn and I went out for lunch. We happened by the Thrift Shop near the little place we were going for lunch. We had NO IDEA there was a thrift shop near where we were going. I wondered in there to kill 30 seconds because Shawn wanted to get a menu from a nearby restaurant and discovered that they had a GREAT set of china there for $50. It was service for 10, with one piece missing. All the rest of the pieces were in good shape, except one, which I discovered today had a chip. No biggie, since one piece was missing anyway, we have true service for 9. An odd number, but hey, our table doesn't even fit 9 people, so we've got it covered.

Well, the best part is, all of their kitchen ware was on sale for 50% off. Now I know I know - I could have gave them the whole $50, because, you know, it's for charity right? But, I wouldn't have paid $50 for a used set of china. So, we paid $25 for it (I will give extra money to missionaries next month to make up for it, I promise). I told Shawn that even if we didn't decide to keep it we could just donate it back to the Thrift shop. Now we have a great set of china for when company comes over (because I simply will not use the china my mom traded me for our wedding. It's too nice!). Yeah. What do you think?????? I actually looked it up online and it's quite an expensive set of china. Each 5 piece setting is around $36.

Healthy Yumminess

I don't usually endorse products, but I MUST tell you about these baked goods. You can find the products HERE! These cookies are from the Rising Dough Bakery. Just look at the nutritional facts. 200 calories, 4 grams of fat and a WHOPPING 10 grams of dietary fiber (this is for the Double Chocolate Chip version - other varieties have differences in nutritional info.). But let me tell you, the Double Chocolate Chip Cookie is absolutely amazing. It tastes like a brownie - no lie! Especially if you warm them up a bit. I eat one of these for lunch almost everyday - and for a late night snack if I feel so inclined. Each time I order I get two boxes (free shipping). They are awesome!!!!! Even my mom liked them, and that lady hates just about anything healthy....lol. I have tried the other varieties, and they are good too, but I keep coming back to the Double Chocolate Chip Cookies. Man cannot live by bread alone - but no one said man can't live by Double Chocolate Chip Cookies alone.

Jesus in Question.....

This article from cnn.com raises some interesting questions.

A 3-ft.-high tablet romantically dubbed "Gabriel's Revelation" could challenge the uniqueness of the idea of the Christian Resurrection. The tablet appears to date authentically to the years just before the birth of Jesus and yet — at least according to one Israeli scholar — it announces the raising of a messiah after three days in the grave. If true, this could mean that Jesus' followers had access to a well-established paradigm when they decreed that Christ himself rose on the third day — and it might even hint that they they could have applied it in their grief after their master was crucified. However, such a contentious reading of the 87-line tablet depends on creative interpretation of a smudged passage, making it the latest entry in the woulda/coulda/shoulda category of possible New Testament artifacts; they are useful to prove less-spectacular points and to stir discussion on the big ones, but probably not to settle them nor shake anyone's faith.

The ink-on-stone document, which is owned by a Swiss-Israeli antiques collector and reportedly came to light about a decade ago, has been dated by manuscript and chemical experts to a period just before Jesus' birth. Some scholars think it may originally have been part of the Dead Sea Scrolls, a trove of religious texts found in caves on the West Bank that were possibly associated with John the Baptist. The tablet is written in the form of an end-of-the-world prediction in the voice of the angel Gabriel; one line, for instance, predicts that "in three days you will know evil will be defeated by justice."

Such "apocalypses," often featuring a triumphant military figure called a messiah (literally, anointed one), were not uncommon in the religious and politically tumultuous Jewish world of 1st century B.C. Palestine. But what may make the Gabriel tablet unique is its 80th line, which begins with the words "In three days" and includes some form of the verb "to live." Israel Knohl, an expert in Talmudic and biblical language at Jerusalem's Hebrew University who was not involved in the first research on the artifact, claims that it refers to a historic 1st-century Jewish rebel named Simon who was killed by the Romans in 4 B.C., and should read "In three days, you shall live. I Gabriel command you." If so, Jesus-era Judaism had begun to explore the idea of a three-day resurrection before Jesus was born.

This, in turn, undermines one of the strongest literary arguments employed by Christians over centuries to support the historicity of the Resurrection (in which they believe on faith): the specificity and novelty of the idea that the Messiah would die on a Friday and rise on a Sunday. Who could make such stuff up? But, as Knohl told TIME, maybe the Christians had a model to work from. The idea of a "dying and rising messiah appears in some Jewish texts, but until now, everyone thought that was the impact of Christianity on Judaism," he says. "But for the first time, we have proof that it was the other way around. The concept was there before Jesus." If so, he goes on, "this should shake our basic view of Christianity. ... What happens in the New Testament [could have been] adopted by Jesus and his followers based on an earlier messiah story."

Not so fast, say some Christian academics. "It is certainly not perfectly clear that the tablet is talking about a crucified and risen savior figure called Simon," says Ben Witherington, an early-Christianity expert at Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Ky. The verb that Knohl translates as "rise!," Witherington says, could also mean "there arose," and so one can ask "does it mean 'he comes to life,' i.e., a resurrection, or that he just 'shows up?' " Witherington also points out that gospel texts are far less reliant on the observed fact of the Resurrection (there is no angelic command in them like the line in the Gabriel stone) than on the testimony of eyewitnesses to Jesus' post-Resurrection self. Finally, Witherington notes that if he is wrong and Knohl's reading is right, it at least sets to rest the notion that the various gospel quotes attributed to Christ foreshadowing his death and Resurrection were textual retrojections put in his mouth by later believers — Jesus the Messianic Jew, as Knohl sees him, would have been familiar with the vocabulary for his own fate.

