A funny found on the interweb

Fellow Business Executives:

As the CFO of this business that employees 140 people, I have resigned myself to the fact that Barrack Obama will be our next President, and that our taxes and government fees will increase in a BIG way.

To compensate for these increases, I figure that the clients will have to see an increase in our fees to them of about 8% but since we cannot increase our fees right now due to the dismal state of our economy, we will have to lay off six of our employees instead. This has really been eating at me for a while, as we believe we are family here and I didn't know how to choose who will have to go.

So, this is what I did. I strolled through our parking lot and found 8 Obama bumper stickers on our employees' cars and have decided these folks will be the first to be laid off. I can't think of a more fair way to approach this problem. These folks wanted change; I gave it to them.

If you have a better idea, let me know.

Sincerely,


John Smith
CFO

The Who's "Won't Be Fooled Again" should be played at the inauguration.

Some fun

Turkey Taco Soup

This is really good.. better than it sounds.

Turkey Taco Soup

1 package Ground Turkey (the ones I can get come in 20oz packages)
1 onion, chopped (more or less to taste)
3 10oz cans Diced tomatoes w/ green chilies
2 15oz cans Pinto Beans, Drained
1 15oz can black beans, drained
1 16oz package frozen whole kernel corn
1 pkg taco seasoning
1 pkg ranch dressing mix
1 beef bouillon cube (optional)
1 cup beef broth or water (optional)
Non stick spray

Spray large frying pan (I used a wok style pan) with non stick spray. Add Turkey and Onion and bouillon cube and cook until Turkey is fully cooked and onions are clear or nearly so.. about 5 minutes.

Drain meat if necessary. Return to a large soup pot. Add the remainder of the ingredients. Simmer at least 20 minutes.. longer if you can stand it. The longer it cooks, the better it is.

This comes out very thick.. more stewish than soupish.

The original recipe called for ground beef and cream style corn and was rated at 281 calories/ 1.5 cups of soup. Ground turkey and whole kernel corn make it a little less calorie dense, but not a whole lot.

I like to add a little fat free sour cream.

In Mourning

Welcome to the Socialist States of America.

Who is John Galt?

Do It

VOTE!!

There's still an hour left to vote here in Texas..

Exercise your right..

VOTE.

Unfried Catfish (low carb, low salt)

This borrows heavily from the recipe you can find online as "Oprah's Unfried Catfish", but I changed it up according to my families needs.

(T = tablespoon)

4 catfish filets OR a package of catfish nuggets (usually LOTS cheaper and just as good)
Non-stick cooking spray. (lite variety is best)
2 T Garlic powder
2 T Blackened seasoning (read label and make sure it's no salt or low salt)
2 T Lemon Pepper (again, read label..some have salt, some don't)
1 T Italian Seasoning (original recipe calls for basil and thyme..we were out of basil at home, so used Italian seasoning and it worked fine.)
Paprika (? amt.. use to sprinkle over fish b4 baking) (ran out of paprika, substituted chili powder seasoning.. worked good too)
1/2 cup meal of some kind. We use Almond Meal or Flaxseed as DH is lowcarbing. Cornmeal is good if carbs aren't a concern at your house.

Preheat oven to 400. Spray baking sheet (I use a cookie sheet) 3x with Pam or other non-stick spray.

Combine all in a plastic 1 gal bag except fish and paprika. Shake a couple/three times to combine. Add fish and shake well to coat.

Lay fish out on sheet. Spray fish with Pam. Sprinkle with Paprika.

Place on BOTTOM rack of oven and bake for 20 minutes. Turn oven down to 350 and bake for 5 more minutes.

Remove, cool and enjoy!!

I'll add calorie estimations later. Right now I've got to go take mine out of the oven.

Back. Boy those are good.

Ok here's the skinny on the calories.

Oprah's Un-fried catfish is 171 calories/4oz serving.

I am estimating this at 200 calories/4oz serving as Almond meal has a little more calories than cornmeal..If you use flaxseed meal, the calories are so close to cornmeal it really shouldn't make too much difference.

AND considering that a 4oz filet of regular fried catfish is about 488 calories!!! This is a wonderful substitution.

I've tried this with boneless skinless chicken breasts.. good that way too. Next experiement, suggested by Opprobious, is pounded steak.

I have to add some salt to mine when I sit down to eat it (Lite salt only please), but other than that.. it's excellent!! Hope ya'll enjoy.

Worried Mom

Color me worried.

I have a 21y/o dd far away at college.

