Book Challenge 2016

A book challenge you say?  But the year is 3/4 over, you say?  Challenge accepted!

So I started with "a biography or memoir" and my selection was "So That Happened" by Jon Cryer.  I have been a fan of Jon Cryer since seeing him play Duckie in Pretty in Pink many moons ago.  I had heard great things about the book on Twitter and decided to add it to my Amazon cart.

It is less of a biography and more of a memoir about his time so far in show business.  Some of it was very interesting and insightful.  Jon has experience as an actor in theater, movies, and TV, as well as a writer, director, and producer.  He does a great job explaining the difference between the various genres and giving you a taste of the ins and outs of show business through his experiences, all with a healthy dose of humor.  You can really sense the respect he has for certain people in the business and his frustration with different aspects.  He touches on different areas of his personal life, but does not delve too deeply.  He does have a chapter on his experience with an old girlfriend and talks about his relationship with Demi Moore when they filmed "No Small Affair" together.  He doesn't really bash anyone, although after his description of working on Pretty In Pink, I get the sense that Molly Ringwald was a stuck up snobby bitch and Andrew McCarthy was a condescending prick (my words, not his).  Even though he brushes off some of their actions and words, I think he was a little hurt at their behavior towards him, both on and off camera.

The one section of the book I had a problem with was when he spoke about Charlie Sheen, specifically when Charlie went off the deep end.  There was just a little too much detail about the whole scenario.  I really didn't need to know the specific text messages Jon and Charlie exchanged.  I know "Two and a Half Men" comprised a large part of Jon Cryer's professional life and Charlie Sheen was a big part of it; I know Charlie Sheen's behavior was all over the media at the time and fodder for TMZ and the tabloids; and I am sure Charlie's behavior really hurt and pissed off Jon.  But I wished that Jon focused a little less on the circus that was Charlie Sheen and stuck more to his show business experiences or talked more about his relationship with his family or being a father.  The last third of the book is mostly about Charlie Sheen and it should ALL be about Jon Cryer.

All in all, I enjoyed the book and if you are a fan of Jon's, give it a read!  I own the book, so if you would like to read it, let me know and I will be happy to send it to you!

Adventures in Fine Dining

Anyone that knows me knows that I am a bit of a foodie; I also enjoy a good cocktail.  So when my husband asked me if I wanted to attend a special Grey Goose diner at Ruth Chris steak house-a 5 course meal pairing Grey Goose cocktails with each course-the answer was a resounding YES!

This event was held at Ruth Chris restaurants around the country; we attended the one in Gaithersburg, MD.  The dinner was held in a private dining room in the restaurant; there were about 25 of us altogether.  There was a "master of ceremonies", who explained how and where Grey Goose vodka was made and described each course and cocktail.  There was a short video presentation all about Grey Goose vodka before the meal began.  We had 2 servers for the room as well as a bartender, who explained how each cocktail was made and what went into each one.

The first course was a salad of thinly sliced duck breast, black mission figs, apricots, greens, and thinly sliced crispy potatoes with a light elderflower vinagrette.  This was paired with Le Grand Fizz, a cocktail of Grey Goose vodka, St. Germaine elderflower liqueur, lime juice, and garnished with lime.  This was easily my favorite course.  I loved the salad (figs are one of my favorite foods) and the cocktail was very refreshing.  I could have drank them all night!

.

The second course was dry chili rubbed salmon with baked fennel.  The salmon was very moist and flavorful.  The fennel looked like a small potato cake.  It was also very good.  What I was surprised about was that my husband ate all of it.  This was not a combination I would have ever imagined him trying a year ago.  I guess that's a testament to how good the food is at Ruth Chris!

The drink paired with this course was a pear and cardamom collins.  I don't know all of the ingredients, but there definitely was Grey Goose vodka and cardamom syrup.  It was garnished with a thinly sliced pear.  It was wonderful!

The third course was chicken breast stuffed with dried fruit and thyme with roasted fingerling potatoes.  This was not a full chicken breast-that didn't make it any less delicious.

The drink paired with this course was Le Melon Mule.  Grey Goose Melon vodka with ginger beer and lime.  I have never been a huge fan of mules (the drink, not the animal; I have no experience with the animal) and this concoction was no different.  For me, it was too sour and too strong. I have decided I am not a fan of ginger beer.  I did, however, eat the cantaloupe ball and piece of candied ginger it was garnished with-that I liked.

The entree course was a petit filet with parmesan crusted cauliflower, served with sides of chevre & bleu mac and cheese and fire roasted corn.  I'm picky about corn and this rendering of it was not appealing to me, but my husband enjoyed it.  He also loved the mac and cheese and he does not like mac and cheese; again, a testament to the chefs at Ruth Chris.  I liked the mac and cheese, but it was nothing earth shattering.

