Hot, Hot, Hot (and Tasty!)

I just heard that this summer is the hottest summer since 1980. No wonder I've been feeling a little more complainy about the heat (usually I enjoy the heat, to a point, especially after ICY winters). 


Well, Monday we woke up to get ready for work and I was pissed off at the air conditioner. I started thinking I'd somehow set the thermostat wrong (it's a smarter thermostat where I can program times and temperatures that I want it to change to) and had it set to be 80 while we slept. Oh well, I got ready for work and that was that. Then Brandon text messaged me when he got off early saying it was 84 degrees in the house at 1am! Holy crap, that is unacceptable! When we're not at home, it's set to never get above 80. Our a/c was busted! (by the way, that took less than 3 months of living here to have a major malfunction!)


Well, part of the home buying process is the sellers provided for us a year long home warranty. I couldn't remember where I put it, so Brandon couldn't find it to call and get them started on finding someone to fix it for us, thus we had to wait until I got home to take care of it. By then, Brandon had already loaded up 2 of the dogs (can't carry all four at once, that's insane!) and headed to my parent's house to escape the heat and sleep for work that night. I called, reported, and hung around for 2 hours for NO ONE to call me back!


Angry and now hot, I got on the phone to check the status, packed my crap for sleep for the day and work that night, and loaded up the remaining 2 dogs. Right when I got on the road, they answered. Oh, it seems because I didn't say it was a medical emergency (why didn't I say that again? Oh ya, I'm only pregnant, not about to DIE!) they just sent the request to some sort of purgatory in their system to await only God knows what. We changed it to an emergency, but the only company they'd been able to find so far could be here Wednesday, not same day. I could hold out and see if anyone could come Tuesday, or just get a guaranteed visit Wednesday. I agreed to that since we'd be an hour away sleeping, hopefully, and went about my business. 


I tell you, Wednesday when Brandon and I got to the house to wait out the "We'll be there between 9am and 1pm" electrician crap, it was hot. By 11:30am it was reading 90 degrees INSIDE! But then the a/c repair guy showed up, and about 20 minutes later was paid and gone with the a/c working. We decided to leave, go get the dogs, have lunch, and then come back to a hopefully cooler house. I tell ya, that was NO FUN. Even when we got back, it had decreased only to 84...but oscillating fans can be saviors, and our one and only most definitely was. It was a nice thing waking up because I was looking for the covers that had been previously removed...then waking up and turning the fan off.


That's been about the biggest load of crap we've dealt with lately.


Good stories are that I've been doing decent at a sort of weekly meal plan idea. I try to only go the the grocery store once a week and load up on fruit, veggies, and things for dinner for the week. We alternate weeks where I try to have 3 home cooked meals one week and 2 home cooked meals the next. (there are always leftovers, and Brandon and I do enjoy going out to eat on occasion, so I think it works out decently) This is week 3 of trying that plan, and, even with the hot house, we've done well! Our only set back this week is that the grocery store we went to didn't have a couple things we wanted, so we'll go and pick up those things tomorrow. 


I've also been trying recipes that sound really yummy and easy from Food Network.com and 2 out of the 3 have been amazing, one was meh. I forgot to cook the rice with it, so maybe that would have made a difference, but I think we needed to add some more spice to it. One recipe I've already posted on my recipe list, I need to post the other because it was sooo flavorful! (seriously, the chicken alone was amazing, mixed with the tomatillos and other parts, omg sooo good!) The meh one was sweet and sour pork. VERY easy to make, just needed some more kick. And all of it healthy! (I set a personal goal of at least one veggie or veggie medley per meal, except breakfast, and these have satisfied my request) 


The meal that was just superb this week was found in a Good Housekeeping that somehow found its way to our mailbox. It's called Spicy Chicken Corn Chowder. For me, it wasn't so spicy that I needed tons of fluids to cool the heat, but sort of like Hot and Sour soup, warm enough to make your nose run a tad, but still tasty. And it was very, very good! I'll post that one later, too. I believe it was easy to make (Brandon actually cooked this one). Only chopping the vegetables and such was the long part, really, as I find it is with any other recipe. I would definitely recommend getting some French bread to dip in the sauce. It came out perfect and hasn't broken at all for us. 


I didn't take any pictures of these, though, because I forgot. But trust me, YUMMY! And easy! I'm pretty lazy and they make enough for left overs (which means food to eat at home and take to work), don't take more than an hour from start to finish, and are mostly good for you. I slacked off a little this week because the remaining two meals we plan on cooking are steak, baked potatoes, and salad and then using the Kraft Tangy Spaghetti mix and making spaghetti with meat sauce. But that crap is good for a box! (although it seems Walmart and Target don't sell it, boo!)


Since I suck and didn't do any pictures, I'll just show you some cute puppy dog pictures I have. 

Bella...she sleeps with us 90% of the time...she loves her cuddles!

Handsome Hunter. He loves to play!

Ribby...not so much a fan of the baby gate keeping him from us in the computer room.

JJ, practicing his dramatic look. Aww, he's finally getting a tad of white on his chinny-chin-chin.