Hair Stylist to the Stars

Last night I found dark hair on Alyssa's bedroom floor. I knew it wasn't her's, because her hair is much lighter and Mike and Curtis were still on their fishing trip. My eyes fell on her two Dora dolls laying on the floor. I asked, "Alyssa, did you cut Dora's hair?" "No Mommy," was her answer. I said, "There's hair on the floor and Dora's hair looks like you cut it." She cast her eyes down shamefully and said, "I did it, I'm sorry." I said, "Where are the scissors?" "I don't know," was the answer. I again asked for the scissors and once again got the shameful look and she took them from where she had hidden them. I told her I was taking her scissor privileges away and that's when she started crying.

I guess I should be grateful that she only cut Dora's hair and not her own, her brother's, or a friend's. Hopefully this will be a lesson and no other helpless dolls will have to suffer needlessly.

Employee of the Year

Last night Mike received the Maintenance Employee of the Year Award at the school board meeting last night. He didn't want to go, but his boss, who is also a good friend, was really nervous about it and would have had to talk about him anyway. So we went. I was really proud of him, because he truly hates things like this. They gave him a beautiful plaque and he'll get $100 extra in his next paycheck. Mike is a great guy and doesn't always get the recognition he truly deserves.

My New Goal

Lately we have been in a rut. A dinner rut. So I decided that I would try at least one new recipe a week. Well I exceeded that goal and tried two new recipes. The first one I only liked a little, although Mike and the kids loved it. I probably won't make it again. The second one needed a little tweaking, but once tweaked.....YUMMY! I will make this again and again and I hope you will too. I will put what I did rather than the official recipe.

Mushroom Chicken with Zucchini

3 chicken breasts, cut into chunks

cornstarch for dusting

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 Tbsp sesame oil

6 Tbsp soy sauce (I used low sodium)

3 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1 package mushrooms, sliced

4 small zucchini, cut into 1 inch chunks

1. Dust chicken with cornstarch, until lightly coated.

2. Put oils into a wok or large skillet and fry chicken until done. Take out of the pan and set aside.

3. You might need to add a little more oil to the pan. Then add mushrooms and zucchini and stirfry for a few minuets. Then add the rest of the ingredients and stirfry until the veggies are done.

4. Return chicken to pan and coat with sauce, heat thoroughly and serve over rice.

Try this soon, you'll be so glad you did. If you like it saucier, add 2 more Tbsp soy sauce and 1 more Tbsp balsamic vinegar.