Category: HELPFUL HINTS

Here we are at another Monday. I hope you had a great Easter.  Easter morning was gorgeous, absolutely beautiful sunrise (we would normally have fog or clouds until 10 or 11) but it didn’t last and the storm hit around noon.

Be sure to link up with Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom for Happy homemaker Monday and with Laura at I’m an Organizing Junkie for Menu Plan Monday.

WEATHER OUTSIDE
Typical April weather – stormy and wet.

TO DO FOR THE WEEK

• Research 
• Paperwork
• Dr. Appointments

CURRENTLY READING

• Destined for Power by Kathleen Brooks

TELEVISION/DVR

• Dovekeepers
• Killing Jesus
• Castle
• NCIS 
• Bones

CRAFTS & PROJECTS
 Nothing going on this week.

WEEKLY MENU PLANS

EXPERIMENTAL RECIPE SUCCESSES with LINKS

• Garlic Cider Chicken
• Durango Chicken
• White Bean & Artichoke Cassoulet

RECIPES TO TRY IN THE FUTURE

• Corn Bread Stuffing Muffins
• Cream Cheese Danish Braid
• Chocolate Coconut Macaroons
• Crock Pot French Onion Soup
• Salted Caramel Eclairs

HOMEMAKING TIP
Not all onions taste the same and can alter the flavor of your dish.  Know your onions.

• Vidalia (Georgia), Walla Walla (Washington) or Maui (Hawaii) = SWEET onions which have a higher water and sugar content – found mostly in the spring and/or summer.
• Red or Purple onions also have a sweeter flavor and are also known as Italian onions,  They do tend to lose their color when cooked, but add a mild sweet flavor and color to salads and burgers when used raw.
• Green onions are “young” bulb onions and much milder in flavor making them perfect for salads and casseroles.
• Shallots (Greek originally) form like garlic in clusters. These are a milder form of an onion, but don’t let that fool you.  Shallots are flavor packed miniatures.

ON MY MIND
If one more person tells me, “But the computer says” or “The computer won’t let me” I swear I’ll scream.  Your computer DOES NOT talk and like the old adage says, garbage in, garbage out! So if you can see that something does not make sense and the computer program is such that it won’t allow the proper corrections, CALL an IT guy!

Last year I had a medical bill that should have been 100% covered, but they DEMANDED 20% up front which I gave in and paid just to get out the door.  A few weeks after that I received a bill for the remainder of the whole amount.  I called them and explained (AGAIN) that my insurance (if billed properly) covered that expense 100%.  They said they understood and would re-bill the insurance correctly.

Then a few weeks ago (several months after the last phone call) I received a phone call from a different girl demanding full payment or they would send me to collections.  I went through the roof!  She said that I had NO insurance according to their computer, and that every time they billed my insurance company it was rejected for that reason.

Fortunately I had never spoken to this girl before and as it turns out she possessed not only common sense, but compassion and understanding as I explained one more time that I didn’t owe them anything, what my insurance was as well as HOW to bill it properly and what it covered and that they actually owed me money from the initial payment. She said she’d look into and fix it.  Honestly she was nice, but I wasn’t holding my breath. Guess what?  I received my refund check this week. Thank you new girl with a brain!

FAVORITE PHOTO FROM THE CAMERA THIS WEEK

INSPIRATION

WEATHER OUTSIDE
TODAY
A little foggy and partly cloudy, but with an afternoon of sun.

WEEK
By Tuesday we’re supposed to drop 20 degrees and get rain.

TO DO FOR THE WEEK

• Digging out the warm weather clothes (just in case)
• Laundry
• Spring Cleaning

CURRENTLY READING

• Give a Little (Summerhill #7) by Kate Perry
• Where the Heart is (Ribbon Ridge) by Darcy Burke

TELEVISION/DVR

• NCIS 
• NCIS Los Angeles
• Castle
• Dancing with the Stars

CRAFTS & PROJECTS
I’m re-working a decorative birdhouse for my mom that was recently found to house thousands of wasps. It had completely faded to a gray.  I blocked the hole so no more wasps can take up residence and then added a little fresh color.

I tried an interesting egg color kit called 24K Eggs by RJ Rabbit.  They had a beautiful picture on the front that made the eggs appear to be a deep gold leafed color. After 2 coats of the “gold leaf” mixture and only a thin opaque layer I decided to get creative.  There wasn’t enough “gold leaf” provided in the package to actually have coated 12 eggs so I put on some rubber gloves and started mixing and matching by hand the “gold leaf” with the 3  basic colors (yellow, red and blue) provided and ended up with some pretty eggs at least.  The kit though was an epic fail if you solely follow their directions.

