Carys Weldon Blog
Friday, May 29, 2009
Real cacao?Ever try real cacao nibs? Little tiny pieces of dark cocoa bean? I've been intrigued by them ever since I first saw them on ebay. You can buy them by the pound there.
Then, while at a gift shop in Bradleyville, Missouri, ( http://www.getawaygiftshop.com/index.html )I came across this Rain Forest trail mix that included the real chocolate flakes mixed with coconut flakes. I'm not a super coconut fan, but together it was great.
Every time I go into a health food store or gift shop, I look for it. I gave you the link but I'm not seeing it among their products online list. I do know they sell wax melt candles that are out of this world, strong fragrance for the small pittance they ask. They really give the house a nice scent.
So, if you're interested in something like that, you can contact them. Their soaps have a really nice scent, too, and I bought some of the lotion because it was a unique scent and strong.
Now, all that aside, going back to that real cacao that I became addicted to after picking up a small package of the rain forest trail mix at the Bradleyville store, I found something of the same nature at my local health food store and this is a link to their online site:
http://shop.sweetriot.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=65&products_id=182&zenid=89210340c15ee835260e09eefb001d5f
Now, obviously, you're probably not going to be interested in picking up a dozen of these little tins of chocolates, but I thought you might keep your eye out and try it. At my local store, the individual tins run about $3.88.
The big point of going into all this is...I actually think you could lose weight using these really strong bitter sweet candies. I tried the #65.
I think the harsh unsweet center of the real cacao nib, coupled with the outer sweet chocolate layer, makes for a satisfying treat. In fact, the more I thought about it, the more I realized that these might be the elusive little thing we are looking for when we have those eating binges, and snack on just about everything. You know, the stuff you take a bite of, and put back in the cabinet, and then move onto the next thing you can find, hoping to solve your cravings? When you can't quite put a finger on what you're craving?
The little pieces are small, like a chocolate covered raisin. Nothing big, nothing to brag about on the size level.
But, I think, when you have those munchies and can't seem to settle your cravings...? If you get some of these, I think you'll find that you don't need to go through every cabinet looking for the thing that'll settle your craving.
If you see it, and try it, come back and let us know what you think. If you've already tried it, or another thing that you think fits the same bill, come back and let us know.
I really can't afford any more of those foraging episodes. It is so much easier to take a little piece, wait a few moments, and realize the cravings have been appeased. I just thought you might also want to try this. You don't have to go for that particular brand. It's just the one I found that I think would do the trick. I'm sure there are plenty of other products of the same nature out there.
Ciao!
~Carys
Labels: binge, cacao, chocolate, cravings, nibs, rain forest, raw cocoa
1 Comments:
thanks for the heads-up in the bits. I am always lookng for things to curb my cravings.
JOYE
JWIsleyAT aol.com
By 
, at
9:39 AM
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Pushing a suicide jumper?Did you see the headline about the suicide jumper in China who climbed up onto a bridge, contemplating suicide while police cordoned off the road, blocking traffic for five hours? Apparently a guy got tired of the drama and went up, shook the man's hand, and pushed him. I thought it was funny when I read it. (The guy survived.)
You can read the full story here: http://apnews.myway.com//article/20090523/D98C8RHG0.html
I completely understand someone being suicidal. But it appears more like a plea for help and attention when a man goes to a public bridge and contemplates it for five hours while traffic backs up, giving police ample time to inflate a jumping mat below...and some stranger time to get annoyed enough to go up and push him off the bridge.
And my girls call me a drama queen.
I would never go to a PUBLIC bridge where traffic is thick. But, apparently, that particular bridge is very popular for the suicidal types in the area. The article says 19 people have tried to jump there since APRIL. Nineteen. I had to lean back and say, "Wow."
So, apparently, people in China have as much trouble, or maybe more, with money than we do. The article didn't say if any of the others had accomplished their mission to die. I'm thinking the cops should just keep the mat out there.
The guy who was pushed broke some bones. I bet he'll sue, get the money to pay his bills, and it will be all good for him. He could probably also sue the police for allowing the man to break through the police barricade. Then, if the man who pushed him is broke, he could still get his bills paid. I mean, doesn't their lack of prevention thereby make them accomplices now?
Labels: bridge, jumper, pushed, suicide
1 Comments:
I read about that.. I was thinking the same thing. Law suit..
We are getting ready to leave for the mountains on Tuesday. Hoping no storms this year when we cross Kansas and Neb.Go to facebook, please....
Friday, May 22, 2009
Debt forgiveness?I like to watch the independent CURRENT films they play on satellite channels. Have you ever seen any of those?
