Killer Queen

I am baking a cake in the morning for a cookout tomorrow evening. My cousin's boyfriend is coming to meet her family and I am going as well. I offered to make a delicious summer cake for dessert. I have little time so I chose this recipe also for how fast it is. Several minutes ago, my cousin called and said BTW, he has to eat a gluten-free diet. That is all wheat products, correct? So I guess I will have to make the cake part from scratch. Does anyone know how you do this? I happen to have rice flour if that helps but I pretty much need to stick with the yellow cake part of the recipe as I have all the ingredients for this recipe and no time to go shopping again.

We both have bad colds here but hubby is worse. We've eaten the chicken soup (and a lot of other soups) so I want to have something different. He also has a stomachache, probably from medication, but is not vomiting or anything. I will be the one running out to the store since we really need to do some shopping. I asked him what he would like for dinner and he said deviled eggs. Ok, but that is not a dinner. I'll make them but what else could I have that won't take much energy. I don't feel well myself and I really don't want to stand over a stove. Any ideas?

Oh, also, we live way out in the country so take out is not an option. It's a 30 minute drive one way.

One thing that I find really interesting is the creative ways people have come up with political words or plays on words after this election. Nazi Pelosi, for example. Even if I don't agree with the choices for targets, I have to admire the imagination involved. I wonder if anyone has kept track of them? That would be something interesting to put down for future generations. Kind of like the political cartoon of the techno age.

Scientific or otherwise? I had just been thinking of one year in my life. I won a New Year's Eve weekend package for two, an all-inclusive vacation package to Las Vegas for two, a drawing for $500, a promo from Dr Pepper for a skate board, $1,500 cash from a radio station, a music gift basket (CDs, concert tickets, etc), $5,000 from the lottery, and various scratch off tickets from the lottery. All in about 18 months. It was so much that friends were asking me to play the lottery for them, and I ended up giving some of the prizes away because I felt it was unfair that I had won so much.

Since then, I still buy raffle tickets from kids and put my name in for drawings here and there, but the most I have won was a weekend at a water park. I'm not complaining! I am very fortunate and don't need prizes though I like to win.

I am not the only one who has had winning streaks. What causes them or are they really just random? At the time of my streak, I had just graduated college and didn't have much money.

Say that talent, skills, education, etc weren't an obstacle, what job would you have?

During the campaign, she presented the image of a good mother who spends a lot of time with her children. How she did that and administered a hospital, I don't know. Those are long hours.

Then she said she would take a back seat after the election because her girls were her first priority. Now after what? 14 days, she is saying she will start work on the working family issues. Whatever that is. And she is slipping in her speech by saying "we" when she means the President. Hmmm. Another Hillary or not?

We just added a new member to our house. A little 2 pound, 6 year old male Chihuahua. He was abused and is about 1/2 pound underweight. But he has the sweetest temperament. One problem. He keeps urinating in the house.

We have a dog door and he also goes out a lot. We have 2 Goldens, one female and one male. And one male Chihuahua. All but the female are rescues and are all fixed but this new one.

At first the female was licking his belly like he was a puppy, then the male Golden would push him out the dog door. They both stopped that as they must realize he isn't a puppy.

What can I do to make him stop this?

The last decade has shown an incredible progression but not enough. The election won't be enough. But, some of the die hards racists will be well, dying off soon. The ones left will be their children who were raised to be the same way. I don't count white supremists groups because they are mentally ill losers. I mean us, every day people.

Do you think this would work? I think it was Annie Lebowitz who said whites should not try to put themselves in the shoe of black people because it just won't work. It won't be understood. And vice versus.

Instead, whites should look at how it feels to be white. That's what they know. I am not white or black but since I am fair I can "pass". Right away a woman at a deli counter said Who is next but looked at me. I turned to the black woman and said no, she was. It was like she wasn't there to that clerk. But I was.

But I really think we are keeping ourselves separate. Try walking into a Southern Bapist Church one Sunday. A lot of stares at first but I was welcomed. I really liked the hats and the singing.

Then the food. I love greens, mac and cheese, jalopena corn bread, BBQ. etc. Why does that have to be served only in black community restaurants. In Germany, a black woman opened Mama West and there were lines out the door. Germans had never tasted that kind of cooking.

Why can't we just share the good things about our cultures, let go of the bad things, help each other more, etc But how? How do you do this? Ideas?

