I'm broke this summer. More so than I thought. I've been broke before and I know it takes some creativity to survive. I decided to start with food. I will be making all of our meals at home for the next month until my financial situation improves. I checked all the ads for our local grocery stores and made a grocery list based off what was on sale. I color coded the list so I knew which foods were on sale at which grocery store. I didn't buy anything just because it was on sale, but because I knew I could use it. I don't normally buy a whole lot of meat, but I did this time because it was cheap and I can make it go a long way. All I need to do now is get a new crock pot because mine decided to crap out on me yesterday.
For Sunday breakfast, I made what was supposed to be an egg casserole, but it ended up being exactly like a quiche without the crust. I'm really not sure what the difference is between a casserole and a quiche. Either way, it was surprisingly delicious and cost maybe $1 per serving. I haven't made a nice breakfast in quite awhile so this was nice.
Here is a picture and the recipe:
Serves 8
Ingredients:
8 eggs
8 slices cheese about 1/8" thick
4 slices fairly thin sliced ham
1/4 c milk
1 small onion, diced
2 cups vegetables such as mushrooms and bell pepper
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350° and grease a 9" pie plate
2) Line the bottom of the pie plate with the sliced ham
3) Evenly arrange the onion, vegetables, and cheese on the ham
4) Whisk together the eggs, milk, salt, and pepper until thoroughly beaten
5) Pour egg mixture into pie plate
6) Bake 30-40 minutes or until center is no longer runny
This turns out to be cheap, quick to prepare, tasty, and pretty healthy. If you use lean ham and skim milk, it ends up being around 180 calories per serving and it's packed with protein.
I really enjoy cooking but don't do it much because I don't like cleaning up. I got burned out after cooking for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter and my family helped clean up those messes! I'm going to have to suck it up and do it anyway. Even if it means doing dishes and cleaning things up 4 times in one weekend. My Great Grandma did this every single day. I should quit being a pansy and do it. Homemade food is healthier, cheaper, and provides family bonding time when we eat together.
I stopped at my favorite coffee shop this morning to get my usual 20 oz nonfat latte. I don't stop too often because I have only been able to turn down the delicious baked goods once. Today makes twice. I opted for a container of fresh fruit instead. It just looked pretty. I should have taken a picture. Anyway, one of my coworkers walked into my office as I was devouring my delicious strawberries, cantaloupe, and pineapple. He jokingly told me I need to eat healthier. I told him that I would be eating my weight in spaghetti later today. He said, "That's a lot of spaghetti!" Immediately after the words came out of his mouth, he looked terrified. As he started stammering, it dawned on me that he thought I thought he meant I was fat. Well, in my opinion, eating a baby's weight in spaghetti is a heck of a lot of spaghetti. So, eating MY weight is nearly unfathomable. He quickly exited my office. I think I'll let him think I'm mad at him for a bit.
The weather people say it's going to rain this afternoon/night. It has been 32 days since we have had any measurable rain. We got about 40 large drops a week or so ago. That's it. Everything is brown except the weeds. They've predicted rain a couple times in the past month, but the rain has failed to fall. With this prediction of rain comes the promise of slightly cooler temperatures. Just the small hope that we'll have at least one day under 100 degrees has greatly improved attitudes. For the past few weeks, people have been downright mean. Me included. So, for the sake of all humanity, I really hope it rains and cools off a few degrees!
The other day, 3 masked men broke into a woman's home and brutally attacked her for the sole reason that she is lesbian. They somehow think that just because the woman likes other women, that gave them the right to strip her, tie her up, carve obscenities into her skin, write obscenities on her walls, and try to light her house on fire. Everyone has the right to their own opinions but not the right to hurt anyone because of them. The thought of this woman's attack makes me want to hunt down the perpetrators and teach them a lesson in kindness.
Speaking of kindness, Grace is learning that just because someone is mean to her, she shouldn't be mean to them. I remember being a kid and trying to figure this one out. The problem always was that the mean kids never got caught being mean, but the nice kids always got caught treating the mean kids the way they treated everyone else. Does that make sense? It's not fair but that's the way it's been since the beginning of time. Grace is at the age where girls really start being cruel. I'm trying to teach her that she will not feel good about herself if she's being mean to anyone, including the mean girls. I've told her that she can think anything she wants about anyone, but she needs to keep the bad thoughts in her head or in a journal. Growing up is really hard.
