Keeping busy, its all I do anymore. I go to work, I work out, I ride my motorcycle, I go out and hang with friends, I keep busy. I do my very best to keep my weekends full and try and find things to do locally during the week.
Started out as a way to keep my mind off her, but not so much now. Now I just do it because I can't stand sitting around being bored, can't stand being all by myself. I've made a few friends in town, but we don't hang out all the time.
I still don't know what I want to do now, I kinda feel like I'm a leaf in the wind. My feet need to touch the ground before I can choose a direction. I guess I still need to adjust to being alone again, I still have some stuff to work out.
Monday, June 28, 2010
Monday, May 24, 2010
Insert Title Here
Update 05/24/10- Well...went to the doc today to talk to him about depression... no, I'm not suicidal, just depressed. I understand that may pop into some peoples heads when they hear that. Doc and I talked for about 1.5-2 hrs about my situation and he has put me on Pristiq for 4 weeks to see it it helps.
In related news, I've been searching for ways to fill my free time and try to get interested in something. Most recently, a cooking class. Unfortunately, they meet once a month and we don't do the cooking. More like we are the studio audience to a demo on how to cook the meals and we get to eat the food. The recipies are good though.
Other than that, picture me holding a map and a broken compass, trying to figure out which way I'm going.
In related news, I've been searching for ways to fill my free time and try to get interested in something. Most recently, a cooking class. Unfortunately, they meet once a month and we don't do the cooking. More like we are the studio audience to a demo on how to cook the meals and we get to eat the food. The recipies are good though.
Other than that, picture me holding a map and a broken compass, trying to figure out which way I'm going.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Update on me, sorry it cant be cheerful.
Obviously by the look of the title, you should be able to see I'm depressed... still. I don't know if I'm just in a panic, thinking about things too much, trying to read too much into every single thing, or if things are really happening as I see them. Either way the end result is while I am able to keep my composure most of the time, I'm still a mess.
How I feel...Lost, I don't know what I'm supposed to do to help things get better...Hurt, because when I try to talk to Ariel about anything serious, we get 3 sentneces into a conversation and she doesn't want to talk about it anymore because its gonna put her in a bad mood the rest of the day and she doesn't want to be like that...More pain, because she seems so indifferent towards me and tells me she doesn't have time for me, despite going to hang out with her best friend every week when Linzy is with her dad...and ironically a little hope, she doesn't tell me she doesn't want me around, she still talks to me, she says still loves me.
I just dont get it though. She tells me she doesn't have time to see me and yet she goes out with her best friend every week. Can she not come out with me once in a while? Then she gets upset because I'm "depressed and mopy all the time" I'm depressed and mopy because she won't spend time with me. I still go over to her house and visit a couple times a week. I ask her if she wants me to come over and she says 'if you want to'... not what I asked, I asked what she wanted, "i dont care"...I keep coming over a couple times a week, hoping that the next time will be different. Every time though it seems, I'm there just to spend time with Linzy and her family. She sits at the opposite end of the table at dinner. She sits across the room when I am playing with Linzy, or she'll be doing something else. Basically, she really doesn't interact with me the whole night. After Linzy goes to bed, we lay in bed and watch a movie, she doesn't talk to me, just watches the movie til she falls asleep.
I get that she's hurt and is recovering, we both are. I understand that she doesn't want to fall into the same cycle we were in before. Unfortunately, I think we already have, only our roles have reversed. Sometimes I think that maybe I shouldnt come over anymore, but I think that she will feel like its over then. I don't want it to be over, I still love her and I feel she still loves me...I just don't know why she's holding back.
...other related news, I'm trying to fill up all my extra free time. I've started playing basketball after work, working out more, taking hikes in the nearby areas, and taking a few photos. Unfortunately, I still have a lot of free time to fill, too much 'thinking' time. Kinda why I don't want to drive too far, too much time driving makes me think too much about whats going on, and that does nothing for my mood/emotional state/confidence/...and tends to put a wet blanket on whatever I do the rest of the day.
...Like I said, sorry it can't be a cheerful post.
How I feel...Lost, I don't know what I'm supposed to do to help things get better...Hurt, because when I try to talk to Ariel about anything serious, we get 3 sentneces into a conversation and she doesn't want to talk about it anymore because its gonna put her in a bad mood the rest of the day and she doesn't want to be like that...More pain, because she seems so indifferent towards me and tells me she doesn't have time for me, despite going to hang out with her best friend every week when Linzy is with her dad...and ironically a little hope, she doesn't tell me she doesn't want me around, she still talks to me, she says still loves me.
I just dont get it though. She tells me she doesn't have time to see me and yet she goes out with her best friend every week. Can she not come out with me once in a while? Then she gets upset because I'm "depressed and mopy all the time" I'm depressed and mopy because she won't spend time with me. I still go over to her house and visit a couple times a week. I ask her if she wants me to come over and she says 'if you want to'... not what I asked, I asked what she wanted, "i dont care"...I keep coming over a couple times a week, hoping that the next time will be different. Every time though it seems, I'm there just to spend time with Linzy and her family. She sits at the opposite end of the table at dinner. She sits across the room when I am playing with Linzy, or she'll be doing something else. Basically, she really doesn't interact with me the whole night. After Linzy goes to bed, we lay in bed and watch a movie, she doesn't talk to me, just watches the movie til she falls asleep.
I get that she's hurt and is recovering, we both are. I understand that she doesn't want to fall into the same cycle we were in before. Unfortunately, I think we already have, only our roles have reversed. Sometimes I think that maybe I shouldnt come over anymore, but I think that she will feel like its over then. I don't want it to be over, I still love her and I feel she still loves me...I just don't know why she's holding back.
...other related news, I'm trying to fill up all my extra free time. I've started playing basketball after work, working out more, taking hikes in the nearby areas, and taking a few photos. Unfortunately, I still have a lot of free time to fill, too much 'thinking' time. Kinda why I don't want to drive too far, too much time driving makes me think too much about whats going on, and that does nothing for my mood/emotional state/confidence/...and tends to put a wet blanket on whatever I do the rest of the day.
...Like I said, sorry it can't be a cheerful post.
Monday, March 29, 2010
Helping Out.
Even though Ariel and I are going through a rough patch, I still go by and help when I can. Recently, within the last 10 days, Ariel's bro and his gf had their baby. A boy by the name of Levi, check your bible, weighing 7 lbs 6 oz and 20 in long arrived the 19th a little after 4 pm. His mom and daddy's side of the family was overjoyed at the new addition to the family, while his mom's side of the family was... shall we understate it with... less enthused. Needless to say, after 1 day back at her parents, she called and got us to help her move into the Bells house.
