I have to say that when my great-grandmother passed away seven years ago, I thought I would never get to taste her homemade fried chicken again. It was one of the many foods that I loved of hers to eat. There was something about that chicken that just gave me a feeling of calm. So my thought was when she went, the chicken went with her. I was wrong.
As I walked into the Soul Food Buffet on Bankhead Street in New Albany, Mississippi, The first thing I noticed was the aroma. It was a soothing comforting scent of my Maw Maw's kitchen. It's a simple place with just three small food bars but good golly what's on them will send your taste buds straight to heaven. As me and my family sat down at one of the home upholstered booths, the waitress came up and took our order for sweet tea which in the south is a food staple all to itself. I have to say the tea was just like I make mine at home. Yum. There was a salad bar on the far wall but I'm not going to lie, I skipped it heading straight for the two hot bars that had my attention from the time I walked in.
They have oval shaped plates and round plates. I opted for the oval shaped plate since I was planning on trying a little of everything. On the first bar was hash brown casserole, baked macaroni and cheese, chicken and dressing, cornbread muffins, peach cobbler, and corn. The second bar had homemade lasagna, turnip greens,fried okra, mashed potatoes, brown gravy, giblet gravy, green beans, pork neck bones and last but not least fried chicken.
As I bit into my drumstick, I almost cried. It was exactly like my grandmother's. I wanted to go and find the cook and hug her neck. Everything was so delicious. I finished my meal with a piece of strawberry cream cheese pie. I was so stuffed I thought my husband Randy was going to have to roll me out the door. He actually ate two plates full of everything. It's $8.99 for adults to eat the buffet and $6.99 for kids age 4-10 but that price includes your drink. On the weekend the price is $12.99 but that includes all you can eat catfish and ribs.
I can't wait to go back. On a five star scale I give them a five which doesn't happen very often from me. The server was prompt, the food was incredible, and I felt a sense of peace like my grandmother was with me. If you get the chance, make sure you go by and check them out. I promise you will not be disappointed.
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Saturday, May 21, 2011
The Secret Skincare Companies Don't Want You To Know
This is actually an old article that I posted on Hubpages several years ago. I have had so many comments on it that I thought I would share it with you.
The secret that the skin care companies don't won't you to know!
Pimples. Zits. Acne. There are many names that these nasty little pus filled pores are called. A pimple happens when the pore gets clogged with dirt and oil. The infection that occurs can be ugly and down right painful. Some people have them worse than others. Believe it or not some of you might be genetically inclined to have them worse than some of your friends.For teenagers they always seem to crop up on picture day or prom night without fail.
My 12 year old Daughter has had acne for about 3 years now. I had a pretty good complexion when I was younger but her Dad didn't. No matter what we tried nothing worked.We went through hundred's of dollars trying everything on the market. Clean and Clear and Proactive worked the best but they always seemed to come back. Especially around her period. They never completely cleared all the way up.
One day my husband and I went to visit his Grandmother. She happened to comment on my daughter's pimple problem. She said she had them really bad when she was about 13 until her grandmother told her a secret. She told my daughter to wash her face with regular soap and water. It didn't matter what kind. After she washed her face to pat it dry and after it completely air dried to apply regular corn starch out of the cupboard on her face.
Corn Starch. So when we got home she wanted to try it. I was skeptical. I mean we had spent tons of money, how was a dollar box of cornstarch going to clear up pimples?
The different was noticeable by morning. I was in shock! It worked. In 3 days all of her zits were gone and her complexion was radiant.
She still gets one or two pimples around time for her period. One or two is a whole lot better than 50!
I have to recommend this to everyone. It really does work.
Links:
The secret that the skin care companies don't won't you to know!
Pimples. Zits. Acne. There are many names that these nasty little pus filled pores are called. A pimple happens when the pore gets clogged with dirt and oil. The infection that occurs can be ugly and down right painful. Some people have them worse than others. Believe it or not some of you might be genetically inclined to have them worse than some of your friends.For teenagers they always seem to crop up on picture day or prom night without fail.
