Overwhelmed and Grateful

"Who is Susie ______" I asked the Wifester, not accusingly, just questioning as I must with my terrible memory and all...
"I don't know, hunny." She said. "Maybe one of your blog readers?"
Oh, do I still have them?
Apparently I do. And Susie ______ is one of them, if not the one and only. I had received an email asking how the Wifester and I were doing through the flooding.
Now how about that?
After a little bit of back and forth with the emails Susie did disclose that she followed my blog and just wanted to check in on us. Wow. How friggin' neighborly is that? That's why I love Tennessee.
Then I start getting the messages from my old high school friend who is now in New Orleans.
"Do you need anything? Can we send anything? What can I DO???"
After assuring her we are OK here, she went on to say that after Katrina, and all the help and support she saw coming her way, she just could not stand to sit by and do nothing.
My heart swells with the outpouring of love, compassion and support coming from our friends and family, even if the national news media isn't showing the depth of our issue, here. Word of mouth travels fast in the world of Twitter and Facebook...and word has gotten around.
The Wifester and I are some of the few lucky ones. We live on higher ground and have had no damage, thankfully.
Friends have not fared so well. My friend who hooked me up with the art show that I recently had my art in...he and his wife's house is covered in water, up to the second floor. Second floor, folks!
A high school classmate has been missing since Saturday...
It's a mess here. A big mess. I know this is the Volunteer State. I grew up hearing the stories of how Tennesseans volunteer to help more than any other state, and now it is time for us to turn that spirit of giving on ourselves and help our neighbors.
How can you helps us? Spread the word. The national news is doing a very poor job of showing the severity of the situation here. Hands on Nashville sums it up nicely:

In case folks don't grasp the severity of what's going on. Temporary shelters are at capacity, missing people are unaccounted for, many homes are under water, we're in a water conservation emergency, much of Nashville's economic base is threatened by flood damage, etc, etc.

In other words, we're going to need help.

Go to www.hon.org (Hands On Nashville) to become a volunteer or to make a donation go to http://www.cfmt.org/floodrelief/ and give at The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee to ensure that your money goes directly to flood relief efforts. Despite what we've been told about Text to REDCROSS, that money just goes to the Red Cross, who then can use it anywhere in the world that they feel it is most needed. Which ordinarily is fine, but right now, when we need it, we need to make sure we are giving to the channels that will siphon the money to the proper, local agencies.

Thank You, Mr. Olbermann!

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Layne Bryant's Too Hot for TV Ad

Lane Bryant claims ABC rejected this ad based on the size of the models. ABC says this ad was too racy for prime time, meanwhile a Victoria’s Secret ad ran at an even earlier time slot. This one was pushed back and required extensive edits. Too sexy for prime time? You be the judge.

Oh Canada!

It was three years ago that the wifester went from being my girlfriend, my best friend, my partner, and my soul mate to also being my wifester. I've never been more sure of any decision I've ever made in my life. Meeting the wifester was like coming home. Suddenly, everything fell into place and all was right with the world. That's how I knew she was my one. It wasn't hard, it wasn't awkward. It wasn't strange. It was just natural... talking with her, laughing with her, learning with her... and instead of slowly getting less and less interesting, it just became more and more exciting. I kept waiting for the new to wear off. I kept waiting for her to shift from that infatuation with me to the usual exasperation, but it never happened. I kept waiting for my attention to shift to something shiny and brand new, but it never did. She stayed and stays shiny and brand new in my eyes. I don't look for the other shoe to fall anymore. I am comfortable and happy with my relationship with my wifester. We're like two peas in a pod, and I like us that way. Oh sure, we fuss over the thermostat and who has to take the puppy potty this time, but when it comes right down to it, there's no one else I'd rather stand beside, and no one else I'd rather have by my side. I love you, my wifester! Going on forever!

And since we got hitched in Canada, we always sing Oh Canada on our anniversary :D Thank you Canada for recognizing our love as a valid, equal union that deserves to be commemorated.

My Two Cents, for What it's Worth...(and that ain't much)

tap...tap...tap...Is this thing on?

