I Hate Dialysis Message Board
Off-Topic => Off-Topic: Talk about anything you want. => Topic started by: cariad on July 02, 2012, 11:34:38 AM
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I am starting this discussion because I am feeling so overwhelmed and need to set achievable goals every day and find a way to hold myself accountable for completing them. We will be so incredibly hosed if I don't get on a better schedule. I decided to do this after I wrote in another thread that I was going to finish cleaning the bathroom, and I so wanted to go to sleep instead, but I finished the job because I did not want to admit laziness. No one has to comment or anything (though of course those are welcome) but the act of publicizing this so to speak will hopefully give me extra motivation.
So.... my goals for today, which must be accomplished by 4PM (2.5 hours) before I take Liot to gymnastics:
1. Finish zesting and squeezing bag of lemons. (I did not do this right away and even though I only purchased them around Friday, one lemon had gone a full dusty green already. I guess turning the air conditioning off downstairs at night took its toll).
2. Chop entire bag of fresh cherries. (this takes forever....)
3. Clean out fridge. God, don't even ask how overdue this particular task is.
And off I go.... ;D
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I am all over this. With doing home hemo and working, things are getting dire around our house. I have about an hour and a half or so each evening in which I can get one minor task done along with getting dinner prepped, eaten and cleaned up afterwards before I am on my machine for the night.
Tonight, here are the tasks that I have planned:
1. Update laundry (fold what's in the dryer, put what's in the washer in the dryer, start another load washing if needed).
2. Clean out magazine basket to only keep last two months worth of mags.
3. Pull chicken off bones for chicken tamale pie for tomorrow night.
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Yay! Thanks so much for joining me, cattlekid!
Ok, it's 5:30 and I'm watching Liot down on the gym floor. Progress report:
1. :)
2. :)
3 :embarassed: I sorted through all the stuff in the door and cleaned each of those drawers. I also threw away the dreaded chicken gloop that I forgot about for a month. Gwyn was considerate enough to chuck a full chicken into the pressure cooker, then fly back to SoCal. I have no idea how to carve a chicken and was cursing him vehementally. Then I made some concoction with it, and the boys said it was great (perhaps just being kind) but it made way too much for them to finish in time. As I don't eat meat and it all seems so gross to me I did not trust my ability to judge if it was still edible, so only gave it them twice. Anyhow, it's gone now!!!
We are out until 8:30 tonight but I will finish this task before going to sleep!
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This thread is a good idea, but I wouldn't use it for daily goals. I would make weekly or monthly goals so I feel the pressure to complete them before facing the embarrassment of failing in front of all of you. :banghead;
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Geez, can I merge this with my house project thread? ;D I've been cheerfully stalling on working on the living room, partly because it's too hot to work inside, and partly because the next step is scrubbing walls, followed by painting trim, followed by scrubbing floors on my hands and knees. The only household chore I hate worse than these 3 is probably running the vacuum. (The noise makes my teeth grate.)
I was also procrastinating on job hunting, with the endless house project list as an excuse, but I finally knuckled down and did that, so at least that's off the list until next week. If I haven't heard back by Monday from any of the 3 apps I have in, off I go again.
I do feel better for not procrastinating on the job hunt. I suppose I just need to tell myself I'll be just as happy when I'm done with the living room.
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This thread is a good idea, but I wouldn't use it for daily goals. I would make weekly or monthly goals so I feel the pressure to complete them before facing the embarrassment of failing in front of all of you. :banghead;
Hey, I say do whatever works best for you. For me, daily goals help me prioritize and ensure that am not sitting her end of August in tears, looking at spending tens of thousands to ship stuff overseas that no one actually wants.
Jbeany, you are so welcome to play along, although I sort of suspect you'll make the rest of us look bad! :rofl; Well done jumping on that job search. I'll have to force myself to do the same once we're settled somewhere.
I must care quite a bit about what you all think of me, because we had such an exciting night, the boys were not in bed until 10PM, and then I was staring at the fridge thinking of the pitiful excuses I would be making on this thread, and just jumped in and did it. It took almost 2 hours!!! And I had already done the door!!! I wanted to make sure that any food I threw away was completely out of my house, so I also took out the garbage and washed out many, many glass jars in order to recycle them, in addition to washing out our glass storage containers after ridding them of old food. Then I ran everything through the dishwasher. The only thing I don't know how to discard is a glass container filled with used chip oil. (Yes, Gwyn reuses it. I have had to accept this as a British quirk.) I don't want to pour it down my drain, so it is just sitting on my countertop. I guess I need to find an old bag that won't leak and empty it in there. I don't want to use old plastic containers as those are recyclable.
So, I was up past midnight and now am feeling rather wrecked. I only have until 3:15 to get anything done. I will have a quick think about what I could reasonably tackle in the next 4 hours and return. The freezer needs a similar amount of attention, but no. I need to recover for a few days first.... :P
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Well, cariad, you did better than me last night. I did update the laundry, but left a load sitting on a chair to be folded. You would think that DH would have taken care of it while I was dialyzing but no such luck. I also took care of some correspondence that arrived in yesterday's mail. Chicken did not get pulled but that was not a big issue.
Today, I am getting out of work early for the holiday, so I am going to make the chicken tamale pie early and eat early so I can get started on dialysis right away. We want to go see the local fireworks at 9PM so we have to be done and out of the house by 8:30. I will also do more laundry and try to get through one stack of paper mail....I swear that it multiplies overnight.
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No way am I near to completing what you ladies have accomplished in the last few days, I am way too tired to do all that stuff. But there are things only I can do and have a hard time concentrating since the transplant. Keep up the great work.
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What a great thread! LOL!
I am not the procrastinator in my household. That's an honor held by my husband. He leaves trails. I know what he's been eating, drinking and doing because he leaves traces of his every move around the house. We missed last week's garbage/recycling pickup, and since our usual pickup day is Wednesday (with tomorrow being the Fourth), we will have an extra day's trash. Both recycling bins are filled to the brim and I have a further four paper bags filled with detritus like hubby's Jello pots, yogurt pots and soft drink cans.
