I got that lovin' feeling...Ohhhhh that lovin' feeling....

If you are from Kansas, you may know what a Bierock is. If you are not from Kansas, you probably have the look on your face that Carl had when I told him about them... I mixed and matched a few of my favorite recipes together to make a finger lickin' good German sammich. Here you go!





I made the filling and then dough. The Dough recipe makes fabulous dinner rolls, but after rolling dough and cutting into 5"x5" squares, I filled with meat mixture, let raise and baked for 15 minutes. YUM-O!

Ingredients
1 1/2 lbs hamburger (lean)
3 lbs cabbage
Salt and pepper to taste
1 large onion

Put hamburger in skillet over low heat – break it up with fork and stir often until it changes color – do not fry it, then add cabbage and onion cook another 40 minutes – then taste if it needs more seasoning add more to your own taste. That’s all there is to the filling.

Ingredients
5 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup lard or shortening (my grandma uses lard, I use shortening. I like hers better)
1 1/2 cups lukewarm water
1 (1/4 ounce) package yeast

Directions
Dissolve yeast in the lukewarm water. Sift together flour, salt and sugar. Cut in lard. Add yeast and water. Mix until well blended and keep mixing until dough forms elastic strands. Place dough in a greased bowl. Cover and allow to rise 30 minutes. Place dough on a floured board, smooth gently with your hands and roll out to desired thickness. Cut out (and shape, if desired. I roll until 1/4 inch thick, cut into 5"x5" squares and fill with mix. Pull corners up and seal seams, then tuck under to form a ball.). Place rolls in a greased pan. Cover and allow to rise in a warm place for 45 minutes. Brush with butter and bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes.

(Rolls Price Break down:

5 cups flour .40
1 teaspoon salt .01
1/4 cup sugar .11
1/2 cup lard or shortening (my grandma uses lard, I use shortening. I like hers better) .22
1 1/2 cups lukewarm water
1 (1/4 ounce) package yeast .33

$1.07 total, $0.03/roll for 36 rolls.)

The week thus far

Tamale production for the week has been completed. Large families generally make tamales while gathered around a kitchen table since everyone is together for the holidays. Since a good portion of Carl's co-workers' families will be taking over the tamale reigns, I get a little break! It's a bittersweet sabbatical since it is tough work, however, it did bring in some extra mool-ah, and who doesn't love a little moo-lah? Ooooh, Oooooh, ME, choose ME! LOL.

Thus, the commencement of jewelry making and the search for some part time job.

Most recent design: Amelia.





Metalic Beige Glass Pearls join this Sterling Silver 5 Circle Drop Pendant to create a love affair between 18th Century Royalty and 20th Century Beauty!

(Pendant is made of Polished Sterling Silver, Clear Round Cut Cubic-Zirconias, Post-and-Clutch Backing Features Graduated Design. Silver Toggle Clasp Closure.)

And: Twilight.





Polished Blood Red Glass Briolettes and Freshwater Pearls…the perfect necklace that quotes, ”So the lion fell in love with the lamb.”

I did apply for the Store Manager position at GUESS outlet in Conroe. It would be breathtakingly perfect for me since my wardrobe consists of Guess attire to the rim; I don't even work there yet! Imagine the discounts too! That might get me into trouble... so we'll just pray on it and see what course I am prompted to take. I battle with myself on the "progression problem" I have and worry that I would get so far wrapped up in the fashion mayhem that my domestic goddess-ness would shrivel into submission... Ho hum, the things to consider.

I have been busily working on my Grocery Price Book Spreadsheet. I heard about this form the Coupon Contessa on Great Day Houston. It's a fabulous way to track your most frequent purchases and look for repetition and sales and regular priced items at your grocer. Seeing how toggle on the super store fencepost, I am already seeing some errors of my ways! Here is a link to get you to a free downloadable spreadsheet if you're interested. I've seen a steady 20 cents increase on some o Carl's beloved single pack potato chips in the past 3 months and 16 cent difference on my Spring Roll Wrappers for my Egg Rolls! Going back 6 months of receipts was a tough one but if I keep on adding after I purchase, I believe this will be a significant frugal tool!

http://www.uncommonwaytowealth.com/excel-finance-spreadsheets/grocery-savings-spreadsheet-price-book/grocery-price-book-spreadsheet-thanks-for-downloading/

Ohhh the weather outside is (slowly getting) frightening….

They say on the news that we have a cold front coming through. FINALLY! November 21, 2008 and the weather station says today will be in the 50’s and it will be cold for the entire weekend. I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS! This weekend brings lots of things I’VE BEEN WAITING FOR! YEE!

Twilight premiered in Houston at 12:01 a.m. I am DYING to go, it’s KILLING ME….lol. However, if you know me in the slightest, or you care to know a little more, you know I am a TOTAL WEENIE. I got scared at Pirates of the Caribbean. (Who was it that got a fat lip, you or me, Tone?) Anyhow, Carl is working and I am too afraid to attempt Twilight alone in a matinee. I would end up grabbing a stranger 2 rows back. Or something like that. So I have to wait an entire week! Carl is off work Thurs., Fri., and Saturday so we will go then. It will, hopefully, be less crowded anyway. Is Thanksgiving a busy day for theatres?

