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October 31, 2004

I'm taking the weekend off

Sometimes, blogging can just take too much time, and this is one of them. I'm going to spend time riding horses, playing with dogs and hopefully creating some stained glass gifts for Christmas.

So, everyone have a great Sunday!

Posted by Beth at 7:05 AM | Comments (4)

October 29, 2004

I emailed in sick today

I woke up at 2:00 am looking around, thinking, what is wrong? Why am I awake? About 3 minutes later, my tummy let me know what was wrong. Ugh.
Anyway, I stayed home today and did a little work - mostly just replying to emails from clients who wanted to know how to do this or that - and then just laying about, tired and achey.

I did have to go to the barn and feed my lovely horses - they were a little grumpy with me because I was late. There is a horsey halloween party tonight and many of the children of families with horses were dressing up their horses in great costumes.

One of my stable friends has 4 horse type critters - her littlest is a half Shetland Pony, half Miniature Horse named Buddy. Buddy is very cute, and tonight he has fairy dust and a heart painted on his rump and wings. A little like a My Little Pony on steroids. I have been promised that pictures will be taken and I will be in receipt of some, I hope! If so, you can see Buddy the Fairy Pony!

Anyway, came back home and I decided that I need some medicine! Strong medicine! So I fixed up a couple of Mexican Martinis and will hopefully medicate my achey self into oblivion and then feel great tomorrow.

Posted by Beth at 6:37 PM | Comments (9)

You knew something would happen

Apparently, Osama Bin Laden has come out from under his slimy rock to urge Americans to vote against George Bush.

I hope that most of us have the balls to flip off the Islamic SOB for trying to interfere with our elections. And I hope that we have some spies zeroing in on the bastard now.

But, you know, a lot of lefties would be willing to have American women in burkas because peace is cheaper and easier.

Posted by Beth at 4:02 PM

Carnival of the Recipes #11 is up!

Wow, Sarahk did an absolutely wonderful job with the carnival this week. They just keep getting better and better!

Once you have finished perusing the newest Carnival - go check out the previous ones:

Posted by Beth at 10:18 AM

October 28, 2004

Undecided voters

The polls indicate there are still enough undecided voters to make a difference in the election.
Here are the (completely unscientific) Top Ten Reasons why a voter would still be undecided:

1. They want to be sure that they vote for the winner so they are waiting until they hear about the Florida Exit Polls.

2. They want to get as much blog traffic as possible by teasing people into trying to convince them to vote one way or another.

3. They really plan on voting for Ralph Nader, but are too embarrassed to admit it to pollsters.

4. They are not really sure where they are supposed to vote, much less who they should vote for.

5. They are going to vote for Kerry, but are embarrassed to tell the pollster.

6. They are going to write in a vote for themselves, but are embarrassed to tell the pollster.

7. They are probably not going to get around to voting at all, but are embarrassed to tell the pollster.

8. They are simply not going to tell a stranger on the phone diddly squat but are really going to vote for Bush.

9. They are going to vote for the Libertarian candidate, but are too embarrassed to tell the pollster.

10. They are total idiots if they really don't know who the hell they are going to vote for in 5 days and probably should not be voting anyway!!!

Posted by Beth at 7:49 PM | Comments (2)

Dog Farts

Around 2:00 am this morning, I was awakened by Shadow (our really big dog) crawling onto the waterbed. Soon, Houdini (our really little dog) and Little Girl (the queen of all the Donovan cats) jumped into bed with him.

Hmmm. There must be a thunderstorm on the way. Yup. Pretty soon, huge crashes of thunder shook the house and Shadow (our really big dog) shivered with fear and crept closer to me.

Houdini also snuggled as close to me as he could, and I soon realized that with every flash of lightening, Houdini farted.

His farts really smelled awful.

I had to get out of bed and spray lysol through the bedroom because of these stinky dog farts.

Unfortunately, the storm lasted about an hour - lightning flash - little pffft of fart from Houdini's hind end.

Finally the lightning and Houdini quit flashing and pfffting and I went back to sleep.

And I thank God that Shadow (our really, really big dog) does not fart with fear.

Posted by Beth at 7:10 AM | Comments (8)

This

Is my new favorite music video!

Thank you, James Lileks!

Posted by Beth at 6:30 AM | Comments (1)

Tonight is the deadline

Send your recipes to SarahK at recipe.carnival(at)gmail(dot)com.

Yes, it is the same email address every week - only the hosts and hostesses change.

Midnight .....

Posted by Beth at 6:20 AM

October 27, 2004

Differences

I much prefer to have in office someone like George Bush. He is so human and warm and real and funny.

And there there are the Kerry/Edwards dudes.

UPDATE!:: You must see the synthesis of the two videos at the daily recylcler - oh, what genius some bloggers have!

Posted by Beth at 8:13 PM | Comments (1)

October 26, 2004

Get those Recipes in!

Start getting your recipes together for this weeks Carnival of the Recipes!
This week, the beautiful and talented SarahK will be hosting.

Send your recipes to recipe -dot- carnival --at-- gmail - dot - com!!!!

Posted by Beth at 9:54 PM | Comments (1)

Gmail!

If any of you would like Gmail account, let me know, I have a few to give away!

Posted by Beth at 8:09 PM | Comments (1)

Why my Vote went to George Bush

1. Security.

2. Because I don't want our National Security Dependant upon the good will of the United Nations - an organization made up of mostly tyrants.

3. Because I work hard for my money and I want to keep the tax cuts that President Bush made possible.

4. Because I'm a veteran and my husband is a disabled veteran and that man who opposes the President has already hurt POWs - God only knows how much he will hurt today's military men and women.

5. Because President Bush understands core American values - life is a precious gift - one which should not be taken easily.

6. Because President Bush is not going to tax my guns. John Kerry will do everything in his power to tax my guns. If he can, he will take my guns.

7. Because I am better off now then I was 4 years ago. My own salary has increased by $22,000 since President Bush was elected.

8. Because President Bush supports the troops and will never establish a draft.

9. Because First Lady, Laura Bush, is indeed a lady, who I greatly admire for her strong beliefs.

10. Because even though President Bush is a Christian, he does not wear his Christianity on his sleeve as a reason for all he does as President Carter did his.

