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My new haircut. Yeah, pretty much looks the same as last time. No, it's not always that messy. Superman took this last night after a long day and I shook my hand through it. Honestly, messy looks better than it did after a long day.
Showing newest 20 of 27 posts from September 2009. Show older posts
Showing newest 20 of 27 posts from September 2009. Show older posts
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Wordless Wednesday - haircut and some sassiness
For your viewing pleasure...
My new haircut. Yeah, pretty much looks the same as last time. No, it's not always that messy. Superman took this last night after a long day and I shook my hand through it. Honestly, messy looks better than it did after a long day.
My new haircut. Yeah, pretty much looks the same as last time. No, it's not always that messy. Superman took this last night after a long day and I shook my hand through it. Honestly, messy looks better than it did after a long day.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
I'm so lame (and obviously hungry)
The only things I can come up with to blog about = me being lame. I figured I might as well tell you and then maybe my brain can move on to something more encouraging to my self-esteem. And I don't really know why this ended up being mostly about food. Just work with me people, I'm trying to give you something besides fillers this week!
Let's learn a little more about me today. I was raised a country girl. Not on a farm, just country. I'm talking big Saturday morning breakfasts of biscuits and gravy, bacon, eggs, sausage and fried apples. Oh those heavenly fried apples. And something I have always called creamed beef. It's just a gravy with corned beef in it. Mmm... now that I'm hungry I'll get on with it.
Growing up, steaks were always country fried or of the Salisbury variety. The only seasonings that existed in my little world were salt, pepper and ketchup. Not once, until I met Superman, did I have a big juicy steak on the grill.
I also never had Subway until Superman came into my life. Starting to sound pretty lame, huh. I'm not to the worst of it yet.
A few months after I turned 16 I got my first job at McDonald's. The very same day I was hired was also the day of my first date with Superman. And every Friday evening before that day, I could be found with my parents. Always having supper at McDonald's first, then grocery shopping. With me tagging along. 16 years old. Every. Friday. Night.
How embarrassing.
Thank God for Superman. He has been so good for me.
And even though I still crave those fried apples when we go back home for a visit, I don't ever want anything to do with Salisbury steak.
Hmm, I think I just figured out why I think grocery shopping is the worst thing in the world. Blogging really is therapeutic!
Let's learn a little more about me today. I was raised a country girl. Not on a farm, just country. I'm talking big Saturday morning breakfasts of biscuits and gravy, bacon, eggs, sausage and fried apples. Oh those heavenly fried apples. And something I have always called creamed beef. It's just a gravy with corned beef in it. Mmm... now that I'm hungry I'll get on with it.
Growing up, steaks were always country fried or of the Salisbury variety. The only seasonings that existed in my little world were salt, pepper and ketchup. Not once, until I met Superman, did I have a big juicy steak on the grill.
I also never had Subway until Superman came into my life. Starting to sound pretty lame, huh. I'm not to the worst of it yet.
A few months after I turned 16 I got my first job at McDonald's. The very same day I was hired was also the day of my first date with Superman. And every Friday evening before that day, I could be found with my parents. Always having supper at McDonald's first, then grocery shopping. With me tagging along. 16 years old. Every. Friday. Night.
How embarrassing.
Thank God for Superman. He has been so good for me.
And even though I still crave those fried apples when we go back home for a visit, I don't ever want anything to do with Salisbury steak.
Hmm, I think I just figured out why I think grocery shopping is the worst thing in the world. Blogging really is therapeutic!
Monday, September 28, 2009
Not Me Monday
Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.
I have not been getting irritated with my hair lately. So last night, I did not finally get fed up and go upstairs and cut it again! It wasn't after 9pm when I started cutting so I'm not hoping it doesn't look ridiculous today. And maybe sometime this week, I won't post pictures for you (I said maybe)! I didn't go shorter than normal in the back and I'm not a little scared that it's uneven and I won't be able to do anything with it.
With 2 kids selling candy bars for school, we do not have 100 bars of CHOCOLATE sitting around here. Okay, that's not entirely true. We do not have 89 bars of CHOCOLATE sitting around here! As soon as they brought them home on Friday, I did not dig up $1 in change (including 50 pennies) because I wanted one so bad. And I would never get $9 from an ATM Friday evening so we could each have 2 candy bars (they all got 2 but I got 1 more since I already had one). So that means we should have 90, but I said 89. As of yesterday afternoon, I do not owe one of the kids another $1. Which means that I do not have to buy another one from the other kid to make it even. The joys of twins. We don't have to take the unsold bars back to school in 11 days, which is WAY TOO LONG TO BE SITTING AROUND HERE!
I will not be broke from buying candy bars in the next couple weeks.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Saturday Cell Phone Mosaic... On Sunday
Sorry I'm just now posting. I totally intended on doing this last night but Superman had to do some freelance work on the computer so I just sat back and relaxed!
We woke up to yet another rainy day yesterday. I think we've had 1 day in the last week and a half that it wasn't raining. It's starting to get a little old. Okay, a lot old. But we made it to the chiropractor and then went to Lowe's to build fire trucks. The Build and Grow workshop at Lowe's starts at 10am. We got there about 10:03 and the line was ridiculous! We're usually some of the first people there but it was packed. We waited for a while and knew we'd be waiting longer because you have to wait for kids to finish theirs so you can have a spot to work at. Superman finally went over and just asked for our kits to take home so we didn't have to wait any more.
We made a quick stop on the way home for gas and Superman ran in Wal-mart real quick. The movie Andre was on (it's older, where the seal makes a home with a family, remember?) so we finished watching that and dozed off for a little nap too.
I woke up with 2 things in mind. I wanted either Chinese or Mexican! Mexican won but after the full aching stomach the rest of the evening I think we should've done something else.
After that it was just more relaxing. The kids got their showers and even though they were really loud, they were actually playing together without fighting! Later we sent the kids to Peanut's room to watch a movie and get settled down. She has a nice big bed so they usually all sleep in there on weekends. Superman worked on his freelance stuff while I hit the recliner to relax and doze off some more.
