About sixteen years ago, I met him for the first time. My trainwreck sibling brought home this adorable puppy he had no business adopting because he had not one thing in his life that wasn’t a mess. I was furious at my sibling – he didn’t even take care of himself, how could he drag
Read More
October 23, 2009
Cooking recap/pretasting: This has the potential to be the worst recipe ever. My taste test of the original recipe with honey was rather sickening. I only used one round of that terrible tomato-honey blend, and used salt, pepper and another 8 oz of tomato sauce trying to counter the overpowering honey taste. And there was too much mixture left over at the end (about 12 oz?). My hopes aren’t high, but that was a lot of work so I hope hope hope that it works out. And now, on to the pictures!
Prep Time!
The recipe did not call for garlic. But garlic is oh-so-right.
This pan has seen better times. I didn’t do that to it.
+ Rice
+ Tomato Sauce Blend.
After +salt +pepper and +plain tomato sauce to counter the honey blended sauce.
Ready for the oven!
Voila!
Final Verdict: A smidge heavy on the pepper, and really wish I’d skipped the honey entirely. Now I know. And knowing’s half the battle.
Final Cost: Peppers: 2 x 89 cents/pepper = $1.78
Beef: (Expensive at) $2/lb.
Tomato Sauce: 3 x 27 cents/can = 71 cents
Onion: 50 cents
Rice: already cooked at home
Garlic, Honey, pepper, salt: already in the cupboard
Total: $5.20
October 22, 2009
The Privo Kivas were on sale at 6pm.com for $14.95 plus $7.95 shipping. I couldn’t find any deals on the shipping, and they don’t pay for returns, so I passed. The price is now back up to $41, only ~50% off of MSRP.
Regret factor: Low. My blistered feet don’t thank me for this pass. On the other hand, I didn’t know how comfortable they’d be or how they’d fit, so I would have been out $8+ return shipping if they weren’t good.
This cute silk ruffle scarf top from Banana Republic. Available in my size in teal or purple for $19.99, but hand wash only, and no free shipping.
Regret factor: Medium. My non t-shirt wardrobe is mostly variations on the button down shirt theme, and I’ve been looking for a few nice shirts that could be casual but not t-shirt casual. But hand wash only always gives me pause, I’ve got to be very particular about how much more complication I bring to my life and hand wash isn’t high on that list.
The sweaterdress from Kohl’s on sale for $23.99. It was cute, and even fit me, but the neckline is just a little too wide, and the fabric was on that side of scratchy. Probably not the best of materials.
Regret factor: Low. Knit clothing is always iffy in my book because of the care needed so whatever I purchase has to look stunning to be worth the extra work.
And for the return bin…..
This has to be the last of my close, but no cigar, interview tote attempts. The straps aren’t designed to drop down/bend so they either stick straight up or bend very unattractively. It’s only a matter of time before they start cracking and breaking.
October 21, 2009
That “keep unread” option on Google Reader always seemed like a good thing until I started abusing it. (Isn’t that always the way it is?) I wanted to keep everything from My Money Blog, or whichever blog I was skimming, unread because it’s all useful information. It became the electronic equivalent of filing paperwork: I’d open something, note that it was interesting, and then Keep Unread so I could deal with it later.
Voila! I made Google Reader three times less efficient! Not only do I only skim the post the first time ’round, I’m not acting on it and saving it for later. While I skip around Reader not doing anything about the interesting post, I’m wading hip deep in Read-but-save-for-later posts. When I finally get ’round to dealing with them, I’ve got a huge stash of posts that need attention.
*Shame on me!*
No real promises, but I’m trying to keep the clicking of “Keep Unread” under control. I take a second to think about whether I really need the information, or if I truly plan on using it. Or commenting, even. If I wanted to comment on it, just go do so. If not, read and move on.
It’s amazing how easily a new bad habit can form without conscious thought. I wonder if that’s how MOST bad habits start?
October 20, 2009
I’d love it if you guys voted for my bag in Well-Heeled’s blog contest. No pressure. 🙂 But it would sure go a long way to funding Christmas shopping this year since my gift fund is sort of … depleted.
It’s already October! I can’t believe I only have one gift, and that’s practically a cheat because those comic books are purchased in July every year.
Has anyone started making their gift lists yet? Their wish lists? Anything?
After the dozens of failed calls to EDD, after getting hung up on every single time I thought I’d successfully navigated the phone maze, after every frantic attempt to jigger my schedule to make time for a phone interview ….
I sent a long, thorough (polite!) email through the system explaining my online classes and how they don’t interfere with my job search.
And I just got an email saying: Your online courses have been approved. The telephone interview has been cancelled. Your check will be mailed tomorrow with the subsequent claim form.
Note: Now we’ll see what the forms say, and if they make up for lost time. But in the meantime, my budget is sighing a small sigh of relief.
Isn’t it ironic that for all that we empathize with the long-laboring, store-it-up-for-the-winter Ant Fable, many of us are waging war against the industrious ant? Reporting back after three weeks of combat, wielding Terro as recommended by J.D. at Get Rich Slowly and Funny About Money, I don’t feel guilty one bit.
Those darn things get into everything, inside, outside, food, drink, swarm over anything the least bit interesting, eat through walls, chew holes in fabric. And they swarm. Like locusts! Or, you know, ants.
Funny makes a good point: you don’t want to eradicate ants completely because they are an essential part of the ecosystem. I’m not out for complete extermination. Be as that may, they don’t belong inside my home! (or dishwasher, or closet, or under my sinks.) And until they respect those boundaries, I will continue to hold the lines.
Terro is the ultimate two dollar magic. I kid you not, even though the packaging states that you may have to wait two weeks to clear out the problem, it took less than 24 hours for the three battalions and supply lines to disappear completely from the front of my house.
The tradeoff was apparently that the eradication was short-term (about a week’s worth of ant-free zone), but another quick application of Terro to a central location a week later and the next wave of exploratory ants was gone. If you’re having ant problems, I highly recommend that you check the local garden supply shop, I bought mine from Lowe’s, and pick up a clear little bottle of peace of mind.
Now if someone can help me get rid of the flies! (I feel like I live in a barn. But the dogs keep opening the door and letting flies in!)
October 19, 2009
As the weeks go by, engagements are piling up right and left, and my travel obligations are too. New York, Hawaii, New York for a wedding (?), Greece for another (?), and now a fishing trip?
I had to say no. Though, it was my own darned idea! I haven’t gone fishing, properly fishing, since I was eight. And I hadn’t seen these friends in 3 years, they wanted to go fishing, perfect, no? But I didn’t realize that even though the timing was right, a 24-hour fishing trip in Ensenada, the money was not. It was estimated to run right around $75 or more, and this after I’d already committed to a thing on the East Coast in two weeks, and Hawaii two weeks after that. The travel fund is already gasping, I don’t have the extra $75.
And if I did, honestly, I’d rather it went to Rina’s best friend who just lost her husband. The donation I could send seems too paltry. So even though it was my big mouth that started the ball rolling on planning a fishing trip, you’ve got to pick and choose sometimes, and this is one of those times. And every other invitation that involves more than $10 a pop will likely be one of those times, too.
