Phelps Mill, MN

Yesterday on our cabin vacation we went to Phelps Mills, MN and toured the old mill & viewed the dam. I thought there was lot fo interesting & beautiful pictures to be taken here, so I was snapping away. I was actually really pleased with how a lot of them turned out, which is why I had to make 2 different collages.

Interesting Pictures

These are a couple of pictures I took at Phelps Mills, MN yesterday. The top one was at the playground there. It is this cute old couple that were swinging on the swings together. I have just never seen an older couple like this on the swings. She was really cruising on the swings.

This is a WHAT NOT TO DO. Don't over over a dam in your kayak. We just hope that the owner of this kayak was smart & made it out before it went over.

Making Crafts

Today has been a productive day for me. I got some laundry done & the dishes. I made some firestarters out of reusing products (egg cartons, old candle & lint). I made a Christmas stocking for my baby boy (if you remember 3 years ago, I posted a very frilly pink one I made for my daughter), and then made some small gift bags. Plus I have 2 crockpots cooking supper for tonight (pot roast & veggies) and tomorrow night (chili). It helps that my daughter played nicely by herself this morning and this afternoon she has been at a Preschool Day Camp, which I have to pick her up from soon. I hope she wants to take a nap after she gets back, because I know I could sure use one now.

Recent Crafts

Next week I will be posting about these on my Being Green Blog, but until then you can at least see the finished projects. I took a class at River Bend Nature Center this past Saturday on making Newspaper Bowls. It was a 2 hour long class and I still had to do the final step at home, so I would say it probably take 2.25 hours to make one the size I did.

On Sunday, we went to the Steele County Historical Society's 35th Annual Extravaganza. They had someone there doing branding & you could purchase boards of reclaimed lumber with number on them. So, we did ones with the years of birth for each of our kids. Then, at home I added some hooks (I bought a while but never used) and we plan to hang these in their room and are a place for them to hang their robe & pajamas.

Baking

This top picture is our 4th of July breakfast. Isabel woke up & wanted to make rice krispie bars, although I didn't have enough rice krispies, so we did have those & half cheerios and half white marshmealows & half strawberry marshmallows and added some mini chocolate chips. They are yummy.

And then there is a fruit salad, a flower Isabel picked from the yard, and some chocolate cherry muffins. Those were yummy too. I only kinda-sorta followed a recipe for them.



This is the rhubarb cream coffeecake I made a couple mornings ago. Very yummy! I also made a rhubarb strawberry crumb pie for Friday dinner. Our family from Spain was visiting with us and they don't have rhubarb in Spain, so it was a special treat for them.

Why I'm Pissy Today

Let me count the ways.....

* We're still dealing with the sale of the driveway issue. It's been over 2 years and every time we think it's finished someone wants something else. Of course after several phone calls this morning, I think we could be finished, but who am I kidding? And of course, it didn't work out the way it was supposed to and ther eis nothing we can do about that.

* It's hot & humid. Ok, well, not too hot today, but this humidity sucks donkey dick.

* The truck has something wrong with it. Last night it wouldn't start at the grocery store. Now it's getting looked at to see if it's a battery, starter, alternator, or who knows what else issue. And while it's there it is getting a transmission flush (it was due for one).....so how much cash is all that going to cost me. Or course, I'm the one who deals with the money & budget but they never call me (the shop or the hubby) to clear the repairs through me or let me offer suggestions. Kinda pisses me off that I am treated like I don't know anything and then I have to see this horrendous bill.

* Broken computers......we're making due, but computers add up. The desktop bit the dust and the hubby thinks he could fix it.....but what if he can't & he purchased a new motherboard that can't be returned for no reason & we still have to buy a new computer. We're using an old, old, slow, slow laptop w/ broken keyboard upstairs in the office. We have it hooked up to a wireless keyboard & mouse & a monitor, so it functions basically as a desktop, but it's just slow & old. We don't have much on it and plan to use it as we have it set up for now as place for Isabel to play her computer games. And the other computer, well, there is either something wrong with the power cord or where the power cord plugs in to. It keeps wanting to run off the battery. If it's internal, we are probably SOL. I ordered a new power cord this morning, so we'll see.

* Medical Bills.....I hate that our insurance doesn't have a wide network unless we want to pay an extra $1700 (or so) a year. We will be getting a bill for almost $100 because the hubby didn't make sure the provider was "really" in our network. Having to pay money I shouldn't have to or that could have been avoided really pisses me off.

* Cell Phone troubles.....I keep getting a hangup tone when I first try to call the hubby or it gives me some message about the subscriber not being in service or some other BS. I called the phone company last night & they told me to call back to troubleshoot (we all know that means to turn off your phone & on again, then do it again & remove battery & on again, you know that stupid shit that I have tried already but they, for some reason, need to witness that I did.) So, I did that this morning and the f-ing phone freezes up completly on me (shit! that has never happened before) and won't turn off, so out comes the battery & try again....this time it just stalls, so we turn it off again and this time it works fine and the call went through on the first try to the hubby. It's all documented on my account, so we'll see what happens when this happens again.

* I am mad at myself because I screamed at the kid when she was nagging me for a snack and I was try to do stuff. I made her choose to run to the couch and ball her head off and then I had to go apologize and comfort her and explain that mommy is concerned about money and having to pay for bills. That's touch to explain to a 3 year old. She told me to just go to the bank and they will give me more money. I tried to explain that they only give me money that I give them to keep in a safe place and if I don't have any money in that safe place then they can't give me any. But the nagging does get quite annoying.

