A few of my favorite pics I have taken of the boys last Fall! Too cute for words!!!

I am partial of course...but they are going to be lady killers when they grow up!
So handsome the pair of them!!!

Took some me pics today...

The above one is a movement shot...took 12 tries to get me to be un-blurry...liked the effect though.

Hmmmmm...why bother?

Above is a SMATTERING of my heels. I NEVER WEAR THEM, except for special occasions, and even then my feet feel like I have put them in torture devices! I love the look of heels, but never have the opportunity to wear them, and if I do, I feel like I walk like a bull in a china shop! So my question is...why bother having these if I can't wear/walk in them? My answer is because I LOVE THEM!!!

Slowly, but surely

The turning point...I heard this chomping noise in the back seat and I looked in my rear view mirror, there I see my 4 year old sitting in his carseat with his little hands in his mouth and his perfect teeth macerating his nails.

Me: "S, what are you doing?"
S: "Biting my nails off"
Me: "S! STOP IT!"
S: "But you do it mommy..."
Me: (Jesus...what now?) "Well don't do it again! Mommy is bad to bite her nails and I will try and stop. It is bad for your teeth!"
S: "OK Mommy, (then one last bite)

So, I have made progress and I actually forgot how handy nails are! My favorite part of having nails is painting them, oooohhhhhh and washing my hair and being able to scratch my head. A little piece of heaven that is! Weird but true! So I am unsure how long I will go, but it is a start! It only takes one frigging hang nail and I am off the wagon...

Ok...so we like chocolate and walnuts...shoot us!

I made these little devils this morning, and I am soooooo sorry I did...they are doing nothing for my diet!

Chocolate Walnut Toffee Bars

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F

1 c. butter
1 c. brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla

Combine the above ingredients until creamy

Then add the following and combine thoroughly

2 c. flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c. chopped walnuts

Spread the mixture into a greased 13X9 pan.
Bake for 25 minutes and immediately pour 1 bag of chocolate chips over the entire pan
Place back in the oven for 2 minutes until the chips are melted and then remove from oven. Spread the chocolate evenly over the bars and sprinkle with 1 cup chopped walnuts. Press the walnuts into place, cool and cut into desired bar sizes. DE-LISH!!!!

I am in love...

Let me just say this...I do not like to buy bedding, and I do not like to change my bed, but yesterday during a fleeting Target outing I spotted these gorgeous little devils waving at me from the clearance shelf. I went over, opened the packages and it was love at first sight. They are Fieldcrest Luxury King Shams made of Supima cotton (whatever the hell that means)...but best of all was the price!!! Each retailed for $34.99 (who in the hell would spend 35 bucks on a pillow sham boggles my mind), but the clearance price was DING DING DING...$8.74!!!! One hell of a deal and they came home...and are now adorning my bed!

WHY...WHY...WHY???

Having broken my ankle 4 years ago just running on ice in my driveway, I have one question for those people why ice climb...ARE YOU CRAZY?

I took this today on my way home, and above is the original picture from the road, and below is the same picture, but zoomed in.

The picture does not do the height justice, believe me. The people looked like little bugs on a window! I could not/will not ever do this!!! I do not have a death wish, and do not know how this is a fun pass time for people

Some shots I took today...

Door Mat

Wood pile

Just a shadow c'est moi!

This is one of my mom's dog Bears favorite toys thawing out from our driveway snow melt!

Our back yard view...love this...soooooo lucky!

Another favorite...this time the boys...unearthed from the snowpiles

Ethel...my Dad's tractor that plows our driveway...very old but AWESOME!!!

Ella, basking in the morning glow

MMMMMmmmmmm...Can't forget my favorite part...DESSERT!!!!

These are too die for!
Chocolate Chip Walnut Coconut Bars

2 c. Flour
1/2 c. cold butter (cut into pieces)
1/3 c. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt

Combine the above ingredients with a mixer until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Press firmly into a greased 13X9 in. pan, and up the sides about 1/4 inch.
Bake at 350 deg. F. for 15 min until light golden brown.

While the crust bakes, combine the following in the same bowl you had used for the crust
(save a wash)

2 eggs
1/2 c. Karo Syrup (light or dark)
1/2 c. sugar
2 tbsp. melted butter
1/4 tsp vanilla

Combine well with the mixer, then add the following

1 c. chocolate chips
1 c. chopped walnuts
3/4 c. flaked coconut

Blend until well combined and pour evenly over the baked crust when it is done. Place back in the oven for 15-20 minutes until the filling has set up.

