I'm here.

I'm just going thru some stuff in my life that I'd rather not plaster all over the internet. Those who need to know do know and that's the way it's going to be for now. :)

Reposting this from Facebook

This is one of my mom's recipes that I've always loved and I never make because the only thing in here Gary would eat is the potatoes and salt probably but whatever. I made this Thursday evening and it will be gone by Monday morning. I've had it for breakfast, lunch and dinner.. lol.

Summer Italian Salad

You're going to need:
- 5 cups cooked potatoes (big cubes)
- 1.5 cups celery chopped
- 1 cup diced Provalone
- 3/4 cups Summer Sausage
- 1/4 cup pepperchinis (save the juice)
- 1/2 cup chopped onion
- 1.5 cups sour cream
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon oregeno (I use Italian Seasonings instead)
- bunch of cherry tomatoes (I usually cut these in half for salads but I left them whole this time... luhhhazy)


Directions:
1.Toss together the potatoes, cheese, celery, sausage, onion and pepperchinis.

2. Blend together sour cream, pepperchini juice, oregeno and salt

3. Mix the dressing into the potato mixture.

4. Fold in half of the tomatoes and chill for several hours.

5. Top with the remaining tomatoes.

- I use the whole stick of summer sausage because I just do.. no reason.
- I'm not really sure HOW much pepperchini juice to use measurement wise. I just pour it in until the dressing is thin enough to coat everything in the salad.
- I used 2 cups of sour cream instead of 1.5. I HATE dry salads.
- I used double the banana pepper rings too.

Lisa's Blueberry Crisp

Ok, the first time I saw this recipe I was convinced that my pregnant sister had lost her ever loving mind and would just eat blueberries even if they were covered in kerosene or something. WRONG!
I made this twice before today. I just had to make sure it was perfect before posting it of course. Then since I ate the other two I had to make it again for pictures... see? I'm good at these excuses things.



Lisa's Blueberry Crisp.

4 cups of fresh blueberries
1 cup of all purpose flour
3/4's cups of sugar
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/2 cup of mayonnaise

1. Preheat the oven to 350 (175 Celcius)
2. Put the blueberries into an 8 inch square baking dish.
3. Stir together the flour, sugar, cinnamon. Stir in the mayonnaise until the mixture resembles course crumbs. Sprinkle this over top of the blueberries.
4. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes in the oven until the top is lightly browned.



EAT IT!!!



Substitutions:
1. you can use frozen berries. Lightly dust them in flour to help with the moisture problem.
2. I like EXTRA crumble and there is only 2 of us so I use half the berries but the entire crumble mixture.
3. The recipe calls for mayonnaise NOT MIRACLE WHIP DO NOT USE THAT DISGUSTING STUFF!!!!!!!!

Caesar Chicken Pasta Salad

So I got up early this morning and pulled out my crockpot. I threw in 3 chicken breasts and a cup of water with a chicken Oxo cube. Have I ever mentioned just how much I LOVE OXO? They're probably the best bouillon cubes in the world and if any of you would like to try some just holler and I'll send you a few boxes.
So anyway, 4.5 hours later I pull the lid off the crockpot and dive in with 2 forks and shred all this delicious juicy chicken to bits and pieces. I now have a tupperware full of shredded chicken. Why? Because I'm making 2 pasta salads this week that need chicken.

Here's the first one.



Caesar Chicken Pasta Salad

* 1/2 cup Caesar Dressing
* 3 cups pre-cooked chicken breast, skinned and shredded
* 3 cups hot cooked penne pasta
* 1 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
* 1/2 cup fresh basil, thinly sliced
* 1/2 cup green onions, chopped
* 1/4 cup carrots, shredded
* 1/4 cup fresh parsley
* 1 (4 ounce) package feta cheese, crumbled
* 1 garlic clove, minced

Put it all in a big freaking bowl ... mix and chill.. and EAT IT ...

Substitutions:
1. I didn't feel like making a Caesar dressing so I used Marzetti Supreme Caesar Dressing. I also used well over half a cup. I don't like dry pasta salad.
2. I didn't shred my carrots, I used my Pampered Chef chopper and chopped the hell outta them.
3. I couldn't find fresh basil anywhere so I used a bunch of dried basil. Probably a good 3 tablespoons.
4. I doubled the garlic. I really love garlic.

The 5 Love Languages

Gary and I took this little test about a year and a half ago and the results were interesting. We're both completely different.
Basically the way it works is this:
1. You take the test.
2. You get the results.

YOUR love languages (generally the top 2) are what your spouse/partner needs to show you for you to feel love. Your spouse/partner's love languages are what THEY need from you in order to feel loved.

