A quick update on life and stuff...
I’m depressed that the kids have completely wrecked the
house… yet again. I swear, I don’t know
how they do it. One day, the house is
clean and completely organized (a/k/a “company ready”) and the next, I go back
to work and it looks like a tornado has gone through. WHY?!?
They’re filming the sequel to Captain America next
door to my office, so we get to deal with tons of cranes, etc. to set up the “shoot”
for the next week. Actually, they’re
only filming one day (Monday) but it looks like it’s going to take them 4 days
to set up and 4 days to disassemble. Oh
well, could be worse. When they were
filming on the West Side of Cleveland, they shut down a major highway (and a
bunch of roads downtown) for TWO WEEKS.
DD#1’s dorm has been reserved and the first payment
made. I’m still stunned at the cost,
though - $14k for 9 months. “Oh, but
that’s for a double room (only one roommate) and includes telephone (local
& long distance), TV and cable, WIFI, use of the fitness center, use of one
of the communal kitchens on each floor, and a private bathroom. “ Yeah but that’s still more than the cost of
my first car. Holy shit! Thankfully she has/had some awesome
grandparents (my late mother left her and DD#2, because #3 & 4 weren’t
around when she passed, money for college and my ex in-laws are paying the
majority of the dorm) to help with this.
Oh, and this doesn’t include the $7k in tuition for the fall semester
and the approx. $800 in books and materials.
*smh*
We spent Thursday and Friday of last week with DD#2 at
the doctor’s. She sprained her ankle
three months ago and about a month ago we noticed some rash-like discoloration
and swelling in her lower leg. First our
pediatrician sent us to a dermatologist because of the rash. Apparently it’s not a real rash but just discoloration.
However, combined with the swelling, it could have been a sign of lupus. Several blood tests later and, thankfully, it
doesn’t appear to be lupus. So, back to the
pediatrician’s last Thursday. She
noticed the swelling and it must have really concerned her because she sent us
to see two rheumatologists at Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital in
Cleveland on Friday. Over two hours of
examinations later, and no one seems to know exactly what’s going on. It could still be lupus (they ordered
additional blood work) or it could be the sprain damaged some still developing
blood vessels and they need time to “repair” themselves. Either way, the doctors ordered more blood work
(done on Saturday), an MRI (being done this morning), and physical therapy
& orthotic shoe inserts (to help fix her gait, which has been thrown off
because of the sprain.) Hopefully we’re
going to get an answer soon. The good
news, though, is that she can still spend a week in July as a counselor at her
former summer camp (and be “the boss” of DD#3 & #4 who will be campers
there this summer.)
Does anyone else do this:
Spend a day on the weekend, cooking for the upcoming week? I spent Sunday prepping and freezing meals
for during the week. This way, I can
call on my way home, ask DD#1 or #2 to take one out of the freezer, plop it in
the oven at 425 degrees, and by the time I get home, it’s reheated and ready to
go. All I have to do is put the oven
down to “keep warm” status, make a side dish and some veggies, and we’re good
to go. It’s almost like having a
housewife (albeit one that doesn’t do laundry or wash the dishes) and we don’t
have to order takeout or live on pasta.
Sorry but I’m not cooking a full dinner every night after working all
day. Once in a while, fine. But every night? Nah, just not gonna happen.
For those who are interested, this week’s frozen meals included marinated pork roast, barbecued chicken breasts, meatloaf, steaks with a red wine reduction sauce (I’ll have to share that recipe here later, it’s absolutely amazing and pretty easy!), and a pound of ground beef (cooked and frozen, ready to be added to a casserole when I feel like assembling one.) Add in one pizza night and pasta (with a jar of my own spaghetti sauce that I canned earlier), and we’re good for the week! Oh, I also cooked a pound of bacon for use in sandwiches and salads later during the week (convenient and so much better than the precooked stuff sold in the store – mine is much leaner and crispier.)
I also prep some veggies and make my own bagged salads
(Target has reusable produce bags for $1 each and they’re the perfect size for
this. The ones I bought from Crate &
Barrel are better for buying fresh produce but are too large for salads
IMHO.) That way, I can control exactly
what goes in, it’s better for the environment (no more “individual use” plastic
bags to dispose of), and quite frankly, it’s cheaper to buy several heads of
romaine lettuce at Sam’s Club and other veggies like carrots, celery, baby
spinach, etc. and make my own. I’ve also
found that DH & the DD’s are more likely to make a salad to eat with their
lunches than if I just left the stuff in the fridge, unprepared. All they have to do is grab a bag, portion
out what they want, add some dressing, and *voila* salad.
Today during lunch, I need to plan out some dinners for
next week and start working on my shopping list. Since the highway’s back open, I’m tempted to
make a run to West Side Market for meats on Saturday morning. I’ll buy produce there only if I’m planning
on using it in the next 2 or 3 days. For
whatever reason, it never seems to last as long as the stuff from Whole Foods
or Trader Joe’s. Maybe I should just
stop by the farmer’s market in town on Friday, after work. (I still can’t believe they’re not open on
the weekend… only Fridays. WTF kind of
farmer’s market is that, right?!?)
Bye for now.
