I clicked my heels...

three times and I was still at the office. I guess I don't have the right ruby slippers.

Sweet!

We didn't have anything for dessert so Mr. Fix-it took the mini banana muffins I made and frosted them with almond butter (and yes, he also sliced them in half and added almond butter between the layers). Yum!

Orchids

My white orchids finally bloomed after being dormant for a few years. It had been so long, Mr. Fix-it forgot what colors we had. He clipped one stem to enjoy inside and it lasted more than a month in a vase.

Blueberry muffins

Adapted from this allrecipes.com recipe. I really like this recipe because it makes six muffins, just the right number for us and they are not too sweet.
Ingredients
1 cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup brown sugar, loosely scooped, not packed
1 egg
1/3 cup half and half
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 to 6 oz fresh blueberries (about 3/4 to 1 cup)

Directions

1. Sift together flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.
2. Mix in the sugar.
3. In another bowl, beat the egg, milk, oil, and vanilla.
4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, just until moistened. Then gently fold in the blueberries.
5. Fill six paper-lined muffin cups (I use a Pampered Chef muffin pan).
6. Bake at 375 degrees F for 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Five on Friday

1. I had the day off and spend most of it doing housework and yardwork. I guess that means I can relax this weekend.
2. I made lunch, mini banana muffins (recipe to come), and dinner. I think Mr. Fix-it likes it when I have the day off.
   
3. Why is my closet still stuffed if I got rid of a ton of clothes?
4. All of my memory cards are full. Time to delete and archive.
   
5. We still haven't decided what we're doing for Easter.
   

Five on Friday

1. It was a beautiful day today, but I was stuck inside doing market research. We did take a walk during the lunch break, but now I'm paying for it since I didn't put on enough sunscreen this morning.
2. I wish I was the Pioneer Woman so that I could have a yard full of tulips.
3. We're having a garage sale tomorrow. I hope it is successful.
4. Work has been a huge drain on me. I haven't put in that many more hours per week, but the intense workload is taking its toll.
5. I think I need to join Pinterest (like I don't spend enough time online as it is). Anyone have a spare invitation?
   

Fresh fish

Hmmm, I sure hope there isn't a hidden door between the two businesses.

Bye-bye Borders

I wasn't planning on hitting Border's clearance sale, but we happened to be in the area a couple weeks ago so we stopped in. There wasn't much left, despite the prices not being that good. I don't think 20 to 30% off a bargain. I did have a handful of magazines (at 50% off) that tempted me, but ended up getting only these two (Mr. Fix-it was not thrilled about me bringing more magazines home).
If you're interested in where to shop after Border's closes, check these independent book stores.

Corned beef and cabbage

I finally got around to cooking our corned beef and cabbage this weekend (I really look forward to the sales around St. Patrick's Day). I usually just boil (simmer) the corned beef and then add potatoes, carrots, and cabbage. This year, I tried something new, first the simmer, and then I baked the corned beef with a coating of brown sugar and mustard. So yummy! I don't have an exact recipe, but here's what I did. All the changing of water was to try to reduce the salt (based on what I read online). I'm not sure if it made a difference though.

1. Cover the corned beef with water and let sit for an hour. Discard the water.
   
2. Refill the pot and bring the water to a simmer. Again, discard the water (it will probably be scummy).
3. Refill the pot and bring the water to a simmer again.
   
4. Simmer the beef for about an hour per pound, minus 1/2 hour (that's for baking time).
5. Transfer the corned beef to a baking dish. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
   
6. Mix some brown sugar and mustard together and coat the top of the corned beef. (I used about 1/3 cup of brown sugar [not packed] and 2 tablespoons of mustard.)
   
7. Bake for about 1/2 hour. You end up with a yummy topping similar to a Honey-Baked ham.
   

While the corned beef is baking, you can boil the potatoes and cabbage in the cooking water.

This was so delicious! I think this is Mr. Fix-it's new favorite.

For sale

The recent LSS garage sale was a success! I had done them in the past without selling much (or ending up spending as much as I made), but this time, I was determined to make a dent in my stash. Plus, I think this store had the "right crowd," not too cutting edge and not too cheap either.
I brought five baskets filled to the brim like this one, a box of magazines, plus some tools, albums, and other big stuff. I actually had more stuff, but after I discovered that the tables were only 5 feet long and all the sellers were crammed in together, I left some stuff in the car. As it was, I had to put 1/3 of my stuff on the floor. I came came home with three empty baskets, most of the magazines, and just a couple of the big items. That's a lot of 25 and 50 cents items gone.

