AMUSING MYSELF

Well good morning everybody! How are you doing this dark and dreary morning? Its raining here and its down right ugly. Looks like all inside activities for me the rest of the week. If you got the vibe yesterday that I was in a silly mood, well you would be correct! And after I posted my blog yesterday, I was off to read the yahoo odd news and I found this article!

Wife allegedly changes wires on saw to shock hubby

OLYMPIA, Wash. – Court papers allege that an Olympia woman, angry that her husband left her, tampered with his power tools so that he received a powerful electric shock. Carolyn Paulsen-Riat was booked Friday into the Thurston County Jail for investigation of third-degree assault, domestic violence, and second-degree malicious mischief. A judge released the 33-year-old woman on her own recognizance. The Olympian newspaper reported that court documents said that on Jan. 1, the man was using a 220-volt table saw when he received the shock, knocking him to the ground. Thurston County sheriff's deputies said the man did not need to go to a hospital. In the documents, deputies said the woman told them she had reversed the wires on his power tools because she was angry he was leaving.

OMG I could not stop laughing for some reason! I mean I know its wrong to laugh at someone’s misfortune but just the idea itself was so funny! So I read the article to the hubs and I was laughing uncontrollably out loud and he called me wretched LOL! So I joked that I was gonna mess with the wires on his tattoo machines so it would shock him and tattoo his eye or something and started laughing AGAIN! AND she’s 33 just like me! LMAO! I think the hubs is scared! And THAT’S the most funny part! But he should know deep down I wouldn’t do anything like that LOL! But for some reason I found it so incredibly funny… as with a lot of other things yesterday and I have no reason why… it all started with those dang shut up dogs! LMAO! It gave me the incurable giggles!

Craftiness today… well I am still on the purse making kick… gonna throw in a few dish towels too I think. I also am going to make some of these walker totes next week and donate them to the local retirement home on the anniversary of my grandfather’s death. It was rough on me, so each year I make donations to places that have some significance to me... Pops’ death, my son’s death, the anniversary of Alex’s meningitis, and some other causes close to me. Today I’m gonna show you how to make a Walker tote for anyone close to you who needs a mobility aid.



Craft Idea for the Day: Walker Tote (also Stroller tote)

These are very easy to do, work up VERY quickly and are much appreciated by those who receive them. Consider donating to a retirement home or a healthcare agency that specializes in physical therapy and other services to the elderly.

Materials:
· 1 ½ yards sturdy weight cotton or cotton-poly blend fabric (makes 2 totes)
· About 14 inches Velcro for each tote

Instructions:
1) Cut one 16"x 53 1/2" strip of fabric.
2) Fold in half, right sides together, to form rectangle 16" wide and 26 3/4" long. Stitch edges using ½” seam allowance; leave one short end open.
3) Clip corners, turn and press; at open end, press ½ inch to the inside. (it’ll look like an elongated pillowcase).
4) ) Stitch closely along pressed-in edges of open end, closing the “pillowcase”.
5) Mark or pin line 10” from the folded end (this will be your next fold line); mark another line 5” from the end you’ve just stitched closed (this will be your placement line for Velcro).
6) Fold along marked line 10” from end; stitch closely along sides to form pocket (pocket now forms front side).
7) On back side, stitch Velcro strips close to top edge and close to line 5” from end. (This will form a casing that will go around the top bar of a standard-size walker.)
8) If desired, turn the large pocket into two smaller ones by stitching a vertical line through all thicknesses of the pocket. If you stitch a line about 5 inches from the edge, you make pockets that are a good size for a cordless phone or TV remote on one side; a folded newspaper or magazine on the other side.



You could also dress this up by stitching a row of rick-rack or other trimming along the top of the pocket before stitching the tote edges together. You could also use this as a tote for a stroller and simply make it not as wide and hang it over the stroller handle.

OK what’s on the menu for tonight? I feel some Asian persuasion coming on! Plus I have a bunch of produce to use up the next couple of days! So I am going to make a Bok Choy and Chicken Stir fry on a bed of noodles with some homemade egg rolls for dinner. The bok choy stir fry comes out just so pretty! I am also going to be cooking all day today… soups and stuff as well. I have a couple of squash which will become soup, some leftover tofu and such for some more hot & sour, some more clams for chowder, and only god knows what else I dream up while I’m in there LOL. But celery, baby carrots, one more baby bok choy, leeks, potatoes, onions, and a bunch of other things will become something wonderful by the end of the day LMAO! I’ll share my creations tomorrow if they turn out edible LMAO! But today, I’m sharing the Asian dinner with you. It’s healthy, delicious, and fortunately always gone in our house! LOL!



