TWTW - Feb-ru-ary

Friday night after I got groceries delivered I got busy in the kitchen. First task: brining Horace the turkey. I believe in naming my turkeys.

Second task: making salted caramel butter bars. What a bastard mess, but worth it. MFD was off frolicking around seeing Dave Attell and other comedians, so I also made spinach casserole and sweet potato casserole before calling it a night around 11:30.

Saturday I woke up to a Keurig that would not produce coffee. Motherfucker. So I headed out and got coffee and gas at Wawa, then picked up a new Keurig. When I got home I worked on stuffing and got Horace in the oven. He was a beaut. Then I sage smudged my house because the heater, the washer, and the Keurig have all broken since the second week of January. Sayonara, bad energy.

Saturday night framily joined us for dinner and it was a great relaxing night. We're trying to make a better effort to see each other once a month. Life gets so busy and before you know it three months have gone by.

Pic courtesy of Evan Leslie

Do you guys have professional photographers document your soirees? No? Cool. Thanks to Evan for these pics! Anyone in the PA/NJ area needing a photographer, check out Evan Leslie Images.

My photos from the night? LOLz. Our dogs were worn out from company.

I finally fell into bed around 1:30 Saturday night and slept for 11 hours. It was wonderful. The dogs needed even more rest because this is what they spent most of Sunday doing while I was laying out my clothes for the week, putting fresh sheets on the bed, and doing laundry:

Weekly food prep: egg muffins with spinach, mushrooms, and jalapeno cheddar cheese for breakfast; lemons cut up for water; hard boiled eggs for MFD; cucumbers, hummus, bananas, and apples for snacks. I used Horace's carcass and made turkey soup with onion, carrots, celery, mushrooms, garlic, spinach, and brown rice for Sunday dinner and this week's lunches. Other dinners: lemon chicken thighs over sauerkraut; salmon and steamed veggies; baked potatoes with laughing cow light cheese, salsa and veggies; and veggie omelets.

Other than that, I finished a book because I wanted to get it in for tomorrow's post. Are you linking up with me and Jana for Show Us Your Books?

Five chances to kill it daily this week. Let's begin. 

Linking up with Biana at B Loved Boston for Weekending

Friday Five: Grumpy Cat version

via

You know when there's a thing that a lot of people love and you're sitting there like Grumpy Cat going, no? Here are some of my Grumpy Cat things.

1. Fireworks. Unless they're at Disney or out of the hearing range of my dogs, no thanks. 

2. Summer. Heat and humidity; the stench of BO, hot pee, and hot garbage in the city; shedding dogs; etc etc. I like a lot of things about every season, summer included, but I stopped yearning for it when I no longer had the whole thing off. I can totally wait for summer. 

3. Scary movies. If I have to watch one you'll have to check me into a mental institution when it's over and I will curse you and haunt you for the rest of eternity. 

4. (Insert Holiday) Charlie Brown! Charlie Brown is a total whiner who grates on my nerves. And he hangs out with assholes, too. 

5. Bob Marley. Bob Marley songs make me feel like what I imagine an uptight, ultra conservative old republican man must feel like almost every day: filled with rage at nothing in particular except the fact that people are enjoying life around him, and prepared to take it out on everyone.

Other popular things I don't give two shits about:
-Toms shoes
-Tory Burch anything
-Chevron
-Harry Potter
-Taylor Swift and crossover country
-Acting like you hate facebook
-perfect backgrounds in photos

What are some popular things you dislike?

My Movie Pals

Here are some of my favorite movie characters. Embrace them. Love them. Pet them. And tell me yours. Let's begin. Or, as number one would say, "No more yanky my wanky. The Donger need food."

Photo: imdb.com

• Long Duck Dong, Sixteen Candles. What a laugh on this guy.
• Jake Ryan, Sixteen Candles. Do I need to give reasons?
• Keyster Soze, The Usual Suspects
• Tommy Devito, Goodfellas. Funny how?
• Johnny Castle, Dirty Dancing. You just put your pickle on everybody's plate, college boy, and leave the hard stuff to me. 
• Noah, The Notebook. 
• Rocky Balboa. So iconic an entire city considers him a real hometown guy.
• Lester Burnham, American Beauty. I love when he embraces the fuck it attitude. 
• I'm not sure if I can pick just one favorite from Revenge of the Nerds...Lewis Skolnick, Booger Dawson, Takachi. How do I choose? I can't. Hair pie for all.

Excuse please, but why do they call you "Booger?"
"I don't know."
Photo: serico.blogspot.com

• Dr. Peter Venkman,Ghostbusters. What a lovely singing voice you must have!
• Veronica Sawyer, Heathers
• Mary Poppins, Mary Poppins. Practically perfect in every way.
• Jason Bourne, Bourne movies. He kicks total ass. All the time. 
• Paul Finch, American Pie. I love a good smart ass. 
• Will Hunting, Good Will Hunting. Brilliant. Rough around the edges. I love him.
• Yoda, Star Wars. Awesome he is.
• Elle Woods, Legally Blonde(s). She's a great person to have in your network.
• John Bender, The Breakfast Club. Eat...my...shorts.
• The Bride, Kill Bill. She kicks ass. 
• Clark Griswold, Vacation movies. I basically married him. His zest for life is lovable. 
• Styles, Teen Wolf. Douchey as a friend but amusing nonetheless.
• Ouiser Boudreaux, Steel Magnolias. 
• Jack Butler, Mr. Mom. 220, 221...whatever it takes. 
• Louden Swain, Vision Quest. When he climbs that pegboard, man. Nothing but heart.

