Throw-Away Society

I truly believe we live in a throw-away society. You don't repair anything anymore, you just replace it. I am as guilty as the next one. Look at printers. It is cheaper to buy a new printer than new ink cartridges in many cases. Computers aren't much different. I bought a new laptop in June 2010 and it is already so antiquated, if it broke, I would probably just buy a new one. I often wonder about reconditioned laptops or reconditioned cameras. Do they work as well? Do they last as long? Considering the cost of new and our frequency in replacing, it is something to consider.

Cheeseburgers in Stars Hollow

I tried a new recipe today from The Pioneer Woman's website. I believe this might be the first one for me. There are many sites and bloggers out there who make fun of the redhead and granted, she makes it pretty easy. But I find her more interesting than say, Paula Deen?

Gasp! Yes, I said it. I am not a Paula Deen fan. If that causes you to quit reading. Well, I am sorry. Take care, and have a great life.

If you are still here, thanks for sticking around.

Okay, back to the redhead on the range's recipe. Cheeseburger Salad.

And it was good.

I made it exactly to the recipe. Are you shocked? I know I typically tweak and alter based on my tastes or ingredients on hand, but this time - true to the letter. I meant to tweak it. I meant to add bacon - because, well do I really need to explain why? Everything is better with bacon. But I forgot the bacon because I was watching The Gilmore Girls rerun and it was the one where Rory took her grandmother to the Independence Inn and showed her the potting shed and Emily Gilmore ran away in shock. I love the Gilmore Girls. Sigh. I wish they would come back.

Here is a little bit of trivia for you. Did you know the house exterior of the old Dragonfly Inn is actually the exterior used for the house on The Waltons? It was dismantled from its original lot location that was used when filming the Waltons, and was placed on another set for Gilmore Girls. Isn't that cool?

Where was I? Oh yes, I forgot the bacon. So sue me.

I also burnt the first batch of melted butter because it was when Emily and Lorelai were yelling at each other about the new and "much better than the potting shed" room she created for Rory. Ah family drama. It reaches across all socio-economic boundaries.

German Pancake Breakfast

I realize I haven't posted much about food lately. I really did bake some over the holidays but I failed to photograph or write about it. My bad.

This morning I made Mini German Pancakes from this recipe. Now, the dangers in giving you the link for what I based my dish on is that you get to see how mine looks nothing like theirs. Whatever!

Let me start by saying I halved the recipe and ended up with 11 pancakes. They are thin, like a crepe. Basically, they are a puffy crepe. So 3-4 per person is a good serving portion.

Let me also confess my mistake. I melted the butter in the microwave but forgot to add it to the batter. I found it about 4 minutes into the baking time. So I spooned melted butter on top. I figured what the hell, how could something be ruined with melted butter on it? Seriously, what isn't better with butter?

I think the only problem that caused was they stuck a little, despite me spraying the hell out of the muffin tins, and they were a little mis-shapened because they had started to poof when I poured the butter on.

The sauce I made from scratch and in my head. I had some frozen blackberries (thanks Mom) so I nuked them and started them cooking with some sugar, salt and tangerine zest/juice. My only mistake here was I should have pureed and strained the seeds before it got so thick. I waited too long and the sauce was nice and thick so getting the seeds out was a pain in the you know what. I hate seeds in my fruit sauces.

But it tasted freakin' fantastic! Seriously, I am going to do this again and use it for ice cream, cheesecakes - you just never know where it will show up again.

In the end, both of our plates were wiped clean and the salty bacon I served with it was a nice contrast. I will definitely do this again.

Knock on Wood

My mother is very superstitious. We weren't allowed to walk around the opposite side of a post, column or obstruction if we were walking down the street or sidewalk because apparently that meant we would argue. So that is the reason.

Obviously we couldn't walk under a ladder and if you opened a pocket knife, you had to be the one to close it or someone would get cut. You are dealing with a knife, the odds are already in your favor that someone would get cut.

If your ear itched, someone was talking about you. If your palm itched, you were going to get money. If your nose itched, you were going to have company. Right.

If you said something you didn't want to happen, you knocked on wood. If she couldn't find anything wooden within reach, she would use her head, or ours. That explains a lot.

So in the spirit of knocking on wood, I'd like to say that without much effort and probably due to a change in medicine, I have lost 15 lbs 18.5 (I weighed today) in the past three months. I hope this continues, especially the part about not much effort. But now that I have spoken (written) about it....I might get cut, no wait, I might have money coming out of my nose from company.

