Peach Salsa

I love Newman's Own: Peach Salsa. I kept the label because I wanted to know if I could eyeball the ingredients, give a guesstimate on how much to use, and try it out in batches.

I'm working on little sleep at the moment, and it's almost 3 a.m. so I hope what I write actually makes sense.  I'm going to have to try this salsa again because my rule of thumb is when I can't stop myself from nomming on something home cooked, I know it's good.  I was nomming as I was taste testing each small batch that I made, so I hope my measurements are more sound.

Peach Salsa:

• 1 (14.5 oz) can of whole tomatoes, drained. Chopped and drained again (keep liquid in a separate bowl just in case you need to use a bit of it)
• 1/2 can (of a 15 oz can) of peaches, drained and chopped
• 9 slices of pickled (? ... it was in a jar) jalapenos or more/less to taste
• 1 1/8 tsp white sugar
• 3/4 tsp brown sugar
• 2 1/4 tsp lemon juice
• 1 1/2 tsp vinegar
• 3/4 tsp garlic powder
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp of ground allspice

Drain and chop tomatoes, peaches and jalapenos and place in a bowl. 

In a separate bowl mix white and brown sugar, lemon juice, vinegar, garlic powder, salt and allspice. Combine until sugars are dissolved.

Pour sugar liquid over the tomatoes/peaches/jalapenos, mix and let it sit for 20 minutes for flavors to meld (it can either be left at room temperature or refrigerated). Serve with chips or as a chutney over meats. Refrigerate any leftovers.

I really had to refrain from eating all of this. Hubby wasn't wowed by this one, but I was. I think it was due to the fact that peach salsa is my ultimate favorite kind of salsa and he steers more toward the 'strictly tomato' kind of salsa. Meh, more for me then!
(Sorry Kiddo, this is too spicey for your little pallet, I promise to make a less spicey version for you!)

Anchovie Paste, I Now Have a Reason

Found this recipe online from another blogger, but yet it really doesn't have a lot of true blue measurements going on. Still, this is a kick butt recipe in itself and I think from now on I'm not going to make green bean no other way.  When you see the ingredients, don't get all freaked out, unless your a vegan, etc.

Green Beans With Anchovies and Garlic

• Fresh green beans blanched in water or one drained can of green beans ready to go
• olive oil
• 3 Tb or more of anchovie paste or 3-4 anchovie fillets (use more to taste)
• minced garlic (adjust to taste)

In a frying pan heat up the olive oil. Stir in garlic and anchovie paste until slightly cooked (anchovie paste or fillets will dissolve into the oil). Add green greans (we used the french cut ones) and cook until heated through. Serve immediately.

Hubby loved this one, and I was amazed how good it tasted. You couldn't even tell that there was that salty fishy anchovie in there, so that's what I was looking for. Anchovies used as a seasoning. Booyah.

T-Shirt

Thanks to watching Dirty Jobs on the Travel Channel the other day, I've been currently ripping off Mike Rowe's line of "T-shirt" again and again.

I flipped on the t.v. and found the show already in progress (it was 3/4 of the way done). The first image I saw was Mike hunched over a dead, headless bird of some sort and his hands were bloody from getting into the cavity to clean it. A grandmother figure was standing next to him telling him how to clean the bird, etc.

Mike was at some sort of ranch where they took a goose, cleaned it and sold it.  They took the excess feathers and later on used them as pillow stuffing for, you guessed it, pillows.  Well, during the show he kept saying the word "T-shirt" over and over when the lady spoke.

Lady: "Sometimes you have to bang it to get it in there."
Mike: "T-shirt."

Lady: "You gotta wiggle your fingers."
Mike: "T-shirt."

Lady: "It takes a gentle touch."
Mike: "T-shirt."

Lady: "Careful, it gets slippery when wet."
[you guessed it. Mike turns to the camera and lip syncs...]
Mike: "T-shirt."

So, ever since watching that episode I've been driving people nuts with saying one word, "T-shirt."  Just the other day I was in a raid group and someone said something that could have been taken dirty. I just did what I normally do, and I typed the word, "T-shirt." People were not quite sure what I was talking about, but I had to explain it with each... new... group... that I joined. Yes, I found a way to say that word over and over during the night.

