Chronic Catastrophe

Looky looky, time to cooky

2012-01-11T16:49:00.001-05:00

Look what Santa left under the tree for me :)

Oh yeah baby! I also will be getting the DVDs of all the shows as well. Those are on their way. This baby is actually a little overwhelming! There are so many recipes and tips and techniques. And I am finding more and more kitchen gadgets that I need to have. Considering how small my kitchen is, this may get a little tricky.

The first recipe I tried was Chicken Fried Steak. This is a southern dish you'd find at any diner or grease-pit. There is a place in San Antonio, Bud Jones, that serves chicken fried steak the size of your head. I didn't take any pictures of that meal because that is a messy recipe! It was great though. I liked the flavor of the coating. I think however, the steak needed a little more tenderizing.

The next thing I tried was the Skillet Baked Ziti. This seemed like a really easy recipe and it was! Not only that, it was DELICIOUS. Usually skillet meals are kinda blah, but leave it to ATK to make it yummy.

I don't have a kitchen scale, so I think that since I used a whole box of ziti, the leftovers were a little lacking in flavor. It's weird, because a lot of times the leftovers taste better the next day. This time around, all I could taste was the pasta with the leftovers. I guess I need to get myself a kitchen scale.

Right now we're in the thick of packing up the upstairs room to make room for Fletch. We're moving him upstairs so we can keep the nursery downstairs. I wrote all about it on the family blog. I am losing my sewing nook upstairs, but I will be moving my sewing table downstairs to the corner in our bedroom. It's not ideal, but I have to have some type of space for sewing! I'll be sure to post some pictures once I have everything set back up. Then you can take pity on me for my lack of creative space.

It's been how long?

2011-12-23T12:34:00.001-05:00

Yikes! Sorry guys, I didn't know I was going to take that long of a break from blogging. Then again, I didn't really know the stress levels of student teaching and working on a senior art project, all while pregnant would be! Yes, that's right, another little Shock baby is on the way :) We are having another little boy and I couldn't be more excited. So how did everything go you ask?

Student teaching was amazing. I was placed at an elementary school for my first seven weeks. My cooperating teacher was as sweet as can be and a very active member of the Virginia Art Educator Association, which I am a member. She convinced me to go to the annual conference being held in Roanoke, VA. I am so glad I did, what a fun experience being surrounded by art teachers! I got to get my hands dirty and play with supplies, and I even got some great freebies too. Teaching art to 600 elementary students can be a little exhausting. You have to have 5 different lessons ready since you teach 5 different grades and you only get 10 minutes or so between classes to get supplies ready for each class. Every day is an adventure! However those sweet little faces are easy to get attached to.

My second placement was at a middle school. I was totally freaked out about teaching middle schoolers. I have heard many teachers say that it takes a special kind of person to teach middle school. Then when I was walking through the halls and saw all the artwork that was just plain amazing, I was totally intimidated. Luckily I had the most amazing cooperating teacher. We both learned a lot from each other and I am totally hooked on middle school kids! I had the pleasure of teaching a lesson to the 7th graders and they were absolutely fabulous. They even made me a card and all the kids signed it with sweet comments. I totally felt the love! My supervisor, after observing me teach 3 middle school lessons, told me that he thinks I would be an excellent fit for a middle school. I can't disagree :)

My senior art project was complete misery. I chose a topic that I was not that into and I had absolutely no time to work on it. I had to write over 16 pages total for that project and I only ended up with 2 paintings instead of the 3 that I planned. I hated my work and I think it showed. I told the panel that I chose to focus my attention on my student teaching this semester, and it shows in my work, but I feel that I made the right choice. Ultimately I passed the class, so I survived, barely. Having to sit through 3 hours of criticism of my art and my peers, really made me feel like the art world can really be full of B.S. Art is very important, but the people who think they are in charge are really quite insane.

So that is it! I am done with school! I can hardly believe it. I don't get to walk the stage until next May since my school doesn't have a winter commencement. Ironically, my commencement date is 2 days after my due date. We may have a very climactic graduation ceremony! I still need to file my paperwork for getting my teaching licence, and once I get that I'm ready to teach. However, since baby boy is arriving in May, I'm not sure when my career is actually going to begin. I will probably be staying home with baby #2 just like I did with Fletch. Daycare prices around here is just plain bonkers, so I'd basically be working just to pay for daycare for 2 kids. No thanks. I will more than likely get my masters through an online program while I'm home with baby #2. We're still in sticker shock over my student loans, so we'll just have to wait and see about that!

Until May, I hope to be sewing more Etsy orders and other projects for Fletch and baby boy. We have a lot of re-arranging to do around here to make room for our new arrival. I'm hoping for a new cookbook to blog about for 2012 :) And I can't wait to pick my camera back up and get back to snapping! I hope everyone has a very happy holiday season and a very joyous new year! See you in 2012!

Please Stand By

2011-08-14T20:06:00.002-04:00

You guys....I have two weeks left of summer. 2 WEEKS! I have two weeks until all hell breaks loose with the start of my last semester. I will be student teaching AND working on my senior art project. The rest of this year is going to rock and roll and I really just want to enjoy my last two weeks. That means I am not going to blog. I'm not really going to spend a whole lot of time on the interwebz in general. I am going to do some last minute sewing projects, take Fletch on some more adventures and relax. Fletch will be heading to Kindercare 5 days a week when I start in the fall, so I want to enjoy our time together.

Not sure when I'll be posting...but I'll keep everyone updated on my senior artwork and how student teaching is going too. Wish me luck! See you soon :)

Day 4 & 5 Photos

2011-08-05T15:37:00.003-04:00

Day 4 was dedicated to clouds. It was actually cloudy all day, but not the kind of cloudy that makes for great pictures. It cleared up a little in the evening and I shot this from the balcony.

Not very spectacular, and all the electrical wires make my eyes see the bottom of the picture curved.

Today is day 5 and the subject is green! Green has made a comeback in my life. Especially bright greens.

I did not get out of the house today, except for the two daycare facilities I checked out for the fall. Woo! Exciting stuff :) So I relied on all the green around our house. Like my water bottle!

I'm trying to remember to dring more water. Why is it so hard?

ATK Challenge: Roasted Barbecue Short Ribs

2011-08-04T21:19:00.001-04:00

This is my, "I'm about to get serious with some huge chunks of meat" face. The hubbster and I went to a local wine spot, that also has a restaurant, for his birthday in May. The wine was excellent and I had some short ribs that night. They were so tender and flavorful. I've never made short ribs, so I was excited to try them out.

That is some serious beef right there! The short ribs I had at the restaurant were braised, but this recipe cooks them medium to medium-rare. I think I prefer them braised. The meat just falls apart that way. These were good, but I think the longer cooking method makes them taste better; but that wouldn't be a quick and easy meal, would it?

RATINGS:

Flavor: ★ ★ ★ ★
Easiness: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Time Spent: 25 minutes
Repeat Dish? It might be

Hubby's Comments: "DELISH!"

Also, yesterday was day 2: what you wore today. Here I am, meat handling, in my apron.

This apron used to belong to my mom. She was a special education teacher's assistant. When she had to go to cafeteria duty, she would wear this apron and carry things the kids would need in the pockets, like straws, napkins or utensils. She also painted the hot air balloon on the front :) I think I will use it for the same purpose when I start teaching. Being an art teacher, I will probably be wearing it in my classroom instead of the cafeteria. It is one of the ways I still get to be close to my mom.

So that means I need to get myself a new kitchen apron soon! I may make one, but there are so many cute ones available online. I really like Retro Revival's aprons. I'm a sucker for retro stuff. My favorite is the "Chocolates & Flowers" 1940s Retro Apron. I am a sucker for paisley and I love that style apron. I just added it to my wish list ;)

Food and Flicks

2011-08-02T15:59:00.001-04:00

My cousin-in-law, the lovely Louise, is embarking on a 30-day photo challenge. I took one look at the list of daily prompts and I wanted to play along too!

Some of you may know about my failed attempt at a 365 project for myself. I did however complete one for Fletch. This 30-day challenge is much more along the lines of my current commitment level. Consider it my end of summer picture-spree. I start my last semester of college the last week of August!

Today was menu-planning and grocery shopping day. So I decided to use that opportunity for Day 1. Here I am going through my current go-to cookbook, picking out recipes for the next two weeks.

That's me...before a shower, no make-up and stressing over what to make for dinner for the next couple of weeks. My dear mother shook her head in exhaustion after every school photo because of those fly-aways you see. They are always there, unless I shellac those babies to my skull.

So you wanna see what's on the menu? Here goes:

Roasted Barbecue Short Ribs (p. 120)
London Broil with Steakhouse Beans (p. 119)
Soy-Glazed Tuna with Napa Cabbage Slaw (p. 174)
Broiled Salmon with Potato Chip Crust (p. 178)
Southwest Salmon Cakes (a repeat dish - p. 181)
Garlic Shrimp with Basil (p. 191)
Skillet Sausage and Peppers (p. 158)
Sauteed Pork Chops w/ Pears and Blue Cheese (a do-over - p. 141)
Naan Pizzas (my own recipe)
BLT Salad (repeat dish)
Quick Turkey Enchiladas (skeptical - p. 97)
Chicken, Black Bean and Goat Cheese Tostadas (p. 91)
Crispy Cajun Chicken with Bell Pepper Slaw (p. 81)
Sauteed Chicken with Mustard and Dill Sauce (p. 71)

And now I'm hungry. So what do you have going on the last month of summer?

ATK Challenge: Pork Fried Rice w/ Pineapple

2011-07-25T10:46:00.002-04:00

Last one for today...promise!

I've never made fried rice before, but this was pretty dang easy. I have to say I still prefer a good take-out fried rice to this one, but this recipe was good in a different way.

The rice was that Uncle Ben's ready rice that comes in a packet. I don't like the stuff on it's own, but when you're mixing it with other ingredients it isn't bad at all. I used the same stuff for the cajun stuffed peppers. It cuts down on time and mess too.

I decided to make it in my wok to get the full asian effect ;) I need to use it more often! The flavors of this were great. There is soy sauce, sesame oil and chili-garlic sauce to give it all the flavor. It was a meal in itself since it had good size chunks of pork.

RATINGS:

Flavor: ★★★★
Easiness: ★★★★★
Time Spent: about 25 minutes
Repeat Dish? yeah-yeah

Hubby's Comments: "This is pretty good."

ATK Challenge: Garlic Rosemary Pork Chops

2011-07-25T10:39:00.000-04:00

I finally cooked my giant zucchini to go with this recipe. I just sauteed the zucchini slices with some butter and garlic (salt and pepper to taste). It was yummy!

This was a really easy recipe. I basically cooked the pork for about 5 minutes per side then put them aside. The sauce was just garlic, chicken broth, fresh rosemary, red wine vinegar and butter. It was a light and thin sauce, but packed with flavor. The leftovers the next day were even better after sitting in the sauce to absorb all that flavor. It was a great way to bring flavor to a simple pork loin chop, and all the ingredients are typically on hand around here.

RATINGS:

Flavor: ★★★★★
Easiness: ★★★★★
Time Spent: 25 minutes
Repeat Dish? Ya!

I didn't take a picture, but I made a peach cobbler to use up all the peaches we picked at the farm. I called my sister Donna for my mom's peach cobbler recipe, but she had just made one a few days prior that was so simple she remembered all the ingredients off the top of her head. I gave it a try and it turned out delicious! The hubby was so impressed he asked me to try making one but with blueberries.

Here is the cobbler recipe:

Melt 6 tbsp of butter in 2 qt casserole dish and set aside.

In another bowl, combine 2 cups of fruit (I used a bit more) and 1c sugar (I added cinnamon for the peach) and set aside

In another bowl mix: 3/4 cups of flour, 1 cup sugar, 3/4 cup milk, 1 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt and whisk together.

Pour the batter on top of the butter in the casserole dish, but don't mix! Then spoon the fruit on top of that. Bake at 350º for about 45 minutes.

SO EASY!

It was so good, the hubby declared the remainder of July as cobbler experimentation month. What else can you make into a cobbler? I think I've heard of apple and cherry, but anything more interesting?

ATK Challenge: Quick Indian Turkey Curry w/ Potatoes

2011-07-25T10:24:00.000-04:00

I knew when picking this recipe, Atom would not be very excited. He does not like Indian food, however I am a fan. I figured that since I don't really like BBQ chicken pizza, and have made it twice since I know he loves it, it was only fair. Too bad this recipe was a serious disappointment :(

Everything went according to the recipe and it smelled great. However, the potatoes lacked any kind of flavor. The blandness of the potatoes brought down the flavor of the rest of the dish. At least we had yummy garlic naan to go with it. The recipe makes quite a bit, so I decided to save it and see if the flavor developed over night. It actually did have more flavor the next day. However, that defeats the purpose of a quick and easy dinner when you have to wait till the next day for it to taste good.

RATINGS:

Flavor: ★★
Easiness: ★★★ (peeling potatoes)
Time Spent: 45 minutes
Repeat Dish? Nope

Hubby's Comments: "What are these potatoes supposed to taste like? They have no flavor. This sucked."

ATK Challenge: Steak Teriyaki (p. 108)

2011-07-14T21:46:00.001-04:00

Fletch and I headed out to Hollin Farms today with some friends to do some fruit and veggie picking. I was excited because they had a lot of things for picking that I really like to eat. Fletch helped me pick a giant green zucchini.

Then he decided to throw it on the ground! Grrrrr, toddlers, I tell ya!

Good thing he's so dang cute. We came home with the one giant zucchini, a few summer squash, a pint of blackberries and raspberries, string beans and half a peck of peaches. I only paid $10 bucks! (Mental note: Next time bring bug spray!)

I decided on the Teriyaki Beef tonight. At the bottom is a small recipe suggestion for Sesame Snap Peas. I decided to use my string beans in place of snap peas and they turned out delish! They paired very well with the teriyaki beef.

The recipe was easy. You make your own teriyaki sauce with this recipe. It was the best teriyaki sauce I have ever had. I mean from a jar or a restaurant. It was that good. I am really loving all these sauce recipes in this cookbook.

The steaks were just cooked in a pan with a little oil for about 5 minutes per side. Then you cook the teriyaki sauce until it thickens and pour it on top of the steak. The steaks came out a true medium this way, so you'd probably want to cook it longer if you're not down with some reddish-pink in your steak.

The hubbster really liked the green beans. First I browned them in a little bit of oil for a few minutes, then threw in a third a cup of water and some salt and cooked them covered until they got bright green and tender. I took the lid off to let the water evaporate. Then I added the soy sauce, sugar, rice vinegar, oil and garlic mixture to the pan and then stirred it together after about 30 seconds. Then I tossed it with a couple of teaspoons of toasted sesame seeds and some sesame oil. (All according to the "Simple Side" recipe) These suckers were good! I really like sesame oil. I think you could use this recipe with thin asparagus as well.

RATINGS:

Flavor: ★★★★★
Easiness: ★★★★
Time Spent: 30 minutes
Repeat Dish: DUH!

Hubby's Comments: "These green beans are awesome!" "You know I love sauce"

ATK Challenge: Grilled Spicy Lime Chicken w/ Black Bean Salad

2011-07-14T15:36:00.003-04:00

This meal was perfect! The ingredients meshed well and it was very flavorful. The best part is that this was so healthy! I felt perfectly satiated instead of stuffed or still hungry after an hour or so. It must have been the beans :)

I did not feel like breaking out the charcoal grill, so I just used the Foreman on high heat and it worked perfectly. The chicken only took 15 minutes to marinate and it was very flavorful.

Part of the marinade mix was for the chicken, part was for the black bean salad and the last for drizzling on top of the cooked chicken. Here's what was in the marinade:

-1/2 c chopped fresh cilantro
-1/2 c lime juice (fresh squeezed)
-1/4 c olive oil
-1 1/2 tbsp minced canned chipotle chilies
-1 tbsp honey
-3 cloves of garlic minced
-2 tsp cumin
-salt and pepper

I used chicken thighs (boneless). We always have breasts, but I prefer dark meat. I think it grills better too. The black bean salad was just 2 cans of black beans, one thinly sliced red bell pepper, one avocado and some scallions. This is a great summer meal!

RATINGS:

Flavor: ★★★★★
Easiness: ★★★★
Time Spent: 35-40 minutes
Repeat Dish: Heck Yeah!

Hubby's Comments: Strangely not a big reaction but I got an "It was good."

Quick and Easy Personal Naan Pizzas

2011-07-12T09:27:00.000-04:00

The hubbster plays poker once a week, and that means there is little time to get something on the table for dinner between the time he gets home and has to leave to go play. Sometimes I'm on my A-game and I have food defrosted and ready to cook, but most times I would rather just make something quick. Here is where this recipe has come in handy!

Our conveniently located grocery store (I'm talking right next door and walking distance) Wegman's makes their own Naan. If you are not familiar with Naan, it is a leavened Indian flat bread, and it is DELICIOUS! It is much tastier than pita bread in my opinion. I was buying it to dip in hummus, but then I had a stroke of genius. We can make flatbread pizzas! I'm sure other people have done this, but the idea was new to me. We like thin crust pizzas anyway and each naan will make a personal size pizza. Here is what you need:

(That is naan, mozzarella, pepperoni and smooth marinara - or any toppings your little heart desires)

I buy the garlic naan, because we like garlic and lots of flavor. You can add any toppings you like. The great part is that everyone gets their own personal pizza so you don't have to fight over what toppings you want!

