Thursday, September 25, 2008

Daddy

My dad is really ill. I'd like to be the kind of person that wholeheartedly believes in the power of prayer, but I'm only 75% there most of the time. So whatever you want to call it - prayer, positive thinking, best wishes, I don't care...send them his way?

Saturday, September 20, 2008

Bright Spots

Here are some things in the near future I'm looking forward to:
  • The Cowboys game tomorrow
  • The "Taste of Home" show (in person!) Tuesday night with Brandi
  • The season finale of "Paranormal" Monday night
  • The season premier of "The Office" on Thursday
  • A date with Alan to see "Ghost Town" (hint, hint)
  • Addison's 18th Birthday
Thanks for letting me think out loud. I just needed to stop and take inventory!

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Four Foods on Friday

DeeBee participates in "Four Foods on Friday" every week, so I decided to join in this time. Mostly, I can't sleep and need something to do! If you want to play, go to Fun, Crafts, and Recipes.

#1. Share a recipe for something Italian.

FRIED RAVIOLI

Man, that Giada De Laurentiis knows what the heck she's doing. I watched her make this on Everyday Italian, and it's been a house favorite ever since!

Olive oil, for frying
1 cup buttermilk
2 cups Italian-style bread crumbs
1 box store-bought cheese ravioli (about 24 ravioli)
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1 jar store bought marinara sauce, heated, for dipping

Pour enough olive oil into a large frying pan to reach a depth of 2 inches. Heat the oil over medium heat until a deep-fry thermometer registers 325 degrees F. While the oil is heating, put the buttermilk and the bread crumbs in separate shallow bowls. Working in batches, dip ravioli in buttermilk to coat completely. Allow the excess buttermilk to drip back into the bowl. Dredge ravioli in the bread crumbs. Place the ravioli on a baking sheet, and continue with the remaining ravioli.
When the oil is hot, fry the ravioli in batches, turning occasionally, until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the fried ravioli to paper towels to drain.
Sprinkle the fried ravioli with Parmesan and serve with a bowl of warmed marinara sauce for dipping.

#2. Jam, jelly, preserves, marmalade, fruit butter or butter. What’s on your toast or bread? I like all of the above but usually have strawberry preserves or grape jam in the fridge. My favorite guilty pleasure is to have butter AND jam on toast. You might see some butter in my preserves jar and some preserves in my butter container. Oops.

#3. What’s your favorite Kellogg’s product? I have to go with good ole' Frosted Flakes.

#4. Do you like liver? What about liverwurst? Honestly, I don't want to know if I like it or not. I won't try either. Have you seen how much blood liver holds? Gross.

Monday, September 15, 2008

Thursday, September 11, 2008

"Irie, Mahn"

I should apologize for worrying people. I hadn't been blogging lately and sort of felt like I should explain why. But it's kind of crappy to tell people something bad is going on, and then not tell what it is. I was pissy and frustrated, yet trying to throw some dark humor into the situation. Only DeeBee (my sister) knew me well enough to know that. And okay, I suppose the Big Man might know me pretty well, too, and therefore forgave my irritation. I didn't, however, exaggerate in the least. It's been a rough few weeks.

On the plus side though, I absolutely love my job. I'm not being a workaholic about it, because home is where I need to be right now and will be as much as possible. I'll admit though that I have a stack of papers to grade over there on the couch...so much so that Alan knew he had the freedom to go hang out with friends tonight! ha. But I love the kids and love what I'm doing. This is what I imagined about teaching.

And on another happy note, Addison is a college student! She enrolled at Midland College this semester and is taking core classes until she figures out what she wants to do. Even if she decides that college is not for her, I'm proud of her for giving it a try.

So I guess what I'm saying on this September 11th, is that even on the darkest days, life will continue the following day and we'll be just fine. If you've never read September 12th: We Knew We Would Be Alright written and illustrated by elementary-age kids, go get it! It's an awesome book.

Monday, September 08, 2008

"Dear God, it's me, Tanya"

Hi there. We need to talk. I'm sure you probably say that everyday, but I can't hear you, being the mere mortal that I am. You may need to speak a little louder. Anyway...my plate is full, my heart is heavy, and I'm really tired. But you already knew that.

Amen.

Wednesday, September 03, 2008

Status

I reach these points where I can't post a single thing, and usually it's because I'm either too wrapped up in something uninteresting like my job, or I'm consumed by things I can't talk about on the internet. Or worse, I'm just plain ole BORING. Lately it's been a combination of all three. I don't know when I'll get back into the swing of things.