I keep thinking that I’m going to sit down and write a nice, semi-interesting update (not to mention that I still have that post-Deeper Still EPISTLE that I’m reluctant to publish because OH, THE INTROSPECTION), but if I take a long, hard look at, you know, REALITY, I don’t really see any way around a little bloggy break. I need to let my to-do list boss me around for an hour or eight tomorrow. I’m going out of town Friday and would prefer to wear some clothes that are clean. And on top of all that, I have three no-wiggle-room deadlines Monday. Just for kicks and grins, of course.

So I’ll see y’all next week. I think it goes without saying that I’ll miss you terribly, but I’ll say it anyway because, well, I’ll miss you terribly.

Happy Weekend Before Christmas, everybody!
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Don’t forget to enter the 6th installment of The Laughing Cow $150 Visa gift card giveaway!

I have a cold. Or allergies. Or something that makes me feel like the left side of my face is about to explode. Perhaps it is some sort of virus, but I won’t really know until I spend several hours Googling my symptoms and convince myself that I have a rare disease whose primary carrier is a gnat that’s indigenous to to the southwest corner of Thailand.

No, I’ve never been to Thailand.

BUT I HEAR THAT GNATS CAN FLY VERY LONG DISTANCES.

Right now my only strategy for dealing with the cold / allergies / plague is to sit here and watch Food Network and refuse to take any cold medicine. It seems like the stuff that’s supposed to make me drowsy always keeps me wide awake, and the stuff that’s supposed to keep me wide awake always makes me drowsy, but just as soon as I try to outsmart the cold medicine and take the non-drowsy stuff before bed, the cold medicine pattern that has been true throughout my adult life will bamboozle me, and the next thing you know I’ll be up at 4 in the morning ooh-ing and aaah-ing over that mineral make-up infomercial with Leann Rimes.

Clearly I’m trapped in A MEDICINAL WEB OF LIES.

Anyway, before I turn off the computer so that I can steep in my stopped-up misery, I wanted to share just a few items of note. They are, of course, completely unrelated, mainly because my eyes are burning but also because I can’t imagine what any of these things have to do with each other.

ALL HAIL THE RANDOM.

1) Several people asked me about the stuffed pork loin that I mentioned last week. I made it Thanksgiving, and it was DELICIOUS. I was actually planning on making another pork loin recipe, but then I ran into my friend Pat at the grocery store, and she changed my entire Thanksgiving meal strategy standing right there in front of the frozen bread products. Her recipe was so much less complicated than the one I’d originally chosen.

So here’s what you do.

Double-butterfly a 3-4 pound pork loin. You can find instructions online about how to double-butterfly. It’s pretty easy, actually.

Nothing like some super-vague instructions to inspire confidence, huh? (Oh, just cut it here and put the stuffing in there and bake it and IT’LL BE FINE, I PROMISE.)

Cook 1 box of Uncle Ben’s Wild Rice (original recipe). Let cool, then stir in one-half cup of chopped, dried apricots.

Salt and pepper both sides of your meat. Spread rice/apricot mixture over the surface of your pork loin. Roll up the meat and tie it with kitchen twine (I followed these instructions for assembly and cooking – just FYI). Glaze the top of the pork loin with about 1/4 cup of apricot preserves.

About midway through the cooking process, glaze the pork roast again. Cook another box (or 2) of wild rice to serve with the roast. I also made a gravy from the drippings in the roasting pan, and IT WAS DELICIOUS. When I make this recipe again, I’m going to add some chopped pecans to the rice and the apricots. Because I’m nutty like that. And also punny.

2) I really don’t think there’s a living writer I admire more than Ann Voskamp. Seriously. She is deeply, profoundly gifted, and the way she puts words and sentences together just takes my breath away. She sees God’s beauty and grace and mercy in everything – IN EVERYTHING – and He uses her to inspire so many of us to see Him more clearly.

I got to meet Ann a couple of weeks ago, and afterwards Melanie and I decided that Ann might very well be an angel among us. She is the only person I’ve ever described with the word “ethereal,” and oh, did I ever mean it. She’s just lovely.

Well.

Ann has written a book called One Thousand Gifts that comes out in January. However, the Kindle edition is hot off the presses, my friends. Or the servers, if you will. And I can’t think of a more wonderful gift – for yourself or for someone you love.

(Thanks, Angie, for the reminder!)

(And by the way, I got very tickled when I saw that the Kindle copy of Ann’s book is delivered wirelessly by Amazon Whispernet. It just seems so fitting. Because Whispernet sounds just as soothing and unobtrusive as Ann is.)

(But if I had a book on Kindle? It would be delivered by Amazon Hollernet. And it would scare you with its loud volume to the point that you would feel compelled to shush it.)

(I’M JUST SAYING.)

3) I feel compelled to publicly acknowledge that I am making significant progress in terms of catching up on this season of “30 Rock.” I have been very – dare I say “embarrassingly” – behind on my TV-watching schedule, but over the weekend I managed to watch four episodes. I have six more to go, and I believe that I can dig deep over the next few weeks and muster the determination and courage necessary to meet my TV-related goals. MOUNTAIN, MOVE OUT OF MY WAY.

I have given up on this season of “Survivor” and “Amazing Race” – there’s just not world enough and time to watch all the episodes I’ve missed – but I’m holding on to hope that “30 Rock” and I will make it. Please do not hesitate to hold me accountable. And as is always the case when I am facing a backlog of DVR’d programming, I would appreciate your prayers.

The end.