A good way to begin the new year

This ran in Dear Abby the other day and I think it's just a good way to start our thinking in the new year.  According to the column this is attributed to James Patrick Kinney.  So, happy reading and A  HAPPY, WARM NEW YEAR!

The Cold Within
Six human trapped in
happenstance
In dark and bitter cold,
Each one possessed a stick
of wood,
Or so the story's told.

Their dying fire in need of
logs
The first woman held hers
back,
For of the faces around the
fire,
She noticed one was black.

The next man looking
across the way
Saw not one of his church,
And couldn't bring himself
to give
The fire his stick of birch.

The third one sat in tattered
clothes
He gave his coat a hitch,
Why should his log be put
to use,
To warm the idle rich?

The rich man just sat back
and thought
Of the wealth he had in
store,
And how to keep what he
had earned,
From the lazy, shiftless poor.

The black man's face
bespoke revenge
As the fire passed from sight,
For all he saw in his stick of
wood
Was a chance to spite the
white.

The last man of this forlorn
group
Did naught except for gain,
Giving only to those who
gave,
Was how he played the game.

The logs held tight in death's
still hands
Was proof of human sin,
They didn't die from the
cold without,
They died from the cold
within.

A recipe for you

I had forgotten about this recipe and thought of it again when I bought some "authentic" enchilada sauce last night.  The can of sauce was so big I figured this recipe would be good to double and share with some friends who just had twins!  Second time I've made this recipe for people who've had twins...Hm...Hm...Hm...!!! :)

Chicken and Black Bean Enchiladas
3 c. chopped cooked chicken ( 3 large chicken breasts or about one rotisserie chicken)
1 can (15 oz.) black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can (10 oz.) diced tomatoes with green chilies
1 can (8¾ oz.) no-salt-added corn, drained and rinsed
1 package (8 oz.) reduced-fat shredded Mexican blend cheese, divided
8 whole wheat tortillas (8")  (I always use white, although corn works, but then just layer this and make it a casserole!)
2 (10 oz.) cans enchilada sauce

Combine first four ingredients and 1½ c. cheese in a large bowl.  Spoon filling down center of tortillas, roll up and place seam-side down in a greased 9X13" pan.  Pour sauce evenly over enchiladas, sprinkle with  remaining cheese and bake, covered with foil, at 350º for 20 minutes.  Remove foil and bake for another 15 minutes, uncovered, or until bubbly.

The Bakery is about to close...

My Christmas baking is finished except for some breads.  They are not a part of my presents, though, so the official Christmas baking can be declared done!  This year I made a bunch of new things for me.  Plenty of stand-by's and then some new standards!  So let's see, what did I make:

1. Double-chocolate-peppermint biscotti
2. Cocoa-coffee crinkles (two thumbs up!)
3. My Big Fat Greek Baklava Bars (two thumb up!)
4. Pistachio Cream Cheese Sugar cookies
5. Sugar cookies
6. Gingerbread
7. Molasses cookies
8. Liebesgrübchen
9. Pfeffernüsse
10. Swedish Heirloom cookies (Russian teacakes/Kourabiethes/Mexican wedding cakes)
11. Cream cheese spritz 
12. Almond-bark covered pretzels
13. Meringues with lemon pie filling (for my gluten free friends!)

Let's see...I think that's it!  And today I have some poteca (walnut filled bread) and cinnamon bread in the works as well as a really hearty loaf to go with soups!  Laundry beckons so, please, as you prepare for the holidays, ENJOY!!  Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and Happy New Year!

wOOhOO!

I got my holiday baking started!  First off, a thank you to my new store for their incredibly warm welcome in the form of cinnamon rolls.  I also made cocoa-coffee crinkles.  My are they coffee-y!!  LOVE it!  I also made cheddar broccoli soup for dinner and we had ham and potatoes with a salad for lunch.  I also wrote my German holiday letter and finished sealing all of my envelopes for the addresses I have available right now.  I'm missing 3, maybe 4 addresses!  Tomorrow I need to do some sewing and get to the post office.  I will probably pick up my exam at school, too.  I hope to be able to meet up with a friend, too!  I love having time!

I am in love...

This is ALL I want for Christmas!!  Forget my two-front teeth!!!
http://www.scion.com/#/iQ-images-videos/colors/black-currant
I'm sorry I can't post a picture straight here, you'll have to follow the link!

Happy Shopping Honey!! ☺  I am SOO test-driving one of these babies!

Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving!! I have so much to be thankful for ... family, friends, food, freedom. We had quite the feast today with Gordon, Ivona, Emily and Jonathan. I'm grateful to have a sister to call my own! :)

Eggnog Loaf Cake

Of course, I shouldn't probably follow my last post with this post, but...!!! ☺ To be honest, I haven't even tried the cake itself yet because it just started to bake, but I did like the beater!!

Eggnog Loaf Cake

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup shortening
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon rum flavored extract
• 3/4 cup milk (I used eggnog!)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour an 8x4 inch loaf pan. Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, and ginger; set aside.
2. In a large bowl, cream together sugar, butter, and shortening until light and fluffy. Blend in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the rum extract. Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the milk, mixing just until incorporated. Pour batter into prepared pan.
3. Bake in the preheated oven for 65 to 70 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

Because I need to read this often and make it my own

Long after I sell my psych book, I want to be able to read this.  Stephen Ilardi and colleagues used these steps toward a therapeutic life-style change for people with depression and 77% of the 74 people who completed the program (12 weeks) experienced relief from their symptoms.  So this is for me.
Aerobic exercise: 30 minutes a day, at least three times weekly (increases fitness and vitality, stimulates endorphins)
Adequate sleep: with a goal of 7-8 hours a night (increases energy and alertness, boosts immunity and memory)
Light exposure: at least 30 minutes each morning with a light box (amplifies arousal, influences hormones)
Anti-rumination: by identifying and redirecting negative thoughts (enhances positive thinking)
Nutritional supplements: including a daily fish oil supplement with omega-3 fatty acids (aids in healthy brain functioning)(520)

Imagine the possibilities!  And doing this continually can only prevent future recurrences of what ails us!
(Myers, David G. Exploring Psychology Eighth Edition. New York. Worth Publishers. Print. 2011.)

More Yumminess!!!

