All grown up

What do you want to do when you grow up?

All of us have been asked this before, right? I know I have, and now that I'm a parent, I like to ask my son B a few times a year.
I've always expected him to change his answer, but interestingly enough he always says the same thing;  "I want to be in the ARMY." This answer has not changed in a few years (he is 7.5).
Do you remember what your answer was as a kid?
This is what I can remember from when I was a kidlet. I'm pretty sure I wanted to be a singer, Ariel (the little mermaid), a secretary, and as I got older... a teacher, a speech therapist, even a forensic scientist.

It is interesting to me that some people (like B) seem to know right off the bat exactly what they want out of life... and then others (like me) seem to "roll with the punches" and change interests/adapt depending on where life takes them.

After having my son (at age 20) I went to UAS for almost 2 years, but full time work, full time school and full time single parenting was too much for this momma (yes, I am human after all) in the future I need to remember this and not burn myself out.
I put my education on hold and instead of going to school just to go, I opted for real work experience (in the special education field) for almost 5 years now.
Although I love my current job, and I am grateful for the experiences I've had in the school district, I am almost 27 (23 days until my bday!) and realize that I need to get back to school. I have been seriously considering going back to college so I can complete my education for about a year.

Here's the problem; no idea what I want to 'do when I grow up'.

I have toyed with a few options, but nothing has really kept my motivation for more than a few weeks at a time.

Well, last night I had an experience that sparked something deep within my being (I know this sounds totally cheesy, but I am totally serious). I know exactly what I want to go back to school for, and I have the motivation (and support!) to start the process tomorrow.

Details coming soon!

* Sorry for leavin' ya hangin', but after the weekend I had, this momma needs to power down.

Dutch the devil cat

Dutch is now closing in on 13 weeks (this has got to be the "Terrible Twos" stage, right?!) and from what my family has been experiencing, we might as well say that our sweet little kitten is now the devil incatnate. Seriously.

Although most of the time he is still a cute little fluff ball (who is growing at alarming rates!), he sure as hell has his moments.

I'm not regretting my decision to add another fur baby (I've mentioned before how I never wanted to be that person who uses the term "fur baby", right? Don't judge me!) into our family, but I am seriously needing some kitten rearing advice! I've had kittens before, but this is the first who is this mean. This momma cat needs help!

Dutch gets more and more feisty each day. He bites/claws/scratches and attacks anything that moves... while I understand a cat's desire to play and hunt moving things, I am tired of getting kitty teeth/claws stuck in body parts. We are all covered head-to-toe in scratches, and Braeden has already had a few melt downs because he is convinced the cat is against him, and hurts him because he doesn't like Braeden (because kittens have motives, you know?).
I'm pretty dead set on declawing his front paws, but in the back of my mind I can't help thinking how mean that would be. Ryan likes to argue that one day when he is an "outside cat" he will need those claws... I like to remind him that Dutch will not be an "outdoor cat".
* Ryan grew up with only outdoor cats. I grew up with only indoor cats. We both think we're right in this argument...

Besides the cat thinking we are human scratching posts, he is also completely obsessed with food! I've never seen a cat act this way... it's like having another Lennie pup only worse, and untrainable!
A couple of my cats growing up liked dairy, another really liked brined foods (olives, pickles, tuna fish water), but they never begged or were as relentless in scoring a treat like Dutch is.
Every morning, when we feed Lennie, Dutch races to the dog dish for whatever morsel of food he can sneak away from the dog... every time I open the fridge, Dutch literally hurls himself into it, and then will try to hide from you if you attempt to remove him! He relentlessly tries to eat food right off your plate/out of your hand, and when you scold him, remove him or spray him with water he is immediately back where he was 5 seconds prior! Gah!

I got lots of great advice on Facebook regarding ideas for discipline, exercise, food, (my personal favorite?) getting another kitten for Dutch to play with hehe.
I will attempt anything at this point, because for as fast as Dutch is growing, I can't imagine him acting this way in a couple of months when he's double triple his size (remember he's supposed to fill those "Double Dutch" shoes!)!
Last night in bed, as Ryan and I were both being terrorized by le kitteh, we were teasing each other that pretty soon we'd have to dress in full leather... and shield each other from the cat when he is 15 lbs and hurling his adult body, claws/teeth and all at our faces as we sleep.
Problem is, I don't think we were joking as much as we were serious... I'm scared! Ryan too!

Having said all that, please take a look at my sweet Dutch boy, because despite what I say, he's not always trouble... just most of the time!

Silly kitten, love how he sleeps!

