End of the month…

Thursday, May 31, 2012

What an absolutely gorgeous day!!!  Sunny and breezy.  No need for no stinkin’ air conditioner today!

Balanced the checkbook and paid the mortgage…also went over the budget for the month and we did good!

Can you believe we only spent $171 and some change on food this month??  That is crazy good for us.  I’m hoping for a repeat next month.

Trip to the library to pick up new books…always fun.

Tortellini soup simmering on the stove for dinner and now I’m going to park by butt on the porch and read until I have to shower before work.

Hope everyone is having a super day.

Still finding it hard to wrap my head around the fact that tomorrow will be JUNE.

Saving a Life…

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

A good night at work last night.

Mostly because I (and two other nurses, and the respiratory therapists) assisted the intensivist in intubating a patient with respiratory distress.  This doesn’t really happen too often at night…in fact I can’t think of one other time that I helped with this.  It all happened so fast…a patient was transferred down from IMC, the doctor was at the bedside evaluating, and the oxygen saturation level was low so he said, “let’s intubate.”

I got and administered the meds (sedative and paralytic).  And before I knew it, it was done…It was so crazy, watching the doctor intubate.  It’s kind of nerve-wracking, because all I kept thinking is, “he’s in the middle of saving a life.”

Even though it was an exciting night, I much prefer when things are a little less stressful.  I was so happy when he was intubated and more stable.

Another good first for me…I inserted an NGT!  This is a major accomplishment for me because I usually have so much difficulty with it.  I’ve tried many times, and most times it never ends up in the stomach, or the patient is much traumatized (though geez I don’t know why people wouldn’t like a plastic tube up their nose!).  But another nurse had tried and was unsuccessful and he needed one (had vomited over 1 liter in less than half hour).  So I remembered everything my co-worker told me, “go slow”, “twist the tubing when you feel resistance”, “push when the person is swallowing.”

And it was in!  With good placement!  What a high.

Then home to sleep…well deserved as I was at work an extra hour…but at least this time I got paid.

It was a good night too.

We headed back up to Sears.  Turns out that when I was looking at the receipt for the appliances, we got charged for the more expensive dishwasher that we did not want ($80 more).  So we had to go get that straightened out.  Thankfully they were okay with it and didn’t give us any grief.  Of course that model is not available for delivery until later in the month, so we rescheduled everything for June 11th.  Whew…so glad to get that done.

And then it was off to Barnes and Noble!  Lots of book looking (and taking pics of books I want to check out at the library) and delicious Coconut Mocha frappacino drinking 🙂

Home to watch Restaurant Impossible…another good one!

And then bed.

Not too bad for my one night off!

$2200 poorer…

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Appliances are bought!!!!

Delivery set up for next Wednesday!!!!

Can’t wait til everything is set up and the kitchen functions better and looks like a dream 🙂

Now time to rest in the AC before work…

Remember…

Monday, May 28, 2012

I can’t even imagine what it might be like to feel fear in my job, to leave my loved ones, to truly sacrifice every day.  I’m grateful there are those that have done so…and in doing so have given the ultimate gift–their lives–in order to protect the rights we many times take for granted.

Take a  moment to remember…

Pizza Guinea Pig

Sunday, May 27, 2012

I have been working VERY hard to perfect a homemade, simple pizza dough crust.

I used to just buy the dough at Price Rite (89 cents a pop), but it was always very difficult to stretch into the pan…very springy and thus would make me extremely frustrated when making pizza.  Not how I wanted to feel making something that I really enjoyed eating.

So then I decided to research “non-rising” pizza crusts.

I have tried several versions and STILL have not found what I believe to be the perfect crust.

Most times my complaints are that the dough is flavorless and that it is too dense.

Tonight the flavor was spot on!  Still too dense for me though.  So I will continue to research this aspect.

But for the flavor…to the basic dough (yeast, water, flour, salt, oil), I also added…garlic salt, onion powder, oregano, and Parmesan cheese.  Seriously loved the flavor combo.

I will share my final pizza dough recipe when it is perfected.  I’m beginning to think that I need to let the dough rise in order to avoid the dense dough, but I hate having to wait!!!!

Regardless of the fact that the dough was a little dense, we ate it down.

I always call Kimm my pizza guinea pig 🙂

A great night to relax…computer time, finishing another good book (The Midwive’s Confession), and Weeds!

