Saturday, October 31, 2009

Grace in Small Things 282:365

1. i love that every Sox fan i saw at Epcot today (i was wearing a Sox tee) yelled "go Phillies!" to me. and every Phillies fan asked, "go Phillies?" you know it!

2. my new WDW Annual Pass is good for fifteen months instead of the standard twelve. three months free!!

3. getting some photos that came out exactly as i had hoped they would.

4. a nice cool shower when i got home from Epcot.

5. a very yummy calzone (well, part of one) for dinner.


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wishing you a...

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Friday, October 30, 2009

Grace in Small Things 281:365

1. five-paycheck months. because the way i budget (on a 4-week cycle) makes it feel like free money!

2. hearing my "happy song" on the drive into work in the morning starts the day off on a...wait for it...good note!

3. goofy silly puns. (see above.)

4. making lists.

5. a stack of books waiting to be read.


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i need...

...to get new sneakers.

...to vacuum.

...cooler temperatures. (or at the very least seasonably appropriate ones.)

...to remember to wear earrings at least often enough that the holes don't start to close & i end up essentially re-piercing them when i decide to put a pair in.

...to stop dropping my cell phone.

...those perfect hugs you can only get from just the right person.

...to be better about telling someone when i think they are awesome & amazing, instead of just thinking it. it's so easy to underestimate the power of hearing that you are valued.

...to re-balance. i feel slightly out of whack today.

...the Phillies to win the World Series.

...my vacation.

...to renew my WDW Annual Pass.

...to get back into the groove of scanning ten old photos a week again. just in case.

...to give myself more credit.

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Thursday, October 29, 2009

Grace in Small Things 280:365

1. the way fog softens the sharp edges of the landscape.

2. making people laugh.

3. remembering random snippets of my childhood. in this case the slow-crunch sound of cars driving carefully over a snow-covered road outside my Gram & Gramp's home.

4. the magical powers of chocolate that can fix a bad mood.

5. there's another cool front getting ready to move through, bringing *normal* temperatures for this time of year: highs of 80-83 sound *far* better than 90-93!


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Food & Wine Festival: Round Four

whoa. here we are on Thursday & i haven't shared Round Four yet, with Round Five a mere two days away? for shame! let's get right on that. because there's lots to share. the 70s from Round Three disappeared & the crowds along with them. heat = fewer people to navigate through & i made up for the crowd-shortened previous circuit.

Hops & Barley
Boston-style Crab Cake with Cabbage Slaw and Remoulade.

a perfectly yummy starting point. delicious little crab cake over crunchy slaw & that remoulade? packed a lot of zippy punch. pure deliciousness which i devoured in the shade of a tree, sitting on the wall of a planter. and i didn't even have to fight people off for a place to sit!

Krakow, Poland
Kielbasa and Potato Pierogie with Caramelized Onions and Sour Cream.

by no means something new for my tastebuds but some things are way too yummy to pass up. i really just couldn't resist, even though kielbasa & pierogies are something i often cook myself.

Chopin Raspberry Chiller.

but this little cup of heaven? i sipped this as i meandered about. (i had this beverage last year too & was beyond thrilled to see it making an encore appearance in 2009 too!) i wish i could do justice to how tasty this little treat is but... i'm afraid it just isn't possible. it's thick but not *too* thick. almost the consistency of a slushie or slightly melted sorbet. definitely not liquidy. and you cannot taste the vodka at all. it's just refreshing raspberry heaven in a little glass.

Desserts & Champagne
Strawberry Shortcake.

i am guessing you don't need to be told what strawberry shortcake is. i am a little picky when it comes to shortcake. i like the cake part to be sponge cake or pound cake or angel cake. i do NOT like it to be a biscuit. so i was a tad skeptical when i got it but braved the first bite. this was not a biscuit but what tasted like a vanilla cupcake only with the slightly heavier texture of a muffin. and fluffy whipped cream. and sweet strawberries. and a dusting of powdered sugar. and it was good.

Buenos Aires, Argentina
Grilled Beef Skewer with Chimichurri Sauce and Boniato Puree.

enough of these foods with which i am familiar, right?? when Michelle made her tasty trip around the world, she insisted that i must try the beef skewer. (i believe the consensus from Michelle & Ron was "tasty meat. on a stick.") and that i needed to request the chimichurri sauce on the side. (it came on the meat, by default.) two thumbs up for this recommendation! the meat was, indeed, tasty (and on a stick). but the star of this dish? the boniato. the what-huh, you say? the boniato--the color & texture of a potato but the slight sweetness of a sweet potato. it was all pureed & had some garlic (maybe?) mixed in, and was yummy on its own. but then you add in that chimichurri & just wow. the flavors popped in your mouth. it had some kick but not an outrageous amount. very very delicious. and if you had tried to get near my plate to poach anything, i would have been forced to poke you with my skewer. (Dawn doesn't share food! just like Joey--and if you don't get that reference, i may have to re-evaluate our friendship. heh. i kid, i kid! but really...someone knows that reference, right?)

Montreal, Canada
Maple Sugar Candy. Château des Charmes Vidal Icewine.


i needed to wind up my trip with something sweet. but i was also kind of full, so it needed to be little. maple sugar candy! candy is little! and some cool Icewine. both were quite wonderful on their own but if you combined the flavors in your mouth? they blended to taste like honey! i think it is so cool that you can combine two distinct flavors and they come out tasting like something completely different all together! (yes, easily amused. i know.) i also couldn't decide which of the two photos i liked better, so you get both. ;-)

two days til my next trip around the world. this was the perfect way to whet my appetite!

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Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Grace in Small Things 279:365

1. having a bed so comfy that i don't want to get out of it in the morning. even if i feel rested & i'm not sleepy.

2. being able to walk out the door after work, on a day that tested my patience in various & sundry ways, and leaving it behind me.

3. knowing that tomorrow is another day in which to tackle the issues that frustrated me today, when i have a fresh slate & a clear head again.

4. having the ability to not take every little thing so seriously that i cannot simply enjoy them for what they are.

5. a two-homer night for Chase Utley. a complete-game victory for Cliff Lee. and the Phillies take game one of the World Series! i have claimed my seat aboard the Phillies bandwagon! go red!


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I Want Wednesday: October 28, 2009

**not necessarily these colors or its content, but I Want to have a cool bulletin board like this to hang over my computer desk. something useful but fun & that shows my personality with bits & pieces that make me smile.


**a silicone vegetable steamer insert is something I Want to add to my kitchen. i have a metal one, but those scratch pots & are not nearly as versatile when it comes to different pot sizes.


**I Want more natural light in my home. given that i only have two windows in my apartment & both of them are under trees (the shade of which is greatly appreciated during the eternal six-month Summers we get here, by the way), that's not really an option, but i do find myself craving lots of natural light.

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Ten on Tuesday: October 28, 2009


(one of these times, i will actually post *on* Tuesday...)

10 Favorite Movie Moments

1. Father of the Bride (the Steve Martin remake): when George Banks sees his daughter Annie in her bridal gown before her wedding.

2. S&TC: the movie: the scene in the street, when Carrie sees Big after he didn't show up for their wedding, and she hits him with her bouquet, then collapses in Charlotte's arms, devastated, and Charlotte won't let Big near her or even say anything. tied with the scene when Charlotte tells Carrie she's so happy, she's terrified. both scenes always makes me tear up.

3. It's a Wonderful Life: at the end, when everyone who knows George Bailey brings money to help him.

4. Liar Liar: in his office, when Fletcher is trying to lie by saying his blue-inked pen is black. it ends up forcing him to write all over the place, including himself & he crawls out from under his desk finally saying, "The pen is blue, the pen is blue, the goddamn pen is blue!" i *still* laugh thinking about that.

5. Jerry Maguire: in the locker room, when Jerry tells Rod "help me help you" & Rod totally loses it, making fun of Jerry.

6. Toy Story: when Mrs Potato Head says to Mr Potato Head, "I'm packing your extra pair of shoes, and your angry eyes just in case."

7. The Thomas Crown Affair (the Pierce Brosnan remake): i love the part in the museum with all the guys in bowler hats.

8. Tombstone: when Doc Hooliday surprises Johnny Ringo, who is expecting Wyatt Earp, with "I'm your huckleberry."

9. Field of Dreams: when Ray finally gets to play catch with dad.

10. Elf: this one also gets a two-scene tie. the scene in the locker room when Buddy hears Jovie singing "Baby It's Cold Outside" and at the end when everyone is singing "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town."

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Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Grace in Small Things 278:365

for the last 277 Grace posts, i've made a list of five. tonight, it is one single item but the number five still bears relevance.

five years ago, tonight, the 2004 Red Sox won the World Series. it's a moment i won't ever forget. a night that will always have an extra dose of meaning in it. i watched my lifelong baseball team, the same one my Gramp watched his entire life, do the one thing he never got to witness. i remember pausing, taking it in for him too, thinking how happy he would have been, hearing in my mind, his booming "HA! HA! HA!" of pleasure.

at the start of this baseball season, way back when pitchers & catchers first straggled into Fort Myers, i decided to read Faithful (Stewart O'Nan and Stephen King) alongside the season, marking the days & games off as closely matched as i could. things didn't go as planned in 2009, so when this year's Sox gave way to the Angels, i had to continue reading without them, a little more each night before i switched off my bedside lamp to settle down for sleep.

by sheer coincidence--and i swear, not by design--i settled in to read tonight, a little earlier than typical & couldn't put down the book. i was in the final chapter, "The Possible Dream." and as i took in each word, each thought & memory & emotion, pages turning beneath my fingers, i was reliving that glorious season as the minutes ticked down toward the bottom of the 11 o'clock hour. i finished the book on the very anniversary of their victory & i couldn't have orchestrated it better myself, if i had been savvy enough to actually plan for it.

i can't lie. as my eyes passed over the words in the book, they blinked back tears, for just a moment, remembering...

"Stabbed by Foulke!" crowed longtime Red Sox radio announcer Joe Castiglione. "He underhands to first! The Red Sox are World Champions! Can you believe it?"

I hardly could, and I wasn't the only one. A hundred miles away, my son woke up his five-year-old son to see the end. When it was over and the Red Sox were mobbing each other on the infield, Ethan asked his father, "Is this a dream or are we living real life?"


and that's just it. reading those words, i am transported back, in the blink of an eye, to everything i felt. that season cannot be eclipsed. commiseration that spanned generations was now jubilation & i've never forgotten that. we celebrated with those who watched in amazement with us, and we celebrated for those who remained faithful for entire lifetimes & never got the chance to see. not in five years has a single ounce that joy diminished. that team i live & die by from February through October (while some of you chuckle & others roll your eyes) is a thread that has woven itself from my Gramp through my dad to me & hopefully beyond to possibly my own future offspring. it's something that was bred into me, a passion i share with those i came from & a torch i hope to pass on into the future.

and so today's Grace is one of joy that i've felt for five years. and all the glowing memories of brilliant Summer afternoons, perfect for baseball, and long late nights with Boston home whites glowing under the Fenway lights. it's for long discussions with those i hold near & dear on a topic that never grows old for us. it's for pastimes & games yet to be played that we will share. it's for something honest & wholesome when it seems the entire world has grown dim with anger & worry. it's for that which a baseball fan cannot articulate to someone who isn't. and it's for one night in October, a shining conclusion to a season that still seems a little surreal, that can still move me to the point of brushing away tears, and feeling so lucky that it's a part of who i am.


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Monday, October 26, 2009

Grace in Small Things 277:365

1. waking up earlier than usual & enjoying the silence of 5am.

2. vacation is four weeks from today!

3. an overcast morning, which makes the (eastward facing) commute into work much less...well...blinding.

4. realizing that i continue to learn new things every day. today it was the effects of La Niña and El Niño specifically to Florida's weather.

5. super easy dinners that taste so good. tonight was spaghetti & meatballs.


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Sunday, October 25, 2009

Grace in Small Things 276:365

1. a morning that was cooler than i anticipated when i stepped out my front door to go to church.

2. Patriots! on my tv! winning!

3. a clean & re-organized refrigerator.

4. catching the sky just as the last light slips away & for a brief moment there is a ribbon of green along the horizon. it is the only time of day i can ever recall seeing the sky look green.

5. Peanut Butter Chocolate Bars which taste way too good to be that easy to make.


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Saturday, October 24, 2009

Grace in Small Things 275:365

1. the way the clouds along the horizon this morning gave the illusion of mountains in the distance.

2. Disney Cast Members who, without a doubt, love what they do.

3. the return of warm weather meant lighter crowds at Epcot.

4. my red track pants.

5. hanging out, watching a movie.


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Friday, October 23, 2009

Grace in Small Things 274:365

1. staying ahead of the curve at work.

2. the way that palm tree fronds dance in the breeze. they are still a novelty to me, even after more than seven years.

3. proof that good honest people do exist.

4. i got to leave the air conditioner off for a solid week this time before needing to turn it on again.

5. quiet relaxing Friday nights at home.


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Thursday, October 22, 2009

Grace in Small Things 273:365

1. Redbook November. ::happy dance::

2. the smell of peppermint.