Bok Choy & Chicken Stir Fry

Ingredients
6 slices bacon, chopped
3 med. to large baby bok choy
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 small onion, diced
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
4 cloves minced garlic
2 cups sliced carrot
1 cup sliced mushroom
1 medium bell pepper, julianned
1 can peas, drained
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

MARINADE FOR MEAT:
1/4 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 teaspoon rice wine vinegar
2 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon sugar

Directions
1. Fry bacon in a large wok over medium heat until crispy. Remove bacon with slotted spoon. Add the olive oil, onion, red pepper flakes and garlic. Cook and stir over medium heat until the onions are starting to be tender. Add carrots, mushroom, bell pepper, and peas.

2. Add the bok choy, and place a lid on the pan. Let cook for 3 to 5 minutes. Remove the lid; cook and stir until the bok choy is tender but still crunchy, about 2 minutes. Stir in the bacon, and season with salt. Serve piping hot!

3. In a separate skillet, cook the chicken until no longer pink. Stir into the vegetable mix when done.



OMG so incredibly delish! And you can add more red pepper flakes if you want it spicy hot too! Serve it on a bed of chinese (or spaghetti or whatever you have) noodles and wow! YUMMY! As for the organization race… well I’m still doing it, just at a slow trot right now LOL! I have YEARS of junk to go through, so it’s a little overwhelming, but I’ll get there! So hi ho, hi ho its off to cook and clean and sew… LOL… until tomorrow! HUGS!

IN STITCHES

Well hola, hi there, and hello to you this brisk Janny morn! Sorry I'm a wee bit on the tardy side... had to take the hubs to the courthouse. They set him a courtdate over a seatbelt ticket... A SEATBELT ticket!? Seriously?? OK so he goes February 10th to try to get it dismissed. If not, its gonna cost him over $200 for it. He better pray now lol! So we just got back home and he went out for a walk. I'm all alone! YAY! LMAO...

OK for those of you who have learned some things about me, you know I don't watch too much tv. However, I do love this show called Criminal Minds. OMG have you seen it? Its really good... that's actually what I wanted to do when I was younger- criminal pyschology and profiling. But certain events in my life did not allow that to happen. But I have recently been thinking about checking into the rest of the courses and seeing if I could do something similar on a more local level... not just FBI... cool huh? We'll see... I have such a busy schedule already. It would be nice though... I'll let ya'll know what I decide.

So are the fingers feeling crafty? I actually am in a very crafty mood... and its good cause I can sit down since I'm not feeling too good and do it. I'm going to be concentrating on making some purses with matching accessories. But I want to share a site with you today... not just a particular craft. Its one of my favorites. I found a ton of great things there and have made MANY of the items on this site. It's called "Sewing Stuff" and is the site for free sewing patterns and craft ideas. You can find all kinds of things such as baby stuff, clothing, charity sewing, and tons more! Make sure to check it out!

Ok, so I've worked up an appetite and its not even lunch yet! So what do we do... well we eat a nice healthy salad for lunch LOL and then we plan a killer dinner! I'm talking OMG-can't-believe-this-came-out-of-my-oven kind of dinner LOL! Tonight I am making a seafood spread! Baked Salmon Fillets and steamed lobsters (I found on the cheap at one of my local grocers... picked up and froze a bunch!) with grilled rice (that has baby shrimp in it) and fresh green beans with new potatoes and corn on the coblets. Served with sides of hush puppies (or shut up dogs as we jokingly call them here- remind me of the story to tell you about those later!) and cornbread or rolls. YUMMY!!! Here's some very delicious recipe for the salmon...



Baked Crusted Salmon Fillet

Ingredients

1 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning
1/2 teaspoon Onion Powder
1/2 teaspoon Dill Weed
1 salmon fillets (1 pound)
1 tablespoon vegetable Oil

Directions

Blend Old Bay seasoning, onion powder and dill weed; set aside. Place fillet, skin side down, in baking pan coated with cooking spray. Lightly brush surface with vegetable oil.

