09 August 2008
Eat Beans, the Magical Fruit. The More You Eat 'Em, the More You Toot. The More You Toot, the Better You Feel. So Eat Beans for Every Meal!
Tee Hee. I learned that in elementary school. <(^t^)>
Work Post
oh man, this pay period at work is a bit much. I'm working twelve days straight in a row, and I'm doing 18 hours of overtime. Most of the shifts are only four hours each, so individually, they are not too much, but driving back and forth everyday isn't good on gas, and four hour shifts make it harder to get my own projects done because I'm really only back at my desk for maybe 15 minutes.
I'm not too worried though, because I'm not planning to sign myself up for overtime next pay period unless someone specifically asks me and I am available. The first week is both my birthday week and the first week we should be able to move things into the new townhouse. Then the week after is the first week of school.
We had a fire "drill" yesterday. It wasn't planned and it wasn't really a drill, but the firemen came and checked everything out and got kind of peeved because there was nothing wrong. At least it was nice outside though, because we were out there for a good fifteen-twenty minutes.
I didn't do very well eating-wise last night. I didn't really have anything specific to fix, and I didn't want to order pizza because I'm sick of ordering pizza; it's a waste of money, and it's bad for you.
So instead I opted to try to make some more healthy cookies. well, they turned out yummy, but they aren't really all that healthy. They're filled with sugar.
I had some red kidney beans in the cupboard, and so I decided to make some red-bean-paste cookies.
The Japanese use red bean paste in a lot of desserts, but they actually ferment the bean and everything -- hence the sweet taste. I just kind of mixed in a fourth cup of sugar with the 15 oz can of red beans and mashed them up. ^_^ Fancy, I know.
Then I just followed the same recipe for the chick pea chocolate chip cookies minus the chocolate and chick peas.
They turned out delicious, but like I said, I used a lot of sugar. Well, really only 1 1/4 cup total to be split up among over thirty cookies, but that's still more sugar than David and I both need.
The texture turned out the same as the chick pea cookies, so I think that I'm going to use more oats in my next batch of cookies *i know i know... more cookies? she's nuts!*
I have less than a fourth of a jar of peanut butter sitting in my fridge and some baking chocolate from Hershey Park that technically expired about a month ago, so I'm trying to use it up. And I think that cookies are a good place to do that. So I was thinking of making some oatmeal chocolate peanut butter cookies.
Don't worry. I'm not going to eat all of the cookies. I sent most of the cookies from my last batch to work with David, and I think I'm going to take a bunch of the red bean paste cookies to work with me so that we don't end up eating all of them. They are pretty good though.
Aside from the cookies, I made two soy sausages that I had gotten a while ago. It's a four-pack and I made the first two in the microwave and they were really dry. So I followed the stove directions this time and boiled them for ten minutes and then put them in some oil for about two. They turned out pretty well. They were nice and moist this time around, but they still didn't quite have the texture of a real sausage *something about not really being a sausage*, but my mistake was not really having/making anything to go with them. So I just kind of sat in the living room where David was cleaning and packing, ate one, then gave the other one to David and went back into the kitchen.
The cookies were about three batches, fifteen minutes each, so I was doing all this while switching out the different batches of cookies, and consequently, munching on a couple each time I took some out of the oven.
I then decided that I would fry up the two soyburgers that were still left in the freezer. They turned out pretty well, but of course, no buns to eat them on and no hamburger helper or anything to put them in, so I ate one plain with honey mustard, and David was stuffed from the sausage and cookies and the half of a sandwich I brought him that was a leftover from my lunch yesterday, so his soyburger is still in the fridge -- I'll prob'ly take it to work today for lunch.
And of course, all of this stuff takes so long to make that while I was hungry in the in-between time, I made myself a big bowl of popcorn. So when the last batch of cookies was finished, I sat down in the living room and ate the rest of the popcorn while I watched watched the first episode of season three of Quantum Leap *I haven't been able to find the disc since we moved into this place and it's been driving me crazy for the last several months because I've been having Quantum Leap withdrawals, but David *my hero* found the disc hidden in a cd case inside of one of the boxes in the living room.
Yeah, so. One of the first things I plan to do when we're fully moved and the kitchen is all cleaned up is to fully stock my pantries with all of the essentials for cooking -- i have a couple of cookbooks that list them! And then also have lots of nice healthy snacks in the event that I don't want a whole meal, just a snack.
But overall, I don't feel too bad about what I ate last night because most of it wasn't really that bad for me, and part of the reason behind my munchies was that it is just about that girly time of the month for me. So I've been grumpy and hungry.
I'm not too worried though, because I'm not planning to sign myself up for overtime next pay period unless someone specifically asks me and I am available. The first week is both my birthday week and the first week we should be able to move things into the new townhouse. Then the week after is the first week of school.
We had a fire "drill" yesterday. It wasn't planned and it wasn't really a drill, but the firemen came and checked everything out and got kind of peeved because there was nothing wrong. At least it was nice outside though, because we were out there for a good fifteen-twenty minutes.
I didn't do very well eating-wise last night. I didn't really have anything specific to fix, and I didn't want to order pizza because I'm sick of ordering pizza; it's a waste of money, and it's bad for you.
