no no no please no

Oh no! I knew this had to happen sooner or later but oh no!! I have officially received my invite for my...drum roll...
20th high school reunion!! Nooooooo.......

Here is what I looked like then:

And here is me now:

The years have not been good to me. And now in 6 months I have to come face to face with the people I spent my "cute" years with.

ARRGGHHH!!!

What to do?

The Anne and Alice Show! Live from the streets of South Bend!

So, three years ago my dear friend Anne and I took off for...here:


2007 Right To Life March (please disregard the look of death on my face.
It was approximatly -15 degrees that day)

Large scale march:



We did some interviews:


All in all had a great time.

Today we did it a little smaller scale:


Check out (what should be) my dads new facebook picture:





Is it wrong to say that again we had a great time. I know...we tried to be somber. It's hard when you're with these two. Protests really excite us!

Well, I'm going back to school.

Again.
I believe this will be my 4th attempt. And my final attempt. This time I'm going to finish.
I'm 37...it's time.
The story is kinda cool. You can pretty much see God's hand smacking me in the noggin. Seriously.
Here it is: So, for over 6 years I basically worked 2 days each week at (thebestjobontheplanet) Pages In Time. I did occasionally pick up extra shifts when $$ was tight but other than that it was just plain old fun for me all those years. And it probably would have continued status quo for...well forever if it was up to me. But, alas, it was not meant to be. I was devastated. Read all about it from my October 3rd post.

Anyway, started receiving unemployment. And it happened to be a nice little sum every week. Well, I got a letter in the mail saying I had been specially selected to take part in this mandatory training informational workshop thing-a-ma-bobber. I was not happy. I was enjoying being at home in the peace and quiet. I don't want to go to workforce one! Blah!

So, I get there and they start talking about CDL training. Forklift training. Coal miner training. And then she said something about them even sending you back to school to obtain your degree. Wait. What? Free school? Okay, I'm down with that. SIDEBAR: when i found out i was going to be unemployed i was brainstorming ways to make some money and writing my own book was one of my better ideas. It was going to be called "Street Talk with Lamanjillo" hence the phrase used previously- I'm down with that.

So, I took a couple of tests, went to some more meetings and now have an appointment with an advisor at IUSB.
I want to be a teacher. I love kids. And they like me. Plus I love charts. And maps. And school desks. And dry erase boards. Okay, seriously, the thought of all those things just gave me butterflies in my stomach!! I can't wait!!!

And, if it doesn't work out, there's always my book!!

Anybody need a laugh?

So, inspired by my sister-in-law's life saving diet tips, I borrowed from the library an American Heart Association cookbook:

Sidebar: She really did save a life by learning and absorbing everything about healthy eating and cooking. About 8 years ago she and my brother were changing around their life insurance and had to have some blood work done. My brothers cholesterol came back...get this...in the mid 500's! I remember sitting on my grandmas couch hearing this. I couldn't believe it. I love my brother. So, Stacie took the problem into her own hands and saved his life. His cholesterol is now below 200. Thank you Stacie, for that and soooo much more.

Anyway, so yesterday I picked out a new recipe from my cookbook-Beef Skillet Oriental, a stir fry dish. I had to make a special trip to the grocery store to get the stuff for it:

flank steak

sherry

ginger root

fresh garlic

beef broth

snow peas

cauliflower

red bell pepper

I come home, start mincing and chopping (with the help of my mini chef Gracie) trimming and washing. I had to call my dad to find out what the heck to do with ginger root. And fresh garlic. Anyway, in all I'd say the preparation took about 45 minuets and 50 dirty dishes. Then to cook it you had to follow these steps, adding one thing at a time. Okay, so I got it all put in the skillet and we're just waiting for the sauce to thicken at which point I said to Merkle "this is the most labor intensive meal I have ever made."

Okay, sauce isn't thickening. So I reach for more cornstarch to add. Like 3 tablespoons worth. Still not thickening. Alright, well, the rice (brown of course) is done so let's just eat. I take a bite of soggy, overdone cauliflower...AAARRRGGHH!!! Spit it in the sink. Merkle comes out, insists on tasting for himself. I beg him not to. ARRRRGGHH!!! He spits it in the sink. Guess what? Instead of using cornstarch to thicken the sauce, I had been using baking soda!!!! Have you ever tasted baking soda! Have you ever tasted a mouthful? I wanted to call 911. Unreal.

2010

Good heavens...did I graduate from high school 20 years ago?
This is gonna be a tough year!
I'm going to be 38!
38.
I was just 18.
I'm serious.
My goodness...I met my husband when I was 19.
Does that mean this is the year I've spent more time with him in my life than without?
I like that.
I like 2010.