Very quick post (and a promise to update on what's been going on the last couple months soon...) about the lecture given by Alton Brown that we went to last night at Oakland University. He gave us a few things that everyone should know about the science of foodstuffs. Here they are:
1. Beware Chinese chili.
2. Chickens do NOT have Fingers.
3. Eat more pretty colors.
4. Anything you can buy is not as good as anything you can cook.
5. Words like "diet," "lite," or "free" aren't real - stay away!
6. Never mix strawberries and watermelons - eat seasonally!
7. "Fresh" and "raw" are NOT the same.
8. Eat more little fishies - sardines, mackrel, anchovies, small tuna.
9. No government can keep our food safe - don't expect them to and don't ask them to.
10. Grow something...anything...
11. Try being a little thankful sometime.
12. Always serve the good beer first.
It was a fantastic lecture with the best of company (Vivian, Anna, and Margaret Mann) and Alton Brown while extremely educational is also extremely funny. We would definitely go hear him again AND we converted Margaret to his fantastic-ness (I know that's not a word) seeing as she had never heard of him.
Happy first of October and Happy Thursday, everyone!
Thursday, October 01, 2009
Monday, August 31, 2009
From the City of
Hi everyone!
I am still here. Lots going on since my last post in April. Lots of busy months since then the most important of which involved the Mr. and me moving to Detroit. More updates soon!
I am still here. Lots going on since my last post in April. Lots of busy months since then the most important of which involved the Mr. and me moving to Detroit. More updates soon!
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Disneynature's "earth"
Several weeks ago when I first saw a trailer for this movie I said to Dean "I want to see that when it comes out!" He, of course, said ok and that was that. Well, being the wonderful husband and rememberer of details that he is he came home from working at Starbucks one night last with a voucher. A voucher for what you may ask? The movie "earth"! It was a voucher for two to an advance screening of the movie and get this: it was free! Even better. So on this delightful Wednesday evening when I have no obligations since all my extra-curricular activities are taking a post-Easter break I tied on my shoes and headed out to the movie theater. Dean chose not to come with so it was a nice little me outing. It was well worth it. Despite the dozen or so children in the audience (the screening was hosted by Radio Disney so what do you expect?) that seemed to squirm, ask questions and hide there eyes at the closest possibility of an animal on the screen getting her it was a wonderful experience. The movie was filmed in conjunction with the BBC and several other companies, etc. some of whom were involved in the Discovery Channel series "Planet Earth." So, might I recommended to you all that one week from today (which is Earth Day) you buy an inexpensive weekday afternoon movie ticket and see this movie. (or maybe just go see it whenever you have time) It's well worth the money. James Earl Jones is the narrator and they follow three animal families: polar bears, whales and elephants over the course of almost two years. There are some sad parts (a couple animals die...) but its a beautiful, well made film with some truly amazing shots. The beautiful earth which God created is shown in all its glory in this film and that was the best part.
Here's a link to the film's trailer and you can look up where the movie's playing near you!
http://disney.go.com/disneynature/
Here's a link to the film's trailer and you can look up where the movie's playing near you!
http://disney.go.com/disneynature/
Sunday, March 08, 2009
Spring Fashion
So I was in Target this afternoon to pick up my prescription and Target is just one of those stores that you MUST wander around before you leave. So I wandered over to the clothing section and then over to shoes. They have some really great things out right now for spring (hopefully I'll go back and get a new Easter dress and shoes) but there was one thing that caught my attention and a little smile. This year the slight nautical theme and combination of navy blue and white is in style again. This brought back the memory of a navy blue dress with jacket that I had back in high school and white and navy shoes that I had to match. They looked really sharp together and while I know I wouldn't pull them out again even if I still had them (and not that they would fit) but I'm hoping to pull off that fashion again this year with some updated navy and white. What fashions are you looking at bringing back for this spring?
P.S. Momma, (I'm sure I'll regret asking for an old picture of myself) but do you recall this outfit and do you have any pictures of me in it?
P.S. Momma, (I'm sure I'll regret asking for an old picture of myself) but do you recall this outfit and do you have any pictures of me in it?
When it rains...
When it rains in Michigan it really rains. This makes sense given the fact that we're surrounded by lakes on all sides but one and if it gets cold enough it explains all the snow. Right? Correct. The only thing that's missing with all this rain? Character. Back home in Georgia when we start getting spring and summer showers there are the few that bring the rain but then the rest of the showers are thunderstorms. There is something to me that is comforting about hearing rain beat down on the rooftop and hearing the crack of lightening and the crash of thunder that comes with the storm. It adds character to the drenching wet that is coming down out of the sky. Now I'll take rain in Michigan over the snow any day (especially right now since it means spring is coming) but I'd like a little character every once in a while. I got super excited yesterday when I was driving home from church in the dark, rain pouring down, windshield wipers on high and I heard a faint little attempt at thunder. I immediately turned off my radio and waited for more. It didn't come but I'll listen for it next time. And maybe sometime soon we'll get a good thunderstorm in Michigan.
Saturday, November 01, 2008
What's up?