So instead I opted to try to make some more healthy cookies. well, they turned out yummy, but they aren't really all that healthy. They're filled with sugar.
I had some red kidney beans in the cupboard, and so I decided to make some red-bean-paste cookies.
The Japanese use red bean paste in a lot of desserts, but they actually ferment the bean and everything -- hence the sweet taste. I just kind of mixed in a fourth cup of sugar with the 15 oz can of red beans and mashed them up. ^_^ Fancy, I know.
Then I just followed the same recipe for the chick pea chocolate chip cookies minus the chocolate and chick peas.
They turned out delicious, but like I said, I used a lot of sugar. Well, really only 1 1/4 cup total to be split up among over thirty cookies, but that's still more sugar than David and I both need.
The texture turned out the same as the chick pea cookies, so I think that I'm going to use more oats in my next batch of cookies *i know i know... more cookies? she's nuts!*
I have less than a fourth of a jar of peanut butter sitting in my fridge and some baking chocolate from Hershey Park that technically expired about a month ago, so I'm trying to use it up. And I think that cookies are a good place to do that. So I was thinking of making some oatmeal chocolate peanut butter cookies.
Don't worry. I'm not going to eat all of the cookies. I sent most of the cookies from my last batch to work with David, and I think I'm going to take a bunch of the red bean paste cookies to work with me so that we don't end up eating all of them. They are pretty good though.
Aside from the cookies, I made two soy sausages that I had gotten a while ago. It's a four-pack and I made the first two in the microwave and they were really dry. So I followed the stove directions this time and boiled them for ten minutes and then put them in some oil for about two. They turned out pretty well. They were nice and moist this time around, but they still didn't quite have the texture of a real sausage *something about not really being a sausage*, but my mistake was not really having/making anything to go with them. So I just kind of sat in the living room where David was cleaning and packing, ate one, then gave the other one to David and went back into the kitchen.
The cookies were about three batches, fifteen minutes each, so I was doing all this while switching out the different batches of cookies, and consequently, munching on a couple each time I took some out of the oven.
I then decided that I would fry up the two soyburgers that were still left in the freezer. They turned out pretty well, but of course, no buns to eat them on and no hamburger helper or anything to put them in, so I ate one plain with honey mustard, and David was stuffed from the sausage and cookies and the half of a sandwich I brought him that was a leftover from my lunch yesterday, so his soyburger is still in the fridge -- I'll prob'ly take it to work today for lunch.
And of course, all of this stuff takes so long to make that while I was hungry in the in-between time, I made myself a big bowl of popcorn. So when the last batch of cookies was finished, I sat down in the living room and ate the rest of the popcorn while I watched watched the first episode of season three of Quantum Leap *I haven't been able to find the disc since we moved into this place and it's been driving me crazy for the last several months because I've been having Quantum Leap withdrawals, but David *my hero* found the disc hidden in a cd case inside of one of the boxes in the living room.
Yeah, so. One of the first things I plan to do when we're fully moved and the kitchen is all cleaned up is to fully stock my pantries with all of the essentials for cooking -- i have a couple of cookbooks that list them! And then also have lots of nice healthy snacks in the event that I don't want a whole meal, just a snack.
But overall, I don't feel too bad about what I ate last night because most of it wasn't really that bad for me, and part of the reason behind my munchies was that it is just about that girly time of the month for me. So I've been grumpy and hungry.
08 August 2008
Moving Post
All right, I have work from 2 to 6 today, so I have some time this morning to see what I can do around the townhouse.
Here's my plan:
-I would like to do a load of laundry -- actually as many as possible ^_^
-I also need to maintain the kitchen --> right now, I have a washer full of clean dishes that need to be put away, and a sink of dirty dishes to be put in the washer (isn't that how it always goes?)
-And David has been begging me to clean off the couch(es) in the living room so that we can watch some comedy and work on cleaning up that room and the dining room. Hopefully, we will be able to do that tonight because we will be home around the same time. So, before I go to work today, I am going to try to clean off the couches.
Well, wish me luck. Hopefully I'll get it all done and more, but I really hate the way it smells on the second level. It seems sour, but I can't figure out where the smell is coming from. I'm worried that it might be one of my plants, but maybe I'll get lucky today and find something under the couch that has gone bad. (I know; that really doesn't sound too lucky)
Oh My God. The landlord is such an idiot.
David has explained to him in full detail that he is moving out by August 31st and that he has no interest in staying here. David asked if the rent could be lowered (you know, to closer to what the townhouse is worth), the landlord said no, and to me, that means end of story.
But no. He actually had the gall to email David asking if he wanted to renew his contract month by month until December, and then start out a new full-year contract with him for next year so that it would begin in January and end in December.
There was no mention of lowering rent or anything. He just thought David might be interested?
How clueless can someone be?
I think that somebody has realized that he won't be able to easily market the townhouse since he won't be able to actually show it until September when we are fully moved out. Duh! So basically, he's getting kicked in the pants because he is the one who said no to the month by month extension when David asked him so that we would have through September at least to move out fully. Now the landlord is realizing that he will probably be losing money because he won't be able to find someone to rent it as the weather gets colder.
