Long Day Short Post

I'm feeling kind of crappy tonight, so I'm just going to hit the high spots and call it a night. I have a severe headache nagging me, not to mention I'm tired. 

This morning I had another fruit and yogurt cereal bowl with the last of the bran flakes, cheerios, life cereal and some crushed up cinnamon roll mini wheats topped with vanilla yogurt, extra cinnamon, and chunks of gala apple. There's even more cinnamon under the yogurt. 

For lunch I had sort of a succotash mixture of canned diced tomatoes, butter peas, corn, red & green pepper, onion, and chives. The tomatoes were pre-salted, I assume. They certainly didn't need any. I let it all cook until the onion and peppers were tender, then I spooned it over a piece of warm buttered cornbread, the last piece by the way. I'd sort of been looking forward to this since I made the cornbread, but it needed a bit more soup to it, still good though.

My afternoon snack, a few Oreo type sandwich cookies and a bottle of water. Nothing special about the water, I just added it to the shot. 

I made a veggie burger on toast for dinner with shredded iceberg, onion, dill pickles and mayo, also a last minute addition, a pinch of salt and cracked black pepper.

I had some chips on the side. They were from a bag we'd gotten at Panera's. I didn't eat many. I'm not a fan of their chips. They are hard kettle chips. I don't care much for kettle chips, but I was craving chips.

Well, I guess that's it. Sorry to be cutting it short, but I'm so ready to close my eyes and hopefully get rid of this headache. Have a great night/day!!!

Struggling With Time Management

I've figured out that I need to schedule more time for my morning routine. I got up this morning with everything I needed to do mapped out in my head, but it took a little longer to get done than I'd allowed for. I was trying to allow for as much sleep as possible. The sleep part went well, but the time allowed for the morning routine was a fail. I wasn't off by too much. A little more prep the night before and it would have been fine, I think.

When I got up, I let the pups out, filled their bowls, got them fresh water and made my breakfast. I had a fruit & yogurt cereal bowl with bran flakes, cheerios, life cereal, vanilla yogurt, gala apple, cinnamon, and warm peanut butter (better for drizzling). 

Breakfast was good. I had to do a bit of multitasking or I would have been quite a bit later. Luckily, I'm pretty good at multitasking. If I were better though, I'd have finished up on time.

I went to Lindsay's today, just a little later than I'd planned. I had a sort of late lunch, finishing off the last of my peppered tofurky with a slice of colby cheese, some iceberg lettuce and light ranch dressng. This is the pre-toasted version. I got my sandwich together then remembered I'd planned to toast the bread. 

After disassembling my sandwich, I toasted my bread and put it back together with a few Doritos on the side. My sandwich was a little dry, but pretty good. 

I had a lovely time with the girls today. They were all pretty good. When Lucas came to pick me up, he brought me a little cup of Fiesta Potatoes from Taco Bell. I tried some of their new Fire Roasted sauce. It was pretty good, loved the sauce. I didn't get a picture of the potatoes. I was glad he brought them. I was starting to get a little hungry. 

When I got home I made a pot of mostly decaf coffee (4 scoops decaf, 2 scoops half caf) I needed a little pick me up to keep me going until bed time. I had a few shortbread cookies with my coffee. Yummy! I've been missing my coffee.

I had 2 cups of coffee, then I heated a bowl of Panera's creamy tomato soup and made a grilled cheese to go with it. I think provolone would have been better than the American cheese I used for my sandwich.

I normally eat a PB&J sandwich with tomato soup, but I don't think it would have worked with this bowl either, but it's great with regular Campbell's tomato soup.

My coffee did the trick and has given me enough energy to get this done. I'm ready to hit the sack now and planning to sleep in tomorrow. I still haven't gotten my routines worked out to include both blogging & sleep. I've been struggling with it for over a year. It doesn't help that my routine changes. I consider myself fairly organized, but not disciplined. It's my biggest downfall. I just keep trying. One day, maybe I will get it right. Wish me luck. Have a great night/day!!!

Change Of Plans

My day started off with a little pancake breakfast, a breakfast of little pancakes actually. I had a couple of small pancakes which I'd made for the kids, but Lexi had preferred the large ones, so, I had a couple left. I spread them with peanut butter and topped them with Lingonberries. I also had a cup of Chobani blood orange yogurt. 

For lunch I had a peppered tofurky sandwich with colby pepper jack cheese, tomato, and spicy ranch on white bread with Doritos on the side. One of those jalapeno pickles would have been nice. I forgot to get me a jar when I went to the store.

I also had a cup of lemon & ginseng green tea with honey.

I was suppose to go to Lindsay's today, but it fell through. She had another appointment and was late getting back, so we just decided to wait until tomorrow. It was just as well. I wasn't feeling particularly energetic today. 

I had a few Oreos for my afternoon snack. Actually they were Food Lion brand, but they were pretty good. It was their version of the double stuff. 

