7 Quick Takes Friday

I am joining Jen yet again. Thankfully, everyone is back home again and life can fall into routine whatever routine that means with 6 kids under 10. 

1. Yes, I have been absent for a while. I having been living the seriously fun life known as remicade hell. What is remicade you ask? Remicade is a Tier IV drug which means it is ubber expensive. You know me and my designer taste. It is used to control my arthritis. When I say control, I mean it allows me to have a relatively normal life i.e walk, go out and about etc. What is remicade hell? Remember when you were in college and had one ten too many drinks? Remember the next morning when you were worshiping the toilet gods? Picture that times 10. I threw up so much, I actually had a sore throat and my sinuses were cleared. When I say throwing up too much, I mean 45 minutes non-stop. Wow! that was a lot of fun information to share about myself. I know what you are thinking, I bet you will never take that drug again. Well here is the kicker, what if it was the only thing in life that made it so you could be "normal" (I use that term loosely) but caused a very intense 12 hours which at several junctions in that time period  you wish you were dead? See what I mean?? A rock and a hard place, welcome to my life.

2. I was notified the other day that Bob's cousin Beaufort is visiting and that Bob's sister moved in down the street. Now I was not aware that Bob had a cousin or a sister for that matter. It is good that M&M is keeping us updated on these kind of things.I have never been good about keeping up with the neighbors. Bob use to live with us in NC. To Johnny and James great relief Bob moved with us to Cheney from NC almost 20 years ago. For a squirrel he is excellent shape. I am not sure but in human years, I think he is 140. Of course he made the move with us too this side of the mountains. When I inquired about Beaufort, the cousin,   I was informed by M&M, that his name says it all. Apparently Beaufort likes to get into the fermented berries and cause a scene with Bob and his sister. One time the cops had to be called. I am still trying to digest the whole Beaufort it is his all in his name and you know what kind of guy that makes him thing. I have yet to venture to question what my 6 year old knows about fermented berries. 

3.I am totally loving the cookbook Homemade Pantry, 101 things you can stop buying and start making by Alana Chernila. Being the cheapwad that I am, I requested my local library purchase a copy. I prefer to spend my money on designer drugs besides, I like to test drive things before committing. This strategy has saved me so much money over the years as most books never make the final cut of me actually buying a copy. Homemade Pantry made the cut.After 3 months of searching for answer, Alana in one easy step solved my yogurt problem but not only that she gave us a pizza sauce that Liam will actually eat. So why yes, this book is worth its weight. 

4.Speaking of yogurt problems, I am now that master of making cream on the top yummiest of the best yogurt on the planet. There is nothing quite so satisfying as turning milk into something completely different. I cannot wait to foray into the world of cheese.  I think, I will be able to knock Liam's socks off with homemade mozzarella.  I am drooling just thinking about it.

5. This has been a very exciting week culinary wise. Liam and I finally figured out the whole home made pizza thing without resorting to building a wood fire oven in the back yard (all that it is still on my wish list). The major key that we were missing was not heating our pizza stone up for 30 minutes at 500 degrees and baking the pizza at 500 degrees. Yep, that is one mighty hot oven, but let me tell you about the gooey goodness it produces. Our next step, Liam wants to roll the dough before we proof it. Hmm, interesting times at our house. I am not sure what other people do for fun but we are living up around here.

6. Is it just me or does it seem like to you that the majority of the stores out there have horrible customer service? It seems to me there is a direct link between the store appreciating the employee and how that employee treats the customer base. Last week Whole Paycheck Foods went beyond what is reasonable helping me. I was amazed. It just seems to me, the employees there actually like their job are treated well by their employer which in turn they have a much happier customer base. The older I get the less patience, I have for employers that employs a workforce of imbeciles. I might pay a little more to shop elsewhere then so be it. Life is way too short.  In the past few weeks, M&M and I have witnessed on two separate occasions a clerk yell at the customer, two different clerks same store. We do not shop at the store very often but it has made me think if we will ever shop at that store again (we were only cutting through the store to get to our mall walk). 

7. Friday!!! Need I say more? The end of the work week is finally here, so what if I no longer get paid in any form of currency that is accepted at the grocery store, sometimes any excuse is a good excuse to cut loose and break out the popcorn maker and whip up some lemonade. Yep, good times at the Barrett household!