Bring on Y2K9!

This past week or so has been wonderful! Ed has been off work and the kids have been home from school. We have been tinkering with new toys and games together. We got replacement couch cushions for my couch (oh so needed). We celebrated every night of Hanukkah with excitement and joy and love and FUN!

We have been going out to dinner a little more than usually for the last couple months. Still not what we used to (which is good), but it is a little break. The girl and I broke out the easy bake yesterday. She insisted on baking a cake to take to the Denneen’s house for the NYE party we were invited to. She insisted her very first layer of the cake be blue in honor of her brother. I only wish they both share that love through the years and beyond. It is so sweet to see. We actually cut into the cake at the party. I wish we took a picture of the mini slices. They were cool with the colors! And the cake was surprisingly good! I mean… REALLY good!

The kids got all dressed up and we headed out to the Denneen’s for a wonderful dinner party. Jeff cooked an incredible dinner of roasted veggies, asparagus, green beans, mashed potatoes, lamb, beef tenderloin, salad, and I am sure I am missing at least one thing but that about sums it up. The kids were all incredible. I cannot believe how well behaved they all were considering we were there about 5 hours. There was an assortment of wines and such. I, of course, brought Voyant which wasn’t opened until the coffee came out and I put some in mine. I encouraged Anne to try some and she loved it! It was the first time I put it in coffee and have to say, it is YUMMY!

We were supposed to go to the Zazzaro’s for a party today. There is no way. We are beat. We were one of 2 families (besides the hosting family, of course) out of 6 families to make it until midnight and we paid for it today! We didn’t wake until 11 and didn’t eat breakfast until noon. We are going to take it easy and watch some Survivorman on the HD Science channel which the kids love. We may even go to a restaurant that was suggested to us by a woman at the party last night. I am sure my wonderful husband will give a review if we go. If he leaves anything out, I will be sure to chime in ;)

As for Y2K9, I am looking forward to the move to Tampa. We have a lot of big changes coming up and I am getting very excited!

Extended warranty? No thanks…

My 2006 Honda Odyssey Touring is JUST out of warranty… by like 2k miles. I took it in today to Honda Carland for a minor appointment. We bought our car there. We have never taken our car ANYwhere else to get it serviced. Within the last year or so they have become so large (they really are the biggest, baddest sales/service dealership around) that they have outsourced their service scheduling to a call center. The call center people do not know their head from an elephant’s rear. I called them 3 weeks ago to tell them I had a sticker in my car stating I was due for my 40k servicing. First, the woman could not find me by my phone #. She said my phone # returned a list of 74 people or something… THEN, after hearing my name 5 times prior, she asked if I was Angela… No lady… I am not Angela. She said my car is not due for a servicing and that the Odyssey has a 45k servicing which should be my next one but I could bring in my car for that servicing. It was only just over 40k. No thank you… 1 week later, when my car is about 40,600 miles, I get “SERVICE DUE SOON” from my car… Wonderful! I love it when I deal with competent people! It makes my day. So I call back and explain to them what happened and they blew it off, of course. I also let them know about the coupon booklet I had from when I purchased my car that gave me the minor services (every other one) free. They told me to bring it in with me when I came. Today was the appointment. I brought the car in at 9:45 and was told it would take 60-90 mins for the service and a little longer to determine the chronic brake noise issue. I sat back and was entertained by the laptop I decided to bring (though the genius in me forgot the power cable) for about 1 hour and 45 mins and then was called up. I could see on the screen the total price was going to be over $1200. I nearly choked, seriously. I told them about the coupon (that I forgot at home, DOH) which would have knocked off the $110 for the service thus far and she said that wasn’t valid for this service but that I should have a $10 coupon for this one that she’d honor though I didn’t have it with me. I told her the conversation with the woman at the call center. She explained in a more detailed fashion why this coupon was not valid for THIS service and I accepted it though I was not very happy about it. Then she said I needed a steering pump (over $300), brakes and resurfaced rotors ($400) and some sort of rear shock thing that had fluid leaking from it ($400). I was ticked, noticeably. I asked her why when I brought my car in September (when it was FULLY COVERED) was a leak not detected. And before she could answer I asked her why was the steering pump failing NOW when I have documented complaining about noises from the steering going back a year. We went back and forth and she said she would talk to her manager about getting these covered under warranty and getting me a rental car (which is unheard of at this place) to get everything done. Needless to say, all was done under warranty except the standard service and the brakes/rotors which we will get priced elsewhere. On a side note, thank you to Patrick who was going to pick up the girl if I was unable to because of this mess. They got it done in time (3.5 hours at this place today) for me to pick her up though, barely. What a mess… I am leasing next time!

