What are we going to do with all of this $$$ we saved today!?!

Its 5:00 p.m. and I am exhausted! Yet, I am also excited about all that we've accomplished today. Since Hubs' schedule was soooo very busy this week we agreed that we would go ahead and have a lawn guy come over to the house to mow the lawn. Hubs normally does all of the yard work, because we just cant justify the expense of having someone else do it ... at more that $100 a pop. We live on a budget. Yuck. Well, of course since we finally decided to have someone else come and do it (out of fear that our neighbors might start picketing us since the grass was soooo beyond embarrassing long). Well of course the guy never showed up! I guess reliable is not this dude's middle name. So, on his first day off in what feels like an eternity Hubs spent 3 hours this morning doing yard work. Well, that's $100 saved. Since we had already decided to spend that money we've agreed to do something fun tonight .... and, wait for it .... spend the money and not feel guilty about it! While hubs was doing lawn work I was working in the house (yeah, we have no maid either). So, there's another $100 saved. We groomed both dogs ... about $75 saved. Woo-hoo!

Lawn $100

House $100

Dogs $75

Simply put, we saved $275 today. Not bad. Now for the fun stuff... dinner and shopping. I just wish we could afford a baby sitter. Oh well, you cant win 'em all!

Will my baby ever see her daddy again?

Okay, that was overly dramatic, but hey, that's just how I'm feeling right now. I've mentioned before that sometimes I feel like a single mom because of Hubs' schedule. He is a resident = he is an indentured servant. Isn't that really what medical residency is anyway? Indentured servitude?

Anyway, he has been working some crazy, crazy hours this week, and I am not kidding when I say that Hubs has not seen our daughter since Sunday! He leaves for work at around 5:30 a.m., before LoveBug or I are awake, and hasn't gotten home before 10:00 p.m. once this week, and obviously, since LoveBug is only 16 months old, she is fast asleep by that time. Hubs is still at work tonight, and its currently 8:30 p.m. So, I guess he might see her tomorrow...hopefully.

Don't you think he must miss this face:

As an aside, I would just like to say that I know that I really have no idea what its like to be a single mom; I'm just saying that I can identify with them at times. I was raised by a single mom, and I know that is truly the hardest job in the world (for moms that do it right anyway).

On a positive note...Yay Project Runway returns tonight!!! Heidi Klum is my idol! Tim Gunn is awesome. Even Hubs loves to say "Make it work" and he's not "that guy." I can't wait!

Oh, Happy Day!

I got my new InStyle in the mail today!!! I love, love, love this magazine. It is the mail highlight of my month! I get A LOT of magazines and this is my fav-or-ite. Hands down. Yay! And the 15th Anniversary issue. Wow! I can't believe its been that long. I remember when I was just a wee babe (15 years old!) and I first saw InStyle at the local Eckerd's drug store by my house. I was already obsessed with magazines, and I became hooked with the first issue!

Hubs is on call tonight, so my plans for the evening have just been amended. I was going to go to spinning, eat dinner with LoveBug, put her to bed, and then work until bedtime (my briefcase is overflowing with papers that seem to be chanting my name). Well, forget working from home tonight...I will now be deliriously happy with my Bible. InStyle. Briefcase you can just stuff it. I will not have you beckon me tonight. I will stuff you in my trunk and hope you suffocate. I will be busy tonight ;-)

Delicious and Very Tart Lemon Bars

Hubs' very favorite dessert is lemon bars. In fact, when we got married, when I didn't know how to cook virtually anything, he asked that I learn to make lemon bars. While he loves lemon bars, his numero uno requirement is that they be pucker-your lips tart. I found this recipe, tweeked it a little, and what resulted is what Hubs says are the best lemon bars he has ever had. Score! I don't really know what it is, but there is something very pleasing about being able to make Hubs food that he loves. Call me June Cleaver, whatevs, I just like it.

For the crust:

3/4 cup unsalted butter, frozen, plus more for dish

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup confectioners' suger

3/4 teaspoon coarse salt

For the filling:

4 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 1/3 cups granulated sugar

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon coarse salt

3/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (the juice from about 4 lemons)

splash of pure lemon extract

1/4 cup whole milk

confectioners' sugar, for dusting

1. Preheat oven to 350. Butter a 9x13 glass baking dish, and line with parchment

2. Make crust: Combine flour, confectioners' sugar, and salt in food processor and pulse until well mixed. Add butter (cubed) to mixture and pulse until well combined and the mixture looks crumbly.

3. Transfer mixutre to prepared dish; press evenly onto bottom with your hands. Freeze crust 15 minutes. Bake until slightly golden, 16 - 18 minutes. Leave oven on.

4. Meanwhile, make filling: Whisk together eggs, granulated sugar, flour, and salt in a bowl until smooth. Stir in lemon juice, splash of lemon extract and milk. Pour over crust.

5. Reduce oven temperature to 325, and bake until filling is set and edges are slightly golden brown, about 18 minutes. Let cool slightly on a wire rack. Lift out; let cool completely on a wire rack before cutting into 2-inch squares. Dust with confectioners' sugar. Lemon squares can be refrigerated in airtight containers up to 2 days (or frozen for up to one week).

Mommy Must Haves!

Being a new mom is an awesome experience (and I truly mean awesome in the truest sense of the word!). With having a baby come so many priceless experiences; experiences that I will treasure for the rest of my life. But what also comes with having a baby is... a need for simplicity, tips, tricks and life-savers. For me, learning what makes my hectic life doable has largely been trial and error, and I have come to find that there are certain things that I couldn't live without!

