Gristle and hot knives

This blog is about gristle and hot knives. It's probably mindless drivel to you, but I really don't care. I started to blog because it was a way for me to write about things and in doing so, release them from my conscience so better things could enter and take root. This is one of those blogs.

Today is at least the third day since being posted on 12/22 that I have been enticed to click onto MSN's music hot gossip section by Kat Giantis after checking my Hotmail account. It's exactly the same article and it doesn't change but I am intrigued and I can't entirely explain why. On the surface, it's about peoples lives and who they choose to be with and who makes them happy and not making music for the masses. Maybe that's what is irritating about it more than anything. It could be considered gossip if it weren't true and nobody knew, but there is it... spread all over the Internet for everyone to see.

Maybe it's the English in me and of it all or the seemingly proper way people behave improperly to get what they want out of the ones they adore, I don't know. Or maybe it's the fact that it's easier to make a succession of bad decisions because we all know humans are creatures of habit than to struggle with a choice and be able to make one good one for someone other than yourself. I think you would have to be a devoted parent with children to understand the depths of that statement.

So back to the story. It was rumored on one of those greasy entertainment television gossip shows in the U.S. that Guy Ritchie said making love to Madonna was like being with a piece of gristle. The statement itself must have been shocking enough for the producers of the show, as well as myself, to form it into this viral sound byte that has also been sticking in my head for days. I'm not a great big Madonna fan, but I do admire the woman's work ethic, so I'm sorry if she is older than I am and works out regularly to stay fit and be able to perform her grueling tour schedules in order to make money for her family. Oh the horror of it. I know men who would kill to be with a woman who cared for her own body like that. And then, I looked up the so-called link Guy is supposed to be clamoring over and it's another skinny 'richie' (See this link that explains exactly who party girl and billionaire heiress Jemina Khan nee Goldsmith is and I just don't get it. You'd think if he wanted a woman with padding, we'd hear about him getting with Adele (note her summoning the essence of Cass Elliott of the 'Mommas and the Poppas' in this photo), but she probably has more class in her big toe than to do something silly like that. Thank God.

And that is our transitional statement. Thank God. Thank God as Americans we are able to make choices for ourselves however good or bad they may be hopefully to grow from our experiences and allow better opportunities come into our lives down the road. Case in point: Martha Stewart and her current affiliation with my favorite department store; Macy's. In my quasi effort to pump up the nations economy, I went shopping last night with the hope that I could use my $10 off certificate I received for previously shopping to a certain degree at Macy's. Hence, I love Macy's... they love me and sent me this coupon to use before the end of the year. I thought about using while all of the Christmas sales were going on, but one of the stips to using said coupon was that many, many of the cool things I'd like to get with it were sale items, so I was disqualified from using it, until last night.

After a hellish drive for three and a half hours going home from work, my tummy was growling and I was road weary. I stopped into Westfield's Mainplace Mall and headed directly for the food court at level 2 and something satisifying and familiar... McDonalds. I had the #15 menu item choice... chicken mcnuggests, small fries and a small hi-c orange drink. Then, feeling somewhat renewed and fortified with high levels of fat, sodium, and sugar flowing though my veins, I headed on over to Macy's.

Now, the last time I had loaded the dishwasher at home, I examined my set of knives previously purchased at WalMart about two years ago with the brand name of Farberware. When I was growing up, it was a well respect name brand in the kitchen, but time and Chinese exports seemed to have killed that notion. The knives were cracking where the blade met the handle and collecting water internally. They were also becoming pitted and tarnished with rust that could not be removed. It was time for something new. It was time for a change. It was time to utilize that $10 coupon and buy new knives at Macy's.

Macy's housewares is on the third floor. I found my way over to the kitchen electrics and then past that display to the knives hanging on the back far wall. The display was in disarray and incomplete due to the fact that the products that had been depleted since their after Christmas sales had not been replenished yet. I was not horrified, but rather determined to find something that would work better than the ones I wanted to get rid of.

I checked out the highest priced knives I could find... Shenkles and Wustoff. I'm pretty sure I spelled those wrong, but I'm not going to correct them. I'm looking at these boxes, collections of cutlery that were over priced $200 each. Good grief. Then I poked around the display some more to find some made for Cuisinart and Martha Stewart. The Cuisinart has this wooden block that was stained and sealed and I really didn't like the look of it at all. I held the the steak knife in my hand and then looked at the construction of it. It was steel all the way through, but when I tried to bend it against the top of the display, it felt weak. Then I moved over to the Martha display of knives. They felt more substantial in your hand and would not bend as easily as the other. I liked the chunky look of the block, the thickness of the blade through the handle and the three rivets through the handle, too. And most of all the value for the money. Regularly $149, on sale for $99 and my coupon was accepted for this purchase which made the price $89 for me for Martha Stewart's 25 piece knife+block set. What a buy! I was so excited when I got home, my son and I put it together and placed it upon it's new position next to the cutting board on the left side of the microwave oven. Lovely. I'm sure if I had to, it would cut through the gristle.

