I can finally relax...sort of

I had decided to get involved with the "Buy a Bag" program being run by The Food Bank of South Jersey. They are running a campaign to get groups to donate a $1 for the purchase of 7 lbs. of food. I though this would be a great thing to bring to work. I work with a teriffic group of people who often do things like this and we work for a company generous enough to match gifts over $25 up to $2,500 per year. I start a month ago asking a co-worker how the heck to do this chinese action idea since I've never done one. A girl that sits near me agrees to help. We started putting things in Lotus Notes about a month ago asking for any "re-gift" items that someone might want to donate to up the interest. On Monday I sent a memo explaining the Auction and gave the date. Do you know the next day without letting me know my co-worker decides to tell people instead of $1 per ticket it was 3 for a $1. I was really upset by this because people were gladly giving $1 per ticket and that would cut into what we raised. Being the nonconfrontational person I am I really didn't know how to handle it. With the advice of another co-worker I did go for a happy medium and felt a lot better-also avoiding an incident that might have taken away from the cause. We didn't get a lot of responses for items, so between the two of us we actually came up with an amazing amount of items. I make jewelry so I got some nice sets done (earrings/necklace, etc) as well as an ID holder with glass beads. I brought a Pat Croce and Dan Brown book, a Dan Brown Audio Book (Digital Fortress was awesome!), a vinegar dipping set and a cosmetic bag. Dawn brought an Igloo backpack with a 6-pack of Hawaiian Punch, a Crichton Book w/ a 5$ Border gift card, 2 bottles of new perfume and a wrapped candle with a pretty note pad. A friend of ours also gave us a really nice candle holder set. Well okay we have lots of stuff...time to get this rolling. Our office has fundraisers for the Christmas party all year and today was supposed to be "Salad Day", so we thought (on Wednesday) that it would be a perfect mix. Well..."Salad Day" got cancelled and I worked till 9pm last night and was due back in at 9am this morning. So I'm online taking calls and it was BUSY. I had to set the cubicle up, number every item, make the sheets and pass them out...between phone calls. The girl that is helping me doesn't get in until 1pm. I even stayed late and hung posters all over the building for other departments to see and guilted all the supervisors into donating (I love doing that!). I am so BUSHED! It was a lot of fun and we got a lot of people who want to add items, but...my biggest lesson was how not to do things next time! I also learned that if I ask someone to help me with something I cannot let them run all over me....hey niceness and walk on me are often confused :) I think this will be a really positive campaign based on the responses we have gotten thus far..as well as almost hitting the $50 mark withing a couple of hours on the first day! Yippee. I will be doing the same begging at my church and feel a lot more prepared...my next challenge is to approach some local businesses with a proposal for them to donate gift cards, etc and prove to them how wonderful it will make them look to the local community. I plan over the weekend, on putting some type of flyer together and maybe a sample of a handout with the business names as sponsors...I love a challenge! My old boss told me there are no problems, just opportunities! I agree!

Could I Be This Brave?

Abdul Rahman, an Afghan man who converted from Islam to Christianity, is interviewed during a hearing in Kabul on March 16, 2006 in this image made available from tv footage on Sunday, March 26, 2006. Rahman who faced a possible death sentence for converting from Islam to Christianity is to be freed after a court Sunday dismissed the case against him, citing a lack of evidence, officials said. (AP Photo/ Ariana Television via AP Television News) This past Sunday, there was mention in our sermon of not being ashamed to admit that you are Christian. The theme was stepping into the light...with your faith. Pastor Glos hit it right on the nose when he said that religion is, for the most part, a taboo subject. I was always taught that there is a short list of thing you do not discuss: Politics, religion and abortion. Now the reason had nothing to do with having strong beliefs, it was always more about not causing a fuss with people who might disagree with you. I try to follow this general rule in life about all things. I admit that I am a nonconfrontational person. Now with this being said .. I can admit that if I were faced with death, I do not believe I would have the guts to be as strong as this man. I admire him and hope to learn something from him. Obviously on a much smaller level. I have absolutely no problem with letting people I know that I attend church regularly and try to act in a way that is a good reflection of my beliefs. I am very happy with the church I have joined and think that it's core beliefs mirror a lot of my own. Here is where the difficulty lies. If you come from a very conservative circle, who you know will disagree with some of your core beliefs, do you keep them to yourself? I am not living in a country where my life would be placed in peril for disagreeing with my family or friends, yet I have a difficult time with this. I don't know if this is a personality flaw or not. I have recently re-joined Amnesty International and support, via electronic petitions, many of their campaigns. I signed one just today against death penalties of children. I also happen to agree with the United Methodist's view on Iraq. We didn't go to Rwanda and other similiar places where we were so needed, I believe, because we had nothing to gain. This brings me to the question I pose to myself....does any what I am doing even count because it is being done silently. By this I mean that I do belong to a network, albiet online, that I actively participate in, however I remain silent about it on an interpersonal level. Is wearing a t-shirt with a message, symbolic jewelry or even sending campaign emails enough? At one time I had no problem marching in parades and going to meetings. Granted it seemed much more acceptable in San Diego than where I live now in South Jersey...but is this an excuse...or have I become too soft? I don't have an answer to this question...its one I have been mulling over for some time. Any comments would be welcome..Heck if you are in Southern Jersey...tell me where the meeting are!

