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From the Cork Board:

From the Forgotten English day by day calendar – Tuesday, March 16 (year?)

Banting: doing banting, reducing superfluous fat by living on [a] meat diet, and abstaining from beer, farinaceous food, and vegetables, according to the method adopted by William Banting….The word was introduced about 1864.
- Ebenezer Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, 1898

Why I saved it:

Uh…sound familiar? Everything old is new again, isn’t it Mr. Atkins? *ahem*

This recipe is not by a family member, but I happened to notice it on my way by as I flipped through the pages of the cook book. It looks easy to make, albeit a bit strange. Come to think of it…I’d probably add cheese. But honestly? I love tater tots. As in adore. Why don’t I have any in the freezer? Hang on. I’m going to go put them on the list. While I’m gone, please enjoy the recipe from page 48.

This recipe was found in a book called Galley Finale: A Collection of Mariner Soups, Sloops, and Other Incredible Edibles it was put out by The Presbyterian Church of Fair Oaks, Ca in 1978.

Tater Tot Casserole by Pam Hicks (Citrus Heights)

1 lb. ground beef
2 cans tomato rice soup
1 (1 lb.) pkg. tater tots

Brown meat in a skillet. Add soup and stir. Put in baking dish and sprinkle tater tots on top. Bake as directed for tater tots. This is good for a busy day when you have to do something with a pound of frozen hamburger.

Behold the cuteness!

Ah, coffee, that wonderful warm start-of-the-day beverage. I have such a love/hate relationship with it. It has so may pros and cons.

Pros:
1. I can help wake you up.
2. It can help with a sore throat.
3. The heat can help with a stuffed up head.
4. It helps with asthma problems.
5. It’s a tasty beverage, that goes particularly well with sweets.
6. It can help with mental focus.
7. A hot cup of coffee in a mug is two weapons in one. (I’ve mentioned my favorite weapon here before, yes?)

Cons:
1. It can keep you awake when you would rather sleep.
2. It can make your hands very unsteady.
3. It can give you an acid belly/disagree with your system.
4. It can take a normal stress reaction and make it go through the roof. Hello panic attack.
5. It can help you focus *way too much*. Must…Finish…Project!

and the one I’d totally forgotten about until Saturday:
6. It makes me paranoid.

Yep. Did you know that everyone was ignoring me on Saturday? No? How about the fact that my co-workers are all going to be angry with me for calling in sick on Saturday and I’ll ‘get in trouble’ for doing so? Sigh. I called in sick because of the whole coughing/sneezing/runny nose/having trouble breathing problem that I drank the coffee for in the first place.

Note to self: One cup is okay. Two cups is pushing it these days. Three cups is right out. You haven’t worked graveyard shift in thirteen years, and you are getting more sensitive as you get older. Don’t be a paranoid dork. Yes. Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they aren’t out to get you, but seriously…

So drink tea instead!

I have a vague memory of this recipe. I must have had it at some big family gathering or other. Dad? Do you remember this one?

This recipe was found in a book called Galley Finale: A Collection of Mariner Soups, Sloops, and Other Incredible Edibles it was put out by The Presbyterian Church of Fair Oaks, Ca in 1978.

Beet-Pineapple Salad by Mildred Catlin

1 large pkg. raspberry jello
2 c. boiling water
1 (8 oz.) can crushed pineapple, drained, liquid reserved
1 (16 oz.) can julienne beets, drained
1/4 c. sweet pickle juice
1/4 c. pineapple juice
1/4 c. water or beet juice

Add boiling water to jello and stir until dissolved. To this, add the juices and cool before adding beets and pineapple. Poor into a large flat dish or if preferred into a Bundt pan to mold. The following dressing is spread over the salad before cutting into serving pieces, or drizzled over the Bundt mold:

1 c. sour cream
1/2 c. mayonnaise
2 tsp. horseradish, or more to taste
1/4 c. chopped celery
1/4 c. green pepper
1/4 c. green onion tops

Mix dressing and let stand overnight in refrigerator to absorb the flavor.

Let’s look at today and see how it totals up, shall we?

I had to get up early (fail) to go deal with a fix-it ticket (fail) that I had already mailed but came back to me due to not enough postage. (fail)

I remembered to pack a lunch (win), found a parking spot right out front of the place I had to go to (divine intervention win), and had to stand in a long line (fail). But I made it back to my car with three minutes to spare on the meter (divine intervention win).

