A writer's Random ramblings
Have others seen your child’s interests, only to try to forecast a career? Maybe you’ve suggested a few things yourself to a child. “But dancing isn’t the only thing I like. I like math and science, too.” How do we handle a comment like this from a child?
First, don’t downplay one interest in favor of the other. Let the child continue to explore everything he or she likes. Any in or outside of school lessons and experiences count. Keep to the family budget, and give the child parameters such as one paid type of lessons and two free ones per semester may work. Sometimes, schools offer short-term, after school lessons on various subjects. Keep an eye out for these and sign up when they become available within your schedule. Second, help the child explore various fields that may combine several interests. Look at what types of education he or she will need to enter those fields. For example, when my daughter got frustrated with people asking if she wants to become a dance teacher, we thought it out. She brought up her interests in math and science, and we went from there. I suggested that if she also likes helping people, she may want to look into becoming a physical therapist. When she mentioned also enjoying art and music, I let her know others have learned to use those areas for therapy with people recovering from illness or injury. We like to take some time to Google the requirements for various career fields later to help her think on things. We run several searches, beginning with what minimum requirements one must meet to stick with one area first, say teaching math, science, or one of the arts. Then, we look at related fields such as meteorology for combining math and science. When the arts come back into the equation, we add that to a search for art therapy, music therapy, or how to use writing in other fields. Investigate how music and movement can combine via dance to add an extra element to physical therapy for injured people who may be able to use the ballet barre to steady themselves while relearning how to walk. Maybe helping the recovering patient write, draw, and sing can add to fine motor skills the therapist brings to him or her, speeding along recovery. Thus, we take a child’s nature in thinking outside the proverbial box and help him or her. By so doing, we stretch our imaginations with the child’s. Both adult and child learn to see the world in new ways. The child also gains insights into finding his or her future calling and career. Marrying various interests into such a field along with open mindedness to allow for change will create happier workers who stick to their jobs and help society longer later on, making everyone stronger.
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Here’s wishing Christmas joy to all Earth
As we commemorate Jesus’ birth He, the Child born in a manger So none could be a stranger To God the Father because of our sin Thus allowing us to enter Heaven Based upon our life of faith Feeding our desire to also become saints Through the duality Defining our humanity In a world of God’s creation Where a humble guy became our salvation, Giving us the reason To give one another gifts this season. Need a simple dinner? Who doesn’t during the busy Holiday season? Any boneless, skinless chicken breast, thighs, or tenderloins and an envelope of Campbell’s sauce will yield something simple and tasty. One only needs to use either the slow cooker or oven as an assistant in the cooking process. While dinner cooks, go ahead and wrap those gifts or decorate the house.
Italian Chicken a la Slow Cooker 6 chicken tenderloins or about 1 lb of thighs or breasts (thighs will yield the most flavor) 1 envelope Campbell’s Chicken Marsala I lb frozen spinach Optional: 1 lb. pasta, cooked Add all to slow cooker, use Low for 5 hours. Eat with or without cooked pasta. Eaten without pasta, this recipe gives the family a tasty soup style dish to warm the bones on a chilly day. This is good for days when extra errands abound and shopping needs to be finished, since the slow cooker needs no babysitter and does all of the work. Chicken Not Quite Lasagna 1 lb cooked pasta (ziti or penne will catch the sauce best) Chicken tenderloins (about 6 medium sized ones fit the 9X13 very well) 1 packet Campbell’s Creamy Pesto Mozzarella Cheese (at least 8 oz.) Cook pasta according to package directions. Mix into Creamy Pesto sauce in a 9X13 casserole dish. Top with chicken, then mozzarella cheese. Cook 30-45 minutes at 375 degrees F. Once the casserole goes in the oven, set the timer for a reminder of when to check it and go wrap the presents or decorate. Thai Curry or Sesame Chicken-Rice Casserole 6 chicken tenderloins 2 cups rice 1 packet Campbells Thai Curry or Sesame Sauce 2 or 3 cups water Place rice and liquids in 9X13 casserole pan. Add any desired vegetables. Place chicken on top as you would for