Mine are "Physical Touch" and "Words of Affirmation". Gary's are "Quality Time" and "Acts of Service". (I have explanations of each coming.)
It's a common mistake couples make to give their spouse what they themselves need to feel loved. For example: While I'm sure Gary appreciates touching and loving words that's not what he needs to feel loved and vice versa. It's very important to know their love languages in addition to your own. :)

You can take the test here:
The 5 Love Languages

Here are the results you can get:
Words of Affirmation
Actions don’t always speak louder than words. If this is your love language, unsolicited compliments mean the world to you. Hearing the words, “I love you,” are important—hearing the reasons behind that love sends your spirits skyward. Insults can leave you shattered and are not easily forgotten.

Quality Time
In the vernacular of Quality Time, nothing says, “I love you,” like full, undivided attention. Being there for this type of person is critical, but really being there—with the TV off, fork and knife down, and all chores and tasks on standby—makes your significant other feel truly special and loved. Distractions, postponed dates, or the failure to listen can be especially hurtful.

Receiving Gifts
Don’t mistake this love language for materialism; the receiver of gifts thrives on the love, thoughtfulness, and effort behind the gift. If you speak this language, the perfect gift or gesture shows that you are known, you are cared for, and you are prized above whatever was sacrificed to bring the gift to you. A missed birthday, anniversary, or a hasty, thoughtless gift would be disastrous—so would the absence of everyday gestures.

Acts of Service
Can vacuuming the floors really be an expression of love? Absolutely! Anything you do to ease the burden of responsibilities weighing on an “Acts of Service” person will speak volumes. The words he or she most want to hear: “Let me do that for you.” Laziness, broken commitments, and making more work for them tell speakers of this language their feelings don’t matter.

Physical Touch
This language isn’t all about the bedroom. A person whose primary language is Physical Touch is, not surprisingly, very touchy. Hugs, pats on the back, holding hands, and thoughtful touches on the arm, shoulder, or face—they can all be ways to show excitement, concern, care, and love. Physical presence and accessibility are crucial, while neglect or abuse can be unforgivable and destructive.

It's pretty simple.
It's also fun when your spouse/partner knows what your love languages are and passive-aggressivly goes out of their way to make sure you receive neither. Yup, tons of fun. Thanks.

I'm trying really hard...

...really really really really really hard to be the wife that I WANTED to be, not the wife I have become. I'm making some serious changes.

I love you Gary.

You know dear...

Oh lookie, I have some more red baby tomatoes. That's enough to make half a salad... now if they'd start growing in with maybe oh 10 to 20 red ones at a time I'd be happier. Stupid gardens.

I haven't been up to much of anything. Just hanging low keeping to my own business and trying to keep my marriage from falling apart.

Two weeks ago we had marriage therapy. When we were leaving I asked the girl at the front desk to cancel my personal therapy appointments. It just wasn't working out with that lady and I didn't want to try again. A week later I get a call from the same girl telling me I had missed my 2:30 appt with Dr. So and So that day. I said, LAST WEEK I told you that I cancelled all my appointments with her. And on that note if I had this so called appointment today why didn't anyone call my house to verify this like you guys are supposed to. She had nothing to say so I said very clearly "Please cancel all of my personal therapy appointments that are on the schedule".
So we get there today at 2:30 for our marriage therapy. We're filling out a questionnaire we have to fill out every time we go in and she comes scampering out of the back and says "you know when you had me cancel your appointments..." I cut her off and said "Let me guess, you cancelled this one too".... and she said yes so I started to crumple up the questionnaire and she says no no no I can still get you in and I say when because I don't have all day and neither does Gary. So I uncrumple and keep filling it out. Meanwhile she disappears and out comes the doctor who's been my personal therapist for a few times and she said that Airman so and so is very sorry and feels horrible but that we can reschedule and I'm like Um.. she said she could fit us in and she said no.. your doctor just stepped in with some other people... ok first of I'm already pissed off at Gary before we even get here... I'm even MORE pissed off at Gary because of some of his answers and now I'm FURIOUS with this stupid IDIOT they have running this office. So I recrumple the paper and walk the eff out of there. Gary stays behind to reschedule. NOT UNTIL JUNE 14th CAN THEY SEE US.. hopefully I haven't left him by then.
I started a journal the week after I found out he had cheated on me last August. EVERYTHING I predicted would happen over the next few months after has HAPPENED.
I gave him a 3 month ultimatum 1.5 months ago. Maybe my vacation to visit my baby sister in Hawaii won't be a vacation but a moving in. We'll see.

Right now I'm too furious for anymore words than this.

Aloha

My sister (Mandie) lives in Hawaii now (she's in the Army). Her husband is leaving for the desert (again) in late June so my plans are to slip off for a long weekend/short week in Hawaii sometime in July.
My dilemma is having to leave Gary home alone. Look what he did when I was in the same house as him.. or down the street for a few hours.. now I want to leave the continental US?

I'm right here!!!

