One Hundred and Seventy Five Ones

Woohooo!!!

I've got $150 that I'm trying to see how much money I can make from. So far I've made $25.

Have you heard of Safeway's new Just for U Program. It's pretty great. Basically you can add coupons directly to your Safeway card and there's manufacturer's coupons along with store coupons.

Well, I found this bad boy a couple weeks ago.





Now, you have to pay a whopping  $5.95 to activate these dumb cards (I hate that- it's totally a scam). But that still means you make $9.05. So, of course, I did it!!

   $150.00   iphone sale

+ $25.00     American Express Serve

+ $9.05       Mastercard

$184.05   !!!!  

In less than a month I've already made $34! That's exciting. "Forbes' Wealthiest People" here I come!

One Hundred and Fifty Bucks

 

 That's how much money I made. How? Selling an iphone. I sold a phone and after my tithe, expenses, and buying an ipad mini (maybe someday I'll actually be able to buy one of those...darn you apple and not making enough for everyone!!!!)

So, why am I bragging. Well, I decided that I'm gonna take that money and see how much money I can make out of it. I know it sounds weird. BUT! I think I can make a pretty penny out of my 15,000 pennies.


come along!

The first thing I did was sign up for American Express Serve.
This is basically a prepaid card. They had an awesome promo where if you started a new account, (no credit checks- it's not a credit card) and loaded at least $25, they would match the $25 with $25. It happened instantly and I've already received my Serve Card in the mail loaded with $50!!

So here's my tally so far:

  $150  Started Money

+$25  Serve Reward

= $175

I think I'm off to a good start!

Good Recipes Deserve To Be Shared

Living in Oregon brings many adventures. We have mountains and trails to hike, paths to bike, lakes to swim in, rivers to raft down, mountains to snowboard/ski through. This place really is an adventure, and let me tell you, the weather in Oregon always wants in on the party. This weekend we experience beautiful 90+ degrees. OOooh! I love hot, hot, hot weather. Amateurs received sunburns (my husband). It was awesome. Then 24 hours later, yesterday, we have a HUGE hailstorm. I'm talking big! Hail was piling up in the streets- it was crazy. All this to say that today I went out and checked out the damages to my garden and realized that we need to eat a BIG salad before all this lettuce goes to waste.

I discovered this recipe about a month and a half ago and we've had it 3 or 4 times since. It is so good and it tastes so fresh. You don't need to use steak. One time we used chicken and just sauteed it in some of the marinade. You could also not use meat at all. Trust me, you wouldn't miss it! Plus, if you're a gardener, chances are that you can get most of the ingredients from your backyard. (I totally have a soy sauce tree in my backyard- don't you?)

Adapted from a recipe from Iowa Girl Eats!

Thai Beef Salad

Ingredients (serves 2-3)

• 3/4lb - 1lb flank steak
• 4 Tablespoons fresh lime juice, divided
• 3 Tablespoons soy sauce
• 3 Tablespoons olive oil (original recipe calls for canola but I try to steer clear of canola so I used olive)
• 2 Tablespoons packed brown sugar
• 1 Tablespoon water
• 1 teaspoon garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh ginger, peeled and microplaned (or minced)
• 1 1/4 teaspoons chili-garlic sauce
• 1 bag Dole baby spinach
• 1 bag Dole Romaine lettuce
• 1/2 cup cilantro, roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup basil, roughly chopped
• 1 cup grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
• 2-3 Green Onions cut into 1/2inch chunks

Instructions

• In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, olive oil, brown sugar, garlic, ginger and chili-garlic sauce. Pour half the mixture into a ziplock bag. Add the steak and 2 1/2 Tablespoons lime juice to the bag and marinate for 4 hours in the refrigerator, or overnight. (Or really quickly right before you make it...) Add the remaining 1 1/2 Tablespoons lime juice to the remaining mixture and reserve to dress the salad.
• Heat a grill or grill pan to high, then spray with non-stick spray. Remove the steak from the marinade and grill for 5 minutes a side, or until cooked to your preferred level of doneness. Remove the steak to a plate, let it rest for 5-7 minutes, then slice it thinly against the grain.
• In a large bowl, combine the baby spinach, romaine lettuce, cilantro, basil, onions, and tomatoes. Pour reserved salad dressing over and toss to coat. Divide salads among plates and top with steak slices.

The original recipe actually has you sliced shallots, fry them, and add them to the finished project. I tried this once and didn't really like it. So, instead, we just put fresh green onions into the salad. I think I'm gonna make this salad this week and this time add some mint too.... We'll see how that goes.

Trip To The Park

Last Thursday we went to Ashland with some new friends. It was fun. Evie had her first swing ride and her first ride on a slide. She loved the swing. She would giggle and growl and make all sorts of funny sounds of happiness. The slide on the other hand was a total dud. She didn't even smile. I was gonna take pictures of the fun day but now I realize that I only took pictures of Evie! Oh well!

 Jake and I climbed this strange but awesome play gym made of rope. 

We just happened to be in the park where Jake asked me to marry him five years ago. So, while the guys were talking and the baby was getting fussy, I strolled over to visit the spot. Unfortunately they put some unsightly trash cans at the spot.

So now, this is the new spot.... 

 It was a great day!