Wow, I may have forgotten how to do this. Let's see how this goes, and forgive me, my blogging has been insufficient to keep me in practice these days, so I apologize ahead of time, but I just can't keep my mouth shut a moment longer about something.

I'm sure you've heard about this woman from Shelbyville, Tennessee who adopted the little boy from Russia and then decided she couldn't care for him anymore and sent him packing...on a flight to Moscow... alone, with a letter surrendering him and explaining that in her opinion at least, he suffers from severe psychological challenges. The letter actually says:

"This child is mentally unstable. He is violent and has severe psychopathic issues," the letter said. "I was lied to and misled by the Russian Orphanage workers and director regarding his mental stability and other issues.""After giving my best to this child, I am sorry to say that for the safety of my family, friends, and myself, I no longer wish to parent this child."

All of that may very well be true, but that doesn't give you the right to ship this kid, unaccompanied, on a flight to another country to meet some man at an airport! Her excuse is that she is a single parent, and does not have the time or resources to care for a special needs child. Then she went further to say that he had become physically violent and threatened violence against her and her family. Still, I say to her, You chose to adopt. You took on the responsibility of raising this child as though he were your own. That means you are supposed to treat him as though you yourself gave birth to him, and not ANY differently. If this were a child you gave birth to, and then a year or two or three down the line you began to notice that your child wasn't developing normally, and eventually that child began to show signs of severe psychological or developmental disabilities, as a single parent what would you do then? There's no where to ship that child back to. But there ARE agencies, physicians, psychologists and counselors in place specifically for foreign adoptees and the adopted children who may be psychologically damaged. These cases can very often have very, very rewarding and effective outcomes, when handled properly.
What really bothers me about this is that this woman is a nurse! She is a graduate of Vanderbilt's Nursing program, one of the top nursing programs in the country, which tells me that this woman is well educated, intelligent, and presumably well informed or at least fully capable of informing herself properly. As a former nurse, it stirs something inside me to hear of someone in the nursing profession showing so little compassion and empathy. I tried to think of it from her side and think about what if she really did get one of "those kids" that we read about...Still, though. I go back to the fact that she did not utilize the resources at hand to help this child, to protect her family and to ensure that she was doing all she could do as a mother to provide the very best option for a child desperately in need. Further, it infuriates me that her single, despicable and heinous act could adversely affect the outcome of so many potentially wonderful parents who are currently in the process of adopting children from Russia. I wouldn't blame them one bit either, what with the investigating sheriff referring to the child as "it" repeatedly in interviews.
Hey, Sheriff Boyce, that 'it' is a little boy, and his name is Justin!

Who Said Pasta Has to Come From a Box?

I told you that Sally Sue is a puppy school delinquent, right?
In her first three weeks of school she missed two classes, so yesterday we made up one of them. It was pretty fun to have the one on one time with the trainer, and Sally really loved all of the personalized attention.
It was a little bit somber, though, as we found out that one of Sally's classmates suffered a horrible accident last week, and passed away. Poor little Bailey. She was a real trooper, too. She was the tiniest little puppy in the class, still fitting in the palm of her "momma's" hand, yet she was always willing to get right in there with all the "big dogs" like Sally Sue and Care Bear and Bristol. Little ole' Bailey didn't let her tiny size get in the way of her doing anything.
My heart goes out to Bailey's family.
The day made a 180 degree turn though.
Last night was a real hoot and a half!
At the last minute we ended up with plans for friends to come over and I decided to try out a new pasta recipe I found, given the willing guinea pigs for my culinary experiments.
Wine was consumed. Laughter was shared. Stories were told.
And, the Wifester and I met a new friend. *waves at ya!*
It's always a good time when we gather with these folks, and last night was no exception.
It's good to have good friends, the kind of friends who you know well and know you well. The kind of friends you can laugh with, cry with, and even bitch and complain with when need be.
Sometimes the Wifester and I can get so caught up in our own routines that we forget to make time in our lives to nurture those friendships with outside people. We need to remember to do that more.
Oh, and the pasta? Primo! I mean, you know you aren't getting away from this blog without a recipe after I tell you how I cooked something new, right?

