Katie's "Back to 80's" Birthday - 12 years old!!!

All the girls came decked out in their best 80's Fashions.... totally Flashdance!!

Dinner is served .... Pizza and Soda in hot pink goblets!

No cake for Katie!! She wanted an Ice cream bar.....

Hey Hailey... ya want some ice cream with that whipped cream???

Mom forgot new candles so .... a "6" + a "4" plus 2 singels = 12!!!

The Skittles game....

There's like 20 in there!!!... EEwwwww...

Dance Dance Revolution...

What's more 80's than ROLLER SKATING!!!

(Even mom, April and Aunt Sheryl skated.... but there are no pictures of that!!)

There are spandex shorts under that tu-tu btw!!!

I think all the girls had a totally RAD time!!

Phantom Obsessed??

OK.....Maybe!!

John and I went to a halloween party on Saturday as the Phantom of the Opera and Christine .... We even dyed John's hair black and gave him sideburns.... It was so fun!!

When else would I ever get to wear a slinky white gown???

An Enchanting Find.....

This afternoon I sat down on my bed to read a few chapters of my current book "The Count of Monte Cristo". For those of you who haven't read it....this is no small feat as the book is almost 1500 pages long.

As I was sitting down, I leaned over to turn on the lamp on the nightstand. When we moved in I didn't like the height of the lamp (too short) so I put it on a couple of old books we had in our book case. I did it so long ago I don't even remember doing it.... and certainly not the books I used. I must have used these particular books because they were old and looked interesting there.

Well..... peeking out ever so slightly from the base of the lamp, the authors named jumped right out at me today... Dumas!! As in Alex Dumas - author of the Count of Monte Cristo.

I moved the lamp and grabbed the book... "The Wife of Monte Cristo". The book looks very old. I opened up the cover and it has John's grandmother's name written on the front page from when she was a girl... almost 100 years ago!

Pretty exciting!! (And now I have my next book to read after I finish this one!!)

YAY FOR ME!!!

I know this is not a big deal to many but.....

This morning I ran approx. 4 1/2 miles without stopping!! I ran from my doorstep to the bridge halfway between Elliot and Warner... and then back again. I ran with some of the girls from church and I am so excited that I could keep up with them!!

Now I just need to keep working at it so maybe someday I can keep up with Lena, Stacey, Kara and Bekah.....

It has taken me 8 weeks to get to here.... slowly but surely... (and I have lost 12 pounds working on it!!)

I was so excited this morning I just had to share!!

1 Doughnut = 10 miles

I LOVE the old fashion sour cream doughnuts at Fresh and Easy. It has been a long time since we have had any around here so on Saturday I asked John to pick up a package. Yesterday, I took a peek at the nutritional info. (can you even call it that in reference to a doughnut??) on the back of the box. 1 doughnut had 17 g. of fat and 380 calories!!! AAaahhhh!!

This morning my friend Jen and I rode our bikes for 10 miles. Jen has a Body Bug (or something similar) so after we got back I asked her how many calories we burned.

380.

So now I know if I want 1 doughnut I need to ride my bike for 10 MILES to work it off....

That doughnut suddenly doesn't look so good!

My Children's Life in an Obama Nation

If Obama wins the election my children will have so much to look forward to. They can sit back and relax and quit working so hard to excel in school. They will have the comfort of knowing that even if they drop out and never do much with their lives that our great nation will come to their aid and take care of them. They will even have free health care available!

OR

If one of my children just can't relax and enjoy the ride, they still have the option to work hard in school. They can work and work and work to graduate at the top of their High School Class, then University and maybe even Medical school, Law school, whatever they choose. Then they can be productive and with great drive and ambition go out and land an outstanding job or career. Their hard work and dedication will be so appreciated by this great Obama nation that they will be taxed at an insane rate because they make too much money. Of course.... because how else will they be able to pay for those less fortunate?

That is what Joe Biden calls "Fair"

So Joe.... explain to us again how that's NOT "Redistribution of Wealth" or Socialism?

INTERESTING COMMERCIAL

My sister-in-law forwarded this to me....

Go to this site and see what the Catholics have done to encourage their 67 million people on election day. They don't tell them how to vote, but they sure do get their message across...

