A Christmas Post

By Jonathan Marrelli

So my favorite Christmas music is from A Charlie Brown Christmas. I've been listening to this for a few days now at work, and it has really helped me get into the season. 

This album is available right now for $4.99 on the amazon music store. 

The files are high bit rate and DRM free MP3's. That means you can put it on anything, copy it anywhere, and not worry about it not playing. It works on iPods.

This is one of my favorite Christmas movies, and I love when Charlie Brown buys the scraggly little tree. Its a great childhood memory, with some serious messages for adults too. I'd recommend anybody feeling Scrooge-y watch this movie. Or listen to it while your driving, like I do, and avoid holiday related road rage.

Turkey Fry!

By Jonathan Marrelli

Okay, so between one thing and another, I haven't posed after Halloween. In my defence, the mess from Halloween was *huge* and really did take a while to clean up. 

As it is still about 27 hours until Christmas, I think I can get away with a more Thanksgiving themed post. Although turkey is good food for Christmas too.

This year, I fried a turkey. It was glorious and golden brown. My group at work got together the week before Thanksgiving and did a pot luck lunch. For the main course, we had a turkey cook off, between myself and Tim. The rules were simple: two turkey enter, one turkey leave. Or rather, two turkeys are fried, and one is declared a winner by the ever popular drool-O-meter. Tim provided the fryer, and the experience.

Before I talk anymore about this, let me be perfectly clear: 

you can blow up your house if you do this wrong. 

The turkey must to completely thawed (no no no ice!) and the oil must not splash over the top of the pot. Oil, air, and an open flame are a recipe for disaster, not deliciousness. Thank you, now back to the regularly scheduled posting.

My strategy was a simple one. Based on the idea that the 12 pound turkey would cook in only 42 minuets, I had to get any flavor in before the turkey hit the heat. Frying is also able to produce a very moist turkey, and crispy skin. These elements made it clear to me that the best solution was a brine. I soaked the turkey overnight (which also made sure it was completely thawed out) in the brine.

Tim opted for the creole-butter marinade injection, operating on the same theory as I was about pre-heat flavor.

The oil was heated, the bird prepared. My turkey was selected to go first. It hit the oil, and immediately my co-workers began salivating. The smell was incredibly good.

42 minuets later my bird came out of the oil. It was incredibly golden brown. The smell was fantastic. Everything was in place. Mashed potatoes, stuffing (on the side, do not put in the fryer), green bean casserole, cranberry sauce, rolls...and now The Turkey.

The brine made the meat tender, juicy and delicious. The hot oil made the skin crispy and delectable. The contest was a tie.

What? a tie! Yes, both turkeys were declared amazingly delicious, in different ways. I guess I believed everybody when 10 people, most of them skinny, ate two 12 pound turkeys at lunch. And almost all the fixings. 

I do feel vindicated however, that three people on my team asked for my brine recipe after eating the turkey, and six people who were *not* on my team asked my for it, based on the recommendation of my team, or maybe just the smell of the cooking birds.

In case anyone wants it, this is my easy-brine procedure:

1 cup of kosher salt (or regular salt if you want)

1/2 cup of brown sugar

1/2 a container of frozen o.j. concentrate (about 6 oz)

1 gallon of water

8 pounds of ice

Combine all these in a cooler, or a 5 gallon bucket with a lid, with the turkey and soak 6-8 hours. I like overnight, cause its easy. This works great for turkey in the oven as well. 

As evidence of the deliciousness, juiciness, and goodness of these turkeys, I will submit one last piece of information:

We forgot to make the gravy

and nobody noticed until that afternoon, when we found the un-made gravy in the clean up.

Wise Men Came From The East

East Bountiful

Babes In Toyland

Who are these adorable children?

Can you identify all nine Jaydines?

What is the first rule of Christmas Morning?

How many toys are pictured?

THERE ARE THREE STAGES OF MAN:

He believes in Santa











He does not believe in Santa


He is Santa

ANSWER TO QUIZ

{Someone who fears Santa Claus is CLAUSTROPHOBIC}

Bonnie's inventive answer SANTAPHOBIA earned her Jaydine Bucks because she was the only respondant. (View Comments)


Connor (via Bonnie) answered HAGIOPHOBIC [fear of holy things] which is often confused with Claustrophobia.

