Karebear Central

For Xmas, one of the gifts Andy’s brother and sister in law gave me was Grauer Burgander Andres Pinot Grigo.  It was one of the best Pinot Grigos I have ever had.  It is actual German Pinot Grigo that his brother brought back with him for the holidays.  It has a really smooth pear taste going down and goes great with chicken.  At least that is what I thought.  The bottle was gone pretty quick because it tasted so good.  

I love wine.  I am so glad my husband turned me onto it.  Today on the ride home from my sisters, we were having a conversation about what we would do if we won the lottery.  I said we should buy a winery and have jobs with titles like business performance management.  I wish I liked red wine.  I think it makes me miss out on a bunch of great wine!

Ever since the new year hit, I have started to eat a little bit better.  I know if my history has anything to show, I know it will end probably in February, but I am hoping not.  Andy and I started drinking chocolate milk which is better than not drinking milk at all.  We have been trying to work in fresh fruit ever few meals such as squash, zucchini, peppers, mushrooms, and more.  I also am trying to find some snack food that I can eat while at work instead of cheetos.  I have a box of Cheerios right now, but for some reason just the Cheerios isn’t cutting it.  What did work, is when I brought Cheerios Snack Mix.  I am not a huge fan of any kind of Chex mix thing, but this I can eat and like 90% of the ingredients.  What I don’t like, I give to my husband!  But I like knowing that I am eating a healthy snack instead of something greasy.  The Cheerios are baked, not fried so that is what makes them healthy.  The kind I had was Cheddar which is so good.  I look forward to buying some more to snack on at work.  I need something simple and different than I normally have so this works out great.  I do have that 30 pounds to lose in 11 months!   

I can be a violent sleeper.  I kick, I toss and turn to no end to bother Andy.  That is why I take off my wedding ring when I go to bed.  Do you sleep with your wedding rings to bed?  I am not able to do that because I would either smack my husband or I would scratch myself.  I sleep on my hands.  Some of my friends thinks that it is weird that I take off my ring. 

The other day when I opened my mail, there was a letter from Shopko.  It stated on December 10 they were running a promotion with their MyRewards card and basically overcharged on sales tax the people who used their cards.  I was one of the lucky (unlucky) ones that this happened to.  They not only sent me a check for what I overpaid (0.35–should I cash it or put it in savings :)), they also sent a $5.00 coupon.  I like how they owned up to a mistake I never would have noticed.  That does make me what to continue to go there.  Smart marketing!

  Andy would love to by a piano for our house.  I know that he would like to have our kids play it someday.  It would be cool if Andy could do it himself, with Piano lessons & piano chords so that he could relearn what her used to know.  The newsletter goes out every 5 days and the best thing is that it is free.  We could even purchase a DVD for learning to play.  Hmm, a piano. Maybe we will have to start looking for one. 

Last night while Andy was out, I watched the movie “Gracie” which is loosely based on Elizabeth Shue’s childhood and her fighting for woman’s rights in the 70’s.  (You know the babysitter from Adventures in Babysitting–great movie, I think i need to add that to my collection) The story starts out sad, you know its going to be sad.  There is a terrible tragedy in her family which forces her to fight for her right to play on the boys team.  She is also fighting for place in her family, in her father’s eyes.  It seems like she is getting pushed on all sides.  The cool thing about this movie is that Elizabeth Shue plays the mother and Andrew Shue (her brother) plays one of the soccer coaches.   This is a great family movie, one for girls and boys alike.  I would watch this again. 

I’ve been slacking on this!  Holidays too busy!

#1. Brownies. From a box or from scratch?  From a box, but I hope to some day do it by scratch. 
#2. Chicken noodle soup. Does it cure everything? Do you make it from scratch, from a can or from a package?  Yes, if I’m hungover, sick, even a few sips will help.   Normally from a package, but hope to soon do it by scratch. 
#3. Red skin potato salad. Do you think the red skin provides flavor or color?  never had it. 
#4. French toast. How do you make yours?  I don’t make it, I just eat it!  I just know no cinnamon. And powdered sugar is used for show. 

This is awesome, over at Table for Five she is running a contest for winning a year’s supply of Natrual Orville Redencaher’s popcorn and a subscribition to Netflix for a year.  This would be really awesome to win because my husband and I just recently decided to stop using Netflix because I want a new car and we have to save money.  Plus if we had free Natrual Orville Redenbacher’s popcorn , it would really help me lose the 30 pounds I am vowing to lose by November.  You should check this out!

The house I live in was orginally was a lot smaller than it is now.  The original owners (I think) added an addition on where the new bedrooms are.  We actually use one as a bedroom and one as a living room.  We have found there is one problem with that, the duct work for heat or central air does not usually make it to the back room.  We need to start looking into some room heaters for the back rooms and for the garage when Andy starts building my picnic table he will need to look at kerosene shop heaters.  I think we would be likely to get a wall heater in the backrooms.  They are smaller, more affordable than a fireplace, and you can save money on your heating bills.

Its 2008!  The taxes on cigarettes just went up another dollar, car registration went up a dollar, and what else?   On another note, its going to be a good year.  Andy and my resolution is to each lose 30 pounds this year.  I told Andy he could get a new driver if he loses it by Thanksgiving.  I figure he will have some Wellness dollars at work saved up so that should be nice.  I haven’t decided on what I want yet.  My other goal is to cook more and be a better housekeeper.  What are your resolutions?