My birthday was last week, but, unfortunately, my husband was out of town on business, so we didn’t get to celebrate yet. We sort of have a family tradition that when it is our birthday, we get to choose where we’re going for our special dinner. I tend to choose my favorite seafood restaurant so I can order one of my favorite foods, Gulf oysters, deep fried with a serving of French fries and cole slaw.
Now, I won’t go just anywhere to get fried oysters. They have to be cooked just right and they have to be the right size, I can’t eat the great big ones. I like them when they’re medium to small in size. They can’t be undercooked either. They have to be just right, and hot! I also like to have them served cocktail sauce on the side.
Besides not liking the texture of undercooked oysters, I want to know that I’m safely eating oysters. According to BeOysterAware.com raw oysters can carry the bacteria Vibrio vulnificus which can be transmitted to humans if the oysters are eaten raw. This bacteria may not be harmful unless you are at-risk such as someone with diabetes.
So, now that I’m aware of the risks, I’m even less apt to eat a raw or undercooked oyster. I’m hoping we get to go celebrate my birthday with a wonderful fried oyster dinner, especially now that I’m craving oysters!
I’m still recovering from the crazy, hectic couple of weeks I had finalizing plans with my Destination Imagination team and making sure they were ready for the regional tournament. The one thing I did myself as a surprise for them was to embroider t-shirts with their team names on the fronts and individual names on the back. The girls actually designed the shirts, but they thought a professional was doing the work. I opted to do it myself with shirts I bought at Joann’s and using my own embroidery sewing machine.I’ve posted pictures of the progress of those shirts throughout last week, but I never got around to posting the end result, so, here it is!
This one is the back of one of the shirts, before I took out the basting stitches (the rectangular around the name).
I was just getting ready to head out to the store to pick up some home cleaning supplies when I ran across this fantastic opportunity to Win a $20,000 home makeover! It’s really very simple to enter to win and I’m glad I found this before leaving the house.First, download and print out the coupon,it’s really very easy, head to the store and purchase your new Renuzit® TriScents™ electric scented oil air freshener. Then, use the air freshener in your home. Create a video, less than 2 minutes in length about how the air freshener has helped to transform your home. If you don’t want to do a video, you can choose instead to submit a photo along with an 250 word essay.
My husband worked hard this weekend transforming our outdoor patio. He installed new outdoor speakers and lowered the patio ceiling fan to make it more useful. Now, I need to get busy inside. I’ve got a wall that looks like it has the chickenpox. I did nail hole repair and haven’t been able to match the paint to cover the spots. My daughter’s room is still painted lime green from the previous owners and the trim work in this house all needs re-painting. Maybe I’ll take care of buying paint while I’m out today too. Or, maybe I’ll just wait and submit a video to win this makeover so someone else can do it for me!
If you’d like to enter to win by showing how your home could use a makeover, you can see the official rules, make your video or write your essay and register to enter your submission.
I was blog hopping this morning and I found the trailer for Pixar’s latest movie, set to arrive in theaters in July.
I don’t know about you, but I think Pixar has created some fabulous movies, Toy Story, Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo, The Incredibles and Cars are all my favorites. What about you, do you have a favorite Pixar film?
Thanks to Michael Aulia’s Blog for posting this trailer on his site. I love Pixar and wanted to share this trailer for their new movie “Wall-E” here too. Enjoy!
I joined Entrecard about two weeks ago. In that short amount of time I’ve become completely and totally addicted. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, I’ve discovered many great blogs by dropping cards and clicking on blog ads.
In addition to dropping cards, I’ve also discovered that many bloggers sponsor Entrecard giveaways. I was recently fortunate to win 100 Entrecard credits in a random drawing that Entrecard Favorites sponsored. Thanks!
If you haven’t joined Entrecard yet, it’s simple and it’s free! You can get there by clicking the widget in my sidebar. Have fun!
I forgot to mention in my previous post that my sisters are going to be checking out one of the local flea markets this week. The reason they’re doing this is because this particular flea market has many craft vendors and we are considering it as an option for us selling our bags and other items we’ve been busy making. Knowing that we’re getting closer and closer to our first selling event has me thinking of ways for us to set up and showcase what we make.
Several months ago my husband and I had gone into a handcrafted wood furniture outlet. They made all sorts of wood products from shelving to formal dining furniture. I thought it was brilliant that the owner had used a digital photo frame to display photos of his products. It was like looking at an interactive catalog and it really captured my attention. I think we could do the same thing.
I’ve all ready done the research and price comparisons on digital photo frames because we bought one for my mother-in-law for Christmas. I couldn’t get over how simple they are to use and, if you know what you’re looking for, there really are some very good frames and very good prices. Plus, there are a lot of frames to choose from, they can match any decor.
I need my sisters to see if we would have an electrical outlet or if I need batteries. If you haven’t looked into digital photo frames, you really should, they’re very cool, easy to use and a great way to show off photos.