That's pretty much it! But have you heard of GoGo's? They're little toy figurine type things that are sold in the aisle with collector cards. Our kids have gone crazy for them lately, using their allowance to buy them, birthday gift cards and got some as birthday presents too. They love these little things. Just wondered if you've seen them because there are a bunch of pictures of them in here and between 2 of the kids there were 83 of them spread out on the floor yesterday. Yes, I said 83!
We woke up to yet another rainy day yesterday. I think we've had 1 day in the last week and a half that it wasn't raining. It's starting to get a little old. Okay, a lot old. But we made it to the chiropractor and then went to Lowe's to build fire trucks. The Build and Grow workshop at Lowe's starts at 10am. We got there about 10:03 and the line was ridiculous! We're usually some of the first people there but it was packed. We waited for a while and knew we'd be waiting longer because you have to wait for kids to finish theirs so you can have a spot to work at. Superman finally went over and just asked for our kits to take home so we didn't have to wait any more.
We made a quick stop on the way home for gas and Superman ran in Wal-mart real quick. The movie Andre was on (it's older, where the seal makes a home with a family, remember?) so we finished watching that and dozed off for a little nap too.
I woke up with 2 things in mind. I wanted either Chinese or Mexican! Mexican won but after the full aching stomach the rest of the evening I think we should've done something else.
After that it was just more relaxing. The kids got their showers and even though they were really loud, they were actually playing together without fighting! Later we sent the kids to Peanut's room to watch a movie and get settled down. She has a nice big bed so they usually all sleep in there on weekends. Superman worked on his freelance stuff while I hit the recliner to relax and doze off some more.
That's pretty much it! But have you heard of GoGo's? They're little toy figurine type things that are sold in the aisle with collector cards. Our kids have gone crazy for them lately, using their allowance to buy them, birthday gift cards and got some as birthday presents too. They love these little things. Just wondered if you've seen them because there are a bunch of pictures of them in here and between 2 of the kids there were 83 of them spread out on the floor yesterday. Yes, I said 83!
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| From September 26, 2009 |
Friday, September 25, 2009
Healthy Friday
Ahhh. Friday.
That's all I have to say about that.
If you remember last week, we only did Burst training once. This week we were back up to twice! We need to try to do it 3-4 days a week but at least we got a second one in this week and last night we bumped it up to 7 sets! I'm not confident about weight loss this week though. There's been food and bloating. And food and more bloating. I've felt ravenous this week. I know part of it is hormonal but I also wonder if I'm eating enough. You know how weight loss comes down to calories in vs. calories out, I would bet money that I'm not eating enough calories since I started working. *Okay, I got curious and went and counted everything I ate today (writing this last night). It added up to exactly 1,000 calories. That's all. Plus we did Burst last night so some of those were calories were burnt. (After adding it up and seeing how low that is, I made kettle corn. I'm a happy lady.) So anyway, I wonder if that's why I've felt more hungry this week. And I wonder how that will affect my weight this week. Check my ticker for an update. If you're curious, I was down 4 lbs last week. I'm afraid my body may start hanging on to the fat if I'm not eating enough.
So far, Pillsbury is 0-1 but we're gonna give it another shot. This is the Asian Pork and Vegetable Stir-Fry.
What you need:
1/2 cup uncooked instant brown rice
1 cup water
1 boneless pork loin chop (4 oz), cut into thin bite-size strips
2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
1 medium onion, cut into thin wedges
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 can (18.5 oz) Progresso® Light homestyle vegetable and rice soup
1 tablespoon stir-fry sauce
1 cup fresh snow pea pods
2 tablespoons sliced almonds, if desired
In 1-quart saucepan, cook rice in water as directed on package, omitting butter.
Meanwhile, in 12-inch nonstick skillet, place pork, mushrooms and onion; sprinkle with garlic powder. Cook over high heat 4 to 6 minutes, stirring frequently, until pork begins to brown. Stir in soup and stir-fry sauce; heat to boiling. Stir in pea pods. Cook over high heat 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until pea pods are crisp-tender.
Serve pork mixture over rice; sprinkle with almonds.
320 Calories. Sodium was a little on the high side. Source.
Sorry Pillsbury, you're 0-2. For our family at least. This recipe had 3 strikes against it from the beginning. 1) I hate pork. It's the dirtiest meat, it grosses me out to think about and usually makes my stomach hurt when I eat it. But I've had some in the freezer for a while and I hate wasting food. 2) I didn't realize Superman hates anything that resembles soy sauce. 3) My store didn't have the vegetable and rice soup. Or anything with rice in it. Being tired of searching the soup aisle, I grabbed just vegetable.
So, it's not really that the recipe was bad, it just didn't work for us. Using vegetable soup gave it a stronger vegetable soup flavor, which I also learned Superman hates. And he couldn't add soy sauce to help because he hates that too. Sheesh, the things you learn after 13 years of marriage. Maybe I need to run these new recipe ideas by him before I try them, because it breaks my heart to have to put this picture up today!
Not really.
Okay, a little.
The weekend is upon us and you know what that means! You do know what that means, right? Grab your cell phones or cameras as soon as you wake up tomorrow and start snapping! Heck, sleep with it tonight if you have to. Just document your day in pictures and come back here for Saturday Cell Phone Mosaic to show us what you did!
That's all I have to say about that.
If you remember last week, we only did Burst training once. This week we were back up to twice! We need to try to do it 3-4 days a week but at least we got a second one in this week and last night we bumped it up to 7 sets! I'm not confident about weight loss this week though. There's been food and bloating. And food and more bloating. I've felt ravenous this week. I know part of it is hormonal but I also wonder if I'm eating enough. You know how weight loss comes down to calories in vs. calories out, I would bet money that I'm not eating enough calories since I started working. *Okay, I got curious and went and counted everything I ate today (writing this last night). It added up to exactly 1,000 calories. That's all. Plus we did Burst last night so some of those were calories were burnt. (After adding it up and seeing how low that is, I made kettle corn. I'm a happy lady.) So anyway, I wonder if that's why I've felt more hungry this week. And I wonder how that will affect my weight this week. Check my ticker for an update. If you're curious, I was down 4 lbs last week. I'm afraid my body may start hanging on to the fat if I'm not eating enough.
