Astrological Compatability

I don't want to jinx anything, "For ye Gods of Fate . . ." and yada, yada, yada, seem to just love to get my hopes up only to crush them under Their collective thumbs, but I sort of met someone, and I'm happy :)

I met this very cute man (I won't be giving names till he says I may) on an introduction sight recommended to me by my friend and co-actor in the SCT musicals of "Annie Get Your Gun" and "The Producers", www.singlesnet.com.

So far, we've only exchanged e-mails, instant-message contact information, and phone calls, but I am hopeful something may develop. But even if it doesn't, as a wise man once said, "No man is so rich he can turn down making a friend". Well, the actual quote was "No man is so rich he can afford to lose a friend", but hey, it's my blog, and I'll paraphrase if I want to.

Anyway, of all the things we've learned about each other, the only one I feel comfortable sharing (I don't want him to think our entire romance{if any actually develops}) is the fact that I'm a Gemini and he's a Capricorn, and according to one web-site I consulted about astrological compatibility, we would be "Opposites that attract". Of course, without a comparison of both our natal charts (which I'm able to do myself if I can get his date, time, and place of birth), this is nothing more than quasi-encouraging, and what the site actually said was barely a 4 word blurb about a Gemini/Capricorn relationship, so I take it with a grain of salt.

I would also like to calculate our Asian zodiac charts, but aside from knowing I'm year of the Ram, which sounds so much more butch than Year of the Goat (though I'm as horny as both{evil grin}), and he is Year of the Dog, I would need to know his month and date of birth.

I could be getting ahead of myself with all of this. It has happened before. But I will never give up hope.

That Last 25% . . . .

My grandmother, Irene, was a woman of great wisdom, and she said something to me once, when I was a little child, that I have remembered ever since.

I don't remember what had made me so upset, and why she told me what she did, but it stayed with me a lot longer than the problem she helped me through.

Now, I'm going to share some more of Her Wisdom with you;

"The World is broken up into four different types of people.

25% that will like you for the right reasons,

25% that will like you for the wrong reasons,

25% that won't like you for the wrong reasons,

and 25% that won't like you for the right reasons."

She went on to say, and this was the core of her lesson;

"It's only that last 25% that anyone should ever be concerned about."

It's not been easy, but ever since that day, I have tried to live my life by the wisdom of those words.

Dinner For Two (#1)

Let me start out by saying, an oven pre-set to 400*F is your best friend when it comes to preparing this delightful, romantic, dinner for two.

Prosciutto-Wrapped Chicken Breast

with

Roasted Green Beans & Eggplant

• 8 oz green beans, stem ends removed
• 4 teaspoons plus two (or more) cups extra-virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper
• 2 boneless, skinliss chicken breast halves
• 6 thinly sliced strips of prosciutto
• 1 eggplant, pealed and sliced about 1/2" thick
• 2 cups (more or less) of Italian seasoned bread crumbs
• Lemon wedges for serving

1. Heat your oven to 400*F
2. In a large bowl, toss green beans with 2 teaspoons of the olive oil and season with a little salt and pepper
3. Place the greenbeans on a large cookie sheet, pushed to one side
4. Pour the two cups of olive oil in the bowl
5. In a seperate bowl, place the two cups of Italian seasoned bread crumbs
6. Spear one slice at a time of your sliced eggplant on a fork and dip in the olive oil, then place the slice in the bowl of Italian seasoned bread crumbs turning it over so both sides are coated. Shake off the excess and place on the cookie sheet with the greenbeans.
7. Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper and wrap each in the three slices of the prosciutto.
8. Place the chicken, seam side down on the cookie sheet with the greenbeans and eggplant and sprinkle with a little salt and pepper.
9. Cook at 400*F till chicken is opaque throughout (about 15 to 20 minutes)

Serve this delicious meal with lemon wedges.

The proscuitto helps keep the chicken juicy without adding much fat, and the squeez of lemon juice adds a bright twist and is a lot healthier that a heavy sauce.

Counting Down the Days

Only 16 days left till my next cruise vacation!

For the last couple of days, ever since I received my itinerary for the cruise from Atlantis Events & Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, I've been planning what activities I'm going to do, seeing what performers will be on board, and deciding what shore excursions I'm going to take.

I have to admit I was a little disappointed when I found out Alec Mapa & Shann Carr would not be among the featured comedians this year. They are both SOOOOO funny, but it is probably because they are both SOOOOO funny that they are also probably incredibly busy and could not find time this year. Oh well (loud, sad sigh).

I have also just finished booking my shore excursions for this trip. I went through the brochure and picked a primary and two alternates for each city we will be stopping in.

