The weekend was spent doing stuff around the house - cleaning, hanging pictures, planting plants, more cleaning - all in preparation for our guests who arrive on Saturday.
By the time Monday came around, I was exhausted. Sleep hasn't come easily of late, and I'm beginning to drag. All week I'll have chores to do once I get home, so I'm really hoping I can keep my energy level up. Just looking at my "to-do" list wears me out!
But I'm looking forward to having Mr. Higgins' parents here. They're very nice people. And after a long, hot, quiet summer, I'm ready for some excitement around the house! Yay!
I had another successful baking weekend, which was very exciting! If I keep this up, it'll be hard not to bake ALL the time!
-I made these Perfect Blueberry Muffins for breakfast on Saturday. They were very tasty and moist. It was amazing to taste the blueberries instead of sugar, like you do with muffin mixes from a box. I used plain yogurt and frozen blueberries. Very good!
-After all these non-chocolaty sweets, I needed chocolate. After looking online, I decided on a mint chocolate brownie recipe (whose link currently eludes me). These were very tasty!! You basically substituted mint extract for the vanilla. I like them a lot!
Next week will be a busy one as we prep the house for Mr. Higgins' parents. This probably means less cooking and baking. Once our guests arrive, I'll make them so old and good recipes - nothing new for fear of screwing something up! Ha!
Knit Night was last night and it was nice to get the needles out again.
However, some of my yarn was really tangled so I spent half the time working out knots. Fun. This is where I get frustrated with knitting: when I can't knit because I have to fix things. I just want to knit!
I also picked up my beginner's crochet scarf and was amazed that I remembered how to crochet! Awesome!
Now that it's no longer 100+ degrees everyday, I can envision myself knitting more. I'm itching to try my hand at socks again.
Some updates...
-Scrapbooking... I'm hard at work on the wedding scrapbooks (yes, that's a plural). I've finished the first one which included the pre-wedding festivities: engagement party, bridal shower, bridal portraits... Now, I'm working on the one with all the wedding weekend events. I'm doing all these books in my wedding colors - black, white, and yellow - and I must say that it's very nice not having to stress about colors.
-My BFF and I are re-instituting Knit Night on a bi-monthly basis. We started this last year but it only lasted a month or so. Here's hoping we have better success this time around since my knitting has fallen to the extreme wayside with so much scrapbooking to be done.
-The same BFF started a reading group focused on young adult fiction. No vampires here, I assure you; more classic young adult material is on the list. Our first book is A Wrinkle in Time. Since I wasn't a big reader until high school, I feel like I missed out on a lot of these books. It'll be good to finally read them! (Though I did read this month's selection as a kid!)
-Cooking/Baking... After the pork success last weekend, I'm not cooking much - new - this weekend. Instead, I'm baking! Blueberry Muffins from scratch and Mint Chocolate Brownies. I'll let you know how they turn out!
-I'm off to IKEA this weekend with my mom and a friend. I rarely make this trip across the Metroplex but I need some stuff and I'm overdue for girl time. It should be fun!
Happy Friday!
I finally finished Graham Greene's Brighton Rock on Monday. One of the professors at school studies Greene and has been telling me which books to read. A new film version of Brighton Rock is coming out soon (or may already be out where you live) so I wanted to finish the book in hopes of seeing the movie.
Here's my review of the book, as posted on Goodreads:
"You can’t conceive, my child, nor can I or anyone the ... appalling ... strangeness of the mercy of God." - Priest in BRIGHTON ROCK. This was the hardest of Greene's "Catholic novels" to get through. Pinkie is psychotic and there is little to like in him. There is no hero in Brighton Rock, a city that is as dank and soiled as its criminals. The only thing that seems to bind Pinkie and Rose, outside of their secret, is their pride in being "Roman." This was not...more"You can’t conceive, my child, nor can I or anyone the ... appalling ... strangeness of the mercy of God." - Priest in BRIGHTON ROCK. This was the hardest of Greene's "Catholic novels" to get through. Pinkie is psychotic and there is little to like in him. There is no hero in Brighton Rock, a city that is as dank and soiled as its criminals. The only thing that seems to bind Pinkie and Rose, outside of their secret, is their pride in being "Roman." This was not my favorite Greene novel, but I'm glad to have read it.If you happen to be a "West Wing" fan, Bartlet uses the above quote in his famous rant at God at the end of season two.
I had a very successful cooking and baking weekend. This is a rare occurrence, so I thought I'd share the recipes I tried...
-Slow-Cooker Pulled Pork. Mr. Higgins likes southeastern BBQ - pork - not the beef we do in Texas. I had my first pulled pork sandwich on our honeymoon and it was really tasty. So, while browsing cooking blogs, I started saving the pulled pork recipes I found. I settled on this one for one reason: you discard the liquid the pork is cooked in, getting rid of a bit of fat in the process. Then you cook it for 30-60 minutes in BBQ sauce. SO good!! Just a warning: for the eight or so hours that the pork is cooking in the crock-pot, the smell is not that great. But after you pull the meat and coat it in sauce, it smells just the way it should! Mr. Higgins said this was the best BBQ he'd had in a very long time! Success!
-Dorie Greenspan's Corniest Corn Muffins. Like all Southerners, we're picky about our cornbread. Well, not really. I like the sweet kind and the not-so-sweet kind. This recipe has just the barest hint of sweetness and the corn kernels add something very appealing to it. This is my new favorite, from scratch, cornbread recipe!! And now I really need to get some of Dorie's cookbooks!
I finished off my successful weekend with some cookies that are a staple for Mr. Higgins' mom. They are quite tasty!
I'm now 99% sure that my oven runs way too hot. Despite cooking food for the minimum amount of time suggested, breads keep coming out too well done - too dry. This has never happened to me before and even Mr. Higgins has commented on it while eating my baked goods..
Then, earlier this week, I tried baking these Black Bottom Coconut Bars. You have to cook the bottom (brownie part) first. I cooked it for two minutes less than the minimum amount of time suggested and it was too done....which meant the coconut part of the bar doesn't stick to the brownie part. Sigh. They're still good but I was disappointed in my oven.
If you like coconut, this is a good recipe. And, interestingly, they taste much better the day after you bake them.
As for the oven... I'll try to pick up an oven thermometer while running errands this weekend. I don't know if all new ovens run hot but this is becoming highly frustrating. Baking should be fun! Not disappointing.
I'm really excited about a recipe I'm going to try this weekend. It's far out of my comfort zone in the cooking department so it should be interesting. I'll let you know next week!
We got a brief reprieve from the heat last weekend and it was such a blessing! The temperatures got down to 60 degrees at night, meaning the house could actually cool off for once! Our lows have been in the 80s for three months! By early next week, we'll have triple digits again, so I'm trying to enjoy this while it lasts. Despite the cooler temps, the winds picked up, which was not good....
Last weekend, when Mr. Higgins and I went out to East Texas for Labor Day, we passed a wildfire about twenty miles from my parents' house. East Texas is the greenest, lushest part of the state, but they've been experiencing the same drought that has suffocated the entire state. Thousands have lost their homes....and there's no rain in sight.
This has been a crazy weather year and my heart goes out to anyone who has suffered as a result. Here's hoping the fall and winter are better.
I'm an introvert, as most of you know. Being sociable is hard for me and takes an enormous amount of effort. Relationships, in general, are work for me. And they're very often a letdown. Allow me to explain...
