Saturday, December 29, 2012

Macy's employees ruin our Christmas

With a baby at home it's hard to really go out and shop. So, this year I asked my husband and mom to go to Macy's, try things on and place them on hold (Saturday night at 9 pm).

On Sunday morning my husband took our son to see santa and I went shopping... That was when my nightmare began.

First, jewelry department at Macy's: the lady at the jewelry counter could not find the earrings and slippers which my mom had placed on hold. I looked frantically trying to find the earrings but I couldn't find them anywhere.

Second, women's department at Macy's: my mom placed on hold a few tops and sweaters. I had placed on hold a dress I had been after for months (it was on sale and could now afford it ). I arrived to the woman's department and the cashier informed me there was nothing on hold under my name. She took me to the hold locker and no sign of any of our items. At that point my husband had joined me and I had to tell him that the sweaters he had also place on hold for his great grandmother were gone. At that point I started crying, the few items I had remembered my mom admiring were sold out in her size. I had no Christmas present to give my mom.

Third, men's department at Macy's: after 20 minutes of trying to find someone to help me I received the same bad news; no items were on hold. By that point I just wanted to scream ! Agh ! Luckily I happened to glance around the store and I found a shirt with a 'hold' tag and my name on it. Yes, while the employee at Macy's had placed a hold tag on the clothing she failed to remember to place the items in the hold locker. Some of the items my husband wanted were still there.

For my mom though, I had nothing. For my husband a couple of sweatshirts.

Macy's ruined my Christmas. I had to explain to my mom and husband that the items they wanted were not placed on hold by Macy's employees. I felt awful, mostly my mom who had showed so much anticipation for her earrings. I was heart broken and frustrated this Christmas.

Thank you Macy's employees for ruining our Christmas this year. Last time I shop there !

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

My second casserole attempt

I had so much leftover tomato soup that I decided to test out a new casserole.
It was yummy, although I learned that oregano is a strong spice :)
Also, my tomato soup was extra thick due to too many canned tomatoes added.

My you tube video:
http://youtu.be/FS3hVQbk-sI

Chicken & Rice Cumin Soup

On a cold day like this, this soup is perfect.

My mom made it but I wrote down the ingredients (sorry, no measurements).
In our house things are always done on a whim. I will try and make an official recipe soon.

Chicken boiled in water with garlic, salt and cumin.

White rice was made separately in a rice cooker----> 1 cup of white rice and 1-3/4 cups of water

Canned hominy optional but added once chicken was cooked.

Putting it all together...............

To the chicken soup with hominy we added some rice as desired.
Garnished the soup with chopped onion, cilantro and chopped radishes.
I added a little bit of lemon juice for added flavor :)

Monday, December 17, 2012

Tomato Soup

A friend of mine recently made the most delicious tomato soup!
I tested the recipe out; I should have read the proportions and not added so many canned tomatoes. Even though my proportions were off, it a was delicious soup,everyone at home loved the flavor.
Here is the recipe:

boil about 10 tomatoes and peel them when done
2 of the large canned whole tomatoes
10 cloves of garlic
1 tablespoon of oregano
1 tablespoon of parsley
1 tablespoon of pepper
1/2 tablespoon of salt
1 cup of carrots cooked
chicken broth
2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar

First, saute the garlic in some oil. add everything else. you can add or subtract the spices according to your taste. today i think i put less pepper for the kids and less garlic. use chicken broth according to how thick you want your soup to be.
once it boils, blend it all together.
oh and it always tastes better the day after for some reason.








Hand sewing felt bag for baby clothing

It took me an entire day but I finished hand stitching my first felt bag.

I'm going to put a superman logo in the front when I have some free time :)

Here is the you tube link :

http://youtu.be/YUj8vqaxOLI


Sunday, December 16, 2012

Organizing : Spices

I have a tradition spice rack but I need to have more spices in the kitchen than the spice rack can hold !

This week I organized my spices, so exited :)

Finally something to get my life back in some order.

http://youtu.be/-9KMksKEbpg

1. Inventory list
2.Container to hold spices or boxes to label and place spices in.
3. Labeling the top of each spice bottle (makes finding the right bottle so much easier).
4. Year spices were purchased written somewhere on the bottle :)


Made my first casserole dish :)

I admit maybe only one can of Campbell's cream of chicken would have been enough (lesson learned).

http://youtu.be/6hQsAggUnXo


Bows : Gift wrapping Christmas presents

I spent tonight learning how to make bows for all of my presents :)
So excited to share this ...

http://youtu.be/vL5ICk7Oztg

Friday, December 14, 2012

Christmas Wreath

Today, I finished my Christmas wreath from leftover Christmas tree branches.

http://youtu.be/YYmX99QP98s


Thursday, December 13, 2012

Etsy wall decals

I really, really, really want to purchase these decals but they are very pricy. We are going to try this year to do a similar mural in my sons playroom to cut cost.
I will keep posting as progress goes :)
Hopefully this way I will be more inspired to get it done :)

My dog has an ear hematoma

**** My dog has an ear hematoma***

Rex: Shepherd Mix
Age: 11
Adoption Age: 4 months

My doggie Rex currently has an ear infection on his left ear and a hematoma on the right ear.

I took him to the vet on Sunday and was told of his condition. He was immediately treated for the ear infection but the hematoma was another thing.

The hematoma is currently the size of a nickle and can only be treated with surgery. Which of coarse mean anesthesia.

Reasons why to do it:
It would get rid of the hematoma
His ear will recover with some scaring compared to a self healing ear which shrivels a little
Reasons why not to do it:

He's 11 years old which in human years is senior citizen
He's not in any pain or discomfort.
It can heal itself, although his ear will never be perfect again.
This is exactly what an ear hematoma is:

A hematoma is a collection of blood between the skin and cartilage in a dog's ear flap.
Possible causes: Vigorous shaking of the head, scratching or other injuries.
Self healing can result in: Disfiguration of ear.
The cost of surgery we were quoted was approx. $875 which includes blood work, anesthesia, pain killers, antibiotics, and surgery cost.

Rex might not even be a good candidate for this surgery because of his age and health. But we won't know until his blood work is done again. ( He had blood work done in Jan.)

Cost is not what worries us, my doggie's life is priceless. What we worry about ISanesthesia, his heart and his recovery. I love him and all of my other doggies unconditionally. They are my 'kids' and they are LOVED!!

What we are doing now: We are treating his ear infection and being very vigilant on his ear. There is a 50/50 chance it will heal itself or he will require surgery. We would rather have it heal itself as long as he's not pain. In a week he will have his ear re-checked and we will ask the vet if his ear hematoma is showing signs of healing.

Rex is handsome and we know even if his ear doesn't heal perfectly it will add character to his handsome face :)

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Living Spaces Holiday / Christmas decoration will go on sale

Just found out living spaces puts their Christmas decorations on sale a week before Christmas. They are suppose to be priced reasonably. I will be there and hopefully I won't have sticker shock :)

Felt Christmas Tree

I am finally decorating my hold playroom :) so exited !
I can't believe how easy it was.. I purchased a yard 2 yards of fabric and made a super tall Christmas tree. But looking at it now, I feel I need to add more so I'm going to make a forest and add some winter dazzle. I hope my son will love it :)