One of my favorite things about being a parent

One of my favorite things about being a parent is witnessing the wonder and awe of my kids as they experience things for the 1st time. DS #1 lost his 1st tooth yesterday and the PRICELESS look on his face this morning as he ran from his room with his note from the Tooth Fairy and his silver dollar is one I'll never forget. He was just glowing with excitement. I LOVE that. It makes me want to do so many things with my kids just so I can witness that look. I do not understand the people out there who think that telling your kids about Santa, the Easter Bunny and Tooth Fairy is lying to them and they don't "believe" in lying to their kids. I don't consider the latter lying, I consider it fostering a fantasy. It's fun to think that such magic exists in the world today and I'm so glad that I can be here to witness my kids as they experience that magic.

Here are a couple of pics of DS#1 and his missing tooth:

Recipe of the Day

Sausage Casserole

1 bag of frozen hashbrowns

1 can cream corn

1 can whole kernel corn

1 can of Cream of Chicken soup

1 pkg of Polish sausage

8 oz sour cream

Cheddar cheese, grated as much as you like!

Combine all ingredients in a big baking dish. Bake at 350 for 1 hour.

**My recipe calls for smoked sausage, but the Polish sausage has a better flavor. AND I semi-drain my whole kernel corn, ya need some of the liquid but not all of it.**

Strawberry Cake

1 box white cake mix 3 tablespoons flour

3-ounce package strawberry gelatin

1 small (10-ounce) package frozen strawberries

1 cup vegetable oil

4 eggs

1/2 cup cold water Fresh strawberries for garnish

Thaw strawberries and reserve liquid for icing. Combine cake mix, flour and gelatin. Add oil. Beat in eggs. Add water and strawberries. Mix well. Pour batter into one 10-inch Bundt cake pan, two 9-inch round cake pans or three 8-inch round cake pans, which have been greased and floured. Bake in 350-degree oven for 40 to 50 minutes. Ice and top with fresh strawberries.

Testing notes: We used canola oil and chose Betty Crocker's Super Moist white cake mix. With the sugar in both the gelatin and cake mix, we opted for Giant Eagle's "lite" frozen strawberries, which are simply strawberries with no sugar added. This, claims the box, earns you 66 percent fewer calories than regular frozen strawberries. Though you'll find no fresh strawberries from the East Coast this time of year, your grocery's produce department should be carrying fresh berries from one or more different California farms.

Simple Strawberry Icing:

2 tablespoons butter

2 to 3 tablespoons strawberry juice

1 cup powdered sugar

Melt butter and add strawberry juice. Mix in powdered sugar until the desired consistency for either drizzling or spreading. Testing notes: We recommend doubling the icing recipe if you plan on glazing the cake, although you will have a bit left over. We iced ours leaving the cake on the same wire rack it cooled on and placing the rack over the sink. We then poured the icing onto the cake from a glass measuring cup with a spout, letting the excess drip off into the sink for easy clean-up.

No cheese, just whine

Waaaaaah: Got to Costco, loaded up the cart with things we needed for the camping trip only to realize I had no way to pay for it because if you read a couple of posts ago, I've forgotten my friggen PIN number for my debit card. Soooooooo....I'm now the proud holder of an American Express card that can be used, conveniently so, at Costco. Friggen bastards.

Waaaaaah: Leaving Costco and it's raining, no it's not raining, it's a friggen downpour and I HAVE to get home because DH is leaving for work in 15 min. So...I make a dash for it and slip because of my GD shoes. Of course I screamed a bad word all.the.way.down and of course there was an audience of about 20 people waiting in the covered area because they had the time to wait the extra 10min. til the rain stopped. Of course I twisted my ankle and of course I work the next two days. If that wasn't bad enough, when I limped out of my car to get gas at the Costco gas station, which also conveniently accepts American Express, I was approaching the pump and a HUGE drop, no bucket of water falls at the exact moment and hits me in the face. I again entertained about 4 people with my antics and some guy approached me about going on tour for the USO. Turns out he witnessed me falling at the entrance of Costco. Nice.

Waaaaah: My 3 year old has PMS. Everything and I mean EVERYTHING is a tragedy. He goes from laughing to full blown tantrum in 30 seconds. There aren't enough naughty corners in this house to fix this Super Nanny so every time the spank fest starts, I'll think of JoJo's unapproving face!

