Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Babies part 2

Today was the second appointment. I had to get a pap smear, A scan, a breast exam and pee cup test. So this visit was bottoms and tops off. At least I remembered to shave my legs this time lol. At first i had to go in and pee in a cup and I am not talented at this art. I always get my hand wet and get very nervous and aggravated. So after you slide the sample in the little door, you go and wait for a few minutes. I was taken back and told to get naked. So then you get naked and you get a few peices of cloth that you "drape" over over you. Its basically a bib and large dinner napkin. So they checked my breasts and that seemed good. Then he stuck the cold duck bills in and took his samples. His nurse stuck a ball with cold jelly scanner to find a heartbeat. They like to press it hard and sometimes you will jump because it hurts a little and feels like crap. Then I had an awful thing happen. NO HEARTBEAT!!

"don't panic or worry" she says. OMG no heartbeat and you tell me not worry I am devestated. So she brings in a belly scanner and there it was a heartbeat phewwww... sighs of relief. The baby was just really active and never settled down. We barely got a clear picture. I finally got to see what every mother wants to see a beautiful head and feet and arms. It crossed its little legs for the picture. Unlike my son who thrusted himself in the camera every chance he got. So I heard a wives tale that this leg crossing is the girl being shy. I have no idea , but I guess that time will tell.

So i got cleaned up then they tell me they need some blood so I went to he lab part of the building and got 6 vials of blood taken. I did this very well but needed to sit down after i left the building because I got sick and a little light headed. They were rushing to get me out of there today because it started snowing here. It looked like it was going to be bad, but it didn't stick , fine with me I got all this done in one hour.

I got a list of meds that I can take while pregnant.
 I think they should give this list at first sign, but here it is so you can see in case you forgot or haven't gotten your letter yet:

They say not to take meds until you are 12 weeks preg- but in moderation these are okay:
Tylenol regular or extra strength, actifed or sudafed cold, robotussin, tums, rolaids, mylanta, milk of magnesia, citrucel, metamucil, preparation H, tucks

On the second page It tells you the others you can have: (some are listed twice)

Calcium supplement-Tums calcium for life- bone health

Headache/fever-Tylenol 2 tabs every 4 hours as needed

Colds, stuffy head use children doses-Actifed, Sudafed tablets, dimetapp, Tylenol Cold and sinus,
Mucinex, Ocean mist nose drops, Saline nasal spray

Cough use children's doses-Robotussin liquid, Benylin

Sleep Aide-Tylenol PM

Heartburn, gas, sour stomach-Tums, Riopan liquid or tablets, Zantac, Prilosec, Maalox, Mylanta tablets

Constipation-Citrucel (powder or caplet), Colace, Senakot, Surfak, Doxidon (stool softner)

Diarrhea-Immodium, Kaopectate, Citrucel (only 4 ounces of water, or call for an RX if needed)

Nausea/ Vomiting-Emetrol, Vitamin B6, Ginger Capsule or call for an RX if needed.

Rash- Benadryl or Benadryl cream, Hydrocortisone Cream

Yeast- Monistat

Paniful Urination- Start with large amount of water or cranberry juice. Avoid carbonated and sugar beverages. Call your doctor.

Call the Doc if you have a med that's not listed that says safe. Better safe than sorry.

Things not to do while Prego:
- x-rays
- meds until 12 weeks
- that your doctors all of them even dentist know your knocked up
- changing kitty litter- parasites live in the cat poop
-partially cooked meat - now medium rare etc (toxoplasmosis)
- Lifting heavy weights- nothing over 25 pounds
-contact sports - swimming and walking are best
- dental work unitl 12 weeks at least
-dying you hair



You get asked for an hiv scan this time. and a down syndrome test. I say no to any needles poking the baby. Blood tests are okay with me, but I am not going to stick a needle toward the babies head. It seems to me that a 20% chance of sticking the baby in the head or elsewhere with a needle to obtain fluid is better than the chance that it  is DS than making it DS with the needle. No thank you. After you deny it the Doc says well most parents do. I knew a couple that had this done when I was a kid. The child had no eyes. I asked why the baby had no eyeballs (being a kid and having no tact) then the mom said she had the needle test done and they hit his eyes. I remembered how hapy that baby was , but how sad people looked at him. I vowed no needles in my baby's face.  If the baby needs special care than God made it that way- I'll love my child no matter problems it has.

You get screened for diabetes soon. about 26- 28 weeks blugh. This test sucks if you fail the first part. The second part is drinking this syrupy soda and NOT puking. It makes you so sick its like maple syrup thick and tastes like a foul orange soda. You have to keep it down or do it again. I got blood tested every  hour for 3 hours with nothing to do in between time and no eating. Just water. 

You get Rh blood screening around this time too, if negative you get a shot called Rhogam - that's supposed to prevent antibody formation that might harm the baby.

at 35 weeks you get swabbed for Strep culture- this is taken vaginall and rectaclly.  This bacteria grows in your GI tract. You get special intructions and you have to wear a special IV when you deliver the babe.

They tell you that average weight gain is 25 to 30 pounds.

 You can have sex still. If you have probelms before with preterm labor or bleeding stop having sex. Call your doctor if you bleed.

They should give you childbirth classes at this time as well.

You need to call your insurance 4 weeks before  due date.  Some require earlier notices, best to call ahead and find out then be left behind. 30 weeks is best.

Sunday, October 23, 2011

Babies! Part 1

Babies

Here I am pregnant again and have some fun things to do if you are pregnant and good sites to go to if you are lost the first time around.
Fun things

Morphthing this is a hilarious site , but you can morph you and a celeb to see what baby  might look like. Mine came out pretty close to my first son. So hopefully this is close to a reality for you , if you have a spouse or significant other or bf or "the sperm donor" (whatever you wanna call him) that looks like a celeb than this is great.

Naming the baby!