Linzy was excited at first to have Lindsay and Levi moving in, she gets overstimulated when more people are at the house and has been known to just run in circles due to the excitment. I noticed the first couple nights at how the change in attention was affecting her. I could tell that she 'noticed' that was no longer a focus of attention anymore, but she wasn't jealous yet. I came over the first couple days after work and helped out where I could the first couple of nights and then came back out on the weekend because I was called to help. Linzy was driving everyone up the wall, she was acting out all over the place because she wasn't getting the attention she was used to. With everything going on around there, no one had time to give her the attention she needed. So, I came out and kept her company and that seemed to help.
Ariel has been a wreck all week. Between the new baby drama, Linzy acting out, classes, being scheduled almost every night for work, Linzy's dad not being able to watch her, and Linzy's grandma, Joni, who runs a daycare and watches Linzy while Ariel is off at school, was off on vacation all week, Ariel was completely overwhelmed and stressed out. She had a couple good moments like when she took Linzy to an indoor inflateable fun park, they had those bouncy castles and slides, etc, where they both had a ball, and she got a few quiet moments to play her or her or hold baby Levi. But the stress outweighed the fun by a 5 to 1 ratio or more and Ariel was on the verge of a breakdown.
So... ya, not exactly an excitable few days, but here's hoping the next few days are a whole lot better....
Linzy was excited at first to have Lindsay and Levi moving in, she gets overstimulated when more people are at the house and has been known to just run in circles due to the excitment. I noticed the first couple nights at how the change in attention was affecting her. I could tell that she 'noticed' that was no longer a focus of attention anymore, but she wasn't jealous yet. I came over the first couple days after work and helped out where I could the first couple of nights and then came back out on the weekend because I was called to help. Linzy was driving everyone up the wall, she was acting out all over the place because she wasn't getting the attention she was used to. With everything going on around there, no one had time to give her the attention she needed. So, I came out and kept her company and that seemed to help.
Ariel has been a wreck all week. Between the new baby drama, Linzy acting out, classes, being scheduled almost every night for work, Linzy's dad not being able to watch her, and Linzy's grandma, Joni, who runs a daycare and watches Linzy while Ariel is off at school, was off on vacation all week, Ariel was completely overwhelmed and stressed out. She had a couple good moments like when she took Linzy to an indoor inflateable fun park, they had those bouncy castles and slides, etc, where they both had a ball, and she got a few quiet moments to play her or her or hold baby Levi. But the stress outweighed the fun by a 5 to 1 ratio or more and Ariel was on the verge of a breakdown.
So... ya, not exactly an excitable few days, but here's hoping the next few days are a whole lot better....
Monday, March 15, 2010
Peanut Rolls
I am never around anymore when mom makes these delicious goodies, so I begged for the recipe. I wanted to be able to make them when I get a hankering for them and mom said they were difficult to make. No harm in trying though, right? First, I'd like to say in my defense that I wasn't exactly equipped for this undertaking. I had a small kitchen (i call it a mini-kitchenette), not a shred of experience making dessert icing from scratch, and no actual equipment.
I had to buy a grinder for the peanuts, a hand mixer, a 9x13 pan,a sifter, and of course the rest of the ingredients. Cost materials $60. A pain to expand my kitchen equipment, but necessary. I made the cake first, no real problem there, it came out nice and easy. I used a combo of wax paper and cooking spray on the pan so that when it cool I could just flip it onto a cutting board and it would come right out. I used a measuring tape to make sure I cut the cake evenly, using the cm side for easiest reading.
Then I made the icing from scratch and my mess. The icing has to be just the right consistancy or it won't work. Too thin and the nuts will fall off, too thick and the nuts won't adhere to it. Note: next time I make them I will start out mixing the icing by hand, the hand mixer made the powdered sugar explode. After you make the icing, you test it on a roll to make sure its right. My first try was a bit too thin in my opinion. You are supposed to add the milk a little at a time to avoid making it too thin. Obviously I wasn't careful enough, so I had to add more powdered sugar to thicken it up.
After thickening it up some, though probably not enough, I tried again and managed to get a good majority of the rolls done... except for 10 of them. I ran out of icing and had 10 left. So I'm going to have strawberries and sponge cake to eat later. Figuring out how to use the grinder was fun, it was electric and had too settings, low and high. Low didn't get it to the size I wanted and high for too long made it peanut butter. Fun finding that out, let me tell you.
All in all, they turned out quite well, the nurses and clerks at the health department were my guinea pigs and I didn't kill them. In fact, they loved them, so a small victory in my book. Not a major victory because, "They just don't taste like the ones mom makes."
I had to buy a grinder for the peanuts, a hand mixer, a 9x13 pan,a sifter, and of course the rest of the ingredients. Cost materials $60. A pain to expand my kitchen equipment, but necessary. I made the cake first, no real problem there, it came out nice and easy. I used a combo of wax paper and cooking spray on the pan so that when it cool I could just flip it onto a cutting board and it would come right out. I used a measuring tape to make sure I cut the cake evenly, using the cm side for easiest reading.
Then I made the icing from scratch and my mess. The icing has to be just the right consistancy or it won't work. Too thin and the nuts will fall off, too thick and the nuts won't adhere to it. Note: next time I make them I will start out mixing the icing by hand, the hand mixer made the powdered sugar explode. After you make the icing, you test it on a roll to make sure its right. My first try was a bit too thin in my opinion. You are supposed to add the milk a little at a time to avoid making it too thin. Obviously I wasn't careful enough, so I had to add more powdered sugar to thicken it up.
After thickening it up some, though probably not enough, I tried again and managed to get a good majority of the rolls done... except for 10 of them. I ran out of icing and had 10 left. So I'm going to have strawberries and sponge cake to eat later. Figuring out how to use the grinder was fun, it was electric and had too settings, low and high. Low didn't get it to the size I wanted and high for too long made it peanut butter. Fun finding that out, let me tell you.
All in all, they turned out quite well, the nurses and clerks at the health department were my guinea pigs and I didn't kill them. In fact, they loved them, so a small victory in my book. Not a major victory because, "They just don't taste like the ones mom makes."
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Stepping Back
Ariel and I have been having some problems kinda recently and we've decided to step back for a bit. Our engagement is off and I'm waiting on her to sort out her feelings. While I wait I'm trying to work on improving my ability to communicate more assertively. I realize that you all have been out of the loop, so I'll give a bit of backstory.
From when we got together almost 2 years ago through as recently as this past weekend, I have not communicated very well when I got upset about something and I would either act out, respond harshly, or turn the situation around on her during an arguement and make her feel like it was her fault. Other times, I have acted without thinking of her, like Christmas, she drove all the way out to spend time with me and my family and I run off to spend time with my cousin, who has repeatedly let me down in the past when he said he'd be coming over. Had I thought about it more that night before running off to a movie I would not have.