3. a steady gentle breeze.

4. gathering great ideas from blogs.

5. the Angels force a Game Six in the ALCS!


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the wonder of culinary discovery

i feel like i imagine one of those great explorers felt when they first landed upon the shores of a previously undiscovered world. i made an unintentional discovery that has me filled with delight & amazement, and i feel compelled to share.

now, mind you, i may be sharing this fantastic discovery with all this hype & build-up only to leave you feeling as if you've just been informed "lo! if you add sugar to your food, it will become sweet!" which is to imply, you may roll your eyes & think "duh. and you claim to feel at all comfortable in the kitchen? mercy." so just prepare yourselves for possibly already knowing this & having the reaction of the Native Americans when Chris Columbus (yeah, yeah, i know, or whoever it was that *actually* first stumbled upon North America) whooped about in delight having "discovered" the land they already were well aware existed. and also? i have not tested out this theory on a second recipe or even the same recipe twice, so maybe it was all a fluke. i'm taking the chance that it wasn't.

::clap clap:: disclaimers aside, MY DISCOVERY!!

so, last night's menu plan was to try out a brand new recipe for Pork Tenderloin with Mustard Sauce. said recipe calls for a 1-pound pork tenderloin. as i was shopping on Sunday, pork tenderloin after tenderloin of pork was two pounds... two & a half pounds...four pounds. you get the idea. the recipe calls for one pound. and as the recipe also is said to produce four servings, more than one pound would have been overkill.

so there i was, poking through packages of pork, when to my right i notice a one-pound package. i see its label contains the words "pork" and "tenderloin" which were good signs, and NOT any words indicating that this piece of meat had been pre-marinated in anything or that it had passed its prime date of usage, which would be bad. "score!!" (i thought it, i didn't actually do it. but in my head? totally did the "touchdown arms.") into my cart went the pork tenderloin & i scurried off to complete my shopping.

fast forward to Wednesday evening. package of pork on my cutting board, waiting to be opened. and then i noticed the additional word i hadn't caught while doing my celebratory mental dancing in Publix: filet. "hmmm... i hope that doesn't pose a problem with the success of the meal," i thought. but i reasoned that it was pork & also tenderloin, so i sliced the package open & proceeded to cut the meat into 1-inch slices. according to the recipe, a one-pound pork tenderloin should have yielded me twelve one-inch-thick slices, yet i only had six. i noticed they looked considerably wider in diameter than the usual pork tenderloin slices i have cut for recipes in the past, so i cut them each in half, and voila--look! math! it is useful!--i had twelve pieces.

the rest of the cooking was uneventful, especially impressive actually, when you recall that this was my maiden voyage with this particular recipe. and then i got to the part where i start to question if the meat was thoroughly cooked. i always worry about this just a little, because, you know, not a fan of the food poisoning. so, i selected a piece of the pork to cut into. and then i played the little mind game with myself that i frequently do: "it's a little pink in the middle. but pork is supposed to be a little pink. but is that a little too much pink? how pink should it be? maybe that's too much. but the pink is barely a blush. in fact, it's almost gone now. maybe i should check a second one to be sure..."

now, if you cook at all, and most specifically cook pork, you know that while you have this little inner dialogue, the remaining pork in the pan goes from being cooked to perfection to being overcooked. and overcooked pork is dry & chewy & just... meh. i hemmed & hawed & gave it another thirty seconds to cook. then i pulled the pork out of the pan as instructed, praying for the best. when i cut into one more test piece, there was hardly a trace of pink & my pork tenderloin pieces lived up to their naming of "the other white meat" & i wondered if i'd overdone it.

i portioned out my serving & sat down to eat. the pork cut like butter. it was tender & not dry (i hate that 'm' word, you know the one i mean) & not the tiniest bit chewy. like, at all. i scarfed down my dinner, making a mental note to keep this recipe.

but the true test? that came today. i heated up my leftovers in the microwave. aka the place where meat goes to become leather, no matter how perfectly prepared it was for the initial consumption of the meal. friends... lurkers... fellow bloggers. THE MEAT WAS JUST AS TENDER & NOT DRY & TASTY as last night. apparently (and for some reason i won't even pretend to know) the secret to not-dry pork tenderloin is to get your hands on one that is a filet. (which, i must point out did not cost me more than the non-filet packages were priced. in case you were wondering if i went into debt with the purchase of said pork.) (pork is starting to sound like it's not a real word anymore.)

as i said, i have yet to test this theory on a second recipe or at least a second time, so i apologize if my joy proves to be hasty & eventually incorrect. but how could i keep this (potential) knowledge to myself when i could be sparing others from yet another bite of dry & blah pork tenderloin?!

go forth & test the pork tenderloin filet theory! i'm already plotting the follow-up recipe to back my declaration as fact. it was *that* good.

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the reason emerges from the mist. or would that be 'mystique'?

i now have a concrete reason for not wanting Matt Holliday defending against wall balls off The Monstah in 2010. before, i just had this weird nagging feeling that he wasn't a good fit in Boston. but i had no justification. now I see that he's actually a baby Teixeira. =P

According to Jon Heyman, free agent outfielder Matt Holliday loves the idea of going to the Yankees for their…ready…no, really…ready? Their mystique. "He justloves the idea of going to the Yankees. He loves the whole aura," a friend of
Holliday told Heyman. (Boston Sports Blog)

dammit, Theo! PAYBAY.

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Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Grace in Small Things 272:365

1. the temperature is creeping back up after our lovely little cool teaser snap but the air is different somehow. it's in the 80s but there's a breeze now, instead of dead humid oppressive air that makes even your eyelids sweat. i'm holding out hope that Mother Nature can find a way to continue to pull that off despite the forecast return of 90 over the weekend.

2. making the executive decision to nap when i got home from work.

3. trying out a yummy new recipe.

4. having a good long conversation with Heather about nothing & everything.

5. Phillies to the World Series! go Team Red! ;-)


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I Want Wednesday: October 21, 2009

**I (kinda sorta really really) Want this votive holder from Yankee Candle. as in, i will most likely go out & purchase it for myself very soon. because i happen to LOVE it.


**I Want these magnets for my refrigerator. i don't put a ton of things on there but i'd like some really cute ones there for when i'd like to! and i find these super cute.


**i really hate chopping herbs when i cook. i am not very fast with a knife & when i need to make teeny tiny cuts, it can take me forever. I Want to add these shredding scissors to my utensil drawer!


**I Want the Red Sox to re-sign JayBay. please.

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Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Grace in Small Things 271:365

1. binder clips. i am pretty sure these rank right up there with Post-its and Sharpies in the wonderful world of office supplies.