In Cabo San Lucas, I hope to go on a guided walking tour of the city. I tried going on it last year but it had been canceled for lack of participation. In Mazatlan I will be taking a walking tour of "Historic Old Mazatlan". Some of the friends I made on my last cruise took this trip last year and say it's worth it if only for the stop at this old style Mexican bakery. Now in Puerto Vallarta I'm not going on a walking tour, I'm going of a hiking exploration of the Sierra Madres.

I am so looking forward to all of my shore excursions, but just in case, I've got my list of two alternate excursions for each city (as I mentioned earlier) just in case any of my primaries get canceled (which happened at all of the cities we stopped at last year except Mazatlan), and I am to much of a chicken-shit to risk not getting back to the ship in time before it sails. If I miss the boat because of the tour guide, the tour company has to pay for me to get to the next stop. If I miss the boat because I f**ked up, I have to pay to get to my next stop.

Anyway, that's all I have for now. I'm going to a friends home tonight for dinner, and tomorrow I'm off to my annual pilgrimage to the Renaissance Pleasure Faire. I'll have pictures of my Faire experience soon.

Till later, don't worry, I'll keep you informed.

OH! By the way, a special "Romantic Dinner For Two" will be featured on my upcoming instalment of "The Recipe of the Month" this Sunday.

My Last Play?

I think "The Producers", the show I'm performing in at the Stockton Civic Theatre may be the last show I'm ever in.

I don't know why, but I seem to be the whipping boy for most of the cast and crew. The one they can push under their collective thumbs and treat as though I'm lower than the dust under their feet.

Of course, some of it is my fault. Thursday evening, I forgot to bring some of my costume to the theatre (I had brought it home for cleaning), and was running around at the last minute trying to figure out what to do. I'm sure the people who matter will never cast me in anything again after that.

This all makes me very sad, because I was having so much fun, and thought I was making some good friends. I think I may have been wrong.

I guess that the world (or the people I usually end up working with) just needs a designated victim/whipping-boy, and I guess it's me.

Then again, maybe the people who are the most hurtful are, in their own unsuccessful way, just trying to be funny. They are failing.

And if they really are doing it because they get off on destroying my self-esteem and sense of self worth, I just have this to say; "You're to late! My mother, sister, and Junior High School beat you to it"

I have been told I try to hard to please and be accommodating, and that I should tone it down. But when I tone it down, I'm told I don't try hard enough.

I just can't win for losing.

No Good Deed . . . .

Let me start out by saying it's my own fault for not asking the right questions, but I missed work today because I let a friend borrow my car for a trip to Marin County in exchange for the use of his car to get to and from work.

His car works fine for a short trip like I needed to make, but for the long trip to the Bay Area, it wouldn't have been a good idea. No, the problem (and question I forgot to ask) was the alarm was not turned off, and my friend didn't tell me the combination.

I'll leave you all to imagine how surprised I was when I opened the car door to hear that blaring noise and see those few of my neighbors up at that hour looking at me like I was some sort of criminal. "LOL". I'm still amazed the police didn't pay a call during the day to ask why I "tried to steal my friends car".

I called my boss at work to let them know I wouldn't be in, and told them I couldn't get my car to start, and would be taking it into the auto repair shop since I don't know the first thing about cars. I just hope my boss doesn't call the place I mentioned to see if I actually did go there.

If he does, and I get into trouble, I suppose you could call this whole little adventure a case of no good deed going unpunished.

(Sigh)

Southwestern Crockpot Breakfast

In going over my vast collection of recipes, and the list of posted recipes to your right on the screen to make sure I don't post the same one twice, I came to realize that most are lunch & dinner recipes. So today, I present something good for a nice breakfast or brunch.

SOUTHWEST CROCK POT BREAKFAST

• 1 Tbsp butter or margarine
• 1 lb lean hamburger, cooked and drained
• 1 large white onion, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 4oz can chopped green chillies, drained
• 2 1/2 cups grated pepper-jack cheese
• 18 eggs
• 1 Tbsp jalapeno sauce (optional)

1. Grease the inside of your crock pot with the butter or margarine.
2. Starting with the hamburger, layer the meat, onions, peppers, chillies and cheese, repeating the layering until all ingredients are used.
3. In large mixer bowl, beat eggs with wire whisk or eggbeater until combined (mix in the tablespoon of jalapeno sauce if desired), then pour over mixture in the crock pot.
4. Cover and cook on low 7-8 hours.

I recommend serving this with sour cream (Imo if you're watching your cholesterol) or fresh salsa. Set this to cooking the night before, and wake up to a fantabulous breakfast for you, your family, and friends.

A little side note here; Sometimes, this bubbles over with goodness. To prevent a mess from forming all over your counter surface, place a large plate under the crock pot to catch anything that might bubble out.

As always, eat and enjoy.