Mealtime Favorites, Skinnygirl style

I don’t know about you, but I am a Bethenny fan. I’ve watched the entire season and am thoroughly entertained each episode. She is a bit neurotic but she makes me laugh. She’s smart too. She turned an idea for a low-cal margarita into $120M, according to ‘insiders’. Not too shabby if you ask me. And who wouldn’t want to at least try a margarita with only 100 calories. Um, yes please.

Let’s not forget she started out as a Natural Food Chef so it got me thinking she must have some good recipes out there. I was browsing her website, and stumbled upon this winner, Goat Cheese Sundried Tomato Chicken Breasts. It was a surprising hit and definitely one of our new favorite go-to recipes. We’ll be visiting her website for more dinner inspiration soon. Whether you love her or hate her, this recipe is a must try.

I hate the unknown.

I was trying to hold in all of my concerns about next season and really try to go with the flow. The only problem is I’m really not the ‘fly by the seat of your pants’ kind of girl. I need to plan things out. Something that is near impossible in this hockey life we live. That feeling is even stronger now with Reese in our lives. It’s not just the two of us who can make do, we have to think about Reese’s needs too.

There are way too many unknowns in our hockey adventures and I tend to stress about all of them, big and small. Is the team reliable? What is the town/city like? Am I going to be stranded halfway up a ski mountain without a car? Will there be other people I can talk to (read: that speak English)? What will our apartment be like? Will there be other kids Reese can play with? Will there be other wives/girlfriends? I really believe the other girls you’re with make a big difference in your experience. We all need friends, someone to talk to or vent to, and these girls understand exactly what it’s like to live this life. I would love to know the answer to any of those questions before we leave but am sure I’ll still be wondering after we arrive.

One of the biggest things is where we will live. We have seen the gamut on this one over the years. From our own places to friends’ places and friends of friends’ places. Let’s just say I’ve seen some less than ideal places to live. We’ve been fortunate enough to have pretty good apartments wherever we’ve been, (minus one little hiccup in Finland but let’s not even go there) but it’s definitely not a guarantee. We need two bedrooms. Not two in European standards, which often means one bedroom plus one ‘living’ room. If you have a toddler, you know the importance of this one. We can’t sleep in the same room as Reese for an entire season. Well not if we actually want to sleep. Prime example, we just spent a night in London and it was like sleeping with a jumping bean the entire night. I mean literally jumping from one side to the other and walking around the bed with a blanket over her head at 3a.m. Almost funny but then I remembered it was 3a.m. Definitely not funny.

We are hoping to get some of these things worked out with the team before we leave. We’re crossing our fingers anyway. Maybe our toes too.

And in the meantime, I’m making a goal for myself to try not and stress about all these little things. Instead, try and focus on the positive things I can control. Like what kinds of candy I should pack.

I love you to the moon and back.

Me and my girl

My Mom and hers

With Mother’s Day just around the corner, I find myself feeling a little conflicted. On one hand, I’m overjoyed to be celebrating motherhood as a mother myself. It’s a gift I’m so grateful for. One that has brought on this all-consuming love for my child since the moment she was born. I’m proud to be a mother. To be her mother.

On the other hand, I can’t help but be overcome with this deep sense of sadness and longing for my own mother. Simply, I miss her. It breaks my heart knowing my daughter will never know her but through the stories I share with her. That she won’t feel her love. A love I know so well.

Although I know I will forever miss her, I don’t want to be sad when I think of her; I want to be happy. I want to celebrate the woman she was. I want to celebrate the woman I am, because of her. She guided me through life with an unfailing love and support. The kind of love and support I want to show my children. I can only hope to be the kind of mother she was to me.

So this Mother’s Day, I will celebrate being a Mom and honor my own mother, knowing she was the best example.

To you, Mom, I love you to the moon and back. Always.

Vacation gone wrong

Do you remember how I was dreaming of the beautiful views of the French Riviera? Well, I'm still dreaming of them.

That's right, our anxiously awaited vacation never happened. Long story short, Scott's passport went through the wash and we were denied entry at the gate. Fun times.

It was like a nightmare that wouldn't end. At least that's what it felt like at the time. Washed passport, woke up late, got lost on the way, refused entry on the plane. That about sums it up.

This was supposed to be our first big family vacation. It was like the light at the end of a long, stressful year. Disappointment doesn't even begin to describe it.

We went over our options, which weren't many, and decided there was no way we would be able to make the trip. Mainly because I don't think the U.S. Embassy constitutes a family vacation as an emergency. Really?!

So we gathered up our bags and headed home. Not only would we not be going on our vacation, but we were out all that money too. No refunds here. Nothing like a cherry on top of an already disaster morning.

Luckily, the sunny skies of Cardiff and a bbq with friends managed to get us (well, mainly me) out of our funk.

The hubs wanted to salvage the week somehow so he planned a little getaway to the Welsh seaside for a couple days. It wasn't Nice, but it was beautiful in it's own right. We strolled through quaint little towns, relaxed on the beach, ate too much food, and most importantly had quality family time. After all, that's what family vacation is all about. There's always a bright side, right?

Ironically enough, we will be a few short hours away from the French Riviera next season. So we will be enjoying those views sometime soon, come hell or high water!

Mealtime Favorites

With Scott around so much more lately, he's really been putting me to shame in the kitchen. Again. Honestly, what a treat to have a hubs who really likes to cook.

I found this recipe a couple weeks but wasn't prepared for what a hit it would be. If you like salmon and can indulge in a little fried food for a night, you must try this. Tonight. They're really that good.

Follow this link for the recipe. I didn't take pictures of ours this time but it doesn't even matter; the pictures don't do these things justice.

We made the following tweaks to the recipe:

- vegetable oil for frying
- light mayo
- homemade bread crumbs (this is a big one - it makes a big difference in flavor so if you can take the time to make your own, definitely do)