tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-61054498375303354322024-03-20T02:34:43.455-07:00The Annapurna DiariesDayna RNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17580018208470877887noreply@blogger.comBlogger32125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6105449837530335432.post-39895437146842421162015-11-07T15:06:00.003-08:002015-11-07T15:06:50.469-08:00Is "taking it on faith" the way you want to live?<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "" "arial" "" , "serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">I've been saddened,
again, by current events. Facebook is a great place to stay in touch, but in my
case, it's also the place where I learn about things going on in the LDS faith,
as I would otherwise have no other contact to keep me informed, if it weren't
for my handful of Mormon friends.</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "" "arial" "" , "serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Normally I'm okay
with not knowing who the current "Prophet" is, or what the latest
news is on scouting or missionary work, etc. I have two very good friends who
have children on missions, and if I have the desire to know about that world, I
can check in with them. But seeing the memes mocking the latest handbook entry
for LDS leaders led me to investigate things a little more closely.</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "" "arial" "" , "serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><br />
Facebook and anti-LDS are screaming from the top of the nearest building that
the "Mormons are ostracizing the children of gay couples in the church,
and not allowing them to be baptised unless they renounce gay marriage."</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "" "arial" "" , "serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">I've read the
actual entries from the LDS church on this, and the news is actually old news. </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "" "arial" "" , "serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><br />
Children of non-members aren't allowed to be baptised until age 18 either,
because the church's stance is that they don't want to create division within
the home, having parents who are non-members be in conflict with an underage
child who might be living differently than the people who pay their rent and
cook their food. I can see the logic in this. The church is taking that same
stance, albeit newly spelled out, for the children of same sex couples and
calling it "protection."</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "" "arial" "" , "serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><br />
The actual wording in the handbook states that in order to be baptised, the
children of same sex parents "</span><span style="background: white; color: #4b4b4b; font-family: "" "arial" "" , "serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">must simply
affirm the Church’s teachings about sexuality and marriage. To quote the new
handbook change, “</span><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "" "arial" "" , "serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">The child accepts and is committed to live the
teachings and doctrine of the Church, and specifically disavows the
practice of same-gender cohabitation and marriage.”</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "" "arial" "" , "serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><br />
So, lets talk about that wording. According to the Webster's Dictionary, to
'disavow' is to: </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "" "capitals" "" , "serif"; font-size: 13.5pt;">Full Definition of DISAVOW:</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "" "arial" "" , "serif"; font-size: 13.5pt;">1:<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span></i><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "" "arial" "" , "serif"; font-size: 13.5pt;">to deny responsibility for: REPUDIATE</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "" "arial" "" , "serif"; font-size: 13.5pt;">2:<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span></i><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "" "arial" "" , "serif"; font-size: 13.5pt;"> to refuse to acknosledge or accept: DISCLAIM</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "" "arial" "" , "serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Now while the
children of gay parents are not responsible for their parent's behaviours, they
are, in fact, part of a family. Most likely a loving family where the
parents just happen to be the same gender. Simply committing to live the
teachings of the church and denying that their family is a good, loving,
nurturing, healthy family, is asking them to deny and disown the very
core of who they are. And many of my friends say they "just have to take
this on faith?"</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "" "arial" "" , "serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">How, can I ask you,
could you ever ask anyone to do this? How could you tear apart your family for
a religion who says the act of loving each other is a sin? No gay person, who
cohabitates or who is married, can be a fully participatory member of the
church. ONLY if you put aside your nature, give up the essence of who you are
on a genetic level, and choose a life of celibacy, can you be allowed to
participate in full church membership. </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "" "arial" "" , "serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><br />
So forget about the dusty remnants of years gone by, that horrifically edited
collection of stories put together by a group of men, designed to scare the
shit out of anyone left living who reads it (aka: THE BIBLE) for a minute.
Let's talk about <i>science</i>. Let's talk about <i>life</i>. Every
gay person I know has known in their soul, from a very young age, exactly who
and what they were. This is not learned behaviour, as my nephew will tell you.
Born of goodly parents, and supplied with a pious mother who lived the gospel
to the letter despite an inactive husband, she raised him up to be a missionary
man, and a loving father. She got a beautifully androgynous, incredibly
talented dancer and gay man for a son instead. This is something that
takes place on a genetic level people! It is not a choice. </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "" "arial" "" , "serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><br />
I have another friend who is openly gay, openly married to a woman, who is the
father of four children, and who is so in love with Mormon doctrine that
he has forsaken his own PERSON to live the faith. A hard choice to be sure. But
doable, if only on paper. He will gladly tell you that he struggles with same
sex attraction on a daily basis. And yet he loves his god and will not go
against the doctrine of the church. But what if one of his daughters decided
she was gay? How would that change him when it came down to letting her live
life true to her own person? Would he encourage her to take his path? Or
would he want her to be happy? Because as the mother of five kids, I just want
them to be happy; bottom line.</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; orphans: auto; text-align: start; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "" "arial" "" , "serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><br />
So, do I agree with this latest edict from my once-assigned (I didn't choose,
so I call myself a Mormon, assigned from birth to live in a religion that
didn't suit me) church? No. Oh, HELL NO. I think it's horrible. It's tantamount
to abuse. And it infuriates me and at the same time saddens me that so many of
the people I respect and love, who are still members, think they just have to
"take this one on faith." Faith in WHAT? What about faith in the
brain you were given? The brain that lets you know when something is wrong. If
you feel in your gut this is wrong, what else is wrong? There are
choices out there, and support of this atrocity doesn't have to be part of who
you are or what you believe. Can you not support this and still be a member? I
don't know. But the question is this: why would you want to?</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Dayna RNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17580018208470877887noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6105449837530335432.post-87619102210453982402015-06-29T20:42:00.000-07:002015-06-29T20:42:16.102-07:00Hi, my name is Dayna, and.......it has to be said, I'm pretty sure I'm an atheist.<br />
<br />
I've spent the better part of this week reveling in the nationally recognized equality of marriage act, which now allows my many gay friends to legally marry, no matter where they live. Such a happy week, and yet, I feel like the only person at the party who is standing naked in the middle of a crowded room.<br />
<br />
That crowded room is also known as Facebook. Where 99% of my friends and family believe in God, or something similar to a god-like being. Now I cannot deny that there is something after this life, because of <a href="http://theannapurnadiaries.blogspot.com/2012_01_01_archive.html">THIS</a>, and <a href="http://theannapurnadiaries.blogspot.com/2014/01/i-just-cant-shake-my-native-american.html">THIS</a> and many other things that have happened to me throughout my life. But like I spoke about in <a href="http://theannapurnadiaries.blogspot.com/2012/01/defining-spiritualism.html">this post</a>, I thought I related to Spiritualism, which by definition, is a state of believing in a God, or a higher power of some sort.<a href="http://theannapurnadiaries.blogspot.com/2012_01_01_archive.html"></a><br />
<br />
However, as I stood up for the rights of my gay friends this week against the nutbag, over-the-top right wingers who came crawling out of the woodwork, I had to rethink my position. (I am happy to say, that none of these crazy-pants' were any of my friends. But friends of friends, who were happy to troll about, making people as nuts as they themselves truly are.) During all of this, I became vehemently, adamantly opposed to any kind of God that any of these horrible people would call "their god." The very thought of such a thing turned my stomach.<br />
<br />It made me stop and really think about what I believe. Do I believe in the Bible? Absolutely not. I think it's a misogynistic piece of drivel, created by overbearing men who wanted to control other men through fear, and put women beneath them. And to hear people quoting it like it was the constitution of the United States? Wow. People really BELIEVE that stuff?? So, where does that put me? Definitely not in the Christian camp, or even the Jewish camp, because although Jews and Christians differ in their belief that Jesus is the saviour of the world, they both believe there is a God.<br />
<br />
I've said before that I consider the afterlife, of which I absolutely believe; and would be a big huge hypocrite to deny; to be a place of love and wonder. A place where the cares of this life don't even matter anymore. A place governed by love, and not necessarily by ONE PERSON. I think of that place as just a place to BE. To watch over those we love who are still on earth. To agonize over their struggles, to assist when needed, and to fervently wish those left here knew how good it was going to be to leave it all behind in death.<br />
<br />
My grandmother died this week too. And I sat in a Mormon church and wished her a lovely, light-filled journey, and tried to ignore the dogma in which I grew up immersed, as it seeped into my very pores. 35 years in a religion will do that to you, even after you've left it. I wasn't afraid or filled with guilt. I remain genuinely pissed off that my forefathers in the Mormon church were persecuted, tarred and feathered, and pushed from place to place, no matter how misguided I now believe the religion to be. Maybe that's why I have so many gay friends. I always want to help the underdog, the downtrodden, the outcast.<br />
<br />
And it boggles my mind when other people go after those very groups that I spend my life and career helping. It makes me really hate people who are well. I feel like screaming: YOU COULD BE SICK!! You could need our help and not be able to get it because you can't afford it! You demonize President Obama, and yet he's the reason my patient got a 7 hour emergency surgery my boss and I stayed up until 1 am performing. And YOU didn't have to pay for it! Non sick people suck. At least sick people are nice, and like you for trying your best.<br />
<br />Which brings me back to the alive-and-well zealots.<br />
<br />
Why are people who think they have all the answers so intent on making sure everyone else must have their "truth" to the point of force feeding it? Why do countries go to war, and people die for these so-called "truths?" Inconceivable to me. So there I stand, in the middle of all my Mormon/Christian/Muslim/Hindu/Gay/Bi/Trans friends, one of the few people who is not religious, and not afraid to say so. And I find myself referring to Dayna Christison as an 'athiest,' a word I grew up associating with communists, socialists and anyone of the black persuasion. Because I was taught that kind of hatred.<br />
<br />
And I refuse to live that kind of hatred. I might not believe in a god, a saviour, or a prophet, but I believe in the inherent good of mankind. I know it's in there. I have seen it. I see it every day in my bosses hands, as he works miracles in tiny places, with tiny instruments, on people who don't appreciate the enormity of his knowledge. I see it in the eyes of my son, as he watches his daughter growing in the womb of his fiance. I see it in the laughing eyes of my husband, a Christian, who loves me and all of our children, despite the fact that none of us believe in Jesus. And I see it in you, despite our differences. I hope you can see it in me.<br />
<br />
I. Hope. You. Can. See.<br />
<br />
Because I'm Dayna Christison, and I'm an atheist.Dayna RNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17580018208470877887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6105449837530335432.post-42745069744045130962014-01-08T10:49:00.000-08:002014-01-08T10:49:54.623-08:00I just can't shake my Native American Boyfriend....He's BAAACCCKK!!<br />
<br />
Yes, it's true, I have a magnetic personality, but really? Apparently I am the object of his affection, that wily, wizened Indian friend of mine from 15 years ago.<br />
<br />
When we first built this house, it took about three days in residence before I saw him the first time. Always at night, and always right up in my personal space. He used to scare the crap out of me. When I finally pulled myself together and tried to accept the fact that A) I'm highly empathic, something I've known my whole life, and B) that I was graduating from hearing spirits to freaking SEEING them, I decided the best way to get rid of him was to ask him what he wanted. Problem is, the SOB would never tell me.<br />
<br />
I shared this creepy-ness with Laurel, my best friend at the time, and she told me that, as always, I was giving her goosebumps. (That's why she was my best friend; no judgement.) My relationship with this Indian spirit person went on for years, until, unexpectedly, Laurel was killed in a car accident. From the day she died, I never saw my Indian friend again.<br />
<a href="http://www.cassadaga.org/mapinfo/MediumPages/ConklinE_Info.htm"><br /></a>
Fast forward to January, 2012, when I met <a href="http://www.cassadaga.org/mapinfo/MediumPages/ConklinE_Info.htm">the Reverend Ed Conklin</a>, for the first time when I visited Cassadega Spiritualist camp. (Read about my first visit with Ed here: <a href="http://theannapurnadiaries.blogspot.com/2012/01/as-promised-what-medium-said.html">What the medium said.</a>)<br />
<br />
Ed was channeling Laurel, when all of a sudden, in pops this Indian fellow. Ed was having a hard time controlling his boisterous attitude, and you can read about the situation in the above link. I was totally confused as to why he was manifesting himself at that moment, because I hadn't seen him since Laurel died in July of 2000. I just listened to everything Ed said, and filed it away for future reference.<br />
<br />
About two weeks after I came home from Florida, I was visiting with my next door neighbor, who also happens to be an empath. I shared my coolie-cool experience from Cassadaga with her, and she started to weep and shake. She told me that my Indian friend had been haunting her house for 12 years, and that she and her family were so sick of seeing him in their house, that they were considering calling their pastor for an exorcism! He was scaring the bejesus out of her two children, and had a nasty habit of sitting on the chair in her bedroom, watching her and her husband in the most intimate of situations. She was sick and tired of him, just like I had been.<br />
<br />
Of course, I had to call Ed and consult about what to do with this guy! Diane and I followed Ed's instructions to do a meditation and blessing on him with the intent to send him to his final destination. We finished up that meditation with a smudging of her home. Voila! Neither one of us have seen him since.<br />
<br />
SOOOOO, I had to visit <a href="http://www.cassadaga.org/">Cassadaga</a> again last week, and follow up on a phone reading I had done in April of 2013 with Ed, which was very helpful to me during that particularly bad period of my life. I had nothing in mind; no agenda, nothing specific I wanted to know, other than wondering if my grandpa Nels was mad at me for initiating the surgery that ended up hastening his demise in May 2013.<br />
<br />
The reading was going well, and I had heard from both my grandmother Esther, who proclaimed from the first (she's ALWAYS first!!) that there would be "no bastard at this reading!" (This is in reference to my great-grandfather AJ, who came through in the April 2013 phone reading, and was a jerk to me, just like he was a jerk in real life.) I also heard from my grandpa Nels.<br />
