I bid you all adieu

for the next couple of weeks, as I will be on vacation. Trying to get those last minute vacations in!

Enjoy the last few weeks of summer!

Constant craving

They say that if you crave dirt or clay you are mineral deficient. I have to wonder if the same could be said if you are craving fish. I have been craving salmon and tuna for a while now, so I had made a tuna salad for lunch today. Normally I am not a fish type of a person, as I have stated before, but for some reason, sushi and Nigiri rolls sound very appetizing to me lately.

My guess is that I must lack Omega 3's in my diet, and that's why I am craving salmon and tuna. I used to take Omega 3 vitamins, but could not stand the fishy burps that accompanied the brand I took. I know there are brands out there that do not cause fish burps, but I haven't picked up any in a long time.

Truth is, I have been craving salmon and tuna for quite some time now, I'd say since the beginning of this year possibly. I do not know how to cook fish and I would prefer not to cook it because I do not know what I am doing. Plus I am very gun shy about buying fish from the grocery store (I worry about contamination or fish that is rotten). The best time for me to eat fish would be when we go out to eat, but that isn't done regularly, either.

I guess I should start supplementing with Omega 3 vitamins again.

NFB: It's almost time

I leave for California next week! I am really excited about getting to see my family and going to my 10 year high school reunion. I haven't seen a lot of these people in 10 years, and I am definitely looking forward to chatting it up with them again. I am a bit nervous about giving a speech (which I was asked to do), but I will get it done.

I'm also nervous about flying, for so many reasons, I just wish I could drive down there, despite it being a 20+ hour trip. I hate flying!

I can't wait to see my mom again, be around family I haven't seen in nearly two years and just hang out with old friends.

There won't be any blogging from me, as expected, when I am gone, but I promise to take a ton of pictures (especially when we go out to eat!). I am REALLY looking forward to having some Chinese food, California-style, again as well!

BBQ- what do you prefer?

A dry rub or an actual BBQ sauce? When barbecuing, do you ever switch up your spices or sauce? I ask this because my husband only likes two things on the meat when he barbecues- Montreal Steak Seasoning and Garlic Salt. While I love it, I would like to try a sauce on what he grills. It's easy to buy something from the store, but I'm thinking of making a marinade to soak the meat in and drenching it while it's grilling.

I started a look up of some variations we could do and found a couple of interesting ones I would like to try, such as a Barbeque Spice Mixture on Recipegal.com, or even a Honey Barbecue Sauce recipe for chicken on About.com.

My MIL used to make a really tangy and delicious BBQ sauce from the fat drippings whenever she would broil a roast, but I can't remember how she did that. If you have a similar recipe, I would be interested!

I have to talk my husband into trying it out. I think it would be a nice variation!

To Wok or not to Wok, that is the question

I got a new Brylane Home catalog in the mail today and they are offering this set of a Wok, four bowls, some chopsticks, and cooking spoons (wooden ones) for free with any purchase! I've been dying for a Wok for a long time and I'm considering putting an order in just to get this.

When I make a stir fry I use a regular frying pan, but it's hard to do if you have a lot of ingredients to put in the pan. I have used my father's Wok in the past and it worked perfectly. You don't spill things out of the pan, and the ingredients tend to just cook better together. However, trying to make fried rice in a flat frying pan just does not work. I end up with rice all over my stove. I can't stand it.

I figure maybe I could create my own Chinese food inspired meals if I had a Wok too...so maybe then I wouldn't miss it so much (which I do, because I have yet to find a good Chinese restaurant up here!). Plus with making it yourself, at least you know what is going in it.

So now I have to try to convince my husband that we can order something to get my freebie Wok. Will he buy it? We shall see!

Let's talk birth control pills and appetite issues

Now to all the people who don't like TMI posts- I am pretty sure that the words "Let's talk about birth control pills" should give you an idea of just how TMIish this post will get...so you've been warned!