My guildmate, who we've known for over a year now, just sighed over voice chat and said something along the lines of, "Are you done now?" You know what I said to him?

"T-shirt."

Yawn

The last few nights I've been finding it hard to fall asleep, but once I do I'm zonked. It's the perfect weather outside at... 3:36 a.m. Damp, surprisingly warm at 67 degrees, and you can hear the tree leaves going brittle as the wind brushes through them. Perfect weather for reading. And sleeping. And I'm doing neither.

The crick in my neck is back. I think it got aggrevated by stress and doing a few things I shouldn't have for my range of motion. Who knew that lifting a 10 lb. countertop broiler oven would throw me out of whack. And lifting Kiddo. He's going through a growth spurt and isn't a lightweight. The last time we weighed him he was somewhere in the range of 40 pounds, and that was a while ago. I'm sure he's got to be close to 50.

Tomorrow is going to be a big day. Lots to do, places to go.  Possibly getting the family car towed to the garage for fixing... $ $ $. When November hits, I'm hoping we tread gently to keep the expenditures down. As with anything, we'll see.

I've been searching around for a peach and tomato salsa online. I've had Newman's Peach Salsa only once or twice and I have to say it is just yummy. I hope to find just the right amount of seasonings to get it tasting right. Looks like I have all the ingredients needed to play around with, I just have to remember to jot down what I used and how much for the future (if it's any good).

Starting to daze now. I was going to write a bit, but I think sleep deprevation is starting to slowly catch up with me. Oh darn, I forgot to give the cat his meds. That's a priority. Time to do it before I forget.

And as a reminder to myself for the next blog, here's a hint: T-shirt. I'm driving everyone nuts with saying it.

Autumn Olive Ketchup 1st Attempt

I've been wanting to do this for a while now, and I agonized over which recipe to use in lieu of cranberries for the use of autumn olives for the ketchup.

I think I may have nailed it.

Autumn Olive Ketchup:

• 2 1/2 C Autumn Olive juice and pulp (after cleaning and food milling it to separate the seeds)
• 1 tsp onion powder (or more depending on the taste and balance of the fruit)
• less than 1/3 C distilled white vinegar (use less if it tastes super vinegary)
• 1 C brown sugar (not packed)
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp dried red pepper flakes
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)
• black pepper (to taste)

Add all ingredients into a non-reactive saucepan or pot. Bring to a boil then lower to a simmer and cook for at least 20 minutues. Adjust seasonings so that it tastes nice and ketchupy. I had to cook a wee bit longer to have the mixture thicken a bit. To test, take a bit on a metal spoon and let it cool. If it moves like ketchup you're done. Store in sterilized glass jar or bottle (I like glass as opposed to plastic, yes, I'm a glass kind of gal).

I hear that ketchup needs a little rest time in the fridge to mature a bit so that the vinegar isn't as potent. Anyways, that's what I gleaned from videos on the subject. Still, it tastes similar to ketchup but way better and deliciously yummy too!

Tortillas, Tortillas, Oh How I Lub Thee

Makin' homemade torillas from now on, they are just way too easy to buy from the store anymore. And cheaper and tastier too.

 

Homemade Tortillas

• 2 C all purpose flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 Tb shortening (I used 1 Tb butter instead)
• 1/2 C and 2 Tb of (hot) water

 

 

To make dough: Add aprx. 2 Tb of water at a time to the dry ingredients. It will start out with consistency of cornmeal and gradually add water until it forms a dough that isn't too wet. Divide into 12 sections (or less if you want large tortillas) and form into balls. Let them rest for about 20 min. with a wet towel to cover them. After, roll out into 7 inches diameter and cook in an ungreased skillet (cast iron works really well) over med. heat. Flip when you see a little brown'age, it will cook really fast. The longer it stays on the heat the crispier they will become, so for tender tortillas, it will be about a minute of cooking time. 

