This is one of our new favorites. It's pretty easy to make, and really yummy. The first time I made it, husband asked where the can was. He was totally serious, thought it came from a can and I'd just added rice and larger mushroom pieces.
I use fresh mushrooms, and since I don't have dry sherry, it goes w/o it. Possibly would make it better, I don't know.
Wild Rice & Mushroom Soup
Better Homes & Gardens Soups & Stews, 1993
Serves 4
3 c chicken broth
1/3 c wild rice
1/2 c green onion slices
1 c half & half or cream
2 TBSP flour
1 tsp fresh thyme (or 1/4 tsp dried)
1/8 tsp pepper
1/2 c sliced mushrooms
1 TBSP dry sherry
Combine chicken broth & uncooked rice. Bring to boil. Reduce heat & simmer 40 minutes covered. Stir in green onion & cook 5-10 minutes more until rice is tender.
Combine half & half/cream, flour, thyme & pepper. Stir into rice mixture with mushrooms. Cook & stir until thickened & bubbly. Cook & stir 1 minute more. Stir in sherry & heat through.
December 16, 2005
December 15, 2005
Happy happy birthday baby...
Today is the birthday of my wonderful husband. Happy birthday Kevin!
Sometimes I sit and wonder how I got to be your wife... it's just so great! I thoroughly enjoy being lazy with you, lying awake late at night talking instead of sleeping, hanging out with Norman, sleeping late with you on a Friday (hooray for 4 day weeks!), cooking together (your refried beans are WAY better than mine!), riding to work with you (it was lonely this morning), walking the neightborhood with you, working with you and so many other things.
You are incredibly intelligent, and I'm proud of you for all you know and can do. I know I don't understand it all, even when you explain it to me, but I am impressed (I think my mind's not big enough to hold the info). It's cool to have others tell me how impressed they are with your knowledge.
It's fun to be part of your creativity - who else could create a great mini-golf hole from cardboard, a rotisserie oven, some tin cans and tinsel? You have so many great ideas, and I enjoy watching you make them come to life.
You say you're a slacker, but so many people see your hard work and appreciate it. You're one of the hardest workers I know. Sometimes to the point that I feel I am not pulling enough weight and then I get frustrated, but it helps me to work harder and not slack off.
It makes me happy to know that we're not in debt and living paycheck to paycheck. I'm glad that we're not big spenders, and that you cause me to be a bit more frugal than maybe I would be without you... Granted, sometimes I wish I were getting diamonds, but I really am getting so much more in having a house and being financially secure.
Thank you for having patience with me, and for loving me as I am. You are a beautiful person, and each day I thank God for you. My heart feels it will burst because I am SO happy being with you!
I love you forever!!
Sometimes I sit and wonder how I got to be your wife... it's just so great! I thoroughly enjoy being lazy with you, lying awake late at night talking instead of sleeping, hanging out with Norman, sleeping late with you on a Friday (hooray for 4 day weeks!), cooking together (your refried beans are WAY better than mine!), riding to work with you (it was lonely this morning), walking the neightborhood with you, working with you and so many other things.
You are incredibly intelligent, and I'm proud of you for all you know and can do. I know I don't understand it all, even when you explain it to me, but I am impressed (I think my mind's not big enough to hold the info). It's cool to have others tell me how impressed they are with your knowledge.
It's fun to be part of your creativity - who else could create a great mini-golf hole from cardboard, a rotisserie oven, some tin cans and tinsel? You have so many great ideas, and I enjoy watching you make them come to life.
You say you're a slacker, but so many people see your hard work and appreciate it. You're one of the hardest workers I know. Sometimes to the point that I feel I am not pulling enough weight and then I get frustrated, but it helps me to work harder and not slack off.
It makes me happy to know that we're not in debt and living paycheck to paycheck. I'm glad that we're not big spenders, and that you cause me to be a bit more frugal than maybe I would be without you... Granted, sometimes I wish I were getting diamonds, but I really am getting so much more in having a house and being financially secure.
Thank you for having patience with me, and for loving me as I am. You are a beautiful person, and each day I thank God for you. My heart feels it will burst because I am SO happy being with you!
I love you forever!!
December 6, 2005
greek pitas
so I've decided that since I love food and recipes so much, I'm going to try to post a recipe each week... maybe it will encourage me to make more of the recipes I have collected...
Greek Pitas (from my mom and sister)
filling:
5 artichoke hearts, cut into quarters (14oz can)
1/4 c roasted red peppers, drained & chopped (aout 3 oz)
OR 1/2 c chopped red bell pepper
2 celery stalks, chopped
2 medium tomato, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced or pressed
2 TBSP olive oil
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 TBSP chopped fresh dill (1 tsp dried)
2 TBSP chopped fresh parsley
2/3 c grated or crumbled feta cheese (about 5 oz)
salt and pepper to taste
1-2 TBSP capers, rinsed & drained (optional)
3/4 c pitted Calamata olives, sliced (optional)
pita bread
romaine or leaf lettuce
Mix all filling ingredients together.
Cut in half and lightly toast pita bread in toaster oven. Fill each half of bread with lettuce and filling. Eat!
yum yum :)
Greek Pitas (from my mom and sister)
filling:
5 artichoke hearts, cut into quarters (14oz can)
1/4 c roasted red peppers, drained & chopped (aout 3 oz)
OR 1/2 c chopped red bell pepper
2 celery stalks, chopped
2 medium tomato, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced or pressed
2 TBSP olive oil
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 TBSP chopped fresh dill (1 tsp dried)
2 TBSP chopped fresh parsley
2/3 c grated or crumbled feta cheese (about 5 oz)
salt and pepper to taste
1-2 TBSP capers, rinsed & drained (optional)
3/4 c pitted Calamata olives, sliced (optional)
pita bread
romaine or leaf lettuce
Mix all filling ingredients together.
Cut in half and lightly toast pita bread in toaster oven. Fill each half of bread with lettuce and filling. Eat!
yum yum :)
December 2, 2005
December 1, 2005
the things you learn...
(Overheard) profound quote of the day:
“In talking to these people, it’s been a wake up call. Everyone has totally different lives.”