<br />
First off, I really appreciate my grandmother Esther, who was always protective of me in life, and continues to be so now that she's gone. Secondly, grandpa Nels validated the fact that I had something to do with his death, but told me that he was ready to go, and that that he had missed grandma. He then showed Ed something that happened in the middle of the night at the hospital, two days before he died. No one was there but grandpa and me, and he knew that would cement for me that it was definitely him coming through. He and grandma are happy, and watching over us.<br />
<br />
I also heard from my grandpa Tyler, who admonished me to lose weight and work on my certification for NP this year. He is always practical, and pretty much a product of "the bastard" AJ, who was his own father. Direct and to the point; thanks grandpa T.<br />
<br />
I then asked Ed if Laurel was there, as she has come through every other time I've worked with him, and I haven't had an validations from her in quite some time on my own. He said she was coming forth, but IMMEDIATELY, as soon as she came up, he said:<br />
<br />
Ed: "Wait, this guy is shoving his way around Laurel! Um.... is there an American Indian?"<br />
<br />
Me: "Oh. My. God. Not again! What the hell?"<br />
<br />
Ed: "Oh, so this guy has come through before in our sessions?" (At this point I cannot believe he doesn't remember this guy, because my little friend always seems to make an impression on Ed.)<br />
<br />
Me: "Um, yes! What the hell does he want now? We got rid of him two years ago by following your directions!"<br />
<br />
Ed: "Well, okay, this is embarrassing."<br />
<br />
Me: "What? What is going on?"<br />
<br />
Ed: "Well....hmmm... he is showing me YOU."<br />
<br />Me: "Me? Doing what?"<br />
<br />
Ed: "Dancing a native dance around a large fire." (<i>He indicates the size of the fire with his hands</i>.)<br />
<br />
Me: "Me? Dancing around a fire? That's weird. What could that mean?"<br />
<br />
Ed: "Um, you are naked."<br />
<br />
Me: "Well, I apologize for that, sir! What an image. Wait! How does he know what I look like naked?"<br />
<br />
Ed: (<i>laughing)</i> "He's very enamored of you."<br />
<br />
Me: "'Enamored'? Like this guy has a crush on me or something?"<br />
<br />
Ed: "Oh, he's more than infatuated. He's completely in love with you."<br />
<br />
Me: "Ew!"<br />
<br />
Ed: "Well, he's serious about never leaving your property."<br />
<br />
Me: "Oh my God. Fabulous! So how do I get rid of him? He hasn't presented himself to me at all. Ask him where he's been?"<br />
<br />
Ed: "Okay." (<i>Shuts his eyes and concentrates, puckering up his brow.) </i>"He was very appreciative of your blessing (I never told him today that this is what we did, even though he told us to do it two years ago.) But he was also hurt that you wanted him to leave. He has been roaming about, but is using this reading as an opportunity to come back to you. I think you need to quit fighting this guy and use him as one of your guides."<br />
<br />
Me: (<i>reluctantly) "</i>Hmmm. Just what I need as a guide: A horny indian!" (<i>Ed peeps through his closed eyelids, smirking at me.) </i>Sorry. Go on?"<br />
<br />
Ed: "He is showing me a shield. In fact, Laurel is behind the shield. He's fiercely protective of her, and of you. I think it would be great to have this guy on your side."<br />
<br />
Me: (<i>It's now obvious to me by this guy's behavior that not only did Laurel get rid of him for me, as I suspected, but she has also befriended him in a big way.) </i><br />
"If you say so! I'll try to include him in my meditations, and will try not to be creeped out that he's stalking me from the other side. Sheesh."<br />
<br />
Ed: (<i>laughing)</i> "Well, he's stepping aside so Laurel can come back up front."<br />
<br />Me: "Great! Tell her I love her and that I am so happy that I've reconnected to her kids and grandchildren. Tell her that I'm looking out for them."<br />
<br />
Ed: (<i>In concentration mode again.) "</i>Did Laurel have dandruff?"<br /><br />Me: "NO! Not that I remember! That's weird, why?"<br />
<br />
Ed: "I see her with a little dust broom, brushing dandruff off the shoulders of someone wearing black. She is muttering: 'Worst goddamn case of dandruff I've ever seen!' Would she have talked that way?"<br />
<br />
Me: "Occasionally, but not usually! Weird. She was a cleaner, though. Always picking up or cleaning something. She had a day care center."<br />
<br />
Ed: "She's in an immaculate house now. Everything is very organized."<br />
<br />
Me: "Well, that's certainly not the way it was when she was alive! She could never get caught up."<br />
<br />
Ed: "Well, she's caught up now, and she's very proud of it. She says to tell you that you might be watching her children and grandchildren, but she's watching over all of YOU. I feel immense love here (<i>points to the center of his chest</i>) so she must really have been a loving, caring person."<br />
<br />
Me: "The most."<br />
<br />
So at this point we hashed over some of the other things we had talked about, and I came out of there shaking my head over this silly Indian man who died on my property, and who is all hot to trot for me.<br />
<br />
2013 was just a horrible year for me, all the way around. I'm beyond glad it's over, but I just have to say, I predict 2014 is going to be very interesting!<br />Dayna RNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17580018208470877887noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6105449837530335432.post-5157578050151171392013-10-09T15:55:00.001-07:002013-10-09T16:03:20.358-07:00REAL FOODThe "real food" movement is spreading. Like wildfire. And I couldn't be happier! Our foreign exchange student brought home a classmate yesterday while I was preparing dinner, and she said: "Oh, I see you're into organics too. My mom calls anything else FAKE FOOD!" I couldn't agree more.
<br />
<br />
When I think of all of the things I've tried to do over the years for my family, including canning hundreds of quarts of fruit every year, growing a garden, and baking our bread daily from scratch, I realize it wasn't enough. I did these things because I had five children, and we lived on one income. I did them because I am of German descent, and wasting food or anything else for that matter, is genetically abhorrent to me. But had I had just a little more information about the meat and diary products I was buying on sale and in bulk, our family might have been better off.<br />
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<br />
My mom is still active in the Mormon church, and if you are familiar with this organization, you know they push their members to obtain and use food storage and become more self-reliant. However, if you don't have a damn clue how to cook with whole foods, then how in the hell do you survive on them? My mom repeatedly gets asked to come and teach the younger women in her church how to make staple items from scratch, using food storage items. Every time she does it, which is about once a year, she feels like her demonstrations fall on deaf ears. Women work, and no one wants to be spending a whole day making chicken stock, like I did today, because they can buy it for $.89 a can at Walmart. They can also buy a myriad of convenience items on the cheap, that are, in my opinion, no better than eating at McDonalds every single meal, every single day.<br />
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<br />
My friend Jackie, a survivor of breast cancer, is a huge proponent of whole, clean eating. She has taught me so much, that even though I was already doing some of the things I mentioned above, I feel like I've begun my culinary conquest anew just in the last five years of our friendship. Her idea of preventative medicine begins with what goes on your dinner plate, and she's right. This is the argument that I use when people tell me that eating organic costs too much. As Jackie says: "Pay now, or pay later." With the number of young people out there who are uninsured, this bears some consideration. <br />
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<br />
It warms my heart that some of my younger friends ask me advice about cooking, and making things from scratch. It makes me feel like I might have done something right after all. My kids are all serious about their diets, especially my oldest son Renn. He and his girlfriend are constantly experimenting with growing new foods, and turning their yard into an edible landscape. Being vegetarian, they don't need to worry about running afoul of our horrendous poultry production industry (yes, pun intended) here in the US. If it comes in a bag and is shaped like a nugget or a perfectly formed breast, it's not for human consumption. I have two vegetarians, one vegan, and two carnivores, but they all are pretty cognizant of what they eat. My sister, who recently moved to a beautiful piece of property, started her son raising chickens, free range. Not only does my nephew have a great 4-H project going, but they have learned really quickly that bartering for fresh eggs gets them some pretty cool stuff, like honey, firewood and organic grass fed beef. How fun! And good for you.<br />
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I'm so proud of all the people who are coming around to the idea that food is what really is at the heart of all of the health problems I see in our population, on a daily basis. When anyone asks me: "Why do you do surgery on so many babies with cancer? Why are there so many brain tumors?" My answer is always: "It's in the food supply." <br />
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Anyone who has read my blog, or is friends with me on Facebook, knows that I buy all my chickens from <a href="http://www.inspirationplantation.com/">Inspiration Plantation</a>. Matt and Jen are my farmers. They send out weekly newsletters, conduct questionnaires, and pretty much let us decide what we will buy. They listen to their clients, and they are doing fabulously. I wouldn't get my poultry or eggs anywhere else. I buy my beef from a free range ranch in Idaho, and my farmer, Pat Robertson, calls me with updates on my beef cow, and then delivers my meat to me in the back of his pickup. Yep, that's personalized service and food you can feel good about. Expensive? Not in my opinion.</div>
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People need to really take into consideration what is being put into our food supply and sold as "food." If it's in a box or comes out of the frozen section, then you probably shouldn't eat it. Explore places like New Seasons, Chucks, and Trader Joe's. I think you'll find that you aren't spending that much more. Make three of the seven nights a week vegetarian nights, or even vegan nights. Invest in some good cookbooks, and subscribe to a good cooking magazine. What a great idea to ask for from relatives for Christmas! Here are a few of my favorites:<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWmkYsJeBIWpu_4a6Bx18S7_oDsDenGK8_2HSmnbEPWqXuukho5wgOGKqxW6HIdfBSg-_hHQpKKFpQRzPV9xIji0a8rnTriS4eEsiVtg4FEzC6b4T9g0mrulBV9NpeUmDxYOzd1eoVaeo/s1600/IMG_1608.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWmkYsJeBIWpu_4a6Bx18S7_oDsDenGK8_2HSmnbEPWqXuukho5wgOGKqxW6HIdfBSg-_hHQpKKFpQRzPV9xIji0a8rnTriS4eEsiVtg4FEzC6b4T9g0mrulBV9NpeUmDxYOzd1eoVaeo/s320/IMG_1608.JPG" /></a></div>
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The one without a cover is Vickie Tate's "Cooking with Home Storage." It is still available on Amazon, and I give one to everyone I care about. It's a bible of goodness. Order here: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Cookin-Home-Storage-Peggy-Layton/dp/1893519015/ref=sr_1_1_title_0_main?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1381358525&sr=1-1&keywords=cooking+with+home+storage">Cookin' with Home Storage</a>, and get yours today.<br />
<br />
If you are interested in Alice Water's method of making stock, then read my <a href="http://theannapurnadiaries.blogspot.com/2011/10/stock.html">STOCK!</a> blog here.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Cookin-Home-Storage-Peggy-Layton/dp/1893519015/ref=sr_1_1_title_0_main?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1381358525&sr=1-1&keywords=cooking+with+home+storage"></a>
So, think about your food, know your farmer, invest in your body and your health, and take your daily medicine: ORGANICS!<br />
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May you "Live long, and prosper!" <br />
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Dayna RNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17580018208470877887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6105449837530335432.post-61395327270747176822013-06-06T15:09:00.000-07:002013-06-06T15:09:29.158-07:00An open letter to my mother: Carole Anne Anderson<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Thank you Mom.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Thank
you for being the most self-sacrificing human being I’ve ever encountered.
Thank you for raising four girls by yourself when your husband left you with an
old car and not much else. Thank you for the work you did, and for all the
activities you tried desperately to attend, even when you’d already worked 12
hours that day. Thank you for saving money in a mason jar (money saved while
making less than $10 an hour) so that we could take the train to California to
go to Disneyland.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Thank you for taking a decent man as your second husband,
and for once in your life, having a partner with which to share your life’s
burdens. Thank you for supporting an 18-year-old girl who insisted she’d found
the love of her life, and for helping with my wedding even though you must have
been horrified to watch me walk down that aisle at such a young age. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Thank you for the joy with which you received the addition
of each of my children into your life, and for the grandparents you and Dennis
were to them. Thank you for making the 850 mile trek to Utah each summer,
hauling a trailer, to make sure those boys got to go camping. You didn’t have
to do that, but you did. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Thank you for teaching me the meaning of being a loving daughter. You
gave up your retirement to care for your parents, never leaving for more than a
few days at a time because you knew how badly you were needed. Thank you for
choosing to make your home in Dallas, and for all the times you jumped up and
ran over to Glen Street as soon as your presence was requested. Thank you for
being the one who was there, so that the rest of us could enjoy the freedom of
not having to worry. No one will ever know the toll that being a caregiver took
on both you and Dennis. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Thank you for quietly doing all of these things without
complaint. Thank you for never asking for a single thing in return. Thank you
for everything that you did for our family. I know there are deep places in
your heart where you hold memories of your service dear, and those secrets will
never be told because they are sacred to you. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Thank you for being a silent rock, always standing firm as
the waves of life crashed over you, through good times and bad, and for
weathering those storms without complaint. Thank you for being strong, while
the rest of us crumpled as Grandma and Grandpa died, because you knew you’d
done more than your fair share and then some. You knew you had done your very
best to give them what they needed on a daily basis.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And most of all, thank you for the love that you have shown
your entire family, unconditionally, even when that love was not returned. You
are a hero.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
Dayna RNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17580018208470877887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6105449837530335432.post-25598367637058077282012-11-15T14:10:00.000-08:002012-11-19T11:37:38.921-08:00The one where I "Just Say NO!" to the Red-Pot Ringers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWA0c9FqAlRhDWr_TaGx2_8NcJIgxfpHCjNaM5dKIRrMwhSsh5VqBPqnbq4F4FFLmLUcxwMI21h6ivWnWQ0U08623Z_zgOr7kgU1CW-F1Nn-hOfF6Ab601ZVUOA_Qry2pXv6YseaL7uyI/s1600/IMG_0479.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="187" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWA0c9FqAlRhDWr_TaGx2_8NcJIgxfpHCjNaM5dKIRrMwhSsh5VqBPqnbq4F4FFLmLUcxwMI21h6ivWnWQ0U08623Z_zgOr7kgU1CW-F1Nn-hOfF6Ab601ZVUOA_Qry2pXv6YseaL7uyI/s320/IMG_0479.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Saw this bumper sticker today, on the back of what I lovingly, and probably inappropriately, call a "lez wagon." For the uninitiated, any hatchback Subaru is a "lez wagon." There are a ton of Subaru hatchbacks in the Pacific Northwest. A lot of them are driven by LGBT type of people, hence the nickname. One of them is driven by my very married girlfriend, who thinks it's hilarious that people think she's a lesbian because of her vehicle of choice. She has dared Mike to make good on his threat to put a rainbow sticker on the back when she's not looking.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Anyway, I have a great love for this group of people; I seem to be drawn to them for some reason. Mike is always saying: "If there is a gay person within a 100 mile radius, you will find them and make friends with them!" Not that it bothers him. I think he finds it amusing somehow. I just think that LGBT's are not only some of the most interesting people to talk to, but they have a love and tolerance developed by years of suffering that I haven't found in others. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I think it's interesting that most every gay person I've met is such an awesome person. If I had been denied the right of marriage, ridiculed from a young age about my sexuality, personality, stance, demeanor and/or mannerisms, I'd be a pretty pissed off cookie. Yet these people just exude love, tolerance and freedom. I think it's very cool.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The fact that this bumper sticker parrots an Obama for President sticker did not escape my notice. Same color, same general appearance. The President did two good things in his first term; 1: He repealed the "don't ask, don't tell" law that prohibited openly gay men and women from serving in our nation's military. Yay for that, because that was just a shitty, discriminatory law to begin with. Who wrote that anyway?? 2: He disavowed a federal law defining marriage as between "one man and one woman." That was HUGE for the LGBT community. But until May this year, he never came out and vocalized his endorsement for gay marriage. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">When he finally did, he was very careful, but succinct about his feelings on the matter. In an article from the New York Times, dated May 12, 2012, our President says the following:</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"At a certain point, I've just concluded that for me, personally, it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same-sex couples should be able to get married." He goes on to explain: "I had hesitated on gay marriage in part because I thought that civil unions would be sufficient. I was sensitive to the fact that for a lot of people, the word marriage was something that invokes a very powerful traditions and religious beliefs." President Obama also invoked his Christian faith in explaining his decision. "The thing at the root that we think about is, no only Chris sacrificing himself on our behalf, but it's the golden rule- you know, treat others the way you would want to be treated," he said. "And I think that's what we try to impart to our kids, and that's what motivates me as President."</span></blockquote>
