karlatta

Testing text LJ

Just wanted to let all my new friends (hi!) know that I've got family in town this weekend for the holidays, but I will be around later to do an updated bio and stuff so that you can all catch up.  :)   Glad to have you around!

I'm preparing to make some meals to freeze for after the baby comes.  So I'm in need of easy-to-freeze recipes!  I have a few casseroles that I think will work well, but I'd appreciate any recipes you guys have. 

I'm planning to use these meals mostly after Scott goes back to school and I'm getting back on my feet.  Until he's in school, he's cooking dinner every night.  (I've already planned our meals and made a grocery list for him to use in a couple of weeks so that he knows exactly what to do.) 

Thanks!

I recently found a recipe for meatloaf that I just have to share.  I am not a meatloaf fan, and I love this one.  It's a bit sweeter than a traditional meatloaf, which is probably why I like it so much. 

Combine in bowl:
1.5 lb. ground beef
1/2 C. crushed Ritz
3/4 C. shredded cheese
1 pkg. dry onion soup mix

Combine in second bowl:
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 C. ketchup
2 Tbsp. steak sauce (A-1)

Add egg mixture to beef mixture and put in pan.  Cook at 350 for 45 to 60 minutes, or until no longer pink.  (I cook mine in differently shaped pans every time, so the time varies quite a bit.) 

For a glaze, I combine ketchup and brown sugar and brush it on the top for the last 5-10 minutes.  It's so good!

It's like the Baby Naming Wizard online!  Put in some names you like and it will suggest others. 

http://www.nymbler.com/nymbler/find-names.php

Where would one go to buy a classy cake topper? 

I need one for my mom and dad's party, but I can't find anything that's not cheesy.  I thought about getting a Willow Tree figurine, but the only one that I can find that symbolizes man and wife is 9 inches tall.  A little too big. 

Ideas? 

Anyone have any ideas for the best way to explain to a 9 year old how periods and stuff work?  D has asked me to teach her about it, and I've agreed that we can have a conversation tomorrow.  But I have no idea how to start or what to say or how much to say or anything! 

I definitely know that I want to use anatomically correct terms and stuff, but I have no idea how to go about it.  Like, what do you start by saying?  I don't remember at all what I was told at her age. 

I just wanted to post some basic thoughts for those of you that might be reading my journal and wondering what I expect out of it.  So here are my expectations. 

1) A place where I can just chatter when I'm feeling chatty.  Where I can talk about mindless stuff without abandon.  Like what color my tablecloth is or what I want to cook for dinner.  (On the flip side of that, I know that many of my entries are mindless chatter and I don't expect replies.  Heck, I don't even expect you to read them!) 

2) A place where I can vent without accusation.  Where, if things are going crappy in my life, I can discuss them.  And I don't have to worry about how the people on my friends list will react.  I know that they'll support me, even if I'm being ridiculous.  Because, in my opinion, if I want someone's opinion on a subject, I'll ask for it.  I'll end my post with, "What do you think?" or something.  If I'm purely venting, it's likely because there's nobody at home to vent to, and I'm dying inside because things are so bottled up.  In that case, I only want supportive comments.  If you don't agree with my vent, don't post.  Easy as that. 

3) A place where I can share all of the great things that happen in my life.  You guys, my LJ friends, are my only friends.  I have a few real-life friends, but we don't get together often and we don't share in each other's day to day lives.  Some days you guys are the only people I "talk" to.  So I want to share important stuff with you.  You mean a lot to me. 

I just wanted to share that.  I've had a particularly crappy day today, ending in an upsetting response I got to an entry I made on LJ, and I felt like I needed to say something. 

I have some pork chops that I need to cook for dinner.  I intended to do them in the crock pot today, but I forgot and now I can't come up with any way to cook them now. 

I have to bake them, because D refuses to eat a grilled or fried pork chop.  And I usually have to do a sauce or something with them, because then she can't see and just thinks it's chicken. 

Any ideas?  I've got a ton of basics on hand.