2. there are some amazing blog posts residing in my Google Reader lately. so much good reading.

3. my Gram. eight years ago today, she was Heaven-bound, and while i have missed her dearly every day since, and will for the rest of my own days, i cannot think of her without smiling. she was truly an earthly angel, if ever there was one.

4. driving home with my car windows open because i don't have to care about windswept hair.

5. when the words flow effortlessly.


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Monday, October 19, 2009

Grace in Small Things 270:365

1. wearing a light sweater. it's nice to wear something different after a long long Summer of short-sleeved and sleeveless tops.

2. we had the door open all day at work today, letting in the fresh air. fresh air is so underrated.

3. my understanding of the importance of "doing nothing." i know how much i need to step back, to recharge, on a regular basis. i read a book, browse a magazine, watch a baseball game or a favorite show on tv. i watch my friends swirl around me: harried, frazzled, wild-eyed, exhausted, scattered, frustrated, overwhelmed. i think they must find me slightly crazy for loving my boring life, but these are the same people who openly envy my sense of calm. it's no great mystery really. it's important to me, so i make the time. it's something like when They tell you that you need to factor "entertainment money" into your budget alongside the bills & the savings. you make time for doctor appointments, to exercise, for running errands, to volunteer, for going to church & parent-teacher conferences...and and and. write it in your planner if you need to, but never ever underestimate the importance of "doing nothing" & not making a big ordeal about it. just do it.

4. the red teams (the Angels & Phillies) won their games! go red!

5. snuggling under my puffy comforter, cozy & content, when i am slightly drowsy.


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Food & Wine Festival 2009: Round Three

so Saturday was one of those glorious days i live for, as a Flordian, in October. brisk, breezy day, reminiscient of Autumn in New England. a day just begging me to be outdoors. except...not just me. apparently half of Florida decided that they *also* needed to be at Epcot on Saturday in the glorious weather. they were everywhere. all in my space & blocking my path & bumping into me as i tried to navigate with my little plates of food toward some small unoccupied scrap of real estate upon which to photograph & munch.

whew. all that whining to say: i only made three stops on this round. i just couldn't take all the people anymore. yes, Disney almost always has a crowd, but suffice to say, this was one of the more crowded days i can remember of late. good for the local economy, i am sure, but less conducive to my overall enjoyment. =P

Wellington, New Zealand
Seared Sea Scallop with Vegetable Slaw and Lemon Oil. Private Bin Sauvignon Blanc.

this was a good start. light & fresh. the scallop had a little bit of something vaguely spicy on it's top. not even enough to leave your mouth feeling warm. just a hint of a taste. i liked it. the vegetable slaw was good too (although a wee bit heavy on the onion for my tastes) with yummy, crunchy, sweet red & yellow peppers. and yes, you know how i feel about the white wines. not as yummy as the Riesling i had on Round One or the Verdejo i had on Round Two, but quite tasty nonetheless.

Mouse Catch
Trio of Cheeses.

we'll talk about the cheeses from left to right. first is the Piave, an Italian cheese. it was my least favorite of the three, very dry & very little taste, in my oh-so-humble opinion. the one in the middle is Mahon, which is a Spanish cheese, and was very good--mild & had a dry texture as well, but not as dry as the Piave. it is exactly what i like when i have cheese & crackers. and the one on the right is a Dutch cheese called Dorothea. it was creamy (but not soft) & sharp in taste. i liked it, but i would have liked it better with a slightly different cracker, i think. i like cheese. cheese is good. not much else really to say.

Bologna, Italy
Cannelloni.

this was really good. pretty much what you would expect of an Italian dish, what with the pasta & the tomato sauce & the cheese, satisfying but not too heavy. it was a bit breezy (as i mentioned) & this warmed me right up. and also left me full enough that i could escape the mobs of human beings by fleeing to the Future World side of Epcot to ride Space Ship Earth, Living With the Land and Test Track until it was time for Illuminations.

here's to hoping the return of the mid-to-upper 80s this coming weekend will make Round Four a slightly less populated adventure. ;-)

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Sunday, October 18, 2009

Grace in Small Things 269:365

1. having my windows open all day, letting in all that fresh lovely air.

2. napping on the couch with my fuzzy blanket over me. i love napping when the air outside the blanket is cool on my face while the rest of me is toasty warm.

3. catching glimpses of the Patriots in their red jerseys against the snowy ground when they would give game-break updates.

4. doesn't hurt that they put a hurtin' on the Titans either. ;-)

5. baking cupcakes. vanilla with chocolate frosting this time.


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Saturday, October 17, 2009

Grace in Small Things 268:365

1. amazing invigorating weather.

2. patience.

3. being out in the fresh air.

4. staying to watch Illuminations, which i rarely seem to do.

5. goosebumps. yes, i am thankful for goosebumps. after what feels like an eternal amount of time being hot & sweaty & gross, i welcome feeling just a little chilly in short sleeves.


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Friday, October 16, 2009

Grace in Small Things 267:365

1. glory glory hallelujah!


2. as i told this blogger via comment about one of her photos, i am pretty certain there isn't anything i find more strikingly beautiful than snow on vibrant autumn foliage.

3. the sky has had an array of moods today. this morning, it was those light bright colors, washed with sunlight, in contrast to the clouds as they moved in bringing rain, on the leading edge of the cool front that is about to grace us. then it was deep angry grey as the rains came down. briefly, it had patches of blue, between the rain clouds. it's a cloudy white-grey right now, as the clouds scurry past. and tomorrow, i am hoping to be greeted by a crisp clear sky, the kind you associate with perfect weather.

4. see that light-colored piece? i don't know what they do to those pieces but they are to.die.for. yumminess.


5. laughter.


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Thursday, October 15, 2009

Grace at Small Things 266:365

1. i am beginning to gather up some great gift ideas for Christmas!

2. i got a box from my mother today. she sent me a bunch of great new tops, which is fantastic because i had just been thinking i needed some new ones but really didn't want to spend the money right now.

3. i got a card in the mail from my god daughter which she signed her cute little self! i love it! (and the gift card inside too of course.)

4. that perfect golden light just before sunset.

5. falling asleep to the sounds of a baseball game.


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Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Grace in Small Things 265:365

1. i am down to my final 100 days of Grace! wow, has the last year flown by...

2. the girls got to go out for lunch today.

3. i had a really good conversation with my dad. =)

4. Every Day With Rachael Ray, November issue!

5. a lazy quiet evening on my couch with my DVR.


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I Want Wednesday: October 14, 2009

**I Want to stock up on some more Vanilla Bean Noel lotion from Bath & Body Works so that i will have enough for the next year. i always worry that they won't bring it back again for another Christmas!


