A Few Observations.

A word of warning: I wrote these observations after spending way too much time in the car running from one errand to the other. None of which was for me. I'm selfish so just the fact that I didn't get anything out of it was enough to make me incredibly grumpy. And I haven't had wine/beer for a few days so that was just the cherry on the top. Also, I may not feel the same way tomorrow so don't hold it against me or do, whatever.... I still haven't had wine today...

1. You can't text and drive. Yes, I know you think you can but you can't. Even Oprah says you can't - it must be true.

2. To the guy in the green car: The 'tick, tick' sound you've been hearing for the last 6 miles is your turn signal. Frick. Turn it off already.

3. The big red octagon in front of you is a stop sign. Really, I'm not making this up. Generally, it means you have to stop. For those of you new to this concept, it means you have to use that pedal next to the one that makes you go. Yes, that's what that's for.

4. The big red light in the sky, you know, the one next to the pretty green and yellow one? Yah, that means you have to stop too...

5. You can't text and walk either. Especially you there in the black sweater - you definitely can't.


End of Part 1... I'm sure there's going to be a Part 2.

Only a day late...

Alright, after much deliberation between my son and I the dinner menu for this week has been created (I really talk like this). I'm afraid there's nothing too fancy here but hopefully my family will eat fairly nutritiously without breaking the bank - which is a lot harder than it sounds...

Monday - Beef & Barley Soup...mmmm..... Luckily I made enough for me to enjoy a bowl last night around 8pm and for my husband to have for lunch today. Hurray for leftovers (you'll see more of this roast on wednesday).

Tuesday - Muffins (the homemade kitchen sink variety), cheese, apple and walnuts... and maybe a pretzel later...

Wednesday - Leftover roast (it was big) mixed with rice, corn and tomatoes and put in a wrap with cheese and yogurt! Surprisingly (?) this is one of my favourite things to eat.

Thursday - Baked chicken with salad, roast potatoes and squash.

Friday - White bean & chicken chili.

Saturday - Baked pasta with tomatoes and cheese served with salad and bread. This was voted on by the little people in the house. It's a really easy recipe of cooking your pasta then putting it in a oven ready dish, throwing in a can of tomatoes and some grated cheddar cheese. Put it in the oven until the cheese is all melty and voila! Insta dinner. An idea given to me by my dear Aunt Jane. Love that lady!

Last weeks groceries.... a grand total of $119.69 and I had a gift card for $50.00! Yippee.. I went a little crazy - what you don't see in the photo is the 2 (yes 2) 12 packs of beer. Some things are justified!

This weeks bill came to $87.41. Those pumpkins are freakin' expensive (3.99 - yikes). I did go to Whole Foods today as well ($37.63) just to get coffee and go sampling with E! Problem was we both liked everything we tried. Darn samples.

It took me a week to get my computer up and running again. I could have used Mr. A's but I dislike (hate is such an ugly word) loading my grocery pictures onto his work computer. Nothing like giving a talk to a bunch of academics and having your wife's grocery list pop up! Not that it's ever happened or anything....

Has anyone else noticed that it's getting harder to keep the grocery bill down. I've found that things are getting a little more expensive lately. I'm not sure why that is (no rain? too much rain? too much oil being spilled...) but it's starting to irk me. Luckily the Kraft Caramels are the same price or else I'd be livid. It could also be that I'm having a hard time getting motivated to make items from scratch. Could it be the lack of large junks of time? 2 hour snippets every now and then just doesn't seem to cut it.

I haven't been buying wine lately either. Frick. I knew there was a reason I'm grumpy these days (no PMS has nothing to do with it). I know what your thinking, "Where's all that beer?" It's gone. One case was a belated gift for a friend and the other one can't be expected to last longer than a week. It's just unrealistic.

I seem to have a lot of questions this week. Just noticed that. Who has the answers? Tomorrow I'll give you a list of what's for dinner this week. As for now, I haven't made it up so I can't post it but I can tell you tonight is Beef & Barley soup night. I made a roast in the crock pot last night with a side of sweet potatoes and corn. The temperature is starting to drop and I have a feeling my crock pot is going to be extra useful this year!

Wanna go see the BJ's?

Well, you can! For FREE. Oh, you just can't beat that. It's Blue Jackets training camp time. I'm going to bet most everyone in this city doesn't know that. But now you do. So head down to Nationwide Arena today and check out Gerald Boll doing his slam-bam-thank you-mam (he's currently my favourite BJ). Find out the practice times here. See you soon.

Freakin'!

I was going to check how many times I used "Freakin" as my blog post title but thought it better that I didn't know. My darn computer keeps getting 'stuck' - for lack of better computer tech. lingo. I'm wishing that I lived closer to Robin (not that I don't wish for that often) but today it's cause I'd like Mr. K to come over and fix my computer for me. It's probably not all that technical and I bet it could be solved by throwing it from a 6 story building. And he'd do it for a bottle of fat tire (or maybe a six pack) 'cause he's good like that.

In the mean time I'm typing away at my hubby's Apple. I dislike this computer. I don't like the fake "click, click, blach" of the keys and I dislike all the little symbols at the bottom of the screen. What are those anyway?! I'm an old school PC gal. I wish this wasn't true but it is and because of that I will have computers that get virus' and get 'stuck'. Stupid things. And I'd like to believe that I could live without my computer, without the constant need to check facebook and hotmail and everyone's blogs but I can't do that either. Frick. It must be Friday.

It's White!

Not a green card... an Employment Authorization Card. With an expiration date to boot. The other card should be here shortly or sometime before 2012....

Where'd you go?

It took me awhile to find my groove again but I'm hoping it's here and we're back at it! So hold onto your coffee/tea/juice/wine or what have you and let's get started shall we?

It's MONDAY! That means it's shopping day and meal planning. I have to admit it's been a bit of a smorgasbord sort of summer and I'm done with hot dogs and chips and all the crap I ate. I haven't even been diligent about hitting the farmers market. I know, I'm shaking my head too... However that's all going to change now that I'm back at the blog and feel some sort of irrational responsibility/guilt.

And so, I am happy to report that today's groceries came to a grand total of $58.65. Now, I did forget my list for the week (remembered the coupons - phew) and so I've left off the buttermilk and hot sauce I was hoping to get. Bummer. Maybe next week...

There is a LOT of yogurt on the list - as per the norm I suppose - and a variety of different flours. See? I'm trying my best to stay on that healthy eating thing... Mrs. Ser, I hope you notice I found Graham flour, at Giant Eagle no less and it's relatively cheap - $4.39 a box. For those of you not used to buying "Organic" flours and/or "unusual" flours, they tend to be quite pricey but you get used to it and just try to look for the best deals - if there's any to be had.

Dinner this week is as follows:

Monday: Chicken Soup - we had the neighbours over for dinner on Saturday and I've got a boatload of shredded chicken left. I'd make tacos or something but I think my family is done with chicken sandwiches...

Tuesday: Lasagna. Mmmm.....

Wednesday: Tofu, broccoli and rice with peanut sauce.

Thursday: Goyza potstickers, broccoli with almonds and udon noodles. The potstickers and the noodles were bought last week - sorry for not being with it...

Friday: Baked potatoes with cheese sauce and tuna cakes. This is going to be a hard one to get passed the kids. Mr. S despises all things fish related. I have no idea where he gets it.

Saturday: Perogies! Yes Ser, I'm going to get off my butthogs and cook up some!

Sunday: Well, I'm not sure yet... Hopefully something yummy that everyone will eat. I'm thinking some Donairs might be on the menu. I haven't made that in ages and I'm getting a bit of a cravin'.