Enjoy Today

I made some cards...well, in April I made these and just sent them so it's ok to post. Boy, my craft time has been so limited lately. I miss it, but just haven't had the energy when I get home from working late and being on so many phone calls during the day. My brain has been tapped out.

I made these cards for Grandma, Aunt Madonna, Mom, and Dad. My monthly cards for Grandma and Aunt Madonna sure haven't been done or sent a lot this year. Grandma and Aunt Madonna's were the same with pink icecream on the top and white icecream on the bottom. Mom's had white icecream on top and pink on the bottom. I didn't think Dad would like getting a pink card, so decided his could be green and chocolate so I could use my new paper from Paper Studio (love the tone on tone polkadots). Also for dad's card, I used brads instead of ribbon so it wouldn't be as girly. Guys cards are so hard for me.

Supply list: Bazzill, Bazzill bling (pink), CTMH, Paper Studio, SU chocolate chip, SU scallop border, SU label punch, Bazzill brads, Cuttlebug, Cuttlebug Circle embossing folder, bling, Sharpie (to make the cherrys red), Offray ribbon, Fiskars hole punch, Studio G stamps.

Des Moines - Art Fair

Before I left Iowa, my dad and I went to the Art Fair. I have never seen these statues before since they have been added down by Meredith Corporation. I thought they were so neat. I thought the first one could be an idea for some crafty thing and the other, is just plain neat. There are more so if you are in the area, and love art, stop on by and take a look. The horse statue is metal, but made to look like drift wood.

The Freedom Rock - 2012

I finally made it to the Freedom Rock outside my home town in Iowa. I have followed it since Bubba started painting it but have never made it there. My favorite year was the year for memory of 9.11. Just so moving and what a great memorial for all the military, fire and police. This is only the front picture of the rock, all sides are painted. Look at the beautiful sky and how real this looks. There are some other places around the small towns where Bubba paints. Nothing like this rock though. It's such a great site and people do not deface the rock now that he has started painting it.

Father's Day Card and Scrapbook wall hanging

I made this for my dad for Father's Day. I love the combo of the papers. The car for the card, was one similar to the old convertible dad has. I didn't get a good picture of the scrapbook page (when I am home in October, I will take a better one) or have time to finish the title. It will go on the bottom green strip and say Cycle buddies. The pictures are of my dad on a few of his motorcycle trips. He loves to go on cross-country road trips. Dad really liked it and so did the family.

The sketches were from Sketch Support. I really liked that site. They are taking a break right now but hopefully, they will come back soon. The card used Card Sketches #18 and the Layout used One-Page Sketch #21. The card sketch is a great one for small scraps. The card in the picture below shows more of the true color of the papers than the layout does.

Supply list: Bazzil, Authentique Free Bird papers, SU vanilla Stampin Up car and Happy Father's Day stamps, SU top note, Cuttlebug, chip board shapes ($1 at JoAnn's), Twine.

My boys and Me before leaving for Iowa

This was me and my boys before leaving for the airport when I went to Iowa. Jake was so sad and was acting so odd. Jackson was sad because Jake was sad. Jake barely let me out the door, kept rubbing his face on the door, and kept making sad noises that sounded like he was talking to me. He made me feel so bad that I was leaving. I kept asking my roommate throughout the week if he was ok because Jake's behavior was so strange.

Jackson in my Ghetto Pool

I had to do it...I bought this little $20 pool over Memorial Day weekend because all I really need is a place to lay out and be able to splash water on me now and then. I filled it up and for two weekends, Jackson would come to get some pets and sips of water and lean so far in, he would almost be in the water. Well, just as you would expect, I emptied it and refilled it during the third weekend, went in to put swimsuit on, and came out to Jackson laying in it, then sitting in the little pool. I couldn't help it, he looked so cute and happy, how could I be mad and make him get out? I asked him what he was doing in my pool and he looked at me like "Mom, I'm laying here, geeze." He couldn't lay his head down because of the water, so used the edge to rest his head. How cute is he? Could he look any happier?

Taco Salad Iowa style!

