Newest way that I am a dork February 27, 2009

I started my coupon endeavor with this cute little number:

Yeah. That worked for about three Sunday papers. Now, despite my supreme embarrassment, I have this guy:

Ahhhhh! I’ve become my mother and I can’t stop it!!! Somebody save me.

Thank You Card Slacker February 27, 2009

So…at what point, exactly, does it become too embarrassing to send the Christmas thank you cards (for Baby Girl’s gifts)? Let’s say, for example, that one actually WROTE the cards in early January. That counts for something, right? However, one may or may not have put them in a neat little pile that still sits staring at one on February 26th. This is all hypothetical, of course. The best part is that I’ve already sent the ones out to most of our friends. These are the ones for my dear family members, who will both judge me and tease me mercilessly for the whole year if I send them now. You think they’ll believe our whole town has been suffering from a tragic stamp shortage?

Grocery Shopping Dorkdom February 27, 2009

My friend Shannon and I just went grocery shopping (Kroger and Publix). I’m schooling her on coupons and all related geekage. I saved 67% at Kroger and 80% at Publix. She did just as well and we giggled like schoolgirls. I love it! Can you tell we don’t have much drama in our lives? It’s the little things in life, right?

The little stockpile in the hallway closet is filling up (we might even treat you to a picture of our ridiculous TP stash), but I am (mostly) sticking to my original intentions to only buy things that we can use–not just for the sake of a deal. That is turning out to be harder than I thought–and it is also strange for me to buy so many name brand items. I am a store-brand girl all the way, but what can you do when the coupons make the “good stuff” cheaper? No brainer, my friends.

Today’s shopping lesson: If your #1 goal is to get out for the lowest dollar amount possible, you may only enter Publix IF you write down all the Buy One, Get One Free items you like before you go in AND only purchase those BOGO items if you have a coupon for every item in your cart. If you let yourself get sidetracked by the shiny produce section, the fancy olive bar, and the guy serving flippin’ LASAGNA in the aisle (true story–he had a painted on Italian mustache and also had tiramisu), you’re screwed.  Otherwise, just stick to Kroger.

Edited to add:

Here are the big coupon deals I saw at Kroger and Publix (through Saturday, and some of the Publix ones are good even without coupons):

Kroger

Multigrain Cheerios are still 1.67 (have been for weeks)–There have been several .50 coupons in the papers lately, which double to 1.00 (so .67/box)

Colgate Toothbrushes 1.00–There was a .75 coupon two Sundays ago (so .25 each)

Publix

I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter BOGO, 2 for 2.39–use 2 0.40 coupons from two Sundays ago (1 for each one, even the free one), and end up paying .40 for each

Kellogg’s Poptarts (not something I normally buy) BOGO, 2 for 2.39 (many of the boxes have a 1.00 coupon on the box, so peel that off and use one for each box you buy, and end up paying .20/box). I think this only works for the ones marked “new” frosted flavors

Near East CousCous BOGO, 2 for 2.19 (use an 1.00 internet printable coupon from smartsource.com and end up paying .10/box) This is one of my favorite foods!

DelMonte No Salt Added Diced Tomatoes BOGO, 2 for 1.49 (use 2 0.40 coupons from three Sundays ago (1 for each one, even the free one), and end up with .11 overage on the pair!

Visit Sarah at Fiddlededee for the place to find all the Pubix deals/coupon matches. She’s local and always right on with what I see in the stores. It can vary a little from region to region.

‘Sup? February 22, 2009

Do you ever have those days/weeks/years where you feel like you’re so busy you can’t breathe, yet you accomplish nothing real? I do. I call them hamster-on-a-wheel days, and I’ve been having them a lot lately. I think the fact that I do things like ignoring the sink full of dirty dishes to wipe down the baseboards behind the toilet may contribute. I should think on that sometime…

I felt sorry for Baby Girl because it’s been to cold to play outside (I’m a wimp, and I don’t like the wind), so I moved her outside slide smack into the middle of the living room. She is loving it and has only fallen off the top of it…um…twice. As I type this, she’s trying to slide up it backward–on her stomach. This is about as successful as you are imagining, and she keeps smacking her face on the love seat when she finally loses her grip and slides back down. I have no point in telling you this, but it amuses me. She’s reached that golden toddler age in which she’s learned that hurting herself (a little) is funny. It’s like a constant episode of America’s Funniest Videos around here.  Good times. All we need is a pinata.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how I spend my time–both the inflexible times I have already committed to something and the “free” time I can choose how to spend. I, the ultimate multitasker, find myself struggling to do well with juggling all my roles: mother, wife, employee, friend, family member, and so on.  When I’m at at work, I’m feeling like I’m missing out on precious time with my little girl. I love what I do, and I’m not afraid to say that I’m pretty darn good at it. I work hard for my families and do my best to help parents make good decisions for their children. I like working with teachers and families, and for some ungodly reason I even like testing and writing (way too lengthy) reports. However, I still find myself dragging on the way in in the mornings, putting off returning voicemails,  and I’m not quite the tireless and dedicated psychologist I was a few years ago. I was also brand-spanking new to the profession a few years ago, so maybe this is just the slow come-down from the ivory tower. Who knows?

