Thoughts On Parental Responsibility

Note: This is a slightly long-winded, rant-y post. As with most things, there are exceptions to everything. This is just a general post. If you're offended by anything I say, that's okay. You're entitled to your opinion and I'm entitled to mine. 

You know what really burns my toast?

People who don't take responsibility for their kids.

I see it every day (it's rampant at work), and it really gets on my nerves. True, part of it might be a little of my own personal bitterness, that whole 'I would chew off my right arm for a baby, yet you don't feel like taking care of the kid(s) you have'. But a lot of it is just the teacher (and human being) in me that just wants to scream 'YOUR CHILD NEEDS YOU! PLEASE TAKE CARE OF HIM/HER!'.

You see it a lot these days, especially with teen pregnancy rates the way they are. And that's not to say teen parent = bad parent, because it doesn't. I know quite a few teen parents who have done their best to build the best lives possible for their children. The best father I know became a dad his sophomore year of high school, and he does everything in his power to provide his boys with the best life he can. The reverse is also true, that being an adult doesn't make you a good parent. I know plenty of adults who don't take care of their children, or neglect or abuse them.

The fact of the matter is, no matter how old you are, if you choose to open up your legs (and this goes for girls AND guys), YOU need to be prepared to deal with the consequences. If you choose to bring a life into this world, YOU need to be prepared to take care of your child. If you're not going to school and don't have a job, you don't have any excuse other than selfishness and/or laziness to not take care of your own child. I see nothing wrong with getting help from family and friends while you go to school, or go to work to support your child, but if you're not at work or school, I really feel like you need to be the one taking care of your kid. 

I'm not saying that you should never have time for yourself, or to hang out with your friends. Everyone needs a break sometimes. But that 'you' time shouldn't be every night. If you're not willing to give up time to yourself, or partying, or drugs or whatever else may distract you from responsibility, you shouldn't be having a baby.

Period.

When your baby wakes up, you need to be the one to get up with him/her. When your baby is hungry, you need to be the one to feed him/her. When it's time for your baby to go to sleep, you need to be the one to put him/her to sleep. Family and friends love to help, and that's great. I encourage parents to accept help from loved ones. The problem I have is when you expect your loved ones to take care of your child. Anything they do for you and your child, they do out of love and wanting to bond with the child, not because they don't want you to not have to have any responsibility.

Your baby is just that...YOUR baby. Your baby didn't ask to be brought into this world; you brought him/her into it, and you need to take responsibility for that.

Ham Sliders

Things in a house full of people can be pretty stressful, so the other day I offered to make dinner for everyone so my mother-in-law didn't have to worry about it. I was looking for an easy recipe that didn't cost an arm and a leg, but that would still appeal to Tom's very picky family. I perused my Pinterest boards until I found something that I thought would fit the bill: Hawaiian Sweet Roll Ham Sammies from Beyer Beware.

I adapted the recipe based on what we already had at home and what we had available to us at the store, and the results were delicious (I'm still wanting some days later, and I'm not a ham person...they were just SO. FREAKING. GOOD!!!)

Alex's Ham Sliders

-2 12-count packages of King's Hawaiian Rolls, or a similar sweet roll

-1 medium onion

-8 tbsp butter (1 stick)

-3 tbsp Hellman's Honey Mustard

-2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

-1 lb shaved ham

-12 slices Swiss cheese

Dice the onion (a food processor is handy, but I did it by hand and it wasn't too bad). Melt the butter in a skillet and add the onions. Stir in the honey mustard and Worcestershire sauce; cook until the onions reach desired tenderness.

Slice the rolls in half lengthwise, so the tops are one piece and the bottoms are one piece,like a hamburger bun. Place the roll bottoms in a foil-lined roasting pan (both sets fit pretty perfectly in our roasting pan).

Spread the onion sauce evenly over the bottoms of the rolls. Add the ham, then the slices of cheese (it's okay if the cheese overlaps a bit). Top with the tops of the rolls, and cover with foil. Bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Makes 24 sliders (there are ten of us here, so I had to make a lot)

These are SO tasty. Even Tom, who hates onions, loved them. We served them with shells and cheese (a family favorite), and it went over really well. This is definitely a dish I'll be making more often.

