This Summer Sucks

Oh, man. Summer has seriously kicked my ass.

Having two kids home at the same time is crazy. There's always someone talking AT me...not to me. There's always someone crying, screaming my name, or telling me they want a "SNACK." There are days when I threaten to go back to work.

Next year there will be way more summer camps.

Now, don't get me wrong, I love my kids but entertaining toddlers versus older children is freaking insane. I can send one kid outside but then the other one wants to follow and the house is a disaster. Summer parenting is absolutely no joke.

To top it all off I found out that I'm anemic, I'm severely deficient in Vitamin D and my Ferritin levels are below normal. So no wonder why I've been freaking exhausted for MONTHS. And I don't mean just tired, I mean 6-week-post-baby-worse-than-tired EXHAUSTED and I haven't had a baby in over two years. This has lasted for MONTHS. Bimmer Man pretty much has been non-existent in this house working on cars that are not in the garage located in our backyard so that means most things around home are left up to me. So I've been feeling pretty much run ragged. It hasn't been easy. It's to the point where I hired a cleaning lady because I just can't do it anymore. The next person on my list is to hire lawn/garden people because I can't even mow the lawn without taking a break, my body is just tired. There, that was a bit of truth for you.

So this summer sucks, much like the summer that Chewie was born.

On the other hand, The MONKEY is riding a fat bike and we've been mountain biking. Chewie has been scootering like a master. My flowers are doing freaking amazing and I've only had to water the pots and random veggies. We took a trip to Colorado that was fun. Bimmer Man and I went to France for 8 days - that was awesome. I'll share pictures at some point.

So not everything has been terrible. It's been fun, but I'm ready for school to get us back into a normal routine and not just me having to come up with ideas for things to do on a daily basis. I can only search Pinterest for so long before I want to stab my eyes out.

Meal Planning 6/21 - 6/25

This week is ridiculously busy. I've changed my mind 12,835 times.

Monday: Leftover Adobo Chicken with Sweet Potato Hash and Steamed Broccoli

Tuesday: Dino Nuggets plus mac and cheese

Wednesday: EARLY DINNER: Grilled Cheese, Steamed Broccoli, Raw cucumbers with hummus

Thursday: Steak and tomato salad with Feta

Friday: Grilled Pork Chops with Grilled sweet potatos and grilled any veggie leftover in the fridge

Saturday: MN United Game

Technology Problems - Photos

Anyone else have them? Especially when you're looking for an app that fits a whole slew of issues. I just can't seem to figure out what might work.

I have so many photos that need to be transferred to something else so they're not on my phone. I don't want them on the computer just in case it dies but I'm not quite sure if I'm ready to pay for something like Dropbox yet.

I downloaded Google Photos. That's pretty cool. But it's not always accessible/compatible with other websites to print photobooks and pictures.

So I downloaded Amazon Photos. Meh. At least it reminds you to open the app to back up photos.

I think in the meantime I just need to go back to the external hard drive and then delete all the shit that I don't need...like that photo of a steak that I made 5 years ago. AM I REALLY GOING TO PRINT IT AND PUT IT ON MY WALL??? Probably not.

FIRST WORLD PROBLEMS

2018 Rabbit Strategy For Gardening

I'm trying a new rabbit strategy this year.

I'm drawing them out...to get eaten by the hawks!

Will this work? I HAVE NO IDEA.

But the rabbits ate down a whole pink bush that I absolutely loved last year that I put by our air conditioner to cover up an ugly corner of the yard. I should have put chicken wire around it. It's really my fault for not seeing every single plant as rabbit food.

So today I decided to set out a plate of lettuce and melon. Yep, that's right. I'm going to divert their attention to actual lettuce and greens. I'm going to feed the fucking rabbits too.

A few weeks ago a hawk landed on our fence so I know the predators are out there. I'm hoping to draw out the rabbits to attract the predators and keep the rabbits and squirrels from eating my plants!

Strategy is bold, but at this point, I'm willing to do anything to keep my lovely plants happy and healthy. We'll see if it works!

Book Review: American Gods

This book is freaking awesome.

I'm not much of a science-fiction reader, it's not that I don't like it, I just find that it's hard for me to stay interested in space, aliens, computer stuff, etc... However, with me telling you what I don't like - I DO like more of the fantasy books like The Bear and The Nightengale by Katherine Arden and Outlander by Diana Gabaldon.

With those things being noted, American Gods weaves old school pagan gods and rituals into modern times. What happens when gods are real but not many people believe in them anymore? Do the gods fade? Do they die? Do they war with each other? What sacrifices have to be made to bring them back? How do the gods get to America in the first place?

Oh, this books brings all of these questions together. The writing is phenomenal, the imagery is amazing, and I feel like all of the places mentioned in the book can be found. Now that it's been made into a tv show, I watched the first episode and it's really good! Now that I've finished the book, I'm going to have to keep up with the show.

Overall - highly recommended! This would make an excellent summer read.

