I have been blog-distant for many factors, 1 of which is my lack of memory to remember my frikin password to log on!  Can you believe it!  I’m  telling ya, If my head wasn’t attached, I would certainly leave home without it!  (That visual is pretty scary!)  

Any-who-howsits ….. bottom line, Since leaving the tranquil, warm, relaxing, comforting beaches of Playa Del Carmen – life has been a marathon of trial, error, emotion, testament, perseverance and love.  As for the kids.  1 has graduated from a drug court program; gained her GED, and driving permit.  YE-AH you say.  well me too – until yesterday when she was found, completely 10000% drunk at 4am in a car on the side of the road……. screaming she is pregnant.  (no confirmation on the pregnancy BTW) …… next kid – decided she couldn’t live with rules, like a curfew, and picking up her room.  So one day, while I was at work – moved all her things out.  And has been estranged to say the least.  I had to take her car back (insured/titled by me) because for some reason she refused to take it and title it in her name, as well as insure it in her name.  It wasn’t money – as her dad paid for the insurance.  it was pure lack of urgency, and a focus on things like partying.  Cause when I took the car back – the crap I found in it – OMG!  I was beyond heartbroken.  This is a kid who was starting her college life in the right direction.  good grades, a focus, a job…… 2nd semester comes, she’s out later and later – and then i get the failing grades…… of course after she moved out.  Maybe that is partly why she bolted – fear of the confrontation.   or not.  I don’t think she cares right now. She also dropped her summer class.  on the positive for this kid – just yesterday – we finally got the car in her name, and  all transferred over – ….. after I picked it up – i filled the tank ….. she has it.  The boy kid in the mix – well, he has been influenced by said sister – and has been caught 2 times, not where he said he was. and this included areas of drinking that is may or may not have participated in.  either way – that got him grounded from his car for a bit. He has recently been given some liberty’s back – such as driving to school.  but we are talking about him going to be with his dad for the summer. This has now turned into a ‘if i go for the summer im going for my senior year’ conversation…… too emotional of a topic for me…… I let one son go in 2001 – and I was very prayerful id never have to do it again…..  we are still talking……. but now that his dad is aware of the sister issues, and my desire to have my son supervised a little more this summer …… the ‘Senior Year’ card is being played ……  My heart bleeds at this thought.  and will always if indeed this is the end answer.  but – truly my end position is to do what is best for my son.  He needs to keep his head out of his butt.  And Between my work hours, and my anticipated time helping my sick parent – I simply wont be there as much for him …… which brings me to the other ‘running’ topic of the past 2 months – my parents. My dad gave us quite a scare in April. A mass was found on his liver. I spent 8 days in NY – at the cancer hospital, day in and out with him.  the mass was not malignant.  while my dad fought this terrible sickness in his body – my mom was not doing that great either.  I got a taste of life with 1 parent gone.  not pretty. Though I can’t focus on that. and I’d prefer if she didn’t.  the reality is – she can’t keep that house if my dad isn’t around to do things.   Simple things – like get the mail, take out the garbage. It’s just his thing to do.  

All in all – I’ll take the sands of Mexico in a heartbeat ……..  but eventually no matter where I run, I come back home.  and no skinnier!

OH YEAH!

There will be updates, once I’m back – in a week or so.  If I can get to the Internet for less than the cost of an arm, leg, and half my torso – I’ll be back …… relaxed and fluid in the thoughts I am SO sure  : )

till then…….

I’m thinking that $2 coupon cost me $37 in a haircut and $5-8 in gas…  And I haven’t put a cost on the stress level yet …… Guess as long as I don’t need a Dr for it – I can call it a wash!  Oh, and maybe the Military will want me as a poster child after haircut # 3…… more on this I am sure ……

To know my dad is to love my dad. He is so personable and giving.  Especially with his homemade wine.  : )  My personal favorite!  : >  Its nummy!  and he makes it the old fashion way. – growing his own grapes, filtering with a cheesecloth, fermenting in his basement in glass jars.   PURE numminess!  Many a friend can attest to this!

I think the only thing in this world that gets him irritated beyond words is – well #1 – my mom (but come-on, after 47 years together I’m thinking they know how to push each others buttons in a fine tuned sort of way)  #2 – religion , #3 politics ,  #4 messing with his family  ……..  um and seeing as how most people when speaking to each other will avoid #2 & #3  – and he admittedly avoids #1 – he aint angry all that much……  : )  and the C word doesn’t make him angry.  But it ROYALLY pisses me off!  I want to take it out back and squeeze the arch right out of it!  I mean, I want the letter C removed from the Alphabet!  I want all of C’s family members to watch as there are NO longer any little c’s around ….. I’m talking total C annihilation. 

and while it is true we would have to give up cute, and cuddly if this were to happen – I believe they would walk into the fire pit for this good cause!

So – Lets here it for A, B D!

If it were only that simple  ………

I love you Dad.

