Friday, March 31, 2006
Fresh From The Bath....
Last night I captured Jacob in some of his many pursuits. He was fresh from the bath and smelling delicious. Can't you tell?
Liquefied And Purified!
Patsy, Bec and I are trying to lose weight. We're not doing anything weird, or deprivational; quite the contrary, just your good old run of the mill Weight Watchers......and we've all been doing pretty well actually.
Last night was Thursday. As I've said in previous posts, they come to my house every Thursday night for dinner and conversation, and whatever reality show is running at the moment. Sometimes they cook and sometimes I cook. Last night was my turn. It was a simple little dish from the new W/W cookbook that Bec tried a few weeks ago and we liked.
Let me set the scene. After dinner Jacob and Herman headed up the stairs. Two and a half year old Jacob loves to take a bath in our colossal bathtub, and watch a movie, or draw and cut construction paper, or play the guitar and sing, or all of the above. All was well in his world. Patsy and I were in the kitchen cleaning up after dinner and Bec, being the alpha female she is, was in her place of prominence on the sofa.
I began talking about dieting the French way, mentioning the French woman who wrote the new book "French Women Don't Get Fat." I began telling them about her theory about leek soup. I suppose there's a recipe in her book, but basically you boil leeks in water. *argh* Then she goes on to say that three or four times a year we should set aside a weekend and eat nothing but leek soup. She wants us to sip on this lovely essence of leeks broth for 48 hours, and allow nothing else to pass our lips. This is suppose to cleanse our systems. (No kidding!)
Well, Patsy and I said no way were we going to sip on the equivalent of liquid leeks for 48 hours, but Bec, from her position of prominence on the sofa, after careful consideration and with a perfectly serious expression on her face, said, "Well, I'd rather get a colostical." (blink, blink) Patsy and I, speechless for a second, stared at her, and finally I asked, "A co-los-ti-cal? What the heck is a colostical?" She said, "You know, one of those enemas where they suck everything out of you." I still had a blank look on my face when Patsy piped up and said, "Oh, you mean a colonic." Laughter reigned, and reigned and reigned. There were tears and snorting. Patsy and I could not stop laughing.
I've finally decided that Bec is on to something. Maybe she has come up with something new and original that will be all the rage soon. A colostical may be a super duper, colossal, colonic irrigation, a new and improved colonic irrigation that makes the original look like nothing more than the morning after a night of bad Mexican food.
Bec, let us know when you decide to do this. We want to hear all about it. One thing for sure, I know you'll be clean as a whistle. Liquefied and purified! A new and better Bec. Those French women's colons will have nothing on yours. Be proud!
Last night was Thursday. As I've said in previous posts, they come to my house every Thursday night for dinner and conversation, and whatever reality show is running at the moment. Sometimes they cook and sometimes I cook. Last night was my turn. It was a simple little dish from the new W/W cookbook that Bec tried a few weeks ago and we liked.
Let me set the scene. After dinner Jacob and Herman headed up the stairs. Two and a half year old Jacob loves to take a bath in our colossal bathtub, and watch a movie, or draw and cut construction paper, or play the guitar and sing, or all of the above. All was well in his world. Patsy and I were in the kitchen cleaning up after dinner and Bec, being the alpha female she is, was in her place of prominence on the sofa.
I began talking about dieting the French way, mentioning the French woman who wrote the new book "French Women Don't Get Fat." I began telling them about her theory about leek soup. I suppose there's a recipe in her book, but basically you boil leeks in water. *argh* Then she goes on to say that three or four times a year we should set aside a weekend and eat nothing but leek soup. She wants us to sip on this lovely essence of leeks broth for 48 hours, and allow nothing else to pass our lips. This is suppose to cleanse our systems. (No kidding!)
Well, Patsy and I said no way were we going to sip on the equivalent of liquid leeks for 48 hours, but Bec, from her position of prominence on the sofa, after careful consideration and with a perfectly serious expression on her face, said, "Well, I'd rather get a colostical." (blink, blink) Patsy and I, speechless for a second, stared at her, and finally I asked, "A co-los-ti-cal? What the heck is a colostical?" She said, "You know, one of those enemas where they suck everything out of you." I still had a blank look on my face when Patsy piped up and said, "Oh, you mean a colonic." Laughter reigned, and reigned and reigned. There were tears and snorting. Patsy and I could not stop laughing.
I've finally decided that Bec is on to something. Maybe she has come up with something new and original that will be all the rage soon. A colostical may be a super duper, colossal, colonic irrigation, a new and improved colonic irrigation that makes the original look like nothing more than the morning after a night of bad Mexican food.
Bec, let us know when you decide to do this. We want to hear all about it. One thing for sure, I know you'll be clean as a whistle. Liquefied and purified! A new and better Bec. Those French women's colons will have nothing on yours. Be proud!
Thursday, March 30, 2006
Hallelujah!
Did you hear those trumpets this morning when I stepped on the scales? I could hardly believe my eyes. I've spent the past week and a half losing and gaining the same pound over and over. "It's deja-vu all over again." This morning, however, when I got on the scale it showed that I had lost a whole pound....yes, that's right....a whole pound. Hallelujah! I hope I never see that pound again. Good-bye!
Friday, March 24, 2006
Jacob's Big Blue Bird Feeder
I know it's difficult to tell the difference between these
two birds in the photos, but trust me; this one is huge.
