Ugh, what a day! Here's what I did after leaving work at 12:00...
Bank - opened a separate checking account because I'm pissed at how much Judd is spending, so if there's any chance of me saving money, it will have to be in a separate account
Home Depot - got pansies and mums to plant in the back
NTB (battery store) - they said "sorry, not our problem". Last week when my battery went dead, Judd took the Trailblazer into the NTB to have it replaced. After that, the a/c didn't blow out the vents. He called and they said bring it back, it's just a little tweak. So today I take it back, they look at it for 5 seconds, and say nope. Small consolation that when I left, their shop ticket and ticket holder was still on my dashboard. So HA!
Panda Express - I needed it
Post office
Mobil - Got my oil changed and they pissed me off there too. I sat there and listened to the two people in front of me checking out. The first guy's bill was $95. He hit the ceiling. It was supposed to be $59 (for synthetic oil) and they told him his car took 8 quarts, so it cost more. He said maybe you should tell people that up front, because obviously if you know what kind of car I have, you know how much oil it takes ... he reluctantly paid it. Next guy's bill was $50, it should have been $39. The guy asked why so much (that much tax?) and they told him no, your car takes more oil so we had to charge you more. He said that's stupid, but he paid it.
Mine was supposed to be $19.99 due to a special they were running. My bill was $31. I asked why, and they said because my car takes more oil, so they had to charge me more. I said, well that's a pretty good little racket you've got going here ... I have sat here and heard the last two people be told the same thing. I will *NOT* be back here and you people suck.
So I was mad when I left there, then went to NTB for the stupendously good news about the a/c. I swear, I might just blow my top here. When Judd walks in the house in a few minutes, I'm sure there will be a huge fight. I'm not allowed to be in a bad mood.
My new discovery: that strained Greek (I think it's Fage? maybe Tage?) ff yogurt. I asked DH to get some for me--had heard so many rave about it--I have now joined the official fan club for it. Much livelier taste than regular ff. I haven't exercised much since Wed. kickboxing but will go to a Boot Camp class tomorrow morning. I think the fact that I just wrote it down means it will happen.
Elana, were you here when we were discussing the Donvier yocheese maker? You might really like that if you like the Greek yogurt. You can make it without the maker, just by putting the FF plain yogurt into a coffee filter in a bowl. The result is something that resembles cream cheese but has the active cultures and a little more zing than cream cheese.
Rhonda, enjoy your dinner! Avoiding the potatoes when having roast is something that few people can pull off. I wish you much luck.
Judd is going to the Mexican restaurant down the street to pick up something. I'm not hungry so I said no thanks. I am currently making some of the mixed bean soup, and making some Shiner Bock bread. The only other things I'll do tonight is a teeny bit of laundry and then I'm watching Nanny 911. I'm such a sucker for shows like that.
Have a good night! I'll be back in the morning -- gotta get my mood all set to plant flowers tomorrow morning. I also got some lettuce, rosemary and parsley. The rosemary and parsley will go outside in the front flowerbed but I think I'll put the lettuce in a big pot. It needs full sun and if I do that, I can move it around if needed.
elana, i'm impressed that you're a kickboxer. that's great exercise.
kathy, i transplanted a bed or rosebushes today. i don't know if they'll make it or not. i've never transplanted anything up here this time of year. guess i'll find out soon if they're going to live. where they were, the deer were dining on them regularly. they're at least in a safer bed now.
rhonda, congratulations, cuz!! that is a big accomplishment. curtis and i ate at cracker barrel for lunch today. we each ordered from the kid's menu. i do that often. this was a first for him. he's starting to worry about his weight. he's 6'2" so he can carry a lot. hmmmmmmmmm? maybe i need to be a foot taller?
we were out in the woods this evening. i had a cute little squirrel as a partner. he scampered all around me (looking like a bush) and decided i wasn't dangerous. he even brought his food over and ate beside me. i think he was on core.
Sandra, you have just hit on the perfect solution! If we could change our height as easily as we can change our weight, we'd all have it made.
It's not supposed to get out of the 80s for the next week so we're all glad about the cooler temps. Now if we can get some rain to go along with it, I'll be a happy kid.
The bean soup I made last night was really good, so that's for lunch. I looked at my FitDay and it's all Core except for the thin slice of homemade WW bread (I use the mini pans and so the slice is about 2"x2" and 1/4" thick). Maybe I'll post it today.
I'd love to have the bread recipe Kathy..hope you post it.
Sandra, I love your stories about the woods....send us more. I have a little ravine just a three minute walk from my front door. It's only about two blocks long, between a row of houses and a railroad track. I take the dogs there everyday and pretend I'm in the country. There all kinds of birds, racoons, a stream, and, once, a family of foxes.
Toronto is just amazing with ravines everywhere and lots of wildlife. I've seen foxes and coyotes and deer right in the neighborhoods.
I hope everyone is have a great Core day. I'm doing very well so far and hoping I can move that ticker tomorrow morning. This every other day approach takes some mental pressure off of me for some reason.
Oops, Rhonda -- I meant post my menu! LOL! But that's not going to happen now because I had a few substitutions to the menu. The bread, though, is very easy and when eaten in moderation, wouldn't be all that bad. I haven't calculated the points but don't intend to. Maybe someone else can do it if they're interested.
This is the bread that's served at Saltgrass Steakhouse. It uses Shiner Bock beer, but I've also substituted some other dark beers in the past and it worked fine. Just make sure the beer is flat.
Salt Grass Steakhouse Shiner Bock Beer Bread
1 1/2 -1 3/4 C. Shiner Bock Beer (flat)
2 1/2 C. Whole Wheat Flour
1 1/2 C. All Purpose Flour
(I use 4 cups of Whole Wheat Flour, and use the best I can find -- no Pillsbury or anything like that. My favorite is King Arthur.)
