35 mm Camera

I received a real-live 35mm camera for Christmas this year. I'm kind of a goof, and asked for the 35mm instead of a digital, so Mr. Saucy was very upset with me that he had found the EXACT thing that I asked for as my big surprise present, only to see my face fall as I realized it wasn't also digital, which was what I THOUGHT I was asking for.

But ... the truth is ...

I LOVE IT!! And I'm so happy for this little mistake, because it's even more perfect than I had thought it would be.

I LOVE taking REAL pictures. I love focusing on what I want to focus on. I love getting right up onto a leaf to get the detail of the veins in it, or getting the light to come through a twisting vine just right. I love clicking the shutter release and it actually TAKES the picture right then and there without having to wait for all it's automatic settings to figure out what it thinks I'm trying to take a picture of.

I've taken it all around the yard, playing with the focus and zoom, adjusting for the light, getting right up on a huge blob of sap oozing from a tree, getting beautiful shots of different plants, trees, and shadows, and making the kids stand perfectly still for minutes on end while I focus, then get them to both look straight ahead, stop fighting, quit trying to get the sun out of their faces so I can get a good shot.

After every picture each kid wanted to see. They still don't get it that they can't see the picture that I just took. This makes absolutely no sense to them what so ever. And to my horror, I realized I didn't know how to explain to my 6 year old how the guy at CVS was going to know how to color the picture. 

See, when I learned about photography, it was in the 1970's and my Daddy had a dark room in the basement. I would go down there with him, develop the film into negatives, then make contact prints, then we would pick out the pictures we wanted to print, then we'd use the projector and make them whatever size we wanted. 

I'd help pour the solutions, slowly and gently swish the developing chemicals, wait for the timers to tell us when they go into the next solution, sue the wooden tongs to move the paper from one tray to the next, slowly swishing in that one, then the next one. 

I'd see the image come to life on the page, watch it deepen and emerge from a blank page of white paper into a glossy black and white photo. We'd rinse it off, then hang it to dry.

I still remember the smell of each tray. I remember the way the photo paper felt when lifting it with the wooden tongs. I remember the slightly slimy, slick feeling when I got the solution on my fingers and Daddy made me rush to wash it off. 

I also remember that we kept the developing trays in a shallow shelf that was pretty close to eye level for me when I was 5 or 6, but counter height to adults. In that shallow, low shelf, I would reach in to get the trays out for Daddy, and there would be a few dozen cave crickets in there looking back at me. I never minded them. That's just a part of what was in the dark room.

I don't think I'm going to set up a dark room here at Awesome Central. I'm not even sure you can find the at home solutions anymore. I'm sure it would be a much bigger investment than I'm willing to jump into right now.

But man oh man ... 

I miss those smells and the time spent with Daddy and I miss watching the images come to life. 

Magic.

Taco Soup

Sometimes the most simple dish is the most delicious. Today, for instance, I wanted soup. A warm, hearty bowl of rich soup. So, I thought of chicken tortilla. I have taco seasonings, corn tortillas in the freezer, frozen corn, chicken, and a can of refried beans. So I headed to the kitchen to whip it up.

But then I saw the leftover taco meat from Tuesday. And the leftover chicken stock from the latests batch that didn't get frozen.

So, into the pot went:

3 cups of chicken stock

2 cups of leftover taco meat (this week was beef and chicken)

1 can of refried beans

Frozen corn (I used the now empty can from the beans and filled that with the frozen corn as my measure)

1 cup of salsa

If I hadn't been so hungry, I would have toasted a couple of tortilla's to have a crunchy element with my soup, and if I had it on hand, I would have garnished with fresh cilantro. 

But for a quick, "Oh My God, It's 3:00 Already" lunch, this was awesome.

Holiday Meal Planning

I must admit ... one of my favorite things about any holiday or gathering is the food. Planning it, cooking it, watching the faces of my family and friends as they enjoy seeing it, smelling it, and eating it.

I start to think about the food weeks before the holiday or event. Sometimes, I'm even thinking about it a few months ahead of time. Some people get grumpy right before Thanksgiving because retail stores put out Christmas decorations and some people feel this disrespects Thanksgiving, but I don't feel this way at all. I begin to think about Thanksgiving in October. As soon as the fall decorations hit the stores, I'm thinking about stuffing, turkey, and cranberries.

So it should come as no surprise that right after Thanksgiving, I start to think of Christmas dinner. And on that same note, I start to peruse Pinterest for breakfast casserole ideas for Christmas morning.

This year, I'm going to make my sweet potato, sausage, and egg hash in the crock-pot. If it turns out like I hope, I'll post the recipe.

For Christmas dinner, I'm planning on a mustard, garlic, herb roasted prime rib, baked mashed potato rosettes, mushroom gravy, and oven roasted acorn squash with brown sugar and pecans for dessert. None of us are big dessert eaters, so the squash with brown sugar and nuts will be a perfect sweet ending to the meal.

I'm still searching for a green veggie. We had green beans for Thanksgiving, and broccoli and green peas are standard family favorites for us, but I'm trying to think of another green veg that will be a little fancy, but still agreeable to the masses. Brussel sprouts are out. Asparagus is out. Artichokes are out. Creamed spinach is out. I think perhaps fresh spinach wilted in a simple mixture of butter, olive oil, and garlic would be lovely. Yes. That sounds perfect.

So ... what are you making for Christmas Dinner? Are you a turkey family? Or do you prefer a ham since you just finished the leftovers of turkey from Thanksgiving? We do a nice hunk of beef for Christmas. 

Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday that you celebrate too!

Laundry Hacks

I've made 2 small but meaningful changes to the laundry "room" in the past few weeks that I wanted to share.

Yes ... this is about the extent of my domestic house-wife joy at the moment. In addition to the typical daily holiday shopping, cooking, cleaning, and decorating, pesky little things like clean clothes are still a priority around here.

Now, it turns out, I am honestly the only one in the house who knows what "sort the laundry" means. Even if I purposely leave an article of each colored clothes in the 3-part hamper as an indicator, I'm still the only one who sees this.

I thought about printing pictures of clothes and laminating them and affixing them somehow to the hamper. I thought about making a sign to hand over the 3-part hamper. I even cut out pictures from the Sunday sales flyers to make a collage for each compartment. 

But then, as I was holding a handful of multicolored sharpies, brilliance struck. And this is what came of it.

We now have clearly marked darks, lights, and whites. By scribbling/coloring the white tubing with the colors associated with each compartment, I was able to indicate to everyone from the 42 year old to the 4 year old which articles of clothing go into which compartment. The only time they still get confused is with towels and colored undies. I bleach all towels and undies, regardless of color.

The next wave of brilliance came with a $2.00 price tag. With a pack of wooden clothespins from the dollar store and a tube of super glue from the dollar store, I was able to make this.

Yes, we really do have this many unmatched socks. 8 feet in the family and this many missing socks. I glued some of the clothes pins farther apart than others so I could hang the longer socks from those without hiding any under/behind them. And by using super glue, it beautifully blessed my need for immediate gratification. 

Do these simple changes mean the laundry will forever be clean, folded and put away. Nope. Not even close. But it does mean that I will have less fits when I go to DO the laundry because by planning ahead, putting operating procedures in place, laying out the expectations clearly and simply, there should be a smooth operation from here on out.

Right? I mean running a house should be easier than running a for-profit company, right? You set rules, you lead by example, and everyone does what there supposed to do.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Yeah ... RIGHT!

Awe, Fudge!

A friend just asked for an easy fudge recipe and I sent this to her. Figured I'd share it with y'all too.

Marshmallow Cream Fudge

I jar marshmallow cream

1 1/2 cups sugar

2/3 cup evaporated milk

1/4 cup butter

1/4 teaspoon salt

12 oz pkg chocolate pieces

1/2 cup nuts if you want 

1 teaspoon vanilla

Combine everything except vanilla, chocolate and nuts and bring to a full boil. Boil for 5 minutes over medium heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, add chocolate and stir until melted. Add nuts and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Pour into an 8" square pan lined with parchment or wax paper. Chill until firm, turn out, cut into squares.

I've made it with PB chips, chocolate chips, swirls of PB and chocolate, butterscotch chips, etc. Its very easy. You can add anything you want before you set it. Chopped candy canes, nuts, dried cherries or craisins, go crazy.

Running From The Truth

Y'all, I done gone and lost my mind.

