Everyone should watch this video. Pass it on.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Monday, December 29, 2008
Calm - 70%. Bright - 100% (that's the TX sky for you)
As we drove home from Christmas, we wistfully watched the snow and ice dwindle and disappear, but eventually became annoyed with it once the only ice we could find was flying off the tops of semis entering the highway. By the time our windshield washer fluid was thawed enough to be effective, it was gone entirely.
We arrived home just after the sun had set, dumped everything from the van into the house, and Man popped popcorn (thanks again, Grandfolks!) and got the kids settled in front of Kung Fu Panda to calm down before bed while I farmed things out to bedrooms where we will be further sorting today. I know for sure that the thrift store will be getting a truckload of joy today or tomorrow as the new takes place of the old.
It's amazing how coming home can be so revealing. My grandparents have a very refined and organized home. I found it to be exceedingly comfortable in that there was no visual stress to be found. Everything has a place and and a purpose. Coming back here, I was struck first of all by how bare my walls are. Second, I realized that tuning out this or that pile of homeless objects wasn't doing me any favors.
I have a whole week of Man and children to help tackle this mess, as well as Man's commitment to help for a portion of each day.
All in all, visiting my family was the best Christmas gift ever, a close second being that marvelous back rub my younger sister gave me. I miss them, and love them, and have loved coming to know them better as an adult. I'm especially pleased to finally be helpful with the crossword puzzles nowadays. I recall asking my dad if I could help with the cross word as a kid. He said "the clue is ____ Lake City." I couldn't figure out what it might be. As a Mormon, of course it's a bit daft to not know Salt Lake City when you hear the clue but time and reading have helped a bit.
I hope everyone had a safe and joyous Christmas. Thank you one and all for the love and friendship we encountered during our time with you this season.
We arrived home just after the sun had set, dumped everything from the van into the house, and Man popped popcorn (thanks again, Grandfolks!) and got the kids settled in front of Kung Fu Panda to calm down before bed while I farmed things out to bedrooms where we will be further sorting today. I know for sure that the thrift store will be getting a truckload of joy today or tomorrow as the new takes place of the old.
It's amazing how coming home can be so revealing. My grandparents have a very refined and organized home. I found it to be exceedingly comfortable in that there was no visual stress to be found. Everything has a place and and a purpose. Coming back here, I was struck first of all by how bare my walls are. Second, I realized that tuning out this or that pile of homeless objects wasn't doing me any favors.
I have a whole week of Man and children to help tackle this mess, as well as Man's commitment to help for a portion of each day.
All in all, visiting my family was the best Christmas gift ever, a close second being that marvelous back rub my younger sister gave me. I miss them, and love them, and have loved coming to know them better as an adult. I'm especially pleased to finally be helpful with the crossword puzzles nowadays. I recall asking my dad if I could help with the cross word as a kid. He said "the clue is ____ Lake City." I couldn't figure out what it might be. As a Mormon, of course it's a bit daft to not know Salt Lake City when you hear the clue but time and reading have helped a bit.
I hope everyone had a safe and joyous Christmas. Thank you one and all for the love and friendship we encountered during our time with you this season.
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Tag the party crasher
Tag's friend had a party a few weeks ago where his parents rented a bouncy castle. Just today, the neighbors across the street rented one as well. We drove home from the store and ooooo-d and aaaaaaa-d at it. Tag asked if he could go play with his friends, and I said sure. He came home about 2 hours later, completely worn out from the bouncy castle and with a party favor bag in hand.
Me --> O_O
Me: Um, where were you?
Tag: At a friend's house, the one with the bouncy castle.
Me: Were you invited?!?
Tag: Sure, we went and said hi and they said we could bounce.
Me: What's that all over your face?
Tag: Oh, we ate cake and ice cream.
Me: What's that bag?
Tag: [holds it up, it has The Little Mermaid on it] Party bag with toys and candy.
Me: That's for little girls! Whose party was it? What's their name?
Tag: I don't know, but we're friends now.
Me: ............
Tag, the party crasher, crashing your parties. -sigh-
Me --> O_O
Me: Um, where were you?
Tag: At a friend's house, the one with the bouncy castle.
Me: Were you invited?!?
Tag: Sure, we went and said hi and they said we could bounce.
Me: What's that all over your face?
Tag: Oh, we ate cake and ice cream.
Me: What's that bag?
Tag: [holds it up, it has The Little Mermaid on it] Party bag with toys and candy.
Me: That's for little girls! Whose party was it? What's their name?
Tag: I don't know, but we're friends now.
Me: ............
Tag, the party crasher, crashing your parties. -sigh-
Friday, December 19, 2008
Dinner conversation
After telling Man the situation with the teacher gifts, Tag mentioned that he'd like to get his grandparents gifts as well.
Me: What would you like to give?
Tag: I think Oma should have a.....cello.
Me: Wow. A cello? That's a nice gift.
Tag: Yeah, did you know it's just a big guitar?
Me: Actually, it's a lot more like a big violin.
Tag: Oh, really? Then I want to give Oma a guitar, so she can be [dramatic pause] a rock star.
Me: [choking on my steamed corn, first imagining my mom rocking out on a guitar, then imagining her rocking out on a cello.]
Me: What would you like to give?
Tag: I think Oma should have a.....cello.
Me: Wow. A cello? That's a nice gift.
Tag: Yeah, did you know it's just a big guitar?
Me: Actually, it's a lot more like a big violin.
Tag: Oh, really? Then I want to give Oma a guitar, so she can be [dramatic pause] a rock star.
Me: [choking on my steamed corn, first imagining my mom rocking out on a guitar, then imagining her rocking out on a cello.]
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Teacher gifts
I have totally procrastinated teacher gifts. Tomorrow is the last day to give them. Ack! I had no ideas so asked the kids what they'd like to give to their teachers.
Princess: Well, Mrs. R says that her favorite thing in the whole world is [sounded like ->] Campbell's.
Me: Soup?!?
Princess: What? Weren't you listening? CANDLES.
Me: Oh, ah. Haha. Yes. That's actually a really great idea.
Princess: And then there are two PE coaches, a music teacher, the librarian, and the lady who yells at us to be quiet at the cafeteria...
And she kept listing people at school who, in my heart, I know ought to be recognized but I just couldn't think of how to do so without breaking the budget and making me crazy before tomorrow.
We'll just have to see how it turns out...
Princess: Well, Mrs. R says that her favorite thing in the whole world is [sounded like ->] Campbell's.
Me: Soup?!?
Princess: What? Weren't you listening? CANDLES.
Me: Oh, ah. Haha. Yes. That's actually a really great idea.
Princess: And then there are two PE coaches, a music teacher, the librarian, and the lady who yells at us to be quiet at the cafeteria...
And she kept listing people at school who, in my heart, I know ought to be recognized but I just couldn't think of how to do so without breaking the budget and making me crazy before tomorrow.
We'll just have to see how it turns out...
I have long wondered...
Do babies like being kissed? I love kissing my babies, including the ones that are more like teenagers nowadays, but I've always wondered if they even care or if they hate getting their faces wet from smooches, or if they just sort of humor the lady with the food. Maybe it's just part of all the new, weird sensations they experience when they're born and it's something they just live with their whole lives.
Today I was reading a few articles with Freida in my lap. She was sort of half-heartedly watching Happy Feet and I cradled her close. After a while she looked up at me and of course I took the opportunity to kiss her forehead. Immediately her eyes rolled up in her head. After a few seconds of kissing her forehead, her hands went limp and she started to snore.
It's amazing how one little moment can make up for weeks of sickness and misery. And there's my proof that, regardless of what her initial impressions of being kissed were, she likes it now.
I wonder if humans kissing babies is anything like other creatures in the animal kingdom licking their newborn young? I think the baby and I both agree though, that kissing little cheeks is preferable to the alternative.
Ew.
.
Today I was reading a few articles with Freida in my lap. She was sort of half-heartedly watching Happy Feet and I cradled her close. After a while she looked up at me and of course I took the opportunity to kiss her forehead. Immediately her eyes rolled up in her head. After a few seconds of kissing her forehead, her hands went limp and she started to snore.
It's amazing how one little moment can make up for weeks of sickness and misery. And there's my proof that, regardless of what her initial impressions of being kissed were, she likes it now.
I wonder if humans kissing babies is anything like other creatures in the animal kingdom licking their newborn young? I think the baby and I both agree though, that kissing little cheeks is preferable to the alternative.
Ew.
.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Chicken soup recipe
I forgot the recipe for the chicken soup!
meat and broth from one small chicken
1 tsp ground pepper
2 large carrots
2 medium potatoes
1/3 butternut squash
1 large onion
Cook up your chicken and make stock in the usual manner. For this meal, I boiled a whole chicken and it made an enormous post of soup. You can use leftovers from a roast chicken meal, turkey leftover, or whatever. Remove the meat to a strainer (don't put your broth down the sink!!!) and return the broth to a simmer. Add 1 tsp powdered thyme, 3 bay leaves, and 1 tsp savory to the broth. Give your (cleaned up) onion and carrots a good chop (no larger than 1/2 inch dice) and put them both in a medium bowl. Drizzle with 1 T of olive oil, a few grinds of black pepper, garlic salt, and oregano. Put this on a foil-lined cookie sheet and place until a medium broil, stirring every 3-4 mins until the veggies are browned and beginning to be tender. Repeat this process with the squash (seeded, peeled, diced, oiled) and potato (peeled, diced, oiled), using the same foil for each batch but don't use any more oregano. As each batch is cooked, reserve in a bowl. Add the veggies to the broth all at once and simmer for about 5 mins or until tender but firm. Add in frozen peas, chopped broccoli florets, and chopped cabbage. Simmer 2-3 mins. Add in shredded chicken meat and heat through. Check broth, correct salt and pepper, and serve with hot biscuits.
As far as noodles or rice, just do whatever you like. I cooked some rice seperately and served a scoop of soup over a small pile of rice. Buttered noodles would also be delicious served up like this.
This whole pot of food cost me about $8-9 and is enough for three generous meals.
meat and broth from one small chicken
1 tsp ground pepper
2 large carrots
2 medium potatoes
1/3 butternut squash
1 large onion
Cook up your chicken and make stock in the usual manner. For this meal, I boiled a whole chicken and it made an enormous post of soup. You can use leftovers from a roast chicken meal, turkey leftover, or whatever. Remove the meat to a strainer (don't put your broth down the sink!!!) and return the broth to a simmer. Add 1 tsp powdered thyme, 3 bay leaves, and 1 tsp savory to the broth. Give your (cleaned up) onion and carrots a good chop (no larger than 1/2 inch dice) and put them both in a medium bowl. Drizzle with 1 T of olive oil, a few grinds of black pepper, garlic salt, and oregano. Put this on a foil-lined cookie sheet and place until a medium broil, stirring every 3-4 mins until the veggies are browned and beginning to be tender. Repeat this process with the squash (seeded, peeled, diced, oiled) and potato (peeled, diced, oiled), using the same foil for each batch but don't use any more oregano. As each batch is cooked, reserve in a bowl. Add the veggies to the broth all at once and simmer for about 5 mins or until tender but firm. Add in frozen peas, chopped broccoli florets, and chopped cabbage. Simmer 2-3 mins. Add in shredded chicken meat and heat through. Check broth, correct salt and pepper, and serve with hot biscuits.
As far as noodles or rice, just do whatever you like. I cooked some rice seperately and served a scoop of soup over a small pile of rice. Buttered noodles would also be delicious served up like this.
This whole pot of food cost me about $8-9 and is enough for three generous meals.
Dinner was quick, cheap, and easy.
I love quick, cheap, and easy.
Here's the breakdown:
Wheat rolls from Wal-Mart's day old bread section - 10 rolls for $1.50
Turkey deli meat - 2.88 per pound
Cheese - (mine was pepper jack, the kids had mozzarella) which evened out to about $3.52 per pound.
They get wrapped individually and heated through until the cheese was gooey, and served with a small bowl of leftover chicken soup. Each sandwich cost roughly $0.80. My meal rule has been "serve up 6", 2 for Man, one for Princess, Tag, and Me, and split the last one between the two little girls. Those numbers will change drastically over time, but for now it's nice to keep it simple.
Tonight, dinner is costing about $7. (fast food costs us about $25 and we're often still hungry afterward) It would have been less expensive to make up more rolls, but since we're using leftovers, I needed to change up the meal so the littles don't get bored too quickly. Freida loves the soup. We dish up the veggies and chopped meat, cool it off, and she gets instant finger food.
Is there any interest in hearing about meals like this? I try to keep each meal under $10 for the 6 of us, and we very often have enough leftovers for lunches and breakfasts the next day.
Here's the breakdown:
Wheat rolls from Wal-Mart's day old bread section - 10 rolls for $1.50
Turkey deli meat - 2.88 per pound
Cheese - (mine was pepper jack, the kids had mozzarella) which evened out to about $3.52 per pound.
They get wrapped individually and heated through until the cheese was gooey, and served with a small bowl of leftover chicken soup. Each sandwich cost roughly $0.80. My meal rule has been "serve up 6", 2 for Man, one for Princess, Tag, and Me, and split the last one between the two little girls. Those numbers will change drastically over time, but for now it's nice to keep it simple.
Tonight, dinner is costing about $7. (fast food costs us about $25 and we're often still hungry afterward) It would have been less expensive to make up more rolls, but since we're using leftovers, I needed to change up the meal so the littles don't get bored too quickly. Freida loves the soup. We dish up the veggies and chopped meat, cool it off, and she gets instant finger food.
Is there any interest in hearing about meals like this? I try to keep each meal under $10 for the 6 of us, and we very often have enough leftovers for lunches and breakfasts the next day.
pics
My poor, sleeping beauty. She has been a huge help to me. I've spent a lot of time reading with her and doing girl scout stuff. She's also conversing on a lot more mature level lately, despite the continued need for speech therapy.
This is the monster wet-dry vac that helped so much a couple nights ago. We're taking the neighbors a box of truffles as a thank you for helping us out and letting Tag play at their house for two days straight over Thanksgiving while their grandkids visited.
