.........................Almost empty nest ramblings

Prayers

2011-08-28T08:43:00.000-04:00

A friend just posted a story about the prayers her kids said when they were little. It sparked a memory of the family prayer we used when I was little -

"Come oh Lord Jesus, be our guest, and let this food to us be blessed. Amen"

For many years I thought Come oh Lord Jesus was one word: comeohlordjesus - go figure. The mind of kids.

Of course, I also thought there were 23 letters in the alphabet:

A-B-C-D-E-F-G-H-I-J-K-LMNO-P-Q-R-S-T-U-V-W-X-Y-Z

Yes, LMNO was one letter for years!

Pickle Relish - recipe #2

2011-08-27T20:24:00.000-04:00

I made two different recipes for pickle relish this year. This was the 2nd recipe I tried - it is very sweet, tangy and yummy. I canner for the hot water bath started when I drained the vegetables. It takes a while to get all of that water hot and boiling!

4 cups chopped cucumber
2 cups chopped onions
1 cup chopped green bell pepper

1 cup chopped red bell pepper

1/4 cup Kosher salt

3 1/2 cups sugar
2 cups cider vinegar
1 T Celery Seeds
1 T Mustard Seeds

1) Mix vegetables and kosher salt together in large bowl, pan or crock. Cover and let sit for 3 hours
2) After three hours, rinse and drain vegetables well. I allowed them to sit for 45 minutes
3) In a large pan mix the sugar, vinegar, celery seeds and mustard seeds together, bring to a boil
4) Once the liquids have begun a full boil, add the rinsed and well drained vegetables
5) Bring back to a boil, turn heat down and allow to simmer 10 minutes

Carefully ladle relish into hot sterilized jars, add lids and rings and process in a hot water bath for 10-15 minutes.

Baking and canning

2011-08-26T23:31:00.000-04:00

It's been a busy week in the kitchen. The reason is probably because the farmer's markets are overflowing the beautiful fruits and vegetables. I with fresh fruits and vegetables were available year round. Oh, I know some people will tell me they are available but having a watermelon that is trucked across the country is not the same as cutting into a watermelon that was picked yesterday (or this morning) and in my tummy this afternoon! Fresh fruit tastes so much better.

Even better is getting to know the farmers and knowing what goes into my food. Better yet, knowing what does NOT go into my food - like pesticides or other nasty chemicals.

As of this post I have made jars of jam - cherry, strawberry and blueberry. All of the jams were made without adding extra pectin. I've also canned countless jars of salsa, hot & mild, stewed tomatoes, applesauce, bread and butter pickles and pickle relish.

Funny thing about the pickle relish. The recipe calls for 5 cups of sugar so I purchased a new 5 pound bag. I moved the bag around on the counter while I was preparing the pickle relish. It wasn't until all the jars were filled and sealed that I sat down to write the recipes in the book of recipes I'm keeping. It was then - very late at night that I realized the bag of sugar had not been opened! Yikes!!! The following morning I opened all the jars, dumped the contents back into the kettle with the 5 cups of sugar and bought everything to a boil & simmered for 20 minutes again. Early taste tests show the relish, although perhaps a bit overcooked, tastes delicious. Da Hubbs had some on his sandwich the other night and he gave it his seal of approval.

I'm actually looking forward to this winter when we can open the jars and enjoy the fruits (and vegetables) of my labor.

Side note, I canned several jars of tomatoes yesterday - all of the tomatoes in the jars came from my garden - yeah!!!

Baked Beans & Childhood Memories

2011-07-31T09:33:00.000-04:00

My weekly trip to the farmer's markets yesterday were educational. One of the farmers was holding a "demonstration" of pressure cooker canning. I use the term "demonstration" loosely since he had no heat source, did not demonstrate how the pressure canner was used and had several jars of food that were pressure cooker canned that did not turn out very well.

After watching his so called demo with another shopper I turned to the next booth and discussed water-bath canning (the method I currently use) with another farmer. At that booth I purchased a pound of beans and received a recipe for making baked beans --- and also instructions for canning the beans. I wandered through the rest of the market and picked up garlic, maple syrup, and onions - the rest of the ingredients I needed to make the recipe I received from Shady Side Farms.

Last night I covered the beans with cold water. This morning I drained and rinsed and drained the beans and then covered them with cold water. The pot of beans is now on the stove simmering - a process that, according to recipe directions, should take two hours.

A few minutes ago the beans started fill the air with childhood memories. As a child we spent a considerable amount of time visiting my grandpa. He was a widower who lived alone in a home he owned that was converted years before into two apartments. Grandpa lived in the two bedroom aprtment on the 2nd floor. When we pulled into the driveway at Grandpa's home we could often smell the food he was cooking. Sometimes the smells permeated the neighborhood - or could it be the smells were embedded in our nostrils so we carried them with us wherever we went? Grandpa never settled for opening a can - he always made his beans the right way! The smells filling my home today are the smells that greeted us on our wonderful visits to see the most wonderful Grandpa. His other passion was making homemade bread.

Hmmmm, perhaps I should up put a loaf of bread .....

Here's the recipe for the beans I am making today:

Maple Baked Beans

(recipe from ShadySide Farms)

1 pound Pinto or Jacob's Cattle beans

1 large onion chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 bay leaf

2 glugs of maple syrup (about 1/2 cup)

3/4 pound chunk bacon ------I'm leaving this out of my beans, personal preference

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons dry mustard

The night before, pick over beans, cover generously with cold water, and set aside.
The next morning, put the beans on the stove and simmer until tender -- about 2 hours.
Drain beans; put in slow cooker on low.
Add onion, garlic, bay leaf and chopped bacon.
Add maple syrup and enough cold water to cover the beans
Stir beans from time to time and add a bit of hot water if necessary to keep the top layer just nicely submerged. Around noon, stir in salt and dry mustard.
Remove the lid for the last hour of cooking so the beans thicken.

Things not included in the recipe but learned from the farmer. The beans swell about three times the size so make sure you use a large crock pot. This recipe makes enough to feed a small crowd so, if you are making this for your family, cut it in thirds or plan on canning the rest.

To can the beans,

follow the recipe as written.
Wash and sterilize jars and fill the hot dry jars with the beans.
Make sure you leave 1/2 inche head space.
Put the lids on the jars and immediately process the jars for 10-15 minutes in a water bath canner.

Treasures vs. Junk

2011-07-30T21:31:00.000-04:00

As many of you know, my dad passed away February 8, 2011. My dad was a builder for most of his life. He built many homes around the Muskegon area and later in life he worked for RHJ Management. Dad loved to work with tinker in his workshops - he had one in the basement and one in his garage. The workshops were full of tools - screwdrivers, hammers, saws, wrenches, etc. Lots of tools. He also accumulated a collection of nuts, bolts, nails and a bunch of treasures. I'm pretty sure the "treasures" were things he was saving because they might come in handy some day.

Well, after dad died, mom commenced to clean out the workshops and of course welcomed any help offered. We (my nephews, son & husband) spent time clearing and hauling. The final steps were to fill a huge dumpster with objects we deemed not worth keeping. Then we had a yard sale and basically gave away some of dads tools. Finally we sorted all the steel (as in nails, screws, lawn mower blades, etc) and loaded them into mom's van. We hauled all this stuff to the Rag & Metal recycle facility where mom earned a whopping $46. The last step was a woman purchased the rest of dad's treasures and she cleared out the garage workshop!

Clearing and sorting dad's stuff has been an eyeopener for me. I have a sewing room, which I call The Cave, full of my treasures. I spent several hours in there tonight sorting and clearing. The room is still full of precious material, patterns, tools, thread, etc. that are too important to me to just throw away. Unfortunately I know that my children do not view my prize accumulations as precious and will probably toss everything into a dumpster when my day comes.

I guess, in the meantime, I should spend a lot of time in the cave creating things such as quilts, clothes, purses, etc that my children might view as heirlooms.....

Hmmmm, I doubt they will but at least I will have fun.

Rest in Peace dad!

Back in the kitchen.....Zucchni Relish

2011-07-26T19:21:00.000-04:00

This recipe for Zucchini Relish came from SparkPeople.com

Chef Meg's Zucchini Relish Recipe

4 cups diced zucchini
1 large onion, thinly sliced
2 celery ribs, sliced
2 medium carrots, sliced
1 medium sweet red pepper, sliced
2 tablespoons salt
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon celery seed
Dash onion salt
dash ground tumeric

In a large bowl, combine the vegetables, sprinkle with walt and cover with cold water. Let stand 3 hours, rinse and drain.

In a large saucepan, bring the remaining ingredients to a boil. Stir in zucchini mixture and return to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer uncovered, for 5 minutes, Transfer to a large bowl; cool to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 days - yields 4 cups

Side Note: I ladled the relish into hot sterilized canning jars, sealed them and put them through a 15 minute hot water bath. According to comments on the site, this is another option - Ball, the canning people, recommend a pressure canner. I've never used a pressure canner so I have not comment there.

Back in the kitchen.....Bread and Butter Pickles

2011-07-26T19:14:00.000-04:00

I've been absent from the blog lately. I haven't been absent from the kitchen though. I need to post several recipes for friends.   First.....

Bread and Butter Pickles (makes 6-7 pints)

In a large bowl, mix together and let soak for three hours:
     25-30 small pickling cucumbers - sliced thin
     8 small onions - sliced thin
     1/2 cup canning salt

shortly before the 3 hours soaking time is up, mix and heat to a full boil the following in a large kettle:
     5 cups sugar
     5 cups white vinegar
     2 T. mustard seed
     1 t. tumeric

After 3 hours, rinse pickles & onion well.
Add rinsed pickles to large kettle, bring back to a boil & simmer for 5 minutes
Place pickles in hot sterilized jars & seal - be sure to leave approximately 1/2" head space
Can using your preferred method. I use a 15 minute hot water bath which works fine for me.

Brass Monkeys by Terry Caszett

2011-04-24T12:21:00.002-04:00

Brass Monkeys by Terry Caszatt

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The beginning of Brass Monkeys was a little slow as the author laid the foundation for the rest of the story. As I continued to read, I found several times throughout the book where I could not put the book down, waiting for the next event to happen. I loved how the author intertwined some of the slang from the 60's and 70's into the modern day story.

Fantasy fiction is not my favorite genre but this book was fun to read. The ending was a little strange and leaves the reader with a feeling there is more..... does this mean there is a sequel in the future?

View all my reviews

Guilt By Association by Marcia Clark

2011-04-24T12:05:00.001-04:00

Guilt by Association by Marcia Clark

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

View all my reviews

Spring Time is Sick Time

2011-04-18T20:44:00.000-04:00

Allergy season is back!

A little over a week ago I started experiencing a mild sore throat. Last week the sore throat spread to an ear ache, sore throat, light head, dizzyness, 2 ear aches and an overall feeling of the yuckies. I spent 5 days curled up on the couch doing as little a possible, sleeping and reading books.

Last night I had an extremely vivid dream. It was so real that upon waking after the dream, I was very disoriented and had trouble remembering where I was. I dreamed I was a teenager again, living in my parents home. I had been sick and decided I would go to school tomorrow. After telling my mom I planned to go to school tomorrow I asked her if I could borrow her car. She told me I was always welcome to borrow her car but I had a car of my own, why couldn't I drive that. Oh yes, I remembered, I owned a yellow jeep, never mind, I will drive the yellow jeep. Then I asked my mom for directions since I had never driven to the high school. Right after that I woke up. I have no idea why I remember this dream so clearly, maybe because I laid in bed so long trying to figure out why I didn't know the directions to the high school and also trying to figure out where I was.

Anyway, I decided I didn't care how I felt in the morning, I was going to get out of bed and go to work. Enough of this feeling sorry for myself.

Thanks to Revlon, Clinique and Aveeda, I managed to conceal how miserable I actually felt. I worked in a fog for most of the day, came home and then immediately left again to go to the gym where I tanned for 10 minutes and then walked the treadmill for 40 minutes. After that the dear hubby took me out for a sandwich.

Here's hoping my dear friends Revlon, Clinique and Aveda help me pull this miracle off again tomorrow.

National Harbor, Home of The Awakening

2011-04-09T21:44:00.040-04:00

Several weeks before our Washington DC vacation I signed up for Groupons. Every day I received an e-mail with discounted offers for restaurants, spas, tours, etc. One of the offers was a deal for a boat tour up and down the Potomac River to see the cherry blossoms. I immediately started googling for information on the boat tour. I found the boat was docked at the National Harbor in Oxon, Maryland and the tour brought us to East Potomac Park and Haines Point. I was curious as to how we would get to the National Harbor so I searched Google Maps. The easiest way I saw was to take the subway south and then grab a taxi. I estimated the distance from subway to harbor was around five miles. Shouldn't cost much.

I went ahead and booked the tour and I am so glad I did! My guess for transportation was confirmed by Stu in Congressman Huizenga's office. During our tour of the capital I asked Stu if he would be able to help me. After the tour, he checked and sure enough, Blue Line to King Street Station and then cab to National Harbor was the safest way to journey.

Upon our arrival at the National Harbor we located the dock where the Pelican would be waiting for us. We also found The Awakening - a sculpture that I spent time looking for years ago.

The last time I saw for the sculpture, I took a cab ride with a cabbie that had no idea where the sculpture was but managed to find it - shortly after it started raining.

When I got out of the cab to take pictures I found out my camera was not working (I accidentally left it running) and I was unable to document finding the sculpture.

I had heard the sculpture had been sold but I thought it was moved to Florida. Needless to say, I was excited to find the sculpture. There are several interpretations about the meaning behind the sculpture. I read somewhere the artist said he created it because it looked good. I'll leave it up to you to decide on your interpretation.

More on DC

2011-04-07T10:28:00.000-04:00

Sorry I haven't posted about our adventures of yesterday - I'll do it later, I promise.

Today was already an adventure. Linda & I packed a couple of flat rate boxes to send some of our extra stuff home. I walked a little over a 1/2 mile to bring the boxes to the post office. This involved crossing three busy streets. Being from the little city, I am not extremely confident in crossing six lane roads but, with the assistance of a young homeless man, I made it unscathed.

At the post office a man pulled in as I crossed the parking lot. He almost hit a pole, pulled forward and parked katty-wumpiss. Then, he just sat in his card. As I taped our boxes closed, the clerk kept an eye on him and soon determined something was not right. She went outside to check on him and he said he "felt dizzy." The clerk came back in and called 911. As I walked back to the hotel I heard sirens, soon police and ambulance were arriving to help the man.

Anyway, our boxes are now safely in the hands of the postal department. Unfortunately, my suitcase is still heavy and the wheels pretend like they do not want to roll.