My two sisters are in Pigeon Forge, TN this week attending meetings and classes at the Mountain Quilt Fest. I am so jealous!
They called me yesterday and sounded like they were having so much fun. My niece has also been joining them but unfortunately, she also hasn’t been feeling well, so has missed out on a couple of the meetings. Of course, in between sewing and meetings, that had managed to fit in some shopping at one of the many outlet malls in Pigeon Forge.
I know they’re having a good time and who knows, maybe next year I can join them! Of course, their kids are all grown and moved out. Mine is still at home and in school, it’s harder for me to get away, but where there’s a will, there’s a way!
I purchased my current embroidery sewing machine about 18 months ago. Soon afterwards, I was afforded the opportunity to be a panel member to “test-drive” the newest embroidery sewing machine that Viking was making. When I was done, I said that that particular machine did everything except make your coffee. I have been drooling over that machine ever since.
That particular machine is the Viking Designer SE. It is currently on sale for $6700, way more than I can spend on a sewing machine, but, I do hope to own it someday!
I was at the Viking store yesterday to purchase some supplies for the class I am taking tomorrow. I sat down, with drool dripping from the corner of my mouth, and played with that SE machine. It really is amazing. It can connect directly to your computer, or, you can download information onto a memory stick and plug it directly into the USB port. This machine is very intuitive and has an on board computer screen. Many designs can be created directly on the machine itself, without having to go to the computer. That’s a huge time saver when it comes to embroidery design.So, on the way home from the Viking store, I began strategizing on how to convince my husband that I really should have that machine. After all, a few years ago, he got to own his dream car, the Porsche. Why can’t I have the same opportunity to own my dream machine?
After talking with him last night and watching his eyes roll to the back of his head several times, I realized that I won’t be getting my dream machine any time soon, but some day, I WILL own that machine! In the mean time, I will keep working on him. In fact, since he wasn’t here to celebrate my birthday, maybe I’ll get him to take me to dinner and we can talk about it some more.
I’d like him to take me to my favorite seafood restaurant where of course, I’ll be ordering fried Gulf oysters, the only way I’ll eat oysters. I do actually love oysters, but eating them raw is not only gross (in my opinion), but can be dangerous. Serious illness can occur in individuals who are at high-risk, including people with liver disease or diabetes. So fried oysters only for me, please.
Speaking of oysters and my dream machine. In my exhausted state last night, I began thinking how cool it would be if oysters didn’t just create beautiful pearls. What if, almost like a magic genie, an oyster could give whatever your hear desires? Now that would be pretty awesome. Of course, it would take a pretty big oyster to give me that Designer SE machine!
My oh my, we’ve been so busy lately and I hate it! I’m so tired, and here I sit, 12:30 A.M. and still blogging. That’s what happens when a person can’t sleep.
I think after this post, I’m going to bed. I believe I may finally be able to get some sleep. It’s been an exhausting two weeks that ended this evening with my daughter playing her guitar in front of a live audience. She was so very calm and did a fabulous job. She only played two songs, but I’m so very proud. Her second song she was joined by two other professional guitarists playing backup and a professional singer singing the chorus.
As soon as I can find time to download the video, I will try to post it here. This was our final big even for a while. Now, hopefully, we can get a few errands done tomorrow and get back to a calmer life.
A couple of months ago, my husband and I attended a meeting at the Junior High school for parents of students who will be in 7th grade in the Fall. What was most interesting about this meeting was that not only are we learning how to help our children plan for junior high by choosing appropriate electives, but we’re also looking ahead at planning for high school! Pretty amazing since our daughter is only 12.
During the meeting we were attending, the high school guidance counselor spoke about class choices for 7th grade and how those choices can affect what a student will be taking once they get into high school. For example, taking pre-advanced placement (pre-AP) classes in 7th and 8th grade will ensure that a student is prepared for Advanced Placement (AP) classes in high school. AP classes in high school can eventually earn college credit, while still in high school! It’s difficult for me to think that far ahead, even though I now realize college is only just 6 short years away. This is amazing to me, especially since our daughter is only 12.
So, I went from thinking of next year in Junior High, to 2 years from now beginning high school, and then 4 years after that it’s college. Where will she go? Will she stay local? Will she go to a public university or decide to go to a possibly smaller, private school? How will we pay for college? Will she receive any scholarships? (We’re hoping she does in either band or softball). What will she study? I can’t believe I’m having to think of this now, she is after all, only 12!
To distract myself from all of the stress that comes with thinking about all of these questions I decided to watch some YouTube videos where I found a rather creative (sort of) video from Kettering University. Kettering offers bachelor programs in everything from applied mathematics to mechanical engineering and applied physics. US News and World Report has ranked Kettering University as “the #1 University in the nation for Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering” in its annual “America’s Best Colleges Guide for 2008″.
So, I saw this webisode and thought I would share it. This particular video is titled “School Daze Episode 2: Stickman Reads his Fan Mail”.
