Update from yesterday

I want to thank those of you who were there for me yesterday so much for your support. This was a big blow. I remember calling her from the emergency room years ago, when I thought my ex might have broken my shoulder, telling her he hurt me. She came in like the calvary to help, so she said. However, the next day when I ran to get tylenol or something for my son, who was barely a year old at the time, when I got home, he was sitting on the couch with a diaper that had run through his sleeper. She said she didn’t notice. I remember thinking then…how…?

Anyway, I called and talked to my sister last night. She said that the email she had gotten from NM was titled something like, to make me feel better. The content simply stated, I take payments, again referring to the $259 that she supposedly owes her. I suggested she start sending the woman a penny a month, as a joke. At least it got a good laugh.

This morning I logged back into myspace and reported her for the pictures of me and my children posted without my permission. They are posted where anyone can view them. Not even the pictures on my profile, especially of the kids, are open for public view. I’m not trying to get revenge, I’m just trying to make it clear that I want nothing to do with her at all, and despite her sense of entitlement, she doesn’t have and right to show off my children as part of her.

Also, I would like to mention my recent viewers that ended up here by looking for the Next Food Network Star, and ending up viewing the adorable picture of my son taken close to two years ago.  I hope you drop back by occasionally, since I am a fan of the show, and finally watched the finale last night, a day late.  I’m happy with the results, though I really thing the other guy would have made a more interesting show in the end.

Random snippets

Good morning all.  I sit here, jaw sore from a root canal yesterday afternoon, contemplating taking a painkiller at work.  My boss knows; I think he thinks it would be funny to get me loopy at work, but I’m not at that point at the moment.  I have to go back in two weeks for them to set the crown, and in the meantime, find an endodontist that accepts our dental insurance to fix a previous root canal directly under the tooth that was worked on yesterday.  Not fun.  I can blame this on years of sleeping with my mouth open (due to my tonsils probably), maybe on the tongue ring that I haven’t put back in a while, my obsessive ice chomping, or probably a combination of all three. 

Amy is finishing up her last two half-days of the 7th grade, and then its onto a summer of laziness.  It will be interesting how active her social life has been, since we’ve moved.  She and her brother are going to Houston to visit their cousins next week, but other than that, I’m sure she will probably fit in a lot of group activities during my work day with her friends.  Brody’s preschool sent home their blankies and pillows to transition them into a real kindergarten day this summer.  I have to bring the book he made in class to scan it – it’s adorable.  It’s an “About Me,” book, with some cute pictures.

On the food front, I made more spring rolls last night using the method from Tableau Vivante.  They recommend instead of soaking the spring roll wrappers in warm water, instead, layer them between damp paper towels for about ten minutes prior to use.  I found this worked very well in keeping the wrappers intact – out of eight I made last night, only one bust through, and I think that was due to the sharpish shredded carrots. 

On the NM front, my mother called my Amy this weekend and left a message, since Amy isn’t answering her calls.  It was essentially, I’m still here, I love you, I should have called you sooner (?), kiss your brother for me.  I’m considering changing her phone number, since I pay the bill, and am still the mother.  While the message may seem innocuous to many people, with our history of threats and manipulation, I would like to restrict her contact with my children as going through me only.  That’s fair, no? 

I also made a decision recently.  I have been a part of a support board since I found out I was pregnant with my son in February, 2002.  The members have dwindled down, but it’s still a very active board.  However, one of the admins is now using this board as her narcissistic supply, in addition to a few other places online.  She has created a drama that seems so outrageous that I was finding myself angry each time I visited, angry that someone would think I/we would be so gullible, and angry for those believing her and offering her support and help.  I was taking it very personally, so I made the decision to break off my membership for good.  This board was a healthy source of support and entertainment for me off and on over the past six years, and now I’ve let go of that crutch as it was hurting me more than helping me.  I miss the routine, but I am kinda proud of myself for dropping that crutch.

Anyway, hope you all had a great weekend. 

You say potato, I say craving

I just had french fries for the first time in close to two months.  As PMS starts to rule my world, and I start to bloat anyway, the cravings come.  Most of the time my potato cravings can be conquered by a baked potato, but today, that just would not do.  So the before-lunch debate began: who’s french fry would reign supreme in my day?

First of all, let me say that Burger King is out.  The only thing I can stomach there are the prepackaged pies and egg & cheese (no meat) croissanwichs.  I used to drive through there on the way to work in the morning to get a large sweet tea, but since I moved I don’t even do that.  And I made the mistake of trying that disgusting steak house burger a bit back.  That kind of sealed BK’s fate for me for a long time.  And Sonic, as much as I absolutely adore your drinks, and dig on the coneys when I’m in a sado-masochistic mood, your fries rank up there with BK’s on the scale of toleration.  And I’m not a tot person, not that a tater tot would do today anyway. 

