Little Frog’s World

Last night I had no clue what to make for dinner. We needed to go to the grocery store and what we had was kind of random. A little bit of this and a wee bit of that. But I did it. I went through the cupboards and pulled out random stuff and somehow managed to make something that my husband liked. Marti’s Mexican Macaroni. No it’s not something I got out of a recipe book but something I just tossed together. I called it Marti’s Mexican Macaroni because well I can.

Marti’s Mexican Macaroni

1 16oz jar of salsa( hot, medium, mild what ever your family likes)

1 14.5oz can of diced tomatoes

1/2 a medium onion( you can use a whole if you like more onions)

1 lb ground meat( I used ground beef but can also be made with chicken, turkey or venison)

1 packet of taco seasoning( again how ever spicy your family likes)

1 16oz box of pasta( I used the spiral kind)

Shredded Cheddar Cheese or Shredded Taco Blend Cheese ( as little or as much as you want)

Red Pepper Flakes( optional)

In a large skillet cook the ground meat according to the directions on the back of the taco seasoning packet. As that’s cooking set a large pot on to boil for the pasta and chop up the onion. Once the meat is done set it aside and in the same pan brown the onions. Once the onions have some color to them dump in the jar of salsa, the diced tomatoes and the meat. Let that sit on medium heat till it bubbles then turn to low. Add the red pepper flakes if you so desire.  Once the pasta is done mix the meat sauce and noodles together.  Serve covered in shredded cheddar or taco blend cheese. Should serve 4.

I’m fan of Fark.com. In fact I get all my daily news from only two sources. My morning paper and Fark. I’m tired of the same old, same old with media playing up the bad news and being dang skimpy with the good. Sure I know bad things happen but sometimes I feel that the news media thrives on scaring the bejeezus out of people. Yes Dateline I’m looking at you. But I do need my local news so I get a daily paper and I like Fark because I get a nice summary of what the article is about with a much needed dose of humor.

So I was reading Fark and came across an article that had my ears perking up. Food prices playing a part in the war on drugs. I want to laugh, but I can’t. When people are spending 50% of their income on bread alone we have hit crisis stage. We as Americans, spend something like 5 or 6% of our monthly take home pay on food. The Europeans I guess spend something closer to 25%. Their packaging is smaller as well. Heck everything over there seems to be smaller then what we have, from cars to bags of rice to houses. But something does need to be done about food prices. We need to get more people into gardening( yes I am doing my part and am growing veggies at the parental units place), we need to get people to see that bigger is not always better and that cruising along at the pace we are is going to cause bigger problems then we already have. I’m not a scientist or even close. The mechanics behind way we need to do these things gives me a headache. But I can see the end picture. I know the polar ice caps are melting, I know that kids are going hungry because their parents can’t afford both food and the roof over their head. So I do my part, what little I can, and I hope that someday we can figure this out.

Today is one of those beautiful days that let’s you know spring is just around the corner. The snow is melting, the birds that have already flown back north are singing their little hearts out and the windows are open to get the stale, winter air our of the house. Heck it’s even sunny. But it’s supposed to go back to being winter tomorrow, complete with snow and ice. Which really stinks. Spring is my favorite time of year as I get to play in the dirt till my heart’s content and watch the dog go nuts trying to get outside all the time to chase the squirrels and rabbits. People are treating today like it’s the beginning of spring too. From my window( stuck inside as my tummy is being mean and not letting me fully enjoy the day), I can see people out walking and little kids playing outside. It’s muddy as all get out since the snow is melting, but what’s a little mud if the kids stay out of your hair for a few hours. The dog is loving the weather since all those smells once under the snow and weak are now freely floating around and she can sniff around till she drives the person nuts who took her outside( she does her ‘I gotta pee now’ dance then makes a bee line for the garbage cans, or the fence, or starts pre-digging some holes in my garden.) Today’s a good day to take a drive through the park on your way home from work, or just sit outside and enjoy the mildly warm weather. It’s 56 degrees out right now, tomorrow it’s going to be back in the low 30’s. Enjoy these days while you can folks. Soon spring will really be here and you’ll have yard work to do.

Once again the so called preservationists are driving me nuts. In less then a week not one but TWO buildings in sunny, warm Buffalo, NY( wishful thinking, it’s snowing and colder then heck) have been dumping BRICKS onto the sidewalks. People are crying out for all these buildings to be saved because they claim that they have historic value. They willing blow money on lawsuits to stop clearly dangerous buildings from being torn down to make way for safer ones and yet refuse to do something like buy the building themselves( if it was up for sale) and then fix it. These people are what is giving Buffalo a hard time getting out of it’s rut. These morons are making us spend money on useless mortar and making it harder for business’ coming here to make a profit because our taxes are sky high.Things are falling down around our ears here. The thing that bugs me the most is that while all these lawsuits are going on to stop progress, people are getting hurt. Those bricks could have fallen on PEOPLE for crying out loud. Gah, Buffalo should be renamed Umbridgeville after one Harry Potter character, Dolores Umbridge. It was she who in the opening feast speech in book 5 declared ” Progress must be discouraged for progress’ sake.” Or something like that. The book is buried in the closet and I am too lazy to dig it out. But the basics of that statement is she was saying that in order for change to occur, nothing should change. She also taught her class solely on theory. Kind of like our local politicians. You can study others and talk till your tongue falls out, but unless you actually DO something about the problem it is never going to go away. Insanity doing something the same way and expecting different results. Which means I have fallen directly into the loony bin. Tennessee is looking more and more appealing.

I know your up in heaven now

Peaceful, whole and free

Don’t think that I won’t miss you though

You mean so much to me

Your soft black fur that got everywhere

Walks as far as I could see

Frustrations that turned to amusement

Always my buddy be

Deacon’s up there waiting for you

Lots of fun, you’ll see

White cat went first to scout it out

Perfect view of the sea

The cats will miss you too I know

And Bella and Chiqui

But I think the feline that misses you most

Is probably Trinity

Remember my friend the car rides

Window down for you to see

Remember the walks at the river

Making seagulls flee

We joked that you refused to die

Your life true tenacity

You never gave up, even when you were down

“Failure, not me!”

We’ll miss you my friend, sweet Duncan

A life full and free

You’ve touched my heart, my soul, my mind

Little buddy, be free