THE RACE CONTINUES

Hi there boys and girls… how are you doing today? I’m cold… very, very cold! Hopefully this will be the last day of these freezing temps. That's according to the weatherman at least. I hope you all are staying warm. We had to help the landlord fix a busted pipe on the neighbor’s house that was flooding our back yard yesterday. She is out of town on a cruise, so she wasn’t there to drip her pipes. We turned off her water and told the landlord as soon as we saw. Luckily, we didn’t suffer any busted pipes… praying that we can get through the rest of this freeze as lucky!

As for the war on clutter… I got 2 shelves in the hallway packed and listed on craigslist for sale! 135 VHS tapes… I don’t even have a player anymore! So I figure a collector may want them or just someone with a VCR still could use them. So I got those boxed and ready to go… Got some more of my craft magazines boxed up and organized. Got my beverage fountain and some other large cooking/entertaining items put away, but I didn’t get those darn pegboards put up yet! So the goal for today is getting the hang up organizing stuff actually hung up and then put to use today LOL! And conquering more of the boxes of course is also on the list!

I had to run to some stores yesterday… First I went to Target to get my youngest son some Birthday gifts and such for Monday. He officially turns 14 on Monday (man I feel old!) and he is on a Toy Story kick the last few months. With his gift cards and such, he got the big dinosaur and Buzz and some other toys but he didn’t have enough to get the talking Woody doll. So guess what momma got? Yep… the last one! I also got a pack of the small toy figurines, which I will use to decorate his cake I make Monday with as soon as he goes to school. Then I went to Michael’s Arts & Crafts Store yesterday to get another wooden crate and found a bunch of things on sale for 3 for $1.00. I picked up Christmas envelopes, journals and notebooks, and a bunch of other things that I can use to put together as gifts or use myself. And finally, I went to Wal-Mart to get some paint (for the crate) and some other things. I wanted to make it to Hobby Lobby because they have some fleece materials I would like to get and their remaining Christmas stuff is 90% off! But I had to get home before my nephew got here. Maybe Tuesday or something. Monday I plan on decorating the house and baking for when Alex gets home.

Alright peeps, I had a request to see all these blankets I keep saying we are making, so I snapped some pics of them finished. My DS18's friend's sister wasn't there to give her gift to, so lucky for me I was able to get a photo of the baby one he made... so here you go... we have made all these in the last couple of weeks!

The Woodland Blue Camo Blanket

The Snowman Blanket

The Music Notes and scales Blanket

The Breast Cancer Blanket

The baby Blanket

Ok so I was sitting around thinking what kind of baby items one could make that are handy, cute, and somewhat easy… and then it came to me. BURP RAGS! Save your baby’s face and your clothes LOL! They are super easy to make too! Washable and customize them if you have a specific theme your nursery is in. Look at some I made with a Winnie the Pooh theme:



Craft Idea of the day: Baby Burp Rags

Supplies Needed:
1 yard of cotton or flannel fabric
1 yard of thin craft cotton batting
thread

Directions

1. Cut 2 pieces of the fabric in a peanut shape to desired size. The peanut should fit on your shoulder and drape over both sides of your body. Cut 1 piece of cotton craft batting the same size and shape of the peanut. (Click here for the PDF pattern I use)

2. Place the fabric right sides together and then the batting against one of the wrong sides of fabric. Sew the pieces together, leaving a 1 inch opening at the end of one of the peanut sides/ends. Turn the rag right side out and press out all the edges. Sew the opening closed.

That’s it! You have a great baby burp rag. Make 4 or 5 and bundle them together with a pretty ribbon for a cute gift. Make a bunch of them for your own bundle of joy. Trust me, they come in handy! Hope its something you can’t wait to do too! Now… time to eat! What’s on the menu. Well, seeing as tomorrow is Alex’s choice, I get to do mine today LOL! And I have a hankerin’ for chicken! Now Melissa needs some recipes for 2 or small meals. Well here ya go darlin’! You can take out the mushrooms or onions if you don’t like them or leave them in. And for everyone else, you can easily double or triple this recipe to feed more people. But when you increase the recipe, only increase the broth by 1/2. Don’t want it too “liquidy”.



Broccoli Chicken Fettuccine for Two

Ingredients

4 ounces uncooked fettuccine
1/2 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 small onion, halved and sliced
2 tablespoons butter
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 can (10-3/4 ounces) condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted
1 cup chicken broth
1-1/2 cups frozen broccoli florets, thawed
1 can (4 ounces) mushroom stems and pieces, drained
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Directions

Cook fettuccine according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, saute chicken and onion in butter until no longer pink. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Stir in the soup, broth, broccoli, mushrooms, onion powder and pepper. Bring to a boil.

Drain fettuccine; add to chicken mixture. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 5 minutes or until heated through. Sprinkle with cheese. Yield: 2 servings.

I make this in very large quantities and I always hope for leftovers so that I can make some freezer meals but alas, I’m not so lucky! Maybe one day I can get everyone gone somewhere so that I can cook all day and then freeze everything! That way if they aren’t here, they can’t eat it all at once LMAO! As for me… well I think I’m gonna sign out for today and try to get some cleaning done. I’ll see you back here tomorrow… HUGS!