Friday Fotos: 1/29

This is SO true...

courtesy of... graphjam.com



courtesy of... icanhascheezburger.com

The Further Adventures of Koko and Yum Yum

Because there are a few things going on right now, I have not been updating as much as I would like. So, in lieu of a post which displays my rapier wit and my manic mutilation of the English language, I give you a few more photos of our two felines.

Oh, and you should know that this morning, the one sticking her tongue out again, managed to fish an empty cat food can out of the trash and unroll an entire roll of toilet paper all over the living room floor...


Once again, Yum Yum showing her disdain...





Hanging-out on the cat tree my dad built...

Scenes from a Parking Lot

My oldest had to take her semester finals this week. The place where I had to take her was literally clear across town and because I did not want to waste gas on extra trips, I decided to just wait in the car until she was done. So, in preparation for a four-hour wait each day, I packed myself a little activity bag to keep me busy: I included my Bible, a book, crossword puzzles, an iPod, and a bag of popcorn. Also, because it was frigid and windy, I had a coat and gloves. Yes, I looked weird, but at least I was warm...sort of.

Anyway, while sitting in the parking lot the first day, I saw an incredible view of the clouds sneaking over the mountains. Of course, I did not have a camera with me, but I made sure I had it with me the next day. Naturally, these pictures do not compare to the scene I saw the previous day, but I think they're pretty cool.

Friday Fotos: 1/22

In 3..2..1...

courtesy of... failblog.org



Why you need to pay for the premium package...

courtesy of... icanhascheezburger.com

Healthy Breakfasts Make for Healthy Kids

When someone mentions eating healthy cereal to me, the first thing that pops into my mind, is sitting down to a bowl of bran and oats that had about as much flavor as the grass that is growing outside. In order to make it edible, my mom would pour wheat germ and honey on it and then expect me to eat it (bleah!). Although I did manage to choke the swill down, I have to admit that it put me off eating breakfast for quite a few years. From that time on, I always equated healthy eating with tasting bad. But, I am happy to say, that this is no longer the case.

General Mills has a cereal called Raisin Nut Bran and since I happen to love raisins, I decided to give it a try. This cereal has slivers of almonds, nut-covered raisins, and sweetened whole wheat and bran flakes. Needless to say, you will not need to add any additional sugar to this cereal. I poured the milk over the cereal and took my first bite. The cereal was sweet, but not overpowering and the combination of the soft raisins and the almond slivers offers a delicious flavor combination and gives it a nice crunch. I have never really been a fan of just plain almonds before (I prefer mine smoked), but I have to admit that they added a tasty dimension to this cereal. With some brands, I had to worry about running out of raisins before I was completely finished, but General Mills seems to have gotten the proportions right, because up to the very last spoon-full, I was getting raisins and almonds. In all, this cereal is really good and best of all...it's healthy! Yes, you heard me correctly, you can actually eat something that tastes good and is healthy for you.

I know that you may all realize the importance of having your children eat a healthy breakfast, but in this day of fighting the "battle of the bulge" either you or your kids might find it better to just skip breakfast and save those calories for later in the day. Well, I dug into the archives and I discovered that a "1998 study showed that children who eat breakfast tend to perform better at school. Compared to children who skip breakfast, children who eat breakfast score higher on tests, are less likely to miss class or be tardy, have fewer reported discipline problems, and make fewer trips to the office."

You might also like to know that if you eat a healthy breakfast, your body will be able to use that fuel to burn those dreaded calories and you can actually lose weight. Sounds strange, I know, but if you deprive your body of food, it can go into starvation-mode, which means that anything you eat will be stored as fat and then you won't be losing anything. It has been shown that "people who eat ready-to-eat cereals consume less fat, less cholesterol and more fiber than non-cereal eaters." A few more interesting tidbits: "cereals also deliver important vitamins, minerals and other essential nutrients, making cereal a top source of key nutrients in children´s diets." Yes, they are talking about children, but this applies to everyone.

Because General Mills wants to help you and your children eat healthy, they are offering you a $1.00 off coupon for any of their cereals. In case you are still undecided about the benefits of cereal here are a few more:

• Ready-to-eat cereals, including pre-sweetened cereals, account for only 5% of sugar in children´s diets


• Ready-to-eat cereal is the No. 1 source of whole grains in a child´s diet today


• Ready-to-eat cereal is the No. 1 source of whole grains in a child´s diet today

I hope that you will give this cereal a try and kick-off a campaign for a healthier lifestyle. As for me, writing about this has made me hungry (well, there's something new), so I think I'll grab a bowl of Raisin Nut Bran and let the spell-checker complete my work.

disclosure: For any of you who do not yet know, although the opinions expressed are my own, I did receive free products from General Mills. In addition, the coupon link and the technical information have all been provided by General Mills and MyBlogSpark.