Ketchup! From Tuesday; I have decided to make the tamales for some moo-lah after all. I made 100 tamales and Carl sold 8 dozen! After he distributed them at work, tamales were apparently the buzz during lunch and Carl has sold another 9 dozen so I am going to be attached to the kitchen table for the remainder of the day. Elbows deep in masa, corn husks and Carne. The first time was Freddie Krueger style sheer terror. Broken down, it was mighty tough. I blame my tamale innocence. Last batch was difficult but not unbearable since I sort of had a method going on. Today, well, today I feel as if I can become the tamale zen master. I plan to conquer these tasty little treats. We’ll call it Dim Sum de Mexico. (Chinese: Dim Sum = Tasty Little Treat. Spanish: de Mexico = of Mexico) AHHHH! It just hit me like a V8 commercial hand on the forehead! What about Dim Sun de Mexico as a Tamale company name!!! I love it! I’m 50% Chinese, so I think it will work!!! Hmmm. Do you think that’s a plausible name for a jewelry shop too? I might have to make it Dim Sum de New Mexico though. Since my Spanish roots are from New Mexico. Is that too much verbiage for the mouth? Oooooh. Tell me whatcha think, please!

Topics:

YAY! It’s getting cooler out here.

Tamales

I’m a wuss at kids movies.

And last but not least:

Jewelry for sale.

I am working on several pieces to go on sale sometime in 2009. I (still) need to research Etsy or an independent website, PayPal and whatever else I might need…. I have been working on my “Twilight” inspired series.


After “Rosalie”, ideas have been flitting around. Some of the pieces are inspired by the 4th book and I hate to ruin it for at least 2 people I know that are still working on getting through the 3rd, so it will be on hold for a little while, at least. (OK ladies, now you have a challenge. Until you get them read, “Twilight” collection is on hold for review!!! LOL.)

That’s all for now. Have a terrific weekend!

Tuesday

So Carl came home last night really excited and happy to report that he shared Tamales at work. It was hard work but I think that this may be the answer to prayers!

I get caught up in lots of things around the house since I have so much energy. I have been thinking about going back to work either at an Optometrist’s office or even back into Sales and Catering for a hotel in Houston, however, Toni and I were talking about my infatuation with progress. I told her that I need something that will keep me busy. A focal point other than my daily rituals but I didn’t want to lose myself in work. (I do that way too often for my own good.)

If I sell some Tamales and maybe some jewelry, I can make a little money, do the things I love and also, technically, stay home! Even if I did some cakes on the side, they are all things that I would be able to set my own hours and work when I want to… I just gotta jump with both feet in! (I just always research why I’m jumping into first!) I’ll keep you posted.

After sending Carl off to work with Carne Adovado Burritos, Chef Salad and Lasagna, I started some dishes and felt my Beading JuJu come back full swing!

I’m not sure if you guys are Twilight fans but I sure am! When I was finished with this, I decided it looked like something Rosalie would wear. What do you Twi-hard fans think?

The Rosalie Necklace.



I think giving necklaces names is fun! Let’s try another one! How about the Lisa?




For now, that is all.

I feel like Buster Poindexter…"So we go rum-bum-bum-bum…Feeling Hot, Hot, Hot…"

WOW!

It was a great but I have to tell ya: busy, busy little renegade bee! I’m glad for the week to start because it’s like a vacation from the weekend!

Friday

Funny story:

Once upon a time there was this girl named Rose. She loves the cooler days and looked outside to find a cloudy, overcast day. She had a big day ahead of her so she excitedly hopped out of bed and ran right into her closet! She looked around and gently ran her right hand across the tops of her many soft sweatshirts, long sleeved blouses and sweaters. She settled on a maroon sweatshirt over layered tank tops. (She loves cold weather: she loves layers!) How happy to be in long sleeves again!

When Rose goes outside and gets into her car, she starts to drive down the road when it starts to feel a little warm. A few seconds later she starts to feel slightly warmer. Windows come down, what is it that she smells? A clear crisp, warm November day! She looks up from the thermostat (that reads 78) to see her neighbor staring at her, with bewilderment (Most likely since she’s in layers and a sweater), in his gym shorts and short sleeved shirt….. NO WORRIES! Rose sticks to her guns and continues to Wal-Mart. While at the Supercenter, she sees sandals, sun dresses and tank tops. Then she starts to sweat a little. No pun, seriously sweat. Cause it was friggin’ hot!

The end.

After I got home from Wal-Mart I put groceries away. Boscoe and I also had a fetch-a-thon in the back yard. He crashed on the floor while I swept and mopped the foyer, kitchen and kitchen nook. I started spaghetti sauce and vacuumed the floor. Did laundry and put away dishes.



While unpacking, I found my beads! I made this necklace after the dishes were done and put away.

Saturday

All day I worked on homemade Tamales and Tamale Sauce! It was a long hard road (NO WONDER PEOPLE USUAL MAKE IT A BIG FAMILY PRODUCTION!) but it was totally worth it! I made red chile sauce from dried chile pods Friday night. Into the crock pot with pork roast and beef roast. I also soaked pinto beans overnight. I let the meat stew for several more hours more on Saturday (16 hours cook time total. Sooooo very tender and juicy!)while getting the masa and corn husks ready…. Fast forward after six hours of rolling tamales by myself… Carl came home and helped with the last 7-8. (We made about 40-50.) Here is Carl rolling tamales. (I forgot to take pictures of myself…a first! LOL.)

Here are a batch cooking. I was steaming Tamales until 11:45 P.M.!



Here is a complete plate with frijoles and arroz!

I got the signed seal of approval from Edgar and Leo (Carl’s friends that are from Mexico!) today when Carl took them to work. *Update: Carl just told me that them tamales have been requested for sale by Ramsey and Raul, a dozen for $10.00.... I gotta think about this one.

Daddy and Bubsy after a long hard day of tamale making:

The jewelry bug bit me, so I made these necklaces within the course of the day too.

Found this in the camera and it was entirely too cute to leave in my hard drive:

Sunday

Got up early, put Tex-Mex-Chili ingredients into a pot, went to church, met a lot of really great people, came home, ate tamales for lunch, swept and vacuumed, put away dishes, re-loaded dish washer, played with some beads, couldn’t get my jewelry mojo on, put away dishes, researched tortilla recipes, went back to church to meet with Bishop for Tithing Settlement meeting, came home, made homemade tortillas, ate chili, did dishes, watched Desperate Housewives, went to bed.

I wanted to blog about so much this weekend but I a tee-widdle-bit pre-occupied! Hope you guys are having a perfect day! See ya tomorrow.

Love,

Me

Fah-Ra-Ra-Ra-Ra..No it's Ra-Ra-Ra-Ra-Ra...

I love Christmas! I love everything that has to do with the season.

I would like to express my excitement because I FOUND MY CAMERA CORD! It was a personal goal to find it and you’ll never guess where it was! In my electronics cord drawer in my office! (My A.K.A. should be OCD…) I was actually surprised that it was there because if I would have remembered I put that stuff away already, I wouldn’t have been complaining about looking for it… Isn’t that the way it always goes?

After finding the cord, I was able to upload all the pictures from the camera! Now that the entire house is unpacked and the Christmas decorations are up, I need a few other hobbies to pursue.

First is another blog titled “Carl’s Travels”. It’s currently on delay until I can get the photos from the last 2 years in order but I’m excited to see how it turns out. It’s going to be an online tribute to our life. He’s also lived in some interesting places. You’ll be able to see the hotels, extended stay motels, ranches and houses he’s lived in!

Second hobby is my obsession with decorating cakes. I’ve been needing to polish my baking skills.

The first cake I decorated this year was dry, but charming.



The second was bought from Wal-Mart but redecorated by yours truly.



Carl’s cake should have seriously had a blog post of it’s very own. Keeping it short: I started it, 10 minutes into baking the power went out (Happens periodically due to Hurricane Ike…STILL…blah) so I tried to “bake it on the stove” which burnt some of the cake in a circle….Cute cake, but a horror story still….



And now…The one I made yesterday…



The B on the top is for Brauning! I've always wondered how difficult it would be to decorate a "wedding" cake. It was a lot of fun! The hardest part was trying to find a calligraphy B that I liked. I doodled for a really long time while the cake chilled. Vanilla cake with Cream Cheese Frosting! Next to tackle...filling! I bet it's gonna be messy.....

If you look to the right you will see that I have a section titled “…Holiday Paraphernalia...”. Please check out those links to get your Christmas party pants on and start dancing around! (Or put your mouse over the hyperlink(s) below, put on a pair of glittery red shoes, click your heels three times, and left click your mouse until a new window pops up!)

Way cute cards from Elephant Juice Designs by Laura.
This will take you to the most talented little lady in the midwest! Her cards are gorgeous and I know that a few of you will fall in love with the damask cards she blogged about yesterday.

Fred Flare for stocking stuffers!
Compliments of Miss Toni, as she surfed the net for stocking stuffers, she passed along this link to uber fantastic gifts under 10 dollars! The “Bacon Band-aids” are in my online shopping cart! They're sooo funny. Who doesn't love a little bacon on their boo-boo?

Wrapping paper is my vice....
You can’t have Christmas without perfectly wrapped packages! I am IN LOVE with a few of the more simple prints. Please take in consideration that these are “countertop rolls”. Department stores use them. If you’re anything like me and like your packages to have a similar look to them, this is the way to go. Savings are here since you buy in such bulk.

Lagniappe...Cloth gift bags! My grandma used to make these...
My Grandmother Schmidt used to put a good lot of our Christmas gifts in cloth bags. Helps eliminate cost (not to mention pesky paper, messy scotch tape, not to mention those paper cuts…OUCH!) and the helps environment! Check these out for a GREEN Christmas… (I have few of these bags but I'm such a sucker for bows!)

Very fun stuff!

Now that I found my camera, some pictures to share with you:

As I explained, I LOVE GIFTS! Wrapping with big bows made from wired ribbon is my favorite. I also like to buy Christmas ornaments and use those as gift tags. I still have all the ones from our house with Sue, Mitch and Carl's names on them, so they're perfect to re-use time and time again!

Here are some pictures of the tree and gifts from last year. The house in New Mexico had this geat little niche to showcase the Tree. Plus, this photo shows a cever way to use a plate hanger as decoration. In this picture you can see the pate hanger onthe wall with presents hung right up there! It's such a festive decoration too!







Lighted Christmas Trees are my favorite! Here is our Tree where it's roots will be for at least 5 years! I just don't think there could be a more perfect place for it!



P.S My camera died in th move and is a month behind on the date I SWEAR this tree wasn't up 10/13/2008! LOL!

(The windows are still bare while I look for some drapery fabric I love enough to buy 46 feet of! YIKES!)Thanks for all your input for the window and tal wall dilemma..Thaomee suggested something like this wich everyone else wholeheartedly agreed to.... Her is the sample picture she sent me. We are thinking about the crowm molding all the way to the top but not so much the brown frames aroundthe windows. I think the vertical lines are nice but do you think they elongate the room too much? Thanks girls, let me know what your thoughts are!

Fee Fie Foh Fum, Can you catch the Grinch's thumb?!

Ding-ding-ding-ding!

We have a winner! LOL. I actually always win the Grinch war but ...don't we all love to rhyme? It can be rather fun!

After Carl finished the platform, strung the lights and moved the tree to the corner... He also crawled under the tree and put the tree skirt on too...I took over and twirled some ribbon, fluffed my bow and trimmed the tree. (Hee-hee, I too take over this portion of the tree, 'cause arrogantly enough...."No one can do it better than me, Me, ME!." LOL! I can't wait to see your pictures!)

Here is the wreath after plumping.

I promise better pics to come after I find that danged cord for my digital camera. It spanks my cell phone's camera ten fold with 7.0 megapixel vs. puny 1.3. (I love ya, Samsung i760!!!)

Speaking of holidays, I wasn't sure if everyone loathes shipping holiday packages as much as I do.....

Now that I am registered with a personal account, I am able to order mailing supplies (Some at NO CHARGE) order stamps and schedule a carrier pickup! You can even print mailing labels, pay for the postage online, slap it on a box and have them pick it up from your house! Check it out!

Buy stamps.

Order mailing/shipping supplies.

Create a shipping label.

Schedule a package pickup.

Sign in and get started!

Now... about jean poolage (When your legs are too short and you have to either wear heels all the time OR let your jeans drag on the ground while wearing flip-flops or flats.) Tonya came up with a GREAT idea! We'll call it Double S...for Shorty Swap! LOL! Instead of waiting in long lines to mail off a pair of jeans, we could us USPS to our benefit! Oooooh, Tonya, we coud be like:

So...if you're short and proud, where do YOU shop?!

They can be bit pricey but I learned that the Buckle has some great jeans for Double S girls. Silver Jeans, BKE and Lucky have the inseam sizes so Jean poolage can be greatly kept at a minimum. Can't wait to hear where you get your jeans. This could be a great excuse to go shopping for clothes. Breathing is also a fabulous reason to go shopping for clothes...

So I have given up hope on No Yeast breads. Another batch of hard-as-a-rock crunch bars came out of my oven yesterday. Does anyone have a good homemade yeast free bread recipe? I mean, making things from scratch will usually save some dinero but I can buy 1o Telera Rolls at Wal-Mart for $2.00 and the yeast there is at least the same amount if not more. Granted, nothing tastes sweeter than homemade bread but I just don't look that great covered in flour.

Needless to say, I used the aforementioned Telera Rolls as bread bowls for our "Corned Beef and Cabbage Chowder". I have never made a bread bowl for soups or appetizers at home before and you know what? I am SOLD on the idea forever! All it took was a small serrated knife and a little patience. I just cut circle in the top of the roll and then dug it out in one piece. I then hollowed it out and popped it in a 350 degree oven for 5 minutes. Nice and toasty!!! Carl gave it rave reviews and even had a second Chowder-in-a-bread-bowl! It made my happy.

It is rather pretty if you see it in person, I promise... Today, I will make it my personal goal to fnd that stupid cord for tranferring pictures from my digital camera.... Hurumph.

OH YEAH. One last thing. I figured this out yesterday when unpacking our Christmas decorations... I suppose I'm a Nativity collector. I bought this pretty glittery ceremic set before Carl and I got together in 2005.

I got this carved wood set from Carl's mom afer we were married in 2006.

Last year she bought me this beautiful hand crafted Willow Tree set!

Nativity scenes are just so wonderful! I never really thought about how many I had before. You can never see too many births of Jesus... We are so very lucky to have him. (YAY!)

(FYI: From http://www.nativitysets.com/)

How To Arrange A Nativity Set

Each figure in a nativity scene has meaning, and the manner in which they are arranged will contribute to the significance and visual appeal of an outdoor nativity scene. The following guidelines will help you to arrange a meaningful and accurate nativity set.

Nativity sets vary greatly in size and number of pieces, but there are still general rules that can be followed when arranging a nativity scene. Your goal should be to display a nativity scene that is as respectful and accurate as possible. Each figure has meaning, and a proper arrangement will add great depth and significance to a Christmas display.

The Central FiguresA standard nativity set has seven pieces, but nativity scenes can always be enhanced with new figures. Secondary nativity figures are best positioned as onlookers outside the circle of main characters mentioned in the Biblical nativity stories of Matthew and Luke.

The central position in any nativity scene should be occupied by the Christ child. He is the reason for the display. Your nativity set should include a stable and manger. Place the manger at the center of the stable. A nativity tradition is to not place the baby Jesus in the manger until Christmas morning, but it is not necessary to follow this practice.

The nativity figure closest to Christ should be His mother, the Virgin Mary. A common practice is to place the figure of Mary on one side of the Christ child and His father Joseph on the other. However, some nativity icons actually display Joseph at a distance from the manger, looking away from Christ with an old man representing Satan at his side. The purpose of this is to give place in the nativity scene to the role of doubt in human faith.

Spacing and Secondary Figures Location will have some bearing on the spacing of nativity figures. An outdoor nativity set will obviously offer more space than an indoor nativity set, but if you are displaying high quality figurines you may wish to keep the scene inside.

Consider the nativity stories in the Bible when positioning secondary nativity figures. Place your nativity figures in concentric circles to emphasize their meaning and increase visibility.

If you have nativity pieces representing shepherds or the three wise men, these can be placed in the first circle. If you have both, placing the shepherds closer than the three Magi would be in keeping with the Biblical accounts, which indicate that the shepherds visited the Christ child before the three kings. In some outdoor nativity sets, a shepherd boy is used as a stand-in for shepherds.

The commonest secondary figures besides these are angels and animals. An ideal position for nativity angels is above your outdoor nativity set. If this is impossible, they may be placed within the stable behind the holy family.

The animals commonly used in nativity sets outdoors are sheep, oxen, and camels. The purpose of these figures is to remind you of the humbleness of Christ's birth, or in the case of the camels, the long journey of the Magi. The best way to incorporate nativity animals into an outdoor scene is to place them next to appropriate characters: sheep with the shepherds, camels with the three wisemen.

A day later but not a dollar short!

I guess I have to start off by explaining….

I am a total busy body and am usually doing 10 things at once for 12-14 hour stints. Since I haven’t been working (as in employed by a company outside of my home) I would get up at whatever time Carl gives me morning kisses (5:00-5:30ish) and roll back over and snuggle with Boscoe Bear until 8:00-8:30ish, give or take an hour. Then I would unpack, plan dinner, yadda-yadda, etcetera....

(For example: Strip the bed of linens, start the washer, fold the clothes in the dryer. Haul some boxes from the garage. Go back to garage and grab the step-stool. Go to kitchen and take out spices, teas, baking goods from cabinet. Measure, cut and line cabinet. Re-organize shelves. Take picture. Go to garage and grab Pfaltzgraff plates. Unpack the plates. Remove all boxes from closet under-he-staircase closet. Take all empty boxes upstairs. (I have a strange infatuation with keeping original boxes for crock pots, fondue sets, etc….) Put boxes away in attic. Take a folded down moving box out of the attic. Run downstairs, get packing tape, re-fold and re-tape moving box. Pack Alex’s clothes that he left in the guestroom closet in the box. Tape it up and put it in the storage. Run back downstairs, grab the duster. Dust the closet. Run back downstairs, grab the vacuum (that I just put in the newly cleaned out under-the-staircase closet) and vacuum the spare bedroom. Go back to the kitchen. Move all the white dishes from the left side of dishes cabinet and stack them in symmetrical order. Move Seychelles Green Sea dishes to empty side of dishes cabinet. Take a picture. Get bag of foliage in Disney bag out of pantry. Move step ladder to other side of kitchen. Move decorative plates above cabinets. Cabinet ledge too deep. Climb down off countertops. Go back to garage. Get some empty boxes. Get back up on countertops. Put down cardboard. Display items. Crawl back down and take picture. Take foliage out of bag. (Remember, symmetry is my Freddie Krueger.) Drag stepladder across kitchen tile. Climb back up on opposite countertops. Grab display items. Crawl back down, go back to garage and get more cardboard boxes. Re-line cabinets tops with boxes and display items. Get back down. Separate foliage into even piles. Go back up. Add green. Come back down. Drag ladder, climb up add green. Down. Up. Add flowers. Drag ladder. Up. Flowers. Down. Picture…Send photo-mail to email while heading to laundry room to move linens to dryer. Start washing machine with detergent. Leave phone on dryer, go to master bedroom closet. Sort all of (He likes to leave these on the floor NEXT to the hamper, anybody else married to one of these? LOL.) Carl’s dirty electrician’s clothes. Pull all the crap out of his pockets and add it to the “Carl’s pocket crap pile” on the bathroom sink counter. Take laundry basket to laundry room and dump into washer. Grab cell phone. Say a prayer that I’m not washing clothes by hand. (Still haunting me.) Go to garage. Grab box labeled “winter coats and other random crap from living room closet”. Carl obviously packed this box. Start hanging coats in living room closet. Cut taped flaps on box. Fold up and put by staircase to take back upstairs to attic. Go to garage. Grab a box of stuff. Ooooooh. Dehydrator! Punch bowls. Serving dishes. These aren’t for everyday use so I stick these in the back corner of the under-the-staircase- closet. Oooooh. This reminds me that I want to put our suitcases in here, so I return to the bedroom. Grab my 3 piece luggage set. Stuff Carry-on bag in little carry-on suitcase and that suitcase into the big luggage bag. Like nestle boxes! I contemplate taking a picture of this, decide against it. Grab Carl’s suitcase and drag both pieces to the closet and stow away. Remember that the vacuum needs to reside here as well. Sprint back up the stairs; go into the “Alex” guestroom. Wind up cord. Carry vacuum downstairs. I then realize I need to vacuum after moving all the dirty dusty boxes in from the garage. Grab broom from garage. Sweep kitchen. Stop. Grab duster (which is inconveniently UPSTAIRS!) dust off counters from my sandals on the kitchen counters and then get wet rag and wash countertops now that they're dut free. Resume sweeping onto formal dining room carpets. Sweep foyer into the living room and kitchen nook into other side of living room. Uncoil cord and vacuum the entire downstairs. Empty vacuum cylinder into trash. Return to kitchen to get broom. Put it away in garage. Get a soda. Text Lisa. Retrieve linens from dryer. Put back on bed. Make bed. Go back to laundry room. Put clothes in dryer. Start washer. Go back to bedroom. Grab whites. Load washing machine, which reminds me that I need to start the dishwasher after I eat something. Crap! I forgot to eat something. Get a soda. Chug some of it. Grab a plate. Put it back. Better use a white plate since there are 15 up there, and there should really be 14 instead of 15 on one side of the cabinet and 7 Sea Green ones on the other, leave 8 up there, yes. Decide on white plate. Make Salami and Brie on Wheat crackers while adding Beans to large pot to boil and soak. Finish eating. Load dishwasher, add soap and start her up!....OK, so I write the way I get caught up in doing stuff. At this time, it’s like 11:00 a.m. on his example day. Are you SERIOUS? I’ve only been up for like 2 hours by the time I’ve done all this crap….so back to my initial blog of today.)

I continuously go about the day re-doing every room in my house. Carl comes home, we have dinner. Talk about our day, eat dessert. He generally will take Boscoe for a walk and then relax on the couch and watch TV.

I am not a big TV watcher. I was when I was younger but now I just crave life and rarely watch anything. Grey’s is something I try to tune in to and an occasional episode of Desperate Housewives but I’m still not a religious watcher of any TV show……

Well, I am usually busy rinsing dishes. Unloading the dishwasher, neurotically balancing my cabinets with the clean stuff, re-loading, packing lunches or freezing leftover food. Wiping down the table and maybe sweeping the floor. My poor hubby is so tired he’s usually asleep by the time I’m done! So he told me the other day that he felt neglected. It was so cute! So I have vowed to get up in the mornings with him and use the extra hours in the morning for emails, blogging and additional freakishly OCD behavior. LOL.

Boscoe is not happy about 5:30 AM blogging….It’s just too early for him!



So the real reason for this blog.

Dinner last night. We had the ever tasty Corned Beef and Cabbage. Now, I wouldn’t blog about this since I have already explained our weird rituals in the Brauning Household in Texas, but I found a GREAT recipe for Corned Beef and Cabbage “Gravy” if you will. You thicken up the sauce with rue and add a few TBSPs of mustard to taste. No salt needed of course because the Beef Stock from the cured Beef is enough to dehydrate ANYONE… So if you do Corned Beef and Cabbage at your house for St. Patrick’s Day, keep some stock.







Chop some cabbage and set aside for your “gravy”. Transfer your Cabbage, Potatoes, Onion and Beef into a serving plate. Add chopped cabbage to your stock and boil the reserved raw cabbage until tender. Whisk some mustard and flour (Or Wondra…ahhhhh. How we love Wondra!) in water until mixed thoroughly. Add to stock until thickened. I put a few scoops of ground Cayenne into it because well, I put ground Cayenne in everything and we like spicy! And it was delicious! There is a lot left over so I’m thinking of a Cabbage Soup? I’ll let you know how it turns out. OH.

I was looking for a nice bread to compliment our meal. I don’t have any yeast on hand so I googled yeast free bread. I made Rotti. It could have been the recipe I found but it was SO BAD, it makes me cringe at the thought of trying any other Rotti recipe. Urgggggle. I only share it so that if you come acrossed it in your recipe research, you back away slowly!

Rotti:
1 cup wheat flour
1 tsp Vegetable Flour
Salt to taste
Warm water until dough is thick

PLEASE I BEG OF YOU; DON’T GO THERE!

Well, Now that I’ve found a new yeast-less bread recipe to try, went through all my emails, paid bills, balanced my check book. Talked to Carl and Lisa on the phone, and am ready to publish my post I will see ya all tomorrow. Write devilishly good things on your blogs! I’ll be waiting to see them! Ciao Bella!

A lot of my favorite things….

I am about to blog about things from weather to tasty inspired desserts! YAY! I hope you’re having as good of a day as I am.

Mood: Severely Thankful


Monday, November 10, 2008


Today it was....

I was so happy because it was the coolest day I have experienced since being in Texas! It was a steady 66 degrees, drizzly and foggy. I LOVE this weather. A lot of people prefer flip-flops and sunny days; I’m all for sunny days but my motto is. “You can always put more clothes on but you can only take so much off before you get arrested.” I’ve enjoyed my flip flop weather but I was going to be mighty sad if I couldn’t wear this great jacket I found at Target last year for $7.00!


(Ya just gotta love Target!)

I do love my flip-flops but I gladly cloaked my feet in my *gasp* Mary Jane flats. (*Usually, I would run a marathon in stiletto sandals if someone would let me.) Why I wore the flats, I couldn’t even explain it, however, I felt like it, so I did. Take a walk in my shoes as I tour you on my Monday….




(P.s. being this short should be a sin.
Look at how much jean leg is pooled around my midget legs!)

As I excitedly snapped a few photos of my jacket, Boscoe looked on. I think he tries to ignore me when I take pictures of myself because he gets this confused look when my cell phone makes the snappy sound…. He strains his neck to the right and then the left.




After the fake photo shoot, I was off to Wal-Mart to buy the cow some dog food. (I’m not sure if the pricing is the same where you’re at, but I saved a dollar on Boscoe’s Beneful Original 40-pound bag by going to Wal-Mart versus Super Target. I’m a die-hard Super Target fan, otherwise.)

As I perused the super store, I came across something that will change my dessert life for the rest of my BEING!

For Carl, Laura and all you other Pumpkin fans……



Can you read that?! It’s a Jell-O Limited Edition Flavored pudding….. PUMPKIN SPICE!

I pondered as I wondered….How delicious would look in a Brandy Glass? How tasty with a dollop of cool whip? Sheesh! It hit me like an epiphany! (Definition: a sudden, intuitive perception of or insight into the reality or essential meaning of something, usually initiated by some simple, homely, or commonplace occurrence or experience....I didn't know what it meant until I looked it up a month ago...) But it only got better when I got home and started mixing the Pumpkin Spice Instant Pudding with 2% milk…Thus, the Rosie Posie Cheatin’ Puddin’ Pie was born!





OH YES! I did it. I so went there. And if you’re wondering…YES! IT IS GOOD. As I envisioned dousing the pudding with whipped cream, I took it a step further. I know what you’re thinking. She DIDN’T….LOL. I looked for some graham cracker crumbs to sprinkle as a “fake crust” but I was all out. I thought I’d just call Carl and tell him to pick up some Honey Graham but then…it caught my eye! Carl’s cereal!


WOW! If you can find Post Trail Mix Crunch, I highly recommend it for your “fake mini pies”. It’s got toasted almonds, granola and crunchy goodness that compliments the smooth, creamy, pudding goodness! (Let me know if you use anything else, please.)

For Lisa, Toni and all the rest of us Chocolate fans…..





Rosie Posie Cheatin’ Puddin’ Pie


Ingredients:
1 package (Your choice flavored) Pudding
Crunchy topping
Whipped Cream
Fun glasses

Directions:
Make pudding as directed and pour to set in brandy, martini, etc. glasses. Right before serving, sprinkle some crunchy goodness and add dollop of whipped cream. Enjoy!

This seriously took 4 minutes prep time tops. 30 seconds to measure milk. 2 minutes to whisk instant pudding. (Minus 5 minutes to set pudding.) 30 seconds to sprinkle cereal and 1 minute to dollop whipped cream. I say 1 minute because I wanted to make sure it was pretty!

Soooooo yummy!



Ok. Now that I got that dessert adventure out of the way. (Freakish, I know but I was SO excited to write about this dessert!)

Carl came home from work early! Every year we get into what I like to call the Grinch War. I love Christmas. It is my favorite holiday. It groups up all the things I love. Family, Jesus, Friends, gift giving, twinkling lights, Christmas Trees, baked goods, Turkey, all things good and great! Any who, I decorate before Thanksgiving usually because I like the house to have the warm feeling when we have Thanksgiving dinner. Carl (as everyone else I know) tells me it’s too soon. However, this year I had a good argument. We saw Christmas ads on television. I told Carl that since stores can advertise for Christmas, I can advertise for Christmas! He whole heartedly complied and even strung the lights while Boscoe watched.



Tuesday, November 11, 2008




Today is Veteran's Day!
I have a lot of loved ones that has, is or going into the service for us, as Americans.

Service [sur-vis]: an act of helpful activity; help; aid: to do someone a service.

Thank you so very much! I know that my life would not be the same without the love and dedication our soldiers have to our nation and to our people. May you feel all the blessings the Lord has in store for you and your family.

It's also mildly drizzly and foggy outside so I get to wear my Lakeside, Ohio sweater. Pretty, pretty, pink, fuzzy sweater!



Well, this must have been the longest post in blog history. Again, I hope you try the dessert. Thanks for reading! Love, me.

P.S. Make sure to say a little prayer and thank Heavenly Father. Life is good and He allows it! Godspeed to you and your family to have a blessed day!

A little New Mexico in Texas

We had Rosie's Green Chile Enchiladas last night for dinner, Ohhhhh My. I put "Rosie's" in front of it because I put a little spin on the traditional recipes that float around. It was very yummy and hope that it will be a favorite of yours as well! It's very easy and worth the time spent making it!

Rosie's Green Chile Enchiladas




Ingredients:

2 cups Shredded Chicken Breast(Approx. 1 Chicken breast boiled and shredded)
2 small cans of diced Green Chiles
2 small cans of cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 TBSP crushed red peppers (If you like it spicy)
8 corn tortillas
4 slices of Swiss Cheese
5 springs of cilantro chopped

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Mix together chicken, green chiles, soup, milk, garlic powder, salt and crushed red pepper together until well mixed. Spread thin layer of mixture on the bottom of an ungreased 8"x9" pan. Put down a layer or tortillas. Mixture, Tortillas, mixture..etc until you lastly spread a thin layer of mixture on top. Top off with Swiss cheese. Cover with aluminum foil and back for 1 hour. Remove from oven and sprinkle cilantro on top before serving.

Then we had blueberry jello set in martini glasses for dessert! Yummy! I had forgotten how happy jello can make a person. Look how happy Carl was to be enjoying it! LOL!



It was the perfect meal after tackling the cabinets all day...

Before:


After:


Inside peak of spices, baking paraphernalia, herbal teas and cocoas (I LOVE COCOAS!!)


I was a little hesitant to buy these beautiful Pfaltzgraff dishes because I am a total freak about my dishes cupboard. Everything has to line up in pairs and be symmetrical. I would have gotten rid of my white set, however I love to throw dinner parties and I have setting for 16 with the white dish set and Big Lots only had 2 set of Seychelles Green Sea. If Big Lots wouldn't have had these 70.00 sets marked down to 15 BUCKS, I would have never....I blame BIG LOTS! (JK..they're one of my FAVE stores EVER...anywho...) 140.00's worth of dishes for 30.00 is my kind of hot smokin' deal!



Luckily they don't look too cluttered nestled on the opposite side from the white dishes.


OHHHH and before I forget, I got a kick out of finding these while unpacking. They are coconut ceramics I made in art class in HS. I sat with Jeff Casad. We were listening to "If you like Pina Coladas" on the radio which inspired the lime capped coconut duo. Jeff made a penguin...I fund that while packing in NM but once recovered, I will post a pic of that too. Haha. Memories.

Tv/Game Room/Office

Built in entertainment nook and closed cabinet doors:


Behind closed doors lies toys/books/activities sorted by age appropriate shelf height:




Built in Office Desk/Shelves/File cabinets:


OCD is serious and I am proud to have a mild case. I loaf it like bread :)

Kitchen Dining Nook

Nothing too fancy, however, definitely improved!

Before:


With some chairs and a table:


With Flowers and curtains:

Carl is old. His cake made him forever young.

Once upon a time Carl told me, "You're going to be 26. Last year you turned 25 and I thought that was old but now that I think about it. 26 is really old."

