Recipe of the Day

Honey-Lime Pork Chops

1/2 cup lime juice

1/2 cup soy sauce

2 Tbsp honey

2 minced garlic cloves

6 boneless pork chops

Combine in a ziploc bag and turn to coat. Refrigerate at least 2-3 hours (I usually put them in in the morning and leave them all day).You can either grill or broil them, 6-7 minutes per side.

Sauce:

3/4 cup chicken broth

1 minced garlic clove

1/2 tsp lime juice

dash pepper

1 1/2 tsp honey

1/8 tsp browning sauce

Combine in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil. Combine 2 tsp cornstarch and 2 Tbsp water till smooth. Stir into broth. Return to a boil; cook & stir 1-2 minutes.

My quandary

I have a quandary. Do I start nursing school a year from this fall or do I postpone it one more year?



I'm really on the fence with this because I'm feeling self imposed pressure to get it done because of my age. On the other hand, I have two little kids, I'm working full time hours at my job and I have a husband in school as well. If I postpone entry into the program, I buy myself time to finish off paying my school loans from respiratory school and finish cleaning up my finances so I can get new loans for nursing school (LOL-not!). I also will have L in 1st grade and O still in preschool so that really won't be a benefit since O will still be 1/2 days but at least L will be in school full time. I'm making good money in respiratory which I won't make as a nurse at least initially. By waiting I also will be able to finish ALL of my required classes for my bachelor's degree, leaving only the nursing core classes to finish. That would be a GREAT help. I just don't know what to do. I really want to get it done and over with...damn getting older...damn me for waiting this long to start this endeavor in my life.



What to do...What to do...

Night Terrors

So I'm pretty sure L is experiencing night terrors. Every so often in the past, he'd wake from a sound sleep and cry and be upset and when we'd go in there, he often would not be able to tell us what was wrong. It usually wouldn't take too much effort to get him back to sleep and we'd be on our way but ever since the surgery, he's waking almost hourly screaming/crying/sobbing/inconsolable every night. I don't have to tell you how exhausting this is for both of us. My patience is wearing thin even though I know it isn't his fault but when I have to be up at 5am and I've been up every 2 hours with him trying to stop his screaming for fear that he'll wake O up is just exhausting for all of us. The last couple of nights, he's just come into bed with me when he wakes and sleepwalks/cries through the house. I just don't know what to do. I google this issue and there are some drugs out there but shit, I can't drug my kid every night and there doesn't seem to be much else one can do about this issue. I have no idea how long "waiting it out" will take and did I mention how effing tired I am? It's like having an infant again...seriously. I'm too old for this shit. I look like hell, I feel like hell, I'm uber bitchy and life certainly doesn't slow down for you when you're going through a rough spell like this.

If anyone has experience with this, please email me. I'm open to suggestions.

One Deadly Pussy

"Oscar the Cat is a resident pussy at a nursing home in Providence, RI. Staff members at the nursing home claim that Oscar can predict when a patient is going to pass away by curling up next to them in their final hours. Oscar has done this 25 times.

Dr. Dosa of the nursing home said, "He doesn't make too many mistakes. He seems to understand when patients are about to die. Many family members take some solace from it. They appreciate the companionship that the cat provides for their dying loved one."

When Oscar starts getting cozy next to a patient, the staff rings up their family and lets them know it's time."

Recipe of the Day

This is one of my all time favorite meatloaf recipes!

Easy Pleasing Meatloaf

2lbs. ground round

2 eggs; beaten

3 C Stove Top Stuffing in the canister

1 C water

1/2 C BBQ sauce; divided

Pre-heat oven to 375 F. Spray a 13x9 in. glass dish with nonstick spray.

Combine all ingredients, including 1/4 C of BBQ sauce. Put mixture into baking dish. Shape into a loaf and brush remaining 1/4C BBQ sauce over top of loaf. Bake for 1 hour or until center of loaf is no longer pink.

*I cover dish w/ alum. foil because my oven runs HOT but remove the foil the last 15 min. to brown up the loaf a bit*

Post-Op

So...little man had the surgery last Tuesday. I have to say, that surgery center we went to was so nice, while L was in surgery, I was thinking of what organs were expendable so I could come back! I called the room "L's labor and delivery room" because we did all the pre-op stuff there and when he was done with the surgery, he went to the same room for post-op. Everything went well although he came out of the anesthesia kinda rough. Here are some pics:

Before the procedure...all smiles:






Post-Op after about 3 doses of Morphine:





The ride home:



O with the balloon that they gave him at the surgery center, they gave L one too, it was a nice touch!