Knohl stands by his reading. "The spelling and the phrasing is unique," he told TIME, "but it is similar to to other texts found around the Dead Sea." Yet for now, at least, Gabriel's Revelation must take its place among a slew of recently discovered or rediscovered objects from around the time of Jesus that are claimed to either support or undermine Scripture but are themselves sufficiently, logically or archaeologically compromised to prevent their being definitive. In 2002, a bone-storage box with the legend "James Son of Joseph Brother of Jesus" bobbed up that seemed to buttress Jesus' historicity while at the same time suggest that the Catholic teaching that he had no true brothers was false — but the Israeli Antiquities Authority declared the inscription as a forgery (although various experts continue to disagree). In 2007 the Discovery Channel aired a documentary (funded by Titanic director James Cameron) that purported to have located the "Jesus Family Tomb" in the Israeli suburb of Talpiot, with bone boxes with the names "Jesus Son of Joseph," "Mary" and one of the names of Mary Magdalene. If the ossuaries were for the gospel Jesus, his mother and Mary Magdalene, then the implications for Christianity would be dire; but despite considerable initial hoopla, the idea is regarded by many as speculation.

It remains to be seen whether Gabriel's Revelation, and especially Knohl's interpretation, will weather the hot lights of fame. Even the authors of its initial research seem a little dubious about his claims that it is a dry run for the Easter story. But, as often happens in such cases, they seem better disposed to a slightly toned-down assertion: in this case, that the Gabriel tablet does indicate a very rare instance of the idea that a messiah might suffer — a notion introduced in Judaic thought centuries before by the prophet Isaiah but which supposedly went out of style by Jesus' time. If that more modest theory gains traction, it will forge a link between a trend in first-century Judaism and one of Christianity's galvanizing thoughts — that God might throw in his lot with a suffering or even murdered man — that could contribute to a growing mutual understanding.

Johari Window of Communicaiton

The Johari Window.....fascinating. I have loved the idea of the Johari Window since my early days studying communication. 4 quadrants, each one explains what is known/unknown to others and/or to ourselves. One quadrant in particular fascinates me - the "blind" quadrant. The blind quadrant is NOT known to the self, but IT IS known to others. In recent interactions with people, this quadrant has become amazingly obvious, or I guess I should say, seemingly obvious. I assume that there are communicative processes that people are unaware of in themselves (and some more so than others).

Let's get this out of the way right now - I know that I have qualities in this area, everyone does. I am constantly asking myself questions like: How am I perceived by other people? What do they think of a particular interaction? How am I coming off to others? Etc. It's amazingly hard not to think about these things being a college instructor. You are in front of people everyday who are reflecting back to you in different ways multiple times a week. So I am constantly getting feedback, I think, more so than a lot of other people. Simple interaction with people is not enough to get this feedback. I interacted with people for years (11 to be exact in a work setting before becoming a college instructor and have 31 years under my belt in other interactions) and NEVER received this kind of feedback before. Just this week I had 16 interesting conversations with my students about who they thought I was at the beginning of the semester versus at the end. Their feedback was invaluable. Getting back to my point.....

There are 4 windows included in the Johari Window. The unknown to self, but known to others is amazingly interesting. What is it about you that other people see that you don't? The is the interesting aspect of this concept is this: If it's know to other people and not to you, then how will these things come into the light and become known to you so you can improve upon them and change them? Feedback from other people right? But are people really receptive to hearing things like - "you know, you make things about YOU quite a bit even when they clearly aren't", or "you come off really mean sometimes", or "you talk way too much and need to tone it down a little", or "you tend to police social situations which makes people not want to be around you", or "you interject ridiculous things into conversations which highlights your immaturity, do you realize that?". Of course these are very harsh ways of saying these things, and for those TM alumni out there who read this, would never ever fly in a 'care enough to confront' situation. But really, do you tell people these things or hope and pray that they figure them out on their own, which most people don't without repeated negative interactions? What do you do? Or is it even your responsibility to say anything even though someones communicative behavior obviously violates every unspoken, or spoken for that matter, social rule that exists?

I come into contact with different groups of students every 7 weeks or so right now because I teach fast track classes and come across A LOT of different personalities. I am constantly analyzing people - and I have quite a bit of time to do that since I drive an hour each way to teach on a normal basis. And to tell you the truth, the analysis goes way beyond my students. I sit back and observe people constantly, and interestingly enough, the Johari Window has been crossing my mind quite a bit. Are particular things people do and say obvious to them? Or are things people do, say and act upon simply blind to them? Or, let's go even further, was it acceptable in your family? And is that particular thing not acceptable in other situations? What is blind to you that others can see? This is part of my quest - what is blind to me that others can see? I can assume, I can guess, I can try and learn from others reactions - but will I ever really know unless someone confirms it?