Jacob is only two and a half and doesn't know who
Hitchcock is. If he did he'd still be having nightmares.
.....and many happy returns of the day.....
I just wanted to write a few words about the little celebration we had for our March babies last weekend. Saturday night, March 18, 2006. I never wrote anything about it, and even with all the silliness that I write about here, part of the reason I do this blog is to keep a, albeit irregular, record of what goes on around here.
We have some very good friends who we celebrate birthdays with each month. We always get together and give gifts to each other and eat a little cake, and drink a little wine or beer, and play some sort of game: cards, scrabble, etc. It's very simple and lots of fun, and not to be philosophical or anything, but it's a way to celebrate life.......Ok........ and to get some good cake.
This month it was at my house because Herman is one of the March babies. Mike was the youngest at 35, Maria came in second at 40 something and Herm took the prize for the most years, weighing in at 59. I told Mike that it made me feel old to know I had changed the diapers of someone who is celebrating his 35th birthday. Bec had a few funny things to say about that. I won't write them here.
The eats were very simple: a new dip that I tried with chips, a birthday cake and Patsy made a great fruit platter.....oh, we couldn't believe how good the watermelon was. You would have thought it was July. The pineapple was stupendous too. We all raved so much about the watermelon, but I thought the pineapple was fantastic too.
Maria and Doug brought a baby afghan that Maria had knitted for our soon to be granddaughter. It was so soft and beautiful. Thanks, Maria and Doug.
Herman got some wonderful gifts. Maria gave him a bottle of French wine and a couple of bottles of olive oil. One was for dipping bread and the other was a lemon olive oil that will be great on salads. He loves that kind of thing. Patsy gave him a garden statue......a very cute duck that he loved, and Jacob gave him a wind chime that has a little blue bird that flaps his wings when the wind blows.
The wind chime is a smaller version of the big blue bird...bird feeder he gave him for Christmas. You have to see this bird feeder. I'll post a picture. Patsy said Jacob picked it out himself. He thought it was beautiful. Bec thinks it's the ugliest thing she's ever seen. Herman is crazy about it because Jacob picked it out. (And truth be known, I believe Herman and Jacob have similar taste in such things.) They fill it with seed every time Jacob comes over, which is at least once a week, usually more. Herman put the wind chimes right outside the kitchen window so we can easily see the smaller, yet more tasteful, version of the big blue bird.
We had two spills while playing scrabble. Doug spilled his beer and within five minutes I spilled my coffee. Each time was rather dramatic. They were not the simple little spills that can be dabbed up with a cocktail napkin. Oh no, not that easy. Each time the liquid flew, and ran and spread over the entire table, running all over the place faster than we could catch it, everyone pushing their chairs back, and exclaiming and laughing. We take our laughs where we can get them.
What can be better than celebrating the passing years of a good life with good friends? Nothing............well, except maybe..................................birthday cake. Yes, birthday cake is pretty close. Yep!
Backstroke!
This has been a mediocre week in my weight loss saga. Last week was great, but I only lost a half pound this week, and I didn't do that until this morning. This week I slacked off on the exercise portion of this program and I think it affected my loss. Duh!
This weekend Herm and I are going away somewhere to celebrate his birthday. He turns 59 on Monday, and a very cute 59 at that. He said he would like to go away for a few days. I don't know what I'll be eating, but I do know there's a lobster out there somewhere with my name on it. I hope he's singing and dancing while he can, because soon he'll be doing the backstroke in my gastric acids. Yum!
Have a nice weekend everybody.
Thursday, March 23, 2006
Cinnamon and Oat-bran Lower Cholesterol?
Herm makes these muffins a couple times a week. I eat one each morning and he eats two. The recipe is in that cookbook that came out a few years ago, The 8-Week Cholesterol Cure. I make no claims, but Herman seems to think they help him. Neither do I make any claims about the taste. If you like concrete with a little sawdust mixed in to keep it light then you're gonna love these. Remember, they're good for you, not to mention they keep you very regular. Also don't forget that these are made with oat-bran, not oatmeal. He now adds cinnamon because of the recent studies proclaiming that 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon a day may Lower Blood Glucose Levels and Cholesterol Levels.
Oat-Bran Basic Muffins
2 1/4 cups oat-bran cereal
1/4 cup chopped nuts (walnuts, pecans, or even peanuts)
1/4 cup raisins (or dates, currants, or whatever)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 cup brwn sugar or 1/4 cup honey or molasses
1 1/4 cup skim milk or evaporated skim milk
2 egg whites or egg substitute for two eggs
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Preheat the oven to 425% F. In a large bowl combine the oat-bran cereal, nuts, raisins and baking powder. Stir in the brown sugar or liquid sweetening. Mix the milk, egg whites, and oil together and blend in with the oat-bran mixture. Line muffin pans with paper baking cups, and fill with batter. Bake 15 to 17 minutes. Test for doneness with a toothpick; it should come out moist but not wet. Makes 12 muffins. Store in a plastic bag to retain moisture. (remember, concrete hardens when exposed to air) Keep the muffins in the refrigerator if they will not be consumed within 3 days, as they contain no preservatives.