Sprinkle seasoning mixture evenly over fillet. Bake at 450° for 8-10 minutes per inch of thickness or until fish flakes easily with a fork. Yield: 4 servings.

OMG ok gotta share my SHUT UP DOG story with you... its so funny! One day when we went out I got to thinking about words I could use instead of hush puppies... another one for hush is "SHUT UP" lol and puppies are "DOGS" hense... Shut up Dogs LOL! So we go to Kroger one day and I was feeling pretty onry so I decided to mess with the little guy working in the freezer section. He asked me if I needed any help and so I said "Yes, can you help me find where you keep the shutup dogs?" He was like "Excuse me?" Yea the shut up dogs... so he walked up and down the isles looking and then comes back and asked who makes them. LOL Trying to contain myself, I said I didn't know so he says "Let me go ask my manager" and walked into the back. OMG I was about to wet myself laughing! Keeping it inside, the manager comes out and asked how he could help, so I asked him and he kept walking around. He couldn't find them and he tells me "Ma'am I'm not sure if we carry that brand" so I walked away a bit and then pulled a bag out of the freezer and said "I found them. Thanks for your help" and they said "You're welcome" and walked away... OMG I went outside and about died right there in the parking lot! I was laughing so hard, I was crying!

Ok so now that you are probably all wet from laughing so hard... I forgot to tell you about dessert! Miniature Peanut Butter Cheesecakes! OMG delish! Here lemme share... I found this recipe on Taste of Home and they are a big hit around here! The kids go CRAZY over them!



Miniature Peanut Butter Cheesecakes

Ingredients
1/3 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 tablespoon sugar
5 teaspoons butter, melted

FILLING:
4 ounces Kraft Philadelphia® - Cream Cheese, softened
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons beaten egg
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 miniature peanut butter cups

Directions

In a small bowl, combine the cracker crumbs, sugar and butter. Press onto the bottom of six paper-lined muffin cups; set aside.

In a small bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar and flour until smooth. Add egg and vanilla; beat on low speed just until combined. Place a peanut butter cup in the center of each muffin cup; fill with cream cheese mixture.

Bake at 350° for 15-18 minutes or until center is set. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack to cool completely. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Yield: 6 servings.

So there ya go my friends... a good craft resource, a couple of good recipes, and a good laugh... my work here for the day is done LOL! Ya'll have a great day and I will see you again tomorrow for another exciting adventure! HUGS!

SLOW COOKIN'...

Well good morning there my faithful friends. How are you this cold January morning? Oh I am freezing and hurting but other than that, I'm good LOL! I called the doctor and they are flooded with patients with flu, etc. and the earliest they can squeeze me in would be Thursday. So I took it of course, but its gonna be alot of Advil and heating pads and such until then! I can't afford to be down so long... so we soldiers march on!

Here are a couple of pics from Alex's Birthday yesterday...

This was Alex's cake... he doesn't like too many sweets, so we normally do a small cake. And I'm no decorator, but I think it was ok LOL...

Poor baby was so tired, but he loved his Sheriff Woody toy!

I want to thank everyone for your Birthday wishes to Alex in comments and emails. I read them to him and he was just smiling! It was great! He ate tons of Mac & Cheese and about 2 1/2 pounds of sausage BY HIMSELF LOL! He was lovin his day! I kept telling my family "Ya know I have the best readers in the world!" And I do! You guys and girls are some of the most considerate and kind/caring people I have met (online LOL) and I thank you for your love and support! YOU are the reason I do this blog everyday... like the mailman... come rain, snow, sleet, or hail! LOL

Ok ok... sentimental moment is over now... let's have some fun! LOL! I found this on a website and I wanted to share with you. Its a cute little robe for when you clean up your little ones!



