How Did You Meet Your Friends?

     I don't remember how I met my youngest friends in early grade school. I remember that Cody and I liked to play monkey. He was the monkey and I was his owner/trainer. He was my friend all the way up until I moved to a different town in the beginning of 4th grade. Our last day was sad and I had hoped that we would see each other often, but we never did.
   
     When we moved, it took me a little while to make friends. I was heart broken and missed my friend and first crush. (Don't tell him!) But, the move was one of the best things that could have happened to me. I had to ride a bus to and from school and so did Kristen. We met through yarn. Yarn and Beanie Babies was hugely popular in the 90's and Kristen had both. I would watch her make bracelets on the bus and asked her one day if I could try. She showed me how to make some bracelets and we became fast friends. We didn't have class together, but we did share a lunch and 4-square was the best sport, ever!

Sammy (another excellent meet!), Me, Krissy!!!, Laura!!!!, and Brittany!

     We moved again when I started 5th grade. Kristen and I stayed friends and called each other everyday on our parent's landline. Weird huh? I made a few friends in fifth grade, but none of them were really best friends. I was glad when I went to Jr. High in 6th grade. I was reunited with Kristen and got to meet more friends.

     I can't remember if I became friends with Laura in the 6th grade or if we became friends in the 7th. I played the cello and she the viola? It could have been the violin. Any who, we both played an instrument, but we really met on the bus. Our relationship was weird. We beat each other up on the bus, but were also friends. Weird, right?

From the Top: Me, Laura, Krissy, and Kaitlyn

     One of the weirdest ways that I've made friends, however, was the time I went to church camp after watching Harry Potter. I was in love with Sean Biggerstaff who played Oliver Wood. My friend Kristen and Laura were embarrassed of me as I wandered around wearing the shirt that I made with all of his faces and his name plastered onto it. I wish I still had that shirt, but the memory of it will still remain because there was another person at that camp who loved Sean Biggerstaff too. Danielle probably loved him even more than I did and when she saw that shirt, we became fast friends. We walked around the camp ground arm in arm, stalking the band member of the musical group who came to lead worship for the week. He was Scottish and we just needed him to say a few Scottish phrases to appease our fetishes for Scottish men like Sean.

Kristen and Scottish Guy

Andrew and Danielly!

       After her, the weirdest friend meeting was probably with my friend Robert. We were all new students at college and were invited to a mandatory President of the school luncheon at his house. My friend Robert and his roommate were sitting alone and I had a group of friends that I already knew from camp and quizzing. (Being a Nazarene and going to a Nazarene school had it's benefits. You knew a ton of people.) Since I was a peppy person, I invited them over to eat with us. To break the ice, I initiated some games to play. One of them was one I learned in high school. It was called jousting. You linked hands with the person you're playing against and stick out your pointer finger. The gist of the game is to poke the other person before they can poke you. Everything was going great and we were all having a good time until I went to poke Robert and ended up slapping him on the butt (on accident) with my other hand as I went in for the kill. We all had a great laugh and we've been friends ever since.

From the Front: Robert!!! Craig (husband) and some girl that I don't remember. (sorry!)

Edit: My sister wanted me to reshare the moment I met my husband. It was the first couple days of college. My roommate and I had been hanging out a lot and I needed a break. Since I knew a lot of freshman from church get-togethers, I wandered around campus and found a seat on a bench outside of the quad after an unsuccessful search. A few minutes later, Craig and his future roommate, Brandon found me. They thought that I looked lonely so we started to talk. I started a game of would you rather and asked ridiculous questions like: Would you rather get hit by a bus full of nuns or a car full of clowns. Would you rather be set on fire or be frozen. Morbid, weird stuff to ask people you don't know. The last question I asked was, would you rather be told that you have a booger in your nose by a stranger or by a friend. The thought was deep and one of the guys informed the other that a booger was, indeed, hanging from their nose. My husband knew, right from the start, that I was a weird, morbid, dark-humored type of person and still married me.

      The way that we meet strangers and become friends can be weird and awesome. What might seem strange can give you a good story to tell. Don't discredit someone on first impressions because they might surprise you.

     What weird or interesting ways have you met your friends?

Equal Rights For Pockets

      I'm a girly tomboy. I like to do sporty things (sometimes) and also like to dress nicely. I don't like to carry around a purse and most days, I want to wear jeans. However, in order to find a nice pair of jeans, I have to sacrifice something. This is also the same for most women's jeans- There are no pockets, or if there are, they are only in the back or they are extremely tiny in the front.

