War

I spent the morning at the funeral of a young man who was 28. He was a soldier in the US Army and spent 15 months in Iraq but was recently training at Ft. Benning. No one knows what happened yet although he’s had issues with drugs in his past. It was a full fledged military funeral. 21 gun salute, Taps, flag presented to the mother… very touching. It was hard to watch his fellow soldiers break down in tears as they hugged Justin’s mother. They each presented her with a carnation. The whole thing just gave me goosebumps and made me think about our servicemen and women. My father was a Marine so I’ve always had a high respect for the Military but I think sometimes I forget what a sacrifice it really is for the soldiers and for the families that are left behind while their loved ones go off to foreign lands. My dad went to Vietnam not once, but twice. He has never spoken about it to this day. I wonder if he would be a different man had he not seen whatever it was he saw over there. But that’s another post.

Take a minute today to remember our freedoms and the people who fight to keep those freedoms intact. God Bless the USA.

Roasted Red Pepper Lasagna

My friend SA made this for our church Progressive Dinner Saturday night. I was dreading it because I don’t like red peppers but my mom always taught me to be polite when you eat at someone else’s house so I tried it. I DO like red peppers, I DO i DO – Sam I Am!!! It was so good in fact I could have eaten it for breakfast the next morning. Here is her recipe…

Roasted Red Pepper Lasagna

This is a recipe I’ve been using for almost 10 years. I’ve made several adjustments in that time frame and now I think I have it pretty well the way I want it. I used to roast the peppers myself, but the recipe tastes just as good with the canned ones, and they’re only $1 a jar at Dollar Tree (cheaper than fresh ones). You can substitute Ricotta for the cream cheese in the filling, it just depends on your taste buds! Enjoy!

1 1/2 jars (18 oz total) roasted red peppers, julienned, then cut into 1/2″ pieces
8 lasagna noodles
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 T. olive oil or canola oil
1 can (28 oz) crushed or pureed tomatoes
2 T. parsley
1 t. sugar
1 t. basil
1/2 t. pepper
1/4 c. butter
1/3 c. all purpose flour
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. ground nutmeg (or to taste–if you use freshly grated, use less–it’s strong!)
2 1/2 c. milk or half & half or heavy cream (however rich you want it to be)
1 8 oz package cream cheese, softened
1 c. Parmesan cheese
1 12 oz package Mozzarella cheese

Cook lasagna noodles according to directions. In a skillet, cook red peppers and garlic in oil for about 3 minutes (till the house is nice and smelly), then add the tomatoes, parsley, sugar, basil and pepper. Simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes. In a saucepan, melt butter. Whisk in flour, salt and nutmeg until smooth. Gradually add milk/half & half/heavy cream. Bring to a boil, cook and stir 2 minutes or until thickened. Add cream cheese and Parmesan cheese, stir until all cheese is mostly melted.

Spread 1 cup pepper sauce in a 13 x 9 x 2 baking pan, coated with nonstick cooking spray. Top with 4 noodles, half of the white sauce, half of the pepper sauce, and 1 1/2 c. Mozzarella. Repeat layers, sprinkling all remaining Mozzarella on top.

Bake, uncovered at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until bubbly. Let stand 15 minutes before serving.

Paul Newman

My mom and I were just talking about him yesterday after seeing Nights in Rodanthe. I was comparing Richard Gere to Paul Newman in Message in a Bottle. He passed away last night. Not really a surprise since I’d heard he had cancer but still so very sad. He and his wife were a true Hollywood love story. I’ll miss his piercing blue eyes.

9/11

The only news show this morning talking about 9/11 is Fox. Everyone else is talking about the election, the dangers of crocs, and Hurricane Ike (who definitely deserves his 15 minutes of fame right now). Everything seems so normal. But this date will never be normal. The memories are burned into my brain as clearly as when I saw the Challenger explode, as clearly as the day our school principal announced the President was shot, as clearly as the day I sat with my brother at a memorial for John Lennon. But somehow, these memories are so much harder to think about. Somehow my brain still wants to think it was all just a horrible dream that everyone I know happened to have. But it certainly wasn’t a dream. It did happen. And today I feel the need to remember. Our FDNY tshirts are all faded and worn out. My husband bought it for me that October and all proceeds went to the Firefighters Fund. He bought one for each of us so that we could feel like we were contributing if even just in the smallest way. So today I’ll wear my Mary Poppins – Broadway shirt as a small way of remembering.

