Memorial Day Remembrance

"A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself." -Joseph Campbell

Photo:  http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net

Blog Hops

Most of the time I have so many tabs open in my browser that I figure my computer is going to blow up (one time Mr. P.S. counted 30).  I can't help it though.  So many blogs, so little time.  My goal is to keep only the amount of tabs open that I can actually see on the screen.  Well, so much for that........

Aww, come on!  YOU can have a ton of tabs open too.  Can you beat 30?

Pork Loin a New Way

-Want a super tender pork loin? Want to turn your oven up as high as it will go? Yea? Yea! Do it, do it!! Live on the edge! (Can you tell how exciting my life is?) I tried it, I liked it, I'm stickin' with it.

This nifty cooking method isn't anything I'm going to take credit for. I simply found it on-line. Here's what I'll call your Cook-It-Hot Pork Tenderloin link: http://www.recipezaar.com/recipe/Perfect-Pork-Tenderloin-63828

I'll note a couple of things in addition to what the recipe offers.  Really get your oven up to 550 if you can. You might even want to cut the loin in half or thirds if it's really big and thick. I also feel most comfortable with the internal temperature at that 170 degree mark. I have made larger cuts of meat like this and at the end, just cooked them at 350 to push the temperature back up, making sure it's safe to eat.

I can't find a small enough roasting tray that will fit in most of my cookware, so I simply roll up some tinfoil and place it on the bottom.  That way the meat doesn't sit in the fat that drips down.

Peel away or cut off as much of the fat as possible and then rub with seasonings. I used sea salt, rosemary, thyme and onion powder this time.

Tender! Will this be your new way of cooking tenderloin too?

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Linked up:

Home and Family Friday @ Home Is Where My Story Begins

Tickled Pink Fridays @ 504 Main
Anti-Procrastination Tuesdays @ New Nostalgia

What Did You Do? Wednesdays - Single Parenting

I don't know how single parents do it. Every single little thing is their responsibility. Every single thing! My husband's been traveling a lot lately, and it's always such a relief when he arrives safely back home, especially when he's been to other countries.

Motherhood is exhausting all on its own, isn't it? But to handle it all as a single parent? The word responsible is almost an understatement at that point. I could go on and on about how every household duty both inside and out are up to that one adult, how every meal, every illness, every care-giving detail (especially when the kids are young) is up to that one parent in charge. But I am tired and I need sleep because today's another single-parent day. How thankful I am that I don't have to do this all the time.

Kudos to all the single parents out there. I can only hope you have a great support system. I know you both need and deserve one.

What Did You Do? Wednesdays - Keep Up The Fight

I have been struggling with some health problems for quite a long time. Doctors upon doctors, specialists upon specialist have shuffled me off to one another, none of them ever getting to the root of it. I have literally spent years and years of my life researching, trying to find any answers that would lead me to the right person for the proper help.

I'd feel hopeless at times, but my mom would remind me, "There's an answer out there, we just have to find it." So I kept fighting.

Today I had appointments with a specialist and a doctor/surgeon who uttered these words. "We can help you. You're in the right place." I wept with relief, gratitude and hope that their responses will serve true.

What's your fight? We all have one. It may not be health related, but there's something you'd fight for.....a cause, a person, a better life.

May we all be victorious in the end.

Elizabethan Collar Scarf - Tutorial

Old things freak me out.  Honestly, it's a true phobia of mine.  The smell of antiques just about puts me over the edge.  The creepiness of vintage clothes and shoes makes me shiver.  Freaky, old furniture sends me running in the opposite direction.  Show me a porcelain-headed doll with teeth and I'm done.  There is nothing in my present life that would make this phobia seem logical, so maybe in a past life I was tormented in some manner.  Who knows.  But as for my future lives, I'm hopeful to become a variety of things, but that's for another post.  One day when it's slow on the blog-o-sphere, I'll hit you with my dreams of things in the afterlife.  (I'm kidding here, folks....but it's a fun thought nonetheless.)

Anyway, I wanted to make my mom a scarf and it surprised me to see the Elizabethan nature of it when I finished.  But I thought it was cool anyway.

