The Stolen Olive

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October 31, 2005

Do A Little Dance

Make A Little Noise

Get Down Tonight

I had a meeting today with the new manager over my department and position. Within the next two weeks they are going to be moving me to the other office and giving me a few more projects to work on.

Not only is this basically an automatic raise since I will be saving roughly half of my current expenditures on gasoline and about 30 - 45 minutes a day not sitting in traffic...

I wont have to work with ExcelLady any more!!!

Posted by FutureFoodTVStar at 10:23 AM | Comments (3)

October 30, 2005

Happy Birthday Jantzen!

Ok, I know this is late and I know this is an old picture...

But I still hope you had a wonderful birthday.

I can't believe you are 15 years old.

You have grown up to be such a handsome and smart young man.

I Love You!

Posted by FutureFoodTVStar at 03:54 PM | Comments (1)

October 29, 2005

Oak Lawn Halloween Block Party Pictures

Posted by FutureFoodTVStar at 02:16 AM | Comments (0)

October 28, 2005

We Get Our Hour Back!!!!

daylight_savings_end.0.jpg

Don't forget to change your clocks Saturday night before you go to bed.

And this doesn't mean you just get to stay awake an hour later on Saturday night. Go to bed and enjoy it!

Posted by FutureFoodTVStar at 11:59 AM | Comments (3)

October 27, 2005

Classical Cuisine - Week Three - A Week Late

Ok. Well I've had these pictures posted and saved as a draft since last Wednesday, I've just been either too busy or too lazy to actually type out something about each dish. So here it goes...

Veloute Dame Blanche - This is a thick chicken and almond flavored veloute based soup. Veloute is basically flour and butter cooked into a roux and then made into a sauce or soup with stock. There are four different garnishes that can be used with this soup. The toasted almonds are considered the classic garnish while diced chicken, chopped parsley and a chicken quenelle are the other options.

Grenouilles au Gratin - This appetizer starts with a circle of duchesse potatoes as a border. Inside the potato border is a pair of frog legs, sliced mushrooms and sauce gratin. The entire appetizer is topped with buttered bread crumbs and toasted until golden brown under the broiler.

Ris De Veau Braises with Flan de Legumes and Pommes de Terre Facon Champignon - Our Entree for the evening. Are you sitting down? Did you just eat? Hope you have a strong stomach. What is Ris De Veau Braises, you ask? Its braised veal sweetbreads. Sweetbreads are the thymus glands of veal, young beef, lamb and pork. These sweetbreads where braised in veal stock and then served over a bed of cooked english peas and lettuce and tourned (cut into a seven-sided football) carrots and turnips.

Along with the Sweetbreads we made Flan de Legumes, which was basically broccoli flan. It was broccoli and cream pureed and then cooked in a water bath. Lastly, the Pommes de Terre Facon Champignon were the most simple and "normal" thing we cooked all evening. With such a big name, you would never guess that they are basically just red potatoes cut into the shape of mushrooms.

I have more pictures from Week Four that I will post this evening. They are still on my camera and I can't get to them from work.

Posted by FutureFoodTVStar at 06:00 PM | Comments (1)

Sayonara

Harriet Miers decided to withdraw her nomination to the United State Supreme Court today. I didn't like the fact that she had no experience as a judge and basically had no qualifications to be nominated in the first place... but... the Democrats didn't even have to do anything to block her nomination. The Republicans fought amongst themselves until she backed out.

Now if she's so bad that the Republicans don't like her, now I wonder if I should have given the old lady a little more credit. Hell, if the Republicans don't like her.. isn't that automatic permission to love her?

Posted by FutureFoodTVStar at 05:16 PM | Comments (0)

October 26, 2005

Episode # 16 "Gag Me With A Scope" of:

AS THE TONSIL FALLS

Well, as I was leaving "TheDrugDealer's" office today, I asked for a copy of the charge slip that had listed the six diagnoses and further treatments prescribed on it, so that 1) I could remember it all, 2) I would know how to spell it, and 3) because I'm a blogger and that's what I do.

Primary Diagnosis: Sensorimotor Polyneuropathy
Secondary Diagnosis: Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
Tertiary Diagnosis: Migraine Headaches
Quarternary Diagnosis: Mild Obstructive Sleep Apnea
Quinary Diagnosis: Snoring Disorder
Senary Diagnosis: Arnold Chiari Malformation.

So, what does all this mean? Your guess is as good as mine. Basically what I gather is I have nerve damage in my peripheral nerves. The signals my arms, hands, legs & feet are sending my brain just aren't getting there. Kinda like packages sent to me, they get held hostage by the apartment office, never to be seen again.. but that, my blogging friends is a whole 'nother post.

