Make me an offer I can't refuse!

My unemployment checks ended two months ago and now I'm starting to feel the pain of not enough money in the budget.  I have been looking for employment during the past two years, but it is only recently that there seems to be positions which are a good fit for my experience.  Recruiters are starting to contact me so the economy must be improving.  I need to get back to work to have structure and purpose in my life.  I need to have contact with the outside world.  Being a housewife and stay at home mom is not always the best thing for self esteem.  I sometimes feel isolated and alone even though I may have had coffee or lunch with a friend.  It is hard to meet someone for the first time and tell them that you are not working.  It doesn't matter if it is your decision to stay at home or a corporate decision it is looked down on by most. However, most of the people who look down on me are working mothers.  Why is this?  Is it jealousy or resentment?  I am ready, willing and able, so bring on the opportunities.

Vacation

Sorry I have not posted in over a month. Life gets in the way when you don't prioritize, but I'm back.

We wanted to to get away for a quick spring break and decided to go to a hotel/water park for two days.  That was the first mistake.  One day was more than enough! I booked the room online and had the choice of a queen suite or a queen room for the same price.  I chose the suite, thinking it would be nice to have a little extra room, refrigerator and microwave.  We checked in and schlepped our luggage to our room and discovered it was a plain queen room.  Being a person who is not afraid to stick up for herself, I marched backed down to the lobby to make them aware of the mistake.  I was told that our queen room is considered a suite because it is located on the same floor as the suites.  What???  I told the clerk that this was misleading and deceptive and wanted to be compensated.  We were upgraded to a queen suite with bunk beds, so the girls were thrilled.  Later that evening we discovered a plumbing issue with the toilet.  Disaster was averted when the maintenance man replaced a faulty valve at 9:30pm.  We awoke at 7:00am to enjoy our complimentary full continental breakfast.  We walked down to the lobby and discovered a sign saying breakfast had been moved to the second floor pub. We go to the pub and find out that they no longer offer the complimentary full continental breakfast, but are offering it to those who know about it.  Did I mention you can still find mention of the complimentary full continental breakfast on the hotel website? All of these things could have made this awful trip a terrible experience, but actually it made it memorable.  We now have some funny stories to share and we made memories with our daughters and that is what it was all about. 

Fat Weekend Treat

In honor of Fat Tuesday and all things sinful, I made doughnut holes this weekend.  I found the recipe in the newspaper and it reminded me of the doughnuts my Grandma made when I was a child.  If you are bored with the homogenized taste of chain doughnut shop doughnuts, then you will want to try these little bits of heaven. The doughnut holes are crispy on the outside and covered in cinnamon and sugar delicious-ness. They even taste great the next day.

Cinnamon Doughnut Holes

Yields 4 dozen

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 t ground cinnamon

1 3/4 c all purpose flour

1 t baking powder

1/8 t baking soda

1/4 t cinnamon

1/4 t salt

1/2 c granulated sugar

2T unsalted butter, melted but not hot

1 large egg

1/3 c buttermilk

vegetable oil for frying

Mix cinnamon and sugar on a plate; set aside.

Mix flour, baking powder, soda, cinnamon and salt in a medium bowl.

Whisk sugar and butter in a large bowl. Whisk in egg and buttermilk until smooth.  Gently stir in dry ingredients with a spatula to form soft, pliable dough.  Cover with plastic and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to overnight.

When ready to fry, heat 1 inch of oil in a 10 inch heavy skillet to 325 degrees.  Meanwhile, use a rounded teaspoon measure to scoop all of the dough into balls.  Working in batches, drop dough balls into hot oil.  Fry until golden brown on one side, 1-2 minutes.  Flip and continue to fry until golden on remaining side, another 1-2 minutes.

Drain all doughnut holes on a brown paper bag and quickly dredge in cinnamon sugar, serving warm or at room temperature. 

