My Dreamy Dish-Mini Corn Bread Bites

Truth? I ate 5 of these straight from the oven. I double-dog-dare you to not do the same. The most impossible thing about this little bite-sized treat is that they are just about the easiest thing you can bake from scratch. In fact, I would go as far to say that they are easier than baking something from a box! You think I’m kidding/lying/exaggerating? Oh, do please make them yourself!

Mmm, corn bread. I love the texture of the soft bite of the actual bread paired with the bursts of miniature crunch that the corn meal adds. The outside has just enough firmness to make it satisfying when you take a bite, and then you are rewarded with a soft, but texture-y, middle. I’m a little addicted. I may have to stop typing this and make some more now.

I’m back.

Seriously, you need to make these.

Isn’t anything in miniature just all the more delightful? I brought these little guys to a party last night and they were devoured almost instantly. At the same time, what better to pair with an afternoon cup of tea? An afternoon tea snack and a raging party snack? Is this a first?

Well, now that I’ve got you all excited, what are you waiting for? It’s corn bread time, people (there’s also Tuesday “Taco” Time, which has its own song and everything, but that’s a story for another time!).

Dreamy Blueberry Streusel Muffins

It’s a good thing that I have a reasonable amount of self-control, because otherwise I’d live on blueberry muffins, goat cheese and red wine. Still, no amount of control allows for me to pass up a fresh, warm, blueberry muffin that has a streusel top! I love that sweet, crunchy top and a warm, soft interior. You know when blueberries are really plump, sweet and in season? Well, we’re almost there friends, and I think you’d be a little nutty to not make these at your first opportunity.
Picture this — you’re tired, you’re feeling overwhelmed (or is it just me?) and the oven dings that these beauties are ready. You pull them out and have to restrain yourself from pulling a pipping hot one out from the tin immediately. You wait a few minutes (only to avoid a scalding finger burn) and then restrain yourself no more. Slowly peeling the muffin paper, steam releases toward your face, carrying the sweet fragrant scent of fresh blueberries with it. Biting into it, the blueberries burst open and the crumb is moist, and you feel a whole heck of a lot better. Have a cup of tea and another muffin, and life is good.
Did I mention this recipe is undeniably easy?
Blueberry Streusel Muffins
Perfect as printed from Ina Garten
Makes 20 muffins
Note: Wash blueberries in a strainer under running water and pick out any stems and leaves.

• 3 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
• 4 ½ teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 cups buttermilk, shaken
• ¼ pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 1 ½ teaspoons grated lemon zest
• 2 extra-large eggs
• 2 cups fresh blueberries (2 half-pints)

For the Streusel Topping:

• ¾ cup all-purpose flour
• ½ cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
• 4 tablespoons (½ stick) cold unsalted butter, diced

Preheat the oven to 375°. Line muffin tins with paper liners.
Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl and blend with your hands. In a seperate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, butter, lemon zest, and eggs. Stir the buttermilk mixture into the flour mixture with a fork, mixing just until blended. Fold the blueberries into the batter. Don’t overmix! With a standard (2 ¼-inch) ice-cream scoop or large spoon, scoop the batter into the prepared cups, filling them almost full.
For the topping, place all the ingredients in the bowl of a food preocessor fitted with the steel blade and pulse until the butter is in very small pieces. Pour into a bowl and rub with your fingers until crumbly. Spoon about 1 tablespoon of the streusel on top of each muffin. Bake the muffins for 20 to 25 minutes, until golden brown.

A Poem About American Dream

Founded by leaders with escalating hopes

This land would flourish with new ideals

Enriched, people reflect on the experiences they wrote

And in the eyes of many, this dream became real

However, my parents did not see America as a dream

But more of an opportunity to renew their life

With a torn past of war and violence, they must mend the seam

Lost and confused, they search, escaping from grasp of strife

Once a blank canvas, they paint the new reality of life before them

The past is swept away by the social current, and they move on

From the depths of hardships, their lives blossomed with a stable stem

And before them their children stand, the just from all the wrong.

The dream that was planted in the minds of so many remained a reality

My parent’s perspective strayed from business, and the success came through our eyes

And our realization of this dream was strengthened by our parent’s vitality

Through my own aspirations, my parents will helps me to rise

This dream that changed so many lives, seems to be unappreciated

Our generation takes life for granted and complain about minor issues

Many don’t realize the opportunities our country has created

And it is time we realize what we must achieve, and what is true

Wrote a poem about the American dream

Poet Gary Hess wrote a poem about how he sees the American dream. His 
American Dream Poem gives a positive view to start, but later on talks about his 
negative stance of the dream as well. Hess is usually known for writing romantic 
poems, shows how he sees the dream.The poem goes:


America America
The land of the brave
I love you so dearly
But they treat you so bad
The politicians and business men
Treat you like mad
What we once loved is suddenly fading
Our dreams won't come true
Our lives broken for you
We need to preserve the great nation
And turn it from bad
For you are our hope
And everything for we stand.

