Crockpot Potato Soup {mmmmm good}

You know you want some of this.  Just don't tell anyone that you threw a bunch of cans together.  You made it from SCRATCH, ok?


7ish medium potatoes, peeled and cubed (my least favorite part of this soup.  peeling all of these suckers)
2 onions - diced (I don't do onions so I just sprinkle in some of those onion flakes.  it works.)
2 cans chicken broth
1 can cream of celery soup
1 cup water
2 medium carrots, chopped
1 can evaporated milk

Combine all ingredients except for milk in slow cooker.  Leave cooking on low for 9-10 hours, until veggies are tender.  About an hour before serving, stir in milk.  Let heat thru and serve.

Seriously??

O.M.G.

This has been the week from HELL.

First, I sprained my foot over the weekend and have been hobbling around - but really that's been the least of my worries.

Justin had a procedure called a Discogram done on Tuesday.  Long story short, he has chronic back pain and has tried about everything over the years.  Epidurals, cortisone shots, hydrocodine(?), morphine pills - none of it touches it.  So, he's been going to some pain specialists the last few months trying to see if they could figure out something to do.  No one can seem to find out the exact cause of the pain.  He has degenerative spine disease or something (you know it's bad when every doc that sees his MRIs tells him he's got the back of a 70 year old man...) which is like an arthritic thing... he has a bulging disc.  But because of the degenerative spine whatever they can't do surgery on the disc - there's no good vertebra to attach anything to in that area.

Now everything I just typed up there may be totally inaccurate.  He's seen so many specialists at this point I'm lost.

So back to the story - I've seen him in pain many times.  He's a tough dude, and he doesn't complain much.  Tuesday after we got home from the test, he progressively got worse all day.  It was taking him FOREVER to move small movements.  I have never seen him like that.  Never.  I've taken care of this man after brain surgery and having his ACL on BOTH legs repaired.  This was BAD.  He was groaning in his sleep, so at 2 AM I got up and paged his dr.  The dr. who told us nothing about this even being a possible side effect.

I'm going to avoid talking about that dr. so I don't cuss.

At 3 am he was in so much pain he could barely lift himself out of bed.  He said he was going to take a hot shower to let the water run on his back.  I said HELL NO you aren't - because if you can hardly make it to the shower, what am I going to do with your 6' 6" ass when you can't get OUT of the shower.  So I instructed him to put shoes on and called my parents.  I started packing up sleepy, grumpy children in the car.  It took him 20 minutes to get to the car from our bedroom. 

At the ER they drugged him up hardcore and he slept.  He even slept through the MRI they did to make sure there wasn't a bleed.  Hard core IV drugs and 7 hours of sleep later they released us with another Rx and he is now MUCH better.

Seeing someone you love hurt like that really SUCKS.  The scary part of not being able to help them sucks.  I was super proud that my normally anxious-self held it together so the kids were not scared at all.  They were just excited to go to their grandparents - I'm not sure they even realized the whole reason WHY.

On a less terrible note, my long haired cat had digestive issues today - and the resulting bath I had to give her left me scarred for life.  I will be bleaching, lysoling, scrubbing bubbles then bleaching AGAIN that bathtub before any of my children go into it.  Then I took the hottest shower of my life.  It was just wrong on so many levels, and once her fur dries I will be cutting it so I don't have to experience again.  Aren't you glad I shared this with you?

So TGIF.  We're going to try to get out tonight and go to a live nativity.  Tomorrow we are going to go see Buddy the Dinosaur (!!!) from dinosaur train.  We feel like old people, and hope we hold up for the rest of December without any more visits to Urgent Care or the ER - but we won't count on it.  Especially since I just said that, I'm sure I just jinxed it on many levels.

*Sigh*

Hope your week was MUCH better, and I'm already anticipating a much better week NEXT week ;)

xo
amy

Handmade is better.

Oh my word we're already almost through the 7th day of December.  ACK.

I had glorious plans to make all kinds of homemade gifts and so far I've made a big fat zero.

Well, technically I made one, but I couldn't stand waiting to give it to her.  I gave it to her at lunch last week...

I have ALL OF THESE IDEAS swarming through my head and when I get a free second to actually make one of them happen - I go blank.  I'm going to do a link dump.  Then I can come back here and (hopefully) work through my list... and if I don't, maybe you will get some inspiration out of it for yourself.

Ideas for my nieces
I need to go to Harbor Frieght and pick up a metal stamping alphabet so I can make my nieces (and my daughter. maybe my mom.  and mother in law) each one of these:
Washer Necklace

My cousin in Iraq
I need things that ship well for him.
These almonds look easy enough

MOM DONT READ THE RED TEXT.

Ideas for myself (heh.), my mom, my mother in law, my grandma
This clear ornament with a photo in it - I love it so much it hurts.
It would be so awesome to make one every year with the kid's yearly Christmas Card photo to watch them change!!
That same link also has an idea for a dry erase board using vinyl and a $3 plate.  Too.  CUTE. (link to buy the vinyl on etsy here) or if you hurry you can get it on groopdealz for 1/2 price... i ordered 2.

I've already made a few photo necklaces/magnets... I just need to finish them up.

Ideas for teachers
I have a photo clip tutorial I *should* do for you with one of these - lets see if it happens!  It's my mom's idea, and it's really CUTE.

monogrammed soap/hand sanitizer

fabric keychains

I'll keep updating this as I have time... hope you find something useful to you!

it's the most wonderful time of the year

I LOVE CHRISTMAS.

Especially as a mom - seeing Christmas through my kids eyes makes it that much more amazing.  They find joy in every single aspect of it... the trees, the lights, the presents (of course), the movies and tv shows - and to my delight - the traditions.

This year they all three remember what we did in previous years, and want to do it again.  This is so awesome to me, because I am a creature of habit in many ways.  (Except when it comes to blogs, which I regret to tell you I am dying to change the name of mine again.  I'm trying to resist.  Trying very hard.)

I love shopping for bargins, and that is fun for me this time of year, too.  For instance, look what I just got for a lovely 25% off AND free shipping:

They are from the Children's Place- they're listed as monster slippers but give me a break.  Those are totally dinosaur feet.

I'm also working along on an advent calendar with Homemade by Jill and I'm not sure if I'll EVER finish, let alone on time.  I have all of my little pockets embroidered.  I'm going to try to at least get a few ornaments done and see if I can keep up with the kids... 

I'll take photos when I get it hung.  Maybe. ;)

Amy's Creamy Wild Rice Crockpot Soup...

I wanted to try a recipe - and when I went to the bookmark it wouldn't pull up.  I searched the internet and found so many different versions of creamy wild rice soup that I decided to combine ingredients and try my own version.

I'm proud of how yummy it is.
The goods:

1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of celery soup
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup water
1 can chicken breast chunks, rinsed and drained
2 boxes rice-a-roni wild rice (including seasoning packets in the box)
2 cups chopped carrots
1 can evaporated milk

Mix everything but the evaporated milk in the crockpot.  Set on low and allow to cook for about 6 hours.  Stir in the evaporated milk, let warm another 30 or so minutes.  Serve and eat your face off.

If it winds up being not soupy enough for you after adding the evaporated milk, add a little more water to your desired consistancy.

Spinach Artichoke Dip - in the crockpot!

This is my friend Adrianne's recipe - and it's awesome.

While preparing the other ingredients, melt 1/2 a stick of butter in the crockpot.  I usually add dry onions and let them soften in the butter - you could show me up and actually chop onions if you're like that.

The rest of the ingredients - just toss them in and walk away for 2 hours or so!

1 cup shredded mozzarella
1 8-oz package of cream cheese, cubed
1/4 cup parmesan  cheese
1 minced clove of garlic
1/4 tsp ground pepper
1 can (14 oz) artichokes - drained, rinsed and chopped finely
1 pkg frozen spinach - thawed, rinsed and drained

Serve with chips and don't think about the calories you're consuming.  :)

What's going on...

Still here.  Juggling three kids and life :)  Still doing projects when I can squeeze them in.  Still not having the energy to photograph them. 

I have tentatively opened an etsy shop.  I've been told that it takes a very long time to get a shop going, so advice given to me has been to just post a few items and gradually increase as things sell.  That way you're not paying listing fees on a whole slew of items that expire and have to be reposted. 

Here it is, but there's way more stuff I'd like to add.  I'm kind of testing the waters with some stuff that made it home with me from the craft sale.

Squishy

I'll put a widget in the side bar as well. 

I'm going to attempt a quilt.  I always thought quilts were such an old lady thing - my great grandmother made some BEAUTIFUL ones that I loved snuggling up under as a kid... so I associated her with them.  And quilting bees and all the other cute/quaint things that I have now come to appreciate.  I sure wish I was living in "simpler" times like they were.

Here's the tutorial I'm going to use - but - I'm going to make it larger.

Quilting Made Simple

Basting tips I'm going to need

Binding tips unless I find someone who will do it for me...

If you haven't heard, the price of raw cotton has skyrocketed.  I'm curious how much that is going to make fabric go up.  One can only assume quite a lot - and I am not sure how much of my stash I want to mess up if this quilt goes wrong.  Ha ;)  So, if I start hoarding fabric - please call A&E on me, ok?

xoxo

{show & tell} poppy dress

I just ordered this for Miss Thang.

I love it.  It's for next summer, and I'm going to die waiting for her to get to wear it.

Because I love you...

Please.  Listen to me.

In all of my diaper changing years I have only washed one diaper.  It was one of the ladybug's - and it didn't even fall apart.  After that I got really careful about watching what went into the washer.

I've never washed a pull up until today.

The Moo is basically potty trained.  At night we still put him in a Pull Up.  He sleeps in our bed 99.9% of the time and I prefer waking up dry.  His routine in the morning is to take his (usually) dry Pull Up off and stick it in the trash.

Yesterday we went to the zoo, and I decided to be lazy and put him in a Pull Up.  He's not tall enough to stand to go, and those bathrooms are nasty.  I was hoping he'd just take the opportunity to go in his Pull Up and I could change him if he had one on.

Quit judging me.  I am telling you - the bathrooms are nasty.  He still told me everytime he had to go, so it was a moot point. 

After his bath last night, I scooped up his clothes and threw them in a basket with a load I was going to wash.  Usually, there would be underwear in his pants.  This time there was a dry Pull Up - which means it added no weight to the pants - which means I didn't notice it.

Fast forward to me removing the load and finding little balls of gel EVERYWHERE.  I don't know how all of that fit inside that Pull Up to begin with.  Holy crap.  I don't even know where to start to clean it up.  Which is why I'm sitting here avoiding it.  If I can save you from going through this same thing, please let me.

Never.  Ever.  Wash a Pull Up.

{favorite things} My new sewing machine

My little Singer sewing machine has been giving me attitude.  It jams.  Constantly.  In the past year it's been in the shop.  TWICE.

At $89 a pop for a service call/cleaning, I could have already applied that towards a new machine.

A few months ago when picking up my machine at Bernina after being serviced, I was looking around at all of their shiny new machines.  There was a pink one that caught my eye.  For other reasons besides it being pink - one being it was one of the only machines in there under $500.  I played with it a little, and it ran smooth and quiet.  I took home a brochure and showed Justin.  I was thinking *maybe* Christmas - but seeing as we're still doing the Dave Ramsey I doubted it.

Insert me complaining about my stupid Singer jamming like crazy and dropping stitches as I'm trying to finish stuff up for this craft show.  (and no one wanting to pay for another $89 service fee)

Last night I was making dinner, waiting for Justin to get home from a quick errand with one of the kids.  I thought he was going to Best Buy.

He walks in the house and puts a box on the kitchen table, asking me didn't I hear UPS come?  So I say no and barely glance at the box...

Wait.

Did I see the words "Brother" on that box?

I look back to the table and just stare.

He didn't go to Best Buy.  He went to Bernina.  Real men go in sewing machine shops for their wives.

Now I have this little cutie:

I made two owls with her last night.  I'm in love.

No skipping stitches.  No jamming.  AND she came with a 1 year service contract - so if she does any of those things in the next year, she's fixed.  Free. 

If only I could skip the ladybug's dance class this morning to stay home and play with it...

Hang in there, buddy. :(

My coffee pot is kicking the bucket.

So sad.  I'm searching out replacements.  I can't spend more than $100 (really I shouldn't even spend that... but coffee pots in this house get LOOOOTS of use.) - and I found this retro looking little beauty that would match Sam (my mixer):

http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?SKU=17502409

Wonder if I could also use a 20% off BB&B coupon on it?

{show & tell} my ladybug's dress

Remember the white dress I showed you that I made?

Here's my ladybug wearing it while walking our puppy :)  Sweetest dress, ever.

Here's the tutorial if you want to try.

{squishy} new logo?

No etsy shop yet... just trying to get through this craft show, first.  I <3 etsy, but it also freaks me out a little.  It's so big.  There are so many people making the same thing.  I don't like competition.  I'm not competitive enough to compete.  Say that ten times fast.

Here's the logo i made up this morning.  Time to get some little tags printed so I can start pricing stuff.  I think I'm just going to print them black and white on cardstock myself for now.  I don't know if this will be my final final logo - but it will get me through the craft show...

I'm not sure I'm in love with it.  So I'll worry about messing with it later.

