Julie in CA
-
Posts
5,055 -
Joined
-
Last visited
-
Days Won
2
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Events
Blogs
Classifieds
Store
Posts posted by Julie in CA
-
-
Other
I always go for the pavlova!
Every wedding I have ever been to has a pavlova
Interesting.
I know what a Pavlova is, and how to make it, but here in the U.S. I've never actually seen one.
-
I'm only trying to decide about which desserts to prepare in what quantities. There are a few other things: crackers & cheese, strawberries, grapes, an assortment of nuts.
-
Why won't it allow me to have the option of selecting more than one choice? :confused:
ETA: Got it!
-
Let's say you go to a wedding that has no meal, but does have a beautiful dessert buffet.
Which of the desserts would you probably go for? The servings will be purposefully small, so that people can feel free to try more than one.
-
Bled & cramped with most of my 5 dc. Can't remember clots, but maybe.
As hard as it is to wait, and I do know it's miserable, there's usually nothing they can do if it is actually a miscarriage in progress.
Praying for you and sending you (((hugs))) while you wait.
-
Thanks all!
I ended up adding a teeny bit of xanthan gum, a fair amount of cream, and simmering until reduced.
Yum. :drool5:
-
The recipe I have calls for dredging the chicken in flour. I know that this is not only for a nicer browning on the chicken, but also to thicken the sauce as the chicken cooks in it. Leaving the thickening agent out is simply not acceptable to me, because that sauce needs to be thick enough to coat whatever I serve it with, kwim?
So, should I dredge the chicken in cornstarch instead of the flour and then proceed as usual?
Should I brown the chicken without dredging it in anything and then stir a little cornstarch + water into the sauce at the end?
I'm a little hesitant because I need to make this meal and then send leftovers to someone to be reheated later. I don't want a cornstarch thickened sauce to become too thick & gummy as it's chilled and then reheated.
Advice? :bigear:
-
Harmful to your son?
Why? I grew up with a father who was away working most of the time. Someone in a psychology field once asked me about how it harmed me (just at a random gathering talking). They were shocked when I was taken aback by the question. I do not in any way feel harmed. It did get me to thinking about why that was. The answer, in my opinion, is because of my mother's attitude. Children tend to mirror what they see around them. My mother didn't make a big deal over my father being gone. He was simply at work. She kept everything at home running and "normal". (Normal is different for every family. You cannot look outside your own walls to find it.) She put forth a stable happy attitude that spilled over into the whole family. She made the most of the time we did have with him. Her attitude kept all of us children from feeling like we lacked anything. In fact,I feel like not having a father home daily probably made us stronger and more independent. (Not that there is anything wrong with a father being in the home...)
Since this is the life you have, you have to decide how to make it the best you can. Start by deciding how you want to live it. If you want to stay home, stay home. Let him come to you when he can. If you want to follow him and travel, do it. Try to make the most of either situation. When staying home, keep your attitude positive. Your son will mirror it. If you travel, try to get out more and see what is in the wonderful places you are instead of staying in the trailer or hotel room. Realize that your son is not being harmed in any way by his father's job. Sometimes parents have to be away from their children, especially for work. Missing someone who leaves for a while is not harmful.
I love this! Too bad I can't "like" it twice. :thumbup:
-
Okay, you asked for an honest assessment, right?
I think it's great, but there are a few small changes you might consider.
On one section, you have the phrase "gain back", I'd remove the word "back" from that.
In your "About Us" section, the phrase "history for", I'd change to "history of".
Your enthusiasm shows so clearly, you can remove some exclamation points. The enthusiasm will still come through loud and clear, but it will probably look a teeny-tiny bit more professional.
I love your picture, and I'd certainly feel encouraged and comfortable with the idea of having you in my home.
Great job!
ETA: I replied too slowly, and now my comments are mostly duplicates of things other people have already mentioned.
I think it's wonderful. :-)
-
My husband has always traveled with his job, sometimes more frequently than others. Right now he travels pretty frequently and has done so for at least a couple of years. My son was 8 weeks old the first time we traveled with him!
I found that my son reacts to the travel the same way that I do. I must set the tone in our home while my husband is away - if I have a positive attitude than my son has a positive attitude. When my son was younger & I was having a hard day for any reason, i would do my best not to let him see how wearing it was on me because he would then feed off of my emotions and develop the same attitude (whatever that attitude was at the time). Now that he's older, he has a bit more understanding that adults have bad days, too, so I am more transparent, but at younger ages, he simply wasn't mature enough to handle that transparency.
It doesn't sound likely that your husband is going to change his job anytime soon, so I recommend that you become pro-active at making your family life better. Sit down with your husband and talk about ways to accomplish this. This doesn't mean talking about how you dislike him traveling or how you dislike traveling yourself, it means looking for ways you can make life smoother for all of you.
Consider such things as:
How frequently you can travel with your husband. One trip per month? Two trips per month?
How much time you need to spend at home between trips? One week between trips? Two? Three?
