The Secret Life of a Care Bear

Every time I watch this video I laugh forever, so I’m sharing it with you.

I’m slacking off on blogging, I know. So here’s a bunch of random unconnected stuff.

First up…Pam is blogging now! You really should follow her blog, she’s pretty darn awesome. She has a really awesome post about helping out in Joplin, MO up. Go read it!

Life update! My job at the day care should be starting soon! Things are moving along and we’ll be ready for our state licensing inspection soon, I hear. I’m still super nervous, but the logical part of me knows I can handle it. :)

We had 37 people at our Vineyard Church Peoria Memorial Day picnic. It was great and I met a couple ladies who seemed really fun. Hopefully they’ll be around more! I also got to hang out with the ladies on the team, which is always fun. I’m glad you ladies are as goofy as I am. :)

Amazon MP3 has a bunch of Broadway albums for $5 each! I may have purchased several…I may even be listening to The Lion King right now. Maybe.

I got a huge kick reading these posts of “Weird Things Customers Say in Book Shops“. Some people are special.

The Antique Name Illusion: In search of the Next Ava and Isabella: No one ever believes me when I tell them those names were not that popular in the past. Also, I like the name Evangeline.

And finally, I WANT TO GO TO THERE. It’s a whole room. FULL OF TRAMPOLINES. Yes, please! Also, bonus points to you if you got the tv show reference there.

Why yes, my sister and I did get up and watch the Royal Wedding live. I thought it was beautiful and fun.

But on a less related note I have seen this picture going around the internets/facebook:

When I first saw it, I was like, “Oh, that’s hilarious. Nice comparison.” It has now come to my attention that people think this is real, like somehow real life has lined up with the Cinderella movie perfectly. I will now set you straight, and I am passive-aggressively doing it here instead of facebook. People! Don’t you remember Cinderella?! These pictures are totally recolored. Cinderella was blonde!

Similarities, though.

No similarities really, except that there are two of them and they are wearing things on their heads.

I just watched a documentary on PBS where America’s Test Kitchen attempted to recreate a 12-course dinner from the Victorian Boston Cooking-School Cook Book by Fannie Farmer, called Fannie’s Last Supper. They used Victorian methods of cooking, including a wood stove and oven. It seemed like the perfect show to watch after I’ve been watching all that Downton Abbey. I must say, I have a whole new level of respect for those cooks now. They even made the gelatin by boiling calves’ feet! The food and presentation was absolutely beautiful! You should definitely watch this if you’re nerdy like me and you get the chance! There’s also a book available that talks all about the process. (Amazon link)

And now, pretty pictures!

This is Mock Turtle Soup. Apparently someone figured out that boiled calf’s head tastes like turtle. It looks tasty, but I don’t know if I could eat it knowing it’s calf’s head! The balls in the soup are fried balls of calf brain!

This is the Roast Saddle of Venison. It was flavored with salt pork. I guess wrapping meat in bacon is a timeless recipe! Mmmm

This is Lobster a l’Americaine. About a bazillion different stocks and sauces were used to make it. I can’t imagine how the kitchen staff could put that much into one dish when there are twelve different courses!

I was most impressed by the jellies. So much went into making them! The cook made the colorings, too, from natural sources. I love the spiral on this one. If I liked Jello, I would try to do a spiral one like this! The stripes are made of cubed Port jelly.

More beautiful jellies!

Mandarin Cake, with sorbet served in half a clementine peel, and a slice of a clementine & almond jellies layered in a clementine peel. This was the coolest part, I think. They had to scoop out the clementines while leaving the peel intact, then fill it with layers of jello. What?!

Beautiful food!

And on a totally unrelated note, here’s a link to a blog about an exhibit in Chicago of thousands of pictures taken by a nanny in Chicago in the 50s, 60s, & 70s. Really neat stuff. I read the post because it was titled “The secret life of a nanny”. :)

We are doing a Daniel Fast for lent and I have finally hit that point where I’m craving craving craving something all the time. Because I am a masochist, I will now provide photos of all the lovely foods that I want to be eating right now. Go eat them for me, but don’t tell me how delicious they were.  Also, I am not saying that I’m a hippo.

Exhibit 1: Philly Cheesesteak. I dreamed I was eating one yesterday. No joke. All that meaty-cheesy goodness…oh boy.

