Napkin Stash

Just wanted to let you know that I started a little napkin stash in my car.  I placed some (clean) napkins in the center console.  I don't think I will become a napkin hoarder like RT.  It's nice just to have some in case of an emergency.

I just have to remember to restock every once in awhile.

Or just steal some from RT's car.

I come home from work and Alex tells me that he is cleaning his room.

I know I've mentioned the state of disaster his room in previous blog posts.  Referring to it as the black hole.  If he takes something in there, you will never see it again.  Ever.  It's so bad that when he goes off to college and we move a lot of stuff out of there, I tell everyone that we might find Jimmy Hoffa.

Anyway, to hear that he is cleaning his room is quite a shock.  You don't know how many times I tell him to clean his room and it doesn't happen.

As he was heading back up stairs, he said, "Oh, and I'm doing laundry."

I almost passed out.  This never happens!  He never does his laundry.

So, I yelled, "Give me back my son!"

Alexa

I mentioned in a previous post about our Alexa.  How we think we have the Alexa with the bad hearing.  I really think we got one of the Alexa rejects.  Half the time she can't hear what we are asking, the other half, she says she doesn't know the answer.  I thought she was supposed to look this stuff up?  Most of the time,  she isn't very helpful at all.

The other day, Bella was trying to figure out the amount of Calcium in different foods.   She decided to ask Alexa.

Bella:  Alexa, how much calcium is there in a cantaloupe.

Alexa:  I don't speak idiot.

At this point, Bella and I looked at each other and I laughed.

Bella:  (shocked) Did you hear what she said?

Me:  Yes.  Alexa thinks you're an idiot.

Alexa:  Absolutely!

Dance Moms

Had my first Dance Mom experience.  It did not involve me and there wasn't a huge fight.

Apparently, the dance place accommodates divorced couples by creating separate accounts and keeping track of how much each parent has paid for their daughter's dance classes.  One mom came in and was trying to sort all of it out and wanted to see what/and if her ex had paid.  The company does not share information (that's good).  The owner told the woman that she would have to either ask her ex or go through her lawyer to get the information on his account.  She went on to say that she has been working with the ex on the account and she even gave him her cell number so they can work it all out.  The woman then complained that she doesn't even have the owner's cell phone number.  The owner gave her an odd look then said, well, I wanted to figure this out and gave him the number so he could reach me so your daughter can continue to take classes.  The woman was still upset that her ex had the owner's cell number and she didn't...

I've realized that I'm going to have to be a little more psycho  crazy  a lunatic  irrational.  I'm not sure I'm going to be able to compete with these people.  Is there a school for this?  I might need some suggestions.  Let me know if you have any.

Vegan Diaries - Mushroom, Green Bean Stir Fry

I was looking for something different to make for dinner.  I wanted to use mushrooms and some green beans from the garden.  I came across this recipe in the book, "Vegan for Everyone."  If you ever get the chance, check this book out.  It's got some really cool recipes!

I added extra green onions and some zucchini (not home grown).  The results were quite tasty.  I served this over some rice.  My only suggestions might be to add a little more liquid.  Other than that, it's a winner!

Here's the recipe:

Mushroom Green Bean Stir Fry

ingredients:
for the sauce
3/4 cup vegetable broth
3 TBSP soy sauce
2 TBSP rice vinegar
2 tsp cornstarch

stir fry
14 oz extra firm tofu, cut into 3/4" pieces, pat with paper towels
1/3 cup cornstarch
3 TBSP vegetable oil
2 scallions, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 TBSP fresh ginger, grated
12 oz green beans, trimmed and cut into 1"
12oz mushrooms, stemmed and quartered
1 TBSP toasted sesame seeds (optional)

directions:

For the sauce, whisk all ingredients together in a bowl and set aside.

Stir Fry:
Toss tofu with cornstarch in bowl, then put in fine mesh strainer and toss gently to remove excess cornstarch.

In a skillet, heat 1 tsp oil, scallions, garlic and ginger.  Add tofu and cook, turning as needed, until crisp and browned (about 12-15 minutes).  Transfer to a paper towel to drain.

Add remaining oil to (now empty) skillet.  Add green beans and mushrooms.  Cover and cook until mushrooms release their liquid and beans are bright green and start to soften.  Uncover and cook until they are spotty brown (about 3 minutes).

Add the garlic mixture to the skillet and stir.  Add tofu and stir to combine.  Whisk the sauce and add to the skillet, stirring until sauce is thickened (about 30 seconds).

Transfer to platter, sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve.


Enjoy!

Moon Dough

We had another activity for kids at work and guess who was in charge?  Me.

This time we made Moon Dough.

I was given instructions (not very good ones, by the way) and told to try it at home.  I ended up looking up other recipes to make it easier for me (and the kids).  Luckily, most of the kids that came to this event were more interested in all of the toys in the store and really didn't care how their moon dough turned out.

Here are the ingredients for Moon Dough and a little tutorial for you.

Ingredients:
Baking Soda
Black Paint
Glitter
Water

I gave each child a small plastic cup with some baking soda in it.  I just eye balled an amount.  Enough so that they can take the dough out of the cup to play with it.

Add in a little black paint (optional) and some glitter.   Start stirring.  Add the water SLOWLY.  A few drops at a time followed by stirring the mixture.  If you accidentally add too much water, add a little more baking soda and mix to get the right consistency.  You want them to be able to take out the dough and play with it in their hands.

One child didn't want any paint in hers...it still looked cool being white with glitter.  Almost like a fake snow.

Luckily this activity was better than the Ice Cream disaster fiasco activity.

I still believe I need to rethink my job situation.

Sink Update

I'm reporting live from the kitchen with an update on the sink hostage situation.  The situation was pretty bad.  Ten days without the use of a kitchen sink.  Ten days of lugging dishes up and down the stairs.

I'm happy to say that the hostage situation is over and the sink is now in working condition.  A huge Thank You goes to my brother, Steve, for taking the time to fix it.  I really think he was tired of hearing me complain about lugging dishes up and down the stairs (I know I was).  Thanks again, Steve!

Things are slowly getting back to normal here.  And, by the way, the number of dirty dishes daily during the hostage situation was higher than on a normal day.  Thanks, kids.