Saturday Stumbles

I have one super duper favorite site that I found. I found it on Thursday night. Actually, I came across it awhile back while reading another blog but I never did anything with it.

Blogfrog Their motto is that they turn blogs into communities. They don't lie. In the first 24 hours that I linked up my blog, twitter, and created my community, I have 8 followers. I couldn't believe it. You can search for people and then follow them. In the communities, you can have discussion Q&A, and my favorite part are the widgets you add to your blog. One of them lets me see who has visited my blog from blogfrog. I love seeing the activity.
So, if you are looking for a way to get your blog out there blogfrog is def the way to go.
If you'd like, check out my page to get a feel for out it works.

Check out for Saturday Stumbles @ It's Come 2 This

Friday Follows: I want my cell phone!!!!!

I'm sitting in a daze right. I realized on my way home from work today that I forgot my cell phone at work. I keep thinking that I could call my sister or check my email. When I go to reach for my phone, it's not there. I never thought I would say this about a cell phone, but I'm think I'm about to have a nervous breakdown. I really do.
As soon as I got home, I actually had to get on a computer to email my coworker. I hardly actually log into hotmail or gmail. Then to my distress, I had to wait for her to reply. Turns out I left it on my desk and she was kind enough to put it in my drawer.
Now, all I can think about is how it's going to be dead and wondering if I have a hookup for it that will plug into my computer and charge. So, I'm not post anything mind blowing tonight. I'm on the hunt to find a charger that I can bring to work. Wish me luck!

Another Great Thursday Follow

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Be sure to link up to this Thursday meme. Be sure to follow the hostess.

Mama Kat's Writing Workshop

It's time again for Mama Kat's Writing Workshop
. You can pick one of the writing prompts and then link up on Thursdays. Here is the one that I chose:
1.) What would you change about your life if you could?

This is kind of hard because the major thing I would change is how I handled my college years. But, if I changed how I did things, then I probably wouldn't have Jeremy in my life and I would be without my son.
I grew up in a small town in NW Iowa. After graduation, I moved to Iowa City to attend the U of Iowa. I totally messed it up. By the end of the first semester, I was on academic probation. By the end of the second semester, I was either kicked out or I had to fight for me to stay there.
I chose to be kicked out. I had already signed a lease for my first apartment. So I decided that I would go to Kirkwood a community college.
I thought for sure since I screwed up and wasted tons of money the year before I would buckled down and get things done. I was wrong.
I totally slacked off. I didn't go to class and I would call into work quite frequently. I think at the time, I wanted to be like my friends who didn't have to work because their parents paid for EVERYTHING. I didn't think about how I wasn't in that situation and that I was paying for my own college and rent.
My third year rolled around and I decided that I was going to take a year off from school all together and just work. Obviously I wasn't ready to go to college. I did all right, but I really missed going to school. At the end of that summer, I moved back in with my parents and went to the community college here for computer programming. I did quite well and that's when I met Jeremy. Eight years later and we are still together with a son.
There are times when I wish I would have graduated from Iowa. I could have done awesome things with my life. I see a girl that joined our department who is just 25 years old. She has a great sales job and a pretty new house in the "rich" part of town. That could have been me. Or I have friend whome I lived with in Iowa City that moved to Chicago and have high power jobs. I sooo wanted that.
I'm not saying that I'm not happy. I have a great job as a secretary at Tyson Foods. I love my job. I went back to school a couple of years ago to get an associates degree in Business. I'm currently finishing up my bachelors degree in business. I hope to get into management in the next few month.
When I think about how I should have done things differently and how I'm jealous of my friends, I feel guilty. Had I done the things I really wanted to do, I wouldn't be sitting here typing this post on my Mommy Blog with my precious little boy asleep down the hall.

Do you ever wish you would have done things differently? If so, do you have the same guilt that I have?

Welcome Wednesdays

If you want to be a part of Welcome Wednesday, just follow these 5 simple steps:
1. Follow the Welcome Wednesday Host (Take It From Me) as well as the 2 Spotlighted Blogs of the Week. (These will make up the top three slots on the Linky)
2. Link up your blog name and URL with our Linky. (You only need to add your info once for it to be seen on all the blog hops)
3. Grab our Welcome Wednesday button and include it in a post about the event on your blog.
4. Go to as many blogs on the MckLinky as you want and Follow them. Be sure to tell them you are from Welcome Wednesday!
5. Be sure to Follow back any followers you have gained from our Welcome Wednesday event!

A recent "ah ha" moment

Over the weekend, I did some meat prep to put in the freezer. I bag a bunch of steaks and roasts in marinades. I also tried my first freezer recipe. It was a beef stroganoff.
Through out the whole process, I was acumulating a bunch of garbage. I hate touching raw meat, so there was a lot of hand washing and paper towel usage going on. I got tired of going to the trash can every. single. time. Normally I would just use an old grocery sack and leave it on the counter to throw my trash in. But, with limited counter space, it would take up room. I'm very particular about my work space.
So what I did was hung a shopping bag on the door know of the closet that my garbage is in. I only put the knob thru one hole so it lef the bag hanging open. My kitchen is somewhat small so it wasn't much for me to turn around and toss it in.
Since I was touching so much raw steaks and roast, 20 lbs of it, I didn't feel like I was contaiminating every thing I touched.
It's probably not a new idea, but it for sure works for me! I love having those "ah ha" moments when you realize what you just did makes your chores much easier.

