A Little Bit of Everything!

Pork Chops with Blue Cheese Gravy

2012-01-05T05:23:00.000-08:00

Pork Chops with Blue Cheese Gravy

I've had this recipe for years and made it many times. I LOVE Bleu Cheese but my hubby is not a fan at all. When I first tried this recipe I wondered if I could sneak it in this gravy without him knowing. Well, as you can probably figure out, I did. It doesn't really taste bleu cheesy, but does have a nice rich flavor. I made it again a few nights ago. It had been a while since I had made it last. My husband is very critical of food. Usually when I ask him how something is, he says it's ok. Most people would say good. He takes leftovers to work sometimes and shares. They get devored by the men he works with with always great compliments. So, when I asked him how this was I was surprised when I got "it is actually pretty good".

The recipe came from allrecipes.com. I follow the recipe pretty closely. Instead of black pepper and garlic powder, I add my Tastefully Simple Seasonings. I use my favorite seasoning, Tastefully Simple Seasoned Salt and I also add Tastefully Simple Garlic Pepper Seasoning blend.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons butter
4 thick cut pork chops
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, or to taste
1 cup whipping cream
2 ounces blue cheese, crumbled

Directions

Melt butter in a large skillet, over medium heat. Season the pork chops with black pepper and garlic powder. Fry the chops in butter until no longer pink and the juices run clear, about 20 to 25 minutes. Turn occasionally to brown evenly.
Remove chops to a plate and keep warm. Stir the whipping cream into the skillet, loosening any bits of meat stuck to the bottom. Stir in blue cheese. Cook, stirring constantly until sauce thickens, about 5 minutes. Pour sauce over warm pork chops.

I served the pork chops with mashed potatoes and a side salad. If you'd like to try out some Tastefully Simple seasonings, you can check out my website.

DIY Ribbon Christmas card holder

2011-12-06T06:22:00.001-08:00

This is a cute and very simple way of hanging your Christmas cards. I usually get lots of Christmas cards this year and I'm always trying to decide where I'm going to display them. They usually get taped up somewhere, but this is much cuter. All you do is take a wide strip of ribbon and tape it on the back of your cabinet door. I only have one hanging right now, but plan on adding another strip on another cabinet door when more cards start coming in. I used paper covered clothespins to hang the cards, another simple thing to do. I plan on adding a magnet strip to the back of the clothespins after the cards come down. I can then use them on the refrigerator to hang things.

I found this idea from no where else, but Pinterest. If you need an invite to Pinterest, send me your email. Lots of ideas there! The tutorial for the Christmas card holder is from here. You can also make some paper covered clothespins. There are lots of tutorials for these also. I like this one.

Update: I had to make a lot more covered clothespins because I got more Christmas cards. I ended up covering some clothespins in glitter ribbon. I used red glitter ribbon, silver glitter ribbon and gold glitter ribbon. You can see those in the photos that have more cards. I think they added a more festive touch.

Ornament Wreath DIY

2011-11-28T06:24:00.001-08:00

I've seen these ornament wreaths floating all over Pinterest! It looked pretty easy, so I thought I would try one out for myself. If you've never checked out Pinterest, you must go check it out! It's my new addiction. If you need an invite, just send me your email and I'll send you one.

I decided to go with purple. You could choose other colors or mix and match. All you do is take a coat hanger, and form it into a circle. You then thread your ornaments onto the hanger until it is full. The tutorial I first came across was over at Eddie Ross. I've also found tutorials that show gluing the ornaments to a wreath form, but I say use what you have. I used a total of 56 shatterproof ornaments. I would have probably added a few more if I would have had them. It's also suggested that you glue the cap to the ball with a little hot glue. I only had to do this to two of mine. The others were already attached, a time saver for me! I've also seen some pretty satin ribbons wrapped around the top of the wreaths. I may add that to mine later, but don't have any right now. Very easy and not time consuming. Go for it! I'd love to see if you've made your own.

Save money on gas!

2011-11-04T11:31:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to share Lowes Guel Rewards with you, in case you haven't heard of it. I saved $.10 off each gallon of gas I put in my Explorer today. It's not a whole lot, but every little bit counts. It's simple, you just shop at Lowes Foods and use your Lowes card and let the rewards rack up. I wasn't sure how it would work since I was paying in cash. This is a new program and they had a sign up by the Wilco Hess gas pump. I went inside to let them know and they told me to go ahead and fill up then come inside. When I was done filling up, I came in and they scanned my Lowes card. It automatically deducted $.10 off each dollar. You have to buy groceries and have to buy gas. You might as well save a little bit of money while you're doing it.

Images came from the Lowes Foods website. There is also a listing of the Lowe's Foods fuel locations and WilcoHess locations on their site.

Apple Cinnamon Raisin Muffins

2011-11-03T06:18:00.000-07:00

Aren't the little things cute? The recipe is below.

Apple Cinnamon Raisin Muffins Submitted by Andrea Woldman (IL)

Ingredients
Bountiful Beer Bread Mix^®
12 oz. lemon lime soda
4 Tbsp. applesauce
1 Tbsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup raisins

Directions
Combine ingredients; stir to blend. Place batter in greased muffin tin. Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes. Makes 12 Servings.

Notes:
I made mine in mini muffin tins, so it made more then 12 and didn't take 20-25 minutes. Just keep an eye on them if you decide to use the mini muffin tins.

I also dabbed a bit of cream cheese on them. Yum!

If you would like to know where you can find some of the Bountiful Beer Bread Mix, check out my site here.

Also, check out how many different ways you can prepare the Bountiful Beer Break Mix, here.

Candy Corn Sunshine Cupcakes

2011-11-01T10:09:00.000-07:00

I made these candy corn cupcakes over a month ago, but I'm just now getting around to posting them. Aren't they cute? I originally found the idea over here at Easy Recipes for Real Life. It's a great way to use up some of that candy corn. It will probably be on sale soon also, if not already.

Ok, so here is the recipe:

Candy Corn Cupcakes

Submitted by Bonnie Ask (MN), HQ Team Member

Ingredients

Absolutely Almond Pound Cake Mix™
¾ cup (1½ sticks) melted butter
1 cup water
1-2 drops yellow food coloring
16 oz. container cream cheese frosting
Candy corn
Mini chocolate chips
Thin red licorice ropes

Directions

Preheat oven to 325°. Combine first 3 ingredients; stir to blend. Fill paper-lined muffin cups 2/3 full with cake batter. Bake cupcakes for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool cupcakes completely. Add food coloring to cream cheese frosting. Top cupcakes with tinted frosting. Arrange candy corn around the edges of cupcakes, use 2 mini chocolate chips for the eyes and form a mouth with red licorice. Makes 12 servings.

NOTES:
I used orange food coloring, instead of yellow because it's what I had.

For the smile, I used pull and peel Twizzlers.

If you would like some of the Absolutely Almond Pound Cake Mix, you can order it here.

Beef Tips Recipe

2011-10-11T18:11:00.000-07:00

I made Beef Tips for dinner tonight and they were pretty tasty! I found the recipe over at allrecipes.com. It had 4.5 out of 5 stars as a rating, 388 reviews and 9,041 people had saved it. So, I was thinking this would be a good one.

Here is the recipe directly from allrecipes. The modifications I made will be posted below the recipe.

Ingredients

3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
2 pounds cubed beef stew meat
2 cups water
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 (.75 ounce) packet dry brown gravy mix
1 cup water

Directions

In a large skillet heat oil over high heat. Saute the onion until almost translucent.
Add the stew meat and cook on high heat until meat is browned on all sides; about 3 to 5 minutes.
Pour 2 cups water, soy sauce, and Worcestershire sauce into the skillet. Stir in garlic powder, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
Meanwhile combine the gravy mix with 1 cup water. Mix thoroughly and stir into the meat mixture. Bring to a boil stirring frequently until slightly thickened.

Notes:
*After reading numerous reviews, I omitted the additional salt and was glad I did.
*I didn't have quiet 2 pounds of beef, but it ended up being enough. I used bottom round because it was what I had/what was on sale.
*I used fresh garlic instead of powder, 1 clove.
*The dry brown gravy mix was 30% less sodium
*I let it simmer for a little over an hour and my meat was tender.
*When adding the gravy mix, I first added the dry mix to my beef mixture. After it thickened up a little I added a little water at a time. I probably only used about 1/2 cup. I think the full cup of water would have made it a little runny. Lots of reviewers mentioned having to add cornstarch to thicken it up.
*I served this over brown rice with a side of broccoli.
*I used 3 beef bouillon cubes in my 4 cups of water for the rice.

Breakfast for Dinner Southern Style

2011-10-06T06:10:00.000-07:00

I love breakfast! I think I would be happy eating it for every meal. It would sure pile on some calories though! Last night I made homemade biscuits and gravy. I'm not a biscuit or gravy maker, so this was going a little out of my comfort zone. I made two things on one night that I normally don't make.

I found the recipe for the biscuits on Pinterest. If you've never checked it out before you, have to do it now! There are so many creative ideas, recipes and all kinds of other stuff.

The recipe for these butter dips biscuits came from Plain Chicken. The reason why I'm not a biscuit maker is because I don't like rolling and cutting the dough. I always make the biggest mess with it. With these little darlings you don't have to. These are baked in a 8x8 baker, and the recipe instructs you to cut into 12 biscuits. So, these are not going to be your normal size biscuits, they are a little smaller.

1/4 cup unsalted butter
1 1/4 cup flour
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp kosher salt
2/3 - 1 cup buttermilk or milk

Heat the oven to 450°F. Cut the butter into pieces and place them in a 8-inch square microwave safe baking dish. Put the dish in the microwave and melt the butter. You can also put the baking dish in the oven to melt the butter as it pre-heats. (The dish in the microwave is just faster.)

While the butter is melting, whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt together in a large mixing bowl. Stir in 2/3 cup buttermilk; continue to add more buttermilk until a loose dough forms. (I used about 2-3 Tbsp more than the 2/3 cup)

Remove baking dish from the microwave/oven and press biscuit dough in the pan over the melted butter (It helps to put a little flour on top of the dough or your fingers). Using a knife, cut the biscuits into 12 squares. Bake for 12-15 minutes until golden.

These things are great! I will be making them again very soon.

NOTES:

I wasn't sure if I was supposed to use all-purpose flour or self-rising since the recipe didn't say. I went with self-rising and it worked great.

I used 2% milk, because it's what I had.

I didn't have kosher salt, so I just used regular salt.

Also, I went with what another reader had suggested and sprayed one of my hands with cooking spray. I tried the flour on my hand and my hand still stuck to the dough. This worked like a charm!

The gravy I made, I found on Paula Deen's Facebook. You can also find the recipe over here. I just love Paula Deen, don't ya'll? I did revise the original recipe a little bit and I'll post the revisions below. I first of all decided that I would half the original recipe. I used 2% milk instead of half and half because I didn't have any of it. Half of the original recipe would have only been 1 cup of milk and that wasn't enough for me, so I added much more.

1/2 lb ground sausage
2 slices thick-cut bacon
2 tsp Tastefully Simple Onion Onion
1 tsp Tastefully Simple Garlic Garlic
1 1/2 Tablespoon all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
3 cups 2% milk

In a large skillet, combine sausage, bacon, onion, and garlic. Cook over medium heat, until sausage is browned and crumbles. Stir in flour, salt, and pepper; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Gradually stir in milk. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture is thickened.

NOTES:

When I make this again I will not add the additional salt, the sausage and bacon has enough salt that you don't need to add more.

There was enough oil/grease from the sausage and bacon that I didn't add the additonal butter which the original recipe calls for.

I used Tastefully Simple products just because it's easier for me and I have them on hand. If you don't have them on hand, substitute the Onion Onion for 1/4 Onion diced and the Garlic Garlic for 1 garlic clove minced.

While the bacon in the gravy has a good flavor, I think next time I will omit it and just go with the sausage.

If you would like to check out the Tastefully Simple Onion Onion and Garlic Garlic seasonings, you can go here.

Cheesy Goodness of Chicken Crack

2011-09-28T11:49:00.000-07:00

I know what you're thinking. Has this Lady lost her mind? What kind of cheesy goodness can you get out of a chicken crack? Well, it's not that kind of chicken crack. We just call it that, because it's very addicting.

The original recipe is over here. I made a few changes which I will include and of course you can tweak it how you choose to.

Ingredients:
1 cup shredded, cooked chicken
8 oz. softened cream cheese
1 cup mayonnaise
3/4 cup shredded Mozarella cheese
3 - 4 Tbsp. dry Dried Tomato & Garlic Pesto Mix
Crackers

Directions:Combine first 5 ingredients; spread in shallow baking dish or pie plate. Bake at 350º for 10-15 minutes or until heated through. Serve with crackers. Makes 8-10 servings.

Notes:
The original recipe uses canned chicken. It's not my favorite, but I will use it in a pinch. I had some chicken that I had cooked in the slow cooker and shredded. It was in the freezer, so I just thawed it to use it in this.

I generally use cheddar cheese instead of the mozarella (what the recipe calls for), but I was all out. The mozarella was just as good.

This is also good added to a wrap with some lettuce

If you don't have any Dried Tomato & Garlic pesto, I know where you can find some. :) Head over here and you'll find it along with lots of other goodies.

Everytime I've made this and taken it somewhere, I have no leftovers. I'm sure it will be a hit for you also. Go ahead and make some chicken crack!

Recycled T shirt Fabric Rosette Headband

2011-09-26T18:23:00.000-07:00

I made a bunch of black and gold rosettes probably last year sometime. You can find tutorials for them all over the internet. Since I made these a while back I don't remember which tutorial I used. Little Birdie Secrets has a good one here. I can't even remember now what I was making them for. They were inspired by my University's school colors though. They have just been hanging out in a baggie until now. I made my first headband a few days ago and thought I would add these to a headband also. I've seen them on headbands, used as hair bows, and just as an overall cute accessory.

