Apparently There is NO Justice in this World!

After surviving:

• The most frightening night of the year for any dieter, Halloween, without eating a single piece of candy.

•  A family dinner in which your Mother-in-Law, the slimmest lady in the world, fries ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING plus serves delicious desserts including a heavenly cake and scrumptious homemade cookies by drinking a couple of gallons of water and saying "No, thank you" excessively.

AND . . .

•  Sitting across from your brother-in-law who is shoveling desserts into his mouth like a human hoover while STILL WEARING a compression garment from the LIPOSUCTION he just had the very day before.

I got up this morning and weighed in.  I only lost 0.8 pounds this week.

Life. Is. Not. Fair.

That. Is. All.  

Until next time . . .

 

Miscellaneous Holiday Musings . . .

Last week Baby Boy had surgery.  Nothing major, as he does have this same procedure every year.  Mom #2 and I always anxiously await biopsy results.  For the first time in literally 10 years the biopsy found ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.  We're so excited!  We feel like we have just witnessed our very own private Christmas miracle.  There is usually a little something, often a lot of something, but we are extremely grateful for absolutely nothing.  Hurray!  I hope this positive trend is indicative of our fortune for the new year.

Even though no one in this family is Italian or Catholic, Mom #2 and I decided to have a Feast of Seven Fishes for Christmas Eve dinner this year.  Why?  Because we like seafood.  It's yummy!  We felt like doing something a little different from the same old thing . . . our families were VERY against any Christmas change in the Christmas day meal, so we're having our own pre-Christmas whatever-the-heck-we-want celebration on Christmas Eve with our family and Mom #2's daughter, son-in-law, and the three Fairies. 

I have a 40 point cleaning list posted on the pantry door.  All of those items must be done before a single guest is allowed to set foot in this house.  We got about half of them done today, so that puts us right on schedule.  Mom #2 and I have done almost all of our assignments.  Baby Boy is procrastinating.  Oh, the joys of being 18.  If he thinks he'll enjoy one. single. moment of Christmas without getting his assigned cleaning duties completed, he has another think coming, I assure you.

Finally, Baby Boy experienced some natural consequences today.  Because he procrastinated so much ordering a gift for his *ahem* *cough* girlfriend *cough* and it just got here today, he had to pay almost three times what I consider a reasonable amount to get it to her by Christmas, since she's not exactly local.  Now he sees why I preach "The early bird gets the worm," all day and all night.  Once again, the joys of being 18. 

Nothing earth shattering.  Just wanted to catch y'all up on everything that has been going on with us this Holiday Season. 

I wish you all love, peace, and prosperity in everything you say, think, and do this Holiday Season!


Until next time . . .

Yucky Outside - Yummy Inside!!

We're not letting the Big Winter Storm of 2011 bother us.  Mom #2 cooked up an spectacular pot of Big Winter Storm Repellent!

First, she mixed some luxuriously smooth cream into her special homemade chicken broth . . . 

 

. . . then she chucked in a a stick of butter . . .

. . . which was followed by the rolling . . .

. . . and cutting of some super sized dumplings.   

Of course she didn't forget the seasoning . . . 

. . . and adding of shredded free-range chicken.  

Baby Boy and I danced with anticipation as it simmered delectably throughout the house all morning long  . . .

. . . until we finally got a delicious bowl to eat . . .

. . . in front of a toasty roaring fire!

See, I told you . . .Big Winter Storm Repellent!


Stay Warm!!!


Until next time . . .

On Broccoli and Bunny Rabbits . . .

Tonight Mom #2 is making a delicious Asian stir-fry with the first beautiful broccoli of the season from our very own garden! 

She managed to save this one from the bunny rabbits, rabbits, and more rabbits by leaving a couple of lettuces right out in the open for them to nibble on while hiding the broccoli in a very inconvenient location.  

Silly Rabbits!

I can't wait.  Dinner's going to be so delicious!

Until next time . . .

