Resolution Recap

Hello Summer! 

It's officially the end of the craziness that is work, at least for 2 months. While part of what I love about my job is the fact that once the seasons start there isn't much downtime, it's still nice to get a few months to recharge before the crazy hits the fan again in August. So what exactly does the summer have planned for us? I'm going to enjoy being able to hang with the kiddo more often, but we've decided to keep with her regularly scheduled weekend trips to Bebe and Daddad's house. This way she still gets to see her peeps in Louisiana and gives her some sort of routine. This is how the weekends in the month of June are going to play out for Mommy since the kiddo will be spending hers in Louisiana:

Weekend 1 will be spent reading, straightening the apartment up, watching some NCAA baseball regional action as well as my Texas Rangers, catching up on the blog, and spending some time in the sun at the pool. It's too gorgeous to NOT go outside, so I'm actually typing this blog post from my makeshift "porch" in front of the apartment.

Weekend 2 will be spent helping a good friend get rid of all of the crap that her ex felt the need to leave in her apartment, a possible date for me, the Belmont Stakes, some grocery shopping (since there will be money in the bank account again) and more reading.

Weekend 3 will be spent at Bebe and Daddad's celebrating Father's Day.

Weekend 4 will be spent at my best friend's wedding shower! I'm so excited. I have the PERFECT gift for her and really just hope it comes in before the shower. If not, I guess I'll have to do a massive box with the picture of the gift. :)

Weekend 5 will be spent either roadtripping to a Rangers game, or spending the weekend with the kiddo. The roadtrip is dependent upon whether there are free tickets involved and if we have money for gas by that point in the month.

Adventures in Cooking

I have been on a massive baking kick lately. I've become addicted to this: 

I seem to baking it on a weekly basis. I add in chocolate chips and it is to DIE for! Try this; you won't regret it. 

I also found this recipe for Skinny Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies. I HAD to try these when I saw that I had all but one ingredient to make them. I almost regret doing so because I'm obsessed. I couldn't found my brownie pan, so I made muffins out of them and they are AMAZING! I had to stop myself from eating the entire batch in one sitting. 

#MOTY Playlist

This is the playlist that helped bring you this blog post, and a few others you will be seeing over the weekend. 

Bad Romance - Artists v. Poets (Punk Goes Pop)

Over Again - One Direction

Let Me Go - 3 Doors Down

Jukebox Hero - Foreigner

No Surprise - Daughtry

Southern Comfort Zone - Brad Paisley

Ms. Robinson - Simon and Garfunkel

Angel - Aerosmith

Honeybee - Blake Shelton

Begin Again - Dropkick Murphys

Cruise - Florida Georgia Line

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend - Miranda Lambert

Right Here Waiting - Richard Marx

I Don't Need a Man - Pussycat Dolls

Crawling - Linkin Park

December 1963 - Frankie Valli

Takin' Off This Pain - Ashton Shepard

Maybe I'm Amazed - Paul McCartney

Give Me Everything - Pitbull

RESOLUTION RECAP 

(1) Cook one meal a month. Big fat fail! I've been too busy to even THINK of things to pull out of the fridge to heat up, much less a meal to cook. 

(2) Read one book a month. Surprisingly, I do really well with this one. Taking Chances; The Dark Heroine; Reflected in You; and Barred to You. 

(3) Donate to charity each month. The TRF (Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation) is my standard charity of choice for the month of May since it's the start of the Triple Crown races. 

(4) Place $500 in savings. Thanks to my tax refund this one is accomplished, now the goal is to keep the majority of it in there. 

(5) Visit William. I seriously need to call him back. I'm a bad friend sometimes. :( 

(6) Exercise/Drop Weight. Consistent. I need to shake things up a bit, and I think June is a GREAT month to do that. 

Lessons Learned Dating

I had full intentions of making this blog more than just a weekly update, but with how crazy busy things have been with work it seems like fate has decided that it should be that way for a bit. Also, the kiddo is usually at the g-parents for the weekends and I don’t have to try to think of a clever summary of my day after she goes to bed. There are a few things that I wanted to address that aren't normal blog topics, and I guess this post will do just that.

