Princess Lena

We all have one...(or two... or three)

This weekend I had a few goals I wanted to accomplish. I won't list them all (because I don't want to feel like a LOOOSER), but one in particular was to CLEAN OUT just one of my spare bedroom closets (but do it in a way that would NOT disrupt every other room in the house - I didn't want to spend my last long weekend day organizing every room). Oh sure, doesn't seem all that difficult... but when it's the "closet from hell", it's a big job! This closet is centrally located to both my kitchen, and my computer room (a.k.a. Caleb's Room), so as you can imagine, it catches EVERYTHING!!!. It's true that I am only one person, and one would ask oneself, how can one person have so much "stuff"? I DON'T KNOW THE ANSWER!!! (phew... that felt good)

Ok, so as to better "motivate" myself, I snapped some "before" pictures a few days prior to my big day. I just opened the door and snapped!!... YIKES!! I was glad nothing fell out at me.

Here are the pictures - feel free to click on the pictures... they will expand to a larger, more detailed picture:

Before / After TOP

Before / After BOTTOM

I feel so glad that task is over... I actually ended up "killing two birds with one stone" - sorry Caleb. One of the other "goals" I had was to also better organize and clean out my kitchen cabinets. As you can see, this closet now holds ALL of my can goods. (well, almost all of them). There is still like 50 more cans of Jellied Cranberries (tucked neatly in the BACK of my kitchen cabinet) my parents got a good sale on, and wanted to share the deal with me. I do have 8 cans neatly placed against the wall in the closet... you just can't see them. :-) (gotta love SALES - and Jellied Cranberries)

Mom's Famous Garlic Chip Dip

Last night I decided to treat myself to a recipe my mom taught me growing up... GARLIC Chip Dip. When I was growing up, and living at home, my dad would CRINGE when my mom asked me if I wanted some dip!!! Oh, he enjoys garlic... cooked in food... but NOTHING like this dip!! I added the DANGER to the picture for you dad. :-)

It's simple to make, but I warn you... it's NOT for the faint of heart!!

Of course, as with any recipe, you can decide how strong you want to make it (we LOVE it garlicy)... or if you make it toooo garlicy, you can add more milk to tone it down. The recipe is below.

ENJOY!!!

Garlic Chip Dip (best on Waves chips)

1 pkg Cream Cheese

Couple cloves of garlic
(you decide how many you like... I start off with 4 large cloves)

Paprika

Garlic Salt

1/4 cup milk (you can always add more)

Put the cream cheese in a bowl, and add your minced garlic, Paprika (just a few shakes), a little shake of garlic salt, and milk. With an electric mixer, mix all the ingredients together. If your dip is still too thick, add more milk (slowly) till it reaches the consistency you like best. Taste test to see if you need more garlic. If you do, mince another clove and mix well, if you want to tame the garlic flavor down, add a little more milk.

That's all there is to it. Very simple, and VERY tasty treat for all you garlic lovers out there.

Lena and I LOVE lazy days.........

My day never begins like this... I wake up with the BEST of intentions... rip-roaring, and ready to take on projects. Then, something happens (I don't know what), and Lena and I end up doing this........but I keep telling myself... the day isn't over yet!!!

Happy 90th Birthday Grandma... Sure miss you!!

Just remembering my wonderful Grandmother (Ada) on what would have been her 90th birthday! She was such a wonderful lady. She totally enjoyed having a beer while listening to the Detroit Tigers on the radio. She loved to play catch with my brother, work puzzles, cook and clean. She was a tom-boy at heart for most of her life... but as she became older, she let her feminine side show through. Maybe because she had a daughter and grand-daughter who loved to do hair, nails and makeup. She was a simple lady who didn't require much... but always gave as much as she could. Her treats to me and my brother were as simple as a pack of gum... but that's what made her special! You were the BEST Grandma, and will forever be in our hearts!

Szechuan Noodles with Pork

I decided to cook a meal for myself today. A friend gave me this recipe a few weeks ago. The first time I tried to make it, I had to substitute a couple ingredients since I didn't have them in my pantry (I used chicken rather than pork, and water rather than chicken broth). It turned out so-so. But TODAY, I had all the proper ingredients... YUM-OH!! I posted the recipe below. If you try it, come back and let me know what you think!!

