Monday, September 30, 2013

9-30-13

7:30am


Not quite sure what was going on around here last
night but I made sure all the doors were locked!

Hubby had gone outside to make sure our vehicles were locked up.
This was around 9:30 - 10:00pm.
It's pretty dark out by then and there's no street lights
on our side street.  As he's walking away from his car
getting ready to come into the house, a cop out of the blue,
no police car and on foot, approaches him with his
hand on his gun!  That would have freaked me out!
I guess the cop was asking him if he had seen a couple
of people because they had lost them in a pursuit
and was looking for them.
Of course hubby didn't tell me this right away
after coming into the house.  I was laying down
watching tv in the bedroom.  Over the noise of a fan,
closed windows and the tv I could hear a 
car outside tromping down on the gas going high speeds
in front of our house.
That's when I jumped up and thought what the
heck was that?!  I ran into the living room to look
out the front window and anther car 
(police cars no sirens or lights)
was also doing high speeds, motor revved going down
our side street.  That's when hubby told me about
the cop approaching him outside about
a 15 - 20 minutes before that.
I still don't know what was going on.  Didn't
see anything on the news.
A couple minutes later I could hear sirens
in the distance and the helicopter.


8:30am


I've got some packets of fish fillets going in the crock on low.
I cut out sheets of aluminum foil for each fillet.
Then I spread some butter, garlic herb seasoning,
fillet, chopped up red/yellow/green bell peppers
and misc. frozen veggies and put them all
into the center of the foil and wrapped the foil
around it.  I then added a little water to the
bottom of the crock, added about 4 crushed
aluminum cans and lastly placed the 
foil packets on top.

I'm making spaghetti with sausage spaghetti sauce
and garlic rolls for supper since everyone requested it.
The reason for making the fish today is because
I already thawed it out and it needed cooked up now.
I've got another smaller crock going with a pound
of ground sausage, a little water and some 
garlic & herb seasoning to go in the sauce later on
after draining.


2:15pm


Well I got the meat spaghetti sauce done and ready for supper.
Almost time to go get the boys and I've got their
snacks ready and waiting for them.
And when I get back home from the bus stop
then I'm going to start making pumpkin spice
muffins with mini chocolate chips.  
Already got it made up in a bowl
just need to pour into cupcake pans and bake.
Oh, and I got another unexpected load of laundry going.
Decided to wash up a bunch of jackets & coats
of hubby's that I brought home from his work.

Hubby thinks I'm rushing the season and hoping for cold
weather.  That is not the case at all.  I'm not rooting
for any cold weather...YUCK!
I'm just preparing for it because you know it's coming.
Jackets washed and cleaned... check.
Blankets/comforters washed and ready to go...check.
Winter clothing washed...half check.
Bought kids warmer socks...check.
Warmer sheets/pillow cases for the kids beds...check.
Have Winter boots, gloves, hats, heating pads & blankets...check.
Why wait and do or buy these things at the last minute.
You ever try to go to the thrift store or any store and buy
these things in mid Winter?
You'll find that they won't have what you are looking for
like the thicker sheets, boots, jackets, electric blankets, etc.
They will be sold out or hard to find the sizes you need!
It's about like trying to buy a generator during a 
power outage or shovels during a blizzard.


Remember me telling you I got an aloe vera plant
and a mini rose bush.  Well I have them sitting
in the bay window and the cats decided they
wanted to dig in their containers.
I fixed that problem real quick after cleaning
up several messes.  
I sprinkled crushed cayenne pepper all over
the base of the plants in the dirt.
No more digging and trying to knock them over!
I remembered reading about using hot pepper
in gardens to keep critters out of your veggies
and thought why not do the same for house plants.


4:15pm


Got all the muffins done.
I had just a smidgen of fudge frosting left 
in a container in the fridge, put it in the microwave for
about 30 seconds til melted then drizzled
it on the tops of each muffin with a spoon.
I ended up with 50 full sized muffins.

Got my dishes going in the dishwasher.
Resting a moment then will start supper.


