I've always taken great pride in doing my job well. You don't have to tell me twice that the customer is always right. But what do you do when the customer isn't always just right, but the customer is just pathetically sad, alone and well...kinda a little nuts?
I have this client that is married to a man several years older than she is. She's currently pregnant and already has 5 children, all under the age of 10. She's a very pretty, tall woman. I don't know her well, just professionally except for sometimes she crosses the line between client and agent and I'm not sure where her mind is in all this.
For example, about 9 months ago, she called our office and I happened to answer and the question she had was about directions to the local IRS office. Even though I thought the question a little bit strange, especially when your asking your insurance agent...but since we do commercial and trucking insurance I figured it had something to do with the business and that's why she called us.
Then about 4 months ago, she called again and she hemmed & hawed like she really didn't know how to come to the point of the conversation. She finally asked me if I had ever been to a certain grocery store in our city. I told her yes a few times and that my parents went there quite a bit. Well she asked if I had ever purchased their chicken chorizo. I told her no and wondered where this was going and what chorizo had to do with insurance. But...the customer is always right and we always listen to the customer and don't just brush them off.
Ok, so then she tells me that she had gone to this store that morning and she had purchased some of this chicken chorizo and she came home and fried some corn tortilla's and then fried some of the chorizo and made little tostada's for her kids. While the kids were eating she then went to fry a little more chorizo for herself when all of a sudden she noticed there was a small worm in the chorizo. Ewwwwwww! Gross.
So I'm wondering why I had to be the one listening to this and she goes on to tell me that she feels really bad because the kids have already eaten their chicken chorizo tostadas and now she feels bad that they ate chorizo with worm or worms and she wanted to know what she should do.
Uh, huh? What? Huh?
She wanted her insurance agent to tell her what to do? So I told her, because, well...it's my job to help my customers right? Uh ok, yeah...I guess that's right. I told her not to say anything to the children, they've already eaten it right? I asked her if she wanted the phone number to the local health department so she could report them. She said no, that's ok. She would just throw away the rest of it and not go to that store ever again. So she thanked me and that was it.
Well today, she called again and got my co-worker this time. She had recently filed papers with the tax collector to have her properties reappraised to lower the values in order to lower the property taxes. (And this is a woman that doesn't have enough sense to not feed her children worms? She knows enough to have her properties reappraised...and need I say more, she owns PROPERTIES, meaning more than one!) Her problem this time was that she had received a letter from the tax collector, but as she's Spanish speaking only, she didn't know what the letter said so she wanted to fax it over and have us read it and tell us what it said.
Is this woman an enigma or what? One second she's dumb as a rock, illiterate, scatter brained, helpless and lonely and the next second she's this business tycoon with multiple properties. Strange huh?
Monday, September 29, 2008
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Some facts about ME, cause in my world, it really is ALL ABOUT ME!
There's this little questionnaire going around right now on several of the blogs I read and it's a series of questions you have to answer about your husband. Well since I don't have one of those, and I didn't want to be left out of anything current going on in the blogosphere I thought I would address the questions to me and answer them. I mean who knows me better than me?
Ok, here we go.
1. Alicia is sitting in front of the tv, what is on the screen?
The truth is that it's off, just a blank screen. I don't have cable and there's nothing to watch on Sundays. I did just finish watching Monk on HULU.com though.
2. You're out to eat what kind of dressing does Alicia get on her salad?
I like ranch, but it does depend on what kind of salad. If it's like a Chinese chicken salad, then I like the Chinese chicken salad type of dressing. If it's like a taco salad, then usually salsa is the dressing, although sometimes you can get a really good cilantro-lime dressing as well.
3. What's one food Alicia doesn't like?
That would have to be mushrooms. I can't stand the way they smell or the texture. I've even tried stuffed mushrooms and you just can't hide that disgusting taste. The strange thing is that my mom who dislikes pretty much all veggies just loves mushrooms, go figure.
4. You go out to the bar, what does Alicia order?
Usually a Corona Beer with lime in a salted glass, kinda like a poor women's margarita. But it does depend on what I'm eating and/or doing. If I'm having Mexican food, I do enjoy a margarita, but if I need to get my rhythm going before dancing, then definitely a Long Island Ice tea with a shot!
5. Where did Alicia go to high school?
I went to Calipatria High School in Calipatria, California. Go HORNETS!
6. What size shoe does Alicia wear?
A size 6 1/2, really. But I love that line in Steel Magnolia's where Truvy says, "I usually wear a 6, but a 7 feels so good, I'll buy an 8."
