Happy Holidays!

Whew~ What a whirlwind past few weeks, and it's still going! Lots of company over, lots of invitations out. It has been fun, but a little exhausting. Cookies, did I mention all the cookies I've made? I even tackled Mom's famous Almond Roca! And like she has discovered, next year that's all I'm going to make! People love it and it is exceedingly easy to make! It was really weird not being at Burbank Conference this year, but we hope to be able to go next year. I had 10 people seated around our table Christmas Eve and it was so much fun. Did I mention I love to cook? :) Hubby's sister and her family were up from Florida and so his whole family came to dinner (just missing Jen who went to CA).

We even had our own little holiday party here. Pete and Niki were visiting from Iowa and the 4 of us girls got together again. We had a blast. We saw the idea in a magazine to have an 'Ornament Party', in which each guest brings an ornament as a gift for each of the other guests. It was a really cool idea! We only served hor'dourves, which even ended up being way more than we could eat. Erika brought an amazing Goat cheese and leek tart, amongst other things, and Darrah made bacon wrapped scallops and priscutto wrapped asparagus. All of us watched the movie "The Christmas Story" about Ralphie and his Red Rider BB Gun. Then, since the guys had a football game coming on at 8pm, we left to go to Darrah's next door. We changed into pj's, roasted marshmallows over the stove, played Scrabble and generally clowed around. So much fun!

I tried to make Christmas cards this year! Yea for the effort, but I didn't get around to nearly as many as I wanted to send out!! So some of you may be getting them in the days to follow, consider them as early MLK Jr. Day greetings. So for everyone out there,,, here is the official Photoshop-ed picture for 2007. Yes, that is our condo in the background.

We got snow!

I know it sounds crazy, but it's still a novelty for me ok?! It officially feels like winter. Granted it only lasted for two days, but it was really cool. (I learned something cool... if you put your wipers up, they wont freeze to the window!) I have been sick for the past 2 weeks and have been feeling miserable. After 2 trips to the doctors office, and about $100 copays and meds, I am finally feeling better.

Mom, John and Jaime were here for Thanksgiving. It was so good to have them here! Mom did the turkey because whole birds gross me out. Everything turned out great, we took them sightseeing in Philly, Lancaster and DC. But the night before we left for DC Hubby twisted his ankle, so he stayed home, and I was sick by the time we got down there and ended up staying in the hotel all day. We went to a really quaint restaurant in Alexandria called the Gadsby Tavern. George Washington actually frequented there!

We went to Hubby's work Christmas party last night and had fun! Tomorrow we are having a cookie baking party at Erika's! Tis the season.

Catalogue Clutter

For those of you who receive 4 or more catalogs a day in the mail, this website is for you! Check out catalogchoice.org. It is a free service, and once you give them your name(s) and address you can select the magazines you want to unsubscribe from. Fantastic. I saw this on the morning news one day and decided to sign up. They say it takes about 10 weeks for it to take effect, but still, if there is a hope of unclogging the mailbox I'll jump at it. Save a stack of the catalogs you want to delete, because there are literally hundreds to choose from and I forgot which ones I actually get, and some of them ask for the 'customer number' on the back of the catalog.

Ratatouille Screening Party

The three of us thought that a wine and cheese party was the perfect compliment to a cute movie about food in Paris! We had great fun finding different kinds of cheese, along with and crackers and wine. We also had grapes and apples to go with it. Oh, and we had sushi... just because we like sushi too. We dimmed the lights, unfurled our cloth napkins and watched this really cute movie about a lovable rat who has a passion for cooking. I highly recommend the movie. I have a shameless habit of turning the silliest little thing into an excuse to have a party, but we have fun!

Life Is A Gift

Today before you say an unkind word -
Think of someone who can't speak.

Before you complain about the taste of your food -
Think of someone who has nothing to eat.

Before you complain about your husband or wife -
Think of someone who's crying out to GOD for a companion.

Today before you complain about life -
Think of someone who went too early to heaven.

Before you complain about your children -
Think of someone who desires children but they're barren.

Before you argue about your dirty house someone didn't clean or sweep -
Think of the people who are living in the streets.

