I used to have to drive on the highway for 50+ miles everyday, but since my office has moved I now only drive on the highway rarely. Today I had to drive a long way on the highway, and I realize that I despise it. People driving terribly fast and aggressively and selfishly - it is totally uncalled for.

While the highway system has brought about considerable travel convenience, something which would now be extremely difficult to do without, I seriously question whether we have overall benefited from this convenience. The highways have also brought about a massive rise in pollution due to the dramatic increase of the number of cars and trucks on the road; they have carved up open spaces and habitats; the highways are the root cause of urban sprawl; and the highways have provided for the proliferation of billboards {one of the worst blights on humanity in my opinion}.

Then there is the massive death toll on our highways. It really amazes me at how unmoved we are by the number of people who die on the roads each year. In 2002 the number of deaths resulting from a highway accident was 42,815 {I looked for more recent data but couldn't find any except for an article from 2006 which simply stated the death toll as "over 40,000"}. I really think our indifference comes from how attached we are to our cars. If something less ubiquitous than the car, such as a power tool or a medicine or a children's toy, were to cause as many deaths as cars do, we would rise up in outrage, demanding that such a lethal product be banned from use! In 2003 there were 30,136 deaths due to guns, and while there is hardly a consensus on the issue, there is still a strong push in this country to limit or even outright ban the use of guns. 4,000 casualties in Iraq, and people are wailing for us to get out and stop the carnage. But when it comes to highways, the push is for more, bigger and faster.

I leave you with a quote taken from one of G.K. Chesterton's finest essays, "On Turnpikes and Medievalism" written in 1933 {prophetic indeed}:

Lastly, we might well ask, is it indeed so certain that our roads suffer from the slowness of petrol traffic; and that, if we can only make every sort of motor go faster and faster, we shall all be saved at last? That motors are more important than men is doubtless an admitted principle of a truly modern philosophy; nevertheless, it might be well to keep some sort of reasonable ratio between them, and decide exactly how many human beings should be killed by each car in the course of each year. And I fear that a mere policy of the acceleration of traffic may take us beyond the normal modern recognition of murder into something resembling a recognition of massacre.

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* It has suddenly become apparent to me that there are lots of countries in the world with both a Prime Minister and a President. In such countries as these, what is the difference between these two posts, and where is the division of responsibility? Is there anything comparable in the American political system?

* Ok, I know the word 'accreditation' is spelt with a 'T' but up until recently I could have sworn that it was always pronounced 'accredi-D-ation.' Suddenly, like in maybe the last 6 months, I always hear the word being distinctly pronounced with the 'T' sound. This may very well be the correct pronunciation, but is this one of those pronunciation trends?  Like during the Clarence Thomas hearings when 'ha-RASS-ment' suddenly became 'HAR-essment'?  Or is this just all in my head?

* What is up with all this rain?

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{tip: roy}

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So, I would not describe myself as being productive.  Lazy, procrastinating, casual, those terms seem to fit the bill more accurately.  But this weekend was totally different, and so I feel compelled to document these exceptional 72 hours!

Friday

*Worked a half-day from 9-Noon
*Went to the YMCA for a short work out
*Got dishes {mostly} done
*Completed the inventory of all the stuff that got soaked and slimed in our flooded basement - a nasty affair that was
*Mom's Deli for dinner, always a delight!
*Did over 2 weeks worth of laundry (Jim and I were both down to our last clean pair of underdrawers - ewww, TMI)
*Tidied up my very messy house so that it at least appeared superficially clean before my brother came over
*Was interviewed by my brother for his mockumentary he is entering into a film festival 
*Watched Civilisation in bed until sleep overcame my husband 

Saturday

*Worked an Arbor Day Festival booth from 9-1:00pm
*Planted 2 trees in my backyard and flowers in my front yard
*Went to a handmaid jewelry show by two ladies I know from church (and spent $$$ oops!)
*Went for a run in the park.  I hate running.
*Got a little lost in South City, but eventually made it to Cherokee Street for a little thrift store shopping
*Stopped off at Jay's International Market
*Made red curry with chicken and cauliflower over rice for dinner - yum!
*Went to see Mary's Wedding, which was quite lovely
*Watched more Civilisation as slumber set in 

Sunday

*Went to Church <3
*Lunch with Kevin and Lauren at Stratton's <3 <3
*Went to a fundraiser at my college alma mater for Magnolia, the literary magazine I founded (this year's edition is gorg!)
*Hung out with Paul and Janessa and various other Maryville old friends
*Tossed a frisbee and generally frolicked in Francis Park with the hubby, today was the most beautiful day of all time
*Now snug at home blogging, chatting and facebooking all at once! 

