Hey, so Christmas happened! That was neat. My niece Jackie covered Laura with stickers, and how is that for adorable?

Anyhoo, it's important at this time of year that we all remember the Reason for the Season. Basically, the story of Christmas goes something like this. Jesus gets born, a couple thousand years pass, and then something SUPER important happens: I draw a book full of stick figures that act out Shakespeare. My printer adds some new distribution channels, and resellers can buy the book wholesale then sell it for whatever discount they want. So now there are venues like this one or this one available. It don't affect my money none, so you wanna go ahead and shop around for the best price, it's all jake with me.

I guess what I'm saying is: buy my book. For Jesus.

A good home must be made, not bought. --Joyce Maynard

Just got 6 jars of name-brand salsa (reg. $2.99 ea) for free. Don't think Great Value can touch that, bitches. Coupons!

More things I will get this week for free/free-ish (but I actually make money on some so in the end it will not cost me any out of pocket) thanks to coupons:
- 4 boxes of wheat thins
- 8 Benevia nutrition drinks
- 2 boxes honey nut cheerios
- 1 autoshower cleaner and 2 refills
- 2 Olay Regenerist cleansers
- oral-b power toothbrush

And yeah there were other things I could get for free but I wouldn't want or use them so I'm not gonna. The thing about coupons is that the longer you are in the game the better the rewards since a lot of the screamin' deals have you use coupons that came out months ago but haven't expired yet.

Yesterday I went to the central downtown library with Josh to teach him about how libraries work, and in the periodicals section I found a stack of Sunday's ads for the taking. I went through them and the good inserts were already taken so it was obvious someone had already thought of this. But a bunch of the grocery inserts were still there so I grabbed them.

Then I got home and saw someone had torn out the good coupons in them already! I got hosed! But I will be at my smaller local branch library when they open next Sunday to scavenge.

This may have to happen for our housewarming (points down). I'm stressing that the invitations went out waaaaaaay late and no one will show up. Imagine how embarrassing it would be if I cooked a mountain of food and not a soul came? We don't even know that many people here. Zero of my family is here and most of our coworkers live close to an hour away. Ya'll would help me, right? Ya'll would come and cheer me and have a nibble? I mean who can resist this veggie tree?

Oh, quick tip. Sometimes if I've done a buffet, I'll do a menu board. It lets guest navigate through and better identify their choices and people always seem to like seeing it on a display. You can do a chalk board or whip one up using an 8 x 10 acrylic photo holder and a piece of paper. For a couple of dollars at most party centers you can also pick up a pack of place card holders (they come 20 or so to a pack) and write out the names of individal appetizers and put them in front of their respective trays/dishes.

I've always had a certain level of disdain for the term "stir fry," as it frequently is used by people to indicate some kind of Americanized pan-Asian dish that doesn't actually exist in any of the cultures that influences are being pulled from.

The key to any good "stir fry" is the sauce. A teriyaki sauce is frequently used to compliment chicken as it has a sweeter, more subtle flavor. Similarly, more savory sauces featuring garlic, ginger, and sesame are more frequently used on heartier ingredients like beef.

With that in mind, I offer my recipe for a dish of the latter type. What veggies you throw in are up to you, but here are my recommendations.

SAUCE

- 4 TBSP diced ginger. Fresh is good, but beni shouga (that red, julienne ginger you get with your Japanese noodles) works just as well if not better. Dice it fine.
- 3 TBSP diced garlic, usually 3-6 cloves
- 2 tsp sesame oil
- 1 C Shouyu soy sauce. I recommend Shouyu over Tamari for this. Tamari is a wheat-free type of soy sauce that tends to have a stronger flavor. Use which ever you like, but I prefer shouyu for this application. If you prefer a stronger flavor, put your Tamari out on the table when you serve the dish.
- 1/4 C tsuyu or sweetened soy sauce. Tsuyu is generally a combination of tamari, mirin, rice wine vinegar and other sauces. It has a sweeter flavor.

Put everything in a small food processor to mix thoroughly. You should end up with a thick sauce that's mostly ginger and garlic, but still liquid.

This sauce works best for pork and beef dishes. Slice your meat as thin as possible and put in a wok-style frying pan with a couple small spoonfuls of the sauce over the top. Allow your meet to cook with any aromatics you chose to add, but carrots and onions work well. Brown your meat for a little bit prior to adding these. Broccoli is also fantastic with this sauce.