Before whining about the distance you drive -
Think of someone who walks the same distance with their feet.

And when you are tired and complain about your job -
Think of the unemployed, the disabled, and those who wish they had your job.

But before you think of pointing the finger or condemning another -
Remember that not one of us is without sin and we all answer to one MAKER.

And when depressing thoughts seem to get you down -
Put a smile on your face and thank GOD you're alive and still around.

Wake up cat

I saw this on Yahoo video. I don't normally peruse YouTube and such, but I was cracking up at this one. Anyone who has had a kitty can relate! This one is for you Dobug!

I tried putting the actual video on my blog but couldn't make it work, so here is the link.

http://video.yahoo.com/video/play?vid=1322921&fr=yvmtf

Mearns-Kilcup Wedding

We were just at Calista's wedding this past weekend. It was a beautiful wedding. The bride looked radiant, the flowers were amazing, the food was delicious, and the company superb. Peter and Nicole were there and it was really good to see them. All in all, we had a blast. It was a semi-formal wedding, so we were all too eager to dress up! Husbands grudgingly complied. After that Hubby and I drove down to North Carolina so he could do some computer work for John's business. The drive was spectacular.

If any of you haven't seen fall on the east coast, I highly recommend it. The colors are simply stunning. Fall is now my favorite time of year. If I can remember to take my camera outside, I will try to get some pictures. There wasn't much 'fall' to speak of in California, so I really appreciate it here. The weather is cooling off, so we have our fireplace going in the evenings. I have been baking pumpkin and apple pies, pumpkin bread, mulling cider on the stove, etc. LOVE IT! Poor Hubby has also had to endure all the fall leaves and floral arrangements that are popping up around the house. And it's time to get all those scarves and sweaters out of storage! Yea! My closet was officially rotated last week.

Las Vegas

Hubby went to a computer conference in LV and I got to go with him! We did a lot of sight seeing and got to see Hoover Dam. It is truly amazing if any of you get the opportunity to see it. I flew from NV to CA for a few days while Hubby was in class. It was so good to see my family! I miss my grandparents especially, and was thankful I got to spend some time with them. I also got to see Sara and Aubrey, and she is growing up so fast!

Jacob's First Birthday

Chub-Chubs is now 1 year old!! I am so thankful I was able to be there for his first birthday party. He is getting cuter all the time, and I miss seeing him grow up! I gave Big Brother a set of walkie talkies as an early b-day present for him so he wouldn't feel too left out. We had great fun playing hide and seek with them after the party.

Josh and Amy's Wedding

I finally have some pictures to post! Here is a slide show of the wedding, and of course..... my nephews!!

Shiny

I got my first piece of Otis B jewelry and I love it! I had been looking for a nice pearl bracelet for a while and till I saw this really cute one on Darrah's website, and saw that she has slashed her prices! Her jewelry is fresh, flirty and stylish. I'm not really the jewelry type, but I like to have a few really nice pieces. All of her creations are made with semi-precious stones, so they really are high quality, not just beads on a string. My sister in law recognized her work right away, "Is that one of Darrah's? It is so cute!" Click here for her website, or I have it listed under my links.

Busy Bees

It has been forever since I posted anything and I'm feeling guilty, especially since there has been so much going on that I could post about. At the end of September I flew to AZ for Josh and Amy's wedding. It was beautiful, she was beautiful, and everything went smoothly. I still haven't gotten around to editing the pictures yet. I got to spend time with family, and it was so good to see all of them. My nephews seem to be getting cuter by the day and I miss them so much!

So I got home on a Monday, and that Thursday my sister flew out here! I figured she wasn't in school or working and deserved a break from packing, so why not come see me? She is here for 2 weeks or so, and we have been kicking around. She now knows how boring my life really is, and how quickly the days can fill up with meaningless little tasks. How sad is this - I saw 2 tractor-trailer accidents this week and I thought that was incredibly exciting. Ug.

Two weekends ago, Do, Erika and I drove down to DC for their picnic. It was very small this year because there was a wedding in NJ at the same time, but we had a good time regardless. It was good to get a chance to just sit down and chat with people we don't get to see too often. Do's beau Craig was able to meet us there too, since he has been working in Virginia for the past few months. (Yes, this was part of the ploy to get my sister to come out and stay with me) Then we went to the DC meeting on Sunday.