     Have you ever carried a purse around all day? It hurts your neck, your shoulders, and your back. If you don't normally carry a purse around, you have to be careful to remember that you have it or else you will forget it. I've done that a few times and the panic is out of this world. I've been lucky enough to find my lost purse, unscathed, every single time, but you never know who will find it and be dishonest.

     If I'm not carrying around lip gloss or chap stick, I'm definitely carrying my keys and phone around. If you have tiny pockets, you have either crammed your keys into your tiny front pocket and hope that they don't fall out, or put them in your back pocket. Have you ever sat on keys? Ouch! Have you ever sat down with keys in your tiny front pockets? It's like going under the knife to get your skin or fat removed, but without something to numb you first. Your keys poke into your skin and it's awful.

     Women's jeans are designed to flatter our butts. How flattering can they look when we have to shove a phone into the back pocket? True story- I tried to put my phone in my back pocket the other day. Unfortunately, my pants have been so stretched out back there that 1. It looks like I have a flabby butt and 2. I ended up putting my phone down the opening of my pants instead of my back pocket. It was a good thing that I was in my kitchen when I did this because if I was out in public, everyone would be able to see the large rectangular outline of my phone as it made its way towards the opening of my right pant leg. I couldn't tell the difference between my stretched out pocket and my waist band.

     I have a favor to ask of you men. Help your girlfriend, friend, or wife carry her keys or lip gloss. It's going to save you money in the end. Our front pockets are so tiny, that we can't even fit our hands in to them. Do you ever wonder why you see lip glosses and chap sticks in the middle of the road or sidewalk? It's not because we are clumsy and have dropped them, it's because they have been pushed outside of our tiny pockets. It's a terrible environment to be in. Those pockets aren't soft and roomy, they are tight and shallow. Each chap stick screams for air as they are pushed out by each step and then glorify when they have been released onto the cool earth. It's like your pockets gave birth and that baby is lost forever and because our lips need rescue, we are constantly paying for more. More hair ties, more chap sticks, more lip gloss, and more gloves because our cold hands aren't protected by our pockets.

     Don't make fun of us when we are delighted by deep pockets or find out that a dress has them. Don't make fun of us for having so many purses, because I'd rather not have one at all. If you don't want us (women) to have back problems or if you love the shape of a nice, round, butt, then rally for women's pockets.

      Here's a list of things that could fit inside men's jeans: 

1. Wallet

2. Phone

3. Chap sticks- probably multiples

4. Pens

5. Hands

6. Hammers

7. Pocket Knives

8. Small animals (My bro-in-law was able to sneak a snake onto an airplane by putting it in his pocket)

9. Fire crackers

10. Snacks

11. Bottled beverages

12. Toys

13. Lunch

14. Flash lights

15. An outfit change

       A list of things women can fit into their pockets:

1. A quarter

2. Fingertips

3. Not much else

 

     Do you have any embarrassing or silly pocket stories? What can have you fit into your pockets? Please be appropriate with answers!

Even the Dog Turned In

     I love the fall for many reasons. I love the colors, the smells, and the temperature. I love the holidays that come with it. Halloween is my favorite holiday, not for the ghouls and goblins, but for the movies (Hocus Pocus, Casper, Sleepy Hallow), the cutesy decorations, and dressing in costumes to collect candy! This is the time of year when everyone starts to gain weight because once you see that first fallen leaf or feel that crisp air, all you want to do is bake! Pinterest thanks you, autumn.  I also can't forget Thanksgiving. That's the day where everyone should get one super indulgent meal for the year.

     In spite of all that, there are also some minor downsides to this season. School starts up again. That's not a bad thing, but the colds and other illnesses that get shared are. I don't know about you, but I get so tired in the fall. The sun doesn't shine quite as long or as bright. With the start of school, I have early mornings as well as some late nights. The beginning of fall is busy and everyone in my household is tired and has a runny nose.

     Yesterday was a fun day. I started the day off going to a craft fair. Orange, green, black,  and purple were displayed everywhere. Cute Halloween decorations were staring at me, begging me to buy them and take them home. I enjoyed them even though I couldn't buy them because I just knew they would probably be destroyed by my inquisitive kids, bulldozer dogs, or my clumsiness. Maybe I can in a year or two when my youngest is a little older. After the craft fair, my husband, kids, and I went to a pumpkin patch. We didn't get to do as much as we normally get to do when we go because wristbands were needed for most everything there, but we did enjoy walking around with some old friends looking at the cute pumpkin displays. After we left the patch, we went to grandma's to spend the rest of the day. We had planned to go out, but my oldest had a headache and they just wanted to stay in and play.

