2-5-10

**************************************
COLUMBUS CITY SCHOOLS ARE RELEASING
JUNIOR HIGH AND HIGH SCHOOLS AT 1:30PM
ELEMENTARY (K-8) LETS OUT AT NORMAL TIME.
***************************************

No snow just yet at 7:45am.
channel 28 says 4" to 8"
channel 10 says 5" to 9" some
some double digits in other areas.

Some air lines have already cancelled flights.

Fox 28 is calling it a blizzard.
Oh Boy Gee!
I can't wait for Spring and hate this time of year!!!

So will wait and see what the weather has in
store for us. Lots of schools have closed already.
Columbus schools is still open.
I'm sure once the snow starts falling
they'll release junior and high school
students early like they did last time.
And elementary ran on schedule.

I think I will keep Jonathan home today.
He was sent home yesterday at 1:30pm
due to getting sick in the hallway.
He has not had an appetite but will
drink water. No fever. His temps
run around 99 degrees.
He did get sick last night once.
Other than that he is fine.
Just don't need another incident at school
again until his appetite come back
and his stomach mellows out.

And I am still feeling the same.
Trips to the bathroom, hands and feet
swelling. I had pains shooting to my
calves last night from my back.
Not a very good night for me.
Didn't get much sleep with my aches
and pains and Jonathan throwing up
in the wee hours of the morning.

Today I got all the paper work to fill
out to take to my doctor's appointment.
That's nice that you can do this ahead of
time. It says my appointment will last
60 to 90 minutes. Oh goodie.
Can't wait to be poked or prodded!


I'm still gonna try to make it around the corner
to go to Aldis today to pick up a few things.
I just took some Ibuprofen so am hoping
it will kick in soon to make things tolerable.

-----------------------------------------

Will post pictures to see the before,
during and after results of the
Winter Storm Warning we have.
Arrived at Aldis this morning at 9am sharp.
It wasn't snowing when we went in but
upon leaving it was just starting.
So I'd say it started roughly around 9:45am.

10:40am pictures
Snow is just now starting to accumulate on streets.


11:50am
Snow is covering the ground.


3:00PM


5:00pm
snowplow has been down the street a couple times.


6:00pm



9:00pm


And here's a recap of what it looked like this morning at 9am.

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Choose from 3 samples Kashi has to offer

GOLEAN Crisp! Toasted Berry Crumble
TLC Dark Chocolate Coconut Fruit & Grain bars
GOLEAN Crunch! Honey Almond Flax


Kroger has Kashi coupons available.
You can find them by the Kashi products.
2 $1.00 off Kashi Pizza
2 .75 cents off Kashi frozen entree

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Win the Comfort of Hanes

We want you to cruise in comfort no matter where you go. That's why we're giving away Hanes® Sock packages to the first 100 entrants each week - so enter today!

*every week until 3/31/10

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Subways Sub Fan Club. Sign up today to receive
special offers in your email.
I signed up and it said there was no participating
Subway in my zip code. Who knows as it may
work for where you live.

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Sign up for boxtops4education and become
a member. Today they sent me an email
to get a booklet with $30 worth of
coupons and recipes.
And remember to save those boxtops for
school!! You can keep track of how many
boxtops have been donated to different
schools on their website.

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Sign up to become a fan of Lousiana Gold
Hot sauce on facebook and
if Louisiana wins the gold then
you get a FREE bottle!

--------------------------------------------

WALGREENS

40% off prints 4x6, 5x7, 8x10, cards, gifts, poster,
calender, mug & book.
Use code: SMILE40

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$25 off your tax preparation at Jackson Hewitt.
Printable coupon expires 4-30-10

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Don't forget to head on over to
Incredible Edible Egg on Facebook
to get your Buy 1 Get 1 Free coupon Today Only!
I got mine.
The server is a little slow with many
others getting theirs. Just stick
with it and it will finally go through!

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I ended up spending $41 and some change at Aldi's this morning.
People can't figure out how I can spend around $40
a week on groceries for a family of 4-5.
So here is the break down of everything I got today.
Plus I also have my pantry/stockpile and freezer
full of stuff to use. I have a stockpile of cereal, eggs
and bread for breakfast items already so those weren't included.

Here is what is on the menu for the next week with what I bought:

1. Teriyaki Stir Fry $3.99
Serves 4 for $3.99 @ $1.00 per serving


2. Chicken Wraps
I kept seeing McDonald's advertise these on tv
so decided to make my own version of them.
-5 tortillas $1.00
-bag of shredded lettuce .59 cents
-5 breaded chicken patties $2.40
-5 slices of swiss cheese .65 cents
-Italian or ranch dressing free (or honey mustard)
Serves 5 @ $4.64 or .93 cents a serving


3. Pepperoni Mushroom Italian Sweet Bread Pizza
-2 loaves Italian sweet bread .79 cents
-1 can tomato soup .49 cents
-1 can mushrooms .49 cents
-2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese $1.52
Serves 8 for $3.29 @ .41 cents a serving


4. Stuffed Peppers
-.99 cents for 2 peppers (kids will eat just the filling)
-.69 cents Spanish rice
-.49 cents diced tomatoes
-.49 cents tomato soup
- free deer burger
Serves 5 for $2.66 @ .53 cents a serving



5. Corned Beef Hash
-Potatoes .50 cents
-Onion soup mix .50 cents
-Can of hash $1.99
-5 slices of Swiss cheese .65 cents
Serves 5 for $3.64 @ .73 cents a serving


6. Goulash
-1 pound deer burger free
-1 box macaroni and cheese .39 cents
-1 can diced tomatoes .49 cents
serves 5 for .88 cents @ .18 cents a serving


7. Italian Sausage Cabbage Soup
-Cabbage .99 cents
-potatoes .50 cents
-Italian sausage $1.29
-Chicken Broth .39 cents
-cream of chicken soup .33 cents
Serves 8 for $3.50 @ .44 cents a serving


Snacks will include:

1. BBQ Chips $1.19
2. Sour Cream and Onion Chips $1.19
3. Chip or vegetable dip .49 cents
-Sour cream free
-onion soup mix .49 cents
4. baby carrots
5. broccoli
6. broccoli salad $3.10
7. 3 lbs of apples
peanut butter free
8. 1.5 pounds bananas .59 cents

Other things bought at Aldis:
-Cranberry Juice
-package of 50 foam plates
-8 ounce box of popcorn shrimp
-1 tub of cream cheese frosting
-raspberry chocolate cake mix
Cake mix and frosting are for Jonathan's project at school.
-2 more boxes of mac and cheese
-tub of diaper wipes

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Geesh, who do you think is spoiled around
here laying on a heating pad?


