Tonight I made Herb and Garlic Pasta with Spinach and Bacon. You can find the recipe here. I used penne instead of shells, and didn't bother with the shallot. Plus I couldn't find Rondele, so I used Allouette. It was low-fat, but still fine. This was DELICIOUS!

So no play-by-play post, but here are a couple pictures of my dinner before I scarfed it down:





Another easy recipe, although not as quick as the nachos.

I haven't done a dinner post in forever! Then again, when I was down with the mono, I wasn't cooking much at all, let alone documenting it. I've been back to regular cooking the past few weeks, but last night was the first time I felt like taking pictures.

This is an easy meal because once the prep is done, everyone makes their own. We had to have a quick and easy meal last night because Lauren and I had a meeting since she wants to join the indoor pit crew/drumline. I thought our busy season was done once marching band was over, but here we go again!

The ingredients are tortilla chips (I like the "Scoops), shredded chicken, shredded cheese, salsa, beans (optional), chopped jalapeno (optional):



( Click for yumminess... )

Since I've been sick, I've stayed out of the schools so I'll reduce my chances of catching something else. However, although I'm not PTA president this year, or a homeroom mom, I have been a Band Mom. Lauren joined the high school marching band, and absolutely loved it. But I had absolutely NO CLUE just how much time and money this was going to take up! First of all, there were two weeks of band camp the first couple weeks of August - and the first week was from 8am-8pm every day! And then we had competitions every Saturday throughout September and October, and football games on Friday nights. Not to mention practice every Tuesday and Thursday from 5-8 after school. I admired Lauren for giving up so much of her time.

The marching band season ended Friday night, but now Lauren is talking about joining indoor guard and working in the pit (percussion). We'll see how that goes.

Here are a few pictures from band season. Lauren (and the rest of the kids) looked so sharp and professional in their uniforms and were amazing performers. They played in the rain, the cold and the freezing wind. My heart bursted with pride at every competition and football game. Here are just a few pictures of the season:



( More this way )

was in July while we were in Ocean City with my friend Michelle and her girls. Look how wonderful a day it was:



After that, it was all downhill. We did have one more overnight trip with Chris's mom, which was fun, but by then I had a cough that started a downward spiral of my health for the rest of the summer. Getting caught in a massive rainstorm didn't help.





That was the beginning of months of sinusitis, bronchitis and MONO (for crying out loud!). I was weak, sick, tired and miserable for months. I'm only now starting to feel better, although I have also been diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

So that's why no updates, no cooking, no baking, no pictures. I hope to get this back on track, if anybody is still reading. We'll see how it goes.

Anybody know the song in the title?

We spent a week in Pigeon Forge last month, where we rented a cabin in the mountains. God, it was nice up there. Chris's parents went with us, and we brought all three dogs (Sandy, Jack and their dog Misty). Sandy and Misty were fine, but Jack was stressed the whole time. ("This is not my beautiful house...How did I get here?" - once again, know the song?)

I'll have to write about the vacation in a few posts, since I took a lot of pictures and we did a lot of stuff. Especially eat. LOTS of eating. But that's part of the fun of vacation. Not the extra pounds I came home with, but trying delicious new foods and restaurants.

As we were driving around Pigeon Forge that first day, Becca saw a place where you could mine for jewels. She completely obsessed about it and talked about it until we took her there a day or so later. I thought it was going to be a cheesy rip-off, but it turned out to be fun, and the girls and I actually had jewelery made from the stones they found. Grandma also had jewelery made for stones she mined.



( More pictures this way... )

More to come!

OK, not really. I mean, we're definitely having lots of fun, but it's not a normal blazing hot summer this year. Which means less outdoor pool time, but we've still been doing a lot of stuff.

June 16th was the last day of school (ridiculously late if you ask me). A couple hours after the girls got home, we picked up Grandma and headed to Ocean City for a couple days. It was downright chilly! It rained a bit on the way down, and was just gloomy. But I had taken that into consideration since we'd had a crappy spring, and booked a room at the Francis Scott Key Family Resort, which has several pools, including an indoor heated one. Definitely a good move; it never got warm enough to swim in the outdoor pools or the ocean.

We got there in the early evening, so after settling in, we headed right to the indoor pool. The girls loved it.



