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txblond has updated her twitter:
Have a hankering for stir-fry? Try some Sweet & Sour Pork for dinner tonight - it was GOOOOD!
is.gd/13xF - Yesterday
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txblond has posted a new entry on: Self-Reliant Yuppies
Torque Master Meatloaf
I can't believe I haven't shared this recipe before because it is one of our absolute favs - and so easy when you freeze one ahead of time, leaving only the mashed potatoes to make for the evening. Serving this with ketchup might seem a bit strange b
- July 23rd, 2008
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txblond has posted a new entry on: Self-Reliant Yuppies
Chicken Pot Pie with Cheddar Pastry
A couple years ago, I got a fantastic collection of recipes from Southern Living called 30 Years of our Best Recipes as a gift from my mom. I have only tried one meal from it so far which was fantastic, but I decided to use a few more recipes from it
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txblond has posted a new entry on: Self-Reliant Yuppies
Garlic Herb Pasta
This turned out quite well despite me being a bit concerned about it during the cooking process. If you don't have flavorful tomatoes, it's just not the same but hubby said it tasted very similar to an arrabiata he eats often at one of his favorite r
- July 22nd, 2008
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txblond has posted a new entry on: Self-Reliant Yuppies
Meal plan for the next few weeks
I started this list a couple days ago, but figured I might as well post the days we've already had as well. After just sorta playing it by ear for the last week, I have to say I find having a meal plan kind of nice. You don't have to worry about what
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txblond has posted a new entry on: Self-Reliant Yuppies
What we're growing right now...
If you read this blog often, you know that we tend to grow some things that some might consider strange. Even for us they can be a bit abnormal, but as we try to become more self-sufficient and look towards a future where food costs just continue to
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txblond has posted a new entry on: Life with a Newf
Make Your Own Dog Stuff
Ever wanted to build a custom bed for your dog? Or maybe you don't like the way most harnesses fit your dog and want a custom one? Or perhaps you need a Newfie-sized raincoat for your pooch? Well, look no further than www.make-and-build-dog-stuff.com
- July 21st, 2008
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txblond has posted a new entry on: Self-Reliant Yuppies
Build Your Own Tortilla Press
So I was thinking about various gadgets that are great to have in your kitchen and came down the list to the tortilla press. I know for many this would be an absolute waste, but we eat a lot of flour tortillas here (almost weekly taco nights) and at
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txblond has posted a new entry on: Self-Reliant Yuppies
A few water saving tips we recently implemented
Well, everyone is in full savings mode with the price of gas going through the roof and we're not much exception. We have cut back our spending in many areas and are using meal planning as one way to help us cut costs, but we're doing other things as
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- July 18th, 2008
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txblond has posted a new blog review on: "Sleeping Kitten - Dancing Dog!"
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txblond has posted a new blog review on: Life with a Newf
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txblond has posted a new blog review on: Our New Farmhouse in Germany
- July 17th, 2008
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txblond has posted a new entry on: Self-Reliant Yuppies
Another hour in the garden...
Just spent another bit of time pulling weeds, trimming trees and just trying to get a grip on things in the garden. Overwhelming is certainly one way of describing it! I took some more photos but I barely notice the progress myself...well, actually,
- July 16th, 2008
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txblond has posted a new entry on: Self-Reliant Yuppies
A bit of progress in the garden
Well, we finally did something about the garden. I feel guilty for not going back there the last two days but Monday I was still recovering from working back there 3 hours on Sunday...and today it was just too hot in the morning to get out there. I m
- July 15th, 2008
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txblond has posted a new entry on: Life with a Newf
A very cool leash...but not for me :(
We got an email this morning from FunStuffForDogs.com about a pretty snazzy new leash called the BZ Retractable Leash.As you can see, it's got quite a few bells and whistles, including a built-in flashlight, extra safety collar with reflective tape,
- July 11th, 2008
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txblond has posted a new entry on: Self-Reliant Yuppies
Bottom Round Roast with Onion Gravy
I'm not sure I'll try this recipe again. The roast was extremely dry so were were very thankful for the gravy. The onions cooked way down and were a bit too mushy for my liking in the end but they did pick up the wine flavor which was nice. I made so
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txblond has posted a new entry on: Self-Reliant Yuppies
Carol's Arroz Con Pollo
On its own, this dish is a little bit bland. But we were trying to find a dish similar to what they serve in Miami at a restaurant called Pollo Tropical. This is not it but it was still really good. A much more Mexican flair than I expected. The
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txblond has posted a new entry on: Self-Reliant Yuppies
Sweet, Sticky & Spicy Chicken
As the name suggests, this dish has a sweet side to it with a big kick of spice for those who like it hot. One could pair it with white rice or give our version a try - left-over penne noodles thrown in the pan once everything was cooked. I think we
- July 7th, 2008
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txblond has posted a new entry on: Self-Reliant Yuppies
Easy Italian Pasta Bake
This may look like your ordinary lasagna - but don't be confused. It's faster, easier and to some, maybe even tastier!We tried the Easy Italian Pasta Bake last week and thought it was awesome although it was very bland. In its defense, I imagine they
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txblond has posted a new entry on: Self-Reliant Yuppies
A recap of the meal plan from last week
Successfully not posted anything about the meals...doh! But I do have a pretty good excuse. Stefan and I have been quite under the weather for the past week. And although couch-locked most of the time because we were just too tired to move from the c
- June 27th, 2008
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txblond has posted a new entry on: Our New Farmhouse in Germany
The walls are looking goooood
So the neighbor came over last Saturday at 10 (he overslept and was supposed to be here at 8) and finished up the walls of the guest house. Read about him starting last Thursday here with previous photos. It's really looking good and now we just ne
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txblond has posted a new entry on: Self-Reliant Yuppies
Red Pepper Salmon Pasta
We actually tried the recipe quite a while ago but I'm trying to turn over a new leaf or something so I figured I would finally post about it. Red Pepper Salmon Pasta seems like a bit of a strange combo when you read it but it actually turned out qu
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txblond has posted a new entry on: Self-Reliant Yuppies
The initial challenges of meal planning
Well, I'm taking on something new this week...in an attempt to use up the food we purchase more wisely and get better at budgeting, I am starting to do meal planning. I have tried this before and usually find that at the end of the week, I don't want
- June 26th, 2008
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txblond has posted a new entry on: Self-Reliant Yuppies
I almost can't bear to look...
