Last night was Tony's last Friday dinner with us. He leaves for Aynor, SC (35.1 miles from the BEACH!) on Wednesday. At Taylor's suggestion, I made a batch of homemade chicken noodle soup...Tony's favorite. I did a twist on the noodles this time, though. Because of a shortage of flour, I used half Masa flour. They turned out well, and I think I may do that more often. They are a sort of unappetizing gray color, though.
After supper I shot some portraits of him, which I have not uploaded yet. I'm hoping to get a really nice one to give to some of our church members. He's become my little brother and also a sort of son to a couple of the ladies at church. So I hope to have a nice one I can use to print 8x10s and give them away. Sometime this weekend I have to write a story about him. It will be column, not a news story. And it will have quite a few examples of how he's managed to crawl into our hearts to reside.
I have another few days of work this week. I've lost track of how many days I owe the district, but I'm pretty sure it's 4 or 5, so I'll work all next week and be done of the summer. Sort of. I'm organizing our vault of student records, and I won't have time during the school year, so if I don't get it completed this week I know I'll stop in later on to finish up. Taylor and I will be going to Minnesota for a couple of weeks, so it'll probably be late July before I stop in there again.
We have records of every Indian Land student dating back to 1923. That includes not only graduates, but also drop-outs and withdrawals. I've already moved the graduate files to plastic totes with lids so that the records won't be damaged if there's a fire and they get sprinkled. Now I'm working on the drop-out/withdrawal files, which are held in several 4-drawer file cabinets. Most of the drawers are too full to get your fingers into, so when you get a request for records it's hard to pull the file you want. I've decided to pull out all the ones that are more than 10 years old and put them in plastic totes too. For now I'm piling those totes on top of the cabinets, with the hope that I can get facilities management to build me more shelves up there.
The drop-out files are not filed by date, just alphabetically. So this necessitates pulling each file and checking inside to see if there is some sort of clue as to what year they left. I generally don't read students files -- just pull them, get what I need, and get out. But in some cases I have to search for a date and this can lead to some interesting finds. Most of the time there is no reason given for dropping-out or any mention of where the student went when they withdrew. But occasionally I find a poignant comment that gives me pause.
One file said that this 6th grader had been withdrawn from our school for "failure to report." Scribbled across the page was "Ran Away." And in another file was a request for a transcript a couple of years ago from the Ohio Department of Corrections. The request said that they had an inmate who indicated he'd attended Indian Land High School in the 70s and now wanted to pursue his GED.
And there are others that indicate how much personal attention our students receive. I found a note written by my friend Trish when she taught second grade many many years ago. A student of hers was moving to a new state and Trish wrote a brief note to the new school telling them what a delightful little girl the student was, and that she's an excellent student, but needs to get more sleep.
And now it's time to go to Jazzercise. And then maybe a little shopping this afternoon.
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Friday, June 13, 2008
Sox
My life is pretty much a continuous battle with socks. Oh sure, I have the usual battle with pairs going into the laundry and only singles coming out. But the main problem I have with socks is finding them where they are not meant to be.
The other day I sat down in the downstairs bathroom and there, out of the corner of my eye to my right, behind the trashcan, was a pair of socks.
I decided to leave them there.
For two days they lay there. Finally I gave up and put them in the laundry. As I grumbled my way back downstairs from the laundry room, I scooped up my keys and went out to car to go to Jazzercise.
On the floor of my car, between the front seat, where two pair of my own athletic socks.
People who live in glass houses...
The other day I sat down in the downstairs bathroom and there, out of the corner of my eye to my right, behind the trashcan, was a pair of socks.
I decided to leave them there.
For two days they lay there. Finally I gave up and put them in the laundry. As I grumbled my way back downstairs from the laundry room, I scooped up my keys and went out to car to go to Jazzercise.
On the floor of my car, between the front seat, where two pair of my own athletic socks.
People who live in glass houses...
Monday, June 09, 2008
The Turnip is your friend
Listen to the dog barking in the background and then the abrupt end...is that a gunshot?
I Think Bear Saw the White Light
Some may think I was being overly dramatic, but I have to tell you I've seen many pets near death in my life (when in high school I helped out a veterinarian twice a week) and I'm quite certain I nearly lost my puppy last Tuesday.
We got up and walked at 5 a.m. Tuesday like we usually do. We were rounding the last leg of the block when Bear stopped to investigate what looked like a paper towel on the curb. He's a fast little devil and before I could yank him back he had it in his mouth. I snatched him up and stuck two fingers in his mouth to flick the object out. I had it in my grasp but he swallowed before I could get it out. He had some kind of slimy drool dripping from his lips. My thought was "egg... paper towel."
We continued on. About 20 or 30 feet later he started heaving and spit up something on the opposite curb. It was still dark and I didn't really stop to look at the item but it seemed like maybe he'd spit up as much as he'd taken in, so I was good. He was good.
But he wasn't. As we came around the corner toward our house he started slowing down and then finally plopped down. This? Never happens. He's still pretty much a puppy. Incidentally, it was his first birthday on Monday.
I got him into the house where he spread out on the tile floor and went still. Very, very still. His respiration slowed and his heartbeat slowed even more. I bent over him and tried to turn him over and he felt like molten lead. His eyes were glazing over and he really looked bad. It was 5:30 a.m.
I ran upstairs to put on clothes (I was pretty much wearing my pajama top and sweatpants) and told Bob I was going to rush Bear to Charlotte to the Veterinary ER. I didn't know exactly where it was, but had a general idea. He asked if he should come and I said "yes," but then it became obvious that he would want to brush his teeth and put on clothes. I told him I couldn't wait. He put Bear in the car next to me and I lit out.
I called Sarah as I drove down the road. She was fast asleep, but popped wide awake when I told her something was wrong with Bear. She told me where the clinic was. As I drove toward Charlotte, Bear didn't seem to be getting any worse, but he was not getting better, either. He was just lying there, eyes partially opened and still.
I turned onto Westinghouse and then onto Tryon and he suddenly sat up and looked around. As we pulled into the parking lot of the ER, I saw one vehicle there and it was lit up and unlocked. I carried him into the building, but he was not prone by this time. He was up, looking around, and I was carrying him upright with my hand between his front legs and on his chest. He seemed alert.
No one came to the desk when I entered. I wandered around the clinic, but did not go through the "Authorized Personnel Only" doors. I called "Hello? Hello?" several times. By this time Bear was wanting to get down. So I snatched one of their disposable rope leashes off a hook on the wall and walked him around more, still calling out. No response.
So we went back outside and wandered around on the grass, Bear acting completely normal and me watching his every move.
He seemed fine. I told him we'd go home and then see Dr. Curtsinger later if he was still not feeling well. He seemed to think that was a good idea, going over to the car and looking up at me to be put in.
And so we drove home.
He was fine the rest of the day, although pretty quiet. Especially considering we still had my parents and their dog, and sister Julia and nephew Jake all here. I took the day off. There was just too much stuff going on, with Bear and the visitors and Dad's brake problems. And Nate had an interview with the Leroy Springs Foundation about their loan program. Throughout the day Bear stuck close to me, but he does all the time, and I periodically looked at him and said, "I'm glad you're not dead."
The next day I went back to work. We had an all-day planning retreat off-site and at 4:45 Nate called and said, "I think we should take Bear to the vet. He's acting weird. He doesn't act happy to see me and he just lays there." So I told him to pile him in the car and drive straight up to Curtsinger. I'd meet him there. Nate walked in just as they were closing up shop, but they very cheerfully turned stuff back on and ushered him in.
They ran a bunch of bloodwork and determined he had no serious system issues. "He's quite depressed though," they said. "Definitely not our Bear." The final verdict was that whatever he ingested probably had irritated his esophagus and stomach. They gave him fluid under the skin to pep him up a bit and then a shot of something to sooth his gastrointestinal system.
Bear was back to normal in just a couple of hours and by the next morning he was is usual peppy self. Curtsinger's office called to ask about him and they were relieved to hear of his recovery. And here I will tell you: there is no reason that you can't have a vet that treats your pet like a valued member of the family. If your vet doesn't give you this kind of personal attention, then fire him or her.
We got up and walked at 5 a.m. Tuesday like we usually do. We were rounding the last leg of the block when Bear stopped to investigate what looked like a paper towel on the curb. He's a fast little devil and before I could yank him back he had it in his mouth. I snatched him up and stuck two fingers in his mouth to flick the object out. I had it in my grasp but he swallowed before I could get it out. He had some kind of slimy drool dripping from his lips. My thought was "egg... paper towel."
We continued on. About 20 or 30 feet later he started heaving and spit up something on the opposite curb. It was still dark and I didn't really stop to look at the item but it seemed like maybe he'd spit up as much as he'd taken in, so I was good. He was good.
But he wasn't. As we came around the corner toward our house he started slowing down and then finally plopped down. This? Never happens. He's still pretty much a puppy. Incidentally, it was his first birthday on Monday.
I got him into the house where he spread out on the tile floor and went still. Very, very still. His respiration slowed and his heartbeat slowed even more. I bent over him and tried to turn him over and he felt like molten lead. His eyes were glazing over and he really looked bad. It was 5:30 a.m.
I ran upstairs to put on clothes (I was pretty much wearing my pajama top and sweatpants) and told Bob I was going to rush Bear to Charlotte to the Veterinary ER. I didn't know exactly where it was, but had a general idea. He asked if he should come and I said "yes," but then it became obvious that he would want to brush his teeth and put on clothes. I told him I couldn't wait. He put Bear in the car next to me and I lit out.
I called Sarah as I drove down the road. She was fast asleep, but popped wide awake when I told her something was wrong with Bear. She told me where the clinic was. As I drove toward Charlotte, Bear didn't seem to be getting any worse, but he was not getting better, either. He was just lying there, eyes partially opened and still.
I turned onto Westinghouse and then onto Tryon and he suddenly sat up and looked around. As we pulled into the parking lot of the ER, I saw one vehicle there and it was lit up and unlocked. I carried him into the building, but he was not prone by this time. He was up, looking around, and I was carrying him upright with my hand between his front legs and on his chest. He seemed alert.
No one came to the desk when I entered. I wandered around the clinic, but did not go through the "Authorized Personnel Only" doors. I called "Hello? Hello?" several times. By this time Bear was wanting to get down. So I snatched one of their disposable rope leashes off a hook on the wall and walked him around more, still calling out. No response.
So we went back outside and wandered around on the grass, Bear acting completely normal and me watching his every move.
He seemed fine. I told him we'd go home and then see Dr. Curtsinger later if he was still not feeling well. He seemed to think that was a good idea, going over to the car and looking up at me to be put in.
And so we drove home.
He was fine the rest of the day, although pretty quiet. Especially considering we still had my parents and their dog, and sister Julia and nephew Jake all here. I took the day off. There was just too much stuff going on, with Bear and the visitors and Dad's brake problems. And Nate had an interview with the Leroy Springs Foundation about their loan program. Throughout the day Bear stuck close to me, but he does all the time, and I periodically looked at him and said, "I'm glad you're not dead."
The next day I went back to work. We had an all-day planning retreat off-site and at 4:45 Nate called and said, "I think we should take Bear to the vet. He's acting weird. He doesn't act happy to see me and he just lays there." So I told him to pile him in the car and drive straight up to Curtsinger. I'd meet him there. Nate walked in just as they were closing up shop, but they very cheerfully turned stuff back on and ushered him in.
They ran a bunch of bloodwork and determined he had no serious system issues. "He's quite depressed though," they said. "Definitely not our Bear." The final verdict was that whatever he ingested probably had irritated his esophagus and stomach. They gave him fluid under the skin to pep him up a bit and then a shot of something to sooth his gastrointestinal system.
Bear was back to normal in just a couple of hours and by the next morning he was is usual peppy self. Curtsinger's office called to ask about him and they were relieved to hear of his recovery. And here I will tell you: there is no reason that you can't have a vet that treats your pet like a valued member of the family. If your vet doesn't give you this kind of personal attention, then fire him or her.
Sunday, June 08, 2008
So. Where Was I?
Oh yeah.
Monday morning came and the lingering smoke from the night before had pretty much cleared. There was still a slight tinge of burned bean odor in the air, but for the most part things seemed pretty good. I went to work, arriving at 6:15 a.m. We do 4 10-hour days in the summer. I owe 2 weeks and a day to the district. But I'll be dragging those days out for a quite a while, as I planned to take a day or so here and there to visit with my sister and to work the primary election for Cassie.
Mom and Dad said good-bye to us Sunday night, planning to head out of their campground early Monday morning to begin the trek back home to Minnesota.