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Here is something I don't understand.
The news last night said the grocery and hardware
stores would be packed with people rushing to
buy food and shovels.
How is it people don't seem to have enough
food on hand to last at least a week???
And why is it that soooo many people have
to run out and buy shovels each year?
What happened to the ones they bought last
year or years before?
I just have a hard time understanding
why people are so unprepared for things!
I did not have to go to the store today
but did it anyway. I have enough food
to survive on for quite awhile.
You should have seen the rush of people
when Aldi's opened this morning.

-----------------------------------

WBNS 10TV

Areas in northern Franklin County (where we live!), and Delaware, Union, Knox and Licking counties could see up to 1 foot of snowfall, Bradley said.

Saturday another 5-8 inches of snow expected.

-----------------------------------

In about 6 hours time 9:45 to 3:45pm
we've had roughly 5.5 inches of snow.


----------------------------------

Called Jiffy Lube today about a
transmission and filter change on our Explorer.
Nothing can ever be simple now a days.
The service tech told me that on some Explorers
the exhaust blocks the transmission pan.
He wouldn't know about ours unless we took it in.
If we are one of the lucky ones that has the
exhaust blocking the pan then we have to find
another place that is willing to remove part
of the exhaust to get to the pan.

Why is it that they make vehicles more and more
difficult to work on? These manufactures know
damn good and well that eventually you will
have to flush out your transmission and replace
with new. So why in the world block it with
an exhaust pipe? It just a freakin' way
to make more money off of you.

So let's hope ours wasn't designed that way.
But you know how that will go with the
way my luck's been going!

-------------------------------------------

After taking prescription Bentyl for 4 days
it has done absolutely nothing to help the
diarrhea. I called Urgent Care to let them know
and to see if there was something else I could take.
They called in an antibiotic for me and told me
to take Imodium AD for the next 4 days.
Anyone need a printable coupon for it. Here
is one I found for $2.00 off. . You can find it
under Special Offers. Hmmm wonder how
much it could be if it's that much off?
If it does not work after 4 days then they
want me to come back in with a stool sample.
EWWWWW!!! GROSSS!!! They want to send it over
to Riverside to run tests. Boy I would hate to
have that person's job!!!

2-4-10

From WBNS 10 TV:

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The National Weather Service has
issued a winter storm warning from 4 a.m. Friday through
6 p.m. Saturday for Franklin and other counties
in central Ohio. The morning commute could be messy,
Live Doppler 10 chief meteorologist Chris Bradley said.

Thursday night will be cloudy with snow and freezing
drizzle beginning by Friday morning, Bradley said.

Snow is expected to start falling Friday morning,
with 2 to 3 inches expected by evening rush hour, Bradley said.

Friday's high temperature will be 35 degrees.

More snow is expected to fall until noon Saturday,
with 5 to 8 inches of total accumulation across central Ohio.

Some areas could see higher amounts of snow,
depending on the track of the storm, Bradley said.

Saturday's high will be 29 degrees.

-----------------------------------------

Looks like it will be a fun weekend considering
Tony is on call with the pager.
Wonder how many hours he'll get in with salting and plowing,
no heats or hot water? Frozen water lines bursting.

If you go out of town or the country
DO NOT TURN YOUR HEAT OFF!!!
Just turn the heat down to about 60 degrees.
So many people do this. You'll end up with frozen
or busted water pipes!!!

----------------------------------------

Good thing Aldis is about 5 minutes from here
as I was planning on going there tomorrow
for fresh fruits and vegetables. I haven't been there
in quite awhile but after seeing Kroger's prices
on them figured by going there it would be much
cheaper.

----------------------------------------
I've been taking my prescription medicine and have
not really noticed it working. Yeah sure my stomach
pains have lessoned but I thought the whole idea
of taking them was to lesson the diarrhea. Still no
change in that as I just got home and couldn't get the
door opened fast enough to run to the bathroom.
It's called Bentyl. Actually it's a generic from of it.
I've been reading online some of it's side affects.
It was giving some people panic attacks.
Helloooo did the doctor not read the form I filled
out about my medical history before prescribing things.
I have panic attacks, and not that I have discovered
any side affects yet personally, it does not help one that has
these attacks to read that this could be a side affect!!

-------------------------------------

Stopped in Kroger today to get some milk
and butter. Checked the refrigerated section
where they keep manager specials and found
a tub of Smart Balance sour cream in there for
.99 cents. I had a $1.00 coupon so it made it free.
I have noticed now when I get manager specials
and use coupons on them that the cashiers
have to force the coupon through. That's when
they try to scan it and the register won't accept it.

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I have a ton of potatoes lingering and have
tried in the past to freeze them. You don't
want to freeze raw potatoes as they could
turn brown. I have had luck with frying them
and putting them in zip loc freezer bags.

Mom found a hint out of a Taste of Home magazine
for freezing potatoes:

HASHBROWNS

Shred potatoes. Hold in a bowl of cold water until all
potatoes are shredded. Drain and blanch in boiling water
for about 3 minutes. Drain, rinse in cold water, again
drain again and pat dry. Pack into freezer containers
or resealable bags. Store in freezer for up to a year.

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Tonight's Supper

TUNA & NOODLES

1 can of tuna .29 cents
1 box of pasta shells .50 cents
1 can of cream of chicken soup .30 cents
Leftover shredded cheddar cheese $1.40
Bread crumbs free

TOTAL COST $2.49 5 Servings @ .50 cents a serving

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Getting better, lol, around here.
Seems like something going on everyday!
Got a phone call from the school at 1:30pm
saying Jonathan threw up. So I went and
got him. His temperature is only 99
and he has a stomach ache and slight headache.

