Advent Conspiracy

Don't Believe a Thing You Hear Today

I am not an April's Fools Fan. I don't particularly enjoy Punk'd or any event where someone is made to feel stupid for someone else's pleasure. BUT, there have been some good pranks pulled out there. And I'm not just talking about the rubberband that the kids and I put on the kitchen spray nozzle so it shot straight at Allan when he turned the water on this evening.

* A few years ago when I was listening to NPR, they did a long story about changing the Boston Celtics (seltics) to the Celtics (keltics), to be culturally sensitive to the Irish. They interviewed players, people in Ireland and Boston - giving all points on both sides. I was shocked - Can they change the pronunciation of such an institution? It wasn't until the next day that I realized that I had been snookered [other yearly spoofs include last year's iBod, federal health care for pets (2002), and advertisements projected onto the moon (2000)].

* Today I was checking in with one of my regular reads - Tim Ferris and his 4-Hour Workweek. Part of his regular message is smart workflow and outsourcing pretty much everything (he has even outsourced his dating - seriously). Yesterday, which he reasoned was April's Fools somewhere in the world, he wrote a post about how he was confessing to have outsourced the writing of his blog for the past year. People were outraged and disappointed - until he fessed up today.

* In 1996, Taco Bell announced it had bought the LIberty Bell, renaming it the Taco Liberty Bell. A White House spokesman furthered the joke by stating that the LIncoln Memorial was now the Ford Lincoln Mercury Memorial.

* In 1998, Burger King introduced a Left-Handed Whopper. It had the same ingredients, but the condiments were rotated 180 degrees for the benefit of left-handed customers. They received thousands of requests for specific handed Whoppers.

* In 1957, BBC made an extensive report on spaghetti trees, which remains one of the most well-known April pranks.

We had a really nice 4th of July. Having it on Wednesday was a nice bonus since it made it seem like we only had a two-day work week!

First we enjoyed going to see Ratatouille, the newest Pixar creation. My expectations were pretty low going into it - I mean, how good could a movie be that highlights a rat chef? It was really, really cute! It was a nice, pleasant movie that our whole family could enjoy together.

We spent the evening at the Outlaw family's annual celebration. After a fire destroyed their home out in the boon-docks north of Washougal last year, they got their place rebuilt just in time for the 4th party. Their fireworks display was as good as many town fireworks shows! The highlight of the day for me was getting to hang out with Lezlie, my dear childhood friend. She's more lovely than ever. It was special to watch our two daughters, born just one day apart, shyly and sweetly get acquainted.

Mary Had a Little... Easter Dinner

Holidays tend to bring out the Martha in me. Come on - don't you ever feel the inner call to decoupage, ganache, or embellish?

I sometimes like to pretend I am a gourmet chef. I enjoy purusing cooking magazines and websites, searching for new and adventursome meals to make my own. This Easter I decided to forgo the typical ham and pursue the higher standard. Lamb. Yogurt, fresh lemon, lime, & garlic marinade. And what meat doesn't work having spent time on the outdoor grill? Let me just say, I think it was a success, despite my uncouth family who inflicted jokes about a sad, three-legged sheep and put in requests for grilled rabbit next year.

So now I am exploring all of the options for leftover lamb. Tonight was a Shepherd's Pie-inspired creation. Tomorrow? Who knows. Maybe some kind of stew or kabobs.

Baa!