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Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Italian Chicken Bundles

Here's something most of you might not know about me:  I used to be a personal chef.  I actually had my own business called "In Your Kitchen".  I would go to people's houses and cook meals that could be frozen and than later reheated and enjoyed.  I spent about 8 hours at their house cooking, but when I was gone, their was no sign I was there except 2 weeks worth of dinners in their freezers.  Those dinners were left with instructions on how to properly thaw and reheat each meal.  Yep, that's very own personal chef business.  Why am I not still doing it?  Well, at the time I was living by myself, working a full time job, and trying to cram in as many clients as I could on a weekend so that I could still pay all my bills....and well, I'll be honest...I started to hate it.  I was spending my entire time off cooking for other people and it became a job.  I was making no time for myself and I started to not look forward to cooking.  I knew I didn't want to continue if it was something I was going to hate.  So, I stepped back, re-evaluated things, and decided that I needed to put the personal chef business on hold until a time came where it could be my only job.  As time has gone by, I have considered starting it up again, but now I believe that I need more schooling to be the actual personal chef I really, truly, know I can be.  Maybe some day that time will come, but for now, I am happy just having a large collection of recipes from the United States Personal Chef Institute at my fingertips!

This recipe is one that comes from that collection.  I have a few favorites, of course, and this would be one of them.  I just like the convenience of being able to freeze them.  I like that they are in little pouches of crispy goodness.  I like that they are versatile; you can truly put whatever ingredients you want in there.  And of course, I like that it really takes no time at all to make.  Oh, and let's not forget the taste.  I LOVE the taste.  It's just a good mix of creamy cheeses, flavorful chicken, and a crispy outside texture.

P.S....check out the one year ago link at the end of this post...some good ideas for this years Super Bowl party!!
Italian Chicken Bundles
Adapted from the United States Personal Chef Institute
Printable Recipe
1 1/2 cups chicken (cut into small bit sizes pieces)
3 green onions, chopped
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
3 Tablespoons shredded parmesan cheese (you could use grated)
3 Tablespoons shredded mozzarella cheese
2 Tablespoons cream cheese, room temperature
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste
garlic powder
2 Tablespoons butter, melted
10 egg roll wrappers
Tomato Sauce (homemade or store bought)
additional parmesan or mozzarella cheese for topping if desired

Season the chicken with salt, pepper, and a little garlic powder.  In a non-stick skillet, heat the oil over medium heat.  Add the chicken and cook until lightly browned, about 5 minutes.  Add the onion and garlic and cook for 1 minute longer.  Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.  To the skillet, add the parmesan, mozzarella, cream cheese, oregano, and nutmeg.  Stir to combine.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Using a 12 cup muffin tin, brush half of the melted butter into 10 of the 12 cups.  Carefully press one egg roll wrapper into a muffin cup and fill with the chicken mixture.  Close the wrapper over the filling and brush with some of the remaining melted butter.  Continue until all 10 muffin tins are completed.

Bake for about 20-25 minutes, or until lightly browned on the top.  Carefully remove from the muffin tin; top with warmed sauce and cheese if desired.  Enjoy!

***If you aren't going to eat all 10 bundles, you can freeze them to enjoy at another time.  Once baked, allow to cool completely.  Wrap separately in aluminum foil then place in a large freezer ziploc bag and store in the freezer for up to 3 months.  When ready to use again, thaw in the refrigerator the night before the day of consumption.  Unwrap from aluminum foil and place on microwave safe plate.  Heat for 2-3 minutes and than topped with heated sauce and cheese.***

One Year Ago:  Super Bowl Count Down...Take One:  Appetizers

Big Dude said...

Great dish Jenn and I thought you were more than just the family cook. Thanks for sharing the storey.

Michelle said...

Lovely pictures of a great dish! :) A personal chef, huh? Many people in my life try to convince me to cater. However, I'm afraid I'd start to hate being in the kitchen, and that would be very sad.

SnoWhite said...

What a fun history, Jenn! This looks really tasty - I can see why it's a favorite!

Andrea the Kitchen Witch said...

Your reasons on quitting the personal chef business are my same reasons for not starting one, despite my friends begging me to do so. I'm glad that you got to try it - mostly so I can live vicariously thru you LOL :) The chicken bundles sound really good, and i love their delicate wrapper, so fun!! This would make a great app for a fun party :)

StephenC said...

Holy cow, you've been holding out on us! And where do I get an Italian chicken?

Cranberry Morning said...

What an interesting story, Jenn! That sounds like so much fun, but then again, as you said - more fun when it's your only job. I can't believe how tasty and crunchy those 'bundles' look! Great recipe. Thanks. :-)

Mary said...

Your background is really interesting, Jenn. Today's bundles look like amazing treats. Have a great day. Blessings...Mary

Angie's Recipes said...

I love these chicken bundles! They look wonderfully delicious! Gotta check the link out...thanks!

Michael Toa said...

Thanks for sharing your story. I too would love, one day to have a job where I can cook all day and have people around to eat with me. :)Those chicken bundles look excellent.

Linda said...

It's nice getting to know you a little better! Great recipe and pictures! I am printing this one out to use on Super Bowl Sunday!

Debbie said...

Thanks for sharing your story Jenn...I love getting to know things about fellow bloggers. Those bundles look so delicious!!!

Design Wine and Dine said...

That is so interesting to know! I have often wondered if I would enjoy cooking professionaly...but like you...think it would change things if it became "the job."

Nevertheless..these bundles look PERFECTLY DELICIOUS!

Cranberry Morning said...

by the way...these looked so good I went out and bought those little eggroll wrappers and we'll have this either tonight or tomorrow night for dinner. I can't wait!!

Chris said...

No wonder you got mad skills, we knew there was something more about you:) I've always said if I win the lottery and don't have to work, I'm enrolling in culinary school!

These bundles are crispy packets of yum!

Mary said...

These look fantastic, Jenn. The timing is awesome too. I have the wrappers on my list already (for a recipe next week) and I was wondering what I should make with the rest of the package. YAY! This is perfect.

