Thursday, October 30, 2008

Wisdom on a Starbucks Cup 2

Got this one yesterday...It was such a beautiful October day that we went to the Starbucks down the street & sat outside...I was wearing flip flops, which is only unusual because I live in Idaho.

The Way I See It #11

"Why are we inspired by another person's courage? Maybe because it gives us the sweet and genuine surprise of discovering some trace, at least, of the same courage in ourselves." ~Laurence Shames

Monday, October 27, 2008

Three Hour Banana Coconut Bread

The following story is based on actual events. It took place the winter of 2008. This story is known all the way in Seattle. It is an original story written by me & was written the day after the event as an email. My husband was one of the lucky recipients of this story & he saved it. He found it the other day in his saved email & encouraged me to share it with the world. Lucky you! Please see copywrite infomation at bottom of page. Now get a cup of tea because this is going to take awhile...sit back, relax, & enjoy!

Three Hour Banana Coconut Bread

Thank you for your inquiry about our famous 3 hour banana coconut bread. We are sorry to inform you that we no longer carry this item. However we are happy to send you the recipe. Please keep in mind that the recipe & directions MUST be followed exactly to achieve the desired results. You may want to print the recipe & directions for future reference. Good Luck.

3 Hour Banana Coconut Bread
(Total cooking time: 5 hours)

Wake up at 7am. Wipe sleep out of eyes. Trip over cat. Make sure your home temperature is freezing. Take 2 pills/supplements (the choice as to what kind is yours, but for our bread we take the probiotics). Gag & choke on pills. Wait 15 to 30 minutes. Make coffee. Husband must build a fire in the fire place. Have one cup of coffee.

After one cup of coffee, get out cookbook, turn to page 29, turn oven on to 325, read through ingredients.While looking for ingredients, decide that you still are not quite awake & that the cobwebs have not been properly shaken out of your head. Have a second cup of coffee, watch some tv, preferably Good Morning America.

After second cup of coffee, go back to kitchen & think about making banana coconut bread. Measure & wisk together dry ingredients. Set aside. Say favorite curse word when you realize that you need to make breakfast before I make the bread! Notice it is now 9:00.

Turn oven up to 400. Get out paper cupcake liners & put butter in them, then put them in a muffin tin. Then take sliced lunch ham & put into paper cups, making a ham cup shape. Drizzle agave syrup in the bottom of ham. Crack an egg & put into ham. Put into oven & set timer for 20 minutes. Remember, in order to make true 3 hour banana coconut bread you MUST make 4 eggs, regardless of the number of people you are making breakfast for.

Now get out leftover potatoes from last nights dinner. Put frying pan on stove, turn up to medium. Put olive oil in pan. Cut potatoes, green onion, mushrooms, broccoli, & carrots & put in pan. Stir frequently, adding more olive oil & butter as you go. Cook until eggs are done.

Make fruit salad: cut up banana, mango, & strawberries. Put in festive bowl with a spoon. Put on table.

Take eggs out of oven, put on plate with potatoes, place on table. Say favorite curse word again because you forgot to get out your supplements. Go get all of the supplements you are taking & get out what you need, you should have at least one handful of pills, place in small metal bowl. Get glass of water, go back to table with supplements. Put supplements in mouth,
add water, gag & choke until you get them down. Wipe tears from eyes with napkin. Put food in mouth.

Clean off table, put dishes in sink, screw putting them in the dishwasher. Go back to recipe for bread. Get butter out of fridge, look at recipe again, noticing for the first time that the butter needs to be at room temperature. Say favorite curse word.

Leave butter on countertop. Go check email. Forget that you are making bread.

Having no idea as to how much time has passed, remember you are making bread, jump up from computer, say favorite curse word, Go to kitchen.

Now that you are in the kitchen, go back to recipe. Read the next step...butter is now at room temperature, put 1 cup in bowl, add 1 1/4 tsp. stevia, use hand mixer to make it all creamy. Read next step. You need 2 eggs. Say, "COME ON! You gotta be fricken kidding!" after you realize you ate the last 4 eggs for breakfast.

Go tell the husband (if you don't have one you will have to barrow one to make this recipe work out right) to go get eggs. He must still be in his pajamas, not showered, & have all of his jeans in the dryer. He must say, "It will be 15 minutes." In an annoyed voice say, "Fine."

Try not to get frustrated, tell yourself it will be ok & you'll just do something else in the mean time. Decide to take shower. Take shower & get dressed. Do not put on make up.

Go downstairs to see if the husband is back. He is. Eggs are in fridge. Go to the kitchen, open fridge, the eggs must be a brand you do not usually buy & must be from an organic market (I can not stress this enough). Grab an egg, crack it on the side of counter. As you are dropping it into the bowl with the butter & stevia...think, "I should put this in a small bowl first in case there is something funky with the egg...eh...it will be fine." Egg plops down into bowl with butter & stevia...egg is bloody. YELL FAVORITE CURSE WORD!!!! Go to husband sitting in front of computer & yell at him for buying bloody eggs.

