Feb 29, 2008
Rice Pudding
Tuesday night was the scout banquet. Among other things, Richard was in charge of bringing rice. He made roughly seven hundred tons. This was hard to get to the church, but we managed by hijacking a passing semi truck. The food was good, and people ate plenty, but needless to say, there were leftovers, and lots of them got sent home with us. So now my fridge is full of rice, and we don’t really eat that much, but I am an optimist, and I says to myself, “I am going to make Rice Pudding!”
I am a Kozy Shack fan. But I really didn’t discover it until a few years ago. Before that the only rice pudding I ever ate was made by my mom. The only rice pudding I was ever offered was made by my mom. So I got kind of excited thinking about making my own and I set about finding a recipe. I found a copy cat of Kozy Shack’s, but it requires hours in the crock pot. Great idea, but I kinda wanted some tonight. So this is the 2nd one I found. I would have looked some more, but it got such rave reviews, and boasted such a short cooking time that I decided to give it a try. And it was good. Really good.
Rice Pudding really is comfort food. It reminds me of my mom’s and it makes me feel safe and loved and cared for. I want to take a nap in it. So here is the recipe from AllRecipes.com
INGREDIENTS
- 3/4 cup uncooked white rice
- 2 cups milk, divided
- 1/3 cup white sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 egg, beaten
- 2/3 cup golden raisins
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
DIRECTIONS
- In a medium saucepan, bring 1 1/2 cups water to a boil. Add rice and stir. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
- In another saucepan, combine 1 1/2 cups cooked rice, 1 1/2 cups milk, sugar and salt. Cook over medium heat until thick and creamy, 15 to 20 minutes. Stir in remaining 1/2 cup milk, beaten egg and raisins. Cook 2 minutes more, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, and stir in butter and vanilla. Serve warm.
I doubled it and only used one egg. Make sure after adding the scrambled egg you stir constantly or else you’ll end up with scrambled eggs and rice. I added 1 tsp of Nutmeg; I think ½ tsp of Nutmeg and ½ tsp of Cinnamon might have been better. I also used skim milk because it was all we had. It worked fine, but I had to stir the whole thing for 10 minutes instead of 2 minutes at the end to get it to thicken up. The End.
Feb 28, 2008
The Master Bedroom
We were really so very fortunate to get so much furniture along with the house. The Realtor told us that the family had already come through the house and taken everything that they wanted, and then just left the rest behind. We kept hoping to find treasures, but it was almost all junk.
We had to rip out the ceiling in this room as well (we had to in every room) to put in insulation and run electricity. Tore off that wonderful wallpaper. No carpeting in here, just this linoleum area rug thing. The rug had been laid, and then the wood floor had been painted around the edges of the rug. And it is a plastic rug, there is no doubt about that.
You can see in the top photo that there is a chimney that ran between the windows, which we tore out and bricked up. We also had to brick up the doorway into the other upstairs bedroom (see photo at left). Originally, the only way into the other room was through this room, but we tore out another wall, and bricked this one up.
Also notice in this picture the light switch next to the door. There were no outlets or light switches, so channels had to be dug in the the walls (which are brick, remember), a conduit run for the wire, and then the whole thing mortared over. While the room was a construction zone we slept in a camper trailer in our back yard - for about 6 weeks. It is very windy here.
Richard did this cool little cathedral type effect to the ceiling, because he is awesome. We're planning to do all the trim work for the whole house when everything else is done.
And there you have it. Another room crammed full of stuff.
(June 2005 - September 2005)
We had to rip out the ceiling in this room as well (we had to in every room) to put in insulation and run electricity. Tore off that wonderful wallpaper. No carpeting in here, just this linoleum area rug thing. The rug had been laid, and then the wood floor had been painted around the edges of the rug. And it is a plastic rug, there is no doubt about that.
You can see in the top photo that there is a chimney that ran between the windows, which we tore out and bricked up. We also had to brick up the doorway into the other upstairs bedroom (see photo at left). Originally, the only way into the other room was through this room, but we tore out another wall, and bricked this one up.
Also notice in this picture the light switch next to the door. There were no outlets or light switches, so channels had to be dug in the the walls (which are brick, remember), a conduit run for the wire, and then the whole thing mortared over. While the room was a construction zone we slept in a camper trailer in our back yard - for about 6 weeks. It is very windy here.
Richard did this cool little cathedral type effect to the ceiling, because he is awesome. We're planning to do all the trim work for the whole house when everything else is done.
And there you have it. Another room crammed full of stuff.