This poor child has been the most sick of all the kids. She's been coughing for about 3 weeks and had the worst fevers. She's still napping twice a day. This is how she drinks hot cocoa.
This was supposed to be a Christmas gift for Freida. Tag got ahold of it and put carrots in the little pop up parts and we couldn't get the carrots out without taking the whole thing apart. We're still missing one piece so two of the heads don't work quite right, but Tag likes it at least as much as Freida anyway. We might just give it to him and have him buy her a new gift.
Believe it or not, she was just standing there with her mouth open. She's playing so much nowadays with her face and voice, just like Tag did.
My sweet, pretty girl. The teacher told me yesterday that she's reading at a 3rd grade level now.
What do you know... fall has finally arrived. It's only mid-December.
A small sample of the water issues. I found more wet padding in the girls' bedroom closet today.
Cute baby, with a very runny nose. Imagine that times 4 kids and two parents, and go buy some stock in Kleenex.
When this tissue box emptied, she loved putting her toys in it and walking around with it in her hands. She gathered quite the collection.
What happens when milk sits in the same cup for a couple of days? It becomes sour cream. Not that we tasted it.
This is the monster wet-dry vac that helped so much a couple nights ago. We're taking the neighbors a box of truffles as a thank you for helping us out and letting Tag play at their house for two days straight over Thanksgiving while their grandkids visited.
This poor child has been the most sick of all the kids. She's been coughing for about 3 weeks and had the worst fevers. She's still napping twice a day. This is how she drinks hot cocoa.
This was supposed to be a Christmas gift for Freida. Tag got ahold of it and put carrots in the little pop up parts and we couldn't get the carrots out without taking the whole thing apart. We're still missing one piece so two of the heads don't work quite right, but Tag likes it at least as much as Freida anyway. We might just give it to him and have him buy her a new gift.
Believe it or not, she was just standing there with her mouth open. She's playing so much nowadays with her face and voice, just like Tag did.
My sweet, pretty girl. The teacher told me yesterday that she's reading at a 3rd grade level now.
What do you know... fall has finally arrived. It's only mid-December.
A small sample of the water issues. I found more wet padding in the girls' bedroom closet today.
Cute baby, with a very runny nose. Imagine that times 4 kids and two parents, and go buy some stock in Kleenex.
When this tissue box emptied, she loved putting her toys in it and walking around with it in her hands. She gathered quite the collection.
What happens when milk sits in the same cup for a couple of days? It becomes sour cream. Not that we tasted it.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Every thorn has its rose - Just like every dawn has its night.
My sweet grandmother gave me a gift subscription to Better Homes and Gardens which I'm LOVING with every perfectionist fiber of my being. I'm mature enough at this point to not go crazy over the perfect homes and remodels that cost more that we used to make in an entire year, or sofas that cost 6 months worth of groceries. What I'm focusing on is enjoying the beauty of the photos, my own takes on their very hip recipes, and all of the genius, GENIUS I say, organization solutions. I feel like I did the first time I went inside The Container Store. The only thing that would have completed the experience was maybe an angelic choir or bronzed man servants straightening shelves instead of the local work-to-learn college population.
Anyway, I bundled the girls up and headed out to my local thrift store to see about finding some solutions related to suggestions I particularly loved. It was bitterly cold, especially since we havn't been in cold country in a very long time, and I was told that yesterday is likely to be the coldest day of the year. After scoring a couple of finds, I headed home and made some delicious chicken soup (roasted the veggies before adding to soup -- oh my. yummy stuff) and from-scratch drop biscuits. After dinner we found that while we were happily enjoying our meal that the toilet had been running that whole time. There were about two inches of standing water in the bathroom and the water had already made it into two bedrooms. I started bailing water into the bathtub while Man made dams out of towels to bar the water's progress through the house.
Things I'm thankful for:
1. We were home when it happened. It could have been much worse.
2. We didn't lose any possessions.
3. Our kind neighbors were blessed to own a wet-dry vac, as well as the kindness to lend it to us. (I showed up on the door step, wet and shod in flip-flops. I'm sure it looked pathetic. We ended up vacuuming at least 8 gallons of water out of the carpet alone.)
4. Replacing the padding won't be nearly as expensive as we thought it might be.
5. There is concrete beneath the carpet, rather than floor boards. I'm sure that this caused the water to spread further, but padding is cheap compared to floor boards.
6. The landlord was very reasonable and sympathetic, even apologizing for my inconvenience despite the fact that it was my kid who used too much toilet paper, resulting in the incident in question.
7. This didn't happen the day before Christmas, or some other mightily inconvenient day.
8. That we don't have a basement!! Oh, what a nightmare that would have been.
I ranted and raged about how every time I try to get this house together and try to make sense out of our stuff, something dumb like this happens that puts me behind a whole week. And it's true. I've sprained my back, gotten sick, gotten pregnant, Tag gets an asthma attack, last week Pebbles had a fever of 104.6° and just laid on the floor for a couple of days, the kids get sick in the messy sort of way, or............. the list goes on. (no, I'm not pregnant now. this is a 7 year list)
So, I got the above mentioned blessing last night, after hours of back-killing water sucking on the very day I set out with hope and determination to make a house of order. I felt like I was being punished for my hope. Man sighed, shook his head, and said "God doesn't punish people for buying cannisters. This stuff just happens."
Me: " But if we had chicken nuggets for dinner like I had planned, none of this would have been nearly so much of an issue."
Man: "Thank you for dinner. It was delicious."
Me: [hugging my poor, patient Man]
Universe - 158 Me - 0
Except, now I have cannisters.
Anyway, I bundled the girls up and headed out to my local thrift store to see about finding some solutions related to suggestions I particularly loved. It was bitterly cold, especially since we havn't been in cold country in a very long time, and I was told that yesterday is likely to be the coldest day of the year. After scoring a couple of finds, I headed home and made some delicious chicken soup (roasted the veggies before adding to soup -- oh my. yummy stuff) and from-scratch drop biscuits. After dinner we found that while we were happily enjoying our meal that the toilet had been running that whole time. There were about two inches of standing water in the bathroom and the water had already made it into two bedrooms. I started bailing water into the bathtub while Man made dams out of towels to bar the water's progress through the house.
Things I'm thankful for:
1. We were home when it happened. It could have been much worse.
2. We didn't lose any possessions.
3. Our kind neighbors were blessed to own a wet-dry vac, as well as the kindness to lend it to us. (I showed up on the door step, wet and shod in flip-flops. I'm sure it looked pathetic. We ended up vacuuming at least 8 gallons of water out of the carpet alone.)
4. Replacing the padding won't be nearly as expensive as we thought it might be.
5. There is concrete beneath the carpet, rather than floor boards. I'm sure that this caused the water to spread further, but padding is cheap compared to floor boards.
6. The landlord was very reasonable and sympathetic, even apologizing for my inconvenience despite the fact that it was my kid who used too much toilet paper, resulting in the incident in question.
7. This didn't happen the day before Christmas, or some other mightily inconvenient day.
8. That we don't have a basement!! Oh, what a nightmare that would have been.
I ranted and raged about how every time I try to get this house together and try to make sense out of our stuff, something dumb like this happens that puts me behind a whole week. And it's true. I've sprained my back, gotten sick, gotten pregnant, Tag gets an asthma attack, last week Pebbles had a fever of 104.6° and just laid on the floor for a couple of days, the kids get sick in the messy sort of way, or............. the list goes on. (no, I'm not pregnant now. this is a 7 year list)
So, I got the above mentioned blessing last night, after hours of back-killing water sucking on the very day I set out with hope and determination to make a house of order. I felt like I was being punished for my hope. Man sighed, shook his head, and said "God doesn't punish people for buying cannisters. This stuff just happens."
Me: " But if we had chicken nuggets for dinner like I had planned, none of this would have been nearly so much of an issue."
Man: "Thank you for dinner. It was delicious."
Me: [hugging my poor, patient Man]
Universe - 158 Me - 0
Except, now I have cannisters.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Trading
Tag: Mom, I don't want these Cheetoes.
Me: Sorry to hear that.
Tag: Here, I'd like to share with you. [hands me his bag of junk food]
Me: Well, that's awfully nice of you. [he watches intently as I take one bite]
[Then he runs off to grab a bag of Doritoes and brings them over.]
Tag: Now, you should eat these. [He opens them for me.] And now since I shared with you, you should share with me.
[He runs off with the Doritoes, and I inhale some chips from laughing.]
Me: Sorry to hear that.
Tag: Here, I'd like to share with you. [hands me his bag of junk food]
Me: Well, that's awfully nice of you. [he watches intently as I take one bite]
[Then he runs off to grab a bag of Doritoes and brings them over.]
Tag: Now, you should eat these. [He opens them for me.] And now since I shared with you, you should share with me.
[He runs off with the Doritoes, and I inhale some chips from laughing.]
Friday, December 12, 2008
Friend's child
Some of you know my friend and some of you don't, and in the interest of protecting her privacy I can't give a whole lot of details.
The generals are these: her daughter has been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. She has been estimated to have 6 months to live.
The only thing my friend has asked is for friends to send a few cards to her daughter over the next few months. What child doesn't like getting mail? If you want to send her something (a card, pictures), I would be happy to forward it to my friend. If you don't know what my current address is (and who could blame you) email me and I'll send it to you.
And, Friend K family, know that my readers pray for you as well.
The generals are these: her daughter has been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. She has been estimated to have 6 months to live.
The only thing my friend has asked is for friends to send a few cards to her daughter over the next few months. What child doesn't like getting mail? If you want to send her something (a card, pictures), I would be happy to forward it to my friend. If you don't know what my current address is (and who could blame you) email me and I'll send it to you.
And, Friend K family, know that my readers pray for you as well.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
There is no humor today
There will be humor again. But not today.
When you learn that a friend's child is dying and you're half a country away, what do you do? What can you do?
When you learn that a friend's child is dying and you're half a country away, what do you do? What can you do?
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Cooking from scratch
I'm not dieting. Every time I think "I should diet" I immediately crave a bowl of ice cream or a bag of PB M&M's. Or anything with 40% sugar, 40% fat, and 20% refined flour.
So instead of dieting, I'm changing how I eat by baby steps.
I've long found it remarkable how different pre-fab food is from it's homemade counterpart. I found that to be unquestionably true concerning beans cooked from scratch and now I know for sure that the same could be said of garbanzo beans. I've also found a section in a local grocery store that has whole grain/legume combos with no spices or preservatives that cook up (with a little help from my spice cabinet and a fresh chopped veggie) into something far tastier and healthier than Rice-a-Roni.
And do you know how much less expensive it is to buy dried grains and legumes? It's expensive time wise, but crockpots cure that issue. Just soak overnight then throw into your slow cooker in the morning with spices. Easy.
And let's have a cheer for steamed veggies. I can have a couple of medium wedges of steamed cabbage in a day for either a snack or as a side dish for about 80 calories (1/4 of a small cabbage plus one tsp melted butter) and it's delicious. A heaping serving of broccoli is about 50 calories and doesn't need butter at all. Quinoa also has about the same calorie count as basmati rice, but it has tons more nutrition. I do prefer the texture of the rice, but they also mix pretty well.
This week's goal: increase fiber through plain low fat veggies, fruits, whole grains, and legumes. Sounds like a big goal, but so far it has been very simple. Lunch = more lentil/quinoa pilaf, an apple, and broccoli.
And if you've been following my blog for a while, you'll know that I'm anything but consistent. So the dieting updates won't last long.
But I'm not dieting. Dang it.
So instead of dieting, I'm changing how I eat by baby steps.
I've long found it remarkable how different pre-fab food is from it's homemade counterpart. I found that to be unquestionably true concerning beans cooked from scratch and now I know for sure that the same could be said of garbanzo beans. I've also found a section in a local grocery store that has whole grain/legume combos with no spices or preservatives that cook up (with a little help from my spice cabinet and a fresh chopped veggie) into something far tastier and healthier than Rice-a-Roni.
And do you know how much less expensive it is to buy dried grains and legumes? It's expensive time wise, but crockpots cure that issue. Just soak overnight then throw into your slow cooker in the morning with spices. Easy.
And let's have a cheer for steamed veggies. I can have a couple of medium wedges of steamed cabbage in a day for either a snack or as a side dish for about 80 calories (1/4 of a small cabbage plus one tsp melted butter) and it's delicious. A heaping serving of broccoli is about 50 calories and doesn't need butter at all. Quinoa also has about the same calorie count as basmati rice, but it has tons more nutrition. I do prefer the texture of the rice, but they also mix pretty well.
This week's goal: increase fiber through plain low fat veggies, fruits, whole grains, and legumes. Sounds like a big goal, but so far it has been very simple. Lunch = more lentil/quinoa pilaf, an apple, and broccoli.
And if you've been following my blog for a while, you'll know that I'm anything but consistent. So the dieting updates won't last long.
But I'm not dieting. Dang it.
Tuesday, December 09, 2008
All I want for Christmas is the Taj Mahal
I asked the kids what they wanted for Christmas, and since I'm so organized I immediately lost the list. When I asked a second time, I found that the first try was just a warm up.
Princess:
Barbie
Bratz dolls
Stuffed animals
1st grade level books
jewelry
A doll school (instead of a doll house)
Gloves
Makeup
Fake glasses
New shirts
the Tinkerbell movie
a lap top computer
a bouncy ball
Tag:
calculator
race track with cars (he had one, but we've lost about 1/3 of the pieces)
fan with a spray bottle attached
toy house with people and furniture
water colors
lamp
remote control car
my own little couch
my own little exercising bike
my own keyboard
tool box with play tools
curtains for my room with Lightning McQueen on them
a mouse pad (at this point he had started just looking around the living room for inspiration)
gloves
a pen
hair paint
his own shelf
bouncy ball
My Christmas shopping is officially complete, including a couple of items from the above lists (definitely not a lap top computer or a couch) and now I'm waiting on Amazon to deliver.
