Indiana Covered Bridges album

New York City Album Slideshow

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

One month, at least a post a day.

When September came around, I promised myself I could keep up with my blog. Scratch that... I told myself I HAD to keep up with my blog. So I silently vowed that I would write at least one post a day. Yes, I cheated and scheduled some of them, but regardless, I was on my blod every day, and it turns out that, with this post here, there is at least one post a day for the entire month of September. Don't expect the exact same thing for October, but I am going to do my best to stay on it. Now I know I can...

So thanks for reading. And come back for more pieces of my life as they come about.

xoxo

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Excerpt from Melanis's blog

I was remembering something Melanis wrote on her blog about me around my last birthday, so I dug it up, and here's what it said:

"She is a wonderful Preschool teacher that cares so much for her kids that she would do the impossible for them... She believes in them like no other teachers would do..."

You'd better believe it... Because she is so right...
Not too many people know here like she knows me, I can tell you that much.

To see the original post she wrote, go there

I love you BFF Melanis! (I find the whole "BFF" thing very corny, but this is a special treat...)

Monday, September 28, 2009

"Angels and Demons"


On May 15 the movie "Angels and Demons" came out in theatres... I never went to see it, and I could kick myself in the rear for that. BUT, I am waiting patiently for it to come out on DVD on November 24th. I will not forget to buy it. I really, really enjoyed the book, so my hope is that the movie is just as ass kicking as the book was. You can expect to hear from me again some time after November 24th.

Sunday, September 27, 2009

DREAM IT, EARN IT, LIVE IT

That's the Tagline from the movie "Fame," which Melanis and I saw last night. I must say that I was a little worried about what the movie would be like. It is the modern version of the 1980 movie (yep, almost 30 years...) and, I must say it was good adaptation. I need to warn anybody who is not remotely interested in performing arts to stay away from that movie, the same way you probably stayed away from the first "Fame," from "Flashdance," and the likes.

So all in all it was a good movie. It will probably not have the impact the first "Fame" had, but it is good to just sit down and watch something well done. I am a great admirer of singers and dancers and actors, and of the hard work they put in doing what they do so well... Just for that I'll say "Bravo!"

Plus, I mean, going to see a movie with only Melanis was like the super duper thing to do. I couldn't have found a better person to go with, for many many reasons of course, but a big reason is also that, like me, she appreciates art in all its shapes and forms, so I couldn't have found a better person to go with. I knew back in July when I saw the first previews of "Fame" that I would have to go with Mel and nobody else.

Thanks Melanis for making that movie experience even more special. And on another level, sorry again for "dragging" you to DressBarn. lol... ;)


Saturday, September 26, 2009

The Teacher’s 10 Commandments

1) I will treat every student the way I would want my own child to be treated.

* Reflect: Do you praise and punish every child in your class as if he or she was your own?
* Action: Pretend that everything you do or don’t do for a student will be done or not done for your child.


2) I will focus on “who” I teach, not just “what” I teach.

* Reflect: Do you care more about your students succeeding in school or succeeding in life?
* Action: Impress your students by how much you care, not by how much you know.

3) I will only teach that which I truly believe in.

* Reflect: Have you bought into what you’re selling your students?
* Action: Show your students personal evidence of your message in action.


4) I will treat every student as if he/she is already the person he/she is capable of becoming.

* Reflect: Do you believe more in the potential or the problem of every student?
* Action: Label each of your students a “10”, and watch them live up to their greatness.


5) I will raise my standards of teaching by never lowering my expectations of students.

* Reflect: Are you teaching to please or prepare your students?
* Action: Expect more from your students until they reflect what you expect.


6) I will always give my students a little more than what they need to succeed.

* Reflect: Are you giving your students ALL you’ve got…and then some?
* Action: Be courageous and go the extra mile for your students.


7) I will teach as if every day was my last.

* Reflect: How would you teach today if you knew you were going to die tomorrow?
* Action: PLAN your lessons as if you’re going to teach forever, but TEACH your lessons as if you’re going to die tomorrow (with passion and conviction).


8) I will practice what I teach.

* Reflect: Are you teaching by example or excuses?
* Action: Model the kind of character you would like to see in your students.


9) I will be the kind of teacher my favorite teacher would be proud of.

* Reflect: Would the greatest teacher in your past be proud of the teacher you are today?
* Action: Remind yourself daily of the debt you owe those who’ve gone before you.


10) I will strive to be an unforgettable teacher.

* Reflect: Are you leaving footprints on the hearts of your students.
* Action: Do something positive this year that will leave a lifetime impression on your students.

Friday, September 25, 2009

"With a little help from my friends:" a teacher's moment.

Now that I have the first 3 weeks of this preschool year under my belt, it is time to write about it. As I was sitting here thinking about not only the past 3 weeks but also the past few years, I realized one thing: I love what I do for a living. OK, that's not new news! I know... What I mean is: I love what I have now, I love how far I've come... I want to let everybody know how pleased I am with the way things are going. You'd better believe that I am going to take most of the credit for the way things are now. BUT, the forever selfless me is kicking and screaming, and I also want to take this opportunity to thank anyone and everyone who, each in their own way, have helped me, supported me, advised me, encouraged me, listened to me gripe and moan and bitch, and yes, cry too, and so on. With that, you all have made me a better preschool teacher. I do believe in that little phrase "with a little help from my friends." Hadn't it been for some of you, I certainly would not have achieved what I have now. And I hope by now you all know who you are and hopefully know how much I appreciate your help, support, encouragement, constructive criticism, listening ears, and so on.

I believe there's always room for improvement. Always. I am my worst critic, I've always said that. But as I am starting to plan for the next few weeks, I am taking the time to just sit here and think about and ENJOY this teacher's moment which, for now anyway, is pretty darn close to perfection, at least as far as I am concerned. And then I'll think about more improvement. But this is MY, I mean, OUR moment, and at least this very minute, nobody is taking it away.


