Busy Monday, January 25

To Do List

• Write this Blog
• Put dinner in Crockpot
• Make Menu
• Make grocery list
• Grocery Shopping
• Pay bills that can be paid online
• Go to two different dentist offices to pay bills
• Take library books to library. Pay fine. (Thankfully shouldn't be much)
• Pick up medications down at hospital pharmacy 
• Pick up around the house
• Go put my new Debit Card into ATM so it activates properly (hoping that does it since it got declined the other day... ugh new cards I swear)
• I have music class tonight

Menu

• Monday - Royal Round
• Tuesday - Eat Out (Peter's request, probably still some place pretty quick)
• Wednesday - Grilled Cheese & Tomato Soup
• Thursday - Pulled Pork
• Friday - Pizza
• Saturday- Grilled Chicken, Pasta & Peas
• Sunday - Hamburger Helper & Green Beans

This Week's 'To-Do' List

• Tuesday 
• Work
• Y (YMCA) - I hope I  didn't go at all last week so I need to get back into the swing of it. I didn't go the week before either :( I've been bad.
• 6:30pm Norm of the North @ the theater. Peter's work is paying for it. 
• Wednesday
• Work
• Y - Workout
• 6-7:30pm Doctor Who Night at the Library
• Thursday
• Work
• Y - Workout
• 4 PM Brie's Appt 
• 7-8 PM My Viola lessons
• Friday
• Work
• Y-Swimming w/kids
• Peter - MtG (his card game)
• Saturday
• Pokemon League
• Sunday
• Bridal Show. Taking my friend to the Bridal Show and there are suppose to be a bunch of other ladies we know showing up too so should be a fun time.

Last Week

Monday was a no school day for the kids which is why you didn't see this normal posting. I went out and got Brielle's Homecoming dress from the seamstress and my friend Johanna came over with her 18 mo. old and I made a big pot of Jessica's Chili that night. I had texted her earlier that day if I could have the recipe and she said sure and was happy to give it to me since it had been her mother's. Her mom passed away when she was younger. 

Tuesday, I went to work and after I got out I spent my afternoon down at the courthouse getting the plate for my car. I finally found out after calling around for the past month that they've had my title for over a month so all this stress I was going through was for nothing and it still took me a couple calls for them to find my title because the car lot didn't tell me it was an out of state car. 

Wednesday it snowed so the kids stayed home but I went into work. 

Thursday kids were still out of school from snow and I went to work.

Friday we got even more snow and the kids were out of school and I took a vacation day. Peter worked from home that day too since we got a good amount and the roads weren't the clearest. I got a lot of cleaning done though you can't tell I did a bit of cleaning now other than I still am almost completely caught up on the laundry... that will change when I do laundry today. Ah the never ending story.

That evening we played Dungeon! together as a family.

Saturday we went out to have fun in the snow. I took Peter sledding for his first official time using a real sled! It was funny as heck! He kept falling over like 5' down and sprawling out. I ordered some snow bibs for the family and I'm still looking for boots for the kids. We didn't have it for this snow but in February we're going snow tubing as a field trip with the school Orchestra so I wanted to make sure the family was properly outfitted. We then went out to eat for lunch to warm up after several hours in the snow. That evening we had friends over to play cards. 

Sunday was a pretty lazy day around the house. I tried to pick up a little but really we didn't do anything. I never even made it out of my PJs. The kids on the other hand I kicked back out into the snow and they made snow men. Each time we said, "You can make it bigger." So we have a few little snow men out in the yard. After they did it they were really proud of their work, though during Katherine kept coming inside and I had to keep kicking out.

That was our snowy week. 

Hope everyone has stayed safe and warm!

Jessica's Chili Mac

Jessica's Chili Mac

So my friend Jessica always makes a Chili Mac for Halloween and we've always enjoyed it. With the cold weather hitting I decided I wanted chili again but the chili mac sounded good this time so I asked her if I could have her recipe which come to find out it had been her mother's recipe so she was happy to see other people enjoy it. So it is with her permission I post this up.

