So, I'm in a really cool CAL (that's crochet a-long) over at Crochetville. A Mystery Valentine CAL. Sounds fun! I'll keep you updated and you can find out what I'm making along with me!

Sunday Supper on Monday!

Appetizer
If you could take lessons to learn any musical instrument, which would you want to learn? Guitar

Soup
Have you ever mistaken a person for someone else? Yes

Salad
On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being highest, how well do you keep secrets? 10!

Main Course
What's the closest you've ever been to a dangerous animal? Not very!

Dessert
When was the last time you lost your patience? This morning

I've Been Tagged!

Mary Ann has tagged me to participate in the 6 Weird Things About You meme. Hmmm... let's see.

1. I really enjoy watching programs/movies on the Disney Channel. It's one of my guilty pleasures.

2. I have never, ever, in my entire life seen an episode of Sex in the City or Desperate Housewives.

3. I love watching subtitled movies. Two of my favorites are Amelie and 8 Women (I think that liking this movie could take care of the whole weird quotient!)

4. By no means a "neat freak" (though I do like the house to be tidy), I like to clean. Especially now since I am keeping on top of things and it's not taking nearly as long as it used to.

5. I like to eat carrots and peanut butter. Just dip the carrot in the jar. Yum!

6. I like my soda warm, no ice.

There you have it. And since these aren't all that weird (at least I don't think so), here's one more. This is one of my most favorite sites. I can spend hours here. I think I know more about movies I haven't seen than anyone :)

Valentine gifts!

Here they are! As mentioned, I was inspired by the always fabulous, Mary Ann. Aren't they cute? These are simply wooden hearts that I painted (white, pink, lavendar, red) and then mod podged on paper cut outs of flowers or butterflies. Finished up with a coat of extra thick glaze and glued a magnet on the back! Done!

Rekindling a new love

I learned how to crochet when I was a youngun. Probably around 9 or 10. I've done it off and on over the years but have recently really fallen in love with it. I've been frequenting a great message board and my list of projects is growing ever longer. However, a member there graciously allowed me to test a pattern for her so I put some of my WIPs (that's Works In Progress) to complete the testing. And here it is; an apron for my oldest DD!

I did add a few rows on to the bib, but in retrospect I should have left it alone as it turned out a bit to big. Ah well, she can grow into it. I have materials left over to make one for her younger sister in the opposite (varigated body and ties, solid bib and pocket.) Alas, I can not share the pattern with you, but when it becomes available I will let you know! Also, the Valentine gifts inspired by the crafty Miss Mary Ann are just about finished. Will post pics of them tomorrow! They are way cute!

All these crafts going on and narry a one for Christmas...better get moving on that too! lol!

Sunday's Supper

Appetizer
Which television shows do you just refuse to miss? Heroes!

Soup
Who did you last speak to on the telephone? My Mother In Law

Salad
How many pillows do you keep on your bed? Two

Main Course
Name one addition to your computer (software, hardware, etc.) that you'd love to have. I'd love to have Mastercook :)

Dessert
What is your favorite foreign food? Hmmm....I enjoy a variety:Indian, Mexican, Japanese...

Lazy Saturday

My house is actually in decent shape, so today I am taking it a bit easy and working on things I just want to get done! lol! Inspired by these gems (they're magnets!)sent to me by the lovely Mary Ann, I spent a good portion of my morning cutting out these for Valentine gifts (excuse the fuzzy picture please! In case you can't tell, they are cut out collage papers.) The rest of the afternoon will be spent working on a gift for my swap partner. Oh, and a trip to the store. Hope you are all enjoying your Saturday!

My Cool Purchases for the Day

Well, I went thrifting today to see if I could find something for my swap partner in the pink and brown swap. While I had no luck finding her anything, I found, to my delight, several things for me! Here you see the Punch Your Art Out book(.95), a Mickey Mouse Magna Doodle accessories kit(.65), a pattern for a cape and beret in both knit and crochet(.25), and a pile of Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazines(.25 each).









Here we have an Alfred Dunner top and a handbag. My mom is going to be so jealous of the top! lol! And the bag was bought with a whole other purpose in mind besides using it. The bag as a whole does not really appeal to me in terms of color and texture, however I see great crafting possibilities for it!

Delicious!

The Zippy Beef Tips, that is! They were quite good and DH said it was a "do again." Very easy to assemble and quite tasty! For an ooey gooey dessert I used this brownie recipe (variation #3. I also added chocolate chips to the brownie batter.) All in all a satisfying meal. Tonight is taco salad :)

I have this cookbook, Fix It and Forget It, that my mom gave me eons ago. I've used it, but only every so often and only if I can't find something that looks better. Don't get me wrong, I love my crockpot, but there are some recipes in that book that are a bit...er, creative. I prefer to stick to my traditional TNT recipes. However, as I was flipping through it trying to find a recipe for my MIL, I came across this gem. It sounds pretty darn good and we will be trying it for dinner tomorrow. I will let you know how it turns out!

