I’m an excellent cook, for the most part. I have a few things that tend to elude me — like banana bread. For some reason, mine is always dry or heavy. My former mother in law makes GREAT banana bread and today she sent her recipe, so I am going to give it a try. In the meantime, I thought I would share it with you.

No.1
2 cups all-purpose flour )
1-1/2 tsp baking powder )
1/2 tsp baking soda ) combine and make a well in the middle
1/4 tsp salt )
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon )
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg )

No.2
2 eggs, beaten lightly )
1-1/2 cups mashed bananas (I usually use 3 large bananas) ) combine – do not
1 cup sugar ) over work it
1/2 cup Canola oil )

1/4 cup chopped walnuts

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- grease (I use butter) bottom and 1/2 inch up the sides of one 9×5x3 inch (or two 7-1/2×3 – 1/2×2 inch loaf pans); set aside (I have the habit of dusting flour on the buttered pan then turn it upside down and shake off the extra flour.

- Now add No.2 to No.1
- fold in wallnuts

Bake for 55 to 60 minutes for 9×5x3-inch pan (or 40 to 45 minutes for 7-1/2×3 – 1/2×2-inch pan.)

At the end of 60 minutes, insert a toothpick to check doneness – it should come out dry.

(If necessary, cover loosely with foil the last 15 minutes of baking to prevent overbrowning)

Cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan. Cool completely on a wire rack. Wrap and store overnight before slicing

Right now the idea of leaving earth for greener planets is something mostly addressed in science fiction novels. In the back of our minds, though, I think we all know that sometime in the future this will be a reality. Technology will allow us to expand our horizons.

What if we have to leave on the tail of global disaster? What if only a handful of people can go to colonize a new earth? Logically, one would assume that scientists would take many, many DNA samples so that the future population of the new world would be diverse and healthy, vibrant and worthy?

So, who would be chosen to donate their DNA for such an endeavor? I am sure there are as many opinions on this as there are people alive today. However, I lean more toward the intellectuals, the thinkers, those who invent and expand our humanity.

And me. Don’t forget me. I can see the endless benefits of my DNA being passed along to those who leave to advance the legacy of the human. I cannot imagine not being able to pass along my wit and wisdom and my amazing timing in when it comes to telling inappropriate jokes.

Operation Immortality: Leave your Mark. Save Humanity.
Here’s the kicker – you can actually have YOUR DNA sequenced and sent into space. Operation Immorality is a project by the makers of the online game Tabula Rasa. All you have to do is sign up and download the free trial of the game during the month of August and you might be one of eight players selected each week to be invited to be a part of this astounding project. How cool is that?

Lately, this soup has been one of my favorite things to eat, but I cannot justify goin gin to pay for a bowl every time I have a craving. So, I looked online and found someone who said they got the recipe from someone who used to work for the Olive Garden. She adapted the recipe to feed 6-8 people.

INGREDIENTS
1 lb ground Italian sausage
1½ tsp crushed red peppers
1 large diced white onion
4 Tbsp bacon pieces
2 tsp garlic puree
10 cups water
5 cubes of chicken bouillon *
1 cup heavy cream
1 lb sliced Russet potatoes, or about 3 large potatoes
¼ of a bunch of kale

Sauté Italian sausage and crushed red pepper in pot. Drain excess fat, refrigerate while you prepare other ingredients.

In the same pan, sauté bacon, onions and garlic for approximately 15 minutes or until the onions become soft.

Mix together the chicken bouillon and water, then add it to the onions, bacon and garlic. Heat until boiling.

Add potatoes and cook until soft, about half an hour.

Add heavy cream and cook until fully hot.

Stir in the sausage and then add the kale just before serving.

*Personally, I find cubed bouillon too salty. I use either a good chicken stock or a soup base called Better Than Bouillon.

When I read the headlines that Bernie Mac had died yesterday, my first reaction was a general sort of disappointment. He was a young performer (only 50), and someone I had quite liked. I had not really followed his career, though.

Still, I wanted to read the details. When I saw he had died in the hospital from pneumonia, I stopped breathing for a few seconds. You see, my mother had just come home from the hospital Wednesday night after being treated for a very bad case of pneumonia. In fact, she is still in pretty bad shape.

The reality that someone can die from pneumonia washed across me anew. I suppose I knew that truth, but when you or someone you love is going through it; you just keep thinking that everything will be alright.

Like, Mac, my mother has another illness that complicates things when it comes to having your immune system in top order. Illnesses like colds and flues are a big deal around our home.

I feel much compassion for Mac’s family. I have to believe that they also thought everything would end up OK as he was treated in the hospital.

And as for my mother, I am even more thankful that she is home with us right now.

I’ve not complained about my loss of rights while flying. I’m OK with the fact that I can only take a tiny bottle of shampoo and a sample tube of toothpaste with me on the airplane. I even sucked it up and did not complain about having to pack things in little baggies. I wear sandals when I fly, so taking my shows off will go quickly. I even endure how early I have to get to the airport for a flight these days.,

However, I am finally ready to complain!

