Calling all Chicago DISers #2

[disneygal922]

Good Morning Everyone! hope everyone has plans for this beautiful day! i... don't? but i can still enjoy the sun from my lovely office window. The a/c units or whatever these giant metal boxes are, aren't a very good view but i still have the beautiful sky

I wish i could add something to all this wonderful dinner talk but unfortunately, most of my dinners come from a bag or go in the microwave

Slo ~ thanks for the offer. I am really happy I made this decision to go back to school! I'm having a blast and learning alot too! I am a much more 'hands on' type person... a desk job is just not for me. But I would have never known that if I didn't experience it!

Paint ~ I was a music ed. major when i started college, then my second semester of my junior year switched to music management. took a few classes over the summer at mvcc and was able to still graduate on time. Little did I know that I would make the decision to go back to school for something completely different 4 years later! i don't feel bad about it because i know i have a BA (which you can surprisingly do ALOT with) and i'm just furthering my knowledge now w/ an associates! my mom always said, 'people can take everything you own, but NO ONE can take your education away!' so don't feel you wasted your money and time on classes you don't use, because you probably do use them, you just don't realize it.

hope everyone has a good day... off to a meeting i go!

 

[Bunchkin]

Happy Thursday people!!!



slo Unless I am baking or making a recipe for the very first time, I very rarely follow a recipe when I cook. You should always go with your gut though. But I think you should become a little braver!! I use a lot of Tastefully Simple seasonings without following a recipe. You should look at their web site for ideas and recipes to use.
Like yesterday, I made that rice soup for Tony and I for lunch. I got a taste for it after you mentioned it! I sauted onions and chicken first and then added the water and soup mix. Then I made grilled cheese sandwiches with this thick deli bread I have, cheese and a little of the TS seasonal salt. Might sound a bit different, but it really have the grilled cheese a little kick. Simple and really good.
Try mixing in a tablespoon or two (this would be 3 to 4 shakes of the shaker side, not the pour side!!) of one of the seasonings into the beer bread next time.



irish dancer I should look for flax seed. Where did you find it at the store??


paint High tech appliances equal pains in the butt!!!
Don't get we wrong, out frontloader washer cleans clothes better than anything we've owned in the past!! Really clean clothes every time. But when it spins it sounds like it's going to go through the floor!!! (We have a laundry room upstairs by the bedrooms.)

You must be getting very anxious for your wedding!!!



disneygal That's great that you have a view from your office!!!
Right now my view is the cranky old man who lives behind me sitting on his patio staring!!!! I'll take your air conditioner view any day!!!



Crissup I've never has Boston Creme pie. What does it taste like? I'm thinking a creme filled donut?




Well, I should go vacuum. FUN!!! Already have laundry going.
My life is complete!!!

 

[Bunchkin]

I wish i could add something to all this wonderful dinner talk but unfortunately, most of my dinners come from a bag or go in the microwave

Oh, you're bad!!!!
You need a crockpot!! And a good crockpot cookbook!!!

 

[piglet too]

I love my crockpot, and think everyone should have one! The kids just love when I make chicken in it. All I add is a family size can of Cream of Chicken soup, but they think it is the best thing ever.

All this TS talk is making me hungry. I am also trying to get my samples together for upcoming shows, and of course I need to get extras for us to try at home too.

 

[disneygal922]

the funny thing is... i HAVE a crock pot! but only use it to make beef sandwiches (my dad's special recipe) they are amazing... actually i don't even really know the recipe... i know there is a rump roast involved and gardinera (spelling?) he actually is the one that winds up doing most of the work! i buy the ingredients and that's about it!

it's not that i don't know how to cook (i worked at Williams-Sonoma previous my current job), i just don't do it very well, which makes me very hesitant to do much more! but let me tell you, i can bake! i make some mean cupcakes! and i made a Lightning McQueen cake for my nephew for his 2nd birthday!