We started the day with these Buttermilk Pumpkin Pancakes.  They were some of the best pumpkin pancakes ever and a great way to use up the rest of the can from a cake I made earlier in the week.  For dinner I tried this new recipe!  WOW!!!
Coffee-Crusted Pork Loin
2 Tbs. freshly ground fine-grind coffee or instant espresso powder
2 Tbs. packed light brown sugar
3 tsp. kosher salt, divided
2 tsp. coarse ground pepper
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 boneless pork loin roast (3-3½ lb.)
8 large carrots, cut into 3" pieces
6 large garlic cloves, peeled
1 large red onion, cut into 8 wedges
2 Tbs. olive oil
2 Tbs. adobo sauce (from can of chipotle chiles)
Heat oven to 425º.  In small bowl, mix coffee brown sugar, 2 tsp. of the salt, the pepper and garlic powder.  Rub coffee mixture on all sides of pork, coating completely.  Wrap tightly in plastic wrap; let stand at least 10 minutes or refrigerate up to 2 hours to absorb the flavors.
Spray shallow roasting pan or broiler pan with cooking spray.  Place pork, fat side up, in pan.  In medium bowl, toss carrots, garlic and onion with oil.  Sprinkle with remaining 1 tsp. salt.  Arrange vegetables around pork in pan.
Roast 40-50 minutes (OR MORE!!) or until meat thermometer inserted into center of pork reads 145º.  Place pork on serving platter.  Cover with foil and let stand 5 minutes before slicing.  Stir adobo sauce into pan drippings, tossing with roasted vegetables.  Spoon vegetables and sauce onto platter around pork.

I did not use the adobo sauce and it was still sooo good!!  I added brussel sprouts to the mix for my dad!  Definitely pull the pork at 145º and let it sit for 5 minutes!  It will otherwise be a bit dry.

Borscht - per request!

Classic Ukrainian Borscht from: Please to the Table - A Russian Cookbook
STOCK:
1½ lb. beef chuck, shank or flank
1 meaty ham bone (about 1 lb.)
2 beef marrow bones (about 1 lb.)
3 qts. water
1 onion
1 carrot, peeled
2 medium sized parsnips, peeled
1 rib celery with leaves
Bouquet garni (3 dill sprigs, 3 parsley sprigs, 4 bay leaves and 10 black peppercorns tied in a cheesecloth bag)
salt, to taste

SOUP:
2 large beets (about 1¼ lb.)
4 med. sized boiling potatoes, peeled and cut into large pieces
1 lb. fresh, ripe plum tomatoes, peeled and chopped, or 1 can (16 oz.) plum tomatoes, drained and chopped
salt, to taste
¼ c. vegetable oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 large carrot, peeled and cut into julienne
1 large green pepper, seeded and cut into bite-sized pieces
4 c. shredded green cabbage
¼ c. fresh lemon juice, or more to taste
3 Tbs. tomato paste
5-6 pitted dried prunes, chopped (I use 1 container of baby food prunes!)
1 tsp. sugar or to taste
freshly ground pepper
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 Tbs. chopped fresh parsley, plus additional for garnish
3 Tbs. chopped fresh dill, plus additional for garnish
sour cream


1. Preheat oven to 375º.  
2. In a large soup pot, bring the meat, bones and water to a boil over high heat, periodically skimming off the foam as it rises to the top.
3. Add remaining stock ingredients and reduce the heat to low. Simmer, partially covered, until the meat is tender, at least 45 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, wash and dry the beets and wrap each one separately in aluminum foil.  Bake the beets until tender, 1¼ hours.
5. Allow the beets to cool until manageable, then stem, and peel them and cut into julienne or fine dice.
6. When the stock is ready, removed the beef, ham bone, and marrow bones, and set all but the marrow bones aside (I feed the meat to the dog!)  Strain the stock through a fine sieve into a clean pot and discard all the solids.
7. Bring the stock to a boil, add the potatoes and tomatoes (if using fresh),  and season with salt.  Reduce the heat and simmer until the potatoes are almost tender, about 10 minutes.
8. While the vegetables are cooking, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the onion, carrot, and green pepper and saute over medium heat until the onion and green pepper are slightly softened, 5 minutes.  Stir in the cabbage and continue to saute the vegetables, stirring occasionally, until the cabbage is softened, 10 minutes more.  Add the vegetables to the soup.
9. Sprinkle the beets with ¼ c. lemon juice and add them to the soup.  Stir the soup an d simmer, uncovered, for 5-7 minutes.  
10. Add the canned tomatoes, tomato paste and prunes.  Season to taste with sugar, pepper and additional lemon juice and salt, if desired.  Simmer another 7 minutes.  
11. Cut the beef into bite-size pieces and scrape all the meat off the ham bone.  Add to the soup. (As I mentioned, I omit this step!!)
12. Remove the borscht from the heat and sprinkle with the minced garlic and parsley and dill.  Let stand for at least 15 minutes before serving.  Serve garnished with additional chopped fresh herbs and pass the sour cream.  REALLY good after a day or two!

Happy Birthday, Coda!

We don't know Coda's exact birthdate, but the 17th of October seemed about right to the vet - 9 years ago!

Another good one worth remembering!

Whenever something starts to get you down, challenge yourself to remember why you're doing it. ~Ralph Marston (The Daily Motivator)

So, it's big time reading time, but I did like this from my pscyh book:

Those who strive for intimacy, personal growth and contribution to the community, experience a higher quality of life.

I know a company or two who could learn a thing or two from that!

Remembering...!

Aw! The Smiles!
 Introducing Aimee
 More about our time with Aimee
Sunday to Monday in Leavenworth
Notice the title of this one is NOT Good-bye!

How about a quick catch-up!

Well, a lot has happened since I last posted here.  Let's see...we've had some AMAZING, BEAUTIFUL, WARM late summer days!!  So incredibly awesome!!!  It was so worth the wait to have some nice weather!  I'm currently out on the front deck writing this as the evening finally cools down.  I'm also out here for another reason, but I'll tell you about that a little later.

