Chapter 5 - "Huh? Honey, What did you Say? What did that mean?"
Marital communication would go much better if women would accept without rancor that men simply have a different way of communication styles and imperatives.
The difference between men and women starts in the womb and a study was done to show the difference between boys and girls before their first birthdays. A barrier was placed between the child and his or her mother. The boys, wanting to get back to mommy, try to get around or over the barrier, or they try to knock it down. The male response is physical and it's aimed at solving the problem. The female children, on the hand, verbalized their distress, and their mommies came and picked them up. The female response is verbal.
As children grow up, parents notice that their daughters are unbelievably verbal and usually prone to high drama. These same parents notice that their sons are "men of few words" but lots of action.
The biggest mistake that wives make in communicating with their husbands is to imagine that their husbands are supposed to be their girlfriends.
So basically, this chapter is about how we wives communicate with our husbands. A couple of things that have been mentioned is how we may "unload" on them, example - hubby comes home from work and we start telling him everything and everything that happened that way and how we feel about it. Another is how we give too much detail when we do communicate, we tell every detail of our story and eventually hubby may start to zone out and not truly be listening - an example that was given was, if hubby came to you after watching a football game and told you every play that happened in all 4 quarters, would you still be listening? Usually, men will tell you their team won the game and maybe one great play they saw - end of story. (I have to admit after reading this I know that Dan has told me a time or two - get to the point!)
Dr. Laura goes on to say that again, men are more physical in nature and communication to them is an embrace, a smile, a warm look across the kitchen table.
Here is an a piece from one guy who wrote in about communication:
"Woman need to realize that we are just going to do stupid stuff. That doesn't make it malicious or a personal attack on them. When we do these stupid things, we don't need retaliation. We are usually embarrassed enough on our own. We need forgiveness. We men usually walk away from conflict with our wives without hostile thoughts, but unforgiveness on the woman's part will just hold them captive and build into more resentment. Forgiveness is the key to any successful relationship, in marriage or out, sometimes you should give it if it is deserved or not.
Here are some complaints that men have listed to us wives about communication:
1 - Woman are very good at dropping subtle hints when they want something. If I don't figure out what is wanted, then I am insensitive, uncaring or oblivious. Please make simple requests.
2 - I don't know how to tell the difference between my wife wanting advice and just venting.
3 - A man needs to know what a woman wants and needs before little things build up in reality or in her mind. A man is not a mind reader; don't nag, but you must be blunt sometimes.
4 - Be Direct!
5 - If there is something you wish to talk to us husbands about, begin with the subject. Don't work your way towards it; tell us up front you want to talk about, for example, discipline for the children, spending habits, or something you're dissatisfied with. Don't drop hints that are hard to follow or unintelligible. We need to be alerted to whether this is about small talk or something serious.
6 - Men are not mind readers. Many a time there are situations where men have apparently done something wrong with no clue what it was or when it happened. I can't fix the problem if I don't know what it is.
So I really shortened this chapter up (maybe I'm lazy tonight or this one just didn't pull me in as much as others). These are good thoughts for us women to keep in mind when communicating probably with all men, but especially our husbands. Again, Dr. Laura always says, take a step back and look at how you are treating them - would you want to be with you?
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Sunday, March 18, 2007
Dog, Cat Food Recalled After Pet Deaths
WASHINGTON - A major manufacturer of pet foods sold throughout North America under dozens of store names is recalling millions of containers of its products while working to determine what caused kidney failure and some deaths of cats and dogs.
Menu Foods said Saturday it is recalling dog food sold under 46 brands and cat food sold under 37 brands and distributed throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico. The pet foods were sold by major retailers, including Wal-Mart, Kroger and Safeway.
A complete list of the recalled products along with product codes, descriptions and production dates is available from the Menu Foods website, http://www.menufoods.com/recall. Consumers with questions can also call (866) 895-2708.
"At this juncture, we're not 100 percent sure what's happened," said Paul Henderson, the company's president and chief executive officer. However, the recalled products were made using wheat gluten purchased from a new supplier, since dropped for another source, spokeswoman Sarah Tuite said. Wheat gluten is a source of protein.
An unknown number of cats and dogs suffered kidney failure and about 10 died after eating the affected pet food, Menu Foods said in announcing the North American recall. Product testing has not revealed a link explaining the reported cases of illness and death, the company said.