On the flip side, I don’t think I’m totally cut out for the whole stay-at-home mom thing. When I’m home, I find myself discouraged by the endless dishes and laundry. The house is never clean enough, and it sometimes takes every ounce of energy I have to drag us to the park or the store. It’s just easier to stay home. I spend way too much time on the computer and not enough time actively playing with Baby Girl. I mean, we read (a lot), drink our weight in fake tea (from the much-acclaimed Disney Princess tea set–devil!)  and have some intense dollhouse scenarios, but she’s also a child who is content to play alone for long stretches of time. I was that child, too, so I get that. I can remember spending hours playing with a bucket of McDonald’s toys and making up little worlds for them. I think I did this way past the stage where that kind of play was age-appropriate. 
So, before BG arrived, I figured that working part-time was the perfect compromise between working my life away and becoming a domestic drone. I kept seeing myself as either the corporate mom who works to pay for full-time childcare (in my head, I’m wearing a suit and heels–I think I wear heels to work twice a year, so that’s clearly realistic) or a crazy housewife with bunny slippers and an uncontrollable compulsion to (gasp) homeschool. Not pretty. Note: Those were just the stereotypes in my mind–I mean no offense to you if you work at home full time or work outside the home 60 hours a week.  I tend to think in black/white when making a major decision. Right? You get all the benefits of both worlds. So, what do you do what that doesn’t work? Is this just one of those things where I’ll always be torn and thinking the grass is greener on the other side? I suspect so.

Maybe I just need a maid. Yeah, that’s it.

Baby Girl Photo Fix February 18, 2009

No words today–I’m wiped out. There are lots of thoughts floating around, but they’re not quite ready for paragraph form. Stay tuned…

Channeling my 1950’s self today February 14, 2009

I’m even wearing an apron! It’s my turn to feed the college-age masses tomorrow, so I’m spending the day cooking like a crazy person. I’m even going to take my own pictures later with my NEW camera! Until then, you can enjoy some photos taken by some fabulous food-photographer (is that a thing?).

Chicken Lasagna:

Ingredients:

• 2 cups (16 ounces) 2% cottage cheese
• 1 package (3 ounces) cream cheese, softened (that’s 1/2 a block if you, like me, have never seen a 3 oz package of cream cheese in your life)
• 4 cups cubed cooked chicken
• 1 can (10-3/4 ounces) condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted
• 1 can (10-3/4 ounces) condensed cream of celery soup, undiluted
• 2/3 cup milk
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 6 lasagna noodles, cooked and drained
• 1 package (6 ounces) stuffing mix
• 1/2 cup butter, melted

Directions:

In a small bowl, combine cottage cheese and cream cheese. In a large bowl, combine the chicken, soups, milk, onion and salt.
Spread half of the chicken mixture into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish. Top with three noodles. Spread with half of the cheese mixture. Repeat layers. Toss stuffing mix with butter; sprinkle over casserole.
Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 30-40 minutes or bubbly and until golden brown. Let stand for 10 minutes before cutting. Yield: 8 servings.

Chicken Penne Casserole:

Ingredients:

• 1-1/2 cups uncooked penne pasta
• 1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1/2 cup each chopped onion, green pepper and sweet red pepper
• 1-1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon each dried basil, oregano and parsley flakes (or you could just toss in whatever spices you like, like I did!)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 can (14-1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• 3/4 cup chicken broth
• 2 cups (8 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup grated Romano cheese

Directions:

Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, saute the chicken, onion, peppers, garlic and seasonings in oil until chicken is no longer pink.
In a blender, combine tomatoes and tomato paste; cover and process until blended. Add to chicken mixture. Stir in broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until slightly thickened.
Drain pasta; toss with chicken mixture. Spoon half of the mixture into a greased 2 qt. baking dish. Sprinkle with half of the mozzarella and Romano cheeses. Repeat layers.
Cover and bake at 350° for 30 minutes. Uncover; bake 15-20 minutes longer or until heated through.

…and the desserts! I like plural desserts the best, don’t you?

Best Ever Brownies:

(Have you ever used boiling water to make brownies? Weird, but very good!)

• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease an 8×8 inch square pan.
2. In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar, butter and water. Cook over medium heat until boiling. Remove from heat and stir in chocolate chips until melted and smooth. Mix in the eggs and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; stir into the chocolate mixture. Spread evenly into the prepared pan.
3. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until brownies set up. Do not overbake! Cool in pan and cut into squares.

…and a recipe I stole from Melissa (thank you!) and could eat every day, Strawberry Jello Pretzel Dessert (also great with raspberries):

Combine 3/4 c butter, 3 tbs brown sugar, and 3 c crushed pretzels and press into a 9X13 pan. Bake for 10 min and let cool completely.

8 oz cream cheese

3/4 c white sugar

8 oz Cool Whip

Mix sugar and cream cheese until well combined. Fold in Cool Whip and spread over pretzel layer. Refrigerate.

1 6 oz (large) box of Strawberry Jello

2 c boiling water

3 c frozen or fresh strawberries

Mix water and Jello until dissolved. Add fruit. Refrigerate until it begins to set. Spread over whip cream layer. Refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving.

Melissa’s tip: If the jello sets up too firmly, just microwave it for a few seconds. It should be smooth/liquid when you pour it.

Now, why was it that I can’t seem to lose those unwanted pounds? Oh, yeah.

Awkward = Yes, I will date you February 5, 2009

This is how a friend who shall remain nameless just described her latest crush to me:

Well, he’s tall…and cute…and, well, he’s possibly sort of socially awkward. I like him.   [giggle, giggle]

Much mocking ensued.

Now, I’ve known my share of socially awkward people (and am often one myself). I didn’t realize it was a dating “plus.” Too funny.