Am…musings

The dishwasher put up a valiant fight after showing signs of an eminent death in October, but took its last breath about a week ago. I’m far from cheap, but hate spending more than necessary so I’m waiting it out for the Presidents’ Day sales this weekend. I’ve never been without a dishwasher so I was a little nervous, but have been pleased to find that dishwashing … like showering and blow drying my hair … is a great time to think.

While washing and thinking last night, I had to giggle at the thought that I was like a 50s housewife washing dishes with yellow rubber gloves and a gin cocktail …

And yelling at the kids …

I also had to give thanks once again for Facebook as I realized the gin cocktail was the result of a tip from my friend Val on a low-sugar adult beverage (she suggested vodka, lime and club soda; I chose gin). Katie suggested the rubber gloves when I lamented about prune-y fingers. And I got an awesome tip from Sandy, who shared she’d been using her broken dishwasher as a drying rack … brilliant, given that you can keep the dishes out of sight while they dry (if I’m washing, I’m certainly not drying!)

Val, Katie and Sandy are three people I likely wouldn’t talk to very regularly at this point in my life, and certainly not about the issues they helped solved for me.

Here’s hoping for a great dishwasher sale this weekend. And while I’ll never love hand washing dishes, I’ll certainly dread it a lot less … I’ll just have to make sure I have rubber gloves and a cocktail.

Last week, I could easily carry both foster puppies from Stray Rescue at one time. They’ve grown so much in just a few days (especially Ms. Paisley, who isn’t so petite any more) that it’s becoming a bit of a struggle.

They are still cute as buttons though.

I did learn they came from a litter of 10 and were living in a run-down abandoned house in North County with their amazing mom … she kept 10 little ones safe and alive even in the horrid conditions and cold temps. They were able to rescue her with the pups and she’s available for adoption too. Here’s the story of their rescue (in the first row of pictures, momma’s on the left and one of their littermates is on the right).

The living on the street thing explains the slight skittishness they had at first, but that’s getting better everyday as they learn to trust and are being schooled on being a house dog by Chewy, who is enjoying them more as they get older (and less annoying … to him).

And even though Buster and Paisley won’t be going to college, they are pretty smart. They still have accidents, but mostly get that they need to potty outside even at less than 10 weeks old.

If you know anyone looking for a puppy, they are each available for adoption. And if you are able and interested, Stray Rescue can always use fosters. (Read the whole story in the link above and here for evidence of the amazing work they do … and to maybe shed a few tears for the ones that were lost.)

Double down …

Doubly good for the soul …

And when they up for more playing and less sleeping in a few weeks … double trouble!

Now that I’m healthy with no looming surgeries, holidays or multi-day trips on the horizon I decided it was time for some puppies. It’s been a year and three months since I’ve fostered a dog. I had Trooper so long that I was ready for some puppy-free calm … plus letting him go broke my heart just a little bit. Instead of dogs, I fostered kitties next – Tiger Lily and Ollie. Cats are far easier, but they aren’t as fun for Chewy or as cuddly cute as this 6-week-old duo:

At this point, you might be asking yourself, “What about that weird title she gave this post?” Well, Stray Rescue names all the puppies in a litter by a theme. The last set of puppies I had were named after characters on Dynasty. These two … named after 80s hair bands. Fun theme … really dumb names. The adorable little boy on the right is Poison. His cuddly little sister is Whitesnake. Really?

I knew by the time I got the slightly pudgy Poison into the car that he was going to be Buster Brown while he was at my house. I wasn’t so sure about the sweet girl. She’s about half his size so I imagine she was the runt of the litter, but she’s far more adventurous and sassy than he is (so far, he’s a bit nervous and just wants to sleep). Still, Sassy didn’t seem like a good fit. Her little tail wags incredibly fast, especially when she’s trying to play with Chewy, but nothing came to mind that would fit that.

Then it hit me. In the car on the way home, she wouldn’t settle down if any music besides country was on. Naming her after a country artist seemed like the perfect rebellion against Whitesnake. Paisley (as in Brad) seems to be sticking. I also considered Faith and Toby, although that seemed too boyish. Any other suggestions?

I just had another “shut the eff up” moment. I decided to wrap up the “cleanse” a few days early and move on to the more reasonable week two of the Body by Glamour diet. It’s the same principles, but additional whole grains and some sweets are allowed. There’s also a daily “treat” … one ounce of dark chocolate, frozen yogurt, a glass of wine. Homemade microwave popcorn was also on the list. Huh?

Even reduced-fat package microwave popcorn has a fairly long list of ingredients that don’t sound very healthy, including added color. The Glamour recipe … 3 Tbsp. popcorn kernels. Place them in a paper lunch bag. Fold the top of the bag down a few times. Microwave for two to three minutes or until popping slows (mine took less than a minute and a half.) Add your favorite popcorn topping (I’m going with a few sprays of Pam, a touch of salt and hot sauce … healthy hottt corn!)

I was a bit skeptical of the whole paper bag thing and of popping the corn without any fat, but it totally worked! And it has to be a ton cheaper and much healthier than the packaged variety.

I have a bit of a sweet tooth. I prefer sweet breakfasts over savory ones. I tend to crave a little something sweet after a meal. And sweet drinks are no exception. For a girl who doctors up her coffee up like candy and adores Southern sweet tea, a sip of unsweetened beverage (besides water) pretty much made me want to gag.

For the most part, I’m an artificial sweetener fan … Sweet & Low, beginning as a kid, and recently Splenda. But I’ve always been concerned about the chemicals. And recent studies are showing that our bodies don’t know the difference between sugar and the fake stuff, which could contribute to weigh gain. Here’s a good explanation from Dr. Katz, who is featured on Oprah.