Why? Because now it appears that I have to allow a stranger to see my completely naked in order to be allowed to fly. That is a HUGE loss of personal rights.

The Tampa International Airport is ready to “unveil” their new “denuding scanners”. These scanners will electronically undresses travelers by use of electromagnetic denuding rays and send an image to an officer in another room. In the image, passengers will look completely nude.

According to officials, not every passenger is scanned in such a manner. No, those under-educated, loser security officers who herd us through the security lines will have the right to “randomly” select passengers to scan.

Just try and convince me that young females will not be unfairly represented in that mix.

Two scanners were installed in Miami International Airport in July. Tampa is the second airport in the state to get the machines.

While I am no fan of the American Civil Liberties Union, I am certainly on the same side as them for this issue. They say the scanners are a flagrant invasion of privacy. It does not allow a person to choose modesty.

Some supporters claim the images appear like a mannequin; private parts are not shown in detail. If I wanted people to see me that way, I would wear a beige body stocking.

The breaking news today is all about John Edwards admitting he lied in the past about the affair he has been having with Rielle Hunter – a woman who was working on his staff.

His wife, Elizabeth: the mother of his children, the woman who has stood by him, the woman who is dying of incurable cancer. He had the nerve to cheat on her? He is still denying that her child is his. He says the kid was fathered by another Edwards Campaign staffer. So, I assume they passed this woman around? Please note, though, that Edwards has NOT taken a paternity test. Just because Edwards SAYS he is not the father does not mean that he is still might not be the father indeed.

When I listen to his statement from October 2007 when he denied the affair, he sounded so smoothly convincing. He denied the affair up until last week. John Edwards was someone I liked a great deal. I’m no Democrat (nor am I a Republican), but I liked the man and may have voted for him at one time.

As much as I like Elizabeth Edwards, I do not respect that she apparently knew about this affair as early as 2006 and supported her husband as he lied to the public. Any woman with even a drop of honest self esteem would leave a man who has cheated on her. She is no longer obligated to support his political career in any way, shape, or form.

It makes me think about how convincingly my ex-husband could lie to me – how he still lies to me. In fact, the man even lies to me when the truth would sound better. Maybe it is just a habit with him. As a person who compulsive tells the truth, I have a very hard time stepping into the shoes of someone who lies frequently and easily and really understanding how they live knowing how seeped in dishonesty they are.

John Edwards has nothing more to offer the public as a politician. His career is over. It continues to amaze me how many men are ruined due to their inability to remain faithful to their wives.

Last week one of my friends called me to tell me she was on her way home from Nature’s Food Patch (a health food supermarket) in Clearwater. She had spent quite a while doing her shopping and the whole time she was in the store, so were Hulk Hogan and his daughter Brooke Hogan.

That is about the extent of celebrity sightings in Clearwater, Fl, despite the fact that Clearwater in the world headquarters for the church of Scientology. I know the big celebrities who are members of that group are in town a lot, but you never see them. The Hogans, on the other hand, are in town all the time. They own homes here, their kids went to school here, and Nick is still in jail here in town.

Wrestler Brian Knobs lives locally as well. I saw him in Cheddars on East Bay a year or so ago. He was thrilled to no end that the bartenders recognized him. I just looked at him, chuckled to myself, and sighed that this is what serves as a celebrity sighting in Clearwater.

Of course, Evel Knievel used to live here, but he died at his Clearwater condominium this past November.

Personally, I would rather Clearwater be a mecca for serious authors. I’d be a lot more star struck.

Just yesterday I wrote a post about the Cabin Cuddler, talking mostly about how good it is to have your own pillow and blanket available on public transportation for purposes of cleanliness.

Now, here is yet one more reason to bring your own compact pillow and blanket on airline flights. JetBlue Airways is going to begin charging passengers $7 for a pillow and a travel blanket (available on flights over 2-hours long). For that fee, the items are yours to keep, so at least it does way with those creepy, dirty, re-used pillows and blankets. You’ll also receive a $5 coupon for Bed Bath & Beyond.

Still, it is just one more way the airline intends to make additional profit. JetBlue says they will probably take in about $40 million from customers buying seats with extra leg room this year and about $20 million from people checking a second bag on flights. They are unwilling to predict yet how much revenue the pillows and blankets will bring in annually.

Maybe my title should actually say the LACK of wisdom of the Lohans.

My opinion about the Lohans has always been rather low. I have been watching the new reality TV show a little bit lately about the Lohan family, “Living Lohan” and now I have an ever lower opinion of the Dina and Ali.

Lindsay is not represented in the show, but she is making a fool of herself as she runs around with her scrumpy looking girlfriend. And, to be fair, I leave both of the Lohan sons out of my negative opinion. The littlest one is too young to have caused any creepy controversy yet and Mike seems cool enough, aside from the fact that he is dating some chick who quite obviously just wants to rub shoulders with the more famous members of the family.

