Raspberry Jam

So I've decided that canning is now one of my favorite things ever! I took the kids last week to hand pick raspberries (which they had a blast doing) and then went to my mothers house to turn those into the most amazing jam ever! I plan on making a few into gifts but just from putting a picture up online of my wonderful jam, I had people want to purchase it and well hey, that's a good idea! I love making it and keeping some of it for myself of course but if I can sell some of this goodness in a jar, that would be awesome! So tomorrow I'm making some hand picked peach and orange marmalade and will be canning that as well. I also know my kids would love to make another trip to the berry field so If I have a few desirous people that would like to buy a jar for 5 bucks a pop, let me know. I would be happy to put some of my time into this fun tradition of canning!

Oh buddy

So life is well...stressful. But you know things could always be worse and in reality we're ok, I'm ok. My husband has been at home a lot more, he has a new job now but spent a couple weeks looking, usually tension gets the best of us but this time it's made me realize how much I really do love this man, he is my best friend and I'm so lucky to have him! Now when he's not here I miss him insanely and can't help but wish he was always home (ah money tree where are you?) I know this is unrealistic but seriously I don't think I've ever loved him more, we hardly disagree let alone bicker about things and like I said I miss him so bad while he's away. I'm just so glad we're not butting heads in such a stressful time, oddly enough it seems to just bring us closer and we're able to work together and make things work no matter how bad they get. I love it!
Sorry I just spilt moosh all over you...
So the house is fairly kept up my bills are paid my days at work are long but with our old assistant manager is gone and the new one is finally here, I may struggle for hours a bit but he is a breath of fresh air. He takes things seriously but in a nice pleasant way, he knows we've all worked together for a long time so he kindly makes suggestions on how to improve without sounded pushy, and guess what!? They're good suggestions! He really is going to be a positive impact. Yay out with the crazy old and in with the calm.
So my new goal is to move up in the company and become an assistant manager myself. It pays enough and I already know what to do for the most part, so why not. Take a turn in the money making position and give my stressed out hubby a break. Plus it would look super good on a resume.
Oh sad work is so much of my life lately I'm drawing a blank...
So somehow I've managed to maintain weight even with the stress cookie eating I've been doing, eat my stress starve my depression, stress is my main emotion and the stupid cookies at work smell so lovely. So I've decided i must make myself jog! I have no desire to but I must, I'm getting flabby! I love my husband but he is so wrong when he says there's nothing left to lose, I'd say at least five to ten pounds could go and I wouldn't miss it one freakin bit! I try to eat right at home, fresh fruits and cottage cheese then a light lunch but my stress buried deep down calls for sugar and cheesy things. Such an evil thing stress is, stress about being fat so ya eat more, lol ridiculous!
Well as far as a social life goes I'm super stoked to say I have some plans! We bought 311/ offspring tickets and one of my best friends did too so for the first time in...ew... 7 years almost, we'll be going to a concert together! So excited! Then later down the road we may do a couples weekend out at a cabin in Mt. Pleasant! Just one night of trash talkin drive inn watchin fun! So excited to see if we can all make it, just the old crew, we're inseparable.

Happy note

So I must tell you, my husband is an amazing cook! With the help of the kids, they made the most delicious biscuits. Eggs, buscuits and honey with some Oj, yummy! Simple but delicous, the meals my husband can create are insane, I hope one day we're able to start a diner. He is so amazing and creative! If you've ever eaten at my house you know what I mean. He could make a turd sparkle.
So anyhow, after breakfast today we got ready and went up the mountain to play. Sadly most of the puddles had dryed up but don't worry, we managed to make a pretty good mess anyway. We drove along until the trail got to sketchy to go any further, went a little further and then turned around. It worked out quite well since we needed to head down for dinner at my mothers. We arrived right on time, which is huge for me! Those that know me, know I'm always 5 mintutes late for everything I do in life. I'm only on time if my husband is driving and luckily, he was, everyone was starving. We had a wonderful dinner with some colorful conversation and had some good laughs.
We had some ice cream and barrowed a movie frome Grandma, National Treasure is what my son decided on. We got home and turned the couches into one huge place to sit and relax. Of course Josie had other plans for me, hide and seek was all she wanted to play! I love that girl but sometimes she's too much, cute as a button but way to much energy. I gave her some new jammies, well new to her. They were mine when I was her age, Popples, if you remember those you were an 80's baby for sure. Silly little things that turn from a cute little bear lookin thing into a ball. They look super cute, and she loves them. Crazy kid.

Paranoid

OK, this is going to sound sort of odd. I just spent a half hour waiting in my cold car, in the middle of a rain storm for a pantie thief. Yes i mean that literally, a pantie thief, among other things, like my bra, my favorite jeans and some shirts. This isn't the first time he's come around, so I know I'm not nuts, I have found a young man with long hair wearing sweats, tights and HEELS rummaging through my clothes before. But before I was able to put the pieces together, he had disappeared. Well he seemed to vanish for quite some time but has made a big come back by taking a large chunk of my stuff (which means my wardrobe is next to nothing now). The most disturbing part about this is he may have stolen my daughters underwear too. So you can bet your life I plan on catching this guy, and well for his sake I hope the cops get there fast because I don't plan on letting him leave till the do. So if you have a shared laundry room with open access I warn you to never leave it there overnight, or for that matter unsupervised really.

Share

I wanted to share an awesome recipe with everyone! I made ham fried rice and orange chicken last night from scratch and it turned out amazing! I thought I'd share the joy.

Original Recipe yields 4 servings
Ingredients
Sauce:
1 1/2 C water
2 Tbsp. Orange juice
1/4 C lemon juice
1/3 C rice vinegar
2 1/2 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 Tbsp. grated orange zest
1 C packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp. minced fresh ginger root
1/2 tsp. minced garlic
2 Tbsp. chopped green onion
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
3 Tbsp. cornstarch (I only used one to one and a half)
2 Tbsp. water

Chicken:
2boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 C all purpose flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
3 Tbsp. olive oil

Directions:
Pour 1 1/2 cups water, orange juice concentrate, lemon juice, rice vinegar, and soy sauce into a saucepan and set over medium-high heat. Stir in the orange zest, brown sugar, ginger, garlic, chopped green onion, and red pepper flakes. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat and cool 10 to 15 minutes. Place the chicken pieces into a resealable plastic bag. When contents of saucepan have cooled, pour 1 cup of sauce into bag. Reserve the remaining sauce. Seal the bag of chicken and sauce and refrigerate at least 2 hours.
In another larger resealable plastic bag, mix the flour, salt, and pepper. Add the marinated chicken pieces, seal the bag, and shake to coat. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Place chicken into the skillet and brown on both sides. Drain on a plate lined with paper towels, and cover with aluminum foil. Wipe out the skillet, and add the sauce. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Mix together the cornstarch and water, stir into the sauce. Reduce heat to medium low, add the chicken pieces, and simmer, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

I butterflied the chicken so it wasn't to thick and like I said I used way less corn starch then called for, I'd even maybe add a bit more water, it was a tad strong but still amazing, me and the fam loved it! Enjoy everybody!