But anyway, I hope that someone moves in within a week after we move out, and I hope it's someone with a family and more experience than David and I had when we rented the townhouse, because hopefully, they won't put up with the landlord's crap, and they'll tell him like it is, because now we know that's what we should have done from the get-go, and then maybe we wouldn't have had so many problems with the place. Lesson learned. Hopefully the landlord will get his someday.
David and I talked it over, and even if the landlord was willing to lower the rent on a new contract, we wouldn't accept. Besides, it wouldn't be as low as David will be paying for his own townhome anyway :)
Here's my plan:
-I would like to do a load of laundry -- actually as many as possible ^_^
-I also need to maintain the kitchen --> right now, I have a washer full of clean dishes that need to be put away, and a sink of dirty dishes to be put in the washer (isn't that how it always goes?)
-And David has been begging me to clean off the couch(es) in the living room so that we can watch some comedy and work on cleaning up that room and the dining room. Hopefully, we will be able to do that tonight because we will be home around the same time. So, before I go to work today, I am going to try to clean off the couches.
Well, wish me luck. Hopefully I'll get it all done and more, but I really hate the way it smells on the second level. It seems sour, but I can't figure out where the smell is coming from. I'm worried that it might be one of my plants, but maybe I'll get lucky today and find something under the couch that has gone bad. (I know; that really doesn't sound too lucky)
Oh My God. The landlord is such an idiot.
David has explained to him in full detail that he is moving out by August 31st and that he has no interest in staying here. David asked if the rent could be lowered (you know, to closer to what the townhouse is worth), the landlord said no, and to me, that means end of story.
But no. He actually had the gall to email David asking if he wanted to renew his contract month by month until December, and then start out a new full-year contract with him for next year so that it would begin in January and end in December.
There was no mention of lowering rent or anything. He just thought David might be interested?
How clueless can someone be?
I think that somebody has realized that he won't be able to easily market the townhouse since he won't be able to actually show it until September when we are fully moved out. Duh! So basically, he's getting kicked in the pants because he is the one who said no to the month by month extension when David asked him so that we would have through September at least to move out fully. Now the landlord is realizing that he will probably be losing money because he won't be able to find someone to rent it as the weather gets colder.
But anyway, I hope that someone moves in within a week after we move out, and I hope it's someone with a family and more experience than David and I had when we rented the townhouse, because hopefully, they won't put up with the landlord's crap, and they'll tell him like it is, because now we know that's what we should have done from the get-go, and then maybe we wouldn't have had so many problems with the place. Lesson learned. Hopefully the landlord will get his someday.
David and I talked it over, and even if the landlord was willing to lower the rent on a new contract, we wouldn't accept. Besides, it wouldn't be as low as David will be paying for his own townhome anyway :)
07 August 2008
Stress Post
Oh man Oh man Oh man. I'm home today until about 4.3opm when I need to leave for work so I can be there from 5 to 9.
Not a problem, but I wanna just stay in bed or play or read or cook something delicious. But I need to get stuff washed and packed up since we'll begin moving officially around next Friday.
I've had several good talk-overs with David to make sure he really wants to do all this, where we basically just spent hours going over the pros and cons and how our families feel about it and how we both feel about moving and about him buying his own house.
We've both made our own separate to-do lists, and we have everything planned out with how we're going to get things moved out and moved in and get things done.
And my mom has been helping put a fire under our butts about picking the various paints that we want to use, etc.
I'm still debating over whether I just want to go for one color for now, or several different ones for the different rooms. I definitely want to do the different rooms different colors at some point, but I'm not sure that I want to make a big fuss about it right now. I think we'll go for a few colors, maybe just three or four, and rotate them. But I don't know how complicated that gets when buying the paints and what not, so I'm going to hang out with my mom at some point this week and just discuss it with her and then go out with her and pick out some colors. I'll talk to David later tonight as to what he wants -- from what I gather, he definitely wants to paint the bedroom a light green like the guest room at my parent's house is painted, and he wants his computer room either painted green or he wants wooden planks put up like in the garage where Ty's space is -- whichever is easier.
And I definitely want my pretty princess room to be painted a nice light pink. But other than that, We haven't really talked a whole lot about what we want the rest of the house to be, other than light colors.
The Zydallis's have dark maroon/red and gold as the color theme for their main room and everytime I see I think about how beautiful it is, but when I'm not looking at it and I think about it, it sounds like a god-awful combination to be putting so much of it on the walls. But they have a huge painting up in that room.
There is a painting that I want to get that David was going to try to get for me, so I might look into the colors that are used in that for inspiration. I'd hate to hang up a beautiful painting only to realize that it didn't match the walls! <(^t^)>
Not a problem, but I wanna just stay in bed or play or read or cook something delicious. But I need to get stuff washed and packed up since we'll begin moving officially around next Friday.
I've had several good talk-overs with David to make sure he really wants to do all this, where we basically just spent hours going over the pros and cons and how our families feel about it and how we both feel about moving and about him buying his own house.
We've both made our own separate to-do lists, and we have everything planned out with how we're going to get things moved out and moved in and get things done.
