We Are

We are nearing the end of school.  Just a couple weeks left for my Senior. . .I try not to think about it.  My college Girlie also has a couple weeks left and then it's time to decide where to go next.  Her plan is nursing, and now that her pre-rec's are out of the way, it's time to decide where to seek her degree.  The other two boys have a good month of school left, and are they happy about it.

We've stayed occupied and busy, even with my limited posting this past couple weeks.  A handful of Easter, a dash of school, and a good dose of Week in the Life.

• They brought the Lego STEM program to the 8 y.o.'s school, and once a week he's in Lego-building heaven.
• I've been drilling in the kids' heads, if you want it, add it to the list.  The 8 y.o. gets it, but some interpreting is needed before heading to the store.  Luckily I'm fluent in kid-speak of all kinds.
• When your friends get you.
• The task list is long when you're dealing with home care clients.
• Time to plan for the Easter Lunch gathering
• This isn't the most disturbing photo I've gotten from the student parking lot at the high school.  The only good thing about it is I know those two cars.
• When your mom and your sister gang up on you about your lack of photos (after repeated discussions on the topic and reminders when going out with friends), in particular since you entered High School and nobody but you is documenting your goings-on, this is what you send them.  #nothelpfulatall
• Senior Prom 2017 - this weekend.  Snow in the forecast.
• Spring.  New tent.  
• Spring.  Ultimate sun spot.
• Egg Dyeing 2017
• When the Easter Bunny adds to your collection with the ultimate emoji
• First there's the coordinating without even trying.  Thumbs up on that.  Then there's the realization that those stair-stepped little people are gone and we're all the same heights, relatively speaking.
• Easter Blooms
• Easter Mornings haven't changed much. . .the Bunny just has to be sneakier.  Who knew hiding baskets under their noses would work.  #bobrossforthewin
• Easter Egg Hunting and group selfies
• Unwinding on Easter after the house is set to rights, the second load is running in the dishwasher and all the guests are gone
• Week in the Life - Day 1
• Week in the Life - Day 2
• Week in the Life - Day 3
• Week in the Life - Day 4
• The 18 y.o. and his friend organized a reunion for their class from their K-8 school, before they all graduate and head out.  They worked hard, had great plans and a good turn-out expected.  Then after weekend after weekend of awesome weather, Colorado showed it's usual Spring colors by bring the cold, rain and snow on the evening of the gathering.  It sounds like it went alright. . .not what they hoped for, but about half of their classmates braved the weather.
• Week in the Life - Day 5
• Week in the Life - Day 6
• Always the builder

Happy Wednesday,

NEW Mark Downs on Kits

Back when Apron Strings started, knowing how hard it can be to find time to scrapbook, we wanted to help make the most of that time by helping reduce the things that could sometimes bog you down: finding coordinating product, making selections and bringing it all together.  Boom. . .Apron Strings scrapbook and cards kits are born.

Even though Apron Strings is closing, that philosophy remains.  I didn't just pull kits together, I used them - still do.  I've used them for traditional pages and pocket pages (ie Project Life®.)  I've made mini albums and specialty albums.  I've made cards and small seasonal décor pieces.  All with Apron Strings kits.

Come stock up on the remaining kits (Scrapbook and Card and remember Card Kits come with color instructions) before they're gone, and save 30% on remaining stock.  This weekend, you can save an additional 10% on your order.  Enter Code:  SAVE10.

Coupon expires 4.23.17 and must be present at the time of checkout.  Refund cannot be given for missing codes.   

Food For Thought

You'd think not posting for two weeks I'd have a lot of recipes, but that whole tax prep scenario interferes with the most basic of making meals too.  I do have a few recipes though.

I made these Sausage and Kale Lasagna Roll-ups on a Friday, during Lent, so I left out the sausage and substituted it with roasted sweet potatoes.  I just diced the sweet potatoes, tossed them in oil and sprinkled them with Italian seasoning and roasted them at 400 for about 30 minutes.  Since finding this really easy Alfredo sauce in another recipe, I use it whenever a recipe calls for a jarred sauce.  It was good.  Creamy.  Warm.  It was about as easy as assembling a traditional lasagna.

I wanted something different for dessert and this Buttermilk Pie sounded good.  Super simple to pull together.  It was custardy and smooth.  It would have been tasty with either sweet whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Alfredo was a theme apparently, but that's because I had a lot of cream in the 'fridge, so 5-Ingredient Creamy Southwest Chicken Alfredo made an appearance.  I made a couple extra chicken breasts, but kept the pasta the same.  It was good.  A bit of kick from the spices.

I initially pinned these Hobo Roasts for camping, but decided they sounded good for a cool evening instead.  I didn't have any meatloaf seasoning, so I searched and found this meatloaf seasoning - I added a teaspoon of celery salt.  It was just a hair salty, so next time I will cut the salt in half and reduce the celery salt to a half of teaspoon as well.  (A note, the reviews were pretty bad on the seasoning, but it looks like the amounts, and even the addition of ingredients, have been updated from what reviewers were talking about.  I thought it was a well balanced seasoning that had none of the "extras" found in store versions.)  As for the roasts, they were good.  They were dense, but not in a dried out way.  They had a Salisbury Steak thing going on.  Also, the ingredients call for Worcestershire sauce, but it doesn't appear in the directions.  I checked the blog post but there's only a picture of her sprinkling the sauce on the already formed patties.