Ridiculousness of Weddings

When Shawn and I got married we knew we didn't really want anything too traditional. If we had it our way, it would have been a Farscape wedding (seriously - dressed up in the costumes and all). But, since we actually invited people, and they were expecting something halfway traditional, we did some things that we along with tradition - though not much. I DID NOT have something old/new/borrowed/blue. We didn't save the top of our wedding cake (we tried, but then we moved and that all went out the window). Our wedding was not in a church. We did not have a traditional reception. We did very little when it came to tradition - for good reason. Shawn and I have always known that tradition is based on something from the past right? Take diamond rings for example - where did the idea of having that perfect diamond ring come it? I can go into in depth, but let's just say that it is rooted in marketing and marketing alone back in the 1950's (thank you De Beers - because you know what poop-heads, a diamond isn't forever)! As a side note, I am not sure I will ever buy another 'real' mined diamond again unless it's classified as a 'safe' diamond. I am heavily leaning towards man made diamonds (identical chemical make-up, just made in a lab) for reasons I will not go into here. Back to my point - Shawn and I chose to do things very non-traditionally because we simply can't stand being another lemming. And, for those that are reading this that did have a traditional wedding - that's awesome, for you! And I'm glad that worked for you. But the more I study where these ridiculous traditions came from, and how many of them are rooted in marketing and/or some whim of a trend that simply stuck around, the more I am glad I bucked the whole idea a few years ago. Plus, I couldn't see putting my new husband through something like that. I knew him well enough early on in our relationship to know that he would have done it JUST FOR ME. And while that is sweet, it was his wedding too. So, we got married on a cruise ship in Southern California - I did have a white wedding dress, though it looked more like a party dress than anything - Shawn did wear a tux (and he looked mighty fine if you ask me) - we did exchange rings etc...... But like I mentioned, there are LOTS of things we did not do. No garter toss, no bouquet toss, no traditional reception and the ceremony lasted 10 minutes or so by request.

You are probably asking why I am bringing this up. Well, I just came across an article on CNN.com that talks a bit about where some of this ridiculous tradition came from which affirmed what I have believed all along. I have posted some below, but you can read the whole article HERE!

Like I tell my students, critically THINK about why you are doing something. Is it because someone else expects it? Do you really want to do it? Is it because you want to conform? Is it because you want to belong to some inner circle of the "I did it so I can now brag about it" group? Do you wear 'what you do' as a badge of honor? There are tons of other questions that belong here, but I will stop. Do not conform simply for the sake of conforming (insert Romans 12:2 here). Do whatever it is you want to do because you have thought about it and that's the decision YOU want to make. If that means a traditional wedding, then so be it - good for you. But for heavens sake, please think about the why! Here's what CNN.com said:

Saving the wedding cake

Why do couples eat freezer-burned wedding cake on their one-year anniversary? To answer this, we must look to the lyrics of a schoolyard classic: First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes a baby in a baby carriage! It used to be assumed that when there was a wedding, a christening would follow shortly. So, rather than bake two cakes for the occasions, they'd just bake one big one and save a part of it to be eaten at a later date when the squealing bundle of joy arrived.

Eventually folks warmed to the idea of giving the poor kid his own, newly baked cake, but the custom of saving a portion of the wedding cake far longer than it should be saved and then eating it and deluding oneself to believe that it actually tastes good is one that persists to this day.

Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue (and a sixpence in my shoe?)

A common theme that you've no doubt noticed throughout this post: humans used to be a superstitious bunch. This rhyming phrase neatly lists a number of English customs dating back to the Victorian age which, when worn in combination, should bring the bride oodles of fabulous good luck.

The something old was meant to tie the bride to her family and her past, while the something new represented her new life as the property of a new family. The item borrowed was supposed to be taken from someone who was already a successfully married wife, so as to pass on a bit of her good fortune to the new bride. The color blue stood for all sorts of super fun things like faithfulness, loyalty, and purity. The sixpence, of course, was meant to bring the bride and her new groom actual, cold, hard fortune.

Just in case that wasn't enough, brides of yore also carried bunches of herbs (which most brides now replace with expensive, out-of-season peonies) to ward off evil spirits.

Garter and bouquet toss

This pair of rituals has long been the scourge of the modern wedding guest. What could possibly be more humiliating than being forced out to the center of a parquet dance floor and being expected to demonstrate your desperation by diving for flying flowers?

How about grasping in the air for a lacy piece of undergarment that until moments ago resided uncomfortably close to the crotch of your buddy's wife? At any other point in time, that would make you seem wildly creepy. So why is it acceptable at a wedding?

It used to be that after the bride and groom said, "I do," they were to go immediately into a nearby room and consummate the marriage. Obviously, to really make it official, there would need to be witnesses, which basically led to hordes of wedding guests crowding around the bed, pushing and shoving to get a good view and hopefully to get their hands on a lucky piece of the bride's dress as it was ripped from her body.

Sometimes the greedy guests helped get the process going by grabbing at the bride's dress as she walked by, hoping for a few threads of good fortune. In time, it seems, people realized that this was all a bit, well... creepy, and it was decided that for modesty's sake the bride could toss her bouquet as a diversion as she made her getaway and the groom could simply remove an item of the bride's undergarments and then toss it back outside to the waiting throngs to prove that he was about to, uh, seal the deal.

