Friday, May 20, 2011

Easy Crunchy Asian Salad

During the warm weather months I have a serious aversion to eating warm or hot food. If I could afford it, I would go to our local grocery store every day and make myself a nice big salad from their amazing salad bar- but that ends up costing between $6 and $8 depending on how much fruit I add.  I've tried buying all the necessary ingredients to my make my salad at home, but for some reason it just never tastes as good as the one from the grocery store!

I tried to find other salad options and there just didn't seem to be anything I really loved- that is, until a few weeks ago at a potluck dinner at our church.  One of the ladies made a most delicious Asian crunchy salad and I thought it was maybe something that would be a good easy, healthy and cheaper salad for me to make at home.  I tend to screw things up when I make them and nothing ever tastes as good when I make it as it does when someone else makes it, but with the recipe she gave me, it was almost impossible to mess up.  And it tasted just as good!

This recipe makes for a great meal in the hot summer because it's easy and light, but still very filling.



Asian Crunchy Salad

*  1 envelope packet of Good Seasons Italian Dressing and Recipe Mix
*  2 Tablespoons of soy sauce  (use Kikkoman, it's the best soy around!)
*  1/2 Cup of sugar
*  2 packages of any ramen noodle soup (you will just be using the noodles)
*  2 (16oz) packages of coleslaw blend or you can shred your own lettuce and carrots
*  4 sliced green onions
*  1/2 Cup of sliced almonds
*  1/2 Cup of sunflower kernels (optional)

(You can add other ingredients, like a meat and/or fruits, to suit your tastes- I sometimes like to add cold chicken and craisins)


Directions

*  You are first going to make the salad dressing in a separate bowl
*  Follow the instructions on the back of the packet of the Good Seasons Italian Dressing mix
*  Whisk in the soy sauce and sugar
*  Once you've done that, put it in the refrigerator to get in nice and cold.
*  Break the ramen noodles apart in another larger bowl. I think it's easier to do the majority of the breaking up while it's still in the package and then put in the bowl.  That way it doesn't make a big mess.  You won't be using the seasoning packet.
*  Add the coleslaw/lettuce and carrot blend, onion, almonds, and sunflower kernels into the bowl with the ramen noodles and gently toss together
*  Once the salad dressing is at the temperature you'd like, add the salad dressing and toss to coat.
*  I prefer to put my lettuce mix into a bowl that has a lid or a Ziplock freezer bag, add the dressing, put on the lid or seal the bag, and then shake it until everything is nice and well coated. Do whatever works best for you.
*  After you've thoroughly mixed the salad, serve immediately.
*  And that's it!  It's seriously the easiest thing to make and it's delicious!

You can read about another one of my favorite, easy to make, main course dishes here.

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Thursday, May 19, 2011

Judgment Day is Nigh

I had planned on posting this picture on May 22, 2011- the day after the much publicized prediction of the Judgement Day Rapture.  But then I thought to myself, well, on the 0.000000000000001% chance that the Rapture is going to occur this Saturday at 6PM, maybe I should err on the safe side and post it now- just in case. 

Judgment Day Rapture Billboard

I took this picture back in December when Spencer and I were driving to North Carolina to visit her Great-Grandparents.  We were just outside of Lynchburg, VA, in a fairly rural area, when I spotted this massive billboard proclaiming Judgement Day was going to be on May 21, 2011.  So I did the same thing any other sane person would have done and so I did an immediate u-turn followed by another  u-turn into the median turning lane.

I always keep my camera in the front seat with me when I'm driving, which was good since I didn't exactly want to park my car in the lane for any lengthy period of time.  The only problem was that I wasn't really up close to the billboard and I had to take the pictures through the windshield glass- hence the not-so-great image quality.  But there was nothing that was going to stop me from taking a picture of this thing!  I could not believe what I was seeing and I didn't think anyone else would believe me either- unless I had photographic proof!

Under the umbrella of Christianity, there have been denominations, sects and cults all claiming to know that the Rapture was going to occur on a specific day.  When their predictions didn't come true these groups did one of three things 1)  Fizzled out due to a lack of credibility and loss of belief in their leader   2) Offered an explanation as to why the Lord changed his mind and that it was now going to happen on this new date or 3) Committed mass suicide.

People have been making these Judgement Day/Rapture predictions for over 2000 years- it's a pretty common thing.  But what is new is this massive grass roots/viral marketing/savvy advertising campaign these folks have created in order to spread their message.  The types of groups and individuals that usually make this kind of specific date prediction are generally on the fringe of mainstream Christianity- meaning they have a small following, limited funds, and lack authority/credibility within the Christian orthodoxy.  Even if they wanted to spread the news far and wide, high and low, they wouldn't really have the means to do so and if for some reason they had those kinds of funds, their lack of credibility would prevent them from being taken seriously. 