I was originally going to add an alligator hair clip to the back, but that didn't end up happening. I glued them onto a felt backing then ended up glueing that onto the headband. You could glue them directly onto the headband of course. Whatever is easier for you. For the headband I just wrapped a piece of fabric around it also. It was probably about 1" wide. I appologize for the picture. I know it isn't the best, but will have to do for now. I'll have to get one of my daughter when she wears it. :) I may decide to wear it myself also.

Easy Slow Cooker BBQ Pork

2011-09-24T12:07:00.000-07:00

This recipe is so easy, but very good.

Here is what you need:

Around 2 lbs pork. (I used assorted boneless pork cuts because it was on sale. Feel free to use whatever cut you prefer.
1/2 bottle Italian salad dressing
1/2 bottle BBQ sauce
6 buns/large rolls.

Put your pork, salad dressing and bbq sauce in the slow cooker. Cook on low for 8-10 hours or until pork is tender. Remove pork from sauce and shred using a fork. Add Shredded pork back to sauce and stir around. Use a slotted spoon to spoon onto your warmed roll/bun. Enjoy!

Fabric Headband

2011-09-23T13:10:00.000-07:00

I've had a pretty productive today. This morning I ran some errands. I then went to lunch at school with my Son and I decided to craft something since it has been such a long time! I came across this cute tutorial on Sew Sara. I plan on making several more of these. They were easy to make and didn't take a lot of time. I'm an instant gratification type of gal when it comes to crafting. I generally don't have a lot of patience for crafts that take a long time. I've been finding a lot of inspiration on Pinterest. You can also make it into a hair bow. The headbands I found for super cheap too!

My daughter modeling her new headband. :)

I'm not going to rewrite the tutorial, because that has already been done for you. I will add a few notes though.. The headband I used was about 3/4" wide at it's widest spot. The fabric that I used to wrap the headband was about 1" x 40".

Have fun making these! My daughter is already requesting more. :)

2011-09-20T05:36:00.000-07:00

Gosh, I haven't blogged in so long. Do I remember how? I was having issues with copying and pasting on here and that was driving me nuts. I guess I got somewhat discouraged and gave up on it for a while. I'm not sure if it was a setting on my computer or something on Blogger. It seems to be working now though, so who k nows? Life gets very busy sometimes. I now have a Kindergartner and 2nd grader. The Kindergartner is in cheerleading and the 2nd grader is in Soccer and Cub Scouts. With Practice, games, meetings, etc., etc.. we don't have very much free time. No complaining though. :)

I recently discovered Pinterest! Ok, where have I been? This is about the coolest thing ever. It's so much easier to go on there and get creative ideas vs. searching hours for them. For the few of you who may not be familiar with it, you "pin" items that you like onto "boards" that you create based on your interest. Whomever came up with this is a genius! I have so many things stored on my favorites on my computer. What an easy way to have them at a glance! I haven't had/taken the time to craft very much at all. I do miss it, but my priorities are getting kids where they need to go. So, my focus on Pinterest has been recipes. I do still cook about every night and enjoy trying new things out. I just started pinning about a week ago, so I don't have a tremendous amount of stuff up. Check out some of my boards if you would like.

I'm going to the store now to get some cheddar cheese so I can make this Crockpot Potato Soup.

Doesn't it look yummy? I love potato soup, but have never tried it in the crock pot, so this will be a first.

My goal is to get back here on a normal basis. Happy "pinning" Ya'll! :)

My Son's Mario Kart Birthday Party

2011-04-21T06:25:00.001-07:00

Easy Solutions to Technical Problems

2011-01-14T21:59:00.000-08:00

I came across this video today on Yahoo and it has some very helpful advice.

It includes solutions to these problems:

Touchscreens that won't work with your gloves on

Dirty cell phone cases

When gadgets get wet

Scratched cd's or dvd's

PC's that sign you out too quickly

Don't have enough D batteries for your flashlight

There are some pretty cool solutions here. When I used to work for Verizon we suggested the dry rice with the phones and that does work.

Ham and Cheese with Spinach and Herb Focaccia Sandwich

2011-01-14T20:42:00.000-08:00

Lunch today was Ham and Cheese with Tastefully Simple Spinach and Herb Dip Mix on Focaccia bread. I was just making some for hubby's lunch tomorrow and had to snap a picture. That bread is very picture worthy. I really wish I could take credit for that Focaccia bread but that was purchased from Lowe's Foods. It was one of those impulse purchases. I was going by a rack that had several baked goods on it. They were marked down a bit to sell today. I couldn't leave the Focaccia bread sitting there. There was two but I was able to leave one of them there. :) I just put in the microwave to heat in gently and that was it. Very good!

Meatballs

2011-01-10T09:02:00.000-08:00

It's a beautiful snowy day here in NC. The kids are out of school and we're getting ready to have some lunch. I made these meatballs for the first time the other day. I'll be making them again sometime soon. They were easy and tasty. My daughter loves helping me in the kitchen also. She helped with adding the ingredients and mixing them together.

I found this recipe forn the meatballs over at Allrecipes and adapted it a little.

To check out the ingredients, go here.

This is what I did differently...

I used 1 Tbsp of Tastefully Simple Garlic Garlic vs. minced Garlic

I used 1 Tbsp of Tastefully Simple Italian Garlic Bread Seasoning vs. the parsley and basil.

I used Cheddar vs. Pepper Jack Cheese (it was what I had)

I used 1 Tbsp of Tastefully Simple Onion Onion vs. large onion.

This is just what I had and it made it easier.

I served it with some mashed potatoes, bbq sauce for dipping the meatballs (although it didn't need it) and brocolli.

More Fab clothing deals!

2011-01-03T11:34:00.000-08:00

I just got this in a delivery from UPS today.

I ordered off of Kohls.com. I got a LS flannel shirt retail $26.00 and a corduroy pants retail $24.00 for my son. I got a dress with a jacket retail $52.00 for my daughter (Christmas time next year). Total retail $102.00 prior to taxes or shipping. I paid $15.67 shipped. :) I think I found out about this on Hip2Save also. You've got to check out that site!

Fabulous Clothing Deals!

2011-01-01T19:34:00.000-08:00

I went to Macy's today after seeing on Hip2Save that they were having a Denim Sale. You get a $10 Savings Card when you purchase denim. So, off to Macy's I went.

For my Son I ended up with a button up flannel SS shirt, a tshirt and a LS flannel shirt. For my daughter I got 2 SS shirts, 1 LS shirt, a knit pant, a Hello Kitty Denim skirt and a Dora Denim dress. Total of 9 items. The retail on these items was $158.88 prior to taxes. I paid $16.32 prior to taxes. Not to bad, huh?

I picked up the 2 denim items first. When I went to the cashier in the Children's section I asked if I needed to purchase them in 2 seperate transactions to get the 2 savings cards. She said the savings cards were only 1 per person. I didn't see anything about that as a stipulation nor did I think it was true. So, I just hung on to one of the denim items and purchased the other then got my $10 savings card. I then picked up the 3 shirts for my son and only had to pay $.47 before tax after using the savings card. I then went and found the rest of the clothes for my daughter. By this time the original cashier that I had dealt with was no where to be found. So, I purchased the other denim item to get my $10 savings card. Then in a seperate transaction I got the remainder of the items using the savings card.

I was very pleased with the results. Everything I purchased was on clearance and the clearance items in the Children's dept were an additional 30% off the mark down price. There were very limited denim items that were on clearance in Childrens. I would have probably got more if there would have been more denim on clearance but I will not complain since I got a fab deal!

On a side note and funny one at that... I was showing my hubby my fab deals. I first showed him my son's items. He informed me that the LS flannel was ugly. I was trying to get him to hush before my son heard. You know how kids are, they hear something like that then they won't wear it. Either he didn't hear him luckily or wasn't paying attention (probably the second one). A little later on I said, so you didn't like his LS flannel? He said oh that was for him? I said Yes! He thought all 3 of the shirts I had got for my son were for me. LOL! It was funny because I would like to see me fit into his clothes.

Guess that's it for now. Let me know if you find any great deals!

Purple Sweet Potatoes?

2010-12-30T21:21:00.000-08:00

So, who has heard of Purple Sweet Potatoes? I'm guessing not many of you. I went to a Chrismas show in our state back in November. There are vendors, vendors and more vendors. They do have a NC speciality food store. They offered samples of many of the products. One of them being Stokes Purple Sweet Potato Butter.

Image from www.landofthesaura.org

My Aunt had taken my 4 year old daugther through and she had actually sampled it and liked it. I couldn't belive it. She is the pickiest eater and very rarely will try new things. I thought maybe she decided to try it because it was purple and they were sampling on ice cream sticks. I sampled it myself and my daughter wanted another sample. So, I decided to buy some. She absolutely loves this stuff! I thought well at least she is getting some veggies in her. The girl will not eat any veggies (even potatoes, unless it's french fries). She has ate it almost everyday since we got it and needless to say we are on empty. On the jar it list the website www.landofthesaura.org, so I looked it up thinking I would just be able to order some online. No, luck there. It does mention 2 online sites that sell it but one shows online ordering coming soon and I couldn't get the other site to come up. Luckily for me though it is also sold in Whole Foods
as well. So, I'm thinking tomorrow I will call my local store to see if they have it. If so, off to Whole Foods we go. :)

Christmas Candies

2010-12-27T12:15:00.001-08:00

I made a few Christmas candies to give away to friends and family this year.

I found the idea for the Peppermint covered Oreo's in Taste of Home's Simple and Delicious magazine.

You simple drizzle the Oreo's with white candy melts (found in my local Lowe's grocery store). Then put some candy canes in a quart size bag and use that meat mallet to break them up. Make sure you add the peppermint to the candy melts while it is still soft. Otherwise the peppermints will not stick to the candy very well.

I found the idea for the Santa's Party Mix over at Cookies and Cups.

Aren't the little Bugle Santa hats cute? I didn't have any white sprinkles. That would have looked better on the bottom, but the clear had to do.

If you would like instructions on how to make this, check out Cookies and Cups.

Note: I had never used candy melts before making these two candies. The red candy melts used on the Santa hats could not be found at my grocery store or Wal-mart. I just took a trip to Jo-Ann's and they had them there. Any craft stores would probably have them.

Chicken and Rice with Shanghai Stir Fry Sauce

2010-12-27T11:38:00.000-08:00

Super easy but a delicious meal.

Tastefully Simple makes meals so easy!

Simple cut up some chicken breast into thin strips. Use between 1/2-1 lb depending on how many you are cooking for.

Throw the chicken in a pan with some Olive oil.

Add a little Seasoned Salt to the chicken.

Cook until done then add 1/4 cup of Shanghai Stir-Fry Sauce to the pan with the chicken.

Top prepared rice with the chicken. You can do so may different things with this. I often like to add broccoli and scallions to it.

Another note: I like to cook my rice in chicken broth if I'm using plain white rice. It gives it some flavor.

Homemade Salsa

2010-12-27T10:33:00.000-08:00

Oh blog world how I've missed you. It's been way to long! I just haven't had a chance to post or read others blogs. I've been missing all the creativity. I hope it won't be as long until my next post. I did want to share a salsa recipe that I got from a friend. I did tweek it a little but it is pretty much the same thing as she gave me.

Homemade Salsa

Ingredients:

2 - 14.5 oz cans of stewed tomatoes

1/2 tsp salt (I used 1/2 Tbsp on accident and it wasn't too salty)

1 tsp Cumin

1 tsp Garlic Garlic (you can used minced Garlic if you don't have Tastefully Simple Garlic Garlic)

1/4 cup fresh cilantro

3-6 jalapeno peppers (I used the sliced ones in a jar and just used the amount I thought to be equivalent to 3-4. I also took the seeds out so it wouldn't be as spicy. Mine ended up being Mild-Medium heat)

Add all these to a food processor and blend until desired consistency.

Can be refrigerated for several weeks.

This makes quiet a bit but it is so good! I made it on Christmas day and it is already about gone.

London Broil Marinade

2010-10-21T18:57:00.000-07:00

For dinner tonight we had London Broil Steak, Baked Potatoes and a salad. I think it was my first time making a London Broil. I bought it at the grocery store at half off then stuck it in the freezer until I figured out what I was going to do with it.

Since it is a tougher cut of meat, I knew it was going to need to marinade for a while. I found this marinade over at allrecipes then had to make a few changes to make it my own.

London Broil I

By: Char Finamore

"'London broil' most often refers to a thick flank steak, broiled and thinly sliced, but can also refer to thick cuts of sirloin or top round."

Ingredients

3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 (2 pound) flank steak or round steak

These are the changes that I made to it:

I used 3 teaspoons of Tastefully Simple Garlic Garlic in lieu of the minced cloves.

I used 1/4 cup of Soy Sauce and 1/4 cup of Worcestershire Sauce vs all Soy Sauce

I also added 2 Tablespoons of Balsamic Vinegar. You could also use Lemon Juice.

Since I pulled the meat from the freezer, I let the meat sit in the marinade in the refrigerator for 3 days. It took at least a day and a half or longer for the meat to thaw out.

After the steak was marinated, I needed to know how to cook it.

I found this link on eHow.

I let it cook a little over 10 minutes on each side on Medium High heat on the grill.

While the steak was cooking, I brought the marinade to a boil on the stove top and let it cook/bubble until the steak was done. It thickened up the marinade a bit to a steak sauce consistency. You have got to do this with the marinade. I would hate to have you throw it away. This adds an excellent taste to the steak. I could eat it on other things also.

My hubby took the leftovers to work to the next day. Hubby let other guys he work with try it and everyone loved the sauce! They were trying to guess what was in it. It kind of taste like an A-1 sauce, but much better.