He has been kind enough to do all of the laundry but he leaves me to put everything away. He will rinse off dishes but fails to put them in the dishwasher. I'm not sure why he can't go that one extra step. LOL! If something can be left for a later date, or if something is not fun, it's not gonna get done unless I do it. Maybe it's just as well because it gives me the opportunity to exercise since it is just too hot for my daily walks, and I'm not allowed in the pool just yet.
My floors are a disgrace, so I hope to get to those today. My general plan is to do a few chores, sit down and rest and watch a bit of Wimbledon, and then do a few more chores. And I can't wait until Thursday for when the garbage will be picked up. Who knew that a visit from the garbage guys would be so hotly anticipated? :clap;
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You would think that DH would have taken care of it while I was dialyzing but no such luck.
Yes, see MM's response for why this is almost always wishful thinking.
cattlekid, I don't have a job and I don't have to sort out dialysis, so I give you much credit for coming very close. If I were employed there is no way I could afford to stay up as late as I did, I'd be non-functioning.
I know I won't be able to keep up this enthusiasm for being organized and tidy long term, but I cannot afford procrastination in the next 6-8 weeks, so I will keep boring you all with the minutiae of my life until further notice. :)
Thanks, SugarBear!
MM, I love it when the recycling collector comes too - I feel lighter. Our garbage is collected every week, but cost cutting has brought our recycling down to once every three weeks, and then the day changes, so I need my electronic calendar to help me remember. Heaven forbid I forget to put the recycling out, I don't know how we'd ever recover. Wow, I am saving my floors for a day when I have more energy. Remind me, MM, didn't you just have some little operation recently or something? :laugh:
In all seriousness, do remember to take it easy. My floors are not really fit to touch the bottom of our shoes, but we manage.
OK, I thought of some light-ish tasks I can get to before gymnastics:
1. clean the dining room, including actually recycling or filing all the papers down there (rather than just moving them to another room as Gwyn loves to do), *and* dusting the display shelf and the wall decor. I actually took a before photo for posterity, so I'll show you the results later.
2. Clean bedroom - vacuum, dust (including wall sconces as this is becoming desperate, and attempt to dust the entire bed with a view to sell it on Craigslist)
3. Make banana cake as overripe bananas are already thawed and sitting in a bowl in the kitchen, so this really cannot wait. (Won't get to this until we return home.)
:waving;
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When you have a spare minute, could you toss the banana cake recipe my way? Banana cake is DH's favorite.
3. Make banana cake as overripe bananas are already thawed and sitting in a bowl in the kitchen, so this really cannot wait. (Won't get to this until we return home.)
:waving;
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When you have a spare minute, could you toss the banana cake recipe my way? Banana cake is DH's favorite.
Absolutely!
Progress report:
1. :) (I did say floors were for another day, right?)
2. :-\ (about halfway there)
3. Soon, my lovelies, soon....
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Oh lordy, I love banana cake. Awaiting said recipe.
I recycle far more than I throw away in the regular garbage, so not having a weekly recyclying service would be devastating to me! I can't imagine having to wait three weeks for it to be picked up! You should see my garage...I can barely get to the car over the piles of stuff. I'll have to brave the bazillion degrees heat tomorrow to put it all out curbside, but it will be worth it.
I got my kitchen floor swept and mopped. I have a special lavender concentrate that you mix with water for cleaning cabinets and floors, so my house is now quite fragrant. The basement is much cooler than the upstairs, so I hid out down there and got some ironing done. I'd let it go for months.
I can't imagine what I'd do if I had dialysis and work like you do, cattlekid. You need a trophy!
Cariad, I'm eager to see your "after" photos. :2thumbsup;
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Here you go! I serve it with a cream cheese frosting. Keep in mind that if you are using a coarse grain sugar like turbinado or demarara, this might not be sweet enough and you may have to experiment with more sugar. I find it plenty sweet, though, especially with a frosting. Very simple, uses up those black bananas, and the kids love it after it's been refrigerated. I use unsalted butter and generally don't add all the salt, but I wouldn't skip it entirely. Apparently this is a recipe from the 1930s from the back of a container of Oleo. Frosting is from the Food Network, although they suggest a 1:1 ratio of butter to cream cheese. (madness!)
Banana Tea Cake
Cream 1/3 cup butter and 2/3 cup sugar
Beat in 2 eggs and 3 mashed bananas.
Add dry ingredients: 1 1/2 cups flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1/4 teaspoon baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon salt. Mix to combine.
Pour into buttered and floured pan and bake in preheated 350 degree oven for about 1 hour (50 minutes works best for us).
Oh, forgot to mention it's one of those square pans, 8x8 or 9x9, something like that. I have a pyrex dish that I bake it in with a rubber lid for after it cools.
Cream Cheese Frosting
Blend together:
8oz cream cheese
4oz butter
Confectioners sugar to taste (about 1/2 – 1 cup)
1 tsp vanilla
Hope you enjoy!
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OK, progress report from yesterday.
1. :)
2. :)
3. :) (Yes, I admit it - banana cake was not made until this morning. After dusting bed I had to change sheets last night and I was just so tired, I was worried I'd burn the house down if I had to wait an hour to take something out of the oven.)
Goals for today. It's a holiday and the kids want to go to the splash pad and possibly the fireworks, so these are very light:
1. change sheets in boys' room
2. begin thread on here about moving to England
3. make scones for tomorrow morning
4. Put laundry away
Happy 4th!
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Just found this thread and I sure need some accountability for household chores. I'm in!
Today I will:
1. wash and slice cucumbers hubby purchased so he can make pickles. (He's the canner but I'm the slice and dice girl. He's waiting for me!)
2. bag washed and frozen blueberries into 2 cup bags and get them back in the freezer.
3. get caught up with laundry - including folding which I'm terrible at keeping up with
4 wash and put away dishes - I'll have to do this before I can deal with the cucumbers/pickles
I'll be thinking of you as i do these tasks!