7. If Alicia was to collect anything, what would it be?
A few years back I did start collecting bears, all kinds of bears, ceramic, cloth, pictures, dishes, etc. I'm just waiting for spring so I can have a huge yard sale. I really don't have one particular thing I want to collect because pretty much I just want EVERYTHING. In fact I have an "IWANNA" post coming up here in the near future.
8. What is Alicia's favorite type of sandwich?
I really love my fried ham sandwiches with avocado, but my tuna with minced jalapeno is pretty good too.
9. What would Alicia eat every day if she could?
What else? Chips and Salsa, Chips and Salsa!
10. What is Alicia's favorite cereal?
I'm a simple woman of simple tastes, I love Kellogg's Frosted Flakes, they're Grrrrreeeaaaatttttttt!!!!!!!!
11. What would Alicia never wear?
Probably a Halloween costume in the workplace. That one comes to mind because my current coworkers want to dress up this year and I've never dressed up and never wanted too.
12. What is Alicia's favorite sports team?
Dallas Cowboy's Baby!!! Oh Yeah! Even though they did lose today :-(
13. Who will Alicia vote for?
I'm a Republican and I am really for the McCain-Palin ticket! No one is perfect I know, but McCain's war record and love of his country speaks volumes to me.
14. Who is Alicia's best friend?
You've heard the saying, "You can pick your friends, but you can't pick your family". Well the best thing is when your best friend is also family...my beautiful, wonderful, generous, loving, funny, bighearted sister Lisa!
15. What is something you do that you wish you wouldn't do?
I guess it would be speaking without thinking...and that's not really true because I do think about what I'm going to say, it's just that some things are better left unsaid, but by then I've already said them!
16. How many states has Alicia lived in?
Arizona and California only.
17. What is Alicia's heritage?
Mexican American, although I prefer American Mexican.
18. You bake Alicia a cake for her birthday; what kind of cake?
Again, I'm a simple woman with simple tastes. My fav cake is white with white frosting. But I do love me some Carrot cake, mmmmmmm.
19. Did Alicia play sports in high school?
Funny but I was just talking to my cousin Robert about this today. I played Volleyball, Softball and a little Tennis.
20. What could Alicia spend hours doing?
Besides talking? Just kidding. I guess it would either be sleeping or online reading blogs.
Friday, September 26, 2008
Did you know?
Did you know?
Peel a banana from the bottom and you won't have to
pick the little 'stringy things' off of it. That's how the primates do it.
Take your bananas apart when you get home from the store.
If you leave them connected at the stem, they ripen faster.
Store your opened chunks of cheese in aluminum foil.
It will stay fresh much longer and not mold!
Peppers with 3 bumps on the bottom are sweeter and better for eating.
Peppers with 4 bumps on the bottom are firmer and better for cooking.
Add a teaspoon of water when frying ground beef.
It will help pull the grease away from the meat while cooking.
To really make scrambled eggs or omelets rich add a couple of
spoonfuls of sour cream, cream cheese, or heavy cream in and then beat them up.
For a cool brownie treat, make brownies as directed. Melt Andes mints in double
broiler and pour over warm brownies. Let set for a wonderful minty frosting.
Add garlic immediately to a recipe if you want a light taste of garlic and at the end of the recipe if your want a stronger taste of garlic.
Leftover snickers bars from Halloween make a delicious dessert. Simply chop them up with the food chopper. Peel, core and slice a few apples. Place them in a baking dish and sprinkle the chopped candy bars over the apples. Bake at 350 for 15minutes!!! Serve alone or with vanilla ice cream. Yummm!
Heat up leftover pizza in a nonstick skillet on top of the stove, set heat to med-low and heat till warm. This keeps the crust crispy. No soggy micro pizza. I saw this on the cooking channel and it really works.
Easy Deviled Egg: Put cooked egg yolks in a zip lock bag. Seal, mash till they are all broken up. Add remainder of ingredients, reseal, keep mashing it up mixing thoroughly, cut the tip of the baggy, squeeze mixture into egg. Just throw bag away when done easy clean up.
Expanding Frosting: When you buy a container of cake frosting from the store, whip it with your mixer for a few minutes. You can double it in size. You get to frost more cake/cupcakes with the same amount. You also eat less sugar and calories per serving.
Reheating refrigerated bread: To warm biscuits, pancakes, or muffins that were refrigerated, place them in a microwave with a cup of water. The increased moisture will keep the food moist and help it reheat faster.