Next up...hm...school's officially halfway back in session.  By halfway I mean that the high school portion has begun.  Tiana is now a junior and as such she is also eligible for Running Start at the local community college.  That would be the same college that her mother attends!! Hee!Hee!!  The Running Start portion of her day doesn't get underway until the 20th.  We're both quite excited for that day to get here I think!  For now it means an incredibly crazy schedule for her because she's not allowed to stay on the high school campus if she doesn't have class.  Things are a bit tight for her to get home, and then back to the school if I'm not here to give her a ride.  She'll get to try out the bus system tomorrow!  So, public school session started on Wednesday -the same day that necessitates me being outside where I can keep an eye on Coda.

Click for more pictures

After I helped out at the school with schedule distribution I came home, picked up the happy, clueless pooch and took him to the vet.  He's had a mass growing on his belly and it has grown rather large rather quickly and it was determined that maybe it would be best to have it removed.  So began a fitful day of worrying and waiting anxiously for the call from the vet.  I know you don't understand that worry if you don't have a furbaby, but...! (Sis, that's for you!!)  Anyway, we finally picked him up about 3:45 and that was when I just about cried!  Poor baby was SOOOO loopy and out of it!  His tongue was all dried and folded and hanging out of his mouth.  All he could do was attempt to stand up and cry.  He made it into the car but we had a hard time getting him back out.  When he did finally get out of the car, he just collapsed on the front lawn and didn't move until MUCH later!  I've never felt like such a horrible "mom"!!  He was so bad off that Kent stayed home from Bible Study with him!  He finally "woke up" at about midnight which left us with a pretty sleepless night.  He was wandering and whimpering and so confused and in a lot of pain and couldn't get comfortable.  Now, 4 days later, he's his usual perky, spunky self, but he's also healing and itching and wanting to lick his wound.  That means he's now got to have a cone on or be watched like a hawk so he doesn't lick his incision!  He's already possibly battling an infection so it's best to watch him!  It will be so nice when his belly hair grows back!

Today was the last day of work for another shift supervisor.  For the last three who've left I've granted them a treat request.  For Kate I made a rhubarb pie, for Seann it was cinnamon rolls and for Kourtney it was Turtle Cheesecakes.  I melded two recipes and WOW!!!!  What a pain they were, but soo worth it!!  I used my favorite Individual Cheesecake recipe and the Ultimate Turtle Cheesecake recipe and made 18 cheesecakes!  Definitely a keeper recipe!!

So, there you have it.  Pretty much what we've been up to in the last while.  There have been odd trips downtown.  Once to see a friend play his first game as quarterback for his high school -- BUT at the pro football field, and once just because it's been a long time since we went downtown.

Randomness from the last few days

The ferry coming in while we enjoyed a sunny day at the beach!

Docked - but un-docked!

Yo! Pig! Outta my face! But you can wait until I wake up from my nap!

So snuggly!

Sunshine and laundry

Wishing I had an outdoor clothesline!  As is the usual after convention I have a HUGE laundry pile!  And today I also have sunshine!  Wishing I could hang the clothes out - especially the towels and let them dry in the sun!  I should open the tent up!  And then it could be folded properly, too!  Hmmm......  Anyway, the laundry isn't finished with me sitting here!

Just a thought...
"Believing and knowing aren't enough....It's in the doing!" 

What's the moon phase?!

If I didn't know better I would guess it's a full moon today!  At work this morning a woman dropped a couple of things.  There were two women near by the items and so I asked the one closest if they were her's.  They would have OBVIOUSLY come from the same person since they were so close together and what would be the chance that two different women would drop two different things in the exact same spot?   As I pointed the items out, I made it a point to vacate the area immediately after.  Well, she looked down and retrieved the one item but not the other.  I came back out of the back, the lady was gone but  -- her thong underwear remained on my lobby floor.  AWKWARD!!  As though I were picking up after my pooch, I removed them using a plastic bag turned inside out!  Good grief people!!!  Later we went to Grocery Outlet to buy some bottled water for convention this weekend.  Well, if that wasn't entertaining!!!   The lady in the next lane over was watching the screen LIKE A HAWK!!!  If ANYTHING was rung up incorrectly she would have a fit!  Her friend accidentally rang something up twice and boy did she get after her!  And then she wanted all of her stuff put BACK in the fridge/freezer because she would pick it up after her appointment, but before she went home to her backwoods home far away.  She would be back after more than 2 hours!!!  Then something wasn't ringing up correctly, well, at least not according to what the sign said, and so she wanted it for FREE -- like they do at Safeway!!  This is GROCERY OUTLET where everything is much cheaper anyway, they're not going to give it to you for free!!!  While we were there the manager was called over at least 2 times and I'm sure he just gave up and stood by from that point forward!  Tiana wanted to get some popcorn and just sit and watch!  Would have been worth it!  Crazy!! :)

Photo links fixed!

For whatever reason, the embedding language wasn't working so I put different links into the pictures from our trip!  Try again!  Hope you enjoy a peek at our vacation!  We are home and as soon as I toss one load of laundry into the dryer, I'm off to bed!

It's been awhile!

But there's a mighty fine reason for that!  We've been on vacation!  Woohoo!!  We flew up to Calgary one fine a rainy morning to be greeted by grey skies there, too.  As is the frequent case in the prairie, though, give it milliseconds and it changes!  We had bits of sun and even a soaker or two throughout the day.  The first day we just kind of drove around and were lost.  Enjoyed some frosty A&W rootbeer in a frosty mug, had some poutine (OF COURSE!), and in general just chilled a bit. We also enjoyed a delicious dinner at Gnocchi Ristorante!!  The next day we decided it would be a fine day to take a 2 hour drive out to Banff.  I could have spent the WHOLE vacation there!  I didn't bring proper gear, but the hiking would be so incredibly awesome!  We took a stomach-unsettling gondola ride, enjoyed fresh mountain air and managed to feed the Canadian economy a light snack. Thursday, well, that was icky.  Most of the day was searching for a- or in the- doctor's office trying to find out if Tiana had an infection.  It's a long holiday weekend for Albertans so we wanted to make sure before everyone took the weekend off!  We only saw one place that day and that was Lougheed's Mansion.  We did go to a really lousy mall, but it was right next to Chinatown, so we went through the cultural center and then had a bit of dim sum to fill our bellies.  That after taking a gander through a really pretty park.  Felt good to walk in fresh air!  Friday - now that was a good day!  We spent the bulk of the day walking through the Heritage Park Historical Village.  This is a place that I remember visiting when I was 4 years old.  Amazing that some of it even came back to me when we were there!  The only thing we forgot to do was go back and get ice cream at the parlor I remembered the best!  Straight from there (after a Starbucks stop of course!) we drove the 3 hours or so north to Edmonton.  I'll save that part of the trip for another post.  If you wish to see the pictures from each day, click on the the words associated with them!

