Gallaudet University

During my travels to Washington DC, I am staying on campus at Gallaudet University. There is a Kellogg Conference Hotel on campus for folks visiting the area. It is located on Capital Hill.

Gallaudet University is a federally chartered university for the education of the deaf and hard-of-hearing, in Washington, D.C. It was the first school for the advanced education of the deaf and hard-of-hearing in the world, and is still the world's only university in which all programs and services are specifically designed to accommodate deaf and hard of hearing students. The university was named after Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet, a notable figure in the advancement of deaf education.

While I was out this morning taking photos it was neat to see all the folks sign their greetings to me. Please see my photo slideshow of the campus below. It is a beautiful campus!

Fun Facts - The Football Huddle

As American Football became more organized and formalized, so too did the huddle. Bill Hargiss is often credited with one of the first uses of the huddle while coaching the Oregon State Beavers against the Washington Huskies in a 1918 game in Seattle. Another instance of its use was when the huddle was formed by Paul Hubbard, a deaf player who went to Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C. To avoid having the other team see his sign language between plays, he and his team huddled together to conceal the signs.

Quote of the Day Sunday June 28

Operator, give me the number for 911!
- Homer Simpson

Quote of the Day Saturday June 27

Food labels that say "no fat, no cholesterol" might as well say "no taste, no fun."

- Julia Child

Quote of the day

The best way to make your dreams come true is to wake up.
- Paul Valery

Quote of the Day

Whatever I feel like I wanna do. Gosh!
- Napoleon Dynamite (2004)

Our home away from home

Salton City

In 1955, on the Western Shores of the Salton Sea, the east three fifths of Section 9, Range 9 East, Township 9 South, was chartered by the State of California as the Desert Shores Community Services District. In 1957, M. Phillips and Holly Corporation of Dallas, Texas began development of Salton City.



Throughout the 1960's and early 1970's the area was all a bustle with tourists and winter vacationers enjoying the areas many recreational opportunities such as fishing, speedboat racing, kayaking, hiking, bird watching, and golfing. The permanent resident population stayed below 3,000 and its further growth was stymied by back to back once in a 50 year type record rainfalls in the late 1970's and mid 1980's. The resulting rise in the seas elevation and its' increasing salinities toll on the fish stocks made the area non-conducive to further real estate speculation and the areas population growth stagnated.

Starting in 2003 the effects of the ever increasing cost of real estate in California was beginning to be felt in the area and residential development began to blossom. By the year 2010 the permanent population may be as high as 10,000. Because of attractive pricing, we were able to purchase a home that bordered the Anza Borrego State Park and Ocotillo Wells SVRA. We are huge desert nuts and enjoy
4x4ing, 4 wheeling and dirt bikes. (depends on who you talk to in our family) The development we are in is nearly sold out. We are fortunate enough that several of our friends bought houses in the same development and of course we've made many new friends as well.

The Salton Sea



The Colorado Desert is a very arid region in southwestern North America. Extending from the San Gorgonio Pass in the San Bernardino Mountains in southeastern California to Baja California in northwestern Mexico. Several mountain ranges, including the San Bernardino and the Chocolate, separate the Colorado from the Mojave Desert. Much of the region, about 200 miles long and 50 miles wide, lies below sea level. The depressions include Salton Sea, the Imperial Valley, and the Coachella Valley. The area, where irrigated by canals from the Colorado River, is noted for the production of fruits, cotton, and vegetables. Temperatures change suddenly from 32° F to 115° F with a mean of about 90° F. Precipitation rarely exceeds 4 inches annually.

The Salton Sea is was formed between 1905 and 1907, when the Colorado River broke through an embankment at Parker, Arizona, and overflowed into California. The lake at first covered an area of approximately 450 square miles and had a maximum depth of 67 ft, but its area has since decreased by at least one-third through evaporation. The floor of the Salton Sea is approximately 280 ft below sea level. Currently the lakes salinity level is about 25% greater than that of the Pacific Ocean.



The Salton Sea is in the Pacific Flyway, which sustains numerous migratory bird species, particularly the waterfowl and shore birds. Nearly 400 bird species have been observed at the sea, about half of the known bird species existing in North American.

Quote of the Day

"Strange things are afoot at the Circle K"

- Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989)

I don't know why, but love this quote. It's a classic!

Geocaching; one of my hobbies

I have a hobby called Geocaching. I absolutely love it when I have time...but seems like lately, I haven't had the opportunity. Maybe when Kevin graduates from high school (1 more year) and things slow down just a bit. I particularly enjoy doing it out in the desert. My boys used to do it all the time with me when they were younger. To them it was a big treasure hunt. ...and literally it is!

