Rosemary 'n Black Pepper Quick Bread (No Machine) That Makes Amaaaaaazing Bruschetta!

Nom! Nom! And here's the recipe, cuz...

First things first I'm going to give you the recipe for the quick bread because it stands alone as delicious, moist, cakey bread that makes great toast or would sop up soup in a heavenly fashion or you can just sit there at the pan and eat handfuls of it like I did. I was inspired to make Rosemary & Black Pepper bread by Whitney (aka Waddlebug) from The (Un)Balancing Act of Motherhood; she has a recipe on her blog for a bread machine loaf that I was (sigh) unable to attempt because I lack the key appliance! Whitney is a cool chick and she's a great source for gluten and dairy free recipes!

Rosemary & Black Pepper Quick Bread Recipe:

This is a modified recipe, based on Joy of Cooking's "Mediterranean Olive Bread" ...

- Preheat oven to 350'
- Grease a loaf pan

- Get all of the following measured and ready cause you're gonna stir em all together at once:

2 1/4 cup whole wheat flour

(or use brown rice flour for gluten-free, that's what I did)

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp dried rosemary or 3 tsp chopped fresh rosemary

1 tsp ground black pepper plus a pinch

1/2 tsp salt

2 large eggs

1 cup milk

1/4 cup olive oil

- Stir it up!

- Dump batter into the loaf pan and spread evenly

- Bake for 40 to 45 minutes (or until a fork inserted into the center comes out clean)

- Let cool for a couple of minutes and then transfer to a plate (should pop right out if you run a butter knife around the edge)

- Try not to eat the whole loaf in one sitting!

Getting Bruschetta Freaky Deaky:

This bread made the freakiest deakiest bruschetta I've ever had. For reals. The bread melts in your mouth and the rosemary and black pepper just tasted phenomenal with the mozzarella and basil!

Thanks!

-Lindsey

You Guys Are The Freaking Coolest! "Thank You" Giveaway! (CLOSED)

Once upon a time about 2 months ago I was feeling blue, disconnected, melancholy, unmotivated, etc. etc. etc. synonyms for "crappy". So I started this blog. My amazing friends Megan and Kate agreed to contribute blog posts which made me even more excited. I wanted a place where I could pour my creativity, energy, and love for parenting my son into something that was mine. I guess I needed a hobby I could be passionate about and the only thing I'm over-the-top passionate about is my family and being a mom to Otto.

When I started this, I just wanted to connect with other parents and learn from them and share with them. I never dreamed how welcoming the blog/Twitter community would be! In two short months I feel like I've made so many amazing new friends! I've also become addicted to reading all of your blogs!

So to say "Thank You! Muah! Muah! Muah! Muah!" I'm doing this giveaway of a pack of Crayola Bathtub Markers and a 4-pack of Mr. Clean Magic Erasers. There is a little story behind this - one of my first blog posts was a scathing review of Crayola Bathtub Markers and about how now no matter how hard I tried I couldn't get the stupid stains off of my bathtub. Well, I tried one more thing and it worked - you guessed it: Mr. Clean Magic Eraser! They don't use that word "magic" lightly!

How to Win the Markers and Marker Stain Remover Set:

Entry is super easy, after all, this is a Thank You giveaway. There is NO MANDATORY entry and there are lots of ways to enter. Make sure to leave a separate comment for each entry!

- Just leave a comment below, any comment, about anything at all, and that's an entry :)
- Follow this blog via Google Friend Connect (if you already do, that counts too!)
- Follow me on Twitter (if you already do, that counts too!)
- Follow TidbitsParenting on Facebook (if you already do, that counts too!)
- Enter the SQuiP giveaway which is open through 8/15 then comment here that you did
- Enter Not Your Mother's haircare giveaway which is open through 8/31 then comment here that you did

This giveaway is open through September 15, 2010. Open to the US and Canada only. I'll choose a winner using random.org. Make sure I can reach you by leaving your email address or Twitter name within the comment.

Thank you! Thank you! Muah!

-Lindsey

And the winner is Gianna with comment #139! I'll contact via email and if I don't hear back within 48 hours will choose a different winner.

Confession: I Throw Away My Husband's Dirty Socks

Theresa from Rock On Mommies launched Pet Peeve Monday today and I'm in love with her idea! Getting out the negative rants early in the week so you can focus on the lovely stuff; it's a great concept. So I racked my brain thinking of all the things that annoy me in this world. There are thousands, not the least of which are teenagers (yup, just teenagers in general, that's how I know I'm getting old at 32), or people who don't smile or say hi back to Otto when we're at the store or park (effing jerks), but my biggest pet peeve, the one that takes the cake, is finding dirty socks strewn loosey-goosey around my home! The perp: my darling dearest husband of 13 years, who, for reasons I can't really explain right now, I'm going to refer to as "Pepper".

I could go on and on about the years of begging, pleading, writing sternly worded notes on paper, writing sternly worded notes in sharpie on the socks themselves, holding socks for ransom, freaking out, and even crying that I have sadly waded through trying to convince Pepper that it is rude, dirty, inconsiderate, and just disgusting (and actually makes him a bad person) to leave his dirty socks sprinkled around the house. Nothing got through. Until the day I started throwing his socks away...