No Chocolate for Me, Thanks

I'm trying to lose weight.  *SIGH* 

I'm doing it for my back, for my heart, for my blood pressure, and because I just plain need to.   

Mom #2 and I are piecing together our own pseudo Weight Watchers plan since we're too cheap to join up for real.   We've been doing pretty good.  We haven't gone over our allotted points at all, even though it has been more than tempting on a few occasions.  

My biggest problem is Dessert.  I love Dessert.  Dessert if my favorite food.  I really enjoy Dessert before, during, and after each meal . . . between meals too . . . cake . . . cookies . . . ice cream . . . all of these things are my favorite foods.  I am a bonafide sugar addict.  

So I've been trying to limit myself to one low calorie Dessert a day.  It's been so hard.  So very very very hard.  I really miss Dessert.  It's like breaking up a really good marriage.  Dessert and I have had a love affair that has outlasted pretty much every other relationship I've ever had. 

My problem is that low calorie Desserts seem to all have one thing in common . . . chocolate. 

I hate chocolate.  

I know, you may be shocked when you read that there is really one stressed out student-wife-Mom who does not think that the optimal way to end a long day is with a piece of chocolate.  Every single low calorie Dessert has chocolate sprinkles, chocolate chips, chocolate bits, chocolate ribbons, or chocolate swirls added to it.  It doesn't matter what the heck it is, a piece of sugar-free cardboard perhaps, it'll be smothered in chocolate to make it palatable to the chocoholics out there.  YUCK!

I just about fell off the wagon last night, after saving up 5 points for 1/4 cup of Weight Watchers Peanut Butter Delight ice cream, I popped it open to discover it was swimming in chocolate.  WHY????  I almost burst into tears.  It's called Peanut Butter Delight, the peanut butter is what makes it delightful.  Who decided that adding chocolate was a good idea?  Sheeze!

I just need a good, sweet, satifying, low calorie Dessert that has NO CHOCOLATE in it . . . PLEASE . . . my future depends on it. 

That's all. 



Until next time . . .

Freaky Foods

I had two separate freaky food experiences this weekend:

First of all, Baby Boy convinced me to try sushi.  Here's what it looked like.

 

It tasted . . . interesting.  Baby Boy ate all of it, so I guess he liked it. 

I don't think I'm cut out for raw . . . whatever that was. If anyone can enlighten me on that pile of green stuff and that folded mass of pinkish-orange meat-type substance, feel free.  As much as I consider myself a well traveled and fairly educated woman, I'm a simple meat-and-potatoes type eater. 

Then, we ran out of the potatoes we grew in our garden, so we had to buy some from the store.  Imagine our surprise when THIS rolled onto the kitchen counter.

All together now, can you say GMO foods?

As you can imagine, we only needed one potato to feed all of us, LOL.


Until next time . . .

Eat Much?

Well, it turns out I'm officially a failure.

I'll admit that I've been a little high strung with research, writing, re-writing and studying in the big push for the final week of the summer semester.  Add that to supporting Baby Boy in his college classes, my usual CEO of the household duties, and overwhelmed doesn't even begin to describe how I feel.  Yes, I'm a little high strung.  So high strung in fact that Mom #2 voluntarily offered to take over the family cooking duties for me. 

People in this house don't volunteer for chores.  Don't get me wrong.  Chores do happen.  Regularly.  But extra chores?  Voluntarily?  Those simply do not happen.  So I'm not sure where this came from.  All I can say is that I either look a disaster, the food coming from my kitchen must be gross, or my loud and persistent whining and complaining must be getting on her nerves.  One of those, I'm sure. 

Anyway, I felt awful.  It really gut-punched me that I appear to need help.  I like doing it all.  Well, I like the idea of doing it all.  I actually hate to cook.  Even though I do.  Every.  Single.  Day. So reluctantly, (wink wink) I accepted her offer.  She can cook the meals.    

That was on Friday.  Fast forward to Monday. 

Imagine my surprise when I emerged from my research den about 30 minutes 'till dinner time and Mom #2 was sitting in her chair with her feet up and there was no aroma of delicious food coming from the kitchen.  When I inquired "what's for dinner" I kid-you-not she looked at me like I had grown another head.  Then she had the nerve to say "we don't have anything to cook, let me go to the store." 

Oh, I forgot to tell you.  Mom #2 enjoys cooking under very specific circumstances:  when she has the day off, when  she sees an interesting recipe she wants to try on the Food Network, or when her Mom tries a new recipe and she wants to outdo her.  She doesn't really understand the day-to-day cooking that has to happen so that the people in this house don't starve. 

Yes, the family has to be fed every day. 

After I gave her a quick inventory on how food works, she did manage to throw together a scrumptious meal.  Now she knows how it feels to be Mom #1. 

Get it together, Missy!


Until next time . . .

Lettuce Ole'

Mom #2 enjoyed her first harvest of the season this morning.   I don't touch the garden, because we want it to grow . . . not die.  I have the worst luck with plants. 

See how lovely the lettuce looks?

She picked out the biggest prettiest one to bring inside.

We're going to shred it on some yummy tacos for our Cinco De Mayo dinner tonight! 

Until next time . . .

No Mini-Weekend Vacation, No Christmas Ballet, But YES Chicken Soup and Tacos - Delicious!

I know you are surprised to be hearing from me again so soon. It must be an emergency, right. Well, I don't know about emergency, but I definitely need to get something out right now. This is the only place I have to do it, so here goes...


You know that mini-weekend vacation I was so excited about? Didn't happen. When I woke up this morning bright and early to iron Baby Boy's clothes and send him down the yellow brick road to grandma's house, guess what I heard coming from his room? The loudest, yuckiest, ugliest chest cough EVER! I went to check on him and he is definitely sick. He isn't running a fever, but his cough sounds like it's deep in his chest and his throat and chest are both hurting. I've got him taking Mucinex, ibuprofen, and keeping the humidifier on him with Vicks Vaposteam in the water. If he isn't feeling much better by Monday, off to the doctor's office we go. Needless to say, he's staying home this weekend, not going to my mom's house. That means no freaky deaky love-fest for The Moms. That bites.


And while we are on the subject of things biting, my sister called me today and told me that she cannot get us tickets to The Nutcracker after all. She cannot get three seats together for herself, our mom, and me. I was so looking forward to going too. Darn it!


Well, thanks for letting me vent. I know it's not pretty. The only thing keeping me warm tonight is the thought of being almost done with my Christmas shopping. Big Smile!


Well, that's all kiddos. I'm off to finish making my homemade chicken soup for Baby Boy. The chicken has been simmering on the stove all day, and I'm just about ready to add the delicious vegetables. I'm making some chicken tacos on the side for Mom #2 and me. Oh yes, I am FRYING the corn tortillas, heck, after the day I've had - I deserve it.


Smooches!

Happy Day After Thanksgiving!

HAPPY DAY AFTER THANKSGIVING!!!!

I hope everyone's holiday was wonderful and I hope everyone has a whole bucketful of reasons to be thankful. This has really been a tough year for us, but I am thankful for my incredible spouse, my fantastic son, and the fact when no one else is there for us, we are ALWAYS there for each other.

True family is the best reason on earth to be thankful!

We had a wonderful feast of turkey, ham, dressing, mashed potatoes, spinach and bacon quiche, rolls, and gravy to drown it all in. For dessert, we had pumpkin pie, pecan pie, pound cake, whipped cream and ice cream. Delicious!

We had my mom and sister over as well as Mom #2's little brother. I had invited my dad, but he decided he wasn't up to it at the last minute. It's okay. He will eventually come around, I hope. A great time was had by all. Our dinner was a fantastic success!

We also put up our Christmas tree and decorated the inside and outside of the house. I like to have a full-on Christmas themed home from Thanksgiving all the way into the new year. It's so festive!