Zippy Beef Tips
Maryann Westerberg

2 pounds stewing meat, cubed
2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
10 3/4 can cream of mushroom soup
1 envelope dry onion soup mix
1 cup 7-Up or other lemon-lime carbonated beverage

1. Place meat and mushrooms in slow cooker.
2. Combine mushroom soup, soup mix, and soda. Pour over meat.
3. Cover and cook on low 8 hours.
4. Serve over rice.

More Sandwich Fillings!

I tell you, with these fillings from the CAI Encyclopedic Cookbook (1964), you may never get bored with the same old, same old.


Cream Cheese Fillings

1/2 cup cream cheese
1/2 cup oragne marmalade

1 cup cream cheese
1/3 cup minced nut meats

1/2 cup cream cheese
1/4 cup chopped olives
1/4 cup chopped nut meats

1/4 cup cream cheese
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup mayonnaise

1 cup cream cheese
2 tablespoons minced chives

I must say here that my oldest daughter's favorite sandwich is cream cheese and butter!


Chicken

1 cup ground cooked chicken
1/4 cup cream
3 tablespoons sweet pickle relish

3/4 cup minced cooked chicken
1/3 cup crushed pineapple
3 tablespoons mayonnaise


Egg

Hard cooked eggs chopped and combined with:

Chopped crisp bacon or boiled ham, mayonnaise
Chopped olives, salad dressing
Chopped pickle, mayonnaise
Diced cooked chicken, meat or fish, chopped pickle, mayonnaise
Sliced tomato, salt, pepper, mayonnaise

Meat

1 cup minced cooked ham
1/2 cup seedless raisins
1 teaspoon capers
mayonnaise to mositen

Grind all together

Peanut Butter

1/2 cup peanut butter
1/3 cup ripe banana, mashed
1/4 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup mayonnaise
3 tablespoons chopped pickle

1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup ground raisins
3 tablespoons mayonnaise

Seafood

1 cup flaked salmon
4 tablespoons mayonnaise
3 tablespoons chopped sweet pickle
2 tsp salt, dash pepper

1/2 cup mashed tuna
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons chopped stuffed olives
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce


Vegetables

1 cup grated uncooked carrots
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup minced celery
1/4 cup mayonnaise
salt

1 cup chpped cucumber
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
salt

More Lunchtime Musings

Here's more from the CIA Encyclopedic Cookbook (1964)!

"Sandwiches, whether for picnic or lunch box, should be fresh, tasty, nutritious, well-filled and attractively wrapped. Remember that the sandwich must contirbute to the day's good nutrition. Select and make fillings with care and keep a cariety of them always on hand and fresh. Small screw-top jars for storage in refrigerator are handy. The supply can be replenished during morning cooking hours. Use whole grain breads frequently in addition to other carieties. Pack lettuce or other greens in containers, waxed paper or cellophane, to be added to sandwiches at time of eating."

Here are some of the fillings:

Cheese


1/2 cup grated American cheese
2 tablespoons chopped pimento
1 tablespoon minced onion
2 tablespoons minced sweet pickle
2 hard-cooked eggs, chopped


1/2 cup Camenbert
8 slices cooked, drained and minced bacon


3/4 cup grated American cheese
1/4 cup ground ham
1/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons cream
2 tablespoons mayonnaise



More fillings to come tomorrow!

A Look at Lunch

Today I have decided to talk about lunch, or rather let my authoratative CAI Encyclopedic Cookbook (1964) do the talking for me!

"Lunch is the most neglected meal of the day. Often women nibble at leftovers, men swallow a hasty cup of coffee and a sandwich, children buy something sweet, and these things constitute their 'lunch'. But good nutrition is not limited to just one meal a day. It encompasses all meals. A good lunch takes planning and preparation. This is especially true if the lunch is carried and has to be packed at home. Check your lunches against this lit and see that your nutrition plans are carried out.

1. A good lunch is fresh. your score is zero if you make up sandwiches the night before. Keep a plentiful supply of fresh fillings in covered jars in the icebox, other necessities on the pantry shelf, and use the mass production method of assembly.

2. A good lunch is attractive. Wrap sandwiches neatly in waxed paper or cellophane, use waxed cups for salads, fruits, and desserts, thermos bottle for hot or cold liquids and glass screw-top jars for a hot stew or main dish (paper towels make a good insulation around jars).

