5 Days Off

Okay, so, it appears I am missing in action...actually my husband and I have been off together since Wednesday. We had a nice quiet day on Wednesday and Thursday. We had a great meal together, but I was tired after cooking from being on my feet for a couple of hours so I took it easy. Friday we headed to Memphis...a post later today on that...and came home late yesterday, very tired and just vegged to Christmas shows that taped while we were gone. I barely got on the PC during the past four days...sometimes we just need the basics...you know?

So, I'll post later today about the trip to Memphis...just thought I would let everyone know that I am still alive..hehehe

...in other words...

If little else, the brain is an educational toy.
-- Tom Robbins

I have never really thought of the brain this way. But I guess I can see it, especially since I love to do puzzles and that to me makes teh brain an educational toy. Puzzles and games help to keep our brains young. If we don't use the brain and challenge it it will go to mush just like our other muscles do when not used.

I think this quote means to play with things, don't be afraid to try things..."toy" with them to expand your knowledge and experience.

This is how I live my life, especially lately. I try as much as possible, even things that in the past I would have avoided. I am not saying that there is nothing I will not try, but at this time I am trying to be more open and experience life to it's fullest. I believe that is what God has intended for us on this earth.

"God insists on diversity."

Okay, so I mentioned somewhere along the line that I have been reading a book by Bruce Feiler titled "Where God was Born" - A Journey by Land to the Roots of Religion. I am not a very religious person by my own definition, but I believe myself to be spiritual. I find myself since 1998 reading all types of religious/spiritual books as I go down my spiritual path. I have read everything from Christian self help books to Buckland's Complete Book of Witch Craft. I have learned along the way that I share some Pagan beliefs, but I am not Wiccan or a witch. I have learned that I have a high respect for the man we all call Jesus and that we have so much to learn from him and have only scratched the surface. But mostly I have learned that I have to pay attention to what my heart "feels" about what I read and how I react to what I read.

In this book "Where God was Born" I have come across a passage that really speaks to me and I just felt a need to put it here and share it with others. I guess I need to give you just a little back story. The author of this book is a Jewish man that is a native of Savannah, GA that currently resides in New York. The part of the book that this passage comes from is where he has traveled to Iraq in the years after the invasion by the US so somewhere between 2003 and 2004. I have learned so much about the biblical history of Iraq from reading this book. I guess we don't study the geography enough to realize what is there...so, as he is finishing up this part of the book he is looking back on his visit and whether he found what he was looking for there. Here is what he said that really made me think and spoke to me like it was meant for me to hear for a reason.

"The message here is unexpected but powerfully relevant today. When humans try to create one language--when one group of people tries to impose an artificial order on teh world--God views this as a hubristic attempt to usurp his powers and slaps down the arrogation. God insists on diversity. He demands that humans accept their differences. In rejecting the Tower of Babel, God rejects fundamentalism, the idea that one way of speaking is the only way of speaking and can be imposed on others at will.
God's Solution is a cacophony of voices, living side by side"

Now, if you know me then you know I don't believe in a God that "demands" anything. I believe in a loving God that would never hurt his people in anyway, especially not intentionally as the bible indicates in so many stories. But what I get from this passage is that God "wants" us to all be different, that in being different that is when we are at our best and when we most resemble God. None of us has a right to impose our beliefs on each other...we must all be the unique person that we were created to be during this time on earth, until our next time when we will be something totally different again. Trying to "make" people see it our way, believe our way, goes completely against our reason for being here. We are here to "experience" life in a different way each visit to this awesome planet.

Isn't it awesome?? Well, I think so and I just loved what that passage had to say and felt a need to share it here...I hope it does something for you, but if not that is fine...because we are all different and I like knowing that...

Sunday of Firsts

I had a Sunday of firsts yesterday. I made my first cheesecake from scratch. I actually followed Paula Dean's recipe from the Food Network site. My two favorite desserts in the world are cheesecake and pumpkin pie so this was the best of both worlds and it came out delightful. Even put a little whipped cream on top.

