#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;)

#11 on my list, Learn 30 New facts (#1)

Part of my job as Marketing Assistant is to talk to people and cut deals for placing ads in maritime publications, and today I got to talk to one of the biggest characters (you'll get a lot of those in the South). Pat was nice though and out conversation wasn't all business. It varied from different topics. One of them included where we used to live. One of the places that he used to live was in Dalton, GA, which produces 70% of the carpet in the USA. I know it's an odd fact to learn, but this is the kind of information that will make me a winner on Cash Cab one day:) LOL. Anyway, there's new fact #1, I'm sure I've learned more, but obviously I couldn't remember them well enough to post them. Go figure.

#12 on my list, Learn 30 new words (#2)

I was cruising through blogs, wanting to see what was going on with people who are associated with other friends of mine, and I clicked on the blog of Rachel Hammet. Behold she has a list of words on her blog that she likes. Some of them I had never heard of, but there was one I liked in particular so I looked it up. It was Sapience.

Here is what it means:

Sapience (or Sapient)
SA'PIENCE, n. [L. sapientia, from sapio, to taste, to know.]
Wisdom; sageness; knowledge.

Thanks Rachel, for giving me a new word.

And the winning word is. . .

I am a big fan of words. In Jr. High I was on the spelling team, I had no particular dream of getting to the Scripps National Spelling Bee, but as far as competitions go this is one of my faves to watch. I was really rooting for this girl from CA. It was her 5th time at the competition and the last year that she was eligable to compete. Alas though she came in 3rd, which is not bad at all considering she beat out 285 other kids to get there, and that there were 11 million throughout the US total vying for the title.

The winner was Sameer, a 13 yr old boy. The winning word was an appropriate one:

Guerdon: something that one has earned or gained, a reward or recompense for ones actions.

Sameer was defintely rewarded for his hard work and study tonight, earning the respect of thousands around the world that care about words and how they are used.

This is also the first word of the 30 that I want to learn on my list. It's item number 12 on it by the way.

#5 On my list, Get Maggie to watch a documentary

So this was my #5 goal on my list and I got to complete it last night. However, it was the most boring documentary that I have ever watched. Lately my friends and I have been on a Jane Austen kick, watching Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility and anything else that can come our way about her. So I thought that this would be an OK, but poor Maggie had to suffer through the worlds most boring, dry, and mind numbing documentary about Jane Austen. And truthfully the creators of the documentary made it more about her family in general then her specifically, which was irritating in and of itself. So one goal was completed. I wish I could speak more positively about it, but mainly this post is an appology to Mags for ruining her first documentary experience with that horrible film and for probably driving her away from them altogether. Hopefully not, but I do have to give her props for staying awake. Way to go girl!

This also count as the first of my 30 documentaries to watch as well, but obviously the review is bad, and I let Netflix know about it as well. That's 30 minutes of my life that I'll never get back.

Hungry Girl (Poem #1)

The last item on my list has me writing 30 new poems. Poetry is a comfort for me that I haven't done in a while. It's a way of communitcating that has always held a certain amount of solace for me. The poem below is inspired by a situation I now find myself in as a person living with Celiacs Disease. It's a poem that was inspired my my frustration of wanting to eat the foods that I can't and the complications of trying to make people understand how hard it is to deal with. My friends are truly great about supporting me (so I want to extend this thank you to them as they read it). The poem was just bore from my own frustration, mostly with me. Since I feel so week most times, and I just want to cave in and succumb to the temptation. Maybe it's a memorium to all the foods that I like and can longer enjoy as well. In any case I hope ya'll enjoy it.

Hungry Girl
GRRR, I'm a hungry girl that just wants to eat,
pasta and bread, now that would be sweet.
With cake in the oven, and cookies galore,
what more is better that I could ask for.

GRRR, I'm a hungry girl and I like my carbs,
but if I should eat them I would fall hard.
For gluten and wheat are my two dangerous foes,
that seek to destroy the life I now know.
Their friends rye and barley are not far behind,
with all these restrictions I might loose my mind.

GRRR, I'm a hungry girl. "Not salad again"!
At least the dressing will not make it bland.
The comfort of getting food that is fast,
could ruin my insides and then I would crash.

