Tag Archives: food

Thankful (Thanksgiving 2013)

Posted on November 28, 2013 by funnygurl2
My two favorite guys

My two favorite guys

I am thankful for my healthy, talkative son. I am thankful for my husband. I am thankful for my 100+ year old house that keeps us dry. I am thankful for our 3 year old furnace that keeps us warm. I am thankful we did not lose any of these things during our extended periods of unemployment. I am thankful my husband and I are both employed at this time. I am thankful that the aforementioned jobs allow us to pay all our bills, put food in our cupboards, and have a little entertainment as well. I am thankful for Dave, who brings joy to my life every day I look into her little puppy eyes and calm every time I pet her furry, shedding orange coat. I am thankful Parker has not peed on the floor yet today. I am thankful for my in-laws, who are going to feed us Thanksgiving dinner today. I am also thankful that they take my individualism in stride. I am thankful for my mom who babysits in trade for taking her to the store. I am thankful for my asbestos friend and her family, who are like family to me. She is definitely an emotional anchor for me. I am thankful for my S.A.D. light. I am thankful for making big strides in my book writing this year. I am thankful for those who have stuck with my blog, even though I have written less due to work and book writing.

2004 Pontiac Aztek, before all the hail damage

2004 Pontiac Aztek, before all the hail damage

I am thankful for my Pontiac Aztek sitting in the driveway with 216,000 miles on it, that I know will start up as soon as I need it to (and I will give it a courtesy warm up period, since Baby is a senior citizen). I am thankful that my car allows me to get to work, go to the store to buy food, to take my mom to the store to buy food, to take my puppies to vet appointments, to take my mother-in-law to medical appointments, to take us to the zoo, and overall make our life a 1000 times easier than if it were not functioning. (Maybe you need context to know that while we live in a town with daytime bus service Monday through Friday and a number of major name restaurants and grocery stores, 80% of what we do during a week requires us to drive 30-60 minutes away. And my husband and I often head in opposite directions on the same day, at the same time. And his truck only seats two.) I am thankful that I am a practical Capricorn, because my train of thought makes sense to me, even if it does not to everyone else.

capricorn-tat

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

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What I Learned This Week – 11/10/13

Posted on November 11, 2013 by funnygurl2

This week I learned that sterling silver might actually be SAFE for me to wear again!

To preface this great discovery, you would have to realize that I have a severe allergy to nickel. If you don’t know what that entails and are too lazy to click on the link, I will fill you in. Nickel has been used as a filler in jewelry, belt buckles, jeans snaps, glasses frames, and every other cheap metal product you can think of for years now. I developed an allergy to it around 1992. It involves a red, itchy rash that develops and if the contact was consistent enough, a weeping ooze.

Sounds fun, right? Why would ANYONE want to avoid that?

But, I try to.

Because of this, I have avoided sterling silver for years. And as I get confused between sterling silver, stainless steel, and surgical steel, I often find myself avoiding them all and only going with what actually states “NICKEL FREE”.

But an article I found on the Internet says that for many reasons, recently produced sterling silver should be considered safe for those with nickel allergies.

Sterling silver, by definition, is only 92.5% pure silver. (That makes sense. If it was 100%, they would just call it “silver”.) The other 7.5% is made up of a mixture of other metals that is constantly changing. (This used to regularly include nickel.) In reality, pure silver is not very desirable for jewelry, because it would be too soft.

What I found out is that since 2000, Europe has had a strict ban on nickel. (I would LOVE to shop there just for that one reason.) So, when making big batches of raw sterling silver, why would a supplier ever make something that he can’t sell in a whole huge market of the world?

Also, nickel is no longer one of the most cost-effective fillers to use.

So, to some up, nickel COULD still be in sterling silver products, but there is a good chance that it will not be.

And what did I do to celebrate this awesome discovery?

You guessed it, I shopped. Retail therapy.

Sooo cute! I hope it will provide me with years of reaction-free joy.

Sooo cute! I hope it will provide me with years of reaction-free joy.

Ugh. My joy is short-lived.  Here is more info I found…

If jewelry is silver-plated, it might be covered with a metal known as rhodium. But, guess what?  Rhodium doesn’t like to stick to sterling silver. What makes a good “glue” metal between the two? Yup, nickel. So, while a piece may not cause a reaction initially, as the rhodium coating breaks down and the nickel leeches out, it could later.

