Recipes

[ChiliPepper]

@momtochloe

(((((mtc)))))

[momtochloe]

Ok my friends, I made it out alive but it wasn't pretty . . .

I won't bore you with the details (other than we lost two more people for a total of 10) but now I have three days off, praise the Lord!

I am truly blessed to be with the company as they are incredibly generous and supportive and I think once I get my sea legs I will truly enjoy the work.  I basically just need to get over myself!  

Thank you all again so much for your love and support throughout this week as on Tuesday and Wednesday it was pretty much what propelled me out the door in the morning as I really thought my head was going to explode.

I had a nice talk with the one trainer that I really liked and explained to her that for the afternoon could I please start on research work as I was completely not comfortable with my knowledge  and answering live customer calls.  A couple others chimed in and we all ended up doing research work and everybody needed help so I didn't feel so alone (but God got even with me as I had to place a phone call to a customer which I completely and utterly hosed but at least I got the first one out of the way).  Like I told the trainer, I just want to feel useful and right now that is not the case.

But during the peak week around Mother's Day we get pizza . . . yay!

I treated myself to Popeye's Chicken because I had a coupon so between that and a couple of adult beverages I am ready to veg out for a while.

I hope you all have a lovely weekend and @VaBelle35 I hope your vacation is off to a fabulous start . . . enjoy my friends!  

[Honeybit]

Finally caught up with reading all the nearly 400 posts I had missed and wanted to check in to get mtc's End of the Week with FTD report. 

Ref the snarky comments about recipes.  I remember a discussion with our manager about the Grievance Procedure.  (I think someone had filed a grievance about the color the break room was painted.)  I asked if they could really misuse the system for something so silly.  His response was "They can grieve because the sun comes up in the morning."

I guess the snarkers just have some kind of need to be important and to be heard and can't afford to pay a therapist to listen to them.  They need my mama to remind them, "Just because you CAN doesn't mean you SHOULD."

Hope you all enjoy seeing the sun rise in the morning -- if not, hope you have someone to complain to!

[ChiliPepper]

---

@Honeybit wrote:

I guess the snarkers just have some kind of need to be important and to be heard and can't afford to pay a therapist to listen to them.  They need my mama to remind them, "Just because you CAN doesn't mean you SHOULD."

Hope you all enjoy seeing the sun rise in the morning -- if not, hope you have someone to complain to!

---

@Honeybit

LOL, "just because you CAN doesn't mean you SHOULD"

OMG, I say that frequently, I thought I was the only one!

[mustang66lady]

Hope everyone has had a fabulous Friday!  Once again I am behind here although I think I have read posts before 8 but had to finish laundry, and take a bath! 

Writer,

Hello my Southern friend!  How is the weather for you and Mr. Writer?  If I remember correctly, it was pleasant you were able to shop some today.  Was hoping to do some of that as well but was not in the cards for me today!  I believe you asked a bit ago how my hand is doing-bless your heart!  It is much better but there is still a huge area of scar tissue I am working on.  The hand is no longer painful but I do so want to shrink this scar as much as possible.  PT said I had about a year to do this but truly hope it doesn't take that long!  My other thumb continues to trigger but am wrapping it curing the day to keep it straight during the day and found a brace to wear at night that has a piece of metal that keeps it straight while I sleep.  I am praying the joint slips back in and the knot goes away.  I do not want to have any more surgery on my hands at this point.  I think I am going to have to cave and have my right knee replaced as it is getting continually more difficult to go up and down stairs and its painful most all the time.  I was beaten about 20 years ago and pushed down stairs backward.  I hyper-extended my leg and knee and tore the posterior cruciate.  I was told then that it needed to be replaced but I was "too young" for replacement.  I'm not too young any more!  LOL!

Respect,

I read the thread about the Mexican Chicken you referred to that had snarky remarks.  I must say, I was just in the mood and my BP must have roared high-I did have a reply ready to send but decided not to do so.  I know that OP as well.  She is respected and contributes regularly to these recipe boards-if she wants to set the record straight, I will be there to back her up but didn't want to stir problems on her thread myself. If she feels it best to let things be, I will abide her wishes.  I do find it insulting no matter what thread I read,when some one feels they have to instruct everyone else in a way that belittles the OP or my intelligence.  If I wanted to substitute or change something in the recipe, i would- no need to comment unless I made a change and the recipe didn't turn out and wanted to warn others.  I once substituted Greek yogurt for sour cream in a recipe and I must say it was the first time that sour cream would have been the best choice.  And I have substituted a thing or two in Ina's recipes and learned other than cutting back on salt, leave her recipes alone!  They don't always turn out well messing with them. 

Chili,

How is your weather?  Are you finally done with snow?  I have hyacinths and tulips I bought for Easter and will try to get them in the ground this week.  Our weather people say in the St. Louis area, it is usually safe to start planting after tax day. 