Having another child is great, but what to name him or her? The first was easy because I named him after his father which was his wish and we agreed the second child would be mine to name! It is really hard because I want the perfect name and I am an etymology freak. So I have researched names over and over and even have books, but the Internet provides most of the same answers as the books anymore and its about 15.99 cheaper.

My fave sites are these two  thinkbabynames.com and babynames. These both have great resources but turn your volume off on babynames they have annoying ads running screaming and shouting while you are trying to concentrate. I believe in the destiny of a name i mentioned in a previous blog so if you think so too these sites help out a WHOLE lot.

How is the baby's growth and what to expect?

Pregnology.com has a great website for showing you what your little disc or bean looks like before it starts getting all the normal baby features. You can even test you ovulation here if you need to or just play around it. Its nice to know exactly how far along you are. I must say I skipped 2 months period before I even got impregnated so my dates were way off even at the doctor's office. They thought I was 11 weeks and I was really 5.5 weeks. We found out through our first ultrasound or as I like to call it "the horse" I will try to find a picture of the first scan you get which is vaginal (it isn't that comfortable)
It is wiggled around by the scanner person and if this is your first time doing a pregnancy this should be the last time but it is a dropped drawer visit.  First time and second time to me this thing felt like a period cramp. You don't even get a dinner first! This is supposed to be at 11 weeks or near that and you get to hear the heart beat and takes pictures of you little bean wiggling around. It makes for for the cold jelly lube on the condomed equipment.

First thing after you pee on the stick you have to get yourself to a doctor. You want to find an OBGYN not just gynecologist. because If you Doctor is an obstetrician as well than he or she will know your file and all your do and dont's before you even go into labor. They also have the information for you that you need to know. Like what not to eat and don't smoke etc.  I suggest doing your research before you even walk in, I mean who wants a crappy doc right? Well this is how I found out pretty accurate results. I googled the building (ex. crab street obgyn) then it should list who works there under the address etc. Then I went to this website where real people give real surveys of the docs you have. http://www.healthgrades.com/. You can type in their name and see what real people give them on a star basis survey. This is pretty accurate according to my obgyns in the past.

Expect to fill 100 papers. Everything from how many sexual partners you have had to chicken pox was asked on my paperwork. Most places have an online database and they give you a site and a password. Some still do the old fill it out and check yes or no. Mine was both since I had one babe before the digital conversion and one after. So I had to fill out my medical history twice!
If you don't want your mom or spouse etc knowing your history don't take them on the first visit. This is where you fill out your autobiography in file form.

After this they check your weight height and blood pressure. Then you get the wheel. Figure out when your last period was before you go. It is usually the first question they ask you. If you don't know try you best to get close. If you are going for a baby it's to just make a mark on the calendar to help you remember.  They base your ovulation on this but the prenology site above can tell you as well. The wheel is just a paper calculator of your dates when to do an appointment etc. I asked my doctor to print me off a copy of it and he did! (More scrap book material)

Each time you expect weight and BP to be taken. And don't wear embarrassing underwear because they surprise you with the drop drawer visits. I felt kind of bad one time having a thong laying in the chair but the doc didn't seem to care lol. My husband went to all my first baby's appointments and teases me about everything there. I suggest if you can to have them or someone you trust around in the room with you , not only for safety but also to break tension.  Just

You spend most of your time waiting for the doctor and reading magazines. Another reason to go with someone. If you have kids best not to tag them along because they are going to get restless in the lobby if you can babysit them off for a few hours. At about 18 to 20 weeks you get another scan ultrasound done.  Then usually one more before the baby comes. These are usually the one that look like price scanners not a horse. This tells you the sex of the baby! be sure to tell them ahead of time if you don't want to know. They check its heart and show you legs and hands etc. My doctor told us to bring a writable rvdvd to the shoot for a video and we got some photos. I don't know if everywhere does this.  I got my DVD thingies at Walgreen's, I was in a pinch and forgot them pre-appointment.  My son had no problem showing his anatomy with his hands behind his back in a hammock laying position. I hear that if they close their legs and shy away it is likely a girl , but this could be a wives's tale.








http://pregnancy.about.com/od/fetus/ss/20wkultrasound_9.htm
http://www.revolutionhealth.com/articles/transvaginal-ultrasound/zm2593

Thursday, August 18, 2011

The Third Brake Light - 92 Caprice

Ok so I got pulled over the other day for not having a third high mount brake light. So this is a tutorial on how to fix it.

First you need to go to the store and purchase a light. I went to Advance Auto and they will look it up for you if you cannot remember but the number is a 2057.  So the guy wouldn't help me install it even after I asked him, so rather than pay a mechanic and arm and a leg to install a light I figured I would do it myself.  The light cost me about 3 dollars. Can you imagine paying a mechanic a bill too along with 3 bucks, me neither....

I searched online and could not find any more information on it so I took a video which I am going to try to post on youtube or something , never posted a video before but this will help people so it is for a good cause.

  • Park your car pop open the trunk. You don't need any tools.
  • Find the socket under the top of the trunk (looks like base of a bulb holder in a house light, black)
  • Turn the socket to the LEFT and pull down.
  • Push the bulb IN, turn to the LEFT and pull out (similar to child proof lid concept)
  • Reverse the steps with a new bulb.
It really is this simple. I got these instructions form my car manual which happened to find afterwards.

So there it is and you test the brake so you will need a person to see to if it worked or maybe do a mirror trick.  That's it, no ticket.



Random Link: 1992-chevy-caprice horn relay diagram (under dash)

Monday, July 11, 2011

Jigsaw Puzzles

I love jigsaw puzzles and thought I would do a blog about them since they have taken most of my time up now.

What is a jigsaw puzzle?

A jigsaw puzzle is a tiling puzzle that requires the assembly of numerous small, often oddly shaped, interlocking and tessellating pieces. Each piece usually has a small part of a picture on it; when complete, a jigsaw puzzle produces a complete picture. In some cases more advanced types have appeared on the market, such as spherical jigsaws and puzzles showing optical illusions.

