New Recipe- veggie medley angel hair pasta

I made this for my kids and completely expected fits. My kids never let me forget that they do not like cooked vegetables. They like them raw. I was pleasantly surprised that they loved it and all had seconds. Even with chopping, it probably only took 30 minutes. It serves probably 8 adults, but served my family of 6. 

1- 1lb box angel hair pasta

1c. Red bell pepper, diced finely

3/4c. Red onion, diced finely

3/4c.-1c. Grated zucchini 

1/4 c. Chopped fresh cilantro 

1c. Chopped spinach

2tbl. Olive oil

3/4c. Organic Italian Style Dressing

1/2 tsp salt, 1tsp pepper

Optional: sliced olives, bacon pieces, Parmesan cheese

Directions: In a large sauté pan, sauté: peppers, onions, zucchini, and cilantro in the olive oil. Sauté over medium heat until veggies are fragrant and almost tender. While that sautés, boil angel hair pasta to package directions. When done, combine pasta, sautéd veggies, and spinach. Add dressing and toss to coat. Serve. 

Sautéd veggies

Finished product 

Life Without Hair- A Choice

Not that I truly need to give anybody reasons why I do what I do, I thought I would try to give perspective. So, here's 12 reasons why I love my low maintenance cut:

Reasons I shave my head

*I've got 3 little girls' hair that has to be maintained. When they can maintain their own hair, I may consider keeping mine.

* my scalp and pocketbook like the break from massive amounts of hair product 

*I stay cooler in Warmer weather 

*taking a shower and taking care of my hair is a 15 minute process that eats into every morning. That's 1 hour and 45 minutes spent on my hair a WEEK or 7 HOURS/MONTH! (By the way, if the math is off, loss of hair can effect such things). I can think of a million other things that is more worthy of my time. Also, now I  take a 5 minute shower before I go to bed (when I have the time) and know I'm not waking up with a fro in the morning

* I believe through this experience I'm teaching my kids that Beauty is not merited by personal appearance, but rather our actions and the purity of our hearts.

* I have more confidence with no hair vs. when I have hair. When I have hair I'm constantly conscious of the out of place curls and the frizziness of it. No hair= no worries. I know how I look

*my husband married me for my personality and inner beauty. We all know he didn't marry me for my model looks anyhow. Our love has grown stronger knowing that he will love me despite what I look like.

*I can get myself ready and out the door in 2 minutes now. Wouldn't most men love to say that about their woman?!

* I am not paying $15+ every 2 weeks on my hair. My hair grows so fast that to maintain a "look" that's how much it would need to be cut maintain

*how come if a woman has cancer and has her head shaved, she's beautiful and people support that? But when I shave my head, by choice, I receive negativity? I have yet to figure that out.

* it's hair and it grows back. And for me, that's not a long time to wait

* last, but not least, I have fun making people guess and wonder in a store, as they look upon me walking around with my 4 children, if I have cancer (or some other disease) or if I'm a lesbian

I Hate My Kids' Birthday Party

In some ways I hate my kids' birthdays. Well, it's not celebrating their births I hate. I hate the amount of work that goes into the celebrations. I'm tired. I want to suspend birthdays in my house for a year! 

Every other month, we have a birthday in our household. Then when you sprinkle in holidays, our life is one endless celebration aka money pit to entertain people. Let me just say, I am not a mom that goes and rents out anywhere for my kid's birthdays, nor am I a Pinterest mom when it comes to parties. I'm a "lets eat good food, mingle and have a cake kind of mom". However, it all adds up. 

This is what I hate about birthday parties: 

1) I invite lots of people-- they all RSVP yes but then over 3/4 cancel via text message or Facebook message on day of party

2) I don't invite many people (or any until last minute) then end up offending people that they didn't get invited 

3) all the crap my kid gets. We have enough, lets not add more

4) since I have 4 kids, the thought has been impressed upon me "Great, another Marek birthday. Another gift to buy..." 

5) the cleaning of the house for lots of invited guests that choose not to show

So I find myself this month slacking more than I did for the last birthday in my household and double slacking from the one two birthdays ago. Which in translation means: I invited a few of our close friends (2 families to be exact) about 4ish days before the said party. I will make a homemade cake that while tasty, doesn't look pretty. I won't buy party favors because I'm too broke.  I know I offended people because of my poor planning. It's not that I don't want them to celebrate my child; it's just I am burned the fuck out. 

I'm excited for July and August. The only two back to back months that my immediate family doesn't have a birthday. However, my father-in-law's birthday is during that time and so is the 4th of July. 

I definitely need to think of a better way to be excited about my kids' birthdays. I'll let you know when I figure it out! Yea, right.