Elderly lady claims TSA strip-searched her. This woman is not the only elderly person claiming to have this happen recently.

The weird things that happened in Florida this year.

Bacon candy canes. They do not sound appetizing but I will try them sometime (and might be surprised).

New York okays burying human ashes in pet cemeteries. For those who want their final resting place to be next to furry loved ones.

THURSDAY THIRTEEN.....

1. Soup and Stew Recipes:       
-----Heineken Sweet Potato Stew. We made this in the crockpot. Husband is not fond of Heineken so we  used a different German beer...Warsteiner (Dunkel).
-----Roasted Tomato and Pepper Soup with Cheese Sticks

2.
------Spiced Sweet Potato Latkes with Yogurt
-----Conan O'Brien's "Human Centipede Menorah"  was pretty disrespectful.

3. Healthy:
-----Cashew Smoothie

4.

Apple strudel with persimmon sauce made by our Italian Experience students.

They are preparing for their last practical in NYC before they head to Italy.

-The French Culinary Institute

5.

Humorous little story and great camera work.

This video has more views than the band's official video.

6. COFFEE:
-----I am hoping that a coffee shop which will help mentor veterans gets off the ground and does well. It would be great if there were more shops like this.
-----"Is Your Morning Coffee Run Making You Fat?" (Thanks to Calvin Lee of Mayhem Studios for the link)
-----The "Alarm Clock" at Arcadia Cafe. Interesting. Orange juice with coffee on top. I am supposed to try this at some point and let someone know what I think of it.

7. IN MY LIFE:
-----I am very disappointed that we will not be able to see Adam Ant when he comes to the United States next year. We can't figure out anyone to lodge with and the tour stops are likely to be during dangerous winter weather. It is possibly one of those once-in-a-lifetime things and I would really like to have gone. :-(
-----We had to cancel a weekend getaway in Wisconsin (hosted by a wonderful friend). There was an illness in our family and miraculously our loved one was able to walk out of the hospital after almost dying...so thankful she is alright. Re-scheduling the trip...it will be the fourth time we have needed to do that. Life can be a little like a pinball machine sometimes.
-----I am hoping that I am not going to be let down on another production (one which I have been waiting at least 7 years to see). We are going to make every effort to get there...more on this later. :-)
-----I am reading the Broadway Musical tie-in of "Wicked." Husband got me it and "Son of a Witch" for Christmas I am finding it to be a great read and my Mother really enjoyed the copy I bought her when she was hospitalized. "Wicked" has a lot of bad reviews on Goodreads. Hmmm.
-----I have applied to a culinary school! It will take me approximately 5 years and 1 semester to complete...that is the pace I can move at financially. There is more internship and hands-on-experiences than I have seen at a lot of culinary schools. I have started preparing by reading all that I can online of what is taught and what experiences the instructors bring. I am going to learn as much as I can during this time and might be able to start my coffee shop a few years early!
-----I want to explore the music of Ellie Goulding. Daiv Russell (of Ninja-Nerd.com)  recommended listening to her. I didn't realize I had heard Ellie before until I Googled it and found "Lights"( a most awesome song). This afternoon I have been listening to the acoustic version of "Lights." :-)


8. From "The Wizard of Oz" Facebook page:
Did you know? The "tornado" was a 35-foot-long muslin stocking, spun around among miniatures of a Kansas farm and fields in a dusty atmosphere.

9. Miracle:
One of the 2004 tsunami victims was found alive!  A young girl.

10. :-(
It is possible that there has been an infant death related to the formula Enfamil.  

11. Taco Bell is now charging for lettuce. Of course, they are not charging a minor or reasonable amount.
On a  similar note: I got a Seattle's Best iced coffee at Burger King as part of breakfast when we got my Christmas gifts. There was no indication on the menu or by the cashier that they were going to charge me for every component they asked if I wanted (and I did not see the price adding up on the screen as I was in the passenger seat) . It was excellent...but I ended up getting a surprise when the price was over three dollars!! Never again and I am sending them some feedback about this. I had no clue that Burger King thinks their coffee is worth so much. On the bright side, it was a nice Christmas treat.
(Update: Husband informs me that the coffee actually cost around 5 dollars! I still need to write that complaint letter.)

