Monthly Archives: May 2010
Wordless Wednesday #13: Playing With My New Camera
Nobody really cares if you’re miserable, so you might as well be happy.
~Cynthia Nelms
It’s Wordless Wednesday again! Leave a message and I’ll try to return the favor.
Lulu striking a diva pose
Wishing Daddy was home
Talk to the paw
Happy girl... see the grin?
Handsome boy
Running is a lot of work!
Smells like spring!
Nearly 11 years old and 5 1/2 years off the track... and still has muscles!
Guarding his domain.
Mmm… Monday #9: Fruit Dip
This special feeling towards fruit, its glory and abundance, is I would say universal…. We respond to strawberry fields or cherry orchards with a delight that a cabbage patch or even an elegant vegetable garden cannot provoke.
~Jane Grigson
So I was begged to provide the recipe for this fruit dip. This amazing ambrosia of a dip that my Grandma makes. I’m giving you fair warning: this stuff is addictive. And is not pleasant to a woman’s hips or a man’s gut. But it is so delectable that you really couldn’t care less. And you will give yourself permission because you are eating it with fruit, which is, after all, very healthy. Don’t worry, I’ll let you keep your fantasy… just don’t ruin it for me, either!
Grandma’s Fruit Dip (Ambrosia)
Ingredients
Are you ready for this? Because it’s a long list. Better get a piece of paper and a pen.
- One 8oz package of cream cheese
- One 15 or so oz tub of marshmallow cream (fluff)
- Fruit of your choice (strawberries are best in my opinion, but apples, bananas, etc are all amazing)
Seriously, that’s it. You just blend them together with a hand mixer or on a very low setting with a stand mixer. And no, I don’t have photos because my hips can’t take it so I haven’t made it lately.
I’m ducking and running before you try it. Because you are going to curse the day you read this… and love every minute of it.
Update… or Not
The one function that TV news performs very well is that when there is no news we give it to you with the same emphasis as if there were.
~David Brinkley
Nothing to report on the deployment front. Er, I mean my deployment front. I’m hoping to hear back tomorrow (Monday). Most likely at 0510… because that’s 0710 where my CO is. But that’s okay as long as he has concrete news for me.
In other news, I’m typing on a new laptop. My dream Mac is going to have to wait until Christmas… or my birthday next year or even Christmas 2011. So for now I got this (hopefully) great Asus for only $410 before taxes. Best Buy matched buy.com’s price. Sometimes all you have to do is ask… Woot! That’s about 15% off Best Buy’s “best” price.
So yeah… hurry up and wait. That’s me.
Dare I Ask What Next?
“The robbed that smiles steals something from the thief.”
-William Shakespeare, Othello
Dear Adversary,
You are good, I’ll give you that. You have been playing ping-pong with my nerves the last week. Deploying (in 9 days), not deploying. Deploying (in 6 days), not deploying. Deploying (in ? days)… and now “hold for possible stand-down.”
And then I was promised that I’d know for sure by end of business today. It’s 530pm PST and I still haven’t heard anything. This would be so much easier if Huzzy wasn’t currently deployed because I wouldn’t have to worry about finding and letting a stranger into our house to watch our dogs. But you knew that… that’s why you are playing your games at this very moment.
I have three escapes in this world: books, my computer and TV. In the last 36 hours, you’ve systematically taken out two of them. You can’t fully take away books because there are libraries around. But that takes effort and seeing people, which I don’t feel like doing.
You can stop now. I believe I’ve shown that I have patience. But it’s beginning to wear as thin as the hair on the heads of the members of the Hair Club For Men. Maybe thinner.
Oh, and I had my hair cut short when I was thinking I was being deployed. That way I didn’t have to hedge my bets on a ship’s barber 1/2 way through. It’s WAY shorter than planned. Really short hair looks good on lots of people. Not me. I look like a boy. And not a cute one. Oh, and add in pimples. ‘Cause stress likes to do that to me.
Are we done yet?
-Wifey
Mmm… Monday #8: Veggie Pizza
Life expectancy would grow by leaps and bounds if green vegetables smelled as good as bacon.
~Doug Larson
It’s been a while since I’ve done an “Mmm… Monday.” Apparently it’s been nearly four months. But I’ve been too busy with DCO school, moving, Huzzy’s deployment and other stuff. And my camera died.
I got a new camera on Friday, so it’s time to go back to Mmm… Monday!
This week’s recipe is one that my mom used to make all the time in the heat of summer (ya know, when it was 90+ and we didn’t have any A/C!). Rather than cooking over a stove or baking for a long time, she’d make this. It only requires the stove for about 16 minutes, so it doesn’t heat up the house too much.
And, you get many servings of veggies. I can even add veggies I don’t like (like radishes) and not even taste them because of all the other flavors. It’s awesome.
Huzzy loves it and so does his former roommate. In fact, I got his former roommie to take care of the dogs once if I made it for him. Of course, I did!
Vegetable Pizza
Ingredients
-2 cans Pillsbury Crescent Rolls
-2 packets of cream cheese
-1 bottle buttermilk ranch dressing (you’ll use probably 16-20 ounces)
-Any veggies you want
(I generally use broccoli, cauliflower, radishes, cucumbers, carrots and celery)
Uncooked dough rolled out.
- Preheat the oven according to the directions on the crescent rolls.
- Roll crescent rolls into cookie sheet (that has an edge on it) and pat together so there are no gaps. (I don’t always need all of the dough).
- Bake crescent rolls according to package directions (until starting to turn lightly brown).
Choose your veggies.
- Let cool completely.
- Cut up vegetables into small pieces (less than 1/2 inch in diameter).
- Whip cream cheese and buttermilk ranch dressing together (enough dressing to make it creamy but not runny at all). Will be very thick.
Okay, you didn't get a photo of the entire pizza. It was kinda eaten before I remembered to get one. But you got a photo of the last two pieces before I ate them this evening!
- Spread mixture onto cooled dough.
- Add vegetable toppings. Load it up… no mixture showing!
- Cool in the refrigerator for at least an hour.
You can actually eat it right away, but everyone agrees that it is best when it’s cold. In fact, it’s at its very best the next day! Enjoy!
If you try it, please let me know how you like it.
