Menus 10/18/10 - 10/23/10 + Re-cap of Last Week

(Of course, I do my menu planning on Sunday, but....) 

Re-cap and reviews from last week:

The Goulash was a new recipe, and it was excellent! Very flavorful and filling. It worked great as left-overs in my school lunch.

I thought that the new Crockpot Orange Beef was so-so, though Mr. Mamie proclaimed it to be "very good." GrandmaT liked it as well, though we all agreed the the previous night's new recipe (Goulash) was better.

 Bacon Ranch Slow Cooked Chicken got skipped... for some reason I just didn't feel like making this. I've been fighting a head/chest cold for days, and wanted something soupy and spicy. So we had this White Bean Chicken Chili instead, and it was GREAT!

The Spicy Lentil Soup got skipped also; I decided that it would be a good one to make together with Niece, so we'll do it on a weekend sometime. Instead, we had grilled hot links for Mr. and Mrs. Mamie, hot dogs for the kids, and a veggie burger for GrandmaT with oven roasted white/sweet potatoes. I use the seasoning mix from this recipe, which I make by the large jar-full (a re-purposed seasoning jar from something else, with a sprinkle top). It was time to make new fry sauce (which is just a 3:1 mayo/ketchup mix), and I added a healthy dose of the seasoning to it - awesome!

Black Bean and Brown Rice Bowls/Tacos with corn tortillas and taco toppings are always a hit around here, and there was plenty to serve as weekend left-over lunches.

Homemade Pizza! We love it. 'Nuff said. It's a great breakfast, too! I want to add a recipe tab to my blog, and the sauce and dough recipes will be the first ones I put on there whenever I get to it.

 BBQ Turkey Meatloaf, Cheddar Cheese Biscuits, and green salad will be happening tonight. Niece is going to help cook.


Menu this week: 

Monday, 10/18: There's no school today, and Nephew has a football game this evening (in the college stadium!), so I think it's going to be a C.O.R.N. (clean out the refrigerator night) dinner.

Tuesday, 10/19: Chicken Indonesian, whole-wheat linguini, green salad.

Wednesday, 10/20: Mr. Mamie has class on Wednesday and Thursday evenings, so I try to do Crock-Pot meals or soups that "hold" well. Tonight it's taco soup, and while I clearly got the recipe from somewhere, it doesn't have a citation/link on it. Oh well, if you need a recipe, Google it - there are a million variations on "taco soup" out there! I'll probably make garlic muffins to go with it. 


Thursday, 10/21: Kids are here tonight, and Mr. Mamie has class, so it's going to be soup again. That's okay though, 'cause we love soup! The kids don't seem to mind participating in the "meatless meals" project, so tonight it will be Ruby Tuesday Potato-Cheese Soup, which is our favorite of my many collected potato soup recipes. We'll have green salad too, of course.


Friday, 10/22: The kids are here again, and I get home a little earlier on Fridays (early-out day at school). I'm planning to make this Shepherd's Pie, which again, is a favorite from our collection. Green salad as usual.


Saturday, 10/23: Kids here, and I'm springing something new and very different on everyone: Pumpkin Chipotle Chili. I personally am very excited to try this! We'll have green salad and Sinfully Sweet Cornbread with the chili. BTW, this cornbread is one of the "homemade baking mixes" I keep on hand - every few months I fill several Ziploc bags with the dry ingredients for cornbread, brownies, chocolate chip cookies, and basic muffins (to which many things can be added) so they're handy for grabbing and making with dinners. I made labels with the wet ingredients and directions listed and stuck them on each bag. Definitely cheaper and yummier (and possibly healthier) than store-bought
mixes!


Sunday, 10/24: Kids here, and we often have "breakfast for dinner" on Sundays with some variation on pancakes/waffles, eggs, potatoes, and maybe sausage/bacon (depends on if we happen to have any; meat is optional). Typically I make smoothies also. I don't usually decide which kind of pancakes/waffles until the day of; depends on mood and available ingredients. For the eggs, either Mr. Mamie makes omlettes or Niece makes scrambled.

Baking, etc. this week:

For whatever reason, we didn't go through bread as rapidly as usual last week, so GrandmaT froze half of each loaf to use this week. So no bread making. Niece is here, and as soon as I finish this blog post, we're going to start on this Paula Deen fresh apple cake recipe from Food Network, and then move on to some peanut butter chocolate chip cookies. YUM!!!

