Things That I Am Thankful for Today

My roomate reminded me that November is the month of Thankfullness. So today, in my super-beyond-stressed life, I am going to pause to think about a few of the things that make me happy. I will start with the superficial things since today is only the day before November 1, but I promise as it gets closer to Thanksgiving I will make my way towards the things that are really important! But for today I am thankful for: Dierks Bently, Chevy Silverado trucks, and any Outfit that you can wear with red shoes!

We All Want More Time

Okay, so admittedly I have never watched more than a trailer for an upcoming episode of Grey's Anatomy. And I only ever watch t.v. when I can watch 11 channels at once while running at the gym, (am I ADD?) Anyway, last night Grey's Anatomy was about how 1/2 the doctors got exposed to the plague or something and there were all these tearful rememberances of moments in their life, and those sappy conversations where they realize they haven't told the one they love that they love them yet, and some realtionships start and some end and its all sad and happy, and ends with saying everyone wishes they had more time. And maybe it is because I'm hormonal, but it just made me so sad and introspective and nostalgic, which doesn't really help your workout routine, but wow. I don't know. Guess I should tell everyone I love them huh? And tell those two hot men who both want me and say they will both wait for me to make my decision between them, they both think I'm worth it, which one of them I love more...oh, wait...that's not me is it? That's a character on the show...hmmm...well it would be nice wouldn't it to have Patrick Dempsey say he will wait for you to choose between him and your other hot boyfriend? *Dreams.

Classmates.com

Classmates.com is employing all the tricks in the book to try to suck $2.46 a month out of me and I am not going to fall for it! Of course they tell you someone has viewed your profile or better yet, they email you to tell you someone has signed your guestbook, but they won't tell you who until you pay them $2.46 a month. Yeah, right. I will not fall to the fantasy: maybe it is some boy I liked in high school trying to contact me, maybe he is still pining in his love for me, and still devastatingly handsome and still single. Maybe we will e-mail until the class reunion where we will finally fall into true love. Note* This is not my line of logic, but what they want you to fall for.

They also e-mail you to tell you that someone in your class, or maybe not your class--but someone who graduated within 5 years of you--has posted a picture of themselves. But can you view it? No. Not until you pay them $2.46 a month. Wow. You know I'm really dying to see the "then" and "now" picture of one J.Berry, which turns out to be James Berry. My life is not complete until I can see those photos! Yeah. Right. Alas, I can wait until the high school reunion to see James Berry who was the unfortunate start of my unfortunante nick name that origionted in the unfortunate excellerated biology class in the 8th grade~.

P.S. No offense meant if you pay money to this site. It is only my expressed opinion.

Zuppa Toscana

This is supposedly the closest receipe to the real deal. I am going to try it, I'll let you know how it goes... p.s. this soup is the reason I love the Olive Garden!

Ingredients:
12 small spicy sausage links
2 medium potatoes, cut in half lengthwise, and then cut into 1/4" slices
3/4 cup onions, diced
6 slices bacon
1 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
2 cups kale leaves, cut in half, then sliced
2 tablespoons chicken base
1 qt. water
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream

Directions:
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Place sausage links onto a sheet pan and bake for 25 minutes, or until done; cut in half length-wise, then cut at an angle into 1/2 inch slices. Place onions and bacon in a large saucepan and cook over medium heat until onions are almost clear. Remove bacon and crumble. Add garlic to the onions and cook an additional 1-minute. Add chicken base, water, and potatoes, simmer 15 minutes. Add crumbled bacon, sausage, kale and cream.
Simmer 4 minutes and serve.

This recipe for Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana serves/makes 4

I'm In Love

...with a resturant. Okay, this resturant, I wish there was a better picture, is the so fabulous Foundry Grill at Sundance. Huge metal-grated fireplace, log-style walls and rugged furniture, a big mural of wild horses hanging on the wall, just the right seasonal wild flowers and linen table cloths. I seriously don't know what has happened to me, but these last few years, I love the mountains, I love the thought of a rugged cowboy looking man, the thought of cabins and big polar bear rugs and roaring fires. Rides on ski lifts through the fall foilage, (I recommend this to anyone in Utah in the fall, so romantic), and this resturant. I can just imagine my rugged, 5 0'clock shadowed, dark haired boyfriend taking me to this resturant with snow softly falling onto the ground. Okay, well, your right! I do have my own version of fantasy world don't I?

