We Had Visitors for Two Weeks!

 I would NEVER claim to

be a

Domestic Diva,

but

I will anyways.

I was one

from

Friday until Tuesday!

From

sun up to sun down

I cleaned,

organized,

threw out,

scrubbed,

polished,

froze corn or fruit,

until I collapsed

last night.

But what a wonderful

accomplishment.

I had a goal

to get all this

done

BEFORE

September 1st.

and I did.

Now I still do have somethings

left to do,

but they'll have to

wait til cooler

weather.

But if felt good.

My home

hasn't been

cleaned this way

in a year.

But sadly I threw

things out

that should never

of been

thrown

out.

FOOD!!!!!

What  a waste that was

and it

just ripped into

me.

GUILT!

That will not happen again.

From now on, buy

ONLY

what we need.

Even if its

on

SALE!

WALK AWAY!

That goes

with clothes as well.

I'm trying to be more

disciplined

less wasteful

more organized.

Now on a different

topic,

we  had visitors.

Would you like

to know

who?

Can you tell what

by looking

at this photo?

How about a closer look

then?

It's a visitor that no one

wants

to have in their home.

Well, for

two weeks we've been

killing these

in our house.

Majority in our home office

the rest

in our bedroom.

We've

killed between

15-20 per day

for the past

few days,

altogether,

over

70

Yes,

70!

The final straw was when

I was still sleeping

yesterday

morning and at

7AM

I felt something

crawling

on my arm

and it was

a Yellow Jacket!!

I am

HIGHLY

allergic to

bites and stings.

So after waking

up screaming

I could then

hear them

in our

wall.

THAT'S

IT
I"M CALLING
THE
EXTERMINATOR!!!!

As he geared up in

100 degree

weather,

I stood far away.

I felt

sorry for him, it

was horribly

hot

and when he

started

spraying

they were angry!

But it's

done,

they're

gone,

I HOPE!

So yes

some exciting times

in our home.

Evidently

there is an infestation

of bees in the

area.

It's this dry hot

weather here.

Who said there were a

shortage of

bees in this country?

Come to my

yard,

you can have some!

Storing Spices Enjoying End of Summer!

(Is this the life, or what?)

My Kahlua,

he works so hard at being

so bad,

a kitty needs his rest so he

can torment

his siblings later!

Can't get over how fast the summer

has gone.

Despite how HORRIBLY

HOT

its been,

it's still about over and I will

miss

being able to go outside

and sitting

out there on our porch

enjoying these

lovely

views

I just took this picture,

it is

so BEAUTIFUL out today.

Fall is

knocking on our back door.

It's breezy,

dry and cool out today.

Sadly, we

didn't get to use our new porch

this summer,

it was too hot!!

But now we're enjoying it, trying to

take advantage

of these

lovely days.

Cool days like this put me in the

mood,

HMMMM, in the mood for

what?

For cooking, of course, and baking

and curling up

on the couch

with a warm yummy dessert

and cup of

Joe!

I made Stuffed Peppers

and they were YUMMY!!!

I used my

homemade sauce, which reminds

me, I've got lots of sauce

to make and

freeze!

Last night, I was cleaning out

my fridge

and I bought these adorable

spice jars

at Christmas Tree Shops

They had different shapes

there, and

I loved the shape of these.

So, I took out these

spices

from their original packaging

and put them in

these lovely

jars.

I have Turmeric, Curry, Mustard Seeds,

and Garam Masala

(which I'd like to make my own,

The Spice Goddess on the Cooking Channel

has a recipe for Garam Masala

so I'd like to make it

myself)

Remember my last post, I want to

make all kinds

of recipes of different cultures

and I'm starting out

with spices.

Well, anyway, I need more of

these jars,

they were cheap so I'll

probably go

tomorrow and get more.

Did you know that you should

store dark

colored spices in your

refrigerator?

I read that in a Cooking

magazine years

ago,

they stay fresh much longer

and I must

admit, I think they do.

Try that,

any red, brown, yellow or orange color

spices,

store them in your fridge.

But

whatever you do

DO NOT STORE YOUR COFFEE

IN THE FRIDGE!!!

It ruins your

coffee and makes it

stale.

Ask any coffeehouse

how they store their

coffee

and they'll agree

with that statement.

It's a SIN to do

that!

LOL

Well, not really.

Enjoy the rest of your summer,

it'll be another

seven months for

us NE folks before

summer

returns,

(sigh).

