6 large potatoes (pierced with a fork)
1/2-1 cup sour cream
1 bunch of broccoli- finely chopped (or 1-2 boxes of frozen or 16 oz)
1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese (divided into 1 cup and 1/2 cup)

preheat oven to 450

bake potatoes for 30 minutes or until soft. lower oven to 350.

cut off tops, hollow out potatoes- save the skins

in large bowl, mash potatoes with sour cream, salt and pepper until smooth. mix in broccoli and 1 cup of cheese, spoon mixtue back into shells, and overfill them. sprinkle cheese over the top, and bake for about 15 minutes- or until cheese is bubbly.

- recipe from Gatherings cookbook, photo submitted by Sarrit Kovacs

But, since I'm still all tickled pink about this, I thought I'd share the initial stats with you.  There really are already some interesting stories to tell!  Here's what my all-time views are, by name of post:

My total views to date are 1,190, which actually sort of floors me.  It's a number that teases and tempts me to figure out new and innovative ways to provoke a view spike.  As you can clearly see by the post in the number 1 position, "Moose Magic," is in the lead.  What you can't see by this chart, though, is that the reason for that is largely due to the 245 views it received on a single day: September 2.  What could be so outrageously captivating about a baby moose hanging out in someone's house, I asked myself? I looked a little further and found an odd url in the list of "referrers," (sites from which people clicked to find that post).  Something called Four Winds.  I clicked through to find my post literally cut and pasted, formatting and all, into their site.  That was a mild surprise and struck me as somewhat outside generally accepted internet eitquette.  Had I wished to do that with someone's blog, I would have asked them it if was okay and credited them with the authorship of the post.  But, since I was basking in viewers, I didn't let my feathers get terribly ruffled.  I didn't even notice that they had inexplicably renamed my post to "Moose Majic."  I did, however, wish to understand what this site was all about, why they found my post so important to their mission, and what kind of visitors I might be drawing from their place.

I'm not going to link to them here, because, frankly, I find them creepy and had a rather unpleasant email exchange with them when I wrote to share with them what I have just shared with you.  They told me to grow up or take my blog down if I didn't "want my posts to be seen."  So, if you really want to see for yourself what I'm about to tell you, you'll have to go and google them for yourselves.

My jaw literally dropped when I read their mission statement:

The Four Winds and The Phoenix Archives websites are committed to giving Truth to the people of our world and to revealing the lies under which we of Planet Earth have been living for thousands of years.

This website has been established to freely give Truth to anyone seeking Truth on this planet. The Bellringers are assisting to fulfill the promise that Esu Immanuel made 2000 years ago, when he said that at the end of the age, Truth would be presented one more time to the "four corners of the earth"

Whoa.  But, that's just the beginning.  Here are their stated objectives:

1. To reveal the Darkside's secret Plan 2000 for total world control by our present evil world leaders.
2. To reveal to the world's people that Creator God Aton of Light also has a Plan 2000. God Aton and His Forces of Light will not do it for us but will work with us, as we responsibly confront evil in our day and change the "ending of the play."
3. To reveal the evil world leaders' cover-up of off-world humans (our ancestors), who are here in starships in Earth's atmosphere at this time, and who have come with good intent to help us prevent the evil Plan 2000 from being accomplished, and to help us establish the New Age of Enlightenment.
4. To reveal the Truth presently being given to our civilization by the Realms of Light:
   • How to change the age-old prophecies, e.g. how to change the ending of this civilization without the prophesied final destruction occurring.
   • How to prepare for our future survival, if necessary, against coming Earth changes.
   • How to heal ourselves from any disease or ailment by within in combination with those things provided by Creator God for our healing.
   • How to have total and permanent protection for ourselves and our families against all darkside energies, entities and technology.
   • How to change what is and create our way, through the power of our God-Spirit within. This includes bringing balance and harmony again to our "Mother Earth and ushering in the New Age of Peace and Enlightenment.
   • How to assist our Planet Earth in her transition into fifth dimension by 2012.
   • How to make our own transition into fifth dimension and the Age of Enlightenment without experiencing physical death and returning to another 3D lifestream.
5. To assist Truthseekers, Lightworkers, and Truthbringers alike in their search for and presentation of Truth.
6. To spread the Truth from Creator God Aton of Light to the "Four Corners of the Planet Earth" via the "Fourwinds" website and the Phoenix Archives website. The original foundation of Truth upon which Fourwinds rests is that which has been presented by Creator God Aton of Light and the Ascended Masters in the 241 volumes of The Phoenix Journals. These Journals are also known as the "Holy Books of the Lighted Realms."

