Paper, Ribbon, Glue and Flowers...

.... is what it took to make this fun little baby album. My friend's baby shower is tomorrow and naturally I waited until tonight to finish her gift (started it last night...). So here is is... Just like the little recipe book I made back December. I used all pastel colors and one of those paper stacks from Joann's that I bought on clearance... awesome when you can put to use those good deal buys. I just love the acrylic butterflies on this last page. I die cut those from a piece of acrylic when I was at the Scrapbook store on Wednesday with my mom for class.

Speaking of the class I didn't even post about it! My mom and I met out in Mesa on Wednesday evening for a class called Easy Peasy.... a class on making quick pages. We had a blast and made 6 pages that night! I will post pictures of the pages later this weekend... I hope.

A Miracle

Please read this post on our Pastor's Blog. Is is an amazing story.

http://www.radiantchurch.com/blog/2009/02/shot-in-head.asp

Love is in the Air...

The other night I ran to store with my mom and when I got home... Kenny surprised me with a beautiful candlelight dinner!! He made spaghetti and meatballs which is my favorite meal (His is better than Olive Garden!!) and there were candles everywhere! Our entire great room (living room,kitchen, dining room) was lit up by the candles and our fireplace. It was so beautiful... I was shocked. I asked him why he did that and he said the movie Fireproof inspired him! Also, he bought all the candles with his winnings from Vegas- it was SO nice!!

Working In Vegas

I just came back from a quick trip to Vegas. I drove up yesterday, did some audits, and drove home today. While I was there, in my spare time, I decided to bet a little. I played craps a couple of times and broke even. Last night the Suns were playing so I decided to put some action on it. I put a $25 bet on the Suns to win, and they had to win by 9 points for me to cash in, and they did! I got my $25 back, and also took $22 of their money. They explained that if I bet on two teams, then I can win more. So...I did. The Lakers were playing and had to win by 5. So I had the second bet for the Suns to win and for the Lakers to win. I got my $10 back on the bet, and I took $26 of their money. So basically I was $48 ahead. That's not bad for my spare time when I'm on a business trip.
Amanda likes it when I bring back the Hotel's shampoo and soap. She collects it, and it's cheap. Free is pretty cheap!
Posted by KENNY!!

Yummy Recipe

So I got a bunch of Zucchini from my MIL and haven't really cooked with them before. So I went online and found this recipe-- it came out really good! I would recommend using only 1/2 a small onion though. Anyway, my parents and I enjoyed it ! (right you thought Kenny would try this-no way there are veggies in there)


Corn and Zucchini Melody

Prep Time: 5 Minutes
Cook Time: 25 Minutes
Ready In: 30 Minutes
Servings: 5

"Zucchini, corn, and onions combined with chopped bacon and cheese. A quick and easy way to use some fresh veggies from your garden!"

Ingredients:
4 slices bacon
2 cups chopped zucchini
1 1/2 cups fresh corn kernels
1 small onion, chopped
1 pinch pepper
1/4 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
Directions:
1. Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium-high heat until evenly brown. Reserve 1 tablespoon of drippings. Drain bacon, chop, and set aside.

2.Heat the bacon drippings in the skillet over medium heat. Saute the zucchini, corn, and onion until tender but still crisp, about 10 minutes. Season with pepper. Spoon vegetables into a bowl, and sprinkle with chopped bacon and shredded cheese.

Soaps...

So Kenny got home from Vegas this afternoon- yippee! And brought me a surprise... the hotel soaps. Doesn't sound like much, but if you knew my little secret you would know how much this elated me! I have an absolute obsession with hotel soaps, lotions, shampoos etc... and I collect them.... I just love the little bottles and cannot help myself I just have to have em. I have this cute little basket that I keep them in, but we have traveled so much this last year I cannot even shut it!! Solution... find a bigger basket!

3 days and counting...

Today is my 3rd day Dr.Pepper free!! Whhoot woo! I just love DP, but I know it is horrible for me and my teeth... So water is my main drink these days. I am so lucky to have a supportive hubby who is taking the challenge too!

Happy Valentine's Day!