Harold Camping has been spreading the news of a May 21, 2011 Judgement Day ever since his last failed Rapture prediction came and went on September 6, 1994.  This makes it even more baffling that so many people have latched onto his teachings. And his teachings don't have any wiggle room or room for doubt- "Beyond the shadow of a doubt, May 21 will be the date of the Rapture and the day of judgment," he told the AP.

Not only have they latched on- his followers have quit their jobs, sold their homes, and cashed out their retirement funds!  They've taken their children out of school so that they could join them spreading this news across the county, no, the world!  They drive around in caravans of RVs sharing their message that the world as we all know it is going to end on May 21, 2011.  And then five months later, on October 21, 2011,  God is going to completely destroy the Earth and everyone else who still has the great misfortune of still being alive.  Ironically, I will turn 30 on October 22, so maybe that's not so bad... kidding!

My theological beliefs are always evolving and I think it's important that it stays that way.  When you stop asking questions, stop trying to learn something new, and stop looking deeper, you stop any growth.  But there will always be a few things that, for me, don't and shouldn't evolve.  I haven't completely firmed up my eschatological beliefs- I flip flop between some schools of thought, but I do know there is one thing about which I'm certain.  And that is, if you believe in a literal Rapture interpretation, you must also literally believe that no one, not one single person, knows the hour or day it's going to happen. 

Now I am the first person who will say that the Bible can sometimes be frustratingly vague, especially for someone like me who likes clear cut, easy to understand answers.  But what Jesus says here seems pretty clear- He didn't use a parable to explain a deeper meaning or answer their question with another question- it's a direct answer without any hidden sub-text. It says:

"As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. 'Tell us,' they said, 'when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?' Jesus answered: 'Watch out that no one deceives you.  For many will come in my name'"  Matt 24:3-5 (NIV)  Later on in that chapter He tells them "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father." Matt 24:36 (NIV)

And if those verses weren't enough to convince you that you can't predict the exact day of judgment, there's more!  Jesus went on telling his disciples "Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him."  Matt 24:42-44 (NIV)

So it confuses me as to why Harold Camping thinks there is a secret encoded calendar in the Bible that provides the answer to the 2000 year old question about the actual, specific day of judgment.  But Camping is kind of an odd duck; he uses a literal hermeneutic approach in regards to the specific rapture, which is generally consistent with the dispensationalists, yet he rejects premillennialism, and believes the tribulation began in 1988- which is not at all consistent with dispensationalism.  And with the exception of the rapture, his theology fall clearly within the amillennialists allegorical interpretation of scripture- yet they don't believe in a literal rapture.  He is all over the place trying to piece this thing together the way he sees it and it just doesn't work.

I can tell you this though- I will be really miffed if it's that predictable and it does happen on Saturday.  When I first learned about "the end days," I spent countless hours worrying that it would happen before I could get married and have children.  Think of all I could have done with that time?  ha!  As Peanuts creator Charles Schultz once famously put it, "Don't worry about the world coming to an end today. It is already tomorrow in Australia."

In some ways I really feel for Camping- it's obvious that he deeply believes what he's saying.  I don't think he is intentionally trying to mislead people or trick them into giving him their money- I mean, he is 89 years old.  And in his own, very misguided way, he believes he's doing what God has called him to do and sound the trumpet. Camping has practically devoted the entirety of his life to the cause of predicting the judgment day and in the end, all he will ever be remembered for is being the crazy man who spent millions of dollars of his own money trying to convince people the world was going to end on May 21, 2011.

I'm going to step out on a limb here and make a prediction of my own:  I predict you all are going to see me post this picture again on May 22, 2011.  And if I don't, well, I guess it could be worse- after all, that means I will be eternally "in my twenties."

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

I Need a Pause Button

Spencer's dance recital is this weekend and all I can think about is how it feels like it was just yesterday that I wrote this post about her starting ballet lessons.  How has it time for her recital already?  How has  seven months passed by like it's at warp speed?  Where is the pause button, because I really need it?

I was thinking about this all day yesterday when I remembered something I'd written on here in the early days of this blog about my love/hate relationship with my DVR.  You can read the whole post here, but one of the snippets caught my eye:

And then other times I want to take my remote my control and press pause on life.  The really beautiful moments keep flying by, they never last long enough and I only get to experience it once. With a DVR, it's okay if you miss something because the phone rings- you can either rewind it and watch it again or you can press pause and it will stay frozen in time until you to return.  If you really loved something you watched, well, you can rewind and start it all over again.  There's no such thing as a lost moment with a DVR.  Why can't I do this with life?  Please, smart geniuses at MIT, invent one of these mechanisms for me. 