“In talking to these people, it’s been a wake up call. Everyone has totally different lives.”
November 1, 2005
October 15, 2005
Norman
our lovely cat Norman has decided he needs to bring into the house the fruits of his labors of hunting all day...
the first time it was bird feathers and part of a wing and a big ol cat turd in the middle of it all.
the next time it was a half a mouse bleeding out.
yesterday Norman caught a bird and brougt it in and tussled with it as I was in the basement at the computer. It was a bit creepy to hear it all going on...
luckily I'd just been out taking pictures of our red trees, and Norman was kind enough to let me take a pic...
the first time it was bird feathers and part of a wing and a big ol cat turd in the middle of it all.
the next time it was a half a mouse bleeding out.
yesterday Norman caught a bird and brougt it in and tussled with it as I was in the basement at the computer. It was a bit creepy to hear it all going on...
luckily I'd just been out taking pictures of our red trees, and Norman was kind enough to let me take a pic...
October 3, 2005
September 28, 2005
4am
4am the other morning, I'm abruptly woken by the following:
Kevin: "Hey! Get get off of there!" He moves around and suddenly my face/head is covered and pinned down by his armpit/chest/bare skin as he reaches over me to find the light remote. (This freaks me out as I can't breathe and am barely aware of things.)
Then the light turns on, Kevin closes the bedroom door, turns off the light.
And we go back to sleep.
Kevin: "Hey! Get get off of there!" He moves around and suddenly my face/head is covered and pinned down by his armpit/chest/bare skin as he reaches over me to find the light remote. (This freaks me out as I can't breathe and am barely aware of things.)
Then the light turns on, Kevin closes the bedroom door, turns off the light.
And we go back to sleep.
September 20, 2005
Good Samaritan/crackheads
I found the following story in the August 24th issue of the Spokesman-Review. It needed to be shared...
Fight started after Samaritan got into truck
John Craig
Staff writer
August 24, 2005
Alcohol, trouble and Dennis Sprayberry have been fellow travelers for many of his 19 years. Last week was no exception when a 17-year-old girl joined him on the roof of a moving vehicle and was seriously injured when she fell off.
The incident drew public attention not only because of the injuries Liz Roberts suffered – a life-threatening cerebral hemorrhage and extensive "road rash" – but because a passer-by who tried to help her was severely beaten by one or more of her companions. Making matters worse, Roberts' friends took two hours to get her to a hospital.
In the week since the accident, new details have emerged that begin to answer some of the questions about what happened that night. Sprayberry and his friends had been drinking before the accident, the driver was deaf and didn't hear pleas to stop, and the Good Samaritan was acting erratically.
Although accounts of the alleged assault vary, Sprayberry and Robert M. Dean, the Good Samaritan, agree on one fact: Dean got into the truck with the friends, and that didn't sit well with them.
"God, it was a stupid mistake, man, but none of the argument with the guy was about going to the hospital," Sprayberry said. "The argument was that he wasn't coming with us."
Dean, 42, was treated and released at Sacred Heart Medical Center. Roberts also was treated at Sacred Heart for internal injuries. She has since been released.
Dean suffered a serious gash on his left eyebrow when 17-year-old David Ellis allegedly struck him in the face with a beer bottle.
Ellis has been charged in Spokane County Juvenile Court with second-degree assault. He declined a Spokesman-Review request for an interview. No one else has been charged so far.
Sprayberry said he and Ellis and the driver of their vehicle, 21-year-old Willie R. Sprayberry, are cousins – each from a different family. He said Liz Roberts is the older sister of Ellis' girlfriend, Pamela Roberts. The three cousins went to Pamela's home, where Ellis hoped she would join them, Dennis Sprayberry said.
Pamela couldn't come, so Liz Roberts joined them instead, Sprayberry said.
Efforts to contact Willie Sprayberry were unsuccessful. The Roberts family declined a request for an interview.
Dennis Sprayberry said he and the three others went to a park and drank beer for three hours before they resumed driving Willie Sprayberry's Ford Explorer. He said they probably all were drunk when the accident and alleged assault happened about 2 a.m. near the corner of Helena and DeSmet.
"I started to get crazy, and I climbed out the window," Dennis Sprayberry said.
About 30 seconds later, he said. Roberts joined him on the roof of the moving Ford Explorer.
"I was like, 'Liz, no, no, no,' and she was like, 'No, I'm fine,' " Sprayberry said.
Then, he said, Willie Sprayberry "punched the gas" and began swerving left and right to give them a thrill.
"It just scared the living daylights out of me," Dennis Sprayberry said.
Finally, he said, he realized that the next swerve likely would throw him or Roberts off the vehicle, depending on which way it turned.
"She just went flying off, and I went, 'Oh, my God,' and started pounding on the window," Sprayberry said.
But he said Willie Sprayberry is deaf, and the Explorer traveled most of a block before stopping.
"We got back there and some guy had come running, some guy just walking out of the little woody area right there," Sprayberry said.
That was Dean, who told The Spokesman-Review he heard a girl screaming, and thought it looked as though she had been thrown out of the vehicle instead of off it when the Explorer did a "240-degree" spin.
"I could hear her hit the ground, it was such a loud thud, and then she rolled," Dean said.
He claimed the girl's companions were standing around her, tossing cigarette butts at her, laughing at her and calling her vulgar names when he arrived – not showing the concern Sprayberry described.
Sprayberry said Dean was verbally abusive and "a scary person."
"We would have taken it more easily, but he was totally aggressive to all of us, cussing us out," Sprayberry said, adding that Dean appeared to be high on drugs.
"I can practically guarantee that," Sprayberry said. "I've experienced street drugs myself."
Dean said he was "completely, 100 percent normal" that night, but he made several claims during an interview this week that defy reason. For example, he said he has an extensive military background, specializing in "extrasensory perception espionage and psychotronic warfare."
"What I do with the extrasensory perception espionage is that I put the conscious mind asleep, and I go directly into the subconscious mind," Dean said in a Monday interview. "At that point, the thoughts start coming in at more than 400 million thoughts per second. I begin the interrogation at that point."
As for "psychotronic warfare," he said he has learned to "turn myself into what they call a particle beam weapon and a photon weapon."