I played chef for my sister last weekend while I was visiting her. I had a blast spending time with her and filling the freezer with 20+ meals. I can hardly imagine life with four daughters (two of whom are twin baby girls) AND A full time career. I was thrilled that I could help her out even a little bit!

I love the idea of a personal chef business, but I imagine it would pull much of the joy out of cooking for me as well. Thanks for the recipe!


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Teaching :: Identity In Christ

12:18 AM

Last week I returned from Capetown and started teaching on Tuesday on Identity In Christ. I taught the whole week with my staff tag teaming a little. I have to admit that it was my first time teaching for a total of 10 hours but it went well! Thanks for all your prayers! Here's an action shot!

Identity In Christ teaching

Most of my teaching was centered around the book of Ephesians. Did you know that book mentions the words "in Christ" more than 35 times? Obviously I can't write all my notes in this post but I want to share with you the highlights. It's a great book to study!

Ephesians Chapter 1:
  • We are chosen by God.
  • We are redeemed through Him.
  • We are sealed by His Spirit.
Ephesians Chapter 2:
  • We were once dead but are now alive through Jesus.
  • Paul moves from identity being personal to corporate or community when he starts talking about the Jews and Gentiles.
Ephesians Chapter 3:
  • God reveals the mystery of His will to us (how awesome is that!)
Ephesians Chapter 4:
  • We must walk in unity.
  • We all have gifts that are to be used for the equipping of the saints to the building up of the body.
  • We must put off the old self and put on the new self.
Ephesians Chapter 5:
  • We must walk in love, walk as children of light, and walk in wisdom.
  • Wives submit to husbands and husbands must love their wives.
Ephesians Chapter 6:
  • Children obey their parents.
  • We must put on the armor of God.
  • We must pray for boldness.
My thoughts:

I think finding our identity in Christ is a must in our walk as Christians. I believe that comes from personal revelations of who Jesus is and who He has made us to be as well as walking in community with other believers. I think steps to finding our identity are:

1. To identify with Christ.
2. Believe the promises and inheritance He has given us.
3. Losing our lives to find our life in Him (Gal. 2:20, Matt. 10:38-40).
4. Abide in Him and put off the old self (John 15:1-11).
5. Walk in faith.

But it is a battle, not only to find our identity but also to constantly walk in it. That's why we must put on the armor of God and have accountability in our lives. The fruits of walking in our identity far outweigh walking in who we're not. I would much rather engage the change process in my life so that I can walk in the fullness and freedom of who I am in Christ rather than sit back in my "comforts" and be bound by my fears.

The last day of class we had a ministry time. It was great! We started off with an excellent exercise that I've done with our apostolic covering team. Everyone gets a sheet of paper. You right your name at the top and then pass it to the right. Everyone writes one word to describe you on that paper and then passes it on. When it comes back to you, you look it over and then say the one that is hardest for you to believe. Openness and brokenness just seems to flow. It's amazing!

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  1. Fantastic!

    I especially love your penultimate paragraph, about it being a battle not only to find our identity, but also to walk in it. So true! Satan opposes it every step of the way - which I guess is a great clue as to its importance.

    Sometimes I feel like I have found my identity, only to lose it again. In other words going from Step 5 to Step 2 or 1 or 3 again. A battle, as you say.

    Thanks for sharing some of your teaching with us!

Thanks for commenting!

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Saturday, March 3, 2007

As I was riding my bike south down Broadway, a woman who I did not recognize, with a baby attached to her chest, also who I did not recognize, yelled out my name.

I turned around to find myself face to face with baby and mama art star princesses of folklore's delight: "Laruocco", best known in the art star world for painting pictures with her own period blood and putting an onion up her vagina, as well as other surprises and tricks, including her own wild and eccentric personality. Her book, "Document Zippo", got a rave review from The Village Voice. A friend recalls her as "either being really funny or really wierd."

She was taking her baby to it's job, baby modeling, which according to Larocco, pays better than her own job.

I will remember that, should I ever find myself babied.

In addition to the new art Laruocco has made named Layla, it seems that her art has also become part of (or, perhaps inspired) new art.

Anonymous said...

WOW! Where did you meat that amazing looking woman? She looks like one of a KIND! In ALL ways yo

LAYLA said...

Hey thanx for posting the phot of mommy LARUOCCO & Me... Referenced you on my weblog:

you know, I was also caught floating on youtube as SUPERBABY!...


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Meditation Romans 14:11

25/02/2015 09:24

Scripture.  For it is written, as I live saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me, and every tongue shall confess to God.  So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.  Romans 14:11  KJV

Jesus has said that every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess to Him.

All will bow and confess, not just the Christians.  Even those who do not believe in God, and those opposed to God. God has said every soul and He does not lie.

How then shall those who are opposed or do not believe, bow to Him?

God will not force them.  The unrepentant soul will see God and be so awed at His Majesty and Power that it will fall to it's knees and begin to confess against it's own will.

I will bow in joy and give Him praise and honour, how about you?

Lord, thank You for Your Power and Majesty.  Help me to honour Your Name above all names.  Amen.


text:
Directing, designing, marriage counseling — is there anything Madonna won't try?

Last week, Variety reported that Madonna will direct W.E., a biopic about the legendary affair between King Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson. Over the weekend, it was announced that Madonna will be a judge on The Marriage Ref. Today, WWD claims that is claiming that Her Madgesty will do a clothing line.

Madonna has sold more than 200 million albums worldwide and has an estimated $900 million net worth. She doesn't need to work. So what's with all of these (seemingly) random projects? Is anyone clamoring for a new celebrity fashion line? Couldn't the Wallis Simpson story — about a formidable woman for whom a king gave up his crown — be told by a more seasoned director? For more than twenty-five years ("Like A Virgin" was number one on the pop charts in 1984), Madonna has been an entertainer described as someone who "reinvents" herself. But is "reinvention" really just "staying current"? And is "staying current" actually "desperately trying to be relevant"? Sometimes it seems like she's not so much a creative force as she is a person who's good at latching on to pre-existing good ideas.

That said, in a world which chews up and spits out many female pop stars before they turn 25, Madonna manages to stay in the limelight. You can question her taste level, her originality, her likability and her vocal talents, but there's no denying that she's a savvy businesswoman — with the chutzpah to keep putting herself out there, critics be damned.