I have signed up to run not one, but two races this coming year. The first is a half marathon in March. That's only four months from now! I need to be able to travel by foot 13.1 miles in just four months. I don't for a second think I'm going to be able to RUN this race, but I do at least need to be able to walk that distance by then. A few hop skipping running type jog steps along the way would be nice, but I'm honestly just hoping to be able to travel that far using my own muscles and feet.

The dogs and I just got back from a little practice walk. My toes have fallen asleep, indicating it's time for new shoes, and the dogs are DONE. I didn't think Homer was going to make it. Honestly! I kept thinking I was going to have to call Mr. Saucy to come home from work to pick us up and drive us back home. No, I wouldn't have left my baby boy on the side of the road and gone home without him. Yes I would have asked My Honey to drive 15 miles back home to drive my angel Laprador home.

Looks like we went about two miles this morning. I think Homer would have been happy with just one mile. Poor thing. He's old, BIG, and I think his joints are beginning to hurt him. The fuzzy girl had a blast though! She started foaming at the mouth with all the other doggie smells out in the world, which led to all the neighbors casually walking to the other side of the road to continue their walk on the other sidewalk. I don't know why a huge, wolf-like, part shepherd who's foaming at the mouth would instill trepidation in others, but I guess something about the presence of the three of us together made my fellow morning walkers feel better on the other side of the street.

The first of the two runs that I've signed up for is sponsored by St. Jude Children's Hospital. Links to both races will be included at the bottom of the post if you would like to join the teams to run/walk or if you would prefer to donate to the cause.

The second of the two runs is the Mudderella, which is a 6 mile obstacle course designed by women and it raises money for the nonprofit Futures Without Violence, which is dedicated to ending domestic violence. It's a noncompetitive course, so working together with your team to both encourage and help with obstacles is the name of the game here.

Both of these causes are very near and dear to my heart. The idea of kids being sick is terrifying. I've lost too many loved ones to cancer, one of which was a friends child. It's just unthinkable that children would have to endure such a nasty nasty thing as cancer. Mr. Saucy's step-brother has a daughter who, before she entered Kindergarten, had battled cancer and beat it. I believe we'll find a way to destroy this beast before my time on earth is over, and we can only do that as long as facilities are funded for research, studies, and experimental medicines. 

Domestic violence in every aspect is just as terrifying as any disease. To be afraid of your loved one, whether it be a partner, parent, or other family member is equally horrifying. Even though I was young when the transaction took place, my childhood home was sold to an organization who turned it into a shelter for battered women and children. Knowing that the home where I have such fond and safe memories is now sheltering others who truly need that love and protection makes me proud.

So, that being said, here are the promised links for the two events that I have somehow allowed myself to sign up for.

Lord help me...

http://www.eventbrite.com/e/mudderella-capital-region-saturday-july-25-2015-registration-12743928433

http://fundraising.stjude.org/site/TR/Heroes/Heroes?px=3101821&pg=personal&fr_id=26980

Ok Friday... You win.

Today.

Today has just plain ole sucked. And it's not even 1:00pm yet! There are times when I try to find more eloquent words to use in describing things, but for today, November 14, 2014 ... this word just fits the best.

It started out fairly fine. Woke up at my new usual early time. My Honey made my coffee, I watched the news, played my games, and even got an early morning snuggle from the boy-child when he came down early. 

Then there were minimal fights with clothing choices for both kids before school, and things seemed to be going fairly well.

I even had GREAT hair. I even went so far as to smear on a swipe of eyeshadow on each lid/crease before going downstairs. I do my eyeliner and mascara standing in the hall while the kids are putting on shoes and coats and backpacks, so I'll smooth out my shadow and blend it in evenly while I'm standing at the hall mirror.

So, we head to the bus stop. Conner almost forgot his book bag because he was so excited about his new gigantic arctic coat, but we got it in time, and headed to the bus stop.

And we waited.

And waited.

And waited.

In the cold.

I called the school to see why the bus was now 10 minutes late. She puts me on hold to check with the transportation department and comes back on the line to tell me that the bus is late, but is in route. 

Ok. 

Now... The delima of "how long do I keep waiting" kicks in. As soon as we head home, the bus will come. I need to get the girl to preschool, and don't want the boy to be late either. GG, bless her heart, had given up trying to run around and play. She was over it and just sat down trying to get warm inside her gigantic arctic coat.

Screw it, we're going. Come on kids, we're going home so I can drive you to school.

Half way home, I hear the bus. 

Keep walking, we're driving. At this point, I'm set on driving, so we hustle home to get to school.

We get in the car, I crank up Amelia, and she tells me that one of her tires is low on air.

CRAP! Really?!?

I get out and look at the suspect tire, and it just looks a little low, so we head on out.

I don't really fully breath the whole trip. Should I stop at 7-11 to put air in the tire, making us even LATER, or just go on, figuring it's just low because of the cold.

I go on to school. 

On the way to K, I call Preschool to be sure it's ok if I drop of GG late. I had the feeling there was a strict no-late policy, so I wanted to double check. I was wrong, it was/is fine to be a little late, so we're all set.

Drop off the boy, and tell him a few times to remember to take the bus home. We do car pool on Tuesdays and Thursdays and he takes the bus every other day. He's very routine based, and no one likes it when his routine is messed with. No. One. 

So, he's in school, he's not late, and we head off to Genna's school.  She's 16 minutes late. We take off her coat, I get my kisses and say bye. Then I see a mom with her tuition check. Oh yeah! It's due, let me go grab my checkbook. Head back up to the school with my check, and I pass another mom with her sons homework bag. Bugger! Genna's homework is still in my purse. Back to the car for her homework. Ok. Whew. All children are where they should be, with what they should have, and everything is paid for. Double whew!

Let's get some air in this tire now, because the light keeps coming on and going off telling me she's not happy.

I pull into the gas station, go to the air machine, insert my $.75 in quarters ... and silence. Noing. Well, maybe it's one that is already "charged" and will whir and come to life when I push the button. Nothing. Ok then... Maybe it's super smart and will only pouf it's super air when it's on a tire spout. Ppppffffsssstttt. Silence. Damnit! That's $.75 that I want back. So I walk into the gas station to ask what the trick is for getting air to come out of the air machine. The token male on staff got himself 3 quarters from the register and came with me to help. Because I'm a girl. You know. I can't, like, put, like, air or whatever in like my own car, or wheel, or tire, or whatever. As we walked, he asked me again if I put in 3 quarters. I guess and truely believe this is a valid question, as there are several ways to get to $.75, but yes, I assured him I did put in 3 quarters. 

He inspects the machine. He then hits the machine. He looks closely at the "In Service" light. He then shakes the machine. He then proclaims "It's too full". Um... What? Yes, he agrees with himself. It's too full of coins. He'll have to dump it. He then apologizes, hands me the 3 quarters he took from the register, and we say goodbye.

I drove to the BJ's gas station, and there's an air pump there.

And not just any air pump, but the MackDaddy of ALL air pumps. The only thing that would have made this air pump any better would have been if it came with free liposuction and Jason Statham as a helper. First of all, it's free. Second, you tell it your desired PSI, and then you put air in your tire. It then beeps to tell you you've reached your desired PSI. 

Love!

I'm so happy, after I put the tire spout cap back on, and put the exceptionally clean air hose back into it's fantastic holder, I pat the sweet machine on it's head and thank it out loud.

I then look up and see a couple in a car behind me. Laughing. Because I just thanked and patted the air machine.

I just smiled and got back in the car. 

The low air indicator light didn't go off. But I was too embarrassed to get back out and try again, so I figured I go on to the next gas station and try again. But low and behold the light goes off after a few rotations, so it's all good under the hood.

I contemplate my late breakfast choices on the way home. Due to my horribly unlucky day, I'm slightly and understandably worried about cooking anything at this point. There's no telling what could go wrong. So I have leftover cold pork tenderloin dipped in a cold sauce. 

I sit down on the sofa to have my lunch, watch a little junk daytime TV, and check in on Facebook and twitter. As I'm starting to breath and realize nothing else bad is happening, I realize I never finished my makeup.

So all day, in addition to the crap listed above, I have been walking around, interacting with, and talking to people ALL MORNING with 2 very random brown smears on my eyelids that look like my dog did my makeup.

And now, if you'll excuse me, I am due to volunteer at our son's Kindergarten "50 Day" sock hop, in honor of the 50th day of school, and I need to even out my makeup before I go. 

Cheers, y'all.

Letting Go

Yesterday I let go of a lot of grudges. Most of which no one even knew I was harboring. Even myself.

