Sunday, May 15, 2005

this week's new recipe

ok so i am aware that i am not doing this religiously...i think i will wait & just post recipes once i try them & find them worth recommending. ;-) anyway, this week--just a few minutes ago actually!--i made the yummiest dinner from a 30 Minute Meals episode. comes highly Dawn-recommended (if that means anything to you lol)

Meatloaf Patties, Smashed Potatoes, and Pan Gravy
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Yield: 4 servings

1 1/3 pounds ground sirloin, 90 percent lean ground beef
1 slice white bread, spread with softened butter, then cut into small cubes
1/8 cup (a splash) milk
1 egg
2 teaspoons grill seasoning blend, or coarse salt and black pepper combined
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1 rounded tablespoon tomato paste
1 medium onion, finely chopped, reserve
1/4 amount
2 pounds small red potatoes
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons sour cream
2 scallions, chopped, whites and greens
1/2 cup milk

3-Condiment Pan Gravy:
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 medium onion, finely chopped, reserved from meatloaf mixture
2 tablespoons (a handful) all-purpose flour
1 to 1 1/2 cups beef stock
1 tablespoon ketchup
1 rounded teaspoon spicy brown mustard
1 tablespoon steak sauce


Place meat in a large mixing bowl and create a well in the center of the meat. Fill the well with the bread cubes and dampen them with a splash of milk. Pour 1 beaten egg over bread and add seasoning or salt and pepper, allspice, tomato paste and onion to the bowl.
Combine the meat, bread and grill seasoning or salt and pepper and form mixture into 4 large oval patties 3/4-inch thick. Pan fry meatloaf patties in a nonstick skillet over medium high heat 7 minutes on each side under a loose tin foil tent. The tent will reflect heat and allow the steam to escape the pan.
Cover the quartered, red-skinned potatoes in water in a medium saucepan. Bring water to a boil and cook potatoes 10 minutes or until fork tender. Turn heat under pan off; drain potatoes and return to hot pan and warm stovetop to dry potatoes out. Add butter, sour cream, scallions, and milk to potatoes and smash to your desired consistency. Season potatoes with salt, to taste.
Remove meat loaf patties to a platter and return pan to heat. Reduce heat to medium and add butter and onion to your skillet. Cook the onion 2 minutes and sprinkle pan with flour. Cook flour 1 minute and whisk in 1 cup beef stock. Bring broth to a bubble. If gravy is too thick, thin with additional stock. Stir in condiments and remove gravy from heat.
Slice meatloaf patties and drizzle with gravy. Pile smashed potatoes along side and make a well in the center for sour cream or gravy.


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i believe...

...that ice cream can be a meal in & of itself.

...that when you put a smile out there, your odds of getting one in return are great. =)

...in love.

...that journaling in anyway is a great form of cheap therapy.

...in friendship.

...you have to die trying.

...i may be crazy.

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another quickie brought you by Glamour magazine

12 hours.

that's the life span of the average bad mood, according to a recent study from the University of Florida in Gainesville. researchers who studied people after a hellish day found that when participants brought their negative dispositions home with them, most felt better by morning. what can help cheer you up faster? extroverts--women who talk to their hubby, a friend, even Fido, about their day--have an easier time getting over their funk than those who keep their emotions bottled up, says study author Tinothy Judge, Ph.D. happy venting!


12 hours huh...? i wonder...

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Saturday, May 14, 2005

one more round

i see these things & i can't help myself. and anyway don't you all come here to gain a little more knowledge about yours truly? ;-) this one found on yet another blog i check out from time to time: take two

WHAT COLOR ARE YOUR KITCHEN PLATES?
cream-colored with pink flowers along the edge. hand-me-downs, not really much my taste. if it were up to me & $$ was no issue, i'd be eating off of Floral Breeze or Summer Breeze or maybe Italian Vine. i do happen to own some great Pfaltzgraff of my very own though--my holiday dishes: Winterberry =)

FAVORITE BOARD GAME?
dead tie between Monopoly (i have the millenium edition which is actually a collector's item now though surely worth nothing since it has been played quite a few times , but would also love to own the America edition and the Disney edition) and Clue

WHAT'S ON YOUR MOUSE PAD?
it's one of the those ultra-thin, holographic-looking ones, black with a big silver circle on it that says Dell, from when we got the new computer in February 2004

WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE COLOR?
navy blue & silver (i know you didn't really expect me to pick just one...)

