Thirteen for Thursday

Thirteen for "G"

1. Guacamole. Never thought I'd like it, but thanks to the great skills of my sister in law, Kristin, I LOVE it.
2. Gazpacho. I've never tried it, but it's on my list of recipes to make this summer. The list is in my head. If I wrote it down then I might have to feel guilty when I abandon it for night after night of root beer floats.
3. Garlic. Seriously, are all of these going to be about food?? I love garlic. In just about everything. My garlic press is one of my favorite kitchen tools.
4. Going on vacation. Over Thanksgiving. To Florida...I CAN'T WAIT!
5. Grades. I'm working hard to keep them good.
6. Graduation. May 7, 2010. 9:30 AM. Can you tell I'm excited?
7. Grad school. What I would like to do next.
8. Gabrielle. My friends Karina and Marty are new parents. She's precious!
9. Grand Canyon. Maybe I'll go there one day (yes, I'm stretching here).
10. Guatemala. If I went there, I could work on my Spanish.
11. Granola. Not as healthy as you'd think.
12. Geico. I'm insured by a lizard.
13. Ground beef. I could go the rest of my life without it and never miss it.

Can't put a price on education. . .or a good paper towel holder

It has been my pleasure to be a part of this group of crazy communication majors for almost a year now. We are all in a "degree completion" program that caters to adults who have college hours but no degrees. We meet one night a week, five weeks per class. . . for a year and a half. With the same people. Every week. The same. Crazy. People. Let me just say, I am certain that God put each of us in this class for a reason. I couldn't imagine surviving this very busy, hard work filled, often stressful time with any other crazy people. We don't always sit this close, by the way. Our professor squished us like that and left us there for a good hour of lecturing, just to prove a point about personal space. I learned that I like my space.


The same night that the above class completed some real-life experiments, I found this paper towel holder at a local thrift store. Now, I am not planning on using paper towels for much longer (another day, another post), but I couldn't resist it's red-ness. I love red, and since I am now living in an apartment and can no longer have the delicious, brick red kitchen wall of my old kitchen, I find many (many) other ways to incorporate red into my decor. This was 1.98. Not bad, for decor.

Father's Day

I have been blessed to personally experience a variety of types of "fathers" in my life. There is my biological father, who, though I didn't really experience him (he passed away before I was two), obviously had an impact on my life. There is my Grampa Carlton and Uncle Stewart (my dad's father and brother), who stepped up to be that part of my history for me.

There are my uncles, my mom's younger brothers, who were always around when I was younger, before my mom remarried. They were the ones putting my first bicycle together, teaching me how to bait a hook, letting me and my brother rough house with them, and even being the stern voice of discipline a time or two (or twelve).

Then, there is my granddad. He has taught me as much by example as he has by his words. That man is SMART. He can fix anything, I think, and can teach himself how to do just about anything else. He has a mind that makes connections that mine would never dream of, math in nature, physics in EVERYTHING. . . and so on. I have personally seen him exhibit more strength on his knees than most other man show standing. His constant prayers (along with my Granny) have carried me through many tough times, and his sense of humor and old fashioned orneriness never cease to surprise me.

I have also been blessed to watch my brothers and brothers-in-law become fathers. It is the great equalizer to know that those who used to taunt and terrorize me have daughters of their own. And it is a blessing to see how hard working and dedicated to their families ALL my brothers (and in-law) are. Across the board, they are some of the smartest, funniest, and "goodest" people I know.

Speaking of "goodest," my father-in-law is one of the best. I have only known him for 6 short years, but he has been consistently supportive, constantly caring, and always ready at the drop of the hat whenever any of his kids need a hand. Only for him would I give up my ban on making Ooey-Gooey Butter Cakes.

And that's it. That's everyone. . . . JUST KIDDING DAD!!

How could I forget the one dad on my list that gets a capital "D"?
My Dad, whom my mom married when I was 7, is a great man. He and my mom worked hard to make our blended family. . . well, blended. Like my Grandad, my Dad can do just about anything. Cook a great dinner? No problem. Bring a once-dead car back to life? In his sleep. Build a house (or 3), why not? Finish 3 geometry building projects in one night? Sorry, St. James school system, but that was my Dad that did that, not us! My Dad is a man who makes sacrifices for his family, works beyond the point of exhaustion, leads by his spiritual example, and is not afraid to ask forgiveness when needed. He may not be on my birth certificate, and I may not get my afro' hair and dimples from him, but he's the Dad that God chose for me, and I'm so thankful and blessed that He did.

And so, to Richard, George, Stewart, Ron, Layne, Grandad, Mark, Bryan, Ken, Mike, David, Travis, Joe, and most of all, Dad, thanks for being great dads. To me or to your own kids, either way, I have benefited from receiving or witnessing your Dad-ness. Happy Fathers Day, I love you all.

