Where in the World is Bob Saget?

[Nemo14]

Elementary kids don't tend to lose things that often, but once they get to middle school, all common sense flies out the window to make room for the hormone invasion. The kids at the school I taught in had to wear uniforms, but they still lost their gym clothes, coats, jackets, shoes, you name it. We did have a lost and found, but by the end of the year it was just overwhelming how much unclaimed stuff was there. I never understood how you can not notice that your child has come home without his or her coat in the middle of winter!

 

[Cesar R M]

In other news...

google just warned me about a legit security breach of my account coming from a Disney IP from Florida.

Considering I went there, accessed my account and now they fully were able to login (but google blocked it due of being out of my usual zone). Still Makes me feel uneasy.
I wonder if there is people actively sniffing for passwords in the Disney hotel resorts, as I only logged in late night to check my emails.

Regardless, I already changed my password.
The interesting part is.. Google warned about the CORRECT login, not a brute force.. in short.. THEY KNEW my combination... and only way to know this is:

a) They sniffed the hotel's wireless connections.
b) someone had access to Disney's network and sniffed it from there..

because I had my own devices, all of them had password locks (so no way someone could use my devices to steal the pass ) and never used a public device to check my emails.

I remember losing some things in elementary school. I don't believe any of it was intentional, though. Sometimes kids just pick something up thinking it's theirs, and don't realize until later that it isn't.

I dont get how someone would lose clothes.
The usual are pens or cute stuff kids take to school. (like merchandise..etc..)

 

[MOXOMUMD]

Or in some grades, we had lockers. I wonder why your daughter's school doesn't have lockers?

Crazy enough in preschool and kindergarten they had lockers. Grade 1-7, no lockers. Grades 8-12, lockers.

 

[PUSH]

I dont get how someone would lose clothes.
The usual are pens or cute stuff kids take to school. (like merchandise..etc..)

I remember going out to recess with a jacket in elementary school and it was warmer out than expected, so a bunch of kids just put their coats in a pile by the door. Not the smartest thing to do, but being that young, you never really think about it.

Same thing goes for sweatshirts and whatnot. It's not like kids are losing their t-shirts or pants in elementary school (if they are, I'd switch schools

). In middle and high school it's possible to lose those things, though, when students start changing for gym classes.

 

[donaldtoo]

Just finished puttin' out a bunch of merch.
In less than an hour, I sold more product than the owner did from 10a-5p. He'll be a happy entremanure.

 

[StarWarsGirl]

For some idiotic reason if you wear boots to school and change to sneakers, you are not allowed to bring the boots into the classroom, they have to stay out in the hall on the floor..you know where anyone can can take whatever they want....and they did! I was p**sed because they weren't that old and they were expensive. Plus the fact only 1st and 2nd grade are in her wing so it had to be another young kid!

We had a similar rule in elementary school about rolling backpacks. In middle school you weren't allowed to leave anything outside your locker, so you weren't allowed to have rolling backpacks. I think kids who switched shoes (which wasn't many) left theirs in their locker. They fit. But by the time you got to high school, you didn't USE your locker because you were assigned one your Freshman year and kept it for all four years. Nevermind if you never had any classes there; it was yours. We all carried our stuff. I used mine for part of Senior year because that was pretty soon after my car accident and I was in physical therapy for my back, so my physical therapist said I had to limit my backpack's weight. It was fine because I was driving and had enough time to use it. It was right by the door that I used to enter and exit and right outside my last class. Most kids didn't use theirs, though.

I can't believe that janitor just threw the boots away. That's ridiculous. What a waste.

 

[StarWarsGirl]

I dont get how someone would lose clothes.
The usual are pens or cute stuff kids take to school. (like merchandise..etc..)

I used to leave my jackets behind in the classroom on a regular basis. I was always able to find them, though.

