I have this gift of coming up with recipes in my head. I think the gene came from my father. I can look at the pantry, refrigerator, freezer and spice rack and come up with dinner in a flash. No planning, no formal recipe.
My latest creation came from leftover turkey and leftover chicken Rice a Roni.
Take the whole turkey and trim off the remaining meat for more leftovers! (Turkey sandwiches, turkey burritos, etc..)
I place the turkey in a bath of 32 ounces of fat free, low sodium, no msg chicken broth
Bring the turkey to a boil and then take off the stove. Cool the turkey and pick the rest of the meat off the carcass and toss the bones in the trash.
Putting the turkey meat back into the pot, I add:
1 14 oz can of Italian style chopped tomatoes
1 7 ounce can of mushrooms, including juice
1/2 cup white wine
1 tablespoon minced garlic
dash salt
dash pepper
One sprig fresh rosemary (from my plant!!) scraping the leafs from the spike
And the leftover chicken rice
Stir and put on medium heat and let cook for 20 minutes.
Serves 4
Enjoy!
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Merry Christmas?
Christmas has always been my favorite time of year. The decorating, present buying, cooking, baking and good cheer. Everyone is happy during the holidays. A time for frenzy that eventually turns into fun.
But this year was different:
The teenager was not feeling well, annoyed and nasty, the boyfriend was sick and the grandmother was tolerating the two.
It was going to be a lean Christmas, we all knew this. We all accepted our gift of being together, for better or worse.
Little did we know, it could actually get worse.
At 5:30 a.m. Christmas morning, I in my sweatpants, crawled into bed with the most beautiful daughter in the world. She snuggled briefly and fell back asleep. Moments later as I leaped from the bed and ran to the bathroom, my hopes of rejuvenating Christmas went down the toilet. There the ribs I had coveted for many years, the corn bread and the vegetables from Christmas Eve's dinner poured from my mouth in a constant rush and splash, splash, splash.
It had begun.
The stomach flu everyone was talking about. The one written up in the newspaper. How did I get this? Where did it come from?
I laid back in bed and felt the rush at another end and had to eliminate the prospects of eating anything on Christmas day.
As my daughter awoke and discovered her mother was ill, she text messaged her cousin saying she wasn't coming. She angrily yelled she wanted out of the house.
Unable to drive, the boyfriend, even tho not feeling well himself, took her to the place she wanted to be.
Meanwhile, a houseful of people were preparing to enter for Christmas family celebrations and food. As I talked the grandmother and boyfriend through the final preparations, I knew I would be barred from any social interactions that day.
Hours upon hours the visits to the porcelain god continued. Each sip of ginger ale left my body as quickly as it had entered.
In the other room I heard the eating, the laughing, the opening of presents, the thank yous and talking.
But I lie in my bed, quiet as a mouse.
Their meal was completed, the presents were opened, the visiting ceased. All was quiet.
The dishes were cleaned up, the food put away and everyone went to bed.
When the clock struck 12, it began again. The boyfriend ran down the stairs and relinquished his dinner. Over and over he suffered the same fate - wanting to die as I had done 12 hour before.
As the grandmother stood and shook her head, she knew the illness was one she would dread. For later that night, she felt the rumblings too and sat on the toilet and lost her cookies down the flue.
And there I was finally feeling better, with one in the kitchen and the other in the bathroom losing their fluids in dreadful fashion.
The phone call came and the boyfriend's sister was ill. She too had breathed in the beast.
Yes it was the holidays and all were sick.
Next year the Grinch-like disease will miss the family who tried so hard to have a Merry Christmas, for some of us will be on a beach sunning and forgetting that day.
A Statistic
NEWS RELEASE
Bankruptcy Filings Near Million Mark for 12-Month Period Ending June 30, 2008
In the 12-month period ending June 30, 2008, there were 967,831 bankruptcy cases filed, according to statistics released by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. That is a 28.9 percent increase compared to filings for the 12-month period ending June 30, 2007, when cases totaled 751,056. Historic data on bankruptcy filings is available on the Judiciary's website under Bankruptcy Statistics.
Regulators Report Deteriorating Performance
New foreclosure filings fell during the latest quarter, but delinquency, foreclosures-in-process and real estate owned filings rose, according to new government data. An even more troubling statistic -- a deterioration in re-defaults on modified loans -- was led by investor-owned loans and sub-prime mortgages.