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<span style="line-height: 19.066667556762695px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Amen Mr. President. That's what it's all about. Tolerance, acceptance, and <i>love. </i></span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 19.066667556762695px;">It is alright to hold beliefs because you are of a certain faith. But to force those beliefs on non-believers because you are in the position to do so is wrong, no matter which side of the fence you sit on. I am so happy that gay people can now legally commit themselves to one another. To legally say "I do!" with all of the benefits, commitments, and meaning that marriage holds. To legally have a say-so in all aspects of life. It's huge.</span><br />
<span style="line-height: 19.066667556762695px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 19.066667556762695px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"So what does all of this have to do with the Salvation Army?" you're all thinking??! Where is she going with this? Well, let me tell you.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 19.066667556762695px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 19.066667556762695px;">Those volunteers who stand outside grocery and department stores, ringing a bell during the Holidays to get you to drop your change in a bucket for the Salvation Army, probably do so because they believe it is a great community service opportunity. I do not disagree with that. What I do not condone, however, is the openly anti-gay stance that the Salvation Army takes in their doctrine. Like any other Bible-based religion, they believe homosexuality is wrong. They have had some overly zealous quack-a-doodles from their church, most recently </span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=A5UWnSAd5eY" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 19.066667556762695px;">this idiot</a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 19.066667556762695px;">, whose remarks, of course, were called "extremely regrettable" in an apology statement from the Salvation Army. </span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 19.066667556762695px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 19.066667556762695px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Yeah, sure. It's only extremely regrettable when you bigots get <i>caught</i> and that's what has happened here. The dogma and ideology remain, and only when something goes viral on YouTube do you bother to apologize for your behaviour. </span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 19.066667556762695px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="line-height: 19.066667556762695px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So don't give these guys any of your spare change. In the name of the LGBT community, have some true Holiday compassion, and give to a more deserving charity, like <a href="http://www.thepointfoundation.org/">The Point Foundation</a>, who gives scholarships to at-risk LGBT youth. Or <a href="http://www.glli.org/home">The Victory Institute</a>, who support openly gay candidates for government office. </span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 19.066667556762695px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 19.066667556762695px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Learn some love and tolerance, and remember, what you give comes back to you. Eventually. It's called Karma. I believe it, and I also believe that our whole purpose here on this planet is to learn to love. Unconditionally. Give it a try!</span></span><br />
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Dayna RNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17580018208470877887noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6105449837530335432.post-20310505045529827872012-11-13T15:23:00.002-08:002012-11-13T15:24:59.574-08:00The Sign on our Door<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<u><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 28.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Apple Chancery"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Doggie Rules<o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-left: .35in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 20.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">1.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 20.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Apple Chancery"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Please ring doorbell or text/call to ascertain
if dog is on-leash or being forcibly restrained BEFORE ENTERING!!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .35in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 20.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">2.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 20.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Apple Chancery"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">DO NOT open door or screen door unless one of us
is there and the dog is secured. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .35in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 20.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">3.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 20.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Apple Chancery"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">If we are not home, enter through garage. Be prepared
to chase dog in case teenagers left the inner door open.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .35in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 20.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">4.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 20.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Apple Chancery"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">If dog escapes because you ignored rules #1, 2
and 3, you are responsible to catch said dog and return her safely to us. Enjoy
your five-mile sprint and obstacle course.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .35in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 20.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">5.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 20.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Apple Chancery"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">If dog escapes and you are running, know that no
one will help you catch her because she looks like a fox in pursuit of prey. Be
prepared for the possibility of buckshot or gunfire aimed at you or “fox” in
flight.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .35in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 20.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">6.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 20.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Apple Chancery"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">If, by some miracle, you gain entry to our home
without any of the aforementioned mishaps, please do not respond to our darling
Shiba Inu, who will be jumping up on you by way of greeting. Please ignore dog
until she is calm or until one of us gives you leave to worship her highness
properly. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
<span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 20.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Apple Chancery"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">THANK YOU FOR YOUR COOPERATION<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<!--EndFragment--><br />Dayna RNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17580018208470877887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6105449837530335432.post-21492502707858538642012-11-08T19:48:00.002-08:002012-11-08T19:51:39.352-08:00It's been a while...Well, I knew 2012 was going to fly by in a blur, but it is pathetic that I haven't posted since Valentine's day. Ironically, I started clinicals for the year shortly after that post, and have been at it ever since, hence the lack of entries.<br />
<br />
I've accomplished hundreds of hours of clinical this year, and have covered family practice, gynecology, pediatrics, geriatrics, and have a specialty ENT internship coming up. It's been fascinating, scary and wonderful, all at the same time. There have also been moments (more than a few) when I've questioned my sanity. I am very good at being a surgical nurse. I know my shit. So WHY?? Why am I putting myself through this? To feel like a total fraud/amateur? Because it's not fun to go back to being a learner, and they warned us all about this when we started. Apparently I didn't listen or didn't believe. Now I do; a little too late to save myself from the anguish of <i>not</i> being the best at something. I like being good at what I do, and it terrifies me that I <i><u>will</u></i> leave this Master's program knowing only 10% of what I need to know to take care of patients. TEN PERCENT!! I wouldn't want to be one of the patients that I'm figuring out the other 90% on. No way! But that's how they send us out; to figure out the rest of it. It's called "practicing medicine."<br />
<br />
This is where faith comes in. And you all know I'm not a believer in God/Buddah/Jesus/Allah, what-EVER! So how am I going to make it through this new life I've created for myself? I have no idea. I'm still figuring it out. I have to have faith in myself, meditation, good Karma and positive energy, and see where it takes me. I have the basics; now I just need to figure out how to make my dreams come true.<br />
Scary.Dayna RNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17580018208470877887noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6105449837530335432.post-53548033127632658392012-02-10T12:05:00.001-08:002012-02-10T12:05:44.472-08:00Just in time for Valentines Day!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizR5T73m8dvrZFwbkbJm48Q4-MjkokXFVl31Gx8kecel2rhIczUpMR6F3z1VrSrnqZQ2A0HpO_p44rsHrvs37rzMdgua24dqcpP5U1HK-RSe_pNuvwX1Jtuwe5tdZGa5FQ_g2V9f4u1fA/s1600/Valentine+post.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizR5T73m8dvrZFwbkbJm48Q4-MjkokXFVl31Gx8kecel2rhIczUpMR6F3z1VrSrnqZQ2A0HpO_p44rsHrvs37rzMdgua24dqcpP5U1HK-RSe_pNuvwX1Jtuwe5tdZGa5FQ_g2V9f4u1fA/s640/Valentine+post.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Dayna RNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17580018208470877887noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6105449837530335432.post-2894905534231692982012-02-09T17:33:00.000-08:002012-02-09T17:33:09.779-08:00Hosting the ArchangelsMy sister sent me an email asking me if I wanted to host the archangels this week. I had never heard of it, but apparently it's something well known to Spiritualists, Christians, Wiccans, Jews, pretty much everyone except the pasty white of the Mormon faith, which is probably why the concept is so foreign to me. (Or maybe it's the fact that the Mormons never referred to them as archangels, but rather that they believe that archangel Michael was also the first man, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam" title="Adam">Adam</a> (<a class="external text" href="https://new.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/128.20-21?lang=eng#19" rel="nofollow">D&C 128:20-21</a>) and that the angel Gabriel is <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noah" title="Noah">Noah</a>.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-21"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archangel#cite_note-21"><span></span><span></span></a></sup> The angel identified as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raphael_%28archangel%29" title="Raphael (archangel)">Raphael</a> by other Christian traditions is also recognized as an angel of significant standing in LDS scripture.)<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archangel#cite_note-22"><span></span></a><br />
<br />
So the ritual begins by creating some sort of special place in your clean house. (Okay, I dusted, does that count?) An alter if you will. Upon this shelf, alter (or the top of my organ, such as it is) you place a white flower (I found a Jasmine in full bloom... bonus!) a white candle, and an apple. I also gussied it up with a white doily.<br />
<br />
Next you write three wishes on a piece of paper. One for yourself, one for your family, and one for Mother Earth. You put those in an envelope and place them next to the candle. You can also write a question on another piece of paper and put it in a separate envelope. At 10:30 the first night, you light the candle and then open your front door to usher in the archangels. There's a script, but basically you just thank them for their presence and treat them like an honored guest. They stay five days, then you thank them and let them out at 10:30 on the fifth night.<br />
<br />
My sister has an indigo child. This child did not appreciate the presence of the archangels, and my sister warned me that they caused nothing but upheaval and strife the whole week she hosted. But she blames that on my niece. We'll see what happens this week.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2Hd2syxKCjVB794C_3xlcuCx2dRqeQnzTJJMskLmZjxgCPHrUIw51eL1758KYvIMbCs_IyD7y83WczHX2IZQP8XzCa2P8pulZsXEoR3vqlmfKfgSrnLePx1kSWkVX2BsJXzh4dy7JKPI/s1600/archangel+Michael" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2Hd2syxKCjVB794C_3xlcuCx2dRqeQnzTJJMskLmZjxgCPHrUIw51eL1758KYvIMbCs_IyD7y83WczHX2IZQP8XzCa2P8pulZsXEoR3vqlmfKfgSrnLePx1kSWkVX2BsJXzh4dy7JKPI/s320/archangel+Michael" width="213" /></a></div>Some background: The archangels, according to Wikipedia are the highest of the high of celestial beings. They have many different names, depending on which religion you are, but the most common three are Michael, Rafael, and Gabriel. This picture is supposed to be of Michael, slaying Satan. Well, I don't believe in Satan perse, but I do believe in evil energy. So perhaps the gentlemen will keep us free from that this week. I wonder if there are female archangels? If there are, I suppose the patriarchal men who wrote the bible never bothered to mention them.Dayna RNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17580018208470877887noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6105449837530335432.post-71204312620868173412012-02-05T14:11:00.000-08:002012-02-05T14:16:24.544-08:00Sharing is Caring<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's taken me ten years to walk the path out of Mormonism. I've blogged about the experience here recently, but up to that point the pain and agony of the journey was shared with very few people.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For obvious reasons, I don't give my life history/struggles to the world. But this week I came to the realization that not only am I better for having gone through that painful experience, but others can benefit from it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A friend of mine reached out to me this week, seeking my advice for a friend of his who is walking a similar life-path as I've walked. I shared my story, gave him my take on how he should handle his friend, and hoped for the best.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was so grateful and humbled by the follow up on this situation. Not only was I able to help my friend put aside some of his pre-conceived ideas about how to help his friend, but he was able to use my story to re-think how he wanted to support and love this friend through his decision, rather than fight him and try to change his mind.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As he put it: "<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Your email was literally </span><b style="font-size: 12pt;"><i>the</i> </b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">thing that allowed things to click in my brain in such a way that I finally "got it." </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span>I always said: "If I only help one person by sharing, then I will feel that something good came of doing so." This week, one person has been helped. I feel grateful for the blessing of written expression, and for the ability to touch a life.</span>Dayna RNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17580018208470877887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6105449837530335432.post-55479455702541320382012-01-24T17:30:00.000-08:002012-01-26T13:34:40.991-08:00As Promised: What the Medium saidSo I hooked up with the Reverend Ed Conklin, PhD at Cassadaga Spiritualist camp. Read more on Dr. Conklin here: <a href="http://www.cassadaga.org/MapInfo/MediumPages/ConklinE_Info.htm">http://www.cassadaga.org/MapInfo/MediumPages/ConklinE_Info.htm</a><br />