Wrapping, on the other hand, is an entirely different blog post.
Princess:
Barbie
Bratz dolls
Stuffed animals
1st grade level books
jewelry
A doll school (instead of a doll house)
Gloves
Makeup
Fake glasses
New shirts
the Tinkerbell movie
a lap top computer
a bouncy ball
Tag:
calculator
race track with cars (he had one, but we've lost about 1/3 of the pieces)
fan with a spray bottle attached
toy house with people and furniture
water colors
lamp
remote control car
my own little couch
my own little exercising bike
my own keyboard
tool box with play tools
curtains for my room with Lightning McQueen on them
a mouse pad (at this point he had started just looking around the living room for inspiration)
gloves
a pen
hair paint
his own shelf
bouncy ball
My Christmas shopping is officially complete, including a couple of items from the above lists (definitely not a lap top computer or a couch) and now I'm waiting on Amazon to deliver.
Wrapping, on the other hand, is an entirely different blog post.
Friday, December 05, 2008
Update on "Hawaiian" recipes
The coleslaw was gross, but I actually really liked the meatballs. It was a better balance of sweet and tangy than I thought it would be.
But don't waste your time on the coleslaw.
But don't waste your time on the coleslaw.
Computer, the continued story.
Man came home yesterday with a grin on his face. "How's the new card doing? Is it awesome?"
I sort of stared at the computer screen for a moment, wondering what it would look like if the new card were in and working. "Mm, it didn't work."
He took only a moment to realize that I had put the old card back in, and then set to with asking what things I tried in order to get it to work. And now I'm really glad I did all that troubleshooting garbage. When he said "did you try..." I was able to say "yes!"
He was so focused on the computer all night last night that he didn't even eat dinner with us longer than 3 minutes. Which is saying something for a one handed man eating bbq chicken. He tried to talk to me about it throughout the evening, but I was preoccupied with less technical things, such as cooking, getting the kids ready for bed, and preparing my home for a free carpet cleaning. Besides that, I honestly don't know enough about computers to really be helpful. His questions and statements were not the teaching sort, they were the focused, competent sort that quickly flew between hardware, software, and maybe even silverware or wererabbit for all I kept up with him. I'm not sure if he wanted me to help or if he was simply trying to include me in a process he enjoys.
He seemed so preoccupied though, that after a while I came up with a great idea.
"Honey, why don't you try adjusting the tacheon radiofrequency for endothermic propulsion? That might help the phasonic wavebrights malappease the monochipistic hampsters that are messing with the system."
"Yeah," he said. "That might work."
Then he looked up at me and grinned, and we nerdily shared a snorty laugh.
I'm so white and nerdy. Bwahahaha-snort-hahaha. Ahem.
So, the end result was that about 30 mins after I went to bed last night, he said that he tampered with it so much both physically and with internal settings of some sort that the motherboard finally waved a white flag and gave up the ghost.
Now, I know what some of you are thinking: now we know! He did do it on purpose! He asked if we might spring for a new motherboard/processor, because that's all it would need to be a perfectly good computer. I pondered that. After 7+ years, I know him well enough to see when disappointment is real, and he was genuinely upset that this purchase didn't behave very well.
I know what others of you are thinking: if that computer is fried, how are you posting this? We're working with his laptop for now. Imagine my chagrin, to have to watch The Office and The Daily Show on this little thing with the laptop sized speakers. -sigh- Poor me.
(that was sarcastic, btw)
We've been burning the candles we got yesterday and Pebbles is so fascinated by these things. She knows that fire is dangerous and hurts, so every time I pick up the little candle tin she gets anxious and yells "watch it, finger! [which actually sounds like "finker"] Fire's hot and hurts fingers!" So I decided to mess with her and run my finger through the flame. She squeaked. "Issa hurt? Hurt finger? Don't hurt, finger!" Then she blew it out, made a really awesome "ack! uh-oh" face, then said "can I have some more fire?"
I think we have a little pyro in the making. She's right next to me, laughing about some hair she accidentally singed and now she wants me to give her some paper.
I sort of stared at the computer screen for a moment, wondering what it would look like if the new card were in and working. "Mm, it didn't work."
He took only a moment to realize that I had put the old card back in, and then set to with asking what things I tried in order to get it to work. And now I'm really glad I did all that troubleshooting garbage. When he said "did you try..." I was able to say "yes!"
He was so focused on the computer all night last night that he didn't even eat dinner with us longer than 3 minutes. Which is saying something for a one handed man eating bbq chicken. He tried to talk to me about it throughout the evening, but I was preoccupied with less technical things, such as cooking, getting the kids ready for bed, and preparing my home for a free carpet cleaning. Besides that, I honestly don't know enough about computers to really be helpful. His questions and statements were not the teaching sort, they were the focused, competent sort that quickly flew between hardware, software, and maybe even silverware or wererabbit for all I kept up with him. I'm not sure if he wanted me to help or if he was simply trying to include me in a process he enjoys.
He seemed so preoccupied though, that after a while I came up with a great idea.
"Honey, why don't you try adjusting the tacheon radiofrequency for endothermic propulsion? That might help the phasonic wavebrights malappease the monochipistic hampsters that are messing with the system."
"Yeah," he said. "That might work."
Then he looked up at me and grinned, and we nerdily shared a snorty laugh.
I'm so white and nerdy. Bwahahaha-snort-hahaha. Ahem.
So, the end result was that about 30 mins after I went to bed last night, he said that he tampered with it so much both physically and with internal settings of some sort that the motherboard finally waved a white flag and gave up the ghost.
Now, I know what some of you are thinking: now we know! He did do it on purpose! He asked if we might spring for a new motherboard/processor, because that's all it would need to be a perfectly good computer. I pondered that. After 7+ years, I know him well enough to see when disappointment is real, and he was genuinely upset that this purchase didn't behave very well.
I know what others of you are thinking: if that computer is fried, how are you posting this? We're working with his laptop for now. Imagine my chagrin, to have to watch The Office and The Daily Show on this little thing with the laptop sized speakers. -sigh- Poor me.
(that was sarcastic, btw)
We've been burning the candles we got yesterday and Pebbles is so fascinated by these things. She knows that fire is dangerous and hurts, so every time I pick up the little candle tin she gets anxious and yells "watch it, finger! [which actually sounds like "finker"] Fire's hot and hurts fingers!" So I decided to mess with her and run my finger through the flame. She squeaked. "Issa hurt? Hurt finger? Don't hurt, finger!" Then she blew it out, made a really awesome "ack! uh-oh" face, then said "can I have some more fire?"
I think we have a little pyro in the making. She's right next to me, laughing about some hair she accidentally singed and now she wants me to give her some paper.
Thursday, December 04, 2008
I got my carpet cleaned for free!
And all I had to do was say "no thank you" with a smile. I "won" a drawing, which meant I could choose to receive two candles (gingerbread) and two rooms of carpet cleaning absolutely free!
How does the saying go -- "I love hard work. I could watch it all day."
I've never seen someone vacuum so slowly in my life. He was very sure to show me how much gunk is in my carpets (it's a rental, what can I say) but the price tag was hideous. By a show of hands, who here would ever spend $2100 on a vacuum? I admit that this was something of a Swiss Army vacuum though, with at least a dozen attachments and knobs and levers that kept all the kids enthralled. Pebbles spent most of the time he was here asking "is it a good guy bacuum?" and running away with a squeak.
If he had come earlier in the day I might have pretended to be more interested. "Wow, look at what it does to the living room carpet! What would it do in one of the kids' rooms? Ooooo, I'd absolutely love to see how well it cleans my couch. Can I try it on my van? Really? Oh, you're too kind."
Unfortunately, he came late in the day, and it really didn't suck the water out of the carpet at all. He claimed that it would dry in 20 mins but we're going on an hour here and it's still wet. And I'm allergic to the fragrance in the shampoo. So, sorry Pedro, there is no way I going to 1) spend that amount of money on a vacuum that 2) is so confusing that it takes a whole 30 mins to set up whereupon it 3) turns my house into merely a different sort of allergen harboring environment.
But I have gingerbread candles (which are likely from the Dollar Store) and the carpet doesn't smell like pet any more. Not bad for free, right?
How does the saying go -- "I love hard work. I could watch it all day."
I've never seen someone vacuum so slowly in my life. He was very sure to show me how much gunk is in my carpets (it's a rental, what can I say) but the price tag was hideous. By a show of hands, who here would ever spend $2100 on a vacuum? I admit that this was something of a Swiss Army vacuum though, with at least a dozen attachments and knobs and levers that kept all the kids enthralled. Pebbles spent most of the time he was here asking "is it a good guy bacuum?" and running away with a squeak.
If he had come earlier in the day I might have pretended to be more interested. "Wow, look at what it does to the living room carpet! What would it do in one of the kids' rooms? Ooooo, I'd absolutely love to see how well it cleans my couch. Can I try it on my van? Really? Oh, you're too kind."
Unfortunately, he came late in the day, and it really didn't suck the water out of the carpet at all. He claimed that it would dry in 20 mins but we're going on an hour here and it's still wet. And I'm allergic to the fragrance in the shampoo. So, sorry Pedro, there is no way I going to 1) spend that amount of money on a vacuum that 2) is so confusing that it takes a whole 30 mins to set up whereupon it 3) turns my house into merely a different sort of allergen harboring environment.
But I have gingerbread candles (which are likely from the Dollar Store) and the carpet doesn't smell like pet any more. Not bad for free, right?
I have installed a video card!
This morning we found that the UPS guy left our new video card for our computer in our driveway. I don't know why, but the poor UPS man ends up delivering into the dark of night on our street, which can be a bit distressing, as indicated by our morning surprise. It froze last night, by the way.
Anyway, Man came home right after PT because he knew about the box and I didn't, and burst in the door this morning and asked if I wanted to install a video card. Whoa, what? Yeah, he's got this thing about teaching me about computer hardware, which is cool because I like computer hardware in the sense that someone who doesn't know French likes French, or who has never tried a truffle (the mushroom sort) begins to salivate over recipes that contain said delicacy. So, my interest doesn't make a whole lot of logical sense, but it's fun, and Man loves computers so it gives us something to talk about (or, something for me to cheerfully listen to while he waxes passionately poetic)
Man put this computer together about 5 years ago, using some old parts and some new parts. It has lasted quite well despite the fact that it's now outdated and we put a big strain on it with video watching and game playing. The video card has started rebelling, completely restarting the computer when we start some videos, and we've had to dial down the quality of the graphics we have things run at.
So, Man got a twinkle in his eye.
It's the sort of twinkle he gets that makes me tense up. The sort of twinkle that transforms into a gleam, and then blood-shot eyes after hours of research, days of dreaming, and perhaps months of planning and attempting to scrape funds together. It's the same twinkle he got when he started talking up the creation of this computer. It's also the same gleam he achieved while trying to find some way to buy a piano. Those were the same blood shot eyes that eventually obtained our flat screen computer monitor. He slaves over the purchases he wants to make with an energy and determination that are somewhat disturbing to behold. But the end result is that he absolutely LOVES the thing he buys. He uses it to its full potential, uses it every day, and always delights in the fruits of his efforts.
This is partly why I don't buy him things any more. I like to give gifts, but there's no way I'm going to imitate or understand the Twinkle and therefore, for gift-giving occasions, I give him a spending limit. It's easier on everyone that way.
Anyway, so we now have the video card. He ate his cereal while talking me through portions of removing the old card (itty-bitty thing) and plugging the new card in (friggin' huge, and requires its own power supply). I opened the case and whistled. It looked like the Sahara, with piles of dead matter everywhere. I asked him if I could vacuum it out. His face reflected momentary panic, wondering if I was serious. He told me that if I did we'd have to get a whole new computer, knowing that would scare me into never doing it at all. He had to dash out the door just as I was putting in the last screw (yes, it takes two internal slots, whatever those are called) and so I flipped it on after he left. Things went great until I logged in. The computer froze up.
Something inside me froze at the same time. Crap, I thought. I wonder if I broke it.
So, I did something the pro's call "troubleshooting", which for me involved (after doing a hard shut down) wiggling the wiggly bits a little, plugging a different power supply thingy into the card, making sure all the plugs in the back were nice and tight, and taking some of the larger dust bunnies out. Satisfied that I had done everything I reasonably could to make it have a better chance at not freezing up, I turned it on again.
Nope. It froze. Actually, it froze on the login screen this time. So, I did another hard shut down (I know, I know, I didn't have a choice) hoping that may a third time would be a charm. Maybe one of these times it would just magically work long enough for me to install the new drivers and I'd be a hero!! A hero who troubleshoots for freedom and justice! A hero who wasn't afraid to go outside her comfort zone and MAKE the computer work!
After it froze the third time, I sort of puttered around the house, hoping it would unfreeze on its own. Maybe the motherboard woke up, saw the video card, peed itself, and was just standing there in shock. Maybe they just needed some time to get to know each other, like if you're the school nerd who gets assigned the star running back as a lab partner in high school. So, I waited. I did some laundry, glanced at the frozen screen, changed some diapers, looked longingly at the frozen screen, poked at the piles of stuff around my house that need to be cleaned up, then came and sat in front of the frozen screen. And sighed.
Then I shut it down and put the old card back in. Turning the computer on, I changed some settings so that not as much stuff had to load up at first, hoping it would ease start up a bit. Switching the cards again, the computer started up but beeped over and over and flashed red words on the screen: The Video Card Is Not Plugged Into Its Own Power Source. Please Turn Off The Computer And See Instruction Manual For Proper Installation
Which has led me to the conclusion that my computer is a jerk. "Proper" installation? Well, hoity-toity you snobby bot. At least it said "please."
I turned it off again, plugged in the power cord, turned it back on, and it still froze.
So, since I can't live a whole day without Googling something, I put the older video card it, which gasped and sobbed when I picked it up, and now it's sort of moaning like a soul of the darned, sentenced to earthly prison for a life of mis-deeds.
