Category Archives: Food/Drink

7 Posts in 7 Days: Shamrock Shake

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Today is the last day of the challenge to write 7 posts in 7 days. I decided to only do the Five Favorites meme at Moxie Wife as one of the entries and do a couple other small link-ups, which has meant that I’ve had to write two posts on Thursdays and Sundays to keep the 7 Quick Takes and The Simple Woman’s Daybook separate.

So…

It had been probably 30 years since I had a shamrock shake from McDonalds and my Twitter has been full of people talking about having one. Given that I am an adult and can consent to purchase and consume one, I thought “why not?” and headed over to my local McDonalds to try one.

My take: a waste of $3.

Seriously, I’m a huge fan of any thing mint-flavored so I thought I’d like this. The thing tasted like toothpaste and for the caloric load, I could have consumed 3/4 of a container of Talenti Mediterranean Mint gelato. I’m also a bit afraid to go online and look at the ingredient list after seeing a sign about this.

My two cents.

7 Quick Takes: Secret $tarbux Menu, Health Grumping, and the Olympics.

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7 Quick Takes

— 1 —

Secret menu at $tarbux. This is probably not as cool as the secret menu at In-n-Out but it’s cool to know that $tarbux has a secret menu of drinks that baristas can make.

— 2 —

Tom Brokaw. Tom Brokaw is battling multiple myeloma which is the same cancer that my father-in-law has been fighting for 4 years. I’ll be interested to hear the various ways he will treat it, having been privy to what is going on in research on this cancer in the last few years.

— 3 —

Olympics. The Opening Ceremony was interesting and I’ve had fun watching the snowboarding and slopestyle-skiing. I’m kind of meh about the figure-skating in all honesty though I’m kind of amused that Yevegny Plushenko had to drop out, especially because there was a controversy with him being given too generous scores in the team competition. I’m kind of rooting for the Filipino male skater who qualified for the medals round because it would be cool if he made the podium.

— 4 —

Grumping. The mutant death cold that took my voice away last week evolved into a respiratory infection so I was put on Augmentin. Well, Augmentin caused ummm… a secondary problem so I had to have two doses of Diflucan called in. Have I mentioned that taking Augmentin and Diflucan together does not do good things to my stomach? I’m hoping that all of this eventually gets cleared up — I’m not getting much done on errands because I’m so tired and needing to sleep. Let’s not even go into why my fibro started flaring at this point…

— 5 —

Special intention. For those praying for my special intention, we’re still needing prayers for discernment. Please and thank-you. 🙂

— 6 —

The Jen Lancaster book. I’m having to put The Tao of Martha aside because it’s just really not holding my attention. I mean, it’s funny in its own way but it’s not really piquing my interest because I hate domestic things and Martha Stewart falls into that category. I’ll be sending it back to my mother-in-law who is a Martha Stewart groupie and will get a whole lot more out of it.

— 7 —

Orphans. Do you see these beautiful children?

L-R: Brett and Iris
BrettIris

Brett still needs a mama. Iris finally has a family committed to her and they were supposed to have met her on the 29th.

For more Quick Takes, visit Jen at ConversionDiary.Com.

The Simple Woman’s Daybook: February 9, 2014

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Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY February 9, 2014

Outside my window… dark. It’s only 6:45 p.m. instead of midnight like it usually is when I’m doing this. It was lovely and rainy today. I don’t know how much this will help us with the drought but it’s at least something.

I am thinking… that I need to go on Pinterest and find some stuff for Daniel to do tomorrow. He doesn’t have school and it’s too wet to go outside. He’s been acting out all day today because of boredom.

I am thankful… for the rain.

In the kitchen… dishes dishes dishes. My kingdom for a dishwasher!

I am wearing… my online debate team shirt and black leggings.

I am praying for… discernment related to my special intention.

I am going… too many places this week.

I am wondering… if Daniel will go to bed at a normal hour tonight.

I am reading… nothing at this moment. I just finished Tattoos on the Heart by Fr. Greg Boyle, S.J. last night and haven’t chosen the next book. It will probably be The Tao of Martha by Jen Lancaster though — my mother-in-law sent it to me and I need to start it.

I am hoping… for less drama in my life this week.

I am looking forward to… my massage on Friday.

I am hearing “Lord, I Need You” by Matt Maher.

Around the house… *puts fingers in ears* I can’t hear youuuuuuuuuuuuuu!!!!

I am pondering… the difficulty of being a saint.

A favorite quote for today… “I believe in Christ like I believe in the sun – not because I can see it, but by it I can see everything else.” – C.S. Lewis

(This was my email signature for a long time.)