Sunny Days Ahead

California weather equates to hot, wet, windy and cold. For example, when the rest of the country is experiencing fall, we are all hot and windy. When it's a winter wonderland up in the north and east, we are cold and wet. That's about the gist of it and it's been that way for as long as I can remember.

You have to understand that to a California naive such as myself, anytime the temperature falls below 70, we are cold. You will still be able to find diehards wearing shorts and flip flops, but even they are complaining about the cold and the wet and how it screws up their planned outdoor activities. I mean, the beach becomes a pretty useless place on a rainy day. And don't get me started about how everyone simultaneously forgets how to drive when it rains. That is a joke in and of itself, but I digress. I think winter is just about over here in California. The worst of it ran for about two weeks when it was rainy and cold. Today is December 30th, a Tuesday, and its 72 degrees in the valley where I work. It might rain a couple more times before January '09 is gone, but without the cold like before, I can handle it.

Also, I noticed that December 21 unceremoniously passed me by this year. It's a good day to me because it marks the winter equinox; the day of the year with the shortest amount of sunlight. Every day after that until June 21st, we are on the upswing in the amount of daytime sunlight we get right on through spring. That makes me happy. That gives me something to look forward to.

Well, that's a kick

As corporate entities become concerned about their image, I know many companies perform searches on the Internet to find out what the people are talking about in regards to their products, services or actions, so be careful when you write about companies because sometimes they call you on it. Case in point - the posting below entitled "Revenge of the Beans". An executive of the company for the beans mixture I had mentioned commented on my issues with the consistency of his prepared product and my guttural reaction. As he was a kind gentleman and businessman, he left comments... suggestions for my next cooking adventure with beans that I found to be helpful. Thank you, Mr. Hurst. I only wish more companies were so considerate. Ahem... Maytag!

The Revenge of the Beans

On Sunday, I decided to kill off the rest of the Christmas ham by de-boning it as much as possible and then stewing the bone and its remains in a slurry of Hurst's 15 HamBeen soup mix. Following the instructions on the back of the bag for the traditional preperation method, it turned out great, but little did I know that after eating two yummy bowls of it in succession, would I experience 'the revenge of the beans'. I had soaked the beans for at least twelve hours in advance of the cooking as the recipe suggested with the hopes that the gas syndrome you normally experience would be cut to a minimum, which, for the most part, it was. I still had to take some multi-symptom Rolaids to function as a human for the rest of the day. No big deal. I just lounged around until the gas attack passed and felt half-way better. But what I wasn't anticipating was that two bowls of ham and bean soup I ate would turn into intestinal cement. Did I not use enough liquid? Should I have added some stock to thin it out? I'm thinking simmering it for two hours like the recipe suggested was the specific instruction that made the soup reduce it's original liquid content of two quarts to about half or one quart. Don't get my wrong - it tasted good, but next time I make this, I need to make sure it retains a more broth like consistency.

The Tonight Show - Mon, Dec 22, 2008

The Tonight Show - Mon, Dec 22, 2008
Jay performs a hot monologue on this pre-Christmas show with Robin Williams as his guest.

I Love Ham!

I am part German so it goes without saying that I love ham so atleast once a year we get a ham to consume during a holiday. This year, we bought a seven pound HoneyBaked Ham from our local store for Christmas. But when you're a two person household, after about the third day of eating ham, you get totally sick of it. What to do? You get creative.

Christmas dinner consisted of ham, boiled potatoes and roasted carrots. The day after Christmas was for the Denver Omelet. We also have plans to make Ham and bean soup, Hawaiian Pizza, grilled ham and cheese. I think the rest we are going to sink into the freezer.

Crazy Dream

I woke up way too early this morning, so to save my eyes from burning out of my skull later in the day, I rested them and eventually fell into a light sleep where I had this crazy dream.

I'm driving in the car on an expressway and there are other cars like it jammed up on the freeway. The car is a one seater and it's shaped like a popcorn kernel with the small part to the back and four tires. They are not called cars anymore. Now they are named PCV short for personal conveyance vehicles. Everyone travels in this popcorn kernel shaped thing on the freeways and the freeways have been modified to not crash and not stop.

