Quote of the day

 A few weeks ago, I wrote about reconnecting with people and I seriously mean that.  I need to stop waiting to do that before it's too late.  I have a friend who was a very important part of my life decades (wow that's a long time!) ago.  We had lost touch for a long time.  I did try to reach out and sent birthday and holiday cards and emails to the address that I had, but never heard back. I did not take it personally, I just missed her.  Yesterday, I found out that she had passed away from cancer back in July.  It really hit me hard because she was a great friend to me and we had lost touch.  It's time to stop that kind of thing.  That is all.

Asian Noodle Salad

 A few weeks back at work we had a farmer's market.  There were several local vendors there and, as always, I spent too much money LOL  But one of the vendors sold sauces and dressings.  I bought one of her bottles of Ginger Sesame Dressing.  She suggested using it in a noodle salad, so I looked up a recipe online and decided to try it.  I found this one on amindfullmom.com.  I changed it a tad based on what I had in stock, but it turned out very well and I will definitely make it again!

Asian Noodle Salad

1 box thin spaghetti noodles

1 broccoli crown, chopped

1 cup shredded carrots

1 red pepper, thinly sliced

2 green onions, sliced

1/2 cup sesame ginger dressing

sesame seeds

Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook pasta according to directions. While the pasta is cooking, chop your vegetables.  Once the noodles are cooked, drain in colander but do not rinse the noodles.  In a large bowl, combine pasta and dressing.  Allow the pasta to come to room temperature, about 15 of 20 minutes before adding the vegetables.  Toss to combine.  Chill in refrigerator for at least one hour before serving.  Sprinkle with sesame seeds before serving.

The original recipe called for 3 cups of broccoli slaw mix, but I had the individual ingredients on hand so I used that instead.

I fried up some thinly sliced beef to serve on top of the salad and it was great!  Enjoy!

Working on Records

 

This week, I decided to work on thinning out my record collection.  Now, I love listening to records and I do it just about every day!  But, I simply have too many of them.  There's not room for all of them on the record shelves and I end up, like with books, with stacks of records throughout the house.  While I love them, it's just simply too many.  I love collecting them, but I just need to make room for other things.  When we go to the used record store, it becomes a problem because the kinds of records I buy are normally all less than $1 so I'll walk out of the store with a stack of 30 or so records most likely.  And while I love the thrill of the hunt, it's getting out of hand LOL

So, this week, I went through all of the records and pulled out the ones that I can let go of.  Now, we're talking about close to 400 records so this was no small task.  Still, it was easier than I thought.  And I did have a few criteria for keeping records.

Is it a Christmas album?  Yes, I'm going to keep those.  No questions asked.

Is it a family record?  Same.  Going to keep those.

Do I love it enough to listen to it again?  If I do, I will hold onto to it....at least for now.

Am I keeping it simply because I like the album cover?  In this case, if it's the cover I prefer over the record itself, I will let it go.

Is it valuable?  I have a few that I think are worth something.  Again, not a huge amount, but enough to warrant holding on to.

So, now I do have stacks of records around the house still.  But these stacks are on their way out of the house.  Hopefully within the next few weeks or so.  Admittedly it feels good to make changes like this. It's nice to see the floor space again LOL  Now, I just have to get the protective sleeves off of the ones I'm getting rid of so I can reuse.  Whew!  So ends today's episode of Around the House.

That is all.

People - Barbra Streisand

 This show has been revived this year on Broadway and this is one of my favorite songs from the score.  The words are really touching and meaningful if you truly listen to them.  Enjoy!

Job 11:13

 I am far from feeling hopeless these days and that's a good place to be in.  I'm not always there.  Still, I am constantly seeking hope and things that make me hopeful.  Hope is a comfort to me and without it, life can be very bleak.  So, here's hoping today is full of hope for everyone!

Student Life the 3rd Time Around - My First Class is Coming to an End

 It's an exciting prospect to know that I am almost finished with my first course as a grad student.  Whew!  One more paper, which I'm working on, and I'm done.  Luckily, we do have a few days' extension because of the storm, but I'm hoping to get it finished asap.  Still, it has been a wonderful class and I have enjoyed myself, despite my frustrations with technology.

So far, my only complaint with the online course is that I wish we had more time to explore more of the theories we've been studying.  Theory is a hard class, but I have learned a great deal about them.  And I have found many of the them that relate to me.  Interesting!  I have also really appreciated the group work that we've done.  I have never been a huge fan of group work, but I lucked out with the group I'm in.  We've worked well together and I look forward to working with each of them in the future.

I'm going to be very interested to see how the 2nd half of the semester goes.  I will be in two classes then, so let's hope it doesn't kill me.  But, one of the great things about this program and degree tract is that I can slow down if I feel the need to.  I have five years to finish once I start.  I don't anticipate it taking five years, thought.  I am hoping that I will be able to remain full time and finish next December or so.  Still, it's nice to have that option if I need it.

So, as long as I don't completely screw up this paper, I should be in pretty good standing.  Thank you to all who have encouraged me through this process and helped me when I needed it.  I really appreciate that!  Now, it's time to have some lunch and get back to writing my paper.

That is all.

Autumn Leaves - Roger Williams

 

Now that it's the first day of October and fall is officially underway, I wanted to listen to this classic piano tune by Roger Williams.  Enjoy!