GRRR, I'm a hungry girl. Pierogies I miss.
Their cheesy, doughy goodness well it's just pure bliss.
But alas it's just food, I won't hug me good night,
and for better, or worse, I like my life.

GRRR, I'm a hungry girl and it's hard to not to cry,
when others around me can't understand why.

I don't mean to whine or be such a pill,
but the foods that I love will make me ill.
It's at times like this that good friends matter most,
and those that care to help give me hope.

GRRR, I'm a hungry girl but I'll survive,
'cause with veggies and fruits I'll have a long life.
For who know what yet the Lord has in store,
He's been good so far, so of course I want more.

GRRR, I'm a hungry girl, and old chapters done,
and old life is over, and a new one begun.

The last year of my 20's! (Part 1)

Today, on my first post for the month of May, I get to revel in my Birthday!!! This is the last year of my 20's and I have to say that it has started off quite well. Truthfully, although don't presume to speak for everyone, the older you get the less you care about getting "toys" and the more you care about those people that surround your life, and if you are a person that likes to celebrate another year of life, those celebrations are made the most special by the people you get to celebrate it with.

It started with a call from my dear friend Abbey and then transferred over to work where Pat brought in breakfast and Sarah brought me flowers, which was nice of them to do. I received emails and text messages from all of my friends. I got cards from my Mom, my Pastor, and a few other friends. I even got an email from my Aunt Elaine. And of course there was the phone call from my Dad. Which, even though it was at the end of my day, was well worth the wait. It really is the small moments that make up a great and special day. Today was mine and all the special moments that made up today made me thankful that I get to enter my 29th year of life with good friends and a happy heart.

So even though I am posting this on May 1st, I will have a continuing story for tomorrow as tomorrow evening is going to be bowling night with the girls:) (I always like to joke that I'm genetically predisposed to bowling, as that is where one set of my grand parents met each other, while another grandfather actually worked in a bowling alley). Ha Ha Ha, I always love telling a good story. Stay tuned.

#27 on my list, Try 30 new dishes (#1)

The other day in my Spanish class we had a moment of culture getting to try different food from the Spanish culture, or as they would say 'la comida'. Anyway, I got to try Ceviche. Ceviche is a seafood dish by which the seafood is cooked by marinating in the acidity of different juices like lemon juice, and vinegar (used as a substitute for wine since I don't drink). It's a simple enough dish, but it takes a while to make just because it has to marinate for so long. The only thing that I would have done differently, if I had made it, would be to use rice vinegar or something that would be clear. The guy that made it used balsamic vinegar. Now balsalmic vinegar is good on salads or things that look OK being brown, but really there's nothing that's looks OK about brown seafood. Seriously I know some of the best cooks around are men, my dad I qualifies since he did a lot of cooking for us growing up, but someone really should have been with this guy in the kitchen baby sitting him. I also would have served it with lettuce or something that would make it as a salad dish, instead of chips so that it reduced the dish to a dip. However, brown seafood and chip aside, it is a delicious dish and it definitely falls in the realm of my dietary restrictions. I'll post the recipe for it soon.

#16 on my list, Memorize 30 new verses (#1)

I don't plan on expounding to much with this item on my list I just want to share my progress in my list with my readers.

So I've been trying to choose the bible verses that I want to memorize "carefully", because I want them to mean something personal to me because I think when that happens they generally tend to stick in one's mind better, and it also helps you apply the principle of the verse more diligently. Anyway, I've memorized my first new verse, Proverbs 18:1.

Proverbs 18:1
Through desire a man, having separated himself, seeketh and intermeddleth with all wisdom.

For the rest of the verses that I memorize you can take a look to your right, when you check my blog, as that is where the tally will be kept.

#18 on my list, Put together 30 new Sunday school lessons (#1)

This one has taken me a while to decide how I'd like to write these particular entries. I have a tendancy to get on a soapbox, and lecturing is not something that I'd like to do with these entries. Not to mention that these lessons contain only what the Lord has showed me, and there are many times that he uses the same pieces of scripture to show people different lessons in life, and in their walk with him. Also because I want to protect my girls anonymity as they are all well under age. So what I've decided to do is to just simply give the title of the lesson that I prepared, the scriptures that I prepared it from, a brief synopsis of the lesson, and one thing that the Lord showed me while preparing the lesson. Because if I re-wrote my whole lesson it would take me another week, and I just don't have that kind of time.