I haven't updated because I have no memory of this last week. I know we did stuff I just don't remember any of it.
Wait, yes I do.
We went to the commissary on Friday. That was a disaster. Not only was it military payday (I forgot) it was also the quarterly case lot sale at the commissary so it was a FRACKING MADHOUSE!
We had to fight our way down aisles and the line to check out was wrapped around the store. Luckily it was only about 30 minutes to wait to check out. People were very crabby by the time they got there though. Two ladies decided Gary and I had cut them off in line and cried about it for 5 minutes. Honestly if they had just shut up I would have let them in front of us but since they wouldn't STOP TALKING about it we decided to ignore them and keep our place.

Also, we went to some snobby restauraunt in Tempe for lunch last week. The food was DELICIOUS. The employees were very nice but I really needed to go home and shower the snot off of me. To give you an idea of where we were. There was a Saks Fifth Avenue on one side of us and a Coach store (not outlet) on the other side. I'd go back though. It was really good food. We've been trying to go out to lunch every Wednesday since it's the only day of the week he doesn't have to be in an hour early for P.T. This week I'd like to stay on this side of the valley though. 45 minute drives are... long.

We spent the weekend vegging out. Actually, I spent the weekend vegging out. He spent it writing a research paper that he procrastinated on. His brain was melted by the time he was finished but he'll probably ace it because he's stupid smart.

Other than all that my weeks been pretty ... average.

I did get one cherry tomato off of my plant though! Hopefully the other ones turn red around the same time...

Oh and we went to see the new Robin Hood movie on Sunday night. Don't waste your money. It's too long and too slow. I wouldn't even recommend renting it unless you want a good nap.

Things that...

...might possibly scare the living crap out of you when you're home alone at night because your husband is at work.

1. Having the phone company hurl new phone books up your driveway banging against your garage door.
2. Having your recycling can fall over ... loudly
3. Closing your cat in your closet and having him thump around for about 2 hours.

When all THREE happen, it's acceptable to sit by your desk freaked out with a great big huge butcher knife. Just sayin'

Water anyone?

Gary hasn't quite learned how to finish one bottle before opening another one. At least we recycle!

What a weird week...

Between Gary's horrible schedule this past week and my uncle passing away it's just been a really weird week.
He did take me to lunch today. We went to one of our favorite Japanese restaurants called Ah-So.
This was our chef. (It's a horrible picture with my cell phone and their bad lighting) ... he was great though. Very entertaining and the food was delicious. He did all the typical habachi grill things like the smoking onion and throwing food at the patrons (Gary caught both broccollis in his mouth!)

Notice the people in the background? They were the only other people at our table. It appeared to be a man, his wife and one of their mothers. Let's focus on him.
He looked like a cross between George Wendt from Cheers and Peter Griffon. The holier-than-thou attitude was unbelievable though. He was one of the most neediest people I've ever had the pleasure of sitting next to in a restaurant. While shoveling food in his face he managed to call the waitress over about 15 times for water, wine, appetizers, more appetizers, butter for his lobster. He spoke to her as if she didn't understand a lick of English. He had the personality of a pet rock. Even our lovely chef said that he was just going to entertain US because THEY weren't even acknowledging his presence. Just a real piece of work. I did manage however to put all this aside and just enjoy a nice lunch/dinner with my husband. We really did have a good time just joking around and relaxing. And the people at Ah-Sos? They gave me a pretty red rose on the way out the door. How sweet is that??

Then we went to Barnes and Nobles so I could find some things for my nieces' birthday in July (yeah I wanted a headstart) and hit the jackpot. I love that place.

Now, to talk my husband into finding me a hugemongous pile of chocolate from somewhere because I NEED IT NAO!!!

On a side note: My sister (and husband and one of her babies) and my mom and dad are all driving to KY for my uncle's funeral. There is still a lot of flooding and road damage in KY so if you could just keep them in your thoughts and prayers that would be really nice.

Special Days are special

This is my Dad and my sister (Lisa) and 2 of her 4.5 children.. actually that's really 2.5 of her 4.5 children... but I digress. Why is this picture on my blog?
BECAUSE IT'S HIS BIRTHDAY AND IT'S FREAKING EXCITING THAT'S WHY!!!!!!!!!

Happy Birthday Dad! Love you tons and tons. (and I'll call you ...later today rather than at midnight which is tempting.)

Cake for Breakfast (and lunch and dinner)

My sister (Lisa) told me about this recipe... I made it last night, frosted it this morning and tried it about 5 minutes after frosting it and BOY OH BOY... super sweet, super moist.. (I hate that word) and super delicious!

