We're almost ready to head out tomorrow. The laundry is done, most of the dishes are clean, the car's had a tune-up, and I'm so excited!
I'd still like to bake muffins tomorrow to take with us, and get all the dishes clean and the fridge cleaned out. We need to pack, making sure we don't forget anything (ha! I'm sure we will). Josh has class, but no work, so he'll be around to help me. Or to nap. Either way.
So, tomorrow:
Bake muffins
Wash dishes
Clean out fridge
Pack baby necessities for the car
Pack clothes (me and Guy)
Pack toiletries
Pack things for me to do in the car
This means I need to not forget tylenol, diaper cream, a couple of toys, a few baby quilts, and the baby monitor for Guy. I need to remember to bring vitamins, my crocheting (print off those patterns!), Diana's marbles, the books on CD, Sense and Sensibility (to read), and my laptop.
Oh! And I wanted to see if I could take some of the Car Talk archives and burn them to CD. Hmm. . . maybe I'll just download them to J's computer. And I'm off!
Monday, November 19, 2007
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Great Cheap Resource
I'd like to share a wonderful resource that I found via Wisebread!
The USDA has created a website with resources for users of food stamps. On said website, one can search for inexpensive recipes, complete with cost breakdown and nutritional information! I'm already really excited to try some of these.
As I'm trying to cut down on my food budget, I'm finding the absolute best way to do so is to COOK! Many times, I just don't feel like it, and if I don't have a plan I'm sunk. However, if I have a menu set up, even a very flexible one, it gives me that little push to go ahead and make something with what I have on hand.
Maybe I'll even join Organizing Junkie with her Menu Plan Monday when I get back from vacation!
The USDA has created a website with resources for users of food stamps. On said website, one can search for inexpensive recipes, complete with cost breakdown and nutritional information! I'm already really excited to try some of these.
As I'm trying to cut down on my food budget, I'm finding the absolute best way to do so is to COOK! Many times, I just don't feel like it, and if I don't have a plan I'm sunk. However, if I have a menu set up, even a very flexible one, it gives me that little push to go ahead and make something with what I have on hand.
Maybe I'll even join Organizing Junkie with her Menu Plan Monday when I get back from vacation!
Thursday, November 15, 2007
A Month
I'm sure interesting things happened this month, but I'm not here to talk about interesting things! I'm here to discuss my dishes.
THEY'RE CLEAN! For the second day in a row, no less. Now I just need to keep them clean for another twelve days before I can go shopping. Since I'm going out of town next week, I'm not sure how I'll count, but I do know there's a new thrift store I want to go check out. So, we'll see how I do this time.
I'm also trying to not lounge in pajamas as much. Of course, I'm in a robe right now, but I'm planning on showering and getting dressed. I have a meeting at three, so I'll at least be presentable by then.
I've got a lot of things to discuss here for my own personal enrichment, since nobody reads here. Fascinating topics, such as:
Books I've been reading
Rearranging the house
Planning vacations (Thanksgiving and Christmas)
Christmas gifts that I'm working on
Ideally, every day I would like to get dressed by 10 a.m. I want to read the Bible every day, and by the end of the day have the house looking nice and the dishes all clean.
I guess I'd better get cracking!
THEY'RE CLEAN! For the second day in a row, no less. Now I just need to keep them clean for another twelve days before I can go shopping. Since I'm going out of town next week, I'm not sure how I'll count, but I do know there's a new thrift store I want to go check out. So, we'll see how I do this time.
I'm also trying to not lounge in pajamas as much. Of course, I'm in a robe right now, but I'm planning on showering and getting dressed. I have a meeting at three, so I'll at least be presentable by then.
I've got a lot of things to discuss here for my own personal enrichment, since nobody reads here. Fascinating topics, such as:
Books I've been reading
Rearranging the house
Planning vacations (Thanksgiving and Christmas)
Christmas gifts that I'm working on
Ideally, every day I would like to get dressed by 10 a.m. I want to read the Bible every day, and by the end of the day have the house looking nice and the dishes all clean.
I guess I'd better get cracking!
Monday, October 15, 2007
Mr. Darcy's (Disagreeable) Daughters
The truth: it was so obnoxious I couldn't finish it. Hard on the heels of Persuasion, this novel simply cannot hold a candle to Austen's beautiful writing style.
Simply put: anachronistic language, tired plot, and far too much scandal (and I mean dirty, nasty, horrible scandal). I skipped ahead and realized that the sister I liked best essentially steals her cousin's fiancé. Whether or not he liked the cousin is moot, it just can't go well.
So, I put the novel down after one hundred awful pages. I'm thoroughly looking forward to reading something else instead. Just what, I haven't decided yet. At any rate--I hope it's better!
Simply put: anachronistic language, tired plot, and far too much scandal (and I mean dirty, nasty, horrible scandal). I skipped ahead and realized that the sister I liked best essentially steals her cousin's fiancé. Whether or not he liked the cousin is moot, it just can't go well.
So, I put the novel down after one hundred awful pages. I'm thoroughly looking forward to reading something else instead. Just what, I haven't decided yet. At any rate--I hope it's better!
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Persuasion
I just finished reading Jane Austen's Persuasion. Truly an exquisitely written piece of literature.