**I Want some apothecary jars. i always see the neatest seasonal decorating done using these & they are the kind of decoration that could get so much use, just by changing the contents to fit the season! these in particular are from Pier 1 but any would do.


**if i actually had a kitchen or dining room table (my teeny apartment, the right size for just one smallish girl, does not have the space to accommodate a table), i would have a place to put this awesome runner from Stonewall Kitchen that I Want.


**I Want some of the amazing ability to arrange flowers that my Gram had so that i could make a fun jack-o-lantern like this one!


**i wish i had those same skills to also make this Harvest Grapevine Wreath that I Want to hang on my front door.

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Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Grace in Small Things 264:365

1. new desk chair at work! one that actually provides some support! kind of a big deal when you are chained to your desk most of the day.

2. Real Simple November in my mailbox!

3. *and* Good Housekeeping too!

4. AND a package from my friend, Michelle! this was a really good mail day!

5. watched last night's Big Bang Theory. that show never fails to make me laugh right out loud. "not with me, *for* me." BAHAHAHAHA!


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Monday, October 12, 2009

Food & Wine Festival 2009: Round Two

we'll call this the birthday edition. i can't really think of a better way to celebrate my birthday than with some yummies. after Round One, i've been drooling at the thought of getting back again for my second excursion of eating around the world. it did not disappoint!

Barcelona, Spain
Red Snapper Escabeche. Poema Verdejo.

i started off again with another fish. this one was about as different from the other as you could get but still very yummy. the fish was slightly spicy, just enough to warm your mouth, but what made the whole dish was the (for lack of a better word) "giant relish" in rested on. really the only thing i can compare it to is the red pepper relish my Gram used to make (more vinegar-y, not a sweet relish), just not chopped as fine. the coolness of the relish balanced out the warmth of the snapper. and the Verdejo (nope, never even heard of it before today) was a nice crisp white wine. i am most definitely a white wine girl.

Paris, France
Parmentier de Boeuf Braise au Cabernet. Merlot (Chateau Mezain, Bordeaux, 2007).

(translation: Braised Short Ribs in Cabernet with Mashed Potatoes)
i moved along to my main course in Paris. i wasn't exactly sure what i was getting when i ordered this, as far as presentation, but it was almost a derivative of a shepherd's pie. the short ribs almost melted in my mouth and the mashed potatoes made the perfect crust, with just the right amount of crispiness on the outer layer. now that we've stated my preferece toward the whites, i will say that this Merlot was good, because it worked well with the short ribs, and didn't leave my mouth quite as fuzzy as the red from Round One; i definitely liked this one better.

Barcelona, Spain
Crema Catalana

i trekked back to Barcelona for my next course. i don't exactly know how to describe this. somewhere between a custard and a creme brulee. it didn't have the crispy glaze of a creme brulee--the top was more like a custard--but the consistency of it was more like the underneath part of the creme brulee. and there were little bits of some sort of a reddish-orange-fleshed fruit in there. papaya? guava? not sure. it was good though. and i ate it under the most amazing sunset...

you can see the full set here. it was *really* hard to choose just a couple.


Rio De Janiero, Brazil
Pave de Maracuja

(translation: Passion Fruit Mousse)
and then i topped everything off with something sweet. the mousse was layered between two pieces of sponge cake (the bottom part was very thin) & the whole thing was drizzled with a passion fruit sauce. it was light & sweet. the flavor was the biggest part really, because it was so light in texture. the perfect dessert to savor at the end of my birthday.

Round Three...coming this weekend!

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Grace in Small Things 263:365

1. today is my birthday. it's pretty difficult *not* to be grateful for that! (as my Gramp would have said: sure beats the alternative!)

2. birthday wishes from tons of people who love me. =)

3. a birthday gift card from WDW (worth the price of a one-day one-park ticket) to spend on Disney merchandise in the gift shops! woohoo! already have some possibilities scouted out.

4. another really yummy trip around the Food & Wine Festival.

5. a nighttime ride on Test Track--quite possibly my favorite attraction of all time when i ride it at night.


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my 30s: the mantra

back on my thirtieth birthday, i made a little decision with myself that i'd make Tim McGraw's "My Next Thirty Years" the mantra of my thirties. this is my fourth birthday in the decade that starts with "three" & i'm still going strong. i love my thirties *way* better than i ever did my twenties!

I think I'll take a moment, celebrate my age
The ending of an era and the turning of a page
Now it's time to focus in on where I go from here
Lord have mercy on my next thirty years

My next thirty years I'm gonna have some fun
Try to forget about all the crazy things I've done
Maybe now I've conquered all my adolescent fears
And I'll do it better in my next thirty years

My next thirty years I'm gonna settle all the scores
Cry a little less, laugh a little more
Find a world of happiness without the hate and fear
Figure out just what I'm doing here
In my next thirty years

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Sunday, October 11, 2009

and just like that, it's gone again.

baseball season is over. i don't think anyone can top the late A. Bartlett Giamatti is perfectly capturing the way that it feels...
----------------------------------
"The Green Fields of the Mind"

It breaks your heart. It is designed to break your heart. The game begins in the spring, when everything else begins again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall alone. You count on it, rely on it to buffer the passage of time, to keep the memory of sunshine and high skies alive, and then just when the days are all twilight, when you need it most, it stops. Today, October 2, a Sunday of rain and broken branches and leaf-clogged drains and slick streets, it stopped, and summer was gone.

Somehow, the summer seemed to slip by faster this time. Maybe it wasn't this summer, but all the summers that, in this my fortieth summer, slipped by so fast. There comes a time when every summer will have something of autumn about it. Whatever the reason, it seemed to me that I was investing more and more in baseball, making the game do more of the work that keeps time fat and slow and lazy. I was counting on the game's deep patterns, three strikes, three outs, three times three innings, and its deepest impulse, to go out and back, to leave and to return home, to set the order of the day and to organize the daylight. I wrote a few things this last summer, this summer that did not last, nothing grand but some things, and yet that work was just camouflage. The real activity was done with the radio--not the all-seeing, all-falsifying television--and was the playing of the game in the only place it will last, the enclosed green field of the mind. There, in that warm, bright place, what the old poet called Mutability does not so quickly come.

