Not So Secret Family Recipes: Chicken and Rice Casserole

Here is a super easy recipe for Chicken and Rice Casserole.  My kids LOVE it.  I usually make a lot of it, and freeze it in separate casserole dishes so on softball game nights, I can pull one out in the morning to defrost, and stick it in the oven when I get home from work!

picture from www.food.com Chicken and Rice Casserole This takes approximately 90 minutes to prepare and 105 minutes to cook Serves 6 Ingredients 1 package of chicken parts with bone and skin 2 cups milk 2 cups uncooked white rice 2 large cans of condensed cream of chicken soup 2 teaspoon salt Directions Boil chicken parts with bone and skin in a large pot for 90 minutes, or until the chicken easily falls off the bone. Remove skin and bones and hand shred chicken. Put to the side. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl combine the milk, rice, soup and salt. Mix well. Pour mixture into a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking dish. Add the shredded chicken on top. Cover dish tightly with aluminum foil and bake in the preheated oven for 90 minutes or until rice is done, stirring every 30 minutes. Uncover the dish and bake for another 15 minutes to allow the rice to brown. If you are interested in giveaways or having me review your products, please visit my other blog This Girl's No Expert.

This Mom’s No Expert... But I Do Know An Awful Lot About Step-Parenting

Welcome to 2012.  The age where unfortunately, divorce is seen in almost every household nationwide, and blended families are more common than not.  Being previously divorced after 7 ½ years of marriage, I can promise you that I do not take marriage lightly, nor did I not have every intention to stay married to my ex-husband.  Lord knows I tried, but there are some things you just have no control over, no matter how badly you want to make it work.  If I learned anything in that marriage, it’s that the only person’s actions I have control over are my own.  It also showed me what I DON’T want in a marriage.  So, when I met my husband of almost 5 years now, I knew exactly what I wanted and didn’t want in a marriage.  And because he was previously married as well, he knew the same.  But, that’s another story entirely.  Today, I want to focus on something I have learned a lot about... step-parenting.

When I met my husband, I had an almost 7 year old little girl and he had a 3 year old little girl.  Very quickly, the girls bonded and became instant sisters.  And I was lucky enough to witness what a wonderful father this man really was.  He would move heaven and earth to see his daughter.  Still does. I’m talking, drive 3 hours to go watch a one hour soccer game, and then turn around and come home.  He never misses a child support payment.  He calls her several times a week.  He is such an amazing father, which was a big reason as to why I fell so deeply in love with him.  My ex-husband never saw my daughter.  He never paid child support.  He always tried to make me feel guilty for wanting child support.  He would forget to call.  Of course, I never thought it would come to that with my ex-husband, but hey… it turns out I had no idea who he was to begin with…. Yes, that’s another story too. So for today, I’ll stick to my chosen topic.

 In 2007, my husband and I married and created our instant family of four.  In 2009, my ex-husband signed away his rights to my daughter and my husband adopted her.  He treats her as his own.  He practices softball with her every single day, takes her to every practice, attends every game.  He loves her as his own and I couldn’t ask for a better daddy for my 12 year old girl.  He introduces her as his daughter.  Everyone that sees him with her says “She must look like her mother”, and he just says “Yes, she does!” because it’s obvious her tanned skin, brown hair, brown eyed self looks nothing like him!  But he would never say that she wasn’t his daughter, because in every way that counts, she is.

My step-daughter on the other hand looks VERY much like him.  She has got the funniest personality I have ever seen in a child.  She is 8 going on 21 for sure.  She is very inquisitive, very attentive, super smart and won’t let you forget ANYTHING!  My step-daughter and I have had our issues in the past, but since giving birth to OUR daughter (that’s right, three girls… his, mine and ours) my step-daughter has been the sweetest, most polite and caring little girl you could ever meet.  But it wasn’t always like that. 

There has been times when my step-daughter would say things to me that I KNEW she didn’t come up with on her own…  I am trying EXTREMELY hard to keep from speaking negatively about my husband’s ex-wife, so I will keep the comments on that to a minimum.  So, I’ll just say that my step-daughter at times, tried very hard to push my buttons, with some obvious coaching.  My point is there have been times that being an active step-mom to a little girl that also has a very active mom has been difficult.  But I can’t let her get a rise out of me, because it’s obvious that is the intention of the button pushing coach.  The only thing I can do is be the bigger person.  To rise above the very adult comments coming out of a very little girl’s mouth.  I keep telling myself that one day my step-daughter will decide for herself what kind of person I am.  And the only way I know to approach that, is to keep being the person that I am.  To keep loving her… to keep being there for her no matter what.

