Super Stuffed Potatoes

4 small baking potatoes 

1 lb ground beef

1/4 lb Velveeta Cheese 

1 small tomato chopped 

2 green onions sliced 

1/2 cup sour cream 

Bake Potatoes. Brown meat then mix in Velveeta, tomatoes and onions until Velveeta is melted- stir frequenetly. Split Potatoes, mach insides with fork, top with meat mixture and sour cream. 

Kraft Foods Magazine- Fall 09

Since we were just chillin at the house today I made this for lunch. I actually doubled the Velveeta and used about 1/4 of salsa and no tomato, onion of sour cream. Kenny loved it. It was VERY filling too. 

Oreo Fudge Ice Cream Cake and Friday the 13th

½ cup hot fudge ice cream topping- warm

1 tub (8 oz) Cool Whip whipped topping- thawed, divided

1 pkg (3.9 ox) Jello- Chocolate instant pudding

8 Oreo cookies, chopped

12 vanilla ice cream sandwiches

1. Pour fudge topping into medium bowl. Whisk in 1 cup of cool whip. Add dry pudding mix, stir 2 mins. Stir in chopped cookies.
2. arrange 4 ice cream sandwiches, side by side on a 24 inch long piece of foil. Top layer with cool whip mixure. Repeat layers.
3. Frost top and sides with remaining cool whip. Bring up foil sides double fold top and ends to loosely seal packet. Freeze for four hours. 

I took this to Blair' Friday the 13th party and everyone loved it! It is an excellent substitute to the $30 Diary Queen Ice Cream Cake! I made this one for only $8.50 and nothing was really on sale so you could probably even do it cheaper. I would probably add more Oreo next time I made this.

The party was really fun, Brian, Kenny and I joined Blair and her kiddos for some scary movie watching. We watched the old version of  The Exorcist and Friday the 13th. The movies weren't very good, but we enjoyed chowing down on pizza, snacks and ice cream, playing with the cats and chatting with Blair (and then Allan when he got home). 

10 for $10 at the Tempe Improv - or FREE

Advertising works on me... I check my e-mails and am easily enticed by Groupon deals, sales and specials... Today I received a deal for FREE admission to the Tempe Improv for their 10 comics for $10 night. Of course the tickets weren't actually free since I had to pay a $5 per ticket processing fee(not to mention the 2 drink minimum....), but still cheap ! Kenny has been wanting to take my mom with us to the Improv for a long time... The two of them laugh out loud a lot... to TV, radio, comics whatever. I mean its not that I don't laugh too, but they really get into it. I was actually surprised that she wanted to go, because she is such a home body. 

So the 3 of us headed to Tempe for a night out. I wish I would have taken pictures because my mom was all dressed up and looked so pretty in here gray ruffly shirt and black skinny pants : ) 

We ordered some chips and salsa and drinks before the show started and eagerly waited for the comics to get started. I personally though the first 1/2 of the comics were the best and laughed A LOT. 8 of them were local comics that I didn't recognize, but we did get to Listen to the Head Liners from this week and next week (not bad for $5 admission!) as well. 

My favorite comic was talked about marriage... I think his best joke was, "I got married young so I didn't have to waste a lot of time figuring out what my own interests were" LOL Kenny and I had a great laugh at that guy. 

My mom said the comics weren't great, but she still laughed a lot and enjoyed the night. The average show is about an hour an half... so I was expecting to get out about 9 PM so when we walked out at 10:15 I was shocked! It made for a late night, but I am so glad we went. 

He's Officially 5

This morning Jacob was a little upset when he realized he had to go to school even though it was his birthday. He got got the cool hat he is wearing in these pictures and my mom sent him with Angry Bird cupcakes so he ended up having a good day : )

Although we already celebrated his birthday on Saturday we all went to McDonalds to celebrate again. When they got there I told Jacob to spin around so I could take a look at him, he did and I said, "Yep you look like a 5 year old!" He was so pleased with himself.  The boys had a great time playing (and even Big Brian went up in the play ground which made the boys squeal with delight). I think Jacob could care less that they serve food except for the pickle on his hamburger.

After playing and eating and playing some more it was time to open presents- 

Crayons! 

Socks! 

Angry Birds! (PJs) 

Little Brian as SO excited for everything... his brother's birthday, eating at McDonalds (he actually eats his food), playing on the play ground, seeing me (tee hee), watching his brother open presents etc. Although, it HE wasn't the center of attention he was really good about it and is really looking forward to his birthday...

Little Brian 

 When we walked out of the restaurant Kenny and Brian silly stringed the boys. Although the pictures don't really show it (because Jacob looks like he is on the verge of tears) they actually really liked it and Little Brian said, "Lets do that again on my birthday!"

It took some digging, but I found these pictures from 2009... Jacob's 2nd Birthday... I remembered that Brian silly stringed him then too... He took it better today than back then! 

Happy Birthday Kiddo! 

