Sunday, December 30, 2007

Whats for dinner again?

Tonite was a crazy night because I hadn't planned anything, and I truly hate that. The Steelers are losing, and deserve to be because they are playing like crap. The first seven points they got were a gift from the Ravens, certainly not earned in any way. So this puts me in 'a mood'.

I started to muttle around the kitchen, scrambling for ideas. Me with no dinner plan is just a nightmare. Usually we end up ordering out because I can never get it together in time.

Today, we can not eat out because funds are tight til payday (due to Christmas over-spending). Plus, Mike is home for dinner since he worked the day shift and so I want to have a nice family dinner at the table !

I started to search allrecipes.com for a solution to my problem. One hang up that I always encounter when doing this is that I almost never have chicken broth or campbells soup on hand. i have to make a mental note to get them at the store, just to have them on hand for nights like this.

So, I did an advanced search with some things I did have on hand, and this is what we made. It was pretty good considering it was last minute and I was limited. I would make it again, but I might use colby jack cheese, less flour (for sure!) and ground pepper instead of white.

Chicken Noodle Casserole
PREP TIME 20 Min
COOK TIME 15 Min
READY IN 35 Min
SERVINGS & SCALING
Original recipe yield: 8 servings

INGREDIENTS
2/3 cup chopped onion
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon olive or canola oil
1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 3/4-inch cubes
1 (14.5 ounce) can chicken broth
1 1/2 cups chopped carrots
3 celery ribs, chopped
1/2 teaspoon dried savory
3 tablespoons butter or stick margarine
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon white pepper
1 1/2 cups 2% milk
1 1/4 cups shredded reduced-fat Cheddar cheese
8 ounces wide egg noodles, cooked and drained

DIRECTIONS
In a large nonstick skillet, saute onion and garlic in oil until tender. Add chicken; cook and stir until no longer pink. Add the broth, carrots, celery and savory. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until vegetables are tender.


Meanwhile, in a saucepan, melt butter. Stir in the flour, salt and pepper until smooth. Gradually add milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from the heat; stir in cheese until melted. Pour over chicken mixture. Add noodles; mix well.

Transfer to a 3-qt. baking dish coated with nonstick cooking spray. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees F for 15-20 minutes or until bubbly.

Aero and Smarties from Canada

Recently, I received my 'secret santa' present from my pal in Canada. Every year my May mommy buds do an exchange and while typically it is 'all about the kids', for Christmas the mommies exchange presents and we put an ornament or small toy in the package for the kids.

I always get the most amazing gifts in this exchange! I also put alot of thought into the gift I send for this exchange. This year I had Ally.

Ally is one of the mommies who came for the outlet shopping-fest in November, which was AWESOME! It was the first time we had met in person! I had a blast shopping for her. She is so hardworking! She is a trauma-care nurse in her hometown and she puts in some LONG ASS hours. She is a great mommy and wife, and still finds time to be a great friend to alot of people!

I got her some 'time for her' stuff including a creme brulee set with cookbook, torch and ramacans. A few 'ahem' cocktail mixes! I got her son a toy for the bathtub! I hope she loves them! It just so happens that Ally is from Canada. So, I was praying it would get there on time.

My Secret Santa was also from Canada! Her name is Erin, and she is also a nurse, hardworker, great mommy, and so funny! She sent me an amazing gift! A super, soft blanket that is creme colored and is quite possibly the softest thing I have ever felt, a Christmas candle that smells like a vanilla wafer, a book by my favorite author Jodi Picoult called "Keeping Faith" and two board books for Maddie. Here is the thing, she stuck some candy in the bottom of the box for me.

Ok, I didn't realize how different things were between the US and CANADA! I mean we do share a border, various lakes and rivers, the Falls and other things too! But how is it that we do not have these candies here in the States!

Smarties here in the States are little sweet/sour pill-type candies sold in little skinny packs with plastic twisted at its edges. Smarties in Canada are similar to M&M's and are made by NESTLE! What the piss! They are good, thats for sure! Different than M&M's but still yummy just the same.

BUT I AM AMAZED BY THE FOLLOWING REVELATION! We do not have the other type of candy that Erin put in my bag here ! They are called Aero's. OMG, talk about a little piece of frothy chocolate heaven ! It tastes SO good, and it is similar to chocolate puffed with air. WOW!

Seriously, I am considering writing a congressman about why we do not have this in the States. I mean, what is up! Nestle makes both of these so why do we not have it! I am pissed, and am thinking I will have to send money to Erin so she can send me an entire bag of these. I could stick them in my freezer and take them out only in case of emergency!

Saturday, December 29, 2007

Catch up

Well, it has been awhile (by my standards) since I last posted a blog. There is a lot to catch up on, but I will try to keep my stories short and sweet.


Christmas was incredible, beyond my expectations. Madelyn was amazed, dumbfounded and overjoyed to find Santa had left her presents under our tree. Santa was pretty damn good to her this year, let me say!


