~Monica~

Okay this week I'm going to share with you the most amazing tip I've come across in recent times.

Brace yourself because it's truely life changing!

Here's a video that shows you how to dice a tomato!!

I know... you're thinking "What is she talking about, you just dice it."  But really it gets squishy, and messy and I need it to be neat and pretty.  This has revolutionized my use of tomatoes!



Simply UH-mazing right??  Told you so.

Visit We are THAT Family for lots more tips.
~Monica~


Another week gone of summer...  It's flying by!!

Last week feeding my step son was interesting.  The winning recipe of the week was the Cheeseburger Twice Baked Potatoes.  He said it was the BEST MEAL EVER.  Did you read that?  Better than a meal of pizza or mac n cheese!  Score one for Mom :)

Let's see if this week will have another one that hits home too.

Monday - Blackened Salmon, grilled veggies, rice
Tuesday - Enchiladas
Wednesday - Chicken Ravioli Carbonara
Thursday - Mexican Pizzas (didn't have these last week)
Friday - Probably dinner with friends - it's my step son's last night here before he heads back home.
~Monica~


Okay, so last week went mostly as planned.  I got sick on Thursday and had to call hubby home from work to help take care of the kids so that I didn't...  let's just say so that I didn't cause them to have to take 15 baths that day.  So hubby cooked Thursday night and we didn't end up having the Chili Dog Casserole but it's on the menu again this week.  It's a family favorite.

So, I have a 6 year old peering over my shoulder antsy for me to give him things to do so I'll make this short and sweet.

Monday - Spaghetti with Zukes from the garden, salads
Tuesday - Mexican Pizzas, black beans and rice
Wednesday - Cheeseburger Twice Baked Potatoes, baked beans
Thursday - Chili Dog Casserole, Mac N Cheese (Mom's group and hubby has class so it's got to be easy!)
Friday - Homemade Pizza
~Monica~
Well, despite getting sick this week after a day spent in the car to pick up my step son I still somehow managed to scramble in my Father's day gift for my husband from the kids.  Let me tell you, this was the cheapest gift EVER and probably the most sentimental one.  My husband LOVED it.  He even cried.

I got the idea from blog browsing that lead me here.






~Monica~


Well, this week I get to have 2 kids!!  No, I'm not having another baby.  My step son is coming to stay with us for a couple of weeks and he'll be here tomorrow.  This means that my menus have to be kid friendly and I might have to do some easy lunches too.

Monday - Spaghetti and homemade bread sticks - no recipe yet
Tuesday - I'll be on the road picking up my step son so dinner will be whatever is available at the closest exit when I get hungry.
Wednesday - Maple Rosemary Chicken (new recipe), sweet potatoes, green beans and stuffing
Thursday - Chili Dog Casserole, baked beans
Friday - Homemade Pizza - pepperoni or cheese for the kiddo and a yummy combination of something else for the grown-ups (not sure yet)
Sunday is Father's Day so we'll have a whole day (maybe on Saturday) of hubby selected foods. 

Visit orgjunkie.com for tons of other menu plans and recipes!
~Monica~
Well, I did week 2 day 2 today and it was better than I expected starting out.  This week you run for 90 seconds and walk for 2 minutes in between.  I only missed about 30 seconds of one run!! 

I don't want to say that it seems to be getting easier, because it's not.  It's still tough.  But, I think I'm getting more motivation the further into it I get.  So it seems that I'm pushing myself just a little harder to keep going and not stop running before I'm supposed to.

My husband went with me last week and he was so proud of me.  He commented after we got home that my face was finally a color besides RED  for the first time which showed him just how hard I was pushing myself.  I also found out that there are a couple of girls at my church that are doing this too so it's kind of given me more motivation to be able to tell them that I finished it.

At first I wanted to keep it to myself that I was doing this so that if I decided to quit I wouldn't have anyone to tell that I'd failed.  But I've told quite a few people IRL now so I kind of feel accountable to finish.  I believe that I can do this and more importantly I WILL do this :)
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~Monica~


Good Morning out there!  Whew, what a busy weekend we had.  We ripped up some monster bushes in front of our house and planted a little flower bed in it's place, went garage saling ALL day, went to an auction, church and spent time with friends.  And the biggest accomplishment of all??  Drum roll please..... My daughter slept in her bed all night long!!  Oh, and throw into the mix that my new crawler is now pulling up on things.

This morning I started my 3rd week of the C25K running program.  I started week 2 today and I am really proud of myself.  I was supposed to run for about 9 minutes and was able to do 8 of them.  I counted up and the 18 weeks will hit the week of my daughter's first birthday so that should be an interesting goal.  I'm thinking of signing up for a Labor Day 5K.  We'll see.

Now onto my menu plan:

Parmesan Crusted Tilapia
Pork Tenderloin, Wild Rice, Veggies
Mexican Pizzas
Rosemary Maple Chicken, Stovetop Stuffing, Sweet potatoes
Homemade Pizza - Buffalo Chicken this week!

View more menu plans at Orgjunkie.com.
~Monica~
Well,  I've been gone for the week.  The holiday threw me off and my daughter started crawling so she is ALL OVER THE PLACE!  There's not a minute that I can take my eyes off of her unless she's sleeping.  And she's still not doing that really well. 

I finished my 2nd time of doing Week 1 on the C25K program (since I'm going to do each week twice).  And I feel great about it!  Other than going to Curves before I got pregnant this is the most active I've been E.V.E.R.  And trust me when I say that this is tough for me.  When I went out for my 2nd time this week my shins were killing me so I couldn't run but I did walk the entire time instead of quitting which I would have done before this.

And last night I made an incredible BBQ Chicken Pizza.  Seriously, it was THAT good.  I used a crust recipe that I got from my IRL friend.  Thank goodness she shared her recipe with me because the recipe I tried was not good at all before.

Pizza Crust
1 1/2 cups hot water
1/3 cup oil
2 tsp salt
1 T garlic
1 T parsley
1/2 T Basil
4 - 4 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 T yeast

Combine water, oil, salt, garlic, parsley, basil. Add half the flour and mix thoroughly. Add yeast and enough flour to make a soft dough. Knead until smooth and elastic (about 5-6 min) Let rise until doubled in size. Divide in half and roll out to make two medium pizzas. Add toppings and lest rest for 10 mins. Bake at 350 for about 15-20 mins.

Then have your hubby grill up some chicken and slather it with your favorite BBQ sauce.  Make some crispy bacon strips (I used 6).  Then slice the chicken thin and spread all over your crust.  Add your onions and crumble your bacon onto them as well.  Top with cheese and bake as directed. 
 
Sorry that I don't have any pics of it.  It really didn't last long.  We had a friend stop by and he ate some and took the rest with him to have for lunch today at work.  That's how you can tell when something is Uh-mazing.  It's gone before you can even take a pic.