its hasta time

Its going to be a good year for the hastas!

When You Give of Yourself.....

You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give (Kahlil Gibran) What a wonderful day I had! I played in the dirt! Glads, Cala Lily, Freesia and lots of others got planted today. My purple hyacinths are in full, gloriously scented bloom. The daffodills are out and the tulips are getting ready to flower..all by my mailbox out front. I also saw some hasta, stargazer lily and tigerlily buds and the hollyhocks are coming up...yippee. In the back yard the red carnations and day lily buds are starting. My chives and oregano made it through the whole winter and my new lilac has itsy bitsy buds! Within the next couple of days I will be finishing the rest out front. I really adore this time of year. I'm also very excited that Dave has agreed to help me set up some raised box gardens. I'd like to plant some veggies this year. If only I could grow italian squash I'd be set for food for the summer..mmmm. I was reading this morning about "scrap gardens" and would like to try my hand at it in the containers. It mentioned garlic, onion, potato and carrot as things you could grow from kitchen scraps..it might be fun to try. I will def be trying the garlic. This whole journey started with me going part time and wanting to simplify things. By cutting back on a lot of things that don't really seem necessary, I've been able to go to a part time schedule and can say, without a doubt, I can see the improvement in our family life. As corny as it sounds I love having dinner ready every night for Dave. It feels more familyish. That coupled with going to church together and working as a team on our budget has made our relationship the best its ever been. My next goal is to get my paperwork in to the Big Sisters Organization so I can start doing some hands on volunteering. I really miss it a lot. In the past I've worked with AIDS patients, done candystriping, worked at a shelter and SHARE in San Diego and done Adult Literacy Tutoring. It is a integral part of my make-up that is missing. I will soon be working a 8:30-12:30 schedule and it will be an awesome opportunity to structure some solid volunteer time into my day. I will continue with the monthly monetary donations, but I need to actually see the results of my work. You know...that gratification thing... thus the quote today (which was actually a cryptogram I did this morning :)

IMDB Links

Not sure if the movie links are working or its just my laptop..if not just go to www.IMDB.com and have a great time! I was going to upload a picture and link of each movie but blogger doesn't seem to want to cooperate :(

What is a life, what is its value, and can we place a value on it?

For anyone that actually missed my blog...the hiatus is over..I've had a lot of personal things going on and have been otherwise occupied. Anyhoo....I wanted to start by begging you please to see "21 Grams"! What is a life, what is its value, and can we place a value on it..is what this movie addresses..and yes I cried. The title refers to the amount of weight the human body loses at the moment of death..and I do believe it is our soul. I must say, for some reason, I cannot stand Sean Penn..I have no plausible reason..but that being said he wowed me in this movie. Naomi Watts is wonderful as was Benicio Del Toro..who blew me away. Be warned thought, that this film incorporates the choppy time line method..at first it is confusing, but very well worth it at the end when you see how everything comes together. The main idea, without giving anything away is that every little occurance in our lives has a bearing on anothers. I was left emotionally drained at the end of the film and actually called Dave to tell him how much I love him and to be carefull driving home...yeah it does that to you. Makes you think about how very much the people in your life mean to you. A good reminder for all of us. Ok..also been listening to Digital Fortress in my car and it makes me wish my commute was longer! Dave was kind enough to install the XM in my car but I can't waste a minute listening to it until this book is done! I also got an Ipod Nano 4G..haven't used that in my truck either..but..have loaded a bunch of Hemingway stories and Girl with a Pearl Earring on it..hmmm wonder if I will ever listen to the XM...well it does have a public radio station so maybe I will. Dave and I have both been getting up early and spending coffee time together, which I love. I recap the newspaper headlines to bug him while he is checking his schedule for the day and email..hehehe. As soon as he goes upstairs its onto the crossword and cryptogram...I'm obsessed with cryptograms lately....I do about 5-15 day..I have issues. On my list of movies due withing the next couple of days are Sometimes in April (about Rwandan genocide) and Tokyo Story (An elderly couple journey to Tokyo to visit their children and are confronted by indifference, ingratitude and selfishness..) They are both movies Dave won't watch LOL. He accused me of getting movies that never have anybody smiling on the boxes..maybe I'm stuck in a restrospective mood..And as far as making fun of me for even going to the library big rasberry to ya Dave...I love going to the library so there! I fully admit to being a full fledged nerd..and that's okay. I recently took an IQ test and scored somewhere between 125 and 140..(not telling)..so it must be paying off.. fancy that..a blonde with a decent IQ LOL. Have a great day all!

