New Recipes

Hey All,
It's been a whirlwind weekend! When the Lapps are in town, the family moves in! It's one big party and so much fun. I tried a couple new recipes. They were big hits, so I thought I would share them.

Spinach and Artichoke Dip--Now there are many recipes out there. I picked this one because we have a family member who will not eat anything with mayonnaise. This recipe is mayo-less! Plus, it's a crock pot recipe and so easy.

1 cup mozzarella
6 oz. cream cheese
1/4 cup parmesan
1 clove garlic, minced (I just used a bit of powder)
1 can artichoke hearts drained and chopped
8 oz. fresh spinach (I used a 10 oz. package of frozen, chopped)
1/4 tsp. pepper

Combine all ingredients in crockpot and cook on high for 2 hours. Stir well and serve with tortilla chips.

And now, I've saved the best for last. This recipe is incredible!!! I even messed it up in so many ways (I can't cook with everybody in the kitchen as I get distracted easily with the conversations). I'll mention the mess ups. It might be even better prepared correctly!!

Blueberry Cheesecake Poke Cake

1 white cake mix
ingredients listed on the box
1 pkg. vanilla pudding (3.4 oz)
1 1/2 cup milk

Blueberry Sauce
12 oz. blueberries, rinsed
3 tbsp. sugar
1 tbsp. flour
1 tbsp water

Whipped Cream
1-8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 pt. heavy whipping cream
2 cup powdered sugar

Bake cake according to package directions in a 9x13 pan. (I used the whole egg even though it called for just the egg whites. I hate to waste and didn't really care if it was completely a white cake). Allow to cool for 10 minutes.

Combine blueberries, sugar, flour and water in a medium saucepan. (I wasn't quite sure if the 12 oz. meant weight or a cup and a half. I'd say I actually had about 2 cups of blueberries). Cook and stir until thickened---about 10-15 minutes. Allow to cool or 20 minutes.

Prepare pudding by adding 1 1/2 cup of milk to mix. (I used the large size pudding and 3 cups of milk). Poke holes in top of cake and spread pudding over. (I did the blueberry first). Chill for 10 minutes. Pour blueberries over the top. Cool completely.

Prepare whipped cream by mixing all ingredients until smooth. Spread on top of blueberries (I had to spread it on top of the pudding---which was a little tricky!).

Refrigerate until serving. DELICIOUS!!!

Let me know how you like these dishes if you try them.

A Family Weekend

Here's what our family weekends look like (it's rare that we're all together---just a couple times a year).  We're so happy that Justin is off work and will be with us the whole weekend! That almost never happens!

As posted on the refrigerator:

Weekend Agenda:

Thursday

Lapps arrive late

Friday

Breakfast—homemade cinnamon rolls delivered by Bruce

Girls (including Stephanie—maybe Mindy?) to lunch (Green Hills Grill) and movie (The Jungle Book)

Happy Hour—cheese from Italy, salami, olives

Dinner at the club 

Saturday

Breakfast—French toast

Pool day

Lunch—pizza at the pool, homemade chocolate chip cookies

Dinner— shrimp fettuccine (plain for Mindy), salad, cheesy garlic bread, blueberry cheese poke cake

Poker game

Sunday

Guys playing golf

Breakfast—breakfast casserole, cinnamon rolls, fruit salad

Pool day

Lunch—snacks at pool—ranch dip, guacamole (no mayo), salsa, cheese spinach artichoke dip (no mayo), brownies

Karaoke at the pool

Dinner—BBQ chicken, zucchini, deviled eggs, roasted potatoes

So what do your family weekends look like?

A Couple Layouts

I'm planning a simple Christmas album for my friends. All they have to do is assemble and add pictures.

 Simple cut-out banners with eyelets added.

I cut the trees on the Cricut with assorted scraps and then sewed them down.

More to come...

The Moleinator!

Have you ever heard of such a thing? Neither had I. The moles are tearing up the lawn and gardens. I called the "moleinator" to take care of the problem. He told me that it would cost $40.00 to come out and place the equipment. This is a "one-time" fee. Any time in the future, if I need to call him back, I won't have to pay for this.

Here are some of the traps.

 You can see here, how the moles are ruining the lawn.

 It's a little hard to see here, but the moles have raised up the ground under my rows of flowers.

Plus, they eat the roots of my flowers which prevents them from flourishing.

After the traps are in place, the moleinator charges $40 per mole caught. That's how he's able to guarantee his work. If he doesn't catch any, you don't pay. Butch thinks that he's gotten 4 already and that this could get expensive. Of course, the most natural way to get rid of them would be to get rid of their food source. It's a vicious cycle. Enriching the soil---which I'm big on---causes more worms which the moles like. I'll have to settle on the moleinator to take care of the problem.