Just before he came to Roberts' aid on the night of the accident and subsequent attack, Dean said he had been at a party – actually "sort of a Gothic thing" downtown – but he hadn't been drinking or taking drugs. He said the Gothic event appealed to him because one of the several doctoral degrees he claims to hold is in religion.
As he spoke, he was taking a break from his job with a roof-stripping and tree-trimming crew on a job near the accident scene.
Dean and Sprayberry agree on one thing: Dean climbed into the Explorer with Roberts and refused to leave.
Dean said that was because Roberts' companions said they didn't intend to take her to a hospital, and "I said I had a problem with that."
Accounts of the fight that followed differ widely. According to Dean, the fight was preceded by "some kind of a blinding light" that he can't explain. He said at least two young men threw punches at him before one of them knocked him down with a beer bottle. That was followed by assaults with knives, baseball bats and a chain, Dean claimed.
Sprayberry's version is that Ellis ordered Dean out of the Explorer, and Dean came out swinging his fists. Ellis was losing the fight, and Sprayberry tried to break it up. Dean turned on Sprayberry and fell on his buttocks when Sprayberry pushed him back.
"He kind of lost his footing," Sprayberry said. "He fell back onto his rump, and that's when David somehow got around me and just hit him in the face and broke the beer bottle on his head."
Then, Sprayberry said, Dean grabbed a leg of his baggy pants. Sprayberry said he was trying to pull free when Ellis kicked Dean.
Ellis kicked several times, but appeared to connect only once, Sprayberry said. He said he grabbed Ellis and ordered him to get into the Explorer.
Sprayberry said he was grateful for Dean's help, "but his help should have gone only so far. He was just acting like he was the dad of one of us."
Whatever resolve the group may have had to take Roberts to a hospital dissolved in the vehicle. Willie Sprayberry refused to go because he was drunk, Dennis Sprayberry said. Roberts, who was vomiting but lucid, didn't want to go, either, he said.
"We were kind of respecting her decision," Sprayberry said. "She would have gotten in a lot of trouble if her mom had found out."
So they drove to a friend's house near Northwest Boulevard and Ash, and chaos prevailed for two hours: "Believe me, nobody was in agreement with nobody. We were all arguing."
Roberts lay on a couch, and her condition worsened.
"I was crying … by then because I was really scared," Sprayberry said. "She didn't look very good."
He said he talked to Roberts and tried to keep her conscious, and she still didn't want to go to a hospital.
Finally, Sprayberry said, "I'll never forget it: I looked at her, and one of her eyes just went crooked. I just broke down then."
But, distressed by all he had seen that night, he said he went for a walk. It was Ellis who finally insisted on taking her to Sacred Heart, Sprayberry said.
"I left before they even took her to the hospital," he said.
Sprayberry said he's ashamed and sorry about that, sorry about the attack on Dean, sorry about everything that happened that night.
"For us not to bring her directly to the hospital was just retarded," he said. "It was just stupid of us. There's no way to explain it. "Me, I'm just done drinking. Period."
Fight started after Samaritan got into truck
John Craig
Staff writer
August 24, 2005
Alcohol, trouble and Dennis Sprayberry have been fellow travelers for many of his 19 years. Last week was no exception when a 17-year-old girl joined him on the roof of a moving vehicle and was seriously injured when she fell off.
The incident drew public attention not only because of the injuries Liz Roberts suffered – a life-threatening cerebral hemorrhage and extensive "road rash" – but because a passer-by who tried to help her was severely beaten by one or more of her companions. Making matters worse, Roberts' friends took two hours to get her to a hospital.
In the week since the accident, new details have emerged that begin to answer some of the questions about what happened that night. Sprayberry and his friends had been drinking before the accident, the driver was deaf and didn't hear pleas to stop, and the Good Samaritan was acting erratically.
Although accounts of the alleged assault vary, Sprayberry and Robert M. Dean, the Good Samaritan, agree on one fact: Dean got into the truck with the friends, and that didn't sit well with them.
"God, it was a stupid mistake, man, but none of the argument with the guy was about going to the hospital," Sprayberry said. "The argument was that he wasn't coming with us."
Dean, 42, was treated and released at Sacred Heart Medical Center. Roberts also was treated at Sacred Heart for internal injuries. She has since been released.
Dean suffered a serious gash on his left eyebrow when 17-year-old David Ellis allegedly struck him in the face with a beer bottle.
Ellis has been charged in Spokane County Juvenile Court with second-degree assault. He declined a Spokesman-Review request for an interview. No one else has been charged so far.
Sprayberry said he and Ellis and the driver of their vehicle, 21-year-old Willie R. Sprayberry, are cousins – each from a different family. He said Liz Roberts is the older sister of Ellis' girlfriend, Pamela Roberts. The three cousins went to Pamela's home, where Ellis hoped she would join them, Dennis Sprayberry said.
Pamela couldn't come, so Liz Roberts joined them instead, Sprayberry said.
Efforts to contact Willie Sprayberry were unsuccessful. The Roberts family declined a request for an interview.
Dennis Sprayberry said he and the three others went to a park and drank beer for three hours before they resumed driving Willie Sprayberry's Ford Explorer. He said they probably all were drunk when the accident and alleged assault happened about 2 a.m. near the corner of Helena and DeSmet.
"I started to get crazy, and I climbed out the window," Dennis Sprayberry said.
About 30 seconds later, he said. Roberts joined him on the roof of the moving Ford Explorer.
"I was like, 'Liz, no, no, no,' and she was like, 'No, I'm fine,' " Sprayberry said.
Then, he said, Willie Sprayberry "punched the gas" and began swerving left and right to give them a thrill.
"It just scared the living daylights out of me," Dennis Sprayberry said.
Finally, he said, he realized that the next swerve likely would throw him or Roberts off the vehicle, depending on which way it turned.
"She just went flying off, and I went, 'Oh, my God,' and started pounding on the window," Sprayberry said.
But he said Willie Sprayberry is deaf, and the Explorer traveled most of a block before stopping.
"We got back there and some guy had come running, some guy just walking out of the little woody area right there," Sprayberry said.