Ariel has just been laddened down with all the stress of having Linzy, a job, school, and my passive-aggressive behavior and is stressed to her limits. She sees how her life is going and when she looks to see her friends and others her age out and having fun without all her reponsibilities, I think she feels like life is just moving too fast for her. The thought of being 25, married, a house, 2 kids, and a full time job scares her. (no she's not pregnant, we planned to have a kid shortly after getting married and she would have been 23 when we got married.)
In Jan, Ariel couldn't take the added stress of our relationship anymore and asked me to give her some space, which I agreed to. Unfortunately, we didn't talk then, so nothing got resolved once again. A failure on both our parts. She was trying to sort things out and I was left wondering what was wrong and how to fix things. Because we didn't really talk to sort things out, I got a bit resentful about the situation and when Ariel tried to see me, I once again didn't think and let my frustration run the conversation, leaving Ariel once again upset with me and leaving me once again in the dark about so much that was going through her mind.
Finally, yesterday, I couldn't take it anymore. I had to talk to her. I went over to her place last night and we talked . I told her my concerns and what I've been thinking about lately and how much our relationship means to me. She finally started to open up more on what has been bothering her about these agruements and my behavior. As we talked I realised that she was right about so much of how I acted or reacted to some many situations. I was kind of surprised when she told me about a few of them because I never saw it from her point of view. I think I keep focusing on the next step in our lives and that I took our relationship for granted and didn't think to continue to build and strengthen our bonds, so that when we did disagree, she would feel comfortable talking it out with me. A big underlying theme to our problems is communication, both the wrong methods and the lack thereof.
I think we had a good discussion, though I know its not over yet, and we need to keep the communication line open. I regret that it took us this long to start addressing these problems. Just like I regret that it took her melting down to find out that the way I have acted has been making her miserable. As of now, we are going to try and talk more, Ariel is sorting out her feelings (this whole experience has left her drained and she's trying to find out what she wants), and me, well, I'll be going by a bookstore later to get a book on how to me a better communicator, I may even see a therapist sometime. I know now that I do need to adjust my behavior because I'm in a relationship.
From when we got together almost 2 years ago through as recently as this past weekend, I have not communicated very well when I got upset about something and I would either act out, respond harshly, or turn the situation around on her during an arguement and make her feel like it was her fault. Other times, I have acted without thinking of her, like Christmas, she drove all the way out to spend time with me and my family and I run off to spend time with my cousin, who has repeatedly let me down in the past when he said he'd be coming over. Had I thought about it more that night before running off to a movie I would not have.
Ariel has just been laddened down with all the stress of having Linzy, a job, school, and my passive-aggressive behavior and is stressed to her limits. She sees how her life is going and when she looks to see her friends and others her age out and having fun without all her reponsibilities, I think she feels like life is just moving too fast for her. The thought of being 25, married, a house, 2 kids, and a full time job scares her. (no she's not pregnant, we planned to have a kid shortly after getting married and she would have been 23 when we got married.)
In Jan, Ariel couldn't take the added stress of our relationship anymore and asked me to give her some space, which I agreed to. Unfortunately, we didn't talk then, so nothing got resolved once again. A failure on both our parts. She was trying to sort things out and I was left wondering what was wrong and how to fix things. Because we didn't really talk to sort things out, I got a bit resentful about the situation and when Ariel tried to see me, I once again didn't think and let my frustration run the conversation, leaving Ariel once again upset with me and leaving me once again in the dark about so much that was going through her mind.
Finally, yesterday, I couldn't take it anymore. I had to talk to her. I went over to her place last night and we talked . I told her my concerns and what I've been thinking about lately and how much our relationship means to me. She finally started to open up more on what has been bothering her about these agruements and my behavior. As we talked I realised that she was right about so much of how I acted or reacted to some many situations. I was kind of surprised when she told me about a few of them because I never saw it from her point of view. I think I keep focusing on the next step in our lives and that I took our relationship for granted and didn't think to continue to build and strengthen our bonds, so that when we did disagree, she would feel comfortable talking it out with me. A big underlying theme to our problems is communication, both the wrong methods and the lack thereof.
I think we had a good discussion, though I know its not over yet, and we need to keep the communication line open. I regret that it took us this long to start addressing these problems. Just like I regret that it took her melting down to find out that the way I have acted has been making her miserable. As of now, we are going to try and talk more, Ariel is sorting out her feelings (this whole experience has left her drained and she's trying to find out what she wants), and me, well, I'll be going by a bookstore later to get a book on how to me a better communicator, I may even see a therapist sometime. I know now that I do need to adjust my behavior because I'm in a relationship.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
February... Febrrrruarrrryy
Ya, cold. So cold that my previously $50-65 month electric bill was $140 last month... and my thermostat was set at 68, thank you very much. The coulprits: my sliding door to the balcony and the uninsulated pipes. The balcony door lets in a horrible draft in the winter and there's only a few things I can do about it. The water heater and the copper water pipes are uninsulated and so it wastes power trying to keep my water hot... i wondered why the hot water never lasted over 5 min in the shower.
Now that I've passed my RS exam and can keep my job, I can now study for my arborist exam so that I can put my degree to some use. Other than that, work is fine. Waiting for spring so that we can get back out into the septic installation inspections and such. I've been working out 3 times a week and increasing my reps monthly.... though its only been a little over a month since I started :P Not really looking too hard for a house right now. Just keeping my eyes peeled but not actively searching.
Ariel's been working a lot lately on the weekends, says her manager has it out for her because she keeps getting scheduled doubles. Other than that, I don't hear complain too much about classes, so I assume they're going alright.
Linzy has continued astounding us. She carries on conversations with us and amazes us at times with what she says, (as in the extent of her vocabulary, not in the depth of her observations.) She has taken to playing with her baby dolls a bit more now. Carrying them around with her, 'feeding' them, putting them to 'bed', etc. Much better than pushing them down the slide... or the stairs. She even takes them to the bathroom and sets them on her potty, so they can go too. She really enjoys us reading to her more and more now, sometimes she'll 'read' to us a book that we've read so many times it seems that she memorized the story. She's doing great.
Now that I've passed my RS exam and can keep my job, I can now study for my arborist exam so that I can put my degree to some use. Other than that, work is fine. Waiting for spring so that we can get back out into the septic installation inspections and such. I've been working out 3 times a week and increasing my reps monthly.... though its only been a little over a month since I started :P Not really looking too hard for a house right now. Just keeping my eyes peeled but not actively searching.
Ariel's been working a lot lately on the weekends, says her manager has it out for her because she keeps getting scheduled doubles. Other than that, I don't hear complain too much about classes, so I assume they're going alright.