Heading home this afternoon! Oh, the fun we had

Washington DC - Tuesday, April 5

2011-04-05T21:37:00.000-04:00

Last night, a cold front moved into the area bringing wind & rain. We got a rather "late" start this morning - especially since we were slowed down by problems on the Metro and trains were sharing one track. We arrived at Union Station and wandered through the Food Court and window shopped through out part of Union Station. We ate lunch in the middle of Union Station (not the food court). I enjoyed a platter of crispy pita chips and spinach/artichoke dip. Delicious. After lunch we found our way through the Metro toward Capitol Hill. We found the Longworth Building, went through security and located Congressman Huizenga's office.

Our tour guides from his office were Nate Bult and Stu. A new visitor's center has been added onto the building since my last visit there. We were told the visitor center has helped move people through the doors faster. Since it is spring break, there seems to be an enormous number of people visiting DC this week. The young aides were very knowledgeable and helpful in many ways.

I even got a peek at the Library of Congress. I'm told it is very helpful to obtain visitor passes for tours way ahead of time from our Congressman.

I think I asked for passes but, our decision to come to DC was made quite late. We were extremely lucky to get the reservations for the Supreme Court Lecture and Capitol Tour. Maybe I'll be able to visit the Library of Congress next time!

We even located the office of a congressman from Texas! There you go Joyce, that picture is for you!

Changing of the Guard

2011-04-05T00:14:00.000-04:00

Monday in DC

2011-04-05T00:05:00.000-04:00

Today was a very busy day for Linda & I. We started our day with a ride into DC on the Metro. We arrived at Union Station, wandered in and out of a few trinket shops and then located the hop on - hop off bus kiosk. After purchasing our tickets and boarding our bus we found seats on top where we enjoyed a lovely ride on a glorious, warm and sunny day.

Cherry blossoms were in different stages of bloom. We found quite a few forsythias, pansies and other assorted early spring flowers throughout the city.

Our bus tour took us past the monuments, Capitol Building, White House and throughout the city. After several hours on the bus - yes we stayed on for almost all of the tour - we headed to the Supreme Court where we were scheduled for a lecture at 2:00. Our docent took about 20 minutes giving us a brief history of the Supreme Court, the building and little tidbit about the various Justices.
She patiently answered questions from various people in the audience too. After the lecture, we ate a sandwich in the Supreme Court cafeteria. We ended our visit at the Supreme Court with a visit to the gift shop where I purchased a children's book written by Sandra Day O'Connor.

We walked several blocks from the Supreme Court to Union Station where we hopped on the Metro Red line, headed to Metro Center, switched to the Blue Line and traveled to Arlington Cemetery. We road the tour-mobile throughout the cemetery, hopping off to visit the Kennedy gravesites, and the Changing of the Guards.

Our time at Arlington went very quickly. The people employed there are very well informed, interesting, funny and helpful too. If you have never visited Arlington, I recommend going. Witnessing the Changing of the Guard is a very moving experience.

After Arlington, we returned, by subway, to Union Station to get something to drink and purchase more bus tickets for a nighttime tour of the city.

Since it is quite late and this has been a very busy day, I'll post more photos tomorrow. From Washington DC - goodnight.

Washington DC - Day One and Two

2011-04-03T21:39:00.000-04:00

Linda B & I left Muskegon Saturday morning at 11:30 am heading to Kalamazoo. The train/bus station is around the corner from the homeless shelter in Kalamazoo and I must say there were some interesting people hanging out in the station. Our lovely travel agent led us to believe there was a lovely deli around the corner from the bus station. Turns out the deli was accommodating but lacking....

The train from Kalamazoo to Chicago was almost an hour late leaving the station. A little nerve wracking but we managed to arrive in Chicago and only have a short layover. We took advantage of the rule to allow senior citizen to board the train early. Our seats on the train were row two - the car directly in front of us was the lounge car where the windows basically go from the floor to the ceiling and snacks and drinks are served below. The car in front of the lounge car was the dining car.

We shared out table with a lovely couple from out east. Dinner consisted of vegetable lasagna for me and talapia for Linda. Desert was a chocolate puff pastry for me and cranberry walnut crumb cake for Linda. I was rather disappointed to find Amtrak no longer uses china and cloth table clothes but Erin, our server, assures us the practice will be reinstated soon. Octavia was in charge of the dining car - she made it perfectly clear she was in charge! My favorite line from her was "somebody's got to love you."

Highlight of the night on the train was when we used the bathrooms on the train. I used the handicap bathroom and was slightly startled to find I could not unlock the door. Fortunately, Linda was right outside the bathroom and rescued me. Well, Linda didn't actually rescue me, she located Dan Kuhl, the assistant conductor who allowed me to escape. Needless to say, I did not use the handicap bathroom again - for that matter, I don't think Linda did either.

Another highlight was our dining companion at breakfast this morning. The gentleman wore a Chicago Bears sweatshirt. I asked him if he was a big Bears fan. He responded by telling us he played for the Chicago Bears - between 1966 and 1968 - Defensive Back. Our lovely dining car attendant called him "Mr. Curtis". I googled the Chicago Bears for that time frame and found Curt Gentry, Defensive Back - on the same team roster was Mike Ditka! According to friend Joyce, this roster contained "royalty". Hmmmmm, should we have asked for an autograph?

We arrived in DC - a little tired and yearning for a nice hot shower. Both of us took showers and naps then set out to explore. Dupont Circle was our destination - dinner was delicious. As I posted our status at the restaurant I was pleasantly surprise to find the Peace Corps Offices were a block down and street and around the corner. Of course, it is Sunday so the offices are closed but I took a series of photos of the pictures displayed in the windows.

I'm having difficulty posting the photos - will try again tomorrow.

Tomorrow morning we are hopping on a bus and touring and city. Tomorrow afternoon we are scheduled for a Supreme Court lecture. Stay tuned for more details of our trip --- hopefully photos too.

One week

2011-03-27T12:55:00.000-04:00

One week from today Linda & I will be in DC. Can't wait to share the details with you.

telling time.....

2011-03-14T22:05:00.000-04:00

It is no secret, I have trouble telling time. I thought I could overcome this problem once digital clocks became the norm but alas, last weekend proved I still have a wee bit of a problem. Saturday morning I mixed together the ingredients for a loaf of bread. The directions are for the dough to sit for 12 to 18 hours. After sitting & fermenting, the dough is gently turned out onto a floured surface, stretched a little and then wrapped in a floured tea towel to rise again for about an hour. Baking time follows, 45 minutes.

Well, I mixed the dough at 8 am. Then, I proceeded to determine what time it would be 18 hours later - I counted (on my fingers) 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 1, 2 - and decided 18 hours later would be 2 pm ..... Sunday afternoon.

At 11 pm Saturday night, I realized the error of my calculations. The dough had fermented and I could have set it for the 2nd rise but that would mean I would not be going to sleep for several more hours - and I was exhausted.

Instead, I gently turned the dough out, stretched it, wrapped it in a floured towel and then placed the dough in the fridge. Sunday morning I set the dough out to warm a little while I preheated the oven. Well, the bread turned out to be the best bread I have ever baked!!!!! It was moist, chewy (crust), crunchy (walnuts), sweet (raisins) and absolutely delicious.

Can't wait for my next mistake in the kitchen.

Rye Bread

2011-03-12T21:41:00.000-05:00

Years ago we bought a huge Dak bread maker. The bread came out is a big cylindar shape. The bread maker served us well but eventually wore out. It was eventually replaced by another machine, I don't remember the name but that machine was nothing like the Dak, if I recall correctly, I think we could even make jam in the breadmaker. That machine was replaced by another bread maker that met it's untimely demise when I pulled it away from the wall to add some ingredients and it "walked" off the counter during the kneading cycle - crash! Our current bread maker is a Breadman. It does a fair job making bread but I always hate the hole it leaves in the bottom of the loaf. If time allows, I use the Breadman for mixing, kneading and rising - then I remove the dough and place it in a regular loaf pan for the 2nd rise and finish by baking it in the oven.

I have found the best loaves are the ones that I stretch (sometimes I use a rolling pin) the bread into a rectangles and then roll the dough, jellyroll style, into a loaf. No matter what, the home baked bread is always better than the preservative laden bread sold in the stores.

The recipe book that came with the Breadman has some terrific recipes, including the following Rye Bread

Add the following ingredients to the bread maker in the order given:

1 1/4 cups water (80 degree F)
3 TBL. oil (note to friend CP - I recommend Canola Oil - fresh from the bottle, not french fry oil)
4 tsp. Caraway Seeds
3 TBL. Brown Sugar
2 tsp. Salt ( do not cut back on the salt, it is important for the yeast!)
2 1/2 cups Bread Flour
1 1/2 cups Medium Rye Flour
1 TBL. Red Star Active Dry Yeast
(or 2 tsp Red Star Quick Rise Yeast)
(or 2 tsp Bread Machine Yeast)

If you want to bake the bread in the oven, program your bread machine for "Dough". When you hear the beep (at least on my machine) remove the dough and roll out into rectangle and follow steps listed above. Allow the loaf to almost double in size (about 1 to 2 hours). Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 30 to 45 minutes (possibly an hour) - the loaf should be a nice golden brown crust color. I also use a instant read thermometer - the center of the bread should be 200 degrees. Allow the bread to sit in the pan for 10 to 20 minutes. No matter how tempted you are, do not cut the bread until it has cooled on a rack for at least one hour.

Yeah, about that last piece of advice, my favorite memories as a child was sitting in my grandpas kitchen smelling homemade bread in the oven. Gramps would cut the bread while it was still warm and we would enjoy a slice with real butter and honey. I still can't resist reliving those childhood memories!

Tsunamis, earthquakes and prayers

2011-03-11T09:57:00.000-05:00

The news this morning is filled with reports of the huge earthquake in Japan and the tsuanis that are spreading throughout the Pacific Ocean. I have two daughters living in the Pacific. As a mom I do tend worry about their safety. Instead of sprouting grey hairs and worrying about things I cannot control, I will continue having conversations with God. Today I am asking him to protect my daughters and everyone else affected by the earthquakes and tsunamis. It is in his hands! I know he does not need reminders but, if you are reading this message, please take a minute to say a prayer too.

Good feeling type of day

2011-03-10T20:09:00.000-05:00

Normally I groan at the thought of having guest teachers bring classes to the library. Today, I saw eight classes and two of them had guest teachers. Fortunately, the guest teachers were former student teachers in the building and knew the students pretty well - and the students knew what their expectations were, at least while in the library.

It was fun seeing both of these lovely ladies - seeing how they have grown since their days student teaching. Both did well as student teachers and they excel as guest teachers too.

French Toast

2011-03-08T19:46:00.000-05:00

Found this recipe on Snap Fitness website.....

Stuffed French Toast

Prepare the evening before for a decadent, but lighter version, of this perfect brunch treat.

6 servings | Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 50 minutes

Ingredients

12 (1-ounce) slices cinnamon-raisin bread
Cooking spray
1.5 cups 1% low-fat milk
1 cup egg substitute, divided
.5 cup half-and-half
.5 cup sugar, divided
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 (8-ounce) block 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened

Preparation

Trim crusts from bread. Arrange half of the bread in an 11 x 7-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.
Combine milk, 3/4 cups egg substitute, half-and-half, and 1/4 cup sugar in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Pour half of milk mixture over bread in dish.
With a stand up or hand mixer, combine 1/4 cup egg substitute, 1/2 cup sugar, vanilla, nutmeg, and cheeses; process until smooth. Pour cream cheese mixture over moist bread in dish. Top with remaining bread; pour remaining milk mixture over bread. Cover and refrigerate 8 hours or overnight.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Uncover and bake at 350 degrees for 55 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Nutrition
Per serving : 366 Calories; 11 g Fat; 0 g Sat; 31 mg Cholesterol; 55 g Carbohydrates; 15 g Protein; 8 g Fiber; 392 mg Sodium

2011-03-08T19:18:00.002-05:00

Whenever we have an unhappy experience with another person, we must not complain, “Why did he do this to me?” That is the first reaction almost everyone makes. However, it misses the mark entirely. Instead, you must ask, ‘Why did I react painfully to what he did?” This reaction brings us back to our responsibility for abandoning ego-centered sensitivities. Then, anyone can do anything to you and there is no pain, only a peaceful understanding. Vernon Howard

I read the above quote on an e-mail from Inner Kiddies today. Later in the day I was treated quite rudely by a co-worker. My first response was "geesh! What did I do to deserve that treatment?" I recalled the same co-worker biting my head off for no reason the week before. Then, I remembered reading this e-mail earlier in the day. I went back to my desk and re-read the e-mail with the quote.

I still do not understand why this co-worker is taking her frustrations out on me. Perhaps I have done something to make her angry. Perhaps she is having a bad day, week, month or school year. What ever the reason, I will keep her in my prayers and hope that she finds the peace she needs. My first reaction was to confront her. I view a confrontation as a form of complaining. Instead, while keeping her in my prayers, I will also steer clear of her, eventually she will need my assistance and will have to treat me with respect. Perhaps an apology is in order but I won't hold my breath.

excellent quote

2011-03-06T09:57:00.002-05:00

"Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around." -Leo Buscaglia

Fajita Recipe

2011-03-05T20:44:00.001-05:00

From Taste of Home - a recipe I want to try. Leaving it here so I don't lose it.

Chicken Fajitas

4 Servings
Prep/Total Time: 30 min.

Ingredients

2 flour tortillas (10 inches), cut into 1/2-inch strips
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1/2 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips
1/2 pound beef top sirloin steak, cut into thin strips
1 medium green pepper, sliced
1 small onion, sliced
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 cup cubed fresh pineapple
1 medium tomato, coarsely chopped

Directions

In a large skillet, fry tortilla strips in 2 tablespoons oil on both sides for 1 minute or until golden brown. Drain on paper towels.
In the same skillet, cook the chicken, beef, green pepper, onion, soy sauce, brown sugar, chili powder, cumin and pepper in remaining oil for 3-4 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink.
In a small bowl, combine cornstarch and lime juice until smooth; add to the pan. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 1 minute or until thickened. Stir in pineapple and tomato; heat through. Serve with tortilla strips. Yield: 4 servings.