I started in with the post-school clean-up and shut-down. This necessitates quite a bit of running around the building and also a lot of file-shuffling in our records vault. The vault is nice. It's quiet and there are no phones in there. Unfortunately, there is no cellular signal in there, either. So whenever I've been in there a while, I go back to my desk to check my cell and my desk phone to see if there were calls.
At 8:30 I happened to be at my desk when my cell rang. It was Dad. "We are at Food Lion," he said. "The brakes aren't working on the camper. Do you think your mechanic can help us?"
I called Derek Patterson and told his receptionist the situation. They said they'd take Dad right away and I knew if they couldn't fix the problem, they'd get him to the right place. So I sent Dad up the road about a mile and went back to the vault.
A couple of hours later I checked messages and had one from Dad saying they were stuck at the mechanic and couldn't get back to our house. They needed a ride and couldn't find Nate. The message was 2 hours old. Hmmm. So I called and they had finally found him and were back at my house. They needed to take it to an RV repair place in Charlotte and didn't have a way to get it up there. So called my friend Steve, who is a home handyman. He was around and they did some more diagnosing and testing. Mom and Dad ended up staying until Wednesday morning getting it all done.
During all this time I was getting text messages from Julia saying they were stuck at the airport in Minneapolis. Needed a new plane. Then needed flight attendants. I never understand why flight attendants can't just go to the new plane with the passengers. I told her not to worry about being late getting here...I'd given her bed to Mom and Dad!
So as you can imagine Monday night was pretty chaotic. Everyone was here and I don't even remember what we fed them all. I'm glad Mom and Dad stayed a couple of days. They hadn't seen Julia since February, so they caught up a bit.
Tuesday morning, however, I had an emergency with Bear that really shook me up for a while.
Monday morning came and the lingering smoke from the night before had pretty much cleared. There was still a slight tinge of burned bean odor in the air, but for the most part things seemed pretty good. I went to work, arriving at 6:15 a.m. We do 4 10-hour days in the summer. I owe 2 weeks and a day to the district. But I'll be dragging those days out for a quite a while, as I planned to take a day or so here and there to visit with my sister and to work the primary election for Cassie.
Mom and Dad said good-bye to us Sunday night, planning to head out of their campground early Monday morning to begin the trek back home to Minnesota.
I started in with the post-school clean-up and shut-down. This necessitates quite a bit of running around the building and also a lot of file-shuffling in our records vault. The vault is nice. It's quiet and there are no phones in there. Unfortunately, there is no cellular signal in there, either. So whenever I've been in there a while, I go back to my desk to check my cell and my desk phone to see if there were calls.
At 8:30 I happened to be at my desk when my cell rang. It was Dad. "We are at Food Lion," he said. "The brakes aren't working on the camper. Do you think your mechanic can help us?"
I called Derek Patterson and told his receptionist the situation. They said they'd take Dad right away and I knew if they couldn't fix the problem, they'd get him to the right place. So I sent Dad up the road about a mile and went back to the vault.
A couple of hours later I checked messages and had one from Dad saying they were stuck at the mechanic and couldn't get back to our house. They needed a ride and couldn't find Nate. The message was 2 hours old. Hmmm. So I called and they had finally found him and were back at my house. They needed to take it to an RV repair place in Charlotte and didn't have a way to get it up there. So called my friend Steve, who is a home handyman. He was around and they did some more diagnosing and testing. Mom and Dad ended up staying until Wednesday morning getting it all done.
During all this time I was getting text messages from Julia saying they were stuck at the airport in Minneapolis. Needed a new plane. Then needed flight attendants. I never understand why flight attendants can't just go to the new plane with the passengers. I told her not to worry about being late getting here...I'd given her bed to Mom and Dad!
So as you can imagine Monday night was pretty chaotic. Everyone was here and I don't even remember what we fed them all. I'm glad Mom and Dad stayed a couple of days. They hadn't seen Julia since February, so they caught up a bit.
Tuesday morning, however, I had an emergency with Bear that really shook me up for a while.
Tuesday, June 03, 2008
A Night to Remember
So. The party has ended. The people had all gone home. Mensa Boy and I were tidying up as much as we are willing to, when I said "I think I'll clean the oven."
I checked in there. Nothing had been left. It was dirty, but seemed okay to go. So I shut the door and hit "Clean."
After 20 minutes, black sooty smoke began pouring from the oven vents. Mensa Boy was starting to get extremely nervous and was opening windows and setting up the fan to blow the smoke out the kitchen window.
After another 10 minutes, we started to worry that the smoke was getting thicker and was very acrid. It seemed somewhat toxic. All I could really tell MB was that it would have to burn off. The other alternative would have been to cut power to the kitchen. So we decided to wait a few minutes more.
Finally after a total of about 45 minutes, the smoke seemed to be stopping. But we still had a lot in the air downstairs. And it really reeked pretty bad. I was worried enough that I wondered if we might sustain smoke damage to the furniture.
But the fire/smoke thing turned out to be just the beginning of a series of events that would keep us on edge for a couple of days. Stay tuned.
I checked in there. Nothing had been left. It was dirty, but seemed okay to go. So I shut the door and hit "Clean."
After 20 minutes, black sooty smoke began pouring from the oven vents. Mensa Boy was starting to get extremely nervous and was opening windows and setting up the fan to blow the smoke out the kitchen window.
After another 10 minutes, we started to worry that the smoke was getting thicker and was very acrid. It seemed somewhat toxic. All I could really tell MB was that it would have to burn off. The other alternative would have been to cut power to the kitchen. So we decided to wait a few minutes more.
Finally after a total of about 45 minutes, the smoke seemed to be stopping. But we still had a lot in the air downstairs. And it really reeked pretty bad. I was worried enough that I wondered if we might sustain smoke damage to the furniture.
But the fire/smoke thing turned out to be just the beginning of a series of events that would keep us on edge for a couple of days. Stay tuned.
It's all OVER!
The boy is graduated, the party has been thrown. Thank you notes are the next thing on the agenda. I thought the red eye on this photo was just too humorous to correct!
Graduation was Friday afternoon at Winthrop Coliseum. The venue was really too large for a small school like ours (only 100 graduates), but it was pretty with all the red of the Winthrop Eagles basketball team, and the setup really seemed intimate. I liked it better than the auditorium we've used in years past, which has always seemed dark, run-down and haunted. But the coliseum cost us $3000 more too.
Nate looked quite mature and calm during the ceremony, which went off without a hitch. I was more nervous about the ceremony than I was about Nate graduating. I was in charge of the diplomas and I think I checked them something like 11 times to be sure they were laid out on the table in the correct order and that we had one for each graduate. We had a graduate decline to participate the day before the ceremony, and another show up unexpectedly, so there was much shifting of seating arrangements and all that.
After commencement we all went to Olive Garden for a great meal. Nate's girlfriend Erin came with us, as did Tony. Olive Garden does very well with service for large groups, which I find remarkable considering that they don't take reservations.
Then Mom and I popped over to some shops to see if I could find crops and tees to wear for the open house Sunday. That was harder than I thought. I had a hard time finding crops in my size at all of the stores we were in.
Saturday was errand day and prep for the event. It was blistering hot too, which made me worry a bit about it being too hot for the party the next day.
Sunday we did the church thing and I had the beans baking all day. We retrieved 5 huge trays of bbq pork from the fire department cooler, along with 1 1/2 gallons of sauce. I think the biggest stressor was worrying about how to get the right amounts heated up to serve and how to keep the rest safely cool. Mom made a big batch of cole slaw from the recipe I managed to get from the Masonic Lodge...the only cole slaw I've ever had that I like.
The afternoon clouded up and we had some lightning for a few minutes. But by 3 or 3:30 it all looked good. So we scattered tables and chairs around the back yard and people started pouring in around 5.
Altogether we had more than 60 folks here. I only know this because I bought 60 cups and we had 2 left. But I know there were more because the posse showed up with wine around 6:30 and we used wine glasses. And there were some graduates here, who got special "Class of 2008" glasses I had for them.
The real action happened after the party. Tune back in for details. I promise, the blog will be updated more regularly now. Really.
Monday, May 26, 2008
Burnett Garden
Yes, we're still alive. Nate will graduate on Friday, if I let him live that long. Mensa Boy seems to have JUST ABOUT conquered influenza. Taylor and I are just coasting along...he's primarily on poop patrol, I'm shopping and planning for the open house on Sunday.
But today I got to go to June Burnett's house and take photos of her garden for the newspaper. She and her garden will be in Southern Living magazine in July and our papers want to write a story about the story. Delightful lady, beautiful home. Mom and I went and spent 90 minutes with her walking around and talking plants and trees and shrubs and cats.
But today I got to go to June Burnett's house and take photos of her garden for the newspaper. She and her garden will be in Southern Living magazine in July and our papers want to write a story about the story. Delightful lady, beautiful home. Mom and I went and spent 90 minutes with her walking around and talking plants and trees and shrubs and cats.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Yellow Roses
I planted this rose bush last year and I'm proud to say it survived the nightmare that was my flowerbed then, a rest in the woods for a week, and then a transplant to the newly-conditioned bed. My first bloom of the summer. Walmart: $5. I shot this 3 or 4 days ago and have had several other blooms from this plant since then.
Yesterday I was buddy Tambri's "glitter girl." We put together the signs and art for the backdrop for the recital, which is next Saturday. It will be a long, grueling day as we set up, have dress rehearsals, then the show, then clean up. I plan to extract my pound of flesh from her two weeks after that when we do Nate's open house.
And speaking of open house, I think now I'm going to change the time. Yesterday I went to a local church's BBQ fundraiser and it was pretty warm. I started really thinking about our back yard and realizing that we ought to move the open house to 4 or 5 o'clock, when the sun gets over the trees. Otherwise it will be too hard on everyone to be out there. Then they will all pile in here, which I definitely don't want!
And I've really been thinking about Nate's cake. I wanted to do something different, but I couldn't figure out what. Finally it occurred to me that I should have his Erskine acceptance letter scanned on top of it. I'll order a sheet or half sheet and then we'll make cupcakes and frost them in Erskine colors. I'm pretty excited about that. But I pulled the letter out and it's kind of bad looking. It was obviously folded up before the ink had already dried, so we've got quite a bit of smearing. Tambri suggested copying it on a color copier first to see if that would clear it up, but I think I'm going to call Erskine tomorrow, tell them what I'm up to, and see if they'd mind doing me a new one on plain, untextured paper. I'm willing to be they would.
Today the cleaning lady comes at 4 to walk the house and give me an estimate. I will be so glad to have a "big clean" done.
Happy Mother's Day to all you moms out there. It will be a quiet, standard Sunday here, I'm sure. Mensa Boy is not around and I think Nate is working all day. I'm reasonably certain the guys have not thought about getting cards or anything. That's alright.
Yesterday I was buddy Tambri's "glitter girl." We put together the signs and art for the backdrop for the recital, which is next Saturday. It will be a long, grueling day as we set up, have dress rehearsals, then the show, then clean up. I plan to extract my pound of flesh from her two weeks after that when we do Nate's open house.
And speaking of open house, I think now I'm going to change the time. Yesterday I went to a local church's BBQ fundraiser and it was pretty warm. I started really thinking about our back yard and realizing that we ought to move the open house to 4 or 5 o'clock, when the sun gets over the trees. Otherwise it will be too hard on everyone to be out there. Then they will all pile in here, which I definitely don't want!
And I've really been thinking about Nate's cake. I wanted to do something different, but I couldn't figure out what. Finally it occurred to me that I should have his Erskine acceptance letter scanned on top of it. I'll order a sheet or half sheet and then we'll make cupcakes and frost them in Erskine colors. I'm pretty excited about that. But I pulled the letter out and it's kind of bad looking. It was obviously folded up before the ink had already dried, so we've got quite a bit of smearing. Tambri suggested copying it on a color copier first to see if that would clear it up, but I think I'm going to call Erskine tomorrow, tell them what I'm up to, and see if they'd mind doing me a new one on plain, untextured paper. I'm willing to be they would.
Today the cleaning lady comes at 4 to walk the house and give me an estimate. I will be so glad to have a "big clean" done.
Happy Mother's Day to all you moms out there. It will be a quiet, standard Sunday here, I'm sure. Mensa Boy is not around and I think Nate is working all day. I'm reasonably certain the guys have not thought about getting cards or anything. That's alright.
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Testing Vortex
I shot this at the end of a long morning of Advanced Placement testing yesterday.