Craft Idea of the Day: Baby Towel Bathrobe

SUPPLIES:
21 x 40 plain white towel
2 yds. 5/8" ribbon

Fold the towel in half crosswise and mark down the center. Unfold and bring the two ends to those center markings and overlap them by 1/2". On each folded side, measure 5" down from the top selvage, mark with pin and then measure over from fold 4". This 4" space will form the sleeve. Now cut on the fold down to the 5" mark and across to the 4" marking for the sleeve. Turn over to the backside and measure down 5" all across from cut on fold to other cut on fold. Cut across on these markings. This extra piece will form the yoke. You can now stitch a design all across the back yoke. I do this with the omnigram vine. To embroider on terry, you should use Solvy on top so the stitches won't sink in and use stabilizer underneath. I also picked a decorative stitch to put down the fronts of the robe on the heavy border line. Stabilizer is not necessary here because of the stability of this area.

On the selvage edge of the yoke, measure 6" from each cut end and place a pin. This will be the shoulder seam. Lay aside. On the front of the robe, measure over from center front shoulder seam to 3" and form a 1/2" pleat and then move over 1/2" and make another 1/2" pleat. Pin in place on both side fronts. Pin the selvage edge of the yoke to the end of the sleeve and pin again at that 6" marking and sew the shoulder seam on each side in a 1/4" seam. At center fronts, form a lapel by folding fronts diagonally and sew on a button or a ribbon bow for decoration or just stitch one heart from your decorative stitches on the machine. Turn the selvage down at the neckline and stitch down.

Using the ribbon, encase ends of sleeves with a zig zag stitch or the heirloom applique stitch or the pinstitch (your choice). Using ribbon instead of bias binding makes it softer.

Gather the upper back of the rest of the robe between the sleeve areas, mark center back and match it to the yoke center back and adjust gathers evenly. Sew sleeve seam from one end and across the yoke to the other end of sleeve. Sew ribbon ties to the front using one heart design.

And of course, who could forget food? Not me... I am an eating machine! LOL I love food! I love to shop for foods (especially at like farmers markets and specialty stores, etc.) I love to experiment with different methods of cooking foods, and of course recipes and playing with or making them up is phenomenal! Then of course you have the tasting. OMG I go to heaven everytime it touches my palate! Sometimes I admit, I do even amaze myself LOL! But whenever I don't feel good... its rough. There have been times where just the sight of food made me ill. I have chicken, pork, sausage, and hamburger all thawed out. So what to do... well with the chicken I am going to make Citrus Chicken, the pork will become Veggie Pork Soup, the sausage will be left for Alex LOL, and the hamburger will become skillet fried meatballs that will go into the slow cooker all day to become either meatball sub sandwiches or topping with the sauce for spaghetti. Either way, these meals are "no-fuss-so-mom-can-go-back-to-bed" meals LOL! If I've said it a million times, I'll say it again LOL I love my crockpots!



Citrus Chicken

Ingredients
2 cans of mandarin oranges, drained
1 medium green pepper, chopped
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, skillet sauteed
1 cup orange juice
1/2 cup chili sauce
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon molasses
1 teaspoon ground mustard
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Hot cooked rice

Directions

Place oranges and green pepper in a 5-qt. slow cooker coated with cooking spray. Top with chicken. Combine the remaining ingredients; pour over chicken.

Cover and cook on low for 4-5 hours. Serve with rice. Yield: 4 servings.



Vegetable Pork Soup

Ingredients

1 pork tenderloin (1 pound), cut into 1-inch pieces
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons canola oil
1 can (28 ounces) diced tomatoes
4 medium carrots, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 medium potatoes, cubed
1 can (12 ounces) light or nonalcoholic beer
1/4 cup quick-cooking tapioca
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Directions

Sprinkle pork with garlic powder. In a large skillet, brown pork in oil; drain.

Transfer to a 4-qt. slow cooker. Add the remaining ingredients. Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours or until meat is tender. Discard bay leaves. Yield: 6 servings (2 quarts).

Well kids, this concludes our journey for today. Join me again tomorrow for another great adventure in food town LOL! I'm your host, Renee, wishing you all good eating and until tomorrow... HUGS!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABY

Hi there kids. How are you doing today? I’m not doing real well this morning. I think I have a bad kidney infection, so I am sitting here waiting for my doctor’s office to open so I can see if they can squeeze me in today. I’m in a lot of pain actually… ready to cry. My kidneys have always been a troublesome spot for me my whole life, only worsened by my chemotherapy years ago. So I deal with it the best I can. So please excuse me if I don’t seem like my normal silly self. But I tell you now… I refuse to let this ruin my son’s birthday! HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALEX!! My baby is officially 14 today! I feel really old LOL!

