I'm done...

...with all my end of the year "stuff" (read: crap).

I finished last night at the church with all their bookkeeping.

For the past 15 years, the church that I work for as been on manual bookkeeping.  It really needed to be updated and 2011 was the year we moved everything over to Quickbooks and got on line.  But coming into the 21st century with the church had its drawbacks.  In prior years, I filled out two sheets of paper with all the pertinent information needed for the Archdiocese.  They didn't always like the fact that this was all the information that they got.

Well, this year, they sent a packet (a LARGE packet with smaller packets enclosed) and since we are now on Quickbooks, I could do a whole bunch of reports for them.  Last Saturday was spent getting the Chart of Accounts fixed because I had a few things wrong and I did two of the packets.  Last night, I finished the last packet of reports and I am done.

Next on the list:  FAFSA - and to those of you who have done it, you know that is a DREADED word!

Numbers are my nemesis this week!

On a better note, today is January 31st and it is going to be 52 degrees here in CT.  What is up with this weather????

Have a great day!

Nonni

Nonni went into the hospital yesterday.  She is staying in for another night tonight.  Dehydration, low blood sugar and pain.  

 For those that read my blog, prayers are appreciated.  She is 100 years young and she ate like a trooper for breakfast this morning.  I'm thankful for small things, like a good appetite for her!

Here she is last month at her 100th birthday bash!!!

A sorrowful goodbye

Rest in Peace
Shirley Bailey
You will be missed, but I'm glad your suffering is over.

God bless you on your journey to see your son and The Son.  I know that is all you wanted. 

Maria, where are you?

No, I haven't been blogging. No, I haven't been doing anything fun.  No, I haven't even spent any time with my husband or kids.  Hence, the title of this blog post!

These past two weeks have been spent on work - when you are a bookkeeper and you need to work on END of the YEAR stuff, you don't have a choice.  And when a new Zumba session is about to start, you have to dance and work.  And when a big project is going on at your real job, you need to work.  And when everyone is pulling you from every direction, you still have to work........

And when you schedule a vacation for the end of one of your busiest months - You are a FOOL!  (that would be me!)

So, this fool is out of the picture for a little while longer, while I finish all these jobs and take a much needed, well deserved, but ill-timed vacation!   

I will catch up with all my blog friends and all my posting and my life when I get back and finish out the month! 

WHEW!!!!

Mantra for today......

If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you always got, and you'll always feel what you always felt.
~Attributed to Henry Ford


Change is a-comin'!!!!!  I can feel it!

Recipe variation

Yesterday, I posted one of my old time favorite recipes.  I used to make it all the time.  Lately, I haven't been buying a lot of preserves (mostly because I have so many in my cold room), I decided to give this recipe a try, BUT with a twist.

I am not sure what to call it, so I'll continue to call it Apricot Chicken.....

1 Package of Chicken skinless chicken breasts (bone in or out - whichever you prefer)
1 cup of white wine
1 cup of olive oil
1 cup of apple cider vinegar
2  half pints of corn cob jelly (my last two from last summer) - (I have more corn cobs frozen so guess what I'll be doing soon)
1 Envelope Liption Onion Soup mix dry
Spices: Basil, garlic powder, whatever you like

Method:

Mix wine, oil, vinegar, jelly, spices and soup mix in a bowl.

Pour mixture over chicken in a 9 x 13 pan.  Cover tightly with foil for one hour at 350 degrees.  After one hour, baste with juices and take off cover for about 15 minutes.  Raise temperature to 375 and baste every five minutes. 

Delish!

Apricot Chicken

This used to be a family favorite recipe.  When my life changed and I moved back home many years ago, I forgot all about it and I know I haven't made it since I bought my new house, so it has been close to 10 years since I made this recipe. But it's so easy and so good.  It is sort of a Sweet/Sour Dish.

