The land where courtesy is lost...

My husband and I spent this beautiful summer day (70 degrees with a cool breeze) running errands...cashing in change, selling some baby items at a local consignment shop, baby food shopping, and our final stop...Wal-Mart...or the land where courtesy is lost.

Maybe it is just our local Middle Island Wal-Mart, or Long Island Wal-Marts in general but what is it about walking thru those automatic doors that turns people into rude, inattentive robots?  I truly despise these stores! They are dirty, unorganized, and full to the brim of people having a bad day (or so I hope, I'd hate to think that they aren't walking through life like that!)

We only go to Wal-Mart about every 90 days, they have an amazing Rx program where a large selection of Rx medications are $10 for a 90 day supply (this is there ONLY positive attribute, in my opinion.) Today, unfortunately, we needed a handful of other items, and I did not want to subject my darling peanut to yet another stop.

Our much dreaded shopping trip started out with a bad buggy selection, is there anything worse than getting the buggy with one bulbous wheel so it rattles around the store like a car with a flat tire! Then to wander this disorganization to find the items we needed. This was step two in raising my blood pressure. Shopping is just like driving folks...we are in the US, keep you buggy to the right...not the middle or the left. If you choose to be an Englishman and drive your buggy on the left...then be courteous enough to slide out of the on coming traffics' way. Well fair warning, the shoppers of the Middle Island Wal-Mart are not aware of this common courtesy, EVERY aisle consisted of someone either parked mid aisle or standing mid aisle and when approached with an, "Excuse me please" returned the phrase with a hostile glance.

Finally we made it to the check out area, 3 registers open and each with at least 4 people in line. When we reached the front, Carol reluctantly ring us up, she obviously does not like her job and isn't afraid to let you know by the sour expression on her face. Forgetting my reusable shopping bags in the car, I asked her nicely to please place all our items in one bag and that I would be happy to hold the greeting card. No response, so i asked again, still nothing. I looked at my husband and asked, "Am I invisible?" Once the sales as finished, Carol blessed us with the standard, "Have a nice day" while looking at her register and clearly not meaning a word of it and off we went.

Now, I like most people shop at Mega stores because I like to save money, but prefer to support my local small business owners when possible, but when did getting a discount deserve receiving such an attitude? Can we not offer common courtesy and a bargain?

I know for a fact that not all Wal- Mart stores are like this. I have gone into other stores in Pa, Md, La, Tx that are staffed by friendly (or so it would seem) team members. The attitude of the LI team members is something Wal-Mart should address, but what about the shoppers?

Have we really become so busy in our daily lives that common courtesy is out the window? Would it kill us to be a little kinder to one another?  What kind of an example are we setting for our children?

At the end of the day, can you look in the mirror and say you made the world a better place today? Maybe you held the door open for a mother pushing a stroller, or seen an elderly person struggling to lift her grocery bag out of the cart and offered assistance, maybe you just returned a smile to a stranger, or said "Thank you" to the cashier at your local Mega store and meant it.

I know I can't answer yes to that question on a daily basis, but I sure do feel better at the end of the day when I can. One smile at a time, we can make life a little happier...and who couldn't use a little more happiness in their lives, right?

Fresh summer spaghetti

Good afternoon!!!

Have I mentioned I love food? :) 

This past week I tried a new recipe that turned out quite good and thought I'd share it. It is a quick, simple meal with easy ingredients. Prep and cooking time was about 20 minutes. I made it for 2 people, but could easily be made in a larger portion. 

1/2 box angel hair pasta

Mushrooms, sliced

Vine ripened tomato, roughly chopped

Vidalia Onion, diced

Italian Seasoning

Chives

Parmesan Cheese

Olive oil 

Garlic, minced

Shrimp, optional

In a large pot, bring salted water to a boil for your pasta. Cook pasta to desired tenderness, (I'm a fish out of water around here because most people in LI prefer al dente pasta, but I like mine a little softer)

*** Interesting note, I heard from a TV chef somewhere that your pasta water should be the saltiness of the sea. I thought that sounded crazy, but it does make a world of difference. I use a large handful of kosher salt in my pasta water. ***

In a sauté pan, heat olive oil and  sauté mushrooms (any kind, I used sliced white button mushrooms, about 1/2 a pint) and diced vidalia onion (1/2 a medium onion) until lightly browned. Add Italian seasoning and chives, to taste. Stir.

Once pasta is almost done, add garlic (to taste, I used just a pinch) and tomatoes(1-2 per person depending on size) to the sauté pan to cook garlic and warm tomatoes. You don't want to add these too early or you will burn your garlic and cook your tomatoes away. Add peeled shrimp at this stage as well if using. 

Drain pasta.

Add pasta to sauté pan and mix together, season with salt and pepper. Serve with a generous amount of fresh grated parmesan cheese.

***don't waste your money on jarred parmesan cheese, buy the fresh wedge, keep it Ina ziploc bag in the meat drawer in your fridge. It taste a 100x better and lasts a good long while.***

 

You could mix this recipe up to use whatever produce you have on hand. Don't like mushrooms, use yellow squash and zucchini (add with tomatoes so they stay crunch) or add fresh spinach at the end to boost it up a little.

Hope you enjoy! Let me know if you try it out, and if you made any changes! 

Intro

Hello! I have been wanting to start a blog for a long time and I have never pushed myself to do it. Well today's the day! This blog will encompass all my passions in life and hopefully someone will be able to benefit from what I have experienced or discovered. 

My name is Jen and I am originally from Louisiana but now live on Long Island, New York. I am happily married to my husband, Craig, and we have one daughter, Gwyneth (Winnie) who will be a year old in less than 2 months (Sweet Jesus where did the time go?!)

We have settled into a pretty easy going lifestyle in the last year (babies will do that to you!) and other than the fact the we are both currently unemployed and money is tight, I can already tell that the changes we have made in our life are for the better.

When I found out I was pregnant and had gestational diabetes we changed our eating habits, we eat more organic and natural foods and less carbohydrates and sugars now (except chocolate...you can never have enough chocolate). We have fallen in love with fruits and veggies and love to try new things. In fact, I have made it my personal goal to try one new recipe a week, which I will gladly share with you. I love all aspects of food...growing it (although I do not have a green thumb), production, shopping for it, discovering it, and cooking it. My dream would be to write a cookbook or have a cooking show or have a food truck, but I have no culinary education beyond my kitchen!

In October of last year, god blessed us with a beautiful, healthy baby girl. She was the child we never knew we wanted and our life has been turned upside down in a fantastic way. We model our parenting style after the Attachment Parenting Principles (http://www.attachmentparenting.org/principles/principles.php) as that is what has come naturally to us.  I am breast feeding Winnie and we cloth diaper her, we co sleep in a family bed, we try our best to respond to her needs with sensitivity and understanding, and so far she is an amazing little lady. We have met some great people through a local group, and they have been supportive and informative beyond what I could have ever imagined.

So this blog will most likely be a lot about Winnie and the experiences we will endure as first time parents and a lot about food. Of course I have other interests but I wont throw those at you just yet.  I hope y'all stick around, and that you find this blog interesting and informative. Until next time remember to live your life with peace, love, and understanding and you can help make your world a better place...oh and don't forget the chocolate :)