cooking

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The Light at The End of the Tunnel

Published March 29, 2022 by Angela

Nope: Just kidding! Life cannot be that easy. What I cannot believe is that I have not posted here in nearly 3 years! Oh, the things I could have shared 😊

I know we all went through some things as soon as coronavirus became the main topic of discussion and started controlling our lives. I had several weeks off from work, then working remotely, then back to in person for a bit, working remotely again, got covid somewhere in there, and things are basically back to normal now in my area.

I had one of my 4 daughters move several states away and get married, move back to our hometown, move in with me, and eventually move into their own home (Thank you Lord!)

We raised some ducks and chickens for a minute, got a rescue puppy (adorable!), and planted a lot of things in the yard.

Laney

I crocheted a lot; more projects finished than unfinished. I read a lot, cooked a lot, failed at starting sourdough, and made many chocolate mayonnaise cakes. I watched a WHOLE LOT of television. Many of my old favorites; and discovered some new favorites as well. I watched the entire series of Grimm, Madam Secretary, Stranger Things, Outer Banks, Survivor, and many others. Got myself hooked on General Hospital again, and also watched all of my British favorites, including Father Brown, Rosemary and Thyme, Poirot, Mrs. Marple, Taskmaster, 8 out of 10 Cats Does Countdown, Gogglebox, and the classics on YouTube, like Charlie Chan, Alfred Hitchcock, and old Black and White Sherlock Holmes episodes.

True Story!

I had another ankle surgery to remove the 3 plates and 17 screws that were put in from an broken-in-three-spots trifecta of ankle breaks (my surgeon’s words, not mine) 3 years prior. One of the screws going into the back of my ankle bone had worked its way through and was sticking out of the front of my ankle bone. That was a couple weeks off from work to recover, but my ankle feels so much better, and I regained a lot of movement I have not had since the break.

Benjamin (grey) and Franklin (cream)

Things are somewhat/mostly back to normal, but I will save that for my next post, as this one has become much longer than I expected!

More to come! I wish you all the very best of everything!

Little Sleep Today, and Lots of Errands

Published June 12, 2014 by Angela

Today I am going to do the one thing I try to not do with my kids…

…bribe them with something to get them to do what I ask them to.

Oh, who am I kidding? I do this ALL the time! 

I have to get up early to get 16 year old to dentist appointment (that was cancelled on Monday after I had adjusted my sleep and work schedule, of course) and then I have to do homework, take care of the animals, and be at a friends house by 8pm.

So, I am leaving them a note that if they clean the house (to MY standards, not theirs) I will buy them dinner tonight.

1) I will not likely have time to cook

2) There is really nothing in the house to make a decent meal with

3) I am 99% sure my house will be cleaned, when I get up, to my standards

And that, my friends, makes me a happy Mom. I see Subway in my very near future 🙂

What Say We Try This Again Tomorrow…

Published June 11, 2014 by Angela

… and this time, you do things the right way?

Monday seemed to go much smoother than today did with school being over. I pretty much had the house cleaned Monday morning before I went to bed, so my girls really did not have to do a lot to keep it clean when I got up.

Now, there are a lot of little things that tend to irk me, but I have gotten much better at not getting worked up “over the little stuff“. But one thing that I absolutely do NOT like, is having people in my house, while I am sleeping, and I don’t know about it. If you ask me first, more often than not I will say “O.K.” But to wake up at 3pm to house guests? Not happy.

Now, I live in a house full of girls. Well, except for the 2 boy cats and the boy rabbit. But they don’t mind. So, I will not hesitate to get up, trudge downstairs in my pajamas, and get a cup of coffee.

Coming downstairs in my pajamas, to find my 16 year olds’ boyfriend sitting on my couch, not cool. Not cool at all. I am not talking about Victoria Secret inappropriate sleepwear, but either way, my legs showing, and no bra on, is not appropriate for house guests. So, I had to turn around, go back up to my room, and get dressed. So I could get a cup of coffee.

I had to get dressed. In order to get a cup of coffee. In my own house. Really? Really. 😦

The house was a mess, and nothing was done. The first thing my 16 year old says to me: “I thought you weren’t getting up until 4?”

Yeah, like me sleeping an hour longer would have allowed for the house to be cleaned.

So, I got ready for my day, cooked dinner for my girls and said house guest, filled the dishwasher, had company for an hour, did homework, and now I am waiting to go to work.

I am also waiting to see how long it is going to take my 16 year old to tell me her boyfriend needs a ride home. Because she is going to. (That is something else that really, really irks me), having to take said uninvited house guests home.

And how was your day?

One Down, Several More To Go

Published April 4, 2014 by Angela

I am beyond happy that my statistics class is over. It was difficult at times, but I have to say I am beyond pleased with myself on how well I did, and how much I learned and retained! I am now taking a class on Organizational Behavior, which appears to be a lot of paper writing in my very, very near future. I generally tend to enjoy these types of classes, once I get that tedious issue of citing and referencing taken care of. This will be my chance to check out the Perrla software that I purchased, and see if it actually helps me. I kind of messed with it a little bit when I first installed it on my computer, and I can’t say I was thrilled with it, but I will definitely give it the good once-over this weekend so I am comfortable with how to use it.

 

I was looking forward to a weekend of working (really, I was!) but that changed so now I am debating on what projects I want to get started on at home. The weather appears to finally be breaking in West Michigan; it sounds like only 1 day with a chance of snow in the upcoming week. I just hope it is warm enough that my girls can enjoy their spring break and not be stuck in the hosue because it is cold and rainy (and therefore, fighting, arguing, and keeping me awake, while simultaneously destroying the house).

