Pets!

Pets have made my life more balanced and unbalanced! We have many animals in our household. From dogs to fish, we have run the gamut. Some have come into our lives for only a short time (ie hamsters, etc), but all have been loved and cared for.

When I was growing up, we were allowed a dog. Oh, I admit, a gerbil did come to visit, but dogs were all my dad wanted. I was about 7 or 8 when we got our first dog, which is saying something, because my brother was a teenager by then. So much for a boy and his dog! We had to name the dog Blackie because my dad had a dog named Blackie when he was young. This dog was a pure bred Puli and was very cranky. So much for the family pet. He was very hairy as well. He contracted cancer or something and I think I was in my early teens when we had to put him down.

Our next dog was a mutt my sister brought home. It was named Muffin. My mom had a dog named, you guessed it, Muffin when she was young. Muffin was nice enough, but a big chicken. She would get in the tub whenever it stormed! I moved away and can’t remember when Muffin crossed the great rainbow bridge.

Move onto adult hood. My husband and I had a few cats. Such a novelty! But the cats were not strictly indoor ones and all came to untimely demises. We got our first dog in 2001. A little beagle that is still going strong at 12 years old! We added her “sister”, another beagle a couple of years later and now have added another cat, (indoor only of course). Again fish, hamsters and guneia pigs have come and gone.

Let it Snow!

Snow! I love the cold and the snow. I know many people would disagree with me, especially my husband who enjoys the hot sun of summer. (Yuck). As a native St. Louisian, I am used to snow and do not really mind too much driving in it either. I can’t say I enjoy driving in it, but once you get your snow wheels under you, you do get used to it.

Nothing, of course, is better, than to be snug in your home, Christmas tree lit, fire in the fireplace and snow gently falling outside your window. Snug inside, you are tucked in a cozy chair, wrapped in a snug, soft blanket. In your hand is a wonderful book, by your side is a cup of cocoa and at your feet is a curled up beloved cat or dog. Ahhhh. Yes.

In reality, snow usually comes when you have to be at work, are running late and have bald tires. You try to shovel, but it is probably easier to just drive over it and worry about it later! And the cold. It can be the worst. Trying to clear off your car with wind howling and the bitter cold biting through your coat and gloves. Snow tucking into your shoes because you couldn’t find your boots. Despite, the drudge of all of this, I still LOVE SNOW!

Snow is beautiful and magical. It floats so quietly to the ground and heaps up into gentle drifts. It covers up the ugly grey and brown colors of winter and dusts it in a pristine cover of white. Welcome snow season!

Thanksgiving thankfulness

I have so many things to be thankful for at Thanksgiving! The first thing I have to be thankful for is living in a country where I am free to worship my Lord and God. I can freely go to church, to Bible study and to pray to my God in public. And to the soldiers that keep my country free to do this, I am very thankful as well!

For my family, I am so very thankful. I have loving parents that are still with me. I have a big brother that made me an Aunt. I have a sister I finally can get along with! I am blessed to have my husband of many years and three gorgeous, smart, awesome daughters that sit at my table. Of course, with marriage there are in-laws and I like mine and they seem to like me! Who could ask for more? They all come to eat at our house on Thanksgiving along with added boyfriends and close friends. How blessed am I!

I am also blessed with a home that has room to hold all we love. It is not a fashion palace, but it is cozy and comfortable. We all tuck in together and squish together at the table.

Then there is our feast. How blessed am I to be able to provide yummy, healthy food to serve my family. The turkey (although very expensive this year!) was juicy and delicious. Everyone contributed something to eat and it all comes together in a wonderful way, topped with delicious pies for dessert. Blessed indeed, I am thankful!

Yummy chicken for dinner!

So the other night, I did not know what to cook for dinner. It had to be fast, as my middle daughter needed to be off to play practice. The youngest wanted hamburgers, but I knew I could not thaw the hamburger and make it on time.

So I checked the freezer. We did have pre cooked chicken breasts. So I boiled some noodles, thawed the pre cooked chicken and cut it into pieces. Now chicken with noodles would be easy, I needed some kind of sauce. My middle likes cream sauce, my youngest doesn’t like much, so I decided to make a cream sauce for the chicken and noodles.

First came the stick of butter! As I learned from the fine folks at Food Network, a stick of butter is good thing! I then added some heavy cream left over from Thanksgiving. As both of those blended in the pot together, I hunted down some milk and some grated Parmesan. I poured both generously into the pot and stirred it up. It thickened nicely and tasted good!

Sauce done, noodles done and chicken diced, I put it all together. Now normally, I would take it all, cover it with more cheese, like cheddar, and bake it in the over for a while. Since I did not have that kind of time, I just opted to stir it all up and serve it. It was still delicious.

Since I didn’t have lettuce and needed to at least offer some veggies, I again reached into my freezer and pulled out some broccoli wth cheese sauce and threw it in the microwave for 10 minutes. Violia! Dinner is served!

Christmas shopping

The day after Christmas shopping has always been my favorite, but alas the economy has stolen this fun tradition away from me. It used to be the day after Christmas was bargains galore! I would head out early, best stores mapped on my radar and cash in hand. My pre-shopping for the next year would begin. What a great way to save money. Lights, wrapping paper, cards from Hallmark, no less! Also, ornaments, towels and make up kits. All slashed cheap for me.

Then the Great Recession happened. First year, the stores cut their prices before Christmas even came. They had a huge inventory they had planned to purchase based on the year before. They had to get rid of it in a hurry, because no one was buying it. The country was still in shock from the economy. So the after Christmas sales were damaged that year, all the deals to be had were gone before Christmas had even come and gone! The next year, the stores were scared, so they did not purchase as much inventory as the year before, and once again, they lowered the prices before Christmas was even over. This year remains to be seen. As usual, inventory is very low. No store wants to get stuck with anything again.

Of course, I was headed out the day after Christmas years ago, with high hopes. My middle daughter, having seen the bargains I was getting, wanted to come along. All for passing down the tradition, I took her. We were disappointed that first year, having nothing to choose from, but we enjoyed being together. The next year, we were really disappointed, but again, enjoyed out outing anyway. She is really big on Hallmark fan. We will see what this holds. Maybe we will do Hallmark only and then enjoy a nice breakfast together!

Black Friday

There is no way I am rolling myself out of bed the day after Thanksgiving to go shopping! There is nothing I want in this world bad enough to do that! I think some of the people that hang out for days, are really having fun and they should! But there is no way I’m gonna do it! I think it is fun to watch them on television from my cozy home. And now, someone used pepper spray? Really? I hope that one does jail time and shame on that store for not controlling the situation!

One of my favorite tricks is going to BFads.com and searching for the black Friday deals, before black Friday. You can then shop in advance and simply stroll in the day after Thanksgiving and get a price adjustment on the item that you bought. I have done this before on tv’s for my daughters. And last year, Costco was selling their tv’s at the lower prices the whole week before Thanksgiving and simply being in the right place at the right time was really helpful! Cheating? I don’t think so, I call it savvy shopping!

Really electronics seem to be the only good buy the day after Thanksgiving. I can’t imagine sleeping outside for toys! My friend simply shopped online from her home and received the same deal. No standing in lines, she was very proud of herself. She has too many children and is too busy to be standing outside for a toy.