O.K., so as I was in my PCV driving to I don't know where, when I was approaching a bridge to go under it. The current huge sign noting the expressway name fell off exposing the old street name for the next exit and onto the backends of a few PCVs which now created a sort of ramp. Since the PCV's don't stop A few beside me were now launched into the air and land in strange places. My PCV is launched and lands ontop of a building or on this road that is not used anymore. Then the PCV stops running. I'm stuck ontop of whatever the PCV landed on and I can't seem to figure out to get down.

While on top of wherever I landed, a man was noticed living on the road/building. He some how came to the conclusion that he was left there for a reason and not by chance and succumbed to his own reality. Now since I landed where he was and I had this PCV, this man's reality has been shattered and he's in a panic.

We make friends and talk about what happened to him and it turns out he's got a case of amnesia and can't remember how he got there but knows that he can't leave for too long or people some and take away his stuff and he has to go and find it again and build his castle? Home, whatever he calls the place he lives.

All I know is I need to get my PCV working so I can get off of wherever I'm at and get back onto the expressway so I can get to where I'm going. My problem with that is I don't have a clear way down like another ramp or a road and I'm afraid of heights.

...and that's about when my alarm goes off and I open my eyes. I don't dream all that much, I mean I'm pretty content with life and I'm a go with the flow person so not much gets me down, so to have this dream and have it be so detailed and vivid was a surprise. But maybe it's just the stress of a lot of the things building up in my brain about work and all the crap I have seen and read about the news everyday creeping in there somehow. About cars being too big and the need to develop better forms of transportations, among other things.

Cool Links

http://lebowskifest.com
- a bowling for fun event with movie aficionados

https://medsafetyalert.iguard.org/
- Look up drugs, their effects good and bad and their interactions online

Old Bags

Sunday is a good time to wake up early and take a drive, which is what I did in order to be able to deliver my Christmas gifts to my mom who lives in El Cajon. Little did I know that my intended short visit would turn into a day long shopping spree with two crazy grandmas topped off with lunch at Red Lobster.

When my mom suggested breakfast at Pam's after I got to her house, I was less than thrilled since I was not at all hungry. I said I'd eat toast and tea, something simple and not too big. Before we got to go, the phone rang and it was my mom's BFF Rose calling to see what is going on with the shopping trip they had planned. Then all of the sudden, I was invited to join in and go to lunch with them. WTH, I thought... I've got nothing really else that needs to be done today. I volunteered to drive so that I would not have to be subjected to either of their decrepit vehicles let alone their 70-something driving skills ( I disguised it as a front door drop off benefit so they could walk less) and off my mom and I went to pick up Rose in Lakeside.

They wanted to go to .99 Cent Store, Trader Joes, and Walmart all on the weekend before Christmas. At .99 Cent store, Rose wanted to check out the frozen foods section to see if she could find seafood. Sure enough, shark steak, ahi tuna, talapia and shrimp all were represented. They were selling Chiquitas (mini bananas), orange toned cauliflower, as well as regular in the produce section. I found Stove Top Corn Bread stuffing, a bunch of honey, and an over abundance of Ragu in the pouch of all different flavors. I had that stuff at the regular price when I got it from Ralph's with a coupon - it's good. Rose got a little lost as we were waiting in the check-out line at .99 Cent Store because she went to find some toffee or chocolate for I don't don't know what she wanted to make. She finally caught up when she needed to pay the clerk.

Then we had to drive near the Grossmont Center in order to go to Trader Joe's. At Trader Joe's, Rose was on a quest for jalapeno bread that seemingly did not exist in December at this store. She found alternate bread she said she could use and apply her own jalapeno and cheese on foccacia. Fine, that will work. My mom is cruising the produce section buying more bananas? No mom, you bought bananas at the last store. Then she spots Persian cucumbers. I've never had them, but I like the English kind because they are supposed to be burpless, but she says the Persian kind good because they do not leave an after taste in her mouth for days (sounds like a food allergy to me). And we turn the corner and she gets marinara sauce in the can (she says it's the best) and Rose is looking for orange sauce on the other side of the aisle. By this time, I'm half way through the store and I'm thirsty and Rose is drooling over the langistina, but dreading the price. Everyone fondles the frozen shrimp in bags, but I convince at least mom not to get anything frozon because it will be sitting in a hot car dethawing while we eat lunch and we move on to the other freezer bins down the aisle. Then Rose spots Mandarin Orange chicken, and oh boy!, she's gotta have it. I turn the corner and see a refrigerator with a few remaining water bottles left for sale for .26 cents? Some crazy price. I thought I picked one that was not so frozen, but I was wrong. When we were in line and after I was through taking a cell phone call from my boyfriend outside of the store because I could hardly hear his voice with all of the commotion around me, I went back to the check out stand where my mom and Rose were and the clerk retrieved the water bottle for me. I went to open the bottle inside the store because by time I was parched and then I was douched in the forehead with ice cold water because of the pressure that has built up from the water being frozen. I went back outside to wipe the water off my leather jacket, hair, face, and glasses and stood out in the sun hoping the water would dry off some by the time the shopping fools met me on the side walk. I walked them to the car, packed up what they bought and off we went to the next stop - WalMart.