My cousin Linda used to take this taco salad to all the family reunions back in the day. I loved it and always wanted to eat the whole bowl. I finally received the recipe (not that it requires one really). Thanks for giving it to me Tracy. It tasted just as I remembered. I almost bought salsa to go in it instead of the Thousand Island dressing, but I refrained. I wanted it to taste like I remember so I used the dressing.

Ingredients:
Hamburger
Taco seasoning
Onion chopped
Tomato
Cheese
Dorito chips
Lettuce
Thousand Island dressing

Brown hamburger with half the chopped onion. Add taco seasoning once ready. Add the last ingredients and stir everything together. Add the dressing and chips last. I broke up the chips to be added individually since I didn't want them to get soggy.

Big Matt's Breakfast - My Birthday Breakfast

Pamela took me to Big Matt's Breakfast for my birthday. I saw this place on Guy Fieri's show Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives a while back. I told Pamela about it and she thought it would be fun to go to as well. Because of when we got there and Pamela flying home and being allergic to eggs, she had what I will call the best cheeseburger around. I had the most gigantic omlet, pancake, hashbrowns and wheat toast that could be served. Here is me with the painting of Guy. Pamela and I both had our pictures taken here.

Dinner with Pamela and Preston

After 20+ years, Pamela and I saw each other again. We initially went to college together, she left to go to college in NM, and were reacquainted in 1991 when I moved to AZ and she happened to be my waitress. We hung out and were the best of buddies. Pamela moved back to Iowa shortly after that. Thanks to Facebook, we were reacquainted again. Preston, her son moved to Chandler, AZ a few months ago and Pamela came here for Mother's Day. She stayed at my house and we had a blast. She is one great gal. We picked up right where we left off so many years ago and I was able to meet Preston. We did a lot and had so much fun. This picture was the first night. We had some better ones from when we went to DC Steakhouse in Chandler. I will post one or two from there.



With Sympathy - for Belinda

I do not like making sympathy cards at all. I seem to lose focus when I have to make one. For this, I used an old layout I had used before because it seems to work well for this type of card. The sketch is MOJO80. I also normally do not use the plain paper in the big packs. I did on this card. It is a lot thinner than using cardstock so I was able to use several layers and not have too thick of a card. All the patterned papers and green and peach layer are part of the MME Tres' Belle line. One thing I do like about this card is the soft colors and how well the patterns go together.

My coworker and friend Belinda and friend (Belinda's sister) Kathy's mom passed away. I made the card for all the work group to sign. I had everyone sign and then had to bring it home and add the additional bling back on. I lost some on the way in or around the office.

Supply list: MOJO80, SU vanilla, MME Tres Belle, SU sdcallop punch, sheer dotted peach ribbon, bling (2 sizes), Studio G - Kollette Hall stamp, SU chocolate chip ink

Easter Dinner

My cousin Ron (my mom's side) and his wife DiAnne come to AZ every winter. Dad and Ron ride motorcycles a lot, back in Iowa so we invited them over for Easter dinner. Dad chose the menu of pork roast, mashed potatoes, gravy, and green bean casserole. No picture of that though. I love to entertain. I have a huge set of china to use and rarely use it. I wanted to use the china, dad said to keep it casual. So I set the kitchen table instead of my big dining table. lol. It was a fun dinner. Nice to catch up with relatives I haven't seen in a very long time.

Here is my table and us after the dinner.

Happy Birthday with Skull

I followed the SFYTT for March 2012 but did not get it loaded in time for the deadline. I did a lot of embossing on this one. I was trying to make paper like the retired Bride and Groom from Stampin' Up! that is black with black shine on the top. I loved that paper for the longest time and didn't buy it when it was available. I will send this to someone who loves skulls like I do. I think I have that person in mind. They will be surprised to get a card from me. I hand cut both the crown embossing and the skull (twice). I wanted to use the black skull because it popped more, but it needed just a little edge in pink for a pop of color. I used my favorite black and white polkadot paper from Hobby Lobby : ). I'm sure you have seen it on a few cards. lol. I used pop dots behind the skull/crown element to make it have more dimension.