Heat Relief

Saturday, May 26, 2012

Oh, it was a hot one today…close to 90 degrees.

And in the midst of it, Kimm’s parent’s came over and dug up the hosta plants that they have been meaning to come and get for quite a while.  Crazy!  It actually went much quicker than I thought it would…probably took about an hour total, but in the blazing sun!

While they were doing that…Kimm and I were putting in our downstairs AC.

Yep!

I forgot to mention that when we went to Sears, we stopped at the AC section to look at the prices for a larger AC for the downstairs.  Every year when it gets hot and muggy our house can get up to 85 degrees or warmer, like walking in a sauna.  We both agreed, “NO MORE.”

The AC unit we got was the same brand as the one in our bedroom, Kenmore, 12,000 BTUs, enough to cool a 600 square foot multi-room.  Since the square footage of our house is around 1100, this seemed like the best model.  And on sale for $350…much better than paying close to $5000 for central air at this time.

The only downside…that thing is HEAVY!

We did manage to get it out of the box and into the window though, with only one minor scrape…somehow when I was lifting it, my fingers were on the back of the unit where it is very sharp and basically gave myself about 10 little paper cuts on two of my fingers…oh that burned like crazy!

Once the unit was in, we turned it on and let the cool air blow out!

Once the cats figured out that there was cool air in the dining room, their favorite place to lie became the dining room table!

We ran the unit all day and I feel like it worked wonders…the humidity was gone…the temp went from 81 to 76.  With the overhead fans going, it felt extremely comfortable.

I think we are going to have a MUCH better summer this year.

Now we just have to see how much this will increase the electric bill.  I’m crossing my fingers that since we are planning on using the AC only when absolutely needed that it won’t be TOO much of a “yikes” when the next bill comes.  Only time will tell.

Even if it does go up though, I’m still leaning towards thinking it will be totally worth it not to feel like warm death during the summertime 🙂

 

 

Friday Favorites #1

Friday, May 25, 2012

I thought I’d have a little try at doing a Friday Favorites…

Iowa Girl Eats.  One of my favorite blogs…she inspired me to start posting my own Friday Favorites just as she does every Friday…I love looking forward to her favs of the week.  She’s got a great writing style…like she’s talking to you in person…and the meals she posts make me WANT to cook better!

The Blue Bistro by Elin Hilderbrand.  I was sad to see this book end…I especially loved all of the delectable food descriptions!  A light, fun, summer romance.

Jillian Micheals Mom to Two!  Some of the happiest celebrity news in a while.

Skillet Chocolate Chip Cookie…need I say more…chocolate-y, gooey, melty, Iwanttomakethisveryverysoon!!

Summer Rose…a strawberry, cheesecake grown-up milkshake…I could drink one now.  I believe I WILL have to make one of these this summer…

Inspiration.  We can all use a good quote to kick us into action.  Get busy doing!

Acid Rain…no, not THE ACTUAL PHENOMENON of acid rain…that would be not good at all…but a new favorite song by a new favorite singer…Bryan McPherson.

Kindle Touch.  I’m SERIOUSLY considering getting this for myself.  Even though I love the feel of reading books and will NEVER give that up, there is something very alluring about having a library of books to take with you where ever on a device the size of your palm.

Animal Humor 🙂  Everyone needs their daily dose of smiles and I couldn’t help but grin wide with this pic!

Hawaii…one of my dream vacations some day…and how cool would it be to see this…Lantern Floating Hawaii…lanterns are set afloat at sunset every Memorial Day at Ala Moana Beach Park to honor those who have died protecting their country, to show respect for loved ones who have passed away, and to offer hope for a future of peace.  So gorgeous…

Hope everyone enjoyed this first edition of Friday Favorites!  Have a wonderful weekend!!

 

Appliance Hunting

Thursday, May 24, 2012

Yes Mom, we finally went out and looked at appliances 🙂

Our house has been in need of new appliances since we moved in.  We still have the old bisque fridge (with bungee cords to hold items on the door shelves!), huge Chefmate oven (with 2 non-working burners), and old dishwasher (that doesn’t work).

My parents were nice enough to give me some cash for new appliances last year, but we’ve just kind of pushed it off over and over.

But we actually went to Sears to look today.  We are limited in what we can get for fridges due to our height restriction (there are cupboards right over where the fridge will go).  So sadly, no side by side which is my DREAM!