I recently set my camera's "optimize image" setting to "more vivid." It makes my shots a little darker, but I like the way it makes the colors pop a little more. I cropped this to 5x5 and then applied a vortex blur, which I then erased from the student.
I have not done much shooting since I started the job, mainly because I haven't done any newspaper work since then either. I'm hoping to start doing more shooting for fun now that I don't feel compelled to work at home anymore. Today I am going to a church BBQ fundraiser to get some shots for the paper, though. I'm looking forward to that.
The patio project is nearing completion. Steve is coming today to do the mortar. I need to get out and take some shots of that, too.
Last night Taylor and I ate an odd supper and watched "Die Hard." He'd never seen it before. I asked him what he wanted for supper and he said wings. I knew I had a few. But wings take 90 minutes to bake so that they are crunchy. So I picked up sushi too. So we started grazing with sushi, then went to french fries, and then wings, topping it all off with movie candy. It was a fun night.
I recently set my camera's "optimize image" setting to "more vivid." It makes my shots a little darker, but I like the way it makes the colors pop a little more. I cropped this to 5x5 and then applied a vortex blur, which I then erased from the student.
I have not done much shooting since I started the job, mainly because I haven't done any newspaper work since then either. I'm hoping to start doing more shooting for fun now that I don't feel compelled to work at home anymore. Today I am going to a church BBQ fundraiser to get some shots for the paper, though. I'm looking forward to that.
The patio project is nearing completion. Steve is coming today to do the mortar. I need to get out and take some shots of that, too.
Last night Taylor and I ate an odd supper and watched "Die Hard." He'd never seen it before. I asked him what he wanted for supper and he said wings. I knew I had a few. But wings take 90 minutes to bake so that they are crunchy. So I picked up sushi too. So we started grazing with sushi, then went to french fries, and then wings, topping it all off with movie candy. It was a fun night.
Friday, May 09, 2008
Tenth Avenue North - Love Is Here
My new favorite group. Their debut album is due for release in about 10 days.
Thursday, May 08, 2008
Clematis
I planted one clematis last fall next to the copper obelisk that Taylor and I made in cub scouts a few years ago. But really I knew it would want company...at least two more. So this spring I bought two nice, big plants from Lowe's Home Improvement for about $8 each. This is the first bloom from the three...it's one of the spring plants. I'm starting to see nearly daily changes in my garden now. It's pretty exciting!
Things are hopping around here as I ramp up prep for Nate's Open House June 1. Friend Steve is putting in the flagstones now that will extend our existing patio out slightly beyond the pergola. It looks much more finished back there now. I guess I'll need to shop for some furniture next.
I've also secured someone to do a deep cleaning of the entire house before the open house, and she'll come every week or every other week after to help out. That will help a lot. I can manage the cleaning, but it's a stress I really don't need, and if I'm doing it when Mensa Boy is here, he feels obligated to help.
So. that's all I know for now.
Things are hopping around here as I ramp up prep for Nate's Open House June 1. Friend Steve is putting in the flagstones now that will extend our existing patio out slightly beyond the pergola. It looks much more finished back there now. I guess I'll need to shop for some furniture next.
I've also secured someone to do a deep cleaning of the entire house before the open house, and she'll come every week or every other week after to help out. That will help a lot. I can manage the cleaning, but it's a stress I really don't need, and if I'm doing it when Mensa Boy is here, he feels obligated to help.
So. that's all I know for now.
Sunday, May 04, 2008
Cap&Gown
This is from yesterday as well. The best, probably, of all 250 shots. I did pull a major novice boner. When I uploaded all the pix I noticed that I'd shot them all with the ISO set at 1600. That made them all much noisier. However, the colors are good and the lighting seems to be working well. It was about 6 or 7 o'clock last night when we did this.
My idea was to do this task this weekend while Mensa Boy is home is because I knew Nate would have a really bad attitude about it. My theory was that Dad would be able to make it a little more fun and try to josh him into enjoying himself.
That totally backfired. MB is so inside-out getting ready for his trip to China that his head wasn't really in the game either. I could have actually killed them both!
But we did get a few and I hope to have another run at this today. If I can't make it work out then I'll ask a friend from school, who was Nate's Biology teacher, to get together with us and help.
My idea was to do this task this weekend while Mensa Boy is home is because I knew Nate would have a really bad attitude about it. My theory was that Dad would be able to make it a little more fun and try to josh him into enjoying himself.
That totally backfired. MB is so inside-out getting ready for his trip to China that his head wasn't really in the game either. I could have actually killed them both!
But we did get a few and I hope to have another run at this today. If I can't make it work out then I'll ask a friend from school, who was Nate's Biology teacher, to get together with us and help.
Saturday, May 03, 2008
Shooting Him
A semi-miserable photo shoot with Nate ended with about a half dozen shots where he actually looked like he might be enjoying himself.
We'll have another go tomorrow without the cap and gown. If I can't get something I really want, I have a friend at school that will shoot him. We are hoping to use these for the invitations to his open house June 1.
We'll have another go tomorrow without the cap and gown. If I can't get something I really want, I have a friend at school that will shoot him. We are hoping to use these for the invitations to his open house June 1.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Walking Walking Seems so Easy Now
It's been a busy week. I am fully aware that I have not been keeping up with the writing since I took the job on March 25. I'm having a hard time figuring out when to write. I can not reach Blogspot from my computer at work, so blogging for a few minutes during a break in the mania is not really an option.
hmm....that reminds me...I think there's a way to post via email. I should check into that.
There is not really anything I can say about work on the blog. Which is pretty sad because that's where the action is. But since my position is in Guidance, there is a lot of confidentiality involved and so that pretty much means I can't write about stuff there. I could maybe write about my interesting coworkers, but this community is so small that I'd worry that someone would find it.
I will tell you, however, about my first passive-aggressive act at the office.
We have a parking lot that is not large enough to accommodate every staff member. If everyone is there, the lot is full and some have to park in the driveway.
So when someone parked their brand new SUV in a space-and-a-third on Monday, I thought that was a little thoughtless. Since I was driving Mensa Boy's wearable car (buddy Tambri calls it my fashion accessory), I went ahead and parked in the little space that SUV left and was careful to leave enough room for everyone to maneuver.
However, when the same situation happened again yesterday, it seemed more like a deliberate act on the part of the other driver.
So I parked my little fashion accessory as close to the door of the SUV as I could.
Then I went on a stake-out. I was able to see the scenario from our suite and I hung around until 4, when most of the faculty leaves. I will here honestly admit I was hoping for some huge, fat woman. Although I couldn't think of any on the faculty.
Pretty soon an old, bald, limping man came out and squeezed himself in there.
I have to admit I felt a little guilty about that. But then this morning one of my coworkers told me the guy's limp was temporary. Caused by a car accident where he totaled his vehicle. Hence the new SUV.
Guilty no more.
hmm....that reminds me...I think there's a way to post via email. I should check into that.
There is not really anything I can say about work on the blog. Which is pretty sad because that's where the action is. But since my position is in Guidance, there is a lot of confidentiality involved and so that pretty much means I can't write about stuff there. I could maybe write about my interesting coworkers, but this community is so small that I'd worry that someone would find it.
I will tell you, however, about my first passive-aggressive act at the office.
We have a parking lot that is not large enough to accommodate every staff member. If everyone is there, the lot is full and some have to park in the driveway.
So when someone parked their brand new SUV in a space-and-a-third on Monday, I thought that was a little thoughtless. Since I was driving Mensa Boy's wearable car (buddy Tambri calls it my fashion accessory), I went ahead and parked in the little space that SUV left and was careful to leave enough room for everyone to maneuver.
However, when the same situation happened again yesterday, it seemed more like a deliberate act on the part of the other driver.
So I parked my little fashion accessory as close to the door of the SUV as I could.
Then I went on a stake-out. I was able to see the scenario from our suite and I hung around until 4, when most of the faculty leaves. I will here honestly admit I was hoping for some huge, fat woman. Although I couldn't think of any on the faculty.
Pretty soon an old, bald, limping man came out and squeezed himself in there.
I have to admit I felt a little guilty about that. But then this morning one of my coworkers told me the guy's limp was temporary. Caused by a car accident where he totaled his vehicle. Hence the new SUV.
Guilty no more.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Laundry Dreams
[darnit! I knew no one would take stuff out of the dryer. And here someone has left a kleenex in their pocket again. While I fluff the wrinkles out of these, I'll start a load of whites. For Pete's Sake! Why can't they shake the grass out of the socks before they put them in the basket? I guess I should just be glad they put them in the basket. Hey! Gimme that, you mangy cur! On second thought, here...let me open Taylor's door and you can deposit that pair of dirty underwear right on his bed. Hmm...I wonder if this shirt should be washed in hot? ach...what do I care? It's not mine.]
"Good morning and welcome to NPR news!"
stretttchhh. hmm...I wonder if I should start a load of laundry this morning? I don't think I need to. I think I'm all caught up.
"Good morning and welcome to NPR news!"
stretttchhh. hmm...I wonder if I should start a load of laundry this morning? I don't think I need to. I think I'm all caught up.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Plan B
Yesterday was definitely a "Plan B" day. I started out here at my desk planning to do some benefit CDs for The Clevelands. But the internet service provider went down mid-way through my blog posting and never came back up all day.
So after wandering around aimlessly for a bit, I decided to do a little gardening. I'll get out there and shoot some photos this afternoon. I saw my neighbor digging around in hers and asked if she wanted to go plant shopping. She's always up for that! So we headed out to Pike's Nursery in Ballantyne.
What a gorgeous place! The plants are so well-cared for, too. I bought some Bee Balm, Japanese Anemone, Salvia, Summer Phlox, Spike Speedwell, a Dwarf Red Columbine, Lantana, and a plant called Jacob's Ladder. Those are all perennials. Then to get some color to look at now, I put in some annual Salvia and some Dianthus. The plants were about $30 all together, and then I bought a water wand for the hose. On Friday I'll go back for herbs for the herb pots. I've also decided to put in 3 or 4 tomato plants to supplement what I get from the farm and some chili pepper plants. I love dried chili peppers, and last year we really only got a handful from the farm. They are pretty plants too, so I'll put scatter them throughout the flower garden to add interest.
Every time I dig in this garden I'm so glad that I had my friend Steve prep it last fall. I don't even have to put soil conditioner in when I plant new stuff. And using a spade to dig the hole for the new plant is optional, too. It's so moist and loose I can pretty much just scoop out handfuls with my fingers.
The stuff I planted last summer is doing just okay. The Gardenias are really not coming up the way I'd like. Actually, most of them are not coming up. I think I planted something like a dozen of them, and I can only find 3. I had to excavate for those, too. The rest seem to just be gone. I'm having better luck with the Scabiosa and Coreopsis. I also had some Penstemin and Gaillardia, and I think I'm seeing some of that. The little Clematis I planted is doing really well and starting to climb the obelisk. But it needs a couple more to keep it company. I couldn't find any at the garden center yesterday. The stuff that really looks great is the Astilbe. Yesterday before planting the new stuff I "fluffed up" the entire garden and did a little gentle digging where I'd placed flags signifying new plants.
So after wandering around aimlessly for a bit, I decided to do a little gardening. I'll get out there and shoot some photos this afternoon. I saw my neighbor digging around in hers and asked if she wanted to go plant shopping. She's always up for that! So we headed out to Pike's Nursery in Ballantyne.
What a gorgeous place! The plants are so well-cared for, too. I bought some Bee Balm, Japanese Anemone, Salvia, Summer Phlox, Spike Speedwell, a Dwarf Red Columbine, Lantana, and a plant called Jacob's Ladder. Those are all perennials. Then to get some color to look at now, I put in some annual Salvia and some Dianthus. The plants were about $30 all together, and then I bought a water wand for the hose. On Friday I'll go back for herbs for the herb pots. I've also decided to put in 3 or 4 tomato plants to supplement what I get from the farm and some chili pepper plants. I love dried chili peppers, and last year we really only got a handful from the farm. They are pretty plants too, so I'll put scatter them throughout the flower garden to add interest.
Every time I dig in this garden I'm so glad that I had my friend Steve prep it last fall. I don't even have to put soil conditioner in when I plant new stuff. And using a spade to dig the hole for the new plant is optional, too. It's so moist and loose I can pretty much just scoop out handfuls with my fingers.
