My test is over so I can do everything else....

Well, I've had some things I wanted to do but couldn't do much of anything this past week or two so I tried fitting as much into Saturday as possible. I spot cleaned the carpet to fix some of the mess Tucker made of it. I took the dogs for an hour long walk. Usually it's only 30 minutes and the dogs are dead because it's in the heat of the evening so that was nice for them. I made a meal plan for the week and a grocery list before heading out to get my driver's license. Then I went to Aldi & Kroger for grocery shopping. There were some crazy good deals at Kroger in the ad on the internet but they didn't start until Sunday so I had to go back on Monday after work to get those. Back at home, I ate lunch and mixed and kneaded a new wheat bread recipe. I got the recipe from my favorite food website http://www.recipezaar.com/. People leave reviews...I really like that part. Then Lanette called me and asked me to come watch Isaac while she takes a nap. So for the three hours I was over there, I got 3 loads of laundry done, got 2 loaves of bread and a pan of rolls cooked. After I got back home, I spent a little time with the dogs then mowed my lawn with the push mower that Charmay left for us.

Now, I could go on and on about how wonderful that push mower is. And I will just a little bit. It is not just that I don't like technology, or emissions or anything like that...if I didn't care a lick about the environment I would still love that mower! At its loudest, it was still very quiet and it cut very nicely. It was easy to push up the big hill in the front yard. My arms didn't feel like rubber afterward and I didn't get even close to a blister. The push mower has made me enjoy taking care of my lawn again. And it's light so I carried it right through the door to the back yard and mowed back there too. We haven't been able to ever fit a lawn mower back there because we have no gate so I have always mowed it with a weed whacker. Needless to say, it was always overgrown...poor dogs. But that will change now; now that I have my secret weapon.

Before work, I put the roast in the crockpot with some liquid and seasoning, fed myself and the dogs, got ready and left. After work, I went to Kroger to pick up Adam's medicine and to get the great deals I read about on the ad that weren't available on Saturday. I got 23 lbs. of split chicken breasts, 11 lbs. of ground turkey, 6 packages of bacon and 3 8-oz blocks of cheese. I spent only $46! I saved more than I spent. That made me feel very powerful. :o) I threw everything into the fridge to wait until later to get it ready for the freezer.

I tasted the roast beef and it was so delicious!! I don't know that I can ever make a different roast beef again...this recipe will live in my heart forever....and it's so simple! I quickly cut up some carrots and potatoes and drizzled a little olive oil, salt, pepper and Italian seasoning on them. I mixed it up good, spread them on a cookie sheet and roasted them in the oven while I made the gravy. Then I saw that my neighbor with the garden was outside so I ran over and had a 15 minute conversation about gardens...he says it's a little iffy on the quality of what I'll get if I plant tomatoes this late but gave me some advice on what I probably could grow this late. So armed with a tiny bit of knowledge, I will begin working on my soil so I can plant something soon. It seemed like every time I looked at the clock it was an hour later. I finally ate at 7:30 and the dogs too, of course. I squeezed a couple of tablespoons juice from an orange and let it sit out at room temp until I used it later for something.

I did a load of dishes, walked the dogs after the sun went down, unloaded a few boxes from the trailer and found all kinds of kitchen stuff. Bread pans, knives, cooking utensils, eating utensils, pots, tupperware, the sporuting jar and some other misc. stuff. Then I went to Barry and Lanette's to borrow some gallon freezer bags. I still haven't found those yet. Came back home and wrapped the chicken for freezer storage, bagged them up, labeled them and stacked them in the freezer. So now I can just pull a single breast out instead of a bag full and thaw for just one or two.

Then, with my newly found sprouting jar, I got some sprouts started. They'll be ready to eat in about 4-5 days. Then, I added rye flour to my little bit of orange juice as the beginnings of my sourdough starter which will require daily feeding and/or care for the next 10 days at least...but could be a little longer. Last time I made it, I made it with pineapple juice which has more reliable results but I had an orange so I decided to use orange juice instead and see how it goes. Nothing but a few handfuls of flour and some orange juice lost if it doesn't work.

I was ready to crash at that point but I had two things left to do. There were a couple of misunderstanding this morning. Adam had left his pill bottle out but didn't tell me he wanted me to take care of it so I left it there. He ended up dropping it off on his way to work and I picked it up later which seems perfect. I had wanted him to check the roast's liquid level and flip the meat before he left but he didn't check his voicemail before he left home. We have this cork/white earse board. It's been in the trailer still so I went down and grabbed it. That is now our communication board. We can tack notes up there if there is something we need the other to know or do. It has become a necessity now that we don't actually see each other awake much. I wrote a note to him on it, explaining it and then telling him about where to find dinner.

Last but not least, I needed to put the laundry away. So I took the dogs out one last time then climbed the stairs to the bedroom, changed into my pajamas, folded, hung and put the laundry away. Then, I laid right down and fell asleep.

I still have things I need to do...that never changes...but I'm hoping that the next few days won't be so packed.

So, for the roast beef recipe...sorry, no pic...I just wanted to eat.

4 lbs beef roast
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 beef bouillon cube
1 bay leaf
4 peppercorns
1 teaspoon rosemary
1 teaspoon thyme
1 garlic clove, minced

Directions:
1. Add roast to slow cooker.
2. Add remaining ingredients.
3. Set to low heat.
4. Cook all day.

I added a couple cups of water to the crock pot so I would have enough broth for french dip sandwiches (on the rolls I made) tonight. It didn't make the broth weak tasting at all. In fact, I think I'll add a little more water next time so I can have even more yummy broth!