Double whoa.  Having read that, you'd think I would not have been stupid enough to actually email them and inquire about internet etiquette.  By this point, I hadn't considered it.  It wasn't until I read this next bit that I felt I had to take a stand. In their instructions to their new readers, they state:

This section contains more than one hundred categories of news and information items ranging from government and political to science, health and spiritual areas. You are free to read, copy and use with good intent any article of interest you find here.

Er...you're giving the world permission to do whatever they wish with something you don't own?  My ethics radar went up.  I was polite and sweet, but received a rather obnoxious response.  Big surprise there.  I guess universal truth is a tough business!  In the end, this mostly served to amuse me and make me wonder what I might do to watch my stats line graph grow more interesting. I think I'll start by tagging this post with their website names, since they seem to be so unnervingly popular! ;-)

Coming in a distant (but much more reasonable) second is the viral video "The Front Fell Off," featuring an Australian comedy duo doing a sketch about a shipping accident that resulted in a major oil spill.  At the moment, this post is getting the most views per day and is enjoying quite a lot of attention.  The Stats tell me it is the most searched-on topic on my blog...actually coming in second to the rescued baby moose.  Since both of these stories came to me through my email, and both professed to be true, I'm making the huge intellectual leap that people are satisfying their need to separate hoax from truth by googling these topics as they receive the emails themselves.  I'm particularly entertained by watching the search queries for "The Front Fell Off," because it tells the story of how many people must have gotten the email and wondered, "Wow!  Could that really be true?"  We're such a gullible bunch!

While we're talking about search engine queries, I am still dumbfounded by how many people are still trying to find out the facts on how to properly wrap a potato in aluminum foil for baking!  That was a total fluff piece!  I was just getting my blogging feet wet!  And, there it is, number 4 in popularity and showing up on the search engine stats daily!  I'm dying to know what is really up with that!

Finally, there is a stat section called, "Incoming Links," that says it tracks other blogs that have linked to me.  Something's not right in that land.  A couple of friends and fellow-bloggers have, in fact, linked to me from their blogs.  They don't show up here.  On the other hand, this site does!  Curious, I went there to see where I had been linked.  Unless I'm missing something, I don't see a link to my blog anywhere on that site, nor would I expect to, since it is actually about gardening and not The Garden Party!  So, I'm seriously scratching my head there.  If you have insight on this mystery, please comment!

And, the epilogue has to do with just that:  comments.  Please post some!  I can see you guys all reading the blog from the Stats page and yet the comments section is paltry in comparison!  Let me know you were here, for crying out loud!  Just a little shout out would be fine...no need to write anything profound!  Let me know if you found a post interesting, amusing, enlightening, boring, or whatever.  Thanks!

Psalms 48:12 Walk about Zion, And go all around her. Count her towers; 13 Mark well her bulwarks; Consider her palaces; That you may tell it to the generation following.

First, their service is EXTREMELY slow. I hate to love them. It takes a solid 10 minutes to get a toasted sandwich, but once you take your first bite you will forget the wait.

It's toasty, melty and full flavored.

Baked potatoes are also amazing. Rolled in salt, topped with fat. Simply they are delicious.

They taste even better when they are free.

Earl of Sandwich wants to give you one.

Here's the deal, visit Earl of Sandwich after 5pm EVERYDAY. Buy an entree (sandwich) usually priced around $6 and you get a baked potato for free.

No coupons, no questions, no hassle. Just a baker - for free.

3 lbs. red potatoes
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup flour
2 quarts half−and−half
1 pound block Velveeta cheese, melted
White pepper, to taste
Garlic powder, to taste
1 tsp. hot pepper sauce
1/2 lb. bacon, fried crisply
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 cup fresh chives, chopped
1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped

Dice unpeeled red potatoes into 1/2−inch cubes. Place in a large Dutch oven,cover with water and bring to a boil. Let boil for 10 minutes or until almost cooked. In a separate large Dutch oven, combine melted margarine and flour, mixing until smooth. Place over low heat and gradually add half−and−half, stirring constantly. Continue to stir until smooth and liquid begins to thicken. Add melted Velveeta. Stir well. Drain potatoes and add to cream mixture. Stir in pepper, garlic powder and hot pepper sauce. Cover and cook over low heat for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Place soup into individual serving bowls and top with crumbled bacon, shredded cheese, chives and parsley.