Newspaper weeds away: Start putting in your plants, work the nutrients in your soil. Wet newspapers, put layers around the plants overlapping as you go cover with mulch and forget about weeds. Weeds will get through some gardening plastic they will not get through wet newspapers.
No More Mosquitoes: Place a dryer sheet in your pocket. It will keep the mosquitoes away.
Squirrel Away! To keep squirrels from eating your plants, sprinkle your plants with cayenne pepper. The cayenne pepper doesn't hurt the plant and the squirrels won't come near it. (Wonder if this would work with cats that end up pooping in your flowerbeds?)
Flexible vacuum To get something out of a heat register or under the fridge add an empty paper towel roll or empty gift wrap roll to your vacuum. It can be bent or flattened to get in narrow openings.
Reducing Static Cling Pin a small safety pin to the seam of your slip and you will not have a clingy skirt or dress. Same thing works with slacks that cling when wearing panty hose. Place pin in seam of slacks and ... ta da! ... static is gone.(But how do you get static out of your hair? Anyone else have that problem?)
Measuring Cups: Before you pour sticky substances into a measuring cup, fill with hot water. Dump out the hot water, but don't dry cup. Next, add your ingredient, such as peanut butter, and watch how easily it comes right out.
Foggy Windshield? Hate foggy windshields? Buy a chalkboard eraser and keep it in the glove box of your car When the windows fog, rub with the eraser! Works better than a cloth!
Reopening envelope: If you seal an envelope and then realize you forgot to include something inside, just place your sealed envelope in the freezer for an hour or two. Viola! It unseals easily.
Conditioner: Use your hair conditioner to shave your legs. It's cheaper than shaving cream and leaves your legs really smooth. It's also a great way to use up the conditioner you bought but didn't like when you tried it in your hair. (I did know this trick and I have used it when I was out of shaving cream.)
Goodbye Fruit Flies: To get rid of pesky fruit flies, take a small glass,
fill it 1/2' with Apple Cider Vinegar and 2 drops of dish washing liquid; mix well. You will find those flies drawn to the cup and gone forever!
Get Rid of Ants: Put small piles of cornmeal where you see ants. They eat it, take it 'home,' can't digest it so it kills them. It may take a week or so, especially if it rains, but it works and you don't have the worry about pets or small children being harmed!
INFO ABOUT CLOTHES DRYERS: (This story didn't really happen to me.) The heating unit went out on my dryer! The gentleman that fixes things around the house for us told us that he wanted to show us something and he went over to the dryer and pulled out the lint filter. It was clean. (I always clean the lint from the filter after every load clothes.) He told us that he wanted to show us something; he took the filter over to the sink and ran hot water over it. The lint filter is made of a mesh material ... I'm sure you know what your dryer's lint filter looks like. Well ...the hot water just sat on top of the mesh! It didn't go through it at all! He told us that dryer sheets cause a film over that mesh that's what burns out the heating unit. You can't SEE the film, but it's there. It's what is in the dryer sheets to make your clothes soft and static free ... that nice fragrance too. You know how they can feel waxy when you take them out of the box .... well this stuff builds up on your clothes and on your lint screen. This is also what causes dryer units to potentially burn your house down with it! He said the best way to keep your dryer working for a very long time (and to keep your electric bill lower) is to take that filter out and wash it with hot soapy water and an old toothbrush (or other brush) at least every six months.. He said that makes the life of the dryer at least twice as long! How about that!?! Learn something new everyday! I certainly didn't know dryer sheets would do that. So, I thought I'd share!
Note: I went to my dryer and tested my screen by running water on it. The water ran
through a little bit but mostly collected all the water in the mesh screen. I washed it with warm soapy water and a nylon brush and I had it done in 30 seconds. Then when I rinsed it ...the water ran right thru the screen! There wasn't any puddling at all! That repairman knew what he was talking about!
Peel a banana from the bottom and you won't have to
pick the little 'stringy things' off of it. That's how the primates do it.
Take your bananas apart when you get home from the store.
If you leave them connected at the stem, they ripen faster.
Store your opened chunks of cheese in aluminum foil.
It will stay fresh much longer and not mold!
Peppers with 3 bumps on the bottom are sweeter and better for eating.
Peppers with 4 bumps on the bottom are firmer and better for cooking.
Add a teaspoon of water when frying ground beef.
It will help pull the grease away from the meat while cooking.
To really make scrambled eggs or omelets rich add a couple of
spoonfuls of sour cream, cream cheese, or heavy cream in and then beat them up.