The story was compelling and agonising and thrilling all at once. The characters were believable and personable; I believe that if I were Captain Wentworth, I would also be in love with the thrilling (in a quiet sort of way) Anne Elliot.
The only other Austen novel I've read has been Pride & Prejudice. I thoroughly enjoyed the book, but now that I've seen so many film adaptations of it I simply can't bear to read it anymore. I hear the voices of actresses in my head, see the scenery someone else picked out, and it's not nearly as fun as the first time was. Persuasion captured that love-at-first-sight feeling I have when I read a novel I thoroughly loved.
Go! Read it! Now! And I hope you love it as I did.
The story was compelling and agonising and thrilling all at once. The characters were believable and personable; I believe that if I were Captain Wentworth, I would also be in love with the thrilling (in a quiet sort of way) Anne Elliot.
The only other Austen novel I've read has been Pride & Prejudice. I thoroughly enjoyed the book, but now that I've seen so many film adaptations of it I simply can't bear to read it anymore. I hear the voices of actresses in my head, see the scenery someone else picked out, and it's not nearly as fun as the first time was. Persuasion captured that love-at-first-sight feeling I have when I read a novel I thoroughly loved.
Go! Read it! Now! And I hope you love it as I did.
A Wise Idea
Twice, in two days, I've been awakened in the early morning hours with a brilliant idea.
And twice, I've rolled back to bed, only to wake up and forget what on earth it was.
I think I need to keep a notepad and pen on the nightstand. It's just a good idea.
In other news, I've avoided the urge to spend $25 on books, when both will be available within a few months at the library. I can wait until then. If I can't, then I know I can borrow one of them from a friend. Hooray for making good decisions.
Ooh, and I found a great little store called Plato's Closet. It's a secondhand store that caters to the teen and twenty-something crowd, but if you're looking for jeans and aren't bigger than a size 12 or 14 you can likely find a pair in reasonable condition for less than $20. All their clothes are less than two years old and in reasonably good condition. I came away with two pairs of jeans that fit for $25. Certainly better than wearing my husban'ds way-too-big jeans. Or my high school jeans that fall off my hips--even with a belt. Hooray!
And twice, I've rolled back to bed, only to wake up and forget what on earth it was.
I think I need to keep a notepad and pen on the nightstand. It's just a good idea.
In other news, I've avoided the urge to spend $25 on books, when both will be available within a few months at the library. I can wait until then. If I can't, then I know I can borrow one of them from a friend. Hooray for making good decisions.
Ooh, and I found a great little store called Plato's Closet. It's a secondhand store that caters to the teen and twenty-something crowd, but if you're looking for jeans and aren't bigger than a size 12 or 14 you can likely find a pair in reasonable condition for less than $20. All their clothes are less than two years old and in reasonably good condition. I came away with two pairs of jeans that fit for $25. Certainly better than wearing my husban'ds way-too-big jeans. Or my high school jeans that fall off my hips--even with a belt. Hooray!
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Brazilian Stroganoff
And now, a recipe for Brazilian Stroganoff, courtesy of a lovely woman from church who taught me to make it this afternoon.
Cube one or two chicken breasts, dice 1 green pepper, dice 1/2 an onion, and dice one decent-sized tomato. Throw the onion into a saucepan with some olive oil and cook over medium heat. Add the green pepper and tomato and cook for a few minutes to mix all those flavors. Add a chicken bouillon cube and the chicken (no water) and stir frequently until chicken is cooked. Add one or two cans of tomato sauce according to preference. Add a little bit of water (maybe 1/2 cup to 1 cup) and a big squirt of ketchup. Cover with a lid tilted to vent steam and cook on medium-low for maybe ten or fifteen minutes, until it's thickened up a little bit (but not a ton).
Remove from heat and immediately stir in four ounces (1/2 can) of Nestlé's Crema Media (table cream). Yeah, I'd never heard of it before, either. I'm hoping the Mexican food aisle has some to be found.
Serve over rice (appropriately seasoned with chicken broth instead of some of the water and grated vegetables). DIE FROM HAPPINESS.
I can't wait to make this meal at home!
INGREDIENTS LIST:
chicken
green pepper
onion
tomato
tomato sauce
chicken bouillon
crema media
Cube one or two chicken breasts, dice 1 green pepper, dice 1/2 an onion, and dice one decent-sized tomato. Throw the onion into a saucepan with some olive oil and cook over medium heat. Add the green pepper and tomato and cook for a few minutes to mix all those flavors. Add a chicken bouillon cube and the chicken (no water) and stir frequently until chicken is cooked. Add one or two cans of tomato sauce according to preference. Add a little bit of water (maybe 1/2 cup to 1 cup) and a big squirt of ketchup. Cover with a lid tilted to vent steam and cook on medium-low for maybe ten or fifteen minutes, until it's thickened up a little bit (but not a ton).
Remove from heat and immediately stir in four ounces (1/2 can) of Nestlé's Crema Media (table cream). Yeah, I'd never heard of it before, either. I'm hoping the Mexican food aisle has some to be found.
Serve over rice (appropriately seasoned with chicken broth instead of some of the water and grated vegetables). DIE FROM HAPPINESS.
I can't wait to make this meal at home!
INGREDIENTS LIST:
chicken
green pepper
onion
tomato
tomato sauce
chicken bouillon
crema media
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