I forgot to take a picture of it once it came off the grill. This is what it looked like after we had ate about half of it. It ended up being Medium Rare which is a bit on the rare side for me but it still tasted good!

ASU Homecoming Weekend

2010-10-10T18:15:00.000-07:00

For those that may be out of state reading this, that is Appalachian State University. You may have heard of us.

We upset Michigan a few years ago on their turf! I found this blog that tells all about it.

I was excited about getting up to our homecoming game this year. I haven't made it to a football game there in a while. I'm hoping to make it there to a game now at least once a year. It was a HOT day though. Can you believe I got sunburned through my jeans? How does that happen? My leg was just blotchy. The next day after putting lotion on my leg, it had pretty much went away though.

Snips and Myself pregame

Just had to paint the nails black and gold!

ASU marching band

After each touchdown, the cheerleaders ran across the field with the APP STATE flags.

The sun finally went behind the trees. I put on my glasses and now I can see! :)

Yosef, our mascot

It was the largest Homecoming crowd at Kidd Brewer Stadium to date.

Final score ASU 34 Elon 31

Chicken Bacon and Ranch Tacos

2010-10-06T18:34:00.001-07:00

Chicken Bacon and Ranch Tacos

I started off with the notion that I was going to have beef tacos for dinner tonight. I bought a 5 lb value pack of beef on Sunday and forgot to divide it and freeze it. I got it out tonight and it had already turned brown. Yuck! So, off to the trash it went. Luckily I had chicken so I just used that instead.

For this dish I used:

Approximately 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into thin strips
Tastefully Simple Seasoned Salt
Tastefully Simple Fiesta Party Dip Mix
Tastefully Simple Bacon Ranch Dip Mix
12 pack Taco Shells
Cheddar Cheese, shredded
Lettuce, shredded
Tomatoes, diced
Sour cream

In a pan heat some olive oil over Medium heat. When the pan gets hot, add your chicken. While your chicken is cooking throw in some Tastefully Simple Seasoned Salt. If you don't have any Tastefully Simple Seasoned Salt, use what you have. Also add your Tastefully Simple Fiesta Party Dip Mix. This is what you will use in place of a Taco Seasoning Mix. Very little of this goes a long way so it is a much better value then buying those taco seasoning packs in the grocery store. I probably only used about 1/2 Tbsp of it. I then added Tastefully Simple Bacon Ranch Dip Mix. Since this was a seasonal item we no longer have it available unless it is on limited supply. You could also use those packages of ranch mix and some Tastefully Simple Bacon Bacon or some other type of bacon bits. Cook your chicken until the juices run clear. Be sure not to over cook or your chicken will become tough.

While your chicken is cooking heat your taco shells and get all your desired toppings together. Like I said in previous post, I prefer to shred my own cheese from the blocks. It always taste much fresher to me. Sometimes you can get the cheese blocks for less expensive then the pre-shredded cheese but a lot of the times it is about the same cost.

When your chicken is done cooking, top your taco as you wish.

Favorite Friday

2010-10-01T18:36:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Favorite Friday #3!

So, on my favorite Friday's I'm going to list a favorite of mine. It could be a product, place, really anything. I'm then going to link to a favorite that someone else has created that I want to show off.

I would also love for you to comment with a favorite of yours.

Today I'm listing my favorite Seasoned Salt.

Tastefully Simple Seasoned Salt

Ok, maybe I'm a little biased because I sell the stuff. It is awesome though. I use it more then any other products that we have.

Who doesn't like a good seasoning salt? It's made with an All-natural blend of sea salt, bell peppers, garlic, onion, celery and spices. It is so versatile, sprinkle it on almost anything. I also like to add it to some melted butter or olive oil and use it as a bread dipper. Yumm!

I just had to add some cute ideas on my website for Halloween.

A favorite post that I'm going to share this week is Family Fun Magazine's Mini Caramel Apples.

Photo from Family Fun

I've seen lot's of variations of these floating around in blog land and plan on making some of my own. Aren't they just the cutest things? You use a melon baller to get the mini apple shape.

Thanks for checking out Favorite Friday! Everyone have a fab weekend. I plan on attending a local festival tomorrow and the weather is supposed to be great for it.

We're going on an Acorn Hunt!

2010-09-24T14:36:00.000-07:00

I have had so much fun browsing through everyone's Fall/Halloween decorations. I came across PB Decor Ideas over at A Pumpkin and A Princess and was inspired to make my own.

The kids had picked up some acorns in the yard the other day so I knew this would be something they would like to help me with.

At first Big Bro seemed much more excited to collect acorns then Little Sis but after he had collected a few, he was done with it.

Little Sis showing off her acorns she collected.

Big Bro caught a blurry, but cute picture of Me and Little Sis

This was the final product. I will probably add a few other things and was looking for more of Fall colors for the ribbon but this will have to do for now. We have lots of acorns that are left over as well. Any suggestions of what to do with those?

The glass vases I found at Dollar Tree for $1 each. The candles that are in the smaller vases came in a 5 pack for $1 and are Green Tea spice scented. They actually smell pretty good.

I know my picture isn't nearly as good as the natural lighting on the PB one, but I thought it turned out the acorns turned out pretty cute. The kids also enjoyed helping on this one.

Favorite Friday

2010-09-24T14:17:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Favorite Friday #2!

So, on my favorite Friday's I'm going to list a favorite of mine. It could be a product, place, really anything. I'm then going to link to a favorite that someone else has created that I want to show off.

I would also love for you to comment with a favorite of yours.

Today I'm listing my favorite flavor of Pillsbury Toaster Strudel.

It is the Pillsbury Toaster Strudel CINNABON Cinnamon Roll Strudel. Yummy! I've had a hard time finding these in several locations. Locally where I am I've been able to find them at Lowe's Foods and occasionally at Wal-mart. I looked on their site and didn't even see the flavor there. If you haven't tried them, you should. It is good.

If you have had the Pillsbury Toaster Studel, what is your favorite flavor?

A favorite post that I'm going to share this week is by A Pumpkin and a Princess with her PB Decor Ideas. The reason why this is my favorite this week is because I was inspired by the acorn decoration which I will be posting about next.

Pottery Barn picture from her post that inspired me.

Also check out her Halloween Candy Jar. I plan on making it as well. Super cute!

Sunday songs

2010-09-19T20:16:00.000-07:00

Our congregation at Church sang "You are God Alone" this morning and I just heard it again on the radio.

I wanted to share it with you.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMXpHhr_NkA

We had a great service this morning. We had the pleasure of having Vocal Union with us this morning.

Photo from http://vocalunion.com/

They are an acappella group from Nashville, TN. I could just listen to them all day.

You can hear one of their beautiful songs here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4H5cQKd3z4c

One of the Men in the group mentioned they had performed previously at Carnegie Hall and a blogger had emailed them to ask if they had a soundtrack or a band playing in the back. They are amazing though. The one guy sounded just like a set of drums. If you've never heard them, definitely check them out and see them live if at all possible.

After we heard Vocal Union, Pastor Jon had another great message. We had a great attendance today for our Anniversary service. There were a lot of faces that I hadn't seen in a while.

After service we had a great lunch on the premises.

This afternoon I watched some football with the hubby and kids.

It was a great day!

Cooking it up for lunch tomorrow!

2010-09-18T20:59:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow at church we are having our 27th Anniversary. Everyone brings food and we eat after service.

Here is what I have cooked up.

Salsa Chicken and Rice.

You can find my recipe for it here.

I haven't baked it yet, I will wait to do that in the morning. It is all ready to go in the oven and look like this though.

Simply Herb Bread with Herb Butter Spread
I forgot to get a picture of the Herb butter. It makes the bread even better though. Yummy!

Absolutely Almond Pound Cake
Oops! I got grate marks on the pound cake. This was from flipping it over onto the cooling rack while it was hot. Oh well, is still tastes good.

and good ole Southern Sweet Tea.

I know this is a hodge podge of stuff. It's not necessarily meant to eat together though. For those not familiar with pot luck dinners, all the food is set on a long table or in this case lots of long tables and you just come down the line and pick and choose.

Looking forward to our church service in the morning and looking forward to the food and fellowship afterward. :)

Favorite Friday

2010-09-17T11:26:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Favorite Friday #1!

I thought I would start a post for Favorite Friday. I will probably eventually do a link up here but haven't figured all that out yet. :)

I worked on making a button yesterday for Favorite Friday but it is still a work in progress. If anyone wants to take a look over at my sidebar and see what I'm doing wrong that would be very helpful!

So, on my favorite Friday's I'm going to list a favorite of mine. It could be a product, place, really anything. I'm then going to link to a favorite that someone else has created that I want to show off.

I would also love for you to comment with a favorite of yours.

Today I'm listing my favorite paper towel!

Bounty is my favorite! It is thick and while sometimes a little pricier then other brands you don't have to use as many sheets to wipe up. You can also usually find coupons in your local paper for Bounty along with other Procter and Gamble products.

Now, if you will... share with me your favorite brand of paper towels.

A favorite post that I'm going to share is Busy-at-Home Basic Homemade English Muffins. Don't those look yummy! I definitely want to try these out myself.

I made a button!

2010-09-16T22:31:00.000-07:00

Yay, I'm so excited because I learned how to make a button tonight. You can check it out on my right side.

I'm going to be using this on Friday's. I will also make another button just for my website and maybe a few more. It is very basic, but at least I was able to do it. I followed a fabulous tutorial over at Following the Footsteps.

Don't ask me if you have questions though because I don't know what to tell you. :) This was my first button and I'm very proud of myself.

UPDATE:
Ok, so after messing around with it, I still don't have the code figured out. It is way to late tonight though. I will have to play around with it again tomorrow.

It is now up and running! A huge THANK YOU to Kris over at Yakety Craft. I wouldn't have been able to do it without you! Go check her out and show some love. She is just getting her blog up and running.

Toilet Paper Pumpkin

2010-09-15T13:45:00.000-07:00

I first saw these cuties over at The Sweet Life . She had an easy tutorial and these are the most simple and fastest things to make.

I bought a 4 pack of toilet paper from The Dollar Tree a few days ago to use for these. My intention was to make 4 of these but my kids saw me making it and wanted to try it as well. It is so easy to do I just had to let them make their own.

I used brown paper bags, fabric the size of my cutting board (probably around 18x20), toilet paper, ribbon, and scissors or a rotary cutter.

Put your toilet paper in the bag and cut off the top. Leave enough to stuff inside your toilet paper and save the piece you cut off for your stem.

Center your toilet paper on your fabric and do the same as you did with your paper bag. Push the fabric into the center until your pumpkin is covered.

Take the piece of paper bag you have remaining and fold it twice lengthwise then once the other way.

You can then tie a ribbon onto your stem.

I then sat them on some candle holders.

The kids excited about the pumpkins they made. :)

Garlic Gourmet Chicken Breast

2010-09-09T11:12:00.000-07:00

Garlic Gourmet Chicken Breast
Submitted by Debbie Carson (MD)

Ingredients
4 tsp. Garlic Garlic™
1 tsp. Seasoned Salt
1 cup sour cream
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 cups crushed herb-seasoned stuffing
3 Tbsp. melted butter

Directions
Combine first 4 ingredients. Add chicken to sour cream mixture; coat each piece well. Cover; refrigerate overnight or up to 24 hours. Remove chicken from sour cream mixture; roll in stuffing. Place in ungreased baking dish; drizzle with butter. Bake at 425° for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Makes 4 servings.

http://www.tastefullysimple.com/tryourrecipes/recipes.aspx?rid=3277&src=s

Pillowcases for Craft Hope to benefit terminally ill children

2010-09-06T14:51:00.000-07:00

I came across Craft Hope over at Craft Gossip. Craft Hope's current project is ConKerr Cancer. September is Pediatric Cancer Awareness Month. The project includes making pillowcases for terminally ill children. If you're interested you still have a little bit of time. The deadline is for the project is September 15th.

Here are the pillowcases I made today. There are a few Ladies in my church that have also made some and we are going to mail them off together.

The pattern they have listed is pretty easy to follow. It just requires basic sewing skills, so go ahead and make a few!

Baby Bling Shoes

2010-09-04T18:07:00.000-07:00

I've had these canvas shoes for quiet some time now. I bought them in a wholesale set with lots of Children's clothes. The brand is Jaffa By Oink Baby. Oink Baby makes some super cute clothes. When I first got the lot I was able to sell a lot on ebay later on I was having a hard time moving them. So, since I've been hanging onto them for so long I decided I would add some bling to them and see if they will sell it my Etsy shop. I haven't listed any yet. Trying to decide on how much to list them for. Tell me what you think. I found several embellished with Swarovski and they were like $80-$90. Whoa! I'm thinking around $20? I have some dark blue ones also, but wasn't sure if I could sell those to a baby girl. Any ideas of embellishing baby boy shoes?

Sausage Manicotti

2010-09-04T06:21:00.000-07:00

I found the recipe on All Recipes and have used it lots! I'm not a Ricotta cheese fan, so I like the fact that it uses cream cheese instead.

I pretty much follow the recipe but add more Mozzarella cheese, use the whole box of Manicotti and more sauce.

Ingredients

1 pound ground sausage
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 (16 ounce) jar spaghetti sauce
12 manicotti shells

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add manicotti shells and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
In a skillet over medium heat, brown the sausage; drain and keep hot. In a large bowl combine cream cheese, 1 3/4 cup of the mozzarella cheese and sausage.
Stuff noodles with cheese and sausage mixture; place in baking dish. Pour sauce over top of noodles and sprinkle with extra cheese. Bake for 25 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly.

This is what the cooked sausage, cream cheese and Mozzarella look like before stuffing your noodles. I use about 2 cups of Mozzarella in the cheese mixture and then top the manicotti with another cup. I could eat this stuff by itself. Sounds gross, but it is tasty! Like I mentioned earlier, I also cook the whole box of manicotti. Just don't stuff the noodles too full or you won't have enough for all of them.