My Valentine's started Friday morning at work when I received these beautiful roses!! There is something about being one of the few women in a large office to get flowers... really makes you feel special. For Kenny Valentines started on Feb 1st. Since we were dating I have done a little something each day from the 1st-14th for him. Just little things... a note and candy, some muffins etc. Our Valentines was really nice we just stayed home. Kenny's mom came over to visit and took us out for lunch. She also brought Kenny and I some Valentines- I got a yummy candle and Kenny got the cure dog that sings. I took a picture of all of our wonderful Valentines-

Tonight for dinner we decided the resturants would be super busy so we ate in...I made this yummy from cooks.com. I am not much of a cook so when something comes out this good I do have to toot my own horn... although Kenny said it was really good too! After dinner we watch a movie called FireProof- it was really good.

CORNISH GAME HENS WITH CHEESY RICE STUFFING
Printed from COOKS.COM
1/4 c. (1/2 stick) butter
1/3 c. regular rice
2 tbsp. diced celery
2 tbsp. finely chopped onion
1 c. chicken broth
1 (2 oz.) can mushrooms, drained & chopped (opt.)
1 c. shredded cheddar cheese
2 (1 lb.) Cornish game hens
Salt & pepper
Melted butter
In a saucepan melt butter; add rice, celery and onion. Cook 5 to 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Add chicken broth and bring mixture to a boil. Cover and simmer on low heat about 20 minutes or liquid is absorbed and rice is fluffy. Stir in mushrooms; cool. Toss cheese lightly with cooled mixture. Season birds inside with salt and pepper. Stuff birds with rice mixture.
Place on rack, breast side up in shallow baking pan. Baste with butter. Loosely cover with foil. Roast in preheated 400 degree oven for 30 minutes. Remove foil; continue roasting for 45 minutes until done. Baste with butter occasionally during last 45 minutes. Additional stuffing may be placed in small baking dish, covered and baked during last 45 minutes of roasting. Then cover removed last 15 minutes.

Beautiful

We have had some interesting weather this week... cold and rainy. Poor Aunt Donna came all the way from Illinois to get warmth and we just gave her another week of cold and rain.... anyway, I was at work and looked out the window and thought this clouds were so beautiful...

Cool

Apparently I say "cool" A LOT, because after spending most of the weekend together my little 2 year old Nephew picked up this favorite word of mine... We were looking at the ducks at the park and he points and says "cooooool" It was so adorable! And I have to say if he is going to pick up a 4 letter word from Aunt Amanda... I am glad it is COOL --

Dirty

I have mentioned this a little before, but it is so dang cute I have to share it in more detail. One Sunday a while back we were visiting my brother and I was holding Jacob (as always) and he started pointing to all my freckles and saying "dirt", "dirt" Super cute right, but it gets better. The next time we were visiting Kenny was holding him and he pointed to his goatee and said "dirty" "dirty" Well I of course found this very amusing and laughed and laughted.... We have been trying to teach Jake our names so I will point at Kenny and say "Kenny". Then Jake gets a giant smile and points at him and says.... "dirty!" I captured a picture of this very moment and just had to share...

An unexpected visit

On Monday Kenny got a call from his Aunt Donna (from Illinois) and found out she was here in Arizona! She was visiting a friend in Mesa so Wednesday after work we drove out to Mesa to have dinner with her. It was a nice night and fun to catch up.

Rainy Day

Monday 02/09/09 Was a cold and rainy day... I looked out the office window and saw this beautiful rainbow! I snapped a quick picture, but it just doesn't do it justice.

The Good, The Bad and The Cute

Saturday (01/07/09) morning we (Ken,Brian, the boys and I) decided to try out the new light rail here in town. We met at Christown Mall and parked two perfectly good cars in the lot and took the "train" down town (Phx) to Chase Field where the Diamondbacks play. They had Diamondbacks Day where you could walk down on the field and catch fly balls, bat, run the bases, get autographs etc. We checked it out but realized it was more for older kids so we headed over to Heritage Park where there was a car show-- Motoring thru Time-- They had everything from model T's to hot sports cars-- all the guys loved it. Then we walked over to Hooters for lunch-- the men loved that. While we were there we ran into a couple we used to play softball with which was kinda fun to see them. After lunch it was time to head back so we caught the light rail... made it thru a the first few stops... then the fun began. They lost power and we were stuck downtown, inside the train. There was a ruff looking man who started throwing a fit saying "Open the doors, open the doors its an emergency" Well there was no power and I guess they couldn't open the doors... then the man thought it would be a good idea to kick open the doors.... when he did this it started a confrontation between two older men and him. The two men happen to be standing right by Kenny and Jake... Finally the doors opened and the man walked out and strolled away. About 15 minutes later we were told we had to get off the broken train and wait for another one to pick us up. All and all we were stuck for about 40 mins on Phoenix's new billion dollar light rail... We missed have of Kenny's softball game, but he still got to bat once.