So far, Pillsbury is 0-1 but we're gonna give it another shot. This is the Asian Pork and Vegetable Stir-Fry.
What you need:
1/2 cup uncooked instant brown rice
1 cup water
1 boneless pork loin chop (4 oz), cut into thin bite-size strips
2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
1 medium onion, cut into thin wedges
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 can (18.5 oz) Progresso® Light homestyle vegetable and rice soup
1 tablespoon stir-fry sauce
1 cup fresh snow pea pods
2 tablespoons sliced almonds, if desired
In 1-quart saucepan, cook rice in water as directed on package, omitting butter.
Meanwhile, in 12-inch nonstick skillet, place pork, mushrooms and onion; sprinkle with garlic powder. Cook over high heat 4 to 6 minutes, stirring frequently, until pork begins to brown. Stir in soup and stir-fry sauce; heat to boiling. Stir in pea pods. Cook over high heat 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until pea pods are crisp-tender.
Serve pork mixture over rice; sprinkle with almonds.
320 Calories. Sodium was a little on the high side. Source.
Sorry Pillsbury, you're 0-2. For our family at least. This recipe had 3 strikes against it from the beginning. 1) I hate pork. It's the dirtiest meat, it grosses me out to think about and usually makes my stomach hurt when I eat it. But I've had some in the freezer for a while and I hate wasting food. 2) I didn't realize Superman hates anything that resembles soy sauce. 3) My store didn't have the vegetable and rice soup. Or anything with rice in it. Being tired of searching the soup aisle, I grabbed just vegetable.
So, it's not really that the recipe was bad, it just didn't work for us. Using vegetable soup gave it a stronger vegetable soup flavor, which I also learned Superman hates. And he couldn't add soy sauce to help because he hates that too. Sheesh, the things you learn after 13 years of marriage. Maybe I need to run these new recipe ideas by him before I try them, because it breaks my heart to have to put this picture up today!
Not really.
Okay, a little.
The weekend is upon us and you know what that means! You do know what that means, right? Grab your cell phones or cameras as soon as you wake up tomorrow and start snapping! Heck, sleep with it tonight if you have to. Just document your day in pictures and come back here for Saturday Cell Phone Mosaic to show us what you did!
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Thursday Thirteen - Edition L
Courtesy of Izzy 'N Emmy. Inspired by Kimber.1. Love - I love my hubby, my kids, my dog, my life. Need I go on?
2. Laugh - What we do a lot of in our house!
3. Laziness - My disease. I've had it for years. Sadly, I've yet to find a cure.
4. Loser - See previous weeks: Idiot, Jerk and Knucklehead. Or, my current reality TV obsession; The Biggest Loser.
5. Long - a strong, persistent desire or craving, esp. for something unattainable or distant (for example: I am really tired/stressed lately and am starting to long to be just a homemaker again.) or a period of time (Some weeks since I started working seem really long. Or: Weekends just aren't long enough anymore.)
6. Lion Brand - See here. Does my heart good to look at fluffy, pretty yarn! Goes along with last weeks knitting.
7. Legs - Mine are often still sore from being on my feet all day. Also the best piece of fried chicken.
8. Layout - (sorry, brain fart. I saw the layout tab above while writing and it starts with L so there you go)
9. Laundry - hate, Hate, HATE doing laundry. Hate dragging it downstairs to wash, hate folding, hate hanging stuff up.
10. Long John Silvers - Love it. I'm the only one in the family that does, so I don't get it often. Plus there seems to be a negative effect during digestion, ifyaknowwhatimean, so they don't allow me to have it much.
11. Laptop - what I'm using.
12. Library - A building with lots of books. Our downtown library is big and rad.
13. Locked - My brain just fizzled out, locked up, shut down. Good thing this was the last one!
2. Laugh - What we do a lot of in our house!
3. Laziness - My disease. I've had it for years. Sadly, I've yet to find a cure.
4. Loser - See previous weeks: Idiot, Jerk and Knucklehead. Or, my current reality TV obsession; The Biggest Loser.
5. Long - a strong, persistent desire or craving, esp. for something unattainable or distant (for example: I am really tired/stressed lately and am starting to long to be just a homemaker again.) or a period of time (Some weeks since I started working seem really long. Or: Weekends just aren't long enough anymore.)
6. Lion Brand - See here. Does my heart good to look at fluffy, pretty yarn! Goes along with last weeks knitting.
7. Legs - Mine are often still sore from being on my feet all day. Also the best piece of fried chicken.
8. Layout - (sorry, brain fart. I saw the layout tab above while writing and it starts with L so there you go)
9. Laundry - hate, Hate, HATE doing laundry. Hate dragging it downstairs to wash, hate folding, hate hanging stuff up.
10. Long John Silvers - Love it. I'm the only one in the family that does, so I don't get it often. Plus there seems to be a negative effect during digestion, ifyaknowwhatimean, so they don't allow me to have it much.
11. Laptop - what I'm using.
12. Library - A building with lots of books. Our downtown library is big and rad.
13. Locked - My brain just fizzled out, locked up, shut down. Good thing this was the last one!
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Rewind!
I decided to rewind today, give you one of my early posts from when I very first started blogging. You know, way back to February 27th. My brain thanks you for a day off and I hope you enjoy!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I've heard that everyone dreams. And that if you think you don't, you just don't remember them. I must have a terrible memory then because I'm tellin' you, I don't dream.
Superman might beg to differ. As we were getting in bed last night he asked what my dream was from the night before. I told him I didn't have one. I never do.