Tried to polish the brass porch lights, but the brass is too far gone,  so went with a matching paint job to the house trim.

With all the winter rain, the slope of the yard and the spongy soil the blocks around the front yard planter always sink each year.  I spent a few hours leveling the blocks and ridding the area of moss and weeds before adding a spring touch.

MENU PLANS FOR THE WEEK

RECENT SUCCESSFUL RECIPES

• Goat Cheese Salad
• Apple Cinnamon Pork Chops
• Garlic Brown Sugar Chicken
• Vanilla Latte Meatballs with Coffee Gravy

RECIPE FAILS or DISLIKES

• Lemon Souffle Pancakes – Flavor was great, but just not worth the work.
• Couch Potato Bars – Hubs likes it, but honestly it didn’t have enough flavor for all the work.  I much prefer my Chunky Monkeys.

RECIPE FINDS TO TRY AT A LATER DATE

• Pumpkin Empanadas
• Strawberry Coconut Cake 
• Pumpkin Brulee’ Tart

HOMEMAKING TIP

 A few definitions this week to help clarify:

• BASTE – Using the drippings to coat the food as it bakes to keep it moist.
• BEAT – Whisk briskly and vigorously with a beater until mixture is stiff.
• BLEND – Mashing or mixing 2 or more ingredients together until blended well.
• BRAISE – Simmering seared meat in a covered dish with only a small amount of moisture.
• DREDGE – To coat thoroughly with flour.
• FOLD – Add delicate ingredients gently with a spoon or spatula to a thicker mixture.
• FRICASSEE – Cooking meat by stewing in a gravy.
• MINCE – Chopping ingredients very fine.
• SAUTE’ – Frying in a small amount of fat.
• SIMMER – cooking over VERY low heat.

ON MY MIND LATELY
Why are we so able to accept computers and/or automation to run our lives?  When did it become acceptable to ignore the needs of people because some script on a computer dictates the flow chart of a conversation?

You can’t call a doctor’s office, store, or business for the most part without first encountering an automated menu.  Many times these menus do not even have the option you need on it.  It allows you to ask for a human, but first you MUST answer their questions and if you don’t answer them correctly 9 times out of 10 the person you do reach will need to transfer you to someone else.  And don’t even get me started on having to press 1 or 2 for English.

Long story short I want to thank Sade’ for being a human that still cares and went the extra mile to help me fix a serious issue for my step dad.  It took me 2 calls and an hour and a half to get to her and then another half hour working with her, but she personified the attitude we should ALL have to help others in need.

FAVORITE PHOTO FROM THE CAMERA
I finally wrote my post about the Queen Mary and Aquarium of the Pacific this past week and as I edited pictures to post I have to say this was my favorite not only for the week, but I think for the year.

INSPIRATION

It’s another Monday… and you know what that means. It’s time to link up with Sandra over at Diary of a Stay at home mom and Laurie at I’m an Organizing Junkie for Happy Homemaker and Menu Plan Monday.

It was a lazy weekend around here – lot’s of reading, race watching and goofing off. Weather was too nice!

BREAKFAST

THE WEATHER OUTSIDE
THIS MORNING:
It’s cold this morning, but promises to be warm and sunny by the time I get back from shopping and errands!  It’s just so short lived before it’s cold at night.

FOR THE WEEK:
Less and less promise of sun and more and more promise of dreary skies as the week progresses.

TO DO LIST
TODAY:

• Grocery Shopping
• Errands

THIS WEEK:

• Laundry
• EBAY

CURRENTLY READING

• Finding Southern comfort by Barbara Lohr
• And I Love Her Green Mountain #4 Marie Force 
• So this is Love Callaways #2 Barbara Freethy

TELEVISION & DVR

• Scandal
• Justified
• Perception
• Rizzoli & Isles

PLAY TIME (If I can find any)
I’m still tweaking the new framework for my weekly menu and recipe links.

LAST WEEK’S RECIPES I TRIED and their RECIPE LINKS

• Meat Lover’s Casserole 
• Backgammon Soup

NEW RECIPES TO TRY IN THE NEAR FUTURE

• Rosemary, Parsley & Thyme Chicken
• Garlic Cider Chicken
• Coffee meatballs & Noodles
• Apple Cider Pork Chops
• Pulled pork & coleslaw sandwiches

MY FAVORITE PHOTO FROM LAST WEEK

LOL I honestly didn’t take anything but food pictures this week.