Happy cooking and eating!

Sunday Morning

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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.

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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!

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I love a deal! And, some "food politics"

There's some interesting discussions that have happened on various food/frugality blogs about "cheap food." Many of the writers are looking at the issue from the perspective of cheap food = often unhealthy food.  They say that food is something we should NOT skimp on. After all, it goes into our bodies and has a lasting impact on our health. Also, our "food dollars" are pretty powerful, and we make value statements buy what and how we purchase food.

I pretty much agree that too much emphasis has been placed on trying to get food costs as low as possible in a family. The media will run a story on someone who got two full carts of food for $4.00 becasue he/she used piles of coupons, and it's like OH WOW, ISN'T THIS GREAT?! The thing is, most (not all) coupons are for processed foods like Hamburger Helper, refrigerated biscuits, sugary cereals, and the like.

We've tried to change our eating habits so that we are eating more FRESH, WHOLE foods - organic when possible, but we're not militant about it. We don't buy commercial breads, or cookies (well, once in a while, if it's like Halloween Oreos!), or frozen pizza, or "dinner mixes/bases" because those are things that I can make much less expensively and and at least slightly more healthfully at home. We've chosen to try to avoid processed, chemical-laden "foods" to the extent that is reasonable, given various budget and time restraints.

Here's an example Mr. Mamie and I were discussing when we were out doing errands this morning. In the last couple years I have discovered the fun of making homemade ice cream.  GolfDad long-term loaned me his Cuisinart ice cream maker, and about once a month (probably less) I've made homemade ice cream using real cream, whole milk, sugar, and fruits or coffee or whatever sounded good. The ice cream is delicious, of course, but also not especially healthy, given the fat-laden dairy products and the white sugar that are involved. It's definitely something that's a once-in-a-while treat.

A few weeks ago we were in a grocery store, and they had Dreyer's brand ice cream "specialty flavors" on sale - 2 gallons for $6. Except, they're not gallons anymore, didja know? The grocery shrink ray has hit the ice cream! Nevertheless, it sounded appealing so we bought one each of the special flavors Pecan Praline and Apple Pie.  We tried each flavor once on two consecutive nights, and guess what? I thought they were pretty awful! They tasted so artificial, and just like they were full of fillers and chemicals and air. And this is supposed to be "premium" ice cream. Well, they've sat in the freezer ever since, and I guess at some point I'll end up tossing them because they'll be frost-bitten and totally inedible. So, did we get out $6 worth? No, I don;t think so, and I could have made two - maybe more - batches of homemade ice cream with REAL ingredients for the same price.

So anyway, I'm wandering, but the point is  we've been willing to spend a little more if needed to get better food. It's not all about getting the cheapest deal.  I have come to believe, though, that you CAN buy real food for a decent price, if you are willing to cook it yourself.

Today at Albertson's I think we did a pretty good job. Now mind you, we weren't buying organic (because Albertson's just doesn't have that many organic options), and when organic is available and in our budget, it's what we prefer, but sometimes you just gotta go with the flow.

For $19.50 we got:

• 10 pounds of russet potatoes
• 2 bags of salad mix (we typically by whole heads of lettuce, but these were on an extreme sale; they'll be mixed with whole romaine leaves and fresh spinach)
• 3 dozen eggs
• 2 pounds of frozen corn
• 3 pounds of chicken breasts
• A big bag of fish sticks - which was the only "processed" food, and probably not coincidentally, the most expensive item. But, Mr. Mamie had a craving, and who am I to deny a man is crunchy processed fish bits?

We left the store feeling like we had gotten a decent deal for some real food, and that makes me happy.

In other deal news, I usually buy printer ink for my HP printer that I use at here at home at OfficeMax. I have a teacher rewards card, and I always take the empty ink cartridges back to OfficeMax for the recycling credit. I go through a LOT of ink (when I need something in color, like various school items and recipes, and both these type things get printed frequently) so I buy a lot and have empty cartridges to take in every time. Yesterday in my email there was an OfficeMax rewards certificate for $46.  I took it in today and got an extra large black cartridge and one each of the regular size color cartridges, and only had to pay 47 cents - YAHOO!!!