Gary Hess - American Dream Poems

Serious anxiety flowing
Crashing through my mind
Blood rushing through my veins
Muscles tightening upon compression
The moment is soon to come
Where losers will not win
The masks come off from posers
And winners show their skills
The death of one has come quickly
Another soon to fall
The abilities matched between us
Strength, quickness, stamina
Just the same

I choose the weapon I know best
To fight off the evil souls
Outnumbering my foolish hatred
They strike quickly
This moment of oppression
Only seen by some
It’s the time to attack
My weapon swung but too soon
They move quickly to retaliate
My arm struck, bleeding
My opponent strong but still foolish
I use my mind to strike back
Weakening their hope to win
Seeing the passion within my eyes
They settle into fear
Victory will soon come
Victory will soon come

I Dream~~

I dream of floating away on a cloud
I dream of catching a falling star
I dream of my prince charming
I dream of how I’ll save him from the dragon
I dream of cows on the moon

And pink grass
I dream of old ladies knitting socks
I dream the twelve Olympians are real
I dream I’ll meet them someday
I dream of vast sugar cane fields
I dream of a bed of roses
And how prickly that must be
I dream of firefly friends
I dream of a lighting bug show
I dream of riding a striped horse down the aisle
I dream of hot air balloons
I dream of polar bears
And penguins
I dream of snow
I dream of rain
I dream of summer
I dream of fall
I dream of day
And night
I dream of the moon
I dream of stars
I dream of going to Mars
I dream of how I’ll be queen of the Martians
I dream of how I’ll love my subjects
And people always said I belonged on another planet
I dream of love
I dream of faith
I dream of hope
I dream of culture
I dream of life
And I dream sweet dreams.

Lions’ Dream Season Suddenly Less Dreamy

　　The Detroit Lions are falling back to earth, with their red-hot 5-0 start now down to a 5-2 record, and they are now facing accusations of taunting by an opponent and a possible foot injury to starting quarterback Matthew Stafford.

The Lions lost a second straight game at Ford Field, this time to the Atlanta Falcons, 23-16 on Sunday, and it doesn’t sound like the teams left the experience on friendly terms. But the news may be better on Stafford, who had tests on his right ankle turn up negative. He has been in a walking boot since the game, with the Lions playing things pretty close to the vest about what could be wrong. The Lions play the Broncos in Denver on Sunday.
As for the on-field nastiness against the Falcons, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reported seeing the teams jawing before the game. Things continued during play, when quarterback Matt Ryan went down, with a left knee injury. According to Falcons players, Lions defensive linemen Ndamukong Suh and Cliff Avril called Ryan some names while he was on the ground, and made fun of his injury. Ryan left the game, but returned in good enough shape to throw a 49-yard touchdown bomb to receiver Harry Douglas.
“I had respect for Suh before the game,” Falcons center Todd McClure said to the Journal-Constitution. “But when Matt was on the ground, the things he was saying and the trash he was talking was definitely uncalled for. There are certain things you don’t do. [He said], ‘Get the cart’ and several other things that I can’t repeat.”
Wide receiver Roddy White also wasn’t happy with how the Lions treated his injured quarterback.
“I lost a whole lot of respect for 90 (Suh) today, and also 92 (Avril), the (expletive) they were doing when Matt got hurt,” White told the AJC. “That was unacceptable. … Like 92 was kicking his feet, saying, ‘Get him off the field.’ We don’t do stuff like that. We don’t rally over guys when they get hurt. It was just inappropriate behavior. I mean, ‘Get the cart’? Are you serious? Come on. When you compete, you never want to see a guy get hurt.”
And finally, right tackle Tyson Clabo said: “It was N.F.L. Europe-ish. Nobody wants to see anybody get hurt or celebrate somebody get hurt….“[Suh’s] young and he’ll grow up.”
Suh denied that he was taunting Ryan and said on Monday he was tired of hearing accusations of dirty play.
“Go back and watch the film and then come to me and point to where I made mistakes,” he said. “Point to where I cut somebody, where I hit somebody late in the back. Let me know. I want to see it.”
Avril posted his response to the controversy to his Twitter account.
“Come on I’m not in the business of hurting not one guy on the field… I would never taunt anyone on an injury…”, and, “But if we want to talk about dirty players look at the film and see who prides themselves on being durty…,” he posted.
Suh, who is also prolific on Twitter, has not yet commented on the Falcons opinions of his play.
This isn’t the first time this season that Suh has been accused of dirty play, with the Falcons joining a list of others. He’s been fined $20,000 by the N.F.L. for his pre-season hit on Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton. Suh also was fined three times last year for rough hits.
Suh, before the season started, defended his aggressive style of play on the Lions website.
“I’m not a talker on the field, but if you say something to me, I may say something back to you or I may ignore you,” Suh wrote. “It’s funny because a lot of guys usually come up and say something to me like right before, something like ‘Have a good game,’ or whatever, and I just ignore it. I’m not here to meet friends. I’m here to cause you problems and meet your quarterback. I’ll shake his hand when I’m hitting him.”

