The Plastic Plate

We have a set of (red) plastic plates that I purchased over ten years ago.  I bought them so we could use them when we ate dinner outside.  They are great with little kids.  They are lighter, easier to carry and will not break if the kids drop them.  We used them on and off switching off with regular ceramic plates.

For some reason, I saved these plates.  They are used when we run out of dinner plates.  The only problem is they have to be hand washed.  They are also really, really thin plastic, so, I don't feel comfortable putting hot food on them.

RT was putting dinner together and grabbed a couple of plates.  He hands me a plastic plate full of hot food.  I hesitated and probably cringed when I took the plate from him.  He was worried I didn't like the food.  I then had to confess my hot food on a plastic plate phobia  issue.  Well, I also don't like to add more dishes to the millions of things that I hand wash every day.  It's nice to be able to put an item into the dishwasher.

RT finds it a little strange (of course, everything with me he finds strange, so, I'm sure this isn't a completely new thing for him).  He has no problem putting hot food onto these plates and then eating off of them.  In fact I notice that he has been using these plates more and more since I brought up the plastic plate phobia  issue.  He uses it for lunch (hot or cold food).  He had to thaw out some drumsticks and put them on a plastic plate (we had a cabinet full of regular dishes that could have been used).  I'm not sure if he's using them because they are there and I won't use them?  Or if he is trying to prove something (like I'm crazy...even though we all know that answer).

So, my question to you is, do you have plastic plates?

Do you want a set of six red, flimsy plastic plates?

Would you eat hot food off of a really thin plastic plate?

Vegan Diaries - Angel Hair Pasta with Puttanesca Sauce

I have been trying to find some new recipes to make for the family.  I know they always tell me that they are happy with me making the same meals over and over again.  They want to make it easy and they get to have the meals that they love.  Unfortunately, I get a little bored eating the same things every week.   So, I did a little digging on Pinterest for some inspiration for vegan meals.  I've found some really great recipes (and some really not so great recipes).

I found this recipe for Angel Hair Pasta with Puttanesca Sauce  here and I couldn't wait to try it out on the family.  It looked really easy to make (almost too easy) and the pictures were making my mouth water.   I was a little nervous.  Alex really wanted just plain pasta with marinara sauce.  I had to convince him that this would be a lot tastier than the usual marinara.   I made some garlic bread and a nice salad to compliment the meal and am pleased to say that it was a success!

Please note the simple ingredient list and quick the directions.  This meal can be on your table in no time!

Here's the recipe:

Angel Hair Pasta with Puttanesca Sauce

ingredients:
5 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup capers
2/3 cup olives, pitted
28oz diced tomatoes
1 TBS paprika
crushed red pepper (optional)

directions: 
Heat olive oil in large pot.  Add garlic and saute for 1 minute.  Add the olives, capers and diced tomatoes.  (Optional:  Add crushed red pepper, salt and pepper)

Simmer with lid on for ten minutes.  Stir frequently.

Add 1/2 lb cooked angel hair pasta and mix until covered.


* I added some crushed red pepper and it gave it a nice zing.
*I used Kalamata pitted black olives.  I bet green olives would be great with this dish.

Let me know if you give the Puttanesca Sauce a try!

Enjoy!

Purse Purge

Let's play a game.  What's in my purse?

I carry a small purse.  I prefer to carry as little as possible with me.  Unfortunately, I'm usually asked to carry things for other people.  Those things get stuffed into my small purse.  I forget to empty it and my purse becomes an overstuffed sausage and weighs a good 50 pounds.  It will stay that way for awhile (sometimes weeks) until I finally decide to dump everything so I can figure out what is causing it to weigh so much.

Today was that day.

Here is what I found:

My glasses (in their case, of course)
4 pens
2 packages of Kleenex
a half dozen receipts
bunch of (clean) napkins
4 lipsticks
1 lip balm
a container of mints
gift card
perfume
wallet
fruit snacks
2 layered fruit bars
a sandwich bag of gold fish crackers

OK.  Some of this stuff is normal:  My glasses, wallet, gift card, mints and one lip balm.  The perfume is a frivolous extra but it is definitely a blessing to have on hand when needed.

The snacks were supposed to be given to Bella after one of her basketball game (I'm not sure which game, I've been to several so, these might have been here awhile).

Do I really need two packages of Kleenex?  Am I expecting to sneeze  a million times  that much while I'm out?

And, why can't we just go with an e-receipt?  Why does every store have to hand me more paper that I have to carry around with me for the rest of my life?