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Sunday, September 29, 2013

8-29-13

12:00pm


Got up and made a big breakfast of
pumpkin pancakes, turkey sausage links,
fried eggs and potatoes.
Then after I got the kitchen and dishes cleaned up,
hubby mowed the grass, changed the litter box,
I hung up some laundry and have the last
of the laundry in the dryer.
I then got 5 pounds of oatmeal and 3
packages of couscous all put into jars and
stored on the shelves in my basement pantry.


2:00pm


Got paged out for a clogged toilet.
It was an easy fix.
I can never ever remember clogging a toilet myself.
Now I've had to unclog our toilet from
kids using too much toilet paper.

Just chilling for the moment and trying
to make a menu for this weeks suppers.
This is what I have so far.

1.  Vegetable Spaghetti & sauce with garlic roll bread
topped with cheddar cheese.

My only change to this recipe is to
add a can of tomato soup
and a can of cheddar cheese soup on top
with a can of diced tomatoes and add
some chili or taco seasoning.

3.  Fish fillets with steamed veggies and rice.

4.  KFC Bowls.
A layer of mashed potatoes,
a layer of chicken stuffing,
a layer of corn,
breaded chicken nuggets
topped with cheddar cheese soup and cheddar cheese.




8.  Tuna & Homemade Noodles Casserole
with cream of mushroom soup,
Carrots and bread crumb topping with french onions
served with bread & butter.

9.  BBQ Pork Chops with macaroni & cheese
and a side of corn.
Pork chops baked in a bbq seasoning
and in a cooking bag in the oven.

The only changes to this recipe is
I won't be using spinach and will
used diced up chicken breast or ham in place of the sausage.

Breakfasts will be-

1.  Cereal

Mix carrot cake mix, 15 ounce can of pumpkin,
1/2 cup applesauce, cinnamon.
I'm also adding in chocolate chips along
with some leftover pumpkin pancake batter
I had leftover from breakfast to stretch it out further.

3.  Blueberry Pancakes.

After School Snacks

I'll be using fudge flavored pudding.
I might make some up for the freezer
since I have a ton of oatmeal!

I'm trying not to use my freezer meals at the moment
until money gets really tight in which I'm sure
it will with 4 months remaining til tax time
and the holidays coming up.


8:50pm


Hubby got called out a few times this weekend.
Thank goodness nothing was major.
The last page was for a lock out.
I don't think the person was too amused to
find out he would be charged $50 for it
on his next rent statement.




9-28-13

9:45am


I took mom out shopping yesterday.
We spent 5 hours out and about.
The time just flew by.
We stopped by a couple thrift stores.
I found the boys some really nice thick and longer 
socks for Winter that looked almost new.
.39 cents each x's 9 pairs was $3.51 for all them.
I thought that was a really good deal.
Then I got the boys each a matching flannel 
pillow case and sheet for their bed for Winter.
Sheets were .99 cents each and pillow cases were .59 cents each.
Each of the boys got a "new" bed this year and while
I had regular sheets for them I didn't
have any that were thicker for the colder months.

The next thing I wanted was some sort of basket.
I had found my mother and father-in-law
a set of resuable plastic OSU plates and cups at a yard sale
and wanted to find a way to present them
as a Christmas gift so decided I wanted to
put them in something like a "picnic" basket
along with cloth napkins in scarlet and gray
and plastic utensils of the same matching colors.




Thursday, September 26, 2013

9-26-13

8:30am


Just got done baking 4.5 dozen
cake mix pudding cookies.
Cake mix, small box of pudding, 2 eggs, couple T. of water.
Drop by 1 tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake 350 for 8-10 minutes.

I changed it a little.  I also added 2 cups flour,
1/2 - 3/4 cup sugar, a large box of instant fudge pudding
and 1.5 teaspoons of vanilla,
to stretch it out further.

The recipe didn't call for this but I
rolled the cookies once baked into
some powdered sugar.


