Stuffed Zucchini & Tomatoes

I should start off with saying that this would have been a WHOLE lot easier with a food processor.

Ingredients:

1 cup of Cherry Tomatoes
3 Zucchini
2 cups of cauliflower
1 cup of nonfat cottage cheese
1/4 cup of grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cup of shredded parmesan cheese
1 tbsp of italian seasoning
1/4 tsp of pepper
dash of salt


I started off by taking a melon baller and removing the inside of the zucchini to make little boats.



I then cut up and cooked the inside of the zucchini that I had scooped out, along with the garlic.


While that cooked down until the zucchini was tender, I steamed the cauliflower. You can also use Bird's Eye bagged cauliflower that you steam in the bag to make this a little easier and faster.


Next, I mixed the zucchini & garlic mixture with the cauliflower with a mixer.


And added the cottage cheese, italian seasoning, salt & pepper and mixed.


Then added all of the grated parmesan cheese and half of the shredded parmesan cheese, mixed together, then stuffed the mixture into the zucchini boats and tomatoes, and sprinkled the remaining shredded parmesan cheese on top.


Finally, I placed them in the oven at 350 degrees Farenheit for 20 minutes and served hot.

Nutritional Info:
Servings Per Recipe: 4
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 122.3
Total Fat: 4.4 g
Cholesterol: 13.5 mg
Sodium: 603.9 mg
Total Carbs: 8.1 g
Dietary Fiber: 1.1 g
Protein: 13.2 g

The American Dream....just a Fairy Tale

Growing up, I was taught to work hard and give 150%. I bought into the Protestant Work Ethic, and the American Dream, where anyone can succeed if they work hard enough and get a good education. I heard stories of companies that valued their employees. Where the employee wanted to work hard and help their employer succeed, and in return for their loyalty, the companies valued their employees, treated them like family and helped and supported them in hard times. The companies and employees worked hand in hand to help a business succeed in times of recession. Companies didn't layoff thousands of employees because profits had dropped a little, instead, they worked with their employees on plans to turn the business around. Or worse...when profits were still rising, companies didn't layoff half the workforce and work the other half to death, just in hopes of a 1% increase in profits.

I grew up believing that if I worked hard, and received a good education, then my future and career would be successful. I believed this was the key to success, but all it was, was a fairy tale. Instead companies function on Contingent workforces, where the same work is performed by professional, college educated employees without benefits or any certain future. Eventually, their Contingent assignment will end or they will be laid off. Women make up two-thirds of the Contingent Workforce. This isn't surprising since women historically are under employed and under paid. The Contingent workforce is the new way employers keep women underpaid.

I am saddened to see that everything I grew up believing was a lie. I'm saddened by the way hard working people are thrown by the way side, to make just a few more bucks. I'm especially saddened when I see MY company do this very thing…when I know the people being laid off, and know how good they are. I'm saddened that in a town, where jobs are few and far between, these laid off former Contingent employees will struggle to keep their roof over their head. I'm saddened when I see one of the sweetest girls I've ever met, who has worked her butt off working 40+ hours a week, while going to school full time, and was told that she would be back after the shut down; I'm saddened to see a Personnel Movement Authorization Document for this person, with her assignment permanently ending. She grew up in this small town with hopes of one day making a career at John Deere. I'm saddened for her dream that is now lost; for her dream that was just a fairy tale.

How Lil Wayne could have saved my Life.

Ok, so this might be a little like the 6 Degrees of Separation game, but follow along anyway. :-)

This past weekend, while painting, I was listening to E!'s biography on Lil Wayne in the background. I was actually amazed at his life, ambition, and his talent as a rapper. Often we only see the outside appearance of a person, what they allow us to see, or the news stories where they are caught behaving badly. We don't really see the full person. I equate this to how little we really know our aquaintances....or, let's face it, our Facebook 'friends'.

On the show, I learned that he started rapping at 8...yes, I said 8! And he was signed to a label at 12! He was in the gifted program in school, until he dropped out at 14. Despite dropping out of school, he eventually earned his GED and enrolled at the University of Houston in 2005, earning high grades and majoring in Political Science. I was also surprised to learn that he was the original person to coined the term "bling" while recording one of his albums.