First off, you want to add some marinara to the naan. Don't add too much or you will have a mushy crust. You just want a light coating, like so:

Since I only use about a third of the jar, I take two zip-lock freezer bags and divide the remaining sauce. Then I stick it in the freezer to use next time. I lay it flat while it freezes so it freezes flat and takes up less room in the freezer. So I get three sets of two naan pizzas from one jar of $1 marinara!

Next you add the cheese. I use mozzarella, but I saw that they also sell "pizza" cheese. I'll have to try that next. I usually add some shredded (not grated) parmesan at the very end.

After a good coating of cheese comes the toppings! For these I added a cut up slice of smoked ham and pepperoni. The beauty is that you can add ANYTHING you want :) You could even substitute some alfredo sauce for the marinara, add some spinach and chicken and have yourself a white pizza! The possibilities are endless.

Now they are ready to put in the oven. I preheat my oven to 400º and bake them for 8-10 minutes, or until all the cheese is melted. I cook them right on the oven racks.

They are a little flimsy, so it is best to place them on a flat cookie sheet or cutting board and then slide them onto the rack. When they are finished, just slide them back onto the flat surface you used to get them in there. This also helps you avoid spilling cheese and toppings all over the bottom of your oven (speaking from experience).

Don't these look yummy?

There you have it...a 15 minute meal! We cut them in fours and devour immediately :)

ATK Challenge: Seared Scallops w/ Lemon, Peas and Mint Orzo (p. 183)

2011-07-11T09:39:00.001-04:00

This was my first time ever making scallops. We are big fans of the bacon-wrapped variety. When scallops are cooked correctly they are delicious, but they can become rubbery if over-cooked. I was a little nervous, but I knew my trusty cookbook would help me out!

The recipe tells you to make the orzo first because it only takes a few minutes to cook the scallops. I think that this recipe calls for too much of the orzo. In the end it did not have a very strong flavor. I could not taste the mint and barely tasted the lemon. It also had some white wine in there and we couldn't taste that either. I think that if you reduce the amount of orzo, even if just half a cup, it would have more flavor.

The scallops were simply seasoned with salt and pepper and then seared in some vegetable oil for about 2 minutes on each side. They were delicious! They had the perfect consistency. We may not have put a dent in all that orzo, but there was not one left over scallop. It does look delicious, right? It was kinda disappointing that it lacked flavor :(

RATINGS:

Flavor: ★★★ (the scallops are what saved this dish)
Easiness: ★★★★★
Time Spent: about 25 minutes
Repeat Dish: Probably not, but maybe

Hubby's Comment: "What is this orzo supposed to taste like? I don't taste anything. The scallops are great, but don't make this orzo stuff again."

ATK Challenge: Parmesan Pork Cutlets w/ Arugula Salad (p. 154)

2011-07-11T09:24:00.000-04:00

I was being a total air head when I made this the other night. My first mistake was while making the vinaigrette for the arugula salad. The recipe ingredient list called for 3/4 of olive oil. I did not pay attention that only 1/4 of that was for the vinaigrette. After I mixed all the oil, balsamic and honey I thought it tasted way to oily. Well DUH! I had to throw it out and re-make it. There went 3/4 cup of olive oil down the drain! Grrrr. When made correctly the vinaigrette is very tasty.

Mistake number two was not slicing my pork cutlet in half to make it thinner. The recipe clearly states "thin-cut boneless pork cutlets" but my brain did not register until I put the first two cutlets in the oil to cook. The recipe said to cook about 3 minutes per side. I said to myself "3 minutes is not going to cook this through" and then had my DUH moment. Luckily I had two more cutlets that I hadn't dipped and battered yet, so I thinned those out.

Since I didn't realize my olive oil mistake until after I had started cooking the cutlets, I used vegetable oil to cook the first set of too-thick cutlets. So that was mistake number three. There was no vegetable oil on the recipe list, so I don't even know why I decided to use that.

On to mistake number four. The recipe tells you to cook the cutlets two at a time, then remove, wipe out the pan and start over with the next two. This is to avoid the buildup of burnt batter. Well I was on a roll, so why stop making dumb mistake at this point, right? After I took out the two thick cutlets, I added some olive oil and started cooking the first two thin cutlets. I should have removed the oil and crusties and started over with clean olive oil.

The first two thin cutlets came out much darker and over-fried. I decided maybe I should start following instructions, so I emptied the oil and crusties and started with fresh oil for the last two thin cutlets. Viola! They turned out perfect. It only took me three tries, woo!

The nicely cooked cutlets paired very will with the arugula salad. I really like the taste of arugula, and now I have a simple and tasty balsamic vinaigrette to turn to when I need it. There were three separate dishes for battering: one for flour, one for egg and the other for the panko/parmesan. That is a recipe for a messy kitchen!

RATINGS:

Flavor: ★★★★
Easiness: ★★★
Time Spent: O Lord, I have no idea, it was an ordeal but completely my fault
Repeat Dish: Possibly

Hubby's comments: "Not a big fan of arugula, but it's good." (The man doesn't like any kind of lettuce except iceberg or romaine)

ATK Challenge: Seared Salmon with Balsamic Glaze (p.179)

2011-07-06T20:29:00.000-04:00

Doesn't that just look delicious? It was! The hubby is not a big fan of fish. He loves other seafood, but not fishy-fish. The glaze on top is what sold him on the plate.

I am setting a goal for us to eat fish two times per week, beef (or red meat) once a week and poultry or pork the rest of the week. The hubby was none to thrilled when I mentioned this goal, but I'm the chef and the grocery shopper (mwah ah ah ah).

This dish was super-fast to cook. We're talking 20 minutes fast! I steamed the broccoli while I cooked the fish and everything was done at the same time. I LOVE when that happens! The glaze was a mix of balsamic vinegar, orange juice, honey, rosemary and red pepper flakes. Great combo.

RATINGS:

Flavor: ★★★★★
Easiness: ★★★★★
Time Spent: 20 minutes
Repeat Dish? Yeppers

Hubby's Comment: "The glaze is great. It would even be good on chicken." (I think that was a hint)

ATK Challenge: Catch Up!

2011-07-05T14:25:00.000-04:00

As I sit here thumbing through my cookbook, I did not realize how far I have gotten behind! I'm not sure I want to bombard the interwebz with a slew of recipe reviews. To show you what I am sparing you, here is the list of what I would need to post to be caught up:

Kung Pao Shrimp (★★★★★)
Barbecue Chicken Sandwiches with Slaw (★★★★★)
Chicken and Spinach Farfalle (★★★★)
Spicy Pasta and Sausage Bake (★★★)
Grilled Pork Cutlets with Lemon-Garlic Sauce (★★★)
Southwestern Salmon Cakes (★★★★)
Easy Stuffed Fillets of Sole (★★)
Black Bean and Chorizo Enfrijoladas (★★★★)
Glazed Pork Chops with Sweet Potato Hash (★★★★★)
Whiskey Sauce Pork Chops with Sweet Potatoes (★★★)
Skillet Shepherd's Pie (★★★)
Cajun Stuffed Peppers (★★★★)
Quick Beef Empanadas (★★★★)

As you can see I have given each one an overall rating. The true outstanding recipes of this group were the Barbecue Chicken Sandwiches w/ Slaw, Kung Pao Shrimp, Southwest Salmon Cakes and the Cajun Stuffed Peppers.

-The Barbecue Chicken was amazing. I never knew I could make pulled chicken so quickly and without a crock-pot on all day. I was not a fan of coleslaw until I made this recipe. Now I'm willing to try it wherever it is offered. This will probably end up on the regular rotation.

-The Kung Pao Shrimp was better than any I've had from a take-out delivery! There were no left overs from this batch. The hubby didn't like the peanuts, but he'll just have to pick them out. It adds to the flavor and consistency too much to leave them out.

-The Southwest Salmon Cakes were made from fresh salmon, not canned. That was a first for me. I grew up watching my mom make them from salmon in a can. I continued to follow her recipe. That is until I tried this one. It has cilantro, green chiles, mayo, sour cream and uses Panko bread crumbs. Delicious! I could tell the difference in the taste of the salmon and I will never make salmon patties from canned salmon again.

-Another recipe the hubby and I grew up with was stuffed bell peppers. I liked them, the hubby not so much. The Cajun Stuffed Peppers redeemed stuffed peppers for the hubby. The red bell peppers were stuffed with rice mixed with some ground beef and finely chopped andouille sausage, pepper jack, onion and a little hot sauce. Then they are topped with the remaining pepper jack and put under the broiler for a few minutes. The peppers were not soggy or mushy and the stuffing was great.

The big losers out of this group were the Easy Stuffed Filets of Sol, Skillet Shepherd's Pie and Whiskey Sauce Pork Chops.

-The Stuffed Sol filets were actually haddock, since Wegman's did not have sol. That was not the problem. The stuffing was overly lemony. I think if we left out the stuffing and just cooked the fish and topped it with the sauce instead, it would have been better. This one may need some tweaking.

-The Skillet Shepherd's Pie recipe used shredded hash browns on top instead of mashed potatoes. I think that kind of defeats the purpose of Shepherd's Pie. The meat and veggie mixture had a great flavor, but the hash browns on top kinda ruined it. Next time I'll make the extra effort and make mashed potatoes to go on top. If you're trying to save time, you could always pick up a tub of pre-made mashed potatoes.

-The Whiskey Pork Chops were disappointing. I could not get my sauce to thicken, so when we ate the meal the sauce was watery and did not cling to the pork. I think I will try this one more time and see if maybe I had too much oil in the mix.

The remaining recipes were good and will probably be repeat dishes. Here are some pics of our dinners.

Glazed Pork Chops w/ Sweet Potato Hash

Black Bean and Chorizo Enfrijoladas

Chicken and Spinach Farfalle

Grilled Pork Cutlets with Lemon-Garlic Sauce

If you see anything that sounds interesting and may want the recipe for it, or a full fledged review, let me know!

Incognito

2011-06-28T09:21:00.000-04:00

I have been off the radar for a while...sorrry. I have been spending less time on the computer. Summer time is supposed to be less busy for me, since I'm still a student. However, this summer has been full of activities for Fletch. Speaking of which, Fletch is 2 today! So I don't have a lot of time for blogging today either. I have a backlog of recipes to review, and I promise to get back soon. Until then, I leave you with this:

ATK Challenge: Chicken Quesadilla Pie

2011-06-11T11:28:00.001-04:00

Sorry for the horrible camera-phone picture. My battery was dead on the DSLR and I had to take a pic before it was all gone!

This was an interesting dish. It is like a mexican quiche. I actually got a request for the recipe, so I'll post it at the end.

This was another recipe that uses chicken from a rotisserie chicken. You can pick one up for $5 at Wegman's. A lot of grocery stores are doing the rotisserie thing, including Costco. Sometimes I just get one of these and a half pound of potato salad and we just dig in. It is not very difficult to pull all the meat off these. You don't really even need a knife. Super simple!

A lot of the ingredients were things we already keep on hand on a regular basis. We don't typically buy 10" tortillas, so now I have to figure out what I'm going to do with the rest, since you can't just buy one. Maybe we'll make some actual quesadillas.

I think this would be great to make ahead when we have visitors. Especially if we're going to be running around all day. I usually don't feel like making a big production of dinner after a long day.

RATINGS:

Flavor: 4 out of 5 stars
Easiness: 4 out of 5 stars
Time Spent: 40 minutes (including pulling apart the chicken)
Repeat Dish? yep

Hubby's Comments: "This is pretty good. It has a good flavor combination."
______________________________________________________________

Ingredients:

1 10" flour tortilla
1 rotisserie chicken (skin discarded and in bite size pieces)
1/2 cup finely chopped cilantro
1/3 cup drained jarred jalapenos, chopped
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
2 large eggs
1 cup milk (recipe calls for whole, but I used 1%)
1 cup a/p flour
1 tsp baking powder
salt and pepper

1. Adjust oven rack to center and heat oven to 450º. Grease 9" pie plate and press tortilla into pie plate. Spray lightly with vegetable oil spray. Toss chicken, cilantro, jalapenos, 1 cup of cheese, 1/2 tsp salt ad 1/2 tsp pepper in bowl until combined. Spread filling over tortilla.

2. Whisk eggs, milk, flour, baking powder and 1/2 tsp salt in bowl until smooth. Slowly pour over filling, then sprinkle with remaining cup of cheese. Bake until surface is golden brown, about 20 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes. Cut into wedges and serve. You can serve with sour cream or salsa.

Garden Progress

2011-05-17T09:26:00.000-04:00

Excuse me while I brag about my garden a little :) Here are some pictures to show my container garden progress...

My bell peppers are finally growing. These suckers took forever to sprout. I'm almost tempted to go buy a bigger pepper plant in fear that these won't grow fast enough to get some peppers this summer.

I added some herbs to the collection. Wegman's had basil and thyme plants in their produce section, which happened to be cheaper than actually buying a bunch already cut. Weird, but a win for me!

Check out my zucchini plant! The summer squash looks identical to this one. They are growing like crazy and it looks like those are buds at the bottom. I can't wait to pick some fresh squash for frying with some garlic and butter!

One of my strawberry plants has a ton of flowers and strawberries growing! The other one is slowly catching up. Ironically the one that had the strawberries first is not the same plant that is really flourishing now.

And there it is! Do you see it? My first little tomato! This plant is HUGE and is now taller than the balcony railing. The other tomato plant is more compact and is about to grow some tomatoes too.

I never knew having a garden would be this exciting!

ATK Challenge: Skillet Pastitsio (p. 268)

2011-05-15T23:50:00.000-04:00

Pastitsio is a classic Greek baked casserole (according to my cookbook). I'd never heard of the stuff, but the picture looked tasty. The meat in this dish is lamb. I like lamb, but sometimes it can be overpowering. And eating it always reminds me of this:

Does anyone else remember this episode when Lisa decides to become a vegetarian? Then the little lamb tells her "Pleeeeeese don't eeeeeeat me!" Gotta love that show :)
This recipe turned out really delicious. The combination of the flavors really complimented each other. The lamb was not overpowering at all. It's topped with crumbled Feta, so how could this go wrong?
You start out by cooking the ground lamb, then use some of the grease to cook the chopped onion. The spices used were oregano and a smidgen of cinnamon and of course some garlic. The noodles were broken up lasagne noodles (per the recipes instruction). On top of all that I spread a giant can of diced tomatoes and then added some heavy cream at the end to thicken the sauce. The Feta gets added when it is served. Those left overs are going to get devoured tomorrow!
RATINGS:
Flavor: 5 out of 5 stars (a lot of skillet meals just suck in our opinion, but not this one!)Easiness: 5 out of 5 stars (not a lot of prep and I was able to clean as I cooked)Time Spent: 30 minutes Repeat Dish? Did Mary have a little lamb?
Hubby's Comments: "After I let this cool down, I could taste all the flavors. It was good!"

ATK Challenge: Parmesan Chicken with Cherry Tomato Salad (p. 80)

2011-05-11T21:17:00.000-04:00

This was a nice break from the usual parmesan chicken that is breaded, then smothered with pasta sauce over some noodles. This was pretty light and refreshing.

I took a mallet to my chicken breasts to thin them out, but they were still too thick. They didn't seem that thick enough to cut in half, but I guess I could have. They still came out good, I just had to cook them a little longer than they suggested. The breading is panko bread crumbs and parmesan cheese and I could actually taste the cheese. That was awesome.

I bought a basil plant and got to use some for the tomato salad. I am so in love with the smell and taste of fresh basil. The tomatoes were tossed with olive oil, minced garlic, chopped basil and salt n' peppa.

RATINGS:

Flavor: 4 out of 5 stars
Easiness: 4 out of 5 stars (whenever breading is involved my kitchen is a mess)
Time Spent: 30 minutes
Repeat Dish? Yup

Hubby's Comments: "Delicious. I'd eat it again."

ATK Challenge: Chicken Breasts with Bacon and Sherry Vinegar

2011-05-06T21:20:00.000-04:00

Just when I blogged about disappointing recipes, this little gem came along to redeem dinner time!

BEFORE:

AFTER:

When the hubby heard chicken breasts, the stakes were raised. Remember, according to him chicken dinners are polished turds. I had no fear...BACON was involved! I'm beginning to see a pattern. Bacon = definite crowd pleaser; No bacon = crap shoot.

This meal was pretty simple. I did substitute garlic for shallots, but it ended up being delicious. I forgot to add shallots to the grocery list last time. What I do need to start doing is pounding my chicken breasts to thin them out. Atom's bigger breast took longer to cook since it was so much thicker.

The chicken had a lot of flavor, but the sauce on top really made it delicious. It was a reduction of the sherry vinegar, honey, garlic and chicken stock, then with some butter added in at the end as well as a little extra vinegar for a kick. Yum!

