XO

I went to Hobby Lobby and got an X and O.  I glued craft paper on it and it turned out cute for V-day.

Finished my book Cleaving....she is strange!  I need a new camera...I want a fancy one that takes AWESOME pics.  Love my old camera but it is not working great anymore.

pottery barn pillows

pillows

I have been making number pillows like the ones in the Pottery Barn catalog.  Mine cost $22 dollars to make.  I would love to have the real ones but they were $100 for four of them....about $75 out of my price range.  So I made my own...the numbers are 8-9-03  which is my wedding date. 

learning from parenting

Well I am sad and HAPPY to say that my sweet boy got white belt with a stripe.  The instructor was not basing it off of his testing last night but the whole time he has been in karate.  To be honest we haven't worked real hard with him until the last few weeks.  HE so should of got a yellow belt because he did awesome last night.  Oh well I was sad but then I looked at my big blue eyed boy who was SO happy and I thought to myself be happy for him no matter what.  Who cares that he didn't get his yellow belt because he is HAPPY and only 4 out of his whole class got one.  I am proud of him!!!!  Wait to go Blaine.  He is going to be awesome white belt at least because he knows everything in that class already. 

SO today I am going to Home Depot to get my board for my special project...  It is a knock of painting of Pottery Barn.  Can you tell that today is payday for my hubby....off to Home Depot.

so many ideas so little money

Oh my gosh I have so many ideas....one I can't wait to do is a picture for my living room.  Hurry up money and fall from the sky.  I have been looking at blogs pretty much all day and found a picture that I can make like one at Pottery Barn. 

For now here is a picture of my laundry room.  I painted it a grey color but it looks a little blue.  I got the letters at Hobby Lobby for $1 each and then spray painted them black.  I like how it turned out.  It looks so much better in there.  I should have done a before than after pic. 

Wish my baby Blaine luck tonight...he is testing for a yellow belt.  I think I am more nervous than him.  I will post pictures hopefully tomorrow of my new yellow belt karate kid,

CUTE

Love nap time but not when I hear my sweet 2 year old having the time of his life in his room.  So I have been really busy EATING.  I am eating everything in site.  My thing is cookie dough.  I LOVE it.  Yumm.

I have been looking at all kinds of blogs and I getting a lot of ideas for this summer.  I want to entertain a lot this summer.  I have two friends that are expecting...sounds like baby showers...hooray!  I have found some really cute ideas the first is this cute little drink for pregnant girls called a preggatini...how cute.

Pictured above and below: a few sample recipes & liquid-eye-candy images from Preggatinis:







1. Sparkling Citrus







Stirrings Tangerini Rimmer

2 oz fresh squeezed pink grapefruit juice

1 oz tangerine juice

2 oz blood orange soda

dash grapefruit bitters (optional)







Rim a champagne flute with rimming sugar. Pour in juices and dash of bitters, then top with blood orange soda.







***







2. Pomegranate Cooler







5-7 fresh or frozen blueberries

2 oz pomegranate juice

2 oz white grape juice

3 oz sparkling pomegranate soda

1 lemon slice







Muddle the blueberries in the bottom of a tall glass. Then add ice and pour in the juices. Fill the glass to the top with sparkling pomegranate soda, and place a lemon slice on top of the drink. Sip through a colorful straw.







***

3. Ginger Bellini Punch (Preggatinis, pg. 110)







***







4. Minty Mango Cooler







2 cups white grape juice

3 cups mango nectar

1 bottle bitter lemon soda

3 trays mango-mint ice cubes*

2 bunches fresh mint







Pour white grape juice, mango nectar, and bitter lemon soda into a large pitchr or punch bowl. Add 1 tray of mango-mint ice cubes. To serve, place 2-3 fresh mango-mint ice cubes into a tall glass. Fill the glass with punch. Garnish each glass with a sprig of mint.







*Mango Mint Ice Cubes:

1-1/2 cups mango juice

1/4 cup water

1/4 cup simple syrup

juice from 1 lime

1 bunch mint leaves







***

Cleaving....I found the book at the MWC library.  They ordered the book just for me.  Okay so I am on chapter 8 of the book.  I am not liking Julie Powell...and I SOOO wanted to like her.  Well, I do like her a little but it is only because I want to like her.   I am reading about her now being a butcher and it really makes me sick.  I don't like meat but now I really can't stomach eating it.  My grandparents would have us over for dinner after they just taken the cow to get butchered....as a kid that made me sick.  I know I should be very happy that they were able to have food on the table but I would rather have okra or corn on the cob. 

I ran 5 miles today.  That is the first time I have ever ran that many miles.  When I write it it doesn't sound like that many miles but let me tell you IT IS.  I feel great and like I did something good.  I love running now and it really takes my  mind off of things. 

My sister in law and my GOOD friend are going to have a baby this summer.  I am soooo excited for both of them.  I love planning baby showers and I can hardly wait to decorate for one.  Hooray!  My catering is going slow...but I am hopeful that soon things will pick up. 

