Shopping for Clothes

Has the writer of this comic (Six Chicks) been following me around?

Sister Helen Jean Everett Obituary: View Helen Everett's Obituary by The Jersey Journal

Sister Helen Jean Everett Obituary: View Helen Everett's Obituary by The Jersey Journal


No longer will any child be terrorized by her.

Her mother was a wonderful woman and often wondered why her 2 daughters who were Sisters, especially Sr. Helen Jean, turned out the way they did. Even she was scared of her at times.

Super Bowl Commercials

THIS SITE is the best place to catch all those commercials you missed if you (like me) didn't watch the Super Bowl this past Sunday. It's the official NFL page for the game.

I love commercials! We have a few DVD compilations in our collection already. In Demolition Man, when Stallone sees that music on the oldies station on the radio has been replaced by commercial jingles, I cheered - FINALLY, somebody gets it!

We Go to the Same Doctor!

Better Half comic 2/2/2012

House Salad Dressing - The Chef & The Dietician

I use maple syrup instead of date syrup, and I use one tablespoon of Kikkomon reduced sodium instead of 2 tablespoons tamari, but this is STILL the best tasting salad dressing out there and so easy to whip up, too!

Calphalon Non-Stick Pan My ASS!

In order to bake with no added fat, a GOOD non-stick pan is required. I have old stainless pans that I use for muffins but I have to use cupcake papers with them, and as every baker knows, fat-free baked goods fuse to paper liners on a molecular level so one winds up eating tiny pieces of paper.

I tried various brands of silicone pans, and after a few washings every pan became tacky or developed an odor.

I tried cheaper non-stick pans, and my muffins all stuck unless I also greased the pans.

A few people said the Calphalon non-stick pans were fantastic, so when I saw Target had them on sale the other day, and I had a gift card to use, I grabbed this pan. Here's what happened:

As you see, every muffin stuck to the sides. I had to use a plastic spatula to pry each one out.

Non-stick my ass!

I'll wash it up and try return it next weekend. I'm not even going to bother give it a second chance. I have a cabinet full of pans that all look act like this, so why would I want another. I'm so disappointed, since the griddle I bought the same day worked beautifully for no-added fat pancakes yesterday. I hope they don't give me a hard time.

Edited to add - - -
Okay, maybe I'll give this pan another chance. While I had to pry each muffin out of its cup, once the pan was cool and I went to wash it, it DID clean up nice and spiffy with a minimum amount of fuss. In  that respect, it's better than the pans I already have. I'm now hoping that it was just a fluke, the "first batch" jitters, so to speak, and subsequent batches of muffins release more easily. Keep your fingers crossed.

THE FIRST STEP IS A CINCH

Mikey's Funnies is generously hosted by Agathon Group, website development and hosting with a ministry heart:
http://www.agathongroup.com/

today's FUNNY===========================

THE FIRST STEP IS A CINCH 
By Saralee Perel

"Where have you been?" a neighbor named Stacy said. 

"Where have you been?" my neighbor, Robert, asked. 

I was riding my three-wheeler bike down our road. The bike is made specifically for people like me who are disabled. "Well," I said to the dozen or so neighborhood folks who asked me the same question. "I took time off to be depressed."

I was on my trike that day because of a breakthrough. I can still visualize myself on a recent afternoon when I debated about opening our front door and re-entering the outside world. The breakthrough occurred because of this thought: "If I keep waiting until I want to do something, I'll be waiting forever."

Oddly, this new way of thinking began because of a 21-year-old movie I watched called, "City Slickers." Mitch, played by Billy Crystal, is dreadfully depressed as he takes us through his comical mid-life funk. 

During his journey of recovery, he was taught "the secret of life." But here's the thing: Finding that secret could never have happened until Mitch stopped waiting for happiness to come to him and instead took the first step himself. 

First steps, I have learned, are nowhere near as huge as they sound. They're actually quite simple. They have to be.

My husband, Bob, heard me crying when the movie ended. "I thought it was a comedy," he said.

"It was hysterical."

"Then why are you crying?"

"Because it made me realize I've wasted six months of my life by settling into depression and waiting, waiting, waiting to come out of it."

That was the instant I took that first step. I grabbed my cane and said, "I'm going to ride my trike." 

He tried to stop me. "You can hardly move today. And you haven't been on your trike for ages!"

"Bob, if I don't do this now, I am never going to do it." I knew that. I knew that from the depths of me. I had to do something to help myself. 

And it had to be now. 

Now, I'd have never done this had I thought, "I'm going to grab my cane, get my sturdy shoes, find the bike lock, check the weather," and on and on, ending with something overwhelmingly sabotaging like, "and ride every day for the rest of my entire life." 

I biked down our road, loving every minute. It's a new year, a new me, a new life and all because of one simple decision.

And so, the secret of life that Mitch learned? 

To paraphrase from the movie: "Just one thing," Curly, the wise cowboy said. "You stick to that and the rest is foolish detail." 

"What is that one thing?" 

"That's what you have to find out for yourself." 

For Mitch, it was not about taking an adventurous trip out West; it was merely agreeing to read the brochure.

For Mitch's wife, it was just saying these words to him: "I want you to have that adventure and find … your smile." 

It was when Mitch realized by simply giving his wife one single kiss: "Today is my very best day!"

And for me, it was grabbing my old wooden walking stick. 

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Award-winning columnist/novelist, Saralee Perel, can be reached at sperel@saraleeperel.com or via her website: www.saraleeperel.com. Please click "Like" on her Facebook Fan Page: www.facebook.com/4footedcoach. Her novel "Raw Nerves" is now available as a paperback and an e-book. To take a look at it on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0060LNUKK/mikeysfunnies-20

Copyright 2012 Saralee Perel. Permission is granted to send this to others, with attribution, but not for commercial purposes.