I made Balsamic Chicken Skillet mostly because I had everything on hand.  What's not to like.  Chicken.  Melted Cheese.  Balsamic Vinegar.  All good.  A quick to pull together recipe.

This Sheet Pan Italian Sausage and Roasted Veggies was one of the more colorful meals I'd served.  You could use any link sausage you have on hand.  I had some chicken-mozzarella thing, that was great.  I loved all the veggies.  The only thing I didn't like was that with these sorts of "toss with pasta" recipes, all the mix-ins fall to the bottom of the dish.  I always need to remind myself to skip the "toss" step and just serve the pasta and veggie mix separate, so you can be sure to get the portions you want.

Bananas Foster Upside-down Cake looked good and sounded pretty straight forward.  Let's see. . .to start I picked up ripe, but not the usual over-ripe bananas you'd cook with, thinking you'd want them to hold up in the baking.  Apparently not.  They came out with a really weird texture, like what I think a plantain would be like - dense and way too chewy.  I had two family members ask what I did to the bananas, and if they were, in fact, plantains.  Go for the usual over-ripe bananas.  Next, the sauce.  I waited a bit longer than the called for 10 minutes to turn the cake out, but I'm not sure it would have mattered at the 10 minute mark.  The sauce had crystallized along parts of the pan, making candy, and thus making it hard to turn the cake out.  There was no sauce to speak of, really.  Nothing gooey left in the pan, nothing to drip over the sides and soak into the cake.  The cake was good though.  I don't know what the issue was.  Was it baking at altitude, though it wasn't over baked.  Was it the alcohol?  I don't know.  I won't try to do it again, but have at it and let me know. 

We've got no cable - and unless hubby can trouble-shoot it, won't until next Tuesday.  So I've got to find something to occupy myself.

Happy Friday.

New Mark Downs on Embellishments

Holy cow -- I've been MIA for two weeks.  Yikes.  I've been dealing with the hell that is preparing to file taxes.  Tax prep usually derails me for a couple of weeks every year.  The stress of it makes me sick every year as well - like. clock. work.  Every year I tell myself I'm going to start in January and finish in March.  And while I may start in early, every year I finish a week before the deadline.  But taxes are filed and done for the year.  And, I'm recovering from being sick.  

Taxes were first, which meant taking time away from dealing with closing Apron Strings and continuing the mark-downs of the remaining stock.  I no sooner sent off my tax stuff, than I sat down to update the site with fresh prices.  

I love embellishments, regardless of my difficulty in using them at times.  Those bits and baubles really help anchor photos, highlight journaling and bring a story together.  Those little things add so much, all while playing a supporting role.  With those thoughts in mind, there are new mark-downs are on all embellishments - save up to 30% or more.  

TODAY ONLY save an additional 10% on your entire order by using code:  SAVE10
Codes are good for one use only and must be present at check out.  Refunds cannot be given for missing codes.  Expires 4.21.17

Go.  Shop.

We Are

Apparently if you don't post photos for a couple weeks, you have quite the selection of things to choose from.  This is not always the case, but today it is.  Not posting last week makes us look quite productive.  Some of us anyway.  Some of seem to have a disturbing amount of time on our hands. 

It's also an odd collection of happenings around our place.  Some of them are best not contemplated for overly long.  

• Shopped Pioneer Woman's online store, which, can I just say is as mind boggling as the store, minus the nutsy Spring Break crowds.  My wishlist will get me through several gift-giving occasions.  Anyway, received my order and the detail to packing is insane, and totally fun.
• Our Girlie has always, ALWAYS, had more boys in her friend group than girls.  So much so it concerned her pre-school teachers.  We've always thought it was a smart move.
• The 16 y.o. may not be motivated to drive - he's had his permit for over a year now - but he's rocking the cooking classes.  Now, if he'd just bring that home and cook a meal or two.  Oh, and get his license.
• The face of one who has learned to play Solitaire and won after four tries.
• When things start to get weird at dinner.
• When possible, this is the best way to exit.
• When you're trying not to look like you want to scarf down someone else's meal
• Serving lunch to families staying at the Ronald McDonald House (the 16 y.o.)
• Ahhh. . .Mmm-hmm.
• When Girlie offers to make pasta. . .I leave until I need to whip up the marinara.
• Was D.E.L.I.S.H.
• I think all those in the health care industry think this.  Every. Day.
• The stupid chickens who just couldn't be done BEFORE I decided to run to get dinner because they were taking too long.
• The dinner I picked up while the stupid chickens came to temp during my short absence.  They were amazing when we finally had them the next night.
• When a fourth "person" tries to get in on your game
• We all need pen pals
• He's always said he wants to be YouTuber when he grows up.  Apparently he's decided not to wait.  Just nobody tell him he has to upload those videos.
• Damn Sorry! and its cards where moving backwards is your only option and you have to take that.
• I'm just going with the "It's Spring Break" defense
• No comment.
• They stay together at the Ariana Grande concert.  Just a note - he's the fan and it was Girlie's Christmas present to him.
• I'm always surprised when she goes outside and doesn't take off
• When your wash is finally done, and all your friends are back in your sights
• I want a job where you can be wrong almost all the time, in varying degrees (no pun intended) and still keep earning your paycheck.

Happy Thursday,