Baby, it's cold outside

It's a whopping 10 degrees right now. I'm glad I can stay in and don't have to get out in it. It seems to be especially slick this morning. DH went down the driveway almost sideways. Yikes!

Yesterday I stayed in and had kept warm with many cups of tea and one too many cups of coffee. I evidently have caffeine overload because I haven't been to bed yet. I've painted, scrubbed the floors, and cleaned the kitchen, but haven't slept. Of course now that it's time to be up and moving my old eyes are getting heavy. It probably wouldn't take much for me to have a little nap.

I hope everyone is having a marvelous Wednesday. Stay warm and safe out there.

Cold enough to freeze your buds off

Here we have our Bradford Pear tree. See those cute little buds? They're just frozen little budcicles now. It's been so warm several of my trees and shrubs thought it must be Spring and decided to wake up.

We're under the same weather advisory as every other Oklahoma, Missouri, and Arkansas blogger out there. It's cold and slick. I got out long enough to determine that there were way too many stupid people out and decided to come home. I'm not sure why drivers think really giving it the gas is going to get the car to move any better, especially on black ice.

Weight Watchers was canceled for tonight. Our leader comes from 30 miles away and I can't say that I blame him a bit. I was looking forward to the meeting though. I did really good last week and wanted to see my loss. I think I need that little pat on the head and that-a-girl. Oh well, next week should be really good. I hope.

On that note. I can now pull my size (humongous) jeans up and down without unbuttoning or unzipping. Something must be working.

I hope everyone has a warm and safe week.

Wish upon a star

I bought this star at Statuary World after Christmas. I didn't have any stars and though this one is kind of ugly it can be fixed. Oh yeah, it was cheap too.I sanded and sanded until I got all of the 'snow' removed and then sanded the whole thing again. Then I went over it with two coats of primer.

Next up were two coats of Leather Brown paint.
I used a heavy coat of Plasti-Kote Cracklin' finish top coat and ended up with this. I'm debating using another light coat of the finish to see if I can get some bigger crackles.

For a couple of cans of spray paint and cheap star I think it turned out okay.

Week 3 of diet

I'm cranky and feeling deprived. LOL.

Okay, I'm over it. Not really, but if I keep telling myself that maybe it'll happen soon.

Monday's WW recipe was Tex-Mex Black Bean Dip and has 11 ingredients. I got bored after the first five. It seems redundant and I'm not likely to make it. Ever.

That said, I didn't want to cook tonight, but DH brought home pork chops. Grrr!

*Grilled Asian Pork Chops
Points: 4
Serving size: 1 chop

6 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon pepper
2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil**
2 teaspoons lime juice**
6 cloves garlic, minced**
6 (4 oz) boneless center-cut loin pork chops (1/4 to 1/2 inch thick)

Combine all ingredients in a baggie and throw in the chops. Marinate in the fridge for 10 minutes.

Grill 3-4 minutes on each side or until done.

* From the WW Five Ingredients 15 Minutes cookbook
**I used regular sesame oil because I had it. I also subbed lemon for lime juice, and put in two heaping teaspoons of minced garlic.

DH thought this was pretty danged tasty. I liked it and would fix it again. Assuming I can get the smell of sesame oil out of my kitchen. Ick!

*Sweet and Tangy Marinated Slaw
Points: 2
Serving size (1 cup)

1 (16 oz) bag broccoli coleslaw**
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1 tsp prepared mustard
1/2 tsp celery seeds**
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Mix everything except coleslaw in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Pour over coleslaw and mix thoroughly. Cover and chill 8 hours. Serve with a slotted spoon.

* From the WW Five Ingredients 15 Minutes cookbook
**I used angel hair coleslaw because I had it and omitted the celery seeds because I didn't have them.

We both really liked this. In fact, I like this one enough to make again and keep in the fridge all of the time.

I hope everyone is doing well on their diet.

Weight Watchers friendly recipe swap

Annie asked me what I cooked while on WW. Here are two old favorites and one new one.

*Personal Meat Loaves
3 points each
Makes 12

1 pound lean ground beef
1 pound ground turkey
2 cups old fashioned oats
1 cup tomato sauce

Mix ingredients together. Divide into 12 equal portions and place in muffin pan. Bake until done*.

*Recipe given at local WW meeting.