He was laughing and that made me curious. And I even had to laugh at myself once I heard the story.
We were in bed, I was already well into my slumber and he was watching TV. He heard me say "Cool!" like I was excited about something. Obviously, he thought I was still awake and watching what he was watching on TV and was commenting about it. But when he looked at me, I was leaning up on my arm and talking to the wall. Apparently I flopped back down on my pillow and that was that.
But the way I said it and the way Superman told the story was reminiscent of one of our favorite movie scenes...
It would have been so awesome if Superman would've responded to my sleep talking "Cool" with "Beans. Beans."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I've heard that everyone dreams. And that if you think you don't, you just don't remember them. I must have a terrible memory then because I'm tellin' you, I don't dream.
Superman might beg to differ. As we were getting in bed last night he asked what my dream was from the night before. I told him I didn't have one. I never do.
He was laughing and that made me curious. And I even had to laugh at myself once I heard the story.
We were in bed, I was already well into my slumber and he was watching TV. He heard me say "Cool!" like I was excited about something. Obviously, he thought I was still awake and watching what he was watching on TV and was commenting about it. But when he looked at me, I was leaning up on my arm and talking to the wall. Apparently I flopped back down on my pillow and that was that.
But the way I said it and the way Superman told the story was reminiscent of one of our favorite movie scenes...
It would have been so awesome if Superman would've responded to my sleep talking "Cool" with "Beans. Beans."
Monday, September 21, 2009
Not Me Monday
Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.
I am not so completely exhausted from the weekend that I didn't actually think about taking today off from blogging. There might not be some filler posts this week from the past because my brain does not feel fried.
The kids did not have a great birthday! It's not hard for them sometimes being away from all family, but I think this year was easier than last year. Fun was not had by all and Superman did not win the most tickets! He also did not give most of them away to make sure the kids got some cool
I do not feel like I could use an entire week off work to catch up on rest and housework after the weekend. It wasn't a ton busier than normal but for some reason, I do not feel completely out of it.
I do not plan on doing better at Burst training this week (more than once) and am not looking forward to seeing what the scale tells me on Friday!
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Saturday Cell Phone Mosaic...On Sunday
I'm now wishing I would've taken the time to post this last night because I'm just too darn tired to write about it this morning!
It was a blast! They had a great time! Unfortunately, the invites were too last minute and Princess' friend didn't get to come but luckily she has an older sister that didn't mind hanging out with her. Superman and I even had fun!
Real quick, this is how our day looked. Chiro, home for about an hour (Superman kicked my butt at Boom Blox while we were waiting to leave again), Chuck E. Cheese's, home (tired, got a nap while they played with new stuff), Birthday supper at McDonalds, Wal-mart to spend gift cards, home, they opened more new stuff, played, Superman and I watched the new Wolverine movie and went to bed about 1am.
I don't know why the mosaic made blank spots but I've messed with these pictures so much this time that I'm not bothering to check it out. The real pictures are viewable as you click through.
It was a great day! What did you do yesterday?
It was a blast! They had a great time! Unfortunately, the invites were too last minute and Princess' friend didn't get to come but luckily she has an older sister that didn't mind hanging out with her. Superman and I even had fun!
Real quick, this is how our day looked. Chiro, home for about an hour (Superman kicked my butt at Boom Blox while we were waiting to leave again), Chuck E. Cheese's, home (tired, got a nap while they played with new stuff), Birthday supper at McDonalds, Wal-mart to spend gift cards, home, they opened more new stuff, played, Superman and I watched the new Wolverine movie and went to bed about 1am.
I don't know why the mosaic made blank spots but I've messed with these pictures so much this time that I'm not bothering to check it out. The real pictures are viewable as you click through.
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| From September 19, 2009 |
It was a great day! What did you do yesterday?
Saturday, September 19, 2009
9 years ago today
Two little people changed our lives completely!
Yes, these first few were before we went digital. And our scanner is being borrowed by the in-laws 2 states away so I had to take a picture of the pictures!
Notice how close they were in the above pictures? The next picture is where I think things started changing because now days, if they're together, they're fighting.
Which makes this next picture such a gem. I was totally surprised to see them dancing together at the vow renewal we shot.
But... right back to normal. Getting them to take a picture together and look happy about it was about like pulling teeth. And the fighting continued soon after.
Happy 9th Birthday sweet babies! (yes, they'll always be my babies)
Yes, these first few were before we went digital. And our scanner is being borrowed by the in-laws 2 states away so I had to take a picture of the pictures!
Notice how close they were in the above pictures? The next picture is where I think things started changing because now days, if they're together, they're fighting.
Which makes this next picture such a gem. I was totally surprised to see them dancing together at the vow renewal we shot.
But... right back to normal. Getting them to take a picture together and look happy about it was about like pulling teeth. And the fighting continued soon after.
Happy 9th Birthday sweet babies! (yes, they'll always be my babies)
Friday, September 18, 2009
Healthy Friday
What a week. I'm so glad it's Friday.
Before I go on, is anyone else completely stoked that The Biggest Loser is back?! I don't know how many times I cried on Tuesday night watching it. I must be extra sensitive this week, but those people's stories just got me.
We kind of fell off the Burst training wagon this week. It was just a rough week all around. Rough at work, busy at home and Superman hasn't been feeling well. He's my motivator and he was feeling really sick for a few days so we've only done it once this week. I still think it will pay off though.
Tomorrow is the big day! Princess and Little Dude will be 9 years old! I have to say, I'm probably just as excited about going to Chuck E. Cheese's as they are. I love me some games and prizes. It's been a bit of a fiasco though. They were both wanting a slumber party this year. I remembered that Peanut's first slumber party was when she was turning 9 and it was the slumber party from Hades. The next year was great, so I told Princess and Little Dude no slumber party this year. And honestly, I really hate planning parties and having to entertain other kids for a couple hours. So we proposed the idea of going to Chuck E. Cheese's for their birthday and celebrating, just the 5 of us. They loved the idea! Until I found out on Tuesday that they had each already invited some friends. So, while slightly feeling like crap, we decided they could invite 1 friend each. We're not made of money, you know. I scrambled around Wednesday between work and housework and booked an official party and printed out a couple Chuck E. Cheese party invitations. I hate that it's such late notice, but seriously, if your kid got invited to a party just 2 days away where they were being fed lunch and given free game tokens wouldn't you send them? I sure would.
