Yesterday I mentioned my friend's wedding.  This morning I am off for a weekend on Nantucket with the girls...kind of a bachelorette party weekend.  We leave this morning and don't come back until Monday.  THE Daddy is in charge of the kids all weekend.  On one hand, I'm not sure what I'm going to do without Princess and BamBam.  I've never been away from them for that long...sure, we've had occasional "sleep overs" with family, but I've never been so far away that there's no possible way for me to get to them quickly.

 On the other hand...I CAN'T WAIT to go away.  I get to eat what I want, drink as much as I want and sleep in.  I might even get to take a nap ON the beach.  I haven't been able to do that since having kids.  The beach is no longer relaxing for me b/c it just screams DANGER everywhere you turn.  I'm leaving the mommy switch for my brain AT HOME...maybe THE Daddy will need it;)

What is it about bridal dresses and sizes?! You would think that dress makers would want women to feel comfortable and sexy in their dresses. HINT: my size 8 body does NOT feel sexy when I have to order a size 14 dress, WTF?!

OK, one of my best friends is getting married in a few weeks and I am her Matron of Honor. The wedding is in New York and the bridesmaids are located in DC, Nantucket, and Oregon...I'm in NH.  We decided to go with “separates” from David’s Bridal to make purchasing dresses easier on everyone. It took about a month to get everyone to go to the closest store and try on the different tops and bottoms. Ultimately, we all picked the same style. I went for a final “try on” the day that I ordered the dress. They didn’t have my exact size on the rack, so they measured me and ordered what they thought would fit. Apparently, they grossly underestimated the size of my chest. I have always been, to put it politely, well endowed. Everyone swore that I would go down a size after having and breastfeeding kids…not so much…in fact, they are even a full cup size bigger, joy. I’m seriously considering breast reduction surgery, but that’s for future conversation. They called to say that the dress was in, so I drove over an hour to pick it up…and the size 8 top was WAY too small. They agreed to exchange it and measured me again. I tried on a different top in a similar style and believed that a size 12 would be perfect. They went over the measurements and convinced me to buy a size 14. I just picked it up and IT”S TOO BIG!!! I swear they did this just so that I would have to pay to get it altered.

SO, I took the dress home. There’s NO WAY I’m paying them to alter it and I’m sick of driving over an hour each way to deal with them. Anyone know of a good tailor/dress maker in Seacoast NH ???

It’s starting to cool down into the 50’s overnight. I know that summer is not quite over yet and we’re probably due for at least another week of HH & H days. However, this cool down is reminding me that fall is right around the corner…and fall reminds me of FOOTBALL! I’m very excited for the Patriots to start playing, especially now that we have a “tavern” in our basement. One of my favorite food staples for fall and football season is my “white trash” macaroni & cheese. I’ve dubbed it “white trash” b/c I use plain old cheddar cheese and plain yellow mustard…nothing frilly about this recipe.  I've adapted this from a recipe that my dad gave me a few years ago.

Ingredients:

2 cups (dry) pasta – I prefer to use penne

2 large eggs, well beaten

2 tbs. salt

¼ cup butter

1 (12 oz) can evaporated milk

2 tbs. yellow mustard

1 lb. shredded cheddar cheese- I use Cracker Barrel’s marbled cheddar.  I like the color and taste.

paprika

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Preheat oven to 350.

Cook the pasta according to package directions.

I usually prep my ingredients and shred my cheddar cheese while pasta is cooking.

In a large bowl, mix cooked pasta with butter (until melted), beaten eggs, evaporated milk, mustard & salt.

Scoop ½ of mixture into casserole bowl.

Spread ½ of the shredded cheddar cheese over mixture

Scoop remaining pasta into casserole bowl

Spread remaining ½ of shredded cheddar cheese over the top.

Sprinkle entire top of casserole with paprika.

Cook for about 45 minutes in preheated 350 degree oven.

