Anniversaries!

So it was our 6 month anniversary last Friday....the 30th of June marked half a year. Fortunately we both remembered on Thursday (the day before) and made a mental note to wish each other happy anniversary on Friday. You know month anniversaries are kind of dumb. I've realized this....I guess the first half a year anniversary is a little momentous but you know when we've been married for 33 years I doubt we'll take time to reflect on our 33 and 1/2 year anniversary.
Some people celebrate all the anniversaries...the first time they met, the first time they went out, the first time they kissed, the first time they both ordered water at a resturant...etc. To be honest, I don't remember the dates of any of those things...and I seriously doubt Greg does either (especially the water one). And thats ok with us.
When we got married the Patriarch asked us "How long will you remember this day?" Greg and I both figured that he was talking about the DAY...not the actual symbolic meaning of the day and the covenants we made to one another...I answered "30 minutes at least" and Greg said "I guess a year"....needless to say the man gave us a dirty look....
Dates aren't important to either Greg or me. We just kind of go with the flow. We didn't keep the top of our cake (I believe my family ate it soon after we left the reception hall)....shoot we didn't even cut our own cake (we had my grandpa do that...I know...weird huh...) I'm sure though when the actual year anniversaries role around we'll give each other a high five or a "good game" slap to commemorate the occasion...and when we're old and gray and can't remember the "day" we'll just be satisfied we still remember we have the same last name.


I call this the cancer patient look....all my hair is stuffed into my hat.... oh and those are Greg's pants and sweatshirt...apparently my "southern' clothes wouldn't keep me warm enough so I had to go Minnesotan.

HOT DOG!

As the Fourth of July fast approaches I stop to ponder a question that has racked the minds of even the greatest of philosophers. "What is in a hot dog?" I've heard the rumors....and I'm sure you've heard the rumors as well... So I spent some time researching this age old question. Here's what I found.

From the "National Hot Dog and Sausage Council": (Ummmm yeah apparently they have a council for EVERYTHING nowadays)

First, specially selected meat trimmings of beef and/or pork -- just like the meat you buy in your grocer's case -- are cut or ground into small pieces and placed in a mixer. When poultry hot dogs are made, poultry trimmings are used.

High speed, stainless steel choppers blend the meat, spices, ice chips and curing ingredients into an emulsion or batter. The mixture is continuously weighed to assure a proper balance of all ingredients.

The mixture is then pumped into an automatic stuffer/linker machine, where it flows into casings. The most popular brands of hot dogs use cellulose casings, which are later removed. Some wieners use natural casings, which remain on the wiener when it is eaten. These wieners are considered more "traditional," are frequently made by smaller manufacturers and tend to cost a little more.

Once the casings are filled, they are linked into long strands of hot dogs and moved to the smokehouse, there they are fully cooked under controlled temperature and humidity conditions. They may be hardwood smoked for added color and flavor.

After passing through the smoke and cook cycle, the hot dogs are showered in cool water. If the hot dogs were made with cellulose casings, they are sent to an automatic peeler, where the cellulose "skin" is stripped away.

The individual links are then conveyed to the packaging equipment. When cellulose casings are used, the hot dogs are of exact size and weight. They are vacuum sealed in plastic films to protect the freshness and flavor of the hot dog. Because the casings on natural casings wieners are made from cleaned and processed animal intestines, they are of similar, but not exact, size.

BEWARE THE VARIETY MEATS LABEL!!!

The NHDSC went on to tell all that when the package is labeled "with variety meats" then it will more probably contain all the of gross stuff we've heard about in all the rumors (note: they specifically mention hearts). So from now on CHECK THE LABELS!!!! Variety Meats=BAD

Just think of this Simpson clip....

So basically Lisa was pondering the "with variety meats" hot dogs.....GROSSS!

And with that I wish you all a Happy 4th of July!