I'm on vacation this week, so I'm taking some time to get my kitchen in order and do some serious menu planning. I'm going to pull out my cookbooks and all my internet printouts and come up with a list of all the food I used to make that I never make anymore, mainly because I can never remember what I used to make! There are also a ton of new recipes that I've been wanting to try. The biggest challenge is figuring out what to make first! Larry's still not over the Great Creamed Salmon Disaster of 2002, so I have to be careful to spread out the new stuff.
Here's this week's menu (you'll notice it looks an awful lot like last week's menu. Let's just say we were less than diligent about eating at home last week).
Sunday: Taco salad
Monday: Kielbasa and Cabbage (and I'm eating the leftovers for breakfast - yum,yum!)
Today: "More" casserole - a family recipe of Larry's. I guess they call it that because everyone always wants more. It is very good!
Wednesday: Mom and I are going to the beach for the day, so I'll probably pick up a pizza on the way home
Thursday: Roasted sticky chicken (this is a new recipe I keep hearing about)
Friday: Stuffed peppers (this is great because the filling is already made and in my freezer, so I just have to thaw the filling, parboil the peppers, throw some cheese on top and bake. Easy peasy!)
Saturday: I have Spanish Rice casserole on my list (recipe from www.tammysrecipes.com), but now that I think about it, Larry won't be home for dinner that night so I can make something he doesn't like. Hmm...the possibilities...it may be time to break out the Manwich can!
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Sunday, October 29, 2006
FREEEEEEEEEEEEEDOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I've been listening to the Dave Ramsey show (www.daveramsey.com)on KEX when I'm out and about after 7 p.m. Which isn't very often, so sometimes I listen to the podcasts on the computer. Anyway, every Friday people who are debt free (sometimes including their house, sometimes not) call up and scream "I'M DEBT FREE!!!!!!!!!!!!" And then he plays the clip from Braveheart where Mel Gibson is screaming FREEDOM!!!!!!!!!!!! as the torturers disembowel him...
Anyway, we paid off the car this week, so now it's our turn: WE'RE DEBT FREE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! except the house. Woo hoo! This has been my ultimate goal of late; if we don't have any debt payments then we can easily live off my salary for a while if we have to (barring any major unforeseen snafus, of course). And now we get to build up our savings to make that even easier. WOO HOO!
We don't totally follow Dave's plan, but I certainly respect it. It makes sense. We aren't ready to give up our credit card because we love the perks (Home Depot gift cards - you can never have too many of those!). And we certainly aren't ready to put 15% of our salaries in our retirement accounts. But I'm all for the debt snowball, and getting an emergency fund in place. And I get the concept of not buying stuff till you can afford it, but boy that's hard to put into practice! :-)
So we sat down this morning, armed with our revised budget and a giant list of projects we want to save up for. Now, if I can just give up my Starbucks habit and stop spending so darn much on groceries, we'll probably be ok!
Anyway, we paid off the car this week, so now it's our turn: WE'RE DEBT FREE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! except the house. Woo hoo! This has been my ultimate goal of late; if we don't have any debt payments then we can easily live off my salary for a while if we have to (barring any major unforeseen snafus, of course). And now we get to build up our savings to make that even easier. WOO HOO!
We don't totally follow Dave's plan, but I certainly respect it. It makes sense. We aren't ready to give up our credit card because we love the perks (Home Depot gift cards - you can never have too many of those!). And we certainly aren't ready to put 15% of our salaries in our retirement accounts. But I'm all for the debt snowball, and getting an emergency fund in place. And I get the concept of not buying stuff till you can afford it, but boy that's hard to put into practice! :-)
So we sat down this morning, armed with our revised budget and a giant list of projects we want to save up for. Now, if I can just give up my Starbucks habit and stop spending so darn much on groceries, we'll probably be ok!
A new cookbook!
Anyone who has ever spent any time at all talking food with me probably knows that I am a HUGE fan of the vegan lunchbox blog (veganlunchbox.blogspot.com). Well...the author has written her very own Vegan Lunchbox Cookbook! I just ordered it. I'm SO EXCITED. I'm not vegan, and I don't have kids, but this is the coolest thing I've seen in a long time. So many fabulous ideas! Lots of stuff I'm planning to experiment with. Yay! Another cookbook for my collection!