My 12 year old Daughter has had acne for about 3 years now. I had a pretty good complexion when I was younger but her Dad didn't. No matter what we tried nothing worked.We went through hundred's of dollars trying everything on the market. Clean and Clear and Proactive worked the best but they always seemed to come back. Especially around her period. They never completely cleared all the way up.
One day my husband and I went to visit his Grandmother. She happened to comment on my daughter's pimple problem. She said she had them really bad when she was about 13 until her grandmother told her a secret. She told my daughter to wash her face with regular soap and water. It didn't matter what kind. After she washed her face to pat it dry and after it completely air dried to apply regular corn starch out of the cupboard on her face.
Corn Starch. So when we got home she wanted to try it. I was skeptical. I mean we had spent tons of money, how was a dollar box of cornstarch going to clear up pimples?
The different was noticeable by morning. I was in shock! It worked. In 3 days all of her zits were gone and her complexion was radiant.
She still gets one or two pimples around time for her period. One or two is a whole lot better than 50!
I have to recommend this to everyone. It really does work.
Links:
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Somewhere Over the Rainbow
First and foremost I would like to say that this blog is not only controversial it will probably downright offend some of you. With that being said I still feel the need to address certain topics, so today is going to be a collaboration of things that I have my own opinion of that may not be the same opinion as some of you.
I have to say that we as humans supposed to love every person in the world and even I have a hard time doing so sometimes. It's not for prejudices so much as pure aggravation. The old saying comes to mind that God must love stupid people because he sure made a lot of them. When people act stupid it gets on my nerves, then I have to take a breath and remind myself that ignorance is not stupidity and that it's not really their fault. That is what all of us should do.
I am an American woman that loves her country proudly. I am a Christian that believes if you want to be Buddhist, Jewish, Hindu, or Pagan, that is your right and you should be allowed to practice whatever religion you believe in. I also believe if you are gay, you are born that way and you should have the same rights as straight people including same sex marriage. I am pro choice because I believe that sometimes having a baby is not the best option and women should have the right to choose what's best for them. I have never been racist a day in my life even though I was raised deep in the heart of Dixie and I believe women should be able to birth when and where they want to. I think marijuana should be legalized even though anyone that knows me will tell you I don't smoke. I just know people that could benefit from it.
I am proud to be the way I am and some people worry too much about what others think about when I state my beliefs. I am not pushing them on anyone, just stating them. If we all would quit being so judgmental then there would be no reason to worry about what someone else thinks. We should love each other just the way we are and stop trying to push one another into being something we weren't born to be.
I saw a button the other day directed toward protesters of gays and pro choice individuals. It read,"If the fetus you are trying to protect turned out gay, would you still protect it?" It's a brain thinker anyway. I personally have gay cousins out the wazoo, more gay friends than carter has liver pills, and my step sister is a lesbian. I love them all just the same.
Love is the answer not hate. Its hard sometimes I know, but it is truly miraculous thing when a person can forget their differences and open their hearts to everyone around them. Their entire lives change. Try it if you don't believe me. I challenge you to do so.
As always, links below.
The Secret
Gay Rights
Pro Choice
Civil Rights
Peacecorp
I have to say that we as humans supposed to love every person in the world and even I have a hard time doing so sometimes. It's not for prejudices so much as pure aggravation. The old saying comes to mind that God must love stupid people because he sure made a lot of them. When people act stupid it gets on my nerves, then I have to take a breath and remind myself that ignorance is not stupidity and that it's not really their fault. That is what all of us should do.
I am an American woman that loves her country proudly. I am a Christian that believes if you want to be Buddhist, Jewish, Hindu, or Pagan, that is your right and you should be allowed to practice whatever religion you believe in. I also believe if you are gay, you are born that way and you should have the same rights as straight people including same sex marriage. I am pro choice because I believe that sometimes having a baby is not the best option and women should have the right to choose what's best for them. I have never been racist a day in my life even though I was raised deep in the heart of Dixie and I believe women should be able to birth when and where they want to. I think marijuana should be legalized even though anyone that knows me will tell you I don't smoke. I just know people that could benefit from it.
