Since that seemed to be the theme on all my friends blogs, I thought I would add one as well.
I love long weekends, mine was especially long cause I took friday off as well. While I spend that day getting the house back in order after our garage sale, it was nice not to be in the office!
Saturday involved some errands but mostly just spending some time with my guy. Oh, and I baked a massive amount of "lemon ginger cupcakes with lavender icing", another in my quest to try one new recipe a week. They came out very, very yummy! We also went to see Star Wars: Episode III and had dinner at my favorite Thai place with some good friends. My review of the movie - ok. It was entertaining, and kept you interested, but then again I'm not obsessed like some people I know. I'll save my obsessions for other movies.
Sunday was a bbq at the folks, with the family and the second family (Pipchick/Hermans) Kudos to my dad for another great feast! And my "Goat Cheese Toasts with walnuts, rosemary & honey" were a hit too, along with the aforementioned cupcakes. My guy played "Crazy Uncle Jack" all day, and I got to see Carter awake and making faces - check out the new pictures on my website. And the most suprising part of the day - a drop in by an old high school buddy (Yes, the lone stranger, Gasper) led to political discussion until way late in the night.
And Monday - with the weather holding out still, we decided to have a little outdoor time and headed to Stockton, NJ to check out the Prallsville Mill - one of the places we've been wanting to check out for our wedding. Although they were closed, we did peer in a few windows, wander the property, and spend about two hours walking up the canal.
Overall, a great weekend. Now please, please, please keep your fingers crossed that this friday and saturday are the same cause it's REUNION 2005 and I don't want to spend all weekend working in the rain (like the past 4 reunions).
g
My thoughts on whatever passes through my line of sight.
5/31/2005
5/26/2005
The Secret of Nimrods
Monsanto's confidential research finds that GM foods mess up rats
Rats fed with genetically modified (GM) corn exhibited health problems including shrunken kidneys and blood changes that could indicate immune-system damage or tumors. However, no one knows all the details, since the folks who did the research are the same folks selling the corn -- GM behemoth Monsanto -- and they won't release their 1,139-page study. Monsanto claims it "contains confidential business information which could be of commercial use to our competitors," but the brief research summary was alarming enough that U.K. government ministers and scientists are pressing for more information. The study is likely to make the ongoing debate over GM foods in the European Union even more rancorous. It's also likely to be seen by some as vindication of the research done by Arpad Pusztai, who seven years ago found similar results in rats eating GM potatoes, and was subsequently vilified and driven out of the scientific world.
straight to the source: The Independent, Geoffrey Lean, 22 May 2005
Makes you feel real confident in our corporate culture, huh?
g
Rats fed with genetically modified (GM) corn exhibited health problems including shrunken kidneys and blood changes that could indicate immune-system damage or tumors. However, no one knows all the details, since the folks who did the research are the same folks selling the corn -- GM behemoth Monsanto -- and they won't release their 1,139-page study. Monsanto claims it "contains confidential business information which could be of commercial use to our competitors," but the brief research summary was alarming enough that U.K. government ministers and scientists are pressing for more information. The study is likely to make the ongoing debate over GM foods in the European Union even more rancorous. It's also likely to be seen by some as vindication of the research done by Arpad Pusztai, who seven years ago found similar results in rats eating GM potatoes, and was subsequently vilified and driven out of the scientific world.
straight to the source: The Independent, Geoffrey Lean, 22 May 2005
Makes you feel real confident in our corporate culture, huh?
g
5/25/2005
Pasta Salad - Yes or No
Ok, a friends blog recently discused her astonishment at the statement made in "How to Cook Everything" by Mark Bitteman that essentially says pasta salad is a no-no. Well maybe it's my italian heritage, maybe it's my carb-lovin' tummy, but I have to disagree.
I'm not really a big fan of the "ice cold soft spirals with too much vinegar", or the "elbows drowning is some sort of mayanaise" style pasta salads, but like everything else that is generated from a kitchen, quality ingredients, lots of love, and a little experimentation leads to wonderful culinary accomplishments.
So what is a pasta salad? According to dictonary.com: "a salad having any of various pastas as the base". Ok so what is salad?