Suggestion: After the noodles are done cooking, spray your pan with cooking spray and put the noodles in it to cool a bit. Very important to spray your pan so your manicotti doesn't stick. As you can see some of my noodles come apart, but that is no biggie. I use my fingers to stuff the noodles. It's much easier then trying to use a spoon. I forgot to take a picture but you then add your sauce. The recipe calls for 16 oz, but I use a whole jar. They are usually about 26-28 ounces. I then top the sauce with a cup of Mozzarella cheese.

Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes then enjoy!

Fall/Autumn Fabric Rag Wreath

2010-09-03T11:20:00.000-07:00

I posted a tutorial on how to do this the other day. They are easy to make but just time consuming.

This one is hanging on my front door.

I've sold this one and had lots of people wanting me to make the Halloween wreath in my tutorial also, so I need to get to work.

I also posted one of the Halloween wreaths in my Etsy store.

Organizing Fabric

2010-09-02T19:23:00.000-07:00

Ok, for all you organizers out there, I need some help!

I have LOTS of fabric and I'm not sure what to do with it all.

I have 2 of these 3 shelved bins stuffed full of fabric. I also have lots of fabric that is just sitting around waiting for a spot somewhere.

Anyone have some suggestions to help me organize a bit better. Should I just buy another one of these bins or does someone have a clever way to store fabric?

Any suggestions would be great and I'm a visual person, so links to a picture of how you store your fabric would be great!

Just by glancing around on other blogs I've found these:
http://blog.petitdebutant.com/2008/10/organize-your-fabric-stash.html
http://thedomesticdiva.wordpress.com/2007/06/30/sewing-room-organization-challenge-part-i-fabric/
http://houseonhillroad.typepad.com/my_weblog/2007/05/my_little_space.html
http://www.judymartin.com/Sewing-Room-Judy.cfm
http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2968013530055697428wSQxzc
http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/1109747537043438530BZwMtF

I'm sure there are dozens more, but I'm done for the night.

A Tastefully Simple Dinner!

2010-09-02T18:14:00.000-07:00

Tonight for dinner we had Smoky Bacon Pork Chops, Oven Roasted Balsamic & Basil Potatoes, and a salad with Vidalia Onion Dressing.

You can view our new Fall-Winter e-catalog or just check out my website.

The Smoky Bacon Grill Sauce was a Spring-Summer item, so it's availability isn't guaranteed.

For the Balsamic and Basil Oven Roasted Potatoes, I diced up some potatoes and onions. Probably 4 small ones. I also added some onion as well. I then added a little Garlic Pepper Seasoning (which is also a Spring-Summer item, and I'm very sad to see it go) some Seasoned Salt, and Balsamic & Basil Dipping Oil. I very rarely measure ingredients unless I'm following a recipe. Even then I usually just add ingredients until I think it looks right.

These are the yummy potatoes and onions after they baked @ 400 degrees for 30-40 minutes, stirring a few times while they cooked.

For the pork chops, I sprinkled on Garlic Pepper Seasoning and Seasoned salt. I then rubbed it into the meat. I also drizzled a little bit of olive oil onto the pork chops so they wouldn't stick to the grill. After the pork chops were almost finished cooking I brushed on some Smoky Bacon Grill Sauce. I have found that if I add the sauce to a small bowl then apply to the meat I don't use as much. I may sell the stuff, but I still like to let my $ go as far as it can. :)

These were the yummy pork chops after I took them off the grill.

I also had a simple salad with lettuce, carrots, onion, croutons and Vidalia Onion Dressing.

Halloween Fabric Rag Wreath

2010-08-28T10:29:00.000-07:00

I made my first wreath and I think it turned out pretty cute. I'll include a brief tutorial but it is easy to make. Just a little time consuming.

You can use as many fabric choices as you want, I used 4 that I already had. I chose not to use the black minky fabric that is pictured. It makes a big mess when cutting it so I left it out.

Cut some fabric into about 1" strips. I didn't measure, just kind of eyeballed it. You can either run your scissors down the fabric or rip the strips. They do not need to be even and the frayed look is what we're going after. I then cut these strips in half.

I just used a clothes hanger that I bent into a somewhat circle. I had a wreath that I bought, but it was too thick and I would have needed to cut more fabric.

These are my strips all cut up ready to go onto the clothes hanger.

I then just double knotted each piece of fabric on then added a bow to the top.

Turned out pretty cute, didn't it?

Salsa Chicken and Rice

2010-08-26T13:02:00.000-07:00

Here is the recipe:

1 1/2 Cups uncooked white rice
3 Cups water
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
2 Cups shredded Montery Jack Cheese
2 Cups shredded Cheddar Cheese
2 cans Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup
2 cans Rotel (drained) or 1 1/2 cups Mild Salsa

Added Ingredients....
Tastefully Simple Seasoned Salt
Tastefully Simple Onion Onion
A few Tablespoons of butter

I was preparing this for 3 families at once, so I had quiet the production line.

Cook 1 1/2 cups rice in the 3 cups of water. While the rice is cooking I add a few Tablespoons of butter and a Tablespoon or two of Tastefully Simple Onion Onion. Lightly grease a 9x13 baking dish and add rice.

Rinse your chicken then cut up into thin strips or bite size pieces. Add Olive oil or cooking oil to a large pan and cook your chicken. I add Tastefully Simple Seasoned Salt to my chicken while it is cooking. After the chicken is finished cooking put on top of the rice.

I then added the cream of chicken soup. Normally I would combine the cream of chicken soup and Rotel together but my bowl wasn't large enough since I was preparing 3 dishes.

Add the Rotel and Salsa. Since I was making more then one dish I bought one of those large cans of Rotel plus a small one. When I got home I realized that wasn't enough, so I just added a little bit of salsa to it as well.

I forgot to take a picture of it topped with cheese before going into the oven. I like to shred my cheese from the blocks. It doesn't add that much time to the preparation and you don't have that powdery stuff on the cheese either. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until bubbly.

Enjoy!

Candy Apple Cupcakes

2010-08-23T19:20:00.000-07:00

I saw this idea for these Candy Apple Cupcakes over at Cute as a Fox Creations. These were just the cutest things and they looked so easy, so I had to take a shot at it.

I wasn't able to find the cute red ramekins like she had, so I had to settle for red cupcake liners. I was looking for any type of small red bowl with no luck.

I looked for the red candies in Wal-Mart and found red M&M's packaged together. I purchased one pack of them thinking that should be enough for 4 small cupcakes. I also found the bamboo skewers and the cupcake liners at Wal-mart. The sour straws came from Dollar Tree. I had the other items on hand.

I did the first two similar to how she had done it. With the sour candy straw as part of the stem and ribbon as the leaf. I had a difficult time getting the straw onto the skewer even with using the pointed edge.

With the other two I got very short on M&M's, so I made do with what I had left. I was going to color the part of the skewer that shows with a brown Sharpie or marker. I didn't get lucky enough to find one when I needed one though. So, they just stayed natural color. I also decided to cut out a leaf shape on a piece of construction paper.

They didn't hold up well on their own since they were in a cupcake liner. So, I decided to wrap them again with some plastic wrap and put a tag and bow around them. I cut off any remaining saran wrap so it would look a little better. I found the cute apple tags from Lee Hansen Graphics.

Tyler was supposed to meet with his teachers this evening but he was running a fever so I didn't want to bring him around everyone and spread his germs. I called his teacher and she told us it would be ok to meet with her in the morning. So, Tyler will get to give his teachers their candy cupcake apple in the morning. We have already met my daughters teachers, so she will probably give them their cupcakes on the first day of school.

Zesty Cracked Peppercorn Chicken

2010-08-19T14:49:00.000-07:00

Tonight for dinner I cooked Zesty Cracked Peppercorn Chicken, Broccoli with cheese and oven baked french fries.

The recipe for the Zesty Cracked Peppercorn Chicken is as follows:

Amazing Zesty Peppercorn Chicken Nuggets
Submitted by Jami Jann (SC)

Ingredients
3 Tbsp. melted butter
5 Tbsp. Zesty Cracked Peppercorn Sauce
1 1/2 lbs. chicken breast, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 sleeves butter-flavored crackers, crushed
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions
Combine first 2 ingredients in small bowl; mix well. Coat chicken in this mixture. Combine crackers and cheese in a large resealable bag. Place 4-6 chicken nuggets in resealable bag and shake in bag until well coated. Place chicken on a greased baking sheet and bake at 400° for 7-9 minutes or until cooked through. Makes 6-8 servings.

I decided to use some Garlic & Herb crackers and liked how it turned out.

This is the ingredients that you need. Since I didn't use the plain butter-flavored crackers, they didn't come in sleeves. So, I just eyeballed it and I had plenty.

I like to use a meat mallet to crush the crackers with.

That looks pretty good now.

Zesty Cracked Peppercorn Sauce with the melted butter. Love the smell of this stuff!

The chicken hanging out in the sauce/butter mixture.

All ready to go in the oven

Nice and golden brown and ready to be eaten. :) This was my first time making these and they were very tasty!

What a wonderful week!

2010-08-18T19:21:00.000-07:00

What have I been up to this week?.........

To start it off with, on Sunday I asked Christ to come into my heart and forgive me for my sins and save my soul. I'm now a Child of God. Can't start the week off any better then that! :)

I thought I had accepted Christ into my heart at the young age of 11. I went to my Mom and had my Mom pray the sinner's prayer with me.

"The Sinners Prayer"..........................

Heavenly Father:..........................................................................
I come to you in prayer asking for the forgiveness of
my Sins. I confess with my mouth and believe with my
heart that Jesus is your Son, And that he died on the
Cross at Calvary that I might be forgiven and have
Eternal Life in the Kingdom of Heaven. Father, I believe
that Jesus rose from the dead and I ask you right now
to come in to my life and be my personal Lord and
Savior. I repent of my Sins and will Worship you all the
day's of my Life!. Because your word is truth, I confess
with my mouth that I am Born Again and Cleansed
by the Blood of Jesus! In Jesus Name, Amen.

I never really had a personal relationship with God though. I was brought up in Church and been pretty faithful until around College. I then would go on occasion. After I was married we would go on occasion also, but not faithfully. After we had our first child I started to attend a little more often. Then after we had our second child I was going more often. I always knew that I wanted my children to grow up attending church as I had. The past year I have really got more faithful with attending church usually on Sunday morning, Sunday evening and Wednesday evenings. Even though I was in church that much I still had a lost soul. On Sunday I was in Church and our Pastor was preaching on the Rapture and Revelation. I first started thinking of others that were lost and needed salvation. I then immediately started getting convicted. My heart felt as if it was going to pound out of my chest. I knew that I was being convicted and needed to get it settled immediately. I'm so thankful that God didn't give up on me. I know there are others out there like me who have grown up in Church and may have thought you were saved as a child. If you were and had that change that you have when Jesus comes into your heart, that is awesome. If you never really experienced that change though, I urge you to get it settled right away. You never know when your last day on this earth will be and my prayer is that you know without doubt that he is your Savior.

There is also the ABC's of Salvation that you can check out.

A) ADMIT YOU ARE A SINNER

B) BELIEVE THAT JESUS DIED FOR YOUR SINS, ROSE FROM THE
DEAD AND THAT YOU TRUST HIM ALONE 100% FOR YOUR
SALVATION.

C) CONFESS YOUR BELIEF TO OTHERS.

I was going to also share some other things I've been up to, but I think this will do it for tonight's post. No topping it! :)

Cheeseburger Soup

2010-08-13T19:21:00.000-07:00

I know it's pretty hot out to be thinking about soup but I tried this and needed to share. I will share it again when it gets colder out if I can remember to.

I got this recipe from a friend of mine recently and decided I would try it myself. I was a little skeptical to start with because I'm not a huge hamburger person. I thought well if I didn't like it, my husband would still probably eat it. He likes hearty foods, meat and potatoes kind of guy. I was very surprised though. It was delicious! It was more of a cheesy potato soup. You couldn't even taste the hamburger that much. I think I will double the recipe next time. So, here is the recipe...

Ingredients:
1/2 lb ground beef
1/2 chopped onion
3 stalks chopped celery
3 Cups chicken broth
3 cups diced, peeled potatoes
2 cups chopped carrots
1/2 stick butter
1/4 cup flour
1 1/2 cups milk
8 oz Velveeta or your favorite cheese
Salt, pepper, and red pepper to taste.

Brown 1/2 lb ground beef (I added some Tastefully Simple Everyday Grillin Seasoning to the beef)
with 1/2 chopped onion and 3 stalks chopped celery. (I omitted the celery)
Drain and set aside. (I didn't have to drain because I used 90/10 meat and there was very little grease)

Boil 3 cups chicken broth (I use the bouillon cubes)
and add 3 cups diced, peeled potatoes
and 2 cups chopped carrots (I omitted the carrots also).
Boil until tender.

Place beef back on heat and melt 1/2 stick butter into the beef. Mix 1/4 cup flour into beef and then add to potatoes and carrots.

Add 1 1/2 cups milk and 8 oz Velveeta. I used an 8oz block of cheddar cheese and shredded it.
Stir until cheese melts. Add salt, pepper, and red pepper to taste. I used Tastefully Simple's Sweet Bell Pepper Dip Mix in place of the red pepper. I would probably add a dash or two of Fiesta Party Dip Mix next time just to spice it up a tad.

Fishing with the kiddos

2010-08-13T18:56:00.001-07:00

Today my Dad and I took the kids fishing.

Some beautiful butterflies hanging out in the mud

Yes, I wanted some pictures with me and the kids, so self shot with big head, lol!

Reeling it in

Tyler catches the first fish with the help of Poppie.

The patience thing was hard for both of them

Tyler looks very serious here. I think he was watching the end of the rod to see if he was getting a bite.

Another fish.

