Tasty Tuesdays

Hey all you cooks! My friend A is having a recipe contest; check out her blog: Many Little Blessings. And here's a link to my recipe, Pork in Mushroom Gravy. (Just trying to pimp my other blog...)

Memorial Day

It doesn't seem right to say "Happy Memorial Day," since there is nothing happy about remembering a departed loved one. Rather, my condolences to you who've lost a loved one and my thanks to you who are serving or have a loved one serving.

I have a cousin serving right now. He's been to Iraq and Afganistan and I suspect he'll be going back. And I have a coworker in the reserves who expects to be called up again. It is a constant hoping for the best, but worrying about the worse for both of them.

Soooo frustrated and tired

I've been working very long, intense days for the past couple weeks and next week should be no better. Lots of things to be updated at the last minute, lots of coordinating, lots of deadlines. It isn't the long hours so much as trying to keep track of everything.

One tiny change will have a snowball effect and affect so many other things. One of my responsibilities is to make sure everyone in the department is aware of and makes these changes. So I send out e-mails, I make announcements in staff meetings, I mark the change on their work. And still, I get the blank looks of "what are you talking about?".

Sometimes I think my job title should be changed to chief nag. Why do I have remind people of their deadlines? Because if I don't, the projects don't get done on time. And then everyone in the department is scrambling to finish the project at the last minute. It may take a village to raise a child, but it shouldn't take a village to finish a project. I'm ready to beat my head against the wall. Better than beating my coworkers, right?

In the meantime, my own projects are falling by the wayside. Hence, I'm working today and tomorrow, sigh.

It was an LM day

I wore my pink Lifetime Moments tee shirt to work today. It is a custom tee shirt from a non-official crop, which makes it even more special. I've been so busy at work (these 10, 12 hour days are killing me), that I forgot my LM order was arriving today. Usually I track it every day online, and anxiously await the day's mail delivery. I got back from our staff meeting to the pleasant surprise of my order. There wasn't that much to show for how much I spent; paper is expensive, lol. Thought I did splurge on a QK tote. I was afraid they would discountinue their current tote since they came out with a new (ugly) one. Since it was on sale, I "had" to buy it. How's that for logic?

Friends

Last night, I saw a dear friend that I hadn't seen in quite a while (she moved out of state). I think I've seen her twice in the past three years, but last night was the first time I saw her, just the two of us. No kids, no other friends.

She decided to fly into town at the last minute and was busy trying to fit in visits with family and friends. Having done the same thing myself, I was flattered to be on her "to see" list.

We tried to find a halfway point to meet and picked a restaurant that we had both heard of and could see from the freeway. It turned out to be quite the happening place and not quite what we had in mind. So we drove around for a bit and ended up on a quaint little street full of restaurants and cute shops. We happened upon a wine bar and it was the perfect place for us--quiet, friendly, reasonably priced. She had a flight and I had my usual cranberry juice, lol. It was wonderful to just sit, relax, and enjoy each other's company. So my advice to you? Spend time with your friends. Something we don't do enough.

12 of 12

Thanks to S, I had two days notice to plan my 12 of 12 photos (credit to Chad Darnell for the concept). Plus the 12th came on a weekend this month so theoretically, I had lots of time to do this. It would have been helpful if I brought the camera with us when we ran our errands, but alas, you'll just have to settle for photos around the house.

Since I had to take photos, I decided to kill two birds with one stone and take a photo of the clothes I'm donating to Goodwill. Then there's the tool A borrowed and needs to return, some tea I've been drinking to get rid of my cough, the stuff I bought at the scrapbook store, and my mail today.



























I usually don't drink soda, but today it was quite warm so I indulged.

This is the "Mexican lasagna" I made for dinner. It is layers of tortillas, refried beans, cheese, and salsa/tomato sauce instead of pasta, beef, cheese, and marinara sauce.

Hopefully, this little seedling will grow up to be a healthy, hardy Armenian cucumber plant.









An empty rabbit hutch. :(


I can't remember if this is a cherry tomato or Roma tomato plant












This is perfectly normal food, dried bamboo shoots.








Here's a stack of A's jeans that he doesn't fit any more.

