In an attempt to be healthy, drop some poundage, and get in summer shape, we've been cooking more fish lately. It's just barely getting warm enough to grill outside, so we cook indoors. Well, the reality check here is that Scott is also petrified of grilling fish. It sticks, it burns, it cooks fast, it falls apart. Let's face it. Fish is tricky.
And it smells.
We cooked cod last night, "fresh" from the meat counter. I get it. We live in Utah. No fish, other than trout or catfish, is probably truly "fresh." But you make do. The fish I got was not cheap. Purportedly not frozen. I smelled it, rinsed it, rinsed it again, smelled it again, and then I cooked it. In a pan. In. Side. My. House. Damn fool!
IT SMELLS!!!
It tasted great. But...The stench has lingered all night. After dishes were done. After garbage was out. After Lysol was sprayed and candles burned. After windows were opened and fans were set to high. It has kept me up all night. I will smell like fish tomorrow, I am sure of it. We may smell like fish forever.
So I finally turned to Google to help find some miracle cure for my stinky fish house. Tah-dah! Thanks, Chowhound.
I currently have a saucepan of cloves, oranges, lemon juice and cinnamon on the stove. And there's a bowl of white vinegar on the counter. If that doesn't work, I'm making cookies tomorrow, buying Oust, and getting a clothespin for my nose.
Friday, March 15, 2013
Thursday, March 14, 2013
26 acts of kindness
Like everyone, I was devastated by the Newtown shooting in December. So shocking and unimaginable and horrific. As a parent, my layers of catastrophic thinking went into overdrive. I couldn't walk into the mall without suspiciously checking out everyone in a hoodie or with an oversized coat or a big bag in hand. That kept me very busy given that it was Christmas. In the winter. At the mall.
At any rate, I happened to see this article about 26 Acts of Kindness where people are doing 26 randomly nice things for strangers in honor of those people who died so tragically at Newtown. I love that. Love, love, love. So for the next month or so I did what I hope are kind and generous things for strangers...leaving an extra large tip, paying for someone's dinner at a restaurant, buying a tank of gas for someone, shoveling the neighbor's driveway. It made me feel better. For a change, I was thinking about how to help people, how to make the world a better place. I was so aware of how very, very lucky we are and how little bits of money or love or goodwill are so easy to share. And how those small, easy things might make so much of a difference to other people.
Tagg and Sloane would help me choose who to be nice to, and think of ways we could be kind to other people. They picked out toys to donate to the shelter, toys they wanted for themselves. Picked out candy and food for the food bank. I like that they thought about it because they have so much and are so used to getting anything and everything they need. I stole some ideas from the 26 Acts Facebook page. There were so many creative ways that people were sharing love within their communities. It was really inspirational and heartwarming.
But then my 26 Acts were complete and the tragedy of Newtown and those 26 innocent faces started to fade under the bright spotlight of new tragedies, raging debates, international drama, and the day to day chaos of life. Until today.
I pulled into Starbucks to grab a coffee and when I went to pay, the barista (cashier) told me that the woman ahead of me had paid for my order. Including my veggie breakfast sandwich. I was shocked. See, it's still paying forward, all that goodwill. I may have ebbed in my efforts but people are still doing little things to prove to ourselves, our children and each other that there is a lot of beauty, love and kindness in the world. That is what we need to foster, so IT festers instead of the ugly, the hate, and the violence. If we're all just a little bit nicer, a little bit more generous, a little bit more aware, a little bit more caring, think what a difference we could make.
To the woman in the minivan, I thank you for the refreshing reminder. You made my day. You made me smile. You made me remember to be kind. I paid for the car behind me. The first act in my next 26 acts.
At any rate, I happened to see this article about 26 Acts of Kindness where people are doing 26 randomly nice things for strangers in honor of those people who died so tragically at Newtown. I love that. Love, love, love. So for the next month or so I did what I hope are kind and generous things for strangers...leaving an extra large tip, paying for someone's dinner at a restaurant, buying a tank of gas for someone, shoveling the neighbor's driveway. It made me feel better. For a change, I was thinking about how to help people, how to make the world a better place. I was so aware of how very, very lucky we are and how little bits of money or love or goodwill are so easy to share. And how those small, easy things might make so much of a difference to other people.
Tagg and Sloane would help me choose who to be nice to, and think of ways we could be kind to other people. They picked out toys to donate to the shelter, toys they wanted for themselves. Picked out candy and food for the food bank. I like that they thought about it because they have so much and are so used to getting anything and everything they need. I stole some ideas from the 26 Acts Facebook page. There were so many creative ways that people were sharing love within their communities. It was really inspirational and heartwarming.
But then my 26 Acts were complete and the tragedy of Newtown and those 26 innocent faces started to fade under the bright spotlight of new tragedies, raging debates, international drama, and the day to day chaos of life. Until today.
I pulled into Starbucks to grab a coffee and when I went to pay, the barista (cashier) told me that the woman ahead of me had paid for my order. Including my veggie breakfast sandwich. I was shocked. See, it's still paying forward, all that goodwill. I may have ebbed in my efforts but people are still doing little things to prove to ourselves, our children and each other that there is a lot of beauty, love and kindness in the world. That is what we need to foster, so IT festers instead of the ugly, the hate, and the violence. If we're all just a little bit nicer, a little bit more generous, a little bit more aware, a little bit more caring, think what a difference we could make.
To the woman in the minivan, I thank you for the refreshing reminder. You made my day. You made me smile. You made me remember to be kind. I paid for the car behind me. The first act in my next 26 acts.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)