Rainy Days and Mondays

I'm truly odd.

In a world full of Monday haters, I'm pretty lonely.  I LOVE Mondays. 

LOVE.LOVE.LOVE

I know, it sounds weird, right?  I mean, seriously, most people are all fluttery about how great Friday is.  I hate Fridays. 
I wake up on Fridays and feel like I have a case of the "Fridays".

Blah.

There's a simple logic for this.

Fridays are my errand days. 
I generally wake up at the butt-crack of dawn on Fridays, grouchily get two monkeys out of bed and dressed- in clean clothes.  Somewhere in there I have to feed them- they never want what I want- and load them in the minivan.  I end up having to drive into town and finding errands to run until the bank opens at ten.  Then I drive around with more errands.  Somewhere in there I start hearing hungry growls from the backseat.

Long story short, I might see my house three or four times during the day, but I don't get to go "home" until 9 or 10 at night.

Monday, on the other hand, is my day where I actually feel accomplished.  I keep a running tab of phone calls to make and chores to do and Monday is my buckle down day.  I get it all done and am so cheerful... until Friday rolls around.

Kitchen Tricks and Tips From Our Expert Cooks | Real Simple

Once again, the folks over at Real Simple have given me something cool to geek out over:

Kitchen Tricks and Tips From Our Expert Cooks | Real Simple

Speed clean - From AllYou.com

AllYou.com has some excellent tips for speed cleaning.

I know what I'm going to be doing today!


Speed clean - AllYou.com

Farmer's Market, Here I Come!

I've spent a great deal of time since the move planning my next big project!

You all know how much I LOVE baking. 

Well, I've been sharing some samples of my kitchen goodies around, and the biggest question everyone asks me is why don't I sell my cookies and bread?

Well, um... I don't like professional baking because I hate the smell of icing sugar. 

It hit me- I don't HAVE to bake cakes with frosting.  I can stick to cookies.  I can stick with breads.  I can stick with non-frosted pound cakes.

I have HUNDREDS of recipes I've developed over the past decade.  Each recipe has weeks of testing in it to produce consistent results.

Why not?  But- I don't want to sell BIG.  I'm a busy lady.  Where can I sell small and still have fun being creative?

It hit me- there are farmer's markets EVERYWHERE in this area.

Why not rent a booth for the season?

(Note to the crowd: Yes, I ask myself a LOT of questions.  Unfortunately, I get angry when I don't answer non-rhetorical questions also.)

So, I'm sending in my application for booth space. 

Surprisingly, the Husbeastie is fully supporting of this endeavor.  (I'm fairly sure he's excited to be a taste tester more than anything else.)

So- if my application is approved, expect to see me at the Ohio Valley Farmer's Market in St. Clairsville this summer.  All goes well, and I might expand to a few other markets next season.  If it doesn't go well, I'll go back to the drawing board, plan some more, and get back out there next season.

Tom Neely & Dylan Williams Speak Out On Their Customs Seizure Experience

While I might not read the books personally or agree with things in the books (heck, I don't even watch Law and Order because I think it's disgusting and it makes me physically ill), I'll support their rights to free speech and expression. This just points out a bit more explicitly that other countries don't have the same freedoms.

Posted Thursday, May 12th, 2011

Last weekend artist Tom Neely and publisher Dylan Williams were stopped and searched by Canada Customs on their way to the Toronto Comics Art Festival. Customs officers seized copies of two items they were bringing to the festival, Black Eye, an anthology of comics Neely contributed to, and Young Lions, a graphic novel by Blaise Larmee. The CBLDF caught up with Neely & Williams over email when they returned to the United States to learn more details about their ordeal.

For more information, go here:
Tom Neely & Dylan Williams Speak Out On Their Customs Seizure Experience

Obi-Wan Kenobi Is Dead, Vader Says - Galactic Empire Times

This gave me a bit of a giggle.

Vader announcing Obi-Wan's death via news conference.

 

By DEN DHUR and HALLIS SAPER

Published: May 9, 2011

CORUSCANT — Obi-Wan Kenobi, the mastermind of some of the most devastating attacks on the Galactic Empire and the most hunted man in the galaxy, was killed in a firefight with Imperial forces near Alderaan, Darth Vader announced on Sunday.

For more of the article go here:
Obi-Wan Kenobi Is Dead, Vader Says - Galactic Empire Times

Like Crafty Deals?

I'm a huge fan of rock bottom deals in limited quantities.  So, when I heard about Pick Your Plum, I knew I had to share it with you.

Pick Your Plum offers 1 craft item each day at an incredibly low price.  I'm talking CRAZY low prices on some of the coolest things.  In the past few days I've seen chalkboard decals, patterns, vinyl craft sheets, and old-fashioned key-in-locks.  And when they're gone, that's it for the day.  Then it's wait for the next morning to see what new treasure awaits.