( More this way... )

The past couple weeks of school have been a whirlwind of activities, especially since both Lauren and Becca are "moving up" to new schools (high school and middle school, respectively). Field trips, parties, dances, picnics, etc.

Unfortunately, Becca has been sick this past week with a fever and nasty cough, so she missed out on her picnic and "graduation." That sucked, because she received The President's Award for Educational Excellence, which is a big deal. So we didn't get a picture of her being awarded the certificate and pin by the principal.

With so much going on, it was inevitable that I would forget something or screw something up. However, I didn't expect to end up extremely embarrassed.

I was under the impression that there was going to be an 8th grade "graduation"/celebration like there was going to be for 5th grade, and that it was Wednesday morning at 8:30. I got up early, let Becca skip school to attend it, and dressed up a little. So Chris, Becca and I are sitting with the other parents, parents that I KNOW, when a mom I know asks how many kids are in the 8th grade class. I said I didn't know, so she turned around and asked another mom, who replied that there are about 200 kids in the class. I said to the mom that couldn't be right, because there were very few reserved seats for the kids. That's when she gave me a weird look and said that the seats were reserved for the Presidential Award winners, and showed me the list of kids in the program. Um, Lauren wasn't on it. Apparently, this ceremony was by INVITATION ONLY. And there was the White Family, sitting among the award winners as the program is about to start. We had to quickly leave in front of everybody (all the parents we're friends with and who are the parents of Lauren and Becca's friends), and the whole time I was DYING. I still am. And Chris and Becca are STILL laughing about it. Chris actually hauled ass out the door once realization dawned, dragging Becca with him. But I couldn't just leave without saying anything, so I confessed my faux pas to my friend Annette, who is probably still getting a little chuckle out of this once in a while.

Anyway.

The 8th grade field trip was last Thursday, and it was in DC. Thankfully the deranged shooter didn't pick that day to flip, because the kids were dropped off and picked up right in front of the Holocaust Museum. I drove separately, because I had to take Lauren back early for a band event. Nice way to travel for a field trip - in my own van, by myself, iPod cranked, iced coffee. Oh, yes.

I only got a few field trip pictures since I wasn't there long, but they are cute.

Lauren and one of her BFFs:



( More goofy girls this way... )

My computer crapped out a while back, and even though Chris got me a new one the same day, he had to get everything back on. Unfortunately, that didn't include the photo editing program I was familiar with, so I had to learn a new one. Chris can tell you I don't like new programs on my computer. So it took me a while to have him show me what to do, then I forgot and had to learn again. I think I've got it now. And I like this program better, which often happens, even though I do my best to resist change.

First, though, I promised Malcolm a book fair story a few weeks back.

It's the last day of the book fair, first thing in the morning, when it's at its craziest with tons of kids thrusting money and merchandise at the volunteers and me. In the middle of this, I hear some woman talking loudly to one of the parent volunteers, and he looked like a deer caught in headlights, so I ask what the problem is. She starts going off on me that I overcharged her precious by $3.00 for a poster. OK, I checked it out, and he was overcharged - by accident. Every poster we sell is $4.50, EXCEPT that one that had a tiny sticker in the corner that said $1.00. Scholastic didn't mention this one single poster was on sale, and we sell like 25 different posters. I apologized, took the difference out of the cash box and went to hand it to her. "HAND IT TO HIM, HE TOOK HIS OWN MONEY OUT OF HIS PIGGY BANK AND YOU RIPPED HIM OFF!!!". Whoa. I responded it was an honest mistake, and she said "I DON'T THINK IT WAS. I THINK YOU RIPPED HIM OFF AND TOOK ADVANTAGE OF HIM. AND YOU SHOULD BE WRITING OUT RECEIPTS FOR EVERY CHILD THAT BUYS SOMETHING!" This is not feasible. If someone pays with credit card, they get a receipt. Otherwise, since we know almost every child in the school, if someone has a dispute, we don't question it and do what we can to make it right. AS I WAS DOING.

