Haitian Releif and a FREE T-Shirt!

Most of you'uns know I do quite a bit of freelance work for Habitat for Humanity.

Here's the thing, it never feels like work. It feels more like a family, a family determined to make a difference in the world and provide safe, decent and affordable shelter for every single person.

Granted, it's a lofty goal, but if you consider the organization has built more than 350,000 houses around the world since 1976, providing more than 1.75 million people in 3,000 communities with a home to call their own, you'll see the mission is one every employee, donor and volunteer takes to heart.

To be clear, these homes aren't built FOR families. They are built IN PARTNERSHIP with families. Each homeowner goes through a stringent approval process and must demonstrate the ability to budget money, pay a monthly mortgage and be willing to invest in what's called sweat equity. To bank sweat equity hours, homeowners have to attend classes and work with volunteers/donors to build their own homes and often the houses of others in the program.

While Habitat is not a "first responder" organization after a major disaster, there are employees and volunteers already in Haiti working on shelter issues and determining how best to help the millions of people in need.

You can help in those efforts! I know there are many wonderful organizations you can donate to (I've donated to many myself), but if you can spare another $10 to Habitat, you will be gifting a(nother) heaping spoonful of hope AND you get a FREE T-shirt!

The T-shirt, featured at the top of my blog, comes in adult sizes S-2XL and is inspired by the work of Haitian artisans who salvage steel oil drums and transform them into awe-inspiring works of art - most often as metal wall sculptures. Artists use hammers and chisels to create their designs, breathing new life into old material.

Support Habitat for Humanity's rebuilding efforts in Haiti when you purchase this new t-shirt. 100% of the purchase price will go to Habitat for Humanity's Haiti relief efforts.

To purchase your T-shirt, click HERE.

To learn more about Habitat's relief work in Haiti, visit: www.habitat.org

Thank you!

That's Hot...

So, April and I are trying to get healthy (again).

This means we are torturing ourselves with the P90X program (kill me now) and watching what we eat (kill me yesterday).

Our yummy-in-the-tummy food options no longer include buffets, ice cream or biscuits.

I'm still dreaming of biscuits.

Light. Fluffy. Buttery Goodness.

Sigh.

We are determined this time and even took the "before" pictures.

They are locked in a safe and each of us swore on our dog's lives that they'd never see the light of day. Doing so would result in painful death. No questions asked.

This morning, I made some egg-white burritos (whole wheat burritos, of course).

In order to give them some flavor, I wished, aloud, that we had some hot sauce.

I hate hot sauce. But I love flavor. Flavor wins.

Yesterday I halfheartedly looked for hot sauce and couldn't find any, so I started to write it down on our grocery list before we sat down at the table.

April, also known as Super-Save-A-Lot, sprang into action!

"No! Wait, don't write that down. We have some!"

"We do? I looked already." I pointed to each and every cabinet.

"I know we have some." She began rummaging through all our drawers, picking up bottles, shuffling boxes around.

"Here it is!"

I stared at her. Dumbfounded.

"SERIOUSLY APES? You don't want me to write it on our grocery list because we have THIS?"

Behold:



In case you can't tell exactly how crazy little this bottle is....



"SERIOUSLY, APRIL?!"

"Well, I told you we had some!"

My eyes hurt they rolled so far back into my head.

She put the hot sauce on the table and we sat down to eat. I'm certain Diet Coke is the secret to reaching your fitness goals. I don't care what April says.



...and after we each put three drops of sauce on our meal....



I wrote Hot Sauce on our grocery list...

The Sands of Time

My mom sent me the link to this video on 12/29/09, encouraging me to watch it, certain it was worthy of blog posting.

Within days it was buried in my email and I'd forgotten about it.

Well, almost forgotten about it.

Every single time my mother called, the first thing she wanted to know:

"Have you watched that video I sent? You HAVE TO WATCH IT! It's amazing. Do it."

For those of you who know my mother, when she says "do it" she's not suggesting you do it. If you want to keep your limbs, you comply.

Today is the first day I've had the chance to go through all my emails and respond to them.

I came across her email and the link.

Still trying to pick my jaw up off the ground. The detail and artistry is indescribable.

I've seen it three times in the last half hour.

All I can say is,

You guys HAVE TO WATCH THIS! DO IT!

Or I'll sick my mother on you.

Here's the background that came with the video (video to follow right after):

Subject: Awesome (UKraine) Talent..

This video shows the winner of "Ukraine's Got Talent", Kseniya
Simonova, 24, drawing a series of pictures on an illuminated sand table showing how ordinary people were affected by the German invasion during World War II. Her talent, which admittedly is a strange one, is mesmeric to watch.

The images, projected onto a large screen, moved many in the audience to tears and she won the top prize of about $130,000.00

She begins by creating a scene showing a couple sitting holding hands on a bench under a starry sky, but then warplanes appear and the happy scene is obliterated.

It is replaced by a woman's face crying, but then a baby arrives and the woman smiles again. Once again war returns and Miss Simonova throws the sand into chaos from which a young woman's face appears.

She quickly becomes an old widow, her face wrinkled and sad, before the image turns into a monument to an Unknown Soldier.

This outdoor scene becomes framed by a window as if the viewer is looking out on the monument from within a house.

In the final scene, a mother and child appear inside and a man standing outside, with his hands pressed against the glass, saying goodbye.

The Great Patriotic War, as it is called in Ukraine, resulted in one in four of the population being killed with eight to 11 million deaths out of a population of 42 million.

Kseniya Simonova says:
"I find it difficult enough to create art using paper and pencils or paintbrushes, but using sand and fingers is beyond me. The art, especially when the war is used as the subject matter, even brings some audience members to tears. And there's surely no bigger compliment."