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COUPONS

Found $1.00 off Pepsi Max 20 ounce coupons
at Speedway on the refrigerated doors.

They are usually 2 for $2.22
use two $1.00 coupons
makes it .22 cents for two 20 ounce bottles.

All these coupons below can be found in the
March edition of All You Magazine.
All you can only be found at Walmart
or by subscription.

* $1/1 Borden Singles Sensations, exp. 5-2-10

* $10/$25 Catherines Purchase, exp. 3-31-10

* $1/1 David Sunflower Seeds (14.5-16 oz.), exp. 5-16-10

* $1.50/1 Endust Free, exp. 6-18-10

* $0.55/1 Fantastik Product, exp. 4-30-10

* $10/$25 Fashion Bug Purchase, exp. 3-26-10

* $1.25/1 Fast Classics Bag, exp. 7-31-10

* $1/1 Fast Fixin’ or On The Go Bag, exp. 7-31-10

* $1/1 Fisher Boy Product (16 oz.+), exp. 6-30-10

* $3/1 Flex-a-min Supplement, exp. 4-16-10

* $1/1 Frito-Lay Variety Pack (20-22 ct.), exp. 3-26-10

* $1/1 Gentle Naturals Product, exp. 6-30-10

* $0.50/1 Halls Cough Drops (20 ct.+), exp. 5-31-10
These sometimes go on sale for $1 so it could be a freebie or
very cheap!

* $0.55/1 Kernel Season’s Popcorn Seasoning, exp. 5-31-10

* $0.75/1 Kleenex Facial Tissue Bundle Pack, exp. 3-31-10

* $2/1 La Cross Beauty Tool Purchase ($4+), exp. 3-31-10

* $0.50/1 Little Lender’s or 100 Calorie Bagels, exp. 5-31-10

* $1/1 Marzetti Salad Dressing, exp. 5-31-10

* $2/1 MiraLAX Product (excludes 7 dose), exp. 4-30-10

* $5/1 Neutrogena Clinical Product, exp. 9-30-10

* $2/1 Nivea For Men Body Wash, exp. 4-30-10

* $2/1 Nivea For Women Body Wash, exp. 4-30-10

* B1G1 NYC New York Color Quick Dry Nail Polish, exp. 3-31-10

* $1.50/2 Oscar Mayer Deli Fresh Combinations or Creations, exp. 4-30-10

* B1G1 Pedigree Canned Dog Food, exp. 5-31-10

* $2/1 Pedigree Dentastix, exp. 5-31-10

* $2/1 Pedigree Dry Dog Food, exp. 5-31-10

* $1/1 Pedigree Good Bites, exp. 5-31-10

* $1/1 Pedigree Jumbone or Marrobone, exp. 5-31-10

* $0.55/1 Pepperidge Farm Frozen Bread, exp. 5-15-10

* $3/1 Rimmel Mascara, exp. 3-31-10

* $2/1 RoC Product (excludes trial sizes), exp. 6-30-10

* $1/1 Scott Extra Soft Double Roll (12 pk.), exp. 5-31-10

* $0.50/1 Scott Naturals Moist Wipes, exp. 5-31-10

* $1/1 Scott Paper Towels (6 pk.+), exp. 5-31-10

* $0.50/1 Scrubbing Bubbles Bathroom Product, exp. 4-30-10

* $1/1 Scrubbing Bubbles Toilet Cleaning Gel
or Automatic Shower Cleaner Refill,exp. 4-30-10

* $0.75/1 SeaPak Item, exp. 4-30-10

* $0.50/1 Sister Schubert’s Product, exp. 4-4-10

* $1/1 Smart Start Cereal (14.7 oz.+), exp. 3-31-10

* $1/1 Softsoap Body Wash, exp. 3-31-10

* $0.50/1 Softsoap Liquid Hand Soap, exp. 4-16-10
-Soft soap usually goes on sale for a buck or less
so this could end up being a free item!

* $1/1 Starbucks Coffee Bag (12 oz.), exp. 4-30-10

* $1/1 Stouffer’s Party Size Entree (57-96 oz.), exp. 5-30-10

* $1/1 Thomas’ Honey Wheat English Muffins or Bagels, exp. 5-31-10

* $3/1 Visine Product (.5 oz.+), exp. 6-30-10

* $1/1 Weight Watcher’s Yogurt (32 oz. or five 6 oz. cups), exp. 4-26-10

--------------------------------------------------

Stores that accept coupons at face value:

-Save-A-Lot
-Dollar General
-Family Dollar
-Walmart
-Marcs
-Kmart
-CVS

Stores that accept coupons at double face value up to .99 cents:

-Kroger
-Meijer
-Giant Eagle

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Free HP online computer classes
-Digital Photography
-Home Office
-Microsoft Office & Adobe
-PC Security and Maintenance
-Business Basics
-IT Professionals
-Graphic Arts
-Government and Education

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Went to the library today and got these books:

-Taste of Home's Contest Winning Annual Recipes 2004

-Pillsbury Best Muffin & Quick Breads

-The Best of Amish Cooking

-The Only Bake Sale Cookbook You'll Ever Need

-Food Made Fast, Baking

-Diner's, Drive-In's and Dives
(I love this show!! Makes me hungry every time!!)

-The Hundred Year Lie, How Food and Medicine Are
Destroying Your Health

-What the Drug Companies Won't Tell You
And What Your Doctor Doesn't Know

-What Your Doctor Hasn't Told You and the
Health Store Clerk Doesn't Know

-Free Ohio Fun
Free things to do and see in Ohio for the whole family

-Lost Ohio
More travels into haunted landscapes, ghost towns
and forgotten live

-Haynes Chevrolet & GMC Repair Manual

-Weird Indiana (there is also a Wierd Ohio
but I have already read it)

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The first 30,000 people to become fans of the Incredible Edible Egg Facebook page on Friday 2/5 will get a coupon good for B1G1 eggs!

----------------------------------------

My step-dad actually let me try to repair his boots
today to save him the cost of buying new.
He has a pair of duck boots that developed a crack
in them allowing water to seep in.
All it took was a handy dandy hot glue gun to fix it.

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Sign up at Muellers pasta now so you don't miss out on
more than 60 easy-to-make meal ideas, recipes,
and great money-saving coupons.

