Wednesday, December 14, 2011

a few days worth

a few photos from the past few days....
Fall has finally arrived here in Dallas...albeit a little late.
 Emma and I took a drive down Swiss Ave to see the leaves...
Mr. Knightley in all his glory...
Emma barely stays still long enough for a photo...
wish that big smile at the end would have turned out!

Monday, December 12, 2011

Chicken and Yarn

Well readers, it was a tragic morning. My coffee pot exploded grounds all over my kitchen counter, ruining the pot I brewed and leaving me no time to grind the beans and brew more. So I put on my ugly cry face and swept the rough, coarse bean innards that were sprayed across my counter into my hand and hummed a few lines of taps while I brushed them into the trash. Top that off with a teething bebe and you can guess how happy and relieved I was when hubs got home and we headed for a play date.
At the playdate, while Emma was busying shrieking and stealing Cheerios from her sweet kiss giving pal, one of my newest and sweet friends taught me how to crochet!
After an adventure to Michaels late the other night, she guided me in what hooks and yarns to buy, then guiding my not-so-nimble fingers (sausages+no coffee=no good) into the glorious world of hat-making! It was literally one of the easiest, most fun things I've started in a long time!
My bulky hot pink yarn is quickly turning into a sweet little beanie for Emma, that I plan on adding PomPoms to, because honestly...everything's cuter with a PomPom!

In other news, I took about an hour and a half over the weekend and laid out a meal plan for the week. This is going to be my New Years resolution, to cook at least 6 nights out of the week. My mom was so good about always putting a homemade dinner on our table every night and it's something that in retrospect, I admire and appreciate so much. (love ya, Mom)
So, in light of New Years being right around the corner, I decided, why not start now. No time like the present right?
So today, knowing I was going to have a long day out and about, I decided to push the easy button and do a crockpot recipe.

Crockpot Salsa Chicken
1 lbs of skinless chicken breasts, thawed
1 can of cream of mushroom
1 cup of Salsa (I went generic on this, much to Mario's chagrin, and picked a medium heat, but next time I'm making mild. I'm a wimp.)
1 packet of taco seasoning

(I love low recipe meals!)
First you add the chicken breasts, soup, salsa, and taco seasoning to the crock pot. Mix and cook on low for 6 hours (or high for 2.5, but I cooked for 6). After those 6 hours, take your chicken out (this is gonna get messy...spoon it out then let it cool a little) and shred it. The best part of this was the chicken was so tender is literally fell apart! Put it back in the pot, reheat and spoon into tortillas, or onto rice. Top with sour cream, cheese, lettuce, etc. whatever suits your fancy!
In retrospect, I would add fresh tomatoes, some black beans and rice to the pot. It was little runny and could use some thickening.
But, the flavor was faaaaantasic! Even my authentic Latino hubby loved it! Emma also enjoyed it, but was way more into the peas I put on her tray.
Naturally.
Either way, it once again made enough for leftovers and everyone enjoyed it...especially me because it was super easy to prepare and the house smelled fantastic when we got home tonight! Win, win.

Life lessons I learned over the weekend:
1. It doesn't matter if you're elderly, it does NOT give you an excuse to treat younger customer service teams like crap. So don't throw sandwiches at me, Grandma, and expect not to get decaf-ed. Ya heard me.
2. When God is giving you a door to step through, do it. It's worth it, even if it's a little door. Also, letting someone pray for you, opening up, being vulnerable...worth it. Soooooo worth it.
3. Baby's are so much smarter than we realize. Emma's already bilingual! Ah!!!


Peace out, trouts, until tomorrow!

Saturday, December 3, 2011

saving up for a rainy day...

i made soup!
when i woke up this morning to the sound of rain, the first thought that came into my head was....pinterest...soup....coooofffffffeeeeeeeeeee.
so, i brewed a big old pot of joe (and when i say big, i mean.........yes! gallon sized!), nursed and fed Emma, then booted up the old computadora and realized SOMEONE drank the last of the milk on their precious little bowl of Kix....son of a gun.
so...i did what any normal, desperate coffee drinking mother would do...i put formula in my coffee..........

you heard me. i scooped out enough formula to make two ounces of milk and PUT IT IN MY COFFEE. 
*sigh*
don't try it. it's gross and didn't work. i choked down about two sips then gave up and watched my hopes and dreams for a tireless day swirl down the drain. *cue tears*
then i looked up soup on pinterest, found the taco soup i pinned a few days ago and texted hubs what i needed. i love a man that'll run to the store on his way home.

Taco Soup 
1 lbs of hamburger
some chopped onions (i use the frozen kind because if i attempted to chop onions my eyes would pack a bag and head north)
some garlic powder (or if you're cool, actual minced garlic)

1 packet of taco seasoning
2 cans of corn
2 cans of black beans
2 cans of diced tomatoes
1 can of tomato sauce
3 cups of water (divided)

viola! soup!....ok, well, almost....

after a beautifully productive day of cleaning, teaching Emma to play catch, a NAP!, and lots of teething pains (for me AND Emma), not to mention falling even deeper in love with some of my mom friends *NDM4L*......i made soup.
i know this doesn't sound like a big deal for most people, but i am considered to be...somewhat....kitchen challenged? i'm not too...50's housewife....ok....let's be honest, i'm in general, a terrible cook. so...this is a HUGE deal for me. don't judge me.

first you brown the burg, the onions, and the garlic, add a cup of water and the seasoning....
then dump it all in a big soup pot. drain and rinse your beans, then dump 'em in! then dump in the rest of the cans, add 2 cups of water, simmer for 15 minutes...and VIOLA! soup. (for real this time)
i also took the time to put a little oil in a pan, cut some tortillas into strips and fry 'em up! (so good!) added a little shredded cheese...mmm. done.
Emma loved it, hubs loved it, it made enough for two days of left overs (yeah right), and it was so easy.