I recommend some vanilla ice cream with these devils! YUM YUM YUM!!!

Some dinners...I Semi-homemade! I am not a dinner gal, but am trying to mix it up a bit! Some recent hits!

Semi-Homemade Tuna Noodle and Peas (I am not a fan of cream of mushroom soup (GROSS), and came up with this substitution)

Make the noodles according to the intructions, add the flaked tuna and peas when the noodles are al-dente, and let simmer for 5 minutes will the tuna and peas are cooked through. I know it looks boring, if not gross to some, but it is really yummy and quick!

Lame but delicious salad...I am not a big Veggie Gal!

We also had bruschetta, but it went too fast to get a picture of it! DELICIOUS!!

Homemade Pasta E Fagioli Soup

One Jar Ragu Chunky GardenStyle Pasta Sauce
One Can Canellini Beans (Drained)
Two Vine Ripened Tomatoes Diced
One Half Package Of Frozen Spinach
One Half Box Of Ditalini Pasta

Boil the pasta, and drain, reserving 2 cups of the pasta water. Bring to boil the top 4 ingredients, and add the pasta water. Just prior to serving add the cooked pasta and mix gently. Serve and Enjoy!!! So yummy!!! Oh...salt and pepper to taste!

Yippie Freaking Skippie!!!!!

Only 4.8 pounds to go!!!!

Photos...trying some things out with textures, etc...

My favorite jewelry!

The charm Mom bought me when I had S...my favorite!

A gorgeous blown glass flower bowl. I love this!!!

A beaten up arm chair

Fur fluff from our freshly brushed Hairy...I would love a blanket of this fur!!!

Thanks for looking!

Well...mission accomplished, I ate too much today and feel like a beached whale! Uhhhhhhh

Sooooooo....I tried it on, and.........

(photo courtesy my 4 year old) LOL

I fit in it!!!! I still have a ways to go...I mean for Christ sake I was 125 at my wedding, but I am seeing visible results, and I have collar bones again, and I have a little room at the waist! I am so excited!!! I loved my wedding dress, and just to be able to get into it again and feel that I look almost as nice as I did on my wedding day makes me feel like all of this is sooooo worth it!

HMMMMMM...maybe a bit too fast!

This was the second time I got on the scale...the first time was 141.8 lbs. I have lost over 8 pounds since Jan 1st! I am excited about this, but also a bit apprehensive. I think it might be going down a bit too fast, and I don't want to screw up my metabolism like I did in college...so today I am not exercising and I am going to eat around 2000 cal, not the usual 1300/1500 that I have been eating so I can give my metabolism a little boost. Hopefully it works. Don't get me wrong, I am glad that I am losing! Believe me I am glad!!!

WORK IT!!!

In my battle of the bulge I have been doing exercises 3 times a week. I have a few new member who have joined in the routine and are getting quite good at it!

My favorite baking books!!! My Loves

I have made many delicious, yummy things from these lovelies! They are the bomb, and I recommend them for any bakers out there!

I am now a mom who clips!

So...Jay and I had 3 New Years Resolutions this year. We wanted to save money on groceries, not buy soda (we were spending on the low end $130.00 a month on soda), and clean our basement. I know that it is only Feb. 3rd, but we have done all of these things. Clipping coupons is one way we are saving money on the grocery bill! I find that the most rewarding part is when you check out and the subtotal comes up, then you hand the clerk your Advantage card and your stack of coupons and...down goes the total! It is so exciting! I am in love and found another use for my old quilting cutting supplies! Cuts the coupons so much quicker. I look forward to the Sunday Troy Record (2-3 coupon bundles in it!) I pull up a seat at my table, grab my cutting board, and start clipping!

My enjoyment of dishwashing, and the prop that is my dishwasher.

This is our non-working dishwasher, and it is still in it's home right next to the sink. It washed it's last dish in April of 2008...and not that well I might add. We actually went shopping for another one, but decided to wait until they went on sale. I washed dishes until they went on sale, and once they did I decided that we would save the $300.00+ and I would continue to wash the dishes, and Jay would put them away. So now it serves many purposes...dish strainer, dish storing, and it fills the hole that would have been left if we had removed it. I love washing the dishes, I love knowing that the dishes are CLEAN, and I love looking out the window while I do them.