For Miranda

This has been hanging on my refridgerator for YEARS. It is my mantra when it comes to housekeeping!

He's the Man!

Oddly enough I had something else to blog about when I sat down. However as I was changing my layout and backround, the phone rang.

It was the Union Secretary from the Alpena Fire Department, calling for Dennis. Alpena. Isn't that like wayyyy up north? (Note to self: Look at a map) Anyway, he called needing to ask Dennis a question regarding Fire Fighter stuff.

Wow. A dude from Alpena is calling MY HUSBAND to ask HIM a question. WOW.

HE is the MAN! (I know. Y'all think I'm nuts. My cat's and now dog are my co-workers. What do you want.)

I can do this!

Aside from the really poor grade I received on my first quiz, I think I am up for the challenge of my English Class. As I mentioned before, Melanie liked the idea of me taking it, and thought it would be very beneficial for my bloggers block, and to really sharpen my mind when it comes to writing.

My first paper was to be an essay describing an inanimate object. I chose to write about our patio. Lucky for me, our patio is another room. It isn't enclosed, however it is our most favorite place to be on a hot summer day, so I used my passion for this space to write about.

I am proud to report that I received an A on that essay! My teacher also wrote some really wonderful things about my writing style.

So I not only am I accepting this compliment, I am thanking all of my blog readers for being there. If you were not reading my dumb little posts, I would have stopped writing long ago. But because you ARE there, I am still writing and I really believe that by blogging, it keeps our literary knives sharpened, our imaginations flowing, and our minds fresh.

Blog on my friends, blog on.

America's Test Kitchen

I LOVE this show. It is on Public Television (check local listings for channel & times).

America's Test Kitchen is sort of a variety show that shows you HOW to cook foods, why recipe's don't always turn out, the best bang for your buck when it comes to kitchen equipment and all things kitchen related.

Today they showed how to make a "French Omelette" that appeared to be so easy, even I could make it!

They also showed an awesome recipe for homemade blueberry muffins that I just CAN NOT wait to make.

In the mean time, I thought I would send you the link so that you can check it out.
I did register (free) with them to view the recipe's. They are worth it. :)

Mush

OMG... my brain is mush. This week I started an online English class which means I only have 1 more class to take before I can apply for the Nursing program at the college.

Doing this online is totally turning me into a nut case. There are so many things that have to be done, and trying to keep track is making me crazy. Not to mention we had to do our first essay.

We had to write a descriptive essay on an inanimate object and give it life. PLUS we had to write and outline. THIS is something I haven't done in a gazillion years.

I have come to a conclusion though... I suddenly remembered today why I received a "C" the first time around. English - was my instructor's second language. I recall her accent being so heavy that half the time we had no idea what she was talking about. Nowing now what I did not know then... I should have dropped the class, or switched to another class. I was just a dumb 18 year old then and didn't understand how important it was to UNDERSTAND what the instructor is teaching you!

Melanie thinks this class could really stir up my creative juices. Of course she would say that. Her degree is in this type of field, lol. Let's just hope she is write or is it right... lol

Fire and Rain

Hodge Podge

I feel like a few of you according to your blogs.. In a funk. Here is what is going on in my world at the moment...

The dog. Why won't she just ring the damn bell so we can put her outside to pee? But she did sleep MUCH BETTER last night... in her crate.

The interview. I had an interview at a local hospital between Christmas & New Years. Haven't heard too much, but what I have heard... is positive. Operators are standing by.

The house. Why can't I get motivated to get my kids rooms painted? The paint at Lowes is on sale RIGHT NOW and I'm not even ready for it.

The kitchen. Why did Dennis clean up OUR mess from yesterday. Em had an indoor tournament in Flint yesterday and with that, the kitchen/living room looked terrible. We came home, built a fire and I played games with her. He on the other hand... was at work.

The tournament. I am getting sick of making this team of her's a priority when they are only making her an option. We have sank over $700 into this team thus far, and I watched my kid sit on a bucket yesterday for the 3rd game. She put on her catchers gear, caught 3 balls, and the inning ended. The next inning, the girl that was pitching, was now catching... and she wasn't even brought onto the team as a catcher. Once again, watched my kid... sit on a bucket. We're considering our options. Last year she sat A LOT and we were told it was because she was like the JV player on the varsity team. Now... she's the varsity player... and I get the feeling the team is playing favorites with the "jv" players. Politics. My kid just wants to play the fricken game.

TS. I thought promoting to Team Leader in my TS business was going to be exciting. I thought it would be fun. It hasn't been. I signed on 3 new people in October/November. I have a feeling 2 of them jumped in w/o really thinking about what they were going to be doing, and will be deactivating. I feel so defeated, and am no longer interested in leadership. I am starting to think I am no longer interested in the business period. This happening has totally made it lose it's luster for me. I will add that these two need to do what is best for them and not for me or anyone else.

The dog... why won't she ring that damn bell to go outside?

Hmmm... I wonder if I should beef up my vitamin D. I bet that is the whole reason I feel like I'm in such a funk.

Change of Heart

Ok, today not so much of a dog lover. This one year old dog is NOT housebroken. Last night I was up at 3:30 while she went and effed around in the backyard. I almost left her out there because I was so pissed. I have her crate in my room, and am moving it out today. I've had enough!

HELP!!!! Any tips on housebreaking this dog?

