Who do I wish I saw more of?

I'm posting this in response to another blog that I read. The request from the post when something like this:

Choose a prompt, post it on your blog, and come back and sign Mr. Linky!!
The Prompts:

1.) Tell us about a stray animal you took in.
2.) Write a poem for your favorite teacher of all time.
3.) Describe someone in your life you wish you saw more of.
4.) Write a letter to someone who bothered you this week.

Obviously I chose #3 and there is no better quote to start it off with than this one. . .

"What strange creatures brothers are!" ~ Jane Austen

Yes, It's my brothers that I wish I saw more of, actually it's my whole family, but the quote was irresistible.

Joey ~ The easy going free spirit. I've always envied how he always seems to land on his feet with very little worrying, unless he just hides it well. We get along better now that we're adults then we did when we were teens, although we're still two very different people.

Sam ~ Super smart college student who loves gaming. Just trying to figure life post HS out, but he'll come along nicely.

Matthew ~ The funny and competitive attention hound. Dude, you're goin' down next time we play Wii Ski jump.

Jack ~ The precocious introspective thinker. I hope you find a creative outlet for your talents.

Like I said I wish I could really see my whole family more often, but the brothers and the quote went together so well I couldn't pass it up. For all of you out there that I don't see often, or haven't seen in a while know that I think of you all and hold special memories of everyone.

Here are some pics are some pics and videos of them:

Matthew
ARGH, maty!!! Me thinks you'll be walking the plank
(This was taken a couple of summers ago @ Friday Harbor)

Jack
Jumping off of rocks at Lime Kiln Park
(I was super excited that they got to see some of the last Killer Whale pods that season)

Joey & Sam on Sam's graduation day

I really like this pic of Sam. It looks like he can conquor the world.

Joey playing the guitar at Christmas

That's Matthew telling some jokes at Christmas. In case you can't understand him (since he's got something in his mouth) I'm transcribing the jokes below.

Joke #1
Q: Why wasn't Cinderella good at soccer?
A: Because her pumpkin was her coach.

Joke #2
Q: Why was Cinderella Kicked off the team?
A: Because she kept running away from the ball.

#12 on my list, Learn 30 new words (#5)

Truth time . . . I listen to talk radio. We actually have a pretty good talk radio station here in WA KIRO 97.3. I don't agree with everything that the talk show hosts say all the time, but I think they have a fairly decent balance of both sides of an issue. Dori Munson always hits the nail on the head. Plus the afternoon drive time guys Ron & Don are hilarious and sometimes even later at night I can catch TBTL (To Beautiful To Live), which is basically a bunch of random musings by someone who thinks fairly highly of himself, he's also funny but in a more intellectual way and this is where I got my new word.

Ex·co·ri·ate

Pronunciation: ek-'skor-e-ate
Function: Verb
Date: 15th century

1. To tear or wear off the skin of; abrade.
2. To censure strongly; denounce

The way that the word was used was on the radio tonight was the second definition.

Unexpected Praise

I've lived in my apt for a little over 3 years now. Of course it's been the first place that I've gotten on my own and so there have been many learning curves along the way dealing with different property managers. This latest set of property managers have been pretty decent. They at least care about trying to make improvements to the property so that it can be habitable. Don't get me wrong it's no slum, but there are definitely improvements that need to be made since it's an old building. I'm guessing at least 25 years.

Anyway, today I was home for lunch and I got a knock on my door. Unless I'm expecting someone a knock on the door usually means one of two things. It's either the UPS man, and I haven't ordered anything, or it's Mormons. As I walked toward the door I was anticipating the later and what I would say to them to get them to go away, but to my relief it was one of the ladies from my property managers office with two construction guys. She said that there was a problem with the apt downstairs and that he was dealing mold, of which I am allergic, and so they wanted to see about my outer walls as well as his. Turns out I have the same problem:(

However, what this does mean is that my neighbor and myself will be getting new walls and windows, both in the front and back, of our apartments. Hopefully, within the next few weeks. My windows right now are super cheap and sweat a lot whenever it turns cold outside. What this also means is that this will probably just spiral down to a savings in my heating bill!!! I'll let you know how it all progresses. Suffice it to say I wasn't expecting this today, but it's still a praise all the same.

