I Think I Want a Bread Maker

With rising (hee hee) food prices and gas prices I'm thinking that I want a bread maker. I specifically want one to cut down on my trips to the grocery store and to have healthier options for bread. The bread I usually get - whole wheat - is about $3.00 a loaf. YIKES! This past week, I decided to get some cheaper bread. Chris calls it "faux wheat" bread, because although it says it's 100% whole wheat, the ingredients are less than stellar - high fructose corn syrup and a myriad of other preservatives and junk. However, if I buy the "preservative free" type breads, their shelf life is quite short and I don't have a big freezer, so freezing the loaves is out of the question.

So, I'm thinking that it would be nice to have a bread machine. I used to have one and used it quite a bit until the motor blew out on it (that was a sad day). Now I'm thinking it would be prudent to have another.

The biggest draw for me is that the bread machines these days have a "delay" option. Put your ingredients in the night before and wake up the next morning to a warm just-baked loaf of bread!

On the other hand . . . I can foresee us purchasing a large freezer in the not-so-distant future. With a big freezer, I can then purchase many loaves of bread at a time and freeze them. But, having a warm loaf of bread waiting for me in the morning is almost too good to pass up.

For those of you who do have bread machines - is it worth it? Do you have any recommendations for a good brand of machine?

I am quite aware that I could make my own bread without a machine - but I am TERRIBLE at making bread. I am exceptionally good at making bricks, though! And the ease of a bread machine is awesome - dump the ingredients in, push a few buttons, and take the finished product out a few hours later (and some machines have a rapid option - bread in 58 minutes!).

*A side note - I have some Bed Bath and Beyond coupons and a gift card - so I'm thinking if I do get a machine, I'll get it there and save some moolah. This limits my choices somewhat, though.

These Gas Prices Stink

So, it appears that I do think about things other than food and LOST. I think about these lousy gas prices! Whenever I look at my gas gauge I get a little nervous and when I actually have to pull into a gas station, my stomach lurches.

I remember about 6-7 years ago filling up my tank at $.88 a gallon. Yes, you read that correctly. 88 cents!! And I specifically recall thinking, "I wish I could bottle this somehow."

I'm now considering my options. Is it cheaper to do my shopping at Basha's (which is only 1/3 of a mile away) rather than drive all the way to WalMart? Should I have some sort of middle ground at Fry's, which is still rather close - perhaps 2 miles or so? I've only shopped at Fry's on a few occasions and I wasn't thoroughly impressed, but I might give it another go.

Another option is to seriously load up when I do go to WalMart and limit my excursions there to once a month. It would take some big time planning - getting all of my grocery shopping done in one trip for the month (while supplementing milk, bread, eggs at Basha's or Fry's). And perhaps I could walk to Basha's for these incidentals thereby saving more on gas.

I know I need to do something - we can't afford these gas prices . . . something has to give . . . and so I'm looking around the house trying to figure out what I can do differently that would save us money - money that could then be reallocated to the gas fund.

LOST Returns Tonight!

I am a HUGE LOST fan. HUGE. It started during the summer of 2005 - I watched (for the first time) Season 1. Located within that season were clues to go to oceanicflight815.com for more information. I did. I was sucked in. Located on oceanicflight815.com was a theory board where you could throw around ideas and theories about the story lines and characters. I joined and put my two cents in from time to time (ok, daily). I actually became a regular. People knew my name (ok, a made up LOST-related name) and liked my theories. A group of us became good friends and since then a few of us have met in real life and two marriages have come out of meeting on the theory board. All because of LOST. ::sigh:: The theory board has since shut down, but we all still keep in contact through email and the occasional phone call.

Ok, now that you know I'm really weird . . . let's continue . . . LOST RETURNS TONIGHT after a month-long hiatus. I've missed Jack and Kate, Sayid, Desmond,Claire, Sawyer, Hurley, Jin and Sun. The story-lines are enthralling. It is smart intelligent writing, at its best. For me, it's like a good book - the kind you just can't put down - the kind that keep you on the edge of your seat. Oh, and the guys . . . they're nice to look at.

Jack:

Sawyer:

Sayid:



Desmond:

The Rumors are True!