I think Tyler caught 3 with the help of Poppie and I on his rod, Tatiana caught one and Dad and I caught a few. They were all very small fish and went back into the river.

Yay! I was featured!!!

2010-08-13T14:30:00.000-07:00

My tile coasters were featured over at Craft Gossip today! I'm so excited, because this is my first time being featured. She also has a huge following. On Facebook alone, she has 2,514 people who like her site.

I have a site meter that shows how many hits I typically get to my blog per day. Depending on what I post I usually get anywhere from 15-70 visits a day and 30-100 page views. Well today (and it isn't even over) since she featured me I've had 175 visits and 259 page views! Can I just say whoa! :) Thanks Amanda at Craft Gossip!

Homemade Gatorade

2010-08-10T19:41:00.000-07:00

I first want to give credit where credit is due. I found this recipe over at Homemade Mamas.

This came directly from their website:

What You Need:

32 oz water
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 packet unsweetened Koolaid
*optional: 1 Tbsp. lemon juice or 1/2 cup fruit juice (if adding fruit juice, reduce sugar to 3 Tbsp.)

Mix all your ingredients together, chill, and enjoy! And as you can see from the info below, the nutritional content of the homemade sports drink vs. Gatorade is pretty comparable, although if you are going to Participate in extreme, prolonged exercise (like marathons), the homemade version is not recommended.

Comparison of Nutritional Content:
16 oz Gatorade: 28 gm carbohydrate, 220 mg sodium*, 60 mg potassium, 104 cals

16 oz homemade: 26 gm carbohydrate, 288 mg sodium*, 40 mg potassium**, 100 cals
**adding the 1/2 cup of fruit juice would add about 150-250 mg potassium**

**********************************************************************************************
My version

I have made it numerous times and my son loves it!

I used the same ingredients, but doubled the recipe. It's just easier for me to do it this way instead of trying to use a half of a package of Kool-Aid.

- 8 Cups of Water
- 1 package of Kool-Aid (my Son's fave is Lemon-Lime, he loves Sprite too)
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 Gallon pitcher
I've never added the additional optional items.

Mix ingredients then pour into an empty Gatorade bottle or any other drink container you have available. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Linking up over here:

Tile Coaster tutorial

2010-08-08T19:10:00.001-07:00

I've posted about these coasters that I've made before, but I wanted to do more of a tutorial for you in case you're interested in making them.

You will need 4 tiles which you can purchase individually at any Home Improvement store. You will also need some Mod Podge and a brush to apply the Mod Podge, some cork for the backing. Then last, but certainly not least you will need some scrapbook paper. You can also use Polycrylic to top it with, but that is optional.

You will need to cut the scrapbook paper and cork to fit the tile. I don't have a paper cutter, so I use what I have. I have a Fiskars cutting mat (which is for cutting fabric), a rotary cutter, and a large clear acrylic ruler. When applying the scrapbook paper to the tile, I use a credit card (actually a grocery savings card) and make sure there are no bubbles under the paper. Start from the center and go out. After the paper is on, I take my fingers around the edges to make sure it is sealed. This is an important step! The reason why is if the paper edges aren't sealed, you put the polycrylic on and it will go through the paper. It then doesn't look as pretty.

I apply at least 3 thin coats of Mod Podge. Apply one coat then let dry then apply another coat and on and on. In this picture you can see where the Mod Podge is still wet. Try to do uniform strokes when applying the Mod Podge. You will be able to see a few strokes after it is dry.

It is then optional to apply some polycrylic to make it shiny.

I forgot to take a picture of the backing of the purple coasters, but here is the cork backing from another set I made. I did a search online as to where to find thin cork. There are several places that sell it online but it is expensive! I'm going to let you in on a little secret..... Shh..... You can buy shelf liner that is made of cork and it has an adhesive on it to stick to the shelving. Isn't that great and it's usually less then $10 a roll! The shelf liner cork has graphing on the back so you can cut it in a straight line. However I just used my rotary cutter and cutting mat to cut the cork also.

and here is one of the finished projects all tied up.

I just bought some more cute scrapbook paper today to put on other coasters. I have posted a few I've made in the past here in my store. I have several others made but just need to get around to get them posted vs. browsing around on others blogs. :)

Let me know if you have any questions about them and feel free to comment! I love comments. :)

I was featured over at Craft Gossip!

Joining these linky parties:

A new blog design

2010-08-06T21:40:00.000-07:00

I just changed my blog design. Aren't the owls cute?

I get my blog designs from Cristi's Creations. The best part of it all.... it's free!

Go check her out and get a blog design of your own.

Party and more Goodwill finds

2010-08-06T21:10:00.001-07:00

I had a Tastefully Simple party this evening and it was local. That is always nice When I don't have to drive that far. 3 parties were booked from only 6 attendees, including the host. That is a great ratio! I should be able to get my Fall/Winter parties booked up like that. :)

Today at Goodwill, I didn't have that much time to shop. So, I decided to head to the shoe section. I didn't find anything in my size but did find 2 pairs of shoes that I listed on Ebay.

Hopefully I will be able to make some money on them. I do want to start listing more things. I guess I should probably start listing some of the items around the house vs. going to the thrift store to find items.

This is what I found today..

I posted them here
Saks Fifth Avenue Women's Black heels. Size 9M. All leather, great condition! I paid $3.50 for them.

I posted these here

Bass Women's red boots. Size 7 1/2 M. Great condition! I also paid $3.50 for these.

Ebay

2010-08-05T19:05:00.001-07:00

So, I was browsing around last night on blogs. Up way too late again and I stumbled upon the blog My Dear Trash. By reading some of her post, I was super inspired. So today, I started listing a bunch of items on Ebay. It has been a while since I have sold on there and was happy with my findings today. You can now post your first 100 items each month for no listing fee. That is, if I understand it correctly. I always had to pay listing fees in the past regardless of if my item sold or not. So, needless to say I was happy about this. Several years ago I bought a huge lot of clothing that was Jaffa by Oink Baby. It is an Australian Boutique clothing brand for children. I bought it thinking I would resell on Ebay for a great profit. I did end up selling a lot of the items but was left with a tremendous amount also. So, in attempt to get rid of it I'm starting the bids on each item at only $.99. One of my listings is here.

All new with tags! Boutique clothing brand Jaffa by Oink Baby. Size 2T, 24.5 lb-28 lb. In this 7 piece lot there are 4 dresses, a halter top, a tank top and 1 pair of pink wide legged pants. Great to use now or get them for next Spring/Summer. Bidding starts at only $1 a piece.

Just so you know what value this is...

Dresses retail for $34-$38 x 4 = $136-$152
Pants retail for $32
I can't find the original price for the shirts, but what a great value!

I also went through some of our clothing items we had in a box for a yard sale or to donate to Goodwill. I pulled some of those out and will be listing them as well. I hope I have as much luck a she has had.

How I like to do Cheesesteak sandwiches

2010-08-05T17:33:00.000-07:00

First chop up some onions. I love this Pampered Chef knife. It stays so sharp. I need to get some more of them.

I then added some Olive Oil to the pan along with the onion, some Tastefully Simple Garlic Pepper Seasoning and Seasoned Salt

STEAK*EZE, my new friend! This is the best stuff I have used for cheese steak. It is so much easier then preparing the meat yourself and taste a lot better then some of those other brands. I love this stuff. It comes in a frozen block that looks like a large patty. You can put it directly in your pan, frozen. Let it cook for a little while on one side then turn it. You then can start separating the meat and it comes apart super easily. It came from the freezer section in one of those big wholesale clubs.

Onions are done now. I like for them to be soft.

I added a few splashes of Teriyaki sauce to the beef after it was done cooking.

I added the steak, onions and then the cheese. I used 2 slices of Swiss on each hoagie. I just used what I had. Provolone is also really good on it. I stuck it in the toaster oven until the cheese melted. I was then going to add just a little bit of mayonnaise but put the top on before I got the mayo on. It didn't need it anyway.

I also had a garden salad with it. The cherry tomatoes and cucumbers even came from my garden.

Hungry yet? :)

Linking up over at....

Homemade Tomato Spaghetti Sauce

2010-08-03T18:33:00.000-07:00

This is the second time this Summer I have made this sauce. I could eat it at least once a week though. I love it! I posted about it previously here but I decided to take a few pictures this time.

I added enough Olive Oil to cover the bottom of a large pan. I then added a medium onion diced. I let the onion cook until it begins to become soft. I then added about a Tablespoon of Garlic Garlic, and as many tomatoes, diced as you wish. You can use canned tomatoes if you don't have fresh and if you don't have Garlic Garlic you can also add a lot of fresh garlic. This dish is full of garlic and tomatoes! That is what I love about my Tastefully Simple products. They make cooking that much easier!

After your tomatoes have been simmering for a while it will look like this. To the tomatoes I add a couple of Tablespoons of Tastefully Simple Italian Garlic Bread Seasoning. It was a seasoning that was available in the past Fall/Winter catalog and will be available again this Fall/Winter. Again, if you don't have this you can add some Italian herbs. I also add a couple of Tablespoons of sugar, about a Tablespoon of salt and fresh ground pepper. My measurements are not exact, just use to your liking.

As my sauce was cooking I grilled some chicken to top this with. My husband doesn't like pasta without some type of meat on it. The last time I cooked it I didn't add any meat and he said it smelled good but didn't even try it. The chicken here was 2 very large chicken breast. Some people like to use a meat mallet to thin out their chicken. I do this sometimes but usually I just use a knife to cut it in half if it is a thick breast. I then cut it into smaller pieces as you can see. The chicken cooks much faster then just putting a huge breast on the grill. When I have large chicken breast I almost always cut it up into smaller pieces like this. Before grilling the chicken I seasoned it with Tastefully Simple Seasoned Salt , Garlic Pepper Seasoning, and Balsamic and Basil Dipping Oil. The Balsamic and Basil Dipping Oil is delish on chicken!

Here is the final dish with the chicken cut into smaller pieces. Although this was served over spaghetti, I like to serve it over angel hair pasta then top with some shredded Parmesan cheese.

I'm sharing this over at:

Linky parties

2010-07-30T21:53:00.000-07:00

Most people in the blog world probably already know what they are. For those of you who don't I will try to explain. You can put a blog entry of one of your post on another site. I like to view linky parties because there are some very creative people out there. It is where I come up with a lot of my crafty ideas.

Tonight I linked up to my first Linky Party EVER on Craft Envy.

It was super easy to do, so I might try another one again later. In this linky party I shared the post from my coasters.

Football Camp

2010-07-26T20:14:00.000-07:00

So, this year will be my son's first year of playing football. He has camp this week and tonight was the first evening of it. He seemed to enjoy it, now he just needs to practice some with Daddy.

The kids and coaches.

Tyler is the one with the bright green shirt. It was easy for me to spot him, sitting pretty far away.

The first two days are held at the high school. So, there were a lot of high school boys helping out.

Bargain shopping

2010-07-20T20:24:00.001-07:00

Tonight as I was waiting on my children to get out of VBS I did a little shopping. I had to go by a home improvement store to pick up some tiles so I can make more coasters. I then went by Goodwill. I have always donated items there in the past, but not until the last year did I start doing some shopping there. I decided what the heck, I've donated some nice things and I'm sure others have too. I haven't shopped there often because it takes me forever to go through the stuff and I usually have the kids with me. It's one of those places I like to go if I have some free time though. I ended up with 2 shirts, 2 skirts and a pair of shoes all for around $24! Now where else can you go and buy that many items at that price. On top of that, one of the tops was J. Crew and it still had the original tags on it for $48.50 or $49.50. One of the skirts was from Gap and the shoes were BCBG shoes. The other shirt and skirt I wasn't familiar with the brands but thought they were cute. I took a picture of it just so you can see my deals. These items aren't meant to wear with each other, I just put them all together so they would fit in one picture.

Now, don't you want to go and do some bargain shopping. :)

Dinner tonight..... Loaded baked potato soup

2010-07-20T19:55:00.000-07:00

Dinner tonight was Baked Potato Soup. I know, soup in the middle of Summer. Crazy, right? Well, one of my Uncles gave me lots of red potatoes that he got from his garden. So, this is one of the best ways I like to use them.

Here is the recipe that I use:

Baked Potato Soup

4 large baking potatoes, cooked in the microwave or oven and cubed
2/3 Cup butter or margarine (I always use butter)
2/3 Cup all purpose flour
6 Cups milk
Salt and Pepper to taste
4 Green onions chopped
12 sliced bacon cooked and crumbled
1 1/4 Cups grated cheddar cheese
8 oz carton Sour Cream

Melt butter over low heat in large pot, add flour and stir till smooth. Gradually add milk, cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until thick and bubbily. Add potatoes (I always add the potato skin also, if you don't like it you could remove it before adding to the soup), salt and pepper, green onion, bacon bits and cheese. Stir in sour cream. I also usually reserve a little of the cheese and green onion to top the soup with.

I never use the recipe exactly as the recipe is stated. I generally used precooked bacon bits in lieu of having to cook bacon and crumble it. I also like to add Tastefully Simple Onion Onion in place of the fresh onion. I just add it to the butter and flour as it is becoming thick. Tastefully Simple Bacon Bacon could also be used instead of real bacon. It is soy. I have used it before also in the soup. With the cheese I just usually put how much in that looks right. With the sour cream, some times I have 8 oz of sour cream, other times not. The only thing I stay pretty consistent on is the butter, flour and milk.

I'm having a hard time getting pictures of the food. I was running out of the house to take my kids to VBS for their 3rd week. They haven't been in a few weeks so they were ready to go again. All that I have done is asked if they want to go and they say YES with excitement every time. My hubby had to finish the soup for me tonight and he forgot to add the bacon bits. I just added some to the top for our leftovers. This is the best potato soup recipe that I have ever cooked and/or had. Hope you enjoy!