Monday Meme

As usual, this came from Mrs. Chili.

1. When you looked at yourself in the mirror today, what was the first thing you thought? You should still be in bed....

2. How much cash do you have on you? There's about $4 in my purse, I think, if I am lucky.

3. What’s a word that rhymes with DOOR? SNORE!

4. Favorite planet? I'm partial to Pluto.

5. Who is the 4th person on your missed call list on your cell phone? A parent, who left a voicemail saying that she would not be able to come in for her volunteer time in the classroom.

6. What is your favorite ring tone on your phone? Monday Night Football theme song.

7. What shirt are you wearing? An old black T-shirt from Tar-jay - I'm in comfy couch-sitting clothes at the moment.

8. Do you label yourself? Yes, but the labels will not be publicly displayed.

9. Name the brand of the shoes you’re currently wearing? Barefoot - for reason see #7. For school today I wore a pair of black and charcoal gray Mootsies Tootsies flats.

10. Bright or dark room? Lots of natural light in the day, nice and dark for sleepytime.

11. Did you do anything to celebrate John Lennon’s 70th Saturday? Played with the Google logo!

12. What does your watch look like? The one I usually wear to school is a light gray Timex Ironaman. All the little alarm noises are helpful!

13. What were you doing at midnight last night? Tossing and turning and coughing and groaning.

14. What did your last text message you received on your cell say? From Mrs. Igor about her changing work schedule.

15. Where is your nearest 7-11?  300 miles away. But Maverik is only 1/4 mile. :)

16. What’s a word that you say a lot? "Shhhhhhhhh" - it IS a word, at least the way I say it!

17. Who told you he/she loved you last? Mr. Mamie - he's the bestest!

18. Last furry thing you touched? BeagleDog, who's sharing the couch with me.

19. How many drugs have you done in the last three days? LOTS of DayQuil and NyQuil!

20. How many rolls of film do you need developed? Like, ZERO! Hello, digital!

21. Favorite age you have been so far? Many have been good... how can I pick among them? Someone's feelings might get hurt.

22. Your worst enemy? Piles of papers.

23. What is your current desktop picture (extra points if you post it.)? At home, a fall leaf covered in raindrops; at school, a stormy sea. Time to change to Halloween pix!

24. What was the last thing you said to someone? "I told you it was that guy!" - to Mr. Mamie, we're watching "24" on streaming Netflix as I write.

25. If you had to choose between a million bucks or to be able to fly what would it be? Couldn't I use the money to buy flying lessons?

Menus 10/11/10 - 10/17/10

I know, it's been like forever, RIGHT? All I can say is that the first 42 days of school have been kickin' my you-know-what! And being that I'm 7 years older than the last time I taught first grade, lemme tell ya that the more aged you are, the harder it is to keep up with them!

Nevertheless, people still have to eat, and both the menu planning and cooking have continued as usual.  Now that I'm back in the classroom I realize the incredible benefits of having a PLAN for meals more than ever! Since the beginning of August, school has started, GolfDad had hip replacement surgery, we've had multiple birthdays, Nephew's football season has started again plus he's had Scout activities and a more "teen-age" social life, Igor has been on the road in the big rig, Mrs. Igor has been working two jobs (yes, 7 days a week), Mr. Mamie has started working from home which actually means a more irregular schedule, etc. I realize that this is just LIFE, but hey - it's a busy life! So yeah, YAY for having SOMETHING that can follow a plan.

Menu this week:

Monday, 10/11: Goulash, green beans, green salad. This a new recipe, and it sounds REALLY yummy!

Tuesday, 10/12: Crockpot Orange Beef, brown rice, green salad. Another new recipe that I think will be super good.

Wednesday, 10/13: Bacon Ranch Slow Cooked Chicken, egg noodles, Italian Cheese Bread, green salad. I've had this recipe for a while, but don't remember ever making it. I picked it because it's very "Mr. Mamie-ish." The Italian Cheese Bread is one of our absolute favorites, and makes frequent appearances on the table here!

Thursday, 10/14: Spicy Lentil Soup, Garlic Muffins, green salad. The soup is a new recipe and sounds good; also, it's meatless and we try to have one or two meatless meals weekly. I'm hoping the kids will like this! We have made the garlic muffins many times and love them.