11. Because George Bush speaks just like most of us.

12. Because John Kerry is from the Northeast and thinks he is better than all of us and seems to think he needs to speak slowly enough so we can all understand what he is saying.

13. Because Teresa Kerry is a shallow, rude, bitch born and raised in another country as a rich bitch and has never done a lick of real work in her life.

14. Because the Bush twins are normal girls - I did the same things they did when I was in college, they are cute, they are funny, they are just a couple of years older than Andy and August, yet the press has gone after Jenna and Barbara's butts for the last few years - but these girls still do what they can for their dad. Oh, and I have eaten at Chuy's before - not impressed at all. Service sucked!

15. Because Main Stream Media hate the Bush Presidency, I love it.

16. Because President Bush is making schools responsible for their funding - No Child Left Behind is a great start to making all the public schools worthy of all the dollars they get - all children, no matter what their background, deserve the very best education this incredibly rich and wonderful country can give them.

17. Because President Bush will continue to stand with Israel. Gee, maybe that should really be #2.

18. Because President Bush has actually worked on his ranch, and can chop wood and hack through weeds.

19. Because John Kerry speaks to us all as if we were idiots, and he is the only person on earth who knows English. The fuckhead!

20. Because I can't imagine spending the next four years having to listen to John f'n Kerry drone on and on about whatever. The man has about the most annoying speaking voice of any politician. I so wish the Dems had had enough brains to nominate Lieberman - but I suspect that all the anti-Semitic Dems like Michael Moore were responsible for his defeat.

Posted by Beth at 8:06 PM | Comments (7)

But Wait!

If I let someone be the host or hostess of the Carnival of the Recipes, shouldn't I insist that they blogroll me?

I think so!

(hint, hint, hint)

And if I have failed to blogroll any of the hosts or hostesses, feel free to let me know, and I promise I will add you immediately if not sooner. (that last phrase was spoken in a Monty Python voice, thank you)

Posted by Beth at 7:19 PM | Comments (5)

Man, I've about had it

If I never hear from Bob or angrygrrrl again it will be too soon. Top and Maria can also go jump in the lake.

Posted by Beth at 1:58 PM | Comments (10)

Busy busy

John is working at Ft. Benning, GA for the next three weeks, so I thought I'd take the opportunity to spent more time with the horses and do some things around the house.

Last night, I took Willie out for about a 40 minute ride. Neither of us have been out on a ride for quite a while and we are both out of shape, so we just walked. And naturally, now I'm stiff.

If the rain stops, I'll ride again tonight - not sure if I'm quite ready for the Petey Challenge (he can be a bit difficult at times on a ride), but I'm sure that Willie and I can maybe even get into a trot (yes, how daring - ha!).

Politics is making me crazy. I'm so worried about all the talk of cheating and fraud that I'm afraid we deserve UN observers if we can't straighten this crap out ourselves.

I have to wonder if there really is that much more cheating and fraud than usual this year, or if maybe it has finally become more obvious as there is more attention paid to what is going on with voter registration, etc. Either way, it needs to get fixed quickly. No matter what Democrats think, they don't get to vote twice when alive and once when dead.

Posted by Beth at 6:38 AM

October 24, 2004

Time out for a moment of Kitty Zen

Merriwether Donovan praying for a huge Bush victory on November 2nd so Mommy won't cry.

Posted by Beth at 6:32 PM | Comments (6)

October 23, 2004

Another Must See

John Kerry's actions and lies are not forgotten by Vietnam Veterans or their children. This is well worth the time.

After you see the video, go to Small Town Veteran and read the entire post.

Posted by Beth at 9:16 AM | Comments (2)

Stolen Honor

Dean Esmay has links where you can see Stolen Honor.

Posted by Beth at 9:06 AM

October 22, 2004

In answer to a question

Here are the future homes of the Carnival of the Recipes!

October 29th - #12 -- The lovely SarahK of Mountaineer Musings

November 5th - #14 – The very smart David Schuler of The Glittering Eye

November 12th - #15 - Erudite Michael of the Common Virtue

November 19th - #16 - The busy mom of a bunch of boys, Boudicca of Boudicca's Voice

November 26th - #17 - MaryBeth of Random Thoughts

December 3rd - #18 - Angela of Fresh as a Daisy

December 17th - #19 - The brave SarahK of Mountaineer Musings (Sarah is brave because she has never done this and is offering to do it *twice*!)

December 24th - Trudy of Food Basics has ever so graciously volunteered to host the Carnival on Christmas Eve.

And for New Year's Eve - Amy of Prochien Amy has volunteered to host the Carnival on New Year's Eve!

There are more - I'll post them later!

Posted by Beth at 7:19 PM | Comments (3)

Right ...

Okay - just read the headline of this Washington Times article: Polite society anticipates Teresa's pizazz

I think they made a mistake in using the term "Polite society".

I don't find it polite to tell a reporter to "shove it".

I don't think it is polite to call anyone a "scumbag" (fuckwad maybe, but not a scumbag, and never on network tv!)

And mostly, it is very impolite to say that Laura Bush never had a real job. I think that all women who have stayed home to raise children have real jobs!!

Ms H-K needs to think and probably do some research before she speaks. I still cannot imagine that any society that is 'polite' thinks that Ms H-K would be a good thing to have around.

Posted by Beth at 5:25 PM | Comments (3)

Carnival of the Recipes #10 is UP!

Thanks to Allan of Inside Allan's Mind for hosting this week.

Next week, the lovely and talented SarahK of Mountaineer Musings will be our hostess. Sarahk- tell Frank to link to all the Carnivals!!

Other Carnival of the Recipe News -
Songstress got her recipe in a bit past midnight Eastern (Allan's deadline), so her recipe will be in next week's carnival, but it is also here for your eating enjoyment. Ham it up Crescent Snacks.

Here is the list of all the previous carnivals:

Posted by Beth at 6:43 AM | Comments (4)

October 21, 2004

Ooops, almost forgot!

Get your recipes in by midnight tonight so that Allan can turn them into Carnival of the Recipes #10!!!

Send you recipes to recipe.carnival(at)gmail(dot)com!

You will be rewarded by higher traffic! And most importantly, you will be forever loved by thankful cooks like me!!!!

Posted by Beth at 4:44 PM

Wictory Wednesday a day late!

