At the Mall

Enjoying a cup of frozen yogurt at the mall, we saw a woman walk out Carson's with her baby, in an expensive stroller.   She was wearing a floral blouse and dark blue jeans and sandals.  As she casually walked past us, my friend,  thought it was strange that the woman was walking around with only one of her pant leg rolled up.  

Five minutes later, the same woman walked past us again, and started heading back into Carsons, when two other ladies approached her. They briefly spoke to her, and she looked down at her feet and fixed her rolled-up pants.  We were flabbergasted!  That someone would tell this lady about her one rolled-up jeans!

McDonald's Happy Meals and Consumer Advocacy Group

The Consumer Advocacy Group, which is based out of Washington, DC is giving McDonald's 30 days to pull the toys out of their Happy Meals!

They believe the inclusion of the toys in the Happy Meals are putting pressure on parents to buy them for their kids, and therefore, is illegal (in some states).   

If the Consumer Advocacy Group is really that concern about the obesity rate in children, they should also sue Burger King, Wendy's,  KFC, Popeye's, Red Robin, and all pizza restaurants and have them serve all low-fat ingredients, baked, instead of deep-fried foods.

It has absolutely nothing to do with the toys!!

Not only is the Consumer Advocacy Group wanting to sue McDonalds, but also Kellogg's, who markets DVDs, a chance to win a Nintendo DSI, advertised on their cereal boxes. They should also sue companies that has those silly "Box Tops for Education" on their processed products. 

Don't you think that the reason companies include special offers, rebates, toys, and coupons is because they want YOU to buy their product?  That gives an incentive to consumers to pick their product versus another. 

McDonald's has my support! I see nothing wrong with including a toy in their Happy Meals.  Most parents are smart.  They exercise their freedom of choice to buy a fast foods or serve their own kids a home-cooked meal.    

Fast food tastes good! Once in a while, it's ok to eat  french fries, and chicken tenders or hamburgers.  Even the U.S. Olympic Athletes eat at McDonald's-- one of their biggest sponsors! 

In the News:  Consumer News wants McDonalds to stop selling Happy Meals with toys

Raccoon Scats

Looking out my kitchen window, I noticed something black on top of the red mulch, underneath my Bradley Pear Trees, just next to the bright green Coral Bell plants.  We get alot of birds in our trees in addition to a couple of nests perched up high too; so, from a distance, it looked like dead small crow or raven.

Coral Bell Plant (photo by Lourdes)

Later in the day, I walked out to examine blackened object a little more closely and noticed it was poop.  For a moment, I thought it was my neighbor's little pooch since the darn thing has escaped and crawled under our wooden fence before.  However, recently, we placed brick stones and little wooden barriers underneath the biggest space from the fence and ground to keep small dogs from entering our yard.

In the 15 years that I lived here, I have never been visited by the masked bandit.  Last month, a raccoon walked on my cement patio, saw me and even came up to my glass sliding door.  Just this past week, a raccoon was walking along my house and fence early one morning.  

Photo credit: jak from morguefile.com

The appearance of the "poop" gave way to my suspicion of the uninvited.  Imagine google-ing images on what raccoon poops looks like along with opossum poop. Yes, I spotted them around lately too.  Gross as it sounds, I am convinced it is raccoon poop that's still in my yard.  

Finally, I found a link that gave some reasonable and simple advice on how to deter raccoons. http://www.getridofthings.com/get-rid-of-raccoons.htm

I'm hoping that following some simple advice such as adding ammonia using predator urine will keep these pests from walking thru my small, cozy, and relaxing garden patio area. 

Night Leg Cramps

Last night I got a leg cramp in my right calf.  I woke up just before it began cramping and tried to flex my toes to prevent it.  Too late! It cramped and as I lay there in pain, I kept thinking of what I should do to make it stop but every time I tried to move my body, it seemed the calf muscle got even tighter.

My muscles continually cramped on and off  for an hour and during that time, I was massaging my leg and looking in my iPhone for quick remedies.  Here's some advice from people who experience this excruciating pain that I read at 4am from Leg Cramp Remedies. 

