Doing Alright

For any of you who are wondering, Shane is doing alright today. His wisdom teeth (we're talking the lower ones here) were lying so deep within his gums that there were some minor complications. The surgeon says there is a possibility of permanent nerve damage. What this would mean is that he might have no sensation or only partial sensation in his chin and maybe his lower lip. It also may be that there will be loss of feeling that improves over time. These risks were explained fully to Shane beforehand and he thought it best to go ahead with it; those teeth had to come out or there would have been worse complications and pain later on.

I suppose there's no way to know what will happen, but as of this morning, he's already regaining some feeling in his chin and lip. His pain is very minimal and he's been taking the over-the-counter combination of Tylenol and Advil rather than the prescription pain medication. He's also on a prophylactic round of antibiotics. There's swelling, of course, but overall, things are going well, I think. He's released to work on Monday as long as he feels like it and he has a follow-up appointment with the surgeon on Monday afternoon, but I think everything will be OK. It's just going to take him a day or two longer to recover than it would have without the complications.

I'm getting ready to make a pot of homemade potato soup for us, and maybe some kind of soft sandwich for him. Maybe tuna salad, or maybe just the salad without the bread; whatever he thinks he can handle. Then we're going to settle in for the afternoon and watch some movies. No comedies, though. It hurts too much when he laughs.

Feels Like Friday The 13th. Or A Monday At The Very Least

I just came back to watch that video I posted, because I need a smile. It's been an aggravating morning.

First, Kat and I got into it because she won't leave our cats alone. There's never a moment of peace for those creatures. Then I drove her to school and realized she'd forgotten her backpack and lunch. Had to swing back home and get that, then take her back to school. Luckily it's less than a mile round-trip.

I left school, drove through our little downtown area, and was sitting at a stop sign waiting to pull out onto one of the main streets when I got rear-ended. No one was hurt. The lady behind me apologized profusely and said she was just not paying attention and let her foot off the brake. I'm not sure if I believe that or not, because she hit me hard enough that my drink (iced tea instead of hot coffee, thank goodness) flew out of the cup holder (one of those with adjustable grippy things) and onto the floorboard. That seems a little harder than just rolling from a stop. Anyway, she must have hit the trailer hitch, because there was no visible damage to our van or her car. I took her insurance information just in case, but I don't see anything to report. It did make me mad, though. Mad enough I called her a few choice names before I got out of the van.

I was on my way to the grocery stores, so I went ahead, although part of me wanted to just go home and crawl back in bed. No major mishaps at the stores, but when I made my second stop, I realized I'd written some of Store A's specials on Store B's list and had go back to Store A to get them. Again, it's a small suburb, so it wasn't that big a deal, but it aggravated the hell out of me.

So went my morning. I hope the afternoon goes better. Kat is off to spend the weekend with her mom, so after I get Shane back from the oral surgeon, we're just going to hole up for the weekend and relax. I can hardly wait.

This Will Brighten Your Day

This will bring a smile to your face, even if you've seen it before.  I didn't see it until yesterday.  Enjoy and have a great weekend!

PS...Watch his hands...LOL!




Also, there are a couple of new posts at the other blog.

The Little Things...

often bring the most pleasure.  For example, we're going out to eat tonight.  We've been very good and haven't spent money going out to eat for months.  We went out for breakfast on Christmas Eve but the in-laws treated us (we alternate picking up the tab when we go out with them) and we did have a nice meal out in January courtesy of a mystery shopping company, but we haven't spent money from our own dining budget since my birthday in mid-December.

We decided to treat ourselves tonight because we have several errands to run this evening and because Shane is having his wisdom teeth surgically removed tomorrow afternoon.  He'll be on soup and soft foods for the next few days.

I guess for many people -- maybe even most -- going out for dinner is not a big deal.  There was a time when it wasn't that big a deal for us, either.  Over the years we've moved away from dining out so much, and our mindset about it has changed, too.  We enjoy our meals out more when they're fewer and farther between.  They become a real treat for us. 

If you're wondering, I think we've decided on Chinese buffet. 

Seeds and SNAP

When Shane was laid off several weeks ago and we were scrutinizing our budget for places to cut back, one thing I did was check with our state's Dept. of Family Services to learn the qualifications for Food Stamps (now called SNAP -- Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program).  I didn't think it would come to that, and it didn't, but I wanted to be prepared and knowledgeable about the program in case it did.