(June 2005 - September 2005)
Feb 26, 2008
At the risk of getting political and possibly offending my gender, I would like to make some observations.
(1) Lists are really super fun.
(2) Men and Women are different. Says so on the deodorant and multivitamin commercials.
(3) I really hope Hilary Clinton is not our next president. If you love her, that's swell, but don't bother telling me why I should change my mind. I don't really care.
(4) Most people prefer to look past gender and instead focus on the issues. That is nice of them, but ultimately unfair. Our differences as women are often our greatest strengths.
(5) Unfortunately, the things that make women different from men can also be considered definite weaknesses, especially in our Commander in Chief. I am including a short video clip to illustrate some of the complications that can arise by having a woman in charge.
There you have it. Catastrophe. Calamity. Carnage.
(6) Bon Jovi's portrayal of the alien Blorax is Breathtaking.
(1) Lists are really super fun.
(2) Men and Women are different. Says so on the deodorant and multivitamin commercials.
(3) I really hope Hilary Clinton is not our next president. If you love her, that's swell, but don't bother telling me why I should change my mind. I don't really care.
(4) Most people prefer to look past gender and instead focus on the issues. That is nice of them, but ultimately unfair. Our differences as women are often our greatest strengths.
(5) Unfortunately, the things that make women different from men can also be considered definite weaknesses, especially in our Commander in Chief. I am including a short video clip to illustrate some of the complications that can arise by having a woman in charge.
There you have it. Catastrophe. Calamity. Carnage.
(6) Bon Jovi's portrayal of the alien Blorax is Breathtaking.
Feb 23, 2008
Let me tell you about my night
Faralee & Charlie invited us to go to Outback Steakhouse for dinner. We had steak for dinner last night, and Richard ate the leftovers for lunch, but apparently you really can't ever get too much steak and he wanted more. So we went. After a very long wait, we finally got in and got seated. The waiter brought out some little coloring books and some crayons all wrapped in a rubberband for Harrison and Lydia. Harrison proceeded to eat his crayons, so I stole some of Lydia's and started coloring.
Sometimes I really like color by number. I know some artists might balk at that, but I really do. Here's why: (1) It's nice to do something that has clear instructions I can understand and follow, (2) I like knowing that when I'm finished, it will look the way it's supposed to look, And (3) It requires no thought on my part whatsoever.
The service was really slow but even so, every time the waiter walked past he winks and points his finger at us like a gun, as though we had some inside joke. I'm starting to think the joke was "You think I placed your order with the cook, but I didn't!" Our food eventually comes, as food always does, so I eat my sandwich and ponder our waiter, and why he is the way he is, and also try to convince Harrison not to dip his fingers in my ketchup - he satisfies himself by trying to shove French Fries through the straw hole in his drink cup instead. Faralee keeps telling the waiter she doesn't want more water, though her cup is half empty (or was it half full?) and tells us how hard she works to finish off her glass of water, and doesn't want the waiter coming along and ruining everything by filling it back up again.
Harrison then starts to drop French Fries on the floor so we put him back in the high chair. Richard says to him "Harrison, chew on the high chair." Harrison does, and Richard explains to the rest of us "I like to give him commands that he can follow. It gives him a sense of accomplishment, and makes me feel proud when he obeys."
Before we leave I excuse myself to go to the ladies room. As I'm washing my hands I am joined at the neighboring sink by a short women who apparently decided to race me. I was almost done washing when she stepped up, but she finished quickly so that we both reached for our paper towels at the same moment. She grabbed hers and dried her hands as though death were at her hills, and as she skeedaddled out of the room (leaving me drying my hands in confusion) I'm sure I saw a triumphant look in her eye.
We got there for dinner at 6:15, and drove away at 9:30. Harrison passed out on the way home, like a wino with his bottle still in his hand, and we heaved a collective sigh of relief. Eating out with a 1 year old is astonishingly messy and tiring at best. We knew that already, but somehow, we just keep forgetting. I also keep forgetting which tense I am writing in. Was writing in. Whatever.
Sometimes I really like color by number. I know some artists might balk at that, but I really do. Here's why: (1) It's nice to do something that has clear instructions I can understand and follow, (2) I like knowing that when I'm finished, it will look the way it's supposed to look, And (3) It requires no thought on my part whatsoever.
