You are currently browsing the monthly archive for October 2008.
One day, an army of gray-haired women may quietly take over the earth.
– Gloria Steinem
Behold, my new favorite blog, co-written by two women (though mostly by one of them) in their 80s who have been friends for 60+ years: Margaret and Helen. As a warning, many of the posts are political, and heavily left-leaning, but oh my gosh, do these ladies have a way with words – I just started reading today, and they are cracking me up. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do!
Most modern calendars mar the sweet simplicity of our lives by reminding us that each day that passes is the anniversary of some perfectly uninteresting event.
– Oscar Wilde
One year ago today, Hear Me in the Harmony was born. It seems both longer and more recent than that, but WordPress says it’s true. In honor of the day, I thought I’d share some HMITH trivia with you.
- I started over at Blogger and moved to WP on 12/15/07.
- Total number of posts: 132, including this one (that’s not so many; I wish I’d written more. Maybe this year.)
- Most viewed post: Seven Minutes in Heaven (which has more than twice the views of the next closest post, This Year’s Love)
- Total number of comments: 538
- Post with the most comments: Run For Your Life (followed closely by Who Are You, and Where Did You Come From?, one that’s very special to me)
- Most clicked link in my Blogroll: Things My Boyfriend Says (though that site hasn’t been updated in well over a year; maybe she broke up with her boyfriend?)
- The only post that doesn’t begin with a quote: Hey, It Doesn’t Hurt to Ask, Right?
- Most common search term used to reach HMITH: “white tiger,” with “white tigers” in second (Really? I mean, that’s weird, isn’t it? I have one picture of a white tiger, here, from my trip to Houston, but you know, not really being a blog about white tigers, I find this oddly troubling.)
- Funniest search term used to reach HMITH: I think it’s a tie between “ways to almost die,” “I have a crush on my dentist,” and “Michael Keaton saves woobie.”
- Best search term used to reach HMITH: This one’s easy – “Brian McCann”
- My favorite post: This one was tough, and I couldn’t choose just one – my favorites are Brothers and Sisters and Memory Lane of Men, Part 1.
The best part of blogging, though, has been getting to know so many of you through the comments and through your own blogs (because I’m always reading, even if I’m not writing). I love being part of your lives this way, and I’m so glad you’ve allowed me to share myself with you.
Don’t worry about polls, but if you do, don’t admit it!
– Rosalynn Carter
So WordPress added a new feature recently that I’ve been dying to try – Polls! I kept waiting for you other WP types to use it, because I am supremely uncreative at thinking of questions, but none of you have, so now you’re stuck with me.
In between commercials of Game 5 of the World Series, I’m watching the Indianapolis Colts play the Tennessee Titans. Peyton Manning is my perennial Fantasy quarterback (among fantasy, um, other things, but that is neither here nor there), and until this season, he’d been a sure thing. I don’t know if it’s the pre-season knee surgeries, age, or something else, but he’s been off his game so far this season. I picked up Jason Campbell as a backup a few weeks ago when Indy had its bye week, and I played him two weeks ago because Manning had been faltering. Of course, that week Manning had a stellar game against Baltimore, connecting with Marvin Harrison for two touchdowns. I also have Harrison, and benched him that week, too, because he’d been sucking. My luck in Fantasy Football is not what you’d call great. In the 5+ years I’ve been playing in Nate’s league, I don’t think I’ve ever even made the playoffs, despite usually having teams that look great on paper. So far this season, I’m 3-4.
I played Campbell this week, since the Redskins played the winless Lions, but hedged my bets by playing Harrison, in case he and Manning had a repeat of the Ravens game. Campbell did well, but as of halftime of tonight’s game, Harrison has 1 catch for 12 yards. This is not good. I need him to have a great game tonight to beat my opponent, and I can feel that it’s just not happening.
All of this is a roundabout way of introducing my first poll:
There is no happiness; there are only moments of happiness.
– Spanish proverb
I love anomalies. Like once, I got soup at a restaurant that had a packet of Saltines on the side, only it only had one Saltine in it, even though it should have had two. Tuesday, I filled the candy bowl at work with caramel candy corn. Yesterday, I spooned several into my hand and found a single chocolate candy corn! Then last night, I was pulling red grapes off the stems and putting them in a colander to wash them and saw this:
It’s a single, tiny, GREEN grape on the bunch of big red grapes! I know it’s silly, but things like this make me smile.
“I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious.”
– Albert Einstein
I’m feeling kind of random and inquisitive. Please answer any or all of the following questions in the comments.
1. How do you eat corn on the cob (i.e., one long row at a time before moving down or around the whole cob at once before moving to the side)? And while we’re on the subject, do you use corn on the cob holders?
2. If you’re married, what was your wedding song?
3. What’s your single favorite piece of clothing or jewelry?
4. Justin Timberlake – yea or nay?
5. What’s your standard order at Starbucks?
6. Why does plucking your eyebrows make you sneeze? Or is that just me?
7. Why do people continue to insist that muscle weighs more than fat? (I’m asking because I actually got the idea for this post from another blog whose author posed the question Does muscle weigh more than fat? Nearly all of the commenters said it did, but all you have to do is google to know that it DOES NOT. Just sayin’.)
