AKathy's "What's For Dinner?" 11/17

I'm glad a good night's sleep helped you feel refreshed today leannec! I always feel the same way on Saturday morning. DD was up early. She cleaned my whole kitchen and she has been doing laundry including my dirty sheets in the basement and she has been sorting clothes to take for donation. She seems to be in a little bit of a manic mood today. I tried to ask her if she was done with the washing machine and she barked at me. So I'm just drinking coffee and staying the hell out of her way.

I have a lot of acquaintances. A small circle of friends. What is tough is that the dynamic of my small circle shifted when two people broke up and now I feel like I can't invite my friends over for a group dinner party anymore. My BFF and I just kind of dissolved our friendship. And I've got weird things going on with my family right now. So I'm feeling a loss of human connection just all around lately. And it sucks. Because I'm very extroverted and I love to host parties.

I am trying to make a decision on the best way to attack my sweater. It is too small and I didn't realize it until I went to put the arm holes in. I keep vascillating between frogging the whole damn thing and starting over or just putting the whole darn thing away and just starting a shawl instead. This is going to be my plan for today. And tomorrow. And the whole week I'm off.

I will make the beef and noodles for dinner tonight. DH says he'd prefer stroganoff. So really what's the difference? Sour cream. Will work it out as I prepare it later. I also have a bunch of asparagus that needs to get eaten.

Well it seems like I post what I’m making for dinner and then cook that the next night   So today I should be making the chicken soup I said I was making yesterday!

I'm making sloppy joes before the LSU game so I can just reheat in the microwave during halftime.

craftedbys I was so glad to read your update to your dad's situation. I am hoping this has just lifted stress right off your shoulders. You have been a great daughter.

tuesdaysgone I am so glad everything went well for you. Hopefully your DH will pamper you while you recover.

Ive been in a huge, long cooking slump and today isnt going to be any different. Dh will have the leftover fried rice and sweet & sour chicken from last night's takeout and I will eat the eggrolls. Or some ham left from Thursday's dinner.
Tomorrow morning, I am finally going in for an ultrasound that I've had an order for since late July. 🙄

I tend to pick up a couple of close friends everywhere I go. My oldest friends go back to elementary school and we just firmed our 2019 dates for what's become an annual week in the desert. We moved when the kids were infant/toddler age and I'm still very close to a couple moms I met in classes with them even though we moved away 12 years ago and all the kids have drifted apart. DH is the same, with his oldest friends going back to childhood. We find as everyone is starting to retire and travel, we are hosting a lot of friends escaping Canadian and PNW winters.

Glad to hear everything went well, tuesdaysgone .

sueg , sounds like you are making a laundry pit stop before heading back out. What an amazing adventure!

DH is on his way home bringing his and DS's favorite Chinese food. I'm not clear on whether they plan to eat it right away or save it for dinner. If it doesn't survive the afternoon, then I'll grill tuna with green beans and potatoes.

ETA Change of plans as DH also brought home an octopus, so we're having octopus instead of tuna. His chef BIL shared a dry boiling technique that DH wants to try.

We have laundry everywhere right now! We don't have a dryer, so we have 3 loads of laundry hanging on racks all over the apartment. I think we are almost up to date!

I don’t know what I’m doing for dinner
I was going to make chili but I had stomach issues today. I’d just as soon not eat but I have to feed DS so I’ll gave to make something.

I have 3 excellent friends that used to be here where I live. Those are the only 3 people my kids would have gone with ever. 2 still live here& I keep in touch with the other. I also have a reasonably close friend at work.

leannec .....My doggies and I are SOO happy that you "slept like a dog"     and we pray things keep going well at work!  # super substitute! #


tuesdaysgone ....My sweet nurse doggies are SOO happy to hear you're doing well !  They said a lil' prayer for you the day of your surgery. 

littlemama ....My sweet nurse doggies are praying that you're okay! 



I did NOT end up making this the other day, but can't wait to grill it tonight!     I'll  post this again for those who may not have seen it the other day, ANNNND, lemme tell you, I took a couple tiny tastes of the sauce after making it last night, and it is SOOO good!

We all know that SO MANY things taste even better the 2nd (and/or 3rd !)  day. I'm gonna assume that since the steaks have been marinating since last night in that yumminess, they SHOULD be veryyy tasty, but we'll seeee. 


 


I've been sooo blessed with friendships my entire life, and I am so thankful!  Since elementary, I usually always had one best friend and a few close ones, with a few casual ones sprinkled in.  I've also made some VERY good friends at work.  My biggest thing with friendship is LOYALTY!  I will NOT talk negatively about my friends EVER.....even though I may *want* to...LOL!   