But out here, on Sunday, October 2, where it rains all day, Dame Mutability never loses. She was in the crowd at Fenway yesterday, a gray day full of bluster and contradiction, when the Red Sox came up in the last of the ninth trailing Baltimore 8-5, while the Yankees, rain-delayed against Detroit, only needing to win one or have Boston lose one to win it all, sat in New York washing down cold cuts with beer and watching the Boston game. Boston had won two, the Yankees had lost two, and suddenly it seemed as if the whole season might go to the last day, or beyond, except here was Boston losing 8-5, while New York sat in its family room and put its feet up. Lynn, both ankles hurting now as they had in July, hits a single down the right-field line. The crowd stirs. It is on its feet. Hobson, third baseman, former Bear Bryant quarterback, strong, quiet, over 100 RBIs, goes for three breaking balls and is out. The goddess smiles and encourages her agent, a canny journeyman named Nelson Briles.

Now comes a pinch hitter, Bernie Carbo, onetime Rookie of the Year, erratic, quick, a shade too handsome, so laid-back he is always, in his soul, stretched out in the tall grass, one arm under his head, watching the clouds and laughing; now he looks over some low stuff unworthy of him and then, uncoiling, sends one out, straight on a rising line, over the center-field wall, no cheap Fenway shot, but all of it, the physics as elegant as the arc the ball describes.

New England is on its feet, roaring. The summer will not pass. Roaring, they recall the evening, late and cold, in 1975, the sixth game of the World Series, perhaps the greatest baseball game played in the last fifty years, when Carbo, loose and easy, had uncoiled to tie the game that Fisk would win. It is 8-7, one out, and school will never start, rain will never come, sun will warm the back of your neck forever. Now Bailey, picked up from the National League recently, big arms, heavy gut, experienced, new to the league and the club; he fouls off two and then, checking, tentative, a big man off balance, he pops a soft liner to the first baseman. It is suddenly darker and later, and the announcer doing the game coast to coast, a New Yorker who works for a New York television station, sounds relieved. His little world, well-lit, hot-combed, split-second-timed, had no capacity to absorb this much gritty, grainy, contrary reality.

Cox swings a bat, stretches his long arms, bends his back, the rookie from Pawtucket who broke in two weeks earlier with a record six straight hits, the kid drafted ahead of Fred Lynn, rangy, smooth, cool. The count runs two and two, Briles is cagey, nothing too good, and Cox swings, the ball beginning toward the mound and then, in a jaunty, wayward dance, skipping past Briles, feinting to the right, skimming the last of the grass, finding the dirt, moving now like some small, purposeful marine creature negotiating the green deep, easily avoiding the jagged rock of second base, traveling steady and straight now out into the dark, silent recesses of center field.

The aisles are jammed, the place is on its feet, the wrappers, the programs, the Coke cups and peanut shells, the doctrines of an afternoon; the anxieties, the things that have to be done tomorrow, the regrets about yesterday, the accumulation of a summer: all forgotten, while hope, the anchor, bites and takes hold where a moment before it seemed we would be swept out with the tide. Rice is up. Rice whom Aaron had said was the only one he'd seen with the ability to break his records. Rice the best clutch hitter on the club, with the best slugging percentage in the league. Rice, so quick and strong he once checked his swing halfway through and snapped the bat in two. Rice the Hammer of God sent to scourge the Yankees, the sound was overwhelming, fathers pounded their sons on the back, cars pulled off the road, households froze, New England exulted in its blessedness, and roared its thanks for all good things, for Rice and for a summer stretching halfway through October. Briles threw, Rice swung, and it was over. One pitch, a fly to center, and it stopped. Summer died in New England and like rain sliding off a roof, the crowd slipped out of Fenway, quickly, with only a steady murmur of concern for the drive ahead remaining of the roar. Mutability had turned the seasons and translated hope to memory once again. And, once again, she had used baseball, our best invention to stay change, to bring change on.

That is why it breaks my heart, that game--not because in New York they could win because Boston lost; in that, there is a rough justice, and a reminder to the Yankees of how slight and fragile are the circumstances that exalt one group of human beings over another. It breaks my heart because it was meant to, because it was meant to foster in me again the illusion that there was something abiding, some pattern and some impulse that could come together to make a reality that would resist the corrosion; and because, after it had fostered again that most hungered-for illusion, the game was meant to stop, and betray precisely what it promised.

Of course, there are those who learn after the first few times. They grow out of sports. And there are others who were born with the wisdom to know that nothing lasts. These are the truly tough among us, the ones who can live without illusion, or without even the hope of illusion. I am not that grown-up or up-to-date. I am a simpler creature, tied to more primitive patterns and cycles. I need to think something lasts forever, and it might as well be that state of being that is a game; it might as well be that, in a green field, in the sun.

From A Great and Glorious Game: Baseball Writings of A. Bartlett
Giamatti, © 1998 by A. Bartlett Giamatti.

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Grace in Small Things 262:365

1. bags full of groceries.

2. i'd rather lose to the Angels than the Yankees any day.

3. the Patriots game was televised for me today. the perfect place to redirect my attention.

4. comfort food.

5. making plans for Round Two at Epcot after work tomorrow.


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Red Sox Retrospective: 2009

1. regardless of the outcome, there isn't a single other team in MLB that i would rather be a fan of. i love this team. i love them with a fiery passion. there are some guys i like more than others (ahem) but i do so love my Sox.

2. we are only guaranteed 162 games. the rest is bonus, borrowed time that i will soak up every second of as the clock winds down, knowing i will miss these faces for a long dark Winter. how many days til pitchers & catchers report?

3. i would rather not advance past the ALDS than to be forced to root for Mark Teixeira. he showed his pinstripes well last off-season & i've not regretted his choice in teams for a solitary second. there are some guys i hope never to see in Boston whites.

4. can we *please* sign JayBay now? please?
-----------------
side note: interesting observation. i haven't heard a single Angels player or fan utter so much as a breath of anything sounding like "MLB rigs the post-season" or "there is a conspiracy theory that makes sure certain teams advance" this year. can anyone explain that to me?

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against the wall.

i am simultaneously feeling compassionate & ill after tuning into SportsCenter to hear Clay Buchholz saying he's nervous about today's game and that it may take him an inning or two to settle down. i appreciate that, Clay, but there's no time for that now against a formidable & worthy adversary in an elimination game, son. strap 'em on, boy. let the adrenaline feed you, not eat you.

today is it. we've been here before, which leaves me with a shred of hope to cling to. familiar post-season territory for the Sox. and i am torn. compassion against concern. terror against hope. grateful to have an image of Fenway fresh in my mind for the Winter, whatever happens, against not wanting to see the opponent celebrate in our house, should it come to that. reminding myself to believe against not preparing myself for possible disappointment.

i love this team. i love this game. it could end today or we could see the loud home offense erasing any consequences of Clay's jitters, forcing a Game Four...maybe even a do-or-die Game Five where anything can happen.

but i'm ahead of myself. today, i will see the Monstah one more time. i will listen to the crack of a bat & ball (hopefully from Sox bats) & commit to memory the faces of this team that i sit with, night after night, from April February through October. and i will be just a little bit sad, because even if we swing the miracle again, i know the end of the season is still coming & no number of wins will stop it.

today, we turn to Clay Buchholz, all eyes on him, and this is why i feel compassion for his nerves. that's a LOT of eyes.

