Monday, June 27, 2011

Vacation Day 2:

Morning: There’s nothing like waking up in your bed, rolling over, and looking out the window onto the Atlantic Ocean. The sky is still pink from the sunrise an hour ago…and it’s gorgeous. Seagulls are squawking…waves are crashing…. Only thing missing is a cup of coffee on my nightstand. But I know if I go upstairs to get one, my “morning bedtime” will end.
Afternoon: My kids are like fish.  (I thought evolution was about apes??)  Seriously, they were in the ocean ALL DAY LONG!  Diving under waves...boogie boarding...and attempting to skim.  Nick got his first "skim lesson" from another kid his age.  It was extremely cute watching the 2 of them.  Nick listening very closely as the other kid explained in great detail.  Nick would try...then fall most times.  He only stopped because he dropped the skim board on his toe.  Poor guy!  
Evening: My day to cook.  Made 3 spaghetti sauces - meat sauce, spicy red bell pepper, and vodka sauce.  All were great!  I made a new rule (gotta love creating rules to suit yourself, huh?): when it's your night to cook, you ALSO clean up, but then you're done for the whole week!  So for the remainder of the week...I'll eat and relax!  No guilt of 'ooh...maybe I should help in the kitchen.'  Perfect rule!
Night: Elise and I are now sharing a bed.  Hope she's not a kicker! 

Vacation Day 1:

Oceanfront beach house rental
 
I must say, I HATE driving for hours upon end in a car. But when you get to your destination and step out of the car…it makes it all worth it, doesn’t it? This place is gorgeous. I love it. Makes me wish I was rich and could have one all to myself! Wouldn’t that be fun? …to be able to invite friends to MY beach house for the week. Ugh…ok…another life.
With 21 family members vacationing together, you know you’re going to hit some…um…speed bumps. But man, I love these people. I don’t think there’s anyone else in the world that has in-laws as wonderful as I do. All the grandkids get along, all the sisters-in-law do too. There’s no stereotypical mother-in-law to deal with. It’s just perfect.
So far the funniest part has been my 70-yr. old father-in-law riding the waves in on a boogie board…repeatedly…just like a 10-yr old. It’s truly hysterical. He has his eyes shut and just slams into whoever is in front of him. Hahahahahaha!!! Oh! This is going to be a fun week!!

Friday, June 24, 2011

The Prep...

You all know how it is...preparing for vacation...

The week before, you get 'the list' ready.  (...and if you're like me, you then lose the list!)
You grocery shop, do some make-ahead-meals and freeze them to take along, laundry, run all over the house to pack the beach bag, sunscreen, laundry detergent, clothespins, bedsheets, fishing rods, boogie boards, beach chairs, beach umbrella, cancel the newspaper and mail, call your neighbor to water the garden, more laundry, flip flops, camera & charger, laptop & charger, cell phone & charger (seriously??  can't there be just ONE universal charger?), more laundry... oh goodness!!!  You get the idea!!  So when does the vacation actually start?  When do you FEEL that it was all worth it??  Is it after the 7 hour car ride that is hopefully a smooth ride (but only if the portable DVD player works properly, and only if you remember to pack enough snacks to last the entire trip, and only if there is a bathroom on the way...when you NEED it!!) 
Yes...the preparation is incredibly taxing.  I do love it though...all the hype. I love the hype. 
I even had to call my mother-in-law the other day to tell her "the homemade spaghetti sauces are done and in the freezer!"  (she just giggles). 

So when do I feel it is all worth it??  For me, it's never a question really, I guess.  Because I know the minute I step out of my van and smell the beach air....it was worth it!!  Anyone else love that smell??  I can't get enough of it. (Even the smell of the nasty ol' bay is something to look forward to!!)  Wish I could bottle up some of that beach air.



Our trip begins in 2 days!!!  The countdown is on!  And honestly, I think I'm more excited than my kids!!!!  :)

Thursday, June 23, 2011

My friends......My sanity

You know how you just LOVE your husband and you LOVE your kids and they're just great...they're just perfect...you wouldn't change a thing about them (well....maybe!...).  But then you just have the urge to talk to someone different.  Someone who won't really judge you...who tells you the way it is...but nicely.  You sit together on the porch or chat on the phone for a bit and this person just 'gets it.'  I love that feeling.  The feeling that "Oh good, she gets it...I'm not weird." 
I just love my friends.  I have a lot.  They're ALL so extremely different.  My best friend couldn't be more opposite than me, but that's what's great about our relationship.  When she moved to another town (...another state)  we knew our friendship would stay strong, but that it would change. Of course it would....our lives would change in that we wouldn't be chatting about 'so and so' and what the kindergarten teacher said that day.  But what we WOULD do is stay close. But we'd need to make a conscious effort to make that happen.   
My world has been a whirlwind since she left.  I've made wonderful friends that have filled that void.  These friends will never replace her...but have become my sanity in keeping me feeling normal.  They've "added to" my happy place.  So many people make me feel happy.  All I need to do is think of them and it makes me smile.  No need to be around miserable people.  Life's too short for that! 
So go out and find a friend.  One that makes you feel yummy inside...one that makes you feel giddy...one that makes you feel sane!!  Everyone needs a friend. 

