Where's Mamie?

 

Yeah. No. That would NOT be me... I am NOT super teacher! If I were, I would have time to blog instead of...

...messing with spreadsheets to get percentages for homework, spelling tests, and the like.

 

...doing report cards - filling in little boxes with data that I have to collect from five different sheets of paper and three spreadsheets, and writing EXTENSIVE narrative comments for 22 kids.

...doing "student data sheets" that tells the parents all the info that our report card somehow DOESN'T!

...filling out my class awards certificates and deciding which "candy award" each kid will get.

...attaching fun golden "I [heart] reading!" pins to my reading award certificates.

...gathering up the necessary paper goods for our "build a sundae" party with our 5th grade reading buddies (thank you Mrs. A. for providing the actual sundae supplies!)

...hunting down enough coolers and blue ice bricks to transport 160 Jolly Rancher-flavored popsicles to the park for our last day of school fun fest. At least we'll gain a bunch of freezer space back!

...stuffing envelopes with our "Welcome to First Grade" brochure, "Sneak Peek" invitation, summer activity calendar, and summer reading calendar for NEXT YEAR'S CLASS, whom I will meet on Tuesday. Oh, and stuffing a second set of envelopes for the as-yet-not-publicly-named [not] "new" first grade teacher.

...editing 500+ photos, choosing the 300 or so best, timing music, compiling it all into an iMovie and burning 22 DVDs with the class movie and a complete set of all of this year's photos for each kid/family.  (Mr. Mamie helps a lot with this one, fortunately!)

...playing BUNCO tonight with all my awesome school friends, and forgetting about the craziness for a few hours!

~Mamie "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro!" (Hunter S. Thompson)

Choir at Tuachan

A couple of weeks ago I got to accompany Niece as she performed with our school's choir and several others from various elementary schools in the county at the Tuacahn Amphitheater.  It was a fun evening of good music, and a nice opportunity to see lots of families from school in a pleasant environment.

We started by having an Aunt Mamie and Niece-only dinner at Red Robin, where the waitress was oddly enamored by our matching school t-shirts.

 Mmmmmmm, french fries!

Our school's choir solo number was "Footloose," and they had some very cute props to go with the song.

Those are giant feet that they're waving around.

 Here's a shot with lots of choirs onstage together:

 Fun event and nice time with the niece!

~Mamie "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro!" (Hunter S. Thompson)

Not MIA exactly...

Despite my intention to NOT be involved in a heavy schedule of work-related activities this summer, an opportunity came along that I couldn't pass up.

A new series of Math Endorsement courses begins today, so I'll be spending 45 hours IN MATH CLASS this week... I know, I know, you're all so jealous!

Then I'll get to do it again for a week in July, and then EVERY Monday evening during the school year, and then for two more weeks (45 hour-courses each week) next summer - wheeeeeeeee!

But THEN I'll have Math Endorsement on my teaching license, which opens up more classroom opportunities. Also, adding endorsements to our licenses is the only way we can raise our pay as teachers. Due to budget constraints, many districts have frozen "step" increases, so there's no incremental pay increases according to years of experience. There are still "lane" increases for additional education/endorsements. I already am at Master's degree plus 20 units AND have two endorsements, so really the only way to increase my salary at all is to complete another endorsement program.

I like teaching math, so I'm nerdily excited to be starting 270 hours of graduate-level course in math... yes, really! But, the blogging will probably slow down a bit for a while. I'll keep you posted on my progress... maybe you can help me with some homework???


~Mamie "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro!" (Hunter S. Thompson)

Poor Mr. Mamie...

...woke up this morning with a terribly sore throat. So we started dosing him up with this:

Despite feeling pretty crappy, Mr. Mamie was willing to forge ahead with the day, so we headed out on a long list of errands.

We started at our favorite corner convenience store where we fueled up the car with gasoline and fueled up ourselves with a a big diet Coke/diet Dr. Pepper combo (me) and an overly sweet coffee concoction (Mr. Mamie).

Then it was on to the Animal Shelter in The Village for the annual dog licenses. It was shot clinic day, so it was pretty crowded and noisy. All we had to do was turn in our previously-completed forms and pay our money, so that was done pretty quick. Of course, we did take the time to visit both the doggies AND the kitties, but managed to leave without acquiring any new family members (which wasn't easy).

Next, to the library in The Village to pick up a couple of books I had put on hold. FINALLY I'll get to finish Catching Fire!

Then, to the auto parts store in The Village to get a new battery cable and a new post (terminal?) for my car, as there seems to be tons of icky corrosion on the top of my battery. Got the cable but no post.

Now down the street to the hardware store in The Village to copy the key for Mr. Mamie's truck so that his brother can have his own key for when he uses the truck. Mr. Mamie's brother is ALSO a long-haul trucker working for the same company as Mr. Igor. We got trucker brothers!  Mr. Mamie's brother's home base is in Texas, but the headquarters of the trucking company is here, and a lot of freight transfer occurs here. So he passes through quite frequently, and usually avails himself of our shower and the use of a (normal-sized) vehicle for a few hours. We're happy to oblige. Anyway, he needed is own key, hence the trip to the hardware store. They give out bags of fresh, hot popcorn to munch while you shop, so I'm always happy to stop in!

Off to the Big Town, where we first dropped of some items at the local donation place - a box of books, a bag of clothes, and a few other random things. Yay, decluttering!

Then we tried another auto parts store for the battery terminal, but they were idiots and Mr. Mamie wouldn't buy anything from them. Yes, it did occur to us to call the car dealership, but the parts department was closed for inventory today. Humpf.

