Beef..it's what's for dinner!

Well at least, for Christmas dinner this year.

I didn't order a Giordano's stuffed pizza this year for Christmas, even though the prices have dropped considerably - they are offering to ship 4 pizzas for under $100 now.  It's the best pizza that I've ever had.  A Chicago-style pizza, with a bottom crust, then cheese, then a top crust, then sauce and toppings.  VERY filling! We first found them when we were in Orlando for a computer conference, we went to Giordano's over by the hotel we were staying at.  Wow! what a find!

For Christmas this year, I'm making a beef roast - a nice prime rib roast, and I've used this rub before when I made one years ago - this rub is excellent on beef.  It comes from HEB grocery's website, under "recipes".


Prep Time:
10 minutes
Makes:
seasons 3-4 lb.
Ingredients

1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

Combine all ingredients and mix well.

Beef may be roasted immediately or wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and "cured" in the refrigerator overnight.

From James Beard's American Cookery:

To buy beef for roasting:

Look for cherry red, well-trimmed beef with good marbling in it and with creamy fat.  It should be US Choice or Prime.  Estimate 3/4 to 1 pound of meat per person, especially if there is much bone. Have no fear of leftover roast.

The first three ribs are considered the best, a larger roast would be first five ribs, well-trimmed, so that carving will be easy.  This means a "7 inch cut" with the short rib section cut off and the chine bone, back cord, and feather bone removed.  It is wise to have the roast barded with an extra piece of suet.

Low-heat method: This works successfully with beef that is well fatted. Place the roast on a rack in a shallow pan, and rub it well with freshly ground pepper, and,. if you choose, a little rosemary or thyme or garlic. (or use the above rub).  Preheat the oven to 180 or 200 degrees, and place the roast in the oven bone-side down.  Allow it to roast without basting approximately 23 to 24 minutes per pound, until it achieves an internal temperature of 120 to 125 degrees for rare meat; or for medium, approximately 28 minutes per pound until it achieves an internal temperature of 140 degrees.  Salt the roast, remove it from the oven, and allow it to settle about 10 minutes before carving.

Medium-heat method: This is more or less the standard method.  Preheat the oven to 300 or 325 degrees. Prepare the roast as above.  Roast, allowing 15 to 17 minutes per pound for rare (meat thermometer 120 to 125 degrees) or 17 to 20 minutes per pound for medium rare (meat thermometer 140 degrees).  Allow the roast to stand 10 minutes before carving.

Searing method: Preheat the oven to 425 to 450 degrees.  Prepare the meat as above.  Roast 30 minutes.  Reduce the heat to 325 degrees and continue to roast, allowing about 12 minutes per pound for rare (meat thermometer 120 to 125 degrees) or 14 to 15 minutes per pound for medium (meat thermometer 140 degrees.  Allow it to stand 10 minutes before carving.

Enjoy!

Licensing smokers?

Go figure.. the nosy nannies are at it again...this time, suggesting smokers get licensed by the government to buy cigarettes.  Can you say "black market"? 

I quit smoking over 24 years ago - I really don't care for smoking, and I think it STINKS...but I'm not saying that other people cannot smoke if they wish.  

Some nutjobs academics out of Australia are suggesting that smokers be licensed, and have to pay the government for the amount of cigarettes they buy.   The whole argument is found here http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pmed.1001342

Remember the liberals were all about "get the government out of our bedrooms"? Now they're wanting to regulate pretty much every doggone behavior.  

A psychosis?

I was browsing the English version of Pravda - amazingly enough, this paper does tell the "truth" about the US.  The Opinion section is most enlightening, saying what the MSM is afraid to say in this  country.

Here is a 4-page article on "Is Liberalism a Psychosis?" http://english.pravda.ru/history/29-11-2010/115965-liberalism-0/.  Quite an interesting article.

It does give you several rabbit trails to run down also!

I know it's been a while since I've posted anything - in the process of switching some meds, and the side effect of the new one is nausea.  Joy!

Here is a Christmas candy recipe for you, made in a crock pot! It looks easy enough.  I'm going to be baking Oatmeal Scotchies today, oatmeal cookies with butterscotch chips in them.  The recipe is on the back of the Toll House Butterscotch Morsels.  Hubby at first said YUK when I first made them...then he tried one..and ate the whole bunch!

1 sm. pkg. semi sweet Chocolate Chips

2 (16 oz) jars dry roasted Peanuts (unsalted)

1 (4 oz.) German Chocolate Bar

1 (18 oz) can Mixed Nuts (shake in collander to remove some of the salt)

2 pkgs. Chocolate Almond Bark (break into several pieces)

 

Put all into a Crock Pot on low for 3 hours.  Stir and drop by spoonful onto wax paper or foil to harden and enjoy.  It makes a lot,  a 5 quart crock pot full. 

Enjoy! 

Now the big decision is "which tree do I use this year?".  I have one of those twirling fiber optic trees (the peanut's decision for a tree); the 3 foot tree that's pre-lit (I made a crochet pineapple tree skirt some years back, it fits this tree); or the Charlie Brown Christmas tree I picked up last year at Wal de Mart after Christmas.  

Grocery prices!?!?