It was interesting what sold and what didn't. Tiny metal frames (actually anything metal) went quickly, as did Cuttlebug and Sizzix embossing folders. Quickutz did not move too well, even at $2 for NIP (new in package) club dies. Alpha sticker sheets, if priced at 25 or 50 cents sold, but sheets at $1 didn't. Punches and deco scissors (all NIP) sold well also. I wish my old magazines sold. I guess I'll donate them to the library for their sale. Paper sold okay. I didn't organize mine like I had for previous sales. I have a Cropper Hopper full of paper that I don't want any more that I take to crops to giveaway. Some people organized their paper by theme to sell, but I decided that was too much work. At 10 cents a sheet, I was happy to get rid of a few dozen sheets. Next time, I think I'll price them at 3/25 cents and maybe I can get rid of more. The woman next to me had premade pages that she was selling for $1-$2 each. They were from classes she taught. She said she sold over $100 worth!

Perhaps it would have been better to package stuff as bundles (it certainly would have been easier to add thing up), but that would have taken more time. Basically, I went though my stash and threw it into one of six piles (25 cents, 50 cents, $1, $2, $4, and special prices). Then I printed out price labels and Mr. Fix-it helped me label everything except the special priced items. That was a huge help. I really tried to price things to sell and remove any emotion to what I was getting rid of. Most items were priced from 10-25% of retail and most stuff was in its original package. Hardly anyone tried to bargain which was a relief to me since I hate bargaining.

The sale was a success for the LSS too. The owner said this was the best Saturday she's had in months, which means that people were looking for bargains and doing regular shopping too.

I was thrilled with how much I sold, but then I lost sleep that night thinking maybe I should have priced things higher. I just need to keep reminding myself that that stuff is gone and I'm happy for the space.

As for my scrapbook accounting, overall, I sold more than I spent so far this year, even counting the crop that was a bust and the table fee for the garage sale. I usually don't count crop fees (or my flight/car costs to crops) as part of my scrapbooking cost, but I started to this year.

So, see anything you need? I'll give you the special blog reader discount. :)

Five on Friday

1. My heart is breaking for the people of Japan. My coworker's wife is visiting family there. Although they are no where near the coast or earthquake, she's reported that the rice stores are already out of stock.
2. Wish me luck on the LSS garage sale tomorrow. Hopefully I'll sell more than the table cost and I won't be tempted to buy much. (Thank you Mr. Fix-it for helping me put price stickers on everything.)
3. In a couple weeks, we'll be fully staffed again, thank goodness.
4. That means I'll be doing a lot more training classes. You know, because I have so much time on my hands.
   
5. In light of #1, please make sure you have an emergency preparedness kit.
   

Recipes I'd like to try

I spend waaaay too much time reading food blogs or chasing down recipes. Funny thing is I hardly ever follow recipes, even though I have about a million bookmarked. Here's a few that caught my eye recently. Maybe you'll find something interesting. I'd love to hear a report if you try any of these.

Mozzarella stuffed meatballs
Home cured corned beef
Glazed cinnamon scones
Buttermilk syrup
Miso chicken
Graham crackers
Thomas Keller Oreos
Juice pulp crackers (although since I don't juice and don't own a dehydrator, I doubt I'll be trying this one any time soon)
Granola

Six on Saturday

Since I missed Five on Friday, I decided to go for Six on Saturday.

1. Brought a bunch of stuff to my BIL's garage sale and made $59. Not bad for a couple hours of hanging out. Plus I got some exercise since the kids and I went for a couple of walks.
2. Check out the PSA Stamp Camp blog. I've decided I need lots of these stamps. :)
3. I'm not looking forward to missing an hour of sleep. Especially since I'm going to a conference tomorrow.
4. I'm spending the next week digging through my scrapbook stash and deciding what I can get rid of. Based on today's garage sale, I'm getting better at letting go of stuff at a cheap price. I'd rather have the money and it is out of my house.
5. I wonder if Facebook will notice a decrease in traffic since so many people are giving up FB for Lent.
6. I repotted the avocado tree since we're not sure where we're going to plant it. Hopefully the new pot will keep it happy for a couple months.
   

Five on Friday

1. I put a small scrape on our car today. Thank goodness it can be buffed out.
2. It looks like it will be a busy March for us. We've got something to do every weekend.
3. We had awesome spaghetti sauce for dinner two nights this week. I pulled it out of the freezer to make dinner prep easier. I wish I could remember how I made it. (My sauce come out different every time I make it since I usually use whatever I have on hand.)
4. I finally harvested enough snow peas for two servings. It only took a week.
5. I really miss scrapbooking. Wonder if I'll ever get back to it.
   