Ugh. Last week was terrible. My appetite was insane last week, and now I feel like I've gained 10-20 lbs. I am still exercising regularly, trying to eat as healthy as possible and then I ended up with a voracious appetite, munching and snacking for a few days throughout the day on stuff that isn't so healthy for you. Chips. Granola bars with chocolate chips. Whyyyy?

When I got it back under control I realized how bloated I was feeling, how I felt like I had another 10-20 lbs on me. My moods have fluctuated as well, but I can place the blame on something else- birth control pills. As a means of fixing the various female issues I have, I was placed on Yaz birth control 4 weeks ago. I've been continuing to do what I am doing to stay healthy but my moods and my willpower are starting to wane. I'm constantly fatigued, I'm mopey, my appetite is out of control, I can't sleep, and I'm terribly bloated. Blah!

Yaz is supposedly the best one for me because of my moodiness and fatigue issues, and I have to give it 3 months to see if it does anything. This first month has been a mix of hell and "I'm okay". The first two weeks? I was fine. Now I'm dealing with restless legs, and everything I have mentioned above. Going into Yaz initially I was concerned, because of the fact that I am a large woman and blood clots are a huge issue with BCPs. For the first two weeks I was having psychosomatic leg pains. They have stopped for the most part but now I'm dealing with restless legs.

So now that I'm on this and trying to make sure I do what I'm supposed to do- how do I continue the willpower to keep exercising and watching what I eat? I've even considered buying an appetite suppressant because I am hating how hungry I am despite eating what I should. Someone told me to try eating low glycemic foods, and that's something I'm looking into. If you have any suggestions, I'd love to hear them. I don't want to buy an appetite suppressant, but at this point I feel I have no choice. It's just not healthy either way.

Another thing I would like to get back under control is my insomnia. It's come back full force and it's nasty this time around.

8 things about me (MeMe)

I've been tagged by Sue!

Rules

1. We have to post these rules before we give you the facts.
2. Players start with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
3. People who are tagged need to write on their own blog about their eight things and post these rules.
4. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

8 Facts (or whatever) About Me (Food-Related, of course!)

1. I'd love to have stainless steel cookware, but my husband is correct- it's hard as hell to clean off at times, especially if you cook eggs in a stainless steel frying pan, and I have no patience to soak and scrub!

2. I recently dug out my blender from one of the cupboards and have been using it not for smoothies, but to make my own pasta sauce since my food processor is one of those itty bitty ones.

3. Last night we had salad and chicken again, and I put more salad on my daughter's plate this time- to see if she would notice, and she did, but she finished it all.

4. I'll admit it, I'm terrible about cleaning my oven out. I hate doing it and don't do it often. I'll let the stuff burn off before I go in with Easy-Off Oven Cleaner.

5. My refridgerator needs to be replaced, it's killing our electricity bill and is far from energy efficient, but my landlord is too cheap to replace it. The side bar of the side door (you know, where you put condiments on) just broke off a week or so ago and I still haven't called him to fix it. My freezer is starting to act wonky, but he is still refusing to replace it. He'll fix the seals (which are worn out), but he won't replace it. It pisses me off and by law he's supposed to fix shit that stops working- but at this point in time we cannot afford a move. Sucks to be us!

6. My husband isn't a bad cook but he rarely ever cooks. He sure can grill though, and now that he has a 4 week vacation from his second job, I am looking forward to having some BBQ!

7. Ever since I started watching my diet, I notice if I have something that is greasy, I pay for it later on with a messed up stomach. Grease just does not sit well with me.

8. I had an auntie who died at my age (28) of stomach cancer (I never met her, she died before I was born). I am constantly freaked out that I could have it with all the stomach problems I have had, but I haven't been checked out for it. I was supposed to have an endoscopy back in 2003 for my GERD (acid reflux disease), but it never happened.

