Wednesday, October 28, 2020

Namaste? So You Say. Not Today.

Namaste?
So you say.
Not today. 

Namaste actually means "I bow to you." Not really a concept I'm comfortable with in general, but in the context of putting out the vibes you hope to receive, I really do get it.

But the word has taken on another connotation, one associated with the practice of yoga, that of a metaphysical search for inner peace. And that I really don't get. 

Inner peace, that is. Not the context.
 
Now anxiety, that I've got by the boat load. Some I come by genetically, some has become my organizational strategy, and some was taught to me by my older son, College Boy.

Raising him brought to light a correlation I'd never before identified between anxiety and outcome. Whenever I stressed about an upcoming situation, we'd breeze right through it. Conversely, if I didn't stress myself into a tizzy beforehand, the more manure that would invariably hit the proverbial ventilator.

"Do yoga," they said, "search for that inner peace." Search for my inner peace? Believe me, I didn't lose my inner peace, I never had it in the first place.  "And meditate, clear your mind." Yeah, right. Clear my mind? With everything that's been going on around here? I couldn't clear my mind if you gave me a bulldozer.


Namaste? So You Say. Not Today. | Graphic designed by and property of www.BakingInATornado.com | #humor #MyGraphics
 
 
Exhibit #1: highlights from one single week just last month.
 
Monday: I secure and pay for PurDude's renter's insurance and it had come due. The company emailed that renewal would be at a rate that turned out to be a 30% increase, but if we did nothing, the policy would lapse. I emailed them, sent them a message on their website, PurDude tried to call them, I even tweeted them saying we want to discuss the increase. No response. So I found new insurance for him. The day his old insurance was supposed to terminate, they sent an email saying they'd renewed the policy and were charging my credit card. So began my first war of the week.
 
Tuesday: We are still having to order our groceries for pick up. If the price of an item goes up, it's the store policy to honor the price it had been when ordered. Any substitutions are made at the price of the item that was originally ordered. An item (I'd ordered 2) had gone up in price. Instead of honoring the ordered price, the store called it a substitution (for the exact same item) and added $40 to my bill. At pick up, the manager refused to come out and discuss it, sending the message that we could basically take it or leave it. So started my second war of the week.
 
Wednesday: Got a letter from the state department of revenue saying one of the formulas used in their calculations was incorrect. They'll be in touch with either a check or a bill.

Thursday:
Medical (only) marijuana petitions succeeded in getting the issue onto the upcoming ballot. I am a huge proponent of legalization in general, but especially the medical use for kids whose lives are proven to be better with it, and cruel to keep it from them. BUT opposition took it to the state supreme court whose decision it was to block the issue from the ballot, subverting the ability of the people to make a choice. That's the state I live in, and one of the many reasons I hate it.
 
Friday: This state also never closed anything due to covid (denial). There were no mask mandates until the state started being named nationally as one where cases were climbing at a dangerous rate. Even then it was just ordered in a few cities, not enforced, and the governor is suing those cities. Numbers continued to climb, but the governor announced he is lifting all restrictions (masks are the only one I know of). His stated reason is that there is ample hospital bed availability. Meaning he knows many more people will get dangerously sick, but it's OK with him because hospitals have beds for them.

Saturday: Our 7 year old kitchen fridge had stopped working a few weeks before. $200 later we find out it'll cost more to fix than we paid for it. Living with the small one in the basement has been challenging, and going up and down the stairs exhausting. We bought a new one but it was not coming in until Friday, to be delivered to us FINALLY on Saturday. On Friday, the store called to say their shipment didn't arrive and they didn't know when it would.
 
Sunday: College Boy got a flat tire AND our lawn mower's self- propel mechanism stopped working.

Namaste? Kiss my (generous) bootay.
 
Find my inner peace? My happy place? My happy place, is in the pantry. Everyone knows chocolate is the ultimate purveyor of zen. It even provides insight, the most obvious being into the existence of my aforementioned generous bootay.

And . . . now I want chocolate {{sigh}}.


Chocolate Pudding Cookie Bars are lower in fat and easy to make, using a few cheats. Mix, bake, cool and slice, it’s that quick. | Recipe developed by www.BakingInATornado.com | #recipe #chocolate

Chocolate Pudding Cookie Bars
Chocolate Pudding Cookie Bars are lower in fat and easy to make, using a few cheats. Mix, bake, cool and slice, it’s that quick. | Recipe developed by www.BakingInATornado.com | #recipe #chocolate
 

So back to College Boy. Yes, he did teach me about the correlation between stress and outcome (the hard way) when he was young. But not to worry, seems that kid turned out OK. As a result, yoga and meditation, even chocolate has some competition as the ultimate purveyor of zen. You see, yesterday College Boy brought me home some edibles. 
 
