If you are going to all the trouble

to buy save-the-dates for your wedding...perhaps you should take the time to assemble them nicely and find out how to spell people's names correctly. Perhaps you should invest in a black pen to address the envelope. Perhaps you should wait until you're legal to enjoy your own toasts.

Just a little public service announcement from yours truly.

I'm Glad MI is Using Taxpayer Money Wisely

Feathers could fly in Michigan's state bird debate
Three bills await action in Lansing
Tim Martin

LANSING, Mich. -- A long-simmering battle over which species should be the Michigan state bird has flown under the radar at the state Capitol for the past few years.
But the issue could soon peck its way to the forefront as three bills on the subject await action in the state Legislature.

The tenuous incumbent is the robin, adopted as the state bird in 1931 by a resolution that some lawmakers say has long since expired.
One challenger is the Kirtland's warbler, which breeds exclusively in northern Michigan but is only a part-time resident. The third candidate is the black-capped chickadee, a staple at Michigan bird feeders but already claimed as the bird of choice in Massachusetts and Maine.

The debate could steal a little time from the more critical issues facing lawmakers next year -- such as the economy, the state budget and the 2006 election. But the eventual winner could change what every Michigan elementary school student has learned about state symbols for the past several decades.
"It's time we took another look at this," said Len Stuttman, a Lansing bird enthusiast and a leader of an effort to get official state designation for the Kirtland's warbler. "Michigan needs a unique state bird."
The robin also is the state bird for Connecticut and Wisconsin.

School textbooks and state-sponsored promotional materials have listed the robin as Michigan's official feathered friend for decades. But there is a debate over whether that designation is real or imaginary.
Sen. Patty Birkholz, a Republican from Saugatuck, says the resolution that anointed the robin Michigan's "best known and best loved" bird expired after a few years and was never renewed. That would leave the job as state bird wide open, and she nominates the Kirtland's warbler.

The half-ounce, yellow-breasted bird with a bluish gray face and back favors northern Lower Peninsula jack pine forests in summer months. The birds winter in the Caribbean.
Michigan has made special preservation efforts to help the warbler, which has been considered an endangered species since the 1980s. State researchers and volunteers counted 1,415 singing males during the official 2005 census period, the most since monitoring began in the 1950s.
No other state claims the Kirtland's warbler as its own, and Michigan is the only one that likely would because of its migratory patterns. A few birds sometimes are spotted in Wisconsin and Ontario, but Michigan is the bird's main North American home.

The Michigan Audubon Society -- which supported the robin as state bird in 1931 -- now backs the Kirtland's warbler.
Just when supporters thought Birkholz's bill was ripe for action, competition popped up from Rep. Matt Gillard, an Alpena Democrat.
Gillard last month introduced a bill that would make the black-capped chickadee Michigan's official bird. In the spirit of compromise, he also introduced a bill to designate the robin the state's official migratory bird and the Kirtland's warbler as the state's official songbird.
"I've got some constituents who are big fans of the chickadee," Gillard said. "They are found throughout the state. They're friendly birds and easy to get close to. But there's no reason we can't recognize more than one bird."
The chickadee, like the robin, is a fairly common backyard bird. The small-billed, white-cheeked birds with black caps are common throughout much of the northern U.S. and Canada. The warbler is not.

Gillard expects the bird debate could bubble to the surface at some point in early 2006. Lawmakers will continue to focus on pressing issues -- but supporters of the state bird bills plan to make a push for action early in the year before all focus shifts to budgets and elections.
"Obviously there are some serious issues facing the state Legislature," Gillard said. "There has been some reluctance, and rightfully so, to deal with issues such as the state bird. But maybe when we come back from (holiday) break will be the appropriate time."

The state bird bills are Senate Bill 346 and House Bills 5428-29.

Merry Christmas!

HoneyBaked Ham

OK so this is really cool. Apparently Honeybaked Hams are a bit of a scam...the word on the street is that the company (detroit-based, figures, huh?) purchases pre-cooked hams from Hormel and simply adds the coating on the outside and then inflates the price 3x to get your holiday delight. Delightful indeed, if you've never had a Honeybaked ham, you're missing out. They are DELISH. The other half of the scam is that apparently there is no honey in it. hmmm

Yesterday I left work early to secure my place in line at the Honeybaked Ham store in Mesa. We aren't having any family over so I was determined to treat myself to a not-cooked-by-me-but-still-yummy Christmas dinner. Long story short, there wasn't even room for my car in the parking lot and the line at honeybaked was out the door and around the corner. sigh.

I am still determined to have a kick-ass ham for Christmas. I got a bootlegged Honeybaked Ham recipe off the internet, bought a blow torch at Lowes, and tonight we will attempt to take over Honeybaked Ham Co's successful recipe. I won't post the recipe yet...I will do a live test RIGHT NOW. its 4pm and the ham is now in the oven heating up. around 5 we can mix up the "glaze" and then Evan will blowtorch that puppy until it is carmelized sugary perfection. If it turns out, I'll post the recipe for all to share.

We are mostly just pumped about the blow torch. :)


UPDATE: 548pm

DELICIOUS ham. it takes a while to blowtorch it but its worth it. i think it tastes like the real thing. i'll never throw my money away to honeybaked again!
(i couldn't get the bold words to go away)

1 fully cooked shank half ham, bone in (pre-sliced)
1 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground clove
1/4 teaspoon paprika
dash ground ginger
dash ground allspice

1. If you couldn't find a pre-sliced ham, the first thing you must do is slice it. Use a very sharp knife to cut the ham into very thin slices around the bone. Do not cut all the way down to the bone or the meat may not hold together properly as it is being glazed. You want the slices to be quite thin, but not so thin that they fall apart or off the bone. You may wish to turn the ham onto its flat end and cut around it starting at the bottom. You can then spin the ham as you slice around and work your way up.

