Wok Chop

I had a job interview today with a local prosecutor's office. I was so freaking awkward. Ugh. I swear my tongue must grow as I speak because I start tripping over the damn thing. I actually have another interview tomorrow for a different job. I wanted to get both interviews out of the way ASAP. I do not interview well, and I don't think any amount of preparation would change that. Anyway, when it rains, it pours. I went over a year without landing any interviews and now I have two in a row.

Hello, everyone. I recently found out about this wonderful forum and have enjoyed reading all of your posts. Does anyone here have experience with steamed puddings? For years, my dad has talked about a wonderful steamed pudding that his mother used to make at Christmas. I was finally able to get the recipe, and I would like to make it for my dad. However, I have a couple of questions that I would love some input on. First, the pudding needs to be steamed for three hours. However, I was thinking of cutting the recipe in half, so how would that affect the steaming time? Also, does anyone know how I should go about using a slow cooker to steam the pudding? I've googled a bit, and people do use slow cookers, but the directions are for their specific recipe. I was hoping to find some general directions/guidelines. I am not sure if I should replicate the stovetop method and get the water to a simmer in the Crock Pot and then place the pudding in. Or should I place the water and pudding into a cold slow cooker at the same time and let it go? I would love any input!

Mick, I am so sorry you both had to endure so much, and I'm sorry for your loss.

NextIteration, I am so sorry for your loss.

I was (mercifully) married for only a short time, and my MIL was poor and...odd. She was always referring to me as though I was huge. At that time, I was 5' 10" and a size 14, so I wasn't THAT big. And it's not like she was being critical or bitchy. She was just...odd. So, one Christmas she gave me a pair of cotton candy pink sweat pants in size XXL. LOL She also gave me a dorky T-shirt with Tweetie Bird on it. It was humongous, so I think it may have been a night shirt...maybe? My "wedding" was also a disaster thanks in part to the weird MIL. It was a quickie deal because I was pregnant, and my ex insisted that we get married. I was young, stupid, and felt trapped, so I agreed. It was supposed to take place at the courthouse, and I did not plan on any type of shindig afterwards. Unbeknownst to me, he and his oddball mother planned a "reception" that was to take place in our new, sparsely furnished apartment. They invited a bunch of his friends and family (including his alcoholic father who had abandoned my ex when he was little, and then showed up to the "reception" drunk with his flamboyant bar floozy wife). A week before our wedding, the ex informed me of all of this and then generously allotted me TWO invitations to send to my friends/family. LMAO OMG!! I told him no thanks. I knew I was making a huge mistake but I just rolled with it. It was so absurd, I just kinda laughed about it to my best friend. It was July, I was 30-something weeks into my pregnancy, and still working full time IN fast food management. I guess I felt that I deserved that fate for making so many mistakes in my young adult life. LOL Oh! His mom bought a wedding cake from a grocery store, and any time I saw her after that, she reminded me that she had spent $30.00 on our wedding cake. LOL

Bigskygirl, I am so sorry! I think your doctor is full of shit. It just seems too easy for some doctors to blame the patient when a diagnosis is not readily available. I am just not buying the idea that your cardiac issues can be cured through aerobic activity. With a BP and heart rate like you experienced today, I'd be afraid of having a heart attack on the treadmill. I wish I could send a competent cardiologist your way, but you'll have to settle for a virtual hug instead.

Bigskygirl, I hope there are some answers on the horizon for you. Sometimes the not knowing causes more suffering than the actual malady. It takes a lot to get me to a doctor anymore because I have had my fill. I think I'd rather drop dead right now than to ever hear another doctor blame significant health problems solely on depression or being overweight. Hissss. I found a PCP that I'm comfortable with and ditched most of the quack specialists. I have resigned myself to living with chronic health issues for which I will never have a real diagnosis. I am glad you like the PA. I have found that I generally receive better care from PAs rather than MDs. The PAs have always been more thorough, as well as more understanding. I hope you will give us an update after your appointment on Thursday...and I am hoping it will be something positive for you!

OMG My post totally sounded like it was directed at you, but it wasn't! LOL Sorry! I knew what you were getting at. I am surrounded by a lot of entitled morons who believe this type of stuff, so I just went off on a tangent! We have finally been able to move away from the area that I am griping about, and I hope we are never forced to move back. It is a poor area, and people are really struggling. At the same time, so many of the young people don't seem to want any better for themselves. My oldest daughter graduated in 2009, and many of her classmates now ave multiple children. My youngest graduated in 2014, and many of her former classmates have had babies and working on more. It almost seems like their life goal is to have a kid and get some type of government assistance (and our programs in this state are NOT generous) so they can move out on their own. At the same time, they think they are entitled to be SAHMs who sit at home all day posting to Facebook. Then they hop from boyfriend to boyfriend and continue to reproduce. It's really weird, gross, and sad. I'm sure there is something psychological involved that I just don't understand. But it is both sad and aggravating to witness it. ETA: Many of these same girls are staunch conservatives who complain about people who receive government assistance!!!! WTF?

Hopefully your mom is headed in the right direction now. Will this new doctor be the one overseeing your mother's care from this point forward?