Stopped at a local fast-ish food type place. While I made use of the facilities, Mr. Mamie pondered the menu. Nothing looked good to him - he really wanted soup - so we continued on our way.

Next destination was the recycling place - not the stupid "binnies" next to the fire station by our house which are always full and have tiny openings to poke your stuff into bit-by-bit, but rather the REAL recycling place where they pay you money for your cans AND have huge, open-topped dumpsters where you can empty out your small bins in one fell swoop. Finally our car was emptied of all the rattling cans and bottles and rustling newpapers we'd been driving around with all day!

We attempted to drop off some donations to the food bank downtown, but discovered they're only open on weekdays. That got put on hold.

Went to Great Harvest Bread Company, hoping for soup, but no luck.

Went to a local breakfast/lunch cafe - "no soup for you!"

 

Finally went to a local pizza/pasta place where we KNEW they had soup. Had a delicious lunch, and used a FULL "$5 off" punchcard and the recycling proceeds to pay for it.

Stopped at a grocery store that we usually don't visit because it's so far from home. But, we were right around the corner, and I knew from their weekly ad that they were having a case lot sale. Of course, they didn't have the diced tomatoes I was hoping for. Stewed, whole, sauce... yes! But not diced.  We did buy a case of canned chili and a case of spicy Top Ramen, both of which Mr. Mamie likes to have for lunch (SHUDDER!).

We needed to get a birthday present for Mr. Igor, and so went to a fabulous emporium of hardware/hunting supplies/home goods/sporting goods to look for the item we had in mind (which will not be revealed at this time). They had ALMOST what we wanted, but it wasn't PERFECT, so we decided to try one other place.

We the drove even further to the other side of town to go to a hobby store for something Mr. Mamie wanted, only to discover it's gone out of business. Bummer!

After a nice drive over the ridge above the Big Town, we pointed the RAV in the direction of home... but made a few more stops, first.

I really want a different strap for my camera (Canon Rebel DSLR), as I hate the one that came with the camera when I bought it three and a half years ago - it's a bit short, and it's stiff. Of course we got to the camera store exactly one minute after they closed, but the guy unlocked the door and showed me what they carry. Now I can compare to what I've seen online and make a decision.

We went down the road to Sportsman's Warehouse in search of the birthday present for Igor - score! Yay! I'm sure I'll do a birthday post for him in a couple of days, and then you can see the present.  We got some treats, too, which I'll mention in a moment.

Our final stop was the natural foods store, where we got some more supplies for Mr. Sick Mamie, and a couple of grocery items. I got two new Badger Balm lip balms in flavors I don't already have - Ginger-Lemon and Highland Mint. YUM! I loooooooves me some Badger Balm!

 

FINALLY it was time to go home and fall down on the couch.  Happily, we had discovered some AWESOME treats at Sportsman's Warehouse to munch on:

Tender gummy raspberries for Mr. Mamie, and...

FABULOUS sour cherry balls for me, JUST like the ones at DISNEYLAND, nom nom nom!

And now it's 12:56 a.m. and I am sooooooooo going to be regretting being up this late tomorrow. G'nite!

~Mamie "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro!" (Hunter S. Thompson)

Quote

"She puts nutmeg in everything! She's a nutmeg-a-aholic!" ~Niece

~Mamie "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro!" (Hunter S. Thompson)

Image credit

Right Now 12-29-10

Time: 9:11  a.m.



In my mug: DietCoke – I got ten 2-liter bottles from the Igor Family as a Christmas present! It’s actually in my insulated red tall plastic cup with the cute snowman on it - HA, that's the exact same line that was in my LAST "Right Now" post. It's still true!



Outside my window: To the south - grey sky, falling rain. To the north - more rain, thick clouds obscuring the snowy mountains.


In my belly: Pretzel snaps and cheese.

Beside me: A dining table chair piled with cookbooks.

In the fridge: Eggnog, buttermilk, cream, milk - wonderful things for baking! Lots of produce, eggs, and cheese. Ground beef defrosting for tonight's Hobo Hash dinner.

 

In my ears: The "Today" show on NBC.



On me: Old, soft jeans; black, long-sleeved t-shirt; pink short-sleeved t-shirt; dark navy fleece pull-over; pink and navy fleece socks; black Crocs.


Looking forward to: The kids coming over so I can put them to work taking down the Christmas decorations; making Buttermilk Cinnamon Bread with Niece; a day of organizing and baking and perhaps sewing.

Grateful for: This two-week vacation - it has been WONDERFUL!

~Mamie "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro!" (Hunter S. Thompson)

52 Weeks/52 Letters

Katy at "The Non-Consumer Advocate" (one of my FAVORITE blogs) has put forth a challenge for 2011: Writing one letter or postcard each week for all 2011. Read more about it HERE.

OK, I am all over this! I used to - like, in the 80s and 90s - write tons of letters and postcards, send packages and treats and surprises and mix tapes and... well, you get the idea (note to a certain reader in Portland: Remember the plastic fish mail?!). 

The correspondence between my mom and me when I was an undergrad in the late 80s was a vital part of my existence, and I ended up with a box of those letters last fall.  I've only looked at a few, as it still makes me miss her too much, but her voice is so strong in those writings that I know they will be a source of comfort and happiness in the future.

So, "IRL" friends and family - expect some letters to come your way this year! And maybe I'll have a chance to connect in a new way to some online friends.

Bring on the snazzy stamps! I'll be reporting back on how it's going, and I'd love to know if you're going to take up pen and paper, too.

~Mamie "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro!" (Hunter S. Thompson)

Image credit

Never a dull moment!

