Just Funny.

This is what we do for giggles around here. Putty gets an almost empty jar of peanut butter and we proceed to laugh and laugh and laugh as he chases the container around the house. He finally settles in his bed - guarding the much loved jar. He growled at E for getting a little too close to the jar. E though it was hilarious and snapped the picture anyway. Putty can do no wrong in his eyes- the eyes of a six year old - *sigh*

The dog is happy and so are we.

Shopping Extravaganza

This trip was a mild $73.94. Don't get excited... it gets worse...

I then remembered that I forgot to get olive oil (yes, there's some sort of oxymoron thing going in there). $19.74 later I have olive oil ($2.29) and a few other items I probably didn't need.... darn it. Not only that, but later I remembered that I had forgotten to buy Parmesan cheese and went to Trader Joe's to get some (again). Trader Joe's is like crack to me. CRACK! Yah, so $26.26 later (tater tots, scones, fondue, chicken bouillon, cheese, tortellini, ravioli and olives - extra large) I walked out of TJ's. Double darn. So, if you were keeping track or had a calculator handy, you'd realize that this weeks total- which started at a mere $73.94 - is now $119.94.

The boys are on break next week so I'm hoping aside from a gallon of milk and a bag of apples I won't have any other reason to spend money on food. Famous last words....

This weeks menu:

Monday: Pasta with broccoli, olive oil, garlic, pine nuts and zucchini served with bread and cheese. Thank goodness for bread and cheese...

Tuesday: Grilled cheese sandwiches, tater tots and yogurt. (see Mondays reference to cheese and bread)

Wednesday: Rice with tofu, baby corn, carrots, edamame and egg.

Thursday: Meatloaf with potatoes and squash.

Friday: Nachos - beef with green chilies, the leftover rice from Wednesday, carrots and onion. Cheese on top. Fresh salsa (tomatoes and onions chopped with olive oil, salt, pepper and lemon juice). Plain yogurt.

Saturday: Roast chicken and orzo with olives and shredded cheese and tomatoes.

Sunday: Chicken tortellini soup.

So when should I expect you?

Just another Day.

I've spent the whole day (most of it anyway) organizing and rearranging and spring cleaning. I'm tired. I'm sick of it already and it looks like I've done nothing. I've finally put some of those writing things up that I bought 4 years ago, when I lived in Colorado. Yah, now you can find them everywhere and they cost 1/3 of what I paid. Darn it. I could have been the first on the wagon but instead I was the last. Happens all the time. I dusted my bedroom - which was kinda gross... ick.... lots and lots of dust... ewww....

What started all this cleaning - the sun? the fact that it's Saturday? an "I'm done with all this clutter" attitude? No. I was online the other day and happened upon Etsy. I've been on Etsy many times but often I get so overwhelmed with everything and I usually end up logging off. This time however, through some sort of maneuvering I happened upon a page by Happy Life Prints. I love their little prints. Simply Adorable!
I bought this one and another that says, "You make me happy when skies are grey". One day I may even frame them (frame not included) and put them on the wall. One day...

Restful

A little 7 minute break in your day. Happy Friday.

The Stairs - an Ongoing Saga...

They started out looking like this.

Then I got out my handy dandy tools and they started to look like this...

Now they look like this - dust bunnies and all... yah, next time I should sweep them before I take the pictures, sorry. I haven't yet decided what I'm going to do when I've finished sanding them. Google 'painted stairs' and see how many interesting things are out there - painting, wallpaper, letters, numbers, rugs, etc. And yet, so little time.

Nutella, Guinness and Cheesy Potatoes.