The recall covers the company's "cuts and gravy" style food, which consists of chunks of meat in gravy, sold in cans and small foil pouches between Dec. 3 and March 6.
The pet food was sold by stores operated by the Kroger Co., Safeway Inc., Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and PetSmart Inc., among others, Henderson said.
The company said it makes pet food for 17 of the top 20 North American retailers. It is also a contract manufacturer for the top branded pet food companies, including Procter & Gamble Co.
P&G announced Friday the recall of specific 3 oz., 5.5 oz., 6 oz. and 13.2 oz. canned and 3 oz. and 5.3 oz. foil pouch cat and dog wet food products made by Menu Foods but sold under the Iams and Eukanuba brands. The recalled products bear the code dates of 6339 through 7073 followed by the plant code 4197, P&G said.
Menu Foods' three U.S. and one Canadian factory produce more than 1 billion containers of wet pet food a year. The recall covers pet food made at company plants in Emporia, Kan., and Pennsauken, N.J., Henderson said.
Henderson said the company received an undisclosed number of owner complaints of vomiting and kidney failure in dogs and cats after they had been fed its products. It has tested its products but not found a cause for the sickness.
"To date, the tests have not indicated any problems with the product," Henderson said.
The company alerted the Food and Drug Administration, which already has inspectors in one of the two plants, Henderson said.
Menu Foods is majority owned by the Menu Foods Income Fund, based in Ontario, Canada.
Henderson said the recall would cost the company the Canadian equivalent of $26 million to $34 million.
Menu Foods said Saturday it is recalling dog food sold under 46 brands and cat food sold under 37 brands and distributed throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico. The pet foods were sold by major retailers, including Wal-Mart, Kroger and Safeway.
A complete list of the recalled products along with product codes, descriptions and production dates is available from the Menu Foods website, http://www.menufoods.com/recall. Consumers with questions can also call (866) 895-2708.
"At this juncture, we're not 100 percent sure what's happened," said Paul Henderson, the company's president and chief executive officer. However, the recalled products were made using wheat gluten purchased from a new supplier, since dropped for another source, spokeswoman Sarah Tuite said. Wheat gluten is a source of protein.
An unknown number of cats and dogs suffered kidney failure and about 10 died after eating the affected pet food, Menu Foods said in announcing the North American recall. Product testing has not revealed a link explaining the reported cases of illness and death, the company said.
The recall covers the company's "cuts and gravy" style food, which consists of chunks of meat in gravy, sold in cans and small foil pouches between Dec. 3 and March 6.
The pet food was sold by stores operated by the Kroger Co., Safeway Inc., Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and PetSmart Inc., among others, Henderson said.
The company said it makes pet food for 17 of the top 20 North American retailers. It is also a contract manufacturer for the top branded pet food companies, including Procter & Gamble Co.
P&G announced Friday the recall of specific 3 oz., 5.5 oz., 6 oz. and 13.2 oz. canned and 3 oz. and 5.3 oz. foil pouch cat and dog wet food products made by Menu Foods but sold under the Iams and Eukanuba brands. The recalled products bear the code dates of 6339 through 7073 followed by the plant code 4197, P&G said.
Menu Foods' three U.S. and one Canadian factory produce more than 1 billion containers of wet pet food a year. The recall covers pet food made at company plants in Emporia, Kan., and Pennsauken, N.J., Henderson said.
Henderson said the company received an undisclosed number of owner complaints of vomiting and kidney failure in dogs and cats after they had been fed its products. It has tested its products but not found a cause for the sickness.
"To date, the tests have not indicated any problems with the product," Henderson said.
The company alerted the Food and Drug Administration, which already has inspectors in one of the two plants, Henderson said.
Menu Foods is majority owned by the Menu Foods Income Fund, based in Ontario, Canada.
Henderson said the recall would cost the company the Canadian equivalent of $26 million to $34 million.
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Welcome Danielle to the Trautner Family
Congratulations Katie & Eric. Baby # 2.
Born: 03-09-2007
Birth Time: 8:58 pm @ St. Cloud Hospital
Weight: 7 lbs 5 oz Length: 19 in
Welcome to the world and to our family !
Born: 03-09-2007
Birth Time: 8:58 pm @ St. Cloud Hospital
Weight: 7 lbs 5 oz Length: 19 in
Welcome to the world and to our family !
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
Daily Life
I am anxiously awaiting the start of my show tonight "LOST" and have a few minutes to burn, so I thought I'd give an update.
The cows made it home safely and we are still waiting for the calf to be born. However, Dan failed to mention until yesterday that we are the proud of owners of not only 2 Lowline cattle (with one on the way), but 3 Lowline cattle, he bought another one when he was home, Oh Joy (that is sarcasm, in case you didn't catch that)! Saturday is the big day that Katelynn & I are going to be introduced to the new members of our clan. I have been giving these cattle some thought and Dan's experience some thought after asking him numerous questions regarding the cow and the bull and the calf on the way and determined that I know more about cows than my husband does, I am stating this now - this is not going to be my "thing" or "hobby", this is Dan's expensive hobby. He already asked me if I would halter the cows on Saturday since they are haltered trained and we are going to have to work with them to get them ready for the stock show next year - What?! This is not a we situation here buddy. I will keep you posted on this subject matter.
Next subject - THE CELL PHONE BILL. I called Sprint the other day because our cell phone bill was incredibly high and it's always been the same every month. Dan went over his minutes last month - how in the heck do you do that when you have 1000 minutes a month and all of your incoming calls are free. Needless to say he got an ass chewing and it must have sank in because tonight he is making all of his phone calls on the land line (which has unlimited long distance, this was also explained to him yesterday).
Katelynn Update. What a joy she has been lately. She is learning everything so fast and is soaking up so much knowledge. She is very proud of herself as well. She will point at everything around the house and tell us what it is. She is using two and three word sentences already and is learning to count. The terrible two's attitude has peaked its ugly head through a few times and I can see that it will be a trying time, she definitely has my attitude "It's my way or the Highway People". Dan can't wait to see us butt heads. It was still nice out tonight when we got home so we actually got to spend a little time in the backyard, Katelynn was so happy to see her swing and just swing away while watching the cats run around the backyard and listen to me and Dan talking.
Hope everyone else is having a terrific week !
Taryn.
The cows made it home safely and we are still waiting for the calf to be born. However, Dan failed to mention until yesterday that we are the proud of owners of not only 2 Lowline cattle (with one on the way), but 3 Lowline cattle, he bought another one when he was home, Oh Joy (that is sarcasm, in case you didn't catch that)! Saturday is the big day that Katelynn & I are going to be introduced to the new members of our clan. I have been giving these cattle some thought and Dan's experience some thought after asking him numerous questions regarding the cow and the bull and the calf on the way and determined that I know more about cows than my husband does, I am stating this now - this is not going to be my "thing" or "hobby", this is Dan's expensive hobby. He already asked me if I would halter the cows on Saturday since they are haltered trained and we are going to have to work with them to get them ready for the stock show next year - What?! This is not a we situation here buddy. I will keep you posted on this subject matter.
Next subject - THE CELL PHONE BILL. I called Sprint the other day because our cell phone bill was incredibly high and it's always been the same every month. Dan went over his minutes last month - how in the heck do you do that when you have 1000 minutes a month and all of your incoming calls are free. Needless to say he got an ass chewing and it must have sank in because tonight he is making all of his phone calls on the land line (which has unlimited long distance, this was also explained to him yesterday).
Katelynn Update. What a joy she has been lately. She is learning everything so fast and is soaking up so much knowledge. She is very proud of herself as well. She will point at everything around the house and tell us what it is. She is using two and three word sentences already and is learning to count. The terrible two's attitude has peaked its ugly head through a few times and I can see that it will be a trying time, she definitely has my attitude "It's my way or the Highway People". Dan can't wait to see us butt heads. It was still nice out tonight when we got home so we actually got to spend a little time in the backyard, Katelynn was so happy to see her swing and just swing away while watching the cats run around the backyard and listen to me and Dan talking.
Hope everyone else is having a terrific week !
Taryn.
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
Monday, March 05, 2007
Playdate Pictures
Katelynn and I hosted the playdate for February. Here are some pictures that a friend of mine took that day.
Friday, March 02, 2007
Grandma & Grandpa Davids
Here are some pictures of Katelynn and Dan's parents. We had such a great time when they were visiting and Katelynn warmed up to them immediately.
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Another Day; Another Dollar
So today is Wednesday, half the work week is over, hooray! At work I have started on my project that is now part of my job every year and it consists of looking at an Excel spreadsheet most of the day and it makes my eyes burn at night, but I will survive. I keep telling the county that they have caused me to need glasses and they should pay for my lasik eye surgery - ha ha.
Well, for those of you who don't know, my husband, Dan, is onto to his next big venture - cattle. He has bought 2 Lowline cattle from Minnesota (and one is pregnant). These special little cows do not come cheap, but he is planning on doing some breeding with another guy out here that has some half breed lowlines and hoping to either butcher them and make some money off the meat (it is supposed to be really lean and tasty, but it is expensive) or just sell the offspring for a pretty penny to other farmers who have lowlines. Anyway, I cannot take the farmer out of my husband and he needs a hobby other than his work, so more power to him. He is leaving tomorrow to go and pick-up these cows and bring them Colorado. We have to pick them up before the one has the calf. Reading the weather reports today, his drive is going to be a bumpy one - a huge storm is rumbling through the Midwest starting tomorrow through Friday night.
So Katelynn and I will be hanging out this weekend just the 2 of us, which this week seems to be the exact way that she wants it. She still is insisting that I am "daddy" and wants nothing to do with anyone else and does not want me farther than 2 inches from her. Hopefully this is a phase for only a short period of time. I did feel a little bad for Dan tonight, he knew he was going to be gone starting tomorrow and tried his best to play and hang out with her and help with her bath and she was just not having any of it. He has now asked me to work on the "mommy thing" this weekend, so upon his return I am "mommy" and he is "daddy" - "The way it should be". I just laughed to myself. (I have been trying to establish this all along). Well, I hope everyone continues to have a great week!
Well, for those of you who don't know, my husband, Dan, is onto to his next big venture - cattle. He has bought 2 Lowline cattle from Minnesota (and one is pregnant). These special little cows do not come cheap, but he is planning on doing some breeding with another guy out here that has some half breed lowlines and hoping to either butcher them and make some money off the meat (it is supposed to be really lean and tasty, but it is expensive) or just sell the offspring for a pretty penny to other farmers who have lowlines. Anyway, I cannot take the farmer out of my husband and he needs a hobby other than his work, so more power to him. He is leaving tomorrow to go and pick-up these cows and bring them Colorado. We have to pick them up before the one has the calf. Reading the weather reports today, his drive is going to be a bumpy one - a huge storm is rumbling through the Midwest starting tomorrow through Friday night.
So Katelynn and I will be hanging out this weekend just the 2 of us, which this week seems to be the exact way that she wants it. She still is insisting that I am "daddy" and wants nothing to do with anyone else and does not want me farther than 2 inches from her. Hopefully this is a phase for only a short period of time. I did feel a little bad for Dan tonight, he knew he was going to be gone starting tomorrow and tried his best to play and hang out with her and help with her bath and she was just not having any of it. He has now asked me to work on the "mommy thing" this weekend, so upon his return I am "mommy" and he is "daddy" - "The way it should be". I just laughed to myself. (I have been trying to establish this all along). Well, I hope everyone continues to have a great week!
Sunday, February 25, 2007
What a weekend
It was a busy week to go along with a busy weekend. On Tuesday night I went to our HOA meeting from 7pm - 9:30pm, the good news out of that meeting is we are finally going to buy a decent playground for the kids and are hopeful to also build a pavilion with picnic tables and someplace to sit. Wednesday night was of course "Lost", sorry I just can't miss that show, I've been watching since day 1. Thursday night after work I went to the hospital to see my friend, Brooke's new baby boy! Jake Darren Gunn - 8lbs. 11oz, (yes she grows some big babies in that belly), he is a little sweetheart and his big brother is liking him very much so far, he came into the hospital room and walked up to Jake and said "I Love You baby Jake" (does it get anymore sweet than that?!) Friday night Katelynn & I did some grocery shopping in the big town of Johnstown. Saturday morning Katelynn & I were cleaning and cooking and getting toys ready, we were hosting the monthly play date party for February. Katelynn got in a good nap before everyone came to play and was pretty good for the 1st hour, but then she had had enough - you people and babies are invading my basement and playing with all of my toys, if I whine enough to my mommy maybe she will make them leave? No, the whining didn't work and this was her first big experience on learning to share her own toys. (She sure has fun playing with everyone else's!) Later Saturday afternoon we got an invite to go out for supper with some friends and took them up on the offer, we hadn't seen Jeff & Raina and Brandon for awhile. Katelynn did really good at the restaraunt considering that we were there for a little over an hour. After supper the clan went over to Petco to look at all the animals. Katelynn decided she like all the ferrets that bite and beat on each other, Dan & I both said "No Way"! She did also like the cats and was a little interested in the fish and birds, they even had little Nemo fish in there - they were so cute! Sunday (today) was a little more low key, we just hung around and did some laundry. Dan & I attempted to read the Sunday paper as Katelynn mission was to destroy it, I did get to the Target ad before she did, whew. I had a baby shower to go to this afternoon, so it was Katelynn and Daddy for the afternoon, (which meant extra cleaning for me when I got home). The baby shower went good and I stopped by Target and picked up a roll of film I had developed. We finished Katelynn laundry and she had a bath and Dan cooked supper. Katelynn's new words this weekend are "See ya" and "Jeez".
Hope everyone had a good weekend!
Hope everyone had a good weekend!
Valentine's Day Pictures
Here are a couple of pictures from Valentine's Day. Katelynn & I made baskets for the other kids at her daycare, I made the mistake of starting out with the suckers to put in the baskets first, that was a big, no go, she was going to eat that sucker, not give it away, so I ended up doing most of them myself. Dan bought me a dozen roses and Katelynn got 2 roses, since this was her 2nd Valentine's Day, what a sweet guy! We also bought her the chicken dance elmo and boy did her eyes light up! Elmo, Elmo, she took him into our bedroom closet so she could have him all to herself.
Monday, February 19, 2007
President's Day
Ah, the joy of being a government employee! We get today off, paid. Thank you. This is actually great for me after having company, I can get my house back in order, do some laundry and spend some time with Katelynn.
Our weekend with Dan's parents went really good. They arrived on Thursday around 4pm and we just pretty much hung out and let Katelynn get to know them a little more, she put on quite the show for them though, talking and dancing and playing, she even picked up "grandma & grandpa" into her vocabulary the first night they were here (can't ask for more than that). Friday, Dan & I both worked and they babysat Katelynn for the day and all went well. Friday night we played with all of Katelynn's toys downstairs and she was showing them that she could count to 5 and what an animal she is in her ball pit! Saturday, Dan & his dad took off to pick up some cabinets that a home owner was getting rid of for fee and they are pretty nice cabinets, too nice to just throw away. Dan's mom, Katelynn, and I went to the outlet mall and then to the Loveland mall and had lunch, then we met a couple of my friends and their kiddies and went to this place called "Bounce", it was a great time, they kids loved it. It's an inflatable playground and has 7 of the big blow-up bounce things that you see at the fair, Katelynn wore me & herself out crawling in and out and sliding down all of these. The boys were pretty tired that night after they got back from driving around and Dan showing Doug houses that he had worked on, we ordered some pizza and both guys fell asleep, Jeannie and I watched a movie. Sunday morning we had breakfast and visited and they left around noon. It was a great visit!
Our weekend with Dan's parents went really good. They arrived on Thursday around 4pm and we just pretty much hung out and let Katelynn get to know them a little more, she put on quite the show for them though, talking and dancing and playing, she even picked up "grandma & grandpa" into her vocabulary the first night they were here (can't ask for more than that). Friday, Dan & I both worked and they babysat Katelynn for the day and all went well. Friday night we played with all of Katelynn's toys downstairs and she was showing them that she could count to 5 and what an animal she is in her ball pit! Saturday, Dan & his dad took off to pick up some cabinets that a home owner was getting rid of for fee and they are pretty nice cabinets, too nice to just throw away. Dan's mom, Katelynn, and I went to the outlet mall and then to the Loveland mall and had lunch, then we met a couple of my friends and their kiddies and went to this place called "Bounce", it was a great time, they kids loved it. It's an inflatable playground and has 7 of the big blow-up bounce things that you see at the fair, Katelynn wore me & herself out crawling in and out and sliding down all of these. The boys were pretty tired that night after they got back from driving around and Dan showing Doug houses that he had worked on, we ordered some pizza and both guys fell asleep, Jeannie and I watched a movie. Sunday morning we had breakfast and visited and they left around noon. It was a great visit!
Landon Update
Here are some pictures that my brother, Jeff, just emailed out. Landon is now pitching for his baseball team, he does a really great job too! We got to go to one of his games last summer and see him play.
Thursday, February 08, 2007
Just Another Day in Paradise
So this week has been exciting, fun, and tiring. A couple of Dan's buddies, Darin & Bruce from B&D Lowlines, drove out to Colorado to sell a some of their cattle to one of Dan's contractor's and stayed with us for a few days. Monday night we ate, visited, and played some darts. The guys' went to work with Dan on Tuesday because he is swamped, busy right now and then they took us out to eat on Tuesday night to Texas Roadhouse. It was a good time and Katelynn actually was a little angel at supper, but she was sure tired and ready for bed when we got home. The guys' played some more darts and visited and watched a movie that night. They were all up bright and early Wednesday morning and made the 14 hour drive back home with an empty trailer!
We are now gearing up for our next round of company, Dan's parents and his niece Cassie (we haven't heard yet if Dan's sister-in-law Susan is joining them or not yet). They are driving out here next week for a long weekend - we are very excited for them to hang out and we can show off all that Katelynn has learned and can do.
Miss Katelynn is now hitting the "terrible two" stage according to the daycare lady. This morning when I dropped her off at daycare, her little buddy Marshall was there and she was trying to get by him in a doorway and pretty much tried to shove him out of the way and then continued to try and take every toy that he wanted to play with. Great, my kid is now the big bully - she probably has Marshall by about 5 lbs. and quite a few inches too. Also, now that she knows what she wants and can say it clear as a bell, she will tell you. We walked in the door tonight and didn't even have her shoes and coat off and she was already trying to run to the fridge - "milk, milk, milk" and so we gave her some milk. "Nana, Nana, Nana" okay we cut up a banana (I swear if I don't have bananas in the house it would be a day in hell). After she ate her banana, "pickle, pickle, pickle" - jeez kid - that's the supper you want - a banana, milk and some pickles - tonight it was obviously a free for all and it was only 5:30pm! The rest of the night went smoother and she pretty much looked through books and had us read a few to her and off to night-night she went. Now at bedtime she says "blankie, milk, night-night" and you better be ready!
The saga of owning your own business continues. Are there any good employees out there? If you are one, would you like to come work for us? Dan is in high swing again and has numerous projects going up and contractors calling and giving a couple day notice of when they want him to start their job and here we are again - no employees. One of our guys got a new job selling cars at BMW, which is really good for him, no big deal. Our other employee has stopped showing up for work since last Friday and hasn't called or even picked up his paycheck from last week - what the heck?! He hasn't answered Dan's phone calls either. So alas, we are on the hunt for a new employee, one we pray has a driver's license and wants to learn the trade and stay long-term - anyone out there ?
The last bit of news for today - we have turned in all of our paperwork to our Tax preparation lady and our anxiously (well at least biting our nails and keeping our fingers crossed) awaiting our outcome for the year. I pray to the lord she won't come back with the number she did last year, we about keeled over.
Take care for now and all you Minnesotans stay warm and come get some of this damn snow!
We are now gearing up for our next round of company, Dan's parents and his niece Cassie (we haven't heard yet if Dan's sister-in-law Susan is joining them or not yet). They are driving out here next week for a long weekend - we are very excited for them to hang out and we can show off all that Katelynn has learned and can do.
Miss Katelynn is now hitting the "terrible two" stage according to the daycare lady. This morning when I dropped her off at daycare, her little buddy Marshall was there and she was trying to get by him in a doorway and pretty much tried to shove him out of the way and then continued to try and take every toy that he wanted to play with. Great, my kid is now the big bully - she probably has Marshall by about 5 lbs. and quite a few inches too. Also, now that she knows what she wants and can say it clear as a bell, she will tell you. We walked in the door tonight and didn't even have her shoes and coat off and she was already trying to run to the fridge - "milk, milk, milk" and so we gave her some milk. "Nana, Nana, Nana" okay we cut up a banana (I swear if I don't have bananas in the house it would be a day in hell). After she ate her banana, "pickle, pickle, pickle" - jeez kid - that's the supper you want - a banana, milk and some pickles - tonight it was obviously a free for all and it was only 5:30pm! The rest of the night went smoother and she pretty much looked through books and had us read a few to her and off to night-night she went. Now at bedtime she says "blankie, milk, night-night" and you better be ready!
