General Rule #22: Not a Fan of Hamburger

I ate a lot of ground beef when I was growing up.  It seems like almost every meal we ate had a hamburger-base:  tacos, burritos, lasagna, enchiladas, meatloaf, goulash, sloppy joes, and of course... hamburgers.  I'm a beef fan, so I didn't really mind when I was younger, but I've found that in my adult life I just don't care that much for hamburger.  I'm not sure if that's because I got burned out, or if it's simply due to the poor quality of ground beef available.  Nothing grosses me out faster than biting down on a piece of gristle.  Ick.  The gristle issue doesn't exist in the home-grown beef I've tried, nor is it in ground sirloin.  Unfortunately, neither are very cheap or easy to find.

A while back, I read an article on Yahoo! Health with some startling facts about how hamburgers are processed for fast food restaurants.  Here's an excerpt (Warning!  It may turn your stomach!):

The Truth: Most fast-food hamburger patties begin their voyage to your buns in the hands of a company called Beef Products. The company specializes in taking slaughterhouse trimmings—heads and hooves and the like—that are traditionally used only in pet food and cooking oil, and turning them into patties. The challenge is getting this byproduct meat clean enough for human consumption, as both E. coli and salmonella like to concentrate themselves in the fatty deposits.

The company has developed a process for killing beef-based pathogens by forcing the ground meat through pipes and exposing it to ammonia gas—the same chemical you might use to clean your bathroom. Not only has the USDA approved the process, but it's also allowed those who sell the beef to keep it hidden from their customers.

Wow.  Perhaps this shouldn't have surprised me, but it did.  Those two paragraphs alone are enough to make me never eat a fast-food burger again.  Not that I ate very many in the first place.  The only places I eat hamburgers with any frequency are McDonald's and Culver's.  At McD's I would only get a single cheeseburger, which I figured wasn't too bad, but now with the latest "pink slime" headlines, I won't be eating those anymore.  For some reason this story has turned my stomach more than any other.  I may have been "happier" not knowing what was in their "beef," but I'm definitely healthier knowing.  *shudder*

Of course, then there also the recent news story about Taco Bell being sued for only using 35% real beef... although, they now contend they use 88% beef.  To which I ask, what's wrong with using 100%??  Why is it okay for these fast-food "restaurants" to serve us this crap, and more importantly why do we keep buying it??

Sorry.  Soap box.  Okay, back on track... 

I really do love beef.  REAL beef.  Especially steak.  Give me a filet mignon, strip steak, or ribeye and I'm a happy, happy girl.  Roast, brisket, ribs, tenderloin...  all are wonderful!  Hamburger?  Not so much.  Ground turkey is my go-to substitute for ground beef anymore, and I'm much happier with it (and my husband doesn't mind the substitution, so we're good there).  Plus it's healthier, so that can't be a bad thing.  :)

Besides..  Think of all the cows I'm saving.  The Chick-fil-A cows would be happy. 

General Rule # 78: Not a Fan of Thrift Stores

When I was growing up, my family did a lot of shopping at thrift stores.  I never liked thrift stores, for a number of reasons...  the smell...  the disorganization...  the worn, dated clothing...  Once I became an adult, I would occasionally venture into a thrift store here and there, but my sentiment never changed... until recently.

I've found a thrift store near my work that I absolutely love.  The first time I walked inside, I saw neat and tidy rows of color-coordinated clothes, and private, clean dressing rooms, and I immediately knew I'd found the perfect place for me.

As if those two things alone weren't enough, when I riffled through each section of colors (have I mentioned how happy that makes me?), I kept finding name-brand items.  Tommy Hilfiger jeans for $15?  Yes, please!  Eddie Bauer sweatshirt for $5?  Absolutely!  GAP dress pants for $5?  Okay!  I am by no means a clothes snob, but there's something very satisfactory about wearing a "label" and knowing that you only payed a tiny fraction of the original price (which was obviously marked up excessively!).

I still wouldn't say that I'm a fan of thrift stores in general... but this one store has made me more likely to give other thrift stores a chance.  You just never know what kind of treasures you might find.  :)

General Rule # 213: Not a Fan of Birthdays

As you may have noticed, I enjoy saying the phrase "as a general rule." Typically, it's tacked on at the end of a sentence and requires no further explanation. For instance, I do not like cream cheese, as a general rule. Occasionally I may feel the need to expand on a "general rule," and what better way to do that then on this blog? So in honor of my birthday last month, I thought I would share with you why I'm not a fan of birthdays... as a general rule. :o)

My first birthday.  :o)

Birthdays have never been a big deal to me. Part of that has to do with how I was raised. My parents didn't spoil me and my siblings. We didn't get showered with gifts. We would occasionally have a birthday party, but having a birthday didn't necessarily guarantee having a party, and we were okay with that.

My one-and-only grandma subscribed to the "children shouldn't be spoiled" philosophy. It was not unusual for her to tell us, "I didn't get you anything because you have enough toys." Lol! I love my grandma. :D She's the only one I've ever had, so I never knew most grandmas weren't like that until I grew up!

When I was younger, we did celebrate. Always. But it was low-key and usually just family. As we got older, we always got one special gift that we picked out ourselves. There are several very special birthday gifts that stand out in my memory...

The year I received a real Cabbage Patch Kid, I vividly remember going to Children's Palace and sorting through the mountain of boxes, looking for the doll with both the perfect name (which I can no longer remember) and look (blond with blue eyes).  And then on the morning of my birthday, my mom woke me up holding the doll in her arms, like she was a nurse at a hospital, saying, "Here's your baby, ma'am." That sweet memory is now bittersweet since I will never have the joy of experiencing that with a real baby... but I still cherish it. ♥

The gift I received for my 16th birthday was very exciting to me -- but not because I was getting my license (I didn't get that until I was 18). That one was special because after many years of wearing glasses with bottlecap-thick lenses, I finally got contacts! I swore I'd never go back to glasses, yet here I am, 20 years later, wearing glasses almost exclusively. And loving them! Go figure. :D

First school pic without glasses!! 
(Please ignore the big hair, unplucked eyebrows, and awkwardly posed arms.)

Another memorable gift -- and probably my all-time favorite -- was one I received when I was a college sophomore. I had been desperately wanting a digital piano so that I could practice in my dorm room, but I didn't think my parents would ever be able to afford the one I wanted. Oh me of little faith! On that birthday, I remember coming back to my dorm room and finding a note my roommate had transcribed from my mother, that read: "For your birthday, we're seriously looking at going ahead with the keyboard.  Please call home with the details!!" I still love that gift...  (although it's currently needing to be repaired, because someone was stupid and left it plugged into the wall without a surge protector - *sigh*)

My family stopped exchanging gifts for birthdays MANY years ago. Scott & I typically just give each other a card and some candy or a single rose (for me - not him!). My in-laws, however, spoil me. Bigtime. My mother-in-law and Scott's grandparents always give me a generous cash gift each year, and I am more than happy to spend it on myself. :o) So, I do get some birthday money each year, lest you feel sorry for me. :P  I'd truly be fine if I got nothing, though. 

Well, there you have it.  My first "general rule" post.

For the record, general rules are made to be broken.

Plus, there are frequently exceptions to each general rule.

Just so you know.  ;o)