Cookie Delight

I took this as a dessert last night and forgot how good it is; everyone loves it.  I first had Cookie D sometime in college, when Frances made it.  It was a staple dessert for Jenn as well.  It is incredibly easy to make and people love it.

• Chips Ahoy cookies; I use reduced fat (1-2 bags depending on the size of your dish)
• Milk*
• Cool Whip; I use light (1-2 tubs depending on the size of the dish; 1:1 with the bags of cookies), defrosted

Pour some milk in a bowl and dip each cookie in the milk.  Layer a dish with cookies.  Spread a layer of defrosted Cool Whip on top.  Repeat and finish with Cool Whip.  Add crumbled (dry) cookies to the top for decor if desired.  Is best if refrigerated at least 2 hours before served.

* I tried almond milk at my aunt's and actually really liked it.  It's great if you're lactose intolerant (I am not) and only has 40 calories per serving.  It does have a bit of an almond flavor, but I like it.  I decided to buy it for this recipe; it was actually cheaper than regular milk as well.  Though I'm not a big milk drinker, I'm digging the almond milk.  (I've tasted soy milk before and was not impressed!)

There is No Me Without You

I read a decent amount and I like most of the things I read.  But this book struck me in a way books rarely do.  Behind Radical, this book has made me think more than anything else I've read this year.

It was written by a journalist in Atlanta, who was compelled to learn more about the AIDS/orphan crisis in Ethiopia after seeing an article in the paper about it.  In There is no me Without You, Melissa Fay Greene beautifully intertwines histories of Ethiopia/AIDS/medicine with one woman's story of rescuing orphans in her home country of Ethiopia.  

One thing I've known, yet feel like I have been exposed to a great deal this year, is that life is complicated.  There aren't easy answers to complex solutions.  I think I'm especially tainted having grown up in America with all that that entails, coupled with an A-type/fix it personality -- to make me want to slap a band aid on someone with cancer and call it a day because I did something.  But that's not real life.  Real life involves much more than a band aid.  Greene showcases Haregewoin's personal journey of doing something.  It isn't always easy or neat and tidy, but she's taken in hundreds of abandoned children over the years, and has changed countless lives.

A clean-faced freckled girl sat humbly over her plate of food.  Haregewoin reminded her to wait for the blessing, then nodded that they could begin.  Genet dropped her face down into the plate and began shoveling and gobbling and swallowing so fast and noisily that Haregewoin looked up in shock.  Genet devoured everything in sight; she choked down the injera, dinich wat (potato stew), doro wat (peppery chicken stew), and an orange-hued, stew soaked hard-boiled egg, and another egg, then most of a sliced mango.  She pushed back from the table, belched, laughed, jumped up, cleared the table, washed the few dishes, and skipped off to her room

Haregewoin slowly registered what she herself had done: she'd compelled the teenager to grocery shop, move in, shower, have her hair done, and even bow her head in prayer - and all the while Genet was hungry.

She would never make that mistake again.  In case she ever hosted such a person in the future, she would know: when in doubt, feed first (100).

It is sometimes humorously suggested that if only the Coca-Cola company were in charge of getting ARVs to the most remote villages and isolated regions on earth - even those with high illiteracy rates and unreliable refrigeration - it would do so splendidly, accompanied by bright signs and billboards and nationwide advertising.  Everyone in the province would know the name of the product, what it did for your life, and where to line up for it (198).


Shedding tears, she felt she didn't care if she never saw the elegant house on Gojam Road again; while she would hurry, barefoot, down the dirt road, under the stars, if the police set her free, she would scurry back to her little foster homes.  The children in them were life, the thick of life, the very middle and sweetness and silliness of life.  Without the children in her two compounds, she had no life.  She wanted no other life besides the one she lived with them in noise and sloppy kisses and broken windows and the kicking of little feet in her bed at night (361).


Harewegoin:

Yohannes.  Holding a before picture and then weeks later after receiving ARVs:

Kids with Harewegoin at the compound:

Pics.

Snatched a few pics from the weekend.  The family Eagles: my brother, Matthew, and my dad.

Granddaddy with his kids:

The whole Herring clan:

Granddaddy and I.  Please note the sign Virginia and I made and stuck in his pocket, "Hard of hearing; talk loud."

Me with Shannon:

A New Eagle

Saturday morning the rents and I headed to Charlotte to celebrate my youngest cousin, Matthew.  Mom was talking to her BFF Beth and Beth asked if Granddaddy survived Irene.  None of us even considered that it had hit Wilmington (oops!).  He was fine, but his garage is detached and the power was off and the thing to open the electric door sans electricity wasn't working.  Uncle Joe had to bust a window out, crawl in, get the car out, then load up Granddaddy to meet us in Charlotte.  {Side note: Granddaddy has never evacuated for a hurricane.  Dad has a vivid memory of him going outside in the middle of a hurricane to get something he wanted - the wind knocked him so hard that he was walking, bent over, at a 45 degree angle!}

Uncle Joe has been wanting to eat at this fried chicken dive for years and he finally got his chance!  Prices Chicken Coop was greasy and delicious!  This place fries 1,000 lbs of chicken daily, y'all.  It's to go only so some of us gorged in the car.  We headed back to Aunt Dean's house and got to work cooking for supper.  In true Herring fashion, we had a feast that night: salad with homemade vinaigrette, broccoli cole slaw, pork tenderloin with a spicy pineapple sauce, baked shrimp, grilled barbecue chicken wings, chicken salad, corn casserole, with coconut cake and banana pudding for dessert.  It was fun to be with family, along with some of their family friends.

Sunday morning we decorated the church for Matthew's Eagle Scout ceremony.  Of course, Aunt Dean went all out and had it catered.  The food was delicious and I think everyone loved it.

Granddaddy helped out with my dad's boy scout troop and Dad became an Eagle.  Dad helped with Nathan's and he, too was an Eagle.  Uncle Mike helped with Matthew's troop and he was awarded yesterday.  It was cool to see the boys celebrate together and it's been a long time since Granddaddy, his 4 kids, and all but one grandkid were together.  All in all, a great time with the family in Charlotte celebrating Matthew!

(Wish I had some pictures.)

Beauty in the Beast

Well, this made me think.

Long or Short?

I love Friday Night Lights and I love me some Tim Riggins.  Recently, Tim, who in real life is known as Taylor Kitsch, cut  his hair.  Such a tough call: the bad boy rebel with the kindest heart OR the man you could actually take home to your parents.

In the end, I'd have to go with short hair.  I'm just too into clean cut.  But I love that he has the ability to go greasy and still look just as good.

Sometimes

- people disappoint you.
- you thought a meeting was cancelled and it wasn't.
- you assume said meeting is in West Ashley and haul over there as quickly as possible.  Only to get there on time (yeah you did!) to find out it is actually downtown.
- you get a parking ticket while at said meeting.  You thought it would be an hour and it was more like three.
- you need to eat a (ok, 2) hot dogs and have a martini with a friend and laugh about life.
- you buy these hoping they will be good and they far exceed your expectations: