Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Just Let It Go.

I have been married to the same man for almost 10 years.  I have always done his laundry. Wash, fold, put in drawers, hang in closet whatever. I'm pretty particular about things. He jokingly gives me a hard time because I can't stand it if the covers are wrinkled and I'll get out of bed in the middle of the night to fix them if necessary. Glasses and mugs need to be in neat rows in the cupboards etc. So it stands to reason that I'd be pretty particular about how I arrange clothes in the closet and dresser drawers, right? I can't help it that it makes me want to scream when I see two shirts with their plackets facing each other hanging in the closet! It just does, ok? So I always hang all shirts facing to the left. I also arrange them by type, fabric and color in that order. I have a little more difficult time on my side because I have so many different kinds of shirt, but Nathan has oxfords, polos -- long and short sleeved, and then special breathable golf polos. His side of the closet looks like a rainbow. Literally.
I have spent the last 9 years in various levels of irritation and disbelief when I walk into the closet, or open dresser drawers to put things away because something is always out of place. And really. How much effort does it take to reach just a bit further to the right to hang that shirt up with the long sleeved polos than in the middle of the short sleeved ones? And so I would sigh and maybe grumble and hang it where it belongs. But one day, in the not too distant past, my darling hubby was desperately searching for a particular shirt. Finally he called to me in frustration "do you know where my _____ shirt is?" "It should be hanging right there in your closet" I call back.  Still he can't find it. So I walk in and immediately pick it out "It's right here with the rest of your blue polo shirts" I say. He gives me a vacant look. "You mean to tell me, that in all these years you have never once noticed that your shirts are organized and arranged by color?" "They are?" he says staring at the shirts in disbelief. "They are" I say.
And there it is.  He's not doing it to spite me, or to be lazy. He doesn't realize he's making more work for me. It just never occured to him to even notice! He still doesn't notice.  I could harp on him and nag him until I'm blue in the face.  It's not going to change anything. He is who he is.  And so, I just let it go. :) Sometimes I still get irritated, but mostly I just chuckle and move the shirt.
What about you? What have you had to let go in order to avoid hard feelings or constant irritation?

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Why I STOPPED Boiling Eggs

photo credit
Boiled Eggs. They have so many, many uses! And we have been eating a LOT of them in the last month or so, since we started GAPS. They are a super easy and nourishing breakfast for my crew, especially if I make them the night before. My kids love deviled eggs. They're great as egg salad, and when we're not eating GAPS I like to put them in potato salad, macaroni salad and more.
My success with boiled eggs, however, has been inconsistent at best.  I don't know if anyone else has this problem or not but if I follow the typical "bring to a boil, turn off heat, cover and let sit for 10 minutes" The yolks typically turn out an unappetizing greenish color on the outside. If I take them off the heat and cover for 10 minutes the whites are usually less firm and I'm picky about how things feel in my mouth. If it's slimy at all -- BLEH! Not happening! Sometimes they're hard to peel, sometimes it's easy, but more often than not lately they've been really hard to peel. For our road trip last week, I put 5 dozen eggs in a stock pot, covered with water and boiled. I do not, I repeat N.O.T. recommend doing that! what a pain. None were easy to peel. and the ones at the top we really soft, while the bottom were fairly firm. BLEH.
So then we stay at a Holiday Inn Express and their hard-boiled eggs are perfect. And obviously easy to peel. How do they do that??? Well, I finally concluded that they use an egg boiler. I'm pretty sure I've seen those before. But they're probably not cheap. And do I really want another appliance cluttering up my countertop? I don't think so! So what's a girl to do?
I think I finally found the answer.
Last the other day I stumbled upon it on pinterest. Don't boil your eggs; BAKE them!
So I tried it out. Two days in a row and it's a-mazing.
Here's how you do it: Place eggs directly on rack in center of oven. Like so:


Turn the oven on 350 and set your timer for 30 minutes .Have a pair of tongs and a bowl of cold water waiting.
Take them immediately from the oven and drop them in the bowl of cold water.
When they're cool enough to handle you can peel them.
Can I just tell you  they slide right out of the shell! and the yolks are a beautiful yellow color! and the Whites are so nice and firm! The perfect boiled egg! With no boiling involved
You can make as many as your oven will hold! It's fantastic :D This is definitely the method I will be using for coloring Easter Eggs this week!
As info, some of the eggs do get brown spots on the shell, which I can only assume is liquid from the eggs coming through the shell, but I tested and if you dry them with a (paper) towel as you take them out of the water it comes right off. If any sticks you can use a Scotch Brite Green pad to buff any residual spots off and they will be beautiful for Easter coloring.