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The Written Word-Some articles I have written recently-enjoy!
A day in the life of a Pet At dawns early light, the all too familiar wake up call beckons.
Currently in my house it is a nice paw to the cheek from one of the three kitties which have claimed ownership of my home
(if only I could get them to pay rent). At first it is a gentle tap and if I am too tired or in the throes of a really cool
dream and don’t respond, it becomes a bit more aggressive. Now if the sandman has really left me in a stupor, it quickly
becomes a biting claw mark to the aforementioned cheek. Now I must get up and pay attention to the boss at hand. First it is the immediate trip (usually it is still dark
so please take the word trip literally) to the laundry room where the center of all the kittens attention sits...a large bin
of their favorite cat food. I swear when I open it there is a certain sound that comes from the cats...think like Moses parting
the Red sea and all of the wonder it would cause. A certain harp may even be heard in the distance. Once all are fed and bellies
are full I try to make it back to snoozeville for a bit but all three of these cats enter my room in Krameresque style (remember
Kramer from NBC’s Seinfeld). The door is thrown open and it is a race to the bed, now remember they love to fight for
first place which is where all the petting takes place. One head nudges my hand and another is angrily pushing its way to
the special place in my arms. The third one ends up generally hissing at the other two and who knew cats could growl??? Now
I am into cuddling with said cats and soon they will tire of it and be on their way. Figures now that I am actually enjoying
the little fluffy feet warmers. Alas, this is how cats have been aptly given the reputation as snobs. It is all on their terms.
I know the next time they come around for some attention it is only to secure that the big plastic bin in the laundry room
makes another appearance, the bin opens as the Red Sea parts and that angelic sound yet again erupts! Woohoo it’s dinner
time! Still I attempt to give these fluffy little
friends my love and in return they keep my feet warm ...that is when the urge to do so strikes...which is all on their terms.
What’s for Dinner It’s a Wednesday evening, you’re just
done with a full day of work, shuttling kids around perhaps, and you walk in the door and the first question asked of you
is not how was your day? Or what did you do today? Or here sit down and let me get you a glass of wine...no it is "what’s
for dinner???" My first reaction is to shout, RESERVATIONS! (My favorite meal) But realistically I have to admit, this
option is not feasible every night in this economy or with my wallet. So I have managed to come up with a few hearty,
healthy, yet tasty alternatives that won’t leave me in the kitchen until the following morning. They won’t get
me on the cooking reality shows either but they are enjoyed by my family and keep them chewing long enough so I can enjoy
a few minutes of peace at the end of the day. I have always loved cooking, in all honesty, and I love to try new things but
during the seasons where the kids are involved with soccer, end of year school activities, and our yard has suddenly taken
on the look of a jungle, there is no such time for my favorite culinary pursuits so I tend to tone it down. The grill becomes
a dear and close friend in these times. I have also become quick friends with the casserole. Don’t scoff until you have
tried a few. Below is a new favorite I found online. CABBAGE HAMBURG CASSEROLE
Read more
about it at www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,198,153190-234199,00.html
Content Copyright © 2011 Cooks.com - All rights reserved.
1/2 lb. cabbage
1 lb. hamburg
1/2 c. minute rice
1 onion
2 cans tomato soup
McCormick season all salt
Pepper Chop up cabbage 1/2 inch wide strips, put in greased
casserole dish. Mix tomato and 1 can water. Add rice and season, salt and pepper. Pour HALF on top of cabbage. Fry hamburg
and onion - drain. Add a little of grease to the remaining sauce. Put hamburg-onion on top of cabbage - pour remaining sauce
on top. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour until tender. I like to call it Lazy Mom’s
Golubki or Stuffed Cabbage if you don’t know Polish. It is a tasty meal and won’t break the bank or use up all
your time. It is similar to my moms true Golubki, the best recipe ever by the way. I lift my glass in a toast
to mom for instilling in me a love of cooking and a toast to my hubby for building me the kitchen of my dreams to come up
with my lazy versions of my moms best recipes. So this spring, in pursuit of a quick tasty meal, don’t be afraid to
try a casserole, though you may eventually become known as a (shhh don’t say it too loud) a budget minded, apron wearing,
soccer mom. Happy Dining! By Debra Aulisio Mahar
Getting your home ready for spring - a homeowners
survival guide
Spring...yes it seems to have finally sprung. Now it
is time to get down to the nitty gritty and get our homes in tip top shape for a summer of relaxation, family picnics, celebrations,
and backyard fun. Where to begin? That is the question that just eludes so many of us. It seems that from the inside out works
best especially if you like being outdoors in the nice warm weather and not stuck indoors washing windows, cleaning out closets,
and giving everything a fresh scrubbing. It would be beneficial to start with those windows so you can actually see the outdoors.
