screwed

Spent the last 3 months doing HEDIS. That means sitting at a desk reading charts not bad work for the money it just isn't full time. Stayed at my son's while working so wouldn't have to drive to the other side of town everyday. Thank you Mike.
On returning home started doing yard work like a mad woman and have killed my back. Now all I can do is lay here watch TV and the security cameras. BOOO!

I haven't been around for awhile because I managed to get a temporary job. The job was supposed to be for 2 months and wound up being 6 months. Not bad, got to work from home it was nice.
So I have not abandoned this page. However I am currently experiencing a broken arm that makes typing tedious. So when I get this cast off expect great things.

For Spunky

In the past I have always wondered about people who spoke baby talk to their animals and treated them like royalty. I always thought they might have been a bit off. I never could understand what the dynamics were. Well know I know. Back in 1999 I purchased for my son a puppy. Well I paid for him but he picked us out. We walked into the pet store and this little dog was running loose. The dog jumped straight into my son's arms. The worker in the store was cleaning his cage and he got loose. He placed the dog back in his cage and my son started walking the length of the cages looking at all the dogs. Each time he passed the one who jumped in his arms he paused. The dog would jump, wag his happy tail and bark.
So that is the one we took home.

Cute as a button. Well this was my son's dog. He was made responsible for house training, feeding, and ultimately the clean up. Of course he never did any of that. Wound up with a doggie door after the dog peed all over the house. That helped till we moved. He eventually got the idea and we were able to get along. Years went by and my son moved out leaving me with the dog. For years he has followed me from room to room, slept in my bed, and shared my food. I have rushed him to the doc when sick and laughed myself silly over his antics.
For 14 years he has held a special place in my heart.
On December 27th 2012 we had to put him to sleep due to cancer.
I miss my dog so much.
I am now and forever shall be your friend.

oatmeal cream cheese butterscotch bars or a small disaster turns out good

Sorry I haven't been here. Found a temporary job reviewing charts online. After 8 hours of staring at the computer I have to do something else. Like beat my friend in angry birds, yeah I know still a computer. However flinging birds at structures is very calming.
So I found this recipe on food network, I even pinned the picture on Pinterest, and thought I would do them up for Saturday company. Saturday is when the youngest child come home eats my food, messes up the living room, leaves a mess and goes home. I do enjoy his company when he is in a good mood. Most time I retreat to my room till he gets over himself.
So I get this morning, shower and all that and go to the kitchen to gather items to make these bars. OOpps no sweetened condensed milk and no lemon. So off I go to the grocery. Saturday after 9 am is not a good time it is busy crazy and I don't tolerate most other people. I grab my cans of milk, do the self check out and leave. Get home and realize I forgot the lemon. Oh well hope it wasn't important cause it ain't happening. So I start assembling.
2 sticks butter room temp
2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups old fashion oats
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 11 oz bag butterscotch chips
1 pkg cream cheese room temp
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 lemon zested and juiced
1 tsp vanilla
place in food processor flour, oats and brown sugar pulse to combine
So I did this and my best guess is that whoever came up with this recipe had a really large food processor, cause at this point in time mine is full to the top. So I am still have to add the butter and that bag of chips in there and it is not going to work. Whilst thinking about what to do I am carrying the canister with the flour in it back to the pantry and I drop it. Did you know that the g force of a nearly full tupperware canister of flour hitting the flour fully on the bottom will equate to the top of the canister propelling off upward and ejecting most all of the flour. This takes ten minutes to clean up. So knowing that the rest of my ingredients won't fit in the food processor I decide to move them, to the stand mixer. I figured I would need to pulverize the butterscotch chips in the food processor before mixing with the other stuff. Did you know that butterscotch chips do not pulverize.
So I take my ingredients to the stand mixer and finish mixing. You split this in half and press the the first half into a 9x13 pan and bake at 350 for 12 to 15 min or until golden brown. So while that cooks I cleaned up more of the flour, since some was on the ceiling, the dog, and and I mention my black pants and t shirt. Fifteen min later and I pulled the crust out of the oven. You have to let this cool completely before doing more.
Did I mention that my little black is grey now. Oh and I was fixated on the flour I forgot to put the cinnamon in the mixture.
It took about an hour for the stuff to cool. Next step is to place the cream cheese and condensed milk in an electric mixer and beat till smooth. This is the step where you add the lemon juice I didn't have. So I put cinnamon in it along with the vanilla. Beat it till smooth poor over the top of what you just baked then crumble the second half on top of that and then bake for 40 min at 350. They turned out just fine tasty sweet a bit crumbly. The son didn't like them said too sweet.
My little grey dog likes the crumbs.

