Day 79 - I Don't, I Don't, I Don't

Great news today from researchers on the subject of weight loss - not a new wonder diet, not new news on weight loss inducing food, nope this time, they say it's all about words.
The experts issued a report today that showed that you could lose up to 15% more weight by simply choosing the correct response, just 2 little words that supposedly will make a big difference. When being offered those extra delicious double frosted, caramel filled double chocolate cream cheese cupcakes,  instead of saying, "Thanks, but I can't, you should reply, thanks, but I don't".
Apparently if you slip and say, I can't, it is indicative of self-deprivation, and supposedly can lead to eating more. However, if you say, "Thanks, but I don't," this leaves the dieter with self confidence as it infers the choice was yours, not forced upon you by the diet.
As hubby and I continue to try to cut down, and the weight seems to be coming off in ounces, I think we will embrace this new research. We will practice saying, I don't, when offered that yummy piece of cake, or that perfectly chilled glass of white wine or that dish full of Cadbury eggs that only make an appearance at this time of year. Maybe if we practice enough, we will actually believe it. Somehow, I can't picture myself convincingly saying I don't to any adult beverage, especially those that are perfectly chilled and served in stemware. I'll practice double against the eggs, I swear.

Day - 78 My Time is Valuable, Ergo - I'm Rude

I was in a department store today, and when I was all set with my purchases and ready to leave, it seemed that everyone else in the store decided to check out at exactly the same time. Although this particular store has 14 registers, only 4 were open, the lines were about 6 deep. Everyone understood the drill, stand in line, wait your turn and hope somebody in management notices and opens more registers. Everyone got it, except for one woman, who very loudly started to carp about the fact that she was standing in line, while more registers should be opened. Don't you know, her time was valuable, she was there on her lunch hour, why don't they open more registers? From the time I was standing there, it possibly could have taken 3 minutes for additional cashiers to get to the front and open registers. When the first new check out line was opened, this rude broad, elbowed the elderly woman in front of her out of her way and made damn sure she was the first person in the newly opened check-out, still bellowing about how much time she had wasted having been made to wait in line.
No one said anything. Me included, except I did ask the woman who had been elbowed out of the way if she was OK. When did it become socially acceptable to be rude? And when did we all decide to just tolerate it?  That nasty woman should have been ashamed of herself. But I don't think shame plays a big part in our world anymore. There was a time when how you conducted yourself in public not only reflected on yourself but also your entire family. I don't think that happens much anymore. One theory may be that we all have been inundated by stories of road rage, and the person who simply loses it, so we assume that it is better to let things be, keep ourselves safe. In doing so, we have allowed the rude people of the world free reign. I often wonder how miserable these people must be with themselves, if such inconsequential things as a line in a department store puts them in an outrage. So sad.

Day - 77 - No Ifs, Ands or Butts About It

Above woman in custody for self surgery & injecting women with industrial silicone

I firmly believe that everyone has a right to do whatever they want to with their own bodies. If anyone wants to tattoo their neck, butt or other private places, fine by me. If someone wants to increase the size of particular body parts who am I to say that it is wrong?  And if someone feels wonderful after having a face lift that makes them look like a deer in headlights, so be it. But when women show up at a hotel, with $2,000 in hand to attend what is being called a pumping party, I begin to question their mindset. Apparently, in Philadelphia there is a woman, not a doctor, not a nurse, not a medical person of any kind, a woman who has absolutely no credentials whatsoever, who for $2,000, will inject your glutimous maximus with (1) silicone or (2) super glue or (3)some other unknown substance in hopes of  creating the ideal derriere, a butt lift so to speak. I don't know about you, but before I let someone pump me full of some unknown fluid, I think I would ask about their credentials. And I think that I would be smart enough to question the broad when she was filling the  hypodermic needle from a tube of super glue .
One woman actually died from this procedure, and another was hospitalized but thankfully will pull through. But I have to question the mindset of these women for even going to the hotel for a butt lift in the first place. What were they thinking?
At my age, everything is not where it once was, I blame gravity for that. So truthfully, I probably would be considered a prime candidate for a butt lift. Not going to happen. But let's say I did want to have a butt like J-Lo, somehow I don't think my 1st option would be to participate in a pumping party at my local Holiday Inn. I think I am going to keep what I have, it's all behind me anyways, so for the most part I can ignore it!

Day - 76 Don't You Just Love a Good Smell?

Smells. There are some that just bring you back to when you were a kid. Just like some songs can bring memories floating back, I think smells do the same thing.
Clean sheets that have been dried outside brings me right back to childhood. There was nothing better as a kid than climbing into a bed newly made with clean sheets.
English Leather cologne for men brings me right back to my high school days, and to this day, whether it's a good looking dude or some derelict on the street, if he is wearing English Leather, I stop, I look, and I sniff.
Whenever I cook turnips, the smell brings me right back to my Grandmother's flat and Sunday dinners where turnips were a staple. The same goes for Cashmere Bouquet talcum powder, when I get a sniff of that, it totally reminds me of my Nana.
I remember the smell of the house whenever my mother was cooking a roast pork. There was a wonderful smell that permeated the entire house, and I could hardly wait for that dinner as she would cook potatoes in the drippings of the pork roast, something I really loved. I have tried to replicate it, but alas, to no avail. Maybe today's pork roasts are different. I don't want to admit that it just might be my cooking skills.
I find it amazing that certain smells can take one back in time, but they do. Whenever I enter a bakery, I think about the one that we shopped in Jamaica Plain, I'm pretty sure that what I am remembering is the smell of bread baking, but tons of memories come flooding back. I know as a kid  my mom would only go there when it was her night to be the hostess of her "club". She overbought so there were always bakery yummies to be had the next morning, along with the non-pareils that were never fully eaten, same goes for something known as Bridge Mix, which I loved as a kid.
I baked a batch of chocolate chip cookies today, and the smell in my kitchen brought me right back to when we first bought this house, and I made every cookie my kids would eat. Not that I was trying to be super mom, I just happened to have 2 kids who were allergic to milk, so it was easier for me to bake their treats than worry about them getting something they shouldn't.
Time has a way of flying by, I like the way smells kind of slow things down and force you to go down memory lane. A great way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