She has not answered her cell phone all weekend. She has not answered today. I've left messages, no response. I've written emails... no response. I've even sent her a text a little while ago (something I never do.. because it's an extra charge on our cell phone plans) and no response. This is after going through this same thing about 2 weeks earlier.

If I don't hear from by tomorrow, I'll be calling the police where she is and seeing if they'll go find her.

There is no phone in her apartment, and I don't know the cell #'s of any of her roommates. I've asked for her friends cells.. she always has an excuse not to give them to me.

Daughter Dear.. PLEASE contact me. You have no idea how scary this is. You are going to kill me with worry.


EDITED TO ADD: Finally reached her at 4AM. Same old story, didn't have her phone turned on. I'm so frustrated I'm about ready to stop financing her education if this doesn't improve.

Doctor Visit

I went and saw my bariatric surgeon today.

I had last saw him in June 2007, and was just beginning the process to get a lapband when the bottom dropped out of my world (found out I had cancer).

I called his office last month and today was the soonest they could get me in. Said since it had been so long, they advise that I start the whole process over again.

Good news.. my blood pressure was dead on normal. 120/80. Monday at the dentist it had been something like 150/83.. but situational hypertension I don't think is a problem.

Bad news.. I've gained about 10 lbs since June 2007. Yikes. I didn't really have any room to gain, but I did.

So, along with getting ready for surgery, I'm going to try to lose some weight preoperatively. I took the Dog for a short walk (I'm out of shape gonna have to work back up to long walks) and had the whole neighborhood of dogs all excited.

Our neighbor has a puppy that is as big as a pony and he had to come visit. Glad I took my walking stick in case someone decided to be aggressive.

I have to be evaluated by a psychologist or psychiatrist b4 this surgery. I'll start on that tomorrow.. and go check out curves and see how much a membership there will cost.

OH boy. Tons of fun.

History Lesson

My friend over at Opprobious recently made a post about "The Race Card". And after having some discussion in his comments section, it got me to thinking about various things historical.

That's one nice thing about growing older, is that you start to actually HAVE some history. And you can start to bore the younger folks with telling them how things "useta be". Oh, how I wish I still had my parents and grandparents around to listen to their stories once again. Since they're no longer living, the best I can do is to type out my own memories.

When I was coming up in the wilds of southern Georgia (aka as North Florida), we had a maid that came to work for us a few days a week. I think this was during the time that my grandmother moved in with us and Momma went to work to get out of the house because her MIL was driving her nuts. (good lord I can sympathize.. I never had my MIL move in, but I would've gone stark raving mad if she had.)

Anyhoo, the maid whose name was Cora, lived too far away to walk to our house and there was no public transportation where we lived and she didn't have access to a car. So Momma or Daddy would have to go pick her up. I'm not sure if I remember Mom picking her up, I think I do, but not 100% sure of that memory. I think she must've at one time or another. What does stand out in my memory was the times that Daddy would pick her up. And Daddy would never take the car to go get her. He'd always drive the Willys pickup truck. (Looked a LOT like this truck, only ours was Green. This truck was why my nephew called my dad Greendaddy instead of Granddaddy.. lol).

I loved that truck. Daddy used to let me steer (at about age 7 or 8) when driving down the old dirt roads (remember this was very rural areas with NO traffic, and he was controlling the gas and brake) and later when I was 14 or 15, it was what I had my first real driving lesson on.. again out in the country with no traffic. Worst I could run into was a pine tree. Wish it was still in the family, but when it got to the point where parts were no longer easily available, my sister and bil let it go (sold it?) to a man who could machine the parts. It was time, but I wish I had been in a position to keep it. Oh well. Back to my story.

The reason Daddy drove the truck to pick up Cora was that if he drove the car, she'd feel obligated to sit in the back seat. For various reasons he wasn't comfortable with her sitting in the back, yet in the customs of the times, it wasn't a good thing to be seen with her riding in the front seat either. So he solved the problem by taking the truck where there was only one seat. Pretty smart huh? And often he'd take us kids with him too, whether to just give us a treat or he enjoyed our company or to get us out of Mom's/Nanny's hair for a while, or as another buffer in the race/seating game.. I have no idea.

I remember Cora had a husband by the name of Rooster. He was sometimes not at home.. he'd be off in some northern city. Chicago maybe? I don't know much about that, but his name stuck in my mind. Kinda unusual.

I wonder whatever happened to Cora. She was a nice person, but I was a child and caught up in myself and never thought to follow up on her.

Now, my Dad didn't have to act that way, and considering he was raised with having a "nursemaid", I think it's remarkable that he was that conscious of others feelings.