Diane
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I have been outside since 9 am this morning cutting bushes. We have bushes on two sides of our house that are totally overgrown....well, we used to have bushes. DH and I attacked them with the loppers and hedge trimmers and my FIL arrived with a chainsaw. I hired two neighbor kids to put the branches in bags. We got about 2/3 of the branches bagged and the boys will be back tomorrow night to drag the bags to the curb for pickup. I think the rest of the day will be spent hiding in the a/c. I wil have to do the lunch dishes and that's about it other than address any laundry that needs to be taken care of. Otherwise, I may do some straightening up and that's about it.
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Oh, and much thanks for the banana cake recipe!
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I must care quite a bit about what you all think of me, because we had such an exciting night, the boys were not in bed until 10PM, and then I was staring at the fridge thinking of the pitiful excuses I would be making on this thread, and just jumped in and did it. It took almost 2 hours!!! And I had already done the door!!!
TWO HOURS?!! How dirty was it?! I realise that fridges are a lot smaller over here (because we tend to have little kitchens ... damn, that was something else I should have added to your other thread) but still ... TWO HOURS?!!
I'm now going to enter my fridge and throw away some old lettuce. Thanks for the boot up the arse (English lingo ... getting you ready for if England happens.)
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Well, my laundry is right off my kitchen and the boys had events the next day, and I am easily distractable, so some of that time was spent in the laundry. Still, when you refuse to just bin any glass jars (they will not recycle dirty containers), it takes a good long while to clean each one out. Then I have to hand wash and dry each shelf and drawer. One of the boys had spilled something in the fridge that morning, and I got as much up as I could in the rush to get out the door, but when I moved the produce bin there was quite a bit more to clean up, and one of the shelves had a sticky patch (spilled syrup) that took way too long to come up. Oh, and I believe that was the night of Aidan's pitching debut, so trying to work while relating every glorious moment to Gwyn (after he'd heard 1/2 hour of Aidan's perspective) slowed progress considerably.
I'd never survive working as a maid. Never.
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Woo-hoo! Glad to see you signing on, Diane!
Progress report:
1. :) (this is more work than it sounds - bunk beds!!!)
2. :embarassed:
3. This is solely for my benefit as the boys are over the scones so if it doesn't happen, no one will notice but me.
4. :embarassed:
I still have time. If I can only convince Elliot that the fireworks are not worth it. Still, it may be his last 4th in this country for quite a long time.
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I fully intend to stop procrastinating... next week... maybe.
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I'll be in!
1. Pick and preserve lemons in salt. Jar for me, jar for my PD nurse, and jar for my daughter-in-law-to-be.
2. Load of washing
3. Unpack dishwasher
4. Sew up neck band of my latest creation - I've been putting it off for weeks - and I'm wearing it to wedding on 4th August
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Hurrah, welcome to the thread, MaryD! Please explain the lemons in salt bit? What is it used for? I use lemons and salt to clean and sterilize chopping boards, but sounds like you eat these?
Ooooh, you've given me a great idea for a task tomorrow - sew a button back on to my trousers. This will push me to the limits of my sewing ability, incidentally.
Will start England thread and put rest of laundry away. Scones will be delayed until tomorrow morning. They're better fresh from the oven, or so I say to make this look intentional and not-lazy. :)
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Preserved lemon.
Line the bottom of a glass jar with pure unadulterated salt. Slice lemon into quarters and squish down into jar. Squish so hard that as much of the juice as possible comes out. More salt on top. Another lemon. More salt. When jar is full, fill the cracks with lemon juice till lemons are all covered. Put on lid and store in pantry for 2 -3 months before you use it. It will change colour and the texture of the flesh of the lemon borders on disgusting.
Use in savoury dishes where you would use lemons, eg roast chicken with garlic and preserved lemon, maybe in a casserole. It is a bit north African-ish, and has a very distinctive flavour.
To use preserved lemon.
Take out as many pieces as needed. Scrape the inside out of the lemon and discard. A quick rinse of the skin under running water here will get rid of excessive salt. Chop finely and use. Yum! I'm sure if you google 'preserved lemon' it will have lots of suggestions for it's use.
Last year I put a cinnamon stick in each jar. This year I think it will be a bay leaf.
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Oh, that sounds amaaaaazing, MaryD. I am going to have to try it! Thanks for the instructions!
I just finished a scone, so that's done. Have to make new goals for today, but they will be incredibly modest. I must be stressed about something because I could not fall asleep last night until nearly 3AM and I woke up at 6:30 and could not get back to sleep even for a few minutes.
I think I am going to go get cold drinks for the boys for baseball tonight. It is supposed to top 100 degrees. Boys are both at water parks, hope it's not too stupidly crowded for them.
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Figured I'd work on the living room today. Bleah. 100 degree heat is not conducive to physical labor. I'm sweating faster than I can rehydrate, which makes me paranoid. I gave up for now. Going shopping for different curtains instead, which, I suppose, I can call working on the living room if I'm pushing it. I bought standard 84" ones at the discount store, figuring they would be fine. 1 inch too short, even with the rods hung right at the top of the window. I could buy some trim to sew to the bottoms, but by the time I do, it will end up costing as much as the expensive ones that come in longer lengths in the first place, not to mention the effort to sew it all on. Never mind- off to get the more expensive 95" ones. I can hang the rod up higher that way, and the window will look better in the long run.
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The lemons got picked but didn't get any further. The weather was so nice that I had to make the most of it and sweep up the last of the autumn leaves from the common driveway for the garden bed where the corn is to be planted in a month or so. Then I drove halfway across town to buy some books my 96yo ex-neighbour wanted. She still has all her marbles - the books were on philosophy, history and for her the first time reading of Catch 22. The lemons will have to wait till Monday now as the weekend is going to have the first sunny days we have had for weeks.
Tomorrow - gardening and more gardening, and then more gardening.
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Oh, MaryD and jbeany, you're way ahead of me.
