2014 Yard Make Over

This April, I noted that our house looked pretty drab and lackluster. Being a lover of bright colors, I wanted to jazz things up a bit with out breaking the bank. Here are the "before" pictures from April:

For the whole project, it cost less than $500. We had someone aerate and fertilize the lawn, and we reseeded it with grass. We raked the rock out of the flower beds in front of the house and added mulch, and a few bushes (which will take some time to grow). We painted the garage door in a carriage door style, power washed the front of the house, added shutters, window boxes, and flowers. The lights and mailbox were painted black (they were previously an old dingy brass color). We took the numbers off the house, painted them black and added them to a red wooden background.   Here's what we came up with: 

We still have landscaping work to do, but I think it looks pretty cute and cottage-y now! Oh, also, I got this super cute owl decoration at the Old Market Farmer's Market! I'm thinking we still need to add a big metal star to the front top of the house, but the jury is still out on that one.

Crock Pot Turkey?? YES!! And Many Other Amazingly Simple Crock Pot Ideas!!

I am all about quick and easy when it comes to cooking. I mean, once in a while I will plan something that takes planning and effort, but on a weekday, my main purpose to to be able to eat with minimal time, money, and effort, so that I can move on to the next big thing. I thought about multi-purpose cooking- i.e. I cook a turkey and can have turkey one night and make it stretch into turkey sandwiches, turkey and noodles, etc. So, I decided to try turkey in a crockpot today. I LOVE crockpots. I have 2 of them and use them at least twice a week.They are the best invention since the dawn of electricity, besides the internet.

So... crockpot turkey. It's necessary to find a turkey to fit in your crockpot. Probably less than 10 lbs. (If you have a small crockpot, cook a chicken instead.) My turkey was almost 9 lbs. I slathered it up in olive oil, like it was going to a wrestling match, and then sprinkled it with rotisserie seasoning - note - I said rotisserie seasoning, not seasoning salt, because that might make it a wee too salty, unless that's how you like your meat. Then I just threw it in the crockpot till I got home from work. Now, my crockpot, is timed at 4, 8, and 10 hour increments. I set it for 10 hour. If you have a crockpot that only sets at "high" or "low", turn it to high, and go to work!  (But keep reading, because there is more to the story.)

When I got home from work, the turkey smelled so good and the meat was falling off the bone. The skin, however, was still pale, and kind of slimy looking, so I put the meat onto a cookie sheet and put it in the oven on "Broil". I left it in for about 15 minutes, which, as you can tell, was a bit too long. So I would say to put it in for about 8-10 min. and go from there.

I can't brag up a crock pot enough. I throw together my ingredients the night before, put the crockpot in the refrigerator overnight, and take it out and turn it on the next morning before I go to work. When I get home, dinner is prepared and I can RELAX!! I've listed some of the things that I make in my crock pot. Keep in mind, I stick with the quick and easy basics. You can always add more spices and frills here and there to jazz things up. With MOST crock pot recipes, if you are going to be gone all day, it is best to put them on a "low" setting. Keep in mind, I work an 8 hour day, so with travel time, most of these recipes cook for about 9 hours.

Beef Stroganoff- 1-2 lbs stew meat, 2 cans of golden mushroom soup,and a "skotch" (a word my dad used, pronounced with a long "O", which means 'a little bit') of Worchestershire sauce. When you get home, stir in a carton of sour cream.  Serve over cooked egg noodles or mashed potatoes.

Pork chops- add 1-2 lbs porkchops and mix in a can of cream of mushroom soup. Thicker pork chops work better, but you CAN use the thin breakfast chops. They will take much less time to cook, probably 3-5 hours.

Chicken tacos - mix one jar of salsa with 1-2 lbs boneless skinless breasts. Serve as you normally would with tacos.

Sante Fe Chicken - 1-2lbs boneless skinless breast, 1 can corn (drained), 1 can black beans, 1 packet taco seasoning (I like to use only about 1/2 a packet). When you get home, add in 1 block of cream cheese. After this melts, serve over brown rice.

Beef Stew- this one is kind of a free for all. You can use stew meat OR hamburger. Some people prefer to brown and drain the hamburger ahead of time (maybe with diced onion), but I don't. Then add a 28 oz can of stewed tomatoes, corn (undrained), green beans (undrained), and whatever spices you like. I prefer bay leaves, rosemary, and thyme.

Beef Roast - this one was funny because I had an argument at work with a lady about who had the best roast recipe. Come to find out we were using the same recipe that we got off Pinterest! Place your roast in the crock pot. Cover it with a packet of Hidden Valley Ranch ranch salad dressing. Add a stick of butter on top of this. Top it off with 5 pepperoncini peppers. DELICIOUS!!

Ribs- Beef or Pork- Cook in crockpot without any sauce. After cooking, remove from crockpot, baste with a favorite BBQ sauce and place under broiler for a few minutes.

Chili- Browned hamburger, onion, 2 cans of red kidney beans (drained), 2 cans of stewed tomatoes (undrained), and chili powder to taste. I like to serve this with shredded cheese on top.