* Our video baby monitor is a POS. The switch broke on the monitor when the kid was about a year old. So, we called the company & bought a refurbished monitor. Well, when the kid was about two the screen on the "new" one went out. WTF? Well, now she is three. We just didn't use one for the last year, and that was fine. But with kid #2 on the way, I WANT, no NEED, a video monitor. So, I called the company again (today) and they no longer carry that model AT ALL and do not sell anything to do with it. Damn it! Now I need to find a monitor on eBay, which I am guessing will last me all of a year again. Or buy a new system. Will any work any better? Those things are expensive and we just don't have that kind of money to be throwing out the door.

* The hubby's job is stressful right now and he brings that stress home. I don't think he realizes how much that stress is stressing me out. I know he needs to talk & bounce ideas off me.

* I'm 22 weeks pregnant. When I was pregnant with my daughter, I tried to make sure I was in control of my emotions and not become a stereotypical crazy pregnant lady. It's either just too much this time or my hormones are more out of whack with this pregnancy, but I seriously felt like wanting to punch or break something this morning.

* Other people pushing their negativity on me is frustrating.

* I get frustrated with other people lack of commitment or follow through.

* Phone company is raising the price on a fee. I know it's only $6/year, but it's $6 more out of my pocket.

* I'm tired. Not sure that being tired was initially an issue, but after crying from the stress of everything I am now sleepy. Crying makes me sleepy.

* I have some allergy thing going on and it is driving me nuts. Well, today it is more just annoying that driving me nuts. The other day I was more miserable. I don't normally have much for allergy issues, but I guess pregnant woman are more susceptible to acquiring new allergies during pregnancy, Bah!

I am sure there is more that my pregnancy brain is just forgetting right now.

Save Green Being Green

Can a girl have too many blogs? Hmmmmm....maybe, maybe not. But I have another one now:

http://savegreenbeinggreen.blogspot.com/

Read the first post on there to see why I started it.

Flowers from My Yard

I am very happy to see that my pink peonies and old fashioned roses have started blooming before I leave for a little visit to family & friends with my daughter. The lilacs have been blooming as well. A couple of lilacs bushes have bloomed last week and now another couple bushes (different varieties) are blooming. The old fashioned rose bush will bloom several other times this summer, but the peonies are just once. I planted these years ago and missed seeing them last year. I picked them out & planted them, the blooms haven't actually opened all the way yet, so you can't see the bright yellow in the middle of the pink petals. 

My daughter was super excited to see that the rose bushes had more flowers on them and when I showed her the peonies she started giggling and squealing with excitement. I am really beginning to believe that she could grow up to be a botanist. When she was a baby we could take her outside to look at the leaves on the trees and it was calming to her and as she grew into a toddler I would take her outside to look at the bushes to stop a tantrum. She is always asking to go outside and she loves to collect leaves, sticks, seeds, flowers, etc. and loves to plant. It's just that these days she will get upset if I tell her we have to go back inside, although the promise of going outside is will brighten her mood.

Travel Plans & Deals

Since I won't have time to post things when we go travel since I will have access to primarily just dialup for a while (gasp!), I thought I would do it ahead of time.

Our travel plans are local (somewhat, well, our home state & friends & family in a neighboring state).

We are starting out our time at the MN Landscape Arboretum. Isabel is so into nature & flowers, so this will be perfect. We are using the BOGO coupon in the Entertainment book and Isabel is under 15 (obviously), so she is free. So, it will only cost $7 for all three of us to go there. They also have a special family event on weekend (linked above) and we will get to make minature May Baskets while we are there and plant them. So, that will be a fun thing to do.

Afterwards, we are going camping at a KOA . I didn't get any deal here, but we plan to make the most of our time there. It's only for one night, but we'll get there a little early probably (called to make sure that was ok) and stay until checkout. We are staying in a Kamping Kabin, so no tent or air mattress to deal with. My in-laws and a BIL are coming with, maybe even a nephew. But anyways, I chose the particular campground I did because they had an indoor heated pool (which I called to verify was up & running). So, we will be going swimming several times.

The rest of our vacation time is spent staying with family & friends, so I don't have lodging costs, just gas costs. Depending upon how our days shape up, we plan to go to the NEW Zoo in Green Bay on Wednesday night, it's free after 4pm. We went last year (using our zoo pass from another zoo, which has now expired) and it was a very nice zoo. We also plan to go to Bay Beach Amusement Park (we went here every summer at least once when I was a kid) and now I have taken Isabel the last 2 summers and this summer will be no different. The great part about this place is that it is VERY affordable, 25 cents a ticket and most of the rides Isabel will go on will be 1 ticket, a few are 2 tickets, but I will probably only need to buy $3 in tickets for both of us.

I am not sure if we'll do it the same day we go to the amusement park or if we'll make a separate trip, but I'd like to take her to Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary. It's free. I have not taken there before.

As we head down to visit some friends in the town we lived in last year, we will stop in Sheboygan to see my sister & her family, but not before we stop at the Old Wisconsin factory store (probably). They have some really great bargains in there and Isabel loves their sausage.

Then it's to stay with friends. We will be getting in late there, but we will still have 2 full days to hangout. I don't know what we will do exactly. I do have a pass to the YMCA that we once belonged to, which has a nice little waterpark in it. So, we may go there. I do know that we will stop at the Brownberry Outlet before we leave & stock up. The prices there are far better than in the store and I love Brownberry breads. I can print off a 20% off coupon from Entertainment.com, so that will be even more helpful on the budget in upcoming months.