12 for 12- May is a Month of Change

I realize this is almost two weeks late, forgive me.  Moving has been very time consuming and then recovering from moving is likewise time consuming.

To recap the last few months- I've lost a bit more weight and it's showing nicely in my face and lower legs.  My scheduling is back on track after being side lined for the move and I'm getting things done.

Goals for this month:

1. Drink more water, less pop.  Even though I'm now on diet soda 100%, my water intake is hovering right around 64 ounces a day.  Despite that, I'm still drinking a lot of diet soda.  So, my goal is to get to no more than 36 ounces of pop per day this month and up my water to 132 ounces per day.  (And yes, I get that thirsty.)
2. Utilize my crock pot more.  This place is lacking central a/c so using the stove has been heating the house a great deal.  I plan on loading up the crock pot the night before with oatmeal and letting it simmer gently and starting my dinner plans around 9 am to allow time to bake gently in the crock pot.
3. Return to my childhood.  It occurred to me when I turned the Smurfs on for the kids the other day that it's been forever since I've watched cartoons.  Or played a board game.  Or sat on a swing.  So, I'm going to take some time to just enjoy how my kids are being kids and try to see things from their perspectives.
4. Invest in my family's comfort.  When we moved in here, we decided to set up the basement as a huge family room with zones for classroom, entertaining, and just general playroom.  I'm budgeting both time and money this month towards making the basement awesome.
5. Eat less pasta.  I think I've eaten pasta (in some form) every day for the past month.  I want to menu plan out no more than one pasta meal per week for the next month. I'm going to have to draw the line and include ramen noodles in this list because, well, we go through a lot of ramen.
6. Put out a bird feeder.  Living out in the country gives us many birds to examine.  In fact, there's a few out there right now that I have NO CLUE what they are.  I plan on setting out varied feeders and grabbing my camera and a bird identification book and having a day observing nature.
7. Write more.  I've put my novel on the back burner, yet again.  I'm going to start finding time to write a bit more.
8. Steamline my commitments.  I never realized how much MY schedule was disruptive to everyone else in the house.  Writing for multiple websites, magazines, as well as trying to have some me time has put a crimp in things that should be routine for the rest of the family.  So, I'm streamlining my agreements to only those things that fit on the calendar.  No more "oh, I'll get around to that" type stuff.
9. Wash the walls.  We've been here less than a month.  The walls were fresh painted before we moved in.  My kids have dirty hands.  Enough said.
10. Find a bathroom storage method.  Right now, everything in our bathroom exists in two large cardboard boxes.  There's plenty of room for other stuff, I just haven't figured out how to unpack it all in a way that makes sense.  So- before the end of the month, I'll have found a functioning bathroom system.
11. Find things.  I have a sheepish confession to make: When we moved in here, by the end of the second week, I began unloading stuff straight into the garage.  I figured that by that point, everything I immediately needed would be in the house and the rest of the stuff was just dross.  I'm starting to realize how incredibly wrong I was- especially when I go to look for something like laundry detergent and realize that, "Oh... um... yeah... it's somewhere in the garage."  The garage is PACKED full of stuff.  I need to go through it all and find a place for it.  A lot of it will go to the basement for the classroom.  A lot will stay in the garage for construction purposes.  Then there's all the in-between stuff.
12. Get the baby out of my bed.  I love my Doc-boy toddler.  Seriously I do.  But, he's been in my bed since February!  And he tosses, and turns, and rolls off the bed.    As much as I love the idea of family bed, my fibromyalgia makes it very painful to carry out.  Being elbowed by little bony body parts all night leaves me covered in bruises and too sore to walk in the morning.  So, I'm setting up the boys room again (as soon as I find stuff) and want to have him transitioned into his big boy bed.

Sci-Fi IKEA Hacks

    I've seen these floating around the internet- and I have to admit, I'm rather tempted to print them off, frame them, and hang them somewhere appropriately geeky.  (Hubby's new Man Cave, perhaps?)

Awesome, right?  Now if only I could figure out a child-safe way to harness the 1.21 gigawatts I'd need to power the thing--- I'd never be late for Cub Scouts again.

The funnier thing with this one is that there are NO Jar-Jar Binks included.  Too bad the movie couldn't say the same thing.

So, It's Been A While

Moving is continuing at a snail's pace- which means hopefully, someday, it will be over.

After that, will come unpacking.  Hopefully, that will also be a simple process.  (Who am I kidding, NOTHING is ever a simple process with me!)

However, that being said, now that internet access has been returned to me, I should be able to resume some sort of posting schedule next week- AFTER the move is over and the unpacking begins.

At the moment, I can barely walk between my stove and sink, and I vaguely am aware of my pantries being located somewhere in what will eventually be the dining nook.  I still haven't found pillow cases, but since I pretty much FALL into bed in an exhausted heap each night, I haven't really paid much attention to their absence yet.  

