What if Lily hosts a Tupperware Party at the Chancellor Mansion in Genoa City

Sitting here in my office working my call center job and call volume is low. I mean lowwww. That's when my mind wonders and crazy random thoughts come to mind, like "I wonder what it would be like if my daytime drama divas from The Young and the Restless attended a Tupperware Party. In character and written into the story line of course.

Lily Ashby prepares to send twins Charlie and Maddie back to school. Money is tight with Cain out of work and even after selling his ride to the shady dating app dude to cover the $25000 tuition to Walnut Grove, the car deal didn't leave money for extras like clothes, shoes, and those Tupperware  lunch bag sets she wants them to have. LaDonna, her Tupperware Sales Consultant was quick to suggest she host a Tupperware party and earn free Tupperware products.

Lily's Tupperware party guest list has outgrown her apartment so with brother Devon being the late Katherine Chancellor's blood grandson, and Jill loving Cain like her own flesh and blood years before marrying Cain's father. The Chancellor mansion is the perfect party venue. Esther was super excited and more than happy to prepare a delicious assortment of party food favorites for Saturday's event. She's even hunted up a few pieces of vintage Tupperware from Misses C's kitchen cabinets. In fact, it was in back of the dark corner of one of those cabinets where she found a Tupperware Midget container resting over the top of a bottle of liqueur. She was undoubtedly using it as a shot glass during her drinking years. Poor old gal. Those were some tough years for her.

 Lilly arrives with daughter Maddie and LaDonna the Tupperware Sales Consultant. The guests begin arriving and gathering.....TBC

As I sit here in my office I tell myself  I AM BLESSED. I say it over and over again to remind myself that as things fall apart, I AM BLESSED.  Being dependent on others to meet basic needs is a challenge at times but I AM BLESSED. People get sick and back up plans don't always work out but I AM BLESSED. It is a struggle to stay positive and not allow myself the pity part I soooo wanna throw. I AM BLESSED.

I AM BLESSED As on Tuesday afternoon Brooke messaged to say she was sick and unable to work that evening. I AM BLESSED that after messaging three people Courtney responded she was available. She not only agreed to provide my evening care but also allowed me to keep my dinner plans with friends and pick up some things from Walmart as I had planned. I AM BLESSED. Courtney had already worked an 8 hour job that day. I might also mention she had several teeth pulled the day before and could only eat soup for dinner. She was pleasant and provided excellent care. I AM BLESSED

Thursday evening  Keely messaged. She was sick and would be unable to work the next morning. Soo, I once again begin calling/messaging to find someone to fill in. After calling/messaging several people, I found someone. I AM BLESSED. Amber came at 7am after working a 12 hour shift at her nursing home job. I AM BLESSED. No shower, but I was up,dressed,and didn't miss work. I AM BLESSED.

Friday afternoon Brooke comes to work I AM BLESSED. No word from Keely to confirm she's well enough to work her weekend schedule sooo Amber agrees to come in Saturday morning at 7am after her 12 hour shift at the nursing home. I AM BLESSED. Keely messages later confirming she'll resume her caregiving duties Saturday evening. I AM BLESSED  Day 2  without a shower but I'm up,dressed and working. I AM BLESSED Keely messages Saturday morning, she's throwing up sooo I message Brooke. She confirms she'll come in Saturday evening. I AM BLESSED. I work all day and in between calls I try to find help for Sunday morning/evining and Monday morning. I got a shower before bed I AM BLESSED. Megan confirms she could really use the money and will work Sunday morning/evening and Monday morning. I AM BLESSED Soooo Sunday morning 9am....9:15am.....9:30am.....9:45am and I start calling for backup for the backup. I call about 4-5 people and and someone comes. I AM BLESSED No shower, missed church, but I did work. In between calls, I managed to secure Kelsey to come Sunday night and Monday morning as she was off from her full time job at the hospital. I AM BLESSED. Kelsey came as planned. I AM BLESSED. Brooke should be here at 5pm as she is scheduled. I AM BLESSED. I'm hoping Keely is feeling better and able to work her morning shifts for the rest of the week.

Trying to find fill in caregivers steals my time,money, emotional/physical  well being. It is a challenge not allowing the circumstances to steal my JOY. Finding fill ins is a necessity as I rely on others for getting up, personal care, food, laying down for bed at night so I'm grateful for anyone who comes to my rescue. My basic needs obviously come first so when a regularly scheduled person is absent that usually means deviating/cancelling any plans/commitments but I AM BLESSED.