This morning I went out to the chest freezer in the garage to get out some more chicken to defrost, because I am working on making some "freezer meals." Tomorrow's dinner is Rosemary Tangerine Chicken and I am going to prep double, cook one meal, and freeze a bag of the chicken and marinade for a dinner later this month. While digging for the chicken breasts, the plastic wading pool, which hangs on a giant hook (along with the snow saucers) right above the freezer, decided to leap off the wall and try to land on my head. Dodged that, but lost my package of chicken behind the freezer. Had to go disturb Mr. Mamie, who is intently writing and testing code, to have him reach back there with his famously giant long arms and retrieve the chicken.

Meanwhile, over at Chez Igor, there is sickness. Mr. Igor woke up yesterday morning puking violently, spent most of the day asleep, then woke again in the late afternoon with a 103.4 fever. By evening Mrs. Igor also had a fever. Great. This morning at 3:30 Mr. Igor got back in his big rig to hit the road, while Mrs. Igor continued with the fever.

This morning GolfDad called. Guess what? Sick. Also, still wounded from the attack his psycho cat launched on Christmas Day. Nevertheless, he hauled himself off to the golf course for his volunteer stint today.  Called again to say the golf course had sent his sick self away, and had suggested that he get the cat wounds looked at. Mrs. Igor had patched him up pretty well after the attack, but things still looked nasty. He went to Instacare where he was prescribed antibiotics, told to not take any more Immodium and to let the gut sickness run its course, and sent home.

After a morning nap, Mrs. Igor woke up and thought her fever had broken. I told her to load up her children and come have lunch here. 30 minutes later she texted me that the vee-yan (as Niece used to pronounce "van") had a dead battery, and did we have her battery charger and jumper cables? Yes, we had the charger, but I though that the cables were in our Pathfinder... which Mr. Igor had driven at 3:30 a.m. to the truck terminal 15 miles away where his semi was parked (his own pick-up being currently out of commission). Miraculously, I found the charger, OUR jumper cables, AND the Igor Family's cables all in one spot in the garage.

Drove the 9/10ths of a mile to Chez Igor and got set up to jump start the vee-yan battery. Discovered that MY battery terminals were covered in ick... I KNOW that Mr. Mamie cleaned those very thoroughly... a year ago. See, here are the pictures to prove it!

Apparently this needs to be done more than once every 12 months!

While the jump-starting was going on, a sad little Niece came out of the house. It seems that she's misplaced her wallet, in which she still had $25 of her Chirstmas money (she's already spent $25 of the $50 she acquired).  All I can say is that I hope the large and perpetually hungry and mischievous Igor dogs haven't eaten it, wallet and all!

Made it home to fix lunch for everyone. Had to disturb Mr. Mamie again to find out where a three-prong extension cord was so that Mr. Igor could charge the battery on the vee-yan. It was under the fallen-down plastic pool.  Searched both refrigerators for the huge package Hebrew National hot dogs GolfDad had given us after Christmas dinner; had to disturb Mr. Mamie AGAIN to find out where he had put them - ah, in the FREEZER of course! In the course of digging them out of the chest freezer it dawned on me that neither the freezer nor the garage refrigerator were running. Had to disturb Mr. Mamie YET AGAIN to report this fact and inquire as to what I should do about this situation. He suggested that perhaps when the package of chicken breasts fell behind the freezer it hit the switch on the power strip that both the fridge and freezer are plugged in to. I managed to poke the power strip with the mop handle and fix the problem. Whew, don't have to worry about hundreds of dollars worth of food spoiling!

Finally got hot dogs cooked under the broiler, heated up leftover Ranch Macaroni and Cheese and got everyone fed (Mr. Mamie was served at his desk - kind of like "Mobile Waiter" or "Dine-One-One" for the work-at-home crowd). GrandmaT came to the rescue and loaned Niece $25 against the collateral of the missing-but-hopefully-found-soon wallet so that Niece could consider further purchases at The Walmartz while her mother shops for groceries. The battery charger did the trick on the vee-yan, so I'm hoping that I won't be called to the parking lot of The Walmartz to rescue Mrs. Igor and the kids.

And now to return to my regularly schedule laundry, menu planning, cooking, and cleaning. WHAT a fun vacation Monday we are having! Oh, did I mention that The Beagle has stolen and hidden one of my new Smart Wool socks (he has a fetish), a fact I discovered when I started the day's laundry minus said sock???


~Mamie "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro!" (Hunter S. Thompson)

Right Now 12-26-10

Time: 7:12 p.m.



In my mug: DietCoke – I got ten 2-liter bottles from the Igor Family as a Christmas present! It’s actually in my insulated red tall plastic cup with the cute snowman on it.



Outside my window: In one direction it’s cold, wet deserty hills; in the other, snow-covered mountains. No stars thanks to the cloud cover.


In my belly: Broiled Hebrew National hot dogs and delicious Ranch Macaroni and cheese.



Beside me: Mr. Mamie on his laptop.



In the fridge: Fajita leftovers, treat leftovers, lots of produce and cheese and milk and tortillas and eggs and….

 

In my ears: A re-run of “NCIS” on USA Network.



On me: Black fleece pants, black cotton camisole, dark turquoise long-sleeve t-shirt, new grey Smart Wool socks (Christmas present!).


Looking forward to: Doing some freezer cooking, sewing, and organizing next week. Hopefully also a hike since today’s got cancelled due to rain.



Grateful for: My lovely Christmas presents, our full pantries and fridges/freezers, and the wonderful time we’ve had with family the last few days.