Part of me wonders if, in all that research, Man came to the conclusion that if we got this video card that we'd have to upgrade something else, and thus his dominoes are in place to eventually have the computer he wants by bits and pieces.
However, that would be violating my own desire: "I'd rather be thought of as incompetent than conniving", but I'll reserve judgement until he comes home tonight and tinkers with it for a while. And now that I know a thing or two about computers (where the power button is, and how to put in a video card, go me) I'll be able to tell the difference. Watch out, computer guys, I'm armed with just enough knowledge to be annoying and condescending!
Anyway, Man came home right after PT because he knew about the box and I didn't, and burst in the door this morning and asked if I wanted to install a video card. Whoa, what? Yeah, he's got this thing about teaching me about computer hardware, which is cool because I like computer hardware in the sense that someone who doesn't know French likes French, or who has never tried a truffle (the mushroom sort) begins to salivate over recipes that contain said delicacy. So, my interest doesn't make a whole lot of logical sense, but it's fun, and Man loves computers so it gives us something to talk about (or, something for me to cheerfully listen to while he waxes passionately poetic)
Man put this computer together about 5 years ago, using some old parts and some new parts. It has lasted quite well despite the fact that it's now outdated and we put a big strain on it with video watching and game playing. The video card has started rebelling, completely restarting the computer when we start some videos, and we've had to dial down the quality of the graphics we have things run at.
So, Man got a twinkle in his eye.
It's the sort of twinkle he gets that makes me tense up. The sort of twinkle that transforms into a gleam, and then blood-shot eyes after hours of research, days of dreaming, and perhaps months of planning and attempting to scrape funds together. It's the same twinkle he got when he started talking up the creation of this computer. It's also the same gleam he achieved while trying to find some way to buy a piano. Those were the same blood shot eyes that eventually obtained our flat screen computer monitor. He slaves over the purchases he wants to make with an energy and determination that are somewhat disturbing to behold. But the end result is that he absolutely LOVES the thing he buys. He uses it to its full potential, uses it every day, and always delights in the fruits of his efforts.
This is partly why I don't buy him things any more. I like to give gifts, but there's no way I'm going to imitate or understand the Twinkle and therefore, for gift-giving occasions, I give him a spending limit. It's easier on everyone that way.
Anyway, so we now have the video card. He ate his cereal while talking me through portions of removing the old card (itty-bitty thing) and plugging the new card in (friggin' huge, and requires its own power supply). I opened the case and whistled. It looked like the Sahara, with piles of dead matter everywhere. I asked him if I could vacuum it out. His face reflected momentary panic, wondering if I was serious. He told me that if I did we'd have to get a whole new computer, knowing that would scare me into never doing it at all. He had to dash out the door just as I was putting in the last screw (yes, it takes two internal slots, whatever those are called) and so I flipped it on after he left. Things went great until I logged in. The computer froze up.
Something inside me froze at the same time. Crap, I thought. I wonder if I broke it.
So, I did something the pro's call "troubleshooting", which for me involved (after doing a hard shut down) wiggling the wiggly bits a little, plugging a different power supply thingy into the card, making sure all the plugs in the back were nice and tight, and taking some of the larger dust bunnies out. Satisfied that I had done everything I reasonably could to make it have a better chance at not freezing up, I turned it on again.
Nope. It froze. Actually, it froze on the login screen this time. So, I did another hard shut down (I know, I know, I didn't have a choice) hoping that may a third time would be a charm. Maybe one of these times it would just magically work long enough for me to install the new drivers and I'd be a hero!! A hero who troubleshoots for freedom and justice! A hero who wasn't afraid to go outside her comfort zone and MAKE the computer work!
After it froze the third time, I sort of puttered around the house, hoping it would unfreeze on its own. Maybe the motherboard woke up, saw the video card, peed itself, and was just standing there in shock. Maybe they just needed some time to get to know each other, like if you're the school nerd who gets assigned the star running back as a lab partner in high school. So, I waited. I did some laundry, glanced at the frozen screen, changed some diapers, looked longingly at the frozen screen, poked at the piles of stuff around my house that need to be cleaned up, then came and sat in front of the frozen screen. And sighed.
Then I shut it down and put the old card back in. Turning the computer on, I changed some settings so that not as much stuff had to load up at first, hoping it would ease start up a bit. Switching the cards again, the computer started up but beeped over and over and flashed red words on the screen: The Video Card Is Not Plugged Into Its Own Power Source. Please Turn Off The Computer And See Instruction Manual For Proper Installation
Which has led me to the conclusion that my computer is a jerk. "Proper" installation? Well, hoity-toity you snobby bot. At least it said "please."
I turned it off again, plugged in the power cord, turned it back on, and it still froze.
So, since I can't live a whole day without Googling something, I put the older video card it, which gasped and sobbed when I picked it up, and now it's sort of moaning like a soul of the darned, sentenced to earthly prison for a life of mis-deeds.
Part of me wonders if, in all that research, Man came to the conclusion that if we got this video card that we'd have to upgrade something else, and thus his dominoes are in place to eventually have the computer he wants by bits and pieces.
However, that would be violating my own desire: "I'd rather be thought of as incompetent than conniving", but I'll reserve judgement until he comes home tonight and tinkers with it for a while. And now that I know a thing or two about computers (where the power button is, and how to put in a video card, go me) I'll be able to tell the difference. Watch out, computer guys, I'm armed with just enough knowledge to be annoying and condescending!
Wednesday, December 03, 2008
Updates and life
Things here have boiled down to a sort of dull roar. Man signed back into work today and is wearing his sling for a while so people remember to not touch the shoulder or expect a salute or ask him to run for anything. His follow up with the surgeon was positive, with Dr C saying that he expects Man to make a full recovery, including the ability to once again do pushups. We're still very cautiously optimistic. He still hurts quite a bit, but it sure is nice to not have to dress his shoulder any more, especially the two layers of plastic we put on it for showers for two weeks. Man, that took a lot of time and silk tape.
The kids are back in school but Tag has to have a burst of steroids (5 days of orapred) because of illness + too much time at a friends' house with outside dogs + weather + us trying to keep him on as little meds as possible. Which totally backfired. -sigh- He's back on his dailies for another quite a while. Good news: he isn't reacting to the prednisone the way he did before. He's actually behaving pretty normally. Which is just staggering to me and I'm grateful.
I finally remembered that it's December, which means that it's time to get the mailable Christmas presents sent, which means I need to a) think of gifts, b) obtain or create them and c) get them mailed by early next week. Any ideas? We're talking grandparents.
But, with December comes the advent calendar my mom made for us (which survived the move with all ornaments intact!), chocolate advent calendars from the commissary, and a sort of stumbling avalanche of busy work until some time in February when my head clears and I realize that not only has the New year gone by, but three children's birthdays. Tag's lucky, in a way, to be that far behind the pack.
Girl scout cookie season is coming up beginning Jan 21st! Let me know if you need a GS cookie fix and we'll talk. :)
We found a really cool gadget hanging up in the cereal aisle at WalMart: dinosaur sandwich cutter. Tag adores this thing. He loves the sandwiches it makes and even eats up the crusts while he watches me plate his two new friends who he will shortly devour. Last night it even got Tag and Princess to eat lasagna. Yes, we had dinosaur lasagna. It worked surprisingly well and, despite talk of biting things heads off, dinner was peaceful and bellies ended up full.
Ward Christmas party is coming up this Friday. It's a luau. Here are the recipes I signed up to make for it:
Hawaiian Coleslaw
4 cups of shredded cabbage
1 (11 ounce) can mandarin oranges (drained, liquid preserved)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp white pepper
1 cup crushed pineapple (drained)
1/3 cup mayo
1. Put cabbage into a large bowl. Combine cabbage, 1 T reserved mandarin orange juice, salt, ginger, nutmeg, and pepper.
2. Toss the oranges and pineapples into the mixture. Stir in mayo until everything is coated. Chill well before serving.
3. Serving suggestion - cut a pineapple down the middle lengthwise. Cute the insides to make a pineapple boat. Fill two halves with coleslaw.
Annie's note: that's a really expensive serving suggestion. I guess you could use the pineapple you scoop out for your recipe, though. Make sure you use real mayo, too, since it'll need that slight tang to help out the sweet.
Waikiki Meatballs
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
2/3 cup cracker crumbs
1/3 cup minced onion
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp ginger
1/4 cup milk
1 T shortening
2 T cornstarch
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 can (13 1/2 ounce) pineapple tidbits, drained - reserve syrup
1/3 cup vinegar
1 T soy sauce
1/3 cup chopped green pepper
Mix thoroughly beef, crumbs, onion, egg, salt, ginger, and milk. Shape mixture in rounded tablespoonfuls into balls. Melt shortening in large skillet. Brown and cook meatballs, remove balls. Keep warm. Pour fat from skillet. Mix cornstarch and sugar. Stir in reserved pineapple syrup, vinegar, and soy sauce until smooth. Pour until skillet and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and boils. Boil and stir 1 minute. Add meatballs, pineapple and green pepper.
Note: [modification proposed by the person who issued the recipe] I cook my meatballs on a cookie sheet for about a half hour. I then put them in a crock pot and pour the pineapple syrup mixture over the meatballs. Add the green pepper. Cook on low.
Annie's note: This recipe sounds pretty good, and I certainly agree with baking rather than frying in shortening. It seems to be missing some garlic and ground pepper, and maybe just a slight bit of chipotle seasoning. Definitely cook the pepper until tender-crisp. I'd serve this with steamed rice and pulled pork sandwiches. Apparently our bishop will be providing the pit-roasted pig.
The kids are back in school but Tag has to have a burst of steroids (5 days of orapred) because of illness + too much time at a friends' house with outside dogs + weather + us trying to keep him on as little meds as possible. Which totally backfired. -sigh- He's back on his dailies for another quite a while. Good news: he isn't reacting to the prednisone the way he did before. He's actually behaving pretty normally. Which is just staggering to me and I'm grateful.
I finally remembered that it's December, which means that it's time to get the mailable Christmas presents sent, which means I need to a) think of gifts, b) obtain or create them and c) get them mailed by early next week. Any ideas? We're talking grandparents.
But, with December comes the advent calendar my mom made for us (which survived the move with all ornaments intact!), chocolate advent calendars from the commissary, and a sort of stumbling avalanche of busy work until some time in February when my head clears and I realize that not only has the New year gone by, but three children's birthdays. Tag's lucky, in a way, to be that far behind the pack.
Girl scout cookie season is coming up beginning Jan 21st! Let me know if you need a GS cookie fix and we'll talk. :)
We found a really cool gadget hanging up in the cereal aisle at WalMart: dinosaur sandwich cutter. Tag adores this thing. He loves the sandwiches it makes and even eats up the crusts while he watches me plate his two new friends who he will shortly devour. Last night it even got Tag and Princess to eat lasagna. Yes, we had dinosaur lasagna. It worked surprisingly well and, despite talk of biting things heads off, dinner was peaceful and bellies ended up full.
Ward Christmas party is coming up this Friday. It's a luau. Here are the recipes I signed up to make for it:
Hawaiian Coleslaw
4 cups of shredded cabbage
1 (11 ounce) can mandarin oranges (drained, liquid preserved)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp white pepper
1 cup crushed pineapple (drained)
1/3 cup mayo
1. Put cabbage into a large bowl. Combine cabbage, 1 T reserved mandarin orange juice, salt, ginger, nutmeg, and pepper.
2. Toss the oranges and pineapples into the mixture. Stir in mayo until everything is coated. Chill well before serving.
3. Serving suggestion - cut a pineapple down the middle lengthwise. Cute the insides to make a pineapple boat. Fill two halves with coleslaw.
Annie's note: that's a really expensive serving suggestion. I guess you could use the pineapple you scoop out for your recipe, though. Make sure you use real mayo, too, since it'll need that slight tang to help out the sweet.
Waikiki Meatballs
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
2/3 cup cracker crumbs
1/3 cup minced onion
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp ginger
1/4 cup milk
1 T shortening
2 T cornstarch
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 can (13 1/2 ounce) pineapple tidbits, drained - reserve syrup
1/3 cup vinegar
1 T soy sauce
1/3 cup chopped green pepper
Mix thoroughly beef, crumbs, onion, egg, salt, ginger, and milk. Shape mixture in rounded tablespoonfuls into balls. Melt shortening in large skillet. Brown and cook meatballs, remove balls. Keep warm. Pour fat from skillet. Mix cornstarch and sugar. Stir in reserved pineapple syrup, vinegar, and soy sauce until smooth. Pour until skillet and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and boils. Boil and stir 1 minute. Add meatballs, pineapple and green pepper.
Note: [modification proposed by the person who issued the recipe] I cook my meatballs on a cookie sheet for about a half hour. I then put them in a crock pot and pour the pineapple syrup mixture over the meatballs. Add the green pepper. Cook on low.
Annie's note: This recipe sounds pretty good, and I certainly agree with baking rather than frying in shortening. It seems to be missing some garlic and ground pepper, and maybe just a slight bit of chipotle seasoning. Definitely cook the pepper until tender-crisp. I'd serve this with steamed rice and pulled pork sandwiches. Apparently our bishop will be providing the pit-roasted pig.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Brine
Anne Marie asked what I thought of the brines, which is cool because I completely forgot to update you guys on those.
The Apple Brine is a long time fav of ours. We first tried it about 5 years ago and have been hooked ever since. The key is to not use the full amount of sugar. Use no more than 1 cup of sugar. We also brined it for about 36 hours which I don't think was better or worse than the usual 24 hours. It sure made it fast to put in the oven in the morning. Just rinse, pat dry, and chuck that baby in.
The maple brine wasn't bad but no where near as good as the apple brine. Man thought that the maple was too strong, which is interesting what with all the other flavors competing in there. Though the drippings from this one made the best gravy I've ever had.
Peas and mushrooms were (in my opinion) very tastey.
We just used the basic recipe for cranberry sauce. (berries, sugar, water, dash of salt)
Rolls were our favs: Unknownchef86's Very Best Dinner Rolls. These are super easy, very forgiving, and fast to cook.