 

That's it. Super easy. I'm amazed how quick they were to make and it's really not that much of a fuss once you have all the ingredients. Best compliment was when Mr. Taste-Testing Hubby tried one, munched, munched some more and said, "these are restaurant quality." I'm so glad he approved lol. Even Kiddo gave it his seal of approval, "Mommy, more tacos please."

 

Music to my ears.

Seasons of Change

This is one of those days where my mind is racing and I'm juxtaposed in what to do. It is gray, rainy and dismal outside. Chilly too. It's the kind of weather where you just really don't want to go out and do anything.

Writing seems to be simmering at the top of my to-do list but as I just found out from Hubby this afternoon that our family car has had, what I would call, a catastrophic failure. The strut broke. This means that there is to be NO driving of the car and most likely we're going to have to have the car towed to the mechanic. Struts, as far as I know, is a pricey fix for a car.  So, let's add up the financial tourniquet: cat health/medical stuff, I'm still backpeddling to catch up to make it wipe off our balance sheets as if it doesn't exist (almost there btw), car... guessing at this point $250 plus for the struts. We also need new front tires since they're balding (another $250 guessing for the pair).
I still have put off getting a filling for one of my back teeth replaced.  I can't deal with having a mercury alloy in my teeth so saving up for a composite will run about another $200.

Notice a trend? Two hundred here, two hundred there. We've put off a few things trying to have one major catastrophe per month. Life, unfortunately, doesn't want to follow that game plan. Add Kiddo's need for attention and you're crimping my effeciency by half...

Sidetracked by vacuuming pulverized mini wheats from the carpet, thanks Kiddo. And doing dishes. And laundry. Case and point.

Since watching Native American One online, I've been craving a lifestyle more attuned to living off the land. It's a pipe dream up until now, since we really don't have access to growing our own foods yet. One step at a time, eh?

I better start seriously cranking out some articles to help pad the mass chaos that will be incoming in the next few weeks. And Kiddo... sit and pee on the freaking potty will ya? For crying out loud that's a good $100 a month on diapers. It's time dude! Be a man, do the right thing! (the last was a quote from favorite comedian Russel Peters, that man is hilarious). Alas, the only one who can get him to even SIT on the toilet is Daddy. I'll keep on trying tho. Maybe it's a guy thing.

Anyways, I shouldn't complain too much. Life is good, and I am happy. Hubby and I have proven to ourselves time and time again that we don't need a lot to be happy in this world, and honestly you can't put a pricetag on the people and friends that make up a good sphere of existence.

And just like that the sun is shining bright against a gray and cloudy sky. It really makes the golden leaves on the trees glow.

Three Blind Mice

Okay, maybe it isn't three blind mice but we definitely have a mouse in the attic. The little bugger has been chewing and gnawing on the wood from inside the walls and window frame every night now for the last three or four days.

We've been living in this apartment ever since Kiddo was born and my biggest concern were bugs and mice.  I wanted neither. The other apartment we lived in  (across the street and the same one that was set on fire 2x by would be arsons) had a mouse but we never saw it. It was contained in the neighbor's apartment on the side of us. Sucker gnawed straight through to the other side of her kitchen cabinets, or so she had told me.

When we were looking at our current apartment, I thought I saw turds in the back of a pantry closet and even pointed them out to Hubby. He's lived in the country pretty much all of his life so having a mouse about was really no big deal. Not to this city girl wanna be country chick.  I didn't see any other signs of mice anywhere, no gnawed holes or the like, plus we really needed more space because Kiddo at the time was to be born within that month and our old apartment wouldn't cut it.

I've lived in houses that were mouse free but had a "thousand legger" issue back in Chicago (*shivers* summertime was the worst season, a/c would be on and all the bugs would go to higher ground for warmth and these things were the size of your finger crawling on the floor, walls and ceiling. A day didn't go by without sighting one. Dad never considered an exterminator. *shivers again*) and zero pests while living in Algonquin. So living in an apartment that is bug free (yay) and mouse free (grrr, one out of two isn't bad but still), is priority. 

