I Want to go Back to School

I want to go back to school.  Right this minute, that can't happen.  So I set out to learn from where I am.  And it's interesting to me, how I got what I needed.

I was at work doing cook's peppers, which is (or was), a messy and time consuming process.  On the ride home, I knew there had to be a better way.  Just had to find it.

That same night, Tim popped on Gordon Ramsay's Ultimate Cookery Course.  Guess what the first video included?  I kid you not, peppers.   How great is that?

The next morning at work, I tried Ramsay's method and it was sublime.  Absolute heaven.  A joy to prep.

I love how my knife glides around and under the pepper, leaving behind the seeds and fiberous innards.

And soon, Ramsay's book (UK version), will be in my hot little hands.  The book titled, Gordon Ramsay's Ultimate Cookery Course, works in conjunction with the videos.  And whilst I may not be in a classroom (just yet), I will be learning, practicing, and writing about it along the way.

I feel happy.

Look at these babies.  NO waste.  NO mess.
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Friday Question: Grilled Meats

I know nothing about grilling meats.  In fact, just this past week, was the first time I ever made and ate grilled pork chops, chicken, and hamburg.

I tell you this, I don't know why anyone would go out for a burger when it's so much better on the grill.

Holy cow.  It was good.

However, yesterday's chicken experiment didn't go as well.  I dropped the chicken on the grill and said to Tim, "I don't think the chicken is supposed to be on fire."

And it was.  Big old honkin' flames.

So I tried again with a second test batch and that worked much better, but still a little dry.  Like I said, I know nothing.  Having a been a veghead most of my life, I never gave two hockey pucks, about what people were grilling. 

But now I'm interested.  So brings me to Friday's Question.  What's your favorite grilled meat, fish, fruit and/or veg?

My Only Goal Right Now ....

Is to stay awake until bedtime.  It's not looking good.

Right in the Sack

As part of my get more staycation vibe into my everyday living, today I got home, showered and went outside with the pups.

Big pup is sunbathing.  Little pup is busy digging new holes for Tim to later step in when he mows.

It's a little game they play.  So far, Bug is winning.

At any rate, I'm nearly done detangling my wet hair, and I am LOVING this sunshine.  LOVIN' IT.

Now, let me tell you about today's transaction.  Five boxes of Tim's cereal and four containers of Almay eye make-up removers.  Total retail value: $19.74 BUT, I had $20 worth of coupons so in the end, they paid me 26 cents.

Not too shabby for the ride home from work.

Meanwhile, I best get supper ready.  Perfect timing.  Tim's headed toward the back deck and both pups are going crazy.  And I kid you not, Bug just nailed Tim and he said, "Oh, right in the sack."  So I kissed him and thanked him for my blog post title.  Just like a good wife should.

Creature Features

Headed back to work today.  Thinking it might be a short one so I've got my coupon bag packed, and I'm ready to score some deals.

For those of you who guessed yesterday, the answer was $404.14 - and we didn't pay a penny.  In fact, if you look to the bottom left side, you'll see they paid us.

As for the fours, I totally didn't plan that.

And now, I best get into my prep clothes.  Looking forward to making the pineapple upside down cake and creature features.  Creature features are the special salads and dessert of the day.  Each day gets a new one.

And that wraps things up here.  Cheers and boogie boogie.

This is My BIGGEST Haul

I did these transactions before staycation.  It's my biggest haul yet.  Took some work but I'm happy with the results.

Missing from the photo, $4 in ECBs, 3 jars of Planters, 2 bags of chips/crisp, and 1 small bag of peanut M&Ms.

Total retail value: Any guesses?

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I LOVE this PEN

It erases, but doesn't have an eraser.  It's a little hard nub, and works great.  I love this pen.  And thanks to my husband's Staples couponing skills, we got them for next to nothing.  Which makes trying new things so much fun.

I tell ya, I am digging this new toy.

Here's one catch, it does smear a bit when erasing on freshly printed paper, but regular lined paper, no problems at all.

Now you don't.

Doing the Jiggly Wiggly

As trailer parks go, we've got a damn good lot.  Our kitchen connects to the back deck, which is nearly private.  Not so private that we can do the jiggly wiggly outside, but secluded enough to make staycation time, VERY nice.

So nice, that I'm not quite ready for the upcoming work week.  But I am eager to take some of this staycation relaxed feeling, and apply it our every day living.

But I've promised myself this before.  I've wrote about this before.  So what makes me think that this time will be any different?  I dunno.  Maybe it won't.