NSD, Cinco de Mayo, and more

That's National Scrapbook Day for you non-scrappers. Yep, May 5th was a pretty busy day this year. It was National Scrapbook Day, Cinco de Mayo, and National Law Day. I only celebrated the first two, though it would have been cool to get some free law advice.

LM had an awesome celebration weekend (and I think it is still going on if you want to get in on the prizes). Unfortunately, I wasn't in the mood for scrapping. I wasn't even in the mood for shopping. I did play a few games and am still working on one of them and made a card for Mom. All the local scrapbook stores were having crops and sales, none of which I checked out because the crops were all day events and I had plans for the evening. I almost went to one store since they were having a sale on the Bind-it-All, 25% off, which is the best price I've seen on them. But I resisted. I finally decided to place an order last night at LM. I almost missed the sale, because I keep forgetting that the deals end on Eastern time, not Pacific time (LM used to be on the west coast, but moved to Michigan). Anyway, I put a huge amount in my basket and used five different discount codes. It is so cool that Jackie (owner of LM) allows us to stack the discount codes. So yes, I spent a fortune on stuff I really don't need, but want anyway, lol.

Saturday night, I had bunco, hence no all day crops. It was a good thing I didn't cancel bunco for cropping since it was my lucky night. First, M was hostessing and she brought an awesome dinner with a Mexican theme in honor of Chinco de Mayo, all homemade: enchiladas and guacamole. Plus two kinds of dessert! She didn't want to bring any leftovers home so I got enchiladas for another dinner. Plus she sent home some strawberry tart and brownies. I think A was more excited about the food than he was about my winnings, lol!

Off schedules

I hate it when A has to leave early for work. It wouldn't be so bad if that corresponded with him getting home early, but usually, it just means a long day for him. So that means he went to bed early last night and left before I got up this morning. No good morning kiss for me today. :(

Not a low-cal dinner

It's a miracle! I cooked! LOL! Actually, I was tired of the freezer dinners and wanted something fresh so I've got three dinners planned for this week, thanks to Foster Farms chicken being on sale for 50% off. Last night, I made Buttermilk Baked Chicken (see my other blog), mashed potatoes, and carrots. Actually the carrots were leftover, but there were still enough for last night's dinner. But the potatoes is what I really want to talk about. Dang they were good. No gravy needed. And the way I make my mashed potatoes? Easy peasy! Just chop, boil till cooked, pour out most of the water (but save in case you need to add liquid back in), lightly mash (I like my potatoes lumpy), add a bit of salt and pepper. Add a few tablespoons of cream cheese (to 8 small potatoes). I had softened cream cheese that I had been putting on my toast so used that. It melted right into the potatoes and made them so rich and smooth. Yum!

ISO SB Supplies

I know, you're saying you've got to be kidding, right? I'm looking for a paperkins-type girl in a Tai Kwan Do uniform with a black belt. Hopefully, the girl has black hair. I need to do a special scrapbook page for a special person. I know paperkins aren't in, but they're cute. If you have other ideas, let me know.

What would make my life better

Getting home earlier. Yesterday, I got home early from work. Traffic was lighter, which was nice. I had time to play on the computer, which was nice. I made dinner, which was nice. I watched the evening news, which was nice (well, the news wasn't nice, but being able to watch was).

Today, I got home around 7:00. Traffic was terrible. I was too tired to cook so thank goodness A got home earlier and made a salad. I missed the news. By the time I finished cleaning up the kitchen, I felt like I should be getting ready for bed (not really, but you know what I mean). What a difference two hour and a half hours make.

So why don't I leave work earlier? I often get called into meetings at 3:00 or 4:00. I used to have video conferences with our overseas counterparts at 5:00. So there was no use in me coming in early if all I was going to have to do was stay late. Also, it seems like no matter how early I go in, face time in the afternoon is important (no matter that I get in before most of my coworkers and bosses). In fact, people in other departments are in the habit of just walking over to my desk in the morning since they know I'll be there (and be able to help them). I sure do miss the days when I had a 30+ mile commute, but was in a vanpool so I had to leave at a certain time.

Not-so-tackle-it Tuesday

Some of my blogging friends have been participating in Tackle-It-Tuesday. I'm not exactly sure what this is, but based on the title and their posts, I gather that you're supposed to tackle an area to clean/organize every Tuesday.

