D took this from his office window 
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Grocery shopping blues...
I made a brief escape from the house of sickness last night to go to the grocery store. We were in dire need of some Lucky Charms...(which, to tell you the truth I have not bought before, but since they were only $1.66 a box with a coupon how could I not?)
I went primarily for the cheap cereal, but you know things have a way of jumping into the cart. Before I hit the checkout I had added things like TP, sour cream, cottage cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, granola bars, some cans of beans and the Disney Brand Strawberry fruit punch mix to my cart. I was also there to buy milk, eggs, and juice. To be truthful, I am not sure I have ever made it out of the grocery store with just what I came in to get. There is always some impulse buy, or something I had just forgotten that we needed desperately.
As I waited for the checker to ring up my purchases I couldn't help but notice that the lady behind me only had one type of thing to buy. Granted she had a whole slew of them (I didn't count, but I would say more than a dozen) but they were all Frozen Aunt Jemimah Breakfast Entrees. Is there some new Aunt Jemimah diet I haven't heard about yet? Does the woman buying them not know how to cook breakfast? Or is she too busy to cook it and must resort to buying frozen breakfast entrees that are ready in just three minutes? These are questions that I may never know the answer to. Perhaps they were just a really good deal. Maybe they were the only reason she came to the store that day. What kind of fortitude did she have to buy only what she came there to buy?
I still find it hard to believe. Maybe she came looking only for the pancake entrees, but found herself unable to decide and let herself be lured in by the Ham and Cheese omelet, and the other egg entrees. I can only hope that her whole diet does not consist of Aunt Jemimah's frozen breakfast entrees.
I went primarily for the cheap cereal, but you know things have a way of jumping into the cart. Before I hit the checkout I had added things like TP, sour cream, cottage cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, granola bars, some cans of beans and the Disney Brand Strawberry fruit punch mix to my cart. I was also there to buy milk, eggs, and juice. To be truthful, I am not sure I have ever made it out of the grocery store with just what I came in to get. There is always some impulse buy, or something I had just forgotten that we needed desperately.
As I waited for the checker to ring up my purchases I couldn't help but notice that the lady behind me only had one type of thing to buy. Granted she had a whole slew of them (I didn't count, but I would say more than a dozen) but they were all Frozen Aunt Jemimah Breakfast Entrees. Is there some new Aunt Jemimah diet I haven't heard about yet? Does the woman buying them not know how to cook breakfast? Or is she too busy to cook it and must resort to buying frozen breakfast entrees that are ready in just three minutes? These are questions that I may never know the answer to. Perhaps they were just a really good deal. Maybe they were the only reason she came to the store that day. What kind of fortitude did she have to buy only what she came there to buy?
I still find it hard to believe. Maybe she came looking only for the pancake entrees, but found herself unable to decide and let herself be lured in by the Ham and Cheese omelet, and the other egg entrees. I can only hope that her whole diet does not consist of Aunt Jemimah's frozen breakfast entrees.
Saturday, April 26, 2008
The Plague...
Our son #3 turned 8 at the beginning of this month. Today was his baptism. We had family coming in for the day, and a dinner planned and etc.
Wednesday D started to feel like he was getting sick. Thursday it got worse. Yesterday he was laying around with a fever and just not able to do much after work. Today was not any better. We went ahead with the baptism and had my Dad do the baptizing of #3 since D didn't feel up to it. #1 has also gotten sick with whatever D has, so he stayed home and slept (he's old enough to stay home alone now). After the baptism D's Dad brought him back to our house to stay with #1 while we had our family dinner at the church.
We had a lovely dinner of ham and hashbrown casserole, salad, rolls and ice cream sundaes for dessert. The boys had a great time running around the gym with their cousins and it was nice to have some family visiting. After the dinner the extended family headed back to their respective towns or to the beach and I brought the boys home.
All in all the day turned out okay, but I felt bad that D was so miserable through it all. This has been an awful year for that life draining, muscle aching flu and cough, and I hope the rest of us can manage to steer clear of getting it again. Being sick is no fun!
Wednesday D started to feel like he was getting sick. Thursday it got worse. Yesterday he was laying around with a fever and just not able to do much after work. Today was not any better. We went ahead with the baptism and had my Dad do the baptizing of #3 since D didn't feel up to it. #1 has also gotten sick with whatever D has, so he stayed home and slept (he's old enough to stay home alone now). After the baptism D's Dad brought him back to our house to stay with #1 while we had our family dinner at the church.
We had a lovely dinner of ham and hashbrown casserole, salad, rolls and ice cream sundaes for dessert. The boys had a great time running around the gym with their cousins and it was nice to have some family visiting. After the dinner the extended family headed back to their respective towns or to the beach and I brought the boys home.
All in all the day turned out okay, but I felt bad that D was so miserable through it all. This has been an awful year for that life draining, muscle aching flu and cough, and I hope the rest of us can manage to steer clear of getting it again. Being sick is no fun!
