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BOUDIN BALLS & BATHING SUITS

Hey HEY Heeeeyyy! Hope everyone had a fabulous Easter. We surely did in the Ng-Chee + 1 house! We started the day by waking up & reading the last few pages of "The Velveteen Rabbit." I mentioned in an earlier blog that this was going to be my Easter gift for Cash. At 18 months old, I had NO intention of splurging on an overstuffed amount of useless toys that he would probably lose or throw in the toilet anyway, and he REALLY did inherit my love for books (I'm not just a mean mama!) We read a chapter of the book every night for the last few weeks, and my master timing marked it off to where we would finish the book on Easter Sunday morning.. (GO ME!) Cash smiled & laughed & clapped when it was over, which I wish I could've captured on camera.. I thought to myself, "What a sweet moment to start off a glorious day.." but of course, it didn't last long. We had quite the throwdown while getting dressed, and after throwing 4 fits, and taking off 2 DRY diapers, we finally got dressed. *side note: I can't be the only one who throws those suckers out after the straps have been secured, even IF they're dry. They just don't stay on the same the second time! To add to the angst of getting "Mogli: The Child Raised by Gorillas" dressed, my hair is in rollers with a full face of makeup, and I'm struggling through acrylic nails to restrain him. I'm sure you're laughing now at the mental image. Laugh away. Ha.. Ha. All the trouble of getting dressed was totally worth it, however, because I could've just EATEN that little seersucker bunny UP!

Here's some shots from our family's Easter Crawfish Boil & Egg Hunt, so we can get that out of the way:

 

A quick back-track to last blog, where I mentioned that Cash was entering a photo contest. Let me just say, that when entering Cash into a "Cute Kid Contest", I had NO idea that it would become what it did. And now I know, I will NEVER. EVER. EVER. EVER. EVER enter my precious child into anything like this again. It. was. AWFUL. I repeat, AWFUL. The parents were outrageous, and the contest truly got ugly. The wrap up: Cash got second place. By one vote. The ending votes were 832 to 831. Because of the "nature" of the contest (by nature we mean ugly words & cheating) the photographer graciously extended a second place prize. Needless to say, CASH GETS HIS PHOTO SHOOT! ;) She's a smart lady.. who WOULDN'T want to shoot him? I entered the contest out of pure fun, but it's nice to say that we ended up with a prize. Here is the photographers website.. she's FAB! We're shooting with her on May 12, after nap time, in Beaumont, Tx. I'm not giving away the brilliant ideas that the photographer & I have discussed, but I'll give a small hint as to what he'll be wearing..

 

Another back-track to my last blog, in reference to my bathing suits I ordered... THEY CAME IN! And they are even more amazing in person. DYING! I could rant about them all day, but instead I'll do it in the form of a song.. the FIRST song that I sang (yes, out loud) when I tried on these bathing suits. Don't judge me.

 

Insert totally random thought here: Does Cash NOT look like a less diva-fied version of myself here? Just sayin'.. Again, don't judge me. 3 year olds can wear rollers too. You can blame my mother for starting my bad habits faaar too young.

 

Do ya'll hate that I leave all of the "food" for the end? Sowwwyy. Another question: Do ya'll solely read this blog for the food? And, be honest, because if so.. I could totally keep a private diary or something. This is just my way of reflecting & getting everything out, but I don't want to ramble too much for nothing. As I'm currently rambling... SHUT UP STORMIIIII!!!! Anyway, I found this Tiered Strapless dress at Old Navy and slightly fell in love. It comes in this bright weird magenta that I hate, a pretty green & black. It was $33 which in my eyes is far too pricey for Old Navy because I'm a cheap bee-yotch, and I'm going to pay for a different label, not OLD NAVY for a $33 dress. Anyway, I couldn't stop thinking about it because I think it'd be perfect for summer, (dressed down OR up!) so I looked for it online, and...DRUMROLL PLEASE.. It was only $19 online! Stormi - 1 ; Old Navy Store - 0. I would totally pay $19 for it, especially with a Free Shipping discount code. So yes, that was random, but here's the dress:

Lovely! Also, I can't hardly believe it.. but my baby is taking SWIMMING LESSONS in June! :( tear. He's growing up too quickly, but I'm excited for him to learn some skills before we go to Canada in July. That's right, since EVERYONE in Canada swims and all.. Not really, I know.. But our hotel will have a pool? Anyway, he'll be taking lessons from the same sweet woman who taught ME swimming lessons, so part of my protective nutcase instincts are slightly eased by that fact. Anyway, I've been on the hunt for a "CUTE ENOUGH" swimsuit, and I finally found it!!

