WanderingAmylessly 2.0

Is it possible to fall in love with a recipe? That must be beyond weird. So I won't say that. Instead, I say, "Try this!" It's one of the best low-cal recipes I've ever made, which is a nice way to end the year and start a new, resolution-filled one. Don't get scared away by thinking it's "diet" food. It's rich tasting and very, very different. In a good way. You might even want to experiment by adding a few kalamata olives and maybe a bit of chopped cucumber. Greek Wraps from the Weight Watchers Quick, Light and Healthy Cookbook Vegetable cooking spray 8 oz. lean ground round 1/2 cup chopped onion 2 cups hot cooked rice (cooked without salt or fat) 1/2 cup plain low-fat yogurt 1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted 1/4 cup reduced-fat feta cheese crumbles 1 tbsp. lemon juice 1/2 tsp. garlic salt 1/4 tsp. pepper 1/8 to 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon 4 (8 inch) flour tortillas Fresh spinach leaves Mild pepperocini rings 1. Coat a large skillet with cooking spra...

Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan forever changed the way I think about New Year's Eve or, more specifically, about the song Auld Lang Syne. There's a great bit in a crucial moment in the movie When Harry Met Sally -- one of my top 5 movies of all time -- regarding this song. Harry: What does this song mean? My whole life, I don't know what this song means. I mean, 'Should old acquaintance be forgot'? Does that mean that we should forget old acquaintances, or does it mean if we happened to forget them, we should remember them, which is not possible because we already forgot? Sally: Well, maybe it just means that we should remember that we forgot them or something. Anyway, it's about old friends. This movie is like an old friend to me. I found a great Wiki site that has all of my favorite quotes from the movie. I could just sit here and recite the dialogue word-for-word for you; instead, I'll give you this link . Peruse at your leisure. I had to stop reading it at...

Being different makes a person feel isolated. So many times I've felt like I was all alone in my little corner of insanity. Felt like I was the only one...who felt like this. Turns out some of the most talented and completely unexpected individuals share my little corner. I came across a slideshow titled "Bipolar Celebrities: Does it make them more creative?" The piece certainly does not answer the question. But some of the people featured on the list surprised me. Click here and see what you think. And I'm not alone at all -- bipolar disorder affects 2.5 percent of the adult population in the United States. Doesn't matter if you're famous or just some wife and mom in the Midwest, trying to muddle through.

What could be better in the dead of winter than hot soup with the name "summer" in it? Meat eaters -- enjoy AND be pleased with your healthiness, too, because this is a Weight Watchers recipe. It's 2 points for one cup of soup (the recipe makes 8 servings). I whipped up a pot last night and put the soup in individual containers for easy lunching this week. Summer Sausage Soup 1-2 tsp olive oil 1 package (ring) light summer sausage, thinly sliced 1 1/2 cups chopped onion 1/2 cup thinly sliced celery 1/2 cup thinly sliced carrots 2 cloves garlic 32 oz. fat-free, lower sodium chicken broth 1 can diced tomatoes with green chilies (including liquid) 1/3 cup uncooked long grain brown rice salt and pepper to taste 6 oz bag baby spinach leaves 1. Put olive oil in a heavy pot. Add sliced sausage, onion, celery, carrots, and garlic, and cook 5 minutes or so. 2. Add broth and tomatoes and bring to a boil. Add the rice and salt and pepper, and simmer, covered, for about 15 minutes. 3...

Tim just alerted me to the latest news on CNN.com . At the very end of a story in the continuing saga of "Which dog will the Obamas bring to the White House," the reporter reveals that one particular breed has been singled out as the current favorite in the Obama household. A poke around the Net shows that, indeed, Barack's girls are partial to a specific breed. And I must say, they have fantastic taste. They want a WESTIE!!! This isn't a sure thing. They're still deciding. But there's something decidedly amusing about the first black first family bringing a white dog to the White House, don't you think? We would be so tickled to have a Maggie look-alike romping through the Rose Garden, scrappy and tough, yet lovable and cuddly. The perfect first canine. I hope my favorite terrier wins out. Sasha and Malia, your daddy got my support in November. Now I give your choice my vote!

A big thank you to everyone for supportive words, kind thoughts, and positive vibes. The ultrasound this morning couldn't detect whatever it was they saw on the mammo. That's a good thing! I have to go back in six months to see if whatever the mammo showed has gotten any bigger. If not, then the anomaly is probably just the quirkiness of ME. At any rate, I'm relieved, to say the least. Tonight when I drink the wassail, it will be in celebration! Warm holiday wishes to everyone. Merry Christmas eve!