                         
12.
Taco Bell Chalupa copycat recipe
Taco Bell Limeade Sparklers copycat recipe 

13. Child's Play:
-----After Christmas,  Lego is introducing a new line targeted at girls, I just don't think pastel Legos look right.
-----The ABC scratching game. Not good.
-----Uproar over a pizza slice "gun."

"Old man on a bench in Downtown Disney constructed with Legos. 

If you get close enough to the statue, he actually snores."

Licensed  photo. Taken by Michael Sult.

This post is a work-in-progress. :-)

THURSDAY THIRTEEN.....

1. In My Life:
-----Husband took me to the thrift store for "Quarter Day" and I was able to get two carts of beautiful clothes as my Christmas present. I will have to post photos.
-----We had to cancel both a planned roadtrip and a weekend getaway. :-(  I am hoping that one of these can be rescheduled.
-----I have been missing prayer group the past few nights.
-----Learned that I now much prefer 90% lean hamburger to 80%. I can tell the difference easily...there is much more grease with the 80%. I wish that grass-fed items were more affordable.
-----I am thinking about trying to get on the writing staff for a new online magazine.
-----I have a couple of cans of tomato soup that we were given a while back. I need to find recipes to use these. We might serve them alongside homemade fishsticks.
-----Yes, I think that is the answer for the tomato soup. We finally have a fish market and I am excited to explore it. We will wait until next month and get some cod. :-)

2.

3. Word review for today..."patrimony." In the case of things I read, it means property handed down from one's father...like the sacred burial mounds of the Native Americans.

4. FreddieForADay

5. $1.50 off a bag of Seattle's Best coffee. 
The coupon is for use at Walmart. The expiration date is January 31st. I don't know how long the coupon will stay up (but internet coupons get so popular that they often stay up five days or less).


6. Crematorium may sell body heat from burning corpses.
"While the proposition may seem a bit morbid, the crematorium insists that most of the energy will come from gas used during the cremation process, with a negligible amount coming from the actual bodies."