My friends might want to be on standby as I might need a place to stay.

#11 on my list, Learn 30 New facts (#3)

So this quarter I'm taking Meteorology. So far it's interesting to learn about, it's just very dry. This is where fact number 3 comes from. I've tended to stay away from scientific facts, because I would hate to look like a fool, but I'm copying it from my text book so if I mess something up it's the books fault, not mine. PLus I think it's just good info for us to have.

Throughout my travels I have spent a lot of time in humid weather. Probably the worst was when I was in Diego Garcia. The air feels almost suffocating and all you want to do is lay in the A/C until dusk when the temperature becomes reasonable again. The air hangs with a heaviness that can just feel oppressive. . .but wait. . .I just learned tonight is that humid air is actually less dense than dry air, at the same temperature and pressure. The water vapor that's in the air actually reduces the density of the air because the molecular weight of water, that is to say the weight of it's molecules, is less then the molecular weight of dry air.

Still no answer as to why exactly the air feels heavier than normal, but there you have it. Unfortunately for myself it will probably be a pet peave for me the next time I hear someone complain about humid air being heavy, but I'll just have to get over it.

Resourceful Transportation

Amidst the frozen temps, certain areas of the world have learned to adapt and created unique ways of getting from one place to the other. Take out Dutch neighbors who have decided to ice skate in order to get to their respective destinations. Now that's thinking outside the box.

My Bookshelf

I found a new way to display the books that I've been reading, or have read. Checkout the my bookshelf widget on my sidebar. I came across it on another blog and it's so much easier than adding new photos of books to my Picasa so it can run in a slide show. Anyway, just wanted to share my new find. I'll also be adding other favorite books of mine, that I've already read, from time to time.

#29 on my list, Watch 30 new documentaries (#1, 2, 3, 4)

I had not originally intended for this to be a very long post, however, I noticed that though I've had a slide show of documentaries that I've watched so far rotating on my blog, I had not actually posed any info, or reviews on them. Those that I've been remiss in posting will have a brief synopsis at the bottom of this review.

Who should be "Expelled", in my opinion not the scientists that have simply dared to suggest that there is a possibility that we didn't come from nothing. That there was in fact an intelligent designer (BTW, God is very intelligent).

Ben Stein, most notably of Ferris Buler fame, explores this subject in this documentary. Most of the scientists in the movie don't argue the intelligent design "theory" from a religious perspective, however, they merely want to introduce a new idea and study it out, as any scientist worth his/her salt should want to do. I think that this is one of the reasons why this movie should be appealing to all types of people, not just those, like myself, who are proponents of a 6 day creation (on the 7th day God rested, Genesis 2:1). Even if intelligent design is not something that you espouse to believe, the movie is worth watching because of the logical questions that these scientists propose, like the one David Berlinski states in the film. Mr Berlinski states "Before you can ask if Darwinian theory correct, you have to ask the preliminary question of is it clear enough so that it could be correct?" That sounds like a completely reasonable question, but one that evolutionists refuse to want to try and answer.

But what about those that believe that life originated from crystals (a popular belief within the evolutionary community). Even crystals had to com from somewhere. And what about Nobel prize winner Francis Crick who proposed that life was "seeded" on earth? Does that mean that we were planted here by Aliens, ummm I think not. But they would rather take those as a probable theories than look for a more simple explanation.

Probably my favorite part of the film is at the end when Richard Dawkins, author of numerous evolutionary books and self proclaimed athiest calling religion "primative superstition", actually back pedals his stance and actually does leave room for the intelligent design theory. Ben Stein asks Mr. Dawkins "What do you think that the possibility of intelligent design might turn out to be the answer to some issue in genetics?" Mr. Dawkind bables for a while about some inteligent life evolving from Darwinian means and the seeding life as we know it on earth, but then follows that up with the statement that "in those means we might find the signature of some kind of designer, and that that designer might be a higher form of intelligence in the universe." In essence intelligent design is OK as long as God wasn't the designer.

