My Top 5

This is how I would round out my "Top 5" (in order:)

1. Henry Cavill

2. Jason Statham

3. Gerard Butler

4. Chris Evans

5. Ewan McGregor

My inspirational quote for the rest of the year...

"Some of them were naysayers and didn't think I could do it. But, the majority of them said they saw it in my eyes ...I was going to do it and they were watching to see my progress."

Gag-worthy Hypocrisy

Warning: Adult Content. 

 
I have never seen such hypocrisy as that surrounding politics and religion. 

I realize that I am stating the obvious, but it wasn't until recently that I was thoroughly blasted with it.  For all intensive purposes, I am renaming the individuals in this story: "Bill" and "Mary" are the married couple.  "Lucifer" is the "other man."  Yes, this is real.

"Bill" and "Mary" were perfect for each other.  They shared the same goals, morals, and religious beliefs (among other things.)  "Bill" and "Mary" were married a few years ago, and it seemed like the perfect marriage.  "Bill" and "Mary" decided to pursue a sexual lifestyle out of the norm.  I have nothing against swinging couples.  I know many of them.  (For a brief rundown, "Bill" and "Mary" never followed the "full swap" mentality of just what it sounds like.) So that was that..."Bill" and "Mary" were...open, but they did have rules and set standards, etc. for it all.  What makes this even more humorous is "Mary" was raised in a very strict, religious upbringing.  "Mary" studied religions at her university.  "Mary" received an upper-level degree in theology and religious studies.  "Mary's" sole goal was to become a Minister.  Already, I'm seeing some hypocrisy.  I'm pretty sure there aren't any passages in The Bible (the religious beliefs they followed) that condone "swinging" or an alternative lifestyle.

We hadn't heard from "Bill" in awhile until we received a note from him just signed as "Bill" and not "Bill and Mary."  We contacted "Bill" and weren't expecting to hear such a tale: "Mary" and he were getting a divorce.  They had been having issues, went through counseling, and nothing was working.  The straw that broke the camel's back is when "Mary" ran into someone from her past and began an extramarital sexual relationship with "Lucifer."  Now, the way that "Bill" and "Mary's" lifestyle was, this was absolutely NOT part of their "rules" for their lifestyle.  This was nothing more than infidelity.  "Bill" was devastated.  They are now legally separated.

The kicker is "Bill and Mary" were invited to our wedding.  "Bill" said he was coming, and he said "Mary" wanted to come, too, but she wanted to bring her new boyfriend, "Lucifer."  (They had received the invitation right when they decided on the divorce/info came out.  What?  This isn't Jerry Springer, folks. 

Thanks to social networking, my fiancé "proved his real friendship" (joke) by "friending" "Bill" online.  While he was looking through "Bill's" picture, he sees a photo take a few months ago.  "Mary" in full Minister attire.  She had become an ordained Minister.

Now, I seem to recall back in my days of CCD (Confraternity of Christian Doctrine - Catholic) that nowhere did it say anything about infidelity being acceptable, and nowhere did it say anything about "infidelity is unacceptable....except for those of 'the cloth.'" Instead, this hypocrite is teaching others how to love one another, respect one another, honor one another, but yet....clearly, this person is not doing so.

This is not my first run-in with hypocrites and religion.  When I was in college, this seemingly nice young man and I chit chatted for YEARS.  He was "single."  He would say things like, "I wish you could have come with me to my high school reunion!" etc. and when I saw a photo of some girl kissing him on the cheek, I laughed and said, "High School sweetheart?"  (He and I weren't dating, what did I care?) He laughed and said, "yeah -she's a good friend of mine from back home."  He made statements like, "one day, I hope to get married, have kids, and live the ideal American dream." 

Six years later, I found him on a social networking site, and it said "Married" and showed photos of three smiling children.  I sent him a message and said, "hey! Congrats on the marriage and the new family!" The response I received was, "LOL - what are you talking about? I've been married for ten years.  They are mine and my wife's kids."  Sure enough, he had been lying the entire time.  I don't know what made me more angry - the fact he was trying to pick me up or the fact that he had lied about the woman in the reunion picture (his wife) and that he "hoped to have kids someday," but was already a father!  A quick message later he said, "sorry about that - my wife was standing nearby.  I had been cheating..." yadda yadda yadda.  Guy was a youth minister and radio host for a Christian radio program. 

