The Post Where I'm a Bad Friend and A Good Friend In One

Sooooooo.....

Today is Share a Spoon with Adrienzgirl over at the Think Tank.  Today's theme is salads and while I had an EXCELLENT salad at dinner last night, I neglected to make anything to share and link up. (That's the part where I'm a bad friend.)  I totally recommend you head over to the Think Tank and check out all the delicious salad linked up for Dia de Ensalada!!! DO IT!

BFF a few years ago at a show

(Now for the part where I'm a good friend.) Do you remember last fall when my BFF moved super far away? Well, it turns out that because The Pile is a big, ugly liar and crazy petty, after two years of TRYING to be divorced, BFF's divorce has gone to trial.  While that means I get to see my most dear friend for several hours, it also means that my beloved must endure yet another emotional day rehashing the dreadful years that were her marriage and the loss of her life as she knew it. (If you're not caught up on BFF and would like to be, click here.)  So, my Wednesday was spent in a courtroom, listening to bs mud slinging done by The Pile's crazy (and by crazy I mean most likely insane and 100% morally and ethically bankrupt) attorney, The Pile admitting to having relapsed and having lied about it on a sworn document, and a parade of witnesses lying on his behalf.

I might mention that on Tuesday night, The Man fully prepared himself for the possibility of having to bail me out of the clink for being in contempt of court AND my dear friend Alicia totally recommended that I see about getting Lilo as a cell mate (even though she's in SoCal and I'm in quaint Minneapolis Suburb).  Proudly, as much as I wanted to punch the ugly, dumb, biznatch that was bullying my bestest friend ever, I didn't (patting myself on the back) and we all walked out of the courtroom sans handcuffs.

*added note - I did get a stern talking to from the bailiff when one of the phones in my purse started ringing on full volume.  Thanks a lot for asking me to hold your loud phone (you know I'd do anything for you) and making me look like a jackass. (You know the face I'm making at you right now.)

So, once again, we wait.  The judge presiding wanted the attorneys to present their findings and will take matters into consideration before providing a judgement.  She is STILL not divorced, (GRRR) but she is one step closer, and I was able to be there by her side. (See! Bad friend and good friend all in one post! Yay me!)

Ain't Goin' Nowhere

Recently I have had a nagging feeling in the pit of my stomach.  I look around me and I see so many loose ends I have left unfinished.  As I evaluate my life, I am realizing that this seems to be a consistent trend throughout my life.  There are so many things I have started I haven't seen through to the end.

Some may call me a quitter, unmotivated, lazy, or undriven.  I don't see myself as any of those things.  I see myself as distracted.

At the young age of 23, I was left alone to care for 2 small children.  While I adamantly claim to not let my role as the only parent of two define my life, as I reflect, I see that I have been lying to myself.  So many of my hopes and dreams for my life have been pushed to the wayside to accomodate the hopes and dreams of the young idealists living in my home.  My time, after all, has passed.  This is their time to rise and shine and to chase their dreams across the landscapes of their lives.  Or is it?  Does it really have to be that way?  Do I really have to forego my dreams to facilitate theirs?

When I started this blog in September of 2009, I was hoping to create a place to share my life and interact with people who may relate to me.  At some point I feel I lost my funny and began to feel like the things I wanted to share really weren't so interesting. 

I met people who had lost children or were unable to conceive children and stopped feeling comfortable sharing my exasperation with mine.  Yes, my ADHD/ODD daughter is a handful and very frequently exhausting, but she is mine, and she is a gift.

I stopped dating  around and developed a relationship with a man that wants to be a part of my and my children's lives.  As the relationship grew and boundaries were tested, I chose to not share details of "us" as to not betray his trust.

So what then was left for me to blog about?  After all, Only Parent Chronicles was to be about parenting alone and dating!

It's no secret that through blogging, I have developed a tightly knit group of friends I call the Bishes.  Just last night I mentioned to them that I was going to step away from blogging for awhile.  Honestly, I felt as though I really didn't have anything left to share.