I know that my leg cramp was "brought on" by the cool air from the ceiling fan.  I've had close calls before, getting leg cramps at night since I wake up just before it'd start and prevent it by putting my cold leg under the sheets.  Anyhow, in spite of trying to do that last nite, the leg cramp apparently was due.

I did take 4 chewable Tums and drank a glass of water, both are usually on my night stand.  I continued to massage the leg for an hour and needed to get out of bed and walk because I had to use the bathroom.  What an ordeal this would become since every time I tried to move, the cramp would start again! Oh, this is a tragedy! Massaging my leg aggressively now, I was able to sit up and walk to the "john" after 15 minutes and ended up going downstairs to make coffee and watch the morning news. 

My leg is sore and  I guess I will skip aerobic exercises today and just work on my arm muscles instead.

Night Leg Cramp: Natural Remedies

Some natural remedies for preventing leg cramps at night.  Gosh, if I had known this before, I could have prevented my leg cramp last nite! Watch as he talks about placing a bar of soap under the sheet to prevent leg cramps.  "Oh, now, really?"

                 

Jose is an Older Man

This guy is probably, and I'm guessing, in his late 40s or early 50s.  He's attending this week's  English Conversation Group.  He told us he never misses a chance to go and speak English, so he travels to other nearby conversation groups on different days.  What's nice about our English Conversation Group is that there's no pressure and no one looks at you funny or is rude to you, if you can't pronounce a word correctly,' it's a very relaxed environment and we talk about "whatever".

I can't believe that people can be really rude to others because they can't say a word perfectly.  Another student of mine was in a hospital attending her clinical requirements and one of the Respiratory Therapist yelled at her and told her to "learn how to speak English first and you'll be a better Therapist".  The woman who said this was from another country with a very, very, slight accent, not as perfect English either. My student felt awful and lost even more confidence in herself. She's a timid, introvert and walked away feeling hurt. 

Back to Jose; he decided to attend a local junior college to take an ESL class.  He said he paid alot of money, nearly $500 for two credit hours and a book.  Jose has not been working for over 9 months since he was laid-off from his job. 

If you were to talk to Jose, he can understand and speak English pretty well; enough for him to get by in a conversation everyday.  He doesn't understand alot of slang and idioms that we use today.  For example, we were talking about "shadowing" someone at work and he had no clue what that meant.  I never realized how much we use slang or idioms on a daily basis.  Here's a few examples:

• Take it Easy
• A Dime a Dozen
• A Drop in the Bucket
• Don't Bite My Head off
• Once in a Blue Moon
• You Crack Me Up
• Off the Record
• Hit the Sack or Hit the Hay
• Out of the Blue
• A Piece of Cake
• Bite the Bullet
• A Taste of your Own Medicine

Just by adding idioms in our daily conversation can easily confuse someone who is learning the English language.  I try not to add them in my conversation group, 'cause sometimes, it takes awhile to explain what some of the idioms mean; and that can get even trickier and more confusing for others. 

She came from Ecuador

It was Rosa's first time attending the English Conversation Group.  Man, can this woman talk alot! She's been living here in the United States for the past four years.  According to her, the reason she's attending the conversation group is because some people can't really understand what she's saying.

Rosa is a caregiver for an elderly American woman.  Since Rosa works, it helps her to speak English on a daily basis.  Many times, I've noticed that the women who are "stay-at-home" moms, are struggling to communicate in English.  Part of the problem is because of convenience.  They speak their language at home with their loved ones, and at certain ethnic stores too.  They watch TV, listen to the radio in their language, even the countless amount of paperwork their elementary-grade level children bring home from school is written in Spanish.   

Surprisingly, Rosa's English is impressive.  I have a one-on-one student, who's lived here for 11 years also a Homemaker and doesn't speak English as well as Rosa.  Rosa's advice to her and the group was to read, watch TV, listen to the radio, and download music lyrics to their favorite song and sing along with it. Rosa speaks English to her young school-age children.  Her seven year old son, sometimes makes fun of her or teases her but that did not stop her from learning to speak better.  She didn't really care if her son said, "no mom, you're saying it wrong!" She talks to them English, no matter what.