**How lame...bake until done. I think I bake mine at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. I cook until they look done on the outside and then cut one open and check it. If they're done Hooray and if not they go back in the oven. It's not rocket science.

I've also used the McCormick meatloaf seasoning packet and it didn't change the point value, but added much needed flavor.

*_*_*_*_*_*_*

*Sweet Onion Corn Muffins
3 points each
Makes 9

1 cup chopped onion
1 package Jiffy corn muffin mix
1 large egg
3/4 cup low fat buttermilk
1/4 cup reduced fat sharp Cheddar cheese

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Saute onion in a small nonstick skillet with cooking spray 3 minutes or until tender**.
3. Mix all ingredients together.
4. Spoon batter evenly into 9 muffin cups (spray pan first)
5. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Let stand 5 minutes***

*Recipe taken from WW 5 Ingredients, 15 Minutes Cookbook, Feb. 2006
**I don't saute my onions first. I chop them small and they cook in the oven.
***Who can wait 5 minutes? Not me!

*_*_*_*_*_*
*Potato Soup
2 points per cup
10 servings

28 ounce bag Ore Ida Hash brown potatoes or Potatoes O'Brian (you want the little squares)
3 cans fat free chicken broth
1 package Pioneer white gravy mix (fat free if you can find it)

Combine hash browns and chicken broth in a pot and heat to boiling. Turn down and simmer until potatoes are cooked. Mix gravy mix with 1/2 cup of water and stir into potato soup.

My notes (because I can't leave anything alone):
1. I added onion and chives because potato soup is just so stinking white it needed a little color and the flavor didn't hurt either.
2. I mashed some of my potatoes and left some whole.
3. I think you could do this without the gravy mix and be fine. I thought it had too much pepper.

* Recipe given at local WW meeting.

My husband loves the meatloaf, muffins, and soup. I usually make the meatloaf and muffins on the same night. This week I made the soup and muffins and it was really good.

Our WW's leader is good about sharing recipes so if anyone is interested, I'll post the new ones we get.

Recipe swap

I'm so bad sometimes. People ask me for recipes and I flake out and never get them posted.

For Sue:

Deer Dip

1 pound of deer meat cut into stew meat sized pieces
1/2 cup chili sauce
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1 TBSP horseradish
Salt and pepper to taste

Season the venison with onion powder, garlic salt, and black pepper. Fry in just a bit of oil until done. Cool and then grind coarsely. Mix venison with remaining ingredients. Layer 1 inch thick in a dish and garnish with crushed red pepper and parsley. Serve with crackers, fresh veggies, etc.

The last time I made this I sprinkled Cayenne pepper over the top and then put the parsley on it. It added a wonderful little zip to an already good recipe.

This would also be good with beef, bison, and elk.

Thankful Thursday

Our country is facing many changes in the coming months and years. Some may be good and others, not so much.

So on that note, this week I'm thankful that while I'm not employed we can make it on DH's salary. I'm thankful our home and vehicles are paid for in full. I'm thankful that I prefer cheap, used, and thrifted which makes DH's paycheck really stretch. I'm thankful that we live within our means.

Back on track again in lots of ways

This has been the oddest week. I think I'm still discombobulated from our flying trip to have a baby.

On Sunday we were so wiped out we didn't even get dressed. It's unheard of for DH to stay in bed until 10 AM much less stay in his jammies for the rest of the day.

Monday was weird too. There was a shooting across the street from my Mom and that ate up a bunch of the day. DH called me and told me there was a shooting at my Mom's house which sent me straight through the roof. A couple of phone calls straightened out the exact location and I calmed down. Note to men: Being off one number in an address does make a difference. Shootings in this town are very uncommon and when it happens things kind of go nuts.

Tuesday Mom and I went shopping in Yukon at a big Wal-Mart. One of these days the Super Center here will be finished, but in the mean time we're having to make do with what we have which isn't much.

Today, I've not done a blooming thing. I have a crick in my neck and I kind of feel whiny. LOL. I did get my camera printer dock hooked up and printed a picture. Does that count?

Now for the back on track portion of this post. Mom and I started Weight Watchers again on 1/5. We both did it and did well when we lived in NM. You know how that goes though. It's easy to fall off the wagon. Well, I fell off and that son of a gun backed up and ran over me.