God Bless America

Found on Facebook

I joined Facebook about a year ago because I knew it might be a good way to locate old classmates for our upcoming 20 year reunion. Since then I have managed to find not only old classmates but most recently my “boyfriend” from preschool. It was called nursery school back then. PPNS – Paradise Point Nursery School. We were inseparable. My report cards all had comments on how I needed to depend less on Kenny and become my own independent person. He asked me to marry him and we were planning to honeymoon in Hawaii and Walt DisneyWorld. I moved shortly before my 6th birthday and we kept in touch through letters and postcards (I still have them!). When I was in 3rd grade Kenny and his family came through town on vacation and spent the afternoon with us. We went to see Superman and we had a “romantic” spaghetti dinner (we sat at the dining room table and ate off my mom’s good china) while everyone else ate in the kitchen. I haven’t seen Kenny since that day. My Senior year of high school his picture fell out of the family Christmas card… it was actually an ad from a newspaper he modeled for. He still made my heart flutter. We’ve never really lost touch as I’ve always had contact with his mom and she has helped me locate him numerous times over the years. We’ve chatted by phone and emailed from time to time but its been years since I’ve talked to him. But now he’s my Facebook friend. Seeing his name made my heart flutter. Oh I’m not in love with him anymore… that would be silly. Its been 30 years and that puppy love of yesteryear is just that. But you see, Kenny was my first love. And first loves are special. They leave a mark on your heart that just never goes away. And I wouldn’t want it any other way.

Tomorrow marks the 30th anniversary of Elvis Presley's death.  I was planning to spend the evening at Graceland but that was before the heat wave set in.  There is no way I would sit out in this heat in that crowd of people tonight.   However, you can watch the vigil online and there is plenty of Elvis info out there to check out if you just feel like learning more about the King.

Our newspaper has a special online section  www.goelvis.com.

Then there is the official Elvis Presley Enterprises website www.elvis.com.   which leads you to www.elvisweek.com.

Those of us who live here in Memphis know about Graceland Too.   If you ever come to visit me here, I'll take you.   This article describes the experience perfectly.   I've been there twice and only need one more visit to get my lifetime membership card.  Seriously.

ETA my friend Ted's website - www.epexpress.net.   He does the jumpsuit, the scarves, the whole deal.   Its a hoot. 

Larry King is here to interview Priscilla tonight at Graceland.   I think its on right now but will repeat again later this evening if you just feel lthe need to TIVO it.   I admire her grace and her genuineness.  She knows she will always be the wife of Elvis (even though they weren't married anymore) and she welcomes the public with open arms. 

Truthfully, I'm an Elvis fan.  I loved him as a child and I love him now.   I often wonder what music would have been like had he lived... if gansta rap would even be in existence.   Lisa Marie and Priscilla do a lot for the city and especially St. Jude and I know Elvis would be proud of them.   I'm just sorry drugs cut his life so short.   Such a waste.

I am not a traitor!

We, as a family, had a rough decision to make today. Since the day I met him, my husband has been a die hard- born and raised in Milwaukee – can’t take the Cheesehead out of him- Green Bay Packer fan. Some who know him may say he’s one of the biggest Packer fans ever. He created the Packer Fan club here in our city and although he has not attended the gatherings in a few years (since having kids and acquiring DirecTV Sunday Ticket), the club still goes strong. He wears jerseys with numbers of players both past and present. He wears foam cheese on his head and both of our young daughters are well aware of the importance of the Pack in our household. During football season our typical lunch (or dinner depending on gametime) consists of cheese, sausage, and various football snacks. We own Packer books, Packer DVD’s, Packer bobbleheads and numerous Packer Christmas tree ornaments. We have an entire room in our house devoted to the Packer franchise and he was more than excited when he realized our daughter’s initials would be G.B.

Today one of the greatest players in Packer history (maybe the greatest) was traded to the New York Jets. In his press conference he said “I am not a traitor”. We believe that. We believe that when Brett played for the Packers he gave that team everything he had… that he loved the franchise as much as they loved him. We believe he’ll always love the Packers and we believe they will always love him. We, as a family, will always love Brett. We wish him and the New York Jets well. I think we’ll even still be Brett fans.

But ultimately we aren’t traitors either. We were, are, and will remain Packer fans first and foremost. Godspeed Brett and Go Pack Go!!