Ya know, I got to thinking late last night how I tell you about all these great crafts and yet, I don’t give you outlets for supplies. I apologize. Here lately it has been a lot of talk about the fleece tied blankets. Well if you want to know where you can buy some cheap fleece online (or for a wider variety than what your local stores might carry) for the blankets I keep talking about or other projects, I have found a few sites that have a lot of cute prints. I’ve never ordered from them before, but I probably will at the end of the month and I’ll let you know about their services. The first one is the Fabric Queen and then there is Pico Textiles both located in Los Angeles, CA. Then there is Hancock Fabrics and JoAnn’s (you can also buy No-Sew kits which have both pieces of fleece you need to make a blanket) online and another site called BunyWorks but you have to buy it by the bolt. That one offers free shipping on the bolts as well. And the last one I have been looking at is SyFabrics. They have a flat rate shipping rate and free shipping on any orders $250 or over.

Ok, I have a question and if anyone out there can help me, let me know. I want to do a fundraiser if you will… like collect monetary donations. There is a family I know that suffered mass destruction from Hurricane Ike. FEMA refused to help them because the dad made like $600 too much a year to qualify. The insurance was only enough to cover about half of what the rebuild of their house cost. He’s over $65K in debt due to loans and borrowing from his retirement to build their house. And they are living in a little beat up RV in their driveway. They lost everything they had… over 50 years worth of stuff. Baby pictures from their kids, clothes, cars, tools, etc. EVERYTHING! They are almost done rebuilding but are out of money… they can’t finish the floors or buy furniture (certain things they have to have because they both are older folks with health issues). They live in a little town where they both served as the Assistant Fire Chief (man) and the Captain (woman) for over 20 years, Their community went from 1800 homes to 300 and everyone there is also trying to restart their lives. I talked to the man (I help them out with foods, washing clothes, etc. when I can) and he said it would take maybe $4500 more to finish the floor and then money to buy furniture. So my question is, how would I go about doing like an online fundraiser? I want to post pictures of how it looked after the storm, their story, etc so people really get to know them and want to help them, ya know? It would be awesome if I could surprise them with the cash to at least finish the floors so that they could concentrate on getting furniture and starting their lives again! Everyone around here is pretty strapped, but believe me, I’ve asked! So if you have any ideas, leave me a comment and let me know PLEASE!

OK so today I am gonna give you some more baby craft ideas… these are links to some cute baby things you can make. I found these patterns on one of my favorite sewing sites. I have personally used the patterns to make the items and they turn out absolutely adorable. Check out these cute items you can make for your baby or as a gift!
Newborn and Preemie Bibs (This is a PDF file for the patterns)
Baby Hats
Diaper Bag

Are you hungry? I’m really not but my mission in life with this blog is to share different recipes with you to broaden your horizons. Tonight’s dinner around here is my son’s favorite foods for his birthday dinner. Grilled Smoked Sausage, Macaroni & Cheese, Pizza, and Beefaroni LOL! Yea I know its crazy but hey… it’s his day! I always let my kids pick their meal on their birthday… anything they want. But to you, I share another Dinner for Two, which can be easily multiplied to feed a larger group! What’s really good is its minimal mess and easy cleanup!



Chicken Dinner Packets

Ingredients

1/2 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips
2 small red potatoes, thinly sliced
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 small sweet red pepper, julienned
1/2 small green pepper, julienned
2 tablespoons barbecue sauce
1 green onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
Sprinkling of your choice of favorite spices: (suggestions: rosemary, thyme, cayenne, Emeril’s or season salt)

Directions

1. Divide chicken strips between two pieces of heavy-duty foil (about 12 in. square). In a small bowl, combine the remaining ingredients; spoon over chicken. Fold foil around mixture and seal tightly.

2. Place packets on a baking sheet. Bake at 375° for 25-30 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink and potatoes are tender. Open foil carefully to allow steam to escape. Yield: 2 servings.

Well gang, that’s it for today… gotta get to the doctor and get a birthday cake made before someone gets home. Will be back tomorrow for more exciting NayNay’s Travels LMAO! Until tomorrow… HUGS!

