Yes, I've filed this under things I hate. Maybe it's because I'm older, or maybe it's just me...but have any of you noticed that the work ethic among the 20-something's and younger seems to be dwindling at an ever-increasing rate?

I first noticed this while I was working at a retail store just before graduating college. I had worked an 11 hour day with only one 15 minute break because my 20-something co-worker was late for work. Well, when it came time to close I got ready to head out, and she stopped me, saying "I got permission to leave early because I have to get to a party." I checked with the boss (also a 20-something person) - yes, she had given her permission to go to the party knowing I had been there all day with practically no break - and - get ready for it - SHE was going with her. They both left me to close all the registers while they went out and partied. Neither of them had worked more than six hours that day.

Needless to say...I quit that job soon after that.

And then there was the day the hi-tech company I worked for IPO'd. All the twenty-somethings with shares to spare bolted to the garage to drink and smoke (and I'm not kidding people - in the middle of the day) whilst I stayed at my desk finalizing a news release and handling paged calls for my merry marketing co-workers who only cared about how much money they made that day and could have cared less about the long-term success of the company or how what they were doing looked to the other business tenants in the building.

It confounds me - the sheer lack of consideration not only for co-workers but also for customers. Not to mention the fact that it's becoming increasingly acceptable to treat others with complete and total disdain in general and not take responsibility for actions that would have in the past been firing offenses. What is wrong with people? I have to believe it's probably a combination of several things:

1. Poor Role Models. These attitudes I'm sure are a direct result of like behavior exhibited by the parents of these people.

2. Apathy Unchecked. Parents too busy to notice or too tired to care about poor attitudes and behavior exhibited by their kids.

3. Entitlement Society. Yes, folks, we've evolved into an entitlement society - wherein most people think they are owed consideration or material goods by others, rather than taking responsibility for their own selves and having the gumption to go out and earn a buck for what they want - in short, an "IT'S ALL ABOUT ME" and "WHAT DO I GET OUT OF THIS?" attitude.

4. Political Correctness. Many adults - teachers because the system requires it and parents because of guilt issues surrounding not spending time with their kids - believe it's wrong to make a kid "feel bad" about themselves by making them take responsibility for/own up to bad decisions or behavior or by penalizing them for work not done or rules not followed.

5. Rewarding Laziness - Also in the case of parents, they don't want to "put pressure" on the kids by making them get a job to pay for the things they want or ask them to pull their weight around the house for an allowance; they'd rather just reward sloth and apathy rather than making the kid go earn the money he or she wants for extras.

6. Increasingly Lower Employer Expectations. Employers have learned not to expect more from their employees because, quite frankly, it just isn't there - when was the last time you saw a retail worker go the extra mile to get you what you need - they'd rather tell you they're out instead of checking in the back - and we won't even talk about the fact most cashiers are OK with remaining on their phone convo's with their friends while they check you out rather than actually making eye contact with you and paying attention to you personally in any way.

And I'm sure we all have our horror stories of co-workers who let balls drop and were totally okay with letting others pick up the slack so projects could be completed - without a word of thanks to those who covered for them.

I believe the only exception to no. 6 is gaming shops or electronics departments. Why? Because the subject matter is something interesting to THEM and important to THEM - so therefore they'll deign to actually acknowledge your existence and offer assistance in the way of advice or information. To be sure, it's more than likely not because they have a good, strong work ethic.

Having said all that....I do know there are some kids out there that have good parents and are being raised with a sense of how their actions can have an impact on others (both positively and negatively), are required to take responsibility for their behavior, and know the value of a dollar. Unfortunately, these model kids are becoming more and more scarce. Unfortunately, our society as a whole is going to suffer from parental apathy and rewarded laziness and all this "political correctness" when our work force slows to a screaming halt because there will be very few people with the drive and intestinal fortitude to achieve success in an increasingly permissive and entitlement-based society.

Look at France.....if we continue on the current course, it's coming here, people. Mark my words.

Thoughts?

Total calories burned: 666.

Enough said.