This place is a DIY-er's ultimate dream and worst nightmare all at once.  I've got my eye on several projects (some of which I've already begun the groundwork for in the odd moments that I've had to spare and just needed a break from the constant boxes!)

THE LIST O' IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS
Replace the window screens (this is actually pretty fun)
paint the basement floor
set up a proper laundry room
set up a proper classroom
establish a "man cave"
IKEA-hack some new furniture into being
Make a cross-over girly tweenager room/guest room
Paint the boys' beds
raised bed square foot garden
install a swing in a tree out back
trim some hedges and mow some lawns
install a water line to the ice maker
build a compost bin with a lid

And I'm doing ALL of these projects by myself.  So far I've installed child-locks, done the whole shelf-liner thing, and made myself a general nuisance to the folks at Lowe's.

It hasn't all been moving, though.  I'm a small-town girl at heart.  I grew up in a teeny town in East Texas and I'm really embracing living out here in cow-country.  I've found the local post office- it's effectively the size of half my garage.  I've also located the closet bowling alley and already made a trip to the library (both of which are located two towns over.)

This has been a definite adventure- and I'm rather like a Hobbit when I have an adventure: ready to sit by a warm fire with a cup of tea and a second cookie, grateful the damn thing is over. 

MIA

Yes, I'm missing in action-We're in the middle of moving and well, there's no internet service on this farm


Quite literally- none- nor cable, nor satellite, nor dial-up

So, until that little snafu is cleared up (aka the cable company is digging to lay a line) posts will be sporadic

BUT I WILL BE BACK

--also, a funny note, my kids destroyed the period on my keyboard, so my sentences seem a bit lacking

O is for Oatmeal

We eat a fair amount of oatmeal here.  It's one of Chaos's favorite foods.  That being said, I don't have time to make it very often.  So, a bit of tweaking and I've discovered the easiest crockpot recipe.

1 cup of groats (steel cut oats, Scottish Oatmeal)
+
2 cups of liquid (milk, cream, water, apple juice, or any combination)
+
1 pinch of salt
=================
Dump into a crock pot, and cook on low over night (or up to 8 hours).

Perfect oatmeal.

If you're feeling adventurous, you can add in up to 3/4 cup of "mix-ins" such as dried fruit, fresh fruit (go for firmer fruits), nuts, your favorite granola, etc.

You can add your sweetener of choice when you dish it up in the morning, or if you're feeling lazy, add it in while cooking.  I've also found you can add in a wee bit of vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, or any other flavoring agents you want.

I generally like mine scooped hot into a bowl with a dab of butter and a small pour of cream.  Chaos loves his with fresh fruit, honey, and a dab of cream cheese. 

New House

I took a moment today to snap a quick photo of the new place as I stopped by to install some child locks.

It's huge without being ridiculous- and it's well laid out!

N is for New House!

We found a new house! 

M is for Mutton

     I have been fascinated with mutton ever since reading a scene from The Hobbit, in which Bilbo Baggins overhears several trolls discussing eating mutton.  Then, to later have Miracle Max (you know which movie I'm talking about) describing an MLT-mutton, lettuce and tomato-sandwich, well, mutton became a very geeky thing for me.

courtesy of The White House Cookbook circa 1887.

   

MUTTON.
No. 1. Leg, used for roasts and for boiling.
No. 2. Shoulder, used for baked dishes and roasts.
No. 3. Loin, best end used for roasts, chops.
No. 4. Loin, chump-end used for roasts and chops.
No. 5. Rack, or rib chops, used for French chops, rib chops, either for frying or broiling; also used for choice stews.
No. 6. Breast, used for roast, baked dishes, stews, chops.
No. 7. Neck or scrag-end, used for cutlets, stews and meat-pies.

NOTE.—A saddle of muton or double loin is two loins cut off before the carcass is split open down the back. French chops are a small rib chop, the end of the bone trimmed off and the meat and fat cut away from the thin end, leaving the round piece of meat attached to the larger end, which leaves the small rib-bone bare. Very tender and sweet.

Mutton is prime when cut from a carcass which has been fed out of doors, and allowed to run upon the hillside; they are best when about three years old. The fat will then be abundant, white and hard, the flesh juicy and firm, and of a clear red color.

For mutton roasts, choose the shoulder, the saddle, or the loin or haunch. The leg should be boiled. Almost any part will do for broth.

Lamb born in the middle of the winter, reared under shelter, and fed in a great measure upon milk, then killed in the spring, is considered a great delicacy, though lamb is good at a year old. Like all young animals, lamb ought to be thoroughly cooked, or it is most unwholesome.

L is for Laundry

    I won't horrify bore anyone with pictures of this particular dilemma.  The laundry room in this house is... well, adequate is the appropriate word.  It gets the job done. 

