Twenty Totally Random Thoughts for Tuesday

1. I have an email in my Inbox from the inimitable Landon Donovan.
2. Please do not faint with jealousy. I cannot be held responsible for any blog-reading injuries.
3. Did you know Landon Donovan was actually named after my son?
4. Unless of course you actually know who Landon Donovan is...and in your astuteness, you realize he was named 10 years BEFORE my son was even born.
5. I really hardly ever tell fibs. Truthfully.
6. Landon is the name for the coolest of cool soccer players. Both Landons I know of are hoping for a 2022 USA Fifa World Cup bid.
7. Decision Day is only 2 days away. Excitement is building like rolling thunder.
8. Except that I've never really agreed that thunder rolls, Garth. It crashes.
9. Hurricane High Basketball season starts tomorrow. I CAN'T WAIT to watch #11 - double toothpicks.
10. There is no subliminal relationship between thought number eight (crashes) and number nine (HHS basketball). That's why this post is called Random Thoughts.
11. I ate a 1/2 pound of quality Parmesan cheese in two days. All by myself.
12. See! That came out of nowhere. Random.
13. Cyber Monday made no hostage out of me.
14. I love my sister one million Hot Tamales. I love other people too, but I'm dedicating #14 just to her and hot red candy.
15. I love my daughter Daisy, who is quite possibly the only other person in the world who shares my passion for cheese and banana bites.
16. I finally finished the quilt I was making for Daisy. It feels so good to finish something other than a Parmesan cheese wedge.
17. Thursday will be my final trip to SLC for school. That makes 22 trips in 18 months. My tires have whispered to me how excited they are about not having to drive 600 miles every three weeks.
18. I don't really talk to tires.
19. I have been craving this salad lately. It's a Christmas dinner tradition, but I don't think I can wait.
20. This Sunday (Dec. 5) is our annual Christmas Sing-A-Long and Cookie Exchange. Are you coming?

T-shirt Memory Quilt for Daisy. Every square tells a story!

Keep swimming,
Ms Fish

Awesome

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What or Who do you think is AWESOME?


Keep swimming, and keep being awesome.
Ms. Fish

Social Media Wordle

This is a Wordle I made from my Delicious bookmarks. Can you guess the subject of my doctoral project?

Keep swimming,
Ms Fish

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You can try out your own Wordle here.

Why I Got a Doctorate Degree

My awesome brother wrote a really great post today on why he takes pictures. I loved it for many reasons. One: he's a GREAT storyteller. And another, he is wise. And another, his chosen profession has so much meaning and value, and helps both him and his clients really focus on what is the most important thing in our lives + leave such a lasting legacy. I'm so proud of him.

It got me thinking about what I do. So I decided to write a response post on Why I Got a Doctorate Degree.

It can be summed up in four words:

I have no idea.


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Now ask me in three weeks when I've graduated or in 3 months when I hopefully have a job. There is a statistically good chance that I'll have a different answer.

Keep swimming and keep learning.
Ms. Fish

Layered Salad

This is one of my all-time favorite salads. Don't be turned off by the simple Mayo dressing. After it sits overnight in the fridge, it totally transforms into something delicious. Dumbledore would be proud.

You can find a lot of variants on the Internet. Here is the version I make over and over:

1 head lettuce, chopped
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, finely grated
1 cup celery, chopped
1/4 tsp garlic
1/2 cup green onions, sliced
1 T sugar
1 can sliced water chesnuts
1 pkg bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 pkg frozen peas
2-3 boiled eggs, sliced
1 cup mayonnaise

Place chopped lettuce in large bowl (it's pretty in a glass bowl). Layer celery, onions, water chestnuts, and peas. Spread mayo over top. Mix together parmesan cheese, garlic and sugar. Sprinkle on top of salad and let stand overnight in fridge. Next day, top with bacon and boiled eggs just before serving.

Photo credit: My Favorite Recipes. This salad is a little different than the way I do it.

Living Grateful

Welcome to November: the month of gratitude. I love this time of year when we pause to reflect on all the things in our lives for which we are grateful. It's like getting a little pre-load of oxygen before the December shortness of breath.

Two years ago, every day in November, I blogged about something I was especially grateful for. It was great fun. This year, I'm in the middle of my dissertation, so I don't have time for anything that time consuming. But I still like to reflect, so I compiled all those earlier gratitude posts and put them into one handy location under the tab Living Grateful.

What are YOU grateful for?

Keep swimming,

Ms. Fish

In Honor of Elections

In honor of the mid-term elections this week, I am reminded of this.

Please God.... Bless our Nation.

Murder Mystery Dinner Party + Halloween Ideas

It was a night of bribery, stealing, murder and lying....pretty much everything we've taught our kids not to do. 

That's what happened at the Immortals Annual Costume Ball. My son was murdered...by his very own brother. But just like in the movies, my son came back to life, and the two brothers kissed and made up. Well, they made up anyway.

Now, let's take a tour....

This is the outside of the house by day

and by night....

welcome into the entryway....

take a peek into the living room...

enter the living room...

 where the fireplace is alight...

and a black cat waits to pounce

Look over to the kitchen....

and see the Table of Evidence

the food is ready

spiderweb eggs

brains with a lethal tumor

who doesn't love cookies and worms?

 fingers

deadly morsels

bubbling brew

now the guests arrive

and the mayhem began.


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Party details

DECORATIONS
Window posters: here and here
Goblets: Spirit Halloween store
Leather bound classic books: Wal-Mart
Chalkboard with Edgar Allen Poe Poem: black foam core / white chalk
Mice and Black ravens: Martha Stewart 
Bats: hand-drawn and hand-cut
Glass candy jars: Tai Pan Trading
Candy Jar Labels:  Martha Stewart
Brain Jello Mold
Black cat: Tai Pan Trading

MENU
Chili
Breadsticks
Spider web eggs
Bloody fingers
Pumpkin Spice Donut Holes
Guacamoldy with Bat Tortilla Chips
Spider cupcakes
Crudites with Buttermilk Herb Dip

MURDER MYSTERY
Dinner and Murder Mystery Party Games


Keep swimming, and if you are going to smoke, do it with candy cigs.
Ms Fish