At first I didn't tell him. It just felt so good. I'd see the socks lying there and instead of picking them up and throwing them in the hamper, as I'd always done in the past (basically just giving him fresh ammo for the next time), instead, I'd pick those stupid socks up and throw them away! My heart would race; it was thrilling! And not another word was said. 

This went on for weeks. Until one day he finally noticed that he really didn't have any socks left. There were no man socks in the house.

He confronted me. I fessed. He was shocked. I was electrified! We both laughed. He couldn't believe it. I felt awesome!

That was about four years ago. I think the last time I threw one of Pepper's socks away was last week. That's right, he didn't stop. Buuuuut, he's definitely toned it down. And I still get a thrill throwing his socks away. I love it! I know it's totally wasteful and stupid, but it's our balance and it makes me happy. I used to be sour and unhappy every time I saw one of those things in my home. Now I get a huge smile on my face! It means I get to be devilish! So I guess I turned my justifiable peeve into a creepy fetish but who cares, haha.

Peeve vented. Thanks Theresa! And shout out to @EricaZHR another Pet Peeve Monday supporter!

So what are your pet peeves? And how do you deal with them?

-Lindsey

CLOSED - This Ain't Your Mama's Review & It's Not Your Mother's Giveaway! Fonzie!

Not Your Mother's - Styling Products...

Beach Babe Texturizing Sea Salt Spray - 2 Reviews:

We were sent 2 bottles of Not Your Mother's "Beach Babe" Texturizing Sea Salt Spray to review and this worked out perfectly because I was headed to the San Diego beaches to visit my mama friend Annie. I brought along a bottle to try out while there & then left it with Annie so she could try it out and write her own review. I kept the 2nd bottle at home and I'm not sharing! I love it!

Note that Annie and I have completely different kinds of hair so although we both have positive reviews, it's nice to note that this spray worked well for both of our hair types.

Annie's Beach Babe Summation:

Not Your Mother's "Beach Babe Texturizing Sea Salt Spray" touts itself as giving your locks an I-spent-the-morning-at-the-beach allure. Which indeed it does, as I witnessed on the waving tresses of the lovely Lindsey when she and her family were visiting us here in San Diego. I, however, have no natural wave to speak of. Also, I always wear my hair up in a bun or chignon as I have a super-strong ten month old son who LOVES to pull it! I wouldn't normally pick this product for myself for the aforementioned reasons, but it turns out it is great for me! In addition to being super straight, my hair is also super fine and slippery, and it is constantly falling out of its 'do. When I use this spray, it adds a nice texture to my hair so that when it is in its perpetual up-do it stays put--amazing! Without the spray, it falls out all day long. A real pain. "Beach Babe" has a nice limey, coconut scent that floats around your head, not overbearing, just light and tasty. In conclusion: a keeper.

My Beach Babe Experience:

I thought it would be more fun to give my review in pics. So I documented my hair stylings the other day and plus I'm getting all crazy with the photo editor lately so it gave me an excuse to go nuts on these! So here's my review:

In other words, I really love it! It smells like summertime: coconut, salt, and flowery sweet.

How to Buy It:

You can purchase the whole Not Your Mother's line of products on the DeMert Brands website HERE. 

How to Win Your Choice of 2 Not Your Mother's Products:

The Giveaway - 1 winner will get their choice of 2 styling products from the Not Your Mother's line:

- She's a Tease - volumizing hairspray

- All Eyes On Me - shape & shine hairspray

- Beach Babe - texturizing sea salt spray

- Beat The Heat - thermal styling shield spray

- Smooth Moves - frizz control hair cream

- Kinky Moves - curl defining hair cream

How to Enter:

- Mandatory First Entry - leave a comment telling me which 2 Not Your Mother's products you would choose if you won. It's that easy!

Additional Entry Opportunities:

- Follow Not Your Mother's on Twitter (2 bonus entries) (if you already follow that counts too)

- Follow @OttosMomBlogs on Twitter (2 bonus entries) (if you already follow me that counts too)

- Tweet about this giveaway with a link to this page in your tweet. In your comment below make sure to put a link to your tweet (up to 3 bonus entries per day - 1 per tweet - 30 mins apart or more please)

- Like Not Your Mother's on Facebook (2 bonus entries) (if you already like them that counts too)

- Like TidbitsParenting on Facebook (2 bonus entries) (if you already like us that counts too)

- Follow this blog via Google Friend Connect (2 bonus entries) (if you already follow us that counts too!)

- Grab the TidbitsParenting badge (on the right) and in your comment leave a link to your badged up blog homepage (4 bonus entries) (if you've already got the badge that counts too)

Please Note:
Just remember to leave a comment for EACH entry. For example, if you follow us on Facebook since that's worth 2 bonus entries make sure you leave 2 comments for that.

Make sure that I can reach you if you win - via email or Twitter. We will contact the winner on September 1 and they will have 48 hours to claim the prize or we will choose a different winner.

Giveaway ends at 11:59pm Pacific Time on August 31st. We will use Random.org to choose a winner and will verify that the winning entrant has played by the rules so it only makes sense to be honest!

The opinions expressed here are 100% my own and the fabulous Annie's.

AND THE WINNER IS VHUBLER WITH COMMENT #41! CONGRATS! WE'LL CONTACT THE WINNER VIA EMAIL!

- Lindsey