Happy bday to Anna

Its a very exciting day here at the house. Miss Anna is celebrating her 7th bday. I didn't sleep well or much last night so I would like to celebrate her birthday with a long nap, she wants presents and cake---currently I am undecided on cake, I have Dukin Hines devils food cake but I will need to go buy frosting and like I said I am so so tired.

Speaking of sleep and lack thereof, I heard on the radio yesterday that a study was done that showed if the woman in a relationship doesn't get enough sleep there are more quarrels. This just proves, women need there beauty sleep.

Let the summer begin!

Right now I at the local high school gym. The kids are in the lovely cool water having their first real swimming lesson. I am in the stands above the pool sweating. It's about 1000 degrees up here. Wait I just thought of a positive spin... Along with the swim lesson, moms get free sauna treatments. It's like a BOGO deal.

Today it is going to be in the mid 90s with a heat index of 102. What to have for dinner? I'm thinking Smoothies? Or ice cream?

Back to the pool, when the lesson started I could see Bryce was clinging to the instructor (they are in groups of 2-4 kids per instructor (aka High School or college? Student). A mere 25 minutes later Bryce is jumping in the pool.

LEAN CUISINE, Asiago Cheese Tortelloni

LEAN CUISINE, Asiago Cheese Tortelloni Lean Cuisine sent me a coupon for a free meal. I think it was because I had trouble with a promotion they were running for free soft sided lunch bags. Yesterday I redeemed the coupon for one of the new Market Creations. The Market Creations is a single serving meal that comes in a steamable bag that you pop in the microwave. I went with the Asiago Cheese Tortelloni. It was scrumptious. Now Lean Cuisine is my fav frozen low cal meals. and if they keep innovating with stuff like this, I'll def. keep buying. I was really pleased with the flavor of the meal and that the pasta wasn't all mush as can tend to happen with frozen meals. Now I wish I had another to eat for lunch today! Our stove needs a new part so right now it isn't functioning. Given that Im thinking grilling again tonight and frozen veggies for a side. Tomorrow crockpot for sure. Im thinking of making this:

Italian Beef


Submitted by Stephanie Fager (GA)



Ingredients

4 Tbsp. Italian Garlic Bread Seasoning (divided)

1 Tbsp. Onion Onion™

1 Tbsp. Garlic Garlic™

1 tsp. salt

2-3 lb. beef roast

2 (12 oz.) cans beer

Italian bread or rolls



Directions

Sprinkle 2 Tbsp. Italian Garlic Bread Seasoning and Garlic Garlic™ in bottom of slow cooker. Place beef roast on top. Sprinkle remaining 2 T. Italian Garlic Bread Seasoning, Onion Onion™, and salt on top of beef roast. Pour beer around roast. Cook on high for 4 hours; reduce heat to low and cook an additional 4 hours. Remove roast; cool slightly and shred into pieces; return to slow cooker and simmer on low until ready to serve. Serve on Italian bread or rolls. Makes 8-12 servings.

Shamrock Shuffling

I'm all reshowered and I am ready for the best post race activity. A nap. In fact, I'm too lazy to get up and use the laptop, so I am texting this entry from my phone.

This year the Shamrock Shuffle was the biggest 8K race in the universe. 40k runners waiting to run, rounding up 5 miles. Today is also possibly the warmest 4/10/11 on record.

In a nutshell the race was hot. I don't know how I did timewise, I know it wasn't a PR , but so what. I'm sure the race coordinators are going to hear from many runners because it took a ridiculously long time to get to the start line--almost an hour. We actually were lined up to start by 845, so the H corral waited over an hour to inch up to the start line. That's way too long, especially considering the unseasonably warm weather, twas a mass of dehydrating!

On the plus side, it is a beautiful day. The shirts are super cute this year. Also,
I got to go with some other girls who were running their first Shamrock Shuffle and they did great! Thanks again to Kim P for inviting me!

Now off to my nap. I hope no one here thinks I am cooking lunch, it's my off day!

