Fried, Green Tomatoes! Get them Before The Mystery Critters!!!

Planting tomatoes must be among the easiest gardening activitIes because it seems all beginner gardners claim success based on their crop of tomatoes. This  beginner Group included me, until this year when some critters ATE most of my tomatoes before they were ripe!

In that emergency situation, my only alternative was to make fried green tomatoes! It was green or nothing!!!

How to make fried green tomatoes!

Ingredients:

3-4 medium size green tomatoes, sliced

1-2 beaten eggs , add salt and pepper

Flour – 1 cup

Bread crumbs or fine yellow corn meal ( palenta)

1 cup vegetable oil, to fry ( you could also bake at 350)

Harvest the tomatoes before they are ripe, so the critters don’t eat them before you do!

Cut them in round, same width slices.

In three dishes pour:

In dish #1 – flour

In dish #2 – well beat eggs, salt and pepper

In dish #3- yellow corn meal or bread crumbs. Personally I LOVE palenta!

An empty plate to place the prepared tomatoe slices.

A pan with heated vegetable oil, or an oiled oven tray, if you bake, so the slices don’t stick to the tray.

Place each tomatoe slice first in flour, then in eggs, then in the yellow corn meal.

Place on  the plate.

Preheat oil in pan on, lower heat to medium, fry prepared tomatoe slices. Turn them on  both sides so they are cooked equally on each side.

When  they are done, place them on a plate, on top of paper towels, to absorb any excess  oil.

Serve hot on their own or as a side dish to fried chicken or anything your heart desires!

The point is you enjoy your tomatoes and not the critters!!!:)

If you prepare fried green tomatoes in a different way, please share with us!

Have a nice Sunday and let us know if you find ways to improve this recipe!

 

 

 

 

 

STROKE! WHEN IT HAPPENS TO YOU! TIME IS BRAIN!!!

They say, “TIME IS BRAIN,” to underline the importance of getting to an Emergency Room as soon as symptoms start!

Before Monday, I believed this statement to be true . Now, I know it is true and essential if you want the symptoms reversed completely and your life back as it was before the STROKE!

It is my hope that this story, written through the eyes of someone who suffered an acute stroke on Monday, and is writing this post on Thursday, will help someone, somewhere, go for help as soon as symptoms start!

I believe that we all know the symptoms, which have been repeated over and over in a zillion forwarded emails and posts. I also know that now, that I experienced a stroke, NOT all of the symptoms I remembered were present, but the ones who were present were overwhelming and scary, so scary, that I could understand why one would not want to believe something so terrible is happening to them and would want to wait.

I was driving to an appointment on a road I knew well, yet, it seemed narrower than I remembered it, as the cars coming from the opposite direction seem to come towards me. I wondered why there were so many bad rivers on the road! I was going in 20 miles a hour and the engine was making a funny noise… or perhaps  the noise was in my head? Something was wrong, I knew it, but didn’t know what.

Instead of going to my appointment, I went home listening to my gut feeling and not to my brain which was telling me I should not miss my appointment!

I barely made it in front of my house, and stopped the car in the middle of the road, blocking traffic!

Thankfully, my friends and neighbors, Jessica and Aram were  on the porch.

I sat there, in the driver’s seat, in the middle of the road,  disoriented.

Not that I remember the events, but they told me later what happened…

What I DO remember, is that my friends came to the car’s window and I wanted to tell them something was wrong. When I  tried to articulate my thoughts, which were clear in my head,  my words came out  slurry, and I had no control over them!

I felt as if I was in a bubble, and the words were forming just right inside the bubble, but when I wanted to push them through the walls of the bubble, somehow, they had a mind of their own, were not listening to me anymore. I tried to stand up, but my entire body felt like jello and I fell back on the seat!

I WAS NO LONGER IN CONTROL OF MY MIND OR BODY! IN AN INSTANT MY RAPIDLY DYING BRAIN REMEMBERED SOME OF THE SYMPTOMS OF STROKE,

“I HAVE A STROKE! PLEASE TAKE ME TO THE HOSPITAL NOW! I asked Aram, and off we drove!

Pinnacle Harrisburg Campus is 5 minutes away from our home and we arrived in the Emergency Room only 15 minutes from when I noticed the symptoms.

