Melyssa-with-a-Y

Here's a scary animated representation of the growth of Wal-Mart across the US. I took three "snapshots": 1967: 3 stores (all around Bentonville, AR) 1988: 1167 stores (pushing north and across the south, but not yet northeast or west) 2007: 3176 stores - blanketing every population center in the USA (many times over), and some really out-of-the-way locations, bringing every-day-low-prices to the masses! Civilization! Next stop - world domination!

Who would have thought? two of my favorite foods, and they're very good together. (Not quite as good as chocolate and peanut butter, but then, what is?) I saw this recipe on Epicurious.com yesterday, and had most of the ingredients already, so I decided to make it. Grilled Scallops and Nectarines with Corn and Tomato Salad Ok, first off, I wish I were as good a food photographer as Deb over at smittenkitchen . But we'll just have to live with my imperfect camera skills. (and in this case, the quality of my camera-phone, which makes it even worse!) Things I did differently - 1. In the move from DC to TX, I got rid of the stovetop grill pan, so the George Foreman grill was the only option. I nixed that, and used a big sautee pan. 2. I bought smaller bay scallops rather than sea scallops, which would have made it nearly impossible to grill anyway - hard to get those little suckers on skewers! 3. I didn't do the basil puree, but I did chiffonade some basil leaves and sprinkle ...

Gretchen Rubin posted this on HuffPo , and I have to say, I definitely needed a little cheering up -- and it worked! [well, apart from the "good blazing fires" bit -- it's only 95-degrees here today...] These are pointers on how to cheer up from 1820. Many of them still apply. (and if you need some more, Gretchen posted her own tips for cheering up on her blog.) 1st. Live as well as you dare. 2nd. Go into the shower-bath with a small quantity of water at a temperature low enough to give you a slight sensation of cold, 75 or 80 degrees. 3rd. Amusing books. 4th. Short views of human life--not further than dinner or tea. 5th. Be as busy as you can. 6th. See as much as you can of those friends who respect and like you. 7th. And of those acquaintances who amuse you. 8th. Make no secret of low spirits to you friends, but talk of them freely--they are always worse for dignified concealment. 9th. Attend to the effects tea and coffee produce upon you. 10th. Compare your lot with...

Whew, four days of vacation in Napa/Sonoma/Calistoga is just exhausting. Oh, right, and Yenta #3 got married! Yay! Thursday we flew to Oakland and drove up to St. Helena (that's Hel-EEH-nah), where we were staying with family friends (N&S) in their rented villa. (It really is a villa -- the house has 4 bedrooms with full baths, and an extra apartment over the garage... a huge kitchen, big living room, and a pool... and is surrounded by grape vines!) The weather was beautiful - average mid-80's during the day, and down below 60 at night. brrr! What we did not know was that our illustrious lame duck President was attending a fundraiser in St. Helena on Thursday evening! We were treated to a line of California Highway Patrol cars up and down Route 29. We later learned that the wealthy Republicans who paid up to $7500 per person were forced to eat sandwiches, because giving them cutlery might have posed a danger to Dubya. Honestly, when you can't even trust your big...

Today, in the "news that's not really news" department ... maybe I'm glad I'm not going to Denver for the Democratic Convention? Apparently there are strict food laws in place for what will be served to the delegates. Some of them, like the organic requirement, I fully appreciate. The made-in-Colorado thing is just a way to shore up the state's economy, what with thousands of hungry delegates descending on the mile high city. But really, what's a good party without beer and wings and cheese fries? and how are you going to bring southerners and not serve fried chicken or biscuits? The convention host committee denies that there's a ban on fried foods. But ABCNews.com obtained a copy of the catering proposals, including an odd one that specifies how many and which colors of food are supposed to appear on a plate. Here are some of the requirements: - No items are to be fried. - Preference is to be given to vendors with "gr...

Phyl double-dog-dared me. (well, indirectly. She dared all of us!) 1. Who was your first prom date? Jeremy W., junior year in high school. (we had a junior-senior prom -- two, in fact -- we had one, and the boys school had one.) 2. Do you still talk to your first love? Not since I ran into him in my apartment building 7 years ago. eek! 3. What was your first alcoholic drink? Hm. Probably Manischewitz! ha ha 4. What was your first job? does babysitting count? Otherwise, summer camp counselor, when I was 16. 5. What was your first car? I drove Dad's gold Chrysler Town & Country convertible for a while, but then I got my own car, a cherry red Pontiac Grand Am. zoooooom! 6. Who was the first person to text you today? No one has texted me today... yet. 7. Who is the first person you thought of this morning? Someone at work. (and NOT in that way...) 8. Who was your first grade teacher? I had two. Mrs. Leesfield and Sra. Sagranichini. (try saying that name when you're 5 y...

Viva España! Rafael Nadal unseated the reigning king of Wimbledon yesterday, beating Roger Federer in five rain-interrupted sets. WOW. The tennis was unbelievable. Rafa looked amazing. I was jumping around my living room during the fourth set tiebreaker - I couldn't sit still! When I called mom, she wasn't even watching, she had to run away to the basement. But she gave in and went upstairs after she heard all of the screaming and yelling. ... and then I missed the end of the match. (I didn't even set the DVR) :( At the second rain delay (2-2 in the fifth set!), the tv commentators kept saying the players would have to come back really soon because otherwise it was going to be dark, so they'd have to finish on Monday. I figured they were right, it would finish on Monday, so I left the house. Little did I know that the rain delay would last only 30 minutes, and the match would continue into the twilight. (I remember one of Sampras' matches going so late it was ...

I love the 4th of July. It's my favorite holiday. I used to have a wardrobe full of red-white-and-blue clothes, hats, jewelry, you name it. I think when I moved to Texas I purged a lot of my stuff -- when I went looking for a flag shirt to wear to work yesterday, I couldn't find one! What's that about? But still, I love the Fourth. :) I slept late this morning, then went out and did my usual 5k walk around the neighborhood. It was a gorgeous morning, blue sky and not too hot (yet). I forgot that there's a parade in my neighborhood every year for the Fourth! So as I turned on to Far West Blvd, I was met with a steady stream of people walking back home, all decked out in their flags - dogs wearing bandannas, kids in wagons and buggies, men, women children - everybody showing their colors. And the people who live on Far West come out to show their support - they set up chairs on their lawns and in their driveways... I saw cars, trucks and even a tractor covered in buntin...

How many parts of this quote make my blood boil? Hugh Hewitt on OSU-USC football game: "[I]t's probably the last football game we'll ever get to see before the United States gets blown up by the Islamists under Obama" Leaving aside his contention that the Buckeyes are going to "slaughter" the Trojans (HAH!), the Obama thing just infuriates me. What is wrong with these people?!?! In much happier news, it's being reported that former Secretary of State Colin Powell is going to endorse Senator Obama. Woohooo!!! When I was working for America's Promise in the spring of '97, there was buzz about Powell running for President. He didn't (his wife Alma didn't like the idea, among other reasons), but things are different now. It'll be very "in your face" to the Bush Administration, but they made him a scapegoat, so I don't think he owes them anything.