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Friday, December 31, 2010

I don't want to post this...

... but I feel like I have to, now that the task is done.

Today I cleaned out our fridge.

Shudder.

I think the last time it was cleaned out was when we bought it. And then, it was just washed down, not cleaned-of-rotten-food.

I did it as part of The Frugal Girl's Food Waste Fridays. I figured, heck, we need to do this - maybe it will help us keep waste down.
Little did I know how MUCH waste was currently hiding in our fridge.

Ready for it?






Here we go!






I can't look!






Ugh.








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Dear lord.

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(Please ignore the vodka bottle in the background. That's NOT part of the waste.)

Hey Ben? I found all the rubbermaid containers you wanted for work. OH! And I found some of our white plastic jar caps. Wow. AND there's that broccoli I chopped up but couldn't find a day later.

Hm.

I'm trying to not beat myself up over this because A) This is easily a few months worth of food, B) it doesn't get thrown out - it goes to the chickens, and C) I haven't exactly been stable the last month or two.

But there it is.

Yuk.

Thursday, December 30, 2010

What A Day

This has probably been my most stable day in months. This morning I woke up, a little drowsy from the serequel, but in a good mood. I set out a fruit plate and some dry cereal for the girls, then stretched out in front of the fireplace and dozed until about 9:30. It is amazing how they well they are when I'm napping. I think my being so sick for 8 weeks helped them realize they could play without me... hee.

Anyway, I packed up the 400 pounds of beef that I picked up yesterday for a co-op and headed into Columbus. Another thing that amazes me is how excellent the girls are in the car. I suppose they kinda have to be - driving is a LOT of our daily life.

Met up with some ladies at SS, where I got rid of most of the beef, and headed to Aldi, where I somehow forgot my debit card's pin, and therefor had to have the poor checker lady void off $30 of my $50 order (I had a $20 cash in my wallet). Face red and embarassed, we promptly snuck out and headed home.

The girls napped in the car for almost an hour, so I spent the time cleaning out the front seat and back feet areas. I got out 2 trash bags full of garbage... HOLY CRAP. I found a bunch of shoes that were M-I-A, as well as some toys that Morri swore she left at grandma's. Also found my Kohls credit card, which is not a good thing, LOL!

Anyway, now I'm home, and doing some chores. It's been a very positive day. I feel very productive and self confident. I am stable. I was able to cuddle Morri for a few minutes after she bumped her head on a chair. I made the girls a full lunch, at the table, instead of snacks all day. I am considering working on our bedroom... it's been MONTHS since we've built the wall, and our side still isn't mudded completely.

I'm wondering if it's the serequel... if it is, this is totally worth being drowsy in the morning!

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

GF/EF/DF Sugar Cookies & Toppings

When T was 'diagnosed' with allergies, I remember a few things went through my head.

With wheat, it was "What about sandwiches?!?!?"
With dairy, it was "What about cheese!?!?!"
And, for some reason, with eggs, it was "WHAT ABOUT COOKIES!?"

It has continued to be "what about cookies?" for a year or so now. And with Christmas, things like sugar cookies, gingerbread... you name it, it's there. And she can have none of them. :( Or at least, that was my idea.

For a year or so I've been buying GF/EF/DF cookies at a whopping $5-$10 per package. INSANE. But I did it to give my baby some cookie numminess.
Until sugar cookies. Unfortunately, run of the mill grocery stores don't have pre-cut, pre-shaped christmas cookies that are GF/EF/DF. Maybe they should. Could be a market there.

I looked up some recipes for T-safe cookies, and found most of them called for random substituted ingredients that we don't have on hand (cough-xanthamgum-cough). One thing we do have on hand is Domata, a great pre-mixed flour that can (pretty much) be substituted cup for cup for regular flour in a recipe. I just haven't used it much.
So finally I kicked myself in the butt, got up, and made this recipe, substituting the Domata for the flour and corn starch for the eggs. (And for the record, I wasn't aware you COULD sub starch for eggs until now. Thanks, Mr. Google.)

The verdict: They held shape REALLY well, during cutting and baking. However, they ended up hard as rocks, to the point where the girls couldn't actually bite down on them.

I was surprised at how well Tams could use a knife, both to get the icing ON the cookies and IN her mouth.

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And then Morri, including missing front tooth:Photobucket

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Random Tuesday: I'm a CRRAZZYYY rabid squirrel! I WANT MY COOKIES!

randomtuesday


I find it extremely amusing that something like being "allowed" to post random thoughts has me blog writing again. Heck, maybe I should just start posting my random crap every day instead of trying to make concise posts. Hm, something to think about.

Saw a new psych yesterday, since my old one dropped my insurance. New doc seems pretty neat. He, of course, figured out I'm batcrap insane fairly soon, and his exact words were "Well, Marc (my old doc), you got out of this one, didn't you!" all with a chuckle and head shake. I somehow think I SHOULD have been offended, however, I am not in the least.

Had a victory today. A stupid small one, but still a victory. I cleaned the girls rooms, and when I started to stop half-way through, I told myself to keep going and did. Their rooms are now fully picked up, vacuumed, and de-cob-webbed. I started something, and finished it. That's a big big thing for me.

My poor body. All I've been feeding it is junk lately. No kidding. Yesterday's food consisted of a toaster strudel, frozen pizza, zebra cakes, french fries, a bite or two of mashed potatoes, and 6 cherry turnovers. I have vowed today to at least have two vegetables, a fruit, and some dairy servings. I think I may have to go on a raw diet for a month or two soon.

Oh, yeah, and the psych? When he found out I was still hoping for vet school? With kids? "You're crazy."
Hah. Thanks psych! Glad you noticed.

Speaking of crazy, my mood has been interesting the last few days. I am now med-free, at least for the time being. I can see the mood 'curve' in my mind. Saturday I was extremely manic, Sunday as well. Yesterday I was up, but not UP. Today seems fairly even. If I could have this sort of mind-frame, this sort of mood, every day, I would be happy. I would be even more happy if we could clear up some of the foggy/confused/detached moments. But right now I feel pretty even-keel.

Considering making cookies with the girls. I'm considering even more making two batches, one GF/DF/EF and one mainstream, so that Ben and I could also enjoy them. I still haven't gotten over the texture issues of non-gluten flours.

Tams hasn't had a bottle in two weeks now. I think she's pretty much weaned. She asked for it once a day or two ago, when she was upset, but she accepted a cup of milk and a binkie instead. It's a little bittersweet... I think I would have rather her put down the binkie before the bottle, but I refuse to take it from her. She's miserable enough at night sometimes whenever she has reactions. I think we'll start keeping all the binkies in her bed, though.

I think I should get worst mom of the year award. My kids stocking stuffers include burger king happy meal toys. But they're zu-zu-pests. I figured that's the same as getting the real ones, right?

Oh, and Ragu pasta sauce is freaking tasteless. And Kroger store brand has cheese in it. Okay, the ORIGINAL, "tradiational" sauce has cheese in it. WHAT? I can understand the 'garlic and parmesean' variety having cheese in it. But seriously? The original? Fail, Kroger. FAIL.