I just got back from voting. For the first time in my life, I voted a straight Republican ticket. Normally, I go for a Libertarian here or there, but not this year. Our security is just too important. Our troops are just too important.

All the bloggers listed below are also going to vote for President Bush.

Posted by Beth at 10:46 AM | Comments (1)

This country needs a Voter ID Card

I'm frightened by all the talk of vote fraud. It seems to be here, there and everywhere.

Voter fraud undermines our free society and makes the votes of real live people less valuable than they would otherwise be.

There are several things that Congress needs to do to change this mess. It may require a Constitutional Ammendment, but keeping voting fair is worth it!

First, when someone registers to vote, they must show positive identification proving that they are a US citizen.

Second, a Voter Registration ID card will be issued to everyone who is registered - because it is an ID card, a photo of the voter will be on it. And, of course there is no cost to getting the ID Card. (thanks for that, Marybeth!)

Third, when a voter moves and registers in a new place, the old voter registration ID will be returned to the county of origin (so that voter can be taken off the polls).

And last, only volunteers or county officials can register voters - this foolishness about one party or another paying people per voter registered has got to stop. Anytime you bring money into the picture, there will be people who cheat.

Yes, I know that the ACLU doesn't think it is fair to ask for Identification when voting, but we have to show ID for almost everything else we do - why not for the most important act we as citizens perform?

Posted by Beth at 7:05 AM | Comments (4)

October 20, 2004

For Women Only

Well, at least I think this is something only women will be interested in. I could be wrong.

I was reading the Queen of All Evil and thinking about her pregnancy, and I remembered the incredible cravings I got for some foods all those many years ago when I was pregnant with Andy.

I craved green olives stuffed with pimentos. I would sit down and eat an entire jar. What was so odd about that was before I was pregnant, I absolutely hated olives. I still love them, and I'm munching on on one now.

So, my question of you is - what kind of food did you start craving when you were pregnant, or if you were never pregnant - did you have any strange changes in food taste in your twenties or thirties?

Posted by Beth at 6:14 PM | Comments (11)

Do it

Vote for George Bush.

We can vote early here in Kansas. I'll probably go in and vote tomorrow morning. It is very important to vote even if you are in a state that is not a battleground state. I want very much for George Bush to win not only the electoral college, but to get a definite majority of the votes so he will have a mandate to fight the war on terror.

Posted by Beth at 7:08 AM | Comments (6)

Oh, this is truly venomous

Electric Venom is asking commenters to say yes or no to blogs on her blogroll.
Everyone gets three votes.
Naturally, I voted for myself (and two others).

It's a mean thing to do, but she is a venomous creature, and it is in her nature to poison the blogosphere, so we must live with it.

I suggest you go there and make your feelings known.

Posted by Beth at 6:38 AM | Comments (3)

October 19, 2004

Being awakened by a squeaky toy

is not normal in our house. So, at 5:30 this morning, when Houdini started playing with his squeaky toy, I knew something was up.

Actually something was open - the kitchen door - and the three dogs managed to dump the trashcan and eat everything even partially edible that was in it.
Then they spread selected trash items all over the kitchen floor, which is unfortunately carpeted (our next big project is to replace the flooring).

Then they went down to the basement and pottied on the floor.

I think at least two of the cats tried to warn me during the night that the dogs were up to no good, but I was trying to sleep, and ignored them.

So if your dog ever wakes you up with a happy squeaky toy sound instead of whining, be afraid.

Many thanks to John for cleaning up after the mutts.

Posted by Beth at 6:42 AM | Comments (5)

October 18, 2004

Monday, Monday - Can't trust that day

This is awful to say, but I'm glad that Mama Cass is not around to make me mad at her and quit listening to the Mama's and the Papa's.

Lately, I've been wondering why such talented musicians can be so fucking stupid. Well, wait - I have to admit that I never thought that Mick Jagger had much in the way of a 'beautiful mind' - too many drugs, women and late nights.

But, I am so saddened that Cat Stevens turned into a supporter of Sharia and Jihad - for goodness sake, I used to play his songs at Mass - Morning is Broken was a wonderful song for early Easter morn. (yeah, I used to play guitar at Mass - back when I was a stay-at-home mom and I didn't have to travel all over the place!). He once had such a gentle, loving mind before he was turned to the dark side.

Anyway, it's Monday. I went to work today and realized that since two people moved out of our group, two people quit and another is transfering to sales that I now have three bosses. We have three bosses and three not bosses (we are not called employees - we are associates, by gum!) How silly is that? I am also attempting to leave the nest, so to speak, and get into a special program - but who, then, will the three bosses boss around? They will be down to 2 not-bosses - and they are both virtual associates - I'm the only non-virtual associate for these three bosses to boss.

Fortunately, they are all three very good guys, but still, I feel the pressure.

Pressure - that was a kinda cool song!

Posted by Beth at 6:43 PM | Comments (3)

October 17, 2004

Interior Decorating

My friends, I am not a decorator. I don't even pretend to play one on TV.

Last week, John worked very hard to remove the carpeting from our dining room and living room. The carpeting was just awful - off white, sculptured with about 2 inches of padding. Since we have 3 dogs and 7 cats, the carpeting was even more than *off* white and we could never vacuum the critter hair out of the sculptured part of the carpet.

So now we have two rooms, or one really big living room and a smallish dining room, or one really, really L-Shaped room (depending on how you think of it) that needs or need (depending on whether you think of it as one room or two) fresh paint on the wall and some kind of window treatment thing.

Here is 1/2 of the living room - it's the part where we actually spend time watching the TV or playing DDR.

I think it is very boring and bland, so I went to Lowes and bought a program that lets me take a picture of a room and try different paint colors on it. I found that green-toned paints look best with the wood floor. Anyway, I thought I'd post several of the colors and let you all tell me what looks good - being as I have absolutely no taste whatsoever!

Here are the colors I've looked at so far...

This one is called Colonial Beige:

This one is called Forest Eve:

This is called Magnolia:

This is Dark Marsh:

This is Mountain Laurel:

And this one is Olive 5:

So, do me a favor and tell me which ones really suck and which ones don't suck so much. The sofa and love seat stay, so we have to work with those colors. The drapes can change, and I have not picked any kind of ceiling paint or trim paint (If I can avoid painting the ceiling, I will!).

So, all of you out there who are much more talented than I am - go at it and thanks for your opinions!