Nutrition Facts: 1 serving (1-3/4 cups) equals 390 calories, 17 g fat (3 g saturated fat), 63 mg cholesterol, 717 mg sodium, 29 g carbohydrate, 5 g fiber, 27 g protein.

happiness

2011-03-05T20:43:00.002-05:00

"Many people think that if they were only in some other place, or had
some other job, they would be happy. Well, that is doubtful. So get as
much happiness out of what you are doing as you can and don't put off
being happy until some future date." - Dale Carnagie

Cheesecake Recipe

2011-03-05T20:15:00.003-05:00

One of my favorite chefs on Recipezaar (now food.com) is Kittencal. She has a tremendous number of recipes posted, I have used some of her recipes and have always found them to be the best. Now, when I am looking for a recipe, I will search her postings first. Thursday night I wanted to make a cheesecake so I searched for Kittencal and narrowed my search to cheesecake. Sure enough - she had a terrific recipe posted!!! I made the cheesecake, using a graham cracker crust instead of oreo cookies. I also used low-fat cream cheese and low-fat sour cream. We topped it with no sugar added cherry pie filling. This is definitely a 10 star submission!

Cheesecake

Ingredients:

Servings:

CRUST

24 Oreo cookies, finely crushed
2 tablespoons melted butter or 2 tablespoons margarine

FILLING

3 (8 ounce) packages Philadelphia Cream cheese, room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
5 large eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour (1/4 cup)
2 cups sour cream

TOPPING

1 (28 ounce) can cherry pie filling or 1 (28 ounce) can blueberry pie filling

Change Measurements: US | Metric

Directions:

Prep Time: 20 mins

Total Time: 1 1/2 hrs

1 Set oven to 325 degrees F.
2 Set oven rack to middle position.
3 Grease bottom and sides of a 9-inch springform pan,.
4 For the crust; in a bowl combine the cookie crumbs with melted butter; mix until well combined (I use my hands for this).
5 Pat into the bottom of the springform pan; chill while making the filling.
6 For the filling in a large bowl using an electric mixer beat the cream cheese and sugar until fluffy (about 4 minutes).
7 Add in eggs, lemon juice and vanilla; beat until thoroughly combined.
8 Add in flour; beat until completely combined.
9 Add in sour cream; beat until well combined.
10 Pour over the crust in the pan.
11 Bake for 1 hour.
12 Turn the heat off and open the oven door to stay slightly.
13 Allow the baked cheesecake to remain in the oven for 1 hour (with heat turned off).
14 Cool slightly at room temperature then refrigerate overnight.
15 Before serving release the sides of the pan from the cheesecake.
16 Slice as desired then top slices with pie filling.

Cheesy Potatoes

2011-02-20T22:50:00.002-05:00

I received a cookbook as a gift from Temple United Methodist Church. Carol M. gave me the book as a thank you for visiting their church this morning. The minister was on vacation, Susan Harrison Wolffis was the guest speaker. Susan writes a lovely human interest column for the Muskegon Chronicle. I have always enjoyed reading her columns. Tonight, for dinner, I prepared a side dish of Cheesy Potatoes from page 20 of the cookbook. As I write this, I just realized that the person who submitted the recipe is Susan's mother.

Cheesy Potatoes

3 T. butter
6 large potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
1 tsp salt (optional)
1/4 tsp pepper
1 c. milk
2 c. shredded cheddar cheese
Chopped fresh parsley

Melt butter in large non-stick skillet.
Cook potatoes until almost tender and lightly browned.
Sprinkle salt and pepper and pour milk over all.
Boil gently until milk is absorbed.
Sprinkle with cheese and allow to melt.
Garnish with parsley.
Serve immediately.

I cut the recipe in half and it made more than enough for the three of us. Very easy to prepare and delicious to eat. I can't wait to try other recipes from my new cookbook. I do enjoy locally produced cookbooks. I noticed the lovely lady who presented the cookbook to me has some healthy choice recipes in the book - maybe tomorrow.....

Mickie

2011-02-20T19:40:00.002-05:00

When I was a child, I had several imaginary friends. First, there was Bear - he was well known for being blamed when mom asked "Who did it?" Yes, the Bear was the one who ate all the butter, spilled the tomato soup and left toys where they did not belong. Bear lived with us when I was four years old. Shortly after Bear left (I think he was tired of being the fall-guy), Mickie moved in with us. Mickie left the wagon out in the rain and also sat in the seat next to me so my brother could not sit there. Unfortunately, my brother could not see Mickie and often sat on him which could make me very upset. My mother tells me Mickie left when we took him to Florida and they (the parents) convinced him to stay in Florida when we returned home.

Now, around 50 years later, I have hooked up with a wonderful website called Inner Kiddies. The instructions on the website tells us to name our inner child. This inner child is going to take the "blame" for the mistakes I make - like eating too much or not eating the right foods. I have not embraced the idea because I could not come up with a proper name for my inner child.

Today as I did some sprints on the treadmill, my inner child spoke to me. My lovely inner child was trying to convince me to skip my workout and go home. At that point, I decided I need to give this inner child a name and realized the proper name would be Mickie!

So my friends that know me well, my computer is named Gracie, my Nook is Ethel, my Jeep is Yella and my inner child is Mickie. If you hear me talking about the trouble Mickie is causing - you will know who is really to blame.

It's all about attitudes

2011-02-05T08:51:00.001-05:00

"My life tomorrow will be the result of my attitudes and the choices I make today" - Unknown

Snow Day Pretzels

2011-02-02T16:35:00.005-05:00

Today was a rare occurrence - our school was closed. Out of boredom, I shuffled through and organized a pile of recipes I have printed & clipped but never had a chance to try. During the shuffle, I opened another link on-line and found yet another recipe - I stopped what I was doing and made these pretzels - they were terrific.

Snow Day Pretzels:

Makes 6 large pretzels

1 teaspoon instant yeast
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2-3 cups bread flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup warm milk (approximately 110 degrees)

Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl and mix together until it forms a ball. Start with 2 cups flour and mix it together until it forms something like a thick batter, then, add more flour a handfull at a time until it'll form a nice ball. I used my Kitchen Aid stand mixer but you can knead it by hand. Knead for 5 - 10 minutes until the dough is smooth and satiny.
At this point, preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Also, put a medium saucepan 3/4 full with water on to boil.
Cover the ball of dough with a towel and allow to rest 5-10 minutes.
Cut the dough into 6 pieces and shape each piece into a short log. Cover with a towel and let the dough relax for 5 to 10 minutes.
Once it has relaxed, roll it out and stretch it out. Let it relax again for another 5-10 minutes
Now, stretch the dough out until it is approximately 15 - 20 inches long and about as big around as your index finger. The dough will nearly double in size as it bakes so it is no problem if the dough is quite thin.
Shape the dough into a pretzel. Shaping is quite easy. Place a rope of dough on the work surface in front of you. Take each end in a hand, loop the dough away from you, and bring the ends back toward your stomach, crossing them about an inch above the rope. Apply a little bit of pressure to make the loops stick together, but not too much because you don't want then to flatten out.
To boil them: If you want to boil them, bring a pot of water to a boil. Dunk each of the pretzels into the boiling water for 5 seconds, then place them onto a baking sheet and sprinkle with coarse salt (I use the kosher stuff that is easy to find at the grocery store) or other toppings. I left the prezel shape on my spatula and dipped it in the boiling water.
Place the baking sheets into the oven. It took around 15 minutes for my pretzels to get golden and brown. Remove from the oven and eat immediately.
After baking, I spritzed the pretzels with a little water and sprinkled some sour cream and onion topping over the pretzels - they were good with and without the topping.

(I'll post the sour cream and onion topping in another post)

Italian Wedding Soup

2011-02-02T16:32:00.002-05:00

I'm always looking for a new soup recipe, this one appeared in an e-mail from FlyLady.net today. If I try it, I will use ground chicken. Please let me know if you get a chance to try this before me - your opinion matters.

Italian Wedding Soup
Serves 6

1/2 pound ground beef, extra lean
1 egg, slightly beaten
2 tablespoons bread crumbs
1 tablespoon Romano cheese
1/2 teaspoon basil
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
5 3/4 cups low sodium chicken broth
2 cups kale, thinly sliced
1 cup orzo pasta
1/3 cup carrot, finely chopped

In a medium bowl, combine bread crumbs, meat, egg, cheese, basil and onion
powder, shape into 3/4 inch balls.

In a large saucepan, heat broth to boiling, stir in kale, orzo, carrot and
meatballs. Return to a boil, then reduce heat to medium. Cook at a slow
boil for 10 minutes or until pasta is al dente. Stir frequently to prevent
sticking.

Per serving: 280 Calories; 8g Fat; 24g Protein; 28g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 58mg Cholesterol; 578mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1 1/2 Grain (Starch); 2 1/2 Lean Meat; 1/2 Vegetable; 1 Fat.

SERVING SUGGESTIONS: I like bread with soup so either bake some in your
breadmaker or buy a nice loaf of crusty bread to go with this. Add a salad
if you want, but you've got tons of green stuff going on this hearty soup.

VEGETARIANS: Skip the meatballs by omitting first 3 ingredients. Add extra vegetables to vegetable broth instead of chicken broth.

KOSHER: Use beef broth instead of chicken.

Sweet Potato Waffles

2011-01-30T10:18:00.004-05:00

I just found this recipe through Taste of Home on Facebook. I've got to try this one.

Sweet Potato Waffles with Nut Topping Recipe

Sweet Potato Waffles

Ingredients

(6 servings, 20 minute prep, 5 min cook time per batch)

2 cups biscuit/baking mix
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 egg
1-1/3 cups 2% milk
1 cup canned sweet potatoes, mashed
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
TOPPING:
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon water
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Dash salt
Dash ground nutmeg
Maple syrup

Directions

In a large bowl, combine the biscuit mix, brown sugar and spices. In another bowl, whisk the egg, milk, sweet potatoes, oil and vanilla. Stir into dry ingredients just until combined.
Bake in a preheated waffle iron according to manufacturer’s directions until golden brown.
Meanwhile, in a small skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add pecans and walnuts. Cook and stir for 2 minutes. Add the brown sugar, water, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg. Cook and stir until sugar is dissolved. Serve waffles with topping and syrup. Yield: 12 waffles.

Nutrition Facts: 2 waffles with about 2 tablespoons topping (calculated without syrup) equals 457 calories, 28 g fat (5 g saturated fat), 44 mg cholesterol, 598 mg sodium, 46 g carbohydrate, 3 g fiber, 9 g protein.

Trick for Fluffy Pancakes & Waffles

For very light and tender pancakes or waffles, separate the egg and beat the white until stiff. Stir the yolk and other liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients, then fold in the beaten egg white. —Jonelle W., Trenton, Michigan

Sweetwater Market

2011-01-29T11:53:00.003-05:00

We have a market here where local vendors (farmers) sell healthy choices of meat, vegetables, fruits, breads, honey, coffee, soaps, treats for dogs and even and socks & mitten made from yarn spun from the wool of the sheep they raise. I like to go to the market to purchase boneless/skinless chicken breasts. The chicken breasts are from free range and organically raised chickens. The majority of chicken breasts I find in the grocery stores have been injected with chicken broth that also includes sodium. In my opinion, if I want sodium in my chicken meat, I would rather add my own.

I was rather sad to find out there were no chicken breasts available at the market today. I guess I will have to search my grocery store for their version of "healthy" chicken meat. I am so happy I don't have to buy ground chicken anymore since I not know how easy it is to use my Kitchen-Aid stand mixer with the attachment for grinding chicken.

Today's purchases at Sweetwater Market included to celeriac bulbs, an onion, some sweet carrots, a breakfast scone (for Sunday), a breakfast cookie (devoured already), a loaf of raisin/pecan bread, 2 packages of ground turkey (for the days I'm too lazy to grind my chicken), beautiful brown eggs, dog treats and a bar of shea & oats soap.

I also received a mini lesson from one of the vendors about why egg shells are different colors. Very informative. I love going to the market - I even get a cup of free coffee since I paid my dues and I'm a "friend of Sweetwater Market." If you live in Muskegon, be sure to check them out. They are located at Hackley at the Lakes and are open during the winter every other Saturday from 9 am to 1 pm - so don't go next Saturday. They will be there again on February 12. Hope to see you there.

Spiced Pear Upside-Down Cake

2011-01-28T21:33:00.003-05:00

Another delicious (but not so healthy) recipe from the new Taste of Home, Feb. & Mar, 2011 issue

1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
1/4 cup packed brown sugar

2 large pears, peeled and sliced
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1/3 cup molasses

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp. ground ginger
3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/2 cup warm water

1) Pour melted butter into a 9 inch square baking pan; sprinkle with nuts and brown sugar. Arrange pears over nuts

2) In a large bowl, cream softened butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

3) Beat in egg and molasses

4) Combine the flour, ginger, cinnamon, salt, baking powder and baking soda; add to creamed mixture alternately with water, beating well after each addition

5) Spread batter over pears.

6) Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before inverting onto a serving place.

Serve warm with ice cream or whipped topping if desired.

I served this tonight to friends T & S and da hubby. Da son passed on dessert - we were all thankful because everyone had 2nds.

Herbed Veggie Mix-Up

2011-01-28T21:25:00.002-05:00

The new Taste of Home magazine arrived in the mail this week - full of delicious recipes - some healthy and delicious and others delicious and not so healthy. Of course, I have to try new recipes. Here's the recipe for Herbed Veggie Mix-Up:

Prep/Total time: 25 min.
Yields 5 servings

1/2 pound fresh green beans, cut into 1 inch pieces
2 medium carrots, julienned (or cut into matchsticks)
1/4 cup butter, cubed
1/2 pound fresh mushrooms
1 medium onion, sliced
2 Tablespoons minced fresh parsley
1/2 tsp. salt (I cut this way back)
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. dried basil
1/8 tsp. white pepper

1) Place beans and carrots in a steamer basket; place in a large saucepan over 1 inch of water. Bring to a boil; cover and steam for 7-10 minutes or until crisp-tender.

2) Meanwhile, in a large skillet, melt butter. Add mushrooms and onion; saute until tender.

3) Stir in the parsley, salt, oregano, basil, pepper, green beans and carrots; heat through and serve.

I served this to T & S and my hubby & son tonight. It was delicious, great flavor. I really enjoyed the crispness of the veggies but the son complained that the veggies were too crisp. I guess it is up to the individual taste. If you like your veggies softer, be sure to allow for longer steaming time - especially for the carrots! No complaints on the flavor.

