Happy Veteran’s Day!

Ember

Each eleven November

We all should remember

Every service member

Who left a glowing ember

-Quentin Ehlinger

Robert L. Yancey, a US Korean War veteran, better known as the best Papa in the world to his grandkids (as pictured) myself, Kenny, Ty, and Shelby.

iCook

            One thing I’ve been attempting to do lately is quit eating out (rather, quit spending my money on eating out).  I’ve come to realize the utter stupidity in heading to McDonald’s and buying a burger and fries when I have hamburger meat and tator tots at home.  Americans currently throw away about 40% of the food they buy.  I refuse to be part of that statistic. 

Photo: New York Times

            Really folks, think about it.  We will spend money going to the grocery store to buy groceries, then the next day we’ll opt to buy lunch from a fast food place instead of eating last night’s leftovers (unless we spent money eating out for dinner despite having a fully stocked kitchen at home).  What’s our excuse?

“I’m not in the mood to cook.”

“I’m tired.”

“I don’t know what to cook.”

            Since when did we all become so lazy?  We have to be in the “mood” now?  Negative.  I’ve quit looking at cooking as being a choice and now look at it as a necessity of life.  You will never hear me say I’m not in the “mood” to brush my teeth or slap on some deodorant, just like now I’m training my mind to no longer look at the task of cooking food (that I’ve already spent hard-earned money on) as optional. 

           Truth be told, once you’ve pulled out all of your ingredients, have your pots boiling, sauces with their spices simmering and your drinks chilling, cooking becomes…dare I say, fun?  Yes, it is a bit enjoyable (once you figure out how to properly wing it).  And the sense of accomplishment when you’ve finished is nothing short of a joyous occasion.

            I encourage all of you to think twice before heading through McDonalds’ drive-through for breakfast or BW3’s for dinner.  Are you sure you can’t grab a quick apple and yogurt for breakfast?  Maybe take your chicken out of the freezer that morning to thaw so that you have a head start on dinner that evening?  Don’t waste your dollar on those small bag of chips at the vending machine-do you not have a full bag of chips at home?