BLOGS TO CHECK OUT
Nothing new this week.

HOMEMAKING TIP / PRODUCT REVIEWS
After you clean the cat’s litter box pour 1/2 inch of distilled vinegar in the bottom and let it sit 20 minutes.  The vinegar will seep into the pores and scratches in the plastic and neutralize the ammonia smell.

ON MY MIND LATELY & PRAYERS
I’m praying for a world at peace.

It’s another Monday… you know what that means. It’s time to link up with Sandra over at Diary of a Stay at home mom and Laurie at I’m an Organizing Junkie for Happy Homemaker and Menu Plan Monday.

BREAKFAST AS I WRITE:

THE WEATHER OUTSIDE
THIS MORNING:
Drizzly and cold!

FOR THE WEEK:
Pretty much the same all week.

TO DO LIST
TODAY:

• Play for hubby’s birthday.  I’ll post about our adventures later this week.

DURING THE WEEK:

• Laundry
• Recipe File Updates
• Baseboards

CURRENTLY READING

• Finding Southern comfort by Barbara Lohr

TELEVISION & DVR

A couple of new or returning shows start this week and I’m still working off the DVR from last week.

• Castle
• Scandal
• State of Affairs
• Justified
• Sleepy Hollow
• Perception
• Rizzoli & Isles
• Battle Creek
• Good Witch

PLAY TIME (If I can find any)

Now I wouldn’t call it “play time”, but after my cortisone shot this past week I was told to stay off my feet for 48 hours.  So on the way home I stopped by Staples to buy some files and then I set up shop on the family room floor and set about cleaning up the HUGE pile of recipe scraps that hubby regularly reminds me we will NEVER be able to try them all and actually weeded out all the real scrap and organized the rest. I narrowed down 3 small totes to this file, but it is overstuffed LOL!

I also tweaked the new framework for my weekly menu and recipe links (AGAIN).  The filled squares are actual links to tried and true recipes.  It is still not exactly what I’m looking for, but I’ll keep working on it. I also designated Tuesday as “EXPERIMENT NIGHT”.

LAST WEEK’S RECIPES I TRIED and their RECIPE LINKS

• Racing Dip/Seafood Enchiladas
• Pork Chops with Peanut Butter Green Chile Cream Gravy
• Caramelized Lemon & Green Chile Verde White Fish
• Bacon Cheddar Pancakes
• Warm Bacon Vinaigrette
• Salad in a Jar
• Banana Eclair Cake
• Upside Down Chocolate Cake

NEW RECIPES I FOUND THIS WEEK OR CREATED AFTER BEING INSPIRED BY OTHER RECIPES TO TRY IN THE NEAR FUTURE

• Lemon Curd Napoleon
• Baked Hawaiian Chicken
• Voodoo Smothered Chicken
• Chicken Christopher
• Green Chile Marmalade Wings
• Velvet Cake
• Balsamic Glazed Steak Rolls 
• Macaroon Peanut Butter Chocolate Tartlets
• Lemon Souffle Pancakes
• Orange Crunch Parfaits
• Smoked Paprika Chicken Thighs
• Norwegian Meatballs
• Sauerkraut & Pork Roast
• Blackened Salmon

MY FAVORITE PHOTO FROM LAST WEEK

LOL, I honestly didn’t take anything but food pictures again this week and then the black brat (who has his choice of 3 beds in this house) tried to squeeze out sweet Whiskey from the bed she was sleeping in and I just had to grab a picture.

BLOGS TO CHECK OUT

I keep looking for new and inspiring blogs, but honestly so many have huge ad sections or pop ups nowadays that just annoy me!

HOMEMAKING TIP / PRODUCT REVIEWS

Does your wedding ring or diamond necklace need cleaning – just use a denture tablet.  My jeweler taught me this trick – it’s quick and efficient leaving you with sparkling jewelry.

ON MY MIND LATELY

Keeping with last week’s soap box rant I have a real problem with the new KFC HALO’s commercial (as well as soooooo many others that use this same negative tactic) where they use children disrespecting their father. Dad wakes up to a horse’s head (from the daughter’s stuffed toy) in his bed and the whole thing plays out like a bad godfather parody and ends with dad going out to buy what she wants.  At least this was followed by a sweet Extra Gum commercial where you can see awe and respect in the daughter’s eyes as dad makes her a cute origami swan out of her gum wrapper.

I don’t know about you, but with so many choices in this world I will go out of my way to buy a product that isn’t negative or insulting my intelligence with their ads.