Candice Swanepoel and erin Heatherton see angels in "the secret of Victoria" fragrance launch

　　
　　Candice Swanepoel and Erin Heatherton launched the Angel fragrance and the Dream Angels bra at Victoria's Secret in SoHo New York City today.
The blonde beauties looked angelic in white dresses with big fluffy angel wings.
Last spring Candice battled rumors of an eating disorder after photos showed her looking particularly skinny. But we see plenty of curves on her in these pics.

Music dreamy

Ever since the single “Midnight City” dropped back in July, fans have been eagerly awaiting electronic band M83’s sixth album, “Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming.” What began in 2001 as a modest project by French musician Anthony Gonzalez has since skyrocketed to the forefront of indie electronica. And thanks to a decade of experience, M83’s newest release doesn’t disappoint.

Courtesy missionlessdays/Flickr

Dedicated listeners who have followed the band’s trajectory through the years may notice a sound that’s slightly different from past albums. This is due in part to Gonzalez’s relocation from his home country of France to Los Angeles, a choice he made prior to recording. His sixth album is an important milestone: it’s even in two parts. Gonzalez revealed in an interview that the two discs are intended to be complementary of one another. “Each track has a sibling on the other disc,” he explained in a Sept. 10 interview in The Guardian.

The album opens, appropriately, with a track titled “Intro.” A whispering voice floats over electronic tones, giving way to stronger vocals and a progressive beat. The song culminates in an uprising of choral harmonies and ends with an energy that bodes well for everything that follows.

Next is the song fans have already been playing on repeat for months: the drum-guided “Midnight City.” A definite highlight of the album, this disco-inspired tune will stay stuck in listeners’ heads long after the sharp saxophone at its end has sounded its final notes.

Among other things, the album is a study in the repurposing of musical elements from past decades. “Reunion” gives a bit of a yearning 1980s feel with the introduction of the guitar. The drumbeat never relents, and Gonzalez’s vocals soar overhead, dreamy yet insistent.

“Where Boats Go” is just one of a handful of short instrumental tracks scattered throughout the album. This particular musical snippet hints at the type of new wave feel also found in Ray Lynch’s 1984 album “Deep Breakfast.” The later song “Train to Pluton” similarly works as a transition between longer songs: it is a miniature journey that lasts just over a minute, complete with the sound of a train creaking over the tracks.

The title of the playful “Raconte-Moi Une Histoire” (“Tell Me a Story”) is a nod to Gonzalez’s French roots. This imaginative track includes a bouncing electronic beat and a charming little girl narrating a fantasy tale about frogs. It’s an unexpected and genuinely heartwarming moment that really makes an impression.

The triumphant “Soon, My Friend” closes out the first half of the album, chanting a wistful “I’ll be yours someday, someday…” in beautifully layered vocals that lead effortlessly into the second disc.

Part two includes its share of notable moments as well. “My Tears are Becoming a Sea” achieves an impressive level of magnificence despite its brevity. The ending of “New Map” allows different sounds to break through, such as a flute duet and some lower reed instruments. Tracks like “Year One, One UFO” are especially effective when listening on earphones, as the static crackling travels chillingly between the listener’s ears.

“OK Pal” again recalls the power chords and electronic stylings of the 1980s, which Gonzalez updates with his own repeated vocal riff. Parts of “Splendor” travel even farther back in time, calling to mind a toned-down, choralized “Stairway to Heaven.”

Continuing the trend of the spoken vocals are songs like “Echoes of Mine,” where an older French woman meditates on her memories as they are interspersed with powerful surges of chords and drums.

Finally, “Outro” concludes the album. The distant strains of its beginning blossom into a glorious and fulfilled refrain of the intro track. Listeners are left with a soft, reflective piano ending that resonates in its simplicity.

Overall, the album relies on the tried-and-true combination of heavy percussion, electronic tones and faraway vocals, as well as the occasional guitar. The consistency makes it easy to slip into a nostalgic daydream while listening, and the varying rhythms keep it fresh enough to make 22 tracks pass quickly. As both a telling title and an inventive album, “Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming” hits it right on the nose.

Dream home

Paperwhites are one of the easiest bulbs to grow in the home....
If I can do it anyone can....
If you want to be able to enjoy these during the Christmas season, now is
the time to start planting these...
The kids and I planted some this weekend.
So I thought I would share a few pictures with you....
What you will need....
A few dishes....
I chose a variety of ironstone dishes from my collection.....
The last time I planted these (which was a few years ago)
I got a little crazy and filled every dish imaginable...
I tried to keep myself under control this time....
You will need to fill your dish half way full of pebbles.
I bought a bag of really cheap river pebbles at Lowe's.
Paperwhite bulbs contain all they need to grow, so you don't actually need soil....
However you can still plant them in soil if you wish....
I like to use pebbles.