1. I tawk like this. In case you missed it, there was an accent there. It seems people from NJ sound different from the rest of the world. Maybe, but it sounds normal to me.

2. I know the quickest route to any mall because there is a Turnpike or Parkway exit every mile.

3. I know what pizza and bagels are supposed to taste like – usually the exact opposite of the way they taste in Florida – with the exception of those few places that actually ship the water in from up north.

My knowledge of good pizza pretty much makes me qualified to  review all things pizza. While I love real NY style pizza, it can get expensive. And if it isn’t authentic why pay those prices for a cheap imitation? Sometimes I prefer to make pizza in my own house. Besides, the little people like to help and love adding their own toppings. Pillsbury makes it easy to enjoy healthier pizza made in my own kitchen at a reasonable cost.

Pillsbury’s artisan crust has whole grain so it is nutritious while it tastes great. It has 16 grams of whole grain per serving. This dough is available in the refrigerated section of most grocery stores and big box food retailers; here in Florida I got it at Publix. With fresh ingredients from the local farmers’ market or grocery store produce section, I can create gourmet pizza in minutes while spending quality time in the kitchen with the family. Spinach and mushrooms with lots of garlic are my absolute favorite! Bruce is easy and simple – just cheese and a little bit of sauce for him. Ryan prefers white pizza with fresh ricotta and mozzarella.

Pizza is one of the few things we can make together as a family. Bruce loves “make your own pizza” nights.  And anytime I can get help in the kitchen, I won’t pass up that chance. This also allows everyone to get the perfect pizza without spending $50 for 3 large pizzas no one can finish.

The artisan crust isn’t just for pizza night dinners. We often have appetizer palooza days at my office. This dough makes the perfect base for any appetizer. Pillsbury has lots of recipe ideas here.

Pillsbury and My Blog Spark sent me an entire kit to help me with family pizza night. I received the following items (retail value = $64):

• a coupon for a free package Pillsbury Artisan Pizza Crust with whole grain
• 15/5″ Farberware pizza pan
• food chopper with storage containers
• silicon-grip oven mitt

One lucky reader will also be getting the same kit. To enter this giveaway simply leave a comment below that includes the name of your favorite pizza dough recipe or tell me what your favorite pizza toppings are.

Anyone who likes pineapple or fish on their pizza is automatically disqualified. Just kidding but I really don’t understand why anyone would do that to a pizza.

Deadline: The deadline for this giveaway is May 28, 2013 @ 11pm  EST, at which time a winner will be chosen using random.org.

The Fine Print: Current subscribers/followers are eligible too.  Open to US residents only. Include a valid email in your comment form. The winner will be notified by email. Winner will then have 48 hours to respond before a new winner is chosen. Prize fulfillment is completed by My Blog Spark and Pillsbury. Misplaced Jersey girl is not responsible for prize fulfillment in any way and is not liable should sponsoring companies change or discontinue the prize fulfillment at any time.

Disclosure: The prize pack, information, and giveaway have been provided by General Mills and Pillsbury through MyBlogSpark. No other compensation was received. The opinions expressed here are my own and were not influenced by anyone else.

But then one day, like a blizzard without warning  – BAM! You get told you’re parting ways. At first you don’t hear right – your first thought is “what? it sounds like I’m getting fired.” Laid off, budget cuts, economic downturn – doesn’t matter what you call it, I still have nowhere to go tomorrow. I still have no idea what I’m going to do every day after I drop the kids off.

At first you might even believe something better is out there. Something will come along pretty soon. You try to stay positive. You even start to believe yourself when you tell people you’re fine.

But, then 3 weeks later after all the contacts in your network have been contacted, follow-ups have led nowhere, return calls are few and far between, and you’ve applied for every job possible it gets easier to justify sitting back and catching up with the Abbotts or life in Salem.

It gets easier to lose hope. Hope that there is something better out there. Hope that you might finally catch that break you’ve been hoping for.

the Sopranos

People

• would ask ignorant questions about my knowing Tony Soprano.
• asked me if I knew all of those places in the show’s opening.
• would realize my last name ended in a vowel and make certain assumptions. Aren’t all Italians from NJ part of the mob? Isn’t everyone in NJ Italian and part of the mob?
• also asked me if I missed the pizza and bagels from up north too.

But mostly about the Sopranos.

People are ignorant.