Children are really SOOOO impressionable. We need to present them with positive, life affirming ideals and models to follow. I know it sounds silly, but SOOOOO many commercials today are using NEGATIVE advertisement and I just think it’s wrong.  Like so many other things, the longer it is allowed to continue the more things may change – an NOT for the better.  Children being allowed to be sarcastic, negative, disrespectful and catered to DOES NOT encourage or inspire them to be good positive adults in the future.

PRAYING FOR & INSPIRATION

It’s another Monday… you know what that means. It’s time to link up with Sandra over at Diary of a Stay at home mom and Laurie at I’m an Organizing Junkie for Happy Homemaker and Menu Plan Monday.

I had a good Valentine’s weekend.  We stayed home and BBQed Steaks with baked potatoes and hubby’s favorite for dessert – cheesecake! Plus NASCAR started on Saturday!

Thanks go to my wonderful physical therapist who is treating the “whole” person and not just my knee.  She is very surprised that not 1 doctor put me through physical therapy after any of the 5 major surgeries I had in 2 years that zapped my strength and muscle tone and is not surprised by how weak I have been, but is happy with the path I’m on to become “whole” again! I’ve also started a new vitamin regime and have a lot of new found energy so this post is a little fuller than normal!

BREAKFAST AS I WRITE:

THE WEATHER OUTSIDE
THIS MORNING:
A little overcast, but with the supposed promise of sunny skies by lunch.  The nights have been clear and downright cold though making it cold and flu season with a hint of ear infection!! Very misleading as it is only sunny and somewhat nice for about 4 hours and then it’s bone chilling damp cold and miserable again.

FOR THE WEEK:
Pretty much the same, but less and less promise of sun and more and more promise of dreary skies as the week progresses.

TO DO LIST
TODAY:

• Physical therapy
• Dog grooming

THIS WEEK:

• Laundry
• Cleaning
• Paperwork up the ying yang

CURRENTLY READING

• Barefoot Season  – Three Sisters Book #3 Evening Stars by Susan Mallery

TELEVISION & DVR

A couple of new or returning shows start this week,

• Perception
• Rizzoli & Isles
• The Odd Couple remake
• Vikings on the history channel (hubby has a thing for Norway)

but I’m still working off the DVR from last week.

• Castle
• Scandal
• State of Affairs
• Justified
• Sleepy Hollow

PLAY TIME (If I can find any)

I built a new framework for my weekly menu and recipe links.  It is still not exactly what I’m looking for, but I’ll keep working on it. I also changed up last week’s menu and made quite a few experimental recipes and was quite happy with the results.  Recipe links below.

LAST WEEK’S RECIPE LINKS

• Molasses Ginger Brownie Bars with Mocha Ginger Cream Cheese Frosting
• French Onion Soup with Mac & Cheese Croutons
• Sweet & Spicy Mandarin Tangerine Chicken
• Chocolate Peanut Butter Sticky Buns
• Chocolate Peanut Butter Sticky Buns/Spiral Cake
• Blackberry Relish
• Scotch Eggs

NEW RECIPES I FOUND THIS WEEK TO TRY IN THE NEAR FUTURE

• Pineapple Skirt Steak
• Ham & Asparagus Stuffed Chicken
• Country French Chicken and Rice
• Chunky Beef Ragu

MY FAVORITE PHOTO FROM LAST WEEK

It is a very strange winter, definitely the kind where you are always fighting a cold. Warm then cold…  dry then VERY wet… rain, but no snow pack… Early bulbs that then freeze and strange fungal growths on tree roots.

BLOGS TO CHECK OUT

I keep looking for new and inspiring blogs, but honestly so many have huge ad sections or pop ups nowadays that just annoy me!

HOMEMAKING TIP

One of the worst things is reaching for an onion or potato to find that they have rotted. And a lot of people don’t know not to store them together.  I’ve always used baskets, but they can become cumbersome and messy. I found these bags at Lakeside collection and they are a big help at keeping things fresh, organized, clean and they are color coded too.  All the onion skins and eyes end up in the bags instead of the shelves.  They were relatively inexpensive too.

ON MY MIND LATELY

If the people who walk the aisles of the local grocery store and walmart drove their cars the same way they drive their shopping carts there would be an accident every 10 feet and you couldn’t drive down the street.

PRAYING FOR & INSPIRATION

I’m praying for the courage and strength to deal with the VA (AGAIN) while we continue through this process.

I also pray for forgiveness for everything I called the “WITCH” from my primary care doctor’s office last week.