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His card was the one I Rekei'd off the shelf. It had a nice warm glow about it. I then checked the "Mediums available today" board, and there he was! I placed a call to him, he picked right up, and in 10 minutes I was standing in his living room. He welcomed me with a hearty handshake, and then escorted me into his reading room, which I was delighted to see was full of American Indian artifacts and other spiritual talismans.<br />
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He showed me where there was paper and pen, should I desire to take notes, and then explained to me how his mediumship worked, buy telling me that he hears and sees spirits who wish to commune with the person there for a reading. Without further ado, we began.<br />
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The first thing he said was that he had an "older woman" there, someone who could have been a grandmother type figure to me, and someone who had taught me a lot. At first I thought he was talking about Laurel, even though she was only 7 years older than me. But he then said: "Well, she says you're rather under dressed for the occasion! I see stiletto heals and bright red lipstick, and a peaches and cream complexion." Right away I know this is Grandma Nina, Mike's paternal grandmother. I've been trying to connect with her for years, since she died, to no avail.<br />
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Ed: "Who is the "R" name?"<br />
Me: "That could be two different people."<br />
Ed: "Which one is the cabbage head? Who doesn't listen to advice, and is lost?" (HER words, not mine:)<br />
Me: "Well, that'd be my son Renn."<br />
Ed: "She was very close to him; loved him very much and she's concerned about his life-path."<br />
(I'm thinking, yeah, so am I!) But I say: "Yes, he's had some rough times, and doesn't seem to know what he wants to do with his life."<br />
Ed: "She says you need to tell him she's not happy with his path, and you need to spend more time with him. He's smart and bright, he lacks direction."<br />
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Okay, so thing #1 is dead on.<br />
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Ed: "Next I have," pauses, clutching his chest, "Wow, this person! She loved you so much! WOW!" <br />
Me: "Yes, go on."<br />
Ed: "They don't usually do this type of thing..."<br />
Me: "What's she doing?"<br />
Ed: "Putting herself through me."<br />
Me: "I know exactly who that is. That is my friend Laurel, who passed away 10 years ago. She has been channeled twice by two good friends of mine. They both had the same reaction to her that you're having."<br />
Ed: "She loves you so much! She's very excited for you this year. She says that you will find your peace when you've accomplished what you have in store this year. Are you going somewhere?"<br />
Me: "In a manner of speaking."<br />
Ed: "She says you will have success."<br />
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Cool beans. Maybe I'll graduate in December after all!<br />
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Ed: "Now this next person, okay, what is THAT? Um, all I'm seeing is a pair of dentures going in and out in and out of someone's mouth! And what is that sound??"<br />
Me: "This is my Grandmother Joyce. We used to ask her to flip her dentures in and out for fun when we were kids. (I'm kind of freaking out here, because this is VERY specific...<br />
Ed: "That sound. It's odd, is that her laugh?<br />
Me, making the clucking sound my Grandmother used to make when she was upset with us. "Is that the sound you're hearing?"<br />
Ed: "Yes. Very odd."<br />
Me: "Why is she upset with me?"<br />
Ed: "She is worried you don't take care of yourself."<br />
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No shit Grandma. Do you think I might have some stress??! So I tell him to thank her for me, and I promise to try harder to do things for myself (like meditate, vacation, and definitely come back to this totally cool place!!)<br />
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Ed: "Now I see two older men, grandpa's perhaps? They have a deer."<br />
Me: "A DEER?"<br />
Ed: "Yes, did someone hunt?"<br />
Me: "Um. Not sure. I know my husband's grandfather Howard fished... not sure about Grandpa Doug."<br />
Ed: "They are showing me a liver."<br />
Me: "!! Like an ORGAN?"<br />
Ed: "Yes, one of them has it in the one hand, and he is holding a deer strung on a pole with the other hand. The two of them have it on a pole between them."<br />
Me: "Weird, okay."<br />
Ed: "Who is MIKE?"<br />
Me: choking on my own spit... "My husband."<br />
Ed: "They are concerned about his recent diagnosis.... does he have liver problems?"<br />
Me: "Yes."<br />
Ed: "They say he will get past this diagnosis, and live a long life."<br />
Me: "Yes, he's always worried he'll die young. Both his Grandpa's died fairly young."<br />
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Okay, so that's interesting that they're worried about Mike. I wasn't afraid he would die, but I was concerned about his health problems. Good to know they understand how he feels.<br />
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At this point, Ed starts describing a Native American spirit, who is "elbowing his way to the front." Someone who keeps insisting that he's tied to me. I know right away who this jackass is, and I am PISSED! This person proceeded to jack the last 15 minutes of my session, insisting that he be paid a tribute.<br />
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Ed: "Ooh, he's a prankster!"<br />
Me: "Tell me about it. Ask the jerk what in the hell it is he wants, because I've been asking him that for years, and he won't tell me."<br />
Ed: "Your friend is jumping up and down."<br />
Me: "That's because I told her about him waking me up at night, staring me in the face. He scared the crap out of me for years.<br />
Ed: "He says he's connected to you."<br />
Me: "There is no Native American in my family; I have researched my genealogy back to the 1600's."<br />
Ed: "He's very insistent that he is tied to you."<br />
Me: "Ask him if he's tied to my property."<br />
Ed: "Tied how?"<br />
Me: "Ask him if he's buried on it," (this has been my suspicion for years.)<br />
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<br />
So at this point Ed proceeds to ask this guy if indeed he is buried on or near my property. He then describes perfectly the ten acres that bump up to our property from the back side, which are privately owned by the same family, and have been owned by them since 1965.<br />
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Ed: "He died in some sort of a fight. He died defending himself on that property."<br />
Me: "Again, ask him what he wants!"<br />
Ed: after some time, "He won't say."<br />
Me: "EXACTLY! I'm totally pissed at him. Tell him that!"<br />
Ed: "I wouldn't advise that. I think he needs your blessings."<br />
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He then told me how I could try and send the guy some peace, and love light. I've tried it since, and so far he hasn't shown back up at my house. However, I ran a magazine over to my neighbor, who is highly clairvoyant, and who has channeled Laurel once before, and I casually mentioned my visit to Cassadaga. During the course of this conversation, I find out that Mr. Native American, who has not bothered me for 10 years, and who I thought was long gone after Laurel died, has indeed, not left the area! He's been hanging out at Diane's these past 10 years! Both of her kids have seen him, and she said he was particularly troublesome the last week of December. She was in tears because she was about to call her pastor to come and do an exorcism! She said, amazingly enough, that the past week had been very quiet. This coincided with my sending him out a blessing during my meditation. I encouraged her to do the same thing, and so hopefully this restless spirit will find his leave of this earthly plane!<br />
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This is exactly why people say to never discount anything that happens in a reading. I didn't need to hear about my Native American spirit from the past, DIANE DID!! It's very cool when you realize that something is truly real for a reason.<br />
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At any rate, other than another hint from Laurel that I would "take the long way home from somewhere distant in June," the reading pretty much finished with Native American jacking the last of my time. If you ever get a chance to go to Cassadaga, partake fully of the coolness there, and maybe try your hand at a reading! Totally worth it.Dayna RNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17580018208470877887noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6105449837530335432.post-16863540875652528192012-01-05T21:14:00.000-08:002012-01-14T14:54:01.530-08:00Defining Spiritualism<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhErpGsqC-f3jfbEOkAAJDapzxrsb7X2cHTE6l7QZ7r4Tra08AO967lYF48bCdGqE1sYlQRDgYvESz_ajo2F_5cwIa1OkCHE7JFPAA67UDd4eTuSl4wqQbPqnQrFFGgAfH72hv1nW4AyKk/s1600/cassadagaghost.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhErpGsqC-f3jfbEOkAAJDapzxrsb7X2cHTE6l7QZ7r4Tra08AO967lYF48bCdGqE1sYlQRDgYvESz_ajo2F_5cwIa1OkCHE7JFPAA67UDd4eTuSl4wqQbPqnQrFFGgAfH72hv1nW4AyKk/s1600/cassadagaghost.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div>I recently visited my best friend in Florida. Though I've been to Florida many times, I'd never heard of a place called Cassadaga, let alone journeyed there. However, Teresa, my best friend, has felt a pull there for the past year, and knew that she had to go there, but only with me.<br />
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Teresa and I are both conduits of sorts. Yes, I can hear you all now, screaming: "I see dead people!" But that's not really it. We both have been blessed with the ability to interact with those who have passed on, and for both of us it is such a natural part of our lives that we seldom question it. It's kind of like knowing you have toes on your feet without looking down to verify it.<br />
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But even with my vast history of interactions with the spirit world, nothing prepared me for our trip to Cassadaga. We started out on our 90 minute drive on a cloudy, cool day: January 2, 2012. Within 30 minutes we had moved away from the coast far enough that we began to see sun peeking through the marine layer, and by the time we reached the dusty little town of Cassadaga, there was nothing but blue sky as far as the eye could see.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhXmp41m0ognHxqcptzqQuQIRepiECWSfhRRhXQXbWnZEGV-eP7QaEgcx3osH_vVeD7mTxDGtThKKJHRnFw5ny1MEa26ePW6Q6QxEEVmVNcVW-cuvU9yOCYm1E73Oq4CP2h82rsxdJWpM/s1600/mapcassadaga.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhXmp41m0ognHxqcptzqQuQIRepiECWSfhRRhXQXbWnZEGV-eP7QaEgcx3osH_vVeD7mTxDGtThKKJHRnFw5ny1MEa26ePW6Q6QxEEVmVNcVW-cuvU9yOCYm1E73Oq4CP2h82rsxdJWpM/s320/mapcassadaga.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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To say this town is small and hard to find would be an understatement. Even the Garmin got us lost. But eventually we pulled up in front of the book store, where a sign declared: Cassadaga Spiritualist Camp. As soon as I stepped from the vehicle, my chest began to hum with a familiar buzz that I only feel when I'm being contacted by someone. Only this was like being <i>surrounded</i> by a million someones, and it was COOL! Probably the coolest thing I've ever experienced. I wanted to jump up and down like a 4-year-old! Teresa, on the other hand, had the most terrified look on her face I've ever seen, and was already starting to hyperventilate. I had to grab her hand and pull her inside before anyone noticed her having a panic attack on the city sidewalk. She needs to learn to guard herself, but hasn't yet mastered that skill, hence one of the reasons we'd made our little trek to start out 2012.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiVqJAm-8eJ8rrbKlFYj-wO6ma_bWHTQxkbj0Cy0_bd5ZER57gz5m1K07vquxv3kPFBL4diMo9FgbhqB10oTjgftv_FgEsf-MzmHnHtadIp1-1QtWVFIHzY3TUjvn8Nof_bJPyPk5lyiE/s1600/cassadaga+camp+sign.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiVqJAm-8eJ8rrbKlFYj-wO6ma_bWHTQxkbj0Cy0_bd5ZER57gz5m1K07vquxv3kPFBL4diMo9FgbhqB10oTjgftv_FgEsf-MzmHnHtadIp1-1QtWVFIHzY3TUjvn8Nof_bJPyPk5lyiE/s1600/cassadaga+camp+sign.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div>I've been having another weird-ass dream. I know, you all heard about the dirty bathroom dream. This one is a recurrent dream that I'm nursing someone else's baby, which is something I always wished I had enough courage to do when I was actually nursing one of my own. I've always considered it to be the most wonderful thing to do for someone in need. However, this dream is rather unsettling to be dreaming when you are **ahem** beginning a new journey into menopause.<br />
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So I started in the "Books about Dreams" section, after depositing Teresa on a bench until she could catch her breath. With a new volume in hand, I was soon tapped on the shoulder by the bookstore lady, who asked if she could be of assistance. I told her that I'd found what I was looking for in the book I was holding. She replied: "You also ought to consider having a reading while you're here."<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT-OMZ0TrQdmrsbcgcfag9jSVdBLZ23kdES4alsNgefmmbsN0q3HkLLqdkVHUqTYFMBGmUpsua4UDP11eITpjPYFFByaB9WNz8qaU7zM5k1Ls9pNpqgiFDlbl6WAraUFqbjE5ZwmVcfio/s1600/cassadagabookstore.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT-OMZ0TrQdmrsbcgcfag9jSVdBLZ23kdES4alsNgefmmbsN0q3HkLLqdkVHUqTYFMBGmUpsua4UDP11eITpjPYFFByaB9WNz8qaU7zM5k1Ls9pNpqgiFDlbl6WAraUFqbjE5ZwmVcfio/s1600/cassadagabookstore.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div>HMMM. That hadn't occurred to me, actually. I've always been a big fan of John Edward, (the medium, not the cheating, lying, fornicating, scumbag politician,) and I'd actually expressed an interest in seeing him live. Here was my chance to see if these medium people were real! The kindly bookstore lady directed me to a white board where I could choose from a list of available mediums. I opted to Reiki the business cards displayed at the bottom of the board instead, which were cards from all the mediums in town. I pulled a medium named Ed, who low and behold, was available for consult that day. Yeah, I'm kind of into my ability to do that! Anyway, I experienced a wonderful reading, which I will blog about later. The purpose of this blog today is to impart to you a little flyer that I picked up in the bookstore.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNfgbOvwntjvfpITaA7-m0ya6AfwEG3aLI2zS9p2JFrv1Dsd0RrvPEiVXQEvFbemAU1invsHztT8tjGVyHOnV1HiQU6Jft0ezILp1v_bsgNYAT9VbPbArabdkxTcds0oAO3ayD77u-7Us/s1600/casadaga+road+sign.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNfgbOvwntjvfpITaA7-m0ya6AfwEG3aLI2zS9p2JFrv1Dsd0RrvPEiVXQEvFbemAU1invsHztT8tjGVyHOnV1HiQU6Jft0ezILp1v_bsgNYAT9VbPbArabdkxTcds0oAO3ayD77u-7Us/s1600/casadaga+road+sign.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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I've called myself a spiritualist for years, ever since I left the Mormon church, and started looking into alternative ways to connect with a higher power. I still hesitate to call it/she/him/them "god" because I'm not really sure what that means. However, this isn't the only area I've had a hard time defining. So I was thrilled to pick up a flyer called: What is Spiritualism? It defines me almost to a tee, so I'm going to share it below:<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">What is Spiritualism?</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;">"Spiritualism is a science, philosophy and religion:</div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><ul><li>a science because it investigates, analyzes, and classifies facts and manifestations of the spirit;</li>
<li>a philosophy because it studies the laws of nature both on the seen and unseen side of life and bases its conclusions upon present, observed facts;</li>
<li>a religion because it strives to understand and comply with the physical, mental and spiritual laws of nature, which are the laws of god.</li>
</ul><div>Spiritualism's main focus is to promote an individual's personal experience with God.</div><div>Spiritualism is a religion that is not based on a relationship with a particular savior. It recognizes all prophets that h ave come to humankind throughout the ages, not setting one above the other. It is based upon the idea that we are all to form our own relationship with god, and to obtain guidance and accept responsibility for our actions based on our interaction with that personal guidance. We are able to have that instant and personal communication directly with God through no intermediary; hence the reason that we do not give anyone a fixed idea of God, only that there is a God. Any attempt to personalize the idea of God only limits the totality of that intelligence, which is the reason that Spiritualists sometimes refer to that idea of God as "infinite intelligence" or "infinite Spirit."</div><div><br />
