Simply Calphalon

Sean came home in the middle of the day with a little surprise for me, or really I should say a BIG surprise!

 

 I was so excited I couldn't even get the box out of the box!

 

 Sean got me an entire new set of my FAVORITE pans!!  These are SO nice & VERY heavy, SUPERB quality! I own a set of your typical $150 dollar box of stainless steel cookware & I have two individual Calphalon pans b/c they are a bit pricey & I never bought an entire set.  I cherish those 2 that I have & to be quite frank, I get rather Pissy if Sean uses them improperly.  For example, using the kitchen scrub brush that I clean dishes off with prior to putting in the dish washer.  Well, I noticed the other morning some scratches on my prized possessions & to say it politely was not at all happy with the husband.  In fact I was ready to call Sancho! j/k, well sort of j/k, if Sancho really existed, I just may have!

Who ever said you can't buy love???  I'm pretty in love right now, with my dishes that is!! ;)

I better cook my husband up something Grand to show my Gratitude & hope he forgets about my ATTITUDE!

Healing with Music

"Inspiring a Spirit of America" spoken by one of the veterans of this Iraq War & a talented singer in a new band: 4troops.

Check out this video, 4 talented American Soldiers home from War, turning wounds into words in healing with music.


http://blogs.abcnews.com/gma/2010/01/4troops-music-video.html

Iraq War Veterans get a Music Deal ;) These are the kind of Musicians that should be idolized in America!

Carrot Cake Dusted with Cinnamon

Yummy Carrot Cake!

I was in charge of making dessert for a dinner last night.  I was a bit nervous that I had decided on making a recipe that I had not attempted yet, but it turned out so moist & full of flavor, the apple butter & pineapple really make this cake great .  Not even a sliver was left.  I altered a recipe I had found some time ago in Missouri.  It may have been in a Taste of Home Magazine, not sure, but here it is:

Ingredients:

2 cups cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
2 egg whites
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup apple butter
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 cups grated carrots
1 (8-ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained

Frosting
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese
1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/4 cup honey Greek-Gods style yogurt
Tub of extra cream cool whip
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
1 tablespoon lemon juice
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat the oven to 350°F degrees & dust frosted cake with Cinnamon

Surprise, Prize!!!

For those that know me well, know that I love to be with & around others and there is one thing better than inviting people over, them just showin up!  Especially when your as cute & cuddly as these two!

Meet Jake, our neighbors Golden-doodle.  Jake is NO ordinary Dog, he is a celebrity in this neighborhood.  The few times that we have walked him, we are constantly stopped by others asking "Is that Jake"??   ;)  He is full of energy & personality, & such a joy to have around.  Jonathan just loves him!  Jake came over for a short visit last night.

Guess who was next?

 Jake's baby brother Luke!  Luke came over for the 1st time when Jake's parents came to pick him up. Luke is a shear joy, full of smiles, giggles, & adorableness!! Needless to say, Jonathan & I were quit pleased with our visitors & sad to hear they are moving! ;(

Jason has been promoted to 1st Sgt & a move is underway, CONGRATULATIONS Jason, the cream always rises to the top!

Scatter Kindness

Love is in the Air, Valentines Day will be here before we know it.  Wondering what your Loved one might be getting you, or pondering on what you might get them?  Do you know anyone that will be alone this Valentines Day?  A Military Spouse who's spouse is deployed?  Someone who has lost their Loved one?  A recently divorced friend?  I know Plenty & today were sending some Love their way in time for this Lovey Holiday!  Hope you will too!

Bad Behavior should NOT be Rewarded!

Sean.  Sean!  SEANNNNN!!!!  Where is Sean????  Ahhhh Haaaaa, I found someone outside, in the cold, in the dark, smoking one of his Cigars!  Get in here please & help me with the other problem child.

There is NEVER a Dull Moment with this one!

Jonathan is ALWAYS entertaining someone.  And, I really mean ALWAYS!  School, The Y, Church, Playground, Home, etc.  He has no discrimination on the when & where.

Mom, can I have some milk, huh, huh, can I, can I, HUHHHH!

Still, the milk is not enough to calm him down tonight.

I'm not sure that either of these boys deserve dessert tonight??

Lets see if they are any better behaved after dinner & baths.

I made yogurt fruit parfaits with Honey Greek God Yogurt.

 Gone in 60 seconds
&
There semi-replaced behavior!
BOYS!!

