Salisbury steak dinner July 12, 2011

***I am a few days behind on the blog and I am going to add the date to not confuse.

Tonight, I made Salisbury steak from scratch and it was so good. The recipe is from "The Happy Housewife" blog (I will link the recipe at the bottom of the page). Dennis only complaint was that the sauce was not the same color as when you buy it from the store but it tasted just like it. This recipe makes a lot for just the two of us so I might try and find a way to cut it in half but it is just so good that you really should try and make it.


The recipe can be found here: http://thehappyhousewife.com/cooking/salisbury-steak/

Pizza steak July 11th, 2011

Tonight I made Denni's mom pizza steak recipe and it turned out okay. I have never tenderized steak before so that was interesting. Come to find out that when you are cooking cube steak you don't necessary have to tenderize it. However, I learned this after I had hammered the steak. I am going to try a second time to make the recipe because Dennis really likes it. If it turns out better than I will post it on here. :) Wish me luck

Ballgame July 10th, 2011

Dennis's softball team won their game today. It is their first victory. They have lost the previous five games but finally a victory and I think the whole team is going to play better now because they have one win under their belt. I have discovered that I am much better spectator than a player as I am the reason that they have one of their loses. :( I do make a great cheerleader and I can't wait to see them win again this week.

Garden Again. July 9th, 2011

Okay, I am now getting used to hoeing the garden but I am still not finding any joy in it. This is what I think gets me every time....it is simply too hot. It seems to always be super hot the day that we do it. I am beginning to worry about heat stroke. The only other gardener I know went to the hospital the other day with what we thought was heat stroke (though it turned out to be something different and he is much older). Gardening is very dangerous. 

Calling Again July 8th, 2011

***I am a few days behind on the blog and I am going to add the date to not confuse.

I started calling around 11am today and after a few tries, and a 20 minute wait, I was able to speak to a real person. I was calling because I didn't get paid any unemployment, which is a huge deal. We can't handle living on one income (I wish so badly that we could though). The very nice worker told me that because I worked for a school it sent up some red flags and I had to fill out more paperwork (I had already filled the paperwork without knowing it because I figured it was routine). The school was also require to fill out some paperwork and all of this was to basically confirm that I so not have a guaranteed job in the fall. The government now has six weeks to review all the papers and make a decision.

In the meantime I am in limbo. I have to continue calling MARVIN and reporting (I will get back pay when everything comes thru----which is good news). I have also taken to talking to my kitties as they are all that is here. Dennis is working 40+ to help us make it. I am trying to optimistic about it all and I think that deep down I know that everything will work out and we will be better and stronger after this.

Calling...calling...calling

***I am a few days behind on the blog and I am going to add the date to not confuse.

I called unemployment today and in case you couldn't tell by the title of this it did not go well. I called unemployment 14 times today. Why did I call 14 times you ask; that would be because each time I would call (minus 2...I will explain what happened those 2 times) the message I would get was this, "Unfortunately, no agents are available to take your call at this time. Please hang up and try again later. Click!" WHAT!!?!?!?! I called and got this message 12 times. The other two times when this message did not come on I would be put on hold saying that someone would get to me but they had to answered in the order they came in. So I would wait on hold; and I am not exaggerating when I say these hold were a good 12-15 minutes. Then both times it would ring and then hang up. AHHHH.... I even tried at different points in the day and calling back to back. Nothing seemed to be able to get thru. I don't understand. Couldn't they hire some of the unemployed to work in the office? Perhaps answering phones? I would apply to that job. I was so frustrated and I hate being one of the people that complains about unemployment but this was so frustrating. I gave up around 7pm because I figured that there was nobody at the office anymore. I will try again tomorrow. Hopefully with a renewed sense of patience.