Cinnamon Rolls and a Round of Comfort

If the title sounds like a snack and a shot of something stronger than Granny's iced tea, I apologize. But I only apologize if you're offended. If you're not offended, I'm not sorry.
Wait. . . I seem to have gotten off track. Please, someone dangle a shiny object in front of me.
SO. . . today I was picking up some homemade cinnamon rolls from my niece, Kaylee. She was my first niece and is now 11! You would think that would make me feel old, but really all it does is make me think "Man, her parents are OLD." It's a coping skill. It's called denial, and I love it.
Anyway, Kaylee told me a few months ago that she was starting her own baking business. Well, I generously decided to put aside my aversion to carbs, sweets, and all things covered in wonderful glazed icing, and support her. I'm a giver, what can I say? She made cookies for a baby shower I had (for a friend, calm down). She made an awesome cake for The Brat's birthday. So awesome that by the time we got around to eating the cake in the evening, there were not many icing flowers left and our tongues were blue, if you know what I mean. (I love saying "if you know what I mean" at really obvious moments, it cracks me up!). And this week, Kaylee emailed me to inform me she was now making cinnamon rolls. So I sacrificed my diet (please don't choke on your coffee, I was on a diet for exactly 7.5 hours) and purchased "some."
The point of this little post is not about Kaylee's awesomeness or her baking goodies, though I could (obviously) go on about both. The point is, when I arrived at the baker's home, where she is the oldest of 5 VERY active girls, I was greeted with hugs, playful punches, hair cut updates, and a general bedlam of chatter (which I LOVE). Then, in the middle of the crowd, I hear "I'm FOUR!. . . I'm FOUR" I look down to see Sarah Grace, the baby of the family, beaming up at me. "I'm FOUR. HOLD ME." Sigh. An aunt's gotta do what an aunt's gotta do.
I tell you, sometimes you just have to sacrifice for the greater good.
Bonus: 57 hugs and updates later, I made my way home with a plate of fabulously wonderful cinnamon rolls. No, you may not have any. Order your own!

Thirteen for Thursday

F. . .

1. Frozen strawberries that I bought when Fresh. I have some, every time I open the freezer they call to me.
2. Fillet O'. The name of my Beta fish I had for over a year in college.
3. Flushed. Poor Fillet O'.
4. Flavor. Like cilantro. Garlic. Olive oil. Bring it!
5. Finger. I broke one playing cards once.
6. Fan. I sleep with one on, all year long. In the winter I point it into my closet.
7. Friends. I am blessed with some great ones.
8. Family. Ditto.
9. Fa la la la laaaaa. I LOVE Christmas music. Favorite song: O Holy Night
10. French braid. I taught myself how to do this in JR high. It is the secret to getting 5 of my nieces to sit still for any length of time.
11. Favorite. I tell all my siblings and cousins that I am Granny's favorite. She only pretends to deny having favorites.
12. Ft.Worth, Texas. Where all this wondrousness began.
13. Fall. My favorite season. Crisp air, bonfires, small town festivals, the last of the Farmer's Market. OH! FARMER'S MARKET how could I forget you?

It was only a matter of time

Before I became Blog-famous.
Not only do I offer you TWO fabulous, original, humorous, semi-addictive blogs, I am now being blogged about and, well, let me just say--that fits in to my plans perfectly. What plans, you ask? None that I can really think of. . . but my sister-in-law started a blog and I wanted to point it out. Enjoy!

Birth Announcement!

Did that get your attention? Good!
Check out what is no longer empty...
My COOKING BLOG!

And a happy Sunday to you, too!

Thirteen for Thursday

Everybody Enjoys E. . . or whatever

1. Mary Engelbreit, my favorite artist.
2. Etsy, very cool crafty place.
3. Eggs. 94% disgusting.
4. Evangel. Future alumnus.
5. Empire State Building. I once watched the sun set from there. Pretty awesome.
6. Ephesians 4:13. Amen?
7. English. The only language I speak, so far.
8. Entertaining. What The Brat and I find ourselves to be.
9. Ecru. A blah blah color, just like tan, beige, khaki.
10.Janet Evanovich. Author of some very good and very funny books I like.
11.Ear rings. I have these, I just don't wear them. Not even on my wedding day.
12.Elegant. Not gonna happen.
13.Enlightened. What each of you feel after reading my blog.

It's not a tum-ah

After several days of mysterious swelling and whole-leg cramping, and several murmurings of "blood clot" by concerned family members, and one long trip to the ER to appease my mother, it has been determined that I am suffering from a severe case of O.L.K. That's "Old Lady Knee" for you non-medical professionals. I have severe arthritis in my knee. But better than that, I have two nice little blue pills (no not THOSE blue pills, the other kind) in my system. So for now, I am enjoying my old lady knee. Tomorrow, and after I see the ortho-whatcha-ma-whatever-ist, may be (ok, will be) a different story.
Thanks to my concerned mamacita, and to my enduring sister-in-law/friend for the laughs in my "exam" room (also known as "the closet where they store they eye exam equipment").
And a merry percocet to all!