Maybe we'll go right back into the work-mode, without giving our down time a second thought.

Or, maybe I'll request every third or fourth Sunday off.  Just to have that time together.  Because I tell ya, right now, sitting outside, Tim writing, pups hanging - I think yep.

We gotta do this more.

It's a good day.

Mean Little Sucker

It's Grill Time at the Manor.  Originally, we we wanted a side burner and a bigger grill area, but then decided to go with the smaller size to fit our back deck and budget.  And let me tell you, this is one mean little sucker, and he gets HOT. 

Yesterday I made caramel onions, potatoes, flatbread.  And this morning, scrambled eggs and reheated leftover pizza.  

I also burnt myself, dropped my spray over the side of the deck, watched my oven mitts blow away and battled with the black walnut tree fallings.

You know, things don't blow away when I cook/bake inside, which is something I never thought about before today.

Friday Question: Best Time

I'm stealing Tim's idea, where on Fridays he asks a question.  And my question to you Boogerbutts is this:

What's your most creative, energetic, productive, get it done, time of the day?

For me, it's mornings.  I focus better and I love the energy I get from getting something productive done first thing.

Makes the rest of my day rock.

Today, I woke ready to tackle both my morning bake, and chores.  I'll toss together bagel dough, and then get to this big honkin' pile of crap we have in our office.  Just stuff that we don't know where to put, but has been taunting me daily.

How about you? What's your most productive time?

Walking Shoes

GoodFood BBC

I snagged the GREATEST magazine available in my area.  GoodFood by BBC, and it's jammed packed with goodies.

This month's issue has yellow rice, which I have yet to succeed at.  So I'm excited to give it a go.  Currently, I buy it my yellow rice from a local eatery and doctor it with onions, carrots, celery, peanuts and a Kansas-made habanero sauce that would knock the teeth out of a monkey.

It's that good.

See ... told you the habanero was THAT good.

Catchin' Flies

2 Craps and a Cupcake

I hit my goal of posting for 27 days in a row.  Most days I liked it but there were a few where I really didn't give two craps and a cupcake if I posted or not.

Now that it's done, I'm glad that I made myself show up each day, even if I didn't have anything to say.

Onto staycation.  Oh my gosh, I LOVE BEING HOME.  Today I walked 30 minutes, cleaned bathrooms, mopped floors, Tim did dishes, and yesterday I sat outside and read.

You know what? I forgot how relaxing it is to read.  LOVED IT.  Meanwhile, time to grab some food.  And if you haven't already, check out Tim's gaming post.  I can't wait until Ken and Deb see the very last picture.

That's all folks.  Thanks for reading and boogie boogie.

PS: This is me reading and dig that Wonder Woman mug that Suzan from Wild Wicked & Wacky sent me.  I never formally thanked her on my blog but I use this mug ALL THE TIME.  It fits perfect on my coffee maker.  THANKS - Suzan :-)

A Honkin' Mess

It's day 2 of our staycation and I am writing to tell you that I LOVE being home.  It's early afternoon and I am still in my jams.  And you know what?  I might stay in them all ding dong day long.  Or I might go work outside.

Too early to tell.

Meanwhile, here's a picture of our veg garden area.  It's a honkin mess.  The plan is to till the area and plant some peppers and tomatoes, since it's the hottest spot on our lot.

To Super Size, Click Image

Gamer Widow

Tim and his gaming buddies rented a conference room today, and that makes me a Gamer Widow for the night.  Which I don't mind since this is DAY ONE of NINE DAYS off.

That's right, it's staycation time.

Click Trailer Park Spa, to read all about it.  Meanwhile, I'm thinking about braving the market.  Ken from the blogger world is staying the night and I'm fresh out of coffee.  

You Boogerbutts have a fun one.  Cheers.

Trailer Park Spa

That's right folks.  For nine nights and nine days, we're staying at the luxurious, Trailer Park Spa.  The food is good and the dish boy is hot.

And with any luck, no more of our appliances will break down.  Leaving us to enjoy our stay as we bolt the windows, lock the doors and rip the phone out of the wall.

FAT GIRL PANTS

I split my work pants.  Not good.  And last night at Kmart I had to buy fat girl pants.  FAT GIRL PANTS.

Also not good.

Only they aren't called fat girl pants.  They're called CURVY.  I don't care what they call them, it's still not where I want to be.  In the last two months, I've gained 14 pounds. 

That's 56 sticks of butter.

Now that I've outted myself, it's time to get back to where I was before.  I might even put a little thing on my blog to help me track my progress.  Not sure yet.

