Stuffed Shells

I tried a new recipe tonight. I found it on Pinterest. I am completely addicted to pinterest.....but that is for another day.

This year I hope to try a multitude of new things.

Everyone seemed to enjoy the stuffed shells. Who doesn't enjoy pasta. It's a wonderful, quick to prepare, stick to your ribs, fill you belly, comfort food. This recipe was no exception. I think we will add it to our repertoire........

True colors

I painted today.

It's always a good day when it involves paint. Although it is a lot of work, nothing compares to something freshly painted.

You can change your environment with paint. You can change your mood with paint. You can change the way others see you with paint.

What ever you do, however you do it, whichever color you choose.......it will look better, smell better and make you feel better......try it!

But what if you don't like it? it's just paint.....paint it over !

Nothing gives you a bigger bang for your buck. Nothing makes a bigger change.

Can you tell I love paint?.................

First snow !!

We got our first snow of the season today.
It was beautiful !!!
At times it looked like a blizzard out there. But it was on and off, so in the end, we don't have much to show for it. But that's OK. The girls were excited and have a renewed hope for a day off school tomorrow..........

New Year Day 2012

Today, to start the new year, I decided to try somehing I had never tasted before. I made a peach Bellini with last night's left over champagne. It was delicious !! After supper, we wrote our hopes and resolutions for the coming year and sent them to heaven on our "flying" paper. I love this tradition......

The new file folders are in the drawer and the year is set to begin. Tomorrow the routine resumes. I am not ready to let the girls slip from my fingers and go back to school. I love it when we are all together. I am grateful for the times we have had these last two weeks. How wonderful to hear them say they had a great Christmas......

Life marches on.....

New Beginnings !

I stopped writing my blog nearly a year ago for several different reasons.

I have decided to try my hand at it again.

Last night, with glad hearts, we bade farewell to 2011. It was a good year in a multitude of ways but a hard year as well.

I approach 2012 with trepidations.......knowing full well that this year will be filled with tremendous changes......some expected, some not.....Some happy, others heartbreaking. Such is life.

So to all, Happy New Year. My wish for you is Health, Happiness, Love and Prosperity.

Let the adventure begin.......................

Another snow day

We had another snow day today.

The school called 8 minutes

before we had to get up.

That was cutting it really close!

turned out that by 9 A.M.

it had turned to rain

and the roads were just slushy.

But earlier it was really slippery.

It's always so pretty when it first snows.

Everything looks clean and bright.

The dogs enjoy the snow tremendously.

Bentley loves to bury his face in it.

Today they went out and created a heart in the snow.

Come on....if you squint, you can see it.

But when I let them in

there was a definite odor of skunk in the air.

So we waited a while before letting them out again!!

The girls had a good day off as well.

Emily baked, Ashley got caught up on some homework

and Kayla finished a TV series

she had been watching on her laptop.

All and all it was a good day.

After lunch we watched a movie.

The girls were happy to stay home and

the dogs didn't get sprayed.

It all made me smile...............

may the best team win............

We are not an athletic family.

We don't watch sports and

participate in few of them.

But tonight is Super Bowl Sunday.

So we had Super Bowl food,

not very nutritious but easy to pick at

while we watch the game.

The Colts (Indianapolis) are playing the Saints (New Orleans).

It's the only game we watch all year.

We really only watch it for the commercials.

So far I like the Doritos commercials the best.

Doing anything together,

even watching a football game,

makes me smile......................

Sing, sing a song, sing out loud......

We were treated, today,

to a voice lesson recital.

Emily and Ashley have been taking voice lessons

since September.

The girls did really well.

Ashley had two solos and a duet with Emily

Emily had two solos as well.

The fact that they can stand

in front of an audience

fills me with awe and pride.

The recital was short,

with only 4 students and the teacher.

A small reception followed.

We all were filled with pride

and left with smiles...................

How to wrap a human around you paw

Bentley was not Dennis' idea.
That was all me!
Dennis wasn't ready for another dog.
And although I do most of the feeding,
walking, training, bathing......
(you get the picture) with Bentley,
Dennis is warming up to him.
Slowly, Bentley has wiggled himself
into Dennis' heart.
They now share the couch at night
while we are watching TV.
Sometimes Bentley prefers to cuddle.



Dennis wouldn't dream of disturbing him.
Animals have such a way
to give you what you need
whether you know you need it or not.
(Or will admit it or not)
Watching Bentley wrap Dennis around his paw
makes me happy and makes me smile..................

Awe inspiring morning

I love nature.

To me, it is, without a doubt,

awe inspiring.

It is ever changing, and always beautiful.

Often I say; I have never seen anything like it.....

More often than not,

I am saying this about the sky,

the cloud patterns, mostly.

This morning was one of those mornings.

I had never seen anything like it......

There was so much movement in the cloud pattern,

the sky was actually "lined".

The pictures won't do it justice

but they are the best I could do.

The clouds seem to radiate

from a central point

invisible to the mortal eye

It was fantastic.

I wish I had better pictures to share.

The girls are now noticing

this incredible beauty on their own

and are often the ones

pointing it out to me.

what a gift....

and that makes me smile........................

A Day FULL of Good News

Last night it was my printer
which needed maintenance.
Apparently it had enough of
all those printing jobs we send it
and decided to go on strike.....


But yesterday was such a good day,
I decided to update this morning.
First Dennis woke up feeling better
after fighting the flu the night before.
Thanks to all my good nursing and
homeopathic medications, we nipped it in the bud!
Then my day started with a visit Dr James Matthews
Ophthalmologist in Lexington

to get a second opinion
on a diagnosis I received from
a charlatan here in town.
Great news....I have neither
the beginning of cataracts
or an astigmatism in my right eye.
WHEW.....Dodged that bullet.....
Moral of this story, when your little voice
tells you something doesn't sound right
LISTEN and ACT ON IT.
Just because someone has a diploma on the wall
doesn't mean he knows what he's talking about.
Someone has to graduate at the bottom of the class!!!
Then in the afternoon
Kayla, Ashley and I went to the dentist
to get our teeth cleaned and have our annual exam.
Ashley has two minor cavities and
Kayla and I received a clean bill of health.
It was a great day with
brighter smiles all around.................

Phase two

The induction phase of my

low carb lifestyle is over,

although I'm not yet ready

to start adding carbs just yet.

I am , however, ready

to start exercising.

So I got our Wii Fit board out,

popped in the CD,

and got moving, today.

I did 30 minutes

(not much, but I need to start slow)

and felt great when I finished.

Tomorrow, I might feel differently

but working towards a healthier way of life

and setting a good example for my daughters

makes me smile......................

we are going to work!

I have been taking Bentley
to dog training for the last month.
We have now started a new class.
The intermediate class,
obedience, tricks and
introduction to agility.
He is smart and obedient
and learns quickly.
For such a young dog,
he is doing extremely well.
We call it "work".
School is where we take the girls in the car.
So this morning when I asked him
if he was ready to go to "work"
this is the face that greeted me....


How can that face
not make you smile?.........................

another delicacy

Any household with children

is hectic in the morning.

Throw in a diet menu

and you could have total chaos

or simple abandonment of your resolve.

Unless you find delicious recipes

you can make in advance,

that are only 1.7 grams of carbs

and reheat in 15 to 20 seconds.

What could be better to start your day

but an egg, sausage, onion and cheese muffin?

They are cheesy and moist,

flavorful and quick.

One is enough to get you to lunch

without looking for something to tide you over.

And the nicest part of them

is spending time in the kitchen

with your daughter.

She helped, I think, so she won't feel guilty

for eating my "diet" breakfast

every morning.

Being able to find something

healthy and filling to feed

my girls before they go to school

makes me smile..................