Scott and Jim developed into hagiophobes after repeatedly getting their heads
caught in decorative metal circles.

A Christmas Quiz

What do you call people who are afraid of Santa Claus?

Live Fire Exercise, 640th Regiment (RTI) - Updated

On Saturday November 15th, Colonel Ed Willis, Commander, 640th Regiment, Regional Training Institute (RTI), located at Camp Williams, Utah hosted a VIP Visit at the RTI. One of the courses being taught was the 13B10, Cannon Crewmember, a basic Field Artillery course. Among the VIPs in attendance were school administrators from the Jordan School District. I was able to invite Jim to attend. After an in brief and visit to the Battle Staff Course we drew field gear (Kevlar helmets and hearing protection) and headed to the Range. The primary field artillery weapon system used by the Army is the Paladin 155MM self propelled howitzer. The Paladin has a crew of four; commander, driver, gunner and loader and can operate independently on the battlefield with no external technical assistance. The Paladin fires a 100 pound projectile using a 40 pound charge. The firing range of the cannon is 24KM with an unassisted round. The range used Saturday was 11-15 KM. The commander of each of two Paladins dismounted and allowed each of the VIPs, one at a time, to enter the howitzer and fire the cannon by pulling the lanyard. Also in attendance in the field on Saturday was Horace Xochihua, Angie's Dad. Mr. Xochihua, is a retired ARNG NCO and a contract instructor for the 13S, Field Artillery Survey Course. The Cadre of the Field Artillery Battalion call him "Mr. X" or Mr. X-Ray" because they can pronounce his last name. When we finished the visit Jim and I posed for this photo at the the Regimental HQ Building.
Hi, this is Jim adding my two cents to this posting. First, if you want to see pictures posted here and other pictures enlarged, go to http://www.flickr.com/photos/32522382@N05/. Second, I really enjoyed my time at Camp Williams. I really didn't know what to expect. While Bryce would never say this, paraphrasing the words of Anchorman Ron Burgundy, "He's kind of a big deal around there." As you can see from the picture above, Bryce is the commander of the 2nd Battalion of the 640th Regiment. For reference, the Army chain of command from smallest to largest is: squad, platoon, company, batallion, brigade/regiment, division, corps, army. A battalion, which Bryce commands, has 300 to 1,000 soldiers.

The 640th Regiment Regional Training Institute at Camp Williams has a throughput of over 5,600 soldiers per year. That's the number of students that complete training in one of over 40 areas. These are soldiers from all over the country.

To give that some perspective, last year (2007-2008) there were 3,745 students enrolled at Snow College. There were 2,078 students enrolled at the College of Eastern Utah. There were 5,944 enrolled at Dixie State College. While the training may not be as long, the 640th provides instruction to more students than many of the State's higher ed. institutions. For the record, the Ogden-Weber Applied Technology College (the largest and most awesome technical college in the western United States) provided instruction to 12,113 students last year.

Unlike traditional higher education where all students start at the beginning of predefined semesters and everyone ends at the same time, the 640th successfully manages the herculean task of maintaining a very robust and demanding training schedule. The logistics alone is incredible.

I was impressed with the instructional technology and great learning theory being employed by the instructors. The 640th has a new HQ and training building that is just about completed that would rival any ed. building on a traditional college campus.

The live fire exercise was great, and yes, what man/child wouldn't want to fire a 100 pound explosive projectile 12 kilometers. Serious, I couldn't stop grinning for 20 minutes. It was great to meet Scott's father-in-law. I was able to see that Camp Williams is a real gem that goes far beyond semi-annual live fire exercises. Bryce is clearly a major player in that success. I'm very proud of him.

Taggart Sighting in Ireland

Baron's mom and dad, Laur and Paula Barker, are travelling in the British Isles. They took this photo of a sticker in a car window in Remelton, Ireland and sent it to Donette.

Happy Halloween

By Jon Marrelli

Happy Halloween everybody. I am posting this quickly as I get ready to leave work.  My place of business (Datamark) goes all out for Halloween. I have posted a number of photos to my flikr account.

I really enjoy Halloween. It is a chance to dress up, assume a persona and be a hero, a villain, a clown or a king for a day. Most of us don't get a chance to be a lot of different things in our lives, and Halloween is a great chance to vicariously be another person.

For example, today I got to steal a golden idol and out run a giant boulder.