It seems as though those geniuses at MIT haven't really come through for me yet.  Maybe I should have made my request to Cal Tech?  I was doing my regular morning blogosphere perusal yesterday when I read this on one of my favorite blogs.  It just confirmed to me that I'm not the only one who can't believe how fast these years are flying by.  I would really love for a physicist to explain to me why in your childhood life seems to creep by inch by inch and then once you've reached that all important goal of being a "grown up," it starts to go faster than the blink of an eye.  It doesn't seem fair.  I guess I need to remind myself of this sometimes:

(print I recently bought)

Fair is Where You Get Cotton Candy.  Words to live by!

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Tuesday, May 17, 2011

The Blood Suckers

You might have noticed that I'm not exactly what you'd call an in-the-outdoor-elements-nature-loving-gal.  If you hadn't, let me be clear- while I love to admire the beauty of the outdoors, I myself do not like to interact with it unless there's a camera in my hand.  But I have a little girl who loves to be outside and so I find myself interacting with nature on a daily basis.

Soft tickphoto © 2008 dr_relling | more info (via: Wylio)

In the last month, I've found four ticks on Spencer, three on me, and four and the dog! And now I can't shake the feeling that there's always a tick on me, which is kinda driving me crazy.  I do NOT like ticks and my initial gut reaction each time I've found one is to call my dad.  Then reality and sets in, I mean I am 29 years old, I pull up my big girl pants, and do what needs to be done. 

Luckily, the first time I found a tick on Spencer we were in the Middle of Nowhere, North Carolina and Spencer's Great-Gran taught me the best way to remove a tick that's currently engaged in sucking the lifeblood out of you.  I've since removed ten such ticks and her instructions have been so helpful. So if you'd are out in nature and find yourself with one of these little suckers attached to your body, here is what Spencer's Great-Gran says you should do.

The Best Way to Remove a Tick

1.  Don't just pull it out!
2.  Saturate a cotton ball with alcohol and hold it firmly over the tick for at least two minutes- longer if necessary.
3.  Remove the cotton ball and use tweezers (your fingers will work fine if you don't have tweezers) to gently pull the tick out.
4.  If it does not easily come off, saturate another cotton ball and hold it over the tick for another two minutes. Make sure you don't pull too hard- after the alcohol kills or knocks it out, the tick should be fairly easy to remove.
5.  Repeat steps three and four until the tick is off your skin. 
6.  Once the tick is in the tweezers, light a match and burn it.  There's good chance that if you flush it down the toilet and it's not 120% dead, it will work it's way back up the toilet and into your bathroom.  Once you've burned the tick, you can either flush it down the toilet or immerse it in a small sealable container of alcohol and then throw that away.  If you don't have matches readily available, sealing it in alcohol is just fine.
7.  Saturate another cotton ball with either alcohol or some other type of disinfectant and clean off the bite. Ticks carry a lot of diseases and you want to get the area as clean as possible as soon as possible.

I realize that some of you who find a tick on yourself or child will not have immediate access to alcohol, so if you don't, the best thing you can do is use tweezers and try and grab the tick as close to it's head and mouth as possible, and pull it off.  If you don't have tweezers, cover your hand with something like a baggie or paper towel, and then attempt removing it.  Ticks are nasty little creatures and you really don't want to touch them with your bare hands if you can at all help it.

Hopefully you'll never get a tick bite, but if you do, I hope these tips will help you! 

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Monday, May 16, 2011

Sweet Deals

Mamapedia is offering two really sweet deals for my blog readers!  Mamapedia is a great flash deal site, much like Groupon, except that it's geared towards moms.  They have wonderful deals and some really amazing offers.  The first deal they're offering for my readers is so great!

Large Hardcover Photo Book



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These photo books are seriously gorgeous, and at over 70% OFF the list price, this is a truly unbeatable offer: Check it out here!  This offer ends 5/18/11- Tuesday night/Wednesday morning at 12AM.





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Check out the deal here!  This offer ends tonight at midnight so don't put it off!

 

**  I didn't get paid to endorse these deals or receive anything free/discounted  **

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Spencer, I Want to Go to the Bathroom by Myself!

I'm not sure I ever anticipated "Spencer, I want to Go to the Bathroom by Myself!" ever being a title on this here blog of mine, but, alas, it is.  I also don't think I ever anticipated ever needing to say those words to Spencer, much less having to say them multiple times a day, but, alas, I do.

