Coming soon....

... a Longaberger party at 3pm on Sunday, at MY house, with my friend Amelia, so if you want something or would like to come, I'd love to have you! I'm making a light dinner, Jerk Chicken Salad and Quiche! P.S. That's the coolest tissue box, from my sister-in-law, my very first Longaberger basket! ...and Olivia's African violet we got last week.

CD made this cake for her daughter's birthday and I think we may do the same for someone around here....we have lil Pet Shops all over! Homemade cakes are the best!

Yikes, I really don't think this would help much. It would drive me nuts. When Hannah was 3 or 4, she started biting her nails, I went to Walmart, found some nailpolish near the pharmacy with cayenne pepper extract and it worked wonderfully, in a week, no more biting her nails.
[Please don't think I'm a mean mama....I did paint my own nails with it and it was just enough of a bitter taste that you didn't want it by your mouth!]

I haven't been painting lately, unless you call painting a swatch on paper that I'm scrapbooking with....but I have good intentions. I want to paint on canvas again.

Today

We just got back from a trip to Indiana. Rob's brother, Rusty, passed away. I don't know what to say, except that we will definitely miss him. He battled cancer for over 2 years, and was always so fun & positive! He was 35. It's hard to imagine exactly how Mary felt when her son, Jesus died, at only 33. God has a plan and it's hard for us to understand...but we have to trust in God.

When we got home, there was a package at the front door. Aunt Sarah sent us some saris from India. Here are 2 LoVeLy models (Olivia has her eye on the My Little Ponies):

Gruyere, anyone?

Gruyère Chicken en Croûte (super yummy...I modified this recipe, Gruyere is really tasty although it may smell bad, but Trader Joe's didn't have any in stock at 8.99/pound, and I wasn't going to pay 12.99/pound at Krogers, so I actually used muenster, which my girls loved, no red peppers, added mushrooms)

“En croûte” describes a food that is wrapped in pastry and baked. Here,
roasted red peppers and fresh spinach are elegantly wrapped in phyllo.

1 package (6 ounces) fresh
baby spinach leaves
1 medium onion
1 teaspoon butter
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon coarsely
ground black pepper
1 garlic clove, pressed
1 jar (12 ounces) roasted
red peppers, drained
and patted dry
1½ cups (6 ounces) grated
Gruyère cheese,
divided
2½ cups diced roasted
chicken
24 sheets (9 x 14 inches)
thawed, frozen phyllo
dough
Nonstick cooking spray

• Gruyère cheese is a Swiss
cheese with a sweet, nutty
flavor. It can be found in the
gourmet cheese section of
most supermarkets. If desired,
regular Swiss cheese can
be substituted for the
Gruyère cheese.

1. Preheat oven to 400ºF. Slice spinach using
Santoku Knife. Cut onion lengthwise into
quarters without cutting through root end. Slice
onion using Ultimate Mandoline fitted with
v-shaped blade. Melt butter in (4-qt.) Casserole
over medium-high heat. Add onion, salt, black
pepper and garlic pressed with Garlic Press.
Cook and stir 2-3 minutes or until onion is
tender. Add spinach and cook 2-3 minutes or
until wilted. Drain spinach mixture using
Small Colander; squeeze dry using paper
towels and set aside.

2. Dice roasted peppers using Santoku Knife.
Coarsely grate 1 cup of the cheese using
Deluxe Cheese Grater. Combine roasted
peppers, cheese and chicken in Stainless
(2-qt.) Mixing Bowl; stir together and set aside.

3. Unfold one sheet of phyllo onto Large
Grooved Cutting Board. Lightly spray with
nonstick cooking spray. Using Microplane®
Adjustable Grater, finely grate about 1
tablespoon of the remaining cheese over phyllo.
Repeat two more times to create a stack of
three sheets phyllo, ending with cheese. Place 1
tablespoon of the spinach mixture onto phyllo
2 inches from short end. Place ½ cup chicken
mixture over spinach. Fold sides of phyllo in
toward center; gently roll up. Place onto
Rectangle Stone, seam side down. Repeat with
remaining phyllo, spinach mixture and chicken
mixture for a total of eight bundles.

4. Spray outside of each bundle with nonstick
cooking spray. Finely grate remaining
cheese over each bundle. Bake 20-22 minutes
or until golden brown. Remove from oven; let
stand 5 minutes. Cut bundles in half diagonally
using Bread Knife.

Yield: 8 servings

Nutrients per serving: Calories 310, Total Fat 13 g,
Saturated Fat 5 g, Cholesterol 60 mg, Carbohydrate 26 g,
Protein 22 g, Sodium 500 mg, Fiber 1 g

Here's another ATC (artist trading card...2.5 x 3.5") I made...I'm going to do one each month, sorta like a mini-scrapbook. What I really want is the 7 Gypsies ATC spinner, but it's a little more than I can spend right now.