The stuff I planted last summer is doing just okay. The Gardenias are really not coming up the way I'd like. Actually, most of them are not coming up. I think I planted something like a dozen of them, and I can only find 3. I had to excavate for those, too. The rest seem to just be gone. I'm having better luck with the Scabiosa and Coreopsis. I also had some Penstemin and Gaillardia, and I think I'm seeing some of that. The little Clematis I planted is doing really well and starting to climb the obelisk. But it needs a couple more to keep it company. I couldn't find any at the garden center yesterday. The stuff that really looks great is the Astilbe. Yesterday before planting the new stuff I "fluffed up" the entire garden and did a little gentle digging where I'd placed flags signifying new plants.
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
Dog's Dinner
When Gordon Ramsay is criticizing a chef's dish on his show "Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares," he often will say "That looks like a dog's dinner."
Well, that's pretty much what we had last night. Actually, it was the dog's leftovers we had last night for supper.
Geriatric house guest Kelly still is suffering from some mild bowel upset, and not eating terribly well. I decided yesterday to make her a nice, easy-on-the-tummy meal of chicken and rice. Often I have chicken parts in the freezer..wings and necks that I drop into a gallon ziplock for making stock. But all of that was gone. So I went to the grocery store and picked up a $4 bird and simmered it up. After I made her a container of chicken and rice, I still had most of the bird, so made chicken and rice soup for the rest of us. Taylor was somewhat taken aback when I told him we were having Kelly's leftovers for supper!
Well, that's pretty much what we had last night. Actually, it was the dog's leftovers we had last night for supper.
Geriatric house guest Kelly still is suffering from some mild bowel upset, and not eating terribly well. I decided yesterday to make her a nice, easy-on-the-tummy meal of chicken and rice. Often I have chicken parts in the freezer..wings and necks that I drop into a gallon ziplock for making stock. But all of that was gone. So I went to the grocery store and picked up a $4 bird and simmered it up. After I made her a container of chicken and rice, I still had most of the bird, so made chicken and rice soup for the rest of us. Taylor was somewhat taken aback when I told him we were having Kelly's leftovers for supper!
Yesterday I also went to the school district office to become bona fide. Completed all the paperwork, waived all the insurance benefits and arranged for direct deposit. And finally found out what my salary is. It's pretty low for someone of my age and experience, but it's double what I've made the last couple of years as a freelancer and I'll only work 210 days a year. How can you beat that?
Monday, April 07, 2008
it's all about poop
Not our dog this time. Sarah's. We are taking care of buddy Sarah's aged golden retriever, Kelly. She can not really go to the kennel anymore when they go out of town. The stress upsets her gastrointestinal tract and she ends up sick as a...well...you know...for several days. Sarah's husband Rick likened Kelly going to the kennel to taking your grandmother to the dorm. How appropriate!
Kelly's got an upset tummy this time anyway. She got into their puppy's food and the richness of it all caused her bowels to basically explode. She had been pretty clear by the time she arrived here yesterday morning, but she's not producing much solid waste...just small amounts of watery discharge. So I'm taking her out, then Bear out, then her out...feeding her, then Bear, etc. The gates are back up all over the house to make it easier to take care of them both. And we use them to separate the dogs so that she doesn't get into OUR puppy food!
She sleeps in Taylor's room. He let her up on the bed, he said, where she slept all night. But this morning when I went in to get her she was on the floor next to him. Kelly has quite a bit of hearing loss, so I had to turn lights on in the hallway, then open Taylor's door, to let her know I was there. I can see her startle sometimes when she's sleeping and I come around the corner or walk through a door. She's a very sweet dog.
Today I got a call from the school district. They are very sorry they have not contacted me before to take care of paperwork for the new job but apparently my file was in the pile of terminations! hmmmm
Kelly's got an upset tummy this time anyway. She got into their puppy's food and the richness of it all caused her bowels to basically explode. She had been pretty clear by the time she arrived here yesterday morning, but she's not producing much solid waste...just small amounts of watery discharge. So I'm taking her out, then Bear out, then her out...feeding her, then Bear, etc. The gates are back up all over the house to make it easier to take care of them both. And we use them to separate the dogs so that she doesn't get into OUR puppy food!
She sleeps in Taylor's room. He let her up on the bed, he said, where she slept all night. But this morning when I went in to get her she was on the floor next to him. Kelly has quite a bit of hearing loss, so I had to turn lights on in the hallway, then open Taylor's door, to let her know I was there. I can see her startle sometimes when she's sleeping and I come around the corner or walk through a door. She's a very sweet dog.
Today I got a call from the school district. They are very sorry they have not contacted me before to take care of paperwork for the new job but apparently my file was in the pile of terminations! hmmmm
Sunday, April 06, 2008
Scholars Day
Yesterday we went to Erskine College for Scholars Day. I did not count how many students were there but it appeared be the entire class of incoming freshman.
We had a nice chance to hear from administration about life at Erskine while the students went to hear the same from current students. The administration made a point of assuring us that they will take care of our kids and give them individual attention. Class sizes are very small and the student:teacher ratio is 12:1. Total enrollment around 600. So it's easy to see how they are able to catch kids that are slumping.
Because the campus is out in the middle of nowhere, the campus has a ton of stuff for kids to do right there. Many of the students said they never lack for anything to do.
One thing the President said really stuck with me, and I hope it sticks with Nate when he hears it next fall at freshman orientation:
"You were a success in high school because you are bright. But at Erskine, everyone is bright. You will be a success here because you apply yourself."
Pretty cool. I sure hope he does!
I was impressed with the way Nate handled conversations with all the strangers. He maintained good eye contact (something I've not seen him do well before), and spoke politely and intelligently. Looking at him as he spoke to the music professor, I was impressed with his obvious engagement in the conversation and his open and interested body language. I was very proud. I'm also noticing that he's really a good looking kid! He's got a shy thing going on and those big brown eyes and the way he tilts his head down and looks up kind of through his bangs is simply adorable.
We had a nice chance to hear from administration about life at Erskine while the students went to hear the same from current students. The administration made a point of assuring us that they will take care of our kids and give them individual attention. Class sizes are very small and the student:teacher ratio is 12:1. Total enrollment around 600. So it's easy to see how they are able to catch kids that are slumping.
Because the campus is out in the middle of nowhere, the campus has a ton of stuff for kids to do right there. Many of the students said they never lack for anything to do.
One thing the President said really stuck with me, and I hope it sticks with Nate when he hears it next fall at freshman orientation:
"You were a success in high school because you are bright. But at Erskine, everyone is bright. You will be a success here because you apply yourself."
Pretty cool. I sure hope he does!
I was impressed with the way Nate handled conversations with all the strangers. He maintained good eye contact (something I've not seen him do well before), and spoke politely and intelligently. Looking at him as he spoke to the music professor, I was impressed with his obvious engagement in the conversation and his open and interested body language. I was very proud. I'm also noticing that he's really a good looking kid! He's got a shy thing going on and those big brown eyes and the way he tilts his head down and looks up kind of through his bangs is simply adorable.
Friday, April 04, 2008
"She's Daid!"
Yesterday I placed a call to a dead person.
Of course I didn't know until the gentleman who answered the phone told me. It's horrible to do that. All I could do was say "I'm sorry. I was calling about the scholarship offered by the Eastern Star."
Gulp. Couldn't I have left that second sentence out?
Anyway, I had to give the counselors a bit of grief for having me call a dead person. If this had happened Tuesday, I probably would have thought it was an initiation rite.
Today is the last day before Spring Break. The principal announced to the teachers that she would allow a dress down day (jeans) today. I'm wearing jeans, but I sure don't remember hearing an announcement or seeing an email telling us all we could. I can't imagine she'd let the faculty dress down and not the staff. We'll see.
Tomorrow Mensa Boy, Nate and I will go to Erskine College for Scholars Day. It's touted as being a day to recognize students for their academic achievements. You may remember that Erskine awarded Nate an $8,000 per year scholarship. I assume it's just the scholarship recipients that are invited. I'm looking forward to it, although we will be gone all day, so I imagine I'll be pretty tired tomorrow night.
A word about Erskine. And Winthrop University. And the University of South Carolina. Last week we saw the handwriting on the wall, telling us that Nate belongs at Erskine. It was handwriting we were very glad to see because it's Nate's first choice and MB and I loved what we saw of the institution last summer during our brief visit there.
The handwriting came in the form of financial aid letters from Erskine and Winthrop. Shortly after Nate received notice of his acceptance to Erskine, he got a letter telling him about the Garnet Scholarship. The day the letter came, I had just pushed the button to send the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid). So they gave him this award without even seeing our financial situation. By the time all was said and done, Nate had an award letter worth $19,500 from Erskine, and only $3000 of it was a federal student loan. The rest is all free money (well, there's the work study).
We didn't hear from Winthrop until last week. They did not offer him any of their school money. They didn't offer him a federal work study program. All they put in the letter was the South Carolina HOPE scholarship and a bunch of federally-backed student loans. No grants.
Doing the math, it's actually going to be less expensive for Nate to attend Erskine, where the total bill will be almost $30k, than to go to Winthrop, where his bill would be about $20k.
USC? Nada. No letters.
Of course I didn't know until the gentleman who answered the phone told me. It's horrible to do that. All I could do was say "I'm sorry. I was calling about the scholarship offered by the Eastern Star."
Gulp. Couldn't I have left that second sentence out?
Anyway, I had to give the counselors a bit of grief for having me call a dead person. If this had happened Tuesday, I probably would have thought it was an initiation rite.
Today is the last day before Spring Break. The principal announced to the teachers that she would allow a dress down day (jeans) today. I'm wearing jeans, but I sure don't remember hearing an announcement or seeing an email telling us all we could. I can't imagine she'd let the faculty dress down and not the staff. We'll see.
Tomorrow Mensa Boy, Nate and I will go to Erskine College for Scholars Day. It's touted as being a day to recognize students for their academic achievements. You may remember that Erskine awarded Nate an $8,000 per year scholarship. I assume it's just the scholarship recipients that are invited. I'm looking forward to it, although we will be gone all day, so I imagine I'll be pretty tired tomorrow night.
A word about Erskine. And Winthrop University. And the University of South Carolina. Last week we saw the handwriting on the wall, telling us that Nate belongs at Erskine. It was handwriting we were very glad to see because it's Nate's first choice and MB and I loved what we saw of the institution last summer during our brief visit there.
The handwriting came in the form of financial aid letters from Erskine and Winthrop. Shortly after Nate received notice of his acceptance to Erskine, he got a letter telling him about the Garnet Scholarship. The day the letter came, I had just pushed the button to send the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid). So they gave him this award without even seeing our financial situation. By the time all was said and done, Nate had an award letter worth $19,500 from Erskine, and only $3000 of it was a federal student loan. The rest is all free money (well, there's the work study).
We didn't hear from Winthrop until last week. They did not offer him any of their school money. They didn't offer him a federal work study program. All they put in the letter was the South Carolina HOPE scholarship and a bunch of federally-backed student loans. No grants.
Doing the math, it's actually going to be less expensive for Nate to attend Erskine, where the total bill will be almost $30k, than to go to Winthrop, where his bill would be about $20k.
USC? Nada. No letters.
Thursday, April 03, 2008
Work, Shop, Sleep
That's about it. I get to the school at 7 a.m. to open the office. I work like a crazy woman all morning, and then go home to walk the dog, maybe eat lunch or maybe take it back to the office, work all afternoon, run some errands, cook supper, and then go to bed.
The body is very slow in adapting to the new lifestyle. Last week were a few painful days, paying the price of a sedentary, desk-bound job. But I've made a point to move around more. Probably the hardest part for me is forcing myself to get up and walk around when I have a pile of tasks on my desk. I tend to stick to something until it's done, not wanting to break off for fear I'll lose momentum. I think I'm figuring it out slowly now.
But I absolutely love the new job. It's great already knowing my coworker's names, and I'm learning students names every day. As a rule, they pretty respectful and very grateful when we are able to help them with transcripts and scholarship information, etc.
I have had a couple of funny incidents. Here is one of them that I wrote to my posse last week:
The body is very slow in adapting to the new lifestyle. Last week were a few painful days, paying the price of a sedentary, desk-bound job. But I've made a point to move around more. Probably the hardest part for me is forcing myself to get up and walk around when I have a pile of tasks on my desk. I tend to stick to something until it's done, not wanting to break off for fear I'll lose momentum. I think I'm figuring it out slowly now.
But I absolutely love the new job. It's great already knowing my coworker's names, and I'm learning students names every day. As a rule, they pretty respectful and very grateful when we are able to help them with transcripts and scholarship information, etc.
I have had a couple of funny incidents. Here is one of them that I wrote to my posse last week:
Three students came into my office and stood respectfully in front of my desk. I looked up and smiled.