My Lazy Girl Lasagna

I struggle with what to have for dinner often. It's just so hard for one person. The options are fast food/take out everyday or home cooked. I usually bounce back and forth between the two. If I buy groceries, I'm concerned they'll go bad before I use them up. If I don't buy groceries I have to eat out. Like I said it's a struggle and believe me the struggle is REAL. I prefer cooked food at home as I love the way my house feels all warm and cozy when something good is cooking in the kitchen but then I have left overs for days. After eating out last week I decided it was time for something different and Lazy Girl's Lasagna is what happened. I got smart and froze my leftovers in my Tupperware Freezer Container.

Frozen Ravioli
Pasta Sauce
Mozzarella Cheese
Parmesan Cheese

Spread some sauce in the bottom of the dish. I used an 8x8 casserole dish. Place the Ravioli's in a single layer. Top with sauce then Mozzarella Cheese,repeat a couple more times. End with sauce on top. Sprinkle on Parmesan Cheese. Cover with foil and place into a 400 degree pre-heated oven for 45 minutes. Remove foil and put back in oven for 15 minutes.

Is My Car Demon Possessed??

Have you met my car? Please allow me to introduce you to Irish Spring or Iris for short. Iris is a 2005 Cadillac CTS I purchased a little more than three years ago. I named her Irish Spring for two reasons. First, I got her around St Patrick's Day, and second reason is because of her color being a silver green metallic. Irish Spring just seem to fit so that's the name I gave her. When started, the screen on the dash reads "Denise". I have no clue who Denise is or what that's even about, but anyways, Iris's odometer was reading in the 101,000 range when I got her and to me that was practically brand spanking new when compared to my 99 Toyota Camry's (Yota or Little Yota) 240,000. The Camry was a good car, no major issues, I had bought it when it read 117,000 miles so I'd had it awhile and since I no longer commuted to work I wasn't limited to just 4 cylinders any longer. Mom had just gotten a brand new CTS and I wanted one too but the big difference was, she could afford a new CTS(which she sooo deserved) and I could not. So a pre-owned would have to do. I prefer the term pre-owned instead of used. It just sounds better.

Just short of four months after trading the Camry for Iris. The engine was gone. I don't mean gone as in missing or just not there. But instead, there,but not functioning as in something blew. Please excuse me if I can't explain the mechanics. Being Iris's owner has already caused me to have to know more about mechanical things than I ever wanted to. Anyways, the engine was gone and that's not good when you still have 32 payments left. The used,oops, pre-owned lot where I had traded agreed to pay for another engine if I paid their mechanic the labor and all costs involved in the installation. Engine $1000. Mechanic $2700.The whole engine replacing ordeal took forever and I didn't get my car back until September. Thankfully my personal assistants offered to use their vehicles when driving me. After a new, well not new, but different engine, I then replaced a catalytic converter for $800. Are hearing the Cha-Ching  money sound in your head about right now? Yeah,me too. About March of last year, the air conditioning quit. I was able to get that working again for a few hundred dollars. The actual repair was estimated at around $1400 but they said they could try something else for a few hundred dollars but no promises if or how long it would work. I opted for the lesser of the two evils and thankfully it still works.A few months ago the wipers wouldn't shut off so the girls(my personal assistants) have all learned to remove the fuse and if it starts to rain,we just pull into the nearest car wash bay or any other covered area and pop the hood and put the fuse back in. A couple weeks ago I was headed to the mall and noticed the gas hand was all the way on the empty sign. I knew that couldn't be right as I should've had more than half a tank. We went to the gas station where it only took a few gallons to top off which confirmed the gauge wasn't working. Ok, no big deal I thought. If I can deal with the wipers I can manage the whole gas gauge issue so I continued on my way. The screen on the dash was saying something about the anti-theft system and there was annoying dinging sound. A few minutes later the rain started falling so...you guessed it...we pulled into a gas station to put the fuse in so the wipers would work The day was not going as planned. I just needed to get to the mall. Was that too much to expect? Apparently so because Christine, I mean Iris, refused to shift from park into Drive and she locked us in,and, as if that wasn't enough,she turned the radio off. There we were, other cars waiting for us to move but we can't. I decided I better call for some advice but just as the Cadallac dealer service department answered, Iris unlocked the doors and turned the radio back on and allowed us to shift to Drive. When Iris finally allowed us to get to the mall, there was another issue. We could shut the engine off but not the juice from the battery,that's right,if I went into the mall, I would have to either leave the engine running and chance someone stealing Iris. Now that I think about it,maybe that was what I should've done and then prayed really hard for it to happen. The other option, I could leave the battery running and if the battery died just get a jump. I was on the hunt for new Summer Sandles, a Pretty Shirt, and a new Black Dress. I knew my fashion prey was inside that mall but Iris sure wasn't helping me to get in there and find it so I did what any gal whose demon possessed Cadillac was thwarting her shopping trip. Go see the guys at O'Reilly's and ask them to unhook the battery in hopes of resetting the codes and canceling the Anti-Theft System Service Needed message that kept flashing.(after googling the problem and reading this might work) I honestly wasn't even aware my car had any kind of anti-theft system and I sure didn't know how it worked or why it would need to be serviced. But there we were,unable to turn the car off,remove the key,( yes I forgot to mention Iris would not allow us to remove the key) and go in the mall, so YES it definitely needed servicing. Unfortunately, disconnecting and reconnecting the battery didn't help but it DID fix the wipers. They referred me to a garage nearby where we sat patiently as they tried several tricks. Most mechanics just kind of act like they don't want anything to do with Iris but these guys were so nice and really seemed as they cared. Their diagnosis was a new ECM $500 Labor $100. It would take a week to get the part. Well, I had already spent my entire shopping day tending to Iris. I had a very important hair appointment in a couple of days. My gray was already showing so how could I possibly live without my car for that long not to mention I had FUN plans for the weekend. I ask if there was a way to disconnect power from the battery and then reconnect to start and if so show us how. So that's how we roll these days. The process has become such the norm that after two weeks I'm not even concerned that the garage hasn't called yet but I guess I'd better give them a call. By the way.....the wipers aren't fixed after all but on a positive note, I really felt like those mechanics were honest and interested in keeping Iris running for me, if so, the ordeal is worth the inconvenience. Do you think if I start calling her Denise it would change things?

