02.03.10
Catching the Colts Fever
The Indianapolis Colts are headed to the Super Bowl again this weekend, and I’m about to run out of blue clothing. Guess I’ll need to do a little shopping next week when they reclaim the title.
In the meantime, we’ve be doing a lot of cheering at our office and you can watch our video here:
Friday we’re having a blue food pitch-in — so far a lot of people have signed up for cookies and cupcakes with blue icing. One person is bringing salad with blue cheese. I suspect we will all still be on a sugar high for Sunday’s game!
Go Colts!
01.16.10
Help for Haiti
I’ve been on vacation from the blog for a while and kept meaning to post things about my trip to Park City, Utah, for Christmas and New Year’s, and then my subsequent trip to Wilmington, North Carolina, to help my mom and dad while he recovers from a knee replacement. But that all seems a little insignificant in light of the earthquake that struck Haiti this week. Mom told me that the quake that struck San Francisco in 1989 during the World Series left 100 dead. In Haiti, the death toll is likely to be in the tens of thousands.
A friend of mine spent much of his childhood in Haiti, when his parents sold their Indiana farm and moved to Haiti to found a children’s hospital. John reports that Grace Children’s Hospital i”s still standing and administering vitally needed care. They need funds to replenish supplies that are dangerously low.”
As a former Red Cross volunteer, I certainly support the American Red Cross and have made a donation. But if you are looking for a reputable organization in Haiti where you can make a donation, please consider Grace Children’s Hospital. Click this link if you’d like to donate, mark your donation for Grace Children’s Hospital, and have them send acknowledgement to bethmillett at sbcglobal.net so I can thank you. I’ll also let my friend John know.
I know I for one am counting my blessings.
12.17.09
My Year in Review
It’s been a couple of years since I sent out holiday cards, but I actually got my act in gear this year. When you don’t have kids, and aren’t willing to take that last step to crazy cat lady by putting pictures of your feline “children” on your holiday cards, it’s hard to write a letter that doesn’t sound like a narcissistic dispatch. I had been putting off the letter when a friend mentioned that there was no need to do a letter because “it’s all on Facebook.” That was the perfect inspiration — a collection of Facebook status updates and photos from the past 12 months!
It was hard to edit down — I went from 20+ pages of the whole year down to four pages of the best. But that still smacked of excessive self-absorption, so I managed to get it down to two pages. Here it is, in Web form. (Or, click here to download a PDF version.)
December 5 at 2:38 am: Beth Millett is an aunt again! Sheridan Elizabeth was born 10:30 p.m., December 4. She’s 7 pounds, 10 ounces and 19 inches long. [I can’t wait to meet her in a few weeks when I spend Christmas and New Year’s in Park City, Utah.]
November 10 at 6:05 am: Beth Millett no longer has a warning light on her car; now it’s on her bank account.
November 7 at 7:43 am: Stretching with Boomer before the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon… [Neither he nor I actually ran the race.]
November 1 at 7:09 am: Beth Millett is observing candy-swapping negotiations that rival a meeting with heads of state. [I spent Halloween with the Lahertys.]
October 30 at 7:14 pm: Beth Millett’s weather-impervious pants have been perviated. [Run Like Hell would have been more aptly called Rain Like Hell.]
October 8 at 9:00 am: Beth Millett is clearly too old for such energetic concert behavior [after seeing Great Big Sea in Louisville]. My hands are bruised from clapping for two hours straight, my arms are like spaghetti from being held over my head clapping. But it was worth it when Kris and Murray said, “Yeah, we could see you in the audience.” Who, me, noticeable?
The lads: Alan Doyle, lead vocals and guitar; Murray Foster, bass; and Kris MacFarlane, drums.
September 9 at 3:12 pm: Beth Millett just found out that her tickets for Great Big Sea in Louisville on October 7 are second row, dead center. She’s never had seats that good for ANYTHING in her life. That’s close enough she should be able to throw her underwear up on stage. With her still in them.
September 8 at 7:12 pm: Beth Millett is happy her dad drank the last bottle of her ex-boyfriend’s beer.
September 7 at 11:10 am: Beth Millett is failing at resisting the urge to dance to the music in Crate and Barrel.