3:30pm


Prepping for supper.
I think I'll make some Italian bread pizzas.
I found a couple 2 pack packages of
sweet Italian bread at Kroger marked down to .99 cents a pack.
Cut each loaf in half
Then cut each of those pieces in half length wise.
Spread on a sauce of choice like spaghetti sauce,
tomato sauce, ranch dressing, etc.
I'll be using bbq sauce for the kids.
I have some freezer chicken breasts already
cooked and cut up that I'll be using for the topping
along with some sharp cheddar cheese.
For me and hubby I'll spread some chunky bleu cheese
dressing on our bread then top with cheese and chicken breasts
coated in hot sauce.


8:55pm


Hubby had to work 3 hours past the time he was
due to get off work tonight.

For the past couple of days I've been dealing with
a major backache, hip aches and pain running
down my left leg to my knee (sciatic pain).
It feels like bones rubbing up against bones
with no cushion.  I took some ibuprofen
and that says a lot because I take that as a last resort
because I'm not supposed to take it with
having Crohn's.  I did not sleep well last night
and even slept with a heating pad
because of pain in my hips and leg and are so tired!
I've also noticed my hands and feet falling asleep these
last couple of days.  It sucks because when the alarm goes
off in the morning I can't feel my hands/fingers 
to get it shut off.
I've noticed since our walks in the evenings
have lessened due to hubby being on call
at work that is when the pain started back up.
Can't wait til this winter when we are couped up
inside and can't get out to do our walks as much,
along with the cold.  That ought to make
our bodies feel just wonderful.




Wednesday, September 25, 2013

9-25-13

8:50am


I got my a pair of my freebie curtains hung
up in the living room and are now threatening cats
with a spray bottle if they get anywhere near them!
Between kids and cats I don't think it's
possible to have anything nice for very long.



4:00pm


Feeling woozy.  Our regular health insurance,
is going to cost us almost $680 a month next year.
Where the hell is the affordable health care act.
Oh, there it is in black and white, we have an option
of choosing a lower health insurance at only
$400 a month.  With that plan the insurance company
gives a family $1000 to spend at doctors and for
prescriptions.  Once you run out then you pay
for everything out of pocket 
until your deductible of $4,500 is met, then the insurance
will pay 70% of medical expenses.
Whoop De Freaking Do!
 Now mind you that my prescription (just 1)
alone is going to cost me $1200 a year
so this plan would suck for us!

If we stay with our PPO health insurance plan
at the rate of $680 a month...

ER co-pays are $350, waived if you are admitted.

Family deductible is $2,100.
Then the insurance will pay 80%.

There's an out of pocket expense of $8,100.
That's how much you have to pay in medical bills
before the insurance will cover you 100%.

Prescriptions are we pay 20% of the cost
for a 90 day supply unless of course you
have my kind of prescription then it's 
$100 co pay per 30 day supply,
and that's getting a discount by going
through a mail order pharmacy.

For vision it says eye exams are no cost
and you have $300 to spend per year for
each member for contacts or glasses. 
Yeah right, my butt, I spent a couple of months
bitching back and forth with our insurance company
and eye doctor when I got a bill for $170
for just an eye exam for hubby.
I ended up paying that $170 to keep
us from getting numerous harassing phone calls
from the eye doctor at work, home & cell.

Now it does say that all preventative care exams
and such are covered 100%.
It says that includes colonoscopies but do you think it covers
colonoscopies for my Crohn's?
Not at 100% it doesn't!







Tuesday, September 24, 2013

9-24-13

7:30am


I forgot to close one window last night and
it got to 60 degrees in here.
It usually averages around 70 degrees throughout
the night when the windows are shut.
Still haven't turned on the furnace, lol.
I still can't stand the thought of doing that just yet.
Instead I fired up the electric oven this morning
for 30 minutes which raised the temperature in here 9 degrees
to 69 degrees in a half hour.
I also went out and warmed the truck for a couple
minutes before leaving.  That also helps
with clearing off the windows so I can see to drive.