Geocaching is an outdoor treasure-hunting game in which the participants use a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver or other navigational techniques to hide and seek containers (called "geocaches" or "caches") anywhere in the world. A typical cache is a small waterproof container (usually a tupperware or ammo box) containing a logbook and "treasure," usually toys or trinkets of little value.

Geocaches are currently placed in over 100 countries around the world and on all seven continents, including Antarctica. There are over 820,000 active geocaches in the world right now. I have a few out there I have placed myself, including a couple in the desert and three here in Escondido.

I have geocached all over the United States and in Turks and Caicos in the Carribean. Here are the states I have found caches in.


It's amazing to see the creativity that goes into the containers and disguising them so that regular folks can't see them.

Please see our Youtube video on the right side of this blog. Fox 6 news had come out and interviewed us on the hobby, they did a great job.

Here are some pictures of our adventures!

Geocaching in Hawaii - This is Makapuu Point on Oahu.




This is "The Breakers" Summer cottage for the Vanderbilt Family in Newport, Rhode Island. Cache is located very near where I took the picture



This is in San Antonio, Texas along the Riverwalk. It was hot that day!



Julie and I went caching in Turks and Caicos. It's a BEAUTIFUL island in the Carribean. We found this big starfish during our adventures



This is a cache right here in the Anza Borrego Desert off of Split Mountain Road in the Fish Creek area



And a cache right here in Escondido at Lake Hodges. We started caching in 2004, and this is one of our first finds. So my boys look young!



One of these days we'll find time or make time to get out and do the wonderful hobby again. I'm sure there a bunch of BRAND new caches that have popped up within a 5 mile perimeter of my home. In fact I am positive there a bunch of brand new ones.

If you are interested in more information, check out the website:

http://www.geocaching.com

My Quote of the Day

How vain it is to sit down to write when you have not stood up to live.
Henry David Thoreau (1817 - 1862)

Bombay Beach

Yesterday we had the opportunity to visit one of the smaller communities in Southern California, Bombay Beach. Bombay Beach is located on the east shore of the Salton Sea and, like many communities along its shores, has had to contend with rising and falling water levels. A berm now protects the west end of the town but a portion of the town beyond the berm is either sunken under water or is half-buried in mud.



Most people use golf carts to get around since the nearest gas station is 20 miles away. The community is literally a square. The majority of structures are mobile homes.

Bombay Beach is a rather surreal place, attracting many photographers and visitors. The town, as well as others on the shores of the Salton Sea, is one of the lowest settlements in altitude in North America. It is 223ft below sea level.



Bombay Beach as been filmed quite often and is very near to the San Andreas Fault and was the location of a foreshock in the fictional made for TV movie The Big One: The Great Los Angeles Earthquake (1990). Bombay Beach was also the location and the topic segment of the U.S. Southwest episode of the Travel Channel series Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations aired in 2008. A documentary (Plagues and Pleasures of the Salton Sea) about the Salton Sea also filmed and interviewed some of the local residents of Bombay Beach. We actually tried to seek out "hunky daddy" one of the more interesting individuals of this film. We were able to locate his residence, unfortunately, Hunky Daddy was not available. We're thinking he may have been recovering from the night before. It's not uncommon knowledge that Hunky Daddy likes to partake in Milwaukee's Best. (the chosen beer brand for Bombay Beach).

We'll definately be back to explore some more.

My Fortune Telling Tea Cups

Tasseography : is a divination or fortune-telling method that interprets patterns in tea leaves



About 6 years ago, I went to Canada to visit my Aunt Dorothy. Aunt Dorothy is a collector of many things. I would say her most prevelant collection is Ironstone Dinnerware. She has LOADS of it. She is so passionate about Ironstone that she attends conventions and meets with other folks that collect it. Among some of her other collections are Fortune Telling Tea Cups. They are definately a curiousty and fascinating. I liked them so much that I started a collection of my own. My Aunt has several of these cups. In fact, more then several of them. I only have 9 and my collection is slowly growing. The only places it seems that you can locate them are antique stores and on ebay. They are fairly hard to find. Even when I ask antique stores if they know of any in their inventory, I get a blank look. And lately when I see them on ebay, the prices have increased, so I get the feeling that they are defniately getting even harder to find.

The practice of tea leaf reading originated independently in Asia and the Middle East. English potteries have crafted many beautiful tea cup sets specially designed and decorated to aid in fortune-telling.

