The Grinch carved the roast beast!

Ok, so dh (dear husband) isn't really a grinch. He just likes to keep me on budget, but anyway, quite nearly his favorite meal these days is a good roast beef. I, on the other hand, am not so fond of roasts. Last weekend, we tried one and even he wasn't so fond of my cooking skills. Ironically enough, the "rub" recipe that I gave my dad (after doing a google search) was raved about for weeks.

Today I was brave enough to again attempt a roast. I used the recipe for the rub that I gave my dad, and it was fabulous! Both dh and I loved it!

Prime Rib Herb Paste

from Ziggy at about.com

This is a great rub to put on prime rib. (We used eye of round.)The combination of flavors with the olive oil make a good slow roasted rib roast perfect. Whether you are roasting, grilling or smoking this is a great rub.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
  
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil (We used all dried spices that we had on hand)
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary (We didn't have rosemary at all)
  
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1-1/2 tablespoons Lawry's Seasoned Salt
• 1 tablespoon fresh ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon garlic salt blend (It wouldn't be one of our meals without it!)
  

PREPARATION:

Combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth and even. Spread evenly over the surface of the (prime rib) roast.




Also, note to self. While waiting for roast to cook, don't overindulge in Sour Patch Kids and then think nothing of eating a tomato chunk. Your tongue will hate you. End note.

HWotD

Today's word of the day is:

ahiahi - evening, late afternoon
"ah-hee-ah-hee"

aloha ahiahi - good evening

Pay it Forward

I have decided to join the Pay It Forward pledge and give handmade love to others. I found this on one of my new fave blogs, Make and Takes, and I am in turn passing it on, or Paying It Forward. I think it will be a great way to get to know more of you and encourage you to Pay it Forward as well.

Here is the pledge and how it works:

“I will send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange. I don’t know what that gift will be yet and you may not receive it tomorrow or next week, but you will receive it within 365 days, which is my promise! The only thing you have to do in return is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog.”

And if you don’t have a blog, make the commitment anyway by making something and simply giving it away. I don’t know what my handmade gifts will be, I think it will depend on who it goes too. And chances are, I will get to it a lot sooner than 365 days. This is exciting. And who can guess what it'll be? Here’s to Paying It Forward.

"Military Spouses earn $900,000"

That stinking email throws me off every time. It sounds so awfully good. Better than the $10/hour part time jobs that I usually can find. The email gets me started thinking about jobs that would earn money, be helpful to others, be fulfilling... But then I read on, and it says "Did you know that a bachelor's degree will earn you $900,000* more over the course of your career?"

Um. Yes, a bachelor's degree probably will help you earn more money. And about that $900,000 - did you see the Barry Bonds asterisk in there? Once you follow that down to the bottom of the page, it's over a person's career, assuming they start working at birth and die, working, at age 107. Perhaps I exaggerated slightly, but it's still bad.

My theory is that now that I have a masters degree, my earning potential is actually inverted, due to my obviously "overqualified" self. So, not only can I not get jobs, I also have to pay off my student loans too.

Thanks, military.com for getting my hopes up.

What's your name?

So, I've been working at the preschool for almost 4 months now. I know most of the kids' names, and I hope they know mine. The other day, I was talking to a 2-year-old and asked him what my name was. He gave me a blank look. I said, "Miss Julie?" He shook his head no, and said confidently, "Dora." Goodness, that's ranking me pretty high in kid-speak. I'll take it.

Word of the day:

'Auinala - afternoon (literally declining sun)
"Ow-whee-nah-lah"

Aloha 'auinala - good afternoon

The Christmas Card Debate

DH and I send out Christmas cards. DH approves of the card I create and I send them out. That works well. Then comes the issue of whether or not to send out a letter with them.

Pros of sending out letter:
- Explaining why in the world we're in a landlocked state in the South even when DH is active duty CG
- Recapping highlights of the past year of our lives for those we don't talk to often
- They're fun to write (and hopefully fun to read too)

Cons of sending out letter:
- Other than moving and explaining that, we don't have that much going on...
- They cost money to print
- Risk of sounding braggy at what we've done this year
- "We" already have a blog

What would you do? What do you do? Any advice, people?

HWotD

Today's word is kakahiaka

kakahiaka - morning
"kah-kah-hee-ah-kah"

aloha kakahiaka - good morning
kakahiaka nui - early morning