New Language Class

Hello, everyone, are you

ready for

FALL?

I am so ready!

Today its cool and cloudy.

The past

few days have been so hot

that I had

to break down and put on

the AC.

We're also being attacked

by STINK BUGS

here.

There isn't anywhere you

go that

you don't see them

climbing up

walls or coming at you

with that

buzzing sound.

I HATE BUGS

well,

annoying ones

anyways.

So yesterday was our

first

language class.

I posted about that some time

ago.

Some of you asked what

language

we were learning,

well,

we're learning

Hindi!

In our area we're having

so many

from India moving here

and the surrounding

towns,

which means

yummy restaurants

around

us.

Some of you know that my

husband

and I are Ministers as well.

We're out in the

ministry

pretty regularly

and we're coming across

many who

speak

either

Hindi, Gujarati, Punjabi

just to name

a few.

So we,along with 24

others are

taking this language

class.

Yesterday it was over

Three hours

and by the second

hour my

head was

literally pounding.

It was pretty

overwhelming.

I couldn't sleep well last

night and neither

did hubby.

There's a lot to learn,

we're excited

but

overwhelmed.

We had a good time

with everyone,

laughs,

frustrations,

a moment of when

I wanted

to cry,

but

didn't.

We have 15 more weeks of

it.

It's every Saturday for

16 weeks.

So its a commitment,

but that's OK,

the people

we meet in our ministry

make it worth

it.

TORNADO-in Brooklyn NY??

(this is in Queens, NY, on the corner of
where my parents live)
It's around 6:45pm, my phone

rings,

"Arlene?"

Asks the concerned voice,

"Hi mom, you OK?"

"Well, we just had a tornado

hit here!"

"WHAT??!!"

I could tell in her voice,

she was scared

and confused!

She couldn't believe it,

the windows

rattled, she thought

for sure

they were going to shatter.

She hid in the corner

of the room.

I felt helpless, she said she's

fine!

"Where's Dad?" I asked,

"Well......"

"Mom is he OK, did you

hear from him?"

"Yes I just did, he scared me

half to death"

Evidently my father had called

my mom as he always

does when he arrives

to the car, after

he gets off

the train,

to let her know he's on his way,

when he did this,

at that moment

electrical lines fell onto his

car,

people were screaming at

him to

GET OUT NOW!

He's screaming

with my mother

on the

phone

all he kept saying was

Oh, my God!

So my poor mom felt

helpless!

He got out of the car

and he's fine.

Somehow he managed

to get back into it

and maneuver

through

the streets of Queens, NY.

He says it looks

like

a war torn city now.

As I talked to him

I can hear

in his voice the fear

and

the adrenaline

still kicking!

Why are they so far

away from

me?!

They're OK now,

but the City is not.

One person died

so far!

Click here to see pictures

Now they're just waiting

to see what happens.

But they're OK!
(I will be posting more pictures
from my dad)

We Had Visitors for Two Weeks!

 I would NEVER claim to

be a

Domestic Diva,

but

I will anyways.

I was one

from

Friday until Tuesday!

From

sun up to sun down

I cleaned,

organized,

threw out,

scrubbed,

polished,

froze corn or fruit,

until I collapsed

last night.

But what a wonderful

accomplishment.

I had a goal

to get all this

done

BEFORE

September 1st.

and I did.

Now I still do have somethings

left to do,

but they'll have to

wait til cooler

weather.

But if felt good.

My home

hasn't been

cleaned this way

in a year.

But sadly I threw

things out

that should never

of been

thrown

out.

FOOD!!!!!

What  a waste that was

and it

just ripped into

me.

GUILT!

That will not happen again.

From now on, buy

ONLY

what we need.

Even if its

on

SALE!

WALK AWAY!

That goes

with clothes as well.

I'm trying to be more

disciplined

less wasteful

more organized.

Now on a different

topic,

we  had visitors.

Would you like

to know

who?

Can you tell what

by looking

at this photo?

How about a closer look

then?

It's a visitor that no one

wants

to have in their home.

Well, for

two weeks we've been

killing these

in our house.

Majority in our home office

the rest

in our bedroom.

We've

killed between

15-20 per day

for the past

few days,

altogether,

over

70

Yes,

70!

