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This one is for you Richard

We were trying to get a family Christmas picture while on our Thanksgiving trip to Pismo Beach. Needless to say our youngest daughter was not cooperating, I think she was tired and she was being a little bug. Lauren's eyes were either closed or she was really squinting, had her arm in front of her face, or she was getting the "look" from her dad.

The other day my husband asked why I didn't post the family picture when I posted the other Pismo pictures. I proceeded to say that none of them were nice. He then stated that I only post the perfect pictures. They may not be the perfect photos but they are a reminder of our time spent as a family having fun. This was the last day of our trip and some of us had been there for almost a week and this was as good as they were going to get. Did we use any of the photos for our Christmas card, we did not. Lauren was not happy with any of them so I told her she needed to smile nice next time and cooperate.

Oh Christmas Tree

We finally got our Christmas tree and she is sitting in the living room patiently waiting to be accessorized!! We didn't cut it down this year as it seems that we are always so busy. We did end up with a pretty 8 foot tree.

Mugs

I have to admit I have an obsession with mugs. I think my husband might consider divorce if I bring another into our home. Here's my favorite right now...


Also, if you are looking for a good Christmas CD consider this one.

30 days.....

Okay, call me lazy, it's been exactly 30 days since my last post and so much has happened. Soccer games/tournaments, Christmas shopping, homework, two school projects, cleaning, organizing, and our Thanksgiving trip to Pismo. I'm sure I'm missing some events from the past 30 days but it just goes to show us how fast time passes by. I read Jasmine Star's photography blog and she wrote something that really has me thinking. She wrote:

life is a sweet fruit. but i'm no longer stuffing my face like the bulimic of yesteryear...rather, i'm taking small bites and relishing it all. i'm like a french woman with wine and cheese! :)

Jasmine I hope you don't mind that I copied and pasted this bit of your blog here but it really has me wanting to enjoy my life in small bites....I do have a wonderful life and a great healthy family so I need to really enjoy the everyday small things, in small bites of course!

I like to include pictures so here are a few of our Pismo Beach trip.







Well gotta run lots to do!

Bad Blogger!

I have been a very BAD BLOGGER this I know. I seem to be busy lately but I don't feel like I get much done. I've been feeling like I'm coming down with a cold or something but it never really just hits me. Don't get me wrong I don't want to get sick but enough already. My daughter was sick last week and my husband was sick yesterday and still not feeling 100% today. I feel like I'm just waiting for this nasty bug to hit me.

I plan on posting on our last couple of weeks but just don't feel like doing it now.

On another note I am happily awaiting Jessica Sprague's free class {Stories in Hand}and have ordered my paper and have almost finished gathering the other supplies that are lying around waiting to be collected and put to good use. TTFN

Girls Night In

First of all I want to say that hanging out with my friends is so much fun and I appreciate all of you!!

On Friday we had a Girls Night In and watched Sex And The City, ate, drank, ate, drank, then we ate and drank some more. We had plenty of yummy food and lots of interesting and funny girl talk!




I made these little wine charms for my friends....thanks for making the evening fun ladies!



P.S. Happy Birthday Florence~ :)

sun-dried tomato crusted chicken

So I made the following recipe and my daughter and husband loved it! I will be making this again soon. My friend Dina made it last night and her family liked it too. Use fresh bread crumbs and unsalted butter. My friend used salted butter and it turned out a little salty.

Makes 4 Chicken Breast
Total Time: 30 Minutes

2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (8 oz. each)
1 t. black pepper
1/2 t. kosher salt
2 cups bread crumbs
1/2 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained, sliced
4 large garlic cloves, peeled
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 eggs
2 T. water
2 T. olive oil

Preheat oven to 375

Prepare breast halves by trimming fat. Slice each breast in half lengthwise; pound to 1/2" thick. Season with pepper and salt.

Pulse bread crumbs, tomatoes, and garlic in a food processor. Transfer to a shallow dish.


Place flour in a second shallow dish. Blend eggs and water with a fork in a third shallow dish.

Dredge both sides of chicken in flour, then dip into egg mixture to coat. Transfer chicken to crumb mixture and pat onto both sides; place on a baking sheer or plate.

Heat oil in an ovenproof nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Saute chicken 3 minutes, or until golden brown. Carefully flip chicken, then place pan in oven. Roast 8-10 minutes, or until cooked through. Rest 5 minutes before serving.