I'll say this flat out - grocery prices are getting outrageous!  Even a dozen medium eggs are around $1.50, that used to be the price of a dozen extra-large.  The 75% ground beef is up over $3 a pound, and it's well over $4 a pound for extra lean.  Chicken is going up also - leg quarters (sprinkled with some tasty BBQ spices) used to be a dollar a pound, and now it is almost $1.40 a lb for leg quarters.  Turkey thighs used to be fairly inexpensive also, now they are almost $3 a lb.

I cringe at what frozen turkey prices are going to be this Thanksgiving.   I guess gone are the days of 10c a pound turkeys on special if you bought $20 or more of groceries.  Even last year, the cheapest turkeys were around 60c a pound.  Spiral ham has stayed about the same the past couple of years, but hopefully it has not gone up as well - the HEB Brand spiral hams usually are 2.99 a lb, but I can snag a Smithfield spiral ham for $1.98 a pound.   (And they taste just as good!).

Bacon is outrageous - even the box of ends and pieces that I usually buy, because it's cheaper than buying sliced bacon.

If you have a printer, go on over to http://www.couponmom.com/  sign up, and start printing off coupons for things you need.  There are also 'coupon exchanges' that cost some money (not sure how much) but they will mail you coupons.  Also check manufacturer's websites for coupons, and your grocery store website for coupons and advertisements. If you time it right, you can really good some good deals.  But ONLY if you were going to buy those things at the time.  My husband has a whole stack of deoderants under the bathroom counter - they were on sale for $2, and I had some coupons for $2 off each...so I stocked up. But not like those CRAZY couponing people you see on TV. I picked up 4 sticks of it.  Enough to last a while, figured that would save some money.


GASOLINE [ALL TYPES]
2002 Average – $1.44
2012  Average- $3.73
Percent Increase: 158%


BEER [PER 16 OZ.]
2002 Average – $.99
2012 Average-$1.24
Percent Increase: 25%


EGGS, GRADE A, LARGE [PER DOZ.]
2002 Average – $1.03
2012 Average-$1.80
Percent Increase: 73%






COFFEE, GROUND ROAST, ALL SIZES [PER LB.]
2002 Average – $2.92
2012 Average-$5.58
Percent Increase: 90%


PEANUT BUTTER [PER LB.]
2002 Average – $1.96
2012 Average-$2.75
Percent Increase: 40%


MILK, FRESH, WHOLE, FORTIFIED [PER GAL.]
2002 Average – $2.75
2012 Average-$3.47
Percent Increase: 26%


LOAF OF BREAD, WHITE
2002 Average – $1.01
2012 Average-$1.41
Percent Increase:  39%




SPAGHETTI AND MACARONI [PER LB.]
2002 Average – $0.91
2012 Average-$1.32
Percent Increase: 44%


ORANGE JUICE [PER 16OZ.]
2002 Average – $1.84
2012 Average-$2.69
Percent Increase: 46%


APPLE, RED DELICIOUS [PER LB.]
2002 Average – $0.94
2012 Average-$1.35
Percent Increase: 43%


WINE [PER 1 LITER]
2002 Average – $6.23
2012 Average-$10.03
Percent Increase: 60%


ELECTRICITY [KILOWATT/ HOUR]
2002 Average – $.091
2012 Average-$.130
Percent Increase: 42%


BEEF STEAKS [PER 16 OZ.]
2002 Average – $4.40
2012 Average-$6.22
Percent Increase: 41%


MARGARINE,SOFT, TUBS  [PER LB.]
2002 Average – $o.86
2012 Average-$2.09
Percent Increase: 143%


TOMATOES [PER LB.]
2002 Average – $1.18
2012 Average-$1.44
Percent Increase: 22%




TURKEY, WHOLE [PER LB.]
2002 Average – $1.05
2012 Average-$1.65
Percent Increase: 56%


BACON [PER LB.]
2002 Average – $3.23
2012 Average-$4.52
Percent Increase: 39%















GROUND BEEF [PER LB.]
2002 Average – $2.28
2012 Average-$3.69
Percent Increase: 61%


COOKIES, CHOCOLATE CHIP [PER LB.]
2002 Average – $2.59
2012 Average-$3.61
Percent Increase: 39%

If you would like some interesting reading, check out the prices here > http://historicaltextarchive.com/sections.php?action=read&artid=418



Ok, enough of that.. onto something *juicy*


Remember how we all thought Osama Bin Laden was dead at the bottom of the sea, feeding the hagfish and sea lice? (sea lice are shrimp and crabs, FYI)

Turns out, he's alive and well, living at 911 Jihad Way, Abottabad, CA 91101! Although his occupation is listed as "deceased terrorist", he's given $ to Obama's campaign.  Evidently all you need to know is a zip code for in the US (Google is most helpful for that I guess), and you too, can gin up all the phony names and addresses you want, and donate money to Team Obama.  AND it will be accepted!

Check out what happened with this guy > http://pjmedia.com/tatler/2012/10/25/how-the-obama-campaign-is-illegally-accepting-donations-from-foreign-citizens/?singlepage=true

Wow...

After many fits and starts, I *finally* learned how to use this mesh yarn I have - Sashay from Red Heart.  Ignore their video at the Redheart site, as the crocheting is done *off camera* for some reason. They sure didnt put much thought into it.  A better place to learn how to do it is at www.simpleandsensational.com .  Free membership, plus lots of interesting stuff there!

test? this is only a test...

