Comfort Food

After making this card, I've started dreaming of Thanksgiving food!  We usually make the pies for the occasion, so it will soon be time to think about what kinds of pies to bake!  My favorite is either cherry of French Silk, but I always buy the French Silk if we choose that one.  I have a feeling we won't be getting that one this year, though, as I think I usually end up eating quite a bit of it myself.  Others tend to go for apple and pumpkin.  Why is it that pumpkin pie is a Thanksgiving tradition?  I'm not particularly fond of it!  :)-  One year, we were served cheesecake by my brother and sis-in-love and that was wonderful!  I'd choose cheesecake again in a heartbeat!

Supplies:
Stamps - The Stamping Boutique (digital), SU (sentiment)
Paper - SU Basic Black CS, Gina K white CS 7 Gypsies DP
Ink -  SU Basic Black
Accessories - SU buttons, SU ribbon, Nestabilities (oval, scalloped oval), SU oval & word window punches
Coloring - Copic markers

Thanksgiving food is comfort food to me.  Maybe it's the warm mashed potatoes, the savory turkey, the green bean casserole, the hot dinner rolls with butter, etc.  My mouth is beginning to water!  Until then, we like this for comfort food:  Macaroni & Cheese with a side of corn.

 

Homemade Mac-n-Cheese

2 - 2 1/2 cups elbow macaroni, cooked and drained

16-oz. light cottage cheese

2/3 cup light sour cream

2 c. shredded cheddar cheese

1 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. pepper

1/8 tsp. onion powder

Combine all ingredients in a 2-quart casserole dish.  Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees F for 45 minutes.

Friday Favorite: Go Between

I couldn't resist posting about something dental related this week.  Afterall, it's a pretty big part of my life!  This has got to be my absolute favorite dental floss:  Johnson & Johnson Reach Gentle Gum Care Woven Floss!  It's not waxed, is gentle on the gums and really gets teeth clean in between!  Not everyone can use it (Teeth are too tight together sometimes or there are just too many rough edges from lots of dental work.), but I at least try it on every patient that sits down in my chair!

No, this is not a stamping or crafting product at all, but hey, if you don't like it, you might be able to use it like baker's twine!  :)  Just an idea.

"Floss the ones you wish to keep!"

(There.  I'll climb down off my soapbox now.)

Friday Favorite: Calm

I've always had a thing for fountains.  I think it started back when DH and I took yearly vacations in the beautiful state of Tennessee (pre-children).  There, we went hiking through the Smoky Mountains where there is an abundance of running streams and gorgeous waterfalls.  Just the sound of water trickling over rocks makes me relax.  I bought the fountain in the photo above several years ago and it's still a favorite!  DS1 is taking an interest in it now too, but more for the water and rocks.  :)  Oh, and the power cord.  Boys...

The Great Cookie Experiment: Week 5

I hesitated to turn the oven on this morning since it's supposed to get up into the upper 80's outside, but my love for chocolate got the best of me.

I chose to tweak a basic chocolate chip oatmeal cookie recipe I found over at allrecipes.  I tweaked it for two reasons:  1.  I wanted peanut butter with my chocolate and 2.  I discovered I was all out of old fashioned oats!  Nothing like some gentle encouragement to be creative!  :)

Here's my final recipe:

Peanut Butter Oat Chocolate Chip Cookies

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup creamy peanut butter (I always use Skippy.)
• 1 1/2 cups Old Fashioned 7-Grain Cereal (I used the Wheat Montana brand)
• 2 cups milk chocolate chips  (The original recipe called for semi-sweet, but I never use those!)

1. In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter, sugar and brown sugar. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt; add to creamed mixture. Stir in peanut butter, cereal and chocolate chips.
2. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls 2 in. apart onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 350 degrees F for 11-12 minutes. Cool on wire racks.

*Note:  With the addition of the peanut butter, you may find the dough a bit sticky, so if you don't have one of those handy cookie ball scoops, you may want to put the dough in the refrigerator for a bit to make it a bit easier to handle.

One word:  YUM!

Friday Favorite: Smile!

I don't know when it started, but I have a thing for smilies.  :)  Most notes I write to people have at least one drawn on them.  I guess I figure most people can use a smile in their lives, even if it's hand drawn on a piece of paper!  Love those little circles of happiness!  :)  A DF of mine actually found some bright yellow, foil wrapped chocolate smiles for me once (there's one in the photo above) and that just totally made my day!  I share them with my DS's when they complete their chore lists for the day.  I think they're catching on to my smiley addiction...

Friday Favorite: Got Mud?