     That being said, thanks to the move and the packing, I'm facing some nine million loads of laundry.  (Okay, maybe not nine MILLION loads... but I'm on my FOURTH bottle of detergent and I'm only about halfway done.)    It seems like all these things just creep out of the corners of my house- dirty stuffed animals, sweaters that were misplaced, blankets that needed to be swapped out for the summer anyway...  I've even found pot holders in decorative vases odd places!

     Even worse than the laundry is the stuff that seems to follow it around.  I've collected broken crayons, drill bits, odd coins, dead flowers, a rubber ducky, and other odds and ends from pockets as I've gone.  I'm not certain why my seven year old had some paint swatches in the back pocket of the jeans he wore two summers ago or why I found six matching buttons to a shirt that isn't currently missing any buttons, but I do enjoy the sense of order that comes from consistently washing/folding/and sorting the washables.

I wish I could print these out and sew them into my Husbeastie's clothing.  The man is dangerous- we've lost two washers to his domestic black thumb.

And Sango-Kitty Mews For Attention

     Moving has been crazy.  Boxes everywhere, schedules disrupted, my kitchen in utter chaos... I realized today that there was a casualty in all of them.  Poor Sango, our little cat, has been forced out of her usual routine and into a very uncomfortable life.

    On the one hand, every kitty-jingly-ball and catnip filled mouse has been pulled out of hiding spots.  On the other hand, every kitty-jingly-ball and catnip filled mouse has been pulled out of hiding spots--- and into the hands of my overly eager toddler who wants nothing more than to be BFFs with his four-legged housemate.  Several times a day you see him trotting around the house holding a catnip-laced toy in one sticky little hand while calling, "HE-AH, keeety keety KEETy, SAWnGOH?!?...."  The look of sheer terror on Sango's face is epic and calls for a lot of pity.  Unfortunately, I'm too busy to give her much of anything at the moment.

     Tonight, out of desperation, she sat in front of me STARING.  Just staring.  Anytime I attempted to look away, she moved in front of me again.  She put a careful paw out.  She trilled questioningly.  And I smacked myself in the forehead.  I'd forgotten to feed her...

    I suppose I owe her a good long ear scritching... and a new catnip mouse.  And another kitty treat.  And, more than that, I owe her a plain old apology and a day in a safe hiding spot- so she can observe her kingdom without being a part of it.

K is for Knitting

     I love to knit.  However, as many sets of needles, as many balls of yarn... I've only finished two projects.  Ever.  In the 10 years I've been knitting, I've completed TWO projects.

     I've gotten close to finishing projects.  I've been in knitting circles.  I'm on Ravelry, even.  I LOVE to knit.  It calms me.  It's soothing.  It's great for me because I always need to keep my hands busy.  But- I rarely finish things.  It's not completely my fault.  My children tend to run off with my projects and unravel them.  I get busy.  We move. 

     Someday I'll finish a project.  Just not this week.

J is for Journey

What can I say, Journey was the first band I ever owned a cd for. I'm still a sucker for Journey (I didn't even need Glee to remind me they existed!)

I is for IQF

     IQF is restaurant lingo for Individually Quick Frozen.  Check out your freezer and you'll probably notice the words appearing on quite a few items.  IQF-ing your food lets you pull individual pieces of frozen goods out of your freezer without it sticking to everything else.  If you've ever tried to separate a frozen family size pack of pork chops vs. pulling a single chicken breast out of the giant bag, you know exactly how IQF benefits you.

     I love to IQF things.  It makes it so much easier for me to cook quick meals or prep instant snacks.

    For purposes of this demonstration, I'm going to show you how I IQF'd a pineapple.  Yep, if you've been around long enough, you'll recognize the pineapple my How to Peel A Pineapple Tutorial.

HOW TO INDIVIDUALLY QUICK FREEZE A PINEAPPLE

1) Start with a fresh pineapple that you have cut into similar sized chunks.

2) Place them in a single, non-touching layer on a baking sheet.    I use parchment paper to keep them from sticking to the pan.

3) Store in your freezer for at least 8 hours or until frozen solid. 

4) Once the pineapple is frozen remove them from the freezer.

Notice how each piece looks slightly dry.  This is because all the surface moisture is frozen and they won't stick together as long as we work quickly.  If they start to look glossy again, place the entire tray back in the freezer.

5) Place in your storage container of choice.  I actually got two quart bags out of the one pineapple since it was such a large pineapple.  Now, when I want a smoothie, I can just pull out a few chunks of frozen pineapple instead of having to wrestle with the entire bag of them.

     The best thing is that you can IQF almost any food item.  My favorite things to IQF: fresh fruit (allows me to buy in bulk), homemade meat balls, chicken pieces, pork chops, homemade dim sum, homemade pop tarts, mini pot pies, single servings of cooked rice, ground beef, ... the list could go on forever.