Cream of Mushroom Soup.

I am sure I emoted about this before, but, I don't even care. I made the cream of mushroom soup, a la Julia Child, again the other day and it was THE.BEST.EVER!!!! And I think the rest of my family would agree - minus C#2 who is a mutant and doesn't like mushrooms.

The picture doesn't do it justice, but, believe it me, it was FABulous!!

I also met up with my BFFs for a quick breakfast  -- a final hurrah, since one of them is moving a gazillion miles away. It was really good and I must say the waitresses were awesome. Most restaurants keep track of how many coffee refills you have. This place did not. I had 6 or 7. Keep 'em comin' baby!!  And it was good coffee to boot!!

We then ventured out to a movie. Our choices were VERY limited. We ended up going to see "This Means War."  It doesn't look like much of a movie in the previews and it really isn't. But, I must say it was pretty funny and Chris Pine is HOTTTTTTTTT!!!! Just sayin'.  I was definitely not disappointed, since, I wasn't expecting much. So if you have nothing better to do and need a laugh this rom-com might actually work for you.

And thennnnnnn.... Just to delay the goodbye, we meandered over to Coldstone for some lunch. Yes. Ice cream for lunch. We had some major time constraints, since my BFF had to get to work in less than an hour, but, it worked out just fine.  Here's what we had:

Chocolate chip cookie, cookie dough ice cream thing. It tasted good, but, definitely needed more of the cookie dough stuff.

Chocolate covered strawberry ice cream. Good, but, needed more strawberries.

Needless to say it was all eaten, but, both desserts needed tweaked a little bit.

Then after a quick goodbye --- we didn't really want any drama, from either of us, we headed off in separate directions. I'm gonna really miss her. :(

Till next time....

Just in case you didn't believe me...

When I said I had loads and loads of books and a tremendous mess in the library, aka junk/mess room. Here you go:

This is what C#2 is getting rid of. Sadly for her some of those or should I say MOST of those were mine before she was born.

The random assortment that made it upstairs to eventually be listed.

More upstairs assortment.

Here is are the picked over children's book cases. Still a TON left.

Still MORE children's books.

And a stash underneath the photo albums stacked in 3-4 book lengths deep.

Adult books and miscellaneous crap. These are stacked two books deep. The reason my dearest complained, because, it is impossible to find anything....

MORE!!

And more still. This isn't even showing the bottom two rows which are equally stacked.

And the bins of books, that are actually for sale. I have soooooooo much work to do...

Here's the link again if you want to help ease my pain:  http://stores.ebay.com/Rubber-Stamps-and-So-Much-More

Although at this point it does seem pointless. There.are.just.too.toooooo.many.

Onto another topic. Today I went to Walmart with the trusty ads in hand. I am sad to say I only saved $1.50 this week. Only two of the items that I had highlighted were actually less in an ad. It really makes me wonder why people shop anywhere else. I know. Everyone hates Walmart ---- EXCEPT ME!!  It is sad, but, ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh so true.

After my lovely Walmart adventure I met up with my dear BFF who is moving to a galaxy far, far away very, very soon. I was extra hungry early this morning, so I had already eaten breakfast. Soooooo... I decided for second breakfast I would have cheesecake. YES!! CHEESECAKE!!!!! 

I think the waitress said it was Bavarian, but, I might be wrong. It was sooooooo good! 

And this is what my BFF had:

Belgium waffles with vanilla ice cream, strawberries and a whole lotta whipped cream.

Here's hoping that we can meet up a couple more times before her impending departure. Because that will be a sad, sadddddd day.

Till next time....

More different work!

Well sorta... I was informed that I had far too many books in the "library", aka junk room, aka collect all room, aka room no on ever goes into or uses. It is true there are way too many books in there. Most of which are children's. My first thought was to me the nice auntie and give them to the niece and nephews. Then I thought, "What if the C#1 and C#2 want them for their kids?!" THEN I actually looked through them and realized they were ALL mine. Purchased a bazillion years ago, for a bazillion dollars, when I was actually working with children besides my own, and when I was going to college. AND they were all in fantastic condition, for the most part. Soooooo.... I  have decided to expand my eBay business to book selling, too!

I must say that sales have picked up quite a bit, since starting on this new branch of sales.  Everyone is either getting their tax returns back or my stuff is dirt cheap -- probably both.