One of my favorite things… lamb gyros with onions, tomatoes, and extra tzatziki from the Kabob & Gyro Grill.

A few plans for the rest of the week: ABA therapy for Daniel every afternoon this week, Morning Prayer and PTM on Tuesday morning, peds appointment on Wednesday morning, WIC on Thursday morning, date breakfast, massage, and heading to my parents’ house on Friday.

Hosted by The Simple Woman’s Daybook

The Simple Woman’s Daybook: January 12, 2014

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Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY January 12, 2014

Outside my window… dark. It was fairly warm today.

I am thinking… about my nutritionist consult tomorrow that I’ll have to reschedule because Daniel has diarrhea.

I am thankful… for being able to get away for a little bit the last couple days.

In the kitchen… chicken hotdish that I made and portioned out to be frozen.

I am wearing… brown shirt with a ruched collar and black running shorts.

I am creating… this entry and a baby blanket.

I am going… out to replace my headphones when Jon gets home from his concert.

I am wondering… what injury Daniel is going to give me this week. He gave me a minor concussion last week and he almost hit me with my lapdesk a few minutes ago.

I am reading… The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything by James Martin, S.J. — I’m almost done with it.

I am hoping… my stomach calms down.

I am looking forward to… my massage this Friday. (It got rescheduled from last week because my massage therapist had the flu.)

I am learning how to remove gel nail polish.

Around the house… *puts fingers in ears* I can’t hear youuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!!!

I am pondering… waaaaaaay too many things.

A favorite quote for today… After seeing Fr. Jim Martin, S.J. on the Colbert Report talking about income inequality, I though of the following:

??If this is going to be a Christian nation that doesn’t help the poor, either we have to pretend that Jesus was just as selfish as we are, or we’ve got to acknowledge that He commanded us to love the poor and serve the needy without condition and then admit that we just don’t want to do it.?? — Stephen Colbert

One of my favorite things… quiet so I can pray.

A few plans for the rest of the week: ABA therapy for Daniel Monday to Friday, possibly Morning Prayer on Tuesday, and my massage on Friday.

A peek into my day… I still don’t have my laptop (and thus can’t upload pics) so we’ll just go with a funny Youtube video.

Hosted by The Simple Woman’s Daybook

7 Quick Takes: Back In the Saddle… Sort Of

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7 Quick Takes

— 1 —

Still no laptop. HP is still holding my laptop captive and I now have two case managers working on this because HP sent me through Canada at first. The second one couldn’t find me in the system so he took ownership… and the first one called me on Tuesday to say he was working on this. Yeah… this should be fun. Thankfully, Jon has given me his laptop to use when he’s not home and late at night when he’s asleep… and when I should also theoretically be sleeping. I’ve kinda sorta figured things out but I’m still looking forward to getting my laptop back.

**UPDATE** I talked to HP and because it probably won’t get fixed for another 3 weeks and it’s been 3 weeks since I mailed it in, they’re replacing it for free.

— 2 —

Post-concussion syndrome. Daniel was having a really hard day on Saturday and was melting down quite a bit. He was on my lap and I was trying to get him to calm down when he leaned forward and threw his head and self back into me, hitting me in the face. My glasses thankfully didn’t break (thank God for flexible frames!) but I ended up with what the nurse practitioner at the clinic thought was a mild concussion as I had a headache and nausea the next day. The head pain has gone away but the nausea has still remained. Sigh…

— 3 —

Possible food allergies. I had blood taken on Tuesday to test for celiac disease. It was billed as a food allergy panel so maybe we’ll find out if I’m allergic to anything else? I’m not wanting to give up any foods to which I’m not allergic, mostly because my diet is pretty limited by other things. I’m also dealing with an eating disorder of sorts because I have so many friends doing “real food”, a pale diet, etc. and I’m admittedly dealing with the fact that I’m afraid of eating. I finally asked for a nutrition consult which will be this coming Monday so that maybe we can figure out a diet for me.

— 4 —

Orphans. Do you see these precious children?

L-R: Brett and Iris
BrettIris

Brett still needs a mama. Iris finally has a family committed to her and their dossier has been submitted to her country.

— 5 —

New Year’s resolution. Because I’m awesome this way, my BIG New Year’s resolution was to pray the Jesuit examen nightly. Yes, I’m a Lutheran and praying the examen. I find the Jesuits have a lot of habits that work well for me. It probably doesn’t hurt that the author of the book I’m reading on it is the official chaplain of the Colbert Report. 😉

Anyway, I’m finding the examen is freaking awesome. I wonder if the Jesuits take married Lutheran women…

— 6 —

OMG Big Bang Theory!!!!! Apparently, I missed an episode of The Big Bang Theory because I did not know that Penny had proposed to Leonard before I saw some previews for this episode yesterday. Oops! Thankfully, I was able to catch up before tonight’s episode.