Linzy has continued astounding us. She carries on conversations with us and amazes us at times with what she says, (as in the extent of her vocabulary, not in the depth of her observations.) She has taken to playing with her baby dolls a bit more now. Carrying them around with her, 'feeding' them, putting them to 'bed', etc. Much better than pushing them down the slide... or the stairs. She even takes them to the bathroom and sets them on her potty, so they can go too. She really enjoys us reading to her more and more now, sometimes she'll 'read' to us a book that we've read so many times it seems that she memorized the story. She's doing great.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Hello 2010
Well, I made it 1 year of blogging. I admit, it was tough at times to think of something to blog about, but I did it... with a little assistance for reminders.
Gatlinburg was great, great weather, great chalet, fun at the Aquarium, walking the streets, eating at new places, etc.... just didn't like the traffic.... before we got to Pigeon Forge we were in bumper to bumper traffic... seems we weren't the only ones who wanted to be in Gatlinburg for New Years. 2 hours and 20 miles later we made it to our chalet up on the ridge top... a good thing to because we were near delerious from the drive. We ate at new places, aka not our usual places, The Peddlar steakhouse, Bubba Gump seafood, and the Alamo steakhouse. We ate lunch and breakfast at the cabin. We enjoyed a backporch hot tub and a pool table inside.
We had an awesome view of the mountains and the nearby ski slope. It snowed 2 mornings in a row but the plows were diligent and we made it off the mountain. We had a good time roaming the shops on the strip and I even managed to get Ariel to go "mining" with me. (you know the stores that sell you a bucket of dirt and you sluice the dirt out to expose the rocks and gemstones.) We actually found quite a bit for gems. I sent a ruby off to get cut and polished and we kept the rest uncut for now. I think I'll get them done one at a time as finances allow. The day before we left, it was freezing outside so we went to the Aquarium and spent a few hours there. We got to see all kinds of aquatic life of course but the best part is taking the tunnel under the shark tanks. We got to get up close with sawfish tiger sharks, nurse sharks, stingrays, and giant see turtles with just a couple inches of reinforced glass between us. Awesome.
We returned home sunday to Evansville, Ariel pouting the last hour of driving because our trip was already over. Linzy is practically clinging to us because we were away for 4 days. She is having some trouble once again with the potty. She tells us she needs to go, we take her, then she says she dont have to go, and then less than 10 min later she pees her pants. (sighes) Or she doesn't tell us cause she dont want to stop playing and just stands there and pees.
First day back to work 2010, busy nonstop. I think people should sedate their pets for the holidays, less bites will happen. Ever try to hand auger a hole in frozen soil? P.I.T.A. (pain in the ass) I can't wait for the weekend....
Joe is coming out and we'll go snowboarding at Paoli. Good times.
Anywho, My Neww Years Resolutions:
1. Get back into shape more. - I haven't worked out as much since I left my travelling job and I've had a bit more fattening diet. Gotta get back into a less jiggly shape.
2. Give more. - I feel the need to give more, not just material things, but to give of myself more. In my labors and service where I can.
Gatlinburg was great, great weather, great chalet, fun at the Aquarium, walking the streets, eating at new places, etc.... just didn't like the traffic.... before we got to Pigeon Forge we were in bumper to bumper traffic... seems we weren't the only ones who wanted to be in Gatlinburg for New Years. 2 hours and 20 miles later we made it to our chalet up on the ridge top... a good thing to because we were near delerious from the drive. We ate at new places, aka not our usual places, The Peddlar steakhouse, Bubba Gump seafood, and the Alamo steakhouse. We ate lunch and breakfast at the cabin. We enjoyed a backporch hot tub and a pool table inside.
We had an awesome view of the mountains and the nearby ski slope. It snowed 2 mornings in a row but the plows were diligent and we made it off the mountain. We had a good time roaming the shops on the strip and I even managed to get Ariel to go "mining" with me. (you know the stores that sell you a bucket of dirt and you sluice the dirt out to expose the rocks and gemstones.) We actually found quite a bit for gems. I sent a ruby off to get cut and polished and we kept the rest uncut for now. I think I'll get them done one at a time as finances allow. The day before we left, it was freezing outside so we went to the Aquarium and spent a few hours there. We got to see all kinds of aquatic life of course but the best part is taking the tunnel under the shark tanks. We got to get up close with sawfish tiger sharks, nurse sharks, stingrays, and giant see turtles with just a couple inches of reinforced glass between us. Awesome.
We returned home sunday to Evansville, Ariel pouting the last hour of driving because our trip was already over. Linzy is practically clinging to us because we were away for 4 days. She is having some trouble once again with the potty. She tells us she needs to go, we take her, then she says she dont have to go, and then less than 10 min later she pees her pants. (sighes) Or she doesn't tell us cause she dont want to stop playing and just stands there and pees.
First day back to work 2010, busy nonstop. I think people should sedate their pets for the holidays, less bites will happen. Ever try to hand auger a hole in frozen soil? P.I.T.A. (pain in the ass) I can't wait for the weekend....
Joe is coming out and we'll go snowboarding at Paoli. Good times.
Anywho, My Neww Years Resolutions:
1. Get back into shape more. - I haven't worked out as much since I left my travelling job and I've had a bit more fattening diet. Gotta get back into a less jiggly shape.
2. Give more. - I feel the need to give more, not just material things, but to give of myself more. In my labors and service where I can.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Little less Stress Please...
Had lots of Stress earlier this month; I wasn't able to pass my exam that I needed to keep my job, my house deal ran into more snags, and christmas was fast approaching. Topping it off, because I wasn't having luck with my exam, I decided to study more and go see Ariel and Linzy less. This also added stress since Linzy was being a weenie all week teething (incisors).
So I unloaded stress by passing my exam yesterday (yay) so I get to keep my job(double yay) and I don't have to worry about studying all the time (triple yay) and get to go back to seeing Ariel and Linzy more (quadrople yay).
As for the house, the mold guys are trying to double the price of the work to be done, but my realestate agent has a signed contract from them for the first price they quoted me. So I'm letting my agent deal with them. We are trying to get another extension on the deal as well, since the mold guys are taking so long.
Ah Christmas time, a time of joy a time of stress...stress from trying to get presents delivered in time, stress from preparations, and stress from trying to find the right gifts. I think next year I will start shopping Nov. 1st....
Other news, Ariel got one of her friends who is a photography major to do our christmas pictures, due to bad timing with my schedule and Linzy getting feverish from teething, we didn't get as many as we would like, so we will be rescheduling for Jan. So, hopefully I will have some pics to send out a little later.
