My Once a Month Mom experience

First off, let me say that even with mistakes on my part and on the directions, it was AWESOME! I had to make one trip to the store because I ran out of a few things and I ended up with a few leftovers, but we have a stocked freezer! For the November menu we made the following:

- 2 veggie pizzas

-105 sausage balls

-4 sweet potato casseroles

-4 freezer mashed potatoes (which we struggled with b/c our taters weren't cooked enough)

-32 butterhorn rolls (like a Pillsbury crescent roll, but homemade!)

-2 cranberry upside down cakes (which I forgot to add the oil too- oops!)

-2 frozen peanut butter pies

-16 cream cheese & peach stuffed french toast (I modified the recipe)

-8 bacon brunch bites

-4 broccoli, turkey & stuffing casseroles

-4 turkey shepherd's pies

-4cheesy broccoli & rice with turkey (we ran out of turkey, so two have turkey, two don't)

-4 velveeta cheesy southwest meatloaf

-4 sausage vegetable medley

-4 Turkey and Noodle Casseroles

-4 large bags of spaghetti sauce

-4 asian peanut butter pork loin

Divide that up between two families and you each have 16 meals, 2 appetizers, 2 desserts, a bread, 2 sides and 2 breakfasts. For a total of $180 each.

I cooked the turkeys the night before and I also decided to chop all the veggies, as suggested. By myself (Heather was spending time with her cousin who just came home from the war!) it took about 3 1/2 hours. I was so glad I did this though because today only took about 8 hours, including cleanup. I also decided to make stock out of one of the carcasses. After I picked the meat off the bones, I put the carcass (chopped up to fit) into the crockpot, added half an onion, a few ribs of celery and a carrot, covered it in water and let it cook all night. This morning I had beautiful rich stock, which I needed for the recipes anyways. I'm really into stock lately, as it's practically free! Just add a few veggies if you have them and cook your bones over night. I keep mine in the fridge and use it whenever I make rice or mashed potatoes or anything else that calls for water. Even grits!

We had a great time today and since I did so much chopping the night before, I didn't have as much to do as Heather (she was person A) so I ended up making a lot of person A items too.

The only problem we had was not enough big bowls. Next time I think I may invest in some baby pools or perhaps some large garbage cans for mixing. LOL

We will definitely do this next month!

I'm off to soak in a tub and then enjoy a meal!

My Fat Cat

This is Dexter. Dexter is fat. Can you resist Dexter and his handsome face? I thought not.

What about Dexter's funny little rabbit feet and his large bulging belly? It is so squishy!

Here is a full body view for you. This is his usual way of relaxing.

Dex is so fat that he can't fit on the window sill. God, I love this cat.

Once a Month Mom

After seeing my friends Amanda and Mandi blog about their experience with Once a Month Moms, I had to join in. I'm a teacher and we have a furlough day on Tuesday. It was supposed to be a teacher work day, but now I have to stay home...and not get paid. So, I decided to try theNovember menu with my bff, Heather. We spent $340 total- that is for both families. I bought the two turkeys at Target for 88 cents/lb which was much less than anywhere else. Then, I bought most of the canned goods and produce at Aldi's and then the rest of the stuff at Publix. Here are our groceries:

I will definitely blog about the whole experience and probably tweet throughout the day.

...and the winners are...

I used random.org as my number generator.

My first winner is #15 AnnieQ from http://www.womantalklive.com/. Congratulations Annie!

The second winner is #19- which is actually my sister-in-law, Jenny!! Congrats Jenny! Jenny doesn't yet have a blog, but totally needs one!

I decided to mail my copy of the book to someone too, so I used the random number generator once more and it picked #20, my friend Gina. I was so excited that she won this one, because not only do I not have to ship the book, she tried so hard to win it. First, she left a comment on my facebook and thought that was her entry. Then she just posted it on her fb and thought that was her entry. Then, she left a comment under the video I posted and thought that was her entry. Finally I showed her where to really leave a comment. She deserved to win my copy, don't you think?

Contest Time!