I was hurt by several people in many of my circles whom I felt had wronged me in some way. And some of those ways were simply because they were happy. Some were in a better financial place than we were so they were able to do things that we couldn't do and I didn't want to see their happy escapades. Some were able to go to the gym that we can't afford, or they got personal trainers which we can't afford, and I didn't want to see my friends working out, sweating, smiling, having a great time, and doing these things both together and solo and without me. Some were friends with people whom I am not friends with and I didn't want to see these people out and about having fun, again ... WITHOUT ME.

Jealousy is an issue I've dealt with my entire life in some form or another. I have always wanted to be the best, or I didn't want to play. I'm not your BEST friend, then I'm not your friend at all. If I'm not the favorite, the immediate blue-ribbon-winner and the best at whatever I try, I give up. No practice for this chick. Nope. If I can't run a marathon at 240 pounds after 6+ years of sedimentary life, then I'm not even going to put on a pair of tennis shoes.

So, by simply clicking the "unfollow" button on Facebook, I was able to sweep all the joys and successes of my friends under the rug. Out of sight, out of mind. But then I realized that's not what friendship is. 

When a good friend's son became very ill, I wasn't "following" her on Facebook, so I didn't know about it. I wasn't there to support her and tell her that I was thinking about her and hoping he got better. When a friend was in a motorcycle wreck, I wasn't there to tell him that I would bring over a huge dish of cheesy meaty goodness with zero vegetables to make him feel better. These are just a few of the things that I missed out on. Thing that FRIENDS need to be there for each other to support one another.

Instead of being able to be a friend, I was shutting the door so I couldn't see what was going on in their lives. But in that time, I became slowly more bitter, even sadder, more introverted, and more of a loner. I don't want to even leave my house, y'all. And I don't want to be in my house either because I feel like the walls are closing in on me. I've created this little cocoon to protect myself from seeing other people happy because I am not.

You know what else I noticed? The more I ignored them, the more they ignored me. But wait ... why aren't they contacting me and saying, "Ahem .. Um ... Carter Ann ... where are you? What's wrong? Why aren't you telling me how awesome my vacation pictures are, why aren't you telling me you're thinking about my sick kid, why aren't you cheering me on during my latest 5K?" Nope. None of that. What happened was simply ... they stopped paying attention to me to. You know why? Because all relationships take work. They take a door that swings both ways.

So I just went through Facebook yesterday and I "Followed" all of the people that I had unfollowed. I then went back several posts into people feeds and liked or commented on things that I had missed over my pouting stint, and realized that I was breathing so much better. It was like I had lifted a shroud around my head that was doing nothing but keeping me inside. The joys, accomplishments, fears, tragedies, and celebrations hadn't stopped. I had just missed them. Me. By myself. Without them. Not them without me. It was me without them. 

So, to YOU ... 
I forgive you for having fun without me.
I forgive you for having more money than me.
I forgive you for having opinions different than mine.
I forgive you for staying friends with the person who hurt me.
I forgive you for having a life that revolves around your family and not mine.
I forgive you for needing time to figure things out.
I forgive you for having a "group" that I'm not a member of.
I forgive you for hurting me.
I forgive you for lying to me.
I forgive you for being thinner than me.
I forgive you for having the things that I can't have.
I forgive you for turning your back.
I forgive you for trying too hard.
I forgive you for having no clue that I was so sad, lost, hurt, and scared.
I forgive you for carrying on when I stopped.

And I hope that one day you can forgive me too.

And to YOU, who DID step forward and ask me out of the blue one day what was wrong. To YOU ... I can't thank you enough. I still have the email you sent me, and I still look at it. YOU helped get me out of this. YOU saw that something was wrong, when I didn't even know that I was in such a bad place, and YOU took the time to reach out. THANK YOU.

Evil Mommy Monster

OMG, I am so tired of this bug! Everything in the world tells us that we can't get The Flu from the Flu Shot, but I received the Flu Mist this year, and I've been sick ever since.

The flu shot is a dead strain of the bug, while the mist is a "weakend" live version. I think the live bug that was squirted up my nose wasn't so weakened, but I'm no scientist and I don't claim to know anything other than what the manufacturers and doctors tell me. 

All of the side effects of the mist are also flu symptoms. Fever, cough, runny/stuffy nose, aches and pains, head ache, etc. And all the info I found on the internet says that it can take up to 2 weeks for the flu vaccine to work in your system to fight a flu bug that you may catch. 

So, if it could take up to 2 weeks for the vaccine to work, then you could still catch the flu right after getting the shot. Especially if you go to your doctors office to get it. 

So, if all the side effects are also symptoms of the flu, then why the hell go through the torture of getting the damn shot/mist? 

Because it's our civic duty to make sure we don't catch it and spread it. I'm a big advocate for all vaccines. 

But this is getting on my nerves and making me Evil Mommy Monster. 

Timeline: 

Thursday the kids and I got the mist.

Thursday night I started to get a little horse.

Friday I spent the morning on a farm with my son's Kindergarten class as a chaperon.

Saturday I started feeling bad. Headache, congested, grumpy.

Sunday morning i woke up feeling really bad. A lot more congested, stuffy, sore throat, sore ears, head ache.

We had our end of year T-Ball party on Sunday, and I didn't want to cancel for a little cold, so the party went on. With the adrenaline of the party and the awesome friends and energy that was all around, I didn't notice until everyone left that I was worn out. I think I sat on the sofa for a few minutes, then went to bed and CRASHED.

Sunday night the nausea and fever hit.

Monday, Mr. Saucy stayed home and I stayed in bed.

Tuesday, Mr. Saucy had to go to work, so I was up and about with the kids. It was a teacher conference day, so the kids were home with me and not in school. This is when I lost my cool and became that horrible Mommy that I always feared I would be.

In addition to throwing a spoon at the floor by my sons feet because he decided after 3 times of asking him if he wanted his own bowl and him saying NO each time, he decided to sit down an eat my bowl and then spanking the girls hand 3 times in a row instead of just once after she knocked my HUGE glass of ice water with crushed ice (so it was wicked hard to clean up) on the carpet, lets just say it wasn't my finest hour. Kids were sent to their rooms, timeout, and even sent outside to play in order to get them away from me. In addition to the soup fiasco and the water spil, they broke an antique in the front room while both running and throwing things in the house, which they have been told at least 5 times every day of their lives not to do.

But, by the time Daddy got home on Tuesday, both kids had figured out it wasn't the best day to test Mommy, and I had figured out it wasn't a good time to try to act as if it was a normal day and we had come to a mutual understanding of "Chill The Hell Out" status. The kids had even taken showers and were in their jammies and Martial Arts clothes in time for Daddy to take him to practice. GG snuggles with me on the sofa and we both apologized to each other for being pills. 

No one likes being sick. And I honestly believe its especially hard on the loved ones of the sick person. My poor angels just wanted Mommy to be Mommy. But Mommy couldn't do that. The most I had in me was to just keep everyone alive. And some days, that's really all we can do. 

Last night I went to bed early again, and my AMAZING Honey came and gave me a kiss as he tucked the kids into bed. I apologized for being sick. "Mommy's aren't supposed to get sick", I said. Then he became even more magnificent than he was 30 seconds prior when he said, "Perhaps if you were a single mommy, then I could agree with you. But you're not a single mommy. You're not alone. You have me, and I'm here to help you and take care of you when you need it."

My LORD, I love that man!!

So ... Evil Mommy Monster has been put into storage where I hope she'll stay for another year or two. But she'll never go away away. She'll be just a bug away and I'm sure we'll see her again. 

But not too soon, I hope.

Nina Needs to GO!

Let me explain to you why "Nina Needs To Go", the "short" on Disney Channel and Disney Jr that airs between programs, itself, Needs To Go!

In case you are not in the know, Nina is a little girl who realizes at the last minute that she "HAS TO GO, RIGHT NOW" and therefore needs a family members to help rush to a bathroom RIGHT NOW because she wasn't listening to her body. 

This family member is either her mom, dad, or big brother who all try to help in some normal human way. Then at the last minute her Nana comes to the rescue with jet powered roller skates or a submarine or a Mary Popins style umbrella that allows her to fly just to name a few of her fantastic gadgets.

Nana is a Super Hero GrandMa with all the latests super hero gadgets to get the little girl to the potty in any circumstance from a swim-park to a busy shopping mall to a ski slope, etc. 

