[Gurlee]Girrl Friday

Dear 2012:  Wow – it’s the last Friday of September!!! Cripes time flies.  I’m not sad that the air is a little crisper around these parts, it actually makes me happy to be wearing my hoodies every day.

Dear Candy Corn:  Not only have I been eating you in all your various forms like as an Oreo, M&M’s and in your true form – Brach’s Autumn Mix, you have inspired my polish choice this week!

Dear Mandy Moore & Jennie Garth: It’s time for a change, and both of your hairdos are crazy awesome, but somehow, I doubt I’ll look as good as the two of you.

Dear Homeland:  I wasn’t quite sure if I was going to like you, even after you cleaned up at the Emmy’s and all.  But, I just watched Episode 6 and I’m hooked.  Can’t wait to see this storyline unfold.

Dear Chocolate Chunk Cheesecake from Costco:  Get in my belly.  Now.  Thank you.

And with that sweetness, I am off!  Have a great weekend!

Easy Lasagna Skillet

Whether you are a working parent or not, I’m sure you like to hear “quick” and “easy” when it comes to planning out your meals.  Well my friends, I found one that even this “non-cooking” momma could handle.

Let’s start with what you’ll need:

• 1 Lb. Lean Ground Beef
• 1/2 Cup EACH Chopped Green and Red Peppers
• 1 Jar (24 oz.) Spaghetti Sauce
• 2-1/2 Cups Water
• 12 Lasagna Noodles, broken
• 1 Tub (10 oz.) Philadelphia Tomato & Basil Cooking Crème

Now what?

Brown meat with peppers in deep large nonstick skillet; drain.

Stir in sauce and water.  Bring to boil.  Stir in noodles; cover.  Simmer on medium-low heat 18 to 20 mins. or until noodles are tender, stirring occasionally.

Add cooking crème; swirl with spoon.  Remove from heat.  Let stand, covered, 3 min.

I heated up a few pieces of Texas Toast and served it up.

The results:

Me – Loved it.  I love pasta. More specifically, I love lasagna. The one ingredient that is obviously missing from this recipe is cheese.  However, I didn’t miss it.  The crème added just the perfect amount of richness to this meal. 

Ashley – Loved it.  She asked for seconds!!!! Her words were “mom this is sooooo good”.

Colton – Hated it.  He took one bite and that was it.  His words were “mom this tastes funny, and I don’t like it”. He continued to eat just the garlic toast.  (FYI – Colton is a VERY picky eater, and this was really out of his comfort zone.)

Overall

I consider it to be a success.  Will I make it again? I sure will.  It was hearty, tasty, quick (under 1/2 hour total) and would actually feed 5 - 6 people easily.  That means I had leftovers, and for once, I’m not complaining.  I foresee this momma feasting on Easy Lasagna Skillet again tonight – and loving it.

My Perfect Fall Weekend

Friday evening couldn’t come fast enough for me.  My new iPhone had arrived and was screaming at me to be used! I spent the evening impatiently waiting for everything to be copied over from my old phone.  Of course we are talking about a  couple of hours – but it felt like forever.  Then she was complete.  She is beautiful.  Still testing her out, but so far, nothing but happiness.

Saturday, as usual, started out lazy.  Colton and I watched Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part 2 – and I cried like a baby AGAIN!  That movie couldn’t have ended more perfect in my opinion.  Love it. Then around noon, Ash started harassing me to put some Halloween decorations out.  So we set to it.  We started off with a plain old mantle.

And with a few Dollar Store items and a branch from the yard (which I spray painted silver), I think it turned out quite cute.

The most important thing is that both kids love it.  They had fun helping me get it all together too.  Ashley cannot wait to start decorating outside too, but I told her maybe next weekend.

On Sunday, I decided that Ash and I needed a mother/daughter date, so we headed out to get pedicures.  There was a half hour wait at the salon, so we hit up Noodles & Company for lunch.  I had my usual Japanese Pan Noodles with Chicken and Ash got her Meatball Marinara Sandwich with a side Caesar Salad.  How she doesn’t like pasta is beyond me!

