What I am crazy about this summer.

My friend K who is a big fan of reptiles has always liked the Sobe and the Sobe commericials. Me I've found the Sobe commericals on the creepy side. That aside I have to say that I am completely addicted to their new Sobe lifewater 0 calories drink sweetened w/"PureVia" ie Stevia (a natural sweetener the Whole Foods crowds are familiar with I am sure.

The Sobe Lifewater flavor that totally rocks is the Fuji Apple Pear. I am buying it like it is going out of style, it tastes yummy and fruity, but doesn't have that fake sugar aftertaste or calorie rich high fructose corn syrup. I was really glad to find a BOGO coupon on their website!

http://www.sobeworld.com/

And what is the perfect meal to accompany the Sobe Lifewater 0 cal? A McDonalds Southwestern Salad. Oh it is so good. The grilled chicken is covered with this yummy cilantro lime glaze. Only 320 calories and 9 grams of fat w/o dressing. however it is worth it to me to pour on some of the Paul Newman Southwestern Salad dressing.

I couldn't find a pic of it online. I guess next time I get one I'll have to take a pic. Here is a description:

Tangy, warm, cilatro-lime glazed chicken (grilled or cripsy), poblano peppers, roasted tomatoes, crispy chili-lime tortilla strips, black beans, fire-roasted corn, cheddar-jack cheese, lime 1/4 slice,

I could eat it everyday for lunch!

How to Make a Butterfly Cake - video on DisneyFamily.com

How to Make a Butterfly Cake - video on DisneyFamily.com

Shared via AddThis

This is what I'll be attempting as the cake for Anna's family bday party. I'm going to make a white cake butterfly and a devil food cake butterfly.

tomorrow day camp starts! wahooooo!!!

Not that I am looking forward to day camp or anything..

I've got their little camp outfits laid out. The water and a snacks are ready to go. I've got my running clothes all ready to hit the paths down south and I've spent the last 90 minutes getting my audible.com account reopened and the 4th book in the Sookie Stackhouse series (Dead to the World) is now finally in my ipod. So maybe you are saying:
1. Victoria is audible.com not very easy to use?

No audible is very easy to use and filled with directions on how to get your audible books right into your itunes library--it was Windows I was having problems with because Windows doesn't like itunes!

Or maybe you are saying..
2. So let me get this straight, the kids are going to day camp and you are going to spend the time running? Isn't that as much of a torture as kid wrangling?

No it's nice and peaceful on a walking/running/biking path. Definitely much more peaceful to listen to a nice Vampire Mystery than kids fighting.

I have no funny kid anecdotes today because of this conversation after church:

Patrick or Bryce says something funny--I cannot remember which of the two said it or what they said, my brain has all drained out at this point but earlier today I laughed and said: Patrick or Bryce that was funny!
Anna says:
"How come you never say I am funny?" This is of course accompanied by her pouting and crossing her arms very dramatically.

And here is where I made my mistake, I said:
"Anna all my friends think you are very funny. I put the things you say on facebook and my friends laugh and laugh and they say 'hey! we need an Anna story!!! And I then say I also share the funny things you say Patrick. And Bryce you too.

Apparently they all want to be on stage. They are craving the limelight and for hours today they tried very hard to be funny. Which meant that I got to listen to lots and lots of poop jokes. Potty humor at its finest it was not!

this and that

So on the Tastefully Simple front I have officially earned my place for a free all-inclusive trip to Cancun in April 2010, which will be perfect as by the time April rolls around I am at my tired of cold weather wits end. Now once I add 1 more person to my team then I'll also have Tom's spot reserved which is even more perfect as I am at my wits end having Tom point out to me that I get to go on all kinds of travels for free or almost free because of my Tastefully Simple business. So yippee!

On the home front, the children made a mess and this is what Bryce told his brother and sister:
"you should both be ashamed of yourselves, you think it's a garbage can in here."

tell em bryce!

But the really funny thing today is from Patrick. Earlier today he said that he was going to make a spongebob shrine. I didn't take him seriously, but then I came home tonight to this in his room.

Vacation Pics!!

oh light a candle and say some prayers to your favorite diety (tongue in cheek)

Summer Vacation is here! Ack! wish me luck! (and a busy Tastefully Simple party schedule so I can spend some time with adults this summer!)

Yesterday was the last day of school. To celebrate me and the kiddos walked over to Kokos for lunch. This was a big deal for them because A. they think walking is fun. :-) and B. the only time we go to Kokos is when my parents visit--so it's only for special occasions. Lunch went very well, Anna only climbed under the table twice...and Patrick only talked one of the waitresses ears off.



When we arrrived back home we received in the mail not one but two FREEBIES! First we have a coupon, which I was nice enough to give to Patrick, for a free chocolate bar from Mars (dove, milky way, snickers, 3 musketeers, m&m or twix) They are giving away free chocolate coupons every FRIDAY at:

http://realchocolate.com

And then just in time for Anna's upcoming birthday BBQ a coupon good for one free package of any Oscar Mayer Franks! I think you can go get your free coupon at:

http://oscarmayer.com

The kids will enjoy theirs w/ketchup--ugh! But mine will definitely be topped with Tastefully Simple Cherry Honey Mustard Sauce. Yum! I am going to have to order a bunch of it w/my 36% off because, it's only back for June and July!

http://tastefullysimple.com

Jogging with Anna

yesterday before I ran, Anna begged to come with, so I took her around the block with me one time and then she was very upset that I was going back out to run. Why couldn't she come with, ah well Anna
1. I run to get some quiet time away from you kids (that was just in my head, I didn't actually tell her that one)
2. I'm going to run 6 miles, your not ready for that.

