$10 for Charity

Oy. I have let myself down at we are only 27 days into this. I set goals to blog 4 times a week and also to bathe my dogs weekly. FAIL on both parts. So...anyone have any pet charities they'd like me to consider?

I have, however, been diligent about my cooking a new recipe, walking with the kids and several others.

Yes, I do THOSE Parties.

I never in my wildest dreams thought I'd do sales parties - especially sales parties for adult novelty items. A friend of mine has been doing it for a couple of years and asked if I was interested in having a party. I'd been to several in the last decade and they were always fun, plus, everyone knows I love a good party, so why not. The party was quite a success if I may say so myself.

Anyway, it got me thinking - I could make extra cash and sell fun stuff. Sorry to all the Mary Kay ladies out there, but I definitely think my products are definitely more fun. I called my friend up and told her I was interested in joining her team. The next thing I knew, I had a huge sales kit arriving at my door. What had I gotten myself in to? A buzzing darn good time is what!

Like any other sales business, you have to book parties to make any money and there are good months and there are bad months. Coming out of the holiday season, I was feeling kind of over the whole thing. My last party was in November and while I did well, I started the year lacking motivation to drum up business and wondering if I had made a bad investment.

And then the tables turned faster than I can say "Anyone want to have a Passion Party?" Clare (said friend) asked me to cover a party for her last weekend. The next day I got a lead from our internet group. This lady wants to do a party for 20-40 people in 2 weeks. Shortly after that one, another friend asked if I would be interested in doing a party for her Mom's group.

Even though I was seriously lacking motivation on the drive to League City on Saturday night, it is a good thing I got in the groove once I got there because these ladies were ready to buy. I walked out with almost $175 in profit, 2 parties booked and 3 more who are interested, but want to wait a bit since their friends are having parties. Not bad, not bad. It looks like I just might be able to meet my 101 Goal for Passion Party profit sooner than I thought.

And on that note, anyone want to have a Passion Party?

Chicken Parmigiana - Yummmmmmy

Friday night was cookbook night. I love marinara sauce. I love chicken. I love cheese. I figured making chicken parm for the first time and from scratch at that would be a nice meal to test out. I was not wrong. It was freaking delicious. I used the Chicken Parmigiana recipe on the Pioneer Woman's Web site. Sure, I cheated a bit since I did not cook from a cookbook, but I figure I have her cookbook, so using one of her recipes would suffice in fulfilling the goal requirement. After all, these are my own goals and the whole point of the cookbook thing is to just cook new stuff.

It was super easy and really , really good. The recipe calls for you to serve them with noodles, but since we are trying to cut out some carbs, we served them with roasted asparagus. It was really, really good. I had enough sauce leftover that I am going to make this again, but with eggplant instead of chicken. Yummmmmmy.

Pound your chicken breasts out as flat as you can.

Dredge them through a salt/pepper/flour mix.

Fry them in a pan (I used our dutch oven) in about 1/3 c olive oil and 2 T butter for about 2-3 minutes on each side or until they are done

Remove them and set aside

In the same skillet, saute 1 chopped onion and 4 cloves minced garlic for about 2 minutes

Pour in 3/4 cups of red or white wine and scrape the bits from the bottom of the pan.

Cook this for about 2 minutes so the wine can reduce

Add in 3 cans of crushed tomatoes, 2T sugar and some S&P to taste. I also threw in some Homemade Gourmet (ask me about it) Garlic Basil spice

Cook the tomato mix for about 30 minutes. I stirred it frequently, but Ree didn't say you had to.

Towards the end of the cooking time, add 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley. I also threw in some fresh basil.

Give the sauce a final whir and carefully lay the chicken on top of the sauce. Top them with grated parmesan cheese -not the powder stuff you put on pizza - real grated parmesan cheese.

Put a lid on the pan and simmer until the cheese is melted and the chicken is heated through.

Garner State Park, here we come!

We've been talking about going camping at Garner State Park for years. We always make plans to make reservations in January and we never do for one reason or another. One year I was pregnant, then Avery was too young, then Joseph was too young and blah, blah, blah. Anyway, it was always one thing or another. Well, the excuses are done. I made reservations for 2 sites - tent camping only - no shelter, no cabin - just a tent. Of course, I did get the sites with water and electric hook-ups, but still, we will be sleeping in a tent for 4 nights...in August.

My parents and best friend's family will be joining us on our adventure. If you are wondering how we will fare in August in Texas in a tent, have no fear. My Dad is a genius. We'll be rocking a window unit in our tents. Yes, you read that right. We will have window units in our tents. I imagine we'll freeze our butts off.

This trip will fulfill part of one of my 101 in 1001 - it will knock 1 out of 3 camping trips out.

Harmony vs. 100 Pounds

Over the course of the last 15 years, I have lost and gained the same 70-100 pounds more times than I care to remember. I lost a kindergartner or two upon finishing high school and discovering my love for dancing...on bars (fully clothed, TYVM). I went from 240 down to 140 by shaking what my mama gave me five to six nights a week for six or so hours at a time. When I throw in the hour of cardio/weights I was doing while Chris and Steph (the kids I nannied for) were doing their homework, I was working out for about seven hours per day. INSANE.

Eventually, the dancing stopped. I found love (HA). We started going to movies and eating buttered popcorn for dinner. The weight started creeping back on slowly, but surely. Granted, I didn't hit 240 again, but I sure wasn't fitting into my size 10s anymore either. I know a size 10 is huge for some, but for me, it was a miracle. Having been fat my whole life, being able to shop in regular stores was awesome. Not having to look for the biggest size was even better.