Since our 11 month old daughter was born, my step-daughter has made amazing progress towards building a relationship with me.  She waits at the door for me to come home if she gets there before I do, she runs to my car to give me a hug as soon as I pull in.  She asks if I need help cleaning, or doing dishes.  She volunteers to help with the baby.  She hugs me and tells me she loves me before she goes to bed.  She has completely opened up to me.  She tells me things that are going on at school with the other kids that she doesn’t even tell her dad.  I’m not sure why the change took place once the baby was born, but I am just grateful that it did.  I am so happy that we are building a meaningful relationship.  And it’s not just because I’m her dad’s wife.  It’s because she honestly trusts me and respects me.  I like to think the reason for this change is from me continuing to be the person that I am, and not getting wrapped up in the “baby mama drama”.  She has also gotten a little older, and like I have always told myself she would do, she has forged her own opinion about me based on what she has seen and how she has been treated by me, regardless of what the button pushing coach says.  I know as she gets older, it won’t always be easy.  There will be times when she is a teenager, that she will hate me.  There will be times that she hates her mother.  But, we just have to keep going, and keep loving our children regardless.

Parenting is hard… Step-parenting can be downright difficult.  But all of it is worth it. Being a step-parent can and should be very rewarding.   If you are faced with a situation where you aren’t sure how to handle the step-parenting aspects of a new marriage and the blended family, my advice is this: treat the child as your own.  Love them. Listen.  Be there for them.  Make sure they know that you won’t tolerate disrespect in your home, but also make sure they know that they don’t HAVE to love you.  I had to explain that to my step-daughter a few years ago when she told my oldest daughter that she didn’t love me anymore.  The only reason she said it was because I was in the same room, and she was trying to get a reaction.  I bent down to her at eye level and I told her that she didn’t have to love me, but she did need to be nice to me when she was at my house.  And that even if she doesn’t love me, I will always love her just as much as I love my own daughter.  So now when she tells me she loves me, I know it’s because she truly does.  After all, I told her she didn’t HAVE to love me… yet she does anyway.

And one last bit of advice:  Never talk bad about the child’s “other parent” to the child or even around the child.  Chances are, when they are older, they will decide for themselves who is worthy of sharing the details of their lives with.  And if you always hold your head up high and don’t stoop to the level of name calling and childish antics, chances are that person will be you.  I love being a mom.  And I feel blessed to have been given the challenge of being a step-parent.  I only hope to be the step-parent to my step-daughter that my step-dad was to me… yes, that’s also another story.  You’ll just have to stay tuned!

If you are interested in giveaways or having me review your products, please visit my other blog This Girl's No Expert.

Not So Secret Family Recipes: Low Country Boil

I love to cook!  So I have decided that I would include a weekly recipe post from my vault of wonderful family traditions rich with Southern charm!  It is my hope that you can add a few of these to your family recipe book!  Hope you enjoy This Mom's No Expert's weekly recipe posts!

I was born in Savannah, GA.  Savannah is known for their southern foods and sweet hospitality.  I still have family and friends in Savannah, so in my heart, it will always be home.  My first recipe is one that I remember having growing up on the river. This is perfect for outdoor parties or for the family at home.  

My parents would have friends over and my dad would cook a huge batch of this "Low Country Boil" along with their oyster roasts.  The fun thing about this pot of southern goodness is that not only can it be doubled, tripled even quadrupled in order to feed the amount of people you will be entertaining, but you can line your table with newspaper and dump the finished boil onto the outdoor table so people can pick out what they want!    You can prepare this in a big pot on your stove for the family, or in a huge steamer outside for your guests.  Either way, it works the same way.  I added the red wine vinegar to the recipe because it makes the shrimp so very sweet!  Oh, and don't forget to crack open a beer while cooking this AND eating it!

picture from http://www.unclebubbas.com

Low Country Boil

This takes approximately 20 minutes to prepare and 45 minutes to cook

Serves 6 but can easily be doubled, even tripled





Ingredients
Old Bay Seasoning to taste

Salt to taste

1/2 cup to 1 cup of red wine vinegar (makes the shrimp sweet)
12 small red new potatoes
2 packages of kielbasa sausage - cut into 1 inch pieces
12 ears of frozen half cob corn
3 lbs of medium to large fresh shrimp, headed & unpeeled

Directions

Fill a large pot or outdoor steamer with enough water to cover all of the ingredients. Add the Old Bay Seasoning, salt and red wine vinegar, and bring to a boil. Adjust the Old Bay Seasoning and salt to your preferred taste. Bring the water to a rolling boil, then add the potatoes and sausage. Cook on medium-high heat for 20 minutes. Add corn and cook for an additional 10 minutes. Add shrimp and cook for no more than 3 minutes. Drain and serve with cocktail sauce and/or lemon for the shrimp and sour cream and/or butter for the potatoes.  Crack open a beer and enjoy!

If you are interested in giveaways or having me review your products, please visit my other blog This Girl's No Expert.

This Mom's No Expert: The Hair Dye Blues

Contrary to popular belief, my blue black hair is NOT natural.  Hard to believe, I know.  Those of you that have known me for years know that I am naturally a brunette.  But, brown hair does not give me the feeling that I am the “exotic island girl” that I know is inside of me just screaming for a box of black hair dye.  So, a few years ago, I started dying my hair black.  I like it… I get compliments on it… and people can’t believe it’s not my real hair color.  I have olive skin and brown eyes, so for me, black LOOKS natural.  Okay, enough convincing…

The problem with black hair dye is that it gets on EVERYTHING and stains rather quickly.  Okay, maybe it has something to do with the person applying the hair dye and not so much the fault of the hair dye itself, but I seem to get hair dye on my face, ears, neck, shoulders, arms, countertops, walls, tile floor… Yes, basically everything within a 5 foot radius gets hit.  So as I’m dying my hair, I’m constantly making sure I wipe up the drops within 2 seconds of it hitting any surface, because if I don’t, there is a permanent spot… permanent meaning won’t come out… ever.  I have a few battle scars in my bathroom from my hair dying expeditions.  Not good.

So, I found a new foam hair dye this week that claims to have salon precise foam coverage.  Perfect!  Foam won’t get tossed around and splattered like milk from a baby banging their bottle… so I think, sign me up!  So, I purchase the foam and tonight I colored my lovely locks.  

As I’m reading the directions, I’m rather concerned that it states to first apply a water resistant cream on my face just along my hairline, my ears and neck… Hmm, my other hair dyes that I’ve bought never say that. I’m a pro because I’ve done this a million times, so I can skip that step.  I start applying the foam… and I must admit it stays put.  I’m really starting to like this foam idea.  The foam is white, which is strange when I’m dying my hair BLACK.  But at least I can see where it’s going.  Some foam got on my arm right above my wrist and I immediately rinsed it off… I’ve got this down!  I noticed that I got some foam on my forehead, ears and neck, so I wipe that off as well. 

Usually while I’m waiting the 30 minutes before I can rinse (yes, 30 minutes, not 20… it’s an extra 10 minutes if you have greys……) I take a nice hot bath and read a magazine.  As I’m relaxing I look down at my wrist and notice that my arm is turning black… it looked like the color of a black sharpie marker ink spot that you had washed with hot water and soap a few times and still had that shadow of blackness.  So, I get the soap and begin to scrub… it’s not coming off.  I get my exfoliating “gloves” and scrub… not coming off.  I am not in front of the mirror at this time and I start becoming somewhat concerned about what my face looks like. 

The 30 minutes are up, so I rinse my hair.  As I’m washing the now BLACK foam out of my hair, panic sets in.  I decide that I better start scrubbing EVERYTHING with anything that I can find, because if my face looks anything like my arm, I’m probably going to be “sick” and unable to make it to work tomorrow.  I finish up and get out of the shower… the mirror is foggy so I can’t see what I look like.  I open the door and run to the other bathroom to inspect the damage.  Oh my… There it is… black shadow like marks on my forehead, the tops of my ears and down my neck.  I’m not talking slight marks that I can cover with makeup.  I’m talking blotches of black everywhere… NO!!!  I run back to my bathroom, jump in the shower again and start scrubbing… using every product in my shower, I scrub.  And then I scrub again.  And then I scrub again.  After all that, I still have slight shadows on my forehead, ears and neck.  But I must admit, my hair looks exotically fabulous!