When you start moving stuff around the cracker shelf and notice the expiration date on the Giant Goldfish box is July, 2003. Needless to say, the pantry got a thorough once-over today. Many items were found to be less than palatable and found their way into the trash can.

That is all.

At least that's what the quiz says about me. H/T to Paula for this one.

You're a scientific intellectual.


What Sort of Intellectual Are You?
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So said Peaches on the topic of "Questions"
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Hey, we all know that for the most part schools are run by liberals and most teachers live on the left. This is a fact everyone is aware of. This is the way it has always been. Public schools, in my opinion, are still for the most part the best place for learning as immersion in all subjects related to required testing and testing for college (ACT, SAT) goes far toward helping kids score high on these tests. The constant exposure to all subjects covered in the tests and the social learning with regard to dealing with peers, understanding different points of view, exposure to the arts, etc. make public school a good place for a well-rounded education.

As most who work in the fied are on the left, those of us on the right do need to keep on top of what our kids are being taught with regard to politics, morals, etc. It is the bad parent who remains uninvolved and lets views they don't agree with go unchallenged and does not put opposing views in the proper perspective.

Having said that, I absolutely do NOT agree with teachers doing what this one person did in Vermont. He integrated an anti-Bush message within a required vocabulary quiz in school. The article follows below. Hey, I realize it's unrealistic to believe that you can curtail any and all comments by teachers with regard to politics one way or the other. Comments are going to happen. And I think it's a good thing kids are exposed to some degree to this as they will be faced with many who do not share their beliefs in their adult lives, and it's a good training ground for them to learn how to deal with it.

I'm sure this is not the first and won't be the last time this has and will happened. And I'm also sure that those few teachers who live life on the right may have done similar things when Clinton shamed our country with his oval office antics and committed perjury on the witness stand .

For us, it was clear Scytheboy's principal was a leftie when Bush was elected the second time - she televised Kerry's concession speech throughout the school, but the televisions were turned off when it came time for Bush to speak. This is an example of the many subtle ways some (not all - if you're one who doesn't do this I commend you and I apologize if my thoughts on this offend you) teachers attempt to convince students the liberal agenda is better. Scytheboy told us about it that day, and we discussed why she might have done this and explained to him that it was not a very democratic (as in how things are supposed to go in a democracy) thing to do...only showing one side.

So anyway, I think this guy went too far, but I also know a lot of teachers go too far promoting their beliefs, whatever they may be. It's our job as parents to discuss these things with our kids and make sure they understand what the motives might be, that it's wrong to integrate political leanings into class material, and to always tell us if something like this happens so we can talk about it and understand it.

The article follows in the extended post for your review. That's all I have to say on this.

Students: Teacher Gave Anti-Bush Vocab Quiz

Friday, November 25, 2005

BENNINGTON, Vt. — A high school teacher is facing questions from administrators after giving a vocabulary quiz that included digs at President Bush and the extreme right.

Bret Chenkin, a social studies and English teacher at Mount Anthony Union High School, said he gave the quiz to his students several months ago. The quiz asked students to pick the proper words to complete sentences.

One example: "I wish Bush would be (coherent, eschewed) for once during a speech, but there are theories that his everyday diction charms the below-average mind, hence insuring him Republican votes." "Coherent" is the right answer.

Principal Sue Maguire said she hoped to speak to whoever complained about the quiz and any students who might be concerned. She said she also would talk with Chenkin. School Superintendent Wesley Knapp said he was taking the situation seriously.

"It's absolutely unacceptable," Knapp said. "They (teachers) don't have a license to hold forth on a particular standpoint."

Chenkin, 36, a teacher for seven years, said he isn't shy about sharing his liberal views with students as a way of prompting debate, but said the quizzes are being taken out of context.

"The kids know it's hyperbolic, so-to-speak," he said. "They know it's tongue in cheek." But he said he would change his teaching methods if some are concerned.

"I'll put in both sides," he said. "Especially if it's going to cause a lot of grief."

The school is in Bennington, a community of about 16,500 in the southwest corner of the state.

Hmmm....what do we have here?

I can't really tell....let's see what the other side smells like.

