Walmart vs Aldi - a REAL comparison

I must confess: well it's no secret I have a love-hate relationship with Walmart. I hate the parking lot, the morons inside and everything in between. But a girl on a budget can't beat the prices. Or so I thought. Lately in the Atlanta area, I'm sure across the country as well, Walmart has been running price comparison ads where you can save 13%!!! Wake me when I can save 30-40%, then we'll talk. Thirteen percent isn't enough to cover the road rage I experience trying to get up and down each miserable aisle in an effort just to get the hell out as quickly as possible!!!

So I decided to do my own comparison, to Aldi. My wonderful, small, easy to get in and out Aldi.

Let's see how Walmart stacks up to ALDI!!!

I went yesterday, 12.20.12, around lunch time, to Aldi then I left there, when 1 mile up the road to Walmart. That's right! I must be insane, but it brought me much joy to do the comparison on things I buy regularly. I compared store brand, since that's pretty much all Aldi is, to store brand at Walmart, Great Value. Same sizes and when the sizes were not comparable I did a unit price break down.

Here's what I found:

Item	Aldi	Walmart
gallon of milk	2.39	3.23
dozen eggs	0.99	1.88
16 oz butter (sticks)	1.99	2.49
5 lb bag of flour	1.59	1.78
sugar (Aldi 4lb $2.12, Walmart 5lb $2.88)	.53 per lb	.576 per lb
48 oz vegetable oil	2.49	2.64
8oz cream cheese (bar)	0.99	1.78
16oz tub sour cream	1.29	1.48
24oz jar spaghetti sauce	1.19	1.33
angel hair pasta (Aldi 32oz $1.69, Walmart 16oz $1.00)	.0528 per oz	.0625 per oz
15 oz breadcrumbs	0.89	1.08
15 oz canned peas	0.65	0.68
canned corn (Aldi 15oz $.49, Walmart 15.25oz $.68)	.03266 per oz	.0445 per oz
28oz can whole tomatoes	0.99	1.08
8oz block mozzarella cheese	1.49	2.32
8oz pre-sliced swiss cheese	1.99	2.38
24 oz bottle dish soap	1.89	1.97
6pk full size Hershey bars	3.79	3.94

WHAT?! Walmart wasn't cheaper?! That's what I've been trying to tell you! Walmart does not always have the best price!  If you don't have an Aldi in your area, then yes Walmart is the best price option. But if you do have an Aldi, I URGE you to check it out. Wait till I do a cereal comparison!  You'll be stunned! And no Aldi does not carry everything.  Example: yesterday red wine vinegar was on my list, but Aldi doesn't carry it, so I bought it at Walmart.  But I have noticed that over the last 4 years, Aldi has expanded their food selections and they offer more and more items all the time.

In the meantime I will continue to buy everything I possibly can at Aldi at much better prices! 

Happy Saving! 

Wendy

Tis the Season to be.... crazy!

I must confess: I really love Christmas, but its such a crazy time of year! I always feel like it's over before I get a chance to enjoy it. This year my shopping was done before Thanksgiving. All 80 holiday cards went out earlier this week. Note to self, pare down list for next year.

Please enjoy this years Christmas card!

Wrapping isn't finished, and baking isn't done either. Hopefully this week?! We don't even put up a tree since we aren't home for Christmas. Each year we alternate which set of parents we spend Christmas with (and Easter and Thanksgiving). This year it's a beach Christmas in Florida with my in-laws. Then, when we return, a trip to SC to see my parents. No wonder people take 2 weeks vacation, you need it to recover from all the traveling!

Hoping you have a wonderful Christmas season and Happy Hanukkah too!

Happy Holidays,

Wendy

I love my pets!

I must confess: my patience is wearing thin for my animals. I love my pets, don't get me wrong, but lately, I'm telling you, I'm being tested!

It all started a couple of months ago when our youngest dog, Max got an ear infection. A trip to the vet, rounds of medicine we fight him to take and a follow up to the vet.