The steak, however, was fabulous.  Perfect medium rare, melted in your mouth.  Hey, this is a well known steak restaurant-they better know how to do steak!  The cauliflower was very good as well.

The drink paired with this course was a big ass martini.  That's my description, not theirs.  Because it was!  It was Ruth Chris' famous dry martini, with Grey Goose vodka, olive juice, and a big olive stuffed with bleu cheese.  Very big, very strong.  If I had this drink at the beginning of the meal and could sip it throughout, I would have liked it.  But after a little more than 2 drinks, I could have taken a nap on the floor.  So I took a few sips, ate the olive, and left it at that.

The dessert course was probably the most disappointing.  It was a small chocolate cake with almonds and chocolate almond bark.  No real wow factor and the bark was just simply too dense for me.  It did have almonds and dried fruit in it; the cake was just chocolate cake with chocolate whipped cream.

The drink paired with it was, honestly, awful.  I think it was called Francois' coffee.  It was Grey Goose Cherry Noir vodka, kahlua, coffee, and maybe something else.  I thought the coffee would be hot; I was wrong.  It was just....blecch.  And we weren't the only ones who thought so.  As we looked around the room, we noticed the dessert drink going largely untouched.  Sean said it tasted like cough syrup-I think that's a pretty accurate description.

All in all, it was a wonderful dining experience.  Don't worry-my husband did not drink all of his drinks, so he was perfectly fit to drive home.  And luckily there was a Starbucks across the street.  The dinner cost $95 per person plus tip (which they added in for us) and that may seem expensive, but the food was delicious and these were full sized drinks, so I would say it was totally worth it.

Our servers and bartender were wonderful-very professional, very friendly, very accomodating.  The master of ceremonies....I can't say I was impressed with him.  He admitted he was more of a "wine guy" and didn't know that much about vodka.  He was reading off of a tablet device, so it couldn't have been that hard.  But he put no enthusiasm into the descriptions and stumbled over the presentation somewhat.  Worse, when he joined a table to dine, he positioned his chair that almost totally cut off a major walkway for the room.  That's bad enough for a large person like me; it's terrible for the servers that have to squeeze through with trays of food and drinks.  And the gentleman really did nothing to get out of the way-very unprofessional in my book.

I look forward to the next Ruth Chris dining extravaganza!  Might I suggest....tequila? ;)

Humbled

If you live in and around the state of West Virginia, you have surely heard about the terrible floods that have devastated over 40 counties in the state.  The people in many areas have lost everything and insurance, if they have it, cannot even begin to cover what they have lost.  Add to that the toll this has taken on people mentally and emotionally, and you have a crisis.

I live in Martinsburg, which is in the eastern panhandle of the state, about an hour and a half north west of Washington D.C.  The past two weeks I have witnessed something amazing.  Local businesses and churches have become staging areas for a relief effort and ordinary folks have responded to the call for help in droves.  I work for and am a member of St. Leo's Catholic Church in Inwood, WV.  Carla Hopkins, one of our parishioners, is an angel here on earth.  She has worked tirelessly to get the word out for what is needed, has coordinated with other volunteers in the area, and has driven all over Berkeley County helping to deliver donations.  Today (Saturday) she and her husband Charlie were at St. Leo organizing, with the help of volunteers, all of the donations that people had been bringing to the church all week.  This situation has touched her heart so powerfully that anything she can do to help she has done.

Other angel is Marti Hersom.  She is a member of Mt. Zion Episcopal Church and very active in the community.  She has also put the call out for what is most needed in the affected areas, used her church as a staging area, and she and her children have gone down to some of the affected areas to help out in whatever way they can.  She shares her stories and photos on Facebook when she can.

Both of these women, and countless others all over West Virginia are true life heroes in my book, motivated only by their love and concern for their fellow human beings.  These are not government agencies or large charitable organizations.  These are simple folks all over the state that want to help in whatever way they can.  Whether it is donating money to buy ice, bringing cleaning supplies, baby items, or whatever else is need to a staging area, or driving down to the affected areas to distribute items or help clean up, so many people have been moved by this disaster to help in any way they are able.  It is truly humbling to see this response from so many people.

If anyone would like to donate towards the relief effort, please visit: http://catholiccharitieswv.org/  The front page describes the devastation and has a simple Donate button so that you can help.

To read about and view some photos about the relief effort, you can like this page: https://www.facebook.com/blessclaycounty/?pnref=story.unseen-section  or you can go can like the page I manage for our church: https://www.facebook.com/stleoinwoodwv/.  I try to share stories when I can.


Thank you for reading this.  And thank you to everyone who has helped in any way.

