Have you ever gotten a gift and thought, what makes this person think I would like something like this? My hubby has started this tradition of cheesy gifts. One year for Christmas he gave me a lemon spritzer. Well I got him one of those things you can put in the car door to help you get out of the car, I think it is called a car cane. He found it before I could give it to him and decided he would get me something ugly for Valentines too. He gave me the giant magnifying glasses he found in "as seen on TV" section of the drug store. He took offense that I gave him the cane thing to help him in and out of the car so he decided he would get me something to make me feel old. I was being sincere when I got the cane thing. He does have trouble getting out of the car because of his knee, I was not saying anything about him being old.
He did get me a box of really good chocolate and silly card that I really liked.
So, has anyone ever given you a gadget or something silly as a gift? Do you think they really meant it in a mean way or were they sincere? Sometimes we think that we are getting someone a great gift and our intentions are the very best but, the recipient of our gift is not as impressed.
Showing posts with label Valentines. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Valentines. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 15, 2017
Wednesday, February 17, 2016
What's Cooking Wednesday???
You know I do not normally cook on Wednesdays because at our house it is "Whacky Wednesday." The kids get pizza because of the special our pizza place runs every Wednesday. They eat for two days for $15, you just cannot beat that. The hubbs and I usually fix something for us that the kids do not like, tuna or soup.
For our Valentines meal we had roast, baked beans, and fresh (frozen from our garden) black eyed peas and tater tots (for the boys). I cooked the peas in a little beef broth with a little fatback and they were wonderful. The hubbs loves his garden fresh veggies, thank goodness his peas are easy to freeze.
The balsamic roast recipe, I found on Pinterest and it is the one I shared on "What to Cook if it Snows????" This was a great recipe, usually I have leftovers to use in soup the next day or so. I had no leftovers with this one. Very moist and very tasty the kids even liked it.
I love my crock pot and I use it a great deal, especially during the winter months, it is so easy and economical. My father-in-law gave me my first crock pot, I am not sure why I did not get one as a Wedding gift or why I did not buy one for myself. I was so excited to have this new gadget and was not quite sure what to fix in it. I think the first thing I fixed was a chili, the hubbs and I loved chili that was one of the first things I made for him when we were dating. I had always just used a big stove top pot to cook my chili in. The crock pot made it so convenient and I did not have to worry about babysitting it all day. I still have that pot that my father-in-law gave me but I also have a larger pot that I use most of the time since I am trying to feed four.
When the hubbs and I were first married I traveled a good bit with my job so I got to go to some neat places. On one of my trips I visited Cincinnati, the company took us to the Montgomery Inn to have dinner. I had the Cincinnati chili and I loved it. It was very different than any other chili I had eaten. While going through the airport on my way home I stopped in the gift shop and found a little magnet with a Cincinnati chili recipe on it and that is what I will share with you today. I hope you like it, it is different.
Cincinnati Chili
1 1/2 lbs ground beef
1 (29 oz) can tomato sauce
1 (14 1/2oz) can peeled whole tomatoes
small onion chopped
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp allspice
1tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 1/2 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp white vinegar
1 clove of garlic
3 bay leaves
Brown meat with onions and drain grease. Add to crock pot then add all the other ingredients cook for 4-5 hours covered on low. Remove garlic and bay leaves before serving. In Cincinnati they server their chili over spaghetti and topped with cheese, onions, and sour cream. You can fix it any way you like but all the way is the best.
Until we eat again . . .
For our Valentines meal we had roast, baked beans, and fresh (frozen from our garden) black eyed peas and tater tots (for the boys). I cooked the peas in a little beef broth with a little fatback and they were wonderful. The hubbs loves his garden fresh veggies, thank goodness his peas are easy to freeze.
The balsamic roast recipe, I found on Pinterest and it is the one I shared on "What to Cook if it Snows????" This was a great recipe, usually I have leftovers to use in soup the next day or so. I had no leftovers with this one. Very moist and very tasty the kids even liked it.
I love my crock pot and I use it a great deal, especially during the winter months, it is so easy and economical. My father-in-law gave me my first crock pot, I am not sure why I did not get one as a Wedding gift or why I did not buy one for myself. I was so excited to have this new gadget and was not quite sure what to fix in it. I think the first thing I fixed was a chili, the hubbs and I loved chili that was one of the first things I made for him when we were dating. I had always just used a big stove top pot to cook my chili in. The crock pot made it so convenient and I did not have to worry about babysitting it all day. I still have that pot that my father-in-law gave me but I also have a larger pot that I use most of the time since I am trying to feed four.
When the hubbs and I were first married I traveled a good bit with my job so I got to go to some neat places. On one of my trips I visited Cincinnati, the company took us to the Montgomery Inn to have dinner. I had the Cincinnati chili and I loved it. It was very different than any other chili I had eaten. While going through the airport on my way home I stopped in the gift shop and found a little magnet with a Cincinnati chili recipe on it and that is what I will share with you today. I hope you like it, it is different.
Cincinnati Chili
1 1/2 lbs ground beef
1 (29 oz) can tomato sauce
1 (14 1/2oz) can peeled whole tomatoes
small onion chopped
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp allspice
1tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 1/2 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp white vinegar
1 clove of garlic
3 bay leaves
Brown meat with onions and drain grease. Add to crock pot then add all the other ingredients cook for 4-5 hours covered on low. Remove garlic and bay leaves before serving. In Cincinnati they server their chili over spaghetti and topped with cheese, onions, and sour cream. You can fix it any way you like but all the way is the best.
Until we eat again . . .
Monday, February 15, 2016
Happy Valentines Day. . .