2 tsp. Dry Active Yeast
1/4 C. Warm Water ( not hot )
1/2 tsp. Salt
1/4 C. Honey
1/4 C. Vegetable Oil
Dissolve in a large mixing bowl yeast with warm water, add honey and stir. Mix in wheat flour, salt, and all purpose flour in bowl. Stir in oil and slowly add flat beer. Mix all ingredients together. (At this point, I usually add about a tsp. or two of additional flour to make it come off the side of the bowl.) Place dough on a floured service and kneed for at least 10 - 15 minutes. The dough may need a little more flour added to it if while kneading its sticking to your hands. The finished dough will feel smooth and spongy and will not stick to your hands.
Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with plastic until it doubles in size. Do not place dough in a draft or a over heated area. The dough should be let to rise at room temperature.
When dough has doubled, punch in the middle and let rest for 5 minutes. Divide into four equal parts and shape into round loaves. (I use four mini loaf pans instead.) Place loaves on a lightly oiled cookie sheet. Score twice on top of each loaf with a knife two inches apart and about 2 1/2 inches long. Cover loosely with plastic wrap until the loaves have double in size.
Place in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.
Pampered Chef has a good stoneware mini loaf pan too.
I hope that you're all having a great Saturday. The show went pretty well last night and I had great sales. My MIL earned 90.00 in free products. Not too shabby!
I've read through briefly but I can't stay. I have a ton to do today. It's gorgeous here, a real fall day. I hope to get out some too.
Have a great day everyone!!
Wow, that's fabulous! You are really doing well with it.
And believe it or not, it's a beautiful day here too. I'm about to go out and start the planting because the Texas-OU game is starting. With Judd having gone to UT, you can imagine where he is sitting right now ... and it has the potential to get loud in here. I did go to the store, however, and get him some things for snacks while he watches the game. I'm making some bean and cheese nachos, guacamole, cheese dip, and I got a port wine cheese ball and crackers for him. He should be set. I don't want any of that stuff, so it's safe.
hi, girls. curtis and i are just now home from the archery center. we trained for about 1.5 hours this am. then this young man (8th grader) came in. this young man is phenomenal! very polite. highly dedicated. i had heard a few minutes earlier that his older brother had just moved out--and this is the brother's senior year. his brother always brought him in to the archery center to shoot. now he's not only out of the house, but he's moved across the state. to make a long story short, curtis took the young guy under his wing this morning and coached him over 2 hours helping him with his equipment and shooting. he was very very appreciative and thanked both of us several times.
afterwards, we were starved and wound up at golden corral for lunch. i walked through the front door intending to have a major pigout. well, i didn't. i had tossed salad/ff ranch, 2 chicken tenders. then i had a piece of carrot cake. curtis and i were talking at the table and realized this was my first "real" dessert in months. i normally eat 1 pt brownies or 2 pt cookies or granola bars. this was an event. i savored every bite. i told myself that i was going to do what a former ww leader told me to do. "sit down and eat with dignity."
i'm planning for my next piece of cake to be at rhonda's wedding. rhonda, you know i've been drooling for a bite for a long long time.
kathy, i'm going to make taco soup this afternoon. i don't know if it's like your bean soup or not, but it has a lot of pinto beans in it. it's a core soup. i'll probably have a polenta cake with it tonight. curtis will have cornbread.
rhonda, i love walks in the woods, too. doyle can tell you about where i lived west of grandview my last 2 years of high school. we had trees all over the place. i'd take my cat (yes, cat) (well, i didn't take him. he followed me.) for walks in the woods. we'd sit near a small pond sometimes and just enjoy ourselves. i had that cat from the summer after 3rd grade till i turned 21. his name was "meow meow." he could say his name.
i'm glad weighing every other day is working for you. you're sounding very very grounded. i am happy for you. i am weighing every day now except when i've had popcorn or something else that i know makes me retain fluids.
melissa, it's a gorgeous fall day here, too. i told curtis it looks like football weather to me now. i'm glad your mil did so well with her party. i'm jealous.
Yay, Sandra! Thank goodness there's another Longhorns supporter among us!
The flowers are planted, the snacks are all made and served (he was SUPER excited! -- I made guac for his nachos and he's in heaven right now) ... now I have settled down with TLC and my Christmas cards. I had made the list between Christmas and New Years', and signed/addressed the special ones for family. I signed all the rest with the generic greeting and put them in envelopes, so now they just have to be addressed. I'll finish that up today and tomorrow and then I'll just be waiting for Christmas stamps to come out.
Do you guys remember that big box of makeup Kate bought last year at the grocery store where she worked? I found two plastic shoeboxes of it in the closet this morning and couldn't figure out what to do. I am NOT going to have a garage sale (ugh) even though I have a virtual ton of stuff to get rid of. The paralyzed veterans are collecting on Friday but it's a little iffy to give them stuff like that due to the glass bottles. I'm wondering if an assisted living facility could use them? If I can't figure out something, I'll see about taking them to the women's shelter. There's no reason I should hang on to it. If you have any suggestions, I'm all ears.
The decluttering continues, even though it doesn't look like it. This morning I had the bright idea for me, Judd, his friend Jon, and our admin to get together once a month and do home projects. We all like hanging around together, and it's always more motivating to do things in a group. Whoever's house we're working on would provide food. Now I have to pitch it to them in a way that it sounds fun instead of like a chore!
Back to TLC and the Christmas cards. I hope everyone is happy today.
kathy, we watch a lot of hgtv and are really into doing some things around the house. i think your idea of monthly projects is a good one. we already decided that if we do move and build a new home, it's going to be something "unusual." we've watched too many of those "offbeat" homes on tv. we want one.
I'm such a sucker for shows like that.