Not a whole lot. We've been keeping busy lately with work, church and hanging out with friends. In the past few months we've attended a couple beautiful weddings (one of them being my dear sister Margaret's), visited Hillsdale a few dozen times, gotten into the swing of a new church "program" year, gotten sick, gotten promoted and gone to the saddest funeral I've been to since November 2001. Oh, and we've had birthdays! So it's been busy. I've started to find my niche with cooking. I'm currently on a "learning how to cook things I've never cooked before" streak and I must say it's going very well. We've had lasagna, pizza meatloaf, rice krispies, white chili and I'm going to bake a pound cake tonight. Other than that life is nice and simple which provides for a boring blog. Oh well. I'm still here. Until next time....December maybe?
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Why Women Should Vote
An SAI friend sent this to me and I decided to share it with y'all. I'm interested in seeing the movie now...I'll probably Netflix it. :-)
This is the story of our Grandmothers and Great-grandmothers, as they lived only 90 years ago. Remember, it was not until 1920 that women were granted the right to go to the polls and vote.
The women were innocent and defenseless, but they were jailed nonetheless for picketting the White House, carrying signs asking for the vote. And by the end of the night, they were barely alive. Forty prison guards wielding clubs and their warden' s blessing went on a rampage against the 33 women wrongly convicted of 'obstructing sidewalk traffic.'
They beat Lucy Burn, chained her hands to the cell bars above her head and left her hanging for the night, bleeding and gasping for air. They hurled Dora Lewis into a dark cell, smashed her head against an iron bed and knocked her out cold. Her cellmate, Alice Cosu, thought Lewis was dead and suffered a heart attack. Additional affidavits describe the guards grabbing, dragging, beating, choking, slamming, pinching, twisting and kicking the women.
Thus unfolded the 'Night of Terror' on Nov. 15, 1917, when the warden at the Occoquan Workhouse in Virginia ordered his guards to teach a lesson to the suffragists imprisoned there because they dared to picket Woodrow Wilson's White House for the right to vote.
For weeks, the women's only water came from an open pail. Their food--all of it colorless slop--was infested with worms. When one of the leaders, Alice Paul, embarked on a hunger strike, they tied her to a chair, forced a tube down her throat and poured liquid into her until she vomited. She was tortured like this for weeks until word was smuggled out to the press.
So, refresh my memory. Some women won't vote this year because--why, exactly?
This is the story of our Grandmothers and Great-grandmothers, as they lived only 90 years ago. Remember, it was not until 1920 that women were granted the right to go to the polls and vote.
The women were innocent and defenseless, but they were jailed nonetheless for picketting the White House, carrying signs asking for the vote. And by the end of the night, they were barely alive. Forty prison guards wielding clubs and their warden' s blessing went on a rampage against the 33 women wrongly convicted of 'obstructing sidewalk traffic.'
They beat Lucy Burn, chained her hands to the cell bars above her head and left her hanging for the night, bleeding and gasping for air. They hurled Dora Lewis into a dark cell, smashed her head against an iron bed and knocked her out cold. Her cellmate, Alice Cosu, thought Lewis was dead and suffered a heart attack. Additional affidavits describe the guards grabbing, dragging, beating, choking, slamming, pinching, twisting and kicking the women.
Thus unfolded the 'Night of Terror' on Nov. 15, 1917, when the warden at the Occoquan Workhouse in Virginia ordered his guards to teach a lesson to the suffragists imprisoned there because they dared to picket Woodrow Wilson's White House for the right to vote.
For weeks, the women's only water came from an open pail. Their food--all of it colorless slop--was infested with worms. When one of the leaders, Alice Paul, embarked on a hunger strike, they tied her to a chair, forced a tube down her throat and poured liquid into her until she vomited. She was tortured like this for weeks until word was smuggled out to the press.
So, refresh my memory. Some women won't vote this year because--why, exactly?
We have carpool duties? We have to get to work? Our vote doesn't matter? It's raining?
Last week, I went to a sparsely attended screening of HBO's new movie 'Iron Jawed Angels.' It is a graphic depiction of the battle these women waged so that I could pull the curtain at the polling booth and have my say. I am ashamed to say I needed the reminder.
All these years later, voter registration is still my passion. But the actual act of vot ing had become less personal for me, more rote. Frankly, voting often felt more like an obligation than a privilege. Sometimes it was inconvenient.
My friend Wendy, who is my age and studied women's history, saw the HBO movie, too. When she stopped by my desk to talk about it, she looked angry. She was-with herself. 'One thought kept coming back to me as I watched that movie,' she said. 'What would those women think of the way I use-or don't use--my right to vote? All of us take it for granted now, not just younger women, but those of us who did seek to learn.' The right to vote, she said, had become valuable to her 'all over again.'
HBO released the movie on video and DVD. I wish all history, social studies and government teachers would include the movie in their curriculum. I want it shown on Bunco night, too, and anywhere else women gather. I realize this isn't our usual idea of socializing, but we are not voting in the numbers that we should be, and I think a litt le shock therapy is in order.