Tomato Juice Can Chicken:

Seasoning Rub for Chicken:

• black pepper corns
• mustard seeds
• coriander seed
• dried rosemary
• dried ancho chile
• onion powder
• a big clove of garlic
• - grind in coffee grinder -
  
• stir in with:
  
• salt
• a whole lot of brown sugar
• a couple tbsps. of olive oil
• a little white wine vinegar
• rub all over the inside and outside of the chicken

Roasting the Chicken: After the the rub had a couple of hours to try to soak into the chicken in the refrigerator, I put it out on the counter to warm up for a half hour or so.  Then I thought, "You know, what I want to do is a beer can chicken - in a regular oven."  But, alas a dark moment has arrived and I don't have any beer.  I don't buy soda  - because it's disgusting - and that eliminates most cans.  I also figured, really, that a can of water would do just as well as a can of anything.  And, if I'd had beer, substituting water for it would mean I'd get to drink the beer for myself... What I did have, however, was a can of tomato juice I picked up as a free sample, because it was free.  Not only that, but the small tomato juice can is a lot easier to get into the chicken's butt than 12 oz. of beer.

• I laid out a round pizza pan for the base.
• Very unceremoniously shoved an open can of tomato juice into the chicken's, um, bottom hole.
• Stood the newly violated chicken up on the pizza pan, with the can serving as a stand.
• Then, I covered the standing chicken with my largest pot, as sort of a makeshift dutch oven.
• Put into a preheated 350ºF oven for a while (I lost track of time, as usual)
• When I checked the internal temperature of the chicken and it looked as if it wouldn't be done in time, I turned up the heat to 400ºF.
• After about 20 more minutes, the temperature inside the dear bird had shot way up to 170ºF.  Whoa.  (I was shooting for 160ºF.) So, I took it out and let it rest.  (It was still juicy.)

Baked Potato with Lemon & Chive Yogurt:

• I put the potatoes into the oven along with the chicken until I could stick a fork into them with ease.
• I used the Zen timing method.  That is, if you're aware of your one-ness with the process, everything will be fine.  If you're not, you're going to burn your dinner.  Good luck.
• Sauce:
• Finely chopped a small handful of chives (which appear to be almost done for the summer).
• Grated off about three passes with a microfile worth of lemon zest.
• Stirred them into about a ½ cup of yogurt.
• Sprinkled in a dash of salt.

Yu Choy:

• I washed it...
• Heated a tiny amount of oil in a pan with tall sides.
• Threw in two cloves of minced garlic.
• Sautéed for about 45 seconds.
• Added in all the yu choy.
• Sprinkled with salt.
• Put a lid on it.
• Occasionally wandered over and turned over the yu choy with tongs to prevent the bottom veggies from burning, although if some slight char enters the picture, that's good.
• Stopped cooking them when the stems were tender

Chinese Eggplant: I don't know why exactly, but I always screw up eggplant.  I just keep trying.  This time was just OK.  I found a recipe here: allrecipes.com/Recipe/Hot-and-Sour-Chinese-Eggplant/.  My version accommodated the ingredients I have.

• I cut the Chinese eggplant into rounds, then soaked them in water for a while.
• made sauce:
• a couple of tbsps. soy sauce
• 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp sugar
• a big glob of chili sauce
• 1 tsp cornstarch
• a few drips of sesame oil
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• then...
• heated a tiny bit of oil in a pan
• sautéed the eggplant until it seemed tender
• poured in the sauce and stirred around until it became a glaze

Good: The chicken was very juicy despite having been cooked to too high a temperature.  The can of liquid inside of it with the makeshift dutch oven/steam trapping chamber did wonders.  I'm also glad I had a small-size tomato juice can to use.  Because, fitting a whole 12 oz. can inside of a chicken takes a bit of butchering and indelicate force.  Then, the lemon & chive yogurt was a real crowd pleaser.  I mean, sure, yogurt is obviously a substitute for sour cream.  But, I think it's just as good and certainly lower in fat.

Bad: The eggplant was a bit salty.  And, I tried to cook too much in the pan - so that the eggplant ended up being cooked unevenly.  Also, the truth of the matter is that regular American supermarket chicken doesn't taste like anything.  It just doesn't.  It's sad, although cheap.  If you can afford it (and I can't really), you should buy some farmer's market or upscale shop free range, etc. chicken.  And, if you've never eaten a chicken that lived a semi-normal bird's life, you should spend the extra money just once so that at least you know what you're missing.  And, on a final note, I had intended to remove the pot-turned-dutch-oven for the last bit of roasting to help crispen the skin.  It was fine without it, but it would have been better had I done it.