I'm not exactly sure when this whole thing started, I'm thinking that it might have some roots from the potty training days when I would show Spencer how "big girls" use the the potty.  But for the first couple months after she was fully trained, she always wanted to use the bathroom "by myselvvve!" as she would say.  Spencer didn't give a second thought to when I went to the bathroom and I never gave a second thought to the beauty that is bathroom privacy.

It's not an exaggeration in any way when I tell you that every single time Spencer sees me getting up and walking towards the bathroom, she races like an Olympic sprinter in the gold medal race to get to the door before I shut it.  Actually, it's not only the bathroom, it's any room in the house, it's just that the bathroom is the only place I really care about being all by myself.  I know a lot of moms use their bathroom time as a personal refuge, a place to be by themselves for a few moments and collect their thoughts, maybe read a magazine or examine their face to see if any wrinkles have sprouted since the last time they checked; that's not me.  So I would almost understand why Spencer would want to go with me every time if I did that, especially if she thought I was doing something like putting on makeup.  I'm in and I'm out. (is that TMI?) I also might understand if I never let her in the bathroom while I was using it- maybe it would seem like she was missing out on something, but that's not the case either.

When Spencer realizes that a) I'm already in the bathroom before she noticed, or b) didn't make it to the door in time before I shut it, she stands at the door and sticks her toes and fingers underneath the gap between the floor and the door.  And her little toes are so cute and then I feel an odd combination of love and guilt and I let her in. So even when I'm in the bathroom alone, I'm never really alone.  And I miss it. 

Spencer hasn't gone through a clingy phase in awhile and I wouldn't say that she's in one now, per se.  I mean yesterday at Kohl's, she ran away from me and in a sing songy voice, taunted "ha ha, you can't find me!" But for some reason, whenever we're at home, she becomes my shadow.  This morning, I started walking to the bathroom and she immediately began her sprint to the door.  I turned around and said, "Spencer, I want to use the bathroom by myself!"  To which she replied "please don't leave me," completely breaking my heart.  I had no idea why she would say that, I mean, I'm by her side more than any parent I know- we are never apart.  So I began racking my brain trying to think of why she would say that to me- why she was feeling this way? Then I remembered something seemingly benign that happened a few weeks ago, which I guess wasn't as benign as I thought.

A few weeks ago I was in the laundry room doing some morning chores before Spencer woke up and I didn't hear her get up and start looking for me. I was only in there for about five minutes, so I know she couldn't have been awake for more than a couple of minutes, but she was hysterically crying because she'd gone to the window and hadn't seen my car in its usual parking space and she thought I'd left her.  (My car was pulled further up the driveway than it usually is and from the window you couldn't see it)

Now generally, Spencer would immediately realize that she wasn't being supervised and use that time to do something completely destructive, like get into my makeup bag and give herself a makeover, cut her hair with scissors, try and pour her own orange juice, basically anything that I wouldn't normally allow her to do.  So I was a little shocked when she was sitting there sobbing because it seemed really uncharacteristic of her.  After a few minutes of crying and hugging and reassuring her that I would never leave her, she was fine, and everything went back to normal.  I didn't really think about it again until this morning when she told me not to leave her.  The idea that Spencer thinks I might actually leave her alone breaks my heart.  I hate that she's feeling this way and as much as I want my privacy, I want even more for her to feel secure and safe.

The weird thing is that she's not this way anywhere else.  In fact, yesterday we went over to my aunt's house for the afternoon, and as soon as we got there, she begged me to go to leave so she could play "alooone" with my aunt.  She also has no problem using the bathroom alone, she likes to go by herself.  I'm kind of at a loss about what to do here.  Has anyone else experienced something like this?  I would love some ideas or any advice in general about what you've done, or heard others have done, in this kind of situation!

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Sunday, May 1, 2011

On Easter Sunday, Spencer sang a solo in church!  It was so cute!  My dad took a video of it, but I haven't gotten it on my computer yet, but as soon as I do, I will post it. The dress that I ordered her never came (ugh), so her Great-Gran bought her this one two days before Easter.  Of course, she wasn't all that interested in taking pictures after church, she just wanted to eat her candy from "The Bunny," but I managed to snap a few decent ones.  I think I might post some of the outtakes tomorrow- there are so many to choose from though, I'm not sure how I'll narrow down the worst of the worst, haha. 



 Egg Hunt
 Requisite Dandelion Blowing
 I don't know what this is, but it made me laugh- maybe this should be in the outtakes?

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