{The Hummus Experiment}

Mediterranean food is easily my all time favorite. I've never
cooked it at home though. In an attempt to change that, I
made my very first go at hummus awhile back.


I loaded up the food processor, but when I turned it on,
I got nothin'. It wouldn't spin. Damnit!


So, I dumped it in a bowl and hand beat it.
It wasn't horrible or great. Definitely lumpy.


I was hungry. So, I ate it anyway.
But I was determined to make better hummus.

And thus was born my second batch. :)
I'm a recipe girl 95% of the time. But I really wanted to
challenge myself by seeing how close I could get without
any help. I had several fresh ingredients on hand that
needed to be used up. With my food processor issues
solved, I included...

1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
about a half bag of baby spinach
2 cloves garlic
small handful flat Italian Parsley
olive oil (the more the creamery - note: you can always add)
coarse salt
fresh ground pepper
the juice of a whole lemon (minus the seeds)




Flavorful, healthy and absolutely easy to make.

While it was good, it lacked a hummus-y quality.
David didn't like it at all. He isn't a big fan
of the spinach and parsley I included.

I have a date with my kitchen next week, when I intend
to try it again. I'm going to go with a more traditional
approach by adding a bit of soy sauce and tahini. I'll let
you know how it goes.

Have you ever made your own hummus? If so, how did it
turn out? Any suggestions?

{Rain Drops Fallin' On My Head}

BLACK FRIDAY UPDATE: I heard a person -- one of our fellow human beings --

was TRAMPLED TO DEATH as crowds made their way into a Walmart on the east

coast Friday morning. Wow. If that doesn't say something about our need as a culture

to down play the commericalism of the holiday season and connect with the real spirit

of joy and giving, I'm not sure what does. For the good of all humankind ... Slow down,

relax, think, and breath.

**************************

Now, on with today's post:

I grew up in the land of gray days -- Lansing, Michigan.
Drizzle, rain & clouds were far more common than sunshine.
It was one of the things I was excited to move away from
when we left there in the last days of 2000. Now, I live
in the desert where gray, wet days are a welcomed and
celebrated change of pace. It had been a long time since
we had rain, but this week brought some clouds, soft drizzle
and cooler temps. It was wonderful. I spent the weekend

up north where everything smelled and looked beautiful

after the rain. And I finally got to see some fall foliage!!

It was a strange Thanksgiving, but I'm glad I went up there,

for sure. It was a good move for me.












I hope you are enjoying the long weekend.
Live in the moment!

{To Each Their Own}

Are you one of those people that wakes up at 3:30 AM
on the morning after Thanksgiving so you can be the
first person through the door at Best Buy? More power
to ya, if you are. It's probably good for the economy
that people do things like that. (I wonder what this
years day after Thanksgiving retail numbers will be
in comparison to years past.)

Personally, I like shopping too much to go on busy days.
And I like good sheets far too much to get out of bed
that early. Today, I'm planning on a late morning hike
and an afternoon massage.

On this popular shopping day I share with you what
I call ... Time on my hands + camera + fitting room. :)

{For This I Am Thankful}

My favorite thing about this holiday is probably pretty
obvious -- stopping for a moment to appreciate and
acknowledge what I am thankful for. My list is long.
Here are just a few:

* My friends and family who make my heart full
* Precious Killian, Norah and Oliver who bring me such joy
* Living in a democracy with protected rights and liberties
* The chance to pursue an education
* Good teachers and a wonderful program at ASU
* My blog and my blogger friends :)
* David's job and having a roof over our heads
* Having had a couple chances to travel this year
* NPR, The Week and CNN - as silly as that may sound
* Both my health and the relative health of those I love
* That I started therapy up this year again
* Creative days
* My camera

Happy Thanksgiving!

{Girl on a Mission}

Seriously, how lucky am I that my dearest friends
would get together from all ends of the country
just to put together a little dance routine for me?
So lucky. :)

************************

Monday was one of those crumby days. To which I
responded by laying down for a nap at 3:30 PM and
staying there until 7:30 AM the next morning. Ha!
Take that, stupid day.

I woke up on Tuesday thinking, even my worst days
are better then a lot of peoples' best days. I mean,
I sit here with three healthy, loving animals huddling
around me, cute as could be, while the Internet magically
finds it's way to my laptop without a single cord while
some people have to walk miles each day just to collect
water for their basic needs. My life is just not that
bad. So, I was determined to make yesterday better,
and I did.

1) I signed up for the '09 AZ Breast Cancer 3-Day!



I've joined "The Rookies", started by our friends, the Hendricks.
Sign up by December 3rd, and the fee is only $55 (instead of $90).
We'd love to have you join us!
Just call (800) 996-3329.
More on this later.

