#43 Gratitudes

I am always saying how much I love my job. It's true! I look forward to getting to work every day and I'm happy when I'm here. I enjoy the company of my co-workers. I love working in NYC. I stand by the products we sell and I use them myself. I feel so fortunate to be able to say all that. Many people I know dread Mondays...they drag themselves to a job they despise and they dream of escape from it. It isn't like that for me, thank goodness. I just wanted to express my gratitude for the good fortune I have. https://www.facebook.com/ecuretreatment

#42 Bzzagent Campaign: Morningstar Farms!

 I am so excited to tell you about the first product campaign I got to participate in as a Bzzagent!https://www.bzzagent.com/. I joined a few months ago. I quickly completed all the surveys. After a while there was no more than one every few weeks. I was disappointed, but my co-worker said to be patient. A few weeks ago I unexpectedly got offered my first campaign. It wasn't for products though: I had to pick a charity and encourage others to vote for my charity choice. I picked St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital. I posted it on my facebook page and twitter page and I was pleased to see that St. Jude's won a $5000 donation from the BzzAgent company.
About two weeks ago I received an email offering my first "real" campaign. Lucky me - it was Morningstar Farms! https://www.morningstarfarms.com/  I am already a fan of their products for two big reasons: 1) They offer a lot of Kosher products and that is a dietary and religious observance for me, and 2) They offer healthy alternatives that taste great! So I filled out the response form and I was accepted into the campaign. I waited patiently, expecting a big box of products to arrrive. Here is what actually came:

Yup - an envelope stuffed with coupons. One was for a free product, the rest were for $1.00 off. So I headed to my local Target because they always have the cheapest prices on Morningstar Farms products, plus I had the coupons, plus when I pay with my Target card I get an extra 5% off! So this was a great deal.
<img src="http://img.bzzagent.com/image/morningstar.jpg?Type=activity&Activity=7368929400&Campaign=5354578095&Uid=1387077&token=268dc3e5def8b22524967e41508db1cd" alt=""/>

Lucky, lucky, lucky: target actually had most of the Morningstar Farms products on sale at 2/$6 so I saved even more (most of the products range around $3.50 - $3.65/box normally). I have seen them in other stores at over $4.00/box, so shop around.

Here is my purchase in my freezer:

 

 

The boxes on the left with the orange labels are Italian Herb Chicken patties https://www.morningstarfarms.com/products/chikn/italian-herb-chik-patties . But they are actually meat free soy patties with a delicious crispy breading. The texture is not as firm as real chicken but it is not spongy or salty like chicken nuggets from a fast food restaurant. My kids and I experimented. We made some patties plain. Then we tried some parmesan style: after cooking them in the oven (these don't microwave well) we added a topping of marinara sauce and melted cheese on top. That way definitely my favorite! My boys preferred to top the patties with tangy barbeque sauce. Very tasty, indeed!
I will write about the Hickory BBQ Riblets  https://www.morningstarfarms.com/products/meal-starters/hickory-bbq-riblets and the Veggie Meatballs https://www.morningstarfarms.com/products/meal-starters/meal-starter-veggie-meatballs  in a future post. In conclusion, I would definitely purchase these chicken patties again. They made for a delicious and satisfying meal when served on a sandwich with a side of steamed vegetables.
I still have one coupon left and I haven't decided which product to use it on yet!

#41 The Doughnut Plant!

This was breakfast for the office today. What can I say? Heaven! These are not your typical, dry texture greasy afterfeel doughnuts. These are delectable, chewy, amazing works of art. We tried a box of six cake doughnuts. There are also yeast doughnuts available, but that will have to wait for another day. My all time absolute favorite is the Blackout. It is a chocolate cake doughnut with a layer of chocolate filling inside, chocolate frosting outside and finished with chocolate cookie crumbs. I also tried the chocolate mint doughnut: chocolate cake with a cool mint icing, like an Andes candy. Iaisha tried the carrot cake (cream cheese filling in the middle!) and shared the Blackout with me. The last bite of the Blackout went to Michal, who is still humming his doughnut bliss happiness song.

http://doughnutplant.com/          

#39 Pondering "Mental Illness"

The horrible events that have unfolded recently have me pondering on the deeper, quieter concepts of human existence, particularly mine own. Without delving into political grandstanding, I will state that I do not believe guns are the issue, but our lack of care for the mentally ill is going to continue to cause untold tragedies until a solution is enacted. I just can't get my head wrapped around the whole Mental Illness issue.