The white wedding dress

Technically, today's wedding gowns aren't white. They are "Candlelight," "Warm Ivory," "Ecru" or "Frost." But there was a time when a bride's wedding attire was simply the best thing in her closet (talk about "off the rack"), and could be any color, even black.

To convince her groom that she came from a wealthy family, brides would also pile on layers of fur, silk and velvet, as apparently grooms didn't care if his wife-to-be reeked of sweaty B.O. as long as she was loaded.

It was dear ol' Queen Victoria (whose reign lasted from 1837-1901) who made white fashionable. She wore a pale gown trimmed in orange blossoms for her 1840 wedding to her first cousin, Prince Albert.

Top 10

Top 10 signs you have too much zucchini......

10. Your neighbor finds them every morning in his mailbox.

9. You are eating it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, snacks too. (now, that's not so funny!)

8. You have a flute made out of a Zucchini. (It's actually been done!)

7. The stores pay you to take some off their shelves.

6. Even the field mice stop eating it.

5. You till under the Zucchini plants, but still have more today than you had yesterday.

4. Nightmares about a giant Zucchini wakes you in the night.

3. Your kids are using it for building blocks.

2. You spray your zucchini plants with sugar water to attract insects. But, they won't bite.

....and the Number One sign that you have too much Zucchini is:

1. The President of the U.S. declares Zucchini growers to be terrorists.

Discombobulated

I've been feeling discombobulated for a couple of weeks now. Can't handle it - not even a little. 'Out of sorts' = not good. 'In sorts' = good. I need some 'In sorts' please. If you know of where I can get some, please respond.

This just in.....

Bush Says Dems Share Blame For High Gas Prices

Urges Congress To End Ban On Offshore Oil Drilling

POSTED: 8:48 am PDT June 21, 2008

UPDATED: 9:33 am PDT June 21, 2008

WHITE HOUSE -- President George W. Bush said Democrats in Congress keep blocking his energy proposals, and so they share some of the blame for high gasoline prices.

In his Saturday radio address, Bush urged Congress to end its long-standing ban on offshore oil and gas drilling. He said offshore drilling could yield up to 18 billion barrels of oil over time, although it would take years for production to start.

There are two prohibitions on offshore drilling, one imposed by Congress and another by an executive order from Bush's father in 1990.

The president also wants to ease the regulatory process to expand oil refining capacity and lift restrictions on oil shale leasing in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming. Oil shale is a type of rock that can produce oil when exposed to heat and other processes.

In response, Democrats said opening more land to drilling is not the answer to high oil prices.

West Virginia Congressman Nick Rahall said America can't drill its way to energy independence.

Rahall, who chairs the House Natural Resources Committee, gave the Democratic response to Bush's radio address Saturday. Bush said Democrats in Congress deserve some of the blame for high prices because they're too stubborn when it comes to new energy exploration.

Rahall said a substantial amount of federal land is already available for exploration and drilling, but sits unused while the industry enjoys record profits.

He said Republicans seem more interested in continuing to line the pockets of big oil.




I just read this on NBC11.com I am SO glad Bush is finally speaking out about gas prices and who is to blame. So many people want to pin this on the President. Well, he's not the one making all of the decisions. I have to send this article to soooooo many people now. Gotta go!

You can always tell.....

Oh yeah, this is my motto. I would love to live in a 'model home' where everything is in its place all the time, no clutter, no dust, no wires hanging from the ceiling, but alas, I do not. During the winter months we have a bed in the living room because that's where the heat source is in our house. During the summer we live downstairs, except to sleep (most of the time anyway) and that can get kinda cluttery. Almost always there is a pile of mail sitting somewhere simply because I HATE OPENING THE MAIL. In short, our house is fairly cluttered on most days.....well, almost most days.

You can always tell when I have a big project pending - - - - - - the house gets clean. I have to develop two online classes, which I am getting closer to doing. I have the major projects finished, well, 90% finished and one of my schedules planned out in my head but not on paper yet. All in all, the brainstorming phase of my classes is complete. As I get closer to actually putting everything on Blackboard (software for the online classes), I am getting antsy. There can be no dishes in the sink, which I just did, I finished all of the laundry today finally, I purged clothes in my closet that I haven't worn for a long time and ultimately made it pretty, and tonight I may put the spare bedroom back together in case nobody ever comes over someone stops by and needs a place to sleep. Additionally, when I have big projects pending, I tend to workout more. I almost feel as if one area on my life is getting on track, I'd better get the other areas back in line. So, in short, in about a week or so, my house should be clean, and in two weeks, the classes will be developed. I am excited for the coming semester. I already have 12 people in my UPPER division class, two of them are graduate students, so it should be a really challenging semester which I am looking forward to.