RATINGS:

Flavor: 5 out of 5
Easiness: 5 out of 5
Time Spent: 30 minutes
Repeat Dish: Oh yeah baby! A very easy dish and most ingredients are on hands at all times anyway.

Hubby's Comments: "I'd eat it again. The breast was too big, but definitely good."

ATK Challenge: Sauteed Pork Chops with Pears and Blue Cheese

2011-05-06T10:04:00.000-04:00

Last one for today, I promise!

This does not look as good as the ones in the cookbook. It was good, but not as good as we thought it was going to be. This may be chef error again. We definitely liked the mix of flavors.

The direction page shows how to core a pear and it is peeled in the picture. I think I was supposed to leave the peel on for this recipe though. I'm not sure if that would have actually made a difference. I served it over polenta. What is polenta? Italian grits? I'm sure there are some chefs that could make that stuff taste good, but I didn't have time for fancy that night. I just served it like mashed potatoes.

I got pork chops with the bone in. I should have gotten boneless. The bone just makes it harder to eat and you get less meat for the money.

I think we will have to re-visit this one with boneless chops.

RATINGS:

Flavor: 3 out of 5
Easiness: 4 out of 5
Time Spent: 30-40 minutes
Repeat Dish? Yes, need a do-over!

Hubby's Comments: "It was a weak pork chop. I don't like the bone."

ATK Challenge: Shrimp, Grapefruit and Avocado Salad

2011-05-06T09:49:00.000-04:00

Well it looks good right? OMG it was AWEFUL! This salad looked so delicious in the book. It had all kinds of ingredients that I love and one unknown, hearts of palm, so I wanted to give it a try. The husband was very apprehensive. It was very easy to make though. No cooking involved!

I've never had hearts of palm before. I was a little weirded out when I opened the can. I sliced off a piece to try and it kind of tasted like a bean to me (the flavor, not the consistency). I just threw them in and hoped for the best. The dressing was a vinaigrette with orange and grapefruit juice, orange zest, cumin and olive oil. Sounds good, right? It didn't have much flavor at all actually.

When the hubby took the first bite, I was waiting for a reaction. He thought it was interesting but had to continue on to make sure. After we both had a few bites, we determined that it was not disgusting, but it was nowhere near good. The ingredients just don't go well together and the dressing was seriously lacking in flavor. Unless you got a bite of grapefruit with every bite, you didn't taste any citrus. What a total bummer!

RATINGS:

Flavor: 1 out of 5 stars (just for the shrimp)
Easiness: 5 out of 5 stars
Time Spent: 20 minutes tops
Repeat Dish: NEVER!

Hubby's Comments: "That was a waste of shrimp."

ATK Challenge: Quick Chicken Gumbo

2011-05-06T09:36:00.000-04:00

I have fallen a bit behind on my cookbook blogging. The last two recipes have kind of been disappointing, and maybe that is the reason for a lack of enthusiasm. I shall push on and hope for some better outcomes to blog about.

I love gumbo. I was a little apprehensive about a "quick" gumbo recipe, however if it actually was a quick delicious recipe, that would be amazing! They say the trick to their quick and easy gumbo is using two pots: a saucepan for the roux and a Dutch oven for the aromatics and chicken.

I used my magical onion chopper to chop my onion, bell pepper and celery. That thing cuts down so much prep time. I don't know what I would do without it!

Everything seemed to be going well. The roux was coming along and then I started cooking the chicken. I don't have a Dutch oven. I used a large soup pot instead. The chicken never really got browned, just cooked in the grease from the andouille and its own juices. I don't think there was enough surface area to brown the chicken. After I took out the chicken to brown the veggies, I probably should have dumped the juices that were in the pot. Because I didn't, the veggies didn't really brown either. Everything still looked delicious and smelled delicious. Then we sat down to eat.

It was seriously lacking in flavor. This could be because of my little mis-steps along the way or a lack of a Dutch oven. There was way too much chicken in this dish. It called for 4 breasts, but I think my breasts were too big (you'll never hear my hubby say those words..lol). For the record, it did have more flavor as left overs, but that is because it had time to sit and mix flavors. I think it could still be even better.

This recipe definitely needs to be tried again. I plan on using less chicken, maybe even using some dark meat too. I also want to add more andouille. It called for 8oz, which is only 2 sausage links. Or maybe I'll cut it up more than they recommended, into half moons or fourths. One day I will get a Dutch oven. I have one on my wish list.

RATINGS:

Flavor: 2 out of 5 stars
Easiness: 3 out of 5 stars (lots of prep work)
Time Spent: about 40-45 minutes
Repeat Dish? Yes...to try and get it right!

Hubby's Comments: "It looked and smelled better than it tastes"

Trial and Error with Ric-Rac

2011-05-03T17:02:00.001-04:00

I received my Mother's Day gift a little early...

Yep, a Kindle! Initially I wanted a Nook, but the news came out that later this year, it will be possible to check books out at the library with the Kindle. That was the only real reason I wanted the Nook. You can also now lend books between friends on the Kindle as well. I am an Amazon-whore, so it just made sense to go with the Kindle in the end. But this is not a post about my Kindle (or is it?).

Since I make covers for these gadgets in my Etsy shop, I had to make one for myself. I won a bundle of ric-rac in various colors and it has been sitting in my sewing room staring me down, saying "USE ME!" I'm not usually one for frillyness, but I just wanted to try out an idea. The plan was to have the ric-rac going around all the edges instead of using bias-tape like I usually do. I sat down and wrote out my plans to try and visualize how to do it, and I thought I had it figured out. They say hind-sight is 20/20, so at least now I know where I went wrong. What made it difficult was layering the correct way so that the ric-rac showed around all the edges when I flipped it inside out. I SHOULD have sewn the ric-rac to the panel of fabric that I had attached the batting to. Oh well...you live and you learn. I just realized that it would probably have looked better if the loop was under the ric-rac instead of on-top. Wow, this really was a learning experience :)

What I still need to figure out is....how do I do corners with ric-rac? That was my main conundrum. And what about the ends? They tend to fray.

So here it is:

I had made a camera-strap cover with this same material and I just love it. I had a ton left over, so I used it for the cover. I also decided to experiment with a different type of closure. Instead of velcro, I did a loop and button. I think that part is pretty cute. I love going through my bags of random buttons and found that blue beauty. I had originally put on a large square gold button, but it just looked to granny to me, so I switched it. I also used a zig zag stitch for the binding at the bottom.

ATK Challenge: Shrimp Louis Salad (p. 48

2011-05-01T15:20:00.000-04:00

This is a spin of the West Coast classic Crab Louis salad. Instead of crab, it uses shrimp. Duh. Like all the salads we have tried so far, this one also has a dressing that is made from scratch. When I'm done with this adventure, I don't know if I'll ever buy salad dressing again. Although Fletch is a fiend for ranch dressing on his nuggets, so I'm sure we will always have that around.

I'm not a fan of Thousand Island dressing, but since this was a make-it-yourself dressing that promised a smoother consistency I gave it a try. I did leave out the scallions. We are just not big fans of the little buggars. The dressing was a mix of mayo, chili sauce, lemon juice and Worcestershire sauce. The shrimp was tossed with some of that and put on top of the lettuce wedge, tomato and avocado.

It was a pretty salad, but even more delicious. It was a nice light salad and perfect for a really warm day. The shrimp was already pre-cooked and shelled, so this was a fast and easy dinner. I always have to have some of those on the menu because of school nights. But other nights it can be hard for me to make a decision on what to cook. We have a white board on the fridge that I list out all the dinner options on. I also list lunch and breakfast options. This way, both hubby and I know what is on the menu, and can use the list to decide what we want to eat that day. It isnt' a fool-proof method. Some nights neither of us want to make the decision, however I don't really want to assign meals to specific days.

I love having a visual and writing things down. When we have our "real" house, I plan on having a HUGE white board in the kitchen somewhere. We use Google calendar right now to organize all our events and appointments, but I really like to have it in writing somewhere I will pass by and be reminded. I'm a visual learner :)

RATINGS:

Flavor: 4 out of 5 (still not a big fan of the dressing)
Easiness: 5 out of 5
Time Spent: 20 minutes
Repeat Dish? more than likely

Hubby's Comments: "I liked it. I definitely like the new variety of salads"a

ATK Challenge: Three-Meat Calzone (p. 281)

2011-05-01T15:02:00.001-04:00

Strombolis have been on the dinner rotation for a long time. I had found a really easy recipe using Pillsbury dough, pepperoni, mozzarella and viola! Fun fact: the difference between a stromboli and a calzone, is that a calzone has ricotta cheese. When I saw a calzone recipe, I knew I had to give it a try.

This recipe calls for the pound of ball pizza dough that I chose to ignore for the BBQ chicken pizza recipe. I told myself to follow the rules this time, however Wegman's didn't have any! I had to make a decision. I could buy the Pillsbury stuff or I could by a mix to make my own dough. I decided on the mix. I just wanted to try something different and it ended up turning out fine.

The meats inside were spicy capicola ham, pepperoni and salami. I used sliced mozzarella cheese and then mixed in some parmesan and chopped basil with the ricotta.

All you do is roll the dough out into a circle, layer the ingredients on one side, then flip the other side over making half-moon shape, then seal the dough together and bake. It was delicious. I had a bowl of thick marinara for dipping as well.

RATINGS:

Flavor: 5 out of 5 stars
Easiness: 4 out of 5 stars (had to roll pizza dough)
Time Spent: 30 minutes
Repeat Dish? Certamente!

Husband's Comments: A delicious twist on a regular favorite!

Sprung on Spring

2011-04-26T13:03:00.001-04:00

I feel like a little kid again, amazed with nature. I have been so excited watching my garden grow! I go out on the porch multiple times a day to check on my plants, to see how much they've grown or to put them in a better sunny spot. I had a mini-photo shoot with my green babies today.

My bell pepper seeds have sprouted! That is one veggie I use a lot, so I'm looking forward to picking some right off the plant.

My summer squash and zucchini have also sprouted. I am going to plant them this weekend after my finals.

My first little strawberry is starting to turn red. I hope it gets bigger too, otherwise that will be one tiny strawberry!

Look! Another strawberry is about to get started on the same plant. My other strawberry plant hasn't had any blossoms pop up yet, but it is getting bigger and fuller.

My tomato plants are getting little clusters of blossoms now. I can't wait to let Fletch pick fresh tomatoes! My tomato plants have some leaves that have tan spots. I'm going to have to look into this!

My mint plant is doing well too. Does anyone have tips for cutting mint off the plant? Is there a technique or do I just cut off some stems? I want to make some mint iced tea, but I don't want to ruin my mint plant!

Great Resource for Pet Owners

2011-04-23T12:38:00.000-04:00

I was introduced to a really helpful site for dog and cat owners by the creator of Dog and Cat Experts. Kristen has started a website with all kinds of helpful information for pet owners, and it's all in one easy to read and organized place. I thought I would pass it along since I know so many pet owners. She is a pet owner too, so she knows how important our little fur-babies can be. Thanks Kristen for letting me know about your site!

ATK Challenge: Sichuan Orange Chicken (p. 306)

2011-04-21T21:19:00.000-04:00

This is the last dish of the first 12 recipes! Grocery run is tomorrow, so I have to go through the book to pick some new yumminess. The hubby saw a sauteed pork chop with pears recipe and demanded to know why this was not included with the first rotation, so I know that one must not be left out this time.

I have never ordered orange chicken when eating Chinese food, but I love orange and figured we'd give it a try. It uses fresh squeezed orange juice, orange zest, some hoisin sauce for the flavor. It also includes ginger, garlic and some red pepper flakes for a little heat. The flavor combination was tasty!

I picked up some stir-fry techniques from the stir-fry how-to page. I cooked the chicken in two batches. I only cooked them until they were no longer pink, about 3 minutes. Then it is all put on a plate and added to the sauce later. The chicken came out great. It wasn't dry or flavorless.

The sauce was not thick, but it still covered all the chicken and was packed with flavor. I served it over rice.

Stay tuned for more new recipe reviews! And if anyone would like the recipe for any of these, let me know. I'm happy to share.

RATINGS:

Flavor: 5 out of 5 stars
Easiness: 5 out of 5 stars
Time Spent: 40 minutes
Repeat Dish? Yep!

Husband's Comments: No verbal comment, but numerous helpings were consumed.

ATK Challenge: Grilled Honey-Mustard Chicken

2011-04-18T19:25:00.001-04:00

Sorry guys, no pictures for this one.

I have made other honey-mustard chicken recipes before, but this one topped them all. It was super fast and easy too! I decided to grill the chicken on the Foreman grill instead of on the charcoal grill. Mainly because tonight is poker night for daddy-O and he didn't have time to clean and start the grill. No matter, they still turned out delicious. They were seasoned with salt and pepper and then the sauce was added when they were done.

Now that I use a thermometer, my chicken comes out much juicier instead of cooked to a tough and dry mess. Once that baby reaches 165 Fº it comes off the grill! The sauce that went directly on the chicken was a simple mix of dijon mustard (Grey Poupon of course), honey and a little cayenne pepper. Then you mix some of that sauce with sour cream and tarragon for a dipping sauce. Yum! I served this with some of the left-over spicy cauliflower from the other night.

RATINGS:

Flavor: 5 out of 5 (that little bit of cayenne gave it a nice kick!)
Easiness: 5 ouf of 5
Time Spent: 20 minutes!
Repeat Dish? Yes (good for a quick dinner and when there are chicken breasts in the freezer)

Husband's Comments: "Chicken dinners are like polished turds to me, but this turd had a great sauce to polish it off." (Thanks babe)

ATK Challenge: Foil-Baked Fish with Black Beans and Corn (p. 171)

2011-04-17T20:48:00.000-04:00

We seem to have bad luck with recipes that contain chipotle peppers. The recipes tend to turn out too hot. With this one, I think it was because I didn't cut the amount of chipotle in half like I should have since I only made two filets. I will have to give this recipe a try again, but use less of the peppers.

The butter/garlic/pepper/orange zest mixture went on top of the filet and the filet went on top of a mixture of black beans/corn/orange juice/cilantro. That was all wrapped into a foil pouch and baked in the oven for 20 minutes. Talk about an easy meal!

When it was done baking, I just opened the pouch and put it on a plate. Viola!

RATINGS:

Flavor: 3 out of 5 (will re-evaluate next time)
Easiness: 4 out of 5 (I can never seem to chop cilantro as fine as I would like)
Time Spent: 35-40 Minutes
Repeat Dish? Yes, just with some modifications.

Husband's Comments: "It's too spicy to taste all the flavors. I do like the consistency of the fish though."

ATK Challenge: Pasta with Spicy Cauliflower Sauce (p. 251)

2011-04-16T23:11:00.001-04:00

Here's a peek at all the ingredients:

Yes, more bacon! However, not enough to satisfy the husband's dinner meat requirement. According to him, this dish is tinkering on the edge of vegetarian. I thought it was pretty tasty.

The meal was easy to prepare. This was the first time I cut up a fresh head of cauliflower, but it wasn't rocket science. Cauliflower is so much tastier to me than broccoli, and isn't as obvious when it gets stuck in your teeth :) The cauliflower was browned in bacon grease and olive oil which gave it a really nice flavor. The red pepper flakes gave it just the right amount of heat.

RATINGS:

Flavor: 4 out of 5 stars (could have used a little more bacon)
Easiness: 4.5 out of 5
Time Spent: 40 minutes
Repeat Dish? Up for debate (the hubbster said I can put it on a 2 month rotation)

Husband's Comments: "Is the bacon the only meat in this?" Later caught eating one of Fletch's chicken tenders.

Future Tomato

2011-04-15T14:31:00.000-04:00

See that little yellow flower? That baby is gonna be a tomato! My first one :)

ATK Challenge: Mediterranean Tuna Melt

2011-04-13T19:58:00.001-04:00

Hey, it's a dish for you anti-meat people! That is if you still eat fish :) We love tuna salad around here and when I saw the picture in the cookbook, this looked pretty tasty. It has an unusual ingredient for tuna salad, artichoke hearts.

When the hubbster came in the kitchen and saw the artichokes, I thought he was going to start crying. He let out a moan and whined about not liking artichokes. I asked him where his adventurous spirit had disappeared to, so he gave in and said he would still try it. That was a good thing, because this is no diner or drive-through, you get what you get!

This recipe was super fast! It took less than 30 minutes to get it on the table. I loved the melted provolone on top.

The baguette I bought at the last grocery run ended up harder than a rock in a few days time. So we took a walk to Wegman's as our nightly walk. We always take Fletch on his tricycle, so we just went right in the store with him still on his push bike. He got a lot of smiles and probably had his most enjoyable grocery shopping experience. Heck, if I could ride through the store on my bike, I'm sure it would be pretty fun too!

RATINGS:

Flavor: 3 1/2 stars out of 5
Easiness: 5 stars out of 5
Time spent: less than 30 minutes
Repeat Dish? probably

Husband's Comments: "Hmmm...this is interesting. Let me take another bite. Yeah...it's actually pretty good."

ATK Challenge: Stir-Fried Beef with Snow Peas and Cashews (p. 308)

2011-04-12T19:00:00.002-04:00

One of my favorite Chinese take-out dishes is beef with snow peas. The husband loves stir-fries, in almost an inappropriate way. So a dish that combines the two? Perfecto!