September 4 at 8:54 pm: Beth Millett just saw Mom and Dad’s name on the [Victory Field] scoreboard, wishing them a happy 43rd anniversary!
September 2 at 8:02 am: Beth Millett just amused the kids at the bus stop by dragging a bathtub to the curb for the garbageman.
August 30 at 2:30 pm: Beth Millett is about to use the new shower for the first time and hoping that there’s no water in the garage when she’s done.
August 27 at 5:54 pm: Is it just me, or are wax rings about the nastiest things on the planet?
August 25 at 10:20 pm: o hai. teh flur iz dun. so iz me. kthxbai. [After taking 19 months to complete the master bathroom renovation, I attempt to complete the guest bathroom in 19 days. It took 24 days.]
August 25 at 8:04 am: Beth Millett suspects there is a banana somewhere in her car. [Yup; it had fallen into a compartment in the door. Wish I had found it a few days sooner.]
August 22 at 3:23 pm: Beth Millett was disappointed she did not personally witness the indecent exposure penalty at this morning’s Sprint Triathlon.
August 21 at 5:07 pm: Beth Millett’s niece Katelin turns two years old today! Happy birthday, Peanut!
August 20 at 8:35 pm: Beth Millett managed to get only slightly more paint on the walls than she did on herself.
August 19 at 6:35 pm: Beth Millett went almost 48 hours without a trip to Home Depot/Lowe’s.
August 15 at 4:25 pm: Beth Millett is explaining to a first-time triathlete that, no, the swim comes first, then bike, THEN the run. Tomorrow [Tri Indy] should be oodles of fun!
August 11 at 7:40 pm: Beth Millett thought she was really rocking Jeopardy tonight. Then she realized it was the college kid version.
August 6 at 8:06 am: Beth Millett is celebrating eight years at Borshoff, the best full-service communciations agency ever!
August 4 at 6:42 am: Beth Millett just drained three beers at the office. (Okay, it was into a crockpot of bratwurst for today’s pitch-in.)
August 3 at 6:07 am: Beth Millett is excited to have launched the new Storytelling Arts of Indiana Web site, www.storytellingarts.org. [I am still volunteering for this great organization. Thanks to all of you who have also supported it this year. I appreciate your contributions!]
July 31 at 5:10 pm: Beth Millett thinks there is nothing more fabulous than getting home and putting on her Crocs flip-flops. Bright pink lifts the spirits, super squishy material cushions the sole.
July 29 at 5:22 pm: Beth Millett is going home to scrub her floor Cinderella-style. Well, without all the help from woodland creatures.
July 28 at 7:43 am: Beth Millett took three years to do it, but finally replaced the little light bulb in her dryer.
July 24 at 1:24 pm: Beth Millett just found out today is National Tequila Day. This changes everything!
July 20 at 7:03 am: Beth Millett is being crowned this afternoon. Okay, so it’s on her back left molar, but still, you should curtsy or bow when in her presence.
June 3 at 1:21 pm: Beth Millett is meeting with fulfillment vendors today. Why does the sight of all those conveyor belts, packing slips and skids of product get her excited?
May 27 at 11:19 am: Beth Millett realizes it’s time to leave the beach when the hook on your bikini top breaks… [I spent a week at my parents’ house in Wilmington, NC, with my sister and her family.]
May 17 at 1:55 pm: Beth Millett observes from [her volunteer post for] Kids’ Day: the problem isn’t the kids, it’s the parents.
May 15 at 5:38 pm: Beth Millett cracks up when truckers honk at her when she’s driving with the top down.
May 1 at 7:16 am: Beth Millett is wearing her all-terrain Crocs — nothing like shoes you can put in the dishwasher!
April 30 at 1:03 pm: Beth Millett was busted for snoring in yoga class.
April 17 at 6:56 pm: Beth Millett is making a mental note: put top up on convertible before using table saw in driveway.
April 5 at 11:52 am: I cannot believe I have never in my life roasted peeps, but they were spectacular — a little like campfire crème brûlée!
April 4 at 4:43 pm: Beth Millett is trying to explain low center of gravity to a five-year-old in a hammock.
April 3 at 9:32 pm: Beth Millett discovered that, with a clipboard, a Bluetooth headset and an air of authority, you can get just about anywhere in the world.