Fun Discoveries

Anyone who knows me knows that I love to save money. Now, I must point out that saving money IS VERY DIFFERENT from being cheap. People can tell when you're being cheap (which I have been guilty of on many occasions, but try my hardest not to be), but people can't tell when you are saving money. I posted a number of months back that Shawn and I got a wonderful KitchenAid mixer (professional version thank you very much) for less than the price of a 'normal' version. We love it! But that's not the point here. The point is, and this is linked to the picture above, is that I am a discount grocery shopper when I can be. I have discovered that the grocery stores in our area discount meat that needs to be used OR freezed by that day or the next day. As a result, I go shopping early in the morning for meat - they discount it early in the morning and there's generally nothing left by late morning or afternoon. Today I picked up 2 - 20oz packages of ground turkey (for my awesome stuffed zucchini), 2 whole chickens because they were on sale (those are for Tess), a 5 pound package of boneless, skinless chicken breasts (those are for us and should last us a couple of months), and a 3 or 4 pound package of pork ribs (Shawn loves those). I have to freeze most of the meat tonight, but it was worth it. All of the meat was 50% off. Bargain shopping makes me happy.

The Recipes

Stuffed Zucchini

1 large zucchini or a few small zucchini

1 tablespoon olive oil

½ - 1/3 cup salsa (any commercial salsa will work)

½ onion chopped

1-2 cloves of garlic minced

½ to 1 tablespoon of spike

1 to 1 ½ cups cooked rice

10 oz ground turkey

1 cup cheddar cheese (½ for mixture, ½ for top)

Cut zucchini lengthwise and scoop out middle with a spoon or melon baller. Take care not to scoop out too much, the zucchini must have walls to hold in the filing. Leave walls on all sides so the filling stays in. Saute onion and garlic in olive oil until soft. Add the ground turkey and cook. Add the rice, spike, salsa and half of the cheddar cheese. Mix everything together until warm and the cheese has melted. Place mixture equally into zucchini boats. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes at 350 until zucchini are a bit soft, but not too soft. The zucchini should still be quite firm but cooked. Add cheese to top once cooked and melt cheese on top.

Salsa

1 can Organic Muir Glen Fire Roasted Salsa

¼ cup cilantro

¼ Vidalia onion chopped or other mild flavor onion

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 serrano chili

1 jalapeno pepper

juice of ½ lime

In a dry frying pan, place the whole Serrano chili and whole jalapeno for approximately 5-10 minutes tuning every minute so the chili’s are browned/blackened and steamy on the inside. Let them sit on the counter for a few minutes to cool. Cut off the tops and cut in half lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds and veins (do this if you don’t want the salsa too spicy. If you want more spice in the salsa, leave the veins and seeds in). Chop into small pieces. Add all other ingredients into a food processor and blend well – until desired consistency. TIP: Wear gloves if you are working with chili's. The heat of the chili's will make your hands burn for a day or two if you don't - and that's not comfortable. :)

2 recipes coming...

At some point tomorrow I will be posting 2 recipes. One is for my friend Annie who I have known now for, gosh, 12 years. We were in Kazakstan together......Annie, was I your MA on that trip? I can't remember now. It is a fire roasted salsa that is blended together (in honor of my husband who doesn't like chunky salsa like me). It's not an awesome recipe, but it's good enough and easy enough to post.

The other is an awesome recipe that I just came up with on the fly tonight. It is a stuffed zucchini recipe. I thought it was going to be an ok recipe, but it turned out pretty good. So, there you have it - 2 recipes by Carol. That's right, I came up with them all by my lonesome. Until then......

Textbook Hell

I am teaching 3 online classes next semester through San Jose State (and two in person at Sierra College in case anyone is keeping track). I am extremely excited to have an opportunity to teach online and can't wait to get the classes developed. In the meantime, I am in the middle of textbook HELL!!!!! I have never read so many textbooks in my life. Since graduating, I have read numerous textbooks on the field of Communication Studies. Right now I am reading two, one of which is above "Thinking Through Communication" (thank you Sarah Trenholm for making my summer reading something to remember). It's interesting to say the least. I am also reading another one on Public Speaking......let me say that again......I am reading another Public Speaking textbook. I have read wwwaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyy too much on Public Speaking!

I actually have the opportunity to teach an upper division class. I am excited, no, wait, I am pee my pants excited to teach an upper division class. This means that I actually get to instruct a class that has students in it who are forced actually want to take the class. It is an upper division elective, meaning, it's not required by the university, but it does count towards a person's major. Let me interpret this for you.......the students choose the class. They aren't forced to take it like Public Speaking (which is a GE requirement). I actually get to have intellectual conversations with folks who are genuinely interested in Communication. Yeah!!!!

I have taught a couple other classes that have been elective classes, but not upper division. I feel a bit intimidated, but I think I can handle it. I still can't believe I get to teach college classes. I have said this before, I still feel like I'm 12 (12 with a house, a mortgage, bills and all of the responsibilities that come along with it) - but 12 nonetheless.

Windows and recipes

This morning I must wake up the husband earlier than usual so we can measure windows. We have old casement windows in our 'built in the 1960's' house, and they MUST go. We ordered one and have already replaced it, but now it's time for the rest. We have 14 windows total in the house, that is not counting the HUGE window in our living room that we are going to replace with French Doors, including side panels thank you very much. The window is going bye bye and there will be HUGE doors to open up to the outside deck (once we rebuild it). The time has come to stop hearing the children in the daycare across the street, the freeway traffic behind our house and the summertime noise from the shopping center down the hill from our house. When we are downstairs the noise is virtually impossible to detect, but not upstairs. Since we live on a hill, any noise from down the hill travels efficiently up and into our house. New windows will cut down that noise considerably, which I am excited about. I love the peace and quite. The next house we buy, in like 15 years I'm sure because of the current housing market, will be one out in the middle of nowhere. Until then though, new windows will do the trick. They will also help with the heating and cooling in our house. No noise and a cool house, what more could a girl ask for?