Crockpot Roast Beef & Gravy

I love a good pot roast dinner. I was making them in a crockpot while I was at work. But, I must have lost my touch. I like my roast to fall apart with I cut it with a fork. After so many attempts, I stopped trying. I then went to cooking it in my dutch oven pan. It's a great way to cook it, but not something I want to do after work. So, here is a new crockpot roast recipe:

Crockpot Roast & Gravy
4 to 6lb roast beef
1/2 pkg dry onion soup mix
1 can cream of mushroom
1 can water from soup
1 can coke (not diet)

Place meat in crockpot. Sprinkle with dry soup mix. Stir together Coke, water, and soup. Pour over roast. Cook on low for 6 to 7 hours. Gravy may be thin, but you make thicken it up.

Source: American Legion Family Cookbook: A Collection of Recipes by American Legion Auxiliary Department of Nebraska.

This recipe turned out awesome and I'm so happy that I finally got out of my "roast rut".

Tackle It Tuesday

Ok, before I show you a picture of what I tackled. Please don't judge. :) We live in an apartment so the storage space is somewhat limited. Our kitchen table has pretty much become the hub of our lives. It's right around the corner from the door so everything gets thrown on it. Here is what it looked like over the weekend:

Ok. I'm pretty sure my heart just fell into my stomach. I can't believe I just posted that online. But, that's what it looks like no matter how unorganized it is. Most of it's stuff that I will use through out the week: my new school books, coupons, purse, magazines....etc.

In case you are wondering why I have a computer on my kitchen table here is why. My laptop took a dump on me. So, I ordered a computer through work. It was my understanding that if I ordered a desktop, we would switch it out with the old one. The day the desktop comes, I am told that there is no need to get rid of the old computer. What?! Where am I supposed to put the new one? Had I known this, I would have gotten a laptop. It was sitting on th coffee table but I had to move it. So, the kitchen table was the next best place.

Here is what my kitchen table looks like as I type this:

I still have weeks worth of coupons and about 5 magazines I keep forgetting I have. But now they are more organized. Once my coupon train envelope arrives, I will be able to get rid of the stack. I also have my bag packed for school since we start tomorrow night. I feel pretty good about the results. What kills me is that it only took me 10 minutes to do that. I'm wondering why can't I do this daily? It's not like it takes a whole afternoon or anything.

Check out more Tackle it Tuesday posts at 5 Minutes for Mom

A Random Thought: Generic Brands

I've never been against buying the store brand items. I do have a few items that I will not buy store brand. This list includes any sort of hamburger helper, cheese slices, and until yesterday, toilet paper.
For some reason, my boyfriend is the one that buys all the paper products. It's been a small battle to get him to buy the expensive TP. I have pretty much gave in and let him choose. On a recent trip to Wal-Mart, he bought the Great Value toilet paper.
My first thought was, "Geeze, this is going to suck." Let me tell you, I was very surprised when I opened it. I'd say it's a very good swap for what I call, "the good stuff". I won't go into details about my TP use, I don't think we are on that level yet...LOL. I will say that I will be crossing off toilet paper from my Do Not Buy Generic list. Finally, a generic toilet paper worth writing about!!

Mailbox Monday

Join me for Mailbox Monday hosted by Simply Stacie, This Mama Loves Her Bargains
, and A Little of This and a Little of That

Here is a great Sunday meme. It's called Getting to know You.

1. What do you look forward to the most on the 4th of July? Probably the possibility of parties, family events, fire works. There is just so much that goes on.

2. Are you a hugger? Not really. I hug my toddler like crazy but I leave everyone else alone...lol. If a relative or someone comes up to me and puts their arms out for a hug, I will give it to them. I wont volunteer myself though...LOL

3. What is your favorite BBQ'd food? It's a toss up between and awesome steak or a cheeseburger.

4. Do you like to watch parades? Sometimes. I don't like super long ones and the weather has to be just right.

5. Who has stinkier farts..boys or girls? Mmmmmm......this is a hard one. I've smelled some pretty nasty ones from girls.

6. Vampires or Werewolves? Neither! I have not read a single Twilight book or watched their movies. I also don't watch any of those TV shows that are out now. I just haven't gotten the obsession that people have now.

7. Do you read your horoscope? Not daily. But if I'm reading a magazine or I see it online, I will read it. I also like to read old ones to see if how thats how the prev month was. Sometimes it was.

8. What is your favorite flavor of ice cream? Anouther toughie, I grew up in the Ice Cream Capital of the World. Ice cream was always around. So, I'd say anything with chocolate ribbon and maybe some peanut butter filled candies. Well's Dairy makes one called, Bunny Tracks.