Changes... and my first 40/40 triumph!

I am almost finished compiling my 40/40 list and only have to think of five more things to add to it.  I am proud to say however, that I have marked off the first item on the list!! After long discussions with my husband, many sleepless nights, and plenty of number crunching. I decided it was time to leave Wal-Mart.  I am still in a shock and it feels a little bit surreal since it has only been a week, but I am 100% certain it was the right thing to do.

I have been thinking about this for a long time, but it wasn't until my mom passed away that I realized how fragile life was and how important it is to spend time with those that are the most important to you.  It is unfortunate that it took a tragedy such as this to make me  realize how much I have been missing out on and  that this was not the sort of life I wanted to be living.

My Grandmother secured this job for me when I was 16 and in need of a driver's license.  Since I was not allowed to drive until I got a job, this was a good fit.  It was a family affair with my grandmother and aunt working in the same store.  I knew a lot of people there and my best friend Shelly worked with me as well.  I made relationships that have stuck with me throughout my life and I would be lying if I said there weren't some good times at store #667 in Tullahoma, TN.

Working for Wal-Mart provided quite a bit of flexibility as I moved to three different states and five separate stores, bore five children and returned to school.  I managed to work there for 18.5 years. Through the years, Wal-Mart's store policy has become stricter with scheduling and criteria for part-time vs. full time associates which affected things like insurance, vacation, and personal flexibility.

Ever since my first child was born 12 years ago, I have missed many of the extra-curricular activities they have participated in not to mention the things they were unable to do because of my work schedule.  This includes school activities, sports, theater productions, and community and family events.  At this point in time it means I would miss my daughters first year playing on the "A" team for middle school basketball.  This is something she is very excited about and devoted to and it would be terrible if I couldn't be there to support her.

Since I would leave for work as soon as my husband would get home, the kids were used to being in a single-parent environment most of the time and it has caused conflict with parenting styles and it was hard for us to collaborate on discipline and chores.  Together, my husband and I make a pretty good team, but it was hard to execute when we were rarely home at the same time.  That one hour before I would leave for work was extremely hectic and stressful for me, my husband and the kids.

On top of the emotional toll it took on my family life, I was physically beginning to feel the effects of working in that environment.  My body hurts in ways I don't understand. I have foot pain that is directly related to working on the concrete floors, and would suffer minor carpel tunnel from time to time.  At only 34 years old, I hobble around like someone much older despite being in better shape than I have been in during the last decade.

It was a hard decision to come to, and we weighed all the pros and cons but when it came down to it, this was the best decision for our family.  It was breaking my heart to miss so much and to see my kids grow up knowing I was missing so much of it.  Hopefully I am not too late and we can enjoy being a family and doing things together because that is what matters the most.  Even though this decision will provide us with many challenges, it will make life much more rewarding.

Easy Turtles

I have never been very creative, in the kitchen or otherwise.  In the craft department I am usually able to duplicate something, or if it has a pattern, like cross stitching or sewing, it's a piece of cake.  In the kitchen, I am golden (usually) if I have a recipe.  Before my mom passed away I would frequently send her emails asking for certain recipes that she used to make and techniques she used to make something.  Just a couple of weeks ago, in fact, my sister called me asking "how did mom make fried okra?".  I had no clue.  Since leaving the south nearly 13 years ago, my taste buds have not been anywhere near okra as I don't think too many people out this way eat it any other way than pickled.  She used to cook it just right.  It wasn't battered like you find in the store, it was breaded, and she would cook it until it was crunchy and to most people it would appear burnt, but it was so delicious.

Now, my mom loved sweets.  But for her it wasn't just any sweets.  She had her favorites, and she was really good at making things that other people loved and she hated.  For instance, as long as I lived in her house, I got a made from scratch carrot cake for my birthday.  It was fantastic, but there was no way you would ever catch her eating any of it.  What did she like?  Well one of the things that stands out to me is a turtle.  I too love turtles.  My dad would get her a whole box of them at Christmas, just for her.