Posted by Beth at 7:07 PM | Comments (26)

Movie Review Time

This afternoon, John and I saw Shaun of the Dead. It is a very British spoof of Zombie movies. I liked it quite a lot once I got used to the Brit accents that are so foreign to my Midwestern ear. It's funny, yet still has a bit of the horror gross out scary scenes so the horror flick fans will be happy.

I give it 3 Mexican Margaritas!

Posted by Beth at 6:51 PM | Comments (1)

Whoa

Today I have had over 3,000 3,900 visitors (not page views, visitors). The bulk of them came from Lucianne.com(that's Jonah Goldberg's mom's site).

I am stunned. Stunned I say! Thank you for linking to the Carnival of the Recipes, Mrs. Goldberg!

Posted by Beth at 6:48 PM | Comments (3)

October 16, 2004

Team America Review

John and I saw Team America tonight. I thought it was pretty funny. Do not bring your children, though!!! Fuck is the word of choice to describe most everything. In fact, the theme song's lyrics are basically, "America, Fuck Yeah!"

There is also a marionette sex (which John and I found absolutely hilarious), marionette upchucking and marionette bleeding and body parts.

The marionette actors featured (Alec Baldwin, Sean Penn, Susan Sarandon, etc., etc., etc.) pretty much get what they deserve.

Kim Jong-Il has Cartman's voice.

There are dangerous panthers.

If you thing that vulgarity can be funny (yes, John and I still get off on silly bathroom and sexual humor), then go see it!

If you are a liberal pussy - too bad, so sad.

Posted by Beth at 8:12 PM | Comments (4)

Saturday

I love Saturdays. There are so many possibilities on a Saturday morning. I can plan out all the things I'm going to get done and then not feel guilty about them when I don't do them.

We will see Team America today. Can't wait. Anything that pisses Sean Penn off must be good.

I will do laundry and vaccuum and boring stuff like that, and I think I'll take the camera for a walk into the woods and see if I can get some pretty foliage pics.

I have to decide on a wall color for the living room and dining room, so I took pictures of them and there is a very nice, cheap program at Lowes that lets you import your room picture and then try out different colors - thought I'd try that.

Mostly, though, I want to absolutely forget about work.

Posted by Beth at 8:51 AM | Comments (1)

October 15, 2004

I need a private, x rated blog

My beloved husband just dared me to blog something he just did to me. But ... my son and at least one of his friends read my blog, and it would be very wrong for me to talk about what John did, even though it was pretty funny.

So, if you really want to know, email me. Or let me guest blog with an alias on your blog.

Posted by Beth at 7:22 PM | Comments (10)

Mexican Martini

Tonight I made Jack's Mexican Martinis.

I have one in my hand, even as type.

Jack is correct - this stuff is strong. I was not sure I'd care for the splash of olive juice, but I do like it quite a bit.

This is definitely a grown up drink - it's very tasty and it makes me warm all the way down!

So, I give Jack's Mexican Martini two thumbs up!

Posted by Beth at 5:58 PM | Comments (3)

Chris Muir

Chris Muir, the talented cartoonist who brought us Day By Day, has been on hiatus because of the loss of his mother.

I have been checking his site from time to time, and I was very happy to see that Chris plans to bring Day by Day Cartoonback on December 1st.

My thoughts and prayers are with him as he goes through this time. - I will never forget how hard it was when my mom passed away - and I still think of her daily, even after 19 years.

Posted by Beth at 4:33 PM

Disgusting, reprehensible

This man must live in an alternate universe -
Rapper claims : Blacks 'cheered when 9-11 happened'

...hip-hop anarchist has declared his solidarity with al-Qaida by asserting that he and other African-Americans "cheered when 9-11 happened," reports the New York Daily News.

The rapper, real name Kris Parker, defiled the memory of those who died in the terrorist attacks as he spouted off at a recent New Yorker Festival panel discussion.

I have never met one person of color who was happy about 9/11. Not one. Even an anarchist should know that the Islamofascists who want to take over the world would be much harder to live under than a democracy. Just how many lines into his rap does he think Al Quaida would let him go before they sliced off his tongue?

I suppose he is really just showing his ignorance.

Update: Baldilocks has some words on this idiot.

Ambra also has some good thoughts.

Posted by Beth at 8:52 AM

Carnival of the Recipes #9

When I thought up the Carnival of the Recipes, I had no idea that it would be so popular. I have hosts lined up through the end of the year, and even more waiting in the wings for their turn. I was thinking that at some point, maybe we could vote for the best recipes and have a Best of the Carnival of the Recipes Edition - but I digress.

This week, we have food and drink. I'll start with the drink recipes.

Both my husband and my father-in-law are retired artillery officers. As you can imagine, they are both pretty deaf - but they do have a recipe for Cheatham Artillery Punch.

Larry Conley sent me a link to XXX Eldreth Death Rum XXX. He claims that he has tried this concoction and that it is good. Apparently, Larry survived the drink. You must scroll to the bottom of the page to get the recipe.

My friend, Jack, of Random Fate, has a more likely to be made drink recipe. In fact, I'll make these tonight! Here is his Mexican Martini.

Now, to the food. I'm dieting, so let's look at the decadant sweets first.

This is an Easy Cheesecake recipe from VW - the proprietress of One Happy Dog Speaks. I especially like the sauce she makes to put over the cheesecake.

From Jovianne (who was sent here by my friends Boudicca and Tammi), a yummy and appropriately seasonal Pumpkin Bread recipe. I hope Jovianne sends us more recipes in the future.

Marybeth, who loves decadant chocolate, sends this recipe: Hot Chocolate Soufflé. Yum.

Booklore sends two recipes this week. Both made of chocolaty goodness. Insanely Easy Chocolate Cherry Cake and $25 Brownies (how much the brownies fetched at auction, not how much the ingredients cost!)

This next recipe is a little - ummm - unique. I'm not sure I'd care for it, but here goes - from Blog Jones (who obviously has a sense of humour) Chocolate Cheddar Cheese Cake.

From Earth Girl of the Good Earth - a recipe for Syrian Nutmeg Cake. I will definitely try this one out.

Prochien Amy (who has volunteered to host the Carnival on New Years Eve) has a recipe for a frozen treat - Whip Sandwiches.