WHAT'S YOUR LEAST FAVORITE COLOR?
anything obnoxious, like neon, or gross looking, like baby poo green/brown/mustard--there are shades of brown, green & mustard that i think are gorgeous, you know which shades i mean though...

HOW MANY RINGS BEFORE YOU ANSWER THE PHONE?
at least 2 in order for the caller id to register, sometimes 3- 3.5 if i am sprinting to the phone or trying to locate it. after 4, it deposits you unceremoniously into voicemail whether i wanted to talk to you or not.

CHOCOLATE OR VANILLA?
both. either. all of the above.

DO YOU DRIVE FAST?
sometimes, though just *how* fast i will not say...and sometimes i am just driving faster than i realize until i look down & nearly have a stroke--"just following traffic" is not necessarilly a smart thing to do.

DO YOU SLEEP WITH A STUFFED ANIMAL?
nope

STORMS - COOL OR SCARY?
depends on what sort of storm we're talking about here. thunderstorms are cool as long as they don't take out my electricity or hit the house & blow out the sprinkler system. snowstorms are great as long as you're staying in (preferably with someone you like) & not needing to drive or dig out your car. hurricanes & tornadoes scare the pants off of me.

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST FEAR?
pain--emotional, physical, mental. feeling it or causing it or knowing someone i love is going through it & i can't make it stop.

FAVORITE TV SHOWS?
Everybody Loves Raymond; Cold Case; CSI:; Without a Trace; Two and a Half Men; What Not To Wear; 30 Minute Meals; PTI (Pardon the Interruption); and re-runs of Friends and Sex and the City

KETCHUP OR MUSTARD?
ketchup on burgers & hotdogs, mustard on my ham sandwiches or on polish sausage (keilbasa), HONEY mustard for dipping fries & chicken strips

HAMBURGER OR HOTDOG?
a big fat cheeseburger (complete with tomato, lettuce, pickles, ketchup & NO onions) will win hands down if i must choose, but i do like a good grilled hotdog with sauerkraut too (really, you know if it's food, odds are it probably doesn't stand much of a chance around me)

FAVORITE SOFT DRINK?
though i will almost always opt for water, sometimes it's not a choice or sometimes you need something else. in those cases, i love ginger ale or maybe a rootbeer. and for those times when i need a caffeine kick, Pespi is my preferred method of caffeine infusion.

WHAT IS ON YOUR SCREEN SAVER RIGHT NOW?
well my screen saver isn't on RIGHT NOW ;-) but when it is, it's a slide show i made of Catherine, Seamus, Tyler & Olivia, whose photos can be found by checking back through my previous blog entries. i am dying to add a new photo subject or 2 to the mix. any takers...? ;-) not that the ones i've got aren't good enough but one can never get enough cute babies around to kiss & spoil

FAVORITE FOOD?
bruschetta, a good grilled chicken breast with some sort of yummy sauce or marinade, boiled new potatoes with butter & a touch of salt, cheesecake, ice cream...and the list goes on & on...and on...

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this just in!!

the divine Miss C has just received her first hair cut. see the exclusive photo footage here:

In-depth photo coverage of "The Princess Gets a Haircut"

sneak peek Posted by Hello


feel free to gush over how adorable my god baby is. though you won't be telling us something we don't already know. LOL =)

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Friday, May 13, 2005

on my "to read" list

just some light fun reads i think i could use...

Posted by Hello

just because i *heart* the show & i want to read this

Posted by Hello

recommended in Glamour magazine: "a gossipy Saturday afternoon treat set among New York socialites", they claim it's entertaining, like a bubble bath for the brain. sounds great to me!

Posted by Hello

also recommended in Glamour: "a winning blend of Steel Magnolias and Sweet Home Alabama with a whodunit twist", sounds right up my alley

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how can you not smile at this? =)

these made my otherwise crampy & cranky night


2 of my favoritest girls =)


having fun =)

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Wednesday, May 11, 2005

what happens next

i am apprently feeling lazy this evening but felt compelled to share another little something else from "Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Mind"...just for your reading pleasure lol.

MOVIES
I always want to see what happens after the movie is technically over. I want an update on the couple that fell in love in Dolby Surround Sound, to see how they're doing post-euphoria....

(excerpt from "Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Mind" by Amy Krouse Rosenthal, pg. 143)

and seriously this is SO me. i hate getting to the end of a movie & wondering what happens 6 months from then or do they get married? do they have more kids? do they move back to CA? i need to know more than the 2 hours allows for. and yet ironocally, i am not a big fan of sequels.
LOL

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Tuesday, May 10, 2005

as found in Glamour magazine...

