DENSE BREAST TISSUE ON VALENTINE’S DAY

Whole Foods Chocolates

Whole Foods Chocolates

Valentine’s Day is a day for chocolate, champagne and red roses.  Right?  Yes, well sort of!  This year, I would like it to be the year you give your loved one the gift of knowledge.  Knowledge that could save a life.  Knowledge about the dangers of dense breast tissue.  On January 24th, I gave a TEDx talk at the University of Nevada.  It was one of the proudest moments of my life.  So for this Valentine’s Day, I’m asking you to watch my talk, send it on to those you love and help me spread the message about dense breast tissue.  I was part of a day of knowledge at Microsoft Licensing in Reno recently and because of that day 2 women discovered they had breast cancer even though their mammograms showed NOTHING.  Women need to know their density.  Learn more by watching my talk.  Ok, I’m not a total Valentine’s Day buzz killer.  So here’s the deal!  Whole Foods now has some amazing chocolates.  They come in flavors like milk chocolate with cinnamon hazelnut cream, dark chocolate with caramel  and vanilla buttercream and milk chocolate with rich caramel.  An entire box of goodness is just 10 dollars!  But you can win one for free!!  Just watch my video and then make a comment or email me about how cancer has affected you.  I will pick the comment that means the most to me ON MONDAY in time for Whole Foods to get you your box of chocolates by Valentine’s day.  Good luck!!  (in case you can’t see my tedx talk below, here’s the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQPLMWuTlWQ

BEST EVER CORNED BEEF RECIPE

I’m not Irish, I’m Scottish! And damn proud of it. But when it comes to St. Patrick’s Day, I’m all about going green and eating Irish. Seriously though, what other day do you actually want to eat like an Irishman? Sorry my Irish friends (Emma McKeen), but food is not your forte!

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However, God bless the Irish, because apparently you all came up with the corned beef. I’ve been making this recipe for the past couple of years and it’s the best corned beef I’ve ever had. Honestly, it rules!  However the secret, like with any beef roast, is you have to make sure you cook it long enough. This recipe calls for 5 hours at 250 degrees for a 3 pound roast. Cook it longer if you have a few extra pounds. You should be able to shred it with a fork. That sentence makes my mouth water! I serve it with a dollop of Dijon mustard on the side… although it’s not necessary!

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I’m not sure where I got this recipe. Since it’s hand written, in my handwriting, I’m going to just call it my own. Feel free to file it under “Wendy’s Corned Beef!” HAPPY SAINT PATRICK’S DAY!!!

 

 

GETTING OLDER

So you know I recently turned 41. THANK YOU for all your birthday wishes. I really look at my birthday as a national holiday. I take the day off. I do whatever I want. I eat dessert during breakfast and dinner. You catch the drift. I LOVE MY BIRTHDAY. So the fact you guys thought of me on January 11th means a lot! So I thought I would give you my take on getting older.

I begin with the 20′s.

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Take a look at those cheeks! Yep, I’m sitting in the same newsroom I currently work in. Winning! Are we all still using that exclamation? Back to the 20′s. They were hard. They were really hard. Why? Because in your 20′s you work hard at everything. You work hard at getting out of college. Then you get your first real job and you have to work hard to prove yourself. But at the same time, you’re also working hard on your personal life and trying to find the right mate. Don’t get me wrong. The 20′s were a load of fun, but they were hard because you’re trying to figure out who you are during that transition from being a college kid to a career woman. Do you think I was eating in that picture? Or maybe that’s another reason the 20′s were so hard.  You’re trying to lose the baby fat!

The 3o’s.

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Ok, the 30′s SUCKED!  I am not going to water this decade down.  That’s because you are now married and having kids.  Only problem is neither one comes with a manual to help you out.  Plus, you’re still not exactly where you want to be in your career.  So not only are you learning to be a wife, figuring out how to be a parent, you’re still trying to prove yourself at work.  So while there were a lot of bright moments in the 30′s, the decade as a whole SUCKED!  At least the chipmunk cheeks are gone.  Oh ya, that’s because in the 30′s your babies are sucking every ounce of nutrition out of you while you’re  pregnant and then breastfeeding.   Plus, you’re sleeping much Much MUCH less than the recommended 8 hours a night.  But hey!  Women actually look better in their 30′s than in their 20′s… just my opinion. 

And now the 40′s.

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This is my decade!  This is where we’re smarter, better, happier, more confident.  The kids are now a little more on auto pilot…  At least they can wipe their own ass.  You’ve figured out the marriage… Well, half  have and the other half divorced and hopefully will figure it out on spouse number 2.  And work is what it is… Either you hate it and will until the day you retire or you’re lucky like me and you love your job and the job loves you right back.  Of course staying in the same newsroom since your 20′s probably helps with that.  In fact,  I chose this final picture for two reasons.  1) See that desk behind me?  On the right side of the picture?  That’s where my 20 year picture was taken.  Boy I’ve come far!  And see the feather I’m holding?  That’s from a PIGEON that flew out from that closet right behind me and flew over my head, right at Kristen, down the hallway, and out the newsroom door. This happened about a month ago.  I meant to write a blog post about it, but what the hell do you say about a pigeon coming out of nowhere, dropping a feather on your desk, and flying away?  I guess new things can happen in a room you’ve worked at for almost 20 years.   And that’s the joy of getting older.

 

MY HOLIDAY TRADITION

When I was growing up in Walnut Creek, CA, my mom created many family traditions. But one thing was the same with all of them. They included just the four of us. My mom, dad, brother and me. My family was small. Both my parents were only children. My dad’s parents had both died by the time I came along. My mom was estranged from her mom and her dad and his wife lived up in Oregon and didn’t travel much. So family affairs meant a table of four. And I loved it. But now, I’ve 20121026-180411.jpgmarried into a huge family plus we have many close friends we consider family, so family traditions often include 10 to 20 to 50 people. And I love it. Except this one holiday tradition. The tradition of making Nevada Day cookies. I’ve kept this tradition just for a table of three. Eva, Dominic and Me. Here’s how our day goes. I wake up completely squished between their two little bodies. Somehow they both come into my bed the night before and since I know this is going to end some day… I always let it happen. We finally get up and eat something quick and easy. And then the mess begins. Domi makes the dough as Eva sets up all the sprinkles, frosting, cookie cutters and anything else she can find on my baking shelf in the pantry. I then put a layer of dough in front of each child and they go to town making Nevada shaped cookies. They always throw in some bats, pumpkins and this year stars (not sure why!) since Nevada Day is so close to Halloween. 20121026-180458.jpg

Officially, Nevada Day is October 31st, but years ago people voted to make the holiday on the last Friday of October. Oh yes! Did I mention it’s a state holiday?? We get the day off here… well most people do. I will eventually go to work in the afternoon, loaded down with plates of cookies. Because while my children love the tradition of making Nevada Day cookies, they don’t really eat them. For the kids, it’s all about the journey.  For me, it’s all about the destination;  a day spent with just my kids.

 

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sugar cookie recipe

Best sugar cookie recipe ever! I found this in Parenting Magazine and have used it for years!