This was the easiest and most flavorful attempt at anything close to Chinese food. The hardest part was grating the ginger. Apparently there are $15 ceramic ginger graters, which I do not have. I doubt I will ever obtain one, so I just had to make do with my fine grater. It was a little stringy and fibrous, but it cooked down and I didn't even see it after it was all finished cooking.

The hub's adventurous spirit came to an abrupt end when I mentioned putting cashews in the stir fry. Instead of omitting them, I just added them to my plate. I have no problems with nuts in my food :)

Xie xie America's Test Kitchen!

RATINGS:

Flavor: 5 out of 5 stars
Easiness: 4 out of 5 stars
Time Spent: about 40 minutes
Repeat Dish? Yep

Husband's Comments: "Hell yes!" when I told him what we were having. Then "this was delicious, whey don't we eat stir fry more often?"

ATK Challenge: Chopped Salad with Apples, Bacon and Turkey

2011-04-11T20:47:00.002-04:00

I figured I would get our other salad out of the way before my lettuce started going bad. The hubby asked what kind of salad it was, and I told him a chopped salad. He asked what was in a chopped salad and I told him "chopped stuff." He was not amused. I was reluctant to tell him because he can be weird about mixing certain ingredients. So when I told him it had apples in it, I got the "I don't like fruit in my salad" apprehension. That did not stop him from trying it, and what do you know...HE LIKED IT! Look at us breaking boundaries at the dinner table!

So the basic ingredients are lettuce, apples, bacon, turkey and blue cheese. It had a blue cheese vinaigrette to go along with it. I'm really digging these vinaigrettes that you mix all the ingredients into. Especially since my son now has a fondness for Ranch dressing and ends up using it all on his nuggets! Branch out kid!

The sweetness of the apples really balanced the strength of the blue cheese. Yum!

The hubby reminded me to take a picture this time.

Not very pretty, but very tasty :)

RATINGS:

Flavor: 5 out of 5 stars
Easiness: 5 out of 5 stars
Time spent: 20 minutes
Repeat dish? You know it!

Husband's Comments: "I really didn't think I'd like the apple in the salad, but it was great!"

ATK Challenge: Grilled Steaks and Potatoes with Garlic Butter (p. 212)

2011-04-10T18:46:00.001-04:00

Yes, another carnivore's delight! We typically grill a steak at least every two weeks. When I saw the photo that went along with this recipe, it went straight on to the list of recipes to try.

We have a precious little Weber grill that is low enough to the ground that we can grill on our balcony. We technically are not supposed to, but there is a sprinkler out there for pete's sake! What could go wrong? ;)

The dear husband is still learning the ins and outs of grilling, so I am always looking for tips and techniques to pass his way. This cookbook had a great page on starting the charcoal. So now that is not a hassle for him anymore.

I found some tiny red potatoes at Wegman's, so I used those instead of the larger red ones they called for. In typical Fletch style, he kept calling them apples. He calls cherry tomatoes apples and just about any round fruit or veggie. I did get him to finally call them taters :)

The recipe called for strip steaks. We typically get tenderloin filets to grill, but I figured we'd try something new. Of course they have more fat, but it sure does add taste! It's really the garlic, parsley and butter mix that goes on top of the steak and potatoes that gave this the wow factor. They were right too, flat leafed parsley has so much more flavor than wavy leaf. I would have taken a picture, but we ate them before I could grab the camera! Hopefully this does not make my cholesterol spike for my physical this week.

RATINGS:

Flavor: 5 out of 5 stars
Easiness: 5 out of 5 stars
Time Spent: about 30 minutes
Repeat Dish? heck yeah!

Husband's comments: Undecipherable growling and gnawing sounds...I am pretty sure he liked it :)

Matching Camera Strap

2011-04-10T13:30:00.001-04:00

The hubster went to play poker last night, so I had the house to myself. Instead of working on school work like I probably should have, I got an itch to sew. This is a horrible and stressful habit of mine. I tend to shut down and do something completely different than what I need to be doing. I don't really want to do this last video project for school. I have more hours of observation I need to complete, and a fashion development notebook to complete. Yet I decide at 10pm last night I want to sew a new camera strap that matches my new camera bag and a business card holder that I just found a tutorial for. Wacky...I know. As I was reading the Sunday Secrets on Post Secret today, one of the post cards made me laugh.

I think I know how she feels sometimes. However, I am definitely looking forward to doing something that contributes to the world, not just my family. I think it's just a scary thought that I will be going out and teaching very soon. I don't think I'll ever feel prepared and I'm sure confidence will come with experience. Enough rambling about my paranoia. On to the camera strap!

I had just enough fabric and tons of orange vinyl left over from the camera bag. When I was getting Solace some dog foot at Petco one day, I saw some dog collars/harnesses on sale for a buck! They had just the right parts I needed for the part of the strap that attaches to the camera, so I grabbed a black and a purple one. I've had them for over a year, causing the hubby to wonder what on earth I was ever going to do with those things. I didn't use a pattern or a tutorial, I just went for it. I only had one requirement, a little pocket for my lens cap. I'm tired of shoving that baby in my bra when we're out taking pictures, and I'm already short on lens caps as it is. Here she is:

This is how I did it:

I cut two pieces of the fabric that were 22" long and 3" wide. I also cut two pieces of fusible interfacing in the same size. The little pocket was 3" wide and about 4 or 5" long. I cut a little piece of interfacing for that too. For the vinyl, I just looked at the pieces that were on my original camera strap for a guide. They aren't perfect, but they work. I cut 4 of those pieces. I pulled apart the harness and had two perfect length pieces to go on the ends.

After I had all the pieces cut and fused, I sewed the "Chronic Crafter" tag on the pocket first. Then I pinned it on to one side of the strap. Then I placed the other long piece of fabric on top, right sides facing. I sewed up both sides then turned it. I did some top stitching down the edge, except on the pockets because it would have made my pocket too small to put the lens cap in. I also did a couple lines down the center for good measure.

Once I had the main fabric piece done, I went on to the end pieces. I sewed the canvas strap into the end piece first, then I slipped the fabric piece between the two vinyl pieces and sewed them to together by sewing around the edges. Viola! A new camera strap. The fabric part is wider than a regular camera strap to make room for the lens cap, but after trying it on across my shoulder it felt comfortable and actually more breathable.

If there weren't already a million people selling hand made camera straps and camera strap covers, I'd put some in my shop. Instead I'm just going to enjoy mine :)

ATK Challenge: Super-Spicy Chili Mac (p. 239)

2011-04-08T18:01:00.003-04:00

We have our first so/so recipe! Woo! Can you feel the excitement? We both love chili and we both love mac n' cheese, but this dish is no magical combination of the two. It was not horrible, it just was not that extraordinary. I guess it was hard to follow the shrimp and grits from last night. Poor chili mac never had a chance.

First off, it was definitely super spicy! It had spicy rotel as well as some chipotle peppers. Then on top of that, it was topped with shredded pepper jack cheese. I think what threw us off was the consistency. We were expecting it to be more saucy like a chili. This is what it looked like (the left overs anyway):

This recipe will probably not be a repeat performer. I could see a gang of famished teenage boys scarfing this down, but until I have that problem this will be put under archive.

I actually timed this meal. I started at 4:30 and it was on the table by 5:15. There was not too much prep, since I have my magical onion chopper.

RATINGS:

Flavor: 3 of 5 stars
Easiness: 5 of 5 stars
Time spent: 45 minutes
Repeat dish?: probably not

Husband's comments: It's too spicy, and I can't taste any flavor. This is not chili!

ATK Challenge: Shrimp with Ham and Cheddar Grits (p.188)

2011-04-07T22:38:00.000-04:00

Sorry for the triple recipe shake-down today. I started 3 days ago and just decided today to do all this blogging about the cookbook. After this post, I'm all caught up and promise to post only one a day!

I was surprised that the hubby picked this one. He's not really a fan of grits, but he was feeling adventurous. I have heard wonderful things about shrimp and grits, but I have never tried the dish. It made a big comeback a few years ago and was really popular at a lot of restaurants, but I never thought to try it. When I saw this cookbook had a recipe for it, I figured it was time to finally try it.

Wowsa! This was a yummy dish. It was pretty filling as well. The grits were made in the microwave within 15 minutes. The prep-work was the most time consuming, although it didn't take all that much time at all. I was cracking up at how the little pieces of ham steak were popping out of the skillet like popcorn, so I had to play defense with my wooden spoon.

I decided not to include the actual time spent category of my ratings. I have a toddler, so I tend to get distracted or called away from the kitchen. If I tried to accurately time the cooking, I'd have to set a stop watch and stop and start it every time I got sidetracked. So I'm going to change the category to: Easy as They Say or Harder Than it Looks.

RATINGS:

Flavor: 5 stars (I'd give more if I could)
Easiness: 4 stars (peeling shrimp is a pain, thankfully the hubby helped)
Easy As They Say or Harder Than it Looks? Easy as they say!
Repeat Dish?: Fer sure!

Husband's comments: I don't even like grits, but this was amazing!

ATK Challenge: BLT Salad (p.37)

2011-04-07T11:58:00.000-04:00

Let me start this off by saying, if you don't like bacon, this recipe is not for you. And you also need to go get your head checked out!

We love salads around here, but our salad repertoire was getting a little old. I was happy to see a good variety of tasty looking salads in this cookbook. First salad to try was this one, a BLT salad. Ooooh baby!

There are not a lot of ingredients, but the flavors mesh so well. Anyone who loves BLTs will love this salad. Lettuce, tomatoes and bacon...lots of bacon! Like, A POUND, of bacon! I used thick cut as the recipe stated. The recipe called for home-made croutons with mayo spread on the bread before baking. This sounded yummy, but I already had some delish croutons on hand. (I have got to stop being a rogue recipe breaker!) The dressing was just a whisked combo of mayo and red wine vinegar, but dayum it was tasty! Due to a falling out with Mayo while I was pregnant with Fletch, we are now a Miracle Whip household.

I think the salad could have used a tad more lettuce. I used one romaine heart, but could have used maybe half of another. I think my romaine hearts were on the small side though.

RATINGS:

Flavor: 5 stars!
Easiness: 5 stars!
Actual time spent: less than 30 minutes
Repeat dish? Abso-friggin-lutely!

Husband's comments: "NOM, NOM, NOM"

Question: Anyone have any helpful hints on how to make your house stop smelling like bacon? Candles? Open windows?

ATK Challenge: Barbecue Chicken Pizza (p.280)

2011-04-07T11:37:00.000-04:00

I was not surprised when the hubby requested I make this recipe first. The man loves him some barbecue pizza. It's not really my favorite, but I picked it for him since he's going to be my guinea pig throughout this experiment. The recipe calls for cilantro, of which I am not a huge fan, but I proceeded anyway.

The recipe called for a 1 pound ball of ready-made pizza dough. I already had a can of Pillsbury thin crust dough in the fridge, so I didn't look for this while I was shopping. I had no idea it would lead to a debacle.

For the chicken, they called for a rotisserie chicken, which Wegman's has plenty of. That cut down on cooking time since all I had to do was pull the meat off the bones. And who doesn't love the flavor of rotisserie chicken? Weirdos, that's who!

So on to the pizza dough debacle...Oye vey! Instead of just rolling out the dough in the rectangle shape it came in, I thought I could squish it all together and roll it out on a round pan. Well, those preformed pizza doughs really want to retain their shape! The dough would not go back to a dough ball and turned into a massacred piece of I don't know what. So I went online to find a quick pizza dough recipe and found one that didn't require it to rise. Awesome! However I had no yeast. DOH! Luckily my sweet little old lady neighbor had a package of instant yeast. It was packaged completely in Chinese, but it did say Instant Yeast in english. I just used the whole pack and hoped for the best. Hoping doesn't get you far in the kitchen, because the dough ended up tasting more like a biscuit, a dense, lumpy, and thick biscuit. It was too late to turn back, so I just added the toppings and went for it. We figured that as long as it tasted like bread, we could manage to eat it.

This was a simple recipe (until I made it incredibly difficult) with not a whole lot of ingredients, but the flavor was amazing. The little mix of cilantro in with the barbecue sauce and chicken was not too overpowering for me. The recipe included a lime-cilantro sour cream dipping sauce that was quite yummy as well. Had the dough situation not occurred, this would have been just as tasty as the barbecue chicken pizza from California Pizza Kitchen. I will definitely be making this again, and I promise to buy the right dough next time!

Here are my ratings:

Flavor: 4 out of 5 stars (due to dough debacle)
Easiness: 4 out of 5 stars (see above)
Actual time spent: didn't keep track
Repeat Dish?: Yes!

Husband's comments: "Delicious, tastes just like CPK!" "Next time use the right dough"
(for the record, he ate every single piece of left over pizza)

ATK Challenge

2011-04-07T11:13:00.000-04:00

The hubby picked up a Groupon to Barnes & Noble for me a few months ago, and we finally went to go spend it last weekend. I went in assuming I was going to buy the last Stieg Larsson book to complete my set, but it was still only available in hardback. My other two are paperback, so I decided to wait.

I casually strolled over to the cookbook section. I had an America's Test Kitchen cookbook on my amazon wish list, but I figured if it was there I would just grab it. Of course I couldn't remember which one was on my list, but I stumbled upon this one:

There are a million 30-minute recipe books on the market, but what drew me to this one was the paragraph on the back, especially these two sentences: "Most quick-recipe collections promise a lot but deliver very little. Bland, uninspired dishes may be fast, but will you make them again?" It brought to mind all those quick easy recipes that Kraft is always sending me, but always come up short on flavor. I started flipping through the cookbook and was delighted to see that almost every recipe sounded like something we would like. They also include a paragraph at the beginning explaining why the recipe works and most pages include tips and techniques on a variety of subjects. I walked out of the book store ready to cook!

Instead of easing into this book and trying one recipe, I went all out and picked 12 recipes and hit the grocery store. It was time for the 2 week grocery shopping anyway, so I built my grocery list around the recipes. I told the hubby that I want to try and make every recipe in the book, except the ones that have ingredients that we just don't like. There are some that I know I would like, but not him, so I'll save those for a rainy day.

So I am going to blog about my America's Test Kitchen cookbook adventures! There will be a slew of reviews this month, because of my eagerness. I promise to ease back next shopping trip! Well, unless the next two weeks are a smashing success.

Hoping for a Yummy Summer

2011-04-04T09:23:00.000-04:00

I've been telling the hubby that I want to grow a garden when we move into a house with a backyard. Well, I just couldn't wait any longer! I decided to try my hand at container gardening this year. We have a patio/balcony that gets pretty good sun, so I decided to go for it.

I have 3 long rectangle containers hanging off of our railing. The middle one already has strawberries planted. The other two will contain yellow squash and zucchini. I planted two types of strawberries, so we'll see which does better. One of the plants already has some growing!

I also bought two types of tomatoes. One with small sweet tomatoes and the other is a larger tomato. We are always using them in salads, BLTs, hamburgers and snacking, so I figured we should definitely grow some.

On a whim, I got a sweet mint plant too. I love using fresh mint to make ice tea and I may try my hand at some home made mojitos :)

I still need to plant the squash, zucchini and bell peppers. I also have to hunt down some smaller tomato cages. The ones I saw at the Depot were way too big. Does anyone know of any gardening-hacks for home-made tomato cages? I was thinking of getting some of those long stakes and tying them into a mini-trellis. I'd love to hear any clever ideas from other container gardeners!

A Little Gift

2011-04-02T10:08:00.003-04:00

I tried my hand at freezer paper stenciling again. Some friends of ours had a baby around Christmas, and it has taken me 3 months to get around to making something! Disgraceful I tell ya! Before you ask why I made a onesie with a T-Bone steak on it, my husband's best friend's nickname back in the day was T-Bone. Actually, Atom still calls him T-Bone most of the time.

So for my non-crafty friends, I'm going to show you how I made this onesie! I am sure all you crafty people out there have seen this tutorial a million times. Newbs...this is for you :)

What you need:

the picture or image you want on the shirt
the shirt/onesie/fabric
fabric paint (This time I used Tulip brand and it worked great)

sponge brushes, small/thin paintbrushes
freezer paper (the white butcher paper that is paper on one side and laminated on the other)
an iron and ironing board
an exacto knife
a piece of cardboard that fits inside the shirt/onesie (to keep paint from bleeding through to the other side)

Depending on how complex your image is, and by this I mean the number of different colors you're going to use, you may need to do a little thinking ahead. It is also a good idea to write the color and description on the freezer paper when you're done to keep track of which stencil goes with which color.

I used 3 colors for the T-Bone, so I had to cut a stencil for each color I used. When I did the black outline, I left little divots in the line to keep it attached to the freezer paper. I just went over the blank spots with a thin paintbrush.

To transfer your image on to the freezer paper, you can use a light-box if you have one. I do not, but I have something better! I use my sliding glass doors. You could also use a window as well. I just tape the image to the glass door, put a piece of freezer paper on top, and then trace the image onto the freezer paper. I like to tape the freezer paper down too, just so it will always be in the same spot while you work. DUH-ALERT: This only works during the day when you have light coming through your glass door or window!