So she says what do I have to do to go the whole way with you. And I agreed to take her around the block twice today.

Anna is quite disappointed that I will not let her run in her flip flops. She feels they are more than adequate for running. I tell her, no gym shoes no running. Then she looks for a compromise by putting on silver flats given to her by the Mighty Maggie--all clothes and shoes from Maggie are the best! ATA (According to Anna). I say fine.

We head out for our jog, Anna is next to me running along and she says:

Mama, I look so cute jogging with these shoes on, I like to look down at them!


She is such the fashionista!

For the love of Pete

Oh for the love of Pete, Patti blogovich (sp?) is going to do that reality show since her narcassistic criminal husband can't leave the country. Those poor kids of theirs!

From the Kids...

They keep calling the concession stand at Bryce's baseball games:
The confession stand.
Catholic Church take note, I bet if you served hot pretzels with cheese and Icee drinks more people would go to confession...

I am just devastated (tongue in cheek)

So I have been following my money saving guru, Rachel of mashupmom.com. And so I have been taking advantage of great deals at Jewel. Since Jewel is more pricey than other options in my area such as Aldi, Fairplay, and Tony's, I don't get to do all my shopping there I have to pick and choose.

And now I will definitely be shopping my closest and favorite grocery store far less often. Why you ask? In the past Jewel has had 'catalina' deals based on the shelf not sale price. So for example this is the deal I was trying to get this week.

Purchase $25.00 in select Kraft products and receive $8 off your Easter Ham. So I purchased over $25 shelf priced participating Kraft products that were $18.18 after the preferred card discounts.

When I got to the check out, the $8 wasn't taken off. I said hold on! wheres my $8 off (not in those words but you get it) so the cashier got the manager who told me, the discount was a coupon for your next purchase. I said:
Oh No. I called and they said it wasn't a catalina deal (that is the machine that dispenses coupons for next purchases based on your current purchases). I was told it was spend $25 on the participating products and buy your ham at the same time and get $8.00 off a ham.

the manager suspended the sale and went over to her desk. Then came back a while later. and said my Kraft Purchases added up to $18.18. I said hold the phone, the total of purchased items goes off the shelf price not the sale price. And then she said.

"that was a glitch in the system and there should have never been catalinas given out off the shelf price, it was always supposed to be the sale price and now that is fixed."

Grrrrr. So now I would like to know if this is true for all locations or what. In any case I will be much less likely to go out of my way to get the best deal I can at Jewel. It's easier to skip all that and go elsewhere--

Happy St. Patricks Day!!!

Unlike many people in the Chicagoland area, I do not like Corned Beef and Cabbage. Tom does and he made his own last night. I do however, greatly enjoy potatoes...so I am going to make this actually authentic Irish dish. I am going to really scale back on the butter the recipe calls for because 2 sticks is quite a lot!!! I'm using turkey bacon as well as that will cut out 45 minutes of cooking time for the ham. and for

From The Food Network:
Colcannon
Recipe courtesy Christabel Rossiter

Prep Time:
15 min
Inactive Prep Time:
hr min
Cook Time:
1 hr 45 min

Level:
Intermediate

Serves:
6 servings

Ingredients
3 pounds potatoes, scrubbed (I'm using red)
2 sticks butter (Im using lots less)
1 1/4 cups hot milk (I'm going w/skimmed milk)
Freshly ground black pepper
1 head cabbage, cored and finely shredded
1 (1-pound) piece ham or bacon, cooked the day before (I'm using Turkey Bacon)
4 scallions, finely chopped
Chopped parsley leaves, for garnish (I'm using Tastefully Simple spinach & herb for the garnish, just a little sprinkling of the green!)
Directions
Steam the potatoes in their skins for 30
minutes. Peel them using a knife and fork. Chop with a knife before mashing.. Mash thoroughly to remove all the
lumps. Add 1 stick of butter in pieces. Gradually add hot milk, stirring all the time. Season with a few
grinds of black pepper.

Boil the cabbage in unsalted water until it turns a darker color. Add 2 tablespoons butter to tenderize it.
Cover with lid for 2 minutes. Drain thoroughly before returning it to the pan. Chop into small pieces.

Put the ham in a large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to the boil and simmer for 45 minutes until
tender. Drain. Remove any fat and chop into small pieces.

Add cabbage, scallions, and ham to mashed potatoes, stirring them in gently.
Serve in individual soup plates. Make an indentation on the top by swirling a wooden spoon. Put 1 tablespoon
of butter into each indentation. Sprinkle with parsley.

Friday the 13th

At church they had Operation Rice Bowl calendars they were giving out ORB is a project run by Catholic Relief Services where people donate money and it is used to provide food and support food services in areas where people are hungry.

What I like about this calendar is that it focuses on a different country each week and there is a recipe representing the country you can make each week and it's either meatless or made w/fish as people in poorer countries don't eat meat very often.