The service was really slow but even so, every time the waiter walked past he winks and points his finger at us like a gun, as though we had some inside joke. I'm starting to think the joke was "You think I placed your order with the cook, but I didn't!" Our food eventually comes, as food always does, so I eat my sandwich and ponder our waiter, and why he is the way he is, and also try to convince Harrison not to dip his fingers in my ketchup - he satisfies himself by trying to shove French Fries through the straw hole in his drink cup instead. Faralee keeps telling the waiter she doesn't want more water, though her cup is half empty (or was it half full?) and tells us how hard she works to finish off her glass of water, and doesn't want the waiter coming along and ruining everything by filling it back up again.
Harrison then starts to drop French Fries on the floor so we put him back in the high chair. Richard says to him "Harrison, chew on the high chair." Harrison does, and Richard explains to the rest of us "I like to give him commands that he can follow. It gives him a sense of accomplishment, and makes me feel proud when he obeys."
Before we leave I excuse myself to go to the ladies room. As I'm washing my hands I am joined at the neighboring sink by a short women who apparently decided to race me. I was almost done washing when she stepped up, but she finished quickly so that we both reached for our paper towels at the same moment. She grabbed hers and dried her hands as though death were at her hills, and as she skeedaddled out of the room (leaving me drying my hands in confusion) I'm sure I saw a triumphant look in her eye.
We got there for dinner at 6:15, and drove away at 9:30. Harrison passed out on the way home, like a wino with his bottle still in his hand, and we heaved a collective sigh of relief. Eating out with a 1 year old is astonishingly messy and tiring at best. We knew that already, but somehow, we just keep forgetting. I also keep forgetting which tense I am writing in. Was writing in. Whatever.
Feb 14, 2008
One Ringy Dingy
Harrison just figured out phones. It used to be that when I would hold the phone up to his ear so that he could "talk" to Daddy, he would just stare at it very suspiciously out of the corner of his eye. But the other day I noticed him holding the phone up to his ear all by himself, and today he picked his toy phone up and said into it "bai da doo!" and hung it up again dramatically. I can only assume that he was ordering pizza. I can tell you what though, I am NOT tipping the delivery boy, because that pizza still isn't here!
Feb 12, 2008
ST. VALENTINE'S DAY - Rant
"Presents are the best way to show someone how much you care. It is like this tangible thing that you can point to and say 'Hey man, I love you this many dollars-worth'". - Michael Scott
I don't mean to be a grinch, or whatever the Valentine's equivalent of a grinch would be. (Looks like that would be the Eggplant Wizard. Hey, I didn't make that up. I read it online, so it must be true. See for yourself.) But sometimes I want to kick this holiday in the knee. I don't really have anything against Valentine's Day on principle; I think it's swell to have one day of the year devoted to romance (or Single's Awareness, depending on your couple status). It's just when that romance is predicated on the purchase of jewelry, chocolates, and stuffed animals that it drives me crazy! Especially the stuffed animals. As a girl who used to consider herself a "Collector" of stuffed animals I believe I am justified in maligning them now. Why is a gorilla holding a vinyl heart, or a bear wearing boxers a sign of affection? (And why the incredibly cheesy puns?) As if I don't already have enough junk in my life, now I have this item which I'm supposed to cherish because it is a gift, when all I'm doing is trying to figure out how badly it will hurt my garbage disposal.
Possibly worse than the stuffed animals, however, (though it is a very close tie) are the shameless commercials reminding us that if we love anyone in our lives, we better buy them something and the more we spend the better. All the holidays are like this, of course, but Valentine's seems to be the very worst. Let me clarify that I think giving and receiving gifts is neat! But the obligation to give because this day came along, and marketing's ideas about which gifts are best are dumb, dumb, dumb.
That being said, I have a friend I give stuffed animals and chocolates to every year. Yep. Dumb.
I don't mean to be a grinch, or whatever the Valentine's equivalent of a grinch would be. (Looks like that would be the Eggplant Wizard. Hey, I didn't make that up. I read it online, so it must be true. See for yourself.) But sometimes I want to kick this holiday in the knee. I don't really have anything against Valentine's Day on principle; I think it's swell to have one day of the year devoted to romance (or Single's Awareness, depending on your couple status). It's just when that romance is predicated on the purchase of jewelry, chocolates, and stuffed animals that it drives me crazy! Especially the stuffed animals. As a girl who used to consider herself a "Collector" of stuffed animals I believe I am justified in maligning them now. Why is a gorilla holding a vinyl heart, or a bear wearing boxers a sign of affection? (And why the incredibly cheesy puns?) As if I don't already have enough junk in my life, now I have this item which I'm supposed to cherish because it is a gift, when all I'm doing is trying to figure out how badly it will hurt my garbage disposal.