I am proud to be the way I am and some people worry too much about what others think about when I state my beliefs. I am not pushing them on anyone, just stating them. If we all would quit being so judgmental then there would be no reason to worry about what someone else thinks. We should love each other just the way we are and stop trying to push one another into being something we weren't born to be.
I saw a button the other day directed toward protesters of gays and pro choice individuals. It read,"If the fetus you are trying to protect turned out gay, would you still protect it?" It's a brain thinker anyway. I personally have gay cousins out the wazoo, more gay friends than carter has liver pills, and my step sister is a lesbian. I love them all just the same.
Love is the answer not hate. Its hard sometimes I know, but it is truly miraculous thing when a person can forget their differences and open their hearts to everyone around them. Their entire lives change. Try it if you don't believe me. I challenge you to do so.
As always, links below.
The Secret
Gay Rights
Pro Choice
Civil Rights
Peacecorp
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
A Midwifery Nights Dream
For those of you who don’t know, I have a passion. I have a disturbing need to be around pregnant women and help them through their labors. I know it’s crazy. Most of you probably think, “Why on earth would a woman who has had five kids want to do that?” That is probably the reason I do. All of my births were natural and when I had my first baby the only person I knew who had done that was my great grandmother. I had no kind of support and everyone tried to talk me out of it. Needless to say my stubbornness on the situation prevailed and I would not have had it any other way.
Over the years I realized I wanted to birth at home but in Mississippi midwives are a dying breed and Medicaid does not reimburse them here. That was the only thing keeping me from it. Now that I am done having children, I have come to realize becoming a midwife is what I want to do in life. Getting the training here seems to be almost as hard as finding a midwife to deliver.
Other states like Florida not only have midwives that work in hospitals, they also offer Medicaid reimbursement. One would think that the poorest state in the nation would want to save the state money since a midwife cost only about a third of what an OB does. Mississippi has the second highest infant mortality rate having 10.74 deaths for every thousand births in the US. The District of Columbia was number one with an average of 14.1.
What most people don’t realize is the maternal death rate. The World Health Organization released in March the statistics for maternal death rate. What it found was shocking. More women die in the U.S. after giving birth than die in Poland, Croatia, Italy and Canada. In California alone the maternal death rate has tripled in the past ten years. One of the main causes is pulmonary embolism after a C-section. Since thirty percent of US births end in C-sections, that would be the reason for the higher rate. Most of which were unnecessary.
One may think if you have a midwife that means no drugs and a home birth. That is not true as well. There are lots of midwives who work with hospitals and anesthesiologists. Midwives are just more personal with their patients. Their job is to focus on the needs of the mother and help her bring her baby into the world in the way her body sees fit. Doctors try to push things along to fit their own schedules. This is not really good for mom or baby.
The last birth I attended the doctor showed up just in time to catch after the mother had been forced to stay on her back for hours. That disturbed me. She did all the work and he got all the glory. One of my own births was somewhat painful in the end because the doctor had been woken up AFTER he put me on a Pitocin drip. He literally jerked her out because he wanted to get more sleep. It was completely unnecessary.
I am taking FREE doula clients on now to help me get my certification as a doula which is a birth support specialist. It is just the beginning of my training to become a midwife. I have attended countless births already but none of them are on record. My dream is to one day own my own birth center so that women everywhere can have their babies the way they want to. Not how they are forced to. Below are some great links if you are pregnant or know someone who is.
Mississippi Friends of Midwives
DONA International
Midwives Alliance of North America
Below are some links to some videos. If you have had birth before you might realize the difference in the labors of these women in the videos.