     Since it was a Sunday night, we knew that we would have to go home to get the kids in bed so they could be bright eyed and bushy tailed in the morning. My husband put the kids to bed while I let the dogs outside to do their potty business. It was dark out there. My German shepherd/beagle/lab mix dog has been a real jerk, lately and has been letting himself out of the yard by pushing on the gate door. Having been wise to his tricks, I went to the gate immediately to stop him from leaving. He kind of gave me his doggy stink eye to tell me that he did not agree with my decision to keep him from strolling the neighborhood and walked off to do his business.

     As I was waiting for the dogs to do their thing, I got a notification on my phone that it was my turn to play a word on scrabble. I opened up the game and played my turn, unaware of what was happening around me. Suddenly, I heard a noise and a hand was over mouth. I tried to let out a scream, but it was muffled, no way anyone in the house would be able to hear me. Just kidding, just kidding. That didn't happen. what did happen was that I couldn't see Simba (German shepherd mix) in the yard. I let our other dog Juno into the house and then called for Simba. He didn't come. I asked my kids and husband if he was upstairs and they said they hadn't seen him.

     My dog outwitted me. I just knew that he must have been hiding in the shadows by the garage. My feeble phone light source not able to reach that part of the yard. I searched frantically for a flashlight or our lantern, none of them where they were supposed to be. I yelled up the stairs asking if anyone knew where they were, accusing the children of sabotage. I had to go into the kitchen to grab my step stool to search the top of our messy bookcase. The top shelf is where I put the flashlights and everything else that we need that doesn't fit our junk drawer. After moving a few things around, I found one, hiding right where it was supposed to be. I felt a twinge of guilt, but it didn't last long. I had to find the dog whose name should have been Butthead.

     I'm angry at my dog for putting me through this search at night when the lights are low and it's too dark to see without a flash light. I'm embarrassed that my neighbors have to hear me call out, "Simba" for the 100394859259th time this year. Growls of "Where are you, Stupid" are permeating from my lips. I listen for the sounds of neighbor's dogs to see if Simba ran through and activated the dog chain. To the right of me, I hear the German Shepherds down the street barking. I think I've found him. I walk a few feet and shine the flashlight towards that house and don't see Simba. At this point, I'm standing at the edge of the alley behind my house. This one of the alley's that I find him at most. I glare down the gravelly path, shining my flashlights, sounding like Johnny from the Shining. "Where's Simba?" I ask. I casually put in a "Just wait until we get home..." when all of a sudden my phone rings. A tune plays, one that I assigned for my husband. I answer it and he says, "You can come back home, now. Simba was in his kennel the whole time." I gasp, my eyes slit and I say, "Why didn't you check in there before I searched outside?" He asks me why I didn't keep a better eye on the dog. I growl and hang up. Point taken. I walked back home, a sort of walk of shame, and head inside and shut the door behind me.

      You see, we're all tired. Our weeks have been busy. My children are so tired, they didn't notice that the dog that I was searching for was in their room. My husband didn't notice when he was tucking them into bed. I didn't even notice that he went back inside. Fall is a busy time, so busy that even my dog turned in for the night.

     Tell me about your tired mishaps!

Simba, the sneaky dog and my lovely daughter.

10 Learning Crafts to Do With Kids

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I've been a stay at home parent for four and a half years. Over this time, I try to do my awesome mommy thing and do projects and crafts with my kids to help them learn. As an expert, keep my kids out of trouble, mom, I've had experience with Pinterest and looking things up. I've compiled a list of my top 10 favorites crafts. Most of these I've tried and the others look promising. I hope you're able to enjoy. (Click the links for instructions on how to make some of these crafts.)

1.  Paper Chains  This was my favorite thing to do around Christmas time. It was super easy to make and it helped you count down the days until Christmas. Teach your kids counting, colors, how to use scissors and patterns. Click the link to learn how to make a paper chain.

2. Bake cupcakes! Grab your favorite box of Betty Crocker or use a family recipe. Have the kids help you measure out the ingredients to learn measurements or just how to help. When the cup cakes are done baking and are ready to be topped, make some vanilla frosting, divide it into bowls, and add food color to each bowl for different color. You can teach your child colors in a fun edible way and if you want to add sprinkles or other toppings, you can also teach your child to count along.

