Weekend Cat Blogging # 17

Ayla at her bath.

Attention Cat Lovers! Its time for Weekend Cat Blogging #17
Food Bloggers around the world unite each week and share pictures of our favorite felines. See cute cat photos and discover yummy food blogs. You'll find all the links to this week's entries here at Eat Stuff in Australia (run by the adorable Kiri). We'd love to have you join us. Just send your permalink in a comment to Clare (Kiri's slave) at Eat Stuff and add a "Weekend Cat Blogging" tag to your post. (Paragraph compliments of Farmgirl)

Nice Evening!

Beautiful Sunset

Hello again. I just couldn't wait to post this up. Such a pretty day after all the heat we have had. It stayed fairly cool today, but we didn't get any much needed rain. I love sunsets. I wish I had my cam for one sunset years ago when I lived in Washington State. Golds to purple and mulitiple colors in between. This one will work though. Enjoy and visit again please!

Hear it whistle?

It's so dry here that even the trees are whistling for the dogs! This tree is in my back yard by my rent house. It's so dry that the poor thing is wilting. Send us some rain please!?

Have a great day everyone!

Got Pictures?

There is a farm behind our property -- I often get to see the owner out there mowing down the hay and then baling it. Have a great day everyone!

A Mom's worth?!

My two youngest boys playing in a box - and baby's favorite my enamel roaster.


I found an interesting read here -- about a mom's worth. The value of a stay at home mom is uncompared to any other job there is. No, we won't get rich. But I guess that is okay. I wanted to work, really I did. I tried too, yet, I cannot seem to find good stable child care. My good friend can only do so much, so am not going to be able to ask her to watch my children for free-- though the offer sure was nice. We will manage I think. And instead I will work on FLYing instead.


Tomorrow I will greet a similiar sunrise off my front porch as you see here.


Have a great day!

My favorite kitty

LeChat was given to me as a rescue. Her and her sibling were very sick when they were found underneath a building. I brought both home and tried to figure out what to give them. Chat's sister died within a few hours of getting them home, and Chat is around today thanks to some antibiotics, kitten milk and a bunch of TLC. She absolutely adores me and my husband. Tolerates the kids. And absolutely LOVES attention. I had alot of encouragement to do just to get her to stay on the little wall long enough to get a picture of her.

Milk? UGH... OKay, I had a tinsy bit of milk over the weekend and suffered for it greatly! My scalp which had cleared up is now a mess again of itchy flaky nasty stuff. So back to the dairy free!! No question about it. I need to contact WIC and find out what I can do for the kids, oh, and the pediatrician too...

Learning ....

It's been an interesting morning already. I talked with the detective in N.J. this morning. He told me that my ex-husband is in a holding pattern until Federal decides if they are going to pick up the case or not. If Federal does not than the State of N.J. will be prosecuting him. Needless to say, the ex is going to be spending a great deal of time in prison, Federal or State.

Am hoping my post has worked this time. I am trying to figure out how to get my images posted to my blog.

Wish me luck!

Day 10 - Already?

Okay,
I have been sick the past few days. And went ahead and tested the "milk" theory I had. I am sore as all get out. Owwie. No more milk thank you.
Hurricane Rita sure has our county messed up in a different way than a windy rain storm could ever think of doing. All the evacuees that stopped here have turned this place into a mess. There were lines for hours at gas stations -- short lines and long lines. Gas stations ran out of gas. Local grocery stores were more empty shelves than they were anything else. No milk, no bread, very little canned goods -- you name it.
Another update on my ex -- no court date that I could find out as of yet. And he did stay with that "long lost sister" -- come to find out that said sister's dear husband KICKED him out! Why? Well, gee, if you didn't pay your bills and got ugly do you think you would be welcome? I seriously doubt it! I know my ex's M.O. -- he's ornery, a drunk, and just plain mean. I can still hear him clearly say, " I don't care what other people think of me!" Pretty sure that attitude has not changed in the least, especially since um... he filed falsely with FEMA and Red Cross.
I am going to start posting pictures of things I like around here. It's easy to upload a picture am sure.
Have a great day everyone.

