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I'm almost finished reading my current book and I find that I have absolutely nothing on deck to read next.
So I'm panicking.
What are YOU reading? Would you recommend? What's the last book you read that you'd recommend I read?
The Godson is 14 years old today.
For his gift we shall let him live to be 14 years old and one day.
SIP: Hey...we have to take it one day at a time during these teenage years. Humph.
LOL! HAPPY, HAPPY, JOY, JOY TO OUR WONDERFULLY SMART, CITRUS-Y SWEET, ACIDLY SARCASTIC GODSON! WE LOVE YOU KID!
So...what did YOU guys think of Scandal last night?
A few months ago Jaru started this weird scratching crap. Like...he would start and couldn't stop. No matter where he was or what he was doing.
Even if he was sleeping.
On the leather sofa.
One morning we came down and noticed the first hole in the damn sofa seat cushion. Soon there were three holes and then...as many as five on two cushions.
Damn sofa looked like it was on a rickety porch down in Memphis somewhere hustling and flowing.
No biggie since I've been SLOWLY looking for a new one right?
WRONG.
Damn dog hasn't stopped scratching so I spend a crap load of money on a NEW Thomasville reclining leather sofa and let him scratch that one up too?
Um...yeah...no.
So what to do?
I scoured the internet for solutions and seriously...nothing seemed like it was going to be a good enough solution so I went to ABBA Upholstery in Gaithersburg. They sold me a leather hide as close to the color of the leather on the sofa as possible seeing as though it's a 10-year old sofa. Then they took my old cushion covers and remade the covers down to the velcro on the back of them. SO.AWESOME!!!!!!!!!
Initially they said it would take 2 weeks but 2 weeks was Friday and I didn't get them until today. We've been living on the sofa using a blanket for all this time and BAAAAAAAABY! We were soooooooooooo happy today when we put them on! GO.US!
So yeah...moral of the story is...there probably isn't a refinishing product that you'll like either if you're anything like me. The new cushion covers ended up costing us $425 but that's way cheaper than how much it would cost to replace the entire damn sofa running the risk of the damn dog scratching another hole in a BRAND.NEW.SOFA.
I'm good with the slight discoloration until his azz stops scratching or until we just wear out the new pebbled cushions and make it all smooth and worn. LOL! $425 WELL spent in my opinion! GO ME! GO US! 13700 ROCKS!
What would YOU have done?
~ MMingo
What's the last musical you watched and SERIOUSLY enjoyed?
Are YOU going to watch? If not...why not?
This year I'm doing retro fun stuff in our stockings. I can't WAIT for Robby to get his stuff out. LOL! Thinking about one of the things going in his stocking has me already cracking up laughing.
Do YOU do stockings?
Do YOU know anyone with weird eyebrows? I saw some today that startled me so bad I jumped and looked away nervously.
http://theberry.com/2010/07/30/youre-quite-the-artist-15-photos/
Did yall know this? Did they look "together" to you?
A chill just went down my spine as I realize that this looks like Robby.
Should I call the FBI and tell them Robby could have been involved?
Should I be looking for a red hoodie?
Yall think I'm in any danger?
CRAP! WHAT SHOULD I DO????????????????? MY HUSBAND COULD BE FITZ'S SHOOTER!!!!!!!!!!
SOMEBODY GET ME OLIVIA POPE!
SIP: This is worse than the one friend who's mother is keeping Fitz up in prayer.
Cory Booker has been in the news attempting to bring awareness to the use of food stamps. I was pretty curious about it so I started reading up on his challenge and what he's learned as well.
The first thing I learned is that food stamps aren't meant to provide all the food for you and your family when things are hard. They are provided as a SUPPLEMENT to what you already have so they assume you have a minimum income.
Cool.
Here's a basic snapshot of how much you'd get:
So...if Robby and I qualified for food stamps, we'd have to meet certain income requirements first. We have a two person household so we couldn't make more than in this chart for two people:
So...we couldn't have a gross monthly income of more than $1,640 which comes to $19,680 a year.
I'm not going to say too much about how having that as a maximum income wouldn't even cover our basic living expenses like our mortgage, electricity, water, etc. cuz really...that kinda depresses me with what you COULDN'T do on that MAXIMUM qualifying salary.
MOVING.ON.
So...we would get $367 a month to feed ourselves with and that's the MAXIMUM amount we could get so we might not get that. That said, we'd have about $12 a day to feed ourselves all of our meals. Two breakfasts, two lunches and two dinners...plus snacks.
