Spring Cleaning

Today was my chance to get some major cleaning done. I started the day off with the same not so healthy breakfast as I've had the past few days. The last raisin creme pie, half an apple and a big cup of half caf., actually 2 big cups.

I decided to clean out my lower cabinets today, I also went through the closet and picked out some things to take to Goodwill. I had a few vegetable crackers with roasted red pepper hummus and Mexican blend cheese sprinkled on top for a snack when I took a break from cleaning. I like this flavor the best of the store brands I've tried, but nothing beat homemade.

I had a late lunch. I was too busy cleaning to eat. I finally stopped for a sandwich made with a Veggie Patch Chick'n Cutlet, white American cheese, barbecue sauce, onion, pickle, mayo, & black pepper on a hoagie bun.

I had the crumby leftover barbecue potato chips left in the bag with my sandwich. The two were perfect together.

This evening I had another Good Humor Strawberry Shortcake. It was a hot day, great for eating ice cream.

I had a cheese quesadilla with shredded Mexican blend cheese, a slice of white American, cumin, garlic, Mexican oregano, and cilantro, with taco sauce drizzled over it. It wasn't exactly what I was in the mood for. I thought it was, but it just made me feel sort of icky after eating it. Too much cheese & ice cream today I think.

I had my quesadilla while watching the movie we got from Netflix, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo with Daniel Craig & Rooney Mara. I'd already read the books and saw the foreign version of the movie. I was told that it would be pretty graphic, (I'm not much for bloody movies) but it really wasn't any worse than the foreign version. The was more nudity than blood. Some things were a bit different from the book, but it was still pretty well done. I believe the foreign version, kept closer to the story line of the book. I do prefer not having to read subtitles, but I liked both movies with some parts better than the other in each. I'm giving it 4 stars.

I guess I'll be sleeping the day away tomorrow, since I've managed to stay awake all night. I may never have a normal sleep pattern. Off to bed, have a great night/day!!!

Kraft Creamy Poppyseed Dressing Review

Since I didn't get Sunday's post up last night and I didn't have a chance to work on it today, I'm just now getting to it. Yesterday's breakfast was half a pumpernickel bagel with cream cheese and a big cup of mostly decaf. Sleep was not great, but more than I've had lately, so I was feeling fairly refreshed.

We had dinner at Mom's. I manage to miss a few photos as usual. This time it was the barbecued chicken and the crab cakes. I did get a photo of the baked chicken.

There was also beef brisket.

Broccoli Casserole

Mashed Potatoes

Corn on the Cob

A mini salad bar, lol, with Romaine, Onion, Mandarin oranges, strawberries, mini sweet pepper slices, cucumber, radishes, sunflower seeds, chopped pecans, and Kraft Creamy Poppyseed Dressing. It wasn't all meant to go together and I'm pretty sure there were some other dressings involved. The poppyseed dressing was actually suppose to go with the fruit, nuts, and Romaine. It was inspired by a recipe I saw online, but not exactly the same. I hope to actually try the recipe eventually.

The Kraft Creamy Poppyseed dressing was pretty good. It has sour cream in it, but reminds me more of mayo. It also has a hint of mustard. It is a sort of sweet dressing. I really didn't notice the flavor of the poppyseeds so much. It was not bad with the fruit. I would be interested in making the dressing from the recipe to compare, but I would eat this again. I'm going to give it 4 stars.

We also had rolls, which I totally forgot and didn't get the any of them. I brought a few home, but they quickly disappeared before I could get one.

Here on my plate there was the salad without the dressing, because I almost forgot about it until I sat down to eat. I used the Romaine, onions, strawberries, oranges, peppers, and pecans in mine. I also had a huge corn on the cob, a couple of the crab cakes, which I didn't get a picture of before hand, and some of the broccoli casserole.

Lynda made a delicious peanut butter cake, which reminded me of the cake my Grandma brought home from the school where she worked, when I was little. I had looked for a recipe many times to duplicate it, but had never tried to make it. It may not have been the same exactly, but it was close enough to bring back good memories.

I had my slice with a big cup of decaf coffee. This was really good.

I Pinned the recipe on Pinterest.

We sat after we ate and watched (the 4th) Mission Impossible - Ghost Protocol, starring Tom Cruise. It is definitely action packed, so we really had to keep an eye on the screen, no cruising the internet while watching this one. I really liked it, probably as well as the others I've seen. It's been a while, but I do remember that I liked them a lot. The movie is also getting 4 stars.

I won't be staying up late enough to get today's photos posted, but I will try to get them out tomorrow, earlier, so that I can post tomorrow's as well. Have a great night/day!!!

Busy Day

It's been a busy day and as usual, I'm late getting my post done. I slept pretty good last night. I went with mostly decaf this morning, half an apple danish and half an apple.

Since I didn't stay home yesterday and clean, etc, as I had planned, I had to get some cleaning done today. I threw in some laundry first thing. I put the pups outside while I got some vacuuming done. While I was running the vacuum, they were outside putting on perfume. Definitely not my brand, so I spent a good bit of the day bathing dogs. 

Here's Miss Wiggles after her bath trying to look all innocent.

Pepper here, trying to look cute, hoping he won't be next. He got lucky, he was the only one who didn't indulge. Good dog!!

After bathing dogs, I took a break and had some lunch. I had the last of my Veggie Pesto Alfredo Linguine. It looks better without the extra cheese and I really didn't miss it.

I also got out in the yard this evening and worked in my flower bed. My Azalea had been taken over by vines. I cleared it back to find it had grown quite a bit and had beautiful pink blooms all over it.

I also had a cake to bake today. I made a yellow butter cake for tomorrows dessert. We'll be celebrating DH's birthday this week.

I went with something simple for dinner, since the boys were out and I had some tofurky slices that I needed to use. I had another wrap similar to the one I have a few days ago. It was made with a flour tortilla, light ranch dressing, cumin, butter lettuce leaves, peppered tofurky slices, shredded colby, bell pepper, onion, taco sauce, and a couple of jalapeno pickle spears.

I even managed a photo after rolling it up. You know it was a little messy, but it was really good.

I rewarded myself after dinner for all I'd accomplished today. I had some raisins and watched a movie. I watched Home Room, a drama about a high school shooting incident and how it effected the students with Busy Philipps and Erika Christensen. It's not PG, but the story line is good. Lucas came in about halfway through. He sat and watched the rest with me. He even thought it was a good movie. I'm giving it 4 stars.

Now, it's late and I need my sleep. Have a great night/day!!!

Celestial Seasonings Wild Berry Zinger Review

I really slept late this morning. I got started reading my book (The Help) last night. It was pretty later before I got to sleep. Breakfast was more like lunch, but I really had my heart set on having one of the apple danishes we'd gotten from Aldis. I made mostly decaf coffee, since it was so late and had half and apple with my danish. I was so full after breakfast. Having 2 large cups of coffee with it helped make it so filling.

Lunch was late because breakfast was late. We considered it and early dinner. We had a cookout with the neighbors. I totally forgot my camera. They cooked steaks, scallops, and fish. We brought Mahi Mahi and Ahi Tuna, which stands up well on the grill.

I made my Garden Pasta Salad with Cream Dill Dressing to take along. I just used cucumber chunks and onion for the vegetables, but that's because, I knew Lucas wouldn't help eat the leftovers with most other veggies, but there wasn't much leftover to worry about. We also had garlic bread. I just took pictures of the leftovers I brought home, since I didn't think about my camera sooner.

The guys left to go to the shooting match after we came home. I stayed home to watch a chick flick. I had a few Benton's Best Key Lime Cookie Straws, which we'd gotten at Aldis, and a cup of tea while I searched Netflix for a instant watch movie.

I bought a Celestial Seasonings Herbal Tea variety pack which was caffeine free. I tried the Wild Berry Zinger.

The tea was delicious. I could drink this tea hot or cold. It has a wonderfully tart berry flavor. I added just a spoon full of honey to my cup. This tea flavor gets 5 stars from me. The cookies are sort of like shortbread dusted with a tart powdery sugar. Unfortunately the tartness of the cookies is just on the outside, but I still really liked them. I giving them 4 stars. They also had Lemon Cookie Straws.

Later once I'd decided on a movie. I had a snack pack of the Pop Secret butter popcorn with some added Parmesan cheese and Marjoram.  I also had a few raisins.

The movie I watched was The Rebound with Catherine Zeta-Jones. I really liked this move. It's sort of a romantic comedy. I was afraid I would be disappointed, but happily I wasn't. I was just a little shocked at how open they were with the children about certain things, but it was done in very funny ways. I'm still giving it 4 stars.

Now I've really got to get to bed so that I can get up earlier tomorrow. Have a great night/day!!!