So the days following the surgery have been rough. They had a hard time intubating him before the surgery so he was xtra sore in the throat area, poor kid. He isn't eating well and the antibiotics have messed up his GI something terrible. I'm glad we did this while he was young, but I feel so bad that we did it at all. He also got tubes put in his ears and the dr. said it was a good thing because there was some nasty pus that came out when he made the incision to the ear drum in both ears. Here's hoping that with the adenoids gone, the ears will start draining and we can avoid further tubes in the future.

Recipe of the Day

Chili Dog Nachos

1 tablespoon vegetable oil, 1 turn of the pan

1 pound ground sirloin

Salt and pepper

2 hog dogs, sliced into 1/2- inch pieces

1 small onion, chopped

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

2 tablespoons chili powder

2 teaspoon ground cumin

1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce

1 sack yellow corn tortilla chips

1 sack, 10 ounces, shredded yellow Cheddar

Sour cream, garnish

Salsa, garnish

2 scallions, chopped

Heat a medium skillet over high heat. Add oil then beef, and begin to brown and crumble with a wooden spoon, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, then add chopped hot dogs and continue browning, another 3 minutes. Add onions and seasonings, Worcestershire, chili powder, and cumin. Cook another 3 to 5 minutes. Add tomato sauce and simmer 5 minutes more. Preheat broiler.

Arrange corn chips on a platter or in a casserole dish. Top the chips with the cooked chili dog topping. Cover the chili dog sauce with cheese. Melt cheese under hot broiler, 2 minutes, until melted and bubbly. Garnish with sour cream, salsa and chopped scallions.

Recipe of the Day

Crockpot Sour Cream Salsa Chicken

Ingredients:

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1 pkg. Reduced sodium taco seasoning mix
1 cup salsa
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
¼ cup light sour cream

Directions:

1. Spray the crockpot with cooking spray.
2. Add the chicken breasts.
3. Sprinkle chicken breasts with taco seasoning.
4. Top with salsa.
5. Cook on low for 6- hours.
6. When ready to serve, remove the chicken from the pot. Then place 2 Tbsp. cornstarch in a small amount of water. Stir well and then stir the mixture into the salsa sauce in the crockpot. Stir in ¼ cup of sour cream. Mix well and place the chicken back in the crockpot.

Serving size/points:
.
This makes 4 servings. Each serving is 4 points.

Notes: The chicken can be completely frozen and thrown in the crockpot. It will come out perfect. I Dont add the sourcream till 10-20mins before I serve it, I usually take the chicken out, shred it, then put the corn starch mixture in and then add the chicken and let it cook a little longer before adding the sourcream.

Recipe of the Day

Honey-Pecan Pork Chops


2 boneless pork loin chops
3 Tbs flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 Tbs butter
2 Tbs honey
1-2 Tbs chopped pecans

In a shallow dish, combine flour, salt and pepper. Coat chops with flour mixture. In a large skillet, cook chops in butter, over medium heat, for 3-5 minutes on each side or until juices run clear. Remove and keep warm. Add honey and pecans to skillet, scraping to loosen browned bits; heat through. Pour over pork chops.

Boy's are stupid II

All pissed off and no where to go

So I'm in the process of canceling all of my credit cards and assuming a new life without the plastic devil (I'll never give up my debit/visa card so don't think I've gone that crazy!) ruling over me with their horrific interest rates and my impulse shopping habit (wow, that feels good to admit LMAO). What is pissing me off to the point of downright furious is how effing hard it is to get these bastards to close your accounts. It's re-friggen-diculous as a matter of fact. Some of these people get downright asshole-ish with me over it. I had to open a can of whoop-ass on one guy because he was basically refusing to close the account even after my REPEATED request to do so. WTF???!!! I asked him "who in the HELL do you think you are? I'm the freakin' customer and unless you want your credit card companies shitty customer service practices all over my local news, you'll cancel my card." He has the nerve to tell me, "now simmer down."

Oh no you fucking didn't just tell me to simmer down...OH.NO.YOU.DIDN'T.

It got bad, very bad. I was effective in my lashing without swearing too much (LOL). I have plenty to cancel and I now have a migraine just thinking of how many of these conversations that I will most likely relive before they're alllll gone.

Plastic money is evil.

My little man is having surgery

Tuesday L is having surgery to remove his tonsils, adenoids and to put tubes in his ears. It's an outpatient procedure (gone are the days of hospital stays like I had to endure when I got my tonsils out) at a surgery center (the latest way for doctors to rake in the dough by essentially bypassing hospitals and creating these "surgery centers" where they have all the equiptment and staff but the docs get the cash as opposed to the hospital getting the majority of the chunk and the doctor his pittance ->insert sarcasm here<-) So on Tuesday morning at 0630 we'll be in Dearborn awaiting surgery with a very scared 6 y/o. I can only hope that they insert the I.V. AFTER he's drugged up with some happy meds. I'm not sure I can handle his screams if they don't. They did it soooooooooo perfect at U of M when he had his hydrocele surgery. That's why I want to work there, they're perfection when it comes to kids.