Either way, I won't be buying a second pair of fat girl pants. 

Spoiled Pups

I am pooped today.  Even took a two hour nappy nap.  Right in the middle of dishes.  Just that tired.  But what's great about the pups is they are ALWAYS up for a nappy nap.  So we all piled on the couch, and went for a snooze.

Here's what they did before our nappy nap.  Such spoiled babies.  Each their own towel.  Bug would love to share.

Wiggy, not so much.

I love Miss Wiggy's little face.  Click image to expand.

Homemade Creamer (it's so frickin' easy)

I concocted homemade tea and coffee creamer using sweetened condensed milk, almond milk and organic extract (essence).  I eyeballed the ingredients.

And it's so frickin' easy.

The first batch was vanilla and the second was vanilla almond.  Loved them both, but vanilla almond took the lead.

What's nice is the condensed milk adds some sweet, plus thickness, that almond milk alone just doesn't have.  And the almond milk (or soy, or regular milk), thins out the condensed and together, they get along really well.

If you give this a go, I would love to hear how you liked it.  Again, I eyeballed mine the first time out.  But once I sample all my flavors, I'll probably write up a formula.  Anyone who wants my final results, you're welcome to them.

As I was writing this post the doctor's office called saying they have a BIG stack of coupons for me.  But I have a flat tire and can't go get them.  So I best go clean the fridge like I was supposed to last week before we lost hot water.

Meanwhile, it was a kickass day at work.  Which I was relieved to have, and now I'm home until Thursday morning.

Not too shabby.  Cheers and boogie boogie.

Tim found this picture for me.  I love it.

Funk-a-Monk

Been in a funk-a-monk most of the day, but feeling better now.  All showered and clean.  Our car savings is gone but I'm super duper relieved that we had the funds available.  

The bad news is I wasted the morning being in a funk over some stuff I can't talk about or change.  Nothing major major - just some crap at work.  Nothing about me losing my job or anything like that, just some stuff that best not be printed.

But, I gotta say, I'm feeling more like me again.  Thanks to both Tim and Ken who are super funny and know how to let me vent and then make me laugh.

So thanks guys for that.  And now ... I'm thinking about making homemade tea and coffee creamer, using condensed milk, almond milk and vanilla.  Not sure how it will work but who cares, that's part of the fun.

Game night for Poopyhead tonight.  Couponing for me.  Not sure about supper yet.  Something yummy and easy.

And looky there, it's about to turn 4:04 PM.  Best get this post wrapped up and published.  Have a good one, folks.

504 Posts

Holy ding dong, that's a lot of posts for someone who thought she wouldn't like blogging and that no one would read her blog.  But you guys do, and that's pretty darn cool.

I didn't plan a giveaway, because I didn't realize I was hitting half a grand in posts, but I did want to say thanks.

Thanks.

Here's pictures from last Sunday.  I got out late like tonight so I was too pooped to go anywhere big.  So Tim and I drove around with the camera, sweet tea and a bag of Combos.

Tonight, we're gonna watch a cheesy movie and be stinky.  Thanks again for reading.  Cheers and boogie boogie.

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Happy & Stinky

It's garden time at The Manor.  Dig my new flowers.  Got some herb seeds, too.  Not only did I get done with work super duper early today, but we have plenty of day left.

I'm a happy girl.

But I'm also stinky, if you read yesterday's post, you know why.  But good news, the hot water tank guy comes Monday morning.  Meanwhile, after I get done working outside today, I'm just gonna wash my hair outside with a hose.

What the heck, why not?

That's all from me.  Nearly done with my Blogger 27 day challenge and I gotta say, so far, I'm liking having to show up here each day and spit something out.

Thanks for reading and boogie boogie.

Remember the Car Money We Were Saving?

Well it's all about to go bye bye because our hot water heater crashed yesterday.  Yeppers, wave goodbye to our little savings.  Cuz it's Gonesville City, folks. 

Then just this week both our cars just got worked on.  Thankfully nothing major, but still money.  It's times like these that I am happy to have a stockpile of freebies. 

We might be eating toothpaste and deodorant sandwiches for a week or so, but that's okay.  I just made myself laugh.

I don't know if that's a good thing or not.

Coupon BOOB

So ..... I never got to the fridge but that's okay, because I'm redoing our stockpile shelves.  Here's where I'm at.  I'll snap more pictures when it's done done.

As for supper tonight.  I got nothing.  Might run down the hill and grab an already roasted chicken and some store-bought baked bread, with good butter.