And so I have, at this moment, either found a bit of that inner peace. 
Or I just don't care.
 
Namaste? 
So you say. 
 
Well, maybe for today.
 

Baking In A Tornado signature | www.BakingInATornado.com | #MyGraphics



Chocolate Pudding Cookie Bars        
                                                       ©www.BakingInATornado.com

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
1 package sugar cookie mix
1 package chocolate instant pudding mix
1/2 cup butter substitute, softened
1 egg
2 TBSP water
1/3 cup multicolored sprinkles
1/4 cup chocolate sprinkles

Directions:
*Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8 X 11 baking pan.
*Mix together the cookie mix, pudding mix, butter substitute, egg and water. 
*Mix in the multicolored sprinkles, then spread into the prepared pan. Sprinkle the chocolate sprinkles over the top.
*Bake for 20 - 25 minutes, or until the sides start to brown and the center if firm.
*Cool completely before slicing.
 

 

 

15 comments:

  1. Would you believe that the other day (I made your pear pumpkin cake for the second time) husband notices the yellow cake mix has pudding in it, so of course he asks me "what would happen if you take a mix without pudding and add pudding mix to it?" and you just gave me the answer. So, by "butter substitute" do you mean those soft margarines in a tub, like Olivio? Now, moving onto your week of nonstop trouble, in New York, you haven't been able to buy a freezer since maybe April. So some people with one fridge are buying a second one, just to be able to use its freezer. I wonder now if a refrigerator shortage is developing. And the insurance story has me totally scratching my head, because it seems to me they would have automatically renewed and not sent you a letter saying they wouldn't renew unless you accepted the increase. As for COVID - I am so dreading what will come in the aftermath of the election, especially if a certain incumbent candidate wins. Alana ramblinwitham.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Butter substitute of your choice (I'm currently buying Country Crock, Hubs likes it and it's lowest in fat, which he needs) but if fat isn't an issue, you can just use butter.
      And my level of dread is equal to yours, I'm guessing, hoping and praying that the situation you mentioned does not happen.

      Delete
    2. Thank you! That's what I was hoping. Alana

      Delete
  2. It sounds like you've had a week that can't end too soon! Did you know that today is National Chocolate Day? I'd say it's time for you to indulge.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I just heard that. Perfect timing for me to share this particular recipe.

      Delete
  3. Sometimes "not today" is how we feel because that's life

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Those days seem to come much more frequently than they had in the past, hope that changes soon.

      Delete
  4. Good grief, that sounds like one of my weeks! Hope you win the wars, you deserve to.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, I won one and the second ended in a compromise I can live with, putting it all behind me now.

      Delete
  5. Well, of all the wars, I sympathize with the insurance most. Unafraid to name the culprits as MetLife, we tried bundling car and renters insurance. Every time we paid the bill, no matter how we did it, they would stick all into one part of the bundle and tell us we hadn't paid the other. We talked to our agent, call managers, you name it. Finally we told them this need to end or we'd be gone. So an enterprising helper cancelled the policy, wrote a NEW bundled policy, gave us a credit. The only problem was, she didn't exactly tell us that's how she was fixing it. Next, we get a cancellation notice. Laurie calls and they explain what happened. All good, right? No, because the next week, someone else told us that we owed big time- somehow, they got the old and new again confused, saw the credit pulled from old and put in new, thought the old was active and in arrears and the New was inactive and basically non existent, and got nasty with Laurie when she tried to explain. Needless to say, we now have a new insurance company, and the agent didn't even bother to ask what happened, or return any of the previous calls,. That's Detwiler insurance in Fort Wayne Indiana, folks. For a good time call...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Insurance always seems to be a nightmare. When I was trying to get my son a policy, I had 3 different people at the same company give me 3 different quotes.
      I will say that for the past few years we've had Geico insurance on our cars and we love them, their customer service is amazing.

      Delete
  6. I’m sorry, going to find chocolate.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I'm so stressed reading this that I had to go find chocolate! What a week!
    Namaste? Forget it. You need something stronger...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hell yeah I do, and our election is right around the corner.

      Delete

Warning: Comment at your own risk. I have Comment Moderation, meaning I approve all comments before they show up here. So go ahead, I'm not scared!