1-6-14

HAPPY 14TH BIRTHDAY TO MY SON :0)

7:15am

It's 7 degrees outside and with wind chill it feels like -9 degrees.

At -9 I froze my tushy off out there!

I had on hat, gloves, scarf, jeans, sweatshirt,

fleece jacket and winter jacket on and boots.

I went out to try and start hubby's car and couldn't

get the doors open.  I sprayed 

Prestone Window De-Icer around the door

and hubby was able to get it open soon after.

I have both the bottle and can with scraper of the de-icer.

That stuff has been the greatest for when

your car doors or locks freeze and 

for helping to scrape iced windows!

NEVER pour hot water onto your car

to melt the ice off it.  It could shatter your windows!!

Last night I packed hubby a backpack

with extra clothing in it should he get wet

or need to stay at work at a coworkers apartment

that lives on the property due to 

too many maintenance calls or bad road conditions.

We even made sure to pack an extra days

worth of his prescription medicines.

Please say a few extra prayers for my husband

to stay safe, warm and to not have many

water line freeze ups or breaks and having

to deal with these extreme cold temperatures outside.

Everyone please be safe and stay warm these next 
couple of days!  There are over 500
delays and school closings in the Columbus
and surrounding areas and the news said
there have been over 40 cases of frostbite
showing up in the ER in the last month.
I hope that everyone has enough food 
til this passes and won't have to go out.  
Yesterday we had to run to Kroger
to pick up a few extra things needed and let me tell ya
the store shelves were looking bare!

10:15am


According to The Weather Channel
it's 2 degrees and feels like -21 degree wind chill.


10:45am


The first cake is in the oven for birthday boy.
The cake mix does a double layer cake
and I have to do two rounds because I only
have one Mary Ann pan.


12:10pm


Both cakes are done.
Cake #1 is a devil's food cake 
with a cheesecake filling and strawberry topping.
Cake #2 is a devil's food cake
with a cheesecake filling topped with
caramel and chocolate covered toffee bits.
The only thing missing is whipped cream before serving :0)

12:45pm


COLUMBUS CITY SCHOOL WILL BE CLOSED ON TUESDAY.


4:45pm

8:45pm


Hubby just got two calls back to back for
frozen pipes and has already left for work.  
He's called another guy for backup.
This just makes me ill to my stomach
worrying about these guys working out
in these frigid temperatures.
I know my hubby's stress levels are through
the roof being on call during this cold snap.
I've read that all this cold air is coming
from the North Pole and is called a Pole Vortex.
The North Pole's cold temperatures
usually circulate and stay up there but 
this time it is dipping down and covering
most of the US.
Right now it is -7 with a -32 degree wind chill.


9:40pm


Hubby called and said they got the pipes unfrozen.
But whose to say it won't happen again or
at another apartment.
One that they worked on tonight was also
worked on earlier today and refroze.
Looks like it's just me and the boys tonight.
Hubby has decided to stay the night
at a coworkers that lives on the property.
It's better than him having to drive back and forth
to work at the moment.
So it's just me and the birthday boy and my
other boy who has just developed diarrhea
and has stomach pains.  Oh goodie,
something else to worry about.
Giving him plenty of fluids and my extra
bottle of Pedialyte which has elecrolites in it
along with Pepto Bismal.
People with diarrhea should go on a B.R.A.T.
diet for a couple of days.
B- Bananas R- Rice A-Applesauce T- Toast.
I have all but bananas.
I know Kroger was out of bananas because
I remember hearing a woman say,
"What, they don't have any bananas?!" really loud in the store.
When I was in the hospital I was put on a
clear liquid diet which consisted of
chicken or beef broth, & jello.
I know there wasn't a whole lotta choices
that's what I remember having.


10:05pm


Here alone with the boys and someone's beating on the
front door at 10:00 at night.  Scared the crap outta me!
Good thing I have a security camera to see
who may be at the door first before opening it.
It was truck driver neighbor wanting to borrow
an extension cord because his semi truck won't
start.  He also wanted to borrow a jumper box
but he's outta luck there when that is in the locked
shed and hubby has the keys.
Ok gonna try to chill the rest of the evening
the best I can and watch some tv with the boys.
Got some Smokey and the Bandit,
Lizzard Lick and Full Throttle Saloon to watch.
Usually there's nothing to watch on tv
but tonight's a good night.


