10:07 p.m. | 2005-01-30 Here�s The Shortfall Of Crockpot Cooking. At Least On Sundays. I often get up very early on Sunday in order to throw some food into my crockpot so I get the full advantage of 12 hours of slow cooking. Much like I did this morning. Then, I crawl back into bed for a few more hours of sleep. The problem? My home is slowly filled with the lovely scent of whatever I�m cooking. Which makes me hungry� for that particular thing. However, I cook stuff on Sundays for my breakfasts and lunches for the week. In other words, it�s not for consumption on the day I cook it. The smell drives me crazy though. Especially if I�m cooking something I haven�t made for a while. Like today. I brewed up what I call beef in a wine-mushroom sauce ladled over mashed potatoes. That, with a piece of fruit is breakfast. For lunch? Ham and crushed pineapple served with a salad. Lunch aside, the smell emanating from the crockpot all day about drove me nuts. Personally, I think it might be the wine. I don�t drink red wine, nor do I particularly like it, yet I get all intoxicated when I throw it in the slow cooker. In other news, well there�s not much to report. Except that I�ve become a victim of offensive short comments lately. That�s never come up before so I�m not quite sure what to make of it. Obviously, there�ve been a lot of jokes all my life � and I�ve often started them � but this is different. Outside of what�s happened lately, I�ve only been offended once in my whole life. We�re talking 40 years now. I don�t know what to make of the fact that I�ve been offended at least three times in the last few months. Other than the fact that someone has an issue with being short. And, it�s not me. Actually, my height might just be the least offensive thing about me. My smart mouth? Yeah. Way more offensive. Just in case you forgot, I�m also thick-skinned and that hasn�t changed. I�m not easily offended either. I�ve been bullied, I�ve been threatened and I�ve been beat. But, not because I�m short. Well okay, perhaps the fact that I am short encouraged such behaviour� but that just made me an easy target. (Beating up someone who�s under 5� isn�t really impressive.) Once I found my voice, and trust me I found it very early on, those things ceased. Around kindergarten I believe. Actually, I think it was preschool. That�s what makes it so odd. Now I know somewhat how it feels to be a short man and ridiculed. Except I�m not a man. And, I can�t really know how that feels. It�s offensive though, I know that much. And, my voice is about to get louder. What�s really ironic is that I truly don�t care that I�m short. I just hate bullies is all. And, my voice is about to get louder. your thoughts? seed flower