For a cool brownie treat, make brownies as directed. Melt Andes mints in double
broiler and pour over warm brownies. Let set for a wonderful minty frosting.
Add garlic immediately to a recipe if you want a light taste of garlic and at the end of the recipe if your want a stronger taste of garlic.
Leftover snickers bars from Halloween make a delicious dessert. Simply chop them up with the food chopper. Peel, core and slice a few apples. Place them in a baking dish and sprinkle the chopped candy bars over the apples. Bake at 350 for 15minutes!!! Serve alone or with vanilla ice cream. Yummm!
Heat up leftover pizza in a nonstick skillet on top of the stove, set heat to med-low and heat till warm. This keeps the crust crispy. No soggy micro pizza. I saw this on the cooking channel and it really works.
Easy Deviled Egg: Put cooked egg yolks in a zip lock bag. Seal, mash till they are all broken up. Add remainder of ingredients, reseal, keep mashing it up mixing thoroughly, cut the tip of the baggy, squeeze mixture into egg. Just throw bag away when done easy clean up.
Expanding Frosting: When you buy a container of cake frosting from the store, whip it with your mixer for a few minutes. You can double it in size. You get to frost more cake/cupcakes with the same amount. You also eat less sugar and calories per serving.
Reheating refrigerated bread: To warm biscuits, pancakes, or muffins that were refrigerated, place them in a microwave with a cup of water. The increased moisture will keep the food moist and help it reheat faster.
Newspaper weeds away: Start putting in your plants, work the nutrients in your soil. Wet newspapers, put layers around the plants overlapping as you go cover with mulch and forget about weeds. Weeds will get through some gardening plastic they will not get through wet newspapers.
No More Mosquitoes: Place a dryer sheet in your pocket. It will keep the mosquitoes away.
Squirrel Away! To keep squirrels from eating your plants, sprinkle your plants with cayenne pepper. The cayenne pepper doesn't hurt the plant and the squirrels won't come near it. (Wonder if this would work with cats that end up pooping in your flowerbeds?)
Flexible vacuum To get something out of a heat register or under the fridge add an empty paper towel roll or empty gift wrap roll to your vacuum. It can be bent or flattened to get in narrow openings.
Reducing Static Cling Pin a small safety pin to the seam of your slip and you will not have a clingy skirt or dress. Same thing works with slacks that cling when wearing panty hose. Place pin in seam of slacks and ... ta da! ... static is gone.(But how do you get static out of your hair? Anyone else have that problem?)
Measuring Cups: Before you pour sticky substances into a measuring cup, fill with hot water. Dump out the hot water, but don't dry cup. Next, add your ingredient, such as peanut butter, and watch how easily it comes right out.
Foggy Windshield? Hate foggy windshields? Buy a chalkboard eraser and keep it in the glove box of your car When the windows fog, rub with the eraser! Works better than a cloth!
Reopening envelope: If you seal an envelope and then realize you forgot to include something inside, just place your sealed envelope in the freezer for an hour or two. Viola! It unseals easily.
Conditioner: Use your hair conditioner to shave your legs. It's cheaper than shaving cream and leaves your legs really smooth. It's also a great way to use up the conditioner you bought but didn't like when you tried it in your hair. (I did know this trick and I have used it when I was out of shaving cream.)
Goodbye Fruit Flies: To get rid of pesky fruit flies, take a small glass,
fill it 1/2' with Apple Cider Vinegar and 2 drops of dish washing liquid; mix well. You will find those flies drawn to the cup and gone forever!
Get Rid of Ants: Put small piles of cornmeal where you see ants. They eat it, take it 'home,' can't digest it so it kills them. It may take a week or so, especially if it rains, but it works and you don't have the worry about pets or small children being harmed!
INFO ABOUT CLOTHES DRYERS: (This story didn't really happen to me.) The heating unit went out on my dryer! The gentleman that fixes things around the house for us told us that he wanted to show us something and he went over to the dryer and pulled out the lint filter. It was clean. (I always clean the lint from the filter after every load clothes.) He told us that he wanted to show us something; he took the filter over to the sink and ran hot water over it. The lint filter is made of a mesh material ... I'm sure you know what your dryer's lint filter looks like. Well ...the hot water just sat on top of the mesh! It didn't go through it at all! He told us that dryer sheets cause a film over that mesh that's what burns out the heating unit. You can't SEE the film, but it's there. It's what is in the dryer sheets to make your clothes soft and static free ... that nice fragrance too. You know how they can feel waxy when you take them out of the box .... well this stuff builds up on your clothes and on your lint screen. This is also what causes dryer units to potentially burn your house down with it! He said the best way to keep your dryer working for a very long time (and to keep your electric bill lower) is to take that filter out and wash it with hot soapy water and an old toothbrush (or other brush) at least every six months.. He said that makes the life of the dryer at least twice as long! How about that!?! Learn something new everyday! I certainly didn't know dryer sheets would do that. So, I thought I'd share!
