Thursday, January 24, 2008
I Cheated....on my car!
And now I have to deal with it! My broke car is in the shop and has been since Monday. I'm praying that I will get it back on Friday. I rented a car since Jared is back in school and I couldn't take a week off at a time. But now I'm in love with my rental car! It has everything and only 750 miles on it, the new smell the fancy electronics........ahhh......And my poor car is in the shop all alone with a really bad leaking problem that cost about as much as my house payment to fix. The worst part of it all is that there is more wrong with it but I can't afford to fix it now. So the major work is getting done and the minor work is going to have to wait. I HATE foreign cars and why I bought one is beyond me. Well I know why I bought it, it's because I was being stingy with my money and didn't want to spend a lot and I suckered myself into buying a car for "right now" financial reasons. I knew that they were more expensive to repair but goodness how much more. I told Jared that when he is done with school he has to buy me a new car! Along with a few more things, but for starters a car.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Attack of the Clones
http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2006/NEW01541.html
http://www.webmd.com/diet/news/20061228/fda-says-cloned-meat-safe
Here is a little reading for those who haven't heard about the cloned meats and dairy that will be hitting our market sometime and will not be labeled any differently. I don't know about you but this has made me very cautious about eating anything that is not natural, it's just to bad those types cost more.
http://www.webmd.com/diet/news/20061228/fda-says-cloned-meat-safe
Here is a little reading for those who haven't heard about the cloned meats and dairy that will be hitting our market sometime and will not be labeled any differently. I don't know about you but this has made me very cautious about eating anything that is not natural, it's just to bad those types cost more.
Monday, January 21, 2008
Costco vs. Sam's Club (in my opinion)
I used to be a Sam's shopper and now since we have moved after much contemplation we have changed over to Costco. I must say that I am much happier with the products they carry. The crowds are annoying but as long as I have Jared with me they don't seem to bother me as much. They have many of the same or comparable items with not much of a price difference.
They carry a lot of natural / organic / better for you - products that Sam's just didn't or haven't yet. Here is a list of the things that I have noticed and / or purchased so far: milk (cow and soy) butter, eggs, juices, fruit, breads, fruit spreads, peanut butter, pasta, pasta sauce, and laundry detergent* (which so far I love) turkey bacon, breakfast and dinner soy meats, fruit leathers, nuts, chips and all kinds of goodies that we love.
The only thing that I wish they carried that they don't yet is organic / natural paper products and beef, but I guess either they don't come in bulk yet or there isn't a high demand for them. I wonder if after they start releasing the "cloned" meats if the sales of organic beef and dairy products will rise, or are we just all destined to be science experiments?
They carry a lot of natural / organic / better for you - products that Sam's just didn't or haven't yet. Here is a list of the things that I have noticed and / or purchased so far: milk (cow and soy) butter, eggs, juices, fruit, breads, fruit spreads, peanut butter, pasta, pasta sauce, and laundry detergent* (which so far I love) turkey bacon, breakfast and dinner soy meats, fruit leathers, nuts, chips and all kinds of goodies that we love.
The only thing that I wish they carried that they don't yet is organic / natural paper products and beef, but I guess either they don't come in bulk yet or there isn't a high demand for them. I wonder if after they start releasing the "cloned" meats if the sales of organic beef and dairy products will rise, or are we just all destined to be science experiments?
Sunday, January 20, 2008
#5 Easy Chili
I don't care for spicy chunky chili, I like simple meat, beans and limited tomatoes so I threw this together a few weekends ago and it worked out really nice. Jared who isn't a comfort food kind of person even said that it turned out good.
1 can of Rotel tomatoes and green chili peppers (I used the Milder cause I don't do spicy and the original has kick to it.)
1 can of Chili beans (usually a mix of pinto & kidney) in sauce
2 small or 1 lg can of tomato sauce
1 lbs of ground turkey, beef, or soy meat
Use your own discretion for the following spices: minced onion, cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper, paprika
Garnish with Cheddar cheese
Brown meat and spices in a large pot add everything else to it and simmer for about 30 minutes and WHAM your done.