-----------------------------------------

A survey sites to look into:

LIGHTSPEED

----------------------------------------

Sign up for Bob Evans Email and receive a $2 off coupon
on a $10 purchase in a confirmation email.

----------------------------------------

Home Made Simple
Fill out registration to receive $30 in free coupons.

----------------------------------------

Have blemish-prone skin?
Try a weekly green tea facial! Because
green tea has antibacterial properties and can reduce inflammation, it's the perfect ingredient for acne sufferers. Cleanse your skin, then fill a basin with hot water. Steep 2-4 bags of tea in the water.
Then place your face comfortablly over the bowl. Drape a towel over your head for a few minutes, and let the tea-infused steam deep-clean
every pore!

Woman's World.

------------------------------------

Ok I tried to go a half a day without any pain
medication to see if my back has felt any better.
I made it through half the day with what felt like
a stiff back. Felt a little better than normal.
Now that I am sitting around and bed time is drawing
closer I gave in and took some Ibuprofen.
A hot bath last night seemed to help.
Just don't feel like trying to get
in and out of the tub tonight.
It's bad enough trying to bend over
to retrieve the dog bowls off the floor to
feed and water her. Now's about the time
I wish I had automatic food bowls.
Think I'll go fire up the heating pad and
read a few books.
I never know whether to use hot or cold
for certain aches so I guess I will find out.
Let's hope it ain't the hard way!

Can't wait to see what the weather has in
store for us tomorrow morning.

2-3-10

Me and mom stopped in a few thrift stores today
as I was on the hunt for fabric to make some
warm insoles for everyones shoes, especially
the rubber duck shoes I got for Tony.
They have no cushion or insulation in them.

I found a fleece type blanket for .90 cents.
I plan to cut out and stack several layers
of this material to make insoles.

Next I found some fake fur type material.
I plan to use this to line his rubber shoes.
Ever had Winter boots that you put your foot
into and in the bottom has fur all around your
foot? Well that's what I am gonna attempt to
do with his shoes.



Of course while at the thrift stores I had to
browse around some. I finally found another
lap electric blanket I've been wanting.
I paid $5 for the one I have and $5 for this one today.
New they go for around $30.
I love them!! They are not big and bulky like
a full sized blanket.

Before buying anything electrical always plug
it in at the store to see that it works.
I even do this at garage sales. If they can't
plug it in for me to show me it works I ain't
buying it! I've been screwed too many times.



Then I got the kids a nice OSU shirt.
Was $3.99 marked down to .99 cents.


Mom picked me up a wooden sign to hang on my wall.
I thought it was perfect for this household.
The sign originally came from Bob Evans @ $8.00
I think she paid $1.99 for it.



And lastly I found me what looked like a bag on
wheels. Due to my back pain everyone has been on
my case about picking up anything heavy.
So I got this $3.00 bag on wheels so I could
put my groceries in it and wheel it into the house
without having to pick up anything heavy.
It's pretty tall. Almost as tall as my bottom cupboards.

I took it into Kroger with me today and had
the bagger put my items in it. Then just wheeled
it out to the truck. So nice! It evens has a
zippered closure on top so things won't fall out.



------------------------------------------

Made another doctor's appointment today
to get bloodwork done. It's on February 15th.
Then I have to make another appointment
at the time of that visit to get a girly checkup.

There may even be more appointments after that
as I have to call the insurance company
regarding getting xrays and a MRI done.

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Last night's supper was pork roast in the crock.
Added a can of chicken broth and a package
of onion soup mix. Boiled up some potatoes
and made gravy with the liquids in the crock.

Pork roast $1.93 (half of roast)
Chicken broth .39 cents
Onion soup mix .75 cents
Potatoes .50 cents

TOTAL $3.07 Served 5 @ .61 cents a serving

Tonight's supper was shredded pork with bbq sauce.
Added shredded cheddar cheese and made tortillas
out of it. Served a side of leftover spaghetti
and garlic biscuits mom gave us

5 tortillas .90 cents
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese $1.20
Pork roast (half roast) $1.93
BBQ sauce was FREE

TOTAL $4.03 Served 5 @ .81 cents a serving

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Tonight I made shoe insoles for Tony and Jonathan.
I made them out of a fleece blanket that was .90 cents.

For Tony's shoes I used 3 layers of fleece
then 5 layers in the heel area since he at
times gets heel spurs.
Jonathan's I used 2 layers.

I started by tracing the shoe outline onto
a piece of cardboard. Then cut off areas as needed
to fit inside the shoe. Then traced the pattern
onto the blanket and cut out.
I stacked the fabric soles together and
zig zag stitched around the outside.
That was fun trying to get all that fabric
underneath the foot of the sewing machine.







-----------------------------------

I took a pic of Meow Meow and tinkered with it.
Came out freaky looking like she's possessed!

2-2-10

Well I went to Urgent Care this morning.
Out of the blue now I have to pay full
price because they said my deductible hasn't been met.
That's news to me as we have never had to
pay full price before. When we took Jonathan
a couple weeks ago we didn't have to pay
everything up front.

Here have been my symptoms:
-Constant loose bowels for past month 4-6 times a day
-Stomach cramps, severe at times
-No energy, feeling drained
-sometimes swollen hands/feet
-Cold chills, no fever
-lower back spasms
-pain from back, hips and legs down to knees

I have had no fever, been normal or around 99 degrees.
No upset stomach. Appetite has been good.

I didn't get everything done that should have been
done today. I still have to make a doctor's appointment
with the family doctor to get other things done
so that way it will only cost me a $20 copay
or else I would have had to pay full price
for everything during this visit to Urgent Care.

The doc at Urgent Care did run a urine test.
The white blood cell count came back normal
but there was high protein in my urine.
She told me that it could mean muscles distress.

She did give me a pill prescription for diareah.
Take 3 times a day for almost 7 days.
Not supposed to eat fruits, veggies, dairy products,
spicy or fried foods, candy or alcoholic beverages.