On a sad note, we had a goodbye dinner for Peter and Nicole. He got a job in Iowa and we found out they were moving. We had a great time at Applebees, not talking about moving, and giving them "un-birthday" gifts, and by Friday they were gone. Us girls are going to miss Nicole terribly. She was part of our transplant club! (Wives who married men in Dorothy and moved here from somewhere else) She is always a beacon of love and cheerfulness. She is the type of person you want around if you are having a bad day, becuase she can always bring out the best in a situation, and she is sooo much fun to hang out with. Hopefully they come back to visit often, Iowa is lucky to have her back.

This past weekend, Hubby and I took Do and Craig up to Lancaster, PA and toured around Amish country. The shops are amazing, and the countryside is spectacular. The leaves are just starting to turn here. Driving on meandering roads, leaves floating down around you, hearing the clop clop clop of passing horse and buggy, seeing the tractors in the fields, looking at the quilts hanging over fences... ~sigh~ I love Amish country. We did the touristy thing and took a guided tour of an old order Amish house, and learned more about their way of life. Did you know that Amish women hold their dresses together with straight pins? They think it was because there used to be a shortage of buttons, and you can pin as fast as you can button anyway so why bother with extras? I wonder if there is some poor Amish girl that is as klutzy as I am? She probably has pin prick marks all over her. My sister bought a beautiful wall-hanging quilt that is in shades of blue. Hubby and I bought a hutch! We had a bit of difficulty bringing it home but we finally got it here and in good condition.

This coming weeking Hubby and I are headed for Las Vegas. He has a work seminar for the week and I am flying from Vegas to CA to spend a few more days with family. It's Jacob's first birthday too! I am so excited I can be there for the party!! Hubby and I will have a few days for sightseeing too, so we booked an airplane tour of the Grand Canyon and a walking tour of Hoover Dam (Hubby hasn't seen either yet). He also is excited to go see a Lance Burton show. So hopefully, we will have a fun, safe time!

Storage galore

We got a new hutch for the dining room! I am tickled pink, and Hubby actually really likes it too. We got it in Lancaster County. I don't think its made by the Amish because we didn't pay that much for it. But it's the style we like and it looks very sturdy, so we were ok with it. It has lots of cupboard and drawer space and even has a board that you can pull out for even more counter space.
How perfect for football nights! This will keep them out of my kitchen :) I am waiting till we can semi-secure the top piece to the bottom piece before putting things in it. Of course my first reaction is to bolt everything down and secure it to the wall so it wont budge. Hubby has to keep reminding me that there are no major earthquakes in Jersey. Oh yeah. No wonder I couldn't find Quake Putty in any stores around here! It is helpful to secure things when you have kids flying around the house though.


Here is something else I found that I really liked. If you have a muffin pan sitting around, fill it with potpourri and tea lights. It looks and smells like fall.

Beautiful Days and ER Visits

The weather has been absolutely perfect here lately. Blue skies, puffy white clouds, highs in the 70's and low humidity. D, LG and I went to this 'new' park I found to feed the geese. (Note the huge swan too in the one picture) The park is not really new, but it's new to us! I saw it on the map and went hunting for it one day. It is a beautiful lake surrounded by lush green trees and grass. It even has a sand volleyball court and a covered eating area. You can even fish there, just can't go out on the water. It's accessed off a minor road and surrounded by trees. If you weren't looking for it you would drive right by and never know it was there. Therefore, it is deserted most of the time and it looks like the transients haven't discovered it yet!! Yippee!!

In other news, we made a trip to the emergency room last night. Hubby has been working really hard lately and has been stressed. His company is splitting into two separate companies and it is apparently a nightmare. Hubby's job is secure but his work load has doubled for the time being. He is trying to handle the logistics of the split and make sure that both companies will have working computers, databases etc. So, he has been a little stressed.