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1.  People who drive in the turn lane as though it were just another lane.

2.  People who don't use their blinkers when turning or changing lanes.

3.  People who are in the far right lane of the highway and who keep pace with you even though you have your blinker on and you have tried both speeding up and slowing down and they just won't freaking let you over even though your exit is coming up!!!

4.  People who ride too close on your @ss, but particularly people who do that when you have cars in front of you, so its not like you could go any faster even if you wanted to and even if i do get over to let you by, you are just going to get stuck behind the next car and i hope you get pulled over because you are a big fat jerk.

5.  People who cannot stay in their lane on the highway.  Did you drink too much?  Are you on the phone?  Are you messing with the radio dial?  Or are you just completely incompetent?

6.  People who suddenly drive incredibly slow and with extreme caution, straddling two lanes, as though they only have their permits and don't know how to drive, simply because it is drizzling {aka ALL St. Louis drivers}.

And on a related note:

The many many people on foot in my neighborhood who just cross the street wherever and whenever, regardless of traffic, sometimes even dressed in all black at night-time, and then have the gall to shout and wave their arms angrily when you avoid hitting them only by swerving into the next lane.  I especially like it when they do this within spitting distance of a crosswalk.

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My husband brought home some bok choy the other day, and I have to admit that as far as I am aware, I had never tried it before.  I wasn't sure how to cook it, but a quick google search brought up lots of references to garlic.  Armed with that little bit of information, I threw something together which was so delicious, I decided I had to share!

Garlic Ginger Bok Choy (Serves 2-3)

1 head bok choy, chopped

2 bunches broccoli, stemmed and cut into florets

1 small-medium onion chopped

1 can of baby corn, drained

3-4 large cloves of garlic, minced (or 1 heaping tbsp from a preminced jar)

1/2 stick of butter (can replace with margarine or olive oil, butter is better!)

1-2 tsp of ginger powder to taste (not sure how much fresh ginger)

1-2 tsp of salt to taste

Melt butter over medium-low heat in large wok or frying pan.  Add onions and cook for a couple of minutes.  Add the rest of the vegetables and the garlic and stir so as to coat everything with butter.  Sprinkle the salt and ginger over the vegetables and stir.  Cover pan and continue to cook over medium-low heat, stirring occaisionally, until vegetables are at desired consistency.  Serve over rice, and have some soy sauce or other asian condiments on hand, though the flavor is plenty good without any additions.

Notes:

* I almost never use measurements when cooking, so the salt and ginger amounts are estimates.  As a general principle, when you are cooking if possible you should always taste at various stages to see you if you have added enough seasoning.  Start with 1 tsp, and if that is not enough, add a bit more.  You can always add spice, you can't take away!

* There are other vegetables could be good in this recipe too, such as carrots, edamame, lima beans or cauliflower. Also, if you are the kind of person who thinks you aren't eating a meal without meat, you could also add chicken, beef or pork!  Experiment!

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Sorry this is late in the day - I spent all day at a Water Quality Monitoring workshop (woo woo).  So, without further ado, one of the finest comedic performances known to human beings or any other sentient beings in the universe.  Christopher Guest is a delight! (How about that for an intro worthy of James Lipton?)

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This has been all over the blogosphere already, so I am a bit behind the curve. But apparently, on American Idiot Idol the final 8 sang the favorite worship anthem "Shout to the Lord" - TWICE.  I don't watch American Idol.  Ever.  So I am not sure what to make of this.  Marketing ploy, or genuine expression of faith?  Cynical as it may be, I'm thinking its the former.  However, should that really matter?  Paul says in Philippians 1:15-18:

It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. The latter do so in love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains. But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice.

So I guess it is pretty cool, if not totally bizarre and inexplicable.

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I felt an earthquake for the first time last night!  It happened in Southeastern Illinois, about 130 miles away, but apparently it was felt as far away as Chicago and Ohio.  The quake was a 5.2 on the Richter Scale, which according to wikipedia my careful research, is a Moderate earthquake.  It was no big deal, nothing fell in my house or got damaged.  But it did wake me up, which is significant in itself since I sleep like the dead.  Jim wondered if we should get into the doorway, but I just dozed off within 2 minutes.  I figured if things started to shake harder, I would hop up then.  But it was a bizarre feeling - there was a rumble like thunder and I could hear some of our belongings rattling, and I could physically feel the movement of the earth shaking.  My first foggy thoughts were of a big truck going by or an explosion {or a burgler - I am always paranoid that every sound I hear at night is a burgler}. But I knew that the shaking I felt was too strong and lasted too long to be explained by any of those things, so I decided it must have been an earthquake, and then I promptly went back to sleep.