"You ask her," one girl said.
"Are you Mrs. Paulson?" the middle girl said.
"Yup. That's me!" I replied.
"We were wondering when you are going to have cheerleading tryouts," she said.
"HUH?" I said.
"Cheerleading tryouts. The lady who had this job before was our cheerleading coach," the middle girl said.
Third student (guy) laughed nervously.
"Oh. I'm pretty sure I'm not your cheerleading coach," I told them. "Trust me. You DON'T want me cheerleading!"
The first girl turned to the others and said, "See? I told you that having a new person here wouldn't necessarily mean she'd do the coaching too!"
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Poop Watch Announcement: March 25, 2008
"The canine has excreted solid waste," Nate announced this evening.
A Watershed Moment
For 13 years I've worked part time. A very flexible part time. It has allowed me to be home when I need to be, run errands during the daytime, be one of the "ladies who lunch," and watch the occasional movie in the middle of the day.
Starting today, and for at least 210 days a year, that will all be different. I'm reporting to the fulltime work world for duty. I'm dressed and ready to go. I have my new steno pad, a note-taking technique I have not used for 13 years, and my bottle of water.
And I also have a tiny bit of anxiety. One would think I might be anxious about performing on the job. But that's not it. I have all the skills. I have willpower and energy. So what am I anxious about?
Bear.
Yup. My little dog has been my constant companion since August. Following me around, sleeping at my feet, and licking my elbow when he wants to go out, Bear has been a wonderful little buddy for me. And now he'll go in his bed and stay there all day. He'll handle that fine. I wonder how I'll do with it?
We'll see.
Starting today, and for at least 210 days a year, that will all be different. I'm reporting to the fulltime work world for duty. I'm dressed and ready to go. I have my new steno pad, a note-taking technique I have not used for 13 years, and my bottle of water.
And I also have a tiny bit of anxiety. One would think I might be anxious about performing on the job. But that's not it. I have all the skills. I have willpower and energy. So what am I anxious about?
Bear.
Yup. My little dog has been my constant companion since August. Following me around, sleeping at my feet, and licking my elbow when he wants to go out, Bear has been a wonderful little buddy for me. And now he'll go in his bed and stay there all day. He'll handle that fine. I wonder how I'll do with it?
We'll see.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Virgin Mary Toast
| Item | Cost | Balance |
| House, Wellsville, KS | 249,950 | 750,050 |
| Mercedes Benz SL550 Roadster | 96125 | 653,925 |
| Samsung 42" Plasma TV | 1399 | 652,526 |
| WII | 388 | 652,138 |
| PS3 | 439 | 651,699 |
| Xbox 360 Elite | 519 | 651,180 |
| 15.4" Widescreen Notebook | 2149 | 649,031 |
| A Door | 199 | 648,832 |
| GI Joe Prototype | 200000 | 448,832 |
| 18 kt Gold Gameboy | 25000 | 423,832 |
| Virgin Mary Toast | 28000 | 395,832 |
The goal: spend $1,000,000. That you don't have. All virtual money. It has to be spent, not invested. It can't be used to earn you any more money. You can not have more than 2 forms of transportation, your house can't be more than certain percentage of the total. You can not have more than 4 items that are the same kind of thing...like you can't buy 12 game consoles. The closer you get to spending the entire million, the higher your grade will be.
This is Taylor's project for Pre-honors Algebra.
We thought it a little odd when he decided to buy a house in Wellsville, Kansas, of all places. He could not really explain how he landed there, but he certainly would not budge, despite all our teasing. He was so proud when he bought his first car, which was a Toyota Prius or something like that. Then we explained that he could really spend a lot more than that for a vehicle. A Hummer, perhaps? When he made the connection with car costs and found the Mercedes Benz, that's when he seemed to really get interested in the project.
The Door? A simple door. 200 Bucks. No explanations. He just wanted to buy this door. No reason. Just a quirk. Then last night he stumbled on a website about the most expensive things. An 18kt Gold Gameboy was right up his alley. But the giggles really started to come when he stumbled upon the Virgin Mary toast.
Here is a BBC story from 2004: 'Virgin Mary' toast fetches $28,000.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Garden & Gun
This just really tickles my funny bone on so many levels. The subtitle is "21st Century Southern America."
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Three bodies
Mensa boy and his mini built this model of the digestive system for science class. It was really fun listening to them strategize about parts and figure out where they were going to go to procure them. I think the project ended up running the greater part of $40, but to me it was worth it. Taylor will get extra credit and the time the two of them spent together will last in their memory for a lifetime.
Sunday, March 09, 2008
Orange Cardamom Muffins
I'd never made these before, but I can tell right now that I will make them again. Honestly, I made these for the church bake sale because I thought, "Cardamom. I can use some of that up."
I've not made a bad muffin from the cookbook "Gloria's Glorious Muffins," by Gloria Ambrosia. I've had it so long and used it so much that I really need to put a rubber band around it. The pages are falling out.
Orange Cadamom Muffins
yield: 12 muffins
Dry Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups whole-wheat pastry flour
1 1/2 cups whole-wheat flour
1/2 cup unbleached white flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
Wet Ingredients:
3/4 c orange juice concentrate
1 c soy or cow's milk
1/4 c canola oil
1 egg
1/2 cup honey, warmed slightly
2 Tbsp grated orange rind
Topping:
1/3 cup slivered almonds
Preheat oven to 400. Line muffin tins with paper or grease with shortening or butter.
Sift together the dry ingredients.
Whisk together the wet ingredients.
Pour the wet into the dry. Mix just until all the dry is incorporated. No longer!
Fill muffin cups nearly full. Top with almonds. Bake 15-20 minutes. Remove from oven and brush lightly with canola oil. Let rest for 10 minutes in the pans before serving.
I've not made a bad muffin from the cookbook "Gloria's Glorious Muffins," by Gloria Ambrosia. I've had it so long and used it so much that I really need to put a rubber band around it. The pages are falling out.
Orange Cadamom Muffins
yield: 12 muffins
Dry Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups whole-wheat pastry flour
1 1/2 cups whole-wheat flour
1/2 cup unbleached white flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
Wet Ingredients:
3/4 c orange juice concentrate
1 c soy or cow's milk
1/4 c canola oil
1 egg
1/2 cup honey, warmed slightly
2 Tbsp grated orange rind
Topping:
1/3 cup slivered almonds
Preheat oven to 400. Line muffin tins with paper or grease with shortening or butter.
Sift together the dry ingredients.
Whisk together the wet ingredients.
Pour the wet into the dry. Mix just until all the dry is incorporated. No longer!
Fill muffin cups nearly full. Top with almonds. Bake 15-20 minutes. Remove from oven and brush lightly with canola oil. Let rest for 10 minutes in the pans before serving.
Thursday, March 06, 2008
Hot Pad Fleet
Mini Mensa Boy created this fleet of ships with the hotpads his grandmother makes for us.
Simple Pleasures
Here's a good, old-fashioned recipe for you:
Dice some leeks. Simmer them in 1/2 a stick of butter until soft.
Add some homemade chicken stock.
Add peeled and diced russet potatoes
Maybe some rosemary.
Salt
Simmer that until the potatoes are cooked through. Then get out your boat motor blender and blend until you've got it the consistency you want.
BUT...while those potatoes are cooking? Get out what's left of that whole-grain bakery bread you bought at Harris Teeter. Butter both sides of each slice and then sprinkle liberally with black and red pepper. Cube the slices. Toss the cubes in a pan and toast them, flipping them often, until they are browned up nicely.
The spicy-ness of the croutons on top of the potato soup? Oh. My. Gosh.
Dice some leeks. Simmer them in 1/2 a stick of butter until soft.
Add some homemade chicken stock.
Add peeled and diced russet potatoes
Maybe some rosemary.
Salt
Simmer that until the potatoes are cooked through. Then get out your boat motor blender and blend until you've got it the consistency you want.
BUT...while those potatoes are cooking? Get out what's left of that whole-grain bakery bread you bought at Harris Teeter. Butter both sides of each slice and then sprinkle liberally with black and red pepper. Cube the slices. Toss the cubes in a pan and toast them, flipping them often, until they are browned up nicely.
The spicy-ness of the croutons on top of the potato soup? Oh. My. Gosh.
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
First Hurdle
Apparently I'm the "running writer." Yup. I've been given the Track & Field season to cover. It'll be fun. I won't be at all the meets, though. Many of them are far away and the travel would cost more than I get paid. But I'll no doubt make it to a few meets. The home ones, for sure.
This is a 7th grader jumping over hurdles for the very first time. Yes, I know she doesn't look that efficient in this shot. But like I said, this is her very first time. I took this a week ago at a practic, and I I imagine she looks better already. Their first meet is tonight. GO WARRIORS!
So that's part of the latest news I have to share with you. There are many other things that have been happening since I dropped off the blog world. I'll give them to you in bits and pieces over the next few days.
This is a 7th grader jumping over hurdles for the very first time. Yes, I know she doesn't look that efficient in this shot. But like I said, this is her very first time. I took this a week ago at a practic, and I I imagine she looks better already. Their first meet is tonight. GO WARRIORS!
So that's part of the latest news I have to share with you. There are many other things that have been happening since I dropped off the blog world. I'll give them to you in bits and pieces over the next few days.
Friday, February 29, 2008
Thursday, February 28, 2008
My Shadow
Taylor shadowed me as I worked a story the other day. The story was about the job shadowing program at the middle school. I gave him a camera and we drove the guidance counselor around to visit 8-10 students that were shadowing friends and family at their jobs.
At the end of the day Taylor had to write a brief reflection of his experience. He said he learned that photographers have to move around a lot. And he thinks he doesn't want to be one because he likes "to stay in one spot."
At the end of the day Taylor had to write a brief reflection of his experience. He said he learned that photographers have to move around a lot. And he thinks he doesn't want to be one because he likes "to stay in one spot."
Friday, February 22, 2008
It's Not Like I've Been Doing Nothing...
How do you like that for a double negative?
This has been a very busy week, with not much to show for it. But it looks like things are settling down just a little bit. I've spent most of the week getting the new laptop up-to-speed (still working on a nagging security issue with my connection to the Cleveland Company) and also have lost a lot of time on Nate's mp3 player issues.
Nate's Creative Zen V Plus was a great little player. Until it stopped playing with our computers. I found the Creative site to be no help at all with his particular issue. The player would not be recognized by either Napster or Windows Media Player. Even Creative's firmware that I downloaded fresh would not see that the player was connected. After losing several hours and plenty of hair, I finally toted it to Best Buy.
That ended up being a happy experience. When I bought the player last summer I paid for a Product Replacement Plan...not a "performance" plan. So when I showed them the player, they sent me to pick out a new one for the same price. They don't carry Creative anymore, so I chose an Insignia player (Best Buy's own brand) with 8GB of memory. And so here we are now with a happy guy and a nice mp3 player.
Nate's car is also being repaired and hopefully it will return home late next week. He has to have a new hood, headlight, radiator and air conditioner condenser. The original estimate called for many other repairs because they couldn't get the hood open so they made wild guesses. Once Mensa Boy and Nate popped the lid with crowbars, the damage was re-assessed and the repair bill went down $1000. So the total cost of the project will be $1600 and Nate will pay half. That will double the value of his car to us. We paid only $1800 when we bought it! But since it has a fairly new engine, it seems like a wise decision.
And this morning I'm finding myself to be pleasantly surprised by Windows Vista. I've been skeptical of the whole operating system. I never really felt like I had heard much positive about it. It is true that it's a nag, but you can control many of the nagging bits off. What I found this morning that I like is the parental controls. With Nate's new mp3 player only being usable on my computer right now (his computer needs some desperate overhauling), I'm having to set up a user account on my computer for him to use Napster and Media Player. I found that Vista allows me to control everything the guys can do on this computer, including which programs can be run. So I set up an account for them that is not password-protected that will only allow them to use those two programs. They will have to use their own computer for everything else, including surfing the net.
So. That's my story. Today I need to work on some accounting and then I can start doing some paying work. OH! I'm going to be covering the Track team! I guess I'm the "running writer" now.
This has been a very busy week, with not much to show for it. But it looks like things are settling down just a little bit. I've spent most of the week getting the new laptop up-to-speed (still working on a nagging security issue with my connection to the Cleveland Company) and also have lost a lot of time on Nate's mp3 player issues.
Nate's Creative Zen V Plus was a great little player. Until it stopped playing with our computers. I found the Creative site to be no help at all with his particular issue. The player would not be recognized by either Napster or Windows Media Player. Even Creative's firmware that I downloaded fresh would not see that the player was connected. After losing several hours and plenty of hair, I finally toted it to Best Buy.