It won't even need much explanation, you can whip one up in no time.

I used gauze fabric and didn't even hem the edges. I simply cut them with a pinking shears.

I doubled the fabric so that there 2 layers. My width was about 7" and my final length was about 50". Since you'll be making gathers, remember to double whatever you want your final length to be. In my case, about 3 yards.

Here are the actual directions:

1)  Wash and dry fabric.

2)  To keep my lines straight, first I cut the fabric on my cutting board with a rotary ruler and then just trimmed the edges with a pinking shears.

3)  Pin your 2 layers of fabric wrong-sides together so they don't slip while you're running the long stitches down the middle.  (Honestly, I didn't use one long strip.  I cut 4 strips, sewing 2 together, and then 2 more together and used these for my 2 layers of fabric.  That way you don't have to buy as much.  Just make sure your right sides and wrong sides match up correctly.)

4)  Hand-wind elastic thread in your bobbin.

5)  Decide where you want your gathering to be.  From my 7" width, I chose to gather in three places.  One in the middle at 3.5", the others 1.25" on either side of that point (therefore, 2.25" and 4.75").

6)  Sew straight lines ALL THE WAY down the strip of fabric.  Using elastic thread in your bobbin, allows it gather on its own.  Remember to back stitch.

Up close and personal.  Can you see the 3 places where I stitched?

See? Not even creepy.
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Linked up to these rockin' parties:

Show and Tell @ Blue Cricket Designs
Whatever Goes Wednesday @ Someday Crafts
Get Your Craft On @ Life As Lori
Strut Your Stuff Thursday @ Somewhat Simple
Wednesday Link Party @ Tea Rose Home

The Food Revolution

There is something listed on my daughter's school lunch menu by the name of "PhysEdibles". It's supposed to be a food. I can't really think of the last time I might have planted PhysEdibles in a garden, or grabbed a bag/bunch from my grocery store's produce section. Well, after further research, I have learned that they are a Goldfish animal cracker.....a dessert with partially hydrogenated vegetable shortening.

I am not anti-cracker, anti-treat or anti-sugar. But I do believe in real food....food made with real ingredients, not overly processed junk. I believe in cooking and baking from scratch (it doesn't have to be a time consuming, boring or grueling undertaking), and I certainly believe that our schools should be offering kids food with ingredients we can pronounce. I want to know that their broccoli rice dish is not coated in colored food dye and cheese made from chemicals. I don't want to see that breakfast menus for the kids who need to eat at school in the morning consist of french toast sticks (partially hydrogenated vegetable shortening) and a peach cup (canned in sugar syrup).

So much of the food in these lunches contains partially hydrogenated vegetable shortening. Packaging labels have jumped on the bandwagon, boasting No Trans Fats. I want you to realize that if there is a partially hydrogenated ingredient, it most certainly does have trans fats. It's just their way around it.

(From www.bantransfat.com)

Under FDA regulations in effect in the United States, "if the serving contains less than 0.5 gram [of trans fat], the content, when declared, shall be expressed as zero." Suppose a product contains 0.4 grams per serving and you eat four servings (which is not uncommon). You have just consumed 1.6 grams of trans fat, despite the fact that the package claims that the product contains zero grams of trans fat per serving.

If our kids eat these products at home, if they eat these PhysEdibles, mini cinnamon rolls, bunny cake and cookie dough at the school-served meals we are doing these generations a true disservice but robbing them of the nutrients of whole foods, of food grown from the earth.

I have been a fan of Jamie Oliver since he arrived on the scene many years ago, and I am so very grateful that he has taken it upon himself to better our country's school food quality.  I understand budgets are tight and convenience has become a way of life, but food is key to survival and most certainly key to our health, both mentally and physically.

Signing Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution petition will assist your local schools make a healthy change.  It will help our own districts make these necessary changes to get rid of the processed meals and snacks and implement cooking fresh, whole foods. Fuel your childrens' bodies with what will assist them to grow a healthy future for generations to come.

Because your kids are worth it, and because you're worth it, please take just 30 seconds and sign Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution petition by clicking this link.