The other story I have to tell isn't family history, but a reflection on how things have changed and in so short a time.

When I was growing up, it was common in polite society to call black folks "colored". It was only the uncultured and uncouth who used the N word. I'm not condoning the use of either word.. it's just the way it was. (and it's always bemused me the use of the word "colored" anyway.. if blacks are colored.. what are whites.. colorless??? transparent?? invisible??)

A few years ago, I was talking to one of our local orthopedic surgeons and he was telling me about having this older black lady in his office to get a cast for a broken bone (let's call it her arm for simplicities sake.. I have really no idea what bone was needing treatment). And he was talking to her about her choices.

She could have plain plaster cast or she could have a fiberglass cast. If she chose fiberglass, he went on to tell her, she could have a colored cast (fiberglass is available in many colors, red, blue, purple, etc.). She straightened up, indignant, and asked him, "What do you MEAN, I can have a COLORED cast?" She was mad thinking he was being discriminatory and offering her something just for her race. It took a moment for both of them to realize the miscommunication.. and they both laughed when it was straightened out.

I know that the doctor was careful to phrase things differently from then on.

Just goes to show how history invades every facet of our lives. As I told my dd the other day, she'll enjoy studying history a little more when she gains some of her own. As she's only 21, she has a ways to go.

Hope this walk down memory lane was enjoyable and perhaps thought provoking. It was not meant to offend anyone. Please feel free to comment if you like.

Retro Reading

I rarely talk politics on this blog. I don't like arguments and people do tend to get heated about their beliefs.

But with the two major choices we have for President, this year I will have to vote some other way. Maybe Bob Barr. It sure won't be the green party candidate.. Cynthia McKinney (who in their right mind would run her as a candidate, let alone vote for that nut???) In case ya'll don't remember, she's the representative from Georgia who tried to bypass Security and then cried discrimination when the guard stopped her.

But I digress from my original point. Which is I keep seeing our country slide into socialism and it scares me.

Maybe the old AVC courses should be revived in our high schools, or even better, make some of Ayn Rand's works required reading in English class. And have the students discuss the works. It would serve us better than having to read Beowulf.

I remember having to read Anthem. And enjoying it so much that I went on to read Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead all on my own (I confess that I skipped over her multipage diatribes.. but the rest? pure nectar).

Save a Life

Save a life.. maybe even your own.

Ladies (and gentlemen, while this isn't specifically addressed to you.. you can pass this along to the women in your life.. wives, moms, daughters, girlfriends.. any female that you care about their health and well being).. please be sure and get your annual pap smear done.

If your monthly bleeding has become unusual.. more frequent or less.. see your doctor. If you're post-menopausal and start bleeding again.. see your doctor.

The doctor may tell you everything is fine .. or you may catch the beginning of a more serious process.

I have a friend who had a sister.. said sister had avoided going to the gyn for a number of years. Guess what? That sister died in 2006.. ON MY BIRTHDAY.. of a gyn cancer. A year later.. I had my diagnosis. I was so scared.

And I have a word for the gyn's and other doctors who do endometrial biopsies out there. I was seeing a doctor who would not give ANY pre procedural pain medication. After having two painful biopsies.. I quit going to the doctor for a couple/three years. This is when my cancer started to develop. IF the doctor had even given 800 mg of Motrin (Ibuprofin) before the biopsy.. the likelihood that my problem would've been allowed to develop into cancer is much much smaller.

Please physicians.. we ladies aren't asking for major pain meds.. just enough to make the biopsy tolerable. I'm still a bit angry over the mistreatment..but in a way it was also a blessing. If I had continued to see that doctor and cancer raised its head anyway... I wonder how callous she would've been treating the cancer??

Save a life.. get your pap smears done.

I try to have mine around the time of my birthday.. easy to remember. Pin it to a date that is significant for you. Anniversary, Graduation, Fourth of July, Halloween (you can go in disguise..lol).. just GET IT DONE.

:::stepping down off my soapbox::::

Some facts about Gyn Cancers

From Medical News Today


According to the American Cancer Society, each year approximately 82,550 women in the United States are diagnosed with cancers affecting the reproductive organs.

Here are facts on gynecologic cancers from the Gynecologic Cancer Foundation:

-- Every seven minutes a woman is diagnosed with gynecologic cancer.

-- Gynecologic cancers are caused by the uncontrolled growth and spread of abnormal cells originating in the female reproductive organs, including the cervix, ovaries, uterus, fallopian tubes, vagina and vulva.