And the truth is, none of these "new" projects Madonna has signed on for really involve her branching out in a new direction: She's familiar with a film set (from Desperately Seeking Susan to Evita to her directorial debut, Filth And Wisdom). She did a "trendy" collection for H&M in 2007, and is known for her fashion risks. As for being a judge on The Marriage Ref, well, the lady has been married — and divorced — twice. As she says in "Material Girl": "Experience has made me rich and now they're after me."

Madonna Said In Talks For Apparel Line [WWD]
Madonna To Appear As Judge On Jerry Seinfeld's 'The Marriage Ref' [NYDN]
Madonna Directing W.E. [Variety]


text:
Who knew suffering from severe blood loss could be so fun?

On last night's episode of True Blood, while unconscious, Sookie visited a magical place, perhaps in the Hollywood Hills, with a grotto not unlike Hugh Hefner's at the Playboy Mansion, where scantily clad nymph-like Burning Man enthusiasts were having a hippie ren faire rave, and one chick named Claudine encouraged Sooks to drink the glowing Kool-Aid, as Timothy Leary, reclining under a nearby tree, witnessed the frolicking and giggled.

Other moments of note:

  • Poor Lorena went out like a Bjork song: A fountain of blood in the shape of a girl.
  • Jason Stackhouse in boxers did not, repeat, did not have an erection. (Why am I powerless against his dumb hotness?!?!)
  • "I bet you a hundred to one her middle name is meth."
  • "I want to be your girlfriend. And I really want you to taste my biscuits."
  • Sam as a pit bull with big cajones.

  • Bill's starved ravishing of Sookie, which came off as rape. The vampire myth is laden with sexual imagery — all those innocent, white-nightgown-clad women being penetrated in the night — but these days, the ladies (Bella, Sookie) are usually eager and willing to get bit. Unfortunately, in the context of this show, the sympathy for Sookie a viewer has at this point is next to nil. And Bill's been a weirdo lately. So this supposedly horrifying scene was a yawn.
  • "I'm just sweepin'." "Where's your broom?" "Good point."
  • Setting fighting dogs loose: Bad idea?
  • "Goddammit, Lafayete, I'm in love." "With the dude in jail?" "No. With his cousin."
  • Jason crying! Sniff!
  • "Would you object to me piercing your eyelids?" Thank Lestat we were spared that scene.
  • "I'm so happy I could bleed." Your new ringtone? Audio file here and here!
  • Last, but not least: "¡Ay, que lastima!"

Earlier: True Blood: Will You Be My Vampire Bride?
True Blood Heals Heartbreak With A Hot Hunk O' Werewolf
True Blood: Vampire Sex Is Twisted
True Blood: Big Foot, Nazis, And Tender Moments
True Blood: "Conscience Off, Dick On"


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Mitt Romney's made it clear that he believes that corporations and zygotes deserve more rights than women, which is why it's not terribly surprising that female American voters say they prefer Barack Obama over the presumptive GOP nominee by 18 percentage points. To close that gap, it may make strategic sense for Romney to select a woman as his running mate, in a sort of politically ham-fisted attempt to prove to the American public that he's got one female friend who isn't his wife. Here are the woman best poised to get the nomination ... and why Romney won't pick them.

Now that Santorum's chosen to end his campaign before carrying it fully to term, Romney's probably going to get the nomination, unless Ronald Reagan's corpse reanimates. With the War on Women on the lips of pundits and politicians alike, To Lady or Not To Lady has become the question on the minds of many a strategist. Romney's going to have to pick a Vice President that complements him on the ticket. Romney's got a woman problem. Why not kill two birds with one stone?

On the other hand, the Sarah Palin debacle taught Republicans a thing or two about just picking an unvetted spunky lady for a position a heartbeat away from the Presidency. Nicolle Wallace, a McCain strategist who worked with Palin on the 2008 campaign trail, believes that it will be a long time before a Republican presidential nominee tries to blow everyone's mind by picking a lady to run.

If Romney were to decide to Go Co-Ed with the ticket, there are plenty of conservative women who would make good choices. Unfortunately, they each come with their own deal breaker.

Olympia Snowe

Who is she? Centrist Republican Senator from Maine who is retiring after her term expires because she's sick of the Washington DC bullshit.
Why she'd make a great VP nominee Her straight talk bipartisanship would be appealing to moderates. She's openly criticized the "retro" birth control debate. She doesn't appear to hate women.
Deal breaker Mittens is already getting the side eye from the conservative establishment, even in spite of the jarringly wingnut rhetoric he's been spouting this primary season. A Romney/Snowe ticket might appeal to moderates, but it would most assuredly convince hard core Republicans to stay home and forlornly shoot their guns at endangered species and abortion doctors on Election Day. Plus, Snowe's been in Washington since 1979. It's fair to assume that when she says she's tired of the District, she's really tired of the District. She probably wouldn't take the nomination, anyway.

Kay Bailey Hutchison

Who is she? Texas' first female Senator and one of the Ladies Home Journal top 30 most powerful women in America
Why she'd make a great VP nominee Tough, smart, beloved by her constituents (60% of them voted for her reelection), and willing to work across party lines — sometimes.
Why she won't be the nominee She ran for governor of the state of Texas against Rick Perry, one of Romney's former fellow contenders for the GOP nomination, and lost. A desperate man like Romney doesn't need the image of a sub-Perry loser attached to him, even though Kay Bailey Hutchison is, for all intents and purposes, pretty badass.

Susana Martinez

Who is she? Republican governor of New Mexico
Why she'd make a great VP nominee Two distinct and important groups of voters hate Mitt Romney: women, and Latinos. Susana Martinez can appeal to both, and she's pretty popular in the Land of Enchantment. She's also got conservative chops — a fiscal conservative who is staunchly anti-abortion and anti-same sex marriage.
Why she won't be the nominee She says she wouldn't accept the nomination. Plus, like Romney, she's a flip flopper — prior to 1995, she was a Democrat. And, to make matters worse: Martinez's grandparents were illegal immigrants. Mitt Romney's running for office, for Pete's sake! He can't have descendants of illegals on his ticket!