I got back up to about 190 by the time the love faded and the break-up weight came with a vengeance. Apparently chicken ranch sandwiches with fries from Chili's six nights a week isn't a healthy meal plan...and neither is copious amounts of booze. I feel like I went to bed one morning at 190 and woke up at 230.

I weighed 232.2 lbs when I met the hubs. Lucky for me, finding love this time meant losing weight. I dropped 50lbs before I could blink. SCORE! Then we moved in together. Our nights of dancing in the French Quarter quickly turned into marathon Mortal Kombat sessions and my fat cells rejoiced! My 14s got snug...my 16s got snug...I was buying 18s...and no longer able to shop wherever I wanted.

We got engaged in February 2005 and planned for an October 2005 wedding on the beach in Key West. NO FREAKING WAY was I going to be a size 18 or more than 200lbs in my wedding pictures. Hello working out, hello eating healthy. It wasn't a blink of an eye, but it was fairly fast because come September, my wedding dress had to be taken in...way in...like from a size (GULP!) 20 to size 12.

And then...I got pregnant. And then I lost her. And then I got pregnant again. And then I lost it. And then my Aunt Julie (my dearest aunt, friend and second mother) took her life. And then the depression set in. And then I got pregnant! And then I lost it. But, but...then I got pregnant again!! And then I lost it. Oy. My hormones were whacked...I wasn't taking care of myself and I was just piling on the pounds. I decided I would get a gastric bypass because damnit, if I couldn't be a mom, I'd be skinny.

And then...I got pregnant. However this time, I didn't lose her. I'd love to blame my weight on pregnancy, to claim that I was carrying around baby weight. Yeah, not so much. I only gained 16 lbs while pregnant with Avery and was back to my starting weight within a few weeks.

The year went on and I basked in new motherhood. I saw a picture of myself a week before her first birthday party and cried. Then I called the weight loss surgery doctors. The ball was rolling. I was going to be skinny! And then...I got pregnant. I weighed 252 at my first doctor's appointment. I weighed 252 the day I delivered my almost 9lb baby. Within six weeks of delivering, I was down more than 30 pounds. ROCK ON! Unfortunately, it has all come back (partially my fault, partially my thyroid).

Well, I have had enough of this rollercoaster ride and I am vowing to leave the carnival. Will I lose 100 pounds over the next 988 days? I don't know, but I do know this: I am going to take ownership of the problem and do my best to get rid of the remaining 95 pounds (because I am down 5!) that are hanging around. Wish me luck.

Got Shrooms?

I love mushrooms. Love them. When I was pregnant with Avery, I worried that she wouldn't like the same things Kerry and I like. Mushrooms, onions and beans are key staples in our house. Lucky for us, she loves all three. I think beans are by far her favorite , followed by broccoli and then mushrooms.

I also love cookbooks. I have lots of them. Do I use them? Not so much. Do I still buy them? Absolutely. Anyway. One of my 101 in 1001 is to cook something from one of my cookbooks every week. Last night was creamy mushroom stronganoff. It was so.freaking.delicious. I got the recipe from William-Sonoma's FoodMadeFast One Pot book.

This recipe was a hit for me and Avery. I'll try it again when Kerry is home, but I'll add some beef or chicken. Avery had 2 servings of mushrooms, but not a single noodle. I wish I shared her distaste for pasta.

6 T unsalted butter (Yes, I am sure this isn't a Paula Deen recipe)
1 Shallot (I used green onions because that is what I had)
2lbs thinly sliced 'srhooms
2 T flour
1 c dry white wine (and one cup to drink while cooking)
1 c chicken or veggie broth
1/2 c sour cream
2 T fresh parsley (I only had dried, so that is what I used)
S&P to taste
Egg noodles or pappardelle

Melt the butter, add the shallot and saute' for 2-3 mins, add the shrooms and cook for about 5 minutes. Next comes the flour, just stir it in. Add the wine and broth and simmer for about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and add the sour cream and the parsley. Season to taste with S&P. Serve over egg noodles.

The Quest for the Perfect Salsa

I tried the salsa recipe. It was good, but not perfect. I halved the recipe and it made a ridiculous amount! I still have some left, so I will use it as the base today and add some things in the attempt to perfect it. First up, more onions. I love onions in my salsa...and well, with anything. Plus, it needs more heat. Regardless, it was a great first attempt and it will be yummy with crackpot chicken.

My dear friend Enrique sent me a few recipes to try out. I'll let you know how it goes.

#58 A Date with my Princess

Avery and I went on a date yesterday to see "The Princess and the Frog" at the Studio Movie Grill while Joseph stayed home with a sitter. Wow. That kid is a pistol. She did really well for the first half of the movie. She sat with rapt attention on the movie screen while shoveling popcorn in her mouth with one hand and clutching her Sierra Mist (special treat) with the other.

Then...she got chatty. "Oh, that's scary, Mommy." "Look Mommy, it's a bug!" "Oh, she's very sad, Mommy." "They're on a date, Mommy." It really was quite charming and I hope the other moviegoers found her to be equally charming. I confess, there was one moment where I did have to quickly clamp my hand over her mouth because there was a scream coming on (she wanted my Dr. Pepper), but all in all, it was a success.

So...
Two Movie Tickets...........................$15
Food at the Movies..........................$30
Babysitter for J............................$40
Avery telling me she wants to kiss a frog...Priceless!