ADENTURES IN MOMMYHOOD

Well, I guess this one kind of ties in to the #moty theme of the blog. To catch some of you who may not know up, my parents watch the kiddo for me during the day while I’m at work and they stay with me during the week and then take the kiddo to their house on weekends. The kiddo, much like me when I was younger, spends most of her time with her grandparents. The only difference, I guess, would be that she is always with them as opposed to always being with me. This works for our family and I’m very grateful to my parents for the support they are providing me and the love they have for my little kiddo.

Now that you have some background, we are running into a small problem. The kiddo is going through the separation anxiety phase…and not with me…with Grammy (Bebe to the kiddo).  The kiddo is resilient and is used to being separated from me, so that’s probably why it doesn't faze her when I leave. However, she cannot stand to be away from Grammy. We are dumbfounded because she starts to get upset if Grammy is just going to take a shower and she is left to play with Granddad (Dad-dad to the kiddo). It would make more sense to us if she wasn't always with both of them. We know the people that she is being left with, and know they aren't hurting her. In fact, she even WANTS to go with these people. She’s just starting to freak out after she’s been with them for a bit. We've tried everything people have recommended to us, but so far nothing has worked. Grammy, poor Grammy, feels horrible hearing her cry. Prayers and kind thoughts are appreciated as we go through this. I know the kiddo will outgrow it eventually, but we hope it’s soon.

CRUEL TO BE KIND?

This one is a slight detour from the normal topics of this blog. This week I had to do something that I dreaded doing but knew had to be done. I had been on three dates with this guy who was a really nice guy, but I could tell that he wanted a relationship. I had made things clear up front that I couldn't commit to a relationship right now. However, he acted and treated me like we were in a relationship. It also became clear to me by listening to what he had to say that he wanted to be in a relationship, but he never really made it sound like he wanted to be in a relationship with me, just wanted to be in a relationship. I knew I had to let him know that this wasn't working out and that I wasn't interested in a relationship, especially with Valentine’s Day looming.

Now, I’m not the kind of girl who puts a lot of stock into Valentine’s Day. I don’t expect a guy that I’m in a relationship with to get me a gift for Valentine’s Day. I buy things for my daughter, but that’s different. I buy her a little gift for every holiday. (Example, for Mardi Gras, I bought her a Mardi Gras Princess t-shirt which you will see later J ) BACK ON SUBJECT – I could tell that he was the kind of guy who plans to go all out for Valentine’s Day, especially after he asked if I would mind him cooking for me for Valentine’s Day.

Knowing it had to be done, I spent an entire morning stressing over how to tell him. Since there wasn't a relationship (I don’t consider 3 dates a relationship…I think he did though…) so I felt a text message was fine. I told him that he was a great guy but I could tell he wanted a relationship and that I couldn't give that to him. Then I was nervous waiting on a response. When it came, it made me realize just how right the decision was. It started out by him saying that he knew I wasn't into having a relationship, but he felt if he tried hard enough that he could make me want one. (Newsflash to anyone who is in the dating world – you cannot make someone want a relationship when they don’t want one!) It was followed with the fact that he’s so used to being dumped (Can you call it “being dumped” when there isn't a relationship and you've only been on three dates?) and that he’ll be single forever. (This is the point that I literally rolled my eyes at the attempt of a guilt trip being laid. I don’t tolerate that well.) Later, I got a text saying he was glad I told him because he was planning on buying my Valentine’s Day present that day. (3 dates does NOT constitute buying someone a Valentine’s Day gift!)

What I've learned from all of this is quite simple. I need to continue to be upfront with guys that I date. I feel being upfront doesn't offer false hope for something that isn't there. I also learned that when I know it isn't going to work out, that I should say so immediately. I feel that 3 dates is a good measure of being able to tell if you want to continue seeing this person or not. I don’t feel that telling someone after three dates that it isn't going to work out is harsh; I feel it’s being honest. I would rather be honest with someone and have them try to guilt trip me, then to lead them on for a few months when they've invested a lot more than a few weeks. Also, if you have to pretend to be someone you're not to make the guy happy, get out ASAP. As the song says, sometimes you've got to be cruel to be kind. 

ADVENTURES IN COOKING

I may as well go ahead and share this week's adventure in cooking with you. I went with a recipe that I have made in the past and has been a crowd pleaser - BBQ Beef Cups. These are SUPER easy for those novice chefs such as myself, but tasty enough that people won't think about how simple they are!