now in the middle of this fantastic day...i should mention a few life lessons i learned...
1. real friends aren't always real friends. meaning...even if you've hung out with someone quite a bit, loved on their child, offered them a place to live...doesn't make them your friend. in fact, in some cases, it means their going to stab you in the back the first chance they get.
2. real friends tell you whats up, to your face. and by face i mean digitally.
3. wine=headaches

also, a very busy ten month old can be the biggest challenge and greatest joy, all at the same time. watching Emma discover and learn about the world...is blowing me away. seriously. i don't get serious often, but this is one of those moments....

i don't understand mothers...who don't care about the little things. who don't want to be there for their child's first game of patty cake, or who don't take the time to read their kid a book at bedtime. i just don't....it's beautiful. i wouldn't trade these times and moments for anything in the world. so if that means i'm not going to be at work all the time, and i'm not going to be able to buy fancy things so be it.

that being said i also don't mind the mom's who do have fancy things. NDM!

 soups a bubblin!
go make some soup. and live your life.

Saturday, November 26, 2011

peeled and pepper sprayed!

as i sit here sipping a cup (remember that means gallon) of coffee from my new brewer, which i attained on black friday, i wanna know.
Black Friday: who did it? who killed it? who came away with scars?
i was watching the news yesterday with Mario after a late lunch and...WHAT THE HECK!? a woman in florida peppersprayed a crowd of people, including children, in effort to get a "hot deal"....seriously?
*astonished*
can you imagine her facebook status? "_____ just maced some kids and got a $5 set of PJs!!! woot!"
in NYC (i believe) someone started firing a gun!
at walmart here in Dallas...it was literally like someone unwrapped sirloin steaks in front of starving hyenas. i swear, people were growling. i wish i had thought faster and recorded it. all of the sudden people were shouting, growling, pushing, pulling....there were slippers, movies, pajamas, board games, coffee makers, mini choppers (which i wanted sooo bad), FLYING through the air. no joke. i literally turned and went the other way. terrifying. consumerism at it's best right there. i'm not sure i want to participate next year. we only stayed for an hour, but it scarred me for life. however, i did get some great deals on gifts...it's better to give than receive right? and the fact that i risked my life to get those gifts makes them even better, right? (throw me a bone here...)


in other news, last night Mario and i decided to try the DIY Biore Strips i found on pinterest a while back...
it's a super easy, quick recipe, that makes a SUPER sticky substance...
DIY Biore Strips
1 tbsp UNFLAVORED gelatin (do not get a flavor...i cannot promise you won't turn out kiwi green)

1-2 tbsp milk
mix the two together, and pop it in the microwave for no longer than 15 seconds (we're trying to peel your skin, not burn it off)
then IMMEDIATELY (seriously) start gooping it on your trouble zones...aka the T zone (chin nose forehead). this stuff hardens up suuuuper fast. no joke. You can use a popsicle stick to put it on if you want, but we didn't have any so I just used my fingers (i washed my hands as soon as i got done putting it on).
wait about 10 minutes, or until it's totally dry. there will be no question that it's dry because you will be unable to make facial expressions. seriously.
take pictures and send them to me.
now, remember back in elementary school, when you'd get elmer's glue all over you hands, sometimes accidently, sometimes on purpose, and it was a blast to peel off?
welcome back to 2nd grade.
start peeling!
at this time i feel the need to give you a very serious and very important warning. DO NOT GET THIS IN YOUR EYEBROWS. i'm pretty sure you could use this stuff as wax. it will rip out each and every one of your hairs. be careful. (however, if you do get it in there, have no fear, you can just use warm water to soak it off...but then it defeats the purpose of the peel)

pretty cool huh?
i wish i could say i had this easy of a time...but all those warnings i gave you? yeah...speaking from experience. at least it provided me and Mario some MUCH needed laughter (after a terrifying black friday experience) for about an hour...in between tears of pain at losing all the peach fuzz on my face. yikes!

so remember folks, watch the eyebrows (and eyes apparently) on black friday.

adventures in pinterest...or not?

helloooo.
originally, i planned to make this a totally Pinterest inspired blog...i'd write about the different things i was trying via my friend's pinboards...
however, i'm also not entirely oblivious to the fact that while i have great ambitions to begin large projects, such as these, i rarely complete them.
so, i figured that if i started a blog that included every day life too, i could probably keep up. because let's be honest...the idea of me working my through pinterest frightens even the bravest of men.
bah!
either way...since i said i would include SOME of my adventures in pinterest...

tonight i made a delicious, mini mug cake for ONE! (this can be used as a much need afternoon pick me up for all the hard workin' ladies in the houuuuse.)

super easy...and when i say super easy, i mean...daaaang. that literally took me two minutes.

MINI MUG CAKE
1 egg
2-3 tbsp of cocoa
1/4 powdered sugar
a small handful of milk chocolate chips, walnuts, sprinkles
and/or a dollop or whipped cream, caramel, or ice cream
1 tea mug
(i say tea mug, meaning a small regular mug...my coffee mugs rival the pacific ocean...keep that in mind as you begin to follow this blog please)

crack your egg in your mug (scoop out eggshells...errr)
add the cocoa and powder sugar and beat/whisk until the mixture is smooth and creamy
pop the concoction in the microwave for 50-60 seconds...

and Voila! top with the topping of your choice and you've got an ooey gooey chocolate cake JUST for you.

(moms, yes, it's completely acceptable to eat one after breakfast, one during nap time, after lunch, during second nap time, and before hubby gets home from work, and again after hubby passes out on the couch, snoring away like mine.)