My dashboard is gone - nothing up at the top to click on to post a new post, so this is a test. I googled "blogger" and got this link http://beta.blogger.com/blog-this.g   Gee I hope they're not tweaking it AGAIN. I liked it the way it was in the first place!

On another note - how do you know you're ready to have children? After all, it is an 18+ year commitment, so in order for you to be properly prepared to handle kids, I give you this 14-point test.


Test 1: Preparation

Women: To prepare for pregnancy

1. Put on a dressing gown and stick a beanbag down the front.
2. Leave it there.
3. After 9 months remove 5% of the beans.

Men: To prepare for children:-

1. Go to a local chemist, tip the contents of your wallet onto the counter and tell the pharmacist to help himself
2. Go to the supermarket. Arrange to have your salary paid directly to their head office.
3. Go home. Pick up the newspaper and read it for the last time.


Test 2: Knowledge

Find a couple who are already parents and berate them about their methods of discipline, lack of patience, appallingly low tolerance levels and how they have allowed their children to run wild. Suggest ways in which they might improve their child's sleeping habits, toilet training, table manners and overall behaviour.

Enjoy it. It will be the last time in your life that you will have all the answers.


Test 3: Nights

To discover how the nights will feel:

1. Walk around the living room from 5pm to 10pm carrying a wet bag weighing approximately 4 - 6kg, with a radio turned to static (or some other obnoxious sound) playing loudly.
2. At 10pm, put the bag down, set the alarm for midnight and go to sleep.
3. Get up at 11pm and walk the bag around the living room until 1am.
4. Set the alarm for 3am.
5. As you can't get back to sleep, get up at 2am and make a cup of tea.
6. Go to bed at 2.45am.
7. Get up again at 3am when the alarm goes off.
8. Sing songs in the dark until 4am.
9. Put the alarm on for 5am. Get up when it goes off.
10. Make breakfast.

Keep this up for 5 years. LOOK CHEERFUL.


Test 4: Dressing Small Children

1. Buy a live octopus and a string bag.
2. Attempt to put the octopus into the string bag so that no arms hangout.

Time Allowed: 5 minutes.


Test 5: Cars

1. Forget the BMW. Buy a practical 5-door wagon.
2. Buy a chocolate ice cream cone and put it in the glove compartment. Leave it there.
3. Get a coin. Insert it into the CD player.
4. Take a box of chocolate biscuits; mash them into the back seat.
5. Run a garden rake along both sides of the car.


Test 6: Going For a Walk

1. Wait.
2. Go out the front door.
3. Come back in again.
4. Go out.
5. Come back in again.
6. Go out again.
7. Walk down the front path.
8. Walk back up it.
9. Walk down it again.
10. Walk very slowly down the road for five minutes.
11. Stop, inspect minutely and ask at least 6 questions about every piece of used chewing gum, dirty tissue and dead insect along the way.
12. Retrace your steps.
13. Scream that you have had as much as you can stand until the neighbours come out and stare at you.
14. Give up and go back into the house.

You are now just about ready to try taking a small child for a walk.


Test 7: Conversations with children

Repeat everything you say at least 5 times.


Test 8: Grocery Shopping

1. Go to the local supermarket. Take with you the nearest thing you can find to a pre-school child - a fully grown goat is excellent. If you intend to have more than one child, take more than one goat.
2. Buy your weekly groceries without letting the goat(s) out of your sight.
3. Pay for everything the goat eats or destroys.

Until you can easily accomplish this, do not even contemplate having children.


Test 9: Feeding a 1 year-old

1. Hollow out a melon
2. Make a small hole in the side
3. Suspend the melon from the ceiling and swing it side to side
4. Now get a bowl of soggy cornflakes and attempt to spoon them into the swaying melon while pretending to be an aeroplane.
5. Continue until half the cornflakes are gone.
6. Tip the rest into your lap, making sure that a lot of it falls on the floor.


Test 10: TV

1. Learn the names of every character from the Wiggles, Barney, Teletubbies and Disney.
2. Watch nothing else on television for at least 5 years.


Test 11: Mess

Can you stand the mess children make? To find out:

1. Smear peanut butter onto the sofa and jam onto the curtains
2. Hide a fish behind the stereo and leave it there all summer.
3. Stick your fingers in the flowerbeds and then rub them on clean walls. Cover the stains with crayon. How does that look?
4. Empty every drawer/cupboard/storage box in your house onto the floor and proceed with step 5.
5. Drag randomly items from one room to another room & leave them there.


Test 12: Long Trips with Toddlers

1. Make a recording of someone shouting 'Mummy' repeatedly. Important Notes: No more than a 4 second delay between each 'Mummy'. Include occasional crescendo to the level of a supersonic jet.
2. Play this tape in your car, everywhere you go for the next 4 years.

You are now ready to take a long trip with a toddler.


Test 13: Conversations

1. Start talking to an adult of your choice.
2. Have someone else continually tug on your shirt hem or shirt sleeve while playing the Mummy tape listed above.

You are now ready to have a conversation with an adult while there is a child in the room.


Test 14: Getting ready for work

1. Pick a day on which you have an important meeting.
2. Put on your finest work attire.
3. Take a cup of cream and put 1 cup of lemon juice in it
4. Stir
5. Dump half of it on your nice silk shirt
6. Saturate a towel with the other half of the mixture
7. Attempt to clean your shirt with the same saturated towel
8. Do not change (you have no time).
9. Go directly to work

Now go have fun!

