Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Going Downtown....











Saturday night we took the kids to our little town town square to see the Christmas lights that were done, and let me tell you my friends they went all out! In the center of our downtown is the court house and they went light CRAZY! From top to bottom and all the way around! It was so beautiful and it was great to see the kids enjoy it. I took a few pictures I wanted to share. MERRY CHRISTMAS!
All the way to the top! I wouldnt like to be that guy!
I have got to get a tripod!
Isn't it beautiful?
Another angle..
They had these little sences all over the place. I only got a picture of a few cause it was so busy there.
These were placed all around the court house, diffrent sences and diffrent sayings... what a great idea

Tasty Tuesday - Chocolate Peppermint Bark

This last weekend we went to a cook out at my Godfathers and I was always raised not to go some where empty handed. So with the vodka checked off the list all I needed was something food wise. It hit me that I had a recipe for the peppermint bark that I hadn't tried yet and thought it would be perfect to take along for the fun evening that was planned.
This recipe was so quick, I had it all done and ready to go with plenty of coloring time with the kiddos before we left for the cook out.

Chocolate Peppermint Bark:
 What you need:
6 squares (1 oz each) white baking chocolate
1 cup ( 6 oz)  semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup crushed peppermint candies




Here's what you do:
1. In mircowave safe bowl, melt white chocolate at 70% power; stir until smooth. Repeat with chocolate chips. Stir in 6 tablespoons of crushed candies in each bowl. Drop white chocolate and semi sweet chocolate in alternating spoonfuls onto waxed paper- lined baking sheet.



2. With a metal spatula, cut through the chocolate to swirl, spreading to a 1/4th inch thickness. Sprinkle with remaining crushed candies. Chill until firm. Break into pieces. Store in an air tight container in the refrigerator.



I doubled the batch and since I was in a lil of a hurry I stuck te baking sheets in the freezer. They broke easily this way too. They were a hit and this is a quick recipe that will become a favorite and maybe a Christmas time tradition for us...

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

O Christmas Tree

Awww Christmas, my favorite holiday. I love this time of year when I can use and valiatate 1000 reasons for family time!
One of my favorite excuses to get us all together is the hunt for the Christmas tree! We always get a real one for many reasons but the #1 in my book is that we all do it as a family! This is a tradtion that i started with the older 2 when they were little and I plan on keeping it around until they are off to college.... Even then I might just work around thier lives and do it as a family... Girls condiser this your warning! lol

We were going to go to a Christmas Tree Farm this year but the weather has been rainy and we had already had our first snow( though it didnt stick around) so we opted for good ol Home Depot! Christmas Tree Farm is a MUST DO next year!

We found a beautiful tree! It was in the 6 to 7 foot range in the beautiful Noble fur catergorie. So we picked it up and headed to check out!

The tree color this year was purple and silver, and I was excited to get it all put up! For those who dont know I change the tree color every year... Another tradtion I started... and my hubby cant stand the fact that I have 7 totes of Christmas stuff! But he has learned to deal with it I guess....

When we got the tree home we realized that our tree stand would not work! So Anthony went and had to buy another one. After all the wrestling with the tree we got it in the house and realized it was HUGE compared to where we wanted to put it... so after some re arraging we got it in there and started on the decor!
Our Tree with LIGHTS!

The tree skirt... and the idea for purple
Great find at Kmart! Martha Stewart

Here is the Purple and Silver!
Got 2 of these packages at Target last year!
We always start with the main color ornaments then got to the kids keepsakes after that... They all have a few Hallmark Keepsakes ( I usually try and get them one every year) and then og course the handmade ones from school that they have collected over the years... Got to LOVE those lil gifts! I cant wait to hand them to them when they have kids of thier own ;) but NO time soon of course!
Just the purple and silver

Decorating the tree!
Then of course last but not least is the Star! Since I am short and the kids are well kids, this is the job saved for the hubby! Our 4 year old just HAD to do it this year though so with a little help from Dad she got it up there!
Our STAR! Another Target buy!



 I hope you will enjoy our finished tree as much as we do.... but one last thought.... Do you have any special traditions?




Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Cookin' Tuesday: Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake and Slow Cooker Lasagna

Since we have moved to Arkansas and I am not working I tend to have a little more time on my hands. Anyone that knows me know I pretend to cook. I am not an expert and I don't always enjoy it but yesterday was pretty good. I did try 2 new recipes and I hope to place a recipe on here every week. Who knows you may get two :)
First off we will start with the Slow Cooker Lasagna. This is a Betty Crocker recipe... though I am NO Betty Crocker, I can pretend right?

Slow Cooker Lasagna

What you will need:
1 pound bulk Italian Sausage
1 medium onion chopped
3 cans (15 oz each) Italian-style tomato sauce
2 teaspoons dried basil leaves
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese ( 8oz)
1 container (15 oz) Ricotta cheese
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
15 uncooked lasagna noodles

Here's what you do:
1 Cook sausage and onion over medium heat for 6 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until sausage is no longer pink; drain. Stir in tomato sauce, basil and salt.

2. Mix one cup of the mozzarella cheese and the ricotta and the Parmesan cheeses. ( refrigerate the remaining mozzarella while lasagna cooks)


3. Spoon 1/4 of the sausage mixture into a 6 quart slow-cooker; top with 5 noodles, broken into pieces to fit. Spread with half of the cheese mixture and 1/4 of the sausage mixture. Top with 5 noodles, remaining cheese mixture, and 1/4 sausage mixture. Top with reaming 5 noodles and remaining sausage mixture.