The first that comes to mind... Dry Shampoo. A miracle! I can't tell you how many mornings there hasn't be a snow ball's chance in you-know-where that I am going to be able to shower, or much less wash my hair. This product allows me to leave the house and not look like a homeless woman:

Pssssst Instant Dry Shampoo. Why is THIS dry shampoo my fav? Simple: its super cheap! You can get this at almost any drug store for around $5. Spray on your roots, let it dry for a second, then brush it out. Icky shine is gone! Sure, its not perfect. This stuff is super white, so it probably only works for blondes (otherwise it might make you look like you are going grey). But we are on a budget, and this works for me!

Subtle signs he's MARRIED!

Hubs told me a funny little story recently that's got me thinking about the subtle signs that a man is married. Hubs got home from the hospital the other day and asked what I do to make his scrubs smell. Um, smell? WTF? What m'dear are you talking about? I don't think your scrubs smell; I mean, they smell gooooood. That's when he explained that he was working with one of the grumpiest of all attendings (lovingly referred to by us wives as "Dr. McScreamy") when McScreamy said to Hubs that he can always tell when a resident is married because they smell like fabric softener. Ha! That really made me laugh, and then it got me to thinking. I guess its true, for the most part. There probably aren't too many bachelors out there making sure that they race into the laundry room as the rinse cycle starts to throw in some Snuggle.

So, there ya have it ladies, use fabric softener...that way if Hubs is wearing surgical gloves.... people will still know he's taken!

Fellowship madness

Wow, how quickly things can move in the world of fellowship interviewing.  As I wrote previously, Hubs has been interviewing for fellowships over the last couple of weeks.  Because he's just that awesome, he received a lot of interview offers ;-)  Yay, so proud of him.  Well, He's only been on 2 of many interviews and he's already received an offer!  The program that has made him an offer is an amazing program and is nationally recognized as being super great.  So, what to do?  He still has several other interviews scheduled, at programs he his genuinely interested in.  The program making the offer, however, is in an area of the country that we think we would probably like to end up in ... like in the long term.  They want to know asap.  What a rub.

Well, it gets even more interesting. ... I just might be taking ANOTHER BAR EXAM.  Ugh!  I've already taken 2!  Took the bar in our home-state, and took the bar in the state that we relocated to for residency.  Not only will I be taking another bar exam, but I'll probably be taking it this February.  oh the torture!  That's what it is you know...pure torture!

I tell you once again, the spouses of residents make serious sacrifices.  2 bar exams.  leaving a job I've been doing for 2.5 years.  relocating to a state where I lose most of my professional marketability (yeah, I cant even continue my specialty in the state we are most likely going to move to!) 

Nuff said.

Seriously, I've got to get serious

I am starting to get slightly stressed...about the fact that I am going to be in one of my oldest friends wedding in about 6 weeks.  V. v. excited about her impending nuptials; honored to be asked to be her Matron of Honor; scared s!#tless about what I am going to be wearing in said wedding. 

 My dear friend is of Indian descent.  Her parents immigrated to the USA just before she was born.  Dear, dear friend has chosen to have a combination western/traditional Indian wedding.  For the wedding ceremony we will be wearing v. v. pretty Alfred Sung bridesmaid dress, however, for the reception the wedding party will change into traditional Indian attire....and I will be wearing a traditional Lengha...which will expose my entire stomach!!!  Reminder, I had a child 15 months ago.  I am seriously stressin' about this!  I have never had the greatest confidence regarding my abdominal area.  Even when at my fittest, I wouldn't dream of wearing something that shows my stomach.  And I have agreed to do this now!?!  At 30, after having a baby.  What was I thinking?  

So, I must go to spinning tonight.  I must.  I must. I must.

Love this cooking tip

I was watching the Today Show yesterday and heard the best cooking tip!  Mark Bittman, author of How to Cook Everything was on the show teaching a busy family how to easily incorporate healthier choices into their daily lives.  He said that whenever you start cooking put on a pot of water...you can always use a pot of hot water.  Whether for pasta, rice or sauces...it will always come in useful.  I just love this tip!  Going to try it out.  I don't know how many times I've started cooking dinner and thought pasta or rice would be a great addition, but I didn't plan well enough in advance so I just scrapped it.

Already Missing Hubs

My husband is a resident (ya know, doctor with training wheels).  So often the resident gets all of the sympathy for their hard work and long hours ... at slave labor wages, but can we focus on the resident's spouse for a second.  We SACRIFICE.  That's right!  Hubs is now in his last year of residency, Yay!, but he is now interviewing for fellowships.  As many people know residents are on call a lot.  Well, now that Hubs in interviewing for fellowship while juggling his regular residency schedule, this morning begins the first of 5 days alone.  Well, not alone, my darling 15 month old daughter, Love Bug, will been home with me as well as our two doggie daughters.  I'm already feeling a little lonely and a little intimidated.  These stretches of time alone make me really, really respect the single mother, because at times I feel like a single mother even though I have the most amazing and supportive husband in the world.

Let the countdown begin. 

Heck, Why Not

I have recently become an avid blog reader.  I feel like I need to catch up with all the blogs I follow, like all the time.  Well, of course, this has led to a desire to have a place to express, possibly share, my thoughts as well.  So here goes!