Five on Friday

1. Won't you be my neighbor? There's a house for sale on my street with a fancy kitchen, a pool, and me for a neighbor! And it is priced $50K less than last year. What are you waiting for?
2. You could take all that savings and put it towards gas since it is now $3.69/gallon.
3. It is raining again. Guess I won't be working in the yard this weekend. Maybe I'll make soup.
   
4. We're getting our taxes done this weekend. Fun, fun, fun.
5. I've attended more than 25 meetings this month and there are at least five more scheduled before this month ends (yes, five more today and Monday). Whew, I'm tired!
   

Simplify: Baby steps

I've added a few minimalism and simplicity blogs to my Reader (which is cluttering my Reader, but let's not go there). What's the difference between the two? I'm not sure, but here's a good explanation. I think I'm more into the simplicity than minimalism. I like my little luxuries.

So what am I doing to simplify my life? I'm trying, trying, trying to declutter. It is a difficult task since I'm a packrat. One big step is to get rid of boxes. I have a tendency to stuff things into boxes to sort later. But somehow, later never comes.

I'm doing okay on my clothing rule of new in, old out. I got a couple of great turtlenecks at Target (only $7!) and even at that cheap price, I was still able to stick with my rule. In the past, I would have justified keeping everything in my closet "because the other stuff costs more." But I'm not allowing myself to put the new clothes away until the old clothes has been added to the giveaway bin so I had to get rid of the old stuff to avoid more clutter.

As for groceries, I'm trying not to stockpile as much. Really, how much pasta does one need? (Although a third of the pasta stash is already gone.) I've only made small trips to the grocery stores in the past month and our diet hasn't suffered at all.

Baby steps, but steps in the right direction.

Five on Friday

1. I'm happy that it is the weekend and Monday is a holiday.
2. If you're interested in reducing your paper towel usage, this is a great article.
   
3. Going out to lunch and dinner four times this week is hard on the pocketbook and caused a major weight increase...temporary I hope
   
4. I'm looking forward to celebrating my nephew's birthday this weekend.
   
5. We've having an incredible storm here tonight. I hope the backyard is still one piece tomorrow.
   

How I continue to avoid technology

I went to the bank today (actually an S&L) to ask about the monthly fee they were implementing for my checking account. With the last two takeovers, my account type was grandfathered in and I was never charged a monthly fee because I have direct deposit. I was hoping for the same thing this time. The banker (should I call him an S&Ler?) asked for my ID and ATM card. Sorry, I don't use the ATM. How about a debit card? Sorry, don't have one of those either. But here's my checkbook with the account number. Unfortunately, with this latest takeover, my direct deposit amount isn't high enough to avoid a monthly fee. Fortunately, since I have multiple accounts there, something else qualified me for free checking (but now that I think about it, I think he was looking at the wrong account so now I have to go back and clarify).

Then he asked me if I'd like to sign up for e-mails. No thanks. Online banking? No thanks. Did I have a cell phone? Yes. Would I like to receive texts? Nope, don't have texting on my phone. I think I confused him. I'm pretty sure most customers aren't like me, lol.

Five on Friday

1. I'm really bummed that today is one of my favorite coworker's last day.
2. I've got 192 unread posts in Reader. I'm just a little behind...which is surprising considering how much time I spend on the computer.
   
3. It is Friday and I've got two days off. Yay!
4. My nose is running; I hope I'm not getting a cold.
   
5. This making a list thing is harder than I thought it would be.
   

A mistake doesn’t mean you’re fired

As I was running around putting out fires this morning, the newest member of our team (she’s been here less than a month) called me over. There was a slightly panicked look in her eye when she confessed that she made a mistake. It took me a few minutes to wrap my head around the mistake, then I had to admit that I didn’t know the answer (or really, how to fix the problem since it involves several groups). I was able to help her backtrack as to how the mistake occurred so she could prevent it in the future and also clearly answer any questions when grilled by our manager. As it turns out, he took it calmly also (although he was slightly less calm when discussing it with me later).

The employee was surprised at how well we took it. I confessed that this morning was hectic with two video conferences back to back (and not enough time to prep) and that if she had told us any other time, our reactions might have been different. But the reality is getting mad wouldn’t solve anything and the best thing to do would be to figure out a solution. Hopefully, I’ll be this calm tomorrow when I hear back from the other parties that this affects.