Apricot Chicken

1 Package of chicken (I usually use breasts, but use what ever you like - it should be skinless - I used five breasts - bone in)
1 jar of Apricot Preserves
1 bottle of Wish bone Italian Dressing (use whatever brand you like) 8 oz.
1 Lipton Onion Soup Mix Package Dry

Method:

Put Preserves, Dressing and Lipton onion soup mix package in a bowl.  Stir it up!

Put Chicken in a 9 x 13 pan, pour dressing mixture over everything. 

Cover with foil tightly for one hour at 350 degrees.  Uncover, baste the chicken with the dressing mixture and let cook a little longer (15 minutes) until it browns up a little.  I raised the oven temp. to 375 for the last 15 minutes. 

Serve with rice and salad. 

So easy and so good!

Tomorrow, I will post a variation on this recipe - I just made it and it was great also!

Guess what I watched last night?

Out of respect for my husband, I didn't blog last night....but today is a different story!

So, so, so excited that the Bronco's won!! 
Don't get me wrong, I love the Steelers, but I love an underdog MORE! 

What a game! 

My daughter didn't know which way to turn.  The Steelers are HER team, but she has been in love with Tebow for a while now (as in love as a 17 year old can be!) - so funny.......

I know I've talked about him in a few blog posts, so does everyone know who Tebow is today? Hmmm?

Freebies

The holidays have been busy and my time to look for freebies has been limited.  I only got a few things this past month - But at least it is all stuff I can use!

AmLacton Body Lotion (2)
Twining Tea (3)
Dove Hair Conditioning Oil
Dove Hair Conditioning Oil - Not sure how I scored two of these in the same week?

Cyrus - at one year old!

Our puppy turned one year old on January 2nd!

He still drives me nuts, he sheds more than I can handle, I still am not a dog person, but everyone loves him and he is actually a very good dog!

Here he is when we first got him:

And here he is today!

He weighs about 75 lbs....

New Year's Day

Happy New Year!

I hope you all had a wonderful day!  I spent my day cooking and cleaning!  But so thankful to be doing something that I really wanted to do!

I put five pieces of pork in the oven and it cooked over night, all night on low.  We love pulled pork and I also made homemade cole slaw with the last head of cabbage from the CSA - it was a great supper.

I cleaned out the refrigerator today - OMG, I should be embarrassed - it was SO bad!  It didn't have a lot of old food, but it was just dirty and needed to be cleaned top to bottom.....Done!

I put away the Christmas decorations on Saturday and the nativity got put away today!

Before church, I met my mom for coffee and she said she wanted to work in the back yard - it's 50 degrees in CT - ridiculously warm - and she wanted to do some things to get the garden winter ready.  So, I got there around 2:40.  By that time, her and my sister had already dug out two of the smaller fig trees and put them in the greenhouse for the winter.  I was a little late and she said the only thing she had left to do was wrap the fig trees for winter.  What?  Wrap fig trees?  Me?  This is my brother's job, but he has just been too busy!  So, since I knew that by Tuesday the 3rd of January, it would be 27 degrees, I figured I had better help!

So, I called on the Italian peasant farmer gods of old.  I have never even watched anyone wrap a tree, but between my mom and me, we figured it out.  My dad's fig trees are more like bushes - one is a white fig and the other, I'm not sure of.  So, we got out the twine, the old blankets and the tarps.  First, we wrapped up the branches tight to the center.  It took a few wraps of twine.  Next, we put on the blanket and tied that tightly around the bush with twine.  Next, we put tarp around the whole thing and tied that with twine, too.   We put a lot of rocks on the ground on top of the tarp so it wouldn't blow away.  We did two bushes and it doesn't look too bad. (one is about 6 feet, the other 5 feet tall)

So far, I have had to call on the Gods of my ancestors twice (the farmers) and both times, they have come through for me.  Since, I have decided to examine my life this year and figure out which direction I am heading for 2012, maybe more farming is in my future?

Oh no....

Hubby just walked into the house and said next week, the Pittsburgh Steelers are playing the Denver Broncos.....and he is serious!

My daughter wants a plane ticket to see Tim Tebow and Troy Polamalu - her two favorites!

Who to root for?