Stephen's Last Fling

You know how you get into an elevator and there's a little sign on the wall that says Maximum Occupancy 10 people or 1200 lbs...We need to put a sign like that on our door frame...I lost count at around 31...it was kind of like trying to count fish in a barrel, they just wouldn't hold still. I guess I could have stood at the front door with a counter and clicked them off as they came in, but it wouldn't have mattered, because I'm sure some snuck in the back door.

I was a little apprehensive about Stephen's party, I think the largest number of people we've ever had in our home is 10 or 11, and those were mostly adults. I knew that Stephen had invited at least 20 people, and there was a good chance they would bring friends.

Stephen was a little nervous as well...I mean you send out all those invitations and no one shows up...that could severely impact your social standing....the party started at 6:00 and by 6:30 there were only 3 people and you could see the stress starting to build...but by 7:00 there was pretty much a line at the door.

I'm sure we broke some noise ordinance in our neighborhood...imagine 16-18 teenage girls all talking at once, and each trying to talk above the others....oh my goodness..can you say "TYLENOL"

In reality it all turned out wonderfully...It was really nice to have all of Stephen's friends over and see what great kids they were. They laughed, played some games, and mostly just visited with each other, and ate our food (we had plenty)...You can't ask for much more than good friends for you kids...and tonight brought home how true that is!

I managed to round up about half of them in the basement at once and snapped the picture below.

P.S. house is still standing...

Current Favorite Recipe

Chicken Rolettini

Yes, I like to cook, but I'm not your standard run of the mill chef ...most of the time I don't use a recipe, and when I do I use it more as a template to see what the key ingredients are and then substitute in what I think I would like (Drives my wife crazy... She has to have the Recipe)... I saw this on the Rachel Ray show (yes you can still keep your "Man Card" and watch cooking shows, you just have to cook "Manly" meals) the first time I made it I pretty much followed the recipie to give me an idea of how it would turn out. and have since modified it to what you see below. (I'll have to take a picture next time I make it..)

• Flatten Chicken Breast(s) with meat mallet (works best if you place the chicken breast between 2 pieces of seran wrap, helps keep pieces of chicken from flying all over the kitchen...the idea is to pound the breast to about 1/2 inch thickness)
• Place piece of Sliced Ham on breast (chicken breast not yours) I have tried several different types of ham...keep coming back to the BlackForest Ham.
• Spread thin layer of Cheese Spread on ham (see below on how to make spread) add the spices to taste. I also like to add some Tomato Powder, which I made this last fall by dehydrating all the tomatoes I had left, and then grinding them into a powder.
  Cream Cheese
  Garlic Powder
  Onion Powder
  Salt/Pepper
  Italian Spices
• Roll up and pin with toothpicks
• Brush with Honey Mustard (you can buy pre-made honey mustard from the store, I just make my own...about 50/50 of mustard and honey.
  Dijon Mustard
  Honey
• Coat with Bread Crumbs (I like the bread crumbs that you buy with the Italian spices already added..If you don't have that you can make your own.) The chopped pistachio's were one of my ideas...if your on a budget or don't like pistachio's just leave them out.
  Italian spices
  Garlic
  Chopped Pistachios
• Brown Chicken rolls in Fry Pan for 2 min on each side (use a little Olive oil if you have it)
• Spray baking dish with Pam/spray oil and place Chicken Rolls in Baking dish.
• Bake at 400 deg. for 20min.

It's a big hit at our house...the boys love it...(If it doesn't work out for you this is Randie's Recipe)

Mixed Thoughts

Every once in a while I will have a deep thought...Not to say it's deep for anyone else, but it's a new revelation to myself, So I figure I might as well include them occasionally.

About a week ago I came across this short story which started a "New" thought process for myself...

In a remote village in Central America the word got out among the peoples of the region that one of the American missionaries that had served this country for many years was about to return to the US to live out the remaining years of her life.The nationals desired to honor her for her years of service with a public time of appreciation. News of the event went to all parts of the country in which the missionary was known to the people. One very old and very poor man walked to the ceremony over mountainous terrain for 4 days to bring his gift to the missionary.The gift consisted of 2 coconuts, but it was all the man had. The missionary recognized the man as coming from the remote village in the mountains."Brother, I cannot believe that you would walk so far to present me with this gift," said the missionary to the man.His response? "The Long walk is part of gift."

This is my thought:

The value of a gift isn't determined solely by the gift itself, but by the giver of the gift and the sacrifice or effort given…. Consider the widows mite…she gave everything that she owned…how much more difficult would it be for a person of wealth to give a gift of greater value? They would have to give everything that they owned.Christ gave us a gift of infinitely Greater value...and he did it by giving us EVERYTHING, including his life, ...And, if you keep my commandments and endure to the end you shall have eternal life, which gift is the greatest of all the gifts of God.

Graduate at Large

Yes, it has finally happened, Stephen has graduated from High School...for those of you that have not experienced the thrill of sitting through 3 hours of commencement speeches, musical numbers and other sundry performances, in seats designed for kindergartners, you will get your turn someday, and to help you out here is my list of the "Top 10 things you should know to prepare for a graduating Student"

• 10 Mom's it is NOT the end...It's just another Beginning


• 9 They will still ask for money AFTER Graduation


• 8 Get a list of Dates and times for Any and All Tests...because your child will invariably miss one of them


• 7 Set aside $20 for lost book fee's so they can get their diploma


• 6 Set aside $85 for each AP class that they will fail (fingers are still crossed)


• 5 Set aside $60 for Yearbook


• 4 Bring snacks for younger siblings


• 3 Bring your camera, this IS a once in a lifetime moment


• 2 Bring seat cushion, It WILL help


• 1 Bring Kleenex for the 35 seconds that it takes them to walk across the stage.

I have to say that I couldn't be a prouder Parent, you watch your kids go through life and you worry about all the mistakes they make, and you cheer them when they do something right, you argue with them, plead with them, and sometimes you get to just talk with them. and then all of a sudden they are aren't really kids anymore...it really is an amazing transformation. Congratulations Stephen!

Blog Theory

My theary on blogs up to this point in my life is that they are pretty much pointless...people rambling incessantly about their pet peeves and soapboxing about their current conspiracy theory...however my perspective is changing and I guess like anything in life, when used in the right context they can actually be quite informative and a good way to stay connected. (Thanks Mirm for opening my eyes.)...So on that note... "Welcome to my Blog"