Anyhoo...

Now back to our regularly scheduled Funny Video Friday.  It needs no introduction, it speaks for itself.  *giggle*snort*giggle*

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This makes me want to puke.

Apparently its too political now to refer to "human life."  Seriously?  Further evidence of how ridiculous the conflict over abortion has gotten. 

(tip: GetReligion)

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I rarely spend money on jewelry - partly because I am so poor!  But also because I am very particular about the jewelry that I will wear.  I see tons of jewelry that I like, but just would not feel comfortable wearing.  So when I find something that I really want for myself, now and then I have to indulge.

So I recently indulged on a couple of pieces from Mia Sorella Designs, a small business run by two lovely ladies that I know {actually, they are the daughters of my pastor}.  Here's what I got: 

Wrap necklaces are fun!  And I love love love turquoise.

These birdy earrings were custom made for me - I saw and loved the birdies on another pair of earrings that were otherwise too big and dangly for my taste.

{Apologies for the terribly photo quality.  I am not much of a picture-taker, by skill or by interest, so I cannot justify getting a really good camera.  Thus, dim and hazy pictures for you!}

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The wonderful thing about blogging, is blogging's a wonderful thing! 

I find that reading blogs is a great way to get inspiration, stay informed about what is going on in the world, get other people's perspectives on all sorts of things I normally would not ever think about, and be entertained all at the same time.  However, the number of blogs I was formerly able to follow on a regular basis was limited by time and the force of my own laziness.

But no longer!

Now I read all the blogs that I follow in one place - Google Reader funnels all new posts to my page and I can read them, email them and "star" them as I please.  Any time I find a blog I want to follow, I click a little button that I inserted into my bookmarks bar titled "Subscribe" and it is added to my list.  I am currently reading over 70 blogs!

One of the coolest parts about Google Reader is the ability to share blog posts with one click.  You can do it one of two ways.  One, you can email the post to anyone you think might want to read it.  But the other way is cooler, and this is where you come in.  If you are also a Google Reader user, we can be friends, and then when I share something, it will be added to your new posts list.  And if you share something, it will be added to my list.  I already sent out an email to my bestest buddies, but only a couple of you signed up and none of you have shared anything with me yet!  Poo!  So this is my second and final suggestion/plea to sign up for Google Reader (if you are a blog reader) and start sharing cool blog posts with me!

{P.S. I know that I am late to the table to this whole feed reader thing when it comes to hard core bloggers.  But I am not hard core.  I am totally soft core.}

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This is probably my best recipe, the one that gets the most requests from the hubby and from others.  Most people that haven't made a lasagna are intimidated by the prospect, but honestly I think it's one of the easiest things to make.

Amy's Lasagna

8 oz. (1/2 box) of lasagna noodles

1 lb. ground beef*

1 large onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced OR 1 heaping tbsp of preminced garlic from a jar

2-3 16 oz. jars of your favorite spaghetti sauce*

2 c. ricotta cheese

2 c. cottage cheese

1 egg

2 tsp. Italian seasoning*

1 lb. mozzarella (get a soft, low moisture chunk of mozzarella)

fresh grated Parmesan and Romano cheeses

1 tbsp olive oil

2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

Preheat oven to 375. Serves 8.

1.  Bring a pot of water to a boil, and cook lasagna noodles (I crack them in half first) until very al dente - you want them to be very soft but not quite done.  Drain, rinse with cold water and toss with a bit of olive oil so the noodles don't stick.

2.  Heat olive oil over medium heat in a large pan.  Add onion and garlic, cook until onion starts to get translucent, but not brown.  Add ground beef and 1 tsp salt, and cook until all the pink is gone.  Drain the grease if you want to reduce the fat content.  Then put the meat in a large bowl and add 2 jars of spaghetti sauce.

3.  In a bowl, add ricotta cheese, cottage cheese, 1 egg, 1 tsp salt, pepper, Italian seasoning and freshly grated parmesan and romano cheeses (as much as you want!).  Mix thoroughly.

4.  Slice mozzarella into enough slices to create two layers of cheese in your lasagna.  I recommend 1/4 inch thick slices, but it will depend on the shape of your hunk of mozzarella.

5.  Take a large lasagna or similar sized baking dish.  Begin by spooning a layer of the meat sauce along the bottom of the pan, not too thick, but enough that you cannot see the bottom of the pan anymore.  Next add a layer of lasagna noodles.  Next, spoon the cheese mixture all over the noodles, about two spoonfuls per noodle.  On top of the cheese mixture, add a layer of mozzarella slices.  Then cover with a generous amount of meat sauce.  Repeat that pattern one or two more times, depending on the size of your pan - finish with meat sauce on the top.  It doesn't look as nice as cheese, but I have found that this way you don't have to worry about burning the cheese on top.