Then one day about a week later our youngest cat, Sherman decided to pee in the den on the carpet, in front of me. A trip to the vet, to find out he's diabetic. While being treated and taking him to the vet once a week until we find the right dosage of insulin, he is still peeing all over the house. Great, now the carpets need to be torn out and the flooring replaced. Success, we found the right dosage! No more peeing in the house! My new wood floors will be ok! Wrong, the first day of the floors being ripped up, he pees right on the concrete, 3 times. Back to the vet. Oh yeah, they tell me, being diabetic can cause urinary tract infections. Lets give him more medicine he'll fight me to take and throw up later. Great! 

Diabetic Sherman

Ear Infection Max

The new floors go in and things are calming down. No more peeing. YAY! 

Two weeks later, my oldest dog, Lola is chewing herself raw! WTH! Off to the vet we go.

She has fleas, what?!?! Are you freaking kidding me? Crap. Back home with more medicine for another animal that I will fight with. Then I spend the next 9 hours washing everything that will fit in the washing machine in hot water. The medicine starts working, she isn't chewing as much. I'm getting a break. Sort of. Then I catch her peeing on the rug in the living room on my new wood floors. Crap, back to the vet. Oh yeah, didn't we tell you that a side effect of the steroids is peeing, A LOT. Great, that rug goes in the trash.

And now diabetic cat, Sherman has a skin infection. Back to the vet, more medicine that he throws up all over the place. 

 Fleas Lola

Seriously how much can one girl take? In all since August we have spent $1566.75 on medicines, vet exams, etc. Do you know how many shoes that could buy? At $50 a pair, 31. Thirty one pairs of shoes! But these are my babies. My children. What else can I do but maybe get a job to pay for it all?

Still an animal lover,

Wendy

Madonna Review

I must confess: the Madonna concert was good. It was weird, but good.

The rumors of her late arrival were all true. Knowing that she had been showing up late, we didn't arrive in our seats until 9:45pm, and we still waiting for 45 minutes to go on. It was a let down between the opening act of Paul Oakenfold who we saw for 15 minutes and waiting another 30 minutes for her to finally take the stage. The crowd lost its mo-jo. I read that in Miami two days later she didn't show up until 11:23pm. People were pissed, left and asked for refunds. Can't say that I blame them.

The concert itself was different. I felt like at times she was trying too hard and other times she was trying to shock and awe a group of people who probably don't shock and awe very easily. But that's Madonna and she is still the queen, as we were reminded by Nicki Minaj during the concert, who made a pre-recorded video appearance. A little dig at Lady Gaga? Jealous much Madonna?

She played for a solid two hours and no encore. She even chastised a guy in the pit for having his arms crossed while she performed. 'I'm working my ass off up here' she said to the guy. I was thinking: for the amount of money he paid to see you work your ass off, he should be able to do what ever the hell he wants!

All in all, I can say 'been there done that' but I won't be attending another Madonna concert any time soon. 

Below from left to right, my cousin, Kristine, myself and my sister-in-law, Amy.  The company was AMAZING!!!!

 

Wendy

Giving Thanks

I must confess: I hope I'm as thankful as I should be. I have nothing to complain about. I have everything I could ever ask for in life. I really do. The material things don't matter. They can all be replaced, for the most part. I have an amazing husband, family and friends. What more can anyone ask for? Nothing. This month on facebook many people are posting their daily thanks as their status. Here are mine, all at once!

Things I am thankful for:

1. my husband, Eric- love of my life, my best friend, and puts up with my crazy.

2. my parents- I am so lucky to have them; as role models for marriage and I am thankful they are still here on earth and that I can call them and say 'I don't know what to do, help me'

3. my brother- who when all is said and done, he is the deepest link to my childhood and past

4. my in-laws- who love and treat me as if I was one of their own and another good role model for marriage

5. my sister-in-law, a sister and a friend

6. my aunts & uncles- my other parents and those who gave me a thick skin

7. my cousins- with whom I am very close and that have my back no matter what- they are more like siblings to me than cousins.

8. being an Aunt- nothing give me greater joy than being called Aunt Wendy. Even if they are the children of my friends or cousins. I LOVE being Aunt Wendy. To me, it's next best thing to be a mom.