I am tagging the following people:

1. Mehgan
2. Kristin
3. Garrett
4. Cakegrrl
5. Jouette
6. Kate
7. Siuan
8. Mommabot

Alton Brown's comment about the his fat fans

Last night I was on TWOP checking out the Iron Chef America thread. Someone had posted something that Alton Brown had said back in 2004 about his fat/obese fans on a forum he posts on. Here is what was said:

As for more serious matters, I’m passionate about this country getting off it’s fat butt and getting into shape. I see a lot of very heavy people at my demos and book signings and I don’t like that. They come up and they’re so nice and they say “gosh we love food and love your show” and I want to say “I think you might lay off both and go for a walk”. I’ve never actually said this because it would be mean but it really worries me.

I'm glad he didn't say it to his fans, but the fact that he would admit it public like that? I must admit how upsetting it was to read that, as someone who has been struggling with her weight for years. If I had a chance to meet Alton, I would like to say the following to him:

1. Do you really think all of your fat fans just sit around and stuff their faces? Do you think they are incapable of being anything but lazy because they are hefty?

2. While I understand your concern- do you not understand how hurtful that is your fat fans??

I have learned MANY things from Alton by watching Good Eats, but I'm incredibly shocked at how callous he is towards his fat fans. He may not say it, but he certainly thought it. There are plenty of fat people who are not lazy, there are plenty of fat people who do not gorge themselves. There are plenty of fat people, like myself, who do exercise regularly and eat healthy and still have to deal with the stares and jokes by strangers on a daily basis.

I did some more research on his quote but couldn't find anything else besides something from Big Fat Blog about Alton, and there were comments about him having had some sort of health scare around the same time he made that comment about fat people- so maybe that's where he is coming from. I can cut him a bit of slack about that- I can only imagine how scary it must be to face certain death because of a weight issue, but at the same time, it irks me because what it does is stereotypes and puts all fat people into the same category. There's enough fat discrimination in this world, enough already.

I like Alton and his sense of humor, I am not going to boycott him per se, but I'd like him to know that he does have a fat fan who took his quote quite personally and wanted him to know that one size does not fit all.

EDITING TO ADD ON MARCH 10, 2008: My blog has been filled with some nasty comments regarding my personal opinion. I'll say this once and once only- this is not a site for you to shit on fat people- go somewhere else if you want to do that. Any hateful and derogatory comments will be promptly rejected.

NFB: On This Day in History

I was tagged by my friend Katy to do this MeMe. It's a bit challenging but GOOGLE is your friend!

On this day in History...

Today is Tuesday, August 7, 2007. This is the 219th day of the year, with 146 days remaining in 2007.

Fact of the Day: climate

Climate (the word) is from Greek term meaning "slope or inclination of the earth and sky from the equator to the poles," i.e. a zone of the earth occupying a particular elevation (a clime). The word as referring to an atmospheric/weather condition was first mentioned by Shakespeare in 1611.
Holidays

Feast day of St. Donatus of Arezzo, St. Victricius, Saints Agapitus, Sixtus II and Felicissimus, St. Dogmetius the Persian, St. Albert of Trapani, St. Claudia, and St. Cajetan or Gaetano.

Colombia: Battle of Boyaca.

Cote d'Ivoire: National Day.
Events

1782 - George Washington created the Order of the Purple Heart.

1789 - The U.S. War Department was established by Congress.

1794 - The Whiskey Rebellion took place, a fight over excise taxes imposed on whiskey-making.

1807 - The first serviceable steamboat, the Clermont (called by some "Fulton's Folly," made its first journey, traveling from New York City to Albany.

1934 - In Washington, D.C., the U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that the government can neither confiscate nor ban James Joyce's novel "Ulysses."

1942 - U.S. forces landed at Guadalcanal, marking the start of the first major allied offensive in the Pacific during World War II.

1959 - The U.S. launched Explorer 6, which sent back a picture of the Earth.

1960 - The Ivory Coast (Côte d'Ivoire) achieved independence from France.

1964 - Congress overwhelmingly passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, which allowed the President to use unlimited military force to prevent attacks on U.S. forces.