Stuffing was Stove Top, my fav kind of stuffing.
Steamed corn, with optional butter and salt.
And I think I already posted the mashed potato recipe.
The sweet potatoes were simple: microwave until soft, let rest until cool enough to handle. Peel, mash, put in casserole with enough brown sugar to sweeten to taste, top with marshmallows and brown the top briefly.
We're still eating the leftovers, 4 days later. :)
The Apple Brine is a long time fav of ours. We first tried it about 5 years ago and have been hooked ever since. The key is to not use the full amount of sugar. Use no more than 1 cup of sugar. We also brined it for about 36 hours which I don't think was better or worse than the usual 24 hours. It sure made it fast to put in the oven in the morning. Just rinse, pat dry, and chuck that baby in.
The maple brine wasn't bad but no where near as good as the apple brine. Man thought that the maple was too strong, which is interesting what with all the other flavors competing in there. Though the drippings from this one made the best gravy I've ever had.
Peas and mushrooms were (in my opinion) very tastey.
We just used the basic recipe for cranberry sauce. (berries, sugar, water, dash of salt)
Rolls were our favs: Unknownchef86's Very Best Dinner Rolls. These are super easy, very forgiving, and fast to cook.
Stuffing was Stove Top, my fav kind of stuffing.
Steamed corn, with optional butter and salt.
And I think I already posted the mashed potato recipe.
The sweet potatoes were simple: microwave until soft, let rest until cool enough to handle. Peel, mash, put in casserole with enough brown sugar to sweeten to taste, top with marshmallows and brown the top briefly.
We're still eating the leftovers, 4 days later. :)
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Thanksgiving
I think this is the first Thanksgiving that I've hosted for other people. It was nice to stay pretty relaxed with friends and not be too caught up in presentation.
We used the crockpot to keep the potatoes warm (thanks, Grandparents! It worked very nicely), and had as much done the day before as possible. As it was, I ended up in the kitchen for a good couple of hours and was very grateful for Man's sister's help. She made some awesome gravy and helped keep me grounded while all those plates were spinning. Tag spent most of the day playing with the neighbor's grandkids.
And yes, we had way too much turkey. We ended up with leftovers after carving up the little turkey, and the large turkey was untouched. Holy guacamole, but I think I'll be posting a few ways to use turkey. M told me about one that she likes:
Layer (crushed tortilla chips), (chopped turkey, salsa, cream of mushroom soup), and (cheese) twice, then bake until bubbley. And we definitely sent her home with enough leftovers to make that dish. I think we'll have to try it with some low fat soup, or just sub in some of that fat free cream cheese. Don't cringe -- it actually hides pretty well in casseroles.
The only major mishap we had was when some sweet child turned the roaster on high heat for a while. That turkey turned out a tad overdone but, since it was brined, was still juicy and tastey.
And now, on to Christmas.
I have most of my shopping all done, but nothing is wrapped and I have a couple of mystery people to shop for. You know, the people who appear to have everything. -sigh-
We used the crockpot to keep the potatoes warm (thanks, Grandparents! It worked very nicely), and had as much done the day before as possible. As it was, I ended up in the kitchen for a good couple of hours and was very grateful for Man's sister's help. She made some awesome gravy and helped keep me grounded while all those plates were spinning. Tag spent most of the day playing with the neighbor's grandkids.
And yes, we had way too much turkey. We ended up with leftovers after carving up the little turkey, and the large turkey was untouched. Holy guacamole, but I think I'll be posting a few ways to use turkey. M told me about one that she likes:
Layer (crushed tortilla chips), (chopped turkey, salsa, cream of mushroom soup), and (cheese) twice, then bake until bubbley. And we definitely sent her home with enough leftovers to make that dish. I think we'll have to try it with some low fat soup, or just sub in some of that fat free cream cheese. Don't cringe -- it actually hides pretty well in casseroles.
The only major mishap we had was when some sweet child turned the roaster on high heat for a while. That turkey turned out a tad overdone but, since it was brined, was still juicy and tastey.
And now, on to Christmas.
I have most of my shopping all done, but nothing is wrapped and I have a couple of mystery people to shop for. You know, the people who appear to have everything. -sigh-
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
You are what you eat
So I'm going to be one stuffed turkey soon.
It all started about a month and a half ago when Man asked if he could invite some people from work over for Thanksgiving. Now, the military is a lot like elementary school: if you bring an invitation to school, you should bring enough invitations for everyone. But, since rank and a couple of other factors force some level of segregation among soldiers, I was spared the entire class of 30 and their families.
Instead, we invited about 14 people over. That's a lot of people for us.
Fortunately, only 7 or so took Man up on the invite. That's a number I can live with for sure. Man's sister and her husband are also going to be coming. We started playing with ideas for how to feed that sort of crowd. Mashed potatoes and corn are cheap, but pie and and eggnog are not. Ham is more expensive than turkey, but two turkeys would be hard to cook.
We decided to just bite the bullet and make two turkeys, because I've seen soldiers eat. It isn't dirty or anything, just shocking quantities scamper down those eager gullets, and these soldiers all live in the barracks so they don't get home cooking. Ever.
The turkeys have been thawing in the fridge since this past Friday, because when you brine a large bird you have to start taking action about 156 hours before the fact. Today I made up two different brines (apple brine and maple brine -- I use a mere fraction of the sugar called for. it's much better that way) and I was busy giving the larger of the two birds (Herman) a bit of a bath in the sink to clean him up before his beauty sleep. Plunging my hand into his body cavity to search for stray ice, I managed to create a Death Juice Geyser that soaked my shirt and the head of the baby standing at my feet. Her glowing eyes crinkled as she grinned at my fun new game. She smiled and screamed "baaaah!!"
I used my stockpot for Herman and my very large pressure cooker for Hermione, putting them both in turkey sized oven bags before adding their spa treatment. I'm glad we got the large sized fridge.
I've already got the topping for the peach crisp waiting in the fridge ( with the addition of fresh ground nutmeg and a tiny dash of ginger), and the vanilla ice cream is standing by. Gravy, of course, will be drippings, flour, and fresh ground black pepper.
Sweet potatoes, steamed corn, peas and mushrooms, and mashed potatoes represent the veggie group, and homemade cranberry sauce is imperative for Man's turkey eating experience. Hot rolls will sort of fill in the corners and mop up plates.
Dessert is that peach crisp, brownies, and Paula Deen's pumpkin gingerbread trifle.
This is the original OAMC (once a month cooking) marathon cooking session.
A couple of days ago, after all the sweet potatoes had been purchased and the turkeys were already thawing, Man let me know that we'd only be having 3 of the guys over.
So, I guess we'll be having more leftovers than I thought. At least I won't have to buy groceries until the next time we move.
It all started about a month and a half ago when Man asked if he could invite some people from work over for Thanksgiving. Now, the military is a lot like elementary school: if you bring an invitation to school, you should bring enough invitations for everyone. But, since rank and a couple of other factors force some level of segregation among soldiers, I was spared the entire class of 30 and their families.
Instead, we invited about 14 people over. That's a lot of people for us.
Fortunately, only 7 or so took Man up on the invite. That's a number I can live with for sure. Man's sister and her husband are also going to be coming. We started playing with ideas for how to feed that sort of crowd. Mashed potatoes and corn are cheap, but pie and and eggnog are not. Ham is more expensive than turkey, but two turkeys would be hard to cook.
We decided to just bite the bullet and make two turkeys, because I've seen soldiers eat. It isn't dirty or anything, just shocking quantities scamper down those eager gullets, and these soldiers all live in the barracks so they don't get home cooking. Ever.
The turkeys have been thawing in the fridge since this past Friday, because when you brine a large bird you have to start taking action about 156 hours before the fact. Today I made up two different brines (apple brine and maple brine -- I use a mere fraction of the sugar called for. it's much better that way) and I was busy giving the larger of the two birds (Herman) a bit of a bath in the sink to clean him up before his beauty sleep. Plunging my hand into his body cavity to search for stray ice, I managed to create a Death Juice Geyser that soaked my shirt and the head of the baby standing at my feet. Her glowing eyes crinkled as she grinned at my fun new game. She smiled and screamed "baaaah!!"
I used my stockpot for Herman and my very large pressure cooker for Hermione, putting them both in turkey sized oven bags before adding their spa treatment. I'm glad we got the large sized fridge.
I've already got the topping for the peach crisp waiting in the fridge ( with the addition of fresh ground nutmeg and a tiny dash of ginger), and the vanilla ice cream is standing by. Gravy, of course, will be drippings, flour, and fresh ground black pepper.
Sweet potatoes, steamed corn, peas and mushrooms, and mashed potatoes represent the veggie group, and homemade cranberry sauce is imperative for Man's turkey eating experience. Hot rolls will sort of fill in the corners and mop up plates.
Dessert is that peach crisp, brownies, and Paula Deen's pumpkin gingerbread trifle.
This is the original OAMC (once a month cooking) marathon cooking session.
A couple of days ago, after all the sweet potatoes had been purchased and the turkeys were already thawing, Man let me know that we'd only be having 3 of the guys over.
So, I guess we'll be having more leftovers than I thought. At least I won't have to buy groceries until the next time we move.
Monday, November 24, 2008
The kids ate my Christmas gift
As a child, it's easy to think of things to blame for falling short on assignments. I know that Christmas gifts are neither mandatory nor do they have to be extravagant. I like to give them as far as my budget is able. In fact, I like to make things for people quite a bit but am so self-critical that I will often make a few things that never end up under the tree. I have no dog to blame, no pets of any kind, and if I have time to type these posts I certainly have time to knit a few more rows, let alone time to fold the two baskets of laundry in my bedroom.
This year, I decided to make a couple of cute things for a couple of cute sisters, but wasn't happy with how one of them turned out. It was a scarf and the stripes I wanted for it would be most easily accomplished by knitting it sideways, along the length of the item. That always makes me nervous because I like looooooong scarves and knitting it sideways meant that the length would be fixed, for better or for worse, unless I got tricky and brave with a crochet hook.
Well, it did turn out too short for my taste. I ended up leaving the poor thing on the back of the couch, where my kids found it. It made the most marvelous draw bridge, stretchy arm, whip, rope, and harness they'd ever used, the end result being my sad little scarf being left for dead in a withered pile in a dark corner of our crooked hallway, to be discovered only after that magic moment revered through all time, known merely as "bed time." Of course, once everyone is all tucked in, you can't go thumping around chastising them for ruining all my hard work.
I stared at it, examining the broken strings on one side that were already unraveling a large portion of the edge, where jewel-pink ribbon yarn hung limp and lost and frayed.
I smiled slightly, torn between outrage because knitting does take time, and relief that I could go get more yummy yarn to make what I really wanted.
teehee
Readers, how long do you like your scarves? See the poll on the right side of this page.
This year, I decided to make a couple of cute things for a couple of cute sisters, but wasn't happy with how one of them turned out. It was a scarf and the stripes I wanted for it would be most easily accomplished by knitting it sideways, along the length of the item. That always makes me nervous because I like looooooong scarves and knitting it sideways meant that the length would be fixed, for better or for worse, unless I got tricky and brave with a crochet hook.
Well, it did turn out too short for my taste. I ended up leaving the poor thing on the back of the couch, where my kids found it. It made the most marvelous draw bridge, stretchy arm, whip, rope, and harness they'd ever used, the end result being my sad little scarf being left for dead in a withered pile in a dark corner of our crooked hallway, to be discovered only after that magic moment revered through all time, known merely as "bed time." Of course, once everyone is all tucked in, you can't go thumping around chastising them for ruining all my hard work.
I stared at it, examining the broken strings on one side that were already unraveling a large portion of the edge, where jewel-pink ribbon yarn hung limp and lost and frayed.
I smiled slightly, torn between outrage because knitting does take time, and relief that I could go get more yummy yarn to make what I really wanted.
teehee
Readers, how long do you like your scarves? See the poll on the right side of this page.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Relief
3 days after his surgery, his shoulder feels better at rest than it did before the surgery.
YAY!!!!!!!!!
-fingers crossed, knock on wood, praying, praying, praying-
YAY!!!!!!!!!
-fingers crossed, knock on wood, praying, praying, praying-
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Waking up
This morning, Man tried to let me sleep in. It was really a courageous thing for him to attempt. But, sadly, Princess came in to let me know that she had accidentally peed her bed. She drank a lot yesterday (highly uncharacteristic of her) and neglected to use the bathroom last night. Fortunately, it was a small enough mess that I could tell her to take her own sheets off the bed. Thank goodness for plastic sheets which have been in place since our last flu episode.
A few minutes later, Man came to inform me that Frieda had not only thrown up all over her crib, she also needed a diaper change and he couldn't do it with one hand. He's been trying to help with things all day -- putting dishes away, flipping French toast, keeping the sad, grumpy baby occupied, but the results of often comedic. Poor guy. He really is trying.
Anyway, Pebbles wanted some breakfast and I realized that, since I cleaned up Freida and put Princess' bedclothes in the washer, gotten kisses from the kids, dried some tears, and had baby snot smeared on my shirt, all I needed to complete my collection of common bodily fluids was blood. Haha. Ha.
No one has bled yet today. And I'm SOOOOO grateful that Tag made it to the toilet before he lost everything he put in his stomach at his friend's birthday party last night. Between the two sick kids and post-op hubby, no one is going to church tomorrow.
Thank goodness they managed to be sick during their Thanksgiving break, rather than, you know, during a time when I could send at least one person to school.
A few minutes later, Man came to inform me that Frieda had not only thrown up all over her crib, she also needed a diaper change and he couldn't do it with one hand. He's been trying to help with things all day -- putting dishes away, flipping French toast, keeping the sad, grumpy baby occupied, but the results of often comedic. Poor guy. He really is trying.
Anyway, Pebbles wanted some breakfast and I realized that, since I cleaned up Freida and put Princess' bedclothes in the washer, gotten kisses from the kids, dried some tears, and had baby snot smeared on my shirt, all I needed to complete my collection of common bodily fluids was blood. Haha. Ha.
