Happy Monday Everyone!
I’ve decided to add the day of the week to the blog post title so that 5 years from now I’ll remember what day of the week it was. Still trying to decide where to add it on the title. I kinda like it where it is today. We’ll see how it goes and how I feel when I start the post.
So Monday, what’s going on today? Well it is payroll processing day. It will take a little longer today because I didn’t get to prep it like I usually do because I was distracted last week with other things thrown at me by my boss. She is doing another “Best Friends” presentation this week which means I need to do the presentation. This time we are doing it in the Clubhouse Auditorium and I don’t know the equipment in there. People tell me that it is the same as elsewhere on campus. But it still makes me nervous to do it. I’ll need to take time today to get checked out on the equipment. And everyone is so busy I don’t know if I’ll get anyone to be able to help. But I’m sure it will work out. I’m sort of the kind of person that likes to be prepared in advance (usually way in advance) and my boss is one that is working until the last minute on things and expects them to run smoothly. It drives me crazy, but I have a job and this is all part of if. I’m grateful for my job – as frustrating as it can get.
I received an email this morning from the Social Security Administration directing me to check out my annual statement. I’ll have to do that later today. They do it by email now rather than mailing it out. That must save a lot of money for them in postage every year. I’m wondering if when you collect Social Security whether you have to pay income taxes on that money? Steve – what do you know? I haven’t had to pay any extra taxes and have had a refund every year. The only time I had to write a check to the IRS was in the old days when I was in the restaurant business as an owner and I paid quarterly payments. But that was a long time ago. Now I’m wondering how it works. Once I start getting income to live on from my investments, I’m wondering how that works. Well, I’ll have to find that out from my accountant and investment advisor. I’m sure they’ll let me know. There I go – “worrying about the future” – a waste of time and energy!
So this morning, Metaxa caught a palmetto bug and brought it to me to show me. So proud, she was. If you know cats, you can tell when they have something to show you like that – their meow is different. She was playing with it on the oriental rug so at first I thought it was a lizard that she caught on the front porch to bring me. So then the bug escaped from her and I saw it and caught it and flushed it down the toilet. She’s still looking for it. Can’t figure out where it went. So mean of me, but so funny that she keeps looking for it.
So yesterday I found a recipe on FB for a slow cooking chicken and bean and quinoa concoction. I thought the ingredients would be too much for my slow cooker so I decided to cut the recipe in half. Well, half was too much for my little cooker so I transferred it to my mother’s dutch oven. I love that dutch oven – it reminds me of my childhood and at 63 that’s a long time ago ( I know Steve – a spring chicken to you – what did you say yesterday? “PHTTTT” ) but anyway I’m so happy I kept this part of my childhood. Here is a picture of it.
I love this pot!
So anyway – yesterday I told myself that I was going to go the the gym and then I didn’t and then I said I wasn’t going to try the recipe and I did. Typical drunk behavior. So after realizing the food wouldn’t fit in my slow cooker, I decided to transfer it to my Dutch Oven. So it slow cooked in there for about 5 hours. Now mind you, there were 16 oz of black beans and 1/2 a cup of Quinoa and various other things like corn and tomatoes and green chili’s etc – not to mention chicken and spices. So after it was all said and done – I now have 7 portions of this concoction in my freezer – enough to feed a small army. It got me thinking first of all how blessed I am that I don’t have a huge family to feed. Second that the Quinoa really “stretches” a recipe and this I learned from the presentation at work – so I hope all of those partners with lots of mouths to feed take this advice and use this miracle grain to feed all of the hungry mouths in their homes.
Time to get ready for work now. Have a beautiful day!