10:30pm


Knock, knock, knock.
Truck driver neighbor is back again.
"do you have a battery charger?"
Ok if you really really need one there's one in the
back of the TA.  BUT you have to remove the car
cover off the back end, then remove 2 pins
holding the trunk on, then remove the trunk lid
to get to it then put everything back.
Now how bad do you need it in this really cold weather?
Pretty bad I guess as I watched him 
go get it on security cameras.

Truck driver neighbor had his truck running
earlier today and I said he should of left it running.
He said the company he works for
gets picky about diesel fuel usage.
Well what in the world are you supposed
to do with a diesel semi truck
when the temps drop this low.
As for myself, I would of left it running
instead of having to go through all of this.
This is not the first time he's borrowed
jumper boxes or battery chargers for that darn truck.

Has anyone else been hearing pops or bangs today.
Earlier today I heard some and thought
it was the recycling truck.  It wasn't.
It was supposed to be recycling day but the 
truck never came.
Anyways I just read from channel 10
that the loud bangs or pops people are hearing
are a rare phenomenon called Frost Quakes.
It's caused by rapid freezing of the ground and bedrock
when temperatures drop to below zero.
Any moisture in them freezes and puts lots of force
on them and causes them to crack in 
an explosive manner.

1-5-14

11:00am

Got up around 8:30am and threw some clothes

in the washing machine

and have a bunch to bring upstairs that

are on hangers and put away to get

ready for a work and school week.

I'll tell you what, if the wind chill gets really bad

and they still call for school tomorrow or Tuesday, 

my kids are staying home!!

Hubby got up a little later and got the kitchen

cleaned up and dishes done.

Right now I'm working on a breakfast casserole for lunch.

All I have is cheap $1.00 ground sausage from

Save-A-Lot.  Usually I would use Bob Evans

maple flavored sausage.  So today I fried up the cheap

sausage with a little water to help pull the fat away

from it.  Drain, return to pan and add about a teaspoon

of maple flavoring, about 1/3 cup Italian dressing

and stir together til maple flavoring is blended.

Dump in a bag of hash brown potatoes,

add season salt, onion powder (my one child does not like

onions so I still find ways of sneaking in the onion flavor)

and fry til done.  And usually I add in eggs to the mix

but I have to save them for a birthday cake

so will leave those out.   Serve with shredded

cheddar cheese on top.

I also need to work on making a birthday cake.

Hoping to find my Mary Ann Cake Pan

and do up a devil's food chocolate cake in it

and top it with a no bake cheesecake

with caramel and heath bits topping.

Kind of like a Better Than Sex Cake.

12:30pm

Having a jolly good time around here.

Me, I'm tearing apart our closet and redoing it.

Totally making a mess!

It kinda went haywire around Christmas time

between hiding gifts and wrapping things.

As for hubby, well, he's tearing our tub drains apart

upstairs and down in the basement.  The tub was draining slowly,

not due to freezing pipes but from a clog.

He doesn't sound like he is having fun at all.

He said the screws to the overflow valve are broken off

and there is no access panel to get to them

under our kitchen cupboards which backs up to the bathroom.
And water is now leaking from the pipes, oh yeah.

3:20pm


I am making more headway than hubby is
with our projects.  Well other than I can't access
the last loads of laundry in the washer and dryer
because the pipes to the tub is above my dryer.
Water still leaking from pipes when turned on.
Why in the world would he start this project now
a day before going on call and back to work on Monday?
AHHHHHH!
My before and after pics.

Ok who's ready to bake a cake now?
LOL
I haven't even started that or thought about supper
which will probably be some hot dogs and french fries.

On our way to Menards now.


5:15pm


Yeah, the leaks/clogs and whatever have you are fixed.
My live in maintenance man told me I'd
be getting a hefty bill soon, LOL!
Just glad it's fixed and we can resume
to taking showers or baths now.
Time for supper soon of cheddar smoked sausage
sandwiches and french fries.
Nothing fancy when we've been busy all day.
I know I am starting to wear thin.
Still have a load of laundry in the dryer that
needs hung up and a load in the washer
that still needs to dry.
A little delayed due to plumbing issues.