It is bad enough to be young and gawky, without having to live it all on television. We have all read about child stars that look back at being in movies or on a sit-com while the world watched them enter puberty and go through one of the hardest stages of the life. Ali, though, is doing all of that without eh benefit of hiding behind a fictional character. Instead, she is herself on “Living Lohan”, in all her bland and boring pre-teen awkwardness. She does not come across fun or interesting, or even cute. She just looks miserable and way too focused on emulating her sister’s fame.

And now, the latest scandal! One of the most recent episodes of the show had Ali going on an audition for a leading role in a film called “Trolls”. She is told that the camera loves her and that she has the role – despite what looks to me like a lack-luster audition. It turns out that sitting in on the audition was the film’s producer, Peter Davy. He has directed such films as “Voodoo Lust” and “Dreams in the Forbidden Zone.” He is also responsible for such gems as “Breast Wishes 14″ and “Bun Busters 12.”

Let’s just hope that during the audition, Davy was not imagining Ali in any of his past films.

Now, I’m not a talent manager, but it seems to me that Dina could have taken the time to check out the resumes of the people making the film. It might have saved this family yet another headline of creepy proportions.

We live within about an hour of the Walt Disney theme parks and yet we only find our way over there about once a year. It is not because I don’t like the parks. I love them, especially Epcot. It is because it is just way too expensive to go more often.

For a family oriented travel destination, Disney is sure not wallet friendly. The park tickets are enough to choke an elephant. When you add in hotels, food and gas then the whole things becomes daunting.

If I lived a little closer, I would buy a Florida resident annual pass, but I don’t live quite close enough.

So, I find ways to make the trip worth it. We go each year for the night time Pirates & Princesses Party, but even those once-reasonable tickets have gone way up in price. This year we stayed an extra day at the parks, but that was only because my friend got us all in on an employee pass for one day and the parks were free for us on Saturday.

I’ve just been trying to work it out with my sister how she and I will allocate the funds to take our kids for my daughter’s next birthday. And in the face of all that – Disney has just announced they are raising prices starting today!

As of today (August 3, 2008), The Walt Disney Co. is raising one-day ticket prices. Tickets for anyone 10 and older to Walt Disney World in Orlando will rise from $71 to $75. Tickets for kids 3 to 9 will go from $60 to $63.

Tickets in California are a tad more reasonable. At Disneyland in Anaheim, CA, one-day prices will go from $66 to $69 for 10 and older and from $56 to $59 for children 3 to 9.

It’s not just the one-day passes that are increasing in price. Multi-day and Hopper passes are also going up.

I happen to live here in Florida, but for those who are driving or flying to the area, there is already the high travel costs involved. Hotels are not getting cheaper, and food is decidedly more expensive all around. It seems a slap in the face for Disney to decide they will contribute to the rising costs of American life. Recreation is one thing most Americans agree they can cut out of their budgets. And, it seems most Americans are indeed cutting recreational activities. There will come a time where the Disney parks will primarily serve non-American visitors. Seems a waste of American real estate.

My grandmother survived breast cancer – twice! My aunt also survived, and not so very long ago. I have had friends who were diagnosed in their mid-30s. It brings the issue so very close to my own life.

So, when I see a story about someone fighting breast cancer, I stop and look – and say a little prayer. The story I saw this morning as I perused the headlines at CNN is that Christina Applegate is currently battling breast cancer.

I just watched The Sweetest Thing last night, so she was on my mind anyway. From all accounts I have heard, she is a sweet and lively person. I have a very close friend who spent a lot of time with her when she was in NYC doing Sweet Charity, and my friend never had a bad word to say about her.

Right now, 36-year-old Applegate is starring in the sit-com “Samantha Who”, but I would wager to say she is best known for her role as Kelly Bundy on “Married with Children”. My college boyfriend’s roommate had a poster of Applegate on his dorm room wall back in the 80s.

I wish her the best and celebrate along with her the miracle of how early her cancer was detected. Modern medical advances are saving more and more lives each year, because are now able to determine when someone has a very early form of some cancers.

For me, summer vacation is over. My ex husband and I each have two -2-week blocks of time during the summer with our daughter. I took my first block in West Virginia and Washington, DC to visit my dad. My second block comes to an end this after this weekend and we stayed near home.

Ideally, I would have planned a trip to Atlanta to see my daughter’s godparents, but the cost of gas and airlines tickets kept me away. I can always try and plan it around the next school break.

Kindergarten looms near. My daughter’s time in Pre-K was not as difficult for me, because I only had her in three hours a day, even though for part of the year I opted to leave her an additional three hours. Nonetheless, now she is starting in the public school system and I got her into one of the Fundamental schools here in the county. She is fortunate to have been accepted into the program. The Fundamental schools here historically perform higher on all standardized tests; they have 100% parent participation, a stricter dress/attendance/behavior policy; and automatic filtering into the Fundamental middle schools. This should be very good for my daughter.

In these next two weeks, I am going to do my best to try and obtain a teaching position. Unfortunately, all of the districts around here are cutting back on teachers. They have tighter budgets and fewer students. People are moving away from this area, due to the cost of living.

It’s over. My time with my little girl will forever be different now that she is in school and I will hopefully be working. No more stay at home mommy.