Sci-Fi Movie Night

I am so tired tonight, I think I will try to make this as short as possible. I didn't do a lot today, but I didn't sleep well last night. I didn't get up until around 8:30 this morning, but it certainly felt early. I fixed a cup of half caf coffee and ate the last piece of the cinnamon rolls along with half an apple. I only had one cup of half caf, since I was out of decaf to mix with it. 

I had plans to ride with Lindsay today to take Mary for her 2 yr. check up. I worked around the house some, getting a few things done that I didn't get done the day before, until time to go. 

I was also able to have lunch before they got here. I made myself a peppered tofurky ranch wrap with iceberg, green pepper, onion, and grated carrot.

It wasn't exactly what I was in the mood for and it would have probably been better with some sort of cheese and a pickle.

I was just getting ready for a snack when Lindsay and the girls arrived. I had a few graham crackers with peanut butter & honey on them. Lexi had a glass of chocolate milk and Mary & Rachel took a nap. Lexi didn't have any graham crackers, but still wanted to be in the photo.

I did have to do a lot of baby lifting today, since Lindsay isn't suppose to lift anything heavier than the baby, maybe that's why I'm so tired. Rachel is easier to manage when she's in her car seat and Mary still has to be lifted in and out of the truck, etc. Mary was still moody today, but she did wonderfully for the doctor. Apparently it was just the rest of us that she had a problem with.

I made it back in one piece and without harming any child, so I guess it was a good day. I had a nice dinner as well. I had a MSF riblet with leftover egg noodles and a can of green beans which I cooked in a little oil with some onion and a little soy sauce. The green beans were really good. I ate the whole can. We also had canned bisuits for dinner. Needless to say, I was very full after dinner.

 I found a movie on Netflix instant watch tonight. Mostly reruns on tv or nothing I was interested in. I watched Aeon Flux with Charlize Theron. It's not really my type of movie, but I had never heard of it and it sounded like it might be good. I wasn't disappointed. It was sort of a Matrix type movie, a lot of futuristic fantasy action with a decent story line which it pays to follow. I'm giving this one 4 stars.

Well, this didn't turn out as short as I'd planned. I just get to typing and forget. I am tired though, so I'm outa here. Have a great night/day!!!

Progresso Homestyle Minestrone Review

This morning was a rushed morning. I wasn't very rested. I'd taken a Melatonin, but still couldn't sleep very well. After several hours of tossing and turning, I was finally able to get to sleep, but unfortunately, it wasn't long until time to get up. I gave myself an hour and half to get ready, but I needed 2. I had dogs to deal with, coffee to make, and a shower to take, not to mention several other things. I got my coffee and a cinnamon roll to go. I didn't take time for them until I got to Lindsay's.

Today we had a whiny baby. Mary was not a happy camper for some reason. I think she just wasn't feeling well, but we aren't sure why. Nothing was obviously wrong. Luckily Lexi was very good and was hardly any trouble. By the time I left, Mary seemed to be feeling a little better. She'd gotten in a couple of good naps, some Motrin, and a bath.

I had soup for lunch, Progresso's High Fiber Homestyle Minestrone.

I am very impressed with Progresso so far. I do wish they offered more vegetarian options, but at least the ones they offer are pretty good. It had a really good flavor and didn't have any Zucchini. I was surprised. It seems like 3/4 of all vegetarian products contain Zucchini. I know there are a lot of people who love zucchini, but I'm sorry to say, I am not one of them. This soup does have spinach, pasta, carrots, celery, garbanzo beans, & kidney beans though, which I like. Oh, and there is also some potato. I may have missed something, but that's most of it. I ate the whole can and enjoyed it. I'm giving this one 4 stars. It's very good, but I still think my minestrone is better.

I had a couple of wheat crackers with peanut butter after I had my soup. I had one more a little later.

I also munched on a handful of pretzel M&M's when I got home before heating some of the leftover egg noodles and mixed veggies.

I watched Rango for the heck of it, after dinner. There was nothing else on tv and I also ate the last of the Doritos while I uploaded photos and watched the movie. The movie was pretty good. It's animated of course and the main character is played by Johnny Depp, who's voice is quite different at times. For an animated film is was pretty good. I probably wouldn't have wanted my kids to see it, but then I didn't want them to see Shrek either. It really wasn't that bad. No bad words, just a suggestion here or there and you might not want your kids going around saying "Son of a", even though the last part was never actually said. I'm still giving it 4 stars.

Now I'm off to bed with no time for reading unfortunately. Have a great night/day!!!