Websters describes SALAD as:
How mixing pasta and veggies (or sometimes meats and especially cheese) could be bad, I don't know. Many years ago I was playing around and wound up with a chicken and pasta salad with rosemary, peppers and sundried tomatoes that was out of this world. I've used variations of green goddess dressings and mixed with pasta, cherry tomatoes and a bit of fresh basil to make a wonderful creamy pasta salad. And when one of my culinary gods describes an artichoke pasta salad, I want to start boiling water. So to say that pasta salads are "bad" just doesn't jive for me.
So tangentwomen, if you need some pasta "side dishes" just let me know. I say pasta salads, live on!
I'm not really a big fan of the "ice cold soft spirals with too much vinegar", or the "elbows drowning is some sort of mayanaise" style pasta salads, but like everything else that is generated from a kitchen, quality ingredients, lots of love, and a little experimentation leads to wonderful culinary accomplishments.
So what is a pasta salad? According to dictonary.com: "a salad having any of various pastas as the base". Ok so what is salad?
Middle English salade, from Old French, possibly from Old Provençal salada, from Vulgar Latin *salta, from feminine past participle of *salre-to salt.
Websters describes SALAD as:
1. a. A dish of raw leafy green vegetables, often tossed with pieces of other raw or cooked vegetables, fruit, cheese, or other ingredients and served with a dressing.
1. b. The course of a meal consisting of this dish.
2. A cold dish of chopped vegetables, fruit, meat, fish, eggs, or other food, usually prepared with a dressing, such as mayonnaise.
3. A green vegetable or herb used in salad, especially lettuce.
4. A varied mixture: “The Declaration of Independence was... a salad of illusions” (George Santayana).
How mixing pasta and veggies (or sometimes meats and especially cheese) could be bad, I don't know. Many years ago I was playing around and wound up with a chicken and pasta salad with rosemary, peppers and sundried tomatoes that was out of this world. I've used variations of green goddess dressings and mixed with pasta, cherry tomatoes and a bit of fresh basil to make a wonderful creamy pasta salad. And when one of my culinary gods describes an artichoke pasta salad, I want to start boiling water. So to say that pasta salads are "bad" just doesn't jive for me.
So tangentwomen, if you need some pasta "side dishes" just let me know. I say pasta salads, live on!
5/24/2005
A Music Meme....
Tagged by Karchamb
(but I love these anyway):
1) Total volume of music files on my computer:
my whole music collection - almost 18GB - getting way close to filling up my 20GB iPod!
2) Last CD I bought was:
I bought 2 cd's on my last shopping trip (and decided I'm never buying them again cause they are way expensive - I'm all about iTunes from now on). ERic Clapton "Money and Ciggarettes" and the soundtrack to Garden State
3) Song playing right now is:
At this moment, World on Fire by Sarah McLachlan - and I'll probably listen to Sarah most of today - it's a crappy rainy day and she kinda fits the mood.
4) 5 songs I listen to a lot or that mean a lot to me (in no particular order):
Listen To: Oklahoma State of Mind (Kane), Bell Bottom Blues (Eric Clapton), Deborah Conway's Nightmare (Deborah Conway)Mean Alot: The Joker (Steve Miller Band), Gina (Blues Traveler)
5) Which 5 people are you passing this baton to?:
Like Karchamb, my 5 people in cyberspace is slim, so I'm hitting those I know: StaceyLady, BryanD, Matt and I'll tag Smelmooo even though he was tagged by Karchamb (but still hasn't done it).
(but I love these anyway):
1) Total volume of music files on my computer:
my whole music collection - almost 18GB - getting way close to filling up my 20GB iPod!
2) Last CD I bought was:
I bought 2 cd's on my last shopping trip (and decided I'm never buying them again cause they are way expensive - I'm all about iTunes from now on). ERic Clapton "Money and Ciggarettes" and the soundtrack to Garden State
3) Song playing right now is:
At this moment, World on Fire by Sarah McLachlan - and I'll probably listen to Sarah most of today - it's a crappy rainy day and she kinda fits the mood.
4) 5 songs I listen to a lot or that mean a lot to me (in no particular order):
Listen To: Oklahoma State of Mind (Kane), Bell Bottom Blues (Eric Clapton), Deborah Conway's Nightmare (Deborah Conway)Mean Alot: The Joker (Steve Miller Band), Gina (Blues Traveler)
5) Which 5 people are you passing this baton to?:
Like Karchamb, my 5 people in cyberspace is slim, so I'm hitting those I know: StaceyLady, BryanD, Matt and I'll tag Smelmooo even though he was tagged by Karchamb (but still hasn't done it).