Dinnerboy is proud to have made it one week. Maltz says that it takes 21 days to change human behavior. I'm only a third of the way there, so keep me on task.

Sunday dinner featured the sweet sounds of Chet Baker, Tony Bennett, and more kind North Dakota beef. Grilled bone in rib-eye, accompanied by a tasty summer corn and tomato salad. Amy dreamed up the corn salad - what a great job.

We enjoyed a 2006 Chianti. It stood up to the beef and drank well afterwards.

Sunday dinner is my favorite.

This week, I was particularly fascinated by a column about the proper way to wrap a baked potato in aluminum foil.  Should it be shiny side in or shiny side out?  For my part, I had no idea there was such a controversy.  But, apparently there is.  I've always wrapped mine shiny side out and no one has ever given me any flack for it.

Cecil covered this one from all angles, from consulting foil wrap specialists to actually wrapping potatoes both ways and cooking them side by side.  If you're not itching to know the answer for yourselves by now, you must at least be hungry!  Go and check it out for yourselves here.  And while you're there, I suggest poking around the site for more fascinating articles about any topic you can think of (and many that have probably never crossed your mind).  There's a forum you can sign up for if you're willing to fork over a few bucks, but subscribing to the weekly email blast is free and fun.  Hey, you might even get smarter in the process!

If you're already a fan, leave me a comment and tell me why.

~JardinPrayer

2 Chronicles 1:11 And God said to Solomon: "Because this was in your heart, and you have not asked riches or wealth or honor or the life of your enemies, nor have you asked long life--but have asked wisdom and knowledge for yourself, that you may judge My people over whom I have made you king-- 12 wisdom and knowledge are granted to you; and I will give you riches and wealth and honor, such as none of the kings have had who were before you, nor shall any after you have the like."

OSCEOLA, Iowa - A couple of things happened this afternoon that were reasons to pause and think for a while.

The less prosaic events were delays, a few of which were considerable. Two were the result of stop signals on the Burlington Northern Santa Fe-owned tracks, while a third was the result of tugboats traveling on the Mississippi River.

From what I’ve been told, the theory is that the freight companies (such as BNSF) own the rail lines, but Amtrak has the right-of-way. Having said that, if the Amtrak train gets to the decisive point later than the freight train, that right-of-way is lost.

The same apparently happens when the freight line switches aren’t working properly, which is what happened to us between Mount Pleasant and Ottumwa, Iowa. So we sat there for a while and listened to the conductor announce every few minutes that we were still sitting there not moving.

That much was fairly evident, it has to be said.

As for the tugboats, that at least had a bit of drama to it. The rail crossing over the Mississippi is a swing bridge, which means the span rotates 90 degrees instead of rising up in two parts. We waited for a while, but once we got moving the view was spectacular:

Perhaps the most moving images, though, came a few minutes prior to that. I looked out the window at one point and saw a vast body of water. I figured initially that it was a lake, but something nagged at me that it was something else.

Indeed, a few minutes later one of the conductors came on over the public address system and announced that this was the area that got slammed by heavy flooding earlier this summer. This water was still left over from those storms.

Initially, all I saw were flooded fields. But then we passed a few submerged trees, followed by a number of abandoned houses. That was when it really hit me.

Somewhere on this Earth are the people who used to live in those houses, and whose cars or furniture or televisions might well still be there with no hope of ever being saved.

I can’t imagine what it’s like to have so much of the essential nature of one’s being taken away like that. I can only hope that whoever those people are, they’ve settled somewhere and are on the way to fully rebuilding their lives.

Unfortunately, there were just enough trees obstructing the houses that I couldn’t get a good picture. But I did get photos of the algae-filled water surrounding some of the trees that we passed.

Soon after we left Burlington, it was time for dinner. The choices were the same chicken or steak as on the Capitol Limited, trout in a white wine-butter sauce or cheese tortellini in pesto. I went for the chicken with a baked potato on the side. Both were a bit dry, but not too much so.

In addition to dinner and catching up on the day’s newspapers, the other way I’ve been passing time tonight is by watching the Opening Ceremonies of the Olympics. It’s been tough, because the wireless signal has been limited at best.

