SNACKIN'

 

Well, this will give me good reason to eat one of my favorite snack foods! March 14^th is National Potato Chip Day!  We all have that one food we just can’t turn down, and for me it is the potato chip (or a version thereof – chips, nachos, cheezits, straws, etc.)

My most recent favorite is the kettle-cooked variety. It’s changed through the years as trends and availability have changed. I recall my mother making trips to find Sterzings chips before they were available in our town. She would drive at least 100 miles round trip to buy her chips. (Hmmm… maybe this chip craving is genetic?)

Lately, many restaurants have offered “home-cooked” chips. I haven’t gotten up the courage to make my own, but I might try that one day. (My recent homemade Crab Rangoon Pizza was a winner!)

And also happening March 31 is National Tater Day. (Do you see the pattern here?)

Another of my favorites is the twice-baked potato (or sweet potato). Doesn’t matter if it’s plain, cheesy, or loaded. They are all good. There must be a million potato recipes on the internet. Maybe I should get all of my grandchildren together and have a “Potato Day” and have each one pick a recipe for us to make. (Don't judge me! Yes – we can have a day where we just eat potatoes!)  And then maybe, whichever one is their overall favorite we could serve at our Easter meal.

It's okay. Give yourself permission to celebrate potatoes! (And aren’t you supposed to plant potatoes around Easter? I need to look that up!)

 

 

 

Contributed by Melody Lowe

 

 

Resolutions - How's that going?

Remember all those resolutions you made in January?

Remember all those expectations you had of yourself and other people had for you?

Remember all of that stress you placed on yourself right on the heels of all of the holiday pressure you endured?

Did it make you feel like this?  AAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!

Consider this subtle shift. 

Make a few SPRING resolutions instead. Instead of trying to rejuvenate your life in January when Earth is in the middle of winter and everybody just wants to hibernate, consider planning your rejuvenation with the Earth’s spring wake-up.

This is a natural time of awakening and rebirth in our culture. Everybody is excited for the first day of spring, spring break, and Easter celebrations. We finally have sunlight past 5 pm so we feel inclined to get out and enjoy the evening rather than cozying up in the house. You see people out walking, children outside playing, people in parks… Everyone is ready to “get out there.” Doesn’t it make more sense to make a few resolutions in conjunction with that?

A word of caution. Just like I said in January, don’t make your goals so high, or have so many, that you feel overwhelmed and the experience becomes negative. Just pick what reset point works for you (New Year’s or New Spring, or maybe something else) and be comfortable moving forward.

The equinox is not that many days away! Happy Spring to you!

Contributed by Melody Lowe

 

 

And once all of the presents have been opened, you hear the words...

I just can’t believe it when I hear somebody speak these words! 

The crazy thing is, this is one my goals.

Yes, you read that correctly. It’s a goal. I’ve heard about bored housewives, how does one become that?

I have never in my life been bored. I suppose I probably said that when I was a kid, as a lot of kids do. But certainly not since high school have I ever been bored, there’s just too much to experience and accomplish.

First off, just staying ahead of housework keeps one busy. And, all of the errands that must be completed, and if you have young children there are all kinds of school activities to put on top of “just keeping up.”

But all of that aside, I have always found things that I wanted to do or wanted to learn to keep me busy. I love to read and to spend time writing. I enjoy many shows that provide education. As a child I loved it when Jacque Cousteau or Marlin Perkins would be on television. I enjoy watching Jack Hanna (I was fortunate enough to meet this gentleman), Albert Yu-Min Lin, and many programs on the History Channel, National Geographic, or PBS.

I was thrilled when the internet came into being. I’m a self-described internet gypsy. I’m always looking up something and wandering from page to page to page learning about new things – or old things that I find of interest. I’ve met some really great people this way.

 Every job that I’ve ever had, I had to learn something. My current “day job” is challenging and ever changing, so learning happens every single day. And, I can’t even imagine what career path I might have taken had the internet been available to me in my youth. The possibilities are endless so how could I ever be bored!

(And just in case you are bored, do your own gypsy hop to this site.)

Then there is my DIY side. I enjoy experimenting with many types of crafts. I’ve tried a lot of things; crocheting, embroidery, quilting, paper quilling, painting, kitchen crafts, fudge-making, the list goes on and on. The flip side of “crafting” is doing things in my home, like wallpapering, painting, plaster repair, installing tile, and this list also goes on.

Now, that my circumstances allow, I’m also enjoying some travels. It’s fun to go to new places and learn about those communities. I’ve trained my grandchildren well in these adventures and they’ve learned we are going to do something we can’t do at home, and eat in a “real” restaurant, not a fast-food place. We are going to read a book we’ve not read before, or watch a movie we’ve not seen before. They are beginning to appreciate these experiences over material things.

Back to my goal of being bored … There is always something to do, something to learn, or some place to go so it will take me a very, very long time to reach the point when “I’m bored.” I don’t know if I can even achieve this goal!

 

Contributed by Melody Lowe