Peasant DNA

Happy Meme Monday.

I wanted to share a funny meme today, but many of the funny memes I have collected are snarky, and I wanted something lighter. So I’m sharing this.

I find it funny because I definitely have peasant DNA. I’m cutting way back on added sugar, attempting yoga again, and walking several days a week, but any improvement will be glacier slow. 

I’m sticking with it for three months before reassessing, so I’ll see if I can outrun my peasant DNA. Whether I do or not, at least we can have a good laugh.

A holiday worth crying over

Happy National Onion Day!

It didn’t seem fair to give onion rings a post without also honoring onions. Hubby and I eat a lot of onions. I love scallions and add yellow or white onions to everything. A burger isn’t complete without an onion slice.

I was curious to know how many types of onions there are, and I found a great website that covers the types of onions and the best way to cook with them. Here is the list.

  1. Bermuda onions
  2. Boiling onions
  3. Chives
  4. Cipollini onions
  5. Cocktail onions
  6. Egyptian onions
  7. Green onions
  8. Leeks
  9. Maui onions
  10. Pearl onions
  11. Pickling onions
  12. Red onions
  13. Redwing onions
  14. Shallots
  15. Spanish onions
  16. Texas supersweet onions
  17. Vidalia onions
  18. Walla Walla Sweet onions
  19. Welsh onions
  20. White onions
  21. Yellow onions

How many have you heard of? I’ve heard of twelve of them (which surprised me), and I’ve eaten nine of them (which surprised me even more.)

We can’t talk about onions without talking about tears. Do you cry when you cut onions? If not, what is your secret? I cry sometimes. It depends on how juicy the onion is.

I do have one bad onion memory. When I was a kid, my mom would serve peas and pearled onions for Thanksgiving and Christmas. I would never eat it. Peas were bad enough, and onions were not going to fix that problem.

Other than that unfortunate canned side dish, I love onions and would love the chance to try them all. If you are curious about the best way to cook with these onions, check out the website. They have a helpful infographic.

What are you looking for

I had dinner with a good friend the other day, and she gave me the following quote from a Quote-A-Day calendar she had. This is proof that my friends truly know me, but it is a good quote for everyone. 

“Before beginning a Hunt, it is wise to ask someone what you are looking for before you begin to look for it.”

A. A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh

I didn’t be-leaf it

I was going to share a bunch of fun space facts, but then I learned one that was so incredible that I’m singling it out. I’ll give you more space facts in July, but this one deserves to stand on its own. I actually researched this fact because I was skeptical, and we all know just because it’s found on the internet doesn’t mean it’s true.

What is this amazing fact?

THERE ARE MORE TREES ON EARTH THAN STARS IN THE MILKY WAY

That seems impossible. The Earth isn’t that big, and the Milky Way is huge. Yet, it is true. According to GoTreeQuotes, there are 3.04 trillion trees on Earth, while Space.com states there are 100 billion stars. Amazing!!!

A show filled with mischief

Have you been watching Loki?

The third episode has dropped, and I haven’t missed one yet. Everyone knows I am a Marvel fan, but I’m not a Loki fan. He’s okay, and Tom Hiddleston does a great job playing him, but I like my characters a little more trustworthy.

But I’m filled with a glorious purpose (that’s what Loki likes to say), and that purpose is to tell you whether Loki is worth watching.

First, I will say that the supporting actors, including Owen Wilson, have done a fantastic job, and the world-building is intriguing. I want more scenes with the TVA and the various characters. 

If Loki is your favorite Marvel character, then you’re probably already watching this show. If you aren’t, you should. Tom Hiddleston has nailed this character.

If you are into Marvel, you should be watching Loki because it has a lot of Easter Eggs, and it might tie into future movies.

If you don’t care about either of these fandoms, Loki is not the best TV show Disney+ has premiered this year, and better offerings are coming. Watch if you want, but don’t be surprised if you find some parts boring. I watch all things Marvel and think that Loki spends a little too much time showing off Loki being Loki and not always moving the plot forward.

However, all this exposition might be building up toward something amazing. Loki is the God of Mischief, and he can not be trusted.  So I’ll keep watching. Perhaps you should too.

I’m always kedge

It’s summer reading program time at my library. I’m actually doing two this summer, but I just finished the one at my local library. Finding new words is one of the tasks, so today, I want to share the five fun words I discovered.

These words are from a Mental Floss list of colonial slang. They are no longer used but I think they should be reintroduced (especially the last one.) Have fun using these words with your family. If it was good enough for George Washington or Abigail Adams, it should be good enough for us.

  • KEDGE – Doing well, being in good health
    • How are you?
    • I’m pretty kedge.
  • CHUFFY – Surly or impolite
    • When someone cuts in front of you, tell them not to be so chuffy
  • GUT-FOUNDERED – Very hungry
    • Newfoundland slang from 1647 (I bet they knew what hunger was)
  • TWISTICAL – Unfair or immoral
    • A New England slang from the 1840s that could easily be used today
  • CIRCUMBENDIBUS – Roundabout
    • This is my favorite word – try saying it out loud, delicious!
    • Use when someone is taking the long way in telling a story or driving

If an onion rings – 22

Happy Onion Ring Day.