Edmonton

Driving into Edmonton we would have been hopelessly lost if it weren't for the GPS we borrowed from Kent's boss!!  They are doing massive road construction and they had completely removed the exit to our hotel!  Anyway, we wound our way around and found the hotel.  It was pretty late at night so we just relaxed and got ready for the next big day - WEST EDMONTON MALL!!!!  Ok, so the exclamation points are really just for Tiana, but...  This mall was, for the longest time, the largest mall in the world!  It boasts 200 stores, an ice rink, waterpark with wave pool, aquarium, submarine rides, 2 mini-golf courses, bowling, amusement park with stomach-emptying rollercoasters, restaurants, Asian grocery store, and probably much more than I'm missing.  We spent a full 8 hours walking around the shops and looking at the attractions!  Amazingly, the only thing I bought was 1 postcard! Kent bought 3 nightshirts and Tiana managed to put a sizable dent in her birthday money.  I didn't actually take any pictures, but I figured she wouldn't mind if I shared part of her album!  Sunday we went to Meeting with a fine group of people and then made our way to another Historical Village.  This time it was the Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village.  It depicts the life of the Ukrainian settlers in the early 1900's and since my own great-grandma came from the Ukraine, I found it fascinating!  And they have this truly settled out on the prairie giving a pretty accurate feel for what the day would have felt like.  They were tougher than I!  Beautiful day, though, and so quite fun to wander around.  They could do well to have a bit more labelling of places, but still fun to see.  On the way there (and back), but of course when my camera wasn't with me, we saw a large herd of bison standing on the side of the road in Elk Island National Park.  I've seen plenty in Wyoming, but fun to see them this far north, too!  Later that evening I met up with a woman that I have "known" for many years, but only online via stamping/scrapbooking sites.  What a sweet woman!  We had dessert at our hotel and chatted for a couple of hours!  So fun to finally meet her!
Awww!!  What a GLORIOUS! day!!!!  We went to this beautiful park and enjoyed Edmonton's Heritage Festival.  It was awesome!!  It was like the Bite of Seattle - only BIGGER!  They had over 60 booths serving over 80 nationalities worth of food!  And they had small shops or displays about each country as well.  So fun, such good food and lovely sunshine to give us all a bit of color!!  A bit of shopping, a light dinner and some relaxing before the long trip toward home!

Phew!!!

There's been so much going on I haven't even had time to pop in here!  A busy, full work week, a 16th birthday and a weekend away!!  There's more to come, but I thought I'd leave you with at least a little something new!!

Birthday Candles!!  Sweet 16 surrounded by friends!!

Kaylin, Tiana and Mom and Dad at Enchanted Forest in Oregon.

When we have a better internet connection, I'll upload more pictures from the birthday and our trip to Oregon!

Complaints against humanity

Ok, so maybe I'm in very desperate need of vacation and that's coming up very soon, but I have some complaints.  Dealing with people everyday can be so enriching, so rewarding, so uplifting, so annoying, so disappointing, so frustrating!  So here's just a short list - in no particular order!

1. Cell phones: plain and simple - DON'T USE THEM!  No, I don't mean never, I just mean when you are in the checkout line, the drive-thru line, the Starbucks order line.  You waste the employees time, you waste the time of your fellow customer who is ready to order/check-out and you're rude.  There, I said it.  YOU ARE RUDE!  And whatever you do DO NOT initiate the call JUST AS YOU GET TO THE FRONT OF THE LINE!  Thank you.
2. I've used the very common, possibly trite greeting of "how are you?" so the proper response is NOT, repeat NOT, "Give me a mocha!"  Actually, that brings us to 
3. "Give me..." is not proper at all!  "May I please have...?"  even "Can I please get...?" is okay!  Not grammatically correct, but at least polite!  With pleasant demeanor and a smile I'll even take, "Phew!  What a day!  I need a ...!"  I work for pennies, maybe even for far less than what you make, but that does not make me your servant or a dog!  As a matter of fact, I think dogs get treated better some days!  Speaking of dogs, let's get to
4. Dogs aren't allowed in food establishments.  Yes, of course the exceptions are SERVICE animals.  That technically does not include your "therapy" animal (by law they are defined as completely different!).  ANYBODY can say their animal is a "service" dog, but does that make it right?  Doesn't that dilute the reality for people who REALLY need that service?  If you don't want to be asked about your dog and if you don't want your ability to bring him in with you to be in question -PUT A VEST ON IT AND MAKE SURE YOUR DOCUMENTATION IS OBVIOUS!  And you know, I AM going to question the validity of your "service" animal when I've seen you 100 times WITHOUT your necessary animal!  Just because today you didn't want to leave him in the car!  
5. Last but not least (and there are more!), in the vein of the previous complaint, make your life clear or don't be upset with me if I'm confused.  The other day I posted that a little girl made a very funny remark.  She came in again today and I told her mom (who happens to be a "fellow" employee) that we got quite a bang out of the statement that she had made.  Mom says to me, "He".  I was confused as to what she was saying until she made it clear that the little girl is a BOY!!!  With LONG blond (masculine spelling!) hair in a girly ponytail with bangs!  How in the world was I supposed to think this child is a boy?!?!  NO ONE of the rest of the crew today had a clue that this might be a boy!  Mom seemed a bit offended and maybe she's being all "new age-y" and attempting to raise her child gender neutral, but if that's the case, why was I practically chastened for assuming he was a girl?!  Giving girls the opportunity to be mechanical and scientific and boys the opportunity to play with dolls is GREAT! Being offended that I'm confused isn't fair at all!

On a more positive note - I have a chocolate angel food cake in the oven, the sun is weakly attempting to shine, the tinnitus I've suffered from the last day or two seems to be gone and I have only 2 more days until some well-deserved, long-time coming days off!!!  Thank you for listening!