Day 8 - I have a cold...

Blah! I hate being sick. And this season has been a rough one for my family. Now I have a cold. I am day 8 for dairy free and doing alright with that. Now, I have to find recipes that are dairy free breads. The bread I normally buy has butter in it and skim milk. I will keep getting that, but not likely that I will consume it.

Am going to bed now! If you visit, please drop me a line! And do be nice -- its for a good cause.

Many blessings everyone!

OH! as for my ex not paying child support -- that's no problem. We know how to fix that issue. My son will know and understand just what kind of person my ex is. Thing of it is, my sperm donor is just as bad and I have not missed anything. My half sisters assure me that he's not worth the time of day.

Til tomorrow!

Day 7... What to say?

Okay,
The dairy free is going well. However, news flash......
I found out just how much fun "stupid" could be.
My ex- husband (married June 27, '00 - divorced Oct. 19, '03) recently did something REALLY REALLY stupid.
Read the full story here.
My take on this --- On September 9, 2005 I was contacted by a fella telling me he was a reporter from the associated press wanting to talk to me about said ex -- (read story above). He told me all that my ex had claimed and asked me to verify some information for him. I did, knowing that my ex was not intitled to what he was fixing to recieve in the wake of Hurricane katrina. I contacted my local Crime Stoppers division. Gave them all the information that the reporter gladly told me. I didn't hear anything back from anyone, so I started making additional calls. These calls started on Tuesday and led me to talk to a Lt. Detective based in Bergen Co. N.J. He quickly took down all the information, including a description of my ex and other things. He was very interested in this case. That all happened by Wednesday, Sept. 14. On Friday I called the Lt. Detective again and he told me that they had verified all the above information that I had given him and were just in a holding pattern on who's jursidition my ex fell under. I also contacted a Detective in my county for any other information. The detective in my county thanked me for making the calls I did, stating his time was limited in following up on my ex and his antics. No problem, Detective sir!
Tuesday -- Sept 20. Lt. Detective from Bergen Co. N.J. returns my call to let me know that he recieved the emails I had promised. And then let me know that my ex was in jail. WHOA! Really?! YUP. It's been in all the papers -- that reporter sure was mad! I talked to him too, and he wanted soo much to make an example out of my ex. He got his wish! I have found approximately 6 related articles in all -- three major newspaper companies -- all in the New England area, a Mexican translation thru Yahoo, freerepublic, and one yahoo photo shot. When was the ex arrested? Saturday, Sept 17. So, thus "You Cannot Fix Stupid".
He will be spending quite some time in jail from what I understand, however, I am waiting to get results on his sentencing. I know my ex well, and its likely he will plea bargain out, if they let him.


Many blessings everyone.

Day 6 -- Early Post

Okay... we had one hectic weekend here and I didnt have time to sit down at the computer to do this without interuptions or distractions or frustration. Now, all is quiet for the most part here and taking a few minutes to jump in and post. In amongst making phone calls and doing emails I have had very little in the way of milk this weekend. I am certain that the only thing I had with milk it in was on Saturday. And boy o boy!! Did I notice it within a short few hours. I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend.

Today's recipe:
Oven Blasted Chicken (Original recipe comes from recipezaar)
2 whole chickens (with a family of more than 2 -- we have 6, we need 2 birds)
seasonings (this is left to your preferences)
suggestions:
cinnamon (used only with salt as the other, no other seasonings)
seasonal salt
salt and pepper
lemon pepper

Clean and rinse birds with water, place in a roasting pan and dust with seasonings of choice. Place in a hot oven of 450 degrees and bake 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until the juices run clear. Take out and let rest for 15 minutes, cut up and serve. Drippings from the birds make an excellent gravy, with just additional water and flour added and allowed to simmer to cook the flour and thicken it.

