NEW YORK CITY? Get a rope!

In an effort to eat a more healthy diet, I have been trying to eat more salads.  But there are only so many ways to make Spring Mix look and taste interesting.  So I am always searching for ways to make my daily salads more appetizing.  So imagine my excitement when I spied this is my local Wal-Mart.

Tortilla Strips for salads.  In Chipotle Cheddar flavor.  By Texas Toast. It was a trifecta of salad goodness.  BUT WAIT.  WHAT DO I SEE.  Let’s go in for a closer look shall we?

Does that say New York brand  above “The Original Texas Toast” ?  I’m confused. How can TEXAS toast be from New York? Is this toast Texas or Texas-like?  It even says “Zesty Southwest Crunch” across the bottom of the bag.

I feel betrayed…

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

To continue the story of our little family.

So, Danny and I were ecstatic about our upcoming blessed event. After being told this was impossible, I was so happy that my feet didn't touch the ground for nine months. 

The folks back in Kentucky had a shower for me even though I wasn’t there.  The ladies at University Church of Christ had a delightful shower for me.  We acquired a used crib and Danny painted it and applied nursery decals to the front.

I had a disgracefully easy pregnancy.  No morning sickness.  Perfectly normal pregnancy.  But something was obviously going on. I wonder what it could be?

Give Me S'More Super Bowl

So…yesterday was the Super Bowl and I spent the day with friends.  My cooking prowess is well know in my social circle so normally I am asked to bring paper plates or chips (because there is NO WAY to mess that up). But this year I brought something that had to be cooked... that used heat... and a stove. After surfing the internet looking for something within my culinary abilities, I came upon S'More Brownies on the Betty Crocker website.  It had chocolate, marshmallows, and Betty said they were easy.  Betty wouldn't lie.  So, I decided to give them a whirl. Something this momentous surely needs documenting…

Step One.  Assemble the ingredients.

 As you can see, there are some fine "makin's" here.  If this goes horribly wrong, I can go sit in the corner and gorge myself on chocolate and marshmallows.

Step Two.  Prepare the mix according to the package instructions.

While this may seem like the no-brainer portion of this process for many of you, trust me when I say that I have been known to mess this stage up.  Let's just say I have, in the past, had to  to pick eggs out when I put too many in the batter.

Step Three.  Pour in pan.

Once again, a no-brainer for many people but not for me.

Step Four. Lick the bowl.

My PERSONAL favorite for any cooking process.

Step Five and Six. Cook. You think that step is obvious.  Maybe.  Maybe not.  When the brownies are done, REMOVE from oven (A very important step.  Don't ask me how I know, I just know.) and cover the brownies with marshmallows and crumbled graham crackers

Step Seven.  Return to oven under the broiler until the marshmallows are slightly toasted.  Remove from oven and sprinkle with broken chocolate bars.  And you will get something that looks like this!

Now, all you real cooks out there are probably scoffing at my little attempt to cook, but I am proud.  I cooked something that involved stirring, measuring, heat, and timing.  We need to have a moment of silence for this miracle. (moment of silence.)  You may now resume your inter-netting.

By the way, Betty didn't lie.  They were easy and delicious.

And Baby Makes Three

After all our kittens grew up and left home (sniff, sniff), Danny and I decided that cats and kittens were not what was missing in our little family.  So we decided to start a REAL family.  This would be easy, right?  How hard could this be?  Obviously our cats had no trouble.

But it was not that easy.  There were  problems.  Trips to fertility clinics at William Beaumont Hospital in El Paso.  Tests.  Tests.  And even more tests.  Then the prognosis.  I could not get pregnant.

                                     But sometimes faith in God proves all doctors and tests wrong.

Does the Army Count Kittens as Dependents?

So after Danny completed his US  Government  sponsored “spa trip”, we load up the smallest U-Haul that was available and headed to White Sands Missile Range, NM. We set up housekeeping in base housing with government furnishings.  We were ready for a photographic spread in Good Housekeeping!

But our little love nest seemed empty.  Something was missing.  What could it be?  I had the answer…A CAT.  This is when I found the first of many facts that my darling husband had hid from me when we were courting.  He was a CAT HATER!  It was bad enough that he was Republican, but a cat hater!  I felt betrayed.

But to Danny’s credit he overlooked his deep seated prejudices and allowed Big Foot to enter our little home. 

Doesn’t he look happy in this picture?

Big Foot is the yellow tomcat that is giving Danny the eye.  But if you look beside Danny’s head you will see a little gray cat. You see,  I had become concerned about the mental health of Big Foot since he was growing up all by himself.  I was sure he was lonely so we got the other cat.  But there was a problem.  See if you can figure out what was wrong just by what we called her.

HER name was Missy.  And just like that we were grandparents! Don’t they look just like their grandfather?

 

update  Danny informs me that the yellow tabby we had at this time was not named Big Foot.  Big Foot was an another yellow tabby that we got at a later time.  This one was named Tom. 

Dust in the Wind

I attend a Bible study on Tuesday nights called Bible Study Fellowship (BSF).  This year we are studying Isaiah. Studying  Isaiah intimidates me only slightly less than, say, an in-depth study of Revelations. Shaking in my boots every week.

But this week a couple of verses jumped out at me and I had a epiphany (and no, it didn’t hurt) . Verses 23-24 state,” He brings princes to naught and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing.  No sooner are they planted, no sooner are they sown, no sooner do they take root in the ground, than he blows on them and they wither, and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff.”

I starting thinking of all the leaders of the world past and present.  Caesar,  Churchill, Hitler, Abraham Lincoln, George Bush (1 and 2), Clinton, Reagan, Obama, etc.  I thought of all the honor and glory we have given these and other leaders.  God is so mighty that these leaders will be swept “away like chaff”.  When things are not going my way (or even going the way I want) during elections, I will remember that all of this is nothing by dust to be blown away by my Father.

                                              They are nothing but dust in the wind.

                                                     

Danny's Little Spa Trip (courtsey of the US Army

So, while I was busy selling his beloved ’65 VW, the United States Army was keeping Danny occupied at Fort Knox, Kentucky with Basic Training. Or as I like to call it , ”Danny ‘s Little Spa Trip”.

It HAD to be a spa trip.  He went off pasty white with little muscle tone.  He returned tan, new haircut, new wardrobe, and physically fit.  Sounds like a spa trip to me! What other explanation could there be?

He insisted that there were marches in the 90% humidity.  All night guard duty.  Runs uphill wearing combat boots and fatigues.  Gas chambers. I think he exaggerates.   How hard could it be?

I mean, look how happy he looks in his spiffy new green outfit.