Something in the Water

I have no idea what is going around right now, but I have never seen more Mom's frustrated and ready to cease the day. (no that was't a typo) I don't know if it is like that where you are but here it seems like the coming of summer has made all of the kids worst traits come out, whining, yelling, misbehaving, ignoring, or whatever it is that your child does to drive you crazy.

I hate feeling like this. I hate it when I spend more time as a parent taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly to avoid flipping out over something that usually wouldn't matter but since it is the eleventy millionth time it has happened it makes you want to scream . I think that it is way past time for a Mommy re-charge.\

I know that I am not alone with this frustration right now, it seems like every Mom that I talk to has that haggard "my kids are dancing on my last nerve" look in her eyes right now. I just wish I knew what was causing the outbreak of frustration. Maybe it's in the water, or the weather. That's got to be it right? The weather.

So here is a post hoping that naptime today improves everyones mood so that we can all smile a little more and laugh together more often. What do you do when you feel like everyone in your house is ready for a break? Maybe your suggestions will help with me.

~DD

Microwave Meatloaf

I'm not kidding. I really do make my meatloaf in the microwave. I haven't actually ever made it in a oven. It is quick and easy and really moist this way so why would I change it? This is a modification of the recipe that I grew up eating, I have just taken out some of the stuff that DH won't eat. (horseradish) So without further ado.

Microwave Meatloaf
2 pieces dry bread (toast on light 3-4 times until it crumbles well, or just leave out all day on a cookie sheet)
1 packet onion soup mix
1 large egg
1/4 cup milk

4 large carrots finely grated

2 lbs lean ground beef

1/4 c ketchup
3 T mustard
1-2 T brown sugar (my family likes 2, I like 1)

1. In a large mixing bowl crumble the bread into small pieces. Add egg, milk, and onion soup mix. Stir and set aside to soak for a few minutes.

2. While it is soaking grate the carrots. Add the carrots and stir well.

3. Add the ground beef and thoroughly combine. I use my hands, just make sure that they are really clean, and wash afterwards.

4. Place in a microwave safe dish, you will want it in a low narrow loaf shape instead of a loaf pan shape to ensure even cooking.

5. Microwave in 5 minutes intervals for 10-15 min or until cooked (make a small slit in the middle to check doneness. While it is microwaving combine the ketchup, mustard and sugar for the topping.

6. Top Meatloaf with mixture and microwave for 2-3 more minutes. Remove from microwave oven and let sit 5-10 minutes to allow the juices to settle, otherwise they will all run out and dry out the meatloaf.

7. Serve and enjoy. Personally I love mine with broccoli and potatoes.

Real quick here is my recipe for roasted broccoli. It's quick and easy and really tasty.

Roasted Broccoli

Broccoli
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper

1. Pre heat oven to 400. Clean and cut broccoli into bite sized florets. Place on a sheet pan. I'm using this one.

2. Pour a couple of tablespoons of olive oil over the broccoli and sue your hands to mix and evenly coat all of the broccoli. Salt and Pepper then mix again. Spread broccoli evenly over the sheet pan.

3. Roast for 15-25 minutes until the broccoli is cooked and the edges are starting to brown. I personally like mine almost overdone with a lot of brown edges, but my girls hate it that way. If yo ulike the crispy edges you will need to roast it for closer to 35 minutes.

Enjoy!

~DD

May Day, Mothers Day Hodgepodge.

1. Have you ever been served breakfast in bed? Do you enjoy that? If someone were serving you breakfast in bed this coming weekend what would you hope to see on the tray?

All the time, DH is amazing and makes me breakfast in bed once every couple of months. He knows how to treat me like a princess. If I were to get breakfast in bed this weekend I would hope for a breakfast burrito and a berry salad or smoothie.

2. What is one piece of advice you would give a new mother?

Don't take every ones advice to heart, use what makes sense to you and forget the rest, you know your child best and don't let anyone make you feel inadequate as a mother.