I also made cornbread and *french fries (*per Jared's request) to make it a complete meal. I guess if it was bad by itself the fries and cheese would overpower the Chili!
1 can of Rotel tomatoes and green chili peppers (I used the Milder cause I don't do spicy and the original has kick to it.)
1 can of Chili beans (usually a mix of pinto & kidney) in sauce
2 small or 1 lg can of tomato sauce
1 lbs of ground turkey, beef, or soy meat
Use your own discretion for the following spices: minced onion, cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper, paprika
Garnish with Cheddar cheese
Brown meat and spices in a large pot add everything else to it and simmer for about 30 minutes and WHAM your done.
I also made cornbread and *french fries (*per Jared's request) to make it a complete meal. I guess if it was bad by itself the fries and cheese would overpower the Chili!
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
All of us
This is our quickie family picture on Christmas Eve. Doesn't Ethan look thrilled. He'd rather be playing with the other kids instead of posing for a picture!
Jared's second Robot
This is a Line Tracer Robot. Jared's second extracurricular project for the engineering group he is a part of.
Sunday, January 6, 2008
Irv
After Jared's father had passed his older sister Maia and brother Rocky had a beautiful memorial for him at a jazz bar in town. Ethan and I went for Jared since he had a final exam and couldn't make it. I took a few pictures while I was there.
There was an amazing artical posted in the Las Vegas Sun dedicated to him.
Irv Gordon: 1933-2007
Vegas saxophonist played with legends, lived for jazz
By Jerry Fink Las Vegas Sun
The last time I saw saxophonist Irv Gordon was five or six years ago at Pogo's, where he got together and jammed every Friday night with drummer Irv Kluger and an ensemble of other old-time jazz musicians.
The club was owned by Jim Holcombe, who provided the place for musicians to come and play the kind of music they didn't often get to play on the Strip.
On that night, a young clarinet player slugged Gordon in the mouth and was ejected by Holcombe. Gordon had criticized the playing of the amateur musician and the man took offense and expressed it with a right hook.
The punch was a surprise, but that Gordon would criticize inferior playing was not. He was a purist who didn't condone someone passing himself off as a musician if he wasn't serious enough about it.
"My father taught me that you either play or you don't, you (give it your all) or you don't do it at all," said his son, saxophonist Rocky Gordon. "He said to go with both oars in the water 'or else I don't talk to you.' That's the way he treated me. He said, 'Are you serious about this, because if you're just doing it as a hobby, let me know and I won't think anything, but if you're doing it for real you're going to have to put more time in.' "
Irv Gordon died Nov. 8 of complications following a heart attack. He was 74.
Irv Kluger died last year, Jim Holcombe the year before that.
Music was the highlight of memorial services for Kluger and Holcombe.
It will also take center stage during a memorial planned for Gordon, which will be held from 1 to 4 p.m. on Dec. 8 at the E-String Grill, 2031 W. Sunset Road in Henderson.
"My dad didn't want a big memorial service," Rocky said. "He wants us to all go to a club and play. That's his memorial. He doesn't want guys to get up there and say a lot. He'd basically rather just get into the music. My father could say a lot of wise things, but the playing was the most important thing."
Irv Gordon had an illustrious career that began in his native Philadelphia. When he was 18 he performed behind Billy Holiday during the first interracial jazz concert in that city, Rocky said. It was the summer of 1952.
His credits include performing with such legends as Sarah Vaughan, Stan Getz, Tony Bennett, Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme, and Elvis Presley.
He came to Vegas in the early '60s and played for orchestras at resorts, including the old Thunderbird and Caesars Palace.
In addition to Rocky, Irv Gordon, who had been single for the last 17 years, had five other surviving children: daughters Maia Matisse-Lorenzen and Ameena Gordon and sons Aaron, Ian and Jared Gordon.
Gordon tired of playing for production shows in the '90s and retired to play jazz with such greats as Kluger and the late Carl Fontana and saxophonist Bill Trujillo.
"My father was a really humble man," Rocky said. "He was not a big social guy."
He was devoted to music.
"That was his religion, his spirituality," Rocky said. "He was in a constant growth mode as a musician."
