Sketchy Thursdays

So I did a digi layout - yay!   It's been a little while since I've scrapped anything digi other than Project 365.  Here's my take on Sketchy Thursday's 3.25.10 sketch:



You can click on the link to see it bigger.   These pictures were taken at my sister's wedding last August by David & Christie Posey of Lexigraphics.  Thanks for looking!

30 by 30: March Progress Report

So here we are 20+ days past my 30th birthday!  I feel like I am accomplishing a lot, but due to life adding additional challenges, I have not met my full goals quite yet.  Despite not making all these goals by my 30th birthday, I will be continuing to work on this until the end of this year and, I hope, that I will be finished with it much sooner than that!



Three finished now and four in progress.   So far I have completed:

Something Borrowed...
Something Blue... and now
Pirate Latitudes by Michael Crichton (loved it)

Lots of progress made, here's the list so far...
Completed:
1. Bookmarks
2. Knit hat for Brian
3. Christmas Cards
4. Scarf for my sister's Christmas gift
5. Reorganize Master Closet
6. Reorganize Guest Bedroom closet (including reorganizing all wrapping paper + wrapping supplies)
7. Decorate (and undecorate) house for Christmas
8. Reclaimed Window Mirror (joint project with Brian.... we love it! Pictured above... now I just need to paint those walls.... and we need to build out our living room alcove.... it never ends!)
9. January 2010 Project 365
10. February 2010 Project 365
11. Office/Craft Room closet -- gut and remodel (helped Brian with building it out)
12.  Reorganize Office/Craft Room closet (once remodel was complete!)
Still in progress:
13. Christmas Elf Hat for my new 2nd cousin Gabriel
14. Mini recipe books for Christmas Cookie Exchange party
15. Reclaimed Window Frame (joint project with Brian.... needs glass too, then it will be a frame for pictures)
16. Gift for Nancy (almost done!)
17. 365 project every month



8/30 watched.  Not a big change since Brian and I both have been working on the projects or traveling when not at work.  And with Brian's irregular hours during winter months in recent years, we only watched one movie in two months.  Yikes!



15/30 made.  Half way is not bad considering I only cook on average once or twice a week!  And I'm a creature of habit... I usually make the same things all the time.



Last, but certainly not least.... the 5k.   I'm glad to say that thanks to the help of my good friend Andrea, I did do a 5k and while I was only a few minutes away from breaking 30 minutes, I know I gave that run 150%.  I'm really proud of my finishing time!  And I'm hoping to try again later this year in November with Andrea to finally beat that time once and for all!!

I'll be back in the next week or so to share about our birthday trips -- Disneyland for my birthday and a biking road trip for Brian's birthday.  We have had a great time in the last few weeks traveling on our weekends!

Project 365: February 2010

Catching up now... February was a busy month for us!

(If you want to see the larger version, just click on it)









And here we are in March already.... and it's halfway over already! Looking forward to getting outside and enjoying the gorgeous weather this weekend to celebrate Brian's birthday. Hope you have a great weekend!

Project 365: January 2010

So I'm happy to be on track with this project. If you haven't heard of it, the premise is pretty simple. Take a picture a day for an entire year. Some take it a step further by putting it to paper in the form of a scrapbook. I have chosen to document two ways. The first is the daily pictures and a weekly summary in a digital scrapbook which I will have printed & bound next year in January. The second is through a monthly scrapbook in paper form which will have a monthly 2 page spread of pics and journaling. I will also do a 2 page spread for any trips, special events and so forth. The entire point being to scrapbook and document more often than I do now.

So here is the first five weeks of pages. I'm still fussing around with a cover. If you want to see the larger version, just click on it!











Have you done project 365? I'd love to see your pictures and/or book if you have!

30 by 30: The Davis Stampede 5k

Well my birthday has come and gone.... lots of things were accomplished!  Over the next few weeks I'll be catching up my blog as I get caught up.  May take a little longer as I am now blogging for Flamingo Scraps and I'm working hard at getting some projects done in my craft room!

As far as my 30 by 30 goals are concerned, one of my goals was beat my best time in a 5k and, hopefully, beat the 30 minute mark.  My good friend Andrea saw my goal and jumped in to run it with me.  She was a great cheerleader and I'm glad we got to run the race together.  With her pushing me, I got an official time of 33 minutes and 45 seconds!  My best 5k time and now I know that 30 minutes is within my reach if I actually train to run instead of just working out like I do now. :)

Darn flash on the camera always gets me!

So I guess I didn't officially meet the mark on this goal, but I did complete the 5k and push myself to the edge, so I'm going to happily check this one off and next time I will definitely beat that time on the race clock!

Winter CHA in Anaheim

Finally home, back to work today and catching up again. Oh how I missed the comforts of home! So how did I get so lucky to snag entry to the show? A friend of mine, Nancy, and I went as buyers for two friends of ours, Susan and Suzanne, who own Flamingo Scraps.

These sweet ladies live in Florida and we were more than happy to take a break from our hectic lives to go enjoy the show for them. Boy am I glad we did!

We got to buy some fabulous flowers, papers, embellishments and goodies for them!! Check out our posts over here. You can see my pictures, read about our days at the show and see some fabulous new goodies coming out in the upcoming months!!

In addition, we had fun eating dinner at CPK, checking out Anaheim Garden Walk, drinking some tangeritas in the hotel restaurant, taking some classes and meeting new people along the way. I'm still worn out, but hoping that someday I can go back and do it all over again!! After spending the last few days surrounded by amazing art, artists and fabulous new products, I'm so inspired to spend some time in my craft room!

Recipe #11: Tomato Sauce with Onions and Butter

Wow. Who knew it could be so simple and so GOOD?! I have not tried it this way before but this is definitely going in the recipe box. Found the recipe on the smitten kitchen blog. Was not in the mood to cook tonight, but starving and lacking many choices... so it seemed like as good a time as any to try!