New Year, New Look

So, yeah...2012 is almost 1/6 over (crazy to think about, right?), but it's still the beginning of the year (just go with me on this).

I wanted to make some changes to the blog (big shock, I know). I liked the old look of the blog, but it just wasn't me, you know? I was trying too hard to make it look simple and classy like some successful blogs I've read, but I'm not really an understated person. I'm bold and loud and in your face, and I figured my blog should reflect that. So we've gone from a very white, muted blog to a bright, zany blog (I apologize if it's a bit distracting, but I guess that fits with my personality as well).

I've tried to consolidate the navigation bar a little better and updated my 'about me' page. I'm hoping you find the everything easy to navigate!

I've also added some awesome buttons over here under my picture, see? ---------------------->

If you click on these buttons, they'll take you to: 
-the blog's Facebook page, where you can 'like' Good Girl Gone Wife
-my personal Twitter account, where you see my random personal thoughts (generally, Twitter is where I put things I don't want to put on my personal Facebook page, so it tends to be a little...annoyed...just a heads up)
-my Pinterest boards, where you can see all the stuff I find interesting, inspiring and/or awesome (I'm a crazy pinner...I have 100 boards and thousands of pins. I might need a life)
-the blog's Feedburner account, where you can subscribe to all the posts here on the blog
-and my Polyvore account, where I put together outfits and such, both for the blog and for my personal fun

If you like what you see here at Good Girl Gone Wife and you have a Facebook account, please like the blog's page. Readers are the best way to help grow a blog!
I hope you enjoy the changes! If you have any suggestions on how to make reading the blog a more enjoyable experience for you, please let me know!

Sausage and Peppers on Garlic Toasted Ciabatta Rolls

Hello all! I decided it would be a good time to branch out a bit and feature some guest posts. My friend Kalyn answered the call with this yummy sandwich recipe. She doesn't have a blog (although I think she should!), so if you like the recipe, sound off in the comments!
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Sausage and Peppers on Garlic Toasted Ciabatta Rolls

I have seen variations on this recipe on two different blogs recently, and it looked so good I just had to try a version of my own! The directions as I made them are as follows, with some possible riffs on the base recipe afterwards :) I hope you enjoy! 

For the sausage mixture:

-1 lb Italian sausage (I used spinach artichoke chicken sausage, but you could use turkey Italian or the normal stuff) 

-1 large onion, sliced into strips

-1 green bell pepper, sliced into strips

-1 red bell pepper, sliced into strips

-2 cloves garlic, minced    


Process:

Heat a pan with a little olive oil in the bottom. While it is heating up, slice the sausage into rounds. When the pan is hot, add the sausage and let it brown. After the sausage is fully cooked, remove it from the pan. Add the peppers and onion and cook until they are nearly soft but still have a bit of crispness to them. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Add the sausage back to the pan and make sure everything is heated through.  

For the rolls:

-2 ciabatta rolls (or one per person)
-2 tsp butter
-1 clove garlic, minced   

Process:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a small separate skillet, melt the butter. Once fully melted, add the minced garlic. Cook for a moment, then turn the burner off. Slice the rolls horizontally, dip in the butter mixture, and place butter side up on a cookie sheet. Once the oven is hot, place the cookie sheet with the rolls inside and let them cook for a few minutes. You want them to get a little bit toasted, but not brown yet.

To assemble:

-1-2 slices provolone cheese per roll, or desired cheese

Process:

Remove toasted ciabatta rolls from the oven. Change temperature from 350 degrees to broil. Top the rolls with the sausage and pepper mixture to your desired height. Spread the slices of cheese over the top and place under the broiler. Watch carefully at this point; it is very easy to burn the bread here. In fact, to avoid it getting too burnt around the edges, you may want to remove it completely. Check every 30 seconds to a minute for desired brownness. The cheese should be melty and browned. 

These sandwiches were super tasty, fairly inexpensive, fairly healthy, and boyfriend approved - a tough combination to beat:

Possible riffs on the basic recipe:

Vegetarians could easily make this by subbing the sausage with mushrooms. Baby Bellas in particular would be great here, as they have the meaty texture to hold up well to this style of cooking. I would still cook the mushrooms separately from the peppers and possibly in two batches to ensure brownness (as Julia Child would say - don't crowd the mushrooms!).