March 31 at 5:53 pm: Beth Millett hereby declares Home Depot as her religion. She has worshipped here more in the last week than in any church in the last decade or more.
March 29 at 11:53 am: Having rectified yesterday’s plumbing disaster, Beth moves on to other new and exciting potential disasters.
March 23 at 6:16 pm: Beth Millett is driving home Clampett-style; new bi-fold door is sticking out of the topless convertible.
March 20 at 7:24 pm: Beth Millett is pondering the possibility of purple PVC plumbing primer for a pedicure, since it’s already all over her hands.
March 16 at 6:40 pm: Beth Millett loves that the drywall she just bought is labeled, in Spanish, that it was made in the U.S.
March 8 at 12:36 pm: Beth Millett is sanding the bejeebers out of her bathroom walls.
March 5 at 6:11 pm: Finally — some studs in my bathroom!
February 28 at 10:12 am: Beth Millett is starting demolition on the old master bath shower. Mmm, sledgehammer. Mmm, reciprocating saw. What more could a girl want on a Saturday morning?
February 24 at 12:42 pm: Beth Millett is trimming back the spider plant in her office, which a coworker says looks like Tina Turner in the “What’s Love Got to Do With It” video.
February 17 at 8:36 am: Beth Millett is attending sexual harassment training this morning. As if she isn’t good enough at it already.
February 10 at 6:07 pm: Beth Millett has told you a hundred billion times, stop exaggerating.
February 8 at 9:09 pm: Beth Millett has a fully functional master bathroom shower/tub! Amazing!
February 2 at 6:28 pm: Beth Millett’s favorite moment from [Katie Laherty] last weekend: “Aunt Beth, I just don’t know how you do it, but you always make people smile wherever you go.”
February 1 at 8:31 am: Beth Millett is cracking up: five-year-old George yelled “Fire in the hole!” when we turned the jets on in the hot tub.
January 21 at 9:17 pm: Beth Millett is not sure she is happy or sad that people from high school remember her as “the girl who put her whole fist in her mouth.”
January 14 at 5:37 pm: Beth Millett is shoveling her driveway and then contemplating a move to Tahiti.
January 14 at 8:57 am: Beth Millett loves running over the clods of dirty snow that fall off cars. Such a satisfying thunk.
January 10 at 8:17 am: Beth Millett is stripping again…. more wallpaper.
12.04.09
You know you’re a redneck if…
… your bedroom furniture is up on blocks.
When I bought the new king-sized mattress in May, I didn’t realize it would be about 8 inches taller than the old bed had been. Consequently, the nightstands were suddenly way too low. My immediate solution was to put them up on chunks of 2 by 4s. As much as I love that look, it didn’t really make the right statement (not that I have a parade of visitors through the bedroom who might think less of me for my woodworking choices.) Dad build me some lovely leg extenders that we put on each nightstand. He made the extenders with a hole in the top, and we drilled a matching hole in the bottom of each leg and glued a dowel into the holes to join the extender to the nightstand. And by we, I mean Dad, since he can’t sit still for even three seconds while I am out timing the Drumstick Dash. I feel guilty that he comes over and does all the work, but then I realize that even if I were home, he’d do all the work. *grin*
So, now my bedroom furniture is not up on blocks, but it does look like it’s on stilts.
11.24.09
Le Creuset Maiden Voyage
So, for years I have wanted a Le Creuset dutch oven. But they’re kinda expensive… but this recipe finally put me over the top. Yesterday, Mom and Dad and I were out shopping at a variety of places and stopped at Sur la Table in Clay Terrace. I now own a gorgeous, just gorgeous 6.75 quart dutch oven in Caribbean. I love it so much, I might let it sleep in my bed tonight.
So, I made Pioneer Woman’s braised short ribs and they were divine. Here’s what I saw when I lifted the lid of the dutch oven after 2 and a half hours. 
Pioneer Woman is right — it is heaven on a plate
11.23.09
Mark your calendar!
One of my favorite storytellers is coming to town next week. I can’t wait to see him again. If you are interested in joining me for dinner beforehand, let me know — I am trying to round up a group of folks to enjoy the hysteria with me. You have to be sure to go to the bathroom before Bil’s show starts — otherwise you will wet your pants laughing.