The website is

Last week the focus was on the Philippines and the recipe was Hinurnong Isda. I was all set to make it,as directed I just needed to get ginger and scallions, but then the day got a bit away from me and before I had time to go to the store I had to go volunteer at the Spaghetti dinner. So I made it when I got home because:
1. tom was going to get fast food since he was unable to find anything to eat in our house. You'd think the pantry and fridge and freezer were empty--so I wanted to stop him from going to get Arbys at 8pm.
2. the tilapia was already defrosted. So I made the recipe but had to makes some changes so it wasn't really what it was supposed to be. And I served it w/mashed potatoes.


Hinurnong Isda

1 lb white fish--I used tilapia (sp?)
Juice of 1 lemon
1 tsp salt
1 large tomato, chopped
1 small yellow onion, chopped
2 scallions, chopped--didn't have any so I skipped
2 cloves garlic, minced I used 2 tsp of garlic garlic
1 tsp ginger--I didnt have any so I skipped this
1 tsp pepper--I used the new Tastefully Simple Green Tea and Peppercorn seasoning
2 tbsp melted butter

Preheat oven to 375. Add lemon juice to fish, sprinkle with salt and let stand about 20 min. Combine tomato, yellow onion, scallions, garlic, ginger and pepper in pan and saute for 5 min. Set aside. Brush fish with melted butter, place in a baking pan and bake for 10 min. Add sauteed vegetables and bake for 5 more minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork.

Serve w/hot rice.

Recipe from Food network magazine

I saved up my coke reward points and got a free subscription to the new Food Network Magazine--my first copy arrived on Friday and yesterday I noticed that I had all the ingredients on hand to make one of the recipes, so I gave it a go and it was very good. I lightened up the recipe as much as possible as the original recipe was def. not very healthy eating friendly. If you want to see the recipe from the website visit:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/croque-monsieur-mac-and-cheese-recipe/index.html

But here is what I did

Croque Monsieur Mac and Cheese
1/2 pound whole wheat rotini
2 cups skim milk
1 cup coarsely grated gruyere cheese
1 1/2 cups finely grated parmesan cheese
1/2 cup egg substitute
3 slices 40 calorie Healthy Life w/flaxseed bread
1 med onoin diced
1 tsp Tastefully Simple Garlic Garlic
3 tbsp all-purpose flouer
Pinch of Tastefully Simple Fiesta Party Mix
1/8 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
Kosher Salt
Tastefully Simple Seasoned Salt
6 oz diced Canadian Bacon

1. Preheat the oven to 425. Boil water and make the rotini cooking until it is al dente about 8 min. Drain pasta and put in a bowl then pour 1/4 cup of milk over it.

2. While the pasta is cooking combine both cheese in a bowl. In another bowl beat 3/4 cup of milk and the eggs, then fold in the bread and 1/2 of the cheese mix.

3. Spray cooking spray in a saucepan, heat on high and add the onion and cook until just brown. Sprinkling in the flour, Fiesta Party Dip, nutmeg, 1 tsp Koser Salt and cook, stirring for about 2 minutes. Slowly add 3/4 cup water and the remaining 1 cup of milk, and the Garlic Garlic then bring to a boil , stirring until thickened (which to me took a while and I wasn't sure how thickened it should be ?) When it seems thickened remove it from the heat and whisk it a bit to cool slightly then whisk in the remaining cheese, add all the pasta and toss.

4. Spray Pam in a shallow casserole dish. Add 1/2 of the pasta, top w/1/2 of the ham, and cover w/the other 1/2 of the pasta then top w/the other 1/2 of the ham, then cover with the bread mixture. Bake until golden and bubbly, about 20 min. Let rest for 5 min b/4 serving. I wanted a little more flavor so before serving I sprinkled a bit of Tastefully Simple Seasoned Salt on my portion

You can also skip the ham for a meatless dish.

Aw Cmon!

I decided for dinner today to make enchiladas. Cheese enchiladas. Here was my plan.
Ingredients:
whole wheat tortillas
a can of enchilada sauce
The New TS Spicy Bean Dip
fat free refried beans
Trader joe's roasted corn
and some sauteed onions.
And 2 oz of low fat cream cheese mixed with the new TS chili chipotle or is it Chipotle Chili mix

You just make the Spicy Bean Dip as directed (ie add water) put that aside. Saute the onions in a pan, and then you mix the spicy bean dip, sauteed onions, TJ's roasted corn and the refried beans together. Take that mixture put it in the tortillas, put a couple spoonfuls of the Chipotle Chili Mix on top and a couple of tablespoons of the enchilada sauce, then roll up the enchiladas and pour enchilada sauce over the everything in the pan and then I was going to put a little grated cheddar cheese on top and bake the enchiladas in the oven for like 20-30 min.


I went to Jewel this AM specifically to get the 2 ingredients for this that I didn't have on hand, specifically the whole wheat tortillas and the enchilada sauce. It took me forever to find the whole wheat low carb tortillas because Jewel is being remodeled and they moved the tortillas away from the bread aisle and also they aren't in the new latino section, they were over by the frozen foods.

So I found the tortillas and the enchilada sauce and got milk and a bunch of barilla pasta because all barilla pasta is on sale for 79 cents. Paid for everything, got home, put my groceries away and there was no enchilada sauce. Sauce was in my cart, I paid for it, but some where between the checkout and my kitchen counter, it disappeared.

Therefore, since it was cold and crummy out, I said the heck with the enchiladas today.