I Read The Whole Thing?

I have a creepy confession to make.... I found a blog that I totally love. It's awesome! It's witty, snarky, informative and it includes all of my favorite things. Travel, gardening, and couponing (well, couponing isn't my favorite thing but the end result of out bank account is.) She feeds her family for one hundred dollars a month- that's right up my alley.  Let me introduce you to....................................................Mavis!

She's got a greenhouse to die for. My spine melted with envy when I saw it. Her garden; beautiful. Raised beds; gorgeous. Coupon deals; smoking!

So, here's the creepy part.
I 
Read
The
Entire
Blog.
90-something pages. I read the whole thing. First I read from end to about 50 pages in. Then I thought, "hmmmm....maybe I should start from the beginning." So I did. Even though she warned me not to. And I loved it!

Check it out! You won't be disappointed...  Unless of course you hate gardening, cooking, and saving money. Then, you might be disappointing.

Book Review

I actual haven't finished this book yet. I started it two days ago and I find it tremendously funny! I love the witty writing and the wonderful use of the English language...... also I'm pretty sure it's for children- BUT that doesn't mean that it can't be read by adults! 

A Whole Nother Story by Dr. Cuthbert Soup is, so far, deliciously entertaining, innovative, and clever beyond imagination. I wish I had written it myself. Here is an excerpt that I just found absolutely delightful!

SOME MUCH NEEDED ADVICE ON TATTOOS

"There was a time when, if you encountered someone with a tottoo, you could pretty much assume he was either a sailor or had, at one time or another, been in prison. There was something, it seemed, about men being cooped up together that made them want to draw on themselves.

But lately, it's become more and more difficult to distinguish sailors and ex-convicts from regular folks, as everyone these days is getting a tattoo.

People who get tattoos are likely to say it is a great way to express their individuality. But before you decide to express your individuality by doing what everyone else is doing, be forewarned that tattoos are permanent.

What then if you happen to choose a tattoo that seems like a good idea at the time but one day outlives its usefulness?

For instance, I am acquainted with a young woman named Lois who was so enamored of her fiance, Jack, that she thought it might be nice to surprise him by having the words I love Jack tattooed in bright red ink on her right shoulder blade.

Two day later, Jack surprised Lois by marrying someone else. And so, because tattoos are permanent, she was forced to return to the tattoo parlor and have the words I love Jack altered to read I love flapjacks. 

That was some time ago. Since then Lois has gotten over Jack and is currently back on the dating scene, though she finds that all of her suitors end up taking her to dinner at the local pancake house. 

This goes to show you that the only place you should ever have anyone's name written in indelible ink is on the waistband of your underwear. And then it should be your own name, as having someone else's name on your underwear would be both odd and highly inappropriate. 

The point is that tattoos are permanent. Underwear is not.

Still, it seems that these days tattoos are outselling underwear two to one. As popular as they might be, I would advise against getting one at all costs. Because, as with my pancake-loving friend Lois...there will come a day when you will most assuredly regret having it. This I absolutely guarantee or my name isn't....wait a minute. This is not my underwear."

 You know you want to read the rest.....Buy It Now!!!!

My Favorite New Recipe!

I love Thai food, but I don't like making new Thai recipes. The reason being that you never know if it's going to be drop dead delicious or just drop dead. I'm a white American girl, so while I enjoy the effects fermented fish sauce has on dishes, I'm not quite ready to eat fish sauce straight. (I'll actually never be ready for this) So whenever you make a new Thai dish, it's a bit of a crapshoot. It might be awesome or it might be awful. As I was making this recipe for the first time, I was pretty sure it was gonna be awful. I mean it even smelled bad. I dreaded even taste testing it as I was getting close to finishing. As I drew the sauce up to my quivering tongue, I braced myself for a disgusting fishy nastiness- but instead, I got a delightfully sweet, tangy, spice that can only be described as Thai Food!


Originally I made this stir fry over rice, but as you can see in the picture I tried it with noodles- both were great!


Here's what you do:


First make your stir fry sauce by combining 3 tbsp oyster sauce and Golden Mt Sauce (My Asian Market was out so I used soy sauce which is similar), 1 tbsp of fish sauce, lime juice, and 2 tbsp of brown sugar. Stir this up and set aside. 


I cut up one boneless, skinless chicken breast and sauteed it with four cloves of  chopped garlic and one sliced jalapeno. I added 1 onion completely slivered. 1-2 sliced red and/or yellow bell peppers. Now you can add whatever kind of veggies you love- I've tried zucchinis, mushrooms, and broccoli and they were all really delicious. 


Stir fry all of these ingredients. If you need some extra liquid, add some white wine or rice vinegar. Just a few splashes to keep everything moist. Once your chicken is cooked and you veggies are at their desired softness, you can add your noodles if you're using them. I added just plain old cooked whole wheat spaghetti. You can use whatever you like but the spaghetti noodles were surprisingly complimentary in this and I used the whole wheat so there would be a firmer texture in the noodles.

Now you can pour in your stir fry sauce (don't worry it really will be good!) Mix this up and add a couple handfuls of rudely chopped fresh basil. This is really one of the main ingredients so don't skip it!

Let your basil wilt just a little and serve. You can sprinkle on a little more fresh basil as desired! Oh- it's good!