Kelly Ayotte

Who is she? Freshman Senator from New Hampshire, the state's former Attorney General. Beloved by the Tea Party.
Why she'd make a great VP nominee She's got everything — she's a mother, a fiscal conservative, a rabid anti-abortion nutjob, but she also can hold her own in debates.
Why she won't be the nominee Flyover country, as it tends to do, will clamor for a more geographically diverse ticket. And while she might appeal to women and non-robots, she's still relatively inexperienced.

Nikki Haley

Who is she? Haley's the governor of South Carolina and the first Indian American female governor in US history.
Why she'd make a great VP nominee Tea Party Darling Nikki Haley does not take crap from anyone. During a tough primary battle in 2010, she received a key endorsement from Mitt Romney, and the two remain bros to this day.
Why she won't be the nominee She says she won't accept a VP nomination. Plus, Haley, for all her fire and Tea Party frothing, might still be a little much for some of the party establishment. A guy from Massachusetts?! And an Indian woman? Dozens of cigars in smoky back rooms were just spat out in surprise. Monocles dropped.

Michele Bachmann

Who is she? Who isn't she? Former Presidential candidate and Minnesota Congresswoman.
Why she'd make a great VP nominee Her delusion is so complete that she can walk the walk no matter where she is — even if she doesn't have any idea what she's talking about. Which she usually doesn't.
Why she won't be the nominee Just as Olympia Snowe would scare away conservatives, so too would Bachmann frighten moderates. But wouldn't it be awesome if Romney did pick Bachmann? God, that would be incredible.

So, it seems that while GOP High School is replete with attractive lady dance partners, no one wants to go to prom with Mittens.

Maybe it's better that Romney probably won't Go Lady with his Vice Presidential nominee; it's time Republicans realized that picking one woman to serve as a token isn't the same as actually supporting policies that are helpful to women. Then again, Republicans this cycle have been especially bad at understanding how women vote, and maybe this is the best they can do. Any of these possibilities is better than Marco Rubio. Even if they make him wear a dress.


text:
George Clooney, Stacy Keibler, Justin Theroux and Jennifer Aniston shared a private jet—the Glitter Person version of splitting a cab—in Switzerland. Were this an NYU freshman playwright's hastily-penned one-act, they would experience some turbulence and blurt out their long-held secrets, resentments and desires for each other in the panicked moments before collision, but then everything would turn out fine, and they'd safely touch ground with the air cleared and everyone having learned something about friends, lovers, themselves, etc. But it's life, so nothing happened.

Also, Theroux might, supposedly, theoretically, be on the verge of dumping Jen because he hates Los Angeles and wants to reconcile with his ex Heidi Bivens, claims some Theroux-acquainted person. "Justin wants a family. But he doesn't want it with Jen." FUUUUUUUUUU [TMZ, Gather Celebs]

After releasing a bunch of awkwardly-staged photos on vacation in Hawaii which clearly indicate that Megan Fox is pregnant, Brian Austin Green coyly Tweeted "Thank you everyone. We are so happy." He then added, "By the way that last tweet does not confirm or deny anything :)" Yeah, no, that'd be the awkwardly-staged photos, unless Megan Fox just ate really bad shrimp and/or Pepe the King Prawn. [Belfast Telegraph]

One summer jam that Kate Middleton will not be using to pump up during Advanced Abs 'n' Gluts is Lady Gaga's new song "Princess Die." Gaga's been slammed by suicide charities for lines in the song like "I wish that I could cope but I took pills and left a note." Additional lyrics: "Princess Die, I wanna see you cry, and wish that I would go, in my rich boyfriend's limo. Right after he proposed, with a 16-carat stone wrapped in rose gold, with the paparazzi all swarming around." It is clear who inspired this song and it's Paula Poundstone. [Monsters and Critics]

Sexual catnip/ab display case Magic Mike opens today, and this morning it was announced that director Steven Soderbergh and star Chay Tates will produce a stage adaptation of the movie that will theoretically be on Broadway by 2013. Imagine how disgruntled the Chippendales are right now. They've been here the whole time, you guys. (P.S. I read in a book once that a woman got a Chippendale's thong flicked on her during a show and it hit her in the eyes and HER EYELASHES GOT CRABS YOLO.) [Deadline]

The lead producer of the late Nora Ephron's new play "Lucky Guy" will continue with the production, saying he's "committed" to getting her biography of a newspaper columnist to Broadway as planned. Tom Hanks is being considered for the title role of Mike McAlary, a 1998 Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who covered New York police brutality. [Yahoo News]