Looking for Salad Recipes

I suppose the reason I can't easily find recipes for salads, entree salads w/lots of greens is that I guess you don't really need a recipe to figure out how to put together a tossed salad w/some other stuff on top.

So this is what I am going to try today for an entree salad, of course with the pouring rain outside--which I hope doesn't wind up in our basement--I should really be making a big pot of Creamy Wild Rice Soup(Tastefully Simple)

I am taking skirt steak adding a little bit of the new Everything Grilling Seasoning (TS) and cook that a bit and slice it thin. Then put that aside and take a ton of mixed greens lettuces (with lots of arugula) put that on a plate, add some diced red onions, grape tomatoes sliced in 1/2 and then put some of the steak on top along with a small amount of the Sea Salt & Pepper Texas Toast Croutons I found on sale at Jewel today and for dressing I am trying the Baby Blue Cheese Dip Mix (TS) mixed w/low fat sour cream (Cabots of Vermont) and low fat mayo then thinned with Milk to make salad dressing, and that's dinner!

goofed it up already!

Today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of lent and I was very gung ho this morning about observing lent today. What you are supposed to do on Ash Wednesday is
1. don't eat meat (seafood is ok)
2. eat only one complete meal and two smaller ones during the day, with no food in between.

So this morning after I looked up how exactly the fasting thing on Ash Wed. works, I though hmm what could I have to eat that would be a smaller meal??? So I had Lipton Cup-A-Soup--chicken noodle and thought I am all good.

Then at lunchtime I went into the pantry and when I saw the Cup-a-soup box I realized.

Chicken Noodle Soup. Chicken. I have blown the whole Lent thing already.

Barnacles!

Anywho, so I decided well, let's forge ahead. Sooooooo I made a fantastic Grill Cheese Sandwich for lunch.

I took 2 reg pieces of wheat bread
4 slices of a med. tomato
and a pile of grated gruyere and emmental cheese
and grilled in it the iron skillet.

For dinner I am broiling Dover Sole Fillets from Trader Joe's that I am seasoning w/our new Green Tea & Peppercorn seasoning. For the sides: steamed cauliflower and broccoli and boiled red potatoes seasoned w/a little butter and our Spinach & Herb Mix.

Benefits of working for myself

Well cleaning up after first Patrick and then Anna seems to have landed me a trip down Virus Lane.

Just like you, I do not like being sick. So today I am trying really hard to look at the brightside of being sick.

Number 1. I'll lose weight. That's always a bonus!
Number 2. It's an excuse to not put laundry away.
Number 3. I don't have to call off work because I work at home and I have no boss.
Number 4. I sell food, so I don't have to worry about any work crisis occuring while I am taking a nap--there isn't ever really a 'Beer Bread Emergency'
Number 5. It's cold outside, better to be sick today than in June.

Well that is all I've got. I think now I'll take a nap and later hmm..oh yea, Im always forgetting about the Chai Tea. since I sell Oh My! Chai and chai tea has ginger in it, and ginger is good for calming stomach icky-ness ...I probably should have skipped the coffee this AM and had Chai. I'll have a cup of that after the boys get home and want me to help them w/their homework.

Oh I have a Number 6.
Number 6. The kids were only sick for a couple days, so hopefully I'll be better ASAP and
Number 7. I don't have to leave the house to do a party until Sat.

Happy Valentines Day!

I hope you had a fun day.

Over here we had plans for 'family fun day' where our big event was going to be eating a late lunch at the new Red Robin that is in Orland Park. You see the kids have seen ads for Red Robin restaurants on cable for the past 2 years, but there hasn't been one anywhere near us..until a few months ago. So the kids have been looking forward to family fun day for a while now.

Alas, it was not be. Last night Patrick woke up around midnight an threw up all over himself, his bed, the floor in his room, the floor in the kitchen, and in the bathroom..then he crawled in bed with us and fell asleep. Which Tom competely slept thru and I got to throw in a couple loads of laundry,clean up and mop up.

Poor Patrick has spent all day laying around on the couch feverish and barely even drinking some 7up. He is so sick I don't think he realizes that he is sick on a 3 day weekend! Oh that is just the worst for a kid! He's been working hard and studying for the big ISAT tests and now he has a 3 day weekend break and he is sick as can be!

:-(

My hope right now is that the sickness will pass quickly and that it will stop w/Patrick...leaving Bryce and Anna and ESP. Tom illness free--cause we all know who the big baby when he is sick is...

The biggest Loser

I like to watch TV on tuesday--the Biggest Loser is on (and then the Real Housewives of the OC)

Each week I laugh at the product endorsement. Why don't they just say, we love our sponsor and so and so instead of making it like a little lesson for the contestants.

I usually laugh so hard at this portion of the show that I almost spit out my delicious Oh! My Chai tea, a blend of cinnamon, cardamon, vanilla, and ginger that retails for $9.99. (wink, wink)

And then when they show the last chance work out, I say to myself. This part is all the motivation I need, I sure don't want to end up on the ranch puking out my guts and carrying Jillian on my back while she is screaming at me.

As much as I don't care for Jillian, I have added her Wii game to my amazon wish list. Nod. call me crazy because I already find the little Wii Fit guy very annoying. And now much to my chagrin I can't find an image of the wii fit balance board cartoon guy to post. :-(
**********************************************************************
I didn't feel much like cooking so I just baked some chicken breast sprinkled with Seasoned Salt and made green beans and french fries. Tomorrow I am going to be more motivated and will make a nice big pot of stew. My secret stew ingredient is the Merlot Sauce, I use about 1/4 cup of that and it really enhances the richness of the stew w/o adding fat.