Now, I'm not wanting to discuss or debate the program itself.  I just want to pass along something I read about SNAP that might be helpful to someone.  I read that in addition to food, benefits can be used to buy "seeds and plants for use in gardens to produce food for the personal consumption of the household".  What a great thing to learn!  This is something I think the general population and maybe even the recipients in the program may not know.

I believe this holds true in all states, but I could be wrong.  I looked at a few state websites and most indicate that garden seeds and plants are part of the program, but a couple didn't address the question at all.

So, if you know a gardening-minded family who receives SNAP benefits, make sure they know they can use those benefits to get their gardens started this spring.

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On an entirely unrelated note, thanks to those of you who've checked in on me just to say hello and see how I'm doing.  I'm feeling much better now since my couple of sick days over the weekend and I've finished Under The Dome, which was distracting me from all things I should have been doing instead.

I recommend the book if you are a Stephen King fan at all; it has the feel of his early novels.  But I have to say, that for me anyway, it was his most "disturbing" book yet.  It wasn't the few otherworldly events that happened in the story, but the many human acts that took place that were so unnerving.  It's always the things that could happen that spook me more than the things that probably can't.  That's all I'm going to say, though.  No spoilers from me. :)

Lost Weekend

And not the fun, umbrella-drink kind of lost weekend, either.

Saturday was awful.  That stupid sinus headache wouldn't go away no matter what I tried.  Hot drinks, hot rice pads, OTC sinus meds, leftover pain killers from my gall bladder surgery...nothing touched it.  I finally had all I could stand and went to bed around 8:30 Saturday night.  Woke up at 1:00 in the morning without the sinus headache, but with a migraine (brought on by lack of sleep, lack of food since I had no appetite and the stress of fighting the sinus stuff all day).  I got up, took my Zomig, and woke up Sunday morning pain free.  I was pain-free all day, but really tired and a little weak.

I think I'm back to normal today, though.

That storm did come in, but for our part of the city, there wasn't much snow.  We got ice instead.  Ice is pretty, but so much more troublesome.  Luckily we didn't get so much that we lost power from downed limbs or lines.  School is closed today, though, and of course, Shane is home from work again.  I'm not going to stress about that, though.  The 4-1/2 days of work he put in last week went a long way to help our general disposition about the situation.  We know the work is there now, and there's not a thing can be done about Mother Nature, so why worry overmuch about it?

My must-do list today includes paying bills and baking bread.  The rest will fall into place as the day progresses.

By the way, I'm halfway through that book!

Whining Again

I'm sick.  I may already be dead.  No...I checked, and I'm just sick.  My cold lingers on and something has had my stomach in an uproar since about 1:00 this morning.  Thankfully that seems to be ending with no untoward "outbursts", if you know what I mean, but it was still awful and kept me awake most of the night.

You know I'm ill when I say that I'm actually looking forward to the snow moving in later today.  Maybe the killer sinus pressure in my head will move out as the front moves in.

It doesn't look like we'll get a lot snow here at the house, but it's hard to say what Shane's job site will look like.  He already missed a half-day on Friday because of the rain. :(   

Heading back to my recliner now and to the newest Stephen King book I picked up from the library.  At least it's a little comforting to know that if I don't start feeling any better over the weekend, I have that 1074-page book to keep me occupied between naps.

Another New Project

A little while ago I mentioned the Shane is building a room in our basement, but that I didn't want to show you any pictures.  A few of you crazies readers said you DID want to see pictures.

That made the little wheels in my head start turning.  It seems to me that any posts I've done about home improvement, on this blog or others I had in the past, were always well-received.  So I've decided to move all of those into a blog of their own.

It's called Real Life Living - Home Makeover Edition.  It will chronicle our home improvement projects, some decorating projects and even some lawn and garden projects if they involve putting things together.  (Food related gardening posts will still be on this blog.)

Take a look.  The posts are all backdated so that I can keep them in chronological order and eventually wind up with our present projects at the top of the page.  So, start at the bottom and work your way up.  I'm still in our first year, but will be adding posts every day or so until I get things caught up.

Now see what you've all gone and done?  Like I really need another project on my already full plate.

Sometimes It Works

While I clip coupons and use quite a few of them, I'm not a regular participant in the "drugstore games" like CVS or Walgreen's.  This is because I very rarely use/want things like make-up, facial cleansers, air fresheners, expensive razors, name brand cereals or snacks, or name brand over-the-counter drugs that seem to make up the majority of their ads each week.

I know a lot of people have great luck with these coupon games and enjoy chasing these deals.  I always look at the ads and occasionally make a purchase, but I just don't enjoy playing that much. I find I do just as well, with less time spent*, by buying generics, using my coupons with sales at other stores, and shopping stores like Aldi.