  • Tay-Tay Swift, America's unicorn, is releasing a new fragrance called Wonderstruck Enchanted. [Contact Music]
  • Meanwhile, Kristen Stewart never wore perfume as a teenager and didn't need to because she naturally secretes a dark, woodsy scent called Sullen Insolence. [Monsters And Critics]
  • Kris Jenner praises Kanye West. [Page Six]
  • Katy Perry wants a career like Madonna's. [Digital Spy]
  • "I would have signed Radiohead," says Elijah Wood. Um, yeah, I would have signed the Beatles, and why are we talking about this? [NME]
  • Lady Gaga paid $136,000 for an Alexander McQueen dress called The Girl Who Lived In The Tree. [Monsters and Critics]
  • "I always wanted to be a Tenenbaum Kardashian," mourns Sharon Osbourne in the friscalating dusklight. [Rolling Stone]
  • Anna Paquin, who is expecting twins with Stephen Moyer, told Redbook in a cover interview that she's not sure what sort of mom she'll be. "I have a side that's very nesty, and another that thinks, ‘Let's lock up the house and go away for five months." Right. So... Anna Paquin is human, feels this is a conflict of interest for motherhood. [Digital Spy]
  • Charlie Sheen and Russell Brand call each other Genius One and Genius Two. [The Sun]
  • On Watch What Happens: Live, Katie Couric played Fuck, Marry, Kill with Andy Cohen: fuck Bryant Gumbel, marry Matt Lauer and kill Dan Rather. [HuffPo]
  • Without further ado, an image entitled "WHAT JAY-Z AND BEYONCÉ MIGHT LOOK LIKE IF THEY DIDN'T HAVE MONEY (AND LIVED IN OHIO)." [Janet Charlton's Hollywood]
  • Sofia Vergara single, in the Hamptons, with a wrench. [Page Six]
  • Doris Singleton, who played nosy Carolyn Appleby on I Love Lucy, has passed away at 92. [SF Gate]
  • Susan Boyle will receive an honory doctorate from a university in Scotland. More importantly, this gif. [Winnipeg Free Press]
  • Emma Stone bakes when she has anxiety. [Toronto Sun]
  • There exists a photo of Andrew Garfield taking a shit. [Express]
  • Jon Hamm felt left out when his friends started having kids. [Monsters and Critics]
  • Paris Hilton hung out with a disabled child. [VH1]
  • Nicki Minaj is Team Drake re: Hymn Of The Bottle Throwing Incident On The Great Shores Of Manhattan's W.I.P. Nightclub: "I don't approve of talented people doing things that aren't conducive to an amazing career. I spoke to Drake and I told him from the bottom of my heart how I felt. I'm like 'Baby, you are a superstar and I need you to realize that.' He did nothing wrong, of course. Rumors are rumors and that's what it is." [BET]
  • The headline of this story is "Selena Gomez's Transylvania Comfort." What even. [Contact Music]
  • Mila Kunis says she'd be online dating if she were a Muggle. [NYDN]


text:
Jim Carrey Online
You are here: Home » About Jim Carrey Online > Tommy Noel Pihl
The Crew

Hi every Jim Carrey fans all over the world. It is Tommy Pihl from Denmark, who is writing... These last 5 years I have been a great fan of Jim Carrey. I can't really remember which movie was the first I saw, but for me his greatest movie is "The Truman Show". It is a fascinating movie, which is something actually scarce these days. Carrey plays his role brilliantly and he shows a side of acting, which I had never seen him do before. The movie was one of the reasons why I started my own Jim Carrey-website. If I want to laugh I put on the "Dumb & Dumber" DVD! It is also worth thinking that Jim Carrey grew up as a poor child and by working hard he is now one of the biggest stars in Hollywood...
- Tommy Pihl


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Joe Burleigh, metal artist

Specializing in Ornamental and Sculptural Steel and iron

Joe Burleigh is an artist-blacksmith based in Carbondale, Colorado, whose paintbrush is the forge. Joe specializes in handcrafted ornamental and sculptural iron and steel work, ranging from custom furniture and architectural elements to ornamental and art metal work. His work can be found in homes and businesses throughout the Aspen community and appears in community public art collections and special exhibits from Washington, DC to Portland, Oregon.

The pieces shown in this site are representative of the style of work Joe produces. While some art pieces are available for sale, the majority of Joe's work is created on a custom basis. This assures that each piece is unique, designed to the specific needs of the client or the whim of the artist.

“Joe Burleigh is a man of few words and a lot of good iron work.” - Forge Facts
“Art is long, life is short, get going.” - Frances Whitaker
“Most of my work is return customers or word of mouth or random luck. But when I do find myself with time, I try to make art.” - Joe Burleigh


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Wednesday, 16 November 2011

Reetsweet Christmas Craft Fair - Sunday 27 November 2011

Hello there!

Just wanted to quickly mention that I will have a stall at the very first Sheffield Reetsweet craft fair in less than two weeks!  It's at the fabulous Millennium Gallery on Sunday 27 November, opening times are from 12 noon to 4 p.m., and entry is FREE!

Reetsweet is run by Becki Drury from Leeds, who has run many very successful fairs in Leeds.  I'm so glad that someone has stepped in where the excellent Craft Candy fairs left off - I do really enjoy the Christmas craft fair (this will be my third).  I'm expecting to see lots of old Craft Candy friends there... I can't wait! :D

Reetsweet fairs are full of bright, quirky and fun products - and of course, everything is genuinely handmade... click here to take a look at some of the goodies at the recent Leeds Uni Reetsweet fair! Leeds Uni goodies

So if you're in Sheffield on that day, please drop by and say hi!

  • Millennium Gallery is just five minutes walk from the train station and the bus station
  • For a map of Millennium Gallery and streetview from the Surrey Street entrance via the Winter Gardens, click here: how to get there
  • There is another entrance to the Millennium Gallery on Arundel Gate.

Best wishes
Joey x

Sunday, 30 October 2011

Charlotte Liddle in Sheffield

Close-up of my strawberry applique, one of the projects from Charlotte Liddle's new book!
Hello there!

Here's another of my quarterly blog posts! Hahaha! Oops! Maybe next year I'll be a better blogger... I finished the walking challenge (see my last post) a couple of weeks ago, so I don't really have any excuses for not posting (apart from weird times at work, but that's another story)...
Our walking team finished in 10th place out of 177 teams (individually I came 4th out of 885 people, with 2,695,838 steps, or about 1172 miles), which I'm really pleased about!

I've never done so much walking in my life! I'm sure I'm a couple of inches shorter now...
Click here to see the Walking Challenge League Table
Walking off into the sunset...
So what's the thing that was so amazing that I just had to write a post about it?  Well, our local John Lewis store in Sheffield hosted a book signing and free workshop with craft book writer Charlotte Liddle. Charlotte has now written three craft books: “Stitch and Sparkle: 15 Easy Projects to Stick and Sew”;Stitch Divas: New Ways to Get Creative with Yarns and Threads” (written with Rachel Henderson) and her latest book, “Cute and Easy Quilting and Stitching” which was published this spring. I found out about Charlotte's event when visiting the ladies' for a wee last Saturday, as an advert for it was on the back of the loo door - of all places! Anyway, I asked my mother-in-law Chris along, and we both enjoyed a fantastic couple of hours making one of the projects from Charlotte's new book.
Charlotte Liddle today, sitting behind copies of her new book, with some of her creations from it.
It was really interesting to be able to chat with Charlotte whilst we were stitching away, and it gave me the chance to get to know her a little. Charlotte is from Darlington, and graduated from her Textile Crafts course at the University of Huddersfield in 2005, and currently teaches textile crafts to adults and older teenagers, as well as holding workshops and writing craft books.  After leaving Uni, Charlotte got a job in the office at the Coats Crafts headquarters in Darlington. She was in the right place, because after showing them her portfolio, she got her first book deal! The result, called Stitch and Sparkle”, really is a sparkling treasure-trove full of ideas to combine printed fabrics, lace, ribbon, beads, buttons and all things twinkly to create your own unique accessories, or bling-up your tired but still serviceable old stuff.  In my opinion, it really stands out from a lot of other craft books because every page is buzzing with bright treasures - there's nothing old-fashioned or tired here.