Serve family style in a large bowl. Each person should have a rice bowl and a smaller bowl for the actual stir fry. If you want an extra little kick, try putting out some toasted sesame seeds or furikake to put on top of the rice.

As of yesterday, we have ants. Weird fat bottomed ants with a little stripe around their tushies. Okay, okay, I know. Ants don't have tushies, but I don't have time to be concerned about anatomy right now. Are they here seeking shelter, food, warmth, a respite from the constant rain? Anyone else in NC having this issue? We bought pet and child friendly baits yesterday and I swear to you, they have multiplied in number over night. They cluster around the baits like an office water cooler, talking casually amongst themselves, mocking me. Little buggers. This morning I brought out the big guns. Two lethal Terro traps, because I can't take it anymore. Lets hope that does the trick. I will be triumphant. Oh, yes, yes, I will.

I'm revisiting my 101 in 1001 goals before the new year begins, just to take stock of what I've been able to do and what needs to be worked on yet. Predictably, I am failing miserably at some while I was able to mark off a handful of others. My completion date isn't until September 29, 2011 though, so I have time to get back on track.

Ongoing: 6, 8, 9, 10, 47, 60, 67, 80, 81, 84, 89, 111

Done: 59, 61, 66, 73, 87, 90, 92, 110

I added three more this morning. Glutton for punishment, what can I say? My new favorite, something close to my heart, is Operation Beautiful. It is a site that was started by a woman who was constantly bombarded by friends who were struggling with negative body issues. She decided that others could use some positive affirmations and began leaving post-it notes in random public places. Check it out. My goal is to leave 100 OB notes.

So it's 4:20 (no, seriously) and we're now just waiting for the 7 o clock hour when we can go to the airport. With all the crazy Nigerians blowing shit up on planes, we thought it might be a good idea to allow more time at the airport today. Damn Nigerians.

We loaded approximately 800 pens into 2 boxes that we'll give away at the Kantchari school sometime the 2nd week we are there and I'm sure we'll have leftovers to give to other kids along the way.

6 of the 8 suitcases/duffle bags/boxes we have are full of stuff we're giving to people when we arrive. So by day 4, we'll have about 80% less STUFF than when we arrived, which is great because these bags are heavy.

I'm excited to go, a little nervous but mostly for the bathroom thing which I discussed in an earlier post. And scorpions. Little fuckers, if they come anywhere near me they will have to endure my girlish screams as I run away.

Excited mostly to bring back photos of the plces we go and the things we see. I bought a new zoom lens for the trip and have armed myself with ziplock bags to protect my gear from the dust that's everywhere. I know it'll be hard but I'll be diligent and get my camera and lenses detailed like a fine automobile when I get home.


Happy New year everyone

Christmas came and went and it was a pretty good time all around. On the 23rd I picked Matt up after a stressful day at work, trying to tie up loose ends while my co-workers freaked out because I'm not going to be there for 3 weeks.

The weather Wednesday night was- in a word - icy. Makes for fun photos though...too bad I didn't have much of a steady hand because I was shivering.



( more under cut )

We stopped by Dewayne's Home and Garden Showcase tonight in Smithfield. Each time we've driven by, the parking lot has been crowded. The sheer number of cars piqued our interest so we thought we'd drop in and see what all the fuss is about.

The store, we discovered, has a year round loft they call Santa's Attic, filled to the brim with seasonal decor. During the holidays, the enormous greenhouse becomes a forest of trees and festive decorations spill out into two other rooms. Plants festoon the front entrance and the gated back area holds an impressive amount of fountains and statuary.

Tonight and tomorrow is 40% off most Christmas. After that it will drop to 50, 60 and finally 70% by weeks end. It's rare to find our colors, but we lucked up on two of each of these below along with another pair not pictured. The top left ornament is encrusted in beads. It is a fat tear drop shape, although you can't tell by this angle.

Hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday. Just wanted to share a great site I ran across. If any of you plan to ring in the New Year with new home furnishings, or even if you just like to browse, Find Your Furniture.org is a great resource from the American Home Furnishing Alliance. Essentially, it's a virtually unlimited catalog of indoor and outdoor items. You can select what your needs are, what style or brand you'd like and then set specific parameters to narrow the search. Once you've found something you want to buy, you provide your zip code and it will tell you the store or stores in your area that carry the item.