I spent a lot of my time unnecessarily explaining to people that NJ was more than mob wives and long-standing family vendettas. Even after the show ended that perception lingered for a few years. Then it seemed to ease up….

just in time for Jersey Shore to become the next big tv reality show. That’s been fun (insert sarcastic voice here).

I found it more trouble than it’s worth to try to convince people here that what they see on tv is not an accurate depiction of what life in NJ is like. It’s very difficult to get Southerners to abandon the thoughts in their head. Once they have a certain idea in their head they are pretty much stuck there. It makes for both frustrating and interesting conversations. And contrary to the saying…

ignorance is not always bliss.

The decision seemed like an obvious one to make. My mom needed to be a priority. Having her in Florida was the best thing for her. Having her family here with her was the best thing for all of us.

I still remember the last time I walked out of our house in NJ, on my way to the airport. I shut the light off, closed the door behind me and got in the car as if I was going out to dinner. I’m not sure how I managed to do that but I remember the feeling inside me. I think it was hopeful and a little bit of denial.

Looking back, it’s hard to tell if I believed myself or was more in denial than I wanted to admit. And tonight, I still haven’t figured it out.

I’ve been so mentally drained from all the writing I’ve been doing the last 3 months at work that I’m not even sure where to begin some days when I tell myself I need to get back to blogging.

Is it possible to be completely out of ideas on what to write about? This blog is becoming just like the Seinfeld pilot pitch - a blog about nothing.  I don’t want to get political (although I’m so tired of everyone claiming they know better than all the people who were voted into political office by majority vote). I don’t want to get religious (although I feel like people are using religion these days as an excuse to further their personal causes as opposed to how they live their life). My kids are funny and cute. My life is  a regular reality show but, as I’m finding out more and more lately, most of the people in it are a little touchy when they hear the truth that they asked for but weren’t expecting.

What does that leave?

movies? my advice is to steer clear of Paranormal unless you need a nap.

shopping? I don’t have enough time to properly approach that topic. But let me tell you – when you spend an hour putting 27 things in your shopping cart and your cart appears to be saved, you aint seen aggravated until you watch your cart suddenly be declared EMPTY and have to start all over.

I’ll have to figure it out. In the meantime I’ll leave you with this….

When you buy a new car in Fl and it comes with both heated and air-conditioned seats, don’t laugh. I’ve already used the heated seats and I have not had to use the air-conditioned seats yet. And now I’m paranoid that when my kids spill milk or water on the seat while I’m driving, I could be electrocuted.

Since September, I’ve:

• gotten a new job
• had hernia surgery
• survived Halloween
• planned a joint 1st and 9th birthday party
• planned a carnival fundraiser
• had a lot of car trouble
• done my Christmas shopping and decorating
• got a new car
• had the flu
• really survived lots of new baby teeth coming in

During all that this poor blog has fallen down the priority list and I’ve had no time to write. Mainly because I’ve been so busy writing at work. I’m sure if this blog had feelings it would feel like Cinderella’s ugly stepsisters-just tossed aside for bigger and better things.

So, until I have more time to fill you in .. thanks for stopping by and come back soon.

I had an opportunity to kick off 3rd grade with a bang and make it fun for Bruce and his entire class. Have you heard of Gutzy Gears yet? If not, you will. It’s the next big thing.

Gutzy gears go over your kids’ backpack straps. They have velcro on them and allow your kids to customize the straps with removable velcro patches. No sewing required! They have tons of different patches like french fries, smiley faces and footballs. The kids can trade the patches and keep on customizing.

Thanks to Gutzy Gear and Mom Select I was given enough Gutzy Gear starter packs for the entire class. The starter packs included 2 straps and a smiley face patch. They also sent me an additional 2 pack for each child. Bruce’s teacher was game for Gutzy Gear day and jumped on board to help me out. She’s awesome!

The class was able to play some matching and bingo games that used the Gutzy Gears characters. Characters include Screaming Joe, Dragons, Dalmatians, french fries, ice cream cones, footballs, and many others that relate to every kid’s interests.

The kids loved the Gutzy Gears! They’ve been trading badges for the last 2 weeks. Every few days they trade-off again. It’s a great way for them to get new patches when they get bored with the ones they have and it doesn’t cost anything. Now, they were excited to carry their back packs back to school too.

The parents have been telling me they like them as well. One called me to tell me she loved them and thought “it is a great way to personalize their backpacks.” The rest of the school has now caught on and they’ve started popping up around other grades as well now.

