Things on Tuesday

Totally Terrible Things on Tuesday:

• The interview I had last Monday?  Yeah, I didn't get the job.
• It really sucks being told: "I chose someone else for the job."
• I am feeling a little overwhelmed by life right about now.  The list of things to do around the house and bills to pay just seem to keep getting longer and longer.
• I am really torn over whether I should be job hunting or taking care of some of the 'things to do'
• As summer keeps going on, more and more of my landscaping plants are drying up and dying.
• I am so far behind on reading and critiquing David's book.  He's quit sending me chapters and I don't blame him one little bit.
• Didn't get to go to the first football game of the season as it was over 2 hours away.
• That rash is back and this time it's spread a little more.  ugh.  I have no idea what set it off this time.
• I am having trouble fixing well rounded meals for Chris.  There are only so many vegetables that he will eat and unless everything else that I fix for supper is loaded with protein he can't have corn or potatoes.  (His favorites and they are high in carbs.  ugh!!
• Oh, the ear thing---yeah, I haven't gone to see the doctor, yet, but I'm thinking that it won't be very long and I'll have to go.  The ringing in my ears is reaching new levels of 'loud' and it makes following conversations extremely difficult. 
  
• Need to see the optometrist as well.  The need for bi-focals is also increasing on a daily basis.
• At 46 I'm already old and falling apart. LOL!  It's hard to believe that at one time in my life I wanted to live to be 112---if that still held true than I wouldn't even be close to halfway there...I'm glad I have given up on living to be so old.
  
• Really I'm ready for Monday, September 13...all should get back to 'normal' by then.  (I hope)
  

Totally Terrific Things on Tuesday:

• The weather yesterday and today was/ is near perfect.  Cloudy with temps in the 80's.  My perfect weather day is very windy with temps in the low 70's.
  
• Since the weather is so nice out, I should be out in it pulling up dead bushes and weeding the landscaping.
• The football game this Friday is the first home game.  I'm so excited to sit in the stands and see my boy out there on the field.
• I think Chris has lost weight since he has started watching what goes into his mouth.
• I reserve the right to come back and post more "terrific things"
  

Comments

[jaklumen]

I'm sorry to hear you didn't get the job.  That is a bummer.

I am having trouble fixing well rounded meals for Chris.  There are
only so many vegetables that he will eat and unless everything else
that I fix for supper is loaded with protein he can't have corn or
potatoes.  (His favorites and they are high in carbs.  ugh!!

I'm sure we (not just me-- lots of cool people at VOX) may be able to offer you some ideas.  So is he a rather typical "meat and potatoes" kind of guy, then?  Which vegetables does he like, besides corn?  There may be a way to incorporate vegetables, but you'll have to be sneaky about it, I'm sure.  I'd also recommend sources of protein that are not meat (nuts, quinoa grain, etc.) as meat is so corn-fed in our country.

I think Chris has lost weight since he has started watching what goes into his mouth.

He probably has.  I know I lost a lot when I was willing to keep a log of what foods I ate.

I reserve the right to come back and post more "terrific things"

And I do welcome it... please do!

[I-Luv-Eeyore]

Definitely meat and potatoes.  As far as which veggies he likes---carrots,celery, iceberg lettuce, green bell peppers, some tomato and green beans if they are in a green bean casserole.

He is pretty picky about his meat, too.
No roasts---none. (including corned beef and pork loin)  He claims it is a texture thing.
No chicken with bone (unless it is thighs and/or legs baked with Shake 'n Bake)
He will only eat pork one a rare occasion---especially if is pork chops with bone)
He claims he doesn't like ham, but he'll down a ham and turkey sandwich in a heartbeat.  Same with turkey.

I welcome any ideas and/or suggestions. 

[jaklumen]

That's a tough list of vegetables to work with, but most of them can be used in soups.  I know it's still hot outside, but weather for soup eating should be coming soon.

Most of my soups I make with a tomato or V-8 juice base.  Use a 1:1 ratio of juice to water-- in other words, use a 48 oz. can of juice, empty it into your pot, fill the empty can with water, add it to the pot, and there's your soup broth/stock.  Carrots, celery, and bell peppers (I call them chiles because that's what they are, although mild) do very well in soup.  Try the red, orange, and yellow varities-- they are slightly sweeter than green.  And like most any chile picked green, you can allow green bell peppers to ripen to a dark red color, if you grow them yourself, for a slightly sweeter flavor.

