With 5 days to go, I had yet to even open the dance closet door. With 4 days left, I finally ventured in. I haven’t been on top of things as I usually am. As I started counting dance bags I realized… We’re missing one. After a major freak out and a quick text to the dance studio owner, we realized HBear’s ballet costume was still at the studio. Then we realized that she has holes in her ballet shoes and didn’t think to tell me. 🤬🤬 At this point I can go into all of the things I did at 13 including holding down a freaking job but how would any of that fix this? She has had a rough year and has had trouble staying focused. We have been working on one thing at a time. This parenting thing is hard.
My monoclonal antibody treatment has also been hard. My treatment last week really kicked my ass. You know when you take Neocitron at night and it reacts the wrong way? When it makes your entire body feel like it can run a marathon because you are so wired? That’s how my body felt for 3 days. It’s exhausting. I feel all the energy inside but every time I stand up my body feels like it HAS ran a marathon and is screaming at me to lay down!
On top of the white noise screaming throughout my body I also had a horrendous headache and have been incredibly tired. It is called a pseudo-flareup. It acts like a flareup due to the trauma that my brain perceives from the medicine. Sometimes the side effects suck but in the long run hopefully this will give me a better future!
So I have a problem. The day I post this will be HBear’s first day of competitive dress rehearsal. Like, we’re in it!
I hope that I have the energy that I was feeling 2 weeks ago back! It’ll be a great dry run for me to see what I can handle. I am so thankful that all my Dance Mom’s have messaged me and offered their services! From offering to steam costumes, to doing hair, eyelashes, driving, and allowing HBear to bunk up with them in Kelowna for competition next week, they have been amazing. I have been blown away with all of the offers of help. I’m not one that likes to ask for help but I’m trying to be realistic and… I’m going to need to accept help. I just am. I talked to HBear about it and she understands but she’s also disappointed. This is our time together. Before Covid we had our own hotel room for competition and we played crib and watched Fresh Prince of Bel Air oh and got greasy late night pizza! 😆 It was fun and she was hoping that now that things are back to “normal” in the world, that we could do fun things like that again. We talked about it. It’s OK to be disappointed. It’s OK to ask for help. It is OK to accept the things that we can’t change 💛.
One pot meals are my jam. This meal was amazing. I prepped it, Ninja cooked it and HBear washed the 1 dish! PERFECT! These are all flavours that we love and all ingredients I have in my house on any given day so this is an ideal dish to make on a hectic weekday when you want a good comforting me that is packed with flavour but short on cooking time, under 30 minutes!
Adapted from Averie Cooks 2 tablespoons oil
1 onion, diced
1 pound ground beef
1 bell pepper, diced
1 can corn
1 cup elbow macaroni (uncooked)
1 cup water
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can tomato sauce
1 tablespoon cumin
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoons oregano
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
pinch cayenne pepper
1 cup cheese, shredded
a handful of cilantro, chopped
Add the oil, onion, and beef to a large skillet and cook over medium-high heat until beef is cooked through and onion is soft and translucent, about 7 minutes.
Add the bell pepper, drained corn, macaroni, water, tomatoes (not drained), tomato sauce, cumin, chili powder, oregano, cayenne, salt, & pepper. Stir to combine.
Lower heat to medium low, cover, and allow mixture to simmer for about 20 minutes, or until pasta is tender and cooked through. Stir a couple times while simmering to ensure even cooking.
Uncover, turn off the heat, add the cheese, and stir to combine and until melted.
Evenly sprinkle the cilantro and serve immediately.
