Time Marches On

     I always tell girls that they will become their mother whether they like it or not. I usually say this with an evil laugh. I don't know why they wouldn't want to be like be, aside from a few flaws, I'm an okay person.
    But they seem to think it's a horrible thing. Of course, they all think I'm crazy for having so many kids and they tell me on a regular basis that they aren't having that many under any circumstances. The cowards. :)
     Seriously, I don't care how many they have as long as they have some. Grandkids are the best. If I had known how great it is to be a Monna I would have started there. I get to spoil them rotten and send them home, well, at least the ones who aren't living with me, but I spoil them anyway and send them to their parents.
     They are all growing up too fast, however, just like my kids did and are doing. I haven't figured out how to stop the progression of time. If anyone has any suggestions on that send them my way. In the mean time, I am trying to cherish every moment of my life.

What if it's all About Kindness?

     Here's a little food for thought for today. I have had several friends who are writers get a couple of bad reviews on their work lately. Now, I'm not talking about someone who goes on Amazon or Barnes and Noble or Goodreads and says I really don't like this authors work because of this or that. These reviews are just mean, hateful and demeaning.
     My question is, when did it become okay to do this to people? Is it because the internet has made us anonymous and we can be the rotten to others under a cloak of secrecy? I don't think so because of all the bullying that has reared it's ugly head. Bullying has been around since the beginning of time, but it seems to have taken on a new life.
    A week or so ago even MSN felt it necessary to post a video off of Facebook of a teenage boy who was trying to talk his girlfriend into taking him back. He was crying in the video and looking wimpy. The caption underneath the video made fun of him and said, "I bet the boys in the hood aren't going to let this one pass," or something like that. So now we have "news" outlets joining in the bullying. This really bothered me. I have to wonder how many fights is this kid going to get into when others make fun of him.
     Is this the new low we have sunk to as a people?
     What if when it is all said and done, when are lives are over and we look back on all the things we have accomplished in life, it's all about how we treated others? And I mean everyone. How did we treat people of other races, other religions, the disabled, the mean and hateful boss, people who didn't agree with our political views, the checker at Walmart? What if our kindness in this life is what it's all about. What if that is the big test and the reason for our being here? How would you do? How are we doing as a society?
      

Tilapia and the Mother Hen

     Here's the skinny on the Tilapia, I ate it. It wasn't bad, but not as good as chicken. I will make it again and try it different ways. The only draw back is that we were hungry again later on. I could hear the fam making their way into the kitchen and finding things to nibble. I topped off with Captain Crunch before bedtime.
     On a different topic, it looks as if my daughter and her hubby and baby will be moving out soon. They are in escrow with their house and it is supposed to close on or before the 12th of April. It's going to feel very strange not hearing my little Liam in the morning. He's a yeller especially when you don't feed him fast enough. It's the Stefan in him. It's in the DNA, it screams, "feed me, feed me, now!" 
      The house they are buying is only a few miles away, but it won't be the same. I am grateful for this time in my life when most of my children either live with me or are very close. I know it won't be this way forever and that makes me sad. Even though most of my kids are adults now, I still want to cover them with my mother hen wings and protect them from the storms of life. If only it was that simple.

I'll Prove I'm Not Picky

     My kids accuse me of being a picky eater just because I don't like fish, or sushi, or Chinese food, unless it's orange chicken and then only at certain places. I will eat fish and chips from two places, mostly because the breading and the frying have pretty much eliminated most of the fish taste and the tartar sauce takes care of the rest. I don't like peas and I won't eat anything with peas in it, at all.
     I don't like corn in my food either, corn on the cob, or as a side dish is fine, but no salsa made of corn or soup with corn in it. I don't like red delicious apples. I don't like any kind of organ meat, liver, heart, or tongue. My son loves lengua tacos. Do you know what cows do with there tongues? They stick them up their own noses. I just can't get past that, especially when the taste buds are still on them. Gross!
     I only mention this because tonight I am trying Tilapia. My son has convinced me that it is the least fishy fish there is, so in the interest on not being labeled picky, I'm going to give it a try. 
     I have a couple of recipes on Pinterest that I pinned and I'm going to try one of them. Wish me luck and if you see me at McDonald's at 7:00 you'll know it didn't work out.