On a completely different note, I've been driving past this sign everyday for weeks. It says "DANGER DO NOT ENTER." I can't figure out what the danger is. This is the only sign so I'm guessing it's only dangerous to enter from this side. It's been a source of great confusion for many weeks now. Someday, I will figure out what the big danger is. Until then, I will have to contain my urge to walk right past that danger sign just in case the property is booby trapped. I don't want to lose a leg or anything.
I had a wonderful weekend. I spent a good amount of time at the pool with my daughter. We swam-raced, played tag, did flips in the water, and had an all around good time. I danced in the water and Grace reminded me that dancing in public is not allowed unless she has given me prior permission. I danced anyway. She also educated me in "pool love." It's a crush that forms at the pool. She caught "pool love" but not the boy's name. This happened twice. I also managed to slightly tan my legs. This has happened one other time in my life. I think. Maybe not even once. They'll be bright white again by this afternoon.
I got a new swimming suit that actually fits. If you're looking to get yourself a new suit and don't want to spend a lot of money, I suggest JC Penney. Walmart is down to a couple of funky one pieces and all of the 2 piece tops are extra small and the bottoms are size 3x. I'm not sure how that happened. Target's selection isn't that great either. I couldn't find a decent suit for less than $50. I'm cheap and that's too expensive. Anyway, I found a lovely one piece that covers all my lumps and chub. Unlike many females I saw this weekend, I prefer to keep that stuff covered. Not because I'm ashamed of it, but because I know other people don't want to see it. Props to those ladies for not giving a rat's ass what other people might think.
I followed a fire truck and ambulance all the way from downtown to the airport today. I didn't do it on purpose. They just happened to be driving all the way across town at the same time as me. As I was driving behind them, I started thinking about the fires in the sandhills and how miserable the firefighters must be. I've been thinking for a long time that I want to get a job doing art with nursing home residents. I changed my mind this morning. I want to go around and take care of the emergency workers who are saving lives. I like to cook. Maybe the city would hire me to cook meals at a fire station. I really feel like my job should be doing good for other people who are doing good things. Answering the phones and helping customers reach someone to install wi-fi on their multimillion dollar aircraft is not what I was meant to do. It's a good job and I have a good time at work, but it's not what I was meant to do. I need to be up and moving around and contributing to society. Unfortunately, I don't have a college education and I'm not sure how to go about doing this stuff while getting good benefits and making a living wage.
I want it to cool off a wee bit because I've been coming across some delicious looking recipes and it's too hot to cook. I'm scared if I turn on the oven, my air conditioner will go into overdrive (more so than it already is) and give out. It's not a valid fear. The air conditioner is young. It can handle it, but I'd rather not wear it out any faster. I'm trying to figure out how to make these things in the microwave.
I've just heard that the excessive heat warning has been extended until Wednesday. Yay. Good thing I've already told myself that it's going to stay this hot until October. It'll be a wonderful surprise if it happens to cool off sooner.
I don't like Healthy Choice Asian Potstickers. They made me gag a little.
Happy Monday!
Hey, I don't have a tumor. Did you read that right? I'll repeat it. I DON'T HAVE A TUMOR!!!
I have a confession to make regarding this subject. I was really worried that Garbanzo had resurrected. Some of the symptoms had returned and I was petrified that I was going to have to waste more of my life dealing with the bastard. My Mama told me that I should have told her I was worried instead of getting bitchy and not telling her why. After 30 years with me, she still hasn't learned to translate my various forms of bitchyness. She should work on that. Or I should work on that. Or both.
Learning that Garbanzo has remained dead has paved the way for an outstanding weekend. I had already planned a good weekend despite what my test results said, but now I can truly enjoy it. There will be lots of swimming involved. I will ignore the fact that it's deathly hot outside and enjoy the sun and water and my kid. Something different should happen this weekend as well because my Chinese fortune said so.
I hope you all enjoy a happy and silly weekend!!!