I got the truck unloaded soon after taking the
kids to the bus stop and will get some pictures
posted soon.
I got a bunch of real nice curtains and drapes
(about 4 sets) along with their rods and hangers.
I have been through about 2 sets of curtains
on my living room window because of cats
clawing at them.  And now I worry what
they will do to these.  (we won't even talk
about the blinds they have tore up!)
I would so love to be able to hang these curtains up
and are doing some research to see what I can use
to keep them away from wanting to climb
on the curtains.
So far I have read insect repellent smells,
lavender or citrus smells.


3:30pm


I've made another 3 batches of homemade noodles
for a total of 5 batches all together for
my homemade chicken and noodle soup 
including the chicken broth.
I also have a crock pots now full and going
with chili and ham & beans for the freezer also.
Hoping to get about 7 meals out of all these.


While I have photos of the things I got yesterday
from the vacant apartment I can't upload them at
the moment so will just list the things I got...

coffee clock, 2 coffee rugs, another small rug,
4 pairs of curtains with rods and hangers,
calculator, scissors, pens, pencils, markers,
construction paper, notebooks, legal pad paper,
glue, child work books, canning jars,
rolling cooler with handle (mom's Christmas gift),
large butterfly kite with string still in package,
badminton set still in box, camping chair in fabric bag,
mini rose bush, aloe plant, 5 pounds of oatmeal,
large box of mini drumstick ice cream treats,
4 new white t-shirts, two 64 ounce containers of bubble bath,
kids shampoo, baby shampoo, 2 baby powders,
aloe lotion, kids conditioner, gel baby oil,
mouth wash, shower spray, gallon of bleach,
lysol gel for toilets, shower cleaner, windex.
Sonic jewelry cleaner, jewelry liquid cleaner,
Everything was brand name!



5:00pm


While I was boiling up some homemade noodles in
some chicken broth, water and a packet
of sausage flavored country gravy,
I cut up and boiled a large pot of potatoes.
Half went towards mashed potatoes to
put the noodles, chicken and gravy on
and the other half along with leftover mashed potatoes
will be going into a potato soup I'll be
making in the near future.


9:45pm


I was finally able to upload my find photos.
There are a couple other things in the photos I haven't mentioned
above.

Quilt underneath the rugs.








Plus 2 baseball gloves, 3 baseballs, 2 rackets,
a net on a long pole.






9-23-13

8:10AM


Brrr, a little chilly this morning.
Have yet to turn the furnace on but
I did go out and warm the truck a few
minutes before leaving this morning.


I've got a crock pot going with some
water, chicken boullion, a little onion soup mix
and some chicken gizzards.
In two other smaller crocks (not turned on)
I have beans soaking.
One has red kidney and pinto beans for some chili.
In the other crock soaking is
pinto & great northern beans and lentils
for some ham and bean soup.
Oh, I also added a little baking soda to the
beans while they are soaking.
It helps to soften them and is supposed
to make the beans cause less gas and bloating
after eating them.

I have all kinds of beans and rice stored in the basement
pantry so figured why not turn those into some meals
or even freezer meals.


3:00pm


I don't know if cooler weather is to blame
or what but my lower backs, hips, legs
and legs sockets of all things are hurting pretty good at the moment.
I'm about ready to go take me a very hot bath.
Out comes a freezer meal for supper
because I don't want to stand too much in the
kitchen preparing it tonight.
I'll be having rice & shredded deer burritos
with salsa and shredded cheese.
While the deer and rice just needs to be warmed
up I still need to wrap it in flour tortillas
and put the toppings on them.
Still a big time saver!

While baking my burritos I made up a couple
batches of whole wheat noodles.
Homemade noodles are so easy to make
and for these I didn't use a pasta maker or cutter.
1 cup flour (all purpose or whole wheat)
1 egg
couple dashes of salt
seasoning if desired (ex. garlic powder)
2 tablespoons water.
Mix together.
I just pinched off about a couple tablespoons of
dough once made and rolled it around
and pressed it out with my palm and fingers on the counter.
I then picked it up and cut off strips
with a pair of scissors and placed the pasta
on a cooling rack.  Once dry I put in the refrigerator
til tomorrow when I'll boil them up in some
homemade chicken broth and then will add
some of my precooked cut up chicken breasts
I have in the freezer.

