Hearts Galore

I have been collecting little goodies to put in 'treat bags' for the Ty's classmates for Valentine's Day. Mini bottles of bubbles, crayons, snacks and other items. Browsing around on the Current Catalog website, I came across a package of heart shaped erasers on clearance for $1.06, so I added them to my order. What didn't click right away is that it was a package of 144.

Even after putting THREE in each of the treat bags, I still have 117 left. So, here's my dilemma. what exactly does one DO with 117 leftover mini heart shaped erasers? Hmmm?

Okay, REALLY?

a picture worth 1000 words...

Another Rachel Recipe

I do love me some Thai food. Probably my favorite dish when I go to a Thai restaurant is Thai Basil Chicken....extra hot.

So, I was pleasantly surprised when I came across this recipe from Rachel Ray a year or so ago. I'm sure its not entirely authentic, but the flavor in it competes very well with the restaurant versions I love.

I did tweak the recipe a little bit, since fish sauce, well....doesn't like me. SO I leave that out. I also only use roughly chopped onion instead of doing it two ways, and I serve it over sticky rice, since I own a rice cooker (gotta use it). I also usually make this in the summer time when my garden is full of various varieties of fresh basil, including Thai Basil, but in a pinch, grocery store basil will do, as it did for me when I whipped this up this morning.

Basil, Chili and Garlic Chicken

From Every Day with Rachael Ray

2 tablespoons fish sauce
2 tablespoons soy sauce
4 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons crushed red pepper
1/2 pound thin Asian rice noodles or vermicelli pasta
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 cup thinly sliced onion, plus 1 cup finely chopped onion
8 cloves garlic, finely chopped (about 3 tablespoons)
1 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
1 cup torn fresh basil leaves

1. In a small bowl, combine 1/2 cup water with the fish sauce, soy sauce, sugar and crushed red pepper. Stir to dissolve the sugar; set aside.2. In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the rice noodles until al dente. Drain and set aside.3. While the noodles are cooking, heat a wok or large, deep skillet over medium-high heat until hot, about 1 minute. Add 2 tablespoons oil, then the sliced and chopped onion, and garlic. Stir-fry until fragrant and softened but not browned, about 3 minutes. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and set aside.4. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil to the skillet and heat for about 1 minute. Working in 2 batches if necessary, spread the chicken in a single layer in the pan without crowding and cook, undisturbed, until the edges change color, about 1 minute. Turn and continue cooking, tossing now and then, until lightly browned all over, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the reserved sauce and onion mixture and cook, tossing occasionally, until the chicken is cooked through and evenly coated, 2 to 3 minutes longer. Remove the pan from the heat and add the basil, tossing until slightly wilted. Serve the chicken over the noodles.

Guess what I'm having for lunch TODAY!

Small Town Car Dealer vs the Customer (aka Enter the OEM)

On May 25th, 2008, I purchased a 2007 Saturn Ion from a GM dealer in the town where I work.
Before I made the second payment on it, the car left me stranded with a bad ignition switch. After several attempts, and telling me they couldn't find anything wrong, and 2 P.O.S. loaner vehicles, it was finally fixed.
About six weeks ago, I went to the gas station on my lunch break, pumped gas, went inside and paid, then went to leave and the key would not turn in the ignition. At all. Fortunately, the gas station is directly across the street from the dealership, so I called, not very happy, and they walked over and pushed the car into their service bay. I was later told that it was some related component of the ignition switch.
This morning, I went outside to warm the car up, and, you guessed it, the key would not turn in the F-ING ignition. After a lot of cursing, sweating, and struggling in the snow, I managed to dig my husband's truck out of the snow bank its been sitting it and drove to work.
At this point, the only reason I even came in is so that I could personally walk into the dealership today and show them the Italian side of me. I don't get that side out very often, but when I do, IT. IS. NOT. PRETTY.
So, sitting here at my desk, seething, someone gave me a suggestion that hadn't occurred to me; call the OEM (for those of you outside the automotive or trucking industry, that means Original Equipment Manufacturer, in this case, Saturn).
Good idea. I didn't know if they would help or not, since I bought the car from a non-Saturn dealer, but it was worth a shot.
Enter, REBECCA.
Rebecca is by far, the sweetest sounding and most patient customer support rep I have ever spoken to, and yes, working in Customer service myself, I made sure to let her know how much I appreciated that.
In spite of the fact that I don't know my own VIN number and the car isn't accessible at this moment, Rebecca opened a case for me, patiently looked up my information.....and took over.
This is not my first Saturn, and after this, it will not be my last.
Rebecca politely asked if she could put me on hold while she contact the dealer in question, told me it should take about 2-4 minutes, and thanked me for my patience. Less than three minutes later, she was back, having imparted the necessary information to the head of the service department, and informed me that he would like to use his own towing company to retrieve my vehicle from my home, and asked that I call him so he could get my permission to do so.
He is on his way to my office right now to get my keys so that he can tow my car the 20 miles from my home to the dealership.
Rebecca also said she planned to monitor the case closely, asked if she could call me back between the hours of noon and 2 today, which she believed would give the dealer adequate time to retrieve said vehicle, and start heading in the direction of a solution. She also said she s going to look into finding a way to help "compensate me" for my inconvenience. She said that I took the right action in contacting her, and have me her direct phone number to call her back if I had ANY questions or concerns at all.
I love Saturn. And, I am really looking forward to seeing how this pans out....

The Answer....

....to your question and one dilemma!

My friend Kathy and her fiance have both been married before. Between them, they have done the big church wedding, the Justice of the Peace, and Vegas. They didn't want to do that again. Something unique, but not in a church, or the courthouse. And "wouldn't it be nice if someone we knew could marry us?" Well, back when the hubs and I were planning our wedding, we had the same dilemma, and I did a little research. Turns out, getting ordained online is actually very easy (after all, Tori Spelling did it so she could marry a couple on her show), and, as it turns out, LEGAL (as long as you obey the laws of your own state and county, as well). So, I found an online ministry that fit our needs, and my sensibilities, and took the plunge.

If all goes according to plan, I will be officiating at my friend's wedding this spring. So now my question is....what does a non-traditional female minister WEAR to said wedding, without looking like a minister....or a bridesmaid.....

Shoulda been a snow day

Yes, I REALLY should have stayed home today. When I talked to the hubs on his way to work this morning, he didn't seem to think the roads were too bad. I took that as a good sign, since he is usually way too over-protective when it comes to me driving in bad weather (helloooo, I grew up in OHIO, I can drive in the snow, fool!). So, I cleared off the car, which required the use of M's size 12 rubber boots, and got us on the road.
I really, REALLY should have stayed home today.
By the time I was a half mile down the road, I realized that not only did I have no business driving my little compact car on that particular venue, but in my concentrated effort to make sure we had boots, blankets, and whatnot in the car, I left my phone in the house.
Yep.
Today would no doubt be the day I put the car in the ditch. And, where I live, when there is that much snow on the road, there really is no turning around. You just keep plowing ahead slowly until you make it to the main road or get stuck, whichever comes first. After white-knuckling it the 5 miles to the main road, I got there, just praying that no one would be coming and I could just roll out onto the highway (because you know that there is always that pile of snow right at the end of a road that you don't want to get stopped in). No such luck. I had to stop, and I got stuck. It took quite a bit of rocking and rolling, but I finally made it out so I could drive the other 13 miles to town.
Did I mention that our road commissioner sucks? And that the hubs' tires were the only ones that had cut a path in the snow this morning? Yeah, it was fun.
So, I'm here. I'm not very happy about it, but I'm here.