6.  Place in the oven and cook for at least 40 minutes to an hour - test with a knife to make sure that it is hot all the way through.  You may want to place a pan under your lasagna, as sometimes it erupts sauce and will get on the bottom of your oven otherwise.

Notes:

* You can replace beef with ground turkey, ground chicken, italian sausage or fake meat substitute - I have tried all of these and while they are serviceable and tasty, nothing tastes as good as ground beef in my opinion.

*If you want to be hardcore, you can make your own sauce from tomato sauce, canned tomatoes, tomato paste, and various seasonings.  I rarely have time to do this.  Also, sometimes 1-2 jars is plenty, but sometimes I need a third jar to finish the job.  It depends on how many layers I do, which depends on which pan I am using.

* If you don't have an Italian Seasoning, use parsley, oregano and basil.

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Humans United Against Robots 

A very serious representative from this organization just called into NPR Science Friday and pointed out that recently 6 soldiers were killed in Iraq when a robot controlled gun malfunctioned (or was it a malfunction?) and turned on them.

I'm thinking of joining...

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Today the Supreme Court upheld an Indiana law requiring citizens to present a photo ID in order to cast a ballot.

Opponents say it causes an undue burden on the elderly and the poor.  This I cannot understand.  Photo IDs are not prohibitively expensive. Some states even have free voter photo ID cards if you do not have a driver's license.  If you can manage to do things like pay bills or collect your Social Security check, and if you can make it to the polling place, then you could have gotten an ID before election day.  If there were any burden, then we should pass laws and policies making it easier for legitimate citizens to get IDs. But I cannot see the problem with some basic assurance verifying the identity of the voter.

Apparently it is almost exclusively Democrats who are opposed to voter IDs.  I wonder why - is it because they tend to benefit from the votes of people who are not likely to have IDs?

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I just heard a promo on NPR for coverage on Talk of the Nation later today regarding the acquittal of the police officers in the Sean Bell case.

I find it interesting that the promo mentioned that Bell was hours from his wedding, that he was African-American, that he was unarmed, and that the police fired 50 shots, but they DID NOT mention that in response to an order from a police officer to raise his hands, instead Bell chose to ram his car into a police minivan.   Interesting that they left that little tid-bit out.

The whole situation is dreadful, and I am very sorry for Bell's loved ones.  But had Bell survived, he could have been charged with a DWI and attempted assault with a deadly weapon or something similar, as a car can certainly be a deadly weapon.  Maybe that doesn't justify what the police did, but I also don't think that should be forgotten.

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The other day at dinner, my dad asked me if I was going to go back to school to pursue a Master's Degree.  He reminded me that the way things are going, a Master's is the new Bachelor's, and if I want to stay competitive in my job options, I should prolly consider it.  Well, I have thought this all through before.  I had just pushed it all to the back of my mind because I am really enjoying NOT being in school and just working instead.  But I suppose the longer I stay out of school, the harder it may be for me to get back into it with success.

Bleh, I don't even want to have a "career" - I want a life.  A life that includes lots of various, rewarding things.  But, then I think about what would happen should I be widowed {God forbid it!} or, for any other reason, if I had to be the sole source of income for a family...

This is where my husband and I come into some of our greatest conflicts, and where I struggle with my faith in God the most.  Where is the line between trusting in God's providence and being irresponsible?  Or to put it in the reverse - where is the line between being a wise steward of your life and taking control regardless of God's will?  Which is part of the problem - figuring out the difference between God's will and my will, and figuring out how it is God makes His will known.  Cuz he usually doesn't send it to me in an email.

Anyway, here is a list of ALL potential further education paths (in no particular order):

• MA in American Studies from SLU or WashU
  
• MA in Social Work with a concentration in Community from SLU
• MA in Urban Affairs from SLU
• JD from SLU, WashU, UMKC, or Mizzou
  
• MA in Philosophy from SLU or UMSL
• MA in Theatre from UMKC
• MDiv from Covenant Seminary
  
• MA in Theological Studies from Covenant Seminary
  
• MA in Counseling from Covenant
• MA in Communication Disorders from SLU
• MS in Speech-Language Pathology from Fontbonne
• MA in Non-Profit Management from WashU or Mizzou
• MA in English and/or American Lit from SLU or WashU
  

I don't know that I want to do any of those, nor can I really tell you how they would benefit me.  Really, I just want to have kids and raise them, do lots of volunteer or part-time work, cook and make things.  Also, I am for real looking into becoming a doula.  So...I guess life will take its course.

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