MamaManagement

Hello everyone. And welcome to another edition of Top Ten Tuesday on MamaManagement. I must confess that I almost didn't do a post today...barely made it in before the day's out as it is! Over the past few days, I've been toying with the idea of taking a break from the blog for the summer. I am still toying with that. Not walking away completely, but getting away from the regular schedule and just posting occasionally, whenever the spirit moves me. I'm trying to get away from schedules in general for the summer. I'm trying to fill our little world with open-ended, unscheduled time. Time to play. Time to explore. Time to be spontaneous. Time to create. Time to just lay around and hang out...without feeling guilty for not being productive. I'm trying to eliminate from my day-to-day life as many as possible of the things that drain me. And instead, I want to fill those spaces with the things that fill me up, that energize me, that replenish my spirit. Unst

This stuff is so seriously good. Addictively good. If you've read any recipe posts on this blog you know that delicious + easy is my holy grail...my piece de resistance...my titanic wreckage. And in the land of treats, this recipe is a total find. It is so simple. (It took me about ten minutes to make it.) And yet it is so, so good. It combines sweet and salty and bitter so beautifully. It makes it, well, so hard to stop eating once you take a bite. It makes the perfect special treat to have on hand for yourself or a great little gift. Perfect for a thank you or a little pick-me-up for a friend who's down. Perfect for a little after dinner or afternoon treat for yourself...as long as you can keep yourself to just one piece (which I cannot). So, without further ado, here's this week's recipe... "Everything But The Kitchen Sink" Chocolate Bark 3/4 c. sweetened shredded coconut 3/4 c. mixed salted nuts, coarsely chopped (I used a mix of cashews, al

I'm annoyed. I really shouldn't be. But I am. Nothing is really wrong. No bad things have happened. As a matter of fact, things have been great. I am loving these fabulous, fun summer weekends we've been having. It's just been one of those days when all of the little stuff seems to be going wrong and ordinary stuff is getting on my nerves. And here it is: time to write another Top Ten Tuesday post. What will I write about today? You guessed it: How about a wee list of complaints. A venting. A mini-rant. A list of my Top Ten Pet Peeves Just For Today... Top Ten Pet Peeves Just For Today 10. The interference of my husband's work schedule in my attempts at summer plans 9. When my Fitbit randomly goes into sleep mode during the day without me realizing it and stops recording my steps 8. My inability to shake my to-do list and let go some days 7. Wet grass and too much rain and depressing gray skies and sticky humidity 6. Super, over-the-top, crazy-loud kid

This Week In Food: Balsamic and Garlic Grilled Pork Tenderloin...Folks, this dish is simply awesome. It's grilling season!! My favorite thing about grilling season, aside from the delicious grilled dishes, is that part of the cooking responsibility falls to my husband. Sometimes it's nice to share the workload! So, in honor of everyone's grills making back out onto decks and patios and balconies everywhere, I thought I'd share this scrumptious little ditty. We made it for the first time this past weekend when we had guests, and everybody raved. It is our new favorite pork tenderloin recipe. It is stunningly simple and absolutely fantastic. And, really, that's all you need to know. Try it. Trust me. photo from kitchenconfidante.com Balsamic and Garlic Grilled Pork Tenderloin* 4-5 garlic cloves, finely minced 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar 2 1/2 tsp coarse salt 1/2 tsp black pepper 2 tbsp olive oil 2 pork tenderloins (about 1 1/4 lbs each) Stir

Nobody is listening. Nothing is going as planned. Nobody is doing what they're told. Nothing is going right. Nobody is cooperating. It sounds like a recipe for yelling. Nothing gets my blood boiling faster than things not going the way I want/need/planned them to. Not all the time. But when conditions are right (i.e. Mommy's tired, stressed, etc.), look out. It happened just today. It was actually what prompted a change in this week's Top Ten Tuesday post. Another battle of wills between mom and child. I had a plan. In order to leave for the pool in time to get a reasonable amount of time there before coming home for dinner, we needed to get my son's nap in a little early. Everything was going according to plan...until it wasn't. Apparently my son did not get the memo...that I sent out...in triplicate. As we sat in the chair in his room, me encouraging sleep, him fighting it (despite being tired), I could feel my blood start to boil. I could feel my