Jigsaw puzzles were originally created by painting a picture on a flat, rectangular piece of wood, and then cutting that picture into small pieces with a jigsaw, hence the name. John Spilsbury, a London mapmaker and engraver, is credited with commercialising jigsaw puzzles around 1760. Jigsaw puzzles have since come to be made primarily on cardboard.

During recent years a range of jigsaw puzzle accessories including boards, cases, frames and roll-up mats has become available that are designed to assist jigsaw puzzle enthusiasts. Some jigsaw enthusiasts suggest that it is unethical (against the rules) to look at the picture on the box while working on the puzzle, but most people find it to be perfectly normal to look at the box.

What is a jigsaw?

A jigsaw is a tool used for cutting arbitrary curves, such as stenciled designs or other custom shapes, into a piece of wood, metal, or other material. It can be used in a more artistic fashion than other saws, which typically cut in straight lines only. In this way, it is similar to the rasp and the chisel. Although a jigsaw can be used to cut arbitrary patterns, making a straight cut freehand is difficult even with a guide.

Traditional jigsaws are hand saws, consisting of a handle attached to a small, thin blade. The first jigsaw puzzles were made using this kind of unpowered saw. More modern jigsaws are power tools, made up of an electric motor and a reciprocating saw blade. A Jigsaw may also be referred to, by some manufacturers, as a "bayonet saw".

The first powered jigsaw was created in 1946 when Albert Kaufmann, an engineer of Scintilla AG company in St. Niklaus, Switzerland, replaced the needle on his wife's sewing machine with a saw blade

Construction of Jigsaw puzzles today

Most modern jigsaw puzzles are made out of cardboard, since they are easier and cheaper to mass produce than the original wooden models. An enlarged photograph or printed reproduction of a painting or other two-dimensional artwork is glued onto the cardboard before cutting. This board is then fed into a press. The press forces a set of hardened steel blades of the desired shape through the board until it is fully cut. This procedure is similar to making shaped cookies with a cookie cutter. The forces involved, however, are tremendously greater and a typical 1000-piece puzzle will require a press which can generate upwards of 700 tons of force to push the knives of the puzzle die through the board. A puzzle die comprises a flat board, often made from plywood, which has slots cut or burned in the same shape as the knives that will be used. These knives are set into the slots and covered in a compressible material, typically foam rubber, the function of which is the ejection of the cut puzzle pieces.
New technology has enabled laser-cutting of wooden jigsaw puzzles, which is a growing segment of the high-end jigsaw puzzle market

So really they are Laser puzzles. I have purchased a few that are soy ink and recycled paper.


Puzzle facts:

Jigsaw puzzles typically come in 300-piece, 500-piece, 750-piece, and 1,000-piece sizes, however the largest commercial puzzle has 32,256 pieces and spans 544 cm by 192 cm

The most common layout for a thousand-piece puzzle is 38 pieces by 27 pieces, for a total count of 1,026 pieces

There are also three-dimensional jigsaw puzzles. Many of these are made of wood or styrofoam and require the puzzle to be solved in a certain order; some pieces will not fit in if others are already in place. Also common are puzzle boxes: simple three-dimensional jigsaw puzzles with a small drawer or box in the center for storage.

Another type of jigsaw puzzle, which is considered a 3-D puzzle, is a puzzle globe. However like a 2-D puzzle, a globe puzzle is often made of cardboard and the assembled pieces form a single layer. But mainly like a 3-D puzzle, the final form is a three-dimensional shape. Most globe puzzles have designs representing spherical shapes such as the Earth, the Moon, and historical globes of the Earth.

The uniform-shaped fully interlocking puzzles are the most difficult, because the differences in shapes between pieces can be very subtle.

More recently, technology such as computer controlled laser and water-jet cutting machines have been used to give a much wider range of interlocking designs in wood and other materials. These methods, however, have the undesirable effect of removing a small amount of material giving a loose fit with the adjoining pieces.

Strategies:

The most commonly-used approach to building a puzzle is to start by separating the edges from the inside pieces. Once the edges are connected it is easier to move inward. For those new to puzzles, it is recommended to choose one consisting of multiple areas with contrasting designs and colors. This enables the narrowing down of potential portions of the puzzle where a particular piece will fit.



Another approach is to sort the pieces by color, and work on one color at a time. When working large areas with the same color (such as the sky in many landscape puzzles), shape is important. All the pieces of a particular color can be laid in a grid and tried against other pieces in the grid.
Many large jigsaw puzzles have redundancy in their cut pattern. Many have 180° rotational symmetry around their centre point. Puzzles of 1000 pieces also usually involve a smaller cut pattern that is repeated 4 or 6 times over the whole jigsaw, and that smaller cut pattern usually also has 180° rotational symmetry, so a particular shape may appear 8 or 12 times in the puzzle (although with truncation for edge pieces). It is possible to identify the presence of these symmetries or repetitions relatively early in the process of completing the edge frame. When redundancy is identified, it is possible to use already solved parts of the puzzle to identify the exact shapes of pieces required to complete other sections, greatly simplifying the search.


According to the Alzheimer Society of Canada, doing jigsaw puzzles is one of many activities that can help keep the brain active and may contribute to reducing the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease.

Jigsaw Puzzle stories:


A story of love and dedication.

Ted Howard's Love Letter Jigsaw Puzzle Takes 15 Years To Solve!


Finally, more than 15 years later, a husband has reconstructed the love letters he sent to his wife. Mollie Howard shredded the letters that Ted Howard wrote into more than 2,000 pieces after she caught someone else reading them.

In 1993, Mr. Howard began rebuilding the letters. (A real puzzle if ever there was one!) He spent five hours per month for 15 years working this puzzle.

Mr. Howard said, "I still miss Mollie terribly but having the memories helps me through. The letters brought back so many good times."