If I'm going to do something, I'm going to put the appropriate amount of effort into the task. The same goes for relationships. If I'm going to be your friend, I expect you to be my friend. The same effort I put in, I expect to get in return. Reciprocity, if you will.
When Mr. Higgins and I were dating we had a huge bonding moment when we realized that we felt the same way about this. We both felt it came down to trust. I'm going to trust the other person in the relationship to give as much as they get. We will always be 'on the same page', so to speak. It blew my mind that someone else understood this and was often letdown since other people don't function this way.
And so, for me, relationships are very frustrating because I put a lot into them. I have few friends but those I have, I put a great deal of trust in. When someone loses my trust, they lose my friendship....or they become merely an acquaintance - someone who is not worth my effort but whose efforts, when so rarely made, I will reciprocate on a limited basis.
Friendships come into peril when one person cannot find the time, nor do they want to find the time, for the effort it takes to have the friendship. Sometimes, this is done unconsciously when life becomes hectic. But sometimes it's intentional.
Relationships are hard; friendships are hard. When entering into them you agree to put in the effort and, thereby, earn each other's trust. It's a delicate balance. I wish more people would realize this.
Mr. Higgins and I live in a house with no curtains. I'm perfectly fine with this. The task of finding curtains for every room overwhelms me.
But Mr. Higgins kept saying he wanted curtains in the bedroom to block the sunlight on the one morning a month we sleep past sunrise. Great. I dragged my feet as long as I could on this task....and then I had to face it head-on. Oh, goody.
We looked. And looked. Mr. Higgins had more preferences than my one requirement: simple! Very few things fit with both our preferences and were available in the right colors. We finally stopped looking - after looking at TONS of curtains in store and online - and ordered some last week. They came in this week and they were all wrong; the colors didn't match. Exasperated to be back to square one, we ordered the much more expensive panels that matched our bedspread. They're on the way and we're 95% positive they will match. They have to match if they're sold with our bedspread!
Now that we had the panels ordered, we looked for a valance. And looked. All we needed was a red valance. Not rust, not burgundy - red. This valance existed nowhere - in a shape that fit our requirements. We looked online for hours. I went and picked some up at the store....only they didn't match once I got them home. We were extremely frustrated and were getting snippy with one another.
In desperation, I started looking at stores online that I'd never, in a million years, turn to except in times of crisis - Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Lowe's.... And I saw something on Wal-Mart's site that looked to be the right red. We rushed out to look....and it was the right red in the right design.
We were relieved....and annoyed. How is it that Wal-Mart is the only store with the right red valance?! Stupid, evil Wal-Mart. I think they have some sort of sorcery going on.
But, at the moment, I'm just glad to have found the bloody curtains. Now it'll just take us five years to find and hang curtains for the whole rest of the house. Sigh.
Good news this morning...
The Texas sonogram law - or most of it - has been rejected by a judge. Awesome. And doubly awesome that it's a blow to Rick Perry and his religious-based agenda.
Yay!
I don't like Rick Perry. I didn't really pay attention to him at first. I was in Michigan for a few of those years, doing graduate work.
My utter disdain for him began when he made national news with his secession talk. It was embarrassing. On TV, the guy looked like an oily used car salesman. He did not speak intelligently and reminded me too much of George W.
My disdain gained fuel when Perry chose to put abortion and sonograms on the Texas legislative agenda before the state education budget. Perry, you'll learn, hates teachers and cares little about education at any level. (Perhaps because he could barely pass at Texas A&M.)
Now this. A scam to sell retired teachers' life insurance policies to big businesses, meaning the retirees' beneficiaries get nothing.
Whoa. Really? Could anyone be that sleazy? Apparently so. Who benefits? Wall Street and the state....and Phil Gramm.
This is why I hate politics. This is why I hate Rick Perry. This guy is as oily as his hair gel. I can only pray he doesn't get the nomination. There are much better candidates.
I've finally finished what's been written of The Song of Fire and Ice series. 5000 pages, a month and twenty-one days later.....and I still have no idea where Martin is taking us.
Here's what I wrote about Dance with Dragons on Goodreads:
This book was a marked improvement from the previous one but I still have a few problems with it. The introduction by Martin of one particular character that significantly undermines the importance of Dany was disappointing. Another story line came into being and ended, making it completely irrelevant. Sometimes it seems like Martin is writing on a whim, with direction but absolutely no discipline. This is slightly frustrating after reading 5000 pages of his work, but seeing no end - still! ...moreThis book was a marked improvement from the previous one but I still have a few problems with it. The introduction by Martin of one particular character that significantly undermines the importance of Dany was disappointing. Another story line came into being and ended, making it completely irrelevant. Sometimes it seems like Martin is writing on a whim, with direction but absolutely no discipline. This is slightly frustrating after reading 5000 pages of his work, but seeing no end - still! - to his "epic." The story is epic, sure, but it also seems like Martin is trying too hard to make it epic. That being said, I enjoy the twist and turns involved. They make for great surprises and this book did not disappoint in that regard. It's a fun read if you can manage to suppress any impatience with the manner of storytelling.
Now, the question is "how long do we have to wait for the sixth book?" I'm guessing a long while since Martin is now putting a lot of his energies toward the HBO series. We'll see.
This summer will forever be known as the Game of Thrones Summer. Ha!
I don't mind changing my name. It's a bit of a pain and causes more than a few identity issues, but I'm fine with it.
I'm not fine with the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles. Yesterday, I went to get a new license with my new name. The minute I walked through the door, I thought of turning around. The room was filled with a mass of people. The temperature was about 90 degrees (inside) and it smelled of sweat. Isn't there a form I can fill out? No, the rude lady said at the desk. Then she handed me a number.
Every chair in the room was filled. All the walls had people leaning against them. I stood. For two hours. Finally, I was able to grab a chair. It was great...but I couldn't get up or someone else would grab it. I watched as kids - who got there after me - got called to take their driving tests. I watched as older people went up to take vision tests. All the while, I also watched the numbers appear on the TV screen as they were called. There was no order to the numbers so you had no idea when you'd be called.
Three hours after arriving, I got to talk to someone. Three minutes of conversation later, I walked out of there with my new name. Then I got into a 150-degree car. Oy.
I was so exhausted. When Mr. Higgins texted (two hours into it all) to ask if I was alright, I replied, "I'm in hell." The DMV is hell. Just so you know.
I've been doing some baking, despite the crazy heat. I now have the perfect kitchen; heat is not going to stop me from using it!
I tried these Mississippi Mud Brownies and really liked them. However, despite baking them for less than the minimum amount of time, the brownies seem more like cake. Perhaps the recipe calls for cake-y brownies instead of gooey brownies. But I definitely prefer gooey over cake-y. I may pair the topping with a different brownie or substantially reduce the baking time.
But, these definitely satisfied my recent chocolate craving. So I'm happy!
My time of house sitting is now at an end. My friends get back from Germany tomorrow and my responsibilities will end there.
For the entire time I had that house, my life was crazy. Mr. Higgins and I got serious, we started talking about marriage, we got engaged, and then the wedding planning started. I can't believe we did all of that in the time I was in that house!
The first twelve months went by really fast. With the heat, the last three months have dragged by. Keeping things alive at any house has been near impossible. My friends had a garden that didn't really survive the heat. I've been able to keep the main plants alive but even the grass is dying. This heat is relentless!
So, it'll be good to have one less house to deal with. And it'll be especially good to have my friends back from Germany!