Thursday, September 24, 2009

Motivation Tips from the Masters

"Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt have crept in; forget them as soon as you can.
Tomorrow is a new day; begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall." ~Confucius
“Every day is a new life to a wise man.” ~Anonymous

“Success begins with a fellow’s will.
It’s all in the state of mind.
If you think you are outclassed, you are,
You’ve got to think high to rise.
You’ve got to be sure of yourself before
You can ever win a prize.
Life’s battles don’t always go
To the stronger of faster man.
But soon or late the man who wins
Is the man who thinks he can.”
~C.W. Longenecker, “The Victor”

“Courage is highly esteemed as the first of human qualities because it is the quality which guarantees all others.” ~Winston Churchill

“Action may not always bring happiness, but there is no happiness without action.” ~Benjamin Disraeli

“The secret of being miserable is to have the leisure to bother about whether you are happy or not.” ~George Bernard Shaw

“It is not how much we have but how much we enjoy that makes happiness.” ~Charles H. Spurgeon

“The secret of happiness is not in doing what one likes, but in liking what one has to do.” ~James M. Barrie

“To improve the golden moment of opportunity and catch the good that is within our reach is the great art of life.” ~Samuel Johnson

“The principle of happiness should be like the principle of virtue: it should not be dependent on things, but be a part of personality.” ~William Lyon Phelps

“They can conquer who believe they can. He has not learned the first lesson of life who does not every day surmount a fear.” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

“The road to failure is paved with negativity. If you think you can’t do something, chances are you won’t be able to. Conversely, the power of positive thinking can turn an adverse situation into a prime opportunity for heroism.” ~Tiger Woods

“I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. That’s why I succeed.” ~Michael Jordan
"The happiness of a man is to do the true work of a man." ~Marcus Aurelius
"The chiefest point of happiness is that a man should be willing to be what he is." ~Erasmus
"It is neither wealth, nor splendor, but tranquility and occupation, which give happiness." ~Thomas Jefferson
“A good life is one that is characterized by complete absorption in what one does.” ~Professor Jeanne Nakamura

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Lyric quote

"Aucun regret ne vaut le coup pour qu'on le garde en nous." ~ Pascal Obispo, "Lucie"

rough translation: "No regret is worth enough to be keeping it in."

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

House Season Premiere

So I watched the 2-hour season premiere of House last night. And this line stood out of the whole 2-hour show:

"You're not God, House. You're just another screwed up human being who needs to move on."

Food for thoughts...

Monday, September 21, 2009

Don't worry, be happy...

As I was typing the quotes taken form the Montel Williams book (see earlier post), I realized some of those quotes are very important to me... I am bringing them up again here...

"The key to achieving happiness for yourself is to achieve it for others." (page 152)

(quoting Professor Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi) "Relationships are highly creative: you have to make them grow, just like a story." (page 105)

“You alone are the person who owns the definition of who you are.” (page 57)

Sunday, September 20, 2009

A Teacher's Moment

"Many kids have no opportunity to reflect on anything but the here and now, and we should help them take time every day to think about something larger than themselves." ~Montel Williams

As a teacher I like to think that I broaden children's views and open their mind to what's out there. Luckily enough, I get to deal with the tender preschool age kind, so it's apparently quite easy to keep it, well, easy and simple. I realize however how impressionable they are at that age and believe me when I say that it is a challenge every day to know the limits of what I, the teacher, not their parent, can bring up. I often question how well I have accomplished that daily goal. When I saw that line in Montel Willaim's book, I could totally relate, and believe we all should make the content of that line our daily mission. I know I do. Or at the very least I try my hardest.

Saturday, September 19, 2009

Quotes from "Living Well Emotionally" by Montel Williams

"Suddenly, in 2008, the idea of electing a young black man as president of the United States became a flesh-and-blood reality. It is an idea so revolutionary to America and the world that we haven't absorbed it yet. It is huge. It is spectacular. It is history-changing and it is psyche-changing. I think it will transform our national emotional well-being in ways we don't yet understand." (page 40)

"Aren't personal crises, loss, sadness, and periods of emotional darkness just part of human nature? Absolutely! They can help us grow, and become stronger, and change ourselves for the better. (...) Critical thinking, fear, and skepticism can all be healthy and normal, and critical to our survival in the face of danger and uncertainty." (pages 42-43)

"Negative experiences can lead to change, and therefore eventually to happiness. As a Chinese proverb explains, "Without scaling mountains no one can know the height of heaven; without descending valleys, no one can know the depth of earth." A the Dalai Lama put it, "The person who has had more experience of hardships can stand more firmly in the face of problems than the person who has never experienced suffering." (page 43)

"The times when you have great turmoil in your life can turn out to be exactly the moments that trigger positive turning points and open you up to new horizons of potential." (Page 44)

“Happiness is actually part of the often-hard work of life, and it involves integrating periods of sadness into our lives. When you think about it, without sadness the idea of happiness has little meaning.” (page 44)

“You alone are the person who owns the definition of who you are.” (page 57)

“Don’t let anyone tell you what you can or can’t be. If you think it, believe it, and live it, I guarantee that you’ll start down a path to transform your life and live better every single day.
This is especially true when it comes to your happiness and your emotional life.
Don’t let anybody tell you how you should feel and what your emotions should be. You have the right to be as happy or as sad as you want to be, and you alone have the responsibility, and the power, to create your own happiness, nobody else.” (page 57)

(quoting Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius) “The whole universe is change and life itself is but what you deem it.” (page 59)

“It’s important to understand that happiness is something you do, not something you find.” (page 59)

“In Julius Caesar William Shakespeare wrote, “There is a tide in the affairs of men, / Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune; / Omitted, all the voyage of their life / Is bound in shallows and in miseries.” I believe that tide occurs every morning when you wake up and look at yourself in the mirror, and every hour, every second of your life. Every moment is a new opportunity to create happiness for yourself.” (page 59)

(quoting Dr. Richard Rosenthal) If you summon the courage to really look at yourself, the payoff is better awareness of yourself and a more truthful and more honest capacity to see who you really are in the real world.” (page 77-78)

"I believe that people have a right to feel sad and even a right to be depressed on occasion. We should absorb it as a part of who we are. But it doesn't have to define who we are, and we shouldn't suffer needlessly." (page 79-80)

(quoting Stanford University psychologist Albert Bandura) "People need to learn how to manage failure so it's informational and not demoralizing." (page 89)

(quoting Professor Christopher Peterson) "There are five strengths in particular that are big predictors of how happy or satisfied somebody is. If you do any of those things well, then you should do more of them. The five strengths are:
*optimism
*curiosity
*gratitude
*zest/enthusiasm
*love and strong relationships with family, friends, and colleagues." (page 94-95)