Hubby has the on call emergency pager this week.
It's always so stressful the week of having it
but we have to remind ourselves that it's
more money in the bank.
He gets a $25 gas check for the week of on call
plus any over time.  They've been getting stricter
with overtime so he may only be allowed 10 hours
of it.  Any more than that they send him home
early at the end of the pay period.

I've been trying to save up some money to 
put in the bank and hopefully this weekend
we'll have another run to the scrap metal place.
So far I've saved up the money from fixing our
friend's dryer, money from taking a kid to
and from the bus stop and money from
some kind of refund that our mail order
pharmacy sent us.  So far I've saved up $82.43
plus whatever we get at the scrap place to go in the bank.

Our insurance said the mail order company overcharged us
for some prescriptions  So far it's been from prescriptions
for hubby and one child.
I keep having my fingers crossed that they'll
reimburse me $100 for my prescription
that went up that much the last time I got it.
So far no such luck.
I keep hoping it was an error but who knows.


8:25pm


Went over to hubby's work.
I guess they had a resident who skipped out
on their apartment and left a few things behind.
I got a truck full.  Mostly cleaning, bathroom items,
curtains and rods, a mini rose plant, aloe vera plant 
(something I've been wanting!), a 5 pound box of oatmeal!, etc.  Most of it is still in the truck
because I don't feel like messing with it tonight.
I'm just glad the acetaminophin I took earlier
has taken the edge off the pain I'm having.
Don't want to push it any further tonight.




Sunday, September 22, 2013

9-22-13

2:45pm


Still doing our daily walks.
The cold weather is trying to move in
and I'm noticing my back and hips hurting more
no matter how much I walk.
Come the much colder weather is when
I'll start taking all my vitamins, fish oil,
extra vitamin D & C, everything to help
with body aches and preventing sickness like colds
and flu.  As soon as the kids started back to school
I started them back on their multi vitamins and minerals
and zinc/echinacea/vitamin D supplements.
It seemed to help LOTS last year with
colds and flus which can spread around schools 
like wild fire and then spread through families at home.


3:40pm


Time to start making supper.
I had an extra package of hot dogs to use up.
I suggested some chili dogs.
I had an extra can of no beans chili to use.
The kids are tired of eating hot dogs this weekend
so had to come up with a plan B.
In a large skillet I boiled up some water
then added about 6 slice hot dogs
and a box of tube style pasta.
Let it boil til the pasta was tender then drain.
Add in some butter, a can of no beans chili
and some velveeta cheese for 
some Chili Cheese Dog Mac with slices of bread & butter.

For dessert I mixed up a small box of
vanilla pudding and a small box of
pumpkin spice pudding with 4 cups milk.
In a casserole dish I dumped a bag
of nilla wafers into it then poured the 
pudding on top and put into fridge.
I'll have to check to see if I have
some cool whip to put on top.

Today has been a throw together a meal kinda day
with whatever I could find in the pantry.

For breakfast I made spam, egg and cheese
sandwiches on toast.


One child is hollering he is cold.
I ain't turning on the furnace just yet til you can
see your breath outside, lol.
Don't tell me you are cold in this house without
first putting on socks, a long sleeve shirt or sweater
and some pants!
Now we did test the furnace for a couple of 
minutes today to make sure there were no problems.
Gotta love that burnt dust smell, lol.
You don't want to find out your furnace
doesn't work when you need it the most!
Same goes for your air conditioner.
Don't wait til it's 90 degrees outside to run it
for the first time.  Do it in the Spring
when it gets 65-70 degrees outside.


Yesterday me and hubs stopped in Big Lots
to get some cheap spray paint to redo the fenders
on my bicycle.  I know the areas of Big Lots
that has mark downs.  I found a couple boxes of 
Betty Crocker (full size) hot chocolate cake mixes for 
.25 cents each!!  
It's a little over 3 month before Christmas and let me tell ya
that Big Lots has Christmas trees and decorations
out on display already!!! AHHHH!
After Big Lots we stopped in Kroger 
and at the checkout I saw even more Christmas stuff.
I swear each year it gets earlier and earlier 
that stores start putting out Christmas stuff!


