Random Thoughts and Musings

My friend Tara R has a birthday coming up, and she asked all her blogger friends to participate in the celebration by posting their favorite family or party recipes. She asked that they be left in her comments, emailed, or blogged. Since I haven’t blogged much lately … and usually only about Baby S. anymore, I decided to take advantage of her request and make a blog post.

I have a huge family, with five “parents” (one deceased), each of whom have several siblings. All of my parents are from the same town, and grew up with one another. Each of my parents’ families have a lot of favorites, and I think I have blogged a couple of recipes in the past. Most of those recipes take hours to prepare though, because we do it the old-fashioned way: five-ten women in the kitchen, tripping over one another, putting together recipes that have been eaten at family gatherings for up to 60 years.

One of my favorite things that we always have is a variety of cheese in balls, spreads, logs, and sauces. We apparently have a fascination with cheese that none of us realizes! I’ll post a few of our delicious recipes.

First, i will freely admit that we cheat and use a myriad of sauces on top of cream cheese, and serve with crackers. This requires absolutely no creativity and time on our part, other than choosing a sauce that sounds good and pouring it on top of a softened “log” of cheese.
We prefer sweet-hot flavors: jalapeno jelly, sweet chili sauce, cranberry pepper jelly, or a variety of other fruit-and-pepper jellies, etc.

While the cheese log/spread is the easiest to prepare and get out on the table, we also like doing cheese balls. I’m not sure why we round them out prior to serving, but we have been doing it for years. Generally, the cheese balls tend to have meats or nuts in them, so they are more savory. Our favorite is the crab cheese ball, but I have also seen bacon cheese balls, shrimp cheese balls, and shredded-beef/chicken/pork cheese balls.

Each is served with a different kind of sauce. The crab is served with a horseradish and ketchup mix (I am not sure why we do not use cocktail sauce; we just do not!). The bacon cheese ball is served with sprinkling of Mrs. Dash Tomato Basil Garlic/Onion and Herb on top (and cheddar cheese is mixed in with the cream cheese prior to shaping the ball). The shrimp cheese ball is topped with either the horseradish/ketchup mix or cocktail sauce (again, I do not know why we can use cocktail sauce here but not on the crab cheese ball … we are just very picky about it darnit!). The shredded beef/chicken/pork cheese balls tend to have a BBQ sauce on them… which of course use chopped/blended habanero or jalepeno peppers instead of simple Tabasco.

Anyway. My favorite is the crab cheese ball. You can serve it in a ball, or flatten into a log, or shape it with cookie cutters … whatever you do, mix your own horseradish/ketchup sauce instead of using regular cocktail sauce. You’ll thank me later!

In reflection, I think the savory meat “balls” were what we originally had at family events, and when the cream cheese-and-jelly spreads came along, we left them in “logs” so that they were easily differentiated from one another. Maybe.

You would think with all these types of starters involving cheese that we would be just about cheese-d out for the day, right? Absolutely NOT! We also serve a broccoli-cheese dip (sometimes it includes ground beef, sometimes it includes sausage).

Now I want to throw a party!

Tags: recipes, blogging fun

A friend of mine, vryNRSN, posted an article today lamenting the use of email instead of interpersonal communication. This is a subject I have often seen written about, and one that I often wonder about myself. If I had to restrict myself to letter-writing and phone calls, would I be as happy with my “social” life, family life, and self? Jokingly/exaggeratedly,  or not, vryNRSN claims that “email has ruined my life!!”

In all seriousness, I can say email has **improved** my life.

Sometimes I become overwhelmed with trying to keep track of the people I am acquainted with online. Usually, though, I find the internet a blessing. I many friends in-world. And, no, I do not mean “acquaintances.” I do know the difference (for anyone who may be apt to point out their opinion on the matter).  Most of my friends are a result of the military life - first as a dependent, then as a service member. As such, my friends are widespread … some of them are in California, a few across the state from me (I live in FL), a couple in Arizona, a handful in Texas, more in Virginia, and yet another who lives and works as a civilian in Iraq.