4. Cover and cook on LOW for 4-6 hours or until noodles are tender.
5. Sprinkle top of lasagna with the remaining mozzarella cheese. Cover and let stand for about 10 minutes or until cheese is melted. Cut into pieces and Serve!!

This was my first attempt for lasagna. Though I have carried on the tradition of stuffed shells. I think the next time I will try the oven even though I LOVE slow cooked meals with 3 kids :)

Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake:


I found this recipe a while back in the ads that come in the mail every Wednesday.. Never know what goodies you will find in those things.. and this was a GOODIE!

What you need:
9 HONEY MAID Honey Grams, finely crushed
1/2 cup finely chopped PLANTERS nuts ( I did not use these)
1/4 cup butter melted (1/2 stick)
1tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
4 pkg. ( 8 oz each) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese; softened
1 cup sugar, divided
4 eggs
1 cup canned pumpkin
1tsp. ground cinnamon
Dash ground cloves

What you do:
1 Heat oven to 325
2 Mix crumbs, nuts, and butter, press into the bottom and 1 inch up the side of 13x9 pan



3. Beat cream cheese and 3/4 cup of sugar and vanilla with a mixer until well blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating after each just until blended. Remove. 1-1/2 cups batter. Stir in remaining sugar, pumpkin and spices into remaining batter.




4. Spoon half the pumpkin batter into the crust; top with spoonfuls of half the plain batter. Repeat layers; swirl with knife.


5. bake 45 mins or until center is almost set. Cool completely. Refrigerate 4 hours. Then cut and serve!



YUMMY! I had mine for breakfast this morning and topped it with whipped cream  :) Bad I know!
I hope you enjoy these.... My family sure did.




Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Breaking up IS Hard to do...

When you are in a relationship you usually become close to the person that you are with. Some of us even begin to love that other person. But when things begin to go "down hill"and you are no longer happy the inevitable break up is lurking around the corner or somewhere down the road, but when you are in your comfort zone and you have begun to love the person the break up that needs to happen can become indescribably difficult.
 No one looks for that emotional roller coaster that is certain to follow a break up. The insecurity, the void in our hearts, the confusion, the emptiness, and how venerable we seem to become, along with all the other millions of emotions that we usually feel post break up.
That is why some stay in situations and relationships that they know they need to get out of. I think that this is all in time before they realize what they are doing and finally let go.
Every relationship is and break up for that matter is VERY different. It is funny how one tiny detail can make such a HUGE difference in a break up and though there is just one situation there is ALWAYS two different stories.
The girl will be full of detail and the tiniest thing matters the most, and with the guys their stories usually are short, sweet, and to the point. They even have two ending results. You don't usually run across break ups that ended in "mutual" agreements between the once lovers. They are in fact RARE! So what are the end results of the non mutual  agreement break ups? One wanted out and the other just had their hearts ripped out of their chest? Or are there other deal breakers?
The question is this...
 Who is the one that is more venerable to the heartbreak? The man or the woman?
I am sure that this all depends on who you ask, but personally I think it is the woman. We tend to have very high expectations, and with our month "bitch" trip, I will admit we are hard to please or even live with for that matter. So when a man gets tired of our "shit" they throw up their hands and run like hell. Who can really blame them though? Even if you are the type of woman who can admit you can be a "bitch", we are still left with these bewildered looks on our faces wondering what the fuck just happened.
It is funny that after a break up there is always someone asking that question, but then again it is all depending on the situation on who is the one that is left standing there asking it.
But what happens when you conscience has gotten a hold of your head and your heart?
Some are scared to call it quits because of the fact that they don't want to be known as the "heart breaker" and they don't want to have to deal with all the guilt that may come with it. So the already hard break up becomes to now seem almost impossible to do, but there is always an "ice breaker" that makes the guilt trip ends and the screams that are in their head and hearts are finally heard. Some times the sanity comes to play and we finally let go and move on with our lives, or for some reason we end up holding on to whatever we can find to keep what little of our relationship that is left even if deep down we know that it is gone from the grips of our hearts and our hands.
They say it is all in time before we let everything go, but when a woman puts their hearts, souls,heads,energy  and their emotions all in the relationship and the man just puts in their hearts, the woman will indeed end up with more heartache than the man would. Which means that a woman would probably take longer to heal post break up, but when an outsider is looking into the relationship they usually don't understand why the two people are still together in the relationship when there is in fact nothing else left between them but routine, An outsider can see the fakeness that surrounds them and their relationship. The fake smiles, laughs, and even their "I love you's" seem to scream fake, and though it is fake the people that are "trapped" in the relationship think that they are fooling their friends and family with their great acting skills. Even though we all know we have been there before at least once we tend to forget....
Breaking up IS hard to do

Oldies......

So i know it has been forever since I have been on here but with all the drama and chaos I havent had much inspiration.... Sorry yall :(
I did run across some old writings I'd like to share so these next few blogs will be of them... I hope you enjoy

Friday, February 25, 2011

The Start of What The Photography!

I know that it has been forever since I have blogged but my schedule has been non stop for a while!
I have started my photography business, after a life long dream and a lot of work that's been done and a lot more to do!
I have came to find out that pricing and getting clients is the hardest thing to do. Its been almost 3 months since I have started it and no calls yet.... But I will get some.... Maybe...
Other then that it is hard to work out of boxes seeing that we still live with my mother in law and our stuff is still stored away for when we find a place. I can't wait to be able to set me up and area where I can actually work. Awwww the day!
I have been able to get some new equipment and some cute lil props for some photo sessions and I am still on scout for new and exciting locations... This is such an exciting field to work in, but its a lot of work. Especially on top of a full time job, being a mom of three and a wife....but in the end I hope its all worth it...
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