Go back to kitchen. Look at recipe. Realize it is now NOON. Look at recipe again. Realize butter is in fridge & will take awhile to bring back to room temperature SHOUT OUT FAVORITE CURSE WORDS...MAKE SURE TO USE SEVERAL. Decide to use cold butter. Mix wet ingredients, this time using a bowl to crack the 2 eggs into, these eggs will be fine. Butter will be lumpy in
mixture. Say, "Screw it..." & sigh. Put in dry ingredients. Use hand mixer to blend. Make sure mixture is thick & comes up the beaters & smears all over the bottom of mixer. Get out spatula & scrape off. Grumble about cooking with sticks & stones & how you really need a Kitchenaid.

Put mixture into the greased & floured bread pan, put in oven. It should now be 12:30. Total cooking time for bread will be 1hour & 20minutes.

Husband comes in kitchen & asks if he can help...COMPLETELY LOOSE IT! Make sure to chew him out for the bloody egg again. Tell him you are never cooking again & sex is completely out of the question.....forever. Yell about cooking with sticks & stones & how you really need a Kitchenaid because if you had a Kitchenaid this would not have happened. Be creative with your fit. Say things that you know aren't true & that don't make sense. Cry. Make sure he blames it on the fact that you will start your period any day. Be angry he said this & say, "SO!" Do not allow him to comfort you. Instead give him the cold shoulder & tell him to go run errands. Grab chocolate, stuff in mouth, & go check email again.

1 hour later, husband must return. He must have a Kitchenaid mixer from Costco, the kind with the all metal gears, & it must be black. Make sure he says, "It not roses, but it will have to do." Cry some more, tell husband you're sorry for yelling at him & that you're the meanest woman alive. Keep crying. Make sure husband says it's ok & that he understands, that he loves you & that you keep his life interesting. Now feel really guilty because you realize that YOU ARE THE MEANEST WOMAN ALIVE & THAT YOU DON'T DESERVE THE AMAZING MAN YOU'VE MARRIED & YOU DON'T DESERVE THAT KITCHENAID EITHER.

Timer for bread goes off. Go back to kitchen & take bread out of oven. Slice bread while warm & spread with butter & agave syrup. Make sure to give husband 2 slices. It should now be around 2:00. Eat with fork & Enjoy!

Note: Yes, I wrote this. Feel free to share it with others, but please give me credit for writing it (by Karmen Naccarato) & please include my blog address www.karnylife.blogspot.com. If you want to reprint it or publish it any way, please ask me for permission first...After all that's just the polite & leagal thing to do, as this is copywrited material. Thanks!

Friday, October 24, 2008

Knight In Shining Armor For Breakfast

We tried Knight's Diner in Spokane this week for breakfast. It was our first visit. Knight's Dinner is in a train car & they've been serving breakfast since 1949. When we first opened the door & walked in, we saw an antique looking train car with a long counter. It looks very historical...articles & old photos of the history on the diner are on the walls. We've never been there, but we were greeted like friends. The woman behind the counter told us the specials & asked if we wanted coffee. She was warm & genuine. We sat right in front of the grill...Not only is that where all the action is, but it's nice & warm on a cold autumn day. Menus & coffee was placed before us in a hot second. Everything looked so good that it took us awhile to figure out what we wanted. We both decided on the Mini Breakfast (I think that's what it was)...It came with 1 egg, hashbrowns, sausage or bacon, & 6 silver dollar pancakes. We both ordered 2 eggs though & we even had the choice to have sauteed onions &/or gravey on our hashbrowns. I opted for plain hasbrown's while my hubby got the sauteed onions. After we ordered, the woman behind the counter asked if we wanted the morning paper. Of course we do! The coffee kept coming...she didn't miss a beat...I watched her as she whipped up orders, cleaned, & trained a new guy...all with a smile on her face & time to ask us & her regulars how they were & what they were up to. The food was amazing! I don't think I've ever had pancakes that were quite that good...the bacon was perfectly cooked...the hashbrowns were homemade from real potatoes, not frozen from a bag. This is now our most favorite place to eat. We will definately continue to go back again & again. I seriously can't wait to go back to Spokane again.

