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Cosmos

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Posts posted by Cosmos

  1. FISH STICK tacos! Regular fish sticks baked until crispy, chopped up on little corn tortillas with shredded cabbage and a sriracha/lime aoili. A favorite of mine!

     

    I used to make this, but I had sort of forgotten about it. It is really good and super easy. Maybe I'll add that to our menu for the week, which I still have yet to figure out.

     

    Another easy fish tacos recipe but for summer only because you need fresh peaches for the peach salsa--

     

    https://pinchofyum.com/easy-chili-lime-fish-tacos

    • Like 1
  2. Nope, he is in a "check the insurance company box with minimal effort/money" job.  It does not make sense to work that long in boredom with no breaks.  I took a look at the American Red Cross guidebook:

    http://www.redcross.org/images/MEDIA_CustomProductCatalog/m3240080_LifeguardManagement.pdf

     

    Other quotes from the book:

     

    I think this should be a lifeguard/staff member position.  So when there is no one swimming he does other productive jobs in the facility. Keep the pool locked.  On the occasion that a patron wants to swim, he unlocks the door and puts full effort into lifeguarding.  When they leave, lock it again and go back to productive work.

     

    That's a really good idea.

     

    Realistically, it it were me, I would just quit, because the job sounds awful.

     

    In an ideal world, I would be the kind of person who went to management with a list of my concerns and a proposed solution, such as Joules' idea. That would be showing some strong leadership skills.

     

    But I am a hypocrite because, while I might encourage my son to do that, I myself probably would not.

  3. Dh requested cheese and onion pie. Ds requested cherry pie. So . . . both? Actually we're in the middle of a snowstorm, so I don't know if I'm going to be able to go grocery shopping before tomorrow. I might have to work around what we have on hand, which would probably mean custard pie.

  4. Congratulations on paying off your mortgage!

     

    I had no idea it was that complicated. Our mortgage statements always have a little note to contact them if you are planning to pay it off, but I didn't realize the process would be so cumbersome. We will be getting to the end of ours in a couple of years so that's good to be prepared for.

     

    I guess if it's going to be a pain in the neck, you might as well make an occasion out of it. Take the day off work, do the paperwork and then do something fun to celebrate! Champagne lunch maybe. At least that's what I'm going to suggest to dh. :)

    • Like 2
  5. Do you like cottage cheese? I sometimes have salad with cottage cheese on top instead of dressing. Something like lettuce, red peppers, cucumber, and cherry tomatoes. Then add a scoop of cottage cheese and top with some raisins and sunflower seeds. The combination of different textures is really good (to me at least).

     

    But that's more of a summer thing. Like others, I eat more cooked vegetables in the winter. How about some roasted sweet potato or creamed spinach? Those sound good to me right now.

  6. We had homemade pizza and salad. Pizza toppings were scraped together from what we could find in the fridge because I forgot to plan for it, but it turned out yummy. One pizza had mushrooms and gorgonzola, the other had pineapple, green olives, red peppers, and feta cheese. Sounds weird but it tasted good.

     

    Tomorrow I think we'll do roasted potatoes with sausage and peppers and the rest of the salad stuff. Then Tuesday I'll go grocery shopping.

  7. I love a man called Ove as well but I feel like it does have a fairly serious side to it.

     

    I agree that A Man Called Ove could be difficult for some (themes of suicide). However, Backman's other books are equally touching, without that issue. I would recommend Britt Marie Was Here and My Grandmother Asked Me To Tell You She's Sorry.

     

    OP mentioned urban fantasy, so I must recommend the amazing book The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker.

     

    Other light-but-not-fluffy that I've read recently --

     

    My Italian Bulldozer by Alexander McCall Smith

    Crosstalk by Connie Willis

    Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld

     

    These may bee too chick lit for the OP, especially the last one, but putting them out anyway.

     

  8. I have a friend who claims to puts the salad in a clean pillow case and then in the washer on just the spin cycle.

     

    I haven't tried it.

     

    If you do, please report back.

     

    I went searching for the French metal spinner mentioned earlier in the thread and came across this blog post --

     

    https://myplasticfreelife.com/2013/11/a-tale-of-two-plastic-free-salad-spinners/

     

    She found the French metal kind and also tried using a pillowcase, though NOT in the washing machine. The pillowcase sounds like a decent option, actually, if you don't want to use a spinner.

  9. Haha. The benefit was convenience. One less container to wash, etc. and honestly I always thought that was the intent. I never really thought about transferring it to another container as that seemed like another step. ????

     

    I don't transfer it anywhere, except to the salad bowl. Spin it dry, put in a salad bowl. Is there a reason you need to spin it far ahead of using it? (Again, just brainstorming here. Feel free to ignore if my questions are annoying.)

     

  10. I do think putting it in the fridge is the problem because it gets knocked around. But I believe it is intended to be used in that way. Pretty sure it is meant to be storage as well as spinner. I do think I need to stop using it that way but I don't think I'm crazy. But it is definitely possible that I am. I never had home ec and I blame lots of my mishaps on that hole in my education. Lol

     

    I'm not saying you're crazy. :) I'm just trying to understand the benefit, especially if it seems to come with this added aggravation of constantly breaking spinners. Why do you find it helpful to keep it in the fridge? We might be able to help you come up with solutions that have the same benefit without the downside.

    • Like 2
  11. Wait, you keep your salad spinner in the fridge? I've never heard of that. What is the reason? It sounds like that's the source of your problem.

     

    I keep my lettuce in plastic bags in the produce drawer. When I make a salad, I wash the leaves, tear them up, and spin them out in the salad spinner. Then I rinse the salad spinner and set it to dry on the counter. Put it away in the cupboard later.

    • Like 8
  12. How are they breaking it?? The only salad spinner we've broken was my fault when I put it to dry on the stove and later turned the wrong burner on. :eek:  That is not a smell I will forget.

     

    Maybe buy one that is for you and you only to use. Let the careless people go without one!

    • Like 1
  13. My friend used to tell me she walked 4 miles (her tracker gave steps and distance), but the trail she was walking was only 3 miles long. (Marked trail in quarter miles) She is short and walking with a dog on a leash, so it was recording her distance and steps very wrong even though she was actually walking a consistent purposeful path. 

     

    I don't know. I used to take ds on walks when he was little, and even though the trail was one mile, I swear we walked 2 or 3 miles by the end of it. Meander off the path to look at a squirrel, backtrack to pick a dandelion, run back and forth just for the heck of it. Maybe dog-walking miles are like toddler miles and you have to use a multiplier. :)

    • Like 4
  14. I use a timer to help me keep from getting overwhelmed. I set it for 15 minutes and work on one task. I usually start with loading some laundry and doing dishes. When the timer goes off, take a minute to have a glass of water, look out the window, stretch, whatever. Then decide what to do for the next 15 minutes. (In my case, probably keep doing dishes. :) ). I do 3-4 sessions of 15 minutes and then take a 15 minute break.

     

    When I'm behind, my GET CAUGHT UP order of operations is approximately:

     

    dishes and laundry (not having these up to date makes life very difficult)

    major clutter put away

    mail checked for bills and other important stuff

    floors (sweep and vacuum plus spot clean major messes)

    bathrooms (quick wipe down)

    kitchen (quick wipe down)

     

    If all that's done, I would move on to:

     

    dusting

    mopping floors

    catch up on mail and paperwork

    deep clean bathrooms

    deep clean kitchen

     

     

    Can you tell I get behind a lot? :lol:

    • Like 1
  15. Legumes are also a staple.  I would explore some of the other beans out there aside from the ones you have listed.  French and red lentils have a very different taste than plain brown ones.  Split peas, green and yellow, make great soups.  Chickpeas can be added to anything, including salads.  Then there are lots of others to explore, navy, pinto, adzuki, etc.....