Today, I received a text message from a person very dear to my heart.  It said, "ur a great person and deal with so much stuff u need to at least make urself happy. can u promise me that u will think hard about what that will take and not be scared to make the changes needed?" That's when it hit me.  There are so many things I love to do.  For so long, I have put those things on a shelf and put myself second to my children.  Yes, my children are my priority and yes, providing for them and nuturing their dreams is my job. But does it really have to be in lieu of mine?  There are things I want in this life that I do not currently have, but I do have the means to get there.  I am a smart, fun, and creative woman.  Just like I tell my kids, if there is something I want in life, I can have it.  I just have to be willing to put in the work.  No more loose ends, no more unfinished business.  This blog included.  I will not be stepping away from blogging.  I love my blog and I love my home in Blognia.  Blogging makes me happy.

That said, my 1st blogoversary is September 15.  I'm crazy excited!  To celebrate, I am hoping to host a celebratory Twitter Party.  In addition, I am hoping to have giveaways and other fun, celebratory stuff going on.  If you would like to participate by sponsoring my party or offering a giveaway of some sort, please contact me.  In the meantime, I am going to be putting together details and working on other stuff that makes me happy.  Happy mama = happy kiddos, after all!

Share a Spoon ~ Stuff It

It is time again, my friends, to join Adrienzgirl at the Think Tank and Share a Spoon!

Head on over, check it out, link on up.

Do it.

When my dear friend Adrienzgirl said this week's theme for Share a Spoon was Stuff It, I wasn't sure I'd be able to play along.  You see, the only things I've ever stuffed are my face and a turkey.  We tossed around some ideas on our BBChat and I thought for a hot minute I might be making stuffed french toast this week... But I didn't.

You see, once upon a time, I was engaged to a chef.  I'm not talking a line cook, I'm talking an educated at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, works for a guy who used to be a big wig at Gramercy Tavern, has cooked for famous people chef.  We were talking the other day and I happened to ask him if he had any suggestions for a stuffed food.  He suggested a stuffed pork loin. 

After he described in detail over the phone how easy a stuffed pork loin was, I was totally on board.  I hit the interwebs, found what appeared to be a delectable choice that all in my home would love and went to work.

While I have discovered that I am FAR from expert at butterflying a pork loin (it sounded easy, and looked easy on the youtube video), a choppy butterfly cut certainly doesn't wreck the flavor of the pork. (Thank God!)

So, here it is folks, Apple Stuffed Pork Loin ala Paula Deen...

Ingredients

3 tablespoons olive oil (I eyeballed it)

1 large onion, chopped (I used 1/2 a large white onion)
2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and chopped
8 fresh sage leaves
2 cups thick-cut white bread cubes, crusts removed
1 egg, beaten
2 tablespoons butter (I forgot butter, in all of my brilliance)
Salt and pepper
1/2 to 1 cup chicken broth, plus more if needed (I used vegetable stock, because that's what I had.)
1 (3 pound) pork loin roast, butterflied

Instructions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion, apples and sage. Saute until softened.

Remove from the heat and gently stir in the bread, egg, butter and salt and pepper. Add the broth gradually until everything is moistened. Let the stuffing mixture cool completely before putting it in the pork loin. Spoon the stuffing down the pork, horizontally, in a line. Roll the pork over the stuffing, jelly roll style, ending with the seam down and fat side up. Lightly score the fat, in a diamond pattern, with a sharp knife. Tightly tie the pork roast up with butcher's twine, season it with more salt and pepper, and transfer to a roasting pan. Roast the pork in a preheated oven for about 90 minutes or until an instant-read thermometer registers 160 degrees F.

Finished Product

Stuffed Pork Loin

So there you have it, not a pretty butterfly, but very simple otherwise.  The boys loved it, The Girl never even tried it.  She caught me cutting onions.  I thought it was delicious!

