Monday, Monday...

So I have no new pictures today. I'm waiting on one from my neighbor, so as soon as I get it from her I'll tell the story. She was suppose to email it to me a few weeks ago actually. I could just go knock on her door but that's just too easy. So anyway... living in Knob Noster, MO is about as exciting as watching paint dry, if you know what I mean. Nothing really new has happened. Kyle did go to "Worlds of Fun" on Saturday. He compared it to Michigan's Adventure, even though he said it wasn't as fun. It was military weekend so he just had to flash his military ID to get in free. I stayed home of course, it'll take a lot more than a trip to an amusement park to pull me away from my Saturday Sweep. It was even better this Saturday because Kyle left at 9:30am, so I was undisturbed all day!! We're all still in the dark about our fate here at Embarq/ CenturyLink. Two more contractors left this last Friday after putting in their two week notice. So we are down to six contractors. One has no intentions of staying after Sept. 30, he's moving to Georgia for school. Two others have such bad attendance that we're all pretty sure they won't be considered for contract renewal. So that leaves three of us. I'm hoping those odds are good enough to keep me on, but who knows. The cats are still getting bigger. Stealth is in a questionable state, she's doing things that make me think it may be time to get her fixed. All I have to say is, luckily Bomber has already been neutered. The neighbors got a little puppy, and we actually noticed two tied up out back last night, so we're thinking they went back and adopted the brother too. I thought two cats were a handful. They've got two cats, two puppies (I'm guessing) and three kids under 7 to top it all off... more power to them I suppose. She's not working right now so I guess she does have extra time on her hands. The weather has been WONDERFUL (to my standards) the last few days. We've been leaving all the windows open at night and it'll get down to around 60 degreese in the house. It's about 60 outside right now, and it's noon. This is my perfect kind of weather right now. I can already see the Jack-O-Lanterns... I know, it's terrible. Well anyway, I'm about go on lunch break here in 15 mins, so I will be back around in a few days. Later Michigan! -Jess

Rain, Rain Go Away!

Wow, I've set a new record for longest time gone without a post. Sorry! Anyway, Kyle's dad left yesterday. He was here for 5 days. Kyle took leave for those few days while his dad was here but he is back to work today. It has been storming for the last few days, and raining like crazy. We were driving home from the airport last night and it was almost impossible to drive because of all the rain. My neighbor took this picture. Nothing Michigan hasn't seen before, but this was what the sky looked like the other night right before it started down-pouring. Too bad this was the day Kyle and his dad when the the tractor pull at the state fair. It was delayed 4 hours. The show must go on though, so eventually the rain stopped and the show began. I didn't go, thank goodness! I did finish the last book in the Twilight series, and I've already started over again. They were just that good. Other than that, Stealth is still growing and it's pretty quiet in the small town of Knob Noster. I know I've said this before, but I will try not to wait this long again to post. Goodnight Michigan! -Jess

Chewy Bars Recipe...

Okay, so no picture this time but Aunt Kelly asked for the recipe for the Chewy Bars I made a few days ago. I figured I would just post it here for all to see. Happy Chewing!

No-Bake Granola Bars

1/4 cup of unsalted or salted butter
1/2 cup of honey
1/2 cup of brown sugar
2 cups of plain or flavored granola
1 cup of Rice Krispies
1/2 cup of pretzel sticks broken in half
1/2 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips

In a sauce pan heat the butter, honey and sugar until butter is melted. Once melted, bring to a boil until sugar is dissolved (about 2 mins). Stir in granola, Rice Krispies and pretzles and well coated. Press mixture into a 9X13 ungreased pan. Press the chocolate chips into the top of the bars. Place in refrigerator until cool. Cut into bars and enjoy!

Okay so here's where I made my own alterations. First of all, I used Organic Granola. Walmart sells it in the cereal isle. I would suggest using granola with nothing else in it (ie. almonds, dried fruit) unless of course you want those things in your Chewy Bars. Also, the original recipe called for 1/2 cup of raisins to be added in with the cereal but I'm not a huge fan of dried up grapes! I also used mini chocolate chips instead of regular ones, I think they work better. Plus I put my chocolate chips in the freezer for a few hours because the granola is super hot once it's poured into the pan and I didn't want them to melt. So freezing them first helps them keep their shape. I hope they turn out for you! -Jess

Chewy Bars!

Okay so I made Chewy Bars a few days ago and they were a success! I brought them into work because Kyle refuses to eat anything remotely strange. Even though granola bars aren't strange... that's just Kyle. There are still a few in the fridge that haven't been touched in a few days. They're in the fridge because it's SO HOT here right now. Humid and hot. They would just turn into a sticky mess if I left them out. So anyway, Kyle is off of his crazy shift and doesn't have to go back again until Wednesday. He's enjoying his time off. He's also super excited because his Dad is going to be here on Saturday and staying until Wednesday. The State Fair starts next week, so they'll be busy doing that. I'm finally on the final book of the Twilight Saga, Breaking Dawn. I'm taking a break though, so maybe I'll start up again tomorrow. It doesn't look like we're getting our contracts extended. The company made an announcement on Friday that they are doing away with the system that half of us use. I'll try to make this short, but basically we have two different systems that our department uses. Half of us use the old system, the other half uses the new. I use the new, along with all of the other contractors. Well, the new system is out. I guess I'll find out in a few weeks what my fate really is at Embarq. Well, one of the cats just ran through their food dish and there is cat food EVERYWHERE! So I suppose I will go clean that up. Later Michigan! -Jess

The Twilight Saga

Well you'd think I'd be able to get my nose out of a book long enough to write something more than just once a week, but aparently I haven't been able to. There has been so much talk about that movie Twilight for the last year or so that I figured it wouldn't be a bad idea to watch it. It was awesome! So, of course when I found out it was based on a book, I had to read it. And come to find out, there are 4 books all together! To make a long story short, I bought these books a week ago today and I'm already on book number 3. The saga includes Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse and Breaking Dawn. I'm ashamed to admit this but they are way better than the Harry Potter books. I can't seem to put them down. But anyway, back to reality. Kyle is on some weird exercise all this week, so I get to see him 2 hours a day, and those hours are between 5am and 7am, so I'm sleeping. I work 8am-5pm, he is working 5pm-5am. This started last Sunday and hopefully will be over Sunday at 5am... hopefully. He calls it a nuclear exercise... not much of a clue what that means but I guess it's pretty important. The worst thing is that for those 12 hours, he has to sit in the "Ready Truck". Basically they just drive around the flight line all night a 15mph with the AC on full blast. I guess that answers your question about where all of our tax dollars are going to. Nah... he said it isn't too bad, they only use about a 1/2 tank a night. Stealth is getting so big, it's scary. She jumps up on top of the fish tank, which is a good 4ft high, and tries to get at the fish. We were considering a puppy that a friend from work had found on the side of the road but we didn't think we could handle a puppy quite yet. We don't have a yard big enough for a grown dog to run around in. Plus we were pretty sure it was part Rot, and those are big dogs! Well these pictures are just of our "indoor" kitties. They love being outside. Bomber likes eating grass, and well Stealth just likes to run. But anyway, I'm going to get back to my book. I will try not to wait another week to post again. Have a good one Michigan! -Jess