Easter

i hope everyone had a wonderful Easter.

what IS the best part of Easter? 

is it getting up and finally making it to church, seeing friends & hearing a great Easter sermon?      yes

is it sharing a nice meal with the family?     yes

is it seeing your son, whom you haven't seen since Christmas?      definitely yes

is it eating lots of chocolate, cookies & cupcakes?       yes

or...

is it that your brother walked away from a car accident on his way over to dinner with you and your family on Easter?

most important than anything else...yes!

hope all your family is well on this Easter day, too

i love pearls before swine. it is one of the comics i look forward to reading everyday. yes, i read the comics. they make me laugh, especially this one. goat and zebra are the voices of reason and normality. pig is the eternal optimistic and naivete and rat...he is just hilariously bad.

so....this one showed up today.

i printed from one of the many blogs i read a post called 'on how to grow your blog' and i wish i could remember which one it was because i would love to give it credit and a connect it with a link (sigh).
anyway, it gave several suggestions, starting with the most important question - what is the end goal for writing a blog?

that is a good question. i like writing it just to write, but secretly do i want more?

a chow life, which is a great blog combining life with great recipes and beautiful photos, wrote in this post: "While I don’t believe I need the validation, it’s certainly nice to be noticed from time to time. "


i would say that this is true. i don't NEED the validation, but to be noticed is really really really nice. and to be read...i would love that! plus i think i need those delicious cupcakes with nutella(!) frosting.


on a side note, there was a sale on lobster tails and i have never bought lobster to cook at home...ever, so i got them, boiled them and ate them. they were so good. i could eat it a lot of lobster.

you can't see the lobster. it is on top of the rice. i also made a cucumber, tomato and blood orange salad. i ate it alllllllll up. husband scott said that it should etiquette-ly okay to lick one's plate because it is delicious, it leaves no waste and one doesn't need to rinse the plate before putting it in the dishwasher. it is so ecological, right. be green!

CSA

i picked up my very first CSA this morning. i finally looked up what the acronym means - community supported agriculture. this is what i got:

i get 5 items: cilantro, romaine lettuce, spinach, broccolini and the straw mushrooms, then i get to pick 5 other items: strawberries, golden beets, tomatoes, purple sweet potatoes and a green that i can't remember the name because i have never heard of it. i also bought the white asparagus which is scarier for me to prepare than the unknown green thing.

the green thing (i will add what it is when i ask what it is called) is to be lightly sautéed. so i went to my go to dish for lunch with sautéed greens and added a poached egg and a tomato salad.

 the greens kinda tasted like spinach, but crunchier because of the stems. it was a nice crunch, but seem to be a bit woodsy and lacking. then, i scooped up a tomato that had balsamic and cider vinegar on it with the unknown green and what a difference!

so, in the future, i will put a splash of balsamic - maybe the sweeter concentrated version - on after it is cooked, with a grilled pork chop and roasted potatoes or mashed potatoes.........

stop, ann. you are making yourself hungry and this is only day 5 of weight watchers.

6 points, btw.

edit - got the answer on the name of the greens - Tong Ho or chrysanthemum greens. cool, hunh?

you must see...

just got home from watching 'of gods and men'. it was the. best. movie. ever!

go see it....now

things i should have taught my children, but didn't

daughter michelle called me earlier this week with "mom, how do you remove a tick. it is so grosssssssss?" so, i told her what i knew, asking her if she has any vaseline to smother the tick, and she said no. then, i said "light a match, blow it out and quickly touch the tick on its back."

that didn't work. the tick flinched, but it stayed firmly embedded.

she, finally, got it out with tweezers.

so.........i looked up how to remove a tick to see if i gave her the correct instructions.

on one website (kidshealth.org), it starts off with calling the doctor to see if one needs to save the tick, then the following words: "...don't use petroleum jelly or a hot match to kill and remove the tick..."(i did not make that up. seriously, look it up)
on another website (about.com) it had this to say: "applying heat, alcohol, petroleum jelly or fingernail polish to an embedded tick is not effective."