-- Risk factors include smoking, aging, environmental influences, family history, failure to receive regular pap tests, not bearing children, infertility, obesity, hypertension, diabetes, and estrogen use.

-- Gynecologic cancers warning signs and symptoms include unusual vaginal bleeding or discharge; a sore that does not heal; pain or pressure in the pelvic area; a persistent change in bowel or bladder habits; frequent indigestion or abdominal bloating; and a thickening or lump that either causes pain or can be seen or felt.

-- Gynecologic cancers can be treated by surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, and experimental treatments.

Ovarian cancer ranks fifth as a cause of cancer deaths among women and causes more deaths than any other cancer of the female reproductive system.

Uterine cancer is the most common cancer of the female reproductive organs. It is estimated that more than 40,000 new cases will be diagnosed in 2004.

An estimate of more than 10,000 cases of invasive cervical cancer are expected to be diagnosed in 2004. During 1992-1996, cervical cancer death rates declined by approximately 2.1 percent in the United States.

Vulvar cancer is a very curable disease. Treatment includes surgically removing vulvar lesions and the groin lymph nodes.

Vaginal cancer is very rare. It is usually diagnosed in elderly women with abnormal bleeding and treated with radiation.

Fallopian tubes cancer is rare.

Gynecological Cancer Awareness Month

September is national gynecological cancer awareness month. Think Peach and Teal (colors representing uterine and ovarian cancer).

I'm really unhappy with the program that was on all 3 networks this past Friday.. StandUp2Cancer. There was NO MENTION of any gyn cancer that I saw. They even had some actor simulate (or maybe it was real) a prostate exam.. not very tasteful in my opinion.. but if they were going to go that far.. why not talk about pap smears and how they can SAVE LIVES!!!

You can email StandUp2Cancer at:

http://su2c.standup2cancer.org/contact.php

or write to them at:

Stand Up To Cancer
1801 W. Olympic Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90006

Be sure and praise them for taking a first step in getting the ball rolling.. but admonish them for leaving a whole section of the cancer spectrum out.

I just don't understand why the difference. Are we still afraid to say the words Vagina, Vulva, Uterus, Cervix, Tubes, Ovaries in mixed company? How are they so different that Prostate or Testicular? Except the later belong to men, and the former to women.. and have been sexualized.

In 2004 (the most recent year for which data are available), approximately 73,000 women in the United States were diagnosed with a cancer affecting the reproductive organs, and approximately 27,000 women died from some form of gynecologic cancer

We talk about Breast and Prostate and Colon cancer without blushing now.. why not talk about Gyn cancers too??

http://www.cdc.gov/cancer/knowledge/

Some Squares to be given away.

These first 4 are going to someone who is assembling a comfortghan for a friend with ovarian cancer. The yarn is some millends I bought from eBay for the March 08 cancer square drive that I had left over. I don't know exactly what it is, but it feels and works up like Red Heart Soft.







The remaining squares are going to a group raising funds for Frederich's Ataxia.















The above 7 squares are half of my goal for the Greek Games at C'ville. I think I'm going to double my goal... things are moving smoother than I anticipated.

Gone Fishin with my hook

Made with Lily Elite Cotton (Red, White) and Speed Cro-Sheen (black). The Speed Cro-sheen is a lot different in size than the Lily Elite, but since it's mainly used for showing the separation of the colors, it didn't seem to matter much.

clickable

Will be giving it to one of my dhs secretaries who is retiring tonight. Made pic in a huge hurry.. I was on my way out the door to attend her retirement dinner.

It's a good size.. enough for a small wallet, lipstick, cellphone and not much else. I've already started another one (this one was supposed to be a xmas gift.. I think I have time to make another before then) and will get measurements on the next one.

The pattern is one that OldBagLady had posted on the 'ville a long time ago. It's no longer there, don't know why it disappeared. Hers were originally made with worsted weight acrylic yarn and were quite a bit larger.

Use it up

Being raised by Depression era parents, one of their mottos was "make it do, use it up, wear it out".

I'm using it up.

This is from yarn from my stash... Paton's Canadiana in School Bus Yellow, Deep Orange and Orange Salsa (discontinued variegated). Even more economical, all were bought on sale when Hobby Lobby was getting rid of their Canadiana. Too bad they no longer carry it.. I've gotten to love it.. it's a great yarn.




clickable

Stitches used:

Closed Shell (5dc), Wave, Star Stitch (also called Marguerite Stitch), Closed shell (6dc), Somerset Stitch, a stitch that I don't know the name of..kind of a spike stitch.., trinity stitch, forked halfdouble, Closed shell (5dc), Wave stitch, reverse wave, Catherines Wheel, a row to end the catherines wheel .. making an even row, star Stitch, two rows of sc, Odd forked Halfdoubles, a row of sc, then reverse sc around the edge and inside the handles.