That night we went out to dinner with a few people from Kenny's softball team to a place called the Golden Coral. Its a buffet and actually had really good food.

Saturday night I made these fun Cars pillow cases and bought them some new pillows for Valentines. Also, I finished my heart table runner-- just in time to display it for Valentine's week!!

Sunday, My mom, Kenny and I all met my brother and the boys at a park to play. It was a lot of fun until the incident... My bro and I thought it would be funny to swing on the baby swings... well were doing that and Jacob decided he wanted me and came running right at me... I couldn't stop and swung right into him. Knocked him right down and gave him a big ol mark on his forehead... I felt terrible. Before long he was back to playing and laughing.

Chocolate Affaire

Every year down town Glendale has an event in February called the Chocolate Affaire. There are lots of vendors, romance novel authors and everything Chocolate you can imagine from Chocolate potato chips to chocolate covered strawberries. My brother called us up yesterday afternoon and asked it we wanted to go with him, his friend Heather and the boys- of course we did and we had an absolute blast!

They had a kid zone with tons of those inflatable jumpers and slides... I think Brian and Kenny had as much fun if not more that than the boys did! Each guy took one of the boys and Heather and I took pictures... didn't get many good ones because we were laughing so much. I finally had to join them. Some of the "rides" were just slides, but most of them were kind of obstacle courses... They would climb up and slide down and wiggle through-- you get the idea. I was super impressed with the both the boys... they may be part monkey. I think the highlight was this cars slide... although you had to climb the stairs under the car and that scared the boys, but once they did it they were ready to go again. Bunkie just loves trains so of course we had to take a ride on that. After the adults were all tuckered out we headed over to Mama Mia for dinner. There was live entertainment - a man singing with a guitar and the boys just loved him! They would clap and clap. Jake danced a little too- too cute! Also, I tried a chocolate martini in honor of the event!

Later we walked through the park where all the vendors were. I got some yummy homemade potpourri and Kenny bought a nice metal art piece. Bunkie and I made a chocolate Pizza to end the night. It was such a good time. My bro and Kenny are such a riot together you cannot help but have a good time.

From the Pink Room

I am super excited because I finished my new little lunch bag tonight! It is called the desk deli and it is a pattern my girlfriend from work let me borrow and I made it from the fabric she gave me! I just love the way it came out!! I know when my mom sees it she will love it and want it so she may end up with this one and I will make another. Anyway, just wanted to share!

UFC fight and Super Bowl Sunday

After softball last night one of Kenny's teammates had a bunch of people over to watch the UFC fight on paper view. We had burgers then watched the fights, but the main event was so hard to watch... the guy Chunky and all the guys wanted to win (BJ) got beat bad... I was relieved at the end of third round until they told me that championships are 5 rounds... poor guy! Finally after the 4th BJ called it quits.
Tonight we had a few people over to watch the Super Bowl. We had a squares game going and a few side bets. It was actually a really intense game to watch! I am sorry the Cards didn't win, but glad I am $10 richer--- thanks dad! My dad is a real cardinals fan and has been for years. I remember back when my Grandma Taylor used to bet my bro a quarter a game for the entire season... she would always take the Cards, and back then that meant paying out! My dad continued the tradition for a few years after she passed away. She would have been proud to see them make it to the Super Bowl!
Anyway, hope everyone had a good weekend... ours was too short!!

Little Brian turns 4!!

We had a fun little get together at the park for Little Brian's birthday celebration. My bro ordered him an awesome sponge bob cake-- the boys just loved it... we didn't mind eating it either! I think his favorite gifts were the toys from the top of the cake and the clothes my grandma got him. The picture to the left is him opening the clothes. It is always the simplest things they love.

But the highlight of the afternoon was the pile of leaves... that's right no store bought toy could bring this kind of joy. Kenny tossed him in the pile of leaves and he erupted with laughter and continued to roll in the leaves and toss them in the air. I asked him he was having fun and he just giggled and said yeah fun! It was so funny.