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Pork and Fennel Stew

This is an odd recipe I found on AP of all places. It is an oddly satisfying stew. It’s also VERY low fat and of course you can make it in about 30 minutes. Yield is about 3.5 quarts or 8 servings.

Pork and Fennel Stew
Pork and Fennel Stew

1# pork, bite sized pcs (I get “pork for stew” at the grocery; if not, use chops)
1 Tbl olive oil
1 bulb fennel (med), thinly sliced on a mandolin (about 1.5 cup)
1.5-2 cups finely sliced cabbage (I used .5 a savoy head)
.75 cup sliced carrots
.75 cup sliced celery
1 med diced onion (OR use frozen mirepoix, about 2 cups for carrots celery and onion)
3 cloves minced garlic (or use Indian garlic paste, 2Tbl)
1 bay leaf
1.5 Tbl crushed dried tarragon
.5 tsp red pepper flakes
2 Tbl dijon
zest and juice of one lemon (or lime or orange)
1 Tbl cider vinegar
about a quart of chicken stock
salt and pepper to taste
Sour cream for garnish
flour for dredging

Trim pork and dredge in flour + s/p. Heat a large soup pot or dutch oven with olive oil to med high and brown pork. When the pork has browned on all sides, turn down the heat to med and add all the veg except the cabbage. Let the veg begin to get soft (about 5-6 mins) and add garlic, bay, tarragon, red pepper and dijon. Stir and coat the meat and veg. Turn up the heat to high and add lemon zest/juice and vinegar. Keep everything moving so as not to burn. Add in enough stock to cover meat/veg and bring to boil. Add in cabbage and add the rest of the stock to barely cover the cabbage. Stir cabbage in thoroughly and bring back to boil, then turn down to simmer. Let simmer 20-30 mins. Check s/p levels. Serve with a dollop of sour cream on top.

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Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer at Center for Puppetry Arts

I forgot to write this up last week. We went to the Center for Puppetry Arts to see the Rudolph show on Fri Dec 30. I wanted to go before Christmas, but every show was sold out!

Now I understand why!

It was spectacular! It was WAY too good for kids! It was totally not what I was expecting.

When you think “puppet show” you think, well, puppets on a stage. But this was SO much more. Not only were the puppets exact duplicates of the ones used for the stop motion Rudolph movie from 1964, but they had 3D sets! There was a scrim in front of the whole stage that had foreground animations projected onto it. It was used for weather, surrounding scenery and transitions. When the stage lights came up, the scrim disappears (it’s VERY sheer) and you see the action of the puppets on a 2 tiered stage set. They even have smaller puppets for “long shots”! The puppets are voiced live by the puppeteers, some of whom are actors around town as well as puppeteers at the Center.

For $16.50, it was absolutely worth every cent. I’d pay more, actually. It’s live action, animation and live singing all in one. I HIGHLY recommend seeing Rudolph next year and other shows between now and then.

Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer gets 5 of 5 stars

As a side note, the Jim Henson wing exhibits are just the first part of the overall plan to house the ONLY Jim Henson Museum in the world at the Center. The Center only gets $30k from the National Endowment for the Arts. (!!) I was shocked at how little they receive! People with children should think about joining the Center to help fund the Henson museum as well as taking your kids to some quality programming. It’s a VERY good cause!

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I’m a blogging FOOL

I just can’t stop! I guess I’ve got backed up posts that I’ve not taken the time to write or something. But 4 posts in 2 weeks? CRAZAY!

I just finished Water for Elephants. It was excellent. It’s the sort of book you just can’t put down – and when you do, your head is still in there, thinking about the characters and the circus. Yes, it’s really a story about the train circuses of the 20s-30s. And it’s fascinating. It’s also written in flashback like a memoir, which is my absolute favourite writing technique. I particularly like the juxtaposition of the ancient character recalling his crazy youth in this story.

Other than the book taking up my last few days, I’ve been catching up on mental housecleaning as you can see from all the posts! I’m getting geared up to start a diet/fitness plan from my Beachbody coach Josie. Nick has also asked me to take over the bills and all that, which I’m not looking forward to, but it needs to happen or he’ll never get back to comics. Lots of shifting around to try and make our life work better.

From what I’m reading around the social sites, it seems many of my friends are starting new projects and/or changing up how they run their lives this year. It is a 5 year and 5 means CHANGE. Here’s the numerology if you’re so inclined. I love numbers and I find numerology to be one of my favourite “prediction” tools even above astrology. It’s fascinating!

