Insta-Friday: Gobble Vacation Edition

Nowadays over here (a many other school districts) Thanksgiving means an entire week of school off. And (hello furlough days) this also means a week off for me too...which is nice.

This had to have been one of the best days ever that i have spent with my little peeps. Roller skating (yes, of course I skated) with friends, the park, Pier 1, Flame Broiler for dinner, then Barnes & Noble.great day.

Funky Santa Metro Link train production. Full-fun tub. Patient 14 year old cat. My desk. My hard-hat wearing husband looking at the receipt that says we'll be getting $8.13 for recycling our 5.5 year old washer.humbling.

Gobbling it up at my dads. Too many documentaries lead me to do crazy things. FYI, celery is strong when juiced. Happy Subway customers.

Insta-Friday:Mostly Food Edition

Last Friday started with a round of streep for one of my little peeps..and some freaky-huge tonsils.not cute.

 Cheap muffin mix and 1/4 of whole wheat flour=scones

 This makes working at a new school just a little easier.

Attempting something new and "fun."

Those aren't pancakes...they are supposed to be tortillas:fail...fun-ish though.

Scary.

My magical kit I got from here.

{I'm too lazy at this point to take a final product picture..but it's pretty awesome.even if my husband had to school me on some sewing machine tips.}

 Dinner date with my Abigail....a sandwich for her...burrito salad for me! 
Thank goodness for strip malls.

Bounce house birthday party. Always fun.

No, it's not Friday.

I'm failing at this.

Real Insta-Friday: iPhone Style

A few weeks ago I got this:

I'm not usually one to be all hyped up on technology, but after spending 15 days serving Jury Duty on a computer hardware patent case I'm all over it! 

{Thanks c3mos, or should I say Dr. Armond Harapetian for the 3 hour testimony.}

Siri is now a part of the family.

No this isn't an 8-track. This is the Otter-Box cover for my phone...because I drop phones...and it would be a sad day in Mudville if she broke. Unfortunately since she's SO new & FANCY{cough*gloat) they don't have pretty colors to cover her yet.

Thank you Costco for making my 6 year old and I happy!

The girls have been begging to go to this park in ghetto Anaheim for ages...it really is a great park.

And it was gorgeous out.

Ahh Halloween Fun-fetti cake...4 days after Halloween.

I had to make something I liked.

{since I already raided the candy buckets}

Fat, Fancy & Back to Reality (not actually an insta Insta Friday at all)

Not only do I now have Pinterest to blame for hours of time wasted on the internet, but I can also bitch about them making me fat(ter). This little concoction of honey-sugary-butter goodness was made on our last morning before school started...at 10:45am mind you. Summer indigence at its finest.

Please come to the dark side and make this.

Thanks Pinterest.jerk.

We WERE counting down the days until school started...I suppose we were all in denial because the number never went below four.

The girls were playing "fancy people" with tea cups and grapefruit. After this sophisticated appetizer I served them some Ralphs store brand (chef boyardee style) canned mini raviolis. Very classy. And healthy.right.

 This brings us up to The First Day of School. YaY.

Miss Juliet is in first grade this year and is lucky enough to have both Abigail's kinder & first grade teachers together in one classroom. They are sharing a contract so mid-week when they switch she'll have a refreshed teacher...so is the theory.

 Miss Abigail is in fifth grade this year.time.flies. 

That's all I have to say on this one.

(how cute are these signs, right?)

The first day of school also means that I must break my 10 week fast of not going to work. Back to reality. Back to being Mrs. O. 

I even got a whooping cough vaccine just for the occasion. Because kids are disgusting. 

I really was nice seeing my coworkers and catching up with a few quick sentences as you pass each other in the hall. Hearing about all the fancy far-off amazing places some of these students travel to is interesting..and a bit depressing. 

But it's good to be back. For now.

Strawberry Jam-ish

So, I decided I wanted to attempt to make jam. I have a unnatural LOVE for glass jars, so what could be better than an excuse to buy glass jars and fill them with a sugar logged fruit concoction?! Come on now!

Apprenenty Target doesn't support home canners so I was forced into a Walmart trip where all of my supplies were neatly sprawled into front of me. Things I didn't even know I needed like a kit with a funnel, tongs and a magnet stick...all of which came in very handy. (Thanks Ball for NOT selling me crap that I really didn't need. Your products are awesome.)

That evening I knew Brad wasn't going to be home until 1:30am, I got the girls to bed by 9:45, re-read the recipe 5 times, wasted time here and here. Finally when the clock looked like this:

 I got my butt in gear. After making this nectar of love:

 and REALLY wanting to eat a piece of this:

I got everything ready that this LADY told me I needed.