Yesterday sucked. Sucking, sucky, suckiness! All I got done, and only just, was buying snacks for Aidan's baseball (third time bringing them - why don't the parents of the TWO boys on the team ever sign up for snacks??) and doing dishes. Aidan lost it at the baseball diamond. He had not had enough sleep the night before, he had been on a field trip to a water park all day, he had a headache, he was hit with a pitch, it was hot, and the coach put him on the mound in the last inning for the thankless task of trying to hold the other team at a tie. To his enormous credit, by the way, he was the *only* pitcher that night, the only one from either team, who did not hit at least one batter with a pitch. It was positively terrifying watching my kid continually face these wild pitches.
I must get right back on the horse:
1. sew buttons back on trousers, Elliot's night shirt
2. Recycling. Deal with it! Including old shoes.
3. Speaking of shoes, order crocs for Elliot.
4. Have boys help sort through old clothes strewn everywhere in guest room, bag them up for donation tomorrow.
5. Photograph oversized chair for sale on Craigslist
6. Start list of everything that we cannot bear to part with, list of everything we want to sell.
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Shopped, found curtains on sale, but not in the color I wanted, bought them, brought them home to see, didn't like them, and put them back in the car to take them back tomorrow. Ah, well, there's another store with the right length curtains at a reasonable price, so will try again.
Did find a lot of thrift store bargains and have only added to the project list. Found a fabulous round wicker hamper that will replace the ugly plastic one that used to fit in a closet. Only $5. It needs to be scrubbed to get the dust off. Also found the frame for one of those round papasan chairs for $9. It needs a cushion and a bit of new wrapping at the joints. Also found the repair wrap for 69 cents, so just need to wrap and glue. New cushions are $80, but the cute comforter I found for $14 at the discount store will make a fine cushion once I cut out two big puffy circles, add some of the batting I already have, sew it and hold it together with some spare buttons. Also found 2 blazers in case I have interviews soon - but both need minor alterations like shortened sleeves and darts at the waist line. I will clearly be using my sewing machine a lot in the next few days.
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Today's gardening is done and so am I. The garden is fairly small so the rule is 'only edible plants'
The bed for the sunflowers is finished. The bed for the sweetcorn needs another 20 minutes work, but tomorrow is another fine day. I might even pull out the last of the celery and put in some spring onion seeds. The frustrating bit is that the 4 hours work I did today I could have done in less than an hour a few years ago.
Then we're expecting another week of rain. My kitchen needs a quick blast from a flame thrower.
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Stumbled across this Tuesday night, but never got the chance to post. This thread was not only a great idea, but gave me alot of motivation to doing things on our home too. Things that I have neglected over the years. So I got to working on things wed (the 4th).
#1: Weed Eating (and not outside) Shredding paper work that go back as far as 8 years. There were papers built up in everyroom of our home, and I did one room at a time, but did some serious cleaning along the way. John knew not to say a word for fear of being next!!! Lol. I managed just our dining room Wed.
Then,Thursday, I started on the living room. Paper worked stuffed in corners, D. supplies in living room? I said that would never happen, and it did. Got living room back and it looks marvelous, Thanks Cariad!
Today, I got up in the Bonus Room, rearranged furniture and got rid of a bunch of junk. Went to some neighbors and gave away alot of stuff that we never needed or used. I made some happy campers out of the neighbor hood too! Thanks Caraid!!!
This was a great idea, but I think Im going to chill for awhile, cause I need some me time too! But I will make myself stay on top of the rooms Ive done, so I can do some remaining ones another time! Master bedroom and the kitchen will be the worse, so Im just not ready to tackle them yet. His Dialysis room and supply room are just fine, as Iam always on top of those. Thanks Cariad!!!!
Awesome thread, Caraid, sign me in & out occasionally!
God Bless,
lmunchkin :kickstart;
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It's been a brutal few days - heat and extreme exhaustion hitting the three of us have not helped. Baseball is over for Aidan, their last game ended in a draw which is great because due to time limits, the only other possibility would have been a loss. I have only managed to keep up with the basics at home: dishes, laundry, kitchen counters, that sort of thing.
From my last set of goals, my progress is far from encouraging:
1. :embarassed:
2. :)
3. :)
4. :embarassed:
5. :embarassed:
6. :-\ (I started this list a week ago.... in my head. That must count for something.)
Our friends who are moving to Colorado end of the month have already started packing!
lmunchkin, I have realized that I won't be able to keep this up every day, either. Join in as often or as little as you like.
OK, starting with a fresh tabula rasa this week:
1. Start on the guest room. Really. Don't just say you'll do it, but do it. Today.
2. Clean all three bathrooms.
3. Attempt to clear desktop of papers, put aside a stack for Gwyn to go through.
4. Consider cooking a real dinner, then talk self out of it around 4:30 as you're running out the door to get Elliot to gymnastics.
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Let's see - scrubbed the hamper and put it in the bedroom. Used the Dryel cleaner on the suit coats and dress I bought at the thrift store, so they are clean and ready for altering. Did all the laundry that was in the old hamper and moved it downstairs so I have a trash can by the workbench. Worked some more on puttying the living room window some more. I think it might finally be ready for primer. Hung up the chalkboard I bought at the thrift store on the outside of the garage. I now have a place to keep score next to the horseshoe pits in the back yard. Measured the papasan chair and was extra glad I did not buy the cushions at Pier 1 or World Market - their standard 48" size would have been too small. Mine seems to need a giant 55 inches or more. Unfortunately, that means the comforter I bought to make the cushion isn't big enough, although I do have it folded in the chair frame right now, which makes the cats happy. I need to go to the hardware store and get a big canvas drop cloth. It's cheap, big material that will hold up well.
I also did the dishes and mopped all the floors on the main level, and designed some wall art for the kitchen to paint on the canvas I got at the thrift store. So much done, and still so little accomplished from the list!
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Jbeany, you are so welcome to play along, although I sort of suspect you'll make the rest of us look bad!
Yep. It's going exactly as I feared!
:rofl; :rofl; :rofl; :rofl;
Only joking. Well done, jbeany!
1. :) I have started. I want to finish, possibly not today, but soon. It is just so ghastly hot up there from keeping the vents closed.
