I always thought that people just happened to be good cooks. All the ladies in my family are amazing. I never really had to worry about cooking much, I've catered since I was 16 and ate most of my meals between school, work, and fast food in the car. Or when Mom had time to cook between work. For the past 10 years, I've just eaten whatever I wanted to, whenever I wanted to, if I felt like eating.
I've always liked watching cooking shows (especially Paula Deen!). They make it look so easy! My Grandma always made cooking look so easy too. In her last few years, being in my early 20's and knowing I wouldn't have her forever, I asked her how to make certain things that only she made 'perfect.' She didn't really measure things, or think a lot about the ingredients. She told me, "I don't know. You just make it." As amusing as that was at the time, I miss her and her food terribly!
I was thinking about how wonderful my mother's food is as well as my Aunts', and how exceptionally both my grandmother's cooked (all from the South) and it made me wonder how generations before them must have been even better. Then I got to thinking, it's all the practice they had. Plus they rarely ate out! Mom told me that when she got married, it took her hours to make dinner, and sometimes it didn't come out so well at first.
All that said, I gave fried chicken another try this past weekend and there was a lot less smoke this time. It was actually very good, I just forgot to salt it so it was a little bland. Of course Bryan liked it even the first time when it unintentionally turned out to be 'blackened' chicken. I'm getting a bit of practice with main dishes ( I can make a mean dessert, just ask Benny about my cheesecake) since we have a pretty regular schedule, that he is used to and I'm not. I haven't eaten dinner by 6:00 every night since, well, I was about 15. (12 years ago for those who think I'm still a teenager). Pasta is easy. Chicken Parmesan is probably my favorite to make. Tacos are a big thing for us too. And of course every once and a while we like pancakes and bacon for dinner :) Bryan also does his fair share of cooking too, especially when I have to work late.
Any ideas for me on things to learn to make? Favorite dishes? What's for dinner tonight?
breakfast for dinner is always yummy! Tonight Aunt Kath & I are having salmon and brownrice with steamed veggies.. sounds boring, but it goes with our healthy eating :)
Debbie got some news at her appointment that wasn't good at all. She has what is called a glioblastoma, and it's the worst kind of brain tumor there is. They gave her a year to live. She's going to do a lot of radiation and chemo. She has a baby who is almost 2, and hates to be away from her for any amount of time. Please keep her in your prayers. She is taking this so well, better than most of us would for sure!
Debbie's surgery went very well. Thank you for all the prayers! We saw her before she went in. She was ready. Some of the girls got to see her later in the day and said she looked wonderful, even after 8 hours of brain surgery! She is one of the strongest personalities I know as well as an inspiration. The next day, they had her walking.
Today at work, my friend Debbie got one of her bad headaches. She's been getting them for the past few months and we thought they were just bad migraines similar to the ones I get. There were some differences, hers made her sick to her stomach and affected her ears more, whereas mine are equivalent to strokes where I can't move, breathe, talk, or see and sometimes hallucinate. Both involve blinding pain.
She went to the back to lie down and continued to get worse. Some of our co-workers took her upstairs to the family practice doctor who sent her to the ER. There, they found a small malignant tumor with some bleeding.
As of yet, I don't know any more except that it was mentioned that surgery could cause paralysis. Please keep her in your prayers! She has a little boy, less than 2 years old. She is very important to me and I don't want anything to happen to her; especially in her state.
Mom and I want to thank everyone for their thoughts, prayers, gifts, and offers of help.
Do you remember playing the game "operator?" You know, where the first person starts with a word that is whispered down a line and you see what it ends up being at the end? That's kind of how our story has become. Abby's mom has the most accurate version.
I left for work at 7:32 last monday morning. Nothing seemed to be wrong. I had said 'bye' to Pumpkin as usual. Mom called 911 at 7:53 am. I was getting on 675S at the time and knew nothing was wrong. In that 21 minutes, Mom woke up and smelled something hot, and heard a sound. She almost rolled over and went back to sleep, but something caught her eye. Those were the 2 inch flames at the foot of her bed. She jumped out, screaming. We have a tenant above our garage, an older gentleman who, ironically, we took in after his house burned down several years ago.
Hearing her screams, he came in, grabbed the electric blanket and threw it in the bathtub. The flames had already gotten into the mattress. Mom tried the fire extinguisher and said all it did was make more smoke. The mattress went up in seconds, not minutes she said, but seconds. She called 911. She tried to get Pumpkin out of my room, but she wouldn't come. She said the door handle to my room was already hot. She had to get out, the smoke was getting too thick. Andrew (our tenant) hung back trying to yell for Chloe, our golden retriver, but she didn't come either. No, they didn't burn, it was smoke inhalation. They each got a proper resting place in the back yard. A neighbor brought Mom some sandles and a sweatshirt.
The fire department didn't call me at work until 10:30!! Dr. Stahl sent Abby with me after I calmed down enough to drive home. She was with me when I found Pumpkin, a scary experience for her I'm sure. I think that's the first time in my life that I've ever wailed in anguish. It's not hard to pick up a dead animal when it slept next to you for more than 6 years.
It's going to take four to six months to rebuild. Insurance is going to take care of it all, inside and out. Meanwhile we're living with my aunt and uncle. They have plenty of room for us. I'm about 15 minutes closer to work. I'll never get to stay in my room or bed again with my kitty. I'll most likely be married by the time the house is finished. Most of my things are salvageable. All Mom had was the nightgown on her back. We are fully aware of how lucky we are and that material objects are just that, but sentimental value is irreplaceable. We had many things that were my grandma's.
Thank you for telling the story as it really happened. Yes, things change as they are told by one person to another. Even if it's not intended. I didn't know about Chloe. I'm glad Abby could be there with you.
I didn't know your mom said anything about Hannah's hair. She didn't even mention it. It probably didn't even bother her. I didn't really want her to cut her hair. I didn't want Abby to cut hers either. I just like their long, beautiful hair. Their hair is thick and hard to manage sometimes. Mine is thin, and I can't do much with it long or short. Guess we're never happy with what we have -- unless we lose it. Your story carries with it a lesson for us all. I'm so thankful you are both well, and I'm glad we could meet and spend just a few minutes with you this weekend.
Wandered in too, from another blog. Prayers for your family and praises for your health and safety. The loss of a pet is hard to understand for those who've not endured it. We lost our dog in Jan and cat in March. We look out our back window often and mourn their departure.
