366 days

Landon can clap his hands. He can say hi, "what's that," mama, dada and scream - a LOT. He runs. If you ask him to go in a circle, he will spin in place. He does SO BIG and we taught him how to do "earmuffs" - it's pretty cute. The past 12 months has flown by. I'm so proud of my little boy!

Meatloaf in a Muffin Pan!

I have seen variations of this recipe on Pinterest so I thought I'd give it a go with my homemade meatloaf recipe and try this out. It's not even in the oven yet and the house smells divine.

Here's what you'll need: 1 lb lean ground turkey (or beef) 1 cup dried bread crumbs 1 cup milk 1 egg 1/2 tsp Garlic Salt 1/2 Onion - diced 1/2 Green Pepper - diced 1/2 Cup Carrots - diced Salt and Pepper (to taste) *Preheat Oven To 375 degrees* What I do first - which seems to set the meatloaf apart from other recipes I've tried - is to saute the onions, green pepper and diced carrots in 1/2 tsp garlic salt. It really seals in the flavor and cooks up the veggies good before mixing with the meat. I saute them in a dash of olive oil for about 5-10 minutes, just enough to soften and mix the flavors together. The rest is pretty simple! Mix the turkey, bread crumbs, milk, and egg with the veggie mix in a large bowl. Finally, add a few dashes of salt and pepper to taste. Finally, spray muffin tin with cooking spray so that the meatloaf muffins don't stick and scoop meat mixture into the cups! Bake at 375 for 40-45 minutes. You can also add your own sauce on top. Some people prefer gravy - I make a simple, sweet sauce on top. Mixing ketchup, mustard and brown sugar until it's as sweet as we like in this house. Let me know what you use for your topping! Happy cooking :)

....... knows best

I won't let your actions define me. I hate what you did to all of us.

Too many things have taken me away from you. Every single time I feel as if I'm getting to a better place with my grief, some sort of life-shattering event consumes my life. And that is the way it has been for months now. Again, I haven't had the time or the energy to work through what I so desperately need to work through in order to get to a good place without you in my life. So, now - as it always seems - we go back to a new "square one."

Landon's First Birthday!