Friday, 10/15: Black Bean and Brown Rice Bowls/Tacos with corn tortillas and taco toppings. Another meatless meal, and one we've made lots of times - everyone (including the kids) really likes this combo.

Saturday, 10/16: Homemade Pizza! Yep, homemade dough (from my bread machine recipe book), homemade sauce (I wrote a post on that a long time ago....), and a buffet of toppings. This is usually something we do two or three times monthly, and the kids LOVE it.

Sunday, 10/17: BBQ Turkey Meatloaf, Cheddar Cheese Biscuits, green salad. Mr. Mamie, GrandmaT, and I all love this version of meatloaf. Niece made disparaging comments about meatloaf recently, so I decided that she ought to try this! The cheddar cheese biscuits are a perennial favorite.


Baking, etc. this week:

Salad dressing - I often make our own, as the store-bought kind is either full of HFCS (the cheaper kinds), or rather expensive (the good ones, like Annie's or OrganicVille).  I'm making two of our favorites today: Julia Child's Vinaigrette and Cafe Rio Style Cream Tomatillo. Be warned... the second one is ADDICTING!!! It's also really good as a sauce/salsa on tacos, quesadillas, etc. I've even used it as sandwich spread!

Buttermilk Waffles, which I made this morning for breakfast with enough for the freezer (weekday breakfasts, yay!)


Amish White Bread and Whole Wheat Bread - we go through a loaf of each weekly. As I have mentioned in previous posts, I let the bread machine do the mixing and first rise, then I put the dough in the bread pan for a second rise. It's then baked in the oven, which I much prefer to baking in the bread machine itself.

My Grammie's recipe for oatmeal cookies, which I call "Kansas Oatmeal Cookies."  I'll post the recipe later today. Niece and I are making these this afternoon.


Pumpkin Muffins, which I plan to make Tuesday evening to take to a meeting Wednesday morning.  I have a huge box of the Krustez brand mix from Costco, which I LOVE! However, my mom had a really yummy "scratch"  pumpkin bread/muffin recipe, which I'll also be making soon. I'll share the recipe when I do.

Funfetti Halloween Cupcakes - I bought the mix and frosting for cheap at The Walmartz, because it's the kind of thing Niece loves to bake... in fact, she's getting everything out right now (including the way cute Halloween cupcake liners), so I better go supervise!

Menus 8/23/10 - 8/29/10 + Re-cap of Last Week

I didn't get around to posting menu last week - the "school thing" had me pretty wiped out! But here's a short re-cap with the links, in case anything sounds good to ya.

CrockPot Beef Burgundy - Mr. Mamie did NOT like this very much, which was a rare event. He thought the red wine taste was too strong, and I agreed. I think if I tried it again, I would replace the red wine that goes into the Crockpot for the main cooking time with beef stock, and only use the smaller amount of red wine that's added at the end (with flour) to flavor and thicken the gravy. 

Shredded Chicken Sandwiches - These were quick and easy to do in the CrockPot. I used about three pounds of chicken but the same amount of seasoning and liquid. We had them on little panini rolls, broiled with cheese (Swiss was especially good!). Since there were only three people here for dinner that night, there were plenty of extras to freeze and have available for a future dinner.

Mexican Corn Chowder -   DELICIOUS! For the corn kernels I used FRESH corn cut from the 50 ears I got from Bountiful Basket (which I had blanched, stripped, and frozen).  We really liked the flavor and texture of this soup. I took it for lunch two days in a row, and got some ogles and comments from other teachers. Highly recommended!

Italian Pot Roast - This was a good way to fix pot roast in the CrockPot. I added carrots at the beginning, and 30 minutes before serving put some sliced yellow squash in on top to get steamed. It was moist and flavorful, and Mr. Mamie especially loved the addition of the yellow squash.

Beef and Bean Chimichangas - Loved these too! I thought Nephew would especially like them, but he ended up leaving before dinner to go to the high school football game, where he ate heaven-knows-what. Niece was asleep in the recliner, exhausted after a long week in second grade, and didn't appreciate be woken up for dinner (I know, how rude). So although her enthusiasm was at a somewhat low ebb, the rest of us liked this version of chimis very much. Again, I used fresh corn kernels, which makes SUCH a difference! The filling + one can of Amy's Kitchen organic refried beans gave us 8 large-ish chimis (using the larger-sized flour tortillas from Costco). There was enough filling left over to make 4 more burritos (with no beans), which I froze along with the leftover chimis. Mr. Mamie is eating one for breakfast right now as I type....