That ended up being a happy experience. When I bought the player last summer I paid for a Product Replacement Plan...not a "performance" plan. So when I showed them the player, they sent me to pick out a new one for the same price. They don't carry Creative anymore, so I chose an Insignia player (Best Buy's own brand) with 8GB of memory. And so here we are now with a happy guy and a nice mp3 player.
Nate's car is also being repaired and hopefully it will return home late next week. He has to have a new hood, headlight, radiator and air conditioner condenser. The original estimate called for many other repairs because they couldn't get the hood open so they made wild guesses. Once Mensa Boy and Nate popped the lid with crowbars, the damage was re-assessed and the repair bill went down $1000. So the total cost of the project will be $1600 and Nate will pay half. That will double the value of his car to us. We paid only $1800 when we bought it! But since it has a fairly new engine, it seems like a wise decision.
And this morning I'm finding myself to be pleasantly surprised by Windows Vista. I've been skeptical of the whole operating system. I never really felt like I had heard much positive about it. It is true that it's a nag, but you can control many of the nagging bits off. What I found this morning that I like is the parental controls. With Nate's new mp3 player only being usable on my computer right now (his computer needs some desperate overhauling), I'm having to set up a user account on my computer for him to use Napster and Media Player. I found that Vista allows me to control everything the guys can do on this computer, including which programs can be run. So I set up an account for them that is not password-protected that will only allow them to use those two programs. They will have to use their own computer for everything else, including surfing the net.
So. That's my story. Today I need to work on some accounting and then I can start doing some paying work. OH! I'm going to be covering the Track team! I guess I'm the "running writer" now.
Saturday, February 16, 2008
A Financial Tornado
To say these last couple of days have been "interesting" would definitely be an understatement.
On Valentine's Day this happened:
The boy is ok, but he's in mourning. And of course he's concerned about the state of his financial affairs. He'll have to help pay for the damage, that's for sure. But at this point he's really the only member of the family that has money that is not earmarked for bills or whatever. We are still waiting for estimates. We suspect the engine will be fine, but perhaps he'll need new motor mounts. Radiator, of course, and headlight.
He says there was a driver behind him that was weaving in and out of traffic and then riding his bumper. He was coming up to a light and was watching the guy behind him rather than the one in front. So he didn't stop at the light in time. Apparently the hit-ee was pretty nice. He said he didn't care. Old truck. He was one of the original construction guys on our neighborhood many years ago. He rehabs Camaros for a hobby. Has several in fact. We are glad he wasn't driving one at the time!
So Nate is without wheels for now and that means Mom's taxi service is back in business. yippee.
Friday morning I woke up to new computer problems. My desktop computer was built to my specs in 2001. It has served me very well. But for the past few years it has had a steady diet of new RAM, new hard drives, power supplies, etc. Friday morning it was just rebooting over and over. It's done that before, and probably could be fixed. But I thought it was time for a new computer. The old one just does not have the kind of power to run multiple programs. Especially that I need for processing photos. So I bought a new laptop. Cha-ching!
When I brought the new laptop home I set it up and downloaded my email. In my inbox was a notification from the SC Department of Education. They are awarding Nate $3,200 in grant money if he attends a private SC college! {{head spinning around}}
SO! That part is pretty cool!
He says there was a driver behind him that was weaving in and out of traffic and then riding his bumper. He was coming up to a light and was watching the guy behind him rather than the one in front. So he didn't stop at the light in time. Apparently the hit-ee was pretty nice. He said he didn't care. Old truck. He was one of the original construction guys on our neighborhood many years ago. He rehabs Camaros for a hobby. Has several in fact. We are glad he wasn't driving one at the time!
So Nate is without wheels for now and that means Mom's taxi service is back in business. yippee.
Friday morning I woke up to new computer problems. My desktop computer was built to my specs in 2001. It has served me very well. But for the past few years it has had a steady diet of new RAM, new hard drives, power supplies, etc. Friday morning it was just rebooting over and over. It's done that before, and probably could be fixed. But I thought it was time for a new computer. The old one just does not have the kind of power to run multiple programs. Especially that I need for processing photos. So I bought a new laptop. Cha-ching!
When I brought the new laptop home I set it up and downloaded my email. In my inbox was a notification from the SC Department of Education. They are awarding Nate $3,200 in grant money if he attends a private SC college! {{head spinning around}}
SO! That part is pretty cool!
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Monday, February 11, 2008
Do Not Touch!
Originally uploaded by Food Fanatic
I found this folder in a Sunday School room at the church.
Friday, February 08, 2008
The Shot in the Arm We Needed!
A letter from Erskine College informing Nate that he is the recipient of the Garnet Scholarship. This is an $8,000 per year scholarship. HOO HOO! Only $20,000 more to find!
Pretty soon I'll have to break the news to him that he needs to take the SAT again. Or the ACT. Or both. He's 10 points shy of getting a $5000 per year grant from the state of South Carolina. He's taken it twice already, and his scores improved quite well the second time around, but his combined Critical Reading and Math are 10 points shy. So. We'll do that!
Pretty soon I'll have to break the news to him that he needs to take the SAT again. Or the ACT. Or both. He's 10 points shy of getting a $5000 per year grant from the state of South Carolina. He's taken it twice already, and his scores improved quite well the second time around, but his combined Critical Reading and Math are 10 points shy. So. We'll do that!
Wednesday, February 06, 2008
Ash Wednesday
"Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return."
Pastor Ed Galloway, who is the minister at our sister church, gave a short sermon tonight at the Ash Wednesday service. He said "There's a longing in our hearts to come before our Lord and acknowledge our sin. Only He can redeem us. Only He can cleanse us from our sin.
Ed reminded us that we can wash the ashes off our foreheads, but "We have been marked with an indelible blessing that has been inscribed on our hearts."
Pastor Ed Galloway, who is the minister at our sister church, gave a short sermon tonight at the Ash Wednesday service. He said "There's a longing in our hearts to come before our Lord and acknowledge our sin. Only He can redeem us. Only He can cleanse us from our sin.
Ed reminded us that we can wash the ashes off our foreheads, but "We have been marked with an indelible blessing that has been inscribed on our hearts."
Sunday, February 03, 2008
Friday, February 01, 2008
Electile Dysfunction
Electile Dysfunction : the inability to become aroused over any of the
choices for president put forth by either party in the 2008 election
year.
choices for president put forth by either party in the 2008 election
year.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Searching for Money
With all the talk about our economy and the shrinking buying power of the dollar, it's a little daunting (actually a LOT daunting)to think about trying to gather funds for Nate to go to college.
This weekend I hope to have the last bits of documentation I need to get our taxes done. For some reason our mortgage interest statement hasn't arrived yet. Usually it's one of the first things. And I don't have a 1099 from the paper, but I can easily total up my earnings from 2007 so that we can at least get a start.
After the taxes are done...next week, I know because our accountant promised he'll do ours right away because of college money search...I will navigate through the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid). This form is apparently the be all and end all to getting financial assistance for college.
We have divided up the money search responsibilities. I am to do searching, paperwork, and number crunching. Nate will complete scholarship applications and write essays. Mensa Boy will be his cheerleader, helping him to decide which scholarships interest him and might be worth spending time on, and editing & proofreading his essays. So far Nate has done 3 or 4 applications and last night he wrote an essay. Hopefully the two of them can work on 2 or 3 scholarships a week.
So that's what's going on here. I fully anticipate that the bush beating for money will be my third parttime job. And I'm ok with that.
This weekend I hope to have the last bits of documentation I need to get our taxes done. For some reason our mortgage interest statement hasn't arrived yet. Usually it's one of the first things. And I don't have a 1099 from the paper, but I can easily total up my earnings from 2007 so that we can at least get a start.
After the taxes are done...next week, I know because our accountant promised he'll do ours right away because of college money search...I will navigate through the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid). This form is apparently the be all and end all to getting financial assistance for college.
We have divided up the money search responsibilities. I am to do searching, paperwork, and number crunching. Nate will complete scholarship applications and write essays. Mensa Boy will be his cheerleader, helping him to decide which scholarships interest him and might be worth spending time on, and editing & proofreading his essays. So far Nate has done 3 or 4 applications and last night he wrote an essay. Hopefully the two of them can work on 2 or 3 scholarships a week.
So that's what's going on here. I fully anticipate that the bush beating for money will be my third parttime job. And I'm ok with that.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Wine Notes: Francis Ford Coppola Rosso Bianco 2005
This is a blend of reds. It's easy to find in the just about every grocery store. It's pretty much okay. Not as smooth as my favorite reds, but not too tannic. I'd buy it again if it were on sale (although it's cheap anyway) and I couldn't find Marietta Cellars or Wolf Blass.
Yesterday I played. Well, I did do some work. I got up and wrote a story about our middle school dedication ceremony that we had on Sunday. I got that thing down on the screen and filed by 8:30. My friend Cassie turned 50 on Sunday and took yesterday off, so I did too. We had both worked all weekend...the primary on Saturday and then I worked a story on Sunday. So yesterday we spent the day together. Here is a rundown of what we did:
Jazzercise
Lunch: Nothing but Noodles. You know, I had eaten there once before and thought "eh." Sort of a middle-of-the-road that meal was. But yesterday was excellent and really hit the spot. We liked both of our dishes. I had Sesame Lo Mein with shrimp and Cassie had Southwest Chipolte with shrimp.
Movie: "Atonement." Now, for about the first 40 minutes Cassie was getting a little nervous. Had she pulled a boner choosing this movie? Would it be "White Oleander" all over again? Cassie and I love to go to movies but if one of us chooses a movie that is hideous, then they are in the doghouse until they choose what we call a "redemption movie." My last doghouse flick was "Little Miss Sunshine," the blame for which I lay completely on my friend Julie. That movie was so awful that I started apologizing within the first 10 minutes and then apologized for every week until my redemption flick many months later...which was "Waitress." Cassie had to admit that "Waitress" was SO good that I probably had not only redeemed myself for the "Sunshine" movie, but I had also banked up points against the next poor choice.
But I digress. "Atonement." Neither of us had read the book. I generally wouldn't have anyway. I don't like seeing movies when I've read the book. I'm pretty much always disappointed. So the movie was very slow starting out the gate and then had a couple of "lookback" scenes that took too long for the viewer to realize they were looking back. It just took TOO LONG for the movie to get to the bad thing that needed atonement.
But once the bad thing occurred, then the movie went along right well. And it ended well. Not a happy ending, but a good ending.
So. Would I recommend it? Yes, but I'd say "when you go, don't give up." We both agreed that if we were watching it on TV or had it on DVD? We would have clicked off and missed a nice movie. No rave reviews, though.
After the movie: Yoga. You might think that two hour-long workouts in one day is too many. But I will say here that the yoga is really helping a lot. The stretching and the breathing goes a long way to relieving fatigue and body pain. It increases mobility, too. Monday is the only day I do two workouts in one day, though.
After yoga: Library Board meeting. Pretty uneventful.
Then a late supper while watching Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares. BBC shows reruns it every day at 6. If it weren't for the language and the bleeping, I'd really really enjoy it. Now I just really enjoy it!
So. After all that playing yesterday I have a ton a work to do today. And in a couple of days I'll be adding a third full time job: Nate's financial aid researcher. Right after the taxes are done.
Yesterday I played. Well, I did do some work. I got up and wrote a story about our middle school dedication ceremony that we had on Sunday. I got that thing down on the screen and filed by 8:30. My friend Cassie turned 50 on Sunday and took yesterday off, so I did too. We had both worked all weekend...the primary on Saturday and then I worked a story on Sunday. So yesterday we spent the day together. Here is a rundown of what we did:
Jazzercise
Lunch: Nothing but Noodles. You know, I had eaten there once before and thought "eh." Sort of a middle-of-the-road that meal was. But yesterday was excellent and really hit the spot. We liked both of our dishes. I had Sesame Lo Mein with shrimp and Cassie had Southwest Chipolte with shrimp.
Movie: "Atonement." Now, for about the first 40 minutes Cassie was getting a little nervous. Had she pulled a boner choosing this movie? Would it be "White Oleander" all over again? Cassie and I love to go to movies but if one of us chooses a movie that is hideous, then they are in the doghouse until they choose what we call a "redemption movie." My last doghouse flick was "Little Miss Sunshine," the blame for which I lay completely on my friend Julie. That movie was so awful that I started apologizing within the first 10 minutes and then apologized for every week until my redemption flick many months later...which was "Waitress." Cassie had to admit that "Waitress" was SO good that I probably had not only redeemed myself for the "Sunshine" movie, but I had also banked up points against the next poor choice.