I find, and this is just my opinion, that the earlier I start shopping for Christmas, the more I buy. So, since I started early, there was WAY too much stuff for her. And of course, she wanted to play with everything the second she opened it. So that made for a difficult time. I had to tell her no, and that we were going to open all the presents before we played with anything, and she didn't dig that at all. Understandably, and that is one thing I do hate, but we are so busy running around all day on all the holidays. It often makes for a very long, tiring day.


Lauren, poor little Lauren. She hadn't a clue what was going on. She was happy, as she usually is! It was thrilling to watch her just smiling away as Maddie opened all the presents.

Madelyn and Lauren both got alot of awesome toys and clothes from Santa! But they do have some favorites! Madelyn loves her Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Lucky Ducks Game, Baby dolls, Dress up trunk and Alice doll. Lauren loves her Jack in the box, and her gummy rattles that are finally light enough for her to hold and chew on (poor baby's gums!).

Maddie got a marching band set from her Cousin Allen! HOW KIND OF HIM (yes, I was shouting!). She does love it! She also got the Rose Petal Cottage from Mimi, but it hasn't been assembled yet, so she doesn't know really about it yet. From Cheryl she got a Care Bear which she sleeps with and a really cool Elephant game.

Cheryl also got Lauren little baby UGGS, and an outfit to match them! OMG, they are the cutest! Aunt Bee got Lauren little tiny stuffed Pooh characters that she can grasp. They are so soft, she just hugs them and loves them!

Overall, we had an incredible Christmas. The kids got so much stuff!

Oh, Mike got an XBOX, in case you missed that in an earlier post. I gave it to him early so he could play it during his vacation time in early December. He also got a blanket and a Steelers AFC Champions t-shirt from me. My parents got him Madden 08, and my sister and Brett got him Scrubs season 2 on DVD. That is just as much a gift for me as it is for him!

Here is an overview of what I got: beautiful diamond earrings, aromatherapy, slippers, jammies, season six of Scrubs on DVD, a CSI computer game, clothes and best of all A BELGIAN WAFFLE MAKER that flips! That is what I asked for, not sarcasm.

Mikes parents got us an awesome digital photo frame. It plays music, videos, slideshows of your pictures, IT IS SOOO NEAT!

Ok, that is the Christmas wrap up - hmm, no pun intended there!

Tuesday, December 25, 2007

A long two days.....

Wow, I don't have time to post really, but I had to come on and wish everyone
A VERY, VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!

From my little piece of Heaven on Earth to yours, I hope it was a good one.
Here is a picture of my best present this year!

Sunday, December 23, 2007

Friends

Everyone has them, everyone wants them, everyone needs them! They are your friends! I happen to be so lucky to have a group of women who are my friends and they are just incredible.

The crew I have went through our last three years of college together.
Every SINGLE day, every SINGLE project, every single minute I was in class... I was with my crew!

We went through everything together: every psycho teacher, every ridiculous project, every lesson plan, every nail biting test (especially Briscoe!), the dreaded, blasted PRAXIS exams, student teaching, successes, failures, babies, weddings and then, who can forget, graduation !

Well since graduation, we rarely get to see each other. Most of us talk on the phone, or try to, at least once a week or two. We do try to get together more often, but it is hard with such a large group of people. Not to mention, we all have VASTLY different lives. Some of us have been married for awhile, some are just now newly engaged (YEA EMILY and JASON!), some of us had babies in college (whoops!), some of us have GRANDCHILDREN! Some are subbing, some are working two and three jobs, some are contracted with schools, some are in grad school.

We are so diverse, yet what we share is so powerful and grand. Having gone through such major events with one another has connected us on such a deep scale it is hard to imagine life without them. Although we don't see each other as much as we would like, none is more than a phone call or desperation cry away.

We just love each other and cherish the time we spend together. We know how lucky we are to have such a large group of closeness, and we know its rare so we hold it with both hands very, very tightly.

Since college for us ended I, for one, have felt some growing pains being seperated from this group. It was such a strong force in my life for three years, and now that we are AS TOGETHER as we once we were, I definitely felt a loss of sorts. But I have grown into the now, and that makes me so grateful for the times we do have.

And so, to my Ladies, I raise my glass to you and thank you for being such an awesome group of women! I love and admire each of you for different things: loyalty, devotion, committment, energy, sassyness (is that a word?), humor, realism, dedication and most of all faith.

Faith in many things, but mostly each other. Merry Christmas CCAC - - EYE YOU PEE !

So busy - well, what do you expect? It is Christmas!

I just love Christmas time. But I hate being so busy that I can't tell which end is up. I am desperately trying to keep the house clean, get all the cookies baked, presents bought and wrapped, keep the kids excited, and make sure all the t's are crossed and i's dotted!

All in all, it will be worth all the running, fussing, stressing and being busy. I don't mean to get all sappy on you guys here, but I can't wait for MJ to open her presents. She is excited, but I am even more excited for her. I can't wait to see her face when she sees the presents under our Christmas tree! It should be pretty spectacular to see! I just can't wait.

