mmmmmm meatloaf

Good morning.Well, the work week ended fairly busy, and the bitter cold has eased for a bit.
It snowed yesterday evening, with about 3 inches of new stuff. Then, it turned to freezing rain as the temps began to rise during the night. This morning, it's raining and 34 out, heading into the low 40's. Tomorrow's temps are forecast into the low 50's before dropping back into the teens by the weekend.
With a mild 31 out yesterday, I decided to do a check of the mo-ho house batteries. While I had the keys, I also checked the inside. Surprised to find 2 dead mice! Besides bait, I set several mouse traps with peanut butter. That's what got both of them. I reset the traps, and will look again today and tomorrow to make sure there's no others.  We don't ever get mice in the winter, so this is a puzzler. I even have mothballs around the tires. Thank goodness I do a multi-prong defense.
Also Sunday I did some housecleaning and started a puzzle. Craig made a tasty meatloaf for dinner and leftovers.

He used lean Italian sausage and extra lean ground beef. He added shredded carrots and onions to the meat, and a fat free cheese and spinach center. Served with baked acorn squash and scalloped potatoes.
And that's all I got for now....

Yep! Still cold!

Good morning.
Our bitter cold is moderating, and we should get all the way up into the low 20's today.  :-\
It's been a fairly slow week, as is normal for this time of year, as all our snow birds are gone and a lot of the chemicals we did before Christmas won't need to be redone until March.
and I've been going in early every day this week to clean the floors, as we've had snow every other day, and they've been salting like crazy. The asphalt parking lot is white from all the salt. And more snow is expected today, so no let up in sight.
And with nothing much more to say, time to get going and Have a great weekend!

another wing recipe

BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!
Gooddd mmmorning.
It's a frozen -4 out this morning with a forecast high of only 8.   :-\

 I've just returned from cleaning the Salon. I know, it's not Sunday, but this time of year with all the snow we've had, and all the salt they put down, the floors look bad real quick. So I go in a couple times during the week, to do a quick mopping of the floors. Got to keep the stylists happy.  :-)
Yesterday, I went in for a final check of my eye. It was still slightly dilated from 4 weeks ago, and the tech said that was normal. It takes a long time for the drops I used to keep it dilated, to wear off. I'm also still seeing flashing lights at the far left edge of my vision. Only at night, and she said it was because where the gel in my eye pulled away and caused the tear in my retina, takes time to, as she put it, 'settle down'. It may take weeks or months. All long as it doesn't get worst, there's no need for concern. I was thoroughly checked by a retinal specialist who gave me a clean bill of health. Said I should not need to be seen again.  :-)
 After our usual running which of course didn't include banking, since it was MLK day, we returned home where I cooked up another batch of wings, using  different recipe.

Don't they look yummy? They were!  :-)
These wings, after boiling, were marinated overnight.
You can find the recipe here if you like.
 Spent the rest of the afternoon, play on the puter and checking out potential camping trips.
And with that, I'm off to the shower and my last day off.

yummy wings

Good morning.
It's frickin cold out today, and looks to be getting worst.
Winter has finally hit us hard.  :-(
Wish I was in Quartzite.

Just a quicky before I dash out for my 7:55am appointment for my last eye check.
I finally got around to making the wings. Did 2 types.

They were delish! Craig raved about them.
I've posted more pics and the recipe over at Cooking with Craig.
The plain ones were nice and crunchy, and the coated ones were tasty without being messy.
Definitely a healthier version of one of my favorite snacks.
And with that, I gotta go!

waiting for tech support

Good morning.
It's been a fairly busy week at the Salon.
I arrived home on Thursday evening to find I had no Internet .  :-(
I did all the regular things. Restarted my puter, rebooted the modem, rebooted the router, nothing helped. So I pulled the Ethernet cord from the router and plugged it directly into my tower to rule out a bad router. Nothing. 
So I finally called tech support. After 30 minutes on hold,  :-(    I finally got to speak to a real live person.  'Justin' checked everything from his end, and had me do a few things on my end, and still nothing.  So he said he'd send my 'ticket' to the next level, and took my phone number so they could call and let me know what they found.
I get home Friday from work, and find this on my door....