That was Dean, who told The Spokesman-Review he heard a girl screaming, and thought it looked as though she had been thrown out of the vehicle instead of off it when the Explorer did a "240-degree" spin.
"I could hear her hit the ground, it was such a loud thud, and then she rolled," Dean said.
He claimed the girl's companions were standing around her, tossing cigarette butts at her, laughing at her and calling her vulgar names when he arrived – not showing the concern Sprayberry described.
Sprayberry said Dean was verbally abusive and "a scary person."
"We would have taken it more easily, but he was totally aggressive to all of us, cussing us out," Sprayberry said, adding that Dean appeared to be high on drugs.
"I can practically guarantee that," Sprayberry said. "I've experienced street drugs myself."
Dean said he was "completely, 100 percent normal" that night, but he made several claims during an interview this week that defy reason. For example, he said he has an extensive military background, specializing in "extrasensory perception espionage and psychotronic warfare."
"What I do with the extrasensory perception espionage is that I put the conscious mind asleep, and I go directly into the subconscious mind," Dean said in a Monday interview. "At that point, the thoughts start coming in at more than 400 million thoughts per second. I begin the interrogation at that point."
As for "psychotronic warfare," he said he has learned to "turn myself into what they call a particle beam weapon and a photon weapon."
Just before he came to Roberts' aid on the night of the accident and subsequent attack, Dean said he had been at a party – actually "sort of a Gothic thing" downtown – but he hadn't been drinking or taking drugs. He said the Gothic event appealed to him because one of the several doctoral degrees he claims to hold is in religion.
As he spoke, he was taking a break from his job with a roof-stripping and tree-trimming crew on a job near the accident scene.
Dean and Sprayberry agree on one thing: Dean climbed into the Explorer with Roberts and refused to leave.
Dean said that was because Roberts' companions said they didn't intend to take her to a hospital, and "I said I had a problem with that."
Accounts of the fight that followed differ widely. According to Dean, the fight was preceded by "some kind of a blinding light" that he can't explain. He said at least two young men threw punches at him before one of them knocked him down with a beer bottle. That was followed by assaults with knives, baseball bats and a chain, Dean claimed.
Sprayberry's version is that Ellis ordered Dean out of the Explorer, and Dean came out swinging his fists. Ellis was losing the fight, and Sprayberry tried to break it up. Dean turned on Sprayberry and fell on his buttocks when Sprayberry pushed him back.
"He kind of lost his footing," Sprayberry said. "He fell back onto his rump, and that's when David somehow got around me and just hit him in the face and broke the beer bottle on his head."
Then, Sprayberry said, Dean grabbed a leg of his baggy pants. Sprayberry said he was trying to pull free when Ellis kicked Dean.
Ellis kicked several times, but appeared to connect only once, Sprayberry said. He said he grabbed Ellis and ordered him to get into the Explorer.
Sprayberry said he was grateful for Dean's help, "but his help should have gone only so far. He was just acting like he was the dad of one of us."
Whatever resolve the group may have had to take Roberts to a hospital dissolved in the vehicle. Willie Sprayberry refused to go because he was drunk, Dennis Sprayberry said. Roberts, who was vomiting but lucid, didn't want to go, either, he said.
"We were kind of respecting her decision," Sprayberry said. "She would have gotten in a lot of trouble if her mom had found out."
So they drove to a friend's house near Northwest Boulevard and Ash, and chaos prevailed for two hours: "Believe me, nobody was in agreement with nobody. We were all arguing."
Roberts lay on a couch, and her condition worsened.
"I was crying … by then because I was really scared," Sprayberry said. "She didn't look very good."
He said he talked to Roberts and tried to keep her conscious, and she still didn't want to go to a hospital.
Finally, Sprayberry said, "I'll never forget it: I looked at her, and one of her eyes just went crooked. I just broke down then."
But, distressed by all he had seen that night, he said he went for a walk. It was Ellis who finally insisted on taking her to Sacred Heart, Sprayberry said.
"I left before they even took her to the hospital," he said.
Sprayberry said he's ashamed and sorry about that, sorry about the attack on Dean, sorry about everything that happened that night.
"For us not to bring her directly to the hospital was just retarded," he said. "It was just stupid of us. There's no way to explain it. "Me, I'm just done drinking. Period."
August 24, 2005
Extra virgin
olive oil that is. Yesterday coworkers and I went out to lunch to celebrate one's birthday. At the restaurant they had a small bottle of extra virgin olive oil sitting on the table. We discussed why it was extra virgin and wondered what happened to that extra virgin. On the label it said "For nutritional information call 800-825-6633." I wondered what it would tell me, so wrote the number down and called it once I was back at work.
Apparently 800-825-6633 is no longer the number to call for nutritional info on the olive oil. It rang a couple times, then picked up and squealed fax machine in my ear. A very pleasant sound :)
So, no news on the extra virgin or how nutritious it is for us. Which doesn’t really matter since we didn’t eat it…
Apparently 800-825-6633 is no longer the number to call for nutritional info on the olive oil. It rang a couple times, then picked up and squealed fax machine in my ear. A very pleasant sound :)
So, no news on the extra virgin or how nutritious it is for us. Which doesn’t really matter since we didn’t eat it…
July 28, 2005
I'm a mean person
A coworker was talking to me about when we can move in to our new house. I told her we weren’t sure if it was closing day or not. She asked if I was packing yet, then talked about stress and unknown really worrying me. I said no, I know it will happen, I don’t much care when it happens, since it will at some point happen and I’ll be in a new house. I at this point would rather be at the end point where I’ve moved and my life can be “normal” not waiting in the middle.
She asked if there was a yard. I said yes. She said she hoped sometime I’d have a picture of it. I said I’d send her a link right then. So I did.
She came back a few minutes later saying it was an amazing house, tile in the kitchen which was so great I could just put hot foods on the counter and the yard was fantastic and she couldn’t imagine having that as a first house. I said we were making an investment - we wanted something we liked, we could live in for 20 years if that’s what happens, and we could re-sell if necessary. Not just whatever was out there. It’s an investment. She then talked about pastoring and how they had rentals, house market not good, pastors not being able to sell their houses, etc. for a few minutes. All while playing with the bouncy ball and mouse parts on my computer monitor.