So, Chris came home last night and nonchalantly told me that Krispy Kreme Donuts is reopening. My jaw dropped. My heart skipped a beat. A wistful smile played across my lips. But, no, it couldn't be! Perhaps he is just joking. But what a cruel joke that would be (not as cruel as going to KK a year and a half ago in hopes of a free hot donut only to find the store dark and void of life)! Thankfully, the media is backing him up. Here it is: Krispy Kreme lovers can rejoice

Now you know where to find me on May 13th and every day thereafter.

DREAMS DO COME TRUE!

Welcome (?) Summer

Well, the a/c is now running on a consistent basis. I finally caved and turned it on. I like to see how far into the year I can get before I HAVE to turn it on. I wimped out this year. Perhaps I could have lasted longer if I brought down our room fans from the attic and had those blasting away.

In addition to the a/c there are other clues that summer is here . . .

1. I am spending more time inside, less inclined to venture out in the heat.
2. A few of my veggies in my garden are doing swimmingly well and will be ready for harvest in a few weeks.
3. My jeans have been sitting on the shelf more and more. My capris are getting much more attention now-a-days.
4. When we get into the car, the children usually exclaim, "it's too hot! I can't breathe!"
and . . .
5. My bedroom is now a dark cave. Last night I got out the black-out curtains and covered our windows and the patio door (in the bedroom) so that we won't be woken up by the rising sun at 6 am . . . that's just a wee bit too early for me.

Yes, we are hunkering down for the summer. What a weird concept.

Bountiful Basket Deadline

For those of you interested, if you want a fruit and veggie basket, the deadline is today (Wednesday April 16) for pickup on Saturday. Easy Peasy - go to bountifulbaskets.org and click on the East Valley link. You can then pick the site you want to pick your goodies up from. I usually go to the Broadway/Crismon site. That pick-up time is 8:15 - 8:30 am on Saturday. If you're a first time participant your contribution will be around $17.00.

Bubba Blue and Me

Do you remember Bubba Blue from Forrest Gump? He's Forrest's Best Good Friend. They meet while in the Army and Bubba proceeds to tell Forrest everything there is to know 'bout the shrimpin' business. Bubba goes on and on and on about all of the different ways to prepare shrimp.

That's how I feel, except I feel that way about strawberries.

So, what did I do with those 40 pounds of berries?

Thankfully, two dear dear dear friends each took a flat leaving me with only 24 pounds, instead of 40.

I made quite a bit of freezer jam, I froze a few pounds, I pureed a few pounds to turn into fruit leather, I dehydrated a bunch (yummy strawberry chips), we sliced some fresh for snacking on, Chris made batches of strawberry lemonade, I made strawberry shortcake with fresh homemade whipped cream! It seemed the strawberries were never-ending. There I was, Sunday night, and I still had eight pounds left. I didn't know what to do with it. Carena said, nonchalantly, "Too bad we don't have a juicer."

MY JUICER!! How did I not think of my juicer?! So, out came my juicer and I juiced the rest. Not only did I get a lot of juice, but I got some great pulp as well that I have frozen.


Except for some sliced strawberries in the refrigerator, all of the strawberries have been taken care of.

Bountiful Basket Bounty

For those of you who may wonder about the goodies I get from Bountiful Baskets (bountifulbaskets.org), here are some pictures. The selection varies from week-to-week and some weeks it seems like I get more. This week felt a little on the scarce side. But, I always get more than my $15.00 worth. ALWAYS.


Bountiful Basket Saturday has taken on a holiday feel around here. It's like opening your Christmas stocking - I love all the surprising goodies. That's the same feeling we get when we get our basket of fruits and veggies. Sometimes we get a fruit or veggie that we would never had guessed (or even knew existed), but here it is in our basket! We got a jicama this week.

Carena always accompanies me to pick up our loot. She helps me transport the produce from their baskets into ours. You can hear us exclaim things like, "Look Carena! Spinach!!" or, "Look Mama! Apples. I love apples!" and "Bananas! Jonathan is going to be so happy!" Yesterday, we got a bag of mushrooms, to which Carena said, "ewwww."

40 Pounds of Strawberries

Dinking around on the computer has gotten me into a mess, or at the least, a predicament. Every other week I participate in bountifulbaskets.org. If you're not familiar with it, I highly suggest you check it out. It's a co-op of fruits and veggies. Every other week I get a supply of various yummies that typically lasts my family the entire two weeks. AND, it only costs $15.00. This program has saved me a ton of grocery money as well as time and aggravation in grocery shopping. I use what I get at the co-op. It's a great way to try new things (although the majority of the stuff I get is pretty normal - apples, potatoes, tomatoes, bananas, etc.). They sometime have special offerings. This week, in addition to my fruit and veggie basket I am getting 4 loaves of Alpine Honey Wheat bread at $2.00 a loaf.