Have a great day! And hopefully, I will be able to post this evening.

Day 3 and 4... and a few recipes

Okay,
I made it through day 3 with no problems. I didnt write down everything that I ate -- I didn't make the time to do it.

Oh, I do need to share a quote. I read in rec.recipe. where ever that is anymore...
"Do not meddle in the affairs of Dragons, for you are crunchy and good with ketchup! (or as my best friend added -- Good with ranch dressing too!)
I have loved that quote since I saw it years and years ago.


Day 4 -- I got hungry. And I was out and about so I bought some scrambled eggs, bacon and a biscuit from a grocery store. I am certain that the biscuit was of the buttermilk variety and it totally blew my "no milk for 10 days" trial. And caused the symptoms that have had previously with milk. Lethargy, sinuses all messed, and low and behold- asthma like symptoms. It totally blew my appetite for most of the day. I finally had some fresh grapes, watermelon and advacado dip with chips. I fixed something with dairy for the rest of the family, which they enjoyed -- but I cannot have it.

Now for some dreamy recipes ----

Advacado Dip
1 ripe advacado
1 T. kraft mayo
tortilla chips

Cut advacado in half and take out the "pit". Get all of the flesh out of the skin and mash it smooth. Add the mayo and blend well. Serve with tortilla chips. Instead of mayo you can also add salt, pepper and cheyenne to taste.

No Fuss Chops
4 to 6 pork chops
2 med onions -- cleaned and sliced thin
2 T brown sugar
2 T vinegar
3 T olive oil

Heat a skillet on the stove and pour olive oil into skillet. Brown chops in olive oil until nearly done. Add onions and saute them until they are soft. Add brown sugar and vinegar and bring to a simmer and cook for an additional 15 minutes or until the chops are tender. Serve with your favorite side dishes. ( We like green beans and either mashed potatoes or rice.)

If you try my recipes do let me know what you think of them....
Oh, and Ang.. You need to post your recipe for pepsi brisket up. *big smiles*

Have a great weekend everyone!

Day 2 Dairy Free -- Compassion

Day 2 --- it's been an "off" day. I didn't have any milk products that I can be certian of today.
Breakfast was
Cream of wheat with cinnamon and sugar
two eggs easy over cooked with olive oil
two pieces of toast - dry
Snack
banana
Late Lunch
McD's nuggets and fries and for dessert two apple pies (I only ate half of one; had to share you know) -- okay so that isnt really healthy but me and the kids were hungry again so I fed everyone.
Dinner
I prepared No fuss Chops, carrots and rice for dinner. YUMMY!
And had plenty of water to drink through out the day.

How do I feel today? Scattered but not zombied like so many times before. And frustrated -- Munchmouse had a bad morning of it. He woke up cranky and stayed that way til I snuggled wrapped him and put him out! Little guy slept the entire rest of the morning. It threw off my morning though... what's good about it though is tomorrow is a new day and I can try again!

Part two of todays entry: Self compassion what does it mean and how does it work?
In our day to day lives we have "compassion" for those around us. If they mess up we have an objective view of their mistake and often times in compassion let them know it's okay to make mistakes. That everyone makes those mistakes all the time. So, where does self compassion come in? When we make mistakes we let ourself know that "its okay to make mistakes and to learn from it and not repeat it." Or, if someone attacks us we can acknowledge that instead of saying to ourselves "yeah, they are right -- we are ____ " (fill in the blank -- stupid, dumb, crazy, ect.) You can acknowledge that you are hurt by what they are doing and accept that its normal to feel hurt. Tell them that what they are doing is hurtful and walk away. Providing they let you walk away. If they do not let you walk away then it may not be a safe situation for you to be in. Consider it. Self compassionate people are more responsible, reliable and well adjusted. And you can change from a self destructive attitude to a self compassionate attitude. It's good for you. Look it up too, I did a google on "self compassion". Some really good information out there that I just do not have the space to cover here.