And then as she walked away, she said “well, I feel like I know you a little better now.” (A bit creepy to me.)
I think I was a little vague/ignoring of her. I think my lovely husband is a much nicer person than I am, as he probably would have told her all about it and been more excited than I in telling it all. I feel kind of mean by not telling her all, but yet I don’t want to tell her all because I don’t feel that she needs to know.
I kind of cut out/am cold to those people that I don't have things in common with, or I don't care to know better because of whatever reasons. I don't go out of my way to talk to people, or even to give them any more info than what they ask. I run on a "need to know" basis, where I decide who needs to know what.
And I've come to the conclusion that I'm a mean person.
She asked if there was a yard. I said yes. She said she hoped sometime I’d have a picture of it. I said I’d send her a link right then. So I did.
She came back a few minutes later saying it was an amazing house, tile in the kitchen which was so great I could just put hot foods on the counter and the yard was fantastic and she couldn’t imagine having that as a first house. I said we were making an investment - we wanted something we liked, we could live in for 20 years if that’s what happens, and we could re-sell if necessary. Not just whatever was out there. It’s an investment. She then talked about pastoring and how they had rentals, house market not good, pastors not being able to sell their houses, etc. for a few minutes. All while playing with the bouncy ball and mouse parts on my computer monitor.
And then as she walked away, she said “well, I feel like I know you a little better now.” (A bit creepy to me.)
I think I was a little vague/ignoring of her. I think my lovely husband is a much nicer person than I am, as he probably would have told her all about it and been more excited than I in telling it all. I feel kind of mean by not telling her all, but yet I don’t want to tell her all because I don’t feel that she needs to know.
I kind of cut out/am cold to those people that I don't have things in common with, or I don't care to know better because of whatever reasons. I don't go out of my way to talk to people, or even to give them any more info than what they ask. I run on a "need to know" basis, where I decide who needs to know what.
And I've come to the conclusion that I'm a mean person.
Who's proud?
A lady was talking to me this morning about our soon to be new house. I shared pictures of the house with her. She replied by email that she liked the house, thanks for sharing pictures and "I'm proud of you".
This got me to thinking. I've known this lady for all of about 10 months. I know her on a coworker/acquaintance level. She's a great person, just not the type of person I'd choose to spend more time with. She (I feel) doesn't really know ME - she knows the work me, but that's just a part or me, and not much really. And because I don't feel a great bond with her, and I don't feel I need to know her better, I don't share of myself as much as I would with people I like more or want to know more.
Anyway, so I was wondering how she could be "proud" of me. (I wondered if her "proud" was actually kind of like envy/jealousy/really impressed that someone could do this, since she couldn't at that point in her life/marriage.)
Can other people really be proud of me? Wouldn’t just my parents/family/in-laws be proud of me? Wouldn’t others outside that circle just be happy and excited for me?
This got me to thinking. I've known this lady for all of about 10 months. I know her on a coworker/acquaintance level. She's a great person, just not the type of person I'd choose to spend more time with. She (I feel) doesn't really know ME - she knows the work me, but that's just a part or me, and not much really. And because I don't feel a great bond with her, and I don't feel I need to know her better, I don't share of myself as much as I would with people I like more or want to know more.
Anyway, so I was wondering how she could be "proud" of me. (I wondered if her "proud" was actually kind of like envy/jealousy/really impressed that someone could do this, since she couldn't at that point in her life/marriage.)
Can other people really be proud of me? Wouldn’t just my parents/family/in-laws be proud of me? Wouldn’t others outside that circle just be happy and excited for me?
June 24, 2005
so many houses
We're on the run to buy a house. We met for the first time with our realtor last night, and he sent us out to check out different neighborhoods, just to get a feel for things. Definately made us reconsider what we wanted and where we really want to be.
Kevin found this AWESOME house in a local house magazine this morning. Unfortunately, it's 45 miles south of here.
Anyone know of a great business that I could start from home that makes a truckload of money?
Kevin found this AWESOME house in a local house magazine this morning. Unfortunately, it's 45 miles south of here.
Anyone know of a great business that I could start from home that makes a truckload of money?
June 8, 2005
remembrances from the past
In reading Mari's blog about driving vehicles you are not used , I remembered the following from my past a few years ago...
As an assistant dean we had Lake Day where we loaded up all the kids and drove a couple hours and played in the lake all day. Well, I didn't end up with a map, and I lost my leader at a stop light. Girls in my car thought they knew the way, but they didn’t. Then people at a car lot gave us the wrong directions, we took a few wrong turns, and I ended up needing to pull a 3 point turn around in the middle of the road (old country road, nobody around, no place to pull out and turn around). With the lovely automatic that I was not used to, as I shifted into drive to pull back around, the van sort of rolled backwards - into the ditch! This van had low clearance as well, so the bottom was slightly scraping along the road. So I had to have the vanload of girls get out and push us out of the ditch...
We eventually arrived at the lake about 2 hours late and just about the time they were ready to send the State Patrol out to find us...
As an assistant dean we had Lake Day where we loaded up all the kids and drove a couple hours and played in the lake all day. Well, I didn't end up with a map, and I lost my leader at a stop light. Girls in my car thought they knew the way, but they didn’t. Then people at a car lot gave us the wrong directions, we took a few wrong turns, and I ended up needing to pull a 3 point turn around in the middle of the road (old country road, nobody around, no place to pull out and turn around). With the lovely automatic that I was not used to, as I shifted into drive to pull back around, the van sort of rolled backwards - into the ditch! This van had low clearance as well, so the bottom was slightly scraping along the road. So I had to have the vanload of girls get out and push us out of the ditch...
We eventually arrived at the lake about 2 hours late and just about the time they were ready to send the State Patrol out to find us...
June 2, 2005
smart woman
From an email I got from a friend. I found it amusing.
She spent the first day packing her belongings into boxes, crates and suitcases.
On the second day, she had the movers come and collect her things.
On the third day, she sat down for the last time at their beautiful dining room table by candlelight, put on some soft background music, and feasted on a pound of shrimp, a jar of caviar, and a bottle of Chardonnay.