Other things we will do will be to visit my favorite area cheese factory, Springside Cheese, and get some curds & string cheese, and hopefully they will have some good specials while I am there. And the other place I need to stop is the Sausage Haus (they don't have a website that I could find) and pick up some fantastic sausages that they make there to grill. They are no bargain by any means, but they are mighty tasty.

I am sure there will be a couple more things we will do, just because I didn't make any concrete entertainment plans with our friends. So, I will have to blog about them later. And I wish I could find something to stop at for an hour or so to do with Isabel halfway across the state (or further), it would help break up the trip and give us ample time to stretch our legs and see something. Anyone know of anything fun to do in Abbotsford or Wausau areas?

My Vegetable (Lasagna) Garden

Having a big garden has been long overdue for me. Last one I had was the year Isabel was born. Then the year after that I didn't plant one because we were planning to move and the year after that (last year) we were living in WI. So, now I can have one again. 

I planted it yesterday and hopefully am free of an frost danger now. Over the years I had been working on establishing a lasagna garden. The first year we started it we didn't know that we got a BIG (two pickup truck loads worth) load of bad compost. It wasn't sifted and we didn't really know to make sure it was sifted and it had a lot of weeds & thistles in it. Now we pay the price because we have a thistle garden. We had been mulching layers on the garden and had it covered for over a year, but that didn't get rid of all the thistles. Actually, the wind blew over some of the cover and the thistles just sprouted up. It was really unsightly when we moved back. 

We kept piling on layers, hoping to continue with the lasagna garden and smother out those darn thistles. They aren't too bad yet, but I will have to keep up with picking them. I decided against spreading roundup on the entire thing because 1) I didn't want chemicals on my garden 2) because of the mulching layers the roundup might not really reach deep enough for how deep the roots need are 3) the roundup could spread to other parts of my garden.

I thought about having it tilled up, but then I asked at my organic gardening class and they said tillingwon't work to get rid of them and may just make the problem worse. They said to dig down & get all the roots or I would have to resort to chemicals (you could almost hear the gasp in the room as they suggested that.) I went online and did some research and everything was pretty much confirmed. You don't want to till the thistles because the roots will be chopped and MANY new plants will sprout off those chopped roots amking your problems worse. Whew! Glad I didn't do that!

So, we added more layers and I have to get out there & pull. The good things is with the mulching layers in a lasagna garden the roots of thistles don't have a very strong hold on anything like they would in black dirt, so pulling them out is a cinch. Pulling out the thistles in my herb garden that is not mulched, not so easy.

Yesterday, I bought 480 pounds of peat, sifted compost, & dirt to mix together to create mounds on top of my layers to plant my plants & seeds in. We also bought some straw (looked to be free of seeds, but you can't guarantee a few don't get in, so hopefully that won't be out next issue) to add another layer to the garden. We will continue to add grass layers throughout the summer.

So, what did I plant. In the garden I have some Big Beef Tomatoes (seedlings bought from Menards), sugar baby watermelon & cucumber (seeds we started at home), and the rest are seeds we planted: zucchini, yellow squash, spaghetti squash, pumpkin, cantloupe (Isabel was insistant we plant this), green beans, yellow beans, lettuce (that free seed thing that came on the back of the summer kraft food & family), peas & turnips. 

In the herb garden we have chives, sage, tarragon, & oregano that come back year after year. We also put down some parley & dill seeds and some sunflower seeds (saw that 2 of those came up).  We plant the sunflowers for the birds. We planted some raspberry bushes this year too, two of them.

In my hanging pots I have cilantro (bought fom a local nursery), and then planted seeds of: spinach, basil, & nasturtiums. In other pots on my deck & cement patio we have roma tomatoes, banana peppers (both from seeldings I bought), some red pine seedlings (free from McD's last month), more nasturtiums (you can eat the flowers on those), basil, mixed greens, & lavendar, and several pots of flowers. And then I have these 2 hangings bag things with seedlings I bought that have cherry tomatoes & strawberries in them.

And since the baby isn't due until the end of October I should have time to do a bunch of canning . Maybe canning & freezing will be my nesting this time instead of cleaning.

Homemade Coasters

So, these are the coasters I mentioned yesterday that I made. They are made from tiles, spray adhesive, spray laquer (I went the spray route for both because you can get thinner coats and it dries faster - but it would have been cheaper if I didn't), and stick-on felt pads, oh and napkins. I bought the napkins at Longwood Gardens while visiting Kendra and this was the craft idea I had for a thank-you gift for her. Actually, the napkins were the single most expensive item.

I still plan to make a set for ourselves, but I have to get back to Lowe's to buy more tiles. So, she is getting one set and my friend Jessi is getting the other set to go with the rest of her bridal shower gift. 

I had also sent Kendra a package before arriving of Caribou coffee (she can't get  that in PA and loved it when she lived in MN, although I suppose she could order it online) and 3 different jams & jellies I made (grape, strawberry & basil). I had to send the package because I knew it would probably get tossed (the jellies at least, since they are "gels") from my carry-on at the airport and I wasn't checking anything.
This is the complete 2 sets. Click on the pictures to see them up close.

My New Clothesline

Last weekend I had Andy install my clothesline. Actually, he had to dig the hole 2 feet deep (which wasn't easy because we have VERY ROCKY soil) and then set the holder in stones & cement. The actual line itself collapses down and can be removed from the holder for easy storage & to keep it from being a constant eyesore in the backyard or from getting in the way of the mower. So, today I used it for the first time. Right now you can see I have 2 loads of laundry on there. The first load was almost dry, as we have a nice gentle breeze today. I have one more load to go on there yet and a fourth load of jeans/pants that will go in the dryer (those just get too stiff and I know Andy would complain if he pants were stiff.) So, I am happy. I hope this helps us do more of our part to help the environment and save us some money on electricity too.