(I trust her cause she's a fellow Orange County girl Ü )

I'm not gonna lie, this last picture isn't of my jars of yummy-ness(plus mine is less chunky). But honestly I was too lazy and the jars were too dang hot to pose for an after shot...why haven't I done it in the last three days since I made the stuff..not sure.

As for the final product:

-a bit too sweet for my liking

-a bit too runny (over rip probably to blame)

I'm just SO excited that the actual canning process worked though, I was really stressed when I wasn't hearing "POPs"...but then again I'm not very patient.

So thanks Joanne for inspiring me to attempt this.

source

Bruxie=Yum!

Bruxie: Deliciousness in Waffle Form.

 We love to visit The Circle in Old Towne Orange. Not because of the antique shops or pleasant old school charm(I lived in Old Towne my first 19 years of life-I'm over the charm Ü)...we like the food! In the last few years so many new restaurants have moved into the old shops, I can't even keep up with whats where. We've only been to a few because we are way too set in our boring culinary ways(kids love Red Robin what can I say?)...but sometimes we get an itch to try something new.

The girls had been bugging me to try Bruxie...how I could resist...I have an unnatural love for food that can be held; burritos, taquitos, food on sticks, cupcakes....so I was in.

Bruxie has been open for about 6 months and has been very popular. Being next to the college doesn't hurt either. They serve everything on an amazing crispy-on-the-outside-but-soft-on-the-inside waffle. 

How do they do it? Don't know. Don't care. Just want more.

This has a lemon creme with berries. Oh.sweet.heaven.

The breakfast sandwich was fabulous too...egg, cheese and crispy chunks of bacon. I ate half of mine two hours later..still fabulous.

They serve chocolate with a splash of milk. Rich!

  Meeting friends for breakfast made the morning even better!

  This little girl "FaFa" must be the most loved cat around!

Summertime Pantry Challenge

I came across this today:

Good Cheap Eats - oh, how I love cheap anything.

This is a site with great tips and tricks for saving money on your grocery bill and making yummy food. I look more then I actually try out the recipes, but this one caught my eye. 

I love the idea of actually using what you already have in your own cupboard to make stuff...you've already spent the money...use the stuff. 

Just pick up fruits, veggies and meats that are on sale and see what you can create.

Here I go...{disclaimer-not really attempting to be healthy here}

*Those last 6 frozen chicken tenders in the big bag from Costco that wasn't sealed properly and had ice crystals all over them...they made AWESOME shredded BBQ chicken sandwiches!

*Used my homemade marinara sauce with a half box of angel hair pasta I found in the cupboard.

*Can of Chef Boyardee raviolis-the girl acted like they had never had this sodium filled treat.

*Found two packs of frozen bologna (that'll last a while)

*Fish Sticks, not expired. Who Knew?

*3 pounds of hamburger

*3 cans of roast beef

*A few bags of frozen veggies

There's more in there...this should be interesting...add in the velveeta, boxes of mac & cheese and ramen and we are good go! (please take note my white trash humor here-though i really have all this stuff!)

I won't be as detailed as others participating in this...but you get the idea...assume some cereal, toast or waffles for breakfast (I love Costco so have plenty of all. And that bologna I mentioned before will be for lunch. A lot.

Insta-Friday(semi-insta):Mrs. O. has left the building

This was our last week of school/work..we managed to get up 175 times this school year and managed to get our kids where they needed to be..dressed..neat..feed..on time.

I am SO excited to have 9 weeks off..no snotty noses, tying shoes, solving conflicts or opening juice bags or snacks of other peoples children...now I'm just stuck with my own...for 9 weeks.☺

Let Summer Begin!

This is my beautiful cousin Shannon Kelsey kissing her first "left coast"(as she says) California sunset. She was SO excited to witness it! She was here from VA on a 3 day layover on her way to Australia. This will be her second trip there for a church mission. We can't wait to see her in 18 months when she comes back.♥(so we can corrupt her again)

Abigail earned the Presidential Award of Achievement this week for her 3.8 GPA..we are super proud and highly aware that these smart are in no way a reflection of our efforts.

She'll be a big 5th grader in August..time is a jerk and a thief.

I used Frances this week to make "Cupcakes in a Jar." 

Thanks to Joy's Hope I looked awesome to my coworkers and kids teachers.

We closed out our year of Girl Scouts with a BounceU party..complete with Girl Scout cookies...what else?

My little kindergartner is now considered a 1st grader....seriously...time flies people.

Hopefully the Otellio's actually make it back to the beach this summer. We are the worst Californians ever, didn't even go once last summer. In our defense it was June gloom all summer...still.losers.

Thank goodness Shannon is going on a church mission...so she can repent or whatever for herself & us for 18 months...but seriously...this IS how we roll. Yes, of course I had a Sharpie and cardboard in my bag. Doesn't every one?