In case you're not in Texas, here's the deal with the heat.... Yesterday was the 33rd day of 100+ temperatures and the 40th day at or above 100 this year. The official highs have looked like this: 107 on Monday, 110 on Tuesday, 109 yesterday.
To say it's hot is an understatement. We're all getting very used to our own sweat. We're setting records for energy consumption while authorities tell us to turn up the thermostat and, instead, sit in a bathtub filled with ice cubes. You have to use ice cubes since the water coming out of the faucet is hot, no matter where the dial points. But we're also supposed to conserve water since we're in an extreme drought. We haven't had rain at our house since May.
The worst summer I remember was 1998 when I was still in high school but working downtown to make some money while school was out. It was a scorcher that year. But this year is worse. All the grass is brown and it's a struggle to keep the trees green.
I keep hoping for a tropical storm or small hurricane.... But Tropical Storm Don evaporated once it hit the high pressure system over Texas. It seems there is no relief in sight. August looms long and hot. All we can do is buckle down indoors and wait it out.
Summer in Texas is SO much fun. Not.
If you are on Goodreads, you'll find my review posted for Feast for Crows, the fourth book in Martin's epic fantasy tale....
Martin's epic fantasy continues in this fourth book, which is actually only the first half of book four, with Dance with Dragons being the second half. This book was the hardest for me to get through. There was very little plot movement, at least of the exciting variety. Martin instead uses this book to set up many things to come. The complexity of the story continues to amaze me; Martin is, indeed, a gifted storyteller. So, now it's on to book five, Dance with Dragons. I'm hoping the action is reminiscent of the first and third books. Otherwise, another 1000 pages is going to be slow going. I apologize for being MIA again. Nothing, really, has been happening. The heat is really taking a toll on everyone and everything.
Oh, and Mr. Higgins and I celebrated our three month wedding anniversary on Monday. Yay!
This weekend brought about an exciting thing - books!
I left most of my books at my parents' house when I moved back to the city and it's been a slow process bringing them back with me after visits to the country. I now have 3/4 of them in my new study, which is now, finally, looking like a study. Awesome!
Books make a space so much warmer and personal, I think. You can tell a lot about a person from the books they read. And from how they organize them! Ha!
I love organizing books! I love finding the most efficient way to put them on shelves. And, most of all, I love organizing my history books chronologically. Each book - and the memories associated with it - is re-discovered when a book is re-shelved. It's a fun, nostalgic, engrossing process for me.
And yes, I'm now on to the fourth book in Martin's series, A Feast for Crows. The title does not bring about good images. We'll see!
I've finished the third book - Storm of Swords - in the Song of Fire and Ice series. I don't want to say too much about it for those of you who are reading the series or plan on watching the HBO series. However, I will say that it's good and definitely better than the second book.
Storm of Swords was over 1000 pages long and I read it in a week. I'm thinking I'll take the weekend off from reading, though it will be hard. I want to know what's going to happen! But Martin still has two more books to write....so we won't know what's going on for many more years. I better get used to this feeling.
The series is completely engrossing and addicting. If you need a way to escape the summer heat, just turn to these books. "Winter is coming," after all.
I went to see Harry Potter on Saturday with Mr. Higgins and a friend. There have been few interesting movies of late, so I've not seen much.
So it's always a shock when I go see a movie and observe how little respect and common courtesy are observed by my fellow citizens.
-A man sat down right next to me, though half the theater was empty.
-The same man answered his cell phone when the previews were ending and the movie was beginning - and talked a few minutes into the move!
-The kids behind us narrated the film for us.
-The same kids kicked my chair and then looked accusingly at me when I turned around.
-The same kids made disgusting noises every time they took a swig from their drinks.
-The man beside me checked his phone in the middle of the movie, effectively turning on a flashlight in a darkened theater.
And, as Mr. Higgins always says, what disturbances did we cause? None. To no one. We're always respectful and courteous of other people....both of which are rarely, if ever, returned.
Mr. Higgins and I had some friends over for dinner and a movie the other night. We all pitched in to cook a fabulous meal together.
One new recipe that I thought was wonderful was the Corn, Edamame, and Black Bean Salad. Very tasty! I'm already thinking this would be perfect for a work pot-luck dish, for which I'm always stumped. Give it a try and you won't be disappointed!
I've been neck deep in Clash of Kings, George R. R. Martin's second book in The Song of Fire and Ice series. The books are so dense and long that it takes a while to get through them. That being said, I've read non-stop and finished this book in a week.
Clash of Kings was much darker than the first book. Mr. Higgins and I joked several times, "something good has to happen at some point, right?" But, as I try to remember, it's a long series and fiction is based on conflict, trials, and tribulations.
I'm taking the day off before I start Storm of Swords. A breather is always good.
Tonight, we're having friends over to watch HARRY POTTER, in anticipation of the new movie. As I've said before, Harry Potter annoys me. But at least the story is original, which can't be said for the Twilight series. And the HP movies are entertaining.
Sorry for my absence last week. I've been lacking in motivation lately.
Clash of Kings is taking up every free minute of my days. It's that good! And since the highs are at or above one hundred degrees everyday, I've not wanted to do much outside.
Indeed, there is something extremely depressing about such an oppressive heat. One day last week, while driving home on the highway, I saw the beginnings of a grass fire on the side of the road. The flames were literally licking the concrete of the road. Smoke billowed across all lanes of traffic. It was pretty scary. And to think it was probably all because of a cigarette, tossed out of a car. Have I mentioned how much I despise smokers?
It's only the beginning of July and all the grass is brown. I'm hoping for some tropical systems to move up from the gulf - nothing devastating, just something to give us some much-needed rain. We're pretty desperate here.
Game of Thrones, the book, was great! There are subtle differences from the thrilling TV show, but if you love the show you'll adore the book.
As always, books give you more information. When reading about another world in another time with strange creatures and even stranger men, more information is good! But I'm surprised and greatly relieved by how much the show follows the book. It's rare to see that these days, especially on HBO (True Blood is an abomination).
I love some of these characters but Arya is perhaps my favorite. She's got more will and courage than most men. Tyrion is a constant amusement to me. It's good to have seen the show first; otherwise, there are so many characters that none of them would have stayed straight in my head. So, contrary to my usual preferences, I'd suggest watching the show first.
I'm on to the second book, A Clash of Kings.
Have you ever noticed that a lot of writers are just a little....odd?
I first started reading the blog of a bestselling novelist a few years ago. Then I saw pictures of her.... Wow. Lots of black leather, Gothic style corsets, and none of it was attractive. I guess I should have expected some of it, given her subject matter: vampires, zombies, and witches. But it was still strange to see...and completely unrelatable for me.
A professor once asked me: what does it matter if you like the author, shouldn't their work transcend them, personally? I don't know. I'll never read C S Lewis after learning about him in a Historical Methods class. He's not my cup of tea. Ironically, I've never read another book by the black leather lady since seeing her online website and blog.
I guess I want writers to be more like....me. I want to know that a normal person can publish good quality fiction without needing to be eccentric or strange to do so.
I'm anxiously awaiting George R. R. Martin's 4-book boxed set of A Song of Fire and Ice. The first book is A Game of Thrones...and is the basis of the HBO series of the same name.