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Saturday, October 10, 2009

Grace in Small Things 261:365

1. laying in bed, being lazy, on a Saturday morning.

2. a freshly organized freezer. (hush, you peanut gallery.)

3. being able to laugh at myself.

4. a gorgeous vibrant sunset.

5. how cheesy Ghost Whisperer is but one of those shows i still look forward to.


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Friday, October 9, 2009

Grace in Small Things 260:365

1. an intriguing post from Lisa Michelle!

2. i got a birthday package in the mail from my Dad.

3. it's Friday! yay weekend!

4. the timer on the tv for late-night sports viewing.

5. the gorgeous diving grab by Mike Lowell. i have missed that all season.


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you know it's bad when i wake up still angry.

yes, i am aware that the Sox weren't going to win the game anyway, since you have to score actual runs for that to even be a consideration. something the Sox offense apparently forgot how to do in Game One of the ALDS. (something we will remedy for Game Two, *right* boys?? ::pointed look::) but separate & apart from the glaring lack of offensive production, i have an additional beef with that game.

since when does an umpire TWICE voted the worst in MLB get the post-season nod?! i thought the best of the best were selected?! and instead we get C.B. Bucknor at first base, where he manages to make such an astoundingly bad call that it's a small miracle *i* didn't ejected from the game after all the screaming i did at him. seriously. never mind the two questionable close calls that replays show he may also have missed (lest you think i am being biased & whiny, one of those said close calls went against the Angels) but Howie Kendrick was out at first by a full stride when he was called safe. i am not sure where he was looking but it could not have been at the play three feet in front of him.

now, i'm not going to go all Brian Fuentes & suggest that the umpires were intimidated by Thundersticks & Rally Monkeys or that they threw the game to appease the Angels. i am fully aware that the Sox lost that game on their own merit. what i *am* saying is that Angels fans should be equally concerned by thisthat next jaw-droppingly awful call could be against them. i just can't help but to wonder at what crucial, game-altering juncture the next blunder will occur, one that actually *does* affect the outcome of the game and/or series?

umpires are human & certainly they may make errors, but multiple bad calls by one umpire in a single game? an umpire notorious for his lack of skill? why is he even working a game after the regular season has concluded, if he still has a job at all?

i am fuming. i was hoping i would wake to the news that Bucknor had been tossed in a foot locker & strapped to that projectile being launched at the moon this morning before he can do some real damage to the ALDS. no such luck. oh well. i guess there's always post-season Beckett to rely on. provided the umpiring doesn't play a detrimental role.

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Thursday, October 8, 2009

Grace in Small Things 259:365

1. a quiet morning at work allowed me to catch up on some blog-reading & commenting.

2. November issue of Everyday with Rachael Ray!

3. a peek at the guide on my tv told me i will get the Patriots game on Sunday! woohoo!

4. a peek at the 10-day forecast is holding my sanity together because it tells me there is hope that things may eventually cool off again. relatively speaking, of course. but right now, i will take what i can get.

5. playoff baseball.


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Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Grace in Small Things 258:365

1. i had to go to a meeting at work. but there were Dunkin Donuts there! consider me successfully bribed!

2. chocolate frosted Dunkin Donuts.

3. apple spice Dunkin Donuts.

4. the stir i can cause at work just by putting on a pair of earrings. it's kind of funny to watch people try to figure out what's different. (i never wear them to work because they hurt my ears when i'm on the phone so much. however, i do every so often to keep the holes from closing up.)

5. i'd been frustrated that they moved Fringe to the Thursday 9pm slot, because i already had my DVR set to record two shows then (Grey's Anatomy and CSI), and since i can only record two shows maximum, i had to choose. CSI got the boot & i was trying to watch online, but that's kind of a pain. *then* i discovered "Primetime On Demand" on my program guide! *and* it just so happens that one of the shows they provide "On Demand" is....CSI! now i can still watch it!


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I Want Wednesday: October 7, 2009

**every time i stop at Publix, I Want a big planter of those deep red mums for outside my door.

**when i was decorating for Halloween, i noticed i have a lot of pumpkins & ghosts, but very few witches & black cats, and no owls or bats or skeletons at all! i found this little witch who I Want to add to my collection. i think she would fit it perfectly.


**i still have no need for another candle but that doesn't stop me from saying I Want candles from Bath & Body Works in Spiced Cider and Vanilla Caramel, just because they sound so yummy.

**could it actually be that I Want something truly useful? a food processor would come in very handy!


**in my dreams, I Want a front porch that i could decorate like this for Halloween!

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Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Grace in Small Things 257:365

1. the sheer joy of a pup riding in the bed of a pickup. inspired by the red hound i saw this morning, ears flapping in the wind, nose pointed high.

2. Reese's Peanut Butter Pumpkins.

3. air conditioning. even though i wish i could turn it off already, i'm very glad that i have it.

4. what an exciting one-game playoff between the Twins & Tigers! there couldn't have possibly been a better game--evenly matched & into extra innings--to whet my appetite for the playoffs!

5. i'm relieved that it wasn't the Red Sox playing because i'm not sure i would have survived. ;-)


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Monday, October 5, 2009

Grace in Small Things 256:365

1. pulling a top, one i wasn't sure i liked, out of the back of my closet, and receiving several compliments on it. i stand corrected! ;-)

2. walking into work & finding my desk still nice & clean, just the way i left it.

3. i love looking around my apartment & seeing all my pumpkins & ghosties.

4. a very generous fellow Sox-fan blogger, Kim, sent me some Sox magazines she had duplicates of in her collection!

5. i'm going to go on record here, as the unpopular vote, i know, but i will always love watching Brett Favre play the game of football--his joy is infectious for me, and while we're on topic, to be fair, he should get the same credit for doing that Sears commercial that Peyton got for poking fun at himself--and i would find some kind of smug pleasure in seeing him go all the way this year. just because. (not that i am rooting for him over the Patriots, because i don't root for anyone over New England, but as a second option? absolutely.) we'll just say that i enjoyed Monday Night Football immensely.


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Sunday, October 4, 2009

Grace in Small Things 255:265

1. my apartment has officially been decorated for Halloween!

2. Edy's Grand Mud Pie ice cream.

3. Jed Lowrie's first career home run!

4. the Sox sweep the series. this sure has been a big final series for my boys!

