Break the Cycle

December 29, 2016 We just got back from a very relaxing week in Safety Harbor, Florida.    My husband loves to travel so I am used to wheeling and dealing and getting great deals. Airfare --- since it was a last minute flight, I didn't have time to shop around and get super deals - I ended up flying Spirit, basic airfare was $700, but after bags and seats and government taxes, I ended up paying $1,056   not great for 4 people. Car - I've found time and time again that Costco Travel has the best rates for rental cars.   For the week, I spent $370 for a standard size sport utility.  Hotel - I found an all inclusive deal in Tampa, Florida -- more on that later.  But for the first night we stayed at a Fairfield, Marriott I've used before - nothing special - especially since our flight took off  2 1/2 hours late and we didn't get into Tampa International until 11ish.  We just needed a place to sleep that first night, so $90. No...

Rio Olympics Swimming Schedule I have Comcast Cable, and will be updating with times to watch it live. SATURDAY, AUG 6TH Men’s 400m IM Women’s 100m Fly Men’s 400m Free Women’s 400m IM Men’s 100m Breast Women’s 4 x 100m Free Relay SUNDAY, AUG 7TH Women’s 100m Back Men’s 200m Free Women’s 100m Breast Men’s 100m Back Women’s 400m Free MONDAY, AUG 8TH Women’s 200m Free Men’s 200m Fly Women’s 200m IM TUESDAY, AUG 9TH Men’s 100m Free Women’s 200m Fly Men’s 200m Breast Men’s 4 x 200m Freestyle Relay Men’s 4 x 100m Free Relay WEDNESDAY, AUG 10TH Women’s 100m Free Men’s 200m Back Women’s 200m Breast Men’s 200m IM Women’s 4 x 200m Freestyle Relay THURSDAY, AUG 11TH Men’s 50m Free Women’s 800m Free Men’s 100m Fly Women’s 200m Back FRIDAY, AUG 12TH Women’s 50m Free Men’s 1500m Free Women’s 4 x 100m Medley Relay Men’s 4 x 100m Medley Relay SEMIFINALS & FINALS SATURDAY, AUG 6TH Men’s 400m IM – Final Women’s 100m Fly – Semifinal Men’s 400m Free – Final Women’s 400m IM – Final M...

I try to put off my yearly physicals by at least a year ... making them bi-yearly ??  But, the last time I went to the dentist I was denied ... because my blood pressure was too high.  Part of that was because I WAS at the dentist, but mostly because I had stopped taking my blood pressure medicine.  My favorite doctor had left our practice (she had small kids, so works now in an Urgent Care twice a week) so I didn't want to go through with meeting a new doctor, so I didn't bother. Anyway, got new scripts for bloodwork, and my meds, and she thought she'd convinced me to get a mammogram (she printed it out.... doubtful I'll go) and I flatly refused a colonoscopy.  But, it's a starting point.  Maybe as I get healthier again, I'll consider doing the mammogram, but the colonoscopy will probably remain a no.  She did say there is a new company that tests your bowel movements (you send them a sample through the mail....) I may consider that, in another 5 years...

My review -- AMAZING *****  5 stars Of course, I added chocolate chips, not many, and I used extra grated squash, so that I had enough to fill one 8" pan and one 9" pan.  It was really good and really moist and tasted like a banana cake, you wouldn't have known there was squash in there.  I will be making this again, and often if the squash keep coming like they have been !  The icing is plenty to ice two layers -- even had enough to do the sides had I wanted to stack this into a double layer cake.   INGREDIENTS For the summer squash and banana cake   Butter , for the pan 2   cups (255 grams)   all-purpose flour 1   teaspoon   baking powder 1/2   teaspoon   baking soda 1/2   teaspoon   sea salt 1/2   teaspoon   ground cinnamon 1 1/2   cups (330 grams)   packed light brown sugar 3/4   cup (180 milliliters)   mild vegetable oil , such as grape seed or light olive oil ...