I could go on and on, but sufficeit to say I think that people should see this film. Ben Stein does an excellent job of asking intelligent questions to intelligent people in the search for what the truth is. He interweaves his interviews with film footage from Communist Russia and Socialist WW2 Germany to artistically illustrate the point that the intelligent design theory is trying to be suppressed and silenced like Nazis and Communists tried to do with liberty and the Jews.

I'm including the Expelled super trailer so you can take a look for yourself.

If I seem like an alarmist I appoligize, but I do believe that we were created and that it was God that did so. I alo have a specific invested interest in theory since once upon a time when I was in HS. I challenged my 9th grade biology teacher and was sent to the vice pricipals office for it. As I recall the debate it went something like this. The teacher started talking about how we evolved from apes.I raised my had and said if we cam from an pe then how come we don't see that happen today? The answer I got back was "Because we are all that there is and are at the top of the evolutionary scale." She tried to continue her lecture, but my hand went up again for another question, which went like this "Well then if evolution then does exist like you're teaching and we have evolved from apes and if evolution coninutes then shouldn't we be seeing people evolve into other life forms, since the world is supposed to be billions of years old?" Of course she didn't have an answer to that, and since I was the voice of dessention she opted to send me to the vice princilpals office rather than look for a reasonable answer to a perfectly legitimate question. I'm no scientist, actuallly it's not my strongest subject at all, but science is all about asking reasonable questions in order to find out how something works, right. Of course that's not my first dessenting view from a class that I've been in. I'll have to tell you all about the feminist teacher I had for my women's literature class my senior year of HS. Now those were some fun times.

So that's my review and my life experience with this topic. I'll be glad when I'm done with my final science class this quarter!!! I hope that you all get a chance to rent the movie. I got mine from Netflix, but I'm sure you can find it at your local viseo store as well.

Now here are some of my other reviews . . .

2. Famous Authors: Jane Austen: Arguably the most influential novelist of her era, Jane Austen was born in 1775. She never married and spent most of her life within her family circle. But her quiet country existence belied the novels she wrote, literary masterpieces rich with satirical wit and insight into women's lives. Through period documents, artwork and other archival material, this program explores the sheltered life and enduring works of the treasured British author.

Unfortunately this was not a great documentary:( And I feel bad for subjecting my friends to it's boring nature. This documentary is why documentaries get a bad rap.

3. The Fanny Crosby Story: Blinded soon after birth, Fanny Crosby adapted to her disability and went on to pen more than 10,000 hymns, more than any other person in history. This biography follows Crosby's life from her extraordinary childhood and her ability to memorize complete books of the Bible to her formal schooling and speech to the U.S. Congress, her role as a wife and mother, her selfless work as a nurse during the cholera epidemic and her prolific hymn writing.

This documentary doesn't have a lot of flashy graphics, but neither is it dry. It was interesting to learn about he life and if you like reading books about Christian figures in history you'll like this documentary. It's amazing to see what God can do with a willing spirit. I only wish that the producers had dedicated more time to looking into her salvation testimony.

4. Do you Believe in Miracles?: In February of 1980 amidst growing Cold War fears, the U.S. hockey team created an unforgettable moment of national pride when they miraculously beat the Soviets on the ice. Revisiting lake Placid twenty-one years later, this film takes a look at the team's emotional climb to gold while exploring the tumultuous political and social landscape of the time.

I love a good underdog story, especially when it comes to sports, and this one is one of the best. If you've seen the movie Miracle with Kurt Russel then you're well prepared for this documentary. It's enjoyable to see the hockey players as they are today and what they remember. This documentary also does a good job of explaining the back story of the politics and economics of the time, so that those of us that didn't live through it can get an idea of what's going on. They also do a good job of explaining how imposing the Russian team actually was at the time, which makes it even more astounding how they one. However, just so you know, this was not the winning game of the 1980 Olympics. Team USA actually had to play one more, against Sweden I think, rent it to find out what happens;)

#7 on my list, Have 30 girls nights (#7, 8, 9, 10)

It's been a while since I posted about any girl nights. I've had plenty, but I just didn't keep up so I'm posting about the most recent one first and a few others that I've had along the way too.

