New things

I tackled bread making this week! Not successfully, mind you, but at least I tried. I am having problems getting it to rise properly, so this week I'm adding more yeast to see if that helps. I have a few more things to try if that doesn't work. 3 inch high loaves aren't helpful for sandwiches, but Hubby loves it with his dinners.

I have found that allrecipes.com is soooo cool! I can type in something like 'chicken casserole' and scroll through all the recipes till I find one that has ingredients that I have on hand. Love it. Also, this little magazine is a handy helper too. Its FREE! Just go online to kraftfoods.com/free to sign up. Sure, its a thick advertisement for Kraft foods, but its full of fast, easy and tasty recipes. And if you want to use the name brand ingredients, that's up to you!

Also, we went to Hubby's cousin Kenny's wedding on Saturday. Beautiful day for a wedding, it's finally looking like spring! I could finally get out my strapy sandals too! The bridesmaids were wearing knee length strapless slate-navy blue dresses with light pink sashes. I'd never seen those colors work together so well before. Their bouquets were pink roses and wax flowers framed with broad leaf greenery, and looked really beautiful. The dinner reception was at a hotel in Cape May right on the beach, and we were privy to stunning sunset. Ahhhhh... tis the season for love.

Speaking of which, my mother is getting married in TWO weeks! Cinco de Mayo is the day! She sounds happy but busy busy, as usual.

Branded

How's this for self-esteem? I get to drive around with this plastered on my windshield. NJ requires all vehicles to get 'inspected' every year. A team of disgruntled government employees pick over your car, slam on your brakes, honk your horn, test your gas cap and mess with your mirror and seat adjustments. It's all very humiliating but necessary I suppose to keep our roads safe. Then as a final insult they slap this sticker on my car. Something about having California numbers on my NJ insurance card. I failed inspection in my new home state! Ug. I was crushed. Especially since I had waited in line for 40 min and would have to do it all over again!

Nat'l Telecommunicators Week

April 8-14 is

National Dispatcher Week

Special recognition to all the men and women

under the headset.

I would say "have you thanked your local dispatcher this week?" but don't you dare call unless it's actually an emergency!! Instead, the next time you do need to call the police or 911, listen to what they are saying and answer the questions they ask you. They are trying to help YOU. Please do what they ask you to do. Know that they honestly want to help if they can if you have a real emergency. Please forgive them if they are a little short with you, remember that they are a valuable resource that is abused each day by people who are lazy and rude. They are the ones who can send you the help you need. Take a second and say thanks to the dispatcher before you hang up, it would mean a lot to them. After listening to people in crisis all day, its nice to hear that someone appreciates their help.

911 is about life and death situations and medical emergencies. Every call that they answer that deals with anything else- takes resources away from those who genuinely need it.

Hats and Jackets

Happy Easter!
It was 38 degrees today but
I still wore my spring hat!

And thanks to my hustband,
I gained a new respect for this
piece of spring clothing this
afternoon. Augusta National is
absolutely beautiful.

Oh Spring, where art thou?

Katie and I went to a Beatrix Potter Tea Party. A very 'spring' thing to do. Even the Easter Bunny was there. We had cups of tea, tiny sandwiches and lots of little sugary things. It was in an old Victorian house turned Bed&Breakfast, and after lunch they had readings of Beatrix Potter stories in the carriage house, followed by an easter egg hunt for the kids in the garden. It was a lot of fun. However, it was 34 degrees today. It actually was snowing at our house this evening. Would someone PLEASE tell New Jersey that its SPRING! How am I supposed to wear a nice spring dress, white straw hat and sandals for Easter sunday if its freezing outside?!

Quilting Progress

My first attempt at quilting is going surprisingly well. This leads me to believe I'm either missing something really important, or I haven't gotten to the hard part yet. I got one of those cutting matts and one of the sharp roller dealy-jobbers which is really fun to play with and makes the job a lot easier. Would you believe there are no quilters in Oz out here? After moving from a town rich with experienced quilters, I pick now to attempt making one myself. My timing is really lousy. I love our homemade quilt, btw!!