Note: I went to my dryer and tested my screen by running water on it. The water ran
through a little bit but mostly collected all the water in the mesh screen. I washed it with warm soapy water and a nylon brush and I had it done in 30 seconds. Then when I rinsed it ...the water ran right thru the screen! There wasn't any puddling at all! That repairman knew what he was talking about!
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
All my Sons
Here's a video from a long, long time ago. This is a video of my son Jim in his skateboarding days and his friends. These boys hung around so much they became like sons to me. Enjoy the video.
The I Quit Video
The I Quit Video
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Good Eats Tonight!
OMG, OMG, OMG! I made the best meal ever tonight for dinner. Now I know that by the standards of all those wonderful cooks on the blogs I love to read; my dinner tonight would be like a frozen tv dinner, but for me...wow, it was exquisite!
The sad thing is I didn't take any pictures. It's really hard to take pictures because the only time I have time to cook is around 6pm and there isn't good light in my kitchen. But anyway, I made my normal baked chicken, that wasn't a big deal because I knew how good that was already, mmmmm. I just bake boneless, skinless breast of chicken that has been seasoned with Lawry's seasoning salt, onion powder and garlic powder on both sides, for one hour at 350 degrees. After baking I let it sit in their little foil house, oh yeah, I wrap them all in foil so they are covered and just bake them and let simmer in their own little juices! Once they cool off enough to handle I cut them and shred them up a bit into bite size pieces.
The great part was the potatoes I made. They're from a recipe from Rachael Ray that I watched while I was home recuperating. I actually wrote a post on it already on August 28th. A video is also posted. So you take baby red potatoes, cut them in half, drizzle them with EVOO, salt and pepper them and then lovely caress and massage them and bake them in an oven at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes. OMG, they are heavenly, I could eat a whole bag of them, but actually I got full after 3 of them.
I also tried the green beans roasted this way but found I didn't like them much. I may have to search for another recipe for the ones I have left. I want them to taste like the ones Panda Express serves. Those are crunchy and nutty tasting.
And I also tried making the apple sauce, but I didn't have McIntosh apples, I only had some Red Delicious and they were kind of old and soft so that's why I don't think they got mushy, but they were still really good. Had a nice bite to them and since I didn't have any brown sugar, I just used regular sugar and cinnamon and plain old apple juice, about a cup to the 3 apples I used. I just simmered them for as long as it took to bake the chicken and it was really good. I would love to put them on vanilla ice cream.
So now I'm a happy duckie and since my kitchen is all clean and my fav show HOUSE is over. I'm gonna go wash my face and brush my teethies and read a bit before bed.
The sad thing is I didn't take any pictures. It's really hard to take pictures because the only time I have time to cook is around 6pm and there isn't good light in my kitchen. But anyway, I made my normal baked chicken, that wasn't a big deal because I knew how good that was already, mmmmm. I just bake boneless, skinless breast of chicken that has been seasoned with Lawry's seasoning salt, onion powder and garlic powder on both sides, for one hour at 350 degrees. After baking I let it sit in their little foil house, oh yeah, I wrap them all in foil so they are covered and just bake them and let simmer in their own little juices! Once they cool off enough to handle I cut them and shred them up a bit into bite size pieces.
The great part was the potatoes I made. They're from a recipe from Rachael Ray that I watched while I was home recuperating. I actually wrote a post on it already on August 28th. A video is also posted. So you take baby red potatoes, cut them in half, drizzle them with EVOO, salt and pepper them and then lovely caress and massage them and bake them in an oven at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes. OMG, they are heavenly, I could eat a whole bag of them, but actually I got full after 3 of them.
I also tried the green beans roasted this way but found I didn't like them much. I may have to search for another recipe for the ones I have left. I want them to taste like the ones Panda Express serves. Those are crunchy and nutty tasting.
And I also tried making the apple sauce, but I didn't have McIntosh apples, I only had some Red Delicious and they were kind of old and soft so that's why I don't think they got mushy, but they were still really good. Had a nice bite to them and since I didn't have any brown sugar, I just used regular sugar and cinnamon and plain old apple juice, about a cup to the 3 apples I used. I just simmered them for as long as it took to bake the chicken and it was really good. I would love to put them on vanilla ice cream.