Now I have to make a doctor's appointment
with the family doctor to have these things
done for further testing of what could be going on:
(I googled things to show you what they mean)

-Complete Blood Count Test with Differential

-A Comprehensive Metabolic Chemistry Panel

-Pap Smear

-Pelvic Exam

-xrays and possible MRI
for possible herniated disc
causing back spasms and leg/hip pain

Supposed to refrain from picking up heavy things.
Yeah right, this is a mom that does the grocery
shopping while everyone is away during the day
and has to carry the bags into the house
and has to carry laundry baskets and clothes
from the basement upstairs. Think the cat
and dog will do it for me??? What else
am I supposed to do?

So doesn't all this sound like fun???!!!
I'm going to go take a nap!

------------------------------

If you live in the city I am sure you are
well aware of all the hoopty mobiles running around.
You know those ones with the bumpin stereo systems
and 20" or larger tires. I call them wagon wheels
as they look about as big as wheels that
came off a stagecoach in an old Western movie.
I saw a commercial last night where you could
lease to own 18" and up rims!!
Come on now, this is ridiculous.
Lease to own a car, not it's wheels!!
Well actually I don't recommend leasing a
car but you get what I mean.

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Glade® Fragrance Gift Pack
First 10,000* to respond will receive a Glade® PlugIns® Scented Oil Gift Pack.

-----------------------------

All Small & Mighty Laundry detergent (32 loads) is priced at just $3.79 at Walmart. Use the $2/1 coupon from the 1/3RP to score detergent for just $1.97! This coupon expires on the 7th, so you’ll want to hurry and make use of it!

-----------------------------

There are two new Bar-S coupon available! Just go here and here to print $1/2 coupons. Press your browser back button to print a total of 2 coupons per computer–that means you should be able to print a total of 4 coupons from both links! Bar-S Franks are currently priced at just $0.88 at Walmart. Use the $1/2 coupon to score each package for only $0.38!

And if you have more than one computer you can print even more!

-------------------------------

Free StayFree Thermal Control

---------------------------------

Pepperidge Farms

.75 cents Goldfish Cracker printable coupon

-------------------------------

I just picked the kids up from the bus stop.
This week is still not getting any better!!!

In their book bag is a letter from transportation services.
Come to find out, right after they were picked up this morning,
about a block or two away from here the bus was involved in
an accident. Just lovely! A car couldn't stop in time
and slid on snow/ice into the rear of the bus.
One of my kids was sitting in the second to the last
seat of the bus. He said the car had a crumpled up hood.

Here is the letter. You will have to click on the photo
to enlarge to be able to read.



Ok why in the world do they wait until after school
to send home a note saying your child was in a bus
accident????

It says there were no reported injuries
and they appologized for having the students
get to school late. HELLLOOOOO Columbus School
District why are we appologizing for the delay.
I want to know why parents weren't contacted
after it happened????
And what is their excuse for the bus
showing up late all other days not getting
them to school on time?
Every day there is a different school bus
and a different driver. Who's to explain this also?

The kids said their friends who were on the bus
one morning after they had already gotten off
said the bus driver choked a kid. It's hear say
but seems to be the talk of other children.
We haven't seen hide nor hair of this regular
bus driver since. We have a different morning
bus and bus driver every morning that seems
to be causing the delays.
Sooo...HELLO COLUMBUS SCHOOL DISTRICT!!!
Where's the note to explain this incident.
Boy everything seems to be hush hush anymore.
Leaving parents to wonder what the heck is really
going on behind the scenes.
I myself never went to Columbus schools.
I went to Westerville City Schools.
And now that my kids are in Columbus I can
see a big downfall with the education the kids
are getting!!

-----------------------------------------

Today while getting my prescription at Kroger
I found a Manager Special boo boo. Never seen
this happen before but figured I mention it.
Be careful of what deals you think you are
getting because they may not be a deal after all!!
Anyways, I was prowling the meat department
looking for marked down meats. I scan
everything looking for those bright orange stickers!
I found some manager specials and upon better inspection
saw that they were not so special after all. The orange stickers
were actually much higher than what the regular
price was!! Let's say a package of beef
was regularly $5.00 but the manager special
sticker said it was $8.00.
So be careful out there.
When in doubt find a scanner for a price
check or find out what the item actually
cost to begin with!

Oh yeah Henderson Kroger had a deal on
Campbell's Chicken or Beef Broth for only .39 cents.
Check in the back by the dairy section as it's
in the middle of the isle on display.

---------------------------------------

Here's a pretty cool video about
clearance items found in stores.
Check it out HERE.

-------------------------------------

I think I'll take mom out to lunch tomorrow.
If you go HERE you can print out a
coupon for a FREE piece of crispy breaded
fish from Long John Silvers.
I was able to print her and myself a coupon.
I used different names, addresses and emails to do so.
That's funny as we went to Long John's just last
week and used coupons from the Entertainment book.


--------------------------------

Ok I did a stupid thing like let my Ibuprofen wear off.
I usually take another dose around 4pm but forgot.
I remembered it around 6pm. Can't take it now or it will
wear off in the middle of the night.
I don't want that
to happen again like it did a day ago and I woke up
in pain that it brought tears to my eyes.
Then took it and waited another half hour for it to
kick in so I could go back to sleep. That was a rough night!

So I am struggling
at the moment in pain from back spasms trying to get
through til about 10pm tonight so I can take another dose
that should last til about 6am.
No one around here dares to mess with me at the moment
because with pain comes irritability! Even the dog
and cat are keeping their distance, lol.

I keep thinking about the doctor telling me I may have
a herniated disc in my lower back that could be pinching
a nerve and causing the spasms and leg pains. When asked what the
treatment may be she said they could either give you
shots in your back or surgery. How nice! I just
wish this pain would go away and be done with
and I don't have to worry about things like that!

Getting old just plain SUCKS!

------------------------------------------

2-1-10

Still not having a good day.

And this is how is started off...

The bus is supposed to be here at 8:30am.
IT DID NOT COME UNTIL ABOUT 9:10AM, 40 minutes later!!
It's was like 18 degrees out and we were all froze!!
The roads aren't bad and they are clear,
and there is no snow falling. So what was the deal????