Ham and Beans- Brian, my significant other and I argue greatly about this recipe. I use ham hocks or pigs feet in this recipe. I use them because of the fat content that gives flavor to the recipe. Brian is used to having ham and beans made with cut up chunks of a processed ham (which sounds absolutely flavorless and gross to me). The first time I served him ham and beans he was horrified, and still teases me about trying to serve him a "HOOF". Regardless, you can flavor with which ever meat you prefer. I use a bag of lima beans, which often come with seasoning packets, or I season with onion, cumin, salt, and a bit of garlic. The bag of beans will say to pre-soak the beans, but I have never seen the benefit in that. I just rinse them and use them. fill the crockpot almost to the top with water. Serve these with a plate of corned bread. YUMZA!

                     There you have it! Easy, peasy, lemon squeezey!!

OOOOOHHHH Did you say HOUSE MAKE OVER??

So, I love daydreaming about houses. I probably watch too much HGTV. I can't get enough Property Brothers, Love It or List It, or House Hunters International. (I especially like to watch them when I go to bed because they are not SO exciting that I have to stay awake till the end of them.)

Anyway, I ESPECIALLY love how on Property Brothers, they take a hideous old house and turn it into something magnificent. That got my wheels turning. I was thinking about how my house is too large for me, and that the idea of downsizing wouldn't be the worst idea I've ever had. If I had a smaller house, I would pay less in utilities, pay less in mortgage, and have less house to clean. More time + more money = more life optimization!! :)

 Currently, I love the home that I am in. The significant other and I have done quite a bit of work to it, and while it is not "completed" yet, it has that cozy, homey feeling that I cherish, and has my "touches" through out the house so I am not getting my knickers in a knot about the idea of selling it......but I'm a daydreamer.

So I started playing around on the internet. There are some CHEAP houses in Omaha, NE and Council Bluffs, IA. Now, these might not be beauties to look at, BUT....if you were in the position to downsize, or even if you were buying your first home, and you bought a house for, say, $60,000, and put another $30,000 in renovation into it making it the way YOU want it, you would have a cute, inexpensive, easy to maintain home!

This is a sample of my house hunt tonight. I wish I could show you the inside pictures or give you the links, but I am not that blog-savy yet.

This lakeside house in Bellevue, NE is for sale for $45,000!!  3 bed, 2 bath. While it is pretty plain to look at on the front, it's nothing some landscaping couldn't take care of! This house looks is tastefully decorated and well kept on the inside. This one is kind of a mystery to me, as in Aug. 2005, it sold for $97,000.

This 3 bed, 1 bath house is $77,000. Cute from the outside, looks like a band of gypsies on an acid trip on the inside. UGLY DECORATING! Easily fixed though!

This 2 bed 1 bath house is selling for $49,000. It has a new water heater, furnace, and electrical. Heck, for that price, through a new bathroom in there, fix it up, and call it home!

Welcome! To my FIRST Blog EVEEER!!

So, tonight I thought I should do something productive. I considered cleaning my house, but, meeehh, I wasn't feeling it. I had been toying around for some time with the idea of writing a blog, maybe even for about a year now, so I thought I could maybe take the opportunity to kick it off the ol' bucket list.

After much consideration about what I would write about (because I know a little about a lot of stuff, but the term "expert" might be held in questionable regard if I ever so claimed to be one), I thought I would make the topic of my blog about what I love most: Having Fun!! (without breaking the bank), meeting goals,  trying out new experiences, and in general, trying to make the most of my little pea pickin' life.

This whole thing came about recently due to some changes that have occurred which caused me to question what is most important to me. What do I REALLY want out of life? I'm 39 years old. The days of "When I grow up..." are done gone. I really need to step up to the plate and make it happen. After much deliberation, I came up with the following (in no particular order):

• I want my kids to be happy and healthy. For any parent, that's kind of a given, so I feel like a putz for listing it, or a schmuck if I left it off.
• To make a comfortable living at a job I enjoy. I don't need prestige. It's over-rated. You could work 40 years at a job and be the president of the company, but 2 years after you die, they won't even remember your name. And I don't want to be rich because I don't want to have to work that hard. 
• A strong social connection is important to me.
• Hobbies are important also, to keep me from being bored when I am alone. My worst enemies are loneliness and boredom. I used to HATE to be alone, but as I'm growing old and lame, I'm beginning to like it, as long as I don't let myself get bored. (When I get to be really old and bored someday, I plan to get a box of ferrets to keep me busy.) New experiences keep me from getting bored also, so I'm always craving a new experience.
• I want to be productive and I want to give back to the community. I really need to start some volunteer work, and I will when I get over this procrastination phase.
• Mega-mansions really aren't my style. I want to live someplace cozy and comfortable, preferably with bright colors and lots of sunlight.
• And I want to travel.

So THAT'S what this blog is going to be about. How I, and you, if you are so inclined, can work to achieve living an exciting, fulfilling, cozy, comfortable life without having to wait on old Uncle Harry to leave us his inheritance. MAYBE, once in a while, I will throw in my social commentary about why the world really MIGHT be better if I was the queen, but I will TRY to keep that to a minimum.

WELCOME! I hope you follow me on my journey!
     
                                                             Amanda