The final straw was when

I was still sleeping

yesterday

morning and at

7AM

I felt something

crawling

on my arm

and it was

a Yellow Jacket!!

I am

HIGHLY

allergic to

bites and stings.

So after waking

up screaming

I could then

hear them

in our

wall.

THAT'S

IT
I"M CALLING
THE
EXTERMINATOR!!!!

As he geared up in

100 degree

weather,

I stood far away.

I felt

sorry for him, it

was horribly

hot

and when he

started

spraying

they were angry!

But it's

done,

they're

gone,

I HOPE!

So yes

some exciting times

in our home.

Evidently

there is an infestation

of bees in the

area.

It's this dry hot

weather here.

Who said there were a

shortage of

bees in this country?

Come to my

yard,

you can have some!

Storing Spices Enjoying End of Summer!

(Is this the life, or what?)

My Kahlua,

he works so hard at being

so bad,

a kitty needs his rest so he

can torment

his siblings later!

Can't get over how fast the summer

has gone.

Despite how HORRIBLY

HOT

its been,

it's still about over and I will

miss

being able to go outside

and sitting

out there on our porch

enjoying these

lovely

views

I just took this picture,

it is

so BEAUTIFUL out today.

Fall is

knocking on our back door.

It's breezy,

dry and cool out today.

Sadly, we

didn't get to use our new porch

this summer,

it was too hot!!

But now we're enjoying it, trying to

take advantage

of these

lovely days.

Cool days like this put me in the

mood,

HMMMM, in the mood for

what?

For cooking, of course, and baking

and curling up

on the couch

with a warm yummy dessert

and cup of

Joe!

I made Stuffed Peppers

and they were YUMMY!!!

I used my

homemade sauce, which reminds

me, I've got lots of sauce

to make and

freeze!

Last night, I was cleaning out

my fridge

and I bought these adorable

spice jars

at Christmas Tree Shops

They had different shapes

there, and

I loved the shape of these.

So, I took out these

spices

from their original packaging

and put them in

these lovely

jars.

I have Turmeric, Curry, Mustard Seeds,

and Garam Masala

(which I'd like to make my own,

The Spice Goddess on the Cooking Channel

has a recipe for Garam Masala

so I'd like to make it

myself)

Remember my last post, I want to

make all kinds

of recipes of different cultures

and I'm starting out

with spices.

Well, anyway, I need more of

these jars,

they were cheap so I'll

probably go

tomorrow and get more.

Did you know that you should

store dark

colored spices in your

refrigerator?

I read that in a Cooking

magazine years

ago,

they stay fresh much longer

and I must

admit, I think they do.

Try that,

any red, brown, yellow or orange color

spices,

store them in your fridge.

But

whatever you do

DO NOT STORE YOUR COFFEE

IN THE FRIDGE!!!

It ruins your

coffee and makes it

stale.

Ask any coffeehouse

how they store their

coffee

and they'll agree

with that statement.

It's a SIN to do

that!

LOL

Well, not really.

Enjoy the rest of your summer,

it'll be another

seven months for

us NE folks before

summer

returns,

(sigh).

French Food

Have you ever watched this show

French Food At Home?

I absolutely LOVE this show.

It's on the

Cooking Channel.

I could watch Laura for hours at a time.

I love her mannerisms,

the way

she expresses her love of food,

and all the wonderful

recipes she

cooks.

I have her set on my DVR for

every future

show.

As you all know on many

of my previous

posts

I LOVE TO COOK!

And I have made

a few

of French recipes.

I really want to

be able to spend more time

in trying new recipes.

I have become

COMPLETELY

Obsessed

with cooking shows lately.

I currently have

EIGHT

shows that I pre-record.

I also just

thoroughly enjoy

watching

Spice Goddess

Bal cooks Indian dishes

that I could

smell right from my living

room couch.

She makes my mouth

water.

OK, I am a little obsessed....LOL

But I want to try

all kinds

of recipes.

Whether French, Indian, Spanish, etc....

Cooking is satisfying and

relaxing.

I have taken a break on my

sewing.

I still do personal stuff, but

this past

Friday was my last craft show.

I did well at that

show,

but, I need to take a break

and focus

on something different.

We're learning a new

language as

well

and we're pretty excited.

So some new goals

have been

set.

I'm ready

for change.

Don't you get that way?