1. Make crumbs from 4 cups cubed French bread. You don't want the crumbs to fine-coarse is good.

2. Dredge chicken in flour, dip into egg wash to coat, then press into crumbs.

3. Saute chicken, turning it before finishing in the oven. The tomato will be dark.


sunny butter sauce

Makes About 1 Cup; Total Time: 10 Minutes

1 cup dry white wine
2 T. capers, crushed
2 T. fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, thinly sliced
1/2 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained, sliced
1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped

Boil wine in skillet until reduced by half (be careful)
Add capers and lemon juice; boil 1 min. Reduce heat to low.
Whisk in butter one piece at a time, stirring constantly. As each melts, add another. Stir in tomatoes and parsley.



Add the sun-dried tomatoes at the end to preserve their bright color.

From Cuisine at home

Questions & Answers

I got this over at Life As I Know It thanks Chris!


1. What time did you get up this morning? i got up at 6:30 AM

2. Diamonds or pearls? Diamonds

3. Last movie you saw at a cinema? Body of Lies

4. What is your favorite TV show? That 70's Show

5. What do you usually have for breakfast? Egg whites or oatmeal

6. What is your middle name? Michel

7. What food do you dislike? Veggies that are over cooked

8. What is your favorite CD at the moment? Flyleaf

9. What kind of car do you drive? Cadillac Escalade

10. Favorite sandwich? Togo's Hot Pastrami

11. What characteristic do you despise? Liars

12. Favorite item of clothing? Anything cozy

13. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go? Italy

14. Are you an organized person? My husband would say no but I think I'm more organized than most.

15. Where would you retire to? Our condo in Maui

16. What was your most recent memorable birthday? Most are great when my family and friends are around. I have to say my 37th b-day last year was fun. We had my friend's Italian restaurant to ourselves and we had tons of food wine and a DJ.

17. What are you going to do when you finish this? Clean up from dinner and finish laundry.

18. Farthest place you are sending this? Not sure.

19. Person you expect to send it back first? N/A

20. When is your birthday? Jan. 23rd

21 . Morning person or a night person? Depends, mostly morning. I feel like I can start fresh.

22. What is your shoe size? 7-7.5

23. Pets? Three dogs, Trina, Lulu, and Daisy.

24. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share? My husband purchased a new Gucci bag for me.

25. What did you want to be when you were little? Landscape Architect or comedian

26. How are you today? I feel like I'm catching something...a cold?

27. What is your favorite flower? Asiatic lilies (white)

28. What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to? Everyday!

29. What are you listening to right now? Daughter is watching t.v.

30. What was the last thing you ate? Pork shoulder (crock pot tender)

32. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Pink or teal

33. How is the weather right now? Nice

34. Last person you spoke to on the phone? Maui Electric

35. Favorite soft drink? Diet Coke

36. Favorite restaurant? Emile's

37. Hair color? Dark Brown

38. What was your favorite toy as a child? Darcie

39. Summer or Winter? Summer

41. Chocolate or Vanilla? Chocolate

42. Coffee or tea? Coffee

43. Do you want your friends to email you back? N/A

44. When was the last time you cried? ?? Can't remember

45. What is under your bed? Crap

46. What did you do last night? Watch a movie with my friend & our kids

47. What are you afraid of? Losing my family or friends

48. Salty or sweet? Both

49. How many keys on your key ring? Three

50. How many years at your current job? 18.5 years as a mom

51. Favorite day of the week? Friday

52. Do you make friends easily? Yessss, most of the time

53. How many people will you send this to? 0 cause most people don't post or read. Not many friends or family know I have a blog.

54. How many people will reply? ???

55. Do you like finding out all this stuff about your friends? Yes

Not such a beautiful day in paradise!

You see this last Saturday I get a call on my cell phone I don't get up fast enough to answer. Then my home phone starts ringing and I just have this feeling that I better answer this call. It is the manager of the condo we own in Hawaii. The upstairs unit has flooded and the water has been coming into our kitchen through the ceiling and the light fixture!!! The cleaning lady noticed this disaster when she came in to prep our condo for our renters that were scheduled to arrive later that day. WHAT?!?!

So the manager goes on to tell me that the hose to the ice maker had come loose and was purging water onto the floor. Who knows how long this has been going on. Our friends stayed in the condo until the 21st of Sept. This could have been going on since then! Not sure if the owners live in their condo year round. The manager left a message for them about their extensive water damage.

