hi ho

R.I.P our dear Air Conditioner....

2011 so far has granted us with, one dead car, one dead AC, one rear-ending car accident, 1 job lay-off, 4-6 interview rejections, and Pittsburgh lost the Superbowl :(

2011 Blessings to the Faith's
~ New jobs all around
~ WE GAINED A SISTER! Yay Katie
~ We gained Eggbert... our new Hyundai accent
~ Miss Cherry Ames got fixed and is still running well
~ We became members of an awesome church
~ A vacation with the Faith Family
~ A vacation with the Fink Family
~ A house that is still standing despite lots of storms and it still has all its shingles...

YAY More blessings all around!

And its a new football season.....so HERE WE GO STEELERS HERE E GO...

Dear Husband

Marriage is such a gift! Doing our small part to even attempt to exemplify and emulate God's perfect covenant with us, although we fail daily, is such a unique opportunity and I am so grateful to be on this journey with you.

I am sorry these past few weeks have been a bit more challenging than the weeks before that; but thank you for your gracious and *mostly* patient commitment to 'us.' I was pleased last night when you snuggled me on the couch and said "I like this week's marriage better than last week's!" Me too honey, and I didn't even take offense to that comment because, frankly, you were right.

Thank you for not yelling at me when I thought I lost my ring. And thanks for finding it! For watching the Justin Bieber movie with me, and enjoying it. For being gentle when I am being unreasonable, for working 85 hours last week and not complaining. For doing neti-pots when I complain about your snoring, for validating my work. For letting me be clingy, for answering my sometimes stupid questions, and for praying every night with me, no matter what.
"God gave me you for the ups and downs"... oh yeah and listening to country music with me all the time.

You're doing great, I am so proud of you. don't get too frustrated with our current situation, let's enjoy it because surely, "...this too shall pass."

so needless to say... I love you.

"Ima tell you one time...."

Sunday, after church and a very successful fellowship meal... (It was a great day with 2 baptisms and a large homeschool family in our church becoming members .. yay!)

Francis, Chris, and Joseph and I enjoyed a relaxing day at our house and watched the Justin Beiber movie.

Yes, fun was had by at least 3 of the 4 of us! I was a bit surprised that I actually have a new found respect for this kid, as there is some true musical talent there; also who doesn't love a good underdog, rags to riches story once in a while?

Then, the evening got interesting with the Steeler's game which we decided to watch at Champs. I love football season! Even if it can be stressful!


NEW TOPIC..................................................................................................................................................

Yum yum yum! The only "problem" with this much deliciously fresh produce, is I have 1 chef's knife, to put it mildly I have 1 working knife...period. It took me hours....yes, HOURS to create this week's mega Southwest Salad and pico de gallo. However, as I have a history of not being very coordinated with a knife, taking my time is my own decision to protect my poor little fingers. I am currently drawing up some price comparisons of a food processor/blender/juicer/chopper i need in my kitchen. The n=Ninja 1100 looks promising but I really think I still want a Vitamix.

Saturday, I also used one of my mamma's recipe to make a casserole dish for the church fellowship meal. I called her desperately after work, when I was already at the grocery store as I had NO plan and zero inspiration to cook! Not only did she give me a recipe, she and dad drove to Tucson to say hi!! And after they did their shopping they brought dinner home for J and I... Talk about an unexpected pick me up :-)

A new recipe, a modified version of a recipe my Brother gave me. Chicken, Rotel, homeny, corn and some seasonings. J says its good but missing something, perhaps a thickening tomato paste? The chicken shredded nicely though! This will be for lunches or dinners this week. I also have some whole-wheat tortillas to make salad/chicken burritos too if the mood strikes us.








On a completely side and random note I got some new makeup! As i have been very happy with my mineral foundation from M*A*C I decided to try their eyeliner and lipstick....Nothing like new "war paint" to up my femininity feelings....

squeaky

I am trying to find many ways to be cost effective.

Online deals I am getting better at checking up on, but not necessarily following through with, however I am trying.

So, along the path to cutting costs I have stumbled into a few habits.

I feel that I do SO much laundry for just 2 people. However, when you keep in my mind my hubby works 2, sometimes 3 jobs, with various uniforms and sweat fests, he is CONSTANTLY discarding clothes into the pile when home. Notice I say PILE, not 1 of our 2 hampers... :-) Also, pile in the laundry I do for my side business....there is much laundry in this house.

ANy way, here is week 1 of my new experiment in making my own laundry detergent. 3 easy ingredients, a 5 minute job putting it together. And 1 tablespoon per load is needed. The soap doesn't foam as with my usually liquid free and clear detergents I used to use. So, if the math is correct i will be paying about 3cents a load for my laundry now. Approximately. No, I did not do that math myself.
The clothes smell fresh and clean, but they don't have a SCENT. I know J will like that once he starts wearing htem! So, we shall see if all goes well!

Also, the clear plastic spray bottle is my new disinfectant spray. distilled water, white vinegar and a few essential oils. Seemed to work pretty well in the bathroom.
I don't think my germ-a-phobe self will give up my Clorox wipes anytime soon, especially since flu season looms in a distance.... but for my usual cleaning this seems to be working well.

I read somewhere that you can put your sponges in the dishwasher... .thoughts anyone? I have microwaved some of my sponges in a bowl of water to disinfect them but I don't know..... I hate feeling the need to throw away my sponges so quickly.. hmmmm

domestic mess-es

Back by popular demand in my family of....1 other than myself. 'mega salad'....and chicken for protein. Is it bad to have hard-boiled eggs AND chicken on the same salad? Does one offend the other in any way?


I firmly believe salad should only ever be served in a wooden salad bowl. ignore my last blog where it was in a clear glass bowl.


My first attempt at dealing with NON-completely frozen chicken! I Did not GAG once!! I am SOOOO proud of myself! I found flavor-marinade packets I have been using with water and light olive oil.... however, I need to make sure they don't have any MSG in them before I continue using them. Or maybe K8 should just learn how to season food..... why oh why did I not pay better attention to my mommy's yummy food! Or even if I did, why did I take such a long cooking hiatus?

Grocery shopping annoys me. I tried to buy all my fresh foods at Sunflower yesterday, and cut into my cucumbers and they all tasted SOUR! THey looked great but j and I agreed they were BLECH. And fresh food doesn't keep well. It has been barely a week since I made my potato, veggie mix and I had to clean out the terribly BLECHY/moldy smelly mess that was the little bit of leftovers left in the fridge.


I enjoy my husband working at Starbucks... I got to try this new ....hmmm what is it? some type of caffeinated hibiscus tea? YUMMY! *blush* yes I am spoiled
Me trying to get a plethora of paperwork for one of my jobs done...obviously i am blogging instead.

Maybe I should change the name of my blog to Desperately Domestick8, or Desperate to BE domestic..... haha because obviously I don't do that great on the domestic front?

And on a side note...is no news good news? or is no news simply no news....????