Anyway, if you're the praying type, would ya put in a good word for an uneventful, safe procedure with the Big Guy? I'd be grateful!

Recipe of the Day

Who say's you have to eat this on St. Patty's day only!

Spiced Corned Beef

2 medium onions, sliced

2 cups baby carrots

5-6 potatoes, quartered

2 1/2 - 3 lb corned beef brisket

1 cup Guinness beer

1/4 cup brown sugar, packed

2 tsp orange peel , finely shredded

6 whole cloves

2 tsp prepared mustard (yellow)

Place onions, carrots and potatoes in slow cooker. Place beef on top of veggies, fat side up. Combine beer, brown sugar, orange peel, cloves, and mustard. Pour over meat. Cover.

Cook on Low 10-12 hours, or High 5-6 hours

Recipe of the Day

Chicken Club Pasta Salad

Ingredients

8 ounces corkscrew or spiral pasta

1/4 cup mayonnaise

3/4 cup Italian dressing

2 cups chopped cooked rotisserie chicken

1 cup cubed Muenster or Monterey Jack cheese

12 strips crisp-cooked bacon ; crumbled

1 avocado, cubed

1 cup each chopped celery and green bell pepper

8 ounces cherry tomatoes ; cut in half

Instructions

Cook and drain the pasta according to the package directions and rinse it with cold water. In a large bowl, pour a small a mount of the Italian dressing into the mayonnaise and whisk to incorporate, then whisk in the remaining dressing. Stir in the pasta and the remaining ingredients

I need to up my meds

Seriously.

Did you read my blog about the issue with my class text? If you haven't, go read it because this explosion might not make sense. So I went to the school bookstore to spend my $100 on the new edition of the text that is required for my Philosophy class. Guess what? Anyone? Nobody? Oh yes that's right, they have the same edition as the one I purchased online. Hmmmm. So I ask the nice lady wanting to help me. She goes to ask the manager about the new edition that the instructor insists we have. Guess what? They tell me that the instructor listed the new edition for FALL not summer. Nice to know that the right hand is aware of the left hand and what it's doing. So...I'm keeping the text I have. What a friggen waste of time.

The following occured on July 10, 2007 at approx. 11:15 a.m:

Setting: Panera Bread
Characters: Mom - Michelle
Son #1- L
Son #2-O
Senerio: Mom is eating a passion fruit bagel and boys asked for and received a choco-nut bagel. L is unhappy with choice but mom holds her ground and tells him that's what he wanted, that's what he got, eat it or not but he's not getting another choice and he sure as hell isn't getting hers. O is eating the bagel without complaint. Eating ends, parties are getting ready to leave to run additional errands before Mom has to go home to sleep as she works midnights tonite. The following conversation occurs:

Mom: "O, do you have to go potty?"
O: "Yes"
Mom: "L, do you have to go potty?"
L: "Yes"
Mom: "Good, let's all go so we can leave. I have lots to do and only a short amount of time to do it."
(all go into the bathroom, L pees, O stands there but does nothing but play with package.)
Mom: "O, I thought you said you had to go potty"
O: "I do"
Mom: "Then GO and stop fooling around."
O: "O-tay"
(all stand there waiting. L starts chanting "O pee pee, O pee pee, O pee pee" it echos throughout the SMALL restroom)
Mom: " L! Knock it off!"
L: "Sorry, I thought it would help O pee"
Mom: "O, do you have to pee?"
O: "No"
Mom (getting mad): "Then why did you tell me you had to potty?"
O: " I dunno"

Senerio: In traffic, EXACTLY one mile down the road from Panera Bread on the way to the Post Office.

