Things My Dog Ate this Week

Items Bob has eaten this week (so far):

1) America the Beautiful Cookbook (Spine completely removed).



2) A lovely coffee table book featuring stunning views of our National Parks (Only nibbled around the edges, but it's really ugly now and no longer suitable for display).






3) A wrist-warmer. One from a pair lovingly hand-knit as my first project on double-pointed needles. (and EXTREMELY useful when the temperatures drop. I wore them often to type when my hands were cold.)



4) A Luggage strap designed to connect my over-night bag to the larger wheeled carrier making the two very easy to transport (no more).


5) He's ripped the stuffing out of his nice doggy bed and left it as a nice gift upon the stairwell.





Lucky, he's cute and we love him.


All my best to you for a lovely weekend,

Aunt Melissa

Text of an Amazing Speech

My friends know how much I love Toastmaster's and public speaking in general. Communication skills are VERY high on Aunt Melissa's list of important skills, so it should come as no surprise that today, with limited time (wow do I ever have a lot of homework to do!) and applications to be filed (looking for that perfect job!) that I take a few quick moments to a link to probably the best speech I've heard in my life.

A short trip to the local newsstand yesterday FILLED the coffee table with mega-fun reading material!




(Oh. By the way "Yes, the Boss has a new CD!") =)










On this day, may renewed hope replace all fear.
Now get to work! =)

Back to the books,

Aunt Melissa

I'm supposed to be studying...

..and I have been... really... LOVE my classes! But I can't resist posting a a few photos from the Christmas break...


I had a brief layover in Las Vegas and no matter how many times I fly through there, I can't help but get a chuckle out of the slot machines at the airport.






Here's my sister, gleefully holding the light and love of her life, grandbaby, Faith. My Mom's pretty happy too, you can see.



Julie in her cute red hat and gloves.

Julie & Faith










My High School buddy, Judy and her precious granddaughter.












And of course you remember Bob. He was happy to see me when I got home. =)

Okay, that's enough playtime... back to the books!

Aunt Melissa

Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays

The happiest of holidays to everyone.


Christmas morning has come a little early in Fort Worth. My extra-special niece and her amazingly good-natured, patient, tolerant (not to mention talented, gregarious, generous and comically gifted) husband are making this holiday one to remember. My force of nature sister less than a mile away, rests in a home that has been transformed into a Christmas wonderland.


At last count there were six different pies awaiting our enjoyment and the buffet is straining beneath the weight of sundry confections.





An enormous tree is twinkling at the heart of this wonderland and there are too many gifts to count gleefully offered by everyone who enters. What should be especially interesting this year is that some family members made a commitment to hand-make every gift. The day will be interesting indeed.

Have a magical and forgiving Christmas. May your families be tolerant with one another and happy just to be and let be. Whatever brings you happiness, whatever brings you joy. That is what I wish for you today.


My very best wishes to all.

Aunt Melissa

Welcome Home Endeavor!

Welcome Home Endeavor!

We climbed up on the roof for the fly-over yesterday afternoon, but unfortunately the sun concealed our view. Those sonic booms were pretty exciting, though! The loud BOOM, BOOM shook the roof a bit and prompted a neighbor to shout out a question if someone had dropped something on her roof.

Oh well, didn't see it in person, but at left is a shot from NASA online once Endeavor was safely on ground.


After all the excitement we celebrated with:

Welcome Home Endeavor Alfredo

1/4 c.Heavy Cream
1/4 c. Half-n-Half
Splash of Milk
3 T. Butter
1 cup Parmesan Cheese
3 cloves of Garlic
2 T. Parsley
1 cup Roasted Turkey Breast
Steamed broccoli & cauliflower Florettes
Spaghetti (Cooked)

Steam vegetables and set aside. Place cream, Half-n-half, Milk, Garlic, Butter, Parmesan Cheese and Parsley in Blender. Pulse until garlic and cheese grated and cream is whipped. Transfer to microwave safe dish and microwave for 2 minutes. While sauce is warming, cube Turkey into bite-size pieces. Pulse sauce a few more times in blender and pour over spaghetti, turkey and vegetables. Preparation time: 3 minutes for the sauce, 20 minutes for boiling water, steaming vegetables and cooking spaghetti. If using leftovers, dinner can be on the table in 3 minutes. I'm serious. We can't have it too often because of the the cream and butter, but occasionally this is a GREAT dinner for weeknights.

Bob wanted some, of course, but alfredo is not for puppies.

He DID however take me on a very brisk walk/jog to work off the calories. =)

Happy Monday!



Aunt Melissa