Trying out Pillsbury this time. This is the Espresso-rubbed steak.
What you need:
1/4 cup finely ground coffee beans or espresso powder
2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons coarse ground black pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
2 boneless beef top sirloin steaks, 1 inch thick (1 1/4 to 1 1/2 lb each
In small bowl, mix coffee (dry), brown sugar, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder. Rub generously on steaks to evenly coat both sides. Any leftover rub can be placed in sealed container and frozen for another use.
Heat gas or charcoal grill. Place steaks on grill over medium-high heat. Cover grill; cook 8 to 12 minutes or until desired doneness, turning once. Cut steaks into slices. Season to taste with salt.
230 calories. Source.
I was super excited to try this recipe out since we love our coffee. We have coffee in the mornings, sometimes lunch-time coffee and after supper coffee, usually almost up to the time we're going to bed (no, it doesn't keep us awake). But I have to say we were disappointed with this recipe. The cooked coffee on the steak made it look really charred. So you put it in your mouth expecting it to taste burnt and it didn't. It was a little spicy and just had kind of a weird taste to it, but it wasn't horrible. I still haven't made anything else that compared to the meal that looked like barf.
Superman gave it...
Saturday Cell Phone Mosaic this weekend... oh, it's gonna be a fun one! Full of 9 year old birthday goodness! I can't wait!
Peace out Ganstas.
Before I go on, is anyone else completely stoked that The Biggest Loser is back?! I don't know how many times I cried on Tuesday night watching it. I must be extra sensitive this week, but those people's stories just got me.
We kind of fell off the Burst training wagon this week. It was just a rough week all around. Rough at work, busy at home and Superman hasn't been feeling well. He's my motivator and he was feeling really sick for a few days so we've only done it once this week. I still think it will pay off though.
Tomorrow is the big day! Princess and Little Dude will be 9 years old! I have to say, I'm probably just as excited about going to Chuck E. Cheese's as they are. I love me some games and prizes. It's been a bit of a fiasco though. They were both wanting a slumber party this year. I remembered that Peanut's first slumber party was when she was turning 9 and it was the slumber party from Hades. The next year was great, so I told Princess and Little Dude no slumber party this year. And honestly, I really hate planning parties and having to entertain other kids for a couple hours. So we proposed the idea of going to Chuck E. Cheese's for their birthday and celebrating, just the 5 of us. They loved the idea! Until I found out on Tuesday that they had each already invited some friends. So, while slightly feeling like crap, we decided they could invite 1 friend each. We're not made of money, you know. I scrambled around Wednesday between work and housework and booked an official party and printed out a couple Chuck E. Cheese party invitations. I hate that it's such late notice, but seriously, if your kid got invited to a party just 2 days away where they were being fed lunch and given free game tokens wouldn't you send them? I sure would.
Trying out Pillsbury this time. This is the Espresso-rubbed steak.
What you need:
1/4 cup finely ground coffee beans or espresso powder
2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons coarse ground black pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
2 boneless beef top sirloin steaks, 1 inch thick (1 1/4 to 1 1/2 lb each
In small bowl, mix coffee (dry), brown sugar, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder. Rub generously on steaks to evenly coat both sides. Any leftover rub can be placed in sealed container and frozen for another use.
Heat gas or charcoal grill. Place steaks on grill over medium-high heat. Cover grill; cook 8 to 12 minutes or until desired doneness, turning once. Cut steaks into slices. Season to taste with salt.
230 calories. Source.
I was super excited to try this recipe out since we love our coffee. We have coffee in the mornings, sometimes lunch-time coffee and after supper coffee, usually almost up to the time we're going to bed (no, it doesn't keep us awake). But I have to say we were disappointed with this recipe. The cooked coffee on the steak made it look really charred. So you put it in your mouth expecting it to taste burnt and it didn't. It was a little spicy and just had kind of a weird taste to it, but it wasn't horrible. I still haven't made anything else that compared to the meal that looked like barf.
Superman gave it...
Saturday Cell Phone Mosaic this weekend... oh, it's gonna be a fun one! Full of 9 year old birthday goodness! I can't wait!
Peace out Ganstas.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Thursday Thirteen - Edition K
Courtesy of Izzy 'N Emmy. Inspired by Kimber.1. Kettle corn - I didn't even have to think about what my first K word would be. I love kettle corn. I would marry the stuff. Pass the butter sprinkles, please.
2. Kid - what I get to be at Chuck E. Cheese's on Saturday!
3. Kooky - a little of how I feel this week between work, housework and last minute birthday planning.
4. Kool and the Gang - Celebrate good times, come on! (Did I just age myself?)
5. Knitting - what I love to do to relax. Just finished the ivory blanket on my sidebar!
6. Kewiki - Superman's other nickname. See here.
7. Katydid - the large nasty creature that fell/jumped and landed on Superman in bed one night.
8. Ketchup - what Princess puts on everything, from cheetos to mac and cheese.
9. Kick - I need to kick myself in the butt to finish this week at work, I need to kick up the Burst training again and have lately met people I'd like to kick in the head.
10. Kisses - Superman, are you reading this? I need some extra of these this week.
11. Knee - seems to be what I'm growing on my ankle. The hard ball of swelling I developed my first week of working now looks like a 3rd knee. And it's as hard as one.