Well, he might not have thought much about the marinade, but we sure did enjoy that creole butter taste!

Go visit the Friday Ark when you get a chance.

So said Peaches on the topic of "Chocolate Chip"
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We just finished eating our fried turkey and fixin's about an hour ago. I'm just now able to move enough to show you what goes into frying said turkey.

First you inject it:

Then you put it on its pedestal:

Then you dunk it in your hot peanut oil:

Then you watch it fry in the peanut oil (make sure it's between 300 and 350 degrees):

And then you get to eat this:

It was SOOOO yummy. Definitely nothing like deep fried turkey. Thanks, Tommy!

And happy Turkey Day, everyone!

So said Peaches on the topic of "Yummy"
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We received a very special package in the mail today. For background, a few months back, Scytheboy corresponded with a Staff Sergeant on an Apache helicopter in Iraq. To show our support, Tommy and I also sent a letter and a care package to our lonely soldier working hard to protect all of our freedom.

This very special soldier, who had been away from his wife and kids for almost two years in September when the letter was dated, went to great effort to show his appreciation of our support. He sent us a thank you letter for our support, AND a U.S. flag that actually flew on the helicopter with him and the crew during a successful mission as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom. In addition, we received a letter of appreciation from the aircraft commander and a picture of the entire crew holding the very flag we now possess with a certificate of authenticity that the flag actually flew on the mission.

Our soldier was 40 days out from returning home when he sent us our very special memento of his time in Iraq, and it is our hope that by now he is home safe and sound. I'm sure all of us appreciate the sacrifices he and his family have made for our freedom and the freedom of the Iraqi people.

Hoo-Ah!!!

Just so you know, I got all my Christmas cards addressed and signed, and our family update letter is complete. Another thing off the list. Why does this time of year have to be filled with so many to-do's?

Well....at least I got something productive done yesterday since I have yet to hit the gym this week. It seems my motivation to go to the gym has gone on strike. I'm beginning to really enjoy mornings that are filled with sleep and devoid of strenuous workouts. Hopefully, once tomorrow is over and I can no longer fit in my "skinny" jeans I'm sure the motivation will return and I'll be back at the gym.

In the mean time, I'd better get back to enjoying yet another workout free day.

Well I dragged Scytheboy out for shopping today as promised. I call it Christmas shopping...you can call it Holiday shopping...it's my blog so I get to call it what I want. You don't have to read it if you don't like it.

Anyway....The stops at Best Buy, Toys r Us and a department store (along with a few items I got online when we got back) helped me achieve the majority of my shopping for the season. I even got my gifts for all the Wisconsin relatives (those I'm buying for) wrapped and in the mail.

As soon as the online stuff gets here early next week, I can ship stuff out to Tommy's family in West Texas. Then, when Tommy tells me what he wants for Christmas (materially - get your mind out of the gutter) and I get that bought during his next trip - I should be about 98% done with my shopping. Stocking stuffers will be all that remain and I can get those at the grocery store.

I hate to shop...I hate it vehemently. So words cannot describe how relieved I am to be almost done with the shopping part and half way done with the shipping part. Shopping and shipping...shopping and shipping....the two things I hate most about the holidays.

So....how are you doing on your Christmas (or Holiday if you prefer) shopping? Started yet?

Last year Scytheboy's school district came up with this brilliant idea of lengethening the school year so the kids could have an entire week off at Thanksgiving. Now they start school Aug. 12th and they don't get out until Memorial Day...but they get a week off school (nine days total if you count weekends) in November, and then another two and a half weeks at Christmas (sorry..."Winter Break"...whatever).

I ask you...how the hell much time do these kids need off during the winter months? I got out maybe half a day on Wednesday, Thursday, and then Friday for Thanksgiving when I was a kid. That was it. Kids are so spoiled these days. Personally, I think the district was sort of forced into this as SO many parents were taking their kids out of school for the entire week anyway for long family trips that they had to do something. At least that's my take on it since so many of our son's friends were always out the entire week before the switch.

Oh well....at least I'll get to sleep late for a week. And Tommy will be here to fry the turkey on Thursday but he works most of the week other than that. And bonus - with the boy home I can convince myself spending time with him is more important than going to the gym every day....right?

