I'm No Domestic Goddess

In with all the canning I've been doing, I have a lot of jars that get left empty until the next batch of beans, pumpkin, tomatoes, insert-whatever-I-can-cram-in-a-jar, is ready.

So, we started taking home made lunches to work. In jars. I thought I was unique. Forward thinking. Turns out, I'm not the only one who had this idea. Which is actually a good thing, as it meant I could now find out what other people put in their jars for lunches.

Some, haven't been so great, when it comes to trying to get each individual part back OUT of the jar to eat it. (In my defense, marinated steak strips (left jar in the above picture), topped by peas, topped by my Smashed Potatoes *recipe below*, and a liner full of home made sour cream - looks AWESOME in a jar. It's NOT my damn fault that I didn't think the whole marinade thing through, and how hard a cupcake liner of peas would be to get OUT of the jar. They went in so EASY!! However, it was damn good, if I do say so myself. Did I mention, it's cheap? Those jars of food up there cost less than a dollar!! Yes, a whole meal for UNDER a dollar!)

Others, have been awesome. They are the PERFECT jar food, and I find myself now cooking my meals at night as to how well they will convert to leftovers for the next days lunch. And how well I can double a recipe so that the kids will have a fast snack or lunch to grab, heat, and eat. One of these, "mock" White Castle Sliders, is actually BETTER the following day, than they are freshly made. You can find the recipe here: Big Red Kitchen. I know, Ms. Joss makes them look all pretty, and perfect and just the right amount of juice. However, if you are going to make these, please be forewarned that you will most likely be doing more than "blotting" some grease off the top. I, and another blogger, (ok, ok - a REAL blogger!)Groovy Mom , too, had to literally DUMP a cup or two of grease off. Don't let that deter you, they really ARE worth it. The perfect blend of beef, bun, onions and pickle. To have better flavor though, let them sit in fridge over night, and reheat in a microwave - bun and all - the next day.

By doing this, we have cut out fast food almost entirely from our meals. (This is a very, very good thing.) Each jar holds the perfect serving size for us. Mine goes in pints, Husband's goes in pint and a half jars. We aren't tempted to "super size", and then eat more than what we really want or need, to avoid waste.

I'm no domestic goddess, but I do know my way around a kitchen. Some days I wish I didn't. I'm sure every cook has those days though. By thinking ahead, and actually planning for leftovers, I have discovered that the quality of my cooking has gone back up. I am once again making an effort with it, instead of just doing it by routine. In order to make a meal in a jar work, it has to be food that will hold up, and be as good, if not better than it was the day you cooked it.

By doing all our meals in jars, I have it figured out that we are saving approximately $11 a day (yes, I said a DAY), from our at work food budget. As for calories? I haven't sat down and put all numbers to papers, but I do know that a typical fast food meal is around 1800 calories, and an average jar meal is about 400 to 600. HUGE difference.

As promised, recipe for "Smashed Potatoes":

You will need one full size potato, cut into quarters, or 2 - 4 small red or white potatoes, per each adult.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees, F. Boil the potatoes for approximately 8 - 10 minutes, drain.

On a lightly greased cooked sheet, take potatoes, one at a time, and smash them onto the cookie sheet, to flatten.

Top with 1/2 to 1 tsp of butter or olive oil - according to your taste. Season with salt, pepper, or seasoning of your choice.

Bake for 15 - 20 minutes, until potatoes start to brown, and crisp on the edges.

Remove from oven, and serve as is, or as you would a baked potato - sour cream, cheese, bacon bits, etc.

(See, SUPER easy, not to mention CHEAP, if you use whole potatoes in place of baby potatoes. I truly wish I had a pic to show you, as these look really "fancy", and like you put a lot of effort into them! We eat these as both a side dish, and as a main course - depends on the night!)

Who would imagine...

Moat people who run across me on my outside the home, daily life, would never imagine what my life is like.

I'm covered in tattoos. Some days I wear make up, some days i don't. I might be in jeans, shorts, or a dress.

You wouldn't know to see me, that my youngest is being schooled at home.

You wouldn't dream that I have a garden. One that most would be envious of.

Out of that garden, I can some of the most delicious food. At current time, I have 39 jars of food set back for winter. That is just the beginning.

But, to look at the freak that walks past.you in the grocery store, you wouldn't know these things. Most would assume.drugs, or a life of hard times.

It's funny the stereotypes people believe, and the real story behind the person you just passed.