Then, on Sunday, I pulled in to the driveway and saw a HUGE snake---I'm not exaggerating---at least 4 feet long---outside the garage. I tried to run over it, but couldn't see it. I gingerly stepped out of the care, now fearing I'd chased it in to the garage. I quickly ran in the house and made Butch get the groceries.

I was freaked out, but went out front anyway to cut some of my beautiful Endless Summer hydrangeas. We were going to Jack and Connie's for a barbecue, so I wanted to give her a vase full.

 They are just starting to bloom.

 Blue, pink and purple all on the same bush. They are just gorgeous!

 I kind of hate cutting them as they look so pretty in the yard.

Okay, back to the snake. I was afraid the snake might have escaped to the front, here. I whistled and made a lot of noise to make sure that snake knew I was there.

When I came back in the house, Butch said that the snake was still under my car! Oh my gosh! It could have gotten me when I stepped out of the car! That double-freaked me! He said that it did indeed escape to the front beds. He said that he thought it was the same snake he saw around back a week ago. I'm certain we have tons of snakes now. Later he admitted that it wasn't the same snake after all.

We were talking about the fact that for all the years we had outside cats, we never had critter problems. We didn't have squirrels and chipmunks eating all the birdseed and destroying the feeders. We didn't have moles or gophers (I really don't know the difference) destroying our yard and flower beds. We didn't have snakes---or at least we never saw them. Okay, we did have a few opossums and skunks living under the house (did you know that they cohabitant?). I guess they weren't afraid of a single cat. And of course, there was the time where the heron ate all of our fish. A cat would have prevented that. We might occasionally have a snake or mole, but they were the dead trophies the cats brought home. We mostly had one cat at a time, but had two for a few years. I'm all about natural pest control. But Butch is adamant that we are not going to have any more cats. He said he was tired of cleaning up their messes. Plus, with our travel schedule it would be a hassle for Stephanie or Mindy to have to take care of it for us. Another point that Butch made--the vet bills would be way more expensive than just hiring the moleinator!

Now if I could just find a "snakeinator!" I'm not afraid of bugs or spiders, but I hate snakes! And don't try to give me that crap about how they are good for the garden. Obviously, they are not taking care of the mole problem! If you want to live here, you have to work!

Moving is NOT Fun!

I mean the actual moving part s not fun! Starting somewhere new is exciting, but getting there is not. We've been working on Mindy's move for a couple of weeks now. They don't have much furniture to move, but it's all the other stuff. They have a lot! Or, I should say, Mindy has a lot.

I've managed to come up with a few good solutions for storage. Her condo is really nice, but whoever designed it didn't do a very good job with storage.

I had these spool storage racks and hang up organizer leftover from my scrapbook room clean out last

spring. Mindy has a lot of costume jewelry, so I thought it would be the perfect solution.

It worked perfectly. And yes, she does wear it all! Or at least I recognize most of it. The master closet is pretty big.

There is no pantry in the kitchen. All of the cabinetry is needed kitchen stuff---no room for food storage. Butch and I went to Home Depot and bought a couple of these wire shelves. Butch mounted them in the laundry room. There was a perfect little indent in the wall for them. We also put up the hooks for coats as they do not have a hall closet.

We did use one cabinet next to the stove for spice storage. Bottom shelf are regular spices. middle shelf--baking related stuff. That basket contains sprinkles and tube frostings. 

Like every kitchen I've ever organized, there are spice duplicates. One client it was garlic powder, another was oils. Connie had several bottles (like maybe 6) of celery seed. Since she's a friend, I could give her a hard time about it. "Connie, I don't even own one bottle of celery seed. Why do you have 6?" She defended herself by saying that she has one recipe that calls for it and can never remember if she has it. Now she has a lifetime supply! For Mindy and Justin it's oregano and pepper! I'll admit, for me, it's cinnamon. I don't really have a good excuse. Oh wait, yes I do. Butch does some of the shopping now too. Sometimes we each buy what's on the list. 

Back to Mindy's place.

 There's a nice chandelier in the master closet.

It just needs a good cleaning. It's too high up for me. They have like 12ft. ceilings. See that empty rack? I couldn't put anything up there!

As much as I say this girl is a mess, she does make me proud! Matching hangers!! I taught her right! Oh wait, I might have been the one who bought these for her during her last move! Yeah, I'm sure of it!

This might be a little personal, but I couldn't resist. This is the most unusual thing I came across while moving. For crying out loud! She's only 31! She doesn't have a single age spot. Uh oh, maybe I discovered a present for me! But I don't have any age spots either. At least that I can see! But then, the eyesight isn't all that great!