Little girls like to emulate the cartoon girls they see on TV. Let's be honest. It's just the way it is. Therefore, the issue I have is that I have a little girl who thinks Nina and Nana are AWESOME. So my little angel-face thinks it's really cool to hold it as long as she can so she can "play" Nina having to go. Or better yet, she just lies and says she has to go RIGHT NOW making everyone around her slip into freak out panic mode so we can get her to a potty.

Disney! THIS. IS. NOT. COOL. 

Especially when she's out with her Grandmother who does not have rocket powered roller skates or a submarine, and who freaks the Hell out when her only granddaughter starts whining that "she doesn't think she can hold it much longer", sending my poor Mother In Law into sound barrier breaking speeding attempts to save her sofa's upholstery, or some other private or public property from the inevitable explosion of pee-water that's about to spew from our Nina-emulating little angel. 

In the Disney "short" Nina always makes it to the bathroom in time and ends each episode with, "That'll NEVER happen again, because now I know, DON'T WAIT TO GO."

Cool. Awesome. It'll never happen again. But it DOES HAPPEN! It happens every damn day Nina! 

Disney, please take his short out of rotation. Or just pick one episode ONLY to air. Because with there being multiple times she says that it'll "never happen again", it becomes very frustrating as a parent trying to teach children not to lie and not to repeat mistakes. 

There are annoying cartoons and kid programs, but this one needs to go because it's not teaching the lesson you think it's teaching. It's a good concept, but it's. It working, and it Needs To Go.

A Shake For Breakfast...

Remember the old add for that diet shake? A shake for breakfast, a shake for lunch, a shake for a snack, and a sensible dinner? I did that yesterday with my Shakeology and I really did feel great all day.

I had another shake this morning too, but I just made my daughter mac-n-cheese for her lunch, and I saw the sour cream in the fridge, and I know we still have chips in the pantry, and I SOOOOO BADLY WANT CHIPS AND SOUR CREAM RIGHT NOW!

Ugh!

I have my sugar free pumpkin spice coffee here with me at my desk as I'm typing, but it's not chips and sour cream. It's not crunchy, salty, and creamy like chips and sour cream, that's for damn sure.

I could portion out a small amount, but I'd just go back for more.

And my desk is in the kitchen. Right next to the girl who's blowing on her hot mac-n-cheese and happily munching away. Yes, my back is to her, but I can hear every delightfully delicious mouthful. I can hear the squish of the pasta and the cheese sauce as she chews. I can smell the butter and cheese. 

I'm in agony.

A G O N Y

Ummmmmm... luke-warm coffee. You're so satisfying and such a fair and equal replacement for the fat-filled, salt-filled lunch I really want. I hate you coffee!

No I don't. I'm sorry. I take it back. Please don't believe anything I say when I'm in the throws of a food-craving depravity-stricken state. I'm not myself.

Coffee ... I love you almost as much as wine and vodka.

I thought I was going to be able to do a little organizing today, so I brought down the file cabinet drawers from the master bedroom to the basement only to discover that the "new" file cabinet is a legal sized drawer and our old file cabinet is a letter size. So, I'll need to get legal sized file folders from BJ's the next time I'm there. (Someone remind me please. I'll forget.)

The kids bring home at least one piece of paper a day, and yes, I'm sorry, but I'm that mom that is keeping them all. I am for now. I don't know if I'll continue to do this through middle and high school, but for now, I'm excited about my babies being in school and having a good time and being proud of their drawings and writings. 

I bought 3-ring binders for their work, but they were jammed pack full within the first month of school, so they are now going to get their own drawer in the new family file cabinet. I'm sure the papers will pile up on the kitchen island until I freak out about it being too crowded, then I'll just go jam them all into a folder without sorting. 

OR, I can be a little proactive about it and buy an set of uber cute hanging folders from my girl at Moore Magnets and then wait until they are jammed pack and take them downstairs. Yeah ... that sounds like a good plan. I like that. I get to buy something new and pretty and functional. All of those things make my soul happy.

Speaking of a happy soul, I think I've made it through my clawing screaming chip craving. I'm going to have another Shakeology creation for my lunch, and either find a book to read, or do research on adhesives that will stick the pennies to the back-splash of my kitchen counter and to the floor where I removed the half wall. 

I don't sit still, who are we kidding. I'll research adhesives. And go hunt for pennies.

Choices

Sorry Autumn, I just can't seem to find a way to adhere to your 21-Day Fix rules. Yes, you've made it very easy with the color coded boxes for portioning but I have a hard time with this little thing called hunger.

Hunger and Carter Ann DO. NOT. MIX. 

When I get hungry I make bad choices. It's part of that broken brain I was blessed with at birth. 

Not sure where this fear of hunger comes from, I'm sure a psychologist could enlighten me and I'm sure it's my parents fault, but I'm not interested in blaming others for my feelings and actions. I know! I know! That's so un-American of me isn't it? Someone who wants to take responsibility for her SELF?!? Unheard of! 

The truth is, all parents struggle. And we're all going to screw up our kids. No matter what we do, we're going to mess them up in some way. We're going to over-protect, under-protect. Do too much, or not do enough. We'll let them have too much independence or we'll do everything for them until they're 35. Regardless of our best intentions we're going to screw up. So all we can do is try to make the best choices every day for our little ones.

And my parents did what they felt was right at the time. We didn't have "junk" food in the house as kids. So when my sister and I were old enough to make our own grocery shopping choices we ate our weight in Pringles and PopTarts. If we had these options at home as kids, would we have not craved them and devoured them like a hiker across the Sahara would attack a fresh water spring? I have no idea. My crystal ball is in the shop this week, so I can't look back and see what those choices would have changed in today's time. 

We had family meals, as far as I remember. I mean, I think we did. I don't really remember. I remember holiday meals and specific dishes my mom made, but when I was very young my mom went back to work full time, and I don't remember much of my family time as an adolescent. I remember my friends, my bike, the pool, and my room, but it don't remember much about family time. 

I guess we ate because it was time to eat. Breakfast before school. Lunch at school. Dinner before bed. It was just a thing that happened in the day. Nothing special, no fanfare, no thought as to what was happening other than whether or not it was something I wanted to eat or not. 

And I had very little say in it. Meals were put down in front of me and I ate them or not. Seasonings, ingredients, and taste profiles were never discussed or mentioned. We ate meatloaf or spaghetti or tuna burgers and I don't remember there ever being a choice of things available to individualize them. No red pepper flakes to make it spicy, no extra garlic to make it more garlicky, no A1 sauce or anything other than ketchup for meatloaf. We did have spicy mustard, but that was the extent of the "crazy" side of our pantry. Oh, Daddy had canned sardines. So I guess THOSE are more exotic than spicy mustard, but only because it's a food product that I have yet to find the desire to attempt to try.

So who knows if my attempt to teach my kids about foods will help or not. 

This past Sunday was an awesome day because my football team played at 1:00pm, then Mr. Saucy's team played at 4:00pm, so we planned on junk food for lunch and spaghetti for supper. I went to the store for tortilla chips and ingredients to make queso. I let Conner pick out a snack too. He originally wanted Cheetos, his favorite, but then chose Pringles. 

When we got home, he was so excited to kick off his shoes, open his container of chips and sit on the sofa. Because this is not something we do around here very often. Again, you'll look at pictures of Mr. Saucy and myself and think, "There is no way in hell you aren't eating chips and ice cream all day", but we really don't. We just eat twice as much real food as we should. Again... Back to that hunger issue that started today's rambling.

So... Who knows.  Choices are made. We feel we're doing what's best, but we never really know. We just have to do what our hearts and souls tell us is right and hopefully when the kids are in therapy in their 20's they'll find a way to forgive us for wanting only the best for out little parasites. 

21-Day Fix, Day 3

Potty blogging day 2.

Last nights supper was leftover quinoa and black beans. It was taco night here, but I didn't want them because in order to make a delicious taco to my taste buds I need to like it high with sour cream, cheese, fresh shredded lettuce and diced cold tomatoes. We had only one of the afore mentioned ingredients, so just taco meat, cheese, and sauce wasn't a calorie laden dish I wanted.

At dinner time I had used up my blue and orange allotment anyway, so no room for added fats or dairy.

Today I've had a red which is my shake. I added the peanut powder to it and I'm not sure which container that is. Probably the orange, but I'll have to research it. I'm out of lettuce so no salad for lunch today. It's kinda gloomy and cool and cloudy today so I'm debating a pot of chili. Mr. Saucy is working late tonight so it's just the kids and I for supper. I might just do a leftovers night and let them eat whenever they want to instead of having the standard family supper at the table. We'll still eat at the table, but without My Honey home for supper, it's easier to nuke leftovers for the kids instead of making a whole meal.