St.Patrick's Day

I love red velvet cake and it's not just for Christmas or Valentines as it tastes great any day, any occasion, or no occasion at all. In honor of Saint Patrick a.k.a.the "Apostle of Ireland" or the primary patron saint of Ireland, I thought a green velvet cake would be a nice tribute. I just used a store bought mix but made substitutes to the direction. I'll eat cream cheese frosting as it seems what most use with velvet cakes but I prefer homemade buttercream. My green velvet cake isn't wearing either of the a fore mentioned but is instead sporting a generous amount of store bought buttercream frosting. I think it turned out well and tasted great. I served it as dessert at my usual Sunday Night Supper and Bingo gathering and my guests enjoyed it.

Here's the recipe. Mix 1 box yellow cake mix with 3 whole eggs, 2 more egg yolks, 1 cup buttermilk, 1/3 cup melted butter, 1/3 cup cocoa, add green food coloring. Pour into greased pans(I used 9 inch rounds) and bake as directed.

Best Cranberry Relish

Cranberries. People either like them or want nothing to do with them. There is no middle ground. I myself am a fan. I even like the jelled stuff in the can. I also love the juice, and Cosmopolitan's in moderation,of course. On Thanksgiving a few years back, I was introduced to what I think is the best cranberry relish ever and think it only fair I share this delightful delicacy on Thanksgiving Eve.

You'll need a bag of fresh cranberries, an orange, brown sugar, and some nuts such as walnuts or pecans, or if you don't care for nuts just leave them out. I think a little celery would be a great substitute for the nuts but I haven't tried that yet. I used a blender but a food processor would be great.

Adjust the amounts of ingredients to your taste or the amount you plan to serve. I only used 1/2 bag of berries,1 orange,3/4 cup brown sugar, and about 3 oz of pecan chips. If your orange has seeds remove them but use the whole orange as a lot of the flavor is in the peel. Thanks to Nancy Ball for introducing me to the best cranberry relish ever.

My Style Hacks

I'm certainly no slave to fashion and I don't spend much time shopping. My budget at the moment doesn't allow me to do either, however, there are times when I know it's time to increase the options in my closet. What do I do? Well in this post I'll share some of my frugal fashion tips.

 Now I know most of you are thinking yard sales and consignment shops are the obvious solutions and those work great for most. I don't go to either. I just don't like going to yard sales or consignment shops. I've just never found either to be very successful options for me as most consignment shops are crowded which turns into an obstacle course when you are in a wheelchair. Yard sales involve several stops which means several transfers, and that's only if the site is level and has easy access. Too much time and trouble when you have no guarantee they have what you are looking for. I usually always have a general idea of what I'm looking for. This is important so I'll say it again KNOW WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR. It doesn't have to be exact. Maybe you saw someone wearing a certain color or pattern and loved how it looked. Just start with that. Then shop at online discount dept stores for something similar. For example, I recently saw a vest I liked but it was very expensive so here's how I copied the look for less. The funny thing is I went out wearing my new bargains and not one but FOUR total strangers complimented me on the vest I was wearing. Each time I just smiled,said thank-you.    Puffer Vest $9 Jeggings $10 Boots $21

Trust me when I tell you I still love Ralph Lauren and all my other favs but a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do.