I have a ton of canning recipes, but am always looking for more. I'm getting brave this year - I canned meat.

From the smell, I don't.know that i would suggest ground beef, but time will only tell.

The one thing I can't wait to try is the sweet pickles that are posted here!

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One of the Hardest Things I've Ever Had to do....

Do you know how hard it is to write an obituary? What do you include? What do you leave out? To me, a good obituary can bring the person back to life in the mind, and let the public know that the person MATTERED, and did things in their life. I HATE reading boring obits, that only list date of birth, date of death, survivors, and preceded in death by. For most people their obit will be the ONLY thing every written about them. So, to me, it needs to be personal, and important....I'm so scared I'm going to leave something out....or get a date wrong....or offend someone.....

I'm a shitty blogger. There. I said it. I get all gung ho. Promise to write daily. Then I forget for months. I would love to have a blog that everyone flocks to. That advertisers pay big bucks to be on. However, that would require me actually writing something the fuck on said fucking blog.

I am unorganized. I start shit all the time, and don't follow through. This blog is one of those things. I need to start a schedule. Something like:

Draw 2 hours a day
Blog 30 minutes a day
Tattoo 7 hours a day ( I actually accomplish this one most days! )
Sell Scentsy at least an hour a day

Then my kids (loudly) remind me they're around. Or Husband needs me. Or I go to look at one thing on facebook, and end up there for hours.

So, dear readers, if I even have any left, the only promise I can make is this: I promise to try and write when I can. Until then, please feel free to leave me a ton of comments. Maybe that will convince me to blog more. I doubt it. But it's worth a shot, right?

let your voice be heard now, to avoid this in the future

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Read, and feel free to spread it far and wide!!

If you've read my blog over the past few months, you know that we have had nothing but problems with Progressive insurance. I finally gave up, and am writing any and all people at Progressive that I can get a hold of. I've also decided to make the letter I'm sending to their CEO public. I have posted it on my facebook, on Progressive's facebook page, here on my blog, and anywhere else I can get it.

I decided that the further I can get this spread, the better. Maybe, I can get some attention to my issue if I do! So, I'm asking all of you, dear readers to please copy and paste this where ever you can find to do so (yes, please, leave all my info in it!!), or provide a link back to this post.

LETTER:

November 1, 2011

Glenn Remwick
CEO
The Progressive Corporation
6300 Wilson Mills Road
Mayfield Village, OH 44143



Re: Claim # 11-542xxxx
Date of loss: June 16, 2011

Mr. Remwick,

On June 16th, 2011, as I was taking my son to a doctor appointment, a deer ran across the road as I was travelling southbound on HWY 287, between Dumas, TX and Amarillo, TX. Due to traffic conditions, I was not able to avoid hitting the animal. When I called Progressive, while sitting on the side of the road with the State Patrol, I was told I needed to find my own towing company. I did so, and this is where the problems began.

I was informed by the Progressive office in Lubbock, TX, that an adjustor, Adam Quapp, had been out to take part in a tear down of my vehicle, and to do an adjustment on it, on or about June 24, 2011. According to the body shop, it was actually Gene Weaver who did a quick adjustment on my car, and only after much coaxing from employees at the shop. A tear down was never performed on the vehicle, according to two separate body shops. No pictures of the alleged tear down have ever been provided to us, even though we’ve asked on several occasions.

I received a settlement offer of $6400.46, dated June 30, 2011 from Mr. Quapp. This is well below NADA, KBB, and several similar base cars on lots in the area. As the car has a custom paint job, an aftermarket hood with scoops, is a Limited model, and has remote start, I did not agree with this valuation.

After getting no where with Mr. Quapp, we were transferred to Laura Caffey, also out of the Lubbock, TX office. On the phone, she brought the settlement offer up to the range of $7000 on July 28, 2011. 45 minutes later, she called back with an offer of $9583.00. While Ms. Caffey is getting warmer, she is still no where near the cash value of our vehicle. When I asked Ms. Caffey about the comps they had been able to find, she claimed that none could be found in the area, but that I was more than welcome to find them on my own, which I did.

