Ellipsis Monday Photo Shoot #97: Gatherings

"True wisdom lies in GATHERING the precious things out of each day as it goes by."

-Unknown








EMPS #97: Gatherings. NOW CLOSED!
People GATHERINGS. Animal GATHERINGS. Any kind of GATHERINGS. Use your imagination and have fun!

Extra Credit: Show us two different GATHERINGS!

**PLEASE READ**
This Monday Photo Shoot assignment closes next Sunday evening at 9:00 PM ET. Please submit your entries by that time by uploading your photo to your blog, journal or website, and then comeback here with the link that goes back to your entry. The link you leave must be to an entry which is specific to this week's assignment. A general link to your site will not work, and HYPERLINKS ARE NOT ACCEPTED. Also, please include a link in your entry to this photos shoot assignment so that other folks can find us and participate with us. The more the merrier... right? ;)

Linking List for EMPS #96: Your World And Welcome To It. 06/28/10

NOW CLOSED!

1. Freda

2. Jama

3. Greg

4. Karen



I will be looking forward to your submissions this week. See you next Monday, with an all new photography assignment!

-Carly

Happy 4th Of July 2010!

Here is an awesome fireworks video I found on YouTube presented for your viewing pleasure!






-Carly :)

RRC: Food Preparation

"Keep in mind that you should conduct yourself in life as at a feast."

-Epicetetus

RRC: Food Preparation
Suggested By Sherrie, of the blog, Sherrie's Stuff

Food... YUM. For me, the only thing better then eating food, is preparing food! I LOVE IT! Cooking is one of my most relaxing creative outlets. I create recipes, as well as, hunt them down on the net. I like to try new techniques for preparing just the right dish for the meals Alan and I eat. Oh, don't get me wrong, I enjoy a good frozen pizza from time to time, but I really love making my own pizza from crust to crowning cheese glory. I like that I get to control how fresh the ingredients are, and how many calories I get for my buck! The only downside might come when I have trouble with the arthritis in my hands, but Alan always jumps right in to help out. I am so grateful he enjoys cooking as much as I do!

We planted a nice garden this year, with all kinds of wonderful salad fixings. I was hoping it would be ready for presentation for this RR challenge, but unfortunately the only fresh ingredients ready for prepping is the beautiful lettuce. But that's ok, it will work nicely as the base for a recipe I have been developing. Here is the recipe, and the prep. I hope you like them both!

Balsamic Apricot Grilled Chicken Salad
w/Creamy Apricot/Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing



2 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts

Balsamic/Apricot Marinade/

1 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/3 Cup Balsamic Vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground pink peppercorns
1/3 cup plain fat-free yogurt
3 tbs. Low Sugar or Sugar Free Apricot Preserves

In med. bowl combine Olive oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, and SF Apricot preserves. Halve the mixture and pour one half into a large ziploc bag. and reserve the rest in a chilled mixing bowl placed in the refrigerator. Add the chicken to the bag and toss to coat both sides. Marinate 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, grill the chicken breasts for about 8 minutes or until no longer pink inside. When internal temp. has been reached, remove chicken from the grill and let stand for about 10 minutes.

For the dressing; Take the second mixture of marinade and add the plain yogurt. Process until smooth. Prepare two dinner salads to taste. I use a mixture of red/green leaf lettuce, fresh spinach, chopped tomatoes, avocados and chopped strawberries and apricots. Slice the cooled chicken breast into strips and arrange on top of the salad mixture. Top with chopped, candied walnuts and the creamy Balsamic Dressing. Serve immediately. Enjoy!

A Dinner Salad In Preparation...

Starting with lettuce fresh from the garden


Guest starring Alan as "The Chef"










Now, go see what other Robins are preparing!

Linking List as of 12:00 AM, PT/MT 07/03/10

Sherrie... Sherrie's Stuff


Carly... Ellipsis
Posted

Gattina... Keyhole Pictures
Posted!

Linda... Mommy's Treasures


Freda Mans... Day One


Karen... Outpost Mavarin
Posted!

Rich... Rich Image
Posted!

Jama... Sweet Memories
Posted!

Sandy... From The Heart Of Texas
Posted!

Fhaye... Your Daily Photo Depot
Posted!

Suzanne R... SuzyQ421's Photo Blog


Jenn... Shutter Happy Moments
(Welcome, New Member) -Posted!


Be sure to come by the official Round Robin blog tomorrow, to find out what our next challenge will be!

-Carly

As Normal Can Be At $7.25 Per Hour

From For Ellipsis

"Money will buy you a fine dog, but only love will make it wag it's tail."

-Richard Friedman

Back to normal. Alan just finished the second of two vacation stretches and now things are back to normal. Well, as normal can be, given that Governor Schwarzenegger has just signed an order lowing Alan's pay to $7.25 per hour! Frankly, while my schedule might be back to what it was a couple week's ago, my life really isn't. We are being legally robbed! Wrap your brain around that. The Governor, and the state legislators, can't do their jobs, and state workers are being held captive!

Alan and I might... just might... be able to keep our cottage. It will depend on if the owner will work with us. We have lived her nearly a decade, and she has been pretty easy to work with, but let's face it, she has bills to pay also. If she won't budge on the rent, we will lose both cars. We have stocked up on food, so we will be able to eat for a few months, and we have the cats well stocked on their needs as well. The phones will be shut off sometime around Thanksgiving, but for now the we have a few luxuries covered.

It's simple really. Don't you think?

What isn't simple is the way other families of state workers in California will handle things. Families with children and elderly to care for. Families that have suffered through the 3 days a month furloughs over the last couple years. Most of those families have had to use whatever savings they had, just to keep their heads above water. They don't have the money to sustain themselves at this point. Schwarzenegger and his Republican cohorts had driven this state to the brink, but hey, the bright side is that this is an election year, and I think most folks know what the right move will be. Can you say JERRY BROWN FOR GOVERNOR? Although, to be honest, in a lot of ways, he isn't any great prize.

Sigh.

He's better then the alternative, which I suppose makes him the man for the job! I don't think he will be able to clean up the mess Schwarzenegger has left for him. I hold little hope about that. Actually, I hold NO HOPE AT ALL.

Let's face it. With Republicans on the federal level, determined to stop every move that will help America recover, and Republicans on the state level, determined to steamroll over any state level recovery, what hope do we have as a nation? If average every day republicans don't wake up and see that their representatives only have the interests of the wealthy and big business as their first priority, then they get what they deserve come the fall!

It's really very simple.

Don't you think?

-Carly