It's snowing!!

Well, we have our first snow of 2010!!! Coda is just soo funny! He just sat outside this morning with his bum in the snow just watching the flakes fall!  He usually lays down on the deck, but not this morning.  He just sat there and watched the flakes fall.  He spent most of the day outside if we were home.  I think he was inside the whole time I was at work because he was dry when I got home, but then he went outside and didn't come back in for a long time!  Crazy boy!  Now he's just lazing in front of the awesome fire that Kent built!!  Tomorrow is our first snow day of the season, so the school year has been extended by a day.  We aren't necessarily supposed to get so much more snow, but it's cold and it melted just enough today that it's going to be a VERY ugly commute tomorrow!  I'm not looking forward to the 7:30 start time, but...that's the price you pay to make money I guess!  Be safe and warm where you are!!

Evidence of Delights

The ribs were a hit and we had Bonnie and Larry to share in the cake with us after listening to Tiana's jazz group do their caroling in the little village by the Sound!

Happy Birthday, Kent!

From this...

...to this!

Yup!  It's the big 40!  The only real change I see is that he had so much hair before! ☺
So, what did the man request for his birthday dinner?  BBQ baby back ribs (ala this recipe), corn casserole and vinegret.  I'm thinking of a good surprise for dessert, though, so I'm not going to give that away just yet!  I'm going to leave you with the vinegret recipe.  I beg of you to try it!  I'm sure your first reaction won't be favorable, BUT if you give it a chance, you might find you REALLY like it!

Vinegret 
1 large beet, with its skin, but stemmed, washed, and dried, or 1 can (16 oz.) beets, drained and cut into ½" dice.
3 medium boiling potatoes, peeled
2 medium carrots, peeled
¾ c. chopped onion
3 medium dill pickles, cut into ½" dice
1 can (8½ oz.) peas, drained
¼ c. chopped scallions
¼ c. finely chopped fresh dill
salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
Dressing
1 tsp. dry mustard
½ tsp. sugar
3 Tbs. red wine vinegar
1/3 c. oil
salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

If you use a fresh beet, preheat oven to 375º.  Wrap the beet in foil and bake until tender, about 1¼ hours.  When the beet is cool enough to handle, peel it, and cut into ½" dice.
Meanwhile, cook the potatoes in lightly salted boiling water for 10 minutes.  Add the carrots and cook until the vegetables are tender, but not mushy, about 10 minutes more.  Let cool until manageable, then cut the vegetables into ½" dice.
In a large salad bowl, combine the potatoes, carrots, onion, pickles, peas, beet, scallions, and dill.  Season with salt and pepper and toss gently, taking care not to crush the vegetables.
In a small bowl, whisk together the dry mustard, sugar, and vinegar.  Whisk in the oil and season with salt and pepper.  Toss the salad with the dressing; taste and correct the seasoning.  Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Things I learned at the Veteran's Day Assembly

I learned that there hasn't ever been a Veteran's Day assembly that hasn't moved me to tears.  I learned that no matter what, no matter how weak, "Taps" will make me cry every time, especially when it is the only noise in a high school gym full of (amazingly) silent high school students.  I learned that different units (orchestra, band, choir), when directed as one make beautiful music.  I learned that even the language of silence is beautiful (ASL "Star Spangled Banner"), and I learned, even if no one else did, that a Mission + Commitment + Unit Cohesion (group commitment) + Personal Sacrifice = Mission Accomplished.  Thank you Veterans through the ages for the privilege of freedom.  Thank you Veterans of every creed, every belief, every gender who've worked together in beauty to accomplish the mission.  Thank you to every service person - and civilian - who has been willing for the greatest personal sacrifice that freedom could be won.  And not just for us Americans!

A new plan

Well, if all goes well, and as is being planned, the face in this uniform will be mine -- in about 2015!  Last week I paid my admission fee to the local community college so that I can begin to work on my transfer AA degree in pre-nursing.  As I've planned it out, taking all the classes required, I should graduate in 2013 and then be able to look at the university level to get my BSN-RN.  It doesn't feel real, I'm trying not to think about it too much, or I may just freak out, but really, this is where my heart is.  A few years back we went to Children's to have an MRI done on Tiana and that time the hospital just seemed to call to me!  I had a fairly physical reaction to wishing I could be one of those amazing people there comforting and caring for the children and their families.  And then when the horrible earthquake hit Haiti, all I could think of was going down there!  Of course, they were looking for people with "real" experience, with real skills, but I'm sure I could have held a child, or an old man's hand, I could have cared with all of my being.  Next time I'll be ready!  So, come January 3, I will start my journey.  Egads, what was I thinking!!

Yummy Green Bean prep!!

I can take no credit for this recipe, but I can tell you that Tiana wouldn't stop eating them, and I had a really hard time, too!  I went to Trader Joe's today and they have little packages of French Green Beans in their fresh produce section.  You can actually cook the beans right in the bag.  Anyway, on the back was this recipe!

Haricots Verts with Shallot Dressing

2 pkgs. French green beans (these are 8oz. packages)

3 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil

2 tsp. dijon mustard

2 tsp. white wine vinegar

1 shallot, minced 

Steam French beans until just tender, 3-8 minutes.

While beans are steaming, whisk together remaining ingredients and salt and pepper to taste. 

Toss steamed beans with dressing and season further with salt and pepper. 

I would think this would be a DELICIOUS salad dressing, too!  Ooh!!  On Spinach salad!!

We are, as a family, starting to go to the gym.  That means we also really must make sure that we have the right food going in so that the whole thing really works well!  So, tonight with the beans we also had broccoli, cauliflower and carrots, and the Fried Chicken that we like, but forget to make!  Of course, what happens when we get home?  The neighbor "kid" dropped off his leftover Halloween candy for us to eat!  He didn't bring much that I like, though, so I suppose that's good!  Gotta get the chocolate out of here is all I can think!

A ghoulish affair

'Twas a Spooky Night

We were invited to join the festivities at the Darkened House on the Dark Side of the Moon.  Many frightful teenagers (aren't they all?!) arrived to enjoy a mysteriously delicious feast attended to by none other than the Butler and "his" staff.  Some great fun was "rustled" up that kept them occupied for the better part of a few hours.

Thanks greatly to the owners of the Manse for allowing us to be a part of a truly mystifying, magical evening not soon to be forgotten!