The Supreme Court  of the United States has a case before it that is of great interest to me. In a nutshell, the court needs  to decide if 14 year olds should be held accountable for murder. It is a difficult decision. Child psychologists say that the brains of 14 year olds are just developing, and they stress that they truly don't understand what they are doing.
And part of me empathizes with the mothers of the murderers, and if it were my child I would not want to see them imprisoned for life.
But what if you were the mother of the murdered child/man? How would you feel then? I had a nephew, father of two, who was working at his second job,at a gas station / convenience store when 3 underage thugs decided to rob the store. They shot and killed him for a grand total of $46 and as many cartons of cigarettes as they could physically carry away seeing as none of them were old enough to have a driver's license, so therefore, no get away car. All were  well under the age of 17, all knew or thought they knew, at the time that they could not be tried as adults, thinking if they were caught, the most that would happen to them was that they would be sent to what is known as "Juvey". Fortunately, the law had been changed earlier that year, and these 3 are now serving life sentences in Florida for brutally murdering my nephew.  My nephew, father of 2, who was working a 2nd job so he could attain the American dream of buying a house.
I shudder to think that perhaps an adult, (anyone over the age of 18), could talk someone younger into being his lookout/accomplice/killer, and use the theory if you are caught, don't sweat it, you are underage and by law the cops cannot touch you, and probably adding that if you are caught the most that will happen is juvenille detention.
I applaud the state of Florida for taking a stand. I wanted justice. And with the current law on the books in Florida, I thought it was served.
I believe the current law makes the potential killer take pause if he thinks there will be serious repercussions. Without consequences, many more will mourn lives taken too soon.



http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/kuntrell-jackson-evan-miller-jailed-life-14-supreme-164654442.html

Day 74 - Want to Smell like the Pope?

OK, I confess, I like to browse the style pages of certain sites. Although I am not trendy, or what one would call fashionable, I do enjoy reading about what's hot, what's new and who is creating what.
I was browsing my favorite style site and I must admit that I was surprised to learn that the leader of the Catholic Church, Pope Benedict XVI has his own personal cologne created specifically for him by perfumer Silvana Casoli. It is a blend of grasses, limes and verbena as the pontiff prefers the smell of nature. Because it was created specifically for him, and not necessarily for the mass market, there is no brand name associated with the cologne. As a marketer I feel compelled to name it. How about Eau de Peaup, SinFree, Pa-pal  no. XVI ?
However, personally I think this cologne would be a really tough sell. Every ad for men's colognes generally feature skimpily clad women fawning over the just spritzed male, somehow I don't see that happening for Pope Benedict's potion.
As a Catholic, I was taught many things about the church and its history, must confess I don't remember Sister Mary Francis ever sharing that the pontiff had his own cologne. Learn something new everyday.

Day 73 - Time to Outlaw the Trout Pout

I blame Angelina Jolie. She has naturally luscious lips, which I believe are directly responsible for the epidemic of overstuffed, over puffed trout-y pouts being seen on actresses everywhere.
I first noticed the phenomenon with Melanie Griffith, in fact, I did not even recognize her with her massive lips, and it was nearly impossible to understand what she was trying to say when being interviewed by David Letterman. Next, I could not help but notice that troubled bad girl, Lindsay Lohan showed up with lips that looked like someone had punched her in the mouth. There was a California based talk show host named Lisa something who showed up on Dancing with the Stars whose lips, I swear to God, entered a room a full second before she showed up. Now we are watching a series called Unforgettable, and the star actress, Poppy Montgomery, who is lovely to look at, and a fine actress has the same collagen filled lips which makes it difficult to understand her, as all I can think of when she is on screen is why in hell did you puff your lips? Then I remember Angelina Jolie. Can't you just see these folks walking into their local plastic surgeons wearing the requisite I don't want to be recognized dark glasses, and the Greta Garbo floppy hat, clutching a picture of Angelina Jolie and begging the surgeons to make their lips as luscious as hers. And when their lips do not turn out exactly as they wanted, why don't they say something? Why don't they tell their sad lip story to the press? Oh, I forgot, those giant overstuffed lips makes it vertually impossible for them to talk!
I guess as long as vanity reigns, plastic surgeons will abound and the trout-pout will continue.

Day 72 - Daytime Boredom

I missed writing on my blog yesterday due to the bum back. It was impossible to sit for any length of time, so typing in front of a computer was out of the question. Today I feel like I am on the road to recovery, however, truth be told I do think this is going to be a slow process. And what can you do when you are flat on your back? My choices are to (1) to read or (2) to watch the boob tube. What I have noticed is that daytime TV is a black hole. I end up watching designers create new kitchens and bathrooms for either outrageous sums of money, or for next to nothing. I watch people trying to buy houses and complain when their $800,000 doesn't buy what it used to. I also find myself watching people pawning stuff, people picking for antiques and people trying to lose exorbitant amounts of weight via gastric by-pass surgery. To be truthful, mostly, I turn the TV on, put the recliner all the way back and doze. Could be the combination of the drugs I'm taking coupled with the oh so boring daytime TV that makes me so sleepy. I must have a GA-zillion channels, and there is nothing to watch. I cannot wait until this back feels better and there is no need for my arse to be planted in this recliner. On the other hand, I have been able to catch up on my reading... I have already finished one book, and most likely will go through about 4 more before I am up and about.

Day 71 - Oh My Aching Back !

I hurt my back today. Not by doing something exotic like bunging jumping from an incredibly high bridge, or slalom skiing down a steep mountain, nope the oh so exotic way I chose to throw out my back was to simply step out of the shower. I slipped, caught myself before I could fall, and immediately felt the pull in my right hip couipled with the ever so lovely tingle that ran down the length of my leg culminating at the tip of my big toe. This has happened to me before, once when leaning across a desk to close a window, and the other time I simply bent to my right to load the dishwasher.
I am always surprised when something like this happens, and really do not appreciate the pain and the carefulness that I must go through waiting for everything to return to normal. Very easy to feel sorry for myself. I am taking medication, I have an icy cold patch on my derriere and I have been in the recliner with the heating pad propped against my back as I am attacking this with all my might to avoid the shot in the buttocks that was needed the last time my back decided to go out. And I am remembering the sage advice the ever so young Dr. Doogie Howser gave me, at your age, if this happened once, chances are that it will happen again. I hate that he prefaced his statement with the phrase, at your age. At least this time I know what to do.
How do athletes continue to play with bad backs? Years ago I remember Larry Bird laying on the sidelines trying to stretch out his back so he could get back into the game. I am doing  a similar thing, except it's not the sidelines, it's a leather couch, and there is no game - just want to get my pain free life back. Yet once again I am being waited on by Hubby. I am gong to owe him big once I get back onto my feet. Looks like there might be brownies or some other sweet delight coming his way.