Chili Verde

     I having been cooking for my family since I was thirteen and my mom went back to work. I would start dinner and she would finish it. Then I got married and I have been cooking ever since. And I have to admit that after almost 33 years of marriage I am pretty sick of my own cooking, so when I find a new recipe that ever one likes I get excited about.
     I found this Chili Verde recipe on Pinterest and the fam loved it, so here it is. I like it because it's not chicken, it's pork, which means I don't have to hear, "Chicken again!" I have been trying to expand our meat horizons.

2 lbs. pork diced (I used boneless pork ribs)
1 cup onion, chopped
14 oz chicken broth
1 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
2 1/2 Tbsp chicken stock (I omitted this)
1 teaspoon celery salt
1 Tbsp cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1 Tbsp cumin
1/2 Tbsp jalapeno (I omitted this)
4 Tbsp chopped cilantro
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1 Tbsp green Tabasco sauce
10 oz green enchilada sauce (I used the big 27oz can to make it go further)
27 oz  can green chilies diced. (I couldn't find the big can so I used several small)
8 oz canned green chilies, pureed
1-2 cans white beans, drained and rinsed(optional) I did it.
1/2 teaspoon salt

Brown pork and drain. Add onion and chicken broth (will not cover meat) Simmer 1 hour stirring often. Combine garlic powder, chicken stock, celery salt, cornstarch, oregano, cumin, jalapeno, cilantro, chili powder, and green Tabasco sauce. Simmer 1 hour stirring often to avoid sticking.
Add green enchilada sauce and stir. Stimmer 1/2 hour. Add chopped green chilies and cook for 15 minutes. Add pureed green chilies, white beans and salt to taste.
Serve with cheese, sour cream, chips and/or flour tortillas.

I had to double this but the fam ate every bit of it and raved about it.

If you are on Pinterest you can search for it with the pic under Chili Verde and it is a copyrighted recipe from Favorite Family Recipes 2012. This had tons of flavor and was not spicy even with the chili power and Tabasco. I didn't double those, however. Or you can check it out on my Yumm Pinterest page.
Give it a try if you are looking for some new kind of yummyness.

Things That Bug Me

        I have been really irritated lately by all the fees we have to pay that we never agreed to. There's a fee on our cell phone bill every month that I have to pay because poor people need cell phones or so Congress decided a while ago. I can barely afford my own cell phone bill. Why should I have to pay for a cell phone for other people? Especially when they abuse the privilege and the whole program has a massive amount of fraud.
     I have no problem helping people with a job loss or health issues buy food with food stamps but when they and their family have been on food stamps their whole life I think there's a problem. It takes a lot of money to feed our family every month, but we do it.
     And now we have Obama care. I remember when a Congressman called Obama a liar for saying that people who are in this country illegally were not going to be covered, but guess what, they are, so now we, as tax payers, are going to have to foot an even higher bill to pay for them.
     Where does this end. Almost everyone I know is barely managing to get buy. How much more can we take?

Daylight Savings Time Sucks!

     It has been a week and I still have not adjusted to Daylight Savings Time. I hate it.
     What cruel, sadistic person thought up moving our clocks forward and getting up in the dark of night? Like life isn't hard enough?
     I remember when it didn't happen until April sometime and now they've moved it up to the second week in March? What is up with that? Why? Is this really about saving energy or is it about the government punishing us and showing us how miserable they can make us just because they want to? I suspect it's the latter. If fact, I suspect there is a group of old men who sit around a big table laughing about making us poor schmucks get up even earlier and drag our behinds to work and school. And I further suspect that after they finish laughing they go and take long naps.
     I say that next year when they want to turn the clocks back, we revolt! We all keep right on sleeping until we are darn good and ready to get up and face the day. Who's with me?!