Rosa hopes to secure a job teaching in the public school system.  She holds a Bachelor's Degree and was a teacher in Ecuador.  She didn't quite understand the Basic Skills Tests that she must first take and the bureaucratic paperwork that the state requires in order for her to teach here.

Mt. Rushmore

You really don't see this view of Mount Rushmore very often.  I had to pull over and take this picture.  It was really cool to see the presidential carvings from the road as we approached the park.

ESL Conversation Group: Hawkeye

His name is "Hawkeye". He and his wife left China and arrived in Canada 10 years ago.   He's attending an English Conversation Group to improve his speaking skills, so he can fulfill his goal of  practicing medicine in the United States. This is his story. 

He worked in Canada as a Medical Researcher in a Lab. His heart was always to pursue a career as a family doctor.  You see, back in China, he held a Medical Degree and was also a Surgeon for one year.  But because he needed to pass the licensing exams in America, he moved to New York and lived with his parents and brother, attended school and received his Master's Degree.  His wife continues to live and work in Ontario Canada and waiting to get her visa papers.

For the past year, he has been shadowing doctors to observe their skills, see how they communicate with patients, learn administrative duties, and a myriad of medical responsibilities. He's still unemployed and is taking advantage of this learning experience. 

Not an easy task to shadow or follow a doctor all day in a hospital setting. 

Hawkeye has to contact a doctor individually by phone and/or email and ask if he can shadow them.  Often times, he has to pay the individual doctor for their time since most of them are too busy.  Sometimes, it can take awhile before he can find a doctor who will meet with him and agree to mentoring. 

Hawkeye then "practiced" his interviewing conversation for next Spring.  He added that he came from a big family, and there were alot of elders living with them, including his grandparents.  His grandmother lived a very old age and became paralyzed.  Helping sick people feeds his soul and completes his life. He knew at a young age that he would pursue an education in medicine, earn his medical degree and become a doctor. 

His dream is to be able to speak English clearly, utilize the leading-edge technology in medicine while helping people feel better and get healthier in America.

Note:

If you're interested in learning to speak, write, and read English and would like more information, here are a couple of links:

http://www.toastmasters.org/

http://www.literacyvolunteersillinois.org/about.asp

http://literacyvolunteersdupage.org/

http://www.literacychicago.org/

Even better---  Volunteers are always needed!  Training and certification is free!  Help others learn the English language, the hours are flexible and you'll make new friends too!  Contact any of the organizations listed above for more information on how you can become a Literacy Tutor. 

Pineapples: How to Peel and Slice 'Em

I'm so happy to see many fruits in season and on sale at my local produce store in the Chicagoland area.  I've been making alot of salsa, guacamoles, and fresh fruit salads! One of my favorite fruit is the pineapple, and I usually cut the tops and bottoms off then slice the fruit. I wasn't even "google-ling" on  how slice pineapples or anything like that. How this video came to me, I have no idea.  Nature must be telling me that I wasted too much of the fruit by slicing the skin off too thickly.

I found this video on how to slice up a pineapple the correct way.

Thanks to FaeyStar for sharing this educational and entertaining video!
You can visit her blog site at:
http://newfaey.com/

Nordstrom Customer Service Decay

As I was walking thru the Cosmetics Department at Nordstrom, I tried the Kiehl's Creme de Corp lotion from a tester.  I smooth it on my arm and a salesperson quickly began talking about the Kiehl's line and promotions. The lotion had a slight scent and it felt luxurious so I decided to purchase a bottle and walked out of the store and into the mall to the Apple Store and Bare Escentuals Store.