How is lacrosse coming for our girl?  If Uncle Mustang needs to help coach, he is more than willing!  Our daughters hated having him come as he ended up coaching whatever sport they played!  LOL!  He went to college on a lacrosse scholarship so he can expertly embarrass your daughter for sure! 

mtc,

Girl, you have it going on!  I so want to send flowers to my Mother for Mother's Day but will settle for flowers bought at Michaels that I arrange.  Wish I could buy her one more floral arrangement and have her understand what it is for. 

I think you have the bull by the horns though and are going to be fantastic on this job!  3 days off will help, too.  Do you have any material that you can kind of read and study at your leisure the next few days that might help you to feel more at home?  If not, rest and enjoy your down time!

Honeybit,

So glad to see you posting some.  How is your weather?  DH finalized our vacation for this year; we will be heading once again to Myrtle Beach, stopping in Spartansburg to see my niece on the first night out.  We will spend two nights in Gatlingburg on the way home so our grandson can enjoy the swimming pool at the Doubletree Inn-it has a tree with a tree house and slide!  DH and I don't get to enjoy Gatlingburg - our older kids do, but we stay waterlogged at the hotel letting him swim.  I look out from our room at the mountains and all I can hear is John Denver singing, "Almost Heaven...."  and yes, I know it isn't West Virginia but that is how I feel about those mountains-almost Heaven! Have not gotten to spend too much time in GA-mostly just driving thru but am sure I would love it just the same.  I am a Southern girl at heart!

Vabelle,

Happy Vacation! Sounds like it is time for you!  What are your plans?  Hope you relaxed with an adult beverage tonight!  What will those WC's do without you for an entire week?  Maybe you should have left a little somethin-somethin behind to remind them of you, like a scented scarf on your desk........!

Novamc,

How are you doing?  Haven't heard from you for awhile and I understand things are busy for you.  Hope the snarks haven't driven you away.  If they have, please post here once in awhile.  Love to hear from you anytime you have a moment. 

Gosh I hope I haven't left anyone out.  I am tired and my knee is hurting.  We have to be at our daughter and son in laws' house tomorrow to move them to another house.  Their landlord told them they had to move as he is letting the house go back to the bank. Our daughter thinks he has a slight gambling problem.......

The Card just won against Cincinnati that included 6 home runs by the Cards! For as many injuries we have had, I am surprised and pleased!  The Reds played a good game though.  Always a fun rivalry!

[momtochloe]

Good morning Kitchenettes and welcome to Souper Saturday!

Well today's activities include running some errands and probably ignoring my lawn that needs mowing amongst other things . . . 

I am having leftover Popeye's chicken for breakfast, it is good to be mtc!

I hope you all have an equally if not better start to your weekend and enjoy my good friends! . . . 

[VaBelle35]

Good morning everyone.  It is officially my first full day of vacation.

I wrote a long post last night but it didn't post and wasn't saved, so I didn't have the energy to re-type it.

I was able to get a lot of things wrapped up (or almost wrapped up) and get some things started on my next projects.  I finally connected with our VP and was able to get her to sign off on our holiday party plans.  I was able to sign all the contracts for the venue and the vendors last night and get the deposits out.  Everyone keeps making fun of me for being so insistant on getting this party planned now, but it is I who will have the last laugh in December when everyone else is freaking out about their parties and I am sitting at my desk all chill trying to decide if we want turkey or ham at our carving stations.  LOL  Even WC#1 was making fun of me yesterday.  He said, "what holiday?  Memorial Day?  Why are you thinking about Christmas in April?"  LOL  In order to say money, we want to do it on a weekday evening.  The best day for us is to do it on a Thursday before our Friday off.  There is ONE perfect Thursday to do that and I want that Thursday.  If I don't book it now, it won't be available.  Plus, I need to make sure our executives know the date so they don't go out of town this time.

Now that this is out of the way, as well as 2 other projects, I can start on the next projects.  I put in requests to get some things rolling while I'm gone.

It was a rollercoaster week for sure.  Lots of good, some bad.  My intern came back yesterday to work for a few hours.  I was catching her up on all of our gossip that she's missed while she was at school.  She is taking an internship somewhere else this summer, but will be with us for 2 weeks and work 8 hours a week before and after her other internship.  I am so happy for her for going to another company (and a huge company with money) so that she can see the corporate view in another way.  She'll get to work in a union environment, which will be a great experience for her.  I am sorry she will not be with me all summer as I could use the help and let me say she is insanely good.  Her grasp of things is unbelievable.  She needs zero direction.  I mean she is almost telepathic.  In 2 years as an intern she is 1000x more helpful than our full time generalist who has been here for 8 years.

Also yesterday, my absolute favorite manager on the planet was in the office yesterday.  I have never met him in person or talked to him on the phone.  I email him once a month for testing.  He is a very old school Air Force officer but very relaxed.  That's why he's my favorite.