~Mamie "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro!" (Hunter S. Thompson)

Nearly Wordless Wednesday 12/1/10

I recently cleared an accumulation of "stuff" off of my nightstand. Here is the rather large pile of hair "thingies" that had piled up there:

~Mamie "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro!" (Hunter S. Thompson)

Six Word Saturday 11/27/20

Something old, something new, better snoozing!

We have been in desperate need of a new bed for quite some time, and have made a couple attempts to purchase a set. However, the cost of a good king-size box springs and mattress (and KING it must be!) is exorbitant, and we've been thwarted in our efforts.  

GolfDad recently upgraded to a super-fancy bed, and offered his not-very-old, not-very-used Sealy Posterpedic set to the Igors and us, with the Igors getting first dibs. Mrs Igor debated for a couple of weeks, but ultimately decided that moving the items in and out of the narrow hallways in their house was more than she wanted to take on at this time. Thus, we were next in line, and Mr. Mamie (with his sketchy back) was THRILLED!

Fortunately, GolfDad's house is only 2 miles away, and we can drive on a very deserted back road between our houses.  Mr. Mamie and I managed to go over, load the mattress, tie it down, get home, and make the switch in just over an hour. Our "new" bed awaits, dressed up in flannel sheets, a fleece blanket, and a fluffy comforter. 

Though the bed's not brand-new, it's close enough, and the price of "free-99" (as Mr. Igor likes to say) was definitely in our budget. I'm pretty sure we're going to be sleeping much better!

~Mamie "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro!" (Hunter S. Thompson)

Pie Crust, Pantries, Yadda Yadda Yadda

I had to laugh at the variety of comments on my Six Word Saturday post yesterday, which read:  Practicing pie crust, Thanksgiving preparatory precursor.  A few people wished me luck, but most others mentioned the availability of frozen pie crusts, pre-made graham cracker crusts, etc. Well yeah, I know, but...

Part of being able to cook (and bake) for me is the desire to be self-sufficient, to not have to rely the likelihood of having a certain pre-made item on hand. If I don't have a frozen pie crust on hand, but want to make a pie, I then have to (a) have money to purchase a frozen crust, and (b) have the time and willingness to drive to a store to obtain one. Whereas if I am capable of making my own, all I have to have are ingredients - in this case, Crisco, flour, and water. Guess what? Ingredients for MANY things (not just pie crust) are much more readily available and almost are less expensive than a single pre-made item.

I read something a while back that advised people who wanted to eat both less expensively and more healthily to "shop for ingredients, not 'food.'" I think this makes a lot of sense.  I have a well-stocked pantry, full of ingredients  that can be turned into a huge variety of meals and treats. Now, this is not an exhaustive list nor is it necessarily a blueprint for anyone else, but the ingredients that I try to keep stocked in the pantry, fridge, and freezer are:

• oils/fats - olive, canola, and sesame oils; butter and Crisco; nut butters (peanut and almond)
• vinegars - white, cider, red wine, white wine, rice
• baking soda and baking powder
• yeast
• beans - dried and canned: black, pinto, Great Northern
• rice - white jasmine, brown, wild
• whole wheat pasta in a variety of forms (including couscous)
• grains - unbleached white and whole wheat flours, oatmeal, cornmeal
• sweeteners - white and brown sugars, powdered sugar, molasses, honey, pure maple syrup, cocoa powder, a variety of chips (milk, dark and white chocolate; peanut butter, butterscotch)
• canned tomatoes - diced, sauce, paste
• spices - I have an extensive collection, but the ones I use the most are garlic powder, cumin, chili powder, ginger, oregano, basil, thyme, salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes, cayenne pepper, turmeric
• onions, garlic, bell peppers, potatoes (sweet potatoes, red potatoes, Yukon Gold, russet)
• cheeses - sharp cheddar, jack, mozzarella, Parmesan, feta, cream cheese
• other dairy - milk (2% and whole), heavy cream, buttermilk, sour cream, plain yogurt
• meats, according to sales - ground beef, ground turkey, whole chicken, boneless/skinless chicken breast, flank steak or cube steak, stew meat, beef roast, pork roast
• vegetables/fruits, according to season and sales - canned, fresh, or frozen: corn, green beans, carrots, pumpkin, green onions, apples, bananas, pineapple (canned), olives (canned), broccoli, cauliflower, salad greens, spinach, berries (usually frozen)
• condiments - real mayo, ketchup (with no HFCS), Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, lemon and lime juices, salsa
• tortillas - corn and flour

With the ingredients above, I can make almost ANYTHING that anyone in the family desires, and almost any meal that we would want. With a little planning (oh, how I love my weekly meal plans!), we can eat at home,less expensively, more healthily, and more deliciously, than we can eating out or buying prepared foods.

Back to the pie crust... I've seen a boatload of recipes and methods on blogs lately touting the "perfect" crust for Thanksgiving pies, but I decided to keep it simple and just follow my basic-but-trusty Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. For a two-crust pie it was simply 2 cups flour, 2/3 cups shortening (I used butter flavored Crisco), and 6 - 7 tablespoons water. I followed the directions and everything came together just fine! I used a pastry cutter rather than the food processor, and it was very quick and easy. I was a little worried about over-working the dough as I formed it into two balls and then rolled them out, and they were a bit crumbly, so I added just a splash of water during the rolling.

I realized that I didn't have a "regular" pie tin, only a deep-dish ceramic one, so my pie was"rustic" - that is, no pretty edges! The deep-dish was the right choice in the sense that I had a bunch of apples that really needed to get used, so "rustic apple pie" is what I made. Really, it was all about the crust anyway.

