Seriously Impulsive Blog Swap

When I saw my IRL Best Friend, Shawn, from Seriously and IA from Impulsive Addict were hosting a swap, I knew I needed to jump in and sign up to participate!  I LOVE a good swap and this one did NOT disappoint!!  I was partnered with Carrie, from Carrie's Ramblings -- HELLO -- can we talk about how CUTE she is!!  I have enjoyed reading her blog and getting to know her!!


Here is what the super-fabulous Carrie sent me:

An adorable "Family" frame that says "Family is a Circle of love and strength" .... she didn't know, but I just redid my master in these exact colors!  A PERFECT addition!

 A super-cute bracelet!!  These are so pretty -- and in my favorite jewel tone colors. 

My picture will not rotate to the left, but she also sent 3 picture frames that say "Love" and "Memories" and I have the perfect pictures to fill them with from my weekend in Dallas, TX with my daughter! 

She also sent a couple boxes of Swedish Fish -- my FAV-O-RITE ever -- but I tossed those in my carry on and they were gone on the first flight! 

Thanks Carrie for my loot!  I loved it!! 

And THANK YOU Shawn and IA for hosting this swap!  Can't wait to do it again!! 

Once a Month Cooking

So .... I finally did it. I cooked 20 meals over a 3.5 hr period and it was VERY labor intensive. I have to say, next time I will break it up into 2 days. So far, so good though - the food I have cooked and frozen has tasted VERY good and it is so unbelievably delightful to know dinner is already made!! The kids enjoy picking out what's for dinner in the morning, we let it thaw in the fridge and then pop it in the oven when I get home from work! Here is what I cooked:

Chicken Tettrazini
1 box thin spaghetti
3 cans of cream of chicken soup (can sub low-fat)
1 cup sliced mushrooms
16oz container of sour cream
a stick of butter (melted)
Cooked chicken - cubed (approximately 1 lb)

Serve with steamed broccoli or green beans with a salad!

Cook spaghetti per instructions on box and spoon into pan. Mix all other ingredients together and spoon over spaghetti. Cook at 350 for 30 minutes.

Bowtie Fiesta (from Blue Eyed Bride's Blog)
8 oz bow tie pasta
1 lb ground beef (I used venison!!)
1 can tomato sauce
1 cup sour cream
1 cup salsa
1/2 cup black olives
1 tomato sliced
1 cup shredded cheese

Cook the pasta using package directions and cook for 7 minutes. Drain. Brown the beef in a skillet, stirring until crumbly. Drain. Stir in tomato sauce. Combine pasta, ground beef mixture, sour cream, salsa, black olives, and tomato in a bowl and mix well. Spoon into 9x11 baking dish. Sprinkle with cheese and bake at 350 degrees until brown and bubbly.


Stuffed Shells
http://tastykitchen.com/recipes/main-courses/three-cheese-stuffed-shells/



Chicken Katherine
block of cream cheese (I used fat free)
a little bit of cooking wine
1 packet Italian dressing mix (DRY)
I can cream of chicken soup
1 lb chicken breasts

Melt cream cheese and mix in rest of ingredients -- pour over chicken breasts and bake in over 350 for 45 minutes. I serve with rice or egg noodles and peas.

Poppy seed Chicken
1 cup butter - melted
Ritz Crackers
2 tablespoons Poppy seeds
2 cans cream of chicken soup
4 cups chicken, cooked and cubed
3 cups sour cream

Mix together: butter, crackers and poppy seeds. In a separate bowl, mix soup, chicken and sour cream. Put half the crumb mixture in a 9x13pan and pour soup mixture over the crumbs. Put the rest of the crumb mixture on top. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Serve over rice. **I put the remaining crumb mixture in a ziploc and froze separately to top chicken mixture once I'm ready to cook.

Chicken Rollups (from Jenna's Journey blog)
1pkg cream cheese
1 pkg crescent rolls
2 shredded cooked chicken breasts
1 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese
1 cup grated Monterey Jack
1/4 t salt
1/4 t pepper
bread crumbs
1/4 stick melted butter

Combine chicken, cheeses, salt and butter. Spoon onto crescents. Roll them up making sure they are sealed around the mixture. Brush tops with butter and sprinkle with bread crumbs. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.