At this point, I'm really pissed. But since I am a book fair chairperson and a PTA co-president, I couldn't let loose. So I just clenched my teeth in a poor imitation of a smile and said "You are welcome to attend a PTA meeting and give your suggestions. Otherwise, we are done here." She huffs off, and I'm left pissed and shaking. Fortunately, there were many witnesses - teachers and staff who had had run-ins with this woman themselves. Apparently, I am now a member of a not-so-exclusive club. And not only did this woman get in my face, SHE TOLD ON ME to the Assistant Principal! And then that night, at our Family Dance, she was STILL telling everyone who didn't run away from her how I ripped off her kid. What a freak. I could go on and on about this woman and the things so many people told me about her that day, but suffice it to say that EVERYBODY HATES HER, and she's a miserable person. And that's good enough for me.

OK, onto the pictures. I met a friend for lunch last week. She and I went to high school together, and are still good friends after almost 30 FREAKING YEARS. We met Freshman year, 1979. And now Lauren is starting high school in 2009. Ugh. Anyway, here we are (with her little girl Emily, who is too adorable for words):



Crappy picture of me, but there you go.

And here's a not-so-crappy picture of me, taken by Lauren at Harper's Ferry a few weeks ago:



( More this way... )

Some 8th grade stuff in the next post!

Becca was one of a few kids chosen at her school to read a poem she wrote for class. Her teacher said the poem just blew him away. I was so proud!

Becca was pleased she was chosen, but scared to death because she had to read the poem at Valley Elementary's Poetry Night at Barnes and Noble. Using a microphone. In front of a lot of people. The day of the reading, she was so nervous. And I thought she was going to burst into tears as soon as we walked into the bookstore. There were quite a few people there, but they were all Valley families. I told her all the kids would be supported by all the families. Luckily, some of her friends read, too.

All the kids did wonderfully, and I was so proud of Becca. My heart was pounding as hard as hers was, I know. As soon as she got to the mic, I could tell she was so scared. Her voice shook a little, but she did such a great job. I think she was in shock after it was over, because she was shaky and didn't even want a cupcake from the cafe!

Here she is, our little Poet Laureate:



And here is her poem:

Falling Leaves
by Becca White

Falling leaves and wilting flowers

shovel and rake

chilly, so cold

getting a backache

working then sleeping

lookin' forward to a project

"Really?"

This makes Autumn another insect

copyright 2009, Becca White

It's been a month since my last update! Shameful, I know. Now that we're heading towards the end of the school year, it's getting really busy. Plus there's that little Facebook addiction I have no intention of fighting. No interventions, please.

It's already late, but I do want to finish up posting about our activities during spring break. And speaking of spring, where the hell is it? It's warm, it's cold, it gets hot for a day, then cold. Rain, rain, rain. Seriously, this is not the kind of spring I remember from my childhood. We actually played outside on Easter Sunday and wore light, spring clothes with no jackets! Global warming my ass.

Anyway.

Our big outing was the DC trip, but we did a few other fun things that week. Pretty much INDOOR things, of course. On Wednesday, we saw the movie "Monsters vs Aliens," and we saw it in 3D. It was a very fun movie, and I really enjoyed the 3D experience. It's come a long way from the blue/red glasses.

Here are the girls getting ready to watch the movie:



There are several 3D movies coming out this summer that we're looking forward to.

( More indoor fun this way... )

So that was spring break 2009. Only a few more weeks until summer, and it's going to get absolutely crazy here. Both Lauren and Becca are moving up to new schools (high school and middle school, respectively), so there are dances, picnics, parties and celebrations coming up. I have taken some cooking and baking pictures and will post those soon as well. I'll try not to let a month go by until my next entry!

Well, not really. We had planned to go to Tennessee for spring break. We had rented a cabin in the mountains, and were really looking forward to it. But the weather had other plans for us. Cold, rain, snow, fog and maybe one sunny day the whole week. SUCK! So we decided to stay home and postpone the mountains until June. Hopefully by THEN we'll have some nice weather!

I still let the girls take off the two days from school they would have if we had gone as planned. So we had about ten days off from school, which was much needed and enjoyed. We had a few nice days, and did a lot of fun things.

Sunday the 5th was a beautiful day. Sunny and in the mid- to upper-60s. So we decided to spend the day in Washington, DC to check out the cherry blossoms and other sites. First we stopped for lunch at one of our favorite places in nearby Urbana, Foster's Grille. They make AWESOME burgers.