I've actually had a pretty productive day today. We visited with a friend this morning and gave her a belated wedding present (hey! we have a year and she was only married 2.5 montsh ago). Then we went to storytime and picked out some new books & a couple of videos (I am having a hardtime stomaching many of these shows we tivo for Isabel. I have gotten sick too many times while I heard their theme songs and it made a negative psychological imprint.)

Then we went grocery shopping and to KFC for lunch. We came home and put groceries away and started laundry. While the first load of laundry was being washed we laid landscaping fabric in a small area, planted 2 raspberry bushes there and put down one bag of cedar mulch (I need to go buy another, the area was a little bigger than I thought.) Then we planted 2 rose bushes in the front of the house, and a couple tomato plants in pots and 6 strawberry plants in a hanging bag (never done this before, so we'll see). 

Then it was time to switch the laundry & hang the first load. Then I started working on a coaster project. I made 2 sets of tile coasters (which I will post about after they are dry & I take a picture).  I bought part of the supplies while I was on vacation in Philly when the idea came to me as a thank-you gift to send Kendra. And today while I was thinking about what I was going to get my friend Jessi for a bridal shower gift, I thought I would make her a set too (originally I bought 2 sets of tiles because I was going to make a set for us but that can wait, gifts for others come first.) Each set is a little different, but I think I know which set I like better.

Then, switch the laundry again, get the mail, play some in the yard with the kid. The inside for storytime & a snack. She's resting now while I type this (I should rest too!) and the last load is in the washer.

Trip to Pennslyvania

Last week Thursday through Sunday I traveled to Pennslyvania to visit with my dear friend Kendra. She picked me up from the airport and we went back to her cottage to rest for a bit until we met Tim for dinner at Buckely's Tavern in Centreville, DE. The next day we spent the morning walking around West Chester, PA. And that afternoon we want around (in mist & sprinkles) touring Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, PA. That evening, Don came over and she made us some vegetarian tacos. She made me lots of wonderful vegetarian meals my entire visit. It was such a wonderful treat to have someone else cook for me (& do the dishes!) And that evening we watched the movie Twilight. I am not sure how much they 'really' wanted to watch that movie, but they knew I just finished the books and wanted to see the movie. 

On Saturday, we started out our morning by going to a park (in Brandywin, PA, I think) to walk around. Then we went to Philly and did some shopping there (I bought a new maternity dress, something to wear this summer). We did a lot of walking. We figure about 3 miles walking around Philadelphia. Then we went to Don's apartment (& went to see the house he is purchasing) and he made the three of us dinner. He was very sweet & made scallops since I mentioned I was hungry for them. Afterward, we went for another walk around the city and went to Capogiro for some dessert.

The pictures here of Kendra's cottage are just taken with my camera phone. I only took pictures of the main level & sent all these to Andy, but upstairs there is also 2 bedrooms & a bathroom. She rents this cottage out in the country on a horse farm.

I had a really nice time and was glad to have spent some time with her. Unfortunately, I never did take any picture with either one of us in them.

First Flower of Spring

Here is the first flower of spring in my yard. It & the other 4 flowers that were near it didn't last long, because Isabel thinks she can pick any flowers we have in the yard to bring in the house to put in a vase. I told her several times not to pick the flowers, but then after about 10 minutes I think she forgot and went & pick them. Oh well.

After taking this picture I did pick out all the dead stuff from this flower bed, but still have plenty of other flower beds to pick out. 

Birthday Freebies Haul

Ok - this year I am getting a lot of offers in my inbox for my birthday this Sunday. Most of them came this past Sunday and are good for 2 weeks (week before & after your birthday). Check them out and see if there are places that you have/haven't signed up for:

Buca di Beppo (free dessert with entree purchase)
Noodles & Co (free entree, no purchase required)
Qdoba (free entree, no purchase required)
Pizza Ranch ($5 off, good for 30 days)
Culver's (free one-scoop sundae, no purchase required)
Ponderose Steakhouse ($5 off entree & pop)
Cold Stone Creamery (Free cone, no purchase required)
Dairy Queen (BOGO 16oz. Blizzard)
Caribou Coffee (free drink on *ACTUAL birthday, no purchase required)
Fazoli's (free dessert, no purchase required)
Arby's (free roast beef with purchase of same & pop)
Champps (free slice of Mile High Ice Cream Pie, no purchase required)
Old Country Buffet (BOGO buffet)
Timberlodge Steakhouse ($10 off)
* Menards (free multi-tool tool)

Of course, most of these will never be used. I used the Noodles & Co. one today when we met Andy for lunch after seeing our play. I will probably use Caribou Coffee, Culver's, Timberlodge & Pizza Ranch since those are all within a few miles of us. I don't see getting to most of the rest since they are a much further drive & they have to be used by next Sunday.

*If I get any more in my inbox I will add them to the bottom of the list and put an asterix at he front.

Suzy Homemaker

Here is a picture of my sprouts. The picture was taken over a week ago. They were very tasty and I am going to buy more seeds and maybe try some other kids of sprouts. Next time I will halve the amount of seeds because I made twice what you would get in a container in the store. A container of organic sprouts will cost you $1.50+. I paid 75 cents for organic seeds for this double batch. So, really I save about 75% by growing my own. Plus they taste much fresher and last longer (since they are not on a store shelf).

Here is another shirt I customized for Isabel. I actually made two of them. One for her and one for some friends we are seeing this week. This one I used fabric, heat-n-bond, & fabric paint.

