Passion

Following your passion can be difficult, especially when you are unsure of what you're passionate about. I had that dilemma not too long ago. After watching an Oprah episode, a long time ago, she talked about finding your passion and going after it. I had to actually think about what my passion was. I thought that staying at home with K was my passion. Sure, it's one thing about my life that absolutely love (most days lol). After all my Sweetie clocks into a job 5 days a week that is his passion, why can't my "job" be that too?

Today I realized that writing is one of my passions. When I was younger I wrote fictional stories. In fact i remember one clearly that I wrote in 6th grade. I happened upon it years and years ago and when I read it I was surprised at how good the plot was and how well I developed the story at 12 years old! Being someone with a degree in journalism, I always thought I was meant to write "nothing but the facts" or maybe an editorial. Right before graduation, I realized that was not my passion at all, it was not something I wanted to pursue in the least (not to mention the pay is well...crappy). I could take crappy pay for a job I loved, but not for one I had no desire to put myself into.

After reading the Twilight Series, I somehow came up with an idea for a story. (no it does not involve vampires or supernatural creatures HA!) I started to write one afternoon and i couldn't stop! In fact, I haven't be able to stop since I started.

This summer has been a busy one for all of us. But I often find myself making notes on my iPhone notepad listing new ideas that pop into my head while doing housework, out shopping, or watching K's swim lessons. And when I do have spare time, I am usually writing, editing or re-reading.

So, if i seem aloof, I'm probably with the characters in my head ;)

Easy Tiramisu Recipe

I posted that I was eating homemade tiramisu on my FB/Twitter. Since several people were interested in how i made it. I thought I would post it.

First I gotta give a shout out to Keran who passed the recipe on to me, which I now give to you ;)

1 pkg (10.75 ozs) frozen pound cake, thawed and cut into 9 slices
3/4 strong brewed coffee (room temperature)
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup chocolate flavored syrup
1 pkg (8 ozs) mascarpone cheese or cream cheese, softened
2 cups whipping (heavy) cream
2 bars (1.4 ozs each) chocolate covered toffee candy, chopped

Arrange cake slices in bottom of rectangular baking dish, 11x7x1 1/2inches, cutting cake slices if necessary to cover bottom of dish. Drizzle coffee over cake.

Beat sugar, chocolate syrup, and mascarpone cheese in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Add whipping cream. Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy. Spread over cake. Sprinkle with candy.

Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, but no longer than 24 hours to set dessert and blend flavors.

Yield: 12 servings

The dessert will keep for longer than 24 hours. My family of three cannot eat a whole pan in a day, but we can get it polished off in a week for sure ;) It actually tastes better when the coffee can really sink into the cake :)

Eclipse Movie and Twilight Sound Track

Out of curiosity I googled to see if Eclipse from the Twilight Series would be made into a movie. The word I found on a fan site is that it is - view that info here. I have no idea if it's completely true or not, but I sure hope it is! nothing like seeing Edward and Bella jumping from the pages to the big screen.

Oh yeah, and I am using one of the tickers off the website with that news - i gotta be able to countdown to both of them!

Now, the Twilight Soundtrack....um.....you gotta buy it! I ordered a hard copy from Amazon and got it in the mail yesterday. I like EVERY song on it! That is super rare for any soundtrack. And my sweetie digs it as well (although, he was really wanting to hear Mute Math more than anything.) If you click the link above, you will be able to listen to some of the songs. Totally worth it.

Mean I tell ya, just mean!

My sweetie sent me link via IM today. so I click it like any good wife would. This is what I see:

6 Nights in Ireland w/ Airfare w/ Hotel w/ Car for $700

Mean, I tell ya, mean, mean, mean!

When he got home from work I asked, "Why did you send me that link? To say nah-nah-nah-boo-boo guess what you can't do?"

His response was a smile and a laugh. Very funny :P~~~~~~~~

Hmmm....maybe I should book a solo ticket.... ;)

YUM-O: Grilled Steak with Sweet Lime Salad

Everyday with Rachael Ray magazine had this recipe in one of its issues. I have made it twice now and it's a big hit for me and my sweetie.

Click here for the recipe. Make sure you check out my review, I made a few tweeks that i liked better.

One thing I forgot to say is that I forgo the mint. It's expensive and really not necessary. I made it with the first time and without this time - still tasted great!