We went for our walk earlier at a new place
called Kenney Park.  I like places where you can
walk along water.  Here you can walk 
some homemade dirt trails along the Olentangy River.
After supper and the NASCAR race
we might head out for another walk.
Me and hubby got our housework done this
weekend between tidying up, sweeping floors,
dusting, dishes, cleaning the kitchen and bath,
taking out the trash and the laundry.
Plus had a little doodle time in there to work
on bikes and tinker cars.


4:44pm


Fall is officially here!
I like Fall and all the colors that comes with it.
I don't like the colder temps and what comes after it!









9-21-13

11:15am


I've been spending some time going through
simple and affordable recipes
to make this Winter or for the holidays.
I do have my freezer stockpile to turn to but
still need to keep adding meals so it doesn't run out.

I found a recipe this morning I want to
make for Thanksgiving. 
It's called Pumpkin Better Than Sex Cake.
Mix a box of yellow cake mix with
a 15 ounce can of pumpkin and bake
350 degrees 25 to 28 minutes.
Remove from oven and let cool 10 minutes.
Using a wooden spoon handle poke holes
all over the cake.  Pour a 14 ounce can of sweetened condensed
milk all over the cake and into the holes.
Spread a tub of cool whip on top,
sprinkle with heath bits and drizzle with
caramel sauce.
Refrigerate overnight before serving.


Thursday, September 19, 2013

9-19-13

2:00pm


I just wanted to note that since having my wallet
stolen on Monday at Kroger that we said we probably
won't be going back to that Kroger again.
And after watching yesterday's news and seeing
that there was a shoplifter running through that
same Kroger firing shots and harming people, not with bullets
but by running into them while trying to flee the store,
I don't think I want to ever return to that store!

Today is national cheeseburger day.
What's funny is I had already planned on making
cheeseburgers for supper.
Found a 10 pack of hamburgers at Kroger
that was $10 marked down to $6.99.
That should make a couple of meals, one
of which will go into the freezer.

I'm frying the hamburgers Meat Magic seasoning blend
along with some steak sauce.
Toppings will be a choice of cheese, mustard, ketchup,
onions, relish, chunky bleu cheese dressing
and real bacon bits.
I don't have fries or tater tots for a side so
will fry up some of my frozen shredded potatoes
in an Italian dressing and use that instead.
Leftovers will go towards breakfast tomorrow morning.
Might make hash brown, egg and cheese 
tortilla roll ups.

Yes, I am still adding to my freezer meals.
Yesterday I just put 3 gallon zip bags of
Chinese veggies, rice, smoked sausage
and teriyaki sauce into the freezer for another 3 meals.

The other day while picking up some basic things
at Kroger I'll looked around to see what I can find marked down.
I bought 3 packages, guessing about 1.5 to 2 pounds in weight,
of red, yellow and green bell peppers for $1.00 each.
These have the seeds removed and are cut into big pieces.
I thought that was a really good price for bell peppers!
I'll divide these up into freezer bags and put in the freezers
for casseroles, soups, omelettes and maybe some
stuffed pepper casserole.

Yesterday we went for our usual evening walk.
We have a full "Harvest Moon" that I photographed
and sent to Chris Bradley.
He posted it on his Facebook page.

The only photo he didn't post that I sent him
recently was from Tuesday when I 
got a picture of a Sundog.
I know, what's a Sundog?
A Sundog happens when the weather is usually partly cloudy
with sun but no rain.  It usually happens in the mornings
or evenings when the sun is more on the horizon.
You will see a little blip of a small patch of
what appears to be rainbow colors in the clouds.
It is caused when the sun passes through 
ice crystals or very tiny water droplets in the clouds.


And in other news today....

Fight Over 'Obamacare' Waged Through Budget Bill



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