We chatted about school, clothes, Halloween costumes and of course boys. I can’t express in words what a amazing feeling it is to see that little girl of mine blossoming into a young lady. She loves getting pampered – just like her mom. She sits in the massage chair like a pro – ITouch in hand, playing games and listening to music.  We finished with just enough time to rush over to the football fields to catch Colton’s game.  It was a beautiful fall day, even though it was windy and chilly. 

Happy to report that Demolition won their game again – making them undefeated so far with three wins.  Colton scored the first touchdown of the game too.  I was one proud momma!  After the game, Colton had a baseball clinic to go to, so Ash and I went to visit with Grandma and Grandpa. 

And there you have it friends – a perfect fall weekend.

[Gurlee]Girrl Friday

Dear Gloomy Mood:  It’s a rare day when I’m not all happy and bubbly.  And although it’s Friday, I’m just pooped from the week and really looking forward to 5:00pm so I can start my weekend and work on getting rid of you. 

Dear Right Eye: All day something has been irritating you.  Can’t tell if it’s an eyelash, dirt, make-up, or what.  It’s bugging me .  Fiercely.

Dear Friday Outfit:  Apparently wearing a long sweater, over jeans with ornate, button-down pockets pushes the sweater out in a very unflattering way.  Oh and the belt I need to wear because my jeans are at least one size too big makes me look gigantic from the front too.  The sweater should lay flat and is bulging in all the wrong spots.  Note to self – GET A FULL LENGTH MIRROR!

Dear Nails:  I had super high hopes of making you look spectacular this week.  I figured I would have lots of time to devote to making you look amazing.  I was wrong.  You are passable – but so far from being amazing.(OPI Hot Ayers Rock)

Dear new iPhone 5:  You’ve arrived.  Can. Not. Wait. to fire you up! 

Dear Harry Potter Halloween Costume:  Colton is going to look so adorable in you.  I especially loved it last night when he said “I’m going to wear my hair like Harry’s too mom”.  I said “You have a buzz cut bud, it won’t grow that fast.”  His reply “Sure it will mom, I’ll just tell it to grow faster.”  Good idea son. Surprised I didn’t think of that.

Dear The New Normal:  You have quickly become my new favorite television show.  You literally crack my ass up.  I love you.

 

And with that – I’m out.

Saying Good Bye

Recently a old friend got in touch with me through another friend to let me know about the passing of her brother. Of course I felt saddened by the news, shocked and wanted to express my sympathy to her.

Before contacting her, I began to think about what made our relationship fall apart. There wasn’t one specific moment I could put my finger on and say “that was it”. It just stopped. Our friendship just one day didn’t exist.

I remember the last time seeing both her and her brother. We had gone to the movies on a Tuesday night. It had become our new ritual after my breast cancer diagnosis. It was in February.  We talked about going to see a movie on Saturday night – The Wolfman with Benicio Del Toro, and left it at that. Saturday came, I never heard from her, I never texted her. That was it. A friendship ended.

Now, 2-1/2 years later, she has a mutual friend text me that her brother had passed. I wasn’t sure what to do. I of course texted her condolences and to let her know that her and her family were in my prayers. The loss of a life, especially one so young (he was under 30), is just devastating.

I believe she took the outreach as a new beginning for us. I’m not sure if that’s the route I want to take with her. She and I are very different. We are at different places in life. Although I wish only the best for her, I’m not sure I want to be involved in her world again.

Her brother Will was my first gay friend. He was the first gay person I ever knew. I can’t say my home was overly religious, but my parent’s had a very strict belief system. Homosexuality was not really discussed around our house. So, as an adult woman, when I met Will, I had so many questions for him. Questions that were personal and embarrassing. He was always so kind and patient with me and answered everything I threw his way. He was just happy to educate me. He made me feel comfortable about his sexuality, and I even began to look at him as a close friend.