12. Knucklehead - Refer to last week's "Jerk", and "Idiot" the week before.
13. Kimber!!! - what a fun blog friend! Thanks for the initialshove mention to play along!
2. Kid - what I get to be at Chuck E. Cheese's on Saturday!
3. Kooky - a little of how I feel this week between work, housework and last minute birthday planning.
4. Kool and the Gang - Celebrate good times, come on! (Did I just age myself?)
5. Knitting - what I love to do to relax. Just finished the ivory blanket on my sidebar!
6. Kewiki - Superman's other nickname. See here.
7. Katydid - the large nasty creature that fell/jumped and landed on Superman in bed one night.
8. Ketchup - what Princess puts on everything, from cheetos to mac and cheese.
9. Kick - I need to kick myself in the butt to finish this week at work, I need to kick up the Burst training again and have lately met people I'd like to kick in the head.
10. Kisses - Superman, are you reading this? I need some extra of these this week.
11. Knee - seems to be what I'm growing on my ankle. The hard ball of swelling I developed my first week of working now looks like a 3rd knee. And it's as hard as one.
12. Knucklehead - Refer to last week's "Jerk", and "Idiot" the week before.
13. Kimber!!! - what a fun blog friend! Thanks for the initial
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Wordless Wednesday - Favorite Shot
This is my favorite photo from the wedding (vow renewal) we shot a few weeks ago. I love this picture!
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Wii Fit Fun
Little Dude was playing on Wii Fit last night. There is a balancing game where you have to get the marble-like things through holes by moving around and balancing. I got a kick out of watching him because slight movements work best and it was just funny watching his quick movements and jerks!
Again, I don't know why the internet doesn't like videos from my phone. I can watch it just fine on the computer but when using Blogger it really messes with the sound. I've also tried Vimeo which does the same with the sound and also doubles the speed.
Anyway, he was cracking me up!
Again, I don't know why the internet doesn't like videos from my phone. I can watch it just fine on the computer but when using Blogger it really messes with the sound. I've also tried Vimeo which does the same with the sound and also doubles the speed.
Anyway, he was cracking me up!
Monday, September 14, 2009
Not Me Monday
Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.
It was not so nice having a day off last week. But it did not make the whole week extra crazy. It didn't used to affect me when I wasn't working, but not having to play catch up last week was not outrageously hard. I can't believe just 1 day off would do that!
We did not start family Burst training last week! It's not amazingly the
We don't only have 5 more days until Princess and Little Dude turn 9! And we aren't celebrating at germ central (gee, thanks Kimber. Now I get to worry about playing a game and putting my hand where some snotty nosed kids hand was), er, I mean Chuck E. Cheese's! I can't wait!
Hope you don't have a great week!
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Saturday Cell Phone Mosaic
Another good Saturday! I used to love Saturdays where we'd sleep in and loaf around, but before we knew it, it was the afternoon and we hadn't done a thing. Now I absolutely love getting up and getting busy because it makes the day seem so much longer!
We hit the chiropractor first thing this morning. Well, we didn't hit him, but you know what I mean. Then went to Lowe's so the kids could make drums. (the kids were told to keep the drums quiet by the time we got home)
As soon as we got back home, we got busy. Our cars were just plain nasty, inside and out. The insides were full of dust and leaves and trash on the floor. I think it's impossible to keep a car clean with kids! Or with me. I'm terrible about just throwing something on the passenger side floor while I'm driving. So we vacuumed and wiped down the insides and washed the outsides. We have a sappy tree that makes our cars terribly dirty and almost impossible to get off.
When the cars were done and the kids were dry (you know it's impossible to wash cars and keep kids dry), we had some lunch. I hit the couch to relax a little and was asleep before I knew it. Until the sun came in a window and was right in my eyes. I saw Superman asleep in his recliner and the kids were watching a movie so I went up to bed for a nice nap.
After naps we watched the new iCarly with the kids then ran out to get some blank CDs. We are dropping off those wedding pictures tomorrow and didn't know we didn't have any CDs left to put them on. So we grabbed some hamburger buns for tomorrow (I'm a terrible planner), returned a movie and went to Subway. We've gotten in a horrible habit of eating out on the weekends, which is going to stop, but at least it was Subway and not McDonalds again.
And now, the kids are nestled all snug in their beds. Not really. They're all in up in Peanut's room watching a movie and will probably be asleep soon though. And I'm going to watch a scary movie with my Superman!
What did you do today?
We hit the chiropractor first thing this morning. Well, we didn't hit him, but you know what I mean. Then went to Lowe's so the kids could make drums. (the kids were told to keep the drums quiet by the time we got home)
As soon as we got back home, we got busy. Our cars were just plain nasty, inside and out. The insides were full of dust and leaves and trash on the floor. I think it's impossible to keep a car clean with kids! Or with me. I'm terrible about just throwing something on the passenger side floor while I'm driving. So we vacuumed and wiped down the insides and washed the outsides. We have a sappy tree that makes our cars terribly dirty and almost impossible to get off.
When the cars were done and the kids were dry (you know it's impossible to wash cars and keep kids dry), we had some lunch. I hit the couch to relax a little and was asleep before I knew it. Until the sun came in a window and was right in my eyes. I saw Superman asleep in his recliner and the kids were watching a movie so I went up to bed for a nice nap.
After naps we watched the new iCarly with the kids then ran out to get some blank CDs. We are dropping off those wedding pictures tomorrow and didn't know we didn't have any CDs left to put them on. So we grabbed some hamburger buns for tomorrow (I'm a terrible planner), returned a movie and went to Subway. We've gotten in a horrible habit of eating out on the weekends, which is going to stop, but at least it was Subway and not McDonalds again.
And now, the kids are nestled all snug in their beds. Not really. They're all in up in Peanut's room watching a movie and will probably be asleep soon though. And I'm going to watch a scary movie with my Superman!
 |
| From September 12, 2009 |
Friday, September 11, 2009
Healthy Friday
Why is it that a shorter week felt so long?
Work is still going good, but man, I'm just plain tired by Friday.
Our whole family started Burst training this week. What is Burst training?...