Friday Friday

Foggy and raining.  I'm not sure what the temperature is, but  let me tell you my idea to break of the flip flops left me will super cold feet.  I sure hope Tom Skilling is right on the money and that temps will rocket up tomorrow and we'll be in the 70s for Saturday and Sunday.

Tonight is the Father Daughter Dance at Anna's school.  She is very excited and here she is practicing her dance moves.  During the holidays, I bought Anna a dress that came with leggings and a pair of black boots. She got lots of use out of the outfit and the boots were her go-to shoe apparel all winter.  The dress and the boots have seens much better days.  Nevertheless that outfit was what Anna was going to wear to the dance.  She even wore it to school.

While she was at school, I went to target to see if I could find a dress she could wear to the dance and this spring and summer along with some shoes that sparkle.  Above is what I found.  The dress was on clearance for $5.18, the leggings on sale for 5 and the flip flops $6.99 the flip flop straps are sparkly rainbow colored.  Anna says I'm the best Mom ever. LOL

Totally Distracted.

All day long I've not been able to focus. I don't know why, I'm feeling very ADD.  Too much caffiene? maybe. Too many kids talking to me at once?  maybe. Lack of Vitamin D? A very distinct possibility.

This morning, when I walked back into the house after the bus picked up Anna.  Yes that was me sporting my bathrobe at the bus stop. The sun fooled me, I thought that my bathrobe would be warm enough, however I was chilly.  Back to me walking back into the  house, the first thing I see is Anna's Illinois Packet.  The packet should be in Anna's backpack to turn in at Daisy Scouts. 

I put the packet on the kitchen counter so that I could bring it with when I pick Anna up from Scouts.  I washed dishes and saw the packet repeating to myself that I was going to bring it with to Daisy Scouts. I walked by the packet as I did laundry, made lunch, and went through the mail.

When it was time to get Anna, I grabbed my jacket and my purse and headed over to the school.  I thought, "Anna will be happy to see I brought her packet and she can get her badge." Parked the car, and opened my purse and looked for the packet.  Looked again and then dug through my purse, it wasn't there.  I forgot the darn thing. Jeez.

Note to self, should have put the packet in my purse, not left it on the counter.

***good stuff in the mail today***
Rec'd some coupons and a book from Paperback Swap.  "Fool Moon"  by Jim Butcher.  It is the second book in his series about the cases taken and solved by Harry Dresden, the only professional wizard listed in the phone book.  Making it extra juicy for me is that Harry lives in my fair city, Chicago.  Also the reader for the audio version is James Marsters aka Spike from "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." Perfect voice for the character.  I listened to the first book so while reading this book, I'll be hearing Spike's voice albeit w/o Spike's English accent.

A Guest Blogger, a young author named Patrick

Patrick wants to have a blog.  So I said he could post on mine.  He wrote a story for school so he is posting it here.  I hope you enjoy it!

Young Cowboy

Hi I'm Sam and this is the story of how I became a cowboy. It was June 1st, the first day of  Summer Break. But not just any Summer Break . This was the Summer Break that would change my life.

It was noon when Black Eye Joe, the meanest outlaw in town was robbing the bank. Someone called the sheriff. The sheriff came running out of his office to fight Black Eye Joe. They fought for hours until Black Eye Joe snuck up behind the sheriff and killed him. He started laughing maniacally and then he went to the jail cells and freed all the outlaws.

Soon the city was filled with danger. The outlaws stole all the money and horses except for the ponies. I told my Dad that the town was crazy dangerous and that we needed someone to fight Black Eye Joe and the outlaws. My Dad said, "I know son, and you're going to be that someone because I'm going to train you how to be a cowboy.You can't fight Black Eye Joe and the outlaws by yourself. Go get your friends and meet me at 7:00."