“Don’t Get Too Attached to Balloons” told by Bil Lepp
Saturday, December 5, 2009
7:30 – 9:30 p.m.
Frank and Katrina Basile Theater
Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana History Center
Advance Tickets $20, Door $25
Call 317-232-1882 or purchase tickets on-line
Storyteller and bona fide liar from Half Dollar, West Virginia, Bil Lepp could coax a smile from a raccoon. Although he is a champion liar, his hilarious, insightful stories often contain morsels of truth which shed light on subjects such as politics, religion, death, relationship and human nature.
Lou Harry of the Indianapolis Business Journal, writes, “Bil Lepp — think Jeff Foxworthy with the comedic patience of Bill Cosby…It would be very difficult …to discern the structual difference between Lepp’s antic hunting story and Woody Allen’s classic, ‘I shot a moose once’ tale.”
Bil has performed at the prestigious National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, Tennessee, as well as the majority of regional festivals throughout the United States.
11.19.09
Heaven is bound with satin edging
I got a new bed in May and finally received my new king-sized blanket. The color I selected was backordered not once, not twice, but three times. It took so long that my credit card actually expired between the time I placed the order and the time they actually shipped it, when they were ready to bill my credit card.
I have a freakish habit. My blankets have to have satin binding on all four edges so that I can run the binding through my fingers. It’s my self-soothing technique when I’m falling asleep or if I wake up in the middle of the night. I also stretch my legs out to the side and pull the blanket side in under the top sheet so I can get the satin binding all wriggled around through my toes.
So, when I opened up the box and found a king size blanket all neatly folded up, with more than 400 linear inches of satin binding, my brain nearly exploded. It was divine to snuggle up with it last night!
Anyone else have this strange habit? Or some other bedtime ritual?
11.16.09
Carrot Souffle
I first encountered this delicious carrot souffle at a fundraising dinner catered by Thomas Caterers of Distinction. Everyone at the table marveled at what it could possibly be — some suggested sweet potatoes, and others suggested carrots. Whatever it was, we knew it had sugar and butter and was divine. A few weeks later, I was at another fundraising dinner (this was back when I volunteered a lot for those types of things) by the same caterer and was thrilled to see the souffle again. Better yet, it was a buffet dinner, so I was able to pick out the tiniest chicken breast and about two green beans, and then a whole heapin’ pile of the souffle. I probably went back for seconds. And maybe thirds.
A few months later, we encountered the recipe in a newspaper article and I have hung on to it ever since. Truly yummy!
Makes 4 to 6 servings
1 pound carrots
4 ounces butter
3 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
salt (to taste)
- Peel carrots. Cook in salted water until well done, drain well.
- Melt butter. Blend eggs, melted butter, sugar, flour, baking powder and vanilla; add carrots.
Everything but the carrots.
After blending, add the cooked carrots.
- Blend until mixture resembles a milkshake.
- Cook in an 8-inch greased glass dish at 275 degrees for 45 minutes or until just firm.
I don't have a picture of the baked souffle, because my fork dove right into it as soon as it came out of the oven!
I imagine you could add nutmeg or cinnamon, but I’ve never been a big fan of those spices on my carrots. This is just sweet enough for me!
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go have seconds. And thirds.
Have a fence you need white-washed?
So, six or seven years ago, my friends Jamaison and Dawn moved into a lovely house with a lot of mature trees. Pretty quickly, they realized they were in over their heads (almost literally!) and starting hosting a party where all their friends come over and help them rake the leaves. (For the record, Jamy and Dawn had a sneaking suspicion their friends were pretty gullible — a lot of us helped them move into that house.)
So, each fall, we gather up our rakes, gloves and blowers and converge on their house. This year, I think there were seven or eight adults and at least that many kids. We were done in about an hour and a half — not a bad deal. Then we had yummy chili, hot dogs, corn pudding and brownies.
Later that afternoon, a landscaping service came and vacuumed up all the leaves that we had piled by the curb.
I love that Dawn told me as I was leaving that I was one of the ones should could always count on being there. It’s funny because I’ve only been there two times out of five. I guess my personality is so big I don’t even have to be there for it to seem like I’m there? Wait, don’t answer that….
The front yard before.
The back yard before.
The front yard after.
The back yard after.
The crew.