           Really, this is all you need!                                      BAM! See, super easy!

Mommy and kiddo approved! 

(Grammy and Granddad approved too...) 

My dad actually told me that I could make these any time I wanted. As you can see, they are easy and quick to make. Brown some ground meat, mix in some BBQ sauce, dump that in refrigerated biscuits that are in muffin tins, top with cheese and BAM! instant crowd pleaser! 

 
#MOTY BOOK CLUB
My first book of the month of February was Wild Pitchers by Dirk Hayhurst. I love Dirk Hayhurst and all of his books that give you a glimpse into the life a professional baseball player are well worth the read, even if you don't like baseball. He is hilarious! Seriously, check him out here. Then buy all three of his books. In fact, if you tell me that you want them has a birthday or Christmas present, then I will buy them for you. You know I must really think they are good if I'm offering to buy them for you. Trust me, if you like to laugh, then you'll love these. If you don't like to laugh, then you should read them anyway because you should like to laugh.

#MOTY GREATEST HITS PLAYLIST
This is kind of a last minute addition to this post. I did a quick cross-fit-esque workout this morning and then had breakfast and wrote this post and my ITunes has been KILLING IT! Here's what I've been rocking out to:
I Will...But - SheDaisy
New Dark Ages - Bad Religion
Summer of 69 - Bryan Adams
Trouble With Goodbye - LeAnn Rimes
Ain't No Rest For The Wicked - Cage the Elephant
Dearly Beloved (Acoustic) - Bad Religion
Carry On - FUN
Only Prettier - Miranda Lambert
The Show Must Go On - Queen
Beer on the Table - Josh Thompson
Getting Away With Murder - Papa Roach
Santeria - Sublime
Just a Dream - Cover
Supersoul - Dilana
Jessie's Girl - Rick Springfield
Call Me Maybe/Payphone Mashup
Drive By - Train

This post brought to you by the letter I for ITunes and Folgers Coffee. Off to work, so just throwing a quick shoutout - Go #LUSoftball! It's an exciting day in the history of the program as it's the first Opening Day after a 25 year hiatus. It's sure to be crazy, but hopefully lots of fun! 

Where Did This Week Go?

Even though it hasn't been that busy of a week as far as multiple nights full of games, it seems that this week has been extremely busy. This week was filled with multiple cooking adventures (yes, you read that correctly, MULTIPLE!), a girls day in to celebrate the last weekend of freedom from work for a few months, a special birthday party, and more!

KITCHEN WARS

Since there were multiple cooking adventures, that seems like the best place to start this post. This week’s planned cooking adventure was a beefy mac and cheese. It seemed like a slam dunk because we love beef and we love mac and cheese. 

Look! Lots of ingredients and kitchen gear! It must be difficult!

My sous chef. 

Seriously, I have one cute kid. 

Getting hungry yet? 

You should be hungry now!

In my spare time, I take abstract photography...yea, that's it...

Elise - 3, Kitchen - 1

The next night, I had a "cooking" night as I had a frozen pizza in reserve in case the beef mac and cheese didn't taste quite right. So I got all creative and this was the result: 

A DiGiorno pizza and Little Ceasar's crazy bread = perfection!

BOOM! See what I did? I added pepperoni to a cheese pizza. 

That counts as cooking!

Emily's Birthday

Friday was a very special day in our house. It was Emily's birthday. No, Emily is not my daughter. She is my daughter's doll. Emily is a Cabbage Patch doll, which means she has a birth certificate. I'm using this as a full on excuse to eat cake. 

 

        The birthday girl                                                               It's not a party without Elmo!

Homemade meatballs. Yea, HOMEMADE by yours truly! 

Crescent rolls just waiting to have delicious meatballs rolled in them. 

How tasty does that look? 

Fuzzy's chips and queso finalize the party menu. 

Kiddo, Lion, and Gorilla approved!

Cute Kiddo Moment

Just have to brag on what my kiddo colored for me this week. It is the first piece of artwork from my kiddo and is hanging in a place of honor on the fridge. 

It's light, but there is some color on there! 

Also, this is just a cute picture of my kiddo enjoying an Elmo cupcake. For the record, Grammy had one with blue icing and she would say "blue" to let her know that she wanted the icing on that blue cupcake of Grammy's. 