Szechuan Noodles with Pork

12 oz linguine
1 cup NO SODIUM chicken broth
2 Tbsp low sodium Soy Sauce
12 oz ground pork
1/4 tsp rounded - red pepper flakes (or cyan pepper)
6 scallions, cut in 1" pieces
1 large carrot, shredded (I use my food processor)
1 Tbsp each minced garlic and fresh ginger
1 Tbsp creamy peanut butter

Cook linguine as package directs. (but save some of the pasta water for later in the recipe if needed)

Stir together broth and soy sauce in measuring cup.

Heat large skillet over medium/high heat. Add ground pork and red pepper flakes. Cook for about 5 minutes, breaking up pork, until no longer pink. Add scallions, carrot, garlic and ginger; cook another 3 minutes.

Stir broth mixture and peanut butter in pork. Cook until peanut butter is melted and blended.

Reserve some pasta water. Drain linguine, add to skillet and toss to coat with sauce. (stir in pasta water if needed to keep creamy)

* to heat leftovers, add a little more peanut butter and water

**I like it spicy so sometimes you can add a little hot chili sauce.

Italian Sausage & Peppers

It's always a good thing when you can cook a good meal at home, and share it with a friend.

On Friday, Jeff came over after work and brought over all the ingredients for his famous "Italian Sausage & Peppers". This meal turned out wonderful!! I could eat this till I got sick!

We had red, yellow, and orange peppers, onions, grape tomatoes, and garlic. Then I browned the sausage, and cut it up into bite size pieces. Toss them into the peppers mix, let the juices start to say HELLO to each other... then toss in the pasta. This time, Jeff picked up a more "healthy" type of pasta. Whole wheat egg noodles that were gluten free. Surprisingly, they tasted really good. When it comes to pasta... I'm pretty fussy!!

For dessert, I went out earlier to Walgreen's to get their BOGO free deal on Breyer's ice cream. We decided on Mint Chocolate Chip, and Butter Pecan. Oh-my-gosh... the Mint Chocolate Chip made my mouth happy!!! I didn't even try the Butter Pecan... even Jeff was smiling with the Mint!!

Look what you missed... yummm!

Oh-my-gosh... you guys missed THE BEST dessert this side of Detroit!!

(You know who you are...)

My dad whipped up a wonderful dessert for our meeting night. Lemon pudding, Redi Whip, and fresh cut strawberries!! Simple, but to DIE for!!

I *heart* Craig...

Who doesn't love Craig??
He's got the BEST list around everyones town!!

My parents have had THEE BEST luck selling LARGE items on Craigs List. They were a little hesitant at first, but now seek out things to $ell. Oh sure, there will always be the occasional "deadbeat" emails from people who seem to be really interested, then give a bad phone number, never return your emails or let you know they changed their mind... whatever. But for every "deadbeat", there are tons of great people that email you right away (very interested), wanting the item, and schedule a pickup right away - and to those great people we say:

THANK YOU!!!!

Happy Mother's Day, Mom!!

I could start my list of "The Top 100 Reasons Why I Love My Mom"... but then I risk leaving some very important ones out. Ultimately, it all boils down to this reason... She's the perfect mother for me (and my brother) because God made her ours. God knew that SHE would be THEE BEST for all the struggles we've been through. My brother and I could NOT have asked for anyone more suited to love US the way we need to be loved... (even though she would disagree at times). I love you Mom!

Happy Mother's Day (a day early)!!! xoxo

Swine Flu Prevention Tip

Don't DO this!!!

More AMAZING bird videos (bird lovers can really appreciate these best)

You gotta watch this one all the way thru... Frostie REALLY gets into this song. He has me dancing in my chair.... and kinda dizzy by the end. ;o)
Dancing Frostie Shakes His Tail Feather To Ray Charles! -


This bird can really "beatbox"!! Sure makes me miss my little Bud-Boy....


Beatboxing Bird-video powered by Metacafe


This bird is sure loving this... kind of reminds me of Sonya rubbing Caleb's neck with my back scratcher!! He LOVES that sooo much!

Tool Using Parrot!!! (youtube.com/cherylrampton)

Online Color Challenge

Here's a fun little test to see how you do with color hues.
FACT: 1 out of 255 women and 1 out of 12 men have some form of color vision deficiency.
Click here ~ ~ > to take the online color challenge, based on the official FM100 Hue Test by X-Rite.