Coconut Cream Cake
You'll need:
* 1 (18.25 ounce) package white cake mix
* 3 eggs
* 1/3 cup vegetable oil
* 1 cup water
* 1/2 teaspoon coconut extract
* 1 (14 oz) can coconut cream
* 1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
* 1 cup heavy whipping cream
* 1 tablespoon white sugar
* 1 cup flaked coconut

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan.
2. In a large bowl, mix together cake mix, eggs, oil, water and coconut flavoring. Beat for 2 minutes and pour into 9x13 inch pan. Bake for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.
3. In a medium bowl, combine coconut cream with sweetened condensed milk and stir until smooth. When cake comes out of the oven, poke holes into it in even rows using a large fork or chopsticks. Pour milk mixture over, allowing it to soak into the cake. Refrigerate for several hours or overnight.
4. In a large bowl, whisk cream until soft peaks form. Add sugar and continue whipping until stiff. Spread over cooled cake. Sprinkle top with flaked coconut.


Notes:
1. You can find coconut cream in the alcoholic mixer section of the grocer OR also sometimes in the Ethnic food aisle.
2. pour mixture over cake right away but let sit to room temperature before putting into the fridge.
3. Use your judgment on the mixture. I only used about 2/3rds of the 28 oz total.
4. Try toasting your coconut before putting it on top. It's nice and crunchy. I think next time I'll leave it un-toasted and see which one I prefer.
5. This is NOT diabetes friendly so don't over do it. :D

Things That Annoy me #85324

It annoys me when I go to get my brows waxed and the girl gets wax in my HAIR and has to CUT IT OUT (don't worry, you can't see it) and then offers me a free pedicure .. pawns the pedicure off to some guy who works there who then gets pissy because he has to do a free pedicure (I was GOING to tip him)... then treats me like crap the entire time...

"you want free pedi?" Next time I'll pass...

I'm off to go finish cooking this coconut cream cake. :)

I'm peeking my head out.

I've been on my new dose of Abilify for about a week now and I'm noticing a H.U.G.E. difference. I'm not on edge, wanting to kill people and irritated at the world. I don't feel like sleeping all day or doing absolutely nothing. I'm still not 100% yet but I'd give it a good 90%. :)

This is a weird week though schedule wise. Gary worked nights on Monday, Days on Tuesday, Nights on Wednesday, Days on Thursday and Nights on Friday and he has weekend duty Saturday and Sunday but hopefully won't have to go in. This is reeking havoc on my sleep schedule and Quagmire is confused as hell but whatever, at least he is home and like not deployed or anything. :)

I see Diabetes Dr. on Thursday morning - had blood work done and she wants to go over it with me.. and probably change my meds all around because she loves to do that for some reason... whatevs.

I actually got cards in the mail TODAY. Things wont be late this year! (Yeah, you have about a day to get your Mother's Day cards in the mail so they're not late!)

I just tracked the e-cigs I ordered and they SHOULD be here tomorrow.

My tomato and my cherry tomato plants are blooming all over the place and I have about 10 cherries growing and one tomato growing.

And this post of random thoughts is pretty much how my brain has been working all week on this new dosage. It will settle down soon... can't wait.

Smoke free?

I've been trying to quit smoking for about 3 years now.. and DAMN that crap is hard. I envy those who can take Chantix (I can't take it) and those who can go "cold turkey" without killing someone.
So my girlfriend Hope, told me about electronic cigarettes. They DO have nicotine but they DON'T have all the tar and chemicals and crap. They come in various strengths of nicotine all the way down to zero (if you just want the taste and hand to mouth feeling).
There is no smoke involved. You inhale vapor and you exhale vapor. (There is a short video on the page I linked.)

Let's talk about the cost. The initial cost is kind of high. It's about $90 for the starter kit but they currently have a 19% discount and they're always having discounts. There are different levels of starter kits but they all come with 5 "Cartomizers" which is equivelent to 5 packs of cigarettes. A pack of 5 Cartomizers costs roughly 9 dollars (not including their discounts) and if you were to buy 5 packs of cigarettes in Arizona off base that would cost you about $32.50 instead of about $7.30. If I buy it ON base it's $21.50 so either way I'm saving a LOT LOT LOT LOT LOT LOT of money and saving money always makes me happy.

I started with the VAPOR KING-Ultimate Ultimatum Automatic Kit ($71 with the discount) plus an extra 4 Cartomizers and with shipping it was 114.32. That is 45 packs of cigarettes costing me $7 more than if I had just purchased regular cigarettes. This is with the STARTING kit. If I buy 4 Cartomizers a month including $9.95 shipping I'll save $132 a month... not including any discounts they're running. If I lost you in all the math basically it's saving you a buttload of money so when it gets here and I've given it a fair trial I'll let you know how it goes. :)

Oh, and since there is NO smoke, only a pleasant smelling vapor (because they have 1000's of flavors you can choose from) I don't have to go outside!!! Double Score!

quack

Ok, I'm back from appointment 2 with this new therapist and I won't be going back. I go in feeling just fine and leave SO PISSED OFF I'm ready to kill people. The "issues" I'm having are with Gary so it makes sense that we handle it in our marriage therapy... why our therapist thinks I need to see my own is beyond me and I'm just going to flat out tell her on Tuesday when we go back that personal therapy isn't working, isn't necessary and isn't going to happen. If she doesn't like it well tough luck and maybe I'll stop going to her as well.

that's that.