9. my high school friends- way too many to name: who got me through elementary, Jr and Sr high, with tons of support, love and laughs. I can look back on those years as a good, fun experience.

10. my college friends- who also loved, supported me and I had WICKED good times with, that I can also look back and think of those years as fun and a major growing up time for me.

11. the rest of my friends- that I've met along the way on this journey called life- from the friends who are still in college and the ones looking at retirement. I find that having friends of all age groups gives me different perspectives on life. Especially when you need them most.

12. a house- I have a roof over my head for which I am very thankful

13. electricity, cable, internet, indoor plumbing, heating & air- the little conveniences that we take for granted every day. As the people in Northeast affected by Hurricane Sandy can attest.

14. a car- so glad I don't have to rely on anyone else or public transportation to get around. It equals freedom, this is the teenager in me!

15. my right to vote- so many women fought and paid the price for my right to vote. I exercise it as much as possible and not just for a presidential election. We need to teach our younger girls how important it is to exercise this right for the women who fought so hard to get it. And for people still trying to get it in foreign countries.

16. my animals- who make me crazy sometimes, but I love how much fun they are.

17. my angels in heaven- I believe they are with me when I need it most. They keep me safe and when necessary give me patience when I need it most.

18. healthcare- I am very grateful for our medical, dental and vision plans. So many are with out, I'm so glad to have them.

19. books, music, movies and TV- a wonderful way to escape reality and on occasion, learn something new.

20. living in the South- the cost of living is much cheaper down here, the climate is better, longer summers=shorter winters, little to no snow and only a few hours to the best beaches in the country. All of this is my opinion, some people love the snow, I do not.

21. Snellville, GA- this little city I live in, with the worst possible name, isn't so bad. I literally have everything I could ever need in a 5 mile radius: doctors/hospitals, restaurants, shopping and activities. Seriously, I can not complain about that! And the big city of Atlanta, with everything it has to offer, is not that far away.

22. satellite radio- hundreds of choices and no commercials!

23. playing games with my family, apples to apples, pass the pigs, mexican train dominoes, etc. we always have a good time and laugh really hard!

24. thick skin- figuratively of course. I developed very young from uncles who teased me (and my cousins) from everything from growing boobs to boyfriends. All that teasing taught me to get a thick skin, quick.

25. God/time on this earth- I'm not here for a long time, but I'm here for a good time!

26. Quiet time- of which I have a lot of, and not that many people have it, I do and I'm thankful.

27. Choices- all kinds of choices, where to live, what to drive, where to work, where to shop, where to eat out, what Doctors I can see, etc, etc, etc. Very thankful for to have choices.

28. which leads me to: living in the USA. I love this country and wouldn't want to call any other place home and I'm proud to be an American, even if the rest of the world thinks were obnoxious or stupid or whatever. I know better.

29. Travel- so glad to have the experiences that come from traveling!

30. Food- I love food, enough said!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wendy

Does any one know what time it is? MALLOMAR TIME!!!!

I must confess: I love Mallomar season. It's back baby! 

Since Mallomars are only produced September thru April, I have to get my Mallomar love in now! They've always been a favorite and I knew I loved them because they were a treat at grandma and grandpas house. My mom told me that it was my grandfather who would sneak them to each of his grandchildren and that my grandmother disapproved and knew when he would sneak them to us because she could smell the chocolate on our breath! They are still a favorite of Northeasterners to this day! With about 70% of their sales still in the New York area. Thank God I can get them in the South!

Happy Eating!

Wendy

Manual Organization

I must confess: I've done this one before, but I think it bears repeating. Anyway, if you're like me you have dozens upon dozens of manuals. And they are allll over the place. I really needed to get them organized and in one place. So I created the Big Binder.

I only have 3 tabs: Kitchen, because lets face it, half the crap in there is for kitchen stuff. Household, for everything not in the kitchen ie: iron, vacuum, etc and Outdoor/Pets for weed whackers, outdoor fire pit, etc and the one pet thing I have a manual for, a dog bed. What? Moving on.