Recipe of the Day

This is soooo good! Make sure to use the juice to make gravy, it's the BEST part!

To Die For Crockpot Roast

1 beef roast, any kind (I used boneless chuck)

1 pkg. dried brown gravy

1 pkg. dried Italian salad dressing mix

1 pkg. dried ranch dressing mix

½ cup water

Place beef roast in crockpot. Mix together the dried mixes in a bowl

and sprinkle over the roast. Pour the water around the roast.

Cook on low for 7 – 9 hours

NILLA APPLE CRISP

8 cups thinly sliced peeled Granny Smith apples (about 2 large/2 lbs)

½ cup firmly packed brown sugar, divided

2 tsp ground cinnamon, divided

1/3 cup old-fashioned or quick-cooking oats

¼ cup cold margarine

25 Reduced Fat Nilla Wafers, crushed (about 1 cup crumbs)

1 ½ cups thawed Cool Whip Lite Whipped Topping

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Toss apples with ¼ cup of the brown sugar and 1 tsp of the cinnamon.

Spoon into 8- or 9-inch square baking dish.

Combine oats, the remaining ¼ cup brown sugar and 1 tsp cinnamon in medium bowl.

Cut in margarine with pastry blender or two knives, until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add wafer crumbs; mix well.

Spread crumb mixture evenly over apples.

Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until apples are tender. Serve warm or cooled.

Top with whipped topping.Makes 12 servings, ½ cup each.

My new toy

So my new toy is set to arrive in a few days. Here it is:




If you have some yummy pressure cooker recipes, send 'em my way!!!


We also got the boys this a few weeks ago



they LOVE it! It's nice to be able to get them outside without hearing "I'm bored" all day.

**If you're having a hard time seeing the pics, hit Ctrl F5 and that should fix it.**

Recipe of the Day

CROCKPOT ENCHILADAS

1-1/2 lbs boneless/skinless chicken breast or tenders
1 can Rotel Mexican style tomatoes
1-2 tbs taco seasoning
1 8 oz brick cream use (I use low fat)
Flour tortillas
Cut up chicken breast into chunks if not using tenders. Put in crockpot with the can of Rotel and 1-2 tbs of the taco seasoning. Cook on high 3-3/12 hours, until tender. Drain about 1/2 cup of juice off. Add cream cheese that has been cut up into chunks. Cook on low for thirty minutes until melted and stir together. Cool a bit and shred the chicken mixture with two forks.
Now you can either put the mixture into tortillas and serve at the table as is

OR:
Fill the tortillas with equal amounts of mixture and roll up (I can fit 8 of them in a 9 x 13 pan) and top with this:
1 cup sour cream
1 Liptons cream of chicken soup mix (in the box)
1 cup hot water
Whisk this all together and pour over top of enchiladas in pan. Sprinkle with shredded cheese (Mexican style or cheddar are good) and cook on 350 for thirty minutes.

Easy Berry Cobbler

2 bags frozen Berries (I prefer Blackberries)

1 Yellow Cake mix

1 cube butter (1/2 cup)

Preheat oven to 350In a 13x9 pan, spread frozen berries evenly.

Sprinkle dry cake mix over berries.

Melt butter and pour on top of the berries and cake mix.

Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes.

Is anyone else as miserable as me? and misc. musings

What is going on with my allergies? I'm usually very bad in spring and fall but never in the middle of summer like this. I have a sore throat, nasty cough and feel the drainage draining down my throat. Yuck. Poor L, he's just as miserable as me.

So what's the secret to finding a good pillow? I've been searching for a long time and I've been through so many and I have yet to find a good one. The last one I got was one of the memory foam ones. It started out good, but I'm finding now that I'm waking up with the same neck aches and stiffness as before. I've decided I need a firm pillow but all the ones I've seen, are not really firm. Sigh....I just want a good nights sleep!

Hey! RUN to your video store because Reno 911:Miami is out today! This show is freakin' hysterical! It's shown on Comedy Central so check it out if you haven't already.

We're going camping this weekend for 4 days. This will be the 1st trip of the season for us w/the camper. I'm looking forward to it but what a pain to re-stock everything that we had to remove from last season. I'm happy to say that we didn't have any critters infest the camper during the winter months though. Lots of people have problem w/mice getting in and tearing shit up. Thank goodness we didn't have an issue. DH also hung mothballs in old stockings around too and it really did do a great job of keeping the spiders from nesting too. Good tips if you have a trailer! I'll post pics of the boys when we get back.

