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Ideas for Frozen Meals?

June 8th, 2009 at 04:04 pm

I think I'll take this weekend and get some meals ready in the freezer. It'll be nice to have something to stick in the oven when both of us are tired and don't feel like cooking. I haven't even had the baby yet, and I feel myself getting very lazy in the kitchen--my big cooking accomplishment this week was BLTs and macaroni and cheese. Not the healthiest, but...

So does anyone have ideas for meals that freeze well, besides meatloaf, chili and lasagna? I have a lot of ground meat (beef and turkey), but am also open to recipes with chicken breasts, porkchops, roasts, etc. I have all that meat in freezer ready to go!

Not all mechanics are evil!

May 21st, 2009 at 04:46 pm

In my last post, I mentioned that my 'check engine' light has been on. I refused to take it to the dealer-my car is 10 yrs old, with 158,000 miles on it. I had them fix a problem with my door last month, and it cost $696!!! My car is probably worth 1500! They also gave a list of things that 'needed to be done'----all $4000 worth. I don't think so!

I happened to mention the problem to my sister, and she used to work with a guy 3 years ago who was very handy with cars. She emailed him out of the blue, and he offered to stop by my place of work, run a diagnostic to see what was wrong. He did, (I was grateful for even that!) and found that the problem was probably spark plugs/wires. Apparently they usually last 50-100K, and mine were still original! Got my money's worth out of those, huh? He offered to do the repairs as well. He estimated the wires about $50, plugs a couple bucks a piece, some kind of additive, plus $30/hour labor.

So today, my DH brought my car to him--it's almost an hour away, but totally worth it! Our total came to $80. Even with the 'I'm friends with your sister' discount, I expected it to be $100-150. I think I'm going to send him a little Dunkin Donuts gift card, or something just to show our appreciation. If he's available in the future for other repairs, it's definitely worth the drive!

And once again, nothing on the credit cards! Yay!

Cat update...to be continued.

March 27th, 2009 at 04:14 pm

Took cat to vet today about that thing under his tongue. Well, vet couldn't really see it too well, but did see that he needs his teeth cleaned-they were bleeding in the back. So he has to go back next Thursday, get put under for the cleaning, and then they can assess the tongue growth. Vet also didn't like the way his fur looked, he's lost a pound since last visit, and his thyroid felt enlarged. My sister has/had the other 2 cats from this litter. The girl cat has thyroid problems also, fur falls out, doesn't eat well, and just looks sickly. The boy cat was a big healthy looking thing, who had to be put down the day after Christmas. Congestive heart failure, and blood clots. One day he was fine, the next day he was gone. This visit for our cat was $105, quote for next week is $236, but who knows what it will end up at once they see that growth. Now we also need to get our girl cat in for her checkup too, and check out her thyroid, etc. Crappy cat genetics I guess.

Upcoming vet visit

March 24th, 2009 at 04:50 pm

I noticed on Sunday(but didn't really pay attention to it) and again last night something funky going on with one of our cats. When our male cat licks his face, you can see some weird looking fleshy growth come out from under his tongue. It's about an inch long. Definitely a new development, it's gross looking and I KNOW it hasn't been there for long. DH said don't worry about it, but I know something's up. He eating just fine, but I want to take care of it before it gets worse. He's always been a big drooler, but it's been even more lately. And he also occasionally 'coughs' like he's trying get rid of mucus or something. Of course, googling it mentions a blocked salivary gland, cyst or tumor...always worst case scenario to scare us. So he's got an appointment on Thursday, and it will have to come out of the baby fund. But the cats are our first 'babies', so we have to make sure they're healthy.

He got a job!

December 24th, 2008 at 02:21 pm

My brother(good brother) who has been out of work and lost the house, had an interview on Friday. He called me at work to tell me that he got it! He is now a "structural engineer". Pay is OK, but it's a great start. He'll get benefits, a steady paycheck and his dignity back. It couldn't have come at a better time...he was really getting down. He won't start until mid to late January. I'm so happy for him and his little family! What a great Christmas present!

I jinxed myself

December 5th, 2008 at 05:21 pm

By saying "yay, the savings are coming along nicely". Well, the Family Drama God had other plans for my money. To make a long, dysfunctional story as short as possible, my good brother(let's call him GB), his wife and 2 yr old son lost their home in November. Wife is doing temp work, GB had a business, kind of going under, trying to get something new. He had wanted to stay (short term) with my parents. My parents home has 4 bedrooms, and just the 2 of them-along with 3 cats. Mom and Dad said 'no, sorry the house isn't babyproofed, blah blah blah'. ????? Your son, DIL and grandson will be homeless.

Then my Evil Brother(EB) can to the 'rescue'. He travels alot for work, and his house is empty. His house=Late Grandma's House. He's 40 yo, lives rent free, doesn't have a license, Mommy and Daddy still cart him around when he's home, buys him groceries. Etc. Totally enable him. He's also an alchoholic and/or drug addict.(He says he's clean, but I doubt that) He's Evil because he's done everything in his power to screw everyone in his path all his life-but it's never his fault. He's gay, he's adopted, he was there when my sister died...it's his mantra. No personal responsibility.

So, he was letting the crew stay in his apt until he got off the road. Well, SURPIRSE! He's coming home Monday and wants them out. My sister and I are helping them out to get a furnished cottage nearby, for short term, since parents are still not helpful. Buh-bye savings. He said he'll pay us back when he gets something, but I know how that goes. I may as well consider it a gift, and be happy if I ever see it back.

I just don't understand how my parents can't help them out. This son that they'll do everything for has caused them nothing but heartache. Never graduated HS, DUIs, rehab, rehab, rehab, fired or quit from every job he's had, stolen from employers. And GB loves his family, paid for his own education, had his own business, has always worked except for this time period. And my dad says he'll "never amount to anything."

?

My hospital shifts keep coming. Picked up 3 more for December yesterday, so I'll replenish the funds in no time. At least we have a roof over our head, and food in our fridge.

Happy Thanksgiving!

November 26th, 2008 at 05:58 pm

Hope everyone has a wonderful holiday full of laughter, love and lots of good food!

Well, DH has finally convinced me that we should make our big announcement tomorrow at dinner. Both of his parents have passed away, so he just wants to share this happy news with someone. I am 10 weeks 5 days, so I feel safe enought for now. Everyone else will have to wait.

We're still open to suggestions as to how exactly to make the announcement. Any moms out there, how did you let your family know you were pregnant? What we were thinking of doing was gathering everyone for a big group picture, then instead of "1-2-3 Cheese!" say "1-2-3 I'm pregnant!" That way we'll get everyone's reaction on film. The photographer(my sister) does know what's going on so she's in on it. Any other ideas?

On the workfront, I have 3 extra shifts at my perdiem hospital job this week, so there's another $300 more next payday for our goal. And I got my schedule there for December-so far 7 shifts. That's pretty good, because I'm sure I'll get last minute calls if anyone has PTO or calls in sick.