Linzy of course is in full blown terrible twos mode. She has a fit about anything and with her teething, she has been extra grumpy. Getting her down to naps is fast becoming impossible and just forgoing naps is worse. A cranky teething Linzy in her terrible twos is worse than just a Teething Linzy in her terrible twos. On the plus side she is still learning fast and I can distract her from her tantrums with just a few select words. "Ooo, Linzy look at this". I can point to a dust bunny and all the sudden its the most interesting thing in the room. Changing the subject always works to end her tantrum. Problem arises when she wants to play with the dust bunny...
See you soon.
So I unloaded stress by passing my exam yesterday (yay) so I get to keep my job(double yay) and I don't have to worry about studying all the time (triple yay) and get to go back to seeing Ariel and Linzy more (quadrople yay).
As for the house, the mold guys are trying to double the price of the work to be done, but my realestate agent has a signed contract from them for the first price they quoted me. So I'm letting my agent deal with them. We are trying to get another extension on the deal as well, since the mold guys are taking so long.
Ah Christmas time, a time of joy a time of stress...stress from trying to get presents delivered in time, stress from preparations, and stress from trying to find the right gifts. I think next year I will start shopping Nov. 1st....
Other news, Ariel got one of her friends who is a photography major to do our christmas pictures, due to bad timing with my schedule and Linzy getting feverish from teething, we didn't get as many as we would like, so we will be rescheduling for Jan. So, hopefully I will have some pics to send out a little later.
Linzy of course is in full blown terrible twos mode. She has a fit about anything and with her teething, she has been extra grumpy. Getting her down to naps is fast becoming impossible and just forgoing naps is worse. A cranky teething Linzy in her terrible twos is worse than just a Teething Linzy in her terrible twos. On the plus side she is still learning fast and I can distract her from her tantrums with just a few select words. "Ooo, Linzy look at this". I can point to a dust bunny and all the sudden its the most interesting thing in the room. Changing the subject always works to end her tantrum. Problem arises when she wants to play with the dust bunny...
See you soon.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Since we last... well, blogged...
Not too terribly much has happened since my last update. I purposefully waited til today to post becuase I knew I'd be recieving more news today. Where oh where to begin.... I'll start with the house... egad, the house.... its still tied up, the mold remediators just got the ok from the bank to do the work and now we have to wait for their schedule to open up. So ya, my plan to be moved in by January is out the window. I'll be lucky to close by Mid December.
Next up, my job.... egad again. I've been studying to take my RS exam so that I might keep my job, I have to pass the exam before my 1 year aniversary date, and I took it November 12. Today I walk into work to find that I failed... by 5%.... I now study more to try and get at least 14 more questions right the next time I take it on Dec. 3rd. Other than that, I just recieved an increase in my workload. See, there are 2 of us in the henderson office and we also have 1 guy come over once a week from Davies county to help out... rather we used to. Now with cost cutting in the state, we've done away with the extra help and the work has been divided between me and Tim, my coworker.... yay, more work...
Ariel is already in the Christmas mood... rather has been since 3 days after Halloween. She's decorated her parents house and has made comments about getting lights to put up on the house I don't have yet. She bugs me daily about a gift list, but I don't have time or space for presents. No room in the kitchen, no room in the closet, no time for dvds, no time for books... I might be a little spread thin... but I only do 3 things... see Ariel and Linzy, go to work, and go to bed... Anywho, her and Linzy are working on gift lists and I'll send them out when I can. Ariel has been tutoring 1st graders after class a few days a week as part of her degree. Her time ends in the next couple of weeks, but she thinks she will try and go see them even after that.
Linzy is a riot, a 1 baby army. She has been dry for at least a week straight now. Even sleeping with just panties on, she holds it in until we get her to the potty. We were at JCP the other day and she looked at me and said, "I need to go potty". So I picked her up and we ran to the nearest potty. She sings lots of nursery rhymes and at night she rambles to herself while she lays in bed waiting to fall asleep. I think she's practicing her words because she just knows them too well. We've been playing hide and seek lately in their basement, unfortunately, she has only one hiding spot, despite me showing her so very many. She does of course have her meltdowns still; when I don't carry her down the stairs, when I don't pick her up, when I don't let her go outside without proper clothes on, when I don't let her eat from my plate, when I.... seriously, I could keep going. Gotta love the terrible twos.
On a high note, Ariel and I are going to Gatlinburg for New Years. We'll be staying in a cabin on the mountainside close to a ski resort and placed just right, so we can watch the fireworks from the hottub on the porch. Ariel had the idea and we were lucky to find a cabin available that weekend. Hopefully I'll still have a job by then... :P gotta love my dry humor.
Next up, my job.... egad again. I've been studying to take my RS exam so that I might keep my job, I have to pass the exam before my 1 year aniversary date, and I took it November 12. Today I walk into work to find that I failed... by 5%.... I now study more to try and get at least 14 more questions right the next time I take it on Dec. 3rd. Other than that, I just recieved an increase in my workload. See, there are 2 of us in the henderson office and we also have 1 guy come over once a week from Davies county to help out... rather we used to. Now with cost cutting in the state, we've done away with the extra help and the work has been divided between me and Tim, my coworker.... yay, more work...
Ariel is already in the Christmas mood... rather has been since 3 days after Halloween. She's decorated her parents house and has made comments about getting lights to put up on the house I don't have yet. She bugs me daily about a gift list, but I don't have time or space for presents. No room in the kitchen, no room in the closet, no time for dvds, no time for books... I might be a little spread thin... but I only do 3 things... see Ariel and Linzy, go to work, and go to bed... Anywho, her and Linzy are working on gift lists and I'll send them out when I can. Ariel has been tutoring 1st graders after class a few days a week as part of her degree. Her time ends in the next couple of weeks, but she thinks she will try and go see them even after that.
Linzy is a riot, a 1 baby army. She has been dry for at least a week straight now. Even sleeping with just panties on, she holds it in until we get her to the potty. We were at JCP the other day and she looked at me and said, "I need to go potty". So I picked her up and we ran to the nearest potty. She sings lots of nursery rhymes and at night she rambles to herself while she lays in bed waiting to fall asleep. I think she's practicing her words because she just knows them too well. We've been playing hide and seek lately in their basement, unfortunately, she has only one hiding spot, despite me showing her so very many. She does of course have her meltdowns still; when I don't carry her down the stairs, when I don't pick her up, when I don't let her go outside without proper clothes on, when I don't let her eat from my plate, when I.... seriously, I could keep going. Gotta love the terrible twos.