All is well in Rachel Land

I wasn't going to post anything about this until I was sure that I had it under control which I do now.
The last month or so have been hell. I've been really really really down...way down in the dumps. I have absolutely no interest in doing anything that I normally like to do. I went to see my psychiatrist yesterday and he upped my Abilify a little bit. I haven't had my meds adjusted in a few years so I guess it was about time. Hopefully within the next few days I'll be feeling better again.
I see a new therapist today. I saw her once a few weeks ago, cancelled last weeks appt. (because Gary was on leave and I didn't feel like going) and so I'm going in today. She annoyed me for the most part, asking your basic quintessential stupid therapist questions. There wasn't really a "click" and I don't spill my guts if there is no "click". We'll see, but I'm not holding my breath. heh

Delicious Pork Chop Rub

This is for my sister:

4 Tablespoons olive oil
4 Tablespoons brown sugar
4 teaspoons chili powder
4 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons black pepper
1 teaspoon dried thyme

Mix all ingredients and rub on pork chops.
Refrigerate for at least an hour and up to overnight.

This makes a THICK rub for 4 pork chops. Obviously if you want a lighter rub you can cut in half or use more pork chops.

I'd recommend grilling the porkchops on either side until they're done. It caramelizes and makes a great chop. However, if you bake them some how magically it makes a delicious sauce.

Things That Annoy me #920392

Making any sort of noises and/or distractions other than laughter and screams at appropriate times during movies. This includes TALKING the entire film while sitting right behind me and TEXTING the entire movie while you're sitting in front of me and I am BLINDED by the glare of your phone. Yeah, I pretty much hate you.

Day 3, 4 and 5

We've spent the last 3 days chilling out at home with the occasional errand and dog walk. Lots of WoW and raiding and just hanging out.
Friday we went to Jamba Juice and watched a movie that night (The Fourth Kind - it was "ok".. weird but not bad).
Saturday we spent playing WoW all day and I tried to read more of "The Lovely Bones". I'm TRYING to get into this book. It's halfway done but it's just weird. I guess I'm just a Sheldon/Coben girl at heart.
Today we woke up early to raid with some friends... we're 10/12 now for ICC .. not bad for a non-raiding guild. Hung out some more, cooked dinner (which I hated so I wont be posting that recipe) and tonight I'm getting dressed up and he's taking me to see "Date Night" at our favorite theater. I really love date nights with Gary. :)

Tomorrow life goes back to normal.

Day 2

Today started off slooooooooow. I was super tired and in a lot of pain. It's been chilly here the past 2 days and my fibro has been bad. I didn't even want to get out of bed but I had to get to the pharmacy first thing in the morning because I was out of one of my diabetes meds. My meds were free .. again so I called my insurance company when I got home to find out why. Apparently I met my family cap on April 22nd so I have no more co-pays til the fiscal year resets in October. YAY!
I did make it to the library today. I've been meaning to read The Lovely Bones since before I even knew a movie was made but one thing always led to another and I never got around to it. So far it's really good and I'm wondering if I should watch the movie or has it been so mutilated that it's just going to piss me off... opinions?

I made my weekend pasta salad today. A great greek salad. I'll post the recipe later but it's GOOD. And then tonight, Gary took me to PeiWei for dinner and I had a delicious Japanese chili ramen bowl. To.Die.For!

and that's that. No plans for tomorrow yet... :)

Spaghetti Bolognaise

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons Olive Oil
1 small onion chopped
2 cloves garlic diced or minced
1 lb ground beef
1 15oz can tomatoes chopped
4 tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
13 oz spaghetti

Directions:
Heat the oil in a large pan and cook the onion and garlic until the onion is tender (about 2 minutes). Add in the ground beef and cook over high heat until the beef is well browned. Use a fork to break up any large pieces.

Add the undrained can of tomatoes, tomato paste, oregano and basil. Bring all of this to a boil then lower the heat to low and simmer uncovered for about 1 hour and 30 minutes or until the sauce has thickened.

Serve over cooked spaghetti with some freshly grated Parmesan cheese on top.

This will serve about 4 people or in my case (since Gary doesn't LIKE spaghetti meat sauce) about 5 days worth. Mmmmmm



Notes:
- Usually I use about 4 to 6 large fresh tomatoes and a cup of water but the commissary didn't have ANY tomatoes that looked nice so I opted for the canned tomatoes this time.
- Also, you can make this sauce up to 2 days in advance and just reheat it and serve over the pasta when it's dinner time.
- I also add in a teaspoon of kosher salt because I really like salted food and in my opinion kosher salt is the only salt to cook with.