When she had finished, she went into each and every room and deposited a few half-eaten shrimp shells dipped in caviar, into the hollow of the curtain rods.
She then cleaned up the kitchen and left.
When the husband returned with his new girlfriend, all was bliss for the first few days.
Then slowly, the house began to smell. They tried everything, cleaning, mopping and airing the place out. Vents were checked for dead rodents and carpets were steam cleaned. Air fresheners were hung everywhere. Exterminators were brought in to set off gas canisters, during which they had to move out for a few days and in the end they even paid to replace the expensive wool carpeting. Nothing worked.
People stopped coming over to visit. Repairmen refused to work in the house. The maid quit. Finally, they could not take the stench any longer and decided to move. A month later, even though they had cut their price in half, they could not find a buyer for their stinky house. Word got out and eventually even the local realtors refused to return their calls.
Finally, they had to borrow a huge sum of money from the bank to purchase a new place. The ex-wife called the man and asked how things were going. He told her the saga of the rotting house. She listened politely and said that she missed her old home terribly and would be willing to reduce her divorce settlement in exchange for getting the house back. Knowing his ex-wife had no idea how bad the smell was, he agreed on a price that was about 1/10th of what the house had been worth, but only if she were to sign the papers that very day. She agreed and within the hour his lawyers delivered the paperwork.
A week later the man and his girlfriend stood smiling as they watched the moving company pack everything to take to their new home......... including the curtain rods.
She spent the first day packing her belongings into boxes, crates and suitcases.
On the second day, she had the movers come and collect her things.
On the third day, she sat down for the last time at their beautiful dining room table by candlelight, put on some soft background music, and feasted on a pound of shrimp, a jar of caviar, and a bottle of Chardonnay.
When she had finished, she went into each and every room and deposited a few half-eaten shrimp shells dipped in caviar, into the hollow of the curtain rods.
She then cleaned up the kitchen and left.
When the husband returned with his new girlfriend, all was bliss for the first few days.
Then slowly, the house began to smell. They tried everything, cleaning, mopping and airing the place out. Vents were checked for dead rodents and carpets were steam cleaned. Air fresheners were hung everywhere. Exterminators were brought in to set off gas canisters, during which they had to move out for a few days and in the end they even paid to replace the expensive wool carpeting. Nothing worked.
People stopped coming over to visit. Repairmen refused to work in the house. The maid quit. Finally, they could not take the stench any longer and decided to move. A month later, even though they had cut their price in half, they could not find a buyer for their stinky house. Word got out and eventually even the local realtors refused to return their calls.
Finally, they had to borrow a huge sum of money from the bank to purchase a new place. The ex-wife called the man and asked how things were going. He told her the saga of the rotting house. She listened politely and said that she missed her old home terribly and would be willing to reduce her divorce settlement in exchange for getting the house back. Knowing his ex-wife had no idea how bad the smell was, he agreed on a price that was about 1/10th of what the house had been worth, but only if she were to sign the papers that very day. She agreed and within the hour his lawyers delivered the paperwork.
A week later the man and his girlfriend stood smiling as they watched the moving company pack everything to take to their new home......... including the curtain rods.
May 12, 2005
oddities
A few minutes ago I was walking out of our lunchroom into the hallway and up the stairs. A female coworker was walking down the hall toward another department with her arms straight up toward the ceiling. She kind of moved one down as I walked by.
As I was going up the stairs, she said “I’m flying”.
Kind of odd/creepy, yet funny at the same time...
As I was going up the stairs, she said “I’m flying”.
Kind of odd/creepy, yet funny at the same time...
April 18, 2005
April 8, 2005
notes to self
1. Buy a fairly new car, that will not need extra work done on it, only the simple, regular things like oil change, which you can do yourself.
2. Work harder, make more money, in the event that the newer car you bought does need work. Then you will be able to afford to take it to a mechanic who can fix it much faster than you can yourself. But find a good mechanic who knows what he's doing, and doesn't charge you three months of rent, like the crazy dealer does.
3. If you have to work on your own car, do not laugh at the head mechanic when he swings the hammer and totally misses his target, even though it's freakin hilarious and working on the car is too serious. Laughing causes you to get yelled at. No fun for anyone.
4. Tortillas warmed in the microwave will never taste good and soft like you want.
2. Work harder, make more money, in the event that the newer car you bought does need work. Then you will be able to afford to take it to a mechanic who can fix it much faster than you can yourself. But find a good mechanic who knows what he's doing, and doesn't charge you three months of rent, like the crazy dealer does.
3. If you have to work on your own car, do not laugh at the head mechanic when he swings the hammer and totally misses his target, even though it's freakin hilarious and working on the car is too serious. Laughing causes you to get yelled at. No fun for anyone.
4. Tortillas warmed in the microwave will never taste good and soft like you want.
March 27, 2005
March 12, 2005
March 5, 2005
how God has His plan all along
Two weeks ago, we were heading off to work. As we were rounding the turn to get onto the freeway, in our lane were 3 cars that were stopped, but trying to merge onto the freeway. We realized there was one car in the front, completely stopped in our lane. We pulled up behind the stopped car and a lady was getting out. We decided that we could at least help to push her car to the shoulder so cars could get on the freeway.
As we got to the car, the lady said she'd run out of gas. We pushed her car, then were going to head on to work. I realized she was a good 2-3 miles from the nearest gas station, and on the freeway. I wasn't sure how she was going to get to a gas station. So we decided we couldn't just leave her, and we got her and her gas can into our car. As we drove to the nearest gas station, we found out she was a Christian and she also knew some of the people we work with. (How often do you help a total stranger that knows people you know?!) We got her some gas, then got back to her car, just as the police officer was calling it in. We said our goodbyes and took off to work.
Later in the day though, I was thinking about our experience. As we were leaving the house that morning, one of the runners on our garage door slid off the track. This happens once every 6 months or so. Kevin had to get some tools and get it back into the track.
Then a few miles down the road, we ended up behind a pickup that was going really slow. This happens once a month or so. Not that often that at 7:10am we get stuck behind a slow truck. We followed that for a mile or so, until we could pass.
