Friday Fragments are bits and pieces of your week that are usually brief; too short for a stand-alone post, but too good to discard. Collect humorous observations, “Heard” items, and other small gems throughout your week and put them together in a Friday Fragments post. Add a recipe or something ‘foodie’ from your week. Leave me a link in the comments so I can read your fragments!

I am really starting to dislike the last week of the month! For some reason I am struggling to accomplish my monthly goals. Saying life gets in the way is the truth but it is a poor excuse for not managing my time effectively.

This time last week it was 40 degrees in the Philly suburbs and today it’s 80. What a difference a week can make. It’s actually hot. The weather changed just in time for the NFL Experience and the Football Draft which is happening in the city right now. I’m hearing there are big crowds and they aren’t all nice, a friend wrote that there was a lot of spitting going on. I had the opportunity to witness everything in one of our local TV stations booth but decided I would see and hear so much more watching on TV. Now I’m kind of sad I didn’t go. Hopefully everyone stays safe, enjoys the city and they spend a bit of money while they are here. Most importantly I hope our EAGLES get someone good!

Friend Randi Vladimer (the best Family Law Attorney Ever) invited me to a ‘Sip & Paint’ Party. My Dad was an extremely talented artist. He didn’t purposely intimidate me but I was intimidated by his talent. Because of that I never even did paint by numbers. So this was my first ever attempt at painting and I will definitely keep my day job.😊 It was a lot of fun and quite relaxing so I can’t wait to do it again.

Have you ever tried Painting with A Twist? The location we went to was in Wayne, Pa. I highly recommend it!

April is Autism Awareness Month. I have a grandson with autism secondary to Smith–Lemli–Opitz syndrome. He is such an angel and honestly has been a blessing to our family. My daughter rarely gets a chance to get out so when friend Debra Wallace, who also has an autistic child asked me to attend an Autism Cares Fundraiser I invited my daughter. We had a great time at Mt. Fuji Restaurant in Southampton. I need to spend more time with my adult kids. I miss them!

  Autism Cares Foundation

I’m always nervous eating out because of my severe allergies and the staff at Mt. Fuji could not be more accommodating. It was delicious!

Southern Charm on Bravo is 2- episodes in and the middle-aged teenagers of Charleston, South Carolina have sucked me in again. I was team Thomas but I am not a fan this season. His kids can’t live in his house because they are messy and when his little girl called out to him and he ignored her I wanted to slap him! I am hoping Catherine gets her s*#t together and puts them first.

Have you watched Sweet Home Oklahama? Another show in the Bravo Housewife’s franchise this one seems a bit more realistic, sort of. It’s different. So far every episode has made me laugh out loud and that is a good thing!

Living with Celiac is so awful. I want cupcakes and bread. I was really missing pasta so I gave this gluten/grain free eggplant & spinach lasagna recipe a try. It was amazing!

2- Large Eggplants sliced length wise ¼ inch thick.

2-cups of fresh spinach

1/8 cup of Olive oil

1 large and 1 small can of crushed tomatoes

1 pound grass fed ground beef

16 oz. Ricotta (Make sure it is gluten free. Some low fat brands are not!)

3-Tablespoons crushed garlic

¼ cup of diced onion

1-teaspoon fresh basil

1-teaspoon sea salt

1-teaspoon fresh ground pepper

2 eggs

12 ounces of whole mozzarella sliced thin

¼ cup of parmesan cheese

Brush both sides of eggplant with olive oil and bake on cookie sheets for 12 minutes. Flip and continue baking another 12 minutes or until crisp.

Pour the rest of the olive oil in frying pan. When hot add spinach, onion, garlic, salt and pepper. Add and brown hamburger.

In large bowl add ricotta, egg and basil. Mix well.

Brush bottom of lasagna pan with olive oil. Cover the bottom of pan with some of the crushed tomato. Add eggplant slices. Layer with the hamburger, the ricotta mixture and any left- over eggplant slices. Cover with the rest of the crushed tomatoes. Sprinkle with the parmesan and then cover the top with the mozzarella slices. Bake for 45-minutes to an hour or until cheese is slightly golden. Let sit for 5-minutes before cutting.

Yum!

How was your week? What are you watching and eating? How is your weather?

Have a Blessed Weekend,

Doreen

P.S. I hope you all will take a minute to subscribe to this site up there on the right. I will never share your info and I won’t over send junk to your inbox. Thank You!

The NJSCBWI- New Jersey Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators 2017 Conference

I will be presenting 2 workshops on Book Marketing.

https://www.regonline.com/builder/site/Default.aspx?EventID=1948765

PHILADELPHIA WRITERS CONFERENCE: June 9, 10 and 11-Teaching a 3-day workshop on Writing Memoir:

http://pwcwriters.org/about-us/