The Color Run was Saturday in Omaha. After hunting down a car to borrow that has working A/C, the near possibility that my beloved friends wouldn't make it, and gearing up with white clothes, pink lipstick, and a purple bandanna, we headed to Omaha.
Once there, we got in the incredibly long line to start the run. They let people start in "waves" of 1000. We were in the 10th wave. Each wave started between 5-10 minutes apart. We stood in some serious heat for a seriously long time, but I didn't mind. Sweat was nothing compared to what I was about to get myself into. I was having a good time, too. I was thoroughly entertained looking at all the costumes people wore. My favorite was the cheetah print, spandex body suit bravely worn by a young man. He had a matching sweatband.
Finally, it was our turn to go. Mo and Kyler sprinted way ahead of us. I walked with Kenny, Mae, my Mom, and Grace. We were soon pelted with lots of pink dust. Then blue. We neared a water station with happiness because we were very thirsty. To our great disappointment, they had run out of water. We continued on through the yellow to the next water station where they had a plentiful supply. Wait. Maybe the yellow was after the water. I was so thirsty, I can't remember. Mae drank at least 5 cups though. Grace shared her extra cup with me. The water renewed our energy and we continued our trek to the orange with the promise that there was a ton of water at the end of the run. Along the way, we found sprinklers which the girls enjoyed. By the way, there was no water at the end.
The orange was my least favorite. Not only because the sweat made it turn a funky brown, but because I had myself an accident. I was walking backwards trying to encourage Grace who was very worn out. I didn't realize that Mae was right behind me, rolling on the ground to cover herself in as much orange as possible. I tripped over her and landed flat on my back on the concrete. I was really worried that I had hurt Mae and Kenny was really worried because I had hit my head...and elbows...and everything else. Mae and I both jumped up with great speed and agility. She was not hurt. I wasn't sure if I was hurt and began walking again with Kenny making me wiggle my fingers to check for broken arm bones and asking me repeatedly if I was sure my head was ok. In hindsight, I probably should have headed straight to the medical tent to be checked out because I did hit my head pretty hard. I think I'm ok though. My elbows are bruised and sore and I've got a good case of whiplash, but I'm not dead.
In the end, all the sweat, lack of water, and injuries were totally worth it. I didn't think so right away, but then I saw the pictures and we all look pretty darn happy. Now, I wish I could do this everyday.
It was not a good day. I had been anticipating the date for 2 whole weeks. That was how long Grace had been at her dad's in Arizona and how long I had anxiously awaited her return. She was due to land in Omaha midafternoon. I had a lovely afternoon/evening planned out. Dinner, snuggles, and fireworks were on the agenda. Those plans were thrown out the window.
When I woke up that morning, I had a horrible feeling that something was not right. I tried to tell myself the bad feeling was just nervousness and excitement. I should know by now to trust my gut. At about noon, I went to get a rental car so that I could get to the Omaha airport to get Grace. My car is not trustworthy at this time and the a/c isn't reliable. My rental car company of choice wouldn't give me a car because I couldn't pass their mandatory credit check for debit card users. My credit is good enough to get a car loan, but not rent a car. I went to my second company of choice with the assumption that I would not be getting a rental car because last time I went there, they held an extra $500 on my debit card. I didn't have quite that much. Luckily, they changed their rules and I was able to get the car. I thought that was going to be the only glitch and was the cause of my uneasiness, but my uneasiness didn't subside.
On the way home from getting the rental car, my Mom's phone rang. It was Grace's father. His wife had messed up the flight time and Grace was going to miss her flight. He didn't know if he was going to be able to get Grace on a later flight and made sure to mention that it was going to cost him quite a bit of money if he could. Like we cared. His wife messed up. Not us. Not Grace. He called back a few minutes later to say he got Grace on a later flight that would land at midnight and it cost him $200. He's lucky he talked to my Mom and not me because I would have started a fight.
Grace was very upset because she was so homesick and just wanted to come home. I was very upset because I missed her so much and had such a wonderful day planned for her. In the end, she made it home. Yes, it was no longer the 4th of July, but she was home. She got to snuggle me and I got to snuggle her.
The wife has yet to apologize. I don't expect an apology either. I'm not sure she even knows what an apology is.