Exhibit 2: The Pioneer Woman posted a recipe for Spicy Dr. Pepper Shredded Pork on March 23 and I have been thinking about it ever since. Mmmm. That taco looks amazing. Throw on some lettuce, tomato, sour cream, and cilantro and I will eat that sucker in 10 seconds flat. NOM.

Exhibit 3: If you’re not aware, Panera makes UH-MAZE-ING mac & cheese which I’m sure has 10,000 calories per bowl, but MAN IS IT GOOD. I miss you, friend!

Exhibit 4: CHOCOLATE CHIP PANCAKES. You can never have too many pancakes! Actually, you can. Mark, Adam, Jenna, & I had an incident once with IHOP’s all-you-can-eat pancakes. We should have all stopped after the 3rd one. I would gladly go through that horrible stomach ache again for these pancakes! Ha.

Exhibit 5: Cake Balls. Yes, balls. Delicious balls of cake and icing, coated in chocolate. These are the red velvet variety, but I’d be happy with just plain chocolate! Mmmm. Someone please make these for me on Easter!

Appendix: I can’t forget my two loves, either! Diet Coke & Coke Zero, don’t worry, I will drink the heck out of you in 22 days!

As a parting gift, dear readers, here is a link that has nothing whatsoever to do with this post.

Okay people, what the what is going on here? Lady, you are kissing a monkey’s tongue. People, please tell me that you think this is gross. That monkey probably sticks its nasty little fingers down its diaper (yes, it’s wearing a diaper…) and scratches its nasty little monkey butt and then licks its hands. Lady, you are kissing a monkey butt. Please go look at the rest of the pictures on this Journal Star blog and see the crazy. Monkeys everywhere! Apparently it’s cute that they will go in your car and steal the keys out of the ignition and taunt you with them. I don’t know about you, but I would not find that very cute. If my kid did that, they’d probably end up in time out.

Granted, I might be a little biased because I am NOT a pet person. I would never in a million years want to brush a monkey’s teeth. That’s nasty. Similarly, I will not pick up animal poop, squeeze a dog’s butt glands, or pay ten zillion dollars so my dog can get skin grafts (yes, this happened in Peoria).  The way I see it, pets are like toddlers who never grow up, and I don’t need any of that.

Don’t worry, I probably think your puppy is adorable and I will be glad to pet it and play with it. I will even try to be sympathetic when it dies. You’re just never going to find one in my house. Also, I have the full agreement of Mark, who thinks that all dogs secretly desire to eat him.

PS – Didn’t some lady get her face ripped off by her pet monkey last year?

Let me share with you my new love/obsession. It is called Downton Abbey and it aired on Masterpiece Theatre in the US. You can watch it on Netflix now, or it’s available on DVD. The only downside to this show is that there is only one very short season out so far and it will be Fall before season 2 starts airing (But there will also be a Christmas special!!)!

Downton Abbey is a lovely costume drama about the lives of an aristocratic English family and their servants, set just before WWI. There is inheritance drama, love, sister jealousy, servant intrigue…oh it’s just deliciously dramatic. Also there is the beginnings of some women’s rights business with my favorite of the sisters, Sybil, and I’m sure there will be WWI drama soon!  And now, promo:

Maggie Smith plays the Dowager Countess Grantham and is just spectacular! She is one of my favorite characters. Photo!

And now, Sybil and the crazy Irish chauffeur that I am desperately hoping she will end up eloping with:

And finally, a link to more info about the characters, if you’re interested.

You’re the God of this city
You’re the King of these people
You’re the Lord of this nation
You are

You’re the light in this darkness
You’re the hope to the hopeless
You’re the peace to the restless
You are

There is no one like our God
There is no one like our God

For greater things have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done in this city
Greater things have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done in this city

This is my theme song/prayer for Peoria right now, so I thought I’d share it with you all. Enjoy.

IT COMES OUT TODAY.

Yes, I will have a copy of this game in my sticky little fingers by tomorrow afternoon, if Amazon delivers on their “guaranteed release date delivery” promise! I am so excited, in case you couldn’t tell by the capslock! It’s the Sims 3, only with heros and quests and magicians and DRAGONS. (I bet Jenna is rolling her eyes at me by now.)

You better believe I will be back to rave about how amazing it is tomorrow…if I can tear myself away from the game!

My Birthday is coming up (April 12!). You have 24 days to pick out a present! This year, I would like a tiny pony!

It’s like a real my little pony!

Adults are too big to ride them, but my kids could!

How cute would a pony be walking around the house?

We wouldn’t have to mow the yard!

I’d rather have a pony than a dog!