Once you have all your tracing done, use an Exacto knife to cut out the parts that you want the paint to transfer onto the shirt. DUH-ALERT: Make sure you put something under the paper when you are cutting, otherwise you will leave nice little cut marks all over your work surface! I have a self-healing mat that keeps everything protected. You can snag one at a craft store, fabric store or art supply store.

(here you can see how I left small pieces un-cut to keep it attached)

Once you have your stencil cut out, decide where you want the image and then iron the freezer paper, plastic side down. It is better to use a lower heat setting without steam, otherwise you are going to make the paper wavy and this can cause paint to slip under the areas that didn't attach.

(this was the first color, see how I labeled my freezer paper)

Once you have the freezer paper stuck on to the shirt, sponge on your first paint color. It is best to follow the directions and let it dry before moving on. Trust me....I'm Mrs. Impatient and it can make more work for you in the end if you don't take your time. DUH-ALERT: You want to do the lightest colors first. I started with the white, then red, then black. Otherwise, the paint may show through.

Just keep repeating the steps until you have all the layers you need. Once you are done, let it dry for the recommended time. My directions said to let it dry for at least 4 hours and you can wash after 72 hours. I'm going to let mommy wash it in case she uses sensitive detergent for baby.

I finally shipped it off yesterday. Hopefully it will get a giggle from the proud parents. :)

Chartreuse

2011-03-25T09:13:00.004-04:00

Driving home from picking up Fletch from daycare yesterday, I had a revelation. Nothing major. I realized why I love the color Chartreuse so much.

All the trees are starting to show signs of life around here. As beautiful as all the pink blossoming trees are, I absolutely love the little bright green leaves that first appear on all the bare trees. As much as I love the cool air and changing leaves of fall, spring always lifts my spirits and makes me feel renewed.

Here is what spring looks like around here:

I will definitely miss all the blossoming trees when we move back to Texas. But I'm sure I will love spring in Austin just as much!

My New Camera Bag

2011-03-22T21:54:00.002-04:00

I decided to try and make myself a camera bag purse. You know, one I could carry my usual purse contents, plus my DSLR. I knew it had to be a decent size and had to have a good amount of padding for protection. What I ended up with is a little too big for an everyday purse, but it is working quite well for my full size camera bag that holds all my lenses, flash, gorilla tripod and odds n' ends. I ended up using it for carrying all my gear to Texas for my sister's wedding and it worked well.

I looked at a few bags online to get an idea of the basic shape and dimensions. I ended up with a bag that is 15"L x 10"H x 6"W. In reality, looking at those dimensions now, I should have realized it was going to be too big to be a purse. I think I just threw that idea out and wanted something to hold all my stuff. I used 1/2" foam along the bottom and sides of the bag. The lining is a brown liner material and I added a few layers of cotton batting to the interior pockets. That keeps everything from knocking around.

Right now I have a velcro closure hand-sewn in place. I haven't decided if I want to keep it or maybe add some straps with clasps. I had to blind stitch the lining to the bag. I would have rather sewn it in with the machine, but the foam was going to make that difficult.

I love the fabric and the orange vinyl that I found at G-street. I have quite a bit of the vinyl left over, which I have some fun ideas for. It does not scream camera bag, which I prefer, since there is expensive equipment in there. I still have my small Lowepro bag that holds my camera and a lens, which is good for short excursions when I know what lens I want to use. I am still desiring a camera purse, but I think I'm just going to save up for an Epiphanie bag.

I still love my new bag and enjoyed making it from scratch without a pattern. It feels great to make something off the top of my head and see it work out. I think I'm going to make a matching camera strap for my camera to go with my bag next!

What do you think? Too wild for your taste? Most people know I have a serious love of the color orange, so this color combo makes my heart flutter. Does anyone have any suggestions for other types of closures?

My Spring Break

2011-03-15T00:03:00.002-04:00

Involved flying solo with Fletch to Texas for my sister Donna's wedding, a week of family time, good food and some quality time with a few friends.

I came home on Thursday, just to leave the very next day for the Church Mom's trip to Rehoboth. I thought it would be a vacation from my vacation to Texas. Little did I know how these moms party.

After some yummy pizza Friday night, we headed to the Blue Moon for a drag show. Here is the highlight of the show:

Don't ask.

After the drag show they opened the floor for dancing, which we did until 1 am. Dancing at a gay club is a guaranteed good time.

The next day involved tax-free shopping at the outlets in the area. I took no pictures of this, I was too busy spending money. I got some clothes for Fletch and myself, as well as a new Fossil purse. Apparently orange is going to be a HOT spring color this year. I am totally stoked about that! A few of us went to see Hall Pass at the movie theater for a shopping break.

For dinner, we headed to Stingray's. It is mainly sushi, but they had food for those who are not excited about sushi. They had some delicious specialty martinis. I got the karaoke zombie. I have no idea why they named it that, it was basically all kinds of citrusy goodness. We all had yummy food and filled our bellies to the max.

After dinner we headed to the Purple Parrot for some dancing and karaoke. I said I wasn't going to sing, but I ended up doing it anyway after downing some liquid courage. I sang The Joker by the Steve Miller Band. I always choose songs with the wrong range for my voice. Oh well. No one really cared and we all had a good time.

We did manage to walk to the beach for a few minutes, just to say we went to the beach. Then we did some last minute shopping and headed home. It was a whirlwind week! Now I need another week to recuperate!

My First Production

2011-03-01T15:25:00.007-05:00

OK...here goes. This is my first true video production for my video production class. It is supposed to be an eco-comedy. I chose to focus my topic on reusable shopping bags in place of plastic bags. Luckily I have good friends and an awesome husband who agreed to be my actors and guinea pigs. Every time I import video, my video looks like crap. So pardon the video noise.

Can I just say..."DANG THAT BARKING DOG!!!" I filmed that part in the lobby of our condo and the lady who lives on that floor has a dog that barks at any tiny sound it hears. Good thing it's fluffy and cute!

Drive In, Scrap Out...I'm GOING!

2011-02-15T10:04:00.000-05:00

A couple of weeks ago I entered a little contest to try and win a registration ticket to a digital scrapbook retreat, Drive-In Scrap-out. I was not the lucky winner that night. However, I woke up this morning to find an email letting me know the previous winner backed out, and I was the winner of the re-draw! Oh...emm...Geee! This is a 4 day retreat in Asheville, NC that includes so many valuable classes. I am super excited about the photography classes! It will be me, my laptop, hard drive, tablet and Ipod. I hope to bring back a wealth of information for my scrapping buddies at church. Thank you so much Jaime for the opportunity to attend! Registration is still open if you'd like to attend. Check it out!

White Chili...A Household Favorite

2011-01-31T17:03:00.001-05:00

I still remember Atom's reaction the first time I made him white chili. He ate 2 bowls and begged me to put it on the normal menu rotation. Since then, we've had it about every 2 weeks. I just recently added corn muffins to complement the chili and that has been a hit. It is a pretty tasty dish, especially during the cold months. Since it has been extra cold around here, I figured I would share the recipe and a few pictures from the last batch.

Here is what you will need:

That is: Olive oil, Chicken Breast (I use canned for a time saver, but you could bake/grill and chop up 2 fresh chicken breasts), one whole onion, garlic (2 cloves minced), one jalapeno, a can of diced green chiles, a can of cannellini beans, a can of great northern beans, chicken stock, salt (1/2 tsp), cumin (1tsp), oregano (1/2tsp) and cayenne pepper (1/8tsp).

While we were visiting Atom's Aunt and Uncle in Minnesota, his Aunt pulled out an onion chopper, and I knew right then and there I had to have one. When I got home, I found the same exact chopper at Wegman's! SCORE! Look what this baby can do:

Your onion goes from 4 quarters to this...

A finely chopped onion in less than a minute! This baby has saved me a lot of finger nails and tears. I can't chop an onion without looking like Tammy Fae Baker afterwards. OK, enough onion chopper enthusiasm.

I like to chop my onion and jalapeno, while I heat up about a tablespoon of olive oil in a soup pot. Once I've chopped all the onion and jalapeno, I throw that in the pot with the garlic to saute. I cook the mixture until the onions are transparent.

Once the onions are transparent, I add in the chopped green chiles and the spices and mix. I let this cook for a few minutes. While that is cooking, I open up my cans of beans and chicken. You can use any kind of beans you want. I use white beans since I call this white chili. If I have some left over black beans in the fridge I throw those in the pot, and sometimes I add corn to the mix.

Once your onions and peppers and spices have cooked for a bit, throw in the beans and chicken. I use a fork to break up the chicken before I put it in the pot. Stir that around and cook for a few more minutes. Then you will add the chicken stock. Add as much as you want, based on if you want more broth or less broth. Bring the chili to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer for about 30 minutes.

I throw the corn muffins in the oven while the chili is simmering.

I like to serve my chili with shredded cheese on top, but you could add some chopped cilantro, sour cream or whatever you fancy.

There you have it...our "old faithful" on the dinner menu. Let me know how you like it if you decide to give it a try.

I Can Check That Off My List

2011-01-18T23:00:00.001-05:00

One of my resolutions for 2011, was to open an Etsy shop. I say "was" because I am officially an Etsy seller as of this week! I make so many things, but I received a lot of positive feedback on the netbook cover I made for Atom. That helped me finally decide what I would start with. I contemplated baby bibs, blankets, burp cloths, etc. Then I thought about camera strap covers. I may add those later, but for now I am focusing on custom covers for laptops, Ipads, Kindles, Tablets or any other electrical device out there.

It took quite a bit of time and effort to set up shop. I spent a full day on Photoshop creating logos, my banner for my shop, editing pictures and posting items for sale. I found a few useful tricks along the way so it will be easier as I go along.

I don't expect to become a millionaire (or a thousandaire for that matter), but this will keep me in front of the sewing machine and creating. It will also lead to numerous trips to the fabric store and hours pouring over new fabrics, saying "Oooooh" and "Aaaaah." My goal is to use my sales to buy myself some nice camera equipment. I'd like to one day take family and baby portraits, so maybe this little shop will get me on my way.

I added a button at the top of the blog that will take you there if you'd like to have a look. I've already made my first sale thanks to our cousin Louise in Minnesota! Thanks Louise :)

IVG Stores: Horrible Service Alert!

2011-01-07T15:05:00.003-05:00

Atom really wanted a nice poker chip set since his world is now consumed with the sport. I did some internet searching for good deals, because those poker sets can be pricey. I stumbled upon an online store, IVG Stores. They had a set that you could customize how many of each chip you wanted, and that is exactly what I was looking for. I noticed that they had a pretty general or blanket description for almost all of their sets, which stated I could choose from denominations from 1-1000. This was exactly what I was looking for, because Atom actually gave me the number of each denomination of chips he wanted. I was so excited to be getting such a great deal. I left the denominations I wanted in the comments in the order, because there was no option to choose from a drop-down menu. I was a little apprehensive about that process, so I called their customer service to make sure they had my denomination amounts correct. I was glad to hear that they had the information from the comments and the representative told me he would send this info to the manufacturer who would be shipping the order.

I ordered the chip set on November 22nd. It was almost the middle of December when I started to worry because the chip set had still not been shipped according to the order status online. So I called up the customer service department again. I was told that the 1K chips were not available. I was asked if I wanted to substitute another denomination. I wanted Atom to get his chips in time for Christmas, so I had them send extra 500 chips in place of the 1K chips. The order finally shipped and got here just in time for Christmas.

When Atom opened his chips, I told him why there were no 1K chips. He began telling me more than I needed to know about what poker chips should be included in a 500 chips set for tournament play. He had actually given me incorrect information on the spreadsheet, but he still definitely wanted and needed the 1K chips. I decided to call IVG to see if the 1K chips had become available and to see if we could exchange the un-opened sleeves of chips for the ones we needed. The first guy I spoke with stated that it was not possible to exchange the chips, because the manufacturer would not take them back. I didn't know what to think, so I hung up and talked to Atom about the issue. We both thought it was ridiculous that we could not switch chips, so I called back to see what the return policy was. I spoke to a woman who told me that we would have to pay to ship the set back, plus pay a 15% re-stocking fee. Shipping was $30 and the re-stocking fee would be about $20. That is a $50 dollar loss! Then if I wanted to re-order, I'd have to pay to ship it back out again. The rep then informed me that the 1K chips were never even available. I was furious! Why didn't the rep tell me that when they called to say they weren't available? They made it seem like the manufacturer was just out of stock. I looked at the description and it was the same description that I originally saw, offering chips up to 1K.

We were furious. We found another website that sold the same exact chips individually and ordered the ones Atom wanted and decided to buy $1 to use as 1K chips. That cost us an extra $60. An extra $60 to get something that is still not 100% what Atom wanted. I was so mad that I could not give him what he wanted for Christmas, because of mis-information and a lack of service. I sent IVG an email explaining what happened and that I was extremely dissatisfied (that email was never answered by anyone at IVG). I also wrote a review of the product explaining what happened and that that particular set was not good for tournament games since there were no 1K chips available. I also decided to tweet about IVG. It pays to tweet people, whether you are mad or happy with service, let your voice be heard!

I was surprised when I got a response telling me to contact a manager at IVG with a direct extension. I decided to give it a shot, even though my instincts told me I was going to get nothing out of the call. I was right. I was told that the website says that the denominations are only 1-500. Get this...I went to the page, THEY CHANGED IT! She tried to tell me that it has always said that, but that is complete bullshit! I know what I read, otherwise I would never have ordered that set if it didn't offer 1K chips! AND...they removed my product review! I wish I had been smart enough to take a screen-shot of the previous page. If I would have known how shady they are, I would have done it in a heartbeat. She did admit that the rep should have told me that the 1K chips were not available in this set, but her offer of reconciliation was 10% off my next order. Uh...thanks, but no thanks.

I worked in customer service from 1997 until 2007, that is 10 years of customer service experience. I know how to give good customer service and I know how to go above and beyond. The last company I worked for had a "re-stocking fee." That was basically to deter returns and justify the effort and paperwork done for the return process. When there was an issue with service or product, I had no problem waiving the fee. IVG should have offered to waive the re-stocking fee at the bare minimum. I do find it flattering that my complaining forced them to update their product information, even though it was to cover their own ass. They sent an email after the order was shipped asking for a product review. I gave my review and they deleted it. Awesome. I just found an online store review site, IVG got 2 and a half stars out of 101 reviews! Why didn't I look into that before hand? Ugh.This company is seriously amateur-hour and I will never do business with them again, well maybe there is a 10% chance.

Made by Special Request

2010-12-29T23:31:00.000-05:00

The hubby got himself a new netbook since his old laptop finally kicked the bucket. It is considerably smaller than his laptop, which left him with nothing to keep it in. He asked me if I would make him a cover. I accepted the challenge and a few days later I was reading the Prudent Baby blog, and what did I see a tutorial for? That's right, a laptop sleeve. Talk about perfect timing. It is a pretty simple idea, so I probably could have managed to make one without a tutorial. However, this tutorial had a link to another tutorial for another way of sewing bias tape that I had never tried before. I used a fat quarter of fabric I found that looked modern and manly and incorporated some orange (our favorite color). I used my walking foot for the first time and I now understand the hype. It did not take long to put together. What took the most time was hand sewing the velcro. My middle finger pad is quite tender from not using a thimble. Lesson learned. The hubby is quite pleased with the end result. I'm happy to have a happy customer.

Next I will be making one for my Wacom Bamboo tablet that I got for Christmas. The only thing I will be doing different is sewing the velcro on before putting it together and adding a pen holder. I'll post pictures when I get that one done. I have a few different sewing projects to complete before classes begin in January. Those are for another day.

Sprucing Up the Place

2010-12-28T17:18:00.000-05:00

Watching HGTV much too often after Fletch was born, we started to get an itch to change things up around the condo. At the beginning of the year, we installed a custom mixed mosaic tile backsplash in our kitchen to go with our newly installed marble counter tops. We were contemplating wood floors, but we are not going to be here much longer to enjoy them, so that idea got scrapped. What we have been doing lately are small things. We finally purchased a bar! We spied with our little eyes this bar at World Market, the Verona Bar.

I'd take a picture of ours, but right now it has containers of Christmas cookies on top of it. Here's what it looks like closed:

We absolutely love it. It holds all of our wine glasses, martini glasses, cocktail glasses, shot glasses...well you get the point. I promise we do not have drinking problems, and yes I know that one of the steps is denial, but really we are fine. It freed up a lot of cabinet space to get all of that stuff out of the kitchen. Now there is more room for sippy-cups and Atom's expanding pint glass collection.

In the living room, we replaced our old brown velour curtains with some lighter striped curtains. It is amazing what new curtains can do to a room. Disregard the large dog enjoying the fire.

You can't see the top in this picture, but they have the grommet holes on top. I found them on sale at JCPenny online.

Most recently we finally got a wall decal for our weird diagonal wall in the living room. We knew we wanted to add something to the wall, but our large TV is up against that wall so pictures or large paintings wouldn't look right. One of the many daily deal sites we use had an offer with a wall decal company. After checking out their designs we picked out a cherry blossom branch.
I think it looks pretty cool. Cherry Blossoms are appropriate since we live in the DC area. Plus the pink breaks up all the brown in the room.

