Hard-Boiled Eggs

Hard-boiled eggs. Rubbery. Dry. Stinky. Not my favorite thing about Easter celebration. Rest assured, my childhood memories are stocked full of good family fun surrounding Easter. The beautiful AZ weather (oh how I miss you right now), BBQs, egg hunts, the infamous potato salad, and my personal favorite - Grandma Baker's cucumber salad (my mouth is watering right now). But eggs? Just not my thing, unless they come in the form of peanut butter and chocolate nicely packaged in little foil wrappers.

Then there's T-H-E year. The one where all my memories are built around. I can't remember exactly how old I was - but I am thinking I was 8, maybe 9. All of us kids were participating in the traditional Easter egg hunt. You know, the one that is all about "fun" and not about who finds the most eggs? Some grown-up prompted me to look around the dog run side of the house. It was suggested that there maybe a box over there that may or may not have eggs in it. And I wanted eggs. I wanted to find the mostest and bestest eggs ever. There it was, a box with a scrap 2x4 and a few rocks balanced on top. Everyone was watching, as I removed the junk and opened the box. Sadly, I didn't see any eggs. ARGH! Aaron or Brian alwaaaaays win! (unofficially, of course) But, much to my surprise, sitting in the corner of the deep box was a little brown bunny. A real, live runny babbit ;) I was thrilled! I had begged my mom for a rabbit, but I didn't actually think I would get one. And out of all days, Easter?!? Happy day! I spent the rest of the family BBQ on cloud nine. (Little did I know, a few months down the road, Mr. Brown Rabbit would eventually escape his cage, live under the woodpile and forage for food in mom's garden. Oh the anger that little varmint incited. Mom was ticked. And she wanted her sugar peas back - even if it was in the form of rabbit stew. I never could catch him).

Enjoying my cloud nine status, I decided to join in the festivities with my brothers, aka - eating hard-boiled eggs. My brothers would crack the shell and just inhale them. Like candy. I don't even think they chewed. Not to be outdone, I attempted the same. Of course, just like with most things, my luck wasn't so good. I managed to pick the one egg that had been left out in the sun a little too long. My bad luck wasn't discovered until later that night after I got sent to bed. Earlier in the evening, Dad had asked me to do the dishes and I told him I didn't feel so well. He thought I was just making excuses - so dishes it was. Two hours later and still not having completed the said task, Dad, with his angry eyes sent me straight to bed. I curled up into a ball - and went to sleep. Sometime between late-night and the first signs of daylight, I woke up and no longer had a stomach ache. But what was this taste in my mouth? As I came to - I realized that my room stunk. Then I moved my hand to pull my bear closer to me. And it was then that I made my discovery - a discovery that would forever change how I feel toward hard-boiled eggs. I knew why I woke up...why it stunk...and why I had that bad taste in my mouth. At some point, that unlucky hard-boiled egg decided it was too confined. And after much protest, I must have complied and hurled it - all while sleeping. It had to be quite sometime before I woke up - because it was crusted on my precious pink and white bear and in my hair. Stupid, stupid egg.

Not much love has been lost over the years in avoiding those villainous wretched eggs. I have tried here and there to eat them. After all, they are great protein. Most good restaurants serve them with their house salads. I have even devised my own "deviled eggs" recipe - in hope that it wouldn't be the devil on my stomach. And for the most part, I am okay. I don't necessarily enjoy cooking them or smelling them cook annually. But, I want my kids to have fun in family traditions. So I cook, knowing that I can't get past the rubbery white and dry gray matter that smells like sulphur.

My luck, however, might just be turning around. Today, I came across an article that might do the trick and help with the egg mess. It appears that I have been cooking them wrong all these years. FYI - I payed very little attention as a child to cooking hard-boiled eggs, as I thought it was be useless information. I knew, for a fact, that there wasn't going to be ANY nasty smelling eggs at MY house where I will make the rules. Sigh. Anyway, I just finished cooking the eggs the right way. The smell was still nasty, but tolerant. And as far as the texture goes...I'll find out on Sunday. All I know is my kids better'd find the eggs in a timely manner, especially the ones hidden in broad daylight.

Article (from About.com - home cooking):

Believe it or not, there is an art to cooking eggs in the shell. Find out how to cook them perfectly to your tastes without that gray-green tinge. Remember, hard-boiled eggs is a misnomer as they should not be boiled for any length of time.