Possibly worse than the stuffed animals, however, (though it is a very close tie) are the shameless commercials reminding us that if we love anyone in our lives, we better buy them something and the more we spend the better. All the holidays are like this, of course, but Valentine's seems to be the very worst. Let me clarify that I think giving and receiving gifts is neat! But the obligation to give because this day came along, and marketing's ideas about which gifts are best are dumb, dumb, dumb.
That being said, I have a friend I give stuffed animals and chocolates to every year. Yep. Dumb.
Feb 10, 2008
The Internets
Thank you for the Tag Anne! (In my head, that was a pretty little song. Don't know why, but your tag made me want to sing!) My assignment - which I have chosen to accept - is to list my favorite websites. I've given this a lot of thought (I mean, I read Anne's post about 2 minutes ago, so I've probably exhausted my mental capacity anyway.) I would like to list a bunch of really fun, and neat websites, but maybe I should be honest and list the ones I actually visit frequently. Hmm. I can't decide, so I'll just start typing, and we'll see what comes out, ok? Here we go! Weeeeee!
1) Amazon.com
I have to list this one first. It is always the first place I look to buy almost anything: books, movies, games, CDs, tools, bags, etc. I even seriously considered getting my groceries from them, but they don't have any fresh foods, and their other food all seemed kinda health-foody -- not that there's anything wrong with that.
3) Google.com
By this I am referring to the Google family of sites. I really love them a whole awful lot. I love Google Documents, and Google Calendar and, of course, Gmail. Way to go Champ!
4) Pandora.com
Ooh, I really like Pandora. It is fun. I like it so much, I feel quite possessive of it. But. . . I guess it's time to let it spread its wings. If you don't know how cool it is, you will have to check it out for yourself.
5) ComingSoon.net
This one makes me feel a little nerdy. Maybe because of how much time I spend looking stuff up on it and adding it to my Google Calendar. I like to know when all the movies that I'm looking forward to are coming out. And I like to know when all the movies that I haven't heard of are coming out. And I like to know what is coming out next month, and what is coming out next Christmas. This way, I can plan my calendar effectively. Before, I just had to say "No, I'm sorry. I can't babysit your parrot next next week. Ender's Game is coming out in 2008 and I have to keep my schedule open."
6) KingdomOfLoathing.com
I've been busy, but I'm close to Ascending, so I can't give up now. An Adventurer is Me!
7) Winkflash.com
The place I go to develop pictures, print cards, make stuff, buy stuff or stuff like that. It's the Best!
8) GoodReads.com
Yeah. That's right.
So, anyone else want to list some of their favorite sites? I'm afraid to Tag anyone because I think if I do, they won't do it. Everyone else I know doesn't really play tag very well. One person thinks it's freezer tag, while someone else thinks it's TV tag, and that just leads to Chaos! But I want to hear what your favorites are, so I am going to list every blogger I know and see what happens. Oh wait, maybe some of them don't actually want their names listed, for security purposes. Hmm. I'll have to use a code. Good luck cracking it.
Marior, AE. . . . um. . . You know, this list is going to be the same as my list of other blogs which can be seen in the right hand column. So I am not going to copy it. Plus, that code was already taking a lot out of me. Clandestine writing is exhausting. Ask anyone.
1) Amazon.com
I have to list this one first. It is always the first place I look to buy almost anything: books, movies, games, CDs, tools, bags, etc. I even seriously considered getting my groceries from them, but they don't have any fresh foods, and their other food all seemed kinda health-foody -- not that there's anything wrong with that.
3) Google.com
By this I am referring to the Google family of sites. I really love them a whole awful lot. I love Google Documents, and Google Calendar and, of course, Gmail. Way to go Champ!
4) Pandora.com
Ooh, I really like Pandora. It is fun. I like it so much, I feel quite possessive of it. But. . . I guess it's time to let it spread its wings. If you don't know how cool it is, you will have to check it out for yourself.
5) ComingSoon.net
This one makes me feel a little nerdy. Maybe because of how much time I spend looking stuff up on it and adding it to my Google Calendar. I like to know when all the movies that I'm looking forward to are coming out. And I like to know when all the movies that I haven't heard of are coming out. And I like to know what is coming out next month, and what is coming out next Christmas. This way, I can plan my calendar effectively. Before, I just had to say "No, I'm sorry. I can't babysit your parrot next next week. Ender's Game is coming out in 2008 and I have to keep my schedule open."
6) KingdomOfLoathing.com
I've been busy, but I'm close to Ascending, so I can't give up now. An Adventurer is Me!