So I just ordered a new digital camera with the garage sale profits I made. DH simply cannot understand why I need a point and shoot camera when I have big momma camera (my Canon Rebel) but I've explained to him a MILLION times that while big momma is the bomb, it isn't practical to take to some places like camping, amusement parks, work, the park, etc. Anyway, I hope it gets here in time for our trip. I look forward to playing around with it.

Every year I forget just how much time spring and summer classes take because they're on a shorter time frame as far as semesters go. I have a paper due every week with this poetry class. I'm beginning to have a hard time finding the time to complete my assignments especially with everything that is going on the next couple of weeks. I can't imagine how much writing I'm going to have to do for Philosophy next semester.

Oh I found the COOLEST site! I'm using it to complete a project for my Poetry class but as soon as I get some time, I'm gonna do some stuff for the boys with it. I LOVE when I find stuff like this! http://www.ourstory.com/

We got our Disney "A very merry Christmas party" tickets in the mail yesterday. I cannot believe how excited I am to go to Disney in December! I just cannot wait to share that experience with the boys. Just thinking about how much fun they're going to have there makes me smile. I totally remember going there when I was little and riding the Dumbo ride. I even have pics of me on the ride. I'll have to make sure to take pics of the boys in a similar way so I can have both of our pics side by side. How cool is that? L is just dumbfounded to think that I was there when I was a little girl and that it still exists alllllllllllll these years later for him and O to visit. LOL!! He kills me....makes me feel old...but kills me just the same. They're also sooooo excited to see their Grandpa and Grandma when we're down there. The old man lives in Clearwater and is planning to make the trek to WDW to see us while we're there. I have to be honest and admit that I'm less than thrilled that they want to stay with us in the trailer while they're there. It's gonna be close quarters plus if Disney catches wind, they'll charge us extra. I'm certainly not absorbing that cost, better warn the old man now so he's prepared to pay. He's on a fixed income you know ( insert the biggest rolling eye, sarcastic smiley here).

I'm done now...peace out!

Recipe of the Day

Dijon Style Pork Tenderloin

Ingredients:

4 Tbsp. honey
2 Tbsp. cider vinegar
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 Tbsp. Dijon style mustard
½ tsp. paprika
1 pound pork tenderloin

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine all ingredients except pork tenderloin
3. Coat tenderloin well with sauce
4. Roast at 375 degrees for 20-30 minutes, basting occasionally until meat thermometer registers 160 degrees.
5. Slice thinly to serve.
Serving Size/points:

This makes 4 servings. Each serving is 5 points.

Garlic Smashed Crockpot Potatoes

3 lbs small red potatoes

5 cloves garlic, minced

2 Tbs olive oil

1 tsp salt

½ cup water

½ cup cream cheese with onions and chives

½ cup milk

1. Halve or quarter potatoes to make even sizes. Place potatoes in a 4-6 quart slow cooker. Add garlic, oil, salt and water and mix to coat. Cover crockpot and cook on high for 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 hours, until potatoes are tender.

2 .Mash potatoes roughly with a fork. Stir in cream cheese until blended, then add enough milk for desired consistency.

You can serve this right away, or cover and hold it in the slow cooker for up to 2 hours on low.

I'm FREAKING Fuming!

I'm so mad right now.

We took DH's car in to get the brakes done at a shop that came recommended because they were "honest" and I wouldn't get bent over the Matco tool box if you KWIM. We told them yesterday that we wanted them to call us before they did anything so that we could decided whether or not we wanted the work done.(ie: if they were even thinking of screwing me by trying to tack on a million other things that were "wrong" too, I'd tell them to K.M.A) The guy agreed to do so. We tell them that we don't need the car that day, we can wait until Saturday no problem. So, here is saturday at 4pm and we have received no call. I ask DH about it. I suggest that he call them to see what is up. (do you see a pattern here? I get called controlling but he does nothing unless "prompted" to do it) He calls and the guys says that they already did the brakes and they'll call us back with the price. Oh, and a wheel bearing needs to be replaced. Ummmm, what-the-everloving-F*&$? You DID the GD brakes????? You were supposed to CALL 1ST!!!! So now I'm uber pissed (oh please, had I known that it was gonna get better, I'd have saved my breath for the good shit) and tell DH that he needs to bitch about them NOT calling us 1st! Then they call back with the price.