Whenever I refer to my current "bestie", I feel like that term seems a litttttle high school-esque, but it does distinguish her from our other DEAR friends that we both love, not that we need S  But some of you know what I mean.  Anyhoo, the thing that makes me even MORE thankful for her is that I love her hubby and her ENTIRE family, on BOTH sides.

 Since DH and I have no family nearby, her CUTE, FUN aunts and uncles, and grandma  have "adopted" us and they always invite us for any and every holiday IF we aren't out of town w/ our families. What makes it even MORE of a blessing is that I grew up with NO Aunts, uncles, or cousins, and we saw our grandparents only a few times, because they lived too far away.   I am fascinated (and envious!) of the huge families she and her DH have. I cannot imagine living NEAR every. single. family, member, either!    


 I admit I HAVE talked negatively/gossipped about OTHER friends, but it was rare, and I'd only vent to my sister or hubby, who I trust completely. (plus, DH barely remembers anyyyyything I tell him anyway! LOL!)   But when it comes to my best friend---nope!--I will NOT talk about them, nor will I tolerate anyone else talking about them.  



Example....my best friend / co-worker  when we lived in San Antonio went through a HORRIFIC time with OCD. It was horrible!!! Some of our other co-workers had NO compassion or empathy, and started talking terribly about her.  I defended her and it also deeply saddened me that people we THOUGHT were nice, were talking sooo meanly about her  

She is/was one of the most dedicated, VERY hard-working employees, wayyy better than some of the b**ches that spoke meanly about her. What triggered this HORRENDOUS OCD was that she almost drowned.  Her OCD got SO bad at one point, she had to take time off from work.   On top of that, she had the EXTRA stress of pregnancy! The OCD was SO awful, she was washing her hands IN HER SLEEP.  ANYHOOOO, how ANY of our co-workers could make jokes about that is beyond me!    (sidenote...thanks to God, counseling, and several meds, she has been fine for years!!!)  

We've kept in touch since I moved away, and I also LOVE her husband---he's like a brother to me. He always teased me about everrrrything, including when I started scrapbooking wayyy back in 1998.  He'd already teased me about how many STICKERS I had, but also was shocked at how much time I spent scrappin'!  But THEN, when he heard that I'd flown to Los Angeles for a quick weekend of scrapbooking  (where I got to hang out with our dear pea Donna who recently died   )  he referred to them as "internet people you've never actually met in person !? ! ?"  and said to DH and I that I had DEFINITELY joined a cult !!!

Then there are their 2 sweet daughters who I used to play Barbies with and they'd get into fits of giggles by all the silly things "Aunt Toee" would have Ken and Barbie saying.   Now that they've grown up (wahhhh!!!, they grew up soooo fast), we still laugh about our many fun memories!   Aww, talking about them is making me sooo
excited for when we go to San Antonio for Christmassss!!!  

Wowwww......that was a novel!  I'm sure no one is reading this far, but I'll say I wish you a lovely weekend!   

Still nursing a cough so I am eating Lipton Noodle soup..LOL

Posted this on the Cancer warrior thread....but wanted to share it here also

So I need some prayers and thoughts for my dad. He's almost 83--in really great health. He is having a cancerous tumor removed from his left kidney on Monday. It was found due to his creatine level rising just a little over the last 6 months. PCP thought maybe it was a kidney stone. Anyhow--his surgeon told him it's "in the perfect spot" for removal. They are doing it robotically. It's the kind of cancer that does not spread and the surgeon told him that he's probably had it his entire life. He had an MRI etc and there's nothing anywhere else.

So if you would just pray that the surgery goes well and that they don't have to remove a lot of his kidney as that could lead to dialysis down the road. He and my mom are supposed to head to Ft. Myers at the end of December (via the auto train). His surgeon was pleased that they were not driving all the way there and said that Florida is the perfect place to recuperate.

His surgery is at 7:30 AM Monday. My brother is going to take them and then I will head down by 10:30am. He'll be there till Wednesday. Not sure what we will do for Thanksgiving. We have been invited to my cousin's home (10 mins away) but will wait and see. Might just be the three of us. My two brothers are being subjected to their In-Laws...LOL.  

thanks

Prayers christine58. I have known several people with tumors on their kidneys and every single one of them has made a full recovery.

Thank you. All the doctors he has seen have all been very very positive. He is naturally worried. 

Good evening, ladies!

My mom is back down babysitting me for a few days. I had another scare with my blood pressure yesterday. It seems having her here with me helps me keep it more stable. Evidently, I’m a nervous Nellie!

She made her first annual batch of Chex mix (one of her big things at Christmas). I made my mother in law’s cheeseball and some chocolate chip cookies. We’ve had a relaxing afternoon of watching football.

We are eating leftovers for actual dinner.