Roaster-Phobia....BE GONE!!!!

I woke up this morning and after seeing that the weather is cooling off a bit, I decided that a roast would be a great idea for dinner this evening. So, after sending the Hubby and the K-bug out the door to work/school, I started assembling things needed for my roast; such as all the veggies and taters. Well, when I pulled the roast out and tried to put it in my large crock-pot I found out that it would not fit. (This is actually a half of a roast I just got from the Meat Market.)

Well, not giving up I went downstairs and brought up my roaster oven, the one that used to belong to my mother-in-law. I assembled the roast with the veggies and taters and a few onions, seasoned it all up, and then I sat down looking at it like it was going to walk me through the next phase of this journey. lol Let me be clear about something, I have only used this roaster TWICE in the year I have had it in my possession. I boiled hot dogs in it for my son's graduation party and I, somehow, managed to roast our Thanksgiving turkey it in this past Holiday...OH WAIT, make that THREE times as I also did our Christmas Ham in it. :) But, I gotta say, those last two times were purely dumb luck on my part. lol

So, I did what any good cook would do in this same situation.....I got online and looked up the owners manual for my roaster! LOL WHAT?! Did you think I was gonna say that I called my MOMMY?! UHHHH....nooooo....I see that as admitting defeat and well, that was NOT gonna happen this morning. lol While looking up the owners manual I also browsed a few recipes they had listed via their site too, and I must say they have some really yummy lookin recipes there; including some for cakes and such that can be made in the roaster.(Am I the only one who didn't know that you could bake a cake in a roaster?) I know that cakes and cheesecakes can be made in the crock-pot too, not that I have ventured out to that area as of yet. lol

I am happy to post that as I write this, my roast is in the roaster, roasting away. LOL And, it is making my whole house smell DELISH! LOL I would say that I will be using my roaster more often, but I will be honest with you all...I don't think that will be happening. I may go and check into getting a smaller roaster, as mine is an 18qt roaster and is a bit large for my kitchen space; but, yes, I would be interested in getting a smaller roaster and trying out new things in it....making a cake in one is one that I would love to conquer! LOL

Happy Roasting!
Lu

Hodge Podge

Have you ever had one of those days where you wanna write something....you know you wanna write something, be it a blog or a letter or a status update on your FB page....but you have so many ideas running through your mind that you cannot just pick one out and slap it on a page? YUP..having one of those days right now. lol

NW Indiana is having some awesome weather! I mean, its the middle of March for crying out loud and it is near 80 flipping degrees outside. All my windows are open and get this...I am wearing shorts right now..YES...SHORTS! LOL How odd is this? I mean, when I lived in North Carolina and California, this was nuttin..people were opening their pools by this time of the year...but in this area? NEVER! LOL I am totally enjoying it, but I must be honest....I think I am taking too much advantage of it. lol

I have been out of school since the end of January 2012....that is only 2 full months of no school schedule to follow and well....I'm really not liking the whole "no schedule to follow" thing. I love the fact that I can either run all day or just chill out at home at my leisure, but honestly, it is starting to get to me somewhat. lol It being spring and planting season is a great thing, as this will give me more things to do and occupy my time with. :) I am also looking forward to summer, as I still don't know what it holds for me; I may be going back to school in June for my LPN or I may not be going back to school for my LPN...ya, real definite eh? LOL It all depends on what my cardiologist has to say when I see him at the start of April, so right now I will continue to study for my Registry exam..and that is something that is not keeping me as busy as I thought it would. lol

Now, here is a question to all the spouses out there...does your spouse have a "secret" language that, over the years, you have deciphered and can even communicate with them? Let me just be the first to say....I HAVE ONE OF THOSE SPOUSES!!!lol My hubby and I can be having a "normal" conversation and he will try to explain something to me....using maybe one word, or two, that actually belongs in that convo....and even when he uses the most ridiculous words, I can decipher it. lol Should I be worried? LOL

Oh, and my dear friends stopped by today..my "Gusbands" as I lovingly call them brought donuts and I supplied the coffee and kitchen table. lol Anyway, they are well warned and even have experience with my coffee whore of a dog...but, it never fails that she (the coffee whore hound) will get her way and it is usually with Tom's coffee....actually, it is ALWAYS with Tom's coffee. lol Today was just priceless as I watched my dog try to slurp the coffee through a straw in Tom's cup. LMAO I sooo wish I had a photo of that as it was just too dam hilarious! :) Maybe next time I will be better prepared. lol