Double Rainbow, All The Way

 
 <center><a href="http://momsaysthink.blogspot.com/" target="_blank" title="Think Tank Momma"><img border="0" src="http://i636.photobucket.com/albums/uu81/Adrienzgirl/DRATW/DRATW4.jpg" border="0" alt="Think Tank Momma" /></a></center>  Recently, there has been a lot of hate mongering in Blognia.  Someone has been running around spewing hate disguised as "love" and directing it towards people simply for the sake of being mean.  In the past, I have wriiten about community and the sense of togetherness I find with my bloggy neighbors.  Adrienzgirl has written about 3D friends vs. blogfriends and Princess of Sarcasm created the Blogfia as a way for bloggers to reach out for support when needed. Yesterday, (in the morning, before my beloved Storm died a premature death) I happened to be perusing Twitter.  You see, I follow Nathan Fillion (I've loved him ever since he was Joey Buchanan). Mr. Fillion happened to be blowing up the tweetwaves RTing DRATW from around the globe. What is DRATW, you ask?  Well, according to the Urban Dictionary, Double Rainbow is that which is: •ecstatically wondrous
 •joyfully amazing
 •orgasmically blissful  

So, what does that have to do with the quote on the button above?  The quote is from Nathan Fillion's twitter bio, and honestly, after chatting yesterday morning, Adrienzgirl and I thought it really captured the spirit of Blognia.  It truly does cost nothing to stop for a moment and say something nice on someone elses blog.  It costs even less to click the little red x in the upper right hand corner and say nothing at all if you have nothing nice to say.

Unless the "love" you're spreading is kind, keep it to yourself.  No one in Blognia wants to read hate being spewed across the interwebs.

Future Ex-Husbands - Cougar Style

A few years ago, pre-Justin Bieber, The Girl was bananas for a little movie called "High School Musical" 
At the time, I remember thinking to myself, that Troy kid is a cutey.  I don't remember boys looking like that when I was in high school. (My children have recently been going through my old year books and my suspicions have been confirmed.  Boys DIDN'T look like that.)

Fast forward a few years, and the young, yummy Zac Efron has become legal...  And HOTTER. (Who would have thunk it possible?) 

I feel considerably less creepy talking about his deliciousness now that he's in his 20's.  I hope you do, too.

Share a Straw - From the Bartender's Bag o' Tricks

It's Thirsty Thursday!

Head on over to the Think Tank, check out the goods, and link up!

Share a straw (of the adult variety or not)!

***********

As many of you already know, I am a bartender.  While not glamorous, when I was laid off in April of 2008, I happened to be able to pick up hours at a bar and grill I have worked at on and off since I was a teenager.  It was a perfect temporary solution to my immediate lack of income.

Temporary.

***********

I wasn't quite sure which of my favorites I should share with y'all today, so I've decided to contribute a few!  Get your "copy and paste" ready!

~Sex on the Plantation~

For this cocktail you will need:

Peach Sweet Tea Vodka

 *Jeremiah Weed and Firefly both make good ones.

Cranberry Juice

Orange Juice

This drink is easy peasy, all you do fill a glass (size of your choice ) with ice.  For a 12 ounce glass, I use 1.5 ounces of vodka, fill with cranberry juice, and top off with a splash of orange juice.  Mix and enjoy!!

~Watermelon Martini~

Ingredients:

Watermelon Schnapps

Vodka

Orange Juice

Fill a shaker with ice.  Add 2 ounces of Watermelon Schnapps, 1 ounce of vodka, and an ounce of orange juice.  Shake well and pour into a chilled martini glass with a sugared rim.

~Berri Cosmo~

Have you tried any of Absolut's infused vodkas? Try this!

Absoult Berri Acai

Triple Sec

Cranberry Juice

Lime Juice

In a shaker full of ice, mix 2 ounces Absolut Berri Acai, 1 ounce Triple Sec, an ounce of cranberry juice and a splash of lime juice.  Shake vigorously and pour into a chilled martini glass.

 P.S. I also LOVE Absolut Mango mixed with sour.  Sooooo yummy!

So, in case you didn't notice, I like the vodka.  I hope you do, too!

Drink up and enjoy!