Do I really need to see Kristen Stewart pumping gas? Um....NO!

Celebrity stalking is one of my pet peeves in life. Although, I cannot say that a trash magazine or two hasn't caught my attention. Mostly the headlines just make me laugh out loud while I am standing in line at the check out.

For instance, I was looking up Kristen Stewart, Bella in Twilight. I was interested in what else she starred in, how old she was etc. I was shocked at how different she looks in real life since she was wearing contacts to make her eyes brown like Bella's (Kristen's are green). Anyway, I ran into a series of pictures of Kristen. She was pumping gas. Yep, so interesting eh? I just did it yesterday, what's the big deal.

As a huge fan of Bono, and member of fansites just for him (yeah, I know I need help) I have seen photos that almost angered me. Some photos were of him walking with his family - by the looks on everyone's face in the photo, they were not wanting their picture taken. I don't want to see that kind of stuff! I like Bono but I really don't want to see him unhappy. The other photo I remember seeing that angered me was of Bono jogging outside his house. Someone commented on how white his legs were. HELLO! He's Irish, you think those legs see sunlight very often? lol!

If i want to see a picture of a celeb, I want to see them when they expect it like at an event where there is a red carpet or posing for a magazine. I don't care if Bono pumps gas or if someone ate cake at lunch - I do that too. We all put our pants on one leg at a time. Just some of us have names that are very widely known - it doesn't mean they know you.

**steps off her soapbox**

Follow Peter Facinelli - Dr. Carlisle Cullen

Peter portrayed Carlisle in the Twilight movie (and in New Moon) and did a damn good job. In fact when I read the book my minds eye immediately pictures Peter's face. I digress....

Here's the whole reason for my blabbering - Peter has a bet going with Rob Defranco for the back of his Twilight chair. He need 500,000 followers before Friday.

So jump on the bandwagon and save the back of the chair for a fan (that's what he's going to do if he wins) - of course us Twilight crazies will appreciate it much more than Rob what's-his-name hehehe ;)

Peter poted a video on YouTube - so yep it really is him. And if you want to join the cause click here.

So hop to it! If you are still reading this you haven't clicked! Chop-Chop!

Bono, The Edge and Spider-man

No, this is not an Photoshoped image, this is the real deal!

If any of you know me and my sweetie, you know that I am freakish about U2 (especially Bono) and my sweetie loves Spider-man. When I first heard that Bono and The Edge were working on this project I pretty much did a double take. This poster represents the two things me and my sweetie pretty much worship.

Oh yeah, and had to throw in this photo of the creators. Notice the hotness coming from the right end of the photo.

Midnight Sun

Stephenie Meyer started to write Twilight from Edward's perspective. I heard this from several people and finally got a title from a good friend of mine. I quickly went to google and found it - to my dismay :(

Meyer apparently had some dumbass get a hold of her manuscript and it was released on the internet at different stages. She has put the writing of this on hold indefinitely (waaaaaah!!!!!)

She does have what she has so far on her website. I DLed and read it from there - unfortunately it only doesn't go beyond the point of Bella seeing Edward in her room for the first time and he tells her he's been coming there for months....of course we miss his perspective of the first kiss, which I thought would be super cool to read.

I am hoping that Meyer will some how recover from this violation. Nice that someone wants to make some $$$$ at the expense of MANY others who would love to read anything "new" in the land of Twilight.

Hello, my name is Sarah and I am a Twilight Addict.

Yes, I admit it. I have been sucked into the land of Twilight and cannot (well, and do not) want to get out. Please do not have an intervention for me - it will be hopeless.

The addiction began when my sweetie and I watched Twilight on BluRay (O....M....G....!). Two days later i was searching our public library for an audio version of the book so I could listen to it on a 6 hour trek to visit family. I got half way through and was thankful I brought my written copy of Twilight with me. I quickly devoured it and ended up stalking Walmart late at night to find the next book in the sagas.

This last week I started to feel like a vampire. Walking around with little sleep. I couldn't leave Edward and Bella not know what would happen next!

And my poor, poor sweetie. He is starting to wonder if I need to be committed for becoming so obsessed with this series. He is starting to understand as I tell him of other 30 something women have the same obsession - I am not alone (thank GOD!)