Then to just give everything indoors a fresh cleaning, open those windows and doors and let that fresh air in. Put those screens
in first but make sure you give them a good dusting with a scrub brush to get out all that dust from their hibernation all
winter. It is also helpful to get the family involved on these occasions as the more hands the faster the work. This may be
a great time to have all those window treatments dusted, washed and/or vacuumed so when those summer breezes come in they
will smell that much better! Make sure you clean up all the flooring in your home at this point too as washed floors always
mean a animal or small child is bound to visit you with very muddy paws and shoes at some point very soon. Please remember
the moral to this story is that a lived in house is a home and visitors will feel good and welcome when they see that your
house is in fact a bit messier than theirs. Look at it like this...if you do this you will have made someone feel so much
better about themselves thus making you all the more appealing to them. Okay are you ready for the great outdoors? Experience says we should rake the yard, sweep the
walks, and the driveway, and clean off the stoop or porch so that you can see the wood again. Oh, and it is also said we should
bleach the patio furniture, paint any that may be really suffering from serious weathering, and we should be cleaning up our
gardens as well. Doesn’t this all sound so fun? If this doesn’t appeal to you, do what the rich and famous do,
hire someone, sit in the hammock with a glass of sweet tea, and do what it is you do best...catch some zzzz’s. Happy Spring!
A Hero- One of Many This is a story about one I knew personally
By Debra Aulisio Mahar This Veteran’s Day I would like to take the time to honor a hero I knew as a child. Though
I knew Dan the child more than Dan the grown soldier, as he left us at 18 for the greater good , I knew
he would grow up to do amazing things. This Special Forces Army Sergeant 1st Class Daniel H. Petithory
had heard the call of duty as a young child. Not often would you see him in any outfit other than cammoflouge unless
of course he was masquerading as a ninja. He and his paintball war buddies would spend hours in the woods
near his home in Cheshire, MA. If you looked hard enough you might be able to spot him amongst the trees…though
he was stealth.After the September 11th attacks, Dan was called
to action with his fellow Green Berets in the Operational Detachment Alpha (ODA) 574. These 11 men were the first American
team to infiltrate into Southern Afghanistan. Not much was known of their story until another brave soul
author Eric Blehm took it upon himself to discover the truths of what these 11 men accomplished while we were home in our
comfy houses looking forward to Thanksgiving, Christmas, and all the joys that accompany these holidays. Granted
we were all a bit tender having watched our country suffer through the worst attack on American soil but in truth we were
already taking for granted our daily lives again. Dan and his team were
undertaking a mission to force the Taliban to surrender. Their only ally at the time was a little known man named Hamid Karzai.
Imagine our hometown soldier was walking with a future leader. Years later as Blehm took on the formidable
task of uncovering the truth he was able to sit with Karzai who remembered every detail of the days before and after December
5, 2001when an errant bomb killed Dan and two others from the ODA. He sat somberly with Blehm and recounted
the details of the months he spent with the 11 as though he were still sitting with them in the hills of the barren lands
of Southern Afghanistan. Picture the daily rituals as a soldier with only
what you can carry, no comforts, not even a proper bathroom to use. Picture waking every day only to wonder if indeed this
will be your last day. In truth this could be the story of many soldiers from WW I or WW II, Korea, Vietnam,
etc. it has a common theme of bravery. But this one was one that hit home here on our little piece of the planet. So please
on this Veterans Day try to remember all that was sacrificed so we can have our comforts. In honor of my friend who I will
always remember as a tall, lanky, handsome boy but who died as a graying at the temples , brave and courageous war hero, I
will never take for granted another day. To read more about the Special Forces ODA Team read “The Only Thing Worth Dying For” by Eric
Blehm
Back to School Shopping Let the fun begin! Yes most parents are more than ready for their bored kids to head back to school
by the end of summer and as the commercial sings "It’s the most wonderful time of the year!" With that said,
it is the time of year that I most dread. Not only do I miss spending the warm, lazy, days of summer with my kids but it truly
is the beginning of the spending season. Next come the holidays, I barely and rarely have the fun of watching the money roll
in but watching it roll out usually gives me a serious case of whiplash! To start with, the school districts are struggling
in this economy so students get mailings with a huge laundry list of things to buy before they can even step foot in school.
2 boxes of tissues, #2 pencils, crayons, markers, rulers, index cards (ring bound only), notebooks, and color coded folders,
are just a few items from the list. Does this look familiar? So the annual trip to Staples, The Dollar Stores, and big box
stores becomes and annual event where I just hemorrhage cash on these items and of course the kids see all the new and fancy
lunch boxes, back packs, buttons, clips, and key chains to decorate said backpacks and my wallet gets thinner and easier to
carry with every step I take. Now that we have spent over $300.00 (I only have 2 kids, I swear) on "supplies"
the real fun begins. Clothes shopping! Every year I beg my kids to hold out for a month or two when the "in style clothes"
go on sale but somehow I still get suckered into spending a bit too much on the latest jeans, graphic T’s, and cool
sparkly sneakers....what would my children do if their shoes didn’t sparkle or glow in the dark? I am not so old that
I don’t realize that it is important to try to fit in but I am glad my kids defy this unspoken rule a little bit and
actually recycle their old clothes , and look for cool ways to start their own trends. This is my proudest moment as a mom,
the fact that my kids don’t mind if they have to go to school with 2 different colored socks because the laundry never
got done and they think it’s cool. They don’t care what the other kids think and I save money! That is a win,
win ....they don’t submit to peer pressure and I can keep a buck or two for a much needed coffee! All in all the
merchandisers get a lot of my money, my kids end up with a couple of shopping bags not quite filled, and I prepare for the
onslaught that is the holiday season by opening my wallet and just letting the cashiers grab what they need. It’s
the most wonderful time of the year! By Debra Aulisio Mahar
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