It snowed last night!!!! I was out to dinner with a girlfriend, and driving home, I followed a car going 8 mph. Ah, Seattle area drivers in the snow. Good grief. I currently have a pan of hot milk for homemade yogurt cooling in the snow on the deck.
I'm looking for some input from smart people.
Psst, that would be you.
This spring, our remodel begins. With the addition to the basement, we're getting an extra bedroom upstairs. All of the disgusting rental house carpet will be ripped up on both floors to accommodate the addition. Downstairs will be all wood floors, with a little carpet left in our portion of the basement. Upstairs will be wood floors, with carpet in the bedrooms (my concession to Troy because I HATE carpet).
We will have five people in the house, and god willing one day there will be a tiny sixth. There will be cars raced around on the wood floors, because let's be honest, why have a smooth surface if you can't ride on cars in the house? There will be a wheelchair, multiple sets of feet, and one person who always has to wear their shoes in the house, because shoes keep their fake leg attached! So, I'm anticipating a wee bit more of floor upkeep than we have now.
Our Costco rebate is coming this month, I've seen this vacuum there, and am thinking of buying it with the rebate. Does anyone have any experience with it? Can you recommend it? On one hand, I hate the idea of having something plugged in all the time, thereby drawing power from the grid, but on the other hand, I know my ass isn't going to be able to keep up on all the floor work with just a broom. We already have a steam mop for weekly deep-cleans, but it's the day to day dirt I want to keep at bay.
One of the benefits of purchasing it from Costco is their amazing return policy. If I'm not happy with it, or if something happens, I can always bring it back. Please ask my sister who is on her fourth Dyson from Costco...
So, what say you?
This week, we had frigid temps in the Puget Sound area. Don't laugh Polar Vortex people, but we had temps down in to the teens, and the wind was pretty strong. Wednesday morning, I was driving to work and saw a woman wearing pajama pants and a sweatshirt. No coat, no hat, no gloves, and she was wearing a sign that said "hungry and cold, anything will help". It was easily only l7 degrees out.
I have a personal policy to never give panhandlers money, so I rolled down my window and gave her my favorite pair of gloves. They're so warm, and cozy, and I just love them. But I can go buy more gloves, and I'm sure if I dug hard enough at home, I can find another pair that is suitable for keeping my mitts toasty.
My policy to never give cash was affirmed when she yelled "bitch, I don't need any gloves".
Ahem.
Had I the time and some spare cardboard, I would have stood next to her with a sign that said "actually, by anything, she means money only please. Local checks accepted".
Sunday, we had a Super Bowl party at my parent's, and it was quite a treat to see the Seahawks completely demolish the Broncos. Jack, who has never shown any interest ever in football, was super in to it. Troy's parents bought him a Seahawks shirt for "12th Man Day" at preschool, and he was beyond excited to get to wear it to church. He decided that wasn't enough, and had Troy draw some lines on his face to look like a real football player.
Little did he know, the "manly" grease he wore on his face was my eyeliner.
And then he insisted we couldn't take it off for 48 hours.
Yesterday, Jack and I ran errands so that Troy could get some studying done. At some point during the trip, Jack had decided that when we got home, I was going to make him a Wolverine costume with mask and hands with claws. I'm not sure when he got so confident in my sewing ability, but I knew it wasn't happening. He did manage to tell EVERYONE in the stores what would be taking place when we got home.
When we did finally get home, I had about three hours of meal prep ahead of me. Jack and Troy went in to the garage for about an hour, and came back looking like this:
Troy's super hero costume creation skills are incredible. I wish I had taken a close up photo of Jack's Wolverine claws, because they are amazing. They are made from cardboard that fits in Jack's hand and has little finer holders to allow him to move them around. They're secured by velcro, that judging by the open doors and state of my sewing cabinet, likely came from my sewing stash. The actual claws are the masterpiece; lacqured chopsticks, lovingly covered in tinfoil. Truly amazing!
Update from last week: I still have ZERO desire for sugar. If you're trying to break your sugar habit, go on a one week sugar fast, and then arrange to get the flu the day you start consuming sugar again. I tell you, it is the most effective diet out there! I've probably lost about three pounds, but that is a guess since we don't own a scale. All my clothes are fitting better, and the sweet stuff tastes like crap to me.
Meal plan time! Reminder, I only plan dinners. My breakfast of choice
has changed, and I'm now obsessed with homemade Greek yogurt with tons
of cut up fresh fruit (or fruit I froze in the summer), and a homemade granola bar crumbled on top. It's delicious and keeps me completely full and
satisfied until lunch. Lunches are always leftovers. We rarely
eat dessert during the week, and our dinner drink of choice is water kefir soda.
Monday:: We're going over to our neighbor's for dinner. She just started Weight Watchers, so I am bringing a sugar, dairy, and gluten-free chocolate banana freezer pie.
Tuesday:: Working late, and eating at work. Jack will eat at my aunt and uncle's house.
Wednesday:: Married Single Mom's dinner. I'm making my fav fish recipe (with frozen wild caught cod from Trader Joes instead of farmed tilapia), roasted brussels sprouts with sweet potatoes, and salad.
Thursday:: My in-laws are feeding us. I'm in charge of an appetizer. I'm making roasted garlic to be paired with cambezola (sp?) cheese, and some rosemary crackers from Costco. YUM!
Friday:: Popcorn dinner. Yes, seriously we eat popcorn for
dinner. It's popcorn, leftovers, cheese slices, fruit, and cut up
veggies. Everyone gets as much as they want, and no one leaves hungry.
I adore Fridays because it is the easiest night of the week for making
everyone happy!
Saturday:: Troy's grandma's 90th birthday is at 2 pm that day, so I'm not sure if we'll even be hungry. If we are, either winging it, or if I am being completely honest, I'll probably make the boys take me out to dinner.
Sunday:: Family dinner at my parent's.
This week I spent a whopping $110 at three grocery stores, $3.50 at the farm for raw milk, $16 at our local butcher, and $22 at Costco. Sheesh!
What are you having for dinner this week?
Labels: Meal plan