Doing Good in YOUR Hood

Today finds me and my monsters at the Science Museum of Minnesota. From 10:00 - 1:00 today, I, along with 7 other Minnesota bloggers, will be educating families on bringing green to a local level!  We are calling it "Doing Good in Your Neighborhood"!

Just last night, I cut 7 20x30 sheets of flower seed paper into 200 4x5 pieces for kids to make drawing or rubbings on and then take home to plant.  How cool is that?!?! Paper you can plant! 

There are so many amazing things you and your families can do right at home to take care of the world you live in everyday!  The point of our project today is to show people that they CAN make a difference. Every. Single. Day.

On Friday, I asked you to write post about how you do good for others or for your community. What kind of random acts of kindness do you do? Have you ever paid it forward? How? What will you do today that will make someone smile?  These things make a difference and we want to know about it!  Link up today and share with us, how are you doing good?  How do you make a difference in your neighborhood?

ProFlowers Spa Getaway Basket Review

As the only parent of two VERY ACTIVE pre-adolescents, life is crazy and hectic in my home.  From Boy Scouts to band lessons, and all of the commitments for The Girl's ADHD and ODD treatment, we are always on the go.  So when ProFlowers.com gave me the opportunity to review the Spa Getaway Basket, I was thrilled!

image from ProFlowers.com

While the basket I received looked a bit different, I was still very excited to put it's contents to use.  The description on ProFlowers.com said I would receive:

2 Pillar Candles  (received 4 votives)

12 oz Green Tea Scented Shower Gel

8 oz Green Tea Scented Bubble Bath

8 oz Green Tea Scented Bath Salts

20 Count Box of Tazo Assorted Tea Bags (received 2 boxes of 12) 

Green Bath Mitt
(I also received a 9.1 oz bottle of Green Tea Body Lotion)

While I was disappointed in not receiving pillar candles (I had the perfect candle holders for them in my bathroom), the substitution of 4 votives was alright.  They also added a bottle of Green Tea Body Lotion AND I received 4 extra bags of Tazo Tea.
 

 
All of the Green Tea Spa items had a clean, fresh smell to them.  They were not florally or overpowering in any way, which is PERFECT for my taste. 
 
Being that I have crazy dry skin, I was excited to try the exfoliating bath mitt.  The bath mitt was described as a "Green Bath Mitt" and while the materials used appear to be unbleached and undyed, there was nothing stating it to be made of all natural or recycled product.  In fact, it was 75% Cotton, 24% Ramie, and 1% "Other Fibers", so I'm not entirely sure what was green about it.  The exfoliating side of it seemed to be no more abrasive than a regular wash cloth, so I was very interested to see how well it exfoliated.
 
The Tazo Tea bags were also very exciting to me, as I love tea and grew fond of Tazo when I worked for Starbucks years and years ago.  The assortment consisted of Earl Grey, Organic Chai, China Green Tips, Refresh, Passion, and Calm.  For relaxation purposes, I chose to have a cup of Calm which is a chamomile blend.

My "Spa Getaway" at home was no disappointment. (Although I could have done without The Girl banging on the door every 5 minutes asking to come in!) The bath salts dissolved quickly and left my skin feeling silky soft.  The bubble bath was VERY bubbly (I probably used too much *blush* but it's been years since I've had a bubble bath) and the shower gel lathered really well!  The bath mitt worked wonders on my crazy dry skin and the bonus lotion was an awesome finishing touch.  My only disappointment was the candles.  Although the burned evenly, they didn't have much of a scent, which would have added nicely to the relaxation vibe.

All in all, if another basket from ProFlowers mysteriously showed up on my doorstep, I would be a very, very happy mama... *hint, hint*

And the Winner Is...

The winner of the $40 one-time use gift certificate

to CSN stores

is...

Holy Hannah

at

Be the Butterfly.

Future Ex-Husbands - Baby Daddies

Happy Sunday!

  It's time again for your favorite feature here at Only Parent Chronicles, the Future Ex-Husbands list!  To all of my newer followers, click HERE to learn what this is all about.

This week, I happened to be paging through People Magazine and saw pictures of  hot Hollywood dads chillin' with their tots.  That got me to thinking, what famous daddies would I put on The List?