Poor Scytheboy....Tommy will be gone Monday, Tuesday, and Friday so there will be lots of days he'll be taken to the store to go shopping, I'm sure. I bet he'll be glad to go back to school before the end of his nine days. Wait...what am I talking about? He's 11. He never wants to go to school...oh well.

Here's to late nights, sleeping in, deep fried turkey, and shopping.

Cheers!

P.S. No worries...I'm sure you'll hear all about our deep fried turkey and how good it was by the end of the week!

The spouse has been drinking lots of beer the past couple nights so he can float the keg and pick up the root beer and beer I have on order down town. There is only one place in Dallas that carries slim kegs of root beer, and Scytheboy needs him some root beer. We've been out for a while.

In any case, I was a hero at home today because I went to the store and bought him Old Wisconsin Beer Salami to go with his beer. Knowing he only had one day left, he started on this evening's challenge of finally finishing the keg immediately after unloading the groceries...well he did have the Beer Salami to go with it, after all (I guess).

He's still up there trying to float the keg. He'll be sorry when he has to get up in the morning to pick up Scytheboy's root beer...and his fresh keg of beer. I guess I'll leave him a couple of Advil and a couple of Excedrin on the counter before I go to the gym to help him start the day because I know he'll find a way to get himself to the liquor store...because it IS all about the beer (and root beer), isn't it?

Question: Do you suffer from a condition called "Bacon Frustration"?

Definition: Bacon frustration is the state one reaches when, after trying to be health conscious and trying different, more healthy varieties of the stuff (such as center cut and low sodium and turkey, etc.), all a person really craves is a good, thick, crispy normal slice of bacon.

I was shopping today, examining the many varieties of bacon....when I suddenly realized that I do, in fact, suffer from "Bacon Frustration". So I bought my good-old black label thick cut normal Hormel bacon and I will greedily eat it on Thanksgiving morning, thank you very much!

No more bacon frustration for me. How about you?

I had company for lunch and we ate a big meal, complete with my favorite home made chocolate cake. As a result, I'm still kinda full from lunch but I do have a little room left and it is, after all.....time for dinner.

So the question is...would it be wrong to just have chocolate cake for dinner? I'm thinking not, but I would like some more objective opinions...please?

I just got back from driving Scytheboy to and from his guitar lesson and I was once again reminded why I absolutely abhore driving at night. I absolutely hate those damn halogen headlights people are using these days.

Let me explain...I have bad eyes. No, seriously...I have practically no depth perception due to multiple eye surgeries when I was young. Plus, my eyes are highly sensitive to light and I have a pretty bad case of night blindness.

Let's just say....having blinding high-beam halogen lights coming at me and in my rear view and side mirrors does NOT help my driving ability at night. When I get a flash of them in my eyes, I am completely and totally blinded for what could be a critical moment while driving down the road with the precious cargo that is my son.

For the driver using them....well sure it's great for them. I'm under no illusions that for people that use these headlights it IS all about them. Otherwise, why would they happily drive down the road, blinding everyone in front of them with out a care in the world?

If you have halogen headlights on your car perhaps you are not aware that you are blinding every single driver you pass or follow on the road. Well....you are. So stop it!

I've been home for 20 minutes and I'm still seeing white spots.

To summarize....I hate halogen headlights. H-A-T-E T-H-E-M!!!!!! They are evil.

That is all.

The time of year where the leaves fall, my friend. The leaves fall. A lot. In the pool. And you have to use the net through the water to take them out. Did you know the net gets a helluva lot heavier when you pull it through the water? Eventually your shoulders start to ache and you get carpel tunnel in your forearms from angling the net this way and that trying to get the maximum number of leaves per pull.

Having said that, this is the only time of year that I absolutely hate having a pool. That is all.

