I can't believe how fast 2011 has gone by! We decorated the house for Christmas last weekend, and really did not seem like all that long ago that we were putting Christmas away.
We have had absolutely CRAZY weather the last few days. On Thursday a terrible storm came through the state, with winds over 100 mph up north. There was a lot of destruction and problems because of this - power outages, schools closed, inerstates closed, wrecks, downed trees, etc. Further south, where we are, it was bad but not quite so insane. Thursday morning there were some snow flurries and the kids' faces and hands were bright red when they came in from the busses. Thursday night we had to go to The Walmartz to get dog chow and a few other items, and I was almost blown off my feet in the parking lot!
It continues to be cold and windy - according to the Weather Channel app on my iPhone it is 30 degrees but "feels like" 19 degrees. I would definitely say that is true! When we went into TheVillage today we saw (plastic) signs on several businesses that had been destroyed because of the wind. We've been tending the neighbor's dog while they've been out of town for the last few days, and we've kept him here in our house (including overnight) rather than have him in his yard/outdoor kennel. All the outside water bowls at our house and the neighbor's are full of MUCK. The funniest thing is that our front yard to covered in... plastic straws! When we cleaned out the garage last weekend I threw a whole bunch of straws away (some of them looked slightly mouse-chewed, hence the disposal). On Thursday the trash can lids blew open when we put the cans out at the street, despite the big rocks Mr. Mamie had placed on the lids. The straws happened to be near the top, and they blew into the card. It is SO FUNNY looking! We haven't gotten them all picked up because it's still just too windy and cold to be crawling around in the grass.
Today has been productive, despite the icky weather. We got up and did a few little chores in the house before heading out on errands. We went to the library, bank, post office, and Village grocery store. Came home and picked up a load of donation items (resulting from our work cleaning/organizing the garage last weekend) and headed into the BigTown. Dropped the donations off and then had lunch at Paradise Bakery. Went to Target for a few things and then came home to curl up by the fire.
I got some laundry done, and made several new lesson plan templates for school. I also got the frosting done for the chocolate cake I made yesterday - we had it for dessert, and MMMMMMMMM! Dinner was The Pioneer Woman's enchiladas, and they were MMMMMMMMM, too! We baked one pan, and I have a second pan half-filled in the fridge - I have to get some more corn tortillas tomorrow so I can finish it off and put it in the freezer.
We also took our guest dog for a SHORT walk (short because of the nasty wind) to check the mail... I'm anxiously awaiting the arrival of my new hot drink tumbler, which I ordered from Peet's Coffee & Tea earlier this week. If you're wondering why a new one is needed, when I went to such lengths to preserve my existing one, which I love dearly.... well, let's just say that dropping it upside-down on the hard tile of the front hall at school was not a great idea. :( I spent several days scouring local stores and the Interwebz trying to find the "perfect" replacement, which I actually think doesn't exist. We'll see how I feel after the new one from Peet's arrives (pictures to come).
We've had a nice evening gorging on enchiladas and chocolate cake and watching "The Fugitive" movie on TV. I also managed to completely clear out BOTH of my Google readers (100+ subscriptions on my personal Google account, and another 100+ on my teacher Google). Everyone's yawny now, so it's probably time to quit and go to bed.
Night-night!
~Mamie
"When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro!"
(Hunter S. Thompson)
Saturday, December 3, 2011
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Contemtment
We laid sod this weekend in a small section of the backyard, got the garage partially cleaned out and reorganized, rearranged the kitchen, and decorated for Christmas. Added to some nice time spent with family, it was a good weekend! I am sitting here enjoying a view of the Christmas tree, fireplace, and a snoozing doggie... very nice!
Friday, November 25, 2011
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Menu 11/21 - 11/27/11 and Thanksgiving
I am SOOOOO excited that this is a two-day week for school! Not because I don't like being there... quite the contrary. I have a wonderful class, and my 4 first grade teammates are people I count as wonderful friends with whom I like spending time. BUT, not having to do so much school prep this weekend, combined with looking forward to some family time in the coming week DOES have me feeling happy!
We are REALLY trying to use just about EVERYTHING we can from our chest freezer. It needs to be defrosted, and I am already planning (as in, on paper with lists and everything!) for some "freezer cooking" days during my Christmas break from school. That will be a much more satisfying project if I can easily store everything.
So here's the plan and some notes:
Monday: Chili-Cornbread Bake (from the freezer), green salad.
Tuesday: I have class and we always order pizza. I'll be leaving early to go to the college to watch Nephew play in his youth football league championship game - wheeeeee!!! Meanwhile, GrandmaT and Mr. Mamie (who also has a class on Tuesdays) will heat up some Vegetable-Barley Soup from the freezer and have green salad and breadsticks if they want. The soup was a random creation a couple months ago and is very good.
Vacation begins on Wednesday! I'll be spending the day making my contributions to the family Thanksgiving dinner (more on that below). For Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday we'll be eating odds and ends from the freezer, plus any Thanksgiving leftovers we tote home. Not really making a "plan," but options include:
- Oven Tacos (filling made and in freezer).
- Burgers (there's two beef and one veggie patty) and Oven French Fries (we did buy 20 pounds of potatoes yesterday!).
- Grilled hot dogs and/or chili dogs and/or Zippy Dogs (there's a good number of Costco hot dogs available).
- Pot Stickers (there's at least 1/2 a bag of LingLing Pot Stickers from Costco).
- Chicken Enchilada Casserole - I made a big pan a couple weeks ago and half of it went into the freezer. It's a made-up "recipe" of just layers of flour tortillas, shredded chicken, enchilada sauce, and shredded cheese.
- Marinated chicken and pork chops - there's one of each, so that'll make a "mixed grill" night! :)
Mrs. Igor is supplying her delicious homemade apple sauce, cranberry relish, her brother's "famous" stuffing, and her first attempt at Mom's Cherry Pie.
Mr. Mamie will be making a salad of romaine, spinach, craisins, mandarin oranges, and slivered almonds.
I will be doing EITHER Mom's Baked Mashed Potatoes OR Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes, Honey-Glazed Carrots, Freezer Dinner Rolls, Mom's Perfect Pumpkin Pie, and possibly an apple pie. Potatoes and carrots will be prepped on Wednesday, and the pie(s) will also be made. I actually already did the rolls last weekend, and they are just waiting in the freezer.
It's going to be a nice 5-day weekend of food, family, games (Uno and Hand-and-Foot) after the Turkey Day dinner, NFL games, and long walks. I'm sure we'll see whichever of Mr. Mamie's family who comes down to this area for the holiday as well. And with luck, Chirstmas lights will be up on the house before Sunday night!
Have a good Thanksgiving, whatever you do and wherever you are!
~Mamie "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro!" (Hunter S. Thompson)
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