     

    Yeah, do you like chickpeas? Because I swear I could base my diet on them. Chickpeas are great added to pasta and sauce. Cannellini beans too, and they have a very mild flavor. I agree that a plate of pasta and tomato sauce is lacking a little something. Legumes can help a lot with that.

     

    We aren't vegetarian, but we don't eat a lot of meat. I find if a meal is just vegetables and grains, we end up hungry again very soon. So we make sure to include legumes or nuts or some dairy. Last night, for example, we had a Tunisian vegetable stew that was cabbage and tomatoes and chickpeas with spices, served over whole wheat couscous, and topped with toasted almonds and feta cheese. Very yummy and plenty filling.

    • Like 3
  16. He did great with this the first few days but, he's started stressing out about it too because he's not able to do any of the fun things he'd normally be doing.

     

    Why can't he do his normal fun things? And why can't you?

     

    I used to get majorly stressed when my inlaws came to visit. It was just like you described -- I would shortchange homeschooling, run myself ragged to keep the house clean and bountiful food cooked and provide entertainment. It was so incredibly tiring.

     

    But I eventually decided to stop. We usually try to find a day or two that we can devote to guests. Dh takes the day off work, and ds would take the day off school (he can't even do that anymore because he has too many outside commitments). And we'd go to a museum or apple orchard or whatever. But the rest of the time, our lives go on like normal. I show the guests where breakfast stuff is and that they are to help themselves. Lunch is leftovers or they can make a sandwich or go out. If we want to watch tv or play video games or take a nap, we do. It's our house. We eat dinner all together, but we try to make it clear that they need to entertain themselves as the rest of us have full-time occupations. I offer the use of our car and often ask, "So what are your plans for the day?" That seems to help set the right tone.

     

    We make some small changes. I stock up on food they like. Ds cancels less essential activities. We do try to find one full day to spend with them and plan something fun. But other than that, we just expect guests to be part of our household and do their own thing as we do our own thing. My FIL pretty much just sits in a chair and reads (and complains whenever anyone will listen) but that's the same thing he did before when I was working my butt off. Now I just let him do it with way less effort on my part. :lol:

     

    Take heart. You will get through this. But try making some changes to make things easier on you.

    • Like 8
  17. My first off the cuff answer...

     

    Children's bodies are smaller and need different sized equipment.

     

    In that case, wouldn't it depend on her size, not on her perceived age? I mean, her size didn't change when they learned she was actually 17.

     

    The answers that people are suggesting all make sense and are probably right, but I'd love for the article to have answered them. Surely these are the first things any reader would ask when seeing this story?

     

    YES! I find myself frustrated quite often reading news articles when it seems there are glaringly obvious questions that nobody bothered to ask.

  18. I thought the advice was going to be "be rich". Don't get me wrong, Norwich is a lovely town and it does have a strong community spirit. But it's also the wealthiest town in Vermont. The children attend one of the top high schools in New Hampshire. It is an enclave of wealthy people, highly educated and advantaged in many ways. As is often the case, achievement is highly correlated with means. And people in Norwich have a lot of means. 

    • Like 4
  19. I understand how coffee outside of the house can get expensive. Those Starbucks frapps are $$. But drinking coffee at home?? That’s really inexpensive for me imo. $15 from Costco lasts a very long time. But now I have a son that works at Starbucks and my coffee is FREE. Heck, I give it away in gifts I get so much from him.

     

    As I said, we buy locally roasted coffee. It's more expensive than what you buy at Costco. Ours costs $12 a pound and we probably buy at least two pounds a month. So say $30 a month. That's more than 5% of our grocery budget, which seems pretty high to me for something that gives no nutritive value. It's a pure luxury. But that's what this thread is about, right? What are the luxuries that you personally would hang onto the longest? For me, good coffee is one. I would (and do) choose that over lots of other luxuries. 

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