He is writing a book with the stories contained in the letters so that they will not be forgotten and it will be called, A Week At Stanton. He wrote the letters as he travelled throughout Europe as a farmhand in the United Kingdom, Ireland, France and Holland in the late 1940s and early 1950s.

"It was love at first sight. No two ways about it. I was at a village feast (fair) and this girl jumped off the carousel and came careering into me. It turned out to be Mollie. That was July 19th, 1948."

They married in 1955 when Mollie was 18 and Ted was 23 and went on to have three children and six grandchildren. Those grandchildren will be lucky to have this romantic story in print -- maybe one of those letters should be made into an actual jigsaw puzzle.
 
OK so that's not an actual jigsaw story, but romantic enough to post!
 
Gemberly Tan-Cagalingan Solves The World's Largest Puzzle
 
Life, The Greatest Puzzle was created especially by Royce B. McClure of New Zealand. Mr. McClure has had over a hundred puzzles published. To create this one, he used his years of experience in designing puzzles. He strived to make sure that the challenge of this puzzle was equivalent to the pleasure it gave.

If you thought that solving jigsaw puzzles was child's play, think again! At 24,000 pieces, this puzzle was no easy task! However, it was not a match for Filipino Gemberly Tan-Cagalingan. She earned the title of The First Asian who finished the largest jigsaw puzzle in the world.
 
Ms. Tan started doing puzzles when she was 11 and is 26 now. She had done 200 to 300 puzzles (up to 3,000 pieces) prior to tackling this mammoth puzzle. She would love the opportunity, if time allows, to do a bigger puzzle in the future.

Her completion time for Life, The World's Largest Puzzle was 233 hours and 5 minutes.
 
Easy Ways To Increase Your Intelligence

Jigsaw Puzzles boost intelligence

Genes account for 80 percent of your IQ and education follows. Take continuing education courses. Learn one new thing every day! Hobbies such as reading, crossword puzzles logic puzzles and (you guessed it) JIGSAW PUZZLES are all excellent. So whenever you are working that jigsaw puzzle, you are increasing your intelligence!
 
Jigsaw Puzzle Solving Style Reveals Your Personality

Jigsaw style - are you hoarder, border obsessive or opportunist?

Have you ever experienced 'jigsaw rage?' Researchers at the University of Bath studied this issue and discovered that people have different approaches to puzzling and that, when there are two different approaches, there can be trouble.

What sort of trouble you say? Well how about when your brother hides the last piece in order to be the winner? How about when your spouse does not allow you to touch 'her' part of the puzzle. How about when you withhold the extra pieces and refuse to allow your partner to touch them?

 University of Bath researchers used jigsaw puzzlers to study how people collaborate. They had individuals work on a 120-piece jigsaw puzzle, either alone or in a group.

They discovered categories of puzzlers including hoarders, border obsessives and opportunists.

Hoarders will shield parts of the finished puzzles or hide the picture on the lid from others.
 
Border obsessives must complete the border before they move on to the rest of the puzzle. They often dominate groups -- controlling decisions and behaviors.

Opportunists sort piles by criteria. They use different ways to solve the puzzle - from the top to the bottom, from a major part of the picture, etc. Opportunists did better when completing a puzzle alone.

 Puzzlers altered their approach when they were asked to work in a group, especially if the person they worked with was of a different personality style.

The strategy you use to solve your puzzle likely is indicative of your personality and level of skill although in a lesser way than the extremes shown during puzzle solving.
 
I would be an opportunist and my partner in puzzles (my hubby) is a border obsessive.
 
 

 President George Bush's Favorite Jigsaw Puzzles

Artwork by British painter Howard Robinson

President George Bush is apparently a fan of jigsaw puzzles. His puzzle of choice? Puzzles depicting the artwork of British painter Howard Robinson.

He enjoys Mr. Robinson's puzzles so much that First Lady Laura Bush had Mr. Robinson paint the President's dogs, Miss Beazley and Barney, for his 60th birthday.

Mr. Robinson explained, "never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that the President of the United States of America would be sitting in Camp David doing one of my puzzles."

 
laura-bush-puzzle

 
The Presidential Pets 550 Piece Jigsaw Puzzle By White Mountain

The puzzle that was commissioned by Laura Bush for George Bush's 60th birthday featuring their dogs.








Celebrate German Jigsaw Puzzle Day on September 28th . Town of Ravensburg (think Ravensburger puzzles) claims the world's largest puzzle!

This year, the townsfolk in Ravensburg joined together to put together the world's largest jigsaw puzzle with more than one million pieces! 15,000 people participated assembling 1,141,800 pieces in five hours. They would up covering a 6,500 squre foot or 600 square meter piece of town square. 4,000 smaller puzzles were assembled and then joined to create this very large puzzle
Photobucket
The claim has been submitted to the Guiness Book of World Records but has not been approved yet. (October 2, 2008.)


So what to do with puzzles when you are finished?

You can throw it back in the box, or glue it with puzzle glue. Then frame it and hang it on the wall for everyone to see.

I glued a few puzzles and decided to try a different glue. I do NOT recommend it , it is worth getting the 2- 4 dollar bottle of glue. The others made my puzzle faded in color and gummy like, not to mention the others went everywhere. I used regular puzzle glue to revive this bad choice , but I almost wasted a couple hours of work on nonsense bargaining. What can I say I like to buy cheap.

Some come with an applicator , I was doing one with my husband and used a pan scraper on mine. It did wonderful (Don't use one that's dirty of course).

Some factories do not suggest gluing the metallic puzzle at all.

People suggest using the drop sheets of plastic to glue your puzzle. I bought a 50 cent poster board for mine. I figured if it glued to it it would make it sturdy, but it came right off. The newspapers stuck to them though.

I have seen some wood frames for about 15 dollars form major puzzle sites, but I have seen poster sides as well. I think these are much more cheaper and easier, depending on where you buy them.