Anyhoo... we went to my in-laws for dinner and got home around 9. He mentioned he hadn't been feeling well, and when I took his BP he said it was low for him. When he laid down for bed at 11 or so he said his chest was feeling tight, he couldn't take deep breaths and started feeling dizzy. He said felt like he was going to pass out so we decided to go to ER. I was thinking it was anxiety or stress related, and that would probably explain the shortness of breath, dizzy, feeling faint etc, but the tightness in the chest was a little disturbing. We spent the night in a noisy ER, listening to angry people yell at the receptionist about the wait and how they weren't being seen because they weren't white, yada yada yada. The staff was very kind and considerate in spite of being abused. It was very odd to sit back and watch, to feel so powerless - to be on the 'other side' of the equation for once. They ran an EKG, took chest x-rays and did some blood work.

Bottom line, his heart is in great shape. The doctor thought that it might have been his reflux that caused the tightness in the chest/stomach area. He is supposed to follow up with his regular doctor, get a complete physical and go to a stomach specialist. He had a bleeding ulcer a few years ago, and it seems like stress may have aggravated an already weak spot. We finally got home at 5:30 this morning. Long night, tense at times, but we made it through. Thank the Lord that Hubby is going to be ok. Today was a beautiful day too. Drove with the sunroof open.

Got curtains?

I finally have living room curtains! Gone are the plastic vertical blinds. It took a week or two to find the right color combination. I would buy them all over town, bring them home and pin them to the wall so Hubby could see what I was 'seeing in my head'. Then back to the store they would go if he didn't like them. Finally I think we found a winner. It looks so much more 'home-y' now!

The Perfect Fitting Jeans

I was reading Diagonally Parked's blog and checked out the website that she found called zafu.com. It is a fantastic site for all of us who are not built exactly like the models they fashion clothes for. I would love to take a good look at the woman they supposedly create size 10 clothes for. Anyway, you can find jeans, pants and BRAS!! You put in your measurements, and problem areas and they search for the best fitting product for your body type, and tell you where you can find it. Wahoo! Thanks Rebekah!

Expansion issues

Good news, my black molly fry are growing like weeds. Still very cute, but I think we're down to about 4 I think. This evening, Hubby noticed a little pale object that looked suspiciously like a baby fish. Oh brother. Yep, that's what it was! We had noticed that one of the yellow mollys was really fat this past week. I thought she was just pigging out at feeding time. Yes, I have apologized. Upon closer inspection, she is down to normal size, and there are tiny yellow fry popping there heads out of the rocks. What am I going to do with these fish?! It's not like I can catch the little buggers. I guess I'll wait to see if they survive, then deal with I then.

On another note, we have Amish Friendship Bread being passed around here. As any of you that have been a part of it know, once you get tagged you have bread starter coming out your ears. And you have a hard time giving it all away! So, I've been trying to find a way to make regular bread with the starter instead of the sugary yummy bread it's supposed to make. I tried to make rolls substituting the starter for the yeast/milk starter recipes call for, but the rolls didn't rise. Hockey pucks to be exact. Following the Amish bread instructions, once you mix the ingredients you put it right in the oven, without having to knead it, or let it rise. So the fermenting process is different from when you use yeast, but I'm not sure if that necessarily means that the normal bread ingredients have to change. Can't I just substitute starter for starter? Today I used the starter from Day 6 of the 10 day cycle. I'm going to wait til Day 10 to try it again. The only problem is that if you follow the Amish bread instructions, you end up with about 5 cups of starter. Grrrr. I suppose there is plenty of it... I'll just go by trial and error. Unless someone has some suggestions...

Rock On Baby

This is my best friend's daughter. The look on her face is classic. What a cutie! and I love the shirt!

Small Fry

I finally got my tank set up after all these months! It's been up for about 3 weeks and my casualty rate is about 25%. Freshwater fish are a lot cheaper so it's not so bad. Apparently, our city adds a lot of phosphate to our water supply so it is reeking havoc on the pH and other stuff I obviously don't understand. I have been taking water samples to Petsmart every other day to get tested because I don't trust my wimpy little test strips. After a week of topsy-turvy chem tests I finally got them leveled out, but my water will be cloudy for another few days. So, I brought home 5 new fish on Thursday! Two of which are the black mollies. On Friday, I noticed tiny black baby fish! Wahoo! How fun is this?! Because I have larger rocks on the bottom, they are able to hid in the crevasses, under the larger rock, and in the little sunken ship. I am tickled pink! My husband...not so much. He does get upset when they die though. Recently, however, he took pleasure in flushing 2 trouble-makers that were biting chunks out of the other fish. I know I have been a delinquent blogger... but you know... life happens.