So when my February Glamour magazine featured a week-long “cleanse” with no sweets or added sugar or sweeteners as part of its Body By Glamour diet and exercise series, I was intrigued. The series focuses on healthy, reasonable eating rather than fad-diet extremes, and the “cleanse” is no different.

It includes three smaller meals and two snack, consisting of lots of veggies and fruits, lean protein and dairy, select whole grains and healthy fats. The following should be avoided:

• Packaged foods
• Soda
• Bread, pasta, crackers
• Butter and cheese
• Red meat
• Caffeine (yeah, no caffeine is a goal of mine, but I haven’t gotten here and wasn’t about go cold turkey; instead, I went had a cup or two of unsweetened coffee and then a few glasses of unsweetened iced tea)
• Alcohol (ok … I cheated a bit here)

So … my first sips of unsweetened coffee and tea were … ok (I swear). Of course, the coffee wasn’t quite as yummy as “candy,” but not horrid. Each morning I’ve had a cup of unsweetened oatmeal with a half cup of berries, a few walnuts and a little milk. It’s pretty tasty, and most importantly … I’m not hungry until lunch, which is rare for me. I chalk it up to the fact that I’m not experiencing the drop in blood sugar from the sweet meal I’d normally have. In fact, I haven’t been all that hungry all week, despite eating smaller quantities of much healthier fare. And my energy levels have been good … no afternoon “I need a Diet Coke” lulls.

The “cleanse” is just for a week, but I plan to definitely stick with no soda, no-added-sugar/sweetener breakfasts and unsweetened coffee and tea. If you’re interested in checking it out, the whole plan is outlined at Glamour.com (you do have to sign up, but can opt out of receiving e-mails).

This morning, I opened to door to let Chewy out and spotted a small, dog-like animal. It was far enough away that I wasn’t really sure what it was, but as it got closer, I decided it was a fox. Chewy was oddly and thankfully quiet (or I think Mr. Fox would have bolted sooner than he did). And I uttered what is apparently my go-to word for unexpected wildlife near my house … the eff-word. This time it was a disbelieving, “shut the eff up.” (See here for the last “wildlife potty mouth” phrase of the day.)

I guess it just shocks me to see fox, raccoons and hawks in my subdivision. I just never guessed when I moved to SoCo (a fairly populated suburb of St. Louis better known as South County) that I’d see so much wild life. I grew up in a less populated suburb, just south of South County and really never saw many animals at all, despite our house being a across from a large wooded area. Perhaps I paid less attention as a kid, or maybe the animals were able to hide in the woods … and here they really have no choice.

It’s kind of a nice surprise (see … who needs theme parks?). This little guy (smaller than Chewy I think) was super cute and looked beautiful running through the brush behind my neighbor’s house.

When I left Orlando to return to St. Louis nine years ago, I wondered if I’d miss all the magic of the theme parks. There are times when that is the case, but I think plenty of magical things can be found in our lives everyday.

Yesterday morning I was treated to a magical site in my dining room. The sun was hitting a candle holder on my dining room table just right, and it created a star field on the walls and ceiling.

The candle holder itself, which is iridescent, also looked gorgeous in the morning light.

And honestly, it may have made me smile even more than the magical sights in Orlando because it was such an unexpected, pleasant surprise.

Saturday’s baked apple dessert transformed nicely into a healthy, heartwarming breakfast. After perching the lightly chopped apples on top of the oatmeal (made with milk … it’s the only way to go despite what the oatmeal container says), I added a few extra walnut and some brown sugar. Yum!

St. Louis experienced its first “real” snowfall of the season this week – about five inches on Thursday. I decided it was the perfect occasion to try my hand at a something I’ve never made … vegetable beef soup.

We have a family recipe … my grandma used to make oxtail soup (yes, as in from the tail) and now my dad makes it. It’s very tasty, but I’m thinking me making it will be the end of me eating it … you have to pick the meat from the tail, and I can be a bit squeamish when it comes to stuff like that.

My friend Kelly, who is an awesome cook, brought me some amazing vegetable beef soup when I was recovering from my first surgery in October and kindly shared the recipe. It’s very easy to make and perfect for a cold day.

Kelly Gregoire’s Beef Soup
Olive oil
1 beef soup bone (with a little meat on it)
½ pound of beef (rump or sirloin roast) in one big hunk
1 small bag of frozen mixed veggies with lima beans (I actually used two bags)
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
2 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 -15 oz can tomato sauce
6 beef bouillon cubes
9 cups water
½ cup quick barley
Salt and pepper
1 Tbsp. garlic powder

• Pour a little olive oil into a large stock pot and heat over medium heat.
• When the oil is hot, add the soup bone and beef and sear one side until brown, then turn the meat to sear other side while adding onion and raw potato; stir frequently until the veggies get a little sear themselves.
• When meat is brown on both sides, add tomato sauce, water, bouillon, garlic, salt and pepper.
• Bring to a boil, then add the frozen veggies.
• Bring to a boil again, then add the barley.
• Simmer for about an hour.
• Remove the meat and bone out, cutting the meat in small pieces and adding back into the soup.

Makes 8 to 10 servings

I served it for dinner and dominos with the neighbors last night. A simple tossed green salad and fresh baked bread rounded out the meal. Bread from scratch is actually something still haven’t made. This was frozen Rhodes dough, which I highly recommend.

For dessert … piping hot baked apples with cinnamon ice cream. The ice cream was fantastic, but if you skip it, the apples are very tasty and healthy as they have no added fat and only a touch honey for sweetness. The recipe is here on Mother Rimmy’s Cooking Light Done Right.