I did do an amazing amount of cleaning on Sunday including 20 minutes just on the shower grout. Unfortunately, for all my scrubbing and inhaling (toxic) cleaning fumes, the shower doesn't look any better. Kinda discouraging.

As for today, I made dinner (stir-fry veggies with ramen), which I consider a major accomplishment, lol.

It doesn't pay to recycle

The day started off right with a trip to the grocery store. They were selling these cool bags with the store logo for reuse. I like the size of the new bags, plus they have a piece of plastic on the bottom for reinforcement. I already would take my paper bags back to the store for reuse, but these hold a bit more. I'm hoping that the baggers will be more amenable to using these bags and I won't get the annoyed looks I usually get when I bring back the paper bags.

Later on, A decided we should take in all the bottles that have been piling up in the house and garage, probably three months worth. We drove to three different recycling places and at all of them, the machines were out of order. We finally went to one place that was staffed, but it was closed for lunch. Thankfully, we only had to wait few minutes. So, for all that effort, we got back $3.55. Big whoop. Not that we were doing this for the money, but doing something good shouldn't take so much effort.

Scrapbooking funny

Yesterday, I went to a friend's house to scrapbook. The guests all brought dinner, which brings me to an aside. My contribution was lasagna from the frozen food section. It was pretty darn tasty (though a little salty). I told A, for the price, that's what we should be buying for an easy dinner. It was way cheaper than those make-your-own-dinner places I talked about earlier, and also way cheaper than going out or fast food. So, if I have the time (they take about an hour to bake), I have a new standby. By the way, I bought the lasagna from Smart and Final. They had a much larger selection than the grocery store.

Back to scrapbooking...my friend has a million supplies and is very generous, letting us borrow ink, use ribbon, buttons, or whatever else she has. I didn't bring my QuicKutz with me because I knew she had way more fonts than me. I was browsing through her collection and brought out two fonts to finish my project. I told her, wow, you have all my favorite fonts and went on extolling the beauty of "Maddie Anne." The rest of the conversation went something like this:
A: I just love Maddie Anne.
Y: I don't have Maddie Anne.
A: Yes you do, it's right here.
Y: Are you sure that's Maddie Anne? I was thinking about buying it. I'm pretty sure I don't have Maddie Anne.
A: This is Maddie Anne.
Y: Really? That's Maddie Anne?
LOL, one of the other scrappers was able to verify that indeed, she did have Maddie Anne. Though we all agreed that maybe I shouldn't have told Y so that after she bought a duplicate, she could sell me her extra at a discount. ;)

I'm sure buying duplicate scrapping supplies has never happened to any of you, lol.

I've been tagged

by Becca to list 10 weird things about myself. (Only 10, lol?) In no particular order or importance, here are the first 10 things that came to mind.

1. I love to sample other people's food, but I can only sample from the untouched side with a clean fork.

2. I hate getting my hands dirty, but I have a compost heap and a worm bin.

3. I never, ever talk about my age.

4. I prefer to eat my pizza with a knife and fork.

5. I prefer savory breakfasts rather than sweet breakfasts.

6. I don't like soda.

7. I like to drink hot water.

8. I have tons of cookbooks, but hardly ever follow a recipe exactly.

9. I can put together a good meal with whatever I've got in the cupboard/fridge/freezer.

10. I don't like these tagging things because I'm usually the last to get tagged so there's no one left to tag (shades of elemenary school) or the questions are too personal. But this was fun. Thanks Becca!

New scrapping buddies

L invited me to a new scrap group last week and it was so much fun. What was most exciting to me was there were Asian scrappers there. Woo hoo! Everyone was so nice (and talented). I don't exactly feel out of place being a multiple minority scrapper, but it does get tiring being the only one like me at crops. Unfortunately, I'm going to miss their next get-together, but I hope to be invited to the one after that.

$3.33

Yep, eight cents in four days. Wonder if the company will ever promote telecommuting.
Lest you think I'm obsessed with gas prices, I'm not. I'm obsessed with saving $ and rising gas prices aren't helping with that, lol.