6:30pm


COLUMBUS CITY SCHOOLS CLOSED MONDAY.
And I'm going to guess Tuesday since that's when
the coldest wind chills are due to arrive.


10:20pm


Yuck!  I just took an uncoated prescription pill and it got stuck
in the back of my throat.  Now I have this horrible
taste in my mouth from that pill.
Ewwww!


By looking at the school closing lists
it seems that most schools in Columbus and 
surrounding areas will be shut down tomorrow.
That includes the OSU campus area.
Yup this will be a birthday my son 
won't be able to forget.
He gets a snow day off for his birthday.
Well I should be getting to bed soon.
Hubby's already there.
I need to pack him a bag of extra clothes for tomorrow
with an extra work shirt, socks, undies, t-shirt,
and some pj bottoms he could wear under his
work pants if needed.
He's already got extra jackets, boots
in his trunk and a pair of snow/ski suspender pants.
Gotta be able to wear layers during
such cold temperatures we're about to have.

1-4-14

8:55am

Stress levels have been running high around here

watching and waiting for this storm and bitter cold

temperatures to get here between tomorrow morning through

Tuesday.  People tend to forget about those that will have

to be out working in those type of weather conditions.

My husband will have the on call emergency

maintenance pager as of Monday morning.

What does that mean?  That means he will have to trudge to

work through bad weather day or night and work to fix

people's maintenance problems which could range

from frozen and broken water lines to no heat calls

and everything in between.

What you don't know is that many hot water tanks

on the property he works at are located outside

in sheds.  They tend to freeze up and quit working

when temperatures drop that low.

  That will mean trying to thaw frozen lines

outside, possibly replacing water tanks outside

and dealing with standing or spraying water outside.

So while everyone is home safe and warm please

pray for my husband who may have to work

outside in these below zero temps with snow

and near blizzard conditions with gusting winds.

I have been around apartment maintenance

for 15 years and hubby has been doing it

for almost 30 years.

Here are some tips for when the weather 

gets this cold...

1.  Let all your faucets drip or trickle water to keep

them from freezing up.

2.  Open cupboard doors that house

your plumbing in your bathroom and kitchen

to keep the pipes warm.

3.  Do NOT turn off your heat.

Some people go away on vacation and turn it

off to try and save money.  BAD idea this time of year!

Always have an emergency kit in your car

with a blanket, extra clothes (socks, pants, shirts, shoes/boots,

gloves, hats, scarves, jackets, food, water, 

tools, chargeable jump box and air compressor,

blankets, cell phone chargers, kitty litter, etc etc)

10:55am

Well I'm getting ready to head out with

hubby to do some grocery shopping and get gas for the 

upcoming week.  This ought to be fun because

I'm sure everyone is freaking out over this 

coming storm and will be raiding the stores.


3:30pm


Glad to be back home and getting all of our
running around done.
Stores are crowded more than usual
along with roads.
People are stocking up before the storm
and I'm just trying to get my usual
weekly groceries.
I went about $10 over my grocery budget
but had to get a couple things I don't normally get
like chapstick, muscle rub, birthday card,
and birthday ice cream.
My son's birthday is Monday but I think
we're going to celebrate it tomorrow.


5:00pm


With really cold temps I've gotten out 3 heating
pads, an electric lap blanket 
and a heated mattress pad for everyone
to use on their beds if they get chilled while sleeping.
It's cheaper than turning the heat up.
I think that by using a heating pad 
runs about 30 watts on low to 60 watts on high
compared that to turning
your heat up or running an electric heater
which runs anywhere from 750 to 1500 watts an hour.
I don't run electric heaters anymore unless
our furnace would go out.
They, to me, are too expensive to use.

1-3-14

7:10am

BRRR!

It was 1.7 degrees when I got up at 6:30am
and it's now 2.1 degrees.

It's slowly coming up ha ha.

Weatherman says it's -11 wind chill.

