Cake and Cookie (122/365)

TIME: 11:58 am
PLACE: Otts
SUBJECT: Cake and Cookie

*~*~*

We had a little get-together to welcome back MonkeyBoy and to say goodbye to DramaQueen (she's moving out of state after graduation).

The bakery at the supermarket thought I was a bit nuts for wanting a cake with icing only on 1/2 of it, but they came through.  The un-iced part was actually pretty good.  I liked it better than the iced side myself.

A Sure Sign of Spring (070/365)

TIME: 7:18 pm

PLACE: Kitchen

SUBJECT: Ice cream concrete

*~*~*

It is definitely spring.

White Cottage, our local, seasonal ice cream shop is open.

I think my dad has been there a couple of times already. 

Lunch Choices (028/365)

TIME: 2:08 pm

PLACE: Work cafeteria
SUBJECT: Open shelf vending items

*~*~*

Went into the office today so I could print and mail 1099-MISCs and 1099-NECs for certain payments made to our vendors.

The 1099-NECs are new forms.  The IRS decided that payments made to independent contractors needed their own form.  Why?  It's supposed to "streamline income reporting and differentiate it from Form 1099-MISC" - That's according to TurboTax.  I beg to differ on their choice of the word "streamlining" - I look at it as adding more complications and making life in the month of January for anyone who works in accounting, an even more living hell than it already is.

Enough shop talk - The more important/disappointing thing about today was I forgot to bring something to eat for lunch.  I ended up purchasing a bag of Cool Ranch Doritos and a Twix bar from this selection in the lunch room.  

I had nothing to do with the shelf being all wonky.  It was like that when I got there.

Kracked (003/365)

TIME: 6:47 pm

PLACE: Kitchen
SUBJECT: Bag of krack

*~*~*

After putting in 4 hours of work today (month end, quarter end, year end, annual audit period - yuck!!!), the only other thing I felt like doing was making some krack (see this post for recipe).

I made 4 bags - 2 bags with light brown sugar and 2 bags with dark brown sugar - I combined the finished product into one gigantic mix and refilled the empty puffed corn bags.

One bag is being sent to MonkeyBoy, one bag is going to DramaQueen, and the other two bags are staying here.  

I would send one to my Dad, but the last time I did that, he told me not to do it again; the reason being he just eats the whole damn thing in one sitting and he doesn't want to have that temptation around!

Tessa Taste Test (306/366)

TIME: 8:27 am
PLACE: Kitchen
SUBJECT: Tessa

*~*~*

Time to come clean...I am one of "those" dog owners.

I make my own dog food - not all of it, because it doesn't have all the nutritional supplements found in the commercial food - but I do cook up a crockpot of a "doggie stew" about every 10 days or so.  The dogs get about a quarter cup mixed in with their regular food at mealtimes.

This stew has chicken, chicken livers, peas, carrots, a sweet potato, regular rice and chicken broth.

The cats like it too and will sometimes eat a bit - however, they actually prefer their canned food - Sensitive Skin & Stomach Tuna & Oat Meal (Purina Pro Plan Focus).

This morning, besides eating her canned food, Miss Tessa decided she needed to taste test the current batch of stew that was cooling on the table as well.

It passed.

Kettle Corn (077/365)

TIME: 3:44 PM
PLACE: Fundraiser
SUBJECT: Red, white and blue kettle corn

We went to a fundraiser for friend who is on the ballot in the Primary on Tuesday.

Along with our meal, he had bags of red, white and blue kettle corn for us to eat.

Two Types of People (069/365)

TIME: 5:29 PM
PLACT: Otts Tavern
SUBJECT: French fries

There are 2 types of people in this world….

One who covers their French fries in ketchup (Husband – WRONG!)

…And one who has their ketchup on the side (Me – Correct)

Let the debate begin…

The Food Pyramid (061/365)

TIME: 7:19 PM
PLACE: Sushi Tatsu
SUBJECT: Rice with Vegetables

Literally, this is a food pyramid.

A Fresh Jar of Skippy (059/365)

TIME: 7:18 AM
PLACE: Kitchen
SUBJECT: Freshly opened peanut butter jar

The dogs receive a Milk Bone with peanut butter each morning. 

Oreo’s has 2 dog aspirin hidden in the spread to help alleviate her pain for the arthritis in her hips. Mulder’s is just a Milk Bone slathered with some peanut butter.

I had to open a new container today – I was disappointed that my finger disturbed the smoothness when I pulled the freshness seal off the top of the jar.

Lonely Leftovers (025/365)

TIME: 4:47 PM
PLACE: Work
SUBJECT: My leftover lunch

Between her classes at SIUE today, DramaQueen picked up lunch and delivered it to me at work.

I stowed my leftovers in the new 2nd floor refrigerator to enjoy again for lunch tomorrow.

