Think Before You Ink

Once in our hometown paper there was a tattooed lady slap dab on the front page.
Her story? She felt discriminated because she can not find someone to hire her because of her tattoos. Now, let me mind you, this lady not only had tattoos and looked like a walking comic book, but she had half a shaved head, yep just one side, and sporting a leopard print tattoo on the side of her face. I mean, come one...really? I do not think its all about the tattoos. People are to quick to throw the "discriminate" flag.

A tattoo tells a lot about a person. Just like the way you dress, talk or present yourself. businesses are not discriminating and most have no problem with tattoos as long as they can be covered! Its called "being professional." Most business have a dress code, therefore, makeup, piercings, what you wear and your hairstyle can cost you a job.

I have two tattoos myself. One is from my 20's when I just got a wild idea to do something crazy. Its in a place that can be covered. Its simply a piece of art I drew myself. Its small and no one can see it unless I choose to reveal it.

My other tattoo is on my wrist. Its something I really wanted and do not regret it. I still love it even though the ink bleed and run together (I was warned this could happen)or faded through the years. It spells "Faith". Faith is something I think everyone should have and mine has definitely been tested.

My Tattoo is an "Ambigram tattoo" meaning it reads the same upside down or right side up. Perfect for a wrist.

I understand, if I ever need to look for another job, I will need to cover the tattoo with a bracelet or sleeve. There are things I may attend that are formal that I think sporting a tattoo is out of place or disrespectful. I'm not gonna put up a fuss and use my discrimination card. Its actually kind of fun to "hide" the tattoos sometimes...makes me feel like I have a secret.

My point is, I see nothing wrong with anyone having a tattoo or tattoos. But people really need to think about the future before getting one. Face it, people will judge you by your appearance. That's just human nature. People need to respect rules of businesses and other places you choose to show your "rights".

Sorry if your tattoo was a mistake or your life style and fads have changed, but this is pretty much a permanent marking on yourself so "Think before you Ink".

Memories- Ice Cream

I married into a family that came over from Italy and opened an Ice Cream parlor in Gastonia many years ago. As I hear it, they were pretty famous for their Ice Cream. The ole truck sits in a museum now and we still hold a lot of the other memorabilia.

I was reading one of my blog friends post the other day and it brought back some of my own childhood memories of homemade ice cream. Thanks Rick.

It took be back to the day when daddy would pull out the ole wooden ice cream maker. You know, the old churn kind with the crank handle.

yep, that's "real" home made. I mean, there was a lot of labor put into that stuff. Luckily, we usually only made it at special times or when Mom wanted it.

It was no easy thing to do. Mom worked around in the kitchen gathering the stuff she needed for the mix. I can remember doing strawberry and peach. Dad would work on getting the churn ready by adding rock salt and ice. I used to like to sneak a piece of rock salt and eat it. I know its not good for you but I'm still alive. Then me and my siblings would all take turns cranking the handle. Once the ice cream started to thicken, we had to take turns sitting on the churn so it wouldn't scoot around while dad did the heavy cranking. My weight never really held it down and dad would get aggravated.....The last one sitting on it before it was ready would get up, turn around, look down and say "I made ice cream!"

It became a chore to make ice cream and I didn't want to wait and I despised sitting there. I was never really a fan of soupy ice cream. Most of the time after all that work, it never would really thicken up. But now, as I think back, I sure do miss those days and would love to have some of that home made ice cream again. 

Facts about me and ice cream:

• I prefer hard ice cream over soft serve.
• I chew ice cream.
• I like any kind of ice cream with bits in it like rocky road, butter pecan, moose tracks, etc.
• I hate to hear people talk while they eat ice cream.
• I prefer to eat ice cream out of a waffle cone. 
• My favorite flavor is butter pecan or chocolate chip mint.
• If someone tells me to hurry up and eat my ice cream, Ill just throw it away. 