Charlotte's beautiful embellished shoes - fit for a princess!
Gorgeous combination of applique, crochet and beading by Charlotte Liddle.
Charlotte's latest book is also full of projects – 35 no less. She told us that it took her a mere 10 weeks to create. I say “create” rather than write because I know from experience that the written instructions are just a tiny part of a project. They're important, but they just don't give you as massive a headache as the times when you get halfway through making a thing and realise that the fabric's all wrong/your design's all wrong/you've messed up big time/your sewing machine decides that it's had enough and goes on strike/you have a nervous breakdown and turn to jelly... So I'm mightily impressed that Charlotte designed, made and wrote the instructions for 35 projects in only 10 weeks... and stayed sane!  Charlotte had put up a display of some of her creations from the book, and it was great to see them up close to appreciate the details.

The beauty of this book is that it can be enjoyed not only by people who are completely new to sewing but also folks with experience in one technique but need a bit of inspiration to try something a little different... for example, I'd really like to have a go at cathedral window quilting – well, there's a project for that! I have already asked Santa for the book.

Charlotte's creations from her new book.

The project from the book which Charlotte had prepared for us was the appliquéed jam jar covers, using good old Bondaweb (aah, lovely Bondaweb, what would I do without you??) to bond the applique pieces to a background fabric.  It was then very relaxing and easy to embroider and embellish our cute little strawberries.  Joy!

The group's conversation quickly arrived at the subject of haberdashery and fabric shops, and we came to the conclusion that there aren't enough of them.  However, it turns out that a few of us have made the pilgrimage to Duttons for Buttons in York, and we all agreed that it's THE mecca for button lovers!

It's a tiny shop, with about four floors I think, but the ground floor is best – if you're like me, then you'll be gazing in awe at the wall of buttons for quite a while! I went to York for my birthday this year; I'd never heard of Duttons, so when I saw it I just had to go in. I really wish it was in Sheffield so I could have a longer browse. I only bought a few buttons, but they were the tiniest shank buttons I've ever seen! I could easily have come away with enough buttons to make the best Pearly Kings & Queens very jealous.

I could have spent a day chatting with Charlotte (although she may have got sick of me very quickly!) as she is such an open, down-to-earth and really friendly person, with a lot of talent and skill. I'm truly grateful for a wonderful morning of crafting and talking about crafting – just what I needed right now!

Thanks Charlotte, and thanks to you too, for reading!

Best wishes
Joey x

Saturday, 16 July 2011

The Very Very Long Walk

Chesterfield Parish Church, with its wonky spire

Hello there!

After yet another long break from this blog, I'm back again! I do have a couple of excuses though... we have bought the house which we've been renting for 14 years, I now know what people mean by house-buying being stressful... But thank goodness that it's all sorted!

The other thing which has been keeping me busy, is that I'm taking part in a summer-long walking event, called the DWP Walking Challenge, for the charity The Civil Service Benevolent Fund (see the end of this post for more info about the CSBF).

So far, I've walked over a third of a million steps, which I'm really pleased with, but I'd really love to walk at least a million steps, maybe more!

So, as you can imagine, I've been walking a lot more than usual for the last couple of weeks! Mathew has been too, and he's being a brilliant support with this, basically encouraging me to go for more and bigger walks, and sorting out the routes. Which is good, as my sense of direction is almost non-existent. I'm the sort of person who comes out of a shop and has to think about which way to turn! I'm not exaggerating.

a map of the very, very long walk

This is why, last Friday evening as me and Mathew were doing our evening walk through nearby Norfolk Heritage Park, we decided to do a big walk the next day (i.e. a week ago today)... and I mean a BIG WALK – from our house in Sheffield, not far from the city centre, to Chesterfield, around 15 miles away!  After we did the walk, Mathew mapped it out on, but there's a screen capture above so you can see.

We started out around 6:25am, which was plenty early for us. It was light, but rather gloomy. Umbrella was packed in case of rain.  This picture below was taken at the top of Granville Road, looking towards Sheffield city centre.

Walked past the big cemetery just up the road from us. These stone carvings are relatively new. I think they're of apples, because there's lots of apples trees in City Road cemetery.

Here's a brief history of City Road cemetery: City Road cemetery history on Sheffield City Council website

More new stone carvings just off City Road:

I've never seen Manor library (I don't even think that I knew there was one!) but I think they're done a lovely job of making it look nice, don't you think so? Oh, and another stone carving... bit of a trend here!

We thought these two signs were funny, outside a primary school. Very passive-aggressive!  They could have written the signs in a much nicer way.

We passed this metal sculpture in Herdings Park at around 7:35am - been walking for only an hour.

This sculpture is in the same style as the deer and little robot person in Norfolk Heritage Park.

We popped into Graves Park to see if the toilets were open. They weren't. Hold on for a bit longer...  But the park was really peaceful, just a few dog-walkers around.

There's some great playground stuff in there too! The sun was actually starting to make an appearance too.
Graves Park is fab, not only because of the gigantic park itself but they also have animals!  We only saw a few on this morning though, some cows and goats:

Good way to clean out your nose! :-)

Don't the goats look contented?
We arrived at Jordanthorpe and saw this bizarre outdoor gym equipment! I would have had a little go but I was a little tired by this time and was a bit self-conscious too!
Then at around 8:45, we crossed the border into Derbyshire! Yay! The village of Coal Aston was very nice.
The countryside around here is really pretty, look at how far you can see!
Odd sign at Dronfield... it took us ages to work out what it meant.  What was the matter with writing "it's 30 for a reason"?
road rage
WE'VE ARRIVED!! Well, not quite.  It actually took us another hour and a half to reach the town centre... my feet were really killing me by now, but Mathew was fine!