Orgasmic Birth
A Water Birth
Water Birth Info
Over the years I realized I wanted to birth at home but in Mississippi midwives are a dying breed and Medicaid does not reimburse them here. That was the only thing keeping me from it. Now that I am done having children, I have come to realize becoming a midwife is what I want to do in life. Getting the training here seems to be almost as hard as finding a midwife to deliver.
Other states like Florida not only have midwives that work in hospitals, they also offer Medicaid reimbursement. One would think that the poorest state in the nation would want to save the state money since a midwife cost only about a third of what an OB does. Mississippi has the second highest infant mortality rate having 10.74 deaths for every thousand births in the US. The District of Columbia was number one with an average of 14.1.
What most people don’t realize is the maternal death rate. The World Health Organization released in March the statistics for maternal death rate. What it found was shocking. More women die in the U.S. after giving birth than die in Poland, Croatia, Italy and Canada. In California alone the maternal death rate has tripled in the past ten years. One of the main causes is pulmonary embolism after a C-section. Since thirty percent of US births end in C-sections, that would be the reason for the higher rate. Most of which were unnecessary.
One may think if you have a midwife that means no drugs and a home birth. That is not true as well. There are lots of midwives who work with hospitals and anesthesiologists. Midwives are just more personal with their patients. Their job is to focus on the needs of the mother and help her bring her baby into the world in the way her body sees fit. Doctors try to push things along to fit their own schedules. This is not really good for mom or baby.
The last birth I attended the doctor showed up just in time to catch after the mother had been forced to stay on her back for hours. That disturbed me. She did all the work and he got all the glory. One of my own births was somewhat painful in the end because the doctor had been woken up AFTER he put me on a Pitocin drip. He literally jerked her out because he wanted to get more sleep. It was completely unnecessary.
I am taking FREE doula clients on now to help me get my certification as a doula which is a birth support specialist. It is just the beginning of my training to become a midwife. I have attended countless births already but none of them are on record. My dream is to one day own my own birth center so that women everywhere can have their babies the way they want to. Not how they are forced to. Below are some great links if you are pregnant or know someone who is.
Mississippi Friends of Midwives
DONA International
Midwives Alliance of North America
Below are some links to some videos. If you have had birth before you might realize the difference in the labors of these women in the videos.
Orgasmic Birth
A Water Birth
Water Birth Info
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Home On The Fat Farm
When I was a teenager, I had no trouble at keeping weight off. Back then everything seemed to just be easy. If I vegged out on the sofa, it was no big deal.
After had my first child, I lost even more weight. It was the opposite of everything I knew and had heard about pregnancy. I reached my all time low (112 lbs.) and smallest size(5). I felt pretty confident that apparently the laws of nature did not apply to me. WRONG!
I got pregnant with my second child and gained 55 pounds not including the baby. Then came the third, fourth, and fifth baby. Between each child I would lose ten pounds or so and then WHAM, I was pregnant again.
My youngest child is now six years old and I have tried everything under the sun. I have tried every diet on the market as well as exercise systems and support groups. I know what works and what doesn't and how hard it is to stay motivated.
Two months ago, I had lost down from 191 pounds to 167. It was the first time I had broken the 170 mark in 12 years.I sat down and cried. Spring soccer started and I found the healthy eating and exercise regimen quickly got interrupted and here again I have found myself looking at 183 pounds.
One thing I have discovered that I will share in this blog is: The more natural, the better. Herbal teas and vitamins are essential to weight loss. They help to detox the body so that your digestive tract will digest the food you eat properly. You will find that headaches will be less common, fatigue goes away, bloat is gone, and you have less gas.