AWESOME DAY!

Today, the boy lost his very first tooth! It has been a long time coming since his adult tooth grew in behind but it is finally OUT! We sang "La Tooth-a-racha" in the car on the way home while rattling the tooth in it's case like a maraca!! WHAT FUN! He also did not get any steps at school today which is a big accomplishment. We have been struggling with him getting steps (behavioral marks) almost on a daily basis. For his good behavior he gets to choose tonights dinner. He chose Taco Bell. Whatever works, eh? Finally, he made a hanukkiah (a menorah for Hanukkah) at school and I got to help. It came out AWESOME. I will post a picture when we get to take it home. He is obsessed with games... like his mommy... so it is a game hanukkiah made with parts of many different games! Martha has nothin on me! ;)

On the GIRL side, she began reading "If You Give a Pig a Pancake"! The boy said she could do it. I thought it was a little much for her. We got through about 5 pages! We will read 5 more tomorrow night. Not bad for my ALMOST 5 year old in pre-k!!

Fast Forward!

My life seems like it is in fast forward lately. First, for those of you that do not know (which is almost everyone), my family is moving to Florida (Tampa) in the summer of 09. I could not be more excited! This started when Bubby got very ill and we thought we were going to lose her. This made me think of how much family we have in town… none. I told my husband that I wanted to be closer to family so here we are! We signed on a house 2 weeks ago and signed up the kids for school. The plan is to get this house ready to put on the market soon so we have a LOT of work to do.

Because of the pending move, we have needed to make (and really have needed to make for a while) a change in our spending habits. We have wanted for nothing in the last several years. We would eat out most nights, get the most current toys and baubles and not think about spending. We have been very lucky, VERY. In today’s economy that is just not possible. I am starting to cook every meal and really taking a look at how much I spend on the meals. A friend told me about 5 dollar meals. This woman is amazing with her thriftiness! I cannot say that I will be able to be as good as she is, but it really helps me with MY spending. Cooking at home will also help keep the family healthier in the long run.

Thanksgiving was this week. We spent it with the same people we spent the 4th of July with, the Altwargs. We had a blast! They are such a great family. The cranberry sauce was GREAT! See below for the recipe. I will never EVER buy canned again! Elizabeth also made cranberry bread that was by far the star of the meal. The recipe is below. I made a Semi-Homemade meal with some of the leftovers we had but I tweaked the recipe a little. See below for the modified recipe.

Spiced Cranberry Sauce

zest and juice from 1 orange
1/2 cups water
1 tart apple, such as Granny Smith, pippin or
McIntosh
3 cups fresh cranberries
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground cloves

In a small saucepan over high heat, combine the zest, juice and the water and bring to a
boil.. Peel, core and quarter the apple. Cut into 1/2-inch dice and place in a saucepan with the cranberries, sugar, and spices. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce the heat to low and cover the pan partially. Simmer gently, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens, the apple is tender and the cranberries have burst, 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer the cranberry sauce to a heatproof bowl and let cool for 1 hour before serving. Or cover and refrigerate; bring to room temperature before serving.

Pot Pie Casserole

Preheat oven to 350.

-4 cups of chopped up cooked turkey (or chicken if you prefer)
-2 cans of condensed cream soup (I used healthy request broccoli cheese and chicken)
-4 cups of veggies such as: leftover steamed green beans or fzn), raw white corn cut from 2 cobs, 2 large raw carrots sliced, 2 small raw red potatoes cubed, half a chopped sweet onion, 1 celery rib chopped... you could also add fzn peas but I didn't have any.

Stir all above in a large bowl. Add to a large baking dish and cook TIGHTLY covered in foil for 1 hour and 45 mins. Take out of the oven and on top add a single layer of:-16 oz can of refrig. biscuits (I used pilsbury grands). Brush with 4 TBSP of melted butter and sprinkle pepper over the top. Bake for an add'l 18 mins until the biscuits are done.