The mac & cheese will be nice and bubbly with a browned top when finished.

1) When I started dating THE Daddy, he told me that he didn’t ever see himself getting married or having kids. We were married 4 years later and had Princess about a year after that…oops.

2) I worked on Martha’s Vineyard for 2 summers while in college. Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen had their wedding rehearsal dinner at the Inn where I worked. I got to meet a ton of celebrities…including then-President Clinton. No matter what you think about him, he really does have charisma.

3) I recently donated peripheral blood stem cells to a 21 year old woman with leukemia.  I was her last hope.  I'm waiting to hear if she survived.  If so, we could meet after a year...if we both consent.  I would love to meet someone considered to be my "match".  I have no idea where in the world she is located, but she's often in my thoughts.

4) We have 2 dogs: Jasper, an Australian cattle dog, and Chester, an Australian Shepard. We’ve had Jasper since he was a puppy. We adopted Chester from a rescue league on New Years Day.  Jasper had a bad reaction to a lyme disease vaccine and we almost lost him. End result after a month in the animal hospital…he had to have his toes on his front feet amputated. He actually gets around pretty good despite everything.

5) I breastfed both Princess and BamBam for about a year each.  They both decided to stop as soon as they began walking.  I both loved and hated breastfeeding and it was bittersweet each time we stopped.

6) My sister is about to marry our high school biology teacher. He was my favorite teacher. And apparently he wasn’t very old…only 8 years older than her. Strange at times, however, I do think they are a great match and I really like him. They made my 15 year high school reunion quite interesting.

7) I coach softball at our old high school. This was my 6^th season and we won the state championship for the first time in the school’s history this spring! It had been 20 seasons since I was on the varsity softball team.

8) My second toe is longer than my big toe. Mostly I think it’s ugly. I’ve had people tell me that it’s a sign of intelligence. I also had a male friend tell me that most beautiful people have ugly feet…I think he was hitting on me.

9) My parents divorced when I was in college. My dad literally drove away for South Carolina on their 22^nd wedding anniversary.  They are both very happy in their lives and I enjoy the relationship I have with each as an adult.  I don't believe that "staying together for the children" is always the best route to take when two people are so obviously miserable together.  They could have separated many years before.

10) We own a house in Aruba with my in-laws. It’s not a time share. We built a for-real 3 bedroom house with a pool. We were living in their basement apartment at the time.  We love it there and would love to relocate there someday, possibly after winning the lottery.  American school is very expensive.

 Want to know more?  Please leave a comment.

I am feeling pretty crappy today. Both Princess and BamBam have nasty summer colds; which means that I am a day or so away from getting hit hard. THE Daddy left early for work and I was feeling a bit overwhelmed this morning. OK, I was really grouchy when he left. I was cleaning up dishes and found my favorite bracelet on the window by the sink. It reminded me that my case of the sniffles is truly nothing and I need to get over the “poor me” attitude I woke up with.

 
You see, a few months ago, I donated peripheral blood stem cells to a 21 year old woman with leukemia. It was quite an amazing process. I will try to detail my experience in further posts. When I was at the Dana Farber Cancer Center in Boston , the nurses were all wearing these great bracelets. They are made by the “Friends of Mel Foundation”. Although I never knew Mel Simmons, I was touched by her story. I wanted to remember my experience in a positive way…not just how difficult the process was physically or how rewarding it was to truly be able to help someone in need. I wanted something tangible as a reminder. THE Daddy purchased a bracelet for me and I’ve been wearing it all summer. The colors go with just about everything I wear and I get questions about it all the time. It’s amazing how many people actually recognize it as one of “Mel’s” bracelets. I’ve given a few as gifts and people really love them.

The best part, sales from the bracelets raise money for cancer. Personally, I like that money isn’t just going towards cancer research, but also “promising projects that impact patient care at both the grassroots and institutional levels”.

You can purchase a bracelet here.