7. SPIN's 50 Best Albums of 2011
".....how were musical provocateurs like Kanye West or Lady Gaga supposed to shock anybody when a craven disgraced troll like Newt Gingrich was getting away with posing like a distinguished statesman?"
~~~An album by Britney Spears is 50th. I guess I will be somewhat open-minded and make myself listen to it.


8.
-----SPIN's 20 Best Songs of 2011
-----SPIN's 40 Best Rap Albums of 2011. I don't listen to rap (pretty much at all). I have resolved that I will go through and give each of these a try.
-----125 Greatest Albums of the Past 25 Years
-----SPIN's 40 Greatest Comedy Albums of All Time
-----"50 Mixtapes You Need Now"

9. Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cakes. From Paula Deen. I will try making the pineapple variation.

10. I am currently working on a review of "What's Age Got to Do With It?" by Robin McGraw (Dr. Phil's wife).

---I am closer to 40 than I would like to think about and this book has really got me thinking about it.
---Despite thyroid issues, I am currently in better physical shape than the majority of my childhood classmates. This is not through intentional exercise efforts. I have done a lot of things in my adult life that naturally involved extreme physical activity or that I put a lot of effort into.
---For my birthday next year, I will make something with a big number for the photos. We teach children to be proud of the fact that they have grown ... being proud of your age is a good thing.


11.Stuff that surprised me!!!
---Gary Numan has Asperger's.
---I may have a non-verbal learning disability that was never diagnosed. I feel much better about my higher math problems now. Now that I am armed with this new knowledge, I am trying to figure out what the next step for me is academically.
---Woman accused of trying to cook meth at Walmart. I hope that someone will actually help with her problem now. I would assume she might try this again if no help is offered and she feels she needs meth. I am wondering if she is just the first person to get caught doing this and if there will be copycats.
---I never heard of Richard Branson's "Virgin Coke." It is still available in some places. Apparently, Virgin Cola was product-placed on "Friends" a few times.

12.

At Loveland Castle.

Ohio. August 2011.

13.

Garden at Jesus People USA (JPUSA). Summer 2011

I want to make a bookmark of his.
JPUSA. Summer 2011.

This post is a work-in-progress. :-)

UNCONSCIOUS MUTTERINGS.....

I say ... and you think ... ? 




Dedication :: 
Dedicating a memorial or new building. Dedicating a baby to God. Loyalty. Dedicating a book. Thank for all you hard work...here is your gold watch. A whole volume dedicated to a subject. The Crow being dedicated to Brandon Lee and Eliza Hutton (I was glad to read that she eventually remarried...about 9 years after his death). Some spammers show a lot of dedication...some show a lot of stupidity...many show both.

Dream destination :: 
Vacation "All I ever wanted...Vacation...time to get away." I don't currently know what my dream destination is. I would like to return to Disneyworld and intend to do so to compete in the Walt Disney Marathon...after MUCH training). For a lot of people, their dream destination is some sort of cruise. I would like to be invited to the "White Dinner" in Paris and actually have the ability to go. I hope that I don't get sunburn on any vacation. Unless it was a guided trip, we could not leave the GPs behind! I wish Israel were safe.

Licensed photo. Taken by Aaron Gardner.

On the way out of Blackpool, England.

Games :: 
Leapfrog. Frogger. Burgertime. Donkey Kong. Video games, in general. Little girls playing jacks or jump rope on the playground. People playing mind games with each other and relationships end because of games. It's all fun and games until. Olympic games. Watching "the game." Card games. I like the "Munchkin" games and own three of them.

I have heard good things about an online gaming platform called "Steam" and will be downloading this once I get my own computer fixed.
Note: Some of the things on Steam are FREE.

Hard as :: 
Brass tacks. A Nail. It's only as hard as you make it. Maylene and the Sons of Disaster..."Tough as John Jacobs." Today I  "blipped" AC/DC's "Hard as a -Rock"  and then wished I hadn't after I read the lyrics. Hard as Nails Ministry.

Convict :: 
Escaped felon...jails that don't have good security. God convicting you about a belief or lack of action. Lacking conviction. The men working on the chain gang. I occasionally wonder what O.J. Simpson is doing and  how long it has been since he last played golf. I read somewhere recently that O.J. is very bored in prison.

Submit :: 
A wife is supposed to "submit" to her husband. Submitting a proposal. I have a book called "The Surrendered Wife" that I need to read further.

Alcohol :: 
People who drink too much or drink their paycheck. Rubbing alcohol. Setting alcohol on fire for Steak Diane, Bananas Foster or a flambe.

Clippers :: 
Nail clippers. I have a pair of nail clippers that are missing. Buy quality nail clippers...because a cheap pair breaks easily. Hedge clippers. Extreme couponing. The barber. Edward Scissorhands and Sweeney Todd. Shearing sheep.

Hormonal :: 
Of course, all the stereotypical talk of womens' cycles. Hormones messed up when one has thyroid issues. Raging hormones. Growth hormones. Cattle that have been given growth hormones.

Diet :: 
So many strange diets. The Atkins diet. Something like 40% of cancers might be preventable by good health choices.

 This post is a work in progress. :-) Participants can "take all week if you want."
PARTICIPATE IN UNCONSCIOUS MUTTERINGS. :-)
_______________________________________

Speaking of convicts.....
PRISON AND JAIL RECIPES:
-----Beef Cakes with Spaghetti
-----Egg Pumpkin Pie. the egg is eggnog.
-----Chicken Cheddar Parmesan. Includes pancake mix.
-----Fried Vegetable Rice. White or yellow.
-----Rice Caribbean. I am not sure where to get Carolina rice, coconut cream paste or kipper snacks.
-----Jamaican Stew. Uses coconut cream paste.

Lifestyle changes can prevent 40% of cancers?

"Smoking was "far and away" the lifestyle factor most related to cancer, the study showed, contributing to 23 percent of cancers in men and nearly 16 percent in women. The rest of the factors differed between the genders."

-----A very expensive car crash!
-----"Dumpster-Diving Urban Robin Hood"

Rodarte for Opening Ceremony dress

Rodarte for Opening Ceremony dress (see more long day dresses)

I just really don't like this dress.

Becky Kelso ring

Becky Kelso ring (see more facets jewelry)