Pot Pie Recipe

2011-01-24T21:32:00.004-05:00

Lately, I have been craving chicken potpie - no, not the high sodium, high fat, not sure what I'm eating kind of potpies I used to live on in the 1970's but real honest to goodness homemade potpies. I have tried two recipes - both were delicious, one is quick and easy while the other one requires a little prep time. The first recipe is made using cream of chicken or cream of mushroom soup. Be careful if you choose this recipe - cream of anything soups have added sodium and added fats. Anyway, here are the recipes:

Quick & Easy Chicken Pot Pie

Pie crust

6 3/4 oz can chicken chopped *

16 oz can mxied veggies, drained

10 3/4 oz can cream of chicken soup

1/2 t celery flakes

1/4 t pepper

1/4 t poultry seasoning

Fit pie crust into a 9" pie plate

Combine chicken and next 5 ingredients in a bowl; pour into pie crust

moisten edges of bottom crust with water; top with remaining crust

fold edges under and crimp; cut slits in top

Bake at 400 degrees for 45 to 50 minutes

let stand 10minutes before serving

Serves 8

Note: Ready made pie crusts make this homestyle dish extra easy. A 10 ounce package of frozen oven roasted diced chicken, thawed and a 16 ounce package of frozen vegetables can be substituted for canned chicken and vegetables.

Make 'em mini: Use a muffin tin in place of individual caserole dishes when making mini pot pies, quiches or savory popovers - so quick and easy!

Enjoy

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~``
The 2nd recipe does require extra work - but it is definitely worth it! It comes from a chef at Recipezaar , recipe #68214. I changed the recipe a little by adding a cubed potato to the chicken and carrots.

1 lb boneless chicken meat, cut into 1-inch pieces

4 carrots, cut into 1/2-inch slices

2 cups chicken broth

4 tablespoons butter

1 cup sliced mushrooms

1 medium onion, chopped

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

salt & freshly ground black pepper

1 cup heavy cream or 1 cup half-and-half (I used low-fat evaporated milk)

2 cups frozen peas

2 pie crusts (frozen or from your favorite recipe)

Combine the chicken pieces, carrots, and broth in a saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat.
Simmer covered for 5 minutes, remove from heat and set aside.
In a separate saucepan, melt the butter over moderate heat.
Add the mushrooms, onion, salt, pepper, thyme, and flour and stir to thoroughly mix.
Cook over moderate heat for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
Add the chicken broth mixture and stir until the sauce thickens.
Add the cream and peas and stir for 2 minutes.
Roll the pastry into 12 circles about 6 inches (15 cm) in diameter.
Place half in the bottoms of six 5-inch pie pans and fill with the chicken mixture.
Top with the remaining dough and pinch the edges together, trimming off the excess with a knife.
Cut 2 or 3 slits in the top of each and bake in a preheated 425°F (220°C) oven for 35 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown.

Tosca Rena's Banana Muffins

2011-01-23T19:33:00.002-05:00

This was posted on Tosca Rena's Clean Eating Blog
I would like to try these muffins, putting the recipe here for safe keeping.....

Sunday Morning Moist Banana Muffins

Ingredients:

1 cup quick cooking oats
1 cup plain rice or almond milk
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup ground flax seed
1 teaspoon each baking powder and soda
1/2 teaspoon each cloves, cinnamon and allspice
1 teaspoon lemon zest
pinch sea salt
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
4 egg whites beaten until foamy but not stiff
1 cup mashed ripe banana (about 2 large bananas)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1 cup blueberries
1 large apple cut into pieces

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Line muffin tin with parchment paper liners

3. Place oats in medium prep bowl and pour milk over. Mix and let stand while you make the rest of the recipe.

4. In another medium prep bowl combine flour, ground flax seed, spices, baking powder and soda, lemon zest and salt. Mix well until all ingredients are evenly distributed. Set aside.

5. Put egg whites in mixing bowl and beat until fluffy but not stiff.

6. In small prep bowl mash bananas and add chopped apple. Mix well.

7. In large prep bowl combine flour, soaked oats, egg whites and banana mixture. Add blueberries. Fold until all ingredients are just blended.

8. Spoon into prepared muffin tin.

9. Bake in preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown on top.

Yield: Makes 12 generous muffins to enjoy on a sunny Saturday with delicious coffee.

Paperback Swap.com

2011-01-22T22:26:00.003-05:00

This is a win-win situation. I have bookshelves full of books. I will probably never read the books again. All the shelves do is collect dust. Today, I purged the shelves & removed my books. The books are now safely on their own shelf - away from da hubby's books. I listed all of my books on www.paperbackswap.com.

If you have not had a chance to check out the paperbackswap site, I encourage you to do so now. It is very easy to list the books you no longer want. Then, wait patiently for others to request your book. When you receive a request, print out the paperwork with their address on it, wrap up the book and head to the post office. Postage is less than $3.0o. Once they receive your book, they post to paperbackswap that the book has been received and *poof* your account receives one credit. You use your credit to "purchase" a new book to read - no extra charge. Paperbackswap has thousands of members just waiting to swap books with you.

If you sign up at paperbackswap, please tell them I sent you and link to me as friends if you so choose.

Have fun!

I am Flinging

2011-01-22T17:15:00.003-05:00

I woke up this morning with a plan - to find my walk-in closet!!! When we bought this home many, many years ago, my children were impressed with the size of the closet. One of the kids wanted to know if it was daddy's bedroom! Well, over the years, the closet has gotten smaller and smaller. As a matter of fact, I couldn't reach the back corners of the closet. Well, today I hauled 9 bags out of the closet. Bags full of old text books, junk, more books, shoes and more junk. The closet is now well organized. There is a section of photos and scrap books that need some attention but at least everything is together for the day when I am in the mood to do that.

After accomplishing order in the closet, I move to my sewing room. I cleared off several book shelves and made room for all of my cookbooks to be housed together. Somedays I will weed the cookbooks to keep the ones that I really want and copy the recipes for the others to a cookbook journal.

Tomorrow I plan on restoring order to my sewing room! Stay tuned

Snow Day!!!

2011-01-18T20:42:00.002-05:00

The hubby works 3rd shift. Today he arrived home shortly before 5:30 am and informed me there would be no school today because the roads were bad. I promptly tuned into our local TV station and was dismayed to find out the hubby did not have the facts - just gut instinct.

You see, I work for a school district that is notorious for being one of the few schools still open during inclement weather. There are many reasons why we are still open - we don't have buses traveling rural routes, our students need a warm safe place to be and our administration probably fears losing $$$ for too many days off school.

Never-the-less, I continued watching TV. Soon, the breakfast bar scrolled across the screen announcing school was closed. I bounced out of bed, ate breakfast, showered, got dressed, read some e-mails and touched base with friends on Facebook.

Then, I tackled the last cupboard in my kitchen that did not get de-cluttered last weekend. Unfortunately, the men in my life (my hubby & son) were still sleeping. The pots & pans clanging did not seem to disturb my husband but it wasn't long before my son came out with daggers in his eyes. Some men will never appreciate the value of clean and well-organized cupboards - even if it is early in the morning.

Is it too much to hope for another snow day tomorrow?

Busy Productive day today!!!

2011-01-17T21:39:00.002-05:00

Today was/is a holiday - no work for me today. Well, no paying job today but boy I worked. I finally tackled cupboards in my kitchen and decluttered - four, almost 5 bags of trash was hauled to the dumpsters. Some of the items in the bags were outdated food - can you say 3 old cans of shortening (what was I thinking?) and some were knick-knacks that have worn out their usefulness. Some of them were covered with so much greasy dust it was impossible to clean them properly - bye-bye clutter.

I know da hubby thinks I'm crazy but da son will be happy to find the cluttered cupboard that houses different size containers - some with and some without lids - for leftovers has been neatly arranged! Only bowls with lids on, under or neatly stacked on top grace those shelves now. My spices are all arranged alphabetically (I still need to make a list so I don't buy duplicates) and the old spices have been tossed. Did you know McKormick has a website that tells you how old your spices are? Check it out, here is the link: http://mccormick.com/Spices101/HowOldSpices.aspx . I could not believe I had spices taking up space in my cupboard that were bottled in 1996 - rather old wouldn't you say?

Anyway, with Flylady's help, I hope my cupboards never get out of control again. It is way too much work to clean up the mess.

Date Night

2011-01-16T10:33:00.003-05:00

Da hubby & I don't get out much. Sure we go shopping together, run errands and also go out to eat. It seems like we never get together with friends to have fun. Last night da hubby & I enjoyed an evening with friends. We went to a concert that was a fund raiser for a local charity then out for drinks and good food. I think we all had a good time - well, except for the first act at the concert (who shall remain nameless). We enjoyed listening to the Carl Webb Band and certainly enjoyed seeing and hearing Amaryliss. Max and Ruth Bloomquist certainly know how to put on a show.

Now, my task is to convince da hubby, Linda & Darrel that the boys should take us out for a Valentines Day dinner.....

Super Fling Boogie

2011-01-09T11:56:00.003-05:00

Several years ago I joined www.FlyLady.net. I haven't visited the site in a long time but something re-sparked my interest and I've gotten hooked again. This month the challenge is to spend 15 minutes a day doing the Super Fling Boogie. This involves going to a hot spot in the home and eliminating clutter. Last night and this morning I tackled my closet and dresser drawers. My closet has been so full that my clothes actually hang on bars across the bathtub we no longer use. Other pieces of clothing hang from hooks on the bathroom doors. My dresser drawers & cupboards were so full, it was almost impossible to close the drawers & doors.

Now, because my 15 minutes (I was actually inspired by the 15 minutes, I spent over an hour) of Super Flinging, my drawers and cupboards are neatly organized and the clothes in my closet are hanging neatly. Even my socks are paired and organized by color, type and holidays. The hooks on the bathroom doors are almost empty. (I'll clear them off this afternoon.) Goodwill will be the lucky recipient of all the clothing that is too large for me.

Cinnamon-Raisin Swirl Bread

2011-01-07T22:05:00.006-05:00

This recipe comes from The America's Test Kitchen Healthy Family Cookbook. My husband, son and I loved this bread so I'm sharing the recipe here for my friends.

Makes one 9 -inch loaf (You can substitute all-purpose flour for the bread flour but the resulting loaf will be a little shorter and denser. If you don't have a standing mixer, you can make the bread by hand.

1 cup warm whole milk (110 degrees)
1/3 cup warm water (110 degrees)
3 tablespoons honey
3 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 3/4 cups (9 2/3 ounces) whole-wheat flour
1 1/2 - 2 cups (8 1/4 to 11 ounces) bread flour
1/4 cup wheat germ
1 envelope (2 1/4 teaspoons) instant or rapid-rise yeast
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup raisins
vegetable oil spray
3 tablespoons light brown sugar
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

Whisk the milk, water, honey, and 3 tablespoons of the melted butter together in a large liquid measuring cup.
Combine the whole-wheat flour, 1 1/2 cups of bread flour, wheat germ, yeast, and salt in a standing mixer fitted with the dough hook.
With the mixer on low speed, add the milk mixture and mix until the dough comes together, about 2 minutes.
Increase the mixer speed to medium-low and knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. If after 4 minutes more flour is needed, add the remaining 1/2 cup bread flour, 2 tablespoons at a time until the dough clears the sides of the bowl but sticks to the bottom. Add the raisins and continue to knead until incorporated, about 1 minute.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured counter and knead by hand to form a smooth, round ball.
Place the dough in a large, lightly greased bowl and cover with greased plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
Spray a 9 by 5 inch loaf pan with begetable oil spray.
Mix the brown sugar, granulated sugar and cinnamon together in a small bowl.
Press the dough into a 20 by 8 inch rectangle, with the short side facing you. Spray the dough lightly with water and sprinkle the sugar mixture evenly over the dough, leaving a 2 inch border at the far edge. Spray again lightly with water, roll into a tight cylinder and pinch the seam closed.
Place the loaf, seam-side down, in the prepared pan. Spray the loaf lightly with vegetable oil spray, cover loosely with greased plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place until the loaf has nearly doubled in size, 45 to 75 minutes.
Meanwhile, adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 350 degrees.
Brush the loaf with remaining 1/2 tablespoon melted butter, then spray lightly with water.
Bake until the crust is golden and the center of the bread registers 200 degrees on an instant-read thermometer, 40 to 50 minutes, rotating the loaf halfway through baking.
Cool the loaf in the pan for 15 minutes, then flip out onto a wire rack and let cool to room temperature, about 2 hours before serving.

(Joan's note: This bread came out of the oven and smelled so terrific. It barely sat for 15 minutes in the pan. We used an electric knife to cut the bread immediately - warm bread is fantastic!)

Sleep Study

2011-01-05T20:32:00.003-05:00

Several years ago I visited the sleep clinic where they hooked me up with wires extending from my arms, legs, chest, and head. A camera was aimed at my bed with a microphone close by. A technician monitored my sleep and soon after falling asleep woke me up to slip a CPAP mask over my face to help stop the snoring. The diagnosis was obstructed sleep apnea. Throughout the rest of the night the technician adjusted the air flow until I reached a safe, comfortable level of sleep.

I've been using the CPAP almost every night since - until recently. Even with the CPAP I was not getting a deep restful night of sleep. Then it occurred to me - the restless nights started at about the time I hit the 20 pound weight loss mark!

I was again referred to the sleep clinic where, to my delight, I was informed I was not a candidate to spend a night at the sleep clinic. Instead, a special CPAP machine was ordered for me. The machine was set to manual and sent home with me. There is a small computer chip somewhere in the machine. This week, I will return the machine to the health care rental place and they will upload the data from the computer chip to the sleep clinic doctor.

Hopefully the data on the chip will provide the doctor with the information needed to adjust the CPAP to the right setting so I can get a good night sleep. I am surprised, even with the machine set to manual, I have only had two or three good nights sleep in the past two weeks since the machine entered this house.

I have been fortunate to maintain a high level of energy even though I have not had a good night sleep. I know this good luck is not going to last much longer - I'm looking forward to next week when the old machine is set to new settings. Hopefully the fix will be as easy as it sounds!

Healthy New Years Goals

2010-12-29T21:33:00.006-05:00

I really hate the idea of New Years Resolutions. People make decisions to do better and often break their resolutions before the first week of January is over. Throughout the years, I have seen an influx of people at the gym during the month of January. By February, there is space to exercise again. I have to admit, I have been one of those people a few times.