To add some more texture to the room, I just made some new throw pillows for the couch. The ones we had were getting a little too squishy and may have been drooled on a few times. I found some really pretty flannel remnants for under $5 and threw these together.

I think we are done with the living room for now; Unless someone designs a piece of storage furniture that makes large amounts of toys disappear and re-appear when needed. Someone get on that please!

2 Semesters To Go!

2010-12-28T11:57:00.000-05:00

After a rough Fall semester, I am happy to say that I ended up with straight A's. This keeps me on track to graduate with honors. It has taken me this long to finish school, so I am going out on top!

I still do not feel prepared to go out into the world to teach, but I am looking forward to student teaching. Hopefully that experience will lend me a few tricks up my sleeve. I was awarded a $1500 grant by the P.E.O. group. My Curriculum Design professor nominated me and I am very grateful to get any help with tuition costs (especially when I do not have to pay it back). I had to complete 40 hours of observation for the Fall semester. It does not sound like much, but when you have to try and squeeze all 40 hours in while your son is in daycare for 2 days a week, it can be tricky. Luckily, after placing myself, I fulfilled all 40 hours and actually had an amazing observation at Chantilly High School. I was intimidated by high school art, but I was pleasantly surprised to see how nice high school students can be. Which ever grade I end up teaching, there will be benefits and challenges. I am glad I observed all grade levels so I know what to expect.

I am so glad I had my Clothing Construction class to keep me sane. I had a good understanding of sewing before I started class. I wanted to take the class to have guidance for doing things I had not tried before, like zippers and shirt collars. My sewing machine broke in the middle of the semester, which landed me a new sewing machine for Christmas. In total, I put together a hand-sewn hat, a bag, a pencil skirt and a button-down shirt. I learned that zippers are not as scary as I thought they were and collars on shirts are a pain in the rear. What this class really accomplished for me was getting me back in front of the sewing machine again.

Spring semester starts in the middle of January. This will be my last semester of real classes. Next Fall will be student teaching and my senior art project, which is a studio class. This will also be my last semester for buying books! I think...gosh I really hope! I will be taking Video Production, Survey of Fashion and Psychology of Individuals with Disabilities. It sounds like a weird mish-mash of classes, but those were the last classes I needed to take. It should be an interesting semester. I will let you know how it goes and probably post some of my videos.

Recycled Spookiness

2010-10-17T20:53:00.000-04:00

I don't have many Halloween decorations. Actually, I don't have any! We are very limited on space since we reside in a condo, and my 3 boxes of Christmas decorations are already pushing the limits. Buying more decorations is not allowed until we have a house with real storage solutions. So I was very excited to find this tutorial. We drink a lot of milk around here, so it was not hard to rummage through the recycling bin to find some milk cartons. I was able to make this guy with 3 cartons. I think I could have done a neater and more precise job with 4, but I decided to use every last inch of the last carton for the legs and arms. I may re-do the hands and feet with movable fingers and toes. We'll see how motivated I am between now and Halloween.

Here are some tips I learned along the way:

1. If you mess up with the black sharpie, it's easy to correct with some nail polish remover or rubbing alcohol. I erased all the lines I used to trace out the pieces.

2. When you cut off the top spout of the carton that you use to make the pelvis, you can attach it to the spout on the head to make a longer neck. I just wired those together before I connected it to the rib-cage jug.

I think he came out really cute. I have him hanging outside our front door. The best part is that I can toss him back in the recycle bin when I'm done, and make another next year. That way, I don't have to worry about storage. SCORE!

Thanks Marvelous Mrs. M for the tutorial.

In the Bag

2010-10-04T11:48:00.000-04:00

Every hat should have a matching bag, right? Well, maybe not always. However, since our second assignment in Clothing Construction was to make a pillow/bag/or billfold, I went with a bag. This project was just a small project to show that we can use the sewing machine. Since I consider myself to be somewhat knowledgeable with the machine, I challenged myself a little. I've made bags before, so this time I decided to embellish. I used the left over corduroy and lining from my hat to make a little tote. I found a cute free pattern of a tree online. I used the lining material for the foliage of the tree and some of the corduroy for the trunk. I put some fusible interfacing on the back of the cut outs to make them a little sturdier then used the machine to sew them on, trying to stay as close to the edge as possible.

It wasn't too difficult, but it wasn't really easy maneuvering around all those corners and curves. Even if the edges fray a little bit, I used a smaller stitch so the applique should not come off. It might have a cute finish with raw edges. This bag perfectly holds my wallet, phone, ipod, little notebook and possibly a diaper clutch. This will be nice for short outings with Fletch, when we don't need the baby backpack.

Sew Cool

2010-10-04T11:37:00.001-04:00

This semester I am taking Clothing Construction as one of my Applied Arts electives. I was supposed to take Textile Design, but then I found out that you don't even get to work with any fabric or application in that class. It's all done on the computer. I asked my advisor if I could substitute and she gave me the go ahead. I was really excited to take this class. Once the semester started I knew I would have an amazing time in this class.

Everything I have learned about sewing, I learned just from watching my mom. I have never taken a class or used an instruction manual. I feel pretty comfortable around the sewing machine. However, I've never sewn a zipper, a button hole or a full on article of clothing from a pattern. I have created my own patterns for a few things, but nothing too advanced. I did make my pretty diaper bag from a pattern I printed out online. What I really want to gain from this class is to sharpen my technical skills. I want to know the ins and outs of my machine, tips/tricks and terminology. I have a plan for something exciting and I want to make sure that I am well prepared.

Our first project was a hand sewn hat. First off, we had to create a hat out of newspaper/newsprint paper. It could be any kind of hat and this would be the hat that we would create out of fabric. My first hat was a weird floppy hat. Initially it was going to be a summer/beach hat, but my instant gratification got the best of me. I wanted a hat that I could wear once I made it. Since it was Fall, I needed a Fall hat. Here is my first paper prototype:

Once we had our paper hat the way we wanted it, we talked about fabric options with our professor. I decided on un-cut corduroy (corduroy without the lines). I had to get some fusible interfacing and thicker interfacing for the bill. I also decided that I would make a lining for my hat. I had some cool fabric in my collection I wanted to use.

Our next task was to create a pattern for the hat we were going to make. There were a couple of options. I could make the hat in paper again and then cut it up into pattern pieces, or used shapes that would produce a dome shape. I opted to do 6 triangles to make the main part of the hat. I used a hat I already owned that used the 6 triangle method, and I observed the shape of the triangles and did some measuring. Once I had the paper pattern pieces, I taped and pinned them together to make sure they fit together to make what I wanted. So I ended up with another temporary paper hat:

This one looked a lot more like what I wanted and it fit my head perfectly. So I took the second hat apart and I had my hat pattern ready to go. I used it to cut my corduroy, lining and interfacing. I did all of the cutting and ironing in class, then started hand sewing the crown of the hat. I used a basic straight stitch with small stitches. Once I connected all of the 6 triangles together, I had my crown. It was a little daunting because it looked huge. I didn't worry about it, because I knew that I was going to sew a band around the outside that could bring it in. I sewed the lining next, then the bill. It took me a few minutes to figure out how I was going to put it together with the fewest amount of steps, and my decision wasn't the best choice, but it worked out well.

Next time, if there is a next time, I have a better idea of what I'll do. I am very happy with the end result. I have a well sewn, and sturdy fall hat. I have been showing it off to people here, and now it's time to show it off to the interwebs. Here is my hand sewn hat:

PhotoHunt 228: Framed

2010-08-28T00:24:00.027-04:00

This week's PhotoHunt theme is framed. I chose this picture I took in Prague on our honeymoon. I had to have Atom stand in this doorway to show how immense in size it was. I think the photo succeeded in showing how large the door is, as well as making my husband look like he was hit with a shrink-ray.

Another Waste of Money

2010-08-25T10:00:00.000-04:00

Have you seen the commercials for the Lysol Hands-Free Soap Dispenser?

Looks like a brilliant idea right? WRONG. Here is what Lysol is saying to sell this product:
"Hands may come into contact with millions of germs every day. Hand washing is one of the most important steps to help stay healthy. But have you ever thought about those germs ending up on your soap pump?
Fact: Your soap pump can harbor a lot of bacteria.
Introducing the LYSOL® No-Touch Hand Soap System, it automatically senses your hands and dispenses just the right amount of soap that kills 99.9% of bacteria.
For use in the kitchen or bathroom, the antibacterial hand soap is enriched with moisturizing ingredients and comes in three great scents!
Never touch a germy soap pump again."

OMG! I totally need this! Oh wait...no I don't. Yes, there may be a lot of bacteria on my soap pump. However, every time I touch my soap pump, 99% of the time I am doing so to wash my hands. If I'm washing my hands after I touch the soap pump, guess what, I just washed all those germs off! DUH.

And dude, Lysol, you just told me that there are a lot of germs on my soap pump in my kitchen and bathroom. Way to freak everyone out and make them even more germophobic! Especially all those people who now take their toothbrush out of the bathroom because they received that one email about poo particles floating in the air and reaching their toothbrush.

But wait....this is part of your marketing plan isn't it. Freak everyone out about germs. Push your antibacterial soap, sprays and gels until there are no more germs to be killed! Guess what people, we need germs. We need bacteria. In fact, a lot of schools are taking antibacterial gel out of their classrooms because of over use. It's just not good for your skin or your health to over-wash with anti-bacteria soap. Do I have anti-bacterial gel in the diaper bag? Of course. Sometimes you can't get to water and soap. But if I can, I have no problem touching the soap dispenser :)

PhotoHunt 227: Numerical

2010-08-21T10:40:00.003-04:00

These are the cushioned bleachers at the new Nationals Stadium in DC. The ball park is not fancy by any means, but it is a huge improvement to see baseball here than at RFK. For a game that you sit down for such a long time, cushioned seats should be mandatory at all stadiums :)

PhotoHunt 225: Colorful

2010-08-11T08:43:00.000-04:00

I think I'm going to start playing PhotoHunt again. It's fun to be challenged. This week's theme is colorful.

This picture was taken at the Mermaid Parade at Coney Island in June. It doesn't get much colorful than that, literally and figuratively. I didn't get to take very many pictures because it was over crowded and I was pushing a stroller. I like this candid shot though.

C25K Graduate

2010-08-10T11:03:00.002-04:00

I started the Couch to 5K program at the beginning of May. It is a 9 week program designed to get you off the couch and running. I have told people in the past that I absolutely hate running. And I did. I really did. I did not think that I could ever become a regular runner. I have always been a swimmer. Even when I was in tip-top shape, I hated incorporating running into my fitness routine.

(This lack of love goes all the way back to middle school. The only way I could get out of having to join the track team was to join the golf team. I chose golf. I'm not knocking golf, but it wasn't the most popular sport in middle school. )

Back to present day, I had no desire to do any exercise until about 9 months after Fletch was born. I started going for walks with him in the stroller and suddenly I had the urge to run. I just went with it and decided to try the C25K running plan. I had heard a lot of successful stories about the plan, so I bought the app from Itunes and hit the pavement. I cannot stress how helpful it is to have the app on my Ipod. It lets you know when to walk/run, your midpoint and remaining time. You get to choose a playlist of music to motivate you, and you can also enter notes about each run that are saved in your log.

I finished the program on July 9th, while we were in Georgia. When I started out, I never thought I would ever be able to run for 30 minutes straight. There was never a week on the program that I could not push through. Once it started getting a little harder, I was still amazed that it wasn't really that hard at all. Especially once I finished the work out. I had planned on possibly running a 5K to celebrate graduating, but another opportunity came up.

A group of friends and I will be running the Dogfish Dash in September. It is a 5K/10K. I signed up for the 10K. OMG...I KNOW! The same people who created the C25K app also created the Bridge to 10K. I just started this program yesterday. The B210K is only 6 weeks, so I will be finished a week before the race on September 26th. Just in time! The best part about this race is that there is FREE BEER at the end. Good beer! This will actually be my first weekend leaving Fletch with Daddy. Who knew I would ever be excited to run 10K? Certainly not me!

I can see!

2010-06-30T16:08:00.004-04:00

Please tell me why it has taken me this long to get a pair of prescription sunglasses? THEY ARE TOTALLY RAD! I think I mentioned that I would like to get some as I was driving us all home from NYC and the sun was burning my retinas. I either have to wear my glasses and face the wrath of the sun or wear sunglasses and not be able to read street signs. Pretty crummy choices if you ask me. The stars aligned: I was due for an eye exam, we got a coupon in the mail from a local optical shop, and we had some cash in the FSA. My prescription has barely changed, so I can use my old glasses and the new pair that I got in addition to the sunglasses. (An optically challenged girl needs choices! AND I got a killer deal) This slow change in vision also means that I am an excellent candidate for laser surgery in the future. That will be a while. Until then I'll be rocking the glasses, but I really don't mind. My sunglasses came in today, just in time for an impending road trip. I'm still waiting on the other pair. These are RayBans and they have polarized lenses...which means I now have X-Ray vision! OK, maybe not, but I could SEE the whole way home from the optical shop. Now let's hope I can keep the sunglass gods happy so they don't get lost, broken or stolen.

Local Tourists

2010-05-16T20:16:00.002-04:00

It's not news that we won't be living in DC much longer. After I graduate, we plan to move to Austin as soon as the housing market allows us to do so. In the mean time, we decided that we should see as much as we can in the area before we leave. On the weekends with nothing planned, we pick something to do. I found an article online with 25 free things to do in DC, so we started there. There a few things on the list that we have already done, but there were some things I had never heard of. Kenilworth Park was one of the places I knew nothing about. Kenilworth Park is home to the last marshes in DC. We saw all kinds of flora and fauna during our visit on Mother's Day. There are supposedly a lot more plants in the summer, but the weather was just too good not to take advantage. You can actually canoe into the park during high tide, but we opted to drive. I don't know of any canoes equipped with car seats.

We saw some lotus flowers and lily pads.

We saw tadpoles swimming everywhere.

We saw a few families of geese too.

This weekend we went to Arlington Cemetery, which is the National Cemetery. Atom had already taken friends and relatives to visit, but I had yet to go myself. Again, the weather was perfect for heading outdoors. My mother and father are buried in a military cemetery in San Antonio, so I am familiar with the rows of identical white head stones. However, it doesn't come close in size or grandeur to the National Cemetery. We visited the popular grave sites: President Taft,

President Kennedy,

the Arlington House

and the Tomb of the Unknowns.

We also saw the grave of O.W. Holmes, my high school's namesake.

We watched the changing of the guards before we left. Watching the guards reminded me of my dad when he participated in the honor guard with the Shriners.

They ask for complete silence during the change of the guards and it is a very solemn ceremony. During the nicer weather months, it is done every 30 minutes. As you can see, the guards are dressed to the nines and I can't imagine how hot they get in the summer. If you would like to know more about the history of the Tomb of the Unknowns or the Changing of the Guards, you can read about it HERE.

One thing DC does not lack is history. This is the place where it all started. I really hope we can see everything we possibly can in the next couple of years.

Mama said they were my magic shoes

2010-05-12T09:16:00.001-04:00

I got my new running shoes in the mail yesterday. They may look like ordinary running shoes, but they are glorious! They provide excellent stability for my achey feet, as well as comfy cushioning. They even have a place for my new Nike+ sensor in the sole of the shoe. I am going to use them for running for the first time today. I am actually excited to run in these babies! I was never a fan of Nike running shoes until I tried these on. Hopefully with the right shoes and some new information I found on plantar fascists, I can get my feet feeling better in no time! Wish me and my tootsies luck.

Motivated

2010-05-07T15:20:00.002-04:00

I don't know how or when it happened, but I found my mojo. I think it was the warm weather after a long and cold winter. As soon as that sunshine started sticking around, I felt the need to get my booty in motion. I started taking some walks with Fletch. The walks got longer and then I felt the urge to run. I tried running with him in our regular stroller. Running + glorified umbrella stroller = AWKWARD! I looked on Craigslist and found that quite a few people were getting rid of jogging strollers. Thanks to my fairy godmother, $45 dollars later I was the proud owner of a used jogging stroller. It's no Cadillac, with it's bulky frame and squeaky wheels, but it works for now. It has a fixed front wheel so I had to get used to steering it, but I've got the hang of it now. It is much easier to run with the new set of wheels. I also had to spring for a new pair of running shoes. I went to get professionally fitted again and this time I was surprised to find a pair of Nikes' the winner. They are so comfy and have great support for my bad feet.

I really wanted to start off on the right foot (pun intended), so I would not give up on running. I decided to try the Couch to 5K program. It is an eight week program designed to help you build up your endurance to run a 5K (or about 3 miles). I tend to start out of the gate way to fast and end up hurting myself or burning out. This program is starting me out slowly and building up. At the end, I should be able to run for 30 minutes or 3 miles straight. Hopefully after that I will still be motivated enough to build up to a 10K. So far so good. I run three days a week and on the days I do not run, I take long walks. Yesterday I walked 5 miles around Burke Lake. It was a really long walk, but the trail was gorgeous and shaded almost the entire walk. There is a children's park, train and carousel at Burke Lake. I'm sure we will be back more this summer, for me to walk and Fletch to play.