One of God's beautiful creations

2010-07-20T12:12:00.000-07:00

We have a tree in our yard that has been dropping berries. I have never seen so many butterflies in the outdoors outside of a preserve. It was just the coolest thing ever! I also got to see some butterflies mating. That was the first time I had experienced that. I'll share some of my favorite butterflies that I saw.

Here is a video discussing how butterflies mate if you're interested. http://www.ehow.com/video_4753475_how-long-should-butterflies-stay.html?cp=1&wa_vrid=0a81095c-1213-4600-89e6-d9a5875683d7&pid=1 . The guy in the video is a bit odd, but I did find it interesting. I was just doing a search for when butterflies mate and came upon this video.

A few pictures of the butterflies in the process of mating.

Tyler watching a butterfly

June bugs also loved the berries

and bees

flies

and giant flies (horse flies?) too!

and finally... a beautiful Sunflower that has bloomed in our garden.

Tile coasters Updated with a few more pictures

2010-07-18T17:50:00.000-07:00

I made some tile coasters today and really liked the way they turned out.

This is a picture of took of them as they were drying. I still have to add some cork to the bottom.

This shows the cork backing

I'm going to keep these for our house. But, if I was going to gift them I would tie them up something like this.

This is a side view picture. As you can see I used a blue tile.

I think I'm going to have to make some more of these. They were a lot of fun!

I'm posting this over at...

Coupon clipping Mama

2010-07-17T19:47:00.001-07:00

Yes, I am a coupon clipper. I like to do most of my grocery shopping at Lowe's Foods because they double coupons. I shopped there tonight and was wondering if they allowed a set amount of coupons. I think I had about 16 or 17. I also believe that is the most I've ever used in one grocery trip. I'm really getting the hang of it now. I believe it was probably about the most I had saved percentage wise as well. My purchase price was around $42 and with the in store promotions and my coupons I saved around $38. That is almost half off! Not too bad! Most of the items I purchased were on sale and I used a coupon for them. I did purchase a few items that weren't on sale and I didn't have a coupon for. I guess that might have messed up my percentage a bit. I came home and did a search on their website to see if it told how many coupons they allow. I found this under FAQ:

"To allow all of our customers to enjoy these additional savings, our prevailing guideline is that Lowes Foods reserves the right to limit quantities in coupon usage and product purchases."

The only time I see that it gives a number is under double coupons:

"We will double up to 20 manufacturer coupons with a face value of $0.99 or less every day."

A few others that I found informative were:

"To ensure product availability for all customers, we limit redemption to 4 coupons for 4 of the same item. For example, if you have five coupons for a specific cereal and have purchased five of the item, we will honor the coupon for up to four of the boxes of cereal."

"Coupon value cannot exceed our retail price of the item; no cash back will be awarded."

"A doubled coupon will not be honored if the doubled amount exceeds the retail or sale price of the coupon item. No cash back will be awarded." I posted about this on another post . I made $0.02 on the item when my coupon doubled.

"From time to time, our manufacturer coupon promotions will be enhanced. For example, we may offer our customers the opportunity to triple their coupons. Special promotional opportunities will be featured in our circular or on-line." Never heard of Lowe's doing triple coupons. Has anyone else?

The following are regarding internet coupons:

"We will only accept printable internet coupons if they scan at checkout."

"We will not honor FREE Product coupons printed from the Internet."

"With the purchase of two like manufacturer’s products, we accept two internet coupons per day."

It is also much easier to do my grocery shopping with coupons without my kiddos. They just don't have that much patience for me to shop around and look to see if I have a coupon. They both do enjoy helping me clip coupons though. I let them cut out the print out ones since I can usually print out another one if they clip it in half. :) Couponing does take some organizational skills also. You don't want to be in the store in one aisle searching and searching to see if you have a coupon for a specific item. I posted here about how I organize my coupons. One day I will get a picture of it too! Hope this post helps for those who may be looking to start couponing.

What a great giveaway!

2010-07-16T21:34:00.000-07:00

Check out this great giveaway by Azul Sensatori by Karisma on Mom Start for a 2 night stay giveaway! I entered and if I'm not the lucky one, maybe you can be. :)

Fresh tomato spaghetti sauce

2010-07-15T09:40:00.001-07:00

I should have taken a picture, but didn't think about it at the time and was kind of rushed also. I've made this numerous times in the past. It is so good! I don't measure ingredients, I just add until it looks right.

I started with a little bit of olive oil in a large pan. Probably a couple of tablespoons. I then added 1/2 of a large Vidalia onion, diced. I let the onions cook until they started to become soft. I then added about a tablespoon of Garlic Garlic, and as many tomatoes as you wish. I used Roma tomatoes because that is what I had the most of. This would be good with almost any type of fresh tomatoes and I've even used canned tomatoes in the past. I also added a tablespoon or two of TS Italian Garlic Bread Seasoning. It was a spice jar that was seasonal this past Fall/Winter. I also added a couple of tablespoons of sugar, a little bit of salt and some pepper. I like to serve this over angel hair spaghetti then top with some shredded Parmesan cheese.

Movie time

2010-07-14T21:50:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I've posted, it seems. Summer is always a busy time with going here and there. I've been watching a lot of movies at home with my hubby and kiddos though. We started back up our Netflix subscription. If you're not familiar with Netflix, where have you been? :) Nah, all kidding aside, it is great! They have a one month free trial, so if you've never used it before go try it out. If you decide to subscribe, it's super inexpensive. This is from their website..

How much does it cost?

Netflix costs $8.99 a month. You get 1 DVD out at-a-time which you can exchange as often as you want. Plus, you can instantly watch online on your PC or Mac or right on your TV via an Internet connected Netflix ready device. Instantly watch as often as you want, anytime you want.

Speaking of the Internet connected device, we have a Xbox which is connected to the Internet for my hubby's video games. It is great, there are hundreds of movies ready at an instant. What I like about it is there are lots of kids shows and movies on there. I don't let the kids watch tv all the time, but it's nice to have something new to watch on occasion. They are super quick to ship out the DVD's though. After watching it we mail it out the next day. It seems like we have another DVD withing just a few days.

So, there you have it. That's where I've been. Tonight we watched Blind Side. I would highly recommend it! It is such a feel good movie. I was inspired by the person that Sandra Bullock played. As a Christian we should be more like the character that she played.

Etsy store... Update!

2010-07-08T17:30:00.000-07:00

I'm seriously thinking I will open my Etsy store again, pretty soon. I need to work on some things to add to the store. I just finished a pattern for a tooth fairy pillow that I'm going to work on and see how it turns out.

Here is a post showing some things I had in my Etsy store in the past.

--------------------------

Ok, so I did decide to go ahead and open up my store tonight. So far I only have 2 items listed but it just takes a while to take pictures then write out a description on each item. Hopefully I can get a few done tomorrow also. You can check out the items that I've added here.

I hope to offer some different items once I get my store up and going again. Happy shopping!

More great deals, restaurant and coupons!!

2010-07-07T14:17:00.000-07:00

Today I came across Southern Savers and found some great deals!

One was a Ziploc gift pack

First 10,000* to respond will receive a Ziploc® Back-to-School Gift Pack that includes Ziploc® Brand Sandwich Bags, Ziploc® Brand Containers with the Smart Snap™ Seal and Ziploc® Brand Storage Bags with the Smart Zip™ Seal.

Another one was from Restaurant.com Check the deal out here
Starting today, using code FUN you can get 80% off $25 Gift Certificates, Dinner of the Month Club, and $25 Gift Cards at Restaurant.com. I got a $25 gift certificate for only $2. What a deal!

A great coupon for Goldfish $.50/1 which I was able to print two of using one email address.

A great breakfast and some fireworks

2010-07-06T12:29:00.000-07:00

Some of my family got together Saturday morning for a great breakfast. We went to this place called Shatley Springs. They offer family style which means they bring out the food in dishes and you pass it around the table. I love this place for breakfast because I'm a big breakfast eater. On a typical morning I don't eat that much, but when I come to Shatley Springs, I splurge. They brought out sausage, bacon, and country ham, eggs, biscuits, preserves, gravy, fried potatoes (look like big french fries), cooked apples, grits and pancakes is what I can remember right now. Needless to say, I ate WAY too much! They usually have a musical group (bluegrass or gospel) playing out front and they have a mountain stream (where they get their water from).

Some of my family hanging out in the rocking chairs waiting on breakfast.

More of my family

Tatiana playing in the creek/stream

and Tyler

We went to Christmas in July in West Jefferson afterward and this was taken there.

Sunday evening we went to see some fireworks.

The kids took the pictures of the fireworks

Dinner tonight

2010-07-06T12:04:00.000-07:00

This morning I took my kids to a Children's day camp at a church where they attended Vacation Bible School. I'm hoping maybe we could do something like this at our church in the future. It is only one day a week for the month of July from 9:00-11:30. We didn't get there this morning until after 9:30. For some reason I was thinking it started at 11:00. The kids seemed to have a good time though.

I have dinner in the slow cooker ready to be served tonight. I also made some for a friend who just had surgery. I love slow cooker recipes because you just put it in there and walk away. Easy peasey. I also made some bread which is already ready. Both of these are Tastefully Simple recipes.

Creamy Artichoke Chicken
Submitted by Rosemary (MN) HQ Resident Chef

Ingredients
1 packet Artichoke & Spinach Warm Dip Mix
8 oz. cream cheese, cubed
1 1/2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed
1/2 cup chicken broth
4 oz. shredded Swiss cheese
Prepared baked potatoes, pasta or rice

Directions
Combine first 4 ingredients in a greased slow cooker. Cover, cook on low for 3-4 hours. During last 30 minutes of cooking, stir in Swiss cheese. Serve over hot baked potatoes, pasta or rice. Makes about 6 servings.

Simply Herb Bread with Herb Butter Spread
Submitted by Kimberly Wright (CO) Ingredients
Bountiful Beer Bread Mix^®
1 Tbsp. Garlic Garlic™
1 Tbsp. Onion Onion™
1 Tbsp. Spinach & Herb Dip Mix
12 oz. beer
4 Tbsp. butter, melted
5 Tbsp. butter, softened
1 Tbsp. Garlic Garlic™
1 Tbsp. Spinach & Herb Dip Mix

Directions
Combine the first 4 ingredients together. Add the mixture to the beer in a large bowl. Mix as directed on package. Pour dough into greased 9 x 5 loaf pan. Pour the 4 tablespoons of melted butter on top. Bake at 375° for 50-55 minutes until loaf is golden brown and pulls away from sides. Remove from pan and cool on rack for 30 minutes before slicing. Makes about 14 servings.

Herb Butter Spread:

In a small bowl, combine the last 3 ingredients; chill. Serve on warm bread.

What a deal!

2010-07-02T20:09:00.000-07:00

Let me just preface by saying I love a good bargain. When I do my grocery shopping I try to use coupons the majority of the time when I go. I like to go to Lowes Foods because they will double coupons up to $0.99. I know some places offer triple coupons on occasion but I don't have a store close by that does. I am kind of out in the country. Well, I had to run out tonight because we were out of pull ups and as sure as I didn't get any there would be an accident. So, hubby is in bed, I put the kids to bed and off I go. Of course I got more then just the pull ups. Who can go to a grocery store and buy just one thing? There are always other things that we need. We were also in need of some wipes, so while getting some pull ups I checked the prices on the wipes. Well, Pampers Clean and Go were marked down to $1.98. I had a coupon for $2.00 for any pampers wipes. She scanned it and it beeped (probably because the coupon value was more then what I was paying). She then just did an override for $2.00. So, I made $0.02 on them. :) I know, I get excited over silly things. It's not very often that I get paid to take products though. I never been one of those who are able to walk out of the grocery store with a cart full and only pay a few dollars. How in the world do they do that? I need to learn!

Using coupons is pretty time consuming though. It can be well worth it though as you just saw. I've tried several different methods. The one I'm using now is working out pretty good for me. I clip the coupons that I think I may use then file them with other items that are located in the same area. I bought some baseball card holders that I singly file them in, then I put them in a 3 ring binder. This just makes it a lot easier when going through the aisles. I can flip to the page of that category and see if I have a coupon. This way I'm not shuffling through each individual coupon trying to find one. It takes long enough to get them organized, I don't want to take even more time while in the grocery store. I also try to do my grocery shopping without my kids. Sometimes I'm able to, others not. I have more time to look through my coupons without my kids being there and I'm not as likely to buy extras that I normally wouldn't buy.

4th of July Chocolate Dipped Strawberries

2010-07-02T13:27:00.001-07:00

Isn't she a beauty? :)

A few days ago I posted about some cute chocolate dipped strawberries. I just had to try these out for myself.

I have everything ready. The strawberries patted dry, the white chocolate melted and the blue sprinkles. Don't you love the container the sprinkles are in. Ha!

I melted almost a cup of white chocolate, but didn't use all of it. I used between a pound and a pound and a half of strawberries.

These are some of the others before they went in the refrigerator.

Now to go enjoy them my daughter and I cannot wait. Hubby isn't home. Hopefully we will save some for him. :)

Ok, I'm back and we had several. Then I decided it would be nice to give a few to others. So, I printed a few tags from here on Executive Homemaker . I just used those little craft scissors to give it the border then I used a star punch.

Clear plastic bags would have been cuter but I didn't have any so I used what I had.

Family time

2010-07-02T13:04:00.000-07:00

Yesterday my Dad and I took the kids to a Threshers Reunion. I'm not sure exactly what Threshers stands for but they had lots of old farm equipment and more tractors then I have ever seen in my entire life. They also had vendors selling food and crafts and exhibits going on throughout the place.

Tatiana and I also rode the train (the Handy Dandy Railroad). My parents had taken the kids a few years back and both the kids rode the train then. Tatiana was the only one who wanted to ride it this time, so I took her for a ride as my Dad and Tyler walked around.