I had more potato soup with shredded colby and cornbread for dinner.

I crumbled the cornbread on top of the soup again. I added fresh cracked black pepper last minute to this bowl. 

We watched a movie after dinner. It was "Bad Teacher" with Cameron Diaz. It wasn't just a bad teacher, it was a bad movie. I sort of expected it, but was willing to give it a chance. Unfortunately I was right. It was pretty stupid and to make things worse, we watched the unrated version. I think the theatrical version would had been bad enough. It you are into that sort of comedy then you may give it a better rating, but it's just not my thing.  For me, this movie only earned 2 stars. 

I'm looking for some new movies to add to our Netflix queue. Any suggestions? Well it's late and if I'm going to get up at a decent hour, I need to be in bed. Have a great night/day!!!

Cornbread And Soup

Today I stayed at home to do a few things around the house. I slept in this morning. I got up, let the dogs out, and decided on breakfast. I went with a leftover pancake, slathered with peanut butter and topped with Lingonberries. I also had half a gala apple. 

This was a nice breakfast. I used a slice of the apple to clean up my butter knife, which had warm gooey peanut butter all over it. 

I had to finish up my post for yesterday this morning. Just as I went to upload photos last night, I noticed my internet was down. I waited a while for it to come back, but it didn't. I finally decided to just go to bed and finish in the morning. Luckily it was back up this morning.

After I finished my post and did a little around the house (the usual, laundry, dishes, vacuuming), I had the other half of my gala apple. 

 I had a late lunch. There was leftover linguine noodles in the frig along with a little of the spaghetti sauce, so I decided of finish them off. 

I topped my linguine with some Parmesan cheese and a shake or two of red pepper flakes. 

I ate the last piece of chocolate cake from the freezer. It was a pretty big slice.  It was too much. I felt sort of sick from all the sugar. I didn't eat all the icing. That is the bad thing about layer cakes, you have icing on top, in the middle and all the way around and the thicker part tends to have more icing than cake. I think a sheet cake has a better icing to cake ratio.

I made cornbread for dinner. I tried a little different recipe, using the one on the bag of cornmeal mix. It called for 1 1/2 c. of mix &  1 cup of  AP flour.  It also called for 1/4 c. of sugar, but I just did 1 Tbsp. and they also used 2 eggs instead of one, of course, I've always used 2 eggs, even in the ones that just call for one. The batter was thicker and I think I prefer my soft cornbread recipe.

I'd thought about having a grilled cheese sandwich with my potato soup, but decided to go with the cornbread. I like yellow cornbread. I did sprinkled some shredded cheese into my soup.

I was really craving the cornbread. I crumbled it into my soup. It was really good, better than I expected. I think maybe I should have been doing this all along.  DH just like his cornbread in milk. He doesn't want is contaminated with soup or chili. He also doesn't want onion, corn, sugar, or any other add-ins. He didn't noticed the tablespoon in this version. I didn't really notice it either. How do you like your cornbread?

I had a few jelly belly beans after my soup. My favorite flavors are juicy pear and buttered popcorn. There's also a bright red one I like. I think it's apple or something. I'm not sure. It sort of sour. What's your favorite flavor? 

Well that's it. I'm sleeping in again tomorrow, but I'll be seeing my girls later in the day. Have a great night/day!!!

Mt. Olive Jalapeno Flavored Dill Spears Review

The day started out in a rush. A rush to get breakfast for myself and my puppies, to see they all had fresh water and went out before I left. I also put me some lunch together before leaving.  I made a banana pudding smoothie for breakfast, which might be my last for a little while. It seems my hand blender chopping attachment is broken. I had always been afraid it might since it is made of plastic. I will probably just order a replacement though, since the rest of the blender still works and it did last for quite a while. I think the smoothies may be what done it in though. My next one will be one with a metal attachment, if this on does't last. I would highly recommend a metal one if you are shopping for one. 

I went to Lindsay's again yesterday. I stayed home today to tend to my own house. I hope she is getting along ok today.  I was hoping to have my blogging done last night so that I could work on the house today, but my internet was down last night, %^&*()#@! I'm not sure why.

I had a tofurky sandwich for lunch with colby pepper jack cheese and light ranch dressing. Reese had some Mt. Olive Jalapeno flavored dill spears, which I tried. They were very good and went well with my sandwich. They do have a good jalapeno flavor and are a bit spicy, but not overwhelming. It really depends on what you consider "hot". I may have to get my own jar.  I'm giving them 5 stars, after all, they are Mt. Olive brand, which are my favorite.

Here's a picture of Rachel sleeping on Mom's lap. It did turn out to be a decent (private joke) picture. 