Just using protector sheets with the top opening, and viola a very big but semi organized binder. We buy something new that comes with instructions or a manual, I know exactly where it goes and it's not in a drawer somewhere!

Happy Organizing!

Wendy

Infertility (you knew this was coming, right?!)

I must confess: I'm infertile. Hubby and I are passed the point of feeling sorry for ourselves and have moved on with our childless life. We are happy and still in love with each other. We enjoy all the children in our lives: our nephews, our friends children and our cousins children. Adding a child would have been fantastic, but it wasn't meant to be for us. We are OK with that, we have each other.

Our journey starting in April 2008 when I went off the pill. When we didn't get pregnant by April 2009, we sought out additional assistance. Long story short, dozens of tests, dozens of people praying for us, 1 miscarriage, 1surgery, 5 artificial insemination's, 1 IVF and thousands of shots and pills later, (not to mention thousands of dollars) we ended up with nothing by May of 2011. It was at that point we decided that if God wanted us to have children He'll bring us to it. Adoption, at that point, was out because we spent everything we had on fertility treatments.

We have adjusted to our childless lifestyle, not that we know anything else! We are used to being together just the two of us. If we want to drop everything and go out to eat, we do, if we decide we want to run errands or go to the movies after wards, we do. No worrying about naps, babysitters, bed times, etc. It's a sort of freedom, that most parents do not have, so we enjoy it.

If we hear you are pregnant, we ARE happy for you, we really are. It's not your fault that it wasn't meant to be for us, so stop feeling sorry for us! Let us enjoy your pregnancy and child, too. Is that too much to ask?

Yesterday, hubby was given a baby shower invitation from a guy at work he barely knows. The guy is fairly new to the company of over 500 people and hubby has had very limited interaction with him. My very even keeled husband was kind enough to take the invitation, but informed new guy that we would not be attending the shower. New guy insisted on knowing why. This frustrated my hubby as he explained to him that they were 'not friends, the wives don't know each other and our families are not friends'. New guy said to hubby 'you don't know how hard it's been for us to get pregnant' to which my hubby responded 'actually I do know, I know first hand, I'm sorry, we won't be able to make it' – new guy responded with 'you can still get us a gift, we're registered at XYZ'. Hubby came home so mad, and for anyone who knows him, he's the even keeled one, I'm the hysterical one. It made me realize that the pain of not being able to have kids of our own is still a wound that will probably never completely heal, and I'm not the only one who feels it. People always feel for the woman, but seem to forget about the man. Except me, I haven't forgotten about my man. He has the same pain as I do, we talked about it at length while going through the process and continued long after our journey was over.

We knew that certain things would trigger the emotions, but I thought it would be more me, than him. I was wrong. He experiences the same run of emotions I do, just different things trigger it. Do we want to be invited to your baby shower, of course, but ask your self these questions:

Do we really know you? Are we related? Are we friends? If the answer to any of these is YES, then by all means send us an invitation!

A BIT OF ADVICE!!!

If you have questions about our infertility, please ask us! Don't whisper behind our backs, we know you're doing it.

Please don't feel sorry for us, we don't.

Please don't say a prayer that it will happen for us, it probably won't.

Please don't say 'relax, it will happen', it hasn't.

For the complete list of things not to say check out this site, it is right on target!!!

http://laugheduntilwecried.wordpress.com/2011/08/02/top-eleven-things-%E2%80%93-not-to-say-to-someone-experiencing-infertility/

Living life to its fullest!

Wendy

Breakfast Burritos

I must confess: hubby is a big guy and needs a big guy breakfast. Nothing is ever enough, and he's usually hungry by 10:30 for lunch. This doesn't work when we don't have dinner until 6pm. I found a recipe on Pinterest for a breakfast burrito and decided to give it a try. They were a big success and I wanted to share what I did, because I did deviate from the original recipe, based on hubby's requests.

First the ingredients:

frozen hash browns

dozen eggs

tortilla shells

cheese

green peppers

scallions

precooked bacon

 

I start out by cooking half of the 26oz bag of hash browns that I bought. This takes forever so while that's cooking I have hubby chop peppers and scallions. 