Oat-Bran Basic Muffins
2 1/4 cups oat-bran cereal
1/4 cup chopped nuts (walnuts, pecans, or even peanuts)
1/4 cup raisins (or dates, currants, or whatever)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 cup brwn sugar or 1/4 cup honey or molasses
1 1/4 cup skim milk or evaporated skim milk
2 egg whites or egg substitute for two eggs
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Preheat the oven to 425% F. In a large bowl combine the oat-bran cereal, nuts, raisins and baking powder. Stir in the brown sugar or liquid sweetening. Mix the milk, egg whites, and oil together and blend in with the oat-bran mixture. Line muffin pans with paper baking cups, and fill with batter. Bake 15 to 17 minutes. Test for doneness with a toothpick; it should come out moist but not wet. Makes 12 muffins. Store in a plastic bag to retain moisture. (remember, concrete hardens when exposed to air) Keep the muffins in the refrigerator if they will not be consumed within 3 days, as they contain no preservatives.
......and they lived happily ever after.
A girl's gotta kiss a lot of frogs before she finds a prince. Brandon's little girl can get started early. Cute, isn't he?
Monday, March 20, 2006
Think Pink!
Brandon called last night to tell us the sex of the baby, due May 1. We've been waiting, it seems forever, to find out what the sex would be. The wait is over. It's a girl! Today Herman and I went to Williamsburg to shop at the outlet malls. I bought pink, pink and more pink, and a little lavender.
You should have seen Herman picking out pink bonnets and socks and sleepers and bibs and dresses and soft, cuddly, stuffed toys. It was amazing. He had opinions on everything. I was astounded. I got every single thing he liked. He picked out one outfit that was not pink or lavender. It's red and white stripes and has a heart on it, and it says sweetheart, and has little red and white striped panties to match. Omigod! It's too cute.
I got different sizes. I think I'll send some now and some more later in the summer. It was a day of fun.
You should have seen Herman picking out pink bonnets and socks and sleepers and bibs and dresses and soft, cuddly, stuffed toys. It was amazing. He had opinions on everything. I was astounded. I got every single thing he liked. He picked out one outfit that was not pink or lavender. It's red and white stripes and has a heart on it, and it says sweetheart, and has little red and white striped panties to match. Omigod! It's too cute.
I got different sizes. I think I'll send some now and some more later in the summer. It was a day of fun.
Saturday, March 18, 2006
Redial, Redial, Redial.........
I can't believe it's Friday. The last couple of days are a blur. I've spent them on the phone, hitting redial over and over again, trying to get AOL to answer my call. Correction, a nameless, soulless, automated voice actually did answer my call, but I was unable to get a live body on the other end of the phone for hours and hours and hours.
It all began on Wednesday around 4 PM. AOL dropped me and I couldn't get back on line. I kept trying to get back on line periodically for the next couple of hours. Around 6 PM I made my first call to AOL. Little did I know that it would be the first of many, many calls that I would make over the next 20 hours. The only response I could get was the flat, human-less, humorless and falsely cheerful voice of an automated female persona.(Is there anything worse than falsely cheerful?)
She asked me questions and I answered, she gave me instructions and I followed them. She implied she would resolve my problems and return me to computer viability, if I would only do what she asked. I complied. I allowed her to order, instruct and direct me to perform certain tasks, all with the hope that I would have my computer up and running soon.
Pointless! It was all pointless. Every time I progressed to a certain point in the process, believing I was almost there, the line would drop yet again and again, and I could do nothing but start the process over. Each time I called back I was informed that AOL was experiencing an unusually high number of calls, and I would have to wait. And so I did, wait and wait and wait. After cooling my heels for an interminable amount of time, I was once again rewarded with the soulless, mechanical, inhuman voice of the, now all too familiar, female persona.
Each time I would do everything she told me, only to be disconnected at the most critical point. After numerous attempts we finally finished the process, but it did not work, *gerrr* and she still did not offer the option of talking to a live body. No, she did not do that at all.
I mentioned that I started this process at 6 o'clock on Wednesday night. I finally gave up around 11:30 and went to bed. Thursday morning at 6 AM, Herman and I started again, fresh for the fight. By 1 PM in the afternoon we were ready to stick a fork in our eyes. It would have taken our minds off of our frustration, and that's exactly the moment we finally heard the sweet sound of a human voice from AOL, just in the nick of time to prevent self inflicted wounds.
Herman talked to the guy because by this time I was sitting in a corner drooling, and babbling incoherently to myself. I've been married to Herman for 36 years, and I have never seen him so frustrated. Never. It takes an earthquake, fire, a swarm of killer bees and an angry rash all on the same day for him to even break a sweat. He's a cool customer, but not yesterday. No, not yesterday.
He told the guy that we had been trying to reach a real person since 6 o'clock Wednesday night. He apologized to Herman, and asked him if we had Norton Anti Virus, explaining that Norton had made some recent updates that were blocking access to AOL. (Just a little side note here, AOL sells McAfee, not Norton. Not that I'm into conspiracy theories or anything.) He said that Norton was the problem, and we needed to call them, and they would tell us how to get around it. He just couldn't help us, though he really, really wished he could. NOT!