This little event tonight inspired me to search for tried and true ways to get hair dye off your skin.  I am happy to share the article that I found on eHow.com along with a few of my own comments in pink.

How to Get Hair Dye Off Your Skin

By Caroline Tung Richmond, eHow Contributor

Many people choose to dye their hair at home since it is convenient and cheaper than heading into a salon. Yet coloring your hair at home can sometimes lead to a frustrating side effect--getting hair dye on your skin. If you need to remove hair dye from your hands, face or neck, try the following steps to get the dye safely off of your skin. 

Things You'll Need 

Facial cleanser (CHECK)

Body scrub (or oatmeal and sugar) (OATMEAL AND SUGAR?? WELL, WHATA YA KNOW)

Toothpaste (AND I THOUGHT IT WAS JUST USED FOR CLEANING TEETH AND RINGS)

Baking soda (OK…)

Dishwashing liquid (WHEN FACIAL CLEANSER, BODY SCRUB & TOOTHPASTE DON’T WORK…)

Hair dye remover (SERIOUSLY? THEY MAKE THIS??)

Instructions

1

Wash your skin. Use soap, such as hand soap or a bar of soap, to wash the affected areas on your skin. If you have hair dye on your face, use a facial cleanser instead since regular soap may irritate and dry out your skin. Be careful not to over-scrub your skin though. If the dye doesn't come off with two to three washings, then try other ways to remove the dye.  So, if after trying all of this you are still “affected” go to step number 2.

2

Use a body scrub. Body scrub contains exfoliating agents that can help remove hair dye from your skin. Apply a dollop of the product onto your skin and gently scrub the area to get off the hair dye. If you do not have any body scrub in your home, you can make your own with oatmeal and white sugar. Mix 2 tbsp. of oatmeal with 2 tbsp. of sugar. Add a little bit of water for moisture. Rub the homemade scrub onto your skin and the rinse it off with warm water.  So, wash two or three times and if that doesn’t work, scrub your skin with a “dollop” of body scrub.  I’m beginning to wonder if they are trying to get us to just scrub the “affected area” off!

3

Try using toothpaste. It may sound strange, but toothpaste often works well to get rid of hair dye on the skin. Squeeze some toothpaste onto your finger and apply it onto your skin. Let the toothpaste sit for about 10 seconds and then rinse it off with water.  Don’t you think you might want to try this before the exfoliating scrub?  I mean, this girl’s no expert, but I would think toothpaste would sting if you just washed your face 2 to 3 times AND using body scrub to exfoliate, but that’s just me.

4

Make a mixture of baking soda and dishwashing liquid. A combination of these two products can help remove the dye from your skin. Mix 2 tbsp. of baking soda with 2 tbsp. of dishwashing liquid to make a paste. Use the paste on your skin like a soap and then rinse it off with water.  So if washing, exfoliating and toothpaste don’t work, the next step is to use homemade dishwashing baking soda paste.  Yup, I’m convinced we are trying to scrub the old skin off and just start over.

5

Try a hair dye removing product. If the above steps do not remove the dye from your skin, head to your local drug store to purchase a dye removing product. This product is usually stocked in the same aisle as the hair dye. After you have purchased the remover, carefully read the instructions provided and follow the directions.  Wow, you learn something new every day… don’t you think every woman in the world would have this if they knew about it?  Like Tylenol and Tampons?

6

See a professional. If the hair dye doesn't fade away from your skin after a few days, you should book an appointment with your hair stylist. Your stylist will have access to salon quality products that can remove the dye from your skin.  Wow, last resort is to spend the money that you saved buying the at home hair dying kit in the first place by making an emergency trip to the beauty salon.

Tips & Warnings (Gotta Love Those...)

·         If you decide to dye your hair at home in the future, make sure to take the right precautions to prevent the dye from getting onto your skin again. Before you start the dying process, apply a layer of petroleum jelly or Vaseline onto your neck, ears and forehead. You should also wear a pair of plastic gloves to keep the dye from touching your hands.  Super advice.  I should have followed the directions in the first place, but then I wouldn’t have come up with this post for all of you to laugh at!