As for our renters I left them a message letting them know what happened. I call our head cleaning lady to have her go out with a contractor and check for any more damage or leaks that might be happening. She said the ceiling is saturated and the that one of the light fixture globes is broken and the other is just kind of hanging there. She said it looks unsightly and the contractor said the cabinets might need to come down. My wool pineapple rug has been soaked and most likely ruined, the stainless steal appliances have spots as do the kitchen cabinets. God only knows how much water is still up there in the ceiling and how much of that water has travelled to other places in the condo. Gosh,I just had another thought...my new wallpaper....not sure if that was ruined :(

The renters call us back and are very sorry and just can't stay. They say it smells like mildew or mold can't remember which my husband talked to him. Anyway, he goes on to say that it looks pretty bad. He was very nice about it and said the rest of the condo was very nice. He was on vacation for three weeks with his wife and two young children; can't say we blame him for wanting to rent elsewhere. So guess what we have to refund him his $5,600.00 check.......yikes. I hope the insurance covers this as well as the damage to the condo.

My husband has lost sleep over this and it has been decided that he will travel there to take pictures and really take a first hand look at the damage talk to the manager and get a couple estimates. We just need to get the ball rolling as we have renters coming next month. We will have to make a few trips and the next one we will turn into a mini vacation.

A relaxing weekend...finally!

Not much going on here this last weekend which was fine by me!

WHAT no soccer...we almost didn't know what to do with ourselves!! On Saturday I was going to attend a 40th b-day party (70's dress optional) but I was just not into going. I was exhausted from the week and just not in the mood (sorry Kerri). My girls and I decided to go to Starbucks, well Lauren wanted ice cream so we also went to Baskin Robbins next door.

Our daughter came home for the weekend from college and we went shopping on Sunday. My youngest daughter came too even though shopping is not really her thing. We we to the Left Bank for lunch and it was yummy. I just want to ask how many 12 year olds do you know that actually love escargot or oysters for that matter? She was torn between the two and ended up going with the escargot on my recommendation. She still thinks Emile's has the best escargot.

After lunch we went shopping and Lauren got this cute shirt. She seems to really be into the whole election asking questions and such.

Christina got some cute things too but she had them on this morning and she is now back at college sporting her new threads!

Well we had a great weekend and now I must go finish laundry and work out.

My addiction

My addiction
Originally uploaded by n2scrapping8

I just love Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte.

So busy!

Thursday~ We went to a Santa Clara vs. UCLA soccer game. It was a very physical game, the goalie got a cleat to the face and the game was stopped for about 4 minutes while she recovered. The game was tied, 0-0. No pic's as I forgot to bring the camera

Friday~ Had dinner with my girlfriends and our hubby's at our favorite Italian restaurant owned by one of our friends. We discussed what time we would be meeting the following day for the Taste of Morgan Hill Festival. We sell food, drinks, and t-shirts to help fund our GNO (Girl's Night Out). We didn't do as well as we did on the 4th of July but it was an enjoyable time and the weather was great.

Saturday~ Taste of Morgan Hill + Soccer game (scrimmage)

Sunday~ Taste of Morgan Hill

This week so far has been filled with Volleyball, room parent duties, soccer practice and making new recipes for dinner. Here's a really easy recipe to make during the cold months.

Marie's Easy Slow Cooker Pot Roast

Ingredients:

4 lb. chuck roast
salt and pepper to taste
1 packet dry onion soup mix
1 cup water
3 carrots, chopped
1 onion, chopped
3 potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 stalk celery, chopped

Directions:
1. Take the chuck roast and season with salt and pepper to taste. Brown on all sides in a large skillet over high heat.

2. Place in the slow cooker and add the soup mix, water, carrots, onion, potatoes and celery.

3. Cover and cook on low setting for 8-10 hours.

By Marie Thomas

www.All recipes.com

Another recipe....

Here's another recipe that I tried last night. My youngest daughter said it was one of her favorites so far



Japanese Steak Rolls

Makes 16 Steak Rolls
Total TIme: 45 minutes with Rice

1 lb. flank steak, trimmed
16 8" -asparagus spears trimmed
16 8" -pieces scallion, trimmed
6 T. seasoned rice vinegar
6 T. low-sodium soy sauce
4 t. sugar
1 T. toasted sesame oil

Slice flank steak across the frain into 16 strips, 1/4-1/2" thick. Pound each to about 1/8" thick and season with salt and pepper.


