Your Grammar Lesson for the Day

I'm sorry, but I have to send out a message to the world. Consider it a grammar lesson for those who need it, or a common pet peeve for those who actually "get it" and don't actually require the lesson!

Please, folks, whenever you're making a statement where you're saying "YOU ARE," (as indicated in this statement itself) please, Please, PLEASE remember that an apostrophe and an e are truly NECESSARY to add to the letters y, o, u, and r. You're completely in the wrong when you say "your" where "you're" is needed.

I just saw a commercial on television for a large local company where they stated, in large letters across my screen, "Your approved." Then, I received an email from a local (and possibly even more wide-spread) chain of companies that states, in regard to the Super Bowl, "Whether if your hosting." Now that one has more problems than just the contraction, but we won't go there today.

Is it really that complicated??? YOUR is used to show possession, such as your kids, your job, your home, your uncanny ability to properly use grammar. YOU'RE is the contraction of the two words "you" and "are" and is the form of the homonym that absolutely must be utilized when your statement reflects the use of those two words together if you were not taking the shortcut of the contraction.

Okay....there's my vent for today. Can you tell that this is like fingernails on the chalkboard for me??? I'm easy-going, but glaring misuse of language makes me C-R-A-Z-Y!!!!! Just ask my kids....I even correct their teachers. Hmm...I can't figure out WHY they get embarrassed over that.....hehe.

So, from the Grammar Queen to you, please use YOUR and YOU'RE as they are intended. Thank you and this concludes my public service announcement for today.

Menu Plan Monday - week of 1/26/09

This will be my last menu plan for awhile. I'm having major surgery next Tuesday, and won't be cooking for at least a couple of weeks. My mom will be feeding the kids next week while I'm in the hospital (God help them.....poor things!!), and then DH will be taking over culinary duties for the next 10 days while he is on vacation, and as long as needed depending on my recovery. Should be interesting around here....

I haven't even sat down and planned a menu this week, so I'm going to wing it from my laptop and see what develops. I will actually miss cooking, and I'm quite concerned that my sourdough starter is going to die, because I don't see Mom or DH baking any bread. That will be frustrating!! What can I do?? Here's my random thoughts on eating this week:

Monday - Pastitsio, corn, cornbread. Our menu plan for last week had a couple of wrenches thrown in (like an unexpected ER visit that resulted in an IHOP visit, too), so I was a day behind with the mac and cheese. This fits well for tomorrow.

Tuesday - Cheeseburger soup. I'm contemplating making this with ground turkey instead of beef, but don't tell anyone here! I am thinking they won't really notice the difference. I'll make some of their favorite homemade rolls to cushion the blow. :)

Wednesday - Chicken Cordon Bleu. This didn't get made again last week, and I'm determined to try it!!!! I'll plan on steamed rice, glazed carrots, and the rest of the rolls, too.

Thursday - Scrambled eggs with ham and cheese, coffee cake or french toast.

Friday - Chicken alfredo pizza (this got replaced last week with a very yummy steak pizza. I blogged about that here.).

Saturday - Smothered steak, mashed potatoes, corn, sourdough bread (and I just had the idea to freeze my starter to save it - yay!!!!).

Sunday - BBQ chicken packets with potatoes, green beans, rest of the sourdough.

I guess that isn't too bad for coming off the top of my head with no prior planning. I contemplated planning for that next Monday, which will be my last cooking day for awhile, but thought better of it. On that evening, we will either have something I really feel like eating, or we'll order Chinese. I might as well enjoy my last real meal for awhile. Trust me, the liquid diet you're stuck on for several days after surgery ain't very good!!! :-P

For more great menu plans, visit OrgJunkie!!

Posting from a new place

Hello, all! I am typing this from my dining room. I got a laptop today and I've spent pretty much all afternoon playing with it. I've decided I'm not Vista's biggest fan, and I find it unacceptable that you now only receive a 60 day TRIAL of the only word processor and spreadsheet programs offered on the system! Rude!! But I suppose I will get used to it.

Sometime in the not-too-distant future, I will be having major surgery. This wonderful little machine will at least keep me from being completely out of touch with the outside world during the time that I'm not able to get up to the loft area to access my computer. Once I get Word, I will also be able to take notes at the PTA meetings directly to the laptop, which will be great, since it looks like I will be the PTA secretary next school year. And, it's also kinda fun. :) I also like the 21 months of interest-free financing!

So...I just thought I'd type a quick post from my new toy. I don't really have anything interesting to say, so have a wonderful day!!!!

Already a menu change

So tonight we DIDN'T get to have the planned dinner. I am really wanting to try that Chicken Cordon Bleu, but today got sorta messed up. Since the kids were out of school, I took them out to breakfast, but they slept in until 9:30, so it was a very late breakfast. Then, I had gotten a last minute pizza mystery shop, which was supposed to be lunch, but nobody was hungry for lunch. I ordered the pizza for dinner for the kids (I still can't believe those three monkeys can eat an ENTIRE large pizza!!!!!) and DH and I had leftover stuffed bread from yesterday and a few odds and ends from the fridge.