------------------------------------------
The woman in the lime green suit jacket leans back in the chair and pushes away from the small wood rectangular table. Her eyes turn pink from the swell of tears ready to wash over her sullen cheeks. Her husband nods to the lawyer and then to the man who asked so many questions. She bows her head and walks out of the courtroom.
The balding man in the old-fashioned suit wrestles with a new file and the paperwork in front of him. It was time for another person to sit before him and respond yes or no to his questions.
The answers would determine, as well as the copious amount of paperwork, whether they would be absolved of their sins. Those in the courtroom prayed they would be.
Whether it was from lack of a job, a burgeoning mortgage payment, medical bills, missing child support, a business gone under, divorce or overspending, all the people in the courtroom were there for one reason. Bankruptcy.
And, as the lawyers assured their clients “an opportunity to start over.”
Those in the courtroom that rainy Friday morning became a statistic. Foreclosures up, jobs down, stock market down, economy down, bankruptcies up and lives turned upside down.
The old man adjusts his tie and begins asking questions. He pauses and aks, “Did I swear you in?” “Yes,” replies the woman into a microphone, barely looking at the inquisitor.
He returns to his line of questions and asks the woman if she has any assets. Not personal assets, like a winning smile, great eyes or a sunny personality. She did not matter.
Assets a bank or a creditor could take to pay the unfortunate mound of bills that had developed into a swiftly spreading plague. At first it seemed treatable, but then the late fees, the rising interest rates and the lack of funds could not sustain any hope of recovery. It was time to pull the plug.
And with it comes 10 years of the Scarlet Letter, “B.”
Future purchases, future jobs, future anything, to be determined by strangers who calculate dollars, cents and a credit score.
Not that you hadn't tried keep up with the infectious swell. You did. You went through thousands and thousands of dollars of retirement savings to try and stay afloat. But it all comes down to what is coming in, not enough, and what is to be paid out, too much.
The emotional toil money and bankruptcy takes on people is not seen in the statistics on television or on the Internet. The sleepless nights, the crying jags, the humiliation and the worthlessness you experience goes on and on.
The phone calls from the creditors telling you, “just $48, can’t you afford $48 this month?” Or others who say, “you aren’t taking this seriously.”
No?
Then why are we sitting here in a courtroom filled with very young couples, single divorced men, old married couples, single divorced women, old men and lawyers?
Is this not serious?
It will be a decade before lives can be restored and what had been built for years recovered, if at all.
No, this decision was not made lightly. It was thought out, it was researched. Jobs were changed, moves were made and nothing improved. An extremely tough choice was made.
“Don’t worry, everyone is going through it. You are not the only one,” says a creditor, attempting to make the debtor feel better.
That is the problem. There is a systemic reason for “everyone” doing it. It’s greed.
It’s the banks, the people who run the banks and us, who are to blame. We all want, want, want and some are able to get. The rest pay the price of trying to survive in a culture fraught with keeping up with the newest designer, the newest phone, newest electronic gadget, newest anything.
It all trickles. Trickle up economics. The poor get poorer and the rich get richer.
But hopefully since many have joined this growing fraternity sporting the disgraced letter “B,” the masses will rise up, be noticed and things will change. They will learn from past mistakes, take the time to discover what decisions will reap, and not spend, literally, the rest of our lives in poverty.
Bankruptcy Filings Near Million Mark for 12-Month Period Ending June 30, 2008
In the 12-month period ending June 30, 2008, there were 967,831 bankruptcy cases filed, according to statistics released by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. That is a 28.9 percent increase compared to filings for the 12-month period ending June 30, 2007, when cases totaled 751,056. Historic data on bankruptcy filings is available on the Judiciary's website under Bankruptcy Statistics.
Regulators Report Deteriorating Performance
New foreclosure filings fell during the latest quarter, but delinquency, foreclosures-in-process and real estate owned filings rose, according to new government data. An even more troubling statistic -- a deterioration in re-defaults on modified loans -- was led by investor-owned loans and sub-prime mortgages.
------------------------------------------
The woman in the lime green suit jacket leans back in the chair and pushes away from the small wood rectangular table. Her eyes turn pink from the swell of tears ready to wash over her sullen cheeks. Her husband nods to the lawyer and then to the man who asked so many questions. She bows her head and walks out of the courtroom.