That's when we began the process of trying to reach Norton. We called and they said all lines were busy, I hung up and hit redial and repeated this process for over an hour. When we finally got an answer it was the male counterpart of the flat, soulless, inhuman female voice at AOL. (Someone should introduce them. They could reproduce, and provide corporate America with untold numbers of little non-humans. )
He put us through another drill similar to the one the female at AOL had. I will admit that Nordon did have an interesting little touch though. There were long, very long pauses in between little bits of encouragement to stay on the line because help was on the way; during those pauses they played bagpipe music. I guess it was a special treat because of St. Patrick's Day.
We never reached a true human at Norton, but finally they gave us a website to correct the problem, however, they said it so fast that even though both of us were sitting poised with pen in hand we could not write it down fast enough. After giving us the website he did not offer to repeat it and once again the line went dead. We began the process all over again and went through it twice more, and finally gave up.
Herman then described AOL and Norton in some of the most descriptive, accurate and precise language I've ever had the pleasure of hearing. He then proceeded to disable Norton so he could get on line (remember, we couldn't get on line because of Norton) and found the right place to go for help by wading through endless stuff on the Symantec site . He then fixed it himself. *My Hero*
I don't expect AOL to fix the problem, (who knows who's fault it was, AOL blames Norton and Norton probably blames AOL.) but I do expect AOL to give the website that has directions to correct the problem, to it's customers. They actually didn't even tell us that the info. was on a website. They told us we had to contact Norton and Norton would tell us what to do. (Do you think it's possible that they wanted Norton to be flooded with phone calls too?) To force us to spend more hours trying to reach Norton, after finally reaching AOL, was unconscionable, especially after making it's customers spend hours and hours calling without getting to talk to a real person.
Herman said AOL's biggest mistake was in not offering a short message on their recording, informing their customers that if they used Norton Internet Security, and could not access AOL their problem could probably be resolved by contacting Norton. This simple solution would have prevented thousands of AOL's loyal customers from enormous inconvenience and hours of frustration. Instead they forced us to repeat over and over again a useless exercise with an automated voice, continually disconnecting our connection at a critical point. If they had given the website on the message it would have been even better. As for Norton, they should have said the website in a slow and reasonable way and repeated it. The speed with which it was said was ridiculous and useless to the customer.
Today I signed up for Comcast High Speed. (My son's comment..."Finally!") It will actually cost $12.05 less than AOL because I won't need the second phone. I can't wait. They will be here Friday. Yipee! I will never darken AOL's door again and vice versa. I have to wonder how many customers AOL lost because of their inept approach to the resolution of this fiasco.
One last comment here: Today's world is becoming more and more impersonal. We all know that sometimes "stuff" happens, and all our problems can't be resolved in the span of a few minutes. Most reasonable people just want to be treated fairly. My friend, Patsy, who has always tried to sooth my furrowed brow over the years, sent me a website that may be of help to some of you in the future. gethuman.com is the perfect name for this site. It tells you how to get around the inhuman automated voices that you come in contact with when you call a company for HELP. Put it in your favorites and check it out next time you reach out for help and get nothing more than a faceless, humorless, automated, inhuman voice.
It all began on Wednesday around 4 PM. AOL dropped me and I couldn't get back on line. I kept trying to get back on line periodically for the next couple of hours. Around 6 PM I made my first call to AOL. Little did I know that it would be the first of many, many calls that I would make over the next 20 hours. The only response I could get was the flat, human-less, humorless and falsely cheerful voice of an automated female persona.(Is there anything worse than falsely cheerful?)
She asked me questions and I answered, she gave me instructions and I followed them. She implied she would resolve my problems and return me to computer viability, if I would only do what she asked. I complied. I allowed her to order, instruct and direct me to perform certain tasks, all with the hope that I would have my computer up and running soon.
Pointless! It was all pointless. Every time I progressed to a certain point in the process, believing I was almost there, the line would drop yet again and again, and I could do nothing but start the process over. Each time I called back I was informed that AOL was experiencing an unusually high number of calls, and I would have to wait. And so I did, wait and wait and wait. After cooling my heels for an interminable amount of time, I was once again rewarded with the soulless, mechanical, inhuman voice of the, now all too familiar, female persona.
Each time I would do everything she told me, only to be disconnected at the most critical point. After numerous attempts we finally finished the process, but it did not work, *gerrr* and she still did not offer the option of talking to a live body. No, she did not do that at all.
I mentioned that I started this process at 6 o'clock on Wednesday night. I finally gave up around 11:30 and went to bed. Thursday morning at 6 AM, Herman and I started again, fresh for the fight. By 1 PM in the afternoon we were ready to stick a fork in our eyes. It would have taken our minds off of our frustration, and that's exactly the moment we finally heard the sweet sound of a human voice from AOL, just in the nick of time to prevent self inflicted wounds.
Herman talked to the guy because by this time I was sitting in a corner drooling, and babbling incoherently to myself. I've been married to Herman for 36 years, and I have never seen him so frustrated. Never. It takes an earthquake, fire, a swarm of killer bees and an angry rash all on the same day for him to even break a sweat. He's a cool customer, but not yesterday. No, not yesterday.
He told the guy that we had been trying to reach a real person since 6 o'clock Wednesday night. He apologized to Herman, and asked him if we had Norton Anti Virus, explaining that Norton had made some recent updates that were blocking access to AOL. (Just a little side note here, AOL sells McAfee, not Norton. Not that I'm into conspiracy theories or anything.) He said that Norton was the problem, and we needed to call them, and they would tell us how to get around it. He just couldn't help us, though he really, really wished he could. NOT!