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!

PACKRAT SYNDROME

Morning boys and girls… how are you doing today? It’s a whopping 21 degrees here! YUCK! What’s the deal?? I live in Texas and deal with hurricanes and heat to avoid all this winter junk! EWW Someone PLEASE take it away!! Ok, I was proud to see my viewers with such a keen eye! 1 day down and 2 to go! My nephew is driving down to stay the weekend here… he graduated last night and we couldn’t be there (in Fort Worth). But they sent us pictures… wow has that boy grown! We’re very proud of him!

Ok, so I sat here yesterday trying to declutter but it feels like nothing has been done and it looks worse than when I started!! I got 7 BIG plastic storage containers out of my storage unit. I am attempting to empty them and empty my storage unit (atfer having it for over 5 years… this will be interesting!) and eliminate that bill! Can you believe I found receipts in one of the boxes from 1997!!? I was like OMG my mom is right… I AM a packrat… it IS genetic LMAO! I have some strange things I saved for god only knows why! So wish me luck on the great storage adventure!

Alright… reader comments… they were some GREAT ones let me tell ya ladies! Thanks so much for them and I am glad you enjoy my blogs. I hope they can be helpful for you. Now let me address them… As for leftover food… well there isn’t ever any! LOL you gotta remember I am feeding at MINIMUM 6 people at a meal… many times closer to 15 or more. BUT the few chances I do get to have food remaining is when I make the freezer meals. I freeze individual portions of soups in ziploc bags and lay them flat to freeze and I take the Ziploc divided containers and make homemade TV dinners each with a meat, veggie, and side. When there is an abundance of leftovers, I give them no more than 3 days in my fridge normally, and they magically disappear LOL! The food fairy carries them away! LMAO! Seriously though, I rarely have leftovers, which I guess is both good and bad… but if you need ideas for leftovers, I’d be happy to post some for you. I think I posted a Turkey Salad one after after Christmas somewhere… I’ll check. As for smaller meals… all the recipes I give you can be down-sized to make smaller portions. The sweet & sour pork was a 2-4 person recipe… but again, with so many people, I am always doubling or tripling the recipe anyway… but I will look at some I have and see if I can rewrite them for smaller portions. And congrads on the upcoming blessing BTW! If you’d like, I can teach you how to make your own baby food! Healthier for your baby and easy to do as well. You can do them now and freeze them in itty bitty portions LOL! I loved when my kids were babies! Makes me want another one… ah but we won’t go there. Ok, Christmas gifts and crafts… Yes I am starting some already… the blankets we are making and some recipe books. I also had a cute idea with some cookie cutters I saw on clearance yesterday that I might go back and buy. They were those Wilton 6pks in a mesh bag of Christmas shaped cutters. Although, I think I had a bunch of brand new cutters in a box in storage for basket fillers, I might use those… spend less ya know? Everyone puts the fleece on sale, so we’ve been busy with the blankets right now… me and the DS18 are just knotting away LOL! I plan on giving at least 20 blankets… not only expensive, but time consuming so with those we have to start NOW! But I know how much we all love ours and how well we stay warm in them, so I want to share and customize for a bunch of people I know. And the crafts… they are not gone for good… I plan on beginning to post upcoming holiday crafts soon… the obvious being Valentines coming up. So hold on to that thought ok? Lol But I will try to post any new crafts as I do them for whatever day… and seeing as I have readers who are expecting… I will start putting some baby crafts up for you too! And finally… Ravioli… OMG that little turkey is crazy! I now know why he got his head stuck in a can! Cuz he can’t stay out of stuff! He is one of the nosiest cats I have ever seen! But the next time I can catch him LOL, I will make sure to take a picture of him for ya’ll.

Ok, I mentioned baby crafts. Now these are not only gonna be good ideas for yourself, but they will make great ideas for anyone who is expecting too! This one is for a Fleece Carrier Cover to block the wind. I found it at ThriftyFun.com… you can find tons of awesome crafts there… I’ll share some of the ones I like over time.