Day 70 - Wow, I was Skinny & Hubby had Hair

I think one of the niftiest inventions of the digital age is the digital frame. I received one as a gift for Christmas this year, and I am becoming obsessed with it. I love that I can load photos and watch a slide show.
I am going through boxes and boxes and album after album to find photos that could be deemed digital frame worthy.
Today I found a photo of my 3 kids with their paternal grandmother and great grandmother which I can hardly wait to show their children. I found pictures from my college days, when I was much thinner and my hubby still had hair. I'm wondering if the grand kids will know who these folks are. I found pictures taken at family gatherings and weddings of relatives who are no longer with us. It's nice to have those photos, taken at a happy time.
I am slowly assembling a group of photos that need to be scanned, named and then added to the flash drive. I need to make sure to identify the people and the year of the photo in the name of the actual photo file, as time passes and people no longer remember who was who. So this does take time. The best thing about this process, is once I am done, I will no longer need to worry about them fading, or sticking to the plastic in ancient albums. And with today's "saving to the cloud", even if we suffer a disaster, all my pictures will still be safely stored there. This week, after loading the initial photos to the frame, I stood at the end of my kitchen counter and watched the show, I thought I was standing there for about 5 minutes, in actuality it was more like 30. I totally got caught up in watching and remembering, an easy thing to do. Once this project is complete, I probably will be standing at the end of my counter for hours.

Day 69 - Wagga Wagga - So Sorry

A tree is completely hidden by hundreds of webs/spiders

If it isn't bad enough that you happen to live in a city in Australia with the name of Wagga Wagga, these days it seems you have to share your pristine countryside with millions of invading Wolf spiders. What appears to be snow covered fields (see photo) in actuality is thousands of spider webs.


photo by Daniel Munoz - Reuters

The explanation for all of this is that flooding in other sectiosn of Australia has caused a mass migration, and it appears the arachnid's travel agent said that Wagga Wagga was the place to be this time of the year.
I cannot even begin to comprehend what the residents of Wagga Wagga (makes me giggle every time I type it) are going through as I freak out if I find one of these critters invading any part of my house. I have been known to utter a colorful phrase or two when encountering one of the little buggers. 
If I ever awoke to something like this, I would immediately think that I was being punked. And once realizing I wasn't, I would wait for the National Guard to arrive, as this definitely would
be considered an invasion and I would want them to rid the nation of the marauding mites! All I can say is I will never again complain when it snows, at least it won't be snowing spiders, ewwwwwwwwwn- gross!

Day 68 - Yum - Corned Beef & Cabbage

I am of Irish heritage, and it occurred to me today, that we as a people are not renown for our culinary skills when  compared with other cultures. The Italians are superb with their delights such as lasagna, spaghetti, manicotti, and so many kinds of sauces and pastas that it would take forever to sample all of them. And the French, well they have Julia Child promoting them, and their sauces and exquisite pastries. Even Asian cultures have enough of a distinctive collection of culinary delights to open restaurants dedicated solely to their recipes. But the Irish, not so much. Sure there are plenty of Irish pubs, but between you and me, I think the emphasis has always been more on the pints and the whiskeys than it has been on the menus. However, there is one meal that the Irish do well, corned beef and cabbage. It has to be simmered slowly, loaded with pickling spices and the veggies must be cooked in the same pot as the meat so they have time to absorb some of the flavor. I do like a good corned beef, and today hubby and I went to a local pub and I totally enjoyed the huge plate of perfectly cooked corned beef and cabbage served with non-mushy carrots and potatoes that still had the skin on them. I relished every single bite. This pub makes the absolute best Reuben, but only serve corned beef and cabbage on 2 days. They serve it on a a pre-St.Paddy's Day celebration, which was today, and then again on Saint Patrick's Day. We went today so as to avoid the more boisterous crowd that tends to show up on the Day itself. I have to praise the Irish, they may not have an extensive menu, but what they do have is outstanding! And not for nothing, I need to give a shout out to Irish coffee, which when it is made well - just a wee bit of heaven.

Day 67 - Love the Must-Have Gadgets

Now tell me who hasn't had the need for something just like this when attending a cocktail party? Trying to hold a Tapas plate, dip into that salsa or just shake hands with somebody while trying not to lose a drop of your favorite adult beverage can be one helluva challenge.  Wouldn't you want to spend a quick $24.95 to have your favorite vin du jour hanging on a lanyard from around your neck, there when you need it, right? They show this nifty gadget pictured with a male, I am thinking that perhaps this clever item may be more challenging for an overly endowed female.
I admire the ingenuity of the person who came up with this idea, and the salesmanship of the person who talked the editor into featuring it. Must be one great sales guy, or one dumb editor.

Day - 66 Happy Birthday to Oreo Cookies

Happy Birthday to the Oreo cookie, it turns 100 years old today. I remember my Uncle Jimmy, also my Godfather, showing me the correct way to separate the cookies so you could get to the creamy filling. He taught me that you should never try to pull them apart, instead try a little twist, then lift - and voila the one cookie is suddenly two, and just prime for licking off  all the luscious deliciousness of the center, or better yet, scraping it across your front teeth and depositing what seemed to be a giant glop of center sweetness right onto your tongue. I remember taking those cookies, sans center, and dunking them into milk and stuffing them into my mouth while trying not to drip milk down my chin.
I don't know when I outgrew Oreos, but I did. I cannot remember the last time I ate one. This past holiday season, I made truffles and mint Oreo cookies was one of the main ingredients and I did not eat one of them, not even tempted. But they did make the best chocolate dipped mint chocolate truffle. Quite a hit this past season.
Congratulations to the Oreo, as it has survived 100 years and is going strong. Not too many brands can say that. I think Oreos and Hershey bars (something else I outgrew) bring back nothing but fond memories for me. Not too often a brand can do that. Long live both!

