Spam.

I know. My blog is about food. Well, this spam is not food. It's just as bad though. :)

Come on, there can't be ONE PERSON out there that likes spam. The indiscriminately sent unsolicited, unwanted, irrelevant, and inappropriate messages, especially commercial advertising in mass quantities.

Spam is unsolicited e-mail.

In addition to being a nuisance, spam also eats up a lot of network bandwidth. Because the Internet is a public network, little can be done to prevent spam, just as it is impossible to prevent junk mail. However, the use of software filters in e-mail programs can be used to remove most spam sent through e-mail.

But, spam on my blog!? That's it. That's the last straw!!!

What, I have to MODERATE my blog and not allo people to leave messages on it without my approval? That sort of ruins the whole idea of a blog. :( Oh well.

I'm sure that the people at "Blogger" are doing their best to stop this. All I can do now is check it and delete the comments when I find spam (I already found and deleted 4).

OK, so to make this a "food" thing, I'll talk about food. :)

I made dinner for the family last night. Was very nice. Everyone enjoyed. The food was good (of course, I made it!) and the family was happy.

Oh, today is Jenna's birthday.

Jenna is the daughter of Michael. Michael is Jimmy's brother. Jimmy is a fish. No, really.. :) Jimmy is my sister's husband.

So there. :) Happy birthday to Jenna way out there in Hawaii!!!!

And food....did you know that you can make a delicious sauce for thin slices of chicken breast?

Just start with some olive oil, butter, melt is and add some garlic (I have to make a blog about garlic!!!) and let it get light brown. Pour in some white wine and let the alcohol evaporate. Once this is done, add some sugar, salt, pepper, lemon, and capers.

That's it! Simple, yet delicioso!! Place the chicken pieces in the sauce and cook, sprinkle on some cilantro, and you've got an amazing dish. ;)

OK, I'm going to eat something. I made myself hungry. :)

Bye!!

Fear. Anger. Hate. Suffering.

"Fear leads to Anger. Anger leads to Hate. Hate leads to suffering."

So true... So true! Think about it the next time you are fearful of a situation.

You will see it quickly turns to anger! If the intensity is great, it will quickly turn to hate, ("I hate so & so!"). Other times, it will slowly turn to hate.

Next comes the suffering! I am sure everyone has suffered one time or another after having an argument with a loved one. Master Yoda was very wise and insightful when he said this!

I can't think of a better way to describe what some children are feeling. I think everyone would agree with me when I say some children are full of anger, hate, and suffering. Everyone knows some children live in anger. Yes, that means they really live in a constant state of suffering! Which also means that the root of their anger, hatred, and suffering is really fear!

Fear from the first time they were left alone, fear from the first time they were hit, etc. By now, their fear is everywhere and past fears are buried very deep, it will be hard to see and difficult to find as the anger protects it and keeps it safe. It is too scary to even look at that fear! Follow Yoda's words backwards to find the fear.

The next time your child is angry, say to him/her, "I can see you are really suffering, it must be very painful." Or "You are really suffering, aren't you?" Again follow the words backwards. In time you will find the fear. The key to success is seeing the fear and making an environment in which his fears can be alleviated.

At that point the child will begin to calm and start recognizing his own fears. Be careful though, you can't do it for him, you can only support him and make it safe for him to realize his fear. They don't feel safe enough to see their fear. Use your efforts to make him/her feel safe enough to see his/her own fears. Stop yourself and think, what is this child afraid of right now (fear of being wrong, fear of acceptance, fear of looking dumb, fear of being called a bad name, fear of being hurt, fear of not having his/her way, etc.).

Test this out on yourself first, I believe you will find that it is true. Think of something you are angry about, something you hate, or something you are suffering over and follow it back until you figure out what you are fearful about (fear that people won't understand, fear of acceptance, fear of not being normal, fear of failure, afraid it won't work, afraid of what will happen next, etc. etc!).

You know how they say there are mean dogs? Are they REALLY mean? Scared is more dangerous than mean! In other words, fear is the most dangerous of all.

Think about times when something is fearful to you, your instinct tells you to stay away from whatever it is. No one can convince you that it is OK and safe because inside, you know it is horrid and you will get hurt. So you avoid it at all costs. Now think, what could someone do when you are feeling that way to calm you down and help you see that what you are afraid of most is the fear and that the situation probably isn't as bad as you perceive it at the moment?

Whatever it is, it is going to take time and patience before you can calm down enough and build up strength to get near the situation.

At the beginning of that statement, Yoda said "Fear is the path to the dark side." So true... So true!!! :)

Master Yoda said this when he refused to train Anakin, stating the boy had too much fear in him. The entire quote goes as follows:

"Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering."

As we watch Episode I and II, we see that Anakin has a tremendous amount of suffering and turmoil - which eventually is the path and foundation for Darth Vader.

In later episodes, it becomes obvious that Darth Vader is cold, uncaring, and evil. He ends up using the evil to cover all the pain and suffering he endured in the past.

In the last Episode, Luke finally breaks through the wall, but only right before Vader's death.

YOU have the power to make a new path for your child. Look, find the fear and alleviate it, and start building a new foundation and path for your child.

Otherwise, the fear will lead to the dark side.

Bread.

I'm sitting here at work, totally not into what I'm doing. It's Thursday, the weekend is right around the corner (in about 3 hours actually!) and I am thinking about bread.

You know...having a bread machine isn't always a good thing!

I got some great recipes for whole wheat bread - but not the kind you'd think! It's really good! I am not a whole wheat aficionado, but these breads are spectacular.

I think that no matter how "bad" the bread is...putting butter and honey on it makes it good. :)

Perhaps one day, if you're lucky enough - I'll make bread for you.

Oh, as for a bread maker not being a good thing....it's only because you end up eating a lot more bread than what you'd normally eat!

Food.

I think my blog will be about food. Why not? Can't live without it. Can't live with too much of it (I think....). I also want to make sure people understand how important SUGAR, BUTTER, and white flour is. :>

That's all for now - I'm supposed to be working now...