Dissapointing Dinner

We went to The Pizza Shoppe for dinner. We've went there before & they used to have the best pizza in Coeur d'Alene...I mean it took awhile to get your pizza, but it was so worth it because it was so good. It was good...was...I seriously don't think I've ever had worse pizza or service. I honestly wish I didn't even have to give it one star...yes, that's how bad it was. Where to start? There were so many things. The guy behind the counter that took our order was pretty indifferent & unfriendly. He was the only one taking orders & getting drinks & plates. There were two people in the back making pizzas...they looked overwhelmed, deflated, beaten down by stress & they moved as slow as a sloth. I noticed that only one of their ovens was working. There was a family in front of us...it took 10 minutes to take our order. We ordered a medium combination pizza & a salad bar. That was at 5:45 pm. There were several uncleaned tables complete with half eaten pizza, crumbs, & dishes. We asked ourselves why anyone would leave half a pizza behind. We noticed that several people had complained that they hadn't got their food yet...customers were even complaining to each other, asking how long they had been waiting. I was very happy to have ordered the salad bar...I was so hungry. The salad bar was fine...nothing outstanding, but it was ok. A girl came back from a pizza delivery. Ok, so now there's 4 people working. She came out & cleaned a couple tables, but left the rest. We finally got our pizza 1 hour & 15 minutes after we ordered. It was delivered to our table with a seriously bad attitude..no apology for it taking so long...not a word. She just put the pizza on the table & walked off. The top of the pizza didn't look as done as we would have liked it, but we were hungry so we dug in. It wasn't very hot...usually when you bite into fresh out of the oven pizza the sauce is like napalm & it burns your mouth...sadly, not this time...it was warm pizza. We were hungry though so we ate some more...Upon further inspection, however, we discovered that the top half of the crust was still raw & doughy. Yuck! Now we knew why there was half eaten pizza at the table next to us. We complained & they gave us the choice of refunding our money or a free large pizza. Since we are never going back, we took the refund. My hubby also told them they had horrible customer service & that the energy in their establishment was heavy & deflated. The guy behind the counter said that he appreciated our opinion.

Monday, October 20, 2008

Orbs At ECETI Ranch

This is a YouTube clip of orbs at the ECETI Ranch in Trout Lake WA. Mt. Adams is in the background. The ECETI Ranch has even been featured on Paranormal State...very cool episode. Enjoy!

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Spooky Pics

Just sharin' a few pictures taken with my new camera. Tony gave me a great camera for my birthday. He says now I have no excuses...I have to get to work in the studio! I'm super blessed that Tony is part of my life. Anyhow...here's the pictures. The first one is of a green orb in our maple tree.The second picture is of a headstone with an orb in the Lewiston cemetary.The third picture is kinda different...Not sure what the shadow is...it kinda looks like a shadow from a headstone, but the only headstone that was anywhere near me, was behind me...so my flash couldn't have made that shadow. It wasn't the sun either...there were lots of trees in this cemetery & the sun was setting behind the clouds.Not sure what exactly any of these things are...just thought they were interesting during this spooky month of October.

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Chocolate Cake For Everyone!

This is me on my 40th birthday. Where did the time go? When I look back over the last 40 years, I have to believe in Gaurdian Angels...Seriously, there is no other explanation for me still being here...scratched & banged up a bit...but here & in one piece. Sure there are things in the past that make my heart sad...but they are in the past & those events will never have to be experienced again. I can't say that I regret any of the last 40 years...those years brought me to where & who I am now...those years gave me the gift of my life, my family, & friends...I wouldn't change a thing...not even struggling with CFS/FM for the last 10 years. My 30's I lived in a brain fogged blur...10 years run together & it's hard to believe that that much time has passed. Looking forward into what the next 10 years hold for me, I feel a sence of excitement & wonder...That my 40's hold many adventures & a passion for life that escaped me for so long.

Monday, October 6, 2008

It's A Mangled Pie Sort Of Day

Today is the 2nd day I've been without my thyroid meds...My doc wouldn't renew my precription this time...turns out that I'm not his patient any more because I haven't seen him in 3 years. Ok...but they kept refilling my medication, doesn't that make me a patient? And if there was a problem, wouldn't they call & say, 'hey there's a problem & we need to see you before we can keep refilling your meds."??? Here's the other part...since I am no longer his patient...I would be considered a new patient...& this doc isn't taking any new patients...WHAT? So now I'm on a quest to find a new doc...I wasn't thrilled with the old one anyhow...change is good, right? The downside is that I think I'm having withdrawls from the thyroid I was taking...so we'll see how that goes.

Since I felt crumby today, I just puttered about the house watching scary movies & decorating for Halloween. If you look real close in the photo of the lamp, you'll see these little spiders with buggy eyes. My aunt gave those to me yesterday. When she thinks of Halloween she thinks of me so she just couldn't resist.
Then I made dinner & even desert...apple pie...I put it in the oven, started to walk off, & then remembered that I forgot to put the butter in it! So I had to poke holes in it & shove the butter down in there...which turned my apple pie into mangled apple pie. Perfect. As long as it tastes good, I really don't care at this point. Mangled pie a la mode for everyone!

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Lunch Anyone?

Our adventure today was to check out One World Spokane. It's a new restaurant that serves orgainc food...but there's a twist...One World Spokane is a non-profit community kitchen. They use local food from local farmers so their menu is different every day. Today we had salad greens, chicken sausage, roasted potatoes...Tony had the potato salad...& we tried both of their soups...& there was this oatmeal cookie bar with apples & chocolate chips in it....YUM! It was really good food! Then at the end of your meal you decide what your meal is worth based on what you selected & the portion size & put your money in the box. It's our new favorite restaurant & we plan on eating there whenever we go to Spokane. Not only do you get to eat out, but you get to help people & our planet by doing so. I wish I would have taken a picture so you could see what it looked like. Please check out their website for more information on everything they are about. http://oneworldspokane.com