The second first was a pot pie. I am not big on chicken pot pies, but my hubby loves them and yesterday felt like it should be a comfort food day, which I know pot pie is labeled as a comfort food by most. Well, every recipe I found called for a cream of chicken soup, which I did not have. I had chicken tenders I planned to cook in olive oil with seasonings and I had my own chicken stock I had made and frozen a couple months ago, and I had some stir-fry veggies I wanted to use for the veggies because I am not a huge peas and carrots person, which is what most recipes called for also. So, I cooked my chicken, let it cool and cut it up. I put in my stir-fry veggies to the seasoned oil I cooked the chicken in, at least what was left of the oil, and took out the water chestnuts because I don't like them. I then added my chicken broth and a little extra water to make it enough and some extra chicken bouillon. I cooked that until it came to a boil and added the chicken and some flour and milk that I had mixed in my Tupperware shaker thingy. It came to a nice creamy consistency. I mixed the Heart Healthy Bisquick with some milk and an egg to make the top and put in the oven for about 25 minutes. It came out wonderful...I was satisfied and had a very happy husband.

So, yeah, I am a little proud of these firsts...the main reason is these are things I have actually avoided cooking thinking each were very labor intensive and just easier to buy rather than make. I was wrong...both were super easy and tasted so much better than anything I have ever bought whether it be in a box or at a restaurant.

Sleeping with Bread

Since this is the week of Thanksgiving I think it most appropriate that I do my Sleeping with Bread on things that I am thankful for in the past week.

1. I am thankful for living just 7 hours away from my parents instead of 14 as I did for the past two years.

2. I am thankful for a husband that works a job he does not like so that we can pay the bills and also be able to get some creature comforts.

3. I am thankful for friends that allow me to dump on them when they already have issues of their own.

4. I am thankful for a job that though I am not satisfied it allows me to pay bills, have good health insurance, and paid leave.

5. I am thankful for having both of my parents still on this earth with me.

I am also thankful for all of my blog buddies out there that I am getting to know a little more each day from reading your blogs and from you reading mine and responding.

Happy Thanksgiving week to everyone.

Sunday Sunrise Sunset

I am running out of sunset and sunrise pics...makes me think that I don't take enough time to see sunsets and sunrises...I think the sunsets right around the time I get off work. I now have a goal to step outside at 5pm each day and hopefully I will get to see more sunsets...now sunrises...hmm...we'll have to figure that one out...that used to be my favorite time of day...I need to get back to that also.

So, this picture was taken when we were returning from a trip to GA last year. I believe it just have been Christmas time. Not my best sunset picture, but it does have some pretty colors in it.

The Saturday Special

~One Word To Start A Sentence Or Statement~
~Fill In The Blanks~

1. Buying ________?

2. Cooking ________?

3. Dinner ________?

4. Invited ________?

1. Buying i snot the fun part...the fun part is giving and seeing the faces of those you have given to when they receive what you cared enough to buy for them. We put a lot of thought into the gifts we buy.

2. Cooking is one of my greatest pleasures. I love to cook different things for my husband, family and friends...trying out new things from cookbooks and cooking shows.

3. Dinner was great tonight, simple, but great. I cooked a roast in the pampered chef baker with both top and bottom so it was like a clay oven. I cooked it at 200 degrees for 8 hours. It was wonderful. I took regular honey bbq sauce and added mustard and vinegar, made my favorite broccoli salad and garlic mashed potatoes. It was a great dinner adn simple.

4. Invited to what? We don't know anyone in the area really so we don't get invited to anything. The goal is to hopefully move closer to Augusta again to be near our families. Then we can invite people over and be invited to things with our families. We miss having that interaction more frequently.

Friday Fill-Ins

1. The last band I saw live was _____________.

The last band I saw live was Billy Joel. Last year in December Kerry brought me to see Billy Joel. It was the best concert I have ever been to and still talk about it when given a chance.