Day 65 - Pipe Dreams about Pippa

OK, I am becoming more and more a frustrated at the rate the pounds have been coming off since the first of the year. It seems to me that they have been coming off excruciatingly slow. Don't get me wrong, I am happy to have shed 10 pounds, but it seems to me that with giving up the goodies that I have, and introducing more activity to my life, this old broad should have lost double that.
So I have been investigating the diets that the stars and celebrities say are the best for them, and frankly, I don't think they are for me. When it takes a dictionary to explain some of the foods on the diet, I know instinctively that I am not going to go on that program. Others call for going back in time and eating like the cavemen, probably a good idea for some, but I am Irish, and I like potatoes and the potassium they bring to me. And I do like toast, oatmeal and rye breads. These days, however, all in moderation.
I glanced at the diet that Kate Middleton, her mom and sister went on just before the big wedding this past Spring, and if it could guarantee me the memorable derriere of Pippa, I might consider it, but at my age who am I kidding, that is nothing but a pipe dream. (or more appropriately a Pippa Dream)
So, for the time being I am sticking to what I am doing and am hoping that by the end of the year there will be less of me typing on this laptop.

Day 64 - Things I Know to be True

These things I know to be true:

• If by chance I drop my morning toast, it will most certainly will land jelly side down.
• When I actually get around to bringing my car through the car wash, we will have an unbelievable rainstorm with tremendous winds that blow all the dirt right back onto my car.
• When I finally announce that I am going to start dieting, we get invited to a party with the most sumptuous food and desserts.
• The minute I start running the water into the kitchen sink for a quick clean up, I need to pee.
• The moment I add the last ingredient into a meatloaf, and my hands are immersed in the mixture, my nose will itch.
• After spending an entire day cleaning windows, invariably I have a fly-by, and voila, instant bird poop on my sparkling panes.
• Just when I make up my mind to purchase via Groupon, I get the message, sorry last one sold.
• If there are 4 lines in the check-out and by chance I get to the shortest one, it is a given that the person in front of me picked merchandise without a price tag.
• If we intend to go to a restaurant that offers an early bird special, we generally miss it by about 5 minutes.
• If there is some kind of animal poop on my back lawn, chances are pretty good that I am going to step in it, usually bare footed.
• If I wear a new, pricey outfit out to dinner, you can bet your bippy that there will be food dropped on it somewhere.
• And if I buy clothes that say, "Do Not Place in Dryer", it's a given, that hubby will be doing laundry that week, and I end up with something that might fit one of my grand daughters.

Day 63 - I'm Sorry, So Sorry, Please Don't Take Your Ads Away

I must admit I do not listen to Rush Limbaugh, I think I became weary of his same old same old schtick about 15 years ago. He sure has the knack for saying things that will get his name into the news. There is a part of me that thinks he has perfected this act, and when his ratings start to slip he deliberately says the most outrageous things and waits for the fall-out. Keeps his name in the news, now doesn't it? Ratings, right?
What bothers me most about this most recent tirade of his is that he picked on a female law student, equated her to a prostitute, used her given name and finally  went on to call her a slut.
Limbaugh has gone too far this time. The outrage he is hearing is not just coming from women he labels as femi-nazis, it is coming from women throughout the US who are fed up with him belittling women. Women took to Twitter, Facebook and other social media to let Limbaugh's sponsors know that if they continue to support him by placing ads on his show, then women would boycott their products. Within a 24 hour period he lost 4 major sponsors and it was anticipated that there would be more to come. So what did Limbaugh do late today? He issued an apology. Right. He is sorry that his pocketbook was taking a beating. I do not think any of this will stop his vitriolic rants, but I am proud that the women of this nation would no longer stand for his nonsense, and got him where it hurt the most - his bottom line.

Day 62 - You May Be a Winner

Has anyone else received their final, final, absolute final notice from Publisher's Clearing House that they may be a winner? We are sooooooooooo thrilled that almost everyday this week we have received a notice, a pamphlet and a complete package letting us know that we could be winners. They even let us know that we were the "chosen ones" in our zip code. So everyone else who lives around us, so sorry you're just plain out of luck.
I don't know just exactly how we got chosen, as we never have officially entered the Publishers' Clearing House sweepstakes, it simply must be that they thought we were just good people and they thought that they would be kind to us. Sure that's it.
They reminded us that the big winner is to be announced live and featured on TV later this month, so I guess I am going to have to cancel all of our commitments for the month as I really want to be home when they come a callin'.
Now we have never purchased anything that comes with the PCH mailings, and they say right up front that buying stuff does not increase your chances of winning, so that's good to know. I can hardly wait for the van and the flowers and the confetti. You do think that they'll bring confetti, right?
When I wish upon a star tonight, I'm going to wish that PCH never got a hold of my address, and perhaps now that they have it, maybe someone will help me out and accidentally delete me from their mailing list.

Day 61 - Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow?

Since I have been unemployed, I have been toying with the idea of completely changing my hairstyle. Changing my look.  What I would like is a style that takes relatively no effort on my part, but still looks fabulous. I had a scheduled salon appointment today, and after applying the magic color, the stylist asked me, "what are we going to do today? Are we cutting?" And I so wanted to say yes, let's cut the whole thing, let's go crazy, instead I mumbled, I don't know, what do you think? I know that it is my decision, but as much as I want to change, I consistently wimp out. I had no cut today, simply went in and eliminated the tell tale greys that form in a lovely path down the middle of my head creating a look that resembles a skunk. Not especially attractive.
I came home from the salon and hit all of the Internet sites that show shorter hairstyles, and all that did was make me more confused. When I am in the salon, I admire all of the short hairstyles that women choose, and I wonder if that particular style would look good on me. But I always drag my feet, as my hair grows at a snail's pace and if I choose unwisely, I will have to endure the look for quite a while.
So with no cut today, my hair will most definitely be ready to at least be cut the next time I visit the salon. So who knows, 5 weeks from now I could have an entirely new look, or knowing the ever so conservative me, I could have a trim. Sometimes it stinks being conservative.