O: "MOM! I GOTTA GO POOP!"
Mom: "What? Are you kidding me?"
O: "I GOTTA GO NOW!"
Mom (furious and yelling): "WE WERE JUST ON THE POTTY AND YOU TOLD ME YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO GO, NOW YOU NEED TO POOP?? YOU'D BETTER HOLD IT YOUNG MAN 'TIL I CAN FIND A BATHROOM!"
(O is whimpering in the backseat, Luke is chanting "O is in trouble, O is in trouble, O is in trouble" Mom yells at L to "SHUT UP" and L say's "We don't say shut up Mom, remember?" Mom is wondering why she had kids as she whips into "Iraqs best" gas station. Everyone gets out of van and proceeds to "bathroom".)
Mom: "Touch NOTHING! Do you both hear me? TOUCH NOTHING IN HERE!!!!"
O and L: "Ok"
(Mom whips O's shorts down and plops him on the toilet and waits. And waits. And waits.)
Mom: "O, do you have to poop?"
O: "Yes"
Mom: "Then POOP!"
O: "I can't, L is looking at me"
Mom: "L, turn around for God's sake and stop looking at your brother."
(Mom and L are both turned around when a rendition of "Old MacDonald had a farm" breaks out from the toilet.)
Mom(YELLING): "O!!!! ARE YOU GOING TO POOP?"
O: "No"
Mom: "You don't have to poop?"
O: "Nope"
Mom (fists clenched and through gritted teeth): "Then why did you tell me in the van that you had to poop."
O: "I dunno"
L: "Beat his ass Mom"
(Mom so freakin' mad right now at O that she doesn't correct L's use of swear word. She whips O off toilet, yanks up his shorts and washes his hands. Proceeds to drag him to van.)

Senerio: All parties are home. Dad is awake and awaiting the kids with the door open.
Dad: "Did you guys have fun?"
L: "Nope, Mom is super mad at O and I think she's going to give him up for adoption for real this time"
(O enters house crying but then see's truck and runs to play. Dad looks at Mom who growls as she enters house. Dad in a moment of intelligence, says nothing to Mom)

Senerio: Exactly 10 minutes after arriving home. Mom is at kitchen table, L is watching Poke'mon, Dad is watching CNN and O is playing with truck.

O: " I went pee"
Dad: "That's good son, did you wash your hands?"
O: "Nope, but my penis is wet."
Dad: "What?"
O: "My penis and shorts are wet."
L (screams): "O PEED ON THE FLOOR AND I JUST STEPPED IN IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Mom's head whips around to look toward chaos, there she see's a huge puddle RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE G.D. BATHROOM. She makes eyecontact with O, with a growl she lunges from her chair with her arms outstretched and hands in a choking position toward him. Dad tries to intercept Mom before she makes contact with O......

Tape ends.

Waterpark fun!

My brother and nephew came up from Indiana for the weekend and we met them for some fun at their hotel that also had an indoor waterpark. The kids had sooo much fun! L is wearing a swim cap because he has liquid stiches on his forehead that we were trying to keep as "dry" as possible.

(I'm having sizing issues so hit Ctrl F5 if the pics look too big)


Here are the pics:

My nephew and L

Brother, nephew and L about to hit the slide

DH and O on waterslide, O wasn't scared in the least!

Bro and L on waterslide

O having fun

L on the kiddie slide

O getting tired

Dinner

O is sound asleep!

Who wants to be a nurse? Anyone...Anyone...Bueller?

I think I've finally put my finger on what irritates me soooo much about the massess of people who are going into the nursing field and clogging up the programs so people like me cannot get started in a reasonable amount of time. I'm soooooo sick and tired of hearing about people who because they have:
1. Lost their job
2. Can't find a job
3. Haven't worked in X amount of years and have no skills
4. Been laid off from a job (automotive)
5. Want a "sure thing" job
have now decided to go into nursing as a career. WTF. What makes these people think they can just "go into nursing?" This really steams me. The fact is, 98% of these yahoos have no freakin' idea what a nurse does, much less stepped foot into a hospital other than to visit grandma who fell at Bingo and broke her hip. Know what pisses me off even more? The people who already have a bachelor's degree in whatever (basket weaving, accounting, engineering, teaching, etc.) that can get into an accelerated nursing program (accelerated because they already have the general education requirements for the bachelor's degree, all they need is the nursing core classes..lucky bastards) and graduate in 1 year with a bachelor of science-nursing. I'm pissed because these really are the people who have no idea what they're getting into. They're clogging up the system so dumb asses like me, who KNOW what they're getting into by going into the field, cannot get into the damn programs! Listen up, we already have PLENTY of shitty nurses, we NEED good nurses who know what they're doing and are ready to commit to the field and all of it's dysfunction.

Yes I'm jealous. Yes I know it shouldn't bother me but it does. Every time I hear, "Well I didn't know what I wanted to do so I'm going into nursing" or "Nurses make good money, I'm going into it so I can make the big bucks" (there is a reason nurses make good money, once you're in the field you'll realize that it isn't enough for the shit you deal with...literally.) or this one "I like to help people, that's why I want to become a nurse" I cringe. I can't help it. I feel protective of this career even though I'm not in it yet. It's odd. I want to protect it from the knuckleheads who'll screw it up. The best I can hope for is that the majority of these people fail out of the program so I get in faster.