There is also jewelry with such terms as alpaca silver, German silver, paktong, and new silver. It turns out there is a HUGE CHANCE that all of these will indeed contain nickel.

I just found an article about how many foods contain Nickel.

Just shoot me now.

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What I Learned This Week – 11/3/13

Posted on November 4, 2013 by funnygurl2

This week I learned that a crunchy peanut butter and Nutella sandwich is delicious. It tastes almost like a Reese’s peanut butter cup.

But in sandwich form!

You can call it lunch!

Crunchy Peanut Butter and Nutella Sandwich

Crunchy Peanut Butter and Nutella Sandwich

And you actually need to spread on very little Nutella to get a big complimentary taste. I am not a big peanut butter fan, but we have accumulated a lot of it in our house. I feel a need to eat it up. I find I prefer crunchy to regular.

This might sound like an odd combination, but you have to realize you are listening to a person who had never eaten a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in her life. Peanut butter sandwich-yes. Jelly on toast-yes. The two substances together? That just strikes me as completely disgusting.

This week I also got to wear my Halloween costume that I have been planning for a year, and made a large portion of myself.

Curious? I will give you 3 clues.

1. She is a female.
2. Born in 1976.
3. She is three apples high (but my costume is much bigger).

Hello Kitty!

Hello Kitty costume

Hello Kitty costume

I saw a Hello Kitty outfit at a costume store last year, and that gave me the idea. But the costume looked cheap and flimsy and had like a tutu on it. I was like “I can totally make something better than that!”

Commercial Hello Kitty Costume Photo: SpiritHalloween.com

Commercial Hello Kitty Costume
Photo: SpiritHalloween.com

You should know one of my rules for a Halloween costume is that it be reusable. (I am a Capricorn, I like to get my money’s worth.) One year I invested in a short skirt, short black jacket, and gray velvet tank top. I wore them for YEARS in numerous costumes:

Slutty Witch
Pirate Wench
Slutty Fairy
Juno (I wore the skirt over jeans–I was pregnant that year)

As you might remember, last year I was Jem from Jem & the Holograms. Instead of paying big money for a slutty plastic dress made in China, I bought a pink wrap dress I could reuse on other occasions (also probably made in China). Notice I said “could” reuse. I am anti-dress for most occasions, so I have probably only worn it once since last Halloween.

Now, as you can probably guess I froze my ass off with a lot of these past costumes running around on the streets on October 31 in Michigan. Sometimes I had uncomfortable shoes on as well.

So, this new Hello Kitty costume needed to be both warm and comfortable, in addition to reusable.

I searched online and found the cutest (and reasonably cheap) Hello Kitty winter hat. The face is the most important part, and it is important that it look good. Plus, it was reusable, warm, and comfy.

Hello Kitty wears many different clothes for her many personalities, but the most iconic are her red overalls. I decided to make the overalls out of red fleece, as it does not unravel and would require less sewing. I used some denim overalls I already had as a make-shift pattern. I pinned it up and had my asbestos friend sew up the long leg seams for me. I own a sewing machine, but can’t manage to work it. Then I hand-sewed on the buttons, the button holes, the tail, and the pockets. (The Hello Kitty material I used for the pockets is supposed to help clue in those who may still have trouble figuring out my costume.) It is very warm, very comfy, but resusable? Hell ya! I am planning to use it as pajama pants.

Nice Tail!

Nice Tail!

The only people who really seemed to love it were the little girls, but that is alright. I got to wear it to Trick or Treating at the mall and around town on Halloween. Unfortunately, the weather on Halloween was windy and rainy, and the annual parade and bonfire where canceled. So, I don’t feel like I got as much mileage out of my costume as I would have liked.

Maybe I will not turn it into pajamas so quickly. Maybe I will wash it up and wear it again next year.

…It was just so dang warm!

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Lunch Dessert

Posted on October 9, 2013 by funnygurl2

The other day my mother-in-law called me. I have to read the caller ID on my phone correctly, or else I think it is MY mother, and I answer my phone all aggravated. Our conversation went a little something like this:

MIL: Are you busy?
ME: No, just finishing up lunch.
MIL: Should I call you back later?
ME: Oh no, I’m just having lunch dessert.
MIL: You are having what?
ME: Lunch dessert.
MIL: What is that? (laughing)
ME: The sweet treat you eat after lunch.