OK, I think I'm done....for now, as I am sure more topics and spurts will come to mind today...or tomorrow. lol Thanks for letting me clear my brain a bit...hope I didn't get anything on ya. LOL

Decisions....yup, I made em. lol

As some of you may already know, I finished up with my Associates Degree in Medical Assisting at the end of January....and have since then been dealing with my home life and pretty much trying to NOT think about what comes next. lol Well, (insert sigh) I am going up with my friend, Rhonda, on Monday to talk to the school about starting in the LPN program around April or so....Yes, friends..there is a method to my madness. lol And, now I will explain. :)

Our area is a bit behind the times when it comes to the pay of MA's...and nursing is what I started going for several years ago....and not to mention the pay difference and the availability of jobs in the surrounding areas. Yes, they hire MA's up in Chicago and South Bend areas..but the pay is not really worth my driving time, gas, or train fair for Chicago....soooo, this is what brings me to the LPN program. With the pay scale of a nurse, I would and could afford to pay to go further out for work..or I could and probbly will choose to work closer to home for a bit to gain experience before venturing out to the big cities. lol

I have not made any definite choices as of yet, I want to talk to the director of the Nursing program before making any final decisions and I also, of course, will want to talk it over with the hubby. I know he is all for it..he sees the advantages of having a nursing degree over an MA degree, we have been talking about it for years...so he is all for it...I just like to run it by him in case my brain is missing a vital piece of info or something. lol My big issue is that Kbug is still in school....and my school schedule is not a set schedule as it was here at BMC.....but the high point is that Hubby is on straight days and I do have close friends I know i can count on if needed. I just worry is all...typical mama stuff I guess. And, as Hubby points out...Kbug is not a baby or even a "kid", she is going to be 13 this summer and is very self sufficient and does follow the rules when home alone to a T....now, we haven't ever left her alone and gone further than the grocery store or out to lunch with my friends before....I will be going to school an hour away....and to calm myself down I shall remind myself I have great friends close by who would drop everything in a heartbeat to help out if needed. :)

Why did I start this post? I guess just to let you all know that Im still around and just dealing with stuff on the home front. :) And, yes, to keep ya up to date on what is going on with me. :) Cuz, well, ya...duhhh..I knew ya all would be waiting with baited breath to hear from me. HAHAHAHAHAHAH

Blog ya all later!

Fat Tuesday....I celebrate that once a week! LOL

Well Good Morning Friends! Today is not only Fat Tuesday, but it is also National Sticky Buns day! lol

Been up since the Hubby left, got the Bug off to school, dogs out, kitchen cleaned and now I am thinking of making some cookies...thinkin peanut butter cookies today. Dinner is going to be catfish, since Hubby decided last night was more of a chili dog kinda night. lol So, catfish, hush puppies and some kind of veggie is on the dinner menu with cookies for dessert. I think I may make enough so hubby can take some to work tomorrow too.

Woke up to a wet snow falling this morning...I know, all snow is wet, but this was mushy snow falling. lol I can't really complain as we have had a very mild winter this year, but still...I am not a fan of the white stuff. lol So, here I sit listening to "Red Solo Cup" and getting bills paid. (so, is the song now stuck in YOUR head too? LOL) It's not even 8:30 in the morning and I have most of my chores done here on the home front. I had thought of going out to run a few errands, but well, I think I will just stick close to the home front and enjoy my day that way. lol

Last week I helped my favorite chica, T, celebrate her 40th birthday with a night out at the local casino/night club. I partook in more drinks than I have in quite a few years and well....lets just say, I am not as young as I was back then. lol It was a great time though, and I am glad that I was able to help her celebrate her 40th with fun and friends. Now, this all has me thinking of how I want to celebrate my 40th this summer. I have been thinking of maybe doing a wine tasting or something like that with just a few girl friends....or maybe a good 'ol summer BBQ? Hubby suggested that we go to Chicago for the night...but well, that can get very costly really quick and I'm about not spending a lot of money like that. lol Yup, I'm cheap! LOL