The Doctor, Weight-Loss, and Pizza

Today, since I haven't done it in a while, I'm going to provide a little update on the old weight-loss front. I had to go to the doctor today for my annual exam and the first thing they have me do is step on the scale. Much to my surprise, it said that I weighed 207.5 lbs, down from the 236.4 lbs I weighed last year (This means, since I started in August of 2008, I've lost a total of 91 lbs of fat). I say, "much to my surprise," because the scale I have at home says I weigh-in at 217 lbs. Quite a little discrepancy, if you ask me. If you are at familiar with this site, you will know that I am engaged in a constant battle with this scale. It is an older digital model that should have been retired years ago, but since that would mean having to go to the store to purchase a new one (for me, stepping into a store has the similar effect as a vampire stepping into sunlight- the real vampires, not those Twilight, sparkly ones), I just deal with the inaccuracies.

Anyway, I thought that was pretty good news, so I went and celebrated by eating an entire Chicago Connection pizza myself, thus gaining back the ten pounds I thought I weighed. Okay....the thought did actually cross my mind for a moment, but that would not be a very intelligent thing for me to do so, surprisingly, I refrained from my desires and had a yogurt instead. Trust me on this, it's NOT the same!

Since I'm on the subject of pizza, I have decided that I would like to start making my own. I understand that there is something like a pizza stone involved in this operation, so I need to look into getting something like that or finding a cheap alternative. Also, since I will be making my own crusts, I think that I may need to make-up another batch of sourdough starter (notice the shameless plug), so that I can use that just for my pizza crusts.

Now, what about the sauce. I would prefer to just go with the traditional tomato sauce, especially since we have quarts of the stuff in our freezer (canned them myself from our very own tomatoes). Unfortunately, my rather picky daughters don't like tomato sauce, so I'll have to come-up with a white sauce; I'm thinking a nice garlic/Parmesan sauce would be fit the bill.

As for the toppings, got to have: salami, pepperoni, garlic (minced), cheese, mushrooms, cheese, maybe some onions and peppers, cheese, olives, and cheese.

You know, it's pretty pathetic when I start by discussing my weight loss and I end-up talking about pizza. Gee, I wonder what's on my mind?

A New Blog is Born

I'm about to let the cat out of the bag by telling you this, but my niece has just started her first blog. Her blog, called Wild Child- Rebekah, was started as an assignment for one of her college courses and will document her thoughts and impressions about the course. I hope that you can please take a moment to stop by and say hello. Let's all give her a nice, warm welcome into her new blogging family.

Friday Fotos: 1/15

It's always best to follow the recipe...

courtesy of... lolpix.com

Beverly Hills PD...

courtesy of... extremefunnypictures.com





courtesy of... icanhascheezburger.com

Studying for Semester Finals

My oldest is about to embark the first time on a very scary journey: taking her high school semester finals. Before this time, she would be able to take her exams in the comfort of her own room, but now that she is in high school, she needs to go to a testing center to take them. Then, for the next two days, she will be taking exams in each of her six subjects. Currently, she feels overwhelmed by the task ahead of her and it is my job to help her over this hurdle. So, I felt it timely to bore all of you with how we are going to go about acing these tests. On a serious note, I would ask that you all please pray for her; she can really use it. Hopefully this information will help...


Studying for your exams:

Three important words: organize, organize, organize. You need to organize all of your course materials and study guides. Make sure everything is in one place and easy to get at. This may seem like a simple step and it is, but it is less intimidating to work from neatly stacked papers rather than a box stuffed with them.

The first thing you should do is remember that your teachers are there to help you to learn and succeed, not try to see you fail. If they supply a study guide, use it! They know what's on the exam, so use whatever weapons they give you.

Once you have all your study guides, take a moment to sit back and take a breath. Studying for multiple exams can be very intimidating, but just remember to take it one course at a time.

Set aside a block of time for each class and concentrate on only one class for that period of time. Try to do just one unit per day, per course.

Start at the beginning of the term and review each lesson in that unit.

If possible, try and review your old exams.

If possible, redo some of your old assignments (math).