Although many people prefer a simple white cup for tea leaf reading, there are also traditions concerning the positional placement of the leaves in the cup, and some find it easier to work with marked cups. Beginning in the late 19th century and continuing to the present, English and American potteries have produced specially decorated cup and saucer sets for the use of tea-leaf readers. Many of these designs are patented and come with instructions explaining their mode of use. Some of the most common were those that were given away with purchases of bulk tea.

There are dozens of individual designs of fortune tellers' cups, but the three most common types are zodiac cups, playing card cups, and symbol cups.

Zodiac cups - These sets contain zodiacal and planetary symbols. Typically the interior of the cup contains the planetary symbols, while the saucer has the astrological sign symbols, but there are many variations and exceptions to this common pattern.


Playing card cups - These cups carry within their interiors tiny images of a deck of scattered cards, either 52 cards plus a joker, as in a poker deck, or 32 cards, as in a euchre deck. Some sets also have a few cards imprinted on the saucers, or the saucers may contain brief written card interpretations.


Symbol cups - These sets are decorated with between a dozen and fifty of the most common visual cues that can be found in tea leaves, often numbered for easy reference and supplied with an explanatory booklet. The symbols are generally displayed inside the cups, but there are also sets in which they decorate the outside or appear in the cups and on the saucers.


I currently own 1 Zodiac Cup, 5 of the Playing Card Cups and 3 of the Symbol Cups.

If you are ever bored and you want to have some fun, I do have loose tea leaves. Come on over for a cup of tea and your fortune! Next I will blog about my Cards. Those are fun at parties!

Bacon Swiss Squares

Welcome to Paulette's Cooking Column! (Although, I'm not much of a cook, just ask my family!)


So I found another recipe that I just had to try. Bacon Swiss Squares.....the picture looked good in the magazine and it just sounded yummy. Hey! Anything with bacon in it usually is a winner! So I whipped these guys up this morning and my family seemed to like it. I thought they were pretty good myself. I believe I'll make these again out in the Desert. My husband did make the comment that he liked my Christmas Breakfast Casserole better...but that is somewhat time consuming, but admittingly, it is really good and that's why I only prepare it once a year.

Here is the recipe for those of you who wish to try these out.



Bacon Swiss Squares

2 Cups biscuit/baking mix
1/2 cup cold water
8 ounces sliced Swiss Cheese
1 pound sliced bacon, cooked and crumbled
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1. In a large bowl, combine the biscuit mix and water. Turn onto a floured surface; knead 10 times. Roll into a 14-in. x 10-in. rectangle.

2. Place on the bottom and 1/2 in. up the sides of a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish. Arrange Cheese over dough. Sprinkle with bacon. In a large bowl, whisk eggs, milk and onion powder; pour over bacon.

3. Bake at 425 degrees for 15-18 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Cut into squares; serve immediately.

Yield: 12 Servings

Facebook Quizzes

What is it with Facebook Quizzes and Surveys? I'm addicted. Why? Is it my need to find out what color my chakra is? or if I am 100% girly?...or maybe the meaning behind my name, which by the way, I am Popular!!!! Gee whiz, I wish I could go back in time 25 years, I certainly wasn't popular then. Hmmmm....maybe just a popular dork!

Regardless, I have this wierd obsession with taking these quizes, really the TV show that is on now has more substance then the facebook quizes I continue to take!

Alright, I think I just got a notification there is a new quiz for me to take online. Which one should I do next? What is my cat name? or What is my vampire name?

Geez, the choices are ENDLESS!

South Carolina BBQ Pork Sliders

1 slow-cooker liner (I did not have a liner, and it was fine)
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 TBsp each paprika and dried minced onion
1 1/2 tsp salt -free chili powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 1/2 tsp allspice (optional)
4 lb bone-in pork shoulder roast
3/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup sliced scallions
24 small dinner rolls

1. Line a 4-qt or larger slow-cooker with liner. Mix 1 TBsp of the brown sugar, the paprika, minced onion, chili powder, salt, garlic powder and allspice. Sprinkle 1 TBsp into bottom of slow-cooker. Rub remaining mixture over pork. Add vinegar and remaining brown sugar to slow-cooker; stir to mix. Add pork.

2. Cover and cook on low 8 - 10 hours until pork is fork-tender. Remove pork to cutting board and pull into shreds. Return to slow-cooker; add scallions and toss to coat.