5/22/2005
Music to my Ears...
Snagged this meme over at A True Jersey Girl. You choose one of your favorite bands or musical artists and use their song titles to answer the following questions. And since I love my EC, I had to choose him.
Name of the Band: Eric Clapton
Are you male or female? A Certian Girl
Describe yourself? Kind Hearted Woman
How do some people feel about you? Double Trouble, Hello Old Friend
How do you feel about yourself? Lonely Stranger, I Feel Free
Describe an ex boy friend or girlfriend: Old Love, Why Does Love Got To Be So Sad
Describe you current boyfriend/husband or girlfriend/wife: Steady Rollin Man, Beautiful Thing
Describe where you want to be: Further on Up the Road, Parchman Farm
Describe how you live: Running on Faith, Rollin' & Tumblin
Describe how you love: Keep on Growing, Loving You is Sweeter than Ever
Share a few words of wisdom: Everybody Oughta Make a Change, It's in the Way That You Use It
Now you try!
Name of the Band: Eric Clapton
Are you male or female? A Certian Girl
Describe yourself? Kind Hearted Woman
How do some people feel about you? Double Trouble, Hello Old Friend
How do you feel about yourself? Lonely Stranger, I Feel Free
Describe an ex boy friend or girlfriend: Old Love, Why Does Love Got To Be So Sad
Describe you current boyfriend/husband or girlfriend/wife: Steady Rollin Man, Beautiful Thing
Describe where you want to be: Further on Up the Road, Parchman Farm
Describe how you live: Running on Faith, Rollin' & Tumblin
Describe how you love: Keep on Growing, Loving You is Sweeter than Ever
Share a few words of wisdom: Everybody Oughta Make a Change, It's in the Way That You Use It
Now you try!
5/20/2005
Photo Friday - Green
Not the best picture in the world, but I thought it was very GREEN. This was from the balloon festival last year, and me and my irishman got to stand right next to this balloon as they "blew it up" (I have no idea what the correct term is to get a hot air balloon all full).
5/19/2005
Redesign...Part One
So, my lovely little pictures that I post for Photo Friday did not agree with my recent blog template. So I thought I would try a new one that doesn't have little rounded corners that are picky. Lets see how this works......
g
g
5/16/2005
Customer Service (or lack thereof)
Gotta do a bit of a work rant today - cause I am dumbfounded by the lack of customer service that I have received by Verizon over this year and am ready to scream.
So, we have a calling center with 20 lines (to do our telefunding). Each August we turn the lines on, each April we turn them off. Every year I've done this without a hitch.
This year it took about 3 emails and 5 calls to get them on. We then had a problem with 1 of the 20 lines having the wrong long distance. 2 weeks to get someone on the phone because the only contact number I had, had a full mailbox. And when I pressed 0 or option 1 the line just rang, and rang, and rang - one day I waited for over 40 minutes before I had to get up from my desk.
Now, mind you this is all through their Enterprise Direct. Their "big business" special customers. And this is the service - thank god I'm not a small business.
So spring comes along, and it's time to turn off the phones. I send an email to the account rep (the one that had the full mailbox in October, but I figure she had to check it by now) and don't hear anything back. About a week later I call, mailbox still full, I try again the next week (because I'm in the middle of major spring events and can't dedicate my life to finding one person) and finally decide it's hopeless. (And by the way, the website is useless cause you need a password, and to get a password you need to talk to your rep who, as stated before, had a FULL MAILBOX). So I call the random customer service number, get someone who I can't barely hear or understand, explain my issue and he tells me I have to talk to the person who's not there. So I ask for her supervisor, I get a number, call that and am told by that person that I need to speak to someone else. I call that person, they are out for the day and my week ends.
So today, I finally get a call back and am given another person to contact. I'm also told that our original rep has been out of the office since SEPTEMBER. Ya think someone could put the little "out of office" message on her email or check her voicemail and change it to say that she's unavailable.
So now, I am ready to spit daggers I'm so frustrated, and am wondering if there is anyway we wouldn't have to use verizon for our call center next year.
By the way, I expressed my disappointment in so many words when I sent my little email to them. But this venting feels oh so much better!
gf
So, we have a calling center with 20 lines (to do our telefunding). Each August we turn the lines on, each April we turn them off. Every year I've done this without a hitch.