So here's the low down on my Home Made Seafood Ravioli

First, for the pasta. Now, honestly, I thought making the pasta itself would be a lot more difficult than it proved to be. Once again, I have to give props to my Kitchen Aid! Still the

Best. Present. EVER.

Pasta:
3 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
5 eggs
1 tsp. olive oil
a splash of water (just enough to make the dough soft and pliable)

I simply dumped all of this into my mixer bowl, turned it on and let it mix for for a couple of minutes with the mixing attachment, then switched out for the dough attachment and left it to kneed for 10 minutes. Then let it sit for about 20 minutes which allows the proteins in the dough to relax and makes rolling much easier. Rest the dough covered under the mixing bowl so it doesn't dry out too much.
The dough is a little moist, and for the ravioli, this works perfectly.

While the dough is sitting, you can make your filling. I chose crab, lobster, mushrooms, spinach, ricotta cheese, garlic and onion. Mostly because it is still Lent, and though I don't adhere to the rules, my guests do. Next time, though, I think I'll try these with my home made Italian sausage and red sauce, YUM!
I sauteed my onions until almost translucent, added the garlic, seasoned with Creole seasoning, but you can really experiment here and use whatever you like. Then I added the mushrooms and my diced crab meat, lobster and cooked chopped spinach. Let this cook for about 5-10 minutes, just until the seafood is done, then add the ricotta cheese. Let it incorporate well and then pour it into a nice big bowl and carry it to the area where you are working with your dough.
I rolled the dough out to about 1/8 inch thick and used a small juice glass to cut little circles, and set them aside. When they are all cut out and ready, drop a spoon full of the crab meat mixture into the center of a pasta circle, place another pasta circle on top, smash the edges together all the way around making sure to completely seal it. If you need to, you can dip your fingers in water to help seal the edges. Place each completed ravioli on a tray or towel to dry. When finished filling all the raviolis, you can boil them in water, or as I did, in chicken stock. I like boiling pasta in chicken stock. It gives it a nice light hint of flavor. Try it sometime!
raw, stuffed ravioli, waiting to be boiled


You'll know when they are done, they'll pop up to the top! Fish the floating ones out and set them aside. I placed them in a casserole dish and poured Alfredo sauce over them, one layer at a time as they came out of the chicken stock. Then I topped the whole thing off with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese. Let me tell you, I may never buy Bertoli's again!



Sorry, we were all just too busy eating them up to get any photos of the raviolis after they boiled and had the sauce on them...

Easy Cheese Danish

Don't you just love cheese danishes? I do.
They are probably one of my favorite dessert items ever. I was looking for something easy and yummy to make for a dessert recently and I found in my fridge some cream cheese, blueberries, and a couple of cans of crescent rolls. The light bulb went off.
Let me walk you through these steps, because I assure you, if you love sweet, creamy, fluffy, cheese danishes, you'll want to make these!
First, put your 8 oz pkg of cream cheese (softened) in the mixer and add a splash of vanilla and about a cup of powdered sugar, then let that blend until creamy and smooth. Next, take one can of crescent rolls, divide it, keeping two rolls attached to each other, dip them in melted butter, and smooth them out in the bottom of a greased casserole dish, repeat with the next two and so on until the bottom of the dish is lined. Smash the edges together a little. Sprinkle brown sugar and cinnamon on top. Spread the cream cheese mixture over these rolls. Now you can be creative, add whatever fruit you want. I had blueberries so I dumped them on top and spread them out. Strawberries or blackberries would be yum, too! Now repeat the crescent roll process with your second can of rolls, tucking the edges down to meet the edges of the bottom layer. Pour melted butter over the top - don't be stingy! Sprinkle brown sugar and cinnamon on top and bake this at 350 for about 20-25 minutes, until the top is golden and flaky. Once cools off a bit, you can place it in the fridge and it really firms up nicely! Here's mine, after being refrigerated, and after the Wifester and I tested it.