Yes, my husband often forgets to think before he speaks. I believe it's a disease called I'm-a-boy-itis. LOL.

We had a little fiesta de compleanos for his birthday yesterday. Complete with the Chicken Dance and dinosaurs! It involved him, me and Boscoe. We partied it up!

Cake that was the inspiration:



Cake we ended up with:

Carl kinda looks like Johnny Depp?

I had my same costume from last year, too busy with the move to create new costume for both Carl and myself (with the move and various oher things being me entails...) So here we are!


It was brought to our attention that Carl made very impresive Cap'n Jack Sparrow/Johnny Depp impersonator...What do you think?

This was my trusty first mate last year...

We missed you this year, Sue! We had lots of kids and could of used your help to protect our booty from the trick or treaters!

*Warning: This post may contain unpleasureable reading material

Since it was virtually IMPOSSIBLE to get anyone to talk to me, I wrote the email below to that cracked-out apartment property we lived in in McKinney:

To Whom It May Concern,

I have yet to receive a call back from the message I left on Saturday, November 1st, as well as the one left this morning, therefore I am attempting to contact someone via email.

Often when I call, I will not be able to get a hold of a leasing agent. I have been successful at speaking to a live person five times during my residency at this property (I have been a resident for a month and a half). Once I spoke with Jessica, another time I saw her in the office. I have spoken to Christina in the office twice on separate occasions and on the telephone the day we moved in. I have NEVER received a call back when I have left a message. The only time I am able to speak to Jessica or Christina, I call from my husband's cell phone. Attempts to go into the leasing office is a disaster since there is rarely anyone there to open the door. With the time spent out of the office, I would assume that the complex is bursting at the rim with new tenants, however, I am under the impression that my own building has 3 vacant apartments.

When I moved in originally, I waited for a full week to receive my lease. After several meetings with the locked leasing office door and messages kept by the voicemail machine Jessica left the lease attached to my apartment door. (She told me that it had been on Christina's desk for a week.) I watched her leave it there from my dining area table since I could see her through the window.

I called and left messages in regards to my extra apartment key, pool key, gym key and mailbox keys to no avail. I spoke with Jessica again, since Christina was unavailable (yet again) and was promised to have my keys left on my kitchen counter. No keys ever came. After 2 weeks of waiting, I journeyed down to the leasing office. I spoke with Christina and she was able to give me my extra apartment key and gym key. She explained that their was only one mailbox key available and that she would need to have one of the maintenance men make my copies. She handed me that mailbox key and instructed me to check my mailbox and bring it back to her so she could have my copies made. That mailbox key would not even open my mailbox! I had to wait an additional 2 days until my husband could go down to the office and get correct keys.

I called on Friday since my husband had his job transfer him from Dallas area to Houston and I wanted to get a copy of my lease agreement, as well as, discuss my options. I did not hear back from anyone so both my husband and I kept an eye on the leasing office while moving our belongings. On Saturday afternoon we caught up with Christina where she gave us the fax number to send a fax from Carl's company stating a transfer so we would not incur any early move out fees.

On November 3, yesterday, I called and left a message for "Christina or someone in the office" to call me back about the keys left in the drop box Saturday. No one returned my phone call. Carl called yesterday afternoon and spoke with Jessica. She stated that there would be a 60 day rent due since we had not put in any notice and there would be other charges. If there was someone we had to sublease the apartment, there would be no charges. Verbal agreements with your staff have been less than unsatisfactory, therefore I am requesting things in writing today for the record.

I am not sure of my relationship with staff is, I don't know if it's because I am a woman, I wouldn't think so, but I am also Asian.

Communication is impossible with your staff and it is imperative that I speak to someone today. My cell phone number is XXX-XXX-XXXX and I am emailing as a second point of contact. I am requesting the name/address/telephone number to the property owner and a call back by the end of today's business hours at 5:30 p.m.

Regards,

Rosemarie Brauning

Needless to say, the email hit home to someone and she was very upset with me. She then proceeded to YELL AT ME. She told me that calling her discriminating was a serious offense and that she was offended that I would ever make such a claim. I asked her why no one ever returned my phone calls and she told me that the office returns phone calls by the number on file for the apartment. I told her, "When I take down a voicemail I write down the name and telephone number that someone leaves on the message." Low and behold she didn't have a response and continued to tell me that she was offended that I would insist she didn't call me back because of my race or gender. was then told that she stays until 8 o'clock at night and drives an hour home, which she does not get paid over time for. She also told me she has seen me through the window coming and going. I asked her if she saw me coming and going, why did she have a sign on the door saying she wasn't in the office? She responded with, "I never take a lunch, I finally took a lunch today and I haven't in a really long time." Finally, I told her that I just wanted someone to call me back since I never hear from anyone. I needed a different approach and sending the email was obviously the only effective way for someone to frggin' call me.

Grrrr....seriously. If I would have ever leased apartments for a living at any time of my life I would have loved to say, "I did your job once and quite frankly, I did it better than you."

Oh well, it's over and all is settled. I wish there could have been a nicer way to diffuse the situation but at least someone finally called me back.

What we've been up to thus far...

1 of the guest rooms before


After


This is my favorite part!



Guest Bathroom upstairs


After






RosieMacGyver Lamp:
1 Bird Cage Stand
1 Lantern
1 Candle Holder
1 Fake Candle

Super glue the candle holder into the middle of the lantern. Turn on the fake flame candle and put into candle holder. Close door to Lantern and hang from Bird Cage. You have now made a Lamp from a Bird cage and random findings from Big Lots.