No one has bled yet today. And I'm SOOOOO grateful that Tag made it to the toilet before he lost everything he put in his stomach at his friend's birthday party last night. Between the two sick kids and post-op hubby, no one is going to church tomorrow.
Thank goodness they managed to be sick during their Thanksgiving break, rather than, you know, during a time when I could send at least one person to school.
Friday, November 21, 2008
Final version
I'm using a free file share program for file hosting, so if you try to download any of this and it doesn't work, that means I've used all my bandwidth for the month. As of today, I have 3 weeks until it resets, so try again around Christmas. :)
This version of my outline isn't a whole lot different, but it's my final version. I wanted to do more but, meh.
File
I have dozens more recipes I wish I had posted. Here are three weeks of my own menus:
Week one. (file download)
Week two. (file download)
Week three. (file download)
And I'm working on more, especially since I havn't found a source for a couple of ingredients in these menus (like my fav hoisin sauce)
Here is a link to K-State's Month of Menus. (warning, it's a PDF)
Here's a link to a table called Creative Casseroles. (PDF)
A formula for healthy, satisfying snacks. (PDF)
Here's a MyPyramid sample menu. (PDF)
Here is also a template I used a long time ago to help spring board my menu planning. There are a ton of short cuts that can be used to facilitate the use of this template. I can elaborate later when I think of it (which means, a year from now) or sooner if there's interest.
General Rotation. (this is an excel file)
This version of my outline isn't a whole lot different, but it's my final version. I wanted to do more but, meh.
File
I have dozens more recipes I wish I had posted. Here are three weeks of my own menus:
Week one. (file download)
Week two. (file download)
Week three. (file download)
And I'm working on more, especially since I havn't found a source for a couple of ingredients in these menus (like my fav hoisin sauce)
Here is a link to K-State's Month of Menus. (warning, it's a PDF)
Here's a link to a table called Creative Casseroles. (PDF)
A formula for healthy, satisfying snacks. (PDF)
Here's a MyPyramid sample menu. (PDF)
Here is also a template I used a long time ago to help spring board my menu planning. There are a ton of short cuts that can be used to facilitate the use of this template. I can elaborate later when I think of it (which means, a year from now) or sooner if there's interest.
General Rotation. (this is an excel file)
Surgery
With all said and done (maybe not all said, I guess) we're calling the surgery a tentative success.
Findings: two bone spurs (rather than just the one we knew about), tendonosis which was relieved by very slightly reducing the bone to give the tendon some more wiggle room, and a frayed rotator cuff. There was another area of pain on the posterior part of his shoulder where the surgeon did some spelunking but couldn't find anything wrong at all, which has us a bit bummed. Mostly, we're just grateful that it's over with and we're looking forward to some reduced pain.
Man had a very difficult time coming out of the anesthesia and made a really cute drugged guy. He didn't say much except "sorry for not waking up quickly" and "thank you for your patience" over and over again. Other than that he stayed pretty quiet and would just randomly snore about every 2-3 mins. He managed a smile when I called him my little narcolept. He's in a lot of pain but we're making sure to give him meds on a timely basis, he's on some heavy duty anti-inflammatories, and we have some sacrificial bags of peas to keep that thing iced. He still has his original dressings on (they come off today) and it makes him look a bit like Quasimodo. He's learning how and how not to hold his arm, and he's in a sling part of the time.
This week has been a bit surreal for me. All four kids have been sick for a week or two now (with an entire spectrum of symptoms, so I'm sure that they've had a variety of illnesses), but Man's cough has been keeping me up at night. Combine that with preparing that meal planning class some more, keeping the house up and all that entails, and Frieda depeloping flu-like symptoms the day after surgery, and I'm SOOOO grateful for the following:
1. Fast food. It's what we ate for dinner the day of the surgery. From wake up that morning at a little after 6, until we all piled into the house at 7:30 that night, it was full throttle.
2. Pain meds. How bad would he feel without them?
3. Heat. It's been cold lately and I'm glad to have sick kids in a warm house.
4. That the kids all semi-willingly went to bed early enough last night that I could leave them all at the house while I taught and man convalesced. After Enrichment we all gather around some gooey sugar cookies and chatted for at least another hour and it was balm to my soul.
5. God. And family. And friends. Everyone who loves us and has prayed for us and reached out and been aware. We're doing alright in most respects and appreciate the moral support. I've been praying that I won't get sick since we're hosting Thanksgiving next weekend for some soldiers and we're looking forward to providing an environment of some refuge.
Anyway, we have grocery shopping done for at least the next 2-3 weeks, including Thanksgiving and all its leftovers. Other than that we just plan on holing up until Christmas with a couple of brief interludes of school and work.
And I'm not sure how to end this naturally. So, the end.
Findings: two bone spurs (rather than just the one we knew about), tendonosis which was relieved by very slightly reducing the bone to give the tendon some more wiggle room, and a frayed rotator cuff. There was another area of pain on the posterior part of his shoulder where the surgeon did some spelunking but couldn't find anything wrong at all, which has us a bit bummed. Mostly, we're just grateful that it's over with and we're looking forward to some reduced pain.
Man had a very difficult time coming out of the anesthesia and made a really cute drugged guy. He didn't say much except "sorry for not waking up quickly" and "thank you for your patience" over and over again. Other than that he stayed pretty quiet and would just randomly snore about every 2-3 mins. He managed a smile when I called him my little narcolept. He's in a lot of pain but we're making sure to give him meds on a timely basis, he's on some heavy duty anti-inflammatories, and we have some sacrificial bags of peas to keep that thing iced. He still has his original dressings on (they come off today) and it makes him look a bit like Quasimodo. He's learning how and how not to hold his arm, and he's in a sling part of the time.
This week has been a bit surreal for me. All four kids have been sick for a week or two now (with an entire spectrum of symptoms, so I'm sure that they've had a variety of illnesses), but Man's cough has been keeping me up at night. Combine that with preparing that meal planning class some more, keeping the house up and all that entails, and Frieda depeloping flu-like symptoms the day after surgery, and I'm SOOOO grateful for the following:
1. Fast food. It's what we ate for dinner the day of the surgery. From wake up that morning at a little after 6, until we all piled into the house at 7:30 that night, it was full throttle.
2. Pain meds. How bad would he feel without them?
3. Heat. It's been cold lately and I'm glad to have sick kids in a warm house.
4. That the kids all semi-willingly went to bed early enough last night that I could leave them all at the house while I taught and man convalesced. After Enrichment we all gather around some gooey sugar cookies and chatted for at least another hour and it was balm to my soul.
5. God. And family. And friends. Everyone who loves us and has prayed for us and reached out and been aware. We're doing alright in most respects and appreciate the moral support. I've been praying that I won't get sick since we're hosting Thanksgiving next weekend for some soldiers and we're looking forward to providing an environment of some refuge.
Anyway, we have grocery shopping done for at least the next 2-3 weeks, including Thanksgiving and all its leftovers. Other than that we just plan on holing up until Christmas with a couple of brief interludes of school and work.
And I'm not sure how to end this naturally. So, the end.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Woohoo! Go away, salesperson!
A young punk came to my door.
YP: Hey, I'm doing this thing about points and free speech where I can earn a scholarship. Have you been to college?
A: Nope.
YP: Does your work have you involved with a lot of people? Do you meet a lot of people?
A: I do a lot of volunteer work, so it's very much people based. So, yes. Are you selling something?
YP: Nope, I'm looking at earning points. I'm going to be a pediatrician with a Spanish minor, so a bi-lingual pediatrician.
A: Good for you.
YP: In the mean time, I'm learning about people skills. Do you have any advice to give me for people skills?
A: Yes. When you first meet someone, let them do 80% of the talking. Believe it or not, they remember you better that way.
YP: Wow, that's some great advice. This is how I earn points. [pulls out laminated sheets with hundreds of names of magazines and books] These are some common books and things that kids read [one of the ones I caught was ESPN].
A: Ah, so you are selling something.
YP: No, no, I'm just trying to earn points.
[I handed his sheets back after a mere glance]
YP: Did you see anything there?
A: Nope.
YP: Well, thanks for supporting education. Have a nice day.
Now, what I wanted to call after him was "guilt trips are not a good people skill, you whipper-snapper, and stay off my lawn."
But I held my peace, glad that I didn't give any ground and didn't entertain him longer than necessary. I used to be one of those people who'd listen to the entire program, watch the whole demonstration, and waver between buying or not.
Well, not no more!
YP: Hey, I'm doing this thing about points and free speech where I can earn a scholarship. Have you been to college?
A: Nope.
YP: Does your work have you involved with a lot of people? Do you meet a lot of people?
A: I do a lot of volunteer work, so it's very much people based. So, yes. Are you selling something?
YP: Nope, I'm looking at earning points. I'm going to be a pediatrician with a Spanish minor, so a bi-lingual pediatrician.
A: Good for you.
YP: In the mean time, I'm learning about people skills. Do you have any advice to give me for people skills?
A: Yes. When you first meet someone, let them do 80% of the talking. Believe it or not, they remember you better that way.
YP: Wow, that's some great advice. This is how I earn points. [pulls out laminated sheets with hundreds of names of magazines and books] These are some common books and things that kids read [one of the ones I caught was ESPN].
A: Ah, so you are selling something.
YP: No, no, I'm just trying to earn points.
[I handed his sheets back after a mere glance]
YP: Did you see anything there?
A: Nope.
YP: Well, thanks for supporting education. Have a nice day.
Now, what I wanted to call after him was "guilt trips are not a good people skill, you whipper-snapper, and stay off my lawn."
But I held my peace, glad that I didn't give any ground and didn't entertain him longer than necessary. I used to be one of those people who'd listen to the entire program, watch the whole demonstration, and waver between buying or not.
Well, not no more!
This little girl of mine is in the "must change my clothes every half hour" phase. It makes for a lot of laundry since she usually manages to get her clothing dirty each time. Anyway, I told her to go put some clothes on the other day and this is what she came up with:
It's her own shirt, a diaper (we're working on it), some of her own under pants, and two pairs of her sister's underpants as well. The crocs are Tag's.
It's her own shirt, a diaper (we're working on it), some of her own under pants, and two pairs of her sister's underpants as well. The crocs are Tag's.Monday, November 17, 2008
Dropping kids off
I dropped the kids off today. Of course. (Napoleon Dynamite moment: Duh! What d'you think?)
Anyway, Pebbles picked up a little chant from the movie Alvin and the Chipmunks from when Alvin does his little sexy dance ("bow chicka wow wow") and turned it into "ah chickee dah dah" and a little booty dance of her own. She does it to tease the older kids who yell "ew!!" and run away to complain about her indecency.
This morning she was absently chanting it in the van, likely trying to mentally escape how miserably cold it was this morning (it's only 35° -- they ain't seen nothing yet) and of course take a parting shot at her uber-sensitive sibs. We finally decided to correct her though. It was so strange to hear her little voice say "chicka wow wow?" and I confirmed a few times with the kids that it was from the Chipmunk movie and no other source. -sigh- Some day they'll have to know what this iconic reference means.
Tag and Princess each gave me a kiss (something I never discourage and hope it lasts a while longer) and then Tag called out "I love you! I hope y'all have a good day!"
Y'all? Y'all?? Oh, dear. We can't move soon enough.
Man's surgery is this Wednesday. We're not sure what time yet as they will be calling us tomorrow with the nitty-gritty, like whether I'm supposed to stay at the hospital and wait or if I can go do business and usual until they give me a call. But this is it folks. This is the one and only surgery he'll be getting, this is his last orthopedic surgeon, his last chance to have a real difference made for his shoulder. The results of this procedure will influence so many things for us, both in his career as well as almost every aspect of home life. The pain is really wearing on him and the rest of us as well. We've been hearing some really great things about his surgeon from people at church who are also part of the medical community.
So, any prayers you have, any good thoughts or good vibes, think about Man on Wednesday. He has had a blessing and we know that God will somehow provide a way for us to take care of ourselves, but we'd really rather do it without Man hurting.
If things go well: we stay in the military, Man completes his training, completes his contract, and then we decide whether to reenlist or get out and try our hand at the real world again, but with a very marketable skill.
If things go poorly: he gets med-boarded out of the military before his training is complete, and he ends up jobless and 80% disabled, not to mention that "pain for the rest of your life" part. I would go get my nursing degree (nurse practitioner if I have the stamina and funding) and become the bread winner, but with a house-husband too injured to even carry a laundry basket.
Of course, even if things go well I'd want to get my degree. I'm already looking into schools at our next station.
Wow, that got long.
Anyway, Pebbles picked up a little chant from the movie Alvin and the Chipmunks from when Alvin does his little sexy dance ("bow chicka wow wow") and turned it into "ah chickee dah dah" and a little booty dance of her own. She does it to tease the older kids who yell "ew!!" and run away to complain about her indecency.
This morning she was absently chanting it in the van, likely trying to mentally escape how miserably cold it was this morning (it's only 35° -- they ain't seen nothing yet) and of course take a parting shot at her uber-sensitive sibs. We finally decided to correct her though. It was so strange to hear her little voice say "chicka wow wow?" and I confirmed a few times with the kids that it was from the Chipmunk movie and no other source. -sigh- Some day they'll have to know what this iconic reference means.
Tag and Princess each gave me a kiss (something I never discourage and hope it lasts a while longer) and then Tag called out "I love you! I hope y'all have a good day!"
Y'all? Y'all?? Oh, dear. We can't move soon enough.
Man's surgery is this Wednesday. We're not sure what time yet as they will be calling us tomorrow with the nitty-gritty, like whether I'm supposed to stay at the hospital and wait or if I can go do business and usual until they give me a call. But this is it folks. This is the one and only surgery he'll be getting, this is his last orthopedic surgeon, his last chance to have a real difference made for his shoulder. The results of this procedure will influence so many things for us, both in his career as well as almost every aspect of home life. The pain is really wearing on him and the rest of us as well. We've been hearing some really great things about his surgeon from people at church who are also part of the medical community.