There is a God

 Lee Ann Womack has a new Song, 

There is a God

Click here to listen

Try and put your arms around
the 100 year old tree
Climb up on a horse
and let it run full speed
Take a look down at the world from 30,000 feet
on your next flight

Watch a flock of birds
against the morning sun
Close your eyes and listen
to the river run
Catch a firefly in your hand
or a raindrop on your tongue
That's right

Chorus:
There is a God
There is a God
There is a God
How much proof do you need?

Plant a seed and see
what comes out of the ground
Find the heartbeat on your baby's ultrasound
In a few years hear it laughing,
and don't it sound like a song?

Stop and think about
what you don't understand
Things like life and love
and how the world began
Hear the doctor say he can't explain it,
but the cancer is gone

Chorus:
There is a God
There is a God
There is a God
How much proof do you need?

Bridge:
Science says it's all just circumstance
Like this whole worlds just an accident
But if you want to shoot that theory down,
Look around

Just look around

There is a God
There is a God
There is a God,
How much proof do you need?

Oh there is a God
There is a God
There is a God
How much proof do you need?

It's such a BEAUTIFUL song.  I myself Love all of her music, but this one certainly is heart warming in every sense.  I highly suggest listening to it, it will make you want to find someone in need to help & at a minimum say your evening prayers a little longer with your kiddos & Kiss your spouse a little longer!

Burger Building Extravaganza

Cooking is so much more fun with J man in the Kitchen. His latest specialty is Mashed Tators! Were building our own Burgers tonight, with of side of mashed tators, complimented by a few BBQ Chippers.
1 Pototato, 2 Potato, 3 Potato, Four
J & I arranged the "Fixins" & baked some more cookies while Sean BBQ'd us up some Pepper Jack Burgers.

All those "Fixins" and there is ONLY Ketchup on that Boys Burger!

JONATHAN QUINNNNNNNN......Your Burnin Your Mama's Biscuits!!

EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW, OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH is what this Beau is sayin!


And, like a true Lady, mine is piled as HIGH as I can get it. There really is a Burger somewhere under there!
This is yet another batch of Chocolate/Oatmeal Cookies that I have made this week. Thanks to the recipe provided by Janna at 2Cool4MyMinivan . These are absolutely Double D Divine!!!
Now, I will settle snug in my corner of the couch, listening to the pitter patter of rain drops outside, with a cup of coffee, plate O cookies & finish what has become one of my all time favorite reads.

Tag, it's time to Brag

Surpriseeeeeeeeeeeee.........My Seannie made me Breakfast in Bed this morning!

This is huge, b/c Seannie cooks on the BBQ & he rarely is out of bed before I am. I didn't even hear him.
I think we might have a Squirrel in our house, my muffin seems to be missing some bites & my eyes are not even open yet. Notice in the picture toward the right? There is a bottle of water, cup of coffee, & glass of OJ. On our very first date, Sean took me for a ride in his Boat on American Lake, he packed Several different types of drinks, of course not knowing what I liked, he wanted to make sure he had a variety! He still does it, it's those little things I think are so sweet.

I'm still trying, the aroma of the coffee is working it's magic.........their about to open any second!
I had to add this last one in. It's from two mornings ago when Sean drove all the way home from early morning PT to surprise me with a Starbucks Coffee, the last day they were serving my Favorite Pumpkin Spice with all things Nice! Hmmmmmmmmmmm, now don't get me wrong, I'm very appreciative, this has been so sweet, but why do I feel like he is about to ask for something that would give him "The LOOK" ;) I think he may be "sugaring" me up for something!!! I got my eye on you Mr. Seannie! Keep this up, you can have whatever you want though! Except a new Truck! ;)

Thank you Sean, it was so yummy, so unexpected, & so very thoughtful! I've yet to leave my bed, I'm thinking if I stay here, possibly lunch will be here in a few hours?????
Taking the opportunity to catch up on a bunch of these........................

Happy Saturday

Happy Birthday Kelly

Kelly turns 36 tomorrow, Happy Birthday! I was going through pictures & those that know Kelly, know that she despises having her photo taken. Odd, considering she truly is quite Beautiful. This picture though, is her Senior Picture from High School. I have always been fond of it. 4 yrs younger than Kelly, I always looked up to her & always admired her Strength & Beauty. She is the only one of us 3 girls that resembles my Nana's side of the family, but with my Mom's beautiful hair.