And the Race is On

     My life seems to be a daily challenge to be prepared for what comes next. I try to be organized and plan ahead, but I, more often than not, fail miserably.
     Yesterday the hubby decided he would like bar-b-qued hamburgers for dinner with potato salad and a special jello I make. Fine, I said, "If you will peel the ten pounds of potatoes I'll do the rest."
     Of course we didn't have the special Costco patties he loves, so first we went to the Bank and then off to Costco. While we were in Ogden we stopped by the Honda dealer to pick up a part he had ordered. Then I dropped him off because it's March and if you know us you know what that means. March Maddness!
     I ran to Del Taco to grab some lunch. And the girl gave me all mild sauce, not the medium sauce I asked for. (See yesterday's blog) Good thing I caught it before I left.
    I downed a burrito real quick then headed off to Walmart for the rest of the stuff I needed for dinner, but while I was making my list we decided that we were going to have Beef Stroganoff tonight, so I had to go back to Smith's because they have the best meat for my kind of Beef Stoganoff.  In, out and on the way to Walmart.
     An hour and a half later I have what I need for the rest of the weekend.
     I get home and unload and put it all away as the hubby starts peeling potatoes. That was when I realized that the Jello wasn't going to happen. It was too late. The hubs was irritated, but decided since I hadn't sat down once all day, he would keep it to himself for his own health and safety. Smart man.
     The potatoes were done boiling along with the eggs so I was started to get everything else ready.  Then we headed to another store to get the pickles for the potato salad. You have to have the right pickles or it's just not right. I used to have ten jars in the basement but they were used and not replaced.
     We ate at about seven last night. Finally. The point is. If I could get back to the place where my menus were done for the month I would have had most of this stuff and the Indy 500 could have been avoided, but life isn't that easy. When you have the time you don't have the money and when you have the money you don't have the time, so the race goes on, but life was a lot easier when the pantry was well stocked.
    Gotta run the flag is about to drop for today's race. Ready, set and Go!!!

Why Can't You Just Listen?!

     Have you noticed that listening is becoming a lost art. We went to lunch yesterday for my daughter's birthday. The waiter was great, but I had asked for extra olives and peppercinis for our salad and a few minutes later he brought us a plate of olives and onions. I found this ironic after I had just filled a bread plate with discarded onions I picked out of the bowl.
     You ask for ranch with your chicken Mcnuggets and you get bar-b-que sauce. Or you start to explain something or ask a question and you get interrupted by the person as if they don't have time to hear your whole explanation.
     I called my son into my bedroom the other night, he pokes his head in the door and before I could say anything he says, "I'm going to take a shower right now." As if I nag him about that, HA!
      "That's nice, but I wanted to tell you you left your backpack in the bathroom and tomorrow morning you're going to be freaking out when you can't find it."
     "Oh."
     I won't even go into the husbands not listening thing because that's a whole other level of not listening, with different motivations.
     So what is it with the not listening? Are people so busy that they don't have time? Or are we so programmed by TV that if you can't resolve something in less than a few minutes they are unable to focus.
     I'm not sure but it's driving me nuts. I sometimes want to scream, "If you would just listen to me until I am done speaking!?"
     Maybe that's too much to ask these days when everyone is so busy telling you their opinion that they can't be bothered to listen to yours.

Happy Birthday, Kristin

     A few years ago, I had a baby. It was really more than a few years ago because she's now going to have her fourth baby. She was my first baby girl. I had a son and then a daughter. The perfect American family.     
     My mother suggested that I my family was complete....lol. If you know me, you know that didn't happen.
     My little girl became one of the most strong willed people I know. She drove me crazy sometimes. We were constantly bumping heads. She thought she should be in charge, but I was against it since she was only three.
     When she was seven she told her grandma that she could do anything I could do but drive a car. She conquered that as soon as she turned sixteen.
     It's funny now how two women who fought and fussed for so many years could become so much alike.
     I always tell my girls that it's inevitable, you become your mother. I usually say this with an evil laugh. :)
     I'm proud to say that she in not only my daughter, she's my friend. Happy Birthday, Kristin. 

No Soda For You!!!

     Does anyone else find it incredulous that New York's Mayor Bloomberg has nothing better to do than to out law large sodas for the people in New York?
     I mean really? Is the city running that smoothly? Do the people that need jobs all have them? Is their financial state in that great of shape? Is crime that low that all he has to worry about is making sure the puffy people of New York don't get more than a sixteen ounce soda with their burger and fries?
     Talk about a Nanny State, where are all the people screaming in the street that Bloomberg needs to stay out of their plastic cups? Are New Yorker's really okay with this? I can't imagine that someone on his staff didn't have the nerve to say, "Hey, Mayor, we really should focus on issues that matter."
     This really, really scares me, not because I enjoy a coke once in a while, but because it goes against what this country stands for, FREEDOM!
     Freedom of speech, freedom of religion, the pursuit of happiness and all that. When the government starts taking it upon them selves to regulate how much soda you can drink, there is something VERY wrong going on in our society.
     Our rights are being slowly taken away and no one seems to be noticing. Scary, very scary.