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Sunday, April 20, 2008
I got to meet one of my favorite bloggers...
I have not met many bloggers in real life. A few bloggers I knew before they were bloggers, and then I have met the incomparable Millie (twice actually) and I have also met Emma Sometimes.
Yesterday one of my bloggy dreams came true and I was able to meet No Cool Story face to face! Which is a pretty big deal considering every picture I have seen of her involves either a hat or a mask that covers her face. We only got to chat for a few minutes, but it was lovely to meet her. I think she must not want to post pics of herself on her blog because we will all be so jealous of how pretty she is. Not only is she pretty, but she is NICE as well. If you aren't already one of her readers, you should check out her blog.
Thanks NCS! It was great to meet you!
Yesterday one of my bloggy dreams came true and I was able to meet No Cool Story face to face! Which is a pretty big deal considering every picture I have seen of her involves either a hat or a mask that covers her face. We only got to chat for a few minutes, but it was lovely to meet her. I think she must not want to post pics of herself on her blog because we will all be so jealous of how pretty she is. Not only is she pretty, but she is NICE as well. If you aren't already one of her readers, you should check out her blog.
Thanks NCS! It was great to meet you!
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Wordless Wednesday
I have been a dry well as far as blogging goes lately. I just have a lot going on and not much energy for writing. I apologize. Sometimes I wish I could tell some of my responsibilities to "Go fly a kite!"
.
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Wednesday, April 09, 2008
Friday, April 04, 2008
Happy Birthday #3!
If you are looking for Fiction Friday, its running late. I started it this morning, but had too much to do with Birthday plans to finish it yet. Hopefully I can finish it sometime this weekend.
Now on to the Birthday Wishes!
#3 was always a ham...even as a baby
Now on to the Birthday Wishes!
#3 was always a ham...even as a baby
Silly faces are his favorite
Especially if he can stick his tongue out
Fish Lips work too though
Silly is as silly does
Here's one to prove that he isn't a ham ALL the time...
Happy Birthday #3!
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
Eating out vs eating in...
We don't go out to eat very often around here. Five rambunctious boys with big appetites and us being on a budget makes even eating fast food a treat for us. My idea of taking a break from cooking is running over to Costco and grabbing a $10.00 pizza for dinner.
Our boys aren't total heathens though, as their Grandpa L usually takes us all out for dinner for whoever's birthday is coming up, which makes for at least seven meals out a year. Of course whoever is having the birthday chooses so a lot of those meals end up being at McDonalds or Dairy Queen, with a few times a year being at slightly nicer places like Shari's or Pig and Pancake. The boys generally behave when we eat out, and I try not to squirm too much at the thought that D's Dad is spending more than the equivalent of a week's worth of our grocery money for us to eat out.
Last week was Spring Vacation here, and D took a couple of days off of work. Since he was home, I took advantage and went out to dinner with a friend of mine last Thursday. She insisted on paying so of course I let her pick the restaurant. We ended up eating at The Urban Cafe. She is a big fan of that restaurant, so that is where we went. As far as restaurants go, it was a nice place. Laid back atmosphere and friendly service. Then I looked at the menu. Please remember here that my idea of a really special treat as far as dinner goes involves eating for around $10.00 per person, and when D's Dad takes us out I make an effort to stay below that for his wallet's sake. So when the menu came and a lot of the food was more than what I was expecting, I was a little shocked. (Let me also insert here that D had thought this restaurant would be less expensive than eating at Shari's or Pig and Pancake, so I was expecting items around $10.00). My friend got upset when I wanted to order something on the cheaper side of the menu, and told me to get the more expensive thing I was leaning towards. I ended up with the fajitas, which were about $15.00 while she had some kind of pasta dish with shrimp that was a couple of dollars more than that. We both had strawberry lemonade which was great and worth the $3.00 since refills were free. The atmosphere was nice, the food looked good, and had a nice presentation. Then I ate a fajita. It wasn't disgusting or anything...it was okay, but I realized something...I can cook better than the chef at that restaurant. My fajitas are better, and for that matter, they are less expensive. I can feed my whole family fajitas for less than was paid for my meal that made a total of two fajitas. I saved my second fajita for D to try when I got home. He ate about two bites and gave the rest back...he likes mine better too.
Now, did I enjoy my meal out with my friend? Of course I did! It was nice to chat without our kids climbing all over us and distracting us. Not having to cook was a plus as well, and even though my friend spent about $48.00 after the tip, I didn't have to spend a penny myself. So why did it bother me so much?