Blind Dog

Well, our small fat, watermelon-shaped dog lost a lot of weight, so I took him to the vets - turns out the poor thing has diabetes.  I get to give him insulin injections 2x a day, plus he has special food.  Turns out he's gotten cataracts that came on very quickly too, so he's unable to see.  When he has to go out to potty, I snap my fingers low along in front of him to show him where he can safely walk without running into stuff.  

From everything I've read, dogs will adapt to being blind, varying from a short time to up to three months. 

For exercise I am going to take him on a walk a couple times a day - which is good for me also. 

Hubby was all for "one shot - either me or the doc" fix for Rocket, but I nixed that - I said that if Rocket was put down, then I'd bring home the baby kitten that was for free at the vet's office. LOL that went over like a lead balloon! 

Here is what is happening in our county: 

The 2012 Bay City Bull Blast will be held October 20th at 7pm. The Bull Blast is presented by the Matagorda County Fair Association. This year they will feature 30 Championship Bull Riders, Mutton Bustin' and Junior Steer Saddling.

With your ticket purchase you'll also have the opportunity to dance to the sounds of the Sour Mash Band that starts playing at 9pm.

For ticket information call 979-245-2454 or visit www.matagordacountyfair.com.  Adult tickets are $15 in advance - $18 at the door. Children tickets $7 in advance $10 at the door.

If you've never seen Mutton Bustin', you're missing out on a treat! It's where the kids (usually 60 lbs and under) get on a sheep, and ride. 




That idiot that was saying he was going to kill schoolkids and stuff a couple of years ago - here is some new info on him.  Turns out the guy was a SUBSTITUTE TEACHER also! 


PAUL MAY ELIGIBLE FOR PAROLE
Paul Nolan May, the individual convicted of making terroristic threats against our children and teachers is eligible for parole. Just weeks ago May plead guilty to 12 counts of terroristic threat. He was sentenced to 7 years in prison.  Due to his receiving time served credit for his time spent in county jail awaiting trial, Paul May is already being considered for parole.

At the time of his crime the Bay City community pulled together, living in fear, yet refusing to let a terrorist win. Many children continued to attend school even though there had been multiple threats, bomb threats, and the distraction of national news media invading the campus.

Paul May's parole is not automatic. Paul Nolan May will have to appear before the Parole Board who will also consider the input from victims and people of the community. The board wants to hear from citizens and they've made it easy to contact them.  You can fax, email or snail mail the Parole Board about this individual. Be sure to include his name and State ID Number in your communication. 

Paul Nolan May State ID# 08763442;

Send your email to tamara.stockton@tdcj.state.tx.us

Snail mail:
TDCJ, Victim Services Division
8712 Shoal Creek Blvd, Ste. 265
Austin, Texas 78757-6899

Or Fax: 512-452-0825

oookay...

So I admit a weakness for Homer.. and here he is voting.  You're getting two vids today for the price of one! hah!

Wow! this says it all!

While I was browsing blogs, I came across this word:

INEPTOCRACY

All I could think of was Wow! I have a new word, and I really like it! so I went to my favorite dictionary site, www.onelook.com, and searched for it - found it at Word Spy - dictionary of new words - and this is the definition they give it:

n. A government or state ruled by people who are incompetent. Also: inept-ocracy.

Does this describe the state of Washington DC, along with many state/local governments? Its seems the idiots rise to the top - the most ruthless idiots at that.  The ones that think they know best how YOU should live, behave, whatever, and want to form you into what they think is best for you. 

Bloviating Zeppelin (found over on the right-hand side!) has this definition over at his blog: 

(in-ep-toc'-ra-cy) - a system of government where the least capable to lead are elected by the least capable of producing, and where the members of society least likely to sustain themselves or succeed, are rewarded with goods and services paid for by the confiscated wealth of a diminishing number of producers.

Which brings us to the vidshizzle of the week: 



I see commercials for these "obama free phones" on TV.. yep, your tax dollars.. going to spread the wealth some more, take from your pocket to give some fool low-cost text & web on a FREE phone.  No one seems to understand that FREE means *someone else* paid for that free thing. 

I'm tired of people sticking their hands out for something *free*...even if it's just picking up trash, or shredding paper, everyone can do *something* for the money they get.   

Rabbit Sauce Piquante

This is what I made for dinner the other night.  Boy, it was tasty! The recipe is for chicken, but I had splurged and bought a box of rabbit.  WHY is rabbit 9.00 a lb? I have no idea, except for meat is getting more and more expensive. Even "value beef" at HEB is over $3 a pound.  I was going to make shanks, but those were almost $4  a lb.

Makes 8 servings

ingredients

4 tablespoons cajun spice ( like Emeril's or Prudhomme's)

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 (2 1/2 to 3-pound) fryers, each cut in 8 pieces (I used 1 box of rabbit

Vegetable oil for frying

1 3/4 cups chopped onions

1 3/4 cups chopped celery

1 3/4 cups chopped green bell peppers

1 3/4 cups peeled and chopped tomatoes

3 tablespoons finely chopped jalapeno peppers 

2 tablespoons minced garlic

1 3/4 cups canned tomato sauce

1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons pepper sauce (I used Dave's Insanity Sauce!)