So… now we were in the E.R. of a major hospital!

LESSON # 1:

GO TO THE HOSPITAL AS SOON AS YOU NOTICE ANY SYMPTOMS!!!

THIS WAS NOT ENOUGH!!!

LESSON #2:

ONCE AT THE HOSPITAL, TELL SOMEONE IMMEDIATELY, YOU ARE HAVING A STROKE!!!

I was lucky Aram stayed with me and “translated” the mambo jumbo” coming out of my mouth. One non-medical employee uttered the opinion that I might speak like that because I had an accent. Aram assured  the person I was a well-educated person, who published a  book, and I speak English fluently when I AM MYSELF.

LESSON #3:

IF YOU HAVE AN ACCENT, MAKE SURE UNEDUCATED HOSPITAL EMPLOYEES, ARE SOMEHOW INFORMED SLURRED WORDS ARE NOT AN ACCENT BUT A SYMPTOM OF STROKE AND TIME IS BRAIN!   

At last, I was in a  hospital room  in admissions, and all I remember is a crowd of medical professionals assessing me and my effort to spit out words and all that came out were letters flying in every which direction and refusing to form the words  I ordered!

LESSON#4:

ACCEPT YOU ARE COMPLETELY OUT OF CONTROL!

I HAD TO TRUST IN GOD AND OTHERS AND HOPE THEY WILL SAVE MY LIFE! NOT EASY TO DO FOR SOMEONE WHO TOOK COMPLETE CONTROL OF HER LIFE MANY YEARS AGO!  SUDDENLY I REALIZED I WAS NOT IN CONTROL!!! I HAD TO LET GO OF THAT ILLUSION!!!

Dr. O. Agbe- Davies,  a Pinnacle neurologist, entered the  exam room, and as out of it as I was, I do remember he had a cool bow tie! He saved my life!

I was thirsty.  My lips were cracked, my throat on fire. I bargained for a sip of water, even a swabs soaked in water, but none of my begging tricks worked! Now I understand it was for a good reason, as my stomach should have been empty in case a procedure was necessary.

After all my neurological exams failed to be normal Dr. Davis told me because I came immediately after the symptoms started I was a candidate for a powerful clot buster,  tPA. This miracle medication COMPLETELY REVERSED MY SYMPTOMS! 

Thanks to the many factors that worked together, a miracle happened and I am myself again, resting at home and writing this post because I feel, if ONE person goes to the hospital in time to reverse all the symptoms,  I didn’t waste my time.

This is a story written  after I stepped into my LIFE again, after  the confining bubble I experienced while having an ACUTE STROKE was busted by the miracle medication, tPA!

I am taking this opportunity to thank Dr. Davis and the wonderful staff in the Intensive Care Unit of Pinnacle Harrisburg Hospital.

I am also thankful for Aram, who took me to the hospital and helped  the hospital staff decipher the  mambo jumbo coming out of my mouth, and Jessica and her dad, who picked me up on discharge.

I am thankful for my friend Melissa, who on her birthday, went to feed my dogs and African Grey, and Dee, who helped with the entire operation of entering my house.

Oh! I forgot to mention, Duke is a guard dog, and no one dares enter his territory, so  feeding them and letting them out was a complex operation which required courage!

Thank you also to my friends  Christine and the Martins  for always being so thoughtful.

IN CONCLUSION:

 

TIME IS BRAIN! THE LONGER YOU WAIT THE MORE BRAIN CELLS DIE BECAUSE THEY ARE DEPRIVED OF OXYGEN!

YOU ARE NOT IN CONTROL,  GOD IS, AND THE DOCTORS AND HOSPITAL STAFF! 

PLEASE SHARE AND SAVE A LIFE!

Rodica

  

 

 

OVERWHELMED!!! How to “overwhelm,” feeling “overwhelmed.”

Who hasn’t felt overwhelmed?

Perhaps, at times, we are so overwhelmed, we don’t recognize it. As a popular saying states, “we can’t SEE the forrest because of the trees!” We are in The picture, how could we SEE it? We are too close!

How do we define overwhelmed?  Honestly, as with everything else, perception is WHAT defines this emotion, as well.