2. :) This is where this thread needs to work its magic. I have done all but the floors (only need to do a steam clean or swiffering on them) and I need to do the shower in the master bath. Mats are downstairs in the wash, so floors are clear and ready for touch-up cleaning.
3. Not yet, but this is a job I can do while the kids are playing tonight.
4. :) :) :) :) Ahead of schedule on this one! :rofl;
Just got email from Gwyn requesting I phone him to avoid 2 pound fifty per minute (!!!!!!) charge. Ta!
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Holy phone bill, Batman!
Jbeany, you are so welcome to play along, although I sort of suspect you'll make the rest of us look bad!
Yep. It's going exactly as I feared!
:rofl; :rofl; :rofl; :rofl;
Only joking. Well done, jbeany!
No kids, no husband, no classes, no job, and no dialysis. I darn well better be getting something done! ;)
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No kids, no husband, no classes, no job, and no dialysis. I darn well better be getting something done! ;)
Oh dear, I only have the first two, and one is out of state and the others are shipped off to their summer program 5 days a week. I better buckle down! :)
I finished the bathrooms - steamed the floors in all 3, and did a quick touch up clean of the shower. My upper back is now quite achey, so I am going to try to do sedentary jobs today. After an ibuprofen. I never did get to those papers on the desk, but that should be a fairly small, quick job. Goals for today:
1. Papers
2. Finish reading The Gift and get it back to the library. This has been called essential reading for my Ph.D by two profs, I just need to tear through it.
3. Register for one credit of dissertation work at the University so I can continue to work on this in the UK or wherever we find ourselves.
4. Search uni library site for articles for prelims.
Taking two children to gymnastics today, but then I have the entire evening of 'Elliot time'. Aidan has beach soccer and then will watch the All-Star game with his friend.
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Let's see if you can guess the right answer:
Today I:
A) Slept late and then blew half the afternoon at lunch with a friend.
B) Blew most the evening at a bar.
C) Blew most of the night shopping.
D) All of the above.
Whoops, the answer is D. ;D
Met a friend who works at the pro bono clinic I used to volunteer at for a long lunch. Went from there to watch one of the law students I help train in court, at trial. Joined the law students and student paralegals at the bar for 3 hours to rehash the trial, and then ran to the stores to do some shopping.
It's not quite as bad as it sounds. I also fixed my car tire, dropped off another job application and cover letter, and found some great deals on things I needed - including the material and extra stuffing I need to make my chair cushion, the transformer I need to finish installing my doorbell, an 8 x 12 area rug on sale and with a coupon so it was only $70, and an extension cord to get my treadmill plugged in temporarily until I can finish rewiring the outlets downstairs.
Oh yeah, and managed to get the 12 foot rug home in a compact car.
That was entertaining!
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Gah, I've let this go far too long.
I have not completed one thing from my previous list, that's right, not a thing. I cannot even account for where all of that time went, although Aidan attended a sleepover Friday night which means that I have to take extra care to spend time with Elliot so he does not feel lonely or left out. OK, so I've justified one night of laziness....
I am going to keep this simple today. My parents arrive in a week and they can hopefully help with the larger problems in this house:
1. Finish The Gift and return to library with other book.
2. Finish sorting the guest room.
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Living room is half done - all the trim is painted and all the walls are touched up. Today is the worst part - I have to scrub the floors on my hands and knees - and attempt to wash the windows inside and out. That involves taking off the 7 foot tall storm windows off the giant window in the front. And it's a million degrees outside. Ugh.
Maybe I'll just try to focus on the inside for now, where at least I'm in the shade.
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Or maybe I'll just focus on researching the company that just sent me an email asking how much notice I needed for an interview, and if their security department could contact me about security pre-screening. They also wanted to to know if I would accept their non-negotiable salary offer if given the job. Ummm, it's higher than anything else I've even applied for, so, gee....YES! :bandance; :bandance; :bandance; :bandance;
I suppose I better tailor my suit coat while I'm at it, too.
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Today was gonna be my day to get stuff done. Hubby is back at work and isn't force feeding me all of the food that HE now gets to eat. My magnesium is apparently a little low, so he got online and found all of the foods high in Mg. Of course they are all foods that I have not been able to have in 8 years, so small wonder I'm deficient. So, he went out and bought a lot of snack foods like nuts and raisins, most of them chocolate covered. ::) I told him he could have all of the chocolate covered crap and I'd eat the stuff that is unadulterated. It would take me a year to eat all of the bits he bought.
Anyway, today was my first day driving, so I drove myself to the lab and then dropped off a lot of books and clothing at Goodwill. I came home, had something to eat, did a bit of filing, and promptly fell asleep. I woke up, had lunch, made some appointments, took some laundry downstairs, came back upstairs and promptly went back to sleep. I woke up, brought in the mail, scrubbed some potatoes and am now contemplating another nap. It just seems to have all caught up with me all of a sudden.
And of course I will have problems falling asleep tonight as usual.
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The insomnia is part and parcel of the meds. I tend to get a lot done on the nights I have it - which makes up for wanting to sleep the day after.
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Or maybe I'll just focus on researching the company that just sent me an email asking how much notice I needed for an interview, and if their security department could contact me about security pre-screening. They also wanted to to know if I would accept their non-negotiable salary offer if given the job. Ummm, it's higher than anything else I've even applied for, so, gee....YES! :bandance; :bandance; :bandance; :bandance;
I suppose I better tailor my suit coat while I'm at it, too.
Go get 'em, girl! :yahoo; :yahoo; :yahoo;
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Two interview outfits ready. Research done on the big company.
- I'm so proud of myself today for not procrastinating on something I didn't want to do!
My prof sent me a message about a commercial real estate lawyer here in town who is in immediate need of help. She told me to contact them before they had even placed any ads, and to tell them I had her personal recommendation. She's practiced here for over 30 years and knows EVERYONE, so her recommendation carries a lot of weight. Applying meant not only composing a cover letter - which I despise and dread doing - but also doing it for a job for which I have no description except Legal Secretary who does substantive legal work. Yikes. That's not much to go on, and not having any real estate experience beyond buying a house doesn't help.