— 7 —

For those who are frustrated with church things…

Fr. Jim Martin recorded this for frustrated Catholics but I think this applies across the board for Christendom. Seriously, it applies to every parish and denomination I’ve been part of in my almost 20 years as a Christian.

(And yes, I know I’m late to the party on this one.)

For more Quick Takes, visit Jen at ConversionDiary.Com.

Italian Christmas Traditions

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Thanks Jen for letting me Guest Post during your Sabbatical! Here is another post about Family Holiday Traditions

Growing up holidays were always a pretty big deal. I’m 3/4 Italian. My dad was Italian on both sides and my Mom was 1/2 Italian (her mom was Italian and her dad was English)..but lets face it 90% of the traditions she has are italian as her grandma also lived with them most of her life. My great-grandparents were never divorced but lived separately for MANY years…my grandmother was very Catholic and was of a generation that didn’t believe in divorce.

Every Christmas for as long as I remember we’ve made the same things. Italian Cookies, Butter Cookies, and homemade Raviolis. And every year when we make them we tell stories of how my grandmother and great grandmother used to make them differently. Several years ago my Aunt made everyone a binder of all my great-grandmother’s christmas recipes we use it every year.

2013-12-13 22.45.24

This year was no different. We made Italian Cookies.2013-12-18 23.13.49and as my mom iced them we joked about the way my great grandmother used to take a knife and individually ice each cookie…and we are way too impatient for that and just dunk the cookies into the icing (it’s a very thin icing).?Some years we went to NY to visit relatives and my cousins and I would make the cookies together. This year we exchanged text messages and photos of our cookies.?
christmastextsAll of our cookies:?HOLIDAY BAKINGThe way we make Ravioli’s has changed since my great-grandmother’s time. She used to use nothing but a rolling pin and a pasta board….yeah we tried that once and didn’t get very far….we now use the pasta attachments for the Kitchenaid (and let me tell you what used to be an all day affair is now done in less than 2 hours) and this year we added the ravioli attachment. I haven’t decided how I like that attachment yet…Ravioli MakingChristmas Eve was also a pretty big deal. We always celebrated the Feast of the Seven Fishes. I honestly never knew where this tradition came from. I just knew you either had 7 fish dishes to represent the 7 sacraments or 12 for the 12 disciples. However this year I decided to google about the feast and I found this website. And according to tradition back in the day Christmas Eve used to be a penitential day (similar to Good Friday) and many Italian Catholics didn’t eat meat until after they received communion at Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve.?2013-12-24 20.27.10I shared the article with my mom and this is what she had to say,?

The people from Naples are famous for their elaborate spreads of cold shellfish cocktails and hot fish dishes, as well as the?roasted peppers?and?antipasti.?—- ha ha that’s where i get it from…my grandmother was from a mountain town not far from naples/foggia italy

One thing I have learned over the years is no matter how old I get and whether we have dinner for 3 or dinner for 30 on Christmas Day the traditions are very important to me. It’s weird to have Christmas and not do any baking…even if we only make one batch of cookies. Every year we tell the same stories about how things used to be and how Grandma and Great-Grandma did things differently and laugh at their crazy stories. It’s a fun way to spend time together and I wouldn’t have the holidays any other way.?

Beth Anne is a single catholic blogger that blogs about the single life, being catholic, her love for Disney, her frugal adventures, her crazy cats, and other adventures she comes across. She lives in historical St. Augustine, FL and once received a postcrossing postcard that told her her city was like living in a Fairytale :). She blogs at BethAnnesBest.com and tweets @BethAnnesBest 

PSA for Tomorrow

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Tomorrow is New Year’s Eve. Dean and I are planning a quiet night at home. Since neither of us drink (I’m a diabetic, he’s 17 years sober), the party scene just isn’t our gig. In fact, Dean calls NYE “amateur night.” But for the rest of the country, here’s an important PSA, and “Ricky don’t lose that number.”

NO excuses. Don??t drink and drive ??
and don??t ride with anybody who does.
Tipsy Tow, offered by AAA: You don??t
have to be a AAA member. From 6pm ?? 6am on
New Year??s Eve/Day they will take your
drunk self and your car home for FREE.
Save this number . . . 1-800-222-4357. Please
re-post this to help save lives.
It is NATIONWIDE and FREE!

-Kym