Nuggets from the day

As a "bartender" I get to hear all sorts of commentary throughout my day.  Some tales are of woe, some sappy love stories, lots of joyous occasions, sometimes the story is inspiring, humorous, amazing, and often it's from the lips of a child that the greatest words come!  Today a young girl of about 4 came in and I was able to share with her a trick about her juice box.  If you pull the corner tabs up and the child holds the tabs then the juice doesn't squirt out.  Anyway, she was pretty sure that it looked like a SUPERHERO box now and then she said, "Well, actually,...I just farted!"  Wow.  Talk about hilarious and hysterical!  She seemed quite proud of herself!  Oh, kids are too funny! 

New Recipe

We had company for dinner the other night and I tried this new recipe!!  It was super tasty!

Lemon Chicken with Green Beans and Mushrooms - from Relish 2011
1 c. reduced sodium chicken broth
3 Tbs. lemon juice
3 Tbs. white wine
1 Tbs. flour
½ tsp. herbes de Provence
½ tsp. coarse salt
1/8 tsp. fresh ground pepper
4 (4-to 5- oz.) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 Tbs. dry bread crumbs
2 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
1 lb. green beans, trimmed and cut in half
½ lb. mushrooms, cut into halves or quarters

Whisk broth, lemon juice, wine, flour, herbes de Provence, salt and pepper in a medium bowl; set aside.
Lightly coat chicken with breadcrumbs. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook until golden brown on both sides, about 5 minutes. Remove to a plate. Add beans and mushrooms to pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Return chicken and any juices to pan. Pour broth mixture over top. Cover and simmer until chicken is thoroughly cooked and vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes.
Per serving: 260 calories, 10g fat, 65mg cholesterol, 27g protein, 17g carbs, 6g sugar, 4g fiber, 430mg sodium.

The only thing I would do differently, is somehow season the chicken first.  Maybe crush some extra of the herbes de Provence and rub into the chicken or add to the bread crumbs before cooking.  Maybe rub the chicken and let it sit for up to 30 minutes before cooking.  I would suggest AGAINST using any garlic in this dish!  Watch your chicken, if you pound it flat first, it shouldn’t take the full 15 minutes to cook!

Yumminess!

We were chatting at work today and I mentioned to my co-worker that I LOVED this cheesy lasagna.  I could have almost had time to make it today, but I was just too tired and too cranky to go shopping for the ingredients! I'll have to make it soon, or leave the recipe out for Tiana to do it sometime next week!  Or we could work on it together!  Slow-Cooker Lasagna With it I will have to make these homemade garlic Parmesan breadsticks!

Soft Parmesan Breadsticks

2½ c bread flour

3 tsp. 50% faster active dry yeast

½ tsp. garlic salt

¾ tsp. Italian seasoning or dried oregano

1 Tbs. sugar

¼ c. freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1 Tbs. unsalted butter

¼ c. hot tap water

½ c. milk

1 large egg, room temperature

¼ c. butter, melted, for brushing on top

½ c. freshly grated Parmesan cheese, for sprinkling on top

(This is done in a food processor!)  Combine and pulse to mix the flour, yeast, garlic salt, Italian seasoning or oregano, sugar, ¼ c. Parmesan, and 1 Tbs. butter.  In a 2-cup microwavable glass measure, combine the hot water, milk and egg.  With the motor running, add all but 1 Tbs. of the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients.  The dough should leave the side of the bowl and form a ball.  If it doesn't, add the remaining 1 Tbs. of liquid.  Knead with the machine running for 30 seconds.  Discard any unused liquid ingredients.  Remove the dough and the steel blade from the bowl.  Knead the dough by hand a few seconds, adding flour if the dough seems too sticky.  For the dough into a doughnut and replace it in the processor bowl.  Cover the bowl loosely with a damp tea towel or microwavable plastic wrap.  Place the processor bowl in the middle of the microwave and and 8 oz. glass of water next to it.  To micro-rise, set the microwave power at the 20% and heat for 3 minutes.  Let rest for 3 minutes.  Heat for 3 minutes at 20%.  Rest for 21 minutes or until about doubled in bulk.  Remove the dough from the microwave and processor bowl.  Punch down and knead the dough for a few seconds on a floured surface.  Lightly grease a 13x9 microwavable pan.  Roll the dough into a 13x9 rectangle; place in pan.  Cut the dough into 10 13' strips, then cut the strips in half forming 20 strips.  Brush the sticks with 2 Tbs. of the melted butter and sprinkle with ¼ c. of Parmesan cheese.  Place the breadsticks back in the microwave beside the glass of water.  Repeat the micro-rise steps, except rest for 6 minutes at the end instead of 21.  Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375º.  Bake the breadsticks on the middle rack in the oven for 18-22 minutes or until golden brown.  Remove the breadsticks from the oven.  Set the oven control to broil.  Brush the hot breadsticks with the remaining butter and sprinkle with the remaining cheese.  Place under the broiler and broil for 2-3 minutes or just until the cheese starts to sizzle and turn light brown.  Watch carefully!!

From Bread in Half the Time by Linda West Eckhardt and Diana Collingwood Butts

 

Happy Independence Day!

We've enjoyed a beautiful day today!  Well, "enjoyed" might be a bit strong!  I started the day working at 4:30 am where it was SUPER SLOW and then SLAMMED!  I ended up being 12 minutes late in getting off and I'd started the day thinking I'd go home early!  During part of that time Kent was busy working on the side of the house.  The south end has needed new siding for a long time and he's finally getting around to it.  Of course, he's finding oh so much more that's going to be needing done.  The dining room window's hanging on by, well, I'm not really sure what in the one corner!  The screw isn't into the stud at all!!  I made some incredibly yummy cream puffs and for dinner we had BBQ salmon with an AWESOME lemon dill sauce and ribeye, grilled corn, Russian Vinegret salad, fruit and Chinese steamed buns!  Interesting but quite good if I say so myself!  Anyway, now starts the fun part of the day -- fireworks.  Coda is NOT impressed!  Poor guy is about ready for a benadryl and I'm going to need to go to bed soon, too, as I open at 4:30 tomorrow again!  So, I hope YOU have enjoyed your day and Happy Freedoms!  Most of all - THANK YOU to every person, past and present who has done their part to ensure our freedom today!

Siding project

DELISH!!