Movie characters I don't like:

• Luke Skywalker, Star Wars. Whiny baby! Whiniest whiner of all freaking whiners
• George Bailey, It's a Wonderful Life
• Harry and Sally, When Harry Met Sally. Am I the only person who hates this movie?
• Dorothy and crew, The Wizard of Oz. More whiners. 
• Mike Damone, Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Complete douche. Zero redeeming qualities.
• Penny Lane, Almost Famous. I adore absolutely everything about this movie except for Kate Hudson.
• The kid in The Princess Bride. He's a little butthole.
• Grandpa Charlie, Willy Wonka. How dare he be the one to go with that fool Charlie, when he's bedridden? He can magically get up and go? Meanwhile Charlie's mom is killing herself picking up after all the bedridden people. Preposterous. 

I could go on for an eternity, and I probably meant to...I think this post has been in draft for two years. As you might imagine with a title like this one, there might be some crossover between this list of my movie pals and this list of people I'd like to have as neighbors. I guess a TV character friend list will be forthcoming.

Tell me some of your movie favorites. And tomorrow, don't forget to link up for the Choose Your Own Adventure Challenge!

 Linking up with Shanna for Random Wednesday

Time is money - how I'm cutting down on running around

Things to do, places to go, people to see. We have a finite amount of time in which to do everything. I guard my time closely. I don't spend it with people I don't want to spend it with and I don't have a problem saying no to things I don't want to do. To me, time is money, be it actual money I make during working hours or currency that buys me joy and fulfillment. I'm always looking for ways to buy myself more time.

I'm sick of running on weeknights. I want to go home and do my thing or go to the gym or meet up with Jenn and walk the mall. But the bastard errands I typically take care of after work still need to be done, so I got creative.

1. I started getting groceries delivered. It costs me $8-10 and I give a tip. I still spend the same as I was spending in the store because I'm not picking up $10-15 of impulse stuff. As a bonus I don't need to struggle into the house with 50 bags on my arm.

2. I switched my library pickup location. I was having the books I requested held for me at the branch near my house. I've been stopping there once a week. Last week when I requested books, I got smart and I changed the hold location to the one near my office. When I walk to get them, I'll also be walking over a mile round trip. Win win.

3. I order dog food and treats from Chewy.com. Lori told me about it and I love it. It's free 1-2 day shipping on orders of $49 or more. Since my dogs eat better than I do, I hit that price.

4. Amazon Prime is my lifeline. You can truly get almost anything on Amazon, and a lot of it via Prime which means free 2-day shipping.

5. I'm eliminating Target trips to pick up just a few things. If I need something here or there, I can walk to the drug store, Ulta, or Sephora during lunch. I'll hit Target once a month as needed.

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Haikuesday

Dollar dollar bills.

I will spend them to save time.

Cash money brothers. 

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This new stuff in addition to my typical food prep on the weekends and my hausfrauing daily dos  have given me a lot more time at night and on the weekends to do things I actually want to do. And that makes me happy.

How do you save time? Teach me your ways.

TWTW - last one in January

Friday night was gym, tanning, laundry - minus the tanning, of course. I also did some blogging. I eased into Saturday with magazines, nail painting, and quiet. I love how Mae presses her face right into Gus to sleep. Also, that candle holder? MFD hung it up a week ago. I've had it for over two years. No shit.

Saturday I ventured out into the frigid tundra to hit Pier One (I got my favorite ginger peach candles on clearance) and Target before my February spending freeze began. I also stopped to visit Gamma and Pop.

Saturday night we went to Lucy's surprise 60th at Cafe Michelangelo. Really good food and good times with Dad & Carol's framily as always.

Organizing: The top left is the before and the top right is the after of the big middle compartment of my dresser. I also organized my loose photos using organizers from The Container Store and my trusty label maker.

Weekly food prep: savory oatmeal for breakfasts, cucumbers/peppers/bananas/hard boiled eggs for snacks, stuffed pepper soup from the freezer for lunch, and oven baked fajitas and cucumber and tomato salad for a few nights of dinner. Other dinners will be turkey/spinach/cheese burgers and roasted sweet potatoes.

Sunday I lounged around, did some weights, change sheets, read a book, caught up on the DVR (CSI and How to Get Away With Murder) and made some food to snack on while watching commercials...I mean the Super Bowl: roasted red pepper hummus (served with cucumbers and peppers), oven baked chicken wings that I burnt to shit but were still edible, and pigs in a blanket, some with cheese.

I also took a page from Dawn at Life in the Sack's book and laid my clothes out for the week in one of the the spare bedrooms. Boom.

Fin.

Linking up with Biana at B Loved Boston for Weekending