2. Mix the remaining ingredients together in a small bowl.

3. Lay down a couple sheets of wax paper onto a flat surface such as your kitchen counter. Pour the sugar mixture onto wax paper and spread it around evenly.

4. Pick up the ham and roll it over the sugar mixture so that it is well coated. Do not coat the flat end of the ham, just the outer, pre-sliced surface.

5. Turn the ham onto its flat end on the plate. Use a blowtorch with a medium-size flame to caramelize the sugar. Wave the torch over the sugar with rapid movement, so that the sugar bubbles and browns, but does not burn. Spin the plate so you can torch the entire surface of the ham. Repeat the coating and caramelizing process until the ham has been well glazed (don't expect to use all of the sugar mixture). Serve the ham cold or reheated, just like the real thing.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

my dear husband is 25 today!

Segway

i got paid to ride a segway for one hour yesterday and today. and now i have a "segway license." Jealous?????

Vegas Trip

driving in AZ

coming up to the Hoover Dam

bad shot of the dam...i'm too short

you can figure it out

-------- In Vegas--------------

The Bellagio Hotel had beautiful Christmas decor in their hotel.

these penguins moved!

Hard to tell but this is made out of fresh flowers

fresh roses inside the gold wire ball things...and a bed of floating cranberries is at the base!

has somebody been a good boy this year??

THIS ENTIRE POST

This entire post is dedicated to Shannon Norman....aka...Snorman. Where are you? Where has your little pink blog of laguna love gone? If anyone else misses snorman's non-regular ramblings please post a comment here to let her know the internet YEARNS for her presence.

i haven't posted updates in a while...i'm busy at work, then i got sick on friday, and we're going out of town to VEGAS tomorrow.

We got our tree!



















It's beautimous! I will have to hit the after-Christmas sales to get more lights because every light we own is on the tree. We'll need more to decorate a HOUSE next year!

We had to cut some branches off the bottom so it would fit in the stand. I used the branches to make a wreath. Eat your heart out, Martha Stewart:

















And about work: its a lot of hours. I'm learning new stuff. I feel dumber every day! My boss is really smart and was a stud even as an undergrad. My self-confidence in my scientific abilities plummets every day because I really know nothing. It makes me even more afraid to go to grad school for my masters... It really is a necessity if I want to move up in the world but DAMN it I don't know if I'm smart enough. I guess we'll see how much dumber I am a year from now and maybe that will help me decide.

We are driving to Las Vegas tomorrow to hang out with the cousins. Melissa and I can (hopefully) go shopping and Evan can (hopefully) win us some cash. It's a little colder in vegas than it is here...not too thrilled about that. Stinky met her new boarding kennel today...we'll see how freaked out she is when we pick her up in a few days. That's all I have for now. I can only breathe out of one nostril because i've been sick...i need to get better before we hit the Strip!

Our Kitchen is on a Roll

I was talking to my mom on the phone on Saturday afternoon when i heard a noise. It sounded like something tipped over and fell on the table or the floor...but not a "breaking" sound, like exploding pyrex. So while i'm still on the phone, i walk out to the kitchen/dining area. I don't see anything tipped over or on the floor. Hmm odd. Then I smell smoke. But I don't see smoke!

Now I'm already paranoid because of the recent pyrex incident so instinctively i look over the oven. Nothing is on. Nothing had been cooking...nothing in use. I am freaking out now. I hang up the phone and look frantically around for the source of the smoke. I see it wafting up near the ceiling...but where the HELL is it coming from??? I call Evan's cell (frantically) because he's out getting a haircut. He is sure going to be mad if I burn down our apartment, especially since he thinks I planned the pyrex incident to get some life insurance money.

No answer on the cell. Luckily he was just pulling up outside in his car. Like a dummy, I go out on the patio and wave at him to come up and I tell him I see smoke but I can't tell where its coming from. He comes in and checks everything too. Nothing. Then we notice that the digital clock display on the microwave (mounted above the stove) is out. Odd. Microwave doesn't work.

Not only that, the outlets on that whole side of the kitchen are out too. Fridge = out. We call apartment maintenance and the guy comes in. All he can deduce is that the wires in our circuit breaker box thing caught fire and melted because two of them were loose and probably touched. Hmmm...so reassuring. We have to wait until later this week for an electrician to come figure out what happened and how to fix it. Our fridge is working by an extension cord. Classy.

Today we notice we also have no garbage disposal and NO DISHWASHER. There is no love left for me in that kitchen. I'm just hoping the circuit breaker box doesn't spontaneously combust while we're at work or something. Stinky can't dial 9-1-1 yet and insurance doesn't replace ghetto dogs. I'm so miffed I have to wash my own dishes :(.

before and after

Before:

















After:























Not a food stain, its the linoleum that is MELTED and BURNT.
I loved that dish!!

boom!

Today I found the max temperature that pyrex can be subjected to before it EXPLODES. Now all I need is a way to get burn/melt marks off my kitchen floor. I will elaborate with this story later this week after I get more sleep and a fully hot shower (i think our water heater is not fully functional).