Luck is still on our side tho. I haven't seen this before said mouse scampering about in our living areas, and our cat - tho an indoor cat - still is sharp as a tac to find pests. This mouse (I hope it isn't a rat, but like that really makes a difference at this point) is gnawing like it is it's Shawshank Redemption or something. At 4 a.m. it's driving me nuts and I get out of bed, bang on the wall, it stops. One and 1/2 minutes later it starts up again. Hubby sleeps right throught the noise. Figures, he snores like a freight train why would he hear that demon mouse chomping in the walls.

If this thing does happen to make an appearance or I see rat turd anywhere, that's it. We're moving. We've been wanting to move for the longest time. I keep saying I want to get out of here before the place emplodes (with the sinking floors, I give it a few years before that happens).

I would miss having a library, a post office, town restaurant and little grocery store within walking distance, but le sigh. Take the punches as they roll, for good or bad.

Backtrack to Two Days Before

Sunday was a great day where the sun was shining, blue skies, crisp fall/autumn air and autumn olive picking.  The season is sadly coming to a close, so Uncle D. called up and asked if I was up to picking some autumn olives. You betcha!

Ok, so I had like maybe 4 hours of sleep. I did head to bed really late (blaming Warcraft at this point) and I really had to summon some energy to get out of bed. I think I did mention to Hubs that I went to bed late so it would be nice to be gentle on me and let me sleep in. When I heard about the autumn olive hunting, I thought skew sleep, times to go a'pickin'!

I did have an alterior motive too. I really wanted Kiddo and Hubby to come with me. There is this great nature trail that has a sea of autumn olive trees and I always wanted the little one to get out more and appreciate nature.  And I'm glad after a few minutes of /poking Hubby saying, "Come on, come with," over and over he finally grunted like Tim Allen and acquiesed.

Kiddo was the deciding factor. When I asked him if he wanted to go and see Uncle D., Kiddo ran to his computer (of course it was on) and shut it off. I think he said, "I need my shoes!" and ran to go get them.

I looked at Hubby and said, "See, he wants to go. Come on, come with."

It was good that we all went. It was a regular Autumn Olive party with Uncle D. who had about four friends joining and Auntie M. who was amongst the group. Add Kiddo and Hubby and that made...(counting)...nine people.  Hubby was on Kiddo detail, had a soccer ball to play around with, but I think Kiddo enjoyed picking the berries with Auntie M. and Uncle D. even more. Yay!

Kiddo was adorable. He kept saying, "I found berries!" I think he was calling them "Annie" instead of Autumn Olives. "I found more Annies!" It was cute :)

We were there a good few hours, the time really flew by. Knowing that Kiddo was with the group, I was able to pick and pick and pick some really nice and sweet berries.  I still want more, you can never get enough of these things (they are uber healthy and grow in abundance).

I'm finding that there are a number of ways to use the berries, and mostly jams (which the season's first batch I made a small amount with tastes like apples), ketchups and relishes.  I found a fermented relish recipe that I think will work well but I need a few more ingredients.  I'm hoping to make some autumn olive ketchup but I'm finding a few recipes that I'm not sure about.  I guess I can always experiement and hope that it turns out well (I'm just hoping to get a tried and true recipe so I don't waste the fruit).

But it was a blast. I loved seeing the family and it was awesome to be picking with everyone. I kind of stuck to the sidelines because I was in the "berry zone" but I loved hearing Kiddo chatting with everyone. It was really lovely.

Needs more Autumn Olives (and a house to put them in, lol).

Under the Weather

Well, I think I am falling apart. Yesterday (Saturday) I was feeling pretty well up until the evening rolled around. Suffice to say, my list of complaints run as thus: pain under where my right ribcage is, and a pain in my lower right side close to the bottom of my hip.  Days ago I sneezed and ever since then I've been babysitting these strange pains wondering if A) I popped something out of whack with a moderate sneeze or B) I'm just getting a very early birthday present aka ailment/surgery for next year (liver? spleen? how about a nice appendicidis? Tumor? Oh, what will it be...).  Seems like that's been happening lately. 2 yrs ago I got news of the gallbladder, this year for my birthday results of bulging disks in my neck/spine. Yeehaw.  And who says I don't get something nice for my birthday...