Well, here they are...

Seriously, there were some STEAMY pictures of this man.  Some of them made me think really naughty things about someone else's husband! *blushing*

I chose to keep it PG...

 (As PG as any image of David Beckham can be when a woman is left alone with her imagination...)

What can I say about Usher?  His music keeps me movin' and he is sooo easy on the eyes.

I'm not sure what's hotter about Tim McGraw, the fact that he's a doting dad or CUH-RAZY in love with his B-E-A-U-tiful wife...

Which leads me to the Throwing Mike a Bone link...

Images found on Google Images - as usual.

Doin' Good in tha Hood

A few weeks back, I was fortunate enough to have been contacted by The Motherhood.  They were organizing an event for the brand new 77kids by American Eagle.  To launch the opening of 11 stores around the country, 77kids is hosting an event called Do Good Day! 

On July 14, 77 women in 11 cities will be "Doing Good" in their communities in pay-it-forward kinds of ways.  I, my friends, am part of Team Minnesota.  With 7 other amazing Minnesota moms, I will be at the Science Museum of Minnesota from 10:00 - 1:00 hosting "Doing Good in Your Neighborhood"!  Our intention is to raise awareness on how families can do good right at home!  We will be:

• Handing out wildflower seed packets to participants to encourage families to grow flowers and give them to their neighbors

• Coloring drawings/rubs on recycled flower seed paper that can be torn up and planted in a garden

• Having families write how they can do good in their own neighborhood for the environment and pin it to a map of Minnesota

• Educating families on ways to Do Good in their Neighborhood; picking up litter, saving water, etc

In addition to bringing "Doing Good" to a local level, I'm crazy excited to get to meet other Minnesota bloggers!  Take a minute to check these ladies out!

Anne at All of the Above

Rachael at Empowering Mommy

Erika at The Girl Next Door Grows Up

Beth at Anti-Supermom

MaryBeth at Baby Good Buys

Mimi at Woven by Words

and

Sarah at Minnesota Mama's Must Haves

***********

So....

With all of this talk of Doing Good, I want to know, how do YOU do good in YOUR neighborhood?

On Wednesday, July 14 I'd like to hear about it!

Write post about how you do good for others or for your community.

◦What kind of random acts of kindness do you do?

◦Have you ever paid it forward? How?

◦What will you do today that will make someone smile?

Then, come back here AND go to The Girl Next Door Grows Up and link up to tell the world!

OR

 If you can’t write a post, come back here on Wednesday and leave me a comment about something –one thing that you did that made someone smile.

Share a Spoon - Super Bowl Dip

Hey friends!  It's that time of week (again) where we find one of our favorite recipes and link it up with ZGirl over at the Think Tank!

This week's theme is "Party Pleezers and Appeteezers".  Hop on over and link up!

This week I'm going to share my FAVORITE party dip.  My mama has made this dip my entire life and somewhere along the line I dubbed it "Super Bowl Dip".  I'm sure it had another name at some point, but I really have no idea what.

I apologize for no pictures again this week, but I don't have an event to share it anytime in the foreseeable future!

Super Bowl Dip

Ingredients:

1.5# ground turkey (or beef)

1# hot Italian Sausage (I use Jimmy Dean)

2# Velveeta (cut into 1 inch cubes)

15 oz. tomato sauce

8 oz. tomato paste

1 small can chopped green chiles

2 tablespoons jalepeno peppers

Instructions:

Brown ground meat and sausage; Drain fat

Add Velveeta and stir until melted

Stir in all other ingredients

Serve hot with tortilla chips!

Rain, Rain, Go Away

Do you ever have those spurts where your mojo goes out the window?  I'm in one now.  The kids got out of school on June 8th and I feel like this has been THE. WORST. SUMMER. EVER.  Since the last day of school, we have received in excess of 5 inches of rain!  It seems like it has been raining 4 out of 7 days each week!  Which means I am stuck inside with 3 kids (The Man's son is visiting for a month).