Feels weird to be headed to a movie on Christmas that isn't Die Hard or Die Harder.

Warmest holiday wishes to you all.






* Image e-mailed to me some time ago. Credit unknown.

(With Apologies to Clement C. Moore)


'Twas the fight before Christmas when all through the house
the tension was rising 'tween in-laws and spouse.

Expecting the onslaught, she'd shopped, wrapped, and baked,
Mom verged on exhaustion, her back cramped and ached.
"This year will be perfect!" determined she vowed
Then she lined up her brood, and she ordered aloud,

"Now, listen up, kids! Clean your ears, so you'll hear it!
You'll stop all your whining and get into the spirit!"

Their kinfolk were traveling from locales afar,
to watch little Jen as she held up the Star,
Jeremiah as drummer, and Jimmy as goat,
and the rest of the rugrats playing Heavenly Host.
The pastor who cast them, though 'twas said he was braver
didn't trust Baby Paul to portray the sweet Savior.

Now the eve of the holiday pageant had come.
The mock angels fluttered, the wee drummer drummed,
and drummed and he drummed until Mom thought she'd throttle
that dear little drummer or go drown in a bottle.( Read more... )

* Husband and I both got drivers licenses corrected to reflect new address. Also swang by registration. Time clocked, minus drive, in both places combined was under fifteen minutes. Total. For both of us. And that was only because the clerk helping D was interrupted by a phone call. Not only were they speedy and very personable, but they took one of the most flattering ID photos of me that I've ever had done.

* Neighbor across the way came over and we chit chatted for a bit. She dropped by a platter of Christmas goodies. I can tell it is a difficult time for her. Not only is today the anniversary of her father's death but she's just been told her mother has a very aggressive form of lung cancer and has been given only six months to live. Her mother, who is in her late 70s, lives in New Hampshire. Pam, the neighbor, moved down here one year ago because of her own medical reasons, now feels guilty about being so far away. It was hard to know what to say. I told her that D's mom also passed from cancer and that I knew what it was like to be nearly a days drive from loved ones, especially when a medical emergency arises. I told her that I sincerely believe that everything happens for a reason and that her mother would not want her to have delayed her move, especially since it impacted Pam's day-to-day health. There was a lot more but I'll spare you the blow-by-blow. At one point, I thought my neighbor was going to begin crying. I can tell everything is taking a toll on her and that she tries to put a good face on during the holiday season. I hope that what I said gave her at least some tiny measure of comfort but I honestly don't know that it did. Very sad. If I'd known her better, I would've given her a hug. Maybe I should have anyway. Told her if she needed anything or if she just wanted to talk, to feel free to drop by any time.

* Funny but when we were first looking in this neighborhood, we talked with Pam's husband. It was about three weeks before we put a bid in on the house. He was sitting out on the porch and we went over and greeted him. I didn't think he would remember us...after all it would be two more months before he would see us again. We had talked with him all of five minutes that day. According to Pam, before we placed the bid, several other couples had come to inquire about the property. John, her husband, amazingly remembered us. He told her while the house remained vacant that we were nice and he hoped we would we move in. He didn't want to be neighbors with the other prospective couples--who according to him, were markedly less friendly.

* Odd fact discovered today. John doesn't drive on interstates or busy roads. Neither do I.

Coupons, you guys. Coupons are amazing. I have heard about crazy ladies who save mega bucks using coupons, but it seemed like a lot of work.

And it is a lot of work initially, mostly learning how the grocery store prices stuff and when something is actually a good deal. But once you get it to a science it's not hard or time consuming. I imagine. I hope.

Anyway I am totally getting into coupons. Like RIGHT NOW you can go here. Under Groceries, third page, there's a coupon for $1 off a box of Swiss Miss hot cocoa. This week that cocoa is 97 cents at Target. So tonight by using the coupon I got that shit for FREE!

Check out all this stuff that becomes free because of creatively combining coupons: http://thekrazycouponlady.com/2009/12/finally-albertsons-doublers.html

Coupon Mom knows whats up.


I'm trying to fig out how to get ahold of the circular that comes with the Sunday paper without subscribing to the newspaper since that one has all the good coupons.

Homemade pasta is the best!

Nikon D700
Sigma 50mm f1.4 EX DG HSM
ISO 200
F2, 1/160 second

I've been needing a haircut for a while (thank you, Fantastic Sam's), so I went to check out Rudy's. Most excellent, and close to the house.