"Burst training involves exercising at 90%-100% of your maximum effort for 30-60 seconds in order to burn your body’s stored sugar (glycogen), followed by 30-60 seconds of low impact for recovery. This causes your body to burn fat for the next 36 hours to replace your body’s vital energy (glycogen) stores.
But we've done it twice this week as a family so far. It is exhausting but it really feels great to be moving! And I'm loving my ticker today! Do you remember what it said last week? Well, if not, I lost 2.9 lbs this week!
Say hello to my old friend Kraft Foods. You get a double dose of recipes this week! This is the Any Night Beef Roast.
What you need:
200 Calories. Source.
I think they would've been really good but something has been wrong with the last 2 bags of red potatoes I've bought. I baked them for the right amount of time but it was almost like they were still raw. I threw them in the microwave for a little bit to speed it up. It helped but by then we were done with our roast and the potatoes were so hot we were full by the time they cooled off. The same thing happened to me this week when I made a traditional roast in the crockpot. The potatoes were in there at least an hour before it was time to eat and they were so raw we couldn't eat them! It's so frustrating! I've never had problems with potatoes until these last 2 bags. So the taste would've gotten a "Good" picture from Superman. I'll have to try these again soon with yet another new bag of potatoes.
Saturday Cell Phone Mosaic this weekend! You have absolutely no excuses since I gave even more instructions in addition to the originals! You will participate... or I will hunt you down!
Work is still going good, but man, I'm just plain tired by Friday.
Our whole family started Burst training this week. What is Burst training?...
"Burst training involves exercising at 90%-100% of your maximum effort for 30-60 seconds in order to burn your body’s stored sugar (glycogen), followed by 30-60 seconds of low impact for recovery. This causes your body to burn fat for the next 36 hours to replace your body’s vital energy (glycogen) stores.
You only need to do 4-6 sets of 30-60 second bursts 3 times a week to see marked changes and improvements. More is not always better--make sure you have days of rest." Source (our chiropractor's website)
But we've done it twice this week as a family so far. It is exhausting but it really feels great to be moving! And I'm loving my ticker today! Do you remember what it said last week? Well, if not, I lost 2.9 lbs this week!
Say hello to my old friend Kraft Foods. You get a double dose of recipes this week! This is the Any Night Beef Roast.
What you need: 1 beef eye round roast (3 lb.)
1/2 cup KRAFT Zesty Italian Dressing
1 Tbsp. KRAFT Prepared Horseradish
1 tsp. dried rosemary leaves
Score roast lightly, criss crossing diagonally, using tip of small paring knife. Mix dressing, horseradish and rosemary in large resealable plastic bag; add roast. Refrigerate at least 1 hour or overnight to marinate.
Preheat oven to 375°F. Remove roast from bag; place on rack in roasting pan. Pour marinade over roast. Roast 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 hours or until internal temperature reaches 140°F to 155°F.
Place roast on carving board; tent with foil and let stand 15 min. (Internal temperature will continue to rise 5 to 10°F.) Slice roast thinly.
190 Calories. Source.
It was really good! I asked Superman which way he preferred roast, like this or in the crockpot with potatoes and carrots. He said it was too hard to decide because they both have completely different tastes. But he still said...
This meal was served with a side of Golden Parmesan Potatoes (can you even see them?).
2 lb. new potatoes (about 20), quartered
1/4 cup olive oil
1-1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup KRAFT Grated Parmesan Cheese
Heat oven to 400ºF.
Toss potatoes with oil, seasoning and garlic. Add cheese; mix lightly.
Spread onto bottom of 15x10x1-inch pan.
Bake 45 min. or until potatoes are tender.
I think they would've been really good but something has been wrong with the last 2 bags of red potatoes I've bought. I baked them for the right amount of time but it was almost like they were still raw. I threw them in the microwave for a little bit to speed it up. It helped but by then we were done with our roast and the potatoes were so hot we were full by the time they cooled off. The same thing happened to me this week when I made a traditional roast in the crockpot. The potatoes were in there at least an hour before it was time to eat and they were so raw we couldn't eat them! It's so frustrating! I've never had problems with potatoes until these last 2 bags. So the taste would've gotten a "Good" picture from Superman. I'll have to try these again soon with yet another new bag of potatoes.
Saturday Cell Phone Mosaic this weekend! You have absolutely no excuses since I gave even more instructions in addition to the originals! You will participate... or I will hunt you down!
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Thursday Thirteen - Edition J
Courtesy of Izzy 'N Emmy. Inspired by Kimber.1. Jack - my sweet dog. He really thinks he's one of the kids. When my parents left for home on Sunday and asked for hugs from the kids, he went right over and rubbed up on both of them!
2. Jump - a good move to get your heart pumping!
3. Jerk - what I call a lot of people (mostly drivers) Also see, Idiot from last week.
4. Jabawokies - We watched them get their start on America's Next Best Dance Crew and loved them!
5. Jacket - what I'm looking forward to wearing! I'm so ready for fall.
6. Jagged - what the edge of a box was yesterday at work, scraping my arm while I carried it.
7. Jam - I have tons of homemade jam from my mother-in-law, and they are in....
8. Jars - I don't really have anything to say about it except for what #7 is in.
9. January - my least favorite month of the year. Christmas is over, there is nothing to look forward to and it's usually the coldest month.
10. Jawbreakers - yum
11. Jarred - my left ankle. Still very swollen and really sore.
12. Jerky - want to learn to make my own. So good!
13. Jingle - oh, how I can't wait to decorate for Christmas!
2. Jump - a good move to get your heart pumping!
3. Jerk - what I call a lot of people (mostly drivers) Also see, Idiot from last week.
4. Jabawokies - We watched them get their start on America's Next Best Dance Crew and loved them!
5. Jacket - what I'm looking forward to wearing! I'm so ready for fall.
6. Jagged - what the edge of a box was yesterday at work, scraping my arm while I carried it.
7. Jam - I have tons of homemade jam from my mother-in-law, and they are in....
8. Jars - I don't really have anything to say about it except for what #7 is in.
9. January - my least favorite month of the year. Christmas is over, there is nothing to look forward to and it's usually the coldest month.