Once the hash browns start turning brown and crispy I add the 12 eggs that I've prescrambled with a little milk salt and pepper. And start cooking them together. This helps keep them in one solid mass instead of crumbling out of the burrito.

 

And yes that is a Storm Trooper spatula courtesy of Williams Sonoma. Hubby is a big geek too. 

Once the egg/hash brown mixture is cooked, I lay out the tortillas and put cheese on the bottom, we used a taco blend this time. And I start layering, egg/hash brown, bacon and veggies.

Then we roll them up and freeze them and he takes two a day and sticks them in the microwave for 2 minutes.

 

They keep him full enough until lunch time which is good because then he can he a smaller lunch later in the day and doesn't come home starving for dinner.

Happy Cooking!

Wendy

Snicker Cookies

I must confess: I love baking, especially chocolate chip cookies! I came across an idea (on Pinterest, of course) for adding snicker bites.

So I mixed up a batch of chocolate chip cookie dough. 

 Chopped up some Snicker bars and experimented.

I just put one piece on each cookie scoop.

Added a little more cookie on top and popped in the oven for the usual amount of time.

They came out like this....

I'm thinking they should have been more in a ball and maybe less cookie dough OR next time I could just chop them up and just add them to the batter.  Yes I think that might be better!

Happy Baking!
Wendy

 

Basil Burger Awesomeness

I must confess: I love a good burger. Duh, who doesn't, I know. I found this recipe on the food network and HAD to try it! Having a fresh basil plant around doesn't hurt either.

The recipe can be found here:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/melissa-darabian/perfect-summer-basil-burger-recipe/index.html

What I did was the following:

First I threw two burgers on the grill. I didn't add my usual onion powder soup mix or ranch mix, because I wanted the basil sauce to stand on its own and see how much flavor it really had.

But I did add some mozzarella cheese on top once I flipped them.

In the meantime, I mixed: mayo, sour cream, garlic, basil, Worcester and salt and pepper and put them in my mini-processor, which I didn't even know I had until the other day! Yay!

While the burgers were cooking I mixed this all up. Until creamy. 

I toasted English muffins for burger buns, because they have less bread and you get more of the burger taste instead of a mouth full of bread. 

They turned out AMAZING!!! Hubby loved them and I will be making this again! Another thought I had was to freeze whatever was left over, then I could make in batches and use when needed.

Happy Cooking!

Wendy

The $5 Savings Plan

I must confess: I love saving money. Not much of a big confession, but still. A few years ago I read about a woman who saved all of her $5 bills. Over the course of so many years she had accrued a nice tidy sum of over $10, 000. WHAT?!?! So I decided to give it a try and see what I could do. So any time I received change back that included a $5 bill. I tucked it away. Even if I gave someone a $20 for something that was only $4 and received $15 in fives, I put them a side.

After about a month I had about $100, I was surprised at how quickly it adds up, but its not so big that you would miss, it like a $20 or so small that it would take forever to add up, like spare change. The first thing I did with what I call my '$5 money' is I went Christmas shopping with it last year. It paid for my lunch, shopping and even an afternoon pick me up snack. And I still had $5 left over to put right back into my savings plan. You'd be surprised how quickly it adds up and even my hubby gives me any $5 bills he has. It has given us the opportunity to do something when it might not have been in the budget that week. It was the best thing I had read about saving money in a long time. And I will continue to do so!

Happy Saving!

Wendy

Birthday Blessings

I must confess: I tried something new for my birthday this year. I have everything I need in life so this year for my birthday I decided to do something different. I wanted to give back. Our local food bank was low on food, as in 3 jars of peanut butter and 1 box of cereal. With over 500 families (not people, families) asking for assistance every month, feeding them gets difficult. So I took my $5 savings plan money (about $100) and went to Aldi. Best prices in town! With everything on their list that they were desperate for, I could have easily spent $1000. But I too, am on a budget. We filled up the cart before even leaving the first aisle. Then we took it all over to the local church for donating.