Do you have any Valentines traditions with your kids or your hubby? I have always gotten my boys a small box of chocolates for Valentines. My mom and dad always got my sister and I a box of chocolates and so I do the same for my kids. It may seem silly but to me my boys are my second loves of my life after my sweet hubby. It is funny how you follow traditions your parents set for you. That is why I always say as parents we set the tone for how our kids will behave as adults. In my Juvenile Justice class this is called the Social Learning theory, so it is a thing and I am not just blowing smoke.
This year I decided I would do something a little different for the boys. I think I saw this on Pinterest, so this is not all me. I bought them a small box of chocolates, I ate the chocolates. I decided I would put money in the place of the chocolate. I would never eat my kids chocolate without a good reason. They ended up with $33 in an assortment of bills. I also had bought them a tiny box of chocolate that I did not eat. Oh, the sacrifices we make as moms.
I had everything set up at the breakfast table Sunday morning. I got my hubby a cute pair of boxers with hearts and kisses on them and a bar of dark chocolate with chili pepper. We do a simple Valentines with each other, nothing real extravagant. When we were younger and before kids we did more extravagant things for each other but it seems wasteful to spend so much on flowers just because it is Valentines day and Dave Ramsey would frown on that.
I had to be at Church early to set up Communion so I had to hear about their reaction from the hubbs. Big T was of course the first one up and he noticed right away there was something wrong with the one box of candy. It did not have the cellophane around it. He asked his dad, "what is wrong with this candy?" The hubbs played dumb and Big T opened the box, he was thrilled with the money. He then asked what happened to the candy. The hubbs told him I had made the ultimate sacrifice and I had eaten it to make room for the money. Sprat, being the typical teenager, had no reaction.
I hope one day my kids realize that I tried to make their days special and I hope they realize the effort that went in to doing these little things.
I will share a quick story about the hubbs and I on Valentines. Many years ago before we were married, we had plans to go out to dinner for Valentines. I went over to his apartment and he was not ready so I waited in the living area. There was a balloon tied to the remote. As I came in the apartment he said, thanks for the balloon. I told him I had not sent the balloon. He said, really, maybe you should check the card. I looked at the card and there was a poem that started my scavenger hunt for my Valentines. The hubby is quite poetic when he wants to be. My scavenger hunt went all over the apartment and ended with the most beautiful bouquet of roses hidden in the bedroom closet. The hubbs is very creative with his gift giving. He still has glimmers of this now and again. This Valentines I got some dark chocolate and sushi. Yummmm.
Below is a picture of one of the boys box of money.
This year I decided I would do something a little different for the boys. I think I saw this on Pinterest, so this is not all me. I bought them a small box of chocolates, I ate the chocolates. I decided I would put money in the place of the chocolate. I would never eat my kids chocolate without a good reason. They ended up with $33 in an assortment of bills. I also had bought them a tiny box of chocolate that I did not eat. Oh, the sacrifices we make as moms.
I had everything set up at the breakfast table Sunday morning. I got my hubby a cute pair of boxers with hearts and kisses on them and a bar of dark chocolate with chili pepper. We do a simple Valentines with each other, nothing real extravagant. When we were younger and before kids we did more extravagant things for each other but it seems wasteful to spend so much on flowers just because it is Valentines day and Dave Ramsey would frown on that.
I had to be at Church early to set up Communion so I had to hear about their reaction from the hubbs. Big T was of course the first one up and he noticed right away there was something wrong with the one box of candy. It did not have the cellophane around it. He asked his dad, "what is wrong with this candy?" The hubbs played dumb and Big T opened the box, he was thrilled with the money. He then asked what happened to the candy. The hubbs told him I had made the ultimate sacrifice and I had eaten it to make room for the money. Sprat, being the typical teenager, had no reaction.
I hope one day my kids realize that I tried to make their days special and I hope they realize the effort that went in to doing these little things.
I will share a quick story about the hubbs and I on Valentines. Many years ago before we were married, we had plans to go out to dinner for Valentines. I went over to his apartment and he was not ready so I waited in the living area. There was a balloon tied to the remote. As I came in the apartment he said, thanks for the balloon. I told him I had not sent the balloon. He said, really, maybe you should check the card. I looked at the card and there was a poem that started my scavenger hunt for my Valentines. The hubby is quite poetic when he wants to be. My scavenger hunt went all over the apartment and ended with the most beautiful bouquet of roses hidden in the bedroom closet. The hubbs is very creative with his gift giving. He still has glimmers of this now and again. This Valentines I got some dark chocolate and sushi. Yummmm.
Below is a picture of one of the boys box of money.
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Valentines Day . . .
My dad and mom always got my sister and I a small box of chocolates for Valentines. It was always there beside our breakfast dishes with a card. I have been doing the same for my boys since they were little. I always get a little choked up(shock surprise) on Valentines thinking about my folks and all the little things they did for us as kids. It really is the little things that your kids will remember. I remember the orchids we got for Easter to wear to Church and of course our Easter baskets. I got the boys a small box of the Russell Stover chocolates with the teddy bear on top. Thomas still likes to sleep with little bears and stuffed animals, Jack cannot because of his allergies but he still likes getting them. I was trying to get Toms' bear off of the box of chocolates when Basil saw it. She thought it was for her. She followed Thomas around all morning waiting to get her toy. Basil has a small bear similar to the one on the chocolates that she plays with and I guess she thought she was getting a new one. I guess I should be ashamed for not getting my only daughter a Valentines toy. I will be running by the drug store to pick up another box of chocolates for my sweet Basil. The bear for her and I guess I will have to eat those darn chocolates myself. My, my, what a mother has to do for her babies, even the four legged babies. Happy Valentines Day!
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