I Have Been Away Way Too Long...

I didn't realize how much time had passed since I last posted!  If I had waited a couple more months, I would have made it a complete year!

I have done and completed a lot of projects this year but I haven't uploaded the pictures to the computer from my phone.  I have set myself a goal to have something posted (with pictures) in the next couple of days.  In the meantime, I have included a yummy receipe that I found on Pinterest-light and easy for summer.  I don't know whose original receipe this is-if it is yours please let me know, as it is fabulous! If you get a chance to try it-Enjoy!

BLT PASTA SALAD
Ingredients

• 12 ounce corkscrew shaped pasta
• 1/2 cup milk
• 12 ounces lean bacon
• 3 medium ripe tomatoes, cut into chunks
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1/2 cup mayo (i used 1/4 cup mayo and 1/4 cup greek yogurt)
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 4 tablespoons chopped chives
• 5 heads Bibb lettuce, quartered, or 5 cups chopped romaine hearts

Directions

Cook the pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water as the label directs. Drain and toss with the milk in a large bowl; set aside.

Meanwhile, cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium-high heat until crisp. Drain on paper towels. Discard all but 3 tablespoons drippings from the pan. Add the tomatoes, thyme and garlic to the pan and toss until warmed through; season with salt and pepper.  Crumble the bacon into bite-size pieces; set aside 1/4 cup for garnish. Toss the remaining bacon and the tomato mixture with the pasta.

Mix the mayonnaise, sour cream and 3 tablespoons chives with the pasta until evenly combined. Season with salt and pepper. Add the lettuce; toss again to coat. Garnish with the reserved bacon and the remaining 1 tablespoon chives. Serve at room temperature.  

I Think I'm Ready!

It seems that Christmas is coming way to fast this year and I actually think I am ready!  Just a quick trip to the grocery store and the pet store (gotta keep the poopies happy!) and I think that will do it!  I have the menu planned for Christmas Eve dinner (lasagna, garlic bread, salad, and cannoli).  I get so burned out with turkey and ham by this time of year, I try to find alternative things to eat!  For Christmas morning I will be doing a crockpot breakfast casserole, cinnamon rolls and fresh fruit salad and for the rest of the day just snacking.  I have lined up the fresh veggie platter, crackers, cheeseball, summer sausage, a couple of other dips, a fruit platter and lots of homemade goodies.  Ohh, and I can't forget the special "egg nog".  At Thanksgiving we made the bourbon, pumpkin milk shakes (really good!) and I was thinking of how I could do an egg nog shake along the same lines-haven't figured it out yet and that may have to wait until next year.

I am looking forward to the week between Christmas and New Year's to relax, visit friends, and work on some projects that I have had in mind since I moved in Sept/Oct.  As always, my list is three pages long, but I am hoping to complete at least five projects during the week. 

I wish everyone a very happy holiday season and the best in the coming new year!

Things Are Progressing and Holiday Pictures of the Boys!

Packages are mailed, the decorating is almost done, and the Christmas baking only has a little to go-I'm almost ready for the holidays!  I have to quit browsing all the special edition holiday magazines as I get more and more decorating ideas, things to look for, and more recipes to try-I need to start this stuff in June to be on top of things! 

I finally received some current pictures of the boys at one of their holiday parties, (Jake is in the 92 shirt and Matty in in the green and black striped shirt).  It has been over two years since I have seen them-they are getting sooooo big!  The day is coming closer when I can fly them from east coast to the west coast, gather their twin cousins,  and pile in the van and head to disneyland! 

Yesterday, I had to be in a different area with an hour to waste before a meeting and what better way to spend my time then to thrift!  I ended up spending about $12.00, this after I said I wouldn't buy anything again after the move!  I ended up with a tin santa plate and bowl from Hallmark, with the prices of $10.00 and $5.00 still on them-I paid .50 and .25, a complete set of stampin up Christmas stamps (5) for .99, two bags of vintage bulbs, one .99 and one for .49. a Boyds Bear statue (I collect them) for .99, a set of christmas burner covers for .49, a german glass ornmanet for the main tree for .50, two jingle bears, one small for .75 and the large one for 1.00, two sweaters for 1.00 ea, a Thomas the Train calidiscope for Matty (he loves Thomas the Train) for .50, 4 packs of 20 ea plastic page covers for my notebook of collected recipes for .25 ea, and some genuine silver Fender guitar pick earings for 1.99-I think I did pretty well for just needing to burn a little time! Once I go home I put a fire in the fire place and spent the evening wrapping gifts-I haven't finished but a couple more nights and the task will be complete. (For me this is the part I like the least!)

Slowly checking things off the list while sipping a little egg nogg-hope your days leading up to the holidays are joyous ones!

Even At Work The Decorations are Going Up!

The bosses had meetings all afternoon yesterday, so a couple of us decided to decorate the bosses office doors.  For the main boss, we made his door a reindeer stable, and the second boss is a big Denver Broncos fan, so we had to come up with some sort of theme.  I opted for a charlie brown christmas tree meets football meets more specifically the Denver Broncos.  The pictures aren't fabulous, but I think you will get the idea-we had a lot of fun, the bosses loved their office doors and we brought a little christmas spirit into the office.

I am still working on sewing projects ad nd hope to have most of them done this weekend, along with the rest of the decorating.  This weekend will be my last class of a year long set of classes on my contemporary art journal-we will be attaching the signatures to the covers and putting the finishing touches on the books-of course along with an end of year potluck.  (Go figure-we are going to eat again!) 

Today, along with the entire week has been cold and windy-I think I am going to make soup and hot biscuits tonight for dinner.  I have been using my crock pot off and on, but I have a feeling if this weather continues, it will be a permanent fixture on the counter for the rest of the season!

Fall Is Down, Christmas is Getting Up!

The last couple of days have felt more like fall than winter here. The winds have whipped up and all the leaves in the world are on my front lawn!  But at night, the weather turns cold-yes it's winter!  The main tree is up in the living room, and the wreath's are hung over the fireplace and on the front door, and even the Chritmas bakings has started.  I still have three more trees to put up, change the quilts, arrange the pointsettas and change out to the winter dishes, but things are comming along nicely.  The best part is all my Christmas shopping is done-yipee!  I love all the sights, smells, and feel of the holiday season. 

 

Last weekend, the family trudged up to Apple Hill, walked around three Christmas Tree farms before finding the perfect tree-now I know why I have a box tree each year.  The girls were getting tired, the tree was on the top of the van and it was off for pizza.  It was foggy and overcast in the valley but one we got up into the hills the weather was beautiful0-sunny and a little warmer.

This comming weekend I am out of town but I am taking the sewing machine and projects to do, hopefully I will have pictures to post after the weekend!  Have a happy start of the holiday season.

Busy, Busy, Busy This Holiday Season

I have been so busy since the move I haven't had time to do much of anything.  I am still in the midst of unpacking boxes and STILL looking over things to get rid of.  I did take some time out to make a day trip to Apple Hill and pick up some of the most wonderful pears!  I have cooking with pears every since, lots of pear crisp and I think I may be doing some pear butter or preserves-haven't decided yet. 

I am all finished with classes this year except for my contemporary journal ending class next month.  So much to catch up on.  In the last month or soI have taken a Wizard of Oz Book, a Tim Holtz like book necklace, and yesterday I took a class, the perpetual claendar.  The pictures are the class samples as I have not completed my calendar yet, and the Wizard of Oz book I haven't taken pictures yet, when I do I will post the picture.

 

I have all my Christmas shopping done and am now on to the sewing part.  Not a great deal to do, just need to get it done!  This Friday while everyone is out shopping, I will be putting up the tree and start baking the Christmas cookies.  I have managed to fit in a little junking/thrift store shopping, which I swore I wouldn't do again while I was moving as I had so much junk that I had accumulted that I couldn't imagine wanting or needing anything else!  In the end I took five van loads to the thrift store and I am still dejunking.  This move has taught me to be very selctive as to what I do buy now, and also to have a really good idea where the "thing" is going so that I don't just buy because "I like it" but ultimately have no place for it.   During the move I found thirty five bins of Christmas "stuff", which I will be going through, keeping very little and letting the kids have the pick.  Everything else will be going!  I also manged to ship the Thanksgiving package off to the grandsons, sooooo one more thing off the list to do!    I am keeping myself busy, but more relaxed this year.  I decided I would avoid as much of the commercialism of the holidays as possible.  For now, the big turkey is defrosting in the frig-waiting to be put on the barbecue on Thursday, all the supplies are ready for the big feast and family will be arriving-truly a wonderful time of year. 

The Move Is Almost Complete!

This is exactly what I should have done!  Just picked up the entire house and dumped into the new house!  I am now down to the little stuff and boy what a challenge to look over things at the same time as deciding what to move.  It is amazing that with all this "stuff", I have started a list of things that I need to replace/or buy to fit into the space of the new place.  Since I have lost a room, half of the double car garage is now going to be the craft space-which gives me really a lot more space than I had.  My concern is the summer months might be to hot-I am toying with the idea of running the air conditioning duct into that area or walling in a room within the garage to run air conditioning into-great another project!

On a more artistic note-I attended a couple of classes last week, a neighborhood watch wall hanging (as soon as I take pictures I will post them), my art journal class and this week i will be taking a class on a Wizard of Oz Book.  Again I will hopefully remember to take pictures and post them!  i am also starting to make a list of the Christmas projects I would like to get done. (Did you see I said like-not sure if I can definately get them done with everything else going on!)

With the weather starting to get a little cooler, I have again brought out the crockpot for ease in fixing dinner-how does that line go "just fixit and forget it".  I love my crockpot, I can put everything in it in the morning and when I return from work, the meal is ready.  I tried this recipe I found on a blog (don't remember which one) a couple of days ago-it turned out great
Crockpot Love - Cheesy Italian Tortellini

Ingredients
1 lb of mild ground italian sausage
1 14oz can of diced tomatoes with italian herbs, undrained
1 15oz jar of marinara
1 9oz pkg of refrigerated cheese-filled tortellini
1 cup of shredded mozzerela cheese
1 cup of fresh sliced mushrooms

Directions:1) In a skillet, cook sausage over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until brown, then drain.
2) Spray the inside of your pot with cooking spray. Then mix in the beef mixture, marinara sauce, mushrooms nd tomatoes.

3) Cover and cook on low for 6 to 7 hours.

4) Stir in torellini and sprinkle with cheese. Cover and cook on low for an additional 15 minutes.

I really didn't need to add the sausage and if you have a vegetarian in the household just the tortellini will do.

That's about all for now, I have to get back to the one million things still left to do on my list!  Have a great day!