Faking It

Women need to l earn to fake it--with cooking that is. I don't know any women my age who can cook or even attempt to pretend they can cook. I think most women don't realize how much men LOVE a good cook. The thing is, you don't really have to know how to cook to LOOK like you kind of know how to cook. You can fake it.

For a nice summer meal- Buy fresh cut up fruit at your local grocery (Whole Foods has terrific fruit) slice a nice french baguette, and put out a wedge of brie and another nice cheese with some Triscut roasted garlic crackers. Enjoy with a nice chardonnay. Even better? Take it to the lake or park for a nice romantic picnic.

Slice and bake cookies- Next time he comes over, have some slice and bake chocolate chip cookies in the oven. Smile and say, "I baked you some cookies." Bat your eyelashes while your at it.

Marie Calendar's frozen fettucini alfredo (cook it first) served along side some rotisseri chicken and a nice salad makes for a nice meal. For a salad try bagged mixed greens, chopped pecans (found on the baking aisle), crumbled bleu cheese (try idaho bleu or gorgonzola), grape tomatoes, and Marie's brand rasberry vinagerette or balsamic vinagerette.

How about a salad for dinner? Go to your local organic or fancy grocer. Buy a bag of mixed baby greens or a bag of italian style salad. Add a nice handful of sliced pepperoni (which you can buy pre-sliced in the lunch meat section) buy a ball of fresh mozzerella or a package of mini mozzerella balls. Chop into bite sized pieces and add to salad. Chop one can of artichoke hearts packed in water (drain them first) add some chopped olives from the olive bar (or buy canned.) You can even add some sundreid tomatoes. Serve with Marie's brand creamy italian or a good balsamic vinagarette. For bread, Peperidge farms frozen garlic toast is great. Cook according to pkg. directions. You could also do this salad as a cold pasta salad. Cook a pkg. of rotini (1 lb) according to pkg directions. Add everything minus the lettuce. Toss in some dressing until it reaches a nice consistancy. Salt and pepper to taste.

Kraft makes a great bacon ranch pasta salad in a box. You could add some shredded or cubed chicken and have a meal from that. Some cubed ham might be good as well.

These are all pretty much cold meals. Those are the easiest to fake. For hot meals You can buy all kinds of pre-marinated chicken and fish these days in the meat section, pop it on the George Forman, add a veggie or two and there you have it. I see bagged raw veggies in my produce section all of the time. You just peal off a sticker from the bag and put it in the microwave for 5 minutes. Add salt, pepper, and a tbsp. of butter and you have an easy veggie side. The frozen versions of these veggies are good too. I use them all of the time.

For another hot meal, try nachos. Buy on the Border or another good brand of tortilla chips. Transfer a can of drained black beans or refried beans to a bowl and heat in microwave. Put your chips on a foil l ined baking sheet. Top with beans. Slice a block of colby jack cheese into slices appropriate for nachos. Bake the nachos for 10-15 minutes on 350 until cheese is melted. Serve with a good campfire roased salsa, sour cream, sliced jalapenos, and avo guacamole. If you want to really kick it up, add some fajita meat. You can buy it frozen or precooked in the meat section. I buy it raw and just pop it on the grill for 7 minutes on each side. I let it rest and slice it. YUMMY!!!!

There are some terrific family sized frozen lasagnas out there. Stoffer's is a classic. Marie Calendars is good too. Serve with a bagged salad and frozen garlic bread and there you go!!!

I've heard the New Bertolli frozen meals are good (pricey but good.) One of those served with a salad would make a nice gormet style meal.

Germs on Cell phones-From GMA

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Health/story?id=2273311

When people in New York City were asked which they thought was dirtier — the sole of your shoe, a toilet seat or a cell phone — the answer was overwhelmingly the toilet seat.
But they were wrong — your cell phone is filthier.
New research out of the United Kingdom found mobile phones are a technological petri dish for tens of thousands of germs.
Why? Germs multiply in warm places. Between the heat the phones generate and the germs on faces and hands, you've got a bacterial breeding ground.

Oh Ladies!!!!

This is a great site to check out men for cheating!!!

Don't Date Him Girl

Blog-O-The Day

This is a great blog!!! She has her finger on the pulse of mommy boards. I especially LOVE her list of daycare names-

A Little Pregnant

Julie Hoyt-Fisk Still Hasn't Shown Up

I still haven't heard about Julie Fisk popping up at any stations yet. Maybe she's decided to move on or be a SAHM. If anyone has heard of her where-abouts, drop a line. I'm no longer listening to morning radio. I was excited to hear about Walton and Johnson popping up on 93.3, The Bone. They have a history in Big D. I remember back in the day when KISS FM appeared in it's first incarnation here. I used to love Mr. Kenneth and the bunch. I haven't tuned in to them yet though. I don't even know if they do that schtick still. I mostly read or watch Good Morning America now.

I'm Banded!!!

Lap Band Up Date

I’m now officially banded. Yahoo!!! I got banded on Friday. The surgery went very smoothly. I was up and walking around within an hour of waking up. I felt great for the rest of the day. I was a little sore on Saturday, but I’ve been getting better since. I think the worst thing is the gas pain. They fill your belly with gas to expand it for the operation. They don’t always manage to press it all out and it hurts like a bitch later.

I have to be on liquids until a week from this Friday. That’s okay though, I can hardly eat anything. It’s like I’ll be starving one minute and eating my tiny cup of soup, then it will hit like a brick wall that I’m full. It’s a very sudden sensation. It’s weird.

I’ve lost about 15 lbs so far since a week before surgery!!!!

Personality Test

My Personal Dna Report

Lap Band Friday

So, I'm finally getting my lap band Friday. I've been on a liquid diet since this past Friday and have lost 4 lbs. The liquids consist of coffee, tea, low fat milk, broth, 2 Slimfasts per day, Gatorade, strained wonton soup (I've been doing strained egg drop since it has almost no fat and is low cal) jello and apple juice. I've been doing light Frappacinos (instead of Slim fast)since they have skim milk and coffee and less sugar than a Slim Fast and as much protein. I've been doing well. I feel kind of zapped, but am better today. We actually took Lauren to the park this morning and walked while she rode her bike. It was so nice!!!

I'm going to Super Suppers tomorrow night to make 12 dinners for Lauren and Aaron. I won't be able to have true solids for four weeks. I'll do two weeks of liquids (I can have cream soups, shakes, and smoothies.) Then I'll do two weeks of mushies like mashed potatoes, refried beans, etc... I want my family to have good food even if I can't cook it. So, we are doing SS. For those of you not familiar with the concept:

Supper Suppers Website

I also found an interesting and kind of funny blog post about someone's experience with Super Suppers:

Random Outlaws Supper Suppers Ordeal

Anyway, I'm going tomorrow. I'm going again in late June so I can make some healthy and portion controlled meals for when I can have solids. I figured it would make healthy eating a bit easier. I'll probably do Weight Watchers and Lean Cuisine frozen meals for lunch.

How Open Minded Am I?

You Are 64% Open Minded

You are a very open minded person, but you're also well grounded. Tolerant and flexible, you appreciate most lifestyles and viewpoints. But you also know where you stand firm, and you can draw that line. You're open to considering every possibility - but in the end, you stand true to yourself.

How Open Minded Are You?

How Happy Am I?? FREAKIN' HAPPY!!!!

You Are 84% Happy

It's unlikely that you know anyone happier than you. You know how to be happy, no matter what life throws at you.

How Happy Are You?