But I managed to see the first few minutes of the broadcast, about 20 seconds of the American team’s entrance and most of the Chinese team’s entrance. Even with the poor quality picture and sound, the energy in the stadium as Yao Ming carried the flag came across loud and clear.

As I write this, the torch has just entered the stadium on NBC’s tape-delayed broadcast (enhanced further by the processing delay on the Slingbox I’m using to watch the show). I already know what’s going to happen, and I hope the signal will make it through to the lighting of the cauldron.

(It did, barely. And the cauldron-lighting was just as spectacular as what I’d read about online earlier today.)

I’m also not too optimistic that I’ll be awake when we get to Omaha and Lincoln, Nebraska, both of which I want to see. The former because I might get a higher-speed signal there, and the latter because if I read the map right we pass right by the University of Nebraska’s football stadium on the way into the station.

Unfortunately, we’re more than two hours behind schedule at the moment. We were supposed to be in Omaha at 10:29 p.m. Central Time. We’re aren’t even yet at Creston, Iowa, where we were supposed to arrive at 8:41 CT. The ETA for Lincoln was 12:08 a.m. CT, and who knows when we’ll actually get there.

What we do know is that we gain an hour’s sleep overnight when we cross the Nebraska-Colorado border into the Mountain time zone. We also know that breakfast starts at 6 a.m., and that it’s once again first-come, first-served. If the wait to get in is anything like it was on the train to Chicago, I’d better be up early.

So that will do it for tonight. I leave you with this picture of a house near the station in Mount Pleasant, Iowa. With the Olympics starting tonight, it’s pretty apt.

These were just some random chicken sausages I found and Fresh Market, and after cutting them down the center and sauteing them for about 10-15 minutes, the gouda cheese was practically oozing out (in a good way). Then, I just put one on a piece of whole wheat bread with mustard. Voila! Dinner was served.

Now, I'm off to curl up with the last 200 or so pages of Breaking Dawn, I seriously may cry when I am finished because I love these books so much. Night! :)

I may or may not have been in a food coma and sweating the rest of the day at work.

-------------------------------------------------
Good friend Andrea has started her own Blog (finally) titled Second Opinions: Thoughts From An MD/PHD Student. If you know her, you know she is hilarious. I am also looking forward to her posts when she wants to get a needle and just stick it in her neck because she is so stressed out from medical school and believes there is no hope. Yay Medical students!!

Last weekend, I hang out with my friend, Asyraf. It’s been a while i didn’t go out with him. He stayed a night at my house after his bowling tournament in Mid V. On Sunday, we decided to watch “Hancock” in Sunway Pyramid (and i tell ya, it’s one of the worst seat ever!!!! I mean the seat in the cinema). Sunway Pyramid (SP) have one of efficient parking system as far as i knoe-lah. Setiap petak pada kawasan parking tu, ada satu indicator(macam lampu) kat atas petak tu. Kalau petak tu kosong, indicator tu akan berwarna hijau (dan merah vice versa). Besides that, ada satu electronic board yang akan display berapa banyak lagi petak yang kosong dalam satu-satu kawasan. It’s very good system sebab memang memudahkan..tapi very unlucky for us, semua indicator warna merah haha. Don’t worry, usually level atas memang banyak kosong. I think they got this idea from one of the finalist in one of the reality tv-lah, Nescafe kick-start (or the guy who actually proposed his idea to SP??). After we took the movie ticket, Asyraf brought me to a new restaurant, W endys. Restaurant ni fast-food ala-ala McD, it just the burger is larger and their fries taste damn great. Satu yang berbeza, dia punya signature dish dia, baked potato. Potato tu direbus dan diletak topping macam cheese, broccoli with sour cream. Memang sedap. Aku dah tak larat nak makan sebab burger dia sangat besar, full with cheese (yerp..i love cheezzeee). The price definitely a bit more expensive than McD, but if there’s McD n Wendys side to side, i’ll rather spend more at Wendys because i know it’s worth it. Sebelum movie start, kami wandering around la kat SP yang kian membesar tu. Sejak new wing tu bukak, rasa dah macam nak tercabut kaki ni. Either we’re getting older or the mall jez damn big, u pick the choice lah hahaha...We then enter Al-Ikhsan to find a bag for my lappy. Thanks God, finally i found a decent bag to carry my lappy to the office instead i bring the super hideous bag courteous from Dell. Ahhh tak sempat nak story pasal lappy pinjam tuh..Nanti aku story. Watching Hancock kinda watching a tipikal superhero movie Cuma kali ni superhero dia digambarkan macam orang biasa. No fancy outfit or even super lightning power that can kill the enemy with just one blast. Baca komen dalam internet, boleh pulak diaorang samakan dengan cerita I am Legend (which apparently i slept while i’m watching it hahaha). Hancock is just like ordinary people with the exception that he is very strong and can fly too. Kalau dalam cerita superhero yang lain, mesti diaorang ni akan sembunyikan identity diaorang, tp Hancock tak payah. Semua orang tahu yang dia ni superhero. Masalahnya, the public hate him because he doesn’t know how to handle the problems with a nice or decent way. Everytime he saved people, he ruined the public property, smashing the road and even building while he can just solved it but punching the bad guy with one hit. Overall, it’s watchable movie and i think it’s better than Wanted. If you’re a big fan of Will Smith, i think u will like it! So that’s how i spend my weekend. At some point, i’m thinking is there somewhere else that i could go instead of mall n cinema?? Ahhhh....JcO....errrrr......Ok