Maybe tomorrow I will have something actually good to post.....keep your fingers crossed.

arrggghh!  I can't find the Julie Powell book.  Rats!  Tomorrow I will try the Midwest city library and if they don't have it then I will have to order it off the internet.  Going to bed while Ryan plays Modern Warfare on the playstation. We just finished the movie 500 days of summer....good but slow

Saturday morning at home

Cold Saturday morning!  Logan and I are watching Max and Ruby while Blaine is still sleeping.  Ryan is working overtime.  Poor guy.  So I made my first eggs benedict.  It was a great and Ryan liked it too.  The boys did not like it at all which I knew they wouldn't. I also poached all my eggs. 

 Yesterday I ran 4 miles...I was so excited and TIRED!  My shoes are not made for running that many miles.  Soon I will have to invest in some running shoes but I think we have a lot more things to spend our money on...like stupid bills.  My feet hurt after running 1 mile so I am thinking it is the shoes.  I have gained 4 pounds so the running will not stop.

6

Today I am going to look for the book by Julie Powell called Cleaving.  I am not sure I like her anymore from what I have heard but I am going to read the book to make my own opinion.  Honeymooners if finished so now I am eager to read another book. 

Banana Cake

It is Wed and tonight I go to the Baby Gap.  So yesterday I made the best banana cake with cream cheese frosting.  It was so good.  The recipe said right after it comes out of the oven put it in the freezer for 45 minutes...so I did that and it was moist like they said it would be.  I have a picture but you have to understand that my boys helped with this cake so it is not as pretty as I would do it by myself.  Tonight I am either making eggs benedict for dinner or my sweet hubby might get a pizza.  I don't really like cooking right before work because I don't have time to clean up the mess.  Time to make lunch now...which will be macaroni and cheese for the boys.  The pic of the cake has chopped nuts on one side because my husband loves them and the boys do not. 

my sweet boys

I have to post a pic of my sweet boys.  Blaine asked me to take this picture because they were cuddling and watching Tom and Jerry.  My sweet boy Blaine is back at school.  I sure do miss his sweet little face.

A note on recipes....It would be so hard for me to make anything that has lobster or crab in it because it is SOOO good by itself that I couldn't imagine it being better in a recipe.  PLUS the cost.

well the pic of my hollandaise sauce did not turn out that good but it sure did taste good.  The other pic is a pic of my sloppy joes.  The sloppy joe was a mix between sloppy joe and barbeque. 

Hollandaise Sauce (electric blender kind)

Holy cow I did and I have to say it wasn't that bad.  Electric Blender Hollandaise Sauce.  I have never tried the other way but this way was easier than I thought.  I got very excited and told my husband when he called but HE did not understand that he was suppose to be proud of me.  I so enjoy cooking and I so enjoy when it works out.  I just need a high-tech camera to have really great pictures.  I will post some pics later.  I also made the Neelys Sloppy Joes.  I have not served it yet but it does look tasty.  Oh the joys of cooking...then the joys of working out.  I hope to run at least 3 miles tonight but who knows.  I am not yet at the 5 miles like I would like to be at.  It takes a long time to even run 3 miles...I have to get home to the family and family is more important than running.  Love my life and my family. 

California Roll not so pretty

So I tried to make this California roll and boo hoo I am not good at it.  My problem is not the time I spend on the food but the ingredients.  Sometimes I think oh I don't need that (because of the expense) but as it turns out that ingredient was needed.  In the case of the sushi rolls it would be the seeds.  They tasted good though...at least to me.  No one in the house would try it but me.lol  Another thing I need to buy is a good sharp knife.  I really need a good one.  What fun it was to make but what a mess too.  Rice is very sticky. 

Happy New Year

Logan is looking at me like I am crazy...lol

Yummy blackeyed peas

Oh my goodness I made the best blackeyed peas ever.  So good and of course the boys hated it.  Ryan did enjoy it and ate 3 bowls of it.  It was by far the best blackeyed peas I have ever had.  I also looked into Culinary School today.  Ryan said to email them and see how much it would cost....lets keep our fingers crossed that it doesn't cost too much.  Tomorrow night I will be working at the baby gap.  I love it there and soooo many cute things for Spring.  My baby Blaine doesn't fit it anymore but Logi bear does....I guess it is time for another baby!  Not ready just yet for that..

Blackeyed Peas
16oz package of  blackeyed peas
6 cups of water (I used 5 cups and a can of chicken broth)
1 medium onion chopped
2 garlic cloves chopped
salt and pepper
I put some tabasco sauce in there also
ham hock (I did not have one so I chopped up ham) 

rince the blackeyed peas and put them in a pot with the water...next put everything else in and then bring to a boil.  Once a boil simmer for 1 1/2 hours.  YUMMY

I served mine with beer bread...so good

My book that I am reading

Happy New Year!  2010 will hopefully be the best yet.  I am reading Audrey Meadows book called "My Life as a Honeymooner".  I love it and now I am a little obsessed with the Honeymooners.  I am not your normal 32 year old girl....I love old shows and old black and white movies.  Infact after this post I will go to my room and see what black and white movie I can watch.  What can I say I am my father's daughter.  My dad I guess got me into the old shows.  I could sit and listen to Jack Benny and Rodchester (or however you spell it) for hours.  My mom and dad got me the book for Christmas.