 

It doesn't look like much but there is $100 worth of food there. I hope it helped them out and made a difference in many lives. I will continue to help the food bank and when I find a good sale I always pick up extra because I know that someone somewhere needs it. And that feels pretty good. 

Happy Giving!

Wendy

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!

I must confess: I love my birthday! I mean really who doesn't? But what I love is the emails and mailings I get because it's my birthday.
Not just the birthday and well wishes from Family and friends, but the coupons and freebies from stores, restaurants and businesses. I LOVE a deal!


And birthday month is the best time to get them!

I've already received a coupon for 20% off at Stein Mart, $5 off at DSW  (yippee!)
and a free movie ticket from Movie Tavern. It's just the beginning! I cannot wait to see what else I get!

What discounts & freebies do you like to get?

Happy Birthday to me!!!

Wendy

She's Crafty!

I must confess: I have the need to change things up every now and then. I had two framed pictures from our honeymoon that were getting a little old looking. So I freshened them up by making a new mattes. All I needed was scrapbook paper, scissors and tape and viola! New pictures. The possibilities are endless! Most picture frames come with a standard white matte, so dress it up!

 Start with a piece of scrapbook paper, scissors and tape.

 

Original matte. BORING!

Add tape to the front of the matte in each corner. 

Turn it over and face it down on the paper, preferably in the corner so you don't have too much to cut off. 

Cut a hole in the middle of the paper and cut to each corner. 

Fold each side back and tape down. This is where cutting to the corner is important. 

Your matte should look like this from the back side.

And should look like this from the front. 

Refreshed and revived!

Happy Crafting!

Wendy

Saving money at its best!

I must confess: it's no secret that I'm a bargain hunter. It's hobby really and I love doing it. I wanted to share some websites for finding good deals on restaurants, entertainment, etc. I have used all of these personally and I'm not getting anything for it, just wanted to share what I know.

Websites for 'flash sales' – you've probably heard of many of these, and some you probably haven't, but these are the sites that put deals on sales for a few days such as $10 for a $25 coupon for a local restaurant. I like these better than restaurant.com because there is no minimum spending to use the coupon, but they do have expiration dates. And they aren't coupon sites where you have to download a coupon printer to your computer and then search for coupons that you don't use anyway.

Deal Sites for restaurants and services:

www.groupon.com

www.halfoffdepot.com

www.tippr.com

www.loclly.com

www.dealchicken.com

www.livingsocial.com

www.scoutmob.com

www.sweetjack.com

www.kudzu.com/deals

www.dealfind.com

www.kgbdeals.com

www.local.amazon.com

www.google.com/offers

Deal sites for products:

www.groopdealz.com (personal favorite!)

www.saveology.com

www.bradsdeals.com (another personal favorite!)

www.5stardeal.com

www.tanga.com

Happy Saving!

Wendy

Is it really August?!

I must confess: I wish I had more time to blog right now. I've been working full time, but it's a temp position, thank God! Can't wait for it to be over! I'm getting way behind on so many things, and I don't like it. So, I'm always looking for shortcuts. The ones I want to share today are to make my life easier. The first one is about ironing. One of my least favorite chores, but in my opinion, has to be done so we don't look like ragamuffins. I read this years ago and it really works. Line your ironing board with tin foil, then put the cover on. It reflects heat from both sides to help cut down ironing time. Whoo-hoo!

My ironing board and my dog Lola!

The second is making a big binder for all those manuals and instructions, that you might need for that random appliance some day. I used to keep them in a filing cabinet, but damn, they took up a lot of room! And if you give an appliance away or sell it in a yard sale, you have the manual right there! Now when hubby says 'have you seen the manual for xyz?' I tell him to check the big binder. What I don't keep in there is any manual that stays with the house, stove, microwave, etc. Nothing worse than taking those with you if you move!

I made mine with a 3 inch binder and page protectors. And, of course, 

I had to make it pretty because I'm anal like that.

Regular page protectors.  I put everything for that appliance in the same sheet, manual, warranty, etc. 

And you can use both sides for easy viewing!

Ah, summer is almost over, and so is the job. Looking forward to fall and freedom! LOL!!!