Day 60 - Leave my Gilled Cheese Alone

I want chefs to stop trying to improve upon the grilled cheese sandwich. It is fine just the way it is. I like mine made with squishy white bread and 2 slices of  white American cheese. The big recipe is to put the cheese between the two slices of bread, butter the top and bottom, flop it into a fry pan and grill it on the stove top. Serve it  hot, sometimes with a bowl full of Campbell's tomato soup. Done, Finished. Do not improve. It is fine just the way it is. If you change the recipe, I suggest changing the name as well.
I feel the same way about Mac and Cheese. Currently it is on every menu you that come across and I have seen it  hyped as 3 cheese mac and cheese, or lobster infused mac and cheese, or any other crazy thing to make it sound new and fresh. I say leave it alone and serve it as it was intended. Just cheesy plump elbow macaroni that melts in your mouth.
Last holiday season my cousin served mac and cheese as an accompaniment for our holiday ham dinner. And she made it just as my mom and our Nana had made it. The secret recipe is on the side of the box of Prince elbow macaroni. I could have eaten the entire chafing dish filled with it. Some things are just classics, and when you eat something that you loved as a kid and it tastes exactly the same - I find that delightful. I think these are just American classics. They deserve our respect, we need to pass them along to the next generation just as they were originally prepared - our duty as patriotic Americans.

Day 59 - Tips

OK, it has been brought to my attention, that there are a few things that I do that I take for granted that others might want to know about, so here are a few miscellaneous tips I have learned during my married life.

• If you need to test the doneness of cakes or brownies, and you do not have a wooden toothpick, a piece of uncooked spaghetti works just fine.
• When baking, and the instructions give a range of minutes, always use the least amount of cooking time, you can always put it back in the oven.
• 1 cup of bleach, one cup of laundry detergent poured into a bucket of hot water cleans almost everything, especially dirty bathrooms and inside of moldy refrigerators not to mention green mold on decks (who needs a power washer?)
• A quick sprinkle of allspice in beef stew or spaghetti sauce is my secret ingredient, now you know.
• Toothpaste (white) works great as spackle when in a pinch, like filling in holes in dorm rooms.
• A sharpie marker works great on heels of black shoes that are a bit scruffed.
• If you cut back your mums before the 4th of July, you will get a denser more flowerful fall show.
• When dusting, put the spray wax/bottle polish on the rag, not on the furniture.
• To get rid of the really nasty stuff that always seems stuck to the top of the microwave, heat a bowl full of water on high for 3 minutes, steam softens all the nasty bits making it easier to get off.
• A shot glass is the perfect holder for toothpicks
• Save old panty hose, wash them, cut off a 6 inch piece including the toe, place it over the tube of a vacuum and you can easily vacuum fake plants
• The same piece of panty hose works great for a bouquet garni.
• It is much easier to get perfect chicken/beef slices if the meat is still a bit frozen when you cut it.
• In a pinch, double sided tape does a damn fine job of keeping a hem in place.
• Hair spray is great for nailing flying insects, especially bees.
• Hair spray is also good for getting out ball point pin ink on clothing
• Fingernail polish remover is great for removing the sticky stuff left behind from a store's price tag

Day 58 - It's just its Possessive

I have not taught English for years, but there are certain grammatical errors that still make me cringe. One that I continually see is the
mis-use of its/it's. Here's a hint, if you care to use the apostrophe, what you mean to say is  it is. Without the apostrophe, it's just a possessive.
Another one that I see way too often these days is the mis-use of the preposition of.  For example, "he could of been a contender". Heads up folks, of is not a verb. You need to use could've, sounds the same, way different meaning. I recently found this mis-use not once but twice in our local paper. Groan! I guess once an English teacher, always an English teacher. I bet the folks who not only painted this sign, but thought it was fine to install, are a bit embarrassed, and I bet their English teacher is livid.

Day 57 - The Combo Plate, Please

After being on a somewhat strict diet from the first of the year, we treated ourselves today, and went out for Chinese food. And we ate all the stuff that  we have been ardently avoiding. There was not a vegetable or piece of lettuce to be found anywhere. There was pork fried rice, which I made even more rich by ladling sweet and sour sauce all over it turning it pink and making it just a bit better by adding all the chunks of candied pineapple . There were chicken wings, very sticky with sauce, sweet and sour chicken that had thick deep fried breading and beef teriyaki, as well as adult beverages. We loved every bit of it. I don't know if the food was that good, or that it tasted especially good to us because we were treating ourselves to a non-diet meal. I think probably a little of both.
Tomorrow will bring salads, veggies and lean meats, but for today, we let the fat fly! Yummy.

Day 56 - Time for a Rhode Islander to Win

Tomorrow night  I will  watch the Oscars. I must admit I enjoy every cheesy moment of  this annual spectacle. I like the red carpet, I groan at the questions asked and I marvel at the gowns.  I look for the one outfit that will be a "what were you thinking moment", and one that will be a stunner.
I especially like the Oscars when Billy Crystal is the host. He is talented, as is always proven by the opening numbers and he is witty. He always seems to me to be the guy everyone is waiting for to get the party started.
This year I am rooting hard for our RI nominee, Viola Davis. She is one of the stars of the movie, The Help, also a book that I devoured in one day. She is from the tough streets of Central Falls, RI, and attended RI College on a theater scholarship.  Recently (prior to the Oscar nomination) she donated thousands of dollars to Central Falls when it experienced a financial crisis. She is what my mother would call, "good people", and a damn good actress. I know there are other wonderful actresses nominated, such as Meryl Streep, but I think this year the Oscar for best actress should go to Viola Davis, Rhode Islander. Yup, you can call me a homey.

Day 55 - Effin Keys? What are they for?

I have a beef with Dell. I bought a laptop last December, and it came with no manual. The notation said ever so sweetly, "go on line to download the manual". I had no need, so I did not do it. Then yesterday, when trying to boot up, I got the message, "insert recovery disk", which of course did not come with my purchase. So I was put instantly into panic mode. Each time I tried to restart the computer, my only on-screen choices were to select the F2 or F12 buttons, which brought me to the Dell test screen which after running all the diagnostics possible, told me yet once again to insert the windows 7-64 bit recovery disk, which did not come with the purchase. UGH, frustration level was rising. So I went to the Dell site. After much searching, I finally found something I could use. It said if your desktop does not load, hit the F8 key, continuing to tap it until the recovery screen appears, then follow the instructions. It seems that Dell had already downloaded the recovery disk to my laptop, and by hitting the F8 key I was able to access it. In my humble opinion, I think the mention of this F8 key should be included in the Dell screen, after all I did not have the manual to reference. I felt pretty proud of myself for figuring this all out, and avoiding the $ charged by the Geek Squad at Best Buy. And yes, once I was up and running, I immediately burned a recovery disk, but it is handy to know about the F8 key.  I always wondered what those effin keys were for, now I know, learned about them the hard way.