Links



Random Link:




 

 
 

Sunday, June 19, 2011

GF Cake pops

I am sure you have seen this new fad going around , a cake on a stick.
I have seen them at Starbucks and thought Oh I want one , but I need a gf alternative. So i looked up some recipes and made my own. I am not sure where these came from , I have seen many different people say they were the first, Whatever or whoever they came from , I am glad. It's is a new cute food fad and something to do.

This is how I made organic gf cake pops.

Supplies:
Box of GF cake mix ( I used Betty Crocker )
Water, butter, 3 eggs

Pamela's vanilla frosting mix- any gf frosting mix will do as long as it is light and fluffy
vegetable shortening, water

A food processor is nice, but you can do it by hand

stand mixer or hand/bowl mixer

cookie sheet

wax paper

lollipop sticks (found at craft stores or walmart , Wilton's etc or even online-- some have substituted Popsicle)

nice rubber spatula

oven

decorations , like sprinkles or jimmies, hundreds and thousands, whatever you want to put on it.

chocolate or vanilla melt mix , you can use color or regular

double boiler (microwave in a pinch)

a cardboard box small or Styrofoam block

freezer

What to do:

Bake the cake according to the directions on the box or make your own scratch cake. I tried to make mine a little on the dry side , you don't want a really moist cake. After cake is done let it cool off and set it aside. Make your frosting and set it aside. Take the cooled cake and blend the cake in the food processor until the pieces are a little bigger than sand. Blend the cake crumbs and the frosting very slowly until the cake is a play dough consistency. Use an ice cream scoop or your hands to make balls or cake shape and set on the wax paper that is one the cookie sheet. Put in the freezer for a few hours to stiffen them up. When they are ready take them out and melt a little bit of the chocolate in the microwave or stove- a very small amount. Stick the stick in the chocolate and stick it securely in the cake ball. Do each one in the chocolate then the stick , if you put the all sticks in the chocolate it will cool off too fast. You do this so this stick will be secure when you turn them upside down and cake balls don't roll off. Place these back into the freezer. When they are cooled off and secure then melt the rest of the chocolate and dip the cake balls into the chocolate, drip over the bowl until the chocolate is not running. When it cools off a bit place sprinkles or decor on the ball and set it like a lollipop in the Styrofoam or if using a cardboard box a few holes need to be made in it to hold the cake pops. Let these cool and dry. After dried you can add lollipop wrappers or ribbons to the sticks , whatever you want too add at the end. Additionally, you can mold the cake balls into shapes like skulls for Halloween or mini cupcakes for a cute idea.  These take a while to make over all because you go back and forth , but they are great for parties.

Ideas:

This person used reese to make a a cupcake bottom.




Cupcake cake pops



Shamrocks and clover are my all time favorite plant and flower




You don't have to stop at cake pops , you can do this with brownies, cheesecake or cookiedough , or even pies on sticks.


Links:
/wiki/Sprinkles
wedding bee - reese bottom pops
hello kitty pops
Cutest Food .com - the best place to look at cute foods
cake pop image
bakerella
youtube how to make cake pops
Youtube video - no oven/stove cake pops
Cheesecake pops
pie on a stick
sasugar808 erin-go-bragh
Random bookmark: Time to say goodbye - lyrics

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Eggrolls

How to make your own egg rolls


What is an egg roll?

An egg roll is made by wrapping a combination of chopped vegetables (often mostly cabbage), meat, and sometimes noodles, in a sheet of dough, dipping the dough in egg or an egg wash, then deep frying it. It can be closed or open ended.
When compared with its cousin, the spring roll, the egg roll is generally larger, has a thicker, puffier skin, is crunchier, and has more filling. However, the terms "spring roll" and "egg roll" are often used somewhat interchangeably. The egg roll dough is wheat-based while the spring roll is sometimes rice-based.
Some varieties are made with sesame seeds or other flavorings/toppings, such as chocolate, cream, or strawberry. The term may also be used to refer to another modern Asian breakfast cuisine that mixes the western omelet with thin egg roll wrappers.


How to make one,

The pastry:

4 cups all-purpose flour; sifted
2 teaspoons salt
2 eggs
1 cup ice water
cornstarch



Place salt and four in a bowl. Make a well in the center and add the eggs and the water. Stir the well until all the flour is mixed into a dough. Plop out on a table and knead with your hands. Use extra flour so the dough does not stick to the surface. Allow dough to rest for half an hour.
Divide the dough into quarters. Dust your pastry board with cornstarch and roll out until each dough is a 11 by 14 triangle.  Wrap and freeze remaining dough if you want to save it.
This recipe is a variation by Angela Naymor, link will be below.

For a Gluten Free alternative use Rice paper wrappers. Can be purchased at most Asian health foods , or health food stores. Ingredients of the food rice paper include white rice flour, tapioca flour, salt, and water.






This is a good time to get your deep fryer going, you can bake egg rolls. Preheat oven to 425.


Now that you have made your wraps you are ready for some ingredients.

Note: You can buy egg roll wraps in most grocery stores , usually in the produce section , next to tofu and that kind of stuff. Wonton wraps are usually smaller and you do not get enough ingredients in them.


Egg Roll Filling:

Cabbage and meat are pretty much the staples , other than that you can add what you like.
I use chicken in mine.

You can follow other recipes for vegetables to use . I use a bag of Cole slaw, the salad kind. It has your cabbage and carrots already thinly sliced and ready to go.

I thinly slice the chicken and cook it until it is ready and white.  I fry this slaw bag with my meat after the meat is done and this is when I add my spices. I like a very Asian flavored roll so I use the following spices and herbs. About a teaspoon garlic, teaspoon ginger powder or minced, Couple shots of soy sauce (some soy sauce contains wheat check your labels),  a shot of Rice wine vinegar, small drizzle of molasses, 2 tablespoons of sesame seeds. You do not need a lot of spices, I am just a fan of using them. If you cut spices back I suggest keeping the soy and ginger and garlic, this is the typical flavor of egg rolls.