Every once in a while, they offer something huge . . . something great . . . something you can't pass up . . . and something that you need to decide RIGHT NOW whether you will participate or not. Last time it was flats of raspberries. I passed on that one. But today, I got an email for . . . strawberries. They are selling flats for $8.75. Now, the trick is that it's first come, first served. There was no time to think about it. You either order it right now or you miss out on FLATS OF STRAWBERRIES FOR $8.75!!

It's these split second decisions that get me in trouble. When I don't have ample time to think and agonize over a decision, I typically make a bad decision. Now, take my poor decision making ability and couple it with the fact that I had no idea how much (weight-wise) a flat was and you've got a recipe for disaster.

I decided to buy some strawberries . . . 5 flats of them. I put my order in, gave them the payment, and it was then, after I submitted my order that I saw how much a flat weighed . . . I don't know why I didn't see it earlier . . . these flats are 8 pound flats.

I just bought 40 pounds of strawberries. And there is no turning back. I will go to the co-op pick-up site on Saturday and claim my strawberries. I will bring my strawberries home. My husband will look at me like I am crazy. My children will be in awe of so many strawberries. I will most likely cry.

So, I put it to you - what do I do with 40 pounds of strawberries? I plan on making some preserves out of it, but as I am not confident in canning, I don't plan on wasting 40 pounds of strawberries on sure-to-be botulism-ridden jam/jelly/preserves.

It really comes down to this - if I weren't dinking around on the computer, I would never have gotten that email that exclaimed: WE HAVE STRAWBERRIES! FIRST COME FIRST SERVED!!

Back to cleaning my bedroom . . . at least it's safe in there. I hope.

Cute Pics

Thought I'd share some pics of my cute kids (cuz who wants to look at Joe Pesci and his look-alike all the time?)

Carena - a true White Sox fan.

A sailboat for Easter!

Colt having some computer time on his Spiderman computer.

Jonathan giving Chris a hug at the White Sox Spring Training game.

Carena and Jonathan having a picnic.

Jonathan waiting patiently for a snack.

Carless Thursday

I am without a vehicle today, unless you count the car sitting in my driveway with a flat tire. Chris's car keeps getting flats. Each morning he goes out, fills the tire with air and crosses his fingers that it holds until he gets to work (his drive into work is 30 minutes). Then, each night he comes home on a severely low tire.

Today I persuaded him to take my car instead. His tire is getting worse and worse. What's he going to do at the end of the work day when he goes to get in his car and the tire is completely flat? Then what? Until we can get a new wheel, he'll be taking my car to work.

As he left today with my car, I thought, "I don't have to go any where today. I'm free!" Seriously, I thought that. Without a car I don't have to run all those little time consuming errands! It's like a vacation day for me. No piling the kids in and out of the car, no agonizing over how much gas I'm wasting, no putting a diaper bag together, no coordinating my errands with lunch and naps.

I'm stuck at home and I love it! So without the burden of leaving the house, here are some tentative plans for my day:

1. Finish up the laundry. I've been working on the laundry for this entire week. I only have a few loads left. And, since time is not an issue, I can hang my clothes out on the line to dry.

2. Clean the master bedroom. Lately I've been focusing on cleaning out our garage and I've come across a lot of stuff that needs to find a place in our home. But until I could get to finding places for all this stuff (books mostly), I've been just chucking them in my bedroom.

3. Have a picnic with Colt and Jonathan. Thursdays I try to go to the park with the boys. But, I'm not up for a 2 1/2 mile walk - one way to get to the park. Instead, I think we'll either go to our neighborhood playground or we'll have a picnic in our back yard.

4. Start reading Jane Eyre. This is the next book to read in the book club I belong to. No time like the present to start reading it (although I can only start reading it after all my other obligations are finished. I tend to start reading a book, get engrossed, and then nothing else gets done).

5. Make dinner menus. I've been trying to be better at pre-preparing meals. I love having a complete meal in the freezer that I only have to heat up for dinner. How simple! So, I need to come up with some meal plans and a grocery list.

6. Clean out the refrigerator. It ain't gonna be pretty.

7. Dink around on the computer. Now, this little gem is probably the only task that will realistically get done today. I love the internet!