(quoting Professor Christopher Peterson) "Another thing that's affected my own life as a result of our research is I now try to much kinder to other people by being curious about their well-being. I take the time to ask how they're doing, to actually mean it, and really listen to what they say. It's not just for the sake of the other person, it's also for my own sake. It absolutely makes me feel better. I am happier in that moment and over the long term as I do it over and over." (page 95)

"Top 3 proven happiness-building strategies
*being grateful
*doing acts of kindness
*learning to savor things" (page 95)

(quoting Professor Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi) "Relationships are highly creative: you have to make them grow, just like a story." (page 105)

"I have great respect for people who find organized religion to be a meaningful, rewarding, and glorious part of their lives. It can be one of the ultimate powerful forces for good in this world." (page 145)

"I've never read anything in any religious text that says we need a go-between between God and us, a layer of people to interpret the message or take our money.
So I don't get up every Sunday morning and go to church." (page 146)

"Many kids have no opportunity to reflect on anything but the here and now, and we should help them take time every day to think about something larger than themselves." (page 148)

"The key to achieving happiness for yourself is to achieve it for others." (page 152)

"You and I deserve a life of love and joy, a life in which we grow, prosper, and thrive emotionally, spiritually, and physically, in which happiness is a constant companion, not an impossible dream.
There is a doorway to happiness that is available to us any day, anywhere, anytime." (page 162)

Friday, September 18, 2009

New Moon, in theatres November 20th

Take a peek!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q58iQSHhZGg

I had been slightly disappointed by the first one, so hopefully this one is as good as the trailer is letting me think.

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Scrap/Stamping Wish List

So there it is, I had promised a while back to come up with some kind of wish list... I will update regularly...I know it's not a big list but it is hard to come up with"stuff" when I usually buy what i need when i need it. But at least when i think of or see something and think "I've got to have it," it will be posted on here.



Stamping/Scrapbooking:
*Die Cuts (I have the Cuttle bug embossing/die cut machine, so whatever can fit in there)
*CuttleBug Die Cut Alphabet (any of them, I don't have any yet)
*Embossing Folders
*A new pair of Fiskars cutting scissors (not small ones though)

Others:
list coming soon.

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Quote

What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters when compared to what lies within us.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

R.I.P. Patrick Swayze

“There's just something about dance, ... It's like a primal thing in all of us.”
“I found that dance was key to keeping depression out of my life. When you dance, things just go away, things don't seem so bad. There's no better way to take care of health than through something as joyous and beautiful as dance.”
~Patrick Swayze
RIP Mr. Swayze. You are one of the most beautiful souls out there. The movie industry is losing yet another great icon. May your talent and your fight against this cruel disease be an inspiration to us all.

Monday, September 14, 2009

Puppy Album

Mitsy had several litters of puppies over the years, until we got her spayed last January. I have grown to love those little fur balls, and consequently to miss them too... There is something so so sweet about a puppy. The way they move, the way they look at you, even their scent is special... Yes I know, it is the dog lover in me talking!!!
Anyway, Melanis made an album just for pics of the pups and gave it to me for Christmas; we had already made the decision of spaying Mitsy, and so that was her way of marking the somehow a little emotionally painful (for me) event. Of course, the procrastinator in me woke up and I didn't get around to sorting the hundreds of pics of the pups I had until late May!!!! Needless to say that narrowing it down to just a few pics was TOUGH!!! I had to add pages to the album, but in the end, I like he way it looks. Hope you'll enjoy looking at it too... Sorry it took me so long to post the album... I hope you like what you see.

And thanks again Melanis for such a great idea!











Sunday, September 13, 2009

Once upon a time, there was an ice cream cake...

Let me tell you what happened last night. Paul and I were invited to Melanis and Jeff’s house for dinner. I had promised Mel to bring an ice cream cake. Living in Union Mills, we are lucky enough to have a Dairy Queen store close by in Westville, so we decided to leave our house earlier and stop by DQ in Westville before heading back to LaPorte. Little did we know what kind of drama we were going to deal with to be able to get an ice cream cake.
At the Westville store all they had on display were “Happy Birthday” ice cream cakes. So, waiting for 10 minutes and seeing an old couple ungraciously cut in front of us and the gentleman who was in front if us, we finally ask the lady at the counter if they have “blank” cakes. The answer being no, they ask us if we want to wait for 10 minutes and they will “make” a blank one. That right there was a red light flashing in my head. What kind of ice cream place does not have a blank cake? So we said, no thank you, and decided to stop at the DQ in LaPorte. Oh my, mistake #2. Once we get there, we ask for a plain ice cream cake. The gentleman at the window says, "No problem, it will be right up." We wait for 10 mns (so much for the “right up” part) and asks us again if we want a plain cake. Oh my... Yes, we say. So he goes in the back, comes back a few minutes later and asks us if we would take a Happy Birthday Cake instead. WHAT??? I tell the gentleman, "No, we’ve just been through that same crap at the store in Westville, we want a plain cake..." So he goes back in the back of the store, where he probably intended to “make” a plain one I’m sure... After about 10 seconds of thinking about it, we finally decide we’ll take the damn Birthday cake. At this point, Paul and I are getting a little aggravated (and by “little” I do mean “a lot”) and we just want to get the hell out of there with an ice cream cake. So he comes up to the window with the ugliest cake I’ve ever seen... That cake is the perfect embodiment of cake decorating class going wrong. It’s green and blue, missing some parts the frosting in some areas. And it gets worse: you know what it says on it.... “HAPPY BIRTHDA!!!!” Someone tried to scrape off the writing, realized it didn’t look that good, and the Y is gone... Holly Crap! So we diligently pay for our cake (full price, mind you...). And as if that whole adventure wasn’t bad enough, as we’re leaving DQ, ice cream “cake” in hand, the customer lady behind us exclaims “That’s the ugliest birthday cake I’ve ever seen.” That’s when I knew that this was a story to tell... I laughed so hard on the way to Melanis’s house that I was crying big hot tears when we got there.
But I tell you one thing though: the cake was still good... And it was a very interesting table conversation topic. Yes, we do have cool friends who can take a joke as well as we do and eat the ugliest birthday cake ever!

But DQ is going to hear about it! I mean, who in their right mind would serve such a thing? Yes, I know, I’m the idiot who bought it. But my mission consisted of bringing an ice cream cake and the mission was accomplished.