7) Winkflash.com
The place I go to develop pictures, print cards, make stuff, buy stuff or stuff like that. It's the Best!
8) GoodReads.com
Yeah. That's right.
So, anyone else want to list some of their favorite sites? I'm afraid to Tag anyone because I think if I do, they won't do it. Everyone else I know doesn't really play tag very well. One person thinks it's freezer tag, while someone else thinks it's TV tag, and that just leads to Chaos! But I want to hear what your favorites are, so I am going to list every blogger I know and see what happens. Oh wait, maybe some of them don't actually want their names listed, for security purposes. Hmm. I'll have to use a code. Good luck cracking it.
Marior, AE. . . . um. . . You know, this list is going to be the same as my list of other blogs which can be seen in the right hand column. So I am not going to copy it. Plus, that code was already taking a lot out of me. Clandestine writing is exhausting. Ask anyone.
Jan 23, 2008
Tonight for a snack I ate a Rootbeer Freeze and chicken rings. Yeah, that isn't a typo. They weren't chicken wings, they were chicken rings. I had originally wanted chicken nuggets, but when I ordered nuggets at Arctic Circle, the pimply voice on the other end of the intercom said "Chicken Rings?" Frankly I was a little speechless. I still don't know how I should have responded to that question. Really? Rings? That was your clever little plan? Richard said what he liked best about them was how easy they were to stack. He got 6 one on top of another, and no sign that they were going over any time soon. Stackability is apparently a very important feature in processed meats. Unfortunately, they really weren't very good, but my Rootbeer Freeze was awesome.
Last night for lack of a snack I ate a dill pickle and some whipped cream. Not together, obviously, but one after another, like courses in a fancy restaurant. So, yeah, my diet is going pretty good.
Last night for lack of a snack I ate a dill pickle and some whipped cream. Not together, obviously, but one after another, like courses in a fancy restaurant. So, yeah, my diet is going pretty good.
Jan 12, 2008
Am I Smart Enough to Post to this Blog?
An undergraduate reading level isn't bad. I'm not complaining. But I find it interesting. Apparently AE and Dr. Ominus' write at the level of "genius". I'm curious to know what sort of things one has to write to be classified as genius. Course the whole thing might not be entirely reliable anyway, because Lance's Blog says that its reading level is Monkey. I don't even know what that means! (Besides, I'm pretty sure the reading level on Lance's Blog is "Uber Nerd".) But I digress. I need to trick the reading level machine. So I will pick a very important topic and I will write using lots of nice words and see what it thinks. Let us discuss Sporks.
I consider myself a huge Spork fan. A Spork nut some might call me! Thusly, my brain is a veritable fount of Spork knowledge just waiting for an opportunity to spew forth.
Any study of Sporks must begin where all studies begin - at the origination. The Spork was invented circa 1972, when a reputable handy man by the name of Von Fluke was imprisoned by a faction of Nazi's masquerading as hippies. He was appropriated by the Nazi's due to his widely acclaimed mastery in bicycle repair. He was sequestered in a WWII bunker/VW Bus and mandated to repair the bicycles in exchange for his deliverance.
(The Nazi/hippies spent their idle hours riding around in a large bicycle gang, harassing elderly citizens and ridiculing them until they bought their hemp jewelry. By way of retaliation, a resident at a frequented rest home knocked all their bike chains off the gears and the nazo-hippies had been perambulatory ever since.)
While awaiting their bicycle restoration they amused themselves by torturing their detainee. They served Von Fluke a lunch of Fettuccine Alfredo with a side of creamy chicken soup and informed him that he was allowed only one piece of flatware: A fork, or a spoon. As they simpered snidely behind their facial coiffures, Von Fluke, after only a moment’s speculation, requested a spoon. He then advised them he would require a hacksaw for the bike repair and one was promptly procured. You can surmise the rest. He used the hacksaw to fashion make-shift tines in the spoon and proceeded to eat his meal with all the composure and etiquette his mother had taught him. After escaping the Nazi's regime, he patented his idea, and sold it to gas stations and fast food chains across the country. Thank you Von Fluke!!
There are many things I love about blogging. One of my favorites is that I can keep up with what people are doing, know whats going on in their lives and minds without actually having to talk to them. Neat! Thats not anti social is it? No, no, i'm sure it's not. It is completely healthy. Besides, I post comments. Its practically like we are in the same room! The other thing is the money. I can't believe how good the money is. And it's all tax free. Doesn't get any better than that!
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