And my mom has been helping put a fire under our butts about picking the various paints that we want to use, etc.
I'm still debating over whether I just want to go for one color for now, or several different ones for the different rooms. I definitely want to do the different rooms different colors at some point, but I'm not sure that I want to make a big fuss about it right now. I think we'll go for a few colors, maybe just three or four, and rotate them. But I don't know how complicated that gets when buying the paints and what not, so I'm going to hang out with my mom at some point this week and just discuss it with her and then go out with her and pick out some colors. I'll talk to David later tonight as to what he wants -- from what I gather, he definitely wants to paint the bedroom a light green like the guest room at my parent's house is painted, and he wants his computer room either painted green or he wants wooden planks put up like in the garage where Ty's space is -- whichever is easier.
And I definitely want my pretty princess room to be painted a nice light pink. But other than that, We haven't really talked a whole lot about what we want the rest of the house to be, other than light colors.
The Zydallis's have dark maroon/red and gold as the color theme for their main room and everytime I see I think about how beautiful it is, but when I'm not looking at it and I think about it, it sounds like a god-awful combination to be putting so much of it on the walls. But they have a huge painting up in that room.
There is a painting that I want to get that David was going to try to get for me, so I might look into the colors that are used in that for inspiration. I'd hate to hang up a beautiful painting only to realize that it didn't match the walls! <(^t^)>
06 August 2008
Stress Post
This is really more about David's stress, but that -- by default -- transfers to me in part.
He's a bit bummed out right now because he is trying to figure out all of the pricing and costs that will be coming with the townhouse he is buying.
He had thought it would only be about $930 a month with taxes and insurance because of a document his loan agent sent him, but he found out about a day later -- and right after we told everyone that it would prob'ly cost $930 a month that it will really be more like $1200 a month, or so we think right now.
He was trying not to worry about it because even $1200 is a really great deal, especially since all of his bills including phone, internet, and utilities will still make his cost of living below what he is paying now just for rent, which is $1700 a month.
But I had a little mini breakdown when he told me that he had "misread" the document, and I gave him a huge lecture on how "big boys" read all of the fine print and make sure that everything is taken care of before they tell everyone the wrong stuff. I was mostly upset because he has done something similar with several other important documents, and I really can't be looking over his shoulder for everything. It's my responsibility to help him and care about him, but I can't do everything for him, and I can't constantly be looking over his shoulder. He needs to be able to take care of himself.
I took a look at the document, and it makes sense how he would have thought $930 at first, but it still bummed me out a bit. I'm feeling much better about it now and much more optimistic. It just feels like lately, everything I do requires a big lecture about growing up. *well, duh. I guess it should since that's what I'm trying to do. Sometimes I feel like I'm almost there, and other times I feel like I'm failing miserably*
So anyway, he had Kurt look it all over, and Kurt agreed that the layout was kind of weird, so he explained everything to David and how it all breaks down.
But now David is a bit bummed because he still has to look into house insurance, which he personally knows little about. So he's having to talk to all these different loan agents who are all pretty much trying to screw him. And he's frustrated because he doesn't fully understand what he needs and what he doesn't need, so when someone tells him "oh yeah, this is a little more than that company's, but that's because we offer this special type of coverage *wink* and you need this type of coverage."
Oh, and he was really peeved today because he went online yesterday and filled out all of these forms with information for various agents to look at and then contact him through the internet as to what their quotes would be. Sounds great, right?
Yeah, except that all day today, he was getting calls from these idiots while he was at work just to "verify" information. He was upset because he purposely signed up to get all the stuff through the internet so he wouldn't have to deal with phone tag or interruptions while he was working 9 to 5.
It's all part of growing up, and I promised to help him keep tabs on everything, and he's promised me to look over everything more carefully and to not jump to conclusions that are too good to be true, but it's going to take a while before we can get everything fully together. I'm so glad our parents care about us and are here for us to help and answer our questions.
He's a bit bummed out right now because he is trying to figure out all of the pricing and costs that will be coming with the townhouse he is buying.
He had thought it would only be about $930 a month with taxes and insurance because of a document his loan agent sent him, but he found out about a day later -- and right after we told everyone that it would prob'ly cost $930 a month that it will really be more like $1200 a month, or so we think right now.
He was trying not to worry about it because even $1200 is a really great deal, especially since all of his bills including phone, internet, and utilities will still make his cost of living below what he is paying now just for rent, which is $1700 a month.
But I had a little mini breakdown when he told me that he had "misread" the document, and I gave him a huge lecture on how "big boys" read all of the fine print and make sure that everything is taken care of before they tell everyone the wrong stuff. I was mostly upset because he has done something similar with several other important documents, and I really can't be looking over his shoulder for everything. It's my responsibility to help him and care about him, but I can't do everything for him, and I can't constantly be looking over his shoulder. He needs to be able to take care of himself.