This year it took about 3 emails and 5 calls to get them on. We then had a problem with 1 of the 20 lines having the wrong long distance. 2 weeks to get someone on the phone because the only contact number I had, had a full mailbox. And when I pressed 0 or option 1 the line just rang, and rang, and rang - one day I waited for over 40 minutes before I had to get up from my desk.
Now, mind you this is all through their Enterprise Direct. Their "big business" special customers. And this is the service - thank god I'm not a small business.
So spring comes along, and it's time to turn off the phones. I send an email to the account rep (the one that had the full mailbox in October, but I figure she had to check it by now) and don't hear anything back. About a week later I call, mailbox still full, I try again the next week (because I'm in the middle of major spring events and can't dedicate my life to finding one person) and finally decide it's hopeless. (And by the way, the website is useless cause you need a password, and to get a password you need to talk to your rep who, as stated before, had a FULL MAILBOX). So I call the random customer service number, get someone who I can't barely hear or understand, explain my issue and he tells me I have to talk to the person who's not there. So I ask for her supervisor, I get a number, call that and am told by that person that I need to speak to someone else. I call that person, they are out for the day and my week ends.
So today, I finally get a call back and am given another person to contact. I'm also told that our original rep has been out of the office since SEPTEMBER. Ya think someone could put the little "out of office" message on her email or check her voicemail and change it to say that she's unavailable.
So now, I am ready to spit daggers I'm so frustrated, and am wondering if there is anyway we wouldn't have to use verizon for our call center next year.
By the way, I expressed my disappointment in so many words when I sent my little email to them. But this venting feels oh so much better!
gf
5/12/2005
Lavender Pecan Chicken...
As I was cleaning house recently, I realized I have a butt load of cookbooks. I love cookbooks, I actually enjoy reading them like novels...curl up with a good Italian recipe on a rainy sunday and all that. But I realized I haven't been cooking as much as I like so I decided I was going to try one new recipe a week.
This weeks recipe came from The Lavender Cookbook - Lavender Pecan Chicken with Apricot Rhubarb dipping sauce.
Now, I had to make a few adjustments, mostly because the farmers market was out of rhubarb and I forgot a few other things from the recipe, but I improvised on the dipping sauce and it didn't turn out half bad. The chicken came out very good, slight hint of lavender, and warm nuttiness. Not as crispy as I would like, but I think I can fix that for next time.
All in all, I give the recipe an 8, my version a 7. And definitely going to try it again.
g
This weeks recipe came from The Lavender Cookbook - Lavender Pecan Chicken with Apricot Rhubarb dipping sauce.
Now, I had to make a few adjustments, mostly because the farmers market was out of rhubarb and I forgot a few other things from the recipe, but I improvised on the dipping sauce and it didn't turn out half bad. The chicken came out very good, slight hint of lavender, and warm nuttiness. Not as crispy as I would like, but I think I can fix that for next time.
All in all, I give the recipe an 8, my version a 7. And definitely going to try it again.
g
5/10/2005
10 Things to Do This Summer
Inspired by Smelmooo, but taking my own slant I found Ten on Tuesday. So here's this weeks:
1. Use our new tent and sleeping bags on a camping trip
2. Go to Great Adventure
3. Have a garage sale and get rid of the stuff that I have moved from apartment to apartment and never used, like the paper making kit.
4. Visit Jack's folks and spend time with the puppies
5. Attempt a new recipe every week
6. Get Jack to finish our dining room table
7. Plant my herb garden & tomato plants
8. Have at least 1 dinner party
9. Do a Finger Lakes wine tour
10. Spend at least one day going out specifically on photo shoots.
1. Use our new tent and sleeping bags on a camping trip
2. Go to Great Adventure
3. Have a garage sale and get rid of the stuff that I have moved from apartment to apartment and never used, like the paper making kit.
4. Visit Jack's folks and spend time with the puppies
5. Attempt a new recipe every week
6. Get Jack to finish our dining room table
7. Plant my herb garden & tomato plants
8. Have at least 1 dinner party
9. Do a Finger Lakes wine tour
10. Spend at least one day going out specifically on photo shoots.
5/06/2005
Photo Friday - Action
During the January trip to Massachusetes, 38 inches of snow fell. Raven was thrilled, he just loves getting a chance to romp through the white stuff.
And hey, yeah me acutally posting my photo friday on friday!
g
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