Once the cabbge is a little wilted looking that is when I pull it from the heat and set it aside. You want to have your pastries made into squares. I place about 1/3 cup of my cabbage chicken mix on it and wrap it up. Some people seal with flour paste , but I use a drop of water or egg to seal the outside.

I know most people do not know how to wrap an eggroll so here is a great video for doing it.

Expert village Egg roll wrapping

It looks hard at first, but once you get it it's like riding a bike, unless you never learned.

Some people brush egg on the outside of the roll, I don't see a difference in flavor it seals it better and makes it that golden crispy color. Mostly a preference.

If you are going to bake , then you need to bake them about 10 to 15 minutes on a cookie sheet. Deep fry until little bubbles come up on the outside or its a nice golden brown. For rice paper it is a little different , it will have a brownish grey look about them. Do not overcrowd them in the deep fryer it gets done less quick and you have extra greass sloshing around , yuck. Also if you are baking you might want to spray a little Gf cooking spray on your cookie sheet, they tend to stick.






The great thing about making you own egg rolls is you can be creative with them. Use shrimp or use terriyaki, whatever you want to put in your egg rolls. I have used only banana and brown sugar before, topped with vanilla icecream.

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Wine without the cheese

From the book: The Wine Companion and Record Book




Terms:

Tannin-
Any of various compounds, including tannic acid, that occur naturally in the bark and fruit of various plants, especially the nutgalls, certain oaks, and sumac. Tannins are polyphenols, and form yellowish to light brown amorphous masses that can be powdery, flaky, or spongy. They are used in photography, dyeing, in tanning leather, in clarifying wine and beer, and as an astringent in medicine. Tannins are also an important ingredient in tea.
Dry-Not sweet as a result of the decomposition of sugar during fermentation. Used of wines.
vat-A large vessel, such as a tub, cistern, or barrel, used to hold or store liquids.
fermentation- The anaerobic conversion of sugar to carbon dioxide and alcohol by yeast.

Decanter- stoppered bottle, usually of glass, into which a drink, such as wine, is poured for serving

What is wine?
Wine is made by fermenting either grape juice or crushed freshly picked grapes. After the grapes have been gathered from the vines, they are crushed to produce the 'must' or grape juice, which runes off into huge vats. It is these that the fermentation begins, a process that takes between one and three weeks. The natural sugar in the grape juice is converted to alcohol by the yeast that occurs naturally on grape skins. The alcohol produced is up to a maxium concentration of 16%. The percentage of alcohol is printed on the label of each bottle.

Types of wine





Red wines come from black or purple grapes that are fermented with their skins and stalks. It draws its color from its skin. The skin also provides tannin, which is a taste enhancer and preservative and natural pesticide. Most red wines are fermented until most of all the sugar is gone leaving them with a dry taste.









Rose wine are made from fermenting black grapes. The stalks are not used and the juice is separated when disired pinkness is achieved.  Alternatives is red and white grapes together.















White wines are made form white grapes, green or black. All grape juice is intially colorless. When black grapes are used the juice is removed form the skins. When white grapes are used, the skins are left in the juice for a while. Sweet wines are resulted from the fermentation being stopped before all the sugar is converted.




Sparkling wines are sparkiling because they are bottled before final fermentation is finished. Some fo the carbon dioxide produced is trapped in the bottle and remains dissolved in the wine until the bottle is opened.













Vintage wines refers tot he year that the grapes were harvested and bear a date on the bottle.  Most wine guides indicate which is vintage and when it will be ready to be consumed.








Flavors and Characters:

Red:
Cabernet Sauvignon- blackcurrant - fruity flavor
Gamay- does not keep well, light
Grenache- light and fruity, keeps well
Merlot- plum, damson, fruity
Nebbiolo- soft mellow prune
Syrah/Shiraz- heavy, raspberry, keeps well

White:
Chardonay- dry , keeps well, melon, pineapple
Chenin Blanc- medium to dry sweet, apple, keeps well
Gewurtz-Traminer- spicy, dry to slight sweet, does not keep well, tropical fruit like lychee
Muller-Thurgau- new varieties, flowery soft
Muscat- Dry from Alsace, sweet elsewhere, high in alcohol
Riesling- medium to dry, desert wine, keeps well, peach and apricot
Sauvignon Blanc- Dry , aromatic, gooseberry


Food selection:
There are many foods listed , but you will have to read the book for the full foods list. I am only lsiting a few.
Soups- Marsala, sherry, or Madeira
Pasta creamy- dry crisp wine
pasta meat- medium red
pizza- light to medium red, chianti
quiche- white alsace
fish- white fish , grilled or poached- light dry white, chardonnay
salmon- white burgandy
Red meat- medium- bodied red, californian zinfandel
lamb- light or medium bodied red, cabernet sauvignon
chicken- medium bodied dry white, rose or light red
turkey- spicy white, dry rose or light red

Storing your wine:

Ideally wine should be stored in a cellar with a northerly aspect free from vibrations, draughts, odours, and dampness. The temperature should be 55 f or 12.5 c. Wines should be stored on their sides so that the cork remains intact. This keeps it expanded and prevernts air form entering the wine. White and rose wines need to be stored in the coolest position, nearest the ground. Whatever you do, make sure your wines are out of the sunlight and away form heat sources , heat will rapidly damage the wine.

Serving your wine:

Glasses: Wine galsses should be stemmed. The bowl should havea narrow top and a wide braod base, to concentrate aromas. Glasses should be washed in plain hot water and dried with a clean cloth. A fresh glass should be used with each wine served.

Temperature allows the wine a chance to be is greatest.