2) Lindsay and I delivered four turkeys and some incidentals
to the food bank. There were so many generous people there.
One couple pulled up with 10 turkeys; Another guy had six.
It was really nice to see.


Here's the mommy-in-waiting at the checkout. She wrote a
motivating blog post this week, saying there is this great
sale on turkeys... And how awesome it would be if each of
us donated at least one because every kid deserves a turkey.
She was absolutely right. I know a small donation does not
a world change, but it was a step in the right direction.


And the sale was quite a sale. I wouldn't have believed
it unless I'd seen it with my own eyes. Five bucks for
a 12 pound Jenni O Turkey. Food banks are struggling now
as donations are down and the number of those in need is
going up. So, it's a good thing to do as often as possible,
no matter the day of the year.

3) Thought I'd pass along this idea received in an email frwd:
When doing your Christmas cards this year, take one card and
send it to the following address. If everyone sends one card, think
of how many cards these wonderful, special people who have
sacrificed so much would get. Just write a little message saying
what you think about their efforts in our behalf, and sign it.
Here's the address:

Holiday Mail for Heroes
P.O. Box 5456
Capitol Heights , MD. 20791-5456

I hope this Thanksgiving Eve is a good one for you
and yours. With love...

I interrupt this blog...

to bring Sam some love today. (It's Lindsay...yes, I hacked into Sam's blog, no, she doesn't

know i was doing this, and yes, it took me 30 minutes to remember her password...don't

judge me).

Even though we're all far apart, Sam and her 3 besties were able to come together to create

a dance routine today. We did it out of sheer love for our girl, Sam!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Hope this makes you smile, Sam. We love you.

Lindsay, Jen and Jen

{DIY Kitchen Table Redo, Part 1}

Today, I'm in an absolutely horrible mood;
however, I am so excited to have started this project!
* It's been on our collective to do list since 2005.
* This is my 1st attempted to refinish a piece of furniture.
* D's mom handed this table down to us, and I really like it.
* It's been sitting in a room with cream paint & cream tiles,
covered in a cream table cloth for the last two years.
It's begging for some COLOR!


So, here it is in it's covered, cream glory.


David started redoing it almost 3 1/2 years ago...


So, I took it out of the kitchen...


and moved it into the garage.


The amazing Richard from Home Depot told me what
I needed to make this happen. This Citrus Stripping
Gel wored like a charm.


There was something extremely
rewarding about this process.
Instant gratification!!


Once the paint was all stripped, I scrubbed
it down and made it nice and clean with
afterwash.


Then I got down to the business of doing the
same thing to the table legs.

Now, it's time to give it a whole new look.
I picked up new chairs today and plan to love on the table
throughout the long weekend. Hopefully I'll have an update
of the finished product posted in the next week or so.
Stay tuned!

{Where the Pretty Things Grow}

Saturday morning was breakfast with the Hendricks and
boutique shopping with Barb and her friend Renee. We
went to this thing with several vendors at an individual
house. It was really nicely done. I picked up a purse,
some pomegranate jelly and this easy to duplicate craft...


Get a 4x2 at Home Depot. Have them cut it. Then, sand and
paint it. Finally, put some paper and a letter on the front.
Even though I knew I could make these myself, they were
priced so reasonably, I couldn't resist.

On Sunday, David did a bit at the office, followed by
the Cardinals v. Giants game here in AZ. While he was
there, I did my own thing for awhile, but then...
I was admittedly bored. It's not too often that happens.
I had things to do but wasn't motivated to do them. So,
after some shopping and such, I settled at one of our
favorite restaurants (La Casa Blanca @ McQueen & Riggs) to
enjoy their patio and my book. There was a period of time
when I was their only outdoor guest, and I used the
opportunity to photograph some of the pretty things I
saw...















David still isn't home. He left at 7 AM. It's almost 9 PM now,
and last I heard, he was still in traffic. Long day for him!
He said they essentially had Thanksgiving dinner at the
tailgate since Bob fried a turkey and Jenny went all out
with sides. I'll have to get creative with my menu, I guess.
Have you settled on yours and done your shopping?

Happy Sunday to you.
I hope you all have a short week!
If you're traveling, do so safely.
If you're not, enjoy and keep the stress low.
I know I will be!

{5 Signs it's Gonna be a Good Weekend}

Sunday is my favorite day of the week.
Saturday is a close second.

David's long weekend runs and a big breakfast
go hand in hand. Fortunately, he doesn't make
me run 15 miles in order to eat with him. :)







I actually snapped these when we went to breakfast several
weeks ago but just got them up today. David ran 18 miles
this morning though!! His longest run yet, and that was
without a running partner of any kind. He is getting an
adjustment right now, and then we're going to go somewhere
to eat so he can replenish.