Busy, busy, busy that is what how I like to think of my life. Actually, I am pretty busy at work (now that I have a job) but when I get home I’m just tired so I veg out on the couch and watch TV. Most times I doze off for about ½ hour. I think I’m still adjusting to these CRAZY hours. After being at home for a little over a year I have become accustomed to my afternoon nap. Little did I know that I would be required to attend all type of board meetings. No, I’m not part of the board but they need someone there to take the minutes and turn on the tape recorder! Hey, it’s a pseudo living!

ANYWAY, now that I’m a full time working gal I absolutely hate cooking when I get home but I’m just too poor to go out for dinner every evening. My friend Tami and I went thrifting about a week ago and I came across a crock pot for $4! Can you believe that?! It was practically new and quite large. So I came up with the absolutely brilliant idea of making everything in the crock pot. I don’t have a problem preparing meals for the next day late in the evening. I actually have made a couple of delicious dishes. I made a two bean chili dish and homemade chicken soup which were both very good. After making chicken soup I thought red beans and rice would be a snap! When I got through with it it turned out to be more of a mush. The first thing I must say is that it does pay to follow the directions. Actually I should be more precise. It’s OK to READ the directions. Basically, I threw all the ingredients into the crock with some water and turned it on. It’s a crockpot, what else do I need to know? I guess one of the things I should have read was that the rice does not go in with the beans. I don’t think you can image what rice looks like after slow cooking for 10 hours but it’s not pretty. Needless to say I tossed that failure into the garbage and made my old lentils and rice dish favorite. Isn’t it ironic that I have a job because of my “alleged” attention to detail?!