traditional chicken-rice casserole. Cook at 375 degrees F for 30-45 minutes until chicken is white throughout and rice is tender. These chicken recipes will help a busy family have a tasty, simple dinner at a busy time. Having Campbell’s Oven, Skillet and Slow Cooker sauces around the house and some chicken in the freezer can provide respite for those not possessing the energy to cook elaborate meals. Holidays can bring more stress than the monetary or which folks to see kind. What if you have multiple generations getting together or one person wants to remember someone who passed away in a special way? How do you mitigate disagreements over the decor, so everyone can have a happy season? In the case of making peace among generations or remembering a loved one, use something from each. As an example, we inherited a small wooden tree from my late mother-in-law. We put it on the small living room table to allow us to think of her. To bring us all together although she passed away, we chose to add small ornaments from our own collection. This gives us a special way to remember her while at the same time celebrating our family. What if you have too many ornaments for any tree? Attach some to other places around the home. Some may use a mantel with traditional hangers for the ornaments, between Christmas stockings. Those with shelves in the room where holiday celebrations take place can take creative liberty with these or unused tables. Use removable tape or hooks, or in the case of a wire shelf, twist ties, to affix the ornaments. Place ornaments that can stand on their own on the table, and arrange them as a centerpiece. Bring generations together by using ornaments from each in these arrangements. In our living room, I attached a small garland to the wire shelf under our television. I swap this out on a seasonal basis, with flowers and butterflies for spring and summer, and a Halloween/Harvest theme one for fall. For winter, I use a green one with what resembles branches coming out of it. To cover the corners of the shelf, I place smaller pieces of garland with pine cones on them to dress it up. Ornaments hang from the small branches of the garland itself or from the shelf on their hangers or twist ties. In these ways, a family can create a feeling of each member belonging. Decorations found around the holiday season represent any interest or passion the people may have. They can thus prove that all generations are welcome there, and even recall those who have passed away. The holidays then teach our children about unity in their first microcosm of a world that so greatly needs to learn to become one.
Another holiday has come and gone, and the cook of the day ended up with too much gravy. What does one do to use it up before it spoils? Maybe, we freeze some of the gravy over extra portions of what it originally accompanied to create instant meals. But what else can we do?
Try it as a sandwich sauce. Often, I use cold or lukewarm turkey gravy in the days after Thanksgiving rather than mayonnaise on sandwiches. This works on any kind of bread, toasted or not. A white or wheat bread, after toasting, holds the turkey, cheese, and even stuffing as gravy provides extra flavor mayonnaise could not. For a different take, try rye bread or Kaiser rolls, especially when bringing this type of sandwich to school or work. Making mashed potatoes? Measure the gravy in solid form while cold to equal the amount of butter the recipe says. Just like on the sandwich, this will add extra flavor into the potatoes. It will bring back memories of the special day, even if the protein for which the sauce was made has run out. If that protein is still in the fridge, try adding small pieces of it into the potato mixture and warming that up to make it heartier. Other vegetables also work here, such as chopped broccoli or cauliflower. If your family likes other, try those too. Also, if you make a mistake and add too much gravy to the mashed potatoes, they can become quite a soup. Add in some chopped bacon, ham, chicken, turkey, beef, or pork for protein. Then, stir in some shredded cheddar cheese, onions, hot or sweet peppers, and sour cream. Voila! Instant loaded potato soup which the family can eat right away or freeze for another day. Salt and any spices the family likes also lend flavor to this dish, which one could eat as a side or main lunch or supper. Thus, one need not worry about using up leftover gravy. No more finding it in the back of the refrigerator in disgusting shape when the holiday ends. Not all that gravy if your family makes a lot needs to be in the same old leftover style dinners. The above tips use gravy itself as both flavor and base for other dishes to keep them interesting while eliminating trouble later in the back of the fridge. |
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June 2020
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