so much for MY parental advice.

back in my girl scout camping days (yes, i was a girl scout - nerd), that is how we did it. i have a scar on my stomach to prove where i jerked, when my girl scout leader was trying to burn the tick with a cigarette. i was going to show you the scar, but taking a photo of my stomach that hasn't seen the sun in a 100 years was to scary to post...not to mention the contrast between the white scar and white stomach wasn't really there.

obviously, when my children ask for advise from me, i should google it first before replying, right? or is it alright to give advice learned from experience?

here is how you should remove a tick (taken from the 2 websites above and yes, the advice was nearly identical):

1. use tweezers to grasp the tick firmly at its head or mouth next to the skin (be sure that you have really really good eyesight...seriously, who can see the head of a tick?)
2. pull firmly and steadily until the tick lets go. about.com also added not to puncture the tick because there is bacteria juices in the tick......gross.
3. swab the spot with alcohol

so now, you know how to remove a tick.

oh, and btw, i did tell michelle to put the tick in a baggie and google deer tick to see if her tick look like a deer tick to rule out lyme disease. and to watch for symptoms like a rash that looks like a target.

do i get points for that? i hope so.

a very very long post

i have hit rock bottom (get it? from felix the cat? yes...i am that old).


anyway, i had lost 50lbs by the beginning of 2010 and have very quickly put it back on. congratulations, i now weigh more than i did when i was about to deliver my 9lb 5oz baby boy, who turned 22 in february, so i can't quite say it's still 'baby fat'. 


this same son posted very recently the following video on facebook:

it is totally inspirational. on his blog bendoeslife.com,  ben davis lists a few points about what needs to be done to 'do life.' 


- tell people - make youself more accountable (check - i told the starbucks people, who know my name as in 'hi ann, grande latte with 1 raw sugar & a zucchini muffin?' no thank you, i am on weight watchers, so i will take a venti iced green tea, no sweetener, please). 

- don't fall for gimmicky inspiration - although his own video gets you started, you have to find your own reason to lose weight (check - you will see my inspiration of what i don't want to look like anymore, if you can stomach it. can't quite show it, yet).

- you're going to miss a workout - same goes with eating, but what is important that you don't let it cause you to back slide. start right back up, not next week or next monday. (this will be harder)

- get involved in something organized - join a group (check - i will be starting back to weight watchers)

- just do it - you know like nike (again harder to do)

what wasn't listed is knowing your weakness. mine is that i won't do this all by myself. to diet, i need weight watchers to weigh in and get clapped. i need the claps. i workout in the gym with my good friend, kelly, a personal trainer twice a week and i have my walking buddy, ingrid, to walk for an hour twice a week. 

what else i am going to do is join a yoga group and that will be hard. there is no yoga in our area that has a class in the earlier afternoon except bikram yoga and i am not sure i am up to it. most classes are until noon and then start back up at 4:30pm and once i get home...i don't like leave. 

now ben does life posts his before photo...and i am not quite ready nor am i ready to post my before weight. maybe down the line (i did take photos and i am honestly amazed that i show up in the gym, looking like this, and then run to the grocery store, but i do. i am hoping that it is true that the camera puts on more pounds. please say that it's true).

so..................if anyone is out there and hears me, laurie just got me to ask her to marry me (kidding! just saw oklahoma! last week at tcu - so much fun). what i was really going to say is:

if anyone is out there reading this blog, i have started and i am making a change.

and 5 weeks from today, i turn 54 years old. that is my first goal - to be 10lbs lighter by my birthday, which is completely doable. unfortunately, we are going to a wedding, in florida, where we will be spending time at the beach. i say unfortunately because it would be nice to get this:

i LOVE this!