A good day for baking

The snow finally came.
Overnight and early morning,
we ended up with 3"-4".

Nothing's more beautiful
than a field of pristine snow,
especially viewed from the warmth of your home.
Feeling a little snowbound,
Emily decided to make dessert.

She made delicious ginger cookies
topped with milk chocolate chips.
A recipe she found on her calendar.
Their fragrance permeated throughout the house.
Kayla, on the other hand,
had a Spanish project to finish for Monday.
Each student must cook something "Spanish"
and share it with the class.
Kayla found a recipe for "Fried Milk".

The milk is mixed with corn starch,
nutmeg and sugar.
After it thickens, it is refrigerated
for over 3 hours to "set",
then dredged thru eggs and bread crumbs,
fried and dusted with powdered sugar mixed with cinnamon.

As strange as it sounds,
it tasted pretty good.
Ashley helped with dinner
making a wonderful salad.
Watching my daughters
enjoying spending time in the kitchen,
experimenting with new recipes,
always makes me smile...................

Delicious Colours

It has been so gray and wet

and dreary and depressing and cold.

Today, everyone was gearing up

for the big snow storm

they have been forecasting

and reporting on.

I had to stop by the grocery store

and as soon as I came in and turned to my left

I was welcomed by an explosion of colour

from a display of bell peppers

in various colours.

What a sight!

The colours were warm, like some Caribbean vacation resort.

It made you happy just looking at them.

Because they were on sale,

they had them in different places in the store.

Several times, as we were shopping, we would turn a corner

and there they were.

Bright and inviting.

Each time, it made me smile.........................

Is that howling I hear?

The moon will be full in a couple of days.

When I first saw it today,

it was as wispy as a cloud.

It was big and low in the sky.

Not wanting to offend the witches again,

I looked up the date of the full moon in January.

It is indeed not tonight

but on January 30th.

This is when I learned an interesting fact:

The first full moon of January

is called the wolf moon.

I had never heard of that.

Learning something new

always makes me smile....................

What's that strange yellow light?

The big story today

was that the sun came out.

It had been so long since we saw it,

I wasn't entirely sure

what that strange yellow light was,

that was behind our neighbor's house

when I came back from

taking the girls to school!

As the day wore on

I marveled at how blue the sky was

outside my window.

I guess there is something to be said

for bone chilling cold weather.

The thermometer kept climbing.

By lunch we had broken the freezing mark.

It climbed all the way up to nearly 40.

At this hour, the clouds have moved back in.

But it was sure great while it lasted.

Seeing the sun today

Lifted my spirits and

made me smile.................

the taste of summer

During the summer

I cook a lot on the bar-b que.

One of our favorite meal

is flat iron steak.

I serve it with homemade cilantro sauce.

It is garlicky and a little spicy

fresh and flavorful.

We hadn't had it for a while.

So tonight I made flat iron steak with cilantro sauce

accompanied by cheesy mashed cauliflower.

DELICIOUS.

The best part, it's all very low carb.

But the part I loved the most

was the compliments from my daughters,

who all love the cilantro sauce.

That makes me smile................

A new breed of rabbit

Yesterday my computer was undergoing MORE maintenance.

But I'm back (not sure for how long)

Last October we got a rabbit.

Well, Kayla got a rabbit,

presumably for her SAE for her FFA project.

Her name is Mel.

Miss Elie appointed herself " bunny-sitter"

from the day Mel got home.

Their coloring is very much the same.

We think Miss Elie sees her as her child.

This weekend Miss Elie was napping

in her favorite spot, on top of the couch.

We put Mel next to her.
After a lot of sniffing and licking

Miss Elie turned around....

Which created a new breed of rabbit.....

If it were possible to enter a picture

instead of the animal

Kayla would surely win a prize

for breeding such an unusual looking pet

A rabbit with a big fluffy tail.

It actually looked pretty good.

and it made us all smile..............