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August 30, 2006
So Much Mint
I had planted a few mint plants and they really have taken off. I had to do something with all of this mint besides dry it and use it for tea.
Chicken and Cabbage Salad With Fresh Mint (scroll half way down the page)
I saw this recipe in the newspaper a few weeks ago and just had to try it. I made it for a neighbor's potluck and it was so good. It's also really healthy and easy to make.
Mint Mojitos
These were also really good. I had made a whole pitcher, too much to drink in one night. The second night they were even better since the rum and sugar mix had had a lot of time to soak up all of the mint flavor.
Too bad I don't have an ice cream maker or I would give Martha's No-Cook Mint Ice Cream a try.
Posted by Julee at 09:57 PM | Comments (2)
Wiki Wednesday
Courtesy of Karen at Verbatim
1. Go to Wikipedia.
2. Click on "Random article" in the left-hand sidebar box.
3. Post it!
List of cities, towns, and villages in the United States
OK, I'm not going to reprint this whole page. Just click the link if you want to see it.
Posted by Julee at 09:52 PM | Comments (0)
August 26, 2006
Back in the Classroom
Now that my kids are a little older I decided that I would start thinking about going back to school, exploring my graduate degree options. I'm only going to start with one class this semester, but over the next 2 years while we are in NJ I am hoping to acquire enough post-baccalaureate credits to enter a program wherever we go next.
I found a class I wanted and went to the local college to register. It was so frustrating! They wouldn't allow me to enroll becuase I did not have my high school transcripts. I said, "Look, I have a BA. Isn't my college diploma good enough?" No way, no how. So I spent the next week playing phone tag with the registrar of my high school trying to get the transcripts in the appropriate hands, all the while the open slots in the class were steadily dwindling. I never in a million years thought I would ever need my high school transcripts again.
Well, I went back a few days ago and managed to get one of the last few seats in the class. Phew! But I learned that whoever it was who initially told me about my transcripts was wrong and my college diploma had been enough for admission all along.
I then went back on Thursday to get my student ID and my parking pass. Coincindentally it was the day of the new student orientation so the lines were long. But I had the pleasure of standing in line with dozens of recent high school graduates and their accompanying parents. It was great for people watching but I felt very conscious of my age as I would think things like, "Check out what these kids are wearing these days!" or "Oh, just be nice to your mom, she's trying to help you!"
I'm not even going to go into my shock ofverthe cost of the textbook.
Posted by Julee at 08:21 AM | Comments (4)
August 22, 2006
The Birthday Girl - Finally!
She is wearing her birthday dress that my mother sent and she calls it her "Cinderella Dress." The sunflowers are not mine, they belong to my next door neighbor.
Posted by Julee at 10:27 PM | Comments (3)
Little Things
Colleen and her lovely family stopped at our house for dinner on their way home from a whale watching vacation in Gloucester, MA. In the 4 years we lived in Boston we never went whale watching. I think a trip will be in order next summer. You should check out her really awesome whale picture.
Now that we live fairly close to Philadelphia I hear the song Philadelphia Freedom by Elton John on a regular basis - in stores, on tv, constantly on the radio. I know I could never settle here because I detest this song.
Since Eric is still recovering from surgery (and recovering very well!) I had to mow the lawn today. It was actually only the 3rd lawn I had mown in my entire life. The last time I did that was in 1984 when cut my grandparents' grass. It wasn't nearly as bad or difficult as I had expected. But it will not be a job I will take on permanently. Come September 1, our Air Force housing is going to be taken over by a private company, which will assume all mowing duties for the family housing area.
Yesterday the man in the tollbooth told me to have a peaceful day.
Posted by Julee at 10:12 PM | Comments (0)
August 15, 2006
Just Please, Do Not Call Me a Soccer Mom
The kick-off meeting for the soccer season was earlier this evening. We met the coaches and got the schedules.
Henry has practice on Tuesday and Thursdays while Theo goes on Mondays and Wednesdays. Games will be on Fridays and Saturdays. That is 5 or 6 days a week of soccer. We start this Thursday and we go until right before Thanksgiving.
Wow! That's a lot of soccer.
Posted by Julee at 09:28 PM | Comments (3)
August 14, 2006
My "baby" Turned 3 Today
Our computer is still broken but our new motherboard arrives on Thursday. Once Eric fixes our computer I will be able to post a picture of the birthday girl in her pretty party dress.
I can't load new pictures onto the hard drive but I can post ones that are already there. So in the meantime here is a recap of the previous 3 birthdays....
5 minutes old
12 Months
2 years
Posted by Julee at 10:39 PM | Comments (6)
August 11, 2006
Ugh
One by one different parts of our computer are fizzling out. The USB ports are fried and all of the computer's sounds are playing at half speed.
Under normal circumstances Eric would revel in the challenge of fixing the problem(s) or building a new system. But he is going to be out of commission for a while. Later this morning he is having surgery to repair an inguinal hernia.
I can obviously still get on the internet and I have e-mail for now. But I cannot upload any photos, print or play music.