So, any prayers you have, any good thoughts or good vibes, think about Man on Wednesday. He has had a blessing and we know that God will somehow provide a way for us to take care of ourselves, but we'd really rather do it without Man hurting.
If things go well: we stay in the military, Man completes his training, completes his contract, and then we decide whether to reenlist or get out and try our hand at the real world again, but with a very marketable skill.
If things go poorly: he gets med-boarded out of the military before his training is complete, and he ends up jobless and 80% disabled, not to mention that "pain for the rest of your life" part. I would go get my nursing degree (nurse practitioner if I have the stamina and funding) and become the bread winner, but with a house-husband too injured to even carry a laundry basket.
Of course, even if things go well I'd want to get my degree. I'm already looking into schools at our next station.
Wow, that got long.
Friday, November 14, 2008
You put the lime in the coconut
This kid. This kid right here. She and Pebbles love the weirdest foods. Pebbles eats lemon wedges, every kind of cheese we offer her, and any fruit whatsoever. She eats almost anything.
Freida has begun to eat just about anything as well. Out of all four of them, she's the most frustrating about stuff she puts in her mouth. Just yesterday I had to do the baby Heimlich on her to get an acorn out of her mouth that Tag left on his dresser, which Pebbles then found, played with, and left on the floor. The only thing to do is vacuum twice a day and just keep an eye on her.
-sigh-
I've said it before and I guarantee I'll say it again: it's a darn good thing she's so cute.
And, by the way, she walked across the living room yesterday for the first time. It won't be long now.
Freida has begun to eat just about anything as well. Out of all four of them, she's the most frustrating about stuff she puts in her mouth. Just yesterday I had to do the baby Heimlich on her to get an acorn out of her mouth that Tag left on his dresser, which Pebbles then found, played with, and left on the floor. The only thing to do is vacuum twice a day and just keep an eye on her.
-sigh-
I've said it before and I guarantee I'll say it again: it's a darn good thing she's so cute.
And, by the way, she walked across the living room yesterday for the first time. It won't be long now.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Pictures
Here are some catch up pictures.
All the kids have been sick lately, especially this little one. She's been having a cough and conjunctivitis.
Peeking out of her blanket. This cute girl just grew into a woman's shoe size 6. That's right, folks, she only has 5 more sizes to catch up with her old mum.
She was trying to pose for the picture and watch the movie at the same time.
Ah, that's better.
"Hey, lemme take your picture." "Do I have to?"
It's a 15 minute class, so of course I need this many books and binders of information...
I also need some visual aids representing my various menu planning strategies.
This was my most successful attempt at menu planning:
An example of the note card system. It has a grocery list and recipe notes on the back, complete with side dish suggestions.
Since it's an Enrichment night class, I had to make one of the note cards using funny shaped scissors, funky scrap book paper, and a glue stick. It's a law. Ignore the big hair on the card that I couldn't see but my camera evidently did.
All the kids have been sick lately, especially this little one. She's been having a cough and conjunctivitis.
Peeking out of her blanket. This cute girl just grew into a woman's shoe size 6. That's right, folks, she only has 5 more sizes to catch up with her old mum.
She was trying to pose for the picture and watch the movie at the same time.
Ah, that's better.
"Hey, lemme take your picture." "Do I have to?"
It's a 15 minute class, so of course I need this many books and binders of information...
I also need some visual aids representing my various menu planning strategies.
This was my most successful attempt at menu planning:
An example of the note card system. It has a grocery list and recipe notes on the back, complete with side dish suggestions.
Since it's an Enrichment night class, I had to make one of the note cards using funny shaped scissors, funky scrap book paper, and a glue stick. It's a law. Ignore the big hair on the card that I couldn't see but my camera evidently did.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
THERE IS NO EXCUSE!!!
Not that there ever was one...
Back to menu planning.
A nice lady in the ward has asked me to teach a class on menu planning. I laughed, and laughed some more, then I got ahold of myself and just laughed on the inside for a while.
It's called irony, dear readers.
So, anyway, like I always do when I get to teach a class, I've researched the heck out of it. Here is what I have so far:
Meal Planning Class.docx
This is the incomplete version. I have yet to flesh out all of the subpoints and I have a ton of recipes I want to add in there.
Anyway, while wandering around the web, I found this stunning website. Now, THERE IS NO EXCUSE for me to not have a meal plan. None, whatsoever. As if I was able to justify an excuse before.
BTW, the class is only supposed to be 15 mins long. Think it'll work? I'll have to talk fast and not take questions.
I also need to trim my stack of about 15 handouts and offer to email the linked doc above, since I'm sure the relief society doesn't want me to copy 30 pages per person in attendance.
Back to menu planning.
A nice lady in the ward has asked me to teach a class on menu planning. I laughed, and laughed some more, then I got ahold of myself and just laughed on the inside for a while.
It's called irony, dear readers.
So, anyway, like I always do when I get to teach a class, I've researched the heck out of it. Here is what I have so far:
Meal Planning Class.docx
This is the incomplete version. I have yet to flesh out all of the subpoints and I have a ton of recipes I want to add in there.
Anyway, while wandering around the web, I found this stunning website. Now, THERE IS NO EXCUSE for me to not have a meal plan. None, whatsoever. As if I was able to justify an excuse before.
BTW, the class is only supposed to be 15 mins long. Think it'll work? I'll have to talk fast and not take questions.
I also need to trim my stack of about 15 handouts and offer to email the linked doc above, since I'm sure the relief society doesn't want me to copy 30 pages per person in attendance.
Salt
Last night I made homemade pizza but, for the first time in quite a while, forgot to put the salt in the dough. What can I say? I had four little people stepping on my feet, asking when dinner would be ready.
Man approached me later, after eating, and asked if I was trying to get us to eat less salt as a family. I turned from him, determined to not give such a question the time of day.
I wasn't quite sure what bothered me about it, but I returned to him later to voice my conclusion:
I'd rather be thought of as incompetent than conniving.
After all, why would I leave the salt out of the dough then put Prego spaghetti sauce, cheese, and pepperoni on it? That's like those weirdos who get a Supersize McDonald's coronary in a bag along with a 32 ounce diet Coke.
Maybe some day when I goof on dinner, he won't think I have some sort of secret agenda to make him healthier. I can only imagine what he thinks actually happens in the kitchen.
There I stand, over my cauldron, in a black apron and my book of herbal witchcraft, cackling gleefully as I put BRAN into his muffins and BEAN SPROUTS in his green salads and OLIVE OIL instead of butter in my sautee pan and SPINACH in our lasagna, among other dastardly unmentionables in a secret plan to make him healthier, MWAHAHAHAHAAAAA!!! Soon, he'll have more energy with which to complain that my cooking doesn't taste like it used to, he'll have stronger bones with which to beat his chest in the agony of healthy meals, and his mind will be sharp enough to argue concinvingly in favor of transfat, refined sugar, and bleached flour.
NO, I did NOT leave the salt out on purpose.
-sigh-
Check out this awesome website though, where this lady teaches people to use shelf-stable ingredients to make some really great recipes.
Man approached me later, after eating, and asked if I was trying to get us to eat less salt as a family. I turned from him, determined to not give such a question the time of day.
I wasn't quite sure what bothered me about it, but I returned to him later to voice my conclusion:
I'd rather be thought of as incompetent than conniving.
After all, why would I leave the salt out of the dough then put Prego spaghetti sauce, cheese, and pepperoni on it? That's like those weirdos who get a Supersize McDonald's coronary in a bag along with a 32 ounce diet Coke.
Maybe some day when I goof on dinner, he won't think I have some sort of secret agenda to make him healthier. I can only imagine what he thinks actually happens in the kitchen.
There I stand, over my cauldron, in a black apron and my book of herbal witchcraft, cackling gleefully as I put BRAN into his muffins and BEAN SPROUTS in his green salads and OLIVE OIL instead of butter in my sautee pan and SPINACH in our lasagna, among other dastardly unmentionables in a secret plan to make him healthier, MWAHAHAHAHAAAAA!!! Soon, he'll have more energy with which to complain that my cooking doesn't taste like it used to, he'll have stronger bones with which to beat his chest in the agony of healthy meals, and his mind will be sharp enough to argue concinvingly in favor of transfat, refined sugar, and bleached flour.
NO, I did NOT leave the salt out on purpose.
-sigh-
Check out this awesome website though, where this lady teaches people to use shelf-stable ingredients to make some really great recipes.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Someone else's baby
I went to a baby shower tonight for a friend who I met in California. Our paths have crossed again and are about to uncross, as they once more move on before we do. She recently gave birth to her second child, a mere 14 months following the grand entrance (or exit) of her first.
This tiny baby was just perfect. Her skin had a slightly ruddy newborn cast to it, her mouth was delightfully puckered in unconscious nursing motions, and her fingers were delicately spindly and gorgeous. At 9 days old, she still weighs slightly under 8 pounds and appears to be the size of a scrawny cantaloupe.
I got to hold her for several minutes at the party while every other lady in the room laughed about their messy, hilarious, life-altering deliveries. I held her cradled and then tried her in my favorite newborn position: curled in a lump on my chest, right above my heart. Newborns fit just so perfectly into hands and arms and on chests.
I savored her velvet skin and her newborn smell, the fluttering movements of her skinny limbs governed by a very immature nervous system, and the yawns that seemed that they would allow me to peer straight into her wee lungs. She was warm, soft, and absolutely beautiful.
And then it was time to go. I handed her back and was briefly overwhelmed by relief that I got to enjoy that sweet little creature, and yet I get to sleep aaaaaaall night tonight with no guilt. I smiled. I felt sympathy for this poor woman who would have to get up every 2 hours to feed her slightly jaundiced baby, deal with painfully engorged mammaries, and somehow care for her two kids who are all but Irish twins.
I've done my time. I've lost enough sleep. Tonight just confirmed all over again how grateful I am to never again be pregnant. I'm going to snuggle into my nice, heavy blankets and snooze the snore of the well-contented mother who has moved beyond one phase of her children's young lives.
I'm sure I'll once again lose sleep once they start driving and going to parties. But that's an entirely different blog post.
This tiny baby was just perfect. Her skin had a slightly ruddy newborn cast to it, her mouth was delightfully puckered in unconscious nursing motions, and her fingers were delicately spindly and gorgeous. At 9 days old, she still weighs slightly under 8 pounds and appears to be the size of a scrawny cantaloupe.
I got to hold her for several minutes at the party while every other lady in the room laughed about their messy, hilarious, life-altering deliveries. I held her cradled and then tried her in my favorite newborn position: curled in a lump on my chest, right above my heart. Newborns fit just so perfectly into hands and arms and on chests.
I savored her velvet skin and her newborn smell, the fluttering movements of her skinny limbs governed by a very immature nervous system, and the yawns that seemed that they would allow me to peer straight into her wee lungs. She was warm, soft, and absolutely beautiful.
And then it was time to go. I handed her back and was briefly overwhelmed by relief that I got to enjoy that sweet little creature, and yet I get to sleep aaaaaaall night tonight with no guilt. I smiled. I felt sympathy for this poor woman who would have to get up every 2 hours to feed her slightly jaundiced baby, deal with painfully engorged mammaries, and somehow care for her two kids who are all but Irish twins.
I've done my time. I've lost enough sleep. Tonight just confirmed all over again how grateful I am to never again be pregnant. I'm going to snuggle into my nice, heavy blankets and snooze the snore of the well-contented mother who has moved beyond one phase of her children's young lives.
I'm sure I'll once again lose sleep once they start driving and going to parties. But that's an entirely different blog post.
Friday, November 07, 2008
Comfort Food
It has finally been cold enough for a few days that we've been able to make soup and biscuits for dinner. We had some friends over for a roast chicken meal (baked acorn squash with brown sugar and butter, stuffing, mashed taters (what'ssss taterss, preciousss? every time), steamed carrots, and the chicken was moist inside, crispy outside = tres yum) and thus had two little chicken carcasses with which to make some delightful chicken soup. I love whole chickens and the two meals I get from just one small bird. Around here, they can be had for about $3.50 each. Here is the spread of recipes:
Roast chicken
1 whole chicken
1/4 cup of sea salt
1 T ground black pepper
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tsp poultry seasoning
2 T softened butter
Take your thawed or fresh chicken and rub that sucker with butter. Get your hand between the skin and meat and rub butter there, too. This makes the skin crispy. Sprinkle with all the spices, saving the salt for last. Make sure the salt gets all over the whole bird. You can put aromatics in the cavity if you like. (onion, celery, carrots, crushed cloves of garlic) Cover with foil, bake in 350° oven for about 30 mins or until a thermometer reads 160° in the breast. Take the foil off and let the skin crisp up in the dry heat until desired color is reached. Don't be shy.
Acorn squash
I like to get these done fast. I also have only one rack in my oven, so this method is my ideal solution.
2 medium acorn squashes (squashi? squash?)
1/2 cup brown sugar
4 teaspoons butter
Split the squashes in half and remove seeds. Clean your microwave plate very well. Put the squash, cut side down, on the plate and nuke for at least 5 mins or until soft. Turn over, put into a pie plate or whatever will hold them (I put them on the rack of my toaster oven), and sprinkle with brown sugar and add a pat of butter. Bake at 350°, basting occasionally with the gooey liquid in the middle until you have nicely browned squash. You can slice these pieces in half and just serve in their shells (my favorite, no hassle method) or allow them to cool slightly and scoop the flesh into a serving bowl (the kids' favorite no hassle method). Add salt if desired.