Again, I have a ridiculously cute kiddo. 

#MOTY Greatest Hits

Gives You Hell - All-American Rejects

Bounce - MSTRKRFT

Best Days of Your Life - Kelly Pickler

Animal - Mike Snow

The Day That I Die - Benjy Davis Project

I Want You To Want Me - Cheap Trick

This Ain't A Love Song - Bon Jovi

True To Your Heart - 98 Degrees (Mulan soundtrack)

Love Your Love The Most - Eric Church

I Go To Extremes - Billy Joel

Mr. Brightside - The Killers

Honeybee - Blake Shelton

Lagniappe 

This is just a little something extra. It has nothing to do with any of the reasons mentioned previously for this blog existing, so for instances like this will fall under the lagniappe title. (Lagniappe = a little something extra) There was a very recent moment in my life where I had a close friend tell me they could no longer speak to me. I won't go into the details, because that isn't important to this mini-story. I had a devotional this week that really stood out to me and felt the need to share. It's a Joyce Meyer devotional, so I take no credit, but what it had to say was this: 

"I cannot make myself acceptable to all people, and neither can you, but we can believe God will give us favor with the people He wants us involved with. Sometimes we try to have relationships with people God does not even want us to be associated with. Knowing who we are in Christ sets us free from the need to impress others. Once we know who we are and accept ourselves, we no longer have anything to prove." 

As hard as it is to think that this person will no longer be a part of my life, this devotion gave me peace that it is for a purpose. I don't need someone in my life who doesn't want to be there. It's as a simple as that. I chose to embrace the people who do want to be a part of my life. The people who I can have girls nights (or days) in with while cooking, drinking margaritas and watching stupid movies (such as Crossroads and The Challenge); the people who e-mail me while we are both at work so it's like I never moved so far away; the people who feel that when it comes to receiving important news, that I am worth a phone call and not just a mass text or notice via Facebook; the people who have always been there for me and believed in me, even when I didn't believe in myself. Those are the people that I know God has placed and kept in my life for a reason, and those are the people that I need to focus my energy on, not those who chose to walk out. 

Brilliant Plans

Sometimes my brilliant plans need to be laid to rest instead of sprouting alternate brilliant plans on top of them. It's a day off of work for us, and my co-worker and I are coming in to move some laptops and printers because doing that during regular business hours isn't fully feasible. With at in mind, I decided that I would come in a little early and get in a workout since I have a date later today. (Yes, you read that correctly.) We have a nice workout facility here, and since the athletes don't really use it much anymore since the newer/nicer one was built, it has become a place that the athletic staff tend to use. It has 2 ellipticals, 3 treadmills, a stair stepper and an exercise bike plus all the old school weight equipment you could need. I'm setting the stage for the story that I'm about to tell of my brilliant workout plan.

My brilliant plan for the morning workout was to bring the stadiums (that I slacked on once football season was over) inside to the gym. It seemed brilliant until I learned just how steep those stairs in the gym REALLY are. I knew they were steep from having to get from point a to point b during games, but it was torture for the 4 sections that I did this morning. Then, brilliant plan b is to hit the elliptical for some interval work. But I don't stop there because I see the holy grail of all treadmill workout plans that doesn't involve running! Our women's basketball coach set up a 61 minute power walking on crazy incline treadmill workout and posted it there for anyone who would like to use it. Our women's basketball coach must be psychic and is totally going to help me bring sexy back with this one. Especially since brilliant plan c was to do the first 3 stages when my legs hated me already. Now they want to kill me. If I happen to die, please let everyone know that my legs committed the murder...in the gym...with a medicine ball and 5lb weight. 

#MOTY GREATEST HITS

Just because my legs hate me, doesn't mean I can't share selections from the killer playlist that got me through this morning's workout!

It's Gonna Be Me - N'Sync

8675309 - Jenny - Tommy Tutone

Gunpowder and Lead - Miranda Lambert

I Want You Back - Jackson 5

It's Raining Men - The Weather Girls

Joe Strummer - Cowboy Mouth (One of my favs!)

Kerosene - Miranda Lambert

Bellas Finals - Pitch Perfect Soundtrack

Best Days of Your Life - Kelly Pickler

Big City Dreams - NeverShoutNever! (AMAZING song!)