Day 54 - Who Gets to Choose?

I just finished reading an article about trends in food for 2012, specifically what will be hot and what will not when it comes to desserts. I always wonder who is the almighty know it all who proclaims these things, but I digress. For all of you pie lovers out there - pie is no longer considered trendy, it is passe. To be honest with you, I never even knew it was au courant. Pie, to me, is perfect for Thanksgiving, and possibly for Christmas and an apple pie is certainly welcomed during apple picking season, but for the rest of the year? I don't think so. I guess I must have missed the trendiness of it last year. But the big news on what will be the hot dessert for 2010....you'll never guess...the doughnut! The doughnut???????? I want to see the credentials on the guy who decided that the doughnut will be the trendy dessert for 2012. First of all, it's breakfast food, or maybe it could even be considered a quick snack food, but a dessert? Never! Picture telling the waitstaff at your favorite restaurant that you will be ordering an adult beverage flavored coffee and instead of the flan, creme brulet or baked alaska,  just bring me a doughtnut, you know, the 2012 trendy dessert. I sometimes think that people must need to meet deadlines and so they submit a few hundred authoritatively written words and hope that no one questions. Well I'm questioning this, there is no possible way that the doughnut is the trendy dessert for 2012 and I am now having my doubts about the pie thing for 2011.

Day 53 - Someone Thinks I Know Everything

Today I spent some time with my grand daughter, always a fun thing for me. And we went no where, spent no money, and thoroughly enjoyed the day. We dusted, which she is excellent at, and we baked, where she put handfuls of chocolate chips both into the brownie batter and also into her mouth. We make each other laugh. Every time I see her she has changed in subtle ways. She reads now, and is very good at it. She has graduated to the intermediate level on all of my kid friendly computer games, and suddenly needs no help with a myriad of things that she used to come to me for. I love this age. Everything to them is new and wonderful. Yesterday when baking brownies, she got a bit of the batter on her shirt, which we promptly removed, but in doing so left a very large wet spot. So I took her to the bathroom, plugged in the good old hair dryer, and voila, dry shirt. She giggled and told me that I knew everything, she thought that using the hair dryer was the niftiest of tricks. I know this age does not last, and there will come a time when going out with friends greatly out weighs visiting with your Nana, but until that happens, I am loving every minute of being with her and all of my grandchildren. They bring joy into my life.

Day 52 - Parallel Parking - LOL

I hate parking garages. I hate everything about them. Today, venturing into the city, the lot associated with the Children's Museum was full, so I was forced to use a parking garage. I probably could have used on-street parking if in my youth I had conquered the art of parallel parking, but alas that is another story. Parking garages are not intuitive to me. I am dyslexic and for the most part, not too many folks notice. It does have a tendency to flare when I am behind the wheel of a car. To say that I am directionally impaired would be being generous. So when I have to park in a parking garage where all of the arrows seem to be going in the same direction, the anxiety begins. Additionally, the garages are generally dark, and the parking spaces are exceptionally narrow, so I generally have to go to the topmost level to find a space that I am comfortable with. Today was an exception, I found an entire wall of empty spaces on the first level, luck was definitely on my side. I parked right smack-dab in the middle, with no problems.  I am glad to have hubby as my navigator as he understands that if there is a way to screw things up in a parking garage, I am the person to do it. He is my guide when it comes to using parking garages. He knows how to talk me through it.  And if by chance we ever would need to park on the street forcing me to parallel park, I guarantee you that I would relinquish my driver's seat to any of the passengers in my car and not feel the least bit embarrassed. I think I need a shirt that says, "I am Dyslexic - Explains the lack of parking skills". Come to think of it, maybe I need a bumper sticker as well.

Day 51 - Dessert for Breakfast?

Do you remember the Bill Cosby comedy bit where he decided to give his kids chocolate cake for breakfast? "Dad is great, he gives us chocolate cake". And he tries to explain away the fact that he is just too lazy to make breakfast, and the cake is there, so why not. It has eggs in it, right?
Well, he might just have been a bit ahead of his time. According to the folks from Tel Aviv University in an article on Yahoo, eating dessert as part of a 600-calorie breakfast that includes proteins and carbs can help people lose weight-and keep it off. Finally a university study that I actually believe.
In a  32-week study, scientists found that people who had dessert- whether it be cookies, cake, or chocolate-with their breakfast lost an average of 40 pounds more than people who avoided sweets…and here is the bonus part, they didn't gain the weight back.
Why does it work?  A body's metabolism is the most active in the morning hours. In the a.m. it is better able to burn off the calories during the day as opposed to, say, having some ice cream after dinner when the metabolism beging to slow down in preparation for sleep.
Growing up I can only remember one time being allowed to have dessert for breakfast. We were moving and my mother, who would never want to waste anything, opened the freezer and put all of the containers of ice cream on the table, and told us to dig in. It was a kid's dream, being allowed to eat ice cream for breakfast. And eat it until there was nothing left!
I think these folks at Tel Aviv University just might be on to something. Next time I go out for breakfast I think I am going to order the bacon and eggs and a side of chocolate cake. I'm telling you I can almost see the pounds floating away now.

Day 50 - Changes

As this is my 50th straight day of this blog, I thought I would list a few things that have changed in my life since being unemployed. So here goes.

• I no longer set the alarm clock for 5:15 am.
• I clean my house when I feel like it instead of trying to accomplish everything on the weekend.
• I cook more often.
• I have not put a pair of heels on my feet since I stopped working, and I do not miss them at all, ditto to panty hose.
• I read more and at a nice liesurely pace.
• I no longer fill my car up with gas every 4 days.
• I now have time to notice that we have downy woodpeckers who visit our feeders every day right after noon.
• I have worked side by side with hubby cataloging his coin collection and actually enjoyed it, totally surpising to me.
• I have not missed going to the office one bit, however, I do miss seeing some of my coworkers.
• I have enjoyed walking my gardens and noting the daily changes in the growth of the daffodils, crocuses and siberian irises.
• I enjoy being able to help out my kids when they need me.
• I am especially happy that when it is cold, rainy or Monday, I do not have to be on the road, instead I am home enjoying that second cup of coffee, doing the daily crossword puzzle and generally enjoying the start of a new day with hubby - does not get much better than that.