Mashed potatoes
I was a bit leery of making mashed taters with skins, but these turned out great. The secret is to have a friend who can really scrub potatoes, or use thin-skinned yukon golds. (scrub those, too)
1 large potato or two small potatoes per person, scrubbed and nasty parts cut out
1/4 cup butter (at least)
1/2 cup sour cream (at least)
2 teaspoons chicken bullion granules
1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper
Cut the potatoes into large chunks and boil until soft. Drain thoroughly and allow to cool/dry for just a minute before dumping into mixing bowl. Add all of your add-ins before mixing, sprinkling evenly over the top so you don't have to mix too much. Begin mixing on medium-low, using your spatula to encourage larger chunks through the blades. Mix until lumps are mostly gone, but not until potatoes get slimy. Some people call slimy mashed potatoes creamy. They are wrong. Creamy mashed potatoes should still have a somewhat starchy texture and shouldn't ooze on your plate when you plop a pile of fluffy potato goodness in a place of honor next to the chicken. Correct spices early on so you don't have to over-beat.
The carrots were just steamed in my rice cooker steaming basket and tossed with butter and salt. Stuffing was from a box and made according to the directions. I also like to steam whole kernel corn and eat that with my mashed taters.
What to do with a carcass:
Remove as much meat as possible. Dice up meat and set it aside in the fridge.
Place the remaining carcass, including the wings, tail, neck, and any drippings you might have accidentally left in the pan from gravy making (heck, you can even add left over gravy) into a pot large enough to hold your bird, a couple of quarts of water (or enough water to cover) and a few extras.
Extras:
An onion, peeled and rough chopped.
Any carrots you might have, even those slightly old, dry-looking ones.
Celery, especially the hearts and any leaves you're not going to use for the soup.
More cloves of garlic, smashed.
A few cardamom pods, crushed.
1 T pepper corns.
3-4 bay leaves
Put the heat up to high until it's simmering. Reduce the heat to low or med-low and simmer. If you boil this, the flavor will be off. Just simmer for at least an hour, but the longer the better, up until about 6 hours.
IMPORTANT: I've heard of people making their broth and then putting their strainers in the sink and dumping their precious soup stock down the drain while retaining the ugly, sorry-looking pile of trash that made it. DON'T do this. Put a bowl on your counter (one large enough that the drainer can nest inside), put your drainer in that, and then dump. Don't worry if your "other stuff" is still sitting in the broth at this point. Simple lift the drainer and place it on a plate with a lip. Let this cool while you work with the rest of the soup. If desired, run the broth through another fine sieve just in case your big one isn't thorough enough. This will keep any rogue pepper corns or cardamom seeds out of your soup.
1 large onion
3 large carrots, scrubbed, or three handsful of baby carrots
Celery, if you have any, washed
MORE garlic (mwa-hahahaha)
fresh ground pepper to taste
1/4 cup of long grain rice (or brown rice, yum)
any other veggies you want to add. I like to put at least one green thing in, as well as some chopped cabbage.
Chop the onion up and add to a sautee pan with butter. Grind some pepper over it and sautee until it begins to turn color. Add chopped or small-diced carrots and brown those up a bit, too. Deglaze the pan and put all that into your broth. Add the rice. Honest, it gets huge, so don't go over-adding. Add garlic, chopped celery, and cabbage. If you're adding broccoli or peas, do that last. You can also add in herbs of choice at this point:
2 T parsley
1 tsp Oregano
1 1/2 tsp basil
optional: 1 tsp ground coriander
Simmer until the carrots are tender but still firm and the rice is soft. Add in your broccoli, peas, and chopped chicken from the fridge. Warm through.
If you need to extend the broth, add water and bullion granules.
Some awesome cheddar drop biscuits.
(inspiration for these comes from here)
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
4 tsps baking powder
2 T sugar
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 cup butter-flavored crisco
1 cup milk
1 cup shredded cheese (cheddar or co-jack)
Put flour, salt, baking powder, sugar, and garlic powder into a medium bowl. Stir thoroughly with a fork. Add the crisco and stir that with your fork until you get that coarse-crumb texture we all know and love. Add milk and stir with fork until just combined. Add cheese and stir lightly until combined.
Drop by tablespoons onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 425° for about 10 mins or until the tops get gold in spots. Let them rest a minute after you pull them out before removing from pan.
Roast chicken
1 whole chicken
1/4 cup of sea salt
1 T ground black pepper
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tsp poultry seasoning
2 T softened butter
Take your thawed or fresh chicken and rub that sucker with butter. Get your hand between the skin and meat and rub butter there, too. This makes the skin crispy. Sprinkle with all the spices, saving the salt for last. Make sure the salt gets all over the whole bird. You can put aromatics in the cavity if you like. (onion, celery, carrots, crushed cloves of garlic) Cover with foil, bake in 350° oven for about 30 mins or until a thermometer reads 160° in the breast. Take the foil off and let the skin crisp up in the dry heat until desired color is reached. Don't be shy.
Acorn squash
I like to get these done fast. I also have only one rack in my oven, so this method is my ideal solution.
2 medium acorn squashes (squashi? squash?)
1/2 cup brown sugar
4 teaspoons butter
Split the squashes in half and remove seeds. Clean your microwave plate very well. Put the squash, cut side down, on the plate and nuke for at least 5 mins or until soft. Turn over, put into a pie plate or whatever will hold them (I put them on the rack of my toaster oven), and sprinkle with brown sugar and add a pat of butter. Bake at 350°, basting occasionally with the gooey liquid in the middle until you have nicely browned squash. You can slice these pieces in half and just serve in their shells (my favorite, no hassle method) or allow them to cool slightly and scoop the flesh into a serving bowl (the kids' favorite no hassle method). Add salt if desired.
Mashed potatoes
I was a bit leery of making mashed taters with skins, but these turned out great. The secret is to have a friend who can really scrub potatoes, or use thin-skinned yukon golds. (scrub those, too)
1 large potato or two small potatoes per person, scrubbed and nasty parts cut out
1/4 cup butter (at least)
1/2 cup sour cream (at least)
2 teaspoons chicken bullion granules
1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper
Cut the potatoes into large chunks and boil until soft. Drain thoroughly and allow to cool/dry for just a minute before dumping into mixing bowl. Add all of your add-ins before mixing, sprinkling evenly over the top so you don't have to mix too much. Begin mixing on medium-low, using your spatula to encourage larger chunks through the blades. Mix until lumps are mostly gone, but not until potatoes get slimy. Some people call slimy mashed potatoes creamy. They are wrong. Creamy mashed potatoes should still have a somewhat starchy texture and shouldn't ooze on your plate when you plop a pile of fluffy potato goodness in a place of honor next to the chicken. Correct spices early on so you don't have to over-beat.
The carrots were just steamed in my rice cooker steaming basket and tossed with butter and salt. Stuffing was from a box and made according to the directions. I also like to steam whole kernel corn and eat that with my mashed taters.
What to do with a carcass:
Remove as much meat as possible. Dice up meat and set it aside in the fridge.
Place the remaining carcass, including the wings, tail, neck, and any drippings you might have accidentally left in the pan from gravy making (heck, you can even add left over gravy) into a pot large enough to hold your bird, a couple of quarts of water (or enough water to cover) and a few extras.
Extras:
An onion, peeled and rough chopped.
Any carrots you might have, even those slightly old, dry-looking ones.
Celery, especially the hearts and any leaves you're not going to use for the soup.
More cloves of garlic, smashed.
A few cardamom pods, crushed.
1 T pepper corns.
3-4 bay leaves
Put the heat up to high until it's simmering. Reduce the heat to low or med-low and simmer. If you boil this, the flavor will be off. Just simmer for at least an hour, but the longer the better, up until about 6 hours.
IMPORTANT: I've heard of people making their broth and then putting their strainers in the sink and dumping their precious soup stock down the drain while retaining the ugly, sorry-looking pile of trash that made it. DON'T do this. Put a bowl on your counter (one large enough that the drainer can nest inside), put your drainer in that, and then dump. Don't worry if your "other stuff" is still sitting in the broth at this point. Simple lift the drainer and place it on a plate with a lip. Let this cool while you work with the rest of the soup. If desired, run the broth through another fine sieve just in case your big one isn't thorough enough. This will keep any rogue pepper corns or cardamom seeds out of your soup.
1 large onion
3 large carrots, scrubbed, or three handsful of baby carrots
Celery, if you have any, washed
MORE garlic (mwa-hahahaha)
fresh ground pepper to taste
1/4 cup of long grain rice (or brown rice, yum)
any other veggies you want to add. I like to put at least one green thing in, as well as some chopped cabbage.
Chop the onion up and add to a sautee pan with butter. Grind some pepper over it and sautee until it begins to turn color. Add chopped or small-diced carrots and brown those up a bit, too. Deglaze the pan and put all that into your broth. Add the rice. Honest, it gets huge, so don't go over-adding. Add garlic, chopped celery, and cabbage. If you're adding broccoli or peas, do that last. You can also add in herbs of choice at this point:
2 T parsley
1 tsp Oregano
1 1/2 tsp basil
optional: 1 tsp ground coriander
Simmer until the carrots are tender but still firm and the rice is soft. Add in your broccoli, peas, and chopped chicken from the fridge. Warm through.
If you need to extend the broth, add water and bullion granules.
Some awesome cheddar drop biscuits.
(inspiration for these comes from here)
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
4 tsps baking powder
2 T sugar
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 cup butter-flavored crisco
1 cup milk
1 cup shredded cheese (cheddar or co-jack)
Put flour, salt, baking powder, sugar, and garlic powder into a medium bowl. Stir thoroughly with a fork. Add the crisco and stir that with your fork until you get that coarse-crumb texture we all know and love. Add milk and stir with fork until just combined. Add cheese and stir lightly until combined.
Drop by tablespoons onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 425° for about 10 mins or until the tops get gold in spots. Let them rest a minute after you pull them out before removing from pan.
Wednesday, November 05, 2008
Election
I woke up last night from a dream that Obama had won the election in a landslide. I shrugged it off, telling myself to wait until morning to go check the numbers again.
By 4am, I lost the fight with my curiosity and got up. Man was awake from illness and pain, so I told him I was going to get a drink of water. Of course I got one so I wasn't lying, then ran to the computer. There, before my tired, puffy eyes, was the realization of my dream.
I took a box of tissues to my violently sneezing husband and asked him if he wanted to know who the next president of our nation was. We talked for a couple of minutes, staring at the ceiling, our minds in a whirl of hope and wariness.
We both supported Obama. Despite the videos depicting him as a baby killer (he didn't vote for it because the wording of the bill would have suspended any abortions from taking place, putting many lives in danger and removing a woman's choice to abort), despite the accusations of being a Muslim (1- he isn't, and 2- what's so evil about Muslims? Christian extremists are just as bloody, just as deluded as their Muslim extremist counterparts), despite his middle name - Hussein (if my middle name was Ladin, would I be considered a bad person? or is who I am what I make of myself with God's guidance?) we liked what he said, liked his track record, and he was clearly better than McCain in thought and delivery. They are both highly moral people (or, that's how they both present themselves) but definitely have a different way of going about encouraging those morals.
I'm thrilled that he won. I'm also thrilled that he won by a landslide so we won't have any of this recounting nonsense. I'm thrilled that the man whom I consider to be the vastly superior choice for president has been elected such. I'm thrilled that Palin will never enter the White House as a resident there.
I'm also wary. I've been burned enough times by people and government to keep my hope in check until he does what he has promised to do. Further, even if he does come through, I'm waiting to see that the desired results come to fruition. I admire his acceptance speech and hope that everyone takes it to heart, as I have. Being American is about work, and trying again and again to make the best homes, families, cities, states, and country we can. I have mixed feelings about the Dems being in total control now, since that makes everything so one-sided, but I'm also glad that Obama won't have as much resistance when it comes to the changes he wants to implement right away.
I also admire McCain's concession speech. He trod a hard road the past several months and bowed out with grace and dignity. I wish him well.
Folks, no matter how you voted, thanks for voting. The American people have chosen my husband's next boss, the absolute last word in his chain of command. The fate of my husband and family rests precisely in God's hands but this man will have a huge impact on every aspect of our lives.
So.... here's hoping.
By 4am, I lost the fight with my curiosity and got up. Man was awake from illness and pain, so I told him I was going to get a drink of water. Of course I got one so I wasn't lying, then ran to the computer. There, before my tired, puffy eyes, was the realization of my dream.
I took a box of tissues to my violently sneezing husband and asked him if he wanted to know who the next president of our nation was. We talked for a couple of minutes, staring at the ceiling, our minds in a whirl of hope and wariness.
We both supported Obama. Despite the videos depicting him as a baby killer (he didn't vote for it because the wording of the bill would have suspended any abortions from taking place, putting many lives in danger and removing a woman's choice to abort), despite the accusations of being a Muslim (1- he isn't, and 2- what's so evil about Muslims? Christian extremists are just as bloody, just as deluded as their Muslim extremist counterparts), despite his middle name - Hussein (if my middle name was Ladin, would I be considered a bad person? or is who I am what I make of myself with God's guidance?) we liked what he said, liked his track record, and he was clearly better than McCain in thought and delivery. They are both highly moral people (or, that's how they both present themselves) but definitely have a different way of going about encouraging those morals.
I'm thrilled that he won. I'm also thrilled that he won by a landslide so we won't have any of this recounting nonsense. I'm thrilled that the man whom I consider to be the vastly superior choice for president has been elected such. I'm thrilled that Palin will never enter the White House as a resident there.
I'm also wary. I've been burned enough times by people and government to keep my hope in check until he does what he has promised to do. Further, even if he does come through, I'm waiting to see that the desired results come to fruition. I admire his acceptance speech and hope that everyone takes it to heart, as I have. Being American is about work, and trying again and again to make the best homes, families, cities, states, and country we can. I have mixed feelings about the Dems being in total control now, since that makes everything so one-sided, but I'm also glad that Obama won't have as much resistance when it comes to the changes he wants to implement right away.
I also admire McCain's concession speech. He trod a hard road the past several months and bowed out with grace and dignity. I wish him well.
Folks, no matter how you voted, thanks for voting. The American people have chosen my husband's next boss, the absolute last word in his chain of command. The fate of my husband and family rests precisely in God's hands but this man will have a huge impact on every aspect of our lives.
So.... here's hoping.
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