Now, in the car, I was pre-warned that this store located in the Grossmont Center is huge like you would not believe. It's two stories tall, had three front door entrances and it doesn't even have a grocery store in it. That is huge. Rose had some pants to return, so I dropped the ladies off at the first entrance I saw with the hopes that by the time I found a parking spot, they would be pretty much though waiting in the returns line at the customer service desk. Well, I had to tour the parking lot for about 10 minutes before some nice gentleman pointed out to me that the first regular spot next to the handicapped blue parking slots was open! Woohoo! Couldn't really get much closer than that unless I parked in the firelane on the sidewalk at the side of the store. So I parked the car, and went in side. I headed for the customer service desk thinking that they would be waiting in line, but no Rose and no mom. Now I'm thinking they are shopping - it's the thing to do, or maybe Rose went to check out the pants again. So I'm scanning the store for two short slow moving ladies with a cart and one with curly red hair and I can't seem to find them anywhere. O.K., I look around the entire first floor three times and I finally give up and head for the car. As I went out of the entrance they were dropped off at, there they are waiting for me. O.K., so the crazy shopping ladies are not so crazy after all and Rose said she didn't want to stand in that huge line for a long time, so she'd do it later in the week. Cool. Then we went to lunch at Red Lobster.

I have to tell you that I hate Red Lobster. It reminds me of McDonalds only for seafood. Not only that, but just about every freaking thing on the menu has been corrupted with butter, cheese, cream, or milk and lucky me, I am super lactose intolerant. (That should be placed upon a t-shirt for me.) And I mean super.

The Different Levels of Being Lactose Intolerant:

1) Gas, cramps, and bloating
2) I feel sick, but it goes away after a while
3) I feel sick, and I puke.
4) I feel like I've ingested poison and I'm going to die, I have gas, cramps, and bloating, I'm breaking out in a sweat, and I puke. It takes me a day to recover before I can eat anything again.

Level four equals super lactose intolerant for me.

So I scan the menu with the hope that I will be all right after eating this meal and I think I find something that won't bother me too dang much on their lunch quick section - wood grilled shrimp on a skewer, rice pilaf, and steamed broccoli. Thank God. This selection rivals my fav meal when I can find it - grilled steak and steamed veggies, so I think I'll be O.K., and I was.

And my lunch mates decided to start off the meal with a cocktail! All Right! Rose invited me to have one with them, but I declined since I was driving. And besides, I was too freaked out about my menu selection to drink anyway... I had to get through the meal!

Rose made polite conversation and asked me what I did for a living. I told her I work as a contractor to Fannie Mae, and of course, her interest peaked and I felt all eyes within earshot of what I said now searing through my flesh. She asked me what Fannie Mae was doing about all the foreclosures. I told her Fannie Mae has about six different programs to help borrowers stay in there homes... and I explained one to her where Fannie Mae loans the money outstanding to a borrower in order to catch up with their payments, but when they go and sell the home, they have to pay the money back. And I said that was the biggest problem. People want to modify there loan or refinance their loan, but when they have no income coming in and no job prospects, there is nothing to work with and they loose their homes. I also said, I have no sympathy for those who lied to get a loan, those brokers who lied to make a loan and line their pockets with the commissions, and those who bought a home they couldn't afford and closed with an adjustable rate loan to get the lowest payment. Ignorance is no excuse for your financial hardship, but some people try to make it so.

Anyway, after I gave her my spiel about what I thought about the real estate mess with all are living through, then the mood seemed to quiet down because the old ladies where sufficiently liquored up, fed and now tired and wanted to go home. I took Rose home first. She gave me a tour of her place (I was there before but I guess she doesn't remember) and she gave me red bell peppers to take home. Then my mom and I left for home at about 3PM after hanging up my mom's new clock that Rose got for her for Christmas. My mom gave me two kinds of loose tea and a two cup tea set.

FOHI 1984

Did you sign up for the FOHI's graduating class of 1984 25th anniversary reunion info? See: http://www.fohi1984.com