4 cups chicken stock

Hot cooked rice

Use fresh jalapenos. Don't make the mistake I did the first time I read this - I mistook 3 jalapenos, and then I figured, Hey, Let's make it really spicy! and put in 7 minced jalapenos.  BIG mistake! 3 tbsp jalapenos is about 1 big jalapeno.  If you're feeling in the mood for HEAT, add a second jalapeno. 

In a paper or plastic bag, mix 1 tablespoon of cajun seasoning into the flour.  Remove excess fat from the chicken pieces and sprinkle the remaining seasoning evenly on the chicken pieces.  Dredge the chicken in the seasoned flour until well coated.

In a large skillet heat ½ inch oil to 350º.  Fry chicken (large pieces and skin side down first) until browned and crispy on both sides and meat is cooked, about 5 to 8 minutes per side.  Do not crowd.  (Maintain temperature as close to 350º as possible, but turn heat down if drippings start getting dark red-brown; don't let them burn.)  Drain on paper towels.  Carefully pour the hot oil from the skillet into a glass measuring cup, leaving as much sediment in the pan as possible; then return ¼ cup hot oil to the skillet.  Turn heat to high.  Using a spoon, loosen any particles stuck to the pan bottom and then add the onions, celery and bell peppers; cook until sediment is well mixed into the vegetables, stirring constantly and scraping pan bottom well.  Add the tomatoes, jalapeño peppers and garlic; stir well and cook about 2 minutes, stirring once or twice.  Add the tomato sauce and cook about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Stir in the pepper sauce and remove from heat.

Meanwhile, place the chicken pieces and stock in a 5½ quart saucepan or large Dutch oven and bring to a boil.  Cover, reduce heat to medium, and cook 5 minutes.  Then stir half the tomato mixture into the stock; cover and simmer over low heat 5 minutes.  Stir in the remaining tomato mixture, cover, and simmer 8 to 10 minutes more, stirring occasionally.  Remove from heat and serve immediately over rice. 

This is really good, wehther you use rabbit, chicken, you could use squirrel too, or some other little woodland creature you have :P

Other than being creative with dinners, not a whole lot going on in S. Texas.

I went fishing and crabbing Saturday with a friend, but we caught nothing.  There was a couple on the other side of the bridge in the shallows - a crab got hold of her finger, she was jumping around and screaming that a crab had gotten her.. . we laughed quite a bit at that!  

It is finally starting to cool off nicely at night here - gets down into the lower 70s, with a lower humidity. Fall is on its way!

I heartily AGREE with this!

For once, I agree with the ACLU.  Why?  They've filed a suit against the state of Michigan - over kids not being able to read at grade level, as the state is charged with ensuring.   

To this, I say a hearty BRAVO! and HUZZAH!  I run into kids at church, that are in 4th grade, that cannot read at a 2nd grade level.  Much of this, however, I blame on the PARENTS.  People don't read to their kids, or teach them anything before they go off to school, and the teachers are put upon to teach the kids even basic things like 'how to squeeze a bottle of glue so the glue will come out" or to hold scissors, or hold a crayon.  

Our oldest's favorite number is 7.   Why does she say it is? Because she had trouble recognizing it when she was little, before school, and so we made that her favorite number.  

I really don't get the parents that just hand their kid a Nintendo, Wii, an iPhone, or plop them in front of the television, and expect these kids to actually accomplish much of anything.  

I often get accused of "lazy parenting" because I am a Free-Range parent - meaning, the kids actually have freedom to do stuff, their days are not laid out by me, I don't hover over them - as in doing everything for them.  Some people think that Free-range parenting is just totally hands-off, but it's not.  It's more of letting kids actually DO stuff, instead of doing everything for them.  How will they learn if not actually doing something for themselves?   Lenore Skenazy, over at http://freerangekids.wordpress.com/ Free Range Kids
has this blurb along the side of the blog: 
Do you ever...let your kid ride a bike to the library? Walk to school? Make dinner? Or are you thinking about it? If so, you are raising a Free-Range Kid! Free-Rangers believe in helmets, car seats, seat belts — safety! We just do NOT believe that every time school age kids go outside, they need a security detail. 

I agree with this. 

How many of you remember summer days, where you went outside after breakfast, and you didn't show up again till it was time for dinner? Or rode your bike all over the place, going to town, to the little store that sold candy cheap, and eating it all on the way home? 

Now, parents are the #1 teachers of their children - and too many parents just don't bother to teach the kids anything.  

Oh - THAT reminds me, I was at the nail salon at our local Wal de Mart on Saturday - a woman was there getting fake nails put on - and she was jabbering away on her phone, her kids were fighting behind her, and whining for a good 30 minutes.  Then they noticed the nail art samples (long fake nails glued to a board).  They started picking off the nails.  Mom noticed nothing, and the owner of the salon, they kept handing him the nails they had picked off.  I lowered my voice, put my hands around my mouth, and said loudly "You stop picking those off there, right now!".  Kids immediately stopped, mom just looked at them and said "don't do that" and went back to talking on the phone, ignoring her kids again.  The owner said thanks to me later for stopping HER kids from tearing up his display.  

Anyway, the article I was reading, about the ACLU suing Michigan - http://www.aclumich.org/sites/default/files/RighttoReadComplaint(1).pdf">HERE
is the complaint that they filed, in case you'd like to read it.