My options were narrowed to the classic McD’s, the lesser-known-to-those-outside-the-south Whataburger, Wendy’s, and Jucy Burger’s.  For those of you unfamiliar, Jucy Burger is a local place that I have ridiculed for the ridiculous spelling of the name.  They’re an East Texas place, with one location as far west as Mesquite.  The burgers are good, but it’s the fries that rock.  Fresh cut, deep fried, dirty brown, greasy, non-crispy, and freaking incredible when you’re craving carbs & grease. 

Which brought up another debate – fry format.  Skinny, or chubby?  When the boss used to head to Jucy’s he would bring me back the chubby greasy delights.  Before trying to eat healthier, I would go out of my way for a Baconator & fries from Wendy’s, because the wide ones rule.  But today, it seemed, I was narrow-minded (get it?).

McD’s or Whataburger…If I were to choose McD’s, I could get some deep fried McNuggets to accompany my craving, and a sweet tea.  The sweet tea was the deciding factor, but not to send me to McD.  You see, there’s one particular Whataburger here in town, attached to a large convenience store, that has a slightly longer, larger, harder version of Sonic’s rabbit pellet ice.  So I drove through Whataburger, waited forever for my booty, and almost finished my fries by the time I got back to the office.  I even ended up tossing half a Whataburger because I was so ridiculously full, and the burger wasn’t my focus anyway. 

So to the french fry gods, I thank you.  You have been very good to me today.

 

Cher wants a food post

My wonderful friend Cher over at Cake for Breakfast said I needed a foodie post, since I told her I hadn’t had one in a while.  So I share with you my current obsession, making my own spring rolls!  There are recipes out there, but with a few simple ingredients, you can be like me, making sloppy fresh spring rolls. 

What you’ll need:  rice paper wrappers found in most Asian food markets, tiny rice noodles or bean thread noodles (I use bean thread, convincing myself there’s extra protein in there), something green and herbal such as cilantro (yum!), something proteiny such as shrimp, K-rab, tofu, or cooked chicken, and something yummy to dip it in.  In my current supply list is also shredded lettuce and carrots.

First, soak the noodles in hot water to soften them.  It takes a few tries to figure out how long, but you don’t want crunchy noodles here.  Then, you’ll have to soak your wrapper in hot water to soften it up to roll.  Once that’s softened, add your yummies in the middle of the wrapper, and carefully contain.  This is a skill I have yet to master, but it doesn’t keep me from trying.  Even though a busted wrapper spring roll is messy, it still tastes yummy.  Serve with a great dipping sauce – my current fave is a spicy hoisin.

Now, I could eat my weight in these, and they’re super cool as it’s getting hot out here in East Texas.  My kids are not so crazy about them sadly, or maybe fortunately for me.  I’ve found you can store the leftovers in a zippy with a damp towel to keep the wrappers from hardening too much, and yes, I’m not above eating them again the next morning for breakfast.  The bad part is that I usually remember I have them in the fridge waiting for me after I’ve brushed me teeth, so I have to do a cilantro tooth check before I get to work.

Happy Memorial Day, my friends!

Brown Sugar Oatmeal Pancakes

Makes ~ 10 med sized pancakes

1 1/4 c quick cook oats
1 c ww flour
1 c all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2/3 c brown sugar packed
2 eggs
1/4 c oil
2 c coconut milk

Combine dry ingredients in one bowl. Beat egg, oil, and milk in another. Stir into dry ingredients until moistened.

These are thick, so it takes a while to cook. But I got more rave reviews this evening when I made them for dinner. The coconut milk was a substitution, since I still had extra on hand, and worked really well.

Pumpkin Coconut Loaf

(Adapted from a recipe on allrecipes.com)

1 c all purpose flour
3/4 c ww flour
1/3 c white sugar
1 c brown sugar (packed)
1 c pumpkin puree
1/2 c oil
1/3 c coconut milk
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
1 c flaked coconut

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour loaf pan.

Combine all ingredients but coconut, and mix until flour in incorporated. Fold in coconut.

Bake 1 hr 5 mins, or until toothpick comes out clean. Remove from oven, and cover with foil immediately, letting loaf steam for 10 mins. Remove foil and turn out onto wire rack. Loosely cover with foil and allow to cool.

This has got the be one of the moistest loaves I’ve ever made. Everyone at the house gave it big thumbs up.