So, what does all of this have to do with me? During the interview he was asked about his rumored drug use. He noted that he uses marijuana recreationally, but that he was no longer addicted to the "purple juice". The narrator explained that "purple juice" was a reference to his addiction to cough syrup. This actually perked my ears up. I had studied many drugs in my Criminology classes, but had never heard of anyone being addicted to cough syrup. I was also interested because I often treat my allergies with Nyquil (it is a cheaper alternative to allergy medicine since it has an antihistimine in it).

After researching addiction to cough syrup online, I found out that the addiction is to the codeine in the cough syrup. It is cheaper than most drugs, and legal. One thing I also found during my research was that certain common medications can be deadly when taken in conjunction with cough syrup. One of those being another over-the-counter allergy medications I often take! Cough syrup taken in conjunction with Claritin can be deadly. I can't tell you how many times I have taken this combination.

I used to be on allergy shots when we were on military health insurance, but since switching to the Corporate world, I now have United Health Care. I pay $1,000 per month for premiums, and since the deductible is $5,000, I end up paying for 100% of my own doctor visits, medicines, xrays, etc. After getting the bill for my first month of allergy shots ($500), I stopped getting the shots and started self treating with over-the-counter medication. I usually take Sudafed when stopped up during the day, Claritin as a preventative measure, and NyQuil at night because of the antihistimine it contains. I can't tell you how many times I have often taken them all together, when I am suffering really bad from allergies. Thanks to Lil Wayne, I now know how dangerous that is, and how lucky I am to still be alive.

Thanks Lil Wayne for saving my life!

Painting makes me depressed.

(Editors note: too tired to make sense, so here's some very random and out of place thoughts on the subject.)

I'm not sure why, and I just discovered it. Though I'm not sure if it's the painting that makes me depressed or the fact that I get motivated to paint when I get anxious to move. Maybe it's being anxious to move that makes me depressed.

When we first moved here, I painted with a fury. I was often home alone with Kennedy, and had just moved to a new place. I was very lonely, and therefore, depressed. I painted knowing that we were not going to live here for very long. I painted, so we could sell the house. Anyone that has bought and sold a house in a short period of time knows that you have to raise the value enough to cover the realtor's fees. So, I had to put raise the value of our house $12,000 in a market with falling values.

So, I painted.

And painted.

And painted. Six full rooms, and a hallway. I painted everything...walls, ceiling, trim. Man, do you know how long that takes? To do it right?

I swear this house is held together with paint.

I finally stopped painting when I got a job. I was working, getting out of the house, and therefore happy.

Well, a year later, I'm painting again. I'm itching to get out of this house. The enormous mortgage, along with my outrageous student loans, and 2 months of layoffs has made me have to pinch pennies. It sucks.

Someone came to look at the house Thursday. I drove by while they were here and saw what they looked like. Then yesterday (Saturday), there was a car that drove in front of our house and stopped and looked. I swear it was the same couple that came to look at the house (but anyone that knows me knows that my facial recognition sucks). I would love for them to buy the house, but I've shown it enough not to get my hopes up.

However, their looking has made me motivated to finish up the painting that I started. Something to give them (or any other perspectives) the extra push.

Painting was fun the first 5 minutes, but motivation was soon lost. Damn, why did I start? Now I HAVE to finish it, and have no motivation or energy to do so. I'm done painting for today. It's already put me in a bad mood, and I'm trying to not take it out on others.

Blah.

Lunch: Veggie Olio

Ingredients:
1 c. Spaghetti (whole wheat)
1 tbsp Olive oil
2 tsp Garlic (chopped)
5 leaves Basil (fresh)
5 Cherry Tomatoes
2 tbsp Green onion
1/2 Green Bell Pepper


Directions:
Cook spaghetti according to package.

Chop Vegetables to desired size & sautee Olive oil, Garlic, Basil, Cherry Tomatoes, Green onion, Green Bell Pepper over medium heat for 5 minutes. Drain pasta and add to vegetables. Toss to mix. Then plate and serve.



Nutrition Facts

Veggie Olio

Serving Size: 1 serving

Amount Per Serving
Calories 413.3
Total Fat 21.2 g
Saturated Fat 2.9 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 2.1 g
Monounsaturated Fat 15.0 g
Cholesterol 0.0 mg
Sodium 7.7 mg
Potassium 530.3 mg
Total Carbohydrate 51.0 g
Dietary Fiber 9.1 g
Sugars 5.5 g
Protein 10.0 g

Mexican Corn Cake

The first time I tried to make this, I didn't get it quite right. So, I revamped the recipe a little, and O.M.G. this is good!