So my question to everyone is: who do you want to be today? (Great, now I'm going to have Oingo Boingo stuck in my head all day.)

But seriously, I have always wanted to be a hero, and defeat the bad guy and rescue the damsel in distress. And capes. I like to wear capes. Halloween is a day where that is not considered an "employment liability."

I hope everyone has a safe and happy Halloween.

Roses in October?

I took this pictures this morning of the "New Dawn" roses growing on my arbor. Thanks to Abby for giving me the idea to take pictures of flowers. Now I can enjoy these babies all winter long.

This picture was taken last month after that early snow storm that wiped out the remainder of my vegetable garden. You can see the "Chicago Peace" peeking out from under her white blanket.

This one was taken this morning of the same "Chicago Peace". Pretty resilient for a finicky hybrid tea rose.

Don't you just love this crazy Utah weather?

JUST IN TIME FOR HALLOWEEN

I have not contributed much to "Jaydine's Finer Things" because it seems too much like a homework assignment. Writing is hard for me (whine). But I'm going to try to overcome my fear of revealing my poor spelling and grammar to share with you a couple of really good books.

The first is "Stiff: The Curious lives of Human Cadavers", by Mary Roach. I actually read this book a couple of years ago but I'm planning on attending the Bodyworlds exhibit soon and my anticipation of this event reminded me that this book refers to the plastination process that they use to preserve the bodies. So I pulled it out again and reread some of my favorite chapters: A head is a terrible thing to waste, Crimes of anatomy, How to know if you're dead and Out of the fire, and into the compost bin. Entertainment Weekly described this book as "One of the funniest and most unusual books...Gross, educational, and unexpectedly sidesplitting". At this point you are probably wondering at my morbid choice of reading material. But it's not that different from the humorous travel log of presidential assassinations. Despite the irreverent macabre title, Roach somehow pulls off a respectful, (but hilarious), maticulously researched account of what happens to cadavers, past and present.

The second book is an entertaining piece of new fiction entitled The Good Thief, by Hannah Tinti. This book tells the story of Ren, an orphan, abandoned as a baby at St. Anthony's orphanage for boys. He is also missing his left hand. This introduces the mystery. Who is this boy? Where did he come from? What happened to his hand? The characters are vivid and the plot is a non-stop adventure. It reminded me of Huckleberry Finn (yes Donette, I read it) or Oliver Twist. This is a story full of interesting characters; scam artists, grave robbers, a resurrected giant and a dwarf that lives in the chimney. A good spooky October read!

There, I did it and it only took me 2 hours! I was unable to download the picture of The Good Thief book jacket (due to a pesky internal error).

Hi everyone - I wanted to post a picture of Alec and let you all know that there is nothing 'finer' than watching a BYU lacrosse game and you can go to their website, byulacrosse.com  to look at the schedule.  This picture was taken following a scrimmage with the Univ of Utah.  Alec had a goal and played well for his second game with the big boys.  Of course BYU won.  The season doesn't really start until spring however they are playing scrimmages with other local universities until then.  There will be two visiting Div I teams, Denver and Maryland both ranked in the top 20, coming to play on Oct 18th at Alta High School.  You can get tickets online.  IF anyone wants to go, let us know and we'll carpool or something.

One of my favorite web sites is snopes.com. They explore and research urban legends and myths. I came across a very interesting posting a few weeks ago and would like to share it. I will just give you brief summary and it you want to know more you can do your own research. Recently a 98 year old woman named Irena Sendler died of pneumonia in Warsaw, Poland. She has been referred to as "the female Oskar Schindler" for her daring and ingenuity in saving the lives or more than 2500 Jews (most of them children) in German-occupied Poland during World War II. The story conflicts a little. One says that she was a plumber/sewer specialist and smuggled infants out in the bottom of her tool box. Another version said that she passed herself off as a nurse. Irena Sendler was a candidate for the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize but Al Gore won it for is efforts on global warming. Anyway, I was fascinated by the story. If you want to read more go to www.snopes.com/politics/war/sendler.asp or http://www.irenasendler.org/ Somebody needs to write a book. This photo is Irena at age 91.

Picture of Dad/Grandpa/Great-Grandpa

Here's a nice picture of Dad (and Julie Rabe) taken by the George Washington Taggart headstone in the South Morgan Cemetery.  Dad's lookin' good.  I wish I were that trim.  