Saturday, October 28, 2006
They tore down my grandparents' house
Mom emailed last night and told us. She also asked us not to say anything to Grandpa about it - she doesn't want him to know.
I knew it would happen. They lived in the middle of Microsoft land and all around them rich people were buying up nice, normal houses and tearing them down and building huge monstrocities that totally filled up the lots. My grandparents' house stuck out like a sore thumb, and not just because the trim (and there was a lot of it) was painted Pepto pink.
I'm really bummed about it, and I wish I could have driven past it one last time.
But, I guess I can still visit it on Google Earth, until, of course, they update their photos.
Time marches on...
I knew it would happen. They lived in the middle of Microsoft land and all around them rich people were buying up nice, normal houses and tearing them down and building huge monstrocities that totally filled up the lots. My grandparents' house stuck out like a sore thumb, and not just because the trim (and there was a lot of it) was painted Pepto pink.
I'm really bummed about it, and I wish I could have driven past it one last time.
But, I guess I can still visit it on Google Earth, until, of course, they update their photos.
Time marches on...
Sunday, October 22, 2006
This week's menu
Perhaps making a menu will return me to some kind of "I want to cook at home" state? Here's what's on tap for this week.
Menu – 10/22 – 10/28
Sunday: Salisbury Steak
Buttered Noodles
Steamed Broccoli
Monday: Baked Chicken Indonesian Style
Rice Pilaf
Green Beans
Tuesday: More Casserole
Peas
Wednesday: Kielbasa and Cabbage
Thursday: Hot Pepper Garlic Chicken
Baked Potatoes
Corn
Friday: Taco Salad
Saturday: Tuna Casserole
Veggie of choice
Menu – 10/22 – 10/28
Sunday: Salisbury Steak
Buttered Noodles
Steamed Broccoli
Monday: Baked Chicken Indonesian Style
Rice Pilaf
Green Beans
Tuesday: More Casserole
Peas
Wednesday: Kielbasa and Cabbage
Thursday: Hot Pepper Garlic Chicken
Baked Potatoes
Corn
Friday: Taco Salad
Saturday: Tuna Casserole
Veggie of choice
For Tom
Dear Tom,
I went to your funeral yesterday. It was a very nice service, and lots of people from all parts of your life were there. Steve did a good job - you chose well. I didn't know you well, but from the first note of Taps I was in tears. You did so much good for so many people. And my opinion of you was shared by all - you were a gruff guy with a heart of gold.
You will be missed. I will miss seeing you in the halls, laughing under my breath when you don't say hi, just say my name in that short, clipped style you had in return to my cheerful hello. I will miss seeing that bright yellow car in the parking lot, at work and at Home Depot - it seems like you spent as much time in that store as we do, because I saw you there A LOT. We will miss your instant willingness to volunteer for any event we happen to be having - whether it was working with kids at a craft table or getting up at the crack of dawn on a Sunday to stand on a street corner during a race. And yes, we'll even miss your continual pleas for a golf tournament.
Rest in peace, Tom, and know that your work here will continue. You trained up a lot of good people.
We'll see you when we get there.
I went to your funeral yesterday. It was a very nice service, and lots of people from all parts of your life were there. Steve did a good job - you chose well. I didn't know you well, but from the first note of Taps I was in tears. You did so much good for so many people. And my opinion of you was shared by all - you were a gruff guy with a heart of gold.
You will be missed. I will miss seeing you in the halls, laughing under my breath when you don't say hi, just say my name in that short, clipped style you had in return to my cheerful hello. I will miss seeing that bright yellow car in the parking lot, at work and at Home Depot - it seems like you spent as much time in that store as we do, because I saw you there A LOT. We will miss your instant willingness to volunteer for any event we happen to be having - whether it was working with kids at a craft table or getting up at the crack of dawn on a Sunday to stand on a street corner during a race. And yes, we'll even miss your continual pleas for a golf tournament.
Rest in peace, Tom, and know that your work here will continue. You trained up a lot of good people.
We'll see you when we get there.
Saturday, October 21, 2006
Dinner Friday
I went home sick on Friday, so dinner was whatever I could grab easily. Turned out to be a giant carb-fest. And it was good.