I took a look at the document, and it makes sense how he would have thought $930 at first, but it still bummed me out a bit. I'm feeling much better about it now and much more optimistic. It just feels like lately, everything I do requires a big lecture about growing up. *well, duh. I guess it should since that's what I'm trying to do. Sometimes I feel like I'm almost there, and other times I feel like I'm failing miserably*
So anyway, he had Kurt look it all over, and Kurt agreed that the layout was kind of weird, so he explained everything to David and how it all breaks down.
But now David is a bit bummed because he still has to look into house insurance, which he personally knows little about. So he's having to talk to all these different loan agents who are all pretty much trying to screw him. And he's frustrated because he doesn't fully understand what he needs and what he doesn't need, so when someone tells him "oh yeah, this is a little more than that company's, but that's because we offer this special type of coverage *wink* and you need this type of coverage."
Oh, and he was really peeved today because he went online yesterday and filled out all of these forms with information for various agents to look at and then contact him through the internet as to what their quotes would be. Sounds great, right?
Yeah, except that all day today, he was getting calls from these idiots while he was at work just to "verify" information. He was upset because he purposely signed up to get all the stuff through the internet so he wouldn't have to deal with phone tag or interruptions while he was working 9 to 5.
It's all part of growing up, and I promised to help him keep tabs on everything, and he's promised me to look over everything more carefully and to not jump to conclusions that are too good to be true, but it's going to take a while before we can get everything fully together. I'm so glad our parents care about us and are here for us to help and answer our questions.
Love Post
I was reading one of my mommy's blogs today, and there was a post about me that was sooo sweet. She was talking about how I am beautiful and that I look a lot like her, and she was wondering why no one ever told her how beautiful she was when she was my age. (well, that's a quick sum up of what she had said, but it really doesn't do her words justice).
Anyway, I just had to post about it on my blog because reading it made me smile a little inside because my mom doesn't realize how often I look at her and hope that I look as good as her when I'm fifty. Nor does she realize how honored I am to be told that I look like her.
Beauty is a funny thing that has nothing to do with weight, so when my mom says that my daddy deserves a hottie, really I think that my daddy deserves someone who loves him as much as my mom to be healthy and happy and with him for much longer to come. My mother will be the most beautiful woman in the world *and I know my dad feels the same way* no matter what she weighs, no matter if her hair ever grays, or if her face ever gets all wrinkly.
Sometimes, I really think she got jipped growing up. I've been lucky enough to have parents who constantly tell me how beautiful I am, and I have always been able to shrug off what others say because of that. My mother has always made the effort to take me shopping for nice clothes, and my dad, while he is not around as much, has always taken me to father-daughter dances. Few things make a little girl feel as special as going out to a dance with her daddy.
I actually got upset with my boyfriend because I was telling him a while ago about the wedding receptions I worked at during my time at the Elkslodge and how much I wanted to dance with my father at my wedding, and he actually shuddered and said that he would hate to have to dance with his mother. This is an ongoing debate that I have had with him since, and I am determined that by the time we get married, he'll dance with her *of his own will, I know he'd dance with her now for my sake, but that doesn't count*. (hey, I've got quite a few years before all that, so I've got the time :)
It made me realize how wonderful my family is because I know -- and I hope my mom does too -- that when my brothers get married, they will be so happy to dance with their beautiful mother. And even with all of the crap they give her now as teenagers, they both love her and see how beautiful she really is.
I am so proud of her for blogging as much as she does as well. I truly think it has something to do with being a writer at heart. For me, there is something soothing about putting all of my thoughts down. I even have a blog that is completely blocked off from everyone so that I can write completely uncensored about everything that I feel, no matter how hateful or shameful or stupid. I almost always can't read through those posts after I write them because they are so not me and so not how I feel -- anymore. Sometimes, it's just nice to say what you need to say but you feel like no one else should hear it.
Blogging is also a really good way to explain to others how you feel without directly sitting down and telling them. I was glad to read some of my mom's posts about how she feels about blogging and logging her eating and what she expects because it has helped me to get more on board with what kind of support she needs. Whether or not I actually help, who knows? But I certainly try, and it is so helpful to me to be able to read through my mom's thoughts, and for my mom to be able to read through mine.
Anyway, I just had to post about it on my blog because reading it made me smile a little inside because my mom doesn't realize how often I look at her and hope that I look as good as her when I'm fifty. Nor does she realize how honored I am to be told that I look like her.
Beauty is a funny thing that has nothing to do with weight, so when my mom says that my daddy deserves a hottie, really I think that my daddy deserves someone who loves him as much as my mom to be healthy and happy and with him for much longer to come. My mother will be the most beautiful woman in the world *and I know my dad feels the same way* no matter what she weighs, no matter if her hair ever grays, or if her face ever gets all wrinkly.
Sometimes, I really think she got jipped growing up. I've been lucky enough to have parents who constantly tell me how beautiful I am, and I have always been able to shrug off what others say because of that. My mother has always made the effort to take me shopping for nice clothes, and my dad, while he is not around as much, has always taken me to father-daughter dances. Few things make a little girl feel as special as going out to a dance with her daddy.