$190.00.

WHAT THE FUCK!?!?!?!?!?!? ARE YOU KIDDING ME??????????? FOR FREAKING BREAK PADS????????????????? DO YOU HAVE ROYALTY THAT PUTS THEM ON? PRINCE HARRY AND WILLIAM MOONLIGHTING AT THE MOBIL GAS STATION DOING BRAKES ON WEEKENDS? WHAT THE HELL AM I PAYING FOR?

I'm furious. Beyond furious. Had those bastards called like they were supposed to, I'd have said no thanks and picked up my car. So I say to DH, you NEED to tell them that it's BS that they didn't call when they were supposed to and you want a DETAILED list of the charges that totalled $190. He won't. I guarantee it. Oh and tell them they rest assured they WON'T be doing the wheel bearing. My old man is coming into town next month and he'll be talking DH through doing it. Screw it. I'm trying realllllly hard not to call Mobil. Reallllly hard. Hard, so hard. Hard, hard, hard...........it hurts to sit down now.

Recipe of the Day

OMG this was soooooo good! It made the ham sooooo tender too!

Spiced Ham Steak

1 1/3 cups pineapple juice
1 teaspoon butter or margarine, melted (I omitted this)
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon paprika
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground mustard
8 ounces 2 inch thick ham steak

DIRECTIONS
In a 2-cup measuring cup, combine the juice, butter, cloves, paprika, garlic, sugar and mustard; mix well. Pour 2/3 cup marinade into a large resealable plastic bag; cover and refrigerate remaining marinade. Add ham to the bag. Seal bag and turn to coat; refrigerate for at least 3 hours or overnight.
Drain and discard marinade. Grill ham, uncovered, over medium heat for 4-6 minutes on each side or until meat is glazed and heated through, basting occasionally with reserved marinade.


This is AMAZING! It doesn't sound like much but trust me, it's delicious!

Sunday's best fruit salad

1 (20 ounce) can pineapple chunks, juice reserved
2 apples, peeled and cored
1 (21 ounce) can peach pie filling
2 bananas, peeled and diced
3 kiwis
1 pint strawberries


DIRECTIONS
In a small bowl, toss the chopped apples in reserved pineapple juice. Allow to sit for 5 to 10 minutes.
In a large salad bowl, combine the peach pie filling and pineapple chunks.
Remove apples from pineapple juice and add to pie filling and pineapple mixture. Add chopped bananas to reserved pineapple juice and let sit for 5 to 10 minutes.
Peel and slice kiwi and 1/2 of strawberries. Chop the other 1/2 of strawberries and set aside.
Remove bananas from pineapple juice and add to pie filling mixture. Add chopped strawberries; toss together.
Arrange kiwi slices around the edge of the serving bowl and alternate with strawberry slices. Chill and serve.

My new BFF

I have a new obsession. Her name is Jen Lancaster and she's the author of "Bitter is the New Black" and "Bright lights, Big Ass". This chick is freakin' HILARIOUS!! I'm sure we'd be BFF's if only I lived in Chicago. Her sense of humor is so me and she has me rolling with some of the shit she writes. I HIGHLY recommend her books in the above mentioned order. (Get 'em from the library, which btw is an AMAZING resource for books LMFAO! Who knew?) I gotta give an excerpt of her "Bright Lights, Big Ass" book because it had me crying: she's speaking about the fierce competitiveness between her and her husband:

"Incidentally, this competitive drive is why we try to avoid fighting with each other-too much potential for mutually assured destruction. (We teetered precariously on the edge that time I wrote "asshole" on his arm in self tanner and he had to wear long sleeved shirts for a whole week in the middle of summer, prompting him to retaliate by shaving off most of my eyebrow. We called at truce after that, too-no one wanted to lose a tooth. Or worse.)"

That is SO something I'd do (the self tanner gem) and I could soooo see DH divorcing my ass over it.

I heart you Jen Lancaster!