Chicken is always a popular dish, and this week we have some new chicken recipes. Here they are!

Dana of Note-it-Posts sends Sour Cream and Dill Chicken. If you don't have Dana on your blogroll, she should be there. She's one of my favorite reads.

David Schuler (The Glittering Eye) has a recipe for Sunday Chicken and Dumplings Soup. Perfect for a chilly fall day.

Laughing Wolf has a recipe for Lemon Garlic Chicken, and below that recipe, a recipe for Laughing Wolf Almond Shortbread. Yum.

This next recipe from Triticale (the wheat and rye guy) is actually 3 recipes in one - it includes a chicken recipe, a Bloody Mary recipe and a salsa recipe - his wee wifey can really cook up a storm! Here is the Alternate Ultimate!

This next one is a beautiful recipe for quail from Steve (Professor) Bainbridge: Grilled Quail in Port Marinade.

There are also several main dish recipes without poultry involved - here they are:

Tammi has an easy and quick recipe (always appreciated by those of us who have to work for a living!) - Italian Beef and Tomatoes.

Boudicca gives out her secret recipe for Pork Chops. This woman can cook - how she finds time with 4 boys, I don't know, but I have tried all her recipes and they are all fantastic.

Kari Holtz of Dogwood Dreams shares her Stuffed Peppers recipe with us this week. Haven't had stuffed peppers for ages, I think I'll try this one, too.

Bothenook has a recipe that his wife makes - Killer Kale Soup. Another good meal for chilly days.

Stan from Dejafoo has a recipe for Asparagus and Fried Eggs. I love asparagus, it is my very favorite vegetable, and John hates it. But, this I can make for myself when he is traveling. Yum.

Ala71 has a recipe for Fast Football Stromboli - it looks great - and easy! In fact, if you scroll down on Ala71's comments - there are another couple of recipes worth the try, like Chuck Bars. Thanks, Ala71!

Allan is doing some Asian Cooking these days. Here is one of his bestest looking recipes - Shrimp with Lobster Sauce.

Trudy of Food Basics has a recipe that has lots of options- Geek Dinner - An Open Source Recipe.

My father-in-law loves, loves, loves Sweet Potatoes. I believe I'll make this dish for him over the holidays - Karen of Let's Play Restaurant has a great recipe for Creamed Sweet Potatoes.

Cindy Swanson knows how to make a French Toast Casserole - and she is nice enough to let us know how, too.

Jordana Adams always has something good to share. This week, it is Pumpkin Pancakes. .

And our final recipe of the week comes from Songstress7 - Super Easy Beer Bread

Thanks to everyone who sent recipes this week.

Next week's Carnival will be hosted by Allan of Inside Allan's Mind.

Here are links to all the previous Carnivals of the Recipes:

If you would like to submit a recipe to the Carnival of the Recipes, please send the link to the recipe, or the recipe itself to recipe.carnival(at)gmail(dot)com.

UPDATE: Thanks to all of you who link to the Carnival and spread the yummy goodness. Special thinks to Lucianne.com, Instapundit, and Dean's World. for bringing in thousands of people to try out blogger's recipes! Feel free to Click on MAIN at the top of the page and read the rest of my blog. Maybe you will come back for another visit.

Posted by Beth at 7:27 AM | Comments (7)

October 14, 2004

Drink Recipes

I would love some drink recipes in this week's carnival - anyone have any good ones?

Posted by Beth at 4:07 PM | Comments (4)

Recipe Blegging!

Be sure to get your recipe's in before tomorrow morning when I wake up!
That means you, too, Jack, be aware!

Send recipes and/or links to recipe.carnival(at)gmail(dot)com.

Do it.

Now.

Posted by Beth at 1:46 PM | Comments (5)

Bill Whittle has a post up

Go Read!
Eject! Eject! Eject!

Posted by Beth at 1:27 PM

Note to Spammers

Do you really think that an email with the subject: "This is NOT Spam" will be read?

Idiots

Posted by Beth at 9:45 AM

Famous People

For the record, I can't stand Bill O'Reilly, he's an arrogant man who pretends to be above the rest of us and really seems to believe that he knows it all.

Apparently, he was arrogant enough to think that he could sexually harass the heck out of one of his producers (I am *not* defending her attempts at extorting him of $60,000,000 to keep quiet).

What is it about making a lot of money and being on TV and Radio that makes so many people total idiots?

Bill and Dan should form a stupid idiots club.

Posted by Beth at 6:45 AM

Debate

DaGoddess has good notes on the debate.

John and I did not watch the debate because those things tend to make our blood pressure rise. Actually, watching Kerry try to look presidential makes my blood pressure rise.

Posted by Beth at 6:25 AM | Comments (1)

October 13, 2004

Recipes!

I want to make clear that *everyone* is invited to submit recipes to the Carnival of the Recipes. You don't even need to have your own blog, I'll post it for you, and naturally, give you credit.

There are some great new recipes coming in, and some new folks sending them in, like Karen of Let's Play Restaurant.

So everyone, consider this an invitation to send a link to one of your recipes or just send the recipe itself to recipe.carnival(at)gmail(dot)com.

The Carnival of the Recipes #9 will be up sometime Friday, thanks to all of you!

Posted by Beth at 4:10 PM

An interview everyone should read

Our good friend, Dean Esmay, has an exclusive interview with George Elliott over at Dean's World.

Go read it. Dean did a great job interviewing!
Dean's World - Five Minutes vs. Five Years: Interview With Swift Boat Vet George Elliott

Posted by Beth at 3:28 PM

Wictory Wednesday

For me the entire election is about the Global War on Terror. President Bush is the only man running who will continue this fight, no matter what.

It should be obvious to thinking people that Wahabists' intentions of taking over the world and making us all Moslem living under Sharia is a bad thing. President Bush recognizes this.

Yes, war is a hard choice - but there are things worth fighting for, and independence and freedom from terror are most definitely worth fighting for.

So, please, register to vote, donate your time to President Bush's campaign, and when you go to vote, please vote for President Bush.

All the bloggers listed below are also proud to support President Bush.

Posted by Beth at 10:48 AM

Voter Fraud

I do not understand why people object to showing some form of identification to election officials when voting. Every state issues official state identification cards as well as drivers licenses, but Democrats still insist that it is not fair to minorities to ask for identification.