I actually got upset with my boyfriend because I was telling him a while ago about the wedding receptions I worked at during my time at the Elkslodge and how much I wanted to dance with my father at my wedding, and he actually shuddered and said that he would hate to have to dance with his mother. This is an ongoing debate that I have had with him since, and I am determined that by the time we get married, he'll dance with her *of his own will, I know he'd dance with her now for my sake, but that doesn't count*. (hey, I've got quite a few years before all that, so I've got the time :)
It made me realize how wonderful my family is because I know -- and I hope my mom does too -- that when my brothers get married, they will be so happy to dance with their beautiful mother. And even with all of the crap they give her now as teenagers, they both love her and see how beautiful she really is.
I am so proud of her for blogging as much as she does as well. I truly think it has something to do with being a writer at heart. For me, there is something soothing about putting all of my thoughts down. I even have a blog that is completely blocked off from everyone so that I can write completely uncensored about everything that I feel, no matter how hateful or shameful or stupid. I almost always can't read through those posts after I write them because they are so not me and so not how I feel -- anymore. Sometimes, it's just nice to say what you need to say but you feel like no one else should hear it.
Blogging is also a really good way to explain to others how you feel without directly sitting down and telling them. I was glad to read some of my mom's posts about how she feels about blogging and logging her eating and what she expects because it has helped me to get more on board with what kind of support she needs. Whether or not I actually help, who knows? But I certainly try, and it is so helpful to me to be able to read through my mom's thoughts, and for my mom to be able to read through mine.
05 August 2008
Graham Cracker Ice Cream Sandwiches
Prep: 5 minutes, Total: 120 minutes, Makes: 8 sandwiches
Ingredients:
-2 cups lowfat plain yogurt *of course, you can use any type of yogurt for it, really -- but that might change the need for lemon juice and zest*
-1 cup sugar *or appropriate sugar substitute, or I'll bet cool whip would be good too*
-1 cup lowfat (1%) buttermilk *this is the only "weird" ingredient in any of the recipes, but it can be replaced pretty easily with skim milk -- or really any type of milk*
-2 tablespoons lemon juice *more or less optional depending on the type of yogurt you use, or if you want it to be lemony*
-grated zest of 1 lemon *more or less optional*
-16 lowfat graham crackers, broken in half (32 squares) *i'm sure any type of dessert crackers would do*
-Shredded coconut (optional)
Preparation:
1. In a large bowl, whisk together the yogurt, sugar, buttermilk, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Transfer to a small bowl, cover, and freeze for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until the mixture starts to thicken.
2. To form the sandwiches, scoop out and then press about 1/4 cup of the semi-frozen yogurt mixture between two graham cracker squares. Wrap each in waxed paper and freeze 30 minutes, or until firm.
3. If using coconut, put some on a plate and dip all four edges of the sandwich to coat.
Ingredients:
-2 cups lowfat plain yogurt *of course, you can use any type of yogurt for it, really -- but that might change the need for lemon juice and zest*
-1 cup sugar *or appropriate sugar substitute, or I'll bet cool whip would be good too*
-1 cup lowfat (1%) buttermilk *this is the only "weird" ingredient in any of the recipes, but it can be replaced pretty easily with skim milk -- or really any type of milk*
-2 tablespoons lemon juice *more or less optional depending on the type of yogurt you use, or if you want it to be lemony*
-grated zest of 1 lemon *more or less optional*
-16 lowfat graham crackers, broken in half (32 squares) *i'm sure any type of dessert crackers would do*
-Shredded coconut (optional)
Preparation:
1. In a large bowl, whisk together the yogurt, sugar, buttermilk, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Transfer to a small bowl, cover, and freeze for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until the mixture starts to thicken.
2. To form the sandwiches, scoop out and then press about 1/4 cup of the semi-frozen yogurt mixture between two graham cracker squares. Wrap each in waxed paper and freeze 30 minutes, or until firm.
3. If using coconut, put some on a plate and dip all four edges of the sandwich to coat.
More Delicious Deception ^_^
I forgot to say a few more important things about the cookbook in my previous post.
1. It has pictures of every single dish. This is super-important to me because a. my food's presentation sucks and b. I really like to what I am making is supposed to look like.
2. It is super-colorful!
3. It has detailed explanations of all of the equipment you need, and it also has a detailed explanation of all the different vitamins that you are supposed to fit into your diet -- which, being allergic to so much stuff, is one of my biggest issues.
4. I've been looking through it a little more and it does have a several different fruit recipes, so hooray!
*giggles* I can just see my mommy saying eww! gross to actually cooking a lot of this stuff, so making the food might not be for everyone, but putting funny ingredients together has never really bothered me.
Oh, but speaking of my mommy, I found a recipe in the book that really reminded me of that yummy dessert she let me try the other night, and it doesn't involve any of the vegetable purees.
I'll use another post to put the recipe.
1. It has pictures of every single dish. This is super-important to me because a. my food's presentation sucks and b. I really like to what I am making is supposed to look like.
2. It is super-colorful!
3. It has detailed explanations of all of the equipment you need, and it also has a detailed explanation of all the different vitamins that you are supposed to fit into your diet -- which, being allergic to so much stuff, is one of my biggest issues.
4. I've been looking through it a little more and it does have a several different fruit recipes, so hooray!
*giggles* I can just see my mommy saying eww! gross to actually cooking a lot of this stuff, so making the food might not be for everyone, but putting funny ingredients together has never really bothered me.