Recipe of the Day

Taco Salad

2 heads of lettuce

1 pound ground beef

1 package shredded cheddar cheese

Several tomatoes (chopped)

1 bottle 1000 Island dressing

Sweet onion (chopped)

2 cans kidney beans (drained)

1 bag nacho chips (like Doritos)

taco seasoning packet

Brown beef and drain. Add 1/2 package taco seasoning. Simmer for a while, then add kidney beans and warm. Set aside. Tear your lettuce into a large bowl and add tomatoes, cheese & onion. When ready to serve, add meat & bean mixture and crushed nacho chips. Mix 1 bottle of 1000 island with the remaining 1/2 package taco seasoning and mix well. Pour over salad and serve.

Outrageous Brownies

1 pound unsalted butter
1 pound plus 12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips, divided.
6 ounces unsweetened chocolate
6 extra large eggs
3 tablespoons instant coffee powder
2 tablespoons real vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, divided (1 cup for batter and 1/4 cup for the chips and nuts)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3 cups walnut pieces

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 13x18x1 1/2 inch sheet pan.
Melt together the butter, 1 pound chocolate chips, and unsweetened chocolate on top of a double boiler. Cool slightly. Stir together the eggs, instant coffee, vanilla and sugar. Stir in the warm chocolate mixture and cool to room temperature.
Stir together 1 cup of the flour, baking powder and salt. Add to cooled choclate mixture. Toss the walnuts and 12 ounces of chocolate chips with 1/4 cup flour to coat. Tehn add to the chocolate mixture. Pour into prepared pan.
Bake for about 30 minutes, or until tester just comes out clean. Halfway through the baking, rap the pan against the oven shelf to allow air to escape from between the pan and the brownie dough. Do not over-bake. Cool thouroughly, refrigerate well and cut into squares.

WTF?

I think I'm at risk for Alzheimer's, I really do. I've now forgotten my debit card pin number for the 2nd time. I've had the same number for like 2 years now. The 1st time I forgot it was right after my Organic and Biochem mid term. I stopped at the grocery store right after my exam and I was sooo brain fried that when I was checking out, I went to put in my PIN number and I completely blanked out. This time I was not stressing (that I know of) about anything and the same thing happened. I went to use the card and the PIN was gone from my head. Thank GOD DH was with me to use his card (we were at Costco). Am I now destined to take DH with me everytime I shop??? Oh God I shudder to think! Now I have to go to the bank and hopefully have them reset my PIN without having to mail me a new card. I simply cannot be without my debit card, aka: lifeline for two weeks while the other card is mailed out.

WTF is wrong with me? I think I need that ginko biloba or whatever that crap is called. The golden years suck.

Recipe of the Day

Grilled Lemon- Mustard Chicken

MARINADE:

½ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 Tbs minced lemon zest

¼ cup dijon mustard

¼ cup finely chopped fresh herbs (any combo of rosemary, thyme, basil, oregano and parsley)¾ tsp salt

¼ tsp coarsely cracked pepper

CHICKEN:4 whole large skinless, boneless chicken breasts-

halved lemon slices, parsley and fresh herbs for garnish

1. Combine marinade ingredients in a large freezer ziploc baggie. Mix well.

2. Add chicken breasts to baggie and marinate in the refrigerator for 2 to 4 hours.

3. Preheat grill to medium-high heat. Remove chicken from marinade and grill 3 inches from heat for 6 to 8 minutes on each side.

4. Place on individual plates or on a platter surrounded by parsley sprigs, lemon slices and fresh herb leaves.

Servings: 6

Lime Rice

In a sauce pan, sauté:

2 Tbsp butter

1 yellow onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

In a large pot, bring the following to a boil:

6 2/3 cup water

8 tsp chicken bullion

½ bunch cilantro, chopped

2 tsp cumin

2 small cans diced green chilies

1 Tbsp lime juice

½ tsp salt

Add onion and garlic to boiling water. Add 3 cups long grain rice. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 30 minutes.

A PSA re: Alli

This is a Public Service Announcement regarding the new diet drug Alli. People will be running their fat asses off to CVS to get this stuff so I thought I'd share some info with you people before you go dropping $55.

If you don't eat a LOW FAT diet while on this drug, you WILL be pooping oil and oily poop laden substance will leak from your rectum.