GolfDad showed up around 6:00, having received my Google Calendar update for dinner. (Aside: In addition to filling out a little form that I created with the weekly meal plan and sticking it on the fridge, I also put each night's dinner on a Google Calendar which is shared with Mr. Mamie, GolfDad, and the Igor Family. That way, Mr. Mamie and I know what's for dinner when we're at work, GolfDad can show up when the mood strikes him, and the Igors can know what's being offered as well, since parts of their family are often eating dinner at our house.) I was glad that GolfDad appeared, becasue GrandmaT was still over at the Igors' dog-sitting while they were out of town for football, and Mr. Mamie was still at his sister's, fixing her virus-riddled computer. I was hungry but didn't want to eat alone, so GolfDad's arrival was a welcome surprise. We snarffled up shredded BBQ beef from the CrockPot (GREAT recipe, Mrs. Chili!) and some baked beans (Bush's from a can this time), and then sampled the apple pie... YUM! It tasted great and the crust was tender and flaky! I even got the seal of approval from GolfDad, which can be hard when it comes to baked goods.

The whole point of the crust-making practice was that I wanted to make Wombat's favorite pumpkin pie recipe for Thanksgiving, and I wanted to make the CRUST, too. It seemed like a good idea to do a trial run on the crust, but I didn't want to make pumpkin pie this weekend AND for Thanksgiving. We had apples sitting around, so voila, apple pie! And now we get to nom nom nom that yummy pie
for a couple of days, yay!

If you made it to the end of this long, rambling post - congratulations! You are truly dedicated. :)

~Mamie "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro!" (Hunter S. Thompson)

Right Now on Thursday

Time:  9:20 p.m.

In my mug: Tazo Wild Sweet Orange tea

On the stereo:  “The Mentalist,” which is actually on T.V.


In my belly: See’s Chocolates “California Brittle” (milk chocolate), which Mr. Mamie brought me when he picked me up at Barnsie after his class.

In the fridge: A CrockPot full of Slow-cooker Beef Stew, which I just prepped for tomorrow’s dinner.

Last thing on the laptop: The website for Climbing the Stairs, the entirety of which I read tonight while at Barnsie.


On my wish list: A new box on Tazo Iced Green Tea sachets – I just used the last one tonight to make cold tea for the next couple days. Must get more this weekend!

Looking forward to: The first grade Thanksgiving feast – my class is responsible for contributing corn, and we’re working on making pyramid of corn cans. The extras will be donated to the food bank. And after the feast… five days of vacation!


On the nightstand: The Diamond in the Window, a children’s novel Mr. Mamie recalled from his youth and purchased through Amazon Marketplace. Somehow it’s a book I never came across myself, though I would have loved it – it’s nerdy AND a mystery!


Last thing that made me laugh: During rotations, when I was teaching in another first grade room about Thanksgiving, one kid said he was thankful for “watching football all day on TV” – right on, kid, that’s MY idea of a great Thanksgiving, too! It just so happens that his mom is a first grade teacher in our school as well, and she got a good laugh out of our shared FANatacism when I told her about it after school.


~Mamie "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro!" (Hunter S. Thompson)

Image credit

Weekend

 The Igor Family's Pumpkins

It has been a nice weekend here - the fall weather is beautiful!

Halloween at school on Friday was... tolerable. I've experienced worse, though having my most challenging little boy toss a full, fortunately-closed carton of milk at some older kids and thus REALLY pissing off the head custodian did NOT add to the joy of the day. I'll post some pictures later - not of the milk projectile, but rather, of cute kids in costumes.

Being that Friday was the last business day of the month, it was also payday. That afternoon/evening we took GrandmaT out on a little adventure, beginning with Red Robin for dinner where we all ate entirely too much. We were planning to go to a movie, but as it was rather early, had some time to fill beforehand. First we hit up Albertsons where we scored 10 bags of assorted baking chips (semi-sweet and milk chocolate, white chocolate, and butterscotch) for a mere $1.50/bag - an excellent deal. We purchased some other sale items, including two MASSIVE bags of Halloween candy. The irony is that we don't actually turn the light on for trick-or-treaters, as it stresses the dogs out, among other reasons. But we have candy for Niece and Nephew and the cute family across the street, and most importantly, FOR MR. MAMIE. He keeps marveling at the "perfect combo" of Heath, KitKat, Reese's cups, Almond Joy, Hershey bars, and Whoppers. After Albertsons there was still some time before the movie, so we went to Barnsie (of course) where Mr. Mamie polished off a gift card a lovely friend sent us by buying a THRILLING tome on HTML-5 (from which he reads tidbits aloud approximately every 5 minutes). GrandmaT and I both picked up some light reading for cash. I guess I should mention that I had used slightly over half the gift card the day before on... yes, books for the classroom. Touche.

Finally it was time to go to the movie, which was Red starring Bruce Willis, John Malkovich, and Helen Mirren. Hilarious! Definitely worth a couple hours and a few bucks. GrandmaT had seen the ads and expressed interest, so we thought it would be fun to take her. She liked it, though her first comment was that it was "awfully damn loud!" Too true! But that's an ongoing issue at that particular cinema.

Saturday it was time to bite the bullet and do a MAJOR shop. We've been eating down our pantry and freezers for the last couple months, so we had to hit up the Village grocery store, Costco, and The Walmartz. Add in haircuts for both of us, new wiper blades for both vehicles, and a fairly icky lunch at Del Taco and it's no wonder we came home exhausted, nauseated, and about $500 poorer. Sigh.

