Betty Be Blogging!
One of my favorite sandwiches are made with peanut butter and marshmallow fluff. My mother used to make us these sandwiches when we were kids and they were always a big hit. It has become one of my comfort foods that usually makes me feel better, when wanted and needed.
I had no idea that they had named this old favorite as a Fluffernutter! Kind of catchy!
All my friends have started wearing summer dresses. I think that must be a new trend. My BFF looked totally stunning this afternoon in a pretty blue and white polka dot sundress with a fitted waist and a full skirt. I have always liked to wear shorts during the summer, but I have to admit that the dresses look a lot more feminine. They are nice and cool, too.
Maybe I’ll have to go to Kohl’s Department Store and try on a few dresses to see if this is something I can do, too. I do love my shorts, but the idea of a soft, swirly dress is suddenly very appealing.
Recently, in a large city in Australia, a poster featuring a young, thin and tan woman appeared in the window of a gym.
It said, “This summer, do you want to be a mermaid or a whale?” A middle-aged woman, whose physical characteristics did not match those of the woman on the poster, responded publicly to the question posed by the gym.
To Whom It May Concern,
Whales are always surrounded by friends (dolphins, sea lions, curious humans.) They have an active sex life, get pregnant and have adorable baby whales. They have a wonderful time with dolphins stuffing themselves with shrimp. They play and swim in the seas, seeing wonderful places like Patagonia , the Bering Sea and the coral reefs of Polynesia . Whales are wonderful singers and have even recorded CDs. They are incredible creatures and virtually have no predators other than humans. They are loved, protected and admired by almost everyone in the world.
Mermaids don’t exist. If they did exist, they would be lining up outside the offices of Argentinean psychoanalysts due to identity crisis. Fish or human? They don’t have a sex life because they kill men who get close to them, not to mention how could they have sex? Just look at them … where is IT? Therefore, they don’t have kids either. Not to mention, who wants to get close to a girl who smells like a fish store? The choice is perfectly clear to me: I want to be a whale.
P..S. We are in an age when media puts into our heads the idea that only skinny people are beautiful, but I prefer to enjoy an ice cream with my kids, a good dinner with a man who makes me shiver, and a piece of chocolate with my friends. With time, we gain weight because we accumulate so much information and wisdom in our heads that when there is no more room, it distributes out to the rest of our bodies. So we aren’t heavy, we are enormously cultured, educated and happy. Beginning today, when I look at my butt in the mirror I will think, ¨Good grief, look how smart I am!¨
One of my favorite recipes to make is for the Corn Fritters that I remember making so often over at my sister’s house a lot, back when she was married to her first husband, the father of her three wonderful boys. Her middle son was good around the kitchen and we would have fun together listening to music, trying new recipes, one of his favorites being the corn fritter also, so we made a lot of corn fritters in those years.
I haven’t made any in quite some time so I thought that I would break out my recipe book and make up a batch the other evening, and I have to tell you, they came out perfect. I love that you can refrigerate the left over ones and just nuke for 1 minute for a great anytime snack, and the more real butter that you put on it the better.
Mix flour, baking powder and salt, set aside. In separate bowl of medium size, whip egg whites on high, with electric mixer, until stiff. And in a yet larger bowl, beat the egg yolks and stir in the milk, and drained corn, and the flour mixture that you just put aside, mix thoroughly. Fold in the whipped egg whites and blend together for a few minutes.
Drop by tablespoons into the hot oil and fry for approximately 5 minutes, or until nicely browned and cooked thoroughly in the middle. Once they are on your plate, smother with real butter and enjoy.
I still enjoy a good old fashioned bowel of cereal now and then. My goodness there are so many varieties of cereal these days, it is just blows my mind. But then we have a huge variety of just about everything in the grocery stores now a days. Frosted Mini Wheats are my all time favorite. They have a good amount of sugar on them (good thing, or else I wouldn’t be eating them) but everything else is good healthy ingredients.