I deviated a little from the directions she gave me so I'll put up how I made it but I didn't deviate much we just like more spice in our family.

1 lb Hamburger meat
1 can Tomato Sauce
1 can Diced Tomatoes (I used the Chili ready ones something with some peppers)
1 bag elbow macaroni
1 pgk Mild Chili Seasoning (I think I might go for hot next time)
2 Cans Chili Beans (I used Hot she suggested Mild so just whatever suits your family)
Dehydrated onion flakes (or you could put real onion in, I was being lazy)
Chili Powder - I added this at the end like I said it was just a tad bland for us so that helped it out for us you'll just have to experiment and see.
3 1/2-4 cups water

Cook hamburger meat, drain fat.
Combine all ingredients in pot.
Bring to boil. Stir regularly so it doesn't burn to the bottom. Reduce heat and let simmer until noodles are done.
That is pretty much it. I found when eating it directly the beans are a bit more firm than I like but lid on heat off (because it was like lava hot it keeps heat in well) it cooks the beans in its own heat and within no time even that's not an issue.

It fed myself, my two teenage girls and my prego friend and her 18 month old until the point of near bursting and left some left overs.

Busy Monday, January 11

To Do List

• Write this Blog
• Grocery Shopping
• B-12 Shot
• Take Brielle to Orthodontist

Menu

• Monday - Pork Roast, Mashed Potatoes, Corn
• Tuesday - Grilled Chicken, Pasta, Peas
• Wednesday - Spaghetti w/meatballs 
• Thursday - Crockpot Chicken Tacos
• Friday - Breakfast for Dinner
• Saturday- Pizza
• Sunday - Eat Out

This Week's 'To-Do' List

• Tuesday 
• Work
• Y (YMCA)
• Wednesday
• Work
• Y - Workout
• Thursday
• Work
• Y - Workout
• 4-6 PM Parent Teacher Conference
• 4 PM Brie's Appt (should last about 30 min then will head to P/T)
• 7-8 PM My Viola lessons
• Friday
• Work
• Y-Swimming w/kids
• Saturday
• Pokemon League
• Go to Movies with Peter? I'm trying to convience him to go to a matinee apparently when I was out all day Saturday dress shopping and Sunday hanging out he never reminded me about him wanting to go to the movies so I say to him (on here not out loud because I'm not in the mood to have a tiff) "I'm not a mind reader" which is what he tells me all the time out loud. *there's my short rant*
• Magic the Gathering Pre-Release
• Sunday
• Magic the Gathering Pre-Release

Last Week

Uhhh what did I do last week.
Start with Sunday and work my way back.
Sunday I went out with my friend Johanna for Coffee even though the roads were covered with ice and snow (yes winter finally showed up) and then we went to Jo-Ann's because I needed some Mod Podge though we took our sweet time looking through all the patterns and stuff and then went out for a nice lunch and then she needed a few groceries so I stopped at the store for her. 

Saturday, was dress shopping day. Myself, Brielle and my friend Carrie all went out as Carrie knew of a dress shop with discount dresses so we went there looking for Brielle's Homecoming dress. We were able to find one and then we were able to get a hold of a seamstress so we drove the dress out and had it pinned and now it's off being altered. 

Friday, I went to work which was stressful I won't go into all the boring details that people would scratch their heads over but it was stressful. I worked out with my friend Jessica for her daughter Sarah to spend the night so my girls had a surprise. Another friend's daughter got dropped off too and so I had 4 girls in total when we went down to the Y to go swimming and then we went out for ice cream afterward. 

I think the rest of the week was pretty standard as far as I can remember. I did make it to the gym every day after work. Not something I'm going to accomplish this week though since I'm not even going to try today with all the different appointments unless my husband wants to go with me this evening. 

Apparently I didn't take any pictures this week which is odd for me. 

Hope everyone has a good week. 