I guess if you are worried about "abandoning" your children, you should probably create a situation where you can afford to stay home with your kids (without expecting others to underwrite your preferred lifestyle). Also, based on all of her selfies, I would guess she's lazy. She's always in a supine position, wearing pajamas. OMG, I sound so judgmental! Well, I suppose I am.

Okay, THAT lady makes my lazy SAHM story sound quaint. Wow! I think I need to start a GoFundMe campaign so I can cover the travel expenses to go kick her ass! What a horrible, horrible person.ETA: How does one go about getting kicked off a cruise ship message board two dozen times? LOL

So, here I am complaining again, but it's not my fault that "GoFundMe" produces a deep rage within me. The site should be renamed "Grifter Express." I know it serves a purpose for legitimate fundraising, but it also is a one-stop shop for lazy grifters. There was a campaign that came up in my FB feed a while back. It was to raise money for a young couple who wanted to rent a house they couldn't afford. The girl had gotten pregnant her senior year, and they married shortly after graduation. The guy has a job, but she is a "stay at home mommy." So, I'm thinking if you want a nice home for your son to grow up in, you get off your lazy ass and get a job. But, NO, not her...she just wants handouts because she is obviously too special to have to work for a better future. Oh, and this is what really drives me batty: she got knocked up again around the same time she created the GoFundMe!!! The nice thing is that she didn't make much money. After all, this was a poor, rural area where even established adults often struggle to provide nice homes for their families. Here's a screenshot I took:

I am familiar with the type of people you are talking about. This cousin isn't part of that demographic. She has a good job and lots of friends. She isn't unintelligent, but I don't think she's much of a critical thinker. For instance, she shares stories from dubious sources about certain foods being bad because of whatever junk pseudo science was cited in the article. Even though I recognize the issues with the food supply in this country, I'm not going to mindlessly believe something published by a website with a name like naturalfoodnewsandmodernhomeopath.biz. (Then again, I won't mindlessly believe scientists telling me that GMOs are totally safe because that technology is no different than hybridization) Anyway, it's like people who don't utilize critical thinking skills seem to glom on whatever bullet points and buzzwords are popular at the moment. Which leads me to something someone just brought up--the latest buzzword: "clean eating." I fear that if I hear someone say that in real life, I may go berserk and do something foolish. ...So, this cousin is probably talking to someone right this second about eating clean...and will go on to insert some Arbonne spiel. PS Yes, that is a made up website name. :P

My cousin-in-law seems to have an exercise addiction, but I don't think she is into Beachbody. However, she has joined the cult of Arbonne. She was always a nice, innocuous person, but anymore I roll my eyes when she posts. Then again, Im sure I annoy people with my cat memes and the other assorted stuff I post.

I have never met a serial killer, nor have I ever been murdered by a serial killer.

But Judge Wapner is DEAD. However, The Lawrence Welk Show is still on.

Wilsie, I have never seen anything like that. Maybe it's due to the egg shortage?

I live in mid-Michigan. I love winter up until Christmas (so I guess I only like 4 days of actual winter). January through March become increasingly difficult due to seasonal depression, which then leads to agoraphobia. I cannot tolerate moisture, so dampness in the colder weather and humidity in the warm/hot weather makes me extremely uncomfortable. Most you would hate visiting my house because I keep it operating room cold. Maintaining a cool, dry home costs a lot, but when I am uncomfortable due to moisture, I'm not pleasant to be around. :O I love being able to enjoy 4 distinct seasons and can't imagine living without that. I often fantasize about spending my golden years in the UP, but I fear the reality of their long, harsh winters would be too much for me.

Julia, pasties are more of a UP thing. They were brought to the US (well, the UP, I guess) by the Cornish immigrant miners. All over the UP there are signs advertising whitefish and pasties. ETA: I have only ever eaten rutabaga in a pasty, where it is cut into small pieces, so I can't tell you if it has the earwax element. It very well could, and I have just gotten lucky!

BOOgen3, did you enjoy your time in the UP? I haven't been to Houghton-Hancock since I was a teenager, but I'm hoping to spend a week in the Keweenaw within the next couple of years. We usually spend a week in Munising every summer, but I'd like to switch it up.

Thanks to everyone for explaining pasties and Yoopers. I posted that kind of late, and I sometimes expect people to read my mind. :O Sorry, Happy. Georgia is a long way from Michigan's Upper Peninsula. GeeGolly, burlsa is having a cerebral angiogram this morning, and she has been feeling very anxious about it.

I've only ever eaten rutabaga in pasties, and pasties HAVE to contain rutabaga. So, if you ever visit Michigan, I guess you will never get to eat a pastie. On the other hand, Yoopers eat their pasties with ketchup, which disgusts me, so I guess I'm a kinda pastie loser myself. I'll show myself out.

I started playing the video, and my kitty ran over, frantically sniffing for those kittens. I felt bad and stopped it.

Thanks, wilsie! I will definitely have to try that.

YES! I have looked at those vintage recipe blogs before. They are horrifying. However, my grandma made some type of apricot salad like the one in that article, and I loved it as a kid. I think it had apricot baby food, Cool Whip, pecans, and some type of Jello. Sadly, her recipe didn't include the eight pounds of sugar.