Lesson #1

Topic: Showing our love through our service
This particularly concerns showing our love for Christ through our service to other (family, friends, our church). Which goes with my churches theme for this month, which is, Looking beyond ourselves to the needs of our family.

Scriptures: John 13:1-17, 34-35 & Luke 22:1-2, 7-13 (The story of Jesus serving the disciples as he washes their feet at the Passover supper, prior to his crucifiction)

Synopsis: By serving one another and giving of our time selflessly, we (Christians) are able to show others the same love that Christ showed to us.

What the Lord revealed to me: Even though we may have "important" responsibilities, if we can't, or choose not to, sacrifice our own time to serve someone who is in need, then the service and effort that Christ gave to us is in vain. For it states clearly in his second commandment that we are to "love our neighbor as ourself". And this is found in all 4 of the gospels. So I think it would be kinda important, right?

Mark 12:30,31
And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.

#7 on my list, Have 30 girls nights (#2)

So yeah it's really soon since my last post, but last night was another girls night, and it was so much fun.

Once again Kali, Nicki, Maggie, Christin, and I found ourselves watching a movie, Enchanted. For those of you that haven't seen it yet let me just tell you it is so good! It's got everything that a good chick flick should have, including Patrick Dempsey. YAY, for him!!!. Anyway, the musical numbers in it are fabulous I can't wait to learn all the songs so I can sing them as I'm cleaning, along with my other musicals. The premise of the movie has a fictional cartoon princess that is sent into the real world, circa NYC 2008. In it she thinks she has all of lifes answers wrapped up in her one "true love", that she's known for a day (hey things happen fast in fairy tales), and has her waiting for her true loves kiss. However, because the sweethearts have been torn apart by the princes wicked step mother, she is forced to find a way to adapt to her new surroundings, while she waits for her true love to rescue her. However, throughout her adventures and with the help of her new friend (Patrick, sigh), she learns that there is more to love than she thought and that even though she envisioned things for her life in a certain way, just because they don't happen "the way they should" doesn't make that life any less special, or magical, and, the thing that I think makes the movie even more fun is that she does this, and comes to these conclusions, all without loosing her sweetness and innocent outlook on life and her ideals. She still believes in her one true love, and that love conquers all.

It really is a great movie, I'm totally gonna buy it, but I can't help but think that her story is not unlike most girls stories, at least the ones who want to get married. Traditionally we grow up knowing all the fairy tales and waiting for our true love to come into our lives. Then we grow up and realize that "real life" is far different than a fairy tale. However, that being said, it doesn't mean that the lives that we now lead, albeit still waiting for our true love (or twu wuv, as the Princess Bride would have it), are no less special, or magical, just because things haven't happened the way that we planned them to.

This thought, spurned by me, was thrown out last night as well. Wouldn't it be great if life were just one big musical?! There would definitely have to be rules involved though, because in today's day and age we'd probably end up with some horrible music if people were allowed to create their own tunes (sorry people death metal and gangsta rap don't belong in musicals). I suppose the rules would include:
1. No cursing
2. The songs must have a melody
3. The songs must be uplifting and have a positive/moral message to them
(if you're reading this and can think of any other rules you want to come up with please feel free to leave to leave a comment)

Anyway, it was just a silly thought that I had, and thought I'd throw out there, as I have always been a big, BIG fan of musicals and am usually given over to breaking out into song while I'm cleaning or working on something (it drives my coworkers nuts, LOL). But those of you that know me know that I love to sing. The girls got a kick out of it for sure and played right along with me (thanks Kali)! It was hilarious!

Of course we had to see Christins wedding pictures, as she and her husband has been married for a year, they are such a cute couple, which only egged me and Kali on with our own future wedding plans. The only part of the evening that wasn't fun was when I got stabbed in the leg by the claws of Christins cat. I'm allergic to cats, so when she wanted to try and jump on me I sat up to move, but before I could her cat let it's claws out as to have something to grip onto. OUCH! Anyway, that was at the beginning ofthe evening. Everything got better from there. Weddings, and Musicals, and Friends! Oh, my! It was a fun evening for sure.