Our back door has seen its fair share of mud lately!  DS1 & DS2 seem to be drawn to a big area of dirt at the corner of our house.  It's a place where we will eventually do some landscaping, but for now, it's their play spot.  Add water and you've got a mud pond!  I don't mind until they come happily waltzing through the back door with feet, legs and hands still covered in the gooey stuff!  Good thing this ole lady is a pro at intercepting!  :)  I'm working on getting them to at least stop and visit the hose on their way to the back door for a pre-rinse!  Boys and mud are a glorious thing.  Carpet and mud are not.

That said, here is my most recent fabulous find (Thanks, Unity Stamp Co!):

Friday Favorite: Java

A hot cup of coffee mid-morning is one thing I can't seem to give up.  I've been trying to cut back on the caffeine, though.  Lately, I've been mixing just a tiny bit of this Eight O'clock Hazelnut into my decaf. (also Eight O'clock) and it's delicious!  I'm not big on flavored coffees, but this is just the right amount of extra for me!  Hazelnut or vanilla have always been two flavors I don't mind (as long as they're not in the form of the sugary syrups).  DH and I have tried different coffees over time and have found we really like this brand!  No more Folgers.  I do like getting some organic coffee from a local coffee shop once in a while, but I usually pick some of this up when I'm grocery shopping since it means one less stop on my errand list!

Friday Favorite: It's All in the Mug!

What is it about a coffee or tea cup that either makes or breaks a good cup of coffee (or tea)?  For me, the cup has to be one I can wrap my fingers three quarters the way around (not too bulky) and light weight!  My DH, on the other hand, likes something tall and slender.  My parents and some of my friends like the big, sturdy, wide mugs.  It's all personal preference!

On our trip last weekend, my younger brother handed me a little insulated mug while I was trying to get my three little guys ready for Sunday morning church, knowing full well I wanted my coffee, but with somewhat of a guarantee it would remain fairly warm through the whole process.  (This same brother used to torment me by pulling my braids...hard!...when we were little just to get my goat!)  This little act of kindness made me smile and, afterward, I realized it was the perfect coffee cup for a mother!  I like it's a light weight, 12 oz. size and the fact that it's insulated.  How many times do you think I get distracted from my coffee in a morning?!  :)  No more microwaving for me!  Yay!

Stainless Double Walled Mug

Friday Favorite: SMASH!

I am super duper excited about my summer journaling project that's about to begin!  I've ordered two additional SMASH albums for my two oldest boys and will be following along with the Big Picture Classes Kidding Around 2 class that begins June 23!  So excited!  Did I already say that?!  :)

If you think you'd like to join in the fun, Rebekah has an entire SMASH kit up for grabs as blog candy!

Friday Favorite: Queen of the UFO's

(A.K.A.  Unfinished Objects)

Parenthood seems to have given me a sort of disorganized multi-tasking characteristic that I'm not the most proud of.  Yes, I have a lot to do as a parent, but I wish I was better at focusing and accomplishing more than I do in the course of a day, even the course of a week!  Maybe I'm a bit unrealistic when it comes to the expectations I have of myself as Queen of the Castle, but I can dream, right?!  :)
Last weekend, when my DF and I spent the day at Archiver's, I rounded a corner in the store and came across this bag:

I laughed and knew I had to have it!  It's just perfect!

As I'm typing this, I'm also in the middle of meal planning for a holiday weekend of company.  :)  My grocery list is getting made and then I need to make a grocery store run (hopefully beating the Memorial Day weekend crowd), while picking up some much needed pictures from the developer.  However, my DH has offered to pick up the pictures on his way home from the lumber yard.  Maybe that's the key to motherhood...delegation?!  I'm workin' on it.

**DON'T FORGET!!**    There's blog candy to be won!  :)
 

Friday Favorite: Chocolate Heaven

Thinking about what I was going to share as a favorite today, I suddenly realized that I haven't mentioned anything about chocolate, my daily vitamin!  :)  I've been trying to live in moderation in the chocolate world, but sometimes you just have to jump into the deep end and enjoy the creamy, melt-in-your-mouth goodness of an entire candy bar!  Recently, I stumbled across a new candy bar that may have become my new favorite!  I've always favored the 100 Grand bar with its rice crispy and caramel filling, but Milky Way has shoved that favorite aside, I'm afraid!  Introducing the new Simply Caramel bar!  One word:  YUM!

Friday Favorite: Envelope Deals

I love to find a good deal on things that I use regularly.  I happened upon this website this week and got my order in one day!  What service!  To get the best deal, you need to buy in bulk, but I use up my envelopes pretty quickly these days!  I ordered white and red ones this time.  There are more colors to choose from, but I'm waiting until Halloween and other occasions before I order others.  I have limited space in my craft room, you know!  :)

Friday Favorite: Hydration

I love it when I actually succeed at drinking plenty of water in a day's time.  Unfortunately, I many times just plain forget to drink enough!  Problem solved.  I found this great insulated cup last week at a local store on sale for a great price and have been drinking my water faithfully ever since!