(also posted here)

Day 1

The look on his face when he saw the Custard mix was priceless... the look on MY face when I found chicken Oxo was probably the same. The problem is that they might not ever carry this stuff ever again and I hate ordering it online as it costs a fortune.

So, today is day one of his 5 day vacation. So far we have done nothing productive except go to the commissary.
I'm making him a beef curry for dinner and a spaghetti bolognaise for myself (and yeah, I gave spaghetti w/ meat sauce a fancy name).

Dear Aunt Flow

That is all.

Meh

It was a pretty good weekend. As stated before we played WoW most of it. Sunday he took me out for a sushi lunch and then stopped by Ford to test drive a Fusion. I fell in love with this car. We have to go to Mazda this month to get the oil changed in his car so I'll look at the Mazda 6s but most likely when the pieces fall where they should I'll be picking out a Ford Fusion.
We went and saw "Death at a Funeral" last night. Most of it was down right hilarious. Meh, we had a good time.... even though I was falling asleep on the drive home. (We went to a LATE show).

Gary put in for leave this week. No particular reason, just to have some time off - I like to think it's for me. :D I want to take advantage of a quiet weeknight off to go see that new Steve Carell movie "Date Night".. THAT one is going to be funnnnnnny.

I also have a lot of cooking to do this week. I like when Gary is home because then he can help me and we have fun when we cook together. I'll be posting some recipes here and Donna likes to have pictures on her posts so hopefully my camera doesn't make my food look disgusting.

This has been another boring post from my boring life.
Now to go finish making turkey meatballs for Quagmire and get started on Gary's dinner... nothing fancy - just some shrimp and pasta with a nice salad.

pee ess

Project Free TV totally rocks my socks. I've spent all of my week catching up on shows I wanted to watch but missed the first half of the season... for free... no commercials!!!

jammie days are fun days

Today was a good "first day of the weekend".
Typical Saturday. We got up early to play some WoW with friends. I hung out (in game) with one of my bestest friends who I've called "sister" for about 11 years now.. holy crap it's been 11 years. I did my trip to World Market which is always a good time to me and spent the rest of the day in jammies hanging out with Gary.
Tomorrow is fun day. Have a few things to do in the morning then we're off to get some Blu Sushi for lunch. I can hopefully talk him into a short grocery store trip and then we're going to a movie. The plan is to see "Death at a Funeral" but I'm also interested in "Clash of the Titans" or "Date Night" because Steve Carell is freaking HILARIOUS.

Great... now all I can think about is Sushi.

p.s. Thanks for that pasta site recommendation OCB. I'm going to give this greek salad a whirl next weekend.. minus the mushrooms .. gag.

Well at least Gary made out...

I just got back from World Market (I love that place). I didn't really find what I was looking for (for me) but Gary is making out like a bandit.



Also stopped by the vet for more meds for Quagmire. $75 for 2 antibiotics. I'm in the wrong business. This dog is quickly turning into my million-dollar baby. Did I mention that one of the pills are gigantic and it's hard enough getting him to take tiny pills? UGH!

Gimme some yum!

Now that it's Friday night and Gary is home I'm feeling better. (It's always harder when he's at work and I'm home alone and my mind is wandering) but anyway that is not the point of this post.

I've been thru Donna's little blog of recipes and I can't find anything close to what I'm looking for so ....
Does anyone have any good pasta salad recipes? Hot or cold, it doesn't really matter. I just like to keep one on hand over the weekend because we play WoW all weekend and I need a quick yummy food on hand. You can email me or leave it in the comments!

(It's 1am and I'm going to bed!)

Not so shiny and happy...

I should probably call my shrink tomorrow and set up an appointment. He needs to take a look at my meds and probably make some adjustments. I've been in a huge depression lately and can't seem to shake it. I don't want to talk about it and I don't want to "hang out" to " get my mind off of things". It might work for your [insert random name here] but it doesn't work for me so don't ask.
I don't feel like getting dressed and making an effort to look nice for Gary. He doesn't notice anyway. He sure notices when I "let myself go" but when I make an effort (which I've done almost every day since Aug. 4th 2009) .. nothing.. unless we're headed out on a date and it's the obligatory thing to say.
I don't even feel like cooking. His "girlfriend" was a chef so I just feel.. inadequate.

Yes, inadequate. That about sums up exactly how I feel right now. Is this shit supposed to end anytime soon? 8 months and I still feel like absolute crap. Is it my job to make things better? I'm not the one who crapped on my self-confidence and emotions in the first place... why do I have to be the one who cleans it up?

RAWR!!!

I got him to eat a bowl of baby rice and baby turkey... I should have stuck his pills in there... but NOOOOOO I decide to shove his pills down his throat and squirt water right behind them. It worked on one. On the other he kept spitting it back out so I shoved it back down, held his mouth closed, blew in his face and rubbed his throat. I waited until he swallowed and let him down.. he gets on the floor and sneezes and the pill goes flying across the living room. I GIVE UP! No barf for 12 hours though.

