so sorry!

I am so sorry I've been neglecting the blogosphere. My life has just been super hectic and crazy, and not in any particular way. Just a "life is CRAZY!" kind of way.

I was so happy two weekends ago because KT came to visit me in B-more, and we had such a wonderful time catching up, playing the ukulele, and walking around Hampden and going in all the vintage shops. Here is an awesome Youtube video of Jake Shimbakuro playing the ukulele. (KT, keep having fun and trying new things!! I love your originals)

Last weekend, I had my parents over for dinner and I fixed this awesome beef stew. It is from the Food network test kitchens and the recicpe is below! It is so awesome. mmmmmmm good! I changed a few things - added half the can of tomato paste, 4 cloves of garlic (large), I had no parsley, but it worked out just fine, I added 3 bay leaves, I used idaho potatoes, and 4 canned, peeled tomatoes with the juice. I also didn't add any red wine vinegar, but I think next time, I will add a little red wine! Tasty! Also, I added 1 can of beef broth, 1 carton of chicken broth, and 2 cups of water. The timing is perfect, I wouldn't change that at all.

Ingredients
Vegetable oil, for searing
2 1/2 pounds beef chuck, cut into 2-inch cubes
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 medium onions, cut into 6ths
5 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/3 cup all-purpose flour, or to cover
10 cups cold water, or chicken or beef broth, homemade or low-sodium canned
6 sprigs parsley
6 sprigs fresh thyme
2 bay leaves
1 1/4 pounds medium red potatoes, quartered
4 medium carrots, cut into 2-inch pieces
2 celery stalks, cut into 2-inch pieces
7 canned whole, peeled tomatoes, lightly crushed
2 to 3 teaspoons red wine vinegar, or to taste
Cook's Note: Beef chuck, from the shoulder, because of its marbling of intra-muscular fat, is the choice for any type of stew. If you can't find chuck cubed for stew in your meat department, buy a thick chuck steak and cut it into 2-inch cubes.
Directions
Heat a large Dutch oven with a tight-fitting lid over medium-high heat. Pour in enough oil to fill the pan about 1/4-inch deep. Season the beef generously with salt and pepper, and add to the pan. Saute half the meat, uncovered, stirring only occasionally, until well-browned, about 8 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the beef to a plate. Repeat with the remaining beef. Discard the oil and wipe out the pan.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Return the pot to the stove and melt the butter over medium high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, until lightly browned, about 1 minute more. Add the reserved beef and scatter the flour over the vegetable and beef mixture (enough to lightly coat) and cook stirring until lightly toasted. Add the water or broth, and bring to a simmer. Tie the parsley, thyme, and bay leaves together with a piece of kitchen twine and add the bundle to the pot. Season with 2 teaspoons salt, or to taste. Cover and transfer to the oven. Cook the meat until just tender, about 1 1/2 hours. (This can also be done on the stove at a low simmer.)

Remove pot from the oven. Skim the fat from the cooking liquid with a spoon or ladle. Add the potatoes, carrots, celery, and the tomatoes, and bring to a simmer on top of the stove. Cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the liquid thickens and the vegetables are tender, about 1 hour. Remove and discard the herb bundle. Stir in the vinegar and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Divide among bowls and serve immediately.

Copyright 2003 Television Food Network, G.P. All rights reserved
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/beef-stew-recipe3/index.html

Snow days bring welcome work days for teachers

AH. Nothing quite makes teachers as happy as a snow day. AH. I can now do work in the comfort of my home, without being interupted by students all day. AH. I can sit here, with my work, drinking a cup of tea, and listen to the kids sledding down the ice covered parking lot, and think, "hey, they're not my kids." I'm not responsible. :-)

It is still spitting freezing rain and the roads look terrible. Baltimore does a horrible job of salting and taking care of the roads. If this were Boston, and we only had 3 inches of snow and 1 inch of ice, the road would just be wet. Here, they are a death trap. That's what drives me crazy - although, I'm not complaining about the snow day!

Very happy to have the day off and take a mental health day. woohoo!

Inauguration of President Barack Obama

As I wake up
I can't help but feel
the world is a different place.

Renewed deeply.
Changed forever.
Inspired spirit.

The Chosen have been selected.
Statements have been delivered.
Tears for the fallen and tireless have been shed.

Redemption is felt far and wide.
Healing must begin now.
Mothers, fathers, children, have travelled long journeys
and the fork in the road has been decided.

We chose.

Hope.
Change.
Promise.

Bands are playing and people rejoice. They sing.
People from all walks of life come,
join, and participate.
They huddle together. Neighbors, families, and strangers.

Where the common thread of our humanity
and this time, is not the color of our skin,
but the character of our community.

And the quilt can be sewn together.
And we finally feel,
as we come together in solidarity,
the meaning that is unity.

And we sing.