As I'm wont to do, I went on a wild and wacky Google Search and found a recipe for a Blueberry Cream Cheese Braid.  In the comments of the recipe, someone mentioned using Costco's Triple Berry Blend, and since I had plenty of those, I used that instead of blueberries!  I must say!  A KEEPER of a recipe!  I'm thinking maybe next time I need a bit of apple pie filling with a caramel drizzle when it gets out of the oven, or maybe leave out the majority of the sugar and make a southwest chicken sandwich, or ham and Swiss...The possibilities are seemingly endless!  There's a 16th Birthday coming up and I'm thinking that would be an easy way to feed a number of kids!

HOT DOG!!!

WE HAVE SOME SUMMER WEATHER!!!!  It is over 70º, the clouds are just wispy white fluffs and well, I'M HAPPY!!!  And what more to enjoy but a big bowl of ice water!

Happy Father's Day!!

Look at those racks of ribs! Those have us so poppin' full we could about burst! We don't even have room for the homemade chocolate pudding!! I'm sure we'll have that before too long, though! With a cup of coffee! So there's cornbread, seven-layer salad, Kent's "famous" macaroni salad and RIBS!! There's enough for 2 days of leftovers for Kent, too! I get in trouble a bit for inviting people over and then there's no leftovers - not this time!
Happy Father's Day, dear!

Call to Nature

Coda for some reason LOVES to be on the leash in the front yard. He will bark and tell us exactly when he thinks he needs to be out front! The first thing he does when the leash is clipped on is run out and roll in the grass. Not sure why the front yard is so much better than the back for that, but... Today he was pretty sure that SOMEBODY needed to enjoy the outdoors with him. It is so nice out, although the sun is filtered through a bit of cloud. I joined him and he was pretty content. Last week I worked on my math homework while he sat leashless next to my chair. At one point he looked up at me with the GOOFIEST grin on his face and this look like, "Ah...mom, you're the best! You're out here with me, I've got NO strings, and isn't life great?!?!" I love dog smiles!

Happy Memorial Day

In Memory of POW/MIA

The White Table

This Morning Tiana sang with a few of her choir members at a Memorial Day ceremony at the  local cemetery.  For many years I've wanted to go to a service, but only now did it.  It was very touching and I'm not ashamed to say I shed some tears.  Too often we take our freedom for granted.  The freedom we have to criticize our government came at the expense of men.  Men who believe enough in a cause to put their life on the line.  Today our servicemen and women are fighting in battles that we're often very critical of, but because they are willing to fight, we sleep well at night.  If they are needed on our shores, they will be here.  We must be grateful.  We must support them and we must support the families who have paid the greatest price.

Thank you!

On a lighter note, it's a beautiful day with some sun breaks, no rain and a bit of warmth.  I finished my homework (although there is always fine-tuning I could do!) and the day isn't over!  Kent and I shared a salted caramel chocolate cupcake at Pinkabella Cupcakes!  YUMMY!!!

We did a bit of shopping and I am SOOO happy!!  I found 2 skirts that are so super comfy and so what I've been looking for!  They fit, the price was beyond right and it makes me want to do a happy dance!  Like truly!  I want to dance!!

Happy Summer's-almost-here-it's-the-beginning-of grilling-season-Day to you!!

P.S. Click on the White Table for pictures from the Ceremony.

Street Fair time!

We had this yummy "potato slinky" with sour cream and onion flavor on it.  They spiral cut a potato, deep fried it, and then rolled it in the flavor of your choice.  They had sweet and savory.  Should have tried the caramel!  We've had caramel potatoes (Danish style) and they are good!  Too bad the weather didn't cooperate with us.  Gray and cool today!

MMMmmmmm...!!!!!

What goes best with

 ??

If you said GRILLING! you would be absolutely RIGHT!

We had tenderloin steak, fresh corn-on-the-cob (it wasn't so great), baked potatoes, green beans and sauteed mushrooms and burnt onions.  I HIGHLY recommend the onions!  I also think that I would stay away from sweets and stick with a hotter onion.  They'll mellow quite nicely!

Feeling pretty good!

It's been awhile since I've been here and, really, there isn't much to report.  I had a pretty icky cold that sort of left me dazed and confused and completely out of focus. Last week, to make matters much worse, I had a couple of pretty good sized papers due that really took a lot of extra effort due to the cold.  Today I'll wrap those up.  During that week we also had a friend of Tiana's stay with us while her parents were in HI.  That was fun!  It did add just that extra twist, though.  As soon as she left, Kent's mom came for a couple of nights on her way to AK for the summer.  And, of course, there's always the big "work" factor, which had me working more hours than I'd like, but made all the worse by my own illness.  Today, on the other hand, although I'm not dressed yet, the house is vacuumed for the first time in over 1 week, the laundry is nearing its completion, my Public Speaking informative speech and power point is finished and that is GOOD!!!  Even managed an email or two (PERSONAL notes!) and now am ready for a bite to eat and then off to finish the English essay due tomorrow.  Will do a last minute study group with some math peers and finish that test this afternoon.  YAY!!!  Oh yeah, better do the English reading, too!  That's the easy part!  Happy Week!

Happy "Sun"day!

What a BEAUTIFUL day!  I woke up early to head in to work and the sun was already shining!  Amazing the difference the lack of clouds makes on how bright the morning is!  It sure helped me get going, especially since this was supposed to have been a Sunday off for me.  Seems "miscommunications" are the name of the game at work lately.  Anyway, we had a good Meeting and had Victoria, Marianne, Brent, girls and baby-boy-on-the-way for ribs for lunch.  Knowing that the weather was going to cooperate, we grilled ribs.  SOOO, yummy!  After Gospel Meeting then, Gordon and Ivona and kids; Jill and Trevan and kids; Joe and Jasmine and kids; and the three of us met at a park after picking up some dinner at Subway.  The sun was beginning to lose its warmth, but still the sheer joy of sun on our faces made the end of the day that much sweeter.  Now, it is really time to go help the hubby with leftover lunch dishes and then hitting the shower and bed!  It's been a long, beautiful day!

What a day!!

What does /\this have to do with this\/?

Or perhaps this \/...

...with this \/?

These are all things we saw today at the same beach!  The tape recorder was playing some music to a group of kids covered in tattoos, boys with long hair, girls in bikini tops with unshaven pits and some monstrously huge plastic sunglasses.  The iPad using young man was with a group of young men who eventually took off not only their tops, but one proceeded to get down to just his plaid briefs!  The other young man in another group was enjoying the sun in his old fashioned swim trunks while playing hacky sack with a soccer ball!!  Ah, what the sun doesn't do to stir up the eccentricities of the PNW!!  It was a GLORIOUS warm-ish day that seemingly is to be the only one again for awhile.  Thankfully we were able to get out and enjoy it!

