Cloning a Wooly Mammoth? Cool!

Several years ago (when I was younger and more foolish) a friend of mine informed me whilst we were in a small group setting that scientists were successfully cloning frogs. (I'll estimate this was about 1994..) Without having a clue whether it was true or not, I took her to task, and said that there was no way God would ever allow that. Looks like I'm not God, because He seems to have other ideas about this whole cloning thing. When "Dolly" came along a few years later, all I could say was "Baaaaa!" (I was feeling a little sheepish.)

See, the reason why I had such a violent reaction is because "way back when" my friend was saying that cloning humans could be just around the corner, and would they have souls or not, etc. etc. Freaked me out big time. Those notions were way outside of my "box." Well, now I'm not so freaked out about cloning... So, when I found out about scientists trying to clone a wooly mammoth from the great carcasses they're finding in Siberia, I'm like, "COOL!" As many of you know, I'm a huge Jurassic Park fan. Here's an article about it: http://tinyurl.com/hyrdq

"It's Black, It's White"--Saddam Had WMD!

The war with Iraq is controversial. Duh. And to tell you the truth, I've been a bit of a fence sitter on this one, or to throw out another metaphor, kept my head firmly planted in the sand. Because, quite frankly, it's all been very confusing. At first, I was on board with Bush about invading Iraq, but then things started to seem really gray and I just wasn't sure who or what to believe any more.

(As I like to say, gray is still black and white mixed together, and there really is truth and there really are lies. "A cannot equal non-A." But how are you supposed to tell sometimes? Aw, there's the rub. If reality is like a picture made up of small black and white pixels, or dots (thus grayness)--you have to get in there really close in a given area of the picture to see things for what they really are... And who has time for that?!)

Anyhow, I have to admit, that I became very skeptical about this administration (okay, I still am in some ways) but I wanted to believe the best about Bush's ability to "make the right call." I'd tell myself, "He has information that I don't..." Well, it's nice to finally know about something concrete like these tapes. Looks like Saddam cooked his own goose. I like cold, hard facts.

Saddam Had WMD
Friday February 24, 7:00 pm ET

WMD: Now that Leno and Letterman have had their way with Vice President Cheney's hunting accident and the port controversy, maybe we can get back to something really important -- like Saddam's WMD program.

Yes, the linchpin of opposition to the Iraq War -- never really strong to begin with -- has taken some real hits in recent weeks. And "Bush lied" -- the anti-war mantra about the president, Saddam Hussein and weapons of mass destruction -- looks the most battered.

Inconveniently for critics of the war, Saddam made tapes in his version of the Oval Office. These tapes landed in the hands of American intelligence and were recently aired publicly.

The first 12 hours of the tapes -- there are hundreds more waiting to be translated -- are damning, to say the least. They show conclusively that Bush didn't lie when he cited Saddam's WMD plans as one of the big reasons for taking the dictator out. . . . . .

Read the rest here: http://tinyurl.com/gjhhc

..."Yeah, yeah, yeah!"

My Super Suppers Experience

I went to Super Suppers for the first time tonight with some of the ladies in my homeschool moms' group. It was fun. At first, I wasn't enjoying it too much, because I had picked some dishes that were just marinades, so they weren't particularly exciting to put together, and I was a bit tense to start with when I got there.

But, then I had some snacks they provided there, talked to my friend Gwen, and watched her do the "Beef and Cheddar Stuffed Braided Bread." Then, I tried my hand at it, too. Now, that was more of a challenge. But, it was a fun challenge. It was so nice to have people to ask questions to when I wasn't sure what to do next, etc.

So, I finished that, put together my last 2 meals, yacked with Gwen some more and viola! I had created 6 culinary masterpieces. (Okay, we'll see how they turn out when I actually bake them.) So, it was fun. I want to do it again. It was a big challenge fitting it all in the freezer, but I managed, after I threw some old stuff out, so that part felt cleansing too. Now, I really do want a deep freeze...

For those of you who have not had your ears talked off by yours truly about Supper Supers, here's the website: http://www.supersuppers.com/what_is.php. It is a way cool concept. It's a lot of $dough$ to lay out at once, but if you make it last a month, you're doing really good, and in our case, eating in more. (I spent about $135 after tax for 12 meals, because I divided each dish in half.) The menu that I made is:

Rosemary Balsamic London Broil – A generous beef steak, marinated in our blend of balsamic vinegar, herbs, garlic, and vegetable oil.

Honey Ginger Chicken Grill with Herbed Rice – Chicken breasts in our tasty Honey Ginger marinade. Cook them on the grill or broil them in the oven. Choose from white or brown herbed rice to serve on the side.

Twice-Baked Stuffed Potatoes – Load 12 generous potato skins with mashed potatoes, ham, cheese, and seasonings. They bake quickly and are perfect for an easy dinner with tossed salad.

Tuscan “Hunter’s Chicken” with Seasoned New Potatoes – A delicious dish featuring chicken, tomatoes, capers, garlic, and Italian herbs. Served with yummy, fresh new potatoes.

Beef and Cheddar Stuffed Braided Bread – Soft, yeasty bread filled with tender slices of beef, cheddar, onions, peppers, and other fun ingredients. We’ll help you braid the bread dough, and you’ll take two loaves home to bake up fresh. Bake, slice, and take along to ball games!

Marmalade-Glazed Pork Chops – Orange marmalade, horseradish, Worcestershire, and more go into this delectable sauce we concocted for pork chops. Grill chops or cook them in a skillet on the stove. Incredible!