The time is wrong on the weather station.
Can't wait to see my gas bill next month.
Doing bills this morning and my current gas bill is $66. 

8:00am


Battening down the hatches for this cold weather.
Got some blankets or towels over some windows
for added insulation.
This is a lighter weight bedspread with a little batting in it.
I can actually feel a difference of it feeling warmer
in the living area with this up.
I used to have heavy curtains for this window
but the cats clawed them up and I only
have really thin ones up there now.

For smaller windows I clothespinned up towels.

Getting ready to start some chili in the crock pot.
After soaking the beans for a day I'll now put them on
the stove in a pot of water and boil them
before adding to the crock pot.
I did up enough beans to make chili
and ham & bean soup.

Last night we had deer roast with gravy,
potatoes and carrots.

9:40am


Chili is in the crock brewing til supper time.
I added some grated Mexican chocolate to it.

Need to start working on a grocery list
and next week's supper menu.

Saturday- Sloppy joes with macaroni & cheese.

Sunday-  Breakfast casserole with
hash browns, eggs, cheddar cheese & ground sausage.

Monday- Ham and bean soup with cornbread.

Tuesday-  Fried taters and smoked sausage.

Wednesday-  Tuna tetrazzini with a side of carrots
and bread & butter.

Thursday- Goulash.
Macaroni & cheese with deer burger, tomatoes & seasoning
served with dinner rolls 
and butter.

Friday- Deer stew with potatoes, carrots & gravy.

Saturday- Ham and potato casserole.


Sunday- Spaghetti & meatballs.

Monday- Baked potatoes with french onion dip,
french fried onions and parmesan.

Snacks-
Rice Krispie treats, 
Hot air popped popcorn with parmesan.
Hot air popped popcorn with dry jello flavoring.
Cheesecake Tart.

Breakfasts-
Cereal,
Bagels with cream cheese,


Grocery List-
Butter, french onion dip, brown gravy packets,
country gravy packets, 2 cream soups,
shredded cheddar cheese, cornbread mix, canned tomatoes,
parmesan, bagels, cereal, milk.

Trying to keep any grocery shopping to a minimum
due to a limited budget and using mostly things
I have already.  If I can get through another month
to month and a half then hopefully things will
start to look up.  Not too far up but maybe above water.


11:30am


I turned the heat back some so I decided to put
another pot of boiling water on the stove to help
it feel warm in here.  This time around I added
orange peels, vanilla extract and some
mint leaves.  I have about 4 bottles of dried mint
leaves that I found in a vacated  apartment and never
knew what to use them for.
Well I know now, lol.  The house is smelling minty.
A cheap air freshener to humidify the house with.

1-2-14

7:30am

It's supposed to get REALLY cold and snowy this next week.

Weatherman says we could see lows between

-10 and -15 degrees.  

Not brrrr...Freaking BRRRR!

I noticed yesterday when boiling a pot of potatoes

that the humidity in the house rose a lot faster

than when using the humidifier so this morning

I put another pot of boiling potatoes on the stove

to make if feel warmer in here.

The potatoes will be used later on for supper.

9:00am

Made some pancakes for breakfast.

I wasn't really that hungry but ate anyway

to have something in my belly for when I take my pills.

Last night I started soaking pinto and kidney beans

for a chili possibly tomorrow.  They should be

just about done.  I added baking soda to

their soaking water to make them less gassy.

Tonight will be deer stew.

4:00pm

Working on cutting up carrots, potatoes

and getting everything cooked for some deer stew for supper.

My stomach's been feeling a little off today.

No unusual bathroom trips or other problems,

just feels a little throbby.

I worried yesterday about eating sauerkraut because

I'm sure that's not good for my belly.

We'll see if it's because of that or not and give

it a day or two to hopefully pass.

4:45pm

Just got done shoveling the driveway before hubby

gets home.  Thank goodness it wasn't a wet, heavy snow!

I wore 2 pair of pants, a flannel shirt,

sweater, jacket, boots, fuzzy socks, hat, scarf and gloves.

That wind makes it a bit nippy out.

And who's to say hubby will be home on time.

I've been trying to call him all day with no luck.

I'm sure they've been busy all day at work

between the snow plows and work orders.

