Monthly Archives: July 2010

I miss my sister’s manic phases – and mine

My dad and younger brother were bipolar and I’ve had several friends who were, diagnosed and undiagnosed. My good friend Domino was diagnosed 4 years ago, something I suspected long before she did.  I’ve known her for 30 years, and know her family as well.  Her mom was diagnosed years before.  Like I wrote in Is Bipolar The Root Of Genius? , I find myself missing her manic upswings, her wild ideas, her inspirations and musings.  Her hare-brained schemes.  But while they may have been simply grandiose babblings from a clinically manic state, to my ear they sounded like messages of inspiration.  They sparked ideas which often evolved into projects that earned both of us income.  When I look back, after Domino was first diagnosed as bi-polar several years ago, and think of all the ideas for projects that never materialized, I still can’t see that as being grandiose – one man’s absurd exaggeration is another mans’ actual life.  During the same time frame, I think of all the ideas for projects I have left undone.  It’s about the same, so you can’t blame it on bi-polar.  Part of the fun we have together is chatting about what might be possible to achieve between the two of us.  I don’t think of that as grandiose, I think of it as enthused pre-paving.  So when she’s quiet and mellow, we don’t do that.  I miss it in her and I miss the reaction it brings out in me. So I’ll just have to bring it out of myself and get with friends that bring it out of me.
Will you be my friend?
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Crispy, Crunchy Low Fat Oven Fried Eggplant

It had been a few days since I had hummus or eggplant and I was jonesing, so last night’s dinner was oven fried eggplant wrapped in a pita with hummus, tahina sauce and mediterranean pickles.  Into the toaster oven for 10 minutes wrapped loosely in foil. Add lettuce and tomato before eating.  I had to make this blog post so I could find the recipe again.

Usually I saute the eggplant but I wanted to oven-fry it this time to give it a crispy crust.
1. Preheat a 425 degree oven
2. Cut eggplant into 1/2″ rounds
3. Dip in Eggbeaters
4. Coat with seasoned panko or Italian breadcrumbs
5. 15 minutes in a metal pan (sprayed with olive oil Pam) on a lower rack in the oven.
6. Then spray the tops with more Pam, turn and let brown another 10-15 minutes. I’m a 25 minute gal.

This was really good, it was the first time I’d done eggplant that way. It put like a fried chicken kinda crust on it, and the eggplant doesn’t get mooshy. This would also make a good sandwich on a sub roll with sauteed bell peppers and onions.  The eggplant takes on a meaty-ish texture when done like this.  If you don’t care about low fat, brush the eggplant rounds with olive oil as they bake.

I’ve also added 1 tsp each crushed coriander seeds and fennel seeds to the panko/breadcrumbs and it is delicious.  Buy the mediterranean pickles .

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I watch Obama on The View yesterday, my spidey sense likes him

On Facebook yesterday, I wrote “I enjoyed seeing Obama on The View. I like him and I am hopeful.”  One friend wrote: “Not me,” and another responded “You didn’t see him or you are choosing to not be hopeful?”  I don’t typically watch The View, but I was at someone’s office and they had the tv on in the lobby.  I know there are those who think Obama isn’t doing enough, or that it’s just more of the same, but if they are not hopeful, I kinda don’t care what they say. So far, in my experience, I like what he’s doing and believe he’s fulfilling a higher purpose and I’ve seen zero evidence to the contrary.  Obama is funneling hope into people who have not been hopeful for many years.  When you fill people with hope, their perception of what the possibilities are expands, and that is what attracts a more successful result.  A segment of the population that has hopeful expectation that things can turn around, can balance out the pessimistic mindset of the rest of the population.  As Abraham-Hicks says, It only takes a few with focused, conscious thought, belief and expectation to over-ride the unfocused critical thought of the masses.  I choose to be one of the ones who hopes for the best, prepares for the worst, and encourages my fellow man along the way.  I choose to be one of the ones who celebrates the good in every moment, and who continually looks for evidence of more of the same.  I don’t care what others think and say. I know what I want to find at the end of the rainbow and, unless I let my attention be turned to criticism, I’m headed for a pot of gold.  We all are.  So, which is it for you?  Do you choose to be hopeful and expect the best?

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How to heat up Smoked “Fully Cooked” Turkey Drumsticks

Ever buy a smoked turkey leg at the deli and you could only eat 1/3 of it because it was so tough?  I love the prepackaged smoked turkey drumsticks I buy at WalMart and I found how to cook them fall-off-the-bone-tender. First I Googled how to heat the Eddy’s smoked turkey drumsticks and got a lot of wrong answers.  Most said simply heat them up in the oven or microwave — that leaves them very, very tough.  I experimented to find how to heat them so they are tender. I found the juiciest way to cook them so they fall right off the bone. This applies also for the Frick’s Smoked Turkey Drums and Alexander & Hornung Smoked Turkey Legs.

