{Life as we live it}

lots of fluff

 
the snow is coming down outside this wonderful morning. i am so stoked it snowed today, but not so much that school is out. i could've slept it, but i should've known schools would be closed today. what was i thinking. anyway, Ty is thrilled it's snowing as i am. we spent a little time out there already & it is coming down!! it's so fluffy, it's hard to make a snowball. hopefully later today we can have a snowball fight :-)

have you seen the new Quickutz Silhouette SD? my word, they would do something like this & i HAVE TO HAVE IT! the new 3D dies are so flipping cool! i LOVE their new releases today!!! i can't wait to get my hands on all the new QK goodies coming out this year! i think i need to start saving up now!!!

TGIF

it's been a long week, with Tyler having no school for two days. one of my tires ended up flat & then two days later it's flat again. slow leak, time for a new tire. so Corinne & i are housebound. it's 50 degrees today. will have to go & play outside this afternoon when it warms up.

 
Tyler lost another tooth last Sunday & some how Tim placed it on the counter top in the kitchen & now it's no where to be found...go figure. at least his first one is saved & locked away in his train set!

i also added some photos for 365 to the right. i tried this last year & wasn't successful. so this year i am giving it another try. then i hope to have a solution as far as how i will store them all once they are all printed.

i've also been super busy reorganizing, decluttering, you name it. it's taking a long time & i know it's something i won't finish all up in one month. it may take three months at the pace i am going...lol. i bought paint for my kitchen finally & can't wait to get started on that. we bought a new sink/cabinet for our 1/2 bath & it's really pretty. much smaller & it gives a lot more room in there, too. now i just need to find a mirror i like at Ikea & finish doing some touch up paint from where the old cabinet was removed. i wish David Bromstad would come to my house & just redo the entire thing. i'd love him forever! he's got such an eye for color & he is just downright Awesome!

Ty has a 3day weekend, again! i'm getting spoiled w/ all this time off. well, have a good weekend!

LOST IS BACK

 
YAY! i can't wait to curl up on the couch & spend 2 hours watching Lost tonight!!!

watching history...

 

if only i could be there right, i sure would. i've got the kids, mostly Tyler, excited about watching the Inaguration today on TV. i'm sure they probably won't last all day...lol, or even 15 minutes for that matter...lol. i was hoping to be wearing Obama t-shirts, but Tim never picked any up while working in DC last week. so hopefully he will find some locally & bring them home...we'll see...hahaha!

a priceless moment...

Sunday morning, Corinne doesn't eat all of her waffles for breakfast. Tim puts them on a paper plate for, Sky, to eat instead of wasting them. well, Sky never ate any of the waffles, b/c Corinne was eating them instead....

 

   

Sky was lucky to get 3 pieces of waffles after she left his spot!!!

Zuppa Toscana Soup

Zuppa Toscana Soup 1 lb. spicy Italian sausage - crumbled 1/2 lb. smoked bacon - chopped 1 qt. water (2) 14.5 oz. cans (about 3 2/3 cups) chicken broth 2 lg. russet potatoes - scrubbed clean, cubed 2 garlic cloves - peeled, crushed 1 med. onion - peeled, chopped 2 cups chopped kale OR Swiss chard 1 cup heavy whipping cream salt and pepper - to taste

-In a skillet over medium-high heat, brown sausage, breaking into small pieces as you fry it; drain, set aside. -In a skillet over medium-high heat, brown bacon; drain, set aside. -Place water, broth, potatoes, garlic, and onion in a pot; simmer over medium heat until potatoes are tender. -Add sausage and bacon to pot; simmer for 10 minutes. -Add kale and cream to pot; season with salt and pepper; heat through. you can find out more about the site here. lots of cool restaurant recipes to try out. i think i will make the olive garden salad dressing this weekend.

last weekend i spent a few days/nights at lss helping with store inventory & a few of us ordered from Olive Garden for dinner. i wanted to try a different soup instead of my usual, so i got the Zuppa Toscana & gosh, i would've just ate that w/ bread sticks instead of also getting a main entree. this soup was so good, i couldn't stop eating it. i'm not sure why i never took the time to order before back when i used to eat there all the time. anyway, last night i searched for this soup online & found it & made it last night & it was REALLY REALLY REALLY GOOD!!!

what i did differently with mine was add some red pepper flakes for the heat, b/c we only buy the mild Italian sausage so the kids can eat it, too. instead of potatoes i used cauliflower & it was perfect!!! i did saute my veggies before adding the liquids, b/c i like the taste much better.

have a lovely weekend!!!

it's COLD outside!!!