I Heart Libraries July 6th, 2011

***I am a few days behind on the blog and I am going to add the date to not confuse.

I love libraries. I have loved them for as long as I can remember. I like being in a place that is filled with adventures. I remember feeling so privileged when I got my first library card. My library love has carried over into my college and adult years. In college I worked in a library and loved every minute. I have compared every job I have had since to the library and none come close to the feeling of belonging and safety I felt in that library. I have volunteered in  my local library but the others there did not share my love; it ultimately was hard to keep my job and volunteer when they needed me. I still love the library though. I am there almost every week. The great thing about the local library is that it is in a system of libraries so the books are never the same, they are constantly exchanging books amongst the branches. I have been thinking about my library love a lot more now that I am unemployed. The library has allowed me to learn to cook and to get thru my parents deaths and now as I stare into the scary world of unemployment, I turned to my friend to get me thru. Off to read a few books on what to do when unemployed from my old friend the library.

Government Health care July 5, 2011

***I am a few days behind on the blog and I am going to add the date to not confuse.

With all my recent dealings with the government I figured  that the boyfriend and I going to get healthcare was going to be a complete nightmare and we were going to get beat up as we were heading into the "bad" part of town. Thankfully, the day was neither one of these things. I got lost or lets say confused as to where the place was but happened to stumble upon it as the boyfriend called for help. We walked and were greeted by the overly friendly guy behind the desk. He was super helpful and copied and organized all the papers we had brought. He even cross checked the boyfriend in the system and found that he had applied several years ago and got him setup without going to see the agent. I had to go back though, which again was not bad. The man answered all my questions and gave me a lot of information to read and ponder. Overall, it was a great experience and had me putting a little faith back into the government. I hope that this translates to my calls to unemployment later this week.

Dog Sitting 7-4-2011

***I am a few days behind on the blog and I am going to add the date to not confuse.

I have been staying at my sister's house for the past two days while dog sitting for them and I have discovered this....I am not ready for a dog or a baby. Now she did not leave her baby behind for me to watch but her dogs are like babies in a way (and they are definitely her babies, just like my cats are to me). However, her dogs are up several times at night/morning (5am is still night to me). I know a child would do this too. I am not ready to have to get up to let someone or something out to go potty or have their diaper changed. I like sleeping in some days. I like that I don't have to take a diaper bag out or go home to let the dogs out. I am happy loving on the kitties I have and they sometimes show me how much they love me. I love my dog niece and nephews but at the end of the day just like a baby I was glad their mom and dad came home.

Hoeing the garden 7-3-2011

I have a garden at my grandma's house this summer. This is my first garden ever. I have never really been all that great with growing things though I absolutely love flowers. We planted various vegetables and of course pumpkins for the fall. Today was one day that I had to hoe the garden. Hoeing the garden is not really a fun activity especially in the super duper heat we have been having lately but I think that I am finally getting the hang of it. It is nice to stand back when you are finished and see that you made some progress and space for the plants. I am hoping that maybe if I do this task enough I will learn to like it and therefore keep gardening next year. I hope anyways.

Day 13 of Unemployment 7-2-11: My Laundromat

We have 4 washer and 4 dryers in our building but they're two doors down (our building is split into 4 sections) and it cost $1.25 to wash and $1.25 to dry. To me if I going to carry laundry someplace then I might as well take it to a house where I can do it for free especially now when we could use every quarter we can get. My laundromat this weekend will be my nana's and my sister as they are both out of town and I will be house sitting for both.

Thankfully, my sister's house is the only one that I have to watch dogs at. My grandma's dog is a very good dog but trying to bounce between the two, more than I already did, would have been horrible. This weekend was nice because I felt useful again. It was like I was doing something of importance, something that would make a difference if only to three dogs I was taking care of. I love this feeling. I need to find a job or getting called back because I don't think that I can handle this uselessness that I am feeling day in and day out.

Day 12 of Unemployment 7-1-11: Video games

Let me just say this, I am not a gamer. I accept that Dennis is a gamer though. He used to play World of Warcraft but has since moved onto the Xbox360 Modern Warfare. We also have a subscription to Gamefly but it is getting cancelled because A. we need the money and B. it is horrible. We would get a new video game like every two weeks. This weekend ( the first weekend in July) apparently is going to be a big xp weekend. Dennis had to explain what this meant to me twice and I am still a little confused because xp is what they call experience (I think) in the gamer world. Here is what I don't understand why not just call experience you know experience or give the acronym the proper letters. This is bugging me for some reason.

I also went to visit my Nana today. I love visiting her house, it breaks up the everyday same old same old that is unemployment. She is pretty awesome as well.