Accentuate the positive!

Thanks, Jo, for the box of goodies, look, the shirts fit (those puffy sleeves are so girlie, love them)....you're so thoughtful. I got a package from All Moments Remembered today, too....beautiful Prima flowers, ribbons, buttons and chipboard letters!

Reaching for the sun...

My cousin, Zoya, gave me paperwhite bulbs, and a few weeks ago I put them in these glasses on the windowsill, so they'd get as much sun as they could, and look how they've grown!
This morning, as I headed out the door to work, Olivia said "Mommy, don't forget your lunch!" I had to call one day last week and ask Rob to bring me my lunch, but I did remember it today. Thanks my, little sweetie!Sarah Jeanne and Mike Chocolate came and stayed at our house again for a few days. We made ice cream, using a quart of cream, a teaspoon of vanilla and 2/3 cup of honey, on Sarah's birthday, which was totally scrumptious! She crocheted a bunch of hats while here, I'm so inspired by her will to do something and follow through!My sister, Mary, had a great dinner party, with lots of delicious food. I made phyllo bundles (with sauteed onions, mushrooms, spinach, chicken and cheese inside, grated parmesan on top)! I think the best was the Bourbon biscuit pudding that she served last....
<- Okay, no more of those goofy "O" faces, Wally!

I've been tagged by Brittany!

This is another of my favorite snapshots from Monday. The girls are looking for Grandma and Peepaw!

My new scrapping, blogging friend, Brittany, tagged me! You have to add a question of your own at the end!!!

1. My 2 favorite scrapbook topics are: nature and my girls!
2. The 2 best places I've been to are: Paris, France and St. Simon's Island, Georgia
3. 2 things I do everyday are: look at the sky and wish for more time
4. The 2 things everyone knows about me are: I love to EAT and art is important to me

5. The 2 places I wish to visit are: Venice, Italy and any of the Caribbean islands
6. 2 things you may not know about me are: 1. I like to sing 2. I seriously thought about becoming a nun (we just got the Sound of Music for a gift, so that's on my mind)

7. My two favorite foods are: Maggiano's Spinach salad with pinenuts and gorgonzola cheese & Profiteroles

8. My two favorite musical artists are: Ingrid Michaelson & Sarah Jeanne (my aunt!)

9. What's the last thing you watched on television? I can't remember, it's been about a week...maybe the infomercial (because nothing good was on) for the Jack Lalaine (spelling?) juicer

10. What is the one thing you can always count on to make you feel better? Chocolate

11. My two favorite outside activities are: (that's my "question"....and my answer) jumping on the trampoline with my girls & sledding

I'm now tagging Kim and Jo!

Orthodox Christmas

Yesterday we celebrated the Lord's Nativity. It was a beautiful day, blue sky, sun and 70' for part of the day. I know, that's strange, but I was happy that the snow didn't keep anyone away, the church was packed with faithful and that's wonderful!

My favorite flavors of Jelly Belly jellybeans: cantaloupe (top), pear (?), coconut & pina colada.

I was trying to take photos INSIDE after my camera had been outside in the COLD. The lens kept fogging up, so I had to take my cotton shirt to wipe the lens, the center was clean, but the edges of the photo appear a bit like a dream. I like the effect:

Journaling block for you!

Seems that Missouri snow followed us to Ohio! Rob bought 2 sleds at Ace Hardware, an orange round one and a black long one. Both are great, but I like going forward and that round one turns you around. Thanks, Dad! It takes a while to get to each and every little new gift. This is really "me," photos of loved ones are the best...even on a checkbook cover! This is so cool, isn't it? My sister, Susanna, gave us an ice cream maker, I need to buy the ingredients and rock salt, so we can make some, maybe on our Nativity, January 7th!!!

I designed a jounaling block! I used it in the photo above. I hope you can use it too! Have fun!

E-85

That's our Jeep covered in a blanket of snow. We just got back from Queen City, Missouri, where our friends live. They were our neighbors in Georgia, while we were in the Army. This past year, they bought a house on 75 acres...and it's just beautiful, isn't that crooked tree something? There is a small barn and they recently got 2 goats and plan on getting more.
Hannah lost another tooth yesterday (seventh)! Olivia was especially affectionate with Crystal and I think it's because she is like my mom in many ways, motherly and loving, but funny and goofy, too!When we weren't outside sledding or checking out the nearby cows or horses, we kept warm inside and read books together, as well as, cooked, drew, colored, scrapbooked, chatted and crocheted (I made them a hot pad, Crystal made me a scarf).
There, almost every gas station has the E-85 (ethanol gas) and for 2.23/gallon! A good price here for 87 unleaded gasoline is 2.99/gallon. Wouldn't it be nice to save some money? The flex fuel vehicles are so NEW and a little more than we can fit into our budget, right now.