Months and months ago, I sent a message to Obama about an issue and where he stood on it. It had to do with healthcare. I received a canned reply thanking me for my interest in the economy. I tried to opt out of his emails over and over but they won't take me off the list.

Just now he sent an invitation to join "Organizing for America." The video says nothing at all. Just that we need to fight for change. And he will fight for change. And Joe Biden will fight for change. And Congress will fight for change. Together, we can make changes.

Is this a real organization? What is the purpose? What are we expected to do?

This is our situation. I work from home except for going into my stores a few times a week. My husband travels a lot for his business. He may be gone for a few days or a few weeks. It just depends. The rest of the time he works from home and he may be home for a few days or a few weeks at a time.

My husband likes to eat a huge breakfast, a light lunch, and a big dinner. No snacks at all. He eats a lot of food but is muscular and not overweight at all. He eats out so much when he travels so picking up carryout is not an option.

I like a moderate breakfast (oatmeal or fruit and yogurt), a big lunch, and a light dinner. I eat fruit, nuts, and cheese as snacks. Sometimes veggies too.

If my husband is at home, he will NOT eat unless I make him the food. This sounds selfish but with all his other talents, cooking is not one of them. He can barely make a sandwich. And he just won't eat at all unless it is put in front of him. I like to cook so that part isn't the problem.

I can't get my work done when he's home. I spend all day cooking and cleaning up. We need a better system! I had thought of hiring someone but the hours are so unpredictable and I'm not sure I would trust someone to cook the way I like it.

Any suggestions on how to manage meals in our house?

I just saw this in a post about Obama. I was raised in Europe so I don't know some terms. Can anyone explain this? I think it has something to do with race if that helps. African American or Caucasian?

It seemed easier when they were all young but now I am wondering if I should be doing something different. All 3 have been fixed.

Female Golden Retreiver (12) - weighs 85 pounds, about 10 pounds overweight, has bad arthritis and liver issues. Walks daily but doesn't run or play in the yard much. She eats two meals a day of the liver reversal diet (home cooked food) which are about 1 1/2 cup each.

Male Golden Retreiver (7) - very active, weighs 75 pounds normal weight. Walks daily and runs and plays all day. Eats two meals of 3 cups each and supplements with about 1 cup in the evening.

Male Min Pin (7) - very active, walks and plays with the male Golden. He's about 3 pounds overweight which came after his surgery 3 years ago and just never seems to fall off. Eats 1/2 cup twice a day.

They do not get snacks or table food. The males get a natural dog biscuit once in a while as a treat but the female doesn't due to her liver issue. She almost died last March but her liver failure was reversed with the home cooked food and milk thistle.

Two are still overweight after almost a year of trying to control their weight. The male Golden is almost underweight because he is so active but he eats like crazy. Other than the female's issues, there are no other health problems.

Do I need to adjust their diet? And how?

I don't know why but I always type "the" as "teh". Of course the computer catches it and corrects it but I don't know why I always type it wrong. I know how to spell it obviously and I can type pretty fast.

Do you have any words that never seem to come out of your fingers right?

I hate hearing the word "proactive." It sounds so redundant. I also don't like the use of disrespect. I think it is used too often as if respect is something you deserve because you breathe air. You have to earn respect. Some people are just rude but people say they are disrespected everytime someone does something they don't like.

Do you have words that irritate you?

I see a lot of posts about the poor and struggling in the US. What should we do to get them out of poverty? And what is their own role?

I mean whether you are a certain religion or an atheist, I don't understand why some think Jesus, as a man, never lived. Even though it has been documented in other sources besides the Bible, why do you think he didn't live?

Teen pregnancy rates are really high in some areas of my state. In the north, it is the highest in the nation. I was a teen once but I also knew about birth control and so did my friends. It was very easy to get if you wanted it. Planned Parenthood would give it away free.

So I wonder why the rates are so high? Do teens not know about birth control? That seems hard to believe. Are they just unprepared? Think it won't happen to them? If you are one of these who got pregnant while a teen, can you shed some light on this? I'm not pointing fingers but I wonder what we need to do to help teens avoid this.

I'm looking for real answers. Not ones like "He won't be Bush" or other nonsense. What do you really expect him to change and how is he to do this?

Are there popular shows you have never seen? Here are some of mine.

Sex and the City

Friends

Grey's Anatomy

Lost

Survivor

Real World (any)

I have never had any interest in those shows so I have never watched a single episode.

For me, it is Rachel Ray, and Jon and Kate +8. I can tolerate just about any show but those.