As we went over the freeway to follow the loop onto the freeway, I saw a car stopped along the freeway, before our entrance lane. But by the time we got to the lane onto the freeway, the car had sputtered along another 300 feet right into our lane... (We later found out the lady had been praying for help the whole way to work. She wasn't sure she'd make it to the gas station, but had to get money from the ATM in order to buy gas.)
How often does God put us at the "right place at the right time"? It really hit me how seemingly "normal" things can happen, but really God has it worked out for His plan that we know nothing of until later. It's pretty awesome!
As we got to the car, the lady said she'd run out of gas. We pushed her car, then were going to head on to work. I realized she was a good 2-3 miles from the nearest gas station, and on the freeway. I wasn't sure how she was going to get to a gas station. So we decided we couldn't just leave her, and we got her and her gas can into our car. As we drove to the nearest gas station, we found out she was a Christian and she also knew some of the people we work with. (How often do you help a total stranger that knows people you know?!) We got her some gas, then got back to her car, just as the police officer was calling it in. We said our goodbyes and took off to work.
Later in the day though, I was thinking about our experience. As we were leaving the house that morning, one of the runners on our garage door slid off the track. This happens once every 6 months or so. Kevin had to get some tools and get it back into the track.
Then a few miles down the road, we ended up behind a pickup that was going really slow. This happens once a month or so. Not that often that at 7:10am we get stuck behind a slow truck. We followed that for a mile or so, until we could pass.
As we went over the freeway to follow the loop onto the freeway, I saw a car stopped along the freeway, before our entrance lane. But by the time we got to the lane onto the freeway, the car had sputtered along another 300 feet right into our lane... (We later found out the lady had been praying for help the whole way to work. She wasn't sure she'd make it to the gas station, but had to get money from the ATM in order to buy gas.)
How often does God put us at the "right place at the right time"? It really hit me how seemingly "normal" things can happen, but really God has it worked out for His plan that we know nothing of until later. It's pretty awesome!
March 2, 2005
the new question to be asking...
Apparently the new question to ask around here is “how’s your courage?” I’ve heard a few people asking each other that in the last few days. Maybe it was something discussed and I wasn’t there so I missed it… I don’t know.
“Courage: The state or quality of mind or spirit that enables one to face danger, fear, or vicissitudes with self-possession, confidence, and resolution; bravery.” (from dictionary.com).
Maybe I'm just not getting it, but it seems kind of like an odd question to ask – “ So Barbie, how’s your state of mind and spirit to face danger, fear, and vicissitudes?”
“Courage: The state or quality of mind or spirit that enables one to face danger, fear, or vicissitudes with self-possession, confidence, and resolution; bravery.” (from dictionary.com).
Maybe I'm just not getting it, but it seems kind of like an odd question to ask – “ So Barbie, how’s your state of mind and spirit to face danger, fear, and vicissitudes?”
February 15, 2005
February 12, 2005
feeling better
So I'm finally feeling a bit better. The first days I was sick I was at work, and halfway through the day I was freezing and feeling achy all over. I should have gone home, but just sat there praying for 5:30p. When I got home that night after chiropractor, I had a 102F temp. So 2 more days of 102F temp (though I was always freezing!), it went down a bit below normal then (97-96.?F for a few days). I started coughing then, and feeling like I had a normal cold, with the great scratchy/stuffy nose voice, except my energy level was zero. I would get worn out getting up to walk 10 feet to the bathroom, then 15 feet to the kitchen to get more water or juice. I stayed home from work for 3 days last week, had 3 days of weekend rest, then decided that I didn't want to go to work on Monday (Feb. 7), since I didn't feel that I had enough energy to pull 10 hours there. Plus, I kinda liked lying around on the couch watching tv all day. There's some fun stuff on TLC, Discovery, and Style channels :)
I knew I had a ton of work to do, and one major project that is due the end of February, so on Tuesday I went back to work. I had a bit more energy, but still was slow in moving. Some people said I looked bad, like I shouldn't be there, and they kind of backed away from me (I wasn't contagious though!). I made it through Tuesday, though was very tired at the end of the day. Wednesday I had more energy, and apparently looked better, and had more color in my cheeks. I worked Thursday as well, but by that night, I was really tired.
So I slept in Friday, and slept in today, and I do feel somewhat better. I definately have more energy than last week, but if I start doing too much, my body lets me know it's tired and can't do too much.
It was interesting at work to see how many people came up to me and asked how I was doing, offered to help me by getting my mail or getting me water, etc, and said "welcome back to the living Alodia". People who I never talk to at work would come to talk to me. And they truly cared and wanted me to be well. It was cool to see how the people I work with really do care about me. I guess I don't think about it, or really notice it on a daily basis. But I know that if something bad happens, I can count on my coworkers to be there to help and to take care of us. Which really gives me a warm fuzzy feeling inside :)
I knew I had a ton of work to do, and one major project that is due the end of February, so on Tuesday I went back to work. I had a bit more energy, but still was slow in moving. Some people said I looked bad, like I shouldn't be there, and they kind of backed away from me (I wasn't contagious though!). I made it through Tuesday, though was very tired at the end of the day. Wednesday I had more energy, and apparently looked better, and had more color in my cheeks. I worked Thursday as well, but by that night, I was really tired.
So I slept in Friday, and slept in today, and I do feel somewhat better. I definately have more energy than last week, but if I start doing too much, my body lets me know it's tired and can't do too much.
It was interesting at work to see how many people came up to me and asked how I was doing, offered to help me by getting my mail or getting me water, etc, and said "welcome back to the living Alodia". People who I never talk to at work would come to talk to me. And they truly cared and wanted me to be well. It was cool to see how the people I work with really do care about me. I guess I don't think about it, or really notice it on a daily basis. But I know that if something bad happens, I can count on my coworkers to be there to help and to take care of us. Which really gives me a warm fuzzy feeling inside :)
January 26, 2005
Hooray! Just what I've been looking for!
This is going to be my next big purchase...
8' refrigerated salad bar w/ sneeze guard for sale.
8' refrigerated salad bar w/ sneeze guard for sale.
