Look At Me: I'm a Hillbilly

So, I got to work yesterday and I discovered that my shoe, a flip-flop, is near death... I mean, literally, hanging on by a string.

So, being the Girl Scout that I am, I got out my trusty stapler and stapled the toe-thingy to the top so the little string holding it together would hang on just a few more hours. Why? Because I was packed for a short business trip--not going home I might add--and wouldn't be at until Thursday night. Now, I don't plan on being in these for two straight days. I brought my good ol' duck boots, since I'm the part of the Indiana Soybean Alliance's farm tour this week.That said, the staples lasted about 6 hours. That means a fix-it upgrade: electical tape!

(Duct tape was not easily found at the hotel.)

Won't I look classy at the wine tasting tonight??

I will note that I expected more from these shoes: I bought them 6 years ago in an after-season sale for $2.50. WHERE is the quality these days?? (haha)

Summer Holiday Fun: Kayaking the White River

The weather this Labor Day was too, too fabulous to stay in (or do much-needed yard work!). So, Little D and Baby D and I headed out for a kayak trip on the White River. I recently discovered this place and it's not too far from home for a good half-day trip.Here's Little D taking a break from paddling.

We had a great time paddling. This is the first time I let the girls do a single kayak. They did great!

Here's BabyD taking off without us!

Then, one Nameless Daughter got a little tired after more than 2 hours paddling. So, here's my hillbilly solution: Use the string-style backpack to tie the kayaks together, so I could tow her!!!

It did the trick, but boy are my arms tired!!!
The Husband opted out, because he was a bit stressed about getting some stuff done around the house before going back to work tomorrow.

He did have a fire in the backyard fire pit waiting for us when we got home, so we snarfed down hot dogs and marshmallows for dinner.

Now, everyone's out of the shower, and it's time for bed!!!

A Labor Day Weekend Tradition: Goin' Junkin'

One of the favorite Family Pass Times at our house is goin' junkin'. Yeah, we can't resist a flea market or a yard sale... Who knows what treasures you'll find for just pennies on the dollar??

So Labor Day weekend is when we pick up my sister and visit one of our favorites.
Before I got some Christmas shopping done for Little D and Baby D (some lovely items they think they can't live without), I came across the MOST HIDEOUS necklace I've EVER seen!
Had to share a picture of it...

For a mere $38, you too could be a sporting your very own Chinese gong to protect your belly button.

I don't know. Maybe I'm not busty enough to pull off this look. Or maybe my boring old Tshirt just didn't highlight the exotic glamour of this piece. I took a pass on it... something I doubt I'll regret.

Otherwise, it was a fun day digging thru tables of total junk. I need to fire up the scanner and share some special selections from a 1965 edition of Teen magazine I picked up. Little D enjoyed reading it all the way home. The ads are the best! (I'm not a magazine collector, but the lady made a deal with my sister on the pile of antique publications she was buying and I threw it in the pile for laughs.)

Slow-Cooker Chicken Pot Pie...mmm...Tastey!

This is one of my favorites--and my family's, too, until they get tired of it when I get stuck in a cooking rut and make it 3 times in a month!

It's Chicken Pot Pie made mostly in The Working Mom's Favorit Contraption (aka, the Crock Pot/slow cooker).

This is so easy I didn't bother to take a million pictures. (That and my hands were fooded-up.)

IN THE MORNING:
1. Use a about 1 lb. of pre-cooked chicken meat*** and about 4 cups of chicken broth.
***My preference is to cook my own in the crock pot ahead of time (ie, when it's on sale for cheap) from leg quarters. I remove the skin and bones after cooking, then strain and save the broth.
2. Add a one-pound bag of mixed frozen veggies.
3. Peal and cube 1 or 2 medium-sized potatoes, 2 stalks of chopped celery and an appropriate amount of diced onion.
4. I add at least a clove of garlic.
5. Cook on low for 8-10 hours.

AFTER SLAVING AT WORK ALL DAY:
6. Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees. **be sure to move the racks to accommodate the crock
7. Slip off your shoes and pour a cold drink (This is optional; it's just how I do it.)
8. Dip out a little of the broth from the crock (about 1/2 a cup) and whisk with about 3 T. of flour. Then stir that back into the crock pot mixture to thicken it. (You can use corn starch.)
9. Here's my favorite part: Mix up 2 packages of good ol' Jiffy Corn Bread mix per the directions. Spoon over the top of the crock pot mixture.

10. Bake for 25 minutes (or until corn bread is cooked through). Which looks like this:

Our family loves the corn bread crust better than the old-fashioned kind.

Goofin' Off On My Lunch Hour

Like I don't spend enough time in front of the computer every day!
I decided to goof off at my desk while eating my lunch. (It's too hot to go out--and I really, really hate to sweat! Especially in office clothes!)

So here's my Monday blog party:

Who was your high school Sweet Heart?

Didn't have one. Had a bad crush on a guy with that fabulous 80's hair...

No, he's not in that picture, but the second one from the left could've been his first cousin!

Creeps me out, in retrospect...

(Actually, I think the crush was just on his hair. He mastered the curling iron and "product" better than I did!)

What is your favorite vegetable to eat?

Tomatoes

Do you plan on dressing up for Halloween, if yes, what do you have in mind?

Probably not.

I hate trick-or-treating--it feels creepy to me. Last year I offered my kids $5 to buy any kind of candy they want if we can skip the whole thing and they were thrilled. Baby D asked me just yesterday if she could have her 5 bucks early!

I will say that I did win best costume once, when I dressed as Jackie O. at JFK's funeral... veil and all.

Are you a reality show junkie? If so, what is your guilty pleasure?

CANNOT stand reality shows! I have enough drama in my own life--why do I want to see anyone else's???
Andy Griffith Show is way-more my speed.

What year did you graduate high school?

1986

Blog Hoppin' on Wednesday

It's been a long, busy week at work, post-State Fair. So, I'm just trying to de-fry my brain by being a vegetable on the computer. I don't have anything left to come up with blog-wise.

So, thought I'd just click around and do some blog hoppin'.




I did check out the canning blog party at:

the apple pie looks good!!


For the Working Mommy Wednesday question o' the week:
#2: Do you have your own bank account or a joint account with your husband?
A: We have always had joint bank accounts.
This was in spite of my soon-to-be mother-in-law freaking me out when she told me I need to keep my own bank account and my own money.
(What is she trying to tell me? I wondered.)
Well, as it turns out, she explained that at the age of 23 (like me back then), she was widowed when her first husband (along with three others) was killed in a boating accident. (She was one of two survivors.)
Anyway, all of their joint finances (that is, everything) were locked down until probate settled weeks later. She had to borrow money to buy groceries, pay rent--even replace her only pair of glasses. Of course, this was back when credit cards were rare.
While we've always had joint accounts, we've always kept our credit cards in our own names, so we have access to some type of funds in an emergency.

Honkin' Big Marshmallows!

Wordless Wednesday:
These things are huge!


Wordless Wednesday Link







Working Mom Wednesday:
WMW is supposed to blog about a working mom topic or answer one of the following questions:

#1. What is your most stressful time of day and why?

#2. If you could have one day all to yourself, how would you spend it?
I'd get an old movie I've seen about a dozen times (like a Ma & Pa Kettle flick or something with Doris Day), put it in to play in the background while I sew my eyeballs out on something. Then, after lunch, I'd take a nap--just because I can. Then I'd go back to sewing, unless I had a good book from the library.