And Jaru and Lucy wouldn't be covered.
When I sit down and think about what $12 buys...it makes my head hurt.
So...I told Robby how much we'd get and he did some quick head math and was like...so about $90 a week? I think we could do it. As the grocery shopper in our household who actually knows how much we spend on food...I know we couldn't without some SERIOUS, serious changes.
I started thinking like my mother, the queen of a big azz bag of rice in a fiberglass type bag, and I felt like we could probably eat but we'd be doing LOTS of dried beans and rice with chicken from the rooter to the tooter AND...I'd have to seriously grow stuff. Like...I use a LOT of fresh, organic basil. Yeah...I'd have to grow it. Shrimp? Um...yeah...no. Wild caught fish? We might get that for Christmas dinner. Dinner parties at 13700? No more. NO.MORE. It would seriously be potluck with us providing serving dishes and utensils ONLY looking forward to whatever yall bring.
I'd probably have to only buy 7 apples a week and cut them in half so we each had a half of an apple a day. That good locally roasted coffee we buy from Mayorga at a little over $20 a pound? Um...yeah...no. And whatever coffee we could afford...we'd be reusing those grounds for that second pot we put on daily.
Gosh...and I probably couldn't have any more creamer.
No more wine. No more organic, free range eggs since they cost $4.00 a dozen and we eat 28 eggs per week. Grain fed beef? HA! Thing of the past and honestly...I'd probably choose to NOT have beef if I couldn't buy grain fed beef.
My gluten free bread? Probably never again cuz that's $5 per loaf.
And the list goes on.
So yeah...we're food spoiled.
I think we could do it because we're hustlers and survivors but it wouldn't be without SERIOUS challenges.
Robby asked me if I wanted to try to do it and I asked him when? He said we'd should start this week...Monday.
Me: I just spent $153 on groceries for the week on Saturday and I have a freezer full of meat and seafood.
Robby: Oh...well, let's try it after we eat all of that.
Me: I still have a cabinet filled with stuff I could do stuff with. I'm sure that when your finances have dipped to the point of qualifying...you've emptied your cabinets.
Robby: Probably.
And now we feel all first world and ish and then the doorbell rang and it was a delivery from Amazon with a Christmas gift for someone who lives here and we're all weird feeling now knowing that 46 million Americans are on food stamps.
So yeah...if we're to judge...Cory Booker's experiment is a success. It made us think about this and empathize with the millions of Americans who need the supplemental assistance. It was a good household exercise for us because we talked about it and it led to an excellent conversation for us regarding waste and what we could do to help others. If that wasn't the focus of Mr. Booker's experiment...it should have been because that was pretty powerful.
To us.
Have YOU thought about it since he started? Do you think YOU could do it? Would you have to change drastically? Do you think you'd start having unhealthy habits or would this force you to be even healthier in your choices since you wouldn't have many options to choose from?
I have a cinnamon broom in my home because it smells so lovely. From what I understand...they also bring good luck to the home too. Cool. Double whammy!
I was at my girlfriend's home the other day and she had a money bamboo plant. It brings her luck in money areas...she believes since that's the way the story goes.
My mother would burn sage and walk around our home to "cleanse" the house.
Because of her I never let ANYTHING sit on top of my bible cuz it would "block my blessings."
Crazy?
What say you?
Do YOU do anything for good luck at home?
I got 4 messages the day before Thanksgiving asking how to whip up some quick gravy and I answered.
I filmed how to make easy gravy on Turkey Day so folks could refer to the video for next year. I'll put this here in the event yall need it too. Oh...and remember...there are LOTS of different ways to do this. This is just a quick and easy version that's pretty tasty in my opinion.
Fat/oil separator: OXO Good Grips 4-Cup Fat Separator
Immersion Blender: Cuisinart Smart Stick Hand Blender
M
A genetically modified organism (GMO) is an organism whose genetic material has been altered using genetic engineering techniques. Organisms that have been genetically modified include micro-organisms such as bacteria and yeast, plants, fish, and mammals. GMOs are the source of genetically modified foods, and are also widely used in scientific research and to produce goods other than food. The term GMO is very close to the technical legal term, 'living modified organism' defined in the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, which regulates international trade in living GMOs (specifically, "any living organism that possesses a novel combination of genetic material obtained through the use of modern biotechnology").
What do YALL think about GMO's?
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