Drag and drop the colors in each row to arrange them by hue order.

The first and last color chips are fixed. Click on "Score Test" when done.

I scored a 24.... how well did you do??

Happy Birthday Kathy!!

We had another birthday celebration at work Friday. The cake we had for her was BEAUTIFUL beyond words!!! You need to check it out! BTW... can you guess from the pictures what her "Theme" was this year??

Completely out of hand....

This type of thing is so super disturbing to me, that I literally have to remove myself from all the "news" about it. I truly believe that each person has the right to feel or believe how they choose. If that differs in some way from how another person feels or believes - no big deal, right?!?!? Neither side is necessarily wrong- so LET IT GO!! What Perez Hilton is doing and saying IS becoming "offensive"!!! His words and actions are so hurtful and ugly, that NOBODY should have any "Tolerance" for this!! Miss California simply made a statement as to how SHE believed... we should be applauding her for her honesty, and encourage others to not compromise their feelings or beliefs, whatever the situation. Should she be chastised so brutally simply because she believes it should be one man and one women for life?? I think not! SHE HAS THAT FREEDOM... but for how much longer is the real question!?!?!?

And one final thought...
Is she making a big stink that an openly gay man is on the judges panel? I'm just askin'...

Happy 8th Birthday Drew... xoxoxo

Just wanted to wish you a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
Hope your day was extra fun!!!

Twitter is so yesterday..... Welcome: Flutter

(hee hee hee..... toooo funny!! Honestly though... what's this world coming too?!?!?)

Happy 11th Birthday Jordyn xoxo

Just wanting to wish you a VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!
Hope you have a wonderful day!!

What I've been up to....

Things have become pretty darn S L O W at work lately... Oh, I know... it's not just where I work... but everywhere. Not only has it just slowed down, but almost (at times) come to a screeching halt. I work in the steel industry, and YIKES! It's darn bad. Beginning of the year, we had an across the board 3% pay cut, along with our health insurance became one of those newer "High Deductible" plans. For a single person, the first $3000 has to come out of YOUR pocket... oh, but wait, only AFTER you pay that, you will have coverage at 100% (for the balance of that year... then it will start all over). Thankfully, they decided to offer us an HSA Plan (Health Savings Account) that allows us to put $$$ into an account (pre-taxed) for any medical expenses we may incur. NOW, to help reduce costs at our 3 plants, instead of laying more people off (which could begin happening again after Easter), they decided to actually CLOSE on certain days. We have the option to either take them as "unpaid" days, or begin to burn through our vacation time. HEAVEN FORBID they decide to close down for a week or two this summer (like they've been talking about). I don't know how I can go that long without a pay check. ALL that to say this....

What I've been up to lately...
I've been given the task (that I THANKFULLY accepted) of selling items on eBay. My Godmother is a recently retired Christian Pastoral Counselor, who had a HUGE library full of various types of reference materials... books, cd's, VHS's, bibles... etc. She "hired" me to research and SELL on eBay. I really enjoy this type of thing... Hey, every little bit helps!!!

A Pet's 10 Commandments * * Read with caution...(and a tissue)

1. My life is likely to last 10-15 years. Any separation from you is likely painful.

2. Give me time to understand what you want of me.

3. Place your trust in me. It is crucial for my well-being.

4. Don't be angry with me for long and don't lock me up for punishment. You have your work, your friends, your entertainment, but I only have you.

5. Talk to me. Even if I don't understand your words, I do understand your voice when speaking to me.

6. Be aware that however you treat me, I will never forget it.

7. Before you hit me, before you strike me, remember that I could hurt you, and yet, I chose not to bite you.

8. Before you scold me for being lazy or uncooperative, ask yourself if something might be bothering me. Perhaps I'm not getting the right food, I may have been in the sun too long, or my heart may be getting old or weak.

9. Please take care of me when I grow old. You too, will grow old.

10. On the ultimate difficult journey, go with me please. Never say you can't bear to watch. Don't make me face this alone. Everything is easier for me if you are there, because I love you so.

* * Take a moment today to thank God for your pets. Enjoy and take good care of them!! * *