But if I were (that trim), who would keep Hostess in business?  My corpulence is really an important part of our economic viability.  I'm just not willing to let my vanity stand in the way of supporting a fine American company and further erode a dwindling consumer confidence portrayed by the liberal media.

But here's a little news flash for all those reporters and commentators:  "I'm not eating this Twinkie to seek their good opinion -- I'm eating this Twinkie to serve the people of this country."

[Kids, this is what happens when you mix polysorbate 60, hydrogenated shortening, high fructose corn syrup, FD&C yellow no. 5 and 16 straight hours of C-Span]

I'm not sure who the other gentlemen are, but I assure you that since they are with Dad and Julie, they must indeed be gentlemen.  The source of the picture is a blog titled "Update on Joseph Taggart.  The link is:  http://josephtaggart.blogspot.com/2008/09/fair-state-state-fair-and-fine-state-of.html

Zucchini Chocolate Cake

This makes a deliciously moist cake that doesn't taste a bit like a vegetable. I took this cake to Grandpa's house a while ago and Alan asked for the recipe so I'm sharing it with you all. By the way if you need Zucchini I have plenty. I've also had a bumper crop of tomatoes and peppers so if you want to come visit me you can take all you can pick.

1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup milk
3 (1-ounce) squares unsweetened baking chocolate
1 Tb vanilla
2 cups grated zucchini (I peel mine)
1 recipe Chocolate Butter Frosting

In a large bowl combine oil, sugar, and eggs In a separate bowl sift dry ingredients; add to first mixture. Add milk and mix well. Melt baking chocolate in the microwave for 20 - seconds intervals, until just melted. Blend chocolate and vanilla into batter. Stir in zucchini. Bake in greased 9x13-inch baking pan at 350 degrees F. for 35 to 40 minutes or till a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool and frost with Chocolate Butter Frosting.


Chocolate Butter Frosting
1/2 cup butter
1/3 cup milk
2 (1-oz) squares unsweetend baking chocolate, melted
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla

In a medium saucepan bring butter and milk to a boil. Remove from heat. Add melted chocolate, powdered sugar, and vanilla. Beat until smooth.

Photos of Greg...

Chris and I were going through some boxes this weekend and found many old photos. Chris asked me to post the photos we have of Greg for all to enjoy. Feel free to copy and paste them to your computers. (Sorry about the quality of some of them, I said they were old.)

HOPE

Emily Dickinson wrote:

"Hope" is the thing with feathers

That perches in the soul -

And sings the tune without the words,

And never stops - at all.

People often say, " I hope I do well on my exam" or "I hope I have enough money left at the end of the month to make my car payment". There is nothing wrong with hoping, unfortunately, that kind of hope is not a plan. Hope without action almost has negative value.

Our greatest hope comes through the Savior's atonement. Elder Neal A. Maxwell gives us the following insights on hope.

"Unsurprisingly the triad of faith, hope, and charity, which brings us to Christ, has strong and converging linkage: faith is in the Lord Jesus Christ, hope is in His atonement, and charity is the "pure love of Christ"! Each of these attributes qualifies us for the celestial kingdom. Each, first of all, requires us to be meek and lowly.

Faith and hope are constantly interactive, and may not always be precisely distinguished or sequenced. Though not perfect knowledge either, hope's enlivened expectations are "with surety" true. In the geometry of restored theology, hope has a greater circumference than faith. If faith increases, the perimeter of hope stretches correspondingly." Nov '94 Ensign, Brightness of Hope

The Taggart's immigrated to the United States from Ireland. The family crest is shown above. The family motto is Dum Spiro spero or While I breathe, I hope. I am grateful for my heritage. In addition to family, hope in Christ's atonement is what sustains me.

New Book Club Pick

Well I hope the new book club pick isn't coming too soon. I know my dad and I have finished Huckleberry Finn. It wasn't as captivating as I remember as a young girl however it reinforced my thoughts on it's pioneering efforts in satirical American literature.