Ever since choosing a focus of better family time, and better couple alone time, and overall better quality of ALL of that – Tuesdays have morphed into this wonderful date night with Hubby  : )   I look so very forward to.    I mean lets face it, my situation is extremely unique.  I don’t live with my husband. In fact, some weekends, while I physically may see him – we are ‘parents’ first.    And yes we are adults, and knew what we were getting into – but STILL – once you are enthralled with everyday life, it is beyond easy to lose track of what really matters.  And at the end of any day, I want to know I have given all I am to what really matters. We only go around this world one time – or at least no one has come back from the dead to tell me otherwise …….

but - I digress

my point – Date nights ROCK. Highly recommend them!  I make sure there is food organized/available/and with instructions for the kids (in my house anyhow), so all they have to do is pop it in the oven.  This absolutely reduces cell phone disturbance on said “quality time with my honey”!  : )

It is true – it takes 2 to tango.  and While I may dance to my own beat – I prefer that slow waltz with my honey ………   : )

* check mark next to LOVE quality time with my honey!  Tuesdays rocks!  : )

Then I mixed in the meat/sauce mixture.  I’m a big fan of mixing in my sauce with the cooked meat I am using.  It saves a cooking pan, and works just as well.    I mixed it up in a big roasting pan!  (the pic is a little blurry)  That is how much this recipe makes if you triple it.  And really, to make a batch, you need to triple it. 

Then we wanted it for dinner, so I used a ladle and scooped 3 large helpings into a baking dish, covered with provolone, and mozzarella, and baked – uncovered for 35 minutes at 350.  It didn’t take that long to cook, as it was already really ‘ freshly cooked’.  Let me tell you, everyone (4 of us) went back for seconds  : )

So – then its time to place the extra in its freezer containers.  I used 8 7/16 x 5 15/16  square aluminum pans.  I could have bought them with lids, but opted out as I got more for my money without, and knew I wouldn’t cook it with a plastic lid – only store it.  But that is your call.   The remainder made 4 pans of food.  I will try 8×8 pans next time.  Stretch it out a little more.

* check mark next to recipe was a total success!

And I figured I’d add the recipe here for easy reading, the way I made it…… just remember to triple it for be able to freeze any of it.  Otherwise, make it just to LOVE eating it!  : )

Pasta Dish:

• 1 pound ziti
• 1 tsp dried rosemary
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning
• ½ – ¾ cup sour cream (to triple use 16 oz sour cream)
• ½ – ¾ cup cottage cheese (to triple use 16 oz cottage cheese)
• 3 cups favorite sauce (3 26 oz jars to triple it)
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 cup yellow onion, chopped
• 4 tsp minced garlic
• 5-6 slices provolone cheese
• 1 -2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 small can sliced black olives (my add to the recipe! use large can to triple)

I would recommend less rosemary.  It was a little strong.  Can’t hurt to increase the garlic though, and the italian seasoning.  Mental note for the next time I make this yummy recipe. 

1. Boil the pasta (penne or ziti – both bake well) until just tender, drain and place in your mixing bowl. (I used a large roasting pan)
2. Brown beef with onions and garlic and drain the fat. Add back the meat, and then add your favorite sauce to this pan. Continue simmering.
3. Add the Italian seasoning, light on the rosemary, sour cream and cottage cheese, to your mixing bowl. Stir until everything is mixed well.  Dig down, so you don’t miss anything! That sour cream can hide!
4. Slowly pour the sauce/meat mixture into the mixing bowl.  Stir well.
5. Spoon the mixture into your freezer pans.  I used 4 square 8 7/16 x 5 15/16 pans.  They were fairly deep. If you are going to eat any of it now, scoop about 3 large ladles into a 8×8 or 9×13 baking dish. Cover with provolone, and mozzarella – and bake uncovered for 20-25 minutes at 350 degrees. You don’t need to cook it long at all, just enough to get the cheese nice and melted, and the rest all bubbly.  
6. Cover each freezer pan, first with provolone (6 normal slices worked perfect across the top), then cover the entire surface with mozzarella so you can’t see anything else.
7. Let these pans sit out for an hour or so (cover gently with a towel). (I didn’t do that my first time, BUT from everything I have read, it is good to do when you freeze, it stops or slows all that condensation, and calms the swelling/air intake)
8. Take plastic wrap, and tightly cover each pan.  
9. Take aluminum foil, and also cover each pan.
10. Mark with your cooking instructions. I tape a sticky note to the top so it is easy to peel off.  I would recommend to cook for 1 hour at 350 degrees, then uncover, and cook 10-15 minutes until cheese begins to brown a little and overall it is  bubbly. (really – your cooking time will 100% depend on your oven)
11.  Place in freezer.