Fiat Dollars..here and there

I  know it's been a while since I have written anything, but this video is something that everyone should watch.  http://www.silverdoctors.com/end-of-the-road-how-money-became-worthless%E2%80%8F-full-film/

I saw it on the Documentary Channel, and DVR'd it so I could watch it at my leisure.  Seems it was "the speculators" that were blamed then for going off the gold standard by Nixon (a 'temporary measure') and they're still being blamed today! Anyway, happy watching, it's quite informative.

A short game for you!

Is it prison food...or school food? I'll admit, when I went to high school, we found out the meatballs BOUNCED quite well - not as great as a superball, but pretty good for being mystery meat.  There doesn't seem to be much of a difference http://cityrag.com/2012/05/prison-food-or-school-food/">HERE where you can click photos and find out if you had guessed correctly.

Our grocery store here in TX, HEB, sells "value beef".  Its the same quality that prisons and schools get sold, and its tough as heck.  But the value beef loin tail is great for making fajitas, especially when regular loin tail is around $5 a lb, you can get value beef for 2.99 a lb.

Speaking of school lunches, the Fed has changed (yet again) their plan for kids eating lunch at school.  My take on this? Send your kids a lunch with them for the day.  You'll stand a better chance of it NOT ending up in the trash can!  The Feds now have a mandatory (for all schools) for their bought-at-school lunch.

They will be forced to buy at least one fruit or vegetable, even if it gets tossed.  Must buy either non-fat chocolate milk or 1% milk.   If the student doesn't want a fruit or a vegetable, they're charged a la carte, which means it costs more - and those free/reduced school lunches? forced to take a fruit/veg.

They're figuring a 30% increase in school lunch costs.

http://www.nhregister.com/articles/2012/04/01/news/doc4f77cf1c4b99e507580020.txt?viewmode=fullstory">HERE is the full story.

I'm thinking a sack lunch will be the preferred route for many parents, especially if the lunch prices rise. As for "childhood hunger".. I'm wondering why we have 'hunger' and "obesity" sitting right next to each other?

Reminds me of someone who said she HAD to have a double quarterpounder with cheese, because "she's a big girl".  I was like "yeah, and you're gonna get BIGGER" you don't need that. a single one will do!

You and your money?

Reichsfluchsteuer – literally translated, means “Reich flight tax”, is well and alive today.  First used in Germany in 1931, for those wishing to flee the country – they only had to pony up 25%.  (This was before the Nuremburg laws regarding Jews).  They wanted your money, and you couldn’t leave the country without paying. 

Switch to this year – Chuckie Schumer, has evidently read some history and thought “hot damn! We can make some good money off people!” by proposing the US’s own version of Reichsfluchsteuer – the “Ex-Patriot Act”.  I suppose by wrapping it in the red, white and blue, Schumer hopes to make this less reprehensible. 

I found the full text of the law http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/112/s3205/text”>HERE, and I have some thoughts on this bill. 

Their stated purpose  is to “To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide that persons renouncing citizenship for a substantial tax avoidance purpose shall be subject to tax and withholding on capital gains, to provide that such persons shall not be admissible to the United States, and for other purposes.”

Really? So we take their money, which they legally have gained, and wish to avoid the hand of the government that robs people of money, and keeps them out of the US forever? Why?  Why is it thought that people earning lots of money is BAD, and them KEEPING their own money is even worse?

I found out that people that are American citizens, living abroad, have to pay money on what they earn to the US government.  I’m kind of like “why?” 

The co-sponsors to this (no surprise, all D’s) are as follows:

Sen. Richard Blumenthal [D-CT]

Sen. Robert Casey [D-PA]

Sen. Thomas “Tom” Harkin [D-IA]

Sen. Benjamin Cardin [D-MD] (joined May 23, 2012)

Ron Paul has something to say on this as well.  He refers to the government as a “tyrannical regime”, and that only tyrannies need to take the people’s money before they are “allowed to leave”.   He has on his http://www.ronpaul.com/2012-05-28/ron-paul-the-ex-patriot-act-americas-berlin-wall-for-tax-refugees/”page about it,

The Ex-PATRIOT Act goes even further than current law by assessing a 30% capital gains tax on all future earnings of expatriates. Not content just with this additional tax, the bill also grants the IRS the sole authority to determine whether individuals have expatriated for tax purposes and allows the IRS to bar those individuals from ever re-entering the United States. Finally, the bill blatantly violates the ex post facto provisions of the U.S. Constitution by extending all of these provisions to anyone who has given up their U.S. citizenship within the past decade.

This all goes back to “whose money is it?” that you earn for your slaving away at your job.  Does it belong to the government?  Or does it belong to you? 

Bad mom!

We went to Pinchers this past Friday night, to celebrate the youngest's first year of college being over, and then went to go see Men In Black 3.

Pinchers is basically a cajun restaurant - crawfish, fried alligator, shrimp, etc.  We sat out on the patio by the duck pond, and there was Zydeco music being played over a speaker, complete with guy playing spoons on a washboard.  A little kid got a washboard & was playing, and that was cute.  However, one family came & sat at one of the tables outdoors, and requested some song.. that had the lyrics "show your chest.. wiggle wiggle wiggle".. and her little kids, about 9 and under, are up doing basically dirty dancing.  you know, shove your butt out and wiggle it, etc.   I was like what kind of mom lets her kids dance like that? the mom was videoing on her iphone the dancing.