We Need To Talk! NOOOOOOO!

      Have you ever been really mad at your spouse or significant other and said those dreaded words, "We need to talk?" Did you see the deer-in-the-headlight look come over their face as the reality set in that something was very wrong.
     I have learned that wives are not the only ones who employ this technique. Adult children and teenagers do it too. And it's usually bad.
     We have had many of these sit-down type of conversations lately, with more than one of our children, and they have involved much tribulations, tears, and stress as we figure out our next move. Of course, you expect this as a parent, but ideally they would spread out the drama over a longer period of time. A MUCH longer period of time.
     I think it's time for a family meeting, no more crises until further notice and this means you. Dad and I need a break from the stress.
     What do you think the odds are that we could make this happen with ten kids, and spouses and grandbabies? Yeah, that's what I thought too.
      So if anyone needs me, I won't be in bed hiding under the covers.

    

Today's a Big Day!

     Today is a big day. Karrah and Taylor are getting married. That will make four out of five of my daughters married.
     We are growing by leaps and bounds and I couldn't be happier. I know that sooner of later someone will have to move away for a job or some other reason so for now I am going to bask in the knowledge that we have all of our kids within a ten mile radius. That is a rare and precious thing.
     

Coming and Going

     Usually on Wednesdays I pick up  the hubs at the airport, but this week he is staying an extra day in Cali. It feels weird. It's funny how one change in your regular routine can totally throw you out of whack.
     It's like when one of your kids is gone for a few days, the whole dynamics of the household change. And we are looking at big changes in the very near future around here. My daughter Karrah is getting married on Friday and she and her new husband will be staying with us for a few months. Katie and her husband will be moving out into their new house and Monica and Sofia will be coming home from Argentina where they have been visiting her family for the last couple of months.
     As you can see the dynamics of our household have been way out of whack for a while. And I am a person who likes routine. I want to get back to a regular routine. I want everyone to be where they are supposed to be. I'm funny that way. I'm like a mother hen and I want all my chicks under the sheltering umbrella of my wings. Does this make me a control freak?

It's Feeling a Little Bit Like Springtime!

     Here in the beautiful state of Utah, it's beginning to feel a little bit like springtime. The snow is melting and the temperatures are getting warmer. I have yet to see any sign of my tulips, but I'm sure it won't be long.
     I love springtime. I love seeing the trees getting their new leaves and the grass turning green, all the flowers that come alive. The kids can play outside again, a definite plus. The skies are blue and it just feels good.
     What I don't like about springtime is it leads into summer. Have I mentioned we don't like the heat? I'm sure that somewhere deep in our DNA there is an anti-heat loving gene. I can feel it already the days are getting longer and the temperature is rising. Before we know it the sun will be beating down on me as I hurry into Walmart and it will make me break out into a sweat. I don't like that. There's only one thing I do that is supposed to make me sweat and it doesn't involve going outside.(treadmill, just in case you were thinking something else)
     Springtime also means the start of the yard work season for the hubs. He loves that, NOT.
    I will enjoy the spring and revel in its beauty, but when the heat turns on I will be hibernating inside my temperature controlled house like a sleeping bear only to stick a toe outside come autumn to test for cooler air. I'll see you then. :)

Why Can't Stuff Last Anymore?

     I have a major grip this morning. My washing machine broke down yesterday. I know that these things happen, it's just a part of life, but I have come to suspect that the appliance manufacturers are purposely trying to make their products NOT last.
     I remember as a kid, my mom and dad's stuff lasting forever. If you bought a new appliance it was a big deal. You would replace your refrigerator after 20 years. The same with the washer and dryer.
     My washing machine is not even six years old yet and yesterday it decided to stop pumping the water out. Our refrigerator's ice machine is on its last leg and we can no longer use the water dispenser through the door. It also isn't six years old yet. I have had to have the repairman out for the dishwasher when it was only three years old. My mother-in-laws dishwasher died after three.
      Is this what we have come to? We ship out all our manufacturing jobs to China and Mexico and now we can't get a decent product that stands the test of time?
      When my in-laws moved from California, they still had a refrigerator in their garage the had to be forty years old. I'm sure it sucked down the electricity, but it still worked.
      I don't want to pay twice for something that should last at least ten years. First in the purchase and then in the repairs. WHAT IS UP WITH THAT? It makes me crazy.