When I was little, when I thought something was cute I'd call it squishy.  So much so, that my dad started using it when he would see something he thought I'd like.  "Look - it's squishy"  Ha :)  So that's where that came from.  It makes me think of my dad everytime I say it.

Well, off to sew. 

xoxo

{etsy love} Zip it

I am desperately trying to get enough product ready for the craft show Chelsey and I are doing in THREE WEEKS.

OMGOSH.

I'm no where near ready. This is insanity.

Anyway - since zippers no longer scare me, I'm making lots of fun little clutches to sell. I have the one I made me in my purse, and I wound up ditching my wallet and just use it. I love it. I have another one that I'll throw in there sometimes to keep random things in place. So much easier than digging for stuff...

I wasn't sure how I was going to make a profit on those suckers, though. For example - I was using zippers from Hobby Lobby at about $1.50 a pop. Ouch. Then by the time I use the designer fabric on them... wow.

I saw that Noodlehead recommended Zip it, so last week I went to check it out on etsy. (PLEASE go look at the Noodlehead blog if you have a chance. She is so nice. I had emailed her some questions about the Gathered Clutch I had bought the pattern for, and she is so nice about answering!)

I probably won't buy zippers anywhere else ever again. They are like .40-.45 cents a piece - and I ordered them Friday and they came YESTERDAY. I already sewed with a few last night and they are great. Very soft. Great quality. I'm super happy. I wish I'd taken a picture of the envelope she sent them in, because it had the cutest tape I've ever seen on it. BIG THUMBS UP FOR ZIP IT.

So, there ya go. I think I'll start a running list of stores I like on the right at some point. It will help me, if nothing else! :)

Now I'm off to get a little princess ready for dance class!

xoxo

swiggity swag.

Look.  I have to pimp something because it works.

At first, I was skeptical.  Then I earned my first Amazon $5 giftcard.

I still thought, yeah - I'm sure the code doesn't work.

Dude.  The code worked.

Then I earned another.  Same thing.  I LOVE IT WHEN SOMETHING REALLY DOES WHAT IT"S SUPPOSED TO!!! :)

You use it like Google.  That's it.  Just use it as your search engine.  Install the toolbar and use that when you want to search.  Randomly you earn free swagbucks and when you get 400 trade them in for a $5 gift card.  I'm halfway to my third right now.  I LOVE IT.

You can get other stuff, too.  I just happen to like the gift cards so haven't looked at anything else.  I heart Amazon anyway, so it works for me.

So now my little infomercial is over.  If you want to sign up, I'd love the referall credit.  I'm going to put a box on the right you can click on, and I'll post it right here, too.

Even if you don't give me credit - I DONT CARE.  You still have to do this!!!  Especially with Christmas coming up.  I order so much stuff off that site for gifts anyway.  It's just awesome, ok?

Just clickity click on this and tell me you did it so I can virtually high five you!! ;)

{simplify} fabric bolts!!

Fabric storage is a real problem for me.  There is not a seperate area in my house for my sewing - so I have really taken over half of the living room.  There is fabric everywhere.  I've tried different ways of storing and folding it and none of it has worked out for me.

Somehow, yesterday I wound up on this blog  from my phone.  Specifically on this post.  I am so envious of her darling - and organized - space!!!  I even emailed it to my husband and told him that our next house WILL have a room like this.  LOL

The coolest thing - I didn't even know these existed - are these fabric bolts!  I'm going to order a set as soon as I hit submit on here... I only wish they were at a store so I could go get them this weekend.  I hate waiting for things to ship!  I also did a survey on their site telling them I'd heard about them from The Cottage Home blog and got a 10% off code.  Gotta love that.

When I went to her blog to get all of the links to show you, I see that she is also doing a contest to win 5 free yards of fabric.  PRETTY fabric.  Go enter - but if you win, will you share? ;)  I want that sugar line SO BAD.  Do you know how many cute tops I could make my ladybug with that?

So there you go.  Organizing goodies and a contest.  Good times.

I'm going to go take my sick behind back to the couch and hope that I can feel a little better by a shoot I have tonight.  I have had to reschedule these  people THREE times for weather, so sick or not, I'm going to have to do the photo shoot.  Cross your fingers that my kids let me get some rest.  ;)

Have a great weekend!
xoxo

{show & tell} some recent projects

I'm sorry about the crappy photos.

You'd think as a photographer, I'd take some pride in setting things up to photograph them.