10. Jawbreakers - yum
11. Jarred - my left ankle. Still very swollen and really sore.
12. Jerky - want to learn to make my own. So good!
13. Jingle - oh, how I can't wait to decorate for Christmas!
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Labor Day Fun & Picasa instructions
What a fun Labor Day on Monday!
I had way too many pictures to share so you get an extra mosaic this week. We have everything in here from the kids new school pictures to breakdancing and our version of old timey pictures. If you didn't know that you can click through on the mosaic to view the pictures bigger, now you do so go for it! (Instructions to come)
We stood watching the breakdancing forever, laughing, clapping and just in awe. We later found out that they are actually the Music City Soul. After researching a little, we actually found a local news clip that tells a little bit about them. Apparently they dance every Saturday evening at that park so I'm sure we'll be back for more fun, free entertainment!
Now, for those of you who asked how to get the mosaics to open online in Picasa when you click the mosaic. Bear with me. I'm going to walk you through a little bit here so you have time to practice before SCPM this weekend.
Let's imagine you're playing with your pics in Picasa. Here's my page. Er, part of it. Let's say I was done with that folder. I already made my mosaic, see it's the first picture in that folder. Always make sure it's the first picture. When I'm satisfied with my work, I hit that little button that I've highlighted in yellow that says Sync. That gets your album to your online Picasa page automatically.
figure 1
Once I'm there, I can go through each picture and give them captions if I want to. When you're ready to move on, click the little tab that says My Photos. See where I've highlighted in yellow again? That new album is private and you have to make it public. Just click the little lock, or the album, it's all the same.
figure 2
Then look below. I forgot to highlight it, but on the right side under Photos by Ace (it's kind of cut off), you'll see the your album cover (the mosaic) and that little lock again. Click the lock. A new little window pops up. Where I've highlighted yellow, you need to change Share to Public and then Save Changes.
figure 3
Now everyone will be able to see your pictures. (See? It changed to Public)
figure 4
Now, what I always do is click on the main picture, aka the cover, aka the mosaic. That makes it bigger and you'll notice little arrows above so you can go back and forth and view each picture like that. I always link to this photo so my mosaic is what shows up and not some random picture from the mosaic. If you like my mosaic size, I change it to Medium 400px. Then I copy the link in the box directly above the size and paste it in my blog under the Edit Html tab.
figure 5
Now we're in Blogger. Hi Blogger! Below is a mosaic that I'm posting. You don't have to do this, but I prefer my mosaics to be centered. I've highlighted the code that you would need to add to center it.
figure 6
I didn't used to have problems with the link, but more recently I have. So I always change something else in the code. Hopefully you kept Picasa open? Go back to where you left off in Picasa. Your mosaic should still be up (mine's not because I was in a hurry but yours should be). Copy the url at the top of the page.
figure 7
I paste what I copied, replacing the highlighted part below. There is also another link at the bottom of the code that you will need to do the same to, but I wasn't thinking about that. Sorry. Look above (figure 6) at where I talked about centering the mosaic. That black smudge I made is actually in the middle of the link that would need to be replaced. Figure 6 should give you a pretty good idea of where to also paste that same url from Picasa.
figure 8
And that's it! You write your blog as you normally would, but with it done this way, we can all go in and comment on each little picture in the mosaic! Hope that helps, let me know if you have any more questions!
I had way too many pictures to share so you get an extra mosaic this week. We have everything in here from the kids new school pictures to breakdancing and our version of old timey pictures. If you didn't know that you can click through on the mosaic to view the pictures bigger, now you do so go for it! (Instructions to come)
 |
| From Labor Day |
Now, for those of you who asked how to get the mosaics to open online in Picasa when you click the mosaic. Bear with me. I'm going to walk you through a little bit here so you have time to practice before SCPM this weekend.
Let's imagine you're playing with your pics in Picasa. Here's my page. Er, part of it. Let's say I was done with that folder. I already made my mosaic, see it's the first picture in that folder. Always make sure it's the first picture. When I'm satisfied with my work, I hit that little button that I've highlighted in yellow that says Sync. That gets your album to your online Picasa page automatically.
figure 1
figure 2Then look below. I forgot to highlight it, but on the right side under Photos by Ace (it's kind of cut off), you'll see the your album cover (the mosaic) and that little lock again. Click the lock. A new little window pops up. Where I've highlighted yellow, you need to change Share to Public and then Save Changes.
figure 3Now everyone will be able to see your pictures. (See? It changed to Public)
figure 4Now, what I always do is click on the main picture, aka the cover, aka the mosaic. That makes it bigger and you'll notice little arrows above so you can go back and forth and view each picture like that. I always link to this photo so my mosaic is what shows up and not some random picture from the mosaic. If you like my mosaic size, I change it to Medium 400px. Then I copy the link in the box directly above the size and paste it in my blog under the Edit Html tab.
figure 5Now we're in Blogger. Hi Blogger! Below is a mosaic that I'm posting. You don't have to do this, but I prefer my mosaics to be centered. I've highlighted the code that you would need to add to center it.
figure 6I didn't used to have problems with the link, but more recently I have. So I always change something else in the code. Hopefully you kept Picasa open? Go back to where you left off in Picasa. Your mosaic should still be up (mine's not because I was in a hurry but yours should be). Copy the url at the top of the page.
figure 7I paste what I copied, replacing the highlighted part below. There is also another link at the bottom of the code that you will need to do the same to, but I wasn't thinking about that. Sorry. Look above (figure 6) at where I talked about centering the mosaic. That black smudge I made is actually in the middle of the link that would need to be replaced. Figure 6 should give you a pretty good idea of where to also paste that same url from Picasa.
figure 8And that's it! You write your blog as you normally would, but with it done this way, we can all go in and comment on each little picture in the mosaic! Hope that helps, let me know if you have any more questions!
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