And a VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my mom!

WEIRD!!!

I think that today will be a first ever for our household!  Kent went to work this morning at his usual time of about 6:30.  Because Paul is gone, he will be at work until at least 5:30 tonight.  I took Tiana to school at about 7:00 and then headed to class myself.  Now, I'm home until 4pm.  Tiana may not come home from school today if she decides to stay after and study for history since she'll be gone on a choir trip this weekend.  If she doesn't come home, she'll just stay all the way through until 6pm because she has jazz choir practice from 4-6.  My math class is 4-5 and my public speaking class is 6-8:10.  SO, that means that none of us will be together for dinner or at all as a family until about 8:30 tonight!  That is really just about the weirdest schedule we've ever had when we've all been in town!  Of course, if one of us is gone, then all bets are off, but...  Hm...feels like the "norm" that many others always experience!

Family Time!!

Family 2011
We've had a good weekend with Justin, Kathy, Wyatt, and Zoe.  Mom and Dad came up, too, so we did a valiant effort of getting a family photo.  I even got some great pictures of the individual kids.  Been a fun, ACTIVE weekend!

WHIRLWIND!!

We are home!  What a whirlwind of a weekend and the fun is just getting started!  Friday after work I drove to OR to pick up Tiana.  She'd spent the week with my parents just hanging out and doing whatever it is that they do -- oh yeah!  SHOPPING!!  And, of course, the requisite teenage pastime of constant texting!  Kent had a class to go to on Saturday so he stayed home and kept Coda company for the weekend.  Saturday I also took a quick trip to Eugene and visited my on-line card-making buddy, Cora.  I haven't seen her "new" body since she lost so much weight, and so it was good to see her and see what all she's doing in her terribly organized craft room!!  It was fun to see all of the baby lambs in the fields that were framed in wild daffodils as I drove down there!  Spring really is in the air, even if it doesn't feel like it!  Now, another week of class and then my parents and brother and his family come for the weekend!  Like I said, the fun is just beginning!  Thankfully my work schedule fully supports this week's extra activities! 

I'm in college now!

And this is what I do for English 102!

2 weeks...

What a fantastic, prolific, busy, accomplished 2 weeks.  For 2 weeks I've been off of this computer and I have been very able to get lots of things done!!  I read 3 books, knitted 2 dishcloths and managed to make a large stack of cards to catch up on personal correspondence and to be ready for the next birthdays coming up during this quarter.  I also spent some time with my sister and her kids and some "quality" time in the doctor's office with Tiana.  I did break the "no-computer-for-two-weeks" rule when she decided to throw up one night.  It looked suspiciously wrong and I had to look up info about the severity of what I might be seeing.  We determined simply to wait until first light and I took her to the doctor where many tests were taken.  The test for H.pylori turned up positive so for the last week we've been dealing with multiple antibiotics and their oh, so, lovely side affects.  One fairly interesting side affect sent us back to the doctor Saturday morning before we headed to Portland to take her to grandma and grandpa's for spring break.  The result of that visit was finding a pharmacy that actually CARRIES the drug and would get it to us in under 1.5 hours!  So, now we'll see if we can't get rid of this bug (it causes ulcers) and find her feeling really good for the first time in a long time.  She's also doing physical therapy for her back which probably has two ribs riding on top of each other rather than independently so she'll hopefully be pain free there, too! 
Tomorrow morning, bright and early, I will log on to my math class online.  I'll just have to jump in with both feet, and open mind and make sure my "lifeguards" know that it is time to watch me and make sure I don't drown!

♫ Oh what a night!! ♫

So, in addition to celebrating the successful end to my first quarter of college, we also celebrated my 40th birthday, Ivona's 39th, Gordon's, and unbeknown to me, Brent's!  Thanks to Bonnie and Larry; Kelvin, Carie and Eliza; Brent, Marianne, Lindsey and Becca; Gordon, Ivona, Emily and Jonathan; Jolyn; Mom and Dad; Victoria; and last but not least my Hubby and Tiana for all of their support, tutoring help, encouragement, and even housework over the last quarter and into the rest!  Here's to the future!!!

A good day!

I want to take this moment to thank my parents for yesterday.  Well, for yesterday 40 years and nine months or so ago! ;-)  And I want to thank everyone who took time out of their own busy schedules to wish me a Happy 40th!!  Kent is spending the weekend at training, but Tiana and I joined him for dinner after we spent some time with a friend of mine (and her darling daughter!).  Tonight, to continue the celebration, Tiana and I will drive to Olympia and go to the Northwest Harmonies Sweepstakes - an a cappella singing competition!  Should be fun!  I look forward to the next 40 years (or however long I'm granted on this earth!) and my wish is that my life makes a positive impact on those around me.  I just want to share this adorable card that my mom made for me -- and the lovely present from them, too! :-)

Yes, there are 40 $1 bills!!

Sitting...waiting

I write this entry from the dentist office waiting room.  Kent is currently having a tooth removed and possibly getting an implant started.  About 3 weeks ago, while eating bacon, he cracked his upper right bicuspid (I'm sure there's a more technical name for that tooth, but who's getting technical?).  And when I say cracked...

Well, that's all I got done before Kent came out.  He's a bit swollen and numb, but soon enough I'm quite sure he'll know even better than he does now that his tooth is missing and that they really worked to get it out.  They were unable to start the implant process because that root was too close to the next tooth.  They packed bone in there and then in 2 months he'll go back and they'll insert the post for an implant.  Fun times.

Alms for the poor?! :)

Random Coolness

Got out to the kitchen this morning and my morning was brightened considerably by the sight of my soap dispenser! I added some clear soap to the top of the creamy soap leftovers that weren't coming up the pump, and then this happened a day or two later! The COOLEST random flotation thingys making their way to the top of the clear soap!