When you're invited to an open house and you don't really know anybody that's going to be there, you (at least I) go through an internal q&a process trying to come up with a good reason not to go. After all, I'm not very good at small talk and especially this week I really didn't want to see anyone or speak to anyone at all. Having said that, this was my internal q&a relating to how I could possibly get out of going to the open house:

1. Would it be rude to decline just because I don't feel like meeting new people?
Probably. Damn.

2. Could I get away with saying I have to stay home and make sure our son does his homework?
Probably not. Everyone knows he's a straight A student and works better when left alone. Crap.

3. Could I call them and say I really wouldn't be great company given what happened this week with our dog?
Again - no. They would probably encourage you to come and tell you it will help take your mind off things. Again - crap.

4. Could I call just before the open house is about over and claim I got really lost trying to get there?
No. They're nice people and would give me proper directions from made-up lost location and then I'd REALLY be lost, trying to get to the location I made up so I could follow new directions and could give details if questioned. That won't work either.

5. Can I come up with any valid reason not to go, other than I just don't want to?
No, that would be rude. Get up off your ass, get dressed, put the wine in the bag and go.

Needless to say, I went. A friend of my sister's recently moved to the area and she invited me to her open house. It's just rude not to go if you can when an invitation like this is extended. So I made the effort and I went, even though I SO did not feel like being around anyone.

But I have to say I'm really glad I went. She's a nice girl, and I got to finally meet her husband who is also very nice and they have a one year old who is very cute. There was only one problem....they have a dog the same breed as ours was. So that was a little tough. Okay, it was a lot tough. But I took a tour of their lovely new house, met a few new people, actually made some mild attempt at small talk, and about an hour later I left. It's almost an hour back to our house so I did have a valid excuse that I needed to get home before dark and figure out something to feed the boy.

Note: The "boy" will probably make himself something for dinner because he's not so much a boy anymore as he is a small adult. But that's beside the point.

As a side note, I'd like to say thank you to everyone who dropped by Michele's, Tommy's and here to leave a note of condolence for the loss of our dog. He was really Tommy's dog, but he was the best dog I have ever known and he will be a sorely missed member of our family.

Whether you agree or disagree with our current push to eradicate heartless terrorists from the world at large, on this very special day we should all be thankful for those brave souls who serve and protect our country.

This is not an easy life they choose, but it's one they choose freely. On this special day, please take a moment to reflect upon the sacrifices of those currently serving, those that came before them, and especially those that paid the ultimate price for our freedom.

I am NOT too big to fit in the napkin basket. See, my tail fits.

Don't make me come over there.

Bam!!

Note to self: Take the cat's threats seriously.

Don't forget to go visit the Friday Ark.

1. Tommy bought him while I was on a trip
2. He was 5 1/2 weeks old
3. The first time I saw him he turned his head sideways as if to say, "who are you?"
4. I never really liked dogs until that moment
5. Our son was born nine months later and he was there to greet him his first day home
6. He weighed over 120 lbs. but couldn't understand why it wasn't okay to sit on our laps
7. He liked to eat snow
8. And peppermints
9. And peanut butter
10. And those chocolate Nestle Crunch bells at Christmas
11. And bark from the plant beds
12. He liked to roll around in rose petals when we pruned the bushes
13. He sighed a lot
14. He was a good dog
15. We'll miss him

The dentist had an opening today so I went in to get the temp fillings for two teeth. I saw the pictures, and let me just say...ewww. They really did need to be replaced And my jaw hurts now, so.....ouch.

That is all.

I have a dentist appointment this morning. I hate going to the dentist.

Why do I brush my teeth extra well the day of my appointment, thinking they won't notice the horrible job I've done the rest of the past six months?

Why do I floss my teeth before I go? They're going to floss them but for some reason I am horrified at the thought they might actually get something out when they do.

Why do I use mouthwash before I go? Things get really rough breath wise anyway, what with all the plaque scraping they do. Besides, they're wearing a mask...they can't smell my bad breath. Right?

I am convinced they scrape extra hard and prick my gums with an extra little jab when they check them for firmness. All dentists and hygienists are sadists....I'm convinced.

Off I go to the dentist, with my freshly brushed and flossed teeth and mouthwashed breath.

I hate the dentist. Did I say that before? Well, I do....I mean, seriously.