The first season is now over and it was amazing. Had I never seen HBO's Rome or AMC's The Walking Dead, I would not have been ready for Game of Thrones. The violence and sex is extremely graphic. But, most importantly, the story is crazy (ahem, fantasy), mind-blowing, and completely unpredictable. Where else do dragons and zombies mingle but in Martin's fantastic mind....er, novels?
So, after being on tenterhooks throughout season one, Mr. Higgins and I resolved to read the books this summer. No more crazy surprises for us!
We'll see how it goes!
The weekend passed with very few kitchen happenings, unfortunately.
I tried to bake some blueberry cookies with white chocolate chips...and they were not good. It's the first bad recipe I've tried in some time and I was really bummed. I know it's bound to happen but that doesn't keep me from being disappointed.
There's a pasta salad recipe I may try tonight...if I'm feeling up to it.
A few things but nothing terribly exciting...
-I'm trying to decide what exciting goodies I want to cook/bake this weekend! I have several ideas and a pint of unused fresh blueberries in the fridge. Hm....
-A few weekends ago, I started my first wedding scrapbook. It's the pre-wedding book that will include the engagement party, bridal shower, and bridal portraits. Fun!
-Mr. Higgins and I are going to start the Game of Thrones books. Yes, the show had us hooked and, since the books are always better, we're wanting to learn more! That should be a fun summer reading task!
-The overwhelming task of changing my name just got more complicated... My check and request for certified copies of the marriage certificate were lost in the mail. Ugh. Did you know it costs $27 at my bank to stop the payment of a check? It seems pretty ridiculous since the check was written for $20. I think I'll wait and ask for a refund if the probate court ever receives it and cashes it.
I finally finished Kate Morton's The Forgotten Garden and, though it took me forever to get through, I really enjoyed it!
If you're like me, your family has very few secrets. We're boring. We know where we came from, who begat whom and when. But for Morton's Nell...she has no idea who her parents are. Both her and her granddaughter start on soul-searching adventures to discover their pasts. There are many surprises and Morton moves between decades to tell the stories family.
It's a fascinating read and one that will keep you guessing until the end. I correctly guessed where it was headed but it was a fun adventure nonetheless.
I recommend this book for a good summer read!
The chicken salad I made for lunch yesterday passed and exceeded all my expectations. I'm ecstatic! I've been searching for a good recipe for years and now I've finally come up with one, consulting multiple recipes online.
The best thing about it: Greek yogurt instead of mayo! I was a bit hesitant about using Greek yogurt; I'd tried it and thought it pretty nasty. But it's a great and healthy base for chicken salad! Who would have thought?! Gone is the gross mayo and sour cream! In it's place: something that is listed as a super food by many dietitians! That's what I call awesome!!
You should give it a whirl!
Chicken Salad (2 servings)
1 chicken breast, seasoned with salt, pepper and a pinch of dill, grilled and then shredded
1/4 cup Greek yogurt, plain
1 tsp Dijon mustard (mustard makes everything better!)
1/2 tsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp dill weed, dried
1/2 tsp salt
pinch of pepper
1 tsp brown sugar
pinch of cayenne if you want a kick to it!
About 3/4 cup of your favorite veggies/nuts: celery, onion (I used a scallion), apple, almonds, grapes...
Now this is making me hungry!
I went on a bit of a cooking and baking frenzy this weekend. Here's what I made....
-Kahlua Brownies with Browned Butter Kahlua Icing
-my standard breakfast cookies
-my favorite Chewy Granola Bars
-a new chicken salad recipe
The brownies were for my dad's visit for Father's Day. I can't say they made much of an impact on him (he's on yet another diet) but Mr. Higgins and I loved them. They were a bit labor-intensive and the cooking time was too short for my oven....but they were delicious.
This brings up a curious question, though: Who do you bake for? After all the work of these brownies, I was hurt and insulted when my dad left the icing on his plate and grumbled ("Doniamarie, I'm on a diet!") his way through the brownie. I wanted to throw something at him. He's always been completely unappreciative of the cooking/baking my mom and I do for him. After thirty years of this, I'm tempted to stop, altogether, doing nice things for him; he's never happy.
But. Do you cook/bake for yourself or for others? I enjoy the process and usually savor the results...but it's no fun eating the results all by myself. Hm...
I think I may have finally found a good base for chicken salad. I'll know for sure after lunch today! Here's a hint to it's contents: Greek yogurt.
Mr. Higgins and I were given a batch of lovely wedding gifts from his aunt: knitted dishcloths! Considering everything I knit is given away, it was nice to finally receive something handknit! And something useful! Wow!
Our kitchen is black, white, and red. Our wedding colors were black, white, and yellow. We were given about 5 white and 5 yellow dishcloths....and 2 black. I pre-washed the black ones, hoping to limit color bleeding.... And it didn't work.
I tried to use a black dishcloth this week.....and soon found myself washing dishes with dark gray water. These will obviously have to be used for drier purposes only.
But I love handknit dishcloths! They are so much nicer than store bought ones! Just beware black yarn!
I've been eager to cook and bake lately. Maybe it's having a nice, big kitchen that's all my own... Maybe it's being bored with my routine foods.... I don't know but I like being motivated to try new things.
Lunch is always a dilemma for me. Staying healthy isn't hard but staying healthy at work presents challenges. For something different, I thought I'd make a batch of soup for this week.
I ran across a Green Chili Chicken and Lime Soup and thought I'd give it a whirl.
Of course, I did a few things differently... I put the can of green chilis in the blender to make more of a chili liquid. And though I halved the recipe, I still used the full can of chilis. Instead of pre-cooking the rice, I added the rice to the chicken broth (onions and garlic) to cook for 20 minutes. I did without the cheese and avocado to cut down on fat. The lime juice was definitely tart....so I added a bit of water and more spices. Here in Texas, we're used to things being hot! The soup turned out really good and I'll definitely add it to my recipe box.
And though it's already 100 degrees outside, my office stays at 60 and soup is a welcome lunch-time delight!
At a time when the national budget is in crisis, do you really think this guy should be president? He can't even keep his own state in the black, despite warning flags being thrust in his face years ago.
Rick Perry wants to be the new W. Unfortunately for him, Perry inherited W's ridiculous management of the state budget. He rode on W's success for years but now it's becoming clear just how inept he really is. This is a guy who, instead of talking about the massive budget shortfall in the state legislature, fast-tracked issues such as sonograms before abortions. Because that's the more important thing - unborn children versus the ones in our schools right now.
Yeah, this guy should be in charge of the national budget. Ugh.
Given what happened Sunday night, I'm sure you all were surprised by my silence yesterday.
I still can't believe it. The MAVS WON THE NBA CHAMPIONSHIP!!! It's a great time for Dallas and the Metroplex. I couldn't be happier for the humblest NBA super star, Dirk Nowitzki.
I've never watched a more exciting game than Sunday's. Dirk was a bit off but he made shots at the end when they mattered most. It was awesome seeing his supporting cast come through in a big way - namely Jason Terry. What a game!
It was difficult watching the game on ABC with the ESPN crew. They've never shown Dallas any respect. I've never seen a more biased crew! At one point, when the game was wrapped up with seconds to go, one of the commentators said, "Dirk has held his own against two super stars." And, later, "these Mavs are a group of castaways." As the Mavs posted a victory, the cameras followed LeBron's immediate walk to the locker room, instead of focusing on the winners. (Good article here.) They extolled the Big Three, saying how they were super stars who just couldn't get it done when it mattered most. Dallas, somehow, pulled off some magic.