Posted by Julee at 08:33 AM | Comments (2)
August 08, 2006
Mark Your Calenders
September 30 is Museum Day, a day where hundreds of museums nationwide will waive their regular admission fees and charge nothing. In years past it was only a program for Smithsonian subscribers, but for the first time it's for everyone. Just make sure you go on the website and print out the day pass.
I'm trying to decide if we will go to Winterthur Museum & Country Estate in Winterthur, DE or the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania in Strasburg, PA.
Posted by Julee at 03:34 PM | Comments (2)
August 04, 2006
A Picture for Today
Though they have their fair share of sibling squabbles, they really can and do have a lot fun togetehr.
Posted by Julee at 09:57 AM | Comments (5)
Friday Random Ten
Shuffle Those MP3s
1. Everything to Me - Liz Phair
2. Caress Me Down - Sublime
3. I Will Always Love You - Dolly Parton
4. Lord Anthony - Belle & Sebastian
5. Brackish Boy - Frank Black
6. When They Come - Devendra Banhart
7. This Night's for You - Go-Betweens
8. Spaceboy - Smashing Pumpkins
9. Someone You Should Know - Lisa Loeb
10. Two Cars - Death Cab for Cutie
Posted by Julee at 09:52 AM | Comments (0)
August 02, 2006
World Breastfeeding Week
In Honor of World Breastfeeding Week:
101 Reasons to Breastfeed Your Child
It's the same picture I put up last year, but it's the best free one I could find. It's from www.foodandhealth.com.
Posted by Julee at 04:07 PM | Comments (3)
Wiki Wednesday
Courtesy of Karen at Verbatim
1. Go to Wikipedia.
2. Click on "Random article" in the left-hand sidebar box.
3. Post it!
Heaven 17 are an English synthpop band originating in Sheffield in the early 1980s.
Biography
Taking their name from a fictional pop group mentioned in Anthony Burgess's novel A Clockwork Orange (where 'The Heaven Seventeen' are at number 4 in the charts with 'Inside' [1]), Heaven 17 formed when Ian Craig Marsh and Martyn Ware split from their earlier group The Human League and formed production company British Electric Foundation (BEF). Shortly after, they recruited their good friend and photographer Glenn Gregory on vocals to complete their lineup for Heaven 17. Contrary to popular belief, they were not New Romantics and shared few visual characteristics with groups such as Spandau Ballet and Culture Club.
Like The Human League, Heaven 17 heavily used synthesisers and drum machines. They had a few minor hits including the early 'Play To Win' which featured on the album Penthouse and Pavement. Their debut single '(We Don't Need This) Fascist Groove Thang' from the same album attracted some attention, became a left-wing anthem for a while, and was banned by the BBC because of its overtly political lyrics, but it still reached number 45 in the UK singles chart.
Major chart success eluded them until the single 'Temptation' (in which they were augmented by the vocalist Carol Kenyon) reached number 2 in the UK charts in summer 1983. Other songs from the same album, The Luxury Gap, also charted though not as high - 'Come Live With Me' reached number 5 in the UK, 'Crushed By The Wheels of Industry' reached number 17, and 'Let Me Go', reaching 41 in November 1982. The album itself charted at their best ever position, number four.
At the end of 1983, the band helped launch Tina Turner's solo career, producing and providing backing vocals on her debut hit 'Let's Stay Together'. 1984 featured the release of the moderately successful How Men Are, which reached number 12.
The band also worked on the Band Aid single at the end of 1984, with Gregory supplying vocals alongside Midge Ure and Sting. However, they did not perform at Live Aid the following year.
Pleasure One (featuring the single 'Trouble') appeared in 1986 and it was followed up in 1988 with Teddy Bear, Duke & Psycho (featuring the single 'Train of Love In Motion'). The early 90's were a quiet period for the band and they wouldn't work together as Heaven 17 until 1996's Bigger Than America. In the preceding years, Marsh and Ware produced a second BEF album to 1982's original Music of Quality and Distinction and Gregory formed the band Ugly. Ware became an in-demand producer, working for the likes of Terence Trent D'Arby, Alison Moyet and Erasure. 2005 saw the release of the long-awaited Before After; the album having a much more contemporary dance sound compared to previous albums.
(It's a pretty long article and I'm not going to publish all of it. So if you really want to read it you can go back to Wikipedia.)
Posted by Julee at 04:02 PM | Comments (0)
August 01, 2006
Love Links
First comes Love
Celebmatch.com: Enter your birthdate and the computer will give you a list of compatible celebrities. 50 Cent was on my list and Eric got Anna Nicole Smith as a 100% match!
Then comes Marriage
If you have a wedding you may want to avoid some of theze bridesmaid dresses: UglyDress.com
Then you are Pushing the Baby Carriage:
Take the Free Online Pregnancy Test
Posted by Julee at 04:55 PM | Comments (2)
A Home for a Toad
We spied this guy in our garden at the beginning of the summer.
I was flipping through Science Crafts for Kids and saw an idea to make a toadhouse. All you need is a clay flower pot and some acrylic paints. We chose earthtones to camouflage the house.
Posted by Julee at 04:35 PM | Comments (0)