Dinner report

I was going to give a report on the freezer dinners last night, but was too tired. Guess I better do it now since you asked. ;)

The first place we went to (in December) was Supper Thyme. I think I just didn't pick the right things. Most of the food was casserole type and the "sauce" was most often cream of mushroom soup. Now, I don't have anything against cream of mushroom soup. In fact, it is a staple in my cupboard. I checked their menu for April and May and it seems like there is a larger variety than when I went.

This time, we tried Dinner My Way. They are significantly more expensive, probably $1 to $1.50 more per serving. They have different pricing structures so that's just an estimate. It seemed like they had more things on their menu that we liked and also, a slightly larger variety. It was also helpful to have the meal prep directions on the menu, which helped in the decision making. I also liked that rice, pasta, or mashed potatoes (instant) were included with all the entree. It was a nice extra touch.

I thought the ingredients was of higher quality at Dinner My Way and the recipes a little more complex (in a good way). Saturday, we had Dijon Steak. It was supposed to serve six, but A went back for seconds and thirds so I'd say we got three servings out of it, lol. Sunday, we had Wild Rice Chicken (chicken topped with wild rice/cornbread stuffing, wrapped in pastry). Well, anything wrapped in pastry is a plus in my book. Unfortunately, this dish was overly salty (especially the sauce) and rather tasteless. (I still liked the pastry though.) Then we had Apple Dumplings for dessert. I liked it, but A thought it was too sweet. Tonight, we had Beef Burgundy Roast. I was surprised that A liked it since the recipe included dried fruit. It was a bit sweet, but not overly sweet, so I'd say this was another winner.

We purchased 12 meals, which is more than what I normally would purchase, but like I said earlier, they had a special. I had emptied two shelves in the freezer, but it wasn't enough room to fit everything. Good thing we were giving some away and planned on eating some right away.

Thus far, the pros are dinner planning is a lot easier (especially for A) and I'm trying recipes that are out of my comfort zone. The cons are the cost, not liking some of the entrees, and space in my freezer. Another con, though this doesn't seem to bother most people, is these meals are stored in the freezer. My issue with that is I want to eat as soon as I get home. Neither one of us gets home early enough to put a casserole in the oven to bake for an hour. So during the week, crockpot meals are better for us. I do think if I made these meals myself, the food would be of higher quality (and include more vegetables), but all in all, I think we'll continue to give these places our business a few times a year. After all, there are three more of them in the area that I need to review, lol.

$3.25

Yep, that's the price at the station where I usually fill up. And I'm excited at the price since that's two cents less than it was last week. Hope the price keeps going in that direction, though all the news reports are talking about prices going up.

Make and Take (and Freeze) Dinners

Today, A and I went to one of those assembly meal places and prepared enough food to fill half our freezer and a shelf on the fridge. That's a slight exaggeration, but not much. We made one dessert and 11 entrees (one to give away to the mom of twins). Each item serves 4 to 6, so that's a lot of food. We tried another place a few months ago and found that most entrees ended up more on the 4 side, rather than the 6 side. I suspect that will be the same with what we made today.

The last place we tried was just okay (too many casserole type meals). But I guess that A liked it well enough since he was open to helping me again. I'm a little skeptical of the cost since we paid $199 and that's more than our entire grocery budget for the month. I know I could make the meals myself for much less, but somehow, I think it helps A to have the nice labels all printed up and everything packaged just so. That $199 was a special deal and was about a 30% discount. Otherwise, I would have opted for fewer meals, though, this month there were several dishes that I liked. As we were finishing up, they offered us the $199 special for May, but I knew that there's no way we'd finish all these meals in time to empty the freezer for the next batch (plus there weren't 12 items that sounded interesting).

A was telling a friend about this and he said his wife does this all the time, but selects the pickup option. I think I like making the meals myself better, though it did take the two of us almost the entire two hours to make the meals. I think we were getting in each other's way. It probably would have been more efficient for each of us to make six items, rather than helping each other make each entree. At least when we make the meals ourselves, we can control the spices (less pepper and rosemary, more garlic and cilantro).

If you're interesting in finding one of these places near you, here's a list. It turns out there are six of these places within just a few minutes drive from us. That's a lot of competition. It will be interesting to see who lasts and who doesn't.