The good thing is that I don't have to buy any stock, since I have loads and loads. And it gives me the opportunity to clean out my "library" and make some extra moola!! Who doesn't like that?!?!

C#1 and C#2 (especially C#2) have gotten into the selling spirit, too. The challenge now, is to separate the sales and make sure the correct child is credited.  All in good fun I suppose.

Here's a link if ya want to check it out: http://stores.ebay.com/Rubber-Stamps-and-So-Much-More

That's it for today. Till next time...

Laundry.

Laundry is the dreaded task. I have happily assigned C#1 and C#2 to do it on a biweekly basis. However, there is still a problem. Socks. No.one.will.fold.the.socks.  Except for me when it becomes an issue with the dear hubby. I feel their pain with the folding of the laundry.  I know how annoying it is to pair the socks.  It is especially burdensome when my socks and C#1's socks are similar. Not all of them, but, a few.  I am sure there has been some sock sharing in the past. I don't care. When one of those cohabiting socks turns up brown, from stomping in the mud -- they are easily matched to C#1's clothes pile.

I spent a good part of the morning folding socks.  It felt like I folded fifty gazillion and one of those pesky rascals. Not my idea of fun.

Now there is a new rule with the laundry. "It would be nice if you folded the socks. Maybe just yours when you come across them?!? However, it has become a perpetual problem with your Dad. His are the easiest to match, so you MUST fold his!!!"  We shall see if this new mandate works.  Now I just need to go out and buy EVERYone a new pack of underwear.  This way there won't be a shortage of that fine piece of clothing, either.

(this is not a picture of MY pile of socks. But, it would be if I didn't step in and intervene on a continuous basis.)

Panera and a Movie (review)!

My BFF, Jude, asked if I wanted to go see the movie "Extremely Loud Incredibly Close."  I had seen the previews for this movie and it looked really, really sad. Anything with 9/11 in the theme, breaks my heart.  It was a movie I did want to see, eventually. And if I was going to see it, I would only be comfortable watching it with a select few.  Well, I agreed to go on this emotional roller coaster with her...

But first --- there must be lunch! It had to be a quick fix, because of time constraints. Panera seemed the perfect match, since not only is it tasty, it's fast! The only bad thing about the "local" Panera is that it is crayyyy-zeeeee busy most of the time.

I made a plan to show up early and secure a table. Since, I got done shopping a teense bit earlier than anticipated, I decided to have "first" lunch.  I was smart enough to register my Panera card and to my delight I got a FREE large coffee.Whoohoo! I was going to order that anyway. Andddd I ordered a cranberry/orange muffin to go with it.

The muffin was delicious with a little dab of butter. 

After a bit, I ordered "second" lunch. Cream of chicken and rice soup and a half sandwich. I ordered an Italian combo for me.  Also delicious!

After eating lunch we zipped over to the movie theater. Running almost red lights, all the way!  We bought our tickets and headed into the theater. There were only two other people there. We got to sit wherever we wanted, in those super comfy, recliner seats! YIPPEE!!

Then after 10 minutes of previews, the movie commenced. It should be noted that I like most of the movies that  feature Tom Hanks or Sandra Bullock. But both of them in the same movie!?! It's gotta be good, right?!?    Well, I wasn't disappointed. Someone told Jude to bring tissues. I had an ample supply from my previous movie event. But at that movie, "The Vow," I only used one tissue. This was to actually blow my nose because of a health condition called a cold... You can read my previous blog about that one.  I divvied up the tissues I had available, just in case.

Let me just say the tissues were definitely needed! The movie was really good and really awful all at the same time.  All of the hoopla about the young lead actor, Thomas Horn, who plays the son Oskar, were well  warranted. For a 14 year old, Jeopardy whiz, he has some serious acting chops!  Of course, like I mentioned before, having Tom and Sandra in the same movie, doesn't hurt either.

Sooooooo.... If you want to have your heart kicked around for 2+ hours this is the movie for you!  I personally like these kind of flicks. It was right up my alley!  I am very glad Jude asked me to go with her, otherwise, I woulda missed it.....  We both agreed that it was exhausting to watch and a nap seemed like a great idea. But, alas, no rest for the weary.  Once I got home, there were some dinner expectations. Rest assured I will get a good night's sleep tonight!