Election is over

Thank heavens it is over. While I am not a fan of Obama, his opponent was worse. Obama's hands are still tied because of the make up of both congress and senate. So he will continue to not be able to move forward and we will stagnate as a nation. I just hope that in 4 years there will be 2 candidates who care more about the people than themselves.

Obamacare

Obamacare is not as bad as "the talking heads" would have you believe. The bills real name is Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Has anybody really sat and read the thing. I bet not. I have made attempts to read it but so much legal jargon gave me a headache.
Back in 1953 Harry Truman attempted to get universal health care for Americans. This was the period after WW2 and the our country had just ended the worst war ever and barely survived the great depression. United Kingdom enacted the NHS at about this time because they wanted to take care of it's citizens and give them basic health care. Truman's proposal sat in committee and lie dormant till 1965 when it was changed to read healthcare for all to over 65. In 1974 it was changed to included disabled. So once upon a time we could have had healthcare for all but it got shot down.
Keep in mind the NHS doesn't pay for everything. Elective surgeries are not done unless they are medically necessary.So unless that boob job, hip replacement, or tummy tuck is medically necessary you won't get it. However they do have private doctors and private insurance in the UK so if you got the bucks you can get your tucks, (Ha Ha sorry)
So PPACA or Obamacare (this is actually a derisive name) has several really good main points.
1) Guaranteed issue. Everybody pays the same premium regardless of geographic location, age, gender or preexisting condition. You might say really we have to do that. But yes we do. Some insurance companies keep statistics on places where people are more likely to get ill and they charge more. Women of childbearing age pay more because they might get pregnant.
2) Individual mandate. This requires that everybody acquires insurance.
3) Insurance exchanges. This is where individuals and groups can find and compare different insurance.
4)Subsidizes low income or poverty level persons so they can receive insurance
5) Expands Medicaid and simplifies chip.
6) Establish minimum standards and lifts lifetime caps.
7) Mandates the employers with more 50 employees must subsidize insurance
8) Eliminates some copayment and deductibles. Things considered preventive like birth control pills, vaccines. Yes there are insurances out there that won't pay for a vaccine.
9) Change medicare from a fee for service to bundled service
10) allows dependents to remain on parents insurance till 26. This is okay if the child offers to pay for it most won't.
Keep in mind this is just the tip of the iceberg. Seems to be not so bad a bill there are lot of other components that I have not touched on here.
So why do the Republicans, Congress and just everybody hate this bill and bad mouth it? Because January 1 2014 Congress will be required to obtain their insurance from the same sources as their constituents.

Caramel fudge

I tend to create my own recipes or modify existing ones. Sometimes I come up with something really good or a huge mess that gets tossed out or fed to the dog.
This recipes is one I came up with on my own and I got it right the first time. I have a horrendous sweet tooth so am constantly to come up with new things to fix that. This recipe came about because of a Pinterest picture of a fudge name pecan pie fudge. I searched the internet for the recipe only to discover there wasn't one I could order the fudge but not the recipe.
While this doesn't taste like pecan pie it is a melt in your mouth carmel fudge.

1 cup granulated sugar
2 cups brown sugar
2/3 cup evaporated milk
1 and 1/2 sticks butter
1 tablespoon any corn syrup*
Melt in heavy sauce pan and cook to 250 F, beat in 1/2 tsp vanilla and 1 1/2 cups of marshmallow fluff, place in 13 x 9 greased pan and refrigerate till solid. Store in container with lid or plastic bag.
Yum Oh! melts in your mouth.
(sorry no pictures my camera makes awful pics)


* fun fact corn syrup will decrease the chances your candy will crystalize