Cranberry Fruit Nut Bread
Ingredients:
- 1 cup of Ocean Spray fresh or frozen cranberries – coarsely chopped
- ½ cup chopped nuts (walnuts)
- 1 tbsp. Grated orange peel
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp. Baking powder
- 1 tsp. Salt
- ½ tsp. Baking soda
- 2 Tbsl. Shortening (margerine/butter)
- ¾ cup orange juice
- 1 egg well beaten

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Generously grease & lightly flour a baking pan
Prepare cranberries, nuts & orange peel – set aside
Mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda
Cut in shortening (make it look like pebbles and mix into the flour mixture)
Stir in orange juice, egg and orange peel, mixing just to moisten
Fold in cranberries and nuts
Spoon into prepared pan
Bake 60 minutes or until wooden toothpick comes out clean
Cool on rack for 15 minutes. Remove from pan and cool more.

A letter from the heart...

Today I felt compelled to tell John McCain how I felt. Many of my conservative friends are too busy berating the president-elect 2 and a half months before he is even sworn in. Many of my liberal friends are busy celebrating, but my mind this afternoon was drawn to Senator McCain. His speech was more than gracious, classy and very respectful. I expected nothing less from the man.

I watched the news most of today. Many people were trying to analyze what happened to the republican vote that has been so strong the last 2 presidential elections. One person interviewed was Michael Regan, adopted son of Ronald Regan with his first wife. No, I do not agree with his politics but I agreed with one thing he said (to an extent). He said that McCain's loss was because of Bush and his causing America to lose faith in the republican party (I paraphrased). I think it was an unfair, uphill battle for any republican largely due to the last 8 years. But, I think Palin was a big weakness in the McCain campaign. I say that because when he chose her for a running mate I questioned his judgment for it. As I watched her in action, that thought was only reaffirmed.

That being said, I decided to write to Senator McCain. Silly me I guess. I am sure it will not be read. I am sure he is flooded with emails. I am sure reading a letter from someone who didn't vote for him isn't high on his priority list, but I did...

Senator McCain,

I want to tell you how very much I respect you now and even before this election was won. You have done great things for our great nation and I personally cannot begin to thank you enough. Though I did not vote for you in this election, I wanted you to know that there are people, me included, who still hope that you continue to make your opinions loud and clear in the senate. This nation is clearly divided and it is clear that your opinion is strongly looked to for fair balance. Please, continue to make your voice heard. Continue to help this country come closer to a middle ground. Continue to help us all become a better America, one we can be proud of once again. Yes I am counting on President-elect Obama, but I also count on you. Be that voice for the people you so relentlessly campaigned for and do not yield even if your opinions are not turned into actions. Help compromise and encourage compromise when compromise can be made. Do not be discouraged.