The hubby and I made a decision to get in shape last fall. We have been working hard and losing weight and inches in addition to gaining muscle mass and getting heart healthy. I have decided to make a new year's resolution - based on what we have been practicing this fall - to continue to eat healthy and exercise regularly. Here are some of the things I will do to achieve those goals:

Drink water - between 75-85 ounces a day
Exercise 45-60 minutes every day

Eat: (goal 6 out of 10 per day)

23 almonds per day (fill an empty Altoids tin)
1/2 cup berries per day (blue, rasp, stray, boysen, goose or back currents)
3 servings leafy greens (spinach, brocolli, arugula, broccolinni)
1-3 cups low-fat or fat-free yogurt (unsweetened, plain or vanilla, contains live cultures)
one cup veggie soup per day
two four ounce servings Omega 3 rich foods - like salmon - per week
Quinoa - 1/2 cup per day
4 eggs per week
25 g whole soy (edamame, tofu)
organic or free range food as much as possible

In addition to the above, I would like to elminiate obesogens from my diet by the end of 2011. " Obesogens are substances including bisphenol A which are suspected of promoting obesity by increasing fat cells in the body and altering metabolism and feelings of hunger and fullness" (information from 12/2010 Reader's Digest).

I would like to continue my breakfast of oatmeal, fruit, cinnamon and nuts - at least 6 times a week. I know it might get boring but it is such a good breakfast and keeps me from getting hungry in the morning.

Any comments or additional suggestions would be welcome and appreciated.

Creamy Chicken-Noodle Skillet Casserole

2010-12-29T18:07:00.007-05:00

Last night I made this casserole from a recipe in "Betty Crocker : The 300 Calorie Cookbook. It was super easy to make and very delicious to eat. I'm posting it here for others to enjoy (I hope the fine folks at Betty Crocker don't mind.) If you enjoy this recipe, I would recommend purchasing the cookbook mentioned above - it is filled with easy and delicious under 300 calorie recipes.

Prep time : 15 minutes
Start to finish : 25 minutes
Makes 4 servings (hmmm, three of us ate and there were no leftovers)

1 Tablespoon canola oil
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 medium onion, chopped (1/2 cup)
1 cup read to eat baby cut carrots, cut lengthwise in half
1 cup frozen broccoli cuts
1 cup uncooked egg noodles (I used frozen)
1 can (14 oz) chicken broth (use the low-fat/reduced sodium)
1 can (10 3/4 oz) condensed 98% fat-free cream of chicken soup
with 45 % less sodium
(I used reduced fat cream of mushroom soup)

1. In 12-inch nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Cook chicken and onion in oil 6 to 8 minutes, stirring frequently, until chicken is brown and onion is just tender.

2. Stir in remaining ingredients. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Cover; simmer 10 minutes.

3. Uncover; simmer 5 to 8 minutes longer, stirring occasionally, until noodles are tender.

4. If you like a thicker sauce, mix 2 tablespoons cold water with a tablespoon cornstarch and gently stir into the casserole until the sauce has thickened.

1 serving:
300 Calories (90 from fat) Total fat 10 g (Saturated Fat 2g. Trans Fat 0g)
Cholesterol 80 mg. Sodium 800 mg.
Total Carbohydrates 25 g (Dietary Fiber 3g; Sugars 3g; Protein 32 g

Life Style Change update

2010-12-28T23:02:00.002-05:00

I can't believe it's been a month since my last post. We are still embarking on the life style change I mentioned in the last posts. To date, da hubby has lost over 40 pounds, I've lost over 30 pounds, I'm not too sure about the son.

We have cut back drastically on going out to eat. Last week I made several different soups which we had some leftovers. The leftovers went into the freezer and will be ready for suppers next week. Last night I made cheese broccoli soups - low fat. The hubby & son were not too impressed. I guess they are used to the thick, heavy fat filled soups ladled out at local restaurants. Personally, I found the texture and taste superb! The basis for the soup was not actually leeks & brocolli. I must admit, I've never knowingly eaten a leek until yesterday.

Tonight I used the Betty Crocker 300 calorie cook book to prepare a delicious Creamy Chicken Noodle Casserole. It was delicious. The hubby & I have been married for over 30 years - I have never seen him eat any meal without saturating the food with pepper. Tonight he did not add any pepper to his casserole - the the dish was prepared without a dash of additional spice! So much flavor and I used all low sodium products. Could it be our taste buds are adjusting to the new food rules?

Tomorrow I will post the recipe for the Chicken Noodle casserole so others can enjoy it too.

Life Style Change

2010-11-09T21:37:00.002-05:00

In September da hubby and I embarked on a life style change. Da son has also made some slight changes and is on board with us as we attempt to lose. Da hubby has lost around 25 pounds, I've lost over 20 and da son says he has lost around 20 pounds too. Clothing is getting baggier and baggier. Da hubby wants to lose another 40 pounds, I have at 20 more to lose - who knows about da son.

Hopefully all this weight and inches lost will also result in lower cholesterol and lower blood pressure too. I go back to the doctor in March to be retested. The hard part will be getting through the holidays without slipping back to our old ways.

Poor Duke

2010-11-08T20:55:00.004-05:00

I arrived home last week Wednesday to find a not on the counter telling me Duke was at the vet's office getting stitches. Egads - stitches, what happened. Da hubby comes out to sheepishly tell me he was cutting a fur mat off Dukes belly when he accidentally cut a hunk of skin. The amazing thing is Duke never even flinched!

Well, we went to pick Duke up a couple of hours later. The vet hand him under full anesthesia so Duke was still very sleepy and loopy. He slept the evening awy. We woke him to go out side but the boy fell asleep as soon as he came back in the house. He slept all night until 3:30 am. I awoke to the sound of Duke licking his stitches. We spent the rest of the night alternating between Duke licking his stitches and me telling him NO! When I got up several hours later, I presented Duke with his new collar - a cone shape which is supposed to keep him from reaching his stitches.

Well, the cone head worked, until yesterday. Somehow Duke has managed to get past the cone and attack the stitches. Of course everytime we catch him we tell him no, then he looks rather sheepish. I have had stitches, I know how itchy they can be as they heal. I feel so sorry for the poor dog but he is going to drive me crazy with worry this week.

The stitches come out Saturday, I wish we could roll the clock forward and get this week over with!

Pear Tree

2010-10-26T22:17:00.007-04:00

The year we moved into our house I went to K-Mart to buy "decorations" for our yard. It was the end of the planting season and a clearance sale was ending in the yard and garden department. Two sad looking sticks sat, waiting for a new home. As I looked at the sorry little twigs I asked the clerk if they were still alive. The clerk responded by snaping the end of one of the branches, showing me there was still a little life. As she snapped the twig, she told me the story had a money back guarantee. She said we could plant the tree and if it died within a year they would cheerfully replace the tree or refund my money.

I told the clerk I would have to think about it. She responded by telling me not to wait too long because the man was supposed to come that night to haul everything away. I offered to haul the twigs away - and they would not have to pay me. In the end, I decided that $5.00 apiece was not a bad price, after all, they had a money back guarantee.

I brought those two little twigs home & my hubby planted on outside our back door and the second on about 15 feet away. The next spring the tree outside our front door showed signs of life but the poor other twig was definitely dead. My husband dug it up and headed back to K-Mart. As he left, I told him I wanted another Bradford Pear to replace it. We needed two Bradford Pear trees close by if we hoped to produce pears.

My husband arrived at K-Mart with receipt in hand but the poor little twig still had the $29.95 price tag hanging on the branch. The clerk informed my husband that they did not have any Bradford Pear trees in stock so she would refund his money. She rang up $29.95 (plus tax) and handed it to my husband. Being the honest person that he is, he showed her the receipt for $5.00. She told him the store's policy is to refund the full price since we would have to go elsewhere to find a replacement.

Fortunately, we never replaced that tree. The remaining twig grew and grew. There would not have been room for two trees in the small space. The remaining twig grew more until it was a big tree. The big tree grew more. Every year we would trim branches to prevent the tree from hitting the house. We would trim branches so we could walk under the tree. We would trim branches so the tree wouldn't be lopsided. The tree provided shade at the end of our deck. The tree provided privacy. We could sit on the deck and people walking on the street couldn't see us on our deck. The tree also provided shade for a small garden of special plants at it's base. In the spring Robins would build nests in the pear tree.

Tonight, the pitiful little twig that grew into a big beautiful tree blew down. Fortunately, it blew down without damaging our house, cars or the neighbors house or cars. No people were hurt. My husband and son managed to cut the rest of the tree down without getting hurt or causing any damage.

We will miss this tree. The Robins will return in the spring and will miss their branches. R.I.P. beautiful pear tree.

One Week Later....

2010-10-09T17:59:00.003-04:00

I've had the scratchy throat, cough, sneezes and sniffles for one week now. It is time for this crud to leave. This morning, after lounging too long in bed, I decided to get out of the house. Da hubby, who is working 3rd shift, was sound alseep as I tiptoed out of the house. My first stop was at Grand Traverse Pie Company. I ordered a bowl of oatmeal and a cup of coffee. The oatmeal was served with blueberries, pecans, brown sugar and milk - all on the side. Absolutely delicious. After consuming my breakfast, I drove down the road to the Sweetwater Market. It is actually not a market but a small group of people selling organic and healthy items. I purchased peppermint soap, biscuits for the dog, apple/chicken sausages and ground chicken - from free range chickens. In the process of making my purchases, I had delightful conversations with several of the vendors. One lady has a daughter who is also serving in the Peace Corps and it was fun listening to her stories of her daughter's work.

After leaving the market I traveled to the strip mall where Hobby Lobby was calling my name. I happened to browse through the framing section where I found shadow type frames were on sale - 1/2 off!!! How could I resist. I still have the momentos from our trip overseas that need to be preserved. What a perfect way. And, since I saved so much on that purchase, I decided I needed (well wanted) two new craft books.

My day was completed with a trip to Snap Fitness where I spent 30 minutes on the recumbent bicycle, 15 minutes on the Cybex weight machines and 30 minutes walking on the treadmill. My efforts burned over 400 calories!

U of M and MSU are playing football, they are in the 3rd quarter. I think I shall retire to the sewing cave to be productive and listen to the final quarters of the big game.

Day 6 of Coughs, Sniffles & Sneezes

2010-10-07T21:53:00.004-04:00

I woke up Saturday morning with a scratchy throat. Sunday the sniffles and sneezes hit. By Monday I was coughing, sniffling and sneezing. It hasn't gotten any better. Yesterday, I came home from work, changed into my work-out clothes and laid down for a short nap. My plan was to get up a half hour later and go to Zumba class. Instead, I woke up 4 hours later, feeling worse than when I got home.

Of course, taking a nap like that, my night was broken into fits of sleep. Did I learn from my mistake? Nope. Today I got home from work and took a two hour nap. Hopefully I will be able to sleep tonight.

I just want to feel better. I want to be able to exercise. Tomorrow night is a Zumba fund raiser for breast cancer research. I would really like to participate but it would be difficult if I am coughing the whole time.

Sticky Notes

2010-10-03T12:24:00.002-04:00

Some of my teachers have a new reading practice with their students. As the students read, they keep sticky notes close at hand. If the student has comments or questions about something they read, they write them on a sticky note and stick the note on the page. This is a good practice to help students build stronger reading skills but quite often the students forget to remove the sticky notes from their library books when they return them.

I have a very small window of time for checking in and shelving library books. Unfortunately, it take up valuable time removing all of the sticky notes. Several weeks ago I reminded my students to please remove the notes before returning their library books.

Last week all of the notes were removed except two. One note was blank but the 2nd note was addressed to me:

Dear Mrs. Ogama
You are cool.
I Love to
read Books

Shiann M

How sweet is that! The note may have slowed me down a bit but it sure made my day!

My History with Oatmeal

2010-09-26T09:41:00.003-04:00

Growing up, I was the youngest in the household. I was always the last one to roll out of bed in the morning. My mother, a June Cleaver wanna be, usually prepared breakfast for the family in the morning. My mom & dad always ate breakfast first, then my brother, then me. On oatmeal mornings, my oatmeal was left in the pan. By the time I ate it, it was cool, thick and lumpy. Mom also poured my juice when she poured the rest. My orange juice was always warm. Consequently, I grew up thinking oatmeal should be doused with two tablespoons of sugar, floating in a pool of milk, cool, bland and lumpy and served with warm orange juice. As an adult, I continued this way of thinking....until recently.

I've looked at recipes for oatmeal with added ingredients but never dared try the recipes. I have substituted raisins for 2 tablespoons of sugar but never added anything more. I met Kate Woods on line this summer (a whole other story). Kate writes a blog - in one of her posts she tells about her love of oatmeal. I've decided to follow Kate's suggestions and dress up my oatmeal - and I'm glad I did.

For breakfast this morning I had oatmeal with 1/4 cup warm homemade applesauce, 1/8 cup raisins and some walnuts sprinkled on top. In addition to the oatmeal, I had a small glass of ice cold Trop 50 orange juice and a large mug of pumpkin spiced coffee. The coffee was fresh pressed in my French press I received from a friend during a swap on recipezaar and served in the mug the oldest daughter painted for me.

Breakfast today not only "broke the fast" but it also came with good memories of times past.

Dancing with the Stars and Rain

2010-09-23T21:42:00.004-04:00

The new season of Dancing With the Stars began this week. I love watching DWTS. I was glued to the TV Monday night - opening night of the show. I immediately fell in love with some of the stars and, at the same time, hoped certain other stars would be sent home soon.

Tuesday after work I came home, changed my clothes & headed to to the gym before dinner so I would be home for DWTS at 8 pm. Well, I got to the Jeep & didn't have my keys so I went back in the house to grab my keys. I drove to the gym - about 15 minutes from home. Upon arrival in the gym parking lot I realized I forgot my gym pass key - the key that opens the door for me. Drat, I drove back home. By the time I arrived at home I realized I was really tired and opted to take a nap instead. After a 30 minutes nap, I got up & fixed supper for da hubby & me. After supper I decided to go back to the gym.

I had a pretty good work-out - 20 minutes on the recumbent bike, 30 minutes on the weight machines and then I headed to the treadmill. After 5 minutes on the treadmill, DWTS came on TV. Oh-oh!!! I gave it a little thought and then changed my treadmill time from 20 minutes to 55 minutes and proceeded to walk & watch DWTS. Soon I realized the show was going to go 2 hours that night so I calculated what time I would have to leave to get home before the first people were told they were safe this week. Unfortunately, about 15 minutes before I planned exit, the facility lost satellite reception and the TV's went mute.

I quickly changed my shoes, grabbed my purse and headed to the exit. That is when I realized it was raining - buckets!!! I made a mad dash to the Jeep which fortunately was parked in the first row straight out from the exit. It was raining so hard I was drenched by the time I unlocked the Jeep door. I made the decision to drive through the "hood" instead of taking the business loop home. Talk about terror - branches had fallen and the roads were flooded. All I could think was a branch was going to fall down and through the soft top of the Jeep. I managed to make it home unscathed. I rushed in the house & turned on the TV. I made it in time to hear who the first "safe" couples were. I sat through the final hour of DWTS in my wet clothes - afraid I would miss something important if I left the room to change.