On a high note, Ariel and I are going to Gatlinburg for New Years. We'll be staying in a cabin on the mountainside close to a ski resort and placed just right, so we can watch the fireworks from the hottub on the porch. Ariel had the idea and we were lucky to find a cabin available that weekend. Hopefully I'll still have a job by then... :P gotta love my dry humor.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Other News
So no real news on the house... kinda in limbo until I hear back on the estimates for mold remidiation... The bank assessor for "mold" in a couple locations in the house, so the bank won't finalize the loan til it is fixed and the selling bank won't do anything to repair a foreclosed home. My choices are to pay for it myself or drop the deal....
Linzy is developing a 'tude' even managing to hit one of our friends when she was trying to play with Linzy. Needless to say "Timeout" is becoming more common. On days when Linzy is being real good at telling us when she has to go potty, she gets to wear big girl underwear over her pull-ups. Provides some good encouragement for her. She really enjoys wearing them.
Ariel is studying hard and will have to take the praxis (spelling?) test for her major so she can "officially" enter the education department.
I've switched over to working four days a week...in preparation to working on the house... so... obviously I have a nice extra day to relax now... while I wait...
Linzy is developing a 'tude' even managing to hit one of our friends when she was trying to play with Linzy. Needless to say "Timeout" is becoming more common. On days when Linzy is being real good at telling us when she has to go potty, she gets to wear big girl underwear over her pull-ups. Provides some good encouragement for her. She really enjoys wearing them.
Ariel is studying hard and will have to take the praxis (spelling?) test for her major so she can "officially" enter the education department.
I've switched over to working four days a week...in preparation to working on the house... so... obviously I have a nice extra day to relax now... while I wait...
BBQ Meatloaf... kinda.
At least that's what the recipe called it, though I didn't think it tastes enough like BBQ. The ladies at work all enjoyed it, though I though it came out a little dry. It is a crockpot recipe and though I should have cooked it on low overnight, I instead, cooked it on high from the moment I got to the office until lunch time. Cooking on high halves the amount of time you need to cook foods in the crock pot when it calls for say 8-10 hours on low, you really only need 3-4 on high. (ok so not perfect halves) Anywho.....
BBQ Meatloaf (Via crockpot)
Ingredients:
-2-2.5 lbs ground chuck
-1 can tomato soup (divided)
-1 egg, slightly beaten
-1 c. cruched Ritz crackers
-2 tbs honey
-1 tbs plus 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce, divided
-2 tbs dried minced onions
-1/2 tsp salt
-1/4 tsp pepper
-1/2 c water
-2 tsp prepared mustard
-2 tbs brown sugar
Prep: Combine ground chuck with half of the tomato soup, egg, crackers, honey, 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce, onions, salt, and pepper. Mix well and form into a ball. Place a crinkled length of aluminum foil in the slow cooker so that the ends extend an inch outside the pot. Place the meatloaf in the pot (the foil will make it easier to lift the meatloaf out and keep it out of the drippings).
Combine remaining soup, 1 tbs worcestershire sauce, the water, mustard, and brown sugar. Whisk together and pour over the meat loaf. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours. Serves 4-6.
BBQ Meatloaf (Via crockpot)
Ingredients:
-2-2.5 lbs ground chuck
-1 can tomato soup (divided)
-1 egg, slightly beaten
-1 c. cruched Ritz crackers
-2 tbs honey
-1 tbs plus 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce, divided
-2 tbs dried minced onions
-1/2 tsp salt
-1/4 tsp pepper
-1/2 c water
-2 tsp prepared mustard
-2 tbs brown sugar
Prep: Combine ground chuck with half of the tomato soup, egg, crackers, honey, 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce, onions, salt, and pepper. Mix well and form into a ball. Place a crinkled length of aluminum foil in the slow cooker so that the ends extend an inch outside the pot. Place the meatloaf in the pot (the foil will make it easier to lift the meatloaf out and keep it out of the drippings).
Combine remaining soup, 1 tbs worcestershire sauce, the water, mustard, and brown sugar. Whisk together and pour over the meat loaf. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours. Serves 4-6.
Monday, October 12, 2009
FallFest is over, Bring on the Harvest
The Fall Festival ended Saturday and while we were sad to see it go, we didn't waste any time moping around the house. Sunday was a beautiful day, so we went apple and pumpkin picking. We got lost going to one orchard, outdated gps maps, where we found that their season ended 2 weeks earlier. So, we drove to another about half an hour away. Linzy got to get herself a nice big pumpkin and we went out and picked about 3 ten pound bags of red and golden delicious apples. Linzy had a ball running about in the orchard though we had to chase her and keep her from going after the squishy ones on the ground.
It took us and hour to fill our 3 bags and it only cost us 16 dollars. We then stopped at the 'shop' on the way out of the orchard and grabbed a gallon of cider. (yay) After Linzy got up from her nap, we proceeded to peel and core some of the apples and cut them up for homade applesauce. Since we didn't have a food processor, we used a potatoe masher and an electric beater. The applesauce came out a bit thicker i think, though not with as small of particulates in it as the store brand. I did find out though that it tastes much better when its hot than cold applesauce does. We got almost 6 pints from 8lbs of apples.
With the rest of the apples we will be making applebutter and apple pie... maybe some more applesauce. Shannon, Ariel's mom, made apple butter with some store bought apples using mom's recipe and discovered that mom must make a double batch because we only got a couple pints from 3 lbs of apples.
Next weekend is camping at Lake Rudolph, the weekend after that is Baby O's birthday party (Linzy has been praticing singing), and then Halloween weekend, 1st weekend of Nov we have a birthday party in Nashiville TN to go to, and then the holidays approach...I'm going to need a vacation...
It took us and hour to fill our 3 bags and it only cost us 16 dollars. We then stopped at the 'shop' on the way out of the orchard and grabbed a gallon of cider. (yay) After Linzy got up from her nap, we proceeded to peel and core some of the apples and cut them up for homade applesauce. Since we didn't have a food processor, we used a potatoe masher and an electric beater. The applesauce came out a bit thicker i think, though not with as small of particulates in it as the store brand. I did find out though that it tastes much better when its hot than cold applesauce does. We got almost 6 pints from 8lbs of apples.
With the rest of the apples we will be making applebutter and apple pie... maybe some more applesauce. Shannon, Ariel's mom, made apple butter with some store bought apples using mom's recipe and discovered that mom must make a double batch because we only got a couple pints from 3 lbs of apples.
Next weekend is camping at Lake Rudolph, the weekend after that is Baby O's birthday party (Linzy has been praticing singing), and then Halloween weekend, 1st weekend of Nov we have a birthday party in Nashiville TN to go to, and then the holidays approach...I'm going to need a vacation...
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Fun Fun for everyone.
