29 years old with 21 children?

A Facebook friend recently posted an article that I found...well...kind of sad. It is about a 29 year old man who has 21 children. Yes, 21...no typos here. There are at least 11 different mothers. He actually had 4 children in 1 year...twice! Personally, I find this despicable. How can 1 man continue to have children with many different women and still be considered someone you may want to "be" with? As women, we really need to be more discerning about the men we choose to share our lives with. It is my understanding that most of these women knew what they were getting into. In other words he never hid the # of children he had from any woman. The man is a minimum wage earner and by law the state can not take more than 50% of his income for child support. Some of his childrens mothers actually get $1.98 for child support.

So who is bearing the weight of this mans indiscretions? Clearly it is us, the taxpayers. FOr one man to continue to have unprotected sex with multiple women is abhorrable. And the women! What about them? They should be stoned.

There are families out here who are hoping, begging and praying for a child and I find it so dishearening that childresn continue to be concieved without any regard to their future. I recently saw a Craigs list posting from a family that was looking to adopt. When I read it I immediately felt for this family because obviously they are at the point where Craigs list is a viable option for them.

All in all its a disgusting situation that really makes me ashamed that this kind of behavior is tolerated let alone legal.

Sweet & Sour Pork

Last week Robert and I wanted Chinese food. Since we have been trying to be a little easier on our wallets we thought we should see if we could DIY. I am a pretty decent cook but I had never made a Chinese style meal before so I was super excited. We decided to go with a Sweet and Sour Pork recipe I found on Betty Crocker's website. The only modifications I made was a added a bit of red pepper flakes because we like our food with little more "kick" and I used a Broccoli stir fry we already had in the freezer. Also, after I was already done coating all the pork I noticed that I had purchased the Bisquick "Complete" instead of the "Original". I was worried but it turned out fine. It was delicious but next time I will definitely try this with chicken because I prefer my pork to be very tender and this was not since the cooking time is so fast.

1lb boneless pork loin chops, cut into 1-inch cubes
1egg, beaten
3/4cup Original Bisquick® mix
1/2teaspoon salt
1/8teaspoon pepper
1/2cup vegetable oil
1 1/2cups frozen bell pepper and onion stir-fry (from 1-lb bag)
1can (8 oz) pineapple chunks, drained
1jar (11 1/2 oz) sweet-and-sour sauce

1.In medium bowl, toss pork with egg. In 1-gallon resealable food-storage plastic bag, place Bisquick mix, salt and pepper; seal bag and shake to mix. Drain excess egg from pork. Place pork cubes in plastic bag; seal bag and shake to coat.
2.In 12-inch nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Place pork in single layer in skillet. Cook 6 to 8 minutes, turning occasionally, until brown and crispy on outside and no longer pink in center. Drain on paper towels. Cover to keep warm.
3.Reserve 1 tablespoon oil in skillet; discard any remaining oil. Add bell pepper mix and pineapple; cook over medium-high heat 2 to 3 minutes, stirring frequently, until vegetables are crisp-tender. Stir in sweet-and-sour sauce and pork; heat to boiling.

She works hard for the money, so hard for it honey...

It's time to buckle down with my spending. Robert and I are saving for a down payment and we are really not getting there as quickly as we would like. In addition to our down payment we would like to travel and shop and unfortunately these things take money as well. Our rent is so high it is hard to really sock money away agressively. So, in the spirit of frugality (is that a word?), I have decided to look for a second job. Argh! I can not believe it. I haven't worked a second job in like forever! I didn't even take a second job during wedding planning which was surprising because the money was spilling out of my account faster than I could earn it.
So now the question is where can I find a second job? I read online that tons of people are taking on part time jobs to suppliment their incomes, so I am wondering if all the good part time gigs are taken. I sure hope not. I could always go the retail route...but the problem with that is I'd just end up spending my earnings (and more) in the store. An employee discount is a dangerous thing. I thought about trying Michael's but I'm not so sure about that apron. I think I need to just get over it, If this is something I am going to commit to then I should just go for it. I will be there on Friday...good luck to me.

Don't spend $$$ if you can spend $

Wedding invitations. Why spend tons of money on custom wedding invites from Kates, Papyrus or anoy of the others when the boxed sets are looking sooooo much better than they have in the past. Recently a friend of mine who shall remain nameless sent out her wedding invitations. She has previously told me she ordered them from Papyrus so being the paper snob that I am, I had high hopes for them.

I should say for my wedding I had a very specific invite in mind and I went to Papyrus to price them. The price I got was $8 per invite. That is what started me on my DIY journey. But HENCE! there is no need to spend countless hours cutting and pasting like I did anymore! Boxed invited have gone glam! I was in Michaels over the weekend getting supplies for my Mothers Day cards and I could not help taking a stroll through the wedding aisle. It brought back tons of memories and to my surprise I saw BEAUTIFUL invitations! Pocketfolds, damask, unique colors. And the best thing, and whole store full of supplies to customize them further. Here are a few that are fab straight from the box.

Take your time, do it right, and for Gods sake dont spend $400 on a plain white card with a plain white border. Push come to shove DIY like I did!