My arm began to itch an hour later so I walked back to Nordstrom to return the lotion.  I approached the salesperson's co-worker and and told her I was returning the lotion I purchased earlier. She was putting inventory away, and briefly acknowledging me, she can continued to put 3 bottles in a drawer below the counter. A clerk from another cosmetic counter stopped by and asked for a lipstick which the salesperson, whom I was waiting for, stopped and helped her. Then the phone rang and she answered it and almost walked away from me so she can look for someone on the sales floor.  I had to ask her to stay and start processing my return since I was here first before the phone rang and before another clerk asked her for help.

It's a bit irritating to me when sales clerks are hired to wait on customers, and provide a service whether it's a return or a sale.  I once worked in retail and we were always told the customer comes first and we only put inventory or perform 'back office" duties when the store is "dead". 

For decades, Nordstrom was known for their outstanding customer service and happy returns. Today, was not one of those days, I guess.  I was turned-off by this salesperson's ignorance and I'm so glad my Nordstrom credit card is paid-off.  I won't be shopping there for a long, long, time.

Clutter

I went to a friend's house and it was beautiful with a carefully planned layout of the furniture and a couple of pictures hanging on the wall; it was simple, relaxing and inviting.

Later, when I got home and walked into my home, all I saw was clutter.  There were cell phones, laptops, and Dsi, chargers laying around on the carpet, an empty coffee cup here, magazines there, junk mail piled, and library books stacked on the staircase.  I can't believe how messy this domain has gotten, because only a week ago, it was spotless!

Procrastination? You'd think that I'm too busy to initiate a small effort to carry the books up the stairs instead of creating the steps into an instant, make-shift bookshelf.  Or put the coffee mug in the sink, rather than leaving it on the coffee tables all day long. It all catches up--the clutter. 

The "staircase bookshelf" is my worse habit. I should invent some kind of vexatious alarm that can help me break this annoying convenience.  

A simple fantasy, that one day can become a long-term reality:  A clean, de-cluttered territory everyday, forever.

I'm Not a Soccer Fan

I'm not a soccer fan because I really don't understand the game.  I mean, obviously, scoring is easy to figure out.  Other than that, I am clueless about the penalties, how the forward, square and backward passes are suppose to look like and all the other complexities of the game. That includes the many different arm movements the referee makes, the yellow or red cards he raises, listening to the long or short whistle calls just to name a few.

At a party over the weekend, a few people were talking about the World Cup, and  at times, referring to it as "futbol". As I overhear their conversation here and there, I wondered which sport they were talking about, football or soccer.  Unlike the NFL Football in the United States, the world of soccer has never really intrigued me until now.

Last Friday,  ESPN started broadcasting the FIFAWorld Cup in 3D on channel 106. On my other post, I wrote about my broken plasma TV.  Now, I have a new TV that supports 3D viewing.  So, naturally I tuned in to watch the soccer games. Soccer is an exciting game, like NFL Football; always moving, fast-action, ball is constantly moved across the field, the strategies of the players reactions. 

To take advantage of this free service from Directv and the 3D technology, I'll be watching futbol or soccer as I prefer to call it (not confuse some Americans) and learn what the flags mean, the penalties and the DFK (direct free kick) while enjoying 3D sports on TV.  By the way, the commercials on 3D TV is absolutely stunning! Beer anyone?

iPhone Software Upgrade

The software upgrade, iOS4 for the 3GS phones:

• will allow my camera to make 5X digital zoom 

• the video feature allows users to touch the screen and focus during videotaping

In addition to that exciting new features for the 3GS software upgrade (iOS4): 

• wireless keyboard support via Bluetooth

• Organize apps into Folders

• give apps as gifts to friends and family

Their other upgrades also includes better email, multi-tasking without draining the battery life, a spell-checker that works in other apps. 

Although the upgrade will allow iPhone 3GS users to have some of the new amazing technological improvements as the iPhone4 version, I was lured to watch the online video demo, which I'm especially blown away about the video conferencing feature. The video conferencing feature allows me to show someone what I'm looking at by switching the view to focus on me or the what's in front of me. In other words, let's say I am on a video conference with you and I see your face and you see mine, but then I want to show you what I am looking at from across the room. All I have to do is switch the camera view since there are lenses on both sides of the camera.  How cool is that?

