Ok people, no dramatic commentary from me today. Not that there’s a shortage of bitching in these parts, just that I’m about to head out to have lunch with my BFF and ex-work buddy (Wassup Moe-zilla?!). The boys are going to Mary’s so I can do some errands and hubby can immerse himself in touch up paint & wall hangings (as we attempt to spiffy up the house in preparation for the MIL’s visit). So instead, I’m leaving you with some internet awesomeness that I’ve come across in my travels. Too good not to share! In no particular order:

• Sweetheart Moments: A mommy blog and a craft blog rolled into one! I’m so in love with this site! And super jealous of this chick’s creativity and organizational skills! She’s got some fabulous ideas. Sorta makes Martha look like a deadbeat
• IKEA Hacker: I’m so excited that I came across this one because I love IKEA! Check out all the creative and inspiring things folks do with items from IKEA. Some really cool hacks!
• jannypie crafts: Another craft blog, but definitely not ordinary. She’s got some really nice tutorials and some super cute (free) blogger templates (if you’re into that sort of thing). Yeah that’s the Wordpress snob in me.
• behind the seams: A Mom, Etsy-er, and humble craft blogger. Another talented Super Mom! How do you ladies do it? Send some of that energy my way please! I just love seeing how people set up their craft rooms and her room is awesome!
• Perrys’ Plate: This one might just make a foodie out of me! Ok, not really. I like to EAT. Lords knows I don’t like to COOK much. But I’m tryin’!
• Vista Icons: Totally cute icons to personalize your PC. I spent way too much time last night downloading and changing out all my important icons. And yeah, I’m running Windows Vista. Because I’m cool like that.
• Microsoft Office Planner Templates: an anal retentive organization junkie’s DREAM! Download vacation planners, meal planners, Christmas present planners, baby shower planners, camping trip planners, the list goes on! All in Word or Excel format.
• Vertex42: more spreadsheet and template goodness! I’m lovin’ it!
• Feathers, fur and fusing: Last but not least… my talented friend Jan and her blog supporting Blue Cockatoo Glass (her Etsy shop). She loves to tinker with bits of glass and comes up with some really cute stuff. Love the sun/moon magnets!

• Tagged with: Freebies, IKEA, Recipes

Just so you know, my Mom has a culinary gene that she SO did not pass on to me. Sucks for me since I’m now pretty much forced to learn to cook (hello, living on one income means sayonara to dining out & costly convenience foods). So I asked my Mom to walk me through putting together one of her much celebrated crockpot roasts. I’ve made two so far and both times hubby snarfed it, so I know I did something right! First time I used beef and the second time a pork tenderloin. Both came out SO delicious, the meat just fell apart! We were able to make some slammin’ pot roast sandwiches with the leftovers too. Yay for me! But oh no, is there hope for me yet? Crap! No more pulling the “Sorry, I can’t cook, let’s take our guests out to dinner” card!

INGREDIENTS:

• Beef or pork roast
• Bag of baby carrots
• 1 stalk of Celery
• 5 sm. white or red potatoes
• 1/2 of a lrg. white/yellow onion
• Mrs. Dash
• Tarragon
• 1/2 a packet of onion soup mix
• 1 c. of water
• Jar of minced garlic
• 1 stick of butter
• Feta cheese
• Salt & pepper

DIRECTIONS:

1. Rinse your meat well.
2. Place a slow cooker liner in the crockpot, place piece of meat on bottom.
3. Cover the top/sides of the meat with a thin layer of minced garlic.
4. Add a generous amount of tarragon and Mrs. Dash.
5. Wash & cut up all the veggies (cut celery into 3″ long pieces, quarter potatoes, cut onion into half rings).
6. Layer veggies on the sides & top of meat, filling up the crockpot.
7. Add more tarragon, Mrs. Dash and salt & pepper.
8. Cut one stick of butter into pads and layer on top.
9. Dissolve the onion soup mix in 1 c. water (stir well) and pour evenly into crockpot.
10. Crumble feta cheese (as desired) on the very top.
11. Cook 8-9 hours on low.

MENU IDEA:
- Savory Crockpot Roast
- Favorite green salad
- Fresh rolls

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• Tagged with: Crockpot Meals, Recipes

Happy Father’s Day! Forgive me upfront as I’ve already consumed several beers with no stopping in sight. (But seriously, I do need to stop soon or a massive hangover is sure to ensue.) The kiddos are asleep! Philip and I are on our own computers here in the home office. He’s watching some LAME videos and I’m listening to 80’s alternative on my HEADPHONES (because some cranky-ass complained about the cross-noise). How nerdy are we? I even sent him an IM through Facebook. Too bad he won’t humor me with a reply!

So tonight was really nice. I attempted a Shepherd’s Pie recipe for the second time and surprisingly, it turned out pretty damn good. I would post the recipe, but am fastly approaching “too buzzed” to talk about anything serious. But needless to say, I’m pretty smug right now about my new-found cooking abilities (if you want to go so far as to call them that). Remember this is coming from someone who could barely boil water correctly. We also watched Wall-E with the boys. Gavin was all over the place, but I was happy with how well Quentin sat through the movie. He was so cute! When they showed scenes of Wall-E and EVE in love, he would say “Mommy and Daddy!”. He’s only 2.5, but wondering if he isn’t ready to see a movie in a real theater yet?

Tomorrow is a new week and I’m hoping to be a bit more productive than I’ve been in the last two weeks. I think I’ve had enough time to let the newness of being unemployed settle in. It’s time for the domestic ass-kicking to set in and the crazy-mad organizational skills to take ahold of the situation. Unfortunately, having two screaming, hyper houligans running around makes for little time to do anything but CLEAN UP AFTER MESSES. Forget about forward thinking! Somehow I must master the art of entertaining the boys AND cleaning/organizing. Or I am just crazy to think it’s even doable?

P.S. the worst part of drinking beer is having to PEE every 15 minutes!

• Tagged with: Recipes, SAHM