Today...

Today I am going to be organized

 and not run around in circles.

Some days are more productive than others and it usually involves being organized and having a plan. I have a plan, so I am not going to get dizzy trying to get things done today.

Banana Pops

What happens when you find a sale on bananas for 25¢/pound and you buy a lot of them? Then you can't eat them quite fast enough and you are trying to save them from turning to mush on the counter. However, no one wants to bake banana bread and the last extra bananas are still in the freezer because you don't like smoothies. You make Banana Pops.That's what Wally and Theo did.






Banana Pops

1. Peel bananas and cut into halves.

2 .Insert stick. They used grilling skewers because that was what they could find. You could also use straws or popcicle sticks.

3. Melt chocolate chips in microwave. 50% power for 30 seconds and then stir. Repeat until melted.

4. If you have the right ratio of banana size to container size, dip the the bananas into the chocolate to coat. If not, dab chocolate on with a spoon.

5. Roll in sprinkles or nuts, if desired.

6. Place bananas on wax paper or parchment paper and freeze for two hours.

7. Enjoy a cold, sweet treat.

Note: This is the first time they tried this, so they have a couple of things they are going to do differently next time. They plan to cut the bananas into bite size pieces. That way the chocolate won't break off while you're biting into it. Wally, the peanut butter lover, plans to melt peanut butter and chocolate together for the coating.

Thankful Sunday

I am thankful Uncle Billy's garden.

Uncle Billy doesn't like vegetables that much, but he still grows many in his garden to share with others. Today he shared these delicious sugar snap peas with us. Thanks, Uncle Billy.

Kitty Comfort

Did you ever have one of those days when you just felt down? That's how it was for me yesterday. It started with not enough sleep and my back hurting every time I moved. Added to that, I worried about difficulties that my friends and family were having. I tried several things to break the mood including counting my blessings, but the blahs persisted. So when I went home from work, I sought the best cure I know--my kitties.

My kitties think the world revolves around them, so I had no time to worry about myself when I got home. They met me at the door meowing loudly and demanding to be fed. However after they got full bellies, they were ready for a little purring and cat napping. I sat down on the couch and they started to arrive. First, Lucky got on my lap and began purring. And then Annie joined him there. Actually she ended up half off and half on my lap, but purred all the same. Next, Leo snuggled in by by my feet, and lastly Lucy couldn't be bothered to wake up from her nap in the dresser to join us. (Oh well, three out of four ain't bad.) After we all got settled in, I got a book and fell asleep while reading. Now, all was right with the world. There's nothing like kitty comfort.

Food Waste Friday and True Food Confessions-June 21, 2013

It's time for Food Waste Friday, when the Frugalgirl encourages us to post pictures from the previous week of wasted food from our household. This accountability hopefully will help us to be more careful with our food and maybe save some money. Also, I am using this public forum to encourage us to eat out less which includes better meal planning. You can follow how we are doing in this endeavor by reading True Food Confessions.

This Week's Food Waste

STRAWBERRIES

My husband and I were gone for a week, and I really hoped my sons would clean out the refrigerator while we were gone. However, most of what was there when we left was still there when we returned. But surprisingly, the only casualty were a few strawberries. I put the mushy ones outside and the birds and chipmunk have been enjoying them. I think the reason that more stuff didn't turn limp and slimy is that I have started to add a paper towel to produce when I store it in the refrigerator. This has extended the life of most all of it.

This Week's True Food Confessions

A sampling of what we had to eat this week

It's been two weeks since we talked about our eating. We spent one of those weeks in New Mexico and one week at home. In New Mexico, we did our typical pattern for vacation eating. We ate breakfast mostly in the hotels where it was provided, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch, and a sampling of the local cuisine for dinner. The local food was generally too spicy hot for me, but my husband loved it. We have a few things he wants to try to recreate here at home. Look for those in a post soon.

Also since we've been back, there hasn't been much time for shopping, so everything we had was made with ingredients on hand. All and all and it worked out well. Some of it was "interesting" like our stacked corn tortilla bake and other things were quite good like our spaghetti. However, it was all heartily consumed.

Our schedule next week will continue to be quite busy, so some planning is in order. Wish me luck with that.

Until next time...