Tuesday, January 31, 2012

So that was January...

Really? That was January.  What a crappy way to start the year. 2012, I thought you were better then this.  It seems like everyone is in the hard core doldrums of winter. But we haven't had winter yet. It's going to be 50 degrees today. FIFTY DEGREES!!! This is Horse Sh*t. I'm beginning to think this lack of season change is starting to screw me up.  It's so beautiful out, I want to go do spring things. Plant and clean, and till and grow. And then the reality hits again that its January. Are you feeling the same way? Or are you like poor Fulton, NY with their 40 inches of snow, yesterday...

Well on to bigger and brighter things!

Valentines day is just around the corner! Don't forget to send the love across the miles and give your sweetie an apple cake! Let me know and I'll include a card with your special message in it!

Hope all is well in your neck of the woods. Christ I'm starting to sound like Al Roker.  Spring hurry up so I can air out this house and my brain!!

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Out and About!

So today was a sample drop off day. I visited some local markets and dropped off samples of Apple Cake in hopes of luring them into selling. So keep your fingers crossed. The basket of apple cakes is working out well at Delmar Market Place. So that's a plus. And other then that. It's slow. Real slow.


So yeah that's what I've got today. Not a whole heck of a lot, but it's January.

Sunday, January 22, 2012

One long holding pattern.

Are you in a holding pattern? I am. The new year came and went, and I went blah. I'm doing nothing. I own my own place and don't go out for work. If you have noticed, people don't eat sweets in January, well even for the first quarter. So I'm in a holding pattern. I have things I could be doing, but...meh. I have achieved 99.8% in Harry Potter Lego Years 5-7. That's Something. Right? The house needs a good, solid cleaning, starting with the upstairs garbage pit. The basement needs to be cleaned and condensed because we need to start scraping off the thin set that the morons, that had this house before us, put all over the walls. The problem is that the foundation leaks, so we need to clean it all off seal the entire thing, and then finish the basement the right way.

But lately I can't seem to get out of my own way. I'll sit down at the computer in the morning to check my email, facebook, blog, etc and boom it's eleven o'clock. Seriously where in the hell does the time go?  Is this happening to you, all you WFH folks. I can't imagine that the SAHM/D are like this. You (at least in my mind) have a billion responsibilities that you MUST attend to i.e. Children. I don't have a child that needs attention. My dogs enjoy nap time next to Mom on the couch, while I get my morning internet fix. So, there, two things at once. Spending time with the furkids and facebook. I'm such a multi-tasker. BLAH!!!!!

What do you do to keep yourself motivated? Lists? Schedual?  Let me know! All advice is welcome!

Friday, January 20, 2012

I don't know what I was thinking, but I'm happy I did it.

15 Year. 15 YEARS!!!

I graduated from my little tiny High School, 15 years ago. To some that might seem laughable, to others an eternity.  But for me 15 years is a reality check.  Where am I in life? Well over the past 5 years I have made leaps and bounds towards my major life goals. I found the love of my life, I got married, I've started my own business. I'm pretty pleased with where my life is now. Could it be better? YEP. But, am I planted on the right path... YEP!

But WOW-- 15 years. What is everyone else doing? Well, we all have the benefit of facebook now so I can keep up with a large majority of my classmates. Which making the planning of our 15 year reunion, much easier. Because for some insane reason, I decided to do it.  And I'm quite glad that I did.  Many people hate even thinking about their reunion. I understand that, maybe if I wasn't so happy where I am right now, I would feel different. Because come on, we all know, we will be judged. There is no way around it. People will be keeping tabs on kids and houses, and marriages and divorces. Who stayed and who moved away. How many Drs. and Lawyers, and Nurses, and construction workers there are. Who got together with whom, and where they are now. Who showed up and who didn't.

I'm not saying it's right, it just is.

But for better of for worse we're getting together.

So the planning begins.  First I'll say, I know I can't please everyone. It's going to be a rough road ahead. We plan on getting together during the summer. Not sure what we want to do, or where we want to go. But it's been 15 years since I've gotten to see some of these people. So stick around, I'm sure the posts will be interesting.
Via http://www.hpschools.org

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

SOPA and how it Effects YOU!

Do you use the internet?  Well pretty much everyone does, whether they realize it or not. The Congress is setting to pass a bill called SOPA the Stop Online Piracy Act. You can check out the bill 112 HR 3261 HERE It is aimed to shut down "rouge" websites. Those are the ones that are making piracy of information possible. These are the places you can go and get music and movies and download them without paying for them. Here is a Summary of the Bill from OpenCongress.org

OpenCongress Summary

This bill would establish a system for taking down websites that the Justice Department determines to be dedicated to copyright infringment. The DoJ or the copyright owner would be able to commence a legal action against any site they deem to have "only limited purpose or use other than infringement," and the DoJ would be allowed to demand that search engines, social networking sites and domain name services block access to the targeted site. It would also make unauthorized web streaming of copyrighted content a felony with a possible penalty up to five years in prison. This bill combines two separate Senate bills -- S.968 and S.978 -- into one big House bill.