Family Bible Study Night

I got a wild hair on Sunday and prepared 3 meals... I know you are shocked huh? 

I made this recipe for tonight's dinner- 

BLACKEYED PEA SOUP

1 lb. dried blackeyed peas (2 c.) Water Salt and pepper to taste 12 slices bacon, cubed 3 med. potatoes, cubed 1 lg. onion, cubed 1 lg. can diced Rotel tomatoes/green chilies with liquid Worcestershire sauce to taste Tabasco sauce to taste Place peas with plenty of water (seasoned to taste with salt and pepper) in a large crock pot. Cook on low overnight. The next morning, saute bacon until crisp. Add potatoes and onions to bacon and cook until onions are soft. Add to peas in crock pot, along with drippings. Add tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce and Tabasco sauces. Cook on low all day.

It made SO much food I decided to invite my family over. My dad couldn't make it because he was late coming home from work, but my mom took him some. It came out really good but a little spicy for my mom, Jacob and Little Brian, but they still liked it. I think Little Brian's exact comment was, "Wow this is actually good." Lol he has so much confidence in his Aunt's cooking huh?? My brother recalled the last time we had black eye peas here... neither of the boys would eat it because they said it was looking at them... lol!

We pulled out this special plate (even though we were eating out of bowls) that Linda Lee, my teacher from YW gave us as a wedding gift (sure can see all the finger prints huh?) . Jacob was tickled to use it and is so excited for his 5th b-day in 2 days! 

Since we were already together we decided to go ahead and do out family Bible study for the week. We have been doing this for the past 2 months now... I really enjoy it and it helps us keep our house vacuumed and dusted and pretty much makes us cook at least once a week (although last week we did just order pizza). Sometimes my mom cooks for us or brings a desert to share. Tonight I made rice krispy treats which everyone loved. I gave Little Brian an extra large piece and said, "oops is that too big?" after I handed it to him. He replied with a big grin and wide eyes, "Who cares if its too big" and walked away. : ) 


Tonight we read about the Good Samaritan. We all knew that Parable, but it you can always take away something when studying the Bible .

There is always a lot of wrestling and horse play with my brother and the boys around... they are constantly asking my brother and Kenny if they 'want a piece of them' its pretty funny. Little Brian was bent over and Kenny was playing him when Jacob walked up and said, "Oww wedgie!" and pulled Little B's underwear up! Everyone thought it was terrible funny... great we are breading a bully... 

Oh Yeah!

Our plans got cancelled for today so.... Kenny finally put up the shelves I wanted in the spare bedroom! 

Before 

I love them! Thank you Kenny! 

After

Angry Bird Party!

Jacob LOVES Angry Birds! Kenny and I came up with an idea to make him a life size version of angry birds for his 5th birthday party! 

Brian got tons of boxes from his work and Kenny and I wrapped them in paper bags. 

We got angry bird plates and tapped the pigs to balloons and a red bird to a bouncy ball... We made a sling shot and set up in the park to surprise him! 

The sling shot didn't work very well for some reason... I was the only one who could get it to work... So we just decided that WE would be human angry birds! 

It was a ton of fun and provided a couple hours of entertainment in the morning before we headed to Jacob's bowling party.

My mom, Jacob, my dad and my brother 

Brian and Little Brian 

My mom, Me and Little Brian 

Mom, Me, Brian, Little Brian and Jaob 

Me and Jacob

It was such a fun day. I was surprised that my parents came out to the bowling alley and played with us, it was really great to have everyone all together. Jacob's mom didn't call... he didn't ask, but it still makes me sad for him. He is such a super awesome kiddo! 

Do Over, Please?

I would like to find the restart button for this year... it came to quick... I didn't set my goals and things aren't going the way I want... boo hoo right? Well you are invited to a pity party - so here goes...

Monday night Toby started throwing up... first it was just clear, but then it was lined with red. I have learned the hard way about waiting it out with pets so we got him into the vet the next morning. They immediately attacked the diet we feed them: Pedigree but we refused to believe that was the answer since they said that was Hope's problem too, when she actually had a piercing hole in her belly! The did decided to do the barium test and take z-rays to examine his digestive system. After 2 days and $500 in vet bills later it actually was the food because he had a build up blocking his colon (?) ... I am still not 100% convinced it was the food and not stuffing from toys, but either way he is on the mend and I am thankful!   

Tuesday was the day to head back to work. When I got into my truck that morning my glove compartment, center console and coin tray (ash tray) were all open and riffled through.... weird. My first thought was that Kenny was looking for something... that is a path of destruction I recognize! When I called and asked him if he had found what he was looking for he said it wasn't him... Scary. I began to take inventory. Nothing was missing, but someone had clearly been in the vehicle. We have no idea how they got in because the windows were all intact and no other physical damage was noticeable... unless we just left the truck unlocked... It really shouldn't feel like a big deal since there was no damage and nothing was taken, but I couldn't help but wonder about it... what were they looking for if not tools, walkie talkies or CDs? I am thankful I carry my garage door opener in my purse and don't leave it in the truck! Anyway, it just felt icky. We (knock on wood) have not been burglarized in our adult years... The last time I had something stolen was my stereo out of my Nova. It was about this time of year and Kenny had given me a stereo for Christmas... the week I had it installed someone had smashed my passenger front window and taken the stereo. The window cost more to replace ($200) then the stereo ($100)!

