Not too bad - if I do say so myself

Tonight I got to make dinner.
MD had a concert this afternoon so at about 1p, I asked what was for dinner.
'Not sure' was the response which wasn't what I was hoping.

We had pasta, hamburger, onion, and a half block of cheese for sure - so at about 4p, I started looking for a recipe. 

Can I say that I HATE looking for a recipe to match the ingredients on hand? Websites were not helpful and the cookbooks didn't even have many ground beef mashup receipes. 

So I finally found a Taco Beef Skillet recipe. (Note - I would rather not use both the oven and stove top if necessary, so that made it harder to find said receipe.)

Okay - by this time - my gb was mostly brown so I found my taco seasoning packet and put that in with the water. As it was beginning to boil - I took down the Minute Rice and discovered that we only had one cup and I needed two. Figures! 

I made a decision  - after searching to see what the equivalent is when you swap rice and pasta and couldn't find anything - to just use the same amt of pasta and wing it.

15 minutes later at (5:30p!)with cheese on top - it turned out pretty yummy.
B even said it tasted like Hamburger Helper!

I am going back for seconds!

Update on the coat situation

Sorry Mom - this will be old news...

So I think I have spent at least 20 hours searching for a winter coat online.  The bad thing about the whole thing is that I know what I want. My normal way of shopping is to say 'eeny meeny miney moe' which color do I like best today.  Well... I guess it is a little more involved than that - it does need to fit - but I don't like to search and search. So this coat search has been more involved than usual.

I want a coat - down or synthetic insulation - with a insulated attached hood - long enough to cover my buns - and not some nasty color or pattern.  So I have checked LL Bean, Lands End, REI, BackcountryOutlet.com all online. Plus I have searched REI's Maple Grove and Bloomington stores.  I have found some possibilities but nothing I have fallen in love with.

I almost made a decision yesterday to buy a down filled parka from LL Bean but I wasn't crazy about the color and I wasn't sure I could wear the size that was available.  So I hemmed and hawed about it for half a day and after I showed MD the coat - I thought - yeah - for the price, I can't go wrong with this.  So I started clicking back to the coat and when I got there.....  wait for it..... it was SOLD OUT!!!  Argghhhhh.

Oh well. You know if I couldn't make it happen - it wasn't made to be.
I have to let it go.

The only problem is that I will probably have to start my search all over again.
That is just my luck sometimes but its okay. Half the fun is looking for it when you know exactly what you want.

If you are in the Upper Midwest tomorrow - enjoy your last sub-zero temps of the winter...
At least that is what the weatherman said this morning. Let's not jinx it.

'The Beach'

Here are those pictures of the kids going to 'The Beach'.
Pretty Cute - Huh?
Hope you are finding ways to get ready for summer as well.

Its Tuesday

It is a nice day here in the North Country. I was just out getting some lunch and I think it was about 30 degrees and sunny. Now as I sit at my desk and look outside - I am getting excited about Spring coming.

B & D have a new game they like to play. It is called 'Beach'. They get into their swimsuits, get the beach towels all spread out in the hardwood living room floor, and then make their way to the bathroom to get their 'sunscreen' on. It is about the cutest thing I have seen. I did get pictures the other day so I will try to get them off the camera and posted here soon.

MD and I were looking at our calendar for the summer and how we are going to fit in all the house projects we would like to do. It is filling up fast. We are planning a trip to the BWCAW, a weekend at MD's brother's house for our camping weekend with his entire family, a few weekends traveling to each of parent's homes... it is going to go fast.

MD, B, and I watched the Opening Ceremonies on Friday night but we haven't watched any of the Olympics since! I told B that men's figure skating was on tonight and she was very excited. So I guess we are going to have to get that on tonight.  I am listening to the updates from the radio while I commute - but it isn't the same - obviously.

My lunch 1/2 hour is almost up so I should get back to it.
Happy Fat Tuesday!

Turn It Up!