WTF? He never said anything about sending someone out to the house! So, I checked to find still no Internet, and called the number on the card, where miraculously, I got a real person in less than a minute. Apparently they needed to check the box on the back of the garage, and found my backyard gated. I said the latch was on the inside of the gate if they had gone over and just looked. It's only a 3 ft high gate. Anyway, he apologized and set up another time. Someone would be out that afternoon before 6pm. I waited, and sure enough, around 3:30 a tech showed up. But he wanted to come inside and check the modem. I figured it was okay, since his van had the company name on it and so did his shirt. So he came in, did a diagnostic on the phone line, and brought in another modem to try. Still nothing.
He figured it must be something in my windows settings. I said I could fire up my laptop and see if it could get the Internet. He said that would be a good idea. I hooked up the laptop, nothing. No Internet.
He said that was all he could do. He was a field tech sent to just check the line. He gave me a number for advanced dsl help tech, to go through my puters settings and left. I'm thinking, it can't be my puter, cause I've tried 2 different ones, but knew my only course was to call the number.
I got though the menu right away and got a nice guy, Bill. He was confused at first, because the number I called was for field tech support, not customer support. But he decided to help me anyway. He had me run through a number of command prompts on both my desktop and laptop. He surmised there wasn't a problem at my end, and would resend the ticket to the center where he said they may have to switch me to a different port.
Anyway, long story short, I had Internt back by bedtime.  :-)
And with that, I've got to get going for my last day of work this week.

Salad time

Good morning.
It was a sunny, cold day yesterday. High of 28.
After all my ambition on Monday, Tuesday wasn't the same.  :-)
I repacked the spinach I bought for this weeks salads. The spinach below was from what I bought last week.

As you can see, it still looks as good as when I bought it. The secret is in storage.
Remove the band around the bunch.

Do not wash until you use it. Place a paper towel in a plastic container, Loosely add the spinach, and seal with lid and put in fridge. It will keep for over a week.  :-)
Romaine will keep fine in a plastic bag for nearly 2 weeks.

And speaking of salads,here's what I got this week for them.....

 

And here we have romaine, spinach, english cucumber, carrots, eggs, tomato, fat free shredded cheese, and bacon bits.

I sliced up some romaine and spinach, then shaved a carrot.

I like the thinner pieces of carrot in salads.  :-)

The slice the cucumber. I like english cucumbers because the seeds are so small.

Slice the egg, and tomato, add a little shredded cheese for texture, and bacon bits for crunch and you have 3 nice salads.

I don't care for the tomato with the egg, so I'll have 2 different salads. Craig's is the third. He doesn't like bacon bits.  :-)
And I didn't get around to making the wings yet, maybe next week. probably just as well. I'd probably eat too many.   :-)
And now, time for another work week. This one is looking pretty busy.

yearly maintenance

Good morning.
Yesterday was another productive day.
I got the cleaning bug.  :-)
Worked mostly in the kitchen. The microwave, toaster oven, walls, floors, I went at it.
Then, while Craig finished up the 1099's, I did my yearly cleaning on the puters.
I do this every January, and you should too!

My computer wasn't bad, but then, my is fairly new.
Now Craig's on the other hand....

Look how dusty the fins are behind the fan. Left like that, it's a recipe for overheating and early failure. And it easy to avoid. A can of compressed air is all it takes to get rid of the dust. And they are making it easier. 2-3 screws and the sides pop right off.
So now that's done for another year.  :-)
And for dinner, we had ham steaks with mashed potatoes and a new twist on cauliflower.
Smokey cauliflower.

It was very good!
And we've decided on 4 more weekend destinations for this summer. So now, just 2-3 more to decide on.
But right now, time to get the day going.

