More Notable Quotes

• I thought I wanted a career, turns out I just wanted paychecks.

• How is it one careless match can start a forest fire, but it takes a whole box to start a campfire?

• Never, under any circumstances, take a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night.

• A computer once beat me at chess, but it was no match for me at kick boxing.

• Whenever I fill out an application, in the part that says "If an emergency, notify:" I put "DOCTOR". What's my mother going to do?

• The voices in my head may not be real, but they have some good ideas!

• We have enough gun control. What we need is idiot control.

• A diplomat is someone who can tell you to go to hell in such a way that you will look forward to the trip.

• I like work. It fascinates me. I sit and look at it for hours.

I am addicted to Popcorn!

I love popcorn - I eat it almost every day. I am a salty snack lover and I figure popcorn is slightly better than chips :)

Usually it is microwave popcorn (often the light variety that I then add butter to Shhhhhh!) But recently I read about how much crap is in microwave popcorn and I really don't need any more crap!

We had a hot air popper when I was a kid and it was great - but the one I bought last year makes the popcorn Styrofoamy (Ya huh!... that is TOO a word :P)

So then I saw this thing called a Whirly Pop - (google it) but you can only get it online and I hate shopping online.

So...Hubby got me this popper for Christmas (only mine is black instead of red).


I was kinda bored today so I have created a pictorial tutorial on my popper :)














Only 2 teaspoons of canola oil.
See the kernel stirrer thingy? (that's the tech writer in me :))













1/3 cup of popcorn kernels
















Together













Turn it on. (oh ya...plug it in first :))












Mean while, put about 2 teaspoons of butter into a microwavable dish.














The machine starts to heat and stir the kernels. It is very quiet too.








And then they start to pop















And pop




















And pop











Until it stops popping - then you have to quickly turn it off, grab the heating plate and bowl together and flip it over.




Ta da!














Remember the butter? Nuke it for like 20 seconds to melt it.















Then drizzle it all over the popcorn - not just in one place duh!











Then you can use plain ole regular salt but I like using seasoning salt - this brand is only available in Canada - it is less sweet than Lawry's.













Sprinkle it on (do you have any idea how hard it is to take a picture with your left hand while trying to lightly sprinkle seasoning salt? No? I didn't either)








And finally the finished product to munch on enjoy :)







Maybe tomorrow, I'll show you how to make toast!

Freezer Inventory

Well I finally got around to doing my freezer inventory - we have 2 chest freezers and the fridge freezer. My husband hunts, hence the 2 freezers. I didn't even bother including any of the game because I don't know what is what and I don't really eat any of it.

My gosh we have a ton of meat!

My hubby is a big meat eater and bought several prime rib roasts (he calls them thick cut steaks but I still say they can feed 2!) when they were on sale. He still has 8 in the freezer.

We have enough meat for 54 meals! Some of those will definitely have leftovers too. And since we don't always HAVE to eat meat, I think we should be set for at least 2 months.

Gil at That British Woman mentioned a pantry challenge she is doing and I think I will give it a go as well.

I will have to buy things like milk and produce.

I think I should try my hand at baking bread again while I am home.

We also have 5 packages of English muffins in the freezer (my husband goes a little overboard when he sees a good sale :))

Now I have to get organized and plan meals - I took ground beef out for tomorrow. I am thinking of making Szechuan Noodles with Spicy Beef.

Holiday Update

Here goes my long overdue Holiday post - I am slowly starting to feel better, all except for this cough that is reminiscent of my smoking days.

Peanut wants to wish you all a belated Happy New Year!

(If you want to see ALL the attempts to get
this shot above - scroll to the bottom.)

The kid & Peanut (twins no?)

We bought our Christmas tree on Dec 20th. We decorated it on Dec 21st - we get a fresh tree so once it is put into the stand, you have to let the branches fall as it was wrapped tight to bring it home.

Here it is before we decorated it.
(Note the height against the window)

On the morning of Dec 21, the kiddo and I decorated it. It was hubby's birthday so we had friends over for dinner that night. After dinner we were sitting around chatting when all of a sudden there was this loud crash - the tree had fallen down. It was a pretty tall tree - maybe 8 feet.

It was also covered in glass Christmas decorations - which were now smashed all over the floor mixing with the water from the tree stand - all over our hardwood floors. The angel's porcelain head didn't make it either. With the helps of our dinner guests we go the mess cleaned up. Sadly none of us thought to take a photo for the blog.

The next day hubby cut a couple feet off the bottom of the tree and after a shopping trip to buy more glass ornaments (50% off at least) we redecorated the tree.

Here it is, shorter and redecorated.
(Again note the window)
New Angel

We had a nice Christmas day at home just the 3 of us - Papa has gone away for the holidays.

I decided I am sick of turkey so K had steak and J & I had chicken breasts for dinner.

For Christmas I got Stephen King's Under the Dome - while I enjoyed it, I was a tad disappointed at the ending.

On Boxing day we had a gang of friends & family over. It was a great get together.

(everyone really was more festive then they look in these photos :)

On the 27th we went to my brother in-law's house for a get together there.

A couple days later I woke up with a sore throat and have been feeling crappy ever since.

There have been several hours of Xbox (on the kiddo's part), lots of naps (my part), and lots of just chillaxin (DH's part).

The time has flown by and K & J returned to work & school today.

Let the fun begin :)

P.S. All my medical tests came back completely normal, which is fantastic, but we still don't know what is causing the dizzys and the head flashes - appt with Ear, Nose & Throat Dr not until April :(

Mini update

I've been sick with a bad cold (no it's NOT the flu - people call everything the flu now) the past 4 days - I think I am finally over the worst and will upload photos and write a nice long post tomorrow.

Wishing family & friends
(even online ones!)
a Happy, Healthy &
Prosperous New Year!

Monday Morning Randomness

Stuff I Stumbled Upon

Cute baby Animals to make you smile.

Surprised Kitten - more cuteness.

Someone clearly has too much time on their hands!

Fun in the snow

I'd totally be looking for the elevator (I'm not good with heights!)

Some quotes I came across and like:

• Light travels faster than sound. That's why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.
  

• My greatest fear is that there is no PMS and this is my personality....

• What do you call a psychic midget that escaped from prison? A small medium at large.

• Baseball is wrong. A man with 4 balls cannot walk.

• Dyslexics Of The World Untie

• If a man argues in the woods and he is alone- is his wife STILL right ?

Have a Happy Monday!

GAH must wash my eyes out with acid!

Oh my gosh! I shop at Walmart and I have honestly never seen anything like this!

Warning: You will be disgusted and horrified, but you will NOT be able to stop looking!