Place one asparagus spear and one scallion across the short end of a strip of beef. Roll beef around veggies and secure with a toothpick. Place on a shallow baking pan in a single layer; roll remaining beef and veggies. Combine remaining ingredients, pour over beef, and marinate 10 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare Garlic Lime Rice.
Preheat broiler to high.



Broil steak rolls 5 minutes. Remove from pan, tent with foil to keep warm., and strain marinade into small saucepan. Remove toothpicks from steak rolls before serving.

Boil marinade until syrupy, about 5 minutes. Spoon glaze over each serving.

Garlic Lime Rice

Makes 2 cups
Total Time: 25 minutes

1 T. olive oil
3 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 cup long-grain white rice
2 cups water
2 T. fresh lime juice
1 t. kosher salt
2 T. minced fresh cilantro
2 t. lime zest, minced.

Heat oil in a saucepan over medium-high. Add garlic; saute 3 min., or until golden brown. Stir in rice; saute 2 min.

Add water, lime juice, and salt; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes, or until water is absorbed.

Stir in cilantro and lime zest.

A new recipe, a new drink, fresh veggies/fruit, and some scrapping too!

Well my friend Dina came over on Friday and we scrapped, sort of. You see we always take forever to get down and dirty. First, we talk about our day or whatever then we decide what the drink of the night will be and we decided on a Vodka Americano. This drink is yummy it has Starbucks Coffee Liqueur and Absolut Vanilla Vodka. Shake and strain into a martini glass and garnish with three coffee beans. Here's a pic and a bit more info.


Caffeine Content:
One ounce of Starbucks™ Coffee Liqueur has approximately 34 mg. of caffeine, which is what you would find in about 1/6 of a 12oz cup of brewed Starbucks® coffee. Please note: the caffeine in this liqueur does not counteract the effects of alcohol. Please drink responsibly."

I actually made this last night and it was very good. Richard didn't like the texture of the mushrooms too much and that's probably because I didn't use Porcini mushrooms. Although, Richard, Lauren and I thought it had a very good flavor. I will be making this again! :o)

Here are some pics and the recipe:







**Chicken With Porcini Mushrooms**
1 oz. dried porcini mushrooms
1/2 cup warm water
***
1 Tbsp. butter
1 Tbsp. olive oil
2 1/2 to 3 lb. meaty chicken pieces (skinned, if desired)
***
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 cup chopped fresh tomatoes
***
Polenta* (optional) I made mashed potatoes

1. Rinse and drain dried mushrooms. Soak mushrooms in the warm water for 20-30 minutes. Drain mushrooms, reserving liquid. Coarsely chop mushrooms; set aside.

2. In a 12-inch skillet heat butter and olive oil over medium heat. Add chicken pieces and cook for about 10 minutes or till browned on all sides (add more oil, if necessary).

3. Carefully add the white wine, salt, pepper to skillet. Simmer, uncovered, about 5 minutes or till most of the wine is evaporated. Add the chopped tomatoes and mushrooms. Slowly add reserved mushroom liquid.

4. Reduce heat to low. Simmer, covered, for 15 to 20 minutes or till chicken is tender and no longer pink. Transfer chicken to a warmed platter.

5. For sauce, skim fat from mixture in skillet. Bring mixture to boiling. Boil 5 minutes or till of desired consistency. Pour over chicken. If desired serve with polenta and sliced tomatoes sprinkled with Parmesan cheese and fresh herb. Makes 4 main dish servings.

Nutrition facts per serving: 423 cal., 22 g total fat (7g sat. fat), 137 mg chol., 414 mg sodium, 7 g carbo., 1 g fiber, 43 g pro.
Daily values: 9% vit. A, 9% vit. C, 2% calcium, 14% iron.

~Better Homes and Gardens Annual Recipes 1996~

I went out to the veggie/fruit garden yesterday and boy was I surprised to see the strawberries still producing. Richard and Lauren planted the carrots a while ago and I have to say there is nothing like eating a carrot that has just been pulled.


And here's a peek of my mini book.






Well of to fold clothes then I need to hit the eliptical trainer!! TTFN...

Remember...

those who died on 9/11 and their families.

Let us not forget those who are fighting right now to keep our country safe.