Tomorrow is my father in law's official birthday - so we will be them for dinner. Then to my moms for a little while.

Christmas day, Mike is off so we will do the run around like we always do!

I probably won't be on much in the next two days, although I may try to squeeze another cookie's post in tomorrow since we will be baking part of the day.

Here is a layout that I did with a kit from Karla's Kaleidoscope Designs called Christmas Cheer.

Merry Christmas to you and your family from mine here in Pittsburgh! Have a wonderful holiday!

Friday, December 21, 2007

I got RAK'd

Yesterday, I received a private message in my inbox at go digital scrapbooking (which rarely happens), so I logged on to see what was up.

I was so excited, elated and just plain tickled to find I had been RAK'd by Crops!

RAK (random acts of kindness)

She is on Kim B's Creative team (lucky devil that she is!) and Kim B gave her creative team a little Christmas gift in the way of an INCREDIBLE kit called Old Festive Cheer! So, to pass along the merriness (yea, it is a word!) the creative team were selecting people to receive it as a RAK!

How awesome, and I got selected! I made a page today using the kit, and an alphabet from the Christmas Around the World girls (I tried to find who it was from, but all I can tell you is that I downloaded it from Hummie's World).

I shared the layout I did with anyone and everyone who I would think of who cared! I just love this kit, and everything that Kim B. does. She just embodies a presence (even over the net) that makes you want to have fun! The bond that she has with her internet friends all over the world is amazing, and I am just so inspired by her!

Maybe it's Christmas that is making me all sappy!


Ok, enough of that. Here is the layout I did with her kit!

Thursday, December 20, 2007

Baking Christmas Cookies - my favorites

So, last night Maddie and I talked and decided it was time to bake the Christmas cookies. Typically every year in our house, we don't eat them, so they end up going to waste. I try to give them away, but everyone I know bakes too.

Regardless of whether or not they go to waste, we are baking every year. It is just a tradition, and I am going to keep it.

I will post pics or a scrapbook page of the bake-fest later! For now, I have to clean and clean and clean some more. Plus, there is laundry, naps and all that goes along with having two youngins.

So here are my favorite Christmas cookies to bake.

Buckeyes
Combine in a bowl:

1/2 c. butter melted
1-1/2 c. creamy peanut butter
4 c. confectioners sugar (powdered)
1 tsp. vanilla
(consistency will be grainy)

Roll into balls and place on wax paper in the fridge for 30 minutes.
In a double boiler (or you can use a metal bowl over a pot of water), you combine:

2-1/2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
and 2 tbsp. shortening.

Over medium heat, mix with a fork until smooth
Remove balls from fridge and use a toothpick to pick up them up, and dunk them into the melted chocolate. Leave a spot, so they look like a real buckeye!

Re-place on wax paper.
Continue and then re-refridgerate overnight.


My mom's EASY CHOCOLATE CHIPS
Combine in a bowl,

1/2 c. oil
2 eggs
1 tbsp. water
1 box of yellow cake mix
1 bag of chocolate chips

Use a baller to place dobs on an ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake at 325º for 10-12 minutes.


Peanut Butter Cookies
1 c. peanut butter
1 c. butter
1 c. sugar
1 c. brown sugar
2-1/2 c. flour
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
2 eggs

Combine all ingredients in a bowl, and roll into balls and place on a cookie sheet.
Bake at 350º for 12-15 minutes.

Press hersheys kiss or m&m in the center of the cookie while still warm.


Pumpkin Roll
3 eggs
1 c. sugar
2/3 c. pumpkin
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. salt
1 c. flour

Combine above ingredients. Grease pan with shortening. Press into pan a piece of greased wax paper. Pour cake ingredients onto wax paper and Bake 15 minutes at 375º. While still hot flip it onto a dish towel covered with powdered sugar and roll it up. Let it cool that way (this is how it will stay closed later!)

Make the filing.
8 oz. cream cheese
3 tbsp. margarine
1 tsp. vanilla
1 c. powdered sugar

When cake has cooled completely, unroll it, take out the towel, put in the filing evenly and roll it back up. Refridgerate!


Soft Sugar Cookies
3 c. flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 eggs
1 c. margarine (two sticks)
1 c. sugar

Mix flour, baking powder and baking soda. Separately combine the butter, eggs and sugar.
Now add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and fold together.

Roll with flourered rolling pin out onto a floured board. Cut with cutters and bake at 375º for about 7 minutes.

Decorate individual cookies with frosting, colored sugar or candies.

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Christmas to me

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?
Both- i like to wrap for the girls, but for others mostly bags!

2. Real tree or Artificial?
Artificial...we had dogs and now its just easier.

3. When do you put up the tree?
I shoot for the day after Thanksgiving, and usually finish in the first week of December.

4. When do you take the tree down?
New Years Day or the day after.

5. Do you like egg nog?
As a child, a neighbors mom made us what she SAID was homemade EGG NOG, and I LOVED IT. Now I have tried egg nog and that was SOOOO not egg nog.

6. Favorite gift received as a child?
Barbies Townhouse - it had an elevator! Or Cabbage Patch kids, or colecovision

7. Do you have a nativity scene?
No, but I am looking for just the right one.

8. Hardest person to buy for?
My mother in law or my sister Becky.

9. Easiest person to buy for?
The girls!

10. Mail or email Christmas cards?
Mail them! I have 83 going out today!

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received?
I don't think I have ever gotten anything very bad. But last year Mike bought me crocs that were two sizes off!

12. Favorite Christmas movie?
A Christmas Story or ELF

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas?
I try to start the beginning of November!

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?
Well, I think I am guilty of an occassional regift.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?
Ham, dessert, and Sarris candy! Christmas cookies - especially the peanut butter ones with the hershey kisses in the middle :)

16. Clear lights or colored on the tree?
clear

17. Favorite Christmas song?
O holy night and Snoopy & the Red Baron

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home?
Well, we stay in Pittsburgh, but visit a few places.

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeers?
oh yea... but I am not going to.

20. Angel on the tree top or a star?Actually we have a bow up there.

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning?
Christmas morning.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of year?
Psycho drivers who have no clue where they are going. Rude people at the malls and crowds.

23. Favorite ornament theme or color?
I love all of them.

24. Favorite for Christmas dinner?
Honey ham or deep fried turkey :)

25. What do you want for Christmas this year?
Diamond earrings, a belgian waffle maker, boots.

26. What was the one Christmas gift you wanted as a child but never received?
I think I got everything I wanted.

27. Who are you tagging?
Anyone !

Monday, December 17, 2007

Phishing scams piss me off - you are not smarter than me

It is one of my biggest irritants when some stupid ass nerd who has no life, and unlimited time on their hands, thinks he is smarter than me. Well, you aren't. And here is some news, I have a BIGGER MOUTH THAN YOU DO!

As some of you know, I recently changed internet providers which, in turn, caused me to have to change my email address.

And since I am online frequently, there were a number of places I needed to change my email with. So today, I changed it with Paypal. Within a few minutes I had to reverify twice, and confirm twice.

Because of the money transactions that occur at Paypal, there is alot of private and personal information stored there. Tons of scam artists (a/k/a no life nerds) spend their entire days to hack your information from Paypal website. This is all they freakin do.... because they have no life.

The most convenient way for them to do this is phishing. Well, now we put our email addresses on everything. They now ask for it when you shop, when you register to purchase something online. There are lists floating around in cyperspace with your personal email on it. I guarantee you.

That is how these con-artists get your email. And because most Americans now shop online, have visited Ebay or other online auctions, we have Paypal accounts.

Why do we have Paypal accounts? Well, because Paypal has the ability to transfer funds to a third party without releasing your personal information, and that protects you. So sure enough today, I got a phishing email that appeared at first glace to be from Paypal, but that goodness I am a super sleuth.

Back to my original point, the con sends you an email pretending to be Paypal, stating that something has occured and they suspect fraud, or you tried to log in too many times with the wrong password (none of which is true)! Then - and here is the kicker - they place a LINK IN THE EMAIL FOR YOU TO CLICK ON TO RESOLVE THE MATTER! Then, usually there is some threat of action that you don't want. 'We will close your account, your account will be terminated or suspended. Or then there is my personal fave they will report YOU as a fraud. ROFLTIPIMP!

So what happens? What is the first thing you see when you click on that link - it send you to what LOOKS LIKE the real Paypal, and then it asks your log in ! You put your email addy and your password in - bam they got ya!

But now it re-routes you to another page - it looks like Paypal! It says enter your checking information or credit card information so that we can verify who you are! You put it in! BA BAM - now they really got ya!

So now, you have given them your log in information and your credit information. They have your entire identity !

Here are my tips -

#1 - If you get your email online, you can place your cursor over the link provided in the email and down in your taskbar (lower left hand side of your screen just about the Start menu button) will appear where you are REALLY going, not the bogus address listed in the email. Remember, just because it says the correct link for paypal doesn't mean thats where you're going when you click there. Anybody can make a link say something other than where it is going.

#2 - If you get your email in Outlook, right click on the link and then select VIEW SOURCE. This should give you a NOTEPAD version of the email including html. If you scroll down to the link, it will show you in the web address it is REALLY sending you, and then it shows you in quotes "www" what they want you to see in the email, or where they want you to believe you are going.

#3 - It is best to open another browser window, and type in the web address for Paypal (or whatever other company) yourself. If you have any questions, hit the contact tab and send them an email. If they really sent you an email, there will still be a way to resolve it without you clicking on that link in the email you received.

#4 - REPORT IT! REPORT IT! REPORT IT! Dude, don't just delete it. Report it! There are laws, and imagine that some other (not so computer-savvy) person is going to actually get scammed. It can take years to get your identity, credit report, bank accounts and life back in order after someone compromises your reputation, credit history and your good name!
  1. Report it to the company involved (i.e. who are they PRETENDING to be). In my case, I forwarded the email to Paypal via spoof@paypal.com.
  2. Report it to the Internet fraud complaint center (http://www.ic3.gov/) - a division of the FBI.
  3. Report it to the US-Cert (http://www.us-cert.gov/nav/report_phishing.html) - a division of the Department of Homeland Security.

Here are some important places you can visit!

Your states Attorney General.

http://www.fightidentitytheft.com/phishing-scams.html

So, today I did report these little assholes (I am picturing freakin Wormser from Revenge of the Nerds, sitting in his nasty-stained boxers at his computer).

Here is what I received back so far...

US-CERT
US-CERT has received your report and has assigned incident number
US#****** . Use this incident number whenever referring to this report.


The United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT) is a
partnership between the Department of Homeland Security and the public and
private sectors. Established in 2003 to protect the nation's Internet
infrastructure, US-CERT coordinates defense against and responses to cyber
attacks across the nation.


Your report will assist US-CERT in the identification of emerging
cyber-security threats.
Thank you,
US-CERT Operations Center
888-282-0870

soc@us-cert.gov


PAYPAL
Thank you for writing to PayPal regarding the email message you received
that appeared to be from eBay.


As you may have already suspected, this email was not sent by eBay.
These emails, commonly referred to as spoofs, are sent by fraudulent
sources posing as eBay in an attempt to collect sensitive financial
information or passwords.


Please know that PayPal and eBay are committed to the security of our
sites and our members. We review every report we receive and forward all
vital information on to the appropriate authorities for further action
and tracking. We work actively and aggressively in partnership with many
agencies, ISP's, and law enforcement groups to support their
investigation of these fraudulent entities. As a public company, we rely
on the same agencies you do to pursue these fraudulent activities. You
may also wish to contact your ISP or email service provider for further
information or instructions.


Once again, thank you for alerting us to the spoofed email you received.
Your vigilance helps us ensure that PayPal and eBay remain a safe and
vibrant online marketplace.
Sincerely,
PayPal Account Review Department
PayPal, an eBay Company


Ok, I kind of feel better! I forgot to mention that I did go to (in a different browser) to the corporations website who is named in my emails notepad and left them a very nice email message letting them know that they either have crooks working for them, or they themselves are crooks. I hope they email me back, because I let them know exactly what I thought of them, their employees, and that I had already reported their company to both the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security (as listed above).

Friday, December 14, 2007

Professional pictures of the family

I got our actual pictures back from JCP today, not the crappy online ones. I know they CAN use a higher resolution, they just choose not to, so rude! Anyway, so I can officially upload them to you and show you what they really look like instead of the blurred version you got a week ago.
Here they are... drumroll please!

More Maddie and Santa

I am so happy that Maddie is 'into' Christmas this year. I am so glad she 'gets it' now, that I can't get enough of her talking about it. I took her today to the best Santa in the world at the Robinson Mall. Even I believe this guy is really Santa. He lives in Texas during the 'off' months and builds wooden toys for children - no shit... he really does.

I told him we were 'potty training' so he gave Maddie a little talking to, about how important it is to be a big girl and get big girl underwear and that he would bring her some for Christmas if she was good and went on the potty (LOL!). Inside I was going ' THANK YOU SANTA '!

She was so excited, and this time was able to rattle her little list off to him, "My Friends Tigger and Pooh, babies, dollies and Cinderella". How adorable! It was extra special because just her and I went, as I left Lauren at home with Daddy. We hadn't had a just Maddie and Mommy day for awhile, so it was great to spend time with just her giving her my undivided attention!
Here are two pics of the big day!

Rachel jacks up sayings - Part One

I really am an intelligent person, not to toot my own horn, but it's true. Although sometimes words cross my lips that I am dumbfounded by. I have a tendency to, how shall I put this, jack up commonly used sayings pretty regularly.

Today, while riding to the mall with my mom we were in a conversation in which I tried to use a pretty commonly used verse......... but instead what came out of my mouth was, "Well Mom, you know, the squeaky nail gets the glue!".... I really mean the 'squeaky wheel gets the oil', but I jacked it all up.

I knew immediately that I had totally jacked the saying up, but just tried to cover with a, 'well, you know what I mean'.... but of course, my mom erupted into laughter at which point I did too.

If nothing else, I am QUITE able to laugh at myself, do so pretty regular and actually think I am kind of funny most of the time. This was just stupid though.

But always remember kids, when you want something and no one is listening to you... the squeaky nail gets the glue !

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

What I should have thought of BEFORE creating this blog.

I keep track, kinda, of the traffic on my blog. I am curious who comes and goes and how they come and go. It seems I may have made a small faux paus when creating this blog. I never considered really what 'uncensored' might incinuate to the random internet searcher.