I also bribed Gary today. I told him I would make him curry chicken for dinner if he went to the commissary with me. BIG MISTAKE. He spent 45 minutes in the commissary harassing the crap out of me. Every 5 minutes it was "OoOOooo [random grocery item]"... I was ready to smack him. Then he texts me from the pepperoni aisle? I'm tempted to leave him home next time but it's much more fun to watch him suffer. :D

p.s. Very happy I found Oxo at the commissary today. I was out and now I don't have to have my MIL order me some from Ireland.

p.p.s WTF!!!

Ugh

Please tell me the highlight of my week isn't going to be cutting out the ingrown toenail I've had for like a year...

Or the commissary trip I'm about to take...

Can't always get what you want..?

So "Quagmire" ordered flowers for our vet on April 7th for delivery on April 9th. It was a gorgeous bouquet of 6 giant sunflowers and greenery. Well, we showed up yesterday at the vet to have them check out why he's feeling bad again and I looked around and didn't see any sunflowers. I saw a HUGE, ostentatious bouquet of flowers with tulips and hibiscus and some baby roses and well I guess they were ok but I wouldn't have ever picked them out. So anyway, we're sitting in the exam room and the vet and tech walk in and just start gushing over the flowers we sent and I said "Oh you got them! Good, I didn't see them" and they said that the HUGE bouquet out front were the ones that got delivered.
I just got off the phone with ProFlowers. Apparently there was a glitch in the system and they just sent out "flowers" to whomever had ordered to make sure they got something on delivery day. I guess that's a nice thing but I really wish they would have called me rather than send this ugly bouquet.
Oh well, the vet LOVED them and ProFlowers refunded me half my money.. (half? ugh.. but it's better than a credit).

Quagmire Update.

He threw up a few times last night. I gave him a pepcid this morning and it seems to be working however he's a little sluggish, his tummy is making funny noises and he's burping a lot. We're hoping that it's because he just missed his Pepcid yesterday. (There were 2 pills in his food bowl and he ate one and we're not sure which one it was). So yeah, I'm a little worried. I might bump his appointment up from next Friday to earlier in the week.
Let ya know later what's up.

Doin' much better than last weekend!

SOMEONE is totally chillin' out on the couch today while Gary and I are in the other room raiding ICC10 (it's a WoW thing)... but yeah he looks comfy and feeling SO MUCH better. (I'm updating between bosses ... )

Reasons I married Gary #27

- killing spiders!

Since Gary isn't home...

Everyone who knows Gary knows that he is an extremely picky eater and won't eat a lot including pasta.
So since he's at work tonight this is what I'm making myself for dinner... (and it makes GREAT leftovers!)

Mac & Cheese
Ingredients:
1 pkg. (16 oz.) elbow macaroni
3 Tbsp. butter
3 Tbsp. flour
2.5 cups milk (I use 1%)
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. garlic powder (I use garlic salt)
1 cup shredded mozzerella cheese
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 pkg (3 oz) softened cream cheese
1/2 cup crumbled Gorgonzola cheese (feel free to substitute - this is a strong cheese)
1/2 cup sour cream

Directions:
Cook the macaroni (just do til al dente)
In a dutch oven or pot, melt the butter. Stir in the flour until it's smooth. Gradually stir in the milk and all the seasonings. Bring to a boil (and watch it because milk makes a HUGE mess if it boils over); cook and stir for about 2 minutes or until it's thick.
Reduce heat and add in all the cheese and stir it until it's a melted pot of cheesy goodness. Stir in the sour cream and stir in the (drained) pasta.

Enjoy!

I'm allowed to change my mind

I've decided to NOT import all of my old posts.
1. There are too many and ...
2. after reading them I don't feel like editing the content (man I used to swear like a sailor) and I was also pretty crabby so yeah.. no thank you.

Today's agenda is to take the recipe in the previous post (just the meatball part). Substitute turkey for hamburger and leave out the spices and make meatballs to keep in the fridge for Quagmire's meals. He's still on a bland diet but he is hungry ALL THE TIME and the Hills I have him on is expensive for one and apparently not supposed to be used for an extended period of time. So yeah, his spoiled butt is getting turkey meatballs. Plus meatballs will be easier to tuck pills in to.