The day was sort of working against me, first, my hand blender broke, then I forgot my camera and purse at Lindsay's and later my internet was down. Oh, yeah and then I'd used my spare camera for snack photo, but have misplaced the cord to upload the photos. Has someone put a curse on my blog? I'm hoping it was a one day deal. The missing snacks were just a handful or bite of this and that. I had a long list of snacks though. First was a few pretzel M&M's, then some raisins & dry roasted peanuts. I also had one double stuffed Oreo. I was really trying to stay awake. 

Luckily while I was gone to the store Reese brought my purse with my camera. Thanks, Reese! I was able to get a shot of my last snack. I had a few saltine crackers with canned salmon and shredded colby cheese melted on top. I had this while we were making dinner.  

We all actually ate the same thing for dinner, which doesn't happen very often, since I am surrounded by meat eaters. We made a big pot of potato soup with onion, cream cheese and chives.

 I think it needed a bit more potato, but it was still very good. I'd also intended to throw a few veggies into my bowl, but by the time the soup was ready, I'd completely forgotten, until I was sitting down to eat. I'd also intended to make cornbread, but didn't realize, I was out of cornmeal. 

I suppose it's better late than never, but hopefully today will be a smoother ride. You would think I would be use to all the bumps and pot holes by now.  Have a great day!!!!

Another Beautiful Day

Today started off earlier than I would have preferred, but it turned out to be a pretty nice day. I began my day with a donut, a somewhat undesirable donut, but I hated to see it go to waste. It wasn't quite living up to the Krispy Kreme reputation. Of course KK doesn't usually serve donuts that are several days old.

I had leftover linguine with the same Ragu sauce.  I took a bowl with me to Lindsay's. Lexi helped me eat it. I will have to remember that she likes it. She even ate the chunks. 

I also had a lemon chobani yogurt while Lexi had diced peaches. We also snacked on microwave popcorn. The day went fairly smooth. The children were well behaved and Miss Rachel was doing good as well, adjusting to being out in world. 

After coming home, I made myself a tofurky sandwich, with peppered tofurky deli slices, colby-pepperjack cheese, tomato, and light ranch dressing on toast. 

It was really a good sandwich, better than I'd expected. 

After having my sandwich, I went out and worked in the yard. I used my reel push mower to cut some more grass. The stuff that's growing in the yard is hardly what you'd call grass, but there's a lot of it and it has to be cut. I kind of liked being outside. The sun was going down and it wasn't too hot. I didn't really have to mow. Lucas finished up with the gas mower, but the grass cut with the reel mower looks better. I just need a smaller yard. Another early day tomorrow, so I'm off to bed. I'm hoping to get a little more sleep than I did last night. Have a great night/day!!!

End

I'm Back

Well, I'm back. I've had a break from blogging while I was taking care of my two oldest grand babies during the time my newest grand daughter, Rachel, was being born. They are now keeping the Moms & new babies for a few days before releasing them. Here's a photo of Miss Rachel sleeping peacefully. 

 Mary & Lexi did pretty well, but they are quite a handful compared to the two I raised or I am older than I realized; actually both. I don't remember being so tired. They also seem a lot bigger when you share a bed with them. I love my grand babies, but I am so glad I had my kids when I was younger. I have really gotten use to my (alone) time. Once my kids started school, my time alone became addictive. I have become dependent on a certain amount of alone time. You don't get much alone time with 2 small children, so when the girls went home, I had an alone time party; just me, a bowl of cake & ice cream and some music via Pandora on my ipod. I'd considered a nap afterwards, but wound up working in the yard. It was a lovely day and yard work is very relaxing for me. I also only got on the computer for a few minutes, spending most of my time just relaxing before going to bed early.

Now on to today. I slept in until 10am. It was nice. I had cinnamon French toast for breakfast with butter flavored syrup.

I have to have syrup with French toast. Pancakes I can eat alone. The girls and I had pancakes for breakfast while they were here.

I had fresh broccoli with light ranch dressing and fries with salsa and cheese for lunch.

I fried some onion and bell pepper to mix with the salsa that I put on top of the fries and then I sprinkled cheese over that and put it in the microwave long enough to melt the cheese. 

We had linguine for dinner with Ragu Parmesan & Romano spaghetti sauce. It has some chunks of tomato in the sauce. Lucas uses the hand blender to solve that problem. I don't mind the chunks.

I had a piece of garlic toast on the side. It wasn't the best sauce I've ever eaten, but it wasn't bad. I'd give it 3 stars.

I had cold Moroccan Mint tea and a glazed doughnut for dessert. Lucas bought a box of doughnuts and we nearly forgot we had them, so I ate one to help get rid of them. They're so much better fresh. Glazed doughnut just don't keep well, soggy on the outside, dry on the inside. 

Now I have an early day tomorrow. I spent the first part of the day working in the house, the remaining daylight hours working outside the house and the evening wasting time on the computer and watching "The Good Wife".  It's late. I've procrastinated too long and I will pay for it tomorrow. I'm off to bed to see if I can get a few hours sleep before getting up and going to help take care of my grand babies. Have a great night/day!!!