Thou shall not covet thy neighbor's wife........................unless you're a Minister.

Two tomato tidbits

BAD NEWS:
Our lovely trio of tomatoes have been attacked by Tomato Hornworms.  They're nasty buggers that are camouflaged so neatly in the plant's foliage that they are hard to detect.  I noticed perfectly quadrilateral droppings, but I couldn't find the source.  Andrew noticed some of our leaves missing.  When I looked around, I was faced with a fat sucker chowing down on the leaves.  Andrew removed him and two of his buddies and threw them in the fire.  Die, MF'er, DIE! Our tomato plants are okay.  We haven't found anymore nor have we seen signs of anymore of them.  We have around 50 tomatoes waiting to ripen.  Tonight, I will pick three more softball-sized tomatoes.

GOOD (WEIRD) NEWS:
A few weeks ago, we saw a plant in our yard that looked like a tomato plant.  I said, "no, we haven't planted any out there."  Sure enough, tiny green globular things started growing.  I thought, "don't pick them.  They are probably berries."  I got home from work last night, and my fiancé says, "yeah....they're tomatoes."  I walked out with him, and sure enough there were bride red things on this plant.  We picked one, cut it open, it LOOKED like a tomato, and it SMELLED like a tomato.  By, George!  We have cherry tomatoes in our backyard we never planted!  The only thing we can think of is maybe a bird ate a seed, pooped it out, and now we have cherry tomatoes!

Southwestern Chicken Burritos :)

We've ditched all of the sodium-laden seasoning mixes for our meals and instead have made our own seasoning mixes.  This one is a good combination for Southwestern dishes (because let's face it...it's not really Mexican!)  I don't really measure out my seasonings as some meals require more than others.  This should give you a good base.  Next time I will measure :)

2 lbs chicken breasts: boneless, skinless, chopped into small pieces (I use a cleaver)
Cumin Powder (to taste)
Chili Powder (to taste)
Cayenne Pepper (to taste)
Paprika (to taste)
Garlic Powder (to taste)
Salt (to taste - but I don't use a whole lot in this recipe)
Lime juice
Dale's Reduced Sodium Seasoning (liquid) - 1 capful
Frank's Hot Sauce (two shakes)
8" flour tortilla
1 x can Rotel tomatoes (drained)
6 oz. crushed tomatoes (more or less)
1/2 cup shredded colby-jack or any other cheese
Philadelphia Cooking Cream - Santa Fe Blend (optional)

Preheat oven to 350.  Cook chicken breast pieces in frying pan with some olive oil in the bottom.  While the chicken is cooking, add in all of your dry seasonings as well as Dale's and Frank's.  Continue cooking until chicken is thoroughly cooked.  Drain, if necessary, and return to the frying pan.  Mix in the Rotel tomatoes (diced tomatoes and chiles,) the crushed tomatoes, 2/3 of the cooking cream, and the cheese.  Stir and heat until well-blended.

Fill tortillas down the center with mixture, roll, and place the seam down on a cooking spray'ed 13" x 9" pan (you will need a smaller pan, too - 9" x 9" or so.)  Once all of the tortillas have been made, use about 1/2 - 3/4 teaspoon of the cooking cream per burrito and smear it on.  Make sure you try to cover as much of the burrito as possible, but don't make it TOO thick.  Top with shredded cheese.  Cover with tin foil, and bake for 20 minutes.

YUM!  For a lower fat version, omit the Philadelphia Cooking Cream and opt for another can of Rotel tomatoes and crushed tomatoes, and spread evenly across the tops.

15 June 2011: This day in history...

1215: Magna Carta sealed.
1300: Dante is named prior of Florence.
1776: Delaware declares independence.
1846: US-Canada border established.
1877: First African-American graduate of West Point Military Academy.
1945: Judy Garland marries Vincente Minnelli.

Tomatoes

We have over forty tomatoes waiting to spring forth.  Our three plants are 6 feet tall.