RAIN. RAIN. LET IT RAIN!!

As I’ve blogged about before, Texas has been in the worse drought since the fifties. I don’t remember that one, but the last year has been brutal with parched pastures and lakes, ponds and creeks drying up. Everyone has been praying for rain for a solid year. Our prayers have finally been answered. In January we had several small showers and then a two inches rain, but Friday night we got the big one—at least five inches. Along with the rain though came bad weather. We were under a severe thunderstorm watch and then that turned into a tornado warning, which the weatherman was predicting would touch down near our neighborhood.

What do you do when a tornado is headed toward you? Panic is always my first choice, but luckily my husband is very calm. He gathered flashlights, bottled water and carried them to a bathroom in the center of our house. He grabbed a big comforter from the closet. I added Snicker bars. If I’m going to be stuck somewhere, I want a snack.

It was dark and pouring buckets outside, but the TV and lights were still on. Then the TV started beeping with an alert: People in these areas take cover. Our neighborhood was listed. The wind howled and rain pounded our roof, but other than that everything remained the same. The lights and TV stayed on. Strange. Then we got the news that the tornado had touched down about five miles from us. It did a lot of damage, but thankfully no one was hurt. Due to all the stress, I decided to eat a Snickers anyway.

The tornado has been the topic of conversation and it always ends with one sentence: But we got rain. Yes! Look at the difference. Lots of water.

I told my husband we needed to be more prepared. What would you do if a tornado was headed for your house?

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!!!

Linda
www.LindaWarren.net

Marriage

We're a week away from Valentine's Day and a question from the past popped into my mind. Why do people get married?

I had this topic as a college writing assignment, and to be honest, I'm still not sure of the answer. Which is different than why do we strive for the Happily Ever After. That I could have written about. And, hey, I do! lol

But the ceremony itself? I think it's because of tradition and societal expectations. For sure, a piece of paper doesn't hold all marriages together, but the trouble of ending one can be an obstacle to just walking away.

Matthew McConaughey is marrying the mother of his children after being together for several years. Wouldn't one think they already established a solid relationship? (No, mentioning Matthew wasn't just an excuse to put up this amazingly sexy picture of him.) Don't Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell have a successful long-term relationship without the official document that sanctions it?

Sanctions. Hmmm. That takes us back to societal expectations, religious beliefs, parental pressure, etc.

I loved my wedding. I used to watch the tape of it every year on my anniversary until the kids became bored to tears with me pointing out their relatives...and they were only toddlers at the time. I had the whole shebang and don't regret it. But then, I'm a traditional girl.

The ceremony must be important because people are fighting about same sex marriage rights across the country. Those that want laws approved must value marriage (and want their lifestyle validated). Those that oppose such laws must have feelings about what marriage means that surpasses a couple being together forever.

So, why do you think people choose marriage or don't choose marriage? It's a highly personal choice, but Matthew's proposal made me curious. What did he feel was missing from his relationship that being married would add?

I'd appreciate your thoughts on this.
Megan

Megan Kelly
www.megankellybooks.com

Trying something new

I happen to love chocolate. I also enjoy wine. But putting the two together? Until a few weeks ago I had never considered such a thing. Then my husband and I were invited to a wine and chocolate pairing party.

Guests were asked to bring chocolate and a wine that paired well it. Say what?

I needed help and information, but none of our friends knew anything about this kind of pairing. So I turned to the internet, where I found tons of information, including a nifty chart about which goes with what.

http://www.thenibble.com/reviews/main/chocolate/pairing-wine2.asp

I printed out the chart and brought it with me to my favorite grocery store. After selecting a small box of gourmet chocolates from the specialty chocolates section, I headed for the wine department. Using my chart and the chocolates, the helpful wine expert found just the right wine.

The other three couples who came to the party brought their own chocolate and wine, and our hosts supplied at least half a dozen types of chocolates and the appropriate wines. They set out small squares of each chocolate on separate little plates. (So many to sample! I was in heaven) Each plate was labeled with the brand of chocolate, the percentage of cacao and the spice content (If any). Our hosts supplied pen and paper for us to jot down any favorites we wanted to remember.

I not only thoroughly enjoyed myself, I also learned quite a bit about pairing chocolate with wine. Did you know that some wines greatly enhance the flavor of the chocolate, and vice versa.?

If you haven’t tried something new lately, maybe you should. After all, this is leap year and leap month! You might have fun and better yet, learn something.

If you have tried something new and different, please share your experience.

Until next month,

Ann

www.annroth.net