It is jarring to watch Woodrow Wilson and his cronies try to persuade a psychiatrist to declare Alice Paul insane so that she could be permanently institutionalized. And it is inspiring to watch the doctor refuse. Alice Paul was strong, he said, and brave. That didn't make her crazy. The doctor admonished the men: 'Courage in women is often mistaken for insanity.'
Please, if you are so inclined, pass this on to all the women you know. We need to get out and vote and use this right that was fought so hard for by these very courageous women. Whether you vote democratic, republican or independent party - remember to vote.
History is being made.
Last week, I went to a sparsely attended screening of HBO's new movie 'Iron Jawed Angels.' It is a graphic depiction of the battle these women waged so that I could pull the curtain at the polling booth and have my say. I am ashamed to say I needed the reminder.
All these years later, voter registration is still my passion. But the actual act of vot ing had become less personal for me, more rote. Frankly, voting often felt more like an obligation than a privilege. Sometimes it was inconvenient.
My friend Wendy, who is my age and studied women's history, saw the HBO movie, too. When she stopped by my desk to talk about it, she looked angry. She was-with herself. 'One thought kept coming back to me as I watched that movie,' she said. 'What would those women think of the way I use-or don't use--my right to vote? All of us take it for granted now, not just younger women, but those of us who did seek to learn.' The right to vote, she said, had become valuable to her 'all over again.'
HBO released the movie on video and DVD. I wish all history, social studies and government teachers would include the movie in their curriculum. I want it shown on Bunco night, too, and anywhere else women gather. I realize this isn't our usual idea of socializing, but we are not voting in the numbers that we should be, and I think a litt le shock therapy is in order.
It is jarring to watch Woodrow Wilson and his cronies try to persuade a psychiatrist to declare Alice Paul insane so that she could be permanently institutionalized. And it is inspiring to watch the doctor refuse. Alice Paul was strong, he said, and brave. That didn't make her crazy. The doctor admonished the men: 'Courage in women is often mistaken for insanity.'
Please, if you are so inclined, pass this on to all the women you know. We need to get out and vote and use this right that was fought so hard for by these very courageous women. Whether you vote democratic, republican or independent party - remember to vote.
History is being made.
Monday, June 09, 2008
JUNE
Things that have happened (or will happen) in the month of June:
June 1st: I sang my second Kirkin' of the Tartan service at CCC. One of the most spectacular services I've ever seen. Reminds me of Grandpa's family tree and Vivian. One day she'll be there for this service. Also played in my first ever handbell concert. I've learned a LOT from Dr. Daniel this year and really am looking forward to next year.
June 2nd: Heard about Dean's first day at his new part time job: Youth Minister at Christ Church Cranbrook. a) Never thought I'd be a youth minister's wife, b) Can't believe we've been so blessed to have found ways in which we can both serve God and others.
June 3rd: Turned in my two weeks notice at Bath and Body Works. Due to Dean's new job and other opportunities I get to spend more time singing and studying singing. I may even audition for the opera chorus for the 2008-2009 season.
June 7th: Watched co-worker (and friend), Jenny, get married. It's so much fun to see the people you spend all your time with outside of work. :-)
June 9th: Spent my evening cleaning and fixing dinner! (despite the fact that Dean is working and not here to enjoy it with me) This is one of the big things I'm looking forward to. I'm finally at that point where I want to cook things, in MY kitchen. So we'll see what comes of that.
June 13th: I leave for London. I was given an anonymous scholarship to be able to go on the Christ Church Cranbrook choir trip. It was supposedly said of me by this anonymous person to my choir director that I can't not go. I'm still baffled that someone would think that well of me and honored for them to have sent me on this trip. I've learned so much already from other people going on the trip and can't wait to learn more while I'm there. :-)
More updates on London and the rest of June later...
June 1st: I sang my second Kirkin' of the Tartan service at CCC. One of the most spectacular services I've ever seen. Reminds me of Grandpa's family tree and Vivian. One day she'll be there for this service. Also played in my first ever handbell concert. I've learned a LOT from Dr. Daniel this year and really am looking forward to next year.
June 2nd: Heard about Dean's first day at his new part time job: Youth Minister at Christ Church Cranbrook. a) Never thought I'd be a youth minister's wife, b) Can't believe we've been so blessed to have found ways in which we can both serve God and others.
June 3rd: Turned in my two weeks notice at Bath and Body Works. Due to Dean's new job and other opportunities I get to spend more time singing and studying singing. I may even audition for the opera chorus for the 2008-2009 season.
June 7th: Watched co-worker (and friend), Jenny, get married. It's so much fun to see the people you spend all your time with outside of work. :-)
June 9th: Spent my evening cleaning and fixing dinner! (despite the fact that Dean is working and not here to enjoy it with me) This is one of the big things I'm looking forward to. I'm finally at that point where I want to cook things, in MY kitchen. So we'll see what comes of that.
June 13th: I leave for London. I was given an anonymous scholarship to be able to go on the Christ Church Cranbrook choir trip. It was supposedly said of me by this anonymous person to my choir director that I can't not go. I'm still baffled that someone would think that well of me and honored for them to have sent me on this trip. I've learned so much already from other people going on the trip and can't wait to learn more while I'm there. :-)
More updates on London and the rest of June later...
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