How to Ruin Dinner in 4 Easy Steps

I never really liked cooking but since I’ve been married I’ve found it’s rather fun. I love looking for and trying new recipes and Don doesn’t mind me experimenting, within reason. Tonight I tried a recipe I’d found for crock pot Jambalaya. We’ve eaten Zataran’s and it’s not bad so I figured why not. I also made cornbread to go along with it. Tonight’s dinner was filled with a lot of mistakes.

Mistake #1 The recipe called for a 14.5 ounce can of diced tomatoes with peppers and onions. I couldn’t find that so I settled on a 10 oz can of diced tomatoes with green chilis. After all, aren’t chili’s another word for peppers. I had a 14.5 ounce can of diced tomatoes with garlic and onion so I used 4 ounces of that to make my 14 ounces.

Mistake #2 The recipe called for 4 drops of hot pepper sauce. The 4th drop was slow in coming so I shook the bottle a little and 3 drops escaped at once.

Mistake #3 DO NOT MIX HOT PEPPER SAUCE WITH CHILI PEPPERS. We had something hotter than that 3 alarm chili I’ve heard so much about. Don actually looked like Puff the Magic Dragon with the fire coming out of his mouth every time he tried to talk.

This recipe only makes 2 servings and we ate about 1 serving between the 2 of us. It was burnt into the crock pot and Don wasn’t sure if it was from the heat of cooking it or the heat in the Jambalaya that caused it to burn.

Mistake #4 Do NOT forget to turn the oven from Preheat to Bake. While I was growing up my mom always had a gas stove and oven. I’m use to turning it on about 15 minutes before baking something for it to preheat. I now have an electric stove and I can’t get use to it. I usually follow the time tested method of turning the oven on at least 15 minutes before I put whatever it is inside. Tonight I thought I’d try the Preheat setting and see how it worked. Big mistake. My cornbread was burning and black on top about 10 minutes before it was done baking. That was when I discovered I’d forgotten to take it out of preheat mode. I guess that’s a big no no.

We’re not giving any opinions on the recipe until I try it again without the tomatoes with chilis. Another thing, I promise never to use the preheat setting on the oven again.

Cherish Bound Starter Kit and $29 Publishing Account Giveaway

I’m an amateur photographer who’s been into photography since I was in high school and really enjoy the scrapbooks that people made but I wasn’t that creative and didn’t have that much patience. With the introduction of digital photography I was in heaven and having the photos on my computer was great but they take up a lot of space and it’s hard to carry my computer around to show them off. Printing the pictures at home is expensive but I’ve found a great idea that lets me keep up with digital photography, do the scrapbooking and show them off, Cherish Bound Photo Books.

Cherish Bound is so much more than a photo book! You can create books to find, capture and share the stories of your life...

You can do so much with Cherish Bound...create books; enjoy amazing products to help you organize your stories and even an opportunity so you can make money from home. I met Tara Brown from Cherish Bound and she tells me that they are ramping up for some big things this summer and are looking for fun people to join the Cherish Bound family. You can be a part of the movement they're creating with some great specials and deals going on right now. You won't want to miss out! And who couldn't use a little extra money these days - especially doing something we already all love!

With Cherish Bound you can...

Capture your Story. Using their online publishing tool, you will upload your story text, photos, and scanned images into a book template of your choice. With their ever-growing selection of colors, borders, and fonts, finding the right format for your story is easy. The tool is web-based so you don’t have any software to download or update – all of that is done for you!

Submit your Story. With your book completed you are ready to submit your project to Cherish Bound online. All you do is press the submit button and they take it from there. Your book will be printed and bound using cutting-edge, archival processes and materials. You can order as many copies as you like, whenever you want. Your finished book is digitally stored in their archives indefinitely.

Share your Story. Your completed book will arrive by carrier in approximately 15 business days from date of submission so that you can begin the tradition of sharing story in your family.

Teach others about Story. Cherish Bound is growing. Kind of an "odd" thing to hear given the circumstances of our economy and how this little world of ours is turning. Tara said, "It doesn't surprise me. Many people are finding comfort and joy in our products, the stories that are being shared between family members and friendships that are being created between consultants and customers. It's a beautiful thing..."

Many people you and I know are struggling, or maybe it's you and your own family. Many families just need an extra few hundred dollars a month in order to survive and others need a bit more. Cherish Bound is here to help those families survive this wave and find some comfort.

Tara continued by saying, "There are millions of reasons why we're bracing ourselves for this amazing opportunity and we want to extend the invite to all who would like to join in on this dream! If you or someone you know could use a little extra cash, friendships and an opportunity of lifetime...you have found it."

I’m so excited to have found Cherish Bound and Tara has agreed to host my first ever giveaway to help you get started with sharing your stories. Tara is giving away a Cherish Bound Story Starter and $29 in a Publishing Account (a $41 value) for one lucky person! To enter all you have to do is leave a comment on what story you would love to capture and share. This is mandatory for your first entry.