First, "TheDrugDealer" took me off of the Topamax and Flexeril and put me on Lyrica for the polyneuropathy, but she wants me to up my dose of the Naprosyn. Since the blood work from the last appointment showed me low on B12 and Folates, I had been taking B12 but her medical assistant didn't tell me what and how much of the Folate so I wasn't taking it. I got a prescription for that too. She also extended the prescribed number of E-stem treatments and I went to one of those today after my appointment. And speaking of blood work... they took more. AGAIN. TODAY. Like they just didn't take enough yesterday at the other doctor, and out of the same darn arm at that.

When I said that I felt like I was losing my balance and that my neighbor has been making comments like "been walking long?" or that I've been tripping over my own feet, she said that made perfect sense with the polyneuropathy. She did, however, write me a letter to take to school so that I could park in the handicapped spots near the culinary building. They have basically blocked off all of the other parking near the culinary building due to construction and the combination of me walking from the parking garage to the culinary building carrying a knife kit (tool kit), suitcase(because I go from work to school and have to change clothes), book bag, purse, and my 2 bottles of Fruit2O is not a pretty sight.

Second, I am supposed to go buy some wrist braces for the carpal tunnel (or find the ones I already have) and start wearing them as much as possible, but mostly during when I sleep.

Thirdly, I was given a new prescription for Zomig for my migraines. I was taking Relpax, but the last migraine I had, the Relpax didn't seem to help much. I wonder if it was just in combination with all the other drugs I was on.

Forthly, apparently when I took the sleep study, I had quite a few times where my breathing slowed to next to nothing. I am being referred to an Ear, Nose and Throat specialist to make sure there is nothing obstructing my breathing while I am sleeping. She also said the best thing for this was to lose weight. Great! That's the last thing I need. Now instead of my mother being on my back about being too fat, now I have "TheDrugDealer" telling me the same thing. So, when I got to work, I signed up for the SouthBeachDiet online. I started reading thru it and it has you eating a lot of salads and eggs. I hate eggs and I'm allergic to lettuce. I may have to cancel the subscription and try something else.

Fifth, I snore! There. I said it. Although, I know there are a few people out there who could have already told me that. In fact, when I was four years old.. I woke my grandmother up in the middle of the night to ask her if she would teach me how to snore the next morning. Between Nana, Peep and my dearly beloved, late Aunt Ruth... I had the three best snore-teachers in the world. She suggested that I go buy some of the BreatheRight strips to use while I sleep.

While I am on the subject of sleeping, I am also being sent back to the Sleep Lab for an extended Sleep Study. Apparently in a normal sleep cycle, one takes approximately 90 to 200 minutes in the other stages of sleep before diving into the REM stage (dream stage) of sleep. During the sleep study I went to back two weeks ago.... I took NINETEEN MINUTES. The weird thing about that is, I woke up feeling horrible, like I hadn't slept at all. I would have sworn that I had laid there the entire night halfway between awake and asleep. And don't ask me what I dreamed about because I have absolutely no freaking clue. She said this is a condition known as Narcolepsy and that is what the extended sleep study is supposed to test for.

And lastly, my Arnold Chairi. The diagnosis that started this all. Again, I'm told that it has nothing to do with anything. That its become so common that its no big deal. That still doesn't explain my overly-sensistive gag reflex, the ringing in my ears or the fact that I cant hear when I swallow or that the numbness in my arms and legs multiplys tenfold when I sneeze. I am still going to send my MRIs to the specialist at the Chiari Institute in New York. I have been waiting on the MRI films from the one I had in October 2004 in Houston, as I have been having a hard time getting those peopel to send me the films without charging me an arm and a leg.

What's next? Continue the E-stem treatments. Take the new prescriptions to CVS and start taking them. MRI for shoulder & knee on Friday. Call and set up appointment with Orthopedic Doctor next week. Set up appointment with Ear Nose & Throat Doctor. Schedule Extended Sleep Study. Lose weight. FollowUp with PCP in two weeks. FollowUP with "TheDrugDealer" in eight weeks.

Oh yeah... and somewhere in all of this, I'm supposed to find the time to go to school, do homework, work 40 hours a week, do laundry, pay bills. I may have to start calling in "stuck in traffic" just so that I can find time to shave my legs.

***Edited to Add***
The nurse from the PCP called Thursday afternoon. My triglycerides and bad cholesterol are both high and I get to start another new medication for that. Oh fun.

For the second week of Classical Cuisine we had three courses. Appetizer, Soup and Entree.