#7. Tonight I had a wonderful girls night with Sherri. Last month I was her secret prayer sister and wanted to have her over for dinner then, but it never worked out. Tonight, however, I got my chance. We had my Mac & Cheese (which she says is better than Bro. Glovers. Who wants to call on the official Mac off?) and a very colorful salad (I like my salad with lots of veggies. No bag salad for me). I also found blood red sparkling orange juice, instead of sparkling cider, it was awesome!!!Anyway, it was a very relaxing evening talking about things and just hanging out. Plus she brought Levi! I can't officially own a dog, due to my lease, but there's nothing that says that they can't visit:). I think he was on sensory overload though. He walked around sniffing everything. That tuckered him out though because he just sprawled out on the couch while Sherri and I talked.

#8. This one happened back around Christmas time. Every year it is a tradition that Sherri and I get together to watch White Christmas. I enjoy bursting out into song at any given moment and we both just enjoy watching Rosemary and Bing spar. Plus who doesn't love Danny Kaye? Of course the movie plot is no mystery to us, but it's fun to have traditions with your friends. Well this year, we also had another friend join us (she was ever so stylish with her jingle bell bracelets:)) Anna was supposed to join us too, but she bailed at the last minute. Hot cocoa was served all around and topped with my peppermint marshmallows. It was a lot of fun and just a great night with friends! Even if I didn't sing much of the movie this year. However, I did hum the songs. Plus here's a little known fact. White Christmas (the song) was originally written for the movie Holiday Inn (Bing also sings it in Holiday Inn). It was only after the song gained popularity that it was turned into it's own movie. I just love Bing's Bass voice.

Here are some of my favorite songs from the movie:

Snow



Gee, I wish I was back in the Army

Sisters

White Christmas

#9. A few weeks ago Nicki came over and we shared our gospel tracts with each other and watched Phantom of the Opera. Personally I prefer the live stage show. If you're sitting in the right section, of the audience, when the chandelier comes down it looks like it's going to fall right on you. Her primary motivation for coming over was to see my new couch, which she liked a lot too!

Here's my favorite song from Phantom:



#10. This one was really fun, because it involved some of the preparation for the sweethearts banquet. A few weeks ago we got together over at Nicki's to write out and put together the invitations. Kali printed them, I addressed them (all 44), Nicki (in recovery from her wisdom tooth extraction) cut ribbon, Kali and Alyssa tied the ribbon, and Anna sealed the envelopes (I think she might have tied some of the ribbon as well). Again, I can't give to much away because most of our conversation was spent in planning certian aspects of the event. However, much of the evening was spent in giggles:) Nicki showed off her twisted wisdom teeth and was a really good sport about us being there for not feeling well. The irony for me though was that I spent the evening writing out the addresses on the envelopes, so you'd think that my hand would have cramped up, yet it was my legs that fell asleep from sitting on the floor. Go figure.

So that should catch you up just a bit. Sorry there's not a lot of detail, but like I said I've been a slacker.

#9 on my list, Help someone who can not help themselves (#2)

No one, except for God, knows what tomorrow holds. Let me also say that one of the things I like about living in a small town is the ability to feel safe when doing things like I did below. One thing I do know, from experience, is that generally people who live in big cities of more culturally diverse areas are a lot less willing to stick their neck out for people. If I lived back in CA or in another large city I'd probably be a lot less inclined to want to stop and aid my fellow man. However, that's my short coming, which I need to work on, and I do think that there is something to be said to just practicing good safety.

Yesterday was gorgeous! A very A-typical day for WA in January (for pictures go here). But without any cloud cover all of the moisture on the ground turns to ice/frost in the cold, and begins to accumulate on the roads. Which is not so bad during the day, but during the evening you can't see it. That being said, if I had known what was going to happen last night I would have saved #9 on my list for this event. However, I did not so all I can do is add to it and share what went on while I was on my way to a friends house to watch a movie.

