Pet Peeves 101

Pet Peeve: Tights as Leggings/Pants.

Ladies, ladies, LADIES (!!!). You're killing me. Below outlines not only a pet peeve but a fashion faux pas. Memorize, chant, repeat over and over, make this your mantra, whatever. Just get it in your brain: 

So, what this means is that ... it's NEVER okay to wear tights with a shirt that doesn't cover your ass. Still not getting it? It's NEVER okay to wear tights as leggings with tops that don't cover your ass. In fact, go to your closet. Move the tights out of the "pants" pile. Good. 

I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say that the ONLY instance where this is acceptable is if you're a dancer coming or going to dance class. Or if you're Natalie Portman portraying a dancer in a film. That's it. The only time. Otherwise, wear your tights, as they are intended - under dresses or tunics that cover your precious ass. Because when you don't, you see, you take VPL's to a whole. new. level. And it makes me vomit in my mouth. 

Leggings. These are also intended to be worn with shirts, tunics, cardigans, wraps, etc. that cover your hiney. What's especially disgusting, is when you wear thread bear leggings with shirts, sweaters, etc. that don't cover said hiney. And I'm sorry, but that shit ain't right. You're just asking for your husband/boyfriend/sig other to voluntarily throw themselves in front of a moving car. Can you blame them? 

Solution: Just don't do this. Just don't. And if you think you might, invest in a full length mirror. But here's the kicker - you have to actually uuuussssse it. 

Pet Peeve: Wearing Sunglasses Indoors

This one's easy ... 

Solution Part 1: Are you blind? Is your name Stevie Wonder or Ray Charles?

Solution Part 2: Do NOT then opt for Transitions ... cause that's the creepy solution. 

Stuffed Shells - Sooo good.

I found this recipe in a magazine. Since I'm trying to do a lot more cooking so that eating out is a luxury, I gave it a whirl. It was a hit and we all looked forward to the leftovers.

My food allergies are extensive, so I left the cheese out, and Mr. Nonmom Jeans who has 0 food allergies didn't miss it (or the calories as we are both trying to loose our baby weight). I also used Italian Style Ground Turkey instead of ground beef and threw in some chopped broccoli to the "filling" to give it some color. This one's a keeper, kids. Bon Appetit!

Stuffed Shells

Prep: 50 mins, Bake: 30 mins, Oven temp: 350F

1 box Jumbo Pasta Shells (~35)

3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

1.5 lbs lean ground beef 

2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed

2 28oz. cans diced tomatoes

1 15oz. carton whole-milk ricotta cheese

1.5 cups grated or finely shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

1.) Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly oil a baking sheet and a 3 quart oval or rectangle baking dish.

2.) Bring a large pot of water with 1 Tbsp salt to boiling. Add shells and cook just until slightly tender, about 4-5 minutes. Drain pasta and spread in a single layer on baking sheet so they don't stick together.

3.) In a large skillet heat 1 Tbsp of the olive oil over medium heat. Add beef and 1 clove of garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Cook and stir until no pink remains. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.

4.) For tomato sauce, in same skillet over lower heat combine remaining olive oil, remaining garlic, and undrained tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer and cook for 15 to 20 minutes until thickened somewhat.

5.) Stir 1.5 cups of the mixture into the ground beef, add ricotta and 2/3 cup of the Parmigiano cheese, stir until combined.

6.) Spoon 1.5 cups of tomato sauce into prepared baking dish. Fill each pasta shell with about 1 Tbsp meat and cheese mixture. Arrange shells in prepared baking dish. Spoon remaining tomato sauce over shells then sprinkle remaining 2/3 cups cheese. 

*I like my stuffed shells saucy so in addition to spooning the remaining tomato sauce over the shells, I also spooned about 1/2 a jar of tomato sauce over the shells*

7.) Bake about 30 minutes, until filling is heated through and top is golden brown. 

Makes 8 servings (4 shells = 1 serving size) 537 calories, 26g fat, 94mg cholesterol, 661mg sodium, 42g carbs, 3g fiber, 35g protien

Product Review: Sally Hansen Complete Manicure

Last week, I was reading through More magazine and came across their All-New Beauty Breakthroughs listing the Sally Hansen Complete Manicure as one of them. Lately, I shy away from manicures, and painting my nails in general, because they ALWAYS, always, always chip within hours of application. So, it's not worth my money nor my time. But I do love a good polish for a special occasion so I decided to give ole Sally a try.

Commander in Chic is my favorite color (not shown) click here to see it 

Consensus: Ride Sally, ride. Never will I ever pay for a manicure again. Unless Mr. NonMomJeans decides to get me a mani/pedi/spa day gift at Red Door, then I'll gladly make an exception. Not only are there many different, hip colors to choose from, but the polish goes on nice and thick - a common complaint I have with cheaper nail polishes. After painting my nails on Saturday morning, here it is Tuesday night and I have one tiny chip ... that's just unheard of with me. I'm very hard on my hands. To this point, many people I know are switching to gel manicures which last a whopping 2 weeks, that's great and all but I can guarantee you that they don't cost $7. And that, my friends, is Sally's biggest selling point of all.