I am also working on a new recipe. Yep, that's right - me, developing a recipe. It's a salsa recipe that uses fire-roasted tomatoes from a can. I know I know - true salsa does not come from a can! But, if I get it right, it will be a great 'throw it together at the last minute' salsa. It's going to take me a few tries to get it right, but I am sure it will come out great. I already tried once, and Shawn liked it, which is saying A LOT because that boy is picky. Once I get it right, I will be sure and post the recipe here. All the ingredients are the same in most salsa's, but it's the amount and technique that count. Do you roast the chili's? Keep them raw? What kind of onion do you use? Vidalia? White? Spanish? And, do you roast those or keep them raw too? Do you blend the salsa completely (like Shawn prefers), or do you keep it kinda chunky? Do you use fire-roasted with garlic, or without? These are all the things I am trying to figure out.

So, these are my two recreational goals over the next few weeks. Windows and salsa.

Zucchini

Last year our zucchini was cross pollinated so it didn't produce anything but two funny looking zucchini that were as hard as a rock. This year however, we are bursting at the seams with zucchini. I have picked 5 so far, and there are still about 20-30 on the plants we are growing. I must say, fresh from the garden zucchini is amazing. They taste a bit sweeter than what is sold at the stores, but the store version is still quite acceptable (not like the difference between home grown tomatoes and store bought ones). I am looking for zucchini recipes so we don't have to give too many of them away. The night before last I made zucchini sauteed in a little bit of olive oil. Last night I made zucchini spears baked in the oven so they would be like the zucchini sticks that are deep fried at every restaurant in America. I made two different types, one with Shake n Bake believe it or not which came out really good. The other ones I made were a mixture of flour, corn meal, parmesan cheese, garlic powder, Italian spices and salt (can't remember if I added anything else). Both came out great. Tonight, well, I have no idea what I am going to do. Maybe I will make zucchini chips or something so we can dip in marinara sauce. It's essentially the same thing as the spears, but the breading is a bit different. If I find any overwhelmingly great recipes I will be sure to post them here.

Cheddar Dill Scones

I spent the morning making these......

Oh yes, these are AS good as they look. They are flaky, buttery, dilly, cheddary and all around awesome. If you like dill and cheddar cheese, you are ABSOLUTELY going to love these. This recipe is by the Barefoot Contessa a.k.a., Ina Garten. Shawn's grandparents gave me her cookbook for my birthday this year, and I decided to make these for them. :) I did make one simple change to the recipe, I made 36 small scones instead of 16 LARGE ones. Large scones don't appeal to me because it's too much bread, and simply has too many calories - approximately 400-500 per scone according to the recipe if you make only 16. Without further ado, here's the recipe.

Cheddar-Dill Scones
4 c. (plus 1 T.) all-purpose flour
2 T. baking powder
2 tsp. salt
3/4 lb. cold unsalted butter, diced
4 extra-large eggs, lightly beaten
1 c. cold heavy cream
1/2 lb. extra sharp cheddar, small-diced
1 c. minced fresh dill
1 egg, beaten with 1 T. water or milk, for egg wash

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Combine 4 c. of flour, baking powder & salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment. Add butter and mix on low, until the butter is in pea-sized pieces. Mix the eggs & heavy cream together & quickly add them to the flour & butter mixture. Combine until just blended. Toss together the cheese, dill & 1 T. of flour - then add to the dough & mix until they are almost incorporated.

Dump the dough onto a well-floured surface and knead for 1 minute, until the cheddar and dill are well distributed. Roll the dough 3/4 inch thick, cut into 4 inch squares, and then in half diagonally to make triangles. Brush the tops with the egg wash. Bake on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet for 20-25 minutes, until the outside is crusty and the inside is fully baked.

The Best Salsa EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sometimes I love being an instructor. I have seen so many speeches, and learned so many 'secret' family recipes from people over the last few years. Some of these recipes have made it into my permanent collection (of course I ALWAYS GIVE credit where credit is due and NEVER take credit for someone else's recipe's or ideas - because in my book, that's worse than being slapped or spit on!). Getting back to the point, one of my students has been making salsa for about 20 years, and she shared her recipe in class today. I must say, it is BY FAR one of the best salsa recipes I have ever had. I replicated it tonight at home because it was so good in class. Well, it wasn't quite a perfect as the one in class, but it was still quite amazing. She said that she is going to send me the recipe so I can forward it on to the class. So, if you want the recipe (which I will NOT be posting here), I will certainly send it to you through email. That is, once I get it. :) Let's just say, that even 5 hours later and a dip in the hot tub, my hands are still burning from the habanero pepper that is in it. You can make it as spicy or as mild as you'd like, but the recipe calls for 5 different types of chili's. That's right folks - 5 different types. Now, I'm not generally a hot salsa kinda person, but this one I made fairly mild - and it was DELICIOUS. Sweet dreams!

A day in the life......

