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PS - The opinions expressed in this blog are just opinions and personal preferences regarding the way I view life in general. Nothing in this blog is meant in any way to provide professional advice or guidance (no matter how good my opinion is) - seek a professional for your professional needs and just come here for entertainment and occasional tidbits of useful (again - my opinion) information.

Category Archives: Just Me

Homemade Bread and Buns

  • July 16, 2009 – 9:17 pm
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Well, my youngest has been asking for a hamburger for the last three days and I have had neither buns or bread for the “wrapper” as he calls it. I am not sure what my deal is but the thought of going to the grocery these days makes me cringe, literally. Like… I drove by the supermarket today and made an audible sound of disgust. I have just been going to the local mini-mart to grab milk as needed but things are starting to run low. Do you know how bad I don’t want to go to the market? I am making homemade bread AND hamburger buns just to avoid it. It is going to take me the better part of three hours (and the store would take twenty minutes) but right now baking makes me smile and the thought of the grocery store makes me throw up in my mouth a little. Maybe it’s time to revisit that online delivery service that used to be called SimonDelivers? I think it was bought out by Coborn’s or something. I used that WAAAAAY back in the day when I was lucky if I made it home before dark each day. Ah the good ol’ days, now I am lucky to get 4 hours of sleep before the sun starts peeking out.

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To Ad or not to Ad?

So this post is kinda of two fold. First off I decided I need to add another column to the left right of my blog posts to display advertisements. This is a much debated topic among the blog world but my personal preference it to have them. Why? you might ask. Well… I like ads. I think they provide me with links to places I may otherwise not find – especially if they are relevant to the specific content listed on the page I am looking at. Also, the few extra bucks they provide me in a month (about $10 to date) is a nice perk. I know most people block them out or overlook them completely but I do not happen to be one of those people. Here is a prime example…

So I decide I want to add this column, I contact the person who helped me add this page to my blog and his suggestion is to find a new template that already has a column where I want it. My gut reaction is capital H-E-double hockey sticks no! I spent HOURS customizing the blog I have getting it to look how I wanted it to (and still spend time tweaking it). But I think, fine – I will look around. So I spend a couple hours looking at different templates and can’t find anything I like – It took me forever to find the one I have. So then I decide there has GOT to be a way to add this column to my current blog. So off to Google. I find a couple of different sites that explain the process but it could be written all in French as far as I am concerned – WAAY over my head here BUT when I am on one of these other blogs an advertisement on THEIR sidebar caught my attention ScriptLance.com - Here is information on how it works from their site…

ScriptLance connects your business with programmers and designers

If you require professional programming or website design for your business, whether its a long-term job or just a single project, you will find the help you need here at the prices you want to pay. No matter how big or small your budget is, freelancers from around the world will compete for your business at ScriptLance.

Step 1:Post a project (FREE).

Step 2: Receive bids by interested freelancers.

Step 3: Choose a bid.

That’s it! Your project is then closed, your are put in contact with the chosen freelancer who will begin working, you can leave a review, and pay them when you are ready to pay them. Our fee: only $5, which is deducted from your ScriptLance account only after your project closes. We even give you 30 days time to pay that fee! Why? Because we are confident you will be satisfied with the service ScriptLance provides.

So I figure – it’s free, why not. So I sign up and post a simple project in about 2 minutes – I leave the min and max bid amount blank, I have no clue? In less than 30 minutes I have 3 emails from programmers with additional questions and 7 bids ($10 – $100). I exchange a few emails, check the ratings of those that contacted me, pick my favorite and  and she is off and running. I sent in my project at 8:30pm and it is complete before I go to bed that night – EXACTLY what I wanted (after a few emails back and forth). I worked with Amy from Texas (quickcoder on Scriptlance) and her bid was $15! Are you kidding me! I paid her that plus another $15 as a bonus because she was FANTASTIC! As you can see I now have ads to the left right of this post – just what I wanted to have. I would recommend this website to everyone who has a project to be done, especially for those of you who are mostly “do-it-yourselfers” like me. And if you are a programmer or a website designer, this could be a great source for some additional income.

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Monday…Again?