So now I'm a happy duckie and since my kitchen is all clean and my fav show HOUSE is over. I'm gonna go wash my face and brush my teethies and read a bit before bed.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Home Sweet Home
Well, today is a special day for two reasons, and my home is a home sweet home for two reasons. Reason number one for it being a special day is I went back to work today and I stuck it out the whole day although I could tell my butt was dragging by around 3:30pm, and that's what makes the number one reason for home sweet home. It was home sweet home to get home today and I sure missed my afternoon, recuperative nap on the couch *sigh*
Ok, reason number two for it being a special day is today is the day I moved into this house. My escrow closed last year on September 21st which was a Friday and I moved in the next day and spent my first night here that night...and now truly, this little house has become HOME, SWEET HOME!
This has been a very big deal for me. I really didn't know if I was going to be able to make the mortgage payments each month, but I did...and it wasn't all that tough. It was tough, but ...oh what the hell, it was tough, really tough and I guess that's what makes this day so special.
After I bought the house, each time I made a monthly payment I would joke with my loved ones about how I still had somewhere to live for at least another month. Now, with one year under my belt, I can look forward to having somewhere to live another year. From crawling to baby steps, not bad huh?
Ok, reason number two for it being a special day is today is the day I moved into this house. My escrow closed last year on September 21st which was a Friday and I moved in the next day and spent my first night here that night...and now truly, this little house has become HOME, SWEET HOME!
This has been a very big deal for me. I really didn't know if I was going to be able to make the mortgage payments each month, but I did...and it wasn't all that tough. It was tough, but ...oh what the hell, it was tough, really tough and I guess that's what makes this day so special.
After I bought the house, each time I made a monthly payment I would joke with my loved ones about how I still had somewhere to live for at least another month. Now, with one year under my belt, I can look forward to having somewhere to live another year. From crawling to baby steps, not bad huh?
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Old Mother Hubbard's Cupboards
"Old Mother Hubbard went to the cupboard to get her poor dog a bone; but when she came there, the cupboard was bare and so the poor dog had none. " - Mother Goose
Remember this little poem from our childhood? I wonder if kids today still know it?
Anyway the point of this post is not poetry, it's having a full cupboard. Just lookee the yummy dinner I was able to prepare for myself with a full cupboard. Mmmmmmmmm, fresh bread, fresh honey ham, crisp Roma tomatoe and lettuce and a lovely bowtie pasta salad (sans bell pepper cuz the only ones I like are the red ones and they were $1.98 a piece).
Remember this little poem from our childhood? I wonder if kids today still know it?
Anyway the point of this post is not poetry, it's having a full cupboard. Just lookee the yummy dinner I was able to prepare for myself with a full cupboard. Mmmmmmmmm, fresh bread, fresh honey ham, crisp Roma tomatoe and lettuce and a lovely bowtie pasta salad (sans bell pepper cuz the only ones I like are the red ones and they were $1.98 a piece).
My House in Order
I spent the day putting my house in order since this Monday I return to work again. Ever since the first surgery on August 21st I had not been to the grocery store or to Walmart to pickup household items. The cupboards were getting pretty skimpy, not to mention the fridge. It really tired me out though and I'm worried about going to work on Monday, but I'm taking my own car instead of commuting in with my sister in case I get too tired and have to come home...we shall see.
Friday, September 19, 2008
Cauliflower Soup
“Explaining something sensible to Lord Killanin is akin to explaining something to a cauliflower. The advantage of the cauliflower is that if all else fails, you can always cover it with melted cheese and eat it.” – William E. Simon
I have not a clue who Lord Killanin is, or why he’s so hard-headed. All I know is that I’m making Cauliflower soup and at least I know that you can always cover it with melted cheese. Anything is better with melted cheese, just like any day with BACON is a good day!
Since I’ve been home recuperating from my surgery I’ve been reading food blogs nonstop! I wish the things I read would stick, but they don’t. Thanks to the magic of bookmarking though, I’ve saved a whole folder of special recipes to try. I especially want to try soups even though I know it’s still 85 degrees outside right now. Let’s just pretend it’s cold and foggy and misty!
This recipe is from here. And it seems so super simple. Actually it looks upon further reading that the writer wants me to try making the soup with butter and with olive oil…oops! I only did butter. Sorry Becks & Posh, next time if it turns out well this time, I’ll try it with olive oil.