---------------------------------

After the bus showed up me and mom went to one Walgreens looking
for the Acu Check Diabetic meters.
They were out of the one that I had a coupon for.
Next we went to another Walgreens and they did
have them.
They are $14.99
then I had $10 off manufacture coupons
and I received a coupon for $5.00 off my next purchase.
I got 2 meters so with the $5.00 coupon
it pretty much makes them free.

I did not find a Walgreens coupon for the $5.00 off.
I looked everywhere and in all Walgreens ads front
and back by pharmacy and even asked the pharmacist.
We did not find them in any booklet.

I get home and look inside one of the boxes to check
out the rebate form. And do you know those forms
expired 1-31-10, YESTERDAY!!! GRRRR.

I'm thinking about taking one of the meters back
but keeping the other one.

And that is how my morning went.
Can't wait to see what the rest of the day has in store.

I'm sure it will only get better considering Tony
is on call this week. AHhhh!

------------------------------------

Become a fan of Bayer on Facebook
and receive a free Bayer Asprin Pill Holder.
I signed up last year to get one and they
are great to have! Now I am hoping
to get hubby one also.

-----------------------------------

It's 5pm and the day has not gotten better.
I called the doctor to make an appointment.
That alone says a lot about me!
The willingness to see a doctor, lol.
Sure they gave me an appointment BUT
it was for the 12th of February.
That's 11 days away!
Mom and Tony both said I should go to
Urgent Care instead. So I called the doctor
back and canceled the appointment.
Mom will take me to Urgent Care tomorrow morning
after the kids get on the bus.

-----------------------------------

I had an appointment set up last year to get
our taxes done on the 6th of February.
I got a phone call not long ago to say our
tax person had a family emergency so we
had to set up another appointment for
the 21st of February. So have to wait another
15 days on that.

When it rains it pours around here when we have
our bad luck days.

------------------------------------

Tony has on call, the pager, this week at work.
And as luck would have it, today two guys called off work.
Just thought I would throw that in there with
everything else that has been going on.
So when there are about 4 maintenance guys
and two call off that leaves 1 maintenance guy
and the supervisor.

--------------------------------------

I did a switch-a-roo for supper. I decided
to have the rotisseri chicken tonight.

Then this evening I started the pork roast
in the crock pot so all I would have to do
tomorrow is heat it up.


--------------------------------------

Jonathan had to turn in a baby picture
for school today. I think they will play a
guessing game to see who can figure out which
student is in the photos.
My picture is crappy because I didn't want to
send actual photos to school to get ruined.
Instead I took a picture of it with my camera.
Everyone still oohs and ahhhs over how much
hair he had when he was born. I remember the nurses
calling other nurses from different floors of the hospital
to come see the baby with all the hair, LOL.
He was an attention getter in the stores that's
for sure with all that hair being a newborn!

The old saying about women who have lots of heartburn
when pregnant will have a baby with lots of hair is soooo true.



-------------------------------

Oh it keeps getting better and better.
I just got a recorded phone call from the school
saying I should send a note in tomorrow so
Christopher would not get an unexcused absence for today.
Helloooo??? He WAS in school today.
So there's another letter to school to get that rectified.
Maybe if the freakin bus would make it on time just
once we wouldn't be having these problems!!!

------------------------------------

As promised I am posting my recipes I
submitted to the Betty Crocker cookie contest.




HOT FUDGE COOKIE BAR SUNDAES

Ingredients

1. Betty Crocker Double Chocolate Chunk Cookie Mix
2. 1/2 cup milk
3. 1/3 cup butter
4. 21 ounce can cherry pie filling
5. 1/2 cup sugar
6. 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
7. 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
8. 1 1/4 cups boiling water
9. vanilla ice cream

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Spoon cherry pie filling into the bottom of an ungreased 9 x 9 inch baking pan.

In a medium sized bowl add contents of cookie mix.
Stir in milk and butter
until smooth and creamy.

Spoon cookie batter evenly over cherry pie filling.

In a small bowl combine sugar, brown sugar and cocoa.
Evenly sprinkle the sugar and cocoa mixture over the top of the cookie batter.
Pour boiling water over top. Do not stir.

Carefully place in oven.
Bake for 55 to 60 minutes.

Remove and allow to cool for 15 to 20 minutes.

Cut into 9 pieces.

Remove each piece and carefully flip over when transferring to a dessert bowl.
Top with a scoop of ice cream.
Spoon hot fudge and cherries, from bottom of pan, on top of ice cream.

Provide tips or variation ideas for making this recipe:

You can replace the boiling water with freshly brewed coffee.

Place 9 inch square pan on a cookie sheet so it is easier to transfer to oven. Also makes clean up a breeze in case any fudge sauce bubbles over out of the pan.




RASPBERRY ROULETTE

CRUST
1. Betty Crocker Sugar Cookie Mix, reserving 1/4 cup dry mix
2. 1 egg
3. 1/3 cup butter
4. 1 cup finely chopped dates
5. 1/2 cup chopped pecans

FILLING
6. 8 ounce cream cheese, softened
7. 1/4 cup sugar
8. 1 egg
-1/4 cup reserved cookie mix

TOPPING
9. 1/2 cup black raspberry
preserves
10. 1/2 cup Betty Crocker
Cream Cheese Frosting


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Empty contents of cookie mix into a medium sized bowl. Remove and reserve 1/4 cup of dry cookie mix.
Stir in dates. Add egg and butter and stir until combined.

Press cookie dough into the bottom of an ungreased pizza pan.

In another bowl, combine cream cheese, egg, sugar and reserved cookie mix together with mixer until smooth.

Spread cream cheese mixture over top cookie dough.

Bake for 30 minutes.

Remove from oven and allow to cool
for 15 minutes.

Add raspberry preserves to a small bowl and stir until smooth.
Spoon evenly over top of the cream cheese.

In a small baggie add cream cheese frosting. Snip a small corner off the bottom of the baggie. Pipe frosting in crisscross pattern over top the raspberry preserves.

Cut like a pizza into 16 slices.

1-31-10

I'm sitting here trying to figure out my electric bill.
AEP's so called Smart Meter doesn't seem so smart after
all, after receiving my bill!

The most total KWH I used during the WHOLE YEAR
was last month at 771 KWH.
Even during the Summer months of using an air conditioner
was under 700 KWH!