I decided this morning I have plenty of motivation at my disposal. It's called blogging. My blog is a combination of anything I feel like writing about and today it just so happens to be my weight loss goals. I want every person out there to know: You are not alone. Together we can do this. I am going post a blog once a week on my progress and I will even try to get some pictures on here. I am going to post links for tools that can help all of us out along the way. Being skinny might be your goal or just dropping ten pounds for your sister's upcoming wedding might be all you need. Here is my journey. I hope you will walk it with me. Below are the links to sites that I feel might benefit you. Whichever way you decide to lose your own weight, these sites will most assuredly help.
www.sparkpeople.com
It has everything you need to track weight, food, and fitness as well as support from fellow dieters.
www.weightwatchers.com
It is seriously the easiest way to change the way you eat.
Vitamins and supplements.
This one is great as well and it's fun!
This site has all kinds of herbal supplements and they are CHEAP!
The best selection of natural, organic, and healthy living products available.
After had my first child, I lost even more weight. It was the opposite of everything I knew and had heard about pregnancy. I reached my all time low (112 lbs.) and smallest size(5). I felt pretty confident that apparently the laws of nature did not apply to me. WRONG!
I got pregnant with my second child and gained 55 pounds not including the baby. Then came the third, fourth, and fifth baby. Between each child I would lose ten pounds or so and then WHAM, I was pregnant again.
My youngest child is now six years old and I have tried everything under the sun. I have tried every diet on the market as well as exercise systems and support groups. I know what works and what doesn't and how hard it is to stay motivated.
Two months ago, I had lost down from 191 pounds to 167. It was the first time I had broken the 170 mark in 12 years.I sat down and cried. Spring soccer started and I found the healthy eating and exercise regimen quickly got interrupted and here again I have found myself looking at 183 pounds.
One thing I have discovered that I will share in this blog is: The more natural, the better. Herbal teas and vitamins are essential to weight loss. They help to detox the body so that your digestive tract will digest the food you eat properly. You will find that headaches will be less common, fatigue goes away, bloat is gone, and you have less gas.
I decided this morning I have plenty of motivation at my disposal. It's called blogging. My blog is a combination of anything I feel like writing about and today it just so happens to be my weight loss goals. I want every person out there to know: You are not alone. Together we can do this. I am going post a blog once a week on my progress and I will even try to get some pictures on here. I am going to post links for tools that can help all of us out along the way. Being skinny might be your goal or just dropping ten pounds for your sister's upcoming wedding might be all you need. Here is my journey. I hope you will walk it with me. Below are the links to sites that I feel might benefit you. Whichever way you decide to lose your own weight, these sites will most assuredly help.
www.sparkpeople.com
It has everything you need to track weight, food, and fitness as well as support from fellow dieters.
www.weightwatchers.com
It is seriously the easiest way to change the way you eat.
Vitamins and supplements.
This one is great as well and it's fun!
This site has all kinds of herbal supplements and they are CHEAP!
The best selection of natural, organic, and healthy living products available.
Monday, May 16, 2011
Chocolate Fever
As any woman with PMS will tell you, chocolate is a necessity of life and a solution for temporary insanity. I have a friend who always has some kind of chocolate close by.(She's hypoglycemic, but that's beside the point. I think she would have it there anyway.)
Men even have to have this basic necessity of life at times. My husband absolutely loves German Chocolate cake. Most groom's cakes at weddings are chocolate. That might have more to do with the wedding night than anything since chocolate is well known as an aphrodisiac.
Chocolate comes from the cocao (kah KOW) pods that grow on the cocao tree. Over two thousand years ago ancient Central Americans made a spicy drink using the insides of the pods as well as other spices. When the Spaniards came, they took some back to Europe with them and the our present day love for chocolate began. That I guess, was the original "Hot Chocolate".
Nowadays chocolate is found anywhere. Dark Chocolate contains more coco and is highly rich in antioxidants. Milk chocolate on the other hand isn't as good for you but still keeps your sweet tooth at bay as well as controlling the cravings of women everywhere.
I always heard an apple a day keeps the doctor a way but anybody knows it's really chocolate. I mean mental health is the number one medical specialty these days. Just for your benefit I have included a link for some excellent gourmet chocolate. I hope you enjoy and keep your sanity.
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