Anyway, I also had some frustrating things happen at work... I don't really want to rehash all the gory details here, but the situation left me feeling slighted and second class.  

Speaking of work Kenny had a stressful few days back to work. I don't envy his job this time of year. It is almost impossible to make appointments with insureds around the holidays so naturally his numbers are down. On top of that his Nevada work is piling up so he will have to take a long trip there to get things caught back up. Last week his GPS unit broke. It is several years old and was dropped for the last time... wouldn't even turn back on. This is a tool that is essential to his job, yet the company does not provide him one. He pooled all his Christmas money and allowance to buy the new unit. Talk about a bummer, but at least he had the means to do it... nothing worse than having to use map quest everyday!

So that all that is why I demand a restart to this year... Have you ever heard the saying if everyone put all their problems on the table you would probably take your own back? Well I know that is true and these are such minor problems they will fade fast... Just wanted to vent I guess.

Free Day

Sarah, Kenny and Barb 

Since we had they day off we relished in it and slept in! We were so glad to discover Toby was doing so much better after last nights episode. After we tended to our kingdom on Castleville and watched an episode of Vampire Diaries (our two current addictions) we headed off to lunch and a movie with Barb and Sarah.

Sarah treated us to lunch at Red Robin for our upcoming anniversary and then we all went to see the movie War Horse... Sadly I think Sarah was the only one who really liked the movie. It was a good story just slow and go.

It was a wonderful way to spend our free day! 

Bringing in the New Year - 2012

Many ideas had been on the table for our New Year's Eve celebration ; Tempe Town Lake, a great new fancy restaurant etc but we (Jereme, Melodi, Brian, Kenny and I) decided to stay in, play board games and make a special dinner. We bought PRIME New York Strip Steaks from Costco- $10 per steak... ouch. Kenny did an excellent job grilling the steaks and baked potatoes to go with our salads. Little Brian LOVES steaks, but Jacob acted like it was eating poo. Poor kid hates meat... like I did when I was a kid. Everyone enjoyed the steaks, but we all kind of agreed that it wasn't worth paying double for the 'prime'.

After dinner we played Mario Yahtzee which the boys loved! It was such a good game for little Brian to practice his math skills and Jacob just enjoyed tossing the dice across the table. Jereme and Melodi brought a new Wii game called WiiParty. The boys, and I do mean all of them ; Brian, Kenny, Jereme, Little B and Jacob were very much into the game. We did a countdown to 8 PM (AKA kid bedtime) and toasted with Apple Cider. I took the boys home and my mom baby sat them while we all stayed up till midnight (we knew they would never go to sleep if they could hear us up playing and having fun). Mel and I tortured the boys for the next couple hours with a Twilight bored game. Since my brother has never seen the movies, read the books or knows the names Jacob, Edward and Bella it was pretty hilarious to watch him play. He was a good sport and we had a lot of laughs playing anyway. We brought in the new year playing the wii game (except Mel who took a nap).

When we got up in the morning Kenny made us all waffles and bacon- yummo! Brian took off about 10, but the rest of us lounged around all afternoon trying to decide what to do with the day. We ended up just going to lunch at Golden Corral --- kind of ironic to go to a buffet on New Year's Day since so many people (including me) make resolutions to lose weight! We enjoyed it though, right down to the strawberries and marshmallows dipped in the chocolate fountain.

We finally made it over to Nanette's house about 4 PM. Even though we were late we didn't want to miss a chance at seeing the kids (Brittany, Chris, Zack, Matt and Emma), unfortunately they were really raring to go and Zack spit in my face twice (after giving me the biggest hug hello!) and Matt hit me in the face all within 5 mins of getting there... Sadly we also had missed Brittany and Chris opening their presents and dinner... BUT they saved us some black eyed peas and ham so we are sure to be prosperous in the new year.

I had a good time chatting with all the girls in the kitchen. This is probably my favorite time of year; new beginnings, goals and challenges. I love to hear peoples plans and goals ; Michelle is going to try to read the Bible this year, Sarah is filling her calendar with family birthdays, anniversaries etc. and Nanette is going to try a new book club. After hearing them talk about their ideas and goals it made me want to get going on my goals and ideas for the new year.

My normal goals (2011, 2010) include things like eating healthy, readying the Bible and saving money... while those are certainly still on my list I have some other goals in mind as well... I want to work on the way I treat others... cut out things like sarcasm, complaining and gossip.