Really, I'm busy trying to keep kids from popping in the shot or taking the things I'm trying to photograph - or I'm trying to keep them from attacking each other while I'm distracted with the photos - so I just throw the stuff up there, snap and go. 

Anyway - good enough.  These first couple I hung on my kitchen drapes so they look like they're glowing.

Here is the apron set I made my daughter to go with her kitchen set (that isn't here yet - oops.)
She's already been playing with it, so I think she likes it!  I looked at a ton of apron tutorials online, then just decided to make my own idea up and wing it from ones I saw that I liked.  It's a touch big on her, but not bad at all for not trying it on her as I was making it!  I made a little mini potholder, then cut a washcloth in half to make a mini dishtowel to go with it.

I made her this little dress, too.  It's not see through.  That's the drapes shining light through it. 

It's a sweet little knit - love it with knee high boots!

I was getting tired of lugging everyone's clunky reusable water bottles to soccer so I made this water bottle bag... again just winging it.  I'm getting better at winging it and not needing patterns!

Only the kids bottle's are in it right now.  Mine and Justin's go on the other side.  Snacks fit in the middle :)

And finally, here's a diaper bag that I whipped up for little miss.  She's been taking it with her wherever I'll let her so I guess she likes it!  I need to tweak some of the pockets inside and then I may try to do a tutorial and pattern for it so you can make one, too!

Here's the inside.  Her baby's bottle's each have a pocket, the diapers have a pocket, and she put other stuff in the middle.

I made the diapers, too.  They are just flannel and velcro.

So, that's what I've been sewing during naptime - when my husband would argue that I should be doing something more productive.  *snort*  whatever.

Hope your kids have all transitioned back to school well!  Thanks for looking!

xoxo

{etsy love} Cotton Thread Fabrics

I so love this fabric shop.

I'm waiting to recieve these:

This barely covers what I WANT from that shop.  My checkbook dictates this is all I get.

Thank goodness for yard bundles and fat quarter bundles so I can feel like I'm getting more than I am ;)

What a great cause!

I'm doing it!!  How 'bout you?

http://www.conkerrcancer.org/pillowdirections.html

You need this recipe: French Toast Casserole

Uh, yum.

You need:

2-3 tablespoon butter, softened
7ish cups bread cubes

6 eggs
1 cup evaporated milk
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup white sugar (plus 4 tablespoons for top
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350.  While preheating, melt 2-3 Tbsp butter in 9x13 pan in oven.  Remove dish when butter is melted.  Sprinkle bread cubes into dish.  In bowl, beat together eggs, evaporated and regular milk, sugar, salt, vanilla and cinnamon.  Pour over bread cubes.  Lightly toss to coat.

Let sit for about 10 minutes - until the bread absorbs the mixture.

Sprinkle with several tablespoons of sugar and cinnamon, toss it in the oven for about 45 minutes - until the top has browned.  (I've had to leave it in for up to 60 minutes before... just keep an eye on it.)

Serve it with syrup.

Call me and tell me how delicious it is.

*You could also make this with raisin bread.  Whoa, that would be good.

xoxo

Amy

Craft Show.

So...

I'm doing a craft show.  With my cousin in October. 

We thought it would be a fun excuse to make stuff.  And whatever is left I can stock my etsy shop with or something.

Today is being spent reorganizing my supplies.  Would you like to see a pile of my fabric stash strewn (is that a word?) about on the ironing board as it waits to be refolded and placed on a new shelf?

You wouldn't?

Oh.  Well, I'm going to post it anyway.  Ok?

(My new phone's camera doesn't take the best pictures - but it does at least have an 8 mp camera, so it's tolerable!  You need an EVO!)

Whew.  That's not all of it, either!

Hope to start turning all of that into some usable stuff, soon.

This is my new favorite fabric shop.

Cotton Thread Fabrics

I just decided that.

Cooking a whole chicken...

Cooking a whole chicken is a really unpleasant experience.

In our 11 years of marriage, I'm not sure I've ever cooked a whole chicken.  I only buy the tenders or the skinless boneless breasts that are fresh or frozen in the freezer section.

Raw meat of any kind grosses me OUT.  <--- I'm so whiny sometimes.

When there was a sale on whole chickens I bought two and threw them in the freezer - because I knew if nothing else I could throw it in the crockpot, and $3.00 for a chicken was really cheap.

Today was the day to throw one in the crockpot.  Because you  really can't mess something up in the crockpot unless you forget about it for a few days.