The cherry blossoms had faded some, and many of them had blown away the day before with the strong, gusty winds, but they were still pretty.



( More DC fun this way... )

Next entry - Staycation, Part 2

I haven't posted in three weeks. Know why? Because there is NOTHING GOING ON. Winter doesn't want to let go for the most part. We really haven't gone anywhere special, or taken pictures of anything. There are only so many pictures of leafless trees and brown fields you can take.

We were supposed to go on vacation next week for spring break, but it turns out the weather where we were going is going to be a nasty bust. Temps in the 30s/40s, some snow, rain, wind. One day where it was supposedly going to be 60 and sunny. Screw that. So we're going in June instead. Still, things are starting to look up. It was rainy today, but warm, and there were periods of sun. I had lunch with a friend at a new place in town that turned out really nice. It's windy now; sounds like a hurricane, but it's supposed to be warm and sunny on Sunday and we're hoping to go somewhere and enjoy it.

Chris and I celebrated 16 years of marriage today. Well, we really didn't celebrate today; yesterday Chris took the afternoon off (after MONTHS of long hours and overtime) and we went out to lunch and saw a movie. We haven't seen a movie in the theater together since Cloverfield in January 2008! We saw Knowing, which was a fantastic movie. Depressing and sad at the end, though.

I got my Mother's Day gift early - an iPod Touch, which I decided I coveted after my friend Michelle kept talking up hers. LOVE IT.

I've gotten in touch with friends I haven't seen or heard from in 20-30 years on Facebook. Even my very first best friend when we were four. Facebook is amazing, not to mention very addictive. I'm usually there, if I'm not here.

No new recipes lately. I start getting lazy this time of year. I'm sick of my "winter" recipes, but it's too soon for "summer" recipes. I want to start grilling, but we have to time it right with the weather changing constantly. Most of the meals I've been making have already been posted here. It can get hard to get creative with meals sometimes. Once local produce is available, and it's nicer out, meals start getting fun and creative again. Only six to eight more weeks until strawberry picking time!

The girls are doing fine in school, which is why I'm still letting them take off Monday and Tuesday before spring break (which starts Wednesday) as if we were still going to Tennessee. Chris is still taking off too, so it'll be a nice, relaxing week.

( I have taken some pictures of the pets lately, so check them out this way... )

And finally, my favorite. Yeah, I always have dog hair on my clothes, but who could resist this?

It's funny - Lauren doesn't want me volunteering anywhere near the middle school. I had the audacity to walk by her math class last week when I was helping out with the book fair. The look of horror on her face was priceless.

But when it comes to field trips, she always wants me to go. I don't know why, but I definitely like to go when I can.

This past Thursday was the middle school band adjudication, where all the middle school bands are judged on performance and sight-reading. Since there are 40 kids in the 7th and 8th grades bands (the 6th graders don't take part in this), the teacher needs a few parent chaperones to keep the kids corralled.

Since we had to leave the school around 8:20, I decided to just let Lauren sleep in a bit and miss the bus since she usually has to be at school at 8:00. I figured being late wouldn't be a big deal. I stopped at McD's for some coffee, and we got to the school around 8:10. As she was signing in on a late-arrival log, the secretary asked why she was late, so I explained we were going on the band trip. Then Miss Lauren pipes up "But we would've gotten here earlier if Mom hadn't stopped at McDonald's!" Nice.

I really didn't do much chaperoning. Apparently, I was wanted for my storage space:



( Band geeks this way... )

I've really been neglecting my journal! Again, I blame it on the winter blahs; there's just not much going on. And I readily admit to my Facebook addiction.

Here is this week's Four Foods on Friday:

1. Olive oil. What kind do you prefer to use?

I'm not really a connoisseur of olive oil. I usually buy it at Trader Joe's (they call their olive oil Trade Gianni's). It might be EEVO, but I'm really not sure.

2. Meatballs. Do you make them from scratch, buy premade cooked or buy premade frozen?

I've made homemade before. It's a lot of work. I realized that the frozen ones are just as good and so much easier. I usually buy Market Day frozen meatballs.