All right...the time has finally come. I am posting pictures of the garden regardless of how painful or embarrassing it might be. Who knows...maybe it will motivate me to get something going back there. The garden does not look good. It's massively
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txblond has posted a new entry on: Our New Farmhouse in Germany
What the electrician has been up to...literally
Before Stefan's party, we decided we better have the electrician come out and get some of the lights working around here so we could actually see our guests during the birthday party. Plus all the wiring seems to be about 30 years old and is starting
- June 19th, 2008
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txblond has posted a new entry on: Our New Farmhouse in Germany
Just putzing around
Ok, in German "putz" is what you call the plaster or stucco you put on walls. So yeah, I'm just making a bit of word play. Call it your German lesson for the day.We asked one of our neighbors who happens to be a general contractor and painter if he w
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txblond has posted a new entry on: Our New Farmhouse in Germany
The compost pile is gone!
A bit late on the update but at least I'm getting to it sometime in the same month!On June 2nd, the wonderful workers showed up again to deal with our compost pile dilemma. On a farm, things like this are very common here - but apparently none of the
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txblond has posted a new entry on: Our New Farmhouse in Germany
Voila! I give you mud room & pantry!
Once again I'm slacking. This past weekend we had a pretty big party here with a bunch of friends and family...it was a lot of work but thankfully also was fun - and will probably be the last of them for a long while. Yeah, we've said that before, ri
- June 3rd, 2008
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txblond has posted a new blog review on: Deals, Coupons & Bargains BLOG
- May 29th, 2008
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txblond has posted a new entry on: Our New Farmhouse in Germany
We just THOUGHT we could get rid of this stuff...
Today was supposed to be a very exciting day for us. When Stefan called to have the trash container picked up on Monday, he happened to ask them if they knew of a place that would take away the compost pile ("misthauf") in our courtyard. It's all sit
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txblond has posted a new entry on: Our New Farmhouse in Germany
Mud room + pantry update
Soooo, I mentioned that some progress had been made in the mud room recently...and that is definitely the case. When Stefan's parents were here, the guys hung up our cabinets from our first apartment here in Germany that we have lugged around from pl
- May 27th, 2008
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txblond has posted a new entry on: Self-Reliant Yuppies
A lesson with rocks
I received an email the other day which shared a story used by Dr. Stephen Covey (author of 7 Habits of Highly Effective People) in his seminars. I found the message so important that I thought I would kick off my contributions again with it:I attend
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txblond has posted a new entry on: Life with a Newf
Making new friends
On the same day that Ayla showed us that she is an environmental doggie, she also got to meet a fun little puppy. Usually Ayla was the one terrorizing older dogs when she was little...this little guy was acting just like her, thinking he was the big
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txblond has posted a new entry on: Life with a Newf
Ayla the Eco-Friendly Dog
A couple weekends ago, we took Ayla with us down to Munich where a couple friends of our were celebrating moving into their new place. It just so happens that in their back yard is a stream which we decided Ayla just had to play in. She is a water do
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txblond has posted a new entry on: Our New Farmhouse in Germany
A progress report from 3 long days of work!
Well, it's taken a few days to recover but the marathon of work while Stefan's parents were here has come to a close for now. We still have a few other small project that we are working on (like the mudroom which I'll post about in a bit) but we acco
- May 21st, 2008
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txblond has posted a new entry on: Our New Farmhouse in Germany
More mud room love and the to do list
Way back in December (which now seems like years ago), we did a bit of drywalling in the mudroom to accompany the other chaos that was going on in our guest house. We'd gotten things to a mostly acceptable state in there, and just ran out of steam an
- May 15th, 2008
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txblond has posted a new entry on: Life with a Newf
On the road again...to Italy
Hi everydog!!Hope you're having some really nice weather where you are. It's in the upper 70's here in Germany which the humans find to be quite pleasant...but without A/C I have to say it's a bit warm. At least the mornings are still nice and cool,
- May 14th, 2008
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txblond has posted a new entry on: Our New Farmhouse in Germany
A rant about customs offices
I realized that there is a risk of the customs agency here in Germany finding out who I am after I write this...and then I will never be able to pick up another package at customs without having to jump through many more hoops than usual - but those
- May 9th, 2008
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txblond has posted a new entry on: Our New Farmhouse in Germany
Catching up on things
Ok, it's been too long once again since I last posted. But that doesn't mean things have been at a standstill around here! For one, we got the glass replaced in the front door! And I got the bill yesterday which only came out to €63 so we're pretty
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txblond has posted a new entry on: Life with a Newf
Home, Sweet Home
Hey all you dogs!!Long time no bark! I cannot believe how long it's been since there was a post here. I'm SO going to give my mom a piece of my mind when we get finished typing here....how could she let things slide like this?? Sheesh!Since it's been
