Happy

I stole this idea from another "blog of note" and thought it was a wonderful idea. it even made me crank up my brain a bit to move beyond the mundane......

Things that made me happy this week:

1. celebrating 30 years of marriage. oooooof! WE did it. and yes, you may applaud.

2. successfully fixing dinner a couple of evenings when i really didn't want to.

3. cooper came to visit for the day.

4. got 5 days of work done in 3 and only found two mistakes in the bulletin on Sunday. : o

5. went to church AND sunday school. it has been a long summer.

6. went on a bike ride with mr. wonderful and got (had) to buy new tires. good timing...it could have happened farther away from home.....

7. bikes made in france.

8. the promise of cooler days to come.

okay....so what made YOU happy this week?

Up 30

I guess we have been having fun, because it sure has flown by.

The hair is a little grayer, the bellies are a little bigger, the voices are a little softer.  30 years and two grown kids later here we are celebrating our wedding anniversary.

Went up to the Monterrey Peninsula and hung out at the beach, The Aquarium, Cannery Row, and of course, Fisherman's Wharf.  Breathed clean, cool air, watched sea lions and harbor seals, and pelicans, and cormorants.  And hermit crabs.  A long drive through Big Sur took us there and a fast drive down 101 brought us home.  20 Q's kept us entertained.  

30 more to come.....

i dont believe this

so i am signing out of my post and up pops this ad:  

http://www.baconsalt.com/

LOL

goofed

back in the olden days when we lived on the right coast people used to serve up chicken livers wrapped in bacon as a celebratory kind of dish.  i remember them mostly served at weddings.  i think they did that cause it was relatively cheap and people didn't eat it much so you didn't have to make huge platters of it.  i tasted them a couple of times, but could never figure out why someone would want to put it in their mouths.  its pretty nasty.

then we move out here to the left coast and i find this stuff actually has a name.  RUMAKI.  i think it is armenian.  whatever it is i am sure it is the foreign word for "this tastes like crap".  

anyway i have been trying recently to be the "mother that lisa is" (yeah i know it's kind of late as my kids are grown).  but i am taking "making dinner" to new heights.  and wednesday night, i hit the apex of culinary tastes.  now you have to understand i didn't get this round by having a less-than-very-close relationship with food.  i can and i have eaten just about everything.  

well wednesday night, i got this idea to wrap chicken in bacon in bake it. sounds good.  looked it up on the internet, found some recipes, and decided to make it simple.  chicken, green onion, tomato, sprinkled with garlic, leave off the salt because of the bacon, and bacon.   oh my gawd.  and i am only saying that for sound effects here...but it was AWFUL.  horking awful.  it was so bad  I did not eat it AND i did not even try to explain to my husband why he should get over himself and eat it.  it tasted like RUMAKI ,,,,,, with green onion.

1.  do not BAKE this recipe.....the bacon never gets...um....done (?)  i am sure it is done, but it never looks like it has been cooked.

2.  do not BAKWE green onions...it must change the chemical compound of the plant.  im tellin you that is some nasty stuff....and it permeates whatever it is being cooked with.

3.  and it doesn't get better if you let it sit for a couple of days.

have a good day  ;)  

Spoons

I have a girlfriend from many years ago that had a habit of calling extreme people freaking (if you will) spoons.  its a term of endearment that i have found ,,,,, endearing.  think about it.  extreme stupidity (for which i have extremely low tolerance) Spoon.  an out of control speeder on the road or a driver that is heavy into conversation with their passenger.  Spoons.  someone that thinks they got the answer...and revels in their knowledge [eyeroll] Spoon.  they are all SPOONS in my book.

but here's the deal.  I have this odd assortment of silverware that i "inherited" from my mother (just stainless steel), many pieces  which i "grew up" with.  one in particular is a serving spoon, the kind with a long handle, and slots to drain liquid off what ever it is that you are serving.  when i came across this spoon many moons ago, it brought such sharp memories of my mom, that i have kept it in a kitchen drawer and have never used it.  probably never will.  i have thought seriously of weaving it into some wall-art to hang in the kitchen somewhere.   and then there is her meat fork.  you know, the one that she forked pot roasts with to turn over after browning them off to be cooked all day.  now the fork, i use all the time.  its a good meat fork. ah...the watermelon knife.  that's her's too.  this year, it has cut up some good watermelon. .  

i s'pose there could be a chance if i used these items my cooking would improve.  on the otherhand, you are probably thinking i am a spoon.

not

g'nite

my turn

my apologies to the avid fans...umm...supportive fans....friends and family.....for my long-time-no-post period.  and i am again apoligizing for today's post, but i, like others, have a need to address postings by the world famous writer, a. nony mous.  so hear me out, if you will, agree, disagree, i don't really care....but i am making a move to block your posts on my blog.  i have (kindly) addressed this on other's blogs and i don't feel i can or should continue to do so there, so i am doing it here.  like it or not,,,,here goes.

i didn't start blogging to be criticized and/or questioned.  the opinions expressed here are mine and mine alone, if you don't like them, take a hike.  i do not even want to or care to hear your drivel. you want to drivel?  get your own blog.  stay off mine.  and don't link to mine...and don't ask me to link to yours.  it ain't goin' to happen.

although some of the comments have been half-way intelligent, and i am sure they are being written by people i know that would think i would never tell them face to face to take a hike, well,,,,,, um,,,, you probably don't know me that well, and i can assure you i can and will tell you to take a hike whenever i deem it appropriate.  and if i find out who you are and know you face to face, rest assured, that i WILL tell you.

so buzz off, little people.  go find some other place to make fun of people or ask stupid questions.  ,,,,and if you are going to stick around,,,,identify yourself.

thank you.

over and out.  don't cry.

The Reality of the Game

48 hours.  

The challenges laid out before our 12 teams took us from our home town, out to the coast, over the mountains and back home again.  And the position of the teams changed constantly as they made their was over the course of 600 miles.  As in "real life" there were winning moments and disappointments, events that were skated though with little or no effort and others that took not only physical ability but mental skill and aptitude ~ all made to push them out of their comfort zones, to grown and stretch them. 

²⁴However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace.  Acts 20:24

The course provided fun and games along with some community service tasks.

It was a good run.  At a winery in Paso Robles after hoeing a garden and picking for 20 minutes close to 800 lbs of vegetables were picked and packed for the local food bank.  The chocolate covered crickets, grub worms, and scorpions were quite tasty and to our surprise were gobbled down with little hesitance.  You would think after the baby food challenge they would not be so keen on eating things.  

All along the way we were asked "what are you doing?" Many times people thought we were doing the actual tv show.  But every time they inquired of us it was an opportunity to talk about His  Amazin'Grace.

48 hours.