#7 on my list, Have 30 girls nights (#1)

So this item on my list is always gonna be really fun! The girls that I'm friends with are a great bunch of people, anyone would be so lucky to call them their friends and the fact that the Lord put them in my life just adds to the enjoyment in my life. Anyway, there are only a coule things that qualify our get togethers as a girls night: 1) It must be all girls 2) Though it doesn't have to be any one set of girls, in order for it to count on my list, I definitely have to be there. Most of them will probably be an impromtu venture, as the funnest, and funniest, things happen without pretense (and trust me we're funny).

So the one that I will count as my #1 actually happend on Sunday nigt after church. Nicki, Kali, Maggie, Christin, and I all ended up over at the Waldron's house after evening service to watch "Becoming Jane", which I had already seen but the girls hadn't. Nicki ordered pizza (which unfortunately I was not able to eat because of my Celiacs disease, that's info for another post), but that didn't stop me from ordering hot wings! The girls were sweet though because they were afraid of hurting my feelings, by ordering the pizza, thinking that I would feel left out. But I told them that they were ebing silly. I've accepted my condition and those that can eat one of the greatest foods invented should not feel the need to deprive themselves on my account. That's the last reason I would want to be a "Captain Killjoy".

So we didn't end up starting the movie until almost 9 and so it didn't get over until almost 11, which is way to late for a school night (I can tell I'm showing my age when those things start popping out of me, but I come from a long line of night owls so who knows what's going on). The movie is OK, but I think that there was way to much content as far as inuedo was concerned. The writers could have written the character of John as a cad without trying to push the sex envelope. There is definitely a scene that should be fast forwarded through as the men decide to go swimming in the buff, having already seen it I was able to FF for my friends sake, even though I did miss a couple others, much to my shagrin.

Jane Austen was a woman ahead of her time and aquainted with the ways or the world in her day and time (if she wern't she would never have been able to write the Wickham and Willoughby characters so well) however, even with that fact, I'm hardly sure that the real Jane would approve of the screen writers interpreatation of her life. But it was interesting to she learn about a little known part of the writers life, especially since she's had no real documentatin of her life outside of her novels. Oh there are things and facts that are documented about her, but she was intensely private and to see another part of her girlhood, prior to her becoming an author, was interesting. I completely have my step mom to thank for exposing me to Jane Austen, I love her writing and as "antiquated" as some of the habits and customs are her documentation on her obervations of human behavior is still just as relevant as ever, for human behavior is the one thing that doesn't change.

OK, getting back to girls night, after the movie Christin left, but I stayed and we stayed up laughing and talking about the movie until almost midnight. It was fun to compare the times we live in now, to the times back then and the choices that Jane made in order to seek her own happiness outside of the confines, and limitations, that life outside of marriage offered to women at that time. I forget what it was that I said exactly or if I was immitating a character, but I had the girls in stitches, to which we had to break up the fun due to the fact that we were getting a little loud and there were people in the house that needed to work in the morning, and so did I so when I did get home to hit the hay I conked right out.

So there it is girls night #1. No. 2 is happening tomorrow. We're going over to Chrisitns to watch Enchanted, YAY!!!! Finally!!! I wanted to see at Thanksgiving when it came out, but couldn't talk my Dad into it. Nor could he talk me into seeing No Country For Old men, so we're even there. Although I still think we owe each other a movie date when I get home for Christmas. Anyway, stay tuned.

#19 on my list, Read 15 new books (#1)

Number 19 on my list has me reading 15 new books this year. I plan on having it be an eclectic list, some books that I'll learn something from and others will just be fun for fun. Some will focus on health and others will focus on the heart.

So with that disclaimer I'd like to let you all know that I finished my first one last night! It's called, For Women Only, written by Shaunti Feldhann. It's about the things that men wish we new about them, and how they really feel about us (as women), but more specifically their wives. Now as most of you out there may know, I am not a wife, yet (I still hold out hope), however, when I read books like this it's always with that expectation in mind, and more specifically, because I am an observer of people, I usually draw on past experiences and behavior that I have witnessed in order to understand why I do the things that I do, and feel the way that I feel about certain things. It's a short read, only 9 chapters (if I had more time I could have probably finished it in a day, but then again I don't know if I would have gotten all that I did out of it), and those 9 chapters are chock full of things that most women don't know.