I ended up being late to work (fail), but it didn’t adversely affect the desk schedule and I could just work a bit later to make up for it. (win)

My ankle randomly started hurting at work and I seem to have a wee cold (fail). But I bought a new ace bandage (win)…and I’m experimenting with some cold meds (win or fail? dunno yet.) You see, I have all kinds of problems with meds in general, and historically cold meds and I don’t interact well. So, I thought…why not experiment? [insert mad scientist laugh here]

Now I’m home after shopping for food for the family and my poor kitty with one tooth. (Not that it seems to be slowing him down at all. We just thought he’d like a bit of a supplement.) Hmmm…I’m home now with my ankle wrapped, food put away, and meds taken, so…(win).

I think, in light of the fact that the day is over and I’m in my comfy bed, I’ll unscientifically call today a win. Any day you can walk away from, eh?

In other news, my Mother-in-Law is home! We mostly have the care situation figured out, so now we’re working on the next steps.

Well, it seems like the cold meds are starting to make me dizzy, so I’d better sigh off. Night all!

Hello all.

Me again.

It looks like my Mother-in-Law may actually be coming home on Sunday. (As in later today after my latest attempt at that sleep thing.) This is our third theoretical release date for her, so here’s hoping that the third time is a charm. And as you may imagine, we have been in a flurry of cleaning here in my “not normally that tidy” but considering recent events grown into “more along the lines of chaos incarnate” place.

Here is a quick list of some actual housework that has occurred here recently: (the following list is based on true events. please remain seated while reading said list to prevent fainting from shock.)

* The sheets on her bed are new and clean.
* The second floor has been vacuumed (except in my messy room.)
* We have a new towel rack (to replace the one in bits lurking about the bathroom.)
* A new shower curtain liner was purchased and hung up.
* The bathtub was cleaned and now sports non-slip duckies.
* The stairs are clean of the usual debris (a.k.a. stuff found downstairs that belongs upstairs.)
* The infamous entryway where I have slipped and fallen twice now has a new rubber-backed rug.
* A new rubber-backed rug lurks at the back door.
* Much kitchen/dining area stuff have been moved about.
* and lots of laundry has been done…and put away!

*whew!* So…yeah. I’m hoping that at the very least she’ll be able to move around the place with the walker I’m told is coming home with her.

In other news, did I mention that I am not taking any fertility drugs this month? Nope. I have managed to develop not one, not two, but three cysts. Bleh. But really, it’s great timing. I just don’t have the time this month. I declare it to be divine intervention, and will now move on to my next newsbyte….

My interview for the job-possibility-I’m-not-saying-much-about is on February 10. Please send any/all prayers and good thoughts my way.

And finally…I have a new cell phone. Why do I have a new phone? Well…it was free. Relatively-speaking, of course. You see, Koshvader needed a new phone as his had started to come over all wonky. And after much debate, he chose a Motorola Droid. Well, said Droid came with a free Droid Eris. So, I ended up upgrading too, though I had not planned to yet.

Let’s pause for a minute to discuss this phone:

1) It’s way more modern that anything phone-like I’ve ever had. I mean, come on, I’ve never even downloaded a ringtone before. I keep discovering new things and hurting my brain.
2) It vibrates when you push its little virtual buttons. Let it be here noted that I hate things that vibrate, as they make my bones ache. Yes. That includes those coaster things they give you at restaurants while you are waiting. (And nope. Apparently you can turn that off in the other Droid, but not in mine.)
3) It’s named Eris. I mean…come on. Who named the phone after the goddess of discord?
“Eris is the Greek goddess of discord and strife. She is Ares’ constant companion and follows him everywhere. Eris is sinister and mean, and her greatest joy is to make trouble.” – Encyclopedia Mythica

But honestly, I can get used to all of this cell phone…usefulness. It’s turning out that I’m using Eris to tame a bunch of the chaos in which I find myself in the new year.

And in the meantime? I’m giving lots of folks their own ringtones. Be afraid.

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I got this link from a friend the other day, and all I can say is…wow.

I may have mentioned that I’m madly cleaning my place during my special-shiny-extended-weekend. For the record, it’s a control thing for me. When I’m really stressed out, I clean and by controlling my environment, I feel a bit more in control in general. Yay coping mechanism!

One of the things I’m doing is moving a few things around (like my mail station) and clearing off my cork boards.

From the Cork Board:

From the Forgotten English day by day calendar – Friday May 21 (year ?):

Cockade: A ribbon or knot of ribbon, or something similar, worn on the hat, usually by officers of the army or navy, sometimes by others. – John Ogilvie’s Comprehensive English Dictionary, 1865

Why I saved it:

Well, I expect that it was in reference to the pub I used to love called The White Cockade. I miss that place. You drove along the 9 for a bit longer than you expected and kept a close eye on the right. It was a great place to be on a dreich day. Sigh.