Simple "I-Don't-Have-To-Think-About-It" Baked Ziti

Confession time: I like cooking delicious dinners for Hubs and "Peep" (as my dad is calling her), but I hate having to constantly reference a recipe all the time.

I much prefer those times when I can just throw something together willy-nilly without thinking about it and know beyond a shadow of a doubt that the end result will be amazing. This Baked Ziti does that for me.

Best Books of 2014

I had previously been addicted to Fiction Connection (when my local library still had a subscription) because it was the best way to find books recommended to me based on other books I had read and liked. When they stopped offering Fiction Connection through the library website, I was forced to drift aimlessly through the stacks, and through Pinterest suggestions, until I found a gem. This year, I discovered Book Seer. You type in the title and author of a book you like, and it suggests 7-8 others that you might enjoy. The interaction is quicker and clearer than visiting Amazon and the suggestions all seem to be slightly related to the book you just read, but not exactly like it. I always hated when I liked a book, but a website recommended a book that was essentially the same one I just finished. Um, I don't need to read it again. For example, after The Humans, Book Seer recommended The Martian. See? Similar, but not exact.

Pregnancy Survival Kit

 
When my sister-in-law was pregnant with her oldest (my nephew, Jordan), I remember wanting to buy her something to commemorate the occasion. No, I didn't want to buy HIM anything; everyone does that. And, as cute as those little onesies are, what is a newly pregnant mom supposed to do with it when all she wants to do is sleep and stop feeling sick?

How to Plan a Perfect Wedding (in Half the Time!)

When D. and I got engaged on April 8th, 2007, I knew I was in for a whirlwind of wedding plans, but I had no idea how stressful it could be. It was my first wedding (and my last!), and all of the wedding timelines I found online were over the course of a year.

A whole year to wait until I was married? No, thank you. I wanted to be married NOW, danggit!

But of course I didn't want to get married over the winter when it was cold (even in Florida, we get pretty cold weather in January/February), and getting married too close to Thanksgiving or Christmas was out of the question. So that left October, which meant ::gulp:: 6 months to plan a wedding. Not a backyard wedding or an elopement with a little party afterward. A full-on, cut-the-cake, hire-a-band, wear-a-crinoline type wedding.

Can it be done?

Spoiler alert: It can. While working full-time.

Easy, Cheesy, Calzone Pizza

A few months ago, I added calzones into our dinner rotation. I used a great pizza crust recipe, I used ricotta and mozzarella cheeses like a typical Italian place, but there always seemed to be something...off. 

Either there was too much crust and not enough toppings, or the flavor was just too flat. I even tried dipping the calzone in garlic butter, but it wasn't the same as those amazing calzones we get from our local pizza place.

And then I had a brainstorm.

A Special Announcement

To paraphrase J.M. Barrie, this news shouldn't be written in ink (or bytes), but with a golden splash. D and I have finally caught our rainbow baby, a little girl, due to arrive on April 5, 2015. (Easter Sunday!)

We had the anatomy scan on Monday and we were both very nervous about the results, as this was about the same time we discovered Ava's birth defects on one of the worst days of our lives. This time, however, everything looks PERFECT. I finally shed a tear of joy (the first in this whole pregnancy!) after counting the right amount of fingers, toes, and bones (on each limb!), seeing the diaphragm, and finding out that we are having a girl! 

That last part kind of shocked me. I had been about 75% sure it was a boy. I even started calling the baby "Chuck Norris" (you know, because it was kicking my butt!). Oops. Sorry, baby. 

The news was especially joyous and timely because it came the day before Ava's second birthday. I had asked Ava to pick out her own siblings and to make sure they get to us somehow. I definitely feel that this baby is a gift from God as well as her big sister and I can't wait to meet her!

After two years of heartbreaking grief, I am so ready to have something to look forward to. No, this new daughter in no way replaces Ava or "redeems" her loss. We will always feel her absence terribly and will always wish that both of our girls could be here with us. But a new life brings light to our darkness. She will bring happiness into our grief, mingling with it, but not defeating it.

Homemade Goo Gone

Mason jars are mad popular on Pinterest.

Seriously, if you've spent more than 5 minutes browsing through Pinterest, chances are—amid the mustaches, baby pictures, wedding photos, and Nutella recipes—you'll see at least 6 pins featuring Mason jars. 

I love them, too, because I think storing pantry staples and greens in a Mason jar is a much more attractive option than a frumpy zip-top bag or dirty Tupperware container. And when your pantry and fridge are attractive, doesn't that make cooking (and eating) more enjoyable? 

But we don't have room in our budget for a pallet (Ooh! Pallet crafts!) of Mason jars...especially when you can get the same thing (basically free) from your recycling bin. 

I have now saved about 5 glass containers that held everything from pasta sauce to maple syrup. The only problem is the labels. Not only do they look ugly, they keep you from seeing what's inside and mentally throw you off when trying to take "what should we make for dinner" inventory. 

The solution? Homemade Goo Gone!