Reflection: Do It Anyway

source: Microsoft Office

Ever had one of those sleepless nights?  You know, the kind where you can't get comfy, the bedroom's too hot and stuffy, you doze off just to wake up 15 minutes later?

Yeah... me too...  I had one of those this week. Yuck. I felt like a zombie the next day.  Somewhere around 3 a.m. I decided enough was enough and I got up to read for a while.

I'm glad I did.  I picked up at the beginning of chapter 17 in You Matter More Than You Think, by Leslie Parrott.  I've been working my way through it, but put it down a few weeks ago when things got really busy and hadn't gotten back to it... until my providential sleepless night.

Oooo... that sounded dramatic, didn't it?

Penelopes! (Otherwise Known As Empanadas)

I asked the Hubby what he wanted me to make for dinner and he said, "Penelopes!" I'm thinking, huh? He proceeds to describe the mysterious food item and it dawns on me... empanadas... yes, I see the similarity.  We had a good laugh over that one.  Now it's our joke and he's got me saying it too.

Side note:  a few readers have asked me to put the text of recipes into the posts and to keep showing the step by step photos. So, I happily complied. Since this is really two recipes in one, this post will be quite lengthy.  If you'd prefer to skip all the photos and details, jump right over to the condensed (and printer friendly!) versions on my recipage, here and here.

This is my first attempt at making Penelopes, er, Empanadas. We had them at a party a few weeks ago and they were so good, I knew I had to recreate them.  With my own twist, of course. These aren't just any old chicken stuffed into a piece of store bought pie crust run of the mill empanadas... no sir...

USS Alabama Walking Tour

M and I are history geeks... especially military history... Not too long ago, we headed over to Mobile, Alabama and spent the day wandering around an old ship and submarine exhibit.

Ahem, that's a battleship, or to get even more technical, a South Dakota Class Battleship christened the USS ALABAMA.  If you're a history buff, you can read all about it here.

By the way, in case you're wondering, Mobile is pronounced Mo-BEEL, not MO-bill... Just sayin'.

Of course, I had to take a look at the kitchen, the mess halls (at least 3 of them!) and the bakery.  I don't remember how many thousands of loaves of bread they baked a day, but it was astronomical.

Eggplant Mini Pizzas

I was at the Farmer's Market this morning and had to laugh when I overheard a conversation between a vendor and a customer.  She asked how much he was selling his eggplant for and he told her her it was free for the taking.  Apparently, he planted a few too many and they're coming out his ears...

Are you in the same boat?  Eggplant and zucchini tend to the be garden gifts that keep on giving... and giving... and giving...

This recipe takes a little prep, but it's worth it.  I highly recommend using a Mandoline slicer if you have one; it will cut your prep time in half and your slices will be even (and they'll cook more evenly).

CLUE Party

The entry way decorations - don't we look rich? :-)

I am a huge fan of board games and card games, but surprisingly enough, I never actually played CLUE until I was in college.  But once I did, I was hooked.

In the great style of CLUE, I threw a party.  We had a limited number of guests that were able to make it, but the few of us had a fun evening.

M and I decided to be Professor Plum and Miss Peacock, so we gave the other guests the choice of being the other 4 characters, Colonel Mustard, Mrs. White, Mr. Green, or Miss Scarlett.  As it turns out, our guests decided to change it up a bit, and did their own take on the characters, as you can see. 

Happy Birthday!

Yesterday was my birthday... It was a pretty good day.  Had to work, but that's life, right?  

1. M sent me flowers at work.  My faves - pink gerber daisies! Awww... isn't he sweet to me?
2. Feeding the ducks at the park.
3. Chilling with my favorite guy after dinner.
4. Birthday dessert - Cheesecake!

For our birthday date, the Hubby and I picked up mexican to go (at Moe's - yum!) and took it to a park downtown.  This may not sound all that fab to you, but it's something we used to do a lot when we were dating, so this particular park is special to us.  They've recently re-landscaped the park, so we had benches to sit on this time.

Apparently, there was a 5K going on that night around the park... so we sat on the bench and watched people run by while eating our burritos.  The irony of it all just gets me.

After dinner, we took a walk around the pond and fed the ducks.  M commented that the ducks quacking sounded like evil laughter... you'd have to be there. But it sort of did.

Cheesecake!  I will be doing a separate post on this in the near future.  It was AMAZING. And yes, I made it myself.  Every year when I mention to anyone that I make my own birthday dessert, I get these sympathetic comments. But really, I enjoy this part of my birthday the most... choosing a different dessert and making it.  YUM.

Another year to thank God for and a fresh year ahead to accomplish great things.  Hope you'll come along for the ride!

On Our Bookshelf

Very excited about my birthday gift... I LOVE these books!

I blame my love for the written word on my parents (thank you!), who are REALLY big into reading themselves.

I was cleaning my office the other day and opened up a storage bin that contained some keepsakes from my childhood... some of which are my favorite books.  There was Mandie staring up at me.  I had to smile. I have fond memories of my mom reading us a chapter in the morning before school if we were able to get ready to go a few minutes early.  That was enough incentive for me to be early.  And at six years old, my love for books began.

The suspense of a mystery, the excitement of a new adventure, the emotion of a love lost or found... I've traveled the world and the centuries through books I've read... and I've loved every second of it.

After we'd been dating a while, M and I started reading books aloud together.  Partially for "speech therapy" for me and partially because it's something we enjoy doing.  While he was in grad school, the reading together really slowed down, but now that he's all done (hurray!) we're looking for a new book to read.  Any suggestions?