Trip to the city

Today we took an all-girls trip to Philly. The 4 of us girls are related by marriage- our husbands are all cousins. I moved from CA, E from Idaho- then DC, N came from Iowa, and D is from northern Jersey. Now we live less than an hour apart (D lives next door), and we see each other at least once a week. I am so thankful for their friendship. They are amazing women that are fun to hang out with and interesting to talk to. We have spent time with each other in pairs on many occasions, but this is the first time all 4 of us went out together.

D used to live and work in Philly so she knew her way around really well. We took the train in, and our first stop was to an upscale boutique that she used to work at. Whew~ I was breathing air over my price range, but I politely sipped my champagne and munched on my biscotti and watched everyone else ooo and aah over things. We finally found the 'pricey' dresses upstairs and I saw this hat that seemed to be shouting my name. Had the price not been so close to a mortgage payment, I would have been tempted. So, we settled for trying things on and prancing around. Then we wandered around and did a little shopping, before settling into a quaint sidewalk cafe named Rouge overlooking Rittenhouse Square. The food was delicious, and the experience... positively divine. Before calling it a day we took a taxi over to Fabric Row off South St. Keren you would have loved it! It's just like LA except it's much smaller. I even found a shop that sells feathers and silk flowers! Nothing near the Millinery Supply store, but enough to get me by. What fun we had walking the streets, talking, laughing and having an all around good time just being girls.

Six Months

I can hardly believe it, but Friday was our 6 month anniversary! Wow. Time flies by. I hate to admit I really had no idea, until a bouquet of roses was delivered to the house. Hubby had said he wanted to take me out to our favorite restaurant after his soccer game, but I didn't put 2 and 2 together. He can be so incredibly sweet! It was a nice surprise. Why is it that no one tells you how hard marriage is BEFORE you get married? Everyone tells you how great it is, and how nice it is to spend your life with someone. But they leave out that you lose a little part of yourself, life is a constant compromise, you can't just do whatever you want -your actions involve someone else too now, you disagree often, you have to share your toothpaste, you have to re-learn how to make sandwiches, (in some cases) you have to cope with not being able to see your family on a regular basis, and you are tired ALL the time. Yes, there are many positives, and Hubby's incredible sense of humor has helped a lot, but really people.... do your friends a favor and tell them marriage is HARD WORK and to be taken seriously. It's not just something you do just because you like someone and you think that it's the obvious 'next step' in your life. I love being married to this wonderful man, but marriage takes daily maintenance.

I end up doing this!

Click on the comic to see it better.

Food on the Go

Ladies, here is another favorite quickie dinner. I love it because it uses up leftover rice, and you can buy shredded cheese in 2 cup bags (when I'm feeling really lazy). It's actually a spin off of one of my mom's recipes and I've done quite a few variations on it, sometimes changing which kind of cheese, or adding cayenne pepper etc. Enjoy!


Ham and Cheese Bake

2 c. ham, diced
2 c. grated cheese, any kind will do
2 c. cooked rice
3 eggs
1/2 c. milk
1/2 c. green onions
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. paprika

Preheat oven to 350. Mix eggs, milk, salt together in large bowl. Add in ham, cheese, rice and onions. Press into a 6x10 baking pan or dish. Sprinkle paprika on top. Bake 40-45 min. Serves 4.

How do I love thee...

We are out of everything dessert-like in the house. So, I decided to be a good wife and make whatever Hubby wanted for dessert. But, we were out of brownie mix and no, there isn't any ice cream. So, I spent the evening making half a batch of oatmeal cookies... half of that with raisins and half with chocolate chips. And, they were a little on the well-done side. Ok, maybe I'm a so-so wife.... I just don't like raisins!

What to do?