 

[PUSH]

We had a similar rule in elementary school about rolling backpacks. In middle school you weren't allowed to leave anything outside your locker, so you weren't allowed to have rolling backpacks. I think kids who switched shoes (which wasn't many) left theirs in their locker. They fit. But by the time you got to high school, you didn't USE your locker because you were assigned one your Freshman year and kept it for all four years. Nevermind if you never had any classes there; it was yours. We all carried our stuff. I used mine for part of Senior year because that was pretty soon after my car accident and I was in physical therapy for my back, so my physical therapist said I had to limit my backpack's weight. It was fine because I was driving and had enough time to use it. It was right by the door that I used to enter and exit and right outside my last class. Most kids didn't use theirs, though.

We had an assigned locker for all 4 years, too. (Techincally we didn't, because we got new lockers after my freshman year, so everybody switched to much bigger and better lockers, but the idea is to keep them all four years). It allows for accountability should the locker get damaged, and in my school, it kept the grade levels together. My freshman, sophomore, and half of my junior year I used to go to my locker between every class (small school, so not lots of walking). In the spring of my junior year, I injured my ankle and was on crutches for about two weeks, so I brought a drawstring bag to carry my stuff. From that point forward the only time I went to my locker was the beginning of the day, before lunch, and the end of the day. I would swap out my morning and afternoon folders before lunch.

With big schools there's no ideal way to do lockers. Swapping everyone's lockers every year would be a huge mess, and usually classes are spread around the building anyway, so at some point you would have to walk to get back to your locker. Can't really blame the school for that.

 

[StarWarsGirl]

We had an assigned locker for all 4 years, too. (Techincally we didn't, because we got new lockers after my freshman year, so everybody switched to much bigger and better lockers, but the idea is to keep them all four years). It allows for accountability should the locker get damaged, and in my school, it kept the grade levels together. My freshman, sophomore, and half of my junior year I used to go to my locker between every class (small school, so not lots of walking). In the spring of my junior year, I injured my ankle and was on crutches for about two weeks, so I brought a drawstring bag to carry my stuff. From that point forward the only time I went to my locker was the beginning of the day, before lunch, and the end of the day. I would swap out my morning and afternoon folders before lunch.

With big schools there's no ideal way to do lockers. Swapping everyone's lockers every year would be a huge mess, and usually classes are spread around the building anyway, so at some point you would have to walk to get back to your locker. Can't really blame the school for that.

I've got a couple of friends who went to the neighboring school, bigger than mine, and they switched every year. Pretty simple; it was based on your homeroom. I got used to carrying my stuff around. As far as accountability, they checked the lockers at the end of every year anyway. Actually, when I was leaving they were thinking about changing it so that you are assigned a new locker every year. I got used to it after a while, but still. Having all those backpacks really crowds up the classrooms. Now that I'm in college it's fine, but in high school we'd have 35 kids all with the backpacks, coats, lunches...what a mess.

 

[donaldtoo]

More sales!!!
OK, gonna' start shuttin' 'er down and head fer the ranch.
Laterrrrrrr...!!!

 

[Gabe1]

I'm 5 pages behind. Again.


So there's a woman with her teenage son, possibly 19-20 years old, in my office right now. He's talking about how he "stoled" the pair of glasses he's wearing from someone, popped the lens out and put his in. He's bragging about stealing. From someone else. The brand of the glasses, how much they cost- since he looked it up to verify- and he's positively bragging about this.

The mother said "huh" and hasn't taken her eyes off of her iPhone yet.

...Is this really happening? My mother would have killed me five times by now for even THINKING about stealing, let alone doing it. And then, for saying ALOUD in PUBLIC the fact that I've stolen something from someone. In fact, I'd be dead so many times over by now, I can't even fathom it.

I can't. I.. no, I'm done.

My son got his first pair of glasses in Kindergarten. They were corrective lens with prisms in them that strengthened the eye muscles so when he was reading both eyes would see the same word at the same time. Prisms are not visible to anyone, so his glasses caught the attention of many. During the first week of having the glasses that he only wore for close work they disappeared. Of course on a day when there was a substitute. DS knew they were gone when he left school at lunch time and he said the sub looked for them yet nobody communicated this to me.