</div><div>Spiritualism teaches survival of the personality after death, meaning that we still think of ourselves the same after death as during our physical life. This is proven by Mediumship, the bringing aback of loved ones in evidential form who have gone through the change called death. Belief in the survival of the personality also removes grieving when it is realized that our loved ones are still around us from time to time, are able to communicate with us and still care about us, and can be communicated with. Mediumship, when done in the true sense, will produce a real understanding of this existence and level of interaction to and from the spirit realm.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Spiritualists believe that the nature of mankind is to be good, not evil. We do not believe in sin and repentance, only spiritual progression by natural law. Nor do we believe in vicarious atonement, which means we believe that you are responsible at all times for your actions, here and hereafter, and must compensate in some fashion for them yourself, not through a savior of some kind.</div><div>Spiritualists feel that all religions can produce enlightenment, and believe that Jesus, as well as other saviors and prophets, was a real person.</div><div>Our feeling is that your purpose here is to evolve spiritually, and then use that to be of service to others as you continue to evolve."</div><div><b>Printed by Southern Cassadaga Spiritualist Camp Meeting Association</b></div><div><b><br />
</b></div><div>So now, maybe after reading the above description, you all will understand where I'm coming from.</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikmKZQ-UQqxqA467iosNHz7vgYGgUOq4fYlwFTa6Dj-5tiuXpkv1P6RLCsWp-R4xyosHzNNsM189faoBckGp1hoZ-gCmE57iQoBYe0IN68El4bskM2ZEFT_kD3hAefMZSCc32qNVh5TMo/s1600/spritxing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikmKZQ-UQqxqA467iosNHz7vgYGgUOq4fYlwFTa6Dj-5tiuXpkv1P6RLCsWp-R4xyosHzNNsM189faoBckGp1hoZ-gCmE57iQoBYe0IN68El4bskM2ZEFT_kD3hAefMZSCc32qNVh5TMo/s1600/spritxing.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></div><div>Or, you can shake your head and think I see dead people. The choice is yours.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Stay tuned for more on Cassadaga....</div>Dayna RNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17580018208470877887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6105449837530335432.post-84094503112764714242011-12-09T13:58:00.000-08:002011-12-09T13:58:50.720-08:00If I can survive this, I can survive anything...I work in a hospital. I answer the phones when people have issues with our computerized charting system. I have weathered some pretty awful people doing this job: the haters, the I-can'ts, the this-is-so-stupids, the you-don't-know-what-you're-talking-abouts.... you get the picture.<br />
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I realize now, that the past 18 months were just to prepare me for today. <br />
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Today was the day that I walked my computer illiterate parents through the process of printing out their cruise documents, boarding passes, and luggage tags. Over the <i>phone.</i><br />
<i><br />
</i><br />
No big deal, you're thinking? Well, maybe not if you know what the phrases: 'browser window,' 'search engine,' 'log in box,' 'password,' 'x-to-close' and 'printer icon' mean. Picture in your head having to be dually logged in and attempting to give verbal directions to two people who have a brand new computer and do not know how to get on the Internet.<br />
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Yes, let's get ONLINE first. Oh, you say you don't know how to get online? Okay. Deep breath. Let's start at the beginning. Oh. My. God.<br />
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The saving grace after 90 minutes of deep breathing, gut wrenching, face making, gun in my mouth pantomiming, was the sound of the printer working in the background and this final statement: "Oh, you're such and <i>expert! </i>How would we have done this without you! Thank you!" <br />
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It's only noon, but believe me, I need a cocktail.Dayna RNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17580018208470877887noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6105449837530335432.post-11787418336958866892011-12-01T14:51:00.000-08:002011-12-01T14:51:18.012-08:00The Dirty Bathroom Dream<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I am plagued, I tell you! Plagued with recurrent dreams for over a month now. I mean every single night.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I am in some unfamiliar place, searching for a restroom. Never somewhere I know, which is pretty funny considering how much I complain about the bathrooms at work. This place is always public, always full of stalls, usually over twenty or thirty of them. And they are all <i>filthy! </i>Every single one of them. I will spare you the details, but suffice it to say that I wouldn't use any of them if they were the last bathrooms on earth.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The most bizarre thing about these dreams is that there are other people around, and none of them seem to be bothered by the lack of toilet seats, stall doors or by the filthy floors overflowing with sewage. In fact they are all happily using this disgusting bathroom as if they had no cares in the world.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Being the metaphysical person that I am, of course I researched this, because my life has been in a hideous upheaval the past month and I believe that there is some connection. Here's what I found:</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.75em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Information from <strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">"The Strangest Dream...The Dreamers Dictionary for the 21st Century</strong>" by Kelly Sullivan Walden, describes that dreams of bathrooms symbolize <em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><u style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">releasing and letting go of toxic feelings</u></em> and thoughts. In addition dreams of human excrement signify a releasing and letting go of what is in the way of your being fully in your power. Ms Walden also writes that dreams of dirt indicate that there is an aspect of your life that needs to be cleaned up and dreams of urine signify that a person is <em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><u style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">releasing negativity</u></em>. A common theme here with all of these symbols is a letting go to start anew.</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.75em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In George Fink's, <strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">"Dream Symbols A-Z",</strong> Mr. Fink writes that bathrooms are a place for cleaning up, and indicate<em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><u style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> emotional purification</u></em>. Dreams which contain a toilet mean that we want to rid ourselves of burdens. He goes on to write that a dream about feces may be related to "financial matters or to evaluating the worth of someone's character." He writes that "it points to the dreamer's sense of order and generosity."</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.75em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In "Parkers' Complete book of Dreams" by Julia and Derek Parker I read a particularly powerful statement which may be helpful, <strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><u style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">"Refuse is something that we want to dispose of . It may be something we no longer want or something foisted upon us by others.</u></em></strong></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.75em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><u style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><br />
</u></em></strong></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.75em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Well, considering all that, I guess I need to stop being so negative, release my toxic feelings towards middle management, and think twice about staying in my current position at the hospital, since that seems to be where all this angst is coming from. Food for thought.</span></div>Dayna RNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17580018208470877887noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6105449837530335432.post-63680571247244481562011-11-20T19:27:00.000-08:002011-11-22T12:49:41.937-08:00What's that you say is in my food??It's been a busy month, as evidenced by the fact that I've left this boring chronicle of stock-making up here for ages! But I just finished my term paper, which is on Morgellons disease. If you don't know what that is, you're not alone. Even the CDC doesn't know what it is, although they've supposedly been researching it for three years.<br />
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The disease process was brought to my attention by my vegetarian son, Renn, who is extremely into the non-GMO movement and who is more picky about what he eats and wears than anyone I know. Renn has long been into the travesty of Monsanto Corp, and what they've done to the American Food supply with their genetically modified organisms, and monopoly of the seed supply. If you haven't researched that, I'll give it to you in a nutshell: Monsanto is responsible for the bumper crops of corn and soybeans that we now grow in the US, mostly to feed our beef lot super meat growing sites, and our chicken productions.<br />
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To obtain a "superior" seed, Monsanto corporation has genetically modified the seed supply, by adding agrobacterium, a gram negative bacteria which they inject into the roots of plants. The result is a spore that causes massive overgrowth in the root, and a resulting bumper crop of produce. What's wrong with that, you ask? Well, for starters, there are no long-term studies that look at how consuming produce that is genetically modified affects our body, or at how eating meat that has been fed GMO's affects our body.<br />
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We've been eating this stuff for nigh on 30 years now, and about 12 years ago, some people started showing up in the emergency departments around the country, complaining about crawly, itchy skin, lesions sprouting strange fibers, chronic fatigue, neurological problems, and black flakes in their urine. No one knew what was going on with them, and although their numbers increased, the general consensus of the medical community was that they were suffering from a psychiatric disorder known as Psychotic Parasitosis. In other words: you think you have bugs and fibers moving around under your skin. Take an anti-psychotic, and deal with it.<br />
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Thanks to one woman, whose 2 year old baby kept sprouting "fuzz balls" out of his face, the Morgellons Research Foundation was begun in 2002, and in 2008, the CDC agreed to sponsor a study into the disease process of people suffering from Morgellons. Problem is, the research was completed in 2009, and as of yet, not a word has been said regarding the findings. NO ONE is studying this problem, even though a SUNY study in 2007 and another study in 2009 both showed that all fibers tested from various patients tested positive for agrobacterium DNA. The 2009 study showed conclusively that agrobacterium in the specific patient studied was coming out of his WATER SUPPLY. But no one has looked into where the water came from, or it's proximity to fields growing GMO produce. No one has studied why people are sprouting foreign substances out of their bodies that have agrobacterium DNA. What is that doing in humans?<br />
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My theory? That in immunosuppressed people, the body cannot deal with what is essentially a foreign substance, and therefore the body attempts to rid itself through unconventional means. IE: pushing fibers out through the skin, or through the urine.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx1aASDKIFviovtjGLxf-2WkmwZPRLasD_Wf0aaD5zQh8PZqNs1t-NXBD6KNNGq_5acj8bJFS1XMCO4wBbzxdtkx9hsw0Jp578QERTSwHKpT6p-3ubiz0TdFG4fXJYxyJY0p7ZOpkq8pA/s1600/morgellonsmap.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx1aASDKIFviovtjGLxf-2WkmwZPRLasD_Wf0aaD5zQh8PZqNs1t-NXBD6KNNGq_5acj8bJFS1XMCO4wBbzxdtkx9hsw0Jp578QERTSwHKpT6p-3ubiz0TdFG4fXJYxyJY0p7ZOpkq8pA/s320/morgellonsmap.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The most concentrated reporting of Morgellons in the nation is in the hugely agricultural area of northern California. Texas and Florida are a close second. Look at all the other borderline states! Very interesting, and it should prove telling as more and more people register with the foundation, to see what happens to this map.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Here's a picture of some of those nasty fibers:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijjQP2RJnBAVFv8Ox8cPzoM0MFK0LqUAgBxC0vuBENlx7IG0qOFQSAIpSQ0mxLJCCzSeZPOQFC8YdmPIhv9ioeTK9rNMvu3QoodUPx_qWhnclTV8zRE25r1AjtuZ4f4PAZMXW6_2F9G8I/s1600/morgellonsfiber.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijjQP2RJnBAVFv8Ox8cPzoM0MFK0LqUAgBxC0vuBENlx7IG0qOFQSAIpSQ0mxLJCCzSeZPOQFC8YdmPIhv9ioeTK9rNMvu3QoodUPx_qWhnclTV8zRE25r1AjtuZ4f4PAZMXW6_2F9G8I/s320/morgellonsfiber.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div>My goal here, in exposing you all to this medial jargon and talky-talk, is to get you to think about the value of buying local. Know your farmer, read the labels, do some research. This is not about being a hippie or even being hip. It involves your life, and your livelihood.<br />
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There is a link to the crap we are forced to eat as Americans, and our health. Choose wisely!<br />
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<a href="http://www.morgellons.org/">Morgellons Research Foundation</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.cdc.gov/unexplaineddermopathy/">The CDC's attempt to get you to believe they are doing something about this....</a>Dayna RNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17580018208470877887noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6105449837530335432.post-17031025232451834142011-10-27T19:16:00.000-07:002011-10-27T20:28:18.012-07:00STOCK!Many people buy their stock at the store, and I used to be one of them, I admit. It's not that expensive, it's easy to open and dump, and you can buy it when it's on sale. I lived like that for many years.<br />
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Fairly recently, I started to care where my food came from, how it was treated if it was an animal, and how it was grown if it was a plant. That's when I went back to my roots, and started making certain things from scratch, and stock is one of them. It's not hard, but I quit doing it years ago for the above mentioned reasons.<br />
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Let me start by saying that I only use organic, free range chicken. I know the family who raises them for me, I know what kind of treatment they get, what they're fed, and how many times a week their giant chicken house gets moved to clean grass. They eat bugs, grass, seeds, worms, and everything that chickens are supposed to eat. They taste AMAZING, and I think that $20 a chicken is completely worth it to feel good about serving them. They also cook completely different than chicken-mill raised birds. One of the things about chicken stock, is that after you get the bird in the pot, you bring it to a rapid boil, then turn it down to low, skim the foam (which is the marrow from the bones of the chicken) that comes to a greasy gray scum on the top of the water. If you don't skim it, or continue to boil the hell out of it, then your chicken's bone marrow will fuse with the water, and you will have a nasty, murky, gray-tinged looking broth. This trick is something I JUST LEARNED! So all you beginners, don't think that you cannot learn new things, even after you've been cooking for 30 years! This is the main reason why I always hated the broth I made! It tasted okay, but it looked gross. I was mortified to learn that all it took was patience! The first thing I noticed when using these organic birds, is that there is very little junk, and I usually only skim once. I think it's because they're natural, they're not loaded full of chemicals, dyes, antibiotics, and drugs, and therefore they are very, very clean.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyXg5b_rlsgayksB_gXricT1W0hJ_62iQ7KYu86fJyOpGvR_vzxtPvAA3xPPaSLAwJkj3uxe84qTVzf3aebFDALWXR_4p-btp3ASWtOs3NrD0V8OXCZ5kGqTV5XZI5PIeHlAbM4uekc5s/s1600/messagepart-7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyXg5b_rlsgayksB_gXricT1W0hJ_62iQ7KYu86fJyOpGvR_vzxtPvAA3xPPaSLAwJkj3uxe84qTVzf3aebFDALWXR_4p-btp3ASWtOs3NrD0V8OXCZ5kGqTV5XZI5PIeHlAbM4uekc5s/s320/messagepart-7.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>This is my chicken, right after I skimmed it and and added the veggies. Very clear and fragrant.<br />
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SO~~~<br />
STEP ONE: Plan stock making for a day when you aren't rushed. Then buy a good chicken, preferably organic, free range. Your end product will be so superior, that you won't regret it. Besides, when I show you everything you can do with one stewed chicken, the results will have you sold.<br />
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STEP TWO: Invest in a good stock pan. I bought a 20 quart stock pan about 10 years ago, and it's saved my bacon on many occasions. I believe I bought it at Walgreen's or Bi-Mart. I know I didn't pay more than $12 for it. It's a necessity when making stock, and it also is awesome at Thanksgiving time when you need to make mashed potatoes by the 20# sack :>) Put your bird in the pot, and fill the pot up with COLD water until the bird is just submerged.<br />