Wegman's

So, we've been talking forever about wanting to go to Wegmans!  School was finally over and we hadn't quite gotten into the summer camps and all the hustle and bustle that summer has to offer!! So, off to Wegman's we went!  I truly didn't know what to expect.  Everyone always talks about "the variety" of different departments of the store.  Well....much to our surprise, not only did they have a variety...but they had the most lovely assortment of already prepared foods to buy and eat right there in their cafe! I'm sure all of  you already knew this, but I really didn't!  We had a couple different kinds of sushi rolls, which were (without a doubt) our favorite part!!  What I loved the most was watching the sushi dudes making it.  Looks pretty technical!! 
We bought a nice amount of things on our first trip, but not overkill.  I think my favorite thing we bought was the chicken sausage.  Honestly, I forget exactly what the name was on the package...but the first night, we ate 'as is'...right off the grill with some corn on the cob (a.k.a. - C on the C) and grilled asparagus. So good!!  Oh my!  The 2 sausages that were leftover we had the next night. I topped on our grilled pizza, along with BBQ sauce, fresh spinach leaves (from my garden), cheddar, grilled red bell pepper (I grilled them in foil packs first), the sausage, and a light sprinkle of bleu cheese.  It was so yummy!  Oh, and the raw dough I bought there too.  I believe it was the 28oz. size.  I googled 'how to grill a pizza' and got plenty of advice.  I lightly oiled both sides of the dough prior to grilling.  You MUST not skip that step!! 


Here's a picture of the deliciousness!!! 



The cheese hadn't quite melted yet, but you get the gist!!


Anyway...it was a fantastic journey to Wegman's....and yes....I had to call it a journey, because it truly was!!  Even the kids liked it and said they wouldn't mind going back! 



Ooh, and while I'm at it...I'll just tell you quickly what I did with the seafood sausage I bought there.... saute onion and garlic in some olive oil.  Add 1 can crushed tomatoes, a lot of basil (I just used dried), a swirl of cream, a 'squirt' of concentrated pesto, and the grilled seafood sausage, which I sliced into medallions after grilling.  Pour that over some penne with a sprinkle of parm, and you're all set.  So good!!  Pour yourself a glass of wine, grab some yummy, chewy bread, and have at it!!! Mmmm....

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Brownie Woopie Pies...

These are, hands down, the easiest and least time consuming desserts I've ever made!!  The caloric content doesn't thrill me...but the fact that I could make these for a classroom party for my kids' birthday celebration at school in less than 30 minutes (not including cooling time) thrills me!!  And honestly...what kid is counting calories anyway??  I'll tell ya though, I felt like a kid when I was eating mine!  That icing is SO good....and if you eat it when the brownie is cool....but still slightly warm....you'll be in heaven.  I swear! 
Recipe:  Yield 12 woopie pies
1 box Duncan Hines brownie mix (19oz. box)
2 eggs
1/3 c. oil
1/2 can vanilla frosting
Using a wooden spoon, mix eggs, oil, and brownie mix just until it is moistened.  Spray cookie sheet with nonstick spray. Drop 1T. batter onto cookie sheet, 2 inches apart.  Makes 24 brownie cookies.  Bake at 350 for 11-14 minutes.  Let cool on sheet for 2-3 minutes, and then transfer to rack. Cool.  Spread frosting between 2 brownie cookies.  Delish! 

I'm new here

I'm not sure what I'm getting myself into here.  I guess I've been envious of all you bloggers out there...I read so many and I seem to end up putting so much information on facebook...uploading oodles of pics... that I might as well create my own blog!  Chris makes fun of me, but I think he secretly likes it! 
I'll have to figure out how to upload my pictures onto here now.  I'm so computer illiterate...so it may take a while!  Luckily my neighbor (aka: nebber  aka: neb) can help me!! 


We've had quite a lovely summer so far.  Chris, the kids, and I all have off from school.  Gotta love that!  So far, we've gone to the college right down the street where we can swim in the creek, have been to the local pool, went to a Wildlife Center, not to mention countless lazy mornings on my porch swing ~ my favorite summer activity!! 


I'm going to be getting into some projects around the house.  Nothing major...just little things.  And I love to cook (and now that I have time, I do!) so I'll be posting all kinds of yummy pictures for you to drool over!  :) 


Ok, now to figure out the pictures. Hm...wonder if I can upload from facebook...  we'll see! 


For now...toodles.