Vegans can take the vegetarian riff and substitute non-dairy cheese for the provolone. 

Those who eat dairy-free could also use non-dairy cheese to replace the provolone without removing the sausage. In both cases, I like Daiya brand dairy-free cheese - the taste is great, and it melts like a dream.

Individuals on a gluten-free diet could ditch the rolls and serve this on slices of grilled polenta or over roasted red potatoes. Either would be a delicious substitution.

We ate less than half of the mixture on our rolls, so the leftovers will probably be repurposed as a salad topping for me, but it would also be delicious reheated in marinara sauce and served over spaghetti or penne noodles.

I hope you all enjoy this simple but delicious recipe, and many thanks to Alex for allowing me to guest post on her blog! :)  

Valentine Desserts

We've finally come to the end of the 14 Days of Valentine's Day series.
I must say, I rather enjoyed it. I've never posted so often before, and I think the series helped hold me accountable to posting. It also garnered me so new readers, so to all you new readers: Hello! Thanks for stopping by the blog!

Since Valentine's Day is a holiday so closely associated with sweets, I knew I couldn't do the series without doing a post about valentine desserts. Here is a roundup of some valentine desserts sure to make your mouth water and put a smile on your face.

-chocolate cherry cordials from Serious Eats

-chocolate m&m cookies from Baked Perfection

-chocolate soup for two from Sprinkle Bakes

-chocolate strawberries and cream pie from A Whisk and A Prayer

-colorful spiral cookies from Sprinkle Bakes

-conversation heart cake pops from Wilton

-easy Valentine's Day fudge from Lynn's Kitchen Adventures

-individual chocolate souffle cakes from My Recipes

-pink champagne cupcakes from Betty Crocker

-red rose raspberry sorbet from Not So Humble Pie

-red velvet crepes with raspberry and sweet cream cheese filling from Tidy Mom

-red wine lollipops from Sprinkle Bakes

-s'more heart cookies from Haniela's Food & Photography

-s'more love bars from It's a Crafty Life

-strawberry heart oreos from Thirty Handmade Days

-sugar cookie bars from The Curvy Carrot

-valentine lollipops from Woman's Day

-valentine's love heart raspberry jam biscuits from Through The Magic Door

Happy cooking!

Valentine Decoration Roundup

I apologize for so many of the posts in this series being roundup posts. It's just easier for me at the moment since we're living in such a crowded house and I still have no working camera other than my sucky camera phone. Thanks to Pinterest, I have a ton of other ideas from other sources to share with you, so I figured for a lot of things, that would be the way to go. I'm hoping to have much more original content soon though, so stay tuned.

This post is all about decorations you can make yourself to make your Valentine's Day a little festive. They'd be good for your house, a classroom, a party...pretty much anything.

Valentine-Inspired Beauty Products

Ah, Valentine's Day. There's just something about it that makes you want everything to be red, pink and covered in hearts. Thankfully, companies realize that, and you can find beauty products that are as sweetly decked out as a kindergarten classroom. (On a personal note, Escada Sentiment is my absolute favorite perfume, and the heart-shaped bottle is just lovely).

Valentine's Day Lingerie

For some people, what's underneath their clothes on Valentine's Day is just as important as their clothes. With that in mind, I've put together a few lingerie ideas that are sweet, sexy and comfortable (because I'm all about the comfort).

Valentine's Day Style On A Budget

Not everyone can afford to spend a lot of money on clothes (I know I can't!). Thankfully, there are affordable options out there that are just as cute as more expensive clothes.

Valentine's Day Style

My Ultimate V-Day Mix

There are hundreds of love songs you could listen to on Valentine's Day. Here are twenty of my favorites that are sure to make you feel the love. My computer's having some issues with Shockwave today, so I only included the links to the videos instead of embedding them.

1.) Dashboard Confessional - Hands Down
I had to include this one. It's our song <3

2.) Beach Boys - God Only Knows
This song is just so beautiful. You can hear all the emotion in Carl Wilson's voice. Good gravy, I love the Beach Boys.