Even with a low fat diet, chances are you WILL experience the leaky butt side effect. It's the truth. I did a research paper on Olestra, the oil they fry chips in to make them reallly low fat, and that crap does the same thing (whole other story). The Alli pill prevents your body from absorbing about 1/4 of the fat you'd typically intake at a meal and that unabsorbed fat has to go somewhere right? I does, right outta your intestines, colon and rectum. It's also a difficult substance to get outta the undies and if you go commando, well, Levi will find their sales increasing for jeans as well as Victoria Secret.

There you have it. You have been warned.

An open letter to Secret

Dear Secret CEO,

I'm writing you to let you know that you have an impostor on the deodorant circuit. It seems that the substandard Suave company is a Secret wanna-be. They've begun to package their crap deodorant to look IDENTICAL to your powerful, baby powder scent goodness and they've no doubt paid Sp Ed Fred stock boy at Walmart to put their shit next to yours, thus fooling the Secret loving fans, such as myself, into buying their 3rd world country deodorant. You have my permission to forward this email directly to your legal department.

I'd also be open to some free coupons.

An open letter to Suave

Dear Suave CEO,

Your deodorant sucks. The fact that it says that it offers "24 hour protection" is absurd as I stink after about 3. I also think that it's bullshit that your packaging looks suspiciously like Secret deodorant which by the way kicks ASS. I'm sure it has something to do with the fact that it's strong enough for a man but made for a woman. I'm still mad because I thought I was buying Secret but ended up buying your shit. I'm mailing it back to you because I have no use for it. Let your wife use this crap, I guarantee she doesn't. Why? Because it's shit that's why.

Thanks for nothing,

Recipe of the day

Homemade Spaghetti Sauce

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 lb ground beef

1 chopped large onion

1 clove crushed garlic

1 - 6 oz can tomato paste

2 - 16 oz cans tomato sauce

2 - 16 oz cans chopped tomatoes (I use Del Monte's Flavored chopped tomatos)

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

2 tablespoons dried oregano

sugar to taste (between a tsp and a tbsp... you want it to cut the acidity but not to be too sweet)

On high setting, fry ground beef and onion in oil, until ground beef is brown. Drain fat.Set burner on low and add rest of ingredients in order given, stirring each in as you go.Cover and simmer for at least an hour (the longer you simmer the better it is!).

This is best served the next day and it freezes well.
Notes: Feel free to add a large can of mushrooms and extra garlic.If you like a thicker sauce, drain the chopped tomatoes and simmer sauce with the lid half off of the pot to let the steam escape.

Cheryl's Cheese Bread

1 cup mayo

1 cup shredded cheese

1/2 cup green onions

1 loaf french bread

In large bowl, mix 1st 3 ingredients.Slice loaf in half lengthwise.Spread mixture on both halves. Broil until brown and toasted

Just DO it!

So I'm gonna get preachy here for a moment. After a few interesting days recently with someone who is leading a pretty miserable existance, I feel the need to climb on my soapbox.

I have a people person job, no doubt about it. I have multiple opportunities every day to affect someone's life, (in a good or bad way, but mostly good LOL) so I'm lucky in a way. I get to make a difference and see the reward of that action. You the average Joe may not have it so easy to make a difference in someone's life. I'm not talking about family, I'm talking about strangers. There are sooo many "needy" people out there and I'm not talking about needy in the monitary sense. I'm talking needy in spirit. When you're hating on life as we all do at times, isn't it nice when someone does something unexpected for you? Someone recently gave me .40 when I was short at the coffee shop, that was very unexpected and very appreciated as it literally was my last 2 bucks. Some blessed soul at Costco took pity on me and let me go ahead of them when I only had milk and then the guy in front of the guy that let me go ahead, let me go ahead of him too! Bless those two, I'd have been in line for 20 minutes at least. These are the kind of things I'm talking about. If your miserable if life, do something nice for someone and it WILL make you feel better. Volunteer somewhere. It doesn't cost you anything. Go to a nursing home with your favorite book and read to a resident there. Think of what kind of difference you'd make in that person's life. Volunteer for meals on wheels. Make and package dinners for low income seniors. You don't have to drive them but you'd be an asset to the organization just helping with the preparing of the meals. There are sooo many things you can do for your fellow human beings. Maybe if we did more of these things we'd all be happier in life. I'm tired of the bemoaning of society as a whole. Get off your ass and do something to CHANGE it! Don't wait for the next person to do it. Get your kids involved too, show them that we do things for others because it's the right thing to do. I gotta tell ya, more and more colleges and universities are actually requiring prospective students to do volunteer work. If you start your kids doing it now, it won't be a burden to do it then, when they may need to.