I swore today was Monday, again. Someone played a cruel trick and I somehow managed to have two Mondays in a row. Normally this would be perfectly acceptable since Monday is my “technical” day off. I say “technical” because I don’t think I have had a Monday off in over a year – in fact I usually work twice as hard on Mondays (as least that is how I feel – maybe it is just twice as hard to focus from all the weekend excitement I have in my life, ice cream anyone?). Okay, back to my double Monday. So I am working away and I glace at my watch to fill out a date on a form and it says 6. I’m like 6? Okay, 6 it is – look at the calendar and the 6th is…Monday. So I go the rest of the morning and afternoon believing it is Monday, cursing once again how hard I am working on my day off – busting my rear since I have two meetings this week that are not usually on my calendar so I have to cram even more into my work day (hence blog posts written around midnight).

Somewhere around 3ish Vincent walks into my office and asks if I almost ready to bring him to violin lessons and “by the way” can we stop at Jenson’s to buy some ridiculously ugly and expensive (my not his words) flip flops? I look at him like I just saw some alien creature hawk a loogie on my floor and say “Huh?”. So he repeats himself and I say “What?” now slightly irritated. Can’t he see I am working feverishly and on my day off no less? I am like, “you don’t have violin lessons today?” and his eyes get big and a huge smile breaks out on his face and he says “REALLY?” and I say “It’s  ah Monday?”  like duh? and then he drops it on me – “Ummm….No mom, it’s TUESDAY” – I jump up and exclaim “SHUT THE FRONT DOOR!” – unbelievable! UGH and just like that I lost a day to my already jam packed week. I need another Tuesday, anyone got one lying around?

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Chocolate Chip Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches

  • July 4, 2009 – 11:00 pm
  • Posted in Just Me
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So I woke up on the wrong side of the bed today. For those of you who know me best there are two ways to snap out of it – I tried the first, a mindless bookkeeping task, reconciling a bank statement (I know, total geek at heart) but ended up with a five year old in my office interrupting every 15 minutes “Mom, it’s not a working day!” So off to plan B – Baking. Ethan wanted chocolate chip cookies but I was in the mood for a bigger challenge so ice cream sandwiches it was. Below is the recipe I used and I am going to pat myself on the back for a job well done and I am much less crabby than when I started (although my kitchen can use some work – baking with a child is a challenge in itself).

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate Chip Cookies

  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 1 cup white sugar
  • 1 cup packed brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/4 ish cups semisweet chocolate chips (I used mini – reserved rest of bag for outside of ice cream sandwiches)

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    Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

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    Put a shirt on, please?

    • July 4, 2009 – 12:27 am
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    So today was a beautiful day – perfect for frolicking outside. The only problem is my neighbor who REFUSES to wear a shirt – UGH (and PS, I know someone who ACTUALLY says that out loud – who does that?)! I would post a picture for all to see but it would burn your eyes and you all would be scarred for life. To top it all off he wears a red kerchief on his head. Really?? His wife is relatively good looking so it makes me say doubly “Really?” This guys chooses to go topless year round and that is no small feat as I live in Minnesota, one of the coldest places on the planet (at least it feels that way in January). It is always the highlight of my day when I see him out in the backyard, topless, the belly that appears as if it is housing a two year old hanging out, smoking a cigarette. Ooh baby baby! All I need now is him to give it a good scratch and groan and I am in heaven. Tomorrow is a holiday – I wonder is he has a special kerchief for the occasion? ta-ta

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    Tired, Tired, Tired

    • July 1, 2009 – 9:35 pm
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    Too tired to think much less put together a string of coherent sentences for a post tonight – night all.

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    New Blog & New Jimmy John’s

    So I was up waaaaay past my bedtime (ummm…3:30am?) putting the finishing touches (but probably never finished, really) on the blog page for my website. I was so thrilled that it turned out almost EXACTLY as I had envisioned it. I had a little help getting the page up and connected to my website (rather than living all on it’s lonesome at wordpress.com) and partially formatted from Scott Schumacher of Holisticgeek.com but I tweaked and tweaked and tweaked it until I was happy. Of course I had to add some fun little widgets so you all can share my posts with the world (or even just send them to yourself for future reference) I even MIGHT have something of value for you some day. Anywho – needless to say I am TIRED.