]]> http://northphoenixagent.wordpress.com/?p=387 Wed, 02 Jul 2008 05:58:37 +0000 The North Phoenix Agent http://northphoenixagent.pt.wordpress.com/2008/07/01/spuds-and-spds/ photo credit to yongzaho.en.alibaba.com

Sellers who use a Realtor to sell their metro Phoenix area home quickly become familiar with enough acronyms to make the Federal government proud (and confused). ER, SPDS, BINSR, CLUE. It's enough to make any sane person wonder if their slightly daffy relation ran over a potato farm with the car and needs a ride to the hospital.

(That sentence is mildly smile-inducing inside my head; let me know if it evinces a grin in your neck of the woods.)

So, what's a SPDS? And is it anything like the edible tuber that's yummy when served with butter, sour cream and chives next to a big juicy Porterhouse? Read on, intrepid blog browser.

What Are SPDS?
Arizona law requires sellers disclose to buyers all known, material problems about properties they sell. The Seller’s Property Disclosure Statement (SPDS) document created by the Arizona Association of Realtors is a convenient form for doing this. Not working with a Realtor? You're not exempt from disclosing what you know about the property. You're just unlikely to have ready access to the nifty form.

Why Do I Need to Do This?
If you sell a property that has a material defect of which you were aware but didn’t tell the future Buyer, you could be liable to a lawsuit. Disclosing everything you know about the property you’re selling can protect you in the future.

What Should I Disclose?
The short answer is everything. The longer answer is that you should disclose everything that could influence a buyer’s decision to buy (or not buy) your property. This includes improvements you’ve made and problems you’ve had, as well as what you did to solve those problems. It also includes anything prior owners did to the property of which you are aware, or even things prior owners did that you suspect or only partially remember.

The bulk of the SPDS questions are phrased, “Are you aware of ….?”  If you aren’t aware, or don’t know the answer, you should answer “no”. Your Realtor is not allowed to fill out the SPDS for you, and is generally not supposed to tell you what to put on the SPDS.

On the last page of the SPDS form, you can add explanations. It’s OK to say things like -

• I think the prior owner replaced some of the PVC plumbing with copper but I only got verbal info on that.
• We had a tub leak in 2003. We repaired the leak and our insurance company replaced the drywall and carpeting.
• We converted the garage into a living room in 1999. We didn’t get permits or HOA permission but we had licensed contractors do the work.

Can I Disclose Too Much?
Don’t worry about ‘killing a deal’ by disclosing what you know about the property. If there’s something that's so wrong with the property that it's bad enough to be a potential deal-killer, you should be more worried about getting sued later for not disclosing it now. It’s better to be honest on the SPDS and discuss the property’s condition upfront with your Realtor. Then let your agent make recommendations about marketing the property so that it sells to a buyer who knows all about it and buys it anyway.

How Long Do I Have to do This?
By contract, Sellers (through their Realtor if they have one) must provide the future Buyer with the completed Disclosure Statement within 5 days of contract acceptance. Buyers, be aware that you should receive this document promptly. Ask questions if you don't understand the answers! Sellers, remember that honestly and completing filling out the SPDS form will take a little bit of time and some record pulling. So, the sooner you complete the document after listing the home for sale, the better. The last thing you want is to be scrambling to fill out a SPDS form at the 11th hour. It's kind of like waiting to start your 1040 tax form until April 14.