That's ridiculous. This is a nation of millions and millions of people. There must be a way to verify who is voting and to verify that each person only votes one time. As it stands right now, anyone could go to my polling place, say they are me, and vote. No questions asked.

There should also be a national voter registration clearing house - making sure that everyone is registered only once - where they live.

Why don't politicians do this? Could it be they all depend on fraudulent votes to guarantee their elections and reelections?

It is something to think about.

Posted by Beth at 7:16 AM | Comments (4)

October 11, 2004

"National" Holidays

I had to take today off as a vacation day - the company I work for, just like thousands of companies around the country, does not give us days off on all national holidays.

I don't get off on Columbus Day, Veterans' Day, or Martin Luther King Day.

I can understand why public utilities, phone companies and hospitals don't give people these days off - but most companies make us work because they can.

I am a Capitalist, please don't mistake me, but we work more hours in this country, quite willingly, than the people of any other country on earth. We have less vacation, too So why must so many corporations be so damned cheap and stingy as to ignore national holidays?

Damned stockholders.

Posted by Beth at 11:06 AM | Comments (3)

Equal Time for Puppies

The Carnival of the Dogs is up, too!

Posted by Beth at 6:28 AM | Comments (1)

Kitty Carnival

Don't forget to visit this week's Carnival of the Cats!

Posted by Beth at 6:26 AM

Sad News

Christopher Reeve is dead.

Posted by Beth at 5:49 AM

October 10, 2004

Carnival of the Recipes

Just wanted to let you know who will be hosting the Carnival in the next few weeks:

October 15th - #10 – Beth Donovan (that's me)

October 22nd - #11 -- The recipe-gifted Allan Courtney of Inside Allan's Mind

October 29th - #12 -- The lovely SarahK of Mountaineer Musings

November 5th - #14 – The very smart David Schuler of The Glittering Eye

November 12th - #15 - Erudite Michael of the Common Virtue

November 19th - #16 - The busy mom of a bunch of boys, Boudicca of Boudicca's Voice

November 26th - #17 - MaryBeth of Random Thoughts
December 3rd - #18 - Angela of Fresh as a Daisy
December 17th - #19 - The brave SarahK of Mountaineer Musings (Sarah is brave because she has never done this and is offering to do it *twice*!)

December 24th - wow, Trudy volunteered for this one - Thanks, Trudy!!

Be sure to remember to send your recipes to recipe.carnival(at)gmail(dot)com!

Posted by Beth at 8:31 PM | Comments (4)

Ahhh, Sunday

Spent the day with John and Andy. Yes, Andy came home from college today - seems that it is 'Fall Break' and he didn't realize it until Friday night when there was no one left in the dorm. There is a shuttle bus from Manhattan, Kansas to Kansas City International Airport that runs several times a day, so I was able to get him on it this morning. He doesn't have class until Wednesday, so it will be nice to have a couple of days with him home.

Plus, John and I can get him to help move some furniture around and do some other fun chores.

We saw a movie, Taxi, and it was a bit on the too long side, though Queen Latifa was funny enough to make the movie well worthwhile. Ann Margaret was great, also.

An amazing thing - the fall color is here - today - it was not here yesterday. Today, the trees suddenly turned color, and naturally, I didn't have the camera handy. Tomorrow I will go take pictures. This looks to be one of the prettier autumns we have had.

Other then that, nothing much to report. John and I are still conservatives, Andy is an Andiest (that's what he calls himself - he is for those things that he likes). The dogs and cats and horses are all happy and now I need to put the laundry away!

Posted by Beth at 8:10 PM | Comments (2)

October 9, 2004

Why I will not vote for Kerry

Bush is not my perfect candidate, but Kerry is even less perfect.
I will not vote for him for the following reasons:

The Statistics quoted below come from Project Vote Smart.

1. He has consistently voted for Gun Control laws -

2003 On the votes that the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence considered to be the most important as of 2003, Senator Kerry voted their preferred position 100 percent of the time. These scores are cumulative for each representative's time in their current office. The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence considered votes from 1988-2003 in the House and 1991-2003 in the Senate when determining these scores.

2003 Based on the results of a questionnaire the Gun Owners of America assigned Senator Kerry a 10

2002 On the votes that the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence considered to be the most important as of 2002, Senator Kerry voted their preferred position 100 percent of the time. These scores are cumulative for each representative's time in their current office. The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence considered votes from 1988-2002 in the House and 1991-2002 in the Senate when determining these scores.

2002 Based on lifetime voting records on gun issues and the results of a questionnaire sent to all Congressional candidates in 2002, the National Rifle Association assigned Senator Kerry a grade of F (with grades ranging from a high of A+ to a low of F).

2001-2002 Based on the results of a questionnaire the Gun Owners of America assigned Senator Kerry a grade of F (with grades ranging from a high of A+ to a low of F-).

1999-2000 On the votes that the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence considered to be the most important in 1999-2000 , Senator Kerry voted their preferred position 100 percent of the time.

1999-2000 Based on the results of a questionnaire the Gun Owners of America assigned Senator Kerry a grade of F- (with grades ranging from a high of A+ to a low of F-).

2. John Kerry has voted consistently against business:

2003 On the votes that the National Retail Federation considered to be the most important in 2003, Senator Kerry voted their preferred position 0 percent of the time.

2003 On the votes that the Associated Builders & Contractors considered to be the most important in 2003, Senator Kerry voted their preferred position 0 percent of the time.

2003 On the votes that the Business-Industry Political Action Committee considered to be the most important in 2003, Senator Kerry voted their preferred position 0 percent of the time.

2003 On the votes that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce considered to be the most important in 2003, Senator Kerry voted their preferred position 0 percent of the time.

2003 On the votes that the National Federation of Independent Business considered to be the most important in 2003, Senator Kerry voted their preferred position 0 percent of the time.

2002 On the votes that the National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association considered to be the most important in 2002, Senator Kerry voted their preferred position 41 percent of the time.

2002 On the votes that the American Coalition for Ethanol considered to be the most important in 2002, Senator Kerry voted their preferred position 100 percent of the time.

2002 On the votes that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce considered to be the most important in 2002, Senator Kerry voted their preferred position 55 percent of the time.

2001-2002 On the votes that the Associated Builders & Contractors considered to be the most important in 2001-2002, Senator Kerry voted their preferred position 12 percent of the time.