Per doughnut hole:  70 calories, 8 g carbohydrates, 1 g protein, 4 g fat, 5 mg cholesterol, 0 fiber 27 mg sodium



Addicted to Coupons

I have started coupon shopping in January in response to the Extreme Coupon show I saw on TLC.  The people on this show amaze me with their $2.67 grocery bill and four carts of groceries.  The bizarre part of the show is the OCD tendencies these people have such as:  enough toilet paper for 30 years warehoused in their garage or a shopping trip that yields over 300 free toothbrushes.  This being said, I now have an addiction to shopping with coupons. I am not extreme by any means.  I purchase two newspapers every Sunday and combine the coupons with store sales to net the best price on items that my family will use in a reasonable amount of time.  There are no plans of renting a storage unit to keep my groceries.  Last week I was pretty proud of the fact that I was able to find laundry detergent for $0.49, $0.73 deodorant, Cheerios for $0.99 a box, free KY, free toothpaste, free salad dressing and free hot dogs.  This has become a game for me and I am determined to win!  I must pay less than half-off to even consider going to the store since starting this adventure.  I have found a grocery store in a neighboring community that doubles coupons up to $1, all bread items are purchased from a bakery outlet (over 75% savings) and I purchase some staple items at Aldi.   If only I could find a discount on fresh fruit, vegetables and milk, but that might involve buying a farm.

You're a Winner!

They are the words so many wish to hear.  No, it wasn't Publisher's Clearning House. No, we didn't win the Mega Millions jackpot.  The call was from the Macomb Daily and my husband was the winner of...wait for it....not one... but TWO TICKETS to the AUTORAMA!!! Can you believe it?  For those of you not familiar with Autorama, it is basically an indoor hot rod and classic car show that  this year included Billy The Exterminator and one of the guys from the Jersey Shore signing autographs.  Any guy into cars loves attending (my husband), but I would rather you run me over with a car than attend.

My husband and brother-inlaw used the tickets last night.  It sounds like they enjoyed the people watching more than the cars.  I'm sure there were many people that have been seen on COP's in attendance.  I enjoyed quality girl time with my daughters and that makes me feel like a winner too.  

Talking Trash

Our trash was not picked up today, due to the significant snow fall Sunday evening and Monday morning.  This has somehow turned me into Tina Trashfinder.  I am one of those strange people that will run a piece of dental floss out to the curb on trash day as the garbage truck approaches the house.  However, give me an extra day to find trash and I suddenly find an extra 45 gallons of trash to haul away.  Somehow I achieve some sort of satisfaction knowing that every trash receptacle and recycling bin in my home is empty.  I know I'm not  the only person with this affliction, but I never see anyone else running to the curb with a used tissue in hand. Since I realized the trash was not going to be picked up until tomorrow, I have made four trips to the curb today and will probably make one more before the truck arrives tomorrow morning. I'm sure breakfast tomorrow will include emptying that cereal box into my bowl.

Family Dinner

I enrolled my daughters in a  hospital sponsored six week course, which focuses on healthy eating habits and exercise. During our appointment the nurse weighed and measured the girls and had them answer  health related questions.  Some sample questions included:  How many times a week do you eat fast food? and How many hours a day do you spend in front of screen (TV, computer or video games)?  I nearly went through the roof when I heard both my daughters answer the following question: How many times a week do you eat dinner as a family? The girls both told the nurse once a week!  The truth is we eat dinner together as a family (sitting at the table, home cooked food) six times a week and the seventh time is usually pizza delivered to our home. We are not a family that pulls through the drive-thru every evening and eats in our car on the way to our evening activity and call it "dinner" because we are all in the car.  Even when my husband and I have dinner plans, I still prepare a meal for the girls and sit down with them while they eat.  Do my daughters consider "dinner as a family" only the meals that they like and finish?  I have to admit that this was a blow to my ego since I consider myself the Martha Stewart of Southeastern Michigan.  Even if my children and I do not agree on the number of family dinners, I know family dinners provide stability in a crazy world and an opportunity for open communication.