That's when we began the process of trying to reach Norton. We called and they said all lines were busy, I hung up and hit redial and repeated this process for over an hour. When we finally got an answer it was the male counterpart of the flat, soulless, inhuman female voice at AOL. (Someone should introduce them. They could reproduce, and provide corporate America with untold numbers of little non-humans. )
He put us through another drill similar to the one the female at AOL had. I will admit that Nordon did have an interesting little touch though. There were long, very long pauses in between little bits of encouragement to stay on the line because help was on the way; during those pauses they played bagpipe music. I guess it was a special treat because of St. Patrick's Day.
We never reached a true human at Norton, but finally they gave us a website to correct the problem, however, they said it so fast that even though both of us were sitting poised with pen in hand we could not write it down fast enough. After giving us the website he did not offer to repeat it and once again the line went dead. We began the process all over again and went through it twice more, and finally gave up.
Herman then described AOL and Norton in some of the most descriptive, accurate and precise language I've ever had the pleasure of hearing. He then proceeded to disable Norton so he could get on line (remember, we couldn't get on line because of Norton) and found the right place to go for help by wading through endless stuff on the Symantec site . He then fixed it himself. *My Hero*
I don't expect AOL to fix the problem, (who knows who's fault it was, AOL blames Norton and Norton probably blames AOL.) but I do expect AOL to give the website that has directions to correct the problem, to it's customers. They actually didn't even tell us that the info. was on a website. They told us we had to contact Norton and Norton would tell us what to do. (Do you think it's possible that they wanted Norton to be flooded with phone calls too?) To force us to spend more hours trying to reach Norton, after finally reaching AOL, was unconscionable, especially after making it's customers spend hours and hours calling without getting to talk to a real person.
Herman said AOL's biggest mistake was in not offering a short message on their recording, informing their customers that if they used Norton Internet Security, and could not access AOL their problem could probably be resolved by contacting Norton. This simple solution would have prevented thousands of AOL's loyal customers from enormous inconvenience and hours of frustration. Instead they forced us to repeat over and over again a useless exercise with an automated voice, continually disconnecting our connection at a critical point. If they had given the website on the message it would have been even better. As for Norton, they should have said the website in a slow and reasonable way and repeated it. The speed with which it was said was ridiculous and useless to the customer.
Today I signed up for Comcast High Speed. (My son's comment..."Finally!") It will actually cost $12.05 less than AOL because I won't need the second phone. I can't wait. They will be here Friday. Yipee! I will never darken AOL's door again and vice versa. I have to wonder how many customers AOL lost because of their inept approach to the resolution of this fiasco.
One last comment here: Today's world is becoming more and more impersonal. We all know that sometimes "stuff" happens, and all our problems can't be resolved in the span of a few minutes. Most reasonable people just want to be treated fairly. My friend, Patsy, who has always tried to sooth my furrowed brow over the years, sent me a website that may be of help to some of you in the future. gethuman.com is the perfect name for this site. It tells you how to get around the inhuman automated voices that you come in contact with when you call a company for HELP. Put it in your favorites and check it out next time you reach out for help and get nothing more than a faceless, humorless, automated, inhuman voice.
Friday, March 17, 2006
........and upon close examination........
Jacob is examining one of the many leaves
still hanging around from last fall. Jacob is perpetual motion, and sometimes it's easy to believe that there is no rhyme to his reason, but that could not be further from the truth. He is always observing and learning and breathing in his surroundings. You only have to be willing to wait and watch, and we're willing.
Look Before You Brush!
I dragged myself out of bed this morning around 4:30, after sparring with the mind monsters, and bobbled my way into the bathroom. With eyes half open, I reached for my toothbrush, squeezed the toothpaste on, and began the familiar process. Brush, bush, brush.......and then..........wait.......wait.........wait a doggone minute. Something feels different; what could it be? Oh, my! The bristles on my toothbrush feel different, worn down, and I realize that I need a new toothbrush.
How long are theses things suppose to last? I've had this one about two and a half months, and it feels like I've been scrubbing the toilet with it. My toothbrush usually last longer than that. Then, like a flash, it smote me in the brainpan. *Drum Roll, Please!* I look over at the toothbrush holder, and low and behold, there stands my very own toothbrush. That's right, Herman's is blue and mine is red. The red one sat there staring back at me. Yuck! I can't think of a moral to this story except to make sure your eyes are wide open when you reach for your toothbrush.
I need a cup of coffee.
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
Southwestern Skillet Mac and Cheese
I can't believe I forgot to publish this recipe. Bec made it for us a few weeks ago and it's delicious. It's from the new WeightWatchers cookbook.
6 points per serving. Makes 6 servings. 1 cup equals 1 serving.
1 cup elbow macaroni (I would double this. There's enough sauce)
1 pound ground turkey breast
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1/2 cup green bell pepper, chopped
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 14-1/2 can of diced tomatoes with juice
1 8 ounce can tomato sauce
1 4-1/2 ounce can chopped mild green chiles
1/2 cup water
1 cup reduced fat cheddar cheese, shredded
Cook the macaroni according to packaged directions, omitting the salt, if desired; drain.
Meanwhile spray a large non-stick skillet with non-stick spray and set over medium high heat. Add turkey and cook, breaking it up with wooden spoon, until no longer pink, about 8 minutes. Stir in onion, bell pepper, chili powder, cumin and salt.
Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is softened, about 3 minutes.
Add the tomatoes, tomato sauce, chiles and water. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the flavors are blended, about 10 minutes.
Add the macaroni and the cheese, stirring to combine.
1 cup; 297 calories, 13 g Fat, 5g Sat Fat, 0 g Trans Fat, 73mg Chol, 22 g Carb, 3 g Fiber, 22 g Pro, 198mg Calc, Value 6 points
6 points per serving. Makes 6 servings. 1 cup equals 1 serving.
1 cup elbow macaroni (I would double this. There's enough sauce)
1 pound ground turkey breast
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1/2 cup green bell pepper, chopped
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 14-1/2 can of diced tomatoes with juice
1 8 ounce can tomato sauce
1 4-1/2 ounce can chopped mild green chiles
1/2 cup water
1 cup reduced fat cheddar cheese, shredded
Cook the macaroni according to packaged directions, omitting the salt, if desired; drain.
Meanwhile spray a large non-stick skillet with non-stick spray and set over medium high heat. Add turkey and cook, breaking it up with wooden spoon, until no longer pink, about 8 minutes. Stir in onion, bell pepper, chili powder, cumin and salt.
Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is softened, about 3 minutes.
Add the tomatoes, tomato sauce, chiles and water. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the flavors are blended, about 10 minutes.
Add the macaroni and the cheese, stirring to combine.
1 cup; 297 calories, 13 g Fat, 5g Sat Fat, 0 g Trans Fat, 73mg Chol, 22 g Carb, 3 g Fiber, 22 g Pro, 198mg Calc, Value 6 points
Just A Regular Girl
The Mind Monsters visited again last night and I've been up since 4:00. I decided I may as well play on the computer. So her I am.
Yesterday I had lunch with my two nieces. It was fun to catch up with them. Afterwards I made my rounds to a couple grocery stores. We were out of everything, well, all the essentials: milk, eggs, bread, etc.
I ordered a birthday cake at Ukrop's because we're having a small celebration on Saturday. We have three birthdays this month: Maria, Mike and Herman.
That's it. Hope everyone has a great day. Oh, yea, and one more thing, Bec is just a regular girl now...........get it???????? regular...........you know...........regular. She recommends the new Activa yogurt. She says it lives up to its reputation and makes a girl regular. So, if you want to be a regular girl too.....well, use it at your own discretion.
Monday, March 13, 2006
It's That Time Of Year Once Again!
Yes, it's that time of year once again, and I'm not talking about spring. No, not spring. It's once again time for those deceptively cute little Girl Scouts, with their toothy grins, to deliver the cookies you so cavalierly ordered a few weeks ago. This annual ritual has become as entrenched in the American fabric as Mom, baseball and apple pie. Every spring is fraught with anticipation, all of us waiting for our little boxes to arrive. We all started our diets in January, and just as those of us who have stuck to them are beginning to reap some hard earned results, these tiny terrorist show up at our doors to sabotage even the most stalwart of dieters.
I guess you can tell that my personal little saboteur arrived at my door this weekend with my heavenly, delectable, down right scrumptious Thin Mints. She also delivered Bec's cookies to my house. When Bec arrived to retrieve her cookies she immediately opened them and scarfed down a couple. I smugly announced that I had tucked mine away in a safe place, and would not eat them until I had reached a certain goal in my weight loss saga, or until something really bad happened, and I needed some emotional soothing that only, my dear old friend, chocolate, could accomplish. Patsy called it a chocolate band-aid. Very good metaphor, don't you think?
Our Weight Watchers meeting was Sunday morning and Girl Scout cookies were on the agenda. Can you imagine all these chubs discussing the point value of one serving of Thin Mints? When was the last time any of them had eaten only one serving of cookies? Please! I paid no attention because I knew I would not be eating mine anytime soon.
Then the evening came, and I ate dinner, a nice low cal, low fat, appropriate portion sized dinner, and I was very satisfied with my weight loss for this week, and all was well until I started to rationalize. Oh, yes. This is my forte. I can rationalize the candy right out of a baby's mouth. In my personal values, I am unscrupulous only in this one area. Promise.
Well, here's the straight scoop. I talked to Bec and asked her for the point value of four cookies. She told me what she thought, and then I checked the nutritional information on the box, and figured it out, just to make sure. They are three delicious points per serving and four cookies equal one serving. Then I promptly ate six cookies. Yes, that's it, six of the little honkers. I sucked them down, and I don't care. It was akin to a guilty pleasure, and did I mention, I don't care? It was worth it.
Go ahead folks, it's ok. A once a year, guilty pleasure, how bad can it be? I'm still licking my lips.
Saturday, March 11, 2006
Black Skimmer
from The Birds of Texas
by John L. Tveten
The world's three skimmer species are the only birds whose lower mandibles are longer than the upper. Of these, only Rynchops niger occurs in the Americas. The black skimmer ranges along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts from Massachusetts to Texas and through Central and South America. It is a year-round resident in Texas but is less common in the winter. Skimmers occasionally wander inland, especially on the winds of summer storms, but most remain along the coastal beaches and bays.
.........and his name is Herman
Patsy, Bec and Jacob came over for Thursday night supper. It was Patsy's turn to cook and she made the most delicious casserole. She called it a Burrito Bake (recipe to follow). It was a beautiful spring evening, warm and clear, a little breezy. We sat out on the deck and Jacob played in the back yard.
