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Monday, February 17, 2020

Reviewing the Muscle Max Massage Ball

The Muscle Max Massage Ball looks like a gimmick. It looks like an over-sized, hard rubber tennis ball with grooves. However, it is somehow much more than that and has helped me immensely with pain relief. After the first time I used one I knew I had to have one of my own.

Reviewing the Muscle Max massage ball on ReviewThisReviews.com

The Backstory

I have had migraines and a constant daily headache since the late 1980s. Relief has been elusive. And costly. The causes of migraines are as individual as each person that has them. In my opinion, that is what makes them difficult to treat. I have recently found pain relief with treatment and the Muscle Max Massage Ball by Epitome Fitness is a part of that treatment.

I have started treatment that has included chiropractic, dry needling, stim/heat treatment, stretching and exercise. With this treatment, I'm experiencing greatly reduced pain and actually have some days with no pain at all.

The Muscle Max Massage Ball

The physical therapy portion of my treatment began with the initial focus of loosening me up and increasing range of motion. The pain over the decades had kept me in a constant state of gritting teeth and shrugged shoulders. When the PT staff handed me this little rubber ball, I was so skeptical that I nearly laughed. But I did as instructed.

Standing against the wall, I placed the ball between my back/shoulders area and leaned back. As I moved my body up and down or side to side, the ball gave a deep muscle massage. I could adjust the pressure by how hard I leaned back. Finding a knot in my muscle, I pressed back and rubbed until I could feel the knot loosening.

It was so effective that I left my appointment and hopped on Amazon to order my own Muscle Max Massage Ball.

A few descriptive blurbs from the Epitome Fitness site:

high density rubber
trigger point massage grid
provides Myofascial Release therapy (MFR)
relaxes contracted muscles
improves blood circulation

The Epitome Fitness site also highlights a few different ways to use the ball.

Clearly, the Muscle Max ball is only one piece of my recovery. I would not say that it alone cured my migraines. I would say that it immediately feels good and I can feel improvement each time I use this strange rubber ball. With daily use, the tension in my shoulders has released dramatically and my range of motion has increased noticeably.

Important Note: I am not a doctor or physical therapist. If you have chronic pain or health problems, as always, consult your provider before beginning a new treatment or exercise.

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN), Esty (Awin), and/or Zazzle Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”

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Sunday, February 16, 2020

White Cake with Coconut Topping - Another Family Favorite

White Cake with Baked Coconut Topping - A Family Fave

I don't know what's with me lately, but here I am again this week talking about another recipe my family loves.

As I mentioned in the other recipe articles, of course, I can cook, it's just not my favorite thing to do. What the heck, I'll keep the recipe sharing going until this phase wears off.

Here's this Sunday's recipe for y'all: It's the most amazing simple white cake evah!

Much like the simplicity of my previously shared recipes, this one only has six ingredients, and it's so good! It has a topping as well, so the total ingredients are actually nine. You've done the math, so I guess you've figured out that the topping has three.

We actually don't have a name for this recipe, we just call it 'White Cake with Coconut Topping.'

Cake Ingredients:

2 Eggs
1 Cup of White Sugar
1 Cup of Flour
1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 Cup of Milk
1/4 Cup of crushed Walnuts (optional)

(Did you notice these ingredients are similar to making pancakes?)

Mix all the ingredients together, but don't put the walnuts in, they go on top. Don't over mix. Just get everything nicely blended. Pour the ingredients into an ungreased 8.1" square baking dish (2 quart). Sprinkle the top of the batter with the crushed walnuts. Bake the cake for approximately 25 minutes at 350 degrees. However, check it at 20 minutes.

The Topping

6 Tablespoons of Butter
10 Tablespoons of Brown Sugar
4 Tablespoons of Cream or Canned Milk

Melt all ingredients in a pot on low heat. Once melted, add 1 Cup of baking coconut (the coconut you buy in the baking section of a grocery store).

Finishing the Cake

I usually poke about ten or so tiny holes into the cake using a toothpick. Pour the topping over the cake. Put the cake back in the oven under the broiler until the coconut on top turns into a nice golden color. It doesn't take long, watch it the whole time, don't walk away!