At about $3.99 for a pack of 2 badges, they are relatively inexpensive and it is something that can be passed on to a younger kid once mine is too old to think they are cool. It seems like less of a fad type thing.

To check out how people are using their Gutzy Gears, check out the pictures posted on their Facebook page. There is a contest to post pictures showing how you go Gutzy. Bruce was thinking of everywhere he could use his Gutzy Gear straps.

The top 9 things that we should be afraid of are:

1. Trampolines – 1.1 death/year. How exactly does .1 person die?  So much for my olympic aspirations.

2. Roller Coasters - 1.15 death/year. The only thing I’m surprised about is that this number is not higher.  The bolts and nuts that hold those things together are really small. And of course, there’s always that little thing called gravity.

3. Free-standing kitchen ranges – 1.31 death/year. Exactly how does a 150 pound square appliance bordered on 3 sides by a wall and cabinets just happen to tip over? I call user error!

4. Vending machines 2.06 deaths/year. I see a workman’s comp claim in this one somewhere. But who can resist that dangling Snicker’s bar in D4 just begging to be set free.

5. Riding lawnmowers – 5.22 deaths/year. They should probably require a license and test before allowing people to drive these.

6. Fireworks – 6.6 deaths/year. Well, Duh!

7. Dogs- 16 deaths/year. Seems man’s best friend isn’t so friendly after all. Personally, I still believe cats are more dangerous.

8. Skydiving – 21.2 deaths/year. Maybe that .2 is all they could find of #22. Personally, I think anyone who finds enjoyment out of jumping from an airplane and hoping a piece of material put together by a 10-year-old for 12 hours/day on an assembly line in some 4th world country really shouldn’t complain about quality of workmanship.

9. Furniture and tvs – 26.64 deaths/year. I thought we had an obesity problem in this country? Maybe more people should just sit on the couch and watch tv. According to a recent Colbert Report, my night stand is a bigger threat to me than terrorism.

1. & 2. Those RIP car decals that show the years someone lived and those roadside memorials. These are related so I’m combining them. I never knew how popular these were until I moved to FL. Since most of our roads are flanked by trees, woods and ditches there seems to be a memorial every 20 feet. And I like to read car stickers and decals so both of these things really freak me out.

When I’m doing 70 down a highway I don’t really want to be distracted by the balloons, flowers, wreaths and candles on the side of the road or in the grassy median. They leave out the part that the memorial is often the result of someone who decided to play chicken with an SUV. I don’t want to be reminded that at any minute that memorial could be for me.

If someone dies on a plane do they put a memorial plaque on that seat and remind everyone that at any minute that plane could go crashing to the ground or if you encounter a medical emergency you are thousands of miles away from help? And do you want to get on that plane and stare at it for 3 hours?

3. Tuna fish. I like to eat it I just can’t look at it before it is mixed up. Whenever I want a tuna sandwich, Ryan has to make it for me. It just looks nasty when it is sitting in that can and reminds me of cat food, which brings me back to my ultimate fears!

4. Needles. ‘nough said. Although, to say that the Anaesthesiologist during the birth of my first child threatened to leave would be an understatement.

5. Hurricanes, tsunamis, and tornadoes. These things are out of my control and therefore things to be feared.

6. Throwing a party or event and no one showing up. I don’t ever want to feel the way Bobby Brady felt when no one came to his birthday party. I’d look pretty silly wearing a party hat in a room by myself.

All week-long, 2 car rides each day and they never seem to tire of talking about poop, farting, throwing up, things that stink, and killing unicorns. I’m not sure how the unicorn made it into the mix. In the end, the conversation always came back to poop.

I don’t know how kids can find so much to talk about when it comes to bodily functions. They never seem to tire of it. Of course, with every new topic came the adventure of having to outdo and one-up each other in coming up with the most bizarre comments.

Word of advice – if you ever want to spend some time laughing hysterically while shaking your head in amazement at the same time – put a bunch of 8-year-old boys in the car for a drive and listen in on their conversation.

In addition to the car rides,we also had the boys take turns during the week for sleepovers. Fun Stuff.

One of my favorite comments of the week:

Sleepy: I once played in a pile of horse poop.

Bruce: You could have told me that before I let you sleep in my bed.

Sleepy: I’ve taken a shower since then.