Only a few more days until I am going to our Tastefully Simple on Tour for the training, and most importantly the unveiling of the Spring/Summer line. I can't wait, when the Spring/Summer line starts then I can start believing that it really will be springtime again!

Merlot Stew by Me.

Merlot Beef Stew

Ingredients
1.25 lbs. cubed stew meat
1/4 cup flour
a cup or 2 of sliced carrots
5 big potatoes chopped up-I leave the skins on
1.5 cups sliced onions
1 chopped medium onion

3 stalks of celery sliced

1/4 cup-1/3 cup Merlot Sauce
1Tbsp. Garlic Garlic™
4 cups beefbroth (more if needed.)

Seasoned salt to taste.
Directions
Coat beef with flour. sauté beef in a big sauce pan that you've sprayed w/cooking spray until browned. Then take out the beef and saute the onions & celery and then the mushrooms for a few minutes Then put all the ingredients (less the seasoned salt) in a large stock pot and cook it on medium heat until the ingredients are nice and tender and the flavors have blended and the sauce has thickened to the stew consistency of your liking. Serve w/Boutiful Beer Bread if you'd like.

improvising

I was looking thru our Comforting Classics cookbook and saw a recipe for Bayou Bourbon Pork Chops which looked really good, you just take pork chops and put the Bayou Bourbon on it and then you cover the pork chops w/crushed pecans and you bake them and ta-da you have encrusted pork chops. I don't know about you, but that sounded yummy to me and I was ready to make that, garlic mashed and green beans for dinner.

The thing was..we had no pork chops and only Planters (less than 50% peanuts!) mixed nuts. So there was that. But then I remembered, we had a pork roast in the freezer. I defrosted that in the microwave and then stuck it in the fridge to make Bayou Bourbon pork roast. Then I forgot about the pork roast and found $20 to splurge on pizza.

Right when we were ordering the pizza I remembered the pork in the refrigerator, and I thought, barnacles! I better cook that roast.

So here is what I did:
1. take a defrosted pork roast
2. pour a 1/3 of a cup of Bayou Bourbon Glaze all over it.
3. pour out the canister of mixed nuts.
4. pick out all the pecans (of which there aren't many at all) then take some cashews. Smash the pecans and cashews on a paper plate w/the bottom of a cup until they are all ground up.
5. encruste the roast by rolling it in the nut mixture.
6. put the cooking probe in it and bake at 425 for 15 minutes then reduce the heat to 350 and cook that until the probe says 160 then take it out, let it sit--
and by then Top Chef was on and it was after 9, so Tom put it in a tupperware container and it went into the fridge.

Today I had a slice of it, yummy! I think the cashews worked really well.

And then Today I made Cranberry Orange bread to celebrate Blago being removed from office!

Ode to Chocolate.

I really should have followed through on that childhood dream to be a reporter. Not that the print media is doing well, but the AP seems to be plugging along and it appears that you only need to do 2 things to create an AP story.

1. Fear Monger
2. State the Obvious!
ie; Consumer Confidence is down in January. Really? What a Surprise.

And they have a story I could have written, it says candy sales (esp. chocolate) are not down. Well hello, when do you need chocolate more than when there is a recession and you've just heard your husband, wife, mother, brother, sister, cousin, etc, etc are laid off.

I mean I think well all know the basics of what humans need to survive:
chocolate, food, chocolate, shelter, chocolate, and clothing. Chocolate is like The building block of the food pyramid.

Right now I feel a little bad for Reese's because I am avoiding it and that really must be impacting there bottom line. My favorite type of Reese's peanut butter cups are the minis. I eat the bottom then I eat the top. Just like me, each of the children also LOVE the Reese's. However currently I am avoiding Reese's Peanut Butter Cups in all it forms as
A. I cannot see Reese's w/o eating them, I cannot eat just one, must have 3 when I eat them.
B. I can't figure out if any peanut butter products are safe from the Salmonella recall so I am steering clear of all peanut butter containing products.

At Christmas time, Patrick asked Santa for Andes Mints. Turns out Andes Mints are his favorite candies. This struck me as funny as I for some reason consider Andes Mints 'old people chocolate'.

Since I am losing weight for the big cruise in April, I have switched over to daily doses of Hershey's Kisses. They are small, there are many varieties and they fit nicely into the big cup I have hidden in the cupboard. Another bonus is that only one of the three kiddos (Anna) like the caramel filled kisses which are my favs. So I don't have to share. It's hard to share chocolate!

Back from Leadership Oasis.

What a great view to see from our hotel. I don't think I've ever been any closer to mountains before, they were RIGHT THERE.

I can't tell you have wonderful it was to be in the sunshine for 4 wonderful wonderful days. Warm sun I should say.

The most amazing thing during the trip was the beauty of Sabino Canyon. Fabulous. We hiked to the bottom of it and that is where my new profile pic was taken. I love the desert so much, I wonder if the Leadership 2010 trip to Orlando will be a letdown? Nahhh!

We talked to the kids and we are looking at having Tom and the kids come down on the Sunday of leadership and then we'll have a family vacation at the Nick Hotel. Yes I know Orlando is the land of Disney. but anyone who has met Patrick knows we are a Spongebob House. This means we have 1 year to save up!