Which RIP David Bowie - I plan to put Labyrinth in to watch with the girls today.

Busy Monday, January 4

To Do List

• Write this Blog
• Go to work
• Grocery Shopping
• (YMCA Maybe? If I have the time/energy after groceries today.)

Menu

• Monday - Salmon (Grilled Chicken for Peter), Scalloped Potatoes, Peas
• Tuesday - Pot Roast
• Wednesday - Lasagna
• Thursday - Chicken & Rice, Stir Fry Veggies
• Friday - Croissant wrapped Hot Dogs, Baked Beans
• Saturday- Make your own Pizza
• Sunday - Pork Loin Roast, Mashed Potatoes, Corn
  

This Week's 'To-Do' List

• Tuesday 
• Work
• Y (YMCA) - Workout (hoping to get back in the habit I've been out of the habit for months with my workout bag just sitting in the car.
• Wednesday
• Work
• Y - Workout
• Thursday
• Work
• Y - Workout
• Friday
• Work
• Y-Swimming w/kids
• Saturday
• Pokemon League
• Dress Shopping for Brielle's Homecoming
• Sunday
• 
  

Last Week

So last week we went to a friends house for New Years it was the first time we have gone out for New Years in around 10 years so we didn't know what to expect. It was nice and low key and we sat around playing Cards Against Humanity until Midnight when fireworks were set off and then it wasn't long after we all said our goodbyes.
Otherwise it was pretty laid back and didn't really do anything of note for the week other than got the decorations put away. Oh and I had to get a new monitor my old one died so I don't have a way currently to load pictures other than what is on my phone because when my monitor died it took all my USB ports with it and the new monitors don't have those :( We spent all day looking for a monitor I liked and I ended up just settling on one that functioned that we found on open box discount.

Saturday I played the game of "What's in my kitchen" and made up some pretty awesome chicken enchiladas. I just mixed in some cumin, paprika and chili powder with the shredded chicken because we don't like things very bland around this house. As you can tell it made quite a lot and that was just 1.5 lbs of chicken! Plus I found a box of rice-a-roni hiding in the back of the cabinet.  

Sunday since it was the last day before break so Peter had us pick up some pizza and we watched a movie together though it got stressful at the end as my teenager thought that was the perfect time to talk back to me... I can't wait until she's 30 and realizes her mom is awesome again. 

Hope everyone had a safe and responsible New Year.... Now off to work with me. 

Spiced Angel Food Cake

Spiced Angel Food Cake

1 Cup Cake Flour (I never keep cake flour on hand so I take 1 cup of All-Purpose Flour, remove 2 TBSP of Flour and replace with 2 TBSP of Cornstarch and sift well together.)

1 Cup Confectioners' Sugar

1 Tsp ground Cinnamon

1 Tsp ground Ginger

1/4 Tsp ground Allspice

Salt

1 2/3 Cups Egg Whites

1 Tsp Cream of Tartar

1 Tsp Vanilla Extract

3/4 Cup Granulated Sugar

1/4 Cup packed Brown Sugar (Dark is best but I've used either)

Preheat oven to 375 F. Sift flour, confectioners' sugar, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, and 1/4 tsp salt through mesh sieve into a bowl. I normally sift 3-4 times to make sure everything is well blended together and there are no packed bits together. 

In a large bowl with mixer at high speed, beat egg whites, cream of tartar, and 1/2 tsp salt until soft peaks form, beat in vanilla. Beating t high speed, sprinkle in granulated sugar and brown sugar just a little at a time making sure it is well mixed in until whites stand in stiff peaks when beaters are lifted. This means when you lift them up literally it will 'peak' up where the beater was lifted and stay there. You might have to stop and check a few times just to make sure that your whites are stiff enough. With rubber spatula (or if you like a wire whisk), fold in flour mixture just until it disappears. Do not overmix. Pour batter into ungreased 9 to 10 inch pan.