The To Do List Final Results

Of my list, this is what actually got done while I was off for the holidays.

• Get a haircut
• Bake Christmas goodies
• Clean out closet
• Organize shoes and purses
• Read at least one book.(I started one)
• Finish editing my book.(I added 2,000 more words)
• Go to Jungle Jim's in Cincinnati with my Mom and sister.
• Put a jigsaw puzzle together.(good winter fun)
• Go to the dog park.(my bad)
• Clean out/organize kitchen desk area.
• Go to Tickled Pink Memorabilia Mall.
• Organize pantry.
• Imbibe, maybe a lot
• Create something in my project room.

Not too bad.

Are They Made of Elephants?

Maybe it is because today was my first day at work in 17 days? Or maybe it was because today was very cold and my brain has basically been frozen with little to no activity? Either way, I found myself watching television blindly and wondering....if a memory foam mattress really remembers so much, wouldn't you never need to buy another mattress - like ever? Is that really a good marketing plan?

What Would Shakespeare Do?

More musings from my co-worker/friend/genius:

Did you know that, of the 17,000+ words William Shakespeare used, over 1,700 are documented for the first time in his writing. Maybe they were in everyday unrecorded oral use, or maybe he made them up because they sounded cool. So the next time you’re working on your hixby gommelting, don’t be timid. Make up a word just because you like the way it bloghers.

Did you know that several people here in the building participated in National Novel Writing Month in November? Each of them wrote a complete novel during the month of November. If I had their permission, I’d tell you who they were, but it’ll be more fun if you walk up to everyone you see today and ask them about NaNoWriMo. If they give you a blank stare or ask you if you’re having a stroke, they are probably not one of the writers. Once you find one of the intrepid writers in our midst, ask them if they made up a new word in their chomona. If they didn’t give them a bracelet with W.W.S.D.? on it (what would Shakespeare do) and castigate them (which was one of Bill’s made-up words).

Merry Christmas!

To all my blogger friends, I wish you a very Merry Christmas. Here is hoping your holidays are full of eggnog, friends, rum, family, more rum, good food, good wine, rest and joy (which will be much more likely with the rum).

We spent Christmas Eve with the in-laws and here is a snippet of a conversation that repeated itself no less than ten times in one hour. Let me set the stage for you....my mother-in-law is mid-level Alzheimer's and ADD, my father-in-law has had his knee joint removed after numerous knee replacements that went bad, so he is fairly immobile, my sister-in-law and her two kids (9 and 11) live with them (in the basement). It was all of them and the two of us.

David brought his mother a bouquet of roses for Christmas. The second he hit the door, she started crying.

"I can't believe you brought me these beautiful flowers." She cried and cried. Then she set them in the middle of the coffee table. Every five to ten minutes....

"Oh my god, those are beautiful flowers. Where did they come from?"
"They are from David and Melody, Mom." (someone would say).

The crying starts again.

Two minutes later, "I can't see shit with those damn flowers in my way."

"Well, let's move them..."

"Where did they come from?"

Wash. Rinse. Repeat.


I also noticed that her language has gotten even worse, if that is possible. Few sentences were said without a curse word and or inappropriate references. Fortunately, his family are slightly bawdy anyway so you either ignore it or laugh at it.

We are thankful she still knows who we are and can take care of herself, somewhat.

When we left, we both agreed that his sister deserves a sympathy card.

To Dos, not Ta Das

I have one more week of work left and then I am off until January 3, 2012. That is exactly seventeen days off in a row. Pretty cool.

However, I tend to get bored without things to do. So I am making a "To Do" list full of fun and practical things I need or want to do. Let's see how many I actually accomplished come next year.

• Get a haircut
• Bake Christmas goodies
• Clean out closet
• Organize shoes and purses
• Read at least one book.
• Finish editing my book.
• Go to Jungle Jim's in Cincinnati with my Mom and sister.
• Put a jigsaw puzzle together.
• Go to the dog park.
• Clean out/organize kitchen desk area.
• Go to Tickled Pink Memorabilia Mall.
• Organize pantry.
• Imbibe, maybe a lot
• Create something in my project room.

Evaluation for Physicians

I get why physicians have to carry such high malpractice insurance. People expect them to be psychic and the slightest error is reason to sue these days. However, on the other side of that coin are the physicians and caregivers that should never be given license to practice. For example, the quack that failed my mother and is the catalyst for her present condition and prognosis.

I think there should be some sort of patient review process that is required to renew their license to practice. In our positions, we are reviewed annually on the service we provide. Why should they be any different?