But I sat my fanny in the chair and pounded away at the keyboard and my brain cells until I had one written and I sent it out. I even spent another hour job hunting online. I found one more to do tomorrow.
I finally got a response on one county job - I didn't get an interview, but I'm on the list if the first round of interviews doesn't lead to any results. Ooookay. If I do get called, I think I'd rather not have know I was second string, really. Out of the three county jobs I applied for, it was the job I was least interested in, at least (except for the fact that it was only blocks from my house). :)
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Gah! Lost my list. I'll try to recreate quickly:
1. Prep for meeting with rental management company tomorrow. Pull various souvenirs and other personal items off all shelves to photograph rooms.
2. Call energy company and landscaper to answer their questions.
3. Pester Gwyn to go to CarMax to price his CA vehicle. Send in forms to replace lost title.
4. Hand wash delicates.
5. Photo and Craigslist bed, chaise
6. Clean kitchen, declutter dining room
7. Inform children's center that I am ignoring their 'healthy snacks only' rule for Aidan's birthday and bringing two cakes. He is turning 10 and leaving the country - fruit popsicles are not enough to mark this occasion.
8. Clean drawing off picture window in playroom. Yes, some perfectly lovely family gave Elliot window crayons for his fifth birthday. This drawing has been on there for months. Hopefully he will not notice that it is gone so he won't replace it with another.
9. Vacuum playroom and tidy up as this is the centerpiece of the house.
10. Hire cleaning help!
11. Probably much more but I'll need to add as I go. I've let this slide too long.
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I am now home for my first full day after my heart attack on Friday last week so I have to get cracking.
I have made my grocery list and will be off to the store shortly.
When I get home, I have to do the dishes and make some sense out of the laundry.
We'll see how my energy level is for the rest of the day before I make any other grand plans.
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Welcome home, cattlekid!
Progress Report:
1. Prep for meeting with rental management company tomorrow. Pull various souvenirs and other personal items off all shelves to photograph rooms.
2. Call energy company and landscaper to answer their questions.
3. Pester Gwyn to go to CarMax to price his CA vehicle. Send in forms to replace lost title.
4. Hand wash delicates.
5. Photo and Craigslist bed, chaise
6. Clean kitchen, declutter dining room
7. Inform children's center that I am ignoring their 'healthy snacks only' rule for Aidan's birthday and bringing two cakes. He is turning 10 and leaving the country - fruit popsicles are not enough to mark this occasion.
8. Clean drawing off picture window in playroom. Yes, some perfectly lovely family gave Elliot window crayons for his fifth birthday. This drawing has been on there for months. Hopefully he will not notice that it is gone so he won't replace it with another.
9. Vacuum playroom and tidy up as this is the centerpiece of the house.
10. Hire cleaning help!
11. Probably much more but I'll need to add as I go. I've let this slide too long.
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Hmmm....house projects still in flux. Momentarily stymied on electrical - unsure if something is bad wiring or a bad light fixture. That meeds to be worked on when I'm home during daylight. I've been busy volunteering since Friday, so nothing much has gotten done here.
I did work ahead on my craft class project for my next class in two weeks. I'm teaching a class on homemade, solid perfume, and not only have I made samples and done research so I can explain all about top, base, and middle notes of fragrances, I've even found what I need for double boilers for 8 students. Still need to buy more wax, but I had to wait until Sunday so I could get another coupon from the paper, and I haven't had time to go shopping since.
Collected two more job leads. Need to follow up, but since I'm going to my sister's cottage tomorrow, staying the night, and bringing back my nephew to stay overnight so we can go to rock climbing lessons the next day - well, hopefully I have some energy to get more resumes out by Friday.
So, the truth is, I've been procrastinating on posting on this thread!
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My classroom is decorated thanks to Marilyn and Danielle. They were wonders with the bulletin board materials!
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Bleah, no resumes out yet. Even at 13, my nephew drains my energy - it's just more mental than physical these days, I think. All my energy goes to not throttling him whenever he opens his mouth!
I've decided I need to start believing that I can accomplish 6 possible things before dinner - starting with eating healthy and exercising every day for the top two. That leaves 4 more things to accomplish per day.
So far today - a flax seed muffin for breakfast, a small portioned, low carb meal for lunch, and nearly an hour on the treadmill. I didn't go very fast today, because I was reading the Sunday paper while I was exercising, but I managed to do two things at once - and better yet, one that usually gets done while I sit in a chair and snack.
So far on my list of other possible things - cut and filed a backlog of coupons, mowed and weed-whacked the lawn, and did some laundry. If I dye my hair while I'm showering off the grass cuttings and gasoline smell, find a box to pack up the craft project stuff on the kitchen counter, cook up the healthy ground turkey tacos I've got planned for dinner, and do the dishes stacking up in the sink because my nephew needed a new plate for every snack, I'm way over the top for my list of 6 today.
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I looked over my last list and I have done almost everything on it except for photo the playroom. We sold our bed and mattress and every last stick of furniture in there except the wooden laundry bin which was not on offer. The room looks huge and very empty, and it echoes in there now. We are really leaving. The bed that we purchased because we wanted the room to remind us of our African honeymoon is now with another couple and we have $1600 to put toward our new life in England.
For the rest of today:
1. Return library books.
2. Stage and photo the master bath.
3. Read obituary of Craigslister's father so that I can respond appropriately to her email. (Only I could be in this situation by the way.)
4. Playroom. At least make progress.
5. Bake scones and banana cake.
6. Register to have breakfast with Emerson the giant turtle.
7. Apple shop to deal with G's miserable excuse for a phone - it does everything but make calls. What is this world coming to?
We are really leaving. In just 12 days. Not sure we're going to make it.
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You'll make cariad, you'll make it! You probably won't sleep for the next two weeks straight, but it will all come together....desperation is the only real antidote to procrastination.
Did little to nothing so far except nurse a head cold. Blech. I did decide I wasn't going to stay home and be miserable yesterday, so off I went to shop. I had to have lab work in the morning, so I just kept moving after the blood draw.