But I digress. "Atonement." Neither of us had read the book. I generally wouldn't have anyway. I don't like seeing movies when I've read the book. I'm pretty much always disappointed. So the movie was very slow starting out the gate and then had a couple of "lookback" scenes that took too long for the viewer to realize they were looking back. It just took TOO LONG for the movie to get to the bad thing that needed atonement.
But once the bad thing occurred, then the movie went along right well. And it ended well. Not a happy ending, but a good ending.
So. Would I recommend it? Yes, but I'd say "when you go, don't give up." We both agreed that if we were watching it on TV or had it on DVD? We would have clicked off and missed a nice movie. No rave reviews, though.
After the movie: Yoga. You might think that two hour-long workouts in one day is too many. But I will say here that the yoga is really helping a lot. The stretching and the breathing goes a long way to relieving fatigue and body pain. It increases mobility, too. Monday is the only day I do two workouts in one day, though.
After yoga: Library Board meeting. Pretty uneventful.
Then a late supper while watching Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares. BBC shows reruns it every day at 6. If it weren't for the language and the bleeping, I'd really really enjoy it. Now I just really enjoy it!
So. After all that playing yesterday I have a ton a work to do today. And in a couple of days I'll be adding a third full time job: Nate's financial aid researcher. Right after the taxes are done.
Friday, January 25, 2008
Thursday, January 24, 2008
How do I Get Out of This?
Yesterday's self-portrait theme was "upside-down." Yes, I could have just hung my head over the edge of a couch or chair. Or even just bent over at the waist and peered through my legs. But no! That would have been too easy!
So I put my camera on my tripod, which I had threaded through the spindles of the upstairs landing rail. I then tied the neckstrap to the spindles. Set the camera to fire by remote, and went downstairs to contemplate how I was going to get on my hands.
Everything went really well until I got to this point.
I did get Nate to help me later. He stood me on my hands while I shot another photo. But I didn't really like those as much. I had wanted to use a moderate depth of field, with my feet in focus and gradually losing focus as you looked down toward my head. But instead I ended up with my belt in focus. In the end, this outtake seemed better than the original idea.
On an unrelated note: We are going to be parents of an Erskine student! Nate was accepted to Erskine College, which is a private Presbyterian College in Due West, SC. The setting and college is remarkably similar to our alma mater. Unfortunately, it is a private college, with a corresponding private college tuition. Visit Erskine online at http://www.erskine.edu.
So I put my camera on my tripod, which I had threaded through the spindles of the upstairs landing rail. I then tied the neckstrap to the spindles. Set the camera to fire by remote, and went downstairs to contemplate how I was going to get on my hands.
Everything went really well until I got to this point.
I did get Nate to help me later. He stood me on my hands while I shot another photo. But I didn't really like those as much. I had wanted to use a moderate depth of field, with my feet in focus and gradually losing focus as you looked down toward my head. But instead I ended up with my belt in focus. In the end, this outtake seemed better than the original idea.
On an unrelated note: We are going to be parents of an Erskine student! Nate was accepted to Erskine College, which is a private Presbyterian College in Due West, SC. The setting and college is remarkably similar to our alma mater. Unfortunately, it is a private college, with a corresponding private college tuition. Visit Erskine online at http://www.erskine.edu.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
The photographer and His Subject
Actually, his real subject was peanut butter. A tiny dab on the back of the camera.
Mensa Boy had the idea for this shot. I came in from Jazz and said, "I haven't done my self-portrait for today." And he right away popped out with this idea. I have no idea what I'll do today. Tomorrow is upside-down day in the group.
Mensa Boy had the idea for this shot. I came in from Jazz and said, "I haven't done my self-portrait for today." And he right away popped out with this idea. I have no idea what I'll do today. Tomorrow is upside-down day in the group.
Monday, January 21, 2008
Wine Notes: Orleans Hill Cote Zero
This wine definitely rated a big fat ZERO. In fact, below zero. I've never just poured out an entire bottle before. It was simply nasty. I probably should have taken it back to the store. Maybe there was just a bad batch or something.
When I pulled the cork, there were all these crystals on the bottom of it. The wine itself was pale and sickly looking. Holding the bottle up to the light, I could see sediment.
Sulfite Free. Organic, California Red Wine. 2006.
When I pulled the cork, there were all these crystals on the bottom of it. The wine itself was pale and sickly looking. Holding the bottle up to the light, I could see sediment.
Sulfite Free. Organic, California Red Wine. 2006.
m-m-m These Dreams...
I've been having some pretty vivid dreams these past few months. For most of my life I haven't really remembered many dreams. But in the past several months I've had several that are very memorable. Probably because, for the most part, they've been about mundane things.
I dreamed once about pouring coffee into a cup. After the cup filled I just kept pouring. I was looking right at what I was doing. I was pouring from my little 4-cup pot and the pot never emptied. The cup filled and overflowed and the coffee just kept coming from the pot.
I dreamed about making scrambled eggs for my friend Rena.
But the really interesting one was yesterday morning. I dreamed we had a white armadillo living under our couch. I don't know how I knew it was even an armadillo. All I saw in the dream was a flash of tail. The dream centered around the fact that he got out into the main part of the living room and bonus room and pooped all over. Yup. The dream was about me having to clean up armadillo poop.
I dreamed once about pouring coffee into a cup. After the cup filled I just kept pouring. I was looking right at what I was doing. I was pouring from my little 4-cup pot and the pot never emptied. The cup filled and overflowed and the coffee just kept coming from the pot.
I dreamed about making scrambled eggs for my friend Rena.
But the really interesting one was yesterday morning. I dreamed we had a white armadillo living under our couch. I don't know how I knew it was even an armadillo. All I saw in the dream was a flash of tail. The dream centered around the fact that he got out into the main part of the living room and bonus room and pooped all over. Yup. The dream was about me having to clean up armadillo poop.
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Off I Go a-Rovering
It's 5:58 a.m. and I'm off to my three precincts to see how they are doing with their machines. I should be done at all three by 7 when the polls open. Then, it's just a lot of a waiting around, waiting for a problem. But there won't be one. Once everyone is up, the machines just click right along. We are well-prepared and the machines have been properly set up.
Intense boredom will set in around 10 a.m. and last through 7 p.m. tonight. I have books and movies and my cameras to entertain me. One of the polling places is in an historic Presbyterian church near here. They have a very picturesque cemetery, so I hope to take some shots in there. We are expecting 1-3 inches of snow throughout the day, so that could make photos even more fun.
Intense boredom will set in around 10 a.m. and last through 7 p.m. tonight. I have books and movies and my cameras to entertain me. One of the polling places is in an historic Presbyterian church near here. They have a very picturesque cemetery, so I hope to take some shots in there. We are expecting 1-3 inches of snow throughout the day, so that could make photos even more fun.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
A Snowy Day
Our first snow of the year. Schools were delayed 2 hours this morning. I don't know how much we got. But as I was drinking my coffee this morning the editor called asking me to go out in the cold, wet snow and take photos. This bird one does not show much snow. I took it on my friend's backyard deck.
I took this one as I walked to the back steps of their deck.
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Don't Be Deceived
I know you are looking at this and thinking, "Oh My! What a perfect little brain! I wonder what animal this is from?"
But if you look very very closely, you'll see that it is actually a model that Taylor sculpted from Hershey Kiss wrappers.
Yup.
But if you look very very closely, you'll see that it is actually a model that Taylor sculpted from Hershey Kiss wrappers.
Yup.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Dummies
This dog of ours is sharp as a tack. His people, however are constantly cramming for the tests he throws at them.
He's good with "sit," "stay," "down," "roll over," "leave it," and "watch." He goes to his bed when we tell him, and he notifies us one way or another that he needs to go out.
But when he gets outside, he has a serious case of ADD. You know he has to go. He has to go so bad that he's nearly frantic inside. But once he's out there, his nose overtakes his bowels and he simply is overcome with all the fragrances that are in the wind, on the ground, and under the ground.
And so each afternoon between about 3:30 and 6:30, he leads us to the door and we take him out. To stomp around and wait and pace up and down while he does everything except his business. And then back in we go for 5 or 6 minutes until he takes us to the door again.
There is nothing written anywhere about this that I can find. Somewhere on a magical mystical shelf lies a small booklet that tells exactly how to train your dog in this area. And I'm sure it's placed right next to the little pamphlet that explains how to teach your toddler to blow his nose.
He's good with "sit," "stay," "down," "roll over," "leave it," and "watch." He goes to his bed when we tell him, and he notifies us one way or another that he needs to go out.
But when he gets outside, he has a serious case of ADD. You know he has to go. He has to go so bad that he's nearly frantic inside. But once he's out there, his nose overtakes his bowels and he simply is overcome with all the fragrances that are in the wind, on the ground, and under the ground.
And so each afternoon between about 3:30 and 6:30, he leads us to the door and we take him out. To stomp around and wait and pace up and down while he does everything except his business. And then back in we go for 5 or 6 minutes until he takes us to the door again.
There is nothing written anywhere about this that I can find. Somewhere on a magical mystical shelf lies a small booklet that tells exactly how to train your dog in this area. And I'm sure it's placed right next to the little pamphlet that explains how to teach your toddler to blow his nose.
Friday, January 11, 2008
Rover Rover
Last night I went to the training session for poll workers for the upcoming primaries. dull dull dull. It wouldn't be, really, except that it's pretty much the same thing every time, and since I work every election...you get the picture.
Anyway, for yesterday's self-portrait I put kit on the table and stuck my hand in there so it could be called an sp.
Anyway, for yesterday's self-portrait I put kit on the table and stuck my hand in there so it could be called an sp.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Childress Vineyards Wine
Let me apologize up front for the quality of the upcoming wine photos. They all just are...bad! But I had collected quite a few empty bottles on my windowsill and just needed to get them into the garbage.
This is a North Carolina Vineyard in Lexington. I was first introduced to their dessert wine when buddy Tambri brought a bottle of it to Thanksgiving dinner. It was a delightfully sweet blueberry dessert wine and we just about polished off the bottle that day.
Since then I have tried this Classic Red table wine and also a red blend called Pinnacle. I'm not sure which red blend I liked better: this Classic one or the Pinnacle, but I did like them all. They have just the right amount of sweetness to me. Not too harsh, like some reds can be.
I'm definitely becoming a fan of red blends. I haven't had a bad one yet.
This is a North Carolina Vineyard in Lexington. I was first introduced to their dessert wine when buddy Tambri brought a bottle of it to Thanksgiving dinner. It was a delightfully sweet blueberry dessert wine and we just about polished off the bottle that day.
Since then I have tried this Classic Red table wine and also a red blend called Pinnacle. I'm not sure which red blend I liked better: this Classic one or the Pinnacle, but I did like them all. They have just the right amount of sweetness to me. Not too harsh, like some reds can be.
I'm definitely becoming a fan of red blends. I haven't had a bad one yet.
I love these new shoes
I bought a pair of the new Ryka studio shoes to start the new year and I absolutely LOVE them! They are light as a feather, which I find with most of the shoes I buy from them (these are actually an ounce heavier than my last pair), but I especially like the heel structure.
The heels on these are rounded so you have better range of motion when dancing. Some might see that as a negative...maybe a greater likelihood for twisting an ankle. But I like it because then the shoe does not determine the angle as which my foot extends during some of the poses and dance moves.
Rare for me to write about shoes, I know. But there you have it.
The heels on these are rounded so you have better range of motion when dancing. Some might see that as a negative...maybe a greater likelihood for twisting an ankle. But I like it because then the shoe does not determine the angle as which my foot extends during some of the poses and dance moves.
Rare for me to write about shoes, I know. But there you have it.
Tuesday, January 08, 2008
Monday, January 07, 2008
Switched-Up Schnitzel
My buddy Tambri gave me some cubed venison loins. My other buddy Sarah told me about a dish her mom made for her every year on her birthday. Mom would dredge the loins in milk, then egg, then a
mixture of saltines, Parmesan cheese, oregano, basil, pepper and thyme. Then she would fry them in butter. Serve with lemon wedges.
Well. This sounds like schnitzel to me, with the exception of the Parmesan. Austrians do not put Parmesan in the breading. And of course it's usually veal or pork.
Time to play with the food.
First, I decided I wanted to use Panko instead of cracker crumbs. Big fan of the Panko. Love the Panko. I also decided to raise the smoke point of the butter by adding some olive oil. Less chance of burnage that way.