3. All good lunches are balanced nutritionally. Check to see if your lunch contains each of the following: A serving of vegetables, raw or cooked, providing needed vitamins. This is accomplished by using lettuce, romaine, escarole, endive or watercress in the sandwiches or by using a vegetable filling. Vegetables can also be used in a variety of salads and as a relish such as celery curls, olives, radishes or carrot sticks. A serving of meat, fish, cheese or egg is essential. The growing child, the laborer and the working girl require extra protein for tissue building. in a packed lunch, meat is ordinarily in the form of a sandwich filling, but there are many hot dishes that are suitable for carrying. They can add greatly to the variety and nutrition of the lunch. The daily fruit requirement can be included in an attractive salad or dessert. Whole fruit, raw or baked, and carious fruit puddings are easy to prepare, nutritious and add a sweet satisfying finish to lunch. For a change and a surprise, tarts, fruit cakes, turnovers and dumplings travel well and have added attraction of being readily eaten. These too can fill some of the nutrition requirements instead of being just a sweet. As for the beverage, milk is necessary for children. However, for those reluctant milk drinkers, the milk requirement is easily camouflaged by packing flavored milk drinks, creamed soups, puddings, custards, scalloped dishes or creamed dishes. The adult too should have milk included even thought it is not served as a beverage."


What do you think?

30 Days Hath September

April, June, and November
All the rest have 31
Excepting February which has 28 days clear
And 29 in each leap year.



And yet there never seems to be enough time, does there? How many of you were frantically finishing Christmas gifts in December? I'm guilty! I even finished my last one on Christmas Eve! Join me and others over at Christmas Progress and be prepared next year!

Sunday Supper

Appetizer
Which celebrity (or celebrities) do you think will make headlines this year? Most likely the same old, same old. Brangelina, Jennifer Aniston, Brittany. The ones we are already sick to death of.

Soup
They say that good things come in small packages? What is something little that you think is great? Besides my kids? Hmmm....

Salad
Name a song that makes you want to dance. Kids In America

Main Course
What is your favorite font? Don't have one.

Dessert
If you were to write a do-it-yourself article, what would it be about? How To Procrastinate, Even If You Don't Know How

Sunday Mornings Remembered

When I was a little girl, Sunday's almost always meant pancakes. Mom would usually make the batter, but Dad was the one who was usually in charge of the flipping. Mom would make them on occassion and when she did she would make fun shapes: my initals, Mickey Mouse heads, snowmen. Simple things like that. I remember eating them off of a plate my Grandmother had made me. Ceramic, it was shaped like Donald Duck's head and had a matching mug that I drank "coffee" out of. This was really about 1/4 cup of coffee with some sugar and the rest of the mug filled with milk. Although sometimes I would opt for hot cocoa instead. I also remember how I used to eat pancakes. Oh, for awhile during my "younger" years, I ate them with syrup, but as I grew older my tastes changed. The perfect way to eat a pancake in my opinion, was to slather it with peanut butter! Delicious! So what is the point of this trip down memory lane? The point is, I remember because it was made special and this is what I strive to do with my own children. But I want to make our own special memories. I don't want to eat pancakes on Sunday because that's my memory :) So, I am trying to come up with a special Sunday breakfast. I think I have decided on doughnuts. These are not something we eat on a regular basis, yet the kids love them. And using canned biscuits makes the process simple and easy. You just cut a hole in the middle of the biscuit (cheap is the best!) and fry both. I have an honest to goodness doughnut cutter, but you can use a bottle cap or something similar. You can see a picture of the prepped doughnuts above. After frying, drain on a paper towel. Now, you can shake them in powdered sugar, cinnamon sugar, plain sugar, you can glaze them or frost them. As an added treat, you can leave them whole, fry, and than fill with jelly or even pudding for an evening treat. Below you can see the after of my efforts. Golden brown, puffed doughnuts with powdered sugar. The kids loved them!

Christmas Gifts Revisited

Well, I can't find the original post where I mentioned finding fabulous Elvis fabric to make something for mom. TaDa! Here they are. Elvis pj bottoms! The shirt is purchased. The dishcloths and towels were also handmade by me. I thought they turned out really cute!

January 6 and February is just around the corner

Yes, it's true. It may seem early to be thinking about February but it will be here before we know it. The year has just begun and it's already starting to fly by. Now then. In our house, we have three big events in February:IL's anniversary, oldest DS's birthday, and, of course, Valentine's Day. The first two events happen on the same day, February 1. Tough to have a birthday when you are just coming out of a major gift holiday. Everyone trying to dig their way out from under a mountain of reciepts. We will make it fun though. He had it at Chuck E Cheese last year and I'm thinking that perhaps we will have it there this year too. I need to get invitations in the mail too.

For Valentine's, one day soon (perhaps next weekend) the kiddo's and I will sit down and make cards for the Grands and for Papa. For some special friends we will be making magnets, similar to what Mary Ann sent me. Think I will make extra for teacher gifts!

New Year and things have gone downhill already!

So, I really wanted to start the New Year off right and be faithfull with my blogging. Guess that flew right out the window! Seriously, I am going to try posting more. After all, it is a new year with new holidays coming up and lots of things to do. And my house is actually clean! If I keep it up I should have no problems blogging, crafting, and doing other things I would rather do!