Ash Wednesday

When I was a kid Ash Wednesday was a mystery. We all got trooped into church & ashes X'd on our foreheads. Public school kids asked "Why do they put dirt on your heads?" Lots of kids shrugged. I said, "So we think about Jesus." It seemed like the simplest answer. You don't need dirt on your head to think about Jesus. It does seem like without some kind of visual aid He tends to fall into the background. Even at His own birthday party, Jesus sometimes seems less like Guest of Honor and more like Party Guest Number Four.

Anyway, I want to think about Jesus alot. Why? Because He thought of me first. He loves us so much. What is more alluring than being loved? Nothing I can think of. I found a short writing called God Went To Beauty School...it's not scriptural or anything but it does have that love & curiosity for us that God seems to have. He always seeks us, that's why we don't have to look very far to find Him.

God Went To Beauty School

Cynthia Rylant

He went there to learn how

to give a good perm

and ended up just crazy

about nails

so He opened up His own shop.

"Nails by Jim" he called it.

He was afraid to call it

Nails by God.

He was sure people would

think He was being

disrespectful and using

His own name in vain

and nobody would tip.

He got into nails, of course,

because He'd always loved hands-

hands were some of the best things

He'd ever done

and this way He could just

hold one in His

and admire those delicate

bones just above the knuckles,

delicate as bird's wings,

and after He'd done that awhile,

He could paint all the nails

any color He wanted,

then say "Beautiful,"

and mean it.

Funny Moments from Lost In Austen Part 2

I just watched Lost In Austen, a short mini series where a modern girl is thrown into Elizabeth Bennet's role in Pride & Prejudice & her actions threaten to alter the story irreperably. It has plot holes aplenty...some of the faux pas Miss Price makes would have gotten her shunned & booted out with no hope for repair. But if you can forgive that it had some really charming moments too. The clip above is some of the funnier moments of it. They referenced the famous Colin Firth Darcy pond scene! And Mrs. Bennet actually told off Lady Catherine DuBergh! I CHEERED, even though I know that never would have happened. I felt sorry for Charlotte Lucas fleeing to Africa, although maybe she faired better doing that than being married to Mr. Collins. *Shudder* This P&P version has by far the CREEPIEST Mr. Collins EVER! Mr. Collins is usually pompous, silly & a tedious faux-virtuous bore but he never came off as a sexual predator like this Mr. Collins did.
Mr. Darcy was well played as was the willfully ignorant Mr. Bennet. And OMG about Caroline Bingley! I won't spoil the big reveal about her, but it is scandalous! I also liked the twists the story had regarding Mr. Wickham & Georgiana Darcy. It kind of reminded me of stories like Wicked or Into The Woods where the characters are not always what they appear.
So if you love P&P but aren't scandalized by great liberties & anachronisms for the sake of fun, this might be a fun treat. If you do check it out, be sure to go on Youtube & look up Amanda Price sings! It's a deleted clip where she is forced to sing @ the piano forte so she regales them with Petula Clark's "Downtown". LOL I went shopping yesterday & it was playing in the store. Fabulous!

I just saw my friends recently who are huge Star Wars fans. As in dress up to look like the characters and go to conventions Star Wars fans.

Paramore: The Only Exception [OFFICIAL VIDEO]

Everytime I see this video I want to take all my Valentines (Okay maybe they'd be from a couple of years together) and pile them on the floor and lay on top of them like leaves. I love watching her wander from room to room like a small figure inside a dollhouse. :)

How Pink & I Got Back Together Again

Once apon a time in the mid 1980's there was a little girl in an art class. They were passing out construction paper and among the colors was pink. But there were only so many sheets of pink. Just as she was about to reach for the last one, it was snatched away by another girl who snapped, "Pink is only for pretty girls!"
Well.
It was bad enough what that child said. But the worst part was that the little girl, I mean, I believed her. I forgot about the incident for a while and my world filled with respectable blues, browns, blacks and grays. This was fine because I went to Catholic school and that was our uniform. When I went to public high school I kept to that spectrum. I didn't want to stand out. At home, however, with my mom's help, I painted my bedroom a pale peachy pink. This later morphed into light purple because it was deemed "more grown up". Pink was for little kids or really preppy girls who matched their socks to their sweaters. Girls too stuck up to talk to me and my friends. "Pink sucks!"
For a while I never saw pink very much. Maybe it was in hiding after being so abused. I kind of felt like that too when I was a teen. When I got married my bridesmaids all wore blue. I didn't want to be the bridezilla who made everyone wear, OMG, pink! But I felt a thrill when I realized my florist had mixed pink flowers into all my bouquets. I think somehow she knew.
Then one day I watched a new comedy with Reese Witherspoon in it called Legally Blonde. And then I watched it again. The next day I went out and bought a pink lipstick. And I've never been the same since. I've been so much better! It's sad when I think how many years me and Pink lost together all because of a silly misunderstanding. Anyway, the moral of the story is, don't waste time worry about what other people say. So that's the story of how me and Pink got back together again. The color. Not the singer. Although I like her too. Pink on, and Happy Valentine's. :)

Favorite Things

Swiss chalet looking places. I love these carved little alpine utopias...I day dream about leading a David the Gnome existence around one. Maybe I'm thinking about mushroom houses. Who am I kidding, I'd live in one of those too. I'm probably the only Dork I know who's excited about that Gnomeo & Juliet movie opening. LOL

Arm Warmers. I fell in love with the dorky cabled mittens Bella wore in the first Twilight. But the fingerless ones are best because I can dig for my keys or change while staying warm. I also loved the delicate striped ones the Tim Burton Alice wore. Crocheted mitts look amazing with my renaissance faire outfits. No, I can't make any, I've been supporting my addiction through Etsy. But one day I'll commit to learning how.

This cranberry orange bread is my Dad's fave. He is really hard to buy for, so I make sure to stock loaves of this so he can take some for when he travels. I put lots of walnuts in mine. I'll post that recipe sometime soon.:)

When I get snowed in, I make bread. And tea. Yeah!

I live in these boots and the more beat up they get the better they are. I love boots with jeans, skirts, wedding gowns, bathing suits, just everything. I may even love them more than Converse sneakers. That's saying something.

Food From Faraway

I love food that in my mind at least is exotic and interesting. I grew up eating meat and veg with the occasional taco or italian night thrown in. Anything else was pretty unusual. I made a curried orange chicken with sesame ginger stirfry. The ppl in my house aren't into it like I am, but I'm pleased with it. I don't like recipes that are long because after I cook all day who wants long? Or full of expensive ingrediants. So this fit the bill:
Curried Orange chicken
2 boneless skinless breasts
1 cup orange marmelade
1/2 cup water
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp curry
1 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp tumeric
1 tsp garlic

Heat stove to 350 degrees. Combine everything but chickens in a bowl and mix. Put chickens in lightly greased pyrex and dump bowl on top of it. Bake for 45 minutes, spooning mixture over top.

I served this with a vegtable stirfry I made using fresh broccoli, mushrooms...the baby corns & water chestnuts were canned. I fried everything but the broc in a skillet with a tbsp of oil and added a tbsp of sesame ginger vinegrette salad dressing and a tsp of crushed red pepper flakes for kick. I cooked the broc in the micro until it was neon green and then added it at the very end. I hate overcooked brown broccoli. I also had green jasmine tea. I love food with a little heat in it when it is so cold.