As it's sad to say, my sister & I are not very close, but close to my heart will I admire her for Amazing Strength!! My sister has an incredibly difficult life, one that has thrown her quite a curve ball, but just as she has always done, she stands firm in her footing of looking adversity straight on & conquering it day by day!

As we may not walk hand in hand as some sisters do, It's my hope that you will be able to take some time out for YOU today to celebrate YOU! She certainly deserves it....

Your an Exceptional Woman Kelly Jane!

Sweet Baby Bliss

This is Sweet, Sweet Emmalyn, not yet 4 weeks old. She was once my neighbor, just right down the street, then her parents smartened up & thought we better get the heck out of dodge before Katie steals our sweet Baby........

Tonight was a baby shower for another co-worker at the office, she is due any day with a sweet baby boy.......babies are every where.......Lovin It!!

Do you think Ms. Roxanne is excited about her cake????
Ms. Debbie was certainly happy about her Starbucks gift card she won as a prize.
Oh Ms. Debbie, not at all enjoying the taste of baby food during this game.

And I'm disliking it so badly that I'm about to HURL!!!! Yuck!!!! I did however win this game & got me some Mula for Wally World!
Tanya is getting snuggling with me, not really so much as to take our photo together, but she WANTS TO HOLD sweet Emmalyn

Ha, yeah right, I'm not given her up!!!! See Tanya behind me with her purse & the smile on my face??? Yeap, one less person to fight off! ;)

Congratulation Ms. Crystal, we can't wait until your sweet baby boy arrives, I'm so sorry I have no photos of the "Guest of Honor", I was busy playing baby & I'm not even sure who took most of these photos. I hope others got some !

Happy Birthday DAD D !!!!!

Happy Birthday Dad

As I searched my file folders for the "Best" photo to post of my Dad in Honor of his 59th Birthday today, this was the one! Not because it's a good photo of him or any of us really for that matter, but because this was the home that I was born in. Yes, I do realize that it's not my birthday, but 2 Thanksgivings ago my Dad took us on a little road trip back to where I was born & to SEVERAL other homes that we lived in. My Dad has such fond memories of these little quaint homes that we once resided in & gives so much insight into his personality. You could drive through the nicest of neighborhoods & not get him to say a word, but drive him through a neighborhood like this & he suddenly turns into "Chaddy Daddy" talking of what year, make, & model the windows are! My Dad is an Amazing Craftsman, able to make & fix almost anything with his hands.Here he is in his Outdoor Bar, notice that his now Outdoor Bar is bigger than the entire house we once lived in ;) I really wish I had a photo on the computer of our "Cabin" in Montana that he built us back in the 80's. If I remember correctly it was smaller than 20X20 feet and 5 of us lived there!!! Yes, 5 of us, NO running water or Electricity!! Wow Huh! We had an Outhouse!!!! I like to pretend that Chapter in our life was a really LONG camping trip. :) When we moved from Montana back to Washington we left there with NOTHING, I mean really, what were we going to take.......the plumbing pipes we didn't own??? But, my Dad loved it & it certainly taught me life lessons that some will never fully understand.


Me doing what I do best with Dad, Pester & Follow him around! Some things never change, at 30 something, when I'm blessed to be spending time with my Dad, I still follow him around ;) Whatcha doin?? What's for dinner? Where ya been all day? I can't believe I come all the way down here to visit you and your gone all day! Can I drive your car, can I, can I, huh, huh, huh!!!! He may find this annoying, I on the other hand am "TRYING" to allow him to revisit his younger days!!! ;)

Happy Birthday Dad!!! In my opinion, Your the Greatest Man Alive! You have had 59 years of adventure, I hope that your around for at least 59 more, I could write an entire book on the reasons why I adore this Man.........

Veggie Time

Look at all these Colors..... The more bold & vibrant, the better they are suppose to be for our bodies right! Well, my Jonathan isn't so big on "wanting" to eat his veggies.

I had a ton of veggies on hand that were needing to get used.
I normally use half white pasta & half wheat, but my tummy has decided recently that it's not big on wheat. I love the traditional bow tie noodles for pasta salads & I saw this Wacky Mac pasta that is super colorful & thought for sure it would be a big hit with J man. If you end up wanting the recipe, these are the other ingredients you will need, along with a package of skinless, boneless chicken breast. I saved ya'll from having to view a photo of it, figured we all now what it looks like.
Annie's Natural "Goddess" Dressing is a must for this pasta salad! It has such Yummy Flavor, I can eat it by itself.