Growing my own sprouts

So, I bought some alfalfa seeds from the organic food store I go to. I bought enough to make one jar full of sprouts. Although, I think next time I will use half as much. So, here you can see the pictures of them so far. It is supposed o take about 6 days, but because we had cloudy days for a couple days, I think it might be 7 days before mine are ready to eat. I am using the instructions on this website to grow mine. Isabel helped out with pouring in the water & seeds & covering them.

Plastic Bag Flowers & Recycling & Composting

I got this idea from Daily Danny. I have really found this blog and have really been enjoying it. I have gone back and read all his old posts. These are super simple to make. I think I made these five in 10-15 minutes, and that's with explainging to Isabel what I was doing & showing her slowly & taking these pictures. My favorite one was made from a bag from Harry & David.

The excess pieces that I cut off can be recycled. I recently found out that the natural food co-op we are members of collects bag (grocery bags, bread bags, fruit bags, cereal bags, water softener salt bags, etc.) to recycle. So, that is really cutting down on what goes in the trash because before those things we were not recycling.

I am proud to report that that last 3 weeks we have only filled one bag of garbage each week plus the empty bag from dog/cat food/litter (seems like each week there is one of those bags that gets emptied). It helps that the kid is potty trained and we don't have all the diapers in there. But I have been working on composting even more items, like napkins and popsicle sticks. I was composting food waste already (what dog didn't eat). I also recently started washing out my plastic sandwich bags and reusing them, thanks to the Christmas gift (bag dryer) Andy made me.

Plus we freecycle & donate a lot of items we no longer use/need.

Birthday Freebies

Here is an updated list. I have only included things that are available in my area. So, I am sure there are plenty more out there.

Kid's Birthday Freebies:
California Pizza http://www.cpk.com/register/
Denny's http://www.dennys.com/en/cms/DZonereg/93.html (must fill out application)Toys'r'Us http://www5.toysrus.com/bdayrus/brus_ad_gbc.cfm (ages 2 – 10)
Sonic http://wackypack.kidsbirthdayclub.com/index.cfm?TheLogout=1
Ringling Brothers http://www.ringling.com/offers/
Cold Stone creamery http://www.coldstonecreamery.com/birthday/
Hollywood Video : Free Rental on your b-day http://www.hollywoodvideo.com/specials/default.aspx
Dairy Queen http://thedqcentral.com/
Pizza Ranch http://www.pizzaranch.com/gift-cards-deals/?id=19
Madeline Fan Club (get a b-day card): http://www.madeline.com/mad/form.cfm
Perkins: http://bakerybuddies.kidsbirthdayclub.com/
Boston Market: (they still have it but you can't sign up right now)http://www.bostonmarket.com/specials?page=kidsBirthdayClub
Burger King: http://www.clubbk.com/Register/Default.aspx
Target: https://sites.target.com/site/en/spot/page.jsp;jsessionid=B1YI4QE22PT0DLARAAV5X5Y?title=birthdaycentral_signup&_requestid=16993146
Chuck-e-Cheese: http://www.chuckecheese.com/

I already checked the links to make sure they were still valid & took out the ones that weren't & updated anyones that needed it.

Here's some for adults:
Caribou Coffee: https://www.cariboucoffee.com/asp/youraccount/emailsignup.asp
Old Country Buffet: http://www.oldcountrybuffet.com/eclub.htm
Cold Stone Creamery: See above, sign up entire family at once
Dairy Queen: http://www.blizzardfanclub.com/
Timber Lodge Steakhouse: http://timberlodgesteakhouse.fbmta.com/members/UpdateProfile.aspx?Action=Subscribe

Canadians Aren't So Bad After All.....

They make Nutella. Yum!

I made myself a cup of Macaroon-flavored coffee and a bagel w/ Nutella and was going to imagine myself somewhere somewhere exotic, but then I ruined that image by looking at the back of the label and saw it was made in Canada. Ok - not helping as they are colder than us. Maybe the coffee? Well, that package doesn't tell me where this warm weather crop of coffee came from, just that it was distribute by Target in Mpls (bah! I'm here already!) The bagel? Lake Mills, WI. Seriously people, I want to imagine myself some place warmer.

So, maybe I'll add some Irish Cream. It's actually from Ireland and the high for Dublin today is 47 degrees with rain.

I'll take it! That's a good 50-60 degree difference today.


Mmmmmm! Booze in my coffee at 9am. We're off to a great start!

And at this point, the Irish are pretty cool too!

HGR Ctd.

Everyone goes to so much work to make Christmas gifts for us and we really do appreciate them and I like to give them some recognition for the time & thought they put into making us these gifts.

Horse-stick from Grandma S. for Isabel

Lori & Rachael made Isabel some flowers.

Grandma M. made Isabel this bathrobe.

I made Isabel this super hero cape.

Homemade Gifts Received

Handmade soaps from BIL Tony.

Leg Warmers for Isabel from Godmother Jessi

Romper Dress for Isabel from Grandma M. (the shirt is store bought)

Andy made this plastic bag drying thing for me.

These are gifts my mom made for us, slippers on top & an alchoholic fruit/drink called Bounce on the bottom.

Homemade Gifts

Isabel & I made ornaments this morning. She made the beaded ones and I made the metal ones. We have one of the metal ones hanging on the tree and all of the other ornaments are being given away as gifts. I got the idea for the metal ornament from Natural Home Magazine.

I acutally made three of these capes. I got the pattern/idea from this website. This is the one that Isabel is getting for Christmas and I also made ones for 2 of her friends.