Magic, eh? You call it magic, I call it hard work. It would be nice if the ESPN guys would acknowledge that. But they obviously have no idea what hard work is. Everyone can learn from these Mavs.... You can only win with hard work and perseverance. There is no magic. Miami tried to create it's own magic by taking the easy route with the Big Three. They expected a championship in one year. That doesn't happen. They didn't fail; they haven't had time to become a real team yet.
Amazingly, LeBron and the Big Three are still the big stories. The Mavs are not. Despite the Heat's cockiness, disrespect, and rudeness, the media is still fawning over them. These guys don't deserve the attention.
But let's return to Dallas. Here, Mark Cuban, bad boy owner of the NBA, is paying for the Mavs' victory parade. No taxpayers will foot the bill (are you listening Jerry Jones?). He's a class act. Perhaps the Big Three should take lessons from him.
In preparation for tonight's game, here is a bit of reading for you.
And, yes, that curly, blonde-haired giant is the only thing that stands in the way of pure, domineering evil. But is one man enough? One against three? Only three games will tell. As a Mavs fan, I'm prepared to be disappointed....though a small ray of hope persists in these dark times.
I was all excited last night to try my hand at zucchini bread for the second time. The first time, years ago, was disaster. I followed a low-fat recipe that was utterly horrid.
This time, I followed the first recipe here. It was good. Not great, but a good, solid recipe. It definitely satisfies my zucchini bread cravings.
It was also fun playing with the food processor for the first time. Cooking and baking is so much fun when you like the result and gain a sense of satisfaction.
First off, a happy, happy birthday to my husband today! He's brought so much joy to my life and I'm so blessed to have found him!
Mr. Higgins' mother is a fabulous cook/baker. I've been looking forward to another Christmas at her house since Jan. 2 of this year! She's inspired me to think outside of my limited baking box which is a lot of fun.
Recently, she forwarded me a link to a baking blog. Oh my goodness! That opened a can of worms! Now I'm obsessed with cooking/baking blogs!! And I really want to do more cooking/baking!! Trying to narrow it down to just one thing to bake is difficult....but not really.
There was a restaurant - a girlie lunch place - that my mom and I frequented in East Texas when I lived there. They had the best zucchini muffins! I'd look forward to that more than anything there! I tried a zucchini bread at the time, trying to replicate the goodness....and it was a failure. The recipe was low-fat....and awful.
Now, armed with a new food processor (wedding gifts are wonderful!), I'm ready to try again. A normal, fatty zucchini bread recipe, that is! I'll let you know how it goes tonight.
I'll probably spend every free moment today browsing food blogs. And, like yesterday, I'll be starving all day long!
In case you haven't heard, the Mavs beat the Heat last night, tying the series 1-1.
It hasn't been a pretty two games for Mavs fans. The shots aren't falling, rebounding and turnovers have killed the Mavs. Dirk injured a finger and, though he said it wasn't hurting, his shots were not falling last night.....until it mattered. He went on a shooting spree at the end to tie up the game and then make the game-winning shot.
Go Dirk!
LeBron and Wade had no idea what happened. They were still celebrating their 15-point lead when the buzzer sounded and the Mavs walked away with a victory. Awesome.
Now on home turf, the Mavs are going to have to re-group. Terry really needs to step it up - and make some baskets - and Kidd needs to hold on to the ball a bit better. And GET IN LeBRON'S FACE!! Defense, guys! Don't let your fans - and all the Heat-haters - down. You've got the majority of the country on your side, guys. Make us proud!
A few pictures from the wedding.
As you may recall, I was having serious problems with the florist that was included in our wedding package. So, I went and found my own florist. It was a bit difficult doing this long distance - all by phone and email - but they flowers turned out great!
Yellow calla lillies, white hydrangeas, and white ranunculuses. I loved them!
Really, everything with the wedding went so smoothly and perfectly....like a dream!
Mr. Higgins and I had a full three-day weekend! And it got us thinking....three-day weekends really should be the norm! Ha!
One of Mr. Higgins' best friends is moving in mid-June. It's got us all really down. We're trying to make the most of the time we have left with him, though, by visiting all his favorite restaurants and doing all his favorite things around town. Add Mr. Higgin's birthday into the mix next week and we're eating out a lot - and having a lot of desserts. As a result, my post-wedding diet is suffering. Ah, well. You only live once, right?
Perhaps in July I'll finally get to settle down and work on that wedding scrapbook. And knit. And make cards. And catch up on movies and such.
The Mavs have won the Western Conference. I can hardly believe it! But I'm super happy!
The Finals match-up brings a hiccup to every Mavs' fan, however: the Heat will most likely win the East. Every Mavs fan is scarred by the finals in 2006 when the Mavs collapsed in Miami and lost the series, the championship that was within their grasp. Now they're headed back to Miami, to a Heat team with new players: LeBron and Chis Bosh.
This does not make me happy; it's terrifying! This Mavs team beat Kobe, though, and if they can beat LeBron's stuck-up arse, then I will be ecstatic. It will serve LeBron right.
Only time will tell if these Mavs can stand up to the Heat.
We've had two days of crazy weather here in north Texas.
-On Monday, around 10am, the skies darkened and, if one hadn't known better, it looked like it was 8:30pm! Soon, dime-size hail rained down for a good ten minutes. I was, of course, at work, and feared for my car in the open parking lot. There was no big damage, but I know of at least one dent on the roof of my car.
-Last night, as Oklahoma City was dealing with mega tornadoes, we had our own scare. Around 7:45, after only a few rain drops, hail the size of ping-pong balls fell for a good ten minutes, hitting the windows with such force that I was sure they would shatter. Finally, it stopped and we went outside. The wind was crazy! For the next hour, we watched, transfixed on the back porch, as two storms went by, skirting our house....with swirling clouds. I've never seen anything like it. The clouds in the upper atmosphere were billowing upward while the ones below swirled closer to the ground. We didn't see any funnels but I've never seen anything closer to a funnel.
We lost power and had no internet for the duration of the storms. It was pretty scary.
An hour after the hail, when the creepy clouds had passed by, the tornado sirens finally went off for the first time. We had clear skies. This doesn't give me any confidence in our local emergency personnel.
After a month of craziness, things are now - thankfully! - settling down.
The house is empty. The bags are unpacked. The wedding decorations are stored. All is quiet. Except when there's a Mavs game on! (GO MAVS!) It's a welcome relief. After the weekend, I finally feel rested and back to normal. I'd forgotten what this feels like!
I had such an amazing time the past few weeks.... And now, I can't wait to scrapbook it all! I've already started going through pictures, tagging those I want to print to include in the book. There are so many pictures....and so many wedding events. I'm probably going to have two albums chronicling all the happenings since the engagement.
It's going to be a lot of fun!
My project for next month is a daunting one: changing my name.
I had never really given it much thought seeing as how I never really thought I'd ever get married. There was a mental block there, for some reason. When I was in the wedding planning process, I printed off a checklist, of sorts, on how to get it all done. Then I put it out of my mind until someone brought it up during the wedding festivities.
The first time I wrote my new name was on the place card for our reception at home on Saturday. It felt weird. I'd never written it before! Now I'm wishing I'd been one of those girlie girls who sat around doodling, writing my new name over and over again. I need practice, after all!
But how am I going to break the habit of writing the name I've had for almost thirty years? I only know myself by that name. Talk about an identity crisis!