One pen should be more than enough unless I'm planning on writing the next great American novel.  The same goes for lipstick.

And, the napkins?  Well, I think I have been hanging around RT a little too much.

Now that it is clean, how long will it stay that way?

What do you carry with you when you go out?

Jennifer

Bella recently performed in a dance competition.  I did my best at trying to fit in with all of the "dance Moms."  I packed lots of healthy snacks for her to munch on during the weekend and was there to make sure she drank a lot of water.

During the first break, I was told to bring lots of snacks.  All snacks that were purchased and packed for this trip were approved by the child.  I packed a nice bag full with a huge assortment of snacks and made my way over to our meeting spot.  I was happy to see her (I wish I could say the feeling was mutual).  I set up some of the snacks, talked up the others and in return received a turned up nose to everything.  I told her she needs protein and she replied that fatty foods are better for her body.  She requested a meal from a fast food restaurant.  (Yea, they aren't giving me a kick back, so, I'm not mentioning a name).

While ordering at this restaurant, they told me that I would have to wait 10 minutes and asked for a name.

I need to pause my story here for a moment.

I always hesitate to give out my name.  It's different and people always have a hard time spelling and pronouncing it.  Sometimes I give my daughter's name.  The majority of the time I say it's RT.  I wish they would just give out a number instead.

OK.  Lets continue with my story.

So, I gave RT's name for the order.

Ten minutes pass and a guy starts calling out, "Jennifer."  He's looking all over for Jennifer.  Walks around the restaurant then heads back behind the counter.  A few more minutes pass and he is back, calling for "Jennifer."  The whole time I'm thinking, why would Jennifer order something, pay for it and then leave with out her food?  Who is this Jennifer?

Another five minutes pass and a woman grabs the order and goes around looking for Jennifer.  After she circles the restaurant a couple of times, I show her my receipt and ask where I can find the name on my order.

There was no name on it, but, guess what?

It turns out, I'm Jennifer!

It reminded me of one of my favorite episodes of Seinfeld, the Chinese restaurant.  George gives the host his name, Costanza, and they all stand around waiting forever for a table.  Throughout the episode, the host will call out, "Cartwright?"  At the end of the episode, George figures it out and replies, "Apparently, I am Cartwright."

And don't forget the P-E-Z!

Last week we celebrated my favorite holiday.

A little hint for those who don't know me:  It has lots of red and hearts and is all about Love.

RT gave me a very nice card and some fun candy.  And by fun I mean, a heart shaped box of chocolates with Snoopy and a PEZ candy dispenser.  I mean, who doesn't love Snoopy?  And the PEZ dispenser just screams fun!    The PEZ also brought back a good childhood memory.  

For those of you who have been living under a rock don't know about PEZ candy and PEZ dispensers, you can do a quick little search and read about the history of PEZ candy.

I remember when I first discovered PEZ candy and PEZ dispensers.  For some reason, I spelled PEZ out when referring to it.  P-E-Z, instead of just calling it PEZ.  Hey!  I was 5!  I was obsessed with the whole idea of the fun character dispenser and the idea of opening it to get a piece of candy.  The dispensers came in a variety of cartoon characters.  The dispensers were sold with a couple of refill packages.  The candy itself came in a fruit flavor, strawberry, grape and lemon flavors.  You could taste a hint of the flavor.  My Dad said they all tasted like soap.  

It was difficult to find refill candy.  If you wanted a refill, you had to purchase another dispenser.  

Enter my Dad.

This is where, in life, it's good to know someone who has connections.  My Dad knew a guy who could hook me up  sold candy, including PEZ refills.  My 5 year old self was so excited that I could get refills and use my same PEZ dispenser!

I remember calling my dealer  Dad and reminding asking him to bring some PEZ refills home.  To me, it was an important call to make.  My phone call included my Dad's favorite line, "And don't forget the P-E-Z!"

Ahh...memories.  And PEZ candy!  

Miss you Dad. 

Oh, and a belated Happy Valentines Day to everyone! 

Random Acts of Kindness Day 2020

Just when you finish a whole week of doing nice things for yourself and others comes the official day of doing good.

Today is Random Acts of Kindness Day!

Yes.  I know.  You just read a week of posts about doing RAOK's and here I am, writing one more.  How cool would it be if everyone practiced RAOK's every day?  The world would be a lot friendlier, don't you think?

So, you know the drill.  You read all of those posts this past week and hopefully put some into action.  Now is the time to practice what you learned.

Write that letter.
It can be a Thank You letter.  It can be just a little note telling someone that you were thinking of them.  Maybe it's someone you don't see that often.  Let them know how important they are to have in your life.