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STEP THREE: Bring chicken to a rapid boil, then immediately reduce heat to a simmer. This means that the bubbles are just breaking the surface occasionally. This is SLOW. FYI: I put my bird in straight from the freezer, frozen solid (with that said, the farm where I buy my chickens leaves the necks attached, not wrapped in paper before they freeze them and stuff them in the cavity. They also don't put the organs in the cavity. See comments on that below.) In other words, if you're going to skip thawing it, then know what's in the cavity before you just throw it in the pan! <br />
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STEP FOUR: Skim off any foam that comes to the surface with a slotted spoon, and discard it. Then add 1 peeled carrot, one peeled onion sliced in half, 2 stalks of celery, 1T of peppercorns, 1/2 a head of garlic, one large handful of fresh parsley, several sprigs of thyme (no need to pick off leaves, just throw them in the pot), and 1 T kosher salt.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYwU6LN_vXJya6mOCa4rsmhU56rMCkABZkc4djq4Da7e8SVTe3IAueZdhixUSVesE9c37v-TYlaaHrv1FNBQeyg0phrVvTVSitOvoxa077Cyvly2_OqHQMgBAyoqHYetIcfPUjGtXtctA/s1600/messagepart-8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYwU6LN_vXJya6mOCa4rsmhU56rMCkABZkc4djq4Da7e8SVTe3IAueZdhixUSVesE9c37v-TYlaaHrv1FNBQeyg0phrVvTVSitOvoxa077Cyvly2_OqHQMgBAyoqHYetIcfPUjGtXtctA/s320/messagepart-8.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
I cooked it low and slow for about 5 hours, keeping an eye on the water level, and tasting occasionally to see if it needs more salt.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2StXgnZkS6p-bWxB1_2whxzJb0ruyCFvVz5SIvB3CJ85sKr1RwlF8f7GB9ecpl8x2pGH9NgHIw3OwGUtkMAxHqljP785CZiZUr9EofUQSGUa5kpyl5RJjEcNQHdaKKB8kqAUtgyb7x5E/s1600/messagepart-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2StXgnZkS6p-bWxB1_2whxzJb0ruyCFvVz5SIvB3CJ85sKr1RwlF8f7GB9ecpl8x2pGH9NgHIw3OwGUtkMAxHqljP785CZiZUr9EofUQSGUa5kpyl5RJjEcNQHdaKKB8kqAUtgyb7x5E/s320/messagepart-2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
When it's done, just set it on the counter for a while, maybe 15 minutes. It should still be hot, but not boiling, so you don't burn yourself when you strain it.<br />
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STEP FIVE: Pull the chicken out, and place in a bowl. It might come out in many, many pieces, and that's okay. Just pull out as much as you can with a big fork, and set aside. The rest you'll get when you strain it.<br />
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STEP SIX: Put a giant silver bowl in your sink. Get a metal strainer (I use one I bought at the Dollar Tree for $1, and it works GREAT.) Pour the broth through the strainer, until strainer is about half full. Raise the strainer up over the bowl, and allow all liquid to run into larger bowl. Put chicken and vegetables that remain in with the other bowl of chicken until you're ready to deal with that. Continue this process until all broth is strained through fine strainer.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4R5xPFwD7Khpqq4tAA_J02ewiymnsutJHKSQhBehv9OALhLtY4vHR7DIGommDXfcnn_D3xLYmgAsYd_fW2GBtsSINgpJbR53Gf3Mq9-zJzI4feA3eBu15P9Q3E_91jbj8si_XSLwOMOE/s1600/messagepart-4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4R5xPFwD7Khpqq4tAA_J02ewiymnsutJHKSQhBehv9OALhLtY4vHR7DIGommDXfcnn_D3xLYmgAsYd_fW2GBtsSINgpJbR53Gf3Mq9-zJzI4feA3eBu15P9Q3E_91jbj8si_XSLwOMOE/s320/messagepart-4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
This picture shows the vegetable broth, but you get the idea with the chicken.<br />
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STEP SEVEN: Let the broth cool a little more, and then ladle into freezer containers. I happen to love Ball Freezer Containers. They are reusable, you can write on them, they have a <u><i>screw on top</i></u> (very important) and they are so easy to pull out of the freezer and thaw in the microwave when you're ready to use. They're cheap, and you can get them at Bi-Mart or Wal-Mart in the canning/freezing section.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4yvc_XR0OJEOOIHOpoMn9kgGyLAnG9IA5lhQxF9N_n6wadnM16V_oqQLB5rUHY6SurSBLPDykIhnfyeDvmJgZ9cnPcTbT8v-vVuPQT1o2JOCa9mkIVyCo9AAB-cyDD1c19QXogVHaliQ/s1600/messagepart-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4yvc_XR0OJEOOIHOpoMn9kgGyLAnG9IA5lhQxF9N_n6wadnM16V_oqQLB5rUHY6SurSBLPDykIhnfyeDvmJgZ9cnPcTbT8v-vVuPQT1o2JOCa9mkIVyCo9AAB-cyDD1c19QXogVHaliQ/s320/messagepart-1.jpg" width="179" /></a></div>Let the stock cool on the counter completely, then put the lids on, mark them, and throw them in the freezer. These particular freezer jars are made to stack, which really works great in any of my three freezers.<br />
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STEP EIGHT: pick the chicken off the bones. If you've done it right, the meat will just slide right off, and this won't take you very long at all. Don't forget the neck, wings and drumsticks! Most organic chickens come with the necks intact, but yours might be inside the bird. I don't use the gizzards, (my farm doesn't include them at all, which is FINE with me!). I don't like the flavor they give to the stock. But the necks, wings and drumsticks are loaded with meat. Just pick the bones out and you won't regret the extra few minutes this takes for the big handful of meat you get.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">BEEF STOCK</div><br />
If you're wanting to make beef stock, it's pretty much the same as above, only go to the butcher and ask for beef bones. You'll have a bit more skimming to do, depending on where you buy your beef, but the process is really similar. I usually add a little Kitchen Bouquet to my beef stock. You can get this anywhere that sells spices, and it really makes your stock a nice color.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyDHwFj0WQN31HO6Ki_RmSnNxOTxoygnvarXjzArvIYq21EdNxPyqvt9YUfpSrLeLGWnqRoDSLc4f6dG6EVeZvJKSMF0ZwYdaSIJA1QgnsdfBfX5ZZp43DbSM7MxKYNKJjtBYBJ8vWu4k/s1600/messagepart-10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyDHwFj0WQN31HO6Ki_RmSnNxOTxoygnvarXjzArvIYq21EdNxPyqvt9YUfpSrLeLGWnqRoDSLc4f6dG6EVeZvJKSMF0ZwYdaSIJA1QgnsdfBfX5ZZp43DbSM7MxKYNKJjtBYBJ8vWu4k/s320/messagepart-10.jpg" width="179" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">VEGETABLE STOCK</div>If you want vegetable stock, there are truly no rules! I love making vegetable stock, because it is a fabulous way to get rid of old vegetables that you forgot about. Start by thinking about how things would taste together. If you wouldn't roast them all and serve them as a side dish together, don't put them together for your stock. Here's what I had today when I made stock: an onion, a few shallots, a yellow crookneck squash, a zucchini, a butternut squash, garlic, celery and a few wrinkly tomatoes. Throw all these veggies on a roasting pan (or cookie sheet) and roast at 400 degrees until they start to brown slightly and smell fragrant. You don't want them "done" but they should be starting to brown.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPR9tJPJolzFfN0Xj-X-4AYIdriFU2GfTvx_Y7nQSxTZW3htKFNm0K12NGmTziKRC3dAYedoEOd-llaYSvyoXfQBOarKo8DoAWy23wgQXS_jIOAbVkxWAPC-HCO2yAt8sq_9hBLl_TV1c/s1600/messagepart-9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPR9tJPJolzFfN0Xj-X-4AYIdriFU2GfTvx_Y7nQSxTZW3htKFNm0K12NGmTziKRC3dAYedoEOd-llaYSvyoXfQBOarKo8DoAWy23wgQXS_jIOAbVkxWAPC-HCO2yAt8sq_9hBLl_TV1c/s320/messagepart-9.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Here's what mine looked like before I threw them in the oven. Once they start to smell good, then put them in a large kettle, and add at least 2 gallons of water. Boil them with a bay leaf, some parsley, some oregano, Kosher salt, and a T of peppercorns. I like my vegetable stock to have a golden color, and my opinion is that if you use either a butternut or some other small savory squash, or a bunch of carrots, that you'll get that same golden finish. I wouldn't use both, because I think the flavors stay more pure if you use one or the other, but it's totally a matter of taste. One vegetable family that I don't use in my stock, is anything in the cabbage family, or the beet family. I find their flavors dominate the broth and ruin the dishes where I use vegetable broth. If you're really scared about what to put in vegetable broth, go to the store and read the ingredients on a commercially prepared broth, and use what they use. Also, be very careful about things like potatoes, yams and parsnips/turnips. They can turn your broth murky.<br />
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Here's what your broth should look like after simmering for about 3 hours:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_D-TfqmP5PSmcDkuvToQnwGX0K0jaxwY5WyEu3T3bNBlThdj-2awLRF9zFvL0l1ijno39jyI0wW4ixMEJdQD2gWriZpmVnZKrZQ7A1BDtf5WrE9_76vK-CUDSFQrehJzXMhcRjNJr9t4/s1600/messagepart-6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_D-TfqmP5PSmcDkuvToQnwGX0K0jaxwY5WyEu3T3bNBlThdj-2awLRF9zFvL0l1ijno39jyI0wW4ixMEJdQD2gWriZpmVnZKrZQ7A1BDtf5WrE9_76vK-CUDSFQrehJzXMhcRjNJr9t4/s320/messagepart-6.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Follow the same process as above for straining, packaging and freezing. There are a couple of options for the cooked vegetables. One: you can compost them.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsp29KdZy8frK3eI1hjwjOiD3uUlzG5Xt55qbCzWS8n9j3AAN2E7sn6AXTqKVsyO__EM3lWlGVQHaqavHAx44me6BIPUAYkezH7SdA_DGru9sHm5NQ_vH3xrdPYYJOcIxEj5p9xC1Kz8w/s1600/messagepart-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsp29KdZy8frK3eI1hjwjOiD3uUlzG5Xt55qbCzWS8n9j3AAN2E7sn6AXTqKVsyO__EM3lWlGVQHaqavHAx44me6BIPUAYkezH7SdA_DGru9sHm5NQ_vH3xrdPYYJOcIxEj5p9xC1Kz8w/s320/messagepart-3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
This is my compost bucket, and these went out onto the garden spot.<br />
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If you (like my vegetarian son, who came in and gave me a hard time about throwing all this goodness on the garden) want to be even more thrifty, then you can puree all these good vegetables up by running them through a Foley food mill. (This item is also something that I think is really necessary any kitchen, and is very inexpensive. I got mine at Bi-Mart.) The cool thing about the Foley food mill is that it removes all the skins, seeds, etc, and leaves you with a nice creamy product. You could then add some milk or broth, and have yourself a nice soup base to which you could add pretty much anything. I had other things to do today, so I sent my cooked veggies back to Mother Earth, where they will fertilize next years garden.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">IN CONCLUSION </div><br />
To recap: from one $20 chicken and a bunch of vegetables that I had sitting around on my counter, here's what I got:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir2Z0OEsdTEK7e1EXN2LbBea6YKChVBnUcG90J5j2j3Yq8r34nA-xkZH7ty21nRwQagPtcS71Lclcbpoi_dBng1qhUx7oR9uIu0qL7J3le5x21V0TKR6GUgyJBdrDr-oumwvD7xSAtJoM/s1600/messagepart.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir2Z0OEsdTEK7e1EXN2LbBea6YKChVBnUcG90J5j2j3Yq8r34nA-xkZH7ty21nRwQagPtcS71Lclcbpoi_dBng1qhUx7oR9uIu0qL7J3le5x21V0TKR6GUgyJBdrDr-oumwvD7xSAtJoM/s320/messagepart.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
One giant bowl of chicken, with which I made a dozen chicken enchiladas, with a 1/2 a gallon of leftover chicken enchilada filling for the next time I want to make them (see the bags of chicken at the bottom of the picture below.) I just labeled it, and tossed it in the freezer. I also got and additional half a quart of dark chicken meat for the next time I make chicken noodle soup, which I threw in the freezer too.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHesBtRkPrNcfZodtZIMjZDsLMJ7mFuN6O8lCGV_lLefLbPcbfjnhSZCq9RSo_uDNS1-zmKJzJiiVI9VeTUCoVbfPA5bO29Qn7XBfBxgqXKysYNn2k_e31hU-qVQSEiPRqs0Bz-LncA78/s1600/messagepart-14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHesBtRkPrNcfZodtZIMjZDsLMJ7mFuN6O8lCGV_lLefLbPcbfjnhSZCq9RSo_uDNS1-zmKJzJiiVI9VeTUCoVbfPA5bO29Qn7XBfBxgqXKysYNn2k_e31hU-qVQSEiPRqs0Bz-LncA78/s320/messagepart-14.jpg" width="179" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chicken Enchiladas, top and cheese enchiladas below</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</tbody></table><br />
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And the BROTH!!:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNIMAvrSuZLLttGk2aNtvuZqZDFCuH4QqRkbofl7NqAbgU9BiwZxx_nY8kxOdvrzi40ucMhi2sII9VPH7mR-IWapthHMH7uYYJtX9P42pFwuLLMvp333KGvjV7e7el2-1VRVl8MvAocW4/s1600/messagepart-13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNIMAvrSuZLLttGk2aNtvuZqZDFCuH4QqRkbofl7NqAbgU9BiwZxx_nY8kxOdvrzi40ucMhi2sII9VPH7mR-IWapthHMH7uYYJtX9P42pFwuLLMvp333KGvjV7e7el2-1VRVl8MvAocW4/s320/messagepart-13.jpg" width="179" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There's my additional chicken, below the chicken broth!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiHv8R3yC1jz4JuDP1vDGPBq9eZNXgI46UKvZGCUX5GjaQL3iO1_tNb4-xi47Ai1xpTk8WkXjf1TyFZSa3JmzBP5oO7mXe2V0T8ifl6JoDndLrZIYcQ7kkM1_8sSMngxURgeXFCZcElRg/s1600/messagepart-12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="177" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiHv8R3yC1jz4JuDP1vDGPBq9eZNXgI46UKvZGCUX5GjaQL3iO1_tNb4-xi47Ai1xpTk8WkXjf1TyFZSa3JmzBP5oO7mXe2V0T8ifl6JoDndLrZIYcQ7kkM1_8sSMngxURgeXFCZcElRg/s320/messagepart-12.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Veggie Broth!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>So Yummy!! and good for you. PLUS, you know whats in it and where it came from! With organic stock running anywhere from $4-$6 a quart depending on where you shop, you can see that you've already saved yourself money by doing it this way. Plus, you've got at least three meals out of your chicken, depending on your family size. All around, this is the smart way to cook and eat.<br />
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One last bit of advice, especially for my young married readers. If you only buy one cookbook this year, invest in "The Art of Simple Food" by Alice Waters. It's full of very easy, basic items, that will save you money for the rest of your life, if you learn to master these techniques when you're first starting out. I cannot say enough about nice things about Alice. When you get some time, Google her, and you'll be amazed by all the good things she does with her life. In this day and age of health problems and disease, what we eat is, in my opinion, the difference between life and death. It DOES make a difference where it comes from, and how it's prepared! Bon Appetit!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGm734d1cSzyRldKg_4GIrjTUFRztIzryn4osMpH_xhA6esdtNg3bWMXV0NWQoOKizZdWfRYkrYDmY9hQcMBCvVpDCDPAzL9syX8Dz5UzlgW2udo57lpfd6tYePauXTA1Wa4KuQV9q-k0/s1600/messagepart-11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGm734d1cSzyRldKg_4GIrjTUFRztIzryn4osMpH_xhA6esdtNg3bWMXV0NWQoOKizZdWfRYkrYDmY9hQcMBCvVpDCDPAzL9syX8Dz5UzlgW2udo57lpfd6tYePauXTA1Wa4KuQV9q-k0/s320/messagepart-11.jpg" width="179" /></a></div>Dayna RNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17580018208470877887noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6105449837530335432.post-3499278477802025522011-10-26T13:20:00.000-07:002011-10-26T13:20:06.199-07:00Ten Years LaterSo, many of you know that I'm from a long line of Mormon Pioneers, and that I was born and raised in the Mormon Church. I've considered myself "out" of the church since 2000, when I officially told my bishop I was done. He proceeded to threaten, cajole and intimidate me, then tried for about six years to reactivate us by sending the latest brave soul to our door to tell us how lost we were. I politely told each and every person that we were fine, and to please just leave us alone.<br />
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A few years back, someone close to me that I knew resigned her membership in the church, and I've been wanting to do that since she did, but just never found the time to do it. Okay, maybe I was still deeply frightened of such a step, regardless of how much I profess to not believe in the church. But the idea continued to intrigue me, as I don't believe in or recognize the church leaders as having authority over me, and didn't want to endure the stigmatism of having a church court in order to leave the church.<br />
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I found this wonderfully supportive website:<a href="http://www.mormonnomore.com/"> http://www.mormonnomore.com/</a>, which gives support and instructions for how to resign your membership. Resigning sounds to me like it's a choice <i>I</i> made, rather than one made for me because I've sinned. Since I had no choice in the matter of being baptised when I was but eight years old, I <i>did</i> have a choice about how I was going to leave.<br />
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We (me and four of my five children) received our letters from the church last week letting us know that our resignations had been accepted, and that if we ever wanted to return, to contact our local church leaders. It was all very clean and very non-dramatic, just as the site promised, if the instructions were followed exactly. This process was dramatically different from other people I know who have left, who have been forced to go through a church court trial, and in the process have had their names slandered from the pulpit of the local ward house. It was truly a blessing to me to be able to finally cut the last connection. Leaving that last string attached, even though I haven't felt part of the church emotionally or physically for over 10 years, still bothered me, because I don't do anything half way, and this felt hypocritical to me to still be an official member. Almost like I was saying: "Well, I'm going to remain a member, in case it's all true, and I'm just temporarily messed up." That wasn't the way I felt, so completing this final step was what I needed to do.<br />