Type- degrees in F- Hours of Refridgeration

Light sweet wines- 41-43 f- 4 hours +
sparkling-41-43f- 4+
light dry wines-48-50-2
sparkling red-50-54-1.5
medium-bodied whites-50-54-1.5
full sweet whites-46-50-2
light reds-50-54-1.5
full dry whites-54-57-1
medium reds-57-61-0
full-bodied red wines-59-64-0

Add salt and ice to a bucket to speed the chill of wines. Champange and sparling white  and rose wines need to be in a wine bucket containg ice and water to the bottles neck. Red wine is fine but if it is too chilled use a decanter that has been warmed by water.

Glasses should be filled at 2/3 of the way, and replenish when 2/3 empty. When pouring the wine rest the neck of the bottle over the glass and twist the bottle as it is taken away to prevent drips.
Decanting the wine is used to give the wine's sediment a rest at the bottom. It improves appearence and allows the wine to breathe. This should take about 2 days for the sediment to decanter. To see if the sediment is coming out of the bottle use a lit candle in behind the wine bottle's neck.


My favorite is a dry Champagne, but thats me.

In moderation, a glass or two of wine can help your heart, prevent cancer and more.

Resveratrol is the component in wine that works as a powerful antioxidant, and the one that scientists and medical professionals are currently studying. Unfortunately, you would need to get a very high dose of wine – practically gallons – to get a high enough dose of resveratrol. Sadly, drinking that much alcohol is harmful to your health, however, there are recent studies that say moderate wine consumption for women may be healthy for the heart. Women Wine Drinkers Have Fewer Kidney Stones. Moderate wine consumption cuts stroke risk. Moderate Alcohol Consumption Protects Against Atherosclerosis. Cohort Studies From Around the World Link Moderation to Longevity. As early as 1980, the Honolulu Heart Study reported that moderate alcohol consumption was associated with a 50% reduction in the rate of coronary heart disease.   
     



Benefits of wine to you
Wine-Companion-and-Record-Book  - do not buy this book used
thefreedictionary
The Wine Companion and Record Book-Four seasons publishing
thedinnertoast.com
ventanamonthly.com
scentedsalamander
anotherwineblog
ehow.com/sparkling-wine
shamimahossainathina.com
skinnychef.com


Random bookmark: zamzar

Monday, June 13, 2011

What's in a name?

What is a name?

A name is a word or term used for identification. Names can identify a class or category of things, or a single thing, either uniquely, or within a given context. A personal name identifies a specific unique and identifiable individual person, and may or may not include a middle name. The name of a specific entity is sometimes called a proper name (although that term has a philosophical meaning also) and is a proper noun. Other nouns are sometimes, more loosely, called names; an older term for them, now obsolete, is "general names".

The word "name" comes from Old English nama; akin to Old High German (OHG) and Sanskrit namo, Latin nomen, and Greek ὄνομα (onoma), possibly from the Proto-Indo-European language (PIE): *nomn

Given name or First name

A given name is a personal name that specifies and differentiates between members of a group of individuals, especially in a family, all of whose members usually share the same family name (surname). A given name is purposefully given, usually by a child's parents at or near birth, in contrast to an inherited one such as a family name. Given names are often used in a familiar and friendly manner in informal situations. In more formal situations the surname is used instead, unless it is necessary to distinguish between people with the same surname.

Surname or Last name

A surname is a name added to a given name and is part of a personal name. In many cases, a surname is a family name; the family-name meaning of "surname" first appeared in the west in 1375.Many dictionaries define "surname" as a synonym of "family name". In most Western countries, it is commonly called "last name", with the notable exception of Hungary, where, just like in Japan, Sri Lanka and in many other East Asian countries, the family name is placed before a person's given name






Names for names

Person-Anthroponym
Place-Toponym
Body of water- Hydronym
Ethnic group-Ethnonym
Item named after a person-Eponym
False name- pseudonym

There are many types of names , but I would like to talk about Human names for themselves.

So who was the first to have a name?



Well most people would answer Adam, it depends on who you ask now days. That would make Eve the first female name.Some say it is Gilgamesh from the epic of Gilgamesh, a giant from Mesopotamia. It is uncertain what the first name was most likely due to the fact that it was in oral traditions and not written. I believe it is Adam, so that's what I am going with today.


Why have a name?

People use names to call out someone specific. We have names to hold records of our deeds good and bad. Some people use it to show commitment to a person as in marriage. Religion plays a part in names quite a bit. To show ethnicity is another reason we have names, we like to show our heritage and places we are from and still live today.  We name our children to show our likeness through the child by giving them a name they can be proud of, but sometimes this is not the case. Many people change change their name they are given. It is also used to show gender from a distance, example people will assume Jennifer is a female on a resume. 

Is it illegal to have no name at all?

In the United States, going without a name is not inherently illegal. Police won't arrest you for not having a name. But you can't legally identify yourself without one, which would make things difficult for you. For instance, you need a legal name on a birth certificate or social security card to obtain a driver's license or passport, open a bank account and get a job.

This is not the same for children...

In the United States, no matter where a woman gives birth, she is legally obligated at some point to report it to the appropriate government entity, usually a department of health and human services or vital records. That entails filling out a first and last name for the child. How long the mother has to fill out that birth certificate varies by state. The law does not necessarily require them to complete that information at the time of birth. In fact, the parents of U.S. Olympic gold medalist skier Picabo Street didn't name her at all. She simply chose it herself when she was 3 years old, having been called Baby Girl until then. Although naming customs for babies differ across the world, all countries have some sort of vital records collection, whether centrally or locally controlled. In fact, Article 7 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of a Child states that all children have a "right from birth to a name" .



Can I name my kid whatever I want?