I have learned a lesson though: next time, I will call DQ in advance and order a “plain” cake... What the hell, right?

And I know what you’re thinking, it can’t be that bad... Now scroll down and tell me... What do you think?





















ARE YOU LAUGHING YET?????

Saturday, September 12, 2009

9/11 poem, written the week of the attacks 8 years ago.

On Monday we emailed jokes.
On Tuesday we did not.

On Monday we thought that we were secure.

On Tuesday we learned better.

On Monday we were talking about heroes as being athletes.
On Tuesday we relearned who our heroes are.

On Monday we were irritated that our rebate checks had not arrived.
On Tuesday we gave money away to people we had never met.

On Monday there were people fighting against praying in schools.
On Tuesday you would have been hard pressed to find a school where someone was not praying.

On Monday people argued with their kids about picking up their room.
On Tuesday the same people could not get home fast enough to hug their kids.

On Monday people were upset that they had to wait 6 minutes in a fast food drive through line.
On Tuesday people didn't care about waiting up to 6 hours to give blood for the dying.

On Monday we waved our flags signifying our cultural diversity.
On Tuesday we waved only the American flag.

On Monday there were people trying to separate each other by race, sex, color and creed.
On Tuesday they were all holding hands.

On Monday we were men or women, black or white, old or young, rich or poor, gay or straight, Christian or non-Christian.
On Tuesday we were Americans.

On Monday politicians argued about budget surpluses.
On Tuesday grief stricken they sang 'God Bless America'.

On Monday the President was going to Florida to read to children.
On Tuesday he returned to Washington to protect our children.

On Monday we had families.
On Tuesday we had orphans.

On Monday people went to work as usual,
On Tuesday they died.

On Monday people were fighting the 10 commandments on government property.
On Tuesday the same people all said 'God help us all' while thinking 'Thou shall not kill'.

It is sadly ironic how it takes horrific events to place things into perspective, but it has. The lessons learned this week, the things we have taken for granted, the things that have been forgotten or overlooked, hopefully will never be forgotten again.



A note from the author (who was simply an "unknown" at first)
Yes, I did write the poem. I wrote it three days after the attack in response to my daughter's question regarding what, if any, value was derived from the death of all those people. I have had some folks with degrees in English, published writers and others write back with compliments and editorial suggestions. All are welcome and appreciated. I didn't write it for any reason other than to express my own personal feelings and I posted it in hopes that children (especially those most directly effected) would get some sense that ALL life has value and ALL life contributes to the continuation of the good. Anyway, the version you have is as I wrote it and I hope that you like it. God Bless.
Paul Spreadbury

Friday, September 11, 2009

"IFS"

Rachel had this book called the book of Ifs (or something to that effect...). Here are a few of the questions she had printed out of it for us to use at the after school site. To play along, I answered some of them... Some questions have been food for thoughts for me... To me that's the whole point of the book...

1. If you could have anyone's eyes in the world, whose eyes would you want? Twinkle Toes's... honestly... prettiest blue eyes I've ever seen!

2. If you had to cancel one day of the week forever, which day would go? Thursday... I have always disliked Thursdays... it goes back to college, when Thursdays were my damnest busiest days and I hated them. On a more general note, getting rid of Thursday would take us faster to Friday... ;)

3. If you could be forgiven for one thing in your life, what would you choose?

4. If you could have the autograph of one person from History, who would it be? Martin Luther King, Jr.

5. If you could have the world's largest collection of one thing, what would it be? Coffee mugs from places all around the world, not just from places where I have been. I already started that collection... By far not a big one, really...

6. If you could have said one thing to Hitler while he was alive, what would you have said? What the hell are you thinking?

7. If you had to choose a color that describes you most accurately, which color would it be?

8. If you had to name the most terrifying moment of your life so far, what would it be? I am not sure about terrifying, but as far as the most crushing moment was when I went to the Immigration Services building in Chicago in February 2002 and was denied my travel permit to France, a trip we had been planning and counting on for a while. To put it in perspective, I hadn't been there since Jan 2000 and turns out we would not be able to go until Spring 2004. I really didn't see that coming, and I cried my eyes out that day. The worse part is, I had not done anything wrong, my attorney at the time had screwed up big time. Sigh... Thank God dealing with them is a part of my life that is over!

9. If you could be guaranteed one thing in life besides money, what would you ask for? I know that's going to sound dark and morbid, but I'd ask to die in my sleep...

10. If you could easily visit one known planet, which one would go to? Saturn. Gotta love those rings!

11. If you could have any one specific power over other people, what would it be?

12. If you could become famous for doing something you don't currently do, what would it be? Writing novels.

13. If you could have lived during one period of time in past history, when and where would it be? Shakespearean London.

14. If you could possess one supernatural ability, what would it be? 15. If you had to paint your entire home, inside and out, a single color other than white, what color would you pick? Pale yellow or light grey... Yep, that would be as close to white as possible without being white...

16. If you could transport everyone you are with at this moment to another place, where would you go? Australia

17. If your home was totally destroyed by fire but you could save just one hing, what would it be? Yikes, just one thing???

18. If you could own any building in existence, which would you pick? A library, any library...

19. If you were invited to join one current musical group, which group would you want to be a member of, and what instrument would you play?

20. If you were to receive a public award, what award would you win?

21. If you had to choose the single most valuable thing you ever learned, what would it be? Patience.

22. If you were granted one wish, what would it be? To be able to see my dad one more time.

23. If you could have dinner alone with anyone presently alive, whether you know them or not, who would you want it to be?

24. If you could change one thing in the world right now, what would you alter?

25. If you could inherit a comfortable home in any city in the world that you could use but not sell, where would you want it to be?

26. If you could suddenly possess an extraordinary talent in one of the arts, what would you like it to be? Painting

27. If you could be instantly fluent in one other language that you currently do not read or speak, which would it be? Italian, then German.

28. If you could have the starring role in one film already made, which movie would you pick?

29. If you were to be stranded forever on a desert island and could only have one book to read, which one would you want? "Kate Vaiden" by Reynolds Price.

30. If you could have personally witnessed one event in history, what would it be? The Fall of the Berlin Wall. I mean, yes, I remember seeing it on TV, but having been there would have been a one-of-a-kind experience.

