Happy 2009 to everyone. I hope you all have a great year.
I am off from work for the holiday, and have been doing some cleanup and organization on the blog. I hope to get the site design cleaned up a little bit, but don’t hold your breath.
Jan 01
Review: Fireproof
When I made my previous post of Best Movies of the Year, somehow I forgot one: Fireproof.
Fireproof is a Christian movie about a couple on the verge of divorce. It was made by the same guys who made Facing the Giants, and unlike a lot of Christian movies, has decent production values.
The directors did a great job of depicting the characters as a flawed, selfish man and his flawed, selfish wife, as opposed to following the typical convention of a saintly woman with a boorish lout of a husband, although Kirk Cameron convincingly plays the more selfish of the two.
The movie has a good pace, good humor, and a clear gospel message. Heather and I took the girls, and we all loved it.
Jan 01
Review: Habashi House
My friend Kaleb introduced us to a new place to eat called Habashi House, located in the City Market in Kansas City, Missouri. The place is amazing.
We always get the same thing, which is the lunch special consisting of a gyro accompanied by either rice, hummus, or salad. Coffee and hot tea are free. All this for $5 plus tax.
First, the gyros: they may look small, but they are so good and will fill you up quick. The regular gyro is packed with meat and cucumber sauce with just a few tomatoes and the softest flat-bread you ever had. The first time I was there I ordered the regular gyro, but received a chicken curry gyro by mistake. That was one of the best mistakes ever made: it was amazing. I likely never would have tried one, but I have ordered it since.
The rice is yellow-colored and quite good. Heather said is probably saffron rice, but I just have to take her word for it.
Before I mention the hummus, I have to tell you this: I don’t like hummus. Or at least I didn’t think I did. The only other time I had had it was at the Jerusalem Café, also in Kansas City, and I didn’t care for it at all. The hummus at Habashi House is amazing. It has some kind of oil in it, and some kind of spices ground up on top, and it is so smooth. And as Kaleb showed me, you can just dip your gyro in it when you run out of pita bread.
The lunch special comes with free coffee or hot tea. Though I love coffee like an art student likes to smoke, I don’t like it with a non-breakfast food meal, so I tried their tea. I don’t know what kind of tea it is, but it has a slight minty flavor to it, and it is the best hot tea I have ever had.
As I said you can also get a salad, but I didn’t care for that at all. No matter what side you order, you get a kalamata olive (watch out for the pit). I don’t like olives of any color or creed, so I give mine to Kaleb.
The place is clean, well-lit, and smells wonderful. They also have a grocery next door where you can buy all manner of dried fruits, spices, herbs, candies, and beverages at very reasonable prices. The Middle-Eastern lady who takes your order is always very nice. Parking is easy.
In short, an amazing meal for fast-food money, with a great atmosphere. Find ’em online at http://www.habashihouse.com, but even better just hop in the car and go there (check the hours first, of course).
Dec 28
Review: My Word is My Bond
For Christmas my pa-in-law got me My Word is My Bond, a memoir by Sir Roger Moore of James Bond fame. It was a lot of fun, and I read it in two days. Moore had some hilarious stories involving scads of people in Hollywood and the theater and film industries.
The book was awesome except the last two chapters: the penultimate chapter was a long, boring list of all the places he went with UNICEF, and the last chapter was a list of everyone wanted to thank.
All in all, a fun read.
Dec 26
An Amazon Christmas
I love Christmas. In fact I would have to say that this is my favorite time of year. Not because of the presents that you give and receive, but because this is the time of year that I get to see extended family. Now, my family are not Amazons as the title indicates; I just thought I would start this blog by telling you that I love Christmas.
On to the real reason for this post.
My Dad lives in North/South Carolina and every year we anticipate the presents that he sends our way. This year was no different and when THREE boxes arrived I thought, “How did he know that I was such a good girl this year?” I unboxed our gifts and was amazed to find a total of 18 presents all from the Amazon store. “Wow, I was a really good girl this year and I am my father’s favorite middle child!”
