Break the Cycle

Think I spelled it wrong? Nope - meet Chase Nutley - Isn't he adorable?  DD found him last Friday - we saw some fresh road kill earlier in the week - I guess that was mom ?  Anyway - Chase was pretty hungry - so we fed him some sugar water to get him rehydrated, then off to the pet store to buy some puppy formula for his first days.   By Sunday - a local wildlife caretaker finally called me back - and said she could take care of him and would release him into the wild once he was big enough.  Kids were sad to see him go. I was kinda sad too.  He was awful cute, and he simply slept and ate, ate and slept.  Just like my kids did so long, long ago.  Boy, do I miss those good times !

This is an excerpt from an email I got today from Jonathan Roche (No Excuse Work Out - see yesterdays post) "Today marks the 16 week mark of 2010. It is important to pull the bus over right now and be honest with yourself about how the first 16 weeks of 2010 went: Do you have more energy? Are you generally in a better mood? If weight loss is one of your goals, have you lost 16 to 32 pounds (1 to 2 pounds per week)? Are you getting more tone? Are your cloths feeling loose/are you losing inches? If you answered yes to at least 1 of these questions, then Congratulations! You are “in the game” and you should be proud of yourself. If you answered no to all of the questions, then it is time to re-commit and change your approach. " Wow - on track with everything that I posted yesterday - he must have read my mind.    Today's a good day - yesterday was a wonderful day, and tomorrow can only get better ! "The definition of insanity is doing the same thin...

I seem to spend more and more time on the internet.  Sure, I take time away for my family.  I homeschool my girls, so they certainly get more of my time then children who go to a public school.  Plus, I am at nearly every swim practice, swim meet, softball game, softball practice, I am my son's homeroom mom, plus try and help out in every school activity, so it's not like I'm addicted to the darn internet. But somedays I sit down - and wham - 2 hours have gone by.  Sure, thanks to FB I know what all my friends are doing.  I know that I've killed over 250 people on Mafia Wars.  I know that I delete way more emails then I actually open, and I know I've saved thousands of dollars shopping online - but the more I think about it - the more I realize, that I can use the internet for way more than just saving money and entertainment.   So - I'm going to make my life better - and you can come along.  You can join me if you want - that would be fun....

Sometimes you can get really decent fabric here - sometimes its just good enough (like for kids pj's or playclothes that will only be worn a year or two).  I usually always get backing here for my quilts - they have awesome prices Offer Copy: Save 15% off any purchase of $50 or more at Fabric.com, use code DOD409! Offer Expires 4/12. Start and end date: 4/9/2010-4/12/2010 Exclusive Vanity Code: “DOD409” Fabric.com

Did a little bit of online shopping this a.m. -   one really good deal The Big Bra Sale: Buy 2 Bras And Get 3rd Free at JustMySize.com! This offer is valid April 8th through May 26th. Plus use a coupon code and get shipping for $1.99 ( 741564 ) They also have swimsuits on sale Swimsuits Are 25% Off (excluding swin separates) at JustMySize.com! This offer is valid April 8th through May 26th. Another one I found - but didn't buy - chocolate - on sale at Amazon - Also hit a real bricks and mortar store for new glasses for dd#3 (2 pair for $200 - not too bad) and some T's for ds.  Good day all in all

If it weren't for Judy at Patchwork Times - I would never get myself sewing - even though I love it - I always seem to find something else to do for someone else.  But I had to finish this one - Remember this post from about a month ago.  It's a gift - and I need it finished by the end of this month to take with me on a small retreat.  Well, I got this far, then had college classes to finish - so I put it away Yesterday I decided I better get moving - I was just going to post this one picture and see if anyone could figure out what it was - I didn't think I'd get so much done - but it went together pretty quickly - and in less than two days I got the entire thing put together.  It's beautiful outside - so I want to go play with the kids - but I figured I'd better find this deer a home first - before pieces went missing - so Here he is, in all his glory.  He needs a name.  We used "Norm" on the snow camel we made a couple months ago.  So time to b...

Been cooking up a storm and the pans are 100% awesome.  Here's some eggs I made this morning - if you notice - no oil in the pans - and watch - the eggs are near the bottom of the photo - then I can just tilt the pan a bit and they slide right to the top - amazing.  Over easy - and they don't break.  Nothing sticks - if you've ever made frozen veggie burgers - they stick - without cooking spray - check this out and that's after I've cooked one side and flipped them - nothing stuck.    Oh, and last but not least, the hummus I made the other day - it's all gone now - but I did the entire bag in the crockpot then froze the rest of the beans - so the next batch while be quick and easy to whip up.

Last night I used one of the "sear" pans - because I wanted to cook, then bake.  Wonderful.  First I did the onions and peppers - they turned nice and brown and softened, but didn't burn.  Added my meat (97% lean ground beef .... frozen) and was able to brown that as well - without anything else burning.  Added the rest of my ingredients, make some bisquits from cornmeal to drop on top - and threw the entire thing into the oven @ 400* for 30 minutes.  When it was done - perfect - and clean up ??? A breeze !  Can't wait to try the larger sear pan on a nice size roast with lots of root veggies !

Used the 10# fry pan last night for eggs (yes, I know it wasn't on my menu, but the kids wanted eggs and periogies - and it's a lot easier then what I was planning!)  Verdict - awesome pan.  When they said "slide" - it did.  I have 3 kids that like dippy eggs, and 1 that doesn't - usually I start with the dippy eggs, and when I break one - it goes to the kid that doesn't.  She usually ends up eating before everyone else.  Not last night.  Nope - pan #1 of dippy eggs - perfectly flipped and fine.  Pan #2 - the same.  Pan #3 - 2 more perfect dippy eggs.  Kid #4 was just watching, I don't think she likes my new pans so much - because whoever gets their eggs first gets first dibs on the pot of perrogies ... she was afraid they'd be all gone by the time she got her eggs. I did use the smallest pat of butter to make the eggs - but 1/2 TBS in the beginning - and that's all I used, including making my own eggs AFTER #4 got her scrambled eggs....