Avoidance

Sometimes I have a hard time writing down my feelings. Or typing down. Whatever.

I've been teetering on the depressed side of life these recent days. Mother Nature is not cooperating. I don't mind the cold, but I do mind the darn wind and rain. I'd rather it snow then be so muddy out. The wind we've had the past couple days has been intense. I walked the pups yesterday and my face is chapped. Ugh! My skin is already in breakout mode. Just want I need. Putting up my tree did perk up my mood. Then I remembered the lack of money to spend for Christmas. Oh well, my tree turned out good this year.

I've been trying to figure out what is up with my skin lately. I'm not sure if it's the new supplement I'm taking (MSM) or the cherry concentrate. The only reason I'm taking both is because of my bad hand. I literally could not open it or type because of the joint pain. The doctor said I would have arthritis in that hand for life, but holy guacamole. I picked up some of Michelle's Miracle cherry concentrate after reading it was an absolute hit in the arthritis world. Mix a tablespoon or two in with your water and after two weeks you should feel a difference. I will say my hips aren't bothering me nearly as much as they have been.

Last week was relatively boring. This week, crazy. It's to be expect with the holiday and all. My healthy sweet potatoes were a hit, as was my pumpkin pie. I even did mini pies this year. I, of course, ate myself into stretchy pants. Made sure to bring a pair! Thanksgiving at my folks is always followed by napping on the couches and later usually an intense round of Dominos. This year everyone sat around, talked, played with my Aunt's 16 week old Doberman puppy, and drank lots of Asti. No Dominos, we are saving it for Christmas. It was nice to see everyone and have a CALM and relaxing Thanksgiving with my mom's family. We will have both sides over for Christmas.

Then you have my husbands huge family. We really don't see eye to eye. His family holiday's are loud, awkward, and uncomfortable. He has 5 aunts, all who are very judgmental and stubborn as mules. Heaven forbid someone be different. Unfortunately, his mom absolutely killed the turkey this year and I couldn't stomach much else. They are more of a box and can family then true homemade meals like my own. It really isn't that difficult to prepare homemade meals. Ron made green bean casserole, with real green beans. It was great! I also made healthy sweet potatoes. We did this all the day before, so all we had to do was bake and serve. Easy peasy. A little planning never hurt anyone! My folks both work full time and still managed to pull off a great meal. His mom works part time. No excuses! I could have helped her if she asked.

Real food is how I was raised. Canned and box foods for holiday's is not and never will be right for me. Number one I hate prepackaged foods (except Macaroni, my crux), number two it's generally devoid of all nutrients, and number three it's lazy. Holiday's are special! Extra effort is required.

I just can't deal with his family holiday's. His father and stepmomster are the absolute worst hosts. It is extremely uncomfortable. Their house is filthy and their dogs are very aggressive. After the row I had to endure with his stepmomster during my wedding (she wanted to invite 20 family members we have never met, and not pay a dime), and the fact she never apologized, I will not be attending their Christmas Eve this year. My husband and I will drive separate cars. Christmas day we will also do the some. I'll spend most of the day with my family and we will see his in the evening. His mom's house isn't very big,  and they usually cram 30+ people in it. Too much chaos for me.

I'm out to enjoy the holiday's this year. My husband feels obligated to appease both his parents, but honestly, they divorced years ago, he's a grown ass man, and now married. They have no right to get pissed off at him for not spending the entire day with each parent. It's not possible.

I hate to sound like a bitchy snob, but I know that is exactly what I'm being. My family has adopted Ron as their own son and his family has yet to show me an ounce of respect. After about 6 month into the relationship I realized they were never going to truly be kind, I gave up trying. No one is blatantly rude to my face, it's more of what they say behind my back. It eventually gets to Ron, then to me.

I might as well be an alien to those people. I swear they would be much happier if Ron went ahead and married his psychopath, epileptic (crashed three cars, one into a house), Bible-humping ex. She siphoned money off him like a sponge and was terrible to him, but she was right up their alley.

I'll never understand his family. I was raised too differently. Ron is nothing like them, thank goodness.

Thanks for reading my all out, whiney bitch rant. Cookies for all.

Where for art thou Pho?

I'm in desperate need of Vietnamese Pho. It's like heaven in a bowl, with noodles. This is my feel good food and I only seem to get it when we are in a different state. Like Oregon or Washington. Their Asian communities are huge, unlike Chicago. There are a few Pho places downtown, but we haven't tried them yet. I'm doubting they are on par with the West coast Pho restaurants.

Instead, I'm hoping to take a trip to Chinatown and visit an Asian supermarket and pick up the Pho essentials. I found a fantastic crockpot recipe.

Steamy Kitchen's Crock Pot Pho

Number one, it's fuss free. Number two, my house will smell amazing. Number three, it's Pho!

I snagged my dad's old, BIG crockpot for this recipe and cannot wait to try it! With the weather turning nasty so soon, I'm craving all my favorite soups. In the mean time I'll boil down the bag of chickens feet I snagged at the last farmer's market. If you want the best chicken broth on the planet, you have to use chickens feet. I like to have stock in the freezer for "health emergencies". As in I'm too tired and sick to cook anything, so I thaw stock and throw in some veggies.

Nourished Kitchen's Chicken Soup Cure

I always feel better after a hot bowl of homemade soup. Now I know why.

I'm a very firm believer in natural remedies over antibiotics. While they have their time and place, pharmaceutical companies are creating super-bugs with their super-antibiotics. Our bodies are getting to the point where we can't fight off simple viruses on our own. I don't like that. Not one bit.

When I feel a cold or sore throat coming on, I drink ginger tea. It's super easy to make and everyone I've made it for is hooked. All you do is peel a chunk of ginger, slice it thin, boil it till the water is straw yellow, and serve with honey in a mug. It's a bit strong in flavor, but I absolutely adore it. The tingle is warming and the honey soothes.

I also love apple cider vinegar. Now, this is something that is an acquired taste. I don't always drink it straight. Sometimes I mix it in with a cup of warm water. The health benefits outweigh the taste though. This stuff is the bomb for sore throats. If it doesn't kill the bacteria enough to cure you, a doctor visit is usually in order. Generally, this does the trick. I'll actually drink a tablespoon or two a day then gargle with a shot of warm water till I feel I've coated my throat. It stings a little, depending on the rawness.

Bragg's Apple Cider Vinegar is my favorite brand and the only one I will drink or gargle.

I've done the salt water gargle, the cayenne pepper gargle, and the lemon gargle. From my experience, the apple cider one is hands down the best for sore throats. Followed by the ginger tea with honey, I'm all set. It's even better with a gigantic, steaming bowl of homemade chicken soup.

In the mean time, chicken soup will have to fill my Pho void. And while I wait for that, guess I better go fold that laundry.... >:(

Bad News Bears

The Chicago Bears generally suck IMHO. But I'm not talking about them.

Don't they say bad things come in three's?

-Jobless

-Furnace (as in really-expensive-potentially-spend-5k) problems

-Old house (as in the one we moved out of) problems

Unless, I'm counting wrong. Or the theory of three's doesn't apply. I hope the constant barrage of shit ends. Like, now.

On the flipside, my husband put up our temporary (but not), slightly redneck, dog fence. The Collie escaped again this morning, in 10 minutes flat. I can't take the stress of worrying about her. It's t-post and square wire. Nothing fancy, but it will work. Better then a dead dog on the side of the road.

My biggest, WORST fear.

We lost a dog before that way. A douche bag former boyfriend of my SIL's left our gate open at our old house one night. He really had no business going out that way. The gate was at an angle we couldn't see from a window or door. Well, not thinking, we let the dogs out in the morning. Sure enough, the gate was wide open. 20 minutes later on that 10 degree February morning, I went to let in the dogs. That's when I found the open gate. 2 hours of searching with the cops and animal control (which were awesome in that Ghetto town), one dog was hit and killed on a major south suburban road and the other scaled someone's 6 foot fence in terror. We assume she was traumatized after watching her best friend get killed. She wasn't the same after that. Either were we. From then on out, we padlocked that gate. NO ONE was aloud to use it as a door. Ever. I still miss our big, dumb mutt Dexter. He was so happy go lucky and a great protector. It wasn't even 2 years later we lost our Pitbull, his buddy Trixie, in a freak accident on our "engagement" trip.

Such a pretty girl. 

She hung herself off the telephone pole, in our backyard, chasing something. The only time she wore her collar was when we went out of town. Our poor dog sitter, she felt so terrible. There is no one to blame but me, for not buying the dogs quick release collars, for not checking the yard, for not dealing with the pests...

Poor puppies. I still feel like a failure. Animals mean everything to me, and they died careless deaths. Because of me. I should of checked the gate and I should of checked the yard for dangers. Never thought to look so high up though.

This is the only picture I have of Trixie and Dexter together. 

They were such good dogs. Thinking back to them is when I appreciate what wonderful puppies we have now. Both are rescues, like our late furchildren, and both couldn't make mommy happier! 

When I count my blessings on days like today, I count them above all else. 

Therapy

Some people need Prozac, Zoloft, or Lexapro. Some people need all of the above, and then some.

I need sunlight, 70 degrees, blue skies, and a long country road. Gravel, preferably.

I need fresh, organic meat, milk, and veggies. Fruit as well.

I need my dogs.

And lastly, I need my Gel Pro Mat and a sink full of dirty dishes that need scrubbin. You haven't lived until you washed dishes standing on a Gel Pro Mat!

I'm sure I'll regret those words soon enough, but oddly, I find washing our dishes by hand very therapeutic. Maybe it's the view from kitchen window, or the fact that the dishes are so pretty. I was never one to like plain white dishes. For a wedding gift, we received these gorgeous white dishes with a faint outline of a bare tree. Simple and stunning. They are relatively heavy duty as well. Hopefully, they will last us many years.

The pups and I had a nice walk today after I was done nannying. It's one of the last good days according to our Tom Skilling. I adore that weatherman! He rarely leads us wrong. A snowstorm out in the western plains will push in freezing rain later this week. Typical November. I keep hearing off hand people mentioning another hard winter. Can't wait...

I can't complain about this gorgeous, long fall we've had. After a non-existent spring, it's nice to have a real season change. The pressure change, I don't care for. After my hand surgery last year, it hurts when the weather changes. It was especially bad last winter, fresh wound and all. I had a dull ache all day. Not bad enough to take anything for, but strong enough I could feel it.

Another thing I'm sure I'll regret, but I am so looking forward to snow! Not the massive blizzard we had last year, but a good foot here and there. A cold, sunny day with nice layer of snow to tromp around in with the dogs is my favorite form of therapy in the winter. That and shopping.

Which reminds me... I need to call our road commissioner and ask him to plow our road.