Dinner is served! It's so easy, so good, & makes for great lunch leftovers. It's pretty self explanatory on how to make it. You chop up your veggies, cook your pasta, grill your chicken, & pour on the dressings & toss. I use Goddess, Italian, & Caesar Dressings!
And best of all, Jonathan eats a ton of it. With all those veggies, it would only be right to balance some Chocolate into this equation......hmmmmmmmmmmmmm what to make next!

Super Food Sunday.........

I'm pretty sure today was the Super Bowl, we may have not watched it, but we certainly celebrated it with some super yummy comfort foods.
We grazed on Chips & Guacamole. We love us some Guacamole, & I love making it b/c I always eat an Avocado during.
Nothing better than a HUGE crock pot of homemade Chili on a Cold Winters Football Day. I make mine with several types of beans and ground turkey & spicy turkey sausage. We had pork tenderloin left over from dinner last night, so I tossed some of that in too. It will taste even better tomorrow after it simmers even longer in the crock pot. Left over Chili always taste better the 2nd time around.

Nothing compliments Chili better than home made Honey Cornbread. I got a new square baking muffin baking pan & tried it out on the corn breads. They were delicious, but I think I'm partial to them being Round.

Dinner is Served! And, as we were eating our dinner, Sean of course full of his wonderful compliments said that the cornbread was the best batch he has ever had. I told him thank you & how much I love him. Sweet, Sweet Jonathan says "do you love him as much as you love the Super Hot guy from down under on the new show on HGTV that you were telling Ms. Amy all about yesterday on the phone"!!!!! Oh my Dear God, BUSTED!!!!! Jonathan was watching Saturday morning cartoons and building a new house for his Avatars & of course was able to multitask, listen, & most importantly remember verbatim every word that uttered from my mouth. But, ironically there are times that I ask him to take out the trash & he can't recollect a word I've spoken. But the true point here is that Boys stick together & their loyalty to one another sets in at a very young age ;) Too, too funny!!! Jamie Durie from "Outdoor Rooms" on HGTV your causing all kinds of Havoc in my house tonight, I think you should come to my home & personally design one of your magical creations in my backyard considering I think I'm sleeping on the couch tonight! ;)

Has anyone seen his new show? Not only is he SUPER HOT ;), he does some Amazing Creations! I'm in Awe of his backyard beauties!

Happy Super Food Or Bowl Sunday ya'll!

Beautiful Blogger

And the Beautiful Blogger Award goes too................

Thank you Summer Plummer for the Fabulous Award ;)

My first duty as a winner is to list 7 random things about myself. Duty #2 is to nominate 7 other blog friends for the award. Here goes.

1. Let's just start off by saying I despise list, it brings back horrid memories as a child at the grocery store with my Mother and me asking for something and her reply "NO, IT'S NOT ON THE LIST"!! So, in my adult grown up world, list are for the birds. But, I will play along.....this once...

2. I was humiliated and mortified today once again "Naked" at the doctors office while my husband & surgeon cracked jokes with one another. Not funny!

3. I have recently become a huge fan of HGTV & Love, Love, Love the show "Outdoor Rooms"

4. My son had a terrible tummy ache this evening and he refused Pepto Bismol because it's Pink and Pink is for "girls" Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

5. I Love to Grocery Shop, might have to do with my Love for Food.

6. I love running, despite the pain it causes in my joints, & can't wait until I can get back to it. It's been 3 months, 6 days since I last ran. Weird that I know the exact date huh.... ;)

7. Tomorrow is my dearest friend's Birthday, Happy Birthday Ms. Amy, I hope you have a Wonderful Day.

Okay, my turn to tag! Here are my 7, not including the two that tagged me. If you've been tagged before, just enjoy the love. :)

I couldn't figure out how to make these links... sorry. You can find these ladies on my blog list from my blog.

1. 2 B's

2. D dzine

3. Shalunya's Say for the day

4. Life in the Hass House

5. It's a Sweet Life

6. Johnson Family

7. A Thrifty Mom

Manny's in the Kitchen

Manny's Mashing Tators......

And cleans dishes too......
Produced us some Cinnamon, Brown Sugar, Apples to spice up our Pork Tenderloin....
Thanks J Man for your help in the Kitchen