 

Adorable, and how pretty will that color be on my little brown man sporting his Summer tan? Oh, and you guessed it.. gotta get the Daddy shorts too ;)

 

I guess I'm left out of this "Family Matching" scenario for once :( J will just LOVE that.. It's "his" turn. Too bad it's probably inappropriate for me to wear swim trunks so I could join in.. I kid. Sorta. But speaking of our Canada trip (further detailed in a later blog somewhere), Cash will be 21 months when we go. OMG.. I can't believe I just typed that :( Sorry, I've been having some serious "age" issues lately.. I'll pretend I didn't just type those numbers.. Anyway, at that "age", he'll need something to entertain him on his very first PLANE trip. I need some advice: Can't let him board without a cute little backpack to carry around on the trip, and I'm debating on purchasing the perfect one. Please comment with your vote.. I need opinions, because I love them ALL! Here are the candidates:

 

Okay, after sitting through countless images of Toddler Backpacks, you are now done being deprived of food. I made Boudin Balls the other night, and they were the greatest one's I've ever put to my mouth. Died. Went to Heaven. Came back. Ate Another. Try them, love them. They're total common sense, but the BEST! My mama passed down her "Fry Daddy" that she never used after I begged a bit ,so I cooked them in there, but if you don't have one.. a regular ol' frying pan filled with Veggie Oil will do! ENJOY!

BEST BOUDIN BALLS. EVER.

NEED:

- 1 large pkg. (approximately 4 links) of Boudin (ANY BRAND! IN CASING! Even better if homemade, but I don't do all that.)

- Vegetable Oil or your favorite cooking oil

- Flour

- 1 can Plain Bread Crumbs (I loved Progresso, and used exactly half of the can!)

- 4 eggs

- Tony's Chachere's Creole Seasoning

- Lawry's Seasoning Salt

- S & P

STEPS:

1. Snip the end of each link of uncooked boudin, and remove all filling from the casing. Do this for all four, and dispose of the casing.

2. WASH HANDS! Form uncased boudin into "appetizer" sized balls (THINK: GOLF BALL) and then set aside on plate.

3. In three small dishes, line up the flour, the eggs (scramble lightly with fork), and the bread crumbs (seasoned with all seasonings), in this order.

4. Heat oil in fryer or skillet, on Med. heat, (test with a tiny bread crumb; if it sizzles, it's ready!)

5. Dust each ball with the flour, coat in egg, and then cover in bread crumbs.

6. Fry until golden brown & slightly crispy! ENJOY!

 

* If you're serving this at a party & not just pulling a "Stormi" and eating them all to yourself, I'd serve them with Hot Sauce & maybe a homemade Remoulade sauce if you're feelin' fancy.

 

I haven't highlighted a book in a while, so I thought I'd suggest a series that ANYONE could use. Hundreds of recipes, check. Hundreds of healthy recipes, check. Hundreds of healthy easy recipes that are insanely tasty, check.. all thanks to the "Hungry Girl" books. I was first "put on" to Hungry Girl by my sweet High school theater teacher/friend, Tiffany. She was always thinking of new, inventive ways to eat healthy while still tasting good, and I'm so happy that she introduced me to these books! I first was a fan of the website, then after I bought my first Hungry Girl Kindle book, (pours out leftover champagne for Kindle.. R.I.P) I. was. HOOKED! My favorite so far is 200 under 200. Yes, that's 200 RECIPES UNDER 200 CALORIES!! I haven't tried them all, but the ones I have are DELISH, and she even has an ENTIRE chapter dedicated to Microwaveable recipes (for the hungry college student.. shout out to Alena, who JUST asked for this!) If you're smart, you'll check out ALL of her books & fall in love like I did!!!

http://www.hungrygirl.com/

On another "Tiffany" note (the teacher, not the jeweler. No, still no ring.. don't get ahead of yourselves!) she posted a fruit salad recipe she came up with on her Facebook page the other day, and I nearly died. If you're not a coconut lover, you probably won't like it.. but I AM! What a simple & easy way to dress up a Summer fruit salad. I need to try it ASAP. I'll leave you with that ;) Thanks for wasting your time! haha

TIFFANY'S COCONUT GLAZED FRUIT SALAD

6oz. Vanilla Fat Free Yogurt
1/4 cup Light Coconut Milk
1/2 tsp. lime juice
1/4 tsp. coconut extract
2 tbs. Splenda

Mix together and pour over fruit of your choice:
Strawberries
Blueberries
Bananas
Pineapple
Apples
Red Grapes
(these are what I used)
SO GOOD!!!

I’m a bad blogger, but it’s because of the MUMMY-BLOGGERS!

Oh dear…

I had planned on this insightful, intellectual, mildly amusing but distinctly St. Murphy blog post today. But unfortunately I ended up at a Book Launch followed by an ‘after-party’ that left me incapable and too tired to string a coherent sentence together.

You see, last night I blagged my way into the launch of…

...by Kerri Sackville

…cause, as I said to Mrs Woog, I’ve never met a party I couldn’t get myself invited to! (except the Ballroom at this years Logies, but that’s a whole other post)

It turns out the author of said book, KerriSackville, is an incredible writer, I think a former journo, and with an amazingly similar circle of (online) friends to me even though we’d never met.

The book, the launch, the guests, Kerri – all too FABULOUS for words!

