Anitpasto on a Stick

Antipasto on a Stick



Skewers

Cubed mozzarella

Cubed colby jack

Cubed ham

Cubed salami

Grape tomatoes

Marinated vegetables; cauliflower, carrots, peppers, pickles

Black olives

Green olives

Artichoke hearts

Lite Italian dressing



Soak the skewers. Place each item in any way you like on the skewers. Pour the Italian dressing in a shallow dish and roll the skewered salad in the Italian dressing. Chill and serve.

I made this for a pot luck dinner we have during our monthly game night. It was a big hit. No fussing around picking things off a platter, you can just grab a stick and go.

Still Running Around

Valentine's Day with Will was wonderful. It was a really low key visit which is just what I needed. We became addicted to Katamari Darmacy . This game is so simple and so fun. You roll things up. That's it. Will made me a mixed tape. I couldn't believe it! Now I just wish I had a tape player outside of my car!

We also did some shopping and went out for breakfast. Just spending time together is amazing. It's all the small day to day things that we lack.

I will be moving in with Will May 15th. We've decided that 2 years worth of 5 hour drives to see each other is enough. Also, it will be easier to plan the wedding when we are both in the same state. We should be getting married shortly after I am living there.

Will said that he wants us to live our lives with no regrets, no matter what our circumstances might entail. The only thing I regret at this point is the 2 years of days I've lost being with him. I've been happy every day, but sad at the missing of him.

My friend Josh from Montana is going to be visiting me today. He's been out traveling around. Tomorrow I am taking my first vacation day from work in a year and 6 months. We are going to the National Clock and Watch Museum. I love clockworks. Gears are just cool. I'm looking forward to this adventure and to seeing my friend.

So even though I only got a few hours of sleep after driving home from Will, I ran around preparing the house for a visitor. I even went the extra step and made some mint chocolate brownies. It's good to do something extra for a visitor. Not only does it feel good, it should distract him from all the things I didn't get to finish doing to prepare for his arrival!

Getting Back to Blogging

I've left off the blogging for a while. I've been busy doing things, keeping up with the holidays and all that fun. It was a lot of work for me. I had my grandparents and my Hunny visit. I made about a billion snowflakes from paper to hang all over and I did a ton of cooking. I don't think I have ever been as sleep deprived as I was over the 3 weeks around the holidays this year.




Now I'm wishing I wasn't so productive today. My back is aching! After work I did my every night breakfast/lunch/dinner cooking. Dinner was mac & cheese with peas and hot dogs. I'll be working on eating healthier later.

I also did a load of laundry, vacuumed and mopped the kitchen, cleaned the 1st bath, and started packing. Busy! All this was done before 8!

I watched a History Channel program on the garden of Eden also.

I've started reading A Course in Miracles at bedtime. I had a dream last night that involved being given a gold ring that had a snake and a ruby on it. According to dream dictionaries these are all symbols of enlightenment. Maybe I'm actually learning something from the book? I found it profoundly odd.

I'm trying to get ready to spend Valentine's Day with my Hunny. Sachi will not be pleased about the trip, but she will love it once we get there.

May I Please Have Some New Legs?

Busy weekend for me! Friday I just flopped. The work week felt really long. I think I was asleep before 11!

Saturday I was up by 6:30 and moving by 7:30. First task was the yard. I usually do it every other week, but because I went to see Will last weekend I was a week behind. The weed whacker was out of spool so on went the gardening gloves and the edging had to be done by hand. As I went around the yard I was pulling out all the long growth around the edges, alternating hands and tossing behind me. I must have looked like some crazy cartoon character. The little trees have been sprouting a number of branches that are right at the level to poke out my eyes. Blind gardening does not sound like a fun idea. So I took the clippers and cut them back. After that came the mowing of 3 weeks growth. Then the rake. I'm happy to report some of the grass is finally spreading to the bald patch. 3 hours of work with a few good breaks from the heat and the yard looks great. I even tended to the flowers both in the front and back.





I also:
Put away a load of laundry, tidied the kitchen and living room, cleaned the downstairs bath, dishes, and took out my grandmothers chair to be cleaned and set in the sun for airing after living in Amy's basement for 5 years.

Sunday I made Amy a lasagna for her birthday and brought it over. The Butchers were having band practice so afterwards everyone had cake. A rainstorm was rolling in so I made a haste exit to get home and get the trash out before the deluge.

