Thoughts of a Grasshopper

I've been married to my husband for almost 14 years. We have lived in 5 states and 8 houses. We are slated to move this summer. With the exception of one assignment, I've tried to get rooted in each area we've lived. Within the first 6 mos., I start to think I'm ready to move. It has been nice for the last two assignment to be longer with the kids getting older, their friends/activities/school rather than to uproot them every couple of years. I digress . . . With the upcoming move in mind, I note that I'm starting to think, "I can't commit to this because we're leaving soon." The countdown has begun for me. I don't want to make new friends because I'm leaving soon. I don't want to start a new activity because I'm leaving soon. I don't want to commit at school (other than what I do) because I'm leaving soon. I don't want to buy new furniture because I'm leaving soon. Soon is a relative term in a military fa...

A little something we made at church Tuesday night. I bought more buckets to make more for the kids' teachers and some people that work at school and could use a little appreciation. Hope you all have a wonderful day. We are going to an Italian restaurant for lunch. Italian isn't something we have much of anymore, just not an abundance of restaurants (that I'm aware of) that serve Italian food. Cafe Luigi would be so good right now.

I was requested to make this cake for a dinner tonight. I have been wanting to have this cake since the fall, which is when I usually make it so they didn't have to twist my arm to fulfill the request. It isn't something that appeals to my kids because of all the nuts so I have to make it when there will be a lot of people to eat it. I think it is the caramel sauce that my friends love. Cake: 16 oz. can pear halves in extra light syrup 1 pkg. white cake mix * 1/3C oil 3 egg whites Frosting: 1C whipping cream 2T sugar 1t vanilla 16 oz. can pear halves in extra light syrup 1/2C finely chopped hazelnuts or walnuts, toasted Sauce: 1C brown sugar 1C whipping cream 1/2C butter Heat oven to 350. Grease and flour 10" tube pan. Drain pear halves reserving 1/3C liquid. Place pear halves in food processor with metal blade, process until smooth. In large bowl combine cake mix, pureed pears, reserved liquid, oil, and egg whites at low speed....

I hesitated to buy this set. While I love it and think it is a beautiful, I never seem to do justice to this style. The DP is awesome with this set and really makes the card. The first card I've made with my new "stuff" that has been sitting on my desk. Love the punch, paper, ribbon, stamp set. Definitely a good purchase! I don't have the punch for the main image, but used the chipboard and enlarged it slightly to fit the image. Stamps: Friends 24-7 CS: Kraft, Baja Breeze, WW Ink: Baja Breeze Misc.: Pretties, dimensionals, eyelet punch, organdy ribbon

I have seen a lot of these popping up all over. My kids thought they were cool and wanted to make them for their classmates. We formed something of an assembly line last night and spent a few hours making 70 of them. They all liked their "job" in making them and think we should sell them and we could make 50 a night. I think they would tire of it quickly. I found the foil to be kind of hard. I used the scallop die cut to make the circles. The cutting sealed the foil and made it a bit of a challenge to separate but I thought it was still faster than cutting each circle individual (scissors sealed it if you cut multiples too). Here is the Family Fun link with the directions.

I'm not one for stamps with a lot of coloring, I find it rather tedious although I love what other people are able to do. Perhaps a talent which I lack and don't really have a desire to develop. A year or so ago, Sugar Nellie popped up on SCS and I really liked the images. I waffled for some time on them to find they aren't available in the U.S. and I ordered several stamps from a company in England. I was very excited when they arrived, just didn't have a plan. You have to know, I'm not one to buy stamps unless I can visualize at least 3 cards with them. I wanted to try out the Nestabilities I bought (w/a 40% off coupon) and I finally dusted it off to use. Stamps: Sugar Nellie Summer Ice Cream CS: Riding Hood Red, Soft Sky, Cosmo Cricket Dutch Girl Ink: Tuxedo Black Misc.: Oodles of markers, soft sky ribbon, dimensionals

I was so excited to use these heart brads on this card. I have more brads than I know what to do with. I have all that SU offers, Heidi Swap, Memories, and for the longest time I was into Queen & Co. Yup, I have quite the supply. I saw a card like this in Cards magazine and thought it was a fun use of ribbon and brads. I adapted it to what I have on hand. I think those sticker letters would be fun with glitter for a card like this. Stamps: Big Deal Alpha, Fun Favorites CS: Pumpkin Pie, Pretty in Pink, Glossy, Sweet Always, Pixie Pink Ink: Pixie Pink, Pink Passion Misc: ribbon & brads, dimensional We went to Target today to pick up some supplies for the valentines we are making this weekend. We were looking at sunglasses and trying some on and we saw these glasses. She thought they were weird. It made me think of the 80's, the boardwalk and parachute pants.

This is such an awesome recipe. I didn't quite use the 2 lbs. of broccoli that the recipe called for. I used all of the florets and 2/3 or so of the stems. I also increased the rice by 1/4C and added cream and broth to compensate for the addition. The cayenne pepper gives it just a hint of a kick, another thing I was a little liberal with. I added 5 min. in the oven for a crunchy topping. 2 slices hearty white sandwich bread 3/4C grated Parmesan cheese 4T unsalted butter, melted; + 2T, chilled 1 garlic clove, minced 2 lbs. broccoli, florets cut into 1-inch pieces, stems peeled and chopped 1 onion, chopped fine 1-1/4C long-grain rice 1-1/4C half-and-half 1t salt 2C shredded extra-sharp cheddar cheese 1/8t cayenne pepper Heat oven to 400. Grease 9x13 baking dish. Pulse bread, 1/4C Parmesan, and melted butter in food processor until coarsely ground. Add garlic. Microwave broccoli florets, covered, until bright green and tender, 2-4 minutes; set aside. Melt remaining butter in...

"What does friendship mean when you have 532 'friends'?" Not as much as some would have us believe; not as little as still others might maintain. As everyone seeks more and broader connectivity, the still, small voice speaks only in silence From " The End of Solitude ": ( The Chronicle Review, January 30, 2009): What does the contemporary self want? The camera has created a culture of celebrity; the computer is creating a culture of connectivity. As the two technologies converge — broadband tipping the Web from text to image, social-networking sites spreading the mesh of interconnection ever wider — the two cultures betray a common impulse. Celebrity and connectivity are both ways of becoming known. This is what the contemporary self wants. It wants to be recognized, wants to be connected: It wants to be visible. If not to the millions, on Survivor or Oprah, then to the hundreds, on Twitter or Facebook. This is the qua...