So someone please explain to me why in the hell this month
after the installation of a Smart Meter my total
was 938 KWH????!!!!!!

My electric bill jumped up an extra 167 KWH
at an extra $24.90 this month.

Last month was $77.39
This month $102.29

WTF!!!

I have no way to check my old meter outside
as they have removed it and put in a new one.
How do I know they didn't they didn't read it
and add on extra KWH????

My bills from last month and this month
both say they were ACTUAL readings.

We have NOT done anything different around
here with using electric. Everything is still
the same. No extra things plugged in.
I've used the crock pot more than the oven
when baking.
We use flourescent bulbs in all light fixtures.
Even got rid of an old tv and use a more effecient
one.

It says on the bill now that if you use 1,000KWH
or less they will give you a discount of $3.00.

BUT if you use more than 1,000KWH a month
they will charge you $5.00.

Will wait to see next month's bill
and hopefully it goes back down or I'll
be making a few phone calls!!

------------------------------------

This will sound weird. But this morning I woke
up with a name to a cookie in my head.
Something I'd never thought of before but
there it was this morning upon awakening.

Is it a sign? Who knows.
I see a visual in
my head of what it would look like. I googled
it like I usually do to see if anyone else
has made or thought of it before. I found NOTHING.

I have til 11:59pm to enter any more cookie
recipes for the Betty Crocker cookie contest
before it is over with.

The last time I was a finalist it ended up being
one of the last few cookie recipes I entered.
If I do make it I will need to run to the store
for a few ingredients.

-------------------------------------

Ok here are some more store sales
combined with coupons. To see the
other list you will have to check
yesterday's post.

WALGREENS

Splenda 100 count sweetener
sale $2.99
-.55 cent coupon
makes it $2.44
Limit 2

*I'm thinking I priced Spenda 200 count
at Kroger the other day and it was $9.00.
So if you buy 2 boxes of Splenda from
Walgreens (200 count total)
it would cost $4.88, half price of Kroger.

**********

Renuzit adjustable air fresheners
.99 cents each with Walgreens coupon
Limit 4

Manf. coupon Buy 2 get 1 free.

Makes it $1.98 for 3 or an average of .66 cents each

*********

Hubby's been wanting a new diabetic meter
and I found a heck of a deal at Walgreens
this week on one.

Like I said before if you have family or friends
that will allow you to send rebates to their
homes all the better.

ACCU CHECK BLOOD GLUCOSE METER

Walgreens sale price $14.99
-$14.99 mail in rebate on box
-$10.00 off manufacture coupon

PLUS you get $5.00 in register rewards.
This is a coupon that will print at the register.
It will say $5.00 off your next order/purchase at their store.

This ends up being free and then some!!!

It is limit 1 $5.00 register rewards per transaction.
So if you have more than one manufacture coupon like
I do then you need to take a friend or go back
a second time!

--------------------------------------

I saw an ad in CVS's paper that says they
can transfer your movies from
vcr tapes to a dvd for $25.
That's ridiculous when you consider
how many of those tapes you may own.
You'd be better off buying a dual
dvd/VCR recordable player and doing it
yourself.
By the time you do 6 VHS tapes to DVD
you could have bought yourself one of
those recordable players and done it yourself!

-------------------------------------

For those of you who may use a Swiffer Sweeper...


-Around my home it seems that someone always has a sock with a hole in it, so I started saving the "used" socks and by making a slit from the top of the sock to about the middle of the foot, I can slip them over my Swiffer duster and I don't have to buy the replacement pads. They work just as well and I feel that it picks up larger crumbs better. from thriftyfun.

-Refilling the Bottle
To easily reuse the Swiffer cleaning bottle, cut small hole (about 1/4 inch) into bottom (part that sticks up when inserted in the Swiffer mop). Go to local hardware store and buy small rubber stopper (under 50 cents). When you want to refill with your own cheap cleaning solution, take out stopper and use funnel to refill.
from thriftyfun.

-------------------------

FREE BRINGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY GARDENING COURSES

-Growing Fruits, Vegetables and Nuts

-Plannin and Preparing Your Garden

They also offer several other free courses
from family, parenting, astronomy, spelling,
religion, personal finance, math, music & genealogy

-----------------------------

As you already know I haven't felt the greatest.
We went to Kroger today to get some Ibuprofen
that I needed due to my back starting to spasm.
Plus I decided to get some nasty Gator Aid
to drink instead of pop.

For starters not feeling well can put you in a bad
mood and taking kids to the store can put you in a
bad mood and getting a new cashier can put you in a
bad mood!!! I would have liked to of grabbed his puny ass
across the conveyor belt. He told me I COULD NOT use
manufacture coupons with manager specials. I argued
and argued with him about it!! I was just in this
same store days before and used coupons on manager specials.
The cashier then was a regular and had probably been there
many of years.

I am so tired of people making up different rules!!
I am so tired of people screwing me out of money
every time I go shopping.
These stores are not losing money with us using coupons.
Those manufactures reimburse them their money and then some!!
I wonder how much profit they made off people
who don't check their receipts to see if they
were charged too much for something.
I have this happen to me all the time.
That crap adds up over the year for us if not caught!

I told him to put back whatever I got because what
he was telling me was untrue!! I asked him if this
was a new policy his manager made and he didn't have a
response to that!! He's lucky I felt
like crap and it was hard for me to move around or else
my ass would have been standing in line at the courtesy
counter. But ya know I do have Kroger's corporate email
and I won't hesitate to email them. It won't be the first
or last time. And I ALWAYS WIN!! I know the rules to the
game!!

------------------------------

As much as I don't like Gatorade or sports drinks
I am sitting here sipping away at one. I have had
diareah on and off for almost a month. My body is
feeling the stress from it!
I have bad stomach cramps also!

Your body changes over time. While you can eat
whatever you want one day your body may not like it
the next.

I have noticed when drinking diet pop it seems
as if it hits my stomach wrong. I started drinking
diet pop about 3-4 years ago with no problems.
Now I am starting to wonder after doing some thinking.