Look, we can now see Chesterfield's parish church's famous crooked spire. This was 40 mins after passing the "Chesterfield" sign above.  But we still weren't that close... it took us another hour to reach our destination!

Bright and jolly mural on the side of a school.

We eventually reached Chesterfield town centre at about 11:30am.  To say that my feet and legs were tired is an understatement.  I'm quite very extremely overweight a bit of a porky pig, and I think it's that which makes it tougher for me (I know, I know, it's my own fault...) but it's still not pleasant to have incredibly sore, aching feet and legs! If you are a slim, healthy person then it probably wouldn't be so much of a problem for you. Mathew wanted to have a look around the town's charity shops, but my priority was a nice sit-down!!  We eventually found a lovely park, Queen's Park, which boasted a duck/boating pond, a miniature train and a cricket match! So I settled down, put on a bit of Ravi Shankar on my MP3 player and lazed around for a few hours!

Puffin' Billy

Watching cricket

Mural on the underside of the bridge which links the park to the town centre

One of Chesterfield's oldest buildings, which dates back  to the 17th century, is now a coffee house.

interesting building; I like the colour & ornate windows

another interesting building... I love the tiles above the central doorway!
After a lunch of peanut butter sandwiches and numerous bags of crisps, then an hour or so of watching the cricket, we staggered our painful way home.  Well, Mathew seemed pretty ok, but I really struggled.  At least it was a beautiful evening... look at these views!

It's tea-time!

More cricket! This time, in Graves Park (the toilets still weren't open...)

The picture you see above was the last one I took of the day. I was too tired to bother with my camera.  By this time, my legs and feet were in absolute agony. Yes, I am a bit of a drama queen, but THEY REALLY HURT! I am not used to a lot of physical exercise.  We got back at about 8:15 p.m., mainly because I was shuffling along at a snail's pace.

That, we vowed never to go on such a long walk in one day.  But this week, Mathew's been suggesting all sorts of crazy long walks! Watch this space...

And please sponsor me, at my Just Giving page!
Best wishes
Joey xx

The Civil Service Benevolent Fund
The CSBF helps UK civil servants, ex-civil servants, and people connected to them, and also the employees and their families of many associated organisations which used to be part of the UK civil service, in times of desperate need. It’s the CSBF's 125th anniversary year, and to celebrate, they're aiming to raise £125,000 during 2011 to support their help and advisory activities. The sorts of things the CSBF does is help people during bereavement, long-term and terminal illness, relationship breakdown, financial crisis etc. If you want to know more about the work of the CSBF, please take a look at last year's Impact Report:

Sunday, 29 May 2011

Golden Hands Encyclopedia of Crafts - sew a seating system freebie

I love the stripy green fabric!

Hello there!

If you read my last post, you'll know that I've just bought a set of partwork craft magazines that I had as a child, so I've been tripping down memory lane with them! I've also set up a Flickr group, Golden Hands Crafts - For Everyone, so if any of you have your own copies of Golden Hands or Golden Hands Encyclopedia of Crafts, you can share them with the rest of us!

They certainly are weird and wonderful... last night I was reading about marbling paper with seaweed, and I thought, "this is something I could do", until I read that I would need a couple of pints of something called 'oxgall' that I could get from my local slaughterhouse!! I don't even WANT to know where my nearest slaughterhouse is (I'm vegetarian), let alone actually go there! So I guess I won't be using that technique...

Get a fire guard on that open fire! Health and safety was "stuff and nonsense" in the 1970s...

This is much nicer. This impressive project would really give your sewing maching a good workout... sew your own 'seating system'! In my imagination, I am tempted to try this, but I know it'll never happen. I really like the look of it, they've styled the photos so well, but what would they be like in reality? Just beanbags with a bolster? Maybe if you had some quite large blocks of reasonably solid foam, they could work. Anyone want to have a go? I've embedded the full project as a PDF below.  If I ever have a go at this I'll let you know how it turns out...

GHC Seating System Project

Best wishes

Joey xx

Friday, 27 May 2011

Golden Hands Encyclopedia of Crafts - embroidery designs freebie

Where it all began...

This year is flying past so quickly, I can't believe how little I've blogged! And I don't even have a particularly good excuse for not doing so either. What HAVE I been doing? I must have just been existing really...

Well, I want to put that straight RIGHT NOW! So I'm going to share with you all something from my childhood...
They like their embroidered tops, don't they?
 One of my elder sisters used to collect a part-work magazine called "The Golden Hands Encyclopedia of Crafts", published by Marshall Cavendish, in 1975. I was only two years old at the time, but my sister was about 15. I don't think she collected the whole set of 98 issues, but it was near enough. The magazines lived in a cardboard box, and when she had done with them, I "appropriated" them for myself.
Embroidered dress
I LOVED those magazines! They were full of such wonders as macrame, pottery, enamelling, basketry, needlepoint, crochet, making stuff with old tin cans, paint effects like stencilling, embroidery, woodwork, beadwork, weaving, glasswork... the list just goes on and on... you name it, most crafts were probably covered. Although I only attempted a couple of projects (most of it was outside of my capability and level of confidence at the time), I read and re-read these magazines from cover to cover, many many times. And pored over the pictures for literally hours and hours.
They don't make dresses like that anymore... cute embroidery though!
Oh! The pictures! To me, they are the very essence of the 70s... a mixture of really good design, and terrible fashion sense! Or was it really good fashion sense?

Anyway, she claimed them back from me after I'd left home, so I hadn't seen them for about 20 years, until now! I think I saw someone's pictures of them on Flickr or on a blog which piqued my interest again, but I hadn't forgotten them. Then when I found a set of a few on eBay, from a UK seller, I just had to bid for them! And they arrived yesterday! Hurrah!

