A Miracle for McKaylee...

That is all I want for Christmas this year.
Check out this St. Judes commercial. My sweet niece is in the last clip. She is walking down the hall wearing a brown skirt/pink sweater.
http://www.tg.stjude.org/celebfriends.html
She is absolutely precious. Please pray that God would heal her of the tumor and give her a happy healthy life.

On second thought...

I don't think Martha has anything to worry about.


Personally, I didn't even think it tasted good. To floury or something. It was fun to learn the process though. I love that the Young Couples group at my church has so many creative opportunities for fellowship. What a blessing!

Brrrr!

Highs in the 40's, lows in the 20's. Mid-November in the Southeast? Global Warming, what??
Yeah.
And also I am going to a "pie and tea social" tomorrow with the ladies in my SS class. How fun! I am supposed to bring a pie plate (don't own one) and a fruit filling (don't like).
Should I invest in a nice pie plate or just get foil, and any rec.s on the fruit filling? The only one I care for is apple and I've had lots of apple pie lately so I'd like something different. Supposedly I'll learn to make lattice top and everything. Look out Martha Stewart.

In lieu of a more interesting post

Did anyone see SNL this weekend? We got in the habit of watching it since all the election skits were so clever and because I personally feel that Kristen Wiig is a comic genious, but Saturday's episode was horrible. Most of the skits were boderline offensive.
Continuing on the subject of television, I would again like to state my fervent recommendation of the AMC series Mad Men. Start with season 1 on DVD and just try to tell me you don't find it fascinating.
I'll just let that challenge hang out there and see if I get any takers.

Almost Friday

Is it just me or have weekends been FLYING by lately? Ever since my return from London/Paris (aka the trip that made my "real" life seem impossibly dull and listless), I feel like I have been living for the weekends, but they are passing by faster than ever. Tomorrow afternoon another one begins. I really want to make this one count if possible. Our only plans are to attend a friend's cookout on Saturday afternoon. If I know my husband, he will also want to go see the new Bond film. (that comes out tomorrow right?). Hopefully we will also get to eat at our fav Indian restaurant too. Well between all that and sunday school/church, it will prob. fly by again.
But writing about it gets me excited and makes me thankful to have weekends to enjoy. Maybe my life isn't so dull and listless after all. It just takes the right perspective ;)
What are you doing this weekend?

"Welcome to my home. No I haven't made BBQ in several weeks, why do you ask?"

I made this for dinner last night. It was very yummy and easy too! The only problem was that the amount of aroma it provided while simmering all day proved to be too much for my little 1950's bungalow.* I woke up about 5 times during the night because the heating vent was blowing essence of barbecue directly in my face.** The smell was so overwhelming it woke me from slumber.
Also today at work I reached over to get my phone out of my purse. As I unzipped the front pouch I was greeted by yet another strong whiff of barbecue. To be fair, I usually keep my purse on a chair near the stove but still!

* I'm pretty sure my house doesn't actually qualify as a true bungalow. But it sounds better :)
** The meat had finished cooking about 7 hours earlier. Crockpot was washed and put away.

Happiness

If you haven't seen Mad Men on AMC, I highly recommend giving it a try. The show had been recommended to us by several trusted sources, so we decided to start with season 1 on DVD. Last night we popped in disc 1 and were so engrossed that we watched all 3 episodes on the disc in one sitting.
There is a moment in the first episode that really struck a chord with me though - it's when the main character is making an ad pitch to a tobacco company telling them how to overcome the latest stigma that cigarettes are deadly (the show is set in the early 60's). He says this to the tobacco execs:
"Advertising is about one thing: happiness."

That is a profound truth. And I am so susceptible to trying to buy my happiness based on slick advertising and pretty pictures. I pour over magazines and websites trying to find that perfect item, food, clothing, beauty remedy. Once I think I've found it I set all my hopes upon it, salivating for the moment when it will be mine and bring me that happiness I so desire. It NEVER does. But instead of allowing that fact to sink in, I search for something else to distract myself in pursuit of.

The character in Mad Men goes on to describe happiness as "the smell of a new car, freedom from fear, a Billboard on the side of the road that screams with the reassurance that whatever you're doing is ok. You are ok."

Am I alone in feeling like I've been duped by the advertising machine of our consumer culture? I'd love to hear your thoughts.