Chewie's Favorite Tortilla Soup

Chewie's Favorite Tortilla Soup AKA A Kid-Friendly Version of Thug Kitchen's Tortilla Soup

2 tbsp veggie, grapeseed, or olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped into half moons
2 small jalepenos or 1 large jalepeno, enough for a little kick but not nose-dripping heat
2 small spoonfuls of minced garlic (or like 4 cloves)
2 1/2 tsp each of cumin, oregano, chili powder
1 can of diced tomatoes (I like fire roasted tomatoes in this, Chewie also approves)
1 small can of tomato paste
4 cups of veggie broth (1 whole box)
1 cup water
6-8 corn tortillas cut into 1 inch squares
Bunch of cilantro if you don't think it tastes like soap
Juice of 2 limes or 2 tbsp lime juice
Thug Kitchen calls for chickpeas for topping, but I've never done that :::shrug:::

Heat a stockpot over medium high heat. Toss in the onions, carrots, and jalepenos. Saute for 5 minutes or until soft.

Add in the garlic. Cook for another minute or two.

Add in the spices. Stir it all around until it smells amazing and all the spices have touched the heat.

Add in both types of tomatoes. Make sure the tomato paste is a bit melted and stirable.

Add the broth and the water. If you have 5 cups of broth, do that instead. The Thug Kitchen recipe calls for 5 cups of broth but there's only 4 cups in a box of broth. WTF...

Stir everything together until it's all combined. Simmer for 10-15 minutes. Basically enough time to unload/load a dishwasher, rinse out the recycling cans, set the table, etc...

Add in the tortillas. Simmer for another 5 minutes.

At this point, if you like cilantro, add in a handful of cilantro so it can be blended into the soup. Or you can chop and top as a topping instead.

Using your immersion blender, blend until smooth. Alternatively, you can blend the soup in batches in a regular blender (but cover the hole in the lid with a towel to let steam escape).

Add in the lime juice.

Serve.

Baby Chewie likes to ea

Review: Bobby Flay's Salsa Verde Soup

I requested Bobby Flay's Fit cookbook from the library. I'm not quite sure what I was expecting because it's not like Bobby Flay is in the weightloss or fitness genre. I suppose I was expecting more...Bobby Flay???

I thought that the Salsa Verde Chicken soup recipe would be a great easy recipe to try, expecially during Spring Break when I have some extra time to cook. I mean, the children are still wild animal beasts but whatevs...

In any case the soup was straight up chicken, stock, plus salsa verde. There were no other veggies in the soup, no pasta, no rice, no legumes, no beans. Just straight up chicken.

I thought it was bland too. The two jalepenos in the Salsa Verde did not do the soup justice, it was VERY kid-friendly except for the whole no veggie part. I did have to dig the chicken out for Chewie because he couldn't scoop it out with his spoon which meant that he ate his soup on a plate and I needed to serve cut veggies with hummus for a side dish to make up for the lack of veggies in the soup.

I did make another recipe - Quinoa Con Pollo which was EXCELLENT. I have the book for another two weeks, so I'm definitely going to try a few more recipes from Bobby Flay Fit.

Bruschetta & Goat Cheese Sandwich

Bruschetta & Goat Cheese Sandwich

Just add leftover bruschetta to your sandwich instead of mayo or mustard.

Seriously. That's the recipe.

Selfies by The Monkey

Sausage And Kale Soup

Sausage and Kale Soup

2 tbsp olive oil or grapeseed oil

1 package (approximately 1 pound) mild italian sausage (or spicy, whatever your taste buds like)

1 small-ish onion, chopped

3 larger carrots, diced for small throats (because carrots are choking hazards, weird parent thing)

6 small potatoes, chopped

1 tsp chopped garlic (about 1-2 cloves, depending on size)

4 cups veggie or chicken broth, whatever you have on hand

1 tsp ground basil

1/2 tsp ground marjoram

1 bunch lacinto kale, rinsed and chopped or torn into 1-2 inch pieces

1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

Salt and pepper to taste

Optional: 1-3 ice cubes worth of pesto, parsley for garnish

To serve: crusty bread or pita chips

Heat a stockpot over medium-high heat. When hot, add in the oil, then the italian sausage breaking it into bite size pieces. 

After 3 minutes, add in the onion, carrots, potatoes, and garlic. Soften and let them brown up a bit until the sausage is cooked through, maybe 6-10 minutes. 

Add in the basil and marjoram, stir until it smells amazing, about a minute. 

Add in the broth. Bring to a simmer. Let simmer for 10 minutes or until potatoes are fork tender. 

Add the kale and chickpeas. Simmer for another 5 minutes or until chickpeas are warmed through and kale is nicely wilted. 

If using pesto, add in 1-2 large tablespoons or 1-3 ice cubes of frozen pesto. I think this is the extra ingredient that makes this soup delicious! I used homemade pesto that I made using CSA ingredients last fall and froze in an ice cube tray. Use homemade OR store bought, whatever is easiest for you.

Add Salt and pepper to taste. Serve with pita chips, crusty bread, etc...