Christmas: The Season for Procrastination

'Tis the season ... to procrastinate.

If you're familiar with the tune Deck the Halls, you're probably saying, "That doesn't sound right." It is, nonetheless, true for many of us. 

Mind you, some of the procrastination wasn't my fault. I spent about two weeks at the start of the month suffering from bronchitis. 


This week, though, the delays are pretty much of my devising. So the cookies have yet to be baked; about one-third of the presents still have to be bought (Walmart and Target are my targets tomorrow) and my few written cards are going to be New Year's cards. And I'm going to try to get out some e-cards by Christmas Day!

Thanksgiving Week Was Filled with Lessons

Lesson number one from my Thanksgiving week was simple: homemade isn't always better. 

My aunt got a turkey dinner from Meijer this year and we all brought fill-ins. While the stuffing was nothing to write home about (though admittedly, I'm a harsh critic of any stuffing but my aunt's or mom's), it beat StoveTop. The side dishes were fine (I was particularly fond of the orange-cranberry concoction), but the turkey was the star. It was moist and juicy, which isn't always the case with store bought rotisserie chickens, and a nice surprise. Kudos to Meijer for that!

Lesson number two: you have to be a much more hard-core shopper to go into Kohl's and actually stand in line to buy something. I picked three items, looked at the line (even the jewelry counter was ridiculous, though I did have a jewelry item) and ended up putting them back. Kmart was not as insane, thankfully, and I got most of the really little kids' presents there, so mission accomplished, more or less. 

I should have gone out shopping Saturday, but instead, I spent the time at a friend's "mini-Thanksgiving" where I ate my fill including an amazing lemon-infused boneless turkey breast as well as great desserts and played a "new" game (meaning new to me) involving quotations. 

We had a lovely time, bringing me to lesson number three: friends who are like family are nice to have. 

And Tati, if you're reading this, I want the recipe for those pecan tarts and the little chocolate tarts, too! (They may not qualify as healthy, precisely, but at least they're tiny.)

National Coffee Day: Most Coffee-Dependent Professions

The Macomb Daily recently ran an article in its business section stating that writers and editors rank among the most coffee-dependent jobs in America. Trust me, that's an understatement. A lot of us are working from coffee shops these days.

The research, conducted by Career Builder and Dunkin' Donuts, was released for the made-up holiday, National Coffee Day, which I'm sorry I missed. (It was Thursday and I didn't see the article until Friday.) Dunkin' Donuts also is running a contest for "passionate fans" to compete to appear in one of the company's commercials; see details here.

Some of the other professions were equally obvious; in fact, when I first scanned the list, I thought, "Well, duh." The next thing that crossed my mind was that maybe The Macomb Daily was having a really slow news day.

Other heavy coffee drinkers include: marketing/public relations professionals and scientists and lab researchers.

Realistically, writers and editors and doctors should be higher up than they are. Trust me; based on my own experience in the business, newspaper people slug down a lot of coffee. And Paczki, too, when they can get them. In fact, one Fat Tuesday, my nickname for that day was The Paczki Goddess, since I brought the fatty, sugary delicacies to the office.

Waffle House Serves As Disaster Index of Sorts

I seriously chuckled a few minutes ago when reading a Huff Post Food piece. 

FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) agents can tell how bad a disaster is by what the local Waffle House is serving. It's called the "Waffle House Index." Seriously. 

Quote from the article: "Waffle House's tenacity and preparedness are so watertight that FEMA Director Craig Fugate has joked that he watches a "Waffle House Index" of disaster magnitude. He can tell how bad a disaster's been by how much of its menu Waffle House is serving." It's even been studied and verified by Washington University Business professor Panos Kouvelis.

Check out the article. I'm still somewhat amazed and highly amused. 

You're Kidding, Right?

I just pinched myself when I saw the email about half an hour ago.

First, I thought they had to be kidding. Then I made sure it was a legitimate website before I went to a link on it (yes, I'm a trifle paranoid about unknown links in emails). Too bad. Deal with it.

But apparently I do have one of the top 100 healthy recipe blogs of 2011, as least as determined by healthcarecolleges.net. Wow.

There's now a pretty little logo I'm entitled to use on my website due to receiving this award. Still a bit stunned here. Any time that I'm at a loss for words is worth noting; just ask my friends! OK, I've recovered from my state of speechlessness now, and I'd like to thank the academy. Whoops, wrong award.

Vive La Difference: Perfect Ribs Made with Custom Equipment

My most recent column in Brighton Patch featured ribs by Tom Coates. (I nearly put a capital R on them because they're so well thought of in the community; see some of the comments people have made on his grill website).

Tom is what some might call an extreme griller; an architect for 25 years, he decided to make his own artisan-style grill, which is a kind of hybridization of a wood-burning oven and a grill. His goal was to replicate the kind of food his father and grandfather, who were both accomplished at cooking over an open fire, used to make.

I think he's exceeded expectations. Tom also has started his own business making these grills; upon seeing it up close at work, I can tell it's a well-made grill that gets splendid results. He has a number of testimonials  -- and the evidence of my eyes and nose -- to prove it.

I wish I could convey the ribs' look and smell ... it was fabulous. His other recipes on the website sound great, too. But smell-o-blogs, like "smell-o-vision" that Rachael Ray wishes she could invent, don't exist. Yet. I keep hoping it'll happen someday!

Tom provided me with the photo of the finished product, which looks fabulous! He says using his grill with charcoal and various kinds of wood truly brings out the flavor of the meat, which you can eat with various dipping sauces.

Unfortunately, I had to leave before they were done, but I want to try his ribs when he does another grilling and sampling session at either Leaf, Barley and Vine or The Wooden Spoon (both located in Brighton, Michigan) I plan to attend!

Website Gives Those In Need a Boost ... And Pizza

Random Acts of Pizza  is doing good ... one pizza pie at a time.

Here's the background, based on an article  from Utah-based Deseret News.

ABC News reported that Daniel Rogers, a lawyer from San Antonio, Texas, came up with the idea a year ago while unemployed. He knew he was "depressed" and feeling "disconnected from society," so he thought of what might change that.

"Connecting down-on-their-luck pizza lovers with a steaming hot pie, he figured, might make people feel a little bit better," according to the Deseret News article. "'[A pizza] says someone's got my back, someone's looking out for me,'" he said.

For more information, or to donate, go to http://www.reddit.com/r/Random_Acts_Of_Pizza/.

This is an awesome idea.
What else would work to cheer the unemployed? I'm thinking deliveries of a bag or two of Lindt chocolates ... or maybe Dove chocolates. (You could stretch those out for a week or more!)

On a more practical note, people could donate their unneeded gift cards to places like Wal-Mart or gas stations so the unemployed could get things they need.
People don't just need help at Christmas and Easter, sadly. As the Bible says, "For the poor you have always with you: and whensoever you will, you may do them good: but me you have not always." Mark 14:7, Douay-Reims version.