Groceries are a headache. As with most chores, it takes longer than you think and is not nearly as gratifying as eating chocolate and watching bad television. Yet, it must be done as the little ones get hungry and start complaining about the utter lack of food in the house. The total today was $101.89. I don't think I need to rush out and purchase anything else so I think this is it for the week. I'm going to make bread this evening and gingerbread men this afternoon (thank you Jan Brett!). I've been informed that all anyone really wants for lunch is a sandwich. So you'll notice Nutella (for E's banana & nutella wraps), Muenster cheese and ham (for Mr. A and S's wraps with lettuce and tomatoes). And what's for me? See those Shandy's in the back? ALLLLLL MINNNEEE! Mr. A gave up beer for Lent (ha ha ha)!
Though when you put Guinness in cake it doesn't count. That's what I've been told and who am I to argue? This was out dessert for St. Patty's day. The recipe can be found here and here, in case you want the original or just want to read Nigella's food porn. Seriously, if ever you need a fix this lady has it wrapped up.
And St. Patty's is never complete without some sort of potato concoction. This one is boiled, then baked, potatoes topped with tomatoes, ham, bacon, onions, Irish cheese and plain yogurt. TO DIE FOR! I could eat a big ass bowl of this and still come away wanting more. There's just something about potatoes and cheese that makes me want to melt (there's a pun there somewhere). Throw on some bacon and it's heaven! Oh, and in case you doubted it, I did have myself a Guinness on Thursday. How could you not?

Pancakes...

Thank you Ms. Robin for the Corn Pancake recipe. I had them for lunch and for dinner - with your salsa and shredded cheese. I am one happy camper! It's Pancake Tuesday at our house. Mardi Gras for the rest of you.... I absolutely love Pancake Tuesday. I eat and eat and practically burst at the seams. It's lovely. I think if everyone ate breakfast for supper at least once or twice a week we'd all be a lot happier. Just sayin'. (Oh, and a hug or two couldn't hurt.)

In case you haven't connected Pancake Tuesday with Lent yet, let me remind you that tomorrow is the beginning of Lent. Ash Wednesday. The last couple of years I've tried to give up chocolate. It's harder than it sounds. I'm not always successful. I think last year I accidentally popped a truffle into my mouth only to expel it almost at once. It was a sad waste of a truffle. And it's almost impossible to cut chocolate out completely - try going to Starbucks and ordering a coffee without chocolate in it. It was alright when I was in Colorado as my local barista gave up chocolate too and knew exactly what type of Frou-Frou coffee I could have... *sigh* I miss her....

This year I've decided to go a little bit riskier. Take a deep breath. Sit down.... Alright, I've decided to give up coffee all together. I binged today and bought two large coffees. I might make myself a coffee before I go to sleep tonight. I will miss it incredibly. I reckon I'm going to be a might bit of a bi-yach this week. Warning to those who might be living in the same house as me, see me at pick-up, walking innocently on the street, etc. The headaches are going to be awful. I'm really hoping that by next week I'll feel like a new woman. Maybe a mad woman but a new woman just the same. I'm off to brew a cup. Just thinking about it makes me get the shakes. Wish me luck!

The husband and the kids have gone for a walk. Can you tell I was madly typing, trying to get this all done before they got home? Sheesh...

No time for that.

I do realize that it is now Wednesday and I haven't posted my Monday shopping receipt. I apologize. I hang my head in shame (I've been doing that a lot lately). Here's the thing, I didn't take a picture and there might be a few items that I'm not sure I want you to know about (by 'you' I mean the people who 'happen' upon this blog). So, if you must know. If you're chomping on the bit and just can't go another day without knowing how much I spent on things I didn't really need, the total was $73.31. But I did by wine and chips at World Market not 24 hours later and that was 30 bucks. There, that's done, lets move on shall we?

The reason I've been busy is because I'm starting that Spring Cleaning thing. The sun was shining and the birds were twittering and I got my butt off the couch! An amazing thing on its own no? I've also started doing the little things I had put off - getting a lamp for the living room, hanging pictures, vacuuming... One step at a time. I made headway yesterday and aside from a coffee table (highly overrated right?) and the molding that we keep saying we're going to do, I think I've finished with the living room. Today I'm going to tackle the carpet on the stairs. It's an irritating job. It involves removing staples and nails from wood. Blech.

Oh, and the trees are starting to bud here. I woke to a booger nose. You're excited to know that aren't you? Last year was perhaps the worst allergies I've EVER had. I'm not over estimating either. It was HORRIBLE! I even stopped drinking for a while and thought about locking myself in a bubble. I'm going to start with the allergy medicine now in hopes I nip this is the bud (no pun intended). Say a prayer for me.