Tonight it's "breakfast for dinner" featuring banana pancakes, which I am really looking forward to! I will surely need to double this recipe to serve five, and I'll definitely use at whole wheat flour for at least half the total amount. I'll also add some wheat germ and ground flax meal as well. We'll have scrambled eggs made by either Mr. Mamie or Niece, and potatoes and/or sausage. I LOVE having breakfast for dinner on Sunday nights!

You can read about our yummy birthday dinner for Niece and GolfDad soon... as soon as stoopid Blogger will let me add all my photos!

This week's menu:

Pork Scallopini (organic, Maverick Ranch brand), organic wild rice, sauteed yellow squash (from our garden!), green salad.

Grilled "Flat" Chicken (Coleman brand organic chicken breast from Costco), fettuccine Alfredo (whole wheat noodles with sauce made from the "Simply Organic" brand mix), green salad. "Flat" chicken is made by pounding boneless/skinless breasts quite thin, then marinating in Italian salad dressing. The chicken grills super-fast, and is VERY yummy! I learned this years ago while at the cabin with my cousin L and our Grammie.

Ground Beef and Barley Soup, cheddar muffins, green salad.

Spaghetti using whole wheat noodles and homemade sauce from the freezer, Italian Cheese Bread, green salad.


Bean and Brown Rice Burritos, using Eden brand organic pinto beans and Lundberg organic brown rice (available from Costco in a HUGE bag!).

Homemade pizza - create-yer-own!

Breakfast for Dinner, with the pancake/waffle course yet to be determined.

Have a great week filled with yummy meals!

Menus 8/9/10 - 8/15/10

Re-cap from last week:

• Bean and Cheese Enchiladas with Spanish Brown Rice - the enchiladas were VERY yummy, especially since we added lotsa cheese! This made a good "meatless meal," since beans + rice = complete protein. The filling made 8 LARGE enchiladas (flour tortillas), which was enough for four people for dinner and two lunch left-overs.

• Brown Jug Soup with Garlic Muffins - the soup was tasty, though it needed a healthy dose of salt and pepper at serving time. NO WAY did I cook it in the CrockPot for 10-12 hours on low, as the directions stated - about 5 - 6 hours on low was PLENTY, at least in our CrockPot (which I had anticipated). These muffins were new to us, and VERY yummy. I was a little leery of the chopped raw onion in the muffin batter, but they baked up deliciously.

• Mustard Grilled Chicken with Wild Rice - we always love this chicken; it's very flavorful with a hint of spiciness. I cooked the wild rice in an onion soup broth, which made it very good.

• Beef and Barley Skillet Dinner - another tried-and-true favorite. I cooked this over at GolfDad's house the night he came home from the hospital after his hip replacement surgery, and it met his requirements for low fat/high protein and fiber. If you use NON-quick-cooking barley be sure to allow close to an hour of simmering time for the barley to get tender. This freezes well and makes a good take-to-work lunch.

• Stuffed Pita Pockets - made this at GolfDad's, using fresh corn kernels, chopped red and green bell pepper, garlic, red onions, and black beans in a vinaigrette of olive oil, red wine vinegar, and lime juice.

• Herb and Cheese Stuffed Burgers with Zesty Italian Potatoes - didn't have these, as a some friends of GolfDad brought over a hot spaghetti dinner. These burgers will get bumped to next week.

• Israeli Chickpea Salad in Pita Pockets - this was a new recipe I found on while cruising the Interwebz Saturday afternoon, and since I had all the ingredients, we made it for Sunday lunch. I had intended to put the container of feta cheese out on the table to add to the pitas, but forgot. Mr. Mamie and I both liked the salad, and we think that adding feta will make it perfect. There was enough left over that we'll get to test that theory tomorrow! This will also make an excellent lunch item for me to take to school.