Bob-Effing-Saget!!!

Bob Saget, Bob Saget, Bob Saget, Bob Saget, Bob Saget, Bob Saget, Bob Saget Bob Saget, Bob Saget, Bob Saget!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If you are offended bad language then do not read any further 'cuz its gonna get nasty up in here.


I'm so effing pissed off right now I cannot see straight. My summer online class has started (I'm taking Philosophy) and as I was perusing the online study area, I discovered that the instructor listed a different edition to the text we are using than what the bookstore had listed for the class. In other words, I have the wrong GD edition. Now normally (insert sarcastic tone) this would NOT be a problem with the instructor, using the later edition, especially since the GD bookstore listed said edition as required but apparently it IS a problem this time.

Of course it is. OF.EFFING.COURSE.IT.IS.

It seems that the 5 th edition (I have the 4th) has some new changes to it. Now I don't know much about Philosophy, (OK so I don't know anything about Philosophy), but just how many significant philosophical changes could one text written by the same friggen author have?

So what's the bottom line? Well, I now am the proud (insert very sarcastic tone here) owner of The Roots of Wisdom, 4th edition which was purchased online used, which cannot be returned (of course it can't) and now I will end up spending $100 on a GD MFing text that I have to buy from the school bookstore. I don't have the luxury of ordering it cheaper online because we're already in a very short semester and by the time it came, I'd be 6 chapters behind in reading. Thank God I have that money tree in the back yard next to the pool house which is next to the private apartments that the maid and nanny live in full time!


Oh happy fucking day.

The Great Outdoors

We camped for the 1st time this season last weekend with DH's sister, husband and the two grandkids. We went to Muskegon for the Michigan's Adventure park. What a great trip! The weather was HOT but really nice and the park was fabulous. What a gem we have in this state. It's just perfect for kids. You get the amusement park and water park for one price. We did the rides for a couple of hours then when we were all overheating, we changed into our suits and hit the water park for a few hours. The kids had a FABULOUS time and the adults all got sunburned, DH especially. We all applied sunscreen but not as much as we did to the kids who did not burn by the way (thank God!). I plan on spending more time there next year and maybe do the park for 2 days instead of one.


The next day we went to lake Michigan which is attached to the campground (although quite a hike when you've got 4 kids and so much shit that we looked like The Griswolds take on Lake Michigan and treking through some pretty deep sand as you approach the dune and the lake) and we couldn't have asked for a more perfect day! There was a nice breeze off the lake and it wasn't too crowded either. The only issue was the HUGE freakin' sand dune you had to go up when ready to leave. That thing is a heart attack waiting to happen, I'm not kidding!

Here is the onslaught of pics from the trip:

Our trailer



Our site was HUGE! Our trailer is the faaar right, you can see a bit of it and DH's sisters was the one on the left



DS #1 and his cousin



My 3 boys



DS #2 and his 10 gallon Fire Chief hat that he got from MI Adventure



DH and his horrific sunburn. It doesn't look that bad but it was RED and HOT for days.



All 4 kids and Snoopy from the park



The kids are just laughing so hard on this ride! It was sooo cute!



The fire chief



The crew



Lake Michigan fun







Here are a couple of pics of the inside of the trailer by request

The boys beds


















Thaaat's all folks!!!!

Recipe of the Day

Pasta Margherita

Ingredients

8 ounces uncooked angel hair pasta

1/2 cup chopped fresh basil

1/4 cup chopped green onions (about 2)

1 teaspoon bottled minced garlic

1 (16-ounce) package cherry tomatoes, halved (I used canned diced)

1/2 cup (2 ounces) preshredded Parmesan cheese

2 teaspoons olive oil

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 cup (2 ounces) diced fresh mozzarella (I used shredded)

Preparation

Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain.

Place in a large bowl. While pasta cooks, combine basil, onions, minced garlic, and tomatoes in a food processor. Pulse 10 times or until coarsely chopped. Add Parmesan to pasta, stirring until cheese melts.

Stir in tomato mixture, olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper;

toss gently to coat pasta. Top with mozzarella.

Yield 4 servings (serving size: 2 cups pasta and 2 tablespoons mozzarella)

Nutritional InformationCALORIES 343(25% from fat); FAT 9.5g (sat 4.2g,mono 3.7g,poly 1g); PROTEIN 14.8g; CHOLESTEROL 20mg; CALCIUM 218mg; SODIUM 480mg; FIBER 3.2g; IRON 3.1mg; CARBOHYDRATE 49.5g