I am hoping this becomes a way of life and not a trend. I would like to be fit for myself and my family. I want to lead a good example so that my children will not lock themselves indoors playing video games. I know it is easier for me to find time for exercise now that I am home with Fletch and going to school part time. However, I think that once I make this a regular routine I will learn to find time even when I start working. The next thing I would like to do is get a child carrier for my bike, so we can go riding as a family. This area has amazing trails and I would love to get back on my bike. Atom and I did some biking a few years ago and we had a blast. I think it would be even more fun as a family.

I dont' know what I'm going to do when it gets cold, but I'll just have to cross that bridge when I get there.

Ghetto-Fab

2010-04-25T21:54:00.002-04:00

It was an eventful weekend in our home. We didn't go anywhere or do anything exciting. All of the excitement was Fletch related. First of all, it now takes two of us to change the boy's diaper. I lay him down, get the diaper off, and then it's like wrestling a greased pig. He turns himself over then stands himself up holding on to the end of the changing table. He does this half-naked with all his boy parts hanging out. It truly is a sight to see. We actually attempted putting on the diaper in this standing position, but it was not any easier. I'm seriously considering wrist and ankle tethers. We may have to move diaper changing to the floor for safety precautions.

That is not the exciting part. No, the exciting I speak of is the destruction that occurred. Saturday Fletch and I were sitting around playing, and I made the mistake of letting him play with my cell phone. He's done this numerous times without destroying it, so I was not worried. Then the stars aligned and somehow he entered the keystrokes of death. My phone went into sync mode and I couldn't get it out. Then when I took the battery out to do a soft reset, it locked up and wouldn't turn on. There was nothing. Just a little red light of death. I tried numerous things to make my phone come back to life, but alas after a trip to AT&T it was determined that there was no hope. What makes this so ironic is that we are about to change carriers in two months. TWO MONTHS! It would be almost $200 to get out of the contract now, so that was out of the question. The dude at the store suggested we head to Wally World for a pre-paid phone. All I had to do was put my SIM card in the pre-paid phone and that would tide me over until we switch carriers.

The choices were slim. There were two Nokia phones to choose from. A flip phone and a fixed front phone. I am not a big fan of the flip phone, and considering I now have a destructive 10 month old I don't think a flip phone would be safe from his need to explore. Now I understood this would be a no-frills phone. I just needed something for calling and texting. This was the first time I have ever gotten a new cell phone and not felt any excitement whatsoever. I mean look at this boring piece of plastic.

Blah-zay. This phone is leaning towards the ghetto side. I mean...I definitely feel a tad ghetto having to use a pre-paid piece of crap phone. Who uses these things? Maybe the pre-loaded ring-tones will give us a clue. Oh look, they're all latin dance music. WTH? (I guess even AT&T stereotypes it's customers) Couldn't they also add in a few Italian songs for the mobsters too? I guess I watch too much TV. There was a little part of me that would think "I can't believe they are just throwing those phones away, what a waste"when I watched The Wire on HBO. Well I would have no problem tossing this baby out the window either. (By the way, I really miss that show.)

I miss my old phone. I miss my fun ring-tones that I made on phonezoo. I miss my calendar and reminders. I miss my full qwerty keyboard. Once you go qwerty, everything else feels dirty.

I made myself a vanilla vodka and coke cocktail to ease the pain of owning a ghetto phone. I got to take one sip before Fletch reached out and knocked it over spilling it all over him, me and the kitchen floor. PARTY FOUL! How early is it to teach your children about alcohol abuse? I think I may have to borrow a sippy cup from Fletch for future beverages.

New Pages for the Baby Book

2010-04-19T21:46:00.001-04:00

I'm beginning to get the hang of GIMP and I have found some pretty great free digital scrap-booking stuff. I am still a novice compared to some crazy-awesome pages I've seen, but again I don't plan on making this a full-time hobby. Since I don't have any holiday paper on hand for the baby book, I decided on using the digital format. Here is the Halloween page:

I thought this one came out pretty cute. I still want to learn short cuts and how to efficiently use the program. I feel like it takes me forever because I'm just learning as I go. I learn best from experience, but I need some guidance. Anyone want to give free lessons? I can cook/bake, sew, clean for you :) OK...enough bribery. Here is the Christmas page:

I'm not sure I'm in love with this one, but I do like my idea to put our names on the stockings. I prefer more pictures to embellishments, but when it comes to Christmas you can't get too cheery. In contrast, for the page for Fletch's first solids, I chose a more simple approach:

I figured an explanation was not necessary. The pictures say it all on this one. I decided to use the scrabble tiles since both words ended in D and it worked out nicely. I may add a little something to this one, like some food splatters. That would render it more accurately.

So these are my first attempts at digital scrap-booking. It is definitely keeping me motivated to finish the baby book.

Digital Scrapbooking

2010-04-15T17:06:00.001-04:00

One of my new year's resolutions was to finish Fletch's baby book. I had gotten started, but it's hard to get crafty with a little munchkin nipping at your heels. I subscribe to a few craft blogs and one of them frequently posts examples of digital scrapbook pages that people have created. I also see posts for free digital scrap-booking kits. Last night I decided to give it a try. I had downloaded GIMP, an open source version of Photoshop, which is perfect for this type of project. I like the digital aspect and I can print out the finished page on photo paper and just slide it in the sleeve. If I have something 3-D to add to the page, I can still add it to the finished product. I am by no means a "scrap-booker." I don't feel the need to spend hundreds of dollars and hundreds of hours pursuing the hobby. I just like to have all of my mementos from a trip or special occasion in one place. Putting them all into a scrapbook is a good way to view and keep them safe. Since I didn't want to go spend money on an Easter scrapbook kit, I decided to try it digitally for free.

So what do you think? I'm pretty minimalist when it comes to my real-life scrapbook pages, so don't look for a ton of embellishments. I think it's pretty good for a first try. I just want to find some nicer fonts for all the writing parts. Next up is a Halloween page.

2010 Student Art Show

2010-03-12T21:50:00.003-05:00

It's that time of year again...the Marymount University Student Art Show opens next Wednesday, St. Patty's day. I have three pieces in the show this year. Last year I had hand-made books and jewelry. This year I have three linocut prints. It is a juried show so I'm excited to have work chosen again. I already made dinner plans with friends, so I'm going to miss the opening again. I did go by the gallery to check out all the works on display and got to see my work. I could have possibly been swayed to change plans, but there won't be any wine at this opening. They could have had me at merlot.

First results from printmaking

2010-02-08T15:36:00.007-05:00

This semester is my first semester back as a mommy. I decided not to take any classes last fall because I felt like I still needed some time to adjust to the extra family member. I am very glad I did. I love spending time with Fletch. I found some great day care for Fletch for this semester, so I was not too emotional going back to school last month. I almost shed a tear the first day without him, but the morning was so hectic I think I just forgot to. Fletch is doing great and I get two days to myself. Well, two days to go to school and interact with semi-adults. This semester I am taking two classes (I thought I'd ease back in gently), printmaking and reading in the content area(an education class). I am enjoying both classes very much, even though printmaking is turning out to be an expensive class. We are starting with linocuts. We use our carving tools to carve designs into linoleum blocks. It is a little labor intensive and can be slightly dangerous. I've already stabbed a few fingers with my carving tool, but I still have all ten fingers. Our first assignment was to take original photographs and turn them into a print. I chose a picture of a patio umbrella that I took at a winery a few summers ago. Here is the original picture: And this is my linocut print: I asked a friend if I could use a picture of me that he took and altered to do another linocut. He was happy to let me and here are some prints that I did using that picture:
The second one is a collage at the request of my teacher. I just used a page from a magazine and altered the image some by cutting out pieces of the picture. It's kind of trippy, but I like it. Next up is two-color prints.

Home-Field Advantage

2010-01-30T20:53:00.004-05:00

I was standing in the shower today, which happens to be a great place for thinking. Not to mention how the steam really helps a bad case of sinus pressure. Maybe the clear sinuses led to some clear thinking. It seems like I have heard nothing but negative things about our President lately. I'm not going to get into what I think about him personally or his policies. What I want to talk about is changing negative into positive. This man has one of the hardest jobs in the world. I would NEVER want his job, nor would I ever be qualified. When he wakes up in the morning, he has to make serious and important decisions that affect this entire country. I seriously doubt he wakes up thinking, "What can I do to screw over my fellow Americans?" He wants to help. He wants to make a difference. I think the hardest part of his job is trying to make everyone happy. That is impossible. How would you like to see that on your job description? Seeking employee who can take constant criticism, not always constructive; has a hard head for beating against brick walls; is willing to work towards an unattainable goal. You get my point. Now imagine that is your job and when you walk into work everyday, you know that half of the office has been talking smack about you, including the person who hired you. There are people there who never wanted you hired in the first place and are just waiting for you to make a mistake so they can run to the boss saying "I told you so!" Would you really want to go into work? Would you be motivated? Would you be inspired? Exactly. You'd probably quit. Now imagine if you had the same job description, but everyone at work was behind you. Some of them may be skeptical, but still tell you that they are there for you and if you need help, just ask. You would have one less thing to worry about. Ok...what the hell am I getting at, right? Here it is. Instead of constantly criticizing our President, why don't you say a prayer for him. Why don't you ask the Lord to give him the strength to make the right decisions for our country. He is the leader of our wonderful country. Why do you want him to fail? So you can say, "I told you so" or "I didn't vote for him, so don't blame me." We should all be united as a country. We all know you can't make everyone happy. We've all been put in the situation and it is impossible. You have to do your best to make the smartest decision. So say a little prayer for our leader, that he has the proper guidance to do his best and make the best decisions. Otherwise, I suggest you start doing your background checks, doing some fundraising and get yourself a campaign advisor so you can get elected and do a better job. Things didn't start going downhill in this country after the last election. It has been in progress for years and there are numerous people to blame, including ourselves. If you need a little help getting started, why don't you check out The Presidential Prayer Team. I'm glad I'm not the only one directing their energy in the right place. If you don't believe in the power of prayer, then send some good positive thoughts/mojo/juju...whatever. Why do you think sports teams do so well when they play at home? Because they know they have the whole stadium cheering them on! Thousands of people wanting them to succeed and win. My hubby is a Redskins fan. Lord knows they have done some stupid things, played like crap, and lost quite a few games...but he is still a die-hard fan. It's time for the 12th man to step up and cheer on our leader. Let's all be die-hard fans and bust out the face paint if you have to, just do what it takes to get on board and cheer on our team and our leader. Stop yelling at the TV screen. No one is listening. :)

2010 Aspirations

2010-01-01T14:48:00.004-05:00

I have not made any new year resolutions in quite some time, because quite frankly I never follow through. I have read so many helpful hints for keeping your resolutions. The one that really makes sense to me is to change the way you think about resolutions. Instead of making resolutions that will be broken, I will be setting goals for the year. I came up with six goals I would like to accomplish this year. I will see how I did at the end of 2010 and get back to you.
I think I set some reasonably attainable goals. What are your goals for the year?

Bye, Bye 2009!

2010-01-01T13:55:00.001-05:00

I can't really complain that 2009 was a bad year. I mean, my precious bebe was born in June AND I am lucky enough to stay home with him every day! He is a happy healthy baby and that is the biggest blessing so far. I was able to see both of my sisters and one brother, and we will get to see my other brother in March when we go to Texas. We are able to afford those plane tickets because Atom received a generous bonus. That wonderful bonus also allowed us to purchase new counter tops and a glass mosaic back splash. We had a wonderful trip to Atlanta to see Atom's family and friends in November. We have enjoyed many evenings and events with friends and helped some celebrate new additions to their families as well. We found and were welcomed into a wonderful church community, where Fletch was baptized. I won three contests in November and December, which is still boggling my mind. I have a wonderful and loving husband and a sweet baby boy. Our family had a safe, happy, prosperous and eventful year. We are looking forward to seeing what 2010 has in store for the Shocks. I hope everyone has as great of a year as we had last year and then some!

Oh SNAP!

2009-12-26T14:28:00.007-05:00

I guess I was a very good girl this year, because Santa brought me the BEST-GIFT-EVAR! I've been asking Santa for a digital SLR for a few years. They are pretty pricey so I have never expected one, but there apparently were some great sales. We also have a very important subject to document, so that may have had something to do with it as well. I almost peed my pants when I opened the box. I received a Nikon D3000. YIPEEE! As if that wasn't cool enough, I also received an Eye-Fi SD Card. If you haven't heard of these, then you need to Google it and LEARN! This thing is AWESOME! I put it in the camera and it sends my pictures directly to my computer and to Flickr (using our wi-fi). I don't have to pull out the card and pop it in a card reader or plug my camera into the computer anymore. I just click and ZOOOOOOOOOOOM...it goes right where it needs to be. AH-MAY-ZING! The pictures I've taken are incredibly better than the pictures taken with my point-and-shoot. Following Shock tradition, I have named my new piece of expensive equipment. Her name is Nikky and she is gorgeous. So my next sewing project will be a camera strap cover. I just need to decide on a fabric. I'll post pictures of it WITH MY NEW CAMERA! Woot! What an exciting Christmas :)

Toucha-Toucha-Touch me

2009-12-15T08:39:00.004-05:00

OMG, OMG, Oh-em-gee! I really think there is a Santa Claus :) Guess what I got in the mail yesterday... I WON AN IPOD TOUCH!!!The wonderful ladies at You've Got Supper were giving away an Ipod Touch to a member who referred at least three other people to the site. It was a shot in the dark, but I sent some special lady friends the link. Apparently they decided to join, because I received an email last week telling me I had won. I was in shock. I wasn't even sure anyone was interested, much less willing to sign up. Then again, this site is amazing. I am the most indecisive chef EVER. This website gives you a weekly menu AND the shopping list! It doesn't get any easier than that. I was up past midnight playing with it, so excuse me while I go take a nap with my new toy.

First Snow of the Season

2009-12-09T11:37:00.006-05:00

Last Friday all my Texas friends were bragging on Facebook about getting snow. OK, so maybe they weren't bragging, but it sure felt like it since we still hadn't had any snow up here yet. (For the record, it NEVER snowed in Texas while I was there) The first snow is the only exciting snow of the season. It was pure joy when I first moved here, to have snow EVERY winter. Unfortunately the novelty wore off when I realized I had to drive in it. So the first snow is exciting, until you get in the car and have to drive on the slick roads with all the crazies. At least now as a stay-at-home-mom, I don't have to drive to and from work (which was 40 miles round trip). There's nothing worse than waking up to a winter wonderland and realizing that you can't enjoy it. After feeling heartbroken on Friday night, Old Man Winter surprised me Saturday morning. When I drove to swim practice, it was raining...but when I got out, it was SNOWING! It started at 8:30 in the morning and didn't stop until much later that night. It was GLORIOUS! We had a birthday party to attend at the clubhouse, which is a short walk. So I brought the camera to take a picture of Fletch in his first snow: This is also Solace's favorite time of year. Here he is peeking under the railing on our porch, staring longingly at the snow: And if you want to know what it looks like from the other side: If you're sitting at the stop light in front of our building, you can actually see his nose poking out. Most of the snow has melted already, but I think we may be getting some this weekend. I have the fireplace and my hot chocolate ready!

My Favorite Time of Year

2009-12-04T22:12:00.007-05:00

Ask my old co-workers and they'll tell you that I'm one of those "Christmas season begins the day after Thanksgiving" people. I think I drove poor Jeffrey mad with my Christmas music so early in the season. I CAN'T HELP IT! I LOVE CHRISTMAS! It is the time of year that makes me all giddy and cheerful. It's the time of year that even rude/mean/stupid/angry people won't bring me down. My decorations go up the day after Thanksgiving. I need the hubby's help to get down the boxes and he knows that if he delays I'll be hounding him with dirty looks and toe tapping until he gets them down. This year I didn't have to pester him, because I think he's excited about Christmas this time around. I'm pretty sure Fletch has something to do with that. Having a new baby makes Christmas even better than it already is. We get to re-live all of our childhood memories while watching Fletch experience his. The Christmas tree sparkles even brighter this year and the colorful decorations are so fun to admire. I used to balk at the idea of standing in line to take my kid to see Santa, but what was I doing this afternoon? You got it...standing in line to see Santa (albeit a very very short line). I actually got choked up when Santa came walking back to his chair shouting "Ho Ho Ho." All of the little kids got excited and squealed in delight and I almost let out a little tear. If I almost busted up over Santa, Lord help me when I hear the choir in church singing Silent Night or Hark the Herald Angel Sing.I remember that magic and I can't wait until Fletch can feel it too. I want to honor family traditions and create some new ones of our own. I want our kids to grow up understanding the true meaning of the season as well. My heart is filled with joy and thanks for everything I have been blessed with this year. This is the time of year for celebrating and we have so much to celebrate. I hope I can make Fletch's Christmas as wonderful as my parents and family made mine growing up. I wish our entire family could be together this Christmas, but I know we will be together in spirit, especially those that are no longer with us. I hope everyone has a very joyful holiday season. If you need any Christmas cheer, I'll be happy to share! How can I not be joyful when I have a kid this cute:P.S. Dominic the Donkey is quite possibly the weirdest Christmas song EVER.