King Ranch Chicken
http://tastykitchen.com/recipes/main-courses/king-ranch-chicken-2/

I doubled all recipes (EXCEPT CHICKEN TETTRAZINI - that makes some serious meals). I also made a lasagna, a big pot of chili and a big pot of potato cheese soup.

I prepared all meals up until the point where you would cook them (except for soup and chili). I purchased my disposable pans from Dollar Tree. Also, a friend in my neighborhood makes homemade spaghetti sauce, so my sister and I have asked her to show us how to make it. This will save a substantial amount since spaghetti sauce can get pricey!

The best part?? My sister made 20 meals also and we swapped 10/10. I'll post tomorrow the recipes she used!

I only made 20 meals because Friday night is pizza night and Thursdays are very busy, so we grab something quick and easy! Hope this encourages you!

52 in 52

I'm linking up with my best friend, Shawn, and listing my 52 in 52. I do not make resolutions .... Why set myself up for failure?? So instead, I'll make a list of goals and things I'd like to accomplish in this new year!

1. Each month, randomly send a card to a friend - handwritten. I used to be so good about this but have fallen off. Very important to me to start this and keep this up!

2. Go to bed every night with a clean kitchen.

3. Keep my car CLEAN and clutter free (this will require help from my children)

4. Take the dogs on a good walk at least twice a week

5. OAMC cooking - every month (I have already completed this for Jan!!!)

6. Have lunch OUT with someone at work at least once/month -- preferably someone new or that I don't know well.

7. Mail bday gifts on TIME

8. Make monthly breakfast table for kids (ie: decorate table for beginning of month)

9. Keep my nails looking nice.

10. Wear what I have and shop from closet

11. Pay cash

12. Plan and book girls trip with Jenn and Amber

13. Dinner or lunch with Mom and Jenn once/mth

14. Light a candle on the 23 of every month

15. Do not leave the house without accessorizing (this may sound silly, but I have friends that always look so put together. I realized the other day it's because they are always accessorized)

16. Buy and wear matching socks

17. Drink more water!

18. Make appointment with dermatologist and come up with regimen for skin

19. Join gym at work and go at least 3x/week

20. Say 'yes' more when invited places

21. Leave work on TIME

22. Have lunch with the kids at school on my days off.

23. Make more phone calls and less text messages

24. Unplug on the weekends

25. Get all new fresh towels - the good ones

26. Start a gift closet

27. Blog at LEAST once/week

28. Keep my closet clean and organized (this will help with the decision to convert a bedroom into a closet/dressing room)

29. QUIT CARING WHAT PEOPLE THINK OR SAY!!!!

30. Repaint some furniture

31. Get my kids rooms decorated on a budget

32. Go to bed at a decent hour

33. Wake up and GET OUT OF THE BED when the alarm goes off (the first time)

34. Quit procrastinating

35. Focus more at work to take territory to the next level

36. Make bed every day before leaving and make sure kids beds are made every day.

37. Once a month massage (for real)

38. Plan trip to TN to visit friends

39. Come up with something super creative as a gift for our girls weekend in July.

40. Learn to sew

41. Spend more time with my brother

42. Plan trip to Tampa to visit friends

43. Get rid of clutter (this may take me all year)

44. Get fresh flowers monthly for my office (I spend a lot of time there)

45. Keep car washed and clean

46. Do laundry at least every other day, fold and put away

47. Spend more time in the Word!!

48. Keep seasonal flowers planted in front yard.

49. Read the paper and just read more in general

50. Sleep with the tv off (this is huuuuuuge for me, but I sleep so much better when I remember to turn off the tv before I go to sleep).

51. Get some cute pajamas and wear them!!

52. Love more....

Happy New Year!