I hardly slept last night so around noon I just looked at hubby and said that I couldn't stay awake and konked out for 5 hours. I so needed it. I still woke up sore in those to spots that are bugging me, but at least I got some shuteye.

Hubby was great during the day. He did dishes (I swear after one day of being laid up and not being able to move much the dishes seem to multiply far worse than when I left them) and breakfast.  I feel worse after eating so I nibbled on what he made throughout the day.

The last few days I was making the Indian flatbread and it seems to go with everything. Today since I was off kilter Hubby was in charge of doing dinners. Kiddo doesn't fuss too much with what he eats. Both do well with peanut butter and jelly sammiches (dread anything that isn't organic. The hydrogenatided crap should but used in target practice).  By the way, Hubby says don't use the following combination: peanut butter, cheese and pepperoini. Not good. Not good at all.  (I'll take his word for it).

Hoping water won't give me any trouble, getting thirsty. My hunger is abated psychologically knowing that I can sit upwrite to type this, otherwise I'd be in a world of hurt. Everything is seeming to set something internally off.  Air, depending on how deep I inhail it, shouldn't be too much of a bother, hopefully.

Before I head to bed it's ibuprophen and Malox. Wow, do I feel old. 

No Wonder I'm So Tired

It's funny how a peaceful day in real life can wind up into a screaming match in my dreams.  Honestly, Thursday was a relatively decent day when it came to yelling matches between Kiddo and I.  He's stubborn (just like his Daddy) and he takes after my Father who also is a Scorpio. Seems like I leave home after meeting Hubby-to-be, have a few years of peace and quiet, then Kiddo comes along who is the perfect replica of my Dad. His temperment is exactly like my Dad's... maybe my Dad is a toddler at heart even tho he's well into his 80's.

So my dream starts out where what can only be described as my dream house. Vaulted ceilings, two story, gorgeously spacious with a living room, dining room, family room and gourmet kitchen adjoining it.  It's the kind of house you could see on one of those "Housewives" shows.  It's a shame the dream took the turn it did, I mean, this was the house I've always wanted, couldn't I have focused a bit more on it?

I'm not sure what perspective I was in. Was I playing myself or watching on like a bystnader? I'm thinking bystander, but I saw that it was myself in the dream.

I don't recall events but I was having a screaming match with Kiddo. He wasn't listening (surprise, surprise) and something was either broken, misplaced, something that shouldn't have been touched, whatever. I dont' think my decibal level wasn't over into the "OMG she's lost it" kind of scream, but it was definitely up there.

Hubby walks in the door and asks what happen. I wasn't hysterical but very, very animated. He stood there just placidly listening and watching Kiddo run amuck in the family room, ripping up and tearing the place to bits.

When Hubby mentioned that all the neighbors in the neighborhood were complaining that they could hear me yelling at our son, I was sick with the idea that my name as a Mom was being tarnished. I felt horrible. I looked around me and felt like I had to pick up and move to get away from the gossip.

I looked at the walls and thought, "How paper thin are we?" I think apartment living has got to me and it's surfacing in my dream. When I do have to yell at Kiddo for trying to kill the cat or take a swing at me (I blame the video games he watches us play, I'm sure Warcraft running in the background doesn't help), I do raise my voice to curb him.  I've always hated disciplining because one little tap on his hand and he goes into this very well acted cry (Kiddo should be a politician or an actor, they're pretty much the same except one is going to screw you over) that probably to the neighbors (in real life) think that I'm being the snot out of him.  Trust me. There are moments where he severely tries my patience and I wish I could but I don't.

So, in the dream I'm left wondering about my Mommy skills and the ruckus Kiddo was causing, and the taking a moment to think about how much I actually yell at our son. Pick up and move because of the smear on my good name?

In the end of the dream I was just plain exausted from having to deal with all of this. I think Hubby (in the dream) retreated to his make believe world of video games (no surprise there, either) which made me even more mentally wiped out.  I'm telling you, I'm really starting to hate video games because of its reprocussions in real life, so of course it played a role in my dreams.