The soup was Consomme Alexandra, Chicken Consomme with a Chicken Forcemeat Quenelle Garnish.

The appetizer (on the left) was Coquille de Lotte. Duchesse Potatoes formed a shell for Monkfish topped with Mornay Sauce and parmesan cheese. Duchesse Potatoes are basically mashed potatoes that are piped out of a pastry bag into shapes and then baked until golden brown. A Mornay sauce is a thick cheese sauce.

The Entree, Supreme de Volaille Belle Helene, had three layers to it. On the bottom was a fried crouton that was topped with an Asparagus Croquette (Ham, Mushrooms & Asparagus together with a thick veloute, that was rolled in bread crumbs and fried). On top of the Croquette was a Chicken Supreme (just a fancy word for a chicken breast). The entire entree was topped with a beurre noisette, which is just butter cooked until its brown.

Tomorrow is finally my follow up appointment with "TheDrugDealer." As you may recall, back in Episode # 8 of AS THE TONSIL FALLS, I was prescribed 4 new drugs, told to take a sleep study, and set up for 18 e-stem treatments. The first two days on the drugs, I think could have slept about 20 hours a day, but instead I went to work and sat there with my thumb and forefinger holding my left eyeball open so it wouldn't be so obvious that I was asleep.

The next day I called and left the first of a bazillion messages for the doctor that I was unable to take these medicines as prescribed since I had work and school that required me to be able to still be able to function. 22 days later they finally called me back, and their response was, she wants you to take the medicines as prescribed. HELLO! I had found a way I could take the medicines and still partly function, but I don't like the way I feel on the medicines.

I started going to the e-stem treatments twice a week and it seems like the numbness in my arms and hands has gotten worse and has even migrated to my legs and feet. I am losing my balance and my next door neighbor is often laughing at me because I cant seem to walk a straight line and I seem to be tripping over my own two feet.

The night of the sleep study I fell in the parking lot of the hospital during a rain storm. My knee started hurting immediately but my right shoulder waited until Friday to start bothering me. By last Tuesday it was hurting so bad I could barely take off / put on my bra. I called the neurologist and they referred me to a PCP, since I didnt have one, and they set me up for an appointment for this morning.

Last Tuesday I had the Nerve Conduction Study. I haven't heard a word about that or the sleep study ... so needless to say, we have a lot to talk about in the followup tomorrow morning. My parents are coming up to go to the appointment with me. One of the major points I want to get across is the fact that we have now wasted 6 weeks, I'm on drugs that make me feel stupid and unable to concentrate, and dizzy.. almost like I have vertigo. I went to this doctor to feel better and I can with 100% confidence say that I feel worse now than I did before I found out I had Arnold Chiari on August 10th.

The doctor today, "TheInternist" did a complete physical, took blood because the dingbats over at "TheDrugDealer's" office took too long to send the report to his office so I had to give up 3 more vials of blood. I think I also mentioned that I fell in the parking lot of the hospital walking into the sleep study. "TheInternist" sent me for an X-Ray on both my left knee and right shoulder and I have another freaking MRI scheduled for both knee & shoulder on Friday.

I am just so tired of waiting. I am ready to nicely go in there in the morning and tell "TheDrugDealer" that I feel like CRAP on these drugs. I want to know what the nerve study and the sleep study said. I want to know what the MRI on Friday is gonna say and I haven't even had it yet. I'm ready for the waiting game to be over with.

If you already read the post below, you know the sentimental value October 10th holds in my heart. In my story, I causally mentioned two friends that I made my first two years at NWA. One of those girls was Sarah. We had just celebrated Sarah's 17th birthday the day that Jeanne died.

Sarah was unlike anyone else I had ever known before. We both suffered from the "only child syndrome" and our families got to know each other thru school activities and we had a lot of classes together in school. Without the friendship I had found through Sarah (and Heather) I really do not know how I would have made it through Jeanne's death. She was also there for me to help me thru another death in 1994.

During her freshman year of college, Sarah was playing volleyball at church and while running after the ball, she ran into the pole. Her eye started hemorrhaging and her doctor put her on a weird diet and had her stay in the house for 6 weeks. She returned to school, only for the hemorrhaging to come back a few months later, only in both eyes. She went back on the same diet, only this time the 6 weeks turned into months.

Before I left to return to Baylor in August 1995, I went by to visit her. She had lost nearly all of her vision, from her peripheral vision inward. I found out that she had been a diabetic since she was in 2nd grade, a condition that she had kept secret from everyone all the way thru high school, and that was managed mostly by diet.