Staying positive for 365 days is a lot easier when you have your hubby making you laugh, giving you hugs and being totally supportive - I am blessed.

Day 49 - A Little Respect, Please

Like millions of Americans, I was saddened by the death of Whitney Houston, as I have enjoyed her talent over the years and I especially admire her for her unforgettable rendition of the National Anthem sung at the Super Bowl. It was truly memorable. She set the bar very high for those who had to follow her. 
But I ask you, when did celebrity funeral services become must-see TV? I think this current phenomenon is out of control. While browsing on line, I saw tons of ads last night and again this morning telling me not to miss the funeral, it would be streaming live. They were promoting a funeral as if it were an upcoming concert or new reality TV show. I don't know about anyone else, but I find that disrespectful. Not only to the deceased, but to the entire family.
I thought the same thing about the Michael Jackson spectacle of a funeral. I am hoping that this is not a trend. And no, I did not tune in for the funeral.

Day 48 - Hold the Tresses

I am still unemployed and any way I can earn a buck or two would be appreciated in this household, and I am thinking I have found a way to earn money with little or no effort. The next time I have my hair cut, I am going to ask for the clippings. I am going to bag them, and sell them to a company that will then pulverize them turning them into an additive known as L-cysteine, which in turn is sold to food manufacturers who use the ingredient as a commercial dough conditioner, meant to improve the texture of breads and baked goods. If they can't get human hair, on occasion duck feathers will do.And here I thought that bread consisted of flour, yeast, salt and maybe butter - hair? Never even would have guessed that one.
And just when I wanted to add canned mushrooms to a recipe, I read that the FDA allows 19 maggots and 74 mites in every 3.5 oz. can of mushrooms. I think I am going to forgo the canned mushrooms and opt for the fresh.
I am including the link to this enlightening article, as it lists more products that contain ingredients that no one would ever guess would (or should)  be used in food.
I don't know about anyone else, but besides looking at the calorie count on the labels, I am definitely looking for the word L-cysteine, and will avoid anything made from it.
But the selling the hair thing...who knows.


http://health.yahoo.net/experts/eatthis/5-grossest-foods-supermarket

Day 47 - The Old Bag Must Go

Now that I am spending more time at home, I have begun once again to drink tea. Not Lipton, Salada or Earl Grey, I am more of an herbal tea kind of gal. On an overcast chilly afternoon a cup of tea warms me up just right. But I hate the tea bag. Once you place it in the cup, pour the boiling hot water over it, and dip it up and down to get all of the herbal deiciousness out of it, getting rid of the bag is just plain messy. When I pull it out it is boiling hot, so I am not going to touch it, instead, I try balancing it on the spoon with my right hand, while trying  not to drip any of the tea now  filling  the bowl of the spoon onto my floor, and with my left hand I try lifting the lid to the waste basket. What usually ends up happening is that I drip tea from the counter, onto the floor and onto the lid to the waste basket. This happens every time I make a cup of tea, so it occured to me that perhaps it is time to invent a new tea bag. Why not have something that actually sits on the rim of the mug or cup, and allows you to pour the tea through it, and it self drains right into the cup. No fuss, no muss. Until some tea company starts doing that, I am leaving the bag in the tea and once it is cool, I will dispose of it - of course using this method means you end up drinking some mighty strong tea, but hey no spills to clean up. And that makes me happy.

Day 46 - Stop Sending Me Mail

Dear charities, I know times are tough, and I understand the need for fundraising, but here's a tip, maybe you should not send fundraising promos to folks who have already sent you a check for the year 2012. And another thing, when we contribute to the charity, it would be awfully nice if you did not sell the names your donor list. How do I know you do this? It's easy, your charity has always had me listed with an H. as my middle initial. My middle initial is an M. So anytime I receive fundraising letters that have an H as my middle initial, I know they got my name and address from you.
To all the peripheral suppliers who work with the charities, I do not need any more address labels, greeting cards, pens, bookmarks or inspirational literature. My house doth over-floweth with all this stuff. I think if someone sat down and crunched the numbers, the money paid out to the designers, photographers, printers as well as the shipping charges to China and back, as that is where all of the "gifts especially for you" are made, maybe just maybe they would decide that they could save a buck or two if they just settle for an annual fund raising drive.
We believe strongly in supporting out favorite charities, but the continual barrage of materials that accost us on a daily basis is leaving a bad taste in our mouths. They are now ranking in our estimation, only slightly below all the Publisher's Clearing House crap!

Day 45 - Paper Punches for Valentine's Day?

Today is Valentine's Day, and I have been giving a valentine to the same person for the last 44 years. It is a very good thing that Hallmark introduces new cards each year, and it also is a blessing that as we age our memories are not as sharp as they once were, so if the same card showed up year after year, I doubt either one of us would notice.
We no longer make try to make reservations at fancy restaurants, and we no longer go crazy trying to get the perfect gift for one another. We have reached the age that just to have bought the card before the actual day is cause enough for celebration. Now we focus on getting the perfect cards for our grandchildren, and trying to remember to mail them.
I enjoy a good pun, and I try to find cards that use a play on words. This year Hubby's card had absolutely no text on the front, it simply pictured a paper hole punch instead. When hubby gets this kind of card from me he always tries to figure out the pun before he opens it. This year's card baffled him. When he opened it the text read, I love you a hole punch. And there was a romantic heart artfully created by punching holes in the card, I thought that was a nice touch. It made him laugh.
I think we have shared 44 Valentine's Days because we continue to make each other smile, and sometimes not on purpose. Happy Valentine's Day to All!