There were so many things I wanted to do this summer!  I wanted to find the almost 300 geocaches within 5 miles of my house, I wanted to take the kids to the local amusement park, I wanted to spend as many days as we could at the beach or the pool.  To date, we have found 5 geocaches near home and have done NONE of the other things!  In addition, the weather has prevented me from planting any annuals, and I didn't get any bulbs in for my beloved dahlias, which would be starting to bloom about now.  Instead, my flower bed is flourishing with weeds.

My mood is as soggy as my yard, but hopeful the sun will be coming out soon and drying it up.  This funk is making me not so fun and soon my beloved Great Dane may be the only one that can tolerate me.

Image found on Google Images.

Future Ex-Husbands ~ For the Love Of my Cuz

You may have heard me mention my Fave Cousin a time or two...  She rocks.  She lives entirely too far away (near Rockford, IL) and I miss her like CRAZY.  Anydon'tgettoseeherenough, every week after she reads my FEX posts, she sends me a text message or some other form of modern day message telling me who she would like to see featured.  This week's post is just for her.

Images of Christian Bale, Jason Statham, Eric Dane, and Reed Johnson found on Google Images.

Who's Gonna Win Gonna Win Gonna Win?

Hang on to your headboards, people!  Only Parent Chronicles is hosting it's first ever giveaway!  I'm so super stoked! 

The fantastic team at CSN Stores has generously contributed a $40 one-time use gift certificate that can be used at any of their 200+ websites!!  Can I get a WOOT WOOT!!!

I'll have you know, I was totally considering ordering myself one of these -

and just doing a review...  But I have always wanted to do a giveaway and just couldn't see keeping the goods for myself... Sooooo, now for the nitty gritty ~ how's this giveaway gonna work?

To be eligible, you must live in the U.S. or Canada.  To enter, you must follow Only Parent Chronicles via Google Friend Connect.  You can earn additional entries the following ways:

• 
  
  Visit CSN Stores and tell me how you'd like to spend your $40 (1 extra entry)
• 
  
  Follow me on Twitter (1 extra entry)
• 
  
  Join my Blog Frog Community (1 extra entry)
• 
  
  Follow CSN Stores on Twitter (1 extra entry)
• 
  
  Start or contribute to a discussion in my Blog Frog Community (2 extra entries)
• 
  
  Tweet "Enter for your chance to win $40 with @That_One_Mom and @CSNStores http://bit.ly/9wEw0r  " (2 extra entries)

Please make sure to leave a separate comment for each entry!  Contest will end at 11:59 pm CST on Friday, July 9, 2010.  If you don't have an email address attached to your profile, please be sure to include it in your comment, or I will have to pick someone else.  Winner will be selected via random.org and notified via email!  Lots o' love and good luck!

Share a Spoon - Getting My Hotdish On

Happy Thursday to you, friends! Hope you're having a most excellent day! Today I am linking up (once again) with one of my besties and sharing a spoon! If you're not familiar, hop on over to the Think Tank, check it out, and link in!

This week's Share a Spoon theme is CASSEROLES! So why does my title say I'm getting my hotdish on? Because I'm from Minnesota! And in Minnesota, we call casserole HOTDISH! The recipe imma share with you is so quick and easy, we eat it regularly around here! Unfortunately, my kiddos requested a different hotdish for dinner last night, so I don't have any pics of this one. It's crazy yummy and if you know anything about me, you know I'm cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs loca for comida Mexicana!

Mexican Hotdish
Ingredients:
1# ground turkey (or beef)
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed (I buy low sodium)
1 small can Ro-tel, drained
1 can of corn, drained
taco seasoning (check out my taco seasoning recipe)
2 cups shredded cheddar
1 cup crushed tortilla chips

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350. Brown ground meat and drain grease, add taco seasoning, beans, Ro-tel, and corn. Mix well. Pour into 9x13 baking dish. Cover with cheese and crushed tortilla chips. Bake in oven until all cheese is melted, bubbly, and golden on edges.

Can be served with Mexican toppings of your choice!

Enjoy!