You Can't Eat It, But It Can Help You Sell
A complete and honest SPDS will help your property sell. Even if the property has problems, know that every property will sell . . . IF it's priced right and marketed correctly. There is a buyer for every home. You just need to inform your Realtor and the buying public so the right buyer can find yours.

Related Posts at The North Phoenix Agent

1. Inspection Period
2. Home Inpsections Explained
3. Stuff About Your Neighborhood Your Realtor Can't Tell People

Related Posts at the Butterhomes Blog - Selling A Home Full of Lizards

Related Posts at The Phoenix Real Estate Guy - Info You Get During the Inspection Period, How to Buy Your First Home and Do I Really Need a Home Inspection?

See all the entries in the FAQ files here.

It's pretty simple to put them together without a detailed recipe. Bake some potatoes, cut them in half and scoop out the insides leaving enough potato to hold the shell together. Mash them up with some non-dairy milk, and maybe a little Earth Balance margarine if you're feeling naughty. Fry up some onion and carrots, when the onion has browned add some turmeric, salt, cumin powder, coriander powder, chili powder, minced garlic, minced ginger and a splash of water. Also add some peas, or whatever other little veggies you want... maybe some corn. When you've stirred the spices through remove from heat add the mashed potato and mix everything together, the potato should turn a nice golden yellow from the turmeric. Now all you have to do is stuff the shells and bake them for 20 minutes at 400.

Also in the photo is mushroom curry, a toasted roti, and kale chips. The Kale chips are from vegweb, and although being extremely intriguing I thought they were better as an idea than they were in practice. However, we did make them with rather limp kale which had seen better days, so I think we have to give the chips a second try because they seem to have potential.

Though this picture is of questionable quality, don't doubt yourself-yes, that is in fact a 3.5 oz Caramel Green & Black's chocolate bar. And I ate it all! A new record, even for me! I felt slightly ashamed for just a teensy moment at my gluttonous ways, but then I forgot those silly thoughts as I reminded myself that this bar provided 20% DV of calcium, and I'm always looking for more ways to meet my calcium needs. Score: Leigh-1, Osteoporosis-0.

When I got home I was still uncomfortably full from my chocolate-binge incident, but nonetheless, I still managed to eat dinner. I restrained myself to a simple baked potato + salad. Pictured alongside are my condiments of choice: ketchup, balsamic vinegar, and dijon mustard (I mix the balsamic and mustard for salad dressing...?)

I added sour cream to that baked potato. (Plain baked potatoes are depressing and lonely, concentration camp cuisine). I also added...ketchup, which I don't think is TOO strange because potatoes are relatives of french fries, and it's so normal to eat french fries with ketchup.

FInally, my parents love the fact that their daughter has mastered the internet so well that they asked for their meals to be featured as well:

My father was a born actor: look at him give the illusion of eating soup.

My mom's meager plate + 6th glass of wine.

JK Mom! Love me, please!

Brian Harvey has run himself over for a second time after yet another encounter with his nemesis – the baked potato. Harvey (80) consumed thirteen baked potatoes round at his girlfriend’s house, then drove off in ‘ill-spirits’ to a job interview at a local meat-rendering plant.

But disaster struck when the hapless former East 17 (E17) singer projectile-vomited potato all over his windscreen, causing him to lose control of the car he was driving. Still retching, Harvey then fell out of the door of the Ford Focus at speed.

Contravening all laws of gravity, Harvey then catapulted along the tarmac of the M25 and landed in front of his vehicle, subsequently running himself over again. The star broke his collarbone and two fingers of his left hand as a result of the accident.

“I’m beginning to think I should give baked potatoes a wide-berth,” Harvey chuckled, as he recovered in his hospital bed. “The next time I eat loads of ‘em then drive, I could end up killing myself … especially if I’m driving fast when I run myself over.”

Scientists now predict that Harvey has a 1 in 30 chance of running himself down every time he eats more than one baked potato, then drives - a statistic that closely resembles the 1 in 25 chance the deceased Queen Mother was given of choking on a fish bone every time she ate halibut.

1.  It's at the base of a ski slope.  Back in February we actually went tubing here with my cousins.  It's a small mountain that closes in March when the weather starts to warm up, so they convert the place to a Tiki bar from May-September!
2.  It's a very unique, slow-paced, leisurely, bar-like atmosphere.  Nothing is rushed, you could literally sit and hang out and no one is rushing you out of your table, etc.  However the staff is really energetic and welcoming, especially if you order the drink of the day, at which point, the entire staff starts rooting you on and ringing bells.
3.  They have a "cook-your-own" style.  You go up to the counter and order your food, which consists of kabobs, filet, chicken, seafood, veggies, etc.  Each option comes with a side salad, baked potato, and garlic bread.  Then you travel over to the grills and proceed to add spices, marinades, etc.  They have two big open grills where you can cook your entree & baked potato.