3. Do you use napkins at home? Paper or cloth?

Paper! Maybe cloth is better for the environment, but you really have to weigh out. Is it more harmful to the environment to throw away paper napkins, or to have to constantly do loads of napkins to make sure you have enough for every meal every day?

4. Share a recipe for a white sauce.

I don't have one! I made an Alfredo sauce once years ago, but Chris wasn't really crazy about it. And it's so fattening, I just don't bother anymore.

It's been a while since I participated in FFOF, so I'd like to get back on track. Here are this week's questions:

#1. Coffee. Do you use ground, bean or pods?

Ground. My favorite restaurant sells great bags of ground coffee.

#2. Coffee filters. Do you use paper, gold or other?

Just regular paper ones.

#3. Tea. Do you prefer tea bags, loose tea or something else?

I pretty much just drink iced tea, not hot. I use Luzianne decaf tea bags and brew it in my Mr. Coffee Iced Tea Pot. I drink the tea with lemon only. The girls and I go through a lot in the summer.

#4. Share a recipe for something you like to eat with coffee or tea.

The chocolate cake in this entry would be perfect with coffee.

One thing I absolutely love is cold-brewed coffee that I use to make iced coffee in the summer. It's really easy - Add one cup of ground coffee to 8 cups of water and mix well. (I do this in a giant measuring cup.) Cover with plastic wrap and leave on your counter for 24-48 hours. Store in refrigerator. I pour it over a tall glass of ice, then add a couple tablespoons fat-free half and half, a packet of Equal and sometimes a little chocolate or caramel syrup.

And since today was gorgeous and warm and the weekend is supposed to be nice, I think it's getting time to get some coffee into the fridge.

I haven't been writing here very much these days. I think it's the weather. It's so cold, so we're not going out and doing anything. Nothing really to take pictures of. I'm making a lot of meals I've already posted about. I need Spring! Strawberry picking, leaves on the trees, green grass, flowers, warm sun. It's so close, but still so far away, especially these days. I don't think it got out of the 20s today, and we had a nasty wind chill to go along with it. It snowed some over the weekend - come ON, it's March!

But maybe since it came in like a lion, it'll go out like a lamb.

I know; I'll update my New Year's resolutions. Here they are:

Get back to Weight Watchers and lose these last ten pounds or so.

I didn't get back to Weight Watchers, but I have lost most of the weight. The meds I was given for my anxiety have the added benefit of curbing my appetite!

Get a basic physical and try to get the stupid depression/anxiety under control for once and for all.

Done! And my doctor (love him!) said I am ridiculously healthy and at a good weight.

I always get my yearly gyn check-up and mammogram, plus I have an appointment with a dermatologist for a skin cancer check (many nasty sunburns as a kid before we knew sunshine was dangerous).

Got my reminder card to make an appointment in May for the gyno; had my skin check in January (all clear!).

Actually start using the treadmill again.

I have not.

Better sleep habits! Quit staying up until 2 or 3 am. I may be nocturnal, but most of the world isn't, so I need to adapt them them and not the other way around.

I'm sleeping much better and deeper these days, but still getting to bed late. Baby steps.

And I make this resolution every year, but don't always keep it: read at least 100 books. I only made it to 80 this year, which was seven less than last year. I've already finished Book #1 for 2009, so I'm off to a good start. I've been keeping a yearly book list since 2007. I really wish I had started doing that back when I was a kid.

January started off strong with eight books read, but I have only read a total of 13 at this point. Reading usually picks up in the summer for me.

I have also developed an addiction to Facebook. Hey, at least it's not MySpace!

It's supposed to get warmer as the week goes on. Hopefully that will happen and Chris, the kids and I can get out of this house for a change and go do something.

I got permission from Becca's friends' moms to post their pictures here. I found out yesterday that all the kids earned over $5000 for the American Heart Association.

Becca and her friend Becca (they are both Becca W. and in the same class!):





( More girlies this way... )

Becca celebrated her 11th birthday last week (sob!). She has been coveting Lauren's iPod since Lauren got hers last summer for her 13th birthday. We told Becca we'd be happy to get her one for her 13th birthday, but she COULD NOT WAIT. So we gave her an option - skip having a birthday party, and we would give her $100 towards an iPod (approximately the amount we'd spend on a party), since she had enough in Best Buy gift cards from Christmas to make up the difference. She went for it, of course. She got her iPod and I didn't have to plan a party. Win/win!