5. with the Sox going to the post season, i am aware how lucky i am as a fan. the season has ended for many fans today & they have to say goodbye to their teams for the Winter. i get bonus baseball. i am on borrowed time now & truly grateful for the last remaining games.


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Saturday, October 3, 2009

Grace in Small Things 254:365

1. heading out to Food & Wine Festival at Epcot! something i look forward to with much anticipation each year.

2. some days i feel as if i could just cry tears of joy over how lucky i am.

3. contrary to what i have been asked so many times, WDW never gets old for me. i get excited every single time i go.

4. great music for singing along with while i drive. "Rockstar" (Nickelback). "Mississippi Girl" (Faith Hill). "My Next Thirty Years" (Tim McGraw). "Gotta Be Somebody" (Nickelback). "Still Rock'n'Roll to Me" (Billy Joel). "Feels Like Tonight" (Daughtry). "Why Don't You and I" (Santana/Chad Kroeger). "Love Song" (Sara Bareilles). "Everything" (Michael Buble).

5. first career grand slam for Victor Martinez!! and then Dusty Brown hit his first major league home run. the Fenway Faithful chanted "Dusty! Dusty!" over & over til he popped back out of the dugout and then they went wild for him. i *love* that. i love that they gave that kid something to always remember about his first (of hopefully many!) homers in the bigs.


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Food & Wine Festival 2009: Round One

it is incredibly difficult to decide where to start! *so* many delicious menu options. after an observational trip around the World Showcase, and a few minutes in a cool spot, soaking up some air conditioning while i formed my plan, my first selections were...

Melbourne, Australia
Seared Barramundi with Blistered Cherry Tomatoes, Arugula and Lemon Oil. Rosemount Traminer Riesling.

this was super light, a nice way to ease into the festival. the fish was fairly mild, and it tasted very good with the cherry tomato & lemon, especially. i am also a big Riesling fan, so i was happy that was the recommendation. this one was very sweet & fruity. my favorite. ;-)

Cape Town, South Africa
Seared Beef Tenderloin with Sweet Potato Puree and Mango Barbecue Sauce. Fairview Winery Pinotage.

i think this may have been my Round One favorite. i was a little skeptical about the sweet potato, because i am typically not a fan, but i was intrigued & decided to give it a shot. i am *so* glad that i did. the beef was so tender, it practically melted in my mouth. that barbecue sauce was to.die.for. it was just the right amount of tangy & zesty, as a barbecue sauce should be, with just a hint of sweet from the mango. i seriously considered licking my plate! and the sweet potato went with it so well. i think there was some cinnamon or some other "warm" spice mixed in with it. whatever it was, i really liked it. and for me to say that about sweet potatoes? big deal. the Pinotage was ok. it was the recommendation, but i am not a huge fan of red wines--they make your mouth feel "fuzzy" & can taste like "root cellar" (on the West Coast are two people who have to be mildly impressed that i have retained something from all their hard work at teaching me these things!), and that is precisely why i wasn't crazy about this one--which isn't a surprise when you recall what i said about the wine selection from Melbourne. the Pinotage tasted good with the food, but when i had two sips left to finish at the end, let's just say i didn't relish them. ;-)

Munich, Germany
Apple Strudel with Vanilla Sauce.

yum! apple strudel is no "taste adventure" for me, but i was wanting something "dessert-y" at this point and it's been a while since i've had some strudel. the vanilla sauce was so good too. i love me some vanilla!

New Delhi, India
Chilled Mango Lassi.

by this point, as i was heading out for the day, i wanted something refreshing. i chose correctly. this was a cool sweet drink, about the consistency of a slightly melted milkshake (still thick but not so thick you can't drink it), made from mango & yogurt. i sipped it all the way back to the Monorail. the perfect way to conclude Round One and leave me drooling with anticipation for Round Two!

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Friday, October 2, 2009

Grace in Small Things 253:365

1. "I Have Been Blessed" (Martina McBride) playing on the radio & making me smile.

2. i got a package in the mail from Heather, who was so thoughtful & sent me a couple of her favorite dessert mixes from Tastefully Simple for my birthday!

3. i am so glad that the internet led me to my friend, Michelle.

4. i'm starting to see Florida's version of Autumn colors starting to appear. golden yellows. coppery oranges. rich deep reds. they may not come in the forms of leaves, but the flowers still give the illusion of Autumn in New England.

5. two wins in a row for the Sox!


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Thursday, October 1, 2009

Grace in Small Things 252:365

1. this is the first day of my favorite month.

2. today is Lil Foot's Mommy's birthday. (imagine a photo here. i do not have them yet from the day we met.) not only are we both Libras & October babies, but we also both love the Autumn and understand the awesomeness that are Post-its and Sharpies. not to mention we officially share the same sports teams now. ;-) i'm so happy our paths have crossed!

3. driving to work with my windows cracked, enjoying the cooler air & decreased humidity.

4. a fresh new pen.

5. the Sox finally got a win tonight, which is a pleasant event after all that losing they've done lately.


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Snapshot from Along the Broken Road: September 2009

photo of me

From SEP09


1) current candle scents:
Autumn Leaves. Mulling Spices.

2) what i am currently reading:
finishing up Faithful (Stewart O'Nan and Stephen King).

3) newest music i added my playlist:
none this month.

4) movies i saw:
Inglorious Basterds. Stardust. Love Happens.

5) something yummy i made this month:
spaghetti & meatballs. yummy.

6) the last place i ate out:
Macaroni Grill.

7) something that made me cry:
i was driving just behind a funeral procession on a Saturday morning. i'm used to the way they work down here, with a rolling sheriff's department escort. i've watched the fluid rotation of the sheriff's cars with fascination, how seamlessly they change off. but this time, instead of just waiting at an intersection, i was just behind them, and saw something i hadn't before. as the cars in the procession turn into the cemetery, the officers use their cars to block traffic from crossing the path, and they get out of their cars, standing with their hats over their hearts in respect for the grieving. something about that just got to me.

8) something that made me laugh:
Big Bang Theory. catching up on old Season One episodes. the start of new ones from Season Three. that sure rarely fails to make me laugh right out loud multiple times per episode.

9) something i looked forward to this month:
meeting Brandi!

10) something i am thankful for:
good news from people i care about. there is something to be said for sharing in the joys of loved ones.

11) something i want to remember about this month:
i actually saw the Sox win their first series in Tampa in two years!! i was pretty sure i was some kind of Curse hex or something.

12) a photo i took this month:
i took tons. i have edited *none* of them. i am a slacker. so all i have this month is a pic from my phone. i still like it though!

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