1099's and a pork stir-fry

Good morning.
Our very brief spring like weather is gone. I awoke to 22 out and about an inch of snow.
Yesterday was a dreary drizzly day, as the temps hovered around 36 for most of the day. By late afternoon, it had turned to snow.  I suspect a lot of icy streets out there this morning unless the salt trucks got out during the night. We'll see.
I managed to do some house cleaning yesterday, while Craig continues on the year-end stuff. He finished the 1099's we have to give to each of the staff, and today, he's going to do the one's the staff has to give us. I know, "isn't that the staffs job"?  Well, yes, but Craig has all the totals, and by him doing them, he knows the figures are right. And the staff appreciates it also, since they don't have to go through their books and calculate the figures, and fill out the forms.
So some of you might ask, what's a 1099?
Well, if you pay anyone $600 or more during a calendar year, you must file a form 1099. One part goes to the person you paid, and the other, mailed to the government. Just another way the government makes sure you report all your income and pay your fair share of taxes.
The staff pays us rent during the year, so that's why they have to give us a 1099. We pay them retail commissions, and Visa/MasterCard  reimbursements, so that's why we have to give them a 1099.
I didn't get around to making the wings yet, maybe today.
I spent a good amount of time researching possible trips. I think our next trip is going to be into the Upper Peninsula. It will be July, so it should be warm up there by then.  :-)
And for dinner, Craig made a tasty stir-fry.

Sliced boneless pork cutlets with red and yellow peppers, onion, mushrooms, and snap peas, with a side of wild rice.

And a tasty marinade he mixed with a little cornstarch for thickening.
And, enough for leftovers!
Now time to get going...

yum, pizza

Good morning.
I've just returned from cleaning the Salon. Spent just over 3 hours there this time. Did a real thorough cleaning.  :-)
It was a fairly slow week, but steady.
Temps topped out near 60 yesterday. Felt like spring. But today, it's already down to 38, and expected to continue to drop through the week.
For dinner yesterday, Craig made pizza.

But we used a sausage style soy burger. It really tasted like sausage! It was yummy!
I did real good this week eating. Salads for lunch every day, and light dinners. Already feeling the holiday weight going away.  :-)
 And today, I'm making me a batch of wings. I know, you're saying, "I thought you were on a diet"?
And I am, but even on a diet, you can't deprive yourself of an occasional snack.   :-)
And everyone knows, I love wings! And that's why I'm making a batch myself. I found a recipe that looks delish! And it's low in calories. At least, a lot lower than store bought wings.
First, the wings are boiled to remove excess fat. Then, you toss them in a bag with flour and seasonings. Place them on a greased pan, and put in the fridge for an hour to let the flour adhere to the wings. Then bake at 400 to a golden brown. If you want them sauced, baste during the last 20 minutes, turning once.
Anyway, this is the recipe I'm going to try. I'll let you know how they turn out.
Now time for my shower....

another weekend over

Good morning.
Another weekend over, and Craig continues to talk about our little trip to FireKeepers. Guess he had a good time.   :-)
Craig spent the rest of the weekend (Monday and Tuesday), doing bookwork. All his year-end totals match, and he wrote checks to fund our IRA's.
I helped out doing laundry, and general cleaning, and spent some time on the puter, researching possible RV trips for this summer.
And after a holiday season of complete pigging out, I've got the fridge packed with veggies, and I've prepared salads for the work week. I boiled some eggs yesterday to add a little protein to the salads. I made them up with Romaine, spinach, shaved carrots, sliced cucumbers, diced Roma tomatoes, and a little shredded fat free cheddar cheese. We have a few low-cal dressings at the Salon we can add when we're ready to eat. I added some bacon bits to mine. I like a little crunch in my salad.   :-)

Tomorrow, instead of the egg, I think I'll add a little canned chicken, and maybe tuna on Friday. Gotta mix it up a little you know.   ;-)
The weather looks to be warming up this week, with temps forecast into the 50's by Saturday before dropping back in to the low 30's on Sunday. Unfortunately, when we get warmer weather in the winter, it's always with rain. If it holds off, it would be a good time to get some walking in,.  :-)
And with that, time to get ready for another work week.