Here's Dutch, as I mentioned before, he tries to eat Lennie's food. We now have to hold him while Lennie scarfs down his food... 

Aww! Kitten thinks he's a pup!

Braeden has requested the cat doesn't sleep with him anymore... Dutch likes to play with his face and wake him up in the middle of the night (Ignore the mattress sans sheets. Laundry day!).

 So sweet when he's unconscious! HA!

On the left: innocent pet fish, enjoying a swim

On the right: adventurous devious kitten, about to take a leap to the fish tank

Thank goodness he couldn't jump that far... yet!

In the morning when I shower, Dutch sits next to the tub and meow, meow, meows until I get out. It's like having a crying infant all over again! 2 minute shower GO!

Here's Dutch in the fridge, hiding behind the salad bowl... is it animal cruelty to shut him in the fridge for a minute?? Think it would deter him from jumping in again?

My favorite photo from this week :)

Lennie and Dutch, spooning. I laugh every time I see this.

This is NOT Dutch (and that is NOT my pipe!), I found it on EPICFAIL but couldn't help but see the resemblance between this kitten and Dutch. It's uncanny! Also, they both try to steal drinks!

Any advice on kitty parenting is greatly appreciated!

We we we so excited

Have you ever seen the "Friday" video on YouTube? From the minute I heard this song, I couldn't help but think "R.I.P Music", but at the same time I really truly love it. I crack up every time I hear this song and can't help but sing "Friday...Friday..." to myself every Friday. Go ahead, watch... I dare you not to get it stuck in your head!

So ridiculous, yet I can't stop loving this song... until I found this, which I love almost as much. Cute nerds singing about how much they love school? Yes please!

This one is pretty great too (Jimmy Fallon and Stephen Colbert always cheer me up!):

Honestly though, this has to trump all other Friday parodies I will ever see. Thanks to my dear friend A for discovering this. Prepare yourself...

Oh boy

20!

If you have read this, then you know why I am so thrilled with myself to have made it to 20 minutes!

My knee seemed to do alright, just needed a little ice that night. My ankle on the other hand was a bit sore/throbbing. Needed ice, rest and a pain pill. oops
I think I'll stay at 20 min for a while, let my ankle rest in between workouts. I'll try to maintain at least 3 time a week for the month and see where I'm at in December.

:)

Crisis averted! (New Recipe)

So, I found this great website (through Pinterest), which is basically a mish-mash of all websites with good recipes. It's called FoodGawker. I don't know how I never new about this, but I am so glad I do now!

This is NOT part of my "health kick", but it looked damned good and I new Ryan would eat it up...plus Braeden is at his dad's tonight, so I can experiment in the kitchen!

On the menu tonight...
Chicken Cordon Bleu *I made this recipe cause it looked great... but honestly, saying bluuuhh is fun too!*
Hasselback Potatoes *I didn't know why these baked potatoes were called Hasselback, but this blog explains it.*
Green salad with veggies

To start, I washed/patted dry/sliced thin 4 potatoes (which is a little harder than you'd think! I cut all the way through a few times). Then I drizzled the potatoes with a bit of EVOO/melted butter and sprinkled with salt/pepper. Once those were in the oven I started on the filling/dredging station.

One dish with flour, one with egg, one with breadcrumb I always use seasoned Panko for my breadcrumb needs.

For the filling I used hamsteak from Costco, sliced thinly *because I already had part of one in the fridge* steamed spinach and shredded Mozzarella.

Here is where the dinner crisis ensued (ok, it wasn't a crisis per se but I am a bit of a perfectionist and I was really mad at myself that I wouldn't be able to make this recipe correctly... especially because I had company over tonight. Grr!)

This recipe calls for chicken breasts. Not chicken tenders. Guess what I brought home from the store? Yep, tenders. 

I figured it would be damned near impossible to roll up the ingredients in the tenders, but *as my boyfriend so sweetly said tonight* "You are an experienced cook, and you'll find a way to make it work... and taste GREAT." Aww! Dinner challenge is a Go!

I layered the tenders with plastic wrap and then tenderized/flattened with a rolling pin. 

I used two tenders, overlapped at a bit of an angle and put a few slices of ham, a few spinach leaves and a hefty sprinkle of Mozzarella. Rolled up, dredged in the flour/egg/panko and then stove top fried for a couple minutes on each side.

Since the recipe didn't specify an oven temp (silly online recipes), I just popped the dish into the 425f oven where the potatoes were baking. Left them in for about 15 minutes (because they were tenders they cooked very quickly) and voila!!

YUM!

We all thought it was mighty yummy. Let me know if you try it!