 

[macraven]

irish- Send your house cleaner this way. Does she write papers, too?

bunchkin- They don't make them like they used to, do they? Our dryer and washer are old. If they are going to break, I hope they do soon. They are covered my our homeowners warranty until June. We just got a new garbage disposal using the warranty.

bunchkin, slo, zero- I love TS! If I wasn't so insanely busy already, I'd sell it. I just used Garlic, Garlic the other night in an alfredo sauce- only, I did not open the shaker side. I opened the pour side and dumped a ton in. It was still good and we kept away vampires.

mac- Now, see, if you were off the pc, doing other things, you could actually be causing further messes in the house. It is better if you stay put and not disrupt anything, right?

Okay. Off to do something productive. Maybe.

i like the way you think.

you talked me into it.......

Happy Thursday people!!!



slo Unless I am baking or making a recipe for the very first time, I very rarely follow a recipe when I cook. You should always go with your gut though. But I think you should become a little braver!! I use a lot of Tastefully Simple seasonings without following a recipe. You should look at their web site for ideas and recipes to use.
Like yesterday, I made that rice soup for Tony and I for lunch. I got a taste for it after you mentioned it! I sauted onions and chicken first and then added the water and soup mix. Then I made grilled cheese sandwiches with this thick deli bread I have, cheese and a little of the TS seasonal salt. Might sound a bit different, but it really have the grilled cheese a little kick. Simple and really good.
Try mixing in a tablespoon or two (this would be 3 to 4 shakes of the shaker side, not the pour side!!) of one of the seasonings into the beer bread next time.



irish dancer I should look for flax seed. Where did you find it at the store??


paint High tech appliances equal pains in the butt!!!
Don't get we wrong, out frontloader washer cleans clothes better than anything we've owned in the past!! Really clean clothes every time. But when it spins it sounds like it's going to go through the floor!!! (We have a laundry room upstairs by the bedrooms.)

You must be getting very anxious for your wedding!!!



disneygal That's great that you have a view from your office!!!
Right now my view is the cranky old man who lives behind me sitting on his patio staring!!!! I'll take your air conditioner view any day!!!



Crissup I've never has Boston Creme pie. What does it taste like? I'm thinking a creme filled donut?




Well, I should go vacuum. FUN!!! Already have laundry going.
My life is complete!!!

call for stella.
i'm told she is good......

 

[Becky2005]

I'm sooo tired right now!! My little guy decided we needed to go sleep on my bed for a bit but little does he know Mom's will actually fall asleep instead of pretending. I thought gee I'd better get up a couple times and when I went to he pulled me back down and told me "No, you have to stay sleeping". Now I'm in that funky 1/2 awake 1/2 asleep stage and it's going to take me forever to get going again. I'm slowly getting there but UGH.

Becky - How is your DD doing with her backbrace lately? She sounds like such a trooper with having to wear it. When is her next checkup?

She's doing OK. It keeps popping open on us again, so I think the velcro is dirty (they change the straps everytime but I don't know how to do it). I'm just afraid with it popping, since we've had to make it a bit looser so it doesn't pop, it may not be doing it's job as effectively. Of course, having it pop in the middle of class isn't so good either (I guess in the middle of class on Monday it did that -- it mostly just gets looser, it will make the ripping sound but will stay hooked.) She was telling me that was rather embarrassing but luckily no one seemed to notice too much. Her next appointment is in July and I always get really nervous because each time we go it seems like we are inching closer & closer to having to make a decision on surgery issues which terrifies me. She just really needs to hurry up & quit growing so my stress level with taper off but until that final growth spurt happens we are on pins & needles for it.

I wish i could add something to all this wonderful dinner talk but unfortunately, most of my dinners come from a bag or go in the microwave !

Me too. My poor kids....cooking will not be a skill they know much of other than about 3 dishes I can make. The running joke in the house is my burning the rolls constantly. I think it's the oven. I'm forever flubbing up things. I do have a crockpot too but I mostly make my spaghetti sauce in that.

 

[irish dancer]

Afternoon! Just got back from a walk around the block with the dog, it is pretty nice out there. I hope it stays this way - no more cold!

paint - I don't think Stella would be much help writing papers unless they can be in Polish . She speaks very little English.