To that end I am working hard on starting off my 2009 will a steady party schedule. I saw a sign on a Banquet Hall that might be my matra for 2009.

2009 is Party Time! LOL

At leadership they told us about a new initiative and a new product and that is privileged info I cannot divulge until late Feb. A whole month I have to sit on this! AHHHH! One thing I can say is that the new product does not contain peanut butter.

While I was gone, Tom really cleaned the house. And by that I mean really cleaned. He even cleaned the stove top, told the grates off and everything! Can you believe it? I got home and it's like Christmas! I think he might have taking out his stress by cleaning, because while I was gone a pipe burst over at our old house and cause a bunch of havoc for tom and his brother/girlfriend & kids who live there. Fortunately, thanks to the Country Company and our agent Erica, a check is already on it's way for the repair operation.

Bus stop observations

Today I spent too much time waiting on school buses in the cold. We rec'd more snow today, and the roads esp. this AM were not so good.

This morning Bryce's bus, which is always on time, was 18 minutes late. 18 minutes goes by quite slowly when it's cold and your poor son is whining about being cold. By whining I don't mean the whining I am listening to at this minute because he wants me to read something to him from the game he is playing on Cartoon Network, I mean more like almost crying.

We were standing on the corner, waiting on the bus when I noticed that I could actually see snowflakes on bryce's hat. I can't remember the last time I really saw snowflakes. They are so intricate, it's is a wonder to see. And it was a very handy distraction for Bryce. We spent the rest of the waiting for the bus time looking at snowflakes and disagreeing on whether or not all snowflakes are different. I told Bryce yes they might look the same to you, but snowflakes are different and if we had a microscope (a really cold microscope) we could look at them and see differences. He didn't believe me.

Later at Anna's bus stop the bus was about 10 minutes late and she managed to get her pants all covered with snow, which is what happens everyday when we go to the bus stop. The she heard the squealing of someone's brakes as they passed us, and asked me what that noise was, and I told her. She wouldn't believe me. She thought it was an animal. And then she got on her bus.

This happens everyday. What happens you ask? Everyday is filled with children telling me I am wrong about things I tell them. And yes I see the irony, I remember that I would disagree with what my mom had to say all the time when I was a kid. I get it, now it's my turn. However, I am not taking all the credit for this one. I must point out that my lovely husband is the worst offender of the don't believe what Victoria says!

How nice it is going to be for four days in warm desert climate surrounded by people who won't disagree and disbelieve what I say. Maybe just maybe when I get back, they'll have missed me enough to give me a respite from their contrarian ways!

Good 15 minutes below zero bathing suits and golden globes.

Yesterday I had some good times:
1. 15 good minutes occured when the children were quiet for the first 15 minutes in church. Very exciting, I got all hopeful that they'd be quiet and well behaved the whole time!
2. the house was clean for 15 minutes.
3. enjoyed 120 minutes w/Diana at the Olive Garden. Some people frown on The Olive Garden, they say it's the Denny's of Italian restaurants. I say so what, I like Dennys too. What's not to love over Moon over My Hammy?
4. enjoyed about a total of 15 minutes of the golden globes. the rest of the time that we watched it Patrick was talking talking talking.

It turns out on Thursday when I leave for Tucson, that it will be some degrees below zero here. Do planes fly if it's below zero? God I hope so!

And it turns out the forcast for the whole time in Tucson is going to be significantly higher than below zero. So much higher, I am rethinking my wardrobe. Now if it would be significantly higher than below zero when I return on Sunday, that would be the bee's knees.

Speaking of knees. How do people confidently wear bathing suits. I don't mean A list celebrities, I mean average women, esp average women who've given birth. I need a turn of the century suit. More importantly, hotels that have pools should either get really big body covering towels for guests to wear on the long awkward walk back to the room after going to the pool, or they should close their pools.

We watched the Golden Globes last night, and I will never have a "what not to wear "job because I thought overall everyone looked very good. I mean they are all quite attractive. Hairwise I thought Drew Barrymore's hair looked overwrought, and I thought Renee Zellwinger must have thin hair. Tom wanted to know why many of the men were sporting a cross btwn bed head and spiky hair. I have no answers for that. I do know that I want to see Slumdog Millionaire, the Wrestler, and In Bruges.

Also, I have an awards pet peeve, I don't like when they act completely stunned that they have won. IE Kate Winslet. It's always at least a 1 in 5 shot that you'll win if nominated, so why not acknowledge that you have a good chance of winning.

Tom thought David Duchovny looked too thin. I thought he mentioned that he got a call from his wife on camera, just so he could let everyone know he is still married.

Lastly my husband and I have totally different taste in women.

Angelina is on Camera.

I say: "Sigh she is so beautiful"
Tom says: "she's alright."
Me: "she's alright? what? are you crazy? who do you like?"
he says : "I think you're beautiful."
I make a humph sound and say: "C'mon!"
Tom says: "oh I don't know..."

Salma Hayek is on Camera.

I say: "what about her?"
Tom: "she's alright."
I say: "cmon! she's stacked! That dress is fabulous!"

The camera pans to Penelope Cruz.

I say: What about her?
tom says: yes she is very attractive.

Well Amen! About time!

