Lamb Chops and Ben Franklin

Hello to you and happy Wednesday! Food first. (<--one of my mottos in life)

Check out the other WIAWs!

6:30 am - Breakfast of a leftover waffle and a fried egg

1:00 pm - Lunch of a peanut butter and banana sandwich

6:00 pm - Apple on the way home from work

7:00 pm - Fun appetizer (recipe soon!)

8:00 pm - Dinner of lamb and grilled veggies

Grilled Lamb Marinade
Recipe from my parents, the Lamb Masters
Plenty for 2.2 pounds of lamb (halve the recipe for less meat)

• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 4 teaspoons dried herbs (oregano and rosemary, to your taste)
• 2 tablespoons white wine or sherry (I omitted this step because I didn't want to open a bottle of white wine, and it tasted fine!)

Mix all ingredients in a large plastic bag. Place the lamb in the bag, coat well, and set in fridge for 30-45 minutes. Grill on high approximately 5 minutes on each side. 

Absolutely perfect! Terry and I rarely eat red meat now, so a meal like this is a very special treat. We served it with some cab and grilled eggplant and zucchini topped with a bit of feta.

Perfect way to round out the meal! And at least I got a serving of vegetables in today, as opposed to yesterday. I need to increase that for tomorrow, you think?

[Insert clever transition here that somehow seamlessly connects grilled vegetables and Ben Franklin. Does that exist?]

My students are currently studying a bit about Benjamin Franklin and his famous virtues, aphorisms, and ideas on living a perfect life. While my personal opinion is that this guy was a bit of a workaholic, I think we could all stand to at least read his thoughts on "Moral Perfection" in his Thirteen Virtues:

1. "Temperance. Eat not to dullness; drink not to elevation."
2. "Silence. Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself; avoid trifling conversation."
3. "Order. Let all your things have their places; let each part of your business have its time."
4. "Resolution. Resolve to perform what you ought; perform without fail what you resolve."
5. "Frugality. Make no expense but to do good to others or yourself; i.e., waste nothing."
6. "Industry. Lose no time; be always employ'd in something useful; cut off all unnecessary actions."
7. "Sincerity. Use no hurtful deceit; think innocently and justly, and, if you speak, speak accordingly."
8. "Justice. Wrong none by doing injuries, or omitting the benefits that are your duty."
9. "Moderation. Avoid extremes; forbear resenting injuries so much as you think they deserve."
10. "Cleanliness. Tolerate no uncleanliness in body, cloaths, or habitation."
11. "Tranquility. Be not disturbed at trifles, or at accidents common or unavoidable."
12. "Chastity. Rarely use venery but for health or offspring, never to dullness, weakness, or the injury of your own or another's peace or reputation."
13. "Humility. Imitate Jesus and Socrates."

What do you think? Agree? Disagree? Combination of the two? Overall, I think he's on the right track, though perhaps some ideas are on the extreme side. 

(Source)

Either way, we can all agree that this dude was super sexy.

My freshmen students also had a presentation today about setting goals and time management. Again, an area in which I feel I can continue to try to improve. The students learned a bit about how to best keep track of all of their responsibilities and commitments, which got me thinking: What do I do to stay organized?

• I make lists. Lots and lots of lists. My favorites are daily to-do lists and grocery lists, but I also don't mind weekly goals and menus.
• I keep a Google calendar--or 15 (work, UCLA volunteering, etc.). Terry and I share a few so we can keep track of each other's commitments, too.
• I try to keep my house and classroom tidy. Honestly, it's not always that way, but I try.

And finally, some exciting news: Today (if you're reading on Thursday) is my blog's first birthday! I'll have an official blogiversary post up later, but thanks for sticking with me all this time! Here's to year two!

What do you think about Ben Franklin's virtues? 

Any requests for future posts as I enter my second year of blogging?