For better, or worse, I have been in the company of men for a good part of my life. They were always my closest friends growing up, I'm close with my Dad, I have 4 brothers (I am the only girl), and I was in the Navy for 5 years, so a lot of the information I had already been told, and was there for not new to me. What was new to me, and never dispensed in my direction, was HOW important some of these things are to men and how some of those aspects have affected my own life and the company I have kept with men.

The 9 chapters include the following:

1. Light bulb On!,How I Woke Up to What I Didn’t Know About Men
2. Your Love Is Not Enough, Why Your Respect Means More to Him than Even Your Affection
3. The Performance of a Lifetime, Why Your Mr. Smooth Looks So Impressive but Feels Like an Impostor
4. The Loneliest Burden, How His Need to Provide Weighs Your Man Down, and Why He
Likes It That Way
5. Sex Changes Everything, Why Sex Unlocks a Man’s Emotions (Guess Who Holds the Key?)
6. Keeper of the Visual Rolodex, Why It’s So Natural for Him to Look and So Hard to Forget What He’s Seen
7. Chocolate, Flowers, Bait Fishing, Why the Reluctant Clod You Know Really Does Want Romance
8. The Truth About the Way You Look, Why What’s on the Outside Matters to Him on the Inside
9. Words for Your Heart, What Your Man Most Wishes You Knew About Him

So I won't give a synopsis of what I thought about all the chapters, but chapters 2, 4, 7, and 8 resonated for me the most. Mostly because of the general lack of respect that I've seen women give to men, and all of those chapters set a tone for how we, as women choose to, and can show our respect to men. Reading it I could see how a great many things that my Dad did for me, like teaching me to play golf or how to understand football, and to enjoy fishing and camping, could be looked at as attempts to cultivate a sense of what men like to take part in so that I can share in those things with my future husband, and not just demand the typical "girly" type dates (although those will be nice too). But I truly do like to do those things and that sense of play, that chapter 7 talks about will be very important. As a matter of fact I know that it already is for me because any boyfriend that I've ever had, hasn't lasted very long if he didn't want to do anything. I love my Dad very much and I'm so glad that he is who he is, and has helped to make me into the person that I am today.

Anyway, I could continue to go on with my opinions on the topics of the book, however the bottom line is that I definitely recommend this book for all women no matter what their station is married, or single, or even if they just want to know a little bit more about what makes people, men in this instance, tick. True we'll never fully know or be able to understand them, but it's nice to at least break away a little of the barrier that exists between the sexes.

If you're interested I've put a link to the website on my fave links list (it still looks like they're trying to put it together, but it still gives a synopsis of the surveys that were taken for the book that you can see if you submit a free registration). There are also a few other books of her's that she has written along the same lines, For Men Only (obviously that's about us and written for them), and there is also, For Young Women Only and For Young Men Only.

So my adoring public, that is 1 book down and 14 more to go!

List change

So I changed and item on my list from spending only $30 on Christmas presents, to complete 1 new cross stitch pattern. Cross stitching is something that I like to do, but haven't had the time for, and I have some great patterns that I'd like to try so since it's something that I haven't enjoyed in a while I thought it would be appropriate, since part of the goal in completing my list to to learn to appreciate the things I enjoy in life again.

#2 on my list, Cook 15 new dishes (#1)

OK originally #1 was to cook 30 new dishes. However, I only have 14 months until I turn 30 and that would mean that I would have to cook 2 new dishes a month. With my schedule though that is pretty near impossible, so I scaled it back to about half that. Challenges are always fun, but in this case I had to choose to do something more practical. All that being said tonight I got to make my first new meal for a group of friends.

So after work tonight I went over to my friends house and made this awesome chicken dinner. Chris and Selena are kind enough to let me come over from time to time and cook dinner for them, as I find new recipes that I want to try out, and tonight's dish was Chicken Thighs in a Plum Reduction sauce. I know it sounds really fancy, but it was super simple. Not exactly a 30 minute meal (sorry Rachel Ray), but it was still easy to make. Is serves about 4 people, if each person has 2 thighs, Chris had 3 and Daniel had 4 (which as any cook knows is a total compliment, so I was very happy that the guys ate seconds and thirds), while Selena, her daughter Lily and I each had 1. The side dishes were a salad, provided by Chris and Selena, and SUPER SIMPLE roasted potatoes. The recipe is below for those that are interested in what I made.