At least my new name is a good name. It's not weird or long or hard to pronounce, like my given name. And I like it. I'll adapt, I'm sure, though it will take a while.
Off to doodle now....
The NBA playoffs are upon us and the Dallas Mavericks are in the Western Finals. It's an awesome time for a Mavs fan. We got to watch our team take down Kobe Bryant and the cocky Lakers. It doesn't get much better than that.
The first game of the Western Finals - against Oklahoma City - is over and the Mavs persevered once more, thanks to Dirk.
This article explains why I'll always be a fan of Dirk Nowitzki.
It's been two weeks since the wedding and all the festivities are now at an end. It was all wonderful and now it's time to pass along a few pictures. These two show you where the important events happened. Up top is the Jekyll Island Club on Jekyll Island, Georgia. The island was built up by millionaires at the turn of the century: Morgan, Rockefeller, and Pulitzer to name a few. Now the island is a state park and the Club sits in the historic district.
Also on the grounds of the historic district - and a stone's throw from the Club - is Faith Chapel, the oldest church on the island. It was the perfect setting for our small wedding especially since guests could walk to the reception at the Club (and stay at the Club!).I can't say enough about the Club and those who helped make our wedding special. Everyone was so nice! The grounds - filled with flowers and huge oak trees - were gorgeous! And the hotel buildings were charming - old and beautiful.
I look forward to spending many anniversaries at the Club.
Someone mentioned "newlywed glow" the other day and I laughed. Here's how much glow we have....
We came home to find the cats had made some serious messes in the house. Spent three hours cleaning that up and finally got to bed at 3am.
The next morning we awoke to find a water leak outside. Water is turned off for most of the day.
We have a reception at home to get ready for on Saturday and a house to make spotless before guests arrive on Friday. There's a mound of mud in our front flower bed where the plumber had to dig down to the pipes. Oh and the lawn can't be mowed due to crazy rains.
There has been no time to sit down and have a quiet moment together between cleaning and back-to-work stress.
Glow? More like newlywed circles under my eyes and frazzled nerves. I was really trying to stay positive but that ended this morning. There's no way to keep from being overwhelmed.
So, it looks like pictures will have to wait until next week. But I promise to get some up then!
I'm back!!!!!!
We had a perfect wedding - and weekend! - on Jekyll Island, Georgia. It truly was the best that I could have hoped for! Actually, I was afraid to hope for something so perfect! The weather was gorgeous, despite the fact that we, and a lot of family, were on the road - and in Alabama - when the catastrophic tornadoes hit. Two tornadoes even came within ten miles of my parents in East Texas! Despite it all, we got to Georgia and, on the Friday before the wedding, everything started going according to plan.
The honeymoon was wonderful! We had a few unplanned adventures but St. John was perfect. I can't wait to show you the pictures!!
Once we got home, we had a few major problems to deal with that cast an early pall over being home. Hopefully, it will be better today!
We have tons - TONS! - of pictures to go through. And a reception at home to get through on Saturday. I'll try to get some pics together to show you tomorrow. Hopefully!
Time is flying by now that we're getting so close. I leave tomorrow morning for a fun-filled family drive to Georgia. Today, it's all about packing the last minute stuff and tying up loose ends.
I don't know how much I'll post after today but I'll be sure to re-join you during the week of May 9....with wedding/honeymoon pictures galore!
I wanted - and we needed - rain. And we got it.
It's stormed for two nights straight, making sleep for extended periods impossible. So, six days out from the wedding, I'm exhausted. Great. I have one more night of possible real sleep before I have to get up at an insanely early hour to start our family road trip east. I really hope the skies calm tonight so sleep is an option!
The weekend was spent packing (I'll be gone for about two weeks!) and finishing up wedding crafts. I accomplished all I wanted to, but Easter came and went with no festivities. Mr. Higgins and I are both trying to keep the weight off before the Big Day, so we've been counting - well, watching - our calories.
The weather forecast for the wedding is in and it looks perfect - high 70s and sunny. Awesome!
Two mornings from now, I'll be on my way. I can't believe it.
A light came on in my Honda Civic a few weeks ago. An airbag light. I didn't think much of it....but then it stayed on.
I was scheduled to take my car in for some service and asked the guy to check it out. Of course, it costs $100 just to hook it up to the computer to see what's wrong. Arrrrg!
After a few hours, they came back. Something was wrong with the electrical system controlling the airbags. The airbags were not working, as a result. To repair this problem, they have to take the seats out and go under the floor board to repair the problem. The guy said it would cost $900.
I was stunned, as you can imagine. I didn't think this was a real problem. The guy said I should contact Honda because the airbags should not have problems on such a relatively young car. Then he said, he'd talk to Honda for me. He came back and said Honda would cover all but $250 of the repair. Looking at a wedding and honeymoon on the horizon, this was still a lot of money for me, not to mention the money spent on service that day.
Still stunned, I went home. I asked my dad what he thought. My dad is a car guy but isn't really a safety guy; he could care less. But even he thought it was prudent to get it fixed. In the end, I agreed. Fate does funny things and I could see getting hit by a drunk driver, two weeks after my wedding, when I have no airbags.
So, on top of everything else, ten days before my wedding, my car is getting taken apart and put back together - well, the inside of it, at least. Great. As if I need more stresses at the moment!
A week from today, I'll be leaving for Georgia and the wedding. Whoa. 11 days until the wedding.
My check-list is getting smaller but my packing list is getting longer! There are just so many details involved in a destination wedding! And then a honeymoon!
In other wedding news, my bridal portraits are up for proofing. I haven't received my disc of all the images or I would post a few teasers here. They're really good. I'm amazed at how well they turned out. Anyone who can make me look pretty deserves a medal! The photographer is a guy I knew in high school who does this kind of stuff on the side. I'm already trying to angle to get family portraits done with him next year!
And that's all I've got today.
As if life wasn't busy enough....
We had two retirement celebrations for my boss yesterday, both of which I had to help with. It made for a long day, after a very long weekend, and I'm tired.
This retirement, and the festivities, came as no surprise but I still found myself tearing up last night at the dinner. It didn't help that my boss was visibly moved by the toasts in his honor. I guess, as with so many other things, I take him for granted. But he's been a mentor, a friend, an unfailing advocate....and he'll perform my wedding ceremony (in less than two weeks!).
The next year at work will be one of transition. Thankfully, my boss will still be around, in an unofficial capacity. That should help ease both of us into a daily life without each other.
Saturday was an extremely difficult day for me. It began early, with Syb in the car.
I've never met a cat who likes to ride in the car, and Sybella is no exception. She cried almost the entire time. Mr. Higgins and I would go very long stretches without talking, hoping she would take a nap. She didn't.
Usually, on a long car ride, I let her out of her carrier. This time, however, we had to go through stressful traffic and Mr. Higgins and I decided to keep her in the crate to minimize distractions.....though her crying was distracting enough! An hour into the ride, we smelled urine. In Sybella's defense, she hadn't been awake very long and probably hadn't made her morning trip to the litterbox. Suffice it to say, this was not at all a pleasant trip.
After 2 1/2 hours in the car, we finally arrived at my parents'. I got Syb out of her carrier and gave her a half-bath, as her haunches had been sitting in urine. (No wonder the poor girl was crying!) We let her calm down - and bathe - for a few hours before we took her to her new parents.