I've started buying a few things off of Baby Boy's Christmas list. We are really tight this year and won't be able to buy much at all, but we've decided that every extra dime we get will go to Baby Boy. I mean, we are parents, right?

Anyway, I'm going to keep it brief today. I just wanted to wish everyone a happy long weekend, and I hope a great and loving time will be had by all! :-)


Smooches!

We're Still Alive!

It's been a long but favorable week.

We got a little extra cash....not enough...but a little. It's not the first yet, so I'm still praying for the rest. Stay tuned!

Mom #2 has several promising leads on jobs. So let's all keep our fingers crossed that this comes out all right. We are too close to Christmas to stay out of work for too long.

Baby Boy has done great in his schoolwork this week. The first week of Geometry was a big success. We also finished our first full-on art project. Yeah! I'll have to post photos later. I haven't had time to load them into the computer at this point. Too busy, I guess.

On the other hand, I know Baby Boy is feeling much better from his surgery, because he has been behaving like we raised him in a barn. I won't go into too much detail, but just suffice it to say that he's on punishment this week. I'm just going to leave it at that.

Well, if I may say so myself, I'm getting really good at cooking the low-sodium way. We have had a buffet of scrumptious meals this week. Yeah for us! Of course, we had What-a-burger tonight, but we all stumble, right?

Ohhh..... did anyone see the space shuttle in the sky this week? We saw it. It was awesome! It looked like a little red ball of fire that streaked through the sky. Mom #2 took a picture, but we aren't sure if it came out or not. Once again, I haven't loaded them into the computer. Stay tuned. I'll get off my lazy a** and get them pretty soon. It's Friday night.

Anywho.... have a great evening....we are!


Smooches!

Delicious!

Hurray! Mom #2 has redeemed herself!

I was in dire need of peppermint candy after watching "Unwrapped" on the Food Network.

I shamefully asked Mom #2 if she would go get some peppermint, and surprise, she said "Yes!"

Mind you, it's after 11 o'clock.

Oh, how I love Thee, let me count the ways....... good night! ;-)


Smooches!

The Good, The Bad, & The Ridiculous!

Oh, Goodness!

I started this blog to share all of the good times with you, not the crappy times. It just seems like crappy times are upon us. So I guess I’ll share. After all, “the truth shall set you free.” So here’s some truth.

Mom #2 was stiffed by her employer, so she hasn’t gotten paid. I don’t know what we are going to do. The “rainy day” fund is dry as a bone. I’m scared to death and very upset at the thought of not having money to pay the bills. In case no one has noticed, Monday is the 1st.

Of course, instead of conserving like normal people, what do we do? Don’t bother guessing…I’ll tell you. We go out for a steak dinner. With the little cash that I had saved to pay for Baby Boy’s bowling next week and the parking garage at the hospital for a procedure he is having in a couple of weeks. I try to be the voice of reason, but it is drowned out by fun.

Mom #2 says that I worry too much and that she has always provided. This is true…but still…a little common sense…it goes a long way. Aye yos mios!

Any who… on to the good things.

We had a great week with school! Baby Boy has been working his little heart out. He’s been putting in extra time practicing for his phase testing in tae kwon do next week. I’m so excited! I’m his greatest cheerleader, and he’s getting more and more awesome every day. Not to mention, WE GOT EVERYTHING DONE! I’m a little bit anal when it comes to schedules, so I love it when we get everything done.

Anyway, I’m trying to keep it brief. In case you haven’t noticed, I am terribly long-winded. I have soooooo much to say, even when I’m not saying anything at all. It is a character trait that I am trying to work on. *Sigh*

I’m going to spend the weekend researching low-sodium and low-fat recipes. Mom #2’s blood pressure has been up a bit lately, so we are all trying to change our eating habits a bit. Wish us luck. Sometimes I think we’re the fattest family in America. Well, Mom #2 and I are, Baby Boy is young, slim, and handsome. Lucky!

Anyway, until next time. . .

Smooches!