I think it was partially guilt that my friend paid so much money for only okay food, and I know that I could cook a much better tasting meal for a tiny fraction of that cost. The experience reminded me why we don't eat out more often. Its not just that we are on a budget, but generally when we do splurge and go out to eat, we are disappointed in the food or some other aspect. Not having to cook the meal myself just isn't enough of a trade off to make the eating out worth it to me most of the time. The exception is our once or twice a year meal out eating Chinese at our favorite restaurant in Vancouver, WA. I can cook Chinese food too. Egg rolls, stir fry, fried rice, sweet and sour chicken, Beef Broccoli Lo Mein, tempura shrimp, chow mein and etc are all things I know how to cook, but they are generally labor intensive and to make a meal that has three or four of those options at once takes a lot of work and makes a big mess. I am more likely to make just sweet and sour chicken, just egg rolls, just fried rice or whatever but when we eat out for Chinese we get several of those options at once, we always have leftovers, and we spend less than $10.00 a person on it. That makes it worthwhile to me occasionally.
Do I think other people that eat out all the time are wasting their money? No, I don't. To each his or her own I say. I would be lying if I said that Olive Garden isn't a temptation to me every so often, even if I do make a great Cannelloni myself...if I could just get the bread sticks right I might never be tempted to eat there again.
So where do you like to eat out? And what makes it worth the price? Is it the food? The atmosphere? Not having to clean your kitchen afterwards? Or a combination things?
I am off to make some shrimp Alfredo for dinner...
Our boys aren't total heathens though, as their Grandpa L usually takes us all out for dinner for whoever's birthday is coming up, which makes for at least seven meals out a year. Of course whoever is having the birthday chooses so a lot of those meals end up being at McDonalds or Dairy Queen, with a few times a year being at slightly nicer places like Shari's or Pig and Pancake. The boys generally behave when we eat out, and I try not to squirm too much at the thought that D's Dad is spending more than the equivalent of a week's worth of our grocery money for us to eat out.
Last week was Spring Vacation here, and D took a couple of days off of work. Since he was home, I took advantage and went out to dinner with a friend of mine last Thursday. She insisted on paying so of course I let her pick the restaurant. We ended up eating at The Urban Cafe. She is a big fan of that restaurant, so that is where we went. As far as restaurants go, it was a nice place. Laid back atmosphere and friendly service. Then I looked at the menu. Please remember here that my idea of a really special treat as far as dinner goes involves eating for around $10.00 per person, and when D's Dad takes us out I make an effort to stay below that for his wallet's sake. So when the menu came and a lot of the food was more than what I was expecting, I was a little shocked. (Let me also insert here that D had thought this restaurant would be less expensive than eating at Shari's or Pig and Pancake, so I was expecting items around $10.00). My friend got upset when I wanted to order something on the cheaper side of the menu, and told me to get the more expensive thing I was leaning towards. I ended up with the fajitas, which were about $15.00 while she had some kind of pasta dish with shrimp that was a couple of dollars more than that. We both had strawberry lemonade which was great and worth the $3.00 since refills were free. The atmosphere was nice, the food looked good, and had a nice presentation. Then I ate a fajita. It wasn't disgusting or anything...it was okay, but I realized something...I can cook better than the chef at that restaurant. My fajitas are better, and for that matter, they are less expensive. I can feed my whole family fajitas for less than was paid for my meal that made a total of two fajitas. I saved my second fajita for D to try when I got home. He ate about two bites and gave the rest back...he likes mine better too.
Now, did I enjoy my meal out with my friend? Of course I did! It was nice to chat without our kids climbing all over us and distracting us. Not having to cook was a plus as well, and even though my friend spent about $48.00 after the tip, I didn't have to spend a penny myself. So why did it bother me so much?
I think it was partially guilt that my friend paid so much money for only okay food, and I know that I could cook a much better tasting meal for a tiny fraction of that cost. The experience reminded me why we don't eat out more often. Its not just that we are on a budget, but generally when we do splurge and go out to eat, we are disappointed in the food or some other aspect. Not having to cook the meal myself just isn't enough of a trade off to make the eating out worth it to me most of the time. The exception is our once or twice a year meal out eating Chinese at our favorite restaurant in Vancouver, WA. I can cook Chinese food too. Egg rolls, stir fry, fried rice, sweet and sour chicken, Beef Broccoli Lo Mein, tempura shrimp, chow mein and etc are all things I know how to cook, but they are generally labor intensive and to make a meal that has three or four of those options at once takes a lot of work and makes a big mess. I am more likely to make just sweet and sour chicken, just egg rolls, just fried rice or whatever but when we eat out for Chinese we get several of those options at once, we always have leftovers, and we spend less than $10.00 a person on it. That makes it worthwhile to me occasionally.
Do I think other people that eat out all the time are wasting their money? No, I don't. To each his or her own I say. I would be lying if I said that Olive Garden isn't a temptation to me every so often, even if I do make a great Cannelloni myself...if I could just get the bread sticks right I might never be tempted to eat there again.
So where do you like to eat out? And what makes it worth the price? Is it the food? The atmosphere? Not having to clean your kitchen afterwards? Or a combination things?
I am off to make some shrimp Alfredo for dinner...
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