Boston - Augustana

Oh, Sundays as a Single Mom

Let me start this post by saying that MOTY’s night out last night was short but awesome. I can admit that the allure of my sweatpants keeps me from going out with my friends often. When I have a free night, all I want to do is curl up in my oversized chair and watch crappy TV or read my Kindle. After work, we made our way to Starvin Marvin’s, but the line out the door and nowhere to park had us changing our minds pretty quickly. After a quick debate between Buffalo Wild Wings and Chili’s, the margaritas won out. A few Tropical Sunrise Margs, some pretzels and onion strings and girl chat was well worth it.

I highly recommend these Tropical Sunrise Margaritas from Chili's

Today is lining up to be a domestic day for me. I’ve got my coupons ready to be clipped and laundry in the washing machine. I woke up this morning and left early enough to buy my newspapers before going to church. Aside from the over 20 degree temperature drop from yesterday, it seemed to be just fine. I get out of church and the sun is shining, so I hit up Wal-Mart. I’m navigating the store like a boss because I know exactly where everything I need is and I have my list sorted by the location of the items in the store. I have my coupons organized and I get out of there in no time. Then I see it. I get to the door to leave and I realize that the sky has apparently fallen and a monsoon style rain. CRAP. By the time I get my groceries in, I’m drenched but grateful that I bought a frozen pizza for today’s lunch and dinner.  The cheese pizzas were on sale, so I ghettoed it into a pepperoni pizza when I got home.

I'm turning into some sort of kitchen boss! 

Spending the rest of the day watching movies, starting with “He’s Just Not That Into You”. As I venture into online dating, the insight from this book turned movie could prove to be invaluable. (Yea, be prepared for those stories too.) 

Coupon Clipping Playlist:

I Want It That Way – Boyce Avenue (LOVE THEM!)

True to Your Heart – 98 degrees

(You Drive Me) Crazy Crazy – Glee

Honey Bee – Blake Shelton (My daughter LOVED when this song would come on when I was pregnant)

Summer Pop Medly – Sam Tsui & Kurt Shneider (Check these kids out!)  

Unhappily Ever After – Cjaye Lerose

It’s Gonna Be Me – N’Sync

Achy Breaky Heart – Billy Ray Cyrus

Oops! I Did It Again – Britney Spears

A Kidless AND Workless Weekend? What to do?

What is a single mom to do when she has an entire weekend without the small child she loves playing with and no events going on at work? Well, this one is enjoying a very late brunch of chocolate chip pancakes (a pregnancy staple!) and coffee while rocking out to a killer playlist. I’ll reveal the amazing playlist later, so let’s check up on a resolution status, shall we?

Seriously, doesn't that look yummy? 

Today will be a day where I focus on 2013: The Year of the Budget. I have already started the year off making a HUGE sacrifice. I am no longer purchasing Dunkin Donuts coffee, unless it is for a special occasion. At almost $8.00 a bag, it’s just too much. There are a few items that I am unwilling to compromise on (Jif crunchy peanut butter) so in order to offer some wiggle room in the budget, I have decided to make a coffee sacrifice. Eight O’Clock coffee is only $3.00 a bag, and is proving to be not as bad as I thought it was. I think I can handle the switch and it not have a drastic effect on my morning self.

Alright, the game plan for today is to organize the coupons that I have found on the internet and start really reading and paying attention to the blogs that I have found that focus on how to be a couponer. It will probably also include viewing some Extreme Couponing on Netflix for motivation.  (There will be a football break for the FCS National Championship game. Go Bearkats!)

As promised, the early morning playlist. This post was brought to you by:

Tranqualize – The Killers, featuring Lou Reed

Drive-by – Train

Baggage Claim – Miranda Lambert

If You Only Knew – Shinedown

Pretty Fly (For a White Guy) – The Offspring

Achy Breaky Heart – Billy Ray Cyrus

How Can We Be Lovers – Michael Bolton

The Hardest Thing – 98 Degrees

Separate Ways – Journey

Storm Warning – Hunter Hayes

Guys Like Me - Eric Church

True to Your Heart - 98 Degrees and Stevie Wonder (The Mulan Soundtrack rocks!)

And the letter P, for pancakes.