8. What is the deal with Nascar? Seriously. I was at Nate’s this weekend; he was out with Molly, I was home with the kids watching Game 2 of the Rays/Sox series. He came home and immediately switched to Nascar. I just do not understand the appeal of watching cars circle a track endlessly, even at high speeds.
9. What is your position on chocolate milk?
10. Have you started your Christmas shopping yet?
11. What was your favorite childhood Halloween costume?
12. Are you tired of answering questions yet?
13. What’s your favorite number?
14. Which color Starburst is the best (keep in mind there is only one right answer to this)?
15. Do you have any questions for me?
“Your good friend has just taken a piece of cake out of the garbage and eaten it. You will probably need this information when you check me into the Betty Crocker Clinic.”
– Miranda, Sex and the City
Do you like chocolate? Of course you do. Unless you’re Karen. Or unAmerican. So, do I have the cake for you! Yes, its base is a boxed mix, but it’s doctored with other stuff that makes it so moist and delicious, you won’t have to admit it to anyone. I never do. And it’s called . . .
Too Much Chocolate Cake (from allrecipes.com)
- 1 18.25 oz. box of Devil’s Food Cake mix
- 1 5.9 oz. instant chocolate pudding mix (you cannot use the sugar-free for this – there’s not as much mix in them because, you know, no sugar)
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 cup vegetable oil (I use canola)
- 4 eggs, beaten
- 1/2 cup warm water
- 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips (I use the mini ones)
1. Pre-heat oven to 350.
2. In a large bowl, mix together cake mix, pudding mix, sour cream, oil, beaten eggs, and warm water (make sure you scrape the bottom of the bowl). Batter will be thick. Stir in chocolate chips.
3. Spoon batter into well-greased 12-cup Bundt pan and smooth out (don’t cheat on the size of the pan – this cake rises quite a bit).
4. Bake for 50-55 minutes, or until the top is spongy and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
5. Cool cake thoroughly in pan before inverting onto serving plate (you can get away with not cooling it all the way; last time I only waited 30 minutes or so because it was getting late and I still needed to glaze it before going to bed).
The original recipe says to dust with powdered sugar. I’m sure that’s fine, but I prefer . . .
Satiny Chocolate Glaze (also from allrecipes.com)
- 3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (I suppose you could use whatever kind of chocolate you prefer for this part – next time I might try dark chocolate)
- 3 tablespoons butter (the most recent time I made this, I only had unsalted butter, so I added about 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of coarse kosher salt, which made for the best salty-sweet taste)
- 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1. In a double boiler over hot (not boiling) water, stir chocolate, butter, and corn syrup until smooth and shiny.
2. Stir in vanilla.
3. Drizzle warm glaze over the cake, letting it run down the sides.
Serves however many people you need it to, depending on the size of the slice, of course (I think I served about 16 or so)!
I took this to work this week, and it was gone in no time at all.
You are very welcome.
When you look at your life, the greatest happinesses are family happinesses.
– Dr. Joyce Brothers
There are no words for how much I love these two small people:
Obviously, I’m in Richmond at Nate’s. I came down around noon today to spend the night here, since it’s been more than a month since I’ve visited, and I needed a family fix. We went to a Fall Festival (which, when the Conductor asked me if I wanted to go, sounded like “Do you want to go throw a basketball?” And whether that’s because of the way he talks or my hearing impairment is anybody’s guess!) nearby where the kids played carnival games and jumped in the Bounce House (and I could go on and on about allowing 14-year-old volunteers to be the only people manning the thing and allowing big kids in with the little ones, but I won’t, since no one got hurt) and generally had a great time.
Every time I come to visit, I’m struck by how much they’ve grown and changed, even in the short time since I last saw them. They are both funny, happy kids, and their thoughtfulness stuns me. I love to sit on the couch and talk to the Princess. I forget how it came up, but we were talking about watching a movie and she said, “I don’t have a tv in my room. Mommy and Daddy have a tv in their room.” I told her that I don’t have a tv in my bedroom, either, just in the living room. She immediately said, “What about the news?”
The Conductor gets more outgoing every time I see him. He was the first one out to greet me when I arrived, and all day, he’s been calling out “Mel-mel?” and then asking me or telling me something. I nearly always need a translation, but I love that he wants to talk to me so much.
Tonight, because it was a “special” night, the three of us watched Finding Nemo, complete with popcorn, while Nate and Molly went out to dinner.
These are not my children, but they are mine. I know it when the Princess runs up behind me and slips her little hand into mine, or when the Conductor races down the driveway and into my arms when I get out of the car. I know it when she spontaneously cuddles up next to me on the couch or when he smiles as I start to sing him the song I made up for him that I’ve been singing to him since he was just a tiny baby. They’re mine in the way only nieces and nephews can be – and I’m theirs. Always.
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