I woke up from the dream feeling groggy and stiff as if I was fighting an arduous battle. My limbs didn't feel like functioning and felt like lead when I tried to sit up. But one thing that I learned from my dream: I'm not going to yell as much as I do at Kiddo.  I never wanted to be "one of those" kind of parents.

Sigh. I hate it when dreams try to teach a lesson.

Indian Flatbread

Was looking for frybread recipes and either way, fried or grilled, I really enjoy my breads.  The oil, on the other hand, not so much.  I get enough calories during the day and adding more oil to my diet isn't what I was about this day.

I found a wonderful lady who does step by step Indian recipes on the 'Tube.  I'm thoroughly hooked.  Manjulaskitchen is her name, and I already am eyeballing another recipe of her's, dealing with tapioca pearls, milk and other ingredients ... I'm just going to have to try that for another day.

Manjulaskitchen Rotis (makes 4 flatbread)

• 1/2 C whole wheat flour
• pinch salt
• 1/4 C plus 1 TB warm water
• 1/4 tsp oil for hands and kneading of the dough
• Cast Iron Skillet

Knead dough then let it sit for 5-10 minutes.  Divide into the size of golfballs. This recipe makes four. Heat the iron skillet (no oil needed, but it's probably seasoned already with oil from prior use) over med-high heat.  In the meantime dip the dough into a dusting of wheat flour and roll out into circles with a diameter of about 5 inches.  Test skillet by sprinkling water into pan. If the water sizzles like crazy, it's hot enough (wipe water out of pan before adding the rotis).

Let bubbles form on one side of the Rotis with a bit of browning before flipping. Repeat on other side. Bubbles should form and brown a bit. At this point, hopefully!, the rotis will puff up. With a spatchula press down the puffing rotis, but go gently. Flip again to ensure a bit more browing. Steam will escape the puffed rotis, this is normal. Remove from heat, add a bit of ghee (melted, clarified butter), and place in a bowl with a towel to keep warm. Repeat process.

*Ghee: I used a combination of olive oil, butter, salt, onion and garlic powder, all melted and 'bloomed' for flavors. I used a brush to slather onto the finished Rotis. Served with pinto bean style hummus. Yumm.*

Hubby loved it (this was my first attempt at this and I'm going to do this again tomorrow) and kiddo wanted more of everything.  I doubled the recipe to make 8 Rotis and I found myself devouring most of it before I even served it to the rest of the family.  Okay, maybe I had 2 Rotis before it left my hands to serve to the fam.

I've been wanting to do more Indian meals, but I'm sort of super picky about it. The meal has to be flavorful not just packed with spices. So, this is a good thing, new venues! New cooking methods! And a great how-to on what exactly to do on the 'Tube.

Kudos to Manjula. I like her. She's easy to understand and the recipes are not at all intimidating (after she shows you).

Making Bread Crumbs and Seasoned Bagel Chips

This is kind of silly to post here, but a friend of ours has been getting bagels and muffins in ample supply from a local donut place when it's time for them to close for the night.  He'll get about a half a garbage bag full of 3-4 different kinds of bagel (plain, french toast, onion and multi-wheat) and the same goes with the muffins (cinnamon, pistachio, bran and chocolate chip).  There's been so much of the stuff that my freezer is kind of just a storage zone for bagel central.

Orginally he was getting this plethora of mana for another friend who owns their own farm and was going to give it to his livestock.  We came across this info and asked if we could get some the next time he was planning to do a bagel and muffin run.

Boy did he deliver.  I looked inside the bag and immediately thought, holy s#!%^, that's a lot!

A few days ago I took two bagels that looked like they were starting to seriously go stale and hard (they're a weapon at that point, or they could make a good brick if you were building a house) and thought what better way to use a bagel than to make some bread crumbs?

My poor blender. As I took ripped pieces of the bagel to grind up, the blender whirled and moaned and hissed in protest. I don't think this cheapy $10 blender was meant for such stressful labor. But in the end, it did its job and 2 bagels had a yield of 4 cups of bread crumbs.