Since I was using Panko mixed with Parmesan rather than saltines, I thought maybe I should not use milk as my first dip. That would add more liquid to the eggs and I really wanted more of a sticking effect, to hold onto that Parmesan and Panko. Panko being much coarser than saltine crumbs would be.
Also? At the very last moment I noticed I did not have LEMON! That, my dear foodie, is a mortal sin in the schnitzel world! I could not send someone to get lemon...Nate is down with flu and Mensa Boy was working hard at home on a big project.
So? Lemon pepper became one of the seasonings in the Panko mixture.
Here is an approximate list of ingredients:
1 # cubed venison loin
First coating:
3/4 cup flour
Second coating:
2 whole eggs
Dredge:
2/3 cup freshly grated parmesan (I used Parmigiano Reggiano, which was what I had, but I think it'd be better to go with something CHEAPER!)
2/3 cup Panko crumbs
1 teaspoon lemon pepper
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon thyme
Fry over medium-high heat in 1 stick of unsalted butter cut with about 4 tablespoons of olive oil. (Turn to second side when the blood rises to the top) Check for doneness by prodding with your finger. Should firm up, but not become hard.
I think if the heat in the skillet were too high, and the crumbs were in danger of burning, it would be a good idea to just fry to a golden brown and then finish in the oven. Especially if you have an electric oven. A gas oven will lend moisture and keep it from being quite as crisp.
Oh. The lemon in the photo...Neighbor Mary to the rescue!
Now this was an exciting meal! The guys became more and more animated as the schnitzel cooked, although Mensa Boy was sad that the meat wasn't actually cube-shaped. uh yuh.
mixture of saltines, Parmesan cheese, oregano, basil, pepper and thyme. Then she would fry them in butter. Serve with lemon wedges.
Well. This sounds like schnitzel to me, with the exception of the Parmesan. Austrians do not put Parmesan in the breading. And of course it's usually veal or pork.
Time to play with the food.
First, I decided I wanted to use Panko instead of cracker crumbs. Big fan of the Panko. Love the Panko. I also decided to raise the smoke point of the butter by adding some olive oil. Less chance of burnage that way.
Since I was using Panko mixed with Parmesan rather than saltines, I thought maybe I should not use milk as my first dip. That would add more liquid to the eggs and I really wanted more of a sticking effect, to hold onto that Parmesan and Panko. Panko being much coarser than saltine crumbs would be.
Also? At the very last moment I noticed I did not have LEMON! That, my dear foodie, is a mortal sin in the schnitzel world! I could not send someone to get lemon...Nate is down with flu and Mensa Boy was working hard at home on a big project.
So? Lemon pepper became one of the seasonings in the Panko mixture.
Here is an approximate list of ingredients:
1 # cubed venison loin
First coating:
3/4 cup flour
Second coating:
2 whole eggs
Dredge:
2/3 cup freshly grated parmesan (I used Parmigiano Reggiano, which was what I had, but I think it'd be better to go with something CHEAPER!)
2/3 cup Panko crumbs
1 teaspoon lemon pepper
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon thyme
Fry over medium-high heat in 1 stick of unsalted butter cut with about 4 tablespoons of olive oil. (Turn to second side when the blood rises to the top) Check for doneness by prodding with your finger. Should firm up, but not become hard.
I think if the heat in the skillet were too high, and the crumbs were in danger of burning, it would be a good idea to just fry to a golden brown and then finish in the oven. Especially if you have an electric oven. A gas oven will lend moisture and keep it from being quite as crisp.
Oh. The lemon in the photo...Neighbor Mary to the rescue!
Now this was an exciting meal! The guys became more and more animated as the schnitzel cooked, although Mensa Boy was sad that the meat wasn't actually cube-shaped. uh yuh.
Sunday, January 06, 2008
Cellar No. 8
2005 California Zinfandel.
I don't know why I buy this every once in a while. I read about it in the paper one Wednesday and the reviewer liked it, and I like the reviewer, so I guess I just can't let go.
But the truth is, I really don't think much of this one. Not sweet enough. It's just too tannic for me. I really like a Marietta Cellars table wine, but sometimes I can't find it, and this one often seems to be near where the other should be.
Oh. And it had a cork. I've been wanting wines with corks. Just because I got an electric cork puller for Christmas!
I don't know why I buy this every once in a while. I read about it in the paper one Wednesday and the reviewer liked it, and I like the reviewer, so I guess I just can't let go.
But the truth is, I really don't think much of this one. Not sweet enough. It's just too tannic for me. I really like a Marietta Cellars table wine, but sometimes I can't find it, and this one often seems to be near where the other should be.
Oh. And it had a cork. I've been wanting wines with corks. Just because I got an electric cork puller for Christmas!
Quote for today
My friend Jenny said this yesterday on her blog when she wrote about a Weight Watcher's pizza idea:
"I resisted trying this recipe for a long time because it was frequently described as a good cure to a pizza craving. You know what is a good cure for a pizza craving? An entire Papa John’s pizza."
p.s. She did like the pizza idea, which involved a "Flat out" wrap.
"I resisted trying this recipe for a long time because it was frequently described as a good cure to a pizza craving. You know what is a good cure for a pizza craving? An entire Papa John’s pizza."
p.s. She did like the pizza idea, which involved a "Flat out" wrap.
Saturday, January 05, 2008
Supper
"What will you have for supper tonight?" my friend asked.
"Oh...I'll probably just open a can..." I replied.
"Oh...I'll probably just open a can..." I replied.
Friday, January 04, 2008
Foray into Sourdough
Well, this is a food blog, right? At least it used to be. And it's been a while since I wrote about food. This entry is especially easy to write about because I'm so excited about the topic: Sourdough!
My guys love sourdough bread. They like to buy it at the grocery store on Sunday after church. And anytime I tell them I'm going shopping they ask me to pick up some. Well, I like to make bread. (I don't use a bread machine. I use my KitchenAid stand mixer) So I decided to do some reading about sourdough.
I found this recipe in my favorite book, "Cookwise," by Shirley O. Corriher. She has a recipe for starter with yeast, which only needs 10 to 12 hours, rather than a week, to ferment. So I made the starter Tuesday night and then the bread on Wednesday. Altogether it was a 20 hour process, but the bread! Oh. My. Gosh. And to really make it all worthwhile, the bread used all the starter! So I didn't have to begin a long-term relationship with a bowl of fermented flour.
I have skipped all the instructions about how to form loaves.
Starter with Yeast
2 1/2 cups unbleached flour*
1/2 cup semolina (durum) flour
1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water (110 degrees)
1 3/4 cups cool water (65 to 70 degrees)
Combine flours in a mixer bowl. Stir yeast into warm water in a small cup. Let stand 2 minutes, until foam appears, indicating yeast is alive and well (I skipped this. I use instant yeast and I use yeast so much that I always know it's alive). Add dissolved yeast and cool water into flour. Blend on low speed about 1 minute. Knead on low-medium speed for 5 minutes. Place in a plastic or glass container and cover with plastic wrap touching the surface of the starter to prevent crusting. Let stand in a draft-free area at a temperature about 71 degrees for 10 to 12 hours. The starter is now ready to to make bread. This is enough to combine with 1 pound (about 3 cups) or enough for two loaves, or one large round.
*I used an unbleached, "white whole wheat" flour by King Arthur. Normally I buy unbleached white flour, but I was intrigued by the whole wheat, so thought it might be good to try. I've had mixed results. The first time I baked bread with it, I made a basic cuban-style bread and I thought it was too dry. I really think whole wheat flour requires more moisture. This flour worked great in this recipe. When I made the bread, I added bread flour to this whole wheat starter for a bread that was darker in color but not so dense as all whole wheat.
Yeast Starter Bread
makes one 10-inch round, or two 7-inch rounds
1 recipe Starter with yeast
1/4 500-mg vitamin C tablet, crushed*
1 teaspoon barley malt syrup**
1/4 cup crushed ice
3 cups bread flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon oil for bowl
Coarse cornmeal as needed
Place the starter, vitamin C, barley malt syrup, and ice in the bowl of a heavy-duty mixer with the dough hook. Mix on low speed just to blend. Add the bread flour and salt and knead on low-medium speed for 5 minutes, until dough is very elastic. The dough should be firm. Add a little flour or liquid if needed.
Place the dough in an oiled bowl, turning so that it is coated. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise until double, about 1 1/2 hours.
Punch down the dough, and divide in half if making two loaves. Let rest for 15 minutes.
Shape the round loaf (or loaves). Place on a baking sheet that is heavily sprinkled with cornmeal. Sprinkle the loaf with some flour, cover loosely with plastic wrap, and let the the dough rise until doubled, about 3 to 4 hours.
About 30 minutes before baking, place a baking stone on the lowest slot of the oven and preheat to 450 degrees. (I use 4 unglazed quarry tiles.) About 5 minutes before baking, turn the oven down to 375 degrees and carefully place a shallow pan with 1/2 inch of boiling water on the oven floor. Slash the loaves and place the pan directly on the hot stone.
(I put my tiled rack on the second slot, and in the bottom slot I put another rack with another baking sheet on it. I preheated the oven with the other baking sheet in there so that it was nice and hot. When I put the bread in, I first tossed a dozen or so ice cubes on the preheated baking sheet. Then I put the bread on the tiled rack above that to bake.)
Bake until well-browned, 45 to 55 minutes total baking time.
*I skipped the vitamin C because I was out. I do usually do this, though. Corriher says it helps gluten development and produces lighter breads. I tend to agree with her on this.
**A couple of months ago, I accidentally pulled the jar of barley malt syrup off the shelf while reaching for something else. Broken, sticky glass all over the place. YUCK! I used Agave nectar in its place for this recipe because I was giving a loaf to a diabetic. But really any liquid sweetener would do: honey, molasses, corn syrup, etc.
We really enjoyed this bread! And I was so pleased with how photogenic it was! It had a wonderful crunchy crust and a nice crumb. I'll make more this weekend using all white flour to achieve a lighter texture.
Wednesday, January 02, 2008
Boom! It's Winter!
It's 21 degrees here this morning. Downright frigid for our part of the U.S. The skies are clear as a bell, so really the only indicator of the weather visually is the ice on the bird bath. I need to get the extension cord out and plug that in. Water is so scarce that it's even more important this winter to keep it full and thawed. We did have a couple of inches of rain last week, but of course that is still a couple of FEET less than we really need.
Taylor and I watched a FABULOUS movie last night: "The Prestige." It's about two turn-of-the-century magicians who spend their professional and personal lives destroying each other. Very very good. Taylor had seen it already but said it was hard to follow so he wanted to watch again. I had no trouble, but I had the captions on. That always helps.
It's a back-to-work day today.
Taylor and I watched a FABULOUS movie last night: "The Prestige." It's about two turn-of-the-century magicians who spend their professional and personal lives destroying each other. Very very good. Taylor had seen it already but said it was hard to follow so he wanted to watch again. I had no trouble, but I had the captions on. That always helps.
It's a back-to-work day today.
Tuesday, January 01, 2008
Happy New Year!
I have to say, except for the neighborhood sounding like a war zone (fireworks started around 6 and lasted until past midnight), the New Year slid in very quietly at our house. My bout with some virus (I'm suspecting flu) caused us to stay home rather than going to the neighbor's for the annual New Year gathering. They assured me they would tip a glass in my honor, and that it wouldn't be any kind of Chardonnay or anything with a Yellow Tail label. So that base was covered. I started sleeping Sunday and pretty much kept that up until 8 this morning. I'm still a little dragged-out, but I feel hopeful that it will all pass.
Resolutions? I really have none. Actually maybe one. I'm going to cut down on the number of adjectives I use in my speech. I won't eliminate them entirely, but just cut way back. Fewer adjectives. That's it.
Foodwise, I'm going to follow The Hungry Fox's idea to add more of these items to my diet. squash, bok choy, turkey, edamame, quinoa, mango, salmon, buttermilk, beef, and chickpeas.
These are all part of my diet now, but I'm going to choose two each week and plan menus around them.
Resolutions? I really have none. Actually maybe one. I'm going to cut down on the number of adjectives I use in my speech. I won't eliminate them entirely, but just cut way back. Fewer adjectives. That's it.
Foodwise, I'm going to follow The Hungry Fox's idea to add more of these items to my diet. squash, bok choy, turkey, edamame, quinoa, mango, salmon, buttermilk, beef, and chickpeas.
These are all part of my diet now, but I'm going to choose two each week and plan menus around them.
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