GAWHHH... Speaking of which, we cleaned out the fridge the other day and threw away a TON of food. We had leftovers hidden in the back that may have been there since the Clinton administration and it was out of control. I hate throwing away food.

Speaking of throwing things away, I'm doing a good bit of decluttering around the house. I came across a large collection of kids shoes WAY too small for my children. This was followed by a collection of maternity clothes and other things that had been put aside to be donated and then forgotten. So, I'm pulling things out and getting things put in order.

I need order. I need organization, pattern, routine, and cleanliness. When my house, office, desk, kitchen is a cluttered mess, so is my brain. When my brain is a mess, everything is a wreck. It's all connected. 

I'm genetically programmed to save everything. I might need it. I store things, keep things, have 9 versions of the same thing with slight variations because I might need them. I hold on to way too much garbage. I love going through it and clearing it out. It's so cathartic to lighten the fog that surrounds my world. And with my ADD, I become overwhelmed very quickly. A single shirt on the cedar chest will quickly turn into an entire load of laundry, then it all just gets piled up, lost, confused, forgotten, and adds to more and more chaos.

My closet is one of the spots that needs to be wiped clean of 90% of it's contents! but I can't bring myself to ditch it all yet. I'm sure I'm going to be able to fit into everything again. Of course, since my oldest child just turned 6, this means I haven't worn 90% of the contents of my closet in over 6 years. The joy of losing weight would also include the joy of buying new clothes, so I SHOULD go ahead and donate everything I can't wear, but since we're cash-poor, I want to hang on to what's in there so I don't have to buy all new clothes.

None of this is an issue at the moment, so no need to bother right now.

Well, there are many more rooms to declutter and sections of my brain to defog.

But first, I hear a Diet Coke calling my name from the kitchen.

21-Day Fix, Day 2

Rainy crappy day here today. Plus, a friend of mine lost her battle with cancer last night, so that sadness adds to the gloom of the day.

I want to curl into a ball and hide in my room. And eat cheeseburgers and fries.

But I really don't. I don't want cheeseburgers and fries. I want to live. I want to be strong and healthy and vibrant and bouncy, and I can't do that 100 pounds overweight. Just can't happen. 

As sad as I am today, I'm not going to let the daemons in my head win. 

Today would be the perfect example of a day when I could tell Mr. Saucy that I'm not going to make dinner, and I want takeout Chinese. Then I'd order the bobo tray, which is the appetizer sampler platter which is grease, fat, sugar, gluten FILLED and saturated with MSG and total crap, and I may even order a main dish as well. And this is usually when I figure that since I'm going to get zapped by the gluten in the bobo tray, I may as well have my favorite lomein, or fried rice, or sweet and sour pork. The starchier the better! Pile on the soy sauce, the sweet sauces, and give me something crunchy to dip into the zero food value product that is slightly gelatinous but neither a solid nor a liquid and is bright orange. 

But nope. That's not happening tonight. 

I'm still coming out of my last gluten zap, and I'm finally coming to terms with the fact that it's just not worth it. The love I have for McDonalds is going to kill me. Just that one bute of PB sandwich crust from the kids lunch box is going to put me into a psychological tailspin that will take anywhere from a day to a few weeks to come out of. In fact, I was just blogging from the potty just now. My poor system is still trying to get these poisons out of me. And I can't remember the last thing I ate that got me so badly this time. See. Clearly. Not. Worth. It. 

I dropped GG off at school this morning and my tummy was already rumbling. I came home to check on the weather because we're having a fierce line of storms coming at us today. And this was when I found out about the passing of my dear friend. I stopped thinking about my hungry tummy and the weather and instantly contacted her sister to give my condolences. Then the tears started and Facebook started popping with thoughts and prayers for my friend and her family. Soon it was time to go pick GG back up, and I still hadn't eaten, but that's ok because I knew G was going to want lunch as soon as we got home. 

Sure enough, she requested mac-n-cheese (shocker!) so I began making her favorite food in the whole wide world. And I had been thinking of a steak salad with blue cheese, and luckily, I had all the makings of such. So I cooked my steak and chopped my lettuce while hers cooked. And yes... I portioned my lettuce (2 greens) and my steak (1 red). However, I did do a little artistic licensing on the dressing and I counted it as my blue and my orange. 

Tonight will be Tacos because I completely forgot that yesterday was Tuesday. Monday was a holiday, so I thought yesterday was Monday all day long. 

However, I don't want tacos tonight. My family loves them and I love that it's something the whole family eats without bitching, but I don't want it tonight. I guess I need to figure out what I want so I can defrost it. I have all of my yellows and 3 more greens and 3 more reds, so that's a huge supper! I also have all of my purples, but I'm still so afraid of fruits. After losing 50 pounds in my 20's using Atkins, I'm so trained to think of fruits as pure sugar. Again... I'm so not an expert in any of these dieting and weightloss things, and I really doubt anyone truely is an expert because so many experts contradict one another. It's infuriating.

Anywho... Day 2 and I'm still here. Still have my color containers out. Still paying attention to what I'm eating. Still freaked out when I see my reflection in the mirror. How/when did I let myself get so big? My goodness.

21-Day Fix, Day 1

Pretty typical for me. I start all "diets" the same way. I am TERRIFIED that I'm going to over eat. And why shouldn't I be?!? This is what got me here to begin with, right?

I look at the daily allotment, be it "calories", "points", "servings", "meals", "snacks", etc. it's all a collection of rules that I need to follow in order to be thin again. And this daily allotment turns into what I can't eat instead of what I can eat.

I hoard my points or calories so I can save them for later. I'm so afraid I'll use up everything before lunch, then I'm stuck either over eating at night because I need to soothe, or I'm stuck staring at my family eating pizza while I enjoy a "free food" of a refreshing glass of ice water with lemon.

This sucks.

Plain and simple.

So today is exactly like every other day 1 I've ever experienced. I have had 2 hard boiled eggs, 2 clementines, and 2 mugs of coffee with sugar free pumpkin spice non-dairy creamer. I am a white woman in my 40's after all, and yes, I was wearing my yoga pants while drinking it.

Now I'm on glass #2 of my favorite boxed Chardonnay and I'm planning on pork chops and veggies for supper. Because I'm allowed to exchange a glass of wine for a yellow container in my 21-Day Fix plan, I'm going to trade them all for my wine, so dinner will be meat (red container) and veggies (green containers). I won't have any yellows left over for a glass of almond milk later, so I'll have to decide what's more important in my yellow rationing.

All in all today has been a good day though! Conner got caught up on his homework, Genna and I both got haircuts, and there are several loads of laundry in staggered stages of doneness. I have a lot of "containers" left in my daily allotment, so it's almost lik a puzzle to see what I can and want to eat for the rest of the evening.

I haven't had any exercise today yet. Yet! HA! I'm SO NOT going to exercise this late. Let's be real. If I'm going to move my body for the sake of exercise, it's going to happen first thing in the morning before I know what else I could be doing. All day I wanted to bring my exercise bike downstairs to the living room, but I didn't do it myself. This will be a discussion I'll have with my Honey tonight, as I really want it down here. Instead of camping out on the sofa, I can sit on the bike while writing, blogging, reading, facebooking, and tweeting.

The buzz of the dryer has just summoned me. I must go rescue the wearables from the threat of wrinkles!

Emotional Eating

Stupid broken brain. I'm an emotional eater and a food addict. 

I'm constantly fighting something in my head.

I'm either fighting my ADD, or my anxiety, or my monthly hormonal highs and lows, or a gluten zap, or if we're all really lucky, it's a combination of one, two, three, or all of the above.

So I'm officially the heaviest I've ever been. I can lose 100 pounds at this point and be happy as a pig in shit.

I'm still obsessed with quick fixes. I want liposuction, I want my stomach stapled, I want to accidentally slip into a non life threatening coma for the next 9 months and wake up skinny. But none of these are logical, healthy, or going to fix the problem.

The problem is ME. it's not the burgers and fries. That's like blaming the bullets and the gun for a death. The problem isn't the food, the problem is the reason WHY I put those foods into my mouth.

So... Let's see about how I can figure this out. 