2001-2002 On the votes that the National Federation of Independent Business considered to be the most important in 2001-2002, Senator Kerry voted their preferred position 25 percent of the time.

2001-2002 On the votes that the Small Business Survival Committee considered to be the most important in 2001-2002, Senator Kerry voted their preferred position 7 percent of the time.

2001-2002 On the votes that the Business-Industry Political Action Committee considered to be the most important in 2001-2002, Senator Kerry voted their preferred position 5 percent of the time.

2001-2002 On the votes that the National Association of Manufacturers considered to be the most important in 2001-2002, Senator Kerry voted their preferred position 7 percent of the time.

2001 On the votes that the National Federation of Independent Business considered to be the most important in 2001, Senator Kerry voted their preferred position 17 percent of the time.

2001 On the votes that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce considered to be the most important in 2001, Senator Kerry voted their preferred position 38 percent of the time.

2001 On the votes that the National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association considered to be the most important in 2001, Senator Kerry voted their preferred position 50 percent of the time.

2001 On the votes that the Small Business Survival Committee considered to be the most important in 2001, Senator Kerry voted their preferred position 0 percent of the time.

2000 On the votes that the Business-Industry Political Action Committee considered to be the most important in 2000, Senator Kerry voted their preferred position 7 percent of the time.

2000 On the votes that the Small Business Survival Committee considered to be the most important in 2000, Senator Kerry voted their preferred position 0 percent of the time.

2000 On the votes that the Consumer Federation of America considered to be the most important in 2000, Senator Kerry voted their preferred position 100 percent of the time.

2000 On the votes that the Associated Builders & Contractors considered to be the most important in 2000, Senator Kerry voted their preferred position 0 percent of the time.

2000 On the votes that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce considered to be the most important in 2000, Senator Kerry voted their preferred position 53 percent of the time.

1999-2000 On the votes that the National Federation of Independent Business considered to be the most important in 1999-2000, Senator Kerry voted their preferred position 16 percent of the time.

1999 On the votes that the Associated Builders & Contractors considered to be the most important in 1999, Senator Kerry voted their preferred position 0 percent of the time.

1999 On the votes that the Consumer Federation of America considered to be the most important in 1999, Senator Kerry voted their preferred position 75 percent of the time.

Interestingly, Kerry has become more and more anti-growth, anti-business every year. He squawks about the economy, and says he has a plan to make it better - but I don't see how someone with Kerry's voting record can possibly have any idea how to improve any economy. Business needs support from the government to compete in a global economy.

3. Kerry has voted with the National Education Association 100% of the time. Yup, the teachers' union that is against private schools, home schools, charter schools, and parochial schools gets all of John's support. The union that does not want teachers to be tested for competency, the union that wants to do everything possible to keep parents out of the education of their children has John Kerry's 100% backing.

The list goes on and on and on. Basically, John Kerry pretty much stands against everything I stand for when it comes to the Bill of Rights, Commerce, the Global War on Terror and more.

He has not presented a plan for anything with specifics.

Let's face it - the only real platform that Kerry is running on is that he is *not* President Bush.

Posted by Beth at 1:03 PM | Comments (1)

Email from College Son!

Andy sure has being a college student down!

Mom,

School's been going pretty well. The chess club had a tournament and I did fairly well in it, I only lost to the guy that won it. The anime club is doing a thing where we clean up the Colisseum to raise money, which is cool. A little bit of community service has yet to hurt me. Classes are going well too. Our final project in Software Arch and Design is creating a really basic AI that will be able to find it's way through a maze kinda thing. Think kinda like putting a mouse in a maze. Bart and I are working together in that (our teacher is big into group work). Intro to Computer Engineering is interesting too. We're working on building a circuit that will activate a seven segment display (if you don't know what that is, look at a digital watch, it's what makes the numbers). I have most of it done, but I need to go into a lab sometime and finish it. The lab teacher in physics is awesome. He's just a GTA, so he doesn't really care about dressing up for it. He comes in with a bandanna, tells us how to do our homework, and explains the lab...all with an August like snide tone to it. Umm, that's about it I guess. Oh yeah, I hate to ask you for money, but I don't suppose you could send some? If not that's cool.

Love,

Andy

P.S. Oh yeah, cookies would rule too.

I've already sent him a check - now for the cookies!

Posted by Beth at 10:36 AM | Comments (4)

Thank goodness LeeAnn is back

We love you, LeeAnn, Cheesemistress extraordinaire, queen of bleu and Roquefort and cheddar and pepper jack - may you write and make us laugh forever. amen.

The Queen of Cheese has returned to us!

Long story as to what went on in her life, and I can relate. I have one sister, and it's a good thing that she lives in Buffalo, New York and I live in Leavenworth, Kansas, because we can not be in the same city for 24 hours without causing a scene much like the one LeeAnn describes.

I'm with Teresa's comment - let's form our own family and to heck with the ones who treat us like crap.

Posted by Beth at 7:56 AM | Comments (2)

Last week's trip

Pennsylvania is one of the prettier states I've visited. It is definitely a land of contrasts - there will be a big industrial factory with steam spewing out of towers in one place, and a three minute drive down the highway puts you smack dab in the middle of beautiful dairy farms.

The people I worked with were great guys. They were all pretty outspoken conservatives - the one liberal who works there was on vacation, or at least, that's what they told me.

If you ever get a chance to visit the Hershey, PA area, go and enjoy the pretty countryside and really nice people.

Oh, and the chocolate is good too.

Posted by Beth at 7:22 AM | Comments (2)

Carnival of the Recipes #8 is up!

I'm a day late - travelling always screws up my timing, but Angela has done a great job presenting The Carnival of the Recipes!.

Please send your recipes for Carnival of the Recipes #9 to recipe.carnival(at)gmail(dot)com.

Next week's host will be ... me.

If anyone is interested in Hosting the Carnival of the Recipes in future weeks, please do let me know, I'm happy to share the traffic and the work!

Posted by Beth at 6:53 AM | Comments (2)

October 8, 2004

Bumper Sticker Madness

There have been a lot of reports of people keying cars that displayed Bush bumper stickers. So far, our new car has not been keyed, but I am proudly displaying my Bush bumper sticker on it.