Having said that, sometimes I actually do find a deal or two at the drugstores and thought I'd share a recent one with you.

After buying the occasional item, over time I had collected $12 in Register Rewards from Walgreen's.  In last Sunday's ad, they offered printer ink cartridge refills for $9.99.  They also had Skippy peanut butter on sale for 2/$3.  After using a 50¢ coupon for the Skippy and the $12 in RR, my total out of pocket amount was 49¢.  Half a dollar for three things I'll actually use is a good deal in my opinion!

I live in Missouri and my understanding is that here they calculate tax AFTER all discounts have been applied, so I was expecting to be taxed about 5¢ on the 49¢.  Looking at my receipt, no tax was charged at all.  I'm not sure what's up with that.

*Please know I'm not knocking any of you who do play and enjoy the drugstore games on a regular basis.  More power to you!  It's just not my cup of tea and I personally would rather spend my time listing something to sell on eBay or doing a mystery shop for a little extra money.

Tired of Old Man Winter

I'm tired of all the snow and tired of looking at that snowflake pattern, so I've changed my background again.  What could be more comfy than a jeans and t-shirt motif?

The Sounds of Silence

It sure is quiet around here with Kat at school and Shane back at work.  It's my first full day alone since before Christmas.  I had plans to make the most of it by doing all kinds of industrious homemaker-ly things like cleaning and cooking and organizing things.

Instead, I've been dealing with a head cold for the last couple of days, so I've decided to do only what work must be done and catch up on some blogs this morning, then spend the middle of my day reading and napping.  I feel so lazy when I take a down day like this (and something of a whiner when I blog about it), but I know my body and know that it's the quickest way for me to shake the cold for good and get back to being productive.

Oh, I'll still enjoy my first day of quiet...just not in quite the way I had planned.

♥♥♥Happy Valentine's Day♥♥♥

There...that takes care of the Valentine's Day celebration for this year.  Whew!  I'm worn out by the festivities.

Can it be that Shane and I are the only people who don't celebrate Valentine's Day? I'm not big on cards, chocolates or flowers. I can't remember the last time I wore any kind of jewelry, not even my wedding ring (I outgrew it...oops).  I'm definitely not into skimpy lingerie in weather like this.  So, except for a small gift and a bit of candy for Kat, the day goes by basically unnoticed. 

Last week was busy, busy, busy.  School's out tomorrow for Presidents' Day, but I'm hoping for a quieter week starting Tuesday.  Maybe I can come up with some ideas for blog posts.

Shane is still not working. :(   Oh, wait!!  He literally just came up from working in the basement to tell me he got the call to go back to work tomorrow!  The job is on a military base, so he may spend as much time getting his clearance tomorrow as he will working, but whatever.  Money is money and he'll get paid to wait if that's what ends up happening. 

I guess this might give us a reason to celebrate today after all.

Attention Aldi Shoppers!

If you shop at Aldi, then you have to check out the new Aldi Gourmet blog.  This Pennsylvania blogger is posting photographed dishes and recipes she creates using ingredients that can be purchased at Aldi.  Of course, these recipes work great with ingredients bought at other stores, but why spend more money when you can get Aldi's great food at great prices.

Also, a big thanks to my blog friend Anne of Cooking With Anne and A Thousand Soups for introducing me to this new blog.

No Go on the Demo

I mentioned a while back that I had been asked to do a toy demo at our local Wal-Mart this Saturday. The pay was OK; - $40 for 4 hours of work. It wasn't until just yesterday that I found out the details. There is no demonstration of toys involved.

The job consists of "...intercepting children as they enter the store and leading them in a parade line back to the toy department for a photo opportunity...".

Um...no.

I can only imagine how many ways this could go wrong.

I am not a "kid-perky" person to begin with, and I don't deal with conflict well. I don't want to deal with parents who are angry about having their kid(s) hijacked and led to the toy department the minute they enter the store. I don't want to deal with parents who are disappointed when their free "photo opportunity" is less than studio quality. I don't want to be responsible when someone's child leads half of the parade to the candy aisle instead of the toy department.

I don't care how nice a few extra dollars would be right now; I've politely unscheduled myself for this gig.

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Good news is that Shane's boss says there is work waiting for him now. Bad news is that there's still about 5" of snow on the ground that has to melt first. If he's lucky, he might be able to get a week's worth of work in before that "major snow storm at the end of February" that everyone's predicting.