...on the 100% guilt-free page

hey, it's ok...

...to consider riding on a swing a form of cardio.

...to wish you never had to see another ice-blended coffee. there are other ways to cool down in summer. hello...water!

...to be terrified of spiders. save your fearlessness for the stuff that matters.

...to argue with him on the first date.

...if you still don't have an iPod.

...to choose the color before the car model.

...to want your mom when the going gets tough. whether you're running a small country or scout troop 145, no one else really knows how to make it better.

...to kind of like a guy in a speedo.

...if you can't help checking yourself out in all semi-reflective surfaces--cab windows, shiny office buildings, ponds.

ok so i will never think a guy in a speedo is a good idea lol...that's not the point. the point is this: whatever little thing you do that you get down on yourself for & you tell yourself how stupid you're being, lighten up on yourself a little today & just remind your inner critic: hey, it's ok...

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Monday, May 9, 2005

these things are addictive...

...and so stinking accurate that it's eerie!!












The Keys to Your Heart



You are attracted to those who have a split personality - cold as ice on the outside but hot as fire in the heart.

In love, you feel the most alive when things are straight-forward, and you're told that you're loved.

You'd like to your lover to think you are loyal and faithful... that you'll never change.

You would be forced to break up with someone who was ruthless, cold-blooded, and sarcastic.

Your ideal relationship is open. Both of you can talk about everything... no secrets.

Your risk of cheating is zero. You care about society and morality. You would never break a commitment.

You think of marriage as something precious. You'll treasure marriage and treat it as sacred.

In this moment, you think of love as something you thirst for. You'll do anything for love, but you won't fall for it easily.


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make me smile why don't ya! =)

i *adore* when my friends send me photos of their sweet babies. i am not one of those people who EVER rolls my eyes when people want to show off their kids. i just do not get tired of seeing these sweet little faces. =) keep 'em coming girls!

these are of my friends Gosia's & Neil's little man, Seamus, who turned one in January...(btw for those of you unfamiliar with Polish, her name is pronounced "GO-shuh" which is like the Polish version of Maggie)

Seamus-man =)


more Seamus


still more Seamus

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speaking of...

...love & what you do for a living.

first i have to share with you the words to one of my all-time favorite songs by Alan Jackson called "To Do What I Do" (you can hear a short clip of the song if you click on the title):

I've been a waiter, a roofer, a clerk
I've shoveled manure till my pride hurt
When you're starting out, it's all part of the work
To do what I do

I've been evicted for not making rent
Made my Daddy wonder where my good sense went
For the price of a dream, my years have been spent
To do what I do

So I stand here tonight with this six string guitar
To be something I've always been in my heart
Just for the chance to play you my song
The thrill when I hear you singing along
It's been worth everything I've been through
To do what I do

I've played for empty tables and chairs
For drunks that don't listen and crowds that don't care
Been told countless times 'Boy you ain't goin' nowhere'
To do what I do

So I hope the critics and skeptics alike
All bought a ticket to this show tonight
Cause they'll see firsthand that I have survived
What doesn't kill you makes you more alive
And I'm one of the fortunate few
To do what I do

There's so much joy this music can bring
So I count my blessings when I step up to sing
Cause there're so many people who would give anything
To do what I do
And I Thank You......
I can do what I do!

i love that you can hear the passion for what he does, the gratefulness & the pride. you know that every night he gets up to sing, it is something that comes from his soul. and if you've been reading my blog for some time now, you know how i feel about those who are passionate about what they do.

now, onto love. or more specifically love BUGS. may is phase one of love bug season (aka invasion of the love bugs). what's a love bug you say? well it's not an affectionate term & it doesn't indicate a mass influx of romantics. they are these flying beetle-looking bugs that start appearing in mass quantities in May & again in September. (if you want to see what one looks like, do an internet search. there are tons of sites out there with photos on them--i just have to see them enough without needing to add a photo of one to my blog. ick.) the first time you see a love bug, it's a little odd. i mean here is this airborne creepy-crawly that is essentially 2 bugs joined at the ass. it looks like they grow like that & are stuck that way. after a little research, turns out they are actually in the process of MATING. i know they say you learn something new every day but i am now slightly more disturbed to have gained *this* little tidbit of trivia. i could have lived continuing to believe that by some phenomenon of nature 2 bugs spend their whole existence stuck together by their butts, forever flying around facing opposite directions. i used to stop & wonder occasionally who was in charge & how they decided where they were going & how their little bug brains learned how to coordinate flying together like that. now i know that they are actually GOING AT IT. get a room! there is usually a larger one (the female) attached to a smaller one (the male) and the female usually gets her way, dragging the male around after her. (lesson to be learned here perhaps?? lol) they are also not native to FL but arrived here from TX (uhhh, thanks guys--i'm glad to have gained my Andie from TX but you could have kept the bugs lol) via the panhandle & migrated down into the peninsula. they are harmless, feeding on nectar. they don't sting & they don't destroy crops. but they ARE a nuisance. they are for some reason attracted to the exhaust fumes & UV radiation emitted by running vehicles & so they congregate in great numbers along highways (although they have an uncanny knack for finding the smallest crawl spaces to get in onto your screen porch too & making your dog bark like a lunatic) & all too often, they come to an unceremonious demise in a splatter on your car. not only gross & messy, but their acidic decaying little bodies eat away car paint so you have no choice but to battle back with increased frequency of washing your car. what a way to go though huh? LOL