I can't tell you how hard this was for me. But her new parents had already gone out to buy her a scratching post and cat tree. Clearly, they were excited to have her. I think they wanted a pet to love and spoil; Syb will definitely enjoy all the attention!
I know she'll be happy. And, despite my sadness, that's what matters most.
I don't think I could have picked a better time to read Jane Eyre. It's taking me a while to get through it - I'm halfway through - but it's a nice change of pace and diversion in these crazy times.
And it's so much better than Wuthering Heights!
Hopefully I'll have time to finish it in the next two weeks as I'd like to start something different for the wedding and honeymoon. Who knows what that will be!
And when we get back from the honeymoon, Dead Reckoning (Sookie Stackhouse #11) will be waiting for me! Yay!
I'm both happy and sad. I've found my darling Sybella a new home. She'll leave me on Saturday, for good.
This hurts more than I thought it would. The logical part of my brain is happy, so very happy, that she'll have a good home with two people who are there to love her, everyday. She can go wild and crazy in a place that's all her own. But the thought of not seeing her precious face, of hearing her loud purring, literally brings tears to my eyes every time I think about it. She's been my home through two moves. She was always there, always my anchor, and she always brought a smile to my face.
Mr. Higgins is now my anchor. And I love that.
But I'm losing a friend. And it hurts, more than I can say.
Mr. Higgins surprised me yesterday by taking me out to one of our favorite restaurants for our 64th Wednesday in a row. He's so sweet! It wasn't healthy and we've been trying to eat well before the wedding... But it was worth it. Sometimes you just have to have a fun day, without dreading the consequences. Living in the moment, and all that - which I'm so very bad at!
And I'm going to try, very hard, to live in the moment during the wedding and honeymoon. No looking forward to future days or dreading events.... I'm going to try to enjoy it all! I'll savor every moment!
But there's so much to do beforehand! I was glad to have a day "off" yesterday with Mr. Higgins, without worrying about getting projects finished. You need times like those to keep your sanity!
Three weeks from today we'll be driving to Georgia for the wedding. And I'm finally feeling productive after tying up some loose ends..
I'm working on some craft projects for the reception at home and the wedding weekend. It's fun working on these at my new craft desk. And I had an epiphany last night regarding place cards. It's a great thing when that happens and one wonders, "why didn't I think of that before?"
Packing lists are being contemplated and schedules are being formulated. There's so much to do - most of it fun! - over the wedding weekend that I can hardly keep it straight. And if I, the bride, can't keep it straight, I'm sure others (like the groom!) can't keep it straight either. So he, and the parents, will get a schedule from me. Ha! That way everyone is in the right place at the right time.
Yes, I'm OCD. But this may work to my advantage during the craziest - most amazing - two weeks of my life!
I don't generally watch many comedies on TV. Thankfully, I don't need to watch comedies for laughs. Instead, all I need to do is watch a recap of political soundbites.
Like this one. Abortion is the reason social security is dying a slow death. Really, how many morons does Rick Santorum have working for him? It has to take quite a few to come up with something so idiotic. As John Stewart pointed out... If more people in the baby boomers' generation had used abortion, there would be no social security problem at present.
A bit of randomness....
-I'd never read Jane Eyre before and am extremely relieved to find it easier to deal with than Wuthering Heights. The only way I got through WH was because it was with a reading group.
-A month from today, I'll be getting married!
-I've been informed that my boss' retirement party will be during the honeymoon. I'm extremely displeased. Normally, I let such things slide but not this time. I'm tired of being treated like a third-class citizen at work. They have no idea what kind of fury I possess....but they're about to find out.
-Somehow, I've gotten down to the lowest weight I've been since....well, I can't remember when I've weighed so little! My diet this week hasn't really changed much so I'm at a loss as to what caused this. Hopefully it'll continue until and through the wedding, though! Awesome!
I'm trying not to stress out.
The florist that we're supposed to use for the wedding is being difficult. Some initial conversations did not go well with the lady saying "those flowers are not included in your package" about a million times. I finally decided on "cheap" flowers and tried to call her last Monday. No answer. Tuesday: no answer. I left a message. Wednesday: no call back and no answer. Thursday: no call back and no answer. Friday: emailed wedding coordinator to say what was happening. Late in the day, I got an email from the florist, saying I must have the wrong number (I did not) and she could do whatever I wanted, but none of my flowers were included.
I was incensed. Rightly so! I called three different florists in the area of the wedding and got very reasonable quotes for the flowers I originally wanted - and all were much cheaper than the florist I was being told to use. On Monday I called and left a message with the wedding coordinator. On Tuesday, the phone lines were down so I was unable to reach the wedding coordinator. Yesterday, I emailed her to - finally! - see if we could get a credit if we did not use her florist. I haven't heard back.
There are 31 days until the wedding. I'm trying not to freak out.
I'm extremely frustrated.
I was a little hesitant about reading a zombie book (ew!), a genre in which I don't usually have any interest. However, after hearing Mr. Higgins and his friends talk about World War Z, my interest grew, mainly because this book sounded truly unique.
Max Brooks' World War Z is an oral history of a war we learn about only after the fact. There is no narrative, no easy time line to follow... We must piece all this together from the accounts of dozens of eyewitnesses from all over the globe. Yes, this is a book about zombies but it's really a book about humanity and how we overcome and succumb to tragedy and hardship. The survival stories are raw, the details gory, but this book never left me bored. I always wanted more.
For instance... No zombie book or movie (Brooks' included) ever explains how a zombie epidemic begins, or where the first zombie comes from. This would be intriguing in itself.
Brad Pitt is trying to make a movie out of World War Z and I hope he succeeds, though I'm not a Pitt fan. It would be an interesting movie to watch, for sure.
I would definitely recommend Brooks' tale. It's engrossing...and gory.
I survived a weekend of wedding stuff. Yay!
My bridal portraits went very well. There were so many things to worry about: flowers for the bouquet, hair, makeup, the weather, the amount of people at the gardens.... But it turned out great. In the past two weeks everything has burst into glorious bloom and the gardens were spectacular. And crowded. But, thankfully, we had very few problems getting pictures, even with people everywhere. Several little kids came up to say how pretty I looked, which was sweet.
Anyway, I can't wait to see the proofs!
On Sunday we had a cake tasting. Oh, my goodness!! Our cake lady is so very talented. I was looking for a white cake and decided on almond cake with strawberry filling and white chocolate icing. Yum! My favorite flavor, however, was probably the kahlua cake. So good! I want a kahlua birthday cake this year! I'd like to try some of her other flavors as well!
It was a productive, good weekend.
So, test this logic. The Texas legislature cannot balance the budget and is looking at a huge deficit. The first thing that comes to mind to some legislators is to tax soft drinks. Seriously. Rick Perry screwed us over so now we're going to have to pay more for food.
I don't care if soft drinks are bad for you. Twinkies are, as well. So is basic sugar. Are we going to have a Sugar Tax next?
I would like to remind our esteemed legislature (cough!) of a little party that happened in Boston a couple hundred years ago because of a similar tax. And I would remind them that no one is pleased with Rick Perry, especially educators. Look at it from their perspective: many will lose their jobs due to your incompetence and then they'll go to the grocery store and find new taxes on common food items!
You can kiss my Diet Coke-drinking ass, you retarded "legislators." You, who decided to debate abortion - again! - at the beginning of the legislative session instead of focusing on the glaring problems with the budget. You suck.