31. If one of your parents was to be a famous person from any time in history, who would you want them to be?

32. If you could receive oen small package this very moment, who would it be from and what would be in it?


33. If you could have chosen your own first name, other than your current one, what would it be? Natasha

34. If you were instantly able to play one musical instrument perfectly that you never played before, what would it be? Guitar, or Piano.

35. If you had to live the rest of your life in a place that you have never lived before, where would you live? Arizona

36. If you had to lose one of your five senses, which would you give up? Smell

37. If you could be recognized for one thing in your life, what would you want to be known for?

38. If you could only own one thing for the rest of your life, what would you choose? Camera

39. If you could spend a week end in any hotel in the world with all expenses paid, which hotel and where would you choose? Paris.

40. If you were given one hour to spend an unlimited amount of money in any store in the world, where would it be? Let me tell you this: find the biggest and most stocked scrapbook store, and I'm there!!!!! Otherwise I will settle for Michael's.

41. If you could say one sentence to the leader of our country, what would you say?

42. If you could have been any person from history, who would you want to have been?

43. If you could work for any person in the world, who would it be, and what job would you want? Private librarian for, say, the President and his family?

44. If you could have a year at any place in the world, all expenses apid, where would you go? Australia

45. If you could see only one movie ever again, what film would you choose? "Dead Poets' Society"

46. If you could read the private diary of someone you know personally, whose diary would you read?

47. If you could change one of your personality traits, what would it be? Worrying too much. (I originally typed Stubbornness, but heck no, I like being stubborn)

48. If you could have avoided living one year from your past, which year would you like to have eliminated? School year 1997-1998

49. If you could be the parent of one famous person, who would you want it to be?

50. If you could ensure that your children never have one experience that you have had, what would it be?

51. If you had to eliminate one season permanently, wchih one would go? Winter.

52. If you could have invented anything from history, what would you pick? Sewing machine or typewriter.

53. If you could have any music band alive today play at your birthday party, which band would you hire? Bon Jovi.

54.If you could foresee a single day in your future in its entirety, what date would you select?

55. If you had to eat the same deal for the rest of your life, morning, noon, and night, without worrying about nutrition, what would you eat? Caesar salad, pasta dish and rib eye steak, and ice cream with hot fudge for dessert.

56. If you could live the life of a fictional character, which character would it be?

57. If you could have the mind of someone you know but remain in your own body, whose brain would you take?

58. If you had to name the single most regrettable thing about your country's history, what would it be? 9/11. That's the first thing I thought about.

59. If you could be invisible for one hour, where would you go and what would you do?

60. If you could be a student of any university in the world right now, where would you enroll?

61. If you could host a dinner party inviting four people from history, who would you invite and where would the party take place?

62. If you could relive one single day from your past exactly as it was the first time, what day would you choose to experience all over again? My Wedding Day.

63. If you could wake up tomorrow to learn that the major newspaper headlines were about you, what would you want them to say? 64. If you had to spend all of your vacation for the rest of your life in the same place, where would you go? Arizona

65. If you won the lottery, what is the first thing you would do? Add on to the house. Either that or tear it down and build a new one right on the same spot.

66. If you were given $5,000 to spend in one store in the world, where would you go shopping? DressBarn.

67. If you were to perform in the circus, what would you do? 68. If you were a machine, what would you be? Sewing machine 69. If you had to name your single worst fear, what would it be?

70. If you were to select a food that best describes your character, what food would it be? 71. If you had to rename your hometown, what would you call it?


72.If you had to eat in only one restaurant for the rest of your life, which one would you choose? Olive Garden


73. If you could keep only home appliance, which would you keep? Coffee maker (hoping that does qualify as home appliance.)

74. If you were reincarnated as an animal, what kind would it be? Dog.

75. If you could have changed one thing about your parents while you were a child, what would it have been? My biological mother to live longer for us to get to know each other.


76. If you had to cancel one hour of the day, every day, which hour would you eliminate? 9-10pm.

77. If you could do any job in the world for one day, what would it be? Librarian


78. If you could discover one medical cure in history, which one would you choose? Cancer, MS, Parkinson's.

79. If you had to trade houses with someone you know, who would it be? Rachel Weaver's. Her house is not too small, not too big.

80. If you had to pick the worst meal you've ever eaten, what would it be?

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Quotes from “Always looking up” - “Family” Chapter

“Today happens to be our twentieth wedding anniversary, and I’ve got a blank card that I have to fill with righteous sentiment sometime before dinner this evening—twenty years’ worth of love, gratitude, affection, and respect in my own increasingly indecipherable cursive script. I promised myself I’d limit it to the two spaces within the card’s fold.” (Page 213)

“But now I was getting a chance to witness firsthand the courage, bravery, self-sacrifice, and enveloping sense of community present from the moment the first plane hit. I began to understand why so many stayed. Many were fearful, but so too were they hopeful. The effects reverberated nationwide, but while New York had been laid low by the most despicable acts, by the most awful suffering human beings could inflict upon other human beings, it had also been buoyed by its greater virtues. Hope, in this case, truly was optimism informed by the knowledge that more people were inclined to do good than to do evil.” (Page 222)

“Tracy and I will feel [that] way about marriage. The more complicated it gets, the more it seems to bring out the best in us.
Confronted with a complication as seemingly dire as my PD diagnosis, so early on in our marriage, could have left us undone. I, for one, was not a willing supplicant to reality. I was a big believer in my won press: a happy-go-lucky lottery winner who’d had it all—a great career, a beautiful wife, a healthy son. I was struggling, though, with figuring out how to keep it all going. I was working more than I needed to, worrying more that I liked to admit, and drinking more than anyone should. I was, to put it mildly, not well positioned to deal with what was coming.”(Page 226)

“If all the risks are removed form a child’s environment, the child will be doomed to a life of playing it safe.” (Page 232)

“...no parent can get his or her arms around all of the could’ve, would’ve, should’ves, mights, maybes, and what-ifs. Each new moment gives you a sufficient load to carry, and I’ve learned, especially as my arms have grown shakier, that there are times when the wisest thing to do is to let go.” (Page 233)

“That has consistently been the thrill for Tracy and me. To discover what they’ve discovered, to hear them recount their joys and successes, to let them have full ownership of all they’ve accomplished, and credit themselves for what they’ve learned, is the best and easiest part of parenting for me.”
It’s much harder, however, to let them own their failures and disappointments. The truth is, of course, that you have no choice. To some extent, the load can be shared, but it can never entirely be taken away.” (Page 237)