I was leaving Kali's house and heading north. When I saw someone flagging a car down and thought that it had simply backed into a ditch while tying to make a 3 point turn. Ummm, no. What I had rolled up on was actually 3 teenagers (all 16, the driver had only had her license for 10 months) that had slipped on the icy road and rolled over (yes, it was a top heavy SUV). All of them were shook up and besides some cuts on their knuckles, from the broken glass, all were visibly OK. One said that her rib hurt, but the rest seemed to be fine. As I surveyed the scene, the driver was already on the phone with her parents, the owner of the home nearby was inside calling 911, and all 3 of them were freezing. What could I do? Well the corner of the road they were on is very dark. Except for the lights from the nearby houses, or a drivers headlights, there is no illumination for the road (this is a notoriously accident prone corner). So I opened up my sleeping bag (in my trunk from this summers HWY 20 project. See procrastination does pay off;)) and gave it to the kids to stay warm and stayed there with my hazard lights flashing so that way people would try and be careful as they were driving by. Even with that there were still people that wanted to be Mario Andriette turning around this corner and almost took us out (now that would have been even crazier).

I'm very thankful that for all of them being kids they were pretty calm and that none of them were screamers (from experience there's nothing worse than trying to calm down a screamer in something like this). Of course the paramedics came and all of them were taken to the hospital (just because you're OK on the outside doesn't mean that somethings not wrong inside). Since I didn't really see how it happened I wasn't required to give a statement to the Sheriff, but I did have to wait until the emergency vehicles left before I could leave.

As we were waiting for the paramedics to show up I took a look at the car and the roll bar on the passengers side was completely caved in and poking into the head rest. I looked at the kids and asked "Who was in the passenger seat?" One of the girls said "That was me." She said that as soon as she new the car was going to roll she covered her head and got into the fetal position, and that once the car came to a stop she looked up and there was the bar. Seriously people if she had not done that the bar could have gone straight through her skull and then I would have been dealing with a completely different situation (and most definitely a screamer).

So here's the thing. God was definitely keeping the passengers of that car safe. No, I don't know their spiritual status, but God doesn't show favoritism. If that were true, who would be able to be saved? Deuteronomy 10:18, says that God loves the stranger (read Deuteronomy 10:12-22 if you interested in how we should be treating the stranger, good message last night Pastor). Of course that means He cares about the spiritual needs of the stranger, but also their physical ones as well. Sometimes, I'd venture to say most often, a persons physical needs are the foremost in their minds, especially if they don't know the Lord, and if someone who does know Christ can meet them there is a open door to be a physical and visible testimony of how the Lord does love them. They may not react right away, and you may never get to see the results, but that's what the Lord does. Think about Matthew 15:32, this is when Jesus is getting ready to multiply the loaves and fishes. It states that he had compassion for their physical need. Love is a verb. An action that we are commanded to show to the lost. How much do you feel loved whenever your needs are ignored by those closest to you? I venture to say not much. So then, how much do we love the Lord if we're not willing to keep his commandments? Again, I venture to say not much. My idea, just think about that the next time you want to hurry up and pass by someone who needs help, or you become to involve in the business of your day for another person. People may not keep the tract you give them, and they may scoff at you when you try to share the Gospel outright, but they'll always remember an act of kindness that someone extends to them, whether they know what motivated it or not.

The votes are in

The people have spoken. By a majority vote of 2:1 my "Followers" and hereby now dubbed "Carolyn's Crew". Thanks for voting

Bread

I think that I've finally found a bread that I can eat with sanwiches!!! Normally I'm not a fan of homemade bread. I can usually taste the yeast in homemade bread and it permeates my senses. so I stay away from it. However, since going GF I've tried different store bought bread, which is usually dry and flavorless (the rice bread I once bough tasted like sandpaper). I've even tried making some from scratch, which was a total debacle. However, it's been many months since I tried and so I wanted to give it another go (If at first you don't succeed try, try again).