Five for Finn - PLEASE READ

Please read this note from my friend Kerry. She is a member of a parenting board I am apart of - I have known her since we were both pregnant with our little guys. Finnegan has held a special place in my heart - especially since both Finn and Kian are Irish lads. Finnegan left us way too soon, but Kerry and her husband have a way to honor his memory and give back to those families battling against the evil of Cystic Fibrosis.

♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣

Hey everyone--

As some of you may know, Finn's fifth birthday would have been June 3rd of this year. As the date approaches, I find myself feeling more sad and missing my little guy more and more (as if that's possible, as I miss him every moment of every day). I could sit and cry--and believe me, I have--but what I really want to do is to celebrate the amazingness that was Finn and help other families too.

We are still in the process of getting tax-exempt status for "Finnz Fundz"--a foundation established in Finn's name to help other families of children with Cystic Fibrosis who are facing extended (longer than one month) hospital stays for treatment. In addition to our goal of achieving tax exempt status, we hope to eventually be able to help families of children with other illnesses as our funds grow and our ability to help increases.

As a way to honor Finn's fifth birthday, I have a special request for everyone who reads/receives this note--PLEASE donate a fin ($5) in honor of our Finn. If even 200 people donate $5 each, we will have $1,000 to distribute to families in need. Amazing!

Donations can be sent via paypal.com to:
finnzfundz@gmail.com

In addition to this special birthday fundraising drive, we are also looking to obtain "in-kind" donations to pass on to families--like gift cards from national retailers (dunkies, starbucks, target, walmart, etc). If any of you out there work for such companies or have connections, please let us know. We received many such cards and they were such a blessing!

Our email for the fund is: finnzfundz@gmail.com

A website will be soon to follow--a special thanks to Susanne and hubby for offering to design/host the website--I will be in touch soon!

Thanks to all for the amazing support you've given our family during our journey. It's been a long road, but I wouldn't have changed it--Finn was an amazing, special little person who truly brought joy to our lives.

Many thanks,
Kerry and Patrick

p.s. Please forward this to everyone on your friends list! Let's use the power of facebook/the internet for good!!!

Finnegan - a lil' clover that left us way too soon.

Use the Force

Is it really sad that I want this toy for myself and not really for my 5 year old (although I would let him use it from time to time lol!

Rachel Ray's Thai Lettuce Cups - YUM-O!

I tried this recipe tonight and it was SUPER good! I didn't do the lettuce cups. I roughly chopped romaine lettuce and put the chicken mixture on top of it. Click here is a link to the recipe in case you want to see photos or print it off for yourself. (oh, and of course we omitted the peanuts lol still tasted amazing!)

Thai Lettuce Cups

Ingredients

* 1 tablespoon EVOO – Extra Virgin Olive Oil
* 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips
* 1 red bell pepper, cut into to strips
* 1/4 cup sweet chili sauce
* 1/4 cup honey
* 2 iceberg lettuce heads, cut in quarters and leaves gently removed for cups
* 1/2 cup honey-roasted peanuts, chopped
* Juice of 1 lime
* 1 handful basil, chopped

Yields: 4 servings

Preparation

Place a large skillet over medium-high heat with 1 turn of the pan of EVOO, about 1 tablespoon. Season the chicken with salt and ground black pepper, and cook in the pan until golden brown on all sides.

Add in the red pepper, and cook until soft, about 3 minutes. Add in the chili sauce and honey, and reduce to coat the chicken.

To serve, lay the lettuce leaves out onto a platter then scoop some of the chicken mixture onto each leaf. Sprinkle with the chopped peanuts, lime juice and basil.

Magnificent

Magnificent is a song of of U2's new CD, No Line on the Horizon. It is definitely one of my favorites on the CD so far. The more I listen to it, the more I understand what it's about.

My analysis is that Magnificent refers to God. The song is about how we are God's creation and born to glorify Him.

Dictionary.com defines Magnificent as " noble; sublime" " (usually initial capital letter) (formerly used as a title of some rulers) great; grand: Lorenzo the Magnificent." After reading the actual definition of Magnificent the meaning of the song really clicked with me.

Of course, this is only my insight. But the song now has a lot of meaning to me. In fact, I am thinking the word Magnificent might be my next tattoo.

