I....

have nothing to say today. I am tired, have a ton of homework to do, it just sucks. So, that's it.

Menu Plan Monday!

Monday: Roast chicken in crock pot, mashed potatoes, some sort of veggie

Tuesday: Chicken noodle soup (from leftover chicken) and sandwiches

Wednesday: spaghetti, meatballs, salad

Thursday: oven fried chicken, potatoes, spinach

Friday: parmesan encrusted tilapia, stewed tomatoes, mac and cheese

Saturday: homemade pizza for mike and kids-I am going out with the girls to a quarter auction

Sunday: meatball subs

Back from fun, fabulous, Atlantic City!

Have you ever been to Atlantic City? We have been a few times and don't get me wrong, it is a good time. We enjoy playing the slots. It is always fun to win but since we don't have high expectations, when we don't actually win, we are OK with that. Cause lets face it, where else can you get free drinks and watch literally hundreds of absolute characters mozie on through your field of vision? You have your hookers, you have your homeless, you have your old ladies and old men, your newlyweds, your very rich and very poor. All assembled together under one very elaborate roof(ok maybe not as elaborate as Vegas but still...). We had thought about going to a comedy club or show but in the end decided to just hang out in the casino and people watch. And like I said, there are lots of people to watch in Atlantic City!

So, we went to AC to celebrate our 15th anniversary and we had a very nice time. AC has done a lot to improve the area. For one thing, they have lots of outlet stores there now. And let me just tell you that is a big deal to me. I love to shop so I spent the day Saturday walking my ass off shopping.

Saturday night we went to Ruth Chris Steakhouse. I had never been to this particular restaurant but I had heard that it is absolutely wonderful. And I knew it was very expensive but I was not prepared for just how overpriced it was. I mean, come on, $8.00 for a baked potato? And $37.00 for a piece of steak? Now, normally I would not go to a restaurant that is that expensive but my husband and I pretty much agree that if the food is excellent and if the atmosphere is excellent and if the service is excellent, we don't mind paying way too much for the meal because really you are paying for the whole package, not just the plate in front of you. Well, this particular meal was not up to our expectations. We felt rushed, the food was OK. Honestly, I think we make a better steak at home and Mike actually says he prefers Outback! lol One thing I can say was I had a spinach salad and it was delicious. Not worth $9.00 though!

Now Friday night we went to a buffet for dinner. I am not a fan of the buffet. In my opinion there is just too much food and most of it is very unhealthy and the gluttony of the whole thing just sort of makes me sick. But, since we didn't know where else to go and didn't have reservations, and lets just be honest here, since Mike likes buffets, we decided to check the one in Trump Tower out. The first thing you do it pay for your meal at a booth outside of the restaurant. We were pleasantly surprised when the cashier pulled a coupon out and let us use it. Saved us the $22.00 dinner ticket. We were really thankful for that. So nice of her! Then we went in and I was really surprised not only by what they were serving (there was no fried chicken, french fries or pizza to be found). Yeehaw! They had steamed clams and mussels, grilled ma hi ma hi(is that how you spell it?) roast leg of lamb,prime rib, steamed shrimp, king crab legs, and on and on it went. Very good food. Not fried or overcooked or saturated in oil and fat. It was just really good. And the waitress(Dottie) was fabulous. So friendly and funny. She really made it a great experience. So, if you are in Atlantic City, go to Trump and eat at their buffet. Skip Ruth Chris. You will be glad you did.

So now we are home and I have to unpack. I hate unpacking. But the getaway was a nice change of routine and I would recommend everyone do this once in awhile. I think it makes us appreciate our kids and one another more when we take time like this for ourselves.

Heading out for the weekend

So tomorrow I am heading to Atlantic City for the weekend and let me tell you, I am ready! I need a break in a bad way. If only it were to someplace warm and tropical...Oh well, it is a get-a-way so I can't complain too much.

So wish me luck on the slots! Maybe I will get lucky and maybe I will even win a little money. :)

One more thing.....Head over to my friend Gina's blog. She is having a challenge in Feb. If you blog once a day for a week, you will be entered into a drawing. Pretty cool, right? So check her out here.

