Big Changes in Kolbi-land

My blog is old. It's hard to deny that when even the tagline is so dated:

"Explore the life of a divorced mom of two, homeschooler, midwifery advocate, volunteer lactation consultant, bartender."

Let's break it down, shall we?

divorced mom of two - remarried mom of three

homeschooler - and public schooler

midwifery advocate - yes, but who just had a hospital birth

volunteer lactation consultant - when I have the time

bartender - retired :-)

I could also add candidate for city council, PTO mom, day care provider, and small business owner.

I have a renewed interest in blogging as a way to organize and "flush out" my thoughts and ideas before releasing them to a larger market or get them out here so they aren't released at all.  

So let's talk politics: When I told my friend from high school that I was running for public office, she reminded me how behind schedule I am! In our yearbook I, apparently, wrote that we would still be friends when I was president! Ah, teenage dreams! The truth is that I have always had an interest in politics. All those boring speeches and debates? I find them actually interesting! This seat is certainly just a small foray into politics, but it does feel nice. At this point in my life, I'm not interested in an ugly, expensive, exhausting fight for a high profile office, but am very much interested in serving my community. I am also of the opinion that if I do not win this time, then it just means it wasn't the right time and I will try again later. The older I get, the less personally I take things like this. I think the City of Jefferson will be well served by my slightly different perspective, outlook, and energy and am excited to be given the opportunity. 

So, what's this about public school and PTO? Well, funny story. You know how I have always said that we homeschool because it is what best fits our lives and if that ever became untrue we would reevaluate? Turns out, that's true! Levi was no longer enjoying having the hybrid mom/teacher and after several opportunities to work things out, we decided to try public school. He loves it! Well, everything except how early he has to get up! He has done really well academically and socially. I'm so proud of him! I have also enjoyed being able to become active with the PTO. I expected it to look like PTO on TV or homeschool parent meetings. Ha! I was in for quite a shock! There is virtually NO parental involvement, I was flabbergasted by the lack of involvement. There are around 1800 students in Levi's school and I am the only person in attendance at the PTO meetings other than the board members! The silver lining is that I can do whatever projects I want, they are so happy to have me! LOL I am currently working on catering a meal for the teachers and staff during Parent/Teacher Conferences and am so excited about doing this for several reasons. One, the teachers and staff work really hard and deserve a little extra perk. Two, I want to try to get more parents involved. I believe that if you give people specific and simple ways to help, they will want to do more and that should be a top priority for any PTO. Three, I love completing projects and this is a fun way to combine my love of restaurants and mommying while also helping people. Lots of wins here!

Oh yeah, and I got married and had a baby. More on that later, trust me, lots more, you'll be sorry you brought it up. ;-)

Recipe-ish

So, my blog is unbelievably outdated, so I will work on that sometime... for now, I needed a place to post a few recipes more easily than FB, so this is it :-)

This is more of a technique rather than a recipe and it is what we eat nearly every day. You can feel sorry for my poor family and their lack of variety, but no one seems to mind, so "don't fix what ain't broke"

This would be a very typical meal:

*Saute about 1/4 of a large onion (diced) in olive oil at about medium heat until starting to get translucent (5ish minutes)
*Add about the same amount of diced bell peppers (usually a mix of colors) and saute another 5ish minutes.
*Add:
     large can of diced tomatoes in their juice
     1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
     1-2 cloves minced garlic
     pinch brown sugar (omit if using fresh tomatoes)
     cayenne pepper or Sriracha (a spicy pepper sauce found in almost all grocery stores in the "ethnic" section), salt, pepper, maybe some Jane's Krazy salt or Colton's seasoning
*Bring to a simmer
*Add 8-16 oz dried pasta (depending on how soupy you want the finished product) and 2 of the tomato cans of plain water or water with veggie soup base or bouillon
*Simmer about 9 minutes, stirring pretty frequently
*Add 8-12 oz frozen broccoli
*Bring back to simmer, adding a little more water if the pasta has soaked it all up
*Eat :-)

 ***********************OR*********************

Cook some pasta in just enough chicken or veggie stock (or water and bouillon) to cover fully (adding more while it cooks if needed, the goal is to have the pasta soak up almost all of the liquid (and flavor). After about 5-7 minutes add a hearty amount of olive oil, juice from a lemon, salt and pepper, bag of frozen California mix veggies (broccoli, cauliflower, carrots), and 1 T cornstarch dissolved in a cup of water. Cook another 2ish minutes and serve, so easy!

 We usually also slice some bread, top with a little olive oil and Jane's Krazy salt and broil it for just a minute until it starts to turn golden.

 We are sometimes fancier than this, but honestly, not often. LOL

Help My Friends Win!

I work at the Pirate with an amazing couple who have a petition for Extreme Makeover Home Edition started for them. Please read it and sign. I didn't start it so I don't have a lot of details about where in the process they are, but they certainly deserve it. Honestly, I never thought about how hard their life must be because they are always so upbeat and happy, they make caring for three severely disabled kids just seem normal. Please read their inspiring story:

The Kottwitz Family

Here is a Facebook event page for them:

Kottwitz Event

Thanks!

The Ring

Engaged!

Doug took me to a fancy bar on the 95th floor of the Hancock Building to propose! It was wonderful and the ring is ABSOLUTELY PERFECT!

Remembering Friends

We just made a favorite treat dinner - Kristen Burdette's Campfire Beans. It is severely lacking in vegetables and grains, really just a big plate of protein, but it is so yummy that we treat ourselves sometimes. It is really good with some cornbread and I suppose I should serve it with a salad, but sometimes comfort foods just stand alone.

Campfire Beans

ground beef
bacon
onion
pork and beans
dark red kidney beans, red beans, pinto beans, etc.
1/4 C sugar
1/4 C ketchup
1/4 C bbq sauce
1/4 C brown sugar
1 T Liquid Smoke
3 T vinegar
1 T salt and pepper
1/2 t chili powder
2 T mustard
2 T molasses

This is best made by first frying the beef, bacon, and onion then putting everything in the crock pot on low for 6 - 8 hours. We never seem to be able to wait that long/think that far in advance so we usually make it all in the frying pan. Also, as you might suspect, the amounts are very variable. I usually use 1/2 - 1 lb beef and about 3 or 4 slices of bacon and one can pork and beans plus about two other cans of beans. Also, sometimes I cut back on the sugar and/or up the chili powder to make a spicier version.

Now, the remembering friends part.

When Levi was small (and even for a bit after Paige was born), we were fortunate enough to have a tremendous support group of friends met through La Leche League - Mary, Julie, Nancy, Michele, Kristen, and others. As I struggled with (then) undiagnosed bipolar disease, they were truly lifesavers. All new moms need support but when you are sinking into mental illness, it is even more imperative. They gave me a place where I was loved and accepted even when, looking back, I can see that at times my behavior was a bit odd. Levi and I looked forward to our Friday playdate all week. We would meet at rotating homes around noon with our potlock meals in hand and stay for hours. Often husbands would come home from work at 5:00 or 6:00 or even later to find us all still there talking and laughing. I'm absolutely awful at maintaining friendships and, unfortunately, these LLL friends have faded, but they are all still wonderful memories. This recipe is one that Kristen would make from time to time and we loved it then and still do now.

Beast Containment

We have a fence! The fence guy (financed by the best boyfriend ever!) came this morning and put up a fence in like four minutes, it was going to take us at least a whole day. Chain link has never looked so splendid. I just open the doggie door and out they go, it is GLORIOUS!