The Petting Zoo

Steam Shovel

Boarder Collie herding the sheep

and the ducks

My Big Boy sitting in the stroller taking a break.

Why is it almost impossible to get both of my kids to smile for a picture?

My attempt at a Ribbon and Bead Necklace

2010-06-30T18:25:00.000-07:00

My oh my! Let me first say that I thought this would be much easier then what I made it out to be. I was going in between two tutorials. The first one was done by Amy on Style Crush and featured on A Beautiful Mess . These looked so cute and I thought it looked pretty easy. The second tutorial I checked out was from Elizabeth on To Be Charmed and featured on the idea room. My intent was to use some embroidery thread that I had which was on one of the tutorials. I spent about 15 minutes trying to find my embroidery thread. I seriously need some better organization. After finding the embroidery thread I opened up my beads to realize the hole was too small for the embroidery thread to go through. The other tutorial used jewelry cord. I didn't have any jewelry cord (which looks like fishing line) but there was a little bit that the pearl beads came on. So, I took all the beads off the jewelry cord so I could use it. Then the little pearls rolled all over the place. I was attempting to keep them at one spot on the table but that didn't happen. This all took place around midnight. Why was I trying to do a new project around midnight? Who knows? I used 42" of ribbon which was on one of the tutorials and that ended up not being long enough. I was only able to do 3 beads in between the ruffles or it would have been even shorter. The only way I could get it to lay down where it didn't show the underside of the embroidery floss would be to wear it almost like a choker. Needless to say, I probably won't be trying it again. If so, I will do a few things differently like having beads that a needle will go through. Oh, that was another thing. Since the holes in the beads were so small I had to unthread the needle every time I added a bead. I will also have everything together before I decide to start on the project and I would use more then 42" of ribbon. Now, I would like to show you the pictures of what I was trying to attempt then how mine turned out.

Featured on A Beautiful Mess

Featured on The Idea Room

Featured on A Little Bit of Everything :)

I won't let this get my hopes up for jewelry making, but will try something different next time.

Product Review for Cookies N Cream

2010-06-28T19:23:00.000-07:00

Hand decorated sugar cookies from Cookies N Cream

I recently won a giveaway on Bird Crafts from Cookies N Cream, which I posted about here... http://tanya-alittlebitofeverything.blogspot.com/2010/06/i-hope-to-keep-this-up.html. Today was mine and my hubby's wedding anniversary and I happened to receive them today also. I was hoping they would get here in time but just wasn't sure.

Aren't they the cutest things? My camera/picture and presentation isn't anywhere close to being as cute as hers but I just wanted to show you the letters.

So, not only were they some of the cutest cookies I've seen but they were packaged very carefully. I was very impressed how there were only 2-3 cookies per bag and they were all packaged next to each other. I was concerned with the temps being in the mid to upper 90's that they may arrive melted. They were in great condition though. I'm not a huge cookie fan unless it comes to chocolate chip but I tasted one and they even taste good. Since they were so cute to look at I had a hard time biting into one but I did it anyway. I just wanted to share her site with you so you can see some of the other adorable things she has created. My hubby was stuffed from dinner so he will be taking some with him to work tomorrow. As soon as my son and daughter saw them they had to have one. My daughter loved them and has already asked if she can have another tomorrow.

Here are a few I thought you might enjoy.

Reconstructed shirt

2010-06-27T19:48:00.000-07:00

The kids have been to VBS all week and tonight was the commencement with an ice cream social afterward. Tatiana had made a shirt during VBS that said "Thumbody loves me God does". It had her thumbprints made into a caterpillar. It was really cute except that I don't like oversized shirts. So, I just cut the sleeves to make them look like fringe then tied a bow on the side and there you go.

Tyler and Tatiana both sang their songs. I was so proud of them. It's typical for Tyler to do it but not so typical for Tatiana. She can be super shy but she was singing along and even doing the hand movements.

The 3 and 4 year old class

The 1st grade class

4th of July Strawberries...

2010-06-27T11:45:00.001-07:00

I just saw this post on these 4th of July Strawberries. They are the cutest things. I think I may have to make some myself.

The picture and tutorial is on Baking Bites.

My daughter loves strawberries, but I'm not sure if she has ever had chocolate on them. If she doesn't like them my hubby and myself will finish them off. :) Still not sure what we will be doing for the holiday. My hubby is working but there is a local parade in town that we may sweat it out and go to. They also have a Christmas in July festival closer towards the mountain that we may do. My Dad had also mentioned going to an event they have yearly around the 4th with tractors and all types of farm equipment. We may do that. So many choices...

Tastefully Simple Birthday Bash Winner!!

2010-06-26T19:49:00.000-07:00

I had a Tastefully Simple party last night and my host and myself were winners! June was Tastefully Simple's birthday month of 15 years. 15 parties were called per region per week. My party last night just happened to be one of them. I was so excited, it was a great way to start off a party.

The host and I both won $115 in Tastefully Simple products. I was SOOOO excited!

I was very tired after last night. Yesterday I had been getting stuff together all day for a yard sale that I had today. At first I thought it wasn't worth it because I really hadn't sold hardly anything. Luckily before getting ready to pack up I had a lady come and buy a lot. I was so happy because she bought some of the larger items also. I didn't have to move them again.

Also a funny yesterday.... my tea cup Chihuahua was outside with me for a little while as I was getting stuff together. This Collie comes into our yard and my little Appy proceeds to chase it away. She went running up to him like you know I'm boss, barks at it then he goes on his merrily little way. It was the funniest thing. Here is this dog so much larger then her and she scares it away.

Here is a picture of her back in December with a little bit of snow on the ground. I need to get some updated pictures of her. She is just hard to take a picture of when I'm her favorite person. She either wants to be sitting on my lap or jumping up my leg.

Here is a comparison to our Great Dane. We have a miniature dog and a giant dog. :)

I was going to post a few other things tonight also. Hopefully I will remember them the next time I post. I'm falling asleep at the computer. This means it is time to go to bed.

Great use for a peeler

2010-06-24T09:31:00.001-07:00

I've been trying to cut back on the carbs a little. I seriously could easily eat them every meal and do sometimes. Toast, muffin, cereal or bagel for breakfast, sandwich for lunch then pasta, rice or potatoes for dinner. For lunch to keep away from so many sandwiches I will do turkey or ham with cheese wrapped up in it then some fresh cucumbers from the garden or some grapes or other fruit. I like to get the cheddar, colby jack or monterey jack cheese in the blocks. I have been just cutting the cheese with a small knife, but sometimes it's not so easy to cut. A vegetable peeler does a great job. It slices the cheese thin and is easy peasy.

I also found these uses for a vegetable peeler. http://www.rd.com/home-garden/extraordinary-uses-for-vegetable-peelers/article24047.html I just did the search while making this post and it even mentions cheese so several of you may already know this.

Speaking of food. This is what I'm having for dinner tonight. Bacon Ranch Slow Cooker Chicken

Bacon Ranch Slow Cooker Chicken
Submitted by Kelly Arnold (MN)

Ingredients
3 Tbsp. Bacon Bacon™
1 tsp. Garlic Garlic™
1 pkg. Hidden Valley Ranch® salad dressing mix
10.75 oz. can cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup milk
1 cup sour cream
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Egg noodles, prepared

Directions
Combine first 6 ingredients. Pour mixture over chicken in slow cooker. Cook 3-4 hours on high or until chicken is cooked through. Serve over hot noodles. Makes 4-6 servings.

We have a Bacon Ranch Dip Mix that I'm going to use in place of the Hidden Valley Ranch® salad dressing mix. For those of you unfamiliar with Bacon Bacon, and Garlic Garlic . You're missing out. :) If you don't know, I'm a Tastefully Simple Consultant and would love to help you in purchasing some of these great items. Anyway, enough of my sales pitch, ha! I do use Tastefully Simple items daily though. They are awesome. I'll be sharing more recipes later on.

Why am I still up?

2010-06-23T22:37:00.001-07:00

Umm I'm going to regret this in the morn. It's already past 1:30 am and I'm still messing around on the computer.

I've been researching insurance rates for individuals. Yep, I'm one of those crazy people who don't have insurance. This is something I know I need to get in case of emergency but have been majorly procrastinating on. I'm hoping by tomorrow I can get something figured out.

Another reason I'm still up is because last night I went to bed at a reasonable time and was awake half the night with this awful cough. I did go to the doc on Monday and was told I had a sinus infection. The only thing that is bothering me now is the cough though. It's been going on now for almost 2 weeks! I was put on an antibiotic and codene cough syrup. I've taken some of the cough syrup each night before bed. I can't take any during the day due to the way it makes my head feel. A good example of that would be Monday night. I took some and thought I'd just play around on the computer for a bit. After about 15 minutes of taking it, it hit me out of the blue. I felt as if I was going to pass out or get sick. I carefully took myself to bed then slept pretty good. Last night I waited until I was getting ready to lay down before taking it and I'm getting ready to do the same tonight. I even used my husbands inhaler tonight hoping that may help. It may have momentarily, but it isn't helping now. I may use it again before bed along with my cough syrup. Something has just got to give!

Alright, off to take my meds then to never never land. :)

Facebook Badge

2010-06-23T13:33:00.001-07:00

Yay! I just figured out to add a Facebook Badge to my Blog and it was so easy. I found it on Alex Wilke's blog just by doing a search.

Our pet Guinea Pigs

2010-06-22T16:42:00.000-07:00

Tyler and Tatiana just loved the rabbits and guinea pigs Sunday night at the little petting zoo. So, my husband took them to pick out their own guinea pigs Monday afternoon. My son also has a salt water fish/reef tank. He got it last year for his birthday so he's had it about a year and a half. The thing is just a lot to take care of. My hubby decided it would be best to just get rid of it. His original plans were to keep the tank and stand and use it in the future. He also thought he would let Tyler pick out some type of simple fish, prob for a fresh water tank. When I told hubby how much they both loved the guinea pigs he decided on that. They can get more enjoyment and interaction with the guinea pigs then they can fish. I was searching through some of my pictures trying to find pictures of our clown fish to no avail. I did find one of the kids and I with one of them in the background so I will post that. He was a little upset that his clown fish were going bye bye but the guinea pigs definitely helped that situation. He wasn't nearly as upset then.

One of Tyler's clown fish in the background.

Tatiana named her guinea pig Lucky and Tyler named his Johnny

Tatiana's is the smaller of the two.

Tyler's is rather big. They are both 4 weeks old.

I also set up a Facebook page for A Little Bit of Everything today. I just checked it and already have 26 Fans. That's not bad for just setting it up several hours ago! :) Thanks all!

I found these ideas a few days ago and want to make them for my kids.

Fabric Scrap Dolls from This Mama Makes Stuff

The printout is on that site along with the tutorial. It mentions using glue to attach the fabric to the dolls. I'm thinking I may have some velcro. If so, I'll attach a piece to the doll then to the cardboard. That way she can continue to use the same printouts.

I also want to do the Tie Rattle Snake

The tutorial is also included in the link above and this is by V and Co.

VBS kick off

2010-06-20T20:10:00.000-07:00

Today was Father's Day. We went to church this morning then met my family out for a late lunch. Have I mentioned I'm so blessed to have such a close family? I'm glad that we are able to spend most holidays with each other.

This evening was Vacation Bible School kick off. Our church isn't having one this year so I took the kids to another one close by. The kick off party was great. They had lots of things going on and the kids had a blast.

FACE PAINTING

PETTING ZOO

THEY BOTH WANT A PET RABBIT NOW

BOUNCE HOUSE

Not an attractive picture of me but wanted to show I made it up that thing with a toddler! :)

INFLATABLE SLIDE

And... for those of you not from this area V.F.D. stands for volunteer fire department. That's right, these guys and gals work on a volunteer basis.

The fire truck sprayed out the water for the kids. How cool is that?

The drenched gals afterward. :)

Sorry about the picture overload!

Fireflies

2010-06-19T19:35:00.000-07:00

The kids have been asking me to go out with them to catch fireflies ever since they saw the first one this season. I've been wanting to get out there with them but usually by the time it gets dark enough to go catch them I've already bathed them and don't want to go outside in their pajamas. Well, my parents just got back from a trip to TN and they bought both of them this neat little gadget. It looks like a giant light bulb but the bottom opens up so you can put fireflies in it. It is also ventilated throughout. I couldn't resist letting them catch fireflies or lightening bugs (as I was brought up calling them) after seeing how excited they were.

I had them let all the fireflies go before we went back inside. Tatiana let them go then was trying to catch them and put them back in again. I had to eventually let the rest of hers out. They wanted to keep them but I new if they stayed in there for too long they wouldn't be shining so brightly, so I told them they needed to let them go so they could catch them again. This was last night that they caught them and Tyler was especially asking me tonight if they could go out and catch them again tonight. After a long day, me still not feeling 100%, Tatiana not having a nap and starting to complain about her ear hurting again I decided tonight wasn't the best night and put them both in the bed at a reasonable time. Took both the kids to the doc Monday after Tati woke up early Mon morning complaining about her ear and both of them had had a pretty bad cough the entire week before. I thought it may just be allergies with Tyler but thought I should bring him in just in case. I figured Tatiana had an ear infection. Tyler's diagnosis was walking pneumonia and Tatiana's was sinus and ear infection. I was totally floored with Tyler's diagnosis since he acted like he had felt fine and no fever, just a cough. They were both put on the same antibiotic which was only for 5 days. Tyler still acts like he feels ok but Tatiana is complaining about her ear again. We went to the pool today and I didn't even think anything about her getting water in her ears. When she started complaining about them this evening it then donned on me that we shouldn't have went to the pool or I should have put something in her ears to prevent the water getting in. It was one of those what was I thinking moments.

See, she looked happy at the pool. It was after the fact when that ear started hurting her.

We also went to a local festival tonight and here are a few pictures from that.