And then earlier today I went to the post to collect my freebie sample package but the clerks couldn't find it anywhere (for coupon posts, I use the name Coupon Goob).  So they looked and looked and nothing.  Then the guy comes back out and says, "It was under B, for boob."

That made me laugh.

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I still have more to fix but this is where I am so far.

So far, this is my favorite area.  So pretty.

No Post Title Today

Hello Boogerbutts.  Gonna try and squeeze in my post before I rip apart the kitchen and my coupon station.  The fridge needs cleaned and the top of my coupon station needs put away.  Click coupon station to see what it looks like.

But before I do any of that, I'm tossing together some homemade pizza sauce.  My freezer is out and it's great to have on hand for homemade pizza night.

I think that's it.  Not all that exciting but it counts toward my 27 blogs, so I'm keeping it.  Cheers and boogie boogie.

Bet Your Butt Cheeks

How cool is this? Wonder Woman labels and checks.  You can bet your butt cheeks, that I'm ordering them. 

What Nothing Looks Like

Here's what a bit of nothing looked like for me, last week.

As for today, I've got a small headache coming on, so I'm gonna deal with that, rest up and meet my husband for lunch.   Followed by tinkering about the house, then maybe do a mocha bake, with some free instant coffee, I scored.

But for right now, there's a couch with my name on it.

Close up of me working on my new FOOD ONLY binder.
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Tim's 360 on the right.  YouTube coupon videos straight ahead.  Bake boxes to my far left and the BEST ORANGE PEN, in the world. 

Shot to my left.  That's my coupon station.  All the stuff on the top was free and needs put away.  The containers on the bottom are where I house my uncut and extra inserts, along with other coupon goodies.

Puppy number one on my right. 

And puppy number two on my left.

Holy Frick, Batman

Holy frick, Batman.  I just let the pups out and I can see my breath.  It's THAT cold outside.  Burr.

Meanwhile, Tim came home with pizza, subs and coupon inserts from the postal bin.  And I gave him his gift (see last post).  It's a really neat desk lamp for when he draws his maps.  Got one for my desk as well.

And now, my hot tea with caramel creamer is ready.  So I'm going to coupon from the couch, until I pass out.  Which should be in about ten minutes, eleven tops.

Thanks for reading and boogie boogie.

Ding Dong the Witch is Dead

In other words, I'm done with the four day holiday weekend at the restaurant.  And now, I have three whole honkin' days off.  When I left I told my boss, "See you Friday.  Don't call."

Then on my ride home I picked up a little gift for Tim.  He kept up on all the housework during this crazy work weekend.  So I wanted to get him something.  Got one for me too, but we'll see if his works first.

And lets see, probably doing breakfast again for supper.  Oh, and yesterday it snowed.  Some just got heavy rain and hail but at work, we actually got snow.  Real snow.  So weird.

And I think that wraps up my post for the day.  Nothing big planned for my days off.  But if it stays cold like it was all weekend, I'm sure to get some bakes in.

Thanks for reading.  Here's Tim's gift.

Skin Some Lopes

It's Monday and I'm headed back to the restaurant, after a long holiday weekend.  Left late last night, or late for a preppie.  And today we go in and see how hard we got hit.

Hopefully it's a short easy day.

Chop some broccoli, do a few bakes and skin some lopes.  Way back in the day when I first started, we got these AMAZING cantaloupes in.  I think I ate one a day.

Just gotta get my spine through today and then I get three off to rest.  Sounds pretty frickin' good to me.  You Boogerbutts have a groovy Monday.

I'm off to skin some lopes.

Ghost Adventures

Anyone else watch this show?  Three dudes go ghost hunting, sorta.  It's cheesey, stupid, and fun.  We like it on nights like tonight, before bed.  Watching in on the 360.

Or we will be after this post.

Meanwhile, I am super duper pooped from working Mother's Day weekend at the restaurant.  Normally, I wouldn't even be online writing, but since I am doing a 27 day blogger challenge, I gotta fill this space with something.

Something, something, something.

There I'm done.  So tired.  Catch y'all tomorrow.

Wonder Woman Underwear

So I get into work today and my prep buddy gives me a Wonder Woman can hugger.  My boss is there at the same time so I show him what she gave me.

He says, "I don't know how comfortable I am with you telling me that she bought you Wonder Woman underwear."

My boss leaves and she leans over her table (which faces my table), and tells me, "If I got you Wonder Woman underwear, I would have gave them to you in the parking lot."

They do look like teeny tiny undies.