If there's one thing that's driving me crazy about the wedding, it's flowers. The florist who contracts with the hotel (who's organizing the wedding) is atrocious and completely unprofessional. They never return phone calls - and don't answer the phone during their business hours - nor can they write an email to save their lives. Oh, yes, and I'm not getting the flowers I wanted because their prices are astronomical. I'm willing to concede on the flowers....but this is still getting to be ridiculous.
Yes, I could take my business elsewhere. But I fear I've waited too long, even with the florist who has my name on the books. To go somewhere else would just be too risky, I think.
Ah, the joys of planning a wedding. It's amazing how many of these things we've avoided by doing a destination wedding. But some things, it seems, are unavoidable.
I heard on the news this morning that undergrads at Southern Methodist University will be required to take two ethics courses to graduate. One will be on the philosophy of ethics, the other about practicing ethics.
Other courses will also tie ethics into their syllabi, namely business. It seems that one effect of the financial crisis is the idea that we've lost our ethical foundation in business. No, really? Whatever turns a profit goes. SMU has decided to do their part to stop this irresponsibility.
I find this refreshing. In my department, we have a Christian ethicist. His classes routinely get high marks from students....but we do not require ethics courses.
Perhaps, as a society, we've lost sight of what is "right," instead focusing on what is due to us, no matter the means. It's food for thought.
Update on all crafty things...
-I finished and mailed all the bridal shower thank-yous. Hand-stamped! It was a great way to break in my new craft desk!
-On my quiet Friday night at home, I got into some knitting, finally! It turns out a blanket I start long ago will match the colors of the master bedroom in the new house. Cool, huh? I did three pattern repeats....which seemed like a lot! This blanket is going to take a while!
-I have a gift idea inspired by my friend Kerin. I don't want to tell you what it is in case I can actually make some up for gifts.....but it would mean branching out into a new kind of craft. More crafts mean less time for each so I'm a little hesitant. We'll see.
That's about it.
Last week ended up being an insane time. On Wednesday night, I got a frantic call from my mom saying my dad had had what appeared to be a stroke and she was following the ambulance to the hospital.
My shock could not have been any greater. My dad is getting older, sure, at 69...but a stroke? After a night of tests in the ER and all of Thursday filled with more tests, there were no answers except one clue....my dad had not had a stroke. It was something else, possibly heart related. This, also, made no sense to me. My dad is not obese, he's active, and he doesn't have bad eating habits.
I left on Thursday morning to be with my parents in the hospital. It was a long day . My dad is set to see more doctors this week, so hopefully we'll figure out what happened.
It seems too early to be having parental health issues and I'm not at all sure I'm ready to start down this road. My dad has always been an omniscient presence, someone who can fix anything, do anything, and advise on everything. It was very traumatic to see him in the hospital.
But he's alright.....and for that I'm very grateful.
Zombies are all trendy now. They've even surpassed vampires! Thank goodness zombies aren't at all romantic or we'd be suffering through another Robert Pattinson fanaticism.
If you didn't see AMC's "The Walking Dead" last year, it's now out of DVD and Blu-Ray for your viewing pleasure....or disgust. It's a very good show, despite the gross subject matter. Just a little tip....don't try to eat while watching it!
Along those lines, World War Z by Max Brooks has gotten rave reviews. Mr. Higgins read it and now I'm starting to delve into it's fascinating pages. So far, it's utterly addicting in the way the story unfolds - as an oral history after a global zombie war.
I've never been at all fascinated by zombies, but they've popped up on my radar through various books and TV shows. It's entertaining and disturbing and sometimes downright laughable.
But at least zombies don't glow!
I was really looking forward to reading Sherry Jones' The Jewel of Medina - about Muhammad's child bride, Aisha...
But Jones gives us little more than a juvenile love story. The exciting historical events during Muhammad's lifetime are pushed into the background in favor of childish infatuations and impetuousness. I wanted to like Aisha but her story was just too typical: girl dreams of being warrior, girl forced into arranged marriage, girl and husband don't mesh well, girl tries to escape marriage, girl and husband reconcile. Sigh.
What's interesting is that this book was under contract with a big publisher for years. Then, at the last minute, they pulled out, fearing a Muslim retaliation to the story. Did they really think the Muslim community would get upset over a lame love story? Published by a smaller company, there has been no such retaliation. Big surprise.
There is a sequel that may be more interesting since it takes place after the death of Muhammad. His wives cannot remarry so it will lack a love story - or one can at least hope! Instead, it focuses on the struggles of Islam after the death of the prophet. As you know, Muhammad died in 632 AD and by 732 the Muslims had crossed over from Africa to Spain, only to be defeated by Charles Martel at the Battle of Tours. It was an amazing one hundred years! Surely Jones can capture a bit of that excitement!
Well, it's Spring Break - for everyone in my building but me. Yay.
Wedding details took up some weekend time and then it was house stuff with Mr. Higgins. We had a very productive weekend....though it all went way too fast. About the only craft thing I got done was fifteen minutes of yarn organization. I also pulled out some UFOs I want to work on....whenever I have a free moment, which rarely happens these days.
But with only a month and a half until the wedding, there's going to be even more to do. Bridal portraits this coming weekend, cake tasting the next... Maybe in two months I can finally get back to my hobbies. Ha!
Breaking in my new craft desk last weekend was so much fun! This is one of the cards I made, using the Stampin' Up! set "Like it a Latte." I've always loved this stamp set, but it's always been a hard one for me to use. I cheated a bit on this card, looking and looking online until I finally found a design that would work. And it turned out okay!
I'd really like to start a new scrapbook but there's too many things to choose from - the cruise, Colorado... Not to mention that I'll probably want to do the wedding/honeymoon as soon as we get back. Sigh. So, perhaps I should wait and not get started on anything.
But it's great - GREAT - having my new craft desk. I love it!
As you can see, I've changed my blog layout. I figured, given all the changes (and upcoming changes) in my life, it was time to change the blog as well.
In other news.... My string of bad luck at doctors/dentists continues. I went for an eye doctor appointment yesterday. I walked in and noticed two people waiting. "Uh-oh," I thought. I asked the receptionist if the doctor was running late and she said she'd ask his tech. A few minutes later his tech confirmed that, yes, he was running late due to some patients who were late arriving.
I told them that last year, at my last appointment, I waited thirty minutes and wasn't going to do it again. "People have jobs and can't wait around forever," I said. They were apologetic and completely understanding. "His appointments are in fifteen minute increments so if things get off schedule it cascades very quickly," they said. Well, perhaps they should leave a break here and there for late patients, I thought. They rescheduled me for just after lunch on Wednesday. Normally such an appointment time would be impossible, but since it's Spring Break for the kiddos, there's a 75% chance I'll actually be able to park once I return to campus.
Sigh. I really need to get my eyes checked. My contact prescription was wrong from the start. But I didn't want to go back to get it fixed.....because I'd have to go through all this. Again.
Over the weekend, I got to break in my new craft area by doing some stamping. It was a lot of fun once I figured out where I'd put everything! Ha! After I get some cards sent out, I'll post some pictures of what I worked on.
Now, though, I need to focus on some projects for the wedding. It should be fun if I can get over the hump of actually starting the projects. Getting going is usually the hardest part for me!
On top of that, I got an email from the stamping club lady, which always makes me feel guilty. I wish I could attend the monthly meetings more regularly but my schedule has been too hectic of late. Perhaps next year, when things calm down, I can become an official member of the club. Then I won't feel like a flighty loser!