I know people are busy, I KNOW busy but there isn't any reason you can't find a couple of hours in your week or month to do something. Do you need suggestions? Email me and I'll give you suggestions. You don't need to commit to every week or anything. How about once a month? Every other month. Do something. Make it a priority to do something today, tomorrow or this week. DO IT! I promise you'll get more back from it than you know. You'll make a difference in someones life and remember, what goes around comes around.

Recipe of the day

Grilled Asian Burgers with Onion and Pineapple

Servings: 4
Grilled pineapple adds a wonderful sweet balance to these slightly salty burgers.

Ingredients

1 pound uncooked ground beef

1/4 cup scallion(s), sliced

3 Tbsp teriyaki sauce

1 Tbsp ginger root, freshly grated

2 tsp minced garlic

4 slice pineapple, four 1/2-inch-thick rings

1/2 medium Vidalia onion(s), or other sweet onion, cut into four 1/4-inch-thick rounds

4 sprays cooking spray

1/4 cup cilantro, fresh, chopped


Preheat grill or grill pan to medium-high.

In a medium bowl, combine beef, scallions, teriyaki sauce, ginger and garlic until thoroughly mixed; form into four 3/4-inch-thick patties.
Lightly coat burgers, pineapple and onion with cooking spray; place on grill. (Make sure to spray them away from heat.)

Grill pineapple, turning once until lightly charred, about 4 minutes; remove from grill. Grill burgers and onions, turning once, until burgers are desired degree of doneness and onions are lightly charred and tender, about 7 to 9 minutes.

To serve, place 1 burger on each of 4 plates. Top each with 1 slice of onion (separated into rings) and 1 slice of pineapple; sprinkle each with 1 tablespoon of cilantro. Yields 1 burger per serving.

Chips Ahoy Dessert

1/2 cup f/f milk
18 reduced fat Chips Ahoy Cookies
2 cups f/f milk
1 8 oz. f/f Cool Whip
1 sm. box choc. inst. pudding mix

Pour 1/2 c. of the milk in a shallow bowl. Dip a cookie in the milk very briefly and line an 8 x 8 dish with them. Take 1/2 the Cool Whip and spread over cookies. Mix the choc. pudding with 2 c. milk. Layer over top of C. W. Dip next 9 cookies in the milk and lay on top of pudding. Top with remaining C.W. Refrig 2 hours (best - 8 hrs)

9 servings 3 pts each

Recipe of the day

Here's a easy dinner that is yummy and low in fat! Who doesn't love the crockpot?

Crock Pot Brunswick Stew

2 large onions, chopped
6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 cans (15 oz each) creamed corn
1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes
1 bottle (12 oz) chili sauce (not cocktail sauce)
1 can (14 oz) chicken broth
¼ c. Worcestershire sauce
2-4 T. RF margarine, cut up
2 T. cider vinegar
2 t. dry mustard
½ t. salt
½ t. pepper
½ hot sauce

Place onion in crock pot. Place chicken over onion.

Add remaining ingredients.

Cook on high 4 hours or low 5-6, till chicken is tender.

Remove chicken, shred, and return to stew.

Makes 3-1/2 quarts.

For dessert, a yummy peach cobbler. Remember, if it has fruit in it, it's healthy no matter how much butter is in the recipe!

Old Fashioned Peach Cobbler
2 cups fresh peaches, sliced
1 stick butter
1 tsp baking powder
1-3/4 cups sugar
1 cup flour
1 cup milk
Combine peaches and 3/4 cup sugar. Let stand 20 minutes. Melt butter in 1-1/2 qt baking dish in oven. Sift flour and 1 cup sugar and baking powder. Add milk and stir briskly. Lumps will remain. Pour into baking dish of melted butter. Top with peaches. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.

This Rocks! / 'Tis Crap!

This ROCKS!

Hillshire Farms entree salad in Turkey/Cranberry. I love this salad! It comes with all the fixins for a meal. All you have to do is add the lettuce. I highly suggest using fresh baby spinach. The F/F Raspberry dressing that's included is the BOMB!! This makes a GREAT lunch, very quick and easy to throw together.