·         Do not use products like Ajax, bleach or nail polish remover on your skin. Some websites may advise you to use harsh chemicals to remove hair dye from your skin, but these products may cause serious harm to you. If you are unable to remove the dye, head to a hair salon to consult with a professional about the problem.  Okay, please tell me… how many of you have used these items to remove hair dye… be honest!  Me?  Just the Ajax and bleach a few times… I’d never resort to nail polish remover… ;)

All kidding aside, I hope you enjoyed these tips from eHow.com on How to get hair dye off your skin.  It’s been an enlightening experience researching this for you. 

Read more: How to Get Hair Dye Off Your Skin | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_4421528_hair-dye-off-skin.html#ixzz1sM2e8Rq9

If you are interested in giveaways or having me review your products, please visit my other blog This Girl's No Expert.

This Mom’s No Expert... but my kids will never get ANYTHING past me…

So, I received a Facebook comment the other night from someone very dear to my heart.  As I was responding to her, it hit me what my first “real” post should be about.  So Galen, this one’s for you…

This story involves me as a teenager and her brother… this is also a story that my dad LOVES to tell at family gatherings… every family gathering that is… to anyone who will listen.  Over the years, the story has turned into way more than it was… almost like the game you play in elementary school where you whisper something in the first persons ear, like, “I’ve got two tickets to paradise” and by the time it gets to the last person it’s “I’ve got two chickens to paralyze” (that was for you Carla C).  So, yes… just like that, the story has escalated into something WAY more than it was…

First let me say, that I was a social butterfly in high school.  I enjoyed school very much… the social aspect of it anyway.  I had great friends, attended great parties and did many, many things that most teenagers do.  I wasn’t a bad kid… I was well-liked by my teachers (which helped) and well-liked by my peers… I also pretty much ONLY attended school to find out what was going on the next weekend… It was a great life.  Most people say they’d never go back to high school.  I would… I loved it.  It was a world where I could get away with almost anything… yes, I said it… ALMOST anything.

I had a boyfriend in high school that we will call AP, and he was a tad younger than me.  So, the setting of this story puts me at the age where I could drive, and he could not.  I had gone to a party (like we did nearly every weekend) and my boyfriend was there as well.  For one reason or another, the person that he rode to the party with had left, so the plan was for me to SNEAK him into my house… then into my room and have his friend pick him up there.  I say SNEAK because I was not allowed to have boys in my room… EVER.  It could have been broad daylight, with the entire family home, and it didn’t matter.  Boys should not be in girls rooms.  Period.  This wasn’t something that I could say, “Oh, I didn’t know…” or “Oh, you meant MY room”.  Nope, it had been made perfectly clear what the rules were.  So there was never any excuse that I could have come up with that would have worked.  But, I was a teenager… and I could be sneaky… so I decided that I could pull it off and no one would ever know.  Oh, how wrong I was…

We arrive at my house. 

Mistake #1: I parked the jeep in front of the house, instead of the driveway, in hopes to not alert my parents that I had arrived home.

We go in through the front door… the coast is clear so we quietly walk to my room. 

Mistake #2: My 11 year old sister had a friend spend the night that night.

We go in my room, close the door – LOCK it, and picked up the phone to call his friend to have him come pick AP up.  After agreeing that it would probably be best to have his friend pick him up by knocking on my window (hey, we were trying to be sneaky, right?!?) we sat and waited.  In the meantime, my sister and her friend are up and being extremely loud, as most 11 year olds would be at a “spend the night”.  My mom came and checked on my sister and her friend to tell them to settle down.  I could hear her talking to the girls and my heart sank.  Oh Lord, I thought… please just let her think I’m asleep and not check on me.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. 

Mom:  “Heather?!?” 

(Oh no) 

Me:  “Yes?”

Mom:  “Do you have the credit card I let you borrow to get gas?”

(It’s midnight, why does she want the credit card NOW?!?)

Me:  “Yes I do”

(maybe that will hold her off until morning… yeah, I think this will work)

Mom:  “Can you give it to me?”

(Great.  How do I pull this one off?)

Me:  “Okaaayyy”

AP and I proceed to franticly look around the room for an escape, somewhere to hide, what are we gonna do?  Ahh, the closet.  That’s the perfect answer.  We throw open the doors, he crawls inside and I shut the doors to the closet.  This will work… just act cool.

