Last night I was walking through one of our local retail stores and saw, to my shock, a wall sconce shaped like a cross with the Chinese symbol for “luck” on it. What will they think of next?
Everyone has their phobias, some more severe than others. I have always had two: the fear of my parents dying before they are old (which later surfaced as fear of abandonment after my dad died) and the fear of the house I am dwelling in catching fire, most likely brought on by my grandparents’ house fire when I was 8 years old. Last summer I freaked out when the house across the street started on fire and we witnessed the whole thing. Tonight wasn’t quite that bad, Hubby says I thought fast and didn’t panic, which actually surprises me.
I was just going about baking cookies which isn’t unusual. I love to bake and Hubby says I’m good at it. The first batch out of the oven was rather flat and greasy. About 7 minutes in to the second batch I smelled something burning from the dining room next to the kitchen. I quickly went to find out what it was and there was smoke billowing out of the vent of our beautiful new stove. I quickly turned off the stove and called for my hubby who sprang into action, finding fans to exhaust the smoke out the windows. I was sure there was a malfunction in the stove, until Hubby took me step by step through my baking process. It was then that I realized my math was messed up: the recipe called for 3/4 cup of margarine and I put in 3 sticks, equaling twice that amount. The first batch was flat and greasy because of too much margarine, and by the second batch the oven was hot enough to burn the full-of-fat cookies. Hubby opened the oven door and took out the pan of cookies, smoke billowing all around us, stinging our eyes. When the smoke had subsided and we examined the cookies, we noticed they had only burned on the very top. They hadn’t been burning too long before I noticed it. Still, seeing smoke billowing from my oven was enough to set my heart racing and bring on a panic attack. Thankfully, we tested the stove now and it’s just fine. It was the margarine masquerading as a cookie.
I have lost 22 lbs. so far on my low carb diet. In the same amount of time my hubby’s lost 69 lbs. Life is never fair. Anyway, despite eating healthy and losing weight neither my sweet tooth nor my desire to bake stuff have dropped with the pounds. I cook a lot with Splenda and with stevia which is all natural. Last night I made the ultimate carb conscious chocolate chip cookies: I used Splenda white and brown sugar, chopped up unsweetened chocolate squares, whole wheat flour, and low fat Crisco. The verdict? There’s a reason why regular chocolate chip cookies taste so good. 
My hubby and I have been planning for months to see Transformers together. While he remembers a lot more details about the cartoon from our childhood, I at least recognize the Autobots and Decepticons. The special effects were just incredible. It was hard to believe it was CG it looked so real to me.
The only disappointment for me was that my favorite Autobot, Bumblebee, was changed from a VW Beetle to a Camaro. When I was young I had the rival version, the GoBot Bug Bite and I still think I have it in my childhood toys box. Other than that, I really loved the movie and am glad we used part of our grocery budget to go see it! Who needs food, anyway?
My husband and I decided that after 6 yrs. of marriage we need a real vacation…together. I’ve made lots of trips down south to visit family (and scrapbook!) but he worked to afford the trips. Now we’ve decided it’s time to go together. We thought about next summer, but in reality we’re hoping and praying that fertility treatments work and we’ll be pregnant by then. Hubby also needs to max out his leave time, because he’d really like to take a month off and cash out some leave to pay for the trip.
But that doesn’t mean we can’t start researching! There’s so much to see and do between the places that we’re visiting and it’s best to start now (and more fun!). We’ve decided to make it a road trip in which we see family on the way, instead of a vacation to visit family which isn’t a vacation, it’s visiting family. In my research I ran across these helpful hints and thought they not only applied to a road trip but the journey of life as well:
Keeping Romance Alive While on the Road
* Travel is romantic, but remember that change and unfamiliar surroundings also challenge a relationship in new and unexpected ways.
* Plan your trip together. Surprise excursions are usually more fun for the planner than the recipient. Why? Because anticipation is as important to enjoyment as the physical experience, and you’ll also learn about your partner’s preferences as you make your decisions.
* While you’re on the road, extra consideration and kindness towards your partner is a must. Be proactive—past acceptable behavior may not be enough.
* It helps to assign the responsibilities—then resist the temptation to interfere with how tasks are accomplished.
* Don’t let the grouchies get the upper hand! Eat meals on a consistent schedule.
* Remember that the journey’s the thing. Make it a priority to enjoy every moment, even the unplanned ones.
* Keep a journal, and if you take pictures, take the time to organize them into an easy-to-enjoy format. Recalling shared experiences is not only romantic, it strengthens relationships in the long term.
This is a glimpse into the lives of me and my hubby.
In Feb 06 a friend sparked my interest in again researching my family history. My mom’s family name isn’t unique enough, but my dad’s is. Back in Feb 06 I was able to find my grandfather on a manifest from Ellis Island along with his family. He was 2 at the time, in 1914. It listed their last place of residence as Alexandria, Russia (actually East Prussia at the time) but couldn’t find where exactly that was. Until today.
Sparked by a recent conversation with my Uncle along with a promise to send him whatever information I had, I dug out what I had found of my family history. Again I decided to look for Alexandria which led nowhere again. Then I noticed that although the rest of the family listed Alexandria, my great-grandfather, who had come over earlier, was listed as coming from Andrejufka, Wolhynien, Russia on his passenger record (even though the manifest said Alexandria). By googling both spelled various ways I was able to not only find Andrejufka (Andrejewka) and Volhynia, but as a result, also Alexandria! How cool is that!!