Well his good friend Alex took them we later found out. Alex went to daycare after morning Kindergarten. When his Mom went to pick him up from Daycare he wasn't wearing the glasses however the daycare supervisor ask Alex's Mom when Alex should and should not be wearing the glasses at Daycare. Alex Mom, huh, glasses???

I get a call from Alex's mother at dinner time. She tells me about Alex taking the glasses, she is mortified and is going to bring Alex by shortly to apologize and return the glasses. I say that is OK, relief set in the expensive special glasses were found, she could just pop them in Alex's backpack tomorrow and give them to my DS the next day. She insists. 5 year old appears at my home with Mortified, angry Mom. He first apologizes to my son. Then he moves onto me and tries to apologize for taking something I bought to help my son learn and see better and Alex looses it. I try to let him off the hook but Mom would have nothing to with it, she made him complete his apologies. The next day she took him to school and made him apologize to the teacher for wasting her time searching for something he had stolen and to the class for taking up their time looking for the glasses. The glasses story remains in my sons memory and Alex's too.

 

[Gabe1]

Our kids had cubbies and hooks in Kindergarten. 1st grade through 12th they had lockers. The lockers in 1-5 were the tallest and widest so boots, snowpants, change of clothes, PE shoes all fit. Middle school they were wide half lockers with a separate box cubbie that unlocked with the locker. In high school they had full length lockers that were six inches wide, dumbest thing ever. Yeah they got more lockers on a wall but text books are wider than 6 inches and winter coats were difficult to stuff into a 6 inch slot, no way was my kids swim team bag fitting in that puppy. Stupid design and decision that students have put up with for 30 years and counting.

 

[StarWarsGirl]

My son got his first pair of glasses in Kindergarten. They were corrective lens with prisms in them that strengthened the eye muscles so when he was reading both eyes would see the same word at the same time. Prisms are not visible to anyone, so his glasses caught the attention of many. During the first week of having the glasses that he only wore for close work they disappeared. Of course on a day when there was a substitute. DS knew they were gone when he left school at lunch time and he said the sub looked for them yet nobody communicated this to me.

Well his good friend Alex took them we later found out. Alex went to daycare after morning Kindergarten. When his Mom went to pick him up from Daycare he wasn't wearing the glasses however the daycare supervisor ask Alex's Mom when Alex should and should not be wearing the glasses at Daycare. Alex Mom, huh, glasses???

I get a call from Alex's mother at dinner time. She tells me about Alex taking the glasses, she is mortified and is going to bring Alex by shortly to apologize and return the glasses. I say that is OK, relief set in the expensive special glasses were found, she could just pop them in Alex's backpack tomorrow and give them to my DS the next day. She insists. 5 year old appears at my home with Mortified, angry Mom. He first apologizes to my son. Then he moves onto me and tries to apologize for taking something I bought to help my son learn and see better and Alex looses it. I try to let him off the hook but Mom would have nothing to with it, she made him complete his apologies. The next day she took him to school and made him apologize to the teacher for wasting her time searching for something he had stolen and to the class for taking up their time looking for the glasses. The glasses story remains in my sons memory and Alex's too.

I really admire that mother. Too many parents would have just brushed it off. Even more would have been too embarrassed on behalf of their child. She set the standard from the beginning that stealing is wrong and if she was embarrassed, didn't let it get in the way of setting her child straight.

 

[Soarin' Over Pgh]

My son got his first pair of glasses in Kindergarten. They were corrective lens with prisms in them that strengthened the eye muscles so when he was reading both eyes would see the same word at the same time. Prisms are not visible to anyone, so his glasses caught the attention of many. During the first week of having the glasses that he only wore for close work they disappeared. Of course on a day when there was a substitute. DS knew they were gone when he left school at lunch time and he said the sub looked for them yet nobody communicated this to me.

Well his good friend Alex took them we later found out. Alex went to daycare after morning Kindergarten. When his Mom went to pick him up from Daycare he wasn't wearing the glasses however the daycare supervisor ask Alex's Mom when Alex should and should not be wearing the glasses at Daycare. Alex Mom, huh, glasses???

