Oh-Hi-Oh!

We are driving to Ohio tonight to visit Mike's Uncle, Aunt and Nanny. Dianne is coming too, she's kind enough to have offered the use of her living room on wheels, aka- van. This thing has a TV with DVD player and is game system compatible. She's also been kind enough to volunteer to ride in the back with Gryffin because I get car sick so easily. Man, I got the best mother-in-law ever!
It's about an 8 hour drive, so with stopping for dinner and all the bathroom breaks Gryffin requires, it should be about 10-12 hours.
I still have loads of laundry, cleaning and packing to get done. I also have to get some music downloaded to the MP3 and find a book to take.
Time to shut up and put up.

I would really love to share pictures of our new and improved back yard, but it seems I have lost my phone and need to tear the house apart.

Warning!

If you live around or near me, take your kid to the same Day Out program, hang out at the same coffee joint or know me in any way, shape or form- be warned. I am out of makeup. Completely.
I don't wear much, but what I do wear makes a huge difference. It covers the purple bags under my eyes and my teenage-like acne.
So, if you see a purple eyed, pimpled, disheveled and panicked woman driving like a bat out of hell today, it's just me rushing to the one and only store within 20 miles that sells the only makeup I can wear.

Well that was a nice weekend. The weather was nice enough to open the house up and air it out, for the boys to play outside and clean up the yard and for me to crank up the music and clean. Yesterday the time change hit us like bricks, but we still got a couple things done.

Kiss My Grits!

Finally, a food experiment that turned out edible. More than edible, I'm even having this for breakfast today.
I went to college in the south where grits are served breakfast, lunch, dinner and sometimes desert. I learned that their flavor changes depending on what they are paired with, everything from savory to sweet.
Currently living in the Midwest, I missed them. Most people here have never even heard of grits, let alone tried them. I'm thinking of starting an Eat Your Grits Campaign to enlighten this part of the country.
Enough of my babble:

Bacon, Shrimp and Cheddar Grits

1 pkg pre-cooked Trader Joe's grits (or whatever grits you can find, just follow the package directions)
6 slices bacon, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1.5 cups frozen salad shrimp, thawed and dried well with paper towels
1.5 cups shredded low-fat cheddar cheese, reserve 1/2 cup
1/2 cup fat free 1/2 & 1/2
Salt & Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350.
In a skillet, brown the bacon and onion and drain on paper towells.
In a sauce pan, heat the grits and 1/2 & 1/2. Add in a cup of the cheese in small handfuls, stirring until melted. Turn off the heat and add in the bacon, onion and shrimp. Add salt & pepper. Stir to combine.
Spray a casserole dish with non-stick spray and dump the whole pot of lovely goodness in. Sprinkle the top with the reserved cheese and place in a 350 degree oven until the cheese is bubbly, about 20 minutes.

I served this last night with grilled pork chops, steamed broccoli and corn. I could have skipped the chops since the grits had plenty of protein and are REALLY filling, but I wasn't sure if my boys would like them, but they did. Who couldn't love bacon, shrimp and cheese anything?

Next time I may just add in some veggies and make it into a complete meal casserole.

Anti-Sneaking Spotlight

Last night Mike installed a covert tactic to dealing with a sneaky child... a motion activated light switch. He put it in the hallway outside Gryffin's room and it works like a charm. I know when Gryffin gets up in the morning, even without having my hearing aides in. My husband is so smart.
There were two of these handy dandy little gadgets in the package. The second will go in our closet, sometimes its just too much to flip a switch in the morning.

Crappy Cakes

I cannot make crab cakes to save my life. Tonight I had a wonderful dinner planned of crab cakes, sweet potato fries and cole slaw. The cole slaw and fries were good. The crab cakes were more like crab slag. Luckily, the corner market was still open and I picked up a couple of pork steaks from their hot deli. This of course, was after Nick the Butcher gave me a hard time. He knows whenever I hit the deli around dinner time it's because I've botched something.
My guess is that the crab cakes were too wet, or I shouldn't use canned crab or they hate me. No matter which it is, most likely the last, I am not going to attempt them again. I know when I've been beaten.