Monday Madness Link Up

Good Morning, Afternoon, and Evening my fellow bloggers! I decided to start a Monday Madness link up. 

Being Monday can be crazy. As bloggers are busy with family and friends all week long. Trying to play catch up through out Monday with their online life.

If this goes well. I will start doing a Monday Madness link up every Monday. I have high hopes for this link up. You are welcome to share this link up with as many people as you can. It would be appreciated.

You can submit as many links you want from any blog or writing website you want. 

If you leave a link, make sure you check out other links. (Linking only works if we work to help each other out.)

Thank you in advance for linking up and sharing this link up with others.

Fried Bread With Baked Zucchini Fries

Photo from Pixabay.

Tonight I want to write about "Milk". Milk is a liquid ingredient that can be included in making different drinks and recipes.

Photo from Pixabay.

Milk has come  along way since I was a kid. We had 2% Arps Dairy Milk. I don't remember anything else. I do remember the school offered chocolate flavored milk. If we wanted to have that at home. We had to make our own chocolate milk. I don't remember it being in the stores.

Now I walk in the store to buy milk and see all kinds of options. More than one brand. Milk has come along way since I was a kid.

Copyright rusty2rusty

The other night I made a snack for my family. I made homemade Zucchini fries. I wanted something healthy. Something my family would ask for me to make again.

I made an egg wash mixed with milk. Another bowl I added flour with different spices. I added oregano, nutmeg, Italian sea salt, pepper, and Everglades seasoning. I cut up the zucchini in quarters. I dipped each zucchini in the egg wash mixture. Than covered each piece in the flour and spice mixture. I baked about 15 minutes til golden brown.

Out of 1 - 5. With 5 being the highest. I rate this a 5. As it was a unanimous vote I needed to add more spices. Otherwise it was a good snack to munch on.

The next evening I made breaded pickles in the oven. I used the same combination but added more spices. This went over better for my family. More spices, yeah! I'll take a win anyway I can with my picky eaters.

Copyright rusty2rusty

However I was not done. I did not want to waste the egg wash mixture. Or the flour mixture. So, I decided to make a new recipe. One off the wall recipe. I was making a fried bread. What I did was mix the egg wash mixture and flour mixture together. I added more milk and some pickle juice to the mixture.

Copyright rusty2rusty

I placed a small amount and fried them in vegetable oil. I also fried some in butter til they were golden brown. I had no idea how these was going to taste or if it was going to turn out.

Copyright rusty2rusty

I was able to get a bunch of these things. As they look like tiny pancakes. My family was the ultimate taste testers. From a scale from 1 to 5. 5 being rated the highest. I rate this a 5. My family loves the spice filled fried bread. They prefer the ones fried in butter compared to the oil. They make a nice snack reheated in the microwave about 20 seconds as a late night snack.

As for the recipe, most I come up with is by hand. i don't measure anything out but can make the recipe the same way each time. My grandmother taught me how to use a pinch of this or a dab of that.

Challenge : Write about "MILK".

I can't believe my dog did that

Photos © belongs to rusty2rusty, that's me.

Rascal, my chihuahua mix,  loves to sit on my lap. If I am not in my chair, he loves to lounge in my computer chair. He has claimed it as his spot.

I have been finding all kinds of strange dog pictures on my computer. I even noticed a blog called Doggies going wild webpage left open on my computer screen.  I was wondering how those dog pictures got on my computer. Lmao.

Now I know when my back is turned, Rascal surfs the net.

Photo © belongs to rusty2rusty, that's me.

Moose, my Chug, has a special talent. He has learned how to tree a squirrel. He will chase a squirrel up a tree. Sit at the tree and bark, not allowing the squirrel to come down. Until he receives a treat for a job well done.

He has also figured out how to open the gate. Separating the kitchen from the livingroom. He will use his nose, stick it between the gate and slide it open. He is smart and can figure things out pretty quickly. I will say of all three of my dogs. Moose is probably the smartest one.  He does know the most tricks.