Bunchkin - I got the flax seed meal in Jewel, it was in the baking aisle by the flour and such. Make sure you get the meal and not just flax seed, I heard that in order to get the nutrients it has to be ground up. No one around here notices it when I mix it into things .

piglet - I make the chicken soup chicken too, my kids love it. I also do pork chops with cream of mushroom soup which they like.


Well, DH just called to tell me that 'big things' just went down at his office, he works for Sony in Itasca. Guess they had a meeting with the Customer Service Dept to notify them that they are moving the whole dept to headquarters in NJ! Needless to say no one is taking the offer of moving to NJ at their own expense. Some of these people have been with the company for 25+ years, one woman he knows has been there 27 years and it is the only job she has ever had . When DH started there they used all 4 floors of the bldg, now they will be down to about 1/2 of one floor once CS dept is gone. Scary time we're living in

 

[Becky2005]

Well, DH just called to tell me that 'big things' just went down at his office, he works for Sony in Itasca. Guess they had a meeting with the Customer Service Dept to notify them that they are moving the whole dept to headquarters in NJ! Needless to say no one is taking the offer of moving to NJ at their own expense. Some of these people have been with the company for 25+ years, one woman he knows has been there 27 years and it is the only job she has ever had . When DH started there they used all 4 floors of the bldg, now they will be down to about 1/2 of one floor once CS dept is gone. Scary time we're living in

Yikes!!! That is scary.

 

[piglet too]

Oh no! That is scary, is he worried about his job at all?

 

[momto1]

Howdy gang!

Bunchkin - I just put my pork roast in the crock pot, fatty side down, and sprinkle it with salt, pepper and garlic powder. That's it. DH and I both eat it with horseradish sauce when done cooking.

IrishDancer - We have done Illuminations twice - the last time was one week ago yesterday! It is costly but fabulous. Last year, I went on the dis Illuminations site and found someone wanting to share a ride. We went with a family from Pennsylvania and a couple from England. This year I got the reservation and then posted. My boat was full in 2 days. We had a family from Chicago and a family from Scotland. Very painless and a great way to share the cost.

I need to run and pick up an appointment at the train stop. And then off to a meeting and leaving work early. Shhhh....don't tell my boss.

Tonight is ds first baseball game of the season. We will see how the team looks.
Lori

 

[Bunchkin]

mac How'd you get the new tag?? Red head??!!!



disneygal A Lightening McQueen cake sounds yummy! Ka-Chowww!!


irish dancer I should have looked for the flax seed while I was at the store earlier. At least I meant to! Thanks for letting me know which aisle it's in...all though I kinda thought that's where it would be.



momto1 Pork roast sounds easy to do. And yet I've never tried it in the crockpot. We have one of those huge roasters and that's where I usually do roasts, turkey, etc. But it's a hassle to clean!!! So I think I'll try pork in the crockpot next time.

I hope your son's game didn't get rained out.








Dinner tonight was steaks, baked potato, veggies.

What did everyone else have?

 

[piglet too]

My parents took Nathan out for supper tonight as part of his birthday present. They went to his favorite place, a rib joint called The Pit.

 

[macraven]

evening chicagoland homies.

just think, it is spring!
and the snow is almost all gone from here.


hope you all had a good night.
i forgot the tv shows this evening.........oh snap



well bunchkin, i post on the universal forums a lot and that is how i got the new tag.
the red headed step children of the dis..............

everyone in the thread got it also.
tf did a short cut version of it......


tomorrow is friday and last day of the work week.
whew.... i am so glad

i'm going to try to use the weekend to clean up my clutter by the computer.
i have a lot of scrapes of paper with important 411 on them. i need to put all that on one sheet or two........





and then i will clean the house without the maid.

see you all in the morning.