Ok. The 'summer' job I had been promised before I left on my trip didn't work out. So... what to do with myself? My cousin-in-law that lives next door has given me and idea. She makes beautiful jewelry and sells it at a open market/swap meet setting in PA. I could make stuff! I been trying to come up with ideas for things that will be able to turn a profit.

I don't have a lot of confidence in the marketability of my cards and I don't think that I can make enough money on them to make it worth my while. It's a 3 hour drive and $25 to rent the table/space. The customers there are anything from people looking for car bumpers to those with $200 in their pocket looking for a unique 'find'. What about quilts? If I keep them really simple, stick to soft baby quilts, would I be able to make enough of them fast enough? How much do you sell a handmade baby quilt for? What about my cross stitch? I can use waste canvas and put little designs on onesies or little hats. I can do towels and bread cloths. Those don't take too long to make. With those fancy embroidery sewing machines out there, would people actually buy cross-stitched ones? Ug. Any ideas out there?

My cousin-in-law makes beautiful jewelry! She has taken orders for weddings too. Here is her website: Otis B Fine Jewelry

Aubrey Mae

My best friend had her baby while I was back in CA! And yes, it's taken me this long to upload photos. Miss Aubrey was 7lb 10oz and 19.5". I am tickled pink for them and can't wait to see what kind of person she'll grow up to be.

As you can see, I finished the quilt!! Finally!! And just in time too. I also made the pillow that has her name cross-stitched in it. I had a great time in CA. Two weeks seemed like a really long time, but I had a lot of fun with my sister, nephews, my brother and sister in law, Mom, grandparents etc. I really miss my family, but NJ feels like home now. We have had a whirlwind of company over for meals at our house this week, all of them have been fun, but I'm looking forward to relaxing today.

I went to see Disney's Ratatouille yesterday and it is really cute. I highly recommend it! Dobug, see if you can find Pixar's Lifted. It's hysterical and worth getting.

Like Father, Like Son

Here is another blast from the past. My brother and my dad, and then my brother with his son. Big Brother calls it "vacuuming the lawn".

How times have changed

I was going through my mom's old photo albums and scanning our baby pictures to preserve them. This is what I found. Who would have known that over 20 years later we would end up being related?!

She did it!

I am so proud of my sister! She graduated from UCR this weekend with a Bachelors in Comparative Literature. The amazing news (well, not really amazing if you know my sister) is that she graduated Summa Cum Laude, which means she is in the top 2% of her class. She deserves it! She has been slaving away at her laptop for the past 4 years and has held a 3.98 GPA. Wow. Like I said, I am so proud of her. The graduation ceremony went off without a hitch, thankfully, since there was a bomb threat the day before and that ceremony was canceled. So, we cheered her on as she marched up in her dignified black robe and was handed a scroll that said "you will receive your diploma in the mail". Woohoo! I love you Dobug!

Fixed the Video

I tried out the youtube.com thing, and apparently it didn't work the first time. The videos below should be working now. Let me know if they still have problems.

Here is the other video of my adorable nephew where he jumps when the fish moves.

Gone Fishin'

I haven't felt like blogging lately. I'm having a mini identity crisis. After working my tail off every day since I was 14, I am faced with a whole new reality. I have nothing I have to do, no where I have to be. Even through college I was working 2 part-time jobs, and volunteering at the fire department. Then I got a job at the PD and sometimes worked 50-70 hour weeks. Now, flat line.... What do I do with myself? I clean the house, go grocery shopping, cook meals, rearrange my table decorations, edit wedding pictures, cross stitch etc. I can't find a job until I get home from my 2 week trip to CA in June anyway though. I finished my resume, and it's all ready to hand out. But what do I do? I can't really work dispatch again, Hubby doesn't want me working nights, and I would rather not work weekends. I do want to find a part time job but the possibilities are a little overwhelming.