I would describe such a feeling as lack of direction. When I feel there is so much food on my plate, I simply cannot eat it all, nor do I know where to start, but I must and am confused and feel helpless!

Common sense would tell me to start with the healthy foods and either eat less or not at all, the unhealthy ones. WHAT about everything is healthy and necessary?

How would the above statement translated to our lives?

DO WHAT is vital for your life, THE NEEDS, First, and leave the “wants” last.

Prioratize in writing. Scientific Research determined that if we write our worries, we become less worried.

At times, it might be hard to SEE the difference between “needs,” and “wants.” Here are a few examples:

I know it’s boring, but for most people, needs are: a roof over our heads, clothing in agreement with the season, food, basic cleaning supplies for self and our home.

Paying our utilities, electricity, water, gas, phone, are also needs on my list. Having enough money to pay them, would definitely make me feel less overwhelmed. Let’s continue our list of priorities, needs and wants.

Health is a huge priority for me, as without Health one has nothing! Unfortunately, if one doesn’t have good Health Insurance, one is doomed at looking from the outside at the many new, life-saving drugs and procedures which are not available without good insurance.

In fact, currently, Medicare is in the process of ” experimenting”  trying to determine what’s good for ITS members,  a decision which, in my opinion, should be yours and your doctors!

Good Insurance premiums ( Health, car, homeowners or renters)  are all boring priority! In fact, if we review the list, everything in the needs list is boring, absolutely necessary and requires MONEY!!! Also, all of these needs are FIX expenses! By the time we pay the fix expenses and get to food, another NEED, we might feel so overwhelmed, we might give up or throw up!

This is  a choice…

I will go on:)

After we are done prioratizing our needs, and assuming we have enough money left, there are many choices of wants.

Personally, I’d go for a massage and meeting a friend for a meal and most importantly, good company! I’d invest in some good essential oils which help with anxiety. I’d schedule walks with a friend, three times a week! WOW! Please note this is FREE, but you must buy the shoes!

At last… But not least, BREATHE!!!

This post is just touching the surface of discussing a complex emotion, which affects many of us.

As most of you know, from writing to me on other topics, I write this blog as Community service. I don’t have the financial wealth to pay a Church 10 percent of  my income, if I did, my fix expenses would go unpaid… So helping others, around The WORLD, is my contribution.

Feel Free to write privately or comment.

“Ask and you shall receive” an answer from me:)

Rodica Mihalis, M.S.

Counseling and Clinical Psychology

BUYER BEWARE UPDATE! The FACE CREAM SCAMS SEEM To EXPAND! A FEW TIPS TO AVOID BEING RIPPT OFF!

I have notice a surge in both searches of various skin care products under various names. They CHANGE BOTH PRODUCTS AND  LOCATIONS. The BILLING seems to be done in Nevada or Florida, but the products come from warehouses in Florida, California and NJ.!

Reading the many recent comments, it looks  most banks which were willing to investigate and REFUND their clients the losses, NO longer help or investigate these economic crimes! I am assuming they are overwhelmed by the numbers of people scammed.

Under these sad circumstances, I suggest:

Immediately CHANGE the credit card, so further charges may not go through.

If you could put the charges on a card with  a VERY low limit so they will not have the chance to charge more money.

Frankly, IF IT LOOKS TOO GOOD IT IS !

DO NOT give your information to these shady companies asking for shipping costs ONLY. ALL THEY WANT IS YOUR CARD NUMBERS TO CHARGE MORE.

Finally, I think we all need to see where are the locations of these scams and make complaints to FTC and also at their respective State levels.

Each state gas an ECONOMIC FREUD DEPARTMENT which  must to be alerted s the scam, it seems expanded internationally.

 

These were just some ideas I hope help.

When I first wrote about Rejuva and DM creams  and what happened to me, I had NO idea my share will help so many people.

I am grateful for this community fighting scams in whatever forms they touch our lives.

 IT Remains the goal of this site to post and alert its friends and subscribers to various life-issues and give suggestions of HOW to either avoid them, or learn tips to make our lives better in all AREAS!

Your active participation, comments and likes, give me a chance to look deeper into what matters to YOU, thus posting more useful information.

Please continue to be active. This is how we all grow and learn to do the best for our lives!