Does your pet have any special talents?

Challenge : Write about a pets special talent

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An InLinkz Link-up

Earn With InLinkz

InLinkz is a way to create link ups to your blogs hops, give away's, writing challenges and more.

You can earn by friends and family joining up under you.

You can have a free account. Where others can link up on you content. or you can get a upgrade for a paid account.

 The advantages of a paid account, is your able to use pictures and extend your link up time to indefinite. You also can moderate your links and vote. There are other options.

You have two options for a paid account. You can have  a personal account or a business account. A business account does cost more.

If interesting in InLink please click on the above photo to go straight there.

Thank you very much.

Siblings Challenge

Today's challenge is about siblings.

Today is an unofficial National Siblings Day. I would like to talk about my siblings. I have half sisters, half brothers, real sisters and a step sister. I come from a  broken home. However, it has gave many siblings and learning experiences.

I was born the second child of my mother and father. Before me was my older sister Kay. Who now has seven children of her own. Plus, two grandchildren.

After me, my sister Cyn was born. She has three biological children and several step children. She has several grandchildren.

My parents divorce. My father married another woman where I gained a stepsister. Let's call her Jean. She has two children and two step children she is raising. She is of age between Cyn and I.

My father and stepmother produced my half brother. I will call him John. He is married with two children.

My mother married for a brief time and had my two half sisters, Elaine and Jo. Elaine died two days before she turned 18 from a vehicle accident. Jo has two children and several stepchildren.

My mother divorced and is in a on and off again relationship with my half brothers father. My half brother is the youngest of us siblings. He is 15 years younger than me. Our birthdays are 4 days a part.

I love my siblings. We have our ups and downs. We do go through periods of not speaking to each other. Even thou we all live with in 1/2 hour of driving distances. Like all siblings we fight, we forgive, and we move on.

Challenge : Write about your siblings.

A - Z Emotions Challenge : Forgive

Forgive is to stop feeling anger or resentful towards another for something they did or said in the past towards you. Forgiving is to be ready and willing to forgive.

As my readers know I have in the midst of trying to buy a home. At this time I have a few things to work out. All will be taken care of. Except one is in limbo. 

Since I am still legally married to my estranged husband by paper only. We have been separated since 2009. I have to contact him. He has to sign the papers. Otherwise I can't get the house. As I live in Ohio. The law says the spouse has to sign papers in order to be aware of a spouse obtaining property. That way they do not try to hide in case of a divorce.

Kinda sucks knowing my estranged husband has come out and stated to anyone who will listen that he is out to hurt me. Knowing I have to ask him to sign papers in order for me to buy a house. I pass everything else for the loan.

I sent him a text asking him to call me. He did. I explained I need him to sign papers for me to buy a house. Since, we are still legally married. I explained the loan would be in my name. He would have no claim on the loan, nor any liability if I should default on the loan. He could either show up in person or he can give me his address where the bank can sent papers for him to sign and send back.

He did give me his new address after he said he could not afford to come up to Ohio. He lives in Florida. I get that. I understand that and didn't think he would come for something so trivial. The sad part was the text he sent after our phone call. It was meant for someone else. However, it was still bashing me. 

He couldn't believe I would dare ask him to sign some papers. I won't state exactly what he texted. As I wish to forgive his misdeed and let it go. He, and he alone needs to come to terms with his anger issue. If he feels the need to continue to bash me, when I am only following the law in order to try and better my life for my children. Than so be it. At least he is leaving someone else alone.

However, I am forgiving him. I did not respond to his text. Instead I prayed to the good Lord above and placed everything in his hands. I forgave my estranged husband not for him. Forgiving is for my peace or mind. So, I can move on and be happy no matter what the outcome will be.

The funny thing is, if he doesn't sign the papers in his way to hurt me. He won't be hurting me. As I have other plans if the loan doesn't go through. Thing is, he will only be hurting his kids. As the house would go to them if something happened to me. Not him.