Many blessings everyone! Thank you for stopping by and please leave a comment!
One day I will figure out how to leave a picture too! Won't that be cool?

Its a FOOD Log!

Day 1
Okay, today started out pretty darn good if I do say so myself.
Breakfast was toast, and eggs cooked with a bit of olive oil in the stead of butter. A bit of salt and pepper and we were good to go for a bit. The kidlet was still hungry - so I fixed and enjoyed a bowl of cream of wheat with him. Sweetened with a touch of honey. I felt pretty good even after having those things.
Mid-morning snack was an english muffin with sausage and I have decided that the english muffin had an "off" flavor. I looked up one ingredient and am not likely to want them again. Lactic acid gives the bread an "acid" flavor.
My 4 year old wanted juice. And I have an abundance of apple juice concentrate. I noted after having that I was "burpy" and developed a mild case of heartburn. Not sure what triggered that, but will check apple juice again later on.
This next part is one in which I did have milk in a cookie...... went to HEB to get goodies for the boys to eat while they visited with my girlfriend. Munchmouse ( the one yr old for those who know me) -- did not want his cookie. So......... I ate it. I checked labels later and found the ingredients included less than 2% of skim milk and whey. I am counting it as a "milk" for the day and it does affect my food log. *sighs* I also had grapes -- munchmouse LOVES grapes.
When I went to my clients house to clean, she offered me icecream -- one of my favorites no less -- butter pecan. mmmmm... I miss it, but not enough to "want" some and feel lousy. So, I opted for a grape popsicle. Which was sugar free and tasted good.
After getting done with work, I called my girlfriend and asked her what I could get her from the store that she might need So, on my way out the store with the bananas, bacon, onions and Sean's icecream... I ate a banana... YUM
For dinner we had Sean's chili in frito pies. No milk there... meat, beans, and onion soup mix. After that I shared an apple with the kidlets.
How do I feel --- well its 10 pm at night and I am alert and feel good. I am going to go to bed and get my rest and start all over again in the morning. I will have to say that by eliminating nearly all of the milk products from my eating habits that I am already noticing a difference. Yeah, that one cookie for the day means I really should start day 1 as tomorrow.... however, I do not have that kind of patience or time. So -- today remains day 1 and I will keep moving on!

Many blessings to you that keep visiting me. Share my blog with others! Perhaps there are others out there that have a food allergy and just do not realize it. Milk is a big one that many many people are allergic to or sensitive to and just do not realize it. I am 35 yrs old and just now am "feeling" a major impact on my body that milk has had. I am going to work on the boys too. I think both munchie and kidlet have milk allergies too. Time will tell.

Thank you for visiting!

Allergies?!?!

Okay,
I spent years knowing I was allergic to pepperoni even though those doctors said it was "Food posioning". Yeah, right! Tell me that when I am puking my guts out and the only thing I know causing it was the pepperoni that I consumed two days ago. I tested it ... so I think I should know.
Now, then, something new to add to the list. Dairy products. Good ole cows milk. I have noticed that when I have it I get extremely -- not just a little bit -- but a whole whopping dose of the sleepies!! And SORE?!?! I feel as if I have been run over by a mac-truck. Good thing that over time I have developed a distaste for it.

So, the next time you reach for that glass of milk -- consider how you feel a few hours later... could it be that you too have a milk allergy? Or a day or or so of eating certain foods do you get "ill" -- could that be an allergy too?

Heather

Oh wow... my own blog... what will they think of next!?

Okay,
So that's not very inspiring.... I had thought about starting my own blog several times now, but not on a site like this. Thought maybe I would do it with my personal site that I have on geocities. But then I didn't want to have certian people read it -- so suffice to say I likely will not post this blog on my other website and not worry about those whom should not read it find it anyway!

It's very late and am going to go to bed now. If you have happened upon my blog please do comment as you wish. Be nice because if you are mean to me I will tell "God" on you. And of course you reap what you sow. I will explain that one soon enough after things settle the way I hope they do.

Heather