Years ago when Tony first found out he was diabetic
I ran out and got him some sugar free chocolate.
I DO NOT RECOMMEND THEM!! He ate almost the whole
bag. Then later on that evening he developed
stomach cramps that had him doubling over
and severe bouts of diareah. I thought he was having
a diabetic attack and it scared the crap outta me!!

I got to reading the bag of sugar free chocolates
and it's ingredients then did some research online.
The ingredients they use in immitation sweeteners
can act as a laxative!! I even compared those ingredients
to an actual chocolate laxative in the store and found
they were very similar.

So now I am wondering if my diareah and stomach cramps
are due to the aspartame in the pop. That is the
artificial sweetener.

So as hard as it may be I'm gonna try to go completely
off diet pop for the next several days to see if there
is any change. I will let you know the results if they do.
Gotta have cappucino or chocolate on hand to make up
for the lost caffeine though, lol.

------------------------------------

Tonight's Supper

LaChoy Chicken Chow Mein $4.00
White Rice- Free

Makes 5 servings @ .80 cents a serving

-----------------------------------

Monday Supper

Pork Roast $3.86
2 can chicken broth .60 cents
1 envelope onion soup mix .75 cents
potatoes .50 cents
Stuffing .70

This will make about 2 meals with a 3 pound roast.
Plus 2 lunches.

Cost $6.41
Serves approximately 12 @ .53 cents a serving


Tuesday's Supper

Rotisserie Chicken

Kroger has whole rotisserie chickens for $4.99.
I have a couple $1.00 coupons for them so bought
one for $3.99 to have for a supper.
The coupons were found in the Kroger booklet
that was sent to me in the mail.

---------------------------------------

There's nothing like cutting it close to a deadline!
I just finished up a dessert to enter in Betty Crocker's
cookie contest. There's like an hour and 50 minutes
to go before the deadline!!
Now I will have 2 recipes entered this year.

Why is it a hubby likes to pick up a camera
and start taking photos of you when you look
and feel your worst????


So here it is...the result of waking up this morning
with the name Raspberry Roulette in my head.
Where it came from I do not have a clue but I am
running with it while there is still time, lol.





------------------------------------

Oh lookie here! My recipe is on Allrecipes, yeah me, or maybe
not! Someone else posted it under their name.
I wrote a review and let everyone know it was my recipe.
Now waiting for the review to go through.
Just saw that the recipe was posted as of yesterday.
IT'S MY RECIPE, I SHOULD BE THE ONE GETTING CREDIT FOR IT!!!
For years I have tried to submit recipes to
AllRecipes and have not had any luck getting
any of them accepted. Now I see this, GRRRR!!
BOSTON CREAM DESSERT CUPS
Here it is from Betty Crocker with a photo of myself!

And on that note I am off to bed with a headache due
to caffeine withdrawal.

1-30-10

Jonathan's class has an upcoming project in February.
They each are to come up with their own business.
They have fake money but have to bring in actual
items for their business to sell.

He was accepted for a bakery business.
Hmmm don't know we came about that idea, LOL!

I have been searching around for ideas of what to make.
I came across these CUPCAKE POPS last night
and thought they were so cute and something
that would interest kids. What sweet treat wouldn't.

Or we could do regular CAKE POPS.

We could find some styrofoam and stick them
into it for display.

I also have a cupcake holder if we decided
not to go with using sticks for some of them.


I think instead of buying lollipop sticks
I will use wooden skewers and cut off the pointy
ends.

I also could make some BAKERY TYPE BOXES
for "customers" to put their goods in.

While this is not Martha Stewart's creation
she does have the inventor of these cake
pops on one episode showing how to make
these. VIDEO

It says to use a baked cake mix. I don't know why you couldn't
just buy a cheap package of Kroger Value cream filled
cookies and put them in a food processor. Then add
a little less cream cheese frosting considering
there was already cream filling in the cookies.

--------------------------------------------------------

THE BAG

KROGER

Colgate Toothpaste $1.67
-Total Whitening 4.2 ounce

Colgate coupon $1.50 (doubled)

makes it .17 cents each

MEIJER

Johnsonville
-Brats, Italian or Smoked sausage $2.50

Coupon $1.00 off 2

makes it 2 for $4.00 or $2.00 each

*************

Red Baron Single Serve Pizza $2.50

Coupon $1.50 off

makes it $1.00

---------------------------

Today before making a dessert I noticed
I had hardened sugar lumps in my container
of sugar. I fixed those lumps by using a
potato masher.

Today is the 30th and tomorrow is the last day
to enter Betty Crocker's cookie contest.
I have yet to enter the first recipe.
Most of my recipes have flopped.
I was able to finally come up with something
that turned out. Once I enter it
then I will post it on here for all to see
February 1st.

I did see something in the rules that I thought
was unfair. While Betty Crocker themselves
will pick the finalists they are leaving it
all to online voting for the winners.
So in my opnion it's whoever knows the most
people will win.
They used to have a winner
with online voting and winners with Betty
Crocker judges.
I think it's unfair as the voting more
than likely won't be a result of who's
recipe is best in taste or creativity. :-(

---------------------------

WOO HOOO! I just completed another survey
and now qualify for my $25 GameStop gift card!

And I am already on my way to starting another one!

Now if I can try to complete all their surveys
when they come I can see how many gift cards
I can accumulate by Christmas time.
The gift cards do not expire.
This will help out with Christmas that's for sure!

----------------------------

Here is a sample of what I submitted to the
Betty Crocker contest.
For the contest though I entered it as having ice cream
then the fudge sauce spooned over the top.
So you will have to visualize the ice cream on top.


I still have not felt the greatest. This was
the worst day yet with muscles aches and pains.

Hubby found me in the kitchen making a dessert
this evening and wondered what I was doing when I should
have been laying down.
My answer was that this contest's deadline is tomorrow.
They are not going to wait for me to feel better before
I can submit an entry so I have to do this NOW!
Because I have nothing else to enter! This was
the only thing that turned out half way decent.
Recipe will follow on February 1st once contest
is over with. Finalists won't be announced
until March. Boy that is a long wait let me tell
ya. What's even longer is when you are told
you are a finalist and have to wait even longer
to see if you make it as the winner.

Heading to bed as I just took some more ibuprofen
because the last dose wore off and now my
back is spasming.