The balding man in the old-fashioned suit wrestles with a new file and the paperwork in front of him. It was time for another person to sit before him and respond yes or no to his questions.
The answers would determine, as well as the copious amount of paperwork, whether they would be absolved of their sins. Those in the courtroom prayed they would be.
Whether it was from lack of a job, a burgeoning mortgage payment, medical bills, missing child support, a business gone under, divorce or overspending, all the people in the courtroom were there for one reason. Bankruptcy.
And, as the lawyers assured their clients “an opportunity to start over.”
Those in the courtroom that rainy Friday morning became a statistic. Foreclosures up, jobs down, stock market down, economy down, bankruptcies up and lives turned upside down.
The old man adjusts his tie and begins asking questions. He pauses and aks, “Did I swear you in?” “Yes,” replies the woman into a microphone, barely looking at the inquisitor.
He returns to his line of questions and asks the woman if she has any assets. Not personal assets, like a winning smile, great eyes or a sunny personality. She did not matter.
Assets a bank or a creditor could take to pay the unfortunate mound of bills that had developed into a swiftly spreading plague. At first it seemed treatable, but then the late fees, the rising interest rates and the lack of funds could not sustain any hope of recovery. It was time to pull the plug.
And with it comes 10 years of the Scarlet Letter, “B.”
Future purchases, future jobs, future anything, to be determined by strangers who calculate dollars, cents and a credit score.
Not that you hadn't tried keep up with the infectious swell. You did. You went through thousands and thousands of dollars of retirement savings to try and stay afloat. But it all comes down to what is coming in, not enough, and what is to be paid out, too much.
The emotional toil money and bankruptcy takes on people is not seen in the statistics on television or on the Internet. The sleepless nights, the crying jags, the humiliation and the worthlessness you experience goes on and on.
The phone calls from the creditors telling you, “just $48, can’t you afford $48 this month?” Or others who say, “you aren’t taking this seriously.”
No?
Then why are we sitting here in a courtroom filled with very young couples, single divorced men, old married couples, single divorced women, old men and lawyers?
Is this not serious?
It will be a decade before lives can be restored and what had been built for years recovered, if at all.
No, this decision was not made lightly. It was thought out, it was researched. Jobs were changed, moves were made and nothing improved. An extremely tough choice was made.
“Don’t worry, everyone is going through it. You are not the only one,” says a creditor, attempting to make the debtor feel better.
That is the problem. There is a systemic reason for “everyone” doing it. It’s greed.
It’s the banks, the people who run the banks and us, who are to blame. We all want, want, want and some are able to get. The rest pay the price of trying to survive in a culture fraught with keeping up with the newest designer, the newest phone, newest electronic gadget, newest anything.
It all trickles. Trickle up economics. The poor get poorer and the rich get richer.
But hopefully since many have joined this growing fraternity sporting the disgraced letter “B,” the masses will rise up, be noticed and things will change. They will learn from past mistakes, take the time to discover what decisions will reap, and not spend, literally, the rest of our lives in poverty.
The new journalism
I was in the newspaper business for 20 years. It was exciting and disappointing at the same time. I left journalism because of the greed and the stockholders. No longer was the story the important item, it was what the stockholders and the company president could make as a bonus. I saw many incredible writers cast aside for young "talent" that cost less.
Stories shrank, photos were enlarged and journalism became a six-inch brief. News holes got smaller and advertising took over the paper. The actual newspaper itself shrunk. It used to take two hands to hold the paper, but now, it's a two to three inches smaller. At least trees are being saved.
Last year I jumped ship and moved across the border to PR and advertising. What I have found is amazing. All my career, advertising and editorial never mixed. A line was drawn in the sand to prevent any sort of bias or favoritism.
Since my new position, I have spoken with magazines, television, radio, newspapers, who will not print a press release, unless there are dollars behind it.
I was completely astounded when a woman told me, no advertising, no calendar item.
A major metropolitan newspaper was willing to take $4,000 in advertising, and publish a special section, then changed their mind. They were going to forgo future dollars because they could not sell advertising space in the special section. They would not print a word about the client, unless they had more money from us, but could not produce their own revenue, a practice that had worked before. The four page section morphed down to a full-page "advetorial." An ad plus editorial supplied by the agency on behalf of the client.
What?