Our requirements:

–stainless steel

–energy-efficient

–nice-looking

–hopefully not too expensive!

Not too bad for a list, huh?

Since we wanted to see the appliances in person, off we went.

I have to say, I’m glad we went.  I think we are 99% sure we are going to purchase the appliances we saw at Sears.  And the best news is that there was a Memorial Day Sale going on so we are saving some pretty nice money (approx 25% off!)

So these are the looks we are going for…

All Kenmore…

Fridge

Stove

Dishwasher

Should come to about $2000 for just the appliances.  Then there is an $80 fee for delivery (one fee for all three) and take away.  But then of course we will have to pay for a plumber to come and disconnect and reconnect the gas stove and also put in the dishwasher.  Unfortunately this will cost just about the amount of money that we will be saving by buying the appliances on sale, close to $400.  So HOPEFULLY it will all end up costing no more than $2500!  Yikes, that is still a huge chunk of change.

We will be heading up to the mall by the 29th to make our final decision.

It WILL be nice to see some updating in the kitchen with the new appliances.  I can’t wait 🙂

Weeding Workout

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

So we finally got outside tonight and did some weeding.

I would say we were out for about two hours or so.  We managed to get the area around the mailbox, and the walkway up to the house completely weeded.  We had some majorly deep weeds that required some deep digging and pulling.  And it was HOT out.  We were both dripping sweat within a few minutes.

By the time we were done, we were soaking wet.  And my legs were killing me!  My inner thighs and hamstrings were burning.  It was better than any gym workout!

Now the plan is to get some flowers to plant by the mailbox…I’m thinking marigolds or petunias, or maybe a combination of both?  I’m a bit nervous about this because we’ve never done flowers and with my bee phobia I don’t want to attract any–we have enough flying around the yard as it is.  But I have rarely seen bees by these types of flowers (at least I don’t think I have!) so we’re going to go for it.  I can’t wait to plant them to see what it will look like.

Now that we’ve done some weeding I’m hoping to keep up with it…one night a week, maybe when Kimm is doing the mowing?  Next I have to weed the garden bed so that the garden can be planted.  That will be a task all right.  I wouldn’t mind it so much but it is very near this huge bush in our yard that is covered with flowers that the bees LOVE.  You can hear the buzzing before even getting near it.  All I have to say is that my phobia is really being tested.

After a final look at our weeding success (it IS nice to physically see improvement in how your house looks) and a chat with our neighbor, it was inside for a much needed shower and a drink.  Sitting never felt so good 🙂

AC is in again!

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Well, we finally broke down and put the AC in the bedroom.  Enough of all these humid nights.  It’s just too hard to sleep when it is close to 80 degrees in the bedroom.  So we have the AC going currently and two degrees cooler than last year (at 64) and we’ll see if we can even bring it down and still feel comfortable.  I’m all about saving money, but not at the expense of being hot!

I just have to say it was really nice having the full day off today.  I guess there are advantages to coming home from work and going to bed 🙂

I spent my day doing three major things:

1) watching last weeks Dancing with the Stars–I knew that Donald Driver made it into the finals but I didn’t know who got cut.  I was VERY surprised and sad to see Maria Menuenos go.  She really was a TREMENDOUSLY talented dancer…such a fun person to watch dance.  But it was so close…the end dancers this time are all so comparable.  It will be very interesting to see who wins!

2) grocery shopping–I spent a total of close to $75 this week at both Price Rite and Stop and Shop.  I was hoping to spend less, but by spending so little the first two times shopping this month, I  knew I would have to replenish some of our staples and that cost a little bit more.  But even so, we are only at a little over $170 this month which is a HUGE improvement for us.

3) making dinner–burritos–and they were very tasty.  Roasted potatoes with olive oil and 1/2 a package taco seasoning, black beans mixed with lime juice and salt, sauteed onions and green pepper, a sprinkle of Mexican cheese, in the oven for 5 minutes…topped with sour cream and salsa…SO GOOD!  And homemade Rice Crispie treat for dessert…a throw back easy yummy dessert to use up some marshmallows we had here.

I finished another good book yesterday, The Blue Bistro, a light beach read but still had quite a twist at the end.  I especially loved reading the restaurant meal descriptions–made me want to go out to eat!

Tonight we’re having popcorn and starting Season Three of Weeds.

Love these days off!