In November 1995, I was at my apartment in Waco, when our friend from high school, Brandon called me from A&M. He had a weird sound in his voice and told me that I needed to sit down. His roommate, also a former classmate, was reading the sports section of the Houston Chronicle and he had been sitting across the room. It turns out that the Obituaries were on the back page of the Sports section and Brandon just happened to see Sarah's picture.

After getting over the initial shock that I had lost another friend, I went to the store and bought a copy of the paper, and then I got out my address book and started calling everyone in my class. I kept trying to call Heather, but after about 5 hours of getting her parent's answering machine (I knew she was going home that weekend), I had to go to work and I ended up leaving the sad news on the machine. I still regret to this day telling her something like that in such an impersonal way.

It turns out that Sarah had slipped into a diabetic coma on October 31, 1995 and never recovered. She went to be with her Lord nine days later. Today would have been her 32nd birthday. I have been told by many people that I am overly sentimental and I shouldn't remember this kind of stuff, but when people impact your life as much as Sarah and Jeanne did, you don't forget them. And you want to make sure other people don't either.

Happy Birthday Sarah.
**********************************************************************************
Go Rest High On That Mountain by Vince Gill

I know your life
On earth was troubled
And only you could know the pain
You weren't afraid to face the devil
You were no stranger to the rain

Go rest high on that mountain
Son, you work on earth is done
Go to heaven a shoutin'
Love for the Father and Son

Oh, how we cried the day you left us
We gathered round your grave to grieve
I wish I could see the angels faces
When they hear your sweet voice sing
Go rest high on that mountain

I transfered to NWA my freshman year and I was a part of probably what was the most spirited class to ever go thru the school. After we graduated, we heard many kids in classes behind us say that the school sort of lost the glue that held it together when we all left.

Homecoming at my high school was much more than just a football game. It was a week long celebration. Probably the part I enjoyed the most was the spirit dress days. We wore uniforms to school. We had khaki, navy or green plaid shorts & skirts or khaki or navy slacks with white or light blue oxford shirts. We also had white, red, yellow and navy cardigan jackets and pullover sweaters. At the time I hated it, but looking back, it was wonderful. During Homecoming week there were assigned spirit days. 50's day, Hippie Day, Cowboy's & Indians Day, Hawaiian Day, Nerd Day, Cartoon Day, and I'm sure there are a few others I am forgetting that we had during the four years.

Each class was awarded points for participating in things like the Dress days, and HOW you participated. Sure there were other classes who had students dress up on the spirit days, but no other class had the majority of their class participate like our's did, and when we did something, we did it all the way. On Cowboy's & Indians day, we pitched tents in the front lawn of the school and did dances around the flag pole before school started. On Hippie Day, during our morning assembly, we stacked up all the chairs where our class normally sat & sat on the floor Indian Style with our Peace Signs and Blankets. We were Nuts.

The two weeks leading up to and then Homecoming Week also prepare you for those all-nighters you will no doubt be pulling when you get to College. Why do high school kids pull all-nighters for three weeks for something like Homecoming you ask? Hall Decorations, that's why. The main hallway was divided into four main sections and each class was in charge of decorating it. The lockers, the floor, the ceiling, the teacher's doors, all of it. This was by far the biggest competition between the classes during Homecoming Week and we spent weeks working on it.

In normal situations, you would expect the Seniors to win, something... but once my class got there it was all over. We had won the hall decorations, dress days, everything... the past two years and Homecoming 1990, my Junior year, we had every intention of keeping that record spotless for the next two years. I was 16, finally coming out of the shell I had been in since I started at NWA two years earlier, and participating a lot more in the late night hall decorating parties.

It was Wednesday night, October 10th, 1990 and my parents had picked me up from the class president's house where we were busy putting the last minute touches on our decorations. Now, I can't even remember what they were. The next night would be our Bonfire and the night to actually put up our decorations.

When we got home my parents followed me around the house and into my room. This is weird I thought. And then it started. My mom told me, "John H. called tonight. He said that today, for no apparent reason Jeanne left school and she had an accident." Mama continued to tell me what Jeanne's stepfather had said in this still mysterious telephone call. "Jeanne's pick-up truck hit a tree after she lost control of the truck on those crooked roads between her home and the school. The pick-up exploded when it hit the tree. The fact that she had on her seat belt caused her to not be able to get out in time. The only way that the authorities knew that it was Jeanne's body in the truck is because license plates do not burn."

