Category Archives: Uncategorized

37 things: Thanksgiving food

This post is part of my attempt to post daily between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day. That means, if my math is correct, I will have offered 37 different topics about my favorite time of the year. Learn more about 37 Things for the Holidays.

My first post talks about Thanksgiving food.

I like to tell people I gave up eating meat cold turkey.

But the reality is that it took many months. While I officially mark May 2012 as the period in my life when I went meatless, it is November 2011 where the quest began.

It was the first Thanksgiving in, I assume, all of my life where I did not consume one piece of turkey — or any meat product! There was enough commotion at the table for nobody to really notice, but my mother asked me later if I had any turkey and I told her I had not.

Instead, I chose to savor the green bean casserole, mashed potatoes and more.

Though I enjoy good tofu, I’ve yet to experience a tofurkey. I considered making tofu this year, but my mom made pasta for me.

While turkey is the focus of Thanksgiving tables, there are a number of people who I’ve encountered over the years who either don’t have turkey or whose side dishes are not traditional (at least to what I think of).

Last week, a friend told me she enjoys macaroni and cheese for Thanksgiving — a dish I could eat daily.

Later on Thanksgiving, I ventured to Sheetz (of course!) after visiting Target and Macy’s and discovered a number of people ordering MTOs. They could have been college or high school students just looking for something to do, but some of them seemed to have been coming from work and picking up a quick, late-night bite.

If I could choose my own Thanksgiving dinner menu, I’d likely stick with mashed potatoes, green been casserole, macaroni and cheese, maybe some cornbread and a pasta dish. Someone else can bring the turkey!

50 years of ‘Days of our Lives’

Like sands through the hourglass, so are the days of our lives.

I’ve heard that phrase spoken hundreds and hundreds over the course of my life, and — I sometimes joke — even before I was born.

“Days of our Lives” — NBC’s longest-running drama — is celebrating 50 years, having first welcomed Salem and the Horton family into the lives of American television viewers on Nov. 8, 1965.

Since then, “Days” has made a lasting impact on millions of viewers over several generations.

My love for the fictional drama began early in my life, and I do sometimes joke that I’ve been watching the show since I was in my mother’s womb. As a child, I remember watching explosions in far off lands as Bo and Hope traveled the world, the “Cruise of Deception” and Marlena’s demonic ways.

Using a VCR (remember those?), I recorded “Days” every afternoon on Pittsburgh’s WPXI Channel 11 and enjoyed sick days, holidays and summer breaks so I could watch without recording.

For an hour a day (or for binge sessions late at night or on weekends), “Days” gives me that escape from real life and a chance to let my imagination soar in Salem.

I’ve watched Sami Brady drug and rape a guy, nearly be put to death, lie about the father of her child, abduct her baby half-sister, be left at the alter at least twice, hide her identity as a transgendered man named Stan, shoot her fiance in the head, be arrested by her dad for murder, among many other less-than-notable schemes and dramas.

I’ve watched murders be staged only to have all of the “victims” appear together on a previously unknown island before being reunited with their loved ones in Salem.

I’ve watched as Marlena Evans has been kidnapped more times than I can remember, became possessed by the devil and was used as a surrogate for “alien” twins.

Storylines such as those sometimes force fans like me to defend our beloved drama. (Never mind the outrageous storylines on dramas on HBO and in primetime on broadcast TV, eh?)

But along with the out of this world stories, I’ve watched generations of Salem residents share love and laughter, holiday memories (Horton ornaments!) and loss of loved ones.

“Days” now is one of four daytime drama remaining on broadcast television, making this golden anniversary even more special.

Let’s hope for even more “Days” to come!

Days links

“Think of it as a road map with choices, and not a series of commands”

american_cancer_society_logo-svgAs you likely have read or seen, the American Cancer Society — an organization for which I have volunteered for 18 years — yesterday announced changes to its guidelines for breast cancer screenings.

There has been a lot of discussion about these changes on news/talk programs, websites and social media.

Below are some suggested links for you to learn more about the American Cancer Society’s announcement.

Please read the information to better understand the American Cancer Society’s position.

One takeaway I had as I’ve looked at these changes is this line from a blog post from Dr. Leonard Lichtenfeld — the deputy chief medical officer for the national office of the American Cancer Society: “Think of it as a road map with choices, and not a series of commands.”

Resources from the American Cancer Society:

I’m making strides for Laura

msabc_forlauraLike many people, I started glazing over everything pink in the month of October.

From pink footballs to pink M&M’s to pink Kitchen Aid mixers, it seemed pink went from being a color represented by breast cancer survivors to a color corporations wanted to latch onto only to show they “supported” a cause that just so happened to affect women, who just so happen to buy a lot of stuff.

Helping the American Cancer Society and its signature fundraiser Relay For Life has been nearly a full-time (volunteer) job for almost two decades for me. So fighting back against cancer wasn’t a foreign concept, I just stayed in the background in October.

All of that changed in October 2014 when one of my most favorite people in the world — someone I met through the American Cancer Society — was diagnosed with breast cancer.

I remember the call. My phone rang early on Oct. 10.

“It’s breast cancer,” were some of the first words Laura said.

She had been my partner in crime for many American Cancer Society Relay For Life events — a great volunteer/staff partner duo (at least I hope she agrees!!), so hearing that my friend who has given her life to raising money toward research and programs and services to help survivors and families was now a survivor, I was mad, sad, pissed off and beside myself.

Friends of Laura’s joined her the next day at the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Greater Pittsburgh walk — and for the first time, Laura, who was there to help at the event as a staff member for the American Cancer Society, donned a survivor shirt.

A year later, she’s now the community manager for Pittsburgh’s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk. And I can’t think of anybody better for the job of turning the city of black and gold to pink!

10371980_812708239696_7624948417514820380_nSo it is for my friend Laura that I am making strides in this fight against breast cancer.

Learn about all of the programs and services offered for free for cancer survivors. Those programs exist because people like you and me donate. So please consider a donation to help fund researchers, programs and services.