3. ABC Magnets! What's nice about magnets is that they can stick to your refrigerator or dishwasher. Have your child play with them and try to spell them out. They can play with them while you cook dinner or you can use them on some metal sheet pans. Encourage them to remember the letters and try to sound out goofy word concoctions, they'll get a laugh out of you trying.

4. Paint in a Bag- I wasn't sure how my kids would like this, especially my older kids, but they really enjoyed moving the paint around and mixing the colors. On the plus side, it's also mess free! Click the link to learn how to do this.

5. Peanut Butter Play Dough - Kids can learn all sorts of things when they play with play dough. It's even better when it's peanut butter! You can add chocolate chips or other edible ingredients to count with or to help sculpt. Play around with shapes, teach about size. If your child is allergic to peanut butter, try this one. You can color this, so that's a plus, but I'm not sure on the taste. 

6. Make a bird feeder! I've made my bird feeders with pine cones, peanut butter, and bird seed. It's super easy, you just tie a string around a pine cone or apple stem, layer it with peanut butter, roll it in bird seed, and then hang it up outside.  Teach your child how to take care of other creatures and sit and watch the different kind of animals that come by to eat from it. 

7. Colored Pasta- I haven't done this one yet, but I definitely want to try. This is such a great idea! you can teach your kids about colors, teach them math by adding and subtracting, and when you're finished, you can teach them motor skills by making jewelry. 

8. Sensory Bottles- Help your child learn texture, colors, density, and more with these Do It Yourself sensory bottles. 

9. Ornaments! I'm not an artist, but I try to do something creative each year with my kids to hand out to grandparents or to keep for myself. My favorite one to do is the salt dough hand print ornaments which is in the link above. This doesn't really teach your kids anything, but it's a nice keep sake to have.

10. Go outside and explore! This isn't a craft, but it is a great learning experience. Watch bugs and look at the clouds. Discuss the color and texture of the leaves and talk about the temperature. The outdoors has a never ending supply of learning tools.

   Tell me which crafts are your favorites or which ones that you like to do with your kids that aren't on this list. 

If 30 Year Old Me Could Give 18 Year Old Me Advice

     I was talking with my husband, the other day, about the possibility of going back to school to get a degree in writing or English. I had been searching for work from home jobs a few days earlier and the jobs that I thought sounded like fun and something that I might like to do required a degree in one of those two fields. So I thought about school, wondering if I would be dedicated enough to go back. I was getting kind of excited about it and decided to talk with him about starting over.
      He listened to what I had to say and then dashed my hopes with just a few sentences. I didn't know that if I already had a degree that I wouldn't be able to get financial aid and getting any other type of assistance would be extremely difficult. If I went back to school, I would have to take out more loans and our lives are already stalled because of the small mountain of loans that we have already taken out.
     I started college when I was 18 years old. I didn't know what I wanted to major in until the end of my Sophomore year. I had changed my major from Psychology to Housing and Environmental design to Marketing and then to Business Administration. I was lucky enough to graduate with a degree within 4 years. I was 22 when I graduated. At 30, I'm still figuring out what I want to do. Some days I think I'd like to open up a bakery and other days I just want to live off of my creative mind. I do know that I enjoy writing and now that I have a better idea of jobs and what different careers look for in a potential employee, I feel saddened that I'm not offered the same help that I was offered when I was 18 and hadn't a clue.
     Now that I'm 30, I know how much of a negative impact school loans have. I know that I'm not going to magically have job opportunities and will be able to pay them off as soon as I can because I'm not going to graduate and get a job that pays me $100,000 a year or more until I've had experience and have worked my way up.

     Being 30 sucks. I'm wiser than my 18 year old self. If I could tell my 18 year old self something without it taking away my kids, I would have told her to research her options. I would have told her that it is possible to get jobs doing things that she loves. I would have told her that when she worked at a university who paid their employees tuition, to get her masters degree before she had to leave that job.
 
     30 year old self is disappointed in 18 year old self. She's also disappointed in the finance industry for taking advantage of other 18 year old selves who have no idea that their choices affect so much of their future. Shame on financial aid for not helping those who got a clue. 

     My husband didn't want to crush my hopes. He worked in financial aid for several years and has an idea of how financial aid works. He knows that I want bigger things in life right now and adding more loans would make it more difficult to achieve those other dreams. So, for now, I will continue to write this blog. I will continue to write my books with hopes that one day I will be published. I'm going to keep on dreaming and keep on doing and I guess I'll do that without a second degree. There used to be this valuable thing called experience that employers loved to see and valued on its own and a degree in a certain field wasn't always needed. I will keep getting experience and keep on keeping on.