I have the support and the love and the means to make it happen. I just have to search for, find, and accept that switch that needs to take place inside ME. No one can do this for me. There isn't a quick fix for this. It's a daily process of making choices that are different from the choices I've been making.

Twitter newbie

I've just discovered twitter. 

I'm slow.

But it's kinda become like a third child. Well, maybe a 4th pet rather than a 3rd child. Ps, don't tell my pets they aren't human. Oh hell, go ahead, they won't believe you if you say it, so rock on.

Tomorrow is Conner's 6th birthday, so my life this week has been all about Lego's, party planning, party re-planning due to the weather forecast, and hashtagging. 

Yesterday I dropped my daughter off at preschool then headed out to buy supplies. To Target first for marshmallows for the marshmallow Lego dude head pops and cake mix and icing for his birthday cake and graham crackers and M&M's for the edible Lego bricks. The Lego head pops and bricks will be the party favors too. I hate goody bags. Hate that kids expect them these days, and I hate that they're full of crap that I have to pick up off the floor every day for a week until I finally throw it all away and the kids never notice the crap is missing.

Then I went to BJ's for the foods I couldn't find at Target. The GF pizzas, a flat do Diet Come, flat of Coke, flat of water, juice boxes, and 2 mommy juice boxes. AKA boxed Chardonnay. 

Then I went to the candy store for the candy that looks like Lego bricks.

Then I went to the amazing lady's house who sold me her sons ENTIRE Lego collection.

Then I went to the dollar store for the paper party goods.

Then I came home to hide toys and put away the foods.

Then I went back out to get my daughter from school. 

Then I desperatly wanted a nap, but nope, got a burr up my butt that I needed to go to Lowes to find tile to fix the entry way floor where the bare spots are STILL THERE from the removal of the knee walls early this summer.

The tile didn't match, so I flopped on the couch to pout, and tweet, but then it was time to get the boy from the bus stop, so off we went to the bus stop. Then we waited almost 30 minutes because the bus was late and we weren't notified, so after calling the school to find out where my kid was and the slight panic of the lady telling me it was late and they sent out a blast notice... I'm sorry... WHAT ANOUT A BLAST? Don't say the word BLAST to a parent who has just called looking for her missing child you crazy woman! She reworded herself and said they sent out an email, but none of us at the bus stop received any word from the school, and when I called Mr. Saucy he had not received a notice either.

So, the bus showed up, Conner was very confused because it wasn't his regular bus, wasn't his regular driver, and she made a wrong turn and came the wrong way down the street. My poor angel who does not like his routine to be monkeyed with almost didn't get off the bus because he was so turned around.

Then he went to a friends house to play and GG went to, so I was left at home alone with 2 days worth of dirty dishes in the sink and the very first time I had a chance to sit or breathe all day. And I did a little more twittering.

So I organized the party things and began the dishes. Called Mr. Saucy to see what he wanted for dinner and neither of us were terribly hungry, so nothing sounded interesting.

Yesterday was the only day this week that we didn't and don't have to run around all day, so when the kids came back home from playing, I poured a glass of wine and went out front with them to play sidewalk chalk. Then Daddy came home, we all started talking with the neighbors, and soon it was dark and I still hadn't done diddly about supper.

We ordered Chinese. I made bad choices. I felt terrible within 30-45 minutes, and still feel cruddy.

Gluten effects my brain as much as it does my tummy, so today I'm short-tempered, lethargic, and in and out of the potty a lot. 

Wait... I started this blog post talking about twitter. I promise I took my Concerta today, but like I just said, my brain is not under my control when I've been glutened. 

I even gained 2 pounds from yesterday morning to this morning!

Squirrel. 

Ahem... Focus Carter Ann. You got this.

Back to twitter.

A friend shared some things she learned with me, and my eyes were suddenly opened to what twitter could be. I thought it was a famous persons Facebook. Celebrities talk about their lattes and we wish we were them. Or celeb BFF's suddenly have a falling out and there's a twitter-war that shows up on the evening entertainment news. But if you do it right, you can use it as an advertising venue to attract readers to your blog. 

So, if you've just found me through twitter, I'm super excited you're here! Thank you for reading my post today and take a few minutes to poke around to see what other things I write about. Mostly home, garden, food, kids type stuff. I split atoms on my days off. So I guess it's best that I don't get days off, so most atoms here are safe and sound and whole.

Time to tweet and hashtag to attract more brilliant folk, such as yourself, who will enjoy spending some time with me and my saucy family and friends.

Stay Saucy, y'all!

Coconut Lime Shrimp

This week, I made a new coconut lime shrimp dish that was divine! It started with a bag of frozen, raw, deveined shrimp which I thawed in a bowl of cold water for a few hours, and I then peeled and saved the shells to make the sauce.

1-2 lbs raw deveined shrimp with the shells removed
Shrimp shells from above
1 large onion
3-4 garlic cloves
1/2 Cup Coconut oil
2T Olive Oil
1 Cup white wine
Juice from 1 lime, or a few splashed from the bottled stuff
1-2 cups frozen or canned or fresh green peas
Cooked rice ~or~ cooked spaghetti squash

1) Place the shrimp shells AND your outer onion peels AND your garlic "papers" and peels into a sauce pot, cover with water, and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.

2) Slice the onion thinly and cook them in the olive oil and a little salt over medium heat for about 10 minutes, until they are soft, but not yet brown.

3) Mince the garlic and add to the onions. Stir them around in the oil and onions so they don't scorch.

4) Add the coconut oil to the pan and allow it to fully melt and get hot.

5) Turn the heat to medium hot and add the shrimp to the pan and stir to get them mixed.

6) Add the peas and stir.

7) Add the wine and the lime juice, and place a lid on the pan to allow the liquid to steam the peas and cook the shrimp through, no more than 3-4 minutes depending on the size of your shrimp.

8) Remove the lid, stir, check for doneness on both your shrimp and the broccoli. When it's almost done, use a strainer to strain the shrimp peels and onions skins from your sauce and add that strained both to the pan with the shrimp, onions, garlic, and peas. (Throw away the shrimp peels and onion skins, these are not part of the dish.)

9) Serve over steamed rice, or coconut lime rice, or over spaghetti squash. The whole family will think it's dreamy and it's easy to customize for personal taste on the plate.

My Honey's plate. Not as much sauce and over rice.

My plate. EXTRA sauce and extra peas over a bed of spaghetti squash.

GG's plate. Peas and rice only. Our little minimalist.

Boo's plate! I just needed to pick out the onions for him. Notice he received "The Red Plate" this night for making excellent choices at school and being a super good boy!

Easy Button

Awe, Snap, y'all.  Could it be? Could bacon once again be the answer to life, the universe, and everything? Or is that still 42? I think I'll let you decide.

Last night for supper, I borrowed another recipe from my girl Ree Drummond of The Pioneer Woman, and I roasted green beans in the oven with onion and bacon for our green-veggie side dish. Here's the link to the recipe from Food Network dot com. http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ree-drummond/roasted-green-beans.html

I didn't have thin cut bacon, and I had frozen, not fresh green beans, but I still followed her guidelines for the most part. I did not add the olive oil, and I did not add the salt. Both of which I felt the bacon would impart on the beans in plenty, plus, my clan isn't hauling cattle, so we don't need the extra calories from the added oil.

But, today's post isn't about last night's supper as much as it's about this morning. Check it out.

So ... in using the bacon for the green beans, I cut the pound in half and used only half of the bacon last night, and saved the other half for breakfast today. 

I did a little test. 

At 6:57am, I put a pan on the stove, turned it to medium, and walked to the fridge. I got out the other half of the bacon, removed it from it's zipper bag, and put it fat side down in the pan. No, I didn't separate each slice. Wait for it...

As the heat of the pan starts to melt the bacon fat, it warms the slices, making it MUCH easier to peel apart. As it started to cook, I slowly pulled of the half pieces and laid them in the pan to cook. I turned them as needed, arranged them as they shrunk and made space for the others, and lovingly cooked them until they were ready to come out. 

At 7:06am, they were crispy, brown, and amazing, and draining on a paper towel. I turned off the pan, and headed upstairs to wake up the kids. Yes. You read that correctly. Less than TEN minutes, and a half pound of bacon was cooked beautifully and ready for my little morning monsters to gobble them up.

I opened their curtains to let the morning sun in, gently kissed their sweet heads and told them I made bacon. "Get up, brush your teeth, put on your clothes, and come on down for breakfast. I've made bacon and pancakes."