That said, lets push on. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, another classic in American literature. The novel chronicles an era that Fitzgerald himself dubbed the "Jazz Age." Following the shock and chaos of World War I, American society enjoyed unprecedented levels of prosperity during the "roaring" 1920s as the economy soared. At the same time, Prohibition, the ban on the sale and manufacture of alcohol as mandated by the Eighteenth Amendment, made millionaires out of bootleggers and led to an increase in organized crime. Although Fitzgerald, like Nick Carraway in his novel, idolized the riches and glamor of the age, he was uncomfortable with the unrestrained materialism and the lack of morality that went with it.

The Great Gatsby is a novel by the American author F. Scott Fitzgerald. First published on April 10, 1925, it is set in Long Island's North Shore and New York City during the summer of 1922.

So get excited and start reading! I will start a new discussion thread on the Book Club Discussion link.

Stephenie Meyer...the Twilight Series

So, I started this series thinking it would be a decent read. The YW and some of the leaders I worked with said it was so good. And my niece loves the series. So, I bought the first book and got addicted. Twilight took me about 4-5 chapters to really get into, but then it got really good. The final book Breaking Dawn came out last Saturday. It is a 750 page book and despite my hectic schedule, I've managed to find enough time to almost finish it.

They have all been really great and I love the storyline as well as the characters. Stephenie has such an imagination. Some of it seemed a little ridiculous to me because we all have an idea in our minds of vampires and how they "work", but they I just allowed myself to imagine and enjoy. I do have to say that Breaking Dawn is by FAR the best!

This series was originally geared toward the teen scene, as Harry Potter. However, this is one of the best series I have ever read. I highly recommend it to all of you! And the story of how she came to write the series is really cool. If you want to learn more about it, her website is on this link: STEPHENIE MEYER.

The Land of Broken Down Shanties and Dinosaur Bones...Vernal?

We had our first family vacation in Vernal last weekend. For some reason I remember there being more to do when I was a kid. The query at the state park was closed until 2011, I had no clue! We did enjoy the dinosaur museum in Vernal. The hotel was only a couple of decades old and the pool relatively free of wildlife. Luckily kids are easy to please so the evening events of sitting on the bed eating cheetohs and watching Spongebob on cable was pretty cool to them. We had a scenic ride home of the decay of western society and many examples of where welfare funds are allocated. I know I sound cynical but I did have a good time and am appreciating more the sacrifices my parent went through to have family vacations. Case in point, my mom and dad used to read every information tile at the museums we would visit and it would drive Chris, Greg, and I nutts because we wanted to charge ahead. Well karma rears it's ugly head because Colby and Brie felt the need to keep us moving in an orderly fashion or they would create a few new petroglyphs themselves using fingernails and newly put up wallpaper. They were pretty good for the majority of the trip and I feel we had some really great family bonding moments. In the end it was worth the trip!

Slow Cooker Lasagna

Scott wanted this so he suggested to post it for all to have.

3/4 to 1 lb. ground beef or bulk Italian sausage or a mix of each.
1 med. onion chopped
2 cans (15 oz. each) Italian style tomato sauce (or reg. tomato sauce and add your own garlic and oregano to taste)
2 tsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. salt
3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 container (15 oz.) ricotta cheese
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
12 uncooked lasagna noodles

1. Cook meat and onion in a large skillet over med. heat until no longer pink. Drain and stir in tomato sauce, basil and salt.
2. Mix 2 cups of the mozzarella and the ricotta and Parmesan cheese.
3. Spoon 1/4 of the meat/tomato mixture into 3.5 - 5 qt. slow cooker; top with 4 noodles, broken into pieces to fit. Top with 1/2 of the cheese mixture and 1/4 of the meat mixture. Top with 4 noodles, remaining cheese and 1/4 meat mix. Top with last 4 noddles and last of meat mix.
4. Cover and cook on low heat 5-6 hours or until noodles are tender.
5. Sprinkle top of lasagna with remaining 1 cup mozzarella cheese. Cover and let stand about 10 minutes to melt cheese and while you whip up a salad. We use a big spoon and dig deep to get all the layers.

I was gone all day yesterday, so today I thought I'd blog my favorite things about Utah today.

First, I'm so thankful for the pioneers, my ancestors, that followed the Lord and came to Utah. They went through so much for us and I'm truly grateful. Also, to have the blessing of the gospel in my life. And I'm so grateful for the temple. I love all of the Church's temples, but Mt. Timp and Bountiful are my favs. Chris, Richard and I were sealed for eternity in the this, the Bountiful Temple. What a blessing!