Oh, but speaking of my mommy, I found a recipe in the book that really reminded me of that yummy dessert she let me try the other night, and it doesn't involve any of the vegetable purees.
I'll use another post to put the recipe.
Deceptively Delicious
That is the title of the book I found at the library.
Actually, the full title is Deceptively Delicious: Simple Secrets to Get Your Kids Eating Good Food.
Yeah... that's right. It's technically a book for mothers with young children who don't like to eat their vegetables. In other words, I am still a five-year old that needs to have the green stuff hidden before I eat it. But this book shows you how to hide it in brownies! so exciting.
The entire book is dedicated to slipping cooked and pureed veggies into meals.
It has recipes for normal food like cookies, brownies, french toast, mac & cheese, etc; which means I won't feel like I'm going on some sort of twisted diet.
Anyway, the book is technically aimed at mother's with small children, but it does apply to anyone who is or has a picky eater eating their cooking. But I suppose that if I ever have kids, I'll be well-prepared.
Heh, oh and something else that it is interesting: it is written by Jessica Seinfeld, who is Jerry Seinfeld's wife. I hadn't noticed until I had checked it out and starting reading through it, but I looked online, and she has apparently been on Oprah and everything promoting this book.
Basically, the idea is that you puree all types of different veggies, put them in the freezer, and then use them in the recipes (which, like I said, involve normal food and normal ingredients -- as opposed to trying to search for weird ingredients for most weird vegetable combinations that are supposed to fool you) while you're making dinner. So prep is pretty easy. Just spend an hour or two one day pureeing all the different veggies, then stick em in the freezer. And it's not supposed to taste gross or weird *hey, i've tasted some pretty weird stuff like vegan brownies... uhh... yeah, those were gross...*
Hopefully, I will be able to do this. It has a lot of veggie recipes, and several involving yogurt and berries. So, that takes care of my veggie issue anyway. But I'm still looking for something for fruit, although my guess is that I could do a lot of stuff with cooked and pureed fruit. smoothies come to mind.
My main concern has been with veggies, and I feel a little better now knowing that there is someone (and probably many more) that has figured out some cool recipes. I would like to buy this book at some point, but for now, I can use the library's copy. I'll have to wait until I move though before I start pureeing stuff and what not.
Actually, the full title is Deceptively Delicious: Simple Secrets to Get Your Kids Eating Good Food.
Yeah... that's right. It's technically a book for mothers with young children who don't like to eat their vegetables. In other words, I am still a five-year old that needs to have the green stuff hidden before I eat it. But this book shows you how to hide it in brownies! so exciting.
The entire book is dedicated to slipping cooked and pureed veggies into meals.
It has recipes for normal food like cookies, brownies, french toast, mac & cheese, etc; which means I won't feel like I'm going on some sort of twisted diet.
Anyway, the book is technically aimed at mother's with small children, but it does apply to anyone who is or has a picky eater eating their cooking. But I suppose that if I ever have kids, I'll be well-prepared.
Heh, oh and something else that it is interesting: it is written by Jessica Seinfeld, who is Jerry Seinfeld's wife. I hadn't noticed until I had checked it out and starting reading through it, but I looked online, and she has apparently been on Oprah and everything promoting this book.
Basically, the idea is that you puree all types of different veggies, put them in the freezer, and then use them in the recipes (which, like I said, involve normal food and normal ingredients -- as opposed to trying to search for weird ingredients for most weird vegetable combinations that are supposed to fool you) while you're making dinner. So prep is pretty easy. Just spend an hour or two one day pureeing all the different veggies, then stick em in the freezer. And it's not supposed to taste gross or weird *hey, i've tasted some pretty weird stuff like vegan brownies... uhh... yeah, those were gross...*
Hopefully, I will be able to do this. It has a lot of veggie recipes, and several involving yogurt and berries. So, that takes care of my veggie issue anyway. But I'm still looking for something for fruit, although my guess is that I could do a lot of stuff with cooked and pureed fruit. smoothies come to mind.
My main concern has been with veggies, and I feel a little better now knowing that there is someone (and probably many more) that has figured out some cool recipes. I would like to buy this book at some point, but for now, I can use the library's copy. I'll have to wait until I move though before I start pureeing stuff and what not.
Health Post (Allergies)
All right, I have maybe a couple of posts in me today. We shall see.
I have mentioned before that I have some weird allergies. I also have some fairly normal ones like certain pollens and nickel, etc.
The ones that actually affect my daily life and health the most are the food allergies. None of them are severe enough that I've ever had to go to the emergency room or anything, but they are extremely uncomfortable and bad for me.
So, the basics that I stick to are: do not eat raw fruits, raw vegetables, or raw nuts.
I am officially allergic to peanuts, soy, oranges, carrots, celery, green peas, tomatoes, white potatoes, walnuts, and almonds. When I eat or am exposed to any of these things, my immune system thinks they are a virus and begins attacking them. Like I said before, this means that my throat might get a big itchy and swollen and I'll have a bad stomach ache/digestive problem later on after I eat any of these things. And those are to varying degrees. My reaction for oranges is much less than my reaction for carrots.