St. Lucia Day Meal

We're not Swedish (not that we know of), but we decided to celebrate St. Lucia day regardless. It gives us a chance to taste different foods and have a meal that is not quite the ordinary. Plus, it is a chance to educate Isabel about other cultures & traditions.

The above picture is of the St. Lucia Rolls that I made. They were pretty tasty. These rolls seem to be the cornerstone for any St. Lucia meal, other things vary from family to family, but these rolls are a must.

You can go search about St. Lucia, but I will give you the short version of the story. St. Lucia is from Sicily and lived during a time that the Emperor was persecuting Christians. The Christians hid in underground tunnels to avoid persecution, but as a result were starving. St. Lucia (not a saint until after she died, of course) would wear a crown of candles to light her way as she traveled these tunnels with a basket of these rolls to feed the Christians. She was killed by the Romans because she was feeding the Christians. Apparently they tried to burn her to death, but that didn't work (guess fire was her friend) and then they killed her with a sword.


Andy & Isabel made a St. Lucia candle crown (out of paper) earlier today. But we did light all the candles in the dining room and ate among them. It is nice to eat with candles burning.

So, I mentioned Swedish above, but St. Lucia was Italian. Well, as it turns out the Swedish really celebrate this holiday, much more than the Italians.

To round out the rest of our meal I made a warm vanilla pudding sprinkled with cinnamon (tastes yummy to dip these rolls in this), some Brie cheese (also yummy on the rolls) and sausage & cheese plate, some wine, & a Margarita pizza. I think next year I would just expand on the meats & cheeses and make another kind of bread thing in addition to the rolls.



What's funny was that as I was researching (today) other foods to serve with the rolls, it mentioned many of the same foods we ate last night at our dinner party (like a Christmas ham & meatballs, which we had both plus many other yummy things.)

Our next fun meal will be next Sunday for the Winter Soltice. For that meal we have invited some neighbors over to join us. Isabel & I will make a Yule Log Dessert as the feature item. Plus, we'll eat by candlelight. The difference for this meal is that we will eat only by candlelight as I will turn out the overhead lights. Plus we'll have some mulled wine and some lasagna & spaghetti. When I researched the Winter Soltice it seems that the only thing that is a must is a Yule Log of some sorts, whether it be a real Yule log in the fireplace or something edible. I'm going for something edible. Plus, candles are a must too.

Last Night's Dinner Party

Since we have moved back we have now one again begun the dinner parties that we have quarterly with friends from Grad School. It was a good time and we had good food & beverages. We hired one of our babysitters to be here with the kids (Isabel & April's boys) while the adults had our own fun. It was nice to hold conversations and only be interrupted by the occasional child coming in to check to make sure we were still there.

Top Picture: Andy & Jason

Bottom Picture: Molly, April, Me, Traci

Flower Patch Kids?

So, does anyone remember what the "name" of these dolls were? Someone told me they were Flower Patch Kids and they were the imitation Cabbage Patch Kids.

Craft Projects

Isabel & I made 4 of these today. I made these ones first for my nephew & niece as part of their xmas presents and then Isabel helped me make 2 more, one for her and one as a present for her friend Rachael for xmas. The idea came from here.

The second thing I made was this holiday wreath, which is hanging just outside out door. The pine & pinecones I used on here here came from one of the pine bushes in our landscaping. No one came around this year selling wreaths (I think the Boy Scouts do that). So, I decided to make one for myself. I think I did a pretty decent job.

New Haircut

Side View

Yesterday I got my haircut. Here is a picture. I think it is fun & cute. It seems like EVERY December I get the itch to change my hair by cutting it (still am not crazy enough to put in bangs though).

It is based on the trendy Victoria Beckham haircut, but with curly hair. With curly hair you don't see the slant/angle quite so much. So, it's longer in the front and gets quite short in the back. It's so weird washing my hair with the different lengths like this. I can still pull the front up into a ponytail, which is necessary for doing downward facing dog.

Back View

Fat Cat Bed or Dog Bed, Whatever.....

We bought this for Molly, but apparently she has to share it with Larry. Larry loves it.

Free Starbucks for Voting TOMORROW

I first heard about it on FB and then checked their website to make sure it was real.....it is....You can watch the advertisement on their website.

http://www.starbucks.com/

So, after you vote, go to Starbucks and pick up your free coffee. I imagine they may want to take/see your "I Voted" sticker.

Pirate Costume

Well, I dug out this pirate costume I bought about 4 years ago and never wore. So, now it was finally worn to a Halloween party we went to last night. It was a fun a party. Andy was a Groovy Gyno. Isabel stayed home with grandma & grandpa, but wanted to get on her fairy princess costume while we were getting into our costumes. There were a lot of really clever costumes at the party.

We did a lot of Halloween celebrating this year with Isabel. The next holiday is Thanksgiving which doesn't seem to have as many things going on. I am sure we'll be celebrating Christmas the whole month of December.

WTH?

So, Andy blew up Isabel a balloon from out of our bag of assorted balloons that we bought about 9 months ago (they are not almost gone) and check this one out. Andy admits that he did blow the stem up quite a bit, as we think it is actually supposed to be a heart balloon, but that is not what it looks like. It's very phallic.

So, Andy told me that I would see some pictures on my camera that he took. Look what I found.

Another Room Re-do

So, this is a small room in the basement. Once upon a time it used to house the drum set, guitars, & bookcase of CD's & bookcase of movies. Now it is the arts & crafts room. When we thought we were moving Andy sold his drumset and his electric guitar (he brought his acoustic guitar into the office) and the bookcase of CD's and all the movies got moved into the living room area in the basement. So, I didn't think of taking a picture until I already started cutting in with the primer, so it didn't really look this shitty the whole time.

