Big Boy Food!

Simon turns one next month so when we had to get him more food this week, we got him adult food! He has a little kitten food left so we'll mix it for the next week or so. It's the same flavor as his kitten food so I don't think it'll taste all that different, but just in case it's a rough transition for his tummy.

Gamer Girlfriend Reviews Recap!

Last week I stepped it up and got started bloging more seriously. (As you probably noticed.) I have a second blog that I dedicate to video games and the associated culture. Here's what was posted there this week:

http://gamergf.blogspot.com/2011/09/afternoon-quickie-el-shaddai.html
A short review of the new game: El Shaddai

http://gamergf.blogspot.com/2011/09/review-catherine.html
A full length review of the innovative, choose-your-own-ending game Catherine.

If you into video games, or dating/married to a gamer, check it out!

Works in progress!

Here's a sneak peak at what I'm working on right now!

I've got three scarves that I'm finishing up. (I like to multi-task.) I have two others started, but the kitten got ahold of them, so they may need to be taken apart and repurposed. At least Simon had some fun, right?

From right to left: Purple needle-knit solid scarf; Purple ribbon-yarn needle-knit scarf (similar to the orange and black one in the etsy shop); and a Nursery Yellow solid needle-knit scarf.

I'm also working on finishing my painting of Kuroneko Sama. You can see the unfinished piece below. It will be of his frightened eyes. I just find it to be his cutest face! =^.^=

Slow Cooker Ribs and Cornbread!

One of my favorite late summer/early fall meals is barbecue ribs, cornbread, green beans, and salad. These ribs are so simple and easy to make and can be altered to your taste (I like mine mostly sweet with just a little bit of spice.) and to the number of people joining you.



Rib Rub Recipe:

• Cumin
• Chili Powder
• Garlic Powder
• Onion Powder
• Paprika
• Salt
• Pepper
• Brown Sugar

Combine all the ingredients according to the taste you're looking for. I usually use a lot of brown sugar, onion and garlic powders, and paprika. Like many of my family's recipes, you know it's going to taste right if it smells good.

Rub the mix on all sides of boneless ribs and let sit in the fridge over night. If there's any excess rub mix, place this in with the ribs while they marinate.

Layer the ribs in your slow cooker with your favorite barbecue sauce. I usually use Kraft's barbecue sauce as I find it to be pretty mild in spice but complements the rub well.  Start with sauce on the bottom. Cook for about seven (7) hours on low. Ribs should be tender and able to be cut/pulled apart with a fork.

For cornbread, I like to use Jiffy's cornbread mix. I find it has a good flavor and they come out just crumbly  enough.

Prayer Request

Yesterday evening, one of the tenants of a local apartment attacked and shot one of the workers. Prayers go out to Jacob and his family. Any readers who are the praying type, please pray for a continued recovery and sense of peace for those living in the apartment complex.

Details on the event can be found here.

Some Reflections...

So, I was watching TLC this morning and was about to do some chores when I saw that the premiere episode of their new show, "Big Sexy" was going to be playing next. I decided I would watch it. After all, the commercials had peaked my interest and I really didn't feel like doing dishes anyway...

Let me begin, for those who don't know me, by saying that I am "plus-sized" or "big." I don't particularly like to label myself by my size, but it gets the point across for now. While I admire these women for their perseverance in the fashion industry and their desire to provide positive role models for young girls, I had a few issues with the show very early on.

One of the very first scenes was a woman putting on two layers of shapewear on just her lower half. While doing this, she's talking about how beautiful she is and proud of her size. I'm wondering, if you are so proud of your size and feel so confident in your beauty, why do you need two layers of Spanx?

The next scene is of all the ladies going to a fashion show during fashion week. The models in the show are typical models who are very thin. One of the ladies began to make negative comments about how one of the models was too skinny and "all bones." Later, the ladies were joking around in such a way that sounded to me like they were teasing that model in the same way that many mean kids teased them in high school.