UPDATE: The news is not good. It seems that since I'm Irish and a Taurus I must worry doubly. Apparently, I've ground two already large fillings in some front bottom teeth down to nubs and now I have to get them replaced with what they call "on-lays". They're really mini porcelain crowns that don't require as much drilling and save more of the tooth. See? The last couple visits were good and I had no pain, so I thought all was normal....I wasn't even that clenched during the cleaning until I heard the loud persistent beep on the laser cavity check instrument thingy they use as it passed over the two problem teeth.

So now I have to go in tomorrow and get my teeth drilled, temp fillings installed, and molds made for the on-lays. I keep the temp fillings through Thanksgiving...so now I have to somehow not grind my teeth when I sleep so the temp fillings will last until through the holiday and into the first week of December.

Did I say hate the dentist? Well....I HATE THE DENTIST!!!!! Now, more than ever. I knew I shouldn't have gone....

You scored as Maximus. After his family was murdered by the evil emperor Commodus, the great Roman general Maximus went into hiding to avoid Commodus's assassins. He became a gladiator, hoping to dominate the colosseum in order to one day get the chance of killing Commodus. Maximus is valiant, courageous, and dedicated. He wants nothing more than the chance to avenge his family, but his temper often gets the better of him. Maximus 79% William Wallace 79% The Terminator 71% Batman, the Dark Knight 67% Neo, the "One" 67% Captain Jack Sparrow 58% Indiana Jones 58% James Bond, Agent 007 54% Lara Croft 54% The Amazing Spider-Man 46% El Zorro 25% Which Action Hero Would You Be? v. 2.0 created with QuizFarm.com

OK so I'm Maximus. That's kinda weird. Which action hero would you be? Go take the quiz and find out.

Of course, I think my cat is the cutest, most lovable and interesting kitty around. And now this has been validated that Chocolate Chip has received the high honor of being "Kitty of the Week" in the Carnival of the Cats.

Yeah, Chocolate Chip!

I've been immersed in Desperate Housewives and Grey's Anatomy tonight so I didn't get my usual dose of news. As I scanned the headlines, I ran across a story about pit bulls that attacked six people (including two children) after running out their owner's front door.

I can remember when my little sister was very young, she was bitten by our neighbor's German Shepard. She had to get multiple stitches on her cheek, and she carries a scar to this day. The dog had always been friendly and pettable, but it turns out he had mange and it was making him do crazy things - like bite kids when they tried to come close.

Now, his owners did the right thing....took him in to get tested for rabies and all that. Luckily the test came out negative and my sister didn't have to go through that painful shot regimen. These were responsible owners who had trained their dog to behave around children, only a disease changed things for them so they had to quarantine the dog until the disease had passed and the dog was once again himself. However, even after the dog was back to his old self they would fence him away from children that came to the house like good, responsible, caring pet owners. I'm not sure what happened to him, but eventually the dog stopped being at their house altogether. My guess is they didn't want to risk one more person getting hurt after what happened with my sister, even if the dog was cured.

I also remember a friend of mine which adopted a deaf pit bull that had been terrorized by his mother and litter mates. He was the sweetest dog, always coming up to you for pets. His owners treated him kindly and he got along well with their other adopted dog. Nothing wrong at all with that pit bull. He had been saved from a miserable situation and was grateful for any love he could get.

But then you hear about all these stories where pit bulls are attacking their owners, neighbors and children. I do not believe these dogs are inherently bad...I think their owners are either neglectful by not training their dogs to behave properly, or just plain stupid. I mean, who gets a dog that may have issues with being from a blood line that was bread for violence, and then lets it around other people without training it properly to ensure that all are safe? Every time I hear about stuff like this I just cringe.

We all know people who buy dogs and then make absolutely no attempt to train them in any way, shape or form. Letting them loose in the neighborhood without a leash, allowing them to relieve themselves wherever they please without following behind to clean up the mess, allowing them to bark well into the night and disturb the sleep of others, etc, etc. Unfortunately, there are a lot of irresponsible pet owners out there...we all know who they are.