     Are there things that you wish you could tell your younger self?

Update:**** I understand now that my husband misunderstood me when I asked him about going back to school. He thought that I was asking about getting another BS. I can't get financial aid for something that I already have. If I wanted to go for my MA, financing would be easier.

Problem Child

      I don't know if having problematic children has become more prevalent in more recent years or if the world has always seen its share of problem children, but they weren't discussed about or shown all over social media an the news.

     I hope that the clip above is working correctly and that you get to see a few minutes of one of my favorite movies as a kid. In the movie Problem Child, a couple adopt a young boy who has a history of being naughty. I remember watching the movie as a child and thinking everything was hilarious. Now, as an adult of a child who seems to get themselves in trouble, I find myself in John Ritter's shoes.

     There is a sense of hopelessness sometimes when you have a child who misbehaves. You get embarrassed, angry, and sad. You're always wondering what you could do better. As a problem child myself, I empathize and sympathize with both the child and the parent.

     In the last two weeks, I have had two small children come up to me and tell me that my child is bad or naughty. I've had secretaries and principals call me to tell me about my child's behavior and have asked me to come talk with my child or to bring my child home.  It feels overwhelming and confusing. What did I do wrong?

     I know the answer to that question. I did nothing wrong. I have another child in school and that child is doing wonderfully. They listen, they behave well, and don't talk out of turn. When you see the comparison, you know that I did something right. When you see my third child, you see how much that child loves me as they plant kisses and give me awesome hugs. When you see each one with me, there's no mistake that they are comfortable with me, that they know that they can be themselves and that they are in a safe home and environment. You see, at home, my naughty child is a normal child. They act and behave like any normal child, but at school, things change.

     If you don't see the clip, the clip shows the boy Junior. He's dressed as the devil at a children's costume birthday party. He walks into the room that holds all the presents that were brought by guests. He pick up a present and looks at it. The birthday girl walks in on him and starts to scold him. A bunch of girls follow her and stand around her, each saying that Junior has cooties and that he can't play with him and tease him for being adopted. When it's time for the magician to start, the birthday girl tells him that he's not allowed to come out and watch and since she's the birthday girl, she gets what she wants. From there, Junior exacts his revenge with several pranks and is labeled, once again, a problem child.

     As a parent, I see what I didn't see when I watched the movie as a child. Those things that those girls were saying were hurtful. When I'm hurt, I want someone to pay for it. I wasn't a child who held things in when I was hurt. I often times fought back and that labeled me as a problem child. It's easier to see a child who fights back vs the child who name calls or says other hurtful things. That child hardly ever got in trouble when the teacher didn't see what had happened. Maybe back in my day, the teacher gave the child the benefit of the doubt, but today, it seems that the mentality is, "If I didn't see it, it didn't happen."


     Where we live, my children are actually the minority race. I don't think that they are being picked on because of the color of their skin, though. I think that in my problem child's case, they are just a bunch of kids all struggling for the same attention and  they take it upon themselves to bring it to them no matter the cost. At home, my problem child only has to compete for attention with two other kids. At school, it's much more.

    Because of the new curriculum that is forced down many teachers' throats, school isn't fun or engaging. They took away nap times and longer recesses. Kids are forced to learn and listen with no relief to move around or do something in sight. Not all schools are like this, but many are, especially those in the Chicago area. One of my children also told me that when you are at lunch, you're expected to be silent so if someone is choking, they can be heard. How are we to expect kids to not go stir crazy when they can't even socialize during the day or at least at lunch time? It's no wonder that when they are face to face with another problem child that they hash it out and there are consequences for doing so. I mean, they just sit there and brood all day. When they try to talk in class, they are asked to be quiet and that can be hurtful.

     I didn't give much argument to my point, or really even a point. However, maybe next time you see a child having a meltdown or at school, don't look to the parent for blame, unless that parent absolutely refuses to handle it. Don't blame the child either. There are so many circumstances in that child's life that could lead up to their behavior. Maybe they had a crappy day, maybe someone hit them, or maybe their home life isn't the greatest. It's even possible that the child has a condition that causes behavioral issues. It's ok mamas and daddies to feel like maybe that you've done something wrong. Chances are, unless you're a really crappy parent, you haven't done anything wrong at all and we, the parents of other problem children sympathize with you.

