Recipe: Crustless Pizza Dip

I love to cook, and I love finding recipes that I can share with people. My favorite online recipe place is www.recipezaar.com. I can pretty much always find something on there to fit what I'm looking for, and the user reviews are usually helpful.

This dip recipe is just as advertised: it takes just like a pizza. I made it for a SuperBowl party for Sunday, and it was scarfed up. Actually, to be honest, I found the recipe but Alex made it while I was cooking other items. Rather than using a pre-packaged jar of sauce, I made this pizza sauce.

I bought a package of pizza crust (never done that before) that I sliced into breadsticks and baked. We used those and a whole veggie tray as dippers. The cucumbers were a little odd, but the other items were fine. The broccoli and carrots probably worked the best.

If you need a dip for something, this one is definitely different but delicious. Don't expect leftovers!

Crystal Diaper award

I've volunteered in the nursery since before I had Alex. I started with the little babies, but I was asked to help out in the 2yo room a couple of times and decided I liked it there. So for the last 8 years, I've spent the first Sunday of every month helping out in the 2yo room. Since last June, Alex has also been helping me out with the kids. We go to the first service, then volunteer for the second one.

Our church recently held a volunteer recognition service to thank all the volunteers that keep the church running. They gave a description of the various areas people serve - some I never even knew we had - and everyone that worked in that area stood up to be recognized and receive a certificate of thanks.

Pastor Ledford's comments when discussing each area were amusing. Clearly, he has no secret longing to ever work in the nursery with not-yet-potty-trained kids. Absolutely.None.What.So.Ever. Much like my desire to stand up and preach to the church.

Then came the surprise... the staff members that run each area had selected a Volunteer of the Year for their area. Their names were called out, 'the winner is' music was played just like at some entertainment awards show, and the person went to the front of the church to be specially recognized for their efforts. You'd think they might want to warn people of such a thing, but no...

And so I suddenly found myself in front of the church, getting a hug from the pastor and receiving this beautiful plaque. How cool is that? When awarding my plaque, he said they really should have a Crystal Diaper award to present, but I'd have to settle for the plaque. I was so surprised in the first place, I thought this was just fine!

Swiss Drum Corp

If you enjoy a nice drum corp presentation, you'll want to watch this display of Swiss drumming skills. Impressive and entertaining even though it goes on for almost 6 minutes. I loved the sword fighting part that was about halfway through.

Pleasant Surprises

I had two lovely surprises yesterday:

1. I normally have a difficult time getting Alex up in the morning. It takes a good 20-30 minutes usually to rouse him out of bed. Neither one of us are morning people, and it shows very clearly on weekday mornings. Yesterday, I woke up when the alarm went off, only to find him just getting out of the shower. He'd woken up a little early on his own, and decided to just go ahead and get ready for school. Shock!
   
   
2. I had participated in a local survey about something or other, and they said they were putting together a focus group and would I be interested. I filled out the information, they called me back to review the screening questions, then scheduled me to be part of the group. They were paying $50 for each participant. Yes, I'd love to be part of your study! I arrived at the meeting time, only to be told that they needed X number of people and they had scheduled a few extra just to make sure they had the correct number actually show up. The X number had already arrived, so they handed me the $50 check and told me I was free to go home. Seriously? Please let me know if you are ever doing another one...

Both my morning and my evening contained pleasant surprises. Ah, for more days like that!

2008 BCS Bowl

As a diehard FSU Seminole, I cheer for the Noles and for whomever is playing against the Florida Gators... unless it is a National Championship game. For the #1 spot, loyalty to my state kicks in. I'm not pleased that they've tested me on that for the 2nd time in 3 years! I suppose it is a small consolation that at least the Oklahoma Sooners put up a good fight and made them really work for tonight's win. *sigh*

Go Gators.