Supply List: Bazzill, Recollections, The Paper Studio, DCWV, SU Pixie Pink, SU circle punches, Sizzix crown embossing folder, SU stripe embossing folder, SU clear embossing powder, Inkadinkadoo stamp, Studio G stamp (skull), brayer, Versamark Ink, Black Ink.

Good Luck Lael

I made this card for a coworker who has decided she isn't relocating to AZ. I used the Taylored Expressions sketch #155 for my design. I also used some chipboard items I have had for a long time. Lael loves pink so of course, I had to use Melon Mambo. I also made the main element by using my favorite Elegant Edges Cricut cartridge. I hope she likes it. I sent Lael the Hug a Tree card I made last year for her to send to her BFF. They met years ago on Earth Day, so I thought that was appropriate.

Supply list: Bazzill, SU Chocolate Chip, SU Melon Mambo, MME Tres Jolie patterned papers, SU flower punch, SU punch, Chipboard flower, Twine, bling, Cricut Elegant Edges cartridge, SU clear embossing powder, SU Chocolate Chip craft ink, Green and Brown markers, Studio G stamp.

Spaghetti Squash Zucchini Casserole - As good as or maybe better than True Food Kitchen's

If anyone has a True Food Kitchen near by, it's a must go. They serve organic foods and locally-grown veggies and fruits when in season. I had the Spaghetti Squash Zucchini casserole and I believe it was love at first bite. I even asked the server how it was made so I could implant the idea in my head and know what I was looking for in a recipe. I normally can like something and not be so excited as I was to find a recipe to duplicate this. I literally savored each and every bite when I was eating it. I searched through 3 pages of Google recipes until I found this recipe when I got home. I have made this at home 3 times since having it the first time there. I went to True Food Kitchen and got it a second time (I always do that because if I like something, I rarely switch it up). It wasn't as good the second time. I think mine was better and closer to the first time I had it at True Food Kitchen. Here is the recipe I found and it's as close to TFKs as you will get.

Spaghetti Squash Zucchini Casserole
True Food Kitchen
Plate Watchers: Whole Grain Apple Pancakes, Spaghetti Squash Casserole and Salmon

1 whole spaghetti squash
2 medium sized zucchini
2 tsp. extra virgin olive oil
4 cloves of garlic
1 28oz. can of crushed tomatoes
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with foil and spray with healthy oil cooking spray (canola or olive). Cut squash in half lengthwise and scoop out seeds. Place cut side down on foil and bake for 30-50 minutes, depending on size of squash. Set timer for 30 minutes, and check. Add time until done. Test with knife for doneness- tip should easily pierce the skin when done. Pull from oven, turn over and let cool for a few minutes.

While squash is baking, smash and slice garlic. In medium sauce pan, over medium high heat, heat 2 tsp. of olive oil, and when hot add in garlic. Cook for 1-2 minutes, then add in can of crushed tomatoes. Let heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Julienne both zucchini, discarding the skins.

When squash is cool enough to handle, scoop out flesh (which will look like broken spaghetti) and place in large mixing bowl. Add in julienned zucchini, tomato sauce and Parmesan cheese and stir to mix. Spray a 9x13 inch glass pan with healthy oil spray and pour vegetable mixture in. Top with 1 1/2 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese and bake 25 minutes uncovered. Dish may be a bit watery, so serve with a slotted spoon. Makes 8 servings. Projected Points Plus value, 2 per serving.

My changes are: use fresh mozzarella and packaged mozzarella (more cheese is a good thing in my opinion), more garlic (never can have too much garlic), Italian Herb crushed tomatoes, garlic salt, pepper. I made it using only the packaged mozzerella the second time and it was good, but not as delicious as it is with the fresh and packaged mozzerella combination. Rub olive oil on and sprinkle sea salt on the cut spaghetti squash before cooking. I used olive oil for the tin foil and just rubbed it around. I cook the spaghetti squash about 45 minutes. That seems to be the perfect amount of time.

Beautiful AZ sunset

If you ever wonder why I moved to AZ and still love it here, here is one answer. Look at this beautiful sunset. I captured these pictures as I was walking out from work a few weeks ago. One word...beautiful. Now if only I had time to photoshop out the high wires and pole.

B.E.A.U.T.I.F.U.L.