Things that I have been tested for and am not technically allergic to are broccoli, spinach, sweet potatoes, apples, bananas, grapes, peaches, pineapples, strawberries, chocolate, melons, pecans, or cashews.
Sounds great, right?
Yeah, except that I am still orally allergic to most of those. Sounds weird, huh?
I think that chocolate and strawberries are the only thing on that list that I have absolutely never had some sort of reaction to (i think).
So anyway, I have not been tested for everything, so for all I know, I could also be allergic to various types of meats, dairy, and grains... (hope not, but if I was, I'd have to go on what is called a Rotated Diet, which basically means that I have to eat everything in small doses and something completely different each night so that there is less of a reaction from my body all around *hopefully* if not, you're pretty much screwed.
But for now, because there are some things that I can still eat, my doctor advised me to simply avoid the foods I am allergic to.
Also, lucky for me, those foods that I am allergic to in a raw state can be eaten in a cooked state (or at least I haven't discovered otherwise yet). That is good, but it also means that I can't just reach for an apple if I'm looking for a quick snack. Nor can I just rinse off some carrot sticks and take them to work with me.
But then again, a lot of people don't do that even without allergies, which is why so many people have health problems.
However, it makes things hard on me because I cannot just promise myself to start "eating right", because for me, "eating right" is bad for me? *blinks several times* It does make me feel a little... special... though... *looking for the bright side*
Okay, so, I have allergies, and there are very specific ways that I have to eat food in order to get the proper amount of nutrients.
I really don't like cooked fruits and vegetables very much. So, it makes me feel a little miserable to think that I am going to have to be force-feeding them to myself for the rest of my life. yeah... not really gonna happen.
So, I was a little bummed out, but, since I don't really like to give up, I've been looking for alternative solutions.
My mom showed me a cool dessert the other day that tastes good that is made mostly of yogurt, and is easy to make. I don't really like just eating yogurt by itself, but when you mix it up with a little bit of sugar-free whipped cream and add some graham cracker crumbs, it makes a pretty yummy dessert.
I also found a book at the library yesterday that I am going to make my next post about because it has some pretty good ideas in it.
I have mentioned before that I have some weird allergies. I also have some fairly normal ones like certain pollens and nickel, etc.
The ones that actually affect my daily life and health the most are the food allergies. None of them are severe enough that I've ever had to go to the emergency room or anything, but they are extremely uncomfortable and bad for me.
So, the basics that I stick to are: do not eat raw fruits, raw vegetables, or raw nuts.
I am officially allergic to peanuts, soy, oranges, carrots, celery, green peas, tomatoes, white potatoes, walnuts, and almonds. When I eat or am exposed to any of these things, my immune system thinks they are a virus and begins attacking them. Like I said before, this means that my throat might get a big itchy and swollen and I'll have a bad stomach ache/digestive problem later on after I eat any of these things. And those are to varying degrees. My reaction for oranges is much less than my reaction for carrots.
Things that I have been tested for and am not technically allergic to are broccoli, spinach, sweet potatoes, apples, bananas, grapes, peaches, pineapples, strawberries, chocolate, melons, pecans, or cashews.
Sounds great, right?
Yeah, except that I am still orally allergic to most of those. Sounds weird, huh?
I think that chocolate and strawberries are the only thing on that list that I have absolutely never had some sort of reaction to (i think).
So anyway, I have not been tested for everything, so for all I know, I could also be allergic to various types of meats, dairy, and grains... (hope not, but if I was, I'd have to go on what is called a Rotated Diet, which basically means that I have to eat everything in small doses and something completely different each night so that there is less of a reaction from my body all around *hopefully* if not, you're pretty much screwed.
But for now, because there are some things that I can still eat, my doctor advised me to simply avoid the foods I am allergic to.
Also, lucky for me, those foods that I am allergic to in a raw state can be eaten in a cooked state (or at least I haven't discovered otherwise yet). That is good, but it also means that I can't just reach for an apple if I'm looking for a quick snack. Nor can I just rinse off some carrot sticks and take them to work with me.
But then again, a lot of people don't do that even without allergies, which is why so many people have health problems.
However, it makes things hard on me because I cannot just promise myself to start "eating right", because for me, "eating right" is bad for me? *blinks several times* It does make me feel a little... special... though... *looking for the bright side*
Okay, so, I have allergies, and there are very specific ways that I have to eat food in order to get the proper amount of nutrients.
I really don't like cooked fruits and vegetables very much. So, it makes me feel a little miserable to think that I am going to have to be force-feeding them to myself for the rest of my life. yeah... not really gonna happen.
So, I was a little bummed out, but, since I don't really like to give up, I've been looking for alternative solutions.
My mom showed me a cool dessert the other day that tastes good that is made mostly of yogurt, and is easy to make. I don't really like just eating yogurt by itself, but when you mix it up with a little bit of sugar-free whipped cream and add some graham cracker crumbs, it makes a pretty yummy dessert.
I also found a book at the library yesterday that I am going to make my next post about because it has some pretty good ideas in it.
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