3. Put about 1/4 cup onto each bun bottom. Top with bun tops.

Enjoy.

Crockpot Dinner Results

Well...it turned out pretty dang yummy....and the house smells great....AND......we have leftovers that will probably last the next couple of days.
Although, I have to admit, my picture isn't nearly as nice as the picture in the Woman's Day magazine where I pulled the recipe from. I tried as best as I could though. :)

Alright, I'm off to eat dinner and go watch New in Town with Renee Zellweger and Harry Connick Jr and have Apple pie for dessert. We picked that up at Costco today during our adventures....oh and speaking of adventures...

We went to Kit Carson Park to feed the ducks day old bread.....yeah, don't go feed the ducks on a Sunday mid-day and expect them to pay any attention to you. Apparently everybody else had the same idea and the ducks are pretty full of bread. Bummer! Maybe mid week we'll have better luck.

Crockpot Dinner tonight

So I just finished up preparing a pork roast with lots of spices, brown sugar and apple cider Vinegar and threw it in the Crock pot. According to the Recipe I pulled out of Womans Day, in about 8 - 10 hours I should have some yummy South Carolina BBQ pork sliders. Just shred the meat and pop it onto a bread roll. I bought some Hawaiian bread rolls.....so in theory it should be a yummy meal.

The best part of the crock pot.....the smell. I'm guessing in about 3 hours my house will smell really good!

Shoot to Cure HD (Huntington's Disease)

What is Huntington's Disease?
Huntington's disease is a genetically caused brain disorder that systematically robs people of their ability to walk, talk, eat, and think. Eventually, people with Huntington's become totally dependent up on others. There is no effective treatment or cure.

We were given the opportunity to participate in the 8th Annual CYMER Shoot to Cure HD. It was held at the San Diego Chargers Park and I think the majority of the San Diego Chargers were in attendance! We enjoyed great food, drink and an exciting basketball free-throw competition. We had a team of 10 boys that had the opportunity to shoot baskets for the Cure. What a great event to support the fundraising for this disease! I was un-aware of what Huntington's disease was until they shared the video with us during the event. I do not wish this upon anyone and their families. For more information please visit the local San Diego site at:

http://www.hdsasandiego.org/

There was food from many local San Diego Restaurants including Aculpulco, Rubios, Pat and Oscars. All very yummy!



The boys had a blast! As did the 5 adults that attended too! The boys managed to sink 45 baskets during the actually "speed throw contest", but it wasn't enough to put them in the next round. Regardless, they did pretty darn good!

They were just excited to see all the Chargers and given the opportunity for pictures, autographs and just getting to talk to these guys! Oh and look at the smiles these kids have when posing with the Charger girls!



My friend Deb and I were fortunate enough to get our picture taken with Antonio Gates and LaDamian Tomlinson, both excellent football players and future hall of fame rs. Both are genuinely nice guys and very friendly.



Watch for this event next year and please consider making a contribution towards this disease!

Please see the slide show below with picture from the event!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KEVIN!

Enjoy your day today!

Love Mom and Dad!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KEVIN!!!!! 17 years old!

17 years ago on June 4th at 8:36 a.m, Kevin John Donnellon was born. And of course there's a story to go behind the actual day of the birthday. With my oldest son Michael I had to have a C-section, so when we became pregnant with Kevin they told us that we had the option to deliver him by c-section as well. We thought we would just go for it and do the natural delivery thing. Kevin actual due date was June 7. At the time John was working for the Escondido Police Department and his one big dream was to become a motor officer...driving the big police bike. One day John came home and said that he had good news and bad news. The good news?? He was accepted into the motor academy. The bad news?? The start date for the academy, which was up in Los Angeles was June 7. We had a appointment with my OB/GYN on June 2nd and explained our dilemma. He suggested we go the C-section route, so we scheduled it! June 4th it was for Kevin's birthday AND that gave John a couple of days to be home with Kev before he left. The reason we picked June 4th? Well my Uncle Jimmy's birthday was June 3rd and he is kind of a drama queen (I can say that) and we didn't want Kev to share his birthday with him and June 4th made total sense, since Michael, his older brother was born on the 4th. (in March).

My fondest memory is after I delivered Kevin and they wheeled me into recovery, not 15 minutes later, John came in and had the list of friends and family that we were going to call after Kevin was born. We must have had like 20 names on it. I asked him if he started calling them...his response?? He had already called ALL of them!


We're proud of Kevin and his accomplishments and we are looking forward to his Senior year in high school. It's gonna be an exciting year!