When Bec arrived from work this is the way the conversation went between her and Jacob. She said, "Hi Jacob", with a smile on her face. He said, "Where's Herman" (no smile on his face). She said, "Aren't you glad to see me?" He crossed his little arms across his chest and said, "I want to see somebody and his name is Herman".
OOOOh, Herman is a lucky man. That little boy loves him with a capital L. Poor Bec, who he truly adores, took it on the chin. When Herman's in the house the rest of us are poor substitutes. Just the way it is. When Herman finally got home, Jacob actually fell down the steps trying to get to him as fast as he could. Then he jumped up and kept on running until he was in Herman's arms. At last, the two of them were together, Jacob doing the happy dance all over Herman's heart.
After enjoying some of the nice weather we ate our dinner. It was very good and I hope you enjoy the recipe that follows.
When Bec arrived from work this is the way the conversation went between her and Jacob. She said, "Hi Jacob", with a smile on her face. He said, "Where's Herman" (no smile on his face). She said, "Aren't you glad to see me?" He crossed his little arms across his chest and said, "I want to see somebody and his name is Herman".
OOOOh, Herman is a lucky man. That little boy loves him with a capital L. Poor Bec, who he truly adores, took it on the chin. When Herman's in the house the rest of us are poor substitutes. Just the way it is. When Herman finally got home, Jacob actually fell down the steps trying to get to him as fast as he could. Then he jumped up and kept on running until he was in Herman's arms. At last, the two of them were together, Jacob doing the happy dance all over Herman's heart.
After enjoying some of the nice weather we ate our dinner. It was very good and I hope you enjoy the recipe that follows.
Burrito Bake
This is the recipe for the Burrito Bake that Patsy made on Thursday. Enjoy.
Burrito Bake
½ pound lean ground beef 94/7
1/2 pound ground turkey
1 small can (about 14 ounces) fat free refried beans
1 can chopped chilies
Salsa
½ cup of reduced fat Sargento shredded cheese
3 small size, low-fat tortilla shells (96% fat free)
Pre heatheat oven to 350 degrees.
Brown ground beef and turkey in skillet, when done, add can of refried beans, green chilies, and a little salsa, mix together. Use a baking dish that the tortillas will fit in, and with high sides, because you're going to layer. A round baking dish works great because it fits the round shape of the tortilla shells, but you can use a square pan. Spray bottom of baking dish with cooking spray (much easier to cut,I found out the hard way) Then place tortilla down, followed by bean mixture, a little salsa, cheese, then repeat until all gone, ending with the mixture and cheese on top. I covered it with Reynolds wrap and baked for about 30 minutes or less, just to get everything melted together. Cut into 6 pieces ( if using a round pan, cut pie shaped pieces). I calculated everything last night, and if you use the same exact ingredients it's only 3 points per piece. Enjoy!
Helpful hints: I doubled the recipe and froze individual servings.I also added a can of black beans on one batch. It increases point value to 4 per serving. When I ate it the next day, I heated in microwave then put some salsa on top to keep it juicy! You can serve with sour cream, sliced black olives, shredded lettuce, chopped tomato, chopped onion and salsa.
Burrito Bake
½ pound lean ground beef 94/7
1/2 pound ground turkey
1 small can (about 14 ounces) fat free refried beans
1 can chopped chilies
Salsa
½ cup of reduced fat Sargento shredded cheese
3 small size, low-fat tortilla shells (96% fat free)
Pre heatheat oven to 350 degrees.
Brown ground beef and turkey in skillet, when done, add can of refried beans, green chilies, and a little salsa, mix together. Use a baking dish that the tortillas will fit in, and with high sides, because you're going to layer. A round baking dish works great because it fits the round shape of the tortilla shells, but you can use a square pan. Spray bottom of baking dish with cooking spray (much easier to cut,I found out the hard way) Then place tortilla down, followed by bean mixture, a little salsa, cheese, then repeat until all gone, ending with the mixture and cheese on top. I covered it with Reynolds wrap and baked for about 30 minutes or less, just to get everything melted together. Cut into 6 pieces ( if using a round pan, cut pie shaped pieces). I calculated everything last night, and if you use the same exact ingredients it's only 3 points per piece. Enjoy!
Helpful hints: I doubled the recipe and froze individual servings.I also added a can of black beans on one batch. It increases point value to 4 per serving. When I ate it the next day, I heated in microwave then put some salsa on top to keep it juicy! You can serve with sour cream, sliced black olives, shredded lettuce, chopped tomato, chopped onion and salsa.
Tuesday, March 07, 2006
Coastal Plain Region Of Virginia
Sunday we took a day trip to Suffolk, Virginia, and I captured a little of the local color along the way.
Plantation Peanuts
This is where you can find the finest salted peanuts,
chocolate covered peanuts, Cajun peanuts, honey
roasted peanuts, peanut brittle, or any other kind of
peanut your little old heart desires.
Saturday, March 04, 2006
Termites
i found a couple of sites about the dreaded termite. i found the two photos below on the Urban Entomology Program site which has lots of detailed info. The other site, Dr. Don's Termite Pages, is targeted to the layman with straightforward terminology, simple diagrams and charts describing the pesky little bug: color, shape, wings, head, antennae and body. it's that time of year once again. be on the look out. it's "them or us" and don't you forget it. be careful out there.