Nadia injured her knee in gym class back in April.  It was a pretty severe injury, a broken tibia, a completely torn PCL as well as other torn ligaments.  They tried a couple months of Physical Therapy, but without a PCL, there was little chance of it healing enough so she could get back on the tennis courts, much less walk, so the Doctor said surgery was our only option.  We weren't sure if they would use a piece of her own hamstring or a donated piece to fix her PCL, but she was in good spirits when we got there. She was worried about the IV needle - smart nurse put it in her arm instead of on the back of her hand seeing as she'd be on crutches and if it were on the back of her hand, it'd be pretty painful.  She got it first shot, so the smile remained.    She was a little worried about what they called nerve blockers -- more needles going directly into her nerves, one shot near her hip and the other near her knee.  Since they needed her to r...

Step by Step 1 yellow squash 4 slices of provolone cheese, or any other cheese 4 slices of deli turkey (or whatever you like) 2 eggs salt panko canola oil or other veggie oil flour -- seasoned however you like, I used             pepper and onion powder, no salt, there             will be enough salt when you sweat the             squash and also after they are cooked. 1.  I peeled the squash, then slices it.  Figured it'd help the flour stick better.  Not sure if you have to peel it ... if you make this without peeling, let me know how it turned out.  Slices should be thick enough to not see through, but thin enough to cook - maybe 1/4" ? 2.  Salt both sides of the squash - and lay on paper towels or clean kitchen towels and let sit for about 30 minutes.  This draws a lot of the water out from the squash and it'll help it not splatter so much when ...

The Garden is doing amazing so far this year.  The herbs I planted all did well, although now it's getting a little hot and they are going to seed.  Lettuce and spinach ... also amazing.  Tomatoes and cucumbers are just now coming in.  The hubster is especially pleased with that long light green cucumber in the middle ... in Egypt it's called Atta, according to him it is sweeter than cucumber with larger seeds.  The seed packet called them Armenian cucumbers - haven't sliced into it yet to see if he's right.  The yellow squash pictured is only a small amount of what I've already picked.  DH has shredded some and cooked it with eggs, but I know that'll get old quickly - so I'm trying new things.     This was my first new concoction.  Not sure of a name for it - yellow squash fried sandwiches perhaps ?  These are filled with cheese and turkey - and they ended up amazing.  I was really worried that they would lose their f...

After training 6 days a week, 3 hours a day, my dd #2 was sick days before they were to leave for their Championship Meet.  Sick like never before.  Sinuses clogged, ear infection so bad she couldn't hear out of one ear, constantly blowing her nose, and generally just feeling like crap.  Even though I took her to Urgent care and got her on Meds - it didn't help much.  It got so bad she blew her nose one day in the locker room and nearly passed out --- luckily for her, her teammates were right behind her to catch her and guide her to a bench so she could sit down and ride out the blackness and dizziness.  She said although it hurt like hell - she could hear again.  I'm hoping she blew out the infection - but I'll be taking her to the Doctors today to make sure she didn't blow out her eardrum. Anyway - it was a good life lesson --- you don't always get what you think you deserve, even though I do think she did deserve a great meet - there will be more meets...

Recipe taken from Whole Foods - Ingredients:  1 teaspoon sweet paprika 1 teaspoon fine sea salt 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper 1/4 teaspoon ground fenugreek (optional) 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger 2 (15-ounce) cans no-salt-added chickpeas (also known as garbanzo beans), rinsed and drained 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped 1 medium red onion, chopped 1 (1-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped 1 (8-ounce) can no-salt-added tomato sauce 4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth 1 pound red potatoes, cut into 1-inch chunks 4 carrots, cut into 1-inch chunks Method:  Preheat the oven to 450°F. Stir together paprika, salt, allspice, black pepper, cardamom, cloves, coriander, cayenne, fenugreek (if using) and ginger in a small bowl; set spice mixture asi...

Happy New Year ! Even though I already have an Electric Pressure cooker, I took the plunge and purchased an Instant Pot a couple weeks ago when they were on sale at Amazon for $125.   Sounds expensive, but I use my pressure cookers often.  I have one that is used on the stovetop - All-American  - that I use for canning as well as cooking larger meals.   I did an entire 17 pound turkey right before Christmas - it took less than 2 hours to cook, and it was amazing !  I'll do another post on that later.  I also have this cheaper Cuisinart electric pressure cooker  - which I purchased about a year ago.  When I bought the Cuisinart  I didn't think I'd use it that often, so I didn't want to invest the $240 that the Instant Pot was selling for at the time.  A year later, I've seen how often I do pull out the electric pressure cooker - especially with the kids and all their activities - it makes a great meal fast.  Since we are going to...