Day 11 of Unemployment 6-30-11: My Transformers' experience

Today was date day. We are so stretched for money right now that we switched date night to the day. It was Dennis's turn to pick the movie and he chose Transformers 3. Now, I have not seen either one of the first two Transformers' movies and had no real desire to see the newest installment. From what I could tell from the previews of the movie it was simply going to be something that I was not going to enjoy, however we made a deal a while ago to share the movie picks and he has sat thru (with very little protest) several "chick" flicks.

*** I am going to go on a tangent for a minute so bare with me. A little background on Dennis and Me. Dennis and I have been dating for a little over a year. I love him a lot. He is an awesome guy. He makes me laugh and holds me when I cry. He is perfect for me. He like hockesy and baseball. I liked baseball already but he made me love it and I am slowly learning how hockey works, although I get the feeling I will never really be "into" it. Okay, I think that is all to sum it up...awesome fella- who loves me lots-takes good care of me (like going to chick-flicks and not freaking out when I cry cause I miss my daddy)- and likes baseball. ***

Now Transformers. This movie was one of the first that we have EVER been late to, and when I say late I mean we walked in and the movie was already a couple minutes in. Dennis and I are both huge fans of previews but had gotten held up in horrendous traffic on the way there. We were both hot and frustrated walking in but I tried to keep an open-mind about the 2hr movie I was convinced I was going to hate.

I ended up loving the movie; I even cried at certain parts. So now we are searching for the first two because I have to know how they got to this point ( I am seriously one of the worst people to watch movies with because if I have seen it, I recite the lines, if I haven't seen it then I tend to ask a lot of questions that no one can answer because they obviously haven't seen it either.....do you see what he has to put up with on a daily basis. God bless him.). Anyway I am a transformed Transformer fan.

After we went to see the movie Dennis had the delight of coming to the dance recital with me that I have already seen three times. Overall, it was a good day  that we spent completely together.

Day 10 of Unemployment 6-29-11: Learning to let go

Tonight was the night that I formally volunteer to work the dance recital. I know, I know another dance recital post and just have to forewarn you there will be mention of it it tomorrow too. Okay, so tonight was my formal night and even though I had been there the past two nights and I was not dancing I was nervous. The night thankfully went off without any problem except for one.... Parents. Parents of kids in dance need to let go a little. These kids did fine yesterday night when you weren't  here to help them in and out of their costumes so let it go. I was here last night and there was no problem....let it go. Several parents felt the need to come back in between their child's number and change them; these are 9 to 12 year olds. The kids did not need their parent or more specifically mom's help, I was there as were their classmates if they did need help with their hair piece or something. I am wondering that if the mothers are micro-managing this much at dance, what the home life looks like. And let me say this, coming from a person who has worked in a school, the teachers' at school would probably appreciate it if you let go a little there too. Your kid will stand out if you are coddling them and it makes it hard on the teacher. Okay, I will get down from my soapbox now.

Day 9 of Unemployment 6-28-11: The art of the quick-change

Tonight was the true dress rehearsal for Megan's dance recital and since I was volunteering the next night I was asked to please come tonight to learn what I was to do the following night. This night included costumes, dancing, the props, everything. Now I already told you that Megan had a dance with the older kids, however last nights line up of dances was not the actual order of the show. In the real order of the show Megan was dancing dances back to back, which is where I learned I would come in. I would be in charge of quick changes. Megan had the quickest quick change in the recital and for the most part the older girls did it on their own but I did end up helping a few in Megan's class.

The night was going well for the most part. I had quick changed quite a few of the other girls in Megan's class but hers was coming up. This quick change is 50 seconds (which is what Megan's was) was a new thing to me so I had my aunt Cindy, who teaches at the studio and would be assisting in Megan's quick change, explain it to me. Let me teach you: 1 You prep everything you will need. In this case we need her ballet shoes, a one piece fairy suit, her pouch of fairy dust and a flute. 2 When the dancer comes off you take off the old shoes. 3 Take down the whole other dance costume (assuming that the dancer is wearing the nude body suits that they make specifically for this reason). Someone else should be alter whatever is in their hair. 4 Pull up the new costume that's prepared before by laying it out on the floor as if one was to stand it and pull it up. 5 Slip the new shoes onto the dancers feet, while someone adds the fairy pouch. 6 Send them out and hope they made it in time. And now you know everything you need to to help a dancer with a quick change....Your welcome. :)