I hope I can locate them in the chaos.

H-B Eggs (001/365)

TIME:  8:29 pm
PLACE: Kitchen
SUBJECT: Eggs

How do you know if an egg is hardboiled?
Why, it has an “H-B” stamped on it of course!

Full disclosure: I boiled 15 eggs.  I had to eat one because otherwise I would not have symmetry in my egg carton.  I cannot allow my eggs to be unbalanced.

~*~*~*~*~*~

While I have not been posting here, I have still been taking many pictures, although not daily. Mostly, I have been posting photos to Facebook and Instagram.

I miss challenging myself to posting a photo a day. 

I miss my photo blog.

My husband told me he missed my pictures as well and wished I would start posting.

So here we go again…...

Someone Else Cooked! (176/365)

“For is there any practice less selfish, any labor less alienated, any time less wasted, than preparing something delicious and nourishing for people you love?”
― Michael Pollan, Cooked: A Natural History of Transformation

TIME: 5:14 PM
PLACE:  Kitchen
SUBJECT:  Supper made by Claudia and Stella

The girls made supper tonight.
Claudia made a one-pot tortellini with turkey sausage.
Stella made a tomato & avocado salad with garlic.
It was awesome to come home to dinner on the table.
And it tasted pretty darn good too.

Before and After (157/365)

TIME:  10:37 AM
PLACE:  Olympika Bar & Grill
SUBJECT:  James’ pancake breakfast before


TIME:  10:53 AM
PLACE:  Olympika Bar & Grill
SUBJECT:  James’ pancake breakfast after

And I wonder why my grocery bill is so huge.

Four Pounds (123/365)

"Chocolate chip cookie important to me… It mean whole lot to me… Om nom nom nom."
—Cookie Monster

TIME:  9:33 PM
PLACE: Kitchen
SUBJECT:  Toll House semi-sweet morsels

Yes, that is a FOUR POUND BAG of chocolate chips.
(God bless Costco)
What do you do with such a giant bag?



You try to make a dent in it by baking cookies at 9:30 on a Sunday evening.

Parfait (103/365)

Donkey: You know what ELSE everybody likes? Parfaits! Have you ever met a person, you say, "Let's get some parfait," they say, "Hell no, I don't like no parfait."? Parfaits are delicious!
Shrek (2001), DreamWorks Animation

TIME: 6:26 PM
PLACE:  School
SUBJECT:  Fruit & yogurt parfait

The Juniors are working on their “Simple Meals” badge.
Tonight, they made a simple breakfast – fruit & yogurt parfaits.

Will It Waffle? (070/365)

Peppermint Patty: Now look, kid: these eggs are *not* to be fried. Nor are they to be roasted, toasted, or waffled.
Marcie: Yes, sir.
It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown! (1974), TV Short

TIME:  8:07 PM
PLACE:  Kitchen
SUBJECT:  Ore-Ida Potato Round

Stella was hungry after her Dungeons and Dragons meeting.
So she decided to see if she could waffle potato rounds.
Yes.
They can be waffled.

Electro Freeze (069/365)

Bart: Rough day.  Apu…Pump me a Squishee and don't spare the syrup.
Apu: Oh, perhaps you would like to try an experimental flavor of my own concoction. A delicious Chutney Squishee.
Bart: Oh... okay…
Apu: You can really taste the chutney!
The Simpsons: Season 3, Episode 22, The Otto Show (23 Apr. 1992)

TIME:  6:15 PM
PLACE:  The White Cottage
SUBJECT:  Electro Freeze machine

They opened for the season yesterday.
I’m pretty sure my dad was there when they unlocked the door.

Freshly Picked Raspberries

TIME:  8:21 AM
PLACE:  Kitchen
SUBJECT:  Raspberries

The raspberry bush is loaded this year.  I picked a quick handful this morning.


TIME:  8:48 PM
PLACE: Joey B’s on the Hill, St. Louis, MO
SUBJECT:  Stella and her spaghetti

The girls and I went shopping in St. Louis this evening. 
We then went out for supper.
That’s a whole lot of spaghetti – she didn’t make a dent.

Sunday Funday

TIME: 12:37 PM
PLACE:  Edison’s Entertainment Complex
SUBJECT:  TANK! TANK! TANK! Results

It was a work family event today – unlimited games, bowling and laser tag!  SD introduced me to “TANK! TANK! TANK!”  We teamed up to battle the Bee-bots and the Octo-roboty thingy.  I think I was a hindrance more than a help – but then, I’m an old woman, so I have a good excuse.

TIME:  7:07 PM
PLACE:  Shichi Sushi Bar
SUBJECT: Dinner

The boat docked and we demolished it.

Magic Beans

TIME: 6:24 AM
PLACE:  Work
SUBJECT:  Coffee Beans

These are very important this early in the morning.