I get a call from Alex's mother at dinner time. She tells me about Alex taking the glasses, she is mortified and is going to bring Alex by shortly to apologize and return the glasses. I say that is OK, relief set in the expensive special glasses were found, she could just pop them in Alex's backpack tomorrow and give them to my DS the next day. She insists. 5 year old appears at my home with Mortified, angry Mom. He first apologizes to my son. Then he moves onto me and tries to apologize for taking something I bought to help my son learn and see better and Alex looses it. I try to let him off the hook but Mom would have nothing to with it, she made him complete his apologies. The next day she took him to school and made him apologize to the teacher for wasting her time searching for something he had stolen and to the class for taking up their time looking for the glasses. The glasses story remains in my sons memory and Alex's too.

Wow, that's amazing that she marched him up and down like that. Bravo! My Mom would have hung my carcass out to dry if I did something like that (especially since she's an optician!) or even considered it! I'm glad the glasses were returned, I understand how crazy expensive they are. I've been paying for mine since I was 16 and my mother of course insisted I get my eyes examined every single year. My eyes apparently are rare in that my script fluctuates. It's hard to explain. Basically, lots of money spent on glasses in my life, lol

 

[englanddg]

My son got his first pair of glasses in Kindergarten. They were corrective lens with prisms in them that strengthened the eye muscles so when he was reading both eyes would see the same word at the same time. Prisms are not visible to anyone, so his glasses caught the attention of many. During the first week of having the glasses that he only wore for close work they disappeared. Of course on a day when there was a substitute. DS knew they were gone when he left school at lunch time and he said the sub looked for them yet nobody communicated this to me.

Well his good friend Alex took them we later found out. Alex went to daycare after morning Kindergarten. When his Mom went to pick him up from Daycare he wasn't wearing the glasses however the daycare supervisor ask Alex's Mom when Alex should and should not be wearing the glasses at Daycare. Alex Mom, huh, glasses???

I get a call from Alex's mother at dinner time. She tells me about Alex taking the glasses, she is mortified and is going to bring Alex by shortly to apologize and return the glasses. I say that is OK, relief set in the expensive special glasses were found, she could just pop them in Alex's backpack tomorrow and give them to my DS the next day. She insists. 5 year old appears at my home with Mortified, angry Mom. He first apologizes to my son. Then he moves onto me and tries to apologize for taking something I bought to help my son learn and see better and Alex looses it. I try to let him off the hook but Mom would have nothing to with it, she made him complete his apologies. The next day she took him to school and made him apologize to the teacher for wasting her time searching for something he had stolen and to the class for taking up their time looking for the glasses. The glasses story remains in my sons memory and Alex's too.

Forget Dr. Spock. THAT is Parenting 101!

 

[englanddg]

This may get removed, because I've posted it elsewhere, but I thought I'd share...

Beef Wellington (Part 1)
This dish is trickier to make than it looks. The basic method I use is based on this Gordon Ramsey video (I mean, ever watch Hell's Kitchen? Seems like he puts this on every one of his menus!).



But, I've made some tweaks to the recipe, and while he makes it look VERY easy in the video, it really isn't. So, I'll include cooking tips I've learned over the many times I've made the dish.

So, lets begin!

Ingredients

2 Large Filet / Tenderloin steaks.
Look for thick "steakhouse" cuts, and even size. You don't want it to be too wide on one the top and bottom in juxtaposition to the thickness. Rather, you want a cut that is pretty even. Or, you can buy a whole loin and butcher it yourself (or ask the butcher to do this cut for you). But, 2 thick steaks work fine.
Mustard
Gordon says to use English Mustard. He uses Colman's. That is good, but I actually prefer using Lakeshore Strong Irish Mustard. Really any good yellow mustard will work in a pinch...but I'd avoid Grey Poupon (and certainly don't use French's Mustard or Heinz!). I don't think it tastes quite right in this application. Stick with English or Irish.
4-5 Portobello Mushroom Caps

1 Package of Sliced Shiitaki Mushrooms or 1 packages of "exotic blend" mushrooms
If you choose not to do this, add 4 more Portobello Caps