Jeanne was a girl I had met when I was in second grade, and we became inseparable throughout our years in elementary school. We went to the same school until eighth grade, when I transferred to a private school. We also went to the same church. Then in our first year of high school, we were separated even more. That is when I transferred again, this time to NWA, and she moved to Burnet, Texas. There she was living with her mother, stepfather, stepsister & stepbrother. Not long after they moved to Burnet, she decided she wanted to go live with her father and stepmother in Dalhart, Texas and she lived with them for about a year. She had just moved back in with her mother just three short days before the accident.

I went to school the next day but I could not stop myself from crying, especially when I saw the two friends who had tried to replace that void I felt in my heart when Jeanne had moved away two years ago. I went to the Bonfire and I stayed at the school and helped put up my portion of the hall decorations but I called and had my mom pick me up not long afterwards. I just couldn't handle the stress of it all. That and crepe paper doesn't seem to stand up to tears very well.

I went to school Friday, everyone was excited and smiling... I was still crying. The English teacher gave us a test that day over a the book we were supposed to have read during that 6-weeks period. I think she was the only teacher who gave any homework or tests or anything during the week of Homecoming. Wench. Since I hate to read, I was usually the one driving all over Houston the night before the test looking for the Cliff Notes, but with all that was going on, I hadn't even remembered we were having the test that day.

I don't remember who we played that night for the Homecoming game, although I am assuming that we won since that was the only year we went to the playoffs. All I remember is that it was an absolutely beautiful night in Houston. It wasn't hot or humid, it wasn't cold or rainy, it was ... perfect. It's weird the things you remember. I don't remember who we played, but I remember what I outfit I wore. I wore the one-peice floweredy jumpsuit that I had my junior year school picture taken in.

The funeral was Saturday afternoon in Burnet and my mother and I got up early Saturday and drove up there. I saw her family waiting in the funeral home, crying, and hugging the visitors, but they also seemed to be in another world. The room boasted the smell of roses and carnations, and other flowers that were affixed to the various arrangements of flowers covering the small room where her coffin was. The aftertaste of tears burned my mouth. All I wanted to do was run out of that room, but my legs would not move. Just being in that room with all the sights and smells of a funeral home had paralyzed my body.

The pastor of the church we had attended together for so many years back in Houston had also made the trip to Burnet to preside over Jeanne's service. It was comforting to have him there and know that he knew her on a personal basis. It was an emotional service and when the invitation was offered, many of her friends lifted their hands in acceptance.

After the funeral, the graveside service and the meal that was served at the church, my mom and I drove to Waco to spend the rest of the weekend with my grandparents. I remember sitting down on the couch next to my grandmother and falling asleep in her lap. To this day, my grandmother's lap is still the best place in the world to take a good nap. There is an air of comfort and love in that house that makes you feel that no matter what is wrong in the world, it will all be ok just long enough for you to get some sleep.

I cried for months after Jeanne died. Now, I think twice before I put on my seat belt; although its the law and I also know people who's lives they have saved. I realize and have told this story to many a teenager, when I was teaching, who I overheard talk about leaving school to go home or to go eat lunch (or whatever) without "signing out" first. I really don't remember much about that Homecoming Week, But Jeanne, I will never forget.

This was the home I grew up in. It had its flaws, but it was home. The sidewalk was crooked but it gave it character. We moved there in March of 1976, I was nearly nineteen months old. I left in August 1992 to go to Baylor. You can take the girl out of Houston but you can't take Houston out of the girl.

I always knew no matter how long I'd stay gone, that I could get in my car, drive down thru the masses of Aggies on Hwy 6, grab US 290 over to 610 East, hook a left on I10 and find my way home. In 1999, I smartened up. I finished my seven year stint in Waco and I moved as close to Houston as I could get. I knew this little house was still just on the other side of town.

In 2001, two things happened. First, Tropical Storm Allison decided to flood most of Houston. My mother, was in Waco with my grandparents that weekend and my father was stuck at home with Char Cole, and I was out in Smalltown, Tx ... watering my yard and wishing that some of that rain could have landed on my slightly brown yard.

My mother had been complaining about Houston for the past 25 years and had been dreaming about moving back to her home and to be closer to her parents in Waco. Our house was the 11th house built in our neighborhood by Fox & Jacobs and since our neighborhood was surrounded by Greens Bayou, they made significant strides to prove to the original few buyers that their homes would not flood. After the neighborhood was established, they quit trying so hard. Our street was one of the few in the neighborhood that did not sustain any damage at all because of the Great Flood of 2001.

The second thing that happened in 2001, a short two weeks after Allison, was that we lost my Grandmother. Grandmommie died on June 20th and that was about the last thing I knew of holding my dad to Houston. After she was gone, he too was ready for a change.