Here is a snippet of a conversation Shawn and I had yesterday:

Shawn: (frustrated beyond belief) I brought my socks and my phone in here. Can you PLEASE help me look for them before I loose it?

Carol: (slowly looks towards Shawn and looks down near the floor) Uh, well, you're wearing socks, so I think I found those.

Shawn: (looks down and partly smiles sheepishly in utter frustration)

Carol: (doubles over in laughter)

Sometimes marriage makes me laugh!

I don't usually post stories like this, but this one was too cool!

From cnn.com
TOKYO, Japan (AP) -- When Yosuke the parrot flew out of his cage and got lost, he did exactly what he had been taught -- recite his name and address to a stranger willing to help.

Police rescued the African grey parrot two weeks ago from a neighbor's roof in the city of Nagareyama, near Tokyo. After spending a night at the station, he was transferred to a nearby veterinary hospital while police searched for clues, local policeman Shinjiro Uemura said.

He kept mum with the cops, but began chatting after a few days with the vet.

"I'm Mr. Yosuke Nakamura," the bird told the veterinarian, according to Uemura. The parrot also provided his full home address, down to the street number, and even entertained the hospital staff by singing songs.

"We checked the address, and what do you know, a Nakamura family really lived there. So we told them we've found Yosuke," Uemura said.

The Nakamura family told police they had been teaching the bird its name and address for about two years.

But Yosuke apparently wasn't keen on opening up to police officials.

"I tried to be friendly and talked to him, but he completely ignored me," Uemura said.

Gotta Love Our Area

A few weeks back I came across a website that advertised outdoor movies in a town close to ours. Shawn and I have been talking about doing outdoor movies in our backyard for quite sometime now, so this was perfect. He wants to get a projector, set up some couches in the backyard and put up a movie screen so we can enjoy outdoor movies. Well, the company that does it sets up a pretty big outdoor screen, serves free popcorn (and tonight there were free cupcakes), people bring their own chairs, blankets, pillows, etc... and enjoy a free outdoor movie. Tonight's showing was The Wizard of Oz. We had a good time. I love doing stuff like this - so much fun. Shawn thinks I'm kind of a geek when it comes to stuff like this. In fact, he looked over at me a few times and said, "Double P (his nickname for me), you're so cute." Then he laughs in disbelief that I enjoy things like this so much. Are you kidding? A FREE community event? With free movie theater popcorn! What's not to love?

I don't know what the next showing is, but it's in a couple of weeks - and you can bet your bottom dollar that we will be there.

Sometimes things are a bit unusual

This morning I walked from our house down to the Farmer's Market in town since it was the first of the season. While walking, and because our town is so incredibly friendly, I say "Good Morning" to passers by. Well, this morning I passed a man walking an Emu and casually said "Good Morning", as if this were totally normal. I'm not sure who was stranger, the guy walking an Emu on a leash on Main Street downtown, or me, the person who said "Good Morning" as if this was something that occurred everyday. I chuckled to myself and kept walking.

The Dentist

Anyone who knows me knows that I hate going to the dentist, and the Dr's for that matter. Well, Shawn and I have been putting off establishing a new dentist in the area for over a year - well, a year and a half to be exact. We both went in yesterday, after making a last minute appointment in the morning, because that's how I roll. I called in the morning asking if we can get in that day because if there is one thing I hate more than going to the dentist is WAITING to go to the dentist. The receptionist at the dentist office said we could get in that day, and off we went - for a 2 HOUR DENTIST APPOINTMENT. She scheduled both Shawn and I back to back with the same hygienist so we had to wait for each other. All in all it took 2 hours for both of us - but at least we were in there the same day.

The good news: Neither of us had ANY cavities. I could have sworn I had at least one, but the dentist said nope. My teeth are great. No cavities, all fillings are holding up just fine, in short, all is well! No more dentist for the next 6 moths PRAISE GOD!!!

Suicide

About a week ago one of my students (who is in her 40's or 50's) decided to tell me that she believes that if someone commits suicide they will not go to heaven. Now, I'm not offended if someone wants to talk about suicide, or make references to it because not a whole lot of people know about my dad's suicide. But, I am constantly amazed about how freely people talk about it without regard to other people. There are lots of suicides in the world, many of which are in the US. Why would someone make such a thoughtless comment? I did stop her right after that comment and tell her that my father committed suicide and that I didn't necessarily think that at all, but hold onto the hope that my God is bigger than our narrow minds, and that He sees the pain and suffering people go through who commit suicide and see no way out. She immediately apologized to me and felt really bad for saying that. In our world where there are so many issues going on, how do we interact with people without offending? We can't right? But is there a line we draw in talking about things? Or, are those of us effected by situations like this supposed to simply stand by and make exceptions? Just a thought.....

Truth???

With all of the president bashing going on, especially in the circles that I run with (ahem academia - thank you for producing amazingly liberal people), I am glad Pres. Bush is telling the truth - or at least part of the truth. Shawn and I talk all the time about how the Pres. is slandered because of what is going on in the economy. The truth is, is that there are MANY more people in the decision making chair than simply the president (and I am not talking about just Bush, but him and ALL the others before him).

