Sunday, January 20

Coming Soon....

.. will be an actual post that makes sense! LOL

- I need to get some pics from Poseidon's computer. The boy's science project went fairly well, and I got some good pics of him testing it out.

- I have now scratched 3 meals off the menu! And still have leftovers for tonight, and tomorrow's lunch!

- I'm working on a couple crochet projects, and trying to clean off/out my sewing center. Once that happens I can get more sewing done (which is one more thing that makes me happy).

- Tomorrow, I weigh-in for my sanity.

- Tomorrow is now a family day!!! No one has anywhere to go ~ school's out for MLK Day and Poseidon is off work ~ I have no idea what we'll be doing, but I hope it's a fun day of interacting with each other and just hanging out!

Have a great day, and look for another post in the next few days. Love to all,

~Amphitrite

Wednesday, January 16

Menu for two weeks, and a report card

Amazing, I've found time tonight to make another entry! Had to make time a while ago anyway. I went to the grocery store yesterday and got everything I'd need for a couple weeks. Something new we're trying here, is eating as much of everything as we can before we have to go back for more groceries (other than a few trips after work for perishables). I need to get myself healthier and lighter, and I don't want the kids to think we have money growing on a tree somewhere, so I needed to cut us back on take-out and start eating at home every time we're hungry. I'd like to get more money into our "house account" sooner rather than later!
So, after putting everything away, rearranging the pantry and cabinets, and taking inventory of all food in the house - here are the meals I can make without making another shopping trip. I came up with 14 meals! And we'll have some leftovers for lunches and a couple dinners. I'll put links to recipes if I'm able to, some I'd found in recipe books or registration-required websites, and I'll turn on comments for this post in case any of you want a recipe.

Meals for two weeks:
Rosemary Baked Chicken with baked French Fries
Potato Almost-Hamburger-Helper with Bisquick biscuits, canned corn
Hamburger Helper (R) Lasagna with frozen vegetables
Hamburger Helper (R) Cheesy Enchilada - no side dish yet
Mom's Lasagna with Garlic Bread
Spaghetti with Garlic Bread
Yumazuti with Garlic Bread
Meatloaf with mashed potatoes, green beans
Vegetable soup with Carol's Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes (thanks for the recipe, Carol!)
Erin's Irish Potato soup (no side yet, maybe sandwiches?)
Tomato & Basil Pasta with Chicken, Garlic Bread
Homemade Spaghettio's
Sambousik Pies with Red Beans (and rice?)
AK Salmon & Lime Juice with Lemon Potatoes

And not even anything really 'fancy' involved for any of them. A few are time-intensive, but can be premade a little. I won't be spending a ton of time cooking, of that I'm glad! I'll try to post the recipes not linked when I make the meals... some of them I can't find online anymore but I know I have them in my Recipes folder. The kids will eat almost everything listed above, too, and I love that fact!

In other news, Mister Twister's report card came home on Monday. Halfway through the school year already! He seems to be doing better (at this point) this year than (at this point) last year, and we're very proud of him for that! Here's what it looked like:
Math - 84/B
Science - 84/B
Science Lab - 89/B
Reading/Spelling - 86/B
Social Studies - 76/C
Lang. Arts/Writing - 78/C
Art - 90/B
Music - 77/C
Phys. Ed. - 95/A


And we pay him for those A's and B's! I'll figure it up later this week, we still owe him for a few tests too... money seems to be his 'language'! He also earns extra video game time for good work/grades through each week, and only pays us back when he scores a 70 or less. I don't have the 'pay scale' in front of me, but he's only paid us two times since I started this system - I'm okay with keeping it up. He's in school, schoolwork is his job, and he understands it that way. It may have even helped push him a little into focussing better in school and on homework. Science Fair is Friday, and he's been doing well getting it all ready - I'll take pictures and let you know how that turns out this year.

Time to clean up and exercise. I get to watch my nephew S. on Friday, I can't wait to see him and be around a baby again!! Blessings :-)

~Amphitrite

Tuesday, January 15

A little about us.

For those of you not related, or with whom we haven't spoken in a long time, I'd like to properly introduce myself and my family.
I'll refer to myself here as Amphitrite. I've been happily married since 2002 to my soulmate (next paragraph). We have two kids, Mister Twister and Miss Hurricane. My first real job involved my working with animals at Pet Food Super Center (now closed), and from that I learned to love reptiles and amphibians over most typical pets. I'm also allergic to typical pets with fur or feathers, so it works out! One day I'd love to have a few Agalychnis callidryas - but first I'll have to settle for storing pictures of them. I have a very low tolerance for critters without legs, and trust only one person handling them around me - my cousin Dave. And he's the one who got me the job at PFSC - thanks Dave! Eventually we'll have a tank full of fish as pets.... we just need to "settle" first, decide where we're going to make our home for the next 15 years or so. Another topic for another time.
My husband... well, here I'll be calling him Poseidon. The story of how we met, fell in love, and married is another long one for another time - but I will tell you that I've known this man in another life, and my stomach flipped around him then as now! I gave him the name Poseidon here for the simple fact that he's always talked about wanting to live near - even ON - the water.... near an ocean or in a midget submarine (maybe yellow, he's a Beatles fan too!), or a houseboat. The man loves the water. Poseidon was the Greek God of the Sea, and Amphitrite was his wife - so the names are appropriate I think. There's even a painting of a few boats in a port hanging over our bed.... all we're missing is being surrounded or within an hour's drive of a large body of water! Oh, he also has amazing taste and design sense, so he'll be the main decorator around the house with little input from me. That was my idea, he's just that much better at seeing what's not there yet. Clear as mud? Good. :-)
Now the kids.... Mister Twister currently is in 4th grade and likes video games - what young lad doesn't? - and does well enough in school. Miss Hurricane will be entering Kindergarten this fall; she also likes video games, and anything pink or princess-y. You know, a little girl. I tried to stop that, but it just came out of her - she used to be more tomboy-ish like her mother! But hey, they're both great helpers around the house, and I feel that we've gone a great job raising them so far.

About the family in general.... well, we're all fans of UK Men's Basketball! The guys like the Red Sox too, and watch most of the games when we're home. My Poseidon has been a member of Red Sox Nation since before I met him, and now he's got the boy into it. Oh, both kids love Star Wars as well, another influence from their father! You should see the three of them playing Lego Star Wars.... oh, it's a sight. Here's a YouTube video that I love - not mine, but fun to see. My only real influence on the kids has been disciplinary. I've learned a lot about gentle discipline over the last few years, and have found that it works *much* better on these two than anything I'd ever seen or heard from other parents. Still a few problems with the girl child, but she's still young.

Thank you for reading this ramble! It's late and I did my best on it. Namaste.
~Amphitrite~

Welcome to our site!

Hello dear friends and family!
I decided to start a blog where you all can read about our life and see pictures as we take/share them. I'll probably do this weekly, but definitely monthly if nothing else! You'll always get an email when I've posted anything new.

Since we have friends and family scattered about, I thought this would be a good way for y'all to see how things are going for us, even if you only have a minute and want to drop by. This fall Miss Hurricane will be starting school, and it will likely be harder for me to check and respond to emails as often as I do now. This is my first blog or website of any kind, so bear with me and any goofs! :-)

Nothing more to say today, this was just an introductory, practice post for me (and you). Let's see what happens tomorrow! Have a groovy week!

Much love ~ me