1. In my latest Small Successes post, I told you about getting our flu shots last week. We've gotten them every year for the past several years, and so far nobody has come down with flu. (Other things seem to find us instead; Larry missed more than a week of school last winter when a cold turned into pneumonia.) Moe doesn't get the flu vaccine, though, because he is allergic to eggs. He has asthma, too, so the up-the-nose variety isn't an option. I figure if everyone else in the family gets the flu shot, then at least Moe has a little cushion of protection.
Well, last fall, in the middle of the H1N1 scare, we ran across an article that said most people with egg allergies can in fact get the flu vaccine, and such people should seriously consider talking with their allergist about it. I called Moe's allergist and he said yes, that it was true, and that we'd need to schedule a three-hour appointment so they could first test him to make sure he wouldn't have a severe reaction to the vaccine, and then they'd give it to him a little bit at a time. It sounded like quite an ordeal, but certainly better than getting sick. (And when Moe gets sick, it's usually worse for him than his brothers because his asthma always manages to complicate things, and for some reason his illnesses seem to last longer than anyone else's.)
The day before the appointment, the allergist's office called me and said, we're sorry but we made a mistake. We ran out of flu vaccine, but we can still give it to him if you can bring it with you. You'll just have to get two doses from your regular doctor (one for testing and one for administering) and bring it here. I called our primary care physician and explained the situation. The receptionist was completely dumbfounded by this unusual request and put me on the line with the office manager. She listened again to my story and said that she'd have to ask the doctor but she was pretty sure we could do that. It would make insurance billing more complicated since one doctor was providing the vaccine and another was administering it, and we'd need to take the medicine straight to the allergist and bring any leftover medicine back right away and make sure we kept a cold pack on it at all times.
It was a most unpleasant experience for Moe, to say the least, maybe even worse than his annual allergy test which is bad enough. I don't know how many times he was stuck that day, but we didn't go back for the H1N1, which would have involved the same ordeal. He didn't get the flu shot this year, partly because it was so hard for Moe, and partly because it was such a pain in the butt for me. I hope I'm not a bad mother.
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2. Last weekend we made grilled salmon with lime-butter sauce, and it was delicious. We had some left over, so on Monday I made salmon salad with a little mayonnaise, salt, and pepper, and I added a little of the leftover lime-butter sauce, which had solidified nicely in the refrigerator. Yum-O, as Rachael Ray likes to say.
Then the other day I made linguine with garlic clam sauce, following a method I learned from my friend Terri via Facebook: Cook the linguine in water that has a little salt and some Tabasco sauce added to it. Take a whole head of garlic and mince it up, and cook it slightly in olive oil. Open a couple of cans of clams, dump it in the pan with the garlic (juice and all), add a little salt and pepper, heat it up a little bit, and serve that over the linguine. Easy-peasy, and delicious. At the last minute I remembered that we had more leftover lime-butter sauce--not much--and I dumped the rest of that in with the clams and garlic. It was just enough to give it a hint of buttery-ness and a slight twinge of lime. Fabulous, and now I think I'll add butter and lime juice to the clam sauce every time.
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3. Seriously, people, I mean it now. Quit it. (See Take No. 4, here) Now, I'm not one of these conspiracy theorists who swear the votes are rigged, and that Sarah Palin has been bribing people for votes, or that there's some underground movement to give Bristol the trophy. I just think there are a lot of good people out there who like Bristol (I like her too, don't get me wrong) and who support Sarah (I support Sarah, too! Really I do!!) and are using up all their votes week after week on Bristol, never mind the fact that Jennifer is the BEST dancer on the show, and has been all along. Enough is enough. So I want everyone out there in Blog land to memorize this number: 1-800-868-3411. I want all y'all to be dialing it like mad on Monday night.
Don't let Bristol put Baby in the corner.
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4. Speaking of Bristol, that new abstinence PSA that she did with the Situation is one heckuva gi-normous FAIL. If you're gonna teach abstinence, teach abstinence. Don't be wishy-washy. Sheesh. It made my blood boil when I saw that doofus with his shirt open and rosaries around his neck, and THEN he whips out condoms!!? What an insult to Our Lady and the Catholic faith.
Some of you reading this have known me a long time, and probably know that I've become quite conservative in the last 20 years or so. Part of that is because of my conversion to Catholicism, as you've probably guessed, but I also have three kids. One of whom is a teenager and another is fast becoming one. I certainly don't want to be wishy-washy with them.
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5. As I was in my car this morning taking an extra trip to school to bring Moe his lunch because he forgot it, I heard Greg and Jennifer Willits on their radio show, The Catholics Next Door, talking about how SO many Catholics out there don't know their faith, and discussing ways we can make sure that our own kids and the people around us are taught the truths of Catholicism. I didn't hear the whole conversation, but it got me thinking: This blog started out as a way for me to share my Catholic faith with whoever was listening, and to write about the joys and challenges of being a Catholic mom. Now, it seems, I'm writing less about Catholic issues and topics, and more about mundane everyday stuff. Not that the mundane things aren't important (some of my favorite blog posts to read are those about ordinary things--housework, parenthood, fun stuff you're doing with your kids, things like that--and I really enjoy blogging about those things too); but now I'm thinking I should challenge myself to include something Catholic in every blog post.
So all you other Catholic bloggers out there--who's with me?
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6. To those stupid people who have that website asking people to vote on whether or not they should abort their unborn baby: Carry the baby to term, give birth, and put her up for adoption. That way you've chosen life for your precious little one, and she'll be spared the trauma of having jerks for parents.
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7. I've had a scratchy throat and a little cough this week. Probably allergies. Nothing major, just annoying, and it makes it hard to fall asleep at night. I've found some remedies over the last couple of years that soothe that tickle in my throat and help me sleep like a rock:
--Limoncello
--A steaming cup of Celestial Seasonings Cinnamon Apple Spice tea, with a little honey and some brandy.
--Baliey's
I just have to make sure I'm finished with all my tasks for the day before taking my "medicine." It makes me sleepy and relaxed....and forget about trying to watch a TV show or a movie. (My latest plea I'm always giving my husband is "Don't delete it!! I missed the ending!!")
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Jennifer Fulwiler isn't feeling well, and she's taking a week off from 7 Quick Takes. She has her Mr. Linky list up, though, with tons of others for us to check out. Head on over and take a look!
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