Had a ball! Subsequently, no post this morning. Primarily because I spent a rather long night meeting new, amazing people – all of them fellow Twitter/Blogging addicts – who I now love and adore. And just to clarify the title, 99.9% of them were Mummy-Bloggers.

We had many of these…

French Martini's on the advice of StylingYou

Well, Mrs Woog and I did anyways.

Met so many people that I already follow on Twitter that to name them (as if I could remember?) would be impolite. So, so cool to put real faces to the avatars I’ve seen so many times.

So besides last night demonstrating that this blogging thing can slowly and surely turn into something very special, it also showed me that Mummy-Bloggers know how to drink.

Subsequently, no post this morning.

Bad blogger St. Murphy, bad blogger.

Blagged myself in so late I had to write my own nametag...

Special Note: Huge congratulations to Kerri Sackville on her book and Random House for publishing it. Best-seller without a doubt.

Special Note #2: My amarsing blogging-friend StylingYou took out the Bloggers award at yesterday’s Jasmine Awards for this post. Sincere Congrats StylingYou! Such a shame we spent your entire winnings on French Martini’s last night. Love ya Nikki!

Working Hard

2010 Physician Compensation

I think it's also worthwhile to browse through this information:
Fighting Darwin - Myth: Doctors Make Lots Of Money
You really have to factor in the immense loans and years of education instead of just looking blindly at salary.

The information below from:
Medscape - 2011 Physician Compensation Report

I was not surprised to see primary care physicians and Ob/Gyns are the least satisfied with their careers. I was a little surprised to see Anesthesiologists were the least likely to choose medicine again as a career. Physicians who would are most likely to want another specialty are: Primary Care, Emergency Med, Pulmonology, Ob/Gyn, and Nephrology. Many of those, aside from Emergency Med, felt they were not well compensated. Interestingly, Orthopedic Surgeons have the highest compensation but nearly the lowest satisfaction with their compensation.

Thumb Knuckle

{Beauty} Ballerina Bun

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It's every boys dream to marry a Prince!

I don’t care what anyone says – I am OBSESSED with the Royal Wedding and I will be glued to the television this Friday night!

I mean who doesn’t want to whisked off their feet by a dashing Prince and marry into such extreme wealth that us mere mortals will never comprehend?

Who doesn’t want to have a wedding with an A-List guest list like Will & Kate’s?

It’s every little boys fantasy to marry a 6-foot tall, blonde-haired, blue-eyed Prince who looks so dashing in a uniform and can fly a helicopter. It’s certainly mine!

For the grand occasion I will be perched on the edge of my couch with my best gal, Miss Cal, beside me. Of course we will both be fantasizing that we are Miss Kate Middleton. We will have a fully stocked snack bar of tuna dip, crackers, chocolate and cornchips. We will have a vodka, lime and soda or two to toast the radiant couple. We will mock, scorn and critique every bow, bustle and bouquet. It’s going to be brilliant. How can you not get caught up in such over-the-top pageantry. It will be the campest wedding ever (discounting Posh and Becks who did have those phenomenally OTT thrones).

I spent yesterday morning pouring over the women’s mags absorbing every detail. I desperately want to know Kate’s final decision on whether she will wear the traditional tiara or less conservative flowers? Or the even more troubling question of whether she will go with a half-up, half-down do or something completely left-of-field. Oh the potential controversy astounds me. And you just know we will all be watching and thinking of our beautiful Princess Di looking down on her eldest son with a single tear rolling down her cheek (cue Elton John with English Rose).

It is all pure escapism, the likes of which could never be scripted.  If this wedding was a chick-flick we wouldn’t buy it for a second. That’s how extreme this story/event is.

But through it all I have one little nagging thought chipping away at my happiness. For a wedding, where two souls allegedly become one, there is a complete lack of intimacy. The mere fact it is going to be watched by millions and choreographed down to every second takes all the intimacy out of it for Will and Kate and leaves them just putting on a show. And can you imagine their nerves! They won’t remember a thing after.

I bet they are both just aching to get to the final party of the night, the one where it is just their family and friends. I’m sure that will be the highlight for them. I feel I know them intimately after all I’ve read so I can say this as if I am their bestie.  I hope they get to that party, rip off their veil and tie and cut loose on the dance floor. I hope they do some shots, make requests of the DJ and slide across the dance-floor on their knees. I want them to behave like Harry would!

So I can’t wait for Friday night! More specifically, I can’t wait for 8pm when we get the first full look at the frock! I will be beside myself. After-all, it is every boys dream to marry a prince.

Miss Call and I will be fighting over the Kate mask.

STOP THE PRESSES!!! I've just watched the most brilliant piece of television ever made - the William and Kate telemovie! If you thought I was obsessed before this has taken it to a whole new level. Now I know them INTIMATELY!!!!





** Please note that I just got through a whole post about a wedding without once mentioning that GAYS CAN’T MARRY! In England gays can marry so I will direct my bitterness elsewhere.