I count the internet as a blessing when it comes to keeping in touch with my friends. These are not just people I touch base with once a year, or every few years. These are people who I would gladly lay down my life for, and vice versa. These are people who my life would be miserable without, regardless of the fact that we have not seen one another face to face in five years or more. Our constant interaction online - message boards, chat, email, and Skype-type calls - allows us to continue our responsibilities at home and escape to have “coffee” with one another at the same time.

Would my life be miserable without my internet friends? In some cases, yes. Some of the people I have met have touched my soul in ways that I would not have expected when I first started ICQing in 97/98 (I can’t remember which year it was). I have a knack of knowing, almost instantly, if I am going to love or dislike someone. I have forged friendships that have lasted for years. Sometimes, miscommunications, life and general crap cause those friendships to fail. Other times, they allow me to develop actual relationships in-world that better my life in no uncertain terms. I have had thousands of acquaintances who I enjoyed for a time, then let go as time passed.

Social websites allow me to socialize regularly in a time in my life when I cannot be *out* socializing as much as I’d like. I love social websites. They introduce me to people such as vryNRSN who make my brain spark, my mind whirl, and my laughter flow freely.

In the long run, I could do without the social websites. They take a lt of time to maintain, they take a lot of energy if you’re going to “succeed” in using them “properly.” I find that the friendships - the ones that will last more than a few months - move away from the social websites and into in-world communication anyway. I love that. I would miss meeting more people, but I have already met a LOT of wonderful people online.

IMing is a tool I no longer use to a great extent. My IM conversations are those that are not easy to have via phone/text or email, or too personal for public boards (or social websites).  Usually, though, these conversations could just wait a little longer and be held in another medium.

Email however … this I could not so easily abandon. I like the ease of communication with my friends who live in different timezones. I like that neither of us have to interrupt much-needed sleep or run up dreaded phone bills in order to talk. I love that the message is there, waiting to be read, over and over again.

I love that although my family is spread throughout 20 states and 8 countries, we can communicate easily through an email list (Gmail makes it especially easy to keep track of the appropriate threads of emails). I know my cousin is due any minute now, because she sent a quick email through her phone. I know my uncle may not make it through the night, because my Aunt sent an email from the laptop he requested be placed by his side so that he can type up his memoirs. I know my sister had a great day today with her students, my mother has been searching out a new purse, and my dad and his wife are taking a weekend trip down south. These are all things I learned within the last five minutes, some of which I would not likely have learned for days, weeks, or months if I had to rely on one-on-one telephone conversations or hand-written letters.

I especially love email because pictures can be attached, showing change, growth, or interesting happenings. I can share my life via email in ways that I cannot share over the phone. “A picture is worth 1000 words,” … and sometimes, I let a photograph be just that - my narration of a moment too wonderful not to share.

In answer to my own question: No, I could not - and would not - easily give up the ‘net.

Today, Baby S went to clinic to check her levels, and they had more than QUADRUPLED!! What an amazing feat for the lil one, who is now receiving her first dose of the second round of chemotherapy at the hospital. She will be in hospital overnight, home tomorrow or Wednesday.

Thursday, she is being driven by C & B (Mom & Dad) to Gainesville (6-7 hours) away to be observed and tested for her surgery. We’re done with the hospital here. As much faith as we have in them for *some* things, this surgery is not one of them. TWICE they told us they should have removed the mass on her liver while they were in surgery with her for other things. TWICE they failed to do so, and only told us they thought about it AFTER she was closed back up and in recovery. Obviously, they do not believe in their own ability to handle this, so we’re no longer confident that she can be treated here.

So anyway. Today, chemotherapy (started just a little while ago, will be ongoing for four hours, then she will have four hours of hydration). Tomorrow, recovery. We are of course praying for a strong recovery, because she needs to be able to make this appointment on Thursday. If she doesn’t, we have to put off the surgery yet ANOTHER week (this putting it off crap is getting on our last damn nerve).