Speaking of pills, I need to go choke down all of my diabetes meds... like a small handful of them... blah

Beef: It's what's for dinner

To make Albondigas you're going to need:

3 cans of Campbells Beef Consume (10.5 oz)
3 cans of Swanson's Beef Broth (14 oz)
6 cups of water
2lbs ground beef
1 bundle of green onions diced
4 roma tomatoes diced
1 3/4s CONVERTED UNCOOKED white rice (has to be converted)
Cilantro (I don't use much but I don't like a lot of Cilantro - maybe 1/3rd of a bundle)
1 tablespoon of veg. oil
1 teaspoon Salt (I use Kosher salt - for everything)
1 teaspoon Garlic Salt
1 teaspoon Pepper
1 cup or 2 of sliced carrots
1 cup or 2 of sliced celery
some avocado slices and lime juice (to garnish and flavor on each serving if you'd like)

Aight, so you get a big pot.
Saute the tomatoes and green onions in the veg. oil. Then you add the consume, broth and water and heat to a boil.

While that's heating up get your meat ready.
Ground beef (thawed), 3/4 cup of converted white rice, the salt, pepper and garlic salt. Mix that up really well.

Once the liquid is boiling start pinching off meat bundles into the liquid. Don't worry about making meatballs. It takes too long and seriously just pinching the meat off and dropping it into the water will get it done in about 3 minutes and the pinches stay together perfectly because the liquid is boiling.

Add in the cilantro, carrots and celery and the rest of the rice (1 cup) and let it all simmer for an hour.

Slice up some avocado and juice some limes and toss it on the top of each serving.

That's all Folks!

Black is the new red... I swear

Last week before Quagmire drama I decided to color my hair red again. It didn't go so well. The roots took it GREAT and the rest of my hair stayed black. I guess it's a sign because I'm headed back into the shower to dye it back. Hopefully it won't fall out from all this coloring. So yeah, stained forehead and fingers. I can't wait!

p.s. Quags just ate food FROM A BOWL!!!!

It's been 2 years.

I can't believe it's been 2 years since I burnt my hand. The scars are still very much there but I have absolutely no movement problems or pain or anything at all. (I'm done blaming Dana for this by the way.. :D )
I'm also (if I can remember how to log into my old blog) going to be transferring all of my archives from my old blog (juiciestbite not all the ones before that) over the next couple days. I'm not taking the comments. Just the posts.
And now I'm in the mood for a chocolate, diabetes coma.

Patiently waiting for...

- my husband to come home.
- my dog to start eating.
- food to get in my belly.
- my percoset to kick in.
- my husband to come home.... (did I mention that one?)

Life is good...

Nevermind that 3 days ago I was crying my eyes out but I sincerely thought we were going to lose the puppers. I picked him up about an hour ago and noticed he smelled like heaven and they said that they gave him a courtesy bath and I said ... "I know what he smelled like.. so basically you're saying you couldn't handle the odor" and we all got a chuckle and we hit the road.
I washed all of his blankets this afternoon and had already lined the couch. You should see this couch. It's huge. It could sleep 7 people and somehow this 15lb dog takes over the ENTIRE thing. I gave him a little water and he hopped his chunky butt right up on the couch and he hasn't moved for an hour. I think he's pretty stinking happy right now. Could also be that I told him he could sleep with me tonight and that Gary would be on the couch. Not sure how that's going to go over with Gary but oh wells...
Now I get to spend the next few weeks making homemade dog food for this dog. Rice, chicken, hamburger, turkey, cottage cheese, chicken noodle soup... these are all foods the vet said to be feeding him. Sounds gross to me but I imagine for a dog he's gonna be pretty happy.. oh and eggs.. he's allowed to have scrambled eggs.. he LOVES scrambled eggs.

I about had a heart attack but someone paid for Quagmire's visit today. Every last penny. We still owe $1350 and have some blood work to pay for next week but that is about $550 we don't have to worry about (right this second because I WILL be paying it back). Our friends and family have been amazing and we love you all so much. Thank you!

So yes, life on a couch with a sweet smelling puppy is good...

Mobile post

Oh, I almost forgot to check posting by phone which is totally cool in my opinion!

HOW could I forget?

As almost everyone in the world knows, my dog Quagmire has been pretty sick for the past week. We got great news from the vet this morning and I'm going there around 4pm to pick his chunky butt up to take home. At some points over the last few days I really didn't think he was going to make it so even though the call came in at the ungodly hour of 7:30 am it was the best phone call I think I've ever received!
Thank you for all of the prayers and donations for his astronomical vet bills. Gary and I really really really appreciate it!

Wiping the dust off...

Ok, so after blogging for 8 years and not blogging for about 18 months I've decided to give it another whirl. I can't promise any great words of wisdom or witty posts because let's face it, I lead a boring life that revolves around my husband, my pets (mainly my dog) and cooking and WoW.
I'm going to use blogspot because I'm slowly letting all 22 paid domains go and I don't want to start up with designing again and I'm keeping myself clean of all previous blog drama and just wanna hang out with friends.

And on that short note, I'm off to go drink a V8 and eat an activia because I'M OLD and that's what we do.

p.s. This blog title was approved by Donna who allowed me to shamelessly steal it from her.