I have still yet to finish the cabinets and free myself from the moths once and for all. It's such a loathsome task I'm finding it hard to get myself to finish it up. I know I will be grateful once it is done, it's just getting myself to do it is the challenge.

I Have an Enemy!

UGGGGGGH! I've been infested with Flour Moths! I must have brought home a bad bag of flour from the store.

I cannot even tell you how upsetting this is. I have so much stocked in my pantry. I don't know if I will have to get rid of everything I've stored or not. It's disturbing and scary and icky and expensive! I thought they were only in the 1 stand alone cabinet and I cleaned that all out and plastic containered everything and it was fine. Then I went away for the weekend and came back and they are attacking a different cabinet. Hopefully they are just there. I will get more containers and clean out that cabinet and pro actively clean the other cabinet and that should be the end of that. I hope. I tossed 2 trash bags of food the last time. 2! I'm too broke for this. This pantry stocking has been my life line. So very sad! Not to mention gross!

32 years of life and this is the first time I have ever seen this. There have been a lot of problems with food this past year. I think the standards are getting entirely too low. I wish people would get it together and be more concerned for peoples well being. Now, I've lost so much food, and I will have spent over $100 buying cleaning agents and plastic containers. All on top of having to replace all this food. All on top of I already can't even pay all my bills. The spiral moves on downward.

Still At It

Wow how time slips by! Sad to report that all of my dear friends are having terrible and dramatic changes in their lives. Most of my time has been spent listening, feeding, comforting and offering small bits of advice. I love them all dearly and I truly hope they feel better soon. I know they all have their strengths, and with just a little diligence and careful planning and execution they will all be able to rise above these troubles.

I've been carrying on with at least keeping this house clean if I can't repair it. I am in love with my new mop and Spic and Span. I hated Pine sol's smell, and I'm sure that's what lead to my slacking off on mopping.

Will's flowers are doing well. The box in the front is growing like crazy! They look so cheerful. The pots in the back are not fairing as well. There was a massive storm and I was not home at the time to move them. The pink ones looked completely like a lost cause. But as of today I have 5 blooms that have come back. Nature is amazing. The blue and purple are still ok, but they are just ok. Not really sure what I need to do to make them as good as the ones in the front though. I have no idea what I'm doing!

In the summer time I am not generally hungry for dinner and I often skip it. I find that I actually feel better when I do. I think sometimes in the warmer weather the fullness makes me feel a little sick. But I have a fridge full of left overs that I can take for lunch. So my new plan is that I will continue to make meals as needed. If I am not hungry, then they become lunch to go to work with. Much better than a bologna sandwich. As an example, tea and toast and jam is usually just the right amount for an evening meal for me these days. Maybe cereal, or some cheese and crackers. I really just don't need much at night. But for lunch I had a good amount of spaghetti and meat balls so you see, my meals are still there, just kind of flipped around.

I need to get back on track of paying the bills. I have the money, it's just pure procrastination that is keeping me from sending them out. This must stop tonight.

I cleaned the kitchen and took care of the plants today. I'm going to toss in some laundry and do some bills. That's about it for tonight.

Yesterday I vacuumed the furniture, cleaned the kitchen, made dinner, cleaned the first floor bath, and did some dusting. Shawn needed a place to find some peace and came here last night. I made some dinner for us out of just throwing things together. It actually turned out good! I chopped up onions, peppers, celery, carrots and peas and cooked them down in some oil. I added shredded chicken, salt, pepper and adobo. I cooked up some rice and then made a packet of chicken Dijon sauce to put on top of it all. I love that I keep a fully stocked pantry.

I really can't wait until I can be home to take full and proper care of the home. It's all I really want to do. It gives me so much peace.

Quickie

Yesterday I managed to mow "vacuum" the lawn. I find it easier to deal with if I pretend I am just vacuuming rather than doing yard work. Picture this: I was wearing a fluffy skirt, tee shirt, a newsboy cap, black and white striped socks and ballet flats. That's proper lawn mowing attire, right?

There is something stuck on the back deck, I got most of it off but I think I'm going to need to scrub it. I also noticed that the primer is not holding up and I am going to need to use paint very soon. I should start that this weekend if possible before it gets too hot out. There is a possibility that the paint I used for the front might be ok still, but I'm really not so sure. I also need to get some gloves so I can take down the vines that are growing like crazy, as well as get out the weed whacker to do the edges.

