Sunday, September 12, 2010

Birthday!


It was my fabulous hubby's birthday celebration today... and would you believe it, I forgot to take pictures!! For shame!!!!

So, while I took ZERO photos, I can share the other numerical factoids of the day:

18 people
9 racks of ribs
7 chicken breasts
30 rolls
3 quarts of pasta salad
1 fruit salad
1 green salad
1 dozen cookies
2 quarts of salsa
3 kinds of cheeses
4 football games
2 layers of german chocolate cake
5 bags of leftovers
1 happy birthday boy

Note: Picture was from last year... just imagine him 12 months older!



Saturday, September 11, 2010

This Day in History



It's been nine years, but like all other Americans alive on that day, I remember it like it was yesterday. Waking up to the news, seeing the towers fall, trying to comprehend the enormity of the events unfolding, and walking through the day like a zombie, hungry for any news - and asking "why?"

One of the things that struck me that day was the air full of yellow, and pink, and white paper. I couldn't help but think that just a few hours ago, those pieces of paper floating in the air were the highest priority for the 3,000 people that would never have the opportunity to go home.

My feelings turned bittersweet in the days following 9-11. I remember an having an intense feeling of American pride. I had never before seen our country pull together the way we did in the days following. I would drive down the street and see people on street corners waving flags, and there was a man in my town who would drive through busy areas playing patriotic music on a loud speaker, flying an enormous American flag. They're small gestures, but at the time, it meant a lot.

Today, I was reading The Pioneer Woman's blog, and she talked of the importance of Remembering today, and mentioned the History Channel coverage.

I personally just had a good cry on the History Channel website "This Day in History" which gives a simple text account of that day.

May we always remember.


Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Chocolate and Lemon

My brother's birthday was Monday, and as the nice sister I am, I asked him what his favorite flavors were, and then scoured the internet for an appropriate tasty dessert that would be worthy of his birthday.

(He is after all getting pretty old... so I should do nice things for him...)
The only problem with my brother's taste preferences is that they're... well... ODD! He likes chocolate and lemon. Really? What kind of combo is that?

It turns out... a really. really. good combination! Introducing, a chocolate and lemon tart!


Mmmmm... I want to eat it again! Oh, and my brother called it his favorite dessert ever. EVER.




That's right, I'm a good sister.
NOTE: I modified this slightly, mainly due to time constraints. The recipe called for individual tarts... and I made one big one. Also, the recipe called for chilling the dough and then rolling it out, however I pressed the dough into the pan and shaped it until I was happy with how it looked. It turned out fine... and since I didn't graduate from Le Cordon Bleu I felt comfortable with the shortcut.

Friday, September 3, 2010

Only took a year...

Behold! After a year... countless trips to furniture stores... one insulted antique dealer (who didn't appreciate my idea to use a 200 year old trunk as a place to put my chips and drinks)... a brief time of debating whether or not to have something made... and did I mention countless trips to furniture stores? We. Have. Purchased. A. Coffee Table!

Isn't it purty?