Remember, you can click on the pictures to enlarge them and see them larger & in more detail. Since the cash isn't flowing this too had to be done on the cheap. So, I finished off the primer that I used in the playroom & in the bathroom (oh, we fixed the wall in the main bathroom upstairs, which meant we had to repaint 2 walls, so we left 2 blue and painted 2 a high-gloss white). Then I took the leftover paint from the playroom and mixed it with the leftover high-gloss from the bathroom (which makes it washable and we need that in an art room). So, it's a lighter shade (& shinier too) than the playroom.

I used some leftover wallpaper paste to put up these borders we bought a long time ago for a penny a piece. I needed 3 borders, so that was 3 cents well spent. On the floor I put these foam puzzles squares that Target sold as part of their College series. I got them for 30% off, so the 2 packages (each makes a 4x6 area) cost me $35. I am using the bedrail on the wall again (mainly because I couldn't get one of them off) but this time I found some kind of metal trim in the garage that I spray painted with some leftover silver paint and nailed to the wood. Add a couple of magnets (which later we will make some kind of decoration to attach to) and we have a fun way to display her artwork.

The easel we had at the lake house rental with us; I got the little table & chair from Freecycle; the desk was mine when I was a kid & the chair was something I bought a several years back at a thrift store for $2 and painted black, and we are using the cabinet that once had movies in it to store art supplies.

Oh! And I put a set of double hooks I bought a long time ago for some other project (that obviously was never used) that holds her smock & some old t-shirts to use as smocks. And I think I literally paid 12 cents for that clock on the wall at Office Depot. Oh, and I bought a couple of bins (not pictured) for 75% off at Target.

So, for under $45 I have completely transformed this room and we are going to have a lot of fun with it. Isabel already found her crayons & a coloring book in the desk and was coloring in there tonight.

Cholesterol Levels

So, I had my annual physical & pap smear this past Friday. With that I had a cholesterol test, which I was curious about the results because the last one I had was in 2005 before I got pregnant. At that time was borderline high, but they were not concerned because my HDL level was so high that they were happy and my triglycerides were very low, which they were pleased with. My LDL level was borderline high but because of the super high HDL they just weren't concerned.



Then the next couple years I could not get a test because I was pregnant or nursing and apparently that can give different levels. I'm not sure why that is, but I went with it. So, now in 2008, I finally had another cholesterol test and wouldn't you know it, but it was almost the exact same numbers.



You can learn about cholesterol levels here:

http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=183#total



Calculate your risk for heart disease here. I have a less than 1 percent risk of heart disease in the next 10 years. The big things were that I am young, a non-smoker, have really great blood pressure and high HDL. It is the excellent blood pressure (usually around 106/65) and high HDL numbers that really lower my risk.

They say you are supposed to determine if you have a good LDL to HDL ratio and want it under 5:1, but with best level being 3.5:1. Well, Mine are just under 2:1. Pretty Good.

Levels:
Total - 221
HDL - 70
LDL - 138
Triglycerides - 63

To firgure out your total cholesterol you do this calculation:

Total cholesterol = LDL cholesterol + HDL cholesterol + [triglycerides/5]

So, I guess my cholesterol is 220.6 and they just rounded up. My total level in 2005 was 220. So, it is basically the same and all the other levels are basically the same.

Since heart disease is common on my maternal side of the family I want to stay on top of my cholesterol levels. My mom had 2 siblings die of heart attacks before age 50, which is pretty scary. Although they both lead pretty rough lifestyles which contributed to their demise.

Kudos to HyVee

So, I went shopping with Isabel at HyVee this weekend and being on a budget (but even if I wasn't I would still do it) I pay particular attention to sale prices and make sure I am grabbing the right item and comparing prices.

When I got to the checkout there were 2 errors where things were coming up different than the price labeled in front of them in the aisles. The first was diapers, which did turn out to be on sale which they gave to me for free (store policy to give you the item for free if something that is on sale does not come up as free at the register due to human error of NOT entering it.) The second was some Kleenex with lotion that was labeled on sale, but turns out that variety was not on sale. They gave me the sale price because the label was indeed in front of it.

So, I was pleased that they took care of things and I wasn't punished for something that wasn't my fault. The manager then took notes on both these items and made corrections in signs & in the computer.

I was just glad I didn't need to go back & look for new stuff, as Kleenex was one of the things I specifically stopped to buy. And I wasn't going to just say that they should grab me any ole box because I would have wanted to know the price beforehand. It's just who I am.

The New Playroom

So, above are the before pictures. I thought of taking pictures after I took down the wallpaper border that was along the top. This is now the THIRD time in 7 years that we have repainted this room. When we first moved in we painted in a cornflower blue color and had a wallpaper border along the top. That didn't last that long because we didn't like it too well and then we painted it this brown color and put up a different wallpaper border and that was how it remained for about 5 years when it was our bedroom and then as a guestroom.
And now it is painted again and is a playroom for Isabel. Yes, that is a red light in the background. I thought that seemed more fun. This time we didn't do a wallpaper border and just primed and painted and then brought in all the toys. Isabel is very happy to have this playroom in the basement. I still have an area rug to put down in the middle which will be nice in the winter to give an extra layer against the basement floors.

Star Tribune Has Bad Customer Service

Today is my day to complain.....

So, before we moved I went online a started a Sunday subscription to the Star Tribune (a Twin Cities paper). That was at 8am on Saturday morning and I selected "When to Begin Service: Immediately". So, I figured immediately meant I would get it that Sunday. NOPE.

