Tuesday, September 8, 2009

I finally pried the calculator out of my cramped hand so I could post before the day is over

And oh my, when I logged on I saw a whole new lineup of icons. Yesterday after landing on Between Naps on the Porch where Susan has a FANTABULOUS post with lots of how-to info on blogging, I followed the directions to switch to the new post editor and it has WAY more features. How exciting! I also changed my comments to appear in a pop-up box. That's a feature I liked on other blogs but had no clue how to do it on my own. There's a lot more I'd like to do when there's more time.

Most of today -- a good 7 hours of it anyway -- was spent working on expense reports. Still not done. Ugh. My shoulders ache from hunching over all day, crunching numbers. [What does that mean exactly? Crunching numbers? Sounds like it might involve a whole grain cereal, sort of like Alphabits only with numbers.] Well, I don't think what I was doing really qualifies as crunching numbers but I've always wanted to say it. It sounds so MATHEMATICAL. And that is so not me. I am doing well to balance my checkbook. Which might be why it took seven hours and I'm still not done. *sigh*

I also had a test in Spanish over the subjunctive.

Ran to the store before lunch. The plan was to get lots of fresh vegetables at the verdulerĂ­a next to the grocery store BUT I forgot to take cash. I had a few pesos in my purse so was able to grab potatoes, a red pepper and some cucumbers, but I'd planned to get more than that. We use the credit card at the grocery but the verdulerĂ­a only accepts cash.

We interrupt to bring you a public service announcement give you a quick lesson on life overseas...
Because we aren't able to open a checking account here, we use ATM machines to access money from our account in the U.S. The bank that manages the ATMs here charges just over $3 per withdrawal, our bank charges a $5 fee, AND we are charged a 3% international monetary exchange fee. FOR EACH AND EVERY TRANSACTION. Plus the ATMs limit the amount you can withdraw at one time. It's a very small amount so those fees pile up awfully fast. We've found that using the credit card, to buy groceries or pay for gasoline, means we aren't paying those extra bank fees on items we charge. Well, except for the 3% international fee. Can't get away from that one. Unfortunately there aren't too many places that take credit cards and we have to use cash for most of our expenses.

Now back to our regular program....
Also managed to get two loads of laundry done and made Mari's wonderful Chili Cornbread Salad for supper. If you haven't tried it yet, you should! I throw in whatever vegetables I have on hand and am in the mood for...today that included red pepper, a carrot, tomato, cilantro and radishes (from our garden!), onion, and cucumber. As well as the cans of beans and corn. You would not believe how many times I've made this recipe since Mari posted it at the end of June. We ♡ this recipe.

Which brings me to the topic I'd love to see addressed in the comments today... Are you in the habit of trying recipes you find on other blogs? If you do, what has been your favorite so far? Be sure to leave a link if you can! All comments will, of course, be entered in the drawing for my blogiversary giveaway!

8 comments:

SusanD said...

I have tried several recipes but one of my favorites was posted by Kathering @ Smoky Mountain Cafe. The recipe is Spiced Cocktail Nuts and they are FABULOUS and easy. I can't wait to make them for my house warming party. The link is below. Blessings, SusanD

http://smokymountaincafe.blogspot.com/2008/12/spicy-cocktail-nuts.html

Mari said...

It sounds really difficult to deal with the money situation there!
I'm so glad you are enjoying the salad. We love it too and I'm about to make it again myself!
I do try recipes from other blogs. I don't know about favorites because there are so many good ones, but the last one I made was this one - Lemon Ice Cream Pie from Lyn. It was good!

http://rohalcall.blogspot.com/2009/07/supper-club-and-recipe.html

Heidi said...

I'm with you on number crunching. That's I.T.'s job.

I'll have to check out the blog that gave the blogging advice. I read one today that gave advice on blogging, too, it was a different one. Love blog advice!

I'll have to think about the recipe question- I've been online too long and am too tired to find the link to the one I tried recently.
Heidi @ 2 Thinks to Share

riTa Koch said...

Sad to say I have not been as successful as I'd like with recipes. They always look and sound appealing, but my performance as a cook must be lacking. As I always say, "I'm only a Koch (cook) by marriage."

JonMagic said...

I LOVE this recipe I found when we first started smoking (i.e. BBQ). I halve the salt in the brine and rub though:

http://getyourgrillon.net/2008/04/21/bite-through-smoked-chicken-skin/

sara said...

I love trying recipes I find on other blogs.

My fav (And I am not brown nosing!) is by far your cuban pork!! I have given that recipe out several times.

Darla had a King Ranch Casserole we now love and my fav place to find recipes is crockpot365.blogspot.com. She cooked in her crock pot every day for a year! great resource!!

I hope your hubby gave you a hand massage!

Robin Lambright said...

I visit this blog
http://oneperfectbite.blogspot.com/
I love looking at the pictures of the food and just seeing what they post. The food is always beautiful, and it sometimes give me inspiration for what I will cook. I'm not much a recipe user. I just sort look in the pantry and go from there. However I did make a great Beef & Broccoli that I got off the food network website the other day. It was delish....

Blessings
Robin

Oldfangled said...

I have become infatuated with food blogs. The Pioneer Woman Cooks is one of my favorites. I also have a long-ago-friend who has a blog called Lemon Sprig. I like looking at the photos and reading about the experience and drooling over the results. (I have to be careful about the drooling when I'm at work...) But I really haven't tried the recipes at home. I feel like my life is just too busy right now to spend that much time in the kitchen. There was a time in my life when I relished in trying new recipes and making more elaborate meals, but this is not a stage of my life when I feel able to do that.

I would be very frustrated with all the fees you face. Bleh.