FIGURE 1. Prevalence of current depression among adults aged ≥18 years, by state quartile — Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, United States, 2006

According to the Washington Post, only 5.6% of national health care spending goes towards mental health treatment. I found this map of depression on the CDC website. According to the World Health Organization, mental illness results in more disability in developed countries than any other group of illnesses, including cancer and heart disease. Other published studies report that about 25% of all U.S. adults have a mental illness and that nearly 50% of U.S. adults will develop at least one mental illness during their lifetime.
Here is the link to the Centers for Disease Control website so you can see the statistics for yourself: http://www.cdc.gov/ - type mental illness in the search box.
Here is the Bing dictionary definition:

mental illness

1.

psychiatric disorder: any psychiatric disorder that causes untypical behavior

 

I do not know enough about mental illness to even speculate what defines "normal" or "quirky" or "odd" from "ill." I suppose the line is drawn when a person cannot function in society. For example, they cannot be responsible enough to hold a job. Is that an illness? Or is it laziness? There must be other, additional factors. Can they function in a traditional relationship? In other words, is the 30 year old guy that still lives in Mom's basement ill? Or just very smart (malicious?) at manipulating other people to provide food, shelter, and necessities? Is the player mentally ill for not committing to a traditional relationship or just smart enough to realize that they don't want the responsibility?
I also looked to the SAMHSA website  http://www.samhsa.gov/healthreform/ for information. There were several articles devoted to the Affordable Care Act (known commonly as "Obamacare.) The main topic appears to be rehabilitation for addiction. Of course, someone who suffers from addiction is certainly encouraged to seek treatment and hopefully become a fully functioning citizen.
So, are all addicts considered mentally ill? Obviously it is a very different type of mental illness than that in which someone hallucinates, or becomes unreasonably violent, or seeks attention in inappropriate ways. What if they appear to be totally "normal" but they don't want to wear shoes? Does that mean they are mentally ill? Here is a link to an insurance question about the Affordable Care Act and mental illness: http://www.askforinsurance.com/health-insurance/obama-health-care-reform-and-mental-health-services.html
I took many classes in college that it seems should answer my questions about what, exactly, does "mentally ill" mean? Psychology, Sociology, Anatomy & Physiology, etc...the only conclusion I can come to is that people are expected to behave within certain parameters of society and that there is a fringe element that either chooses to not behave that way or cannot behave that way. They are you and me. They live and work and walk among us. How are we to distinguish who is suffering from depression due to a job loss versus who is going to back to that old job with the intent to cause bodily harm?
I am asking you, my readers, to please help me understand. Post your thoughts and comments.

#38 It's raining on the 12th floor.

http://youtu.be/w9c6dwltNEg

Yeah... so it rains indoors sometimes.

#37 some inspiration

I am re-reading a favorite book of mine:

Passion: Salon Professional's Handbook for Building a Successful Business [Paperback]

Susie Fields Carder (Author), Susie Fields (Author)

And today these words of wisdom, on page 95, caught my attention:

Never stop reaching for more:

Do more than exist - live.
Do more than touch - feel.
Do more than look - observe.
Do more than read - absorb.
Do more than hear - listen.
Do more than listen - understand.
                           - John H. Rhoades

Today I am going to keep this in my thoughts. I highly recommend this book to any professional in a customer service oriented business. You can order it on Amazon here: http://www.amazon.com/Passion-Professionals-Handbook-Building-Successful/dp/156253419X

#36 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

As many of you are aware, we recently experienced Hurricane Sandy's wrath here in New York. Though most of Manhattan has recovered, some of the outlying boroughs are still not back to normal. Much of the nation has been very generous in charitable support to help those in need. It is a comfort and a matter of pride that we as a nation are so giving.
On a happy note, the annual Macy's parade was held as usual. I have attached a bunch of links for your enjoyment. If you ever consider visiting NYC at this time of year, the parade is a must-see. I remember my father taking me when I was young enough to sit on his shoulders. Some of my favorite balloons back then were the Muppets! I remember the Kermit balloon very clearly. Looks like he's still afloat. Rock on, Kermie!

http://www.foxnews.com/weather/2012/11/22/macy-thanksgiving-day-parade-kicks-off-in-nyc-bringing-festive-mood-to-area-hit/


http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/lifestyle/2012/11/22/mexican-marching-band-rocks-macys-thanksgiving-day-parade-2012/

http://tv.broadwayworld.com/article/Photo-Flash-Highlights-from-MACYS-THANKSGIVING-DAY-PARADE-20121123

http://www.cnn.com/video/?/video/us/2011/11/24/vo-2011-macys-thanksgiving-day-parade.cnn#/video/us/2011/11/24/vo-2011-macys-thanksgiving-day-parade.cnn