Day 44 - Beware of the Jerk

I need an inventor. I want someone to invent a gadget for my car, so that when another driver does something insanely stupid or just plain rude, I can shoot out a sticker that will splat against the back bumper and say, Beware of the jerk behind the steering wheel. And it gets delivered in such a way that the driver never sees it coming, and only notices it once he has parked his vehicle.
I drove to my daughter's house this evening, taking the highway. There was a lighted sign, maybe 10 feet by 10 feet announcing that in 2 miles the right lane would end. I think that is more than enough time to get out of the right lane and either into the middle or left lane. And did that happen....NOOOOOOOOO. Idiot drivers continued in the right hand lane, and then frantically braked when the jersey barriers appeared and the lane they were driving in was no longer. I might add, after the initial lighted sign, there were additional signs warning about the lane ending placed every quarter of a mile until the actual ending of the lane.
And just as a public announcement, the third lane is the passing lane, anyone in that lane should be passing another car. I think that the ancient cream colored boat of a car, driven by Methuselah, and going a nifty 45 MPH in the passing lane that caused everyone to do the zig-zag maneuver, ( you know the drill, into the middle lane, speed up and give the single digit salute at the boat of a cream colored car as you pass them and then jump in front of them into the passing lane) deserves the Beware of the jerk behind the steering wheel, sticker.
I think this new invention could be marketed as the most desirable au courant accessory available today. Need is the mother of invention, and Lord knows we need it!

Day 43 - We Need More Pudding

I like pudding. Today for dessert I ordered grape-nut pudding and devoured it faster than I intended. It was creamy, crunchy and I could taste the vanilla and cinnamon. Thoroughly enjoyable. When did they start taking pudding off of the dessert menus? I remember when restaurants used to layer chocolate pudding alternating with whip cream putting it into a sundae glass and calling it a pudding parfait and as a kid I loved it. I bet I would still love it today. Pudding filling makes great pies. Lemon pudding, thrown into a crust topped with whipped egg whites makes a luscious lemon meringue pie. My mother in law used to make vanilla pudding, add a bag of shredded coconut and throw it all in a pie crust and voila coconut cream pie. And who doesn't like chocolate pudding pie that is piled sky high with whip cream? I have a theory about the demise of pudding. I blame it totally on the introduction of Mousse! That ever so trendy chocolate mousse started to appear as the dessert of choice at "All you can eat buffets", and puddings became totally passe, not cool enough to compete. I think we need to start a petition to get some recognition for this forgotten dessert. Come to think of it, when was the last time you saw Mousse on a menu? Maybe it is the perfect time for the return of pudding, seems like the reign of the Mousse is over.

Day 42 - AHCHOO !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am not good at being sick. This past Thursday morning I woke up with a cold, a good old fashioned stuffy head, breathe through your mouth kind of cold. And I hate it. I hate that the end of my nose now feels like sandpaper from the constant blowing and wiping, and I hate that it is now red making me look like Rudolph. When I have a cold, everything seems just a little off. I drop things, it takes me longer to do the morning crossword, and I just don't seem to think very clearly. I do not let this try to run its course on its own, Oh No, I am a firm believer in trying every cold remedy known to man, better living through chemicals is my motto. I have tried NyQuil, DayQuil, Mucinex DM, and last night resorted to searching the medicine cabinet for the small container of Vick's vapor rub in hopes that it would allow me to breathe through my nose so I could finally get some sleep. Lack of sleep due to a cold makes me very cranky. And I have a tendency to feel very sorry for myself. Tomorrow is our Pre-Valentine's day celebratory dinner, and come hell or high water, I am going to enjoy it. I am only hoping that the sneezing fits that have accosted me for the last 3 days, don't sneak up on me when I am totally enjoying an adult beverage. Would not be a pretty sight. I am going prepared. I plan on packing alot of Kleenex, and wearing a blouse with really thick, absorbent sleeves, just in case - can never be too cautious, with the coughing and sneezing into the elbow schtick.

Day 41- Celebrating on the 11th

In a few days it will be Valentine's Day, and every perfume, jewelery, candy and flower company are making sure that we do not forget it. In this past week I have received numerous fliers in the mail, and most contain the pull-up fold that allows you a quick sniff of the latest and greatest colognes. And here is my Heloise Homemaker tip for the month of February, open all of them, immediately throw them into the garbage can, and voila you have an instant deodorizer for that stinky trash can. I think I would most likely respond better to all the ads if the candy companies would see fit to send a free sample of their wares.
I think the jewelery and flower companies prey on the male of the species leading up to Valentine's Day. After all, it is a major money making holiday for them. I always laugh at the price of long stemmed roses on February 14th vs the back to normal pricing of the same roses on February 15th. I like the idea of Valentine's Day, and I must admit that I do contribute heartily to the coffers of Hallmark, as I cannot resist cards for hubby and grandkids. I like the idea that we have one day a year that is all about love, but I do think it puts a lot of pressure on a lot of folks. This year, do to previous commitments, hubby and I will not be celebrating Valentine's Day on the 14th, instead there will be a pre-valentine's Day celebration - scheduled for the 11th. We figure this takes the pressure off of both of us, and we can go to one of our favorite restaurants without reservations and without paying an arm and a leg. Now don't get me wrong, hubby and I do appreciate the romance associated with Valentine's Day, but after all these years, our practical side also gets a vote, and we are more that OK with that.

Day 40 - Hillybilly Hand-Fishin' ?

As a rule I generally avoid most reality shows currently on TV. I am proud to say that I have never watched the "Bachelor" or the "Bachelorette", and I've never even given a second glance to the "Housewives of Whatever Town", and I have no interest in watching any basketball, baseball or football wives' show. And I have never watched Jersey Shore, though with all of the continual promotion of its cast I do recognize the names Snooki and Paulie D. "Keeping up with the Kardashians" will have to keep going without me as a viewer. Having said all that, I must admit that I find myself absolutely sucked in by a few reality shows. I have been known to watch "Hoarders". I am fascinated by it, and it makes me feel better about my own housekeeping skills. I watch, "What Not to Wear", as it is nice to know that there are folks out there with worse fashion sense than I. And I just found one last night, which sounds ridiculous, "Hillbilly Hand-Fishin'", but I was totally intrigued by it. Not that I would want to participate in a sport where either a hand or a foot is used as bait for landing a 30 pound catfish. I may never watch this show again, but to be honest it did hold my attention for one hour.
Like I said I really am not a proponent of reality shows, as I would rather be entertained by a great story line with good writing. Hard to find these days Thankful for DVDs, as Boston Legal and the West Wing never disappoint.

February 9, 2012: I am liking the aroma wafting through the house, beef stew on the menu tonight - yum.