The selling features:

1.  The straw.  There's something about drinking out a straw that makes any beverage go down that much faster!  Am I the only one that notices this?

2.  The color.  When it comes to healthy things, I'm big into blues and greens.  There was no blue available (my first choice), so I picked this green color.

3.  It's see through.  I like seeing my progress.  If my water is more than half gone, I drink the rest all at once just so I can refill it!  :)

Friday Favorite: Twine

I discovered baker's twine recently.  I love the look of it, but I've only used it on one card so far.  I think I'll be using it on more cards soon, though, because I now have a little package of several different colors staring at me from my stash!  :)

Friday Favorite: It's a Kit Thing

These days, I'm all for craft kits.  They're time savers, let me tell ya, and with three little ones roaming the house, I love time savers!  I'm working on a scrapbook kit for 2011, called Project Life by Becky Higgins.  I'm having so much fun taking pictures and documenting our family's daily life!  The whole family likes to get the album out from time to time and see what I've taken pictures of and what I've journaled!  Each weekend, I do the previous week's journaling and organize, edit and upload the photos to WalMart (my only decent local option) whenever I've got a handful to print and will be running errands.  How easy is that?!  Makes the historian component of motherhood that much easier!

Friday Favorite: Kitchen Helpers

It's the little things that make such a big difference for me.  I had a 30% off coupon for Kohls that was good for the last seven days and I couldn't resist grabbing a couple more packages of these wonderful microfiber cloths while shopping their clearance racks this week!  The package says they are actually dish towels, but I think they may be mislabeled because they are the size of the washcloths I bought some time ago!  They stay soft and wipe things up so nicely!  I won't buy another regular wash cloth again!  Here is the link on the Kohls website if you've been looking for new washcloths!  :)

Friday Favorite: Sweet Indulgence

Casey's cake doughnut with caramel frosting...and sprinkles

I really think coffee and sweets encourage the consumption of each other.  Today is a classic case for me.  For some reason, while my coffee was brewing at breakfast time, I had this vision of a doughnut come floating through my head.  Why doesn't something like an apple or yogurt associate itself with freshly brewed coffee?  So many times, when I have coffee, I find myself dreaming of something sweet to go with it.  The reverse is true too.  When I have something deliciously sweet or rich (Think, "Chocolate!"), I find myself dreaming of a hot cup of coffee to go with it!  I'm thinking about writing an adult version of the book If You Give a Mouse a Cookie (not really).  It would be entitled If You Give an American a Coffee.  How many of you out there find yourself associating two foods/drinks with each other?  The same goes for pizza/soda and popcorn/soda for me, although, I'm doing much better these days at convincing myself that these don't have to be consumed together!

Today, I gave in.  Today, I will be having a longer appointment with my treadmill to work off the extra 350-400 scrumptious calories.  Life is good.  It really is!  :)

Friday Favorite: A Hot Drink

During the winter months, I find myself automatically gravitating toward hot drinks.  They taste good, but they also warm up my poor cold hands!  There's nothing like wrapping my fingers around a steaming cup of hot tea or coffee.  In honor of the new year, I'm trying to drink more tea.  It's supposed to be so good for you, right?!  Green tea is my favorite and, since I'm trying to eliminate caffeine from anything that I can (That does not include chocolate!!!), I like to drink Yogi Simply Decaf Green Tea.  It's soooo good!  I've learned that the trick to getting a good cup of green tea is to only steep it for the number of minutes on the lower end of the time range given on the package directions.  Go any longer than that and I have a cup of bitterness to choke down!

Friday Favorite: My Digital SLR

This is the other love of my life.

If I could choose one thing that I've invested in that I've never regretted, it would be this wonderful digital SLR camera, my Nikon D70.  Yes, cameras continue to evolve and change with the addition of new bells and whistles attached.  I purchased this camera back in 2005, so I don't think you can even find it for sale anymore unless you'd buy it used.  There have been two newer models introduced in its place since this camera came out & I think the D90 has video taking capabilities.  I'm satisfied with this "older" model.  It takes wonderful pictures and we have a smaller camera for carrying in my purse when I'm in town that takes videos.  I get this one out for the close ups and photo shoots of people.  Did I say I love this camera?!!

Friday Favorite: Bookworm

I'm a bookaholic.  If there was a Bookaholics Anonymous, I'm sure my dear husband would sign me up!  :)  I love books and all they have to offer!  I find so much inspiration in them when it comes to creativity!  As I was thinking about what exactly I could say about my books in this post, I decided I'd just try to pick a favorite.  That, my dear friends, wasn't so easy!  I have lots of favorites, but I chose this one today:

There are just a ton of great quotes in this book!  It is organized kind of like a dictionary, alphabetically by word.