3. When was the last time you wanted to scream? Explain.

Hahaha, hmmm. In frustration or in anger? I often want to bang my head in the wall when I am saying the exact same thing for the millionth time in a row, but scream, not recently,  thank goodness.
4. Can you hula hoop?

According to my Wii Fit, I am an expert hula hooper. According to real life, not so much. Maybe I'd be better now that I have been doing Zumba for a while and worked on my hip action.

5. What is something people do in traffic that really bothers you?

Being rude or dangerous just to get two cars ahead. You know the ones I mean, the ones who jam on the gas and weave in and out of traffic just to make it ahead one car length at the next stoplight. Or the one who sees the "lane closed ahead" sign and speeds past everyone who is merging then honks, gestures and shoves their way in at the head of the line.
6. What do you do when people don't admit they're wrong?

Ummm, I don't know. How's that for an answer. I hate confrontation, hate it. Even thinking about confrontation right now is making me sick to my stomach and I don't have anyone to confront. So that's out. Well I guess I do confront people sometimes, when it is a fact that is easily proven, like what year Pearl Harbor was attacked. But when it is something that is a matter of opinion I tend to avoid the subject.

7. What is the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word 'fun'?

The Beach Boy's song "♪♫ and she'll have fun, fun, fun until her Daddy takes the T-bird away ♪♫" LOL.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

So glad to to be done with the A-Z challenge and back to my normal schedule. I loved the challenge of it, but I like doing things my own way a lot better. I like talking about things when I am thinking about them and feeling them. So that's why I am happy to be done. I hope that you are all having a wonderful May!

If you want to join in the fun follow the link to the creator of Hodgepodge Wednesday.



~DD

Holding yourself accountable.

I just joined/started a group for fitness goal on facebook with friends. It's been great so far, now we are only 2 days into it but still, I love having a place that I can go to talk about plans, accomplishments, failures and to ask for suggestions. It is a wonderful thing to have that kind of support when you are trying to become more fit. So the theme of this Fitness Tuesday post is to find a way to hold yourself accountable. When you make a fitness goal it is easy to let life get in your way. If you find a way to hold yourself accountable you are more likely to reach those goals.

Do I think that everyone needs to do this exactly the same way that I have? Absolutely not, there are as many different ways of holding yourself accountable as their are people in the world. I do have a few suggestions though that I will share with you. The first is to arrange a support group among friends. It is great if those friends have a wide range of fitness levels and knowledge so that everyone can teach and learn at the same time. Another way would be to ask your significant other to help you out. DH is incredibly helpful to me, the other night I asked him if he would mind if I went to a home sales party instead of Zumba, he looked at me and asked why, I told him I didn't want to buy anything I wanted the snack food and alcohol. The look he gave me made my decision, we both knew that the party was not a good plan for me so I didn't go. A third suggestion is to journal your eating and exercise, this is good if you are a very private person about your fitness goals. There are many sites available online for this now, just look around and see what it is that works best for you. Like I said earlier these suggestions are by no means the only way to hold yourself accountable, they are just the first three that popped into my head.

Have fun, happy working out and meeting your goals.

~DD

Z - is for Zumba

Ok, so those of you who know me in real life could probably guess what I was going to do my post for Z on. I love Zumba, I just recently discovered it and it is by far my favorite workout. There are two reasons that I love Zumba, well there are a million but two are the most important. The first reason that I love Zumba is that it is fun. Really fun. I don't know how many people can say that about their cardio. I can go to Zumba in a horrible mood and I always come out happier and smiling, I definitely can't say that about jogging. The second reason is that it works. The amount of calories burned in an hour of Zumba is more than I have burned in any other cardio I have done, except maybe the P90X. Also the strength in my abs and legs has gone up a huge amount.

So why am I writing about Zumba? To tell you to try it. In a class, with a video, on a gaming system. While my personal preference is in a class, do whatever works best for you, I promise that you won't regret it.