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A very dear friend, who is one of my few remaining LDS friends from my "previous life" directed me to the blog of a true warrior. A woman and her family who live in a very active LDS area of Utah, and who had the courage to leave the church and follow their own path in life. She has written a letter to her family explaining her reasons for leaving the church, as well as her feelings during the process. And it <i>is</i> a process, I assure you!! I'm linking to her blog here (which I hope is okay; she's a goddess in my eyes, as well as a fantastic writer), because this letter could have come <b><i>straight out of my head</i></b>.<br />
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As I was sharing with my friend, none of my family who are still LDS have <i>ever </i>asked me any questions about my beliefs now, or the reasons why I left, save one of my sisters in law. I am more than happy to share, if people ask, and I'd rather you know why, than make your own assumptions. Read this open letter to Mormons, and if you still want my personal take on it, ask me and I'll tell you.<br />
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Angela's open Letter to Mormons: <a href="http://angela-wholehearted.blogspot.com/">Angela's Blog: Wholehearted</a><br />
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Signed: extremely happy to be MormonNoMore<br />
AKA: your same old friend DaynaDayna RNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17580018208470877887noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6105449837530335432.post-47450383579525533192011-10-25T09:33:00.000-07:002011-10-25T09:33:35.465-07:00Pintrest, kind of like internet website picture porn.....I've discovered Pintrest this week. If you've never been to it, give it a try at: <a href="http://www.pintrest.com/">http://www.pintrest.com</a><br />
You have to wait for an invite if you want your own bulletin board, which kind of bugs, but they don't stop you from poking around in the mean time...<br />
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It's a blast! Lots of pictures, which lead to tons of different links, one of which I found this awesome pretzel recipe from A Cozy Kitchen:<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;"></span><br />
<div class="full_width" id="content_area" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: 1264px;"><div class="page" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0em; padding-right: 0em; padding-top: 0px; width: 95.1em;"><div id="content_box" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: 951px;"><div class="hfeed" id="content" style="float: left; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: 63.1em;"><div class="post-7530 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-appetizers category-snacks tag-baseball-food tag-football-food tag-homemade-soft-pretzels tag-mustard tag-pretzels tag-tots post_box top" id="post-7530" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-width: initial; clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 2.1em; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 2em;"><div class="headline_area" style="margin-bottom: 2em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Hoefler; font-size: x-large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="letter-spacing: 1px; line-height: 23px;"> Soft Pretzel Tots</span></span></div><div class="format_text entry-content" style="color: #999999; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.3em; line-height: 1.538em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 1.538em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><a href="http://acozykitchen.com/pretzel-tots/" style="color: #ff9966; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-7531" height="400" src="http://acozykitchen.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/PretzelTotsFinal.jpg" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; float: left; margin-bottom: 1.538em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 1.538em; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="PretzelTotsFinal" width="600" /></a></div><div style="margin-bottom: 1.538em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1.538em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><a href="http://acozykitchen.com/pretzel-tots/" style="color: #ff9966; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-7532" height="400" src="http://acozykitchen.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/TotInMustard.jpg" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; float: left; margin-bottom: 1.538em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 1.538em; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="TotInMustard" width="600" /></a><span id="more-7530" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 1.538em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1.538em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><a href="http://acozykitchen.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/PretzelPreBake.jpg" style="color: #ff9966; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-7535" src="http://acozykitchen.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/PretzelPreBake.jpg" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; float: left; margin-bottom: 1.538em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 1.538em; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="PretzelPreBake" /></a></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #999999; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px;">.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10px;"><div class="full_width" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: 1264px;"><div class="page" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0em; padding-right: 0em; padding-top: 0px; width: 95.1em;"><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: 951px;"><div class="hfeed" style="float: left; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: 63.1em;"><div class="post-7530 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-appetizers category-snacks tag-baseball-food tag-football-food tag-homemade-soft-pretzels tag-mustard tag-pretzels tag-tots post_box top" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-width: initial; clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 2.1em; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 2em;"><div class="format_text entry-content" style="font-size: 1.3em; line-height: 1.538em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><div style="color: #999999; margin-bottom: 1.538em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><a href="http://acozykitchen.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/PretzelBakingSheet.jpg" style="clear: left; color: #ff9966; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-7536" height="400" src="http://acozykitchen.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/PretzelBakingSheet.jpg" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; float: left; margin-bottom: 1.538em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 1.538em; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;" title="PretzelBakingSheet" width="600" /></a></div><div style="color: #999999; margin-bottom: 1.538em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #999999; margin-bottom: 1.538em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"></div><div style="margin-bottom: 1.538em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Soft Pretzel Tots</strong></div><div style="margin-bottom: 1.538em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">1 1/2 cups warm (110 to 115 degrees F) water<br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" />1 tablespoon sugar<br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" />1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt<br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" />1 package active dry yeast<br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" />4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour<br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" />2 ounces unsalted butter, melted<br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" />Vegetable oil, for pan<br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" />10 cups water<br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" />2/3 cup baking soda<br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" />1 large egg yolk beaten with 1 tablespoon water<br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" />Pretzel salt or coarse Sea Salt</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1.538em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Combine the water, sugar and kosher salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle the yeast on top. Allow to sit for 5 minutes or until the mixture begins to foam. Add the flour and butter and, using the dough hook attachment, mix on low speed until well combined. Change to medium speed and knead until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the side of the bowl, approximately 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the dough from the bowl, clean the bowl and then oil it well with vegetable oil. Return the dough to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and sit in a warm place for approximately 50 to 55 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1.538em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line 2 half-sheet pans with parchment paper and lightly brush with the vegetable oil. Set aside.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1.538em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Bring the 10 cups of water and the baking soda to a rolling boil in an 8-quart saucepan or roasting pan.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1.538em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">In the meantime, turn the dough out onto a slightly oiled work surface and divide into 4 equal pieces. Roll out each piece of dough into a 22-inch rope. Cut the dough into 1-inch pieces; using your two hands, one-by-one, roll them into circles. Place the balls (or tots) onto the parchment-lined half sheet pan.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1.538em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Place the pretzels tots into the boiling water, 1 by 1, for 30 seconds. Remove them from the water using a large flat spatula. Return to the half sheet pan, brush the top of each pretzel tot with the beaten egg yolk and water mixture and sprinkle with the pretzel salt (or coarse sea salt). Bake until dark golden brown in color, approximately 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack for at least 5 minutes before serving.</div></div></div></div></div></div></div></span>Dayna RNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17580018208470877887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6105449837530335432.post-6714394445579781772011-10-22T18:34:00.000-07:002011-10-26T13:48:35.297-07:00The winning Chili recipe!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWzu_gM33T-ZgMVcLhwQN9NIRDzRMhfV4VIs_a-k9nhf1jfdJLb8w_55Mij1UMf_hthNwgMl97qBsNfOco2HLdHrS1GnD7Qv4ilH-a3_ZKp7mZu3fZW6-hGqw9wLf6t1PFQ0Uy1BOk7uM/s1600/319205_2323380037732_1046531677_32584366_1057063236_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWzu_gM33T-ZgMVcLhwQN9NIRDzRMhfV4VIs_a-k9nhf1jfdJLb8w_55Mij1UMf_hthNwgMl97qBsNfOco2HLdHrS1GnD7Qv4ilH-a3_ZKp7mZu3fZW6-hGqw9wLf6t1PFQ0Uy1BOk7uM/s1600/319205_2323380037732_1046531677_32584366_1057063236_n.jpg" /></a></div>I blogged in September about my chopping-hot-peppers-raw experience (<a href="http://theannapurnadiaries.blogspot.com/2011/09/holy-hot-peppers-batman.html">go here</a>) while making Cuisine at Home's Green Chicken Chili recipe. I took my own advice and roasted the peppers this time, and just took home first place at our winery club's first annual Chili cook-off! That's $50 worth of wine, thank you very much! Due to popular demand, here's the recipe:<br />
<br />
Green Chicken Chili <br />
<br />
SOAK:<br />
1 1/2 C dry great Northern beans<br />
ADD:<br />
4 C chopped tomatillos<br />
4C roasted, seeded, diced Anaheim chilies (about 8 chilies)<br />
2 C <i>each</i> diced onion and roasted, seeded jalapenos (about 5 chilies)<br />
3T minced garlic<br />
1T ground cumin<br />
2 tsp dried oregano<br />
1 tsp ground coriander<br />
4C chicken broth<br />
STIR:<br />
4C shredded rotisserie chicken<br />
1/4 C masa harina<br />
3T fresh lime juice<br />
Salt and pepper to taste<br />
GARNISH:<br />
lime wedges, sour cream, and chopped fresh cilantro<br />
<br />
SOAK beans according to package directions; drain, then add to a 5-6 quart slow cooker.<br />
ROAST: chilies on high broil, turning until crispy blackened skins appear. Remove to plastic sack, and sweat on the counter until cool. Remove blistered skins, and seeds. Chop. <br />
ADD: tomatillos, Anaheim chilies, onion, Jalapenos, garlic, cumin, oregano, coriander and broth to the slow cooker. Cook chili on high-heat setting until beans are tender, about 4 1/2-5 1/2 hours. I've found this really depends on how old your beans are, and how they've been stored.<br />
STIR: chicken and masa harina into chili; cook 30 minutes more. Stir in lime juice. Season with salt and pepper.<br />
GARNISH each serving with lime wedges, sour cream and cilantro.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVVrQv20rQnVsWZYq2ufyquTMAOgR1JpSjsmxrarsug2nP-os2JLZoG2BZTZ8zRz8DxGlX1o4biXgHYRNY6eIAhZfrlRecvYK9CfRv1APZz2AusRzvZbJIv9bjfvWRPMOPKfmb30k9KRA/s1600/307317_2226035084169_1046531677_32508131_1582785022_a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVVrQv20rQnVsWZYq2ufyquTMAOgR1JpSjsmxrarsug2nP-os2JLZoG2BZTZ8zRz8DxGlX1o4biXgHYRNY6eIAhZfrlRecvYK9CfRv1APZz2AusRzvZbJIv9bjfvWRPMOPKfmb30k9KRA/s1600/307317_2226035084169_1046531677_32508131_1582785022_a.jpg" /></a></div>From Sept 2011 Cuisine at HomeDayna RNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17580018208470877887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6105449837530335432.post-84829597673901890062011-10-14T09:57:00.000-07:002011-10-14T09:59:32.752-07:00Redemption!Last night's dinner was so redeeming after Can Can/Couldn't Couldn't night, that I just had to share the pictures!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeX0LsgaCPF-3xK5WcrUiBIb_UVhp-CHdSN7g9Hm_vOrCr6upE44cFVwdoSZyUI8gPX33itJAGGlWL69pEfFtMsbWbGdPnB4KjGygKbmHIqM8kq1xKv-tbTf55lgtyro3a5IoVD2-OJ9c/s1600/squash.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeX0LsgaCPF-3xK5WcrUiBIb_UVhp-CHdSN7g9Hm_vOrCr6upE44cFVwdoSZyUI8gPX33itJAGGlWL69pEfFtMsbWbGdPnB4KjGygKbmHIqM8kq1xKv-tbTf55lgtyro3a5IoVD2-OJ9c/s320/squash.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">So Easy Gazpacho</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">2 C freshly juiced tomato juice</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">4 med tomatoes, peeled and finely chopped</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">1/2 C chopped cucumber</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">1/3 C finely chopped sweet onion</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">1/4 C extra virgin olive oil</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">1/4 C cider vinegar</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">1 t sugar</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">1 garlic clove, minced fine on micro plane grater</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">1/4 t salt</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">1/4 t pepper</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">In large bowl, combine all ingredients. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours until chilled. Serve in 1/2 pint jars or decorative soup dishes, with sour dough bread on the side.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWmGYkHvAQErw4aq4p3g4LaMXR-DxiK1AgBIMSsfWZuP5ENDAkmlay8qRgHM_R8WLrB_81MdkJqbDeun5a3HHnNiX8gHwIybUt5BO4UT9Hj_TObLW3f4H-u6u9D7R300tVQKr-adBxCMk/s1600/soup.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWmGYkHvAQErw4aq4p3g4LaMXR-DxiK1AgBIMSsfWZuP5ENDAkmlay8qRgHM_R8WLrB_81MdkJqbDeun5a3HHnNiX8gHwIybUt5BO4UT9Hj_TObLW3f4H-u6u9D7R300tVQKr-adBxCMk/s320/soup.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">Roasted Butternut Linguine</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">4C cubed, peeled butternut squash</div><div style="text-align: left;">1 medium red onion, chopped</div><div style="text-align: left;">3T olive oil</div><div style="text-align: left;">1/4 t crushed red pepper flakes</div><div style="text-align: left;">1/2 lb uncooked linguine</div><div style="text-align: left;">2C shredded kale</div><div style="text-align: left;">1T water or olive oil for steaming/pan frying kale</div><div style="text-align: left;">1T minced fresh sage</div><div style="text-align: left;">1/2 t salt</div><div style="text-align: left;">1/4 t pepper</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit</div><div style="text-align: left;">Put squash, onions, olive oil and spices in a 1 qt zip lock bag. Shake until well coated. Turn out on baking sheet, and place in preheated oven. Bake 25 minutes or until squash is tender, turning to brown. Meantime, steam kale in fry pan with either water or olive oil until bright green and tender, but not limp. Set aside. Cook linguine per package directions, drain and place in large bowl. Top with squash mixture and kale. Toss to combine.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Both recipes from August/September 2010 Taste of Home Magazine<br />
<a href="http://www.tasteofhome.com/">http://www.tasteofhome.com/</a></div>Dayna RNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17580018208470877887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6105449837530335432.post-84744633801925116932011-10-13T12:29:00.000-07:002011-10-13T12:29:32.450-07:00That Can Can that Couldn't Couldn'tI made a recipe last night from Taste of Home's annual "Shortcuts" issue (Aug/Sept 2011.) It was entitled "Nacho Beef Bake," and was supposed to be a short and sweet version of a taco salad type of thing.<br />
<br />