Menu Plan Monday!

Short week this week as we are going to Atlantic City this weekend. Yeehaw!

Monday: Chicken Parmesan, salad, garlic toast

Tuesday: chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes, spinach

Wednesday: General's chicken, rice, egg rolls

Thursday: breakfast

Friday: Off to AC baby!

Any teachers out there? Or anyone else with an opinion...

How do you know if the journey you are on, is actually the journey you are supposed to be on? Now I know some of you will say if you are on that journey, you are supposed to be there. Or something to that effect. But I am clearly on a path. I am working towards a degree in education and question on a daily basis if I made a mistake...Do I really want to be a teacher? I just don't know. Some days I think yes. I mean, it makes sense. It is a good job for a mother. You have off pretty much whenever your kids are off. You have most of the summer off (a very good thing), and the pay isn't horrible. I mean, I know it could be better but it's not bad. I don't think anyone goes into this field expecting to get rich. I mean, we want to work with children. We want to help people. We want to feel fulfilled. Right? Whenever I have done student teaching I have loved being in the classroom. Of course I am not the one planning lessons and responsible for those kids actually learning something. And another thing, does it get terribly redundant? It seems like it could get quite boring teaching the same thing year after year. And what about the abusive parents and the poor sad cases that you are bound to come across? How do you cope with that? And administrators.... How do you deal with all of the PC bull shit that you have to deal with on a daily basis? In case you don't know this, I am quit conservative. Not your typical public school teacher. Anyway, back to my question? How do I know if I am doing the right thing? I am half way through. I will have my AA at the end of this semester, in elementary ed. Then I transfer to a University to finish my degree. So now really is probably when I should figure this out right? If I keep going and decide I don't want to teach, what else can I do with an elementary ed degree? I definitely would not want to go into social work. That would be way too stressful. But I think I would want to do a job where I work with people, probably families or maybe just kids..I don't know. I think it would be fun to work in an adoption agency. Or maybe not. Since I don't actually know what they do.. I just think it would be lovely to help unite couples with children. To help make families. That would be so cool. Another thing that I think I would like is working in a college as an advisor. I being much older than the majority of college students, find them quite interesting and kind of cute. I really like those 18-20 year olds. They are so full of energy and on the cusp of starting everything. It is exciting to me. So what kind of education would I need to do that? I guess I should go talk to my advisor huh? lol I think part of the problem with this decision making is that I really would like to just continue being a stay at home mom. That is where my heart really is. I loved being home with my kids. That is all I ever really wanted to do. Be a homemaker. Crazy huh? So how did I end up going back to school? I really don't know. All I know is I do enjoy school (most of the time). I enjoy the interaction with students and teachers. I like learning new things and not having my degree has always been a sore spot for me. I have always felt like a loser because of it. But I have had to give up so much for school. For one thing, it cost a lot. We will be in debt for a long time after I am finished school. See, we make too much to get financial aid but have too much debt to afford to just pay for school. Another thing I have given up is just being home with my kids. Being there when they get home from school. I am there many days but not all. That is hard. Relying on friends, etc. to help me out. Especially when I wish I was the one there. And my house is a mess. So disorganized. I wish I had the time and energy to take care of it the way I want to. It is very frustrating to me. I don't feel that I can ever quite catch up. So, there you have it. My rant for the evening. If anyone has any words of wisdom, bring em on!

It's Tuesday OK?

So....... I missed menu plan Monday but technically, I didn't miss it since last week I included this weeks menu. Or at least part of it. So, since I know there are millions of people (2.5) reading my blog looking for my gourmet menus, I figured I would go ahead and post it today anyway. On a Tuesday. Whatever, get over it.

Monday: (yea, I know, yesterday) we had oven fried chicken, harvest potatoes, spinach, homemade French bread

Tuesday: Crock pot pork and sour kraut, mashed potatoes, cranberries, corn , homemade Italian bread

Wed: Spaghetti, meat sauce, zuccini

Thursday: leftovers

Friday: Homemade pizza with homemade crust

Saturday: I have no idea?? Maybe out since we are getting a new car

Sunday: crab cakes,seasoned oven fries and shrimp