So....guess Chicken Cordon Bleu will be back on the menu NEXT week! And tomorrow will definitely involve French Toast instead of biscuits. Flexibility is a key component of frugality! :-)

Menu Plan Monday, 1/19/09

I splurged a little this week. I'm technically over-budget, but it could have been worse! :) I have been CRAVING a good grilled steak lately, and very tempted to head to Applebee's to satisfy the urge. Today, an ad came out for Price Chopper and they advertised top sirloin for $2.44 a pound. It's supposed to be 60° on Wednesday when DH is off, so I decided he's grilling!!!! I went and got the steak today (and had a VERY bad experience with a McKeever's Price Chopper manager that makes me wonder if I will shop there again), and I spent less on all the groceries I bought than I would have spent on a single dinner out, so I feel minimally justified in the splurging. Make sense?? We were way under budget on gasoline this month, so I'm covering it from there. Oh, and to make it even more fun.....HyVee has shrimp on sale tomorrow, so we're giong to make it a steak and shrimp night. Yeah, when I splurge, I go all-out!!!!

So here is my menu plan for the week:

Monday - Chicken Cordon Bleu, steamed rice, carrots, potato bread.

Tuesday - Omelets/scrambled eggs, fried potatoes, baked apples, Grands biscuits (obtained very cheaply with a sale/coupon combo). This day might end up modified, with omelets/eggs and apple crisp french toast (a recipe I am working on developing) if bread comes home with DH tomorrow for "testing" purposes.

Wednesday - Grilled sirloin steak, shrimp fettuccini, green beans, homemade rolls.

Thursday - Steak tips in brown gravy served over steamed rice, corn, rest of the rolls.

Friday - Chicken alfredo pizza on homemade wheat crust.

Saturday - Homemade macaroni and cheese, carrots, biscuits (they'll be homemade unless we don't have the Grands on Tuesday!).

Sunday - Pastitsio, corn, cornbread.

I cannot tell you how much I am looking forward to Wednesday night's dinner!!!! *big grin*

For more wonderful menu plans and recipes, visit Organizing Junkie!

Menu Plan Monday - week of 1/12/09

Well, last week's chicken stretch went over very well with the family - no complaints about having chicken so many days in a row. Yay!! The funny thing is, I STILL have chicken left from those leg quarters. I really thought I would use it all up last week, but I've got another meal's worth in the freezer. Can't complain about that! Here is my plan for this week's menu:

Monday - Breakfast for dinner: Quiche (not sure of the specifics yet because I haven't made a quiche in a long time - I'm thinking bacon and cheese) and banana-oatmeal pancakes since I'm not sure the kids will eat quiche.

Tuesday - Ham and scalloped potatoes, carrots, cornbread.

Wednesday - Chicken with sweet and sour sauce (new recipe for us), rice, corn, sourdough bread.

Thursday - Beef stew with potatoes and carrots, sourdough bread. This is a crock pot night because I'm having a painful medical procedure done that afternoon and know I won't feel much like cooking. It's also supposed to be FRIGIDLY cold!

Friday - In lieu of the usual pizza, I'm making Pizza Rice Casserole to utilize some cottage cheese. Hopefully the kids won't object! We'll have green beans and soft buttery breadsticks with it.

Saturday - Pork roast, mashed potatoes and gravy, corn, biscuits.

Sunday - Pork stuffed bread (made w/ potato bread - yum!), Creamy Wild Rice Soup. I received some wild rice as a gift over a year ago and have yet to use it. Fortunately, it is stored in the freezer, so it's fine, but it's about time I tried something with wild rice! This soup sounds really yummy - it's our second new recipe this week (unless you count quiche, which isn't new, but revisited.....lol).

For more great meal plans, be sure to visit I'm an Organizing Junkie!

Homemade Hamburger/Hot Dog Rolls

I had a request for this recipe, so here it is! It's a bread machine recipe, from The Bread Machine Cookbook, but I'm sure it could be easily adapted to be a hand-kneaded or KitchenAid recipe. :)

Sandwich Rolls

1 1/4 c. water
2 T. oil
2 t. sugar
1 t. salt
3 1/4 c. flour
1/3 c. dry milk
1 1/2 t. yeast

Place ingredients in bread machine in the order suggested by the manufacturer. Set on dough cycle. Once done, shape dough into the type of rolls you need (long and narrow for hot dog, round for hamburger, or long and wider for subs). Let rise 40-50 minutes. Bake for about 20 minutes at 375°.

These are so much better than store-bought rolls, and they are wonderful for sloppy joes!!!!