A friend of mine, a young man who does maintenance where I work, is actually one of the best cooks I know. He’s single and over time has learned to cook some really delicious meals for himself. Just the other day, I told him he should open his own little restaurant, using his own recipes and methods for the meals. I think it would be a hit.

Of course, he’d have to have some money to invest in commercial kitchen equipment, used cisco equipment, and restaurant furnishings, but if he could get a small business loan, I think it’s completely possible for him. I think it would be highly satisfying for him to run his own business instead of just being the maintenance man for our store. I’m going to keep on encouraging him toward this.

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I’ve got most of my countertop appliances packed to move. Everything but my electric skillet, toaster, and coffee maker are packed away now. At least with those, I can still produce something to eat for Brandon and myself.

My intention was to haul stuff to the storage unit all day today, but it’s raining hard and I don’t know when it will let up. However, I’ll continue packing and putting the boxes in the living room anyway. We still might be able to make some trips to the unit even though it is raining. I hope so. This job needs to be done!

Technorati Tags: countertop appliances, electric skillet, toaster, coffee maker

Between the normal maladies that accompany growing older and my long work hours, most days I’m worn out and sore after a shift. I do find, though, that taking B-12 really helps me have the energy I need to complete my shifts at work without being quite so exhausted. I also take Ibuprofen for pain caused by a bad back and sore joints.

I have high blood pressure, which means having to take medicine to keep it lowered. About the only thing I don’t need at my age is acne treatment! Those days are far behind me. After all, I’m no spring chicken. Fifty-six is at least old enough to have long since passed the days when skin eruptions and PMS rule over my day-to-day life.

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Wow. I can’t believe I haven’t posted here in so long! Work has kept me away for the past few days. Well, more than a few, really. I just finished working ten days straight and am finally off work today.

It’s possible that I could still wind up being called in to work, but not likely. This means I can finish packing a lot of things and get them into storage until we can get into the house we’ve been looking to buy. Just keep us in your prayers that it goes through alright.

It will be so nice to be in a real house with a real kitchen to cook in!

Technorati Tags: work, storage, house, kitchen

You know, we’ve actually only looked at the outside of the house we are considering. We really like the location and the appearance of it from the street, but I don’t have a clue what’s inside, other than it’s a three bedroom home. I am really hoping that it has enamel-over-steel bathroom fixtures and kitchen sinks, or at least stainless steel kitchen sinks.

I’m out for durability in any kind of fixtures, you know? Fiberglass and plastic never seem to hold up the way steel fixtures do. In fact, even here, our old fiberglass tub cracked and we replaced it with a really old steel tub, which is doing great.

I also prefer metal faucets instead of plastic ones, again for the durability factor. Once I install something, I don’t want to have to replace it in a few years.

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My old percolator finally gave up the ghost, which means I had to buy a new coffee maker. I usually buy percolators, but this time I opted for a drip coffee maker. I think I’m going to like it just fine. It makes coffee in about five minutes. It also has a timer and clock so I can set it up the night before to come on in the morning.

It’s called a Professional Series Collezioni Digital Coffee Maker. It’s the model PS77611, and is a sleek, black coffee maker. I really like the looks of it and I actually need less coffee in it than I did in my old percolator. I also like the feature that shuts it off after two hours, just in case I forget to turn it off before I head to work!

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Staying home with your family can be just as much fun, if not more, than going out. In our home, we had our own movie nights, complete with sodas, popcorn, Milk Duds, Rice Krispies treats, and a rented movie or two that were good for family viewing.

When the children were small and spills were very likely, I really wished we had home theater carpet so it would be more durable and soil resistant. The next best thing was to lay out a plastic tablecloth on the floor in front of the TV and let the children sit on that with their drinks and snacks. At least it was easy to clean up if something got dropped or spilled.

Technorati Tags: Milk Duds, Rice Krispies treats

If you don’t already have your chocolate bunnies and Peeps, you better hurry. The store shelves are emptying fast!

It’s been years since I’ve needed the traditional candies and baskets here, but I still wind up getting chocolate bunnies for my grown children who still aren’t married. Of course, since my unmarried daughter has joined Weight Watchers, she may not want one. Wait. Yes, she will!

It’s Easter and some traditions do remain in place. Having one will mean she’ll have to take more jumps on her mini trampoline to work off the calories, but she won’t eat the whole bunny at one time so that shouldn’t be a huge problem. Her group leader tells them to not deprive themselves during birthdays and holidays, but to eat moderately and enjoy the festivities.

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I’m sure many of you have your Easter dinner all planned out. You may even have some elements of it prepared already or will be preparing them today. Things like fruit salads, pasta salads, and potato salads are better prepared ahead. The flavors improve overnight.

Every family has their own particular favorite foods to have for holidays such as Easter. Ours has always been baked ham served with potato salad, baked sweet potatoes, asparagus, and a tossed spring greens salad. Dessert is simple mixed fresh fruit, prepared and tossed together, topped with whipped cream.

Whatever you have for your Easter dinner tomorrow, I wish you all the joy and hope that Easter brings.

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There are a few things I have a real weakness for. One of them is iced cinnamon rolls that I can warm up in the microwave and add butter to. I got one this morning at a local store that was huge. And, it was moist, iced with thick, white icing, and jammed full of cinnamon goodness.

When I got it home, I heated it and buttered it, and enjoyed it with a hot cup of coffee. I tell you, there’s nothing much better than that!

There’s something about cinnamon that really draws my attention, no matter where I am. If I’m grocery shopping, the cinnamon raisin bread seems to call my name and say “Buy me”. I do believe a weakness like this could make me a candidate for drug rehabilitation, except probably no one would believe me! lol!

I suppose, though, there really could be worse problems than falling prey to the rich scent of cinnamon.

Technorati Tags: iced cinnamon rolls, microwave, cinnamon