New Year 2012 Pictures Comments - Photobucket

Wishing you all the very best in 2012! I posted this in Facebook and I'll post it again here:

Forget what hurt you, but don't forget what you learned from it!

I'm not doing a year in review but I do know 2011 was a good year and it was a very difficult year. The first 2 months of the year taught me more about love and life than I ever imagined. I spent a week in Dallas, TX for work ( Super Bowl Week when it pretty much froze over). I came home to visit a very dear friend of mine that was battling cancer, only to be with my Dad as he valiantly fought cancer (8 yrs!!), but thankfully God fully healed him on 2-23 and he gracefully passed away. My sweet friend in Tampa passed away just a week later. I was able to spend a fabulous week in Tampa for Spring Break visiting my friends and taking the kids all kinda of fun places! I went to The Ritz Carlton in Naples for my annual girls trip, spent my birthday with one of my best friends ever, and then 'a bunch of other stuff'.

While I can't promise I'll blog more, I do want to. I am doing the OAMC (today!!) and I'm repainting a bunch of furniture. Throw in a bunch of cheer competitions out of town, and I think I might have some blog posts up my sleeve!

Thanks for always coming back -- Happy Happy New Year!

Have you ordered your HOLIDAY CARDS YET?!? TINY PRINTS TO THE RESCUE!

Every year our Christmas card is one of the most exciting things I look forward to during the holiday season!  I have created my own, used online card companies and I'm excited this year to use I've always been a huge fan of their holiday cards and love having SO MANY OPTIONS! 

While browsing their site for the perfect card, I thought I'd share some of my favorite

This so awesome -- I love the full picture and have done something like this before.  It's simple and pretty much PERFECT!  

I love the simplicity of as well!  Personalized folded cards are always one of my favorites to receive because you never know what's going to be on the inside!

  OH MY GOODNESS!  This is so perfect for me! I never can decide on one picture, so this is a great option to really show off my pictures of Princess and Wild Child!



So head on over to  and check out their AWESOME selection of Holiday cards!  You will not be disappointed!  I would love to tell you which one I chose, but that's a surprise! 

Happy Holidays, Y'all!

**I have been compensated with free cards for this revie

Banana Split Cupcakes

So....apparently I think I'm Betty Crocker or Martha Stewart and I decided to bust out some Banana Split Cupcakes for a company dessert contest. I had my first banana split cupcake a week ago and LEMME TELL YOU - divine! I knew I wouldn't be able to recreate that particular one because it had a ganache topping and yeah, well, no. So I googled banana split cupcakes and found this recipe at www.heatovento350.net ... And they are awesome!!

Ok - so here's the recipe:

1 box yellow cake mix
3 eggs
1 cup water
1 cup banana - mashed
1 cup chopped maraschino cherries
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Frosting:
One tub vanilla frosting
One tub Fluff

Preheat oven to 350. Set aside 2 tbs cake mix. Mix remaining cake mix, eggs, banana and water until smooth. In separate bowl, drain and chop cherries. I laid mine out on a paper towel to absorb as much moisture as possible. Mix reserved cake mix into cherries. Add chocolate chips and slowly add to batter.

This truly makes 30 regular size cupcakes. Spoon batter into cupcake liners and bake for 15-20 minutes. Remove once fork/toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

For frosting: mix one tub vanilla frosting and one tub Fluff. I put mine in a ziplock bag and snipped off the end and piped on to the cooled cupcake. Then I topped with a maraschino cherry - with a stem!

Enjoy!! These are fantastic!

Once a Month Cooking - Freezer Meals

So I've decided (and convinced my sister) to jump on the OAMC bandwagon....I cooked about 5 meals yesterday and they are packed away in the freezer for the rest of the week. My plan is to do an all day cooking and get about 20-25 meals prepared. I work so much and don't get home until 7:00 most days - so this will make my life easier! I will post recipes soon - want to test these that I made first. OH and you can even prepare crockpot meals for OAMC....just put all your ingredients in a freezer bag and thaw the night before. Throw it all I the crockpot the next day and VOILA!

Anyone do this or have any tips you can offer??