“... you can’t take away your child’s pain. You can only be present, be aware, be responsive, be compassionate, and love that child with everything you have.” (Page 238)

“No matter how well intentioned, if I somehow convinced my children that I could remove their problems and relieve their pain, spare them the ups and downs of life, I’d be doing them a huge disservice.” (Page 239)

“Kids are like Labrador retrievers—show them a car with the motor running and the back door open, and giving no thought to the destination, they’ll scramble in and hang their head out the window in anticipation of the wind blowing back their hair and whipping the spit off their dangling tongues.” (Page 254)

“We are where we are. If we keep moving, we’ll be someplace else. We’ll know when we get there.” (Page 262)

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Quotes from “Always looking up” - “Faith” Chapter

“You could say that my willingness to hear them out was an expression of my faith, my instinct that it’s always good to give something when I can. I like to think that I’m open to other people, unafraid of new ideas. (...) there was no reason why I couldn’t surrender a few minutes of my time. This was an opportunity to hear their point of view, not defend my own. All I had to do was sit down and listen.
Listening to people espouse beliefs different from mine is informative, not threatening, because the only thing that can alter my worldview is a new and undeniable truth, and contrary to what Jack Nicholson says in A Few Good Men, “I can handle the truth” ” (Page 160)

“I’ve always considered faith to be an aspect or facet of optimism, a cousin of, if not a synonym for, hope. A discussion of faith as religion is a more daunting proposition. I haven’t made and kept as many friends as I have by offering up my attitudes and opinions about religion. I am not a theologian, seminarian, or student of divinity. I have no argument with those who see in organized religion a template or an imperative to live life according to a prescribed set of beliefs. Just give others the room, within the laws of civil society, to believe or not believe whatever they like.” (Page 161)

“”The opposite of fear is faith” is an adage I heard often when I quit drinking. The thinking is that fear is paralyzing or even regressive, causing you to retreat in defense, while faith inspires forward progress. So why, I always wondered, does fear feature so prominently in our discussions and practice of faith? We talk about fear of God as a good thing—and being God fearing as a desirable state. I know I’m not the first to say this, and smarter people have given it more thorough examination and more eloquent expression, but that just makes no sense to me. It’s counterintuitive and, I think, confuses fear with respect. As a way of motivating people, cultivating fear is easier than investing the time and effort necessary to engender respect. Respect requires greater knowledge, and in my experience, the more you know, the less you fear.” (Page 162)

“The purpose that you wish to find in life, like a cure you seek, is not going to fall from the sky. (...) It requires the faith to take risks and a rejection of the bonds of fear. I believe purpose is something for which one is responsible; it’s not just divinely assigned.” (Page 178)

“...in some ways, the world is as simple as I sometimes see it and often wish it to be. In other ways, it is complicated beyond any understanding.” (Page 178)


“My world as I knew it had changed in the instant the doctor pronounced my condition. As an actor, I am used to processing other people’s opinions of me—auditioners, audiences, and critics. You can take an opinion, rationalize it, and turn it back on those who offer it up as being their projections onto your reality. But it’s rare that someone can present you with some great immutable truth about yourself—something so surprising, out of left field, that you don’t even have the luxury of denial.
We do so much to protect ourselves from the truth, but what I have learned and drawn strength and comfort from, especially over the last seventeen years or so, is that the truth protects us from ourselves. That is, of course, if we can recognize it and trust it.” (Pages 179-180)

Quoting Henry David Thoreau: “In accumulating property for ourselves or our posterity, in founding a family or a state, or acquiring fame even, we are mortal; but in dealing with truth we are immortal, and need dear no change nor accident.” (Page 180)

“(... ) there are realities that occur in life over which I have no control or influence, realities that I can negotiate, or charm.” (Page 180)

“Whether you wield the pin yourself, (...), or the bubble is popped for you, the truth flows outside of it, and it will take you places you’d otherwise drift past.” (Page 181)

“We all have a responsibility to do what we can for those living among us, those we love and those we’ve never met.” (Page 186)

“I think one of the keys to my happiness is that I try to catch my mistakes and transgressions as quickly as possible after the fact and minimize the period of reflection.” (Page 199)

“I came to accept that any disease or condition beyond my control is, in effect, a power greater than myself. To survive this destructive energy, I must look to an even higher power. For my purposes, I need neither define it nor have others define it for me, only accept its existence. It is evident in Tracy’s love and inexhaustible friendship, the toothless gap in Esmé’s smile, Aquinah’s grace, Schuyler’s grit, Sam’s intrepid curiosity. So much to savor, so much to be grateful for. And since I’m not sure of the address to which to send my gratitude, I put it out there in everything I do.” (Page 201)

“Chris Reeve wisely parsed the difference between optimism and hope. Unlike optimism, he said, “Hope is the product of knowledge and the projection of where knowledge can take us.” If optimism is a happy-go-lucky expectation that the odds are in my favor, that things are likely to break my way, and if hope is an informed optimism, facts converting desire into possibility, then faith is the third leg of the stool.” (Page 201)
“Empathy is always better than sympathy, especially from family.” (Page 204)

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Quotes from “Always looking up” - “Politics” Chapter

“As frustrated as we in the patient community are with impediments to progress put in place by George W. Bush, so too are you frustrated that we, the proponents, just don’t get it, that we’re missing the bigger picture. In that way, we two can empathize with each other, while not agreeing. This is why I brought into the political arena my concerns and my hopes that this work can produce cures and treatments, not to shame or ridicule those who disagree with me, and not to use the bully pulpit of celebrity to drown out anyone else’s voice. The opposite is true. What we want is a conversation. The only way for government to express the needs and desires of Americans is if Americans speak up and get involved. And as much as I want to make my own points, to express my own needs and desires, I know it’s crucial that differing opinions be given equal hearing.” (Page 77)

“Incurable disease is a nonpartisan problem that will require a bipartisan solution. The desire to alleviate suffering and save lives speaks not to our allegiance to any party or ideology but to our humanity.” (Page 79)

“The answer lies somewhere between faith and hope, between seeking change through a petition of God and seeking it through an exercise of political franchise.” (Page 81)

“It doesn’t happen to anybody for a reason. Sometimes bad things happen, but it’s how you deal with those things that matters.” (Page 83)

