missing

Yesterday I posted about my cousin who passed away. Today, I'm posting about my other cousin, Melissa, who has been missing since January 27, 2007. This is from the OSBI website:

Melissa Sue Flores

The Washita County Sheriff’s Office has requested OSBI assistance in its search for a missing Cordell woman. Melissa Sue Flores was last seen by a friend in Cordell at 5 o’clock Saturday morning, January 27, 2007. The 27-year-old woman's vehicle was found at her ex-boyfriend’s home in Cordell. The sheriff’s office called in OSBI for help since several personal items were found in Flores’ vehicle. OSBI and area law enforcement have gathered evidence and conducted many interviews to try and determine Flores' whereabouts. Authorities have no suspects at this time.
ANYONE WITH INFORMATION ABOUT HER DISAPPEARANCE PLEASE CALL:
the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation at (800) 522-8017

If you are reading this, and you know of any information that could help put an end to my family's misery, PLEASE CALL. PLEASE. Help us bring her home.

caught off guard

I was totally caught off guard today. My dad called me after church to let me know that my cousin, J'Michael, had passed away. Although it is quite unexpected, there is some background to his death.

About 2 years ago, J was skateboarding home from somewhere (I don't remember whether is was a friend's or work) and he was hit by a car. He wasn't wearing a helmet and he suffered head injuries. He was in the hospital for a while and was left with sproadic seizures.

He just got married recently and his wife found him this morning. He had a seizure, then fell & hit his head. He was 28; days away from his 29th birthday. He lived in San Diego, near his sisters. His mom (my mom's sister) lives in Hawaii. I met J once when I was 8 and we went to California for a vacation.

He will be missed. For all he was and all he could have been. We loved you J'Michael. I wish we could have known each other more.

vacation ~ part I

Very late last night we got back from what was supposed to be a relaxing trip to Cape Cod. Keith, myself, our 2 kiddos & my mother-in-law. Drive out Sunday, drive back Friday. Miss 2 hurricanes. Simple enough.

Or so you would think. We had all of our plans in place.

Hurricane Bill gone -check.
Free lodging - check.
Swim gear - check.
Suitcases packed - check.
One toddler w/ a throat virus -check.

We went on vacation with our sick toddler, who was at the doctor saturday before we left. The dr then called, after we were already in MA to say it wasn't a virus, but strep. We then ended up with a sick 4 year old & a sick daddy. We spent the 1st 2 days @ the local urgent care facility, pharmacy & on the phone w/ the uc in Rochester. AND, a grandma who was counting the days on the calendar until she came down with strep. (I haven't even gotten it & I live with them!). So we kind of laid low until Wednesday.

Once everyone who needed them was on drugs, we started our vacation. A week that was supposed to be spent on the beach, included precisely 2 hours of beach-going. We did however visit quite a few museums & ate a lot of ice cream. So, it wasn't very relaxing, but it was nice to spend time with family. For some reason it seems that being sick at the ocean is easier then being sick at home.

I did manage to take a few pictures which I'll post later.

Summer Harvest

Here is a recipe that uses veggies from the summer abundance.



Vegetable Quiche

1 unbaked pastry shell (9 inch)

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 medium chopped green pepper

1 1/4 cups chopped tomatoes

3/4 cup chopped zucchini

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

5 eggs

1/4 cup milk

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese



Line unpricked pastry shell with a double thickness of heavy-duty aluminum foil. Bake at 450 for 5 minutes. Remove foil, bake 5 more minutes. Remove from oven & reduce heat to 350. In a large skillet saute veggies in butter, salt & pepper. Spoon into crust. In a large bowl, beat the eggs. Add the milk & cheese; mix well. Carefully pour over veggies. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Let stand 5 minutes before cutting.

Cakes

So, I took these cake decorating classes through Wilton from April to July. At the end of each 4 week course, we had a "final" cake that we made with all the skills we learned. Well at the end of Course 4, I gave my final cake to my friend Heidi. She liked it much & asked me to make her daughter's birthday cake. I said I would.



Well, this summer has been a little on the cool side, until the last 2 weeks. Then the earth decided to warm in WNY and it has been extremely humid & hot. Hope's birthday is today. Try making things out of fondant in 90% humidity. It don't work so good. My decorations were half dry & the flowers didn't hold their shape well.



After I baked the cupcakes, I put them on baking sheets to cool. Apparently my 17 month old thought they didn't look good there, so she put some in her belly. Had to make another batch. She also didn't like the frosting I put on, and but that in her belly as well. One more batch of frosting to replace lost batch.



And then on the way to deliver the cakes, they all decided to flip over in their case. Not good. Smudged frosting & lost flowers.



How did I remedy these weather & driving related mistakes. Did I cry? A little. But then I had a brilliant idea. Buy a cupcake tower & stack! This hides a plethera of incident induced blemishes. Here is my finished product.

did i get a wake up call, or what?!

So, yesterday I blogged about how my cell phone died & I felt completely lost without it. Today, I went to church & God hand delivered the message through our guest speaker directly to me! Today's sermon was about "American Idols". Not the show, but idols in our life that sometimes aren't quite apparent. The chaplain from Roberts Wesleyan College gave the sermon & he listed 6 hidden idols (feelings, technology, entertainment, sports, success & self). For obvious reasons, the tech one stood out. He related that we rely on tech for so many aspects of our lives, and we expect that it will just make everything instantly better. That's not true though, and as Christians, the only thing we need to trust in & rely on is Christ. Psalm 20:7 gives a good illustration that "technology" has been an idol throughout the ages, and not just today. The verse is as follows from the NIV version of the Bible; "Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God". Even in Roman days, they trusted that if they had the right chariots/horses, then they would win the wars, but truly winning means to claim your crown n judgment day and that's not based on what you own. Next time you fire up your cell, computer, etc., make sure that you're not putting it in front of your God. Worship Him, not things and He will reward you.

By the way, I bought a new cell phone after church today. I loaded my contacts, but haven't touched it since. It's a Blackberry Curve, in case you wondered. And it's not surgically attached.

the death of an appendage

I never really thought of my cell phone as an appendage.

Until today.

When it fell into a sink full of water.

And ceased to work.

Now, I feel absoutely lost. I think it should have been surgically attached to my hand because I use it ALL the time. A new phone would cost too much right now, so I'm forced to use my dad's old work phone. Nothing flashy (including no camera), just the basics. I can make calls & text, but only to those people whom I've actually memorized their phone numbers. Others will just have to wait or call me. In December, when my upgrade becomes available, I will be undergoing a minor surgical procedure in my local cell phone *cough*verizon*cough* store. Until then, please call me!

Summer Busyness

I cannot believe how fast summer is going! We took a trip to Northern NY to visit family for July 4th and then made our way down to visit more fam & friends in Ohio. Since we returned, we've been harvesting nature's bounty. I've canned jam a lot! and froze berries as well as eaten a ton of yummy veggies. Peaches will need to be canned next and I'm hoping to try my hand at my friend Joce's blueberry syrup. We are also planning a trip to Cape Cod at the end of this month. (Thanks to Keith's generous uncle, who has a house out there.) I can't wait to show the kids the ocean; Ian will be amazed! Pictures will follow.