Summer Break

Tara and I are taking a break for the summer from the Really Real Housewives Blog. With kids home and books to write and publish, we both decided we needed to concentrate our energies.

You can still find us on our personal blogs- if you miss us. :)

Tara's Blog: Tara Tyler Talks

Elizabeth's Blog: Elizabeth Seckman, Author


Image by CandiceP from Pixabay

A day for tribute

I think just about everyone knows someone who has served in the military and has gone on. I'd love to hear about your connection. My son recently joined the army, not one to remember yet, but my granddad served in WWII.

My husband's father served in the Korean War. Here's his flag--the case was made by my dad.

We all live pretty comfortable lives. And we all owe our freedom to the men and women who fought bravely, some giving the ultimate sacrifice. For whatever reason, they chose to be brave and fight, and we can never repay that debt. The least we can do is respect the dangerous job they volunteered to do and respect the flag that represents our freedom.

So while you're enjoying the day off with burgers and beers this holiday weekend, take a moment to remember why you get to enjoy it.

Thank you.

End of Semesters

 It's late and I'm tired. My oldest son is graduating from law school this week, so my husband and I drove up to New York to clean out his dorm room. He's the third child I've had to move out of a dorm or an apartment. The end of the semester can be a lot of work!

We'll be going back up as a family for the ceremony, but needed to get everything cleared out so there's room for people in the van.

After graduation, we'll be headed to the beach for a vacation.

Between all the kid-moving and traveling, I've also been finishing up the edits on a new book and preparing a book launch.

Please remind me to pay my electric bill. My poor brain is fried. Just a little.

Speaking of fried minds...

My husband sent this picture to me. I have no idea where it came from, but the accompanying message said the picture is real and has not been photoshopped.

Weird, right?

Here's another weird little tip. While eating lunch outside today, the wind kept being a pain in my buns sweeping my napkin off the table with every gust. I got tired of chasing it. The table we were eating at was metal, so I used a magnet to secure it. Never had to chase it again.

 

Now, back to that picture...

Flip it upside down and it's a reminder that changing how you look at things makes a world of difference. It's all about perspective!

Now, it's time for a nap. 

How to Survive Motherhood

I hope you enjoyed peace, quiet, and adoration on Mother's Day!

But Mothers deserve so much more than just one day off - and probably don't even take the whole day off anyway. A Mother's job is 24-7.

Mothers have the biggest hearts, putting up with sass, cleaning up after messy families, cooking for unappreciative diners, and going above and beyond to make sure the family is happy and healthy, no matter the cost to herself.

So how do we do it? How do Mothers survive motherhood?

• Stay positive - a million things may go wrong, but experience tells us everything will work out, and the kids latch on to mom looking on the bright side
• Stay focused - it's easy to get sidetracked with details or things we forgot to get or do on our lengthy chore list. If you prioritize your list, the bigger things will be taken care of, and the rest can be done when there's time (ha ha) or can be moved up in the priority order as needed.
• Stay flexible - surprises and changes come along all the time--class picnic or baseball game rain-outs, sickness, and forgotten lunches or homework. Expect the unexpected and when it happens, it will be easier to deal with.
• Stay calm - Freaking out is contagious. When the kids see their mom is calm in a crazy situation, it helps them calm down too: Mom is a Superhero--she can handle ANYTHING!
• Stay true - Sometimes being a Mom is tough, like when we have to say "No" even when "everyone else is doing it." Stay true to your word, even if you get flack for it, your kids will turn out better and respect you...later!
• Stay fun - Moms are fun too. Be silly, be unpredictable, tell the kids funny stories about your youth, join them in the fort or for a mom and kids slumber party, let them help you bake...there's a time to be serious and there's a time to play. Enjoy it while it lasts!
• Stay yourself - we all make mistakes, but we're all awesome anyway. Admit the first, move on, and shine on. You are their idol for life.

It's all worth it!

Wishing you Flowers and Sunshine after a Fresh Spring Rain!

Jo's Roast Beef

I like to find easy recipes and then cheat and make them even easier. I found this recipe on Jo's Blog:

Instant Pot Deli-Style Roast Beef

3 1/2 lb eye of round beef roast
1 12 oz bottle beer or red wine (I didn't have beer or wine, so I skipped this step) 
1/2 cup dry English Mustard (I used spicy mustard)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt (I used regular salt)
1 tsp black pepper, coarsely ground (I used whatever was in the shaker)
1 tsp garlic powder (I also added some onion powder)
1 Tbs vegetable oil

1 1/4 cups beef stock (I used a small can)

 1/4 cup Flour 

Now, if you head over to Jo's blog, you can read the steps for what is undoubtedly a better roast, but here's the easier cheater's way:

I cut my beef into chunks and browned in my instant pot seasoning the meat as I browned it with salt and pepper, garlic, and onion. Then I poured the beef broth over it and let cook on one meat cycle in the instant pot without the trivet (I think it was 19 minutes).

When that was done, I used my Pampered Chef Mix and Chop - a handy little kitchen tool that

smashes cooked meat. Once the meat was about the consistency of pulled pork, I added the brown sugar and the spicy brown mustard and cooked for another 10 minutes, adding a quarter cup of water to make sure there was enough broth to allow the pressure cooker to work.

Once that was finished, I mixed in a bit of white flour (about a quarter cup, mixed in water to avoid lumps) setting the pot on saute until the juice was made into a gravy.

I toasted some thick bread and layered it with the meat and it was delicious!