So, I called that Monday and asked and they said that online orders are only processed M-F during work hours. So, I understood and they said I would get a paper on Sunday.

Sunday came and there was NO paper at 8am (neighbors had one so I knew they delivered them.) I called and reported this and was assured that they would deliver a paper to my doorstep right away. We left and came back at 12:30 and there was NO paper. I called again and they said the only thing they can do now is credit my account because the cutoff to report non-delivered papers is noon and it was past noon. I told him I already reported it wasn't delivered and I was supposed to get one to my door & this was the 2nd time that day I did not get my paper.

He said there was nothing he could do about it. I got this sad excuse for 'Sorry for the inconvenience'. There was no offer to make it up my giving me a free week or anything. So, I cancelled my subscription and said I was going to go with the Pioneer Press (the St. Paul paper) and his reponse 'do what you need to do'.

Now today I get a call from the same customer service rep that promised to have it delivered to my door asking if it was delivered (yes, 4 days AFTER!). I told her it didn't and that I was very upset about all of that and how I called again at 12:30 and they wouldn't do anything. I just wanted a damn paper! She asked if I lived in an apartment or townhouse and it went somewhere else. I said, "Nope! I have a very large Victorian house that you can't miss." She aopolgized and assured me it would be there this weekend. I told her I cancelled my service last Sunday when they did not deliver my paper two times and she said "Oh, you cancelled. Ok, Bye." And then she hung up the phone.

I still haven't called the other paper and not sure that I want to.

I will have to think about if there are some good customer service things I can post or at least good reviews of products to balance out the bad reviews.

I Will Never Do Business with Coldwell Banker Again

So, our first relator was from Coldwell Banker Burnet and while she was nice and communicated with us a lot, she had a small office and just couldn't do much to advertise our house. The next Coldwell Banker Burnet office was AWFUL and we should have cancelled with them a long time ago. Here is the short list (yes, there is a long list) of why they were AWFUL:
* Didn't call us after open houses
* Didn't call us after private showings
* Didn't get info from people coming to open houses
* Never sent copies of ads to us as promised
* Typos & errors in the listing
* Didn't keep brochure box filled (was always emplty when we visited)
* Wouldn't return our phone calls or emails
* Poor at following up with prospective buyers
* Let our listing EXPIRE & we had to call them!
* Took several days to get us the cancellation paperwork
* Left their signs at our house for 2 months!!!!!!

The last is what I am complaining about today. The guy who they rent the solar sign from came today to retrieve to pick up his stuff & all the rest of their signs that they had planted. He was apologizing profusely saying he never got a call 2 months ago when the contract was cancelled or last week Monday when I called or this week Tuesday when I called again (all these calls were to the relator office.) What made him respond was the email that I had Andy send to him (since he has his email on a sticker on the sign.) After he got that email he called the relator office & they said "Oh, we meant to call you about that."

But you know what the office told me - they said they called him last Monday & on Tuesday this week. I don't believe that shit for one second considering the reputation of the office to not make calls in the first place.

When I called the office on Tuesday I told them if it wasn't removed in 24 hours I was reporting the property as trespassing to the police and then the signs would be removed by a garbage collector at THEIR expense (I knew this was the protocal as I had to call the police about a trespassing issue previously.) This is exactly what I had Andy email the sign guy & also that we had called the relator office several times & what they said.

The sign guy was very sorry and upset with the office, but at least someone does what they are supposed to do and he was apologetic, even if it wasn't his fault.

This particular Coldwell Banker Burnet office has left such a sour taste in my mouth that I will never list a house with them again and will NEVER recommend them to anyone else. If someone is interested in knowing what particular office & relators this is, please post in the comments. I will be glad to tell you which office in the Twin Cities it was.

Back to MN

Well, it's final. Andy accepted a job offer back in the Cities and we are moving back in our house and taking it off the market.

We are sad to leave all the wonderful friends we made here in the Mke area, but it is finally good to have a job & house in the same state.

We honestly didn't think our house was going to sell at this point and we were just going to be squandering away our savings trying to make it happen and we could end up still being stressed about the house & the lack of funds we have.

He put in his two weeks notice today and we will head back to MN after that. We haven't decided on the exact date we will move back, but shortly thereafter. It's time we stop being freeloaders.

We'll have some time in-between jobs to be a family and relax. But he'll start at the end of August so our benefits with that company will start on Sept. 1st so that we don't have any gaps in coverage.

So, that's it. It's done and may be we can catch our breath.

Kitchen Re-Do

If we move back to MN, the first thing we are going to tackle (& by we, I mean mostly me) will be the kitchen. We won't have a ton of money to re-do it, but look at the difference some paint can make. This lady used $30 in paint and completly transformed her kitchen. Check out the
slideshow.

What we would do would be not too different. We would take down all the wallpaper (huge difference just in that) and paint it a nice solid neutral color. Then we would paint the cabinets (Andy says white, but I am not sold on white exactly.) We have all nice new white appliances, so I think those will be just fine. Next we will take down the other 2 brassy light fixtures and paint them black like I did over the eat-in space.

The next part will cost a bit of money because we REALLY need better functioning countertops. The small tiles don't work for making bread or rolling out cookies and it's a pain in the arse to clean in between the grout lines. We certainly wouldn't be doing anything fancy, just neutral & functional.

And I would really like to have better hardware for the cabinets. I like what I have on the drawers, so those will stay, but I think I can come up with something clever to make for handles so I don't have to spend a small fortune since there is so many to replace.