Actually write down what you read (if you are working from a study guide, just answer the questions that are in the guide). However, you do need to actually write it down, as this will help you retain the knowledge.

I have found that actually teaching (speaking out loud) the information helps me to retain the knowledge. Imagine that you are teaching the information to someone and if no one is around, teach your favorite pet or stuffed animal.

If you get tired, take a break and do something else for ten or fifteen minutes.

Oh, and take it from someone who knows: cramming does not work, so don't leave your studying for the last minute. If you have a week or more to prepare, use that time! If you try and leave everything to the last minute, you will find yourself hopelessly overwhelmed (again, I've been there).

I realize that all this is obvious, so why even bother writing about it? Yes, it is obvious, but when you are on the other side of the exams, sometimes it is the obvious things that we need to be reminded about.

If you know of any other tricks or tips, please let me know.

The Cat Who Got into Everything

The little angel

My wife and I are about ready to kill a Siamese. Ever since Yum Yum woke us up this morning, the second time after being fed, she has been getting into absolutely everything. This little monster currently has five little plastic springs that she just loves to play with, but they've just disappeared. We looked under the couch, the chairs, the bed, but we just can't find them. So being spring-less, she began chewing on the Christmas tree (I know, it should've been taken down weeks ago, but we just love having it up) and if she isn't doing that, she is playing with the blinds, the cords, our iPod headphones, using my Total Gym for a scratching post, knocking the Dvd's off of the table, trying to steal my pen, or walking over the keyboard...I think you get the general idea. We usually squirt her with some water (we have a squirt bottle for just this purpose), but she just shakes it off and finds something else to get into.


It all started at around 7:00AM when she came pouncing on our bed and began to tear around over the top of us. My wife decided to get up and go into the living room, but did Yum Yum follow her? Nope, she continued to run over the top of me, attacking my feet and head for a good ten to fifteen minutes. Finally, growing bored with this, she took her show "on the road" and went to distract my wife. While my wife was wrapped-up in her blanket and trying to read the Bible, Yum Yum got right to work and began chewing on the tree. Unwrapping and grabbing the bottle, Mary walked over to the tree and squirted her. Back to the couch and just as she got wrapped up, Yum Yum renewed her assault on the tree.

This went on a few more times and I guess it finally sunk into that tiny Siamese mind to stop playing with the Christmas tree, because she stopped and began playing with the blinds and those tantalizing cords that hang beside them. The only good part about this change of venue, is the fact that my wife doesn't have to get up off the couch to "discipline" the little darling.

Fast-forward a few hours and my wife is in the kitchen preparing food for our birds. She has a bag of peas in her hand, when she hears the tell-tale sign of a cat trying to climb a tree. As Mary turns towards the tree, the peas go flying out of the bag and all over the kitchen and dining room floors; Yum Yum goes flying into the bathroom and thus earns her first, well-deserved, timeout.

After about ten minutes, she is released from her self-imposed prison and you would have thought that she may have learned her lesson, but no it was back to the mischief, which continued until just about an hour ago. She is now stretched full-length on my wife's blanket, dreaming no doubt, of other mischief she can get into.

Friday Fotos: 1/8/2010

It is Friday once again and not a moment too soon. I hope you all have a terrific weekend and stay warm!

Yup, this is so true...

courtesy of... lolpix.com


Dude...

courtesy of... collegehumor.com



Ain't this the truth...

courtesy of... icanhascheezburger.com

Making Texas Brownies

photo courtesy of... retorte.blogspot.com
Yes, I had to use someone's photo, because stupid here forgot to take a picture, again.

I made these a few days ago for my wife's friend at work and I decided that you may all want to have a go at these brownies. I have made these several times over the years and I must say that it is the best brownie recipe I have ever come across. I originally got this recipe from About.com and I will provide a direct link to them at the end of this article. In the meantime, sit back, grab a cold glass of milk, and get ready to enjoy some of the best brownies you will ever taste. Oh, in case you're wondering, yes, I allowed myself a small piece of one.


What you need...


For the brownies...


Flour...2 cups
Sugar...2 cups
Butter...½ cup
Shortening...½ cup
Coffee...1 cup strong (I use an instant espresso for this)
Unsweetened cocoa...¼ cup
Buttermilk...½ cup
Eggs...2
Baking soda...1 tsp.
Vanilla Extract...1 tsp.


For the frosting...


Butter...½ cup
Milk...¼ cup
Cocoa...2 Tbsp
Powdered sugar...1 ½ cups
Vanilla Extract...1 tsp

Putting it together...