Anyway, tonight I made the bread above. I bought it last night when I went to the store for some potato starch for my cake and figured that I was willing to risk $5 for a decent sandwich (eating GF is not always cheap, but sooooooo worth it when your body starts to feel better). Below was the result of my tenacity:) It's a hearty bread in texture, so it won't fall apart in my hand as I bite into a overloaded ham and turkey, or tuna with onions and pickles (hey if I'm already gonna kill my breath with the tuna I might as well go for the whole thing). It also was a very moist and doughy bread. One thing with most premade GF bread is that it can be very stiff and dry. So that each time I try to take a bite I need to follow it up with a drink of water right away. Last but not least, I taste no yeast in it!!! I'm really happy that I decided to spend the money:) Now all I need to do is give it the toast test. Another aggravation with GF bread is that it doesn't toast nicely. I like mine a little on the crispy side with some peanut butter and cocoa. Thus far in my quest for the perfect bread I have yet to come across a bread that gives a nice golden color for toasting. Given the fact that so many of my other qualifications have been met, my hopes remain high.

People . . . I think we have a winner!!!

Only one day left

There's only one day left to vote one what my followers want to be called. Right now Carolyn's Crew is leading, and Wonderful Readers is in second. So once the votes are tallied then I'll rename my followers. Get your vote in before 8am tomorrow!

I can't share to much

Because all the planning that the SPG's are doing for this years sweethearts banquet is secret squirl territory. So I could tell you, but then I would have to kill you, and the Bible has pretty clear guidelines on not doing that.

Anyway, I did feel like posting this blog to share my excitement with the practice cake that I just made for one of the ladies that will be there. I really want to post pictures but I can't because that would ruin it for everyone else. So, to my readers, I promise that once Valentines Day has passed pictures will be forth coming.

Two years ago we did the same thing and it was a big hit with everyone and this year the SPG's were tasked with doing it again. We're all super jazzed about it!!! Now those who know me or read this regularly, know that the SPG group I mention stands for Singles Pleasing God, but if you're reading this for the first time that's just to keep you up to speed. Now some may think, "Why on earth would a bunch of singles want to host a sweethearts banquet for Valentines Day?", or "Isn't that a bit tourturous for us as singles to do to ourselves?" But the answer is, no it's not torturous, and we do it because it's fun and we care about our married friends (or parents) having a good time. Just because we don't have anyone for ourselves, doesn't mean that it needs to be a somber time. In fact serving in capacities like this really takes our eyes off of ourselves and helps us have just as much fun as the couples have. Serivce as a single is really what the SPG's are all about.

It took me about 3 trys to get the recipe to turn out so my whole day has been spent behind the stove. I'm also trying to see if I can get some homemade GF bread to turn out. I haven't had any luck with finding some GF bread that I do like. I'm really hoping that this one works. I think that I need a better mixer though, one that has a dough hook. Because the hand mixer that I have now kept getting stuck in the batter.

Once Valentines day has passed I'll also post the cake recipe as one of my new recipes to make. Trust me, ecpecially for those that are GF, it's a keeper!!! Let's just hope that my bread is a keeper too. I really miss having a normal sandwhich for lunch. I've just never been good when it comes to baking anything that has a yeast comopnent to it. I can never get the bread to rise properly. OK I need to stop because I'm just aggravating myself. I'll let ya'll now how it goes. I just had to share my cake excitement:) The real one will be much better too. Like I said this one is just for practice.

#12 on my list, Learn 30 new words (#4)

Vi·tu·per·a·tion

Pronunciation: (vahy-too-puh-rey-shuhn)
Function: Noun
Date: 15th century

1. The act or an instance of vituperating; abusive censure.

2. Sustained, harshly abusive language; invective.

I read this word in another blog that I read and of course I don't know it so it has to count for my list:)

What do you want to be called?

I want to change the name of my "Followers" gadget, but I'm not sure what to change it to so I thought I'd let you decide by putting up a poll. I'll leave it up for a week. The winning vote gets the prize title. Of course I'm also open to suggestions.

Tag. . . you're it continued

So I really sent my tag out to everyone that reads my blog but just for specification the people who I would like to see the most answer it are:

1. Sherri Vaughn
2. Meleah Holloway
3. Julie Jewels
4. Kristina's Keepsakes

Tag. . .you're it

This is the second time I've gotten this tag so I guess I'd better do it.