1998 - A massive truck bomb exploded outside the U.S. embassy in Nairobi, Kenya, and another truck bomb detonated outside the U.S. embassy in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, killing 224 people, including 12 Americans, and wounding more than 5,500. The United States accused Saudi exile Osama bin Laden, a proponent of international terrorism against America, of masterminding the bombings.

2000 - U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Al Gore selected Connecticut senator Joseph Lieberman to be the first Jewish vice-presidential candidate on a major party ticket.
Births

1742 - Nathanael Greene, general American Revolutionary War.

1876 - Mata Hari (Gertrud Margarete Zelle), Dutch-born dancer, courtesan, double agent.

1903 - Louis Leakey, British archaeologist.

1942 - Garrison Keillor, American humorist, radio host.
Deaths

1957 - Oliver Hardy, American film comedian who teamed up with Stan Laurel to form the comic team of Laurel and Hardy.

Tagging: Anyone who wishes to do this!

Battle Opah, tasty looking fish

And those are words that you rarely hear coming from my mouth. I am not a fish person...I normally do not care for fish, but after watching Iron Chef America: Batali vs. Liu last night, I thought the fish looked lovely and was a bit reminscent of tuna. When Martin Yan (one of the judges- EEE! Love that man!) mentioned that opah was a very mild fish, I thought, that's a fish I could probably dig.

I thought Liu could pull it off, to tell the truth...the competition was intense and it looked like Batali was going to meet his match in his former employee...but when it came time to serve up the dishes, the taste and sometimes the look just didn't cut it for the judges involved. I do have to say that I really thought the whole pressured/preserved opah jar thing was a bit impressive, as was Batali's meatball concoction- fish meatballs- whoda thunk it? In the end, Batali won, and it was definitely a memorable show.

If you are a vegetarian you may want to skip this one

Yes, I am back! I am feeling a lot better, thanks everyone. Ice coupled with rest and elevating the elbow helped tremendously. Next time I'll watch my daughter more closely and not stand so close! Hee.

Today we set off for the place we get our meat from, and picked up some pork chops (to my daughter's dismay) and boneless, skinless chicken breast. The prices are on par with Costco but what I like about this place is they package them up for you- that means I don't have to worry about going through the meat, separating it and packaging it up (which reminds me I still have beef ribs and Italian sausage in the fridge that need to be packaged up! Crap!). I also like them because their service is wonderful and if you need to call a special order in for you they help out tremendously and even call you to let you know when your order is ready.

On completely different topic, my husband's second seasonal job is winding down as berry season is just about through (no, he does not work in the fields...he works elsewhere), and I, for one, am ecstatic about it. Turns out he didn't get a chance to save as much as he had wanted to for his truck afterall (that is what happens when you back into your co-workers brand-new car and scrape up their bumper! Mmhmm...), but I told him I'll donate to his truck pool when I get a job. He has next weekend off (the first time in the past 6 weeks too), and we're planning on heading out to his brother's so they can work on his truck and we'll have a BBQ that night. I'm just going to be glad to have him home...I missed him.

This summer is starting to wind down and in three weeks I will be home, going to my 10 year high school reunion and visiting my family. I can hardly wait. After that, we are going camping and we're just about prepared for that trip, we bought the rest of our goods off a website I found while googling for camping gear. Unfortunately, the Coleman Extreme Cooler my husband wanted to buy is no longer available at Costco, but next weekend we'll go to G.I. Joes and pick it up. Otherwise we are good to go- we have our tent, sleeping bags, incidentals (grill, mosquito repellent, flashlights, etc). We'll go grocery shopping before we leave and then we'll go straight to camp and set everything up.

Speaking of home, I will be able to meet my dad's girlfriend and her daughter for the first time. I'm a bit anxious, nervous but excited to meet them. I feel for her daughter because they start school on Monday! (She's 10 years old.) It'll be nice to meet them, and hopefully I'll get along with my father. I think if we avoid each other enough it'll be okay. Sad to say, but true.

NFB: See you all in a couple of days

Well being the smartie I am, today I went out today and while pushing my daughter on a swing, I overextended my elbow. It hurts to type. I'll be back later.