and now aren't you glad you stopped by here today? =P thank you for visiting. please come again... ;-)

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Sunday, May 8, 2005

In the Garden

mothers day is winding down. all day i've had my Gram in the back of my head. she was way more mom to me than grandmother. i miss her everyday of course but some days just make the void a little more obvious i guess. this being one of them. so in honor of my sweet Gram on a day meant to celebrate mothers, i'm going to share the lyrics of a song that will inevitably make me think of her for of the rest of my life--it was sung at her funeral service & is perfect for her in such a bittersweet way--though the memories are always more sweet than bitter. if anyone was ever deserving of walking forever in The Garden, it is my Gram & i am sure she is reveling in the beauty of every flower blooming & bird singing there, just as she was here in this life.

In The Garden

I come to the garden alone
While the dew is still on the roses
And the voice I hear, falling on my ear
The Son of God discloses
And He walks with me
And He talks with me
And He tells me I am His own
And the joy we share as we tarry there
None other has ever known

He speaks and the sound of His voice
Is so sweet the birds hush their singing
And the melody that He gave to me
Within my heart is ringing
And He walks with me
And He talks with me
And He tells me I am His own
And the joy we share as we tarry there
None other has ever known

I'd stay in the garden with Him
'Tho the night around me be falling
But He bids me go; through the voice of woe
His voice to me is calling
And He walks with me
And He talks with me
And He tells me I am His own
And the joy we share as we tarry there
None other has ever known

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time-wasters anonymous

oh boy. blog-hopping this morning. found these on Lisa's blog & who am i to pass up some good old-fashioned time wasting huh? lol

now i know none of you who have heard me speak (and subsequently picked on my pronunciation) will find *these* results to be off base lol:



Your Linguistic Profile:



50% General American English

45% Yankee

5% Upper Midwestern

0% Dixie

0% Midwestern





and then there's this one. which i feel to be dead-on as well...



Your #1 Match: INFJ




The Protector

You live your life with integrity, originality, vision, and creativity.
Independent and stubborn, you rarely stray from your vision - no matter what it is.
You are an excellent listener, with almost infinite patience.
You have complex, deep feelings, and you take great care to express them.

You would make a great photographer, alternative medicine guru, or teacher.


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Friday, May 6, 2005

i *heart* my job

you've all heard me say i love my job. but seriously--my job ROCKS. phil--the owner of the company--brought his hand held dvd player in from his truck complete with a copy of Shark Tale & set me up right here at my desk to be entertained for the afternoon. movie watching on *his* time AND he yelled at me when he caught me multi-tasking!! i have to tell you: i AM the queen. and you know you are all jealous.

as Andie informed me via one of our million allday emails:
-----Original Message-----
From: Andrea Smith
Sent: Friday, May 06, 2005 2:07 PM
To: Radke, Dawn
Subject: RE: i *heart* my job
YOU SUCK

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Thursday, May 5, 2005

To the kids who survived the 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s

recieved in my email inbox today. in total agreement...except that i adore the internet & the friends i have met there!!

First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they carried us. They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing and didn't get tested for diabetes.

After that trauma, our baby cribs were covered with bright colored lead-based paints. We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets, not to mention, the risks we took hitchhiking.

As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or air bags. Riding in the back of a pick up on a warm day was always a special treat.

We drank water from the garden hose and not from a bottle. We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and no one actually died from this. We ate cupcakes, bread and butter and drank soda pop with sugar in it, but we weren't overweight because WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING! We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on. No one was able to reach us all day. And we were O.K.