...which is a festive holiday kind of way of saying I'm getting slightly soused on mulled wine as a way to soothe frazzled nerves. I have a few other things on my mind this season besides crowded shopping malls and traffic tie-ups. It seems that I have a bit of a lump in a place where women shouldn't have one. My second mammogram this morning showed a blobby bit about the size of a pea on the right side and the doc couldn't tell what it was, so I'm going in tomorrow morning for an ultrasound. It's probably nothing. But it might be something. So I've worked myself into a state that requires medicinal treatment of the merlot variety. If you would like to join in the fun, you can try the recipe... English Wassail 1 pint water 1 cup honey 4 cloves 3 sticks cinnamon 2 lemons thinly sliced 1 bottle medium dry red wine Boil together water, honey, cloves and cinnamon for five minutes. Add two lemons thinly sliced and allow to stand for 7 or 8 minutes. Add a bottle of me...

My new favorite Christmas special is Shrek the Halls . It's silly and witty, slightly icky at times, clever and charming, and a somewhat painfully honest commentary on family interactions at the holidays. It was on TV tonight. You may have caught it. We bought the DVD and have watched it at least 5 times already this year. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it. Eddie Murphy's Donkey makes me cackle: My mama used to always say, 'Christmas ain't Christmas till somebody cries!'

The story went like this, yesterday, during our practice for the Iowa City Community Band holiday concert: Our director, Rob Medd, said that he got a call last week from Himie Voxman , the first chair clarinetist generally known as THE GOD OF MUSIC at the University of Iowa. Himie asked, in only the most polite and humble way, if he could still play in the concert if he missed practice. Medd laughed. Of course he did. First, Himie has been playing clarinet for something like 147 years. Second, Himie had a fairly good reason for missing practice. At the moment we were butchering the bars of "Here We Come a Wassailing," the University was presenting Mr. Voxman with an honorary doctorate! So yeah, we forgave him. And we gave him some thunderous applause during our show this afternoon at the Englert in downtown Iowa City. However, another clarinetist played the solo for "In the Bleak Midwinter." Even a legend takes his lumps for breaking the rules.

I seriously pick my iPod music largely based on what I hear on TV commercials -- usually Apple ads. I've written about this before. This time, though, it turns out that we were way ahead of the game. Tim and I, almost simultaneously, said "What a great song!" last night while we were watching TV. I'm sure you've seen the ad, too. It's the L.L. Bean holiday spot, featuring that catchy tune that goes something like, "The snow is comin' down...on our New England town..." Tim went scrounging around online and in our CD collection and found that we actually have this tune in our collection. It's called "Valley Winter Song," from a Fountains of Wayne CD we got a few years ago. Loveitloveitloveit. Makes me want to wear bulky cable knit fisherman sweaters (I guess L.L. Bean hit its target there) and drink hot cocoa out of a speckled-tin mug.

This is a little something I like to call, "Lessons you can learn when waiting for the ice storm." I was perusing the "cancellations" section of the newspaper's web site, as schools, businesses, churches, and the like start calling off activities in preparation for the big winter storm fast approaching. That's when I saw the following listing: Shoplifting Class at Lindale Mall - No Class Thursday You can take a class in that? I can only imagine what the final might be. Do you fail if the cops arrest you? If you successfully snag something, do you get to keep it? Give it to your teacher as a bribe for a better grade (a la Blagojevich)? Shoplifting class...brilliant...

Click here for a fun audio slide show from the University of Iowa's annual Tuba Holiday Concert. You haven't lived until you've heard a band of tubas play "Dreidel Dreidel Dreidel." My husband froze to bring you these fine photos, by the way.

1. You get super crazy excited to buy a kitchen appliance. In this case, an oven. Which arrived this afternoon, while I was... 2. Getting my very first mammogram. What a monumentous day. Squished boobs and, later, several batches of fresh-baked Christmas cookies (thank goodness I still have my own teeth). Just around the corner, I fear...I've falalalalalen and I can't get up?

I've never heard of Black & White whiskey before, but it's my new favorite hooch. Because of the pooches!! This brand is known for its mascots -- a white Westie (just like our Mags) and a black Scottie (like Barney, President Bush's dog...but don't hold that against the canine).

This is the time of year when Tim and I usually tell each other not to look too closely to the credit card statements -- for fear that we'll figure out what we're getting from each other for Christmas. However, we're going to be paying eagle-eye attention on our bills and card activity from now on. Yesterday, Wells Fargo contacted us to investigate whether we'd been trying to withdraw large-ish sums of cast from an ATM. IN SPAIN. It seems that someone tried two times to get a cash advance from our VISA credit card, $100 one time, $400 the other. Evidently, this person either didn't have a proper PIN or the bank denied the withdrawals on the assumption that Tim and Amy are entirely too poor and boring to A) try getting $400 out at one time or B) wind up anywhere east of Cleveland. So, boys and girls, here's your holiday warning from Officer McGruff...beware. Some people from Santa's naughty list are lurking. I give an extra candy cane and shot of egg nog to o...