So I went and brought my friends. Oh and by the way, my friends' names are Patrick, Brenden and Katelyn.  Then at 7:03 we were all at the cave to meet my Dad. I said, "So, Dad, you said you're going to train us how to be cowboys. How's that possible?"
"Well you see son, your Grandpa used to be a cowboy. When I was your age, he taught me how to be a cowboy. Now I'm going to teach you and your friends how to be cowboys. But first you must pick a pony. "

I picked a brown pony. I named him Lightning. Then Patrick picked a white pony. He named him Water Wave. Then Brenden picked a black pony. He named it Lucky. Katelyn picked a white pony. She named it Princess.

After that my Dad taught us how to ride ponies and handle cowboy weapons and the skills all cowboys need. Then he gave each of us a cowboy weapon. I got a gun, Patrick got a lasso, Katelyn got a whip and Brenden, a boomerang.

The next day we all got on our ponies and then we all split up and took down all the outlaws one  by one. The only one left was Black Eye Joe. I was looking for him, but he found me first. He said, "So you're the one who caught all the outlaws."
Then I said, "Yah, so."
Then he said, "Well you're out of luck kid."

Right when he was about to shoot I yelled, "Now!" Katelyn knocked the gun out of his hand with her whip. Then Patrick tied his lasso around his arm and I said, "Looks like you lose."
"Did I?" he said. He grabbed on the lasso, pulling Patrick.  Then he got his knife out and threatened to kill Patrick. That's when I got my gun out and shot his knife. I said, "Now!"
Brenden threw his boomerang at Black Eye Joe knocking him out.

Finally we brought him to jail and saved the town.

THE END

Spring Open House 2morrow

It's the home stretch of Spring Break, or so I've decided that is how I am looking at it.  Tomorrow is my Spring Open House (no fooling) and then saturday is our 12th anniversary.  How are we going to celebrate?  My DH is picking up his nephew (he lives in a group home) and his other nephew and they are coming over here for the evening.  Great way to spend our anniversary, I say with very very little enthusiam, but w/o going over the line into seriously crabby saracasm.  I am very proud of my restraint.

Now back to my open house.  Turns out as I review the recipes for posting below,  I accidently left out a step on my cake lollipop making.  I was supposed to put in the sticks before chilling, not wait until tomorrow.  Hopefully the darn things will stick on the sticks.

Wish me luck. 

Pop Quiz:
Do you think that I realized that April 1st was part of Spring Break when I picked that day for my open house?

Answer: Of course I didn't.  I thought April 1st would be good because Spring Break was in March not April, not realizing that Spring Break started in March but end in April.  Good thing the basement is ready for the children's banishment.

Awesome Pulled Chicken

3lbs boneless chicken
½ bottle Awesome American BBQ Sauce

Add chicken to slow cooker pour BBQ sauce over the top and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Then shred chicken re-mix w/juices and serve on buns.

Honey Teriyaki Bacon Bites
Submitted by Jo Wolanski (NJ)
Ingredients

2 lbs. boneless, skinless, cubed chicken breasts
1 lb. sliced bacon
Honey Teriyaki Sauce

Directions
Wrap each chicken cube with 1/2 slice bacon; slide onto skewers. Brush generously with Honey Teriyaki Sauce; marinate 20 minutes. Grill until golden brown. Makes 4-6 servings.

Tempting Taco Pinwheels
Submitted by Rosemary (MN) HQ Resident Chef

Ingredients
Tempting Taco Cheese Ball Mix™
8 oz. softened cream cheese
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
6 oz. pkg. deli-sliced smoked turkey, diced
6 flour tortillas

Directions
Combine first 3 ingredients; fold in turkey. Divide mixture evenly among tortillas; spread to edges. Roll up tortillas; wrap in plastic wrap. Chill at least 2 hours. Cut into 1-inch slices. Makes 8-10 servings.

Instant Ole Ole Fiesta Dip
Submitted by Rosemary (MN) HQ Resident Chef

Ingredients
8 oz. cream cheese
3-4 Tbsp. Olé Olé Fiesta Sauce
3 tbsp sliced green onions
1 Tbsp. sliced black olives

Blue Aztec Chips or tortilla chips
Directions

Place cream cheese on a small serving plat; drizzle with Olé Olé Fiesta Sauce. Sprinkle with tomatoes and olives; serve with Blue Aztec Chips or tortilla chips. Makes 8-10 servings.