1. Preheat oven to 400°
2. Lightly grease an 11 X 17 inch baking pan (I don't have a pan of this size, so I just used a 9 X 13 inch pan and it worked just fine)
3. Grab a large bowl and add the flour and the sugar
4. Mix well
5. In a large saucepan, add butter, shortening, coffee, and cocoa
6. Over medium-high heat, stir constantly until the mixture boils (this takes about ten to fifteen minutes)
7. Once it comes to a boil, pour over the flour/sugar mixture
8. Using a whisk, mix to combine
9. Add buttermilk, eggs, baking soda, and vanilla
10. Mix until combined and then pour into you baking dish
11. Bake for 20 minutes
The Frosting...
1. Whilst the brownies are baking, grab a saucepan and over medium-high heat, combine the butter, cocoa, and milk
2. Stir constantly until it comes to a boil
3. When it boils, turn-off the heat and add the powdered sugar and vanilla
• I add the sugar ½ cup at a time and mix well after each addition.
Back to the brownies...
12. Using a toothpick or a knife, insert into the center of the brownies, if it comes out clean, your brownies are done
13. If it does not come out clean, bake a few more minutes and recheck
14. Continue with step 13 until they are done
15. Once done, remove from oven and immediately pour frosting over your brownies
16. While your brownies cool, take a glass of milk and place in freezer
17. Once brownies are cool, I take a pizza cutter and spray it with Pam and use that to cut the brownies
18. Grab your milk from the freezer and enjoy

texas brownies from about.com

Boise State Broncos in the Fiesta Bowl

photo courtesy of...collegefootball.about.com
I just wanted to let you know what I will be doing on Monday night...watching my #(6) Boise State Broncos beat the #(4) TCU Horned Frogs in the Fiesta Bowl. Both teams sport an undefeated record, so it should be a most excellent game (Sorry, I just watched Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure the other night). This is also the first time that two undefeated teams will meet in a BCS bowl game, without having the National Championship at stake.

I have already made a dip and will be sending my wonderful wife to the store tomorrow (I have to teach) to grab some veggies. I would much rather have pizza, chips, and anything else that may be greasy and bad for me, but I really don't want to spend the next several weeks trying to undo the damage of one evening. So, we will be good and have broccoli, carrots, celery, and maybe some cherry tomatoes. I really do like vegetables, but only if you add something fattening to them, such as a dip or cheese. I know, this somewhat negates the nutritional benefits of eating them, but let's just say that I am taking baby steps. Some day, I may be able to eat broccoli plain or not put peanut butter on my celery, but not just yet.

Anyway, I want to congratulate the Boise State Broncos on their fantastic season and I wish them all the best at the Fiesta Bowl. You can be sure that I will be cheering them on!

How to Boil an Egg

While watching television last night, I saw a commercial for a hard boiled egg cooker. I couldn't believe that someone would actually need to but something like that. Yes, you can use it to steam veggies, but can't you just use a strainer and a pot of water to accomplish the same thing? Anyway, in my constant pursuit to find just about anything to write about and to save you $19.95, I have decided to share the procedure I use to hard boil eggs. I realize that this may seem like a very basic skill, but I also know that there are many out there that may not know how to do this. So, without further delay, here it is...

I am using large grade AA eggs. If you use smaller eggs, your time may vary.

What to do...

1. Get a pin and pierce the eggshell at the flat-end. There is a small air sack located here and by making a small pinhole here, you will help minimize the possibility of your egg cracking during the boiling (this is an optional step)
2. Place your eggs in the bottom of a pan
3. Add enough cold water to cover the eggs
4. Add a pinch of salt
5. Place lid on the pan, but allow the steam to escape
6. Place pan on the stove and turn to high
7. When the water starts to boil, set your timer for eight minutes
8. Let boil
• For a soft-boiled egg it was suggested by one of my commentors to just leave them for three to four minutes
9. After ten minutes, remove from heat and pour-out the water
10. Add cold water to the eggs and then pour out
11. Repeat three to four times
• This procedure stops the cooking process
12. Add cold water or ice and allow to set until the eggs are cool
13. You should end up with a hard boiled egg with a nice orange yolk. Now, if you like to have a yellow yolk with that wonderful green ring around it, increase the time by two to three minutes

Peeling the little guys...

1. Crack your egg from top to bottom
2. Under cold water, rub the egg between your hands. This will help loosen the membrane that is between the shell and the egg and make the shell come off much easier
3. Peel your egg