Happy Thanksgiving!!

I have been so busy lately but wanted to wish you all a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Layout~

I did this layout at a crop this weekend. It was a fun day as we got to visit, crop, eat, and most of all got some {girl} time.

Well gotta run I have much to do today.

Wowza...what a busy weekend!

Okay, it all started at 3:00 p.m. on Friday and ended, well it has not ended even though the weekend has. So I have a friend who owns an Italian Restaurant along with her husband in Morgan Hill and it was her birthday. It was a four of us going out to celebrate and we had a limo from 3 pm. until 1:00 a.m. Anthony the limo driver picked me up first and then proceeded to pick up the other three ladies. We were a little early to our dinner reservation at Blowfish (sushi place) in Santana Row so we decided to share a half bottle of champagne at the Left Bank also in Santana Row while we waited. It was a nice bottle of champagne!!!! I guess I should tell you that one of my friends is a wine connoisseur (sp?) and really knows how to pair wine/champagne/sake and food. She is a buyer for the restaurant and local liquor store. We ended up having some great sake with our sushi (I have a fear of drinking too much sake, read previous post). I have to say that I am totally in love with Blowfish!

We then headed over to the Flint center for an Italian concert featuring Pasquale the Italian tenor (who has played at my friends restaurant at a food and wine dinner that was held a month or so ago). Gigi D'Alessio and wife Anna were also singing and were so wonderful their voices are like that of angels. Even though I do not speak Italian I can understand some words as I speak Spanish and many of the words are similar; I really understood the feeling of the music. I think music is universal and that we can all enjoy and connect with music from all around the world. It was a little weird when we first arrived cause it felt like I was in a scene from The Sopranos...I don't mean to offend but really everyone there could have been cast in an episode of the above mentioned HBO show!!!! Oh and the best part we were in the second row and got to go back stage, I will get pictures from my friend as I was not feeling too well and did not hand them my camera.

On the way home from the concert we drank some wine and talked for a while then we headed to Jack In The Box for a breakfast ciabatta which probably has like 5000 calories in it!!

On Saturday my daughter had a soccer game 45 minutes away from home and on Sunday the same only local. I was exhausted, if you remember I have Mono and I get tired very easy. Monday I ended up at the Pediatrician as my older daughter has Mono as well and has since caught a virus and of course I'm not feeling to hot either now. I have a very full week ahead and am a little bummed that I'm behind on a couple of projects one at BPS and a Gratitude Journal that KathyM is doing over at SBA.

Well I hope you all had a great weekend!!

P.S. Did you notice my new banner?? It was designed by the one and only Chris Jenkins...love her blog, you should go check it out.

Wellness Journey Class @ BPS

I have been wanting to live a healthier lifestyle (more on the BPS class below). You know lose a few pounds, eat healthier, exercise, sleep more, don't sweat the small stuff, you get the picture. Well the other day someone from SBA (Scrapbook Addict) mentioned that she uses Sparkpeople to help her on her with her fitness/nutrition goals. I have signed up and let me tell you what a difference it makes when you journal and account for all of the calories you take in!! I had no real idea how many calories I would take in with out even thinking about it. For example, I would eat half a handful of Good & Plenty candies or I would take a bite of whatever sweet my daughter would be eating. Also, when my energy level was down midday (do to lack of exercise) I would order a grande latte (low-fat milk) several times a week. Even though I ordered a low-fat latte that is still 130 calories x's 3 coffee's a week that's an extra 1560 calories a month. I mean it adds up and that's just the coffee.









Okay, so BPS, I get an email for a class {Wellness Journey} being taught by Lisa Cohen, I love her blog and read it often. I have never taken an on-line class but this along with sparkpeople just seem to be the right combination for me. It seems like such a coincidence that I was informed of these two great ideas/sites in the same week. I get to create a cute album documenting my {Wellness Journey} and I love that I get to be creative and live a healthier life style. It starts Nov. 1st and ends on my birthday Jan. 23rd!!! Woo hoo, this is meant to be. I want to lose between 8-10 lbs. This is totally something I can accomplish; want to join me?

For my BFF

Don't know why this post is in this format; I tried but can't fix it, sorry...

Okay, Deb, this is for you. It's a really easy recipe that you can't mess up. For your Brady Bunch you will need to double the recipe.


2 chicken breast

1 cup garlic seasoned bread crumbs

1 egg + 1 tbsp. water

1/8 tsp. garlic salt

1/8 tsp. pepper

1/4 cup parmesan cheese (shredded)

Pound chicken breast until about 1/4 inch thick (your grocer can do this if you ask) only don't do what I did and ask as your handing them the chicken breast "can you pound my breast?" he just looked at me like what the.....okay you get the picture. So now I just pound my own breast at home. Anyways.....

Heat non-stick frying pan with 3 tbsp. of olive oil or as Rachael Ray would say E V O O...

In a rimmed plate or pie pan add the bread crumbs, garlic salt, pepper, and cheese.

In a bowl beat the egg and water together.

Dip the pounded breast into the egg mixture.

Then coat chicken in the bread mixture.

Fry for 3 minutes on each side or until cooked

Add more olive oil as needed

Don't over crowed the pan it's better to do this in batches if needed. If you want you can squeeze a little lemon juice over the chicken when finished cooking.

Asparagus:

Break or cut off the fibrous part of the asparagus. Clean and dry w/paper towels.

In a shallow pan lined w/foil add asparagus and season w/salt and pepper. Drizzle olive oil on top.
Broil until just browning and then add shredded parmesan cheese and broil until melted.

Yummo, again what Rachael Ray would say. I added some pasta to go along with the meal. I would have added some cherry tomatoes to the pasta but my daughter doesn't like tomatoes.

Honestly, this recipe takes very little time from start to finish 20 minutes. Okay, add a few more minutes cause the pasta water has to come to a boil before you add the pasta.

Wow fast they grow up...

This is a picture of my oldest daughter. We recently went to visit a college that she is interested in going to. While we were there I remember thinking that it felt like just yesterday we were looking at pre-schools. My how time flies!!! Here's a picture of her after she got her make-up done for senior pictures. I love those freckles!!!!

Soccer & The Pumpkin Patch

Wow, this weekend was full of some of my all time favorite things. Two soccer games and spending time with my family picking out our pumpkins. Here are some photos of the weekend.