For the first time in many, many years, John and I don't have a single graduation party to attend. Yea hooray! And also, boo hiss! I'm pretty stoked about not having to fork over my hard-earned cash to someone who may or may not be savvy enough to save it to spend on things for school or their dorm room. However, I love a good graduation party because that = PLENTY of food. And also CAKE! My fave.

The other day, John posed the following question: Would I give up my pinky finger if it meant that I could eat frosting for the rest of my life with no caloric repercussions? I had some follow up questions for him. Left or right pinky? Left. Down to the hand or is there a stump? Stump, but I think I'd prefer no stump. And so, I said yes, I would give up my left pinky finger for guilt-free frosting. Don't judge. You don't know how much I love frosting. I digress.

No graduation presents also = no graduation party food and subsequently, no cake. We were driving through our neighborhood the other day noticing many balloons tied to mail boxes were calling to party guests. We may or may not have had a serious conversation about how to successfully crash a grad party. In a moment of greediness, I thought we could snatch a couple pieces of fried chicken in addition to cake before exiting unscathed. John told me to keep my eyes on the prize. I'll let you know if we do end up executing some sort of grad party crashing plan. Sure to be a good time! Or, if you rather invite me over for cake, well then I can write about that too.

Recipe Re-blog #23

I am always looking for new recipes in which to use ground turkey. While I like ground beef and only purchase the 96/4 kind (yes, it's dry), it's just not as healthy for you as ground turkey. I read a statistic the other day that people who consume less than 18 ounces of ground beef a week drastically reduce their chances of contracting cancer in the future. Yea, I fit that bill! Anyway, I typically use beef and turkey interchangeably in tacos, pasta dishes, etc. So, thank you to Rachael Ray for this recipe in her most recent issue of Everyday with Rachael Ray. It uses turkey from the get go.

Cincinnati Sloppy Sliders: Can you believe that since I moved to Dayton, in very close proximity to Cincinnati, that I have yet to consume any Cincinnati chili? Neither can I. I ate more when I lived near Cleveland. Go figure. Sloppy Joes had been on John's ban list for awhile. I'm still not sure why but I wasn't allowed to make them......until now. These were delicious! I even cut the recipe in half and it still made a ton. I just used regular sized buns because I didn't feel like buying slider buns. These Joes had beans and a lot of seasonings to make them a bit fancier than Manwich. Give these a shot! Just know going in that you were be using your pantry on this one. Also, I left out the chili pepper because I forgot to put it on the grocery list. I didn't miss it.

Also last week I tried a new cookie recipe while in Texas that I can't find the recipe for online. It was a Pillsbury recipe for Cranberry cookies. They were dry and not very good so I suppose it doesn't matter if I can't link to it. I'm not a proponent of you making them, even if my sister and I did polish off 18 of them in approx. 3 days.

Two Kisses for Maddy

Two Kisses for Maddy: A Memoir of Loss and Love by Matt Logelin has been making its way around the blog world for awhile now. This is probably due to the fact that Logelin is, himself, a blogger as well. While I have never read or followed his blog, I knew of his story and wanted to read his book. So, here we are.

In 2008 after having been together for 12 years, Matt and Liz were expecting their first child. A relatively difficult pregnancy that ended with Liz on extended bed rest in the hospital fortunately resulted in a beautiful baby girl, Madeline. The day after Maddy's birth, Liz suffers a pulmonary embolism and dies. Matt is left behind to grieve and raise his daughter on his own. The book chronicles the year following Liz's death, also the first year of Maddy's life. Logelin discusses his grieving process and his attempts to hold his broken life together for the sake of his daughter.

I knew going in that this would be an incredibly sad memoir. How could it not be? I am not am overly emotional person so I did not expect to cry through this entire book. How wrong I was. No, I wasn't sobbing while reading and I didn't cry at everything but I probably cried through at least a portion of it every time I picked it up. It's a terribly devastating story. If you are feeling low, you should not pick this as an uplifting read.

Rating: * * * *

Batteries Recharged

I had a wonderful time in Texas visiting my family. I really wished they lived closer. Texas is a far piece! It's hardly driveable for someone who isn't interested in spending more than 4 hours in a car. (i.e. ME) The flights are expensive and indirect to Austin. But the cost of the ticket and the whole day of return traveling were well worth it. I miss my sister all the time and only get to see her a few times a year since she moved there 5+ years ago. We didn't even have any special plans but you forget how nice it is just to go to a store together. I don't have a good shopping buddy at home besides John and he gets increasingly more exacerbated the longer I spend in the dressing room. I also had a nice lunch out with just my bro-in-law. He graciously spent 90 minutes in the middle of the work day to dine with me. How kind!

Once again, I was using this trip as a baby-o-meter. At Thanksgiving, my nephew Ben was 4 months old. I had never spent an extended amount of time around a baby and that trip was super eye-opening. It was clear that John and I were not yet ready for children, although we already knew that. Our baby timeline has a ways to go still. However, now that Ben is 10 months and a bit more mobile (crawling!) I wanted to see if I felt differently. Babies are a lot of effort, yo! It definitely didn't start any biological clock ticking but now I miss him even more! I think for now I like being the helpful aunt.