The bad thing that happened is that I rolled out a communication to all employees with a link and our employees went a little crazy with reporting it as suspicious to our IT Dept.  There is not enough chocolate to repair that relationship, I'm afraid.  WC#3 didn't seem to think it was a big deal, but he wasn't at the front of the line answering emails from employees, his team was.

I am hoping that I can go all week without logging into email and just log in next Sunday to clean out my mailbox and get ready for my return.

I could not have asked for better weather this coming week.  I was hoping for at least one day of rain so I can have an excuse to stay home and vegetate on the sofa all day without feeling guilty.

The tulip farm opened yesterday.  I think by the time I get there on Monday or so, there should be a lot of choices.

I went to Wegmans last night and they had organic mussels.  I wanted to make Ina's Mussel Bisque this week, so I was so happy to see fresh mussel (and organic to boot!).  I have to go to Mom's Organic today to get the rest of what I need.

I had not seen or heard from WC#1 in over a week.  When I've been in the office, I've been stuck at my desk (and my hip will tell you've I've been stuck at my desk because by 3pm I can hardly stand the pain from sitting.  I am hoping a week of not sitting and going to the gym will fix this once and for all.).  WC#1 is literally a department of one right now and is buried in paperwork.  Someone sent me something that belonged to his department, but since he wasn't answering them, they sent it to me (like I could do anything with it). So I forwarded it onto him and within 5 seconds of me hitting send, he was in my doorway and then promptly parked his butt in a chair.  LOL  He is tremendously concerned that I will be sitting at home all week on my vacation.  He keeps giving me the names of hotels in various beach places to go to so I'm not sitting home.  Project much?  I finally said to him yesterday that he shouldn't worry about me being bored and that I never sit at home.  In fact, I might actually go and look at leather sofas this week.  I need to stop putting that off.  Maybe once I get a comfy sofa I will, indeed, stay home more.  LOL  

As word started to get out that I was taking a week off, people kept asking me where I was going and were shocked that I wasn't going anywhere.  I explained that I stopped accruing leave and I need to burn some so that I can accrue again.  That usually shuts them up (and makes them feel bad at the same time).  Except for WC#1.  His response was, "whose fault is that?"  LOL  It's always good to have people around you who keep it real.

Today's agenda:

I am going to the gym and then to the shopping district in town.  I need to go to the olive oil store to use my gift card from the pumpkin pie contest.  There are also a bunch of new shops that have opened that I want to check out, including a new coffee shop that uses Stumptown Roasters coffee (which is my new favorite coffee).  Then I need to go to the other grocery store to get the rest of what I need for my Mussel Bisque.

[VaBelle35]

@mustang66lady  I'm sorry you are still dealing with pain.  {{hugs}} to you.

@momtochloe  Congrats on finishing your first  week.  I hope you enjoy your weekend and can hit week #2 strong.

@Writer with Flair I have not attempted low carb or Paleo ice cream yet but I have been "in the mood" for ice cream for about a week now.  I need to scope out some recipes and see about making some this week while I have the time.  I guess I should put my KA ice cream base in the freezer in case I decide to do that.

[momtochloe]

Ok, so today I ran a few errands, did laundry, at lunch and took a FOUR HOUR NAP in that order . . . yikes I haven't slept this much since I was a toddler . . . tee hee . . .

I hope you all had a great Saturday and again @VaBelle35 I hope you were able to go to the gym and have had a great start to your well deserved vacation!

[mustang66lady]

They're BAAACCCCKKK!!!!

Heard the first of the tree frogs of the season this evening!  Going to have to make that cocktail for sure now!

We got our daughter and son in law moved into another house today and are exhausted.  I also still have possession of their 5 lb teacup poodle, Harley.  Have had him since Tuesday evening.  He will go to his new home tomorrow.  At least they kept their chow, Cisco, and pit bull, Uno with them.  I also have Jennie, who belongs to the daughter living at home, our two, Buster and Roscoe, and also have Merlin because our daughter and grandson went with friends to 6 Flags today and were unsure what time they would come home.  Easier to keep him than have them wake up the entire house after we get all of them settled for the night.

Vabelle,

I have been blessed-although my knee was damaged almost 20 years ago, rehab bought me many years of no pain at all.  Time is just catching up with me.  Sure does make me feel and look old though!  Glad you are now officially on vacation and hope you do leave that computer off at least until next Sunday-everyone deserves a break once in a while.  Maybe you will have some time for the online dating thing this week?  You have not updated us on that for awhile and if you did, I missed it!

mtc,

Popeyes chicken AND a nap!  You're living now girl!  It will take a little time for your body to realize what is going on but it will regulate and life will take on a new normalcy for you!  Just try to eat well and rest when you can.  It's kind of like having a new baby-let things go if you need and take care of yourself and your job.  Before you know it, things will get better!

I'm going to try to enjoy what DH has on t.v. and then go to bed soon.  Hope all sleep well tonight.