Respectfully,
P.J. Rosen, married mother of 2 in Georgia

My crazy morning

What an ABSOLUTLY CRAZY morning!! Let me start from yesterday. My loving, wonderful, incredibly smart and handsome husband is in Dubai at the moment on a business trip. He normally handles any crisis that comes to be in this house. We lost power for about an hour in the early afternoon. I had to read the pull handle on how to manually open the garage door in case the power was not back by the time I had to pick up the boy and our carpool girl. Luckily, it came back on and I did not have to fumble with that! Because the power was off so long, the alarm clock reset. I reset the time AND the first alarm which comes on with the radio. The second I did not touch and that comes on with an alarm sound. This morning, I am woken by the sound of my phone ringing… I look at the clock and HOLY HELL it is 7:18 which means the lady I carpool with is calling because my son is not out there! I don’t even bother with getting my glasses on, throw on yesterdays clothes and RUN down the stairs to let Anne know what happened and to tell her to just go. I RUN back up the stairs to let the boy know we are late and Anne is leaving so I will have to take him to school. He JUMPS out of bed and throws back the blinds to see Anne leave. That kicked him into high gear! I go back to my room and call Kathy and tell her I will pick up her girl instead of Kathy having to drive her here since I will be dropping off my boy at school which is close to her house. She was happy because that would save her some time and energy! I toss a $5 and 2 snacks in the boys backpack and have my girl get on her flip flops since she couldn’t find her slippers. We get into the car and when I get to the end of the neighborhood I realize I forgot my cell phone!!! What is WORSE is I don’t know Kathy’s address since she moves last weekend! UGH I was hoping she would somehow psychically know I didn’t have my phone and didn’t know her address but real life doesn’t work like that. Traffic was horrendous! BUT, I got the boy to school just in time! He might have been marked late but if he was, it was by 3 minutes or less. I call that a WIN, all things considered. I make it to Kathy’s old house and knock on the door. Patrick was probably sleeping and I felt horrible about even thinking of waking him but I didn’t have her cell #... Who the hell knows phone numbers now-a-days?!?! So I left and made it to a strip mall… the same strip mall where we bought the kids’ bikes. I had a plan! I was going to call my husband… in Dubai… OF COURSE! He has Kathy’s #!!! YES!! PERFECT! There was no pay phone BUT there was an officer of the law! I rolled down my window and asked where the nearest pay phone was and he stared at me like I was an alien. Then I told him I left my cell at home and he offered me HIS! How sweet! Then he made a joke “You aren’t calling China or anything, right?” and I said “No, I am actually calling Dubai but it is a local call!” He probably thought I was joking HAHA! So I call the mup… voicemail, naturally. So I try again… voicemail. Third time was a charm and I said “Honey, Sorry this is PJ. I am calling from a police officers cell phone and I need your help. I left my cell at home. Everything is fine but I need you to call Kathy and tell her to meet me at the house. OUR house.” All the while the officer is talking to my girl about the flip flops she has on and how cold it is outside… 40 degrees. I am surprised he didn’t call DEFACS on me!! I had adrenaline in every part of my body at that point so I didn’t really think about what my husband must have been thinking. I thanked the officer and raced (at a snails pace due to the traffic) home to find 2 messages from Kathy. The first was shortly after I left he house to give me her address. Second was “You want me to meet you at YOUR house?” Needless to say, everything and everyone got where it was supposed to today. After talking to my husband a second time, apparently what happened with the alarm was I had it set on alarm A (the radio alarm) and since the power failed, I had to reset the digital radio station. So when the alarm went off, it wasn’t on a station so it made no noise. *sigh* I am glad there are no more trips planned for my husband in the near future. I thought I was a self-sufficient type of girl! Looks like I need my mup more than I realized. COME HOME ALREADY!

While the cat's (the cooooool cat, that is) away...

This morning it is raining. I love the rain. It lulls me... However, my beloved is out of town and I am a notoriously horrible at sleeping a decent amount of time when he is away. I have had 4-5 hours of sleep the last 4 nights although last night I actually fell asleep at a decent time, 10:30. But I woke startled at 3:30 and wasn’t able to get back to sleep. Today it was my responsibility to get my son and the girl we carpool with to school. It is also my responsibility to pick them up and today is only a half day. Her mother was recently in a strange accident and has a concussion. One good thing about the next few days is I do not have to cook. Tonight we are going to Jenny’s house for dinner and I am bringing a salad. Tomorrow we are going to a break fast at Dana’s and I am bringing a cheese ball, Bubby’s recipe ;). Finally, Friday we are going to Shabbat at Laura’s and I am bringing a salad and challah. Saturday, I will clean the house for Ed who will be home that evening. Through all of this, I am working on the Shabbat Picnic for my son’s school (should be about 150-200 people). There is a co-host that is helping and should be passing out little candies today as a marketing thing, in the rain…. I am not sure that will happen. It was supposed to happen yesterday but the woman was ill over the weekend and was unable to complete it. I just called the person who was supposedly going to have the vitamin water from Coca-Cola donated and she says she didn’t think we were going to ask for that this year. I was told by the VP over this event that this person was asked over a month ago and I called today to figure out the logistics of how we were going to get the things there. Lo and behold I get told “you cannot expect this 1 week before the event”. Are you serious? There is a saying, “If you want something done right, do it yourself”. The reason I give credit to others is because I don’t want to seem like an alpha, responsibility horde. But the more responsibility I give to others, the more I see people drop the ball and kill communication. It doesn’t take a genius to do an event like this. I mean, it isn’t like I am going to run for VP because I can actually pull this off (har har). But if more than one person is involved, it DOES take coordination and communication and I find, to often I might add, that there is a major lack of that in PTAs.

I am tired…. I have 90 minutes before I have to leave to pick up the boy. I need to clean my car, the house, go to the grocery store, do some laundry… forget it… I will do it tomorrow. :P