The cast of characters, 1 lb. of cauliflower florets, 2 tbsp. butter, 1 small onion chopped, 3 cups water, 2 tsp. salt, pepper as desired
I went pretty much just by the recipe as shown on their website:
In a heavy pan with a lid, I melted butter over a low heat. (Next time I will use much more butter, I think like 4 tbsp because I love it real buttery.) Then I added the onion and cooked gently, it did get a little brown on me but I think that gave the soup a richer, nutty sweet taste.
Then I added the cauliflower florets, the salt (next time more salt, maybe another tsp.) and I put in a whole cup of water because it seemed like too much cauliflower to me. I then covered and cooked it for 20 minutes, exactly.
After 20 minutes, I removed the lid and added 2 ½ cups water and simmered on low heat for 20 minutes, stirring gently every once in a while. I got so excited after the 20 minutes that I forgot to take pictures of it during this time and during the cooling process (just let it slightly cool). I also didn't take pictures during the blending process, but puree in the blender (next time, I will not puree as I like it chunky, it kinda had the consistency of Cream of Wheat).
But at least I took a picture of it before I ate it all. That's it in the little red bowl, sprinkled with pepper, next time I would cook the pepper with it for flavor as well. But all in all, it was pretty good. I would serve it in a bread bowl with shredded cheese and some paprika.
I have not a clue who Lord Killanin is, or why he’s so hard-headed. All I know is that I’m making Cauliflower soup and at least I know that you can always cover it with melted cheese. Anything is better with melted cheese, just like any day with BACON is a good day!
Since I’ve been home recuperating from my surgery I’ve been reading food blogs nonstop! I wish the things I read would stick, but they don’t. Thanks to the magic of bookmarking though, I’ve saved a whole folder of special recipes to try. I especially want to try soups even though I know it’s still 85 degrees outside right now. Let’s just pretend it’s cold and foggy and misty!
This recipe is from here. And it seems so super simple. Actually it looks upon further reading that the writer wants me to try making the soup with butter and with olive oil…oops! I only did butter. Sorry Becks & Posh, next time if it turns out well this time, I’ll try it with olive oil.
The cast of characters, 1 lb. of cauliflower florets, 2 tbsp. butter, 1 small onion chopped, 3 cups water, 2 tsp. salt, pepper as desired
I went pretty much just by the recipe as shown on their website:
In a heavy pan with a lid, I melted butter over a low heat. (Next time I will use much more butter, I think like 4 tbsp because I love it real buttery.) Then I added the onion and cooked gently, it did get a little brown on me but I think that gave the soup a richer, nutty sweet taste.
Then I added the cauliflower florets, the salt (next time more salt, maybe another tsp.) and I put in a whole cup of water because it seemed like too much cauliflower to me. I then covered and cooked it for 20 minutes, exactly.
After 20 minutes, I removed the lid and added 2 ½ cups water and simmered on low heat for 20 minutes, stirring gently every once in a while. I got so excited after the 20 minutes that I forgot to take pictures of it during this time and during the cooling process (just let it slightly cool). I also didn't take pictures during the blending process, but puree in the blender (next time, I will not puree as I like it chunky, it kinda had the consistency of Cream of Wheat).
But at least I took a picture of it before I ate it all. That's it in the little red bowl, sprinkled with pepper, next time I would cook the pepper with it for flavor as well. But all in all, it was pretty good. I would serve it in a bread bowl with shredded cheese and some paprika.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Store-bought Dresses of my Youth or (What a Selfish Child Was I?)
I was reading a super funny blog today that I’ve been reading for a couple of days now. See I’m anal and when I read one I like I have to go way back to the very first posting they wrote to find out why they started blogging and then continue on to the present in an attempt to get to know them better before I just start up reading in the very middle of their lives. I’m kind of just as anal about movies because I can’t just start watching one in the middle and I can’t miss any words, so if I can’t rewind them to hear every single word then I just won’t watch it.
Anyway, more about my OCD later, for right now I was reading this. The writer, Tammy writes, “When I was a little girl, I remember my mom going to great pains to make birthday cakes for my sister and me. By most reasonable standards, they were whimsical and delicious. Birthdays were one of the only times I was allowed to have sugar, so I should have been grateful. Instead, I was pissed. The cake didn’t look at all like the ones at the grocery store, or the ones at every other birthday party I attended. I felt cheated.”