http://www.jcrew.com/womens_category/swim/onepiecetanks/PRDOVR~36193/36193.jsp

things i should have taught my children, but didn't

wow! did i really let a whole week go by without posting? i posted so many things in my head, but didn't put them down in writing. so my m o.
i always have all these plans in my mind and then i fritter it all away, doing other stuff (reading other people's blogs, facebook, sudoku, tv). right now, all i can think about is how delicious a nap would be right now.

but first a post.

this is something that i got from do it delicious, a blog by jessica seinfeld. i don't remember how she got added to my blog roll any more than i can remember how GOOP got added. however, i like do it delicious because there are some really good basic things that i never knew and i should have taught my children them. although, how can one teach one's children something one does not know?

sooooooooooooo...click on this link about calibrating the cooking thermometer. this is a great idea. it may be something that others know all about, but i didn't. i use one for meat all the time. sometimes, i would forget what temperature chicken and pork should be when done. i, now, have a thermometer that labels the temperature with 'chicken' and 'pork' like my candy thermometer label 'soft ball' (not the sport).

so, children, here is something i should have taught you, but didn't (of course, i just learned how myself).

i will be calibrating my cooking thermometers...after a leetle nap.

p s here is a sidebar. go to my daughter's blog and watch her posted video of her time in sxsw. it will make you smile. it made me smile. i am totally envious of people who can do this (make a video not have fun...although, i am envious of people who are having fun without me).

things i should have taught my children, but didn't

well, it's thursday. i feel much better now and i will be my regular self, randomly posting stuff that comes to mind - still working on my disappearing act.

so here is something that i should have taught my children, but didn't...

it is another dad thing. we always drained extra fat from cooking, like when cooking bacon, ground beef or my favorite - frying up some okra, into a jar and stored it in the refrigerator. dad says one should never pour excess fat down the kitchen drain. sometimes, if some ended up in the sink, we had to run the disposal with cold water so that it would solidify before it clogged the drain.

now, someone could say, "that is a little too much extra work. it's pointless."


so NOT true.

this is what was on our fort worth water website:

Sewer backups and overflows are frequently caused by fats, oils and grease being placed into the sewer system by customers. Because these items are lighter than water, they accumulate in the sewer pipes, similar to how cholesterol builds up in the body’s blood stream and arteries until a blockage occurs. The backup could result in damage to your property or it could overflow into the storm drain causing environmental damage to our rivers and streams.

Tips for preventing sewer backup

• Don’t put greasy food scraps down the kitchen sink or garbage disposal. Instead, always use a paper towel or rubber spatula to thoroughly scrape and swipe plates and pans into the garbage can before washing.
• Don’t pour melted oils used for cooking down the sink or garbage disposal. Let them solidify in a container on the counter or in the refrigerator. Then place them into the garbage.

see? 

my dad was right. it is bad to pour fat down the drain. after reading the very descriptive and somewhat gross reason by the water department, it makes me want to be more diligent and to check my blood for cholesterol levels.

what i don't like is putting it in the garbage. i wish that there was a neighborhood oil pickup like the big commercial oil pick up for restaurants and fast food places have. i don't like the idea of having all that show up in a landfill. i guess i could cook with less oil, but seriously...live without fried okra? not possible.

i have 2 jars in the refrigerator: one for bacon grease (on the right) and one for all other fats (left). my grandmother fried chicken in half Crisco and half bacon grease for the most delicious fried chicken in the world. i have never been able to replicate it exactly the way that she did, but it is still pretty tasty. the best thing to do with the bacon grease is to make the old fashioned version of Party Chex Mix.

Party Chex Mix (from recipes.robbiehaf.com)

1 1/2 c real butter                                     10 oz box Cheerios

1/2 c bacon grease*                                   1/2 16 oz box Wheat Chex

1 T Worcestershire sauce                           1/2 16 oz box Corn or Rice Chex (i LOVE Rice Chex)

2 t seasoned salt                                       4 c thin, salty pretzel sticks

1 t garlic salt                                            12 oz can cocktail peanuts - optional (so NOT optional, but i use half because...)

