snatching victory from the jaws of defeat

Okay, so the title isn't totally accurate...more like snatching just-a-plain-old-defeat from the jaws of we-got-completely-stomped-on-and-crushed-defeat.  Still, I'll take it. 

On Cinco de Mayo, I tried unsuccessfully to make tortillas.  They didn't turn out well at all, and I wrecked the kitchen.  What a mess to clean up! 

Last week, I was really trying hard to skip grocery shopping and just use what we had on hand.  On Thursday, pickings were starting to get a bit slim, but I did have the ingredients to make black bean burritos.  Well, I mostly had the ingredients.  I didn't have tortillas.  So I took a deep breath and tried that whole making tortillas at home thing again. 

It's funny; I can make breads of all description.  I can even concoct a pretty decent pie crust.  I can make pizza dough.  But I can NOT make tortillas.  Not even a little bit. 

The "dough" for the tortillas (that I was supposed to knead for five minutes) never actually became dough.  I followed the directions exactly as to proportion of ingredients called for, but all I got was glop.  You could stir it, but it wasn't going to knead. 

So I began adding more flour.  And more.  And more.  Finally I gave up.  Sarah and Natalie stirred the batter-like goo for awhile.  Natalie smeared it around the kitchen, then tasted it and declared it "good."  I stashed it in the fridge so I didn't have to see it mocking me.

Apparently hanging out in the chill chest did improve the tortilla makings a bit.  Sunday afternoon I pulled the stuff back out.  It still wouldn't cooperate enough to roll it out into nice thin little rounds, but I did manage to get it into nice, not-so-thin amorphous blobs.  I cooked them, and I made the black bean mixture.  The darn things are too thick to be tortillas, so I told the girls they were tamales.  They ate them and declared them good.

That's something, right?  I can sort of claim a victory here?  Or at least say I staved off total defeat?

I think I'm buying tortillas in the store from now on.  It saves my sanity and makes my kitchen easier to clean. 

happy birthday to me!

Okay, so it's not my birthday yet.  And what I'm posting about isn't really a birthday present.  But it feels like one! 

If you've ever looked at my blog roll, you'll see Stephanie O'Dea's Crockpot 365 blog.  If you have never visited her site, you should.  Every crockpot recipe you could want is there (including several yummy coffee-shop recipes--a great way to get a Starbucks fix at home!), and I love Stephanie's humor and writing style.  (If you need a chuckle, read the posts labelled "flops.")  But Stephanie also gives homemaking/organization tips at Totally Together.  She's written a book by the same name.  Earlier this week, she did a giveaway of this book. 

I have entered who knows how many giveaways in my online years.  Some of them, I really, really wanted to win...but I've never won one (that's the case for most people, right?  "Many will enter, but few will win, blah, blah").  Well...until now!  I won a F*R*E*E copy of Stephanie's book!  I like free, and I like Stephanie, and goodness knows I need help with organization.  (I told my SIL that God was hinting at me, letting me win this!).  So I'm calling it a birthday present to myself, and I'm excited to get it.  Once I've had a chance to read it, I'll share my thoughts and insights. 

Oh, and speaking of blog recommendations, if you've never checked out my other blog, I invite you to do so.  You might find an interesting article or bit of advice there (I really like the article on how eating your veggies can give you a natural tan!).  Truth be known, I have a third blog, but I don't update it very often.  Maybe I need to consolidate.  (And yes, I realize that I didn't include the link to Blog #3.  Perhaps some other time).  :) 

I'm going to wrap up now.  We were in the waiting period of a science experiment, but the timer is beeping now, so I'm off to do more school! 

a sticky situation

I was going to post my menu plan on Monday (because I did actually do it), but you know what?  I've already altered it.  We ate leftovers Monday, and tonight we're eating something completely off-the-list.  (My roast didn't defrost, so I needed a Plan B.  It was actually comical--I started two other things before settling on the quiche we actually ate.  I also now have a head start on tomorrow's meal, so I guess that's good). 

I did go to the grocery store yesterday, and I spent $63.08.  This is an improvement over the last month, so I'll take it.  :) 

I do have a funny story from today, although I am somewhat reticent to post it here.  It's kind of embarrassing, but honestly it's too funny not to share!  So red-faced and all, here goes (if you're especially sensitive, stop reading here). 

Natalie got into the bathroom cabinet this morning.  She got into my stash of pads.  She tore open several, removed the backing to reveal the sticky strip, and stuck them to the toilet seat.  Oy!  They stick really well to porcelain, if you're interested.