But Chris and I still wanted to get her an actual gift from us. I asked her several times what she wanted, but she couldn't think of anything - except a hamster. I had promised her one at the end of the school year for consistent good grades. Then she asked if she could re-arrange her room instead and put her bed by her window. Well, Chris didn't want her sleeping near the windows while it's still so cold, so we nixed that idea. So Chris and I talked and decided to get the hamster now and let her re-arrange her room at the end of the school year.

So after the Read-a-Thon, Lauren and I stopped by PetSmart and picked out a cute hamster and all its paraphernalia.

*Proud Mom Moment*

First we went to Target, because Lauren wanted to buy Becca a birthday gift using her OWN money. I thought she'd pick up some little trinket, but she actually bought a Sims 2 Expansion Pack for $20, and insisted she didn't mind spending that much on Becca.

Anyway, we happily surprised Becca when we got home. She was thrilled and excited. We got the hamster set up in his new home, and were glad when we realized the pets had no interest in it. Becca named him Charlie. This is what the little guy looked like:



However, it became very apparent after a few days that this is what he really was:



He hissed a few times, was very anti-social and aggressive, trying to bite Becca whenever she went to feed him, and succeeded once, drawing copious amounts of blood. I could tell Becca was very unhappy and hurt. The hamster came with a two-week guarantee, so I offered to let her exchange him for another hamster that would be nice.

( More of the story... )

I've wanted to update before now, but I got hit with some kind of virus over the weekend that's had me down for the count. We couldn't go to Kelli's Valentine party (which is a good thing since I probably would've infected all the guests) and Becca's birthday was pretty low-key. Lauren and I did do the Read-a-Thon Saturday morning since we had made the commitment. It was actually relaxing to have nothing to do but sit and read for a few hours. I got this email a few days later:

Thank you for participating in the first In Love with Literacy Read-A-Thon. Your efforts helped raise nearly $2, 500 for the tutors and students of the Council. The event also had a great turn out with nearly 75 readers!

You can look at pictures here. Lauren and I are listed as "BMS Readers."

Although I don't know yet how much Valley Elementary raised during the Jump Rope for Heart, I'd like to share a few pictures of that day. These pictures are of only Becca; I have some with her friends and I'm waiting on parent OKs to post them.



( A few more... )

Thank you to everyone, both online and offline, who donated to our fundraising efforts!

Here's hoping whatever this virus is, it will quit kicking my ass soon!

Last week I made one of Chris's favorite meals, but was so tired from my new anti-anxiety meds that I didn't get a chance to post it. I'm still a little more tired than usual, but it seems that most of the side effects have worn off. I'm actually feeling pretty good, and my doctor said I'm only going to keep feeling better as the weeks go on.

I got this recipe back in 1995 from one of those cookbooks you pick up at the grocery store check-out (Pillsbury's Meals in Minutes), and it's called Garden Chicken Saute. For any Weight Watchers reading, it's 7 points for 1-1/4 cups.

Start with this:



2 teaspoons olive oil
1 whole chicken breast, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups water
2 (3-oz) packages chicken-flavor ramen noodle soup mix
2 teaspoons dried Italian seasoning
1 cup baby carrots, cut lengthwise
2 cups sliced zucchini

My changes: For the first time I used McCormick's new Italian Herb Seasoning Grinder, which really made it yummy, and I thought gave it much better flavor than the regular dried seasoning.

I used about half a bag of shredded carrots because I didn't feel like cutting up the carrots.

I always use jarred chopped garlic.

( More pictures and recipes this way... )

This has been a busy week so far. Becca had her Jump Rope for Heart, her tumbling class, I had to go to the middle and high schools to find about registration for the girls (sob!), tomorrow is Becca's 5th grade Valentine party and Lauren's middle school Valentine dance. Plus Lauren and I are doing our Read-a-Thon on Saturday and that night Chris and I have a Valentine party to go to at my friend Kelli's. Then Sunday is Becca's birthday. WHEW.

I have pictures to post and will hopefully get caught up in the next few days. In the meantime, Chris has a few pictures of Becca's activities this week on his blog.