Here is the oven method I used for years, but I now prefer cooking them on the stove — see directions below for both methods.   Yes, they are technically already cooked as is but they need to be rehydrated. Continue reading

Abraham-Hicks on Psychics and Astrology

A guest was finishing with a question: Guest:  I will give you some examples. One would be the whole idea of going to psychics for readings. The whole idea then of us having psychic ability and trying to develop that ourselves in order to give psychic readings. The idea of Astrology and the value of that?

Abraham-Hicks: Most importantly is your own connection to your own Inner Being, because that sort of guidance comes forth moment by moment. In other words there is just nothing that is more important than that.  The value of a psychic is the same sort of value as you Inner Being in a dream state.  In other words a psychic can tap into YOUR energy and know sort of where you are going. Continue reading

MTV’s If You Really Knew Me – Can You Take The Challenge?

I love You ASL hand sign

I love You ASL hand sign

I previously wrote about this show at Heart Breaths, Encounter Groups and MTV’s If You Really Knew Me.  Each episode of If You Really Knew Me takes place at a different high school, and follows several students from different cliques as they go through the life-changing experience of Challenge Day, a one-day program that breaks down emotional walls and completely changes the way students view their school and each other.  Challenge Day addresses common issues seen at most schools including cliques, gossip, rumors, negative judgments, teasing, harassment, isolation, stereotypes, intolerance, racism, sexism, bullying, violence, homophobia, hopelessness, apathy, and hidden pressures to create an image, achieve or live up to the expectations of others. Continue reading

I connect owner with missing dog

I had an interesting thing happen yesterday.  I was backing my car out of the driveway just as another car was driving down the street.  We get very few cars and I know most of them, but this was a white sedan I’d not seen before.  I didn’t think much of it.  They passed and I backed out of my driveway and closed the garage door.  Then I saw a little dog sitting behind the tire of a truck parked at the side of the road.  I didn’t know the truck, but I immediately knew this dog belonged to the people in the white car and they were looking for him.  I didn’t see which way they went but they couldn’t have gotten far.  I quickly drove around a few blocks but did not see them.  Then I saw a house with a silver sedan in the driveway.  I knew it was theirs.  My mind reasoned with me that the car I saw pass was white.  Then I reasoned maybe that was a ploy to get me to this house and the white car was not otherwise involved. I didn’t want to park behind the silver car and was looking for a spot to park on the road when the white car pulled into the driveway right in front of me.  Problem solved!  I asked if they were looking for a dog, they were, they followed me the few blocks home and their dog was still sitting behind the truck tire.  I love when that happens.

Sometimes the Spidey Sense Works and Sometimes it Doesn’t

A Realistic Personal Ad

personal adSWM in dead-end job seeks dumpy neurotic for mutual psychological torture, tepid sex, and co-dependency.  I enjoy drinking, smoking, pornography, and self-righteous indignation. I can’t stand movies, and the last album I bought was The Marshall Tucker Band’s Greatest Hits.  I have middling intelligence but try to appear smarter by  affecting a world-weary air, memorizing useless facts, and  chuckling at my own mean-spirited, agenda-driven jokes.  I’m 32 but look 40 and feel 60. You are: a whiny, bitter shrew with a misplaced sense of entitlement and unrealistic expectations.  In time you will become coolly hostile when I don’t fulfill every unmet need you’ve ever had.  Bonus points if you just finished boinking every guy in town and but now want to take it slow with me. My perfect night would include getting hammered in a sh*t-hole bar while you flirt with seedy old drunks, followed by an embarrassing screaming match.  I would be open to an unsatisfying fling that leaves me filled with regret and dread but prefer a long-term, soul crushing descent into booze and pills.  No friendships. I don’t need any damn friends. Age unimportant, but I will condescend to women under 30 and rehash mother issues with women over 40.  Serious replies only, please.

Online dating: E-Harmony vs. Match.com — Beware of the Scammers
A Fly On The Wall Of A Dating Site Hook-Up with a Scammer
Online dating scams; hot singles are waiting for you

RELATED:  I found my old Match.com profile

Flirters: A heads up, not everyone likes to be called Cute

Cute

Cute

I have a male friend whose looks are a cross between James Woods and Tommy Lee Jones.  Rugged, weathered. He intensely dislikes being called adorable or cute.  To him, those words are reserved for something that looks very young or beautiful.  To me, those words also describe personality characteristics and behaviors.  So when he acts particularly adorable, I have to be on guard not to tell him so.  He doesn’t take it with the meaning I said it.  I also have girlfriends who are beautiful looking, who intensely dislike being called cute.  Continue reading

Mary Knows Best, Psychic medium Mary Occhino

Today I watched a segment of Mary Knows Best on Syfy Brighthouse channel 69, a show about psychic medium Mary Occhino.   You can watch full episodes here.  Mary seems like the average, gregarious Long Island mom, she’s attractive, well spoken, no nonsense.  She likes to shop and give on the spot crossover readings to store owners and shoppers, and she seems to be good at it.  Mary is also host of her own call-in radio show “Angels on Call” on Sirius/XM’s Stars 102, which airs Monday-Friday from 7 a.m.-10 a.m. EST.  Mary Knows Best airs Thursdays on Syfy at 9 p.m. Eastern. Continue reading