(Quoting Christopher Reeve) “Before a catastrophe, we can’t imagine coping with the burdens that might confront us in a dire moment. Then when that moment arrives, we suddenly find that we have resources inside us that we knew nothing about.” (Page 86)

(Quoting Christopher Reeve) ““Either you decide to stay in the shallow end of the pool, or you go out in the ocean.” I tried toe-dipping, wading, treading, a few tentative strokes, and then, as if unconsciously following Chris’s advice, I found myself in some very deep, very rough water. Funny, Chris didn’t mention the sharks.” (Page 91)

(Quoting Christopher Reeve) “President Kennedy based his hopes on knowledge, and the projection of where that knowledge can take us. (...) NASA pulled off what only years earlier was sci-fi, in part, due to “a willingness not to buy into the conventional wisdom.” (Page 111)

“The foundation is about promoting and financing advances in Parkinson’s research, first, foremost, fully, and finally. Any politics needed to be on my own time, at my own expense, and under my own name.” (Page 112)

“Choosing to invest time, energy, and identity in the political process is an expression of hope. If something in our personal experience has informed or inspired us to believe that one direction or outcome is preferable to another, for not only the individual, but society as a whole, we put that belief into action through activism, advocacy, financial support of a candidate, actually running for office, or by simply casting a vote. The American political experience can therefore be viewed as optimism in the collective. Naturally, unanimity is rare, as reasonable (and not so reasonable) people are bound to disagree. Take it form me, things get a little intense when the swords come out and all you’re holding is a plowshare.” (Page 127)

Quotes from "Always Looking Up" - "Work" Chapter

“Then came success, and with it a new confidence in my craftsmanship and the courage to try new things; some with positive results, some not so positive, but never with regret.” (page 16)

“An actor’s palette is the entirety of the human experience.” (Page 16)

“I had sailed into waters too narrow and too shallow to turn the boat around. It’s not that I was totally unaware of what was happening; I was caught up in the emotion like everyone else. And I felt guilty too, knowing that by choosing to change my life’s direction, I had thrown so many others off course; hopefully not irreversibly, but probably unexpectedly.” (Page 20)

“The celebration added to my gathering impression of how the French view of sports differs from our own. Obviously they are not immune to the taint of commercial excess, rampant cheating, and egos inflated in proportion to salaries, but as much as they celebrate any particular athlete, their deepest reverence is for sport itself. Regardless of the fact that Lance [Armstrong] and his team had won before and would win many more times in the years ahead, the elegance of the evening made clear that a victory in the Tour de France was a moment to be savored.” (pages 41-42)

(Lance Armstrong talking about his foundation:) “You know, it’s not like we have good news every day in this fight. But we’re in it, we’re motivated, and ultimately we think we can make a difference.” (page 46)

“I wish people would love everybody else the way they love me. It would be a better world.” -Muhammad Ali (page 60)

Monday, September 7, 2009

The man in the mirror

"I believe we all live in a world of fear, because deep inside we all want something better or something more loving. And we're so afraid of not getting it. I know that because I've felt fear all my life. But today, I'm the man in the mirror. I look at myself and I make the change. I make a choice. And I choose that I will no longer give in to fear. I will fight these charges. I will not settle. I will not give money to my accusers. I will take a stand and I will not be afraid. Because I realize that I'm not alone. I realize that you are with me and you have shown me again and again that in the end love is more powerful than fear. So today I choose love. And I choose to believe in myself the way that you believe in me. So I say thank you. I love you. God bless you."

This is the last piece of dialogue taken out of the Movie "The Man in the Mirror: The Michael Jackson story." Again, let me say that I was not what you;d call a fan of MJ., nor am I trying to defend him. I am supporter of human decency though, and I believe respect is the key to everything ("the "golden rule," right?). I personally thought the movie really wasn't that great and did not do justice to MJ. However, I believe the ending, though fictional, was the best part. Michael believed in himself enough to fight the charges against him , believed in himself enough to live his life and to love children regardless of what others thought. I salute him for that, regardless of how strange and sometimes twisted it looked to us. He fought for and stood by his beliefs... May we all have the strength and courage and bravery to do it too! I am not saying he was perfect, far from it, but then again, nobody is. I do think that we should all look at ourselves first before worrying about what such and such is doing. That's the "I do not judge" part of me coming to life. Call me too open minded or too tolerant if you'd like. Go ahead and judge me for it, you wouldn't be the first to do so. I'm so glad he has finally been put to rest. Maybe now we'll leave him alone. May he rest in peace.

September Card Exchange

This is a "remake" of a card I made for the 2008 Holiday Season. We were to make Christmas Cards for this month's exchange, so I cased my own creation! It is one of my favorite cards and I am glad my scrapping buddies have it too now...



Merry Christmas Star Wreath - Card Recipe

* Pattern Paper:
1) green stars: “In Santa’s Bag” by Around the Block (item # 00283)
2) red stars: “Christmas Embossed paper” by K&Company (item code 643077632271)
3) red and white stars: “Wild Berry Vine” by Bo-Bunny Press (designed by Jan Lenoy) (item # 12WBV499)
4) Gold Paper
5) Card background: “Christmas Swirl“ by K&Company (item code 643077632653)
* Ribbon: 1/8” red “Spool O’ Ribbon”
* Stamp: Stampendous!
* ink: Blazing Red Stazon
* star punch: Marvy Uchida Jumbo (green)

**Some of the papers mentioned on this recipe are outdated and might be hard to find.

Sunday, September 6, 2009

Close To My Heart Party

Here are the projects we worked on during yesterday's CTMH party...


Saturday, September 5, 2009

"My sister's wedding" album, made by Ev...

If you go back to the Sunday, August 30, 2009 post, you'll see what we have been handed out to make an album using someone else's photos. As mentioned in that post, I turned in photos of my little sister's wedding... Ev got to put the album together. And I discovered it today. And I cried when I saw it. I am such a cry baby. But my baby sister means a lot more to me than I can even begin to express, and not being at her wedding still bothers me to this day, especially after the events that transpired over the past 6 months. Anyway, here is the album with the photos I never worked on. And I am so glad that Ev was able to work on them and show her magnificent talent on this album. THANKS AGAIN EV!










Friday, September 4, 2009

6 months already...