Edna Mode of The Incredibles... Margaret Carlson, American journalist and columnist for Bloomberg News...

I love this song. I'm not particularly religious, but there is such a reverent, spiritual quality to not only the lyrics but the melody. It's wistful and haunting and angelic and passionate, all at once. It's obviously not Christmas music, but for some reason, at this time of year, I seem to gravitate towards it. I have the Jeff Buckley version on my iPod. Many other artists have performed it as well, including an international Idol contestant and Sheryl Crow. There also have been versions featured in the movie Shrek and on an episode of The West Wing , I believe the night the secret service agent played by Mark Harmon was gunned down. Or it might have been when Mrs. Landingham died. Something tragic. At any rate, this particular version with the piano and the artist's beautiful voice has become a favorite. Take a listen...

You in search of that Christmas gift someone just cannot live without? Tim and I have found it for you. While we were wasting precious time last night surfing Amazon.com, we came across an item that was priceless in that it brought joy to our lives. That is, we laughed so hard, we squealed. I had, just moments before, been lamenting the fact that I am a lazy bum. I have not been able to get myself out of bed in the mornings to get to the gym and work off the chocolate, fried foods, snacks, etc., that have made their way to my thighs and midsection recently. Then Tim saw it. Right there, on the screen. The answer to all my problems. The Sonic Boom Alarm Clock . For only $32.95 (and it ships for free with Super Saver Shipping!!) you can get this amazing device that comes complete with a 113 decibel adjustable tone and volume control AND, if that weren’t incredible enough, it also has a 12 volt BED SHAKER ! (Some versions call it a vibrator. But maybe we’re not talking about the same thin...

A certain sexy, cycling, picture-taking Santa Claus visited Amy's house a couple weeks early this year to check her Christmas list. He made a stop at the local appliance dealer. And if all goes well with delivery and installation, we'll be baking holiday cookies in our new OVEN by early next week!!! We ordered this model in all black, a GE Convection Range that features a cooking system that delivers even air and heat circulation for quicker, higher quality baking and roasting. It also has a self-cleaning oven with heavy duty oven racks that can stay in the oven during the cleaning cycle, a glass cooktop featuring a warming element and a dual 9-inch/12-inch element, and a hidden element in the oven bottom. The oven we have, an RCA (yeah, the people who made the victrola ...and you wonder why we might want to upgrade), is an original to our 1992-built home. It was cheap from the get-go, doesn't have a self-clean function, burns one side of baked foods and barely cooks the o...

Jack Black, John C. Reilly, Allison Janney, Margaret Cho, Maya Rudolph, and Doogie Howser (or Neil Patrick Harris, if you insist) are among the stellar cast shedding light on the injustice and sheer stupidity of the recent proposition in California that takes away marriage rights of same-sex couples. Jack Black plays Jesus. That ought to be reason enough to watch. See more Jack Black videos at Funny or Die

I'm appalled. You can call it King or Duke or Princess or M'lady of Everloving Windsor. But you cannot call it Queen. It is not Queen. Will never be Queen again. Freddie Mercury was the heart and soul and voice and face and pianist and songwriter and co-founder of that '70s & '80s phenomenal English rock band. Yet, guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor have trotted some singer named Paul Rodgers on stage, on tour, on a new album, and are calling themselves Queen. Technically, they're referring to themselves as Queen + Paul Rodgers. I'm sorry, but two washed-up has-been musicians and some former singer for Bad Company does not somehow magically make it OK to blaspheme Freddie like this. The band HE fronted was the one inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. MTV named Mercury the second greatest singer in the history of popular music. I realize that many bands suffer this fate as members retire or die and others t...

We might not be celebrating Christmas this year. Henry's taken to calling his Monday evening athletic class...Jewnastics.

If ever there was a headline begging for an accompanying sound effect -- something like, "DUHHHH" -- this is it: It's official: The economy is in a recession

For the last 20 years, I've shared my birthday with another special day. I wish I didn't have to. Not because I'm a selfish beast and want all the attention for myself. But because the event I share it with involves a killer, a deadly pandemic that claimed 2.1 million lives last year alone. I'd gladly give up my celebration each year if someone could make AIDS disappear. Researchers and others in the medical community have come a long way since the syndrome's first official reported case June 5, 1981, in their fight to stop the death and work for a cure. But globally, an estimated 33.2 million people lived with HIV in 2007, including 2.5 million children. We cannot get complacent. We, as a human race, must continue to fight. Check your local papers and community calendars today and this week to find an AIDS-Day event in your area to attend. I have been invited by a friend, who happens to be an infectious disease pharmacist specializing in HIV-AIDS, to attend a local...