Growing up, I listened to the radio lots. My favorite station was K104. I remember listening to the top 10 on Sunday's with Casey Kasem in the car while my parents were in church at coffee fellowship, making mix tapes, and even calling in one time to win something. (I didn't... )

At some point - I stopped listening to popular radio. It must have been college. I was getting lots of new music from all the new people I was meeting. I remember listening to the Red Hot Chili Peppers in my freshman dorm room and just dancing around and singing at the top of my lungs. Good stuff.

I have started listening to popular music on the radio again. I never had stopped listening to NPR/MPR but recently I have decided I don't need to listen to in depth stories about Iraq, Republicans, or Crime. I did hear some interesting discussion on the space program recently - which was inspiring but also a little depressing. But I digress.

So now when we drive to daycare in the morning - B wants to listen to Greg and Melissa on 94.5. Really? Okay - because so do I. Today they were playing with an iPhone app that uses Auto Tune. One of the producers - Trey? - sang a song that he dedicated to all the ladies. It was pretty funny.

My other outlet for new music is Pandora.com. I have found a couple of new artists that I am excited to learn more about. I hate to say it but I like Jordin Sparks.  'Just for the Record' and 'No Air' are two of my favorites right now.

Okay - I am off to jam with my headphones on and the music turned up!

I shoveled out the entry to the street tonight. It wasn't too bad because the snow hadn't had time to melt and freeze together.

So far my plan to be mindful about winter and not go through it with my head in the snow - so to speak - is going pretty well. I have been shopping online for a new winter coat for about a month. REI and BackcountryOutlet have some good choices but I really just want to go to the store and try some on.  I have probably missed my window for this season because they have to get the spring stuff out even though there are two more months of snow. (I HATE that.)

I spoke to a co-worker today that was on vacation in Mexico last week. I could really go for a week vacation somewhere warm. Too bad it costs money to get there, be there, and come home.

I think I need to start myself on a project. We really need to start thinking about getting a deep freeze, painting the kitchen and back entry, and cleaning out the garage.

Alrighty. Time to get the eldest ready for bed.

Itchy Foot

We had a good day today. It was a day that I didn't think about what I was going to do next - I was just busy.I got some organizing done, had a gyro for lunch (my new favorite fast food meal), went to Como Zoo with lots of other people with the same good idea, and had some conversation time with my In-laws and MD's sibs/kids.  Good Times.

Como Zoo was actually an interesting trip. Like I said earlier - it was packed but it didn't feel like it in the zoo part. We were there fairly late in the day so maybe everyone was leaving as we were moving through.

We saw the lions and the male actually put on quite a show for us with some roaring and then the female was running around the room. Won't be surprised if there is a new little cub in a few months.

We also watched a very large gorilla. He was laying down with his buns pressed up against the window itching his foot. He scared D. I think one of his fingers was as big as three of my fingers. It is fascinating to see this amazing creatures so up close and personal but I always have this nagging feeling about caging living things for their entire lives when they should be in 'the wild'. It is especially hard for me to see the gorillas caged up. I always hope they are well taken care of.  Makes me wonder if they are pondering the meaning of life.

No Shadows!!

Snow. It's Feb 1st and I am sick of snow.
February makes me wish I lived in Cancun, Costa Rica, or Casablanca!!
I need a sun bath with some humidity and dirt smell thrown in for good measure.

This weekend was a bit of a bust. We are all so stir-crazy that it was hard to try to find things to do to keep everyone out of trouble. Maybe we will have to get creative this weekend. I MAY have to break out the big guns and go to the Y and put the kids in Kids Stuff so they can play and blow off some steam.

My church choir is currently in the process of 'calling' a new choirmaster. Choir Director + Organist + all around nice person that can put up with a choir that is pretty good but a little rowdy at times.  I am looking forward to seeing what our options are this weekend.

My toes are cold.

I think I may go warm up some more Chinese and watch a BSG episode. MD has decided he doesn't want to watch the last season. I don't think I can just blow it off... So hopefully I don't get let down.

Did you know you can sign up and get a text tomorrow to be notified of Punxsy Phil's prediction?  Hope the Groundhog will be my hero tomorrow and NOT see his shadow. Come on Punxsy Phil!!!