Chris and I love to be in the mountains. We enjoy the cool breeze, the beauty and the amazing animals. This was taken yesterday while we drove through Curtis Creek and enjoyed the view, the smells and sounds of nature, and scouted for deer and moose. What a blessing to have these beauties so close to where we live.

I also adore Lake Powell. I have not been for just over 4 years, but Chris and I often talk about going. It's hot, but so wonderful and fun. I love to discover all the ruins, the ancient art and the natural beauty of this wonderful place. Utah is blessed to have so many diverse areas to discover and learn about. Not only do we have this wonderful Lake Powell, but so many other bodies of water to use and enjoy.

We have so many State and National Parks to partake of. this photo is from Capitol Reef. I can't recall that I've ever been there, but I liked the photo. :) But I have been to many of our other parks: Dead Horse Point, Bryce Canyon, Arches, among others. What a beautiful state!

Last, but not least, I am thankful to have found my husband and his family in Utah. What a blessing you have all been to us.Thank you for you love and undying support and for your examples!

Lava

Took the fam to Lava on Friday. After hours at the pool, we spent the late afternoon floating the Portneuf River. I'm sure I have giardia from my involuntary ingestion of river water, but hey, what's a little diarrhea? I could use the loss of some water weight.

This is Sam dropping off of one of the diving platforms. He was planning on performing a cutaway with tuck or pike, but at the last minute he opted for the Samalama (rhymes with Dalai Lama) signature layout. All that was really missing was the flowing saffron robes.

Tuacahn's Production of "Big River"

I was so excited when Bonnie mentioned to me that Tuacahn Amphitheatre in St. George is doing a production of "Big River", a story based on "Huckleberry Finn". This production runs from August 27 through October 17, 2008. I thought it would be fun for all who have read the book in our book club this summer to go down to St. George together and see this production. It only plays on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. I was thinking October would be the most comfortable weather wise. So if you are interested please mark you calendars and make arrangements to go because I don't want to have to go by myself. For more information you can go to www.tuacahn.org.

Finest Political Parody

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The Mark of Twain

I recently travelled to San Luis Obispo, CA on business and noticed a special edition of Time Magazine in the airport bookstore with an artist's rendition of Mark Twain on the cover. This was Time's seventh annual Making of America issue. The edition has four very interesting articles on Mark Twain; The Seriously Funny Man, Mark Twain: Our Original Superstar, Getting Past Black and White, and Man of the World. You can access the articles online at: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1820141,00.html . I found the article very insightful and especially useful in understanding who Mark Twain was and why his works of literature are so important even today. I thought those of you who are reading The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn might also find these articles interesting.

The Adventures of an Assasination Vacation ala Shakespeare

Step aside Bradys. I have just returned from a 2 1/2 day trip to The Utah Shakespearean Festival. (I attended with Jan and Bonnie) Unfortunately you won't get an intelligent and insightful review of the plays we saw. The first reason being that Nancy wasn't there. But it was satisfying to spend time with my other sisters and laugh and marvel anew at how funny we think we are.

Highlights of the trip (for me) include food poisoning, acquired at the Garden House Restaurant, (Otherwise, I highly recommend it) Next, Fred Adams, founder of the festival, approaching Jan with, "How are you? It's so good to see you again." (This put her way ahead in the How Many People Do You Know Game--you get extra points if they recognize you, even mistakenly) And lastly, watching Cyrano de Bergerac through a low blood sugar queasy haze and still realizing it to be one of the greatest stories ever told. (Bonnie cried)

In other news: I borrowed Bryce's copy of Assasination Vacation from Jim (thanks Bryce) and am enjoying that read. Bryce's copy comes with an additional perc in that previous readers have left in ticket stubs as book marks so I feel a certain sense of community as I reinsert Larry Criddle's flight pass. Not to worry, I didn't read this book during the aforementioned gastrointestional disturbance. (There's that potty humor you've been waiting for Jim)

Bonnie bought me a copy of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn that I have finally begun. I'm only about 30 pages in. So far I'm feeling like maybe I'm not such a bad parent. I look forward to participating in the Book Club Thread.

You HAVE to check out Baron and Donette's new blog CINEMABON. Jan and I need them to help us set up one where we review historical [fancy pants] movies. Instead of Cinnamon Buns, we would like to use breeches.