Bake 30 to 35 minutes, until cake springs back when lightly touched. Invert cake in pan you might need a bottle or something depending on your pan. Thankfully the center area of mine is quite a bit taller than the rest so I just balance it on that my grandmother always used an old coke bottle for hers. 

Let the cake cook completely and then use something around the edge and most likely the center to loosen the cake. I generally use a butter knife carefully so as to try and not damage the pan too much. Once the you are able to take the outer ring off you will have to do the same thing to the bottom of the cake to loosen it completely from the inner part of the pan. 

There you have it a wonderful addition to any meal. It's great during the holidays or just for a treat. You can put berries on it if you like or eat it how it is.

December Catch-up Post

No matter how many times I say I'm going to get back on this horse and be good about it I really never seem to be.

I have an excuse... it's called it's December and December is CRAZY!

I hope everyone had/is having a happy holiday no matter what you celebrate. (I'm making this very clear because I'm about to go off on the school district they started sending out emails that make them look like bigots. I'm not kidding it was was bad for any non-Christian and that was coming from a public school!... But that's a rant I won't go into right now.)

Let's focus on the positive so we had a great holiday and we are hoping for a great start to the New Year and I hope everyone else starts their New Year off right too!

Here are some pictures hopping around our craziness. 

 Here is Katherine all dressed up for her "Christmas Formal"

 I also took both girls down to get glasses. Brielle had to get replacements it was just time though her prescription didn't change too much I do try and keep up with it.
Katherine got glasses for the first time. She fought me at first so I let her go without and then she mentioned she had to move up in the classroom to see better and she admitted she needed them. It is easier when they aren't fighting you and I'm glad she came to the realization pretty quick on her own.

 Katherine is in the red hat at her band concert!

I apparently don't have pictures loaded up yet of Brielle at her concert but she had one this month too AND I played with my adult class grouped up with the 6th graders! Yes, my stomach was doing flip but I sure as heck did it!

Stitch 'n' Bitch group got together for our first Holiday Party! We went to the next biggest city over in Indiana and had Thai food and then spend the day in the craft store looking at things, being silly and generally just having an awesome time!

I took both the kids to the Science Museum. I had some free passes for us to get in and while we didn't stay long we went because I promised to take them to the star viewing. They have a portable planetarium they blow up and we all go inside and discuss the stars we can see in the winter sky.
The kids always enjoy this particular trip so even though we were having a rough busy day I made sure to fit it in with them.

Finally we had our holiday dinner. I made my Spiced Angel Food Cake and cooked up bread for bowls and this year's potato soup I did some stuff different and it came out very well so I need to perhaps make some notes to myself about it because it was all ate by the second day which is a record! We also had a ham that was very good though we got much too big of a ham and I'm quite tired of ham by now.

Happy Holidays & Happy New Year!

Busy Monday, December 14

It is actually Tuesday the 15th and I'm at work but not feeling 100%. Things are getting crazy busy. Yesterday I had to drop medical forms off at the middle school because they lost them. Went out to lunch by myself and reorganized my coupons. Went in for my monthly shot. Got groceries and had to pick up Brielle after school because she had to stay over to catch up on some work.
This past weekend Friday Katherine had her first semi formal dance. Saturday, I got both my girls glasses... First set for Katherine and an updated prescription for Brielle. Peter and I went to a friend's birthday party on Saturday and on Sunday we went to a Shakespearean reading of Starwars.
Last night Brielle worked on cookies though Peter and I had to jump in as she was taking too long because the cookie gun wasn't working well because the constancy of her dough was off.
Tonight Katherine has her band concert, tomorrow Brielle has her orchestra concert. Thursday I have my works xmas party. Sunday it is the Stitch 'n' Bitch Christmas party.

Menu
Monday- pork, peas, potatoes.... Turned into rotisserie chicken instead because the pork went bad
Tuesday-Royal Round
Wednesday-3 Ingredient Chicken Tacos
Thursday- Breakfast
Friday-Pizza
Saturday- ? I know I got something I just can't remember what lol
Sunday-Pulled Pork