There was one just yesterday where people from Africa were interviewed. I'm sure I'm way behind the times on this sort of thing, but apparently Tony Blair did a "debt forgiveness" to people in underpriveleged nations like Ghana.
Wouldn't WE like to get that?
But, you know what? To my shock and irritation, the people on the receiving end of the debt forgiveness were angry over it. I just can't fathom their thinking.
Although I know it is similar to the attitude America gets around the world. We give and give and give, and those who received from us are torn between appreciating it and biting the hand that feeds their nation.
Several times lately I've caught clips on tv about the people living in actual dumps, collecting garbage to sell for any price. Of course, in American living standards, the situation is atrocious and people are donating quite well to help the people in this garbage dump.
But, more to my surprise, they interviewed an old lady who'd lived 35 years in the dump and got a place in brand new public housing. She was not happy there. She complained that people expected her to wear shoes now that she had a nice apartment. Of course, they had provided her with new shoes, too.
Then, the interviewer asked her if she liked having a tv. The lady's lips pursed. Apparently, she had a tv while living in the dump, and electricity to run it.
She was annoyed that they'd taken her ability to work away from her. Now that she didn't live in the dump, she wasn't allowed to scavenge. She had to make do with the free foods and standard of living the government provided.
I just wonder...is it me, or does this seem remarkably ungrateful? My husband is a firm believer that people will walk away from something if they don't want to do it. He thinks that the people living in those dump sites do so because they like the lifestyle. They perceive themselves like modern day treasure hunters, work when they want, can get handouts regularly, and don't have to work regular hours, or pay taxes.
What do you think?
Labels: debt forgiveness, dump city, public housing, tony blair
0 Comments:
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Silly armed robbery...?Okay, well, I know you count on me to find interesting things to talk about, and sometimes I fall short, but I have a new one today.
So, a kid walks into a store and does his best to perpetrate an "armed robbery"...but he doesn't have a weapon under his clothes (Jimmy Cagney style), oh no, this is a modern Einstein.
Get this...he had a banana.
Yep, that's what I said. A banana?
When he ended up detained by being locked in the store until the cops arrived, he ate the banana...thus destroying evidence.
When will modern day criminals get smart enough to realize there are cameras everywhere these days?
You can read the short blurb on that story here:
http://apnews.myway.com//article/20090516/D987HMC00.html
And in MY local news, Friday (yesterday a.m.), I was at a Kum & Go gas station. For those of you who live in more civilized parts of the world, YES, they really are called that. Google if you don't believe me.
Anyhow, I was filling up my gas tank when I heard some commotion. Running out the door of the gas station, the manager--a tall lanky dude--(that's a little crazy)--starts hollering, "Hey! Don't you dare drive off! You owe me!"
The guy in the van who was driving away without paying for his gas had his driver side window down, elbow on the "sill." So, there was no doubt he heard, because I turned to look/watch and he actually leaned out his window, head swiveled backwards toward the guy running after him, yelling. Yes, while he was driving away. So, he compounded the situation by endangering another car or two pulling into the station off the busy street.
Next thing I know, (while I'm still trying to figure out what the heck is going on)--yes, I know, I'm a little slow at having the words sink in. Anyhow, the manager lobs a rock (God knows where he found it. For all I know he had it in his pocket for just this sort of occasion.)
The rock hits a dead center to a window, shatters it. So, now everyone is looking, mouths agape.
The driver hits his brake, leans halfway out the window and screams, "You crazy sonofabitch!"
To which the manager replies, "Yeah. That's right. Why don't you come back here and we'll talk about it."
"Oh, fuck you!" The driver calls, hitting his accelerator hard, swerving to narrowly miss the next car coming in.
The manager then announces to a packed parking lot of onlookers, "I had a feeling! Sometimes you just know somebody's gonna try and drive off like that."
I was still wincing over the possibility of somebody, like a kid, being in the van, and maybe being hurt by something like a fist sized rock coming through the window. So, I went inside, making up the excuse that I needed another water bottle. (in my head, of course, no one else would care if I needed a wb or not.)
The guy is already back behind the counter and rattling on, obviously still on an adrenalin high from his little situation. No one is saying a word. It was funny to me because the rest of those people couldn't have hiked in there to pay any faster.
I had paid outside at the pump. I just wanted to see what he was saying in there because every time the door opened, I could still hear him talking at high, pumped up, volume.
Anyhow, the line gets long fast, people behind me. I get up there to the counter and break the stunned customer silence by asking, "Did you get his license plate number, so you could file a report?"