If you haden't guessed my family played at Sundance this weekend and it was fabulous and it further inspired my rustic, western man fantasies. LOL.

What's in a Glance?

Do you ever wonder when your eyes meet a man's across the room spontaneously what he sees in you? I don't mean physically per say, but what he really sees? I know a 100 meaningless glances occur everyday, but every once in a while there is one that impresses on your mind and recurrs in your thoughts for days.

This week at Institute I spotted a guy in the back row that I thought was particualrly handsome. I didn't see his face, only his profile, his medium brown hair, light coloring, something about the way he held himself instantly grabbed me. I was sitting in the overflow seating and so he didn't see me watch him, even once he did not turn around--why would he, he had no idea who I was out of all the 60 or so people in the back behind him. Afterwards I exited the same side of the chapel he did, again, much farther behind him, I had no idea he would be just down the hall. I walked into the cultural hall where the refreshments are and heard a couple of guys enter behind me. I didn't turn around, I didn't have reason to, I just walked by myself over to the refreshment table where they were serving brownies. I took a brownie, and then is my coustom to leave quickly after insitute beause it gets over at 9 p.m. and I start my school day at 8:00 a.m., (hence not looking too hot, tired, and hungry), I was about to slip out the door. I heard a voice behind me, not addressing me but the brownies and his friend. I turned and headed towards the door, I noticed out of the corner of my eye that this particularly handsome man and his friend were the ones right behind me, again no eye contact. I wanted to get one more glance, so I walked to the garbage can and threw away my plate, who needs a plate when brownies are finger food? And then turned around slowly to survey the room, very natural, very casual, and as I turned around to look for this unnamed man, he turned around to look at me at the same time and our eyes simultaneously met. Maybe he turned around before and was already looking at me, I don't know. And it was one of those looks, the kind that makes you gasp, his eyes were amazing...and then that was it, I turned around agian and left. Probably that glance was nothing to him, I am not trying to be romanitc and make it into something it was not. But have you ever had one of those moments where it is as if your whole soul had just been laid bare? And you wonder what your eyes are revealing, and if that someone can somehow see something they shouldn't? Had something made him turn around intiuitvely knowing I was the one who had had my eye on him? Or had he spotted me sometime later, casually and then just turned around for one more look? Probably the second, but for one moment, I felt that exhilaration of knowing that someone I wanted to look at, was looking at me too.

(Again, probably meant nothing to him, I am not that silly, this is not a movie, but boy, it sure spun me into a moment of dream).

Lecture Me!

I need a lecture to motivate me to go to my cousin Jacqueline's family wedding shower on Wednesday night. Or, better still---I need a hot date to get out of it. I know I will look like the family anti-social if I don't go, and yet, as I explained to my unsympathetic parents, I don't want to go unprotected! I am the last standing single old maid in my family! The "bookends" of my security both got married. Jacqueline is 23, and Whitney was 29, so here I am the lone individual trailed, at a very far distance by many cousins 22 and younger. I just feel so old and single when I am around my Utah family. I know I shouldn't and ect.,ect.,ect., and its self-imaging I know, but gee wiz. Anyway, like when Panini didn't want to go to her step-sister's wedding, and her mom applied the pressure I am getting it too. Doesn't anyone understand how hard it is? Or do I just need to buck up? And yes, I have thought about hiring a male escort! LOL. Too expensive. Alas~.

My Three Kids

I am just mentioning this because it is totally trippy. Panini had a dream last night about my three kids. Two girls and a boy, not with red hair. Of course she noted that they loved her ;) and I told her of course they will. But the funny thing is that I have had a few dreams over the last few years about my three kids too. Two girls, one boy and not with red hair. I hope the hair part is not true though...I need at least one red head! Anyway, there is all the debate about dreams being internalizations of our own wishes and thoughts, but then again sometimes they are more than just that. So who knows! Food for thought anyway--that Panini would dream about my three kids, similar to the ones I dream about~. Maybe it is like, "My Turn on Earth," and they are up there waiting on their little cloud for mom and dad to figure it out---or to meet really---doesn't that come first?! LOL.