THE AMUSED LIFE BLOG

FINDS After trying two flavors I have to admit I cannot say enough good things about Simple Creations Seasoned Beef Ribeye Steaks available at Aldi's. We've now had the chop-house seasoning and the roasted garlic and herb seasoning; and all steak cuts were under $5.00. So I could get 3 for each of us (each one is a single serve); for $15.00 in total as opposed to $15.00 for probably 1 rib eye most places. Mind you I want to get a bougie rib eye at some point from a local butcher but this girl is on a hard core budget so I have to stay focused on cheap thrills. I've followed the instructions from Alton Brown for the most part from the episode: STEAK YOUR CLAIM.  Here's the suggestions: Get yourself a Ribeye. Use a Cast Iron Pan 10 Inch - 11 Inch. When making steak, put oven at 500 bake. Put skillet in oven. Coat both sides of steak with kosher salt (I did not because they were seasoned already). Put pan on high heat for 5 minutes. Black pepper on both sides. Canola Oil a...

Originally written for and published in Elephant Journal 12/24/15.  I’ve worn only black pants since age 22. Seriously. Black. Friggin’. Pants. No jeans. No noisy corduroys. No fun colorful or patterned stretchy leggings. Black pants. All because I’m in a completely consuming relationship. He’s everything I want and he’s always there when I need him. He’s socially acceptable and gets along with almost everyone. Frankly, most people fall in love with him upon first meeting him. He’s irresistible! I can take the parents and friends to meet him. He makes me smile and lust after him no matter if he’s heated or ice cold—I still want him just as bad. In fact, he slides inside me with such familiarity that I ache when he crosses my lips. It’s that knowing ache. I know I’ll be satisfied. He knows me. He wants to please me. He can be bad and he’s still good. He’s pizza and I have been in an all consuming relationship with him since the age of eight. Perhaps you’ve been in love too? It’s tha...

FIND If you are a pizzahaulic like myself you learn that eating out is going to quickly result in a budget crunch. Now, I would NEVER in a million years not tell you to enjoy your take-out/delivery but I do suggest trying, on occasion to make your own at home. You can get all creative with the toppings and customize it to your heart's content. I've been making pizza since I was 15 years old and my first home economics teacher taught us how to make dough from scratch...and trust, from-scratch dough is THE BEST there is. However, we live in a relentless world where we're competing for time and energy so learning a few shortcuts is nothing to be mad at. That's what leads me to this week's foodie find. I've experimented with various pre-made doughs. I love Pillsbury's pizza crust when I want to make a quick calzone; but I never cared for Boboli (always had a weird "preserved for shelf life" taste to it), and as much as I wanted to LOVE the pre-made cru...

Expecting it to be...when expectation is the thief of true understanding.  Originally posted on former blog: 05/24/20 I think the hardest thing for me in this life is realizing that I see people for who they are in depth not just their mistakes, their choices, their anger, or their hate at times. I have always been okay EVENTUALLY just letting people go the way they need to after distancing so I could get my head okay with the fact that whatever about what happened wasn't really about me because I know who I am and I know what I try to do is always with the best intentions at heart. However I know that the need to distance at times offends people to the core. I know that people want to make up their minds to just hate someone for the sake of hating them. In the end, that's their burden to bear and I'm sorry they have to live with that always eating them away. I have been judged so many times for doing so many things that people were afraid to do. I have been judged for bein...

FIND Canada Dry Blackberry Ginger Ale is life!  OMG this has literally made me joyfilled during the pandemic summer. It's light in taste, crisp and refreshing and that blackberry flavor is there in such a delightful way. I cannot say enough goodness about this mix/combination. FAIL Double Stuff Cookies from Aldis are not double stuff oreos.  If you're wanting Oreo Double Stuff cookies just pay the extra. While Aldi's did a great job trying, they are more like regular Oreos. Now to find the Oreo MEGA STUFF and see how much I can add to my thighs. LOL.

Originally posted on a previous blog May 1, 2020. What's in a number? For example...let's take 365. It's the number of days in a standard calendar year. It's apparently the name of a song from Katy Perry. It's also the amount of pounds that are currently loaded upon my 5 foot 6 inch frame. Not a frame on my wall. On my body. Now don't get me started on feeling bad about it. I don't actually feel bad about the number, I do currently feel bad because as I've aged being a plus sized woman since age 16 means that eventually a larger number does start to take it's toll on your body. For the MOST PART, I'm very healthy. I have great numbers cholesterol wise, I am not diabetic and it's taken me this long to show any signs of hypertension which both my mother and father had. I mean, I'm blessed to be this size and this healthy. However, I am fighting the advancement of my blood pressure. I am dealing with (for the first time in my life), a wideni...

FIND I love corn. I know it's probably the most nutritional equivalent of air and reminds you you had it later (sorry but it's true); so when I stumbled across this find in my weekly groceries list I decided I needed to try it. If you've never had Mexican Street Corn it's quite a complex load of flavors on the tongue (a mixture of cotija cheese, mayo, sour cream, chile powder and lime and then...more cheese). It's a lot to take in when you eat it on the cob fresh and can get a tad messy as well. So I was pretty hopeful this could fit the bill in a convenient way. It did! The only thing missing is the temperature heat of the grilled corn, but the flavors are robust and there is a slight kick to it that makes you just want more, even if only to try to figure out what that taste flavor is. Trust me, my sig-oth who always turns down random dips actually asked for more than 5 samples because he just had to figure out what that "flavor" was. So if you're loo...

We're going to start a journey with dinner planning.  Chicken Margherita  with Spaghetti and Italian Bread (Anna)  - Completed 8/10/20 Amazing!!! Polska Kielbasa with Rice (Erik)   - Completed 8/9/20 Delicious and quick!   Breakfast for Dinner: Pancakes with Breakfast Sausage (Erik)   - Completed 8/11/20 So Yummy! Sunday 8/9/10 We had a later than planned night and it was my 2nd night off of a weekend so Erik took over dinner tonight with a quick and easy Polska Kielbasa with Rice and the addition of some herbed stuffing. Quick, easy and hit the spot. Monday 8/10/20 I was exhausted today but I was dedicated to making this meal tonight. When I cook, I improvise a LOT. I don't measure so if you follow the recipe above (underlined); you can follow the instructions to the letter or just allow the magic to happen. It was so good that this Chicken Margherita will be in my regular menu rotation after tonight. For sure! Tuesday 08/11/20 In the world as we know it, ...

I'm Anna. Pronounced Ahhhhnah. I am an American woman. With a naturalized citizen, born German Father and an American-born and raised Mother. I have a Master’s Degree in Clinical-Counseling Psychology from LaSalle University with an emphasis in grief and loss, pastoral counseling/religion and human sexuality. Before that, I got my Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Women’s Studies from East Stroudsburg University, and am a proud high school graduate of Easton Area High School (Go Red Rovers!). I’m a Fur Momma only and that is okay. But in the end, I’m just a girl with some ideas who appears to be foolish enough to try to make them realities. I’m flawed in lots of ways. However, I’m also fabulous at the same time and I work hard and learn a lot along life’s journey. Life is a work in progress and I embody that and I am proud of it. I’m a dancer, an amateur cook, a lover, a teacher, a music buff, a film fanatic, a pop-culture vulture, an existentialist, a dreamer and I tend to be fu...