Now I see they are calling for a low of

-13 Monday night with a high of 0 degrees for Tuesday.

Let's hope they call off school if we

see those type of temps and who's to say

what the temperature will be with wind chill.

8:30pm

Well according to our weatherman we could

see wind chills -10 to - 40 Tuesday!

It's pretty cold out there now.

Tomorrow I might dig out more blankets

and hang them on the windows for more

insulation.  We don't have curtains on our bedroom windows,

only blinds so anything will help when temps

drop that low.

1-1-14

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

8:50am

I'm so ready for a new year.  Hopefully things

start looking up.   Don't know how that will happen

when I'm still trying to figure out how to pay the bills.

I haven't even got the bills yet for the second

hospital stay.

2:20pm

Well here's to some good luck...

Mashed taters topped with sauerkraut & shredded pork

with a side of a couple dumplings.

5:30pm

Well we are under a Winter Weather Advisory.

Who knows how much snow we are supposed to get.

I've seen 1-3, 2-4 and 3-5 inches from different sources.

12-31-13

8:25am

Today is crock pot cooking day.

I haven't done one of these days in awhile.

These meals made today should last the rest

of the week for suppers and work lunches for hubby,

maybe some lunches for me and the kids but

I have our lunches already planned out with other things.

It's nice to have the main part of your meal

already cooked making less work and time in the kitchen.

And to think I still have my triple crock pot buffet

on top of these crocks, lol.

Left- This crock pot was purchased at a yard sale for $1.00!

Middle and Right- These were found at hubby's work

in vacated apartments.

I actually had a couple more we found that I gave to mom!

Love, love, love my crocks!

Crock #1 has 4 small deer roasts in it

with a carton of beef stock and a can of tomato soup.
Once done drain off soup/stock into 
a pot and add 2 packets of brown gravy.
Cut up some deer roast and add to the gravy
and serve over pasta.

Using anything tomato with deer meat helps to

make it taste less gamey.

This will be used for deer stew with 

carrots, potatoes and gravy.

And it will also be used for deer, noodles, mushrooms and gravy.

Crock #2 has 2 pounds of deer burger with

2 cans tomato soup and 1/2 cup of bbq sauce.

This will be used for 2 meals of sloppy joes.

Serve with french fries or macaroni & cheese.
If there are any leftovers I can make chili with it.

Crock #3 has boneless pork ribs with

a bag of sauerkraut and some brown sugar.

Will serve with potatoes for New Year's Day.

Now I can chill and spend the rest of day

doing other things like the last loads of laundry

and getting them put away.


10:15am


I got the humidifier going again.
I took it all apart and cleaned it out really
well in the bathtub.
My humidifier has washable filters
so no need to go out and buy expensive replacement ones.
Humidity makes your house feel warmer,
your skin less dry and helps with colds and coughs.
The humidity in your house should be somewhere
between 30 - 50%.  Any more could produce mold.
Right now ours is at 45%.
Temperatures are only going to get colder
with more snow on the way so trying to
make it comfortable in here
and the humidifier will allow me to turn back
the thermostat a couple of degrees to try and
shave a little off the gas bill.


12:00pm


Got a letter from hubby's work to to confirm
all the benefits we had.
I could of done without it showing
how much it cost at a whopping $705 a month.
Got depressed so went and took a nap.
They raise the rates of health care, food,
gas, utilities, you name it.
They raise your pay by .25 cents an hour each year
which is a whopping extra $10 a week
before taxes are taken out of it.
(some places are different with raises.
Heck when I worked for Schottensteins
everyone got a .05 cent raise each year,
.10 cents if you were a huge suck up.  ).
Where's the cost of living increase in everyone's pay?!
This nickle, dime and quarter crap ain't cutting it!
I just don't see how people can afford to live anymore!


5:30pm


Supper was de-licious!
You know it's good when the house is
really quiet when everyone is eating, lol.
There was enough deer roast leftover to make
another batch of this another day
and maybe 2 meals of deer stew.
Freezing already cooked meat and gravy is great
to have for a quick supper.
I don't suggest freezing potatoes or maybe pasta.
That hasn't been working out too well for me.