wow that took a long time

First of all Spamalot was as great as last time except for the fact that Tim Curry wasn't there..boo hoo! I had David Hyde Pierce to comfort me though-love him! Hank Azaria was there as well ..Love the French taunter..lmao. We had dinner at Sardi's which was absolutely delicious! We ended the night by buying wonderful $5.99 scarves on the street and taking idiot pictures of ourselves pointing at tall buildings near Times Square. It was tons of fun! I can't wait till our next trip to the city. Philly will probably be next in the interim because we all want to see the show at the Franklin Institute..they have thin sheets of cadavers on illuminated panels and you can see the entire systems..& the Mutter Museum has an awesome collection of gross body stuff we want to see (The Museum's collections include over 20,000 objects, including fluid-preserved anatomical and pathological specimens, medical instruments, anatomical and pathological models, items of memorabilia of famous scientists and physicians, and medical illustrations.)..how cool is that! Also congrats to Pastor Gloss (we love him!) on getting our church site up HERE I wasn't feeling well this week in church..and didn't get a chance to tell him that Dave and I are just thrilled he and his wife decided to stay in the area! When we met him prior to getting married we both liked him so much we have been attending ever since. I had just been telling Dave that if he left our parish, I don't know if I'd continue attending. I love the members and we both feel very welcome but he is the reason we both go. So...YIPEE! Now to the Geek Stuff- The links I promised are well along the way to being finished. If you check the menus on the right I have added over 20 links in the Blogger Tools and Templates and HTML Code, Clocks, Etc. sections. There are some amazingly talented people out there! One warning...you may end up spending hours looking at their work..:) I don't have time today to implement a lot of the things I want to do..tons of cleaning today, but hopefully scads of good stuff in the works as time allows. HERE is a fun little link. It tests your typing speed and has some other cool calculators on the site: Another really neat tool is the Page Rank Calculator. The site is here and they have a lot of other checks you can do including broken link checkers as well..worth the visit. I, unfortunately have a lot of cleaning to do. My perfect kitchen floor (white linoleum) has been destroyed by rain and doggy paws! My perfectly clean kitchen has fallen into major disarray and I cannot see my bedroom closet floor. At least the living room is clean LOL. I recently stopped in at the library so, much to my delight I can either listen to one of my 3 new books on tape "Girl with a Pearl Earring", "The Awakening", or "The Black Monk & Other Stories by Anton Chekhov" or watch "Dirty Pretty Things" with Audrey Tatou who I loved in Amelie, "My Life Without Me" or "Birth" with Nicole Kidman. I'm saving Christian Bale's "The Machinist" for Dave and I to watch together. I am wierdly compelled to multitask. For some reason I always have to be doing something. So this way, while I clean I can be listening to something. If I could only figure out a way to do crosswords or crytograms while cleaning....

Battle of Algiers

Clik here to go to IMDB for info!

today is the day!

today we are off to NYC to see Spamalot! Yippee...this is my second time but Mom & Aunt Carol's first...I am really looking forward to it...Poor Dave will be busting his butt helping Nikki move :( Somehow I know he will get mad at somebody for something today.... Btw...saw an awesome movie I highly recommend! It was Battle of Algiers........please watch if you have time...even though it was made in the late 60's it is so so relevant today. tt everyone later.....have a great day...i will be enjoying the temp today..unfortunately at the cost of our ozone layer deteriorating...

yum yum spices

yum yum spices, originally uploaded by andrealeev. Aloo gobi has potato, cauliflower (tomato is optional) onions, garam masala, ginger/garlic paste, tumeric, chili powder, corriander, curry and salt...YUM

bhoona

bhoona, originally uploaded by andrealeev. This is the stage where the spices are reduced to a paste before water is added back to make a yummy curry sauce.