Kosher Salt

Unsalted Butter

Fresh Ground Black Pepper

4 eggs

All Purpose Flour

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Coarse Sea Salt or Bakers Salt
It's hard to find Bakers Salt. It's sometimes called Pretzel Salt, so you can look for that, but even then it's not easy
to find. Coarse Sea Salt works as a nice substitute.
Procuitto
In the UK they call this Parma Ham. That's what he's referring to in the video. Actually, Parma Ham refers to a specific type of Procuitto, made in Parma, Italy. Each type (there are around a dozen of them) are slightly different in appearance and flavour...but, in the US you won't find that outside of maybe an International Farmer's Market. So, any brand will do. If you can find one that hasn't been treated with nitrates, snag that. But, again, it's a hard find. Boars Head has an excellent Procuitto Cotto. You'll want medium to thin slices. They should also have pre-sliced version in the deli area. But, if you can get the Boars Head and have it cut a bit thicker than the deli cuts (which are practically shaved), you won't regret it!

Puff Pastry Sheets
You can find this in the frozen section. Or you can make your own. There is certainly a difference between the homemade stuff and the frozen, but I normally choose to just use the frozen stuff. However, the frozen stuff normally doesn't use butter...rather they use shortening or something else, and this certainly makes a difference in the taste of the crust.

Most likely the brand you'll find is Pepperidge Farm. This works fine. Also, it's really interesting how to make this stuff. I couldn't help but toss this video in. Recipe here.



Also, while not ingredients, you will need some items:

Rolling Pin

QUALITY Saran Wrap
Ok, mini rant here. DO NOT BUY ANY SARAN WRAP THAT LOOKS LIKE THIS!

It's terrible, it likes to stick to itself, but not to anything else, and the cutter is awful (the newer sliding cutters are better, but not much). Either go to a restaurant supply store, order online (here) or go to a Costco or Sams and get this.

You will thank me later.

A Brush
If you have one of these:

Or something like that...it won't work well for this. Get something more like this:

When looking for a pastry brush, unless you really like doing dishes by hand, stay away from wooden handles and metal parts. Ones, like the one above, work great and are Dishwasher Safe.

Ok, so utensil rant over. Lets get cooking!

Instructions

Step 1) If using frozen puff pastry, set it out on the counter about 2 hours before you plan to use it so it can thaw fully. About 30 minutes before cooking, take out the steaks and put them on a plate. Season liberally with kosher salt and fresh course ground black pepper. Season both sides. Leave them on the counter and allow to sit and warm up to room temperature (about 30 minutes). This is a step you can't skip, as it's essential to get a good sear.


Step 2) While the steaks are warming up to room temp, lay out the saran wrap on a clean counter. Then lay out the procuitto slices. How many you use will depend on how large the steak is. But, you want to be sure you leave enough on the sides to overlap slightly and completely surround the steak. Make a good sized overlap (nearly half of the slice). Also, be sure to overlap the slices with an alternating pattern. So, the first two slices, the upper slice is on top for the overlap. For the next row of slices, the lower slice is on top. And so forth. This will help later. Also, procuitto rips easily, so be very careful and do this slowly...especially if you have to peel the ham off of nonstick separators. You want the whole slice.



Step 3) Chop up the portobello mushroom tops into small chunks.



Step 4) Put a medium sized frying pan on the stove and start warming it to medium heat. Add the chopped portobello and the shiitaki and or exotic mushroom blend to a food processor with a chopping blade.



Step 5) Blitz until it's a chunky consistency. Then season liberally with fresh ground black pepper and lightly with salt.


Step 6) Continue to blitz until it's smooth, but not liquid. You'll need to stop from time to time to scrape the sides with a spatula. Add it to a medium sized frying pan preheated over medium heat...no butter, no oil...nothing. Just mushrooms. As soon as the mushrooms start to sweat (it will happen quickly) spread them out in a thin layer over the pan with a spatula.



Step 7) Stir occasionally, mixing it from side to side and then spreading it out again, until the mixture is reduced into a rather dry pasty consistency.