This seems to be a random day for a side dish holiday. National French Fry Day is July 13, and I’d much rather celebrate that. I have nothing against onion rings (I love them in a Carls Jr. Western Bacon Cheeseburger), but I never order them as my side dish. The only time I eat them is if someone else orders them as an appetizer for the table.

There is one exception. When we feel like eating extremely unhealthy, Hubby uses his Fryer Daddy and makes Nathan’s Frozen Onion Rings. When they first come out of the oil, they are really good. However, even though I have three bags left, we’re not frying anything right now. So I will probably end up baking Nathan’s onion rings, but I know they won’t be nearly as good.

I’ve just realized that I eat more onion rings than I thought I did. I still don’t like them that much, which makes my ring consumption pretty weird. All I wanted to do was give you some onion ring facts, and I went on a soul-searching trip. Since you stuck with me this far, enjoy some onion rings facts, and if you like onion rings, enjoy those today, too.

Ring in some onion ring facts:

  • Onion rings are considered American cuisine
  • The exact inventor of the onion is unknown. (it was probably made at home before it came to restaurants.) However:
    •  A recipe for French Fried Onions was printed in a New York newspaper in 1910.
    • Kirby’s Pig Stand opened in Texas in the 1920s. They claim to have invented the onion ring.
    • And 1802 cookbook included a recipe for “Fried Onions with Parmesan Cheese.”
  • Americans eat 20 pounds of onion rings a year on average.

Time to change

Happy summer!

There are three months until Fall is officially here (the autumn equinox), so it’s a perfect time to create a goal and make a change. As always, I have many goals, but this summer, they are centered around moving. That means decluttering goals, job and home hunting goals, eating less sugar goals, and walking goals. As I work on these goals, I hope to see a good change in my life, which is my focus. I want positive change.

You don’t have to be an overachiever in the goal department. Pick one goal and focus on it for the next three months. By working daily on a goal, you can make remarkable changes in your life.

Let’s all make this a summer of kindness and happiness to ourselves and others. That is the best change we can all make.

A triple holiday!

Happy Father’s Day to all the fathers and father figures out there. Thank you for all the love and support you have given over the years.

Happy Summer Solstice! As you know, the solstice is not a day, but a moment and that moment happens at 8:31 p.m. DST. I am doing a low-key walking challenge this summer, and the first challenge is to start the walk in spring and end it in summer, so I will be taking a nice evening walk. 

If you would like to go on some fun walks and challenge yourself (they are more fun than challenging), check out the Runs for Cookies blog and download Katie’s 2021 Summer Walking Challenge.

Happy birthday, Hubby!!!! He is 49 today. I can say that because he has been teasing all his friends turning 50 this year, and I told him his year is coming up. We have been celebrating all weekend with multiple parties, fishing on Silver Lake, and dinner out with friends (twice!) 

There you go—three holidays all on one day. Happy Father’s Day! Happy Solstice! Happy birthday to my hubby (and anyone else who has a birthday today)!

Only a Half Fanatic

If you follow me on Facebook, you may know that I ran three half marathons on three consecutive weekends in May and June of this year. You may think I’m crazy (I don’t deny that.) I had a purpose for running all these races, and since I received my official notification, I wanted to share and explain.

I belong to an organization called the Half Fanatics. This is for runners who like to do half marathons. (If you like to do marathons, you can join our sister group, Marathon Maniacs.) Half Fanatics is not for people who like to do a couple of races a year. Instead, it is for people who like to do A LOT of half marathons. To join at the lowest level, Neptune, you have to run:

  • 2 half marathons in 16 days (or)
  • 3 half marathons in 90 days.

Easy!

I ran two half marathons in 16 days in 2017 and joined at the Neptune level. Ever since then, I have wanted to level up. To achieve the Uranus level, I had to either run:

  • 3 Half Marathons within a 16-day time frame (or)
  • 6 Half Marathons in 6 consecutive calendar months (or)
  • 8 – 11 Half Marathons within 365 days.

And so I did. I ran 3 half marathons in 16 days. I tossed in a couple of 5ks also, but that was for a different goal.

Now, I want to level up to Saturn. All I have to do is run:

  • 4 Half Marathons within 37 days (or)
  • 12 – 18 Half Marathons within 365 days (or)
  • 4 Half Marathons in 4 different US states, Countries, or Canadian Provinces (any combination) 51 days.

This year, my three races were in three different states, so it will be easy to run four half marathons in four states. Maybe I’ll even run a race in Canada (when everything opens up.)

So there you have it. I’m not crazy; I’m a Half Fanatic. It is a fun way to run races, get medals, and run more races.