During the fashion show itself, the one lady who talked about the very thin model also said that while those models could go all day without eating, she couldn't. She went on to say that she could eat a whole chicken. Specifically, one of those rotisserie kind with all the drippings. In the same breath that she commented on how unhealthy the thin model was, she spoke of some very unhealthy eating habits on the other end of the spectrum.

Another scene that they showed was particularly disturbing to me. At a BBW party (a party for Big Beautiful Women and the men who love them), they had a "Thunder Thigh Contest." During this time, women got up and danced around to show off how large their thighs were. It was at this point that I was really turned off from this show and a few minutes later turned it off.

I strongly believe in loving yourself and your body no matter what your pant size. This is something that most, if not all, women struggle with from time to time, and something that I have had many battles with. However, there seems to be a trend towards no longer recognizing the unhealthy nature of such large physiques. Yes, you should love your body no matter what it looks like, but part of loving your body should be to take the best care of it possible.

While I am glad that many media outlets are trying to stray away from the uber skinny model of beauty, I think we also need to be careful that we do not overly glamorize the other end of the spectrum. Just as it is unhealthy to be too underweight, it is also unhealthy to be too overweight. I just worry that we could be sending just as unhealthy a message to our young people with shows like this as we do with shows that encourage girls to starve themselves.

Final word: Love yourself no matter what you look like, but just as you should always be striving to be a better friend, wife, daughter, etc. strive to be healthier too whatever that may look like for you.

Micah 6&7

I heard this song this morning and it touched my heart. Specifically, I love the verse that the young lady sings towards the end. Micah 6:8, "Seek justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God." With that verse swimming in my mind, I decided to read Micah 6 and 7 again. These two chapters struck me as being incredibly relevant to our society.

In this part of Micah, you see the Lord's accusation of Israel. Once again, the chosen nation has turned away from its God and has forgotten the awesome acts of mercy that have saved them in the past. The writer hears the Lord's accusations and knows that he is guilty. He pleads with God, what can I do to make you love me again? What do I need to give you? He asks God which sacrifice would be necessary. Barrels of oil? Costly livestock? His own son? He offers God everything that God does not need and nothing that God wants.

God's reply is simple. He wants a faithful people. He wants his chosen nation to seek justice, love mercy, and to walk humbly with Him.

Still, the people seek to find their fulfillment elsewhere, but it is not successful. Micah 6:14-16:

You will eat but not be satisfied;
   your stomach will still be empty.
You will store up but save nothing,
   because what you save I will give to the sword.
You will plant but not harvest;
   you will press olives but not use the oil,
   you will crush grapes but not drink the wine.

The writer continues to talk of the corruption all around him. Everyone is corrupted from the nation's leader to his own wife. He is crying out against the evil around him, but his voice is so small among the crowds. Yet,

But as for me, I watch in hope for the LORD,
   I wait for God my Savior;
   my God will hear me. 

Do not gloat over me, my enemy! 
   Though I have fallen, I will rise. 
Though I sit in darkness, 

   the LORD will be my light. (7:7-8)

How can this man, surrounded my evil, watching his nation suffer rightly due to their own sin, have such hope? Because he has walked with his God. He proclaims at the end of the book the reason for his hope-- He can have hope, because he knows who his God is.

Who is a God like you, 
   who pardons sin and forgives the transgression 
   of the remnant of his inheritance? 
You do not stay angry forever 
   but delight to show mercy. 
You will again have compassion on us; 
   you will tread our sins underfoot 
   and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea. 
You will be faithful to Jacob, 
   and show love to Abraham, 
as you pledged on oath to our ancestors 
   in days long ago. (Micah 7:18-20)


Today, I know that it is easy to look around and see the corruption of our world. It is easy to see how even those of the Church have strayed away from their God. But today, I challenge us to seek justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God, because then we will have the hope that comes from knowing the person of our God and knowing that He will always be faithful to us, no matter how unfaithful our world becomes.