A Wedding Reading, Worth Reading.

I was fortunate to attend a lovely wedding along the North Shore of Lake Superior this past weekend.  One of our friends was asked to do a reading during the ceremony.  We were all holding our breath!  You know that imaginary "line" for what to say/not say that is always there?  Said friend loves to stick his toes (or entire foot) over it!  In the end I was laugh-crying and everyone in the audience gave him a gigantic round of applause.  Who gets applause after a wedding reading?  I present to you a wedding reading, worth reading:


Scientific Romance

If starship travel from our
Earth to some far off
star and back again,
at velocities approaching the speed of light
made you younger than me,
due to the effects of time dilation,
I'd show up on your doorstep hoping
you'd developed a thing for older men,
and I'd ask you to show me
everything you learned to pass the time...
out there in the endless void
of night.

If I became lost in
the multiverse, exploring
infinite parallel dimensions, my
only criterion for settling
down somewhere would be
whether or not I could find you:
and once I did, I'd stay there even
if it was a world ruled by giant overlords,
or one where killer
robots won the Civil War, or even
a world where sandwiches
were never invented...
Because you'd make it the best
of all possible worlds anyway,
and plus
we could get rich off inventing sandwiches.

If alien invaders come,
and we were captives together
in an alien zoo, I'd try to make
the best of it and cultivate a streak
of xeno-exhibitionism, and make jokes
about breeding in captivity.
Because I think our love could be a powerful
argument for the perpetuation
of humanity in general.

If we were the sole survivors
of a zombie apocalypse
and you were bitten and transformed
into a walking terror
I wouldn't even pick up my
karate nun-chucks,
I'd just let you take a bite
out of me, because I'd rather be
undead forever with you,
than alive alone without you.

If I had a time machine, I'd go back
to the days of your youth
to see how you became the someone
I love so much today,
and then I'd return to the moment when we first met
just so I could see my own face when I saw your face for the first time,
and okay,
I'd probably travel to the time
when we were a young couple,
and try to get a threesome
going. I never understood
why more time travelers don't do
that sort of thing.

If digital singularity overcomes,
and we upload our minds into a vast
computer simulation of near-infinite
complexity and perfect resolution,
and become capable of experiencing any
fantasy, exploring worlds bound only
by our enhanced imaginations,
I'd still spend at least a million processing
cycles a month just sitting
on a virtual couch with you,
watching virtual TV,
eating virtual cheese curds,
holding virtual hands,
and wishing
for the real thing.

I would love to give credit to the author. My friend found it in a Google search with no author listed and altered it.

And a few pictures from our trip...

Happy Halloween.

She likes to say "Arrrrr I a pirate" and "I'm a princess" while running in circles.  The perfect costume was obvious...a princess pirate!

This was her first time trick-or-treating.  We went to a handful of neighborhood houses and she insisted on carrying "my candy" the entire time.  Her "trick-or-treat" and "thank you" usually took place at the end of driveways.

On the way home she said "Is that my house?  No, that's a tree".  And then we went home and let her hand out candy.



AHOY!

Just Pictures.

Baked Spaghetti.

I liked it.  I know that doesn't sound very enthusiastic and/or convincing...  But really, it was good. Here's what I learned:

1. Season it up!  It needs it.
2. Makes a ton.
3. If you like olives they would be a yummy addition.
4. Leftovers were great!
5. Half went in the freezer. Guinea pigs are eating it this weekend.  Hope it froze well!

Recipe can be found here:  Baked Spaghetti

Baby Shower Favors.

It was operation baby shower.  After searching for favor ideas I put a few together and came up with this:

• Used popcorn favor bags from Michaels.
• Filled the bottom half with crinkle paper.
• Added chocolates, a mini bag of microwave popcorn, and a cookie pop (dipped Oreo made by my mom).
• For the tags I created a template in PowerPoint, printed them on card stock, and circled punched them out.  Then I took my handy hot glue gun and attached them to lollipop sticks.  Finished it off with a bow around the top of the stick.

Come Watch Me.

Penelope's new favorite phrase is "come watch me".  This usually means take me outside now or I will cry.  One of my friends is an amazing photographer and helped me edit the first two pictures.  After that I gave it a try and did the rest!

 

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner.

I found this recipe for crispy chicken and pasta on Pinterest (yes, Pinterest again).  I decided to make the crispy chicken portion of it.  Here's what I learned:

1. This is so delicious and pretty simple!
2. I added seasonings (Italian and garlic powder) to the flour mixture.  I recommend doing this.
3. Instead of making the sauce in the recipe I used a jar of Classico's Roasted Poblano Alfredo Sauce and it was good!
4. Served it over pasta of course.
5. Plenty of flexibility to add in whatever suits your tastes.

 Recipe can be found here:  Crispy Chicken

Blue Ribbon Chili.

I thought anything with "blue ribbon" in the title has got to be worth a try.  Here's what I learned:

1. I used Pace medium picante for a little kick.
2. After cooking the beef I put all ingredients into the slow cooker and let it go all day on low.
3. Served it with sour cream and shredded cheese.
4. Makes a ton!  We filled the freezer with leftovers.
5. Overall, pretty good chili and very easy to make!

Recipe can be found here:  Blue Ribbon Chili

Pumpkins and Apple Trees.

We have this tree in our front yard with little red berries.  Penelope calls it the apple tree.  She loves to pull them off and bring them to me...or smash them between her fingers.  We are working on not eating them.

  

 We went to the local market to pick out a few fall decorations.  Penelope was very excited to see all of the pumpkins!  She ran around yelling "more pumpkins!!"  And then we went home to play outside and put it all together.

Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas.

This is another Pinterest find.  The family loved it!  Penelope kept saying "mmmmm" as she ate.  Here's what I learned:

1. Make sure to season up your chicken.  The recipe calls for no seasoning whatsoever.  I used chipotle pepper powder, cumin, garlic salt, and a dash of paprika.
2. Next time I may try shredding the chicken or use rotisserie.
3. The filling was enough for 6 tortillas.
4. I folded them like burritos to keep everything inside during the baking process.
5. I put out guacamole, salsa, and black olives for toppings.  Served them with multigrain tortilla chips and black beans.

Recipe can be found here:  Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas

Mozzarella Sticks.

I heart Pinterest.  And that is where I discovered this recipe for homemade mozzarella sticks.  Here's what I learned:

1. Make sure to follow the directions for the double layer of breading.
2. Next time I will attempt to brush some of the excess breading away.  Once they freeze all of the weird hangers on freeze too and you end up with some pretty crazy looking mozzarella sticks.
3. Didn't care for the buttermilk dipping sauce.  Marinara and ranch are perfect.
4. We ended up freezing a good amount.  I will report back on the results of freezing/thawing/baking/eating.

 

Recipe can be found here:  Mozzarella Sticks

Honey Nut Chicken Sticks.

We love this recipe for homemade chicken fingers.  It's simple to put together and bakes in 15 short minutes!  Here's what I learned:

1. I make a half recipe and it is plenty for the three of us.
2. I use Honey Bunches of Oats or a generic version of it.
3. It really only takes 15 minutes to cook through.  They come out perfectly moist!
4. Serve with your favorite honey mustard, ranch and/or BBQ sauce.
5. I have also used them to make yummy grilled chicken tender and cheese sandwiches.

  Recipe can be found here:  Honey Nut Chicken Sticks