French Food

Have you ever watched this show

French Food At Home?

I absolutely LOVE this show.

It's on the

Cooking Channel.

I could watch Laura for hours at a time.

I love her mannerisms,

the way

she expresses her love of food,

and all the wonderful

recipes she

cooks.

I have her set on my DVR for

every future

show.

As you all know on many

of my previous

posts

I LOVE TO COOK!

And I have made

a few

of French recipes.

I really want to

be able to spend more time

in trying new recipes.

I have become

COMPLETELY

Obsessed

with cooking shows lately.

I currently have

EIGHT

shows that I pre-record.

I also just

thoroughly enjoy

watching

Spice Goddess

Bal cooks Indian dishes

that I could

smell right from my living

room couch.

She makes my mouth

water.

OK, I am a little obsessed....LOL

But I want to try

all kinds

of recipes.

Whether French, Indian, Spanish, etc....

Cooking is satisfying and

relaxing.

I have taken a break on my

sewing.

I still do personal stuff, but

this past

Friday was my last craft show.

I did well at that

show,

but, I need to take a break

and focus

on something different.

We're learning a new

language as

well

and we're pretty excited.

So some new goals

have been

set.

I'm ready

for change.

Don't you get that way?

CONTAGIOUS!!! WHAT??!!

Well, I went to the Doctor yesterday,

the cough was

not going away, my headaches were

not budging

so they got me in and I went,

I was afraid

but I had to go!

There's nothing better than when

your Doctor

walks into the room and sits down

and hears

you cough and says,

"I'll be right back, I need to get a mask"

MASK!

OK,

now I am really

freaking out!!

He comes in and

asks questions like, where does it

hurt, how long,

what have you been feeling,

etc. etc. etc.

"Have you gone anywhere lately?"

Yes, I say, to TN.

"HMMMM, your lungs are clear,

which is good,

but...."

BUT, BUT WHAT?

"....You have a virus, and you are

very contagious...

I'll give you an inhaler and some

cough medicine,

take those, if in a week you're not

better or if you feel

anything strange

in your chest,

CALL US RIGHT AWAY!"

A VIRUS!

So, I'm home, stuck in the house,

avoiding people,

trying to feel better.

So far so good, I am feeling

a little better

today.

So I'll do some crafts.

Watch some

movies.

DH, brought me these as a

surprise!

What a wonderful husband I

have, I know.

Oh well, at least now I know what

it is.

I called my mom, I told her I thought

I was dying.

She laughs, in case you haven't

noticed I'm a

little

dramatic,

just a little.....hehehe.

But dad called me this morning,

wanted to make

sure I was OK.

How sweet!

On a different note now,

I know, its not

always

about me....sheesh,

My dear friend

over at

My 1st Bambina

is having a giveaway,

she too went

for some tests,

but they came

back

real

good

for

her,

I'm so happy, Monika!

So go over to her

blog

and

join in the giveaway.

Monika is

so talented, she

embroiders

beautiful things.

I'll also will link the giveaway on my

sidebar as well.

Enjoy your day!

Is It Too Hot??!!

Aren't my tomatoes pretty?

I'm surprised

I have any with how hot and dry

we've been

here in the NE area, actually

I think the

majority of the east coast is

suffering.

We returned from our trip to TN

and the weather

there is the same as it is here in

PA!

Hot, Humid, Hazy and just

plain

MISERABLE!

But today I'm feeling miserable.

Thursday afternoon

I started to have a dry cough

that hurt, a little.

Then Friday morning I went to work

and started feeling

dizzy, sweaty, shaky, and very

tired.

I did my job and went to the grocery

store to get some

Chicken soup ingredients.

Came home,

finished my work online, and made

soup.

I've been on my couch ever

since.

Drinking green tea, watching Hallmark

movies, or TCM movies.

There is nothing worse then being sick when

its

a 100 degrees outside.

But I'm not sure what I have.

not sure what's going on,

my boss

thought maybe heat exhaustion

but I don't do

anything in this heat.

I

HATE

the heat so I stay inside

mostly.

I drink plenty of liquids.

I thought maybe

the flu,

but its not,

the headaches and dizziness

are not fun.

I'm still coughing, a dry cough

that hurts

what in the world do I have??

So I'm home today

feeling sorry

for myself, and at the same

time,

very frustrated.

Someone

shoot

me!

Hope your weekend is alot

better than

mine!