 

Which also means I need to buy double the groceries this week. Ughhh. I don’t know how it is in your area, but here, every single type of grocery product has went up a huge amount in price over the last month. One week, I paid $2.54 for a gallon of milk; 6 days later, the same brand was $3.08 for a gallon. I have noticed at least a $0.50 increase on the majority of things I buy every week. Liquid hand soap that was $3.49 for a large container, is now $3.99. I think I will be stocking up on toilet paper this week if that hasn’t went up yet!

 

So here’s to a great weekend of getting things done, and relaxing in-between, and sunshine and warmth, and a good book to read!

No, Please. Let Me Get That For You…

Published March 10, 2014 by Angela

…While you sit there and do absolutely nothing. Good Morning to me! Here’s a little tidbit about how my Tuesday is beginning…

I am so doing this tomorrow!

I am doing this tomorrow!

My alarm goes off at 4pm, ughh, I hit the snooze, only to turn the alarm off at 4:05 pm before it starts screaming at me again. I cannot stand the sound of an alarm clock.

As soon as I open my bedroom door, I hear from behind child #2’s bedroom door, “Mom, are you cooking dinner, I am starving?”

Me: “Could you let me get a cup of coffee please?” I head downstairs to child #3 laying on the couch, watching television, and child #4 eating a bag of popcorn. (Why are you eating in the living room? I ask you 10 times a day to not eat in the living room).

So, as I wait 30 seconds for my cup of coffee to brew (why did I give up Monster drinks?) I go in the basement and put my laundry in the dryer. It is now about 4:15 and I can get in the shower.

Showered, dressed, hair is blow-dried, lacking make-up and need more coffee. I get more coffee, and begin making a dinner that I am not going to eat.

Ridiatore pasta, spinach and parmesan sauce (yes, jarred), and homemade garlic toast. I empty the dishwasher while I am literally waiting for water to boil. It really does take longer when you watch it. 20 minutes later I tell 3 kids they can eat, to have child #4 ask “Mom, if my friend comes over while I am eating, can I go outside and play and I will eat later?”

“Um. No, you cannot.”

Kids fed, I can go finish getting ready for work. Everyone is done eating, the kitchen is a mess, and I get to take care of everything. Child #2 is back in her bedroom, child #3 is back on the couch, and child #4 is outside with her friend.

Where is child #1, you ask? She is a Junior in college and lives near her campus, which is not near me 😦 And if she was here, I would not be typing this post because she would have had dinner made, kids fed, and dishes taken care of before I even got out of bed (Love you Jess!)

Yes, I could yell at them (trust me, I do) and nag them to do their chores, clean the kitchen, etc. etc. But honestly, sometimes it is just easier for me and everyone else if I just do it myself. It gets done faster, and correctly the 1st time. And no, I am not an enabler of lazy children, they do take care of the things I expect them to, most of the time.

said no child of mine, EVER :-)

said no child of mine, EVER 🙂

So it’s on to cup of coffee #3, a bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios and a banana Lucky Charms (I need the sugar rush), and time to do homework.

 

Yes, I really do love my girls more than anything, but some days, I just gotta share how ridiculous things can be around here 🙂

Those Three Beautiful Words

Published November 14, 2013 by Angela

After a good night’s sleep, or in my case less than stellar sleep, I always hear the same thing from any one of my girls, generally all 3 by the time they all see me. Yep, you could set a clock by it.

“What’s for dinner?”  (I should clarify I am a shift worker, sleeping during the day while my kids are in school, or homeschooling, getting up as everyone is getting home for the day). So as I am rubbing sleep out of my eyes, wishing my 20-second Keurig coffee pot could brew even faster, they want to know what’s for dinner. Not “How’d you sleep?” or “I love you”.

So as I am waking up, and getting ready for my day, knowing I couldn’t eat a bite of anything I am cooking them, they want to know what is for dinner, and how fast can I get it cooked? We have slowly adjusted to this type of schedule, but I do wish I could eat the dinner I make for my family with them. Instead, I am eating a yogurt and piece of fruit, or a bowl of Honey-Nut Cheerios (YUM!) while they are eating tacos, or spaghetti, or any other meal I would love to share with them.

The problem gets worse as even though I am eating my dinner at 2am in the morning, my body knows it is 2am, and that I really shouldn’t be eating a meal at that time of day. So I tend to eat a lot of soups, or anything else that doesn’t bother my “it’s-2am-you-should-be-sleeping” stomach.

I tried to have a normal schedule on the weekends I don’t work, my body doesn’t appreciate that either. I can only hope that this situation I volunteered myself into is not going to be a long-term situation, and I can eventually feel like a normal person who has a normal schedule and normal eating habits.

Are you a shift worker? If so, how do you adjust to it?

What I do when Everyone is asleep but me!

Published November 4, 2013 by Angela

I really enjoy my quiet time when my girls are all sleeping and I have the house to myself for several hours. Yesterday it was laundry and cleaning. This morning, 6 loaves of homemade banana bread. My house smells amazing!

Ingredients

Ingredients

Normally I use pre-mixes when making anything, but I have been getting back into the habit of taking my time cooking things, whether it be dinner, snacks, or desserts. This bread was a hit with my girls; it was super-moist and delicious. I did not have walnuts, and since I did not feel like going to the store at 6am, I used the sliced almonds I had on hand instead. The girls said it was a nice change that made it better!

The finished bread, soft, warm, and the butter melts right in!

The finished bread, soft, warm, and the butter melts right in!

This is definitely a recipe I will use again, it was super easy, I had everything on hand (yeah, yeah, yeah, except for the walnuts) it was quick and the clean-up was easy. Continue reading here for the recipe Read the rest of this entry →