For additional entries:

• Go to www.findcaptureandshare.com and fill out a request for information. (top left in red - says "register") You'll receive newsletters once a month and you can request information on their products and opportunity if you wish. Come back here and leave a comment letting me know you’ve signed up.
• Tweet about this giveaway on Twitter. Come back and leave a comment with the URL.
• Mention this giveaway on your blog. Come back and leave a comment with the URL of the post.

Giveaway closes on February 28, 2009. Open to US residence only. Please leave your email if you don't have a blog or profile. Winner will be announced on March 1, 2009 by email.

If you’d like to learn more about Family, Traditions and Story visit Tara's Blog www.publishourstories.com. If you'd like information about Cherish Bound's products & publishing, hostess programs and opportunity visit Tara here at www.findcaptureandshare.com.

Gram & Gramps on Hogs

My cousin is in college and living away from home for the first time. She’s in an apartment on campus but I guess it’s across the street from a bar. In hearing this it reminded me of my very first solo vacation. Oh, I’d travelled alone before but there was usually someone at the other end to meet me. This time I was totally on my own for an entire week. I had a wedding to go to in George, Iowa. That’s a little town at the intersection of Iowa, Minnesota and South Dakota. I took a nice week to drive from Chicago to George stopping along the way to visit friends in Des Moines then to the wedding. That wasn’t too bad but it’s the second week when the real fun began.

I had two weeks off work and wasn’t going to go home and do nothing so I decided I wanted to see Mt. Rushmore and Crazy Horse. This was in June and I had a hard time finding a hotel or motel with any openings. Seems there’s this thing called the Sturgis Rally that happens at that time every year in Sturgis, South Dakota. If you’ve led a sheltered life like I did you have no idea what the Sturgis Rally is but I soon found out. It’s for bikers. Not the bikers that ride Schwinns, the bikers that ride Hogs. You know, the big, burly, rough looking; I’ll kill you with my bare hands type of bikers.

Driving from George, Iowa into South Dakota was non eventful but as soon as I started driving in South Dakota the bikers came out in force. Big bikes, little bikes and bikes with sidecars. A lot of them were on trailers being pulled by cars and trucks. Some were grandparents taking the grandkids to show them what they use to do.

I said I wanted to see Mt. Rushmore which is in Rapid City but the closest I could get hotel reservations was in Wall, South Dakota. Home of the world famous (OK, it’s not known the world over but it is known in the U.S.) Wall Drugs. Best donuts and a well out back with the best water around and they advertise that the water is free. Wall is about 55 miles east of Rapid City at the entrance to the Badlands. When I got to my hotel I was starving. Now I should mention I’d never eaten in a restaurant alone before and I’m not sure of fast food so I figured I’d probably starve on this trip but once the hunger set in there was no way I was going to let that happen. I looked in the phone book and found there was a deli across the street from my hotel so I’d just hop over there and bring something back to my room. WRONG. When I walked out of the hotel I discovered the deli was also a bar and during the Sturgis Rally it becomes a biker bar. There was no way I was going into a biker bar alone. I walked down to Wall Drugs and picked up something for dinner; Slim Jims, chips and Pepsi. While I was at it I picked up enough for breakfast the next morning.

While I was eating my dinner I got out the brochures I’d picked up in the lobby and made my plans for the following day. I was going to Mt. Rushmore AND Crazy Horse. Both were spectacular but I must say Mt. Rushmore was my favorite. Driving through the hills surrounded by trees and suddenly there’s an opening and you see the faces. Huge, gigantic faces. They were awesome. I saw more than the presidents while I was there. I saw these big burly bikers with their little bitty instamatic cameras posing for pictures. Then I faced my worst fear and went into the cafeteria to get something to eat. I was going to sit at a table, alone and eat my lunch, alone. I had a book in my bag and sat by the window so I wouldn’t look so pathetic by myself. I opened my book out but found it much more fascinating to people watch. Then I saw it, a sight that scarred me for life, a set of grandma and grandpa bikers. They were both wearing leather. He was balding with bifocals and was wearing jeans and a black leather jacket. She had black hair that was set and styled very nicely. Make-up complete with eye liner and red lipstick and skin tight black leather pants with a black leather halter top that stopped about five inches above the waste of her pants and let me tell you she didn’t have the body for it.

After that trip I’ll never be able to look at a biker without laughing thinking of what he or she will look like wearing the same clothes and riding the same bikes in 20 or 30 years.

During that trip I discovered something about myself. I’m pretty good company.

My Side of the Story

Stretch and Ellie told their side of the story, now it’s my turn.

We have a couch and love seat with little chew holes in the back and arms where one of the dogs was doing their thing. The first time it happened was a few months after we got Ellie. We know it was Ellie since she was an only dog at the time and Don and I know neither one of us did it. Of course, Ellie got in trouble and Don threatened to get rid of her but I pleaded her case and she stayed. That was 2 years ago and since that time she’s become an integral part of the family, we also acquired Stretch about 3 months later.