I think I will be more cautious about timing next week.

Protein Drinks

2010-09-20T22:37:00.002-04:00

Yum, I am seriously hooked on chocolate protein shakes. The only thing better than a chocolate protein shake is a chocolate and banana protein shake. I drank a shake for breakfast and another one for lunch today. I had a few hunger pangs mid morning and mid-afternoon but a handful of walnuts & raisins chased the hunger away. We ate at Applebees for dinner tonight - my dinner was Grilled Shrimp and Island Rice - 380 calories. Between the shakes, nuts, raisins, apples and dinner my total calorie intake was 1190 today. We shall see what tomorrow brings.

Time....

2010-09-18T20:54:00.003-04:00

I have a confession to make. When I was 16 I could not tell time very well. My mother bought me a watch for my 16th birthday that did not have all of the numbers on the face. I lost that watch on purpose because I could not tell time on it. My mother knew I had a problem but, on the advise of the cranky watch salesman, bought the watch for me anyway.

Fast forward - I still need all of the numbers on the watch (or clock) to tell time. I don't like the look or feel of a digital watch - it looks more like a tool than a piece of jewelry. So, for many years I've been buying watches with the face full of numbers. Two years ago I had a terrific watch. The face was just big enough so I could read the little numbers but not so big that it dominated my arm. I gave that watch to my darling daughter when we went to visit her overseas. I have not worn a watch since - until a couple of weeks ago.

I spotted a nice little watch on sale for under $12.00. Did I mention, it's a little watch. Small enough but actually too small because I do have to put my glasses on to read the dial. Anyway, I leave the watch in a place so I remember to put the watch on every morning. I wore that watch everyday but did not realize I did not use the watch much.

This fact became very apparent to me at the fitness center late one afternoon. I was on the treadmill, pushing myself past my limit when I decided I should check my pulse rate. I glanced down to check my watch and realized the watch was upside down - and had been that way all day!

Do I really need to wear a watch?

Weight Loss

2010-09-13T22:32:00.003-04:00

Da hubby was accepted in the weight loss program at our local hospital. Last week was his first week of appointments to meet with the nurse, nutritionist and fitness trainer. I tagged along to the first two meetings but skipped the fitness trainer. I wish I had gone to that appointment too - da hubby convinced the trainer he couldn't use any of the weight machines and the trainer believed him. Today da hubby saw the nurse & got weighed - he lost 8 pounds since last week. The nurse assured him it was probably water weight and the weight loss wouldn't be as high next week. Losing weight that fast is not healthy. We shall see what next week brings.

His first weight loss class was tonight - I tagged along. The subject was weight training. There are some machines I would encourage him to stay away from but others would do him a lot of good to use. He is still unsure so the instructor promised to type up a list of the machines for da hubby to bring with him when he sees the doctor later this month. I think I will tag along for that visit.

His weight loss has encouraged me to get serious about losing my weight too. I've been trying but the pounds will not budge. Today was the first day of eliminating fat foods for lunch. For the next two weeks, I'm going to drink a protein shake for lunch. Hopefully this will kick start the weight loss again.

Rainy Day

2010-09-11T20:36:00.003-04:00

It's been awhile since I locked myself in my sewing room, otherwise known at The Cave. Today turned out to be a perfect day to return. Plans for this morning were to meet Linda at the White Lake library for a walk along the beautiful bicycle path. After our walk we were going out for lunch and then to her mom's duplex to help Linda lift & load some boxes into her car for delivery at the Whitehall Goodwill Store. Unfortunately, it rained this morning. Actually, it rained all day. We tabled our plans, perhaps tomorrow afternoon would bring better weather.

Since da hubby is working 3rd shift, I knew I would either have to leave the house or be very, very quiet. When I got up this morning he was sleeping soundly in the recliner in the living room. He continued to occupy the chair all day so retreating to the sewing cave seemed like a good idea. Upon entering the cave, I realized I had been dumping books and supplies for the past month. The room was a mess - complete with three purses waiting to be completed. Since I cannot stand working when the room is a mess, I spent considerable time straightening, sweeping and rearranging. Once the surfaces were cleared, I proceeded to sew covers for three pillows. My next project awaits me - a liner for a felted purse that was crocheted by a friend. Hopefully it will be finished before I go to bed tonight.

My efforts prove a rainy day can be a very productive day!

Mixed Emotions

2010-09-10T18:37:00.002-04:00

The first week of school is over. The first couple of weeks are always quite interesting. We have schedules that we tweak over and over. No matter how much we tweak, there will always be teachers who are not happy. Such is the case today. The teachers were given an option - do you want library time on Wednesday or Friday afternoon. "I want Tuesday" was the response. That was not an option. To have library on Tuesday would mean I would be switching schools three days instead of one. When I switch school, I waste 20 minutes travel time. Twenty minutes also equals the amount of time I spend with one class. Twenty minutes is time well spent shelving, processing or repairing books. I prefer to be flexible and do what is best for the students. It is not all about me.

Labor Day Bridge Walk

2010-09-06T18:56:00.004-04:00

We had a terrific weekend. The weather was a bit iffy but we did not let that deter us. Last night we bought fixings for s'mores. John, from the Coach House Motel in Indian River, provided sticks for us to roast our marshmallows. We sat around the fire roasting marshmallows and chowing down on our s'mores, keeping warm & toast in front but our backsides were a bit chilled. Beds in our accomodations were a bit squishy. I probably had the firmest bed - I slept on the couch!

As we headed north to Mackinaw City it rained a little. By the time we found a decent parking spot, the rain quit. The line to board the bus was extremely short and never quit moving. We boarded our bus and were on our way toward St. Ignace. The govenor was running south as our bus went north. We walked the bridge from St. Ignace to Mackinaw in 1 hour, 28 minutes - stopping to take photos from time to time. After the walk, we walked into Mackinaw City and located a restaurant. We waited ~ 30 minutes , not a bad wait considering all the other hungry walkers milling around the city. After breakfast we found the way to several fudge shops and then headed home.

It started to rain again once we were on the road home. Traffic was not bad - for a holiday weekend - until we reached Cadillac. US 131 seemed like a giant parking lot from time to time. Finally, around exit 120, we exited for gas and never got back on the highway. With the use of a paper map and my trust iPhone GPS, we found our way through the back roads. Now we are all home safe and sound.

Thank you Stephanie, Julie & Cathy for making this Labor Day Bridge Walk weekend a terrific trip. Let's do it again next year!

Jeep Windows

2010-09-05T09:44:00.003-04:00

It has been awhile since I put the back windows in my Jeep - like a year ago. With our pending trip up north and temperatures in the mid 50's to mid 60's, I thought it might be wise to zip the windows in. Surprisingly, the windows went in quite easily Friday afternoon. Well, yesterday I discovered I missed a complete step in securing the windows properly. There is a channel along the back of the doors where a piece of rubber snaps into place. This step must be done prior to zipping, snapping the rubber channel in the bottom of the window and velcroing the top safely over the zipper. I'm heading outside now to remove the two side windows and doing the job right. We can't be driving up north with the windows flapping back and forth - more than the normal flap in a soft side jeep.

Pre Labor Day Bridge Walk

2010-09-04T20:04:00.002-04:00

Several years ago I asked my daughters to join me on a bus trip up north to walk the Mackinaw Bridge with thousands of other people. The idea was to help me overcome my fear of riding across the bridge. Walking is an awesome experience with Lake Michigan on the right and Lake Huron on the left as we walked from St. Ignace south to Mackinaw City, a total of 5 miles.

That first year was fun so my oldest daughter joined me again the next year. We bumped up the challenge that year, ditched the bus crowd and drove up with our bikes on the back of the car. When we reached Mackinaw City, we dropped and locked our bikes at the ferry terminal and then drove (gulp, yes I drove) across the bridge and spent the night in St. Ignace. Early Monday morning, we drove to the bridge, parked the car and joined the thousands crossing the bridge. After walking across, we proceeded to the ferry terminal, retrieved our bikes and boarded the ferry where we biked the perimeter of Mackinaw Island - at least 8 miles around. After our ride and visits to various fudge and gift shops in town, we boarded the ferry, heading to St. Ignace. We rode our bikes from the St. Ignace ferry dock to the bridge, loaded the car and headed home.

The two of us walked the bridge together two more years with several of her friends joining us until she graduated from college and moved half a world away. Somehow continuing the tradition isn't worth the trip home every year - I understand. My husband joined me for the walk one year and friends T & S joined my husband and me another year. I took last year off because da hubby had to work Labor Day weekend and I couldn't find any victims to join me for the walk.

This year, friends Cathy, Julie and Stephanie will join me for the walk. The plan was to have the top down on the yella jeep and head up north early Sunday afternoon. Unfortunately, the temperatures have taken a huge tip - the prediction is for the warmest temps to be around mid 60's. Consequently, the top is up and the windows are zipped tightly in the jeep. We will still have fun - Hopefully I'll be back to post photos and commentary in a couple of days.

In the meantime, if you see a yella jeep heading north, wave - it is a Jeep thang!

2010-09-01T19:58:00.002-04:00

Monday morning, as I left the house, I found someone had ransacked my Yella Jeep. I feel so violated to know somebody pawed through my belongings but I was also angry to find out they also stole my bike. I just paid to have my bike tuned up, got a new seat - comfy for my old lady butt. The bike also has high handlebars so my old lady back doesn't get hurt bending over. I drove throughout the neighborhood looking for my bike but didn't find it. I filed a police report and I called several pawn shops in the neighborhood. No bike. Everytime I pass a person riding a bike I look to see if it's my bike.

Tonight, da hubby and I are coming home from dinner with his sister. As we traveled along Getty Street we spotted a kid on a bike. We both realized at the same time it was my bike. Da hubby did a quick turn around (luckily there was minimal traffic on the 5 lane road). As soon as the kid saw the yella Jeep turning around, he ditched the bike and ran into a dump of a trailer park. We looked for the punk but he was too fast. My bike is now home, safe, sound and locked up.

I'm Back!!!

2010-08-31T19:47:00.003-04:00

After a rather lengthy absence, I've decided to resume my blogging. Actually, I've been inspired by Kate W., a lovely Australian woman I met through Melissa L (aka Hokies Lady on Recipezaar). Anyway, reading Kate's blog has made me realize how much I miss writing about my random thoughts.

We are embarking on a life style change this week. I have finally convinced da hubby to lose some weight. He has been accepted in the weight management program at a local hospital. The program requires him to meet with a dietician every week, attend nutrician classes and has full use of the heart center exercise facility - which he is required to use a minimum of twice a week. Da son & I joined Snap Fitness, a 24/7 exercise facility. Hopefully, with our lifestyle change, diet & exercise, we will all be feeling better soon.

Conversation with Students

2009-05-17T06:52:00.002-04:00

I had a small group of 5th grade girls hanging out in the library last week. One of the girls said she she could not believe she had not read one of the books until she was 10 years old - then she said "Can you believe that?"

My answer was "Yes, I can believe that because I didn't read it until I was 50 something."

The next thing, I see the girls in a huddle whispering. I hear one of the girls saying something about me being "that old". So, I speak up and say "Is there a problem girls?"

Rachael, the spokeswoman says "No offense, but we did not think you were that old - we thought you were like 45 or something much younger....."

Hmmm, what would she say if I didn't cover all this grey hair?

Weekend Ramblings

2009-05-16T20:05:00.003-04:00

I had a rather pleasant, non-eventful day. Nice chat with Leanne, shopping at a little gift shop in Lakeside where I bought gifts for my Zaar L & M swap partner. Everything I purchased began with the letter L or M. Enjoyed a late lunch at the Subway in Lakeside. When I arrived home I found a box from Jacqueline and a book I ordered from bookswap.com. I packed Jacqueline's box and and opened the box from her. When her 2nd box arrives, I'll post photos here.

I took Duke for a walk tonight. The first block was rather rough - he wants to be the alpha dog. If I let him get his way, one of my arms will be pulled out of the socket. I don't need that grief. I convinced him I was incharge and the next three blocks were terrific. We passed our street and he started pulling again. I should have gone back home but decided to give him a chance. Oh boy! He sure is stubborn.

Coffee was ready when I got home. I added a little Baileys, Kahlua & Frangelica to my first cup. I'm going to sleep good tonight. Time to do some reading & more relaxing.

Hmmm, didn't do any housework at all today - darn. Better do some laundry tomorrow and get some groceries after church.

I wonder when I will hear from Stephanie - hopefully soon.....

An End of an Era...

2009-04-30T17:40:00.001-04:00

I saw the foot doctor today. I have finally been released from his care!!! His words to me "I don't ever want to see you again....at least not for this foot." Hey! I thought I was his favorite patient. He claims I am personally responsible for the grey hair in his eyebrows! I really like this doctor but I have to admit, I'm glad this day has finally arrived. Fifteen years of constant foot pain is finally behind me. Yeah!

Zaar Yellow Swap

2009-04-26T20:06:00.006-04:00

My Yellow Swap Partner - Coffee lover was very generous. The first picture shows a beautiful yellow table runner. I brought it to school one day to put on top of the book shelf.

Picture number two: two felt "baskets" and a can with soil and sunflower seeds.

Picture Number three: adorable stacking cookie cutter

Picture four
- cute little bumble bees and butterflies

Picture Five -
Assorted towels, note pads and spatulas

Thank you Coffee lover!!!

My latest reads....

2009-04-22T16:47:00.003-04:00

I finally finished reading the recent Jodi Picoult book, Handle with Care. It was a rather difficult read for me. Don't get me wrong, it was a very good book and in true Picoult style, the story was told from many characters points of view. The oldest daughter suffered with several afflictions that hit pretty close to this home. Again, true Picoult style, the end of the book left me with my mouth open - kind of in shock. My heart goes out to any family that has to handle any one problem covered in this book but for Picoult to tie everything together and make such a fantastic storyline is truly amazing.

Nationwide is on my side.....

2009-04-22T16:35:00.002-04:00

There are always signs that warm weather is around the corner.....

A crocus poking its head out of the ground, spotting the first robin, garden centers opening, ice cream shops are open, the drive in theater is showing movies and taking the hardcover off the Jeep and installing the soft top. Well, the garden centers, ice cream shops and drive in theater are all open! Last Saturday was the day. It was beautiful out. We drove over to the garage to swap the tops. We removed the bolts from the hard cover and was just getting ready to unhook the top when the soft top was pulled off the storage shelf.

Apparently a herd of mice threw a party and my Jeep soft top was the scene of the crime. The top has three holes chewed through it and heavy damage caused by mice feces and urine - bottom line the top is ruined!