Will this feature of the video-conferencing, make me replace my 3GS iPhone?  Hmmm, only time will tell. 

iPhone 4G

Again?! Another new iPhone?  It's supposedly exact replica of the proto-type stolen in the bar, a few months ago, remember that news? I always thought that was a planned hoax anyways.

I've seen the pictures of the new iPhone online and so far, I myself, am not that impressed.  It looks boxy and I don't like the side button design.  I like the curvy feel of my iPhone now. New Features such as multi-tasking, 4G, extended battery life, and video conferencing with HD quality?

I am multi-tasking already. I read books using Amazon Kindle application, I read email, play "Words with Friends" and "Chess with Friends", while I answer and talk on the phone.  

In a few days, we 3GS iPhone users will be able to upgrade our software iOS.

Oil Spill Live Video Link

Here's a link for a streaming live video feed on the oil leak currently going on in the Gulf of Mexico. http://www.ustream.tv/pbsnewshour

As we watched in horror the gallons of oil gushing into the gulf, I have to mention that the other day, listening to the radio talk show, the DJs reported that the oil being drilled there was exported to other countries; while our gas prices just continues to rise. 

What oil shortage were they talking about? They're selling "our" oil to other countries.  In the last couple of years, the oil companies has forced us to pay for as much as $3.50 for a gallon of gas.  Many of us gave up driving vacations because the prices were jacked-up. Some sold their gas cars for electric cars. What oil shortage were they talking about then? I didn't think there was an oil shortage, just a "pocket shortage" from the oil executives. 

BP Oil Spill in the Gulf

Normally, I listen to Satellite radio, but for some odd reason, I thought I'd surf the local radio channels and came across a talk show discussing the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The talk show was not impressive. I was disappointed that both of the DJs were bashing comments from Gov. Haly Barbour on his comment about "humans being covered in toothpaste" and BP CEO Tony Hayward's comments on "I'd like my life back."

We're all upset about the oil continuing to leak into our waters. What's sad to me was having these two radio personalities just waste energy and radio time on "what he said or she said". After about 20 minutes of the bashing back and forth, they finally moved on real facts, meaning real numbers of wildlife affected, or how BP supposedly had some of the cleanup crew sign a paper asking them not to speak to the media about the wildlife being affected and the "real" grim pictures they see ashore.

Spring Roll Wrappers-- Found!

After going on a three-day "mission" to look for the rice paper/spring roll wrapper, I finally found them!  They were being sold at a large Asian market in the northwest suburb of Chicago.  Even then, I asked two people that worked at the market, to help me locate them since the market was huge; a supermarket!  They even boast a Shiseido Cosmetic Counter, sushi bars/restaurant with tables, chairs and booth eating area, health and drug store, gift and housewares area, video store, and a major bookstore all in the supermarket.

At last, the specific type of spring roll wrappers are in my cart.  My next "mission" is to practice assembling, and wrapping the vegetables in the rice paper wrapper.

The plan for Saturday, today:  Making a few spring rolls, so I can serve them next week for a party I'm hosting. 

Spring Roll Wrappers

I bought my first Fresh Spring Rolls from Whole Foods Store last weekend.  It was so fresh and delicious.  The  price of paying $8 for just one whole fresh roll, was to me, an expensive splurge. So, I thought I can make this; how hard can it be?  Just have to get the veggies and dipping sauce.

On the other hand, finding the rice paper wrapper is another story.  The spring roll wrapper that Whole Foods used was made from rice and it was transparent-like. At the two stores I shopped at, they had egg roll  wrappers; but  one was made out of wheat, the kind you used for won tons; and the other store had a different kind of wrapper, white in color and used for Filipino egg rolls called lumpia.  Again, this is opaque in color, not the kind I was specifically looking for.

So, off I go again...on a crazy mission to find that transparent rice paper wrapper. All for the sake of making more than one fresh spring roll!  Afterall, who eats just one spring roll?