A similar car, was selling for $9000, in the area. The PT Cruiser for $9000, was found at Auto Sales and Finance in Amarillo, TX, on or about July 29, 2011. This PT was a 2002, had 126,000 miles, had moderate hail damage, rough and highly stained interior, peeling and missing paint, and a damaged front bumper. It was also a base model, did not have an aftermarket hood with scoops, did not have turbo, did not have custom paint, no sun roof, and no remote start. The approximate value of these items, not included on this car are as follows: Mileage and year model difference: approximately $1800, hood as what is on our 2004: $735, Custom Paint as what is on our 2004: $3200, Remote start: $350, Limited Edition Package: $1126, Turbo: $700, sun/moon roof: $235. Not even taking into account the damage to the body and interior of the comp vehicle, the value of this vehicle with the additional features would be $17146.

A car with similar customization, was listed in the area for $13,995, and was found at Budget Car Sales in Amarillo, TX on July 28, 2011. This car is three years older, does not have turbo, does not have remote start, has similar mileage, and is a base model. The approximate value of these missing items are as follows: Limited Edition: $1126, Turbo: $700, Remote Start: $350, for a total difference of $2176. The difference in the years for this being a 2001 and ours being a 2004, more than makes up for the 10,000 mile difference on the odometer. If all options on our 2004 would be added, this would bring the list price of this vehicle to $16,171.

I have also been able to find several comps online, with prices starting at $10,995, for same year model PT Cruisers, with none or little of the custom parts and/or paint.

I informed Ms. Caffey of these vehicles on or about July 29th, and was told that she would have someone out to look at them. A few days later, Ms. Caffey stated in a phone conversation that she no longer planned on sending anyone out to look at the comps, at this time.

We did purchase additional custom coverage to help protect our investment on the custom paint and accessories, and our policy will show this. However, even though I was assured when I purchased this coverage, that it would cover a total loss, and also called Progressive’s main number on or about June 30, 2011, and was told that custom coverage would be part of the valuation of a total loss. Ms. Caffey, has been adamant that the custom coverage I bought and paid for, will not help with a valuation on a total loss. After reading over our policy, paper work that Ms. Caffey and Mr. Quapp have sent, and reading directly from the Progressive website, it is my understanding that yes, as I was previously told, this ACPE is part of a total loss claim. We have provided documentation to Ms. Caffey about the value of the custom paint, and the aftermarket hood. In addition, we have informed Ms. Caffey of the remote start, valued at a minimum of $350, that was on the vehicle at the time of loss.

Comps provided by Progressive, through Ms. Caffey, on July 26, 2011, are from Vernal, UT, Killeen, TX, and Topeka, KS. These comps are well over 450 or more miles away, the closest being 485 miles away, while the comps I have provided are within 50 miles, making them a more accurate representation of the ACV on this vehicle, in this area. Further, even though I have given Ms. Caffey documentation on all custom parts, paint, and accessories, which totaled over $4000, on the comps she provided, she only gave us credit of $485.

In a letter dated October 17, 2011 from Ms. Caffey, she claims I invoked the appraisal clause on June 16, 2011 – the date of the loss. While I did say in October that I was prepared to take this to the appraisal level, I never formally invoked this in any letter, or in writing in anyway. In the same letter, Ms. Caffey states, “We work hard to provide a hassle free service for you and recognize that we have missed the mark on this loss.” I, personally, consider this a huge understatement.

This claim has gone on for almost five months now, and has gone from total loss, to repairable, to total loss, back to repairable, and once again, back to a total loss. I would hope that Progressive does not treat most long time customers as I have been treated during this drawn out process.

I am open to negotiations on this settlement, if they are reasonable, and not only look out for the best interest of Progressive, but also look at for the best interests of myself. In the event that a negotiation can not be reached, I am prepared to take this as far as need be, and as far as the legal system will allow.

I hope to hear from you soon regarding this matter.

Sincerely,

Babette Jinkins
xxx x xxxxxxx
Xxxxx, TX XXXXX
Ph: XXX-XXX-XXXX
babette75 @ windstream.net


cc: Laura Caffey – email and certified mail
Mike Campos, certified mail

I Can Relate

My 11 yr old has a habit of finding a hiding hole whenever the world gets to be too much for him. He will crawl under a desk, in a large box if one can be found, or he will make his own lean-to in the back yard with a piece of wood and the fence.

He's escaping into his own little world, even for just a few minutes. Where no one can stress him out, or cause him harm. It lets him calm down. It lets him feel safe. It lets him pretend the outside world doesn't exist.

Today, I want a hiding hole of my own. Just a nice, quiet, dark place where I don't have to deal with anyone or anything. Even for five minutes.

Today, I can honestly say, I can relate to youngest.