With all ingredients handy, and hubby’s help in piling it into its freezer pans and tightly wrapping……. total preparation time  was like 40 minutes.  totally simple.    Clean up was fairly simple too:  1 big roasting pan that everything was mixed in, the measure spoons, mixing spoons, scoop ladle, pan to brown meat (same pan used with sauce), colander to drain meat, pan to boil noodles – and that’s about it. oh, wipe the counter down – cause there will be a bit of splashing as you are moving the pasta to the freezer containers……  but it’s literally that simple. 1   1/2 hour of work; and we were eating the goodies, and watching a movie! with 4 additional dinners ready for other times.  I cannot express how good it feels for me to be a little a head of the game of ‘dinnertime’.  Each little step forward in this department will  1. save money, 2. keep healthy eating habits and 3. promote family togetherness (hubby helps!) …….  Doing this one time a week, will eventually lead to a freezer full of goodness!  (2 freezers……..his and hers! for now :< )

* check mark next to tickled pasta pink! : )

OH – and then I GOTTA share with you the  pork ribs crockpot recipe!!  SOOOOOOOOOO easy ………  and fall, off the bone NUMMY … and easy ……. that is  soooooooooo  E A S Y ….

http://www.e-mealz.com/coupons.shtml             

THIS site rocks!  I heart it!  I am not sure exactly what I will be signing up to partake in – but rest-assured, they have my subscription!  You might ask – how can you spend $5/mo and call this a cost saving?  Well – I SO can – once this plan is implemented….. 

Let me explain said enthusiasm a bit ………..

Among other things – finding some way to SAVE $$$, while being health conscious, AND home more often, AND in a manner that covers 2 households now that are not near in proximity ……..  and in these 2 households we have the ever picky, ever expensive, ever hormonal Teenagers ……..  sorry, I digress ……..  BUT seriously – with the dynamic lifestyle I am enthralled in, I have been seriously seeking a better way to manage all of it to somehow save us cashola, and get us a bit healthier  at the same time … NOT an easy feat I might add.  so – this fine morning I had another one of those ‘woke up thinking ideas things again’ ( http://mcsomething.wordpress.com/2010/01/04/do-you-think-better-when-you-sleep/)    and actually wrote ideas down to act on …….  

* check mark next to follow-thru as intended with a 2010 New Years Resolution  : )

Anyhowsits……. moral of this story – is We eat out – TOO MUCH.  Mainly out of necessity – To live!  I am simply not home much.  (mental note to self:  Need new career path, one that allows, fosters and requires regular family kumbaya sessions)  The cost of eating out is enormous.  (I shutter to add up receipts) And I grocery shop too.  I have been lacking in said coupon cutting - ergo why I am picking up that slack as of late also….. (stay tuned for much more in this arena)   So – again back to the “How is spending $5/mo saving money?”  My answer:  As a busy professional female, managing 2 households, along with the out-of-town family issues; it is in my best interest to have a concerted, organized manner in which to pick food, buy food, and prepare food.  All 3 of these require T I M E.  something I am not so easily afforded.  and Time is money ….. a heck of a lot more than $5 if this all goes as anticipated.    Even if it goes only 50% as anticipated, It will still be a Win/Win – as we will be healthier, and better organized for it.  I mean, think of the stress – daily – of ‘whats for dinner’?  Some days I am better at this then others – but holy cow-ski, on a normal day, we are shredding cupboards just wondering what to throw together……  and other than the other great idea (Batch cooking http://mcsomething.wordpress.com/2010/02/19/batch-cooking-to-coupons/ )    This meal planning simply ROCKS!  its cheaper then a Weight-Watchers site for doing it ……. and you can pick the meal plan you wish to participate in. 

I’m just SO excited to give the a whirl!  Between Batch cooking, and my new focus on meal/coupon organization ……  my weekend is sure to be fun-filled in a Tasmanian Devil sort of way – as I pummel thru the process of getting all of this IN MOTION!! : )

*check mark next to most excellent Mom/Wife (*for the moment!)    : )

http://amysfinerthings.com/batch-cooking

I’m sure the overall idea is as old as the hills, but the idea seems overwhelming.  (you know – big, messy, too time consuming)  But when I read this recipe for baked ziti, I thought ‘doable’. and in ONE big pan!!  : )    So I am IN.  I am going to go out and purchase said specific ingredients, and storage containers – and then GO FOR IT. 

This is such as easy way to have something nummy in the house – when I cannot be – which these days, is way too often thru the dinner hour.  AND I can share!!  I can give some to the hubby, so his house has the same numminess available ….. 

check mark next to ‘feeling like a smart and caring wife/mother’   : )

OH – I will also share the coupon sites I stumbled on – in case there is a spark of frugal needing to be fed ……

and today, this site tops the list of adorable self-help, save money, get it free blogs ……… 

http://www.chachingonashoestring.com/

I’ll be the one stretched out comfy on a lounge chair, with a cool refreshing beverage  ……. Hubby next to me   (probably under an umbrella of some form) reading …..      : )      Playa del Carmen here  we come! 

Have I mentioned lately that my husband ROCKS!

There food is really unique, and delicious.  For example – they literally have 1/2 lb meatballs.  that is  1/2 lb EACH meatball.  um, yeah, that 1 meatball can feed the family ……..  My son loves them – and insists no matter what we get – to make sure we get 2 meatballs to bring home!  : )

And they have this antipasta salad - that is loaded with meats.  Everything is chopped for you, so you aren’t left fighting your salad to eat it.  And they have their own signature Italian vinaigrette dressing – that is simply nummy.   If you like garlic and onions, this is your dressing!

So here is a coupon – good all year!  You do have to print it and bring it with you each visit. 

 http://www.bucadibeppo.com/pdf/CouponNational.pdf

They have a great house Chianti too  : )

So enjoy, and Mangia!