 

[slo]

Tonight I am doing whats called a "Ladies Night Out" which is sponsered by Stephanie's schools PTO. I'm going to have a couple of tables, where I'm going to set up a mini store. I'm hopefully going to sell alot of stuff, but most importantly, generate alot of awareness about the store existing, and what I can do. My insurance friend is going to help me, and I"m very grateful for that. I bought us both a dinner ticket, because they are suppossed to have a fajita bar there - I thought that sounded good So, please wish me luck, because I'm really praying for this to be a success.


ID - We really did like concierge, especially when Katie was a baby. It was so nice to be able to go down the hall to grab a bite to eat or something to drink, and not have to disturb the baby. We really loved The Poly's concierge, but really disliked The Contemporary's, but the resort has since changed it, and it's suppossed to be alot better. I don't think they can prebook, but they have direct computer access, which makes them able to get a ADR faster than the average person.
**Sending lots of PD your DH's way for everything to be okay for him at work

paint - Good luck with everything, and try to not stress out to much

DG - Your welcome, I'll always be happy to help!!!

Bunchkin - I"m so glad you said you never had Boston Creme Pie, because I haven't either I thought I would be the only one
**Our dinner last night was extremely unexciting last night, because we ate at work. The girls had left over mini corndogs, and I had leftover pizza.

piglet - Do you put boneless or bone-in chicken in your crockpot?

Mac - Congrats on your new tag!!

Becky - Your poor DD - she's such a trooper. I sure hope she doesn't need to have surgery either - that would not be good!!! But you know we are with you every step of the way if that has to happen

momto1 - Pork Roast in the Crock Pot sounds good




Gotta run - have a good day!!!

 

[geffric]

Morning.. just a quick hi.. will ketchup later... Gonna do a bunch of running today to pick up stuff for the eagle ceremony sunday at council and then out to lunch with a friend. Yesterday was my last day at work.. went out to lunch with work friends and then shoe shopping.. I hate to shop for shoes nothing ever fits.. i did find a pair at Macys.. but I was gonna buy them but the sales person told me that next Thursday they will be 20% off.. so I will wait..

Talk later

 

[disneygal922]

Good rainy Morning Everyone! it's FRIDAY... finally! busy weekend though, filled with projects, birthday party, packing, cleaning, shopping. eek I don't know when i'm going to get it all done! I probably should have taken a day off before i leave for my trip but figured i didn't want to waste another vacation day... oh well. dinner was tacos last night (bought to us by Pepe's. i was going to make them but realized we had 1)no cheese 2)no lettuce and 3)no tomato.. so instead of going to the store to buy it all and then go home to make it (it would be 830 by the time it was ready) we decided just to go out! tonight i'm not quite sure. maybe parmesan chicken or mac and cheese... probably mac and cheese i'm good at that! hope everyone has a marvelous day!

Slo ~ good luck at 'Ladies Night Out'

 

[piglet too]

Slo ~ Good luck tonight, I hope it goes great for you. As to the chicken, I use bone-less breasts that we buy from Sam's Club.

Happy Friday everyone!!

 

[paintnolish]

I'm too busy to cook. At least that's my excuse! Last night's dinner was Subway (before dd's dance class) and Coldstone later. DS had a bday coupon for free icecream. It was about to expire and to let it do so would be a sin!
Anyone have plans for the weekend? We are going to meet with a florist, then see Nim's Island tonight. Saturday is work. Boo! Sunday I have to go to my sister's bridal shower in Gurnee. It is a very long drive from here, but at least I will have to make a stop at the mall. i haven't been there in years and I see they have a Disney Outlet. Anyone been?

 

[piglet too]

I am so excited!! I finally have my own website with Tastefully Simple!!! Plus, several great new features were rolled out today, and I can't wait to use them.

Kevin was asked to apply for a $500 scholarship for his upcoming school trip to Washington D.C. It would be beyond awesome if he gets it, because we are struggling to get the remaining monies in time for the deadline. His principal and vice principal both are giving their recommendations and even made a phone call to allow him to turn in the application even though the deadline had been Wednesday. I know they are doing it because they are aware of our financial need, but at least they like him enough to want him to go.