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Yesterday I went to Jewel and Tom said, get some pork that is usually cheap. I bought a whole tenderloin and today I thought, hmm what can I do w/that in the crockpot.

So I took the pork added about 1/3 of a bottle of Leinenkugel's Honey Weiss +dijon mustard + honey and put it on low to cook all day...I hope it turns out well! Wish me luck!

Beef Pepper Steak

From sparkrecipes.com

I am making this for dinner using left over Beef Tip Sirloin Roast from last night of which I am sure I don't have 12 oz . So it'll have less beef and less tomatoes as I have a 14 oz can of diced tomatoes vrs a 28oz can. I'm also going to sprinkle a little TS Southwest Seasoning Salt on my serving because I love a little lime and cumin and jalapeno w/pepper steak, and not surprisingly, Tom fan of bland cooking doesn't. We are having this over 1/2 white 1/2 brown rice. Oh and I'll used just a bit of garlic garlic vrs. garlic powder (of course)

Ingredients

12 oz beef round steak, cubed
garlic powder to taste (1 teaspoon or more)
1 large (28 oz) can of diced tomatoes (do not drain)
1 cup diced onion
1 cup green pepper strips (or more as you desire)
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 cup water
2 teaspoons corn starch



Directions

BROWN 12 OZ ROUND STEAK CUT INTO BITE SIZE CUBES IN SKILLET SPRAYED WITH PAM. SPRINKLE ON GARLIC POWDER TO TASTE. TAKE OUT MEAT. SAUTE ONION AND GREEN PEPPER (SPRAY PAN AGAIN IF NEEDED). COOK UNTIL ALMOST TENDER. PUT MEAT BACK IN AGAIN, AND ADD CAN OF WHOLE TOMATOES AND 2 BEEF BOUILLON CUBES. SIMMER ON MED-LOW FOR 10 MINUTES. MAKE A MIXTURE OF 1 TEASPOON SALT, 1 TEASPOON SUGAR, 3 TABLESPOONS SOY SAUCE, 1/4 CUP WATER, 2 TEASPOONS CORNSTARCH. ADD MIXTURE AND SIMMER 15 MINUTES LONGER. SERVE OVER RICE OR NOODLES (ADDING APPROPRIATE CALORIES). MAKES 10 HALF CUP SERVINGS.

Number of Servings: 10

Hair Cut.

The day before picture day, Bryce hacked up his hair. Why? He wanted to look good for picture day. I managed to gel what was left and cut some stray hair and we were both OK with the look he sported for the pic.

Then tonight, out of the blue, I go into the bathroom and there is Bryce with a little pair of scissors that I don't even know where he found them, and he has cut parts of the front of his hair so short my first thought is:

Jesus he looks like he is sick and losing his hair. Really it was so bad I'd be afraid that people might think he was undergoing cancer.-he is on the small side for a first grader, and he is very thin, that coupled with missing clumps of hair, it's just no good.

I beg him to back away from the scissors and plead with him never to cut his own hair again. Then he hids under the covers as Patrick laughs at him. We ask him why did he cut his hair, again? He refuses to speak.

Patrick apologizes and get sent to bed. Tom talks Bryce out from under the covers and gets the clippers out. Tom's idea was to just even out the front few inches of Bryce's hair.

Now Bryce doesn't look sick, thank goodness. But he bares an errie resemblance to his dad--because he looks like he is 1/2 bald!

Ack. Really. Bryce hides back under the covers, I ask Tom what number he had the clipper set on. He says 3. I say: you have to go back and even it out. Tom says: You mean cut all of it shorter. I say:
Yes, no way can he go to school like that. Tom says: Is it that bad? Can he wear a hat at school?
(Bryce starts crying under the covers). I say: No. You have to cut his hair.

Tom gets Bryce to come out from under the covers again, and back into the bathroom they go.
This time it looks better, still bad, but not awful.

Bryce crawls into bed and falls asleep in 60 seconds.

Meatloaf

On Feb 2nd the Tastefully Simple team that I am a part of is making dinner for a local PADS http://www.sspads.org/ shelter this one is done by a church in Palos where they feed and house women and children living out of their cars on Monday nights.

After the boys go to school that morning, I am having Anna skip school to join me in going over to my TS sponsor Desiree's house and cook. Anna of course loves to cook, and I am hoping even at 4 she might 'get' a bit of what we are doing and why.


Dinner will be meatloaf, mixed veggies, mashed potatoes and dessert. Being that we are making meatloaf, along with Anna, I am bringing my favorite kitchen gaget. My cooking probe.



Interestingly, just two hours before I went to the meeting on Monday where Desiree shared with us about doing this community service, I had made weight watchers meatloaf. Meatloaf that was good enough to please not only Anna, or Tom, but good enough that Patrick said and I quote :-):

"This isn't as bad as I thought."

Then I said "Would you like some more?"

"Nope."

Truly it was like a 3 fork rating from Phil Vettel.



Then w/in hours Meatloaf Kismet occured and I am hoping maybe we could make one or both of the big meatloaf using the recipe below:



This is the not doubled or tripled recipe.

1 1/2 lbs ground lean turkey or ground chicken (i used ground chicken because that was what was on sale last week, and I only buy what is on sail. (I'm like a localvoire, but I'm a salevoire.)