We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem. We did not have Playstations, Nintendo's, X-boxes, no video games at all, no 99 channels on cable, no video tape movies, no surround sound, no cell phones, no personal computers, no internet or internet chat rooms..........WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them!

We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were No lawsuits from these accidents. We made up games with sticks and tennis balls and ate worms and although we were told it would happen, we did not put out very many eyes, nor did the worms live in us forever. We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just walked in and talked to them!

Little league had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine that!!

The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law!

This generation has produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever! The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas. We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned how to deal with it all! And YOU are one of them! CONGRATULATIONS! Please pass this on to others who have had the luck to grow up as kids, before the lawyers and the government regulated our lives for our own good.

Kind of makes you want to run through the house with scissors, doesn't it

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just because i can

i have nothing at all clever to say right now lol. i am posting anyway. just because. i am hoping if i say something random & express my lack of ability in finding a topic ot ramble on, it will spark my creativity & i will have something witty to say later.

35 days till i get some sweet Catherine-girl baby love. and we all know she loves her auntie dawn the best!!

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Monday, May 2, 2005

who would have known

so i am flying down the highway at 78mph--shhhh...no one tell the FHP. if i get pulled over tomorrow, i will know someone squealed on me! lol--in the midst of all these aggravating orange cone/barrel things that the DOT has lined up everywhere up & down I-4 marking construction zones. i've been sharing my commute with these lovely (ha...) spectacles for well over a year now as they are marched & rearranged again & again. i'm used to them. they may relocate between my trips back & forth but they are familiar. i digress...

this morning as i zoom by on my way into work, i see, spray painted in white, on the black base of these roadside sentries:

SMILE

that's it. of all the graffiti i've seen this was the best. could have been some teenager out on a weekend adventure. could have been some construction worker waiting for his ride back to his vehicle at the end of the day. whoever it was had a positive message. and i thought of it several times today on what might have otherwise been a cruddy day (don't even get me started on the alarm clock near-miss faisco this morning...). i swear anyone who saw that barrel, if they didn't respond with a smile must have really been an ugly soul. i know i just couldn't help it.

pay it forward. spread the love. share a smile. i love when something simple & unexpected brightens my day & that i am not so caught up in the trivial that i miss it. now if only i had a digital camera, i could have captured it & shared it with you all. although i can't imagine how safe *that* would have been to pull off at 78mph in morning traffic. ;-)

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Sunday, May 1, 2005

it's all in the numbers

just some useless number-oriented facts from my little corner of the universe...

$2.14: what i was *so* excited to pay per gallon for gasoline today. then i realized how sad that is...

$30: how much it cost me to fill said gas tank

523.6: number of miles i drove last week

$3.49: what i paid for a gallon of whole milk

$40.09: the amount i spent at Walmart today

$17.09: the amount i spent at Publix today

6:45: the time i got up this morning

1 year & 1 week: how long i have had the best job ever

100: apparently the number of registered sex offenders living in the zip code where i work *sigh*

40: the number of days till i next kiss my sweet Catherine's perfect baby cheeks =)

528: number of days remaining until i turn 30

237: number of days remaining until Christmas

3: number of times i talked to Heather on the phone today

6: the number of times i walked the dog today

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ode to an appliance

DISHWASHER
It is very difficult to try to load someone else's dishwasher; everyone has their own method. Glasses stacked in this row, bowls this way, silverware facing up, down--it's a highly personal thing. The few times someone outside the family has loaded ours, I open it up and am disoriented, dismayed even, to find plates in the wrong slots, bowls on the top (the top?!), and even a skillet crammed in there. It's just too counter-productive and unsettling, even though it is nice of them to try and help.

(excerpt from "Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Mind" by Amy Krouse Rosenthal, pg. 88)

if you know me at all, you know that i LOATHE washing dishes. you may also conclude that i have an on-going love affair with my dishwasher--my most favorite appliance *ever*.

what it is about the dishwasher anyway? i don't even like it when ken loads it. it's like i have this map in my mind of where everything goes & why. you can't mess with it. i don't even know how i came to this method of dishwasher-loading but it is just one of the "rules" now. i will actually go in there & rearrange things if someone else puts them in "wrong". i used to think i had issues but this entry confirms that i am not the lone freak on this topic.

this reminds me: time to go UNload this wonderful contraption. because if someone else does & the stuff doesn't get back into its proper home in cabinet or drawer, that will bug me as well. i really ought to make a little legend or tags or something so that there are no excuses for the misplacing of dishes anywhere & then maybe i could NOT do it all myself for once...

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