It's kind of like the people that live in houses that are full to the ceiling with junk, and they have to crawl in through a window because the doors are blocked with stuff. If closely scrutinized, these people are actually perfectionists. Sounds contradictory right? Not really. They really do want to clean it, but when they can't identify starting point it becomes paralyzing. There are too many possibilities, so they never actually start to pick things up,, and it snowballs out of control. Am I paralyzed by possibilities? It feels like I've lost my direction. I have nothing pushing me now, no one depending on me or on the decisions I make. I should be happy shouldn't I? I can do anything I want to do, right? I just have no idea what that is! I've been in public service so long- it feels like I should go back to it, but I have lots of other talents and interests too. Hubby and I want to have kids in a few years. So, I have this little window, this little gift of time, that I can really do something important with. And yes, it's paralyzing. Am I being selfish? Should I just keep my mouth shut and go work at a coffee shop or something and not worry about it? I feel like I should be helping people though... but is that just me being egocentric? aaaaack. I have a wonderful husband, he has a great job and takes good care of me. I don't even have to go to work if I don't want to! I really like my new home and new surroundings... it's beautiful here. Why can't I just be content? Maybe I sabotage myself. I guess all I really can do is keep praying about it, and wait for the Lord to show me what I'm supposed to do. This is why I haven't posted in a while.

On a lighter note, here are 2 clips of Big Brother. We went fishing on the lake a few days after Mom's wedding. He got a chance to 'drive' and was tickled pink. Then my brother caught a fish and Big Brother was excited! He thought it was very yummy later that night too!

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all you mothers! Being a mom is the most important job any one could ever have! You are tasked with molding your little ones into the intelligent, responsible, productive adults of the future. No small task! My hat is off to you.


In other news, I tried another culinary experiment today. I usually do a crock pot roast on Sundays if we have company over. I was tired of doing the same recipe with minor variations, the meat always turns out great but it was getting boring. So, I found a crock pot recipe that calls for onions, red wine and a jar of mushroom spaghetti sauce as the 'juice' to cook the roast in for about 10 hrs on low. I sliced the roast, then made spaghetti and mixed it with the sauce. It turned out really good! Even I was surprised. The meat was a little drier than I hoped it would be but I reserved some sauce to use as 'gravy' which helped.

Honey Baked Chicken

My sister in law asked for this recipe, and I thought I would share it with all of you as well. It's quick, tastes great, and you only have to wash one dish. I usually serve it with rice and pour the leftover sauce over the rice. Enjoy!

Honey Baked Chicken

1/4 c. margarine or butter
1/2 c. honey
1 Tbls. Dijon mustard
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. curry powder
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Preheat to 375. Place margarine in 9x9 or 9x13 pan in oven for 5 minutes until melted. Remove from oven, stir honey, mustard, salt and curry into melted margarine. Coat both sides of chicken with mixture as you place them in the pan. Bake 20 minutes. Remove from oven, turn chicken pieces over. Bake 15 more minutes.

Mom's Wedding

Here are some pics from my Mom's wedding last weekend. It was good to see them both so happy! It was a beautiful day and everything turned out really well.

New things

I tackled bread making this week! Not successfully, mind you, but at least I tried. I am having problems getting it to rise properly, so this week I'm adding more yeast to see if that helps. I have a few more things to try if that doesn't work. 3 inch high loaves aren't helpful for sandwiches, but Hubby loves it with his dinners.

I have found that allrecipes.com is soooo cool! I can type in something like 'chicken casserole' and scroll through all the recipes till I find one that has ingredients that I have on hand. Love it. Also, this little magazine is a handy helper too. Its FREE! Just go online to kraftfoods.com/free to sign up. Sure, its a thick advertisement for Kraft foods, but its full of fast, easy and tasty recipes. And if you want to use the name brand ingredients, that's up to you!

Also, we went to Hubby's cousin Kenny's wedding on Saturday. Beautiful day for a wedding, it's finally looking like spring! I could finally get out my strapy sandals too! The bridesmaids were wearing knee length strapless slate-navy blue dresses with light pink sashes. I'd never seen those colors work together so well before. Their bouquets were pink roses and wax flowers framed with broad leaf greenery, and looked really beautiful. The dinner reception was at a hotel in Cape May right on the beach, and we were privy to stunning sunset. Ahhhhh... tis the season for love.

Speaking of which, my mother is getting married in TWO weeks! Cinco de Mayo is the day! She sounds happy but busy busy, as usual.