Don't look so fed-up love... the embroidery is pretty, but the puffy sleeves... well, they're something else! :D
So looking at them now, they just bring back so many happy memories. To me, they are far more than the sum of their parts. Unfortunately I only have the first 16 (it was sold as issues 1 - 17, but issue three is missing...booo!), but I hope to obtain them ALL at some point...
Do you think her hair is meant to look like those ice-cream embroideries? Aw bless...

To start us off then, I'm going to share with you this collection of embroidery designs. Aren't they cute? These pictures and the embroidery designs are all from part 10.  Just click on the picture below to get the full-size image.

The embroidery designs - click to bring up the full-size version
I'm going to post other snippets from the magazines too, because I think they deserve to be aired after all these years in hiding! So watch this space if your appetite for some "retro crafting" has been whetted!
Best wishes
Joey xx

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text:
n Without Prejudice - The view from down under - Spring has sprung : lifestyle

Volume 15, Issue 10
  • ISSN : 1681-178X

In Sydney spring has sprung. As temperatures rise above 30°C I am particularly aware of the prolific bird life around the leafy northern suburbs on my Saturday afternoon constitutional. What follows is an entirely impressionistic discussion that would earn the scorn of any serious bird watcher, twitcher or ornithologist. Seek professional advice. But here goes.

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text:
Health Care Reform

Roberts, Maria RN, ONC, CCM

AJN, American Journal of Nursing:
doi: 10.1097/01.NAJ.0000366032.05712.1d
Author Information

Wilmington, NC

Thank you, Diana J. Mason, for advocating and speaking on behalf of nurses during the reaction panel sponsored by the Center for American Progress, where you explained how nurses can contribute to the framework of our nation's health care reform (Editorial, June). I agree that current cost-effectiveness efforts need to focus on cutting insurance premiums and acute care costs as well as on the development of financial and promotional strategies that utilize preventive measures.

Our government leaders are ignoring the fact that the answer is not solely based on solving a treatment cost problem but must also consider illness prevention. False cost savings can easily result from this. Furthermore, this approach completely ignores the potential savings generated by preemptive tests and treatments and distorts true health care projections. For example, many women in this country are currently skipping their yearly mammograms and pap smears because they can't afford the co-pays or deductibles. In a society where cancer is the second leading cause of death among women, these tests should be both accessible and free.

Nurses have so much to offer in the areas of education and managed care. With greater staffing, we can more effectively educate communities and schools about disease prevention and management. We may not like many of the changes that will occur, but we must ensure that our voices are heard at this time.

Maria Roberts, RN, ONC, CCM

Wilmington, NC

© 2010 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. All rights reserved.


text:
The Old Becomes New

Stonecipher, Diane BSN, RN

AJN, American Journal of Nursing:
doi: 10.1097/01.NAJ.0000435325.64729.6d

Patient care is impoverished by an overreliance on technology. Nursing should look to the past for balance.

Author Information

Diane Stonecipher lives in Austin, TX. Contact author: The author has disclosed no potential conflicts of interest, financial or otherwise.

Article Outline

Recently, I came across a mini-article citing a revolutionary idea of trying to make hospital stays more patient and family centered. One of the ways hospitals were achieving this was by placing cots for visitors in the rooms of the patients; a win for the patient, the family, and, conceivably, the staff. This new idea is decidedly “old school,” a throwback to the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s, when I worked in a large academic medical center.

Our patients came from within the city, from the countless small towns closest to it, and from all over the country and the world. I was part of a migration of young nurses from all over as well, beginning our careers during an exciting time in medicine.

While complex medical advances were burgeoning, we still focused on patient care, which included the needs of our patients’ families. They were as much our allies as the patients. We did a lot of patient teaching that included pre- and post-op instructions and discharge information. If the families were present, all the better. After all, they would be the ones taking over once the patient was home.

We were extremely busy, bogged down in charting and physicians’ orders, but we made time for pm care that focused on a comfortable bed, a quiet chat, and a 10 o'clock snack before sleep meds. We tried to get to know our patients; this led them to share their questions, concerns, and fears with us. We often transported our patients to X-ray, ran to the pharmacy, and went on rounds with the physicians. This, too, gave us allies around the hospital and a sense of shared responsibility. I could call Satch in X-ray and tell him that Mr. L was anxious, and he could facilitate his pre-op exams. Computed tomography scans and angiograms were innovative back then, but we could get immediate results via a drawing in the chart. Information was shared in real time, and we could anticipate potential problems when the patient returned to the floor.

The precipitous infusion of technology was tempered then by the collective experience of physicians, nurses, radiology techs, physical and respiratory therapists, nurse's aides, and orderlies who had long practiced without such technologies. I learned from the 11-to-7 nurse who had been in the military and from cardiologists who had tended to hearts when there was only a handful of cardiac meds, catheterizations were new, and nuclear medicine was in its infancy. Even the surgeons, probably the most excited by technology's possibilities, had extensive clinical experience that infused the new with the wisdom of the old.

I'm not suggesting that the care we provided was without its faults. We were overworked and understaffed back then, too. Still, nursing practice really was different. Simply taking a radial pulse also told us about a patient's temperature and skin integrity. Our eyes have learned to read monitors, but we may have lost some of our ability to read our patients.

I don't know any nurse who became one to be tethered to a computer or to the constant alarms of the time-saving machines. While there are obvious ways in which technology has improved patient outcomes, it has often come at the cost of direct patient care. When nurses took vital signs, they were more likely to notice significant changes in a patient's condition such as shortness of breath or ankle swelling. The pendulum has swung so far to the interventional that more time is spent considering the sheer number of possible procedures and tests than evaluating and communicating potential treatment options. More and more practitioners with expertise in older, low-tech means of achieving outcomes have retired, and we are in danger of losing these fundamentals. The disappearance of relationships we forged with patients and other clinicians when care was less fragmented is a great loss for all concerned.

A more conscious effort to preserve the emphasis of earlier generations on treating the whole patient might return us to looking at our patients instead of at screens, assessing with our hands and eyes instead of with instruments, and educating families while ameliorating their stress. We might even find that nurses and patients both benefit, while outcomes improve.

© 2013 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. All rights reserved.