Not that I want to be overflowing in breadcrumbs but I don't want to see the bagels go to waste.  Grandma and Uncle D. mentioned to try and make bagel chips, and I may just do that.

Maybe the seasoned chips should be:

• butter, olive oil and garlic/onion powder
• cinnamon and sugar
• olive oil and parmesan

There are some sweet bagels in the mix that I think the sugar mixture might be pretty nice. Only downfall is that I'll be working with a toaster oven and this may just take forever (oven is currently used as pots and pan storage because the house alarm is RIGHT OVER IT! stupid architects).

Anyway, today going to use some of the breadcrumbs to make briciole/ brizole (the Italian dish that looks like huge meatballs in marinara). Going to wing it but the ingredients are pretty much:

• Meat
• bread crumbs
• garlic and onion seasoning
• salt and pepper
• tomato sauce

On a damp and rainy day this may just hit the spot.

Fall Has Officially Arrived

It's gray and overcast with the potential for lots of rain.  The writer in me just wants to find a corner somewhere to write or read. I had a good reading session last night after Hubby, kiddo and myself came back home from visiting Grandma's House.  I swear it is so good to go over there to feel how it's like to live in a house again. I hate apartment living: it is cramped, confined, no viable storage (a.k.a. not damp) and you basically are at the mercy of the other tenants on whether or not they want to be safe or not. I did mention that downstairs we have a neighbor who smokes, right? We occasionally smell it coming through our doorway (yuck! it is just nauseating!) that I constantly fear he'll have an "accident" and burn the whole place down.  I know I voiced my fears about fall/winters in New England - every building is a tinderbox waiting to happen. So as the colder weather sets in, so does my paranoia.

It has begun, but I digress.

Kiddo was doing pretty darn good with not running away (which is public enemy #1 on our list) when we were at Grandma's house and he kept within eye and earshot. He had a good time with playing on the swings and helping rake up the leaves and stuff on the lawn.  Acorns were everywhere and depending on his mood he'll either help pick them up or get easily bored.  Later on today I'm going to try my hand at using the small handful of acorns to turn them into acorn meal (there's a whole process involved from cracking, rinsing and drying).

When we had gotten home, Hubby went upstairs to take an hour nap because work had called him in to pull a double shift and he was going to be going in with little to no sleep (he was going in for 11:30pm and was up since 8am in the morning).  Kiddo was fast on his heels in the sleep department. I went in the kitchen to catch up on some dishes and when I came back into the living room I saw kiddo passed out on the couch. I looked at the clock, it was 8pm.  Oh boy, I thought, he konked out early which means he'll be waking up sooner.

But, not wanting to turn on the computer for any reason other than finishing an article, I grabbed my book that I was reading (The Lady in White by Wilkie Collins) and curled up on the couch alongside of kiddo.  It was a good night for reading too. It was chilly, windy and rain just started to drizzle.  It felt like it was the perfect setting while reading the murder mystery.  Excellent book, by the way, and around midnight I finally pulled myself away from it to take kiddo up to his own room and for me to get some Z's.

Right now I'm torn tho. I feel I've completely negleted writing (non for profit, that's what I call it) to do other things.  Maybe I can take "one for the team" and continue article writing like a fiend so that I can A) cover the cat's medical treatment B) car repairs and C) start a "Mommy's writing only laptop" fund.  In all reality I need to find something more than the articles that are being written on the website.  I'm hoping that some of the crafting that I plan to do could be sold around town.  Anyways, money in is money in... until the fate of the universe says it's money out time.

I guess I should try to micromanage time better. Set aside time for writing, reading, crafting, housework, kiddo and hubby time and the occasional hygene check to make sure I'm not neglecting myself. Don't want to be in funkville, if you know what I mean. Oh, and it also helps to catch a shower before the neighbors do. Hot water is a commodity (well, it seems like it for me. Everytime I jump in the shower halfway through I'm *yiking* and *!$!%* that the water just went cold).

Epic plans. Hopeful hopes. Just need the momentum to keep me going.