Waking Up The Dead - On A School Morning..

It's 6:15 AM and my alarm goes off -not because I have to get ready for work but because my teenage daughters need to get up and ready for school.. I get up - walk to each of their rooms - turn their lights on and tell them to "Get up" - Sometimes I'll hear a grunt or two - or maybe an "okay".. Then I go back to bed to sleep rest my eyes... And every 15-20 minutes - I will holler to my lovely daughters - "GET UP NOW!!" I will hear lies through the walls - "Mom, I'm up" or "I'm dressed"... I know they are lying because I don't hear their IPods playing their awful music (Man, I just did sound like my mother - didn't I?) and I don't hear them walking around... I have Mommy ears and I do hear everything

This morning - exactly one hour to the minute - I called my oldest into my bedroom.... She was still in her pajamas - sleepy in her eyes - her hair sticking up everywhere.... She spoke to me only as a teenager who has caught my last nerve would.... Her exact words were.... "Mom, it only takes me five minutes to get up" Every mother of a teen knows exactly the voice she used... The one where she sounds annoyed as if I'm the guilty party of disturbing her beauty sleep....

Ten minutes later she makes her way down stairs (we are to leave in less than 3 minutes) - she starts looking through the cabinets for breakfast and her lunch... She ever so s l o w l y takes out the peanut butter and jelly- She covers every part of the white on the bread - her sister is starting to hyperventilate (her school is further away) and my eldest gives her the teenage/sister "I'm going super slow just to bug the crap out of you" look... So I did what any fed up mother would... I grabbed my keys - told her she's walking to school and jumped in the car... As I was walking out the door - I hear "Whhhaaaaaaaaaat?"

My guilt made me go around the block and come back - not because she would have to walk but because she would be super late to school.. But I'm pretty sure - I scared her enough to be ready on time tomorrow... At least I hope I did....

Every 15 Minutes - A Drunk Driver Kills

Bottom of post is a video created by a high school for this event - Worth the Watch

When I was in high school a good friend of mine killed someone....

My friend D had just turned 18 years old and he had been celebrating the New Year ringing into 1983 when he got behind the wheel of his car... D did not believe he was drunk - He was happy.. He was having a fun time until..... he lost control of his car and plowed into another car killing the driver... Six months later my dear sweet friend was in jail and he would remain there until well after his next birthday.... D was a good kid - A good kid who made a bad mistake... Today many many years later - he still feels the pain of that fatal night 29 years ago...

Several years ago my niece was asked to participate in a school event called Every 15 Minutes... As my sister was explaining to me what was going to happen - I could not help but cry... You see - my niece was going to "die" by a drunk driver - She would leave the school - No one would see her - and my sister had the most difficult task of all - writing her daughter's obituary... Although, it was make believe - just the thought of losing my beautiful talented and so very special niece was very hard to take..

Last week - my daughter's high school had their version of Every 15 Minutes - because my daughter is a sophomore she did not participate but many of her friends did and they told her how difficult it was not to cry....

The last couple of weeks I have been planning my daughter's Sweet Sixteen Party and I can't help but think that pretty soon she will behind the wheel of a car and she will most likely attend parties where there will be drinking and many friends will be driving (hopefully - she will never consider drinking and driving or riding with someone that is)... It's hard because kids (and many adults) think that they are good drivers when they are drunk or they may think that nothing bad is going to happen to them... It's a scary time as a parent... One of the things that I have told both of my girls - is that if they do drink at a party or if their ride is drinking - They have a free pass to call me regardless of the time and I will pick up whoever needs to be driven somewhere - no questions asked and no punishment given.... That doesn't mean I won't lecture or be leery the next time they go out... But I need to let them know that their safety is number 1 - Period... And I don't want them fearful of calling home..

Enough Said

Well Did I Save Money?

In January I challenged myself to save money and I have no doubt I did with a few exceptions....

I am a very big diet coke drinker.... I saved about $93.00 not buying my 2 liters a day...

We used to eat out several days a week - For the month of January we stayed home - I saved about $465 - I think this is a low estimate.

I stopped our cable movie channels - We never watched them anyway - Saved $45 per month.

Coupons and shopping at Target saved me on average $15-$20 a grocery shopping trip..

The unexpected expense was our dog Charlie - When I took her into the vet for her yearly shots - She had an ear infection and she was tested for a thyroid problem - They did find a urinary tract infection - so my bill out the door was over $400... The vet wants me to bring her in this month to biopsy a growth on her paw - She will have to go under and that bill would be in excess of $700 and that's with a discount...

My main dinner staple was spaghetti - the kids like it - so whenever the spouse was not home for dinner that was the main meal.. Crock pot whole chicken another favorite - This is great for dinner and lunch for a couple of days.. I tried out a few new recipes - A wonderful BBQ beef crock pot - most definitely will do again - The chicken and rice - FAIL.. - The tuna casserole - Could have been better.. The clam chowder - yummy.. Cream cheese chicken and broccoli was awesome and fed us another dinner and a couple of lunches...

I learned that feeding a family of 4 on $10 a day is not an easy thing to do - but it is doable. I was pretty strict this month - from now on - not as strict - cereal in the morning is not a must... We can change it up a little... And PB & J sandwiches although good could be exchanged for a turkey and cheese on occasion... And I have discovered that Pizza Hut $10 large pizza special is less expense then my own concoction... Making the pizza wasn't cheap - but I do have to say my version was pretty tasty...

All in all - I did save money - I think I will see the benefits in the long run - I will continue to be more thrifty and on occasion and only on occasion will we eat out or I will buy a 2 liter of diet coke... Maybe if it's on sale.....

I did plan to post every day during the month of January - but my business has really gotten busy and in my down time - I'm lying on my belly - chin on the couch arm watching American Idol....

January Challenge Day 25

I just realized that I have saved over $78 this month by not buying diet coke or bottle iced tea...

I truly believe I have saved over $200 thus far this month by not going out to dinner or popping by a fast food joint for a quick soda....

Thought that was pretty cool..........

This recipe lasted us a few days - so yummy - 2 dinners and 3 lunches for two (2) people and the neighbors had a bite too!

Cream Cheese Chicken Casserole

6 Chicken breasts
2-10 oz packages frozen broccoli
2 cups of milk - I used non-fat - tasted good
2- 8 oz packages cream cheese - I used low fat - tasted great
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
3/4 cup Parmesan cheese

Cook the chicken and then break into bite size pieces. Cook broccoli in salted water. Place the broccoli in a 9x13 greased (I used Pam) casserole dish. Heat the milk, cream cheese, salt, garlic powder, and Parmesan cheese over low head, stirring till the mixture is smooth. Pour 1 cup of sauce over the broccoli. Add the chicken into the pan and pour the rest of the sauce over it. Sprinkle the top with 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minute.... And enjoy!

Kara my youngest helping me - stir the sauce until it's creamy

Yummy cooked broccoli
Broccoli with sauce

Chicken covering the broccoli
The Finished dish - with croissants