I hated every second of preparing it.  I didn't realize there was stuff I would have to pull out of it's insides.  I think it had four livers.  Justin told me to "grow up" - then said he was kidding, but I think he only pretended he was kidding because I gave him the death look.

I will not be able to eat it at dinner tonight, so I hope my family enjoys it.  I will now go back to buying my chicken already cleaned up, pulled apart, and liver-less.

Gathered Clutch

I'm trying to psych myself up to make this:

http://noodleheads.blogspot.com/2010/04/gathered-clutch-tutorial.html

I'm scared of it.  There's a zipper.

Super Duper Easy Summer Picnics.

We like playdates.

I like keeping the kids busy, so if someone calls and says - "wanna meet at the zoo??" - as long as we're not doing something already, it's not unusual to drop everything and go.

I also am not a fan of spending $25 bucks on lunch at the zoo.  That's money I could spend on fabric.  (ha)

So here's what I've been doing - it's worked for impromptu picnics on the driveway on a break from the kiddie pool, on the little picnic table under the new swingset so that they don't even have to skip a beat playing - and those pop-up playdates where I don't want to spend a fortune on crappy food to feed them.

In another life, I sold Pampered Chef.  (I'm the classic jack-of-all-trades-master-of-none)

This little dandy has been in the drawer unused all these years, until this summer:

If you don't have one, go here and grab one... Cut-N-Seal

I've been buying an extra loaf of bread at the grocery store.  Then the next time I make the kids PB&J for lunch, I take an extra 15 minutes and go ahead and make the ENTIRE LOAF into PB&J sandwiches.  Then I use this cut-n-seal to make them into neat little sealed circles, drop five at a time into a ziploc bag and seal.  I take several of those bags of five (my big kid always eats two), stick them in a bigger ziploc to make sure they are nice and airtight - and pop them in the freezer. 

Then, when I need to grab something and go, I grab one of the smaller bags, stick it in my purse (or in a bag and take it outside w/ us).  They defrost pretty quickly, so by the time it's time for lunch, they are ready to go!!  I keep juice boxes in the crisper drawer at all times, so those are easy to grab, too ;)

I'm amazed, but even when thawed the bread is soft.  I haven't frozen any of these more than a month, but they really are the same as the "Uncrustables" you spend a fortune on in the freezer section at the grocery store.

So there ya go :)

nom, nom, nom...

xoxo

Super Delicious Chicken Tortilla Soup.

Super easy.  If you're in a hurry, replace the chicken with a drained can of chicken.

I take 4 or 5 boneless skinless breasts and cook them in the crockpot all day with a splash of vinegar (makes it tender), few chicken boullion cubes, and taco seasoning.  About 6-8 hours later, drain, shred - stick half in a ziploc bag in the freezer (to make this soup even faster on a different day!) and use the other half in this recipe:

1 can corn, drained
1 can chicken broth (or - I use bouillion cubes and water to make broth, usually i'll make 1 1/2 or 2 cups)
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 can of Rotel (not drained)
2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained

Whisk the broth and soup together, add everything else.  Season to taste with chili powder, salt, cumin, garlic powder - then eat!  We serve it with sour cream, cheese and tortilla chips.

spinch artichoke dip... in the crockpot.

My friend Adrianne's recipe... I love it a little too much.

1 pkg. frozen spinach thawed
1 jar marinated artichokes, chopped tiny (I used a can)
8 oz. Philly cream cheese
8 oz. sour cream
1 c. shredded Parmesan cheese
16 oz. shredded Mozzarella cheese
1/2 onion finely chopped
1 stick butter

Sauté onions... in butter (i just put them in crock pot for about 20 min) - put in crock pot and heat

Easy and yummy (and horrible for you... which makes it even better :)

Ham and Egg Casserole

My kids like eggy things, and I like quichey things, so this is a winner.

1 can crescent rolls
package of cubed ham
9 eggs
1 1/2 cups shredded montery jack cheese
1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese
1/2 cup milk
1/2 tsp. pepper

spread crescent rolls in the bottom of a 9x13 dish. pinch the seams together. Evenly cover with ham, then cheese. Beat the eggs, milk and pepper and pour over crust. Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 30 minutes until done!

if you want it less carby, make it without the crust.

for my husband, i sprinkle jalepenos over half before baking. he likes spicy.

parking a link

Because I don't want to lose this.

I have a great spot for something like this.

http://makeitandloveit.blogspot.com/2010/02/decorate-my-home-part-9-wall-hangings.html

I also want to make new bedding for our room at some point and that blog has lots of ideas for that.

Excited.

Just need more time and more $$.