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If I'm not around for a few days, think nothing of it, especially if your name is SonyaAnn. I have a lot of errands to run this week, a doctor appointment, an early release day from school and some Valentine cookies to bake. Looks like my dance card is full until Saturday.

Will Work For Pay. Or For Free.

In case any of you are wondering, Shane did not get to go back to work this week. There were questions about the safety of crane on the job site (founded or unfounded, depending on who was telling the story). If it's not one thing keeping him from his paying job, it's half a dozen others. His boss says the outlook is good that he'll be back to work next week, but now there is a 1- to 3-inch snowfall in the forecast again. All we can do is wait and see what happens.

This doesn't mean Shane isn't working. He's just not getting paid. This week he's been busy making a racket in our basement. For a while, we talked about finishing part of the basement into a rec room. That idea was scrapped when our basement flooded from the city's run-off system two years in a row. Now that we seem to have that issue under control, largely with a sump pump we installed and a little bit of improvement to the city's drainage system, we've decided to do something with the space after all. We've vetoed the idea of a traditional rec room with pool table and mini-bar and have instead decided on a games and hobbies room where we can keep our crafts, hobbies, games, puzzles, etc. all out while they are in progress. (We may still keep the mini-bar, though...).

It's only in the beginning stages, and will likely stay that way for a while, since we have no money to put into it. What we do have, though, are the 2x4 studs that were here when we moved in. A previous owner had roughed in (and I do mean rough) a couple of rooms downstairs. We knocked those out and saved the studs. There are plenty there to frame out the room we're wanting now.

Since Shane doesn't seem to be happy unless he's building or making something, this is a good project to keep him busy until he either goes back to work or we run out of scrounged materials. One or the other is bound to happen eventually.

There won't be pictures any time soon, though. NO ONE needs to be subjected to the disaster we call a basement.

The Lights Are On, But No One's Home

That's right. I'm away for the day, doing a guest post for my friend Janelle at Not Just Leftovers - Brand New Meals.

When Janelle and I put our heads together and came up with the idea for me to guest post, I figured it would be a typical food post with one of my typical, rather ho-hum, food photos. Wouldn't you know it? When the picture is supposed to go on someone else's blog, just as I pull the dish out of the oven, the clouds part, the sun comes streaming through the kitchen window, and I get a picture like this:


Many a food-blogger can get a better photo than this, but for me, this is awesome...and I'm telling you, it would not have happened if I'd been shooting it for my own blog.

You want the recipe? Just click here. Don't forget to look at all of Janelle's creative "leftover makeovers" and leave a comment for her while you're there.

While you're at it, you should also check out Janelle's other blog. She writes about Halloween costumes, broken dishwashers and anything you can imagine in between. There's never a dull moment when you're At Home With My Monkeys.

Rye Bread My Way

Yesterday I decided to take the standard bread recipe I've been using lately and try making rye bread. Shane doesn't really care for the taste of the caraway seeds in rye bread, but this is a big batch, so I divided the dough into one regular loaf without caraway, and four tiny loaves with caraway (pictured) I kneaded caraway seeds into the dough just before the second rise.

They turned out very nice, I think. The bread not too heavy or dense, and I love the sharp taste of the caraway seeds. My daughter and son-in-law were here for supper and they liked it, too.


Annie's Rye Bread

4-1/2 teaspoons bulk yeast
1/3 cup butter, softened
1/3 cup instant mashed potato flakes
1/3 cup instant dry milk
1-1/2 cups warm water
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 cup rye flour
3-1/2 to 5 cups all purpose flour
Caraway seeds, to taste (optional)

Combine all ingredients except for flours in bowl of stand-up mixer. Add rye flour and 3-1/2 cups of all purpose flour and knead with mixer until a dough forms, adding more flour if necessary. Add just enough flour so that the dough no longer sticks to your hands, but no more than that.

Place dough in a well-oiled bowl, cover and let rise in a warm (80° to 100°F) location until dough has doubled in size. Turn dough out onto work surface. You may lightly flour your work surface if desired, but I prefer to just use the oil that is in the bowl and on the dough to keep the dough from sticking. (Adding extra flour can make bread that's too dry.)

Knead a few times by hand. If desired, knead caraway seeds into the dough at this time, according to your taste. Shape dough into two loaves and let rise, covered, in a warm place until dough has doubled in size.

Bake at 375°F approximately 25 minutes or until the bread's internal temperature reaches 200°F. Remove from pans and let cool completely on a cooling rack before wrapping to store.

Makes 2 standard size loaves.