Now days, we own an electric ice cream maker and it gets the job done quick. My husband also makes some awesome butter pecan ice cream. He actually cooks the nuts in sweeten condensed milk and creates a thick praline flavor to add to the mix. If it makes it out of the pan before we start spooning it into our mouths, it creates a stunning flavorful and thick ice cream.

hmmm now I think I need to go do some sweet talking

Eating Contest

There were several eating contest going on in my town last week at an uptown festival.

Those contest included a watermelon eating contest, a pie eating contest and of course a hot dog eating contest. It was hot as momma's oven at Thanksgiving. There was no shade in site so we didn't stay long. However, I just had to stay and see the hot dog eating contest. Why do we do this?

The count down was on and a group of contestants waited for the go.

They all began gulping down hot dogs to see who could eat the most in three minutes.

One got sick after about four. Two were at a tie for the win and one guy was just there having his dinner, I think. 

Why do they choose the most choke hazard food to use in contest? I will never understand.

As we walked back to the car I was thinking....looked over at my husband and said "Had it been a doughnut eating contest, I would have entered".

And I was serious. 

Sugar Grilled Peaches

I've always wanted to try grilled peaches. I like peaches as long as I don't get the feel of the rough pit area on my tongue. Bleek!

The other night I had some peaches laying around and figured I'd give it a try. The credit goes to my husband though as he is the grill master. It was just my idea.

He was in the process of grilling steaks for dinner when I brought out a small bowl of cut peaches. We are going to grill peaches for the first time. "Well, ok" he said. "Lets give it a try".

Oh my golly gosh! They were delicious! I have found a new way of doing dessert. Of course I know he will not fire up the grill just for peaches, or will he?

It was so easy and they tasted like cobbler without all the bread. You have got to try this.

First, heat the grill to medium and wipe the grate with cooking spray so the peaches wont stick.

1. Wash and dry peaches.

2. Cut peaches in half and remove pit.

3. Place flesh side down for 5 minutes.

4. Turn over to skin side down and sprinkle with brown sugar. 

5. Cook another 5 minutes.

That's it! Simply add a scoop of ice cream or whip cream and you got yourself a delicious warm dessert without all the calories. (Approximately 120 calories per peach. That's two halves!)

Now I wonder what other fruits will be good on the grill.

When It Rains, It Pours

Its been quite a few weeks for us lately.

Just a few weeks ago, our air conditioner went out without warning. We had to wait a day for the air condition man to come. We did fine. The house stayed cool most of the day and after our nightly showers, we were cooled down enough to go to bed and slept comfortably with only ceiling fans.

This past weekend, after our afternoon walk, my husband heard something coming from the storage room where the hot water tank is kept. A hose had ruptured. We caught it before it totally flooded but we still had a water issue and the floor was soaked. Needless to say, we didn't have any hot water and barely had any water pressure. 

Though it sent Nicks stress level to the roof, I stayed calm. I'm pretty good at being resourceful. Besides, worrying make things worst. We had to turn the water off at the road to keep anymore water problems from happening overnight until we could get to the hardware store in the morning. 

I simply filled up some water jugs for drinking and boiled some hot water for baths. We took turns pouring warm water over each other while lathering up and then a quick rinse. I think that's the quickest wash I ever did. I didn't get to spend an extra 20 minutes under the shower planning out my life. Ha. 

The next morning, I skipped church while Nick ran to the hardware store. Fortunately he had it fixed in about thirty minutes. The rest of the day was ours. We enjoyed time together and my daughter came to visit so we could all go out to dinner.

Monday was Independence day so I had the day off. I did some weed pulling, house cleaning and laundry before heading out to some festivities uptown. Low and behold if the dog gone washing machine didn't started yelling. "I'm giving up!" Yep. Next, its a new washer. I'll add that to the list right above the new mattress set we were saving for.

When it rains,it pours....

Oh wait, I think the fridge is making a noise.