Spent so much time looking at the fresh fish counter that someone from the grocery store’s fish department actually came over and started talking to me. He asked if I was looking for anything special, and I told him I was looking for tilapia.
He pointed out the section of frozen fish that was displayed in a freezer section right next to the fresh fish counter. There a big bag of tilapia in the freezer, on sale for only $4.99 and he told me that the frozen was a better price than the fresh.
When I wrinkled up my nose at the idea of frozen instead of fresh, he explained that the fishermen catch the tilapia out on the water in big nets, and then they clean and flash freeze the fish right on board the boat. So, the frozen are actually fresher than the fresh ones that are taken back to port, cleaned on land and then put on a truck and driven for a couple of days to the stores. Isn’t that ironic? But it does make sense!
With the economy being as it is today, eating out has become more of a luxury for our family dining. Although the kids like to patronize the fast food places, my husband and I prefer to go somewhere a little more interesting. On this occasion we decided to check out a new restaurant that had just opened and after battling with the kids over where to go, we set the security alarm and headed out. When we arrived at the new Red Elephant, we were very surprised with what we saw, as were the kids. Inside the decor was a wonderful mix of hand painted murals, featuring all sorts of wild animals.
The kids were totally in awe and had to take time to search them all out. They even wandered into the arcade, which to them, was the greatest thing on earth. The menu had everything an adult might want to eat, as well as pizza and burgers for the younger set. Large screen tv’s were in every corner, so grown-ups could watch the news, as well as sporting events. The evening was a huge success and I think the kids may have, at least for the time being, forgotten about that famous fast food place. Must say that the elephant ears on the menu were the icing on the cake.
I have heard of this Angel Food Ministries before a few times in the past few years, but due to a recent email from my sister I have gone online and found that I can order their high quality food for a very low price, online and pick up the order in a few weeks at a church about 2 miles up the road a piece.
There isn’t any income restrictions and you can charge the food along with your online order, or go down to the closest distribution center and give them cash, check or Food Stamp EBT card info. Sounds like something that I have to check into at the web address of Angelfoodministries.com, my sister all ready put my zip code in and found several hosting sites that are participating is the much needed service, so I should be good to go and just need to look at the menu and see what looks good to me at this time.
Each year my brothers and sisters put our heads together to try and find a way to help out our Aunt Jenny and Uncle Dave, who are both now in their 80’s and they both have several health issues to deal with while living on small monthly fixed income. We used to just send them food and/or gift cards for Christmas, but as the years pass we feel the need to do more than that when we all can afford and can agree on something.
You see Aunt Jenny and Uncle Dave are two of the sweetest people that you would ever have the chance to meet and to get to know. Thank goodness they have been active in their church, so they do receive some assistance from the church from time to time, but we all know how humble they are and how bad it makes them feel to receive any help from anyone. There is a special place in heaven for these too special, well seasoned relatives, but we are in no hurry to see them go.
I came up with an idea that I shared with my siblings lately. I took the time to look at various Home Cleaning Companies in Fort Lauderdale and I think I found the perfect one that we can afford to pay for to come out and help Aunt Jenny with all of their house cleaning needs. In the mean time I would like to find a company that will come out and help Uncle Dave with some of the chores that are always needed outside of the house and the yard. Just the thought of him trying climb and balance on a ladder to check and clean the gutters leaves a very bitter taste in my mouth. And of course there are tons of other outside chores that he just isn’t capable of doing anymore either. Maybe I can get my younger brother to help out in finding a good and affordable company to come out before the cold weather hits us.
Having a cup holder that will attach to a microphone stand is a great idea. I have always wondered how singers and musicians keep something, to quench their thirst during a performance, without it spilling some how. A spill could mean damage to most musical instruments, some thing that could put an instrument out of commission for a good while, leaving the owner to either wait it out or buy a new one. Either way, money would be lost.