Cutie Cake Lollipops
Submitted by Rosemary (MN) HQ Resident Chef
Ingredients

Absolutely Almond Pound Cake Mix™
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) melted butter
1 cup water

16 oz. container cream cheese frosting
Sprinkles or sanding sugar for decorating
1 lb. 4 oz. package white almond bark

60 lollipop sticks

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°. Combine first 3 ingredients; stir to blend. Pour batter into a greased 9x13 baking pan. Bake for 25-35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean and top is nicely browned. Cool completely.

Break pound cake into crumbs with a fork until you have small, uniform crumbs (the smaller the better for smooth lollipops). With a sturdy spoon, stir in 3/4 of the cream cheese frosting; stir until a stiff dough forms.

Roll dough into 1-inch balls; insert a lollipop stick into each ball. Place on a foil-lined baking sheet. Cover; chill 1 hour.

Melt almond bark as directed on package; pour into a small deep bowl. Dip each lollipop into the warm almond bark. Set on wax paper-lined baking sheet. Continue with the remaining lollipops. Decorate each with sprinkles, sanding sugar or a drizzle of melted brown almond bark. Makes about 5 dozen (60) lollipops.

Spring break day 2

Well here I am at PGN, mini golf, arcade & indoor playground. I tried, obviously unsucessfully, to get out of having to come here.

Maybe you are thinking, Victoria don't you enjoy spending time with your children? Of course I do! Well mostly I do. The begging for tokens and French fries I can do without---and the piercing screams of preschoolers not wanting to leave.

It's still too cold outside to believe that Spring is here. I heard the weatherman say no above average temps are in our future for at least the next two weeks. Then I threw out the radio. No not really---did turn it off though.

Just told Patrick I am going to keep track of how many times he tells me he is hungry or asks why we can't get food from here and when he gets to 10 we are leaving. So far the count is 4.

*****
Yesterday I was on thesookieverse.com and saw that Charlaine Harris author of the books I was talking about yesterday, is doing a book tour and found she is coming to Chicagoland. Yippee!!! I'm going to get the new book Dead Reckoning signed! Also saw there is an excerpt of the new book (release date 5/3/11) on the publishers website (penguin) It's the whole chapter 3. Oooo ahhh love it!

Here is Patrick now...I'm ready for whining about nachos...

Cold Cold Spring Break

Alright, I need to take a moment and complain about the weather.  That's what we do here in Chicago. Forecast is in the 30Fs all week. Being that I could spend all winter huddled in bed reading books and sleeping, this weather isn't conducive to me changing out of fleecy pjs.

The children however, need to get out and should have some activities going on during their week break from school.  In retrospect, I should have seen about going down to GA to visit my family.  That would have been fun for the kids and refreshing for me. Temps in N. Georgia this week, well shoot the weather isn't very good there either.  Well back to our Spring Break here.  Since I know how I am about going out doing stuff in the cold, I talked with the kids and planned an activity a day for Mon-Thurs knowing that their nagging would get us out of the house.  Today's activity is a trip to the library--nice free activity. 

What am I reading now?  After re-reading Club Dead over the weekend, I want to dive into re-reading Dead to The World as I go through the Southern Vampire Mystery/Sookie Stackhouse Novels on my personal countdown to book #11, Dead Reckoning which will be out on 5/3.  Nod, yes, you are correct I am way to into the series--and a total Sookie/Eric shipper.  Much to my current dismay, Dead to the World is checked out of my library.  Boo.  Now I have to wait. 

What's for dinner?  I've been meal planning and it should be Garlic Roasted Chicken with mashed potatoes and green breans.  But since we weren't home last night--we didn't have Sunday's dinner of pizza set-ups from S&T's--so it's Pizza Monday.

I've held out as long as I could and now the natives are running around outside yelling and chasing each other, time to head out to the library.