Bought floor paint to use on the beat stairs to the craft room. I was thinking a clean, crisp white, but after too many days of wiping dirty cat footprints off my bathtub, I opted for brick red. Ah, it won't be boring, at least.
Found the twin mattress I wanted for the rec room lounge platform on sale for $60 off (did you know you can buy coil spring mattresses compressed down in little boxes? The boxes have little luggage wheels attached so you can roll them out and slide them in the car. So strange!), so grabbed that. Bought lights for the rec room, also on sale. Found another bar stool that matches my pub table/craft room workspace. It was at the thrift store for a song, so loaded that up, along with piles of books, fun handmade pottery art for the future garden, and a random assortment of this and that for various craft workshops. Gotta love the thrift store. There were lots of random vintage bits and pieces at one of them, (someone was clearly working on cleaning out their grandmother's house) so I went a bit crazy with the fun things I found. Also blew way too much money at Hobby Lobby, which is why I try not to go if I can help it, but they are the only place that sells the beeswax I need for my next workshop. Perhaps shopping doped up on tylenol and sudafed is a bad idea....
Got home after dark, in the pouring rain. Only unloaded the perishables and simply left everything else in the car so I could crawl in bed and sleep. It's still pouring today, so it's all still parked out there. Blech again. I was still stuffy and miserable this morning, so I did nothing but sleep and read all day. Tomorrow is another day to try again.
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Progress Report:
1. Return library books.
:)
Walked there, returned them, there were just under 10 minutes until they shut so I slipped in the back door only to hear "Did a patron just walk in? Did you see her?" So I sheepishly peek round the shelves to see this very-librarian older woman and say "Hi, I can just come back tomorrow...." "No, I want to help. What were you looking for?" I wanted American Gothic by Philip Roth?" Uh, yeah, that would be American Pastoral, cariad.
2. Stage and photo the master bath.
:embarassed:
3. Read obituary of Craigslister's father so that I can respond appropriately to her email. (Only I could be in this situation by the way.)
:)
I sent the email off and asked Gwyn if writing "peace and love to you" as a goodbye was a bit too personal and his response was "Not when you've read her father's obituary, no...."
4. Playroom. At least make progress.
:) :) :) :yahoo; :yahoo; :yahoo; :yahoo;
OK, to be honest, this was today's project, but it's done. I even did some quick photo editing to take out little imperfections. Just need to email those off to property manager.
5. Bake scones and banana cake.
:-\
Cake yes, scones no
6. Register to have breakfast with Emerson the giant turtle.
:)
Phone troubles delayed this but it is done.
7. Apple shop to deal with G's miserable excuse for a phone - it does everything but make calls. What is this world coming to?
:)
Gwyn did this one. Picked up the children on the way back. Was going to pick me up on my way back from the library and guess what, car accident! He has already been deemed blameless and Progressive (other guy's insurance) has been simply lovely in getting us a rental car and arranging to have ours repaired.
Oh, jbeany, I so hope you are right that we will make it. After the car accident G wanted to delay our departure a week, but that is not possible, so we're leaving come hell or high water. May have found a buyer for the MomMobile which would relieve heaps of stress. S at the children's center, our support person for transplant and just a wonderful person. We need to get it valeted and repaired, but once that's done, I'd sell it to her for about $4k under Blue Book. It is reliable.
So, jbeany, about these mattresses? Do they sort of sproing into a mattress shape once you open the box? If so, can we get a video or :pics; I have not seen this before but what a fantastic idea!
For tonight:
1. Make scones to pack for breakfast with the turtle
2. Chop up French breakfast melon
3. Prep master bath for photos
4. Craigslist PlayRoom furniture.
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So, jbeany, about these mattresses? Do they sort of sproing into a mattress shape once you open the box? If so, can we get a video or :pics; I have not seen this before but what a fantastic idea!
I haven't opened mine yet, but here's a link to the vid for the ones that Walmart sells. I got mine at Kmart, but didn't find a vid link there. They really are supposed to pop back open, just like the stuffed animals and comforter do in the Space Bag ads. The one in the vid didn't have the helpful little wheels on the box, but if you are getting it delivered to your house, I suppose you wouldn't need them as much. My sister got a queen sized foam one online and loves it. I got the coil spring version. I haven't opened it yet - it will be easier to store in the box until I'm ready for it.
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Slumber-1-8-Mattress-In-a-Box-Multiple-Sizes/14225185
I notice the video doesn't mention that you can't squeeze them back down again, while they are yacking on about "Moving bulky mattresses is a thing of the past." In the past maybe, but future, too! Still, for the amount mine is likely to get used, it should last a long time. And not having to arrange for delivery, or try to wedge a mattress in my little car and then heft it down the steps was part of my reasoning for wanting a boxed one.
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Should be getting proper internet soon and will have a much easier time. Our house is a maze of boxes and I want to donate things that we really don't use and therefore don't need. Gwyn has been less than helpful in this regard. We had an argument over whether to donate the potato ricer. Let me see a quick show of hands - how many of you cannot get by in life without a potato ricer? Right, just give me a moment here, make sure I'm counting everyone.... and, that's none of you. Don't even ask about the battle over the paella pan - we didn't speak for 3 days! Gwyn has made paella once, at my request, and that was before we had children. Yes, my eldest is TEN.
Moving on to goals for the day: empty out the box room, bring last of suitcases downstairs, apply to secondary school for Aidan, try once again to reach local football teams for Aidan, dance class or gymnastics for Dyl, remind Gwyn to set up autopay for rent and to ring accountant in US. Bring clothing donations to local charity shop.
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Apply to more jobs.....still....yet...again. :P
Paint office.
Make cannoli for the office.
Do all 3 before the end of the week.
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Finally got a tree removal firm to come out and cut down our ash tree that was killed by the emerald ash borer. It was a very tall tree that stood next to/overhung our deck. The $750 quotation (and that was the cheapest) was the reason I procrastinated on THAT chore.
Made a pot of spag bol for the freezer. My son is arriving from London this weekend; I haven't seen him in a year, so I'm really excited. He is tall and lean but man, can he eat! He wants to have a go at driving here in the US; don't know how I feel about that. He's had his license for less than a year, but if he can drive in England, he can certainly drive here in suburban Chicago, I'm sure.