This is one of my favorite cakes. When my mother makes this cake, I cannot resist it. Although, yes I have resisted it for 10 months since I've been on Keto. Before my commitment to the Keto way of eating, I was all over this cake! I'll have to find a way to make this one Keto friendly.

Previous Family Recipes

Here are those other recipes I was speaking about:

There you have it, a peek into our kitchen.

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Saturday, February 15, 2020

Site Review ~ Dinner, then Dessert, a Recipe Website

Source: Pixabay & Fotojet

The other night I decided I wanted to fix Egg Foo Young for my dinner, as I had some leftover ham to put in it. I almost always order Egg Foo Young at a Chinese restaurant, as it is my favorite. Since one doesn't often 'eat out', I sometimes fix restaurant favorites at home.

I have made Egg Foo Young often over the years, but, while good, it just never tasted the same as my favorite at a Chinese restaurant or Chinese Take-out. And I never knew why. So I decided to look online for a new recipe to see if I could duplicate my favorite. Much to my surprise, I discovered that I have been 'cooking' my version incorrectly. I would beat the eggs and add the ingredients (vegetables, and sometimes meat or seafood) and cook it all at once like an omelet. Aha ~ THAT was my mistake. I discovered you cook individual helpings like a pancake!

When I did a Google search for a new Egg Foo Young recipe, I accidentally came across a recipe blog called Dinner, then Dessert, and I am SO glad I did. The author is a trained professional cook who worked as a Private Chef for 10 years, and all the recipes on her site are her own. Not only are her recipes delicious, but her presentation is attractive and easy to follow and her writing is delightful. Her name is Sabrina Snyder.

Meet Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina Snyder, Professional Chef
Author of Dinner, then Dessert

Sabrina Snyder is a professionally trained personal and private chef of over 10 years.

She started Dinner, then Dessert as a business in her office as a lunch service for her coworkers who admired her lunches, before going to culinary school and becoming a full time personal chef and private chef.

As a personal chef Sabrina would cook a family's entire week of dinners one day a week, including all grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning up, and leave them with instructions on reheating each meal.

As a private chef, she cooked for private parties in family homes in the evenings.

Sabrina enjoyed this lifestyle for 10 years, until her life and kids became her priority and she stepped away from other people's kitchens to stay in her own kitchen.

In 2015, Dinner, then Dessert became an online recipe website where Sabrina began posting recipes she had shared with clients over the years.

In addition, she still has private chef clients she cooks for. Sabrina treasures her distinction of being a trained professional chef.

Sabrina's Egg Foo Young Recipe

Sabrina Snyder's Egg Foo Young Recipe
Sabrina's Photo from Dinner, then Dessert

Egg Foo Young is a Chinese egg omelet dish made with vegetables with an easy gravy topping. I share her recipe here:

Course: Main Dish
Cuisine: Chinese

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

8 eggs
½ onion, chopped
½ cut carrots (chopped and steamed)
¼ cup green peas
½ cut green bell pepper, chopped
¼ cup bean sprouts, cut in half
½ cup mushrooms
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
3 tablespoons sesame oil, divided

Instructions:

Add the eggs, onion, mushrooms, bell pepper, bean sprouts and soy sauce together in a bowl and whisk to combine.
In a large skillet, heat 1 teaspoon sesame oil at a time for each pancake you cook on medium heat.
Add about 1/3 cup of mixture per pancake and cook for 3-4 minutes on the first side and 1-2 minutes on the second side.

Egg Foo Young Gravy

1 cup chicken stock
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
1 tablespoon dry sherry
1 tablespoon cornstarch

Add everything to a small sauce pan and whisk well before the liquid heats up. Cook and whisk until thickened.

Recipe Notes from Sabrina about this Egg Foo Young Dish:

Egg Foo Young is sort of the classic leftovers meal made into a restaurant favorite. At our local Chinese restaurant the classic egg version of the dish comes out with a different assortment of ingredients mixed in almost every time we go.

I’ve asked our favorite waiter (who puts up with our circus of a family) why the fillings change and he explained to me that Egg Foo Young is a leftovers recipe and that when they have more or less of certain vegetables they just adjust the filling to what they have.