Recently I was picked to host a giveaway for a Sue Monk Kidd book. I jumped at the chance, as I loved The Mermaid

Chair and The Secret Life of Bees. When I first received my copy for review I dove right in and was immediately confused. Each chapter had either "Ann" or "Sue" written above it. How strange. So, I decided to read the book jacket, which is not something I like to do because often they give away important information. That's when I realized it was a memoir. Oh lordy, a memoir. I'm not a fan. Sure, I'm a fan of Memoirs of a Geisha, but that was written by a third party. So, I reluctantly now, dive into reading. I was surprised to find out that I really enjoyed the book. I'm not going to say that it was a page turner- it's no Twilight- but I did always want to read more. Fine, I started and finished a new Harlan Coben book in the middle of reading Traveling with Pomegranates, but I did enjoy the book. It is well written and would be a nice book to share with your mother...or your daughter. I won't waste your time telling you exactly what the book is about, as you can read that below in the description. If you liked either of Sue Monk Kidd's other books, you'll like this one as well.

To enter this contest, please tell me the last good book you read! You can earn up to three extra entries by either twittering the contest, posting this blog on your facebook, or linking to this contest via your blog. Please leave an extra comment for each. Good luck and happy reading!

Traveling with Pomegranates

By Sue Monk Kidd and Ann Kidd Taylor

On Sale Now

Order: http://www.amazon.com/Traveling-Pomegranates-Mother-Daughter-Monk-Kidd/dp/0670021202

http://us.penguingroup.com/nf/Book/BookDisplay/0,,9780670021208,00.html?Traveling_with_Pomegranates_Sue_Monk_Kidd#

· Read an excerpt:

http://us.penguingroup.com/nf/Book/BookDisplay/0,,9780670021208,00.html?sym=EXC

· Book description:

An introspective and beautiful dual memoir by the #1 New York Times bestselling novelist and her daughter

Sue Monk Kidd has touched millions of readers with her novels The Secret Life of Bees andThe Mermaid Chair and with her acclaimed nonfiction. In this intimate dual memoir, she and her daughter, Ann, offer distinct perspectives as a fifty-something and a twenty-something, each on a quest to redefine herself and to rediscover each other.

Between 1998 and 2000, Sue and Ann travel throughout Greece and France. Sue, coming to grips with aging, caught in a creative vacuum, longing to reconnect with her grown daughter, struggles to enlarge a vision of swarming bees into a novel. Ann, just graduated from college, heartbroken and benumbed by the classic question about what to do with her life, grapples with a painful depression. As this modern-day Demeter and Persephone chronicle the richly symbolic and personal meaning of an array of inspiring figures and sites, they also each give voice to that most protean of connections: the bond of mother and daughter.

A wise and involving book about feminine thresholds, spiritual growth, and renewal, Traveling with Pomegranates is both a revealing self-portrait by a beloved author and her daughter, a writer in the making, and a momentous story that will resonate with women everywhere.

Sue Monk Kidd:

SUE MONK KIDD is the author of the novels, The Secret Life of Bees and The Mermaid Chair, and the memoirs, The Dance of the Dissident Daughter, When the Heart Waits, and Firstlight, a collection of early writings. The Secret Life of Bees has spent more than 125 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list and was adapted into an award-winning movie. The Mermaid Chair, a #1 New York Times bestseller, was adapted into a television movie. Each of her novels has been translated into more than 24 languages. The recipient of numerous literary awards, Sue lives in South Carolina with her husband.

Ann Kidd Taylor:

Ann Kidd Taylor is a graduate of Columbia College in South Carolina. She has published articles and essays in Skirt! magazine in Charleston, SC, where she worked for two years after college as an editorial assistant. She left to pursue a career in writing, working on a book about her travels, which evolved into Traveling with Pomegranates, a memoir she co-authored with her mother Sue Monk Kidd. It is her first book. Ann lives near Charleston with her husband and son.

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The miracles that Petsmart performs!

This is our Sophie pre-grooming. She was covered in knots and small mats and smelled...greasy, I guess. She was long overdue for a grooming and we wanted to get her done before it got too cold.

How can you not love this face?!

Here she is post-grooming! Doesn't she look sooooo much better? She feels good too- she is bouncing all over the place!

Contest Preview...and my first vlog!