How long of a trip are you willing to take at any one time? Five days? Ten? Fifteen?
What type of routine can you develop to help your son? Consistent routines and consistent bedtimes help no matter where you are. If bedtime is 8 pm in Louisianna, then when you are in Georgia, bedtime is 7 pm (take the time difference into account unless it is more than two hours or unless you're going to be gone from home more than five days).
How much notice do you need to get ready for him to go on a trip when you are staying home? What about when you are traveling with him?
What can you do to make getting ready for a trip easier? A duplicate set of clothing so that when you get home, you wash them and pack them again right away so things are easier; a duplicate set of school books?
Do you need to change the way you are home schooling in order to have it fit into your lifestyle?
When he is out of town, do you keep a consistent routine? If 8 pm is bedtime when Dad is out of town, it's bedtime when Dad is in town. Routine will help both you and your son. It will also help your husband slip into the family routine as well.
Occasionally doing something special when your husband is out of town is good, but don't do it so often that the "exception" becomes the "expected." If your husband travels a lot, than your son will learn to accept it for what it is.
When you are in a hotel, you can schedule what time your room is serviced. If you know you are going to go down to the continental breakfast at 8:30 am (because that is your routine), then when you check in, explain that due to your son's needs, you need to have your room cleaned at 8:30 am. Most hotels will do their best to accommodate you.
Make taking a walk a routine - whether at home or in a different city. It's a great change of pace.
Learn how to use public transportation if you don't already. Reading bus & train schedules, how to book a taxi, how to hail a taxi, etc.. Then, when you are in a town that has public transport, ask the front desk where the nearest stop or station is and how you get tickets in that particular city. Then, the whole city is your oyster! Even in smaller towns there are interesting things to see, playgrounds and parks to visit.
Can I like this twice?
Attitude is either going to make this an adventurous and growth-oriented time of life, or it will turn it into a disaster.
-
I've (obviously!) shared really personal stuff here. I have one really good friend IRL whom I can talk to about pretty much anything, but she's really busy, and I hate to take up much of her time.
One thing though, is that nothing I share here is really a secret. If someone IRL found what I'd written here, it might be a little awkward, but nothing more.
The reason I feel fine about sharing here is because it doesn't feel like I'm imposing upon anyone. WTM'ers come here when they have time, and they can choose to read & respond (or not). It's not like talking to a friend who might be sitting there wishing I'd quit talking so they could get on with their work.
I also share here fairly freely because it's cheaper than therapy at $100 per 50 mins. :huh:
-
Oh! Good point... that is seriously something to consider!
Yes, I've collected four of the pans, searching often and snapping them up whenever I can find them at a price I can afford. They're not really that special, just tradition, you know? The last kid might have to end up with mine, if I don't end up with one more. That'd be ok too. :-)
-
And, you do know we love you Julie, so please take this in the spirit in which it is intended, tell DH to stuff it. His decision making skills are not of the exemplary kind and therefore, his opinion is not to be trusted.
I love it that people whom I've never even met IRL are taking care of me & looking out for me.
I'm not at all worried about what dh thinks about the gift, and actually it's a sign of progress that we could discuss a rather mundane detail of life without having the hard stuff intrude.
I'm going to go ahead and do a basket with the pan, syrup, batter bowl, etc.
I am going to ask dil if she'd mind very much if I tiptoed into their apartment to leave a surprise in her kitchen while they're gone. I just won't tell her what it is, so she can be surprised when she arrives home. I think that would be the best thing. Gives her the opportunity to say that she'd rather not have me in there while they're gone, but still lets me surprise her a little (or a lot!) if she's comfortable with the idea. :)
-
I had thought that it would be a wonderful surprise to her if I set the mixer in her kitchen with a bow and a note, so she could come home to that after their honeymoon. Then I decided that it might feel intrusive to her for me to come into their apartment while she's gone.
When I was a new bride, I lived in our home alone for about 6 months prior to the wedding. When dh and I came home from our honeymoon, I found that one of my SILs had come in the house and cleaned while I was gone. Right down to arranging my underwear drawer. :huh:
I found out a couple of days later that she'd had some of the church ladies come help her with this "surprise" for me. :ohmy:
I was mortified. I guess I'm kind of super-sensitive about that issue now.
-
Your husband is wrong.
Ha! Wouldn't be the first time... :rolleyes: :p
-
I'd pass on the mixer as a shower gift unless you know it's something she's dying to have in that color.
Here's the thing: I know that she'd never ever ask for a mixer or put it on her registry, because it would be "too big a gift to ask for", but I also know for a fact that her heart would sing at having this mixer. It's exactly the size she'd ask for, and it's *exactly* the color that she'd ask for, if she were the type to ask for such a thing. Right down to it being the bright red that matches her toaster and her dishes.
-
I kind of like finding shortcut recipes in with scratch recipes. Some of them are really, really good, and superior to what I'd make using a scratch recipe.