Many cooks like to make soup stock with bones, but that's just to give it the flavor of the marrow inside them.  Use cooked cubed chicken breast or some sort of cooked ground meat (turkey, chicken, or beef) for protein once you've added vegetables to your stock.  If I make pozole, which is pork and hominy soup, I follow the culinary practice of saving veggies on the side to be added as condiments.  The pork cut is usually picnic or shoulder; I slow cook it before adding it to the soup and pick out any bone beforehand.  (It is actually harder for me to find a pork cut that DOES have a bone these days).

Another thing I do is to add vegetables and grains to ground meat for whatever dish (burgers, meatloaf, meatballs, etc.).  Danish-style meatloaf includes shredded carrot.  You can also use soup mix (with dehydrated veggie ingredients) to round out ground meat, which is a little more convenient.  You may also consider getting veggie patties (Boca, Gardenburger, etc.) and serve them "double patty" on a bun with one beef patty, one veggie patty when you have hamburgers.

Carrots, celery, and small bell peppers make good vegetable trays.  Cut them up beforehand and serve on a plate or a tray if you have one.  My grocery store carries small bell peppers of various colors bagged, and they are very convenient in that smaller size.

We talked about veggies, but extra fruits can help, too.  Yogurt smoothies in the morning can be a real help, especially if everyone's in a rush.  I usually take yogurt, frozen berries, and flaxseed meal for mine.  Oster/Osterizer blenders have a drink container attachment/blade combination that works great for this.

Blah blah blah... wow, this is long.  Feel free to PM me.  I'm sure I can come up with more ideas.

[Katiebell]

you know you can blend cauliflower into mashed potatos and it really goes unnoticed.  veggies are hard for some people.  celery is a great one though as a snack...as well as carrots and the bell peppers.You could probably get him to eat a few other veggies if they are mixed up with corn as an ingredient...maybe..?  you'll know.It sounds as if he is doing pretty well with the new diet.  Changes like that are difficult to make.

I'm a big spinach fan, not sure why....  

[Freedom Smith]

I hope things look up soon.  What happens on September 13th to make things go back to normal?

[I-Luv-Eeyore]

What happens on September 13th

September 7th is the day we found out Samuel was a boy.  (When the doctor said 'boy' I started crying because I wanted a baby girl so badly---now I know if Samuel had been a girl then I would have grieved so much harder and so much longer that I wouldn't be the person I am today.)
September 8th is when I started bleeding and cramping
September 9th is when I was put in the hospital
September 10th is when Samuel was born and died
September 11th is the day I was released from the hospital

September 13th was just the day that all of the '11 years ago_____' were going to come to an end.  Unfortunately I realized today that the days of the week and the dates are the same as 11 years ago.  So, come Tuesday September 14th it will be 11 years ago that we said goodbye at the cemetery.    So...September 15th will be the 'it's all over until next year' date.

[Carol]

Metabolic/diet issues are so tough to work with. My husband's family has many members who have diabetes. They have told me how difficult it is to cook balanced meals. Most of them just buy diabetic cookbook after cookbook, hoping to find meals that their whole family will eat. 

Unemployment is absolutely the pits. I really don't know how people manage. My son has been looking for a replacement job for the PT one he has, which he hates (co-workers treat him like crap and corporate does nothing) but there is just nothing out there. He wants to move out and live his own life apart from us--which he should do--but he can't do that. The economy just doesn't help young people who are just starting out much less people who've lost their jobs and are now hanging by a thread, trying to save their homes, etc. I never thought I'd see things this bad in my life and I know you didn't either. I really envision my son living with us when he's 30, which is only five years away.

My heart goes out to you and everyone who struggles to find a job. I'm not a political person, but I never thought I'd see the government allow the banks to get away with so much, allow them to do the damage to this country that they've done, as well as all of the jobs that left the U.S. when Bush was President. It's just shameful. And the worst of it is, companies and banks have no compassion for workers at all. All of that loyalty is gone and I don't think we'll ever get it back.























































































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[Freedom Smith]

Thank you for explaining something so very painful for you.  I am sorry and I cannot imagine the depth of your grieving and sorrow.  I am thinking about you and will be over the next very difficult weeks for you.  ((hugs))