We did have a really nice evening though. Where we live Halloween activities took place on Saturday. GrandmaT went over to the Igors' to make Halloween Casserole (still gotta post that recipe!) and man the front door while Mrs. Igor took Niece and Nephew to "trunk or treat" events at the Village grocery store and the local church.  They then hit up our neighborhood and their own for some door-to-door action. Meanwhile, Mr. Mamie and I enjoyed a nice evening at home eating a Costco take-and-bake pizza (and Halloween candy) and watching streaming Netflix - first Lady Jane, one of my favorites, and then The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.   I really wanted to see the Swedish scenery and hear the Swedish language, and was not disappointed in this regard. I did have to explain a lot to Mr. Mamie in terms of back-story and that seemingly-random events will connect to things in future books. Once he resigned himself to the subtitles, he got into the mystery. We didn't actually quite finish, as sugar-comas overtook us. Perhaps tonight.

Sunday has been pleasant. Did our Maverik run for morning caffeine and newspapers, then pondered how to accommodate Mr. Mamie's desire to have chili for dinner (yes, deviating from menu plan!) when the enormous quantities of ground beast and ground gobble purchased at Costco yesterday are already in the freezer. However, the 5 pounds of stew meat was still in the fridge, as the butchers at Costco apparently think we have mouths the size of a T-Rex, and the stew chunks needed to be cut down to human size. So, we came up with a chunky beef chili and the house currently smells fabulous! Can't wait to eat it.

Amazingly, I created another recipe today as well: Peanut Butter-Oatmeal-Chip Bars.   Usually I am a follower of recipes, not a creator of them. I am really happy with both my efforts today!

And now I must stop procrastinating and return to lesson planning.

~Mamie "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro!" (Hunter S. Thompson)

Potato Dreams

 Niece was helping me make our Shepherd's Pie for dinner. Her first task was to peel potatoes. While doing so, she asked me if "potatoes and onions make a good side dish." I of course responded affirmatively, and described the various renditions of "potato and onion side dishes" we have eaten.

She then told me" "I had a dream that I was a cook show host, and I did a feature on potatoes and onions."

What an awesome dream!

~Mamie
"When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro!"

Image credit 

Sunday Morning

Image credit

I love this time of year - when the air is cool in the mornings and evenings, but I can still wear flip-flops! I'm sitting on the patio in shorts, t-shirt, flip-flops... and a fleece jacket to keep the arms toasty. Sunday mornings are great, because first there's sleeping in, then there's a trip to Maverik for two Sunday papers and a treat (either cold, delicious, carbonated chemicals - or, hot, delicious, liquid candy posing as "coffee"). Then it's patio time, with papers and computer and snacks/brekkie... watching the various neighbors load up their many children and head to church for three hours. The birds chirp and fly around, and at this time of year gaggles of geese fly overhead pointing south. The neighborhood dogs carry on woofing conversations, and I sit here reveling in my boring, middle-age complacency.

One thing that's annoying me at the moment are the colors of the links on my blog. I have changed them over and over, and they will not switch from the blue/purple. So, sorry for the ugliness! I will keep trying.

Image credit

In other news, we've been watching "24" via streaming Netflix. We're about a third of the way into season 3 (the one with biological terrorism), and the episode we watched right before bed was just so violent and mean that I told Mr. Mamie I needed a break. He agreed, and we're not going to watch any more episodes for a while. We decided to look for something more"uplifting," but sadly, "The Waltons" are not available to stream... and yes, I LOVE that show!

Image credit

Ever need a weekend after your weekend?

Some weekends just feel like a constant round of running, shopping, cleaning, cooking, fixing, etc.  I always feel like I need a weekend to recover from those weekends!

The most recent whirlwind started on Friday, the day designated for kids’ back-to-school shoe and supply shopping. I started by dropping Mr. Mamie off at his office, and then I went to Tar-jay to do some back-to-school shopping myself. I got a bunch of various classroom items, plus household stuff, dog treats, toiletries, etc.  Headed home to pick up the kids (who had been dropped off by Mrs. Igor), then returned to the BigTown, where we collected Mr. Mamie.

After a late-ish lunch at SmashBurger, we hit the shoe store.  Niece ended up with some very cute Nikes, while Nephew chose some cool black skater shoes.  Then it was BACK to Target for their school supplies – Nephew had a very specific list, provided by the Village Intermediate School. We got those items, plus two sets of “at home” supplies for homework time both at Casa Mamie and at their own house.  Niece got a nice new backpack, and I needed a few MORE items for my classroom, so those were obtained as well. Dropped Nephew off at a friend’s for a sleepover, and then returned Niece to our house to stay with GrandmaT.

Mr. Mamie and I then headed to town AGAIN, but this time for “date night!”  We saw “Salt,” which was GREAT – very exciting with some twists. I love a good spy movie, and it’s even better when the hero is an a**-kickin’ girl!  After the movie we had dinner at “Rexus Toadhouse,” as Mr. Mamie calls it. Not to fancy or spendy, but fun and a nice change. After that it was home to bed.

Saturday was the big monthly shopping day for the Mamies.  We started at Costco, which is where the bulk of our food and household items are purchased. $296 later we took that carload home, then loaded up all the recycling (which FILLED the Rav!) and hauled it into town. We got a whopping $6.84 for our aluminum and steel cans (nothing paid for the plastic and paper). Lunch at Wingers, and then we spent our “big” recycling payment on an iced green tea (me) and a caramel frappucino (Mr. Mamie) at Starbucks. 

We then hit Home Depot, where I exchanged the staple gun and staples I purchased last week for a better model – my hallway bulletin board at school requires “the big guns.”  OfficeMax took our money in exchange for a couple of printer ink cartridges and some Velcro dots, and then we went to Natural Grocers for part two of our grocery shopping.

