...and it's a good thing he didn't...

Jess won this oversized Spaghetti-O's tube thing a couple years back from some contest.  I don't remember why, but it was inflated not too long ago.  Jess started putting a giant exercise ball on top of it as a chair, but not before we found that Chuck likes to sit inside.  It all started when I came downstairs one morning to find him just sitting, very regally, in the middle.  And now he just goes in there all the time, as long as it's open.  We took this picture today, which was the first time I'd actually seen him lie down in the circle.  How cute...

Alternative Gift Registry

So, Jess introduced me to the Alternative Gift Registry (link), and asked me to create a bookmarklet. Having never done one before, I thought it sounded interesting. Well, I took a stab at it, and tried to gather information and populate their Add A Gift form automatically, but it didn't work too well. Then Jess suggested I create a form of my own and try to post it to the registry myself, avoiding any nasty timing issues. A great idea, for sure! So, I got it to work (at least in Safari — I haven't been able to test other browsers yet. I think it should work for IE, but again, I haven't tested...

Anyway, here's the bookmarklet. It requires that you have a registry id. You should enter it in the following box and then bookmark the link after it. Otherwise, it won't work as you expected...
Bookmarklet

So, here's how it works. You select some text on a page, and then click the bookmarklet that you just copied. You'll get a popup window that will default the title of the page as the item name and the selected text as the description for the item. This accepts HTML, so you can select images and links and really anything else. If you select images or links, the script is smart enough to fix the links so that they'll work on the registry page. You can edit either of these fields, and then enter a sort order and quantity value. Click the Add Gift or Add Gift and View Registry button, and the item will be added.

I'll be contacting AGR directly to give them this head start (since they would be able to generate the bookmarklet a little bit easier for you directly from your registry page), but I thought I'd post this here first so people can start using it.

If you get any errors, leave a comment to this post. If you want to add to this script, feel free to do so, but let me know of any additions!

...well, I didn't, but I made the whole thing!

So, I made some Cheddar and Chive scones this morning and brought them in to church. They were a big hit! I was surprised, especially since I didn't think I would like them!!! Anyway, thanks Whole Foods, for such a good recipe. So, without further ado...

Cheddar and Chive Scones (courtesy of Whole Foods)
Makes 12

2 large eggs
1/2 cup milk (plus 2 tablespoons for brushing over scones)
2 TB finely chopped fresh chives
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 TB baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
6 TB cold unsalted butter
11/2 cups grated sharp or aged cheddar
Preheat oven to 425°F. In a small bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup milk and egg until blended. Stir in chives and set aside. Blend flour, baking powder, salt, and black pepper in food processor or large bowl. Add cold butter and pulse, or quickly blend with your fingertips, until mixture resembles coarse meal. Do Not Overmix. Toss in 1 cup of the grated cheese until well blended. Add milk mixture and process just until moist clumps begin to form.

Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and shape into a ball. Cut dough ball in half, then flatten each half into an 8-inch (1/2-inch thick) circle. Cut each circle into 6 wedges. Brush with milk and sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup of cheese. Place on a nonstick baking sheet. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.

...And yet they keep bringing more stuff out....

...Well, actually I can...

So, we went shopping last night - a short list, but a lot in the cart. Some of the produce didn't look that good. However,they had some vine-ripened tomatoes. You know, the kind that are still attached to the vine? They were very red and smelled delicious. Even though we had no plans to use tomatoes in any of the recipes Jess had planned, we picked up four of them.

At home, I took them out of the plastic bag and was aggain reminded of the freshness of these tomatoes. The bag had the pungent smell of ripe tomatoes - a wonderful smell for a wintry February night.

This morning, Jess realized that the pizza I'd been having for lunch was gone, so decided to make a quick pasta dish. She chopped some of the tomatoes, some basil we had lying around, and put it on top of some angel hair pasta. Then I topped it with some fresh parmesean. Quite tasty, indeed. It looked something like this:

...and now I have to work it off

So, I was reading an article on Slashdot about how there are videos on YouTube that are *gasp* not real, but edited content! Shocking, I know. Anyway, it reminded me of a video that was posted on Slashdot a month or so ago that was on YouTube. However, I'm fairly sure this one is not edited, just 4 guys and 8 treadmills. Set to a catchy tune. Here it is:

Enjoy!

...and yet the plate is full again!

So, it's been a LOOOOOOONG time! I'm sitting here with the kittens, after wrapping presents, and have started thinking about life and stuff. Sure, in trying to find Chad's contact information (I may be getting closer, but still nothing definitive yet), I got to talking with a couple of old friends. (Jess, it was Emily and Andi). In hearing how people are moving ahead with life, it made me realize that I haven't been sitting still either, but in many ways I have been.
The kits run and jump.
In the car, I was able to hear a pastor talking about how people have tended to focus more on worshipping the cross, instead of the one who died upon it. He likened it to Jews in ancient times, when God gave them the bronze serpent that would heal people of snakebites if they just looked upon it. Some people would not look at it, and others would. Some started burning incense to it, and the people carried this thing through the time of the prophets and judges. We still do that today: focus on the cross instead of on Christ, God incarnate, making an idol of the object He used to bring us salvation, instead of honoring and glorifying Him who saves us!
Blaise makes a frog noise.
So work is picking up, and I'm still excited to be there. I remember back at the big A, I began dreading going to work. Yet, here I am, having spent more time than ever before at a full time job, still looking forward to going in the next day. Its a great feeling! I just hope I am able to get my work done before QA comp date.
Kits are going crazy, chasing things under the fridge, and then each other.
With just days before Christmas, I have found peace in shopping, and enjoyment in doing tasks around me. And yet, as I look forward to continuing to read "No More Christian Nice Guy", I wonder whether my peace is fake in passivity, or real in Christ. I've been trying to make an attempt away from the politically correctness surrounding this time of year lately; using Merry Christmas instead of happy holidays, Christmas vacation instead of winter vacation; things like that.
Ok, I don't think I can make any more even slightly coherent thoughts. That means I must go read and head to bed.

...and now I'm full

So, I never thought I'd post to a blog so often, I kind of thought it would look something like this blog which uses the user name I wanted. Anyway, mad props and many thanks to Jess for forcing me to do this...
This is two times in a row that she's forced me to do something that some good has come of it! Maybe I should listen more often and drag my feet less. So, all I really have to do is learn how to get my feet out of the sand and open my ears up...

Anyway, true meaning of this post. I'm struggling with financial decisions. Basically just one. I'm looking into the whole tithing part of my faith. I know we're called to give 10% back to the Lord's work, but, what counts? I know I should be a good steward and give freely, and I want to and plan to do so, I just need to seek guidance from God as to where to give my finances to. My thinking was something along these lines, and seems to me to be a valid idea: Split the tithe into 3 approximately equal parts; give one to my local Church to continue the operations there in developing the spiritual lives of its members, give one to a Domestic Missionary so that they are financially supported in their decision to follow God in the style of Matthew 10:9-10, and give one to an International Missionary to continue the spreading of the Gospel around the world. My biggest hang up, though, is whether one is enough. For example, should I split my ~3% for International Missionaries among 3 different people, giving each 1%? I figure doing that would bless more people, but may not be as big of a blessing as giving to just one person. Add to that the fact that I don't know the biggest needs of the missionaries and it gives me more to think about.

Comments are surely welcome and appreciated...