Happy Valentine's Day!

I hope you are all having a wonderful Valentine’s with the special people in your lives!

I’ve had a very busy day so far. I left a teddy bear and card on the hubby’s pillow so he’d find it when he got out of the shower, dropped Snuggle Bug off at school, went to the grocery store, pharmacy (birth control pills, mucho mucho important) and then back home to get ready for a photo shoot. Finished the shoot, picked up Snuggle Bug, got home and made Valentine’s cookies with the Snuggle Bug.



The high point had to be when I came home to find beautiful flowers waiting for me on the doorstep with the sweetest note from the hubby saying:
“Even though I may not always show it, you are the woman I want to be with for the rest of my life. Thank you for loving me.”



Yes, ladies and gentlemen, it made my heart melt completely. I’m one lucky lady.

Now I’m off to make a yummy Valentine’s dinner for the family….seafood pasta, yumminess.

Just a day, just an ordinary day....

Where I’m trying not to fall asleep in my classes! Last night I managed to stay up way too late for someone getting up so early. I stayed up trying to get some things done around the house and didn’t finish until midnight. As soon as I crawl into bed Snuggle Bug wakes up screaming. Then, an hour before my alarm was going to go off, she woke up again screaming. Night terrors are a bitch on mother and child. So, I’m going on a little less than 5 hours of sleep. I’m sure it could be worse (ie. No sleep), but I’m pretty tired none the less. Sitting in two painfully boring classes first thing in the morning doesn’t make it any easier.

This semester is proving to be fairly boring. I have seven papers to write over the next few months, a few are due in by the end of the month and one due later is 20 pages long. Yuck. I’ve spent a lot of time since this semester started asking me why the hell I’m doing this to myself but I know it’s for the best.

To make matters worse the hubby has been on yet another trip and Snuggle Bug is entering the realm of terrible 3’s. She is yelling “no” constantly, pushing limits and just generally being a little crabby butt. When I went to pick her up from daycare yesterday she was upset because she wanted to keep playing, so I let her play just a little longer. When I finally told her it was time to go she melted down, screaming at the top of her lungs, kicked and flailing around. When I finally got a hold of her to put her jacket on she hit me and I heard her teacher gasp behind me. I was absolutely humiliated. After that scene I couldn’t look anyone in the eye as we left the classroom. I’m trying my best to control her and teach her what is right and wrong but this is just getting ridiculous….ridonkulous even.

So there you have it, a brief life update. Nothing special, nothing cool….just an ordinary few days in my life.

Behold the awesomeness....

Behold the awesomeness that is Hello Kitty......



Oh yeah.....



I LOVE my new Hello Kitty purse!

Stupid Questions

What a day yesterday was!

When the hubby leaves it is almost guaranteed that something will break or go wrong in the house and yesterday was no exception. After missing his morning flight we finally got him off to the airport for an early afternoon flight to his conference. We grabbed some lunch, came home and then I put Snuggle Bug down for a nap so I could get some cleaning done. When I got her up and started getting her snack ready I realized that her milk wasn’t cold. Then I realized that the fridge wasn’t cold. Yes, that’s right, my refrigerator had stopped working. I have no idea when it went dead on me but it must have been sometime in the morning because everything in my freezer was thawed out almost completely. It was still cold so I did the first thing I could think of….cook it. I spent my entire afternoon and evening cooking two small chickens, chicken breasts, frozen veggies….anything that was usable.

On the plus side, I did get this outta of the deal. It was pretty tasty too.



I checked the breaker box and that was still fine. We had power to the house so that wasn’t an issue. So I plugged it into the outlet above the one it was in and presto it started working again. So the first time I call maintenance they tell me they can’t be out till Wednesday since the fridge is working again. Great. So the hubby calls them in between flights and guess what? They tell him they can be out in a few hours. Who knew a man’s voice could get so much done? Well they came out and treated me like an idiot. “Well, ma’am, you know you can plug the fridge into any outlet, not just this one.” Or, my personal favorite, “Are you sure you didn’t just lose power to the house for a while and just didn’t know it?” Yes. That must be it. I must be a complete total dumbfuck. Excuse the language but, in this case, I think it is warranted. I really dislike being treated like an idiot purely because I’m a woman.

So, long story short, my fridge died, my food went bad, maintenance sucks, but the fridge is working again (for now) and that’s what matters.
Hopefully today is a much better day.

Time in the Kitchen

I may be down, but I’m not out! Last night I was feeling a little better and all I wanted to do is get into the kitchen and make something yummy.

Oatmeal Date Bars and Whole Wheat Oat Muffins……Don’t they look delicious?