Taking a step back, we don't know the whole story. One of the kids may have provoked the dogs in some way...we don't know. Or maybe the kids were genuinely afraid and the dogs had not been trained to recognize the fear and deal with it, rather than moving into a primal state and attacking a weak being near them solely on instinct.

And we don't know if this happened with these dogs in the past. We just don't know. If you read the story, it's certainly slanted to make you think it's all on the dogs and owner....but I will say that the owner was irresponsible for letting the dogs so close to anyone that came to the front door unannounced. I always try to keep my animals away from the door when I answer it...but that's just me.

So....what do you think? Is it the dogs or the owners? Should proper training classes be mandatory and passed successfully before someone is allowed to own one of these dogs?

All I know is I feel really bad for those kids and their parents - and yes, I am angry at the owner for not restraining his dogs before he answered the door. And yes, I think anyone that buys a pet of any kind and does not take care of them and train them properly is scum. There, I said it. They're absolute scum. That is all.

We all have those favorite dishes we rotate through once every couple of weeks. In our family, we love pasta. So I do a few dishes a month. We usually have pasta once a week....we would all love to have it more often but we know we should moderate our beloved carbs.

One of Tommy's favorite dishes is my oven-baked tortellini. It is sinfully easy, but the taste cannot be beat. Here's how I do it:

Oven-Baked Tortellini With Red Sauce

Ingredients:

One family size package of pre-made tortellini, frozen (we usually go for the three cheese stuff)
One regular jar spaghetti sauce (we use Prego)
Shredded mozzarella cheese
Shredded Parmesan cheese (not grated)
Garlic powder (California style with parsley)
Fresh ground pepper
Crushed red pepper (optional)

Set oven to 425 degrees. Fill a large pan with water and set it on high to boil. Place spaghetti sauce in a medium sauce pan (add 1/4 to 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes if you prefer a spicier sauce). Cover and simmer on medium low heat. When pasta water boils, add the tortellini and boil until al-dente. When pasta is done, drain it and pour into a large shallow baking dish. Cover pasta with spaghetti sauce. Sprinkle garlic powder in a thin coat over the sauce. Add freshly ground black pepper to taste. Cover pasta and sauce with a generous layer of shredded mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle shredded Parmesan cheese over the mozzarella to taste. Bake, uncovered at 425 degrees until cheese is melted and slightly browned.

Serving suggestions:

-Pepperidge Farm Garlic Texas Toast - this takes about five minutes to bake, same as how long it takes the cheese to melt so it's an easy addition to the pasta.

-A Caesar salad is a good complement to this dish. You can use the bagged stuff, but I usually tear up my own romaine lettuce, then add fat free Caesar dressing, croutons, shredded (not grated) Parmesan cheese, and fresh cracked blacked pepper. It's really good.

There you have it. A simple Sunday dinner we have way more often than we should. I better get cookin'!

P.S. Yes, you are correct in assuming I had nothing to post today. Hopefully, this will do....

UPDATE: Sorry, Jack. Forgot your pictures. Here are the before and after shots:

Shut up, I didn't feel like salad tonight...I wanted more room for bread.

So said Peaches on the topic of "Yummy"
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I always have watched the original (Donald Version) "The Apprentice". It's been, up until now (at least for me), entertaining T.V. We won't talk about what Tommy (a.k.a. "The Spouse") thinks about this show or reality T.V. in general. Different blog, different subject matter.

Anyway, lately it seems the show has gone down hill both in ratings and in my personal interest. I mean, come on...they fired four people last week....I mean, seriously. These people are desperate.

So I thought last week was the new low. Well, I was wrong....this week they outed one guy for being a virgin and another guy for being gay. But I guess if we were being honest we'd have to say that the gay guy kind of outed himself by focusing on his homosexuality while discussing sex in the work place.

I'm too tired of this show to explain what the hell I'm talking about if you're not a "fan" (and I use the term loosely) or haven't watched the show. Let's just say that now we know Adam is more than likely a Jewish virgin and Clay....well Clay....is gay. If you want to learn more about tonight's assignment you can read here.