Branded

How's this for self-esteem? I get to drive around with this plastered on my windshield. NJ requires all vehicles to get 'inspected' every year. A team of disgruntled government employees pick over your car, slam on your brakes, honk your horn, test your gas cap and mess with your mirror and seat adjustments. It's all very humiliating but necessary I suppose to keep our roads safe. Then as a final insult they slap this sticker on my car. Something about having California numbers on my NJ insurance card. I failed inspection in my new home state! Ug. I was crushed. Especially since I had waited in line for 40 min and would have to do it all over again!

Nat'l Telecommunicators Week

April 8-14 is

National Dispatcher Week

Special recognition to all the men and women

under the headset.

I would say "have you thanked your local dispatcher this week?" but don't you dare call unless it's actually an emergency!! Instead, the next time you do need to call the police or 911, listen to what they are saying and answer the questions they ask you. They are trying to help YOU. Please do what they ask you to do. Know that they honestly want to help if they can if you have a real emergency. Please forgive them if they are a little short with you, remember that they are a valuable resource that is abused each day by people who are lazy and rude. They are the ones who can send you the help you need. Take a second and say thanks to the dispatcher before you hang up, it would mean a lot to them. After listening to people in crisis all day, its nice to hear that someone appreciates their help.

911 is about life and death situations and medical emergencies. Every call that they answer that deals with anything else- takes resources away from those who genuinely need it.

Hats and Jackets

Happy Easter!
It was 38 degrees today but
I still wore my spring hat!

And thanks to my hustband,
I gained a new respect for this
piece of spring clothing this
afternoon. Augusta National is
absolutely beautiful.

Oh Spring, where art thou?

Katie and I went to a Beatrix Potter Tea Party. A very 'spring' thing to do. Even the Easter Bunny was there. We had cups of tea, tiny sandwiches and lots of little sugary things. It was in an old Victorian house turned Bed&Breakfast, and after lunch they had readings of Beatrix Potter stories in the carriage house, followed by an easter egg hunt for the kids in the garden. It was a lot of fun. However, it was 34 degrees today. It actually was snowing at our house this evening. Would someone PLEASE tell New Jersey that its SPRING! How am I supposed to wear a nice spring dress, white straw hat and sandals for Easter sunday if its freezing outside?!

Quilting Progress

My first attempt at quilting is going surprisingly well. This leads me to believe I'm either missing something really important, or I haven't gotten to the hard part yet. I got one of those cutting matts and one of the sharp roller dealy-jobbers which is really fun to play with and makes the job a lot easier. Would you believe there are no quilters in Oz out here? After moving from a town rich with experienced quilters, I pick now to attempt making one myself. My timing is really lousy. I love our homemade quilt, btw!!

City of Brotherly Love

This statue is way smaller than I expected it to be. We had fun! Lots of walking, and we stopped at the Amish market on the way home for some goodies.

Sis is here

It's so good to have her here, I have missed my family soooo much. My cat too. I begged her to sneak Squeak into her suitcase, but Hubby said no way. We went to DC on Monday and went to an art museum. My sister is very knowledgeable about art and was explaining otherwise meaningless globs of paint to us in a way that actually made them interesting! DC was beautiful with blooms everywhere, and the weather was fantastic. On Tuesday we went to the DC Zoo. I love zoos. One of my favorite animals is the Meerkat, and they happened to have a baby one there! I was tickled pink. They are hysterical to watch. Last night Hubby, Sis and I went up to Philly to see the Tut exhibit at the Franklin Institute. It was absolutely amazing. They have a lot of the artifacts found in Tut's tomb along with many others dating further back. Its weird to look at everyday items like a child's chair, and think that a child was actually sitting in it 3300 years ago. (Did I do the math right? ~1330 BC?) What were they like? What did they look like? Did I mention I love history? Hubby really likes Egyptian art and architecture so he really enjoyed it as well. Tomorrow we are off to Philly to do some more sightseeing.

New Baby

For those of you who know my cousin Heidi, here is her new baby girl, Lexie. Congrats to new Mommy and Daddy!

There are some more pictures on my uncle's website:

http://philsautoteacher.tripod.com/lexie/