Mistake #3:  I open the door about 2 inches and tossed the credit card out while saying “Here you go!”  In one sweeping motion, I had opened the door, tossed the credit card, shut the door and locked it back.

Dumb move.  Why couldn’t I just have acted cool?

By this time, the phone is ringing.  It’s AP’s friend, saying he’s on his way.  I answer with my mom still in the hallway. I am desperately trying to quietly tell him “NOT NOW!!”

Suddenly my mom starts beating on the door.

Mom:  “Heather, what’s going on in there?”

Me:  “Nothing mom, I’ll see you in the morning”

Mom: (beating continuously on the door) “Heather, what’s going on in there?!?  LET ME IN!!!”

What else could I do?  I slowly opened the door and smiled.

Mom: “Heather, why is the jeep parked in front of the house?”

(Think quick… something good… something believable…)

Me:  “It was easier to get to the front door?”

(Nope, wrong answer.)

Mom:  “Go move the jeep to the driveway.”

As I’m walking down the sidewalk, a million thoughts were racing through my mind.  Is she going to find him?  What is he going to say if she does?  What is she going to say?  I am in so much trouble… my life is over.  I will never be able to leave the house again as long as I live.

I moved the jeep to the driveway and slowly headed back into the house.  As I open the front door, I hear my mom yelling (as loud as she can… she’s not one to yell loudly by any means, but she was doing a pretty good job) “GET OUT!! GET OUT!! HEATHER, TAKE HIM HOME!!!”

We quickly walked out the front door and got in the jeep.  He only lived like a mile from my house, so I’m still not sure why we thought it would be a better idea for his friend to pick him up at my house, instead of just taking him home to begin with.  What can I say?  Teenagers can be pretty dumb.  When I asked him what he said when my mom found him, his answer was “I said, Oh Sh*#”.

So, I’m sure you all want to know what my punishment was… What’s the worst thing you could do to a teenager that is driving age?  Make them ride the school bus.  That’s right… for six whole weeks.  I was not allowed to accept a ride to school or from school from ANYONE for ANY reason.  If I did, the six weeks would start over.  I was mortified.  And my parents knew it, which I’m sure is why they did it.

Being a parent now, I give them a thumbs up for my punishment.  That really was the absolute worst thing they could have done to me at that age.  My poor kids… they don’t have a clue all of the things I did and all of the things I know teenagers do.  I know WAY too much to be blind when it comes to my kids.  I think God gave me 3 girls as some sort of payback for all of the things I put my parents through.  I grew up thinking my mom didn’t have a clue… that I somehow got everything past her.  I realize now, that was not the case.  She chose her battles with me, I think.  She knew more than I thought she did.

One thing I can be thankful for is that the things I did as a teenager, prepared me for being a mom to 3 girls.  I will be involved.  I will know their friends.  I will know their friends parents.  And I will also be someone they can come to no matter what the situation is.  I don’t want them to be afraid to come to me, but I do want them to think before they act.  I want them to make decisions that show self-respect, leadership and determination.  I want them to be someone that others look up to. 

My girls will probably HATE me when they are teens.  But they will know that there isn’t much that they can try to pull over on me that I won’t already see coming.  So, girls… if you read this… I’ll be watching.  

This Mom’s No Expert, but… my kids will never get ANYTHING past me.  Why?  Because chances are, I’ve already done it.

In loving memory of Aaron Wyatt Pate

If you are interested in giveaways or having me review your products, please visit my other blog This Girl's No Expert.

This Mom's No Expert, But I Know A Funny Card When I See One!

Today is the 6th Anniversary of my 29th Birthday.  That's right... 29, again.  I recieved a birthday card in the mail from my parents today... I just thought it was super cute and wanted to share:


Front Cover:  "Daughter, remember all those times growing up when you came to us for advice, listened to our every word and then did exactly what we said?"


Inside:  "Neither do we! (But you sure turned out great anyway!)"
(American Greetings)


It just really made me laugh... Hey, it's the little things in life, right?

Speaking of NOT listening to parents, stay tuned for my next post... "This Mom's No Expert, but... my kids will never get ANYTHING past me"  :)

If you are interested in giveaways or having me review your products, please visit my other blog This Girl's No Expert.