January 16, 2005
and you wonder why children are the way they are
My parents listened to talk radio when they used to have their own business (making hot tub covers), and at that time I felt a bit annoyed by having to listen to talk radio when I was working (Rush Limbaugh a bit boring when you're a teen). Dr. Laura (Schlessinger) wasn't so bad - she had some good ideas. She's on the radio here locally, as well as online on her home station in CA. I try to listen to Dr. Laura most every day now. It breaks up the monotony of work, and gives me something to think about.
On Thursday, I was listening to Dr. Laura and heard the following:
20 yr old girl writes in to dr laura of her co-worker who just came back after maternity leave. The girl asked the new mom how she felt leaving her baby and coming back to work. The co-worker said it was hard to leave her baby but the baby smiled when dropped off at the babysitter. (The baby's 1.5 months old!) Later in the day, the co-worker gets back from her lunch hour, and the girl asks how lunch was. The co-worker says she went home for lunch, and it was good. The girl questioned if co-worker stopped to see baby. Co-worker says no, it wouldn’t be good, it would only make the baby cry, and then the babysitter would have to deal with the crying baby.
The co-worker was more concerned with the babysitter dealing with a crying baby than with why the baby was crying.
It makes me sad. I understand that some people need to continue to work when they have children, only because they desperately need the money to survive. But I'm a firm believer in planning to have a child, and having some money set aside. I also strongly believe that the parents should work it out so that one of them is home with the child all the time. There is no reason that children should be brought up by other people, just because the parents didn't plan, or are too selfish/career-centered to stay home and raise their child. I really think it's horrible!
On Thursday, I was listening to Dr. Laura and heard the following:
20 yr old girl writes in to dr laura of her co-worker who just came back after maternity leave. The girl asked the new mom how she felt leaving her baby and coming back to work. The co-worker said it was hard to leave her baby but the baby smiled when dropped off at the babysitter. (The baby's 1.5 months old!) Later in the day, the co-worker gets back from her lunch hour, and the girl asks how lunch was. The co-worker says she went home for lunch, and it was good. The girl questioned if co-worker stopped to see baby. Co-worker says no, it wouldn’t be good, it would only make the baby cry, and then the babysitter would have to deal with the crying baby.
The co-worker was more concerned with the babysitter dealing with a crying baby than with why the baby was crying.
It makes me sad. I understand that some people need to continue to work when they have children, only because they desperately need the money to survive. But I'm a firm believer in planning to have a child, and having some money set aside. I also strongly believe that the parents should work it out so that one of them is home with the child all the time. There is no reason that children should be brought up by other people, just because the parents didn't plan, or are too selfish/career-centered to stay home and raise their child. I really think it's horrible!
January 15, 2005
dodgeball
Not sure how many have seen the movie "Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story". It's one of my new favorites, and I'm not really sure why. It makes me laugh - and who doesn't love Ben Stiller as a pumped up weirdo. It's greatly amusing to me...
January 8, 2005
other people's lives
In looking at a former academy friend's blog, I found a link to http://www.dooce.com/. He titles it "Really funny. Really well written. Really good pictures. Really... good."
I would tend to agree. Here's one of her posts that I found just outrageous, but somehow oddly amusing at the same time. http://www.dooce.com/archives/daily/01_05_2005.html
I would tend to agree. Here's one of her posts that I found just outrageous, but somehow oddly amusing at the same time. http://www.dooce.com/archives/daily/01_05_2005.html
January 7, 2005
library
Our public library has 6 locations throughout town. We have a county library too, that has 10 locations throughout the area. The county library closest to our house is kind of small, and more for reserving and picking up, rather than perusing for hours and finding all sorts of stuff. The public library closest to our house is larger, and has more of a selection. After finding them, we began going there just about every Friday (our day off). We'd collect movies for the weekend, and magazines, books, etc. It's great.
Until last Friday when we went in, and they told us they had new hours for 2005. So here's their hours: T 12pm to 8pm Th, Sa 10am to 6pm Su, M, W, F Closed. Looks like we've lost our weekly Friday visit to the library.
Granted, we can visit other branches, but they're not as close. And the county library is ok, you just have to figure out what you want, reserve it and get it to our branch for pick up. And then you have to wait until 1:00pm when they open. I'd not mind going to the public library downtown main branch, but you have to pay for parking there, or walk over a mile to park in free areas.
I'm a bit bummed about this. I'm not sure why they decided to change their hours and days (probably financial reasons) but I think this may come back to bite them.
Until last Friday when we went in, and they told us they had new hours for 2005. So here's their hours: T 12pm to 8pm Th, Sa 10am to 6pm Su, M, W, F Closed. Looks like we've lost our weekly Friday visit to the library.
Granted, we can visit other branches, but they're not as close. And the county library is ok, you just have to figure out what you want, reserve it and get it to our branch for pick up. And then you have to wait until 1:00pm when they open. I'd not mind going to the public library downtown main branch, but you have to pay for parking there, or walk over a mile to park in free areas.
I'm a bit bummed about this. I'm not sure why they decided to change their hours and days (probably financial reasons) but I think this may come back to bite them.
The pig
Something we found very amusing from Spokane's Spokesman Review, InLife section, The Slice article, Tuesday, January 4, 2005:
Contest time: "My son's family is into charades," wrote Judy McKeehan. "Margaux, 5, got the subject of 'chopping wood'. As soon as she began making chopping motions, Nicole, 2, shouted out, 'Whipping the pig!'
"They all wondered, what pig? What whip? (They live in suburban Cleveland.)
"Needless to say, 'Whipping the pig' became a default guess anytime someone was stumped."
Contest time: "My son's family is into charades," wrote Judy McKeehan. "Margaux, 5, got the subject of 'chopping wood'. As soon as she began making chopping motions, Nicole, 2, shouted out, 'Whipping the pig!'
"They all wondered, what pig? What whip? (They live in suburban Cleveland.)
"Needless to say, 'Whipping the pig' became a default guess anytime someone was stumped."
come on, snow!
Hooray for us! It started snowing yesterday afternoon, around 2p or something, and didn't stop until sometime last night after 11p. We have 4 inches or more, with 3-5" more expected to come along tonight. Granted, this doesn't even come close to the 30" Reno has, but it's still snow, and it's still white outside, and we have icicles, and it's just so cool!
I say, "come on, snow!"
I say, "come on, snow!"