Friday, July 25, 2008

A moment of silence for Randy Pausch...

An incredibly inspiring man lost his battle with cancer today. I downloaded his lecture to my iPod in April and read his book last month. I was so glad to have known about him through his words before he passed away. His attitude on life was very uplifting.

I have to admit that I shed a little tear today. I don't always cry when I hear about strangers passing, but Randy Pausch's words touched me. I know that today and probably the weeks leading up to today have been the hardest his wife has ever known. His young children will miss their father terribly. His baby girl will probably only have memories from the videos he made since his diagnosis.

Here is a ten minute excerpt from the Oprah show that I found on my friend Penny's blog.


His one-hour original lecture was great. You can see it here or google it and you can download it to iTunes for free.

Saturday, July 19, 2008

So many wonders in our world...

Seven Wonders
A group of students were asked to list what they thought were the present "Seven Wonders of the World." Though there were some disagreements, the following received the most votes:

1. Egypt's Great Pyramids
2. Taj Mahal
3. Grand Canyon
4. Panama Canal
5. Empire State Building
6. St. Peter's Basilica
7. China's Great Wall

While gathering the votes, the teacher noted that one student had not finished her paper yet. So she asked the girl if she was having trouble with her list. The girl replied, "Yes, a little. I couldn't quite make up my mind because there were so many."

The teacher said, "Well, tell us what you have, and maybe we can help."
The girl hesitated, then read, "I think the 'Seven Wonders of the World' are:

1. To See
2. To Hear
3. To Touch
4. To Taste
5. To Feel
6. To Laugh
And
7. To Love.

The room was so quiet you could have heard a pin drop. The things we overlook as simple and ordinary and that we take for granted are truly wondrous! A gentle reminder -- that the most precious things in life cannot be built by hand or bought by man.



[*found on this website: http://www.butlerwebs.com/america/default.htm#Did%20You%20Know?]

Saturday, July 12, 2008

New baby to love!!!!

My best friend, Heather, had her second baby girl on Thursday. Her oldest is my daughter's best friend, Piper. I am so excited for Heather and for ME. I am not having any more children, but sometimes mourn the idea of never having a newborn again. But now if I get that urge for a newborn, I can snuggle with little Devon to my heart's content. I can also check out the bags under Heather's eyes to remind myself that I don't miss the sleepless nights!Look how beautiful this little girl is!!!
Congratulations, Heather and Jeff!!!!

Friday, July 11, 2008

yummy!

I just made a yummy dinner. To steal a page from Penny's blog, I thought I would post recipes here as I make them up. Tonight's is probably more appropriate for spring, since it was a bit hot for making chicken in the oven. I think I could have done it on the grill, but it was a tad messy, so I would need to do it on a grill pan or something.

Balsamic Chicken with caramelized onions, Havarti cheese and arugula
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, pounded in gallon zip lock bag to about 1/2 inch thick (obviously, this can be made with any number of chicken breasts)
Trader Joe's Balsamic Vinaigrette
3 (or more) slices of Havarti cheese
a handful of chopped arugula
1 sweet onion
olive oil

Add about 1/2-3/4 cup of vinaigrette (or enough to fully coat chicken) to zip lock bag containing chicken and marinate for 20 minutes to an hour.
Saute onions in a bit of olive oil until caramelized.
Place chicken into a baking dish. Layer Havarti cheese, caramelized onions and a handful of chopped arugula. Roll chicken around cheese, onions and arugula and close with toothpicks. Place some caramelized onions on top of the chicken.
Bake at 375 until internal temperature is 160*.

Quinoa with carrots, arugula and parmesan
1 cup Trader Joe's Quinoa
2 1/4 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup cooking sherry
1 clove chopped garlic
1/2 cup chopped carrots
1 1/2 cups of chopped arugula
1/2 cup chopped onion (I just used some from the chicken recipe)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup grated parmesan
grated parmesan to sprinkle on top

Saute onion in olive oil until transparent. Add garlic and carrot until sizzling.
Add chicken broth and bring to boil.
Add quinoa. Add sherry. Cook until most of liquid is absorbed and quinoa is nearly tender.
Add arugula and parmesan to taste.
Sprinkle shredded parmesan on top.

I also made some haricot vert (small french green beans) to serve with it.

Thursday, July 10, 2008

new DO!

Daddy and Jackson have matching haircuts. They cut each other's hair with the clippers. Jackson did a pretty good job on Daddy. Mommy only had to clean up just a bit. Perfect hair for summer!