     Continue to be a John Ritter and speak kindness to your child. It makes a world of difference to have someone be on your side.

Prepared Ahead of Time Meals

     At the beginning of the summer, my mother-in-law broke her foot. Having to use crutches the first week, it was difficult for her to be able to move around and hold things. Since I had been wanting to try prepared meals, I used her handicap as a reason to try. That week, I prepared several different meals and froze them for both of our households.

     It was pretty easy to do and only took about 2, maybe 3 hours to prepare. If you have the freezer space and a few hours to spare, these meals are awesome to have on hand on days where you know you will be too busy to cook a meal or are too lazy to put anything together for that day.

     None of these recipes are my own and I found most of them from Pinterest. As a favor to you, I will talk about how easy or difficult it was to put them together and which ones were favorites and which weren't.

    1. The very first recipe that I made was Kung Pao Chicken . You can click the link for the recipe.

      I loved this recipe. It was very easy to put together, with the exception of cutting the chicken, but that's because my knives aren't top of the line. I did not make this recipe completely as it asked. It asked for a whole bottle of Kung Pao sauce, but I only used half of one because I was making it twice and only had one bottle. It didn't seem to matter, though because it was still super delicious. My husband, however, did not like this one, but he doesn't like Chinese food- or whatever nationality this is.

     2. Beef Stroganoff  is usually a meal that my husband and I enjoy. This recipe was easy to put together, but it's difficult to fit all into a freezer bag. It will fit, but getting it out of the bag and into the crockpot when it's frozen is a difficult feat. You'll want to defrost it before you cook it.
         As far as taste goes, this was not our favorite. It was alright, but I think I'll stick to Hamburger Helper for now. Don't discredit it though, because even though we didn't like it, you might.

     3.   Beef Broccoli  I made this with Chicken and I liked it. It was super easy and delicious.

     4. Tuscan Pasta  -  This is was my husband's favorite. I've made it two different ways. The first way is how the site makes it, but instead of cooking and shredding my own chicken, I added chicken from a can. It tastes just as good.  If you make it the way that is on the site, you literally cook the whole meal. I suggest doubling the recipe because after going through all of the trouble making the sauce and cooking the pasta, you're going to want to eat it that night. If you double it, at least you can freeze the second pan and eat it a different day. 

      Because it did take so long, I tried making this with the crockpot. I'm glad I did. It was so much easier and it's creamier when you eat it right away vs. when you bake it after it was frozen. 

      For the crock pot version, I added all of the ingredients in the crock pot except, instead of chopping the chicken, I added chicken tenderloins to the crockpot and cooked it on high for 4 hours. I left the pasta to cook later and then added them together when both were cooked. I also recommend strips of sun-dried tomatoes vs. whole.

     5. Sweet Garlic Chicken  I don't know why this was named the way that it was. It doesn't taste garlicy at all, which made me sad because I like garlic. It tasted more like a spicy barbeque chicken. It wasn't bad, but it also wasn't my favorite. You can make your own opinion if you try it. This was very easy to make.

6. General Tso's Chicken- I don't have a link with a recipe for this one because I made it from a recipe on the back of a seasoning packet that I found at Walmart. This is another recipe that I liked- sort of- that was pretty easy to make.
     The recipe asks you to bread and fry your chicken. It doesn't take long, but I'm not sure that I did it right. I prepared everything ahead of time and put it in a freezer bag to make another day. I cooked it in the crockpot for 4 hours on high. The only thing that I didn't like was the texture. The fried flower coating kind of disintegrated so the sauce was thick and grainy/doughy- it's difficult to explain. If the texture was different, this would be an A+.

7. Meatloaf   I'm a person who likes meatloaf, but I did not like this one. It took forever to bake in the oven. I think it was like an hour and a half. It may have been better if I had thawed it overnight or something, but I probably won't make this one again. My husband thought it was ok. However, it is up to you to make your own decision. I usually like a sweeter meatloaf and this one was meaty. Imagine that- a meaty meatloaf!

     Most of these were very simple to make and I found many of them tasty and some not so tasty. Usually if I like it, my husband didn't and vice versa so don't let my reviews decide for you whether or not you'd like to try them.

      If you do make any of these, let me know which ones you like and if you made any changes on how you prepared them. I'm interested to know. Also, feel free to comment a favorite of yours that I might not have listed. I'm always up for trying something new. I'd love to find something that my kids will even eat!