We're going on Saturday and will be finishing the move. Butch, Nicky and Justin only have to move the couch and bed. I'll be doing the decorating. I've already hung a few things, but plan to finish. Mindy and I are going shopping for some new towels. I'll share pictures of the finished place soon.

Pashminas

So. When I was in Italy with my sisters, I was surprised to find that none of them knew what a pashmina was. I explained it as a large shawl/scarf. My girls and I love them! They fold up so small and can be carried in your purse. We take them to the theater or movies. It's just the thing to take the chill off. I always carry one (or more) when I travel. If it's chilly, I'll wrap it around my neck. If it's not, I just tie it on to my purse and have it handy at all times.

When I decided to write this post about pashminas, I looked it up in the dictionary to see what the real definition was. I learned a couple things myself. Pashmina: 1. fine material made from goat's wool; 2. a fabric or garment made from pashm (the under hair of goats), especially a shawl, wrap or scarf. 3. a long piece of clothing made from pashmina and worn around a woman's neck.

I was surprised at this: "Another very well-known word for cashmere is pashmina"!

While in Rome, a street vendor was selling 100% cashmere pashminas. He wanted 10 Euros. I talked him down to 7. Then, when I went to pay, I only had 10's. I felt a little foolish, so gave him the 10 after all. I figure street sellers need the money. Anyway, I'm not foolish enough to think I could really get 100% cashmere for that price.

I decided to find out if this could be real. As it turns out, fakes are really easy to sort out. Oftentimes, the tag will have the word cashmere misspelled. The other dead give-away is if the tag is glued on. This one is. According to the source I found, no one would ever put glue on fine cashmere. Makes sense. So I got a fake--and that's totally okay with me.

I loved the colors of this one. I had brought two with me to Italy---one pink and one coral and orange because those were my clothing colors for the trip. They came in handy many times. I even loaned them to family. I ended up having to wash one in the hotel because one family member got spaghetti sauce on it in a chilly restaurant.

Anyway, when we were at the market in Florence, just about everyone bought pashminas. Some for gifts, others for themselves. Since we were buying so many, I did the bargaining and got them for 6 Euros each. I think among all of us we bought about 15.

They were so pretty with many colors and patterns. They also make really good swimsuit sarongs. They can even wrap chubby girls!

The tag was glued on, so that might mean there is no cashmere at all. I don't really know. But I do know that this tag make me happy. It will always remind me of our Italy trip. Okay, maybe not, because when it was all said and done, I forgot to get one for myself. I definitely wanted one of these colorful ones from Florence. Amidst the bargaining and all the picking out, I overlooked myself.

My pashmina came in handy one day when it rained. It got wet, but didn't soak all the way through. I had already lost my "jacket in a packet" so didn't have any rain protection. It was just the thing to keep me warm.

After I got home, Butch and I were discussing the weather for Steeplechase. He told me that it was going to be chilly. I told him that he better let the girls know. He said, "I've already texted them to bring a pashmina". With all of these girls in the family, it's no wonder that he knows what a pashmina is and can use the correct lingo as necessary. I emailed my sisters about our conversation.
Sharon responded that when Matt saw her pashmina he asked if it was a table runner.

Hmmm---another good use! So many options!

Here are my pashminas---3 stacks. You know, my multiples problem. Many colors and shades. Last year I got rid of quite a few. Morgan was quite put out with me that I didn't offer them to the granddaughters before I donated them. They love them too!!

Do you pashmina?

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What I've Learned About Hoarders

1. No one sets out to be a hoarder by saying, "I think I'll be a hoarder."
2. Hoarding starts by stuff piling up.
3. Hoarding starts when you never go through all of that stuff piling up.
4. At the risk of raising some fur---I contend that people who become hoarders have an element of laziness about them. Why else would they not bother to throw away packaging materials and other trash?
4. Pretty soon, your stuff overwhelms you and you can't even think of where to begin to sort it out.
5. Although you never considered yourself a hoarder, there you are!

I know there are shows about hoarders where the people have some serious deep-rooted problems about parting with stuff. But I'd venture to say that there are far more hoarders like I've just described. They don't really have a problem parting with stuff, they just never did it and pretty soon don't know where to begin. Believe me, I've had a few clients like this. They were more than happy to let me get rid of their newspapers, magazines, etc. They just couldn't do it on their own.

The reason I am bringing this up is that I'm sure someone in our family could easily become a hoarder!! Of course, perhaps she/he doesn't have to sort through and get rid of stuff because she/he knows that her/his mother will come to the rescue!! Luckily for her/him, I love making order out of chaos!! (Considering I only have girls, my attempt at covering for her is probably lame!)

Case in point:

This is the back of that family member's car---empty bags and yep---Christmas presents. The funny part about it---she/he doesn't see the problem!

Are you or a family member a hoarder without realizing it?