2. What I look forward to most on Thanksgiving is _________. (if you don't celebrate thanksgiving, insert your favorite holiday)

What I look forward to most on Thanksgiving is relaxing with my family. This year that means my husband and I. We will sleep in and just have a great day together just the two of us.

3. My Christmas/holiday shopping is __________.

My Christmas/holiday shopping is mid way to being done...YEAH!!

4. Thoughts of _____________ fill my head.

Thoughts of sleep fill my head right now. I am tired and waiting to be picked up by hubby. He has gotten off last every day this week.

5. I wish I could wear ______________.

I wish I could wear a size 10!!!!!!!!! That's all I am going to say about it.

6. Bagpipes ________.

Bagpipes make me think of Amazing Grace. I love the bagpipe version of that song.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to _____, tomorrow my plans include _____ and Sunday, I want to _____!

And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to eatting out and getting grocery shopping done, tomorrow my plans include finishing up the Christmas cards and Sunday, I want to watch the Eagles win their football game!!!!!!

3x Thursday

1. What did you want to be when you were a kid?
2. What did you grow up to be? Are you happy with that choice?
3. If you could choose any job for the next 30 years, what would it be? Why?

1. When I was younger and still in high school I thought I would someday be a lawyer. I really don't know what happened to that thought. It surely never materialized. In my senior year Sister Anastasia had it in her head that because of my abilities in math I had to go into accounting and being young and impressionable I let her lead me in that direction. I was registered at a small Catholic Ukranian College outside of Philadelphia to pursue a degree in accounting. Due to family issues I never attended that college and never got that degree, nor any other to speak of.
2. I am now a government employee. I often say to my mom...yeah, I don't recall ever saying I want to grow up to be a civil servant. I have worked in the payroll and human resources field for 19 years now. I have more payroll than HR experience. I currently assist our regional Payroll/Travel Program Manager by creating and delivering training on payroll and handling the employee travel for our upper management. I am not happy any longer. I am tired of a lot of things. I have 11 more years before I qualify to retire from the government and I want to do something different, but that is hard once you get so much experience in one area in the government, it is not so easy to change to a different field. I have to use my previous management experience from when I was a Regional Payroll Manager to help me cross over to something else and it is not easy.
3. I would become a teacher. I know it does not pay as much as I make now, but it is what I now know I want to do with my life. And I will be. I plan to go back to school and get my teachers degree so that in 11 years when I retire from this job I can become a teacher. I may not do it for another 30 years, but I will do it for at least 10-15. I hope I can make a difference in the world by helping to grow our future. I know it is difficult in today's world to be a teacher; my sister-in-law recently started teaching and has told me some stories of kids that are just plain bad and now matter what the parent does it does not change. I don't know how you handle those types of things, but I am willing to learn and hopefully somewhere along the way I can make a difference with those young people so that they can grow up to be productive citizens.

"I want......" Wedneday

What do you want to be remembered for?

I want to be remembered for being a caring person. I deeply love and care for those who come into my life and become a part of this life. I try to be there for them as much as possible, whether it be to offer an ear, a shoulder, or help financially if I am able to at the time. These people become part of me, part of my family and I hope they realize that I care and that I see them as family and not outside of my family.

We are all truly connected by our souls and a greater power so it was only natural to develop this kind of caring for people in my life. I believe if more people would realize this we could have peace and go on to build ourselves into an awesome society.

So, yes, I want to be remembered for being a caring person. And not only about people. I care about our earth and how we live in it. I care about being healthy, though I struggle with doing what is right, the people that know me know I care, I avoid just about every vice out there, though I do have a drink once in a blue moon...and enjoy it..LOL I try to put that care into action, I am big on recycling, sadly where I live how no place to bring my plastic and it kills me every time I throw one away. I do my best to buy organic and materials that will not sit on this earth for 100s of years without composting themselves. There is so much more that we can do, but I do the little stuff that I can at the moment...