Day 8 of Unemployment 6-27-11

Today was another call to Unemployment; this time it was to change my method of payment to direct deposit. Apparently, if you don't change it it automatically  goes onto a card that they provide to you. Here is what I don't understand about this....who doesn't have a checking account? I don't know anybody that doesn't have at least one. I mean how did they get paid when they were working? Did they simply cash the check as soon as they got it? This is will never make sense to me, however the way you change the method is super simple and very quick.

The rest of the day was spent at my little sister, Megan, staging recital rehearsal. I have never heard of this but after going  it was a great idea. Basically what it was was that Megan had specific times for each of her dances ( there was no finale rehearsal today) and you get there for the first dance time then when you are done with the last one you leave. There are no costume involved in this rehearsal; the kids simply do their dances while the crew works out the lighting, props, and background. However, this did give the younger dancers a chance to get used to dancing on the BIG stage. Megan loved it. We brought a lot to do in the 2 hour span she had between when her class danced and when she did her solo with the big kids but she ended up watching the kids. It was neat to see everything come together. It was also nice to feel usefully again. I am glad that my step-mom thought to ask me to take Meg when she was going to pick up the newlyweds. It is helping to make the second week of unemployment a little more fulfilling.

Day 7 of Unemployment 6-26-11

 I believe that today has been my first technical day at home. So today I tackled cleaning my kitchen. Now let me tell you this, this is the hardest room in my house to get and keep clean. However, the kitchen is also the smallest room in the apartment; it is even almost smaller than the larger back closet.

This kitchen gets a lot of use. During the school year when I was working it fed Dennis and I in shifts and was even where lunches were prepared usually in a rush. Now it is serving as the place for experiments. Yes, I am learning to cook and usually it is unsuccessful but I am trying nonetheless (and god bless Dennis who will at least try everything I make). Anyway, I cook like my Nana(who is an amazing cook) but makes a massive mess. I manage to cook something simple but the sink overflow with dishes and the counter gets stained. Thankfully we have a dishwasher and I am religious about wiping down the counter but with white

counter tops I have to scrub them with comet about once a week. It is not a chore I enjoy.
Today was different. I walked into that kitchen with a mission it was going to be spotless if it killed me or at least caused me to nap and I think I was almost successful ( minus the dirty dishes). I had to take the picture to share how clean it is and it lasted all of like 3 hours before it was dirty again. I guess that is the life of the unemployed.

Day 6 of Unemployment 6-25-11

I had a great day today. I got to go to lunch with my sister, Emilee. She is my best friend. We are super close though it wasn't always this way. We, I think anyway, became closer when our mom passed away. We were all that each other had. She means so much to me. Anyway, she is a shopper. She has like 2 or 3 times the clothes that I do and they are all adorable but today she found some perfect for her dresses. I love shopping with her because she knows what she likes and she will help you decide what is perfect for you as well. I even went in to TJ Max for the first time and let me say this,  I am hooked. There was so very many things I wanted but being that money is tight I only bought this super cute bowl for the kitties. Cooper has been breaking out from the other one and the bowl was so cute you can't help but love it.

Day 5 of Unemployment 6-24-11

BEFORE

Yeah!! Today was new haircut day. I have been wanting to chop it off but with the wedding coming up I figured I better leave it long. Now it is short and awesome. My sister did an awesome job on it. I love the cut and color. I hope that I am able to do the styling like she did. :)

AFTER

Day 4 of Unemployment 6-23-11

Four days in. Today was all about the little kitty that drooled. Yes, you read that right. My cat, who is barely a year old, is drooling. It is very strange. And it is not like it is a tiny bit of drool. It is big puddles on the bed. We noticed the drool in the morning and decided to keep an eye on him. However as the day went on and he continued we decided something had to be wrong. We started calling vets around 6:30pm. Our own vet that I love and trust was closed so we were off to the only animal hospital still open. They said if we made it there by 7pm they would take us. $66.59 later we had no answer. They said that without blood work and X-rays ($100 each) they couldn't tell what was wrong with him. However, they did prescribe a medicine to take away any pain in the mouth and one to take away any pain in the stomach. One was in pill form that we had to cut in half and then dissolve in water and then give him in a syringe. My poor baby. He was not a fan of the medicine and his brother (our older cat) would not go near him for a day due to the "hospital" smell. Thankfully it was "only" $66. We couldn't have afford  much more and it seems to have helped as the drooling has thankfully stopped .