Craft Idea of the Day: Fleece Baby Carrier Covers

Fleece cover to stretch over the carrier. The flap comes down over the baby's head to keep the wind of of it's face.
Approximate Time: 3 hours
Supplies:
1 yard of fleece for the top
1 yard of fleece for the lining
scissors
thread
sewing machine
54 inches of 3/4 inch wide elastic
a large safety pin
needle and thread for hand sewing

Instructions:
Lay the fabrics out and cut a piece 28 inches wide by 35 inches long from each piece. Lay them with right sides together and stitch around with a 1 inch seam allowance rounding the corners. Let an opening about 3-4 inches to turn it. Clip the curved seams so they lay flat. Cut off the points at the corners.

Now turn it right sides out. Cut a hole 8 inches from the top edge and 10 inches from each side edge. The hole should be about 7 inches diameter Cut through both thicknesses of fleece. I sewed around the circle I drew on the fabric before I cut it out. That way the pieces keep together nicely. Sew 1 inch around the entire piece.

Now take the safety pin and pin it to the end of the 3/4 inch wide elastic (54 inches long) and thread it through the pocket you've just created. When you bring it all the way around to the beginning end of the elastic, stitch the 2 ends together. Now hand sew the opening that's left from when you turned your piece right side out.

Cut a strip of fabric from the lining fleece about 24 inches long and 4 inches wide. Sew it around the circle you cut out and join at the ends. Now roll it onto the underneath and stitch in the ditch from the top. Cut extra fabric off on the underneath side. Cut a piece 12 inches x 18 inches for the flap. Zig zag around it to finish the edging. Sew it above the hole on the front side through all thickness. Put the flap down over the hole and top stitch on the top about 1/2 inch from the edge. Now stretch it out and pull the sides down around the baby carrier. Use the flap to cover baby's face. The first picture is the front and the second is the back.

Alright today’s meal… what do I make as a special meal for my nephew tonight? Well, I’m thinking some thick cut pork chops with sauce, mashed potatoes, and green beans. I’ll also have the crocks fired up with some soups as well… that is a everyday thing, even if the meal really doesn’t consist of any. In the crocks today are tortellini soup, lentil soup, and broccoli cheese soup.



Pork Chops with Sour Cream & Mushroom Sauce

First, I melted a big hunk of butter in the saucepan and covered it in my favorite spices (thyme, rosemary, oregano, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper). Then I threw in two chopped onions and some minced garlic. Then I threw in a can of sliced mushrooms and put about 4 dashes of dark ale beer in. I let this mixture boil for a couple of minutes, removed it from the skillet & added the pork. I browned the pork for about ten minutes, mixed the sour cream, soups and mushroom mixture together and poured over top. Let this simmer for about an hour, turning every so often.

As for the mashed potatoes, they will be special. First I am gonna roast a head of garlic in the oven. Then I will boil some baby reds until tender. Leave the skins ON. Mash them up and squeeze in roasted garlic. Add butter and parmesan cheese for a yummy side!

Well kids, I have to go prepare for my nephew… he’ll be here in a few hours. Then I have to get back to the packrat-race LOL! I WILL get this place organized and better functioning! LOL My goal is by the end of February to be completely done. So until tomorrow kids… HUGS!

BARTER SYSTEM & COMMENTS

Well a icy Hi there and hello from my little igloo to yours! How are you doing this morning? Well, like I said, dispite the fact it is only 27 degrees outside, I'm here. You can see my breath in the house too, so you KNOW its cold LOL! Well, guess what today is kids? Its "COMMENT DAY"!! If you don't know about it, check out the post on Monday, January 4th and all will be revealed!

I plan to keep myself warm by moving around the best I can and cleaning a bit. I'm not taking to this cold real well, so we'll see how much I can get done. When I was out at my mom's yesterday, my Dad and I had a large piece of pegboard out in the garage that we trimmed (there were holes cut in it, etc) and I brought home, so I have a couple extra boards now to hang up to use. I really want to get those up today. And I found the breast cancer fleece I have been waiting for, so another blanket in store for me to make today... my DS18 made this one last night for a friend of his who just had a baby. He took it with him today to give to the sister at school, but I forgot to get him to take a picture of him with the finished blanket! But it was just too cute. And he did a really good job... he actually really likes making them. I say there is nothing wrong with that. At the very minimum, he will know how to make blankets to keep himself warm if he ever needs it! LOL! We worked out a barter system too. He wants to make a couple for gifts for people he knows, one being his grandmother back in North Carolina. He knows that I hurt in the wrists if I do them for too long... SOO I buy the fleece and he puts them together. He has to work on ones I want or think would sell or give as gifts as well and in return (his paycheck if you will) would be the blankets he wants for those people. I think its a fair trade... he thinks its a fair trade... and its something for him to do! So if he wants 5 blankets for people, he has to do 5 for me as well in labor... It shows him that his work and time are valuable and gives him a sense of responsibility I think... even a bit of work ethic if you will.