Peasant STEW

We're going to argue this one the whole rest of our lives, but last night's dinner was STEW!!!  I made it, I followed the recipe and that's what it said!  Kent's thoroughly convinced I sneaked chili into his diet (and not as a condiment, either!) and he just doesn't like chili.  But this is Peasant STEW so it's okay!  I'm sorry I didn't get a picture, but this recipe comes HIGHLY recommended!  It came in last weeks' "My Recipes - Weekly Specials" and was out of "Cooking Light" magazine.

PEASANT STEW

Ingredients

• 1  teaspoon  ground cumin
• 1/4  teaspoon  salt
• 1/4  teaspoon  black pepper
• 6  chicken thighs (about 1 1/2 pounds), skinned
• 1  cup  chopped onion
• 1  (14.5-ounce) can Mexican-style stewed tomatoes with jalapeño peppers and spices, undrained
• 1  (4.5-ounce) can chopped green chiles, undrained
• 1  (15-ounce) can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
• 1  (15-ounce) can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/4  cup  minced fresh cilantro
• 1/4  cup  reduced-fat sour cream

Preparation

Combine cumin, salt, and pepper; sprinkle over chicken.

Place chicken in an electric slow cooker; stir in onion, tomatoes, and chiles. Cover with lid; cook on high-heat setting for 3 hours. Stir in beans. Cover; cook on high-heat setting 1 hour.

Place 1 chicken thigh in each of 6 soup bowls; ladle 1 1/4 cups stew into each bowl. Top each serving with 2 teaspoons cilantro and 2 teaspoons sour cream.

*Note: I used boneless, skinless chicken breasts and it shredded itself when I stirred in the beans.  For time reasons I also cooked it on low for 6 hours and bumped it up to high for the last hour or so when I added cold beans. (I had drained and rinsed them before work and added them, refrigerated, before class.)

Nutritional Information Calories: 214 (16% from fat) Fat: 3.9g (sat 1.4g,mono 0.9g,poly 0.9g) Protein: 21.5g Carbohydrate: 23.7g Fiber: 6g Cholesterol: 61mg Iron: 3mg Sodium: 773mg Calcium: 85mg

Funny!!

So, class today had my table partner and I in stitches!  We received our last tests back and both of us did extremely well.  We are also in class everyday, have had our books since day one and bought the requisite calculators a couple of weeks ago.  We are also two of the oldest, if not THE two oldest people in our class.  Well, then there's "Joey".  "Joey" has yet to buy a book (and thus, can't do the homework!), he's in class maybe once a week and, well, obviously is NOT doing well in the class.  That does NOT stop his mouth from running!  Goodness me! does that boy have attitude and lip!  Class runs from 4pm-5pm and about about 4:57 Joey walks INTO class.  Not out of class to go home early, no, he walks into class.  Mind you, his mouth is running almost instantly.  One girl is always having to leave directly on time because of her bus schedule.  She asked for homework but the instructor wouldn't give it to her because we hadn't gone over how to do part of it.  At that, "Joey" asks, "Do you know what time it is?!" (At this point it is now 5:02 - a full 5 minutes after he's entered class!)  And there were other silly comments like, "So, do we need a calculator to do this?!" (We're doing square roots so it would be helpful!).  As class is ending and he's invited to look at his test he's chanting, "Praying for a good grade, praying for a good grade!"  My partner and I looked at each other and wondered how low it could possibly be.  Thankfully he has a big mouth and ego and he exclaimed it loud enough for us to know!  "A 10?!?!  I GOT 10 OUT OF 100?!?!  IS THAT WHAT THAT MEANS?!  HOW THE ***?"  He was reminded to watch his language and all we could do was laugh!  Seriously?!?  You don't show for class, you don't do the work, you put forth 0 effort and you expect more than a 10?  He's good for a laugh, but he also wastes my time and that makes mama bear mighty unhappy.  The best though is accusing the teacher of not knowing what time it was when he didn't bother showing up until class was over!!

"My Dad is so...

MEAN!!!"

                                                                 -Coda

Another year...

 

Another group of kids to interview.  This is probably one of the biggest things that could happen to these kids and I am fortunate enough to have the privilege of getting to be a part of that.  It was, wow!, so many years ago that I sat in the hot seat these kids will sit in tomorrow!  I faced a bunch of adults, I felt lousy with a cold, and I answered questions based on an application I hadn't read or totally thought about in a number of months.  It was a long day -- a day that started with me attempting to "chill" with a bunch of kids I didn't know -- that included interviews, both individual and a group.  About 2 weeks later I received a hall pass in class telling me that my mom would pick me up. With trepidation I went to the office, signed out and went to the car.  (I still have that hall pass!)  There it was, sitting on the seat.  THE envelope.  I didn't want to open it, I couldn't wait to tear the letter out.  I WAS ACCEPTED TO GO TO GERMANY!!!  More paperwork later, I am assigned to join Manfred, Ellen, Britta and Julia in northern West Germany (yes, there were two Germany's then!).  I tried to call them but only got a recording -- that I couldn't understand!!  What ever was I going to do?  All of my school German was failing me miserably!  Fast forward the end of July, the family vacation consists of a cross-country drive to D.C. where I would say good-bye to my family for 11 full months.  Wow.  The beginning of HUGE change.  Eleven months alternately crawl and fly by.  At the end, I can say, they FLEW at supersonic speed.  That year changed me.  In some ways just very subtly but in others very profoundly.  I love the city, I love to travel, I'm drawn to foreigners, I love historical things more than ever.  I expanded.  My thoughts expanded.  My heart expanded.I have friends and "family" who are forever.  Tomorrow I hold in my hands the power to change another person for I have the power to send them in search of themselves in this great big huge world that we live in - this huge world that is shrinking as I write this!

1988

Ellen, Omama, Manfred, Julia and Britta

Happy Birthday, Dad!!

To the Coolest, Hippest Dad a girl could have:
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

Finished Project!

Some lucky kid's going to have a serious sugar high with this gift!!

The Sound of Silence!!

It's been a good day!  With no music, no noise, nothing but the wash machine and dryer hum, I've managed to get a TON done!  I pretty much have my English essay done, I got cookies decorated, the bathrooms clean.  It's good!  The coolest part though?  I get to have 3 teenagers at the house right now.  They are working on a project for world history regarding child labor.  Tristan is filming and Sidney and Tiana are child laborers.  The VERY best part?!  The girls' mouths are duct taped!!  LOL!  Very clever!  Very powerful statement they are making, but the mom in me is giggling!  So beautiful!