I’ve got to step up my support of Nick. His job has become a soul sucking, life draining mess and if I want him to get anything artistic going this year, I’ve got to take on much more of the household stuff (like bills) so he can come home and have nothing to do BUT comics. The stress is pretty bad. I look forward to the day he can tell them all to fuck right on off.

Mantra: Please let Awkward Ninjas be a hit! Please let Awkward Ninjas be a hit! x1000

Now that all the new hardware (MacPro, FrankenMac) and toys (iPod and iPad) have been bought, this year is all about hoarding money. We are obligated to go to San Francisco and see Nick’s family, which is a huge expense and we will attend Heroes Convention, another pretty big expense. Other than that, our money is destined to be HOARDED. Since we are dieting, eating out is a no-no as is the large volumes of alcohol we usually swill. That will save some bucks. Now that I’ll be in charge of the budget, I plan to analyse it and streamline it even more.

2012 is off to a rocky start, but hopefully the changes we manage to accomplish will be good ones and long lasting ones.

I hope everyone has GOOD LUCK making the changes they want to make in 2012.

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ALL Mirena updates AND Removal (2011 – 2020)

Updates for Mirena over the years (original review after updates):
1. 3/26/12 I’m currently on week 8 w/out a period! Yay! But I doubt it’ll last. I’ve had all other indicators of impending bleeding, but none yet. So. I still give it 2.5, but if the periods stop I’ll up it to 3 or 3.5 perhaps. Here’s to hoping!

2. Dec 2012 So, it’s been almost 2 years now and I’m happy with Mirena. The periods stopped a few months ago (Sep?) and I only have occasional spotting. All is well for me and I’ll give Mirena 3.5 stars. The first year is a bitch, but once everything settles, it seems to work like a charm. Hysterectomy would still be more efficient, but if you don’t want that, then Mirena is a pretty good choice.

3. October 2013: Still chugging along with Mirena at almost 3 years. I sometimes get light cramps, but I’ve not bled in a long time. YAY! Mirena has been great for me. Perhaps by the time this one needs replacing (it’s a 5 year device) I’ll be ready to yank out the Vile Organ. ::fingers crossed::

4. December 2015: As I am coming up on the 5 year mark (Jan 2016), I was getting anxious about having to replace the Mirena. Since the previous update, I’ve had no periods and things have been great. It’s about as close to hysterectomy as you can get w/out the knife. Fortunately, my gyno informed me that I do NOT have to replace the Mirena since I don’t use it for birth control. She wants me to keep going on this one to see how long the drugs actually work. I’ve become a test case to see the ACTUAL lifespan of the Mirena for therapeutic use rather than birth control. I’ll post more info as time passes.

5. January 2018: At year 7 and still working! Yay! I still have no periods, no PMS, no nuttin. The only time I’ll see a spot is if I’m really sick, really stressed or post surgery. I had Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy in May 2016 and spotted a little after that, but other than that? It’s like the vile organ isn’t even there. The Mirena is the best thing I’ve ever done besides VSG. I’m 70# thinner, I feel great and I still have no vile organ issues! I *do* have some hot flashes, but so far, that’s it. I am 52 and my gyno is interested to see how the Mirena interacts with menopause. I am interested as well. I’ll report more when things happen. (Oh, I did find out that it’s no longer “Mirena”, it’s something else now, but basically the same product.)

6. March 2020: Finally got the Mirena removed. I forgot to mention that at my last visit to the gyno, she informed me that I’d gone through menopause. !! I had no idea!! She said that since it worked so well for me as a menopausal facilitator, she’s going to recommend it to other pre-menopausal women. I had the Mirena for 9 years and it supposedly stopped working at year 5-6. Since I went through menopause at the same time, it’s hard to say. All I can tell you is that it is MAGICAL and I highly recommend it! I had no periods after the first year of adjustment and as I said, I went through menopause without knowing it. Having it removed was literally NOTHING. I was nervous, but on the table she said, “hey, can you hold your breath for a second?” and by the time I answered, she’d popped it out! LOL She held it up and said AHA!! It was all discoloured and gnarly looking, too! EW! But that damn thing worked like a charm and was worth EVERY PENNY of the grand it took to get it.

My overall opinion of the Mirena (or whatever it’s called now) is, if you CAN get it, DO IT. Ovarian cysts will disqualify you and perhaps some other things. There are horror stories of the pain involved with getting one installed, but I didn’t have that. It was odd and slightly painful for a second, but I didn’t have any big issues with the install. And once it’s in, it’s good to go. Mirena changed my life! It ended the horrible periods and got me through menopause seamlessly. HIGHLY RECOMMEND.