Step 8) Add about 1 tablespoon of unsalted butter and mix into the mushrooms. Continue to reduce the mushrooms until it's back to a dry pasty consistency, reduced by about 1/3.



Step 9) Again, spread the mushrooms out in the pan. Set another pan on a burner over medium high heat to pre-warm.



Step 10) When it's dry(ish) and looks like this, it's done!



Step 11) Spread the mushrooms (food nerd fact, this is called Duxelles) out into around 1/4 to 1/2 inch layer on the procuitto.



Step 12) In a second pan that has been heating, add a few splashes of Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO). Give it a minute or so to heat up, and then add your first steak. Remember...if the steak doesn't sizzle when you drop it in the pan, then you need to heat the pan longer. Pull the steak out, and play with the heat. It should sizzle (and smell delish!)



(Continued)

 

[englanddg]

Beef Wellington (Part 2)
Step 13) Cook for about 30 seconds to a minute on each side. Remember you are trying to sear it, not cook it. Sear on ALL SIDES. This is very important. You must seal the meat well or the juices will destroy the pastry as it bakes later.









Step 14) Allow the steak to rest and repeat with the second steak.



Step 15) Brush the steaks on all side with the mustard.



Step 16) Place the mustard coated steak in the middle of the mushrooms.



Step 17) Carefully roll the ham / mushrooms around the mix, tucking in the sides of the ham to make sure all of the steak / mushrooms are surrounded by it. Also, as you roll, you can redestribute the mushrooms a bit. You want evenly sized layer of mushrooms (again, about 1/4 inch thick) on all sides. When you get to the end, twist the ends like a tootsie roll to make a very tight bundle. If you need, you can roll the initial bundle in some more wrap and use that to make it tighter. The key is...a tight roll shaped like a small loaf of bread.



Step 18) Cool the roll in the fridge for at least 30 minutes (every step before this can be done hours or even a day or two in advance).

Step 19) Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Lightly flour a clean counter.



Step 20) Unfold the puff pastry and lightly flour the top of it. Then roll it out, alternating from rolling from the center to the corner, and from the center to the edge (horizontally).



Step 21) Keep rolling until it is about twice the size.



Step 22) Time to make the egg wash. For this, you won't dilute the egg wash with milk or water, rather you'll want to use just the yolks. Crack all the eggs into a plate. Using a clean soda or water bottle, squeeze it, and while you keep squeezing, carefully use the plastic edge to seal the head of the bottle around one end of the yolk.



Step 23) Then stop sweezing the bottle, and the yolk will come up into the bottle.



Step 24) Repeat for all the yolks. Put them into a small bowl and beat with a fork.



Step 25) Remove the roll from the fridge and cut off the ends.



Step 26) Then CAREFULLY cut open the roll. Be sure not to cut the ham underneath.



Step 27) Place the rolled meat in the middle of the puff pastry.



Step 28) Liberally brush the puff pastry with the egg wash. Then roll the meat in it, cutting off excess puff pastry.



Step 29) Fold and pinch the ends to be sure you have a good seal.



Step 30) The finished product should look something like this.



(Continued)

 

[englanddg]

Beef Wellington (Part 3)
Step 31) Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Brush the pastry with the egg wash on all sides.



Step 32) Place a cookie cooling rack inside a lipped cookie sheet pan. Be sure to cover all sides with egg wash.



Step 33) Lightly score the sides of the pastry loaf on both sides. This is to allow steam to escape as it cooks (plus it looks neat after baking!)



Step 34) Coat liberally with coarse sea salt on the top.



Step 35) Put into the preheated 450 degree oven and bake for 40 - 45 minutes. If you are big on temps, you'll want a temp of 125 degree or so for the beef. The issue with this is that, when you pierce the beef it will leak on the pastry, so rather, I'd look at the color of the pastry.



Step 36) Slice thickly.



Step 37) Plate and devour!

 

[englanddg]

That's your nom noms for the week!

 

[donaldtoo]

That's your nom noms for the week!

That's all fine n' dandy, but, where the heck's my darn bacon cheeseburger...?