On television, the "old fashioned" reporting of the news is gone. Yes the CBS, NBC and ABC's still have their nightly news broadcasts. But the rest of the networks all have talking heads analyzing every thing that is said, worn and should be according to them. Election 2008 time was amazing to me. Everyone had an opinion. You had to sift through the gibberish to figure out what was true and what was not opinion.
MSNBC was astonishing. The Obama-mania was incredible. Stars were born such as Rachel Madow, replacing the outlandish and over used Keith Oberman. What the? More left wing worshiping.
There is also the O'Reilley factor. Do people know he is just a character? A man stirring up whatever he can, to get ratings?
And Hannity, have you ever seen a program where everyone agrees with the host? Watch him.
I am tired of talking heads. I want to hear the facts and discuss it with my people, my family, my friends.
What about poor Kaylee, will she ever rest in peace? The mother should be shut away and the talk show hosts laid to rest.
I am left with 60 Minutes and Sunday Morning on CBS and NPR as my last hope. Real reporting, real investigating, real front line, real people and real stories.
By the way, what happened to the war in Iraq and Afghanistan? There is no more shock and awe, so we have 10-second sound bites that 7 Americans were killed in Afghanistan today.
Where are the scud studs, those imbedded, bring the horror and the glory to our TV screens each night?
Seven years of war and it is an afterthough in the public eye. Hundreds of thousands dead, and we are worried about buying our Wii's and making our mortgage payments. People are dying, for us.
Journalism needs to be what it was intended to be, reporting the truth, the facts, the real story.
No more paying for space or listening to men and women who claim to be experts.
Where are the Edward R. Murrows or Walter Kronkites of the world?
Remember, all you read or hear it filtered... Only the truth is the answer. But where do you find it?
Stories shrank, photos were enlarged and journalism became a six-inch brief. News holes got smaller and advertising took over the paper. The actual newspaper itself shrunk. It used to take two hands to hold the paper, but now, it's a two to three inches smaller. At least trees are being saved.
Last year I jumped ship and moved across the border to PR and advertising. What I have found is amazing. All my career, advertising and editorial never mixed. A line was drawn in the sand to prevent any sort of bias or favoritism.
Since my new position, I have spoken with magazines, television, radio, newspapers, who will not print a press release, unless there are dollars behind it.
I was completely astounded when a woman told me, no advertising, no calendar item.
A major metropolitan newspaper was willing to take $4,000 in advertising, and publish a special section, then changed their mind. They were going to forgo future dollars because they could not sell advertising space in the special section. They would not print a word about the client, unless they had more money from us, but could not produce their own revenue, a practice that had worked before. The four page section morphed down to a full-page "advetorial." An ad plus editorial supplied by the agency on behalf of the client.
What?
On television, the "old fashioned" reporting of the news is gone. Yes the CBS, NBC and ABC's still have their nightly news broadcasts. But the rest of the networks all have talking heads analyzing every thing that is said, worn and should be according to them. Election 2008 time was amazing to me. Everyone had an opinion. You had to sift through the gibberish to figure out what was true and what was not opinion.
MSNBC was astonishing. The Obama-mania was incredible. Stars were born such as Rachel Madow, replacing the outlandish and over used Keith Oberman. What the? More left wing worshiping.
There is also the O'Reilley factor. Do people know he is just a character? A man stirring up whatever he can, to get ratings?
And Hannity, have you ever seen a program where everyone agrees with the host? Watch him.
I am tired of talking heads. I want to hear the facts and discuss it with my people, my family, my friends.
What about poor Kaylee, will she ever rest in peace? The mother should be shut away and the talk show hosts laid to rest.
I am left with 60 Minutes and Sunday Morning on CBS and NPR as my last hope. Real reporting, real investigating, real front line, real people and real stories.
By the way, what happened to the war in Iraq and Afghanistan? There is no more shock and awe, so we have 10-second sound bites that 7 Americans were killed in Afghanistan today.
Where are the scud studs, those imbedded, bring the horror and the glory to our TV screens each night?
Seven years of war and it is an afterthough in the public eye. Hundreds of thousands dead, and we are worried about buying our Wii's and making our mortgage payments. People are dying, for us.
Journalism needs to be what it was intended to be, reporting the truth, the facts, the real story.
No more paying for space or listening to men and women who claim to be experts.
Where are the Edward R. Murrows or Walter Kronkites of the world?
Remember, all you read or hear it filtered... Only the truth is the answer. But where do you find it?
