A Softer World

However, I have been shuffling through the archives of A Softer World (http://www.asofterworld.com/archive.php). The website was created by two friends, one who takes pictures and the other who puts words to those pictures to create little comic strips. Some of them are happy. Some are sad. Some are funny. Some are just plain weird. But I like them.

Hey, Good Lookin'. Whatcha Got Cookin'?

How's about cookin' somethin' up with me?

I grew up around country music (hence the Hank Williams song lyrics), and I grew up around a lot of good food. I never used to consider myself a great chef (I once burned microwave popcorn), but I am getting a lot better. I can now cook a variety of delicious dinners, including chicken parmesan, pierogis (see photographs below), lasagna, and meatloaf. I can make a few appetizers, such as artichoke dip and pepperoni rolls, and I am also learning how to bake yummy desserts and treats.




Although I like the thought of taking all the credit, I have to give credit where credit is due. My family has always agreed to be my guinea pigs, and I thank them for that. And I need to thank my new obsession, the Cooking Channel.




I especially enjoy watching Giada De Laurentiis, Sandra Lee, and Ina Garten. I do enjoy watching each of these chefs cook, but I also like who each of them are (or, at least, what I can tell from TV and the internet). Giada De Laurentiis was born in Rome; her mom was an actress and her dad was a producer. When Sandra Lee was a preteen, she helped raise her five brothers and sisters when her mother became ill. Ina Garten used to be a White House nuclear policy analyst. Seriously? Why can't all people be this interesting?

Can You Pass the Ketchup, Please?

In one of my education classes, my professor was showing my class creative ways on how to teach little kids about heat transfer. My professor brought in some lava lamps so we could discuss the processes of conduction, convection, and radiation. But they weren't just any ordinary lava lamps. They were ketchup lava lamps!




Yes, you can buy lava lamps that are made out of ketchup bottles. I've seen them for sale online at Walmart, Meijer, and Amazon.com. They also have orange juice bottle lava lamps.





Is it just me, or would these look super awesome in a kitchen?

Peanut Butter Cups

Today I had to stop by Godiva at a nearby mall to buy "thank you" gifts for some guest speakers for an event I planned. I decided a while back to become part of Godiva's rewards program, and part of that lets you pick out a free chocolate each month. Since I was there, I decided to pick out my free piece. I was browsing the counter, and then I saw it. A delicious-looking, divine, mouthwatering peanut butter cup. But the rules of the rewards program say you can't get a chocolate-covered fruit or larger sized piece for your free chocolate. Unfortunately, the peanut butter cup was considered a larger sized piece. But the woman working at Godiva let me have it for free! I don't think you can really even begin to understand how excited I was until you see a picture of the peanut butter cup yourself, so here it is:




And if you think this peanut butter cup looks absolutely amazing, it tastes ten times better. I know, I know. You're thinking to yourself, "But how can that be? Even more delicious than it looks? But it looks so decadent as it is. Can this even be possible?" And the answer is yes, yes it is possible.

There was a heavenly pool of creamy, smooth peanut butter just waiting for me to bite into it. And the chocolate itself complimented the peanut butter perfectly.

I feel like I'm going on and on like a cheesy romance novel. And perhaps I am. But if you could only taste it, you would understand. Oh, you'd know.

Vanilla Bean Noel

My hands smell like delicious sugar cookies. And I have Bath and Body Works and their Vanilla Bean Noel soap to thank for that. I'm going to try not to devour my hands off my wrists.




Yum.

Rocking Out Since 1956

I have driven past Dearborn Music numerous times, but until a couple of days ago, I never had the time to go in and wander around. Now that I've been properly introduced to this wonderful establishment, I feel like a smitten little school girl. You know the feeling you get when you've met a wonderful guy or gal and you keep daydreaming about them wondering when the next time you'll see them will be? That's how I feel about this store.

I've also become a fan of vinyl records. The entire time I was in the store, I was mesmerized by the rows upon rows of vinyl they had. I mean, the CDs and music memorabilia and gift items were awesome, too, but they had a lot of vinyl records.

I don't have a turntable/vinyl record player yet, but I am planning on purchasing one in the near future.

Whether your passion is vinyl, or if you like music of any kind, you should check this store out.





"You may start elsewhere, but you'll always end up at Dearborn Music."


http://www.dearbornmusic.com/

http://www.myspace.com/dearbornmusicsince1956

Love is Not All

This is my favorite poem of all time. It sums up everything I want someone to feel about me and say to me. It's beautiful. It's real. It's perfect.




Love is Not All by Edna St. Vincent Millay

Love is not all: It is not meat nor drink
Nor slumber nor a roof against the rain,
Nor yet a floating spar to men that sink
and rise and sink and rise and sink again.
Love cannot fill the thickened lung with breath
Nor clean the blood, nor set the fractured bone;
Yet many a man is making friends with death
even as I speak, for lack of love alone.
It well may be that in a difficult hour,
pinned down by pain and moaning for release
or nagged by want past resolution's power,
I might be driven to sell your love for peace,
Or trade the memory of this night for food.
It may well be. I do not think I would.