I did however, have an incident because of it. Several weeks ago, as I was driving in to work, a car that was behind me zoomed around me, pulled in front of me and slammed on their brakes while flipping me off. There were Union and Kerry bumper stickers on that car. I passed that car, and the woman driving was obviously yelling at me about something as I passed her, and I figured she was just some kind of idiot, but in retrospect, I guess she was pissed off that I had a Bush bumper sticker.

So I guess that I have also been a victim of Bumper Sticker Madness.

Posted by Beth at 5:34 AM | Comments (7)

October 7, 2004

Bill Whittle

Bill Whittle has a new essay up. It's been a long wait, but most definitely worth the time to read it.

Posted by Beth at 5:43 AM

October 6, 2004

Carnival of the Recipes

I failed to mention that Angela at Fresh as a Daisy is our Carnival Hostess this week. (sorry, Angela - I'm working out of town and my time is quite limited!)

If anyone is interested in hosting the carnival, or if you have a recipe to share, please send and email to recipe.carnival(at)gmail(dot)com.

Posted by Beth at 11:36 AM | Comments (1)

October 5, 2004

Recipe Blegging

Don't forget to send you recipes for this week's carnival to

recipe.carnival(at)gmail(dot)com!

The deadline is Thursday, Midnight!

Posted by Beth at 7:31 AM | Comments (1)

Quick Observation

Here in Lancaster, PA, Kerry is deluging TV with ads. If he does win, the Saudis will no longer even pretend to be our friends, and I think our oil problems will be very difficult - he has one ad running over and over and over where he says he will not be nice to the Saudis anymore.

Kerry - if you want to throw this country into an energy crisis, keep it up.

I don't like the Saudis either, but I would not say so like that unless I had a plan to get enough oil to keep the country running - and as we all know, Kerry's plans are all 'secret'.

Ha.

Posted by Beth at 5:22 AM | Comments (4)

October 4, 2004

Ren Fest Pictures

Thought I'd post a few pictures from the Kansas City Rennaissance Festival. We had a great time.

Here is the king:

And this guy taught a belly dancing class:

Posted by Beth at 5:07 AM | Comments (2)

Southwest Airlines

I have flown Southwest Airlines for a long time, and I fly them a lot. The customer service has always been above and beyond, as far as I am concerned.
But yesterday, a man working at the ticket counter angrily told me that he didn't like the TSA and that the only way to get rid of them is to vote out the President and vote for Kerry. He also said that Bush is personally responsible for any goof ups the TSA commits. Personally.

Now, think for a minute, folks. This man said this to me as he held my military identification in his hand. Either he just wanted to irritate me or he is an idiot if he thinks people with a military connection want John F. Kerry to be the Commander in Chief.

Anyway, this was inappropriate behavior on the ticket agent's part, and I told him so. I also talked to a flight attendant as soon as I got on board the plane, and he made a call to the man's manager. Apparently, this is not the first time this guy has put his foot in his mouth and pissed off a passenger, so I don't know what happens to him, but you can be sure, if he is written up or fired for being such a jerk, he'll blame it on the President.

I am still writting Southwest an official letter complaining about this incident. This has nothing to do with free speech and everything to do with the fact that I do have a choice when I fly, and if I have Southwest employees telling me how to vote, I'll choose to fly on a different airline.

Political discussions are inappropriate when you are doing business with someone. I do not discuss my political preferences with clients, and if they want to bring that kind of thing up, no matter which side they are talking about, I tell them that I'm sorry, but I do not discuss politics while working.

Posted by Beth at 4:31 AM | Comments (5)

October 3, 2004

Boy am I pissed!

When I checked my suitcase at the Southwest Counter this morning, the Guy who checked it decided that he should let everyone know that he hates the TSA and to vote against George Bush because of it - that Kerry will take care of everything.

I told the man that I didn't think it was an appropriate discussion for him to have with customers.

I'll let you know more later.

Posted by Beth at 8:46 AM | Comments (1)

Travelling again

I'm getting ready to fly to Pennsylvania this morning. I'll be working in the Hershey area this week. It's a very pretty part of the country, so I decided to stay in Lancaster so I can have a nice drive every day to enjoy the scenery. If any of you live in that area and want to meet to have a drink, let me know, I'd love to meet more bloggers.

I'll put up my Rennaissance Festival pictures this evening, once I get settled in my hotel. We had a fine time, and John was picked on by one of the juggling acts and hammed it up quite well.

The critters have noticed my suitcase and won't leave me alone, even to go to the bathroom. They don't like it when someone in the family has to go away for a few days. When I return on Friday, they will all be quite pissy with me

Posted by Beth at 5:50 AM | Comments (1)

October 2, 2004

KC Ren Fest

We are going to the Rennaissance Festival this afternoon with our friend Kris. She has never been and is looking forward to doing some serious people watching. I'm bringing the camera with me, so look for some pictures this evening.

I'm very excited that Puke and Snot will be there again - it's been some years since they made it down our way from Minnesota!

Have a good Saturday, all!

Posted by Beth at 7:47 AM | Comments (3)

October 1, 2004

Carnival of the Recipes Supplement

It seems that three recipes were accidentally skipped on this week's carnival. They will all be in next week's and I'm linking to them today for you, so you won't miss any good food!

Cheese Stuffing from Denise

and Barbeque Beef Cups from Songstress7!

And Physics Geek has Vegetarian Chili!

Posted by Beth at 3:55 PM | Comments (2)

Carnival of the Recipes #7 is up!

Carnival of the Recipes #7 is up!

Thanks Trudy!

If anyone's recipe was inadvertently missed, please let me know at bhdonovan(at)gmail(dot)com.

There were a lot of entries, and it's very easy to overlook one.

Posted by Beth at 10:44 AM

"Global Test??!!"

Anyone else bothered by Kerry's use of the term 'global test' and how Bush doesn't pass it?

Update: Dean Esmay, Jeff and Cox and Forkum are bothered, seems like no one else even heard Kerry utter the words.

Updated Update: Lashawn Barber was also disturbed by Kerry's use of the word 'global' and how he used it.

Yet another Update: I missed Hugh Hewitt - I agree with him completely on the whole Global Test thing.
I'm frankly suprised that Kerry has not figured out that the vast majority of Americans do not want the UN to run our foreign policy.

Posted by Beth at 6:25 AM | Comments (5)