___________________________
Original post:

I had the Mirena (IUD w/ hormones) installed Jan 3 2011. Read about what it was like to get the IUD installed HERE. The first year has mostly sucked. I had a three+ month long period after I first got it. No cramps, but I fucking bled nonstop. Then it backed off and I was having a period every 5-7 weeks with no cramping. BUT STILL HAVING THEM. That went on for months then I had a 2 month break Oct-Nov, then on Thanksgiving, it came back with a vengeance – complete with mild cramps. I just finished another period with mild cramps. :(

So, the promise of no periods with Mirena has been a LIE for me. I’m not surprised. Nothing involving the Vile Organ EVER works as advertised with me. Yes, I’m glad to not have incapacitating cramps, but I still have to deal with the fucking bleeding (+PMS) and that sucks donkey balls. I’m SICK of dealing with this messy nastiness. I’ve dealt with it for over 30 years and I AM SICK OF IT. I just want it to stop!!

The Mirena is $800 plus installation fees, so about a grand all together. The Mirena company does offer a payment plan with no interest, which is nice.

Are your cramps worth $1000 to eliminate? That’s really the bottom line. (BTW, you do NOT have to be a breeder to get the Mirena. It is approved for ALL women, regardless of breeder status.)

My point is that the Mirena, while great for cramps, is NOT a substitute for a hysterectomy. If given the option, I’d say go for hysterectomy in a heartbeat.

Mirena gets 2.5 out of 5 stars. NOW: 3.5 stars!

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And this guy calls ME crazy?

Update: Oh, looky, here’s the fat fuck’s FB! http://www.facebook.com/ryan.h.nixon How he got a semi-hot wife I’ll never know. [8.12.12] UPDATE January 2021: that is still his FB profile. To no one’s surprise, he’s a T**** supporter and all round racist, misogynistic nutbag. LOL I see he’s also taken his RABID fanboydom and started selling SG-1 merch (there is a link to his shop from his FB). Wow, he is not only the most important person ever enlisted in the Navy, but he’s also the PREMIER SG-1 costumer and action star of the WORLD! Wowee! Man. This guy is pretty delusional. He’s also BFFs with the whole SG-1 cast – LOOK! He’s got signed photos!!! Wow.

Original story:
Ok, I put up a few LJ posts to get rid of the stupid tac vests. This crazed fanboy immediately sends me nasty rude emails about how stupid I am because these vests don’t have the buckles and they are worthless, etc etc. So I send him an email telling him that not everyone is a rabid costumer and he’s just a bully and he really should just STFU.

Well, today, I get a threatening email from him (below) which I thought I’d best post JUST IN CASE this psychopath stalks me and I have to shoot him. If anything happens to me, my boi, my pets or my property, this loser is the first place to start with suspects, ok?

This guy is the prime example of why I detest “career” military folk in general. He thinks it’s perfectly fine to threaten me because he’s in the military and I’m just a stupid civilian. Well, here ya go, folks, a fine example of what’s wrong with the military (bold mine):

From: Jumper2Pilot@aol.com
Date: August 14, 2009 1:15:06 AM EDT

OMG you are mental woman! I left home at 18 and no I do not live with my mother! I am 37 years old, married and have a life! I am career military and have been serving my country for 19 years so psychos like you can talk smack as part of your freedoms of life!

Get off your horse and get clue, you know nothing about me and if you did you wouldn’t be talking that way to me you prob be very careful what came out your mouth!

Ya I get emails from ebay on EVERY Blackhawk vest posted! Saw your ebay id indigodragon-auctions, I should buy them and resell them just to piss you off even more!

Fanboy huh.. I work on million dollar F-18 hornets EVERYDAY blowing your tax dollars on jet fuel… Go take off your corset that’s too to tight or throw on your troll costume because you seriously have issues, nah you have a SUBSCRIPTION! 
 
Take my advice and don’t piss me off!!! Hell next time a Decatur police officer pulls you over, you might have to wonder if he was a Selected Reserve that worked for me for 4 years when I ran the entire 800 Division in ATLANTA!

Oh, yah, I’m SO glad that losers like this work for me. What he fails to see is that I PAY FOR HIS SORRY ASS.

So, if I’m abducted or attacked, please use the email above and this convenient pic to track down my stalker:
Mr Ryan "Stitch" Nixon, stalker

Oh, and he’s a rabid fanboy here: http://www.scifihero.net

And his FB is here: https://www.facebook.com/ryan.h.nixon

There, that should cover any bullshit that happens in the future. Military threats against a civilian is probably not considered proper protocol. I hope someone above him sees this and takes care of it. This is crazy psycho email. HE better hope that HE doesn’t get caught for threatening civilians.