Difficulty: Easy

Time Required: 25 minutes

Here's How:

1. Place eggs in single layer in saucepan.
2. Cover with at least one inch of cold water over tops of shells.
3. Cover pot with lid and bring to a boil over medium heat.
4. As soon as the water comes to a full boil, remove from heat and let stand.
5. Large soft-cooked eggs: let stand in hot water 1 to 4 minutes, depending on your tastes.
6. Large hard-cooked eggs: let stand in hot water 15 to 17 minutes.
7. When cooked to desired level, drain off hot water.
8. Immediately cover with cold water and add a few ice cubes.
9. Soft-cooked eggs: let stand in cold water until cool enough to handle. Serve.
10. Hard-cooked eggs: let stand in cold water until completely cooled. Use as needed.

Tips:

1. Never boil eggs. It makes them rubbery.
2. Use older eggs. Fresh ones won't peel properly.
3. To keep eggs from cracking while cooking (before placing in water), pierce large end with a needle, which will also make them easier to peel.

Love it or hate it...

Shark S3501Q Deluxe Steam Pocket Mop

As far as chores go, I don't have a favorite - but I do have a few that I really can't stand to do. Mopping is one of them. The mop, the nasty water, the cleaner, the inevitable and mostly painful attraction between my kids and the wet floor...all reasons why this chore ranks the highest on my "rather not do" list. So, I bit the bullet. I bought a steam mop. Why did I buy a shark? Well, truthfully because it was on sale. I got it at Big Lots for $59.00. From what I could tell, the shark steam mop comes in a few different packages - and of course they are priced accordingly. The one I purchased included both swivel heads and THREE cloth covers for each head, as well as a dusting cover (for hardwood floors) and an attachment to use with carpet. Now when I started looking at buying a Shark, it was hard to find anything priced under $130.00 - and that price didn't include all of the extras that came with my set. I have, however, noticed a huge price drop within the last month. Average seems to be about $85 - $100. Why? Because shark has come out with a newer version.

The box had been sitting on the floor in the hallway for 3 weeks before I finally decided to give the whole steam mop thing a try. Yes, I am admitting that my floors had not been mopped in over three weeks. I figured that if the mop can handle 3 weeks of sticky-4 kid-2 dog-mess then it would be a keeper. Assembling the mop was quick and easy. Getting started was a cinch. I can't believe how fast I was able to get the entire kitchen and dining area clean. It was so fast in fact, I had some time leftover and was able to mop the bathroom floor as well.

Positives:

- only takes 30 seconds to warm up

- super long cord

- light-weight, not bulky - allows for easy storage

- handle length is adjustable

- bigger tank than most steam mops - tank was still half-full when I finished

- swivel heads allow easy maneuverability, the triangle one works great in the kid's bathroom

- 3 sets of cloth covers

- cloth covers are easy to put on and remove, as well as being well-made. Machine washable.

- It actually cleans - better than a traditional mop - in a fraction of the time

- no cleaner or bucket needed

- floor was barely damp afterward and dried very quickly

- I actually enjoyed mopping - guess there's a first time for everything!

Negatives:

- The only concern I had was allowing the cloth and head to cool down (directions said 2 - 5 mins, but after just a minute it was cool enough) - and discharging the steam build up, once you are done mopping. It's not a big deal - I just have to be sure not to walk away so that my kids don't touch the steam mop when it's cooling down.

Overall, I have to say - that this is one of the few times that I actually like a product as much as I thought I would. It really does do what it promises to do. I have clean floors and it didn't take me half the day to get it done. My kids didn't slip and fall, my baby didn't try to get in the nasty bucket of water, and I had time left over enough to blog about my very happy purchase. I know the latest and greatest just came out - but this older version works great. If you are looking to make your life a little easier and want to save some money at the same time - take advantage of the sale prices.

Shark Steam Mop = Love it!!!

No Joke

I know it's April Fool's Day - but it is also the 4 month mark since my surgery. It's hard to believe it's been 4 months. Some days it seems like forever ago and some days I have a hard time wrapping my head around how much weight has come off in such a little time.