I shouldn't confess this, because you all will probably think a 'lil differently about my baking skills after this, but some of the very best recipes I have start with a cake mix. There is a carrot cake that I'm *known* for making, and it really is one of the best I've ever tasted. It's based on a yellow cake mix. (Shh...don't tell!)
I even like the reviews in which the cook has made drastic changes to the recipe and had it not work. Then I know not to try those things myself!
-
My ds is getting married on the 20th of this month to a wonderful, sweet, kind, eager-to-please young woman.
There is a bridal shower for her this Saturday, and I'm not sure what gift to give. She has registered at a couple of places, and I think people are doing well with fulfilling the items from the registry.
I don't know what to give her, and I have three choices:
1.) it's a family tradition to make Dutch pancakes (basically crepes) every Saturday morning on a particular pan that is no longer made. My mil had two of them and gave me one. I found one on ebay a couple of years ago and bought it, thinking that I'd love to pass that tradition on to my children. She's been a part of that Saturday morning tradition for years now, and I'm thinking of giving her the pan that I've been saving, along with the recipe for the pancakes, along with some of the Lyle's Golden Syrup that we always use with the pancakes. I can't buy the syrup locally, so I order it online. It would not be something she'd likely order on her own because of expense.
2.) This one's tricky. Because I bake professionally, I have a large mixer that I use routinely. A couple of months ago I bought a second, smaller mixer because I thought it'd be handy to have. It would be, but the mixer is just a little too small for my purposes. So, I have this extra red Kitchenaid mixer (red is the color she's chosen for her kitchen), with an extra bowl, beater, & whisk, along with a nice Sidewinder bowl-scraper beater. It is a *MUCH* nicer gift than I could afford to buy for her, but because I already have it and don't need it, I could give it to her. Is that tacky? I don't think I'd do it at the shower, 'cause that would look...weird, to give someone a used gift. My dh doesn't like the pancake pan idea or the mixer idea, because he thinks it's odd and would look cheap. :001_rolleyes:
3.) I could scrap both of those gift ideas that might be strange, and just buy her a small gift, either from her registry, or I could just pick something I know they will want but don't yet know they need. It will need to be a small gift, because of other wedding expenses, etc. I don't really want people to think that I'm only giving her a $25 dollar gift though. I love her, and don't want people to speculate about whether she and I have a good relationship, or wonder whether I'm perhaps not happy about the marriage and am being stingy towards her. :001_unsure:
So what's the best thing to do here? And yes, I do care what people think, because dil is someone who will be anxious if she hears any noise about me maybe not being happy with her, and I don't want anyone to have that impression.
-
But...but...but...we went to Men's Wearhouse (there is one only 25 miles away), and the suits they said would work were around $600-$700!
My dh is a dairy farmer. This will be the 2nd time in his adulthood that he's worn a suit, so it's not a frequently worn item of his wardrobe. Still, it's the first of our 5 kids to get married, so he might need one a few more times in the next 5-10 years. Is $600-700 or renting the only option? Seems like it shouldn't be this hard.
-
Grrrrr.....
If I look at suits that have a 50L jacket, then the pants that come with it are a 44. He needs a 38.
If I look at suit separates that have a 50L jacket, then I can't find the pants that match.
What am I doing wrong??
-
I always though of slips at as a matter of practicality, not style.
I guess it could be considered both. Wearing a sheer dress that everyone can see through isn't, in my opinion, desirable. Nor is wearing clingy fabric that hugs in all the wrong places when a slip could smooth it out and make it hang correctly. Sure, women do both of those things, but I don't think of it as stylish. Then again, I'm no fashion plate, lol!
-
We don't have a Big & Tall store anywhere nearby--like, it'd be at least 100 miles away/200 miles round-trip.
I'm not particular about how well it hangs, it just needs to kind of fit, and be good enough for maybe 4 wearings over it's usable life.
Men's Wearhouse was ridiculously expensive, and they didn't seem to understand that we're not looking for a $600 suit. :huh:
We checked the JCPenney near us, but they didn't have his size. I looked at jcpenney.com and they have tons of affordable suits, but I couldn't find his size there either. :willy_nilly:
-
Dh needs a suit for ds's wedding in (eek!) 20 days, and I'm having trouble finding what he needs.
Charcoal or graphite suit, jacket size 50 long, pants 38x34.
Under $250-300 would be nice. I just want to click "buy" and have this be over.
-
Dh needs a suit for ds's wedding in (eek!) 20 days, and I'm having trouble finding what he needs.
Charcoal or graphite suit, jacket size 50 long, pants 38x34.
Under $250-300 would be nice. I just want to click "buy" and have this be over.
Today is my 41st birthday. A year ago I posted here about barely making it through...
in The Chat Board
Posted
Happy birthday. I'd make you a cake if I could!
Thanks for posting this, and reminding me that there's hope for happiness (or at least a lessening of misery) as time goes by.
Hugs, friend. :001_smile: