Rain

I have the day off, yay. It couldn't come soon enough either, I have got to clean up my kitchen. I've been way lazy!!! I have a great quote today for ya'll so you'll actually be getting TWO of them.

Ultimate Quote of the day:

"Whatever you give a woman, she will make greater. If you give her sperm, she'll give you a baby. If you give her a house, she'll give you a home. If you give her groceries, she'll give you a meal. If you give her a smile, she'll give you her heart. She multiplies and enlarges what is given to her. So, if you give her any crap, be ready to receive a ton of shit."

He he ... if that isn't true ladies and gents, I don't know what is!

Let the parade roll on ...

ஜ~§Quote of the Day§~ஜ

Honor lies in honest toil.
Grover Cleveland

ஜ~§The Question Of The Day§~ஜ

Describe your morning routine.

Oh my ... because I don't go to work until the afternoon, my morning routine is pretty slow and easy. Unless I've stayed up till the early morning dawn hours, I usually just let myself wake up whenever. That tends to be around 11am. I'll have myself a little breakfast, cheese and toast, a hard boiled egg, or a bit of cottage cheese. Yumm-oh. Then, I'll watch any programs that I may have missed the other night. (speaking of which, Heroes is getting really freaking awesome!!) Then I'll take a shower and pop back into my bathrobe. While my hair dries, I'll put together my blog, get online and chat, put on my face (I never leave the house without my eyebrows at the very least). Then, I get dressed, pack my lunch up, and head out to work.

There ya go ... a morning in the life of Surry. I keep telling ya'll my life is dead dull!

ஜ~§The Word Of The Day§~ஜ

Lachrymose

PRONUNCIATION:
(LAK-ruh-mos)

MEANING:
adjective: 1. Tearful. 2. Relating to or inducing tears.

ETYMOLOGY:
From Latin lacrima (tear).

USAGE:
"The lachrymose John Terry then delivered himself of a self-serving open letter to the fans a few days later. ... He wasn't ashamed to admit he had cried and that Wednesday night would haunt him forever."

ஜ~§What I'm Reading§~ஜ

Opposites Attract and Jewels of the Sun.

ஜ~§What I'm Watching§~ஜ

Tonight is: Leverage, which is the season finale, and promises to be fantastic! There's nothing else on but basketball and Obama. UGH! I wish the Pres would quit his yakkin and get down to biz already. FOH SHIZZLE!

ஜ~§Poem Of The Day§~ஜ

Rain

The rain is raining all around,
It falls on field and tree,
It rains on the umbrellas here,
And on the ships at sea.

Robert Louis Stevenson

ஜ~§Recipe of the Day§~ஜ

Mom's Stuffed Bell Peppers from Simply Recipes





Ingredients:
1 1/2 to 2 cups cooked white rice (starting from about 3/4 to 1 cup raw white rice)
4 to 6 bell peppers (red, yellow, or green), use 4 large, or 6 medium sized
1 to 1 1/4 lb of ground beef (ground chuck, 16% fat)
6 large fresh basil leaves, chopped (or 1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil)
1/2 teaspoon dry summer savory
1/2 teaspoon ground marjoram (or 2 teaspoons of fresh chopped)
(Can substitute herbs with other herbs such as an Italian herb mix)
1 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup olive oil
Paprika

Preparation:
1 If you haven't already made the rice, start cooking the rice following the package instructions (usually 1 cup of raw white rice plus 1 1/2 cups of water and 1/2 teaspoon of salt, bring to boil, reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 15 minutes.)

2 Cut the tops off of the bell peppers. Remove and discard (compost) the stem and seeds. Place bell peppers cut side up on a steaming rack over an inch of water in a large covered pot. Bring to boil, let steam for 10 minutes.

3 Heat oven to 350°F. In a large bowl mix together the ground beef, basil, summer savory, marjoram, salt, several turns of black pepper, and rice.

4 Remove bell peppers from steamer pan. Place cut side up in a pyrex or other oven-proof casserole. Gently stuff the peppers with the ground beef rice mixture. Drizzle olive oil over the stuffed peppers, along the outside of the peppers, and into the pan. Rub the oil over the outside of the peppers; it will help with browning. Sprinkle the tops generously with paprika.

5 Place on middle rack and cook for 25-30 minutes, until meat is cooked through.

Serves 4 to 6. Serve with ketchup.

Brightest Blessings,
~S~

Heart's Tide

Well, whatever is going on with the site, I can work around it. So ... moving on. Today is going to be a relatively boring blog day. I don't have any new stories or anything. I did regale my co-workers with the "Surry-ella" situation at my mom's ... they found it quite funny. So we'll just be moving on with the rest for this afternoon.

BTW ... today is another big awesome salad day!!! YUM!!!

~**~**~**~**~

ஜ~§Quote of the Day§~ஜ

Earth and sky, woods and fields, lakes and rivers, the mountain and the sea, are excellent schoolmasters, and teach some of us more than we can ever learn from books.
John Lubbock

ஜ~§The Question Of The Day§~ஜ

Sometimes it's the thought that counts, and other times it's the thing itself. What's the best gift you've ever received, thoughtful or otherwise?

ஜ~§The Word Of The Day§~ஜ

Remora

PRONUNCIATION:
(REM-uhr-ah)

MEANING:
noun:
1. Any of several fishes of the family Echeneididae that have a dorsal fin modified in the shape of a suction disk that they use to attach to a larger fish, sea-turtles, or ships.
Also called sharksucker or suckerfish.
2. Hindrance, drag.

ETYMOLOGY:
From Latin, literally delay, from remorari (to linger, delay), from re- + morari (to delay), from mora (delay).

USAGE:
"Ryder has been a remora to the Heathers but boils over and, with Slater's crucial aid, kills one kind of accidentally."

ஜ~§What I'm Reading§~ஜ

JK Rowling: Tales of Beadle Bard (I'm reading a single tale a day)

ஜ~§What I'm Watching§~ஜ

More Re-runs, Mid-season replacements don't start until the end of January. I'll post a list of the shows I'm looking forward to tomorrow.


ஜ~§Poem Of The Day§~ஜ

Heart's Tide
I thought I had forgotten you,
So far apart our lives were thrust!
'Twas only as the earth forgets
The seed the sower left in trust.

'Twas only as the creeks forget
The tides that left their hollows dry;
Or as the home-bound ship forgets
Streamers of seaweed drifting by.

My heart is earth that keeps untold
The secret of the seeds that sleep.
My thoughts are chalices of sand;
Your memory floods them and I weep.

Ethel M. Hewitt

ஜ~§Recipe of the Day§~ஜ

Roast Beef w/ Scallion-Caper Green Sauce

Ingredients:
1 (3-pound) bottom-round beef rump roast
1 cup coarsely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 cup thinly sliced scallions (from 1 bunch)
2/3 cup mild olive oil
2 tablespoons drained capers (in brine) plus 2 tablespoons brine

Special equipment: an instant-read thermometer

Preparation:
Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 500°F.

Pat roast dry and sprinkle all over with 2 teaspoons salt and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper.
Roast, fat side up, in a roasting pan 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325°F and continue to roast until thermometer inserted into center of meat registers 120°F, 35 to 45 minutes more. Transfer roast to a cutting board and let stand, uncovered, 15 minutes.

While roast stands, stir together remaining ingredients, a slightly rounded 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, and a pinch of salt.

Thinly slice meat across the grain and serve with sauce.

Brightest Blessings,
~S~

On the Grasshopper and Cricket

I'm back in my own place, done moving from place to place for a while. I took a 2 hour nap today, it was heaven being back in familiar surroundings (not that my Mother's house isn't familiar, but you know what I mean) and in my own bed.

My mother's dog is a riot. I usually get up about 9:30 in the morning. (Unless I was up late late late the night before). I let her out in the morning, and then by about 10:30 in the morning she's ready for her 'nap' and goes into her 'box' (crate). It's like clockwork ... she's such a funny little dog.