Termitidae: Macrotermitinae: Acanthotermes
Side View: This cute little guy was collected in Zaire.
Mine are the winged kind.
Friday, March 03, 2006
bugs, meat loaf and philosophy
posted friday, march 3, 2006
patsy, bec and sweet, sweet jacob came over for dinner and survivor last night, as they do every thursday night. it was my turn to cook. i made meat loaf using half turkey and half lean ground beef because we're all on weight watchers, except jacob. two and a half year olds don't have to diet. the meat loaf was pretty good. everyone liked it. recipe to follow.
it was a wonderful day followed by that first warm evening you long for after the winter is all but a memory, and a beautiful sunset to cap it off. as dusk approached we were simply enjoying being together until bec noticed a swarm of some sort of unidentified flying insects. they were all over the back of the house and deck. *gerrrr* there was some discussion about exactly what kind of insects.( see info. on Termites above) herman thinks they're flying ants and i'm afraid they're termites. i hope he's right. i collected a few in a plastic bag (zip lock) so i can show them to the guy from our pests control company. bec just got a kick out of telling me every few minutes that one was crawling on me. *ick*
after playing golf in the back yard and after dinner jacob had his usual thursday night bath in our huge tub. herman fills it to the brim and he can actually swim in it. if he didn't use it the monstrosity would never see a drop of water. we take showers. after his bath he watched his new video, Lady And The Tramp, and he retold the entire story in great detail afterwards, and in the most serious way. it was so cute. (suggestion: mommy, get that camcorder out and ask him to tell you all about it again)
i got cup cakes for dessert. he loves ukrop's bakery cup cakes. we put a candle in one of them and sang happy thursday to him instead of happy birthday. that's the best thing about having jacob around. you don't really need a reason to celebrate. just the fact that it's thursday is enough. don't you love that? seriously? think about it. it's huge!
ok, some info. on termites, a little philosophy and a pretty good recipe for meat loaf.......where else can you get this kind of stuff for free?
Meat Loaf
1 pound ground turkey
1 pound lean ground beef
1 8 ounce can tomato sauce (you can use a little less than the whole can if it looks like too much and pour the rest over the top of the meat loaf in the last 5 minutes of cooking)
1 tablespoon mustard (regular French's Mustard)
1/3 cup oatmeal or bread crumbs
1 egg
1 egg white
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1 small onion, finely chopped
Lightly mix all ingredients together, don't over mix, don't pack the meat together firmly, and don't touch the meat with your hands any more than necessary. I lightly mix the meats together with a fork and then put the rest of the ingredients in and lightly mix them together using the fork. Place mixture in a loaf pan and lightly pat the top to form a mounded loaf. Bake at 350 for 1 hour 10 minutes.
patsy, bec and sweet, sweet jacob came over for dinner and survivor last night, as they do every thursday night. it was my turn to cook. i made meat loaf using half turkey and half lean ground beef because we're all on weight watchers, except jacob. two and a half year olds don't have to diet. the meat loaf was pretty good. everyone liked it. recipe to follow.
it was a wonderful day followed by that first warm evening you long for after the winter is all but a memory, and a beautiful sunset to cap it off. as dusk approached we were simply enjoying being together until bec noticed a swarm of some sort of unidentified flying insects. they were all over the back of the house and deck. *gerrrr* there was some discussion about exactly what kind of insects.( see info. on Termites above) herman thinks they're flying ants and i'm afraid they're termites. i hope he's right. i collected a few in a plastic bag (zip lock) so i can show them to the guy from our pests control company. bec just got a kick out of telling me every few minutes that one was crawling on me. *ick*
after playing golf in the back yard and after dinner jacob had his usual thursday night bath in our huge tub. herman fills it to the brim and he can actually swim in it. if he didn't use it the monstrosity would never see a drop of water. we take showers. after his bath he watched his new video, Lady And The Tramp, and he retold the entire story in great detail afterwards, and in the most serious way. it was so cute. (suggestion: mommy, get that camcorder out and ask him to tell you all about it again)
i got cup cakes for dessert. he loves ukrop's bakery cup cakes. we put a candle in one of them and sang happy thursday to him instead of happy birthday. that's the best thing about having jacob around. you don't really need a reason to celebrate. just the fact that it's thursday is enough. don't you love that? seriously? think about it. it's huge!
ok, some info. on termites, a little philosophy and a pretty good recipe for meat loaf.......where else can you get this kind of stuff for free?
Meat Loaf
1 pound ground turkey
1 pound lean ground beef
1 8 ounce can tomato sauce (you can use a little less than the whole can if it looks like too much and pour the rest over the top of the meat loaf in the last 5 minutes of cooking)
1 tablespoon mustard (regular French's Mustard)
1/3 cup oatmeal or bread crumbs
1 egg
1 egg white
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1 small onion, finely chopped
Lightly mix all ingredients together, don't over mix, don't pack the meat together firmly, and don't touch the meat with your hands any more than necessary. I lightly mix the meats together with a fork and then put the rest of the ingredients in and lightly mix them together using the fork. Place mixture in a loaf pan and lightly pat the top to form a mounded loaf. Bake at 350 for 1 hour 10 minutes.
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