Home Made Gifts

2009-12-01T08:49:00.002-05:00

Atom had asked me one day to find a sock monkey for Fletch. We saw some online and thought about getting him one for Christmas. A few days later I was cleaning out some plastic bins to put outgrown baby clothes into and came across a pair of Rockford Red Heel socks that I had been given years ago. These are the socks originally used for sock monkeys. I figured I would just make one instead of paying $25 online. I found a simple pattern online and whipped a sock monkey together in a few hours. I had no idea how simple it is and every sock monkey is unique. Hopefully Fletch will make friends with Bobo the Sock Monkey.

I had also purchased a remnant of fleece that was black and had red scull and cross-bones on it. I used this to make Fletch a taggie blanket. This is just a blanket with ribbon loops sewn into it. Babies like to explore with their fingers so a taggie blanket is great for that. The fleece is soft and the ribbons are satin, so he will have different textures to explore. With the material that was left, I sewed a small pillow. I would like to make his room rock-n-roll themed when he gets older, so this will fit the decor nicely.

Now Fletch will have some hand made gifts to go along with all of the other cool gifts made in China. Here is a picture of the fruits of my labor:

I <3 Personalized Things

2009-12-01T08:39:00.003-05:00

I have always loved seeing my name on personalized items. I always felt special to have pencils or pens with my name on them. Luckily, I have a very popular name so my mother never had a hard time finding my name on the racks of personalized items. I didn't think about this when naming my son. Although Fletcher is an awesome name, I have come to find that I will never be able to find his name in most stores. BUT...I just found this amazing website through Today's Give Away. The website is FreckleBox. They have some super cute designs and now I just have to decide what I want to get Fletch first. I really want to get him a growth chart so I can start documenting his height, but there are so many cute things to choose from!

Happy Veteran's Day

2009-11-12T12:21:00.001-05:00

Eleanor Roosevelt's Wartime Prayer
Dear Lord,

Lest I continue
My complacent way,
Help me to remember that somewhere,
Somehow out there
A man died for me today.
As long as there be war,
I then must
Ask and answer
Am I worth dying for?

Tsk, Tsk Tupperware

2009-10-09T21:37:00.004-04:00

When we were cleaning out my mother's house a few years ago, I brought back some of my things from childhood. Mostly I brought back a lot of my baby blankets, but there were a few gems I had forgotten about. I found my Shape-O Toy in the toy box. Now you KNOW I had to grab that classic for my future little ones. It even had all the inner pieces, which is mind-boggling considering how things always seemed to get lost in that house. When I was little, I always had the hardest time pulling the toy open to get the pieces out. When I brought it home it had the opposite problem, it wouldn't stay shut. Knowing that Tupperware has a lifetime guarantee on all of their products, I gave them a call to see what could be done (for those of you that didn't know, I used to be a Tupperware sales woman - and I was good!). After a short phone call and a $5 credit card charge for shipping, my replacement piece was on it's way. The day it arrived, Atom brought up a large box from the mail. He told me it was from Tupperware. Seeing the size of the box, I immediately assumed that they sent me the entire ball. When I took it out of Atom's hands, the box was extremely light. I opened it up and my worst suspicions were true. Tupperware sent my tiny little replacement piece in a gigantor sized box! Ugh. I know that many companies have this problem, but it still amazes me to no end. I'm pretty sure that tiny piece would have fit into a padded envelope. It was just a rubber band and two little yellow handles, they could have even skipped the padding and just sent it in an envelope. Instead they decided on a large cardboard box. Brilliant! Sigh.

Let them eat cake...er..I mean diapers?

2009-10-09T16:44:00.003-04:00

I found online instructions for building a diaper cake months ago. I have been holding out for the opportunity to make one, and my time finally arrived. With the numerous pregnancies at my old workplace, I knew the day would come eventually. A friend's baby shower is this Sunday so I ran to the store to pick up some diapers, rubber bands, champagne and ribbon. That's right, CHAMPAGNE! Because new parents do need a good supply of diapers, but they need a better supply of booze. This is not the typical goo-goo, ga-ga diaper cake loaded with tons of cutesy things. Mine looks more like a 3-layer wedding cake. I used orange ribbon since that is the color of the nursery. I tried to find some cute turtle things to continue the nursery theme, but the stores I went to were lacking in the turtle department. I hope she enjoys it regardless. Here is a picture of the finished product:

I did not do the tissue paper and white ribbon covering, because I found that the Pampers Swaddler diapers are mostly white and the part that has Sesame Street characters can be hidden. I like the way mine turned out. You can tell it is made of diapers, which I think is the point of a diaper cake.

Why? WHY!?

2009-09-24T08:00:00.003-04:00

Next up in the "Oh Come ON!" series is a product we all know and love...the Snuggie. Now, I've not always been a Snuggie hater. I love snuggling under a blanket when it starts to get chilly outside. Add sleeves to a blanket, BRILLIANT. Unfortunately, Atom is-was-and-forever will be dead set against letting me have one. I think it was the commercials that soured his opinion of the Snuggie. I mean, who is really going to wear one of these out in public?

So where has the love gone and why? They are making Snuggies for DOGS people! DOGS! Dogs don't need blankets with sleeves. They don't need to reach the remote to change the channel, they don't need to answer the phone, they don't even have the opposable thumbs necessary to do so! Dogs have FUR to keep them warm. They do not need wearable blankets. It's bad enough there is an entire industry devoted to dressing up our K-9 companions, but Snuggies? What is next? Sham-Woofs?

Free Stuff is the Best Kind of Stuff

2009-09-08T15:04:00.003-04:00

I just stumbled upon a new blog, Today's Give Away. Who doesn't like free stuff, right? The give away today is a book from Really Working From Home. Make sure you check daily to see what kind of goodies they are giving away!

Oh Come On!

2009-08-11T23:01:00.004-04:00

I'd like to start a new series called "Oh Come On!" In this series I plan to ridicule certain products that I find absolutely ridiculous and/or the commercials they are advertised on. First up:

Maybelline's Pulse Perfection

Now I know they are not the first make-up company to come out with this ridiculous idea, but it's the commercial I just saw so they're getting picked on. It's bad enough that make-up companies expect me to believe their mascara is going to magically transform my puny lashes to long black fronds, but do they think I'm stupid enough not to realize that the models on their commercials are wearing fake eyelashes? No one has lashes that long.

So now they have come out with a mascara brush that vibrates. This vibrating action supposedly helps you coat your lashes completely. "At 7,000 vibrations per minute, the movement of the brush is designed to mimic the zig-zag motion that a professional makeup artist might use." Oh Come on! Seriously...how hard is it to wiggle your mascara brush? Do you really need a vibrator to help? Have we become this lazy?

Hello? Is this thing on?

2009-08-04T23:23:00.003-04:00

I'm not sure anyone even reads this blog anymore, considering I haven't been posting on any form of a regular basis. Did you know I just gave birth a little over a month ago? Right. So stop complaining. I created life! What the hell have you been doing?

I posted my birth story to the family blog, so I won't rehash it here. I'll just let you know what's been going on since I introduced our boy Fletch into the world. Let's see...Fletch actually only ended up weighing 7 pounds and 15 ounces. I'm glad that ultrasound at week 36 was complete bologna. Labor was the easiest part. When I say easy, I mean "holy crap that was so easy I'd do it for someone else if they needed me to." It was the following weeks that no one really warned me about.

If I had to give one piece of advice to any expecting mothers out there, it is to take a breastfeeding class. Yeah, I know it's hard to learn when you don't have an actual baby to latch onto your bewb, but there is A LOT to learn! Did I take one of these classes? NO. I thought that my kid would have no problem latching onto these large melons. HA! Seriously ladies...take the class.

I met with a total of 4 lactation consultants. All of which told me completely different things, but were all equally nazi-ish about breastfeeding. I was given a nipple shield by one of them, because she was busy and impatient and couldn't get Fletch to latch. Then I had to listen to all of the other LCs tell me how bad nipple shields are and that I need to wean him off of it immediately. So of course I'm freaking out and I called a LC to come out to my house for a nominal fee to try and help me get Fletch to latch without a shield. I was given a TON of information, which I did not process very well. All I remember was "NO BOTTLES AND NO PACIFIERS - YOU MUST FEED THIS BABY NIGHT AND DAY." I tried her method and the next day I was exhausted and had a nasty case of mastitis. Considering my boy had already gained back all the weight he lost and an extra 2 ounces at his 2 week appointment, my hubby convinced me that I shouldn't worry about how Fletch was getting the milk and to find something that worked for me. That meant letting Atom give Fletch bottles at night so I could actually sleep, while trying each time to get Fletch to try the real bewb.

Guess what...5 weeks later, the kid loves the bewb. I don't know how it happened, it just happened one day. I didn't stop giving bottles or the pacifier and he just figured it out on his own. We give him some formula at night and sometimes a little in the early evening, but mostly breast milk. Did I feel guilty about giving him formula? Yes, for about 5 minutes. Then I remembered that babies all over the world are thriving on a formula diet and a few ounces a day won't make my kid stupid.

So we're 5 weeks into this adventure and I still pretty much feel like a milk machine. The baby eats like these are the last pair of bewbs on Earth. I try to get out of the house at least once a week or have friends come by, just to try and feel somewhat normal again. We have lots of plans through the end of the year, and now we just need to find some babysitters!

I'm really happy and enjoying my beautiful baby boy. It really feels amazing to know that this little man loves me and this love comes from a deep instinctual place. I don't really know how anyone can deny the existence of God or a higher power, because once I looked into my son's eyes I knew that he was a gift custom made for Atom and I.

Confessions of a First Time Mom

2009-06-11T22:58:00.003-04:00

My due date is quickly approaching and is more than likely responsible for the wide range of emotions I've gone through lately. For instance, I broke into tears not once, but three times at the 9:30 club while watching the US Air Guitar Championships. Don't ask. I'm hoping this is not a sign of things to come after baby arrives.

In my second trimester, I was positively full of love and no fear whatsoever. As soon as I moved into the third trimester, things got a little more serious. I'm not freaking out per say, but I still find it very hard to wrap my mind around the fact that there is going to be a new human being in this house and he is going to depend on his father and I for love, protection, shelter, safety, food, etc. Atom reminds me that people have been having babies for centuries and that it's nothing to freak out about. Easy for him to say, he gets to go back to work while I'll be at home with baby (hopefully not scarring him for life). Then again, I do get to rediscover the world through a new set of eyes, which I am really looking forward to.

I love babies and kids in general, but I'm not one of those adults that children flock to for amusement or entertainment like they do to Atom. (How could you resist that goofy-hairy face?) Of course everyone tells me that your own child will love you like no one else, so maybe I'm being silly in thinking my own child won't like me. I'm going to be a teacher and I'm worried about acceptance from kids...how crazy is that?

Now to top off all this mental anxiety, we found out today that my son is the size of a Dallas Cowboys Linebacker. He's already 7 1/2 pounds and I still have a little over 3 weeks left! He could very well end up a 9 pound baby, and I have not been doing any upper body strength training. How am I going to carry around a 9 pound baby with my spaghetti arms? That's the least of my problems...how am I going to get this kid out? Yeah, yeah...my body is meant to do this, I've already been reminded. Thank God for modern medicine, that's all I have to say.

There's no turning back now. We are in the home-stretch and in no way do I want to prolong this pregnacy any longer than I have to. Waddling, acid reflux and falling face-first into your keyboard at work are not my favorite part of this whole experience. I had it too easy my first two trimesters, so this must be my punishment. So if anyone knows how to serve eviction papers to a fetus, please get in touch.

P-U

2009-05-08T09:21:00.003-04:00

So again, I was at 7-11 this morning grabbing some water and chocolate milk on the way to work. I couldn't help notice that the man in front of me had an enormous bag of corn nuts and then requested a pack of Newport cigarettes. I thought to myself, "I wonder if he's going for the stinkiest-breath-on-the-planet award." He looked like a some-what classy dude, but if I were his wife my lips wouldn't come near his until he brushed his tongue and drank half a bottle of Listerine.

Final Projects

2009-04-26T16:53:00.007-04:00

Finals are coming up this week and I completed my final projects today. For Design II, we had a "pop art" project. We had to pick something popular from the 90s and repeat the image but we had to use different colors and color combinations. We had a choice to do 4 large, 6 medium or 12 small designs. I wanted to use more of the seriously expensive paper I had to buy for this class, which is small, so I ended up choosing the 12 small pieces. I chose Kurt Cobain as my subject matter. I did 12 different 6" x 9" backgrounds and then printed his image on transparency paper and layered it on top of the color designs. Overall I am happy with the finished result. For Book Making, we had to create a Japanese stab-bound book. The assignment was to create a book inspired by the artist we chose at the beginning of the semester. I chose Van Gogh. I have to say it is not my favorite of the three that I made, but it is the end of the semester and my focus and creativity is waning. My overall theme was to add humor to his work, because Van Gogh was such a sad guy. Which is why I chose to add a surprise at the end.

Mama on the prowl for bargains

2009-04-21T11:14:00.003-04:00

I've always been a bargain hunter, and now that baby is on the way my nose has been to the ground in search of baby deals. I have four sites I visit on a daily basis. I found out about them through message boards from other moms and moms-to-be. My favorite has to be Baby Steals. I like them the most because they offer the biggest variety of items. I hardly see the same item twice like I do on other daily deal sites. Every day at 11 am I receive an email that informs me of the daily deal. In fact, I just got three belly bands for $20! Usually these things cost $20 a piece. They offer baby gear as well as gear for mama, which is a nice change. They are celebrating their 1 year birthday this year. So if you know any moms or moms-to-be out there looking for some great deals, point them in the Baby Steal direction.

Getting Snarky at 7-11

2009-04-13T11:14:00.004-04:00

So I stopped by 7-11 after my doctor's appointment this morning to get some water, so I could flush all the sugar out of my system. I had to take a glucose test and they overdosed me with a sugary fruit punch drink. I walked in, got my water and got in line. The line was a little long and finally I was second in line. The classy gentleman in front of me, decided on a meat patty coated in breading that was sitting in a glass cabinet warming under the red heat lamp. I think this is 7-11's version of an empanada. When the cashier picked one up with her tongs, it did a little cosmetic damage to the breading. The gentleman proceeds to tell the cashier to pick a different one. She picks up the one next to it and does some minor damage to this one as well. This disturbs the gentleman and he tells the cashier "can't you pick one out without tearing it apart?!" At this point, I just want to get out of there with my water so I can start chugging. So I sigh and he looks at me. So I tell him, "You're eating at 7-11, do you really need to be this picky about the appearance of your food?" He didn't say anything and just paid the lady and walked out. He did shoot me a dirty look as I passed him in his work truck scarfing down his healthy breakfast. I just smiled and got in my truck. I think my big round belly helped me get away with being so sassy this morning and it was fabulous.

Oops

2009-04-03T13:29:00.003-04:00

Ooops is right. I failed at this one, but I wasn't actually making an effort. In fact, I actually suggested the idea of having a baby while still in school (while still working part-time). My first trimester was at the end of the Fall semester last year. Aside from falling asleep a few times in class, I didn't have any issues. Now I'm about to enter my third trimester right in time for finals...oh my. I think I've handled the majority of this semester quite well, but now I'm faced with a 10 page paper, a final project for design and my last book for book making. I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed. Thank goodness I'm an Art Education major, because if I was trying to tackle anything like let's say Rocket Science or Engineering, I may have a nervous break down.

Omnivore's 100

2009-03-31T20:33:00.002-04:00

fI saw Louise's post on her blog about "The Omnivore's Hundred." This is a list of 100 foods that are somewhat peculiar. If you have tried them, you mark them in bold and if it is something you would never try, then strike it out. Well after reviewing the list, I was surprised to see that I have tried quite a few. So I decided to participate. Things I've tried are in bold and things I'd never try are in red.

The VGT Omnivore’s Hundred:

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

Losing My Cool Points

2009-03-05T23:04:00.003-05:00

Sniff...sniff....I had to take out my belly button piercing tonight. I originally had a ring, and then bought a "pregnancy" belly button barbell. These are made from medical grade plastic and are supposed to make your piercing more comfortable as your belly expands. Unfortunatley my piercing irritation did not go away with the new barbell. In fact, it made it even more irritated. So I decided that since my sleep was actually interrupted every time something rubbed against the barbell, it was not a good idea to keep it in. I didn't realize how attached I was to this thing until I took it out. I've had it for 12 years! The hubby told me not to be sad and that I could always get it re-done (and this time professionally). I'll have to see how much damage this kid does to my belly. I may not want anything accentuating my belly. LOL.

Festival of the Arts: Student Exhibition

2009-03-01T18:07:00.003-05:00

Yay! My first book that I made for Book Making was selected for the Student Exhibition. I may have jewelry in the show too, but not sure on that one yet. The show will be in The Barry Gallery at Marymount University from March 18th through April 17th. Opening night is Wednesday, March 18th from 5:30 to 7 pm. So if you're in the area, please stop by and check out my work and my fellow students work.