• Sesame and Chicken Pasta Salad - this is put together and sitting in the fridge for us to have for dinner tonight at GolfDad's. I think it's going to be very good, based on the aroma.  I used two organic, boneless/skinless chicken breasts, which I cooked in the oven with some salt, pepper, and herbs de Provence as seasoning. The pasta bow ties are the Barilla "plus" variety.  There should be a fair amount left over to serve as work/school lunches this week.

This week:

• Monday, 8/9: Tender Grilled Pork Chops, Wild Rice w/ Mixed Vegetables, Green Salad [report-back day for teachers!]
  
• Tuesday, 8/10: Skillet BBQ Chicken Pasta, French Bread (from the freezer), Green Salad
• Wednesday, 8/11: Beef and Brown Rice Soup (CrockPot), Cheddar Muffins, Green Salad [first day of school with kids!]
  
• Thursday, 8/12: Leftovers/C.O.R.N [Back-to-School night, and Mr. Mamie has an evening class]
• Friday, 8/13: Italian CrockPot Supper, Italian Cheese Bread, Green Salad
• Saturday, 8/14: Herb and Cheese Stuffed Burgers , Zesty Italian Potatoes, Fruit Salad (made from whatever we get in our Bountiful Basket today) 
• Sunday, 8/15: Breakfast for Dinner - Spiced Pumpkin Waffles, Scrambled Eggs, Sausage, Fresh Fruit (from our Bountiful Basket)

Ten Things Tuesday 8/2/10

Ten plus one things ready in the classroom...

Tables, with name tags and number lines.

 Assessments, dictionaries, and "Morning Work" to keep us busy in the first few days.

 Clipboards with name grids for math, literacy, writing, and behavior.

 Classroom library.

Team points, team jobs, and daily schedule.

Rug area.

 Teacher tools cart by the rug.

Manipulative bins.

 Writing Center and Listening Center.

Math Center.

 Homework basket and backpack cubbies.

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!

Menus 8/1/10 - 8/7/10

This week's menu (with links) is posted on the left-hand sidebar of the blog - you'll need to click through if you're viewing this via a feed reader.

Have a great week!

On the importance of reading labels...

So, GolfDad calls me at about 5:30 this afternoon. His voice sounds a little weird, and he says that his BigBrother1 told him that he had to call me.

Oooooookay, why is that, GolfDad?  Well, it's because when his arthritic knees were achy and bothersome this afternoon he took some acetaminophen. He's grouchy about the acetaminophen; he says it doesn't work for crap, but given that he's having hip replacement surgery on Monday, ibuprofen is currently banned (and will be for six more weeks while he's on blood thinnners - oh, joy). The crappy acetaminophen doesn't work for crap, so he takes some more. Hmmmmmmmm, he's feeling kinda strange.

BigBrother1 calls right about then, and informs GolfDad that he "sounds like he just drank a pint of whiskey." GolfDad says "Nuh uh" and then looks at the bottle of acetaminophen. OOOOOOOOOOOPS, he just took an overdose of the NIGHTTIME acetaminophen! Hence, the feeling way groggy and sounding slurry. BigBrother1 insisted that GolfDad needed to call me so I could come over and check on him.

Which, of course I did after stopping at Maverik to fortify myself with a giant a giant dietCoke - elder-tending requires such measures.  Mrs. Igor has the phone number for the state's poison control programmed into her phone, which she gave to to me when we passed in the driveway.

Arriving at GolfDad's he was cooking his dinner and seemed basically alert. He showed me the bottle (pictured above), and indeed - it's the bright blue pills indicating PM formula. I called poison control, and after a few questions, they assured me that aside from the grogginess, GolfDad would be fine.  They will even call back later tonight to make sure all is well.

So here I am, keeping company with the over-doser for the next little while, just in case.  No prob, we're talking real estate and stock market and what's available on streaming Netflix, and I'm glad to do it!

Nearly Wordless Wednesday 7/28/10

Lazy summer Saturday afternoon...

Maybe some explanation is needed:

On the couch, we have Nephew who's on the computer, stacks of folded laundry on the back, and apparently some Play-Dough and the associated tools.

On the floor is Niece, surrounded by the accouterments of various art and dress-up activities. I think there is a dog or two back in the shadows.

In the background on the dining table is a white plastic laundry basket filled not with clothes, but rather with produce from the weekly Bountiful Basket haul.

The curtains are drawn on the south-facing windows, because it's approximately one-hojillion degrees outside.