Four years ago today, it was a Tuesday and I woke up in my house for the last time. I woke up and got ready for school, hugged my parents and Char Cole by, and about 6:30am with tears in my eyes I walked down that crooked sidewalk for the last time. The movers came about 9:00am loaded up everything in that house and moved them to Waco.

I cried all the way to school that day. I taught my classes, went by my house in Smalltown, packed my suitcase for the rest of the week & weekend and drove to Waco. I had a Advance Placement Conference in Dallas that Thursday - Saturday and I took Wednesday off to go help them get the new house ready. I made it to my parents' new home in Waco not long before midnight and most of the big stuff was unpacked and my parents and my baby brother were there, but it wasn't home. I don't think it ever will be.

It has also been a year and 5 days since I have been to Houston. I miss Houston. Houston is home. But it is a weird feeling. You drive into town, grab US 290 like you did so many years ago and you get that exciting feeling of being home, yet... you have no where to go anymore. That key on your keychain doesn't unlock any doors anymore.

You wonder why my last post said that my inner child was sad? Well, my current living quarters are in Dallas, but it isn't home. My parents and my two furr-babies are in Waco, and that really isn't home. And Houston is home, but I don't seem to fit in there anymore.

This is so cool. I am still in awe and complete shock that Baylor is not at the bottom of the stack, where we normally are. It's also depressing that we absolutely had the game against A&M in the bag and basically bend down and handed it those Aggies who so did not deserve to win that game last week.

Yesterday, the 2005 Baylor Bears broke another awful streak. They won their first Big XII conference game on the Road since we left the SWC in 1996. We beat Iowa State 23 - 13. It was a good game.

Had we not given the game to the Aggies last week, we would be 5-0 and actually having a winning season, even losing the next four games. Now we are 4 - 1 at the end of week five and we have our four hardest opponents staring us in the face. Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas Tech & Texas are all sitting there waiting to have their way with the Bears like they have done in years past.

I would like to think that we could be at least competitive with Nebraska and Oklahoma... but the Red Raiders and the Longhorns are just scary.

This little bear asks all those Longhorn fans to dig in your closets and find every piece of green and gold you have in two weeks while we play OU. We'd like to Beat The Hell Outta Them Too!

To most guys you're the perfect all-around gal. But sometimes you get into trouble and have a heckuva time talking your way out of it.

You may be accident-prone on the outside, but your a first class business woman on the inside.

A pioneer, so to say. Lucy can still be seen hamming it up on her most famous television series "I Love Lucy".

I got this from Jomama's blog. This is a list of the top banned books from 1990-2000. The ones in bold are the ones I have read. I don't even like to read, but I found it suprising that I had read as many of these as I had. Most of them were required reading in high school or college. And these were banned? What the heck for?

Scary Stories (Series) by Alvin Schwartz
Daddy's Roommate by Michael Willhoite
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Harry Potter (Series) by J.K. Rowling
Forever by Judy Blume
Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
Alice (Series) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Heather Has Two Mommies by Leslea Newman
My Brother Sam is Dead by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
The Giver by Lois Lowry
It's Perfectly Normal by Robie Harris
Goosebumps (Series) by R.L. Stine (why is this banned, but not Fear Street?)
A Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Newton Peck
The Color Purple by Alice Walker
Sex by Madonna
Earth's Children (Series) by Jean M. Auel
The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
Go Ask Alice by Anonymous
Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers
In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak
The Stupids (Series) by Harry Allard
The Witches by Roald Dahl
The New Joy of Gay Sex by Charles Silverstein
Anastasia Krupnik (Series) by Lois Lowry
The Goats by Brock Cole
Kaffir Boy by Mark Mathabane
Blubber by Judy Blume
Killing Mr. Griffin by Lois Duncan
Halloween ABC by Eve Merriam
We All Fall Down by Robert Cormier
Final Exit by Derek Humphry
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
What's Happening to my Body? Book for Girls: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Daughters by Lynda Madaras
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Beloved by Toni Morrison
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
The Pigman by Paul Zindel
Bumps in the Night by Harry Allard
Deenie by Judy Blume
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
Annie on my Mind by Nancy Garden
The Boy Who Lost His Face by Louis Sachar
Cross Your Fingers, Spit in Your Hat by Alvin Schwartz
A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Sleeping Beauty Trilogy by A.N. Roquelaure (Anne Rice)
Asking About Sex and Growing Up by Joanna Cole
Cujo by Stephen King
James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
The Anarchist Cookbook by William Powell
Boys and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy
Ordinary People by Judith Guest
American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis
What's Happening to my Body? Book for Boys: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Sons by Lynda Madaras
Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume (I wish I hadn't chanted that chant so much... it really does work.. "we must, we must, we must increase our.. " oh whatever.)
Crazy Lady by Jane Conly
Athletic Shorts by Chris Crutcher
Fade by Robert Cormier
Guess What? by Mem Fox
The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende
The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline Cooney
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
Native Son by Richard Wright
Women on Top: How Real Life Has Changed Women's Fantasies by Nancy Friday
Curses, Hexes and Spells by Daniel Cohen
Jack by A.M. Homes
Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo A. Anaya
Where Did I Come From? by Peter Mayle
Carrie by Stephen King
Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume
On My Honor by Marion Dane Bauer
Arizona Kid by Ron Koertge
Family Secrets by Norma Klein
Mommy Laid An Egg by Babette Cole
The Dead Zone by Stephen King
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
Always Running by Luis Rodriguez
Private Parts by Howard Stern
Where's Waldo? by Martin Hanford
Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Greene
Little Black Sambo by Helen Bannerman
Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
Running Loose by Chris Crutcher
Sex Education by Jenny Davis
The Drowning of Stephen Jones by Bette Greene
Girls and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy
How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell
View from the Cherry Tree by Willo Davis Roberts
The Headless Cupid by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
The Terrorist by Caroline Cooney
Jump Ship to Freedom by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier

Happy Birthday JM. I had every intention of sending all of the blog world over to your blog to wish you a happy birthday, but... like the "Little Joey Stalin" that you are, you have you comments turned off. So, I will have to think of another way for my entire blogroll to invade your little world.

Anyway, hope you had a great day... don't study too hard and tell your professors that they aren't supposed to schedule exams on your birthday. Gosh! Don't they know anything?

No, that isn't a typographical error up there. When my aunt and uncle first started dating I was only about 4 or 5 years old and on one of his birthday cards, that is how I spelled his name. Well, what do you know, twenty-five years later, the nickname stuck.

Well, I got this Meme from SillyNessa over there at the SillyPage. If you want to play, leave me a comment and:

1. I'll respond with something random about you.
2. I'll tell you what song/movie reminds me of you.
3. I'll pick a flavor of jello to wrestle with you in.
4. I'll say something that only makes sense to you and me.
5. I'll tell you my first/clearest memory of you.
6. I'll tell you what animal you remind me of.
7. I'll ask you something that I've always wondered about you.

The kicker is... what ever I say about you.. you have to turn around and post on your blog. M'kay?

Ok. Well, I was the first person to participate over on the SillyPage that actually has the honor of knowing Mrs. SillyNessa in person and these were her answers for me.

I'm here and I'm still pushing. I just may need to find another less stressful way to pay the bills while I finish school. Here's to the ExcelLady!

L.A.'s fine, the sun shines most the time
And the feeling is 'lay back'
Palm trees grow, and rents are low
But you know I keep thinkin' about
Making my way back

Well I'm New York City born and raised
But nowadays, I'm lost between two shores
L.A.'s fine, but it ain't home
New York's home, but it ain't mine no more

"I am," I said
To no one there
An no one heard at all
Not even the chair
"I am," I cried
"I am," said I
And I am lost, and I can't even say why
Leavin' me lonely still

Did you ever read about a frog who dreamed of bein' a king
And then became one
Well except for the names and a few other changes
I you talk about me, the story's the same one

But I got an emptiness deep inside
And I've tried, but it won't let me go
And I'm not a man who likes to swear
But I never cared for the sound of being alone

"I am," I said
To no one there
An no one heard at all
Not even the chair
"I am," I cried
"I am," said I
And I am lost, and I can't even say why
Leavin' me lonely still

I was thinking about that the other day. Maybe we need to make a Blog King Cake and mail it around the BlogWorld.

5. First Memory: candle party at my sister's house

I remember I had only been teaching for about two weeks and I didn't know that some of the "friends" your sister had invited to the party were my students. And since then theme was Wine and Cheese, I was so nervous... It took y'all a while to get me loosened up to Smalltown life.

Hmmm... Could it be those panda bear Christmas Yard Ornaments that I had in my yard in Smalltown?

I guess that depends on whether it is just the two of us or the entire SillyAlphabet that I am feeding... I'm thinking I'd get your thoughts on either a Pork Tenderloin stuffed with Apple Cornbread and Brandy Sauce or Sirloin with a Port Wine Reduction Sauce with Walnuts and either Feta or Gorgonzola.. and then build the rest of the menu around your original thoughts on that. Or who knows what else might pop into my head by the time you make it up to BigD. But I do know that you like Brownies & Cinnamon Rolls.