Hey, if Taco Bell can create fourth meal, I can create lunch dessert. I can also get fat from eating lunch dessert. But I just can’t stop!

Am I having an unhealthy snack? No, it is just lunch dessert.

Can’t wait to eat those cookies til after dinner? Have them for lunch dessert.

My lunch was a piece of cake (literally!). Can I still have something else sweet for lunch dessert? Why certainly.

I had lunch dessert today, can I still have a dessert after dinner? Certainly!

Is there such a thing as breakfast dessert? Yes!

Unfortunately, all the sugar & calories of breakfast & breakfast dessert in one :(

Unfortunately, all the sugar & calories of breakfast & breakfast dessert in one foil packet 😦

Can you have breakfast dessert after eating Pop-Tarts for breakfast? Sorry, no. The sugar and calorie content in Pop-Tarts is just too high to allow that 😦

For more wacky unofficial dietary suggestions, visit my past posts*:

The Candy Bar Diet

Picky Eater

As Paula Deen was to butter, that may be how I am to sweets.

* Consult your doctor before doing anything a random blog post recommends.

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Remember This?: MicroMagic Frozen Foods

Posted on September 24, 2013 by funnygurl2

This is a new feature I am starting where I reminisce about old products that I do not want to be forgotten to the tunnels of time. Most of my first submissions will probably be food-related. There is nothing like the empty hole that is left behind in your kitchen when a delicious food product disappears from store shelves.

Do you remember MicroMagic frozen food? Because I do, very fondly.

Behold! The MicroMagic burger!

Behold! The MicroMagic burger!

MicroMagic products first appeared in the frozen food section of stores in the 1980’s. There were MicroMagic hamburgers, cheeseburgers, chicken sandwiches, french fries, and three flavors of milkshakes.

It was a perfect trifecta of 1950’s car hop food: burger, fries, and milkshake. It was something you expected to see on the tray of Richie Cunningham’s car outside of Arnold’s on Happy Days (there were more external scenes during the first season or two of the show).

EXCEPT YOU PUT IT IN YOUR VERY 1980’S MICROWAVE OVEN!

It was like going to McDonald’s, without leaving your home.

There were several years of my life where my main food source was MicroMagic cheeseburgers. I bought them far more than any of the other products. I was a latchkey kid, so I would eat them before my mom got home from work, or for lunch during summer break. Sometimes I ate them for weekend lunches.

FYI--The ones I bought only had English on the packaging.

FYI–The ones I bought only had English on the packaging.

I liked the fries as well. They were sold in three packs. Two boxes of fries often counted as a meal for me.

I probably only had all three (burger, milkshake, fries) together probably once. The milkshakes were kind of a waste of money. I mean, it was a cup of ice cream that you put in the microwave to partially melt it. And I seem to remember it tasting a bit like ice milk. Although sometimes it was fun to eat the fries and chocolate milkshake together and dip the fries into the ice cream.

Chocolate was the only option for me.

Chocolate was the only option for me.

While I remember them fondly and wish I could consume them again, I have to admit that they did not come out of my microwave at the height of quality. If I followed the package instructions, the burger would still be cold in the middle. So I always over-nuked it, which led to a hard top bun and the cheese melted off everywhere. But it tasted like a burger, complete with fake smoke flavor.

The fries came in a cardboard box that was lined with silver coating, so that they would attempt to get crisp. The fries could be soggy or over-crisp, depending on how long you cooked them. They were always kinda greasy.

Seeing as I was a middle school kid who wasn’t old enough to drive and had no fast food place in town to walk to, this was as good as it got.

I haven’t seen them on store shelves in years. I searched the Internet, but cannot seem to find out anything about what company used to make them. Some similar products exist today to give you a sense of how awesome they were. I will talk about that in my next post on Thursday.

I searched all over YouTube and found a few MicroMagic commercials for you. I will appologize now for making you crave a product that is no longer available.

I love the 80’s outfits!

I had a black hat like that girl!

100% Real American Cheese! (Whatever THAT means!)

[TV Trivia: The guy with the girl in the last commercial with the dark hair is probably actor David Kaufman. I remember him most from a show called Dweebs also starring Peter Scolari and Corey Feldman.]

I also found a Micro Magic Facebook fan page. It only has 13 likes, so feel free to hop over their and “like” that page. And while you are on Facebook, like “I’m not staking you“‘s Facebook page as well.

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