Headed home and collected GrandmaT and the kids for a trip to NewWalmart. Grandma got the kids some shorts and jeans for school, as well as Nephew’s required P.E. outfit while Mr. Mamie and I gathered a few final grocery and household items. Finally, home again for good… at which point I was so exhausted that I gave in and ordered Domino’s Pizza for dinner. As expected, it was vile, but it was fast and easy and that was a higher priority at the time!

Sunday we slept in quite a bit, and then Mr. Mamie and I made trip to OldWalmart for a replacement toilet handle (the one in the master bath broke in the night) and some other odds and ends. Back home to laundry and other fun things. 

The kids had husked 6 ears of corn from the week’s Bountiful Basket, which I blanched and stripped to get some fresh corn kernels for the freezer.  I had three roasts purchased at Costco to deal with – two went directly in the freezer, and one got cut into stew meat. Cleaned out the kitchen fridge and started some brown rice cooking. Made the pinto bean filling for enchiladas, then rolled 8 and got them baking. Finished the rice, steamed some brocoflour, cut some fresh pineapple, and then we could sit down to dinner – finally!

After dinner Nephew had to be driven home to grab his Scout shirt, and then taken to the church for his Scout Review Board. While he was there, Mr. Mamie cut up a cantaloupe and mango for the week’s breakfast smoothies while I prepped celery, onion, carrots, and potatoes to go into the Crockpot for Monday’s dinner. Niece took the opportunity for an hour-long bath in our jetted tub – she loves it, because you can see the TV in our bedroom from the bathtub. OK, I love it too! Picked Nephew up from the church, and congratulated him on achieving Boy Scout First Class rank. On to Star! Except, football starts TODAY, so he won’t be doing much Scouting for the next three months.

I spent the rest of the evening under the ceiling fan on the bed surfing the interwebz and reading my latest trashy mystery while Mr. Mamie continued the work of networking various computers as part of his home-office set-up (today is his last day in the physical office, and then he’s going to be working at home). There was a flurry of excitement when Mrs. Igor came to pick the kids up – she was confronted by a 6-inch long scorpion hanging out on the wall of our house right by the front door!  Mr. Mamie got the task of capturing it and disposing of it while the other 5 of us watched and screeched and shouted directions (I’m sure we were very helpful).

By the time I collapsed in bed at close to 11, I was ready for some gooooooood rest. Too bad we were up early to haul GolfDad to the hospital for his hip replacement surgery!  He’s being sawed open right now, while I lounge in the waiting room and Mr. Mamie’s at the office for the last day. It’s going to be an interesting month, with GolfDad virtually incapacitated and pretty dependent on us, Mr. Mamie beginning to work from home, school starting, and who knows what else… by September, I’ll need a vacation!

Sunday afternoon at Chez Mamie

Image credit

Pioneer Saturday

I seem to have fallen off the bloggy bandwagon (again)… oh well, climbing back on and picking up where I left off…!

It’s a holiday weekend here in our intermountain west state – Pioneer Day! Pretty much just another excuse to hang out on the patio with feet in the wading pool, eat tons of yummy food, and light things on fire.

Mr. Mamie’s cousin SuperGeek (SG) and his wife Mrs. SuperGeek (Mrs. SG) arrived yesterday afternoon to spend the long, hot weekend with us here in the southern part of the state.  Last night we ate big ol’ spaghetti dinner which featured this delicious sauce served over organic, whole wheat spaghetti. I increased the tomatoes and spices and added a pound of spicy organic chicken sausage – delish!  We also had a double-batch of Italian Cheese Bread, which came out perfectly. A giant salad made my Mr. Mamie rounded out the dinner, along with a German chocolate cake (from a box) made almost entirely by Niece.  Mrs. Igor, Nephew, Niece, and GolfDad joined us, making nine for dinner. Afterwards we watched half of Jeff Dunham: Spark of Insanity before everyone conceded defeat and fell into bed.

Mr. Mamie and I were up early this morning (7:30 FELT dang early!) so that we could pick up our Bountiful Basket.  It was a great haul today: 8 ears of corn two huge tomatoes, a bag of Yukon Gold potatoes, two heads of brocoflour, a head of green leaf lettuce, 20 or so peaches and plums, a bunch of bananas, a small pineapple, a small watermelon, and a large bunch of red grapes. I still find it absolutely amazing that we get all that for $15!  We also paid $21 extra for a flat of blueberries, which was twelve 12-ounce containers.

I used one of the containers of blueberries to make a double batch of sour cream blueberry waffles for breakfast.  The five adults in the house ate them ALL, to the disappointment of Niece and Nephew who arrived about a half-hour after we had polished them off.  The rest of the blueberries are getting frozen on trays and then poured into big Ziploc bags for use in waffles, smoothies, cobblers, etc. for the next few months.  SO GREAT to have fresh-frozen fruit available!  We still have OOODLES of strawberries from the flats we bought a while back, as well as some peaches I cut up and froze.

After gorging ourselves on waffles, I got some chicken, lime juice, and chili powder plopped into the crock pot for tonight’s dinner, made an angelfood cake, and cut up strawberries to macerate in sugar for dessert.  Once the SGs had showered, we all (SGs, Mamies, and kids) headed into the Village to buy pop for GrandmaT and the kids at the grocery store and fireworks at the stand outside.  We managed to get away from the fireworks place only $35 poorer, though Nephew and Mr. Mamie could have easily spent double that.  It’s overcast and windy right now, but hopefully things will improve by later tonight so that Mr. Mamie and SG can do their pyromaniac thing in the street in front of the house.