AI 2009
Ok, I admit it. I watch American Idol. I have for the past 8 years. Ever since my daughter was 9 years old. We used to sit and watch it together, back when she would actually sit and watch TV with me without texting her friends.
It is an odd show. It shows what people are capable of and not capable of. The ones who are not capable, do they know the whole world is watching, and not thinking pleasant thoughts about them?
How can someone get up in front of millions of people and think they are made of star quality? From the William Hungs to the bikini clad wannabes, it is quite a spectacle. Maybe that is why I am intrigued. I have never been one to "watch a car crash," but this is amazing to me, the hutzpah, the courage it takes to humiliate oneself. Or is it to think oneself into a dream state that puts them on the stage, thinking they are the next Kelly Clarkson or David Cook of the world. Very few people have the talent to go all the way.
Granted there are those in the world, who for whatever reason, have rocketed to the top and somehow made millions of dollars.
50 cent comes to mind. The man cannot sing, his raps are disgraceful, degrading and disrespectful. Yet millions of people worship him. The man owns outrageous cars, homes and toys. (ie Cribs) And why?
Because he did not die, he could have murdered, he sold drugs and went to prison? So he had a bad life. He did not turn it around, he turned millions of misguided teens into thinking what he did was cool. But think about it. Would you want your daughter dating him? Sans the money and the fame, he is a thug.
When I was living in Colorado, I hung out with musicians and folks who claimed to be music makers. One day I attended a concert at a hotel and actually heard what the folks on stage sounded like in headphones. While the people manning the boards, moved dials and bars up and down to make these "singers" sound like real stars, I just shook my head.
What could they make me sound like?
So don't be fooled. There is talent, such as Barbara Striesand and Frank Sinatra, Kelly Clarkson and Elton John, who CAN sing. But today's world pretty much takes anyone who has a look, a weird riff, an outrageous story and this makes them a star.
Sad.
But back to American Idol. At least we get to see who does have talent, from the waiteress to the unemployed, and who can make the cut.
I cannot imagine what they go through: learning the songs week after week, the dance steps, the critisism, etc. This I admire, as well as fulfilling their dream.
They also get to meet wonderful stars, Elton, Billy Joel, and producers who will change thier lives forever. And that is what I enjoy. The prospect of seeing people's live change, for the better.
It is an odd show. It shows what people are capable of and not capable of. The ones who are not capable, do they know the whole world is watching, and not thinking pleasant thoughts about them?
How can someone get up in front of millions of people and think they are made of star quality? From the William Hungs to the bikini clad wannabes, it is quite a spectacle. Maybe that is why I am intrigued. I have never been one to "watch a car crash," but this is amazing to me, the hutzpah, the courage it takes to humiliate oneself. Or is it to think oneself into a dream state that puts them on the stage, thinking they are the next Kelly Clarkson or David Cook of the world. Very few people have the talent to go all the way.
Granted there are those in the world, who for whatever reason, have rocketed to the top and somehow made millions of dollars.
50 cent comes to mind. The man cannot sing, his raps are disgraceful, degrading and disrespectful. Yet millions of people worship him. The man owns outrageous cars, homes and toys. (ie Cribs) And why?
Because he did not die, he could have murdered, he sold drugs and went to prison? So he had a bad life. He did not turn it around, he turned millions of misguided teens into thinking what he did was cool. But think about it. Would you want your daughter dating him? Sans the money and the fame, he is a thug.
When I was living in Colorado, I hung out with musicians and folks who claimed to be music makers. One day I attended a concert at a hotel and actually heard what the folks on stage sounded like in headphones. While the people manning the boards, moved dials and bars up and down to make these "singers" sound like real stars, I just shook my head.
What could they make me sound like?
So don't be fooled. There is talent, such as Barbara Striesand and Frank Sinatra, Kelly Clarkson and Elton John, who CAN sing. But today's world pretty much takes anyone who has a look, a weird riff, an outrageous story and this makes them a star.
Sad.
But back to American Idol. At least we get to see who does have talent, from the waiteress to the unemployed, and who can make the cut.
I cannot imagine what they go through: learning the songs week after week, the dance steps, the critisism, etc. This I admire, as well as fulfilling their dream.
They also get to meet wonderful stars, Elton, Billy Joel, and producers who will change thier lives forever. And that is what I enjoy. The prospect of seeing people's live change, for the better.
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