Till next time....

"The Vow"

My BFF and I had a last minute Valentine's Day "date" today and we went to see the new movie, "The Vow."  We were going to be all cheap and do something at my house, but, her time is short (aka she's moving away soon) and we thought we should get this "in," before she's gone.

 I saw that it had mediocre reviews, but, I was willing to give it a shot. I love Rachel McAdams.  It looked like my kind of movie full of tragedy, drama and love.  And after seeing it, I am glad I wasn't going into it expecting it to be "The Notebook". Because it clearly was not.  "The Notebook" is mostly in the past tense. "The Vow" was mostly in the present. It focused on the wife's recuperation after a car accident and her serious case of amnesia.


The story was interesting, but, there was no chemistry between the two leads. Which I guess makes sense, since she did have amnesia. The struggles between the husband and wife seemed plausible and awful.  But, I don't want to give anything away.


The ending wasn't that great either. It was okay. But, just okay. I guess my standards for "chick flicks" are set too high. Thankfully it was a cheapo matinee, so I wasn't out too much. AND it will save me from buying the DVD.


The thing that resonated with me the most was the saying, "Life's all about moments of impact, and how they change our lives forever."  I can completely relate to that in so, sooooooooooooooooo many ways.


While this movie wasn't a complete stinker, I will not be buying it on DVD or needing to see it, again.  But that is just my opinion.


Till next time...

I saved almost $10 at Walmart without coupons!

And without any grocery store shopping card. I know...  $10.00 isn't a ton of money, but, every bit counts. I get the weekly ads from the other grocery stores and I used to ignore them. Come to find out Walmart will match most anything (I guess they have been doing that since forever, but, I finally got a clue.)  So, now I look forward to the ads and pore through them to see what I can find on sale.  Then on whatever day I decide to go out with ALL of the store ads in hand I head to Walmart. I should mention I dog ear the page and use a Sharpie pen to circle the items I am looking for.  This is also a task better done alone, since, it can be a little time consuming.  Last week's biggest savings was on cereal.  One of the grocery stores had four different kinds of cereal on sale at $1.50 each. This same cereal was $2.98 at Walmart. ChaCHING!!  I stuck to the allowable amount of four boxes. The other big savings was Sargento cheese. It was on sale for $1.99 and at Walmart the price was $2.68, I think. Another ChaCHING!  And then I saved a measly .30 cents on Nutella. The other stuff I was considering was actually cheaper AT Walmart. No ad needed.

I should mention I hate "shopping around." I would rather suffer Walmart and get EVERYthing that I haven't already gotten at Sam's Club and call it a day.

So there you have it. My new "fun" thing to do. Laterrrrrrrrrrrr!

Company!!! To clean or not to clean...

One of my BFFs was coming out to my house for lunch. I was debating how much should I clean. If at all?!? My usual rule is if it's family, I don't clean. Wellllll....  I did pick up some of the miscellaneous crap that was laying around. That said, being a BFF, she might as well be family. You know the family you choose. This particular BFF has been to my house, but, never in it.  And I should mention she keeps her house spick and span.

 I don't remember the last time I or one of my house slaves (C#1 and C#2) have dusted or cleaned off the vents or washed out the tub (not that the tub needs to be washed for this event), or even done much of anything.  I have a personal relationship with my dust bunnies and my kitchen floor will NEVER be white, again. It's all scuffed up and dinged.  And the dishwasher needed emptied and that was C#1's job at least five times ago. But, he said, "I'm sick..." Which he is. He has this stinker cold and is a boogery baby. So  who do you think unloaded the dishwasher, again?  You guessed it! ME! again. I am soooooooooooo not impressed. The whole reason for the Cs is to do my house chores. But, I digress.

I decided that I would vaccuum, straighten up the kitchen, dining room and living room area. I refuse to dust, because, I hattttttttttttttttte dusting. And there is a reason for doors. To hide the mess. That said, all of the bedroom doors were summarily SHUT!

We feasted on french onion soup, quiche, chicken cordon bleu and super fudgy brownies. I skipped dinner that night!

We then had a trio BFF event for today. One of them is moving far, far away and we are trying to cram in as much "get together" time as possible. She wanted to "share" her favorite sub shop with us. The whole draw is the sub sauce and it is deeeeelicious! Especially when it soaks through. Check out these sammies!