aloo gobi

aloo gobi, originally uploaded by andrealeev. aloo gobi

Aloo Gobi Tuesday :)

ALOO GOBI! I haven't had this in soooo long! I love curried cauliflower and potato but alas, the smell is not one of Dave's favorite things. It was awesome and I love that it's vegetarian and low fat. I've decided to resume my ethnic cooking. I haven't been doing it at all because Dave doesn't eat anything not on the "white list" like pasta and rice or that doesn't have gravy or sauce.. I was a vegetarian for over 3 years and love cooking veggies with as much spice as I can handle. Besides that, its so healthy..tumeric and chilis are sooo good for you. I only have to burn a few Yankee candles and the evidence will be gone when he gets home LOL. If you are interested the recipe is HERE. Still working on trying to figure out how the heck to do my fundraiser for the South Jersey Food Bank "Buck a Bag" drive. I was so gung ho about doing this I forgot that I didn't know how to do a Chinese Auction :) Any tips greatly appreciated. Dave and I went to Coatesville last night for a wonderful dinner with his parents and to pick up a sick computer and drop off a table and chairs for Nikki. I can't help on move day because its Spamalot Day in NYC. And on Sunday, after Church Dave and I are heading to Dannielle's with mom for her birthday. It's today..unfortunately I have to work tonight..so I can only place my annoying HAPPY BIRTHDAY call to my sister until this weekend. Dave....if you are reading this I made homemade white bread for you today :) Hope everyone has a great day ........and..........don't forget to visit The Hunger Site! Technorati : aloo gobi, the hunger site

Why I didn't blog for a few days....

I was busy with plumbing problems...garbage disposal decided to be a problem AGAIN..so it is GONE! What a pain in the butt to get out of the sink. Our neighbor Tim helped Dave pry the edges of the drain assembly back so they could shove it through the hole in the sink.. Whoever has ever ever been able to unthread a sink assembly from other plumbing after its been there for a few years should get a nobel prize. This is my second sink and it hasn't happened yet. All thats left to do is cut the wires for the hardwired disposal and cap them off. After that I will aslo do the same in the light switch so as to disable it. this kitchen has the disposal breaker tied into every other outlet so I cant just turn it off at the box. The other picture is of the new faucet I installed complete with a sprayer attachment, since the old unit had a sprayer line and this one doesn't. I couldn't live without my sprayer. Dave and I like to cook way too much to do without it. I do love the the new goose neck shape...seems like so much more room to work in the sink. The last pic is our beautiful new drain assembly..no putty here..pure silicone baby! Hopefully, if nothing else decides to break..I can get back to doing what I like...Taking Pictures and Blogging about them! BTW the bulbs above are going to be awesome photo fodder!! And there is already $20 in the cuss pot :)

I'm mentally letting out a "valley girl" squeal!

Its almost that time....I cannot wait! Open Open Open!

Lent

MY KITCHEN IS ACTUALLY CLEAN!! Just wanted to post a pic of it while it is so I can look back and remember it..... Well Dave & went to church last night for an Ash Wednesday and it was really nice. I had a reading to do, which I am getting less nervous about doing. It follows: READING FROM ST. JOHN CRYSOSTOM Christ was sacrificed to bring peace to the things ofheaven and earth, to reconcile you with the God of the universe and make you his friend. What the Son of Godhas done in this way, you must do too, as far as your human strength allows, by being a builder of peace both for yourself and for others. That is why, at the moment of sacrifice,the only commandment of which he reminds you is to be reconciled with your sister and your brother. Our Pastor explained that in the tradition of the Jews, before you ask God for for forgiveness, you must ask your sisters and brothers, or your friends. They are to go to each of their friends and ask if they have done anything hurtfull to them during the previous year, and if so, ask for their pardon. What a cool idea....I wonder if I'd have the guts to do this???? I might not like if it I got a yes.... would you? Dave & I have decided that for Lent we are not going to curse. First thing he wants to know of course is, are there exceptions...does damn and crap count...oh lord! haha. He has also decided that during "together time" cursing shouldn't count. what a guy thing to say :) On this note we designated an empty tea pot as the penalty pot. For every transgression there is to be $1 put in the pot. Can you believe that Dave spent $4 before even leaving for work! I am guilty of donating $1..but in my defense because I asked Dave if he said something he claims he didn't...I don't know if I buy that... All the money in the jar at the end of the 40 days will be donated...church or shelter may get a new wing if we keep it up at this rate...a particular phrase has a $3 levy. Hope everyone is having a great day...I'm off to fix the sink again.