My "Hey, I'm Kind Of Super Into You" Mixtape

Well, I suppose technically in this day and age, it would be more of a playlist or a mix CD, but it's still a mixtape in my heart. Mixtapes were kind of the thing kids of the 90s did (although making them for someone was something kids older than me did). I remember in 5th grade, I decided to make a New Year's Eve mixtape, and spent like two hours with my boombox up against the TV speakers while Pop-Up Video was on.

It was pretty epic.

But anyway, back to the mix. Everyone, at some point in time, has feelings for another person. It's just human nature. I've put together a mix of songs that will put your feelings out there, a way to say "Hey there, other person. I really like you and I think we should be two people who are together."

Just a warning? This playlist isn't very subtle. This is the kind of thing you give someone when you want your feelings to be blatantly known. Also, these are not in any particular order.

Valentine Printable Roundup

I'm kind of crazy for printables. There are so many cute and creative things out there on the internet just waiting to be downloaded and printed for your personal use! I've compiled a list of some of the best valentine printables on the internet to help you make your Valentine's Day a bit more festive.

-a bushel and a peck printable from Tattered & Inked

-be mine printables from Sprik Space

Gifts for your Little Girl

Looking for gift inspiration for a little girl? Whether she's into dolls or working with her hands, there's sure to be something to delight her.

Homemade Gifts for your Little Girl

Looking to make something for a special little girl in your life? Check out these tutorials for inspiration!

Gifts for your Little Guy

Little boys have interests as varied as they are, so I've put together some gift ideas that would appeal to all sorts of boys.

Homemade Gifts for your Little Guy

My dad has always been the kind of parent who gives his kids Valentine's Day gifts. I'll probably be the same way when Tom and I have kids. I know there are some of you who give your kids gifts for V-day as well, so I've compiled some gift tutorials for you.

-appliqued valentine shirt from A Pretty Cool Life

-car mat from Do It Yourself Divas

Gifts for Girls

If you're still looking for a gift for a special lady in your life, I've compiled a few ideas to help get you inspired.

Homemade Gifts for Her

Ladies tend to be sentimental creatures. We're suckers for even the most awkward looking macaroni frame. So what better way to surprise a special lady in your life than with a handmade gift? There are so many amazing things you can create; I've rounded up a few of my favorite tutorials to help give you some ideas.

Gifts for Guys

Let's face it...not everyone feels creative enough to or has the desire to make someone a gift. And that's okay. Opting to purchase a gift doesn't mean you care any less, it just means you don't want to make one. Thankfully there are so many options out there that it shouldn't be difficult to find the perfect gift.

Homemade Gifts For Him

Are you a crafty person still looking for a gift for a special man in your life? Look no further! These tutorials are full of creative inspiration for a gift sure to delight any guy.

-backpack pannier from gclarke on Instructables

-bleach t-shirt from Six Sisters' Stuff

-cork mousepad from Modern Day Moms

Homemade Gifts for Anyone

Hi everyone, welcome to day three of my 14 Days of Valentine's Day series! Day three is all about gifts that would be great for anyone. This post is a round up of gifts you can make yourself.

-52 Reasons I Love You from PaperVine

-all you need is love from Oopsey Daisy

-cupcake take along tote from Papertrey Ink

Homemade Valentines

Homemade valentines are awesome. They're original and unique, and kids can take pride in knowing that they made them, or at least helped make them, themselves (and really, do you want your daughter to be the thirteenth girl in her class with Justin Bieber valentines?). These valentines work whether you're 4 or 104, and are adorable to boot.

A Gift A Day

So I'm sure if you're on Pinterest, you've heard of the 14 Days of Valentines gift by now. Basically, over the course of February 1-14, you give a gift to your intended recipient. There are a lot of really cute "themed" ideas floating around the internet (like one day, you would give a bottle of Crush soda with a tag that says "I've got a crush on you!"...things like that). I've compiled a few of them here.

14 Days of Valentine's Day

I've been wanting to do a series for awhile now, but wasn't quite sure what I would want to focus on for multiple blog posts. With Valentine's Day looming (and a little bit of inspiration from my Pinterest boards), I figured what better to do a series on than ideas for Valentine's day!