I need to lose 40 pounds, again. Gack! The good news, I've lost 3.4 pounds of it since we started and that was with a trip to NM and eating out every meal. I was really afraid I'd gained, but I think just knowing I'd have to step on the scale come Monday helped.

I guess that's all I've got for now. I'll leave you with a picture of the grandbaby and wishes for a wonderful week.

Our first grandbaby

Kelsie Eliza was born on 1/9/09 at 3:45. She weighed in at 7 pounds and is 19 inches long. Both she and her mom are doing well and by now are home.

It was so hard to leave this little angel. She's not 24 hours old yet in this picture.
Peepaw is busting his buttons proud of his first granddaughter. We can't wait to go back and visit.

Boil the water

We're having a baby!

As soon as DH gets home we're off to NM. Our first grandbaby is on it's way.

Daughter is having complications and the doctors have decided Kelsi needs to come now. She'll be 12 days early, but that's not too bad.

The next time I see you I'll be a granny. Bye!

It's paint the bathroom Monday

A couple of years ago we gutted the bathroom and started over.

These are before pictures. Do you blame us? It was horrid.




Here's an after pic.
DH believes the more caulk you use the better everything works. Not. Hence the repainting. Every little spec of caulk has bled through the paint and turned a nice tobacco brown. Places where he had a little too much on his finger and smeared it around real good have popped up everywhere. I don't know if it was the paint, the caulk, or a combination of the two, but my bathroom needs repainted.

So today I'm armed with a bucket of Kilz and I'm on the hunt for spots. When that's dry I'm going over all of the woodwork with a couple of coats of paint. I'm also hiding all of the caulk and any caulk guns I can lay my hands on.

How are you spending your Monday?

If you feel the need...

For holiday decorating stuff, there are some crazy good sales on Christmas decor going on right now.

A few days ago Target was at 50% off. I've no idea what it is now. I bought little wreaths for $1.25 each and this cute little bird.
Mom and I went to Hobby Lobby today and found all Christmas stuff at 80% off. I got a $70 wreath for $14. My front door will thank me. It needs more 'stuff' and then it's going to be perfect.
Wal-Mart, the store we love to hate, is up to 75% off. Ornaments, red bows, and candle-hickies followed me home.

My favorite scoop of all was from Statuary World. Here's what $33 got me.

A sweet snow angel.
Snowman candle holder.
Set of four carolers.
Santa on a spring.
10 piece nativity.
Three mini snowman plates with plate rack.
Snowman that doesn't do anything but look cute.
Another snowman candle holder. That's not all of it. I also got a big star, a couple of cute signs, and a couple of ornaments.
And if that wasn't enough, I went back today and picked up these and a bunch more stuff for $14. I think I can safely say I'm ready to decorate next year. Of course I'll need to start in October just to get it all out.

Before I forget, look what I found in the dumpster last night. I heard it clink when I threw my bag in and I decided to investigate. By investigate, I mean I climbed inside the dumpster in my jammies and slippers.It's a Hazel Atlas Williamsport Square Punch Bowl from the 60s. It weighs a ton. Sadly there were no cups or ladle. Fortunately, I already had 6 cups. Bwahahaha!

For all the trouble I had getting out of the dumpster, I think it was worth it.

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone had a wonderful start to 2009. I have high hopes for the coming year.

Today was a busy day and it felt really good. DH is getting ready to go hunting again and so he's been preoccupied with gathering his stuff up so he can leave tomorrow.

I managed to get the tree down and the living room back in order. I still need to muscle the boxes down to the basement, but overall I got a lot done.

We took the kids swing set down and moved it over to my sisters so now my yard can recover and I'll have a new spot for the porch swing this summer.

I got the Christmas quilt top finished this afternoon. It took about 15 minutes. Don't laugh. I may try quilting it tomorrow if I can find my backing fabric. I'll be ready next Christmas. My poor sewing machine didn't remember me and wouldn't cooperate for a bit. We're friends again and ready to sew.

Mom came over for dinner and I filled her up on black-eyed peas, fried okra, cornbread, onions, and tomatoes. For desert we had spiced peached cobbler from the peaches I canned this summer. Good stuff.

Since today is also Thankful Thursday I'd better put it out there. I'm thankful that I get to see 2009. I'm thankful that I have a husband who loves me and puts up with my nonsense. I'm thankful for my mom who also loves me and puts up with me. Overall I'm a very blessed person and for that I'm so very thankful.