Now for those of you who follow College Football... don't even speak of last night's game! I am so bummed about my beloved Longhorns losing its not even funny! And I swear if the hubs rubs it in about "Crimson Tide" one more time, this Longhorn is gonna shove a LONG HORN where he will least appreciate it! LOL.. but you want to know something? I think what bothers me more is something I heard on the news that (excuse the language here) TOTALLY pissed me off! Its about a retail store chain and what they did with all the "preprinted" championship stuff... See a sporting goods store called Academy had tons of items made if the Longhorns won and was going to open up directly after the game to sell championship merchandise. If they did NOT win (which ended up being the case), they were going to shred up and destroy everything! OMG Are you serious????? Do you know how many homeless or low income family need clothes and warm items??? OMG it infuriates me! Wasteful people and companies!! WASTEFUL! They just guaranteed I will NEVER set foot in Academy again! And the really bad thing is a Yahoo headline this morning features 2 more retail chains guilty of the same thing on a dialy basis!! Check this out! H&M and Wal-Mart destroy and trash unsold goods

Alright, time for food! One of my favorite topics and I am starving! Its the cold I'm tellin' ya! I don't see how a bear can sleep through all this and not be hungry all the time! OMG its horrible! LOL... ok so I want HOT! I want temperature hot and I want SPICY hot! Warm me to the bones! I think its Mexi-nite! I want to make some chicken tortilla soup, jalapeno burgers, some hot cheese queso dip with warm tortilla chips, and some hot sopapillas drizzled with honey for dessert! Keep the Mexican theme with some spiced hot chocolate to drink! Keeping it warm darlins... so here's today's recipes for your enjoyment!



"Lil' Kick Jalapeno Burgers"

Ingredients

2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and finely chopped
2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons light beer or water
2 dashes hot pepper sauce
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 pound extra-lean ground beef
3 slices pepper Jack cheese, cut in half
6 dinner rolls, split
6 tablespoons salsa
6 tablespoons fat-free sour cream
6 tablespoons shredded lettuce

Directions

In a large bowl, combine the first eight ingredients. Crumble beef over mixture and mix well. Shape into six patties.

Coat grill rack with cooking spray before starting the grill. Grill burgers, covered, over medium heat for 2-3 minutes on each side or until no longer pink. Top with cheese; cover and grill 1-2 minutes longer or until cheese is melted. Serve on rolls with salsa, sour cream and lettuce.

Easy Mexican Hot Chocolate

Ingredients

3 tablespoons instant hot chocolate mix
1 tablespoon chocolate syrup
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 pinch chili powder
1/4 cup milk
3/4 cup boiling water

Directions

In a large mug, mix the hot chocolate mix, chocolate syrup, cinnamon, and chili powder. Pour in the milk. Add the boiling water and stir.



Chicken Tortilla Soup

Ingredients

2 teaspoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium jalapeno pepper, chopped
1/2 medium green pepper
4 small boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 cups frozen corn
1/2 cup dry white wine or water
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
4 (14 ounce) cans chicken broth
2 (14 ounce) cans diced tomatoes
2 (8 ounce) cans tomato sauce
Topping
1 cup non-fat tortilla chips (optional)

Directions

1. Sauté onion, garlic, jalapeño and green pepper with olive oil in a large pot until soft.

2. Add all the rest of the ingredients to the large pot and bring to a boil.

3. After about 15 minutes, remove the chicken breasts and shred.

4. Return shredded chicken to the pot and simmer an additional 45 minutes.

5. Serve, topped with crushed tortilla chips if desired.

Well guys and gals, that's all for today. Time to get up and moving and productive! Keep warm out there wherever you are and I will talk to you soon! HUGS!