"Call the police?" He shook his head. "Didn't you hear me say we'd settle this between us? He won't be coming back here any time soon."
I was thinking, "Oh, yeah he will. Guys that'll drive off owing $30 for gas will come back and throw a rock through your window from the street later, or watch to see your car and slip around to damage it when you're working the next time."
I didn't say it. The guy asked us all, "Did you see it? I nailed that window with that rock."
I said, "Yeah. You broke it. I hope there were no kids in there." That gained some murmurs of agreement from the crowd.
And I'm thinking, I wonder, in a court of law, who would be out most? A drive off is stealing, but there are rules on how to report things like that. I'm sure no one in the world would go to that gas station if they knew the manager might lob rocks at their vehicle.
I mean, the average person isn't a thief. (I know, I'm an idealist. I NEED to have faith that people are basically good, and the ax murderers and rapists are few and far between.) BUT sometimes honest people pump gas, climb in their cars and pull away, then realize (V-8 slap to the forehead) and turn around and go pay. Imagine having a moment like that, heading toward the road--and getting a rock through your windshield. The guy in the van wasn't within 100 feet of the exit/roadway. Barely pulling away from the pump when the rock hit.
I know my husband sometimes will pull the car up to the front of the store, in a parking space before going in to pay, if the place is hopping and people are waiting in line. I learned a big lesson. Hold up the pump traffic. Don't take a chance of getting a window knocked out by some psycho $8 an hour gas clerk.
I dunno. Maybe it was HIS station/franchise. Do you think that makes it a validated response?
The guy didn't miss a beat to my comment about kids being in the vehicle. He said, "Well, now, if he had a kid in there that got hit by flying glass--"
I inserted, "Which could blind a kid. Or how about the rock hitting a kid in the head and killing 'em on the spot?"
The guy said, "Well, that guy deserved what he got."
Now, I don't think it's right to drive away from a pump without paying. My brother and one of my daughters have worked at gas stations, and my brother's pay was docked the amount if he didn't insist someone prepay. (Nevada stations all have PREPAY on the pumps.)
Gas stations, to me, are getting scarier and scarier. The one my daughter worked at...the managers/owners of that store were idiots...she's a cute little 5'6" white chick with long blonde hair, and they'd have her work the nightshift ALONE. It was the most robbed store in Springfield, Missouri. When I found that out, (learned both in the same convo), I insisted she quit right then.
Love her, but sometimes she's too confident in herself. Probably because she always had her fat mama and big Italian daddy backing her up. Apparently, she would do things like go out to the parking lot to tell the Mexicans they couldn't fight in her parking lot. (Not a racial slur here. Apparently, they did it regularly there.)
It was the care in Springfield MOST LIKELY to get your car stolen from. One shift, someone stole a car with a baby in a car seat in the back seat. They brought it back two minutes later when they realized it. I guess it's one thing to steal a car, another to get a baby with the deal.
I don't know about you, but I love to read THE DARWIN AWARDS. Talk about your stupid criminals. And the CAUGHT ON TAPE shows are funny when it goes to convenience store thieves. (Grosses me out when it is about cooks gone bad.)
Do you have any stories that are funny or horrifing like these?
Labels: armed, Darwin Awards, gas, highway robbery, stealing, thieves
0 Comments:
Friday, May 08, 2009
Remembering our Moms...This post is for women. Men will probably say, "What up? There's no sex in this post." But then, given the topic, who wants sex and their Mom talked about in the same sentence or blog?
If you decide you don't want to read one of my book length posts, by all means, skip to the last paragraph or so and get the recapped version.
I know my kids go blind and deaf and sing "Lalalala" at the very thought that I'm not a virgin, that I'm not really Mary, Mother of God...although they DO believe they are totally akin to heavenly beings. (Angels? Fallen Angels?) I keep swearing I am, too, but apparently my halo has slipped (when my mouth first opened?)
Anyhow, you know what weekend it is. Come Sunday, whether you are getting along with your Mom or not, whether she is living or not, you will probably be thinking about her...or adamantly trying to put her out of mind.
I'm sure my five kids will be torn between all that. One may be wishing I was dead, who knows?
The idea is sad--now that I'm seeing it from the Mom's viewpoint. If you remember, last year I mentioned that one of my daughters boycotted me for my birthday and Mother's Day, which happen to fall on top of each other. I cried and cried and cried. Have you been on either side of this door? Both sides are cold, aren't they?