Later when we got home, hubby was browsing I think Free Republic, and he came across this cartoon:

I was like "this is SO much the mom that was videoing her kids doing this dancing!, I have to blog about it".  I would have done it sooner, but we were busy this weekend.  Unfortunately, this is the type of mom that is all too common these days, and it's a sad commentary on the United States.

Taxes

I found this tax graph interesting.  The AVERAGE is 17.80%...so in theory, if everyone paid a flat 18%, wouldn't we end up with the same amount - yet it would be FAIR.  Why should some pay way more than others, and call that 'fair' when it certainly isn't?  18% of 1 million is way more than 18% of 20,000.

Making more money does not take away any money from those earning less.   And I often see those earning less, and on welfare, with nice cell phones, large flat-screen TV, cable, internet, driving large vehicles that are fairly new.   The 'poor'?  Hardly.  Did you know you can buy lobster tails with food stamps? (lone star card here in TX).  That, and gift baskets containing food.  I'm just like "WHAT!??!"

geeze

OH MY GOSH I HATE THIS NEW BLOGGER!

just a couple of things worth mentioning; 1991 biography of obama - 'born in kenya, raised in indonesia/hawaii',

AND obama has brought consensus to DC! it was unanimous in voting against the obama budget!

lemon cake & Whitney Houston

OH MY GOSH! WHAT IS UP WITH THIS! I don't like it! bring back my regular look!

On another note, what Bobby G said about if life gives you lemons.. make lemon cake! here is the recipe: http://blog.stashtea.com/post/21854229863/recipe-lemon-cake-with-black-tea-frosting

And now onto bigger and better things - a sermon I heard this past Sunday at church, by Isaiah G.

He talked about Whitney Houston's death - and his sister's funeral was the same day as hers, so he didn't get to see the broadcast of her funeral. I could only watch a little of it. I'm not really UP that much on funerals, since my mom passed away in 97.

 He talked about how when you go crabbin', you take a hunk of bacon, or a chicken neck, and tie it on that rope - and that crab sees that bacon come down in front of it, and thinks "here's BACON!" and a feast. The world dangles shiny things (like BACON!) in front of us, and we think we've got it made, here's this great dinner, all for free. Turns out there's a rope with a fisherman attached to that bacon, and where does the crab get put? In the bucket.

Soon as you think you've got it made, you're stuck in the bucket of the world. It closes you in, and traps you. Try to climb out of that bucket, another crab is sure to grab you with its pincers and drag you back in that bucket, not allowing you to escape. And finally, you get dumped in a pot of hot water.

I really enjoy his preaching, and when that clock hit 3:15, and he was still going, he said he had better stop, but I was ready for much longer preaching. How much are you willing to pay for that bacon or chicken neck on a string?

My kids have gone crabbing with chicken necks and rope, and a washed-out 5 gallon bucket from cat litter. Many chicken necks are dangled our way, will we take them, and end up in hot water, or not? Will we be happy just hanging out in the bottom of the water, or will we pinch at that bacon, and get taken for a ride, as Whitney Houston did?

No voter fraud? Really? I mean, c'mon...

It (according to Eric Holder) doesn't happen. HOWEVER, the truth is not what he says it is. This video puts that lie to rest.. using Eric Holders' name to boot!

Spring Recipes

Being it's asparagus season - this is a killer recipe for making asparagus. I don't bother steaming it any more, I just make it this way now:

INGREDIENTS
1 lb asparagus spears (thick spears are best for roasting)
1-2 Tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
Kosher Salt
Freshly grated black pepper
Lemon juice

1 Preheat oven to 400°F. Rinse clean the asparagus. Break the tough ends off of the asparagus and discard.

2 Lay the asparagus spears out in a single layer in a baking dish or a foil-covered roasting pan. Drizzle olive oil over the spears, roll the asparagus back and forth until they are all covered with a thin layer of olive oil. (Alternatively you can put the asparagus and oil in a plastic bag, and rub the bag so that the oil gets evenly distributed.) Sprinkle with minced garlic, salt, and pepper. Rub over the asparagus so that they are evenly distributed.

3 Place pan in oven and cook for approximately 8-10 minutes, depending on how thick your asparagus spears are, until lightly browned and tender when pierced with a fork. Drizzle with a little fresh lemon juice before serving.

I skip the garlic & lemon juice, and just drizzle with olive oil & then thick ground salt and fresh cracked pepper. Use the thicker stalks for this recipe, it turns out a bit better than the thin. Supposed to serve 4. It tastes so good, it only serves 2 in this house!



Salmon-stuffed Snow Peas (appetizer)

1/2 pound fresh snow peas (about 75)
1 package (8 ounces) reduced-fat cream cheese
1 package (3 ounces) smoked salmon or lox, finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper

Place 1 in. of water in a saucepan; add peas. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 1-2 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain and immediately place peas in ice water. Drain and pat dry. With a sharp knife, split each pea pod along the curved edge.

In a bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Stir in the salmon, garlic salt and pepper. Transfer to a pastry bag or heavy-duty resealable bag; cut a hole in corner of bag. Pipe in about 1 teaspoon salmon mixture. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving. Yield: 25 servings.


For a boneless leg of lamb, I followed this guy's guideline for roasting > http://www.reluctantgourmet.com/blog/meat-recipes/roast-boneless-leg-of-lamb/ However, I put in lots of slivers of garlic all over the leg of lamb. Turned out really good, and I think I am going to get a leg of lamb for this Sunday. Hopefully they will have them at the store!

Where has the time gone?

It's already spring. I'm still stuck in winter I think! It's been a while since I posted, I keep thinking that I will post something, and then something else pops up.

The latest thing is the squawk over the Treyvon Marton killing. What isn't needed is the race-baiters to come in on it (Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton etc). Treyvon's parents don't want them around either. (don't blame them!).

Romney & Santorum seem to be the front-runners for the Republicans. I'm not keen on either one of them, and I don't seem to find a whole lot of difference between Obama and Romney. Santorum, he's a big-government guy, and that gives a big red NO by his name also.

This is interesting:

Obama By The Numbers

I guess that is enough for today :P

Kind of back

I've been busy crocheting lately - started in on a tablecloth, and just going through a patch in life where I really haven't had much to say.

I've watched the debates, and think that they are coming to being less that worthless for the voting public. More of a dog & pony show if nothing else.

The case down in Georgia, Re: Obama's eligibility has turned the Constitution upon its head, making "natural born citizen" one that is just born here, could be a woman who has a baby here, leaves the next day, and they reside in another country for years.

This article HERE has a great section on what is a natural-born citizen.

"every human being born within the jurisdiction of the United States of parents not owing allegiance to any foreign sovereignty is, in the language of your Constitution itself, a natural born citizen.” (Cong. Globe, 39th, 1st Sess., 1291 (1866))"

Guess what. Obummer's daddy was Kenyan.

Bingham had asserted the same thing in 1862 as well:

Does the gentleman mean that any person, born within the limits of the Republic, and who has offended against no law, can rightfully be exiled from any State or from any rood of the Republic? Does the gentleman undertake to say that here, in the face of the provision in the Constitution, that persons born within the limits of the Republic, of parents who are not the subjects of any other sovereignty, are native-born citizens, whether they be black or white? There is not a textbook referred to in any court which does not recognise the principle that I assert. (Cong. Globe, 37th, 2nd Sess., 407 (1862))

Bingham of course was paraphrasing Vattel whom often used the plural word “parents” but made it clear it was the father alone for whom the child inherits his/her citizenship from (suggesting a child could be born out of wedlock wasn’t politically correct).

I really don't give a flip *where* he was born, legally, consititutionally, he is NOT a natural-born citizen, and thereby, ineligible for President.

And voting for Romney is almost as bad as voting for "O".

And you say we're not headed...

down the road to Nazi Germany?

Under the National Operations Center (NOC)’s Media Monitoring Initiative that came out of DHS headquarters in November, Washington has the written permission to retain data on users of social media and online networking platforms.

Specifically, the DHS announced the NCO and its Office of Operations Coordination and Planning (OPS) can collect personal information from news anchors, journalists, reporters or anyone who may use “traditional and/or social media in real time to keep their audience situationally aware and informed.”

http://rt.com/usa/news/homeland-security-journalists-monitoring-321/

You'll find the PDF of this (and some other interesting programs) on this page http://www.dhs.gov/files/publications/gc_1284657535855.shtm

Note that it SAYS only haiti and winter olympics.. Yeah, right, sure. Hey! I have some lovely oceanfront property in Iowa to sell you!

Why Democrats must go!

Then listen to part 2:



Speaking of Michael Berry, his show is now on from 8 am till 11 am, central time, on KTRH am 740 out of Houston >> http://www.ktrh.com/main.html and then from 5 to 7 pm. A good show to listen to!

Winter Weather

Winter in south Texas is strange. One day you have the heater on, the next day you have the air conditioner on because the humidity is high. Or in the same day (we've had that happen more than a couple of times).

There is some breaking news out of the Middle East:

The Pentagon to Send US Troops to Israel. Iran is the Unspoken Target

Evidently this is a blacked-out newsbit here in the US, although I haven't turned on the news yet today (watching Style instead).

Is this going to be another Iraq? When a country that *has* nuclear weapons threatens to invade, don't you think the country that the invasion is supposed to come, will *want* nuclear weapons? I've been reading some more Ron Paul, and I'm coming more to agree with his views.

I've also come to the conclusion that the US is an empire - rather like the British Empire of past years. Europe and Japan are (fairly) robust economies, why can't they do their own defense, instead of the US? And if your answer is no, please comment as to 'why not?' I keep hearing "if the US doesn't do it, no one will", which is kind of a silly position, its basically the same as thinking "If the government doesn't do it, no one will". Quite a few things would be better off, if the government *didn't* do it, and private sector did.

None of the candidates on the right or the left (except for Ron Paul) are for reining in, or limiting the government. Most of the Republicans are for expanding the Patriot Act (which tramples all over people's rights); and for expanding even further. The Dems are only a few steps ahead of the Reps for expanding.

On another note, I had a package of Fava beans in my freezer, decided to finally cook them up - the website for the company has Mediterranean recipes. Here it is >> http://www.ziyad.com/recipes Some interesting recipes, and you really should try Baba Ganoush. Its great with pita bread!