Fast forward a 2 years and there’s holes in blankets, dog beds and a couple more on the couch and love seat. We never seem to catch anyone in the act so the logical suspect is Ellie. They have toys to chew on and I’ve seen both dogs chewing holes in them but Ellie is the one that gets blamed for the holes in non-toy items.

Tonight I noticed another hole in the arm of the love seat and called the usual suspect. As I was showing her the hole and yelling at her she got so stressed she pee’d on me.

I wouldn’t tell Stretch this but Ellie is my favorite. She’s a very loving dog and hates when someone yells or makes a loud noise. She starts shaking and her heart beats very fast. I don’t like blaming her all the time and I sometimes wish we’d catch Stretch chewing on something she’s not suppose to so Ellie’s not always suspect #1.

Short of having all her teeth pulled does anybody have any ideas how to stop a dog from chewing on things they’re not suppose to chew on?

Quick Reactions Cause Big Hurts

I’ve written in the past that God has been on my case about being patient. I’m not a patient person and it comes out in how I talk and react to people and situations. It’s also gotten me in trouble a few times. Well, today is no different, I was reminded again that I need to be patient in things I say and do and really think about them first.

I have this terrible habit of sending or forwarding emails to the wrong people. This is mainly due to the fact that I don’t pay attention but also because I’m quick to react and don’t think about what I’m doing, I just forge full steam ahead into trouble. My husband’s been on the receiving end of this more than once. Before we started dating I forwarded an email from him to a cousin because I was confused and wanted some input. Well, you guessed it, I forwarded it to him. I violated his trust and privacy but he forgave me and married me anyway.

You’d think I would have learned my lesson but it happened again just last year. I was upset with him about something and sent an email to a good friend complaining about him. You guessed it; I sent the email to my husband instead. He had every right to be upset with me but he forgave me again.

Last night I did it again. I had a falling out with a relative, E, about 6 years ago. She’s actually the one that introduced me to my husband and that falling out also affected his relationship with her. In the past 6 years that I’ve been married I’ve had contact with E about 3 times and each time it was very formal and felt strained. I never thought we’d get back what we had and I told myself it didn’t bother me. The other evening E called and it was a nice somewhat relaxed conversation. After that she made the effort to contact me by email sharing family photos and history. I in turn responded to those emails and thought I felt some of those walls start to fall away, until I messed up AGAIN. I sent an email to another relative telling him about the emails and if he’d like me to send him the photos. At the end I said something I shouldn’t have said but I was putting on my “tough as nails” façade and what I said could have been hurtful to E. Well, you guessed it; I sent that email to the wrong person. I sent it to E. It wasn’t until after I realized what I’d done that I got this knot in my stomach and realized I’d probably rebuilt that wall stronger than it was before. Now I fear it will never be able to be torn down. It wasn’t until that knot that I realized how much E means to me and how much I’ve missed her in the past 6 years. I miss our midnight phone conversations, our emails and I miss laughing with her.

I sent an email to her with an apology but how many times can you say you’re sorry for something you keep doing before the apology just becomes words with no meaning.

E, I didn’t have the chance to tell you about my many blogs and you probably won’t be reading this but if you do happen to find it, I’d like you to know I’m truly sorry and never meant to hurt you.

Ghost Whisperer - First Date, First Kiss and Spoilers

Who else figured out that Tim was the ghost’s son in the first half of the episode? It was so obvious, why else would she nurture and support him but get freaked out when she saw her daughter kiss him. Tim was also very adamant that he was just friends with the daughter and nothing more. He was also very protective of her at the dance. I must say though, Don and I at first thought the husband had killed her and cleaned up the mess. It never entered our minds that the accident was just that, an accident.

Melinda and Jam had their official first date as chaperones at a high school dance. They also had another first, a kiss, that’s been trying to happen for the past couple of episodes. This time it wasn’t Melinda who was on the emotional rollercoaster. It was Jam but who could blame him with the mixed signals Melinda was sending him. He tries to kiss her and she’s ready then says they’re off the clock, she meant to the ghost but tells him they’re not chaperones anymore. Then as he’s ready to say goodnight she invites him in, as soon as she opens her door she tells him no, they both have to work in the morning. Who could blame him if he takes it personally; he doesn’t know there’s a ghost in her house. She agrees to a second date when he asks, then stands him up. Again he takes it personal and figures she’s just not ready to move on after Jim’s death, but in the end they are walking outside am in arm going on their second date to look at the stars or something like that. If she doesn’t tell him what’s going on soon he’ll be calling the guys in the white coats to come for her.

Now for some spoilers:

Next week, February 13th Sam catches Melinda in some lies and doubts if he should trust her.

February 27th Melinda shares her “gift” with Jam. How will he react to hearing what it is?

March 13th we’re going to see another “Step-In” who’s a person like Jam where another spirit entered his body at the time of death and is brought back to life. The original spirit, like Sam does not return to his body.

April 3rd Jam remembers being a paramedic. It looks like more of Jim will be coming out.

For updates on Ghost Whisperer visit my new blog TV Chat

Spoiler sources: Spoilerfix.com