It brought back memories of my childhood and the dresses that my mom would sew with so much love and detail for me and my sister. Sometimes she would sew the same exact dress for herself too and we would all go to church matching. It seems so sweet and loving and mommyish to me now. But back then I was pissed! I didn’t want home made dresses; I wanted the store-bought dresses my cousin Elpedia wore. I felt cheated!
Elpedia was blessed (I thought) with a mom who bought her beautiful, girlish, pink, chiffon and satin dresses with ribbons and lace, while I wore stupid cotton frocks that tied in the back and matched my little sister. I wanted “vestidos de la tienda”.
How selfish and childish were we when we were children, or was it just me that was selfish? I guess that’s why they called us children isn’t it? Now I see that my dresses were made by my mom’s loving hands, created in her head and heart by her love for us. No store bought dress could ever compete with that.
My daughter April was fortunate to have received many of these "labors of love" from my mom. I have pictures and pictures of her in dresses made by my mom, but what I don't have is a stinking scanner! I did take the first picture below by taking a picture with my camera of a picture hanging on my wall. April is the oldest grandchild (she's 27 now) and she's wearing a red velvet Christmas dress made for her by her Nana. April was probably about 2 in this picture.
The next picture is of the youngest and probably last grandchild my mom will ever have, Melissa. Melissa is also blessed to have received home-made, love-made dresses from Nana such as the Dora the Explorer sundress she's wearing that her daddy is trying to fluff up for the picture. My mom was not only talented but she's in the swing of things and knows who Dora the Explorer is, plus she thinks Melissa looks like Dora. Oh...and the chili pepper curtains you see to the right in Melissa's pictures were also made by my mom, because you just can't find chili pepper curtains and she's the Queen of the Chili Colorado!
And the girls in the family weren't the only ones to benefit from my mom's love and talent for sewing. In the next picture is my son Jim, her oldest grandson who is now 23. She sewed this Babe Ruth costume for him for a play at school where he had to be, what else? Babe Ruth. He still remembers this costume and I'm sure I have it tucked away somewhere in a box, as I do many other things, but that's a whole different OCD/packrat story for later.
Anyway, more about my OCD later, for right now I was reading this. The writer, Tammy writes, “When I was a little girl, I remember my mom going to great pains to make birthday cakes for my sister and me. By most reasonable standards, they were whimsical and delicious. Birthdays were one of the only times I was allowed to have sugar, so I should have been grateful. Instead, I was pissed. The cake didn’t look at all like the ones at the grocery store, or the ones at every other birthday party I attended. I felt cheated.”
It brought back memories of my childhood and the dresses that my mom would sew with so much love and detail for me and my sister. Sometimes she would sew the same exact dress for herself too and we would all go to church matching. It seems so sweet and loving and mommyish to me now. But back then I was pissed! I didn’t want home made dresses; I wanted the store-bought dresses my cousin Elpedia wore. I felt cheated!
Elpedia was blessed (I thought) with a mom who bought her beautiful, girlish, pink, chiffon and satin dresses with ribbons and lace, while I wore stupid cotton frocks that tied in the back and matched my little sister. I wanted “vestidos de la tienda”.
How selfish and childish were we when we were children, or was it just me that was selfish? I guess that’s why they called us children isn’t it? Now I see that my dresses were made by my mom’s loving hands, created in her head and heart by her love for us. No store bought dress could ever compete with that.
My daughter April was fortunate to have received many of these "labors of love" from my mom. I have pictures and pictures of her in dresses made by my mom, but what I don't have is a stinking scanner! I did take the first picture below by taking a picture with my camera of a picture hanging on my wall. April is the oldest grandchild (she's 27 now) and she's wearing a red velvet Christmas dress made for her by her Nana. April was probably about 2 in this picture.
The next picture is of the youngest and probably last grandchild my mom will ever have, Melissa. Melissa is also blessed to have received home-made, love-made dresses from Nana such as the Dora the Explorer sundress she's wearing that her daddy is trying to fluff up for the picture. My mom was not only talented but she's in the swing of things and knows who Dora the Explorer is, plus she thinks Melissa looks like Dora. Oh...and the chili pepper curtains you see to the right in Melissa's pictures were also made by my mom, because you just can't find chili pepper curtains and she's the Queen of the Chili Colorado!
And the girls in the family weren't the only ones to benefit from my mom's love and talent for sewing. In the next picture is my son Jim, her oldest grandson who is now 23. She sewed this Babe Ruth costume for him for a play at school where he had to be, what else? Babe Ruth. He still remembers this costume and I'm sure I have it tucked away somewhere in a box, as I do many other things, but that's a whole different OCD/packrat story for later.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)