Thank you to everyone who has inquired about Baby S. Thank you to everyone praying, hoping, wishing her well. B & C are grateful for your support. I am grateful for your support. Lil Baby S will know she had people the world over praying for her, wishing her well, and sending her positive vibes. We’ll make sure of it!!

I am sorry I have not blogged anything sooner. We did not know anything, and I know all of you must be just as tired of the hypothetical situations as we are … I **will** update as we know more real-time information though. I hope that the next few days will bring us more GOOD news.

Right now, we are thankful for the answered prayers we have received. The daily shots last week worked … her good levels were up … bad levels were down … and Baby S was strong enough to go into hospital for chemo today. WOOT!

This morning, I received word that Baby S is being discharged from the hospital … without her chemotherapy treatment. This is *not* good news folks. Her counts are far too low for them to risk putting her through another round.

Instead, she is being sent home for a week, and will have to receive a shot every day that will *hopefully* help build her immune system. She’ll be checked back into the hospital next week, and hopefully her counts (white blood cell, and some others I’m not sure of) will be high enough that she can endure another round of chemo.

As I explained before, this means that we’re putting off her surgery for at least one more week too. Every day that goes by without her surgery is another day that the cancer could metastasize (spread to another part of her body & latch on). We are encouraged that the initial three week round of chemotherapy did shrink the tumor slightly - that means that the chemo is working. We are very frustrated, however, at all the setbacks poor Baby S has endured.

So please, keep her in your hearts and minds, and help us help her get stronger.

xo

Baby S is neutropenia so she was not able to start her four-hour chemo session today. This, of course, puts her behind schedule. She’s supposed to get her treatment the same day every week, so they were saying they were going to put it off a full week.  However, they are going to keep her overnight tonight, with lots of fluids, and see if that helps. If so, they’ll allow her to have her chemo treatment tomorrow … which means an extra night in the hospital (because the treatment is 4 hours, then she has to have 20 hours of rehydration).

If she isn’t up on her counts tomorrow, they are going to put it off for a whole week and see if that gives her system enough time to build itself back up.

The first scenario is the best, all around. Each week we push back her chemo, we’re also pushing back her surgery. The chemo BEFORE the surgery is only SHRINKING the tumor, not killing it entirely. So, if she has to wait an extra week (or two … or three), the tumor (and, therefore, the cancer) are STILL in her body, and STILL have the chance to metastasize (spread).

Please continue to keep her in your thoughts and prayers. We truly appreciate all of the emotional support we have received thus far- ya’ll are absolutely amazing!

xo

A friend of mine said that he hasn’t been able to find a good vegan recipe for oatmeal raisin cookies.

This only takes about 12 minutes to prepare, and when my friend made this recipe for me, I liked the cookies. Now, I don’t know if she tweaks the recipe at all … so I hope this works. Try it, and lemme know?

Ingredients:
1/2-tsp baking soda
1/2-tsp salt
1/2-tsp cloves
1/2-tsp nutmeg
1-tsp vanilla
1-tsp-cinnamon
1/2-cup soymilk
1/2-cup sugar
3/4-cup vegan margarine
1-cup packed brown sugar
1-cup flour
1-cup raisins
3-cups rolled or fast-cooking oatmeal

1-cup chopped nuts (optional)

- Pour the sugar, brown sugar, vegan margarine, and vanilla into a bowl and beat until they are smooth and fluffy.
- Pour in the soy milk, mix until ingredients are combined.
- Add the flour, baking soda, salt, and spices: stir until mixed well.
- Add the remaining ingredients. Batter will be very thick.
- Drop balls of dough onto the cookie sheet, flatten slightly. Bake 12-15 minutes (keep an eye on them - this **really** depends on your oven!). Cookies will still be slightly soft and chewy.

Woot! Enjoy