Unfortunately, I felt like all I did was eat while I was there. Yes, vacation tends to be a calorie-fest. I only ran one day. It was bloody hot outside! We went out to eat for nearly every meal. I'm trying not to stress about this too much. There are many restaurants in Austin that Dayton just doesn't provide....obviously. We tried some new-to-me places and hit up all my faves too (Chuy's!) So, as soon as I got off the plane and got home yesterday, I hit the weights. I'm renewing my fitness fanaticism. I am not going to weigh myself for a few weeks because I know it won't be pretty. I would have John hide the scale again but we all know how that went last time. So I'm going to have to muster up some will power.

I'm really sad my trip is already over but I'm looking forward to planning fun summery things to do for the next few months!

Recipe Re-blog #22

Over the holiday weekend I did just what I wanted to do in the kitchen, make a whole bunch of sides and just grill meat for each meal. Mostly I made the sides that I know and love but my new recipe for the week was a new side.

Wagon Wheel Taco Pasta Salad: I love a good pasta salad. I love a good taco salad. Why not put the two together? This is from Christine's Cuisine but there are many different variations out there. I liked it a lot but next time I will stick to the recipe. I didn't feel like buying avocado or fresh tomato so I just left them out. I think they'd really help punch things up. Fair warning, this makes a TON of food. It would be good to take to a potluck. As it stands, it will feed the two of us as a side for 6+ meals.

P.S. Anonymous commenter on last week's recipe post........if your skillet's handle is not oven safe (squishy covering or something) you'd want to wrap it in foil to protect it. I learned this on Food Network at some point. I'm pretty sure my Calphalon handles would be fine but I don't want to risk it.

Gone to Texas

My trip is here! I get to see my sister, brother-in-law and most importantly, my nephew! I'll only be there for 3 full days but it will be worth it. See y'all when I get back next week!

Oh, burrrrrrn!

My neighborhood pool opened this weekend. This is something I've been looking forward to since we moved in just over 6 months ago. Nothing says summer like laying out by a pool. I patiently read the community newsletter every month just waiting for them to announce when the pool would open. Finally, that fated day arrived a few weeks ago, along with the hours and rules for the pool. At the condo we lived in prior to buying our home, the pool was swim at your own risk and open all the time. It was small but glorious. I could get there around 9:00 am on a weekend and be gone before any screaming kids arrived. Heaven. Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on whom you ask), our current community is chock full of children. Now, a portion of my HOA fees pays multiple life guards (all very young looking teenagers, mind you) and the pool has hours. Terrible hours. It doesn't open until 11:00 am and it closes at 9:00 pm at night. Horror! No peaceful early morning hours. No refreshing late night swimming, the only time I could actually get John to go to the pool with me.

On Sunday afternoon, I ventured to this new pool for the very first time as it had opened only the day before. I had to circle for awhile before I spotted an empty lounge chair. It was packed. Already off to a bad start. I only stayed about 90 minutes while John was at the driving range. Not really wanting to walk home, I had him pick me up on the way through. Here is another affront to my pool-loving self, guests are $3.00. THREE DOLLARS! This means, my pool buddy - a friend from work who does not live in my neighborhood, has to dole out a trio of ones any time she wants to join me in the sun. What does all this complaining mean? You ask. Get over yourself, why don't you? Well, I'll tell you.

Today, I am in pain. Physical agony. I am fair-skinned. OK, let's not mince words. I am one pale ghosty. Parts of my skin have not seen the light of day since our cruise last September. That's a long time for a pasty girl. To be fair, I did apply sunscreen. When will I learn that I need something higher than SPF 15? My mom would be so disappointed in me. But, that's what I bought and that's what I used. I think I was thwarted by the pool's inconvenient hours. I was there from noon until 2:00 pm. Maybe you didn't know, but that is within the window of the sun's rays being at their peak. And I didn't re-apply in that time span. Shame on me. Had I been able to start my pool day at 9:00 am, I think I would have been well on my way to a gradual tan today.

I am quite accustomed to sunburns having had a number of extremely painful ones growing up and typically having about one medium to slightly bad one each year in my adulthood. I know how to handle them (ALOE!) but that doesn't really make it any easier. It certainly isn't scaring away the skin cancer cells. So, of course in Texas this weekend I'll be using my nephew's SPF55. And I might just purchase my own bottle when I return. For now, the backs of my sunburned thighs will just stick to the toilet seat (yes, that hurts as much as it sounds like it does). And my face will be hot. Somehow my arms, the one body part that is out for the world to see on a daily basis (save for my face, with is pink) didn't burn at all. AND! I applied the lotion to them first before I even left for the pool. Curses! Anyway, the point is, thanks to the pool's lousy hours, I am a lobster.