1 onion, chopped

1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped

1 egg white

3/4 cup ketchup

1/2 cup seasoned dry bread crumbs

1 tblsp yellow mustard

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper



Combine the turkey, onion, bell pepper, egg white, 1/4 cup of ketchup, the bread crumbs, mustard, salt, and pepper in a large bowl; mix well. Form the mixture into a loaf and put it into a loaf pan.



Spread the top of the meatloaf w/the remaining 1/2 cup of ketchup. Cover and cook until the meatloaf reaches an internal tep of 165.

shop talk

I was running late for a dentist appt this morning, so I called to make sure they could still see me and the girl who answered the phone said yes, so I arrived 10 minutes late for my appointment, sat down in the waiting room and got out my pen and paper to write my To-Do list for today.

A kindly old lady, and she was that clique as you will see, was finishing up her appointment by giving the receptionist a saran-wrapped and ribbon-topped plate of yummy looking cookies. Once she left, the receptionist said:

"Victoria, I tried to call your house, the blahblah was supposed to be delivered today, but it isn't here yet, can we reschedule you."

*note: she didn't say blahblah, I think she said cement?

I rescheduled for Thurs.

When I got back in the minivan, I thought, ooo good now I have extra time, what can I do?

Wash the Van?

Rush home and do laundry?

Make Client Care Calls?

Or return an item to Carson's and buy stuff w/the store credit.

Guess what I picked???

I decided to torture myself so after I got my $55 credit, I went straight away to the shoe department to see if they have the Ruff Hewn boots I have been lusting after and searching for daily. (not really daily, I just didn't want to end w/a preposition). And they did, what a joyous occasion right? I asked for the boots, the sales clerk found them right away, used my credit of $55 plus $6 difference and off I went, just as I was leaving the shoe section, I wisely looked in the box planning to lovingly adore my new boots.

You know what happens next, they were the wrong boots. I went back to the counter, talked to the clerk found out--the ones I want are sold out. I said: "Sure they are, they are too cute not to be completely gone."

Forlornly or is it Forelornly? I walked out of shoe department and went looking for sunglasses, which I couldn't find and wandered into the 'Social Dresses' department. Of course, I was drawn right away to the signs that said: CLEARANCE UP TO 70% OFF.

Did I mention that I am going to Tucson AZ next week and on a cruise in April? At our Leadership Conference there is an awards dinner, and it's basically like Tastefully Simple Prom (minus the hassle of a date!) and apparently all cruises have some sort of fancy dress up night. Being that I was not going to be spending any money, I started rummaging thru the clearance racks.

It's a good thing I've logged many hours going through the racks at TJ Maxx and Marshalls because they had Petite, Missy, Women's and dowdy Mother-of-the-Bride dresses mishmashed together. I was really pressed for time, no way could I miss getting Anna off the bus. So I ran through the dresses ASAP and found 2 that I really liked. First is this blue dress that is pleated. It is sapphire blue, the color I aways wanted my prom dress to be, if I had gone to prom. The original cost was $100, it was marked down to $59.99. The second dress is more of a classic dress black and sparkly, it shouldn't go in and out of style. Original cost of the dress was $118, it was marked down to $69.99. I took the dresses over to a mirror and held them up to see how they went w/me and I really could not decide which one to get.

The posted clearance signs said something about additional discounts on the clearance price but since there was a bunch of small print--and since I didn't happen to have a calculator with me, I took both dresses up to the counter. When I go shopping from the grocery store to Wal-mart to Carsons, I usually have a few items that I will buy only if the clerk check the price and tells me a number that is in the range of what I am willing to pay.

'Sara' price checked the blue dress, which turns out is a 'YELLOW DOT' items (whatever that means!) and it's only $24 bucks! I'll take it! Then Sara who is 20-year old super tiny clerk warns me that the black dress may not be a YELLOW DOT item...she scans the ticket and...

Wahoo! It's only $25.95~~ so I got both!

50 million things to do

I have 50 million things I want to do. Some more than others. And now I will post my list of what I need to do, feel free to read this if you need reading material to fall asleep because fascinating it is not!
1. make appt to get taxes done.
2. do paperwork that has to be done so I can get taxes done.
3. count days until Cruise.
4. apply for a passport so I can go on my free Cruise.
5. figure out when my flights are for Tucson.
6. figure out when my flights are for Miami for the Cruise.
7. figure out if someone can watch the kids so Tom can work while I am on the Cruise.
8. get painting done in the house.
9. update my ipass cc number
10. send out coaching call forms to people on my team.
11. stop and take a breathe.
12. stop making this list, it's stressing me out!

Happy New Year!

Wow, it's hard to believe 2009 is here. Do you know what 2009 is? April 2nd tom and i will have been married 10 years.

Holy Moly 10 years! And then right after that, Patrick will have 1st communion and then I get to celebrate our 10 year anniversary by going on a Carnival Cruise with all my favorite Tastebuds (tastebuds: my tastefully simple friends).

Then as I have already been told a dozen times just this evening, Patrick is going to be 9 this year. And you know what that means? He will be 9 on May 9th! Yes he is planning a big bash for his golden birthday.

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Would you like to know about my new 2 favorite things?
1. the scramble game on Facebook. Oy. highly addictive and totally a blow to the ego to see that my vocabulary isn't nearly as large as I thought it was! On the plus side, I am better at doing the JUMBLE game in the paper now...
2. Pride and Prejudice (v. 2005) Sigh. It's the original Chick lit made into a fabulously romantic movie.