That being said, I ordered a gator & steak kabob and added cajun seasoning & montreal seasoning to them, respectively... I am by no means a fan of fire, but on a grill it is fun!  I gave my garlic bread to bill, but I did enjoy the baked potato which I seasoned with hot sauce, cut it up, and tossed on the grill.  The salad was also crisp & yummy and I added a splash of italian dressing to it.  Since we were outside enjoying the start of summer, I also couldn't resist a cold Miller Lite!

Here's dinner pre-cooked...

Here's dinner cooking...

And here's dinner all done :)

Going to the tiki bar seems like the true official start and end to summer... it seems like we always go right around Memorial Day and then also the week after Labor Day, so I guess it's bittersweet for both reasons!  All in all, it was a perfect way to kick off the holiday weekend!

Ingredients

3 large potatoes (or as many as you would like)
6 slices of streaky bacon, chopped
2 medium onions, chopped
1 tbsp mayonnaise
1 tbsp mustard
grated cheese for the top
olive oil
salt and pepper

1. I normally drizzle olive oil, salt and black pepper on top of the potatoes before I bake them so the skin goes nice and crispy.  Bake at 175degreeC for about 50 minutes.
2. While potatoes are baking, fry the bacon and onions together.
3. When the potatoes are finished cut in half and scoop out the middles.  Put the scooped potato in a bowl with mayonnaise and mustard and mash.  Add the fried bacon and onion.
4. Spoon the potato mixture back into the skins, cover with grated cheese and put back in the own for 15 minutes.

Yummy.

Great Baked Potato

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 45 - 60 minutes

Ready In: 65 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

• Baking type potatoes, like Russet
• Olive Oil / Vegetable Oil
• McCormick Grill Mates Montreal Steak Seasoning

DIRECTIONS:

1. Adjust the rack in your oven to the middle position and preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Rinse and scrub each potato under running water, as we will be eating the skins of these perfect potatoes. Dry each potato thoroughly.
3. Pierce each deeply with a fork or sharp knife four times on each side at approximately 1" intervals. This will allow steam to escape or the potato may explode during baking.
4. Rub the potato with olive oil or vegetable oil over the skins.
5. Roll the potatoes in McCormick Grill Mates Montreal Steak seasoning before bake. Place seasoning onto a small plate. Roll potatoes lightly in the seasoning.
6. Bake for 45 - 60 minutes at 400 degrees F.

Now, mum is worry about their Canada trip. Dont know if dad has a month leave, and if he has, dont know if he can be away for the whole month. Sigh...

So, i'm wondering if this new retirement age is something good or otherwise. I think dad had a plan,  and secretly, i plan to join him after my 2 years bond with the Association. And now, needs to have Plan B, which i also already thought of. Sorry, no details for now :)

I'll be heading to facial tonight after my Japanese food.  I'd just book a table for 4-grandma, mum, Jacky and myself. Dad is in Sibu and bro is in KL. So, my sil took the opportunity to go back to her house, which is fine with me BUT i didnt get to see Qiqi today. That, i am not happy.

Oh well... Have a great weekend.

Jacky just told me he gotta work tomorrow. But it's Sunday lerr darling!

Oh well, i will do my assignment lor. But i think i'll need to bring mum to the market first thing in the morning and then go to the airport to pick dad.

ps/ i'd just baked potatoes with yummy toppings. Mum and grandma loves it!! Woo hoo.. i am a happy girl. I will post the pic up tomorrow.  

Some days it's worth it to be a vegetarian. Chicken thinks that everyone should always be - spare us from being eaten!!! it may have been spinach on baked potato. But, we stress the golden rule: Never, ever question the origins of your food!

Tonight also marked the return of what we think was yesterday's salad. Report it to the tabloids: Anyone got photos of what it was doing last night? I rate this tomato was still hungover this evening- eeugh. But shame, lettuce leave him alone ('scuse the pun).. It's not often that it looks that bad!

So what did we eat tonight? Cold option all the way! Random thought for the night: Does it still count as cold option after you've toasted it?

Til breakfast... Chicken