Monday morning I started making phone calls to my insurance company. I received my answer Tuesday morning...Fortunately, Nationwide (my insurance company) IS on my side. The damage is covered under my comprehensive insurance policy. I am so grateful. Now, I need to come up with a better plan for storing the soft top next winter. Well, I have four months to think about this.....

The Bible In 90 Days

2009-04-11T20:21:00.005-04:00

Monday morning I will be embarking on a new journey. I would like to share that journey here. Many of the people at the church I am attending are joining together to read the bible in 90 days. Yes, that is right, the bible - cover to cover - in 90 days. A special bible has been printed for this adventure; the bible has rather large print and does not have the extra commentary included in many other bibles. The goal is to read 12 pages a day. Each week we will meet with our "small" group for discussion and watch a video tape together. This will be quite an adventure and I hope and pray I (along with everyone else) will be successful. Please keep us in your prayers.

Recipezaar Green Swap

2009-03-12T22:31:00.007-04:00

I've made many friends on Recipezaar. One of the things I enjoy is participating in the many swaps. The past month we've swapped cookbooks, items that begin with the letter J & K and items that are green. I'll post more pictures later but these are photos of the gifts from Pneuma, my green swap partner.

No, the cats weren't part of the package but the blanket was. The blanket is so soft, the cat's instantly claimed it.

Thank you Pneuma

2009-03-12T17:31:00.002-04:00

Finally received letters from Stephanie yesterday. She says she has been told it's not official but she should start to mentally prepare for a move to Port Vila. Not too much other news - at least nothing worth posting here :)

2009-02-18T21:04:00.002-05:00

Holy Moly Guacamole!!! My packages from Hokies Lady arrived. We are swapping salt & pepper shakers this month. I received the most awesome gifts from her. Check them out

2009-02-07T22:01:00.002-05:00

When Steph was home last month we went to a store in the mall called "Your Plate or Mine" and painted mugs. She made this one for me - poking a little fun at a serious illness that turned out ok for me.

Hmmmm

2009-01-31T18:18:00.002-05:00

It was pointed out to me this week that it's been one month since I posted to this blog. I guess my life has finally become boring. Truly, not much has been happening. Stephanie was home for a visit, it was good to see her. Her sister was in town too but we did not see her - so sad. Life is too short to hold grudges. Please keep her in your prayers.

I'm excited about Stephanie's new project. She raised enough money to purchase the equipment to install solar lighting in the mama's house in her village. I hope everything goes according to plan as they install it. Stephanie has also reported she signed up for another year of service with the Peace Corp. She will be home for a visit in August and then her term of service will end in June 2010 - unless she signs for another year again. Who knows with that girl.

I am certainly tired of winter weather. Perhaps next winter I'll go visit Stephanie where the weather is rainy but warm. In the mean time, spring should be here soon. Ground hogs days is next week, we will see what the furry creature has to say...

More on Marley & Me - Feline version

2008-12-31T10:02:00.002-05:00

It strikes me that Marley does not necessarily have to be a dog in your life - Marley could also be a hamster, rabbit, horse or even a cat! I live with two cats and they have distinct personalities. Allie, the white female cat is definitely not a Marley. She goes about her business quietly and tries not to be visible - much. She sleeps on the bed, wakes up, stretches and then quietly checks out the rest of the house. She stays as close to walls & furniture (under if possible) as she can so no one (the hyper dog and naughty boy cat) will see her. She might brush up against the leg of a human and give a small meow but that does not mean she wants to be picked up. Just acknowledge her presence.

The other cat in our life is an exact opposite of Allie. Leo wants to be noticed. If we don't notice him, he will do something to attract our attention. At 4 am when we are sleeping, Leo will knock something off the dresser to wake us up. He has taken to sleeping on my feet. But, heaven forbin he would just lay down - No! He has to knead my feet to make a comfortable spot for himself. The Christmas tree was shaking the other day. We do not live in earthquake territory - nope, it was tornadoe Leo trying to climb the middle of the tree.

Leo came to us on a cold winter day - December 17, 2004. We already had a dog and a cat and I had no intention of introducing another animal to our household. My son called me to tell me "A kitten followed me home on the paper route." I instructed him to keep the kitten away from the other animals - just in case he had some foul disease. When I arrived home several hours later, the kitten was sound asleep on my son's lap. "I named her Cleopatra - because she's very demanding," was my son's first words.

"Well, she's not staying!" was my response. I called every shelter in the phone book but there was not room for a tiny kitten anywhere. So, in a moment of weekness I told my son she could stay - until there was room at a shelter. It was too cold to toss the little ball of fur back outside

Monday morning I called the shelters again but the answer was still no room. I called the vet and told them we had a kitten who was not staying but I wanted a well-kitten check up to check for worms or any other disease.

When the vet examined the kitten, she asked us what we named him. "Him???" We thought he was a girl. The vet & my son agreed Cleopatra was not an appropriate name for a little boy. My son named him C. Leo Patrick. My official name for the little 2.8 pounds of fur was (and still is) "Christopher Leonard Patrick You're Not Staying!" But we call him Leo for short

When Leo was four months old, I caught him climbing up the lace curtains. Shortly after that he had his front claws removed. When Leo was six months old, he started showing signs of being a little boy. Shortly after that he had his little nubs chopped off.

It is now four years later. Leo is still living with us. That little ball of fur that "followed" my son home on the paper route (actually my 6'4" son put the kitten in the hood of his sweatshire - that is following, right?) is still living with us. I quit calling the shelters a long time ago. It is a shame because he would make a great pet for someone. In the meantime, he can be our feline version of Marley 'cause at 4 am when things are shoved on the floor, Leo can be the worst cat in the world.

Marley & Me

2008-12-26T22:43:00.002-05:00

Several years ago I purchased the book Marley & Me. I couldn't bring myself to read the book because I knew something bad would happen to Marley before the end of the book. I gave the book to my dad. Yes, he read the book but he admits when he got toward the end of the book, he let the book sit for several weeks before he finished reading it.

Many of us of a "Marley" in our lives. For me, I've had three "Marleys". The first one was our dog Duchess. We adopted her when I was in elementary school. She was an English Setter mix and by far the smartest dog I've ever met. Even though we lived on a very busy street, she was never tied up outside. She was shown her boundaries and she stayed within them. Well, except for the path she wore to the Mica's sliding door facing their backyard and then to the Lack's yard. These were the people Duchess visited and checked on everyday. But, she never crossed the street. She was not a mischievious dog like Marley but memories of her flooded back as the movie reached the end - and the end of Marley's life.

The other "Marley" in my life was our dog Palo. Again, Palo did not make trouble like Marley but the memories of Palo's final days were remembered as we saw Marley age. Palo was not a healthy dog and we went through a lot to keep her with us as long as we could. Everytime I hear a thunderstorm, I can't help but hope Palo has some good music to listen to to keep her calm. She feared thunderstorms - but she wasn't destructive like Marley.

The third "Marley" in my life is laying under my feet as I type. When he is hooked to a leash, he is just like Marley - the alpha dog! If (and this never happens) he were let loose outdoors, he would take off like Marley - but Duke would probably not return - he would run and run and run. The Duke rules this house. Although I like to think I'm the alpha dog - he definitely rules. I just picked up some plastic pieces that Duke thought he needed to chew. I'm not sure what the plastic pieces used to be but I'm thankful that's all he chewed. He has never destroyed furniture but our house now has only one room carpeted - because Duke thought he should chew up the carpet.

If you decide to go see Marley & Me, I would recommend a trip out to the bathroom when John takes Marley to the vet the 2nd time. Make sure you stop & refill your pop and popcorn before returning to your seat. That way you won't have to use a half a box of tissues to get through the end of the movie.

Mouse in the House

2008-12-20T18:46:00.002-05:00

Today, we put up the Christmas tree. It is possible there was a visitor in the box we store the tree in. Go figure. Anyway, the boys (hubby & son) went out for supper. I didn't feel like going so I am home alone with the dog and two cats. It is nice and quiet until I hear the animals chasing around. One of the animals is growling. Allie, occasionally growls when Duke or Leo are bugging her but they aren't bugging her and upon checking, she isn't the one growling. Hmmm, Duke's not growling either. Leo never growls. But wait, what's in his mouth? Oh, no!!! A mouse. Yes, it's still alive. Yikes, I hate mice. I called hubby's cell phone, they are already seated at the restaurant. Leo drops the mouse while I'm on the phone, Leo catches the mouse. No, don't come home, we will handle this.

There is a bowl of oranges on the table. I should say there was a bowl of oranges on the table. I dumped the oranges on the table and proceed to chase Leo who still has the mouse in his mouth. He leads me to the bathroom where he drops the mouse and quickly captures it again. This time, I'm ready! I corner him by the shower. With the bowl in one hand and the nap of Leo's neck in the other, I shake Leo and order him to drop it. The mouse falls out of his mouth and onto the bath rug. I drop the bowl over the top of the mouse and have him captured.

But, Leo is going crazy, he wants his mouse back. No, he can't have him. I drag the bath mat with the mouse under glass into the laundry room. To be safe, I set a big bucket of cat litter on top of the bowl. Close the laundry room doors.

Now Leo, is pacing back and forth from the bathroom laundry door to the kitchen laundry door. I've checked, the mouse is still under glass. Occasionally Duke & Allie will follow.

I'm proud of Leo for catching the mouse but he needs to understand - mice are dirty, mice are not toys. Give it up. I think I'll give him some catnip. Maybe that will take his mind off it.

Hubby is stopping at the store after dinner. He will pick up some sticky mouse traps. Probably a good thing to have on hand anyway.

Malaria Infected Blood Cells

2008-12-04T20:24:00.004-05:00

A thin-film Giemsa stained micrograph of ring-forms, and gametocytes of Plasmodium falciparum. From http://phil.cdc.gov/phil/home.asp

Sick & Tired of Being Sick and Tired

2008-12-04T08:25:00.003-05:00

I have not felt well for a long time. I was beginning to feel like a whining hypochondriac! First there was the foot surgery in August and then the foot surgery in October. I've been tired and had occasional bouts of nausea. A few weeks ago I started having lower back pain. The doctor scheduled me for a series of tests to rule out kidney stones. The test results came back with minor problems but definitely not kidney stones. Then, I developed symptoms of a UTI. A routine urinalysis in the doctor's office confirmed a severe bladder infection. While taking the medication for the bladder infection, my nausea changed to occasional vomiting. I was feeling sick & tired one day and and tired but fine the next. Finally, on Monday, November 27, I couldn't suffer anymore. I called the doctor's office again to "complain." She was concerned I was having a reaction to the UTI medication and sent me to the emergency room for tests.

I went to the hospital that is about a mile away from home. When I arrived, I had a temperature of 102.8, my blood pressure was high and I felt rotten. The ER staff drew blood, took urine samples and gave me medicine to bring the fever down and stop the vomiting nausea. The blood work & urine tests came back "normal". Since the medication was working they sent me home - diagnosis: viral infection unknown.

Tuesday morning I woke up feeling tired and achy but no fever and no nausea. I stayed home from work and by the end of the day was feeling pretty good. I planned on going to work Wednesday. But, when Wednesday morning came, I was feeling lousy. By the time my husband came home from work, I was in bed with chills, nausea & had been vomiting. I took my temperature and was shocked to see it was around 105 degrees. He insisted I go back to ER. I did not want to go - I could take Tylenol or Motrin & bring the fever down just as well as the ER team & it would be cheaper. After taking the Motrin, my fever seemed to come down but I had an awful pounding in my head. I thought my blood pressure was probably sky high and decided I should follow advice & be seen at ER. But, I would not go back to the same hospital.

Instead I went to Hackley Hospital. When I checked in, my temperature was 102.7 degrees and my blood pressure wasn't very good either. I informed ER personnel I had been seen at the "other" hospital Monday. They asked me why I didn't return there. My response was they couldn't figure out what was wrong with me. I was assured that Hackley Hospital staff would find out what was wrong.

I was poked, prodded, and tests were run - just like on Monday. Then the doctor decided I might have a blood clot (foot surgery was 7 weeks earlier) and wanted to run some more tests. He felt I should be admitted to the hospital so tests could be run.

On the way up to my room, we stopped for a sonogram of my legs - looking for blood clots. After getting settled in my room & taking a sleeping pill, a young man came in my room with a gurney - he was taking me for a sonogram. Hmmmm, was he kidding, I already had a sonogram. Was he trying to kidnap me. Why would anybody want to kidnap sick old me? I was too sick & too tired to care, I scootched over to his gurney and we went for a ride to the 2nd floor for a sonogram of my kidneys.

On the way back to my hospital room, my nurse was standing in the hallway. She seemed pretty excited. She asked me if I had been out of the country. Ok, I'm thinking, have I been gone that long? I went to the 2nd floor for a sonogram. My 2nd thought was I really don't want to talk about my vacation right now. All that came out of my mouth was "Yes". She asked "where?" My response - "Vanuatu.....South Pacific Ocean".

The young man pushed me back to my room & I could hear the nurse relaying my vacation information over the phone. I thought this was strange but didn't give it a 2nd thought. I moved back in my bed and proceeded to go back to sleep.

A short time later, I sensed someone in my room. I opened my eyes to see my admitting doctor standing at the foot of my bed. He was smiling - they found out what was wrong with me. Apparently, down in the lab, the lab techs were looking at my blood work and were very puzzled. They were seeing something they had not seen before. Finally, one of the techs says he knows me and is it possible I picked up something when I was overseas. They started looking and determined I had Malaria. When my admitting doctor called the hospital's infectious disease doctor to tell her they had a "suspected" case of Malaria, the infectious disease doctor's initial response was "at Hackley Hospital? In Michigan? I don't think so. You will have to get that confirmed." The CDC was contacted and they confirmed it - I have Malaria.

There are several different forms of Malaria, some are easier to treat that others. Fortunately, I have the form that is the easiest to treat. Unfortunately, the original dose of medication - which is very strong - can cause some pretty serious side effects. I had the original dose on Thanksgiving day. The following Sunday, I experienced my first side effects. Nothing serious but pretty scary - I'll tell you more about the side effects in another post - another day.

After spending six nights in the hospital, I am home. I'm still tired but for the first time in many months, I can honestly say I feel good. If you are ever sick and visit an emergency room, don't accept a diagnosis of "unknown". If a person is sick, there must be a reason. I feel very lucky somebody knew me and cared enough to dig deep enough to figure out what was wrong with me.

I received excellent care at both hospitals - the difference between them is one cared just enough to cover my symptoms to make me feel better. The other hospital took the time to care and diagnosis what was wrong and make the symptoms go away.