The point isn't to whine. It's to say...I have gone years where I didn't talk to my Mom for Mother's Day or her Birthday (both in the same month, too.) I never did it out of meanness, though. I did it because I made myself sick over the idea of listening to her go on about how wonderful my two sisters are. It seems that no matter how good I was at anything, it wasn't ever as good as they were. Am I alone in this sort of thing?
My mother never reads this blog, but I like to publicly apologize--to her, for not being everything she wanted, and better than I am. And to my daughters for maybe being too much like my mom, or worse, being like no other mom in the history of mouthy moms--in any case, someone to avoid for whatever reason. And to my Mother-in-law for not being the best daughter-in-law in the world. God knows I tried. Although, I have to admit, my husband's youngest brother has a wonderful wife who holds her tongue. EVERYONE loves her, even me!
I'm just saying, life as a woman, mother, daughter, wife, daughter-in-law...they're all hard. *Hugs to all of you.*
It's funny how we can love our Mother's but spare them only a few calls a year. Some of us may visit even less. I'm always impressed by those who have wonderful relationships with their mothers, and never admit to strained feelings. I don't know how they do it. Although, I wish my girls could all say that. But then, I voice my opinions when I see them doing things I taught them (for 18 years!) to not do...and that doesn't make me the most popular person in the family. But what do you think, should a Mom stop being a parent and voicing those things just because the kid had another birthday?
I wish I could cut my tongue out, usually, after I leave the situation and go through self-recriminations. But then I go and watch something like WIFE SWAP and see the other end of the spectrum--the moms that don't set any rules.
I want to believe that scripture in the Bible that says (paraphrase) "Train up a kid in the way they should go and they'll not depart from it. Or, they might, but they'll circle back around, given enough time, and kids of their own."
I actually like to flip to the next page and read the scripture that says to beat your kids. Okay, I think it actually says something more about sparing the rod spoiling the child. I swear, I was NOT a child beater. But, I honestly think the urge to do it comes up more as they are adults than when they were younger. Think it's my patience getting old?
I hope that circles back around by the time I get some grandkids.
Back to my original thought...about Moms and remembering them...I was looking at flowers online and got sidetracked by wedding flowers and then went down THAT merry little lane. Remember, I have four daughters, only one is married. I dream A LOT.
Anyhow, that led me to a page with an article about how to honor loved ones who have passed away. (Crossed over, died, whatever you want to call it.)
You can read it here: http://weddings.about.com/b/2009/02/18/acknowledging-a-deceased-parent-at-your-wedding.htm
But BEWARE, you will probably get choked up before you're half way through the suggestions people have shared about how they honored loved ones. That'll come about ten comments after you wonder if some of the dolts bothered to read the previous ones about lighting a candle. Some of the ideas were precious enough to read through the repetitions.
Near the end (in case you get bored and wonder if there's anything new the bottom of the list), some photographer guy suggests photoshopping your dad in...first in regular form, and then if you don't like that idea, just make him look ethereal, like a ghost. I actually thought that was worth smiling over.
Anyhow, if you're missing your Mom, or anyone else this month (thinking ahead to Memorial Day), you might want to incorporate a concept into your home. Obviously, the candle idea always floats.
But, if your Mom's still here, think about calling her. My husband's mother had cancer/surgery/chemo last year and I've been thinking a lot about the fact that it's nice she's still here, and they're talking a lot more, like when he's driving home from work. (Half hour commute.)
So, I guess I just want you to take a few minutes to appreciate your mom for SOMETHING. Call her if you can stand it. Send her flowers last minute if you haven't already, and can afford it. But really, the call is GOOD. Make it cheerful and upbeat, and bring up some funny memory. Keep it short if you have to. And maybe you could send up an extra special prayer in thanks afterward. Thanks you had her around for one more year to hear her voice. Thanks the call is over. Whatever.
Just remember one thing...bringing somebody into this world is never a painless thing. If pregnancy doesn't tear you apart, labor probably will. I mean, really, delivering a bowling ball size head doesn't come easy. And if you were lucky enough to be knocked out for the ordeal, you still had to wake up to the incision. And ALL moms have to deal with crying babies, night feedings, dirty diapers (that alone should get us into heaven!) Although, I have to say, those night duties seem so much more preferable to adult night duty where you wonder/worry about your kids and have no control over where they are, who they're hanging out with, or what they're doing.
So, just...give your Mom a break. Or be nice to someone else's mom. Or strain yourself to think of a nice thing about a mom, a good memory or whatever. And, if you come up short, GOOGLE. ;)
Labels: call your mom, immaculate conception, Mom, mother's day
0 Comments:
