On April 4, 2009, I ran my first 5K. It was either a run or a walk. A friend told me about it a week before the event so I did not train for it. Since it was a walk/run I thought I'll do what I can. It turned out to be a good experience. A had a few stops along the way, but I ran most of it. It has made me want to take part in another marathon.

PhD vs EdD

I'm looking into going back to school for my PhD and came across an EdD. So what's the difference? I've been asking colleagues and friends, but there has been no real answer. Can anyone help with this?

Baking Soda for cleaning around the house?

Here's a thought....where does baking soda come from? As I was watching Oprah with Dr. Oz, he stated that baking soda is the best cleaning agent. The reason being that it is all natural; there are no chemicals, which in turn is great for the environment. I thought I'd give it a try, the box only cost me $0.87.
To my surprise it works great! But as I was cleaning with this little gem, I thought to myself, "Where does baking soda come from?" I really don't have any idea, but just wondering if anyone knew.

The Mailman

Is the Mailman the new Milkman?

As I was looking through my mail the other day and realizing how much junk mail I receive versus something that is worthwhile; I starting thinking about the "extinction" of the mailman. Will the mailman be eliminated as the milkman was? Please don't get me wrong, I don't want to see the loss of any jobs. The fact is that a lot of our bills can go paperless and I would not be surprised that the utility companies will one day (soon) have that option. I don't believe that the US Postal service will be eliminated completely, but it's service(s) will change.

This is our "milkbox."

Autum Spice Cake

I thought some of you might enjoy this!

• 
  
• 1/2 cup butter (1 stick), softened
• 1 cup shortening
• 1 cup dark brown sugar
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups flour
• 1 tablespoon Dutch-processed cocoa
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

DIRECTIONS

• 1. Heat oven to 350°F. Line two 9-inch cake pans with parchment paper and lightly butter. Beat butter, shortening, and sugars together until smooth. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until smooth and light. Stir the buttermilk and vanilla together.
• 2. Sift the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and spices together in a large bowl. Alternately stir the flour mixture and buttermilk, in thirds, into the beaten butter. Blend well with each addition.
• 3. Pour batter into the pans and bake until center tests clean -- about 35 minutes. Cool cakes in the pans on a rack for 30 minutes, unmold, and cool completely before frosting.

Our first blog EVER!

Hello All!


This is my very first blog ever! I always thought of starting one up but I had my doubts. What did I doubt....beats me! Fear not, my MySpace page is not going to be put out by any means. This is just another outlet.

Happy future reading!

The Iron Chef

Here's something I would like to do. I would like to be a judge/taste tester for the Iron Chef. It seems like the coolest thing to do. The plates look to yummy. It's just a thought.