1 t celery salt                                            9.25 oz can cashews - optional (...i use a much bigger can of mixed roasted nuts

1 t hot sauce (i use Tabasco sauce)               instead of just plain cashews)

melt butter and bacon grease in a saucepan
stir in seasonings until salts (mmmmmmm salt) have dissolved
pour cereal, pretzels and nuts in a large bowl (a very very large bowl)
pour hot mixture over and stir to coat well
divide mixture into 2 - 3 13"x9"x2" baking pans
bake in 200 degree oven for 2 hours, stirring every 15 minutes
allow to cool 4 hours before serving
*if you don't have enough bacon grease, you may substitute necessary amount with more real butter.


so...michelle and jason, always drain your fats from cooking into a jar and put in the frig till filled then throw away in the garbage. separately store the bacon grease, be a good citizen and recycle it into the recipe above and invite me over to help you eat it.

and that's another thing i should have taught my children, but didn't.

mean little post

so...this is the time that i wish that i had the great apathy lounge prose. this is going to be a mean and catty post, so stop reading right now if you think i am a nice person because i am not and those who think i am nice, i want them to continue to think that. so stop....don't read anymore. read something fun and cheerful like oh joy!

so now...conundrum: do you seek revenge or do you just suck it up and do what is best for you?

i had a pretty good day today...to a point.

work was okay, then off to workout with the best and nicest person in the world, kelly, my friend, then a pretend wipe off of the sweat and straight to the museum to hear a lecture with another good friend, ingrid, then straight to my mom and dad's to help my dad wash the top of his car and lastly, to the grocery store to pick up some stuff for dinner. pretty nice, hunh? got to spend some time with friends and parents. nice.

then, a comment...asking me if i really was out and about with my shirt unbuttoned, showing my big fat stomach. if so (and i didn't, the button unbuttoned itself when i was unloading my car...most likely), that was pretty disgusting.

so what would you do? seek revenge or just suck it up? i, personally, wanted to get even with an even bigger, grotesque-r stomach, but what would THAT do? i mean, do i really want to pack on more pounds when i really want to take them off (hence the workout today)? but...if i start a diet, watch what i eat, exercise and start to losing the poundage, would that give that person the satisfaction of saying that that person was right, since that person would consider it the push to get serious about dieting?

i don't want that person to get that satisfaction.

so what would you do?              get even?

(biscuits with chocolate gravy...a mountain view, arkansas breakfast item)













i chose to ignore that person and not talk to that person for the rest of the day.

and another thing, i stumbled across this blog... amid privilege
REALLY?

is she serious? i read her post about buying steve madden shoes, a first for her since all she wears are ferragamos...and the dilution of automatic admittance to harvard when one has 'pull'. i am soooooo hoping that she is writing with her tongue firmly planted in her cheek, but i have a feeling she is writing, instead, with a stick firmly stuck up her............ (meow)

there is a skit on SNL - ooooooooooo weeeeeeeeeeeeee! what up w' dat?

bone tired

i was going to post about dieting and getting ready for spring and summer, being that the first day of spring was yesterday and although i have set my clocks to spring forward the weekend before, i have yet to spring forward and take the diet plunge. i have been packing in the pounds and i need to post a before and after photo of me on this post to commit myself to it. there is even a category on this blog called 'me - a disappearing act' that i cannot use, yet.

but, i am bone tired. spent the whole weekend and all day to day with husband scott taking up all the sod to create some new planting beds for our landscaping project. we are doing it ourselves and i think we have gotten too old for all the physical labor. we got one quote (too high) and one refusal (we didn't want to get rid of 2 trees...although we are talking about getting rid of on of them), so we decided to do it ourselves. between 3 back surgeries and 2 knee surgeries each knee (all this is husband scott) and fat, overweight and sluggish me, i am pretty proud of ourselves. we have completely scalped up the grass and will be composting and mulching next.

then, come borders, a flagstone footpath, one raised bed, sprinkler system update, awning over the patio and we haven't gotten to planting......too tired to think about it anymore today.