Put others first.
I always tell my children to think of others first.  This could mean letting someone ahead of you in line.  Letting someone have the first slice of pizza or even leaving the last piece of pie for the next person.

Compliment
Dish out compliments to people.  I think everyone likes to hear positive praise.

Clean up.
Maybe it's picking up random trash on the path where you usually walk or run.  It could be as simple as taking out the garbage, run the vacuum or doing the dishes.

Send a message.
It could be a friendly text message.  An inspirational text or even a thank you text.  How about leaving notes of inspiration in random places at home or work?  You can write them on post-it notes.

I just rattled off quite a few quick, easy RAOK's that you can do today.  Give one a try and let me know what happened!

Random Acts of Kindness Week 2020 - Community Day

Today is Community Day for our Random Acts of Kindness.  Time to spread our kindness out into the community that we live in.  

How about Making a Valentine for a local Senior in the community.  Or make several and drop them off at a local Senior Living Facility.  They will love it!

Write a Thank You card to your postal carrier, fire fighter, police officer, etc.

Bring in canned goods to a local food pantry.

Bring clothing, blankets or socks to a homeless shelter.

Donate some items (food, toys, old towels or bed sheets) to a local animal shelter

Pick up trash in your neighborhood

Leave a generous tip

Leave a surprise in a library book

Help a neighbor with yard work

Let someone go ahead of you in line today

Ask a senior what life was like when they were growing up

Feed a strangers parking meter

Bring reusable bags to stores

Tutor someone

Compliment people today

Have you been spreading kindness everywhere you go?

The week is almost over!

How many Random Acts of Kindness have you performed this week?

What good deeds have you done?

Random Acts of Kindness Week 2020 - Work and School

We are spreading all of this kindness, how about at our place of work or where are children are going to school?   You spend quite a bit of time at work, why not do something nice for your co-workers?  What about the teachers at your child's school?  A quick little thank you note goes a long way.  Don't forget the office people, nurse and bus driver!  

What can you do today?  How about: 

Send an encouraging email

Gift an inspirational book

Write a Thank You letter to your teacher

Find out something new about a co-worker (or friend at school)

Be a good listener

Bring a co-worker or friend a coffee

Tutor someone

Compliment people today

Bring flowers/coffee/tea/cookies or donuts to work/school

Need more ideas?  Check out Sunday's post for more fun!

Random Acts of Kindness Week 2020 - Neighbor Day

We all have neighbors.  You might not be close to your neighbors, but, that doesn't mean you can't do something nice for them.  Maybe now is the time to get to know the people that live around you?  

Here are some ideas for you to try today:

Wheel out (or in) your neighbor's trash and recycling bins

Put a surprise (cookies?  Candy? flowers?) in your neighbor's mailbox

Bring a meal to a neighbor

Bake cookies for a neighbor

Shovel the driveway for one of your elderly neighbors

Visit with one of your elderly neighbors

How many RAOK's have you done so far this week?

Random Acts of Kindness Week 2020 - Thank you Day

When was the last time you sent a handwritten Thank You note to someone?  It's probably been awhile, I bet.

Write a note to someone, thanking them for a gift they sent to you...or kind words that they said to you.  Maybe something reminded you of them and you wanted to Thank them for being your friend.

Get out your pen and paper and start writing!  Don't worry if you just have plain paper or if you have bad handwriting.  People love to get handwritten notes!  That's the first thing I go for when I bring in the mail!  

Here are some other ideas for today.

Write a handwritten letter

Send an encouraging email

Mail a thoughtful note to a friend/family member/co-worker

Write a positive review of a local business

Thank someone

Compliment people

Give someone flowers

Give someone a valentine card

Write a letter to your mail carrier thanking them

If you don't know the person's address, maybe you can send them a text or email thanking them?  Handwritten is a lot better, but, I understand if a text or email would be a lot better for you.  

Random Acts of Kindness 2020 - Friends and Family

Be extra kind to those you love the most today.  Your family.  Bring your parent a cup of coffee, tea or juice,  write a short kindness note to your parents, sibling(s) and spouse.  Offer to do an extra chore today.  Compliment your family members and catch them doing something great.

Here are some ideas for today:

Mail a thoughtful note to a friend or family member

Bake some treats for someone special

Send a text message just to say hello or I Love you

Be a good listener

Surprise someone with flowers

Need more ideas?  Check out Sunday's post!

How many kind deeds have you performed this week?

Random Acts of Kindness Week 2020 - Be the Sunshine

It's Random Acts of Kindness Week!