Day 3 of Unemployment 6-22-11

This was a thankfully uneventful day. We went to the boyfriend's parents house for dinner and waited out a storm. His parents love me even more than him I think some days :)

Day 2 of Unemployment 6-21-11

So when I talked to the lady on the phone for unemployment I managed to understand that I need to register with Michigan Works. I had no idea what this was but I was damned if I was going to ask this lady so I did a little research. To explain the just of it....it is a place that they might find you work. After talking to my sister I discovered that even if you register with them; they never call you. Okay I am going to make a trip to this place and nothing will come of it but I will go and maybe something will ( I am trying to learn to be a optimist :) ). The Michigan Works place is in Lapeer and I am running errands anyway so away I go.

Okay now in order for the story to continue you need to know this....I get lost very, very, very easily.

Now on with the story. I am driving down I-69 ( a normal freeway around here) and my car is shaking as it has been lately whenever I go 65mph or higher when the car next me rolls down its window. I paid no attention to it  then but in retrospect they were trying to tell me something. Window down, driving the same speed as me even though they are in the other lane. I had blown a tire but it was not until I was going up the exit ramp and smelled that rubber that I realized this. OH MY GOSH.  Now I know how to change a tire my dad taught me when the driving trainer teacher told him to but that was like 10 years ago and I have never done it without him. I panicked for a quick minute then realized I have a whole bunch of people that would come to my rescue.

First I called the boyfriend, even though I knew he was at work, he said that he would come if I really need him but asked if I could find someone else. Okay I will...Next was my sister. I called her cellphone and her work phone both were busy. Next my grandma and her phone was complete off. If i didn't know better I would think everyone was avoiding me. Finally I called my stepmom....Success. She would be to my rescue after my sister finished making her eggs. WHAT? I giggled a little at the fact that my rescue would be here after my 9-year-old sister finished making her egg. And then of course there was the fact that I had been on the way to the unemployment office when I blew the tire. As far as I knew tire weren't cheap and now I would find out the true price. So there I am laughing on the side of the road while waiting for my rescue to come.

Thankfully a half hour later they did come and got the spare on and I got to go register at Michigan Works. Thankfully my stepmom also came to my rescue when it came time to go to the tire place. Which when we got there not only did they say that I blew the tire so bad that I was lucky I didn't flip the car and that I need four new tires. $373 later I have four new tires and second long day of unemployment. Man this is harder than going to a job everyday.

Day 1 of Unemployment 6-20-11

Okay, can I just say this...could they make it a little harder to get unemployment. The online version is meant to be easy but they seem to ask you about every job that you have had....ever. "When did you start, when did you stop, why did quit and/or get fired...." the questions went on and on. I gave up with the online version and just called but then I got the one that doesn't quite grasp the English language until it comes time to tell me what to do next then she spits it out like she is an auctioneer and I scramble to write it. She ended up having to repeat herself three times. I am hoping that I never have to go through this again.

So I finally get through unemployment lady and I take to cleaning my house. My youngest sister has been recently diagnosed with some crazy allergy/pneumonia thing so wherever she is needs too be very dust and fur free. This is a hard feat when sharing an apartment with two cats but thankfully I have anar AWESOME vacuum that picks up everything. The only thing I didn't factor into this plan was that I had loaned the vacuum to my step-sister right before her wedding. Though I told her it had to come back in the condition I sent it (aka clean) and the same day when I went to use it itdid nothing but leave dust on my floor. AHHHHHH!!!

I ended up spending my first day being unemployed learning the inner workings of a vacuum, which ended up being filled with her cats long gray hair and about 100 popcorn kernels. Thankfully I did get it working and manage to get the floor and couch clean before little one arrived. All a day in the life of the unemployed.