Aches and Pains

2008-11-15T11:38:00.003-05:00

After two weeks of various tests, the results have mostly come back negative but also revealed some other problems I already knew about and a new problem that could eventually be a problem. But, after all the tests were done, more symptoms showed up and a diagnosis of a bladder infection was finally reached. The doctor wrote a prescription, I started taking the medication yesterday afternoon and relief has already begun! Amazing! I am already starting to feel better. Next week I get to visit the urologist to discuss what I already know and receive some peace of mind. Bottom line - after spending two weeks being miserable, I finally don't feel like it's time to take me out behind the barn to shoot me!

Cats and Dogs and Cats

2008-11-12T21:11:00.003-05:00

Three four legged creatures inhabit this house. Actually, I think they rule this house. Tonight an empty box was left on the dining room table. I heard a noise in the dining room and looked up to see the little black cat (who is not staying) investigating the empty box. I do not like animals walking on tables and counters so I hollered for the cat to get off the table. He looked straight at me, tipped the box on it's side, sat in the box and turned back to stare at me. Next month will mark the 4th anniversary of him coming to live temporarily in this house. Honestly, he is not staying.

Life

2008-11-09T08:09:00.002-05:00

Life here has been pretty boring lately. I realized it's been awhile since I've posted so here I am. I've been sick. It's been 4 weeks since my foot surgery and I think I was doing pretty darn good. Then, the pain in the lower back started. It would come and go and when it came - OUCH! Called the doctor and she is running various tests to rule out kidney stones. Today the foot feels good, the back feels pretty good but my stomach is upset. Could it be upset because of all the pain & anti-inflammatory medication I've been taking? That is probably the problem. Getting older does not have it's benefits. I just want to feel better. I don't care how I feel tomorrow, I'm going to work. I hate sitting at home.

I will go see the lovely foot doctor Monday. Part of me is hoping he lets me ditch the ugly boot. Another part of me knows the boot is protecting me from accidents like the three I had the week before surgery. Whatever he says, I will follow his orders. I am looking forward to the day I can put a pair of matching shoes on and have them feel comfortable on both feet.

The Big Reds won their game yesterday. A big pat on the back to the fans that sat through the fowl weather to cheer for the team. I would have liked to go but don't think, in my condition, it would have been wise. Next week we play Lowell - that is going to be the game to see. I hope I'm feeling healthy enough and the weather is better so I can go. I am really hoping I'm healthy enough to see them play at Ford Field!

Lot's of hoping and hopping going on here. Who knows what tomorrow will bring.

2008-10-17T11:36:00.003-04:00

I'm trying to make a few changes to the scooter. First, for health & safety, it's kind of gross to be handling the same grips for 8 weeks & I'm not quite sure the proper way to clean them. I-Pod covers fit perfectly (but don't match LOL) over the handlebar grips. They will wash quite easily. The next addition is a small basket on the front. Not too big but big enough for the important things like my flashlight for night time scooting, a can of diet coke, etc. My next step will be something to cover & give extra padding to the knee cushion. Watch here for further updates.

Feet - ugh

2008-10-17T10:44:00.007-04:00

My great advice for today. If your feet hurt for a long period of time - see a foot doctor.

If the doctor tells you the pain is in your head find a competent foot doctor! I am under the care of the best foot doctor but have been quite a challenge. Eighteen years of foot pain cannot be fixed overnight.

I had my 4th and hopefully final surgery one week ago. Doctors orders: 8 weeks of absolutely no weight or pressure on the foot. These are some post surgery photos & my lifesaver scooter - which incidentally would be great fun if it were optional.

Swap packages

2008-09-20T12:43:00.005-04:00

I received some cool swap packages in the mail recently. Yesterday, I received my shoebox full of goodies from my awesome buddy Breezy. Here's the gifts:

Besides all the nifty loot shown here, she also managed to include a bunch of bubble wrap. I've been driving the boys crazy with the popping. He-he-he. Thanks Breezy.

Test Results

2008-09-08T20:11:00.001-04:00

I took a "web" test just now. Total waste of time but it was fun. Here's my results:

Take the 100 Acre Personality Quiz!

Recipezaar News!!!

2008-09-06T23:00:00.000-04:00

Watch for Fall PAC 2008 sign up coming soon
in the Contest and Events Forum at
http://www.recipezaar.com/

2008-09-06T22:11:00.002-04:00

I received a package in the mail this week from my Zaar Alphabet swap partner. Everything in the box began with either the letter F or G. My swap partner has the best sense of humor. She included green packing peanuts, notes on every item - on green paper with green ink, some items were wrapped in green paper and tied with green yarn. There were a bunch of great items in the box but the funniest were earrings-fake or genuine and also the undies Curious George is modeling in the photos below. The label on the undies was "fruity G-string".

Labor Day Bridge Walk 2008

2008-09-01T21:44:00.005-04:00

This was my 6th year, hubby's 2nd year and Tom & Steve's 1st year participating in the annual walk across the Mackinac Bridge. The weekend was perfect! Here's our time-table

7:34 got in line to board bus

8:00 arrived in cattle corral

8:14 purchased our tickets

8:22 boarded bus

8:28 arrived at the south end of the Mackinac Bridge

8:54 arrived at the north end - last potty break for the next couple of hours

9:12 took our first step out to join the Bridge Walk

9:45 arrived at the "grate" part of the Big Mac

9:53 passed under the first "support"

10:03 stepped over the "line" from the upper to lower peninsula

10:11 passed under the 2nd "support"

10:46 stepped on the part of the bridge built over land

10:52 crossed the finish line

We even had matching shirts, the bottom line on the back and the little bit on the front says "No Whining, No Stopping, Just Keep On Walking."

One hour 40 minutes - pretty good time - we actually walked slowly (catering to my foot) and enjoyed the beauty of the scenery around us - with our feet firmly planted on the ground.

I hope you enjoyed our pics.

This is so funny

2008-09-01T08:15:00.000-04:00

Doesn't it look like they are going to land on Adam's head?

Para-Sailing

2008-09-01T08:00:00.002-04:00

It all started with a brochure about para-sailing. And then a simple question "anybody every want to try this?" "NO WAY," said my husband, Steve. "Not me, said Tom. "Hmm, I might be interested," said Steve N.

That is how Steve & I wound up hooked to the end of a 600 foot skinny yellow rope sailing above Lake Huron last Sunday evening.

I recommend this experience! The feeling of swinging high in the air and viewing the beauty around you is fantastic.

Since I do not like plunging into cold water I was thrilled to find out the sail was done with a dry take-off and a dry landing! Unfortunately, my landing was not completely dry. The seat of my pants landed on the only puddle of water on the landing deck. Oh well, a little uncomfortable for a short period of time.

Labor Day Weekend - Part 1

2008-08-30T07:00:00.007-04:00

I am sure we were to topic of conversation at many dinner tables last night. Imagine a bright yellow Jeep, traveling across Michigan with 4 adults, 1 woman & 3 men - the top is down. All right, let me back up. A day or two before we left, I sent our 2 friends an e-mail with reminders of what to bring on our weekend vacation. One of the reminders was to bring a hat. Don't bring just any hat, you will need a hat that doesn't blow off because Jeep rules are we do not stop and go back to pick up hats. Well the two friends brought stocking caps.

So, back to the story. Front seat is my hubby wearing his Tilly and Tom wearing a bright orange stocking camp. In the back seat is me trying to look normal with my short hair blowing every which was and Steve wearing a maroon stocking cap.

Well, the caps weren't so bad except Steve's kept trying to blow off! So, he used a luggage strap to keep it on - and that was probably the topic of conversation.

I will be looking for a front license plate for the drive home Monday!

100 things that give me joy

2008-08-23T08:38:00.012-04:00

Too often we focus on the negative. This past summer, while on vacation, I was awestruck by the ni-Vans in my daughter's village. They have so little yet they are so happy! Makes me wonder what makes us happy. Is it a TV in every room? A new car in the driveway? A boat?

I realize those material things really don't matter if we don't appreciate the little things God gives us. Then, the other day I signed on to one of my favorite sites, swap-bot.com. One of the new swaps is titled "100 Things That Give Me Joy", it is a letter swap. All I have to do is compile a list of things that give me joy, print it and send it to two swap partners. I sat down and started to compile my list, here is a sample, in no particular order:

1. the sound of a cat's purr
2. the dog's tail thumping on the floor
3. watching a sunset
4. watching the sunrise
5 & 6. early morning coffee outside, listening to birds sing
7. a clean house
8. friends
9. family
10. autumn
11. smiles
12. random acts of kindness
13. e-mail
14. fresh veggies
15. fresh fruit
16. riding in the jeep with the top down
17. clean sheets
18. the sound of pages being softly turned
19. the smell of a new book
20. quiet moments
21. baking (but not cleaning up)
22. walking the Mackinac Bridge on Labor day
23. wandering through Arts/Crafts festivals
24. volunteering
25. participating in swaps on Zaar & Swap-bot
26. sewing
27. quilting
28. crocheting
29. reading
30.1st day of school
31. 1st day of summer vacation
32. learning new things
33. vu.org web site
34. drinking fresh coffee
35. chocolate
36. thoughts about my vacation
37. a pedicure
38 a manicure
39. a new hair cut/color
40. watching a sit-com on TV
41. knowing the answers on Jeopardy
42. knowing the answers on Wheel of Fortune
43. spending time on the internet
44. honesty
45. looking at photos
46. going out to eat (not fast food)
47. Barack Obama & Joe Biden as running mates!
48. the smell of freshly mowed lawn (thanks Cheri for the idea!)
49. watching a hummingbird
50. looking at flowers
51. looking at pictures of my vacation
52. walking barefoot through the grass
53. getting surprises in the mail
54. the smell of cookies baking
55. bookstores
56. libraries
57. the giggle of a child
58. the coo of a baby
59. hugs
60. having people read my blog
61. the farmer's market
62. watching the Olympics
63. when justice prevails
64. petting a dog
64. feeding kangaroos
65. holding a koala
66. hearing children say the Pledge of Allegiance
67. wrapping presents
68. butterflies
69. fresh air
70. continental breakfasts
71. fudge
72. friends

To be continued - anything you want to add to the list, please leave comments.

Countdown

2008-08-23T08:28:00.003-04:00

Busy, busy, busy....... and it only gets better.

I need to get my life in order. School starts in ten days. When school starts, I go back to work. This has been the best summer and, using some things I learned this summer, I hope this will be the best school/work year too.

I need to get my calendar updated. I've signed up for a bunch of swaps on recipezaar. I mailed my Used Media Package to Hokies Lady. She received it this past week and yesterday I received the one from her - full of fantastic books, magazines, newspaper & cookbooks. I mailed Tink her craft package. After she receives it, I'll post pictures here.

The rest of the swaps & my partners on Zaar are:
Coffee/Tea - Bblondie
F & G - Blue Rose and DuChick
Cookbook - gertc96
I think that's all the swaps - for now - the shoebox swap, mystery swap, crazy mixed-up swap and fall swap are around the corner.

Plus, there's the swaps on swap-bot.com - I ordered my postcards for the Your Own Photo Postcard Swap. They should be here any day. I'm also signed up for the afghan square swap, I need to crochet 6 afghan squares. Then there is the fun, no expense swap - I need to compile a list of "100 Things that give me joy" and send the list to two swap partners.

Perhaps you, my readers, would like to contribute to this list...

The Five Second Rule Does NOT Apply to Surgery

2008-08-15T13:58:00.004-04:00

I went to the doctor today for my post surgery check-up. The foot is healing quite well, no swelling. Unfortunately, the 2nd toe is not 100% in the right direction. The doctor taped it to the big toe, we are hoping during the healing process during the next two weeks will train the toe in the right direction. The big toe appears to look good. The doctor gave me permission to start resuming most of my normal activities - within reason. I can't get the foot wet and I still must wear the surgical boot which will restrict me from running any marathons. I've never ran a marathon before, why start now!

I can drive, sew, walk carefully..... I just have to take it easy & know when to rest.

The doctor had me laughing. He told me about dropping the pin on the floor during my surgery. The pin he put in my foot cost more than his fee to do the surgery. He had the pin in the drill and turned to put it in my foot but the pin fell off the drill and onto the floor. He says "Oh, shhhhhh..." The pin had to be tossed and a new pin was placed in my foot. He said "It's too bad the 5 second rule didn't apply!" This doctor has such a wierd sense of humor. I just thankful I was sleeping during the surgery. Nobody wants to hear their doctor swear while performing surgery - almost like hearing oops!

.........................Almost empty nest ramblings

Prayers

Pickle Relish - recipe #2

Baking and canning

Baked Beans & Childhood Memories

Treasures vs. Junk

Back in the kitchen.....Zucchni Relish

Back in the kitchen.....Bread and Butter Pickles

Brass Monkeys by Terry Caszett

Guilt By Association by Marcia Clark

Spring Time is Sick Time

National Harbor, Home of The Awakening

More on DC

Washington DC - Tuesday, April 5

Changing of the Guard

Monday in DC

Washington DC - Day One and Two

One week

telling time.....

Rye Bread

Tsunamis, earthquakes and prayers

Good feeling type of day

French Toast

Stuffed French Toast

excellent quote

"Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around." -Leo Buscaglia

Fajita Recipe

Ingredients

Directions

happiness

Cheesecake Recipe

Ingredients:

Servings Size

CRUST

FILLING

TOPPING

Directions:

Cheesy Potatoes

Mickie

It's all about attitudes

Snow Day Pretzels

Italian Wedding Soup

Sweet Potato Waffles

Sweet Potato Waffles with Nut Topping Recipe

Sweet Potato Waffles

Ingredients

Directions

Trick for Fluffy Pancakes & Waffles

Sweetwater Market

Spiced Pear Upside-Down Cake

Herbed Veggie Mix-Up

Pot Pie Recipe

Tosca Rena's Banana Muffins

Paperback Swap.com

I am Flinging

Snow Day!!!

Busy Productive day today!!!

Date Night

Super Fling Boogie

Cinnamon-Raisin Swirl Bread

Sleep Study

Healthy New Years Goals

Creamy Chicken-Noodle Skillet Casserole

Life Style Change update

Life Style Change

Poor Duke

Pear Tree

One Week Later....

Day 6 of Coughs, Sniffles & Sneezes

Sticky Notes

My History with Oatmeal

Dancing with the Stars and Rain

Protein Drinks

Time....

Weight Loss

Rainy Day

Mixed Emotions

Labor Day Bridge Walk

Jeep Windows

Pre Labor Day Bridge Walk