Oatmeal Date Bars

2 Cups Old Fashioned Oats
1 Cup Whole Wheat Flour
1 1/2 Tsp Cinnamon
Pinch of Salt
1 Tsp Baking Powder
1 1/2 Cup Vanilla Soy Milk
3 Tbsp Agave Nectar or Honey
1/2 Cup Applesauce
1 Large Egg
1 Tsp Vanilla
3/4 Cup Dried Dates
1/4 Cup Chopped Pecans

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Place the first 5 dry ingredients in a bowl and stir to combine.
Mix the milk, applesauce, egg, agave, and vanilla in a separate bowl.
Pour the dry ingredients into the wet mixture, stir to combine and then stir in the dried dates and pecans. Pour the oatmeal mixture into a buttered or greased 7 x 11 inch baking dish.
Bake for 30 minutes or until thickened and golden.
Cool, cut into squares and serve.

Whole Wheat Oat Muffins

3/4 Cup Old Fashioned Oats
3/4 Cup Whole Wheat Flour
3/4 Cup All Purpose Flour
2 Tsp Baking Powder
1 1/2 Tsp Baking Soda
1 Tsp Cinnamon
1 Tsp Nutmeg
1 Tsp Salt
1/2 Cup Agave
¼ cup molasses
1 Tsp Vanilla
1/2 Cup Vanilla Soy Milk (Or any milk)
1/2 Cup Vegetable or Canola Oil
2 Large Eggs, whisked

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Mix the first 7 ingredients in a bowl to combine.
Whisk the remaining ingredients in a separate bowl until combined.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until just combined.
Fill 12 muffin cups (that have been greased or lined with paper cups) 3/4 full.
Bake 20-22 minutes for regular size muffins (or 12 minutes for mini muffins) or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Watch the muffins carefully. If you let them overcook they can become quite hard and dry…not yummy. I’ve also added mashed banana in the past or a jar of mashed banana and apples baby food and it makes for quite tasty and moist muffins. I may have posted this recipe before and if I did then here it is again!

I still don’t have my voice back, hopefully soon, but I can at least do something productive!

Sick Day/Blog Hop

I'm sick....what a bummer! It started on Tuesday with just a sore throat and the sniffles and then it progressed from there. Now I just feel like one big ball of snot and as of yesterday i've completely lost my voice. I had a photo shoot planned for today that i'm going to have to reschedule, which stinks because we had some very interesting ideas planned. On a cuter note, as I was getting Snuggle Bug dressed for school I had to whisper to her since I don't have a voice. She decided that she needed to whisper back to me. She whispered to me up until the hubby told her it was time to go...cutest kid ever.

I suppose I'll take today to relax, do some reading for school since my classes start in a little over a week and just enjoy the quiet for a while. I'm no good at resting though. Instead I sit here and look around the house thinking about what I could be doing if I were well. Yeah, resting really isn't my thing.

So today I will leave you with one of my favorite sick day soups that always makes me feel a little better.

Ginger Chicken Soup (from a 2004 Real Simple Magazine)

Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 tablespoons ginger grated fresh ginger
2 32-ounce containers low-sodium chicken broth
2 medium parsnips, peeled and chopped
2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
2 stalks celery, thinly sliced
1 medium turnip, peeled and chopped (1 1/2 cups)
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
1 2- to 2 1/2-pound rotisserie chicken
1/2 cup frozen peas
4 scallions, sliced
4 biscuits, store-bought or made from a mix (optional)

Directions
1.Heat the oil in a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, and ginger and cook, stirring, until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes.
2.Add the broth. Stir in the parsnips, carrots, celery, turnip, and ½ teaspoons salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until the vegetables are tender, 15 to 20 minutes.
3.Meanwhile, using a fork or your fingers, shred the chicken meat, discarding the skin and bones. 4.Add the chicken, peas, and scallions to the saucepan and cook until heated through, 3 to 4 minutes. Serve with the biscuits, if using.

OH YEAH.....

Its blog hop time! I just LOVE blog hops! They give me the chance to find some awesome new blogs and gain some awesome new followers!

and Hop Along Friday!!

Winter break is coming to an end

It feels like the winter break just started….. but it actually ends in a little over a week! ACK! Time flies when you’re having fun.

Almost two weeks with family in the house and then this last week has been spent trying to get the house back in order from the blissful chaos of the holidays. The hubby goes on a business trip in a few days and I get to spend a handful of nights crafting, cleaning and reading, some of my favorite things to do when he is away. Then come the 18th its back to school for me. I learned the hard way that it can be very difficult keeping a balance between home and school because school can really take over a person’s life. I’ve also realized that I very much miss a stay at home mom. I know getting an education is the right thing to do but I often miss staying at home to teach and play with Snuggle Bug. She is growing up so fast and it feels like I can’t keep up anymore. On a positive note, I think I’ve gotten my schedule spread out enough to actually be able to spend some time focusing on the house and family, rather than burying myself under homework when I walked in the door at 5:30pm like I did this past semester. You know you’re studying too much when your 2 year old tells everyone, “mommy is doing homework.”

I’m feeling pretty positive about 2011 and the spring semester. I only hope I can keep this positivity up.