More Magazine Disclaimer: In our family (read: my Mom and Grandmother) we go through a lot of magazines and save them for each other when we are done with them. Despite the obvious age demographic discrepancy of the magazine, I love reading it and have gleaned a lot of good, useful information ... including that in this post. 

Life 2.0

It's interesting, having a baby with a husband. It's also interesting having had a baby before having a husband. Both were incredibly happy experiences ... and equally terrifying (I don't care what anyone says childbirth is scary), and both were incredibly different for me personally.

When I had Lovie 4.5 years ago I was single and moved back to my hometown to live with my parents, until I met someone that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with ... however, long that took, even if it never did (we'd eventually have moved out on our own, my little man and I). The actual day that Lovie was born, I was surrounded by my family and closest friends. I knew then, despite how hard the road was going to be, that I was going to be OK. Living with my parents was great. At any given time (since my brothers were still living at home) there were 4 sets of hands to help hold the baby, play with the baby and provide guidance/answer any questions I may have had about child rearing. Most importantly, what I remember loving the most is that I didn't have to share him with anyone. I got to give him all the cuddles and didn't have to worry about sharing quality time or anything else involving child rearing. As I had always intended, the child doesn't go a single day without knowing that he's the most loved little boy in the world. That for me is a win.

When I met Husband through Match.com my life changed again, in a different way. A life where I just can't imagine him not in it ... true love. Shortly, after we were married I became pregnant with Baby Sister. The day I went in to be induced the East Coast experienced a random earthquake ... spending 2 hours out in the hospital parking lot for evacuation was not how I anticipated things being "sped up." After 14 hours of labor she was born! She's a huge baby ... she was born 9lbs 9oz (about the size of a three month old) which makes me happy, since I gained 50lbs with her and looked as if I was going to birth a horse. 

Her birth experience was entirely different. Throughout the evening (since labor was so long) we were again surrounded by our closest friends and family. As I was approaching delivery and for the actual delivery it was just Husband. He was amazing. Giving me just the right amount of attention, assurance and love (my feet were so itchy so he spent a majority of time scratching them for me ... that's love). Then she was born, and we both experienced such a wave of emotion and happiness (during labor they lost her heartbeat cause the umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck twice ... hearing her cry was music to our ears). But then, I wanted my baby. I wanted to hold her. I wanted to cuddle her. I wanted to change her diaper and her clothes. I didn't want anyone else. Not even my husband. The times when he did, I felt as though he was hogging her. I felt jealousy towards my new baby girl.

I have never been good at sharing and it was really hard for me to share her in those first few days. Especially, going 2.5 years with Lovie and not having to share him at all. Since, then if anything, I am thrilled that I can share her with Husband. I love when he gets to hold her cause it frees me up to do the gazillion things that I don't get to do. If anything, I don't think he spends enough time with her.

When we brought her home, life was really, really hard. Adjusting was hard, for all of us, including Lovie. Dealing my own self-doubt was hard ... it's amazing how much you forget in four years and having a new baby. I felt as though I should know how to do everything, but it all seemed so foreign. Even though my Mom was just three miles away it seemed like countries and oceans because she wasn't right there with me. This was the first time for Husband so it was like the blind leading the blind. But he really rose to the challenge. He encouraged me when times were hard -  and more than anything he was just there. We tackled everything as a team. When she cried for her every 3 hour feedings, he was the one who got up changed her and then brought her in to me so I could nurse her. If she fussed he would often times go in and rock her so that I could get some sleep ... knowing that my days were going to be just as tiring as his, since I was home with her all day AND a wily four year old.

What a lot of people don't realize is that when you breastfeed, you burn calories, a whopping 1,300 a day. That's like running 12 miles. It's tiring. Imagine being the most tired you've ever been and then having to go run 12 miles on top of it. That's what breastfeeding some days feels like. Then imagine that you also have to entertain another child, keep the house in some semblance of normalcy and be an overall pleasant human being.

Going through this experience with a "teammate" was an adjustment but we came out of it more in love than before. He's definitely my best friend and some days, my only adult conversation. We will have #3 one day, because I can't imagine not having one more. And Baby Sister is so magical and cute that I can't imagine not having another baby with him. In all, we are a happy family of four, taking life one day at a time and (trying) to enjoy every minute ... some days are more of a "win" than others but I'm OK with that. That after all, is life. 

Let's try this again ...

"'Cause you're hot then you're cold

You're yes then you're no

You're in then you're out

You're up then you're down"

These lyrics to Katy Perry's "Hot 'N Cold" describe my blogging to a T. But, now that I've moved to SAHM (stay at home Mom) status I feel that it's the least I can do. This blog was born with Lovie and hopefully it can live strong through Baby Sister and whomever #3 will be ... when that time comes.

I have missed the blog-a-sphere and nearly every day I have at least one thought that crosses my mind that makes me stop and say "I need to blog again." So, I'm in. Let's do this!