After dinner Chris, Selena, Daniel and I sat around talking and laughing about the excitement offered to us by playing old video game systems, and the enjoyment of watching old Saturday morning cartoons and Dukes of Hazard (side note: The General Lee is the coolest car ever). Lily made me read to her as the guys started talking about guy stuff (it was oddly reminiscent of my own childhood as I did much the same thing to the friends of my parents when I was 3 as well). Much to my chagrin I read one of the books wrong. Instead of reading the book, I should have been singing the book to the tune of 'Skip to my Lou', and of course leave it to a 3 year old (and her parents) to make sure I read it correctly. Chris showed me and sang it first, which Daniel and I found extremely enjoyable, LOL! Then Chris reminded me that I was in the choir and technically more capable of singing the book myself. So I did. Let me just say that it's way easier to sing in a choir in front of a congregation of people, rather than on your own in front of 3 people. It's very intimidating, and this is coming from a person that is a total ham. Lily, also told her Dad, that she liked having me over at there house and that she liked me, which was very cute in and of itself, and means a lot as my family does not live close by. It's always nice to be needed, even by a 3 year old. All in all, the dinner was a success and it was a fun time hanging out with everyone and sharing in some Christian fellowship.


Chicken Thighs in a Plum Reduction Sauce:

Ingredients:

1 1/4lbs. skinless, boneless chicken thighs (if you can't find boneless, bone in will be fine)

1/2 tsp. Chinese 5 spice powder (make sure all pieces have some distributed to it)

3 green onions (or more to taste)

Olive oil

1/2c. chicken broth

1/2c. plum jam/preserves

2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar


1. In bowl, toss thighs with 5 spice powder and 1/2 tsp. of salt. From dark green end of onion, finely chop enough to equal 2 Tbsp; reserve for garnish. Cut remainder of onions into 1" pieces; set aside.

2. In 12" skillet, heat olive oil on medium high until hot. Ad thighs and cook on each side (turning once)until meat is no longer pink, and browned; approx 10-15 min. Transfer chicken to plate and cover to keep warm.

3. In drippings from skillet saute onions until light brown. Stir in broth, jam, and vinegar; heat to boiling then reduce to a simmer (med heat) until sauce is syrupy. Return thighs to skillet and coat with sauce. Return thighs to plate, or serving dish. If extra sauce exists poor over chicken for extra flavor. Serve with your choice of sides.


Roasted Potatoes:

Ingredients:

2lbs. of red potatoes

Olive Oil

Salt & Pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 450 deg.

2. Chop potatoes into quartered pieces (if small). If potatoes are larger make sure that they are cut into bite size pieces.

3. Coat generously with Olive Oil, and Salt & Pepper to taste.

4. Put potatoes into roasting pan and cook for 40 min.

#13 on my list, Loose 30lbs (#1)

YAY!!! I'm currently down 6 pounds, and that's not with a lot of exercize either. Basically just trying to stick to my strict diet at this point and not eat at night. 6 pounds down, only 24 to go.

# 4 on my list, Get Flowers for 30 people (#1)

OK, so I know that when you say get flowers that usually means that you spend $60, call a florist, and have the delivered to someone. However, the novel idea came to me as a friend was upset today, and so I sent her flowers via the internet. I simply went on google, found a pic of some pretty ones, did some Photoshop adjustments, and voila! She was even able to put them on her desk, by puting the flowers as her wallpaper on her PC. It just goes to prove that sometimes the best things in life really are free. So 1 down and 29 more to go!

1. Sarah

#14 on my list, Meet 30 new people (#1)

And so the fun begins. . .

Number 14 on my list has me to meet 30 new people, and tonight I met my first one. As the next 14 months progress I'll keep this list (and other updated). So here it goes. . .

1. Sandy (02.27.08) - Met her at church. A very nice girl, she's in the Navy like I was. I just wish that I had been feeling better when I met her as I had a very upsetting day. I'm happy that I was able to look outside of my own issues to take advantage of the opportunity that the Lord gave me. It was nice to pray with someone different. I'm not sure if she's saved or not, but she seemed happy to be visiting with us at BBC and I hope that she continues to come out to church.