Category: Uncategorized

I’m pissed.

My family loves chicken fajitas and we normally make them with chicken breast strips from Trader Joe’s. The other day, the hubby and I were at Meijers and decided to grab two bags of Tyson Fajita Chicken Breast strips. After all, as you can see from the Tyson picture below, the white chicken breasts look quite delicious:

But after cooking up the Tyson product, here’s how much of the purty white stuff we ended up with:

Did I mention I was pissed?

As I continued to cook the product (which was advertised as fully cooked. I was merely “warming up” the product) the hubby and I began to remove the not-so-delectible selections of meat that we found in the pan:

Yes, that plate on the left is the fatty dark meat that comprised over ninety percent of this supposedly white meat Tyson product.

Oh, I was pissed. And the hubby was too. Twelve dollars of meat and hardly enough to feed a family of six.

But what I’m about to show you is not for the faint of heart. Make sure you’re sitting down as you direct your eyes to this next photograph:

Does this even resemble anything close to white chicken breast meat?

Listen up, Tyson foods– that’s deceptive advertising. I won’t be buying this product ever again. And I’m betting the readers of this blog won’t be, either.

Update:

Tyson responded quickly:

Dear Ms. Putz:

We appreciate your taking the time to share your comments regarding the
chicken fajita strips. I understand your frustration when a product
does not meet expectations.

I visited your blog spot–the pictures helped me to understand part of
the issue. The first picture (from our web site) is a 6 ounce package
of Tyson Fajita Chicken Breast Strips. These are sold refrigerated, not
frozen. The second picture (item that you purchased) is a 20 ounce bag
of frozen Tyson Fajita Chicken Strips. The fajita chicken strips
include both thigh and breast meat.

A report regarding the fatty thigh meat was sent to the Quality
Assurance Manager. I also forwarded your message to the Marketing
Product Manager. Per our product guarantee of satisfaction, a refund
for the two bags will be mailed to you at the address included in your
e-mail. Again, we appreciate your feedback.

Best regards,

Willie D. Barber
Manager, Consumer Information Services
Tyson Foods, Inc.

Note from me: I apparently posted the wrong bag of chicken breast strips, but if you look closely at the bag that I took a picture of– you can see the same white chicken breasts on the second bag (there’s no “breast” in the bag description). Still deceptive advertising!

Update: Tyson followed up with a letter and apology and a check for a full refund. They also sent a coupon for two more bags of Fajita strips.

Uh, no thanks!

For the last two weeks, I have been substitute teaching at a local high school. On Friday, I was telling the students about the 1986 Super Bowl. They looked at me with a blank look on their faces and I suddently realized that none of my students were even born when the Chicago Bears went to the Super Bowl in 1986. What a reality check. I remember the 1986 Super Bowl like it was yesterday.

My friend Tena, who was a Honey Bear cheerleader during that Super Bowl, is probably taking a similar reality check today, except she looks just as good today as she did in 1986. You go, Tena!

We are heading over to a deaf party tonight and I look forward to cheering on the Bears and sharing this piece of history with my kids.

On another note, Karen Meyer, ABC reporter, had a feature on a Bears player this morning:
Chicago Bears Player Reaches Out to Children About Stuttering.

Go Bears!

Susan Elliot, a deaf teacher, serves as a Hands & Voices board member and on the Gallaudet Board of Trustees. She was recently featured in the Rocky Mountain News: Massaro: After a Pal’s Suicide, She Chose Life.

I first met Susan via videophone last summer when we were scheduled to give a presentation together at a leadership workshop. It is quite a feat to pull off a presentation with someone you’ve never met before, but I enjoyed working with her.

Gotta love this quote in the article: “If Elliott ever engaged the battery rabbit in a competition, stretcher bearers would haul off the bunny by halftime.” It’s true– Susan has boundless energy!

Here’s what a former student has to say: Aspirations Encouraged by an Encounter With A Deaf Teacher.

This month’s issue of Chicago Parent magazine has several articles on parenting deaf and hard of hearing children:

Wanting To Be Heard.

I would have liked to see Illinois Hands & Voices included as a resource in this article. Looks like we’ll need more publicity so that every parent in Illinois can know about us.

I love magazines. Correction, the hubby and I love magazines. We have piles and piles of magazines in our house and I’ve actually cut back on the subscriptions that we used to get.

It just dawned on me that I no longer read parenting magazines anymore. When my first child was born, I subscribed to Parents and American Baby. By the time the third child came along (born at home), I was digging into Mothering magazine instead.

Last week, while waiting for my teenager to get his hair trimmed, I thumbed through a couple of different parenting magazines. I remembered the days of trying to get some sleep throughout the night, the huge diaper bag filled with everything under the sun and the countless days of playing “Hunt for the Binky.” I can remember turning to my parenting magazines to help me get through the ups and downs of motherhood.

I find myself on “the other side” as I guide some of my friends through their mothering days with their first babies. These are the gals who have finally become mothers late in life. And just as I did years ago, I see the same parenting magazines lying on their coffee tables.

Sixty five years ago, on January 23, 1944, my father arrived in the Pacific and began his journey as a United States Marine in World War II. He fought in Guam and Okinawa and then the Occupation of China. He was overseas for two years.

As a child, I used to look through my mother’s hope chest and finger the rough wool of his Marine jacket. It wasn’t until many years later, that he would share stories about the war. He told of trudging through fields and being so hungry that when they came across a potato field, the guys feasted on the raw potatoes. He recalled the time that he sneaked out to the PX to purchase an ice cream bar, only to hear his commandeer hollering his name. He quickly hid the ice cream bar in his pants pocket only to have to dig out a melted mess a few minutes later.

Many of the war memories were rough ones, and it was difficult for him to share the horror of what he endured.

One summer, the power went out during a storm while my parents were on a trip. They came home and had to clean out a freezer full of meat. The stench, said my dad, reminded him of the war.

Today, my father is in his eighties and has been retired for several years. My oldest brother is also a Marine and he served in Vietnam. The two of them have a special bond–Marine buddies who have shared a piece of history.

Ellen Roth, a Chicago area resident, had her story published in the Oprah magazine. Ellen obtained a cochlear implant and shared the new sounds that she experienced with it. Jayne Dough put the story on her blog (scroll down to the January 20th entry): Ellen Roth, My Story.