1. Choose the 4th folder where you store your pictures on your computer.
2. Select the 4th picture in the folder.
3. Explain the picture.
4. Tag four people to do the same.
5. No Cheating (cropping, editing, etc.)

This happened in our hotel room at the singles conference in MO this year. I accidentally grabbed the liquid dish soap, instead of the regular dish washer soap. OOPS!!! That hand belongs to Anna, who as only a true friend can, mocked me as I sought out towels to mop the mess up. Kali was kind enough to document the moment with her camera. See what true friends I have;)

Let's just say that housekeeping had a huge, wet load of towels to take care of on Monday morning.

It arrived

My couch arrived last Saturday, here it is in my apartment. Color on camera never really comes out great, but this is about as close as it could come. It's so comfortable!!! I'm really happy with it.

Thank you

Here is my post full of "Thank You's" for the gifts that people gave to me this Christmas. It was all wonderful. Somethings I wasn't actuallyable to get a pic of, so I appologize if it's not in a picture.

My pig slippers (always a hit): From Jack

This one takes a little explaining. See I love musicals!!! Growing up Annie was one of my favorites (only this version though, I don't like the new one with Kathy Bates). Anyway, the dress in the background was one of my old Halloween costumes (the mask has obviously bit the dust). I'll tell the story as it's been told to me over the years. This particular costume was worn to a Halloween party when I was about 4 for one of the girls in my pre-school and it was held at a house in, Sea Cliff, a very rich part of San Francisco. Most, if not all, of the other kids at the party were made up to be dressed in rented, ornate, uncomfortable, and lest just face it ridiculous costumes that children will wreck if they are allowed to play at all (which as I understand it they weren't allowed to do). Now then that leaves little ol' me in my plastic dress, cheap suffocating mask, and black patent leather mary janes to run and play and have the best time there (which still has a habit of happening to me, what can I say). Well, one of the things that my Dad gave me was the DVD of Annie accompanied by my plastic dress. I no longer celebrate Halloween, but it's a fun story to tell,especially if you know me already and know what a fun social person I like to be:)

From the Willow Tree collection the "Angel of Caring": From Sam

1,000 Gluten Free Recipes: From Matthew

A chance to die - The Amy Charmichael Story: From Nancy

Boy Meets Girl: From Nancy

America's Cheapest Family: From my Dad

The Muppet Show - Season 1: From my Dad

A pink scarf/head covering: From my Mom

An hour glass necklace filled with diamond dust: From my Mom

It's not Christmas without a new sweater: From my Dad

This is the fabulous red hat that I bought myself in San Francisco:) It's way cute!!!

Gifts not pictured:

From Maggie: I got Love Letters of Great Men and Women
From Sharon: I got two rice bags (which have been really nice to have lately)
From Nicki: I got a serving/decoration tray
From both Kali & Nicki: I got a certificate for an "All expenses paid trip" to help me complete some of the goals on my list. I can't wait to see what they plan.
From Steve & Sherri: I got a gift card to the Trumpeter restaurant in Mt. Vernon (it's all GF)!!!!
From Shannon: I got an ice cream scoop with a pig handle
From my Mom: I also got some snow boots

Thanks everyone for your thoughtfulness. If I forgot anything I appologize. Obviously I was very blessed this year.

Who wants to follow me?

Of course you shouldn't literally follow me. The only one to follow is Christ, however, the other day I put up the "Followers" gadget on my blog and so I'm waiting to see who adds themselves to my list (Sherri, I'm on yours LOL). I'm still keeping my world map up though, since I always enjoy seeing where people have read my blog from (South America doesn't seem to be to interested in my happenings). Anyway, just thought I'd let you know about it.

If it ends up being a bust and noone wants to be found out. I'll end up taking it down soon.

#11 on my list, Learn 30 New facts (#2)

My Dad has a book about Christmas Carols and the history behind them (Stories Behind the Best-Loved Songs of Christmas by Ace Collins) and I was reading it while I was back home and thought that this particular one was interesting.

