I'm BaaaaAAAAACK!

OMG!!!!  It is SOOOO good to be back in the 21st century!  Blogging, how I've missed you!!!!!


   This past week has been too crazy to not have a blog to turn to!  Our internet problem has finally been solved, though, so I'll be back in full force; I promise.  No sighing; you know you're happy about it ;-)  So what has happened since my last post?

   Last Tuesday I started a new job as a secretary at a locally owned supply company here in Gulfport.  I'm basically answering phones, typing invoices, and managing the front door.  It's very easy, but I get paid, so I'm not complaining.  There are no women in our branch, just a few good ol' country boys, so although I'm a bit disappointed in the lack of gossip material, I am happy to be drama-free.  On the work end, at least.

   Home life has been nuts!  "Daddy's home" has meant everything I feared and more, but I think I'm handling it fantastically. Well....more or less.  At any rate, I haven't killed him.   Yet.

  Monkey has been doing great.  She is loving the fact that she has someone else in the house to terrorize, and she's been doing a good job of it.  Watching Monkey manipulate and trick her Daddy into letting her have her way has almost made up for the extra dishes, laundry and general cleaning.  We'll see how long it takes him to realize she can call up tears out of nowhere and stem their flow just as quickly.

  "The more things change, the more they seem to stay the same."  That's a part of a song, if I'm not mistaken.  Even if not, it's true.  Monkey and I still do our "weekly" letter, but I'm using the term "weekly" loosely because we haven't been able to make it to the library in about two weeks.  We're still on the letter "R", but that's okay.  Unlike "Q" there are quite a few "r" words out there.  Here "r" a few of our crafts:

    I believe I mentioned this in my last post, but here's the picture that I couldn't add last time.

   Monkey and I made ^this collage the other day.  She and I went through a magazine, finding anything red.  She had fun with this one.

   This one is probably my favorite.  It's a little robot that we made from stuff around the house.  The head is an empty spool from some ribbon I had bought, the hair is made of pipe cleaners, the arms and legs are paper towel tubes, and the body is a shoebox.  I wrapped everything in construction paper, and Monkey decorated each part.

Then, using a hot-glue gun, I put it all together for her.  She loves it, and has been playing with it ever since.

  I stumbled across this on pinterest the other day, and I decided I had to make it for Monkey.

It's bath-time paint made out of shaving cream and food coloring.  I mixed it all up in an old egg carton, and let her go to town.  She loved being able to vandalize the bathroom wall with no repercussions.  Here are a few shots of her fun in the tub:

     I also got a chance to try a new recipe this week for Chicken Stroganoff.  It was a yummy and easy meal.  It's a good week-night go-to that I'll be making again in the near future, I'm sure.  Here's the recipe:

1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, more if needed
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, more if needed
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup minced shallots
8 ounces sliced mushrooms 
1/4 cup Marsala wine
1 (10.5-oz.) can condensed chicken broth, undiluted
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon minced fresh tarragon, plus 6-8 sprigs for garnish
1/4 cup sour cream


Season chicken with salt and pepper. Heat oil and butter in large skillet over medium heat until it shimmers. Add the chicken and cook until lightly browned on each side. Transfer chicken to a baking sheet and place in the preheated oven to finish cooking.

Meanwhile, to the same skillet, add 2 teaspoons oil and heat up until hot. Add shallots and cook, stirring, until they're a light golden color, about 3 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook until slightly softened.

Turn heat to high and pour in Marsala, scraping brown bits from bottom of pan with a wooden spoon. Boil until liquid is reduced by half, about 1 minute. Add chicken stock, stir, and boil until the liquid begins to thicken to a syrup consistency, about 2 minutes. Reduce the heat and whisk in the mustard and minced tarragon. Simmer for 3 minutes.

Turn off heat and whisk in sour cream, stirring until smooth. Turn heat to low, taste and salt/pepper more if necessary. 

Remove chicken from oven and add  it to the pan.


I served mine with mashed potatoes, and it was super yummy.






   I know this is pathetic, but I really think I was losing my sanity without this outlet.  I'm so glad for the modern convenience that allows me to air out all of my thoughts while simultaneously providing entertainment for all of you bored folks who read this.  I've really missed this, and I'm so glad to be back. :-)