Although I do not know the specifics regarding his passing, I know it was unexpected and tragic. I know his family and friends are suffering a great loss. He was liked by many. I’ve only heard good things about him and my experiences were the same.  I’ve thought of him often and with fondness. 

Due to family responsibilities, I am unable to attend his viewing. I know “my friend” is not going to understand my obligation of being a mom first (like I said, we are at different stages in life) and may not feel forgiveness in her heart for me. My non-attendance is in no way a reflection of my feelings.

So for Will:

Thank you for being my friend. Thank you for your sense of humor. You always knew how to make me laugh. Thank you for always dancing with me. Every time a Lady Gaga song came on – you’d hit the dance floor. I appreciate you consulting with me on your purchase of cologne. Yes, it is important that you smell pleasant to a woman too, even if you aren’t looking for a date. Thank you for allowing me to bombard you with questions about your lifestyle. Thank you for helping me understand that it is ok to not understand it, but that it is right to accept it.  Without you, I wouldn’t be the person I am today.  Good Bye Will – I will miss you!

Jump Around

This past weekend Ashley had her formal birthday party at Sky Zone in Canton, MI.  She, along with 24 of her closest friends and relatives, piled into a private “trampoline room” and bounced, flipped, dodged balls and laughed for what felt like forever (but really was only an hour).  There were screams, giggles and loud music.  An 11-year olds dream party.

Did we have fun?  It was intensely fun.  We all left winded, sweaty and laughing. 

Afterwards we piled into a party room for pizza, cake and presents. 

The party didn’t end here, it just moved to our house.  There was swimming, presents, backyard bbq, more trampoline jumping and of course, another cake!

She had 5 of her cousins over for a sleepover.  There was popcorn, chips and dips and Beverly Hills Chihuahua 2.  Then they shocked me by zonking out at 1:00am – I guess that’s what I get from wearing them out jumping and swimming all day!!  Mom is smart sometimes.  Just sometimes.

Is it weird that I’m already looking forward to next year’s party?!

Spread the Polish (Swap) Reveal

Who doesn’t like getting presents in the mail?  Especially presents packaged this cute?

I participated in a polish swap and was lucky to be partnered with Kelly over at The No Drama Mama.  She sent me two fabulous colors that totally scream my name along with two fun patterned nail files. 

Looking forward to throwing these two colors into my mix regularly.  Thanks Kelly for the great picks!

[Gurlee]Girrl Friday

Dear Nails:  You refuse to grow.  As soon as I you start to grow, you break, somewhere down low and then I have to cut you all off.  This is getting old.  I try to keep you pretty all  the time, including this week.

Dear Little Lady Bug:  I hope that you have an amazing birthday party tomorrow.  It’s not often that we get to focus all of our attention on you, and I want to see a smile on your face all day and night.

Dear GTuck:  Thank you for waking up at 3am to order me my new white 64 GB iPhone 5 this morning.  You are the bomb.  Now I just need to find a kick-ass case for it.  I know you are already working on that too.

Dear Diet:  As much as I want to stick with you, I’ve been failing big time.  I will not give up.  I will eventually start rocking you.

Dear Viva Glam 1 Mac Lipstick:  I am so pissed that I lost you.  At $15 a pop, you are too expensive for me to lose. Damn you for being the perfect color for me.  I will be ordering another one of you today – but know that I am NOT happy about it.

Dear To Conquer a Highlander:  I finished you today and you were good.  However, when did regular “romance” novels become so dirty.  I mean using words like c*ck and talking about b-j’s??!!!? I wasn’t expecting that – you weren’t Fifty Shades – but you were pretty close.

Dear new Infinity Scarf:  I absolutely loved putting you on this morning.  You are so soft and cozy and I will be wearing you all fall. 

May all of you have a wonderful, safe weekend!  Peace out!