Christmas morning, after working my shift from 11pm to 7am I arrived home anxious to see what I had received from ‘Santa’. Now even though my usual schedule consists of coming home and going straight to bed I knew that the girls couldn’t wait that long. (Okay, neither could I) So we all gathered in the living room and Daniel, my husband, started passing out gifts. In our household we open gifts one at a time so that we can enjoy each others surprises. We had gotten through about half what was under the tree and Daniel passed me my next present. As I tore into the wrapping paper I got a funny feeling of deja vu. There in my hands was the exact same book that I had just unwrapped a few minutes before.
Hmmmm? Maybe, Daddy hadn’t realized that he had ordered the same book while shopping online. That is okay because I can return it and get a different one later.
ON TO MORE PRESENTS! We continued on and it seemed that there were a lot more presents that were the same shape and size as each other.
You know how you try not to get duplicate presents for those you buy for? Well, that is all fine and dandy as long as the store you buy them from doesn’t mess up and send duplicates for you. Amazon decided that it would make our Christmas twice as much fun by sending us a double order of presents from my father. It was great!! Now we just need to decide what to do with them.
I hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas that they you have a great and safe New Year.
Dec 24
Snownami
n. An American portmanteau of the Old English word snow and the latter half of the Japanese word tsunami. Coined by my friend Chris, it describes a snowfall of epic proportions.
While it may be used literally (“Man, Nebraska just got hit with a snownami! They got eight feet of snow!”), it is more frequently used to humorously describe an tiny accumulation of snow. The primary use is an amount purported to have been received by someone who is ditching work, but using the weather as his excuse.
“Where’s Jim?”
“He’s not coming in; North Kansas City got hit with a snownami.”
“Did you hear that Texas got hit with a snownami? Accumulations of up to a quarter of an inch.”
Dec 24
Merry Xmas
When I was a kid I was taught that this was a disrespectful way to write Christmas, but it is simply a contraction–the X is the Greek letter chi which stands for Christ, the same way it does in the acrostic IXOYE.
According to the Wiki, its use dates to at least the mid 1500s.
Dec 23
My diet…
So, you may wonder how my diet is going or you may care less. But I plan on telling you anyway.
I had recently went to the doctors to get a physical for this new job I have and when I stepped on the scales I about cried out in horror. After I got back in the care I actually did cry because I was back at my heaviest weight. For you who don’t know this about three years ago I had decided to start eating better (no carbs) because I was considered obese (the doc may have even referred to me as morbidly obese but I try to forget that) and I decided that day to start eating better and getting more exercise. In a six and a half month period I was able to lose seventy-five pounds. I felt better, I looked better and I was happier overall. That summer something happened within my family that broke my will to be healthier. Why, you ask? Because, you see I am a stress eater. I get comfort from food. Some may not understand this so let me tell you what I have learned about myself. All throughout my life the best times were times when all the family was together (holidays) and of course there is a ton of food around. I (subconsciously) equate food to being happy. In other words when I am stressed, sad, or angry I eat. My brain tells me that I will be happy if I just eat that Ding Dong.
It has taken me about three years to put back on that weight and I find myself ready to start over. Believe me it was a hard choice especially since Monday December 8, 2008 was my beginning date. My birthday, anniversary, Christmas, and New Year were/are all mocking my choice but I have to do this. If I don’t, I see myself on a continual weight gain until I die a huge blob. I don’t want that (I should probably put in here that neither does my family).
I have decided to write about my progress, or lack of, on this blog because I believe it will help me stick to my plan of losing 100 pounds by the end of next summer. I know that this may seem like a lot but in all actuality it is only around two to three pounds per week and I have a lot to lose. As of this posting, Monday December 22, 2008 I have lost a total of six pounds.
Please pray for my continual success because I will not be able to do this alone and God has been a true factor in the past. If I have done this right I will post a picture at the end of the post and and updated picture throughout.
Dec 22
Sketchbook: Teddy Roosevelt
Little known fact: Theodore Roosevelt simultaneously invented pants and coined the term “teddy bear” by ripping a bear in two and jamming his feet through the bottom half.