Two of them were made "cosmo" style, which means they were topped with cheese and then melted in a broiler. It was amazing! My only complaint was that I said, "Sure" to extra onions and they proceeded to add an ENTIRE onion sliced onto one sandwich. That was a bit much.

It was a beautiful, unseasonably warm, February day. We decided to visit a dear friend's grave site and leave flowers. We cleaned up the area and made it look all nice and neat.  Then we reminisced for a little while. It is so nice to have BFFs to share special memories with.  

Till next time...

Chicken Cordon Bleu and Quiche. Delish!

I had no big plans for "The Game." But, I did have plans for the numerous lunch meat and cheese "leftovers." I try to make lunch interesting for the lunch taking peeps. Emphasis on TRY. But, that usually means that once the week or a half week is through, they are tired of whatever was on the daily menu. It should be stated that I do make the same-thing-every-day-for-the-entire-week.

I am not a short order cook and mornings are incredibly annoying any way. C#1 and C#2 refuse to use their alarms and I refuse to enforce it and they usually like to refuse to get out of bed. But, that is definitely straying from the "story."

Soooooooooo... In order to use up said "leftovers," I decided on "Chicken Cordon Bleu." It was a trusty Mr. Food recipe that I have used before AND I even smashed out the chicken breasts to their appropriate size. The only thing I did different was use half seasoned bread crumbs and half panko bread crumbs. If you have not tried panko bread crumbs, you really should. THEY.ARE.AMAZING!!!! Here is the final product:

Then I had a stray baked pie crust to use. The last time this happened I made some kick @ss quiche a la Julia Child (I think I may have mentioned it.) Any way, I did basically the same thing as before. I substituted feta cheese for bleu cheese. I am NOT a fan of bleu cheese. But, then I had some leftover pimento and cheddar cheese deliciousness from the sandwiches I had made previously. So I added that to the mix as well! All I can say is it tasted AWWWWWWESOMEEEE!!! No one else would touch it, but, I don't even care. MORE for ME!!!

And here's a picture of those super delicious french onion soup and the pimento/cheddar cheese sandwiches I made, last week:

Now I am not liking the scale one bit. I am determined to kick my re-addiction to Salt and Vinegar chips, too. I just need to stop cooking. OR stop caring, since I do enjoy eating WAY too much.

Till next time!

And now I am a Germaphobe.

Not that I wasn't a bit of a freak when I was out and about any way. I am constantly telling me kids, especially C#2 to NOT touch ANYthing! I mean how hard is it?! I guess for a kid it's incredibly difficult.  It's bad enough that I have to push the "petri" dish cart. I mean ewwwwww!!!  And then deal with all the coughing, boogery public. Double ewwwww!

Well, my feelings on this subject only intensified after watching the movie "Contagion" last night with the hubby. I should also mention that one of my BFFs is a nurse and she said this could happen. I mean it is kind of a stretch, but, not too much......  Where's my plastic bubble?!?!?!?!

I had to make a trip to the store after Bible class today and I did NOT get a cart or a basket, since I knew I would be going out to eat afterwards with C#2. Of course, after seeing the above mentioned movie, I am not sure eating out is such a smart thing either. And sadly, the first store I went to did NOT have what I specifically needed, which meant I had to go to another store. Another double EWWWWW!! And there were way more  people and more hacking and coughing and boogers.  

I think I have washed my hands a zillion times today, already.  I need to make sure I lotion them up, or that could create another problem. Okay, okay.... Now I sound like a paranoid freak.  Maybe I will become one of those people who wears a face mask and plastic gloves everywhere I go. Then it would be confirmed that I am a paranoid freak.  Well, we don't want that, so I will refrain.

I should also mention I finished 1984 by George Orwell.  Let me just say messed up! The book was fascinating. The first "party slogan" they throw at you is:

 "WAR IS PEACE 

FREEDOM IS SLAVERY 

IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH."

 I was a little confused at first, but, as you read the book, it all makes sense. It was some crazy sh*t!!  

It reminded me of another book I read, that was actually a true story. It was called Brainwashing by Edward Hunter.  It is about the Korean War veterans who survived  the POW camps. That was a very interesting read, too.

That's it for today. Till next time!