We all know how the meaning of certain words have changed over time, and this Christmas carol is no different. The lyrics always bothered me and I never understood why, until tonight. Back when this carol was written, presumably in the 15th century even though the writer is unknown and it wasn't published until the 18th century, the word "rest" meant to keep or to make, and the word "merry" meant mighty or great. So really when the song is sung it should sound more like "God make you mighty, gentlemen". Really, if you think about it, the meaning ads a lot more to the song. It becomes more of a charge than just a traditional praise, and encouragement in the Lord. Now that I have the correct meaning behind the words of the song it will probably become one of my favorites.

Anyway, I found that point interesting and thought I'd share it with those of you that might feel the same way. I love learning new things like this, I'm just sorry it took me so long to put up.

I need to stay up on my fact finding too.

#12 on my list, Learn 30 new words (#3)

I've been very lax in the education of my vocabulary, but I heard a new word today and I really like it.

Pro⋅pin⋅qui⋅ty 
Pronunciation [proh-ping-kwi-tee]
Function - noun
Etymology - Middle English propinquite, from Latin propinquitat-, propinquitas kinship, proximity, from propinquus near, akin, from prope near

Definitions:
1.nearness in place; proximity.
2.nearness of relation; kinship.
3.affinity of nature; similarity.
4.nearness in time.

I'm definitely gonna have to find a way to introduce it into a sentence.

New Layout

The start of a new year calls for a new layout as well. I also posted a new play list, which is made up of my favorite musical songs. So if you have your speakers on I hope you enjoy them too.

Happy New Year everyone!!!

Brutal Bowl

Well the Lions tried really hard, but USC took them.

The first half was just brutal: 24 - 7 at the half. Penn State made a decent try for a comeback, by scoring 17 points in the final quarter, but they just couldn't make it work.

Final Score:
Penn State - 24
USC - 38

O well, next year.

USC on the other hand really does have a stellar record where the Rose Bowl is concerned though. They're 3 for 3, w/in the past 3 years, and they've won a total of 24 Rose Bowls all together. Really good work!!!

The votes are in

Here are the results from my polls:

All 8 people that voted for my recipe name felt very strongly that my recipe should be named "Crunchy Chicken Casserole". Your vote counts so I will oblige you, plus that's the name that I like best too.

And although it's been a while since I took my hair poll down. The results basically said that people wanted me to stay blonde. Which is fine by me because when the roots grow back, my hair would probably be red. And with the undertones of my skin red hair does not look good on me.

Thanks for your votes. I'll post another poll when I find something interesting.

Sports

I don't know how many people know this about me, but I do like sports. Especially baseball. However, it is not Baseball season yet and because of that I fill my time, waiting for it to start by watching Football. Now the difference for me is that when it comes to Baseball I'm pretty much a fan of any team for the cities I've lived in, or near, but Football is another story.

Having grown up in the Bay Area I had a choice of 2 Baseball teams, the Oakland A's of the SF Giants. The Giants win my vote by proxy of the fact that I was born in SF, although when I was abt. 6 or 7 I won tickets to an A's game by reading a bunch of books one summer (a blog for another time). I lived in Germantown MD, so I became an O's fan (the Oriels for those who don't know). Now I live in Seattle and so the M's (or Mariners) are now added to my collections of teams. One team I held until last was the Pirates (in Pittsburgh) because it leads me to my next point. When it comes to Football I'm a PA inspired girl all the way, due to the fact that my Dad is fro Pittsburgh and those were the games I grew up watching. The Steelers, the terrible towl, black and gold the whole thing. Things get very interesting a work with the guys when The Steelers play the Seahawks (there's a bitter envy after loosing the Superbowl a couple years ago. Lets just say that my team sprirt was not appreciated). Anyway, there's no other football team, in my mind at least, that I enjoy watching more (and I was raised in CA during the golden years of the 49er's given to them alla Joe Montana). That goes onto college football as well. I normally don't folloe college ball, but again here comes PA. Penn State has been having a great year (that's where my aunts and uncle went to school), and because of such the Rosebowl is going to be paid attention to in this household this afternoon.

The Nittany Lions are playing USC, which should be a great game. Both are good teams, but like I said I'm PA all the way!

Not that the rest of you really care, but it's my blog so I'll share what I want to. GO LIONS!!! (Score to follow later)