Most of these can be found at various places on the web if you're not familiar with them. Others I got out of my Harmony Guides (300 crochet stitches and 220 more crochet stitches) books.

I'm still not quite satisfied with the handles on this one, but decided I'd go ahead and leave this and improvise something different for the next tote. Yes, there's another version of this brewing in my head.

What do ya'll think? Other than the bright colors.. hehehee.. can't miss this thing could ya?

I used about 1 skein of the yellow and orange and 1/2 skein of the variegated. I still have more yellow and orange and some green I bought on ebay.. a little more expensive than what I paid at HL.. but not much. Considering gas prices.. it was probably a huge bargain for me since HL is 40 miles away.

Yet another felted Waves of Color tote

Can you stand another one? I think I'm getting a little better at this. I'm beginning to learn how to adjust the stitches to get what results I want.... This one unintentionally turned out in a wedge shape.. which I kinda like!

All pics clickable of course.



stitch definition prefelting




Showing size of bag prefelting. (it probably shrank at least by 1/3..I need to get a pic with a sheet of paper to show the after size)



Post felting but pre shaving




After a Shave





The pattern is from one that was previously posted gratis on Crochetville.. however it's no longer available. At first just the pattern was taken down, but now, the whole thread where we discussed making of the bag is unavailable.

I'm hoping that this means that the designer is moving towards publishing. She's a very talented person and I hope that's what the disappearance of (all of her) patterns means.. and not something bad.

And I owe huge thanks to a couple of generous crocheters who sent me Paton's Leaf Green wool when I ran out at almost the end of the bag. THANK YOU LADIES!

Volvo in Crochet

No, that's not a typo. It's an inside joke. A friend is also considering making these and was overheard by another person.. and the overhearer wanted to know how my friend was going to crochet a Volvo. :D

As new readers of this blog may not know, I had cancer and surgery to cure it (hopefully) last year. Since then, I have become an advocate for women learning more about their bodies and how they function ie, what is normal and what isn't.

Through a board dedicated to women and cancer, I have met a woman in Australia who has been working for over 10 years on getting an International Gynecological Awareness Day started.

What does this have to do with crochet I can hear you thinking. Well, I recently ran across a pattern for crocheted Vulvas...and have made a bunch to send my friend in Australia as a teaching tool.

I have finally finished a whole skein of redheart baby pink making them and have pictures!! (click to see them larger)










The vulva pattern is here. She's a great designer and is offered to help with the pattern if I didn't understand any of it. She's such a great pattern writer that I got it right off. There is a small charge for the pattern, but it's very reasonable and she includes a great anatomy lesson with it.

The Uterus or Womb is here. It's also a very easy pattern. The only thing is that I wish there were ovaries included, but it shouldn't be hard to design some if someone wanted to do so. I think it would just be a couple of ovals (like tiny footballs).

There's another vulva pattern available on the web, for no charge, but it seems more difficult to create. The owner also used a slang term for it that I completely disagree with for educational purposes. We need to own the correct name and be proud of it. I will link to the pattern though, for those who cannot afford the small price of the first one.

I hope this will lead to others learning more about their bodies. I understand it can be a bit uncomfortable for some people and I respect that, but it is so important to know what we should look like so if (heaven forbid) an abnormality should arise, we can recognize it in time for early treatment and cure.

Thanks for visiting. I promise my next post will be more "normal".

This just makes me sick.

Anniversary

Today a year ago I got my diagnosis of Hyperplasia with atypia.

I remember sitting in the exam room with two ob/gyns and my husband and all 3 of them were planning my surgery for 3 days later.. and I was going noooooooooooooooooooooooooooo. I felt like I was being hit from 3 sides. This is too quick.. you're not even sure I have cancer.... I have a house torn apart by a painter....I have a ds and dd getting ready for college.....

I did eventually have surgery, but on my schedule and with a gyn/oncologist.

Just a little sad today remembering the horrid summer it was last year and hoping hoping hoping that the cycle will begin to turn. I will have my first post-op pap smear in August or September.. we'll know more then.

Things I don't usually talk about that made the last year so hard.. A friends sister died on my birthday in 2006, from a gyn cancer. And I was 49 at the time of my diagnosis.. the same age as my father when he died.