Aside from the fact that even though it was my day off, and unless I'm deathly ill I usually cook on my day off, my family had already broken out the macaroni and cheese from a box before I got home with the ingredients for my tasty casserole. This alone was enough to start a squabble between me and Mike.<br />
<br />
Me: "What are you guys <i>doing</i>?"<br />
<br />
Mike: "Eating mac and cheese."<br />
<br />
Me: "Is it not obvious by the stack of ingredients sitting on the counter next to the stove, that I am making dinner tonight?"<br />
<br />
Mike: "We didn't get a text."<br />
<br />
Me: "It's MY DAY OFF. If you want to know what's for dinner, you can text <i>me</i>!" (I say as I remember that sick as a dog I still cooked dinner last week!!)<br />
<br />
This was met by stony stares as he and Bayley stuffed their mouths with nasty boxed Kraft. (Sidebar: I have no control over what my husband buys and puts in my pantry. Talking until I'm blue in the face about organics has done nothing to change his shopping habits and his fucking coupon clipping, which, in my opinion, is only a scheme to get the most completely unhealthy shit imaginable on the plates of Americans.)<br />
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On that note, yes, I realize that taking short cuts is usually a bad thing, but I've subscribed to TOH for 14 years, and have yet to try a recipe from the magazine that I didn't like. As I will describe, there always has to be a first time!!<br />
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So, in an attempt to make a dish that my vegetarian children could eat, instead of me saying: "Gee, guys, don't know what you're going to eat tonight," as I did with last week's Hungarian Goulash, I made the dish with those veggie crumbles that look like already cooked ground beef. I used whole wheat noodles, and low salt canned tomatoes. However, there isn't much choice when the list calls for nacho cheese soup, which I admit I used. I also used store bought salsa and ranch dressing, when I usually make those from scratch as well. All of this is leading up to a collective groan from my readers, because I'm wincing as I write it myself.... disaster is brewing, for sure!<br />
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The casserole/salad thingie that I made, sure looked pretty, but even after my first bite I could tell this recipe was going to get a failing grade from me. I am the furthest thing from a salt-a-holic. Mike <u>loves</u> salt, and perhaps if he hadn't gorged himself on boxed mac and cheese last night, he would have loved this recipe. My mouth was burning from too much salt almost from bite #1! Between the green olives, canned tomatoes, canned soup, canned salsa, bottled ranch and crunched up Doritos on the top, it was the worst conglomeration of SALT I've ever tasted! It was horrible!!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPtMM8vseIZdjo7x1EHA1hPOlZRtaLVaw0oqawwtNDEC6SShDill2onf0lKLAm9YQV5uwiHeVgcygHjiW1Ewm1ru2zORgvpAuk57J5nrSv1m5tuPvE0jH2r4iPId7xU1xV2gysGaV3JXo/s1600/disasterdinner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPtMM8vseIZdjo7x1EHA1hPOlZRtaLVaw0oqawwtNDEC6SShDill2onf0lKLAm9YQV5uwiHeVgcygHjiW1Ewm1ru2zORgvpAuk57J5nrSv1m5tuPvE0jH2r4iPId7xU1xV2gysGaV3JXo/s1600/disasterdinner.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Pretty, but horrible tasting!</div><br />
I shudder to admit that I used to think nothing of a meal created from canned foods. I bought what was on sale by the CASELOAD when the kids were little, and used it to create meals that were filling and cheap. I think that eating the way we've been eating for the past few years, organic, fresh, and local, has totally spoiled me to ever eat this way again! It was a good reminder for me that if a recipe has more than one canned item in it, I'm probably not going to like it!<br />
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Now tonight's recipe (which was what I was going to make originally last night, and should have!) is butternut squash linguine. Fresh butternut squash, fresh red onion, and fresh chard, roasted and tossed lightly with herbs, EVOO and cooked linguine. I'll do fresh tomato gazpacho to go with it. Now we're talking!Dayna RNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17580018208470877887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6105449837530335432.post-81567319821780171152011-10-03T08:48:00.000-07:002011-10-03T08:48:22.904-07:00And that's what we call Karma, Baby!Have you seen this cartoon, floating around Facebook?<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFRAiHLW9CnnDnsd1tkRse7xgYcjUqo9KCuQpDv0KCjvSvLXOYXCT_17n2xsJQ8JnTpsO2auPWsnWHmGIJwAvYBF4fT0s1AIX6CXi5DWjvU18QcgK9jOz9eDa8UIIljQC-4JK8XpcaRv8/s1600/meanpeoplesuck.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFRAiHLW9CnnDnsd1tkRse7xgYcjUqo9KCuQpDv0KCjvSvLXOYXCT_17n2xsJQ8JnTpsO2auPWsnWHmGIJwAvYBF4fT0s1AIX6CXi5DWjvU18QcgK9jOz9eDa8UIIljQC-4JK8XpcaRv8/s1600/meanpeoplesuck.jpg" /></a></div>The members of Westboro Baptist Church have bugged me from the first time they picketed a fallen soldier's funeral. The narrow mindedness of people like this boggles my mind, and makes me an even bigger believer in Karma, what goes around comes around, energy swapping, call it whatever you want. I simply cannot believe that the forces that rule this planet wouldn't want to suck these idiots into the nearest black hole!<br />
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If you are a Christian, and believe in God and Jesus, then you are probably familiar with the Bible. Most Christians I know believe that book to be the word of God, and use it as a measuring stick in their daily lives. Most of my good Christian friends are as appalled by the WBC as I am, and abhor the kinds of "Christlike" behavior that they exhibit. <br />
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If you're more a believer in Karma or energy, as I am, I can't believe that these people aren't going to be shocked as hell when they wake up in their next life as a starving orphan in Darfur. Because if I were in charge of Karma, that's where I'd send them: to learn one hell of a lesson in humility after the shitty things they did in this life. Only the most narrow-minded people could picket the funeral of fallen American soldiers, who took a bullet protecting this country. Only the most narrow-minded people could think that God only loves you if you're a white, Christian, heterosexual ultra-conservative.<br />
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The only conclusion I can draw here, is that these types of people came from hideously abusive homes where hate and fear were fostered. That's the only way I can wrap my mind around the kind of energy it takes to maintain this level of hatred for fellow human beings and call it Christianity.<br />
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I say let Karma do it's job. Let them see what it feels like to walk 20 miles round trip every day to get water and wood to cook 1 cup of gruel to feed a family of six. Let them fear the bands of rapists who regularly defile and disfigure innocent women and young girls for sport. Let them see what it feels like to have your husband disown you because you became an unwitting victim of said sport. Let them see what it feels like as a man, the head of a family, to repeatedly stand in line for days on end, hoping for work to support his starving kids. Let them watch their children die of AIDS or starvation. Let them experience grief unparalleled in this universe when their sons or daughters are beaten to death or bullied to the point of suicide for being gay. I say bring on the worst, Universe, and let them remember everything they did and said to persecute innocent people with their hatred, while they are in the living hell of Karma.Dayna RNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17580018208470877887noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6105449837530335432.post-31413491371684476152011-10-01T10:17:00.000-07:002011-10-24T10:14:07.064-07:00Too OldSo, my normally sweet husband was unnecessarily cruel to me last night. I mean, REALLY cruel!<br />
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I am sitting there watching the season premiere of Private Practice, where an old favorite hottie of mine has joined the cast. Enter Dr. Jake Reilly (aka: Benjamin Bratt) as Dr. Addison Forbes Montgomery's latest love interest. She met him last season in the produce aisle, they shared a kiss without exchanging names, and that was the last I thought I'd ever see of Mr. Bratt. This season, we find Addison forging ahead with her dream to have a baby, even though the producers seem to have forgotten that this series started 4 years ago with Addison's visit to her friends in LA to see if she could have a baby then. Her friend Naomi told her four years ago that she had like *one* egg left to her name. Of course, the magic of TV land will probably produce that single egg and fertilize it with the sperm of some studly donor. Only the best for Addison Forbes Montgomery!!<br />
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At any rate, she's laying there, up in stirrups waiting for her "fertility doctor" to show up, and <i>of course</i> who should walk in but Mr. Pineapple, from the previous season. After a bunch of shuffling, snuffling, clothes tugging awkwardness from Addison, Mr. Hott, er, I mean, Bratt, takes her hands in his and says: "Addison, I'm going to give you a baby." <faint><br />
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So.... to the TV, I said: "Oh good god, Benjamin, you could give <i>me</i> a baby any day!!" to which my husband replied: "Yeah, a retarded baby, maybe, since you're 45 going on.... you know...." (He <i><u>knows</u></i> this upcoming birthday has me bugged....)<br />
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Okay, so I didn't know whether to cry or smack the shit out of him at this point!! I mean, people have babies all the damn time in their 40's!! My sister's mother in law did it at age 47, so SEE!! Where does he get off telling me I'm too old to have a baby?? I could do it if I wanted to!<br />
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Me: "Well, I certainly wouldn't be having another baby with you, asshole."<br />
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Mike: "Duh, I'm fixed. Why am I an asshole?"<br />
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Me: "You heard me. That was just plain rude, and <i>mean.</i> I cannot believe that you said I was OLD!"<br />
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Mike: "I didn't say you were old, I said you were almost...."<br />
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Me: "DON'T SAY IT!! Don't you say the number out loud!"<br />
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Mike: "But honey, I didn't say you were old!"<br />
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Me: "You said my eggs were retarded! That's the same as saying I'm old and shouldn't procreate, even with Benjamin Bratt!"<br />
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Mike: (looks incredulous) <sigh> "I didn't say you were old."<br />
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Me: "I am going to bed, where you should probably not begin to think you are getting any sex tonight."<br />
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I went to bed alone, where I dreamed about Benjamin Bratt and his millions of viable sperm. To hell with my husband, and sliding down the hill towards fiddy next month. I could have a baby with a hottie if I wanted to.....Dayna RNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17580018208470877887noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6105449837530335432.post-46667406968039905372011-09-27T09:49:00.000-07:002011-09-27T09:49:52.506-07:00ADULT TRUTHSThis is NOT my work. But I wish it was, because it's all so true! Too good not to pass on. (Italics are my comments.) Enjoy!<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}">*** Adult Truths ***</span></span></span></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}"></span></span></div><h6 class="uiStreamMessage" data-ft="{"type":1}" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}"> 1. Sometimes I'll look down at my watch three consecutive times and still do not know what time it is. </span></span></h6><h6 class="uiStreamMessage" data-ft="{"type":1}" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}">2. Nothing stinks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong. </span></span></h6><h6 class="uiStreamMessage" data-ft="{"type":1}" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}">3. I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger. </span></span></h6><h6 class="uiStreamMessage" data-ft="{"type":1}" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}">4. There is great need for a sarcasm font. (<i>Um ya!</i>)</span></span></h6><h6 class="uiStreamMessage" data-ft="{"type":1}" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}">5. How in the world are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet? <i>(I don't fold them. I wad them up and shove them in my linen closet, whose doors don't even close all the way</i>. <i>No apologies. In my opinion, there is no damn way to have an organized linen closet.)</i></span></span></h6><h6 class="uiStreamMessage" data-ft="{"type":1}" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}">6. Was learning cursive really necessary? </span></span></h6><h6 class="uiStreamMessage" data-ft="{"type":1}" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}">7. Map Quest really needs to start their directions on # 5. I'm pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood. </span></span></h6><h6 class="uiStreamMessage" data-ft="{"type":1}" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}">8. Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died. (<i>I disagree. I think it's way more fun to try to figure out who offed themselves vs. who died of AIDS</i>.)</span></span></h6><h6 class="uiStreamMessage" data-ft="{"type":1}" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}">9. I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired. </span></span></h6><h6 class="uiStreamMessage" data-ft="{"type":1}" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}">10. Bad decisions make good stories. (<i>No shit!! I need to blog about the Great Raccoon Caper</i>.)</span></span></h6><h6 class="uiStreamMessage" data-ft="{"type":1}" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}">11. You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you know that you just aren't going to do anything productive for the rest of the day. </span></span></h6><h6 class="uiStreamMessage" data-ft="{"type":1}" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}">12. Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after Blue Ray? I don't want to have to restart my collection... again. </span></span></h6><h6 class="uiStreamMessage" data-ft="{"type":1}" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}">13. I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten-page technical report that I swear I did not make any changes to. (<i>Worse yet when it says: "Do you want to revert to the originally saved copy of ______?" Learned that the hard way when I lost 9 pages of test notes last semester. Grrr!</i>)</span></span></h6><h6 class="uiStreamMessage" data-ft="{"type":1}" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}">14. I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call. <i>(I would NEVER do this, because that would be RUDE.) (Where's that sarcasm font again??!)</i></span></span></h6><h6 class="uiStreamMessage" data-ft="{"type":1}" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}">15. I think the freezer deserves a light as well. <i>(Why?? Everything looks like a giant ice block anyway, and it's a grab bag treasure chest in there. Having a light would be of no use to me unless I defrosted the damn thing.)</i></span></span></h6><h6 class="uiStreamMessage" data-ft="{"type":1}" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}">16. I wish Google Maps had an "Avoid Ghetto" routing option. </span></span></h6><h6 class="uiStreamMessage" data-ft="{"type":1}" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}">17. I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger. (<i>is there a LINE?</i>)</span></span></h6><h6 class="uiStreamMessage" data-ft="{"type":1}" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}">18. How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod and smile because you still didn't hear or understand a word they said? (<i>I do this ALL the time!! In fact, my sister told me recently: BRING YOUR GOOD EAR OVER HERE!! She's totally right. I'm deaf as a post.)</i></span></span></h6><h6 class="uiStreamMessage" data-ft="{"type":1}" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}">19. I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars team up to prevent a jerk from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers and sisters! <i>(This warms my heart on the rare occasion that it happens. See my post entitled: Is that a cop behind those blackberries?)</i></span></span></h6><h6 class="uiStreamMessage" data-ft="{"type":1}" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}">20. Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever. (<i>I used to believe this was true, when I could still fit into a decent pair of jeans, until one time I walked around all day thinking, God in Heaven, what is that SMELL?? Yup, the jeans. Gross.)</i></span></span></h6><h6 class="uiStreamMessage" data-ft="{"type":1}" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}"> 21. Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket, finding their cell phone, and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey -but I'd bet everyone can find and push the snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time, every time. (<i>Amen.</i>)</span></span></h6>Dayna RNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17580018208470877887noreply@blogger.com0