And here is the video...



.........................................................................

Did you do it? Did you watch it again?

I knew you would.

Amazing!

Move Over, Rachel Ray.

While it's true my cooking skills are less than stellar (I've actually burned soup), there is one dish that just might make me famous.

I didn't create it, but that's neither here nor there.

What's important is that I can COOK it.

If you are a fan of dishes that are guaranteed to pudge you out, this is your recipe.

It's been in my family forever - my mom used to make it every Christmas morning. It was the one time a year we were allowed to eat something other than Cheerios or Raisin Bran for breakfast...

Which meant my brother and I started foaming at the mouth around Thanksgiving in anticipation.

You may wanna double the recipe or make two batches (as this feeds two, maybe three people).

Lemme know if you try it!

Apple Breakfast Goodness

Yer gonna need:

3 Tablespoons butter
2 Green, Granny Smith* apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
3 Eggs
1/2 Cup milk
1/2 Cup flour
1 Teaspoon sugar

*You'll want to use Granny Smith apples. Red apples don't taste the same!

In a skillet, melt the butter and add the apple slices. Saute them until they are coated and soft. Whisk together, in a medium sized bowl, the eggs, milk, flour, sugar and a dash of salt.

Spread the apples evenly in a medium sized oven-safe casserole dish. Pour the whisked mixture over the apple slices.

Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes.

Topping:

1/4 Cup sugar
1 Teaspoon cinnamon

Combine sugar and cinnamon. Remove dish from oven and sprinkle topping evenly over the top (add a pat of butter if you'd like). Return the dish to the oven for 2 minutes.

Serve immediately (with maple syrup if you'd like, but you won't need it!)

Christmas Re-visited.

I realize few people are in the holiday spirit now that we've rung in the new year and shoved our holiday decorations under beds and in the back of sheds, but April's Christmas Eve poem is too good not to share!

Just after Thanksgiving, April got a jolt of creativity in the middle of the night and ran downstairs to type up the "surprise poem" running laps in her head.

I'd forgotten all about the poem until we were at a friend's house on Christmas Eve and April pulled out several pieces of paper from her jacket pocket.

She said:

"I wrote this poem for Heather and if ya'll don't mind, I'd like to read it."

I got all sappy and glow-ie, thinking how sweet Apes is and how lucky I am to have a partner so willing to show her love for me.

She cleared her throat. And started.

"It's called A 4-Legged Christmas

Twas the night before our family Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, no dog and no mouse.

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that naughty doggies couldn’t reach them up there.

Our three dogs were nestled all snug in the warm bed,
While visions of chicken breasts danced in their heads.

And Heather in her thermals and I in my robe,
Had just settled in after shoveling the pups a path in the big winter’s snow.

When downstairs there arose such a clatter,
I knew only Rosie could cause such a splatter.

Away to the stairs I flew like a flash,
One by one I sprinted down in a dash.

The moon cast a spotlight on the damage by the tree,
the light gave a shiny glow to the pile of glistening pee.

When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a tiny toy poodle, wearing a holiday sweater, so sheer.

With the look of a lamb so innocent and confused,
I knew any moment he would squat to poo.

Louder than beagles his pack they came,
As I shouted and barked, and called them by name!

"Now Stewart! now, Rosie! now, Jean Paul and whoever!
Let’s all gather round cause I’m gonna give a lecture!

To the corner of the couch and the shiny wooden floors,
Doggies must never pee or poo, oh never indoors!

As I sighed deeply and inhaled like never before,
Heather awoke and stumbled down to take a look at the wet floor.

Then up to the safe big bed they all flew,
Tails tucked in between their legs, silent, and Heather too.

And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof
The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.

As I drew in my head, and was turning around,
Down the chimney came a sooty, lost little hound.

He was covered in snow from his head to his paws,
And his furry coat all matted and gnawed.

With a raw and hairless place on his back,
He looked like an orphan pup separated from his pack.

His brown eyes-how they twinkled, his under bite and crooked smile how merry!
His sweet dimpled nose shined like a big blackberry!

His small little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow.

He was thin but bouncy, pacing all through the house!
And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself!

With a wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
He let me know right away that he wanted to be fed.

He made not a noise, but went straight to the bowl in the kitchen,
And gobbled all the kibble, rice and chicken.

Then laying his head in my lap to be pet,
He nodded and purred, indicating in this house, he was set!

He sprang up the stairs, to join his new pack,
And sweetly they all slept cuddled closely in the big, king sack.

Heather mused “since your allergic, I’m glad he’s not a kitty,”
April simply muttered, "Thank God FOUR dogs is the limit in our tiny little city!"

-- April (for my girl)

FYI: I'm keeping her forever.

A List and an Aponex

Holy Heck - it's 2010!

I've enjoyed my self-imposed lazy-ness, but have missed blogging and have so much to share with you (most of it to come in later posts).

Yet to come are:

A Christmas Eve poem penned by Apes (it's awesome)

A family recipe for the best breakfast EVER (my mom made it every Christmas morning for my brother and I)

A hysterical Christmas gift idea from Apes

The Christmas Letter I sent out describing our year-in-review

and of course, some photos.

However, I'm in the middle of making breakfast-for-dinner, so tonight's post will have to be short and sweet - but something ya'll love dearly.

Aponex.

Last night, I was rough housing with Snaggle the stray pup. He loves to wrestle and "play bite" your arm.

Apparently, Apes thought Snaggle and I were moving too close to her, um, boobie region, and she didn't want the dog to mistake her boob for my hand.

She yelled: "Heather! Stop! I'm scareful!"

Before I could respond, she shook her head vigorously and said:

"Yes. Scareful. That's what I am. A cross between scared and frightful. Shut it."

Merry Merry!