When I went into GG's room, I simply said, "Smell that? What is that? What's for breakfast?" and she sleepily looked up, then jumped up and yelled, "BACON!" 

Never have I seen those 2 move so fast.

I went into our room to get dressed, do my hair and face, and GG was downstairs, dressed, and sitting in her chair at the table before I got back downstairs.

The second (are we up to 2, or is it more than that, I've lost count) amazingly wonderful thing about this morning was the elimination of the, "But Mommy! I don't want to wear that!" fight that we've had every day of school so far. 

To eliminate this, I bought a hanging shelf doohickey that hangs from the closet bar and has 6 compartments. We have one for every day of the week for school, and one for our practice uniforms. The kids helped me pick out what they wanted to wear for the week, and in the morning they just grab the set from the next compartment, and they're done. No fight, no drama. 

The third amazingly awesome part of this morning was that I made the pancakes yesterday, put them in between layers of wax paper, inside a zipper bag in the fridge, so this morning I just nuked them and viola, instant awesome breakfast.

While the kids had breakfast I made and packed Conner's lunch. Morning crazy DONE.

We went into the living room to watch the news before going to the bus, and I looked at the clock. 7:45pm. I was amazed! 2 kids up, dressed, totally fed, lunch made, drama free, in only about 42 minutes.

I'm sure I'll have readers who think, "Oh yeah? So What? I do this every morning. And you don't churn your own butter, or gather your own eggs? And you call yourself a "Mom"." To you, my sweet reader, I'm proud of you and in awe. Being able to do this day after day is an amazing feet. I'm on day 6 of school mornings, and it has not been the sunshine and roses of "Leave It To Beaver" days of old. I'm new here. Bravo to those Mom's and Dad's who do this with grace and style each and every morning. Who makes a cooked breakfast for their kids every day and manages to leave the house with a swirl of butterflies, chirping robins, and bouncing baby bunnies following behind.

To the rest of us who are just really grateful that our kids are dressed in clean clothes, have seen a hair brush in the last week, and remembered to put on shoes, I raise my coffee mug to you too. This is hard work!  And don't get me started on the parents that do all of this and then go to an office/place of work outside of the house. Y'all aren't human.

So ... the answer to life, the universe, and everything could easily be bacon, or 42. As it took about 42 minutes from start to finish to have fresh bacon cooked, cooled, ready to eat, and 2 kids up, dressed, and not fighting before school.

What do you think?

Bacon, or 42?

Another Week

Here I find myself sitting at the computer able to write whatever I want, and I'm (almost) totally alone. Meaning, the humans in my life are all off doing their very important things, and the dogs, cat, fish, and I are here at home also doing very important things.

These very important things have been put on hold, however, because I am able to write. Write, Write, Write, Write, Write. All the beautiful words hiding in my fingers just waiting to come out. And no one is climbing on me, or needing a nose wiped, or another glass of water, or their brother/sister moved from "their spot" on the sofa. Just me and the computer, and it's blissful. The possibilities are endless, and yet I find myself looking at the clock and counting down the minutes I "really" have before I have to get back in the car and go get GG from preschool.

The idea that I'll be able to write on Wednesday is a fun fantasy, and I look forward to making it a reality. Along with all the other things that I have/had planned for my 3-hours, 3-times a week time-to-myself. 

I'm going to work out more.

I'm going to train for a 5-K.

I'm going to make the head-board out of pallet wood.

I'm going to prep all the meals for the week.

I'm going to prep breakfasts!

I'm going to get the kids rooms picked up and organized with pictures on their toy bins of what goes where.

I'm going to tend to the garden.

I'm going to design, build, and plant the raised bed in the front yard what will hold all the bulbs for next spring's flower garden.

I'm going to get dirt and fall plants for the flower pots out front and out back.

I'm going to get the suitcases back down to the basement.

And this is just the beginning of the lists and ideas that I have for these sacred 3-hour time-slots that I have each week. 

When in reality, on week 1, I came home and sat on the sofa and I think I watched TV, but I don't remember, because I was so kurfluxed as to what to do with myself. I think I bought a coffee at Starbucks too, but really, that was all I did.

On day 2, I shopped and got a pedicure. Which was also glorious, I'm not going to lie!

Today, however, today I went to Target to grab a few things I needed for packing Conner's lunches, I found some glorious "Dress Your Truth" jewelry on sale, and came home without spending a fortune. I then did laundry, which I had started last night, so by folding a dried load, and putting freshly washed load into dryer, and adding new load to washer made me feel like I had done 3 loads today. Then I hung up the kids closet organizers and put their clothes for each day of the week into the correct shelves. I wrote all of Genna's class activities on the family calendar, and I printed off Conner's school calendar so we know which days he needs to wear which color for spirit week next week.

I might get the hang of this Mom stuff here by the end of the school year.

Or like most other things, I'll jump in with 2 feet and then fizzle out. God, I hope not. One of the main reason's I'm home full time with them is so I can focus on them and their schooling. I do NOT want them to suffer the way I did with my ADHD, and as the Mom, I need to be on top of things, aware of what's going on, and not be caught off guard. 

Even though it was my kids first week of school, it was definitely me who felt the BACK to school jitters, excitement, and anxiety of a new year. A whole new generation of forgetting to do or return homework, forgetting it is picture day, forgetting to wear blue for peace day, forgetting lunch money or the lunch box. 

This Mom is trying desperatly to get her act together, get ahead of the train, and be on top of all these special and important parts of the kids lives.

Time to go get the girl ... 

wait ....

where is she again?

Easy Weekday Suppers For Crazy Weekdays

A friend of mine asked for ideas for quick weeknight suppers, so I sent her a few ideas. She then asked for recipes. Well, as we all know, there are only a handful of "recipes" I use, so I had to come up with directions on how to do what I was suggesting she do. I then took it one step further and added a prep list, and a shopping list.

Now, honestly, I 've gone over this so many times I'm blind. I'm sure there are things that I've missed and left out, so please leave comments on what you've found that I missed.

Hope you enjoy!

Busy Week Menu, How-To, and Shopping List

Saturday = Planning, Shopping, Prepping, and freezing

Shopping list: some of these are suggestions. Most of what I have listed is things that my family likes on/in taco’s, pizza, kabobs, stir-fry, and burgers. Pick and choose what your family likes. Things for specific recipes have been marked with an asterisk.

Proteins:

1-2 lbs (Depending on size of family) Ground Turkey or Beef for your Monday night burgers. You’re going for ¼ pound burgers, so 1 pound of ground meat will make 4 ¼ pound patties.

**If making Chicken Sandwiches or Pulled Pork Sandwiches, but chicken breasts or pork butt, and add BBQ sauce and or Ranch dressing to your canned/dried grocery list below.

1-2 lbs (Depending on size of family) Ground Turkey or Beef for your Taco’s on Tuesday.

1-2 lbs (Depending on size of family) Beef or Chicken for Kabobs on Wednesday

1-2 lbs (Depending on size of family) Beef, Chicken, Pork, Shrimp, or extra firm Tofu for Stir-fry on Thursday

1 Package peperoni and additional meats you would like on your pizza on Friday

Veggies:

Lettuce of your choice for your burgers and taco’s

Lettuce of your choice for salads to be sides for each night

2-3 large onions (for Burgers, Stir Fry, Kabobs)

2-3 Large Tomatoes (for Burgers, Taco’s, Pizza)

Pint of cherry or grape tomatoes (for Kabobs)

Pint of button or baby Portobello mushrooms (for Kabobs and Pizza)

Baby Carrots for stir fry, snacks, and lunches

Sugar Snap Beans for stir-fry, snacks, and lunches

Bean Sprouts for stir fry

Bok Choy Cabbage for stir-fry

1 bunch scallions

2-3 Bell peppers for kabobs and pizza, or more for snacks and lunches too

Jalapeño’s for taco’, stir fry, pizza, kabobs, and burgers if you like them as much as my husband does

Canned/Dried:

Rice or Rice Noodles for stir fry

Black Beans

Water chestnuts

Pizza Sauce

Olives for pizza

Condiments of choice for burgers = A-1, Heinz 57, Mayo, Mustard, BBQ sauce, etc.