The Secret

Have you read the book The Secret? I read about half of it, then realized that it seemed to keep saying the same thing, over and over. Regardless, it talks about the universe and how you can get the things you need or want by the messages you send out into the universe.

In December, Greg's teacher had a baby girl. Molly Marie is her name, however I kept thinking "Molly May, Molly May, Molly May... or May not!".

Fast forward to the time around Christmas. Something you may not know about me is that I go to my neighbors house two times daily to let their dog Mia out. I do this because they are wonderful people that work long hours. So Mia goes out at 11 am and again at 3 pm. I've been doing this for quite a while now.

Around Christmas, Helen texts me with a photo of a very cute little dog. Her name is Mollie May. She said she is Mike's (her husband) mom's dog and is staying with them for a few days. How funny... teacher has baby - names it Molly Marie. I keep thinking "Molly May" and BAM... a dog shows up!

And then it started... Apparently Mike and his sister had this grand idea to give their mom Mollie last Christmas, and it was not a well received gift. The dog ended up living at his sisters for a year and ultimately ended up at Helen & Mike's. They started working very hard to find this pooch a home. The first few times I saw this dog I thought, "Oh hell no". She was in her crate, SCREAMING as if her leg was caught. I would let her outside, then put her back in the crate. Aside from about 20 minutes outside of the cage daily, she spent the remaining 9 hours and 40+ minutes caged. EVERYDAY.

We all knew this could not last, however they did not know this dog well enough to leave her out of the crate all day. Helen & Mike kept working to find her a home, which included hitting me up multiple times.

One night, the kids and I were there. I started to really watch this dog, and how she handled having so many people flocking to her. I should mention that she is either a Shih-poo or a Yorkie-poo. She looks like a Shih more than a Yorkie for sure. She is only one year old. Regardless, she was really very sweet. That screaming dog that left that awful first impression on me, no longer existed. She just wanted people.

The next day I talked to Dennis about her. We decided to give her a whirl and bring her to our house for a few hours to see how the cats would react to her. When she came in, Pumpkin practically jumped out of his fur. Charlie was intrigued. She was only there for about 1 hour.

The next day we brought her to our house again. This time was for a few more hours. The cats were not sure what to make of her, but they were less intimidated.

The third day, we brought her for the whole day. The novelty of the dog wore off for the cats. They could care less. We decided that unless this dog is a very good actor, she is actually quite a good little pooch.

We took the plunge. Introducing the newest member of the Milobar household...

Mollie May Milobar

Inspiration!

Recently on The Rudolph Family Tree, Miranda posted a recipe for a Cranberry Orange Pork Loin. I emailed her, requesting the recipe. At the bottom of her reply, she talked about meal planning and how she started doing it one week at a time, then moved on to a full month. I... was inspired. I went on to Outlook Office and printed off a blank - December calendar, and planned meals for the last 2 weeks of the month. As I filled out the calendar, I went through my pantry and freezer to see what my meals would require. And that's when I hit the spice cabinet. Ohhhh the spice cabinet. The great abyss, chock full of crap we bought, inherited, and were given. The shelves had spots sticky with an unknown goo, and dried spice crumbs all over. It did smell pretty good. I started out by emptying the entire cabinet onto the counter. That shiny silver thing in the background with tomato's on it... is my prized latte maker. You should pick one up :)

I should have taken a photo of the cabinet BEFORE I emptied it out, but the idea of blogging this project didn't strike me until AFTER I had covered the counter. My DH thought I was positively off my rocker as I was shooting photos of crap we cook with.

Inquiring minds want to know... how many of you have this Zehnders chicken seasoning in your cabinet? I highly suggest you get one if you don't. It's awesome on split chicken breasts, roasted in the oven!

As with the Zehnders, everyone could use a good ole' "butt massage". Takes pork to a totally new level!

Aahhh look! In typical Valerie fashion... I have items in multiples. Did I ever tell you I found 6, yes SIX cans of shortening in my pantry once? Every time I made butter cream frosting, I kept buying a new one. Needless to say the garbage was very heavy that week.

Raisins... in the spice cabinet. Who'd a thunk it?

Hmmm... here's an interesting find. Do the math.

Hmmm. Another interesting thing I came across. They are the SAME THING!!!

Yep. Valerie's been here.

These are from the Weber Grill restaurant in Chitown. Dennis and I practically beat each other up over this sampler platter that you could lick clean. The awesome waitress gave us a hand full of seasoning packets. This is all that is left.

I was never so happy to throw so much out. My fresh new garbage bag was 1/2 full by the time I was finished. I cleaned the shelves, and restocked the cabinet. The riser shown is from... Target I think. It raises your spices up so you can see them. It extends to almost any cabinet width. TIP: If you store your spices upside down, the spice pushes the air out of the bottle and keeps it out, thus keeping your spices fresher longer. My TS spices are inverted because they contain no preservatives.

This... This was a rare find. First off... this archaic spice came from a store that is no longer in business... Farmer Jack.

Secondly... it is older than my 10 year old.

It expired in... 1998. How... in the world... did it get there?

I haven't even lived in this HOUSE... that long!! I should have kept it. Just because.

Having completed this project, my 2 weeks of planned meals sailed through amazingly. Now I'm working on planning out the month of January, but suddenly I feel like a one hit wonder.

And the Cranberry Orange Pork Loin? It was down right fricken awesome!

Do you have any recipes to share to make my life a bit easier?