There is also a great article in the Huffingtonpost.com from Aaron Wang that explains why we should be scared of SOPA. Since he is a professional writer, I'll let him say it best.

So this is all really leading up to an announcement for tomorrow. My tiny little blog will shut down at 12:00am and protest SOPA.  All you bloggers out there should too. If this happens, and you even accidentally pirate an image, song, etc. This will effect you. Fines and prison. Lets all remember the napster nonsense of the late 90's, this will be a billion times worse.

So get out there people, let your fingers be heard! Check out this site for stuff for your blog from Bloggermint.com  


I also ran across this handy little page shut down html.  It's for wordpress.com but it works for blogger too. Just use a html widget and copy and paste. Check preview to see if it works, and voilĂ , you have a shut down.

So don't feel your the only one, there'll be lots of us out there, namely wikipedia reddit and even google will have a message up on the main site.




bloggermint.com

Lady's New Coat

So our little lady is all of 10lbs, and she is shivering a bit up here in NY. The husband is stricktly against the dressing of dogs, but after a little convincing from me, and a little shaking from Lady we convinced him that it would be ok. Well I might have just said.. "I'm making Lady a Coat" as I climbed the stairs to the craft room. So I just wanted to show off my handy work. She seems to like it, it keeps the heat in, and I feel it's quite stylish. Please pay no attention to my ridiculous hair, it's very dry here, and I'm a little frizzy.


No coat for me, Mommy?

Thursday, January 12, 2012

New Recipe Posting - White Bean and Tuna Salad

It's not pretty, but it's pretty delicious


Today's recipe share is White Bean and Tuna Salad. I came across this recipe ages ago in a book by Kathleen Daelemans called Cooking Thin with Chef Kathleen. Unfortuatly I don't own this book, so I can't give you the exact recipe, but this is as close an approximation that I can remember, and it's how I make it all the time.  It's a great recipe that you can make in a flash, keep everything in the pantry for it, it's healthy, filling and you can make it taste any way you prefer.  So here is your yummy recipe for this week!


Tuna and White Bean Salad with a Cumin Vinaigrette


2 Cans Tuna (which ever kind you prefer)
1 Can Great Northern Beans 15oz
1 Tbsp Good Olive Oil
Kosher Salt
Fresh Black Pepper
1/2 cup Red Wine Vinegar
Fresh Parsley (if you have it, dried works too)
1/2 tsp Cumin

Combine all ingredients in a bowl, mix and enjoy. Better flavor the longer it sits. Best if made the day before.

Feel free to experiment and change to your liking. Don't like cumin? Try lemon pepper, or Caribbean jerk seasoning.  Not a fan of Red wine vinegar? Try white balsamic, or cider, or rice wine. Lots of options! Enjoy.

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Wordless Wednesday

New Addition: An Update:



Monday, January 9, 2012

New Addition

We have a new addition. Her name is Lady, and at a full (maybe) 10lbs. she's a brute. The husband and I had been discussing for a while the addition of another family member.  We love, love, love our Penny. She is my baby, my first born, my hairy three year old. But we also know she is lonely sometimes. When I work from home and she just sadly puts herself to bed after following me around the house for a while. So we decided that our hearts were big enough, and as long as it wasn't a Saint Bernard, our house would be enough. So we started looking, early last summer. After perusing petfinder for hours, we made the decision that maybe we should wait till after the wedding. So when we got back from the honeymoon, we again started the search. Nothing, nothing, nothing. Lots of dogs, all cute. But not the one. I knew when I saw Penny. She was the one that I wanted.  No one was jumping out at us. We tried very hard to use the same service that we used to adopt Penny through, though we looked at dogs from all the sites.


Forever Home Dog Rescue is a wonderful organization that is really doing the work of angels. They take in strays, mainly from the south and get them homes. All the dogs that no one really wants. That's how we found Penny.  They don't have a facility, it is completely done by the work of volunteers. They foster and place all the dogs that are looking for their forever home.  We got an email a few weeks ago about a fund-raiser at Pizzeria Uno at the local Mall. Come in, eat dinner, and 20% of the check goes to Forever Home.  Well, down to the Mall we go, we stopped to talk to Jean and the crew and signed up for some raffles, and looked at pictures. And there was Rocky. A little dachshund mix, short little legs and big ears, and we were sold. We had to wait until the next adoption day (Sunday) till we could go and meet him. So we looked at the picture and dreamed of bringing him home.  Sunday finally got here, and to Petsmart we went. Penny, Kevin and I, looking for a new member of the family. And there was Rocky. He was adorable, and stubborn, and pig headed, and whiny and thought that Penny was a lovely lady, if you know what I mean. I looked at Kevin and He looked at me and said, I don't want to wake up to Penny getting humped in the middle of the night. And frankly I didn't either. So we put Rocky back, my heart broke a little, but I didn't want Penny to be traumatized in her own home either.