Tatiana going down the big inflatable slide

Tyler throwing some baseballs

The inflatable obstacle course that I thought Tatiana was going to win.

Tyler finished just a second before Tatiana.

I found a really cute printable tonight for a wedding gift that I need to wrap. I've got several cute printable tags bookmarked. I will share those in a post soon!

Guess that is about it for tonight. Happy Father's Day to all you Daddy's. My hubby has to work tomorrow for Father's Day but we will spend it with my Dad. Church in the morning then lunch with the extended family.

I hope to keep this up!

2010-06-18T09:04:00.000-07:00

I've won my third giveaway on blogs just within the past couple of months. Wow! This time I won a giveaway on Bird Crafts. The giveaway was "SAY YOUR OWN PHRASE IN COOKIES!! - (up to 25 characters and worth $35!!) from Cookies N Cream. These are some of the cutest cookies ever. I can't wait to receive them and I need to remember to take a picture when I get them.

The last giveaway that I won, I'm still waiting for them to send me the correct code to use. You can read about that giveaway here. http://tanya-alittlebitofeverything.blogspot.com/2010/06/busy-week.html. I'll let you know all about that when I'm able to access it.

The USA tied with Slovenia today so we're still in the World cup. The USA had a rough start but ended up having a tied game at 2-2. It should have been 3-2 USA though. I'm not sure what the ref was thinking.

My sinuses have been bothering me all week. It is now Friday and it started on Saturday. I've been using the neti pot and that has helped some, but I wish this mess would just go away. It makes me feel blah! Besides I have a lot of things around the house I need to get done and don't feel like doing anything except lying on the couch. This is not typical of me either. I haven't spent that much time on the computer today thus far because it felt like it was taking too much effort. Now to go find something for us to eat for lunch then probably back to lying on the couch for a while.

A few projects I want to work on.

2010-06-15T18:08:00.000-07:00

I have so many different crafts/projects that I want to work on. I need to stop looking for new things and actually do a few.

I need a pincushion and I think this is the one I will do.

This is a picture of the finished product on Paper.String.Cloth. The tutorial is also listed there and I think it is the one that I'm going to use. I will of course have different fabric but the idea will be the same.

I found these fabric bookmarks along with the tutorial on How about orange... They really are so simple that you don't even need a tutorial though.

I've actually made some of these but I used scrapbook paper instead of fabric. They are super easy and I will make some others.

These are my version.

That's it for now. I will post more when I get a chance and hopefully will have some projects completed.

Site counter

2010-06-10T15:53:00.001-07:00

I just added a site counter to see if I get any hits on my site. http://www.sitemeter.com/

New background!

2010-06-10T15:08:00.000-07:00

I love my new background. I got it for free on Cristi's Creations.

Only one day left of school.

2010-06-09T20:27:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is Tyler's last day of school and then he is out for the Summer. I gave both his teachers a little something just as another thank you.

It was a beach towel rolled up with a magazine and bottle of sunscreen. I saw the idea somewhere but can't remember where or I would give credit where credit is due. The tags I found at executive homemaker .

It was day 3 of Tatiana's swim lessons and her first day of gymnastics Summer classes. I didn't get any gymnastics pictures today but did get a few more of swimming.

Today they learned about life vest and boat safety

They got to ride a kayak in the pool. Unfortunately for Tatiana the other little girl wanted to have nothing to do with the boat. So her ride was very short and she wasn't able to go as fast as the others.

My Grandmother (MaMa) is still in the hospital in TICU. I went to visit her again tonight and she seems to be doing a little better. She is hoping to be moved into a regular room soon.

I missed going to Wednesday evening church service tonight. We have been so blessed at out church and I'm looking forward to what God is going to do with our new pastor.

A busy week!

2010-06-08T21:24:00.001-07:00

This week has been busy thus far. Tatiana started swim lessons this week. She has really enjoyed taking the lessons. As shy as she is I wasn't sure if she would even get in the water without me. She was anxious to get in though, so hopefully she'll end up being a good little swimmer.

Tyler also took a gymnastics class Monday night for the first time.

Tyler will normally be taking gymnastics around the same time as Tatiana but since Tyler still has school this week he had to take his first class at a different time. He really enjoyed it but was goofing off a lot. This is typical Tyler though. He will probably end up being the "class clown". :)

I got notification via email that I won another giveaway. This time it was off of the blog http://myfourmonkeys.com/. I won a subscription to http://www.readeo.com/. I'm looking forward to trying it out. I love blog giveaways! I enjoy entering bunches in my spare time. This is my second one that I've won in about a month. I've never been so lucky before. The key is to enter as many as you can. There are several sites that have numerous giveaways on them.

Also I got a call today that my MaMa was admitted into the hospital. Her blood count was very low. She had a couple of units of blood while at the hospital and they are going to keep her until they run some test and see exactly what is going on with her. I went to visit her this evening along with several of my other family members. I'm so blessed to have such a close knit family. If you're reading this, please keep my MaMa in your prayers.

A little behind...

2010-06-03T18:15:00.000-07:00

Hello blog world! It seems like it has been forever since I've posted. With going to the beach for a few days and my husband having a few days of vacation, I've had very limited computer time. I really need to get a laptop because my hubby tends to be a computer hog.

We spent our Memorial Day weekend at the beach with my extended family. It consisted of My hubby, my 2 kiddos, and myself, My Cousin, her husband and their 2 kids, My Aunt and her daughter (my cousin), My Aunt and her boyfriend, and my MaMa and PaPa. We had a great time. Our family usually does try to get together and do a trip once a year. We rented a large beach house and had lots of fun.

Our first day at the beach. My kids were excited to collect seashells.

Tyler ended up sitting in the water so he had to shower off before going back into the house.

Eli and Tatiana cheesing it up at the aquarium.

The Seahorse is one of my faves!

Ice cream outside the aquarium. In this picture the kids already had their cones for sometime. They were some of the biggest servings of ice cream I had ever seen though.

Tyler enjoying playing in the sand.

Scottie with Eli and Tatiana buried in the sand.

Me and my hubby

Andy playing in the Ocean with our kids.

Hopefully I didn't overwhelm you all with pictures. I took a ton but just picked out a few. I will try to post again soon. God bless!

Sweet comments!

2010-05-22T20:04:00.000-07:00

The last two days I've received 2 very sweet comments. One was last night at my Tastefully Simple party. I had a client ask me if all the consultants had a personality as sweet as mine. We were playing a little ticket game and I think she was trying to get an extra ticket. I do think she meant it though because after that she said I do have a really sweet personality and it shows. Then today coming home from Zootastic Tyler told me that I was the prettiest Mom ever. I just don't know what to do with all these sweet comments. I'm very blessed.

We had a super busy day today. This morning Tatiana had her gymnastics end of the year ceremonies. Tatiana did not want to go in front of the crowd to do anything. She was grasping onto me for dear life. I eventually handed her over to one of the girls there that are on the team. She came out with all the other kids but wasn't walking but being carried. She then started crying when they tried to get her to participate with the others. So, she sat down and watched everyone do their stuff until the very end. She wanted her medal so she did do a few things in her routine then get on stage to get her medal.

Right after gymnastics we headed to Elise's birthday party at Zootastic. The kids had a great time. I thought it was a really cute place. I enjoy learning about animals also, so I think it was just as fun for me. Tatiana is definitely the shyest of the entire group, so she through me for a loop. She not only sat with someone she didn't know but she did this as the lady was holding a snake. She said she wasn't afraid of it. Tyler didn't get close enough to touch it because he was afraid it would bite him.

I had a hard time trying to get all 3 girls to look at me at once.

Tyler and I cheesing it up!

Me and my kiddos

Tyler riding a Shetland Pony

Tatiana taking her turn riding the Shetland Pony

Giveaways!

2010-05-20T19:38:00.001-07:00

I never realized there were so many giveaways on blogs. A lot of blogs are specifically for reviewing products then they generally also give away a product like the one they are reviewing. I love this. It has kept me up way to late on several nights. One of my fave sites to visit is Tip Junkie and not only for the giveaways but also for all the diy projects and tutorials. The tutorials is what first brought me to the site then I later found the giveaways. I was lucky enough to already win one giveaway which I posted about here http://tanya-alittlebitofeverything.blogspot.com/2010/05/im-winner.html. I'm not usually a very lucky person, so I was excited about this. It is a cute little diy apron set. I haven't put it together yet, but looking forward to see how it's going to turn out. Another great giveaway site is http://sweeps4bloggers.com/.

Today was the last day for me babysitting the girls for a while. The girls Mom took a voluntary lay off at work and is going to take some time off herself. I'm thinking I'll wait until the school year starts back up before I start watching any extra kiddos. It will be nice to be able to do stuff with Tyler since he will be home from school for the Summer.

The girls with Tatiana eating lunch on the picnic table Poppie bought.

Elise and Tatiana

Speaking of giveaways, I have to mention this one! June is Tastefully Simple's birthday month. Host a June party and be entered into the sweepstakes to win $115 in free products. 15 parties per region per week will be called. So, the chances aren't too bad. If you get the call at your party then I also get $115 in products. How great is that? That isn't all though.... If you have a $500 party you earn the Backyard Basics Collection valued at $55.95 in addition to your host benefits. If you have a $900 party, earn the Servin Up Sunshine Collection valued at $89.95 in addition to your other benefits. Have a $1,500 party and earn both collections.

So, if you already have a party booked for June, start working on those outside orders. If you don't have a party booked, let me know and we'll see what date I have left.

Kids washcloths

2010-05-17T19:36:00.000-07:00

I made some washcloths for the kids this evening. I've made different kinds previously and thought I would make some others.

These are flannel and the same pattern on both sides. They are also double stitched.

I've considered starting back my Etsy shop. I enjoyed doing it in the past then just kind of got out of making stuff. Since I'm feeling crafty again I may start doing some other things.

Here are a few things that I sold in my Etsy store previously.

Tutu

Scootin socks leg warmers

Flannel nap blanket

Minky washcloths

Diaper bag changing pad. Cotton on one side and minky on the other with ribbon tie.

Hair bow holders

Binky/Pacifier holder

I also wanted to share one of my favorite songs right now. It's Something Beautiful by NEEDTOBREATHE. I went to their site tonight to see some other songs they sing. NeedToBreathe is awesome!!! They just finished up a tour. If they were to come close by I would very much like to go see them in concert.

Then here are a few pictures of the kids taken today.

Tyler being Tyler. :) I wanted to take a picture of him in his Manchester United jersey. This is hubby's fave soccer team.

Tatiana and Elise

Babies and new craft

2010-05-16T11:11:00.000-07:00

We had my cousins baby shower yesterday then afterward I stopped by to see my friend Christy's new baby who was only about a week old. I decided to make both of them a hair bow / hair clip holder. I've made hair bow holders in the past but this was my first attempt at making one like this.

This is the one I made for Billie (Baby Anna). I also made the hair clips to go on it.

This is the one I made for Christy (Baby Hope) along with the hair clips.

Here they are all packaged up.

Billie with her hair clip holder.

Showing Anna one of her new babies.

The baby shower attendees.

Christy and her new baby, Hope. She also has 2 boys, so this time was hoping for a little girl.

Getting ready to head over to football sign ups now for my son who will be in 1st grade next year. This is the first year that he is eligible to play. It will be flag football for a few years before they start tackle football. Wish us luck!

After football sign ups we have church tonight then back home to go to bed and start another day.

A Little Bit of Everything!

Pork Chops with Blue Cheese Gravy

Directions

DIY Ribbon Christmas card holder

Ornament Wreath DIY

Save money on gas!

Apple Cinnamon Raisin Muffins

Candy Corn Sunshine Cupcakes

Candy Corn Cupcakes

Ingredients

Directions

Beef Tips Recipe

Breakfast for Dinner Southern Style

Cheesy Goodness of Chicken Crack

Recycled T shirt Fabric Rosette Headband

Easy Slow Cooker BBQ Pork

Fabric Headband

Pinterest

My Son's Mario Kart Birthday Party

Easy Solutions to Technical Problems

Ham and Cheese with Spinach and Herb Focaccia Sandwich

Meatballs

More Fab clothing deals!

Fabulous Clothing Deals!

Purple Sweet Potatoes?

Christmas Candies

Chicken and Rice with Shanghai Stir Fry Sauce

Homemade Salsa

London Broil Marinade

London Broil I

Ingredients

ASU Homecoming Weekend

Chicken Bacon and Ranch Tacos

Favorite Friday

We're going on an Acorn Hunt!

Favorite Friday

Sunday songs

Cooking it up for lunch tomorrow!

Favorite Friday

I made a button!

Toilet Paper Pumpkin

Garlic Gourmet Chicken Breast

Pillowcases for Craft Hope to benefit terminally ill children

Baby Bling Shoes

Sausage Manicotti

Ingredients

Directions

Fall/Autumn Fabric Rag Wreath

Organizing Fabric

A Tastefully Simple Dinner!

Halloween Fabric Rag Wreath

Salsa Chicken and Rice

Candy Apple Cupcakes

Zesty Cracked Peppercorn Chicken

What a wonderful week!

Cheeseburger Soup

Fishing with the kiddos

Yay! I was featured!!!

Homemade Gatorade

Tile Coaster tutorial

A new blog design

Party and more Goodwill finds

Ebay

How I like to do Cheesesteak sandwiches

Homemade Tomato Spaghetti Sauce

Linky parties

Football Camp

Bargain shopping

Dinner tonight..... Loaded baked potato soup

One of God's beautiful creations

Tile coasters ** Updated with a few more pictures**

Coupon clipping Mama

What a great giveaway!

Fresh tomato spaghetti sauce

Movie time

Etsy store... Update!

More great deals, restaurant and coupons!!

A great breakfast and some fireworks

Dinner tonight

What a deal!

Tile coasters Updated with a few more pictures