Speaking just on gas alone - there have been proposals time and time again about building more refineries in America. But, like Bush said, the proposals have been shot down. WHY???? I don't want to get into the in's and out's of this, but I find it pretty ridiculous that people ARE STILL pointing fingers at the Pres. for what is going on now. Hello people, rising gas prices have been predicted for YEARS and YEARS now. Just because it's happening NOW doesn't mean it's a direct result of Bush. What about all of the past presidents? What did they do to help divert this?

Read the article posted on CNN's website. Click here!

I especially like the part where the Democrats report that Bush is out of touch. Uh yeah, let's just SHIFT THE BLAME AGAIN WITHOUT REALLY FOCUSING ON GETTING SOMETHING DONE! That's what is really going to make a difference in this country, shifting blame without taking action. Last time I wanted to get something done, I sat on my couch and simply complained about it until it got done. Now I have a clean kitchen, a completely remodeled house, a perfectly manicured yard and each room of the house is spotless. You know how I did it? I passed blame and did nothing. If only the world worked like that.

***She steps down from her soapbox. Discuss!

Approved!!!

I got word yesterday that I was approved to teach online classes next semester at San Jose State University. If all goes well with enrollment, I will be paid to teach from my house. PRAISE GOD!!!!! I am now the second person in the department to teach online (well, for part-timers anyway). Apparently this is a coveted position - and yeah, God totally had His hand in this. God never ceases to amaze me. :)

So, we picked up the car today

I don't know why I am putting this out in blog world - but hey, at least it's an outlet right? I feel REALLY guilty for buying a new (used) car when we have one that is working perfectly. Seriously, I need counseling! I was excited at the prospect of getting a more comfortable car for my back - but since we have one that works perfectly, it's grating on me.

Granted, Shawn and I have been looking to a more comfortable car for about 6 or 8 months - - - - - - still, it doesn't matter. I feel guilty because we didn't need it. Plus, it's more expensive in gas - hello Mr. Premium, nice to meet you. And, about 1/3 worse gas mileage. Hello Mr. More Money in gas, nice to meet you too.

I feel greedy. I don't like buying new cars, especially when I have a working one (even though it's on its last leg). I think my years of going over seas to do missions is finally catching up with me. Our house is too big, and now we have too many cars. So many people in the world have so little - and we already have too much - and now we have even more. I don't like it.

Seriously, I need counseling!

We took the plunge....

Shawn and I just bought a new vehicle. It was too good a deal to pass up. We bought this little number today........

It was $60k when it was purchased back in 2001. The owner has taken impecible care of the vehicle throughout its life. Oh yeah - and we paid NO WHERE NEAR $60k for it. In fact, I talked them down to about $10k. That's right folks - a $60k car for $10k. It has really cool rims, power EVERYTHING, seat memory, individual air conditioners for each person in the car, it's a V8 and is an all around beautiful car. We are going to be keeping this one around for quite a number of years. If you know Shawn and I at all, you know that we drive cars until they don't go anymore. And, when they don't go anymore, my amazing husband fixes them until there is no more he can do. I am so excited. The lady who was selling it drove it pretty gingerly, and has ALL service records since the cars birth. Here is a pic of it. Once we pick it up this week, I will take more pictures and post them. Until then, this will have to suffice.

It is almost the color in the picture, but a bit darker. It's a colbalt blue with beautiful (and amazingly maintained) gray leather interior with wood trim on the inside. I really really really hope this car is going to be better on my back than my Saturn that I have been driving for 10 years.

Brithday this year.....

I am thinking about planning a B-day party again this year. I'm not sure what I should do though. Of course, having people over to the house is one option. But, every time I do that, I go WAAAAAYYYYYYYY overboard and end up serving a TON of food. But, this year maybe I should just have family over for a BBQ. Make really good kabobs served with saffron rice and a balsamic reduction sauce to spoon over the rice and kabobs. Plus, I have always wanted to BBQ rock fruit and make this really good sauce that you serve over vanilla ice cream (which I have yet to make but have the recipe for and am SO excited to try). Here's the question - what do I do for my B-day this year? Simply invited everyone up for the day and have a BBQ? Go to a restaurant? Or go do something low key like a picnic somewhere and do a BBQ in a park or near the American River? I am perplexed. I hesitate to do a BBQ since we always BBQ, and everyone does BBQ's for b-day's during the summer - so, essentially, I'm stuck. Any ideas? Do I follow suit and do a BBQ - or do I do something different? Ohhhhhh - maybe I have a cheese tasting party and the do a simple BBQ later. Hmmmmmm, that's a good idea. That seems like a good idea for people who LOVE cheese, which the husband and I do - so do my husband's brother and sister-in-law. So, I know the 4 of us would have fun. UUUUGHHHHHHHHHHHH - what do I do? Help!!!!!

The verdict....

The slow cooker pork roast was good. Would I make it again - yup. Especially since it's great for left overs. My husband is going to make it into pulled pork sandwiches. I did find that the meat was a bit dry and could have used a shorter cooking time if possible. Probably 3-4 hours on high or 6 hours on low. We tested the meat temp after only a couple of hours and it had reached appropriate temp. Then we left it in the slow cooker for another 3 hours on low to see if it would get more tender. It pulled apart immediately. I do think though that it could use lesser cooking time. So, there you have it - it's good. Mmmmmmm