Many many to-dos lately. First, I am in the process of buying a house, no doubt mom filled you in already. I had the 'luxury' of showing mom, dad, glen, des, and a few members of ariel's family the house. (I warned them it kinda stank but they went anyway.) Yesterday, I had the inspection done on it, no real surprises there. I knew most of the things needing done already. It is a foreclosed home and it really needs a lot of TLC... a LOT of TLC. The bank listed it for 47500 and I got it for 35000. It is a 3 bedroom, 1.5 bath ranch stlye brick home with an attatched 1 car garage. The paperwork on the deal is now with the bank, they are in the process of appraisal and title work. Once that comes back, and I get a final approval on the loan, we can close and I can begin renovating. I hope to move in by January.
Linzy's 2nd birthday party was Saturday the 3rd, she really enjoyed her day in the spotlight. Along with some friends and Ariel's family, Mom and dad came and Glen and Des came with Gwen and Gavin. Linzy got a slide for her birthday, which currently is located in the family room at Ariel's parents, and she slid with the other kids quite a bit. She also got some much needed clothes for her wardrobe and a few toys. She's really getting into playing with her uncle's matchbox cars and has begun putting her dolls to bed. Anywho, her party was of course, Mickey mouse club house themed. and Ariel made linzy a small cake with a fondant Minnie on top... linzy loves fondant...I try to keep her away from too much sugar... because well... she kinda goes nuts. She's energetic as it is, but when you add sugar, she's ... kinda bouncing off the walls. Not that we ever were like that as kids. >.>
We did commit a terrible parenting sin that day, that will haunt us for a long time to come... we didn't get any pictures... none at all... zero... zilch... nada... goose eggs... With all that was going on and trying to make sure we saw everyone and that everything was going alright, we forgot all about getting the camera out and taking pictures.
The 88th Annual Fall Festival is this week in Evansville. It is the second largest street festival in the US, short of Mardi Gras. It comprises mostly of food booths, but has rides, games, talent shows, a couple parades, and some exhibits/contests. Ariel goes out there daily and so far I have gotten her to knowingly and willingly try alligator jerky and bison burger. Tonight I will indroduce her to elk meat. Linzy loved the Alligator jerky oddly enough.
This weekend we go apple and pumpkin picking, will take the camera, and my cousin Joe is coming out for the weekend, so it should be a fun time.
Linzy's 2nd birthday party was Saturday the 3rd, she really enjoyed her day in the spotlight. Along with some friends and Ariel's family, Mom and dad came and Glen and Des came with Gwen and Gavin. Linzy got a slide for her birthday, which currently is located in the family room at Ariel's parents, and she slid with the other kids quite a bit. She also got some much needed clothes for her wardrobe and a few toys. She's really getting into playing with her uncle's matchbox cars and has begun putting her dolls to bed. Anywho, her party was of course, Mickey mouse club house themed. and Ariel made linzy a small cake with a fondant Minnie on top... linzy loves fondant...I try to keep her away from too much sugar... because well... she kinda goes nuts. She's energetic as it is, but when you add sugar, she's ... kinda bouncing off the walls. Not that we ever were like that as kids. >.>
We did commit a terrible parenting sin that day, that will haunt us for a long time to come... we didn't get any pictures... none at all... zero... zilch... nada... goose eggs... With all that was going on and trying to make sure we saw everyone and that everything was going alright, we forgot all about getting the camera out and taking pictures.
The 88th Annual Fall Festival is this week in Evansville. It is the second largest street festival in the US, short of Mardi Gras. It comprises mostly of food booths, but has rides, games, talent shows, a couple parades, and some exhibits/contests. Ariel goes out there daily and so far I have gotten her to knowingly and willingly try alligator jerky and bison burger. Tonight I will indroduce her to elk meat. Linzy loved the Alligator jerky oddly enough.
This weekend we go apple and pumpkin picking, will take the camera, and my cousin Joe is coming out for the weekend, so it should be a fun time.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Such is life...
Conversation on the phone today:
Lady: "yes, I have been getting sick from my water. It has a bleachy smell and a bad taste."
Me: "Are you on city water or well water?"
Lady: "I don't know"
Me: "Well, do you recieve a water bill?"
Lady: "yes."
At this point I slap my forehead and want to ask her if she believes that a well can write/mail a bill.
Lady: "yes, I have been getting sick from my water. It has a bleachy smell and a bad taste."
Me: "Are you on city water or well water?"
Lady: "I don't know"
Me: "Well, do you recieve a water bill?"
Lady: "yes."
At this point I slap my forehead and want to ask her if she believes that a well can write/mail a bill.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Restless...
Title says it all, I'm restless. I work out 3 times a week and I read books. I go to Ariel's almost daily and play with Linzy and visit. It is not enough though, I still feel restless. I don't know if its because I'm in an apartment or that I grew up on a farm. I wake up during the night for no reason and just lay there, trying to get back to sleep. Work has gotten incredibly slow, I'm a month ahead on my scheduled work. I now hope to focus all this restlessness on studying for my RS certification test and to find a project to work on. I decided that since I'm looking for a house anyway, I should look for a 'project' house or as they say a house that is in need of some 'TLC' Whatever happens, I hope that I can find some way of getting a feeling that I'm accomplishing something, something to make me feel more content.... or maybe just working with my hands will tide my restlessness.
We are attempting to wean Linzy off her pacifiers. Ariel and I have cut off the tips of them and believe me, she noticed. She still demands them when she goes to bed, but they no longer stay in her mouth when she sleeps. Most of the time now, she takes them out of her mouth before she falls asleep. The down side though is that this seems to bring out her "terrible two" fits more and she seems to be more of a drama queen. Last few days I'm told she wakes up in the middle of the night and cries out for someone to come get her. Used to be we'd give her a pacifier and she'd go back to bed, but now that don't work and Ariel's parents have taken to putting her into Ariel's bed... Seems like they're kinda going backwards on that aspect.
Ariel is back in class, she's got 18 credit hours this semester and believe me, its bad timing with Linzy entering her terrible twos. Ariel has to do her homework between classes and before she goes to pick Linzy up from daycare, and then after Linzy goes to bed. This is because Linzy is going through some pretty bad withdrawls from not getting to be with her mom all the time like she did all summer. She literally demands all Ariel's attention while she's awake and sometimes will try to stay up to see her more.
I'll keep you updated.
We are attempting to wean Linzy off her pacifiers. Ariel and I have cut off the tips of them and believe me, she noticed. She still demands them when she goes to bed, but they no longer stay in her mouth when she sleeps. Most of the time now, she takes them out of her mouth before she falls asleep. The down side though is that this seems to bring out her "terrible two" fits more and she seems to be more of a drama queen. Last few days I'm told she wakes up in the middle of the night and cries out for someone to come get her. Used to be we'd give her a pacifier and she'd go back to bed, but now that don't work and Ariel's parents have taken to putting her into Ariel's bed... Seems like they're kinda going backwards on that aspect.