She and Sarah are both also decorated (clothes, skin) in marker ink from art time today, but that's pretty normal.  :)  Hopefully my laundry skills will be able to rescue the clothing! 

no more mop and bucket

I have a Shark steam mop that I use to clean our floors.  I got it with my Christmas money (y.es, I'm one of those weird people who enjoys getting things like household appliances for Christmas.  If you get inspired to buy me a blender, let me know!).  I like the convenience of the steam mop.  I like the fact that I don't have to mess with mop solution (I hate the smell of cleaning chemicals anyway.  Water is cheap and has no smell).  I like the fact that I can wash and reuse the mop pads, as opposed to the Swiffer where you have to keep purchasing new ones.  I like that it's lightweight and easy to use. 

But you know what my very favorite thing about the steam mop is?   Sarah loves it.  She asks to be allowed to mop.  Who ever heard of a kid begging to clean the floors?  My floor has been mopped more frequently since acquiring this mop than ever before.  I think it's been steam-mopped three times just since last night.

Today some sticky lemonade got spilled.  We all clean up our own messes around here, so Sarah got towels to sop up the liquid, then immediately got the steam mop to take care of the sticky.  It took about two minutes, tops.  Or it would have...if Sarah hadn't asked to mop the rest of the floor while she was at it!  Who am I to turn down a kid who is that excited to mop?  (By the way, Natalie likes the mop too.  She has a harder time maneuvering it, but she likes it.)

Maybe you should get one of these, huh?  It's kid--approved!  :)  (Yes, it's an affiliate link, but please take this post in the spirit it's intended; I just think it's cute the girls like the mop so much.  I'm not really trying to do a "hard sell."  Of course, if you DO happen to need a mop right now, it wouldn't hurt my feelings if you bought it through my link!)  ;) 

Euro-Pro Shark S3101 Electric Steam Mop

confessions

In a conversation with my SIL, I mentioned that I was menu planning today.  She asked if I was going to post my menus.  It's been awhile since I posted menus or grocery shopping results.  It's been awhile since I've even thought about menu planning or trying to save on the grocery budget.  My spending in this area shows this, unfortunately. 

Truth be known, I haven't felt overly great over the past few months and I haven't done much of anything.  The house, the blog, the budget, etc. have all shown the effects of this.  But I am slowly getting back on track and "back in the game."  So I'm going to go back to the beginning and start again.  I've had successes already; my exercise program has become more consistent the last couple of weeks.  I'm putting the house back in order.  And I know how much I spent on food in August so far so that I can begin to work toward lowering that amount in the weeks and months to come (and no, I'm not telling the amount.  It's embarrassing). 

However, I'm hopeful.  There's plenty of room for improvement here!  :) 

I haven't really assigned specific days to any of these meals; I was just trying to get down ideas of what I could make with what I have.  And some of the meals listed might not get made this week at all; I was giving myself some options and some wiggle room, so there are a few extras here to choose from. 

Breakfasts:
Muffins
Toast
Smoothies
Pumpkin waffles
Cereal and milk
pumpkin pie oatmeal
donuts

Suppers:
Cheesy chicken and rice (thanks, Tara!)
Barbecue chicken pasta bake (thanks again, Tara!)--this one's iffy--not sure I have all the ingredients
Pasta carbonara
lentil tacos
burgers and fries
potato soup or taco soup
beef, black bean, and Spanish rice burritos or black bean burritos
macaroni and cheese

a few Easter pics

In keeping with the previous post's theme of keeping promises, I seem to recall promising awhile back to post Easter pictures (okay, it was a LONG while back!).  Better late than never, right?

Please ignore me and just enjoy the girls in all of their Easter finery!

Sarah and Natalie had a great time coloring eggs with my dad. 

keeping a promise

I hate pictures of myself.  I'm not a big fan of taking pictures either (hence the lack of pictures on this blog), but at least being behind the camera keeps me from having to be in front of one.  Some people are photogenic; I don't happen to be one of them.

A few weeks ago, I got my hair cut.  It was the first time in about two years I have been able to get a cut, so quite a few inches got chopped.  With that much needing to go, I did a donation to Pantene's Beautiful Lengths.  I've been enjoying my much shorter, easier-to-deal-with hair.  Happily, I've gotten lots of compliments on the new look as well. 

My long-distance relatives want to see my new look though.  Nelson obligingly snapped a photo.  I really don't like the picture much, but I sort of promised that I would show my mother-in-law and sister-in-law the results of my trip to the salon.  

So...here it is.  Terrible picture, but it will give you the idea anyway.