My Recipe Notes:

A collage of my version of Egg Foo Young from Sabrina's Dinner, then Dessert site

Cooking my version of Egg Foo Young
from Sabrina's Dinner, then Dessert site
Photos by Wednesday Elf, using a Fotojet collage

Following what Sabrina learned about this Egg Foo Young recipe filling being adjusted, I made my recent version using only fresh mushrooms, diced onions and ham diced up from a leftover ham slice. I briefly sauteed the ham, onions and mushrooms in butter prior to adding them to the egg mixture.

I used only 3 eggs and cooked my pancakes one at a time in a small pan, as I was only making enough for myself. I chose NOT to make the gravy, as I like my Egg Foo Young plain.

I then served the Egg Foo Young pancakes on rice. The image below is of my result. YUM!

My Egg Foo Young Dinner

PS: In addition to learning the proper way to COOK this dish as pancakes, I think the other secret to getting homemade Egg Foo Young to taste more like a Chinese restaurant version is using sesame oil to cook it in.

Site Review Summary

Having now discovered this delightful online recipe website by Sabrina Snyder, I will be visiting Dinner, then Dessert frequently to try out several of her other delicious-looking recipes from her Main Dish, Desserts, Appetizers and Slow Cooker lists. Her 'Easy Chicken Parmesan' recipe is already calling my name!

Quick Link:

Dinner, then Dessert Recipe Website

For more Chinese Takeout dishes to fix at home, check out this cookbook:

(c) Dinner, then Dessert Website Review by Wednesday Elf, written on 2/15/2020

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Friday, February 14, 2020

Togo (2019) Movie Review

Soundtrack Image/Link

Are you familiar with the name "Togo"? What about "Balto"? Does that name ring a bell? What do you really know about these two dogs.

I readily admit, I was surprised by the real facts when I recently watched the Disney movie, Togo, which prompted me to research the true history. My previous knowledge of the legendary serum run to Nome was clearly very limited and had been shaped around the stories of Balto. Imagine how shocked I was to learn the truth.

Since I love dogs, I am often drawn to movies about dogs, especially when they also feature a favorite actor like Willem Dafoe. When I saw the awesome dvd cover for the movie Togo, I was immediately drawn in and had to watch the movie. The dvd picture is only the introduction to Togo and Leonhard Seppala. Just look at that dog! Isn't he gorgeous!!! The real Togo was every bit as beautiful as the dog in the movie. After hearing his story, all I could think was, who wouldn't want that fabulous pup!

One note of warning, ladies get out the tissues! This is a real tearjerker that even guys will watch with you. Actually, come to think of it, bring extra tissues for them.

RDShahriar [CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)]

Togo (2019) - Disney Movie Synopsis

The movie is based on the true story of Leonhard Seppala and his lead dog, Togo. Unlike many movies, Togo seems to follow the truth closely, if not completely. It dramatizes the challenges, the sacrifices, and the risks this team took in order to bring a life-saving serum to the children of Nome, Alaska, as well as gives us a factual account of the real Togo's life.

Togo was the runt of the litter and expected to die. Leonhard Seppala thought it would be kinder to put the pup down, but his wife did not agree. She personally nursed the puppy to health and Togo repaid them with a deep love and devotion that only a dog can give.

Leonhard Seppala was a renowned expert musher and trainer of working sled dogs. Due to his small size and health issues, Seppala was certain Togo could not be useful. He actually gave him away twice, but both times Togo was returned, or made his own way back home.

Togo was determined to be with Leonhard whether he wanted him or not. Much to Seppala's surprise, the other dogs were willing to be lead by Togo, even into mischief and against their masters commands. When Seppala relented and tried Togo as the lead sled dog, they were both rewarded with a win-win compromise.

Size didn't matter to Togo. He had the heart and spirit of a born leader.

In 1925, when Togo was a mature 12 year old dog, the town was hit with a diphtheria epidemic. The children of Nome, Alaska desperately needed medicine. Due to the weather, an airplane was not an option and the train from Anchorage only went as far as Nenana, Alaska. The city council asked Leonhard Seppala to make the trip to Nenana to pick up the serum.