Last week I bought some caramels with the intent of making some caramel apples with the kids.  The other night I was craving something sweet, since my diet is on hold until my will power decides to return.  I grabbed a caramel, and two pecan halves and popped it in the microwave to melt it a little and what came next was pure genius.  I thought, hmm, this is so good.  All it needs is some chocolate and voila! It's a turtle.

Tonight I grabbed my daughter to lend me a hand and here is what went down.  This is so simple, and to most probably common sense, but honestly my brain just doesn't usually function this way.

1.  Grab a bag of Kraft caramels and a few kids to start unwrapping them into a bowl.

2.  Take some pecan halves, 2 halves for each caramel, and stick one on each side of a caramel pressing gently so they stick.

3.  Place entire plate of caramels into microwave and zap them for about 30 second and test.  It took 50 seconds for ours to be soft enough.  When they come out of the microwave, immediately squish each one together so they stay stuck.  You want them to be soft, but not melted.

4. Place squished candies into the freezer while you melt the chocolate.

5. Choose a chocolate.  I had some semi sweet bakers chocolate which would have been perfect for me, but I added 3 cubes of chocolate flavored almond bark to a whole bar of bakers chocolate to sweeten it up a little.  Any chocolate that will harden when at room temperature will be fine.  Melt the chocolate in the microwave using 30 second intervals and stirring between each until its smooth.

6.  Remove the candies from the freezer and get ready to dunk!  Using a fork, drop each one into the chocolate and roll it around until fully covered and then place it on wax paper to dry.

7.  Try not to lick the entire bowl of chocolate clean, and eat all the caramels in one sitting.

8. Let the candies cool until the chocolate hardens. 

There ya go.  It's not rocket science but it is good! In honor of my mom and her love of the nutty, caramel-y  chocolaty goodness, ENJOY!

P is for....

Pears, Potatoes, Peppers and Pesto!  I have been wrangling with tons of all of this for weeks now and I cannot wait until the harvest is over.  This may happen sooner than I thought.  Today the high was only in the 60's and we are expecting our first possible frost tonight.

The store I work for ordered too many pears and decided to sell them at rock bottom price and I picked up 72 pounds of ripe Bartlett pears for a little over $7.  For three days, I turned them into canned pear slices and pear sauce.  In the end I had 18 quarts of sliced pears, and 5 pints of pear sauce.  I didn't do the math, but I am pretty sure I came out ahead!  By the last box, I was so tired of cutting and peeling pears that I threw the rest out to the chickens.  They seemed to enjoy it.

sliced pears

For the last three years, I have been buying large sacks of potatoes locally from some guys in a neighboring town.  It seems like a good price as I get 30 lbs for $5.  Right now I can get a 10 lb. bag at the store for $1, but these potatoes surpass them in quality.  They are HUGE! with very little blemishes and most still are caked with dirt they are so fresh.  Did you know when you buy a sack of potatoes from the grocery store, they are usually from the harvest the year  before?

Peppers! Where do I begin?  I do know that next year I am only planing ONE jalapeno plant.  I threw out so many peppers because I didn't get them in the freezer or eaten in time and my chickens hate peppers.  My bell pepper plants produced pretty well but they will definitely need more support next time as I lost several to broken branches.  My orange ones are just now turning.  I hope they can hang on a few more days through the frost.  As for the chilies, I looked online and learned to string them up to dry.  I will know in a few weeks if that was successful, but they do look pretty hanging in my kitchen!

ripe chilies hanging to dry

orange bell peppers

Pesto.. so delicious in its garlicky flavor.  In the middle of summer when my lettuce was all finished, I decided to throw down some basil seeds.  Those seeds really thrived in our summer heat!  I finally got around to turning some of it into pesto but it didn't make a dent in the crop.  If my plants survive the night I plan on finishing them off tomorrow.  Pesto has to be frozen and not canned unless you have a pressure canner in which I do not.  These plants are nearly 2.5 feet tall and I probably wont get to a fraction of what is on there but I am sure I will appreciate it in the dead of winter.

Basil