Impatiens

The shady side of the house is a soupy, mossy mess (due to the weird sprinkler system coverage) and isn't so good for grass, but great for these delicate impatiens. They're not a sophisticated flower, but one of my favorites.

Caramelized Onion and Goat Cheese Pizza

Here is one of Allison's favorites; it's a caramelized red onion and goat cheese pizza. The recipe comes from Allison's friend's mom, Margaret. Allison has never, ever partaken of meat on pizza, so this is a welcomed reprieve from the Margherita pizza for her. The red onions are lovingly caramelized with madeira and thyme for about an hour and a half. The refrigerated leftovers look a little gross, but tastes good when reheated.

Sausage Gravy and Biscuits

Allison is home this weekend and one of her favorites is sausage gravy and biscuits. I have to say that when I was young, I had no desire to eat what looks essentially like (and must be first-cousin to, chemically) Elmer's glue. I didn't like things that made other things mushy, such as that poor biscuit.

I was always suspicious of foods that were white or "creamed". My mother proudly makes these fresh green peas in a cream sauce that make me shudder to this day. Similarly, I do not prefer my corn to be creamed.

So, based on my previous dislike for all thing white and gooey, I am surprisingly now on board with the sausage gravy and biscuits. I'm thinking it's not doing my ass any favors, but it's ok as long as I only do it when Allison arrives.

New Phone!

When did it become such a big deal to get a new cell phone? Not sure, but it has. I previously had the HTC Pocket PC from Sprint. Here lately it's been acting kind of hinky; low battery life, dumping calls, Internet connection hanging, etc. I approached this as a warning shot prior to more insidious failures. My most recent former husband gifted me the delightful Palm Pre. Clearly, this is an iPhone wannabe, but the best Sprint has to offer at this time. I've heard good things about it; that it's actually better than the iPhone, but with a smaller marketing budget. I know one thing for certain; there are waaaaay less apps available than on the iPhone, but you can use multiple apps simultaneously. I'm sure there are geeks somewhere furiously developing new apps for the Pre, so I am going to patiently wait it out. I am vigilantly trying to learn this new thing; the previous phone navigated much like a PC, hence it's name. This, however, does not. Hopefully, by Monday I will have learned enough to make a call or send an email without having a meltdown of some nature.