 New Zealand government revoked Pat and Sheena Watson's name selection for their son. The offender? 4Real. Like the United States, Australia does not allow the presence of numerals in legal names. German parents must follow stricter standards enforced by the local registration office, called the Standesamt. They must select a moniker that reflects the baby's sex and will not incite ridicule for the child. In Zambia, boys and girls are expected to change their names at puberty and may go through several names during their lives. I went to school with a girl who had to have an American last name even though she was Native American, her mother had to give her a surname. Thus Native Americans having very common last names or surnames that resemble a first name or very popular surname at the time. The number one surname for Native Americans today is Smith.

So does a Crazy name affect my child later on in life?

In spite of customs and regulations, research has shown that baby's names do not dramatically affect their success as adults. Instead, according to a study published in the book "Freakonomics," name choices reflect more on the parents than on the children . For example, in the U.S., Misty and Joey correlated to parents with lower education levels while Dov and Lucienne came from more educated groups. Likewise, a socially undesirable name does not foreshadow a lackluster future for the person.
Nevertheless, for the three babies reportedly named ESPN after the sports television

In reality many people are prejudice of names. Resumes will get thrown in the trash for having heavily ethnic names. It is really sad and is not fair, but it happens all the time. People will judge the type of person and decisions that person makes by their name.  Historically, individuals possessing a Hispanic sounding surname could subject them to different treatment and more recently, after 9/11, having a middle-eastern sounding name can raise an eyebrow.  But a recent study out of the University of Florida demonstrated that black students with certain exotic sounding names are often overlooked by gifted school programs because of their names. Whether this is an issue of racial prejudice or socio-economic class bias, the actual impacts of this cultural phenomenon as stated in the research are very real.  David Figlio went on to say, "Such boys and girls suffer in terms of the quality of attention and instruction they get in the classroom because teachers expect less from children with names that sound like they were given by parents with lower education levels, and these lower expectations become a self-fulfilling prophecy." Is it right , absolutely not, but it has been going on since Biblical times. For example, The prayer of Jabez states " that I may not cause pain" his name means pain and he was associated with it. Moses' name means plucked form the river, and later on in his life he parted a sea, not exactly prejudice for Moses but some people believe in a destiny shaped by a name. People judging you before they know you in life can certainly shape your life , as in a job you miss or someone you might have otherwise fell in love with one day. In the Book of Proverbs, 22:1, it states that “a good name is to be chosen rather than great riches.” What does this mean? Many biblical names have both literal and spiritual meanings, and for many parents, a biblical baby name is believed to bestow the spiritual gifts on a baby, for their entire life.

Can my name shape my destiny?  

Since ancient times, people have believed that your name can shape your destiny. But can it? And if so, can knowing the hidden power of a name help parents pick a “better” name for their baby?
Several distinct schools of thought hold strong beliefs about the significance, and power, behind your name. There is the “psychological” camp, the “religious/spiritual” camp, the “sound” camp, and the “mystical” camp. All four overlap in many ways, but there are real differences between them.
The psychological school, which has some interesting research to back up its claims, holds that your name subtly influences how people see you, and this affects how they treat you. In turn, this influences your self-image and self-esteem, starting as a small child. In its simplest form, a child with a “weird’ name, such as Elmer, may be continuously teased in school, and this will hurt Elmer’s self-image and future development. By contrast, “Alexander,” named after the great emperor, may be empowered by his name, because other people unconsciously respond to him with a certain level of respect.
 Robert Needlman, MD, has written an interesting discussion of this psychological approach. The research implies that boys with unusual first names tend to display more emotional disturbances than boys with more traditional names. But, as Dr. Needlman points out, it is important not to overstate the case. Are the boys in question more troubled because of their names, or because of the parental support structure which gave them strange names in the first place? Nonetheless, there are many instances where “desirable” names are shown to lead to greater success. A recent report from the School of Business at Arizona State University shows that the names of top CEOs in Phoenix come from a disproportionately small group of  names, implying that certain names are more likely to lead to greater success. The three most successful names in the study group were Robert, John, and Steve. The big question, of course, is why?

Is having a popular name bad?

First, the advantages of having a common name. In the Internet age, we can, for the first time, be "Googled." That is to say, that other people, including potential employers, can simply type your name into a search engine and potential he find information about us. Of course the information they find could be good, but it could be embarrassing to. For example, you really want a future employer to see the blog posts in which you discuss how much you hate working? Or what about the picture someone posts on Facebook that makes you look drunk? All of these risks are diminished if you have a common name. Just try searching online for a person named John Smith. Good luck finding the exact individual you are looking for. People with very common names are insulated from the risks of being found online. Basically, a common name makes you anonymous in today's tech world. That anonymity can be valuable. But of course it also has its downside. People with common names, while difficult to find, are also easily confused with others. It might be difficult for a potential employer to find you with a search engine. But it is possible for them to find someone else and think that it is you. That type of mistake would be okay if the person sharing your name or Nobel laureates, but not okay if he or she were a convicted felon. 

An author with a common name writes this:

A while back, when crossing an international border, I had a


bizarre experience due to my common name. I was trying to reenter the United States by car. At the border a federal agent swept my passport and then asked me to step out of my vehicle. He had me put my hands in the air, and when I turned around I saw that there were numerous security agents with guns pointed at me. After spending some time handcuffed in a cell, I learned that I had been confused with another person of the same name who robbed a bank recently. "It's a common name," they explained. Although the mistake was obviously rectified, all of this happened in front of my family, and was traumatic for us all.- Tapscott ( pen name)



 
Random Fact:

The use of personal names is not unique to humans.
Dolphins also use symbolic names, as has been shown by recent research. Individual dolphins have individual whistles, to which they will respond even when there is no other information to clarify which dolphin is being referred to at the moment.


name as destiny
common_name, tapscott
dolphin-body-language
/wiki/Name
/wiki/Given_name
http://www.techpin.com/
/wiki/Surname
/wiki/Gilgamesh
the-fall-of-man/
protect-your-identity
no-name
name prejudice
Native surnames
Book_of_Proverbs




So do you hate your name or love it?  Pro and cons?

Random bookmark:
one-loom-mitten knitting