Craig's birthday trip

Good morning.
We've just returned from a little birthday trip for Craig.
We left yesterday morning for Battle Creek, about 45 miles from Lansing, and the Brand New FireKeepers Hotel.
It opened on Dec 12th.
Somehow, even though we booked a 'regular' room, we ended up with this ginormous corner room....

Craig, and outside, a view of a snowy interstate 94.

It was nearly twice as large as other room on the same floor that we sneaked a peak at when they were being cleaned. And floor to ceiling windows on 2 sides.

One thing I couldn't find was the hotel guide telling how to use the wi-fi and where the ice machine was.
I discovered, it's all on the TV now. Menus galore!

I love the big walk-in showers they are putting in the newer hotels.

Wish I could get that in my little 5x8 bathroom.   :-)
Heck, the entire bathroom was about as big as my kitchen!

Anyway, we arrived in Battle Creek around noon, and had Craig's birthday lunch at Chili's. Got to the hotel around 1pm and into our room. Relaxed a bit and then went down to the casino, where we ended up spending way more time than planned. Didn't get back to the room until almost 10pm. But we were having a really good time. Came back to the room with nearly twice the money we brought to gamble with.   :-)
Ordered a little room service, watched a little TV, and called it a day.
Got up this morning, checked out through the TV, left the keys in the room, and arrived back in Lansing.
A very nice birthday trip.

another weekend.

Good morning.
I've just returned from cleaning the Salon. As usual.
Made it through another work week.  And, with no drama.  :-)
We've been holding steady temps this week, right below freezing. A light snow cover on the ground with a little more last night.
Placed another Salon supply order online after work yesterday.
On my back....
It's coming along. Sleeping very well through the night. Just a little stiff and achy in the morning. I still have one area of my spine that's not staying put. But the chiro is working on it, and now that I'm able to get into a regular schedule with him, I expect to continue to improve.
And I want to thank the few people who remembered, and wished Craig a happy birthday last Thursday.
Yes, he's officially retirement age, 62. But he's going to delay taking early SS, as we're not able to retire quite yet, since I'm so much younger.   :-)
Anyway,  time for my shower and get Craig up.

New year back-up

Good morning.
It's been a steady week in the Salon so far. Placed a couple of supply orders to restock stuff I let thin so there wouldn't be so much to count.  :-)
This morning, I did my annual back-up of my puter. Put a blank DVD in, and dragged and dropped all the folders and files I wouldn't want to lose should my puter die unexpectedly. I also saved my Bookmarks, or favorites depending on the browser you use. I use Firefox.  :-)
And with that done, I can now go back and delete the dozens and dozens of picture folders I have. That will free up a bunch of space. Then I'll clean up and defrag the puter. That's another thing that should be done periodically to keep it running smooth. I use a program called CCleaner. 
It finds way more junk than the disk clean up utility than comes with windows. Just be careful how you set it up. It will also wipe out all your saved log ins on your websites so make sure you uncheck that box.
Anyway, time for me to get to work..
Have a great weekend!

my first post

Good morning.
Well, the Holidays are done, the junk food eaten, the tree and decorations have been put away, and now it's time to get on with the new year.
Yesterday, Craig spent most of the day doing year end totals for work. We had a good year.  :-)
He'll be spending the next 2 weeks with all the year end stuff he does. I spent this morning putting away the rest of the decorations, and  I'll go into work early today, and do the year end inventory.
Customer were very generous this year, and we received enough Christmas tips, to complete our gas fund for this years mo-ho trips. Unless of course, gas hits $5. Who knows? Time will tell.
We have 10 trips planned for this year, and as I've already posted, I've got the first 4 booked.  We have yet to decide where we are going for the rest. But we have time to decide.   :-)
And with not much else to say, my first post of 2013 is done.