Just the same way I thought about it on every 4th of the past few months, today marks the anniversary of my dad's passing. There is just something not right about today's 6 months anniversary though. I mean, half a year already... Will I ever stop missing him like I do now? Will I ever not feel that ever so little pang of pain in my chest when thinking about him? Gosh I sure hope so... I have come a long way in working on that pain since March 4th, but it sure ain't easy... I know things will never be the same; and I still have to make total peace with that. But as my father's daughter, he lives forever in me, and I owe him (and myself) to show less sorrow and instead to celebrate the life of the man my father was! Just the way he would have wanted it, I'm sure... This being said...:
Dad, I miss you more than you and I would EVER have thought. And I love you, always have, and always will.

P.S. Please note that I made it through typing the entire post without the hint of a tear coming up. Just a knot in my throat. That's a victory, for today anyway. I will be OK...

Thursday, September 3, 2009

Classroom Photos

Here is my Preschool Classroom. We have worked hard to get it clean and organized. I know it won't stay that way, it never does... lol...

This is what you see when you enter:





Circle time area:





View from the teacher's desk:
The teacher's area:



Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Favorite Recipes...

LEMON BARS

Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Ready in: 1 hour
Yields: 36 servings

INGREDIENTS:
1 ½ cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup confectioners’ sugar
¾ cup butter or margarine, softened
3 eggs
1 ½ cup white sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
¼ cup lemon juice
1/3 cup confectioners’ sugar for decoration

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a 9x13 inch baking pan.
2. Combine the flour, 2/3 cup confectioners’ sugar, and butter. Pat dough into prepared pan.
3. Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, until slightly golden. While the crust is baking, whisk together eggs, white sugar, flour, and lemon juice until frothy. Pour lemon mixture over the hot crust.
4. Return to the preheated oven for an additional 20 to 25 minutes, or until light golden brown. Cool on a wire rack. Dust the top with confectioners’ sugar. Cut into squares.
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STUFFED MUSHROOMS WITH SWISS CHEESE

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Ready In: 35 minutes
Yields: 12 servings

INGREDIENTS:
12 large fresh mushrooms
5 tablespoons butter, melted
Salt and pepper to taste
¼ cup butter
½ cup chopped onions
1 tablespoons all-purpose flour
½ cup heavy cream
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley*
½ cup shredded Swiss cheese.

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9xx13 inch baking dish.
2. Remove stems from mushrooms. Finely chop stems and set aside. Arrange caps hollow side up in the baking dish. Drizzle with 5 tablespoons of melted butter, and salt and pepper to taste.
3. Melt ¼ cup butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the mushroom stems and onions, and cook 5 minutes, or until tender. Gradually blend in flour and heavy cream until smooth. Remove from heat. Mix in parsley.*
4. Generously stuff mushroom caps with the mixture. Top with Swiss cheese.
5. Bake 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until lightly browned.
* Sandy’s note: I never use the parsley the recipe calls for. So if you are lucky enough to have had my mushrooms and like the taste of them ‘as is,” leave the parsley out.
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NEW ENGLAND CLAM CHOWDER

INGREDIENTS:
¼ lb salt pork or bacon, diced
2 medium onions, sliced
1 can (10 oz) of baby clams, liquid reserved
Water
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 large potatoes, diced (3 cups)
2 teaspoons salt
¼ teaspoon celery salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
3 cups milk
1 tablespoon butter or margarine

DIRECTIONS:
1. In 3-quart saucepan over medium heat, cook pork until lightly browned. Add onions and cook until tender, about 5 minutes.
2. Add enough water to the reserved clam liquid to make 2 cups.
3. Stir flour into onion mixture until blended. Gradually stir in clam liquid mixture and cook, stirring constantly, until slightly thickened. Stir in potatoes and seasonings. Cover and cook until potatoes ate tender, abut 10 minutes.
4. Add clams, milk and butter. Cover and cook until heated through, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
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PARMESAN POTATO WEDGES

INGREDIENTS:
½ cup oil
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon garlic powder and paprika
¼ teaspoon pepper
Potatoes, unpeeled, and cut in wedges

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven at 375 degrees F.
2. Arrange potato wedges in a casserole dish.
3. Mix together all ingredients and drizzle over the potato wedges.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes, covered. Occasionally check the potatoes and drizzle them with the juice sitting at the bottom of the dish.
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COOKIE DOUGH CREAM CHEESE DELIGHT

INGREDIENTS:
32 oz cookie dough, divide in half
1 box of cream cheese
1 tablespoon sugar
1 egg
Vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS:
1. Grease the bottom of a baking dish.
2. Spread ½ of a 32 oz cookie dough roll at the bottom of the dish. (You might want to oil up your hands because the dough is sticky!)
3. Put 1 box of cream cheese in a glass bowl, melt in microwave until really soft. Stir with fork. Add 1 tablespoon sugar, 1 egg, and vanilla extract. Mix well. Pour on top of cookie dough.
4. Spread the rest of the dough on top of the cream cheese mix.
5. Bake in oven at 375 degrees F for about 40/45 minutes, until the batter barely moves in the middle.
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CAULIFLOWER SALAD

INGREDIENTS:
1 small head of lettuce - well dried
1 sweet onion - sliced thin
1 lb of bacon - fried crisp and crumbled
1 head of cauliflower - dried
¼ cup sugar
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese
2 cups mayonnaise

DIRECTIONS:
Arrange all ingredients in layers in a large bowl in the order they are listed. Ice with mayonnaise. Seal mayonnaise to the edges of the bowl. DO NOT TOSS.Cover and refrigerate for hours or overnight. Toss just before serving.
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BANANA NUT BREAD

INGREDIENTS:
1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup white sugar
1 cup chopped walnuts
2 eggs
2 cups mashed bananas (3 bananas)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (715 degrees C). Grease and flour two 8X4 loaf pans. Set aside.
2. Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar. Stir in nuts, eggs, bananas, oil, and vanilla extract.
3. Pour into prepared pans. Bake for 45 to 60 minutes. Cool on wire rack for 10 minutes before removing from pans.

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

"Always looking up"

That's it, I just finished Michael J. Fox's book, "Always Looking Up." Just like his first book, "Lucky Man," I found this one quite inspiring... I simply love the way he writes. I will share some quotes from the book at a later time, because I marked too many (one of my favorites: quotes!) and it is too close to bedtime to start typing them now.