Ingredients:

1 box of Jiffy corn bread mix
1 egg
1 can of cream corn
1 can of Mexican corn
1/2 cup of brown sugar (packed)
1/2 cup of milk

Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix. Spray and 8x8 baking pan with non-stick spray and pour in mixture. Cook in a preheated oven at 400F for 20 minutes.

Dressing a Stylish Kid for Less

1. Buy special pieces. Its okay to spend a little more on one or two special pieces that you can mix and match with cheaper pieces.
2. Don’t preseason shop. Boutiques and stores display the next season’s clothes at full price. If you wait a month for the season, those items will usually be On Sale! In particular, Children’s Place and Gymboree change their collections often and try to rotate them through their stores every month or two, so they usually have a large amount of sale items.
3. Buy neutrals at discount stores. Solid tank tops, tee shirts, sweaters, skirts, and pants are sold at all prices. Unless there is something special (see Rule 1), there is no sense in paying top dollar for the same thing you can get at bargain basement prices!
4. Buy sweaters and tights. Sweaters and tights can extend a summer dress into fall and spring.
5. Mix & Match. Just because an outfit is sold together, doesn’t mean it has to stay together. Extend your child’s wardrobe by taking a special 2 piece outfit and mixing and matching it with inexpensive neutrals.
6. Buy a ½ to 1 size larger. Kids grow fast, and many retailers have taken that into consideration by making bottoms with the adjustable waistband. This will allow your child to wear clothes for longer. Clothes with adjustable waistbands are great for children who have little a little waist and a little more bottom. Don’t you wish adult clothes came like this??!!
7. Accessorize. You accessorize yourself, so why not accessorize your child! Changing the accessories can change an outfit. Accessories can be added to cost conscious neutrals to make the outfit a little more special and appear a little more expensive.
8. Don’t be afraid to overdress. Who says a little girl can’t play in a dress? The Amish do it all the time. Inexpensive sundresses to the park will bring style to any little girl. Not into dresses, then accessorize. Faux pearls can make a tee shirt and shorts look posh. Boys can accessorize too! Try a colored pair of sunglasses or a cool hat.
9. It’s okay to spend extra on items your kid will wear often. A lot of kids have 2 or more bathing suits. Last year, so did my daughter. Each were $15 or under. This year, I saw one online that was exceptionally cute. It was $35, which for me is too much for a bathing suit. However, it was so cute that I knew I would want her to wear it every time we went swimming. I spent the extra money, and it is the only bathing suit she got this year. It’s so cute that I will be handing it down to my niece, who is a year younger, for next summer!
10. Don’t buy anything you don’t LOVE. Just like it is a waste of money to buy something for yourself that you don’t love because you won’t wear it, the same goes for what you put your child in. If you don’t like the item, you are less likely to put them in it. It doesn’t matter if it is $2 or $200, if it doesn’t get worn, then it’s not worth buying.

Here is an example of special pieces. I bought this skirt and sweater at Gymboree, on sale of course! The skirt was originally $29 and I paid $9.99 and the sweater was originally $38 and I paid $14.99 for it. The skirt I got in season. It was from their spring collection which they displayed in February. I bought it on sale in April!



Here's the detail on the sweater...love it! I will also pair this with some dark jeans for her this fall and winter.



Here's an example of a solid tank bought at Wal-Mart mixed with the Gymboree skirt. The shoes I got at the Dollar store for $2!! They had VERY similar ones at Children's Place for $15. The only difference was the CP ones were open toe, which Kennedy can't wear to school anyway. I have gotten soooooo much use out of those $2 shoes. I bought them in both pink and purple.



And here's the same outfit with silver Target shoes.



For early fall or spring, I use a simple white long sleeve tee shirt from either Wal-Mart of Target, accessorized with a hot pink necklace.



For late fall, I would add an inexpensive sweater I bought from Wal-Mart (purchased on sale after Easter!). For winter, I would just add a pair of white or pink tights.



Accessorized differently.



This time with a necklace.



This dress was $6 from either Wal-Mart or Target, it's an example of a nice sundress she would wear to the park.



I found this sweater today at K-Mart. It was 30% off, so I got it for $7.00!!



Here's it paired with the dress (accessorized 2 different ways). My daughter can't wear spaghetti straps to school, so this sweater will definitely get a lot of use.





Lastly, here's my daughter in Wal-Mart or Target shorts and tank at the park. She accessorized herself!