Slumdog Millionaire

I went with a friend last night to see "Slumdog Millionaire." The movie is the story of a young man named Jamal, who finds himself on India's version of "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire" TV show. Jamal is suspected of cheating on the show - how could he possibly know the answers? - he is from the slums of India. The movie carefully and brilliantly weaves in the story of Jamal's extraordinary life, and while doing so, reminds us all how to be better. It is heart-warming, but not in a cheesy, saccharin sweet way. Instead, you find yourself rooting for Jamal, along with Indians across the country who find him inspiring. It seems like the "All-American story" - a Horatio Alger story - a man from a humble background finds success and builds a life - but what I was reminded of, was that this is a human story. In a way, I feel like I got a glimpse of Indian history as well, and for that I am grateful.

I loved it, and give it two thumbs up, and 4 stars! Must see.

Election Day, November, 1884

by Walt Whitman

If I should need to name, O Western World, your power-
fulest scene and show,
'Twould not be you, Niagara- nor you, ye limitless
prairies- nor your huge rifts of canyons, Colorado,
Nor you, Yosemite- nor Yellowstone, with all its spasmic
geyser-loops ascending to the skies, appearing and
disappearing,
Nor Oregon's white cones- nor Huron's belt of mighty
lakes- nor Mississippi's stream:
- This seething hemisphere's humanity, as now, I'd
name- the still small voice vibrating - America's
choosing day,
(The heart of it not in the chosen- the act itself the main,
the quadriennial choosing,)
The stretch of North and South arous'd - sea-board and
inland- Texas to Maine - the Prairie States - Vermont,
Virginia, California,
The final ballot-shower from East to West- the paradox
and conflict,
The countelss snow-flakes falling- (a swordless conflict,
Yet more than all Rome's wars of old, or modern
Napoleon's:) the peaceful choice of all,
Or good or ill humanity- welcoming the darker odds, the
dross:
- Foams and ferments the wine? it serves to purify-
while the heart pants, life glows:
These stormy gusts and winds waft precious ships,
Swell'd Washington's, Jefferson's, Lincoln's sails.

And Obama's. Yes We Can. We are One.

Congratulations America. I feel the hope rising. Rising up.

Look at this beauty! The feeders at my parents house were a feeding frenzy!

Amazing Peace

This Poem was read December 1, 2005 at the lighting of the National Christmas Tree at the White House.

Amazing Peace A Christmas Poem
by Maya Angelou

Thunder rumbles in the mountain passes
And lighting rattles the eaves of our houses.
Floodwaters await in our avenues.

Snow falls upon snow, falls upon snow to
avalanche
Over unprotected villages.
The sky slips low and gray and threatening.

We question ourselves. What have we done to
so affront nature?
We interrogate and worry God.
Are you there? Are you there, really?
Does the covenant you made with us still hold?

Into this climate of fear and apprehension,
Christmas enters,
Streaming lights of joy, ringing bells of hop
And singing carols of forgiveness high up in the
bright air.
The world is encouraged to come away from
rancor
Come the way of friendship.

It is the Glad Season.
Thunder ebbs to silence and lightning sleeps
quietly in the corner.
Floodwaters recede into memory.
Snow becomes a yielding cushion to aid us
As we make our way to higher ground.

Hope is born again in the faces of children.
It rides on the shoulders of our aged as they
walk into their sunsets.
Hope spreads around the earth, brightening
all thing,
Even hate, which crouches breeding in
dark corners.

In our joy, we think we hear a whisper.
At first it is too soft. Then only half heard.
We listen carefully as it gathers strength.
We hear a sweetness.
The word is Peace.
It is loud now.
Louder than the explosion of bombs.

We tremble at the sound. We ar thrilled by
its presence.
It is what we have hungered for.
Not just the absence of war. But true Peace.
A harmony of spirit, a comfort of courtesies.
Security for our beloveds and their beloveds.

We clap hands and welcome the Peace of
Christmas.
We beckon the good season to wait awhile
with us.
We, Baptist and Buddhist, Methodist and
Muslim, say come.
Peace.
Come and fill us an our world with your majesty.
We, the Jew and the Jainist, the Catholic and
the Confucian,
Implore you to stay awhile with us
So we may learn by your shimmering light
How to look beyond complexion and see
community.

It is Christmas time, a halting of hate time.

On this platform of peace, we can create a language
To translate ourselves to ourselves and to
each other.

At this Holy Instant, we celebrate the Birth of
Jesus Christ
Into the great religions of the world.
We jubilate the precious advent of trust.
We shout with glorious tongues the coming
of hope.
All the earth's tribes loosen their voices
To celebrate the promise of peace.

We, Angels and Mortals, Believers and
Nonbelievers,
Look heavenward and speak the word aloud.
Peace. We look at our world and speak the word aloud.
Peace. We look to each other, and then to ourselves,
And we say without shyness or apologiy or
hesitation:

Peace My Brother.
Peace My Sister.
Peace My Soul.