Nap? Yes Please.
So we started looking at other dogs, and there she was. A tiny little thing, named Lady. We took her out and went in the back to get to know her a little better. And we fell in love. Penny seemed, well indifferent to the whole situation. She didn't really understand what was going on, little did she know we were turning her whole world upside down. Adoption papers filled out, small fortune of pet goodies obtained, and to the car we went. Then Penny started getting the idea of what was going on. And then we came home, and then Penny was really getting the idea. We came in and ate and drank, and settled down to watch Big Blue kick the crap out of Atlanta. Go Big Blue!!  We played and slept and played and slept and ate dinner and played and slept. And then the proverbial shit hit the fan. We went to bed. And that's when Penny understood the full capacity of that was going on. The rat was staying and it was sleeping in bed with Mommy, Daddy, and Penny. This was not acceptable.  We huffed a little and then Penny went to bed, in her bed on the floor. She jumped up a few times, to realize 'It' was still here. She spent the night on the floor. And my heart broke for my baby. I had brought this other dog home and ruined her perfect life. I was a horrible, Mother.  Now I fully realize that in a few days, hopefully, they will be thick as thieves.

I'm A Sad Penny
Penny just needs to understand that Lady is here to stay and she needs to get over it. Penny is mad, because Lady seems to be in her spot. Penny needs to take her spot back, and teach Lady that there is a pecking order in this house.  Instead she is moping in the chair, looking sad and dejected and pitiful.

But it'll get better. I know it will. I'll have a house of crazy dogs that love each other dearly, and then we'll add a baby and upset the whole thing again! Lord, bless this house of mongrels.

Friday, January 6, 2012

New Twitter Account

I decided that my cursing and bit*hing on twitter probably wasn't appropriate for the business site. I decided that Andi's Apple Cakes should have it's own twitter account, so here it is!


Please follow me!  yes I might be begging... but in the days when social media can make or break you. I need followers!


Thanks a Milllion!

Andi

P.S. There will be a give away coming very soon. So get the word out!

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

New Recipe Posting.

Well I've done quite poor at putting out a new recipe every week. So I'll add one today. Lasts night dinner was home made Hamburger helper. Yeah I know. But some nights you A. don't want to cook and B. Don't have a whole hell of a lot in the house. So one must improvise.  I do tend to keep a few staples in the house, for the occasion that both  A & B occur on the same evening. You must always have egg noodles, a can of condensed cream soup (please don't lecture me on it's awfulness, I am well aware how it barely constitutes food), some sort of meat product, and an onion. You must must must keep an onion in the house. Even if you don't cook that often. They keep just wonderful in the pantry. Cool dark places is what they like best.

So here it is:

Home Made Hamburger Helper
Sorry the recipe is so vauge, it's meant to be a cupboard cleaner outer

1 Can Cream of Mushroom Soup (or any Cream Based Soup)
1/2 cup of milk
1/2 diced onion
1/2 diced green pepper
Some cheese
Some Meat
Egg Noodles
Oil
Salt and Pepper

Heat largest skillet you have. You should beable to get everything in it if your not cooking for 10. If your Meat is raw, cook it up in a little oil, (brown hamburger, cut up chicken into little bite sized pieces) drain off excess fat when done. Remove to separate bowl.If your meat is already cooked (Tuna, pre cooked meat from market, morningstar farms, etc) move to next step. Put on a pan of water to boil. Follow directions to cook egg noodles. Use your best judgement as to how much. (We were 2 and used 1/2 a bag) SautĂ© onions and green peppers (if you have them) add a little garlic if you like. Cook on medium till soft. Remove to separate bowl with meat. On medium heat add soup and milk, wisk till combined. If it looks too thick, add a little more milk. Once it is simmering add some cheese, what ever you have in the fridge, except mozzarella (it just gets stringy). Once the cheese is incorporated add a little black pepper and the rest of the ingredients back in to the skillet. Then add the cooked noodles and taste for salt.  If you would like you can also add a little cayenne or pepper flakes for a kick.  Try adding salsa with cheddar for a mexican helper.

Lots of options with this one. Its about 1/2 hour in the kitchen start to finish. 

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

The New Year is upon Us

Happy New Year, I'm late with my wishes but oh well, sentiment is still there!

What did you do?

Any good resolutions?

Me: hung out with friends and will start diet Thursday morning, with everyone else on the northern hemisphere.

So what do want to do to make this year special, one for the books? Any big vacation on the horizon? Thinking about adding to the family? Getting a new puppy? Making a move in the business/job front?

YEP!

  I'm a Yes, yes, yes, and yes.

So move over 2011. 2012 here I come!


Can't wait to see what this year will bring for all of you, I thoroughly enjoy keeping up with your bustling lives on your blogs.  You give me insight, and laughter, I shake my head and shed a tear often. I'm so glad to have you in my life! May this year bring health, wealth, family and friends.