My official weight loss as of today? 80 lbs. EIGHTY POUNDS!!! I could not be more excited. That's 320 sticks of butter or 106 packages of chocolate chips. March was a hard month for me. Trace was gone for two weeks - he had to go to DC for some training. And it's not like he hasn't been gone before. But I am a little rusty, I have been spoiled having him home everyday. And I like my hubby. And I miss him. Plus, I managed to have 3 of the 4 kidlets sick with the puking/diarrhea/coughing/aches and pains kind of flu that didn't just last for just 24 hours, but managed to hold on unmercilessly for over a week. Not fun. But at least Luke didn't get it. I think that would have done me in. Anyway - for those two weeks, I think I managed to get 4 workouts in. And that was in the first week. The second week, I didn't even try. Then add the infamous visit from Aunt Not-So-Fertile-Myrtle...um, ya - let's just say I was hurtin'. And my poor kids got to deal with a really stressed out, sleep deprived mom. I was so happy when Trace got back - and he managed to get on an earlier flight that got him home a day earlier. The first thing I did when he got back? I took a nap. :)

Besides the kids pulling some moves from the exorcist movie - I also had to get the house ready to show. Since we will be moving in May (hopefully), our landlord wanted to show the house and get some new renters signed. So I managed to go through all the rooms and closets and get rid of all the crap. It ended up being 2 bags per room that got donated and one bag of trash per room that filled my trash bin. I also went through my clothes. Everything that I have owned for the past 7 years? Too big. I had a pair of jean carpi's that were my favorite, but I haven't been able to fit in for the last 5 years. I saved them thinking that eventually I would lose some weight and be able to wear them again. I tried those suckers on - and I could pull them off without even unbuttoning them. How crazy is that?!? While I am trilled that they don't fit, I am sad - because they were my favorite and I didn't even get enjoy them one last time. Oh the sadness - can you feel the sarcasm? :)

The pile...

Other thoughts about this journey?

So I have been working out for 6 days a week (well before the first half of this month, and after the two weeks Trace was gone...). I alternate between Jillian Michael's torture and yoga.

I love yoga. I have this DVD - which I have actually owned since Aleana was 6 months old. Yep, it's that old and we have managed to keep it scratch free - which goes to show how much playtime, or the lack thereof, it's actually gotten. It's called "Yoga Conditioning for Weight Loss" by Susanne Deason. It's not intense - the moves are very easy - and my favorite part is that the routine was taped in the red rocks of Sedona. It makes me a little homesick every time I do the workout, but in a way it makes me feel a little closer to to home too. So having this DVD for almost 11 years now, one would think that I have become a master. Well, no - sadly that hasn't been the case. In fact, up until last week - I still couldn't do all the moves (and these moves aren't power yoga moves or anything complicated - they are moves that anyone, in any shape or size, are SUPPOSED to be able to do). And I love how I feel when it's done. I work up a sweat. I feel like my whole body is working better together. My core (I am actually getting a core!!!) feels stronger. It's a great workout for the days where my body needs some recuperation time. But the best part is my mind feels clear. It's a workout that is actually relaxing (I know, what an oxy-moron). I guess it's the little victories, like finally being able to do yoga the right way without shaking, that seem to mean the most to me.

And Jillian Michaels? Ya, she and I have a love/hate relationship. I really like her style of workouts. They get to the point, with no fru-fru-ey moves. My inner-athlete, who is biting at the bit to get out, loves the plyometrics, the kick-boxing, and the circuit training...well in theory anyway. About half-way through the workout, I have a few choice words I would like to say to her. Then I just find her annoying. When the workout is done, and I am trying not to die, I start to like her again. I am seeing results. Between the weight loss and the workouts - my body is finally changing shape. I like it.

I also have been playing volleyball on Wednesday nights from about 9:30pm to 11:30pm. And this is after my usual workout for the day. I am having so much fun. It's mostly city-league-ers, so the quality of play is really good. (FYI - People in Idaho take volleyball very seriously). Maybe one of these days I'll join a city league - but I have a hard time getting serious enough to play on a competitive level. When I see people getting intense, I just keep thinking "C'mon people, it's just a game!" But, I guess I would feel different if losing or winning actually mattered, like it would in a city league game. Bragging rights are important! :)

To sum it up, I feel like mostly me again. And not just emotionally, but physically. I know I am past the halfway mark. I still have a long way to go - but it's amazing what dropping 80 lbs can do - no joke.