And how did The Donald handle this information? Well, with regard to Adam being a virgin, he said something like "You'll learn that sex can get you through a lot of things. It's gotten me through a lot of things and it's also cost me a lot of money." I might add that to this Carolyn held her head in her hands in shame.

Now as far as the whole Clay being gay thing, Donald said something like: "Well, that's the reason why they have menus. Some people like steak...I like the steak, and other people like the spaghetti. So that's why there are menus."

Wait...what? If you're hetero you like steak and if you're gay you like spaghetti? Huh? Oh, Donald. You're SO not PC.

In short, I am fast losing patience with "The Apprentice" half-baked antics, I need good South American wine and TiVo to get through an episode, and I am considering just taking the bottle of wine with me to our hot tub next week and skipping the show all together. Sorry, Donald. You might have to cut bait on this one.

Once again....I got nuthin'. But the news does. Have you seen this story about a bunch of second graders that got stung by yellow jackets while outside communing with nature?

Hmmm.....what to say, what to say. Okay, I will say this. If the kids are allergic to bees and the parents know they are going to be outside at recess or for a nature walk.....should they make sure the school nurse knows about the allergy and has the necessary anti-bee pollen meds on hand in case the kids get stung? Our son's not allergic (that I know of), but if he was and I knew about it I think I'd send stuff in with a note so everyone was aware..at least I think I would.

Tommy's dad is allergic to bees and I know he's always got a dose of the stuff on hand. I can remember when I was in elementary school my older sister got in to a nest of bees or wasps and was stung many times. I think my mom hosed her down, and then spread mud on the sting marks and kept it on there for a while. I think she heard somewhere that was supposed to help.

Anyway, what a scary deal for those poor kids and the teachers too. I'm sure they handled it the best way they could...no way to predict that would happen. However....I hope the kids that had allergic reactions now will have access to necessary meds on school premises in case they get stung again at recess or something....I heard that the reaction gets worse for the allergy sufferer each time they're stung.

To summarize....bees.....scary.....ouch.

I was scanning the news yesterday evening because to be honest I am neither as motivated nor creative as the people who are now busily working on their novels and posting first chapters like Catherine.

Anyway, I noticed it looks like the Post Office will more than likely be successful at raising rates once again just in time for Christmas (oops, sorry....just in time for "the holiday you choose to celebrate during the winter months").

I don't know about you, but I rarely send anything via U.S. mail anymore...unless it's a package or something that I have to physically take in to get mailed. It's just so easy now to have your bank pay all your bills...for free, no postage in some cases because they do it electronically. Free....and much safer for the most part. No pesky mail box thieves trying to steal your identity and all that. Also email, sadly, has become my first choice in the way of conversing with my friends and family. SO much quicker...and cheaper. However, I do try and be a good mom and have Scytheboy send hand-written thank you notes for gifts. Sort of the "do as I say, not as I do" thing.

So...how have you handled all the postage rate hikes? Have you gone electronic with your bill paying and correspondence or are you a hands-on write your return address and lick and stick your own stamp type?

I know, it's been in the news probably everywhere by now. We first heard about it some time last week....apparently Exxon held a health fair for its employees in Baytown, TX and as part of said fair offered free flu shots to its employees.

Well......the company Exxon hired to do the shooting decided to save cost and inject said workers with sterilized water. In addition, one of the nurses that works for the home health care company hired to give the flu shots was overheard admitting she had pricked her finger while filling "a few" of the syringes.

Luckily, an outside nurse the contracted company hired to help with the shots did the right thing and reported the comment to FBI officials, along with the information that the contracted company did not have the first clue about how to track flu vaccine lot numbers, etc. Exxon eventually notified its workers they were injected with seemingly innocuous sterilized water, but also offered to pay for free counseling and AIDS and hepatitis testing. Nice.

Man....you try to protect yourself and make the effort to go to the fair, gain some knowledge, and subject yourself to a needle stick...only to find out there's a possibility you might have contracted some disease from some chick that stuck her finger with "a few" needles whilst filling them with sterilized water.

Geez...kinda makes you not want to even bother getting a flu shot, doesn't it?