Tuesday night was the first night of my Classical Cuisine class. We are in the smallest kitchen in the building, a room that would comfortably fit 5 tables of 4. There are 6 tables in this kitchen and 26 students enrolled. Needless to say, it was a little crowded.

The appetizer, Poached Eggs Henry IV, was a poached egg served on boat carved out of an artichoke, covered with a bearnaise sauce and tomatoes and a small amount of demiglace on the plate for color and additional flavor

The soup, Puree de Celerie, was a pureed Celeriac and Potato soup garnished with blanched celeriac alumettes and fresh croutons.

The entree, Cuisse de Grenouilles Saute a la Provencal with Pomme de Terre Duchesse, was Duchesse Potatoes, Sauteed Frog Legs with a Tomato, Kalamata Olive and Garlic Sauce.

Fourth Quarter started today. My online Nutrition class officially started at 5:00am and I left work at 1:00pm today to get some lunch and get registration stuff done before my Purchasing and Cost Control class started at 3:00pm.

Why am I down by Four Touchdowns?? Well, actually.. convert that into dollars, in the $##,000.00 format. The financial aid office waited until TODAY, the first day of class, of my 4th quarter, to tell me that the financial aid that I had previously applied for only covered my first three quarters and it was time to renew my loans.

That's our government for you... I wonder which genius mathematician-turned politician thought this one up... three quarters equals one year? What the heck?

Anyway, unlike that glorious "Christian" university in Waco that kicks you out on your derriere if you haven't paid every freaking penny by the 6th class day even when it was their financial aid office's incompetency that caused the problem in the first place, they said they mailed me the forms and told me to get them turned in as soon as possible.

My purchasing and cost control class is going to be a lot like my computer class from last quarter with a bit of accounting and some of my menu management class thrown in. It should be interesting and a good reason to leave work at 1:00pm every Monday.

I had about an hour break before my Asian Cuisine class and I took this time to change into my uniform and I should have taken this time to remember my stupid camera. My Asian Cuisine class is requiring a huge amount of homework compared to my previous cooking classes. As I was reading thru the syllabus I felt my heart just tightening up. The time ticking on the clock.. and omg, its just the first day of the quarter.

My Classical Cuisine class is requiring the same amount of homework as the Asian Cuisine class and I'm sitting her in utter disbelief. Wondering how I am going to possibly get it all done. I have no clue.

All I know is that I will be forced to do homework every single night, even Monday and Tuesday nights after working all day and being in class until 10:30pm. My online class will be over in 5 weeks so hopefully if I can just hold on until then, that everything will be ok.

If any of you have access to a fax machine, can type fairly quickly, and would be willing to help me with some of my more time-consuming and meanial busy-work type homework I would be most greatful. The Chefs give us these large packets of xeroxed pages of recipes, which we are supposed to turn around and type out onto index cards. I have created a tempate in Word that I can email you, I just need help typing out all these recipes.

In return? You can keep all the recipes you type out and I will burn you a copy of all the other recipes that I have already typed out from school onto a CD and mail that to you. No telling what you might be able to surprise your loved ones with for dinner one night.

Well, you all have permission to send blog snowballs and full moons and every other annoying spam at me because, I admit it... I had my camera in my backpack that I left in my CAR and I didn't have a chance to run outside and get it between the time we got everything plated and it was all scrapped into the trash.

We made Northern Indian food and it was definitely interesting to say the least. I had mentioned that I had stopped and ate Indian food one day for lunch last week but this was even more interesting.

In a full class we had 6 tables cooking 9 items. I sure wish I had my camera in the room so you could see this weird stuff, but I am going to see if I can find pictures of some of it on the internet and add it the post later.

The Menu
Aloo Dum (Green Spicy Potatoes)
Plain Basmati Rice
Mulligatawny Soup (Orange Lentil, Potato & Apple Soup)
Chickpeas with Garlic and Ginger
Chicken Moghlai
Carrot Thurum (Grated Carrot Curry)
Mango Chutney
Mewaii Kabab - Deep-Fried Curried Lamb and Dried Fruit Meatballs
Lassi - Rose-Flavored Yogurt Drink

I made the Potatoes and the Meatballs. The entire time I was making the meatballs I kept telling myself how I was NOT going to like them... but believe it or not, I ended up liking the meatballs and the chutney the best out of all of it. It was all weird, but edible... until we got to the Lassi.. and then I just had to gag.

This class will not be meeting next week because of Columbus Day.. so I promise not to post pictures of the Southern Indian Cuisine until October 17th.