Time to do as many random acts of kindness that we can each day! 

Today we are going to be the sunshine.  

Things you can do to be the sunshine?

Wear a bright colored shirt today and bring in the sunshine!  

Be sure to smile at someone new today.  

Oh, and remember to be kind to yourself today as well.

Here are some other ideas for today:

Send a text to someone just to say hello

Bake cookies for someone

Bring someone a souvenir

Smile

Compliment people today

Send a care package to a friend or family member

Send someone a handwritten letter

Have a great day!

Random Acts of Kindness Week - 2020

It's Random Acts of Kindness week!

This is one week out of the year that is dedicated to performing as many Random Acts of Kindness as possible.

If you haven't made a New Year's Resolution, maybe this is it?  This would be an awesome challenge for your Girl Scout Troop!  I'm sure there is a fun patch that the girls can earn, or they can make their own patch!

Are you up for the challenge?

Well, here we go!

Here are some ideas of kind deeds that you can perform this week.

The Challenges:

Smile at 25 people

Slip a nice note in your friend's backpack (child's lunch or spouse's briefcase/purse)

Compliment 5 people

Pick up 10 pieces of garbage on a walk

Make a new friend

Tell a joke and make someone laugh

Be kind to yourself and eat a healthy snack

Learn something new about your friend, co-worker, spouse

Draw a picture and give it to someone

Recycle your trash

Hug your friend

Cut out 10 hearts and give them to friends

Entertain someone with a happy dance

Make a kind poster for cafeteria helpers

Say "Good Morning" to 5 people

Make a wish for a child in another country

Say "Thank you" to a crossing guard

Invite a new friend to hang out with you

Send a Thank You to your Superintendent

Offer to help your custodian

Sit with a new Group of people at lunch

Read a book to a younger child

Give an Apple or note to your Teacher

Step up for someone in need

Make and display a "Kindness Matters" sign

Make a bookmark for a friend

Hold the door open for someone

Thank a bus driver or car pool driver

Write a "Thank you" on a band aid for a Nurse

Whisper "Thank you" to the Librarian

Help someone up if they fall down

Learn to say "Hello" in a different language

Bring a flower to the office staff

Say "Thank you" to a volunteer

Make a friendship gift for someone new to you

Thank a Mail Carrier, Police Officer, Fire Fighter

Add some kind deeds of your own.

I challenge you to perform as many kind deeds as you can this week.  Check off your kind acts as you go.

What a great way to start the week!

How many kind deeds will you do this week?

Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?

Well?  Do you?

No.  I'm not really asking that question.  I already know the answer.

I've mentioned in a previous post about the music that's played at work.  Mostly country music songs with a few pop songs tossed in for fun.  One song that is played every single day I work is a remake of Rod Stewart's, "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy."

Now, I like Rod Stewart.  Not a crazy fan, but, I enjoy listening to his music.  Always thought that this song was one of his crazy, "out there"  songs.

When this song starts playing, I always try to figure out how it fits in with the country music songs that usually play.  Why this song?  I also wonder how many of the young kids that work there know who Rod Stewart is?  I know one of my co-workers has no idea who Rod Stewart is, because I asked him when this song was playing.

So, after hearing this song every day, I got it stuck in my head.  It plays in my head on repeat over and over again.  I'm constantly hearing Rod Stewart asking me if I think he's sexy.  I have even started to hum this song out loud.

Last night, as I was helping Bella make Valentines (for seniors), I told RT about the whole scenario.  Rod Stewart's song being played at work and how I can't get the song out of my head.  I just got a strange look back as a reply.  I said I might have to start singing it.  I got a look that suggested I better not belt out the lyrics.

When the Valentine making finished, and both RT and Bella left the room, I decided to play the song and sing along.  Hoping this will get the song out of my head.

As I was really getting into it, singing and dancing, RT walks in and says, "I leave you alone for five minutes and this is what happens."

So, here I am, sitting here, quietly typing away while Rod Stewart asks me over and over again,  if I think he's sexy.

Valentine's Day Craft Ideas

It's February!  Love month!  Hearts and all things red!

Valentine's Day is coming up and I thought I would put up some links to some Valentine's Day crafts we have done here on Scary Journey to get you into the Valentine's Day Love mood. Some of these crafts would be great to do with your Girl Scout Troop!

Valentine's Placemat (children't craft)

Valentine's Day Bookmarks

Pallet (he)art

Homemade Valentine's Day cards

Felt Heart Pin or Barrette

Valentine Photo Book

Valentine Love Picture

Valentine Love Frame