Click here: http://www.catholicvote.com/

Cr-HAPPY Day

OK... So this afternoon was so bad with Sophie I just had to blog it....

I had spent the morning canning peaches and making freezer jam (btw.... the peach-raspberry jam turned out so YUMMY!!) And you can imagine how canning with Sophie can be..... Why do I even try, right??

So then this afternoon, I was trying to get my downstairs ship shape. I had vacuumed the carpet and rugs and was dusting and lemon oiling my furniture. (I have an antique dining room set from John's great grandmother so I try to take really good care of it!!) Anyway, I walked into another room and while I was moving chairs back onto the rug in the dining room, Little Miss PAIN IN MY BUM grabbed the lemon oil and poured it all over my kitchen floor......around the entire island. Then she walked through it and left greasy feet prints ALL OVER my downstairs!! AAAaahhhhh!!

So.... of course I now had to mop.... after I got on my hands and knees and tried wiping up the POOLS of oil. And mopping at my house is no small feat. We have Laminate wood floors.... which are great because they don't scratch, dent or warp like my real wood floors in Massachusetts, BUT the are insane to keep clean! They are so shiny its like living on glass!! The only thing that I can clean them with that doesn't leave terrible streaks is water and vinegar.... with a big INDUSTRIAL JANITOR mop! And almost our entire downstairs has this nightmare floor....

So while I am heaving my big yellow bucket around, mopping away, I hear Sophie in my pantry/closet under the stairs. She has opened a box of Macaroni and cheese and poured the dry shells and powdered cheese all over the carpet in the closet!!

She also dumped out the pencil sharpener shavings all over my newly mopped kitchen floor....
I know she has done some other minor things this evening but I am just too worn out to keep typing!!!!

Its a DARN good thing she's so cute!
I really need a DP....

Wicked Peach Cobbler

OK ladies!!! Are you still trying to get through all those Utah peaches before they go bad??? I made this tonight for our family using up some of my leftover peaches. (I am SO done canning!!) I forgot how much I like it!!

I got this recipe off of Oprah in 2002. It is one of my favorite peach cobbler recipes. It was created by Patti LaBelle!

Pie crust for double crust pie (I just use the Pillsbury pie crust rolls)
3 pounds medium peaches , peeled, pitted, and cut into 1/4-inch slices
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon , plus more for the top of the crust
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter , chilled, cut into small pieces

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly butter an 8-inch square baking dish.

In a medium bowl, toss the peaches, cornstarch, sugar, lemon juice, and cinnamon. Fold in the butter. Spoon half of the peach mixture into a prepared dish.

Place the first crust over the peaches in the baking dish. Top with the remaining peaches. Fit 2nd crust over top of the baking dish, letting the dough hang down on the sides of the dish. Pinch the dough firmly onto the top edge of the dish. Press the overhanging dough onto the sides of the dish. Cut a few slits in the top of the dough. Place the dish on a baking sheet to catch any drips. (I forgot this part and I have a huge mess to clean up in the bottom of my oven!!!) Bake until the fruit juices are bubbling and the top is golden brown, about 40 minutes. Sprinkle the top of the dough with cinnamon. Serve hot, warm, or at room temperature. YUMMY!!

Quick and Easy "Semi" Homemade Salsa

Every time I visit my grandparents in Texas I eat and EAT and EAT!!! My grandma always has a huge array of appetizers out. My favorite is her delicious salsa and guacamole. A few months ago I called and asked for her recipe.... I WAS SHOCKED!! So.... Here it is....

1 CAN Rotel diced tomatoes and green chilies (I COULD NOT BELIEVE SHE USES CANNED TOMATOES!!!)
chopped sweet onions (1/3 - 1/2 c. whatever looks and tastes right)
Chopped cilantro (again... add to your taste.... I like a LOT.)
1 clove minced garlic
You can add a diced jalapeno but I usually don't....

The original Rotel tomatoes have quite kick all by themselves. I actually just get the mild and its enough spice for me and my family. If you like heat use the original.... and if you like a LOT of heat use the original or the hot and add the jalapeno.

I am telling you.... I had NO idea this salsa was made with canned tomatoes!! I usually stay away from recipes that call for canned soups, vegetables, etc. But we love this one!!