Today is my Friday ... YAY!!! Two glorious days off, and back in my own place. I have a LOT of TV to catch up on. I didn't have my spreadsheet available to me at my mom's so I completely forgot what was on and at what times. I'll play catch-up tomorrow and Thursday.

That's all the news, on to the rest!!!

ஜ~§Quote of the Day§~ஜ

Punishment is now unfashionable, because it creates moral distinctions among men, which, to the democratic mind, are odious. We prefer a meaningless collective guilt to a meaningful individual responsibility. Thomas Szasz

ஜ~§The Question Of The Day§~ஜ

Field mice always sleep facing northwest. Kangaroos can't walk backwards. Female hyenas have penises. Let's face it, nature is weird. What's the strangest thing you know about the animal kingdom?

ஜ~§The Word Of The Day§~ஜ

Intrepid
PRONUNCIATION: [in·trep·id] adj.
MEANING: 1. Resolutely courageous; fearless. Persistent in the pursuit of something.
ETYMOLOGY: 1627 (implied in intrepidness), from L. intrepidus "unshaken, undaunted," from in- "not" + trepidus "alarmed."
USAGE: "They were a team of intrepid explorers."

ஜ~§What I'm Reading§~ஜ

Nora Roberts: The Pagan Stone

Synopsis: Shared nightmares, visions of blood and fire, and random violence plague the longtime friends andQuinn, Layla, and Cybil, the women bound to them by Fate. None of them can ignore the fact that, this year, the demon has grown stronger -- feeding off the terror it creates. But now the three pieces of the bloodstone have been fused back together. If only they could figure out how to use it.

A gambling man like Gage has no trouble betting on his crew to find a way. And though he and Cybil share the gift of seeing the future, that's all they have in common. Were they to take their flirtation to the next level, it would be on their own terms, not because Fate decreed it. but Gage knows that a woman like Cybil -- with her brains and strength and devastating beauty -- can only bring him luck. Whether it's good or bad has yet to be determined -- and could mean the difference between absolute destruction or an end to the nightmare for Hawkins Hollow.

I'm actually nearly done with this book and I'll be moving onto a new one shortly. I'm looking forward to the 'Final Battle'. I'll write a bit of a review on the series once it's completed.

ஜ~§What I'm Watching§~ஜ

Fringe, NCIS, 90210 and Eli Stone

ஜ~§Poem Of The Day§~ஜ

On the Grasshopper and Cricket

THE poetry of earth is never dead:
When all the birds are faint with the hot sun,
And hide in cooling trees, a voice will run
From hedge to hedge about the new-mown mead;
That is the Grasshopper's--he takes the lead
In summer luxury,--he has never done
With his delights; for when tired out with fun
He rests at ease beneath some pleasant weed.
The poetry of earth is ceasing never:
On a lone winter evening, when the frost
Has wrought a silence, from the stove there shrills
The Cricket's song, in warmth increasing ever,
And seems to one in drowsiness half lost,
The Grasshopper's among some grassy hills. (1816)

John Keats

ஜ~§Recipe of the Day§~ஜ

Easy Italian Chicken

Ingredients:
1/2 of a medium head cabbage, cut into wedges (about 12 ounces)
1 medium onion, sliced and separated into rings
1 4 1/2-ounce jar (drained weight) sliced mushrooms, drained
2 tablespoons quick-cooking tapioca
2 to 2 1/2 pounds meaty chicken pieces (breast halves, thighs, and drumsticks), skinned
2 cups purchased meatless spaghetti sauce
Grated Parmesan cheese
Hot cooked pasta (optional)

Directions:
1. In a 3-1/2- to 6-quart slow cooker, combine cabbage wedges, onion, and mushrooms. Sprinkle tapioca over vegetables. Place chicken pieces on vegetables. Pour spaghetti sauce over chicken.

2. Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 6 to 7 hours or on high-heat setting for 3 to 3-1/2 hours. Transfer to a serving platter. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. If desired, serve with hot cooked pasta.

Brightest Blessings,
~S~