Aunt Mids Creamy Slaw dressing: Holy mother of pearl, I've died and gone to heaven. I stumbled on this hidden gem while at Hiller's picking up a few things. There was someone there sampling the new line of dressings and I initially declined a sample thinking that why waste the fat when I could waste it on something chocolate but then I heard her tell someone that it was low fat. I asked how low fat and she said 1 gram. Wha? 1 gram??? She had a salad that she was sampling with the dressing and Oh Ma Gawd...Oh Ma Gawd...it's fabulous. It's beyond fabulous, it's amazing. Don't mistake that the dressing is only to be used on coleslaw, no no no. I used it on a salad with baby spinach, dried cranberries, toasted almonds and a smidge of feta cheese. Oh yes, I'm in love. This relationship will last for a looooooong time. Run....RUN to get this stuff before I buy it all up.

Proactive Advanced Blemish Treatment: Oh my, this stuff is AWESOME! It comes in a small tube (.33oz) but you only need a smidge of this to get rid of your zit like overnight. Yes you heard me, overnight and that's no lie. It's worth every penny.

'Tis Crap!

Target pharmacy actually charges you to add flavoring to a child's medicine. What BS is that?! Every other pharmacy I've ever been to does it as a courtesy to their customers but not Target, so siree. Expect to add an additional $3.00 to your bill for their flavorings. You bet I fired off a hate email to their corporate office. I told them that I had a very big mouth and wasn't afraid to use it so they'd better re-think that charge the customer for flavoring policy.

Jergins Natural Glow daily moisturizer: You started out as a "This Rocks!" but you quickly dropped to "Tis Crap!" because you're streaky no matter how careful I am at putting you on. You get freshly shaved limbs and you still streak like a mo-fo. What's up with that? The ONLY reason I'll still use you is because I refuse to pay $6 for something and only use it a handful of times. Hear this, when you're gone, you're GONE!

No Pudge Brownie Mix: Wow...I had wayyy high expectations for this product. I've heard from so many people just how good it was. I tried it. Ummmmm....tis crap. Really yucky. First, it stuck soooo bad in the pan even after cooling off over night and even though I sprayed the pan before baking. Second, it was so dense, I used it to plug holes in my foundation. The brownies are so bad even OWEN won't eat them! That's bad...srsly...that kid eats anything sweet.

Can someone explain this to me?

What is the purpose of Pampers Feel and Learn "diaper"? (they call them learning pants, but let's call a spade a spade, it's a diaper) Pampers says "Feel wet liner lets you feel wet immediately like real underwear!" Here's a news flash: IF YOU FEEL WET, IT'S TOO LATE TO GET TO THE POTTY. Seriously, if your "training" the kid to potty train, letting him/her feel wet, THEN getting to the potty is waaaaaay too late. Oh and one of the other diaper companies came out with a training pant *cough-diaper* that allows the kid to feel a "cool sensation" on their privates in order to get them to the potty. Niiice. My kid is already obsesses with his privates so I could see him dumping cups of water in his training pant in order to feel the cooling sensation.

Oh and here's a big STFU shout out to The One Uppers who want to tell you repeatedly how their kid was potty trained at birth or whatever the frick. I don't give a shit when your kid was p/t, I'm only concerned with the hell that I'm in now.

bwhahahaha! Ya right!

Look at this menu for one of the Walt Disney World restaurants KIDS menu:

Kid's Picks


Appetizers:
Celery and Carrot Sticks
Smoked Fish Chowder
Lobster Soup

Entrees:
Grilled Mahi Mahi
Grilled Chicken Breast
Macaroni and Cheese

are you kidding me? Smoked Fish Chowder, Lobster soup, Grilled Mahi Mahi....for my kids???? Bwhahahahahahahahaha!

It's nice to see Mickey Mouse has a sense of humor.

Boobs Rock!!

If you don't believe me, come on out on June 16th and see for yourself! Support breast cancer research with this rockin' benefit for the Angels of Hope walking team.

Just too damn funny not to post

Have you seen this?

OMG...could this chick get any richer??? LOL!

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aLHAFvn.x8hQ&refer=us&sa_campaign=search_engine/feedcast/google/Bloomberg_US/harry_potter_theme_park

I have to admit, it'd be the absolute BOMB!

Disney who?