I LOVE my primary care doctor.  She unfortunately works for a University system that has taken on the practice that there is NO need for actual nurses or professionals in the office and they staff with untrained or at least not well trained and uncaring people who have the compassion, understanding and follow through of a gnat.  They also use a voicemail system that allows them to ignore, avoid (you choose) calls.  I have pages and pages of documented calls that only reached voicemail that have YET to be answered by them.  Recently I had to resort to a certified letter to get a referral placed 3 months after the doctor originally requested it.

And that wasn’t the first time a referral fell through the system.  The first time they kept faxing to the WRONG insurance company – a company I have never been affiliated with and I only know this thanks to a front office girl telling me.  Obviously she will remain nameless to protect her.  By the time the referral went through 2 months later, the specialist was no longer accepting my insurance and I had to start the process over.  In all from the time the first referral was requested to me actually being seen by a specialist and then having to start over again 3 months had passed.

This time I have had to cancel and reschedule with a specialist twice and this 3rd referral was extremely time sensitive!  Their inability to perform even simple functions has not only ticked me off and forced me to make dozens of unnecessary calls to follow up (basically doing their job for them), rearrange my schedule not once, but twice and not only inconvenienced me, but also the specialist’s office staff and patients.

Don’t get me wrong – it’s not that she didn’t deserve EVERY single word as do the worthless office staff she works with, just that I shouldn’t have said it all.

Good Morning! I had a fairly SLOW and VERY WET weekend and have a very early appointment this morning so I’m getting going early.

I’m one of those people who unfortunately tends to remember dates and today is the anniversary of the Sylmar earthquake, my first one when I was quite young. LOL, I hate that I remember these things. I found this documentary video that I’d never seen.

Join in with Sandra over at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom for Happy Homemaker Monday.  Be sure and stop by to see what it’s all about!

• Dr. Appointment
• Errands – Oil Change and tire rotation

CURRENTLY READING:

The storm broke in just the perfect spot to the west as the sun set Saturday night and then it returned to the regularly scheduled rain followed by a thunderstorm and heavier rain!

As I rotate out my worn out (at least for my face and body) loofa wash cloth and back scrubbing cloth I use them as cleaning rags.

I had a horrible week dealing with my primary care doctor’s office.  They are horrible, they don’t return calls, have an excuse for everything, promise and then never follow through, always send my referrals to the wrong insurance company… I’m PRAYING that common sense prevails with some medical issues and the imbeciles, idiots, ignorant, clueless people handling the paperwork and appointments dealing with it.

Good Morning! I had a fairly busy and productive weekend as well as the SUPERBOWL game and have a very early appointment this morning so I’m getting going early. Join in with Sandra over at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom for Happy Homemaker Monday.  Be sure and stop by to see what it’s all about!

• Physical Therapy
• Errands
• Groceries

• Barefoot Season by Susan Mallery

A few new shows start this week and we’ll clean up the DVR from the past couple weeks.

January was REALLY foggy and damp, but still warmer and drier than most so I got really spoiled and wasn’t ready for the February temperature drop and rain, but here it is!

Do a little quilting and finish a few older projects though I have yet to have a few minutes to myself LOL like that’s going to happen.

• Vampire Slayer Artichoke Bread (from last week)

I also tried several other successful new recipes recently and they will be popping up a little here and a little there over the next few weeks.  I’m back to trying recipes from my experimentation file this month so am hopeful that there will be many to pass on to you soon.

I have a few favorite photos this week.  We headed out on Saturday to trek all the way around the pond since it was actually sunny and fairly nice out and because we are now 2 days into a 10 day rain stretch.  These ant hills were the most unique picture I took, but seeing the beaver below was one of the rarest.  Too bad I forgot to put my long lens on before we left.

Buried under decades of blackberry brambles and moss is an old foundation and from the looks of the construction it was probably from the early 1900’s.

This Robin jumped from tree to tree as we walked along, but I finally caught him in this pine tree.

There’s a farm on the other side of that gate, but this road truly leads nowhere, well except into the pond.

Take a good look, the sunny, cloudy sky is rare this time of year and the thistles made a perfect forefront. 

And if your shoes don’t look like this when you get home, you did something wrong.

I tend to eyeball some measurements because that’s the way I was taught, but often, especially with a new recipe, I’m exact.

There are 2 different types (many people don’t realize this) – dry and wet measure.

• Liquid measure tend to be glass or plastic with a pour spout.
• Dry measures are your nested cups and spoons.

Common Sense to prevail with some medical issues and the imbeciles, idiots, ignorant, clueless people handling the paperwork and appointments dealing with it.