Here are the lyrics of the song:

Magnificent
Magnificent



I was born
I was born to be with you

In this space and time

After that and ever after I haven't had a clue

Only to break rhyme
This foolishness can leave a heart black and blue



Only love, only love can leave such a mark

But only love, only love can heal such a scar


I was born
I was born to sing for you

I didn't have a choice but to lift you up
And sing whatever song you wanted me to
I give you back my voice
From the womb my first cry, it was a joyful noise ...

Only love, only love can leave such a mark

But only love, only love can heal such a scar


Justified till we die, you and I will magnify

The Magnificent

Magnificent


Only love, only love can leave such a mark

But only love, only love unites our hearts



Justified till we die, you and I will magnify
The Magnificent

Magnificent

Magnificent


Itchy Chef

I have often wondered if my son (who has a severe food allergy) would be able to become a chef if he so desired. Right now I am watching a challenge show on the Food Network where a chef was allergic to two ingredients that were given to him to work with. He went far in the competition and is actually a chef for the Waldorf Astoria! There is hope for my little man if he wants to enter the culinary world.

Respect

Today I dropped my son off at preschool. I just happened to look at the car next to us and noticed a Hindu symbol hanging from the mirror. I immediately thought of the image I posted above. It is from U2's last concert tour. As you can see the word "Coexist" is spelled out with the Muslim, Jewish and Christian symbols. I have heard several Christians say that this display has shown that U2 is not believers and that all religions are one. I know that Bono is a follower of Christ (discusssion for another day). The word coexist means: " to exist separately or independently but peaceably" (from dictionary.com). I think that the symbols added to the word just make an even louder statment.

It made me think about how we really need to respect other people's beliefs, no matter what they are. Sure, as a Christian you can present them with the story of Jesus and salvation. But being forceful is the fast track to nowhere. I have seen so many times Christians trying to "argue" about their beliefs with someone who believes differently. I wonder how a Christian would feel if someone of a different faith was forcing their beliefs on them. When the shoe is on the other foot it can really make you view things differently.

We are all human. We were all created by God. We were given a mind to think and the ability to decide what we believe. We must have respect for each other.

Quote from Bono

"It's easy for us to find a sound that we can dance to, it's harder to find something that moves us."

Losing the Stiffness

Recently I have started thinking about religion. Honestly, religion is a word that I dislike. It doesn't mean anything personal to me - it just means that you believe what is most likely rules that man created.

I do believe that faith should be personal. It should be something that you believe with your whole heart, yet probably not be able to completely grasp.

For years I followed "rules" and tried to be someone that as of now I look back and wonder what the hell was I thinking! My view of things was that I was better than others because of what I believed and the way I was living my life. Little did I know that I was sheltering myself as well as pushing away those who might have been interested in learning more about Jesus from a non-judgmental and open to the fact that they might not believe the same as me.

What I find so funny is that it is always thought that when you get older that you get more set in your ways. For me I have found that I have let go of those ways and can see what it all looked like from the outside. It was all just silly to follow all the "rules" that churches, organizations or so called leaders told me I had to do in order to really live the Christian life. Most of that junk can not be found anywhere in the Bible...ok, maybe with some personal interpretation from those presenting this "way of life."

I still have my core beliefs. But I no longer think that I am above anyone in any way at all. We are all on the same playing field. We were all shown a "gift" that we can chose to accept or not. Forcing that gift on someone does not make them really want it...it will probably send them running in the other direction.

I'm baaaack!

After a year of pretty much ignoring this blog, I have decided to give it some new life. A new name, a new look, and new randomness (that probably pertains a lot to the band U2).

So there is it!

(new look to follow soon, stay tuned!)

Lord of the Rings Online (LOTRO)

WOW!!! (And no, I don’t mean like World of Warcraft because this game doesn’t fan a flame to it!)

Jamie and I were able to get into the stress test this weekend. A select number of people were allowed in to push the servers and make sure everything is working ok. We played a little bit last night after Kian was in bed (and during the little bit of time that Jamie felt ok to be out of bed).

Jamie and I have played different MMORGs (Massively Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Games) since we have been dating. I have to say that LOTRO has been the easiest to navigate, has a GREAT tutorial and is BEAUTIFUL!

Today is the last day of the stress test. After that we have to wait for almost a month before we can get in and play for real! I cannot wait!