Leftover ham and hash brown casserole
corn
roasted garlic bread
Leftover ham and hash brown casserole
corn
roasted garlic bread
Friday, October 20, 2006
Adventures in infertility, part II...
This has been the most up and down week emotionally that I've had in the longest time. The arrival of Tess, the newest addition to my side of the family, left me reeling on Tuesday. It takes an awfully selfish person to cry because her brother has a child. Awfully selfish. I am a little ashamed of myself, I'll admit it.
Of course those emotions may have played a role in getting me my clomid, if, in fact, my doctor took pity on me, which I suspect. Which was exactly what I was hoping for, to skirt around the fact that my husband is being a bit of an ass about the whole thing. Here's hoping it works in three cycles or less and we don't have to worry about it any more. I'm secretly hoping for twins just so that I don't have to do this again. Not that I want the work of twins, I just don't know if I can handle more of this heartbreak in the future. TTC is like being on a roller coaster when the ride attendant is taking a lunch break. Up and down, up and down, faster, slower, you hope to get off soon because it's making you a little sick but you don't have any way of knowing how long it will be.
Then there's the part of me that isn't exactly sure I WANT to get pregnant. Of all the people I've known in the last six years or so that have gotten pregnant, I can only think of a small handful that haven't had miscarriages at some point along the way. I don't know how I would handle that, if I could handle that. To go through so much emotional turmoil, so much effort, to try to get pregnant in the first place, and then to have those hopes and dreams come crashing to the ground, that just might be more than I could take. I'm not a very strong person. I'm pretty darn weak, as a matter of fact. It would be so much easier to just say never mind, I don't want kids after all. We'll just have dogs. They act like two-year-olds anyway.
But that wouldn't close this gaping hole in my heart that is already there. That wouldn't make my stomach not drop when I see a pregnant woman, wouldn't dry the tears when I see or hold a baby. I suppose the pain is part of the experience, and it just makes you value and appreciate the end result that much more when it finally happens.
Of course those emotions may have played a role in getting me my clomid, if, in fact, my doctor took pity on me, which I suspect. Which was exactly what I was hoping for, to skirt around the fact that my husband is being a bit of an ass about the whole thing. Here's hoping it works in three cycles or less and we don't have to worry about it any more. I'm secretly hoping for twins just so that I don't have to do this again. Not that I want the work of twins, I just don't know if I can handle more of this heartbreak in the future. TTC is like being on a roller coaster when the ride attendant is taking a lunch break. Up and down, up and down, faster, slower, you hope to get off soon because it's making you a little sick but you don't have any way of knowing how long it will be.
Then there's the part of me that isn't exactly sure I WANT to get pregnant. Of all the people I've known in the last six years or so that have gotten pregnant, I can only think of a small handful that haven't had miscarriages at some point along the way. I don't know how I would handle that, if I could handle that. To go through so much emotional turmoil, so much effort, to try to get pregnant in the first place, and then to have those hopes and dreams come crashing to the ground, that just might be more than I could take. I'm not a very strong person. I'm pretty darn weak, as a matter of fact. It would be so much easier to just say never mind, I don't want kids after all. We'll just have dogs. They act like two-year-olds anyway.
But that wouldn't close this gaping hole in my heart that is already there. That wouldn't make my stomach not drop when I see a pregnant woman, wouldn't dry the tears when I see or hold a baby. I suppose the pain is part of the experience, and it just makes you value and appreciate the end result that much more when it finally happens.
Thursday's Dinner
I am weak. And apparently a frugal failure! Last night was declared movie night. We rented "Click" with our blockbuster free movie coupon, and picked up subs on the way home.
Click was very good, by the way. Funny, but with a good message about figuring out what's important in life.
Click was very good, by the way. Funny, but with a good message about figuring out what's important in life.
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Wednesday's dinner
Fish sticks and frozen steak fries. Oh, and green beans. Instant pudding for dessert.
I'm failing miserably at this endeavor, I can tell. But, in all fairness, today was a highly emotional good news/bad news/really good news/REALLY bad news kind of day. I'm just ready for it to be over.
I'm failing miserably at this endeavor, I can tell. But, in all fairness, today was a highly emotional good news/bad news/really good news/REALLY bad news kind of day. I'm just ready for it to be over.
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