With everything I need to do inside, it's hard to fit in the outside stuff too! The only inside work I did yesterday was to get a shower with Sachi and to do the dishes. I am committed to getting the tables done today. They are really getting on my nerves. Little by little things are improving. I am almost to the point where I can get to finish up the empty rooms and shut the doors on them until it is time to do the repairs.

I'm feeling pretty sinus-y today, but I think it's because of all the blooming and lawn mowing going on.

Tons and tons of work to do at the job today. I just cannot get ahead of it. I'm drowning in paper now for weeks. This is adding to my exhaustion and taking away from my home work time.

I still have some meatloaf left for dinner tonight, but I'm going to have to defrost something for dinner tomorrow to go with the mashed potatoes. I'm leaning toward stopping to get some hot dogs, frying the mashed potatoes and eating them with baked beans.

Ouch?

Happy Earth Day! This morning my cat peed on my "green" grocery bag... Ironic?

I woke up today quite sore in my shoulders and upper back. I guess all this cleaning is catching up to me. It's good to know I'm getting a work out though. Here is a recap of yesterday's actual progress:

Washed the coffee table, Dusted the TV, Put one blanket in the dryer and one away, cleaned up some random items, did the dishes, made this soup:

Cream of Celery Soup
INGREDIENTS:

* 2 tablespoons butter
* 2 1/2 cups chopped celery with leaves
* 3 tablespoons finely chopped onion
* 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 2 teaspoons chicken bouillon granules Mix with some water.
* 4 cups milk
*2 tablespoons Butter to add to soup after milk is in
*A few dashes of Pepper
*A few dashes of Garlic Powder

PREPARATION:
In a 2-quart saucepan over low heat melt butter; add celery and onion and sauté until celery is tender. Stir in the flour, bouillon, and salt until mixture is smooth and bubbly. Stir in milk gradually, stirring constantly; bring to a boil.
Boil, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes.
Makes 5 cups.

This is really, really good. I think next time I might double the recipe so I can have more! It's a great way to use celery that is getting droopy. Less waste, more yum!

I've noticed that I always have all these grand plans for getting things done. I need to learn that after a 9 hour day at work, I just don't have all that much energy or time left. It's also becoming clear that while I love the results of all this cleaning and doing, I can't wait until I get it all down to the point where it's just lighter cleaning on the weekend. I feel like I have no time for me to relax at this point. It's getting to be exhausting.

This is why someone needs to be home just to take care of the house. I also, for all intents and purposes, consider myself living alone. M is never home for the most part. I don't even have really anyone else to clean up after and this is feeling crazy. I skipped cleaning for a week when the world was collapsing and now it is like there are a million more things to do. I've got to hold on until I can get all the excess left over junk out. Then fix the empty rooms, shut the doors and not think about them.

Today I plan on doing the tables and mowing the lawn. Shower for me and Sachi and that is it! Left overs for dinner. Maybe even watch Gosford Park.

Gray and Pink

When I get home I will post a picture of the tree with bright pink blooms outside my office against the gray sky of today. It's such a gloomy day I am going to make cream of celery soup today.

On Saturday, all at the same time, I baked 2 batches of chocolate chip cookies, biscuits, a meatloaf, steamed cauliflower, made a giant pot of mashed potatoes and a huge bowl of egg salad. Yes, all at the same time. I have serious issues.

I brought some of the cookies in to work today to share. I am listening to some Frank Sinatra and I need to get some of this on disc. I have some vinyl but until I get the burner, I'll need to get more anyway. Paragraph that makes no sense precedes this sentence.

I did bunches of cleaning this weekend and realized just how much I really need to do. I started on the dining room. I need to mow the lawn, I had forgotten to charge the battery. I pulled 4 boxes out of the house to donate. 1 box of trash came out of the basement. Still so much more to do down there. The box room might get looked at today. I did some dusting and I dread how much more needs to be done. Coffee table and dining table are the goals for today. I vacuumed and cleaned mirrors. Bathrooms fell by the wayside. Lots of laundry done and put away including bedding and extra blankets. I need to wash all the curtains. *sigh* I need to be home and not at work. The front porch needs so much cleaning and flowers and a little table and bench cushions. If I wasn't so worried about my neighbors...