His son has become one of the top jazz saxophonists in the city, thanks to his father's guidance.
"He told me the reality of the dark side of the business, the way it would really be," Rocky said. "He taught me that you didn't get a lot of pats on the back, other than knowing yourself that you did a good job. If you don't get thrown out of the band, then you're doing a good job. But they will tell you if you do something wrong. That's they way it was with the jazz groups in Philly. They weren't great communicators, and maybe that's why they played - it was a higher level of communication."
Rocky learned honesty from his father.
"He taught me that I would be the one to know before anyone else whether I was playing well," he said. "He was as hard on himself as he was on everyone else."
There was an amazing artical posted in the Las Vegas Sun dedicated to him.
Irv Gordon: 1933-2007
Vegas saxophonist played with legends, lived for jazz
By Jerry Fink Las Vegas Sun
The last time I saw saxophonist Irv Gordon was five or six years ago at Pogo's, where he got together and jammed every Friday night with drummer Irv Kluger and an ensemble of other old-time jazz musicians.
The club was owned by Jim Holcombe, who provided the place for musicians to come and play the kind of music they didn't often get to play on the Strip.
On that night, a young clarinet player slugged Gordon in the mouth and was ejected by Holcombe. Gordon had criticized the playing of the amateur musician and the man took offense and expressed it with a right hook.
The punch was a surprise, but that Gordon would criticize inferior playing was not. He was a purist who didn't condone someone passing himself off as a musician if he wasn't serious enough about it.
"My father taught me that you either play or you don't, you (give it your all) or you don't do it at all," said his son, saxophonist Rocky Gordon. "He said to go with both oars in the water 'or else I don't talk to you.' That's the way he treated me. He said, 'Are you serious about this, because if you're just doing it as a hobby, let me know and I won't think anything, but if you're doing it for real you're going to have to put more time in.' "
Irv Gordon died Nov. 8 of complications following a heart attack. He was 74.
Irv Kluger died last year, Jim Holcombe the year before that.
Music was the highlight of memorial services for Kluger and Holcombe.
It will also take center stage during a memorial planned for Gordon, which will be held from 1 to 4 p.m. on Dec. 8 at the E-String Grill, 2031 W. Sunset Road in Henderson.
"My dad didn't want a big memorial service," Rocky said. "He wants us to all go to a club and play. That's his memorial. He doesn't want guys to get up there and say a lot. He'd basically rather just get into the music. My father could say a lot of wise things, but the playing was the most important thing."
Irv Gordon had an illustrious career that began in his native Philadelphia. When he was 18 he performed behind Billy Holiday during the first interracial jazz concert in that city, Rocky said. It was the summer of 1952.
His credits include performing with such legends as Sarah Vaughan, Stan Getz, Tony Bennett, Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme, and Elvis Presley.
He came to Vegas in the early '60s and played for orchestras at resorts, including the old Thunderbird and Caesars Palace.
In addition to Rocky, Irv Gordon, who had been single for the last 17 years, had five other surviving children: daughters Maia Matisse-Lorenzen and Ameena Gordon and sons Aaron, Ian and Jared Gordon.
Gordon tired of playing for production shows in the '90s and retired to play jazz with such greats as Kluger and the late Carl Fontana and saxophonist Bill Trujillo.
"My father was a really humble man," Rocky said. "He was not a big social guy."
He was devoted to music.
"That was his religion, his spirituality," Rocky said. "He was in a constant growth mode as a musician."
His son has become one of the top jazz saxophonists in the city, thanks to his father's guidance.
"He told me the reality of the dark side of the business, the way it would really be," Rocky said. "He taught me that you didn't get a lot of pats on the back, other than knowing yourself that you did a good job. If you don't get thrown out of the band, then you're doing a good job. But they will tell you if you do something wrong. That's they way it was with the jazz groups in Philly. They weren't great communicators, and maybe that's why they played - it was a higher level of communication."
Rocky learned honesty from his father.
"He taught me that I would be the one to know before anyone else whether I was playing well," he said. "He was as hard on himself as he was on everyone else."
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