Ariel is back in class, she's got 18 credit hours this semester and believe me, its bad timing with Linzy entering her terrible twos. Ariel has to do her homework between classes and before she goes to pick Linzy up from daycare, and then after Linzy goes to bed. This is because Linzy is going through some pretty bad withdrawls from not getting to be with her mom all the time like she did all summer. She literally demands all Ariel's attention while she's awake and sometimes will try to stay up to see her more.
I'll keep you updated.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Newsworthy...kinda
One of the gals at work made the crockpot recipe that I brought the other day. She tried it with some beef roast she had instead of pork to see how it would turn out.... It was good.
Ariel and I are planning to move into a verizon family plan together when I get my upgrade in september.
I got approved for a mortgage, but no luck finding a suitable house...did I not mention I was looking?
Linzy has gotten too attached to her pacifiers, so Ariel has poked holes into them all with a needle to reduce their appeal.
About does it...
Ariel and I are planning to move into a verizon family plan together when I get my upgrade in september.
I got approved for a mortgage, but no luck finding a suitable house...did I not mention I was looking?
Linzy has gotten too attached to her pacifiers, so Ariel has poked holes into them all with a needle to reduce their appeal.
About does it...
Monday, August 3, 2009
Friendly neighborhood health environmentalist.
I made it under the deadline! (eyes the Bogles)
I made Patty's recipe she posted on the Southwestern Pork Roast and took it to work today. The office went nuts over it. Everybody was telling me how good it was and impressed they were that I actually knew how to cook. I had about 1 cup of it left by the end of the day, so there's supper. :P I used honey mustard and honey barbeque instead of regular flavors and that gave it a slightly sweeter taste and I used only 2/3 of the large onion. Needless to say though, for only having an ounce left out of 4lbs, I must say, it went over really well.... Just hope they don't expect me to cook more often.
Ariel and Linzy, along with her parents and best friend went down to Florida for a few days, Fri-Wed, on a little vacation. I decided to save my hours and take off a week at christmas. Linzy absolutely loves the beach, all the sand to play with and the waves that tickle her toes. She did get a little sun burnt though, not too bad, hopefully it won't make her itch much.
Maybe one of my sisters can teach me how to post slideshows/pictures on my blog sometime.
I made Patty's recipe she posted on the Southwestern Pork Roast and took it to work today. The office went nuts over it. Everybody was telling me how good it was and impressed they were that I actually knew how to cook. I had about 1 cup of it left by the end of the day, so there's supper. :P I used honey mustard and honey barbeque instead of regular flavors and that gave it a slightly sweeter taste and I used only 2/3 of the large onion. Needless to say though, for only having an ounce left out of 4lbs, I must say, it went over really well.... Just hope they don't expect me to cook more often.
Ariel and Linzy, along with her parents and best friend went down to Florida for a few days, Fri-Wed, on a little vacation. I decided to save my hours and take off a week at christmas. Linzy absolutely loves the beach, all the sand to play with and the waves that tickle her toes. She did get a little sun burnt though, not too bad, hopefully it won't make her itch much.
Maybe one of my sisters can teach me how to post slideshows/pictures on my blog sometime.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Linzy's 1st trip to the Movies and more.
We went and saw Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs... almost a complete success. Linzy watched the previews and then when they were over she thought that we were done and it was time to go. (so cute). She watched the first half of the movie with no problem, then for about the 3rd quarter of the movie she wanted down and to run through the aisles and play in the seats that flip up(she didn't weigh enough to keep the seat from flipping up) and then at the last bit of the movie she got interested again. On a side note, she ate half a bag of popcorn, the most I've seen her eat in awhile.
On July 4, Ariel's family had a party. when it started getting darker we went outside and started lighting the fountains and sparklers. Then I started firing off those 'mortar' rounds. Basically its a ball on top of a little cylinder, all wrapped up with a long wick. you insert it into a tube and then light the wick. Well, I had 2 in my hands. I placed 1 into the tube and the lit the wick. One of the sparks flying off the lit wick hit the one in my hand and ignited its wick. Upon seeing this, I threw it far away from me and dove for cover. Needless to say the spectators were a little surprised... and no, I didn't throw it towards them. Rest of the fireworks went off without a hitch. Linzy was sad that she didn't get to hold a sparkler or help me, she was kept back the whole tiem with nothing to do but watch.
On July 4, Ariel's family had a party. when it started getting darker we went outside and started lighting the fountains and sparklers. Then I started firing off those 'mortar' rounds. Basically its a ball on top of a little cylinder, all wrapped up with a long wick. you insert it into a tube and then light the wick. Well, I had 2 in my hands. I placed 1 into the tube and the lit the wick. One of the sparks flying off the lit wick hit the one in my hand and ignited its wick. Upon seeing this, I threw it far away from me and dove for cover. Needless to say the spectators were a little surprised... and no, I didn't throw it towards them. Rest of the fireworks went off without a hitch. Linzy was sad that she didn't get to hold a sparkler or help me, she was kept back the whole tiem with nothing to do but watch.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Chicken Cordon Bleu
.... or some such spelling....
Anywho, I made some the other night and despite not having the right pans (i wanted to use a broiler pan, but had to skillet fry them instead) It turned out pretty well.
2 lbs of chicken breast (I got them with bones still in)
Thick sliced ham (not the thin sandwich slices)
Mozarella cheese slices
Wheat flour
Nature's Blend Seasoning
First debone the chicken breasts.
then butterfly cut them almost entirely across and lay them open.
Roll a slice of cheese up in a slice of ham and place it into a chicken breast.
close the breast and fix in place with toothpick.
Place in a plate and coat with flour and seasoning.
Coat bottom of skillet with cooking oil.
Fry in skillet on med-high until done. (the cheese will start to drip down to the skillet)
Enjoy.
I even saved the scraps from when I deboned the chicken and made some chicken tenders :)
Anywho, I made some the other night and despite not having the right pans (i wanted to use a broiler pan, but had to skillet fry them instead) It turned out pretty well.
2 lbs of chicken breast (I got them with bones still in)
Thick sliced ham (not the thin sandwich slices)
Mozarella cheese slices
Wheat flour
Nature's Blend Seasoning
First debone the chicken breasts.
then butterfly cut them almost entirely across and lay them open.
Roll a slice of cheese up in a slice of ham and place it into a chicken breast.
close the breast and fix in place with toothpick.
Place in a plate and coat with flour and seasoning.
Coat bottom of skillet with cooking oil.
Fry in skillet on med-high until done. (the cheese will start to drip down to the skillet)
Enjoy.
I even saved the scraps from when I deboned the chicken and made some chicken tenders :)
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