    On a much more upbeat and exciting topic. My friend and client, Bryan Skowronek, is finalizing the transfer of ownership the St. Could Jimmy John’s today! I am heading up this afternoon to help out with all of the paperwork that comes along with it. If you have never been to a Jimmy John’s you are missing out so I suggest you check them out. If your lucky enough, you may even live in their delivery area! They also have online ordering so for those of us that prefer just to sit here behind our computer screens and block out the rest of the world it really is an ideal situation. If your ever in the St Cloud area (14th and 5th Ave S) swing by and tell them “The Bookkeeper” sent ya. Congrats Bryan!

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    Late Start and Ice Cream

    So I didn’t get productive today until after 1pm even though my day started with my weekly “get it done” group at 9:30am (and I wasn’t the only one in that group that could not get-it-done today). After that I kind of rocked it. I still have a lot of work to get through but I am looking forward to taking the afternoon off tomorrow and throwing a pool party for my “mom” friends and their kids. I have Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream freezing in the freezer and Vanilla Strawberry Swirl with Chocolate Shavings in the fridge ready for the ice cream mixer first thing in the morning. Amazingly the double batch of Raspberry swirl I made Saturday night is already gone even though my family didn’t return home until late Sunday – I guess it was a hit.

    Off to slumber land. ta-ta

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    Raspberry chocolate swirl ice cream and a toilet

    So last night I was the maser of multi-tasking. I managed to put in a new toilet AND made a double batch of Raspberry Swirl ice cream with chocolate shavings in a cake batter base, all after 9pm.

    Two things about the toilet installation…1. toilets are HEAVY and 2. don’t open the package of nuts and bolts over the gaping hole in the floor. Everything turned out all right in the end mainly due to the fact that my husband is a pack rat and doesn’t throw away anything so I was able to find a nut that worked.

    I tried a completely new ice cream recipe and winged it with the swirl part but I have to say it is my favorite so far.  I have a neighbor who keeps joking that he wants boysenberry, kiwi and candied ginger ice cream, anyone know where I can find boysenberries? I am so going to make a single serving for him.

    Here was my recipe…

    Cake Batter Ice Cream Base Recipe (I doubled the below recipe for my 5 quart maker)

    • 1 cup milk
    • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
    • 2 cups heavy cream
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    • 2/3 cup yellow cake mix

    In a medium bowl, whisk the milk and granulated sugar until the sugar is dissolved.

    Stir in the heavy cream and vanilla.

    Stir in cake mix, making sure there are no lumps.

    I poured the mix through a fine mesh strainer to remove lumps into my ice cream maker canister (I have the kind that uses ice & salt) and let sit in the fridge overnight – you could skip this step and pour through stainer into your ice cream maker.

    Freeze according to your ice cream maker instructions.

    Remove ice cream from freezer bowl and place into a separate container.

    Place the ice cream into the freezer to further harden.

    If you want the raspberry swirl follow the instructions at the bottom of the raspberry sauce recipe.

    Raspberry Sauce

    • 1 pint fresh raspberries or one 12-ounce package thawed frozen raspberries (I used 2 cups fresh picked)
    • 2 tablespoons sugar
    • 1 teaspoon lemon juice

    Stir above together in container and refrigerate for at least six hours or overnight stirring occasionally. Mash raspberries to desired consistency.

    Shave a king size chocolate bar (Using a veggie peeler is the easiest way) into the raspberry mix if desired.

    If you have an ice cream maker where you can can add ingredients during mixing,  add this in slowly the last few minutes of the cycle and only enough to swirl though. Then transfer to container for further freezing.

    If you have an ice & salt machine (like mine) pour half of the ice cream into your container, then the raspberry mixture and then the rest of the ice cream.  Fold gently to swirl though and place in freezer to further harden.

    Raspberry Swirl Ice Cream

    Raspberry Swirl Ice Cream

    So much for a “working weekend”

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    Lazy Saturday

    • June 27, 2009 – 1:54 pm
    • Posted in Just Me
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    So…who needs morning? Apparently not me. I rolled out of bed just after noon today to get ready for Tyler’s game only to get a phone call from his mother that is was rescheduled for 3pm. You would think I would see this as an opportunity to pound out a few things I need to get done, nope. Here I sit on the couch two hours later with a basket of unfolded laundry at my feet (at least it is clean). Oh. and I made a list of things I want to get done today – does that count? Okay, now that I have it down in black and white I feel like a bum. Off to fold some laundry – ta-ta

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