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