I am also getting ideas together for Bugs room....and my own bedroom. I would also love to paint the office, but that is not top on my list right now. Bug's room is first on the list since her daddy and I promised she could paint and decorate it any way she wanted. This has me looking for a lime green color of paint and colors that may go with it. She is really into black and white....and she brought up the idea of green walls and black trim or green paint and pink accents.....we are still in the "figuring it all out" stage. lol It's her room and well, we really want her to be a part of the process and in the end get a look she really wants...cuz, well, she has to live with it for a LONG time. lol For my own bedroom, we are thinking greens and browns of some kind of combo....yup, still searching for the "right" look myself. lol If anyone out there has any ideas using these combos for either her or I, please let me know..I really appreciate all the help we can get. lol

Meat Market Adventure

Good Morning Bloggers! Today we woke up to the first real snow fall of the season....ya, in February! This winter season has been crazy weather wise, rain, a bit of snow, then more rain then 50 degree days...CRAZY! So, I could complain about the cold and snow, but well...it is winter in Northwest Indiana and we knew we couldn't go too much longer without a good snow fall. (sigh)


Yesterday I traveled up to Buchanan Michigan with my bestie Tab and her sister-in-law, Sheka; we went up there to visit a meat market that I have heard nothing but great things about. I have been using a local meat market for the last few years and well, when I pulled up their web site the other day I didn't see anything that got my cooking juices flowing and the prices, well, everything has been going up so was not too shocked there, but still...was a bit disappointed. Anyway, I digress, I got a hold of Tab and asked her if she wanted to venture North to Lowery's Meat Market. So, we arranged a time and off we went! The ride up is not that long for us, and well, with 3 women and great conversation it makes the ride go a lot quicker. :)

The thing about Lowery's is that they have new specials/sales every week and since they do not have a web site (yet), you have to just wing it once you get up there. Well, not really wing it...here is what you have to do:

You walk in and go right to the back of the market, (pray there are not a lot of people) grab your number and wait for it to be called..the whole while, if the store is packed, you volly for space for you and your cart. (A Tab Tip: if you place something in your cart, any item at all, no one will mess with it...its an unwritten rule that an item in the cart means it is spoke for.) Once the nice man behind the counter calls out your number, make sure you holler back loud enough for them to hear you, and that nice man will stay with you until you tell him you are done shopping. Seriously, he is your own personal meat shopper. lol

Here is a tip from me: A day or two before you know you will be going up there, call them and have them fax you a price/sales sheet. They are great and very nice about doing this for you. I called and had one faxed a month ago, just to see what their prices are like and after going up there with no list at all, Yes, I recommend that you have a list faxed to you a day or two in advance so you can at least get some part of a list going on what you want to buy.

I don't have a deep freezer as of yet, and I went a bit wild in the market...thankfully I didn't buy one more pack of meat or else I would be sending hubby out last night for a deep freezer. (Although, I almost did this anyway. lol) I spent $112.00 on meat and have filled my freezer to the brim and have enough meat for meals for almost a month! That is for a family of 3 and I seperate the meat into meal portions and use my foodsaver to package them for the freezer once I get home. I packed them with a lil extra meat for hubby's lunch the next day as well. Once I got home, and hubby saw how much meat I got for $50 less than what a traditional meat pack at the old meat market, he decided that A) we do need a deep freezer B) We should take another trip up there on pay day (after we purchase a deep freezer) and C) We need to take hubby's brother and sister up there to shop! OH..and just a side note, my hubby did say he was wrong, as he thought the drive up there would be a waste of time and money. HAHAHAAH.....Yes, I was doing the "I told you so" dance. lol

Here is the information you will need if you are planning a trip up there:
Lowery Meat & Grocery
(269) 695-3834
310 River St, Buchanan, MI 49107

We survived Christmas 2011...LOL

Well, we got through Christmas with no major issues. lol I want to thank my friends...I really do have some great friends who rallied together and helped me make this a wonderful Christmas for my family! :) We spent Christmas Eve over at my parents house, laughed, ate, opened pressies, laughed and ate some more and then it was time to come home and await Santa's visit. ;)