I guess if you "google" - party uncensored... it links you up with my 'PURSE PARTY' post, which is hysterical because I am envisioning some perv on the other end of the terminal thinking he is getting some crazy action and there I am with my Christmas tree and scrapbooking stuff.

Perhaps I should put some kind of big disclaimer on the blog header - clean blog... go elsewhere for your smut. At least pay for your smut you cheap ass! Sadly, there is some freakin blogger out there willing to bare it all for free putting the hard working hussies just trying to feed their babies ut of business, but I digress!

Drats... no camera?

Tonite Mike and I took the girls to Hartwood Acres which is a really cool drive through park with a beautiful Christmas light show. They put up probably sixty to seventy different scenes built with Christmas lights. The suggested price is $12.00 per car load and the proceeds go to Project Bundle Up which provides needy kids with warm winter coats each winter.

Talk about amazing. We have been to different light shows before, but this one really is beautiful. And, drats... I didnt take my camera. I was kicking myself the first five minutes through the park for not having it. It would have been worth it just to get Maddie Jo's reaction to some of the scenes.

I am working on our Christmas cards, and some layouts for Karla right now. It will be busy the next few days getting those done and out.

Mike has been off work all week on vacation, and he goes back to work on Saturday (BOO.. but it does pay the mortgage ). So, I know I have been scarce but we have doing the traditional family Christmas time stuff and it has me getting the warm and fuzzies about the holidays!

Monday, December 10, 2007

Our characature from the Christmas party!!

I had to share the picture that was drawn of Maddie and I at the Christmas party on Saturday. Her little face is so adorable in it... and I think it really looks like her ! Me, well... I should have tipped the girl more! I wish that is what I looked like that early in the morning. on the Saturday after the biggest sha-bang surprise birthday bash! She made me look like a news anchor or some shit... but I ain't complainin!

Sunday, December 9, 2007

Eek! Two major milestones in one little weekend!

Oh, as if the weekend wasn't busy and exciting enough.... on Friday Lauren rolled over. Boy, does she get pissed once she is over though! She is just like, "I am here... now what?"
Secondly, MY BABY HAS TEETH! Two sharp little nubbies came in today on the bottom. Well, for as big as they are we didn't even know! We were eating dinner and she was smiling at me from her little seat on the floor. I thought I saw some white on her gums, so I stuck my finger in there and there they were! I know they weren't through yesterday because she was chewing on my hand during the Christmas party.

I tried to get a picture of the two white spots, and this is the look she gave me......

So young, and already giving me attitude! Look at her little pursed lips. She is just thinking, "Yea right mom!"

Saturday, December 8, 2007

WOW - or should I say WAW!


W hat A W eekend !

The party went off without a hitch! I can now blab that for a few months now my sister in law and I have been planning a surprise 60th birthday party for my father in law! He was shocked, and everyone came and it was amazing. We had his senior picture from high school put on the cake (which was awesome - whipped cream icing kicks ass in a big time way). The food was great (and there was enough, which was a worry of ours). People came who haven't seen my father in law in years, and he was just tickled.

I spent the last three weeks or so making a scrapbook of his life. It ended up being two entire 20 page books (plus a refill kit for the book - so, about 50 pages or so!) Everyone loved it, and I was so happy. I worked SO freakin hard on this thing for ENTIRE DAYS and filled ENTIRE WEEKS! It is so nice to feel like they understood the hard work, and thoughtfullness that went into. Truly, there aren't too many people I would do that for, my father in law is just one of them. He is just a hell of a guy, and there aren't too many words in the English dictionary that can describe him. You just have to know him. He, my mother in law and my sister in law loved the scrapbook so much, they cried- which made me feel great! That was the reaction I was looking for.

Today was the Mike's work Christmas party which is mostly for kids (but it is INCREDIBLE!)... I should mention that my father in law works there as well, so we went to this party even before Mike started there. Santa Claus comes and there are jugglers, clowns, magicians, balloon animal makers, face painters, spin art, mimes, marionettes... just about everything a kid could want to do ! For adults, they have a free chair massage on each floor of the building, so there is never more than one person in front of you. They have handwriting analysis, a craft show, an amazing lunch and characture artists . I just can't begin to describe it!

So, Maddie gets her first shot at Santa Claus, who she finally understands this year. He came around the corner, and her face just lit up like a Christmas tree and she screams "Merry Christmas!" So adorable. She sat on his lap, and said, "nice a meet you!". He asked her what she wanted for Christmas, and even though she is able to rattle off a list to me, she goes, "toys!". He said, "Oh, ok, anything in particular?" ... she says, "no... just toys". I cracked up, poor thing just froze. I imagined in my head A CHRISTMAS STORY where the kid just nods and says 'Yea, a football" when he really wants the bb gun! Thank goodness there was no slide!

I will post some more pictures tomorrow. But here are a few of my favorites from the weekend!






Friday, December 7, 2007

Christmas pictures and PARTY TIME!

Well, we got the girls Christmas pictures back from JCP. They are so cute, but I am biased! We also got a few of the whole family! I like them, but I usually don't like pictures of myself. Here are my favorites

So, now that its like 5pm on Friday... ITS PARTY TIME!

Pictures to follow... lets hope for a big surprise :)

Thursday, December 6, 2007

A busy bee!!!

Well, I will be out of commission from blogging anything worth while for about another day. Regular silly blogs should resume on Saturday, possibly Sunday depending on my recovery time. Still can't say what is up until after tomorrow! After that I will have tons to share!!!!

I hope everyone reading this has a wonderful weekend!

Tuesday, December 4, 2007

Oldie but a goodie!

I received this email from a friend at the exact right time. I am trying so hard to prioritize things in my life right now. This puts alot into perspective.

-A mayonaise jar and two cups of coffee

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the 2 cups of coffee.

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with an unanimous "yes."

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

"Now," said the professor as the laughter subsided, "I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things---your family, your children, your health, your friends and your favorite passions---and if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.

The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house and your car. The sand is everything else---the small stuff.

"If you put the sand into the jar first," he continued, "there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff you will never have room for the things that are important to you.

"Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Spend time with your children. Spend time with your parents. Visit with grandparents. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your spouse out to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal. Take care of the golf balls first---the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand."

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented. The professor smiled and said, "I'm glad you asked." The coffee just shows you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend."

Monday, December 3, 2007

What is for dinner again?

So, I didn't make the Crumby Chicken tonite. Mike isn't home, and I want to save that for an evening that he is (and also, I forgot to defrost the chicken... pretty important part of the dish!)



Therefore, tonite we had Ham and Egg tart! Love them, super easy and kids like them too!

We often change up and put different things in them (olives, mushrooms, brocolli, bacon etc) depending on what I have on hand.



HAM AND EGG PUFFS


1/4 cup chopped onion
1 tablespoon butter or margarine
1 cup cubed fully cooked ham
1 (8 ounce) package refrigerated crescent rolls
4 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 cup shredded your favorite cheese (swiss or cheddar)
1 tablespoon minced chives (if you have them, if not.... don't use em)



In a skillet, saute onion in butter until tender. Remove from the heat; stir in ham and set aside. Unroll crescent roll dough into one long rectangle. Press onto the bottom and 1 in. up the sides of a greased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dish; seal seams and perforations. Spread with reserved ham mixture. In a bowl, beat eggs, milk, salt and pepper; stir in cheese. Pour over ham. Sprinkle with chives. Bake at 375 degrees F for 23-28 minutes or until a knife inserted in center comes out clean. Refrigerate leftovers. I usually serve it with home fries or fried potatoes.

Typically we have this for dinner, but occasionally make it for breakfast too!

New blog header

Whoo hoo! I am so happy to say that I was able to make a blog header. My very own creation made with the papers and elements available on Karla Marano's Pastel Pleasures kit. It is the freebie I posted a few days back. You can get it at Karla's Kaleidoscope Designs!

I am so happy that it worked, I could just scream from the rooftops!

I have had a pretty productive two weeks, as far as digital scrapping is concerned. I can't share with you yet... and I can't explain why. But I will blab it all at the end of the week!

A Maddie-ism

Ok, this isn't so much as a Maddie-ism as it is just ridiculous things my kid says that cracks me up.

So last night we were eating dinner at my mom's house (spaghetti - yummo!), and she is kind of playing around, not eating. So I turn to her and say, "Ok, now its time to eat. Get a bite!"

She picks up her spoons and says, "I'm gettin my sketty on!".

I turned to my sister Becky (or Aunt B) and say "Did she really just say that?"

And Maddie says something like "I know it!"

All I could do was crack up, and say, "Yea, babe, you get your sketty on!"

Sunday, December 2, 2007

Computer class cheat sheet

For a few of my computer classes, people often ask me for a cheat sheet for keyboard short cuts and codes.

Did you ever wonder how to make these symbols show up on your screen?

☼ ≈ ☻ ◄ © ♫ ° →

These are called alt codes, and you can get a complete list of them here.

Enjoy!

What is for dinner tonite? Act III

So, Mike switched with another guy at work so instead of working daylight today, he is AGAIN 2-10! I hate that schedule. I like to eat dinner as a family, but oh well... it was nice of him to switch so that the other guy wouldn't have to work a quick turn.

Anyway, so I was stumped for dinner tonite. I talked to my mom, and I am going over there for spaghetti tonite. But this is what I was going to cook! I will probably make this tomorrow since I already defrosted the chicken! But who can pass up mom's spaghetti!

Crumby Chicken!
4 boneless chicken breasts
1/2 stick of butter/margarine
2 tsp. minced garlic
1/2 c. breadcrumbs (I use seasoned)
1/8 c. grated parmesan cheese (I use a container of grated, not the powder shaker kid)
1/8 tsp. pepper
3/4 c. grated cheddar cheese (again I grate it fresh from a block)

Melt butter w/ garlic and place in a flat bowl. Mix breadcrumbs, cheeses and pepper and put in a large ziplok baggie. Dip chicken in the garlic butter, then put in the baggie with the breadcrumb mixture and shake.

Place chicken in lightly greased baking dish, pour any extra garlic and breadcrumbs over top. Bake on 350° for about 45-55 minutes.

I serve this with steamed brocolli and cauliflower and fried rice or stuffing depending on my mood.

Saturday, December 1, 2007

Been busy...

Well, I didn't get an opportunity to post all of yesterday or today. We have been Christmas shopping and decorating the house!! I do love Christmas! I am burning my Christmas Berries candle from Yankie Candle (that I love... just that smell puts me in a good mood). It is almost gone because it is just left over from last Christmas. I am going to have to go get a new one!

I still have no tree up, but that explaination will come later in my post. But Maddie is talking about Santa Claus non-stop, so I think that this year she actually 'gets it', which makes me even more excited for Christmas morning. Mike has off, so he doesn't have to jet to work right after opening presents. We can have a wonderful breakfast/brunch together as a family, and I can't wait! I feel like a little kid!


Verizon came today. I decided to give them a second chance. Well, I guess I have to backtrack and explain what I mean by that. Last year in August, Verizon was having this mega-deal where if you switched to their DSL service, phone and signed on with DirectTV then you get them all for like $33 a piece. This would save us a lot of money, and I love to save money :) Actually, I love to spend it, but thats another entire post!



So, last August I agreed to switch from Comcast (because I think they are money hungry pigs who monopolize us into thinking cable is it!) to Verizon during this deal. The person I ordered with on the phone ASSURED me that the DSL would be as fast as cable, which I knew wasn't true, but was willing to take a little hit in the speed department for more loot in my pocket!



So, first the DirectTV guy comes and hooks us up with the dish. I love it... no complaints there! Next, the Verizon tech comes and replaces my fast cable with a turtle of a DSL connection. I would have stuck it out, except it was intermittenly just loggin off, booting me offline, and just giving me a headache. For those who know me well, you know I CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT my COMPUTER! First off, it is part of my livlihood, and secondly, I need to be able to communicate with people via email and chat rooms for school work, sub lists and all that jazz... and thirdly, I LOVE to be online chatting with my buds via Yahoo. I can't deal if I can't get my email, that is like next to the jugular in my life!

So, after alot of bickering, sitting on hold, six visits from tech support from them, I finally gave up and went back to comcast for my internet provider. It was such a slap to have to call them back and get hooked up again. The last guy who came to help was like, just hang on until fiber optics come, then you will be hooked up! I just couldn't wait.

So, this week I got a little flyer in the mail about Verizon Fios, and after some investigation I learn I will save a shitload of money by swiching. I call and verify the prices and seriously, I had to try it out. My mother in law already has fios and she LOVES it. So seriously, it can't be that bad! She lives next door, so it can't get messed up between two houses, can it?

The dude came on Saturday morning. I was without intenet for a whole "GASP" five hours! But it was so worth it because my download and upload speeds are incredible! Seriously, I love it. Couldn't be more pleased.

But, there was a little issue with the Nortons Antivirus program that they provide. It kept saying it couldnt install because of some program I have called Authentium... and sent me to the CONTROL PANEL to remove it from my programs list. But the problem was, that it wasn't there! I couldn't find this program at all.

After about an hour on the phone with a techie, he couldn't fix it either. But let me say, they have the coolest shit! I called and had to sit on hold for like forty minutes (yes, you read right). I just put it on speaker and laid it on the desk while I tried to fix the shit myself. When the techie gets on he is SO NICE, funny and very helpful. He proxies in to my computer through the fios -AWESOME! So I just sat here and watched him go through all these steps and trying to fix it and find the Authentium in my computer, of course he couldn't find it either.

Then, my cordless phone starts beeping... I am going to lose the connection because the battery is dying. I am like, OH HELLLLL NO, I didn't sit on hold forever to finally get someone to lose him! So, I tell him, my phone is going to die. He took my cell number. About five minutes after the irritating beeping 'your battery is dying' started, it went dead. A box popped up on my screen, and he types in like a little chat box. "I lost you, calling you on your cell" and my cell phone started ringing. Hell, yea... he was a kick ass techie!

Ultimately though, he was unable to solve my problem and referred me to Microsoft tech support. Yea, as if I am calling them so they can charge me $20 an hour to fix it over the phone!
After the kids went to bed, I searched online to try and find a fix on my own and I did.

Here is the fix: Go to MY COMPUTER > LOCAL DISK > PROGRAM FILES > COMMON FILES > Click on COMMAND SOFTWARE FOLDER > THEN CLICK FOLDER CALLED AVSDK. This is the installer program, however it gives you the option to uninstall prior to installing the program so don't be afraid to click on it It really did work for me, and I felt like a member of the Geek Squad I was so freakin proud of myself.

So that was tonite... now I am going to bed!