Not I am not sure if his children could forgive him. That is between them and their father. I do believe you can only hurt someone so many times before they stop caring. Only time will tell if forgiveness is in the future or not.

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Once a week I will be doing the next letter of the alphabet based on emotion. To learn more about this challenge or participate. Please click on the photo below.

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Here's a list of my other articles in this series :

A - Z Emotions Challenge : Abandoned

A - Z Emotions Challenge : Blessed

A - Z Emotions Challenge : Complicated

A - Z Emotions Challenge : Delightful

A- Z Emotions Challenge : Emotion

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An InLinkz Link-up

#43 Changing My Name

Today's challenge for April 9th, "If you could rename yourself, what would it be and why?" I thought this would be a neat discussion. As from time to time I hear people say how they wish their name was something else. Some people actually change their name.

I was born Sandy Florence. I later married and it changed to Sandy Boday. I divorced and changed my name back to my maiden name for financial reasons. I married a second time and changed my name to Sandy Segur (current name). In the internet world, I am known as rusty2rusty.

I hope one day to divorce my estranged husband. As we have been separated since 2009. I can't afford a divorce at this time. As in the state of Ohio, it costs $2000 down if children are involved. I don't have that much to put down. I have looked for a lawyer to accept payments. So, far I have not found any. 

My estranged husband did say he would pay for the divorce but that has been a year and half ago. I don't think he has the money either. As he is engaged to someone else, I am sure he wishes we were divorced too.

I know I can wait til my kids reach of age. That is in three years. The divorce will be much cheaper. I do want to go back to my maiden name "Florence". I like it better.

I do not know if I will ever marry again. I have married twice. Both marriages were a failure. For whatever reasons they didn't work out. Maybe I am not meant to be married. Who knows what the future holds for me? However, I do see a name change coming in the future.

Challenge : If you could choose another name, what would it be and why.

Photo made using a photo editor website called "Muzy."

Earn and Save with Ibotta App

If you have a smartphone, you can download the Ibotta app to have you earn and save money all at the same time. This app lets you check out all the sales in the stores in your area. That way you can combine Ibotta's saving with your coupons to get the lowest price and town.

It's simple. You take a photo of your receipt. Upload it to Ibotta and receive money in your Ibotta account. Which can be transfer to Paypal or Venmo when you reach $10.00. Or you can trade giftcards. Such as : Best Buy, Amazon, or Starbucks

The easiest way to make money on Ibotta is by referring your friends. You can earn $2.00 per friend. Here is my referral link :  https://ibotta.com/r/sulqtdm

Earn Free Dog Toys From Outward Bound

Outward Bound is a website where you refer your friends to earn free dog toys. The toys are free. However, you do have to pay shipping and handling. Since, I have three dogs. Saving money while only paying for shipping and handling is a win win for me.

If your a dog lover and spoil your pooch with toys. Outward bound is a great way to save some money while doing it.

http://launch.outwardhound.com/?ref=6b94504b1b

Geese and Seagulls

If you look real close in this photo. You will see one baby near its parents to the right. The baby goose is at the age to be let loose in the world away from its parents. It is the last one. By time I left I did not see the gosling anymore. It must have founds its way. 

When the snow was melting in NW Ohio, it causes many streams and waterways to overflow. This stream was no exception. As you can tell the water is past the tree line. These trees  do not grow in water.

These type of geese is common in NW Ohio. You generally see them all over Defiance county. At times you will see 100's of them gathered in the same field. or along a body of water. 

I was lucky enough to snap these photos. As my boyfriend and i turned into the graveyard in town to turn around. This stream runs along one side of the graveyard. It runs out back and pours out into one of the two main rivers that meet in town.

This is a photo of a seagull my boyfriend was able to snap a picture of on one of his business trips. It was along the seawall of the Gulf of Mexico.

This post was created for the April 8th challenge which can be found here : Things to do in April.