After relaxing for awhile and watching the second half the Jeff Dunham: Spark of Insanity, the SGs and the Mamie headed into the Big Town for lunch at a local favorite.  We had a delicious pizza lunch and a good time telling and listening to stories about Mr. Mamie’s/SG’s childhood (their mothers are sisters) and about the foibles of their various relatives.  As a bonus, one of my best teacher friends and her family came in and were seated at the table next to us.  As much as I love to cook, it’s nice to go out and let someone else do the work sometimes while we sit back and enjoy!

Home again to another round of Jeff Dunham (Christmas special; LOVE "Jingle Bombs" and "Roaskill Christmas"!) while I blanched corn and made dough for cinnamon rolls (tomorrow’s breakfast).  Mr. Mamie is now napping, and while I wouldn’t mind joining him, it’s a little late in the day – I might never get up!

Looking forward to another fun evening… holiday weekends with family and friends are the best!

BTW - yes, I know Jeff Dunham is not particularly "politically correct."  He is, however, pretty dang funny, and his ventriloquism and puppetry are AMAZING! 

I Heart Saturdays!

Today has been a busy, yet relaxing day.  We started by arriving at the cinema parking lot in The Village to pick up our produce co-op haul. We are members Bountiful Baskets, which operates in three states in this region. Each week that you want to participate, you contribute $15 for a share of the produce. There are also often optional purchases, such as bread loves, special produce packs (like ethnic ingredients), or deals on large quantities of one particular item (like strawberries or mangoes).  The produce comes from small farms in the region and in Mexico. While it's not always organic, it's definitely better than the crap sold in the regular grocery stores, and the price is AMAZING! The quantity of the week's share is always huge, and we often share with Mrs. Igor (she is also a member, so sometimes just one of us gets a basket to split) or with GolfDad.  Here's a picture of this week's bounty:

There were two butternut squash, a small seedless watermelon, about 3 pounds of bananas, three pounds of apples,  about 2 pounds of peaches, about 10 small limes (great for poking into water bottles!), a pound or so of Brussels sprouts, 6 ears of corn, a bag of baby carrots,  around 2 pounds of tomatoes, a pound or more of mangoes, and a head of green leaf lettuce.  ALL for only $15!!!

I love the community aspect of the co-op - in the few minutes it took us to pick up our basket, we saw our neighbor from across the street and two teachers I know.  I also like that my money is working with my neighbors' to support smaller farms, and that the big companies are cut out of this process. LOCAL ECONOMY!

After picking up our basket we headed to the Big Town to the Ancestor's Square Farmers' Market.  We bought two kinds of fabulous raw milk cheese - Desert Heat and Gruyere - from a local farmer/cheesemaker (love him and his wife!), a pint of precious baby strawberries, a loaf of asiago sourdough bread, and a dozen fresh eggs in varying shades of brown, cream, white, and light green.  

Farmers' Market purchases

After that it was off to Costco for a few staples, including gas for the car. Gas is up to $3.05/gallon for 87 octane now in our area. Boo.  The most exciting purchase at Costco was three pounds of organic ground beef for a little over $12.  The beef comes from South Dakota. I wish it didn't travel so far, but local organic beef is not really available here.  I've found one source, but the ranch won't have any available until at least mid-June, and you have to buy a really large quantity. Not sure of that's in the cards for us.

After Costco we came home to put everything away and regroup before heading to GolfDad's to do some chores. Niece showed up before we headed out again, and she insisted that we had to IMMEDIATELY have a funeral for the dead mouse she'd found in the gutter the day before. She had made a beautiful, sparkly gravestone and everything... Ooooookay... Mr. Mamie fetched a shovel, while I got the camera for documentation purposes.

Digging the mousie grave.

Niece shows the sparkly headstone she made for the mouse.

GolfDad is gone on his big driving tour of the USA, so we have to go over daily to "sit on the cats"... well, not literally cat-sit, but rather, feed and water them and clean out the litter boxes. There are also tomatoes to water daily, and grass to mow weekly. Today while Mr. Mamie mowed Niece and I got out all the summer-colored candles, coasters, Kleenex cozies, bath towels, table runners, etc. that Wombat has made and collected over the years. I have to say that the house looked much fresher and nicer when we were finished!  We decided that next weekend, just before GolfDad returns, we'll re-plant the big pots on the back patio (which currently hold wilting pansies) with some summer flowers. The experience ended happily, as no one was clawed (today, at least) by CrankyPants aka Mom's cat, Snickers... he's gotten exponentially meaner since she's been gone, and he's not happy about GolfDad's temporary absence, either.

A brief mention here of our trip to The Walmartz - we needed a couple of hardware-ish items and a can of olives and pineapple tidbits for our pizza dinner. Walking back to the car, Niece was carrying the bag with the can of pineapple... and klutzy Mamie kicked it while wearing flip-flops... and now I have a pineapple injury on my toe. Wah.

After getting home again, it was relaxation time. Mr. Mamie took a big, long nap while Niece and I headed out to the patio. if you're wondering, Nephew was zoning out in front of the TV, having just returned from a Scout camp-out.

Niece played in the pool with her coconut shell turtles...

 ...while Beagle lounged under the table...

 ...and GrandmaT knitted...

 ...and Mamie read (using the Kindle app on my iPod Touch).

We ended a nice Saturday with pizza and movie night: Create-your-own for GrandmaT and the kids; Mexican Pizza for us; and a showing of The Goonies! YAY, SATURDAYS - I heart you!

Mexican Pizza, YUM!