Got most of the garden's pre-winter prep done. Still have to transplant my rosemary from pot to ground; I've never been able to get rosemary to survive the winter, but I've seen it at the arboretum, so I know it can be done. This will be my fourth go! I have a more mature garden now, so I can find a more sheltered spot, I think.
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Applied to two jobs this afternoon. Found a job fair next Tuesday with two law - related firms attending, so did some prep for that. Still have one cover letter to work on for another job that I have little shot at, but going to throw my hat in the ring anyhow. Spent the last 6 hours on the computer job hunting and working on the apps and cover letters, so feel like I'm going cross-eyed and ready for a break now! But I do feel good for having accomplished something.
It must be time to paint the office instead.
I did attempt to make cannoli. The cancer support group I volunteer with has a policy - no goodies made with alcohol allowed. (A member who is also a recovering alcoholic had a fit when a local restaurant donated dinner, and the chicken had been marinated in a red wine sauce. Pity - I had it, and it was divine! But anyhow...) So I looked online to find a cannoli recipe without white wine in the dough. Found a version that used a combo of vinegar and fruit juice instead. Okay, sounds reasonable. So I tried it. Uuuuuhhhh. NO. Just no. The texture was all wrong, and it was not the thin crispy crunch of a cannoli at all. Anything that only tastes just "okay" after deep-frying is no winner in my book. I wasn't going to waste my ricotta on it. Instead of trying to make the shells, I rolled the dough out, coated it in melted butter, cinnamon, and sugar, and made something that resembles a fruity biscotti. I've got them frozen in little baggies at my place, for later. I did a fast switch on plans for treats to take to the club, and made homemade Butterfinger bars instead. Apparently I didn't make enough - only the first half of the line to go through the buffet got them! :)
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Wow, complaining about a free dinner that you don't have to eat because the sauce may have traces of alcohol? Seems rather self-absorbed. Would anyone even be able to taste a bit of wine baked in a shell? I love Whole Foods' cannoli and would never have guessed it might contain alcohol. Oh, and Gwyn says he needs that Butterfinger recipe. :)
My only goal for tonight is to email Chicago. We bought loads of fruit, veg, cheese and meat at the open market. The local butcher gave Gwyn some free pork and tomato sausages to try when we went in there for eggs and breakfast sausage.
Our oven exploded Thursday night (heating element gave out with a pop) so we are limited to whatever we can make on the cooktop until Monday night. Used this as excuse to dine at our favourite pub last night. :yahoo;
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Yup, the member was upset that the rest of us weren't planning our donations around her recovery - that none of us knew about. The theory was that even if the alcohol was cooked out, the flavor would be enough to tempt her, so don't use alcohol for seasoning anything. (Although just what she thinks real vanilla is made of is beyond me...) Ah, well. I find it hard to understand one person trying to make demands limiting alcohol in donations to a group that is not focused on alcoholism, but it's not my place to fight her on it, so there it is. I wasn't informed of the the new policy until I brought in a tray of kahlua cream cheese brownies and was politely asked to take them back. I didn't care - I knew I could take them to the law clinic with all the starving law students. I took them back out to my car and left them there. When I got back to my car at the end of the evening, half of them were gone. The members who had overheard what I had brought and why I had to remove them had been sneaking out to my car all afternoon to get them!
Homemade Butterfinger bars are almost too easy to admit to. Melt one pound of peanut butter and one pound of candy corn in the microwave. (Get the good Brachs stuff.) Check and stir until smooth and orange. Spread in 8x8 greased pan, cover with about 1 cup of chocolate and 1 tablespoon of peanut butter melted together, and cut into squares while still warm. If you want to get fancy, do a big batch of 32 0z each ingredient, spread on a cookie sheet covered with waxed or parchment paper, and slice into thin candy bar shapes while still warm. Using a second covered cookie sheet, spread out the sliced bars between the two sheets so there is space between them, pour melted chocolate over them to make them look like real candy bars. I like to put the melted chocolate in a ziploc bag, clip off a corner, and run a thick line of it down the center of each bar. Smooth it with a spoon while still warm to make it run down the sides. Stick in fridge to cool, and pop them off the tray.
If you smile and claim the recipe is a secret, everyone thinks you are an expert candy maker who spent hours in the kitchen over a hot stove with a candy thermometer. :angel;
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What is candy corn?
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^
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*
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We don't have candy corn here. Is it crunchy? Or chewy? Maybe I can find a substitute.
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Jbeany - try Jelly Belly candy corn. Better then Brach's!
Yummmmm, but that's harder to find here than Brach's, though! Seriously though, just get some decent stuff for this recipe and not the no-name junk that tastes like wax.
We don't have candy corn here. Is it crunchy? Or chewy? Maybe I can find a substitute.
from http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/menus/candy-corn.htm
"Candy corn is a sweet replicate of dried corn kernels. It's considered a "mellow cream," a name for a type of candy made from corn syrup and sugar that has a marshmallow-like flavor. Although candy corn tastes rich, it's actually fat-free."
There are pics on this link. It's mostly sugar and corn syrup with fondant added. It also comes in the shape of mini-pumpkins this time of year. If you can't find something in orange, just add a bit of food coloring to get the Butterfinger coloring.
Hey noah, did you see this? :)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/07/candy-corn-oreos_n_1865397.html
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Wrote the letter in 1945, and laid the letter on the dresser until I could get a stamp for it.
Huh, oh what? :shy; :oops;
My candidacy for President of the Worlds Procrastinators Club. :Kit n Stik;
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from http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/menus/candy-corn.htm
"Candy corn is a sweet replicate of dried corn kernels. It's considered a "mellow cream," a name for a type of candy made from corn syrup and sugar that has a marshmallow-like flavor. Although candy corn tastes rich, it's actually fat-free."
Mellow cream? That sounds fancy. I always considered it primarily a decorative item. And sure, I will eat it if desperate, but is anyone really desperate for candy around Halloween?