it's seriously COLD outside. walking  Tyler to the bus stop this am was not a fun one. my ears were about to fall off only after being outside for a few minutes & it sucked! of course the one day it's cold as an ice box outside, the bus decides to not show up. not sure what that was all about. so a few of us piled in a car to take the kids to school on just in time. thank goodness we just live 1/4 of a mile from the school!

did you see the new  American Crafts sneak peeks? MY GOSH, i can not WAIT to get my hands on that yummy goodness. all that pretty & colorful embossing powders & STAMPS!!! i LOVE this time of the year, when all the manufacturers share sneaks of all the scrappy goodness that is coming out.

yesterday my friend came over w/ her kids & as usual, it was great chatting it up & letting the kids play together, too. though, there is a serious issue between Corinne & Eliza when it comes to her brother Hudson...lol. Corinne has is obsessed with him while Eliza is always protecting him from Corinne....LOL! it's funny to watch. poor Hudson, just sits there w/ a look on his face, GREAT, the little women are fighting over me...hehehe.

i tried to get a good pick of the girls together while watching the Little Mermaid, but they just wouldn't sit still....
 

     

after a fun & playful morning/afternoon, i sat Corinne on the couch to drink her milk, while i was cleaning up, she was sound asleep!
 

well, i need to check on the fire to make sure it's still burning & so can sit back & chill. i rented The Family that Prays last night, so i am gonna watch that before Ty comes home & while Corinne naps. i'm a Sanaa Lathan fan, so i am eager to see the movie!!! have a good day!!

 

Polaroids

   

i think this is really cool. drag & drop your photo & like a real polaroid, it gradually adds your image. i just picked some random photos to try it out & thought it was really cool! you can check it out here Poladroid.

a recipe share

i made this dish last night & it was a HIT!! even Tyler loved it. total shocker there. at first he was resistant & didn't want to eat it. then i helped him take a bite & LOVED the taste of the garlic & olives...WOOHOO! i was beaming last night b/c he enjoyed it. that's huge around here, but he's our picky eater & it meant a lot that he enjoyed it. this was a quick & easy meal to make. my only downfall was that i bought olives w/ the pits in them & i was so mad at myself for not reading the can. i was rather busy getting my kids to share the space in the car kart instead!! oh well, they requested this meal to be cooked every Monday night...haha. oh & this recipe came from the frozen vacuum packed package of Tilapia i buy at Costco.

Baked Mediterranean Tilapia

4 Tilapia Loins
1 Large or 2 medium Vidalia onions sliced 1/4" thick (if unavailable, use yellow onions)
2 Medium tomatoes, sliced 1/4" thick
4 Tbsp Fresh chopped basil or 2 Tbsp dry basil
8 Cloves chopped garlic
4 Tbsp olive oil
12 Kalamata olives, chopped

1. Defrost tilapia loins. Preheat oven to 375F.

2. Peal & slice onions 1/4" thick. Saute in olive oil in saucepan over medium heat, 2-3 minutes each side or until onions are translucent.

3. Place loins over onion slices. Sprinkle olives, garlic and basil over fish. Place tomato slices on top. Add salt and pepper to taste.

4. Place pan with fish in center of oven, uncovered, for 12-15 minutes, or until fish is opaque.

Serve tilapia with rice pilaf and spinach salad.

Happy 2009

Photojojo has 22 really cool photo resolutions for 2009. i would just pick one, but that is always so hard. so i will pick a four from the list & make sure to post a little sticky by my monitor as a daily reminder.

1. Clean up your act. i want to invest in some nice, but simple photo albums for pictures i don't scrap or will scrap eventually & have them nicely organized so i can easily find them.

2. Make a book. this part is pretty much done already. but it doesn't pertain to photos, but my blog. over the Christmas holiday, i spent several hours working my blog into Blurb. it's set up by year, 2005 to 2008. i'm excited to get them all printed.

3. Put more photos up. i've been wanting one on by the stairwell, so that's where i'll start one.

4. Use a new technique. been eyeing Instax Mini 7 camera by Fuji. would make a nice bday gift...ahem, Tim ;-)

also, Ali Edwards started a thread on one little word for 2009. i always look forward to her post each year. this year my word is Create. create more than i have been doing & create more for myself...that can also mean creating in other areas i've acquired an addiction to...cooking, soldering, etc.

today the Garden Bloomed. i've not had a chance to drool over everything yet, but thought i'd remind anyone who hasn't been there yet to check out all the eye candy ;-) here is a page i did, very very very very bad hair...shame!!!

 
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SMOOCHES!!!