Now, think about that for just a minute! Over 650 miles round trip, in −30 °F weather with a wind chill of −85 °F and white out storms that no man could possibly see in, on a dog pulled sled. Only an animal with a fantastic ability to navigate a blizzard could survive. At 12 years old, the trip alone would most likely kill Togo, but Seppala knew he was their only chance of getting through to Nenana. No other dog in his kennel possessed the drive and ability needed in such an intense storm. But could Seppala knowingly sacrifice his beloved Togo to save the lives of the children and adults in Nome?

Leonhard Seppala, with Togo in the lead of his dog sled team, set out for Nenana. While in route, the city council set up a relay to intercept Seppala and shorten the length of time it would take to get the medicine back to Nome.

The Facts about Balto & Togo

Balto was hailed as the hero because he was the reported lead dog that brought the serum into the city of Nome. In the end, over 20 men (mushers) and 100 dogs were involved in the relay. Most, including Balto, ran approximately 30 miles of the trek, but they all deserve credit for their part in the mission.

Leonhard Seppala & his winning dogsled team
during 9th_All-Alaska Sweepstakes dogsled race
University of Washington [Public domain]

Ironically, Balto was also owned and trained by Leonhard Seppala. Seppala's wife allowed another musher, Gunnar Kaasen, to borrow Balto for the relay.

Togo and Seppala, along with the rest of their dog team, ran 260 hard miles. They were the team that crossed the dangerous iced-over Norton Sound and endured 3 days of blizzard weather. The team survived due to Togo's exceptional ability to navigate to safety in a ground blizzard. If not for Togo, his dog team, Leonhard Seppala, and the serum would have been lost and dead.

Even though they passed the serum off for the last miles into Nome, I think it is clear who deserved the credit for getting the lifesaving serum to Nome.

You can watch the factually accurate movie yourself to see if you agree.

One note of interest that the movie did not include, is that Seppala had an 8 year old daughter at the time of the serum run. I have no desire to take away from Seppala, but as a parent myself, I suspect the fact that he had a child affected his decision to make the run for their lives and to use Togo as his lead in spite of the dogs advanced age. After all, he had the option to use Balto himself.

At the time of publishing this review, Togo is only available for viewing on the Disney+ subscription channel. No DVD release date has been announced.

The phenomenal music from the movie is available for purchase and downloading.

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Togo (2019) Movie Review Written by:

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Thursday, February 13, 2020

Review of Bird Photography in the Snow

I love photographing birds and in the winter a snowy day can give a wonderful backdrop for my bird photographs.

Female Cardinal

As I reviewed articles online in preparation for writing this article, I found many tips on photographing in the snow. Most of these talked about protecting your camera, wearing gloves with the fingers cut out and that type of tips. I have a different setup for photographing birds right from the comfort of my own home and that is what I will be sharing in this article.

Photographing through Glass

The photograph above, as well as all of the photos on this page were taken through glass. I have tripods set up in my home that I use to photograph the birds in our yard. The photograph above was taken through our sliding glass doors in the kitchen. I often get a surprised reaction when people hear that I photograph through glass, but it has worked well for me.

When photographing through glass

be sure to keep the glass clean.

I keep a cloth handy to quickly wipe away any smudges on the glass. On a snowy day I will frequently open the door to wipe away sleet or drops that have formed on the glass outside.

Set up the camera as close to the

glass as possible.

I have my cameras set up on a tripod just inches away from the glass.

My Setup

I have two cameras that I use to take my bird photography. Both are set up on tripods.

Sony A57 DSLR set up with a Tamron 200-600 zoom lens. This camera is perfect for getting the birds that are at a bit of a distance. I use these when the birds are at my far feeders, up in the branches of the trees along the back of our property or in the bushes.
Sony a6300 mirrorless camera. This camera set up with a 70-210 zoom lens is perfect for the birds on the deck and in the closer feeders. I use it in connection with a wireless remote so that I can sit at the kitchen table and trigger the shutter release when I see a bird. I used this setup in photographing the BlueJays pictured below.