Friday, February 24, 2012

Running thru life... Interesting take on V day flowers!

Joe always gets me some type of flowers for Valentine's Day.
With my patient getting me the most gorgeous roses the week before- he knew roses were out.  
So he got me tulips that have yet to bloom. 
They came in a vase with just the roots soaking. 
Apparently they forces the flowers to bloom- very interesting concept.
So we I got them on the 14th- the flowers were still closed.

The Sunday morning.......
Starting to peak thru!


 And Tuesday evening they were blooming!


This is such a cool idea because 1) Flowers last longer, 2) I am going to try to replant the bulbs
3) I want to try to do this next year on my own and see what happens.

=0)

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Running thru life... In a Hurry Chicken Curry

Tuesday before I ran off to have lunch with my mom, I took less than 10 minutes to throw everything in to the Crockpot for "In a Hurry Chicken Curry."

I found the recipe in Better Homes and Gardens and thought I would try it out.

Ingredients
  • 1  16 ounce package frozen stew vegetables-  I used Fresh Veggies- Carrots, Potatoes, and Mushrooms
  • 4 large chicken thighs, skin removed (1 1/2 to 1 3/4 pounds)
  • Salt and ground black pepper
  • 1 10 3/4 ounce can condensed cream of potato soup-  I actually found an organize cream of potato that I used.
  • 2 teaspoons curry powder
  • 1tablespoon snipped fresh cilantro
Directions
1. Place frozen stew vegetables in a 3 1/2- to 4-quart slow cooker. Top with chicken. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. In a small bowl, stir together soup and curry powder. Pour soup mixture over all.
2. Cover; cook on low-heat setting for 6 to 7 hours or on high-heat setting for 3 to 3 1/2 hours. Remove chicken from bones and, if desired, break into large pieces. Sprinkle with cilantro.

It turned out great- so much that my husband said I needed to keep the recipe.  I think next time I would put some raisins in it and also add a little of chicken broth.    I did serve it on a very small amount of rice which I think helped cut the curry a little- I am not a curry person, this was definitely made for my hubby. 


 Picture of the remainder left in the crock pot-  can we say left overs!!!

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Runnign thru life... Tax Season

Last year I blogged about my filing system for keeping our Taxes organized.

This year I added a step.

I made a spreadsheet, which is shared in Dropbox so it can be edited on either computer in our house, to organize our deductions.  As you remember the front pocket is normally where I stick deductions so every 2 or 3 months I would just sit down and add any new ones to the spreadsheet.

Since now it is tax season, I just printed it off and add it to my tax paper to insure that I stay organized and do not miss a deduction.
Then I placed everything in the correct piles:

W2s
1099 INTs
1099 DIVs
1099 Rs
House related forms
Forms for Joe school
Deductions
Work deductions.

I find that this helps me to complete a section or two and then take a mini break.
Once I am done I have my hubby just quickly go thru everything as two sets of eyes are always better than one, and then we submitted both State and Federal electronically!
Totally worth it- not having to go to the Post Office!


Of note- I hate taxes but they are officially done! 

Happy Taxing!!!

Monday, February 20, 2012

Running Thru Life... Carmello's Review

My husband and I have decide that this year- 2012 will be the year we get more adventurous with our eating out.  We do not eat out that often but when we do we seem to pick the same places out of habit.  So when talking about where we were going to Valentine's Day dinner we started looking around for something different.  We stumbled upon Carmellos on Open Table- the reviews were good, it was Portuguese food (which I heart!) and it was a place that we actually had been wanting to try.

So we made the reservation for the Saturday before Valentine's Day.  
I hate eating out of V day- I much rather have a nice quite night at home.  

So we headed out on Saturday to Manassas where Carmello's is located.
It is located in Old Town Manassas which is quaint.  

We walked in and it just went down hill from there.
First, we were not greeted at all.  It was almost we were inconveniencing the wait staff being there.  
They did not offer to take our coats. 
 (This is suppose to be a fine dining place!!!)

We were escorted to our table which was very small and so close together that I could barely get thru the sides and as my husband pointed out "you have a small ass!" 

 Thank you Joseph!

The waiter then came over- did not introduce himself, did not go over the special, nothing- just asked us if we wanted to order.  Joe ordered the Paella and I ordered the Scallops. 

My dish was terrible- It was 4 small scallops on cold white rice with barely any sauce.  
Joe Paella was Ok- it was made with a tomato base which was the not way it was advertized on the menu. 
The waiter did not come back to check us until Joe was done and my plate was still pretty much full to ask us if we wanted dessert.  Both Joe and I were so over the experience we asked for the check and proceed to a local cupcake store for a treat.  

I normally do not do this, but the next morning I woke up and wrote a email to the owner about our experience.  I have now only done this twice in my whole life.  
However, I felt it was warranted because of the bad customer service! 
I was very civil and explained that what we experienced the other night was not fine dining. 
 The owner answered me within 2 days- apologizing for our experience and stating we are not the only ones who did not receive excellent customer service.  
They are apologizing by sending up a substantial gift card to try Carmello's again. 

I will update you with our second experience...
One can only hope it will get better!