Simple Pleasures

-light streaming through a stained glass window

-the smell of fresh basil

-music, always music

-cool, fresh morning air

-a pet curled up beside you

-a clear sky full of stars

-deep red cardinals, bright blue jays, and glimpses of hummingbirds

-a rainy afternoon, and a good book (or 3)

-a long talk with an old friend

-a long stretch of highway and some good tunes

-naps

-the scent of hyacinth

-a freshly mowed lawn

-remembering all your passwords on the first try

-a quiet day at the beach

-hugs

-road trips

-peace and quiet and a fresh cup of coffee

-a perfectly poached egg

-flowers in full bloom

-finding a forgotten $10 in a pocket

-people that know how to merge

-fireflies

-climbing into cool crisp sheets at night


What are some of your simple pleasures?

Fly Robin Fly

Yesterday evening, I was sitting on my back porch when I heard chirping very close by.  Our yard is home to a variety of birds and they are always coming and going.  This chirping, however, was so close that I knew the bird had to be somewhere on the porch, but I couldn't see it.  Finally, I spied the noisemaker-a young robin that had somehow flown onto the bottom part of a table.  He seemed a bit confused as to where he was.  I walked over and got just close enough to take a picture.  He just kind of stared at me; I was reminded of the book, "Are You My Mother?" by P.D. Eastman :)

It was after I took the photo that I spied Momma Robin.  She was perched on the fence, dinner hanging from her mouth, looking intently at the situation going on.  She couldn't chirp to her youngster because if she did, she would lose the big fat worm she had in her beak.  

So I encouraged the little guy to fly back to his mom.  He hopped around a few times and finally made it to the latticework that wraps around the porch.  But he was still unsure.  I edged ever closer, telling him to go fly back to his mom, and finally he took flight and landed in the yard.  Instantly Momma Robin was at his side and off they went from there.

It made me think: We all need encouragement from time to time, especially if those closest to us are not able, for whatever reason, to give us that encouragement.  There is no need for judgment.  A positive word here or there can make the difference between falling flat or taking flight.

apology

Oh my poor neglected blog.  What did you ever do to deserve this?  It's not that I'm ignoring you; in fact I think of you quite often.  I think of all the silly thoughts in my head, all the topics that could grace your pages, all the words that could fill the screen. 

However, I don't want to ramble on with complaints, or abstract thoughts, or inane ideas.  I want words that form substance, opinions that matter, posts that engage whomever happens to read them.

And therein lies my problem.

I think too much about who might read you, when I should just post something, whether it be a long inspiring essay, a poem, or just a picture with some brief explanation.  I should not care if anyone reads you.  I created you, I breathe life into you.  Even if no one visits you or reads you, you still exist.

You are a reflection of me; your content is as varied as my life.  There are times when you are overflowing with enthusiastic ideas.  Other times, you are more reflective and pensive.  And of course, there are times when you are silent and still.

I will be more willing, less stringent.  I hope to fill you and share you, make you come alive.

I promise.

Focus

If you have an account on any social media platform, you have seen the meme proclaiming that 2015 was the year that everyone was offended by everything.  Whether it was politics, race relations, religion, celebrities, daily life, the weather, everyone seemed to have a bone to pick with someone or something.

Why is focusing on the negative so easy for human beings?  We latch on to what we don't like and give that all of our attention and energy.  We get consumed by lamenting what is wrong with that person, that group, that thing, that idea and we use our talents and time to fight against something....or at least spend a lot of time complaining or being sarcastic.

What if, instead of railing against that which we detest, we instead used our time and talent to focus on what we believe in and love?  You don't like a particular politician?  Then promote the one you do like.

Don't like a certain situation you see in the news or at work?  Then put your focus and energy towards a solution.  Better yet-just don't complain.  That is a Herculean feat in itself, trust me!  

Don't like a certain celebrity or roll your eyes at a particular lifestyle?  Then don't give them free publicity by talking about them at all, even if it's to point out what you think is wrong or annoying, etc.  It would be far better (and more positive) to give time to the things you do enjoy and like.  

Sarcasm has become an art form in this society, especially since most people can remain fairly anonymous, hiding behind computer screens and online identities.  But I have to admit, the constant snarkiness gets wearying.  Does everyone need to make snide comments about the Kardashians, President Obama, Donald Trump, etc?   Does everyone need to hear your lamentations about the weather, Mondays, or that person on Facebook that drives you crazy with their posts?

Just because something dominates the news, popular culture, or your timeline or Twitter feed doesn't mean it deserves your attention.  Those things are popular because we choose to give them attention.  Imagine what would happen if we didn't.  They would fade away, at least from our consciousness.  You wouldn't feel the need to put in your two cents or make a witty comment.  

One of my favorite moments from the Simpsons is in an episode where giant logos and mascots have come to life and are destroying the town.  Lisa Simpson discovers that if you stop giving the monsters attention, they lose their power and die:

https://youtu.be/SlKao_Pox5A

What if we all did that-just not give our attention to the things and people that annoy us, bother us, and instead focus on what gives us joy?  

What an interesting prospect.....