Wendy

Pizza Class!

I must confess: I love pizza, but really who doesn't? Yesterday Eric and I had an opportunity to attend a Couples Pizza Class at the Apron Cooking school located inside a Publix grocery store. What a blast, we had a class with lots of other fun couples, made and ate some gooooood pizza! What a treat! Who knew my husband could cook! Or at least make pizza. Per some friends requests I'm posting the pizza dough recipe and by far my favoritest pizza from last night. Hope you enjoy it at much as I did, I would have never put any of these things together! 

Happy cooking!

Wendy

Vacation!!

I must confess: I love the beach! I mean who doesn't really? Oh right, my husband. I love the beach, he sits in the shade. But we both love the pool. We just spent a week at my in-laws in Panama City Beach, FL. Now before you get that crunched up 'eww gross' look on your face, I have to ask, when was the last time you were in PCB? Because in the last 5 years, it has changed A LOT! They now have a shopping center across from the pier called Pier Park. With a Margaritaville, Dicks Last Resort, a Tootsies Orchid Lounge and tons of shops and restaurants, a movie theater and lots for the kids to do. Its just not the same as it was 10 years ago. It's better, lots of new resorts with tons of amenities. Ok enough about that. 

 At the beach, sans husband of course!

 

With that being said, Eric and I have different ideas of vacationing, which can make for difficulties when traveling. He just wants to sit around (in the shade) and do nothing, and swim every now and then, while I want to go out (in the sun) and see and do stuff. But somehow after being together for 10 years we've found a way to make it work. The key to marriage is compromise! We go out and do stuff then sit around and do nothing. We've somehow made it work where both of us are happy. I love nothing more than spending lots of time with my hubby. We never seem to get bored with each other. We got back yesterday from our week long vacay in PCB, now the post vacation sadness has set in. You know what I'm talking about, that dreaded feeling of having to go back to work and household chores. Retirement must feel like a permanent vacation. Looking forward to those days! 

Where ever you go this year, enjoy it before heading back into the dreaded 'real world'.

Happy Summer!

Wendy

Where did May go?

I must confess: I can't believe how busy I've been lately! I guess it's just that time of year: graduations, weddings, anniversaries, birthdays, general summer time fun and as always housework! Even as I sat down to write this blog, I had to stop and go fold laundry. With a full time, temporary job, I barely have time to do anything anymore! Or am I just becoming a better juggler? Must be the juggling thing. Today I asked my husband for some help. Can you make dinner? Well you would think I just asked him to cut off his arm. And with all the time I spend giving him specific instructions on where everything was and what to do, I might has well made it myself. Now he thinks he's so freaking awesome because he made dinner. In the mean time, I did 20 other things that needed to be done around the house, but he's still walking around (or should I say sitting in front of the TV) with that 'I'm so awesome cause I made dinner' look on his face. Ugh! Are ya kidding me? Whatever. 

So here is my latest nail polish color from OPI's NYC Ballet Collection, called Care to Danse? This is with 3 coats. I really didn't think it would be so sheer, so I'm not all that in love with it. I think I'll go back to my brighter happier colors. At least for summer. 

Here's to a fun filled summer!!!!

Wendy

Chicken-Schmicken 2 (or Wendy's Superb Chicken)

I must confess: you already know we eat a lot of chicken. So I'm always looking for new chicken recipes. Even if I have to make them up myself. So this particular one I thought of when I recently saw a recipe for Chicken Kiev. Though I love melted butter, I thought I might be a bit much, so I replaced it with mozzarella cheese. Probably not much better for you, but definitely less messy!

I started off with two chicken breasts and pounded out my days frustrations on them until they looked like this

The I breaded them with egg and plain breadcrumbs like so

The I pan fried them until they got that crunchy look, which doesn't take long when they are pounded out so thin.

I added pesto and mozzarella cheese like so

and then folded them over, secured them with toothpicks and added more cheese on top. I got a thing for cheese, OK?

Baked them in the oven for 15 minutes at 400 and the husband called them superb.

So I'm calling it Wendy's Superb Chicken!

Happy Cooking!

Wendy