And that is the scene here.

Teaching Tuesday

I had a Ten Things Tuesday post ready to go, except for some photos I wanted to add. However, due to a camera FAIL that post won't be happening today. It was a post about school, so I'm going to direct you to a substitute school-related article instead.

EVERYONE needs to read what this Florida teacher has to say about the state of our profession and what it means to be an educator in today's world. Teacher friends, I know you will relate! Non-teachers, please read this and understand that this IS our reality!

Image credit

Dessert Nirvana

This afternoon I made a simple, delicious peach cobbler and tonight we gobbled it up with fresh whipped cream - soooooooooooo good!

You don't have to subject yourself to that spray stuff or the creepy, waxy frozen chemicals known as "whipped topping." It's NOT hard to make real whipped cream, and believe me, the taste and texture difference are incredible!

Real Whipped Cream:

• 1 - 2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla for each 1 cup whipping cream
• 2 tablespoons powdered sugar for each 1 cup whipping cream (this is my preferred ratio; adjust to your taste depending on desired sweetness)

1. Chill a metal bowl and the beaters from your hand mixer/the whisk attachment from your stand mixer in the fridge until ice cold.
2. Remove bowl and beaters/whisk from fridge and pour in whipping cream.
3. Beat on HIGH until just before stiff peaks form - you want little, soft peaks at this point.
4. Add vanilla and powdered sugar.
5. Beat again stiff peaks form. DON'T over-beat or your whipped cream will get clumpy and butter-ish!
6. Use on top of your favorite dessert, and be prepared to NEVER buy the canned/frozen stuff again!

Monday Meme

As always, thanks to Mrs. Chili for providing good stuff to steal (which she, in turn, steals form others...)


1. What is your favorite color?

PURPLE, always purple!

2. Have you ever slapped someone?

Not that I remember. Slapping seems so petty and gratuitously violent.

3. Is your hair curly?
It has quite a bit of natural curl and wave… and some "cowlicks" in inopportune places.

4. What was the last CD you bought?

Physical CD? NO idea! Possibly "Supernatural" by Carlos Santana. I've been an all-iTunes girl for quite awhile now.  I think the last full album I bought on iTunes (that wasn't kids' music for school) was the "Hope for Haiti" compilation.

5. Do looks matter?
Truly, no. Cleanliness does though!

6. Could you ever forgive a cheater?

What type of cheating?  I have dealt with certain types as a teacher… as for the more intimate variety, I don't know.  That's hard to predict or imagine.

7. Is your phone bill sky high?

No, though I think we're being robbed blind by the landline phone company.

8. Do you like your life right now?

Yes, except for the lack of my mom, which I still feel acutely.

9. Do you sleep with the TV on?
Our ritual is to get in bed, set the TV timer for 30 or 60 minutes, and watch an episode or two of "King of the Hill" (which we TiVo daily).  We pause the TV to comment and chat, and then snuggle up and drift off when the TV timer turns off.

10. Can you handle the truth?
I hope so. I try to.

11. Do you have good vision?
No, terrible. I have worn glasses since age 8 and contacts since age 16. Lately I seem to need reading glasses on top of my contacts... depressing.

12. Do you hate or dislike more than 3 people?
I try to avoid that type of negativity. I am "processing" some very angry feelings toward one individual right now (don't worry, it's none of YOU), but hope to reach a place of closure soon. Yes, I know, that was very…. "something"-sounding.

13. How often do you talk on the phone?
Daily. Not my favorite pastime, but it's part of life, so there ya go.

14. The last person you held hands with?
Mr. Mamie, often!

15. What are you wearing?

Black t-shirt, charcoal gray knit skirt, black flip-flops.

16. What is your favorite animal?
Aside from Beagle and Laprador? Penguins!

17. Where was your favorite picture taken?
Zion National Park, May 1, 2010: The "foot picture" from when the Mamies got hitched!

18. Can you hula hoop?

Sorta. Kinda. Maybe.



19. Do you have a job?

1st grade teacher and university adjunct instructor.

20. What have you most recently bought?

A cold, delicious fountain diet Dr. Pepper.

21. Have you ever crawled through a window?

Not that immediately comes to mind, but it's entirely possible that I am banishing such an event from my active memories!