The saga of owning your own business continues. Are there any good employees out there? If you are one, would you like to come work for us? Dan is in high swing again and has numerous projects going up and contractors calling and giving a couple day notice of when they want him to start their job and here we are again - no employees. One of our guys got a new job selling cars at BMW, which is really good for him, no big deal. Our other employee has stopped showing up for work since last Friday and hasn't called or even picked up his paycheck from last week - what the heck?! He hasn't answered Dan's phone calls either. So alas, we are on the hunt for a new employee, one we pray has a driver's license and wants to learn the trade and stay long-term - anyone out there ?
The last bit of news for today - we have turned in all of our paperwork to our Tax preparation lady and our anxiously (well at least biting our nails and keeping our fingers crossed) awaiting our outcome for the year. I pray to the lord she won't come back with the number she did last year, we about keeled over.
Take care for now and all you Minnesotans stay warm and come get some of this damn snow!
Sunday, February 04, 2007
Banana Caramel Pie
Here is a new recipe that I tried out. Pretty easy to make.
Ingredients:
1 refrigerated pie crust (from 15-ounce package) softened as directed on package
24 caramel candies, unwrapped
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons of milk, divided
1/2 cup chopped pecans, divided
2 medium bananas
1 package (5.1 ounces) vanilla instant pudding and pie filling
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 container (8 ounces) frozen whipped topping, thawed, divided
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Gently unfold crust onto lightly floured mat, roll to an 11 1/2 inch circle. Place crust in pie dish pressing into bottom and up the sides. Prick bottom and sides of crust. Bake 10-12 min. or until light golden brown. Cool Completely.
2. Place caramels and 2 tablespoons of milk in a microwavable dish, microwave, covered on High 1 1/2 to 2 min. or until caramels are melted and smooth, stirring after 30-second intervals. Reserve 2 tablespoons of the caramel mixture. Pour remaining caramel mixture even over crust. Reserve 2 tablespoons of the pecans. Sprinkle remaining pecans over the caramel mixture. Slice 1 1/2 bananas; arrange banana slices over caramel mixture. (Refrigerate remaining half of banana in its peel for garnish).
3. Combine remaining milk, pudding mix, and lemon juice and whisk until smooth. Fold in half of the whipping topping; spread evenly over bananas. Pipe remaining whipped topping around the edge of the pie. Refrigerate at least 4 hours. Just before serving, slice reserved banana half. Microwave reserved caramel mixture on High 5-10 seconds Garnish pie with caramel mixture, reserved pecans and banana slices.
Enjoy !
Ingredients:
1 refrigerated pie crust (from 15-ounce package) softened as directed on package
24 caramel candies, unwrapped
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons of milk, divided
1/2 cup chopped pecans, divided
2 medium bananas
1 package (5.1 ounces) vanilla instant pudding and pie filling
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 container (8 ounces) frozen whipped topping, thawed, divided
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Gently unfold crust onto lightly floured mat, roll to an 11 1/2 inch circle. Place crust in pie dish pressing into bottom and up the sides. Prick bottom and sides of crust. Bake 10-12 min. or until light golden brown. Cool Completely.
2. Place caramels and 2 tablespoons of milk in a microwavable dish, microwave, covered on High 1 1/2 to 2 min. or until caramels are melted and smooth, stirring after 30-second intervals. Reserve 2 tablespoons of the caramel mixture. Pour remaining caramel mixture even over crust. Reserve 2 tablespoons of the pecans. Sprinkle remaining pecans over the caramel mixture. Slice 1 1/2 bananas; arrange banana slices over caramel mixture. (Refrigerate remaining half of banana in its peel for garnish).
3. Combine remaining milk, pudding mix, and lemon juice and whisk until smooth. Fold in half of the whipping topping; spread evenly over bananas. Pipe remaining whipped topping around the edge of the pie. Refrigerate at least 4 hours. Just before serving, slice reserved banana half. Microwave reserved caramel mixture on High 5-10 seconds Garnish pie with caramel mixture, reserved pecans and banana slices.
Enjoy !
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