The Long Arm of the Law...

Yesterday evening I was heading home, talking with Aubrey and going the speed limit. I noticed a cop behind me but got into the "slow" lane and let him pass me. As the two lanes merged he slammed on his brakes forcing me to get in front of him and proceeded to pull me over. The reason?...I have a suspended license! Yes you read correctly...a suspended license! You are mistaken I told him. He continued to ask me where my Oregon license was..."I don't have one." I replied (yes- I should have one by now, but living here is a temporary situation, and a license will only make the "situation" more permanent). I have a license on file for you he continues..."So you have never gone to the DMV, taken a test, and had your picture taken?"..."Nope" (I can't have a suspended Oregon license...i have never gotten one). "Can I ask why it is suspended?"..."That is the weird part I have never seen the reason listed before. It says "random sampling"."

At this point I don't know what to do. He gives me a ticket for $643 dollars and sends me on my way telling me to go the DMV and get it taken care of. Then I will need to go to court on my assigned date and find out what the judge decides. "OHH GREAT!" This stuff only happens to us!

This a.m. I get up at 6 because I am nervous about the whole thing and call the DMV they inform me that since we didn't change our address with them when we moved, we didn't receive a letter they mailed out asking residents for proof of insurance. Since we didn't respond to the letter...they suspended not only my license, but Nick's as well. So I gave the clerk our policy number proving we had insurance for the month of December and we were cleared.

Move on to this evening...Cop is now in my driveway...yep... once again only happens to us. "ohhh nooo now what?"
"I did some research on my own because the situation was so odd. The state of Oregon made a HUGE mistake and I am here to void your ticket."

"YAY!!"...(insert awkward conversation here)

However, the state of Oregon still has an Oregon ID number on file that can't be removed and I have to keep a letter of clearance on me at all times because if any other cop decides to run my plates I will continue to come up as a suspended driver...so the story continues...

PS...Lent is clearly over-note picture above.

Poor Man's Pasta

There are those times when you do NOT want to go the grocery store, or you know you shouldn't go out for dinner and are forced to use things from your cupboard to make up a meal. This was the situation Nick and I were faced with when I created tonight's new dinner. Nick was in the mood for "chicken enchilada casserole", or "cheesy chicken"...both of which we have never had. "I will see what I can do," I replied.

First things first...I had to defrost some chicken breasts. Next find some pasta. We have had an overabundance of pasta for months...so I haven't bought any for a while...a mistake that would add character to the pasta...Our options for pasta were: Orzo (rice-like noodles)...probably not the best choice. Classic spaghetti...better than the orzo yet not quite right...Classic Kraft Macaroni Noodles and the Special Pokemon(TM)edition in the cupboard...PERRRFECT! Next I had to make it cheesy and casserole-like....

Select the sauce ingredients: A jar of alfredo sauce, milk, butter, parm, salt, pepper...(A good start) ,"need more cheese"...select the unopened, unused Macaroni cheese packet- add to mixture. (Maybe it needs some flavor?) Add some French Onion mix to the "sauce". Now what? Add some green onions, and fresh garlic. (Looks good)...Cook chicken and add cooked pasta and chicken to "sauce". Bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees. Top with fresh diced tomatoes and enjoy.

Enjoy we did... it turned out great. Nick said it tasted like Macaroni Grill. I agree that it tasted like meals I have paid good money for. We joked about having our own Food Network show featuring truly cheap dishes.

Special K and Brussel Sprouts

Are what I ate for dinner tonight...it all started when I wasn't sure what I wanted for dinner...Leftover stuffed peppers? Possibly...Brussel Sprouts? Definitely. So I started cooking them. Next I decided to eat cereal instead and came upon the Blueberry Special K. I didn't want to waste the brussel sprouts so after enjoying a bowl of cereal I topped off my meal with the steamed brussel sprouts. My stomach is not agreeing with my choice...perhaps I will try a hard boiled egg that just finished cooking...

Fire Alarms Make Him Wacky

After living with Missy for so many years I am used to dogs that have their quirks...Ditka on the other hand doesn't have too many. Recently it has come to our attention that fire alarms are the exception to this rule...and ours goes off A LOT! If we are cooking and happen to set it off he disappears and is usually found hiding in his cage hunched over with sad/scared puppy eyes...kind of heartbreaking really. Tonight with the bedroom door shut it led to some crazy events. He went down into the laundry a sort of half basement if you will and just stood there...now he is hunkered down on my feet as close to me as possible and isn't really resonding to us at all...Fire Alarms make him Wacky.

Lonely Housewife

Abbie had a good giggle at me last week when I told her I was wasting away alone in our house. "I don't know what to eat." I told her. "Nick works late so I don't want to cook, and we don't have any "quick" meals because of the wedding diet. She showed pity and replied,"welcome to my world"

Nick has gone back to work and I am very excited for him. It gives him things to do instead of sitting at home all day. However, I like when he is here. Ditty and I don't know what to do. I am not good at being alone... All I can think of are the positives of when he was at home for example:

The house was clean, the laundry was done, the car had gas, I had a tennis partner, and he would make me coffee in the a.m and sometimes drive me to work.

Now it's:

I help with the housework, the car gets low on gas, I don't play tennis during the week, and I make the coffee. I am not liking this new routine. Although with the long hours the money is nice which I guess trumps all.

PS- I tried to find a picture to add to this post however, I felt like a pervert when I typed in Lonely Housewife and porn came up...dirty...that's so not what I MEANT!