Worcestershire Sauce

*Soy Sauce (or a jarred premade stir fry sauce)

*Hoisin Sauce (or a jarred premade stir fry sauce)

*Minced fresh ginger in a tube (or a jarred premade stir fry sauce)

Coconut Oil

*Italian Dressing

Salad dressing your family likes

*1 small can Tomato Paste

Taco Sauce (Unless you buy the boxed taco set with the sauce included. But if you’re like my family, the packet of sauce in the boxed set is never enough, so we always buy more)

Taco Seasoning (Unless you buy the taco boxed set with the seasoning included)

Refrigerated:

Shredded cheese of choice for Taco’s

Shredded cheese or sliced cheese of choice for Pizza’s

Sliced cheese of choice for Burger’s

Sour Cream or Greek Yogurt for Taco’s

Extra Firm Tofu (If using in place of animal protein for either stir fry or kabobs)

Gluten Free burger buns for Burgers (if your family is GF)

Gluten Free French Bread for Pizza’s (if your family is GF)

Minced Garlic

Inside Isles:

Buns for Burger’s

French Bread for Pizza’s

Flour or corn Tortilla’s for Taco’s

(Or buy the boxed set for taco’s which comes with shells, sauce, and spice mix)

Prep:

Wash and dry all fresh produce.

Cooking temps:

Visit this link.  http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/articles/meat-and-poultry-temperature-guide.html

For Burger Night:

Make your burger patties. Using the ground beef or turkey, season the meat with salt, pepper, a teaspoon of minced garlic, and a tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce to each pound of meat being used. Form the patties and use wax paper cut into 6 inch squares to separate the patties. Put them into a plastic zipper  bag and squeeze out the air to keep them fresh until Monday.

Slice onions and tomatoes for burger toppings, and place into zipper bags.

**If making the Chicken Sandwiches or Pulled Pork Sandwiches, you’ll want to put your chicken breasts or pork butt into the crock pot with chicken stock and herbs of your choice. Cook until it’s falling apart, shred and drain any extra liquid out. On Burger/Sandwich night, you’ll reheat your protein, toast your buns, and chow down.

For Taco Tuesday:

Cook your meat of choice with the seasoning packet per the box directions. Or, if not using the packaged stuff, add a little cumin, chili powder, and garlic powder to get the flavor you like. Or use the recommended amount of a premixed taco seasoning bought separately. Let the cooked meat mixture cool completely, then put in a sealable container in the ‘fridge. Grill a few of the scallions if you would like to add those to your tacos as well. You’ll need to keep just one table spoon for your stir fry sauce. If you want to add the rest of the scallions to your stir-fry or to your pizza, prep them for use in those dishes per instructions below.

Dice the tomato for your taco toppings. Don’t shred your lettuce just yet because it will turn brown before Tuesday.

For Kabobs Night:

Make the marinade:

                6oz Can of Tomato Paste

                2/3 cup of Italian dressing

                ¼ cup water

1 TBLS Worcestershire Sauce

Dice the meat or tofu and place in the marinade in a plastic zipper top bag. Smush around to be sure all the meat is coated then put in the freezer. Pull it out the night before you’re going to cook the Kabobs to thaw, and then keep in ‘fridge the day of.

Cut 1 or 2 bell pepper(s) into squares, and cut one onion in half from tip to root, then each half in half again the same direction, making 4 wedges, then each 4 in half to make a set of 8 triangular / pyramid shapes. Wash and rinse your cherry/grape tomatoes. Wipe your mushrooms with a wet paper towel to get dirt off. Prep and wash any other veggies that your family likes on kabobs. Put all prepped veggies into a plastic zipper top bag in the fridge. (If you want to wait until the day of to slice the onion, that’s smart too. They will make everything else taste and smell like onion if they’re in there too long. If you and your family likes onions a whole bunch and you’re going to be very pressed for time on kabob night, go ahead and prep them on Saturday and store them. You can also double bag them and or put them into another sealable container until you want to use them to keep them from stinking up the place.

Soak wooden skewers in water for at least 20 minutes, and then arrange veggies on skewers. Alternate slices of pepper, onion, mushroom, and tomato so you can get an even cook on each skewer. The night before Kabob night, you’ll skewer the meats, lay them on a cookie sheet, and cover the sheet with plastic wrap.

For Stir Fry Night:

Cut up your meat of choice into strips about the size of your index finger, then place in a plastic sealable baggie for freezing. Squish the air out, then arrange the meat pieces into a single layer flat in the bag. This makes it easier to thaw later.

Cut the baby carrots into pieces about the size of a 4-prong Lego. The other veggies are going to stay whole, or you’re going to cut them the night of stir fry. You’ll chop your cabbage the night of stir fry, to keep it from turning brow and getting yucky. As with the onions for Kabob night, you can either you’re your stir fry onions now and store them, or wait and duce them the night of stir-fry to keep them from stinking up the ‘fridge. Your snap peas, bean sprouts, and water chestnuts will be dumped in whole. You’ll need to drain the liquid from the water chestnuts before dumping them into the mix as well.

Make a pot of rice and freeze it. You can add a little water and microwave it the night of to have with your stir-fry. You can also use rice noodles, which cook very quickly, and can be made fresh the night of Stir-Fry.

Make your stir fry sauce and put into a glass jar with a lid, like a mason jar.

                1 cup water

                ¼ cup Hoisin Sauce

                1 Tablespoon Minced Fresh Ginger in the tube

                1 Tablespoon Minced Fresh Garlic from the jar

                1 Tablespoon chopped scallions

Place the lid on the jar, shake to mix, and keep in the ‘fridge until it’s time to cook stir-fry.

For French Bread Pizza Night:

Prep your toppings. Slice your peppers, onions, mushrooms, tomatoes, etc. Whichever toppings your family wants on their individual pizza’s, go ahead and chop and slice them and package them in zipper top baggies. You can also add any leftovers from the weeks dinners as pizza toppings too. For instance, a taco pizza would be pretty tasty.

Sunday = Chill. Watch Football. Relax.  Make a big pot of chili and a big pot of vegetable soup to take to work for lunches. Make spaghetti for tonight.

Monday Night Cooking

Burgers, or Chicken Sandwiches, or Pulled Pork Sandwiches – Prepped on Saturday.

Pull patties out of ‘fridge, allow to come to room temp while you’re heating your gas grill, or inside grill pan, or “George Forman”, or oven broiler. Cook patties to your taste/temp preference, use a meat thermometer if you’re unsure of times and temps. Pull out your containers of burger fixings and toast buns if that’s your family’s preference.

Tuesday Night Cooking

Taco Tuesday – Prepped on Saturday

Don’t’ get stuck in a taco rut. You can use many different meats in tacos and they are all delicious. Shrimp, chicken, beef, pork, tofu, beans, fish, lobster, sausage, etc. The list is really endless.

Reheat taco meat in the microwave. Toast your shells in the toaster oven or regular oven. Grab your prepped toppings, and have a taco feast. Eat on paper plates so you can toss them and run out the door.

Pull out Kabobs to thaw. Once thawed, skewer, put on cookie sheet, cover with plastic wrap, and put in fridge for Wednesday night’s supper.

Wednesday Night Cooking

Kabobs – Prepped on Saturday and Tuesday. Pull everything out, cooktime should be around 15-20 minutes total.

Kabobs are as versatile as the tacos and sandwiches. Use whichever meat your family prefers. Chicken, beef, venison, shrimp, pork, or go meatless by using mushrooms or extra firm tofu in place of a meat.

Preheat your gas grill, or your inside grill pan on the stove, or your “George Foreman”, or your oven’s broiler. Depending on the cooking method, you’ll need to cook for 4-6 minutes per side, turning ¼ turns until all 4 sides are cooked through. Use a meat thermometer if you’re unsure of temps and times.

Thursday Night Cooking

Stir-Fry – Prepped on Saturday. Pull everything out, cook time should be less than 15-20 minutes total.

Again, your choice of meats and veggies are endless. Use what your family enjoys.

Preheat your wok or large sauté pan to medium high, add your coconut oil and let it get hot. Add onions and carrots to let them soften and begin to cook. Add meat of choice and cook through. Add remaining veggies, and cook no more than 2 minutes, stirring constantly just to warm them through. They’ll taste better the crunchier they are, and they’ll add texture that way so you’re not eating a bowl of mush. Add your sauce in the last minute, make sure it’s all hot, then spoon over rice.

Friday Night Cooking

French Bread Pizza’s

Nothing prepped for this ahead of time, all ingredients are in ‘fridge and ready to be opened, sliced, and put on pizza.

Preheat oven to 375, slice French bread lengthwise, add sauce of choice, cheese of choice, toppings of choice, and bake for 8-10 minutes until cheese is melted and bread is warm and crusty to your liking.