I wish I had a photo of what we got my parents this year, it truly is an unusual gift...its a window, frame and all, with a painting of the original light house in our city..all done by a local artist. I am going to have to get a pic of it from my mom and post it. Kbug, our daughter, got her very first sewing machine from her yaya and papa (my parents), Drew got a Kindle..which is great because his college is trying to switch over to e-books, so this will come in handy for him. (I like the kindle too because you can get the kindle app for your pc and download books and such via your computer too). For all the years that Rick and I have been married we have not bought each other Christmas gifts, because it is for the kids not us...but this year he surprised me and broke that "rule".lol Thanks to him telling me to "rearrange the gifts under the tree to make more room", I saw the box from "Santy Clause". lol So, Kbug and I went out in search of the right gift for him, this landed us at the local Harley Davidson store. lol No, I did not buy him a bike...ahahhaha my gift wasn't that big ya'all. lol I did get him a HD head scarf that is big enough for him to fold and wear up under his hard hat at work and Kbug got him a HD calender...with bikes and bikinis. lol That calender now hangs in place of honor in his work room. lol We got Drew a new flat screen TV and Kbug got a new mp3 player (which first one sucked..from wal mart, so new one from amazon is on its way). lol Drew got me a great candle and an itunes gift card and Kbug got me a slipper and foot therapy set...LOVE IT ALL!! :) Drew got hubby a new grillin spatula, he has been asking for one all year, and this one has a butane lighter at the handle end..sooo cool! :)

We hung around at home on Christmas Day, just enjoying being with each other. Some family and friends called and well, some did not. Ya know, none of that matters...it really doesn't matter who calls and who does not or who sends a card and who does not...what matters is we spent it TOGETHER as a FAMILY. Yup, that's the best pressie anyone could have given me...time with my family.

Christmas Eve Memories

As we were leaving my parents house tonight hubby and I were talking about how we used to spend Chrimas Eve when we were kids....

We used to pile into the car leaving grama and grampas house (or wherever we were that night) and drive through town to look at all the pretty Christmas lights on the houses...it seemed like not one house was not decorated in lights back then. (sigh) As we drove through the same town I grew up in it was bitter sweet, sweet because it brought back such great memories but bitter because it was not as it was...this year it seemed like maybe 1 out of 5 houses was decorated up in lights and ornaments. I know that times are rough and money is tight..heck, we didnt even decorate the outside of our house this year, but even knowing the reasons behind this, it was still sad to drive through town and see so many dark houses.

Another tradition we both had while growing up was that we got to open up one present on Christmas Eve, my mom reminded me tonight that I was the one who negotiated this in our house lol, so we carry on that tradition with our own kids and they each opened up one gift..the son got his a bit early this year and that  was his new T.V. for his bedroom and bug (our daughter) opened up a pair of pj sleep pants with penguins on them...they are her favorite animal right now. lol In our house it is all about the kids, hubby and I don't usually buy for one another,but that is a tradition that hubby broke this year. lol So, earlier today Bug and I took off for the local Harley Davidson shop and picked out a nice gift for him...I got him a head scarf to wear under his mill helmet and Bug picked out a great H.D. calander that I am sure will soon be hanging in his workshop downstairs. lol The son got him a great grill "flipper" that has a grill lighter at the handle end, Im sure that will be used often this next summer. lol Bug has been trying to get me to let her give me hints on what Daddy got me all day long! LOL As much as I would love to get a hint, I restrained myself...and let me tell you that was HARD! LOL

We spent this evening at my parents house where we had dinner and opened gifts from them and they opened their gifts from us. We got my parents a window, yes a real window, that a local artist hand painted a light house scene on. They loved it! And Drew (the son) got yaya  a Woodstock t-shirt that she has been wanting since she saw his this summer. lol Papa got a bunch of Cubs stuff..which I know he loved as well. Bug's gift was a new sewing machine and cover, Drew got a new kindle, I got a bunch of great stocking stuffers and a wonderful mug from my mama and Hubby got some great stocking stuffers too and they gave hubby and I a wonderful card with a nice gift inside. ;) After leaving there we headed out to visit some of Hubby's family, some that we haven't seen in over a year. It sure is great to be able to see family this time of year...and it makes us realize that we need to visit more often.

Right now I am getting ready to send everyone off to bed so "Santa" can fill stockings and leave gifts under the tree. :) I cannot wait to wake up and see smiling faces unwrapping those gifts!

From our family to yours...MERRY CHRISTMAS!