I used a can of diced, no salt tomatoes and a can of tomato sauce, both organic of course! Diced the onions and left them in, though next time I will probably follow the recipe and just half the onion and pull it out. Served over some Barilla Piccolini Mini Penne pasta and topped with a little shredded parmesan. Give it a try... I think you'll like it! I know I did....

Recipe #10: Salmon with Hoisin Orange Sauce and Bok Choy

So we had this for dinner on Monday night. (Mine didn't look so pretty!!) :)

It was excellent!! I omitted the coriander (not a huge fan of that spice). Thought we had hoisin sauce, but we didn't. Thankfully google worked it's magic and you can substitute equal parts molasses and ketchup. Honey would probably work too if you don't have molasses. Brian wants his bok choy crunchy next time. I had no complaints with any of it. Would be a great sauce on chicken, steak or any other type of fish. You can find the recipe here.

Anyone have any good salmon recipes they would recommend? We have a bunch in the freezer and I'm on the hunt for tasty ways to prepare it!

Recipe #8: Blueberry Oatmeal Pecan Muffins

wrote and forgot to post! oops!!

mmmm.........

Modified from this cookbook.

Blueberry Oatmeal Pecan Muffins

1 1/3 cups bread flour
3/4 rolled oats
1/3 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg, beaten
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup cooking oil (I used a blend we have of canola, soy & olive oils)
1 cup blueberries
1/4 cup pecans

Line a muffin tin with muffin liners and heat the oven to 400. Mix all the dry ingredients in one bowl. In a separate bowl, beat the egg, then add the milk and oil. Stir to combine, then mix with the dry ingredients. Add the blueberries and pecans. Stir until just combined. The batter will be really lumpy. Spoon into muffin pan, filling about 2/3 full. Bake at 400 for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool in muffin pan on wire rack at least 5 minutes before serving. Makes one dozen muffins.

30 by 30: January Progress Report

So with 49 days left until my birthday, here's the status so far:



Two finished, but 5 in progress. That sounds a little crazy, but trust me, it's totally typical for me! Guess I haven't left my college days of multi-task reading behind me. :) Here are the two books finished so far:



Something Borrowed. And of course I immediately had to read the follow-up! Something Blue (Thanks for letting me borrow them Nancy!)



Lots of progress made, here's the list so far...
Completed:
1. Bookmarks
2. Knit hat for Brian
3. Christmas Cards
4. Scarf for my sister's Christmas gift
5. Reorganize Master Closet
6. Reorganize Guest Bedroom closet (including reorganizing all wrapping paper + wrapping supplies)
7. Decorate (and undecorate) house for Christmas
In progress:
8. Christmas Elf Hat for my new 2nd cousin Gabriel
9. Mini recipe books for Christmas Cookie Exchange party
10. Reclaimed Window Mirror (joint project with Brian.... just need to get the mirror glass!)
11. Reclaimed Window Frame (joint project with Brian.... needs glass too, then it will be a frame for pictures)
12. Gift for Nancy (almost done!)
13. 365 project (take a picture every day of 2010, so far I got this going!)



7/30 watched. Now, if it weren't for the fact that we watched our normal Christmas movies, The Proposal for the second & third times and Maid of Honor & 50 First Dates again we probably would be further along here! Add that to Brian suddenly going back to work crazy hours and we have not had the time to watch them. Hoping to catch up next weekend... if Brian is home!



9/30 made. Again, the holidays kinda killed the chances on attaining more. But I can say I made 8 dozen gingerbread men, 3 batches of shortbread and 4 dozen chocolate cherry peanut blossom kiss cookies, so I feel like I spent a lot of time in the kitchen lately!



And finally, the 5k. Going to run one with Andrea in February. Got back into exercising post-holidays and starting the serious running regiment this week... have about 9 minutes to drop from my time. yikes!

Recipe #9: Leftover Chicken & Rice Casserole

Brian suggested using up leftover rice by adding some cream of mushroom soup, some chicken, some cheese, some tortillas... so here's what I ended up with. Sorry no pic.... late dinner led to inhaling the food before I even thought of my camera!

A+B's Leftover Chicken & Rice Casserole

Leftover rice, about 2-3 cups
Can of Cream of Mushroom Soup
3/4 can of water (use the empty soup can)
Mix in a 8 or 9-quart casserole dish
Add 2 cooked chicken breasts (we use boneless, skinless), cut or shredded into small pieces
Stir to mix.
Add a handful of shredded mozzerella cheese, 2 teaspoons paprika and 1 teaspoon of black pepper.
Stir again.
Top with two tortillas that have been cut into 1/2" squares, then sprinkle another handful or two of mozzerella.
Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

YUM. Great way to use up leftover rice, tortillas and chicken! Would be excellent with some veggies added (mushrooms, squash).

My Last Decade... by the Numbers

I saw this somewhere... can't find it now, so I’m sorry to whomever I’m borrowing this idea from without giving credit! It reminds me of the Wisconsin vacation summary I e-mailed to everyone and have since lost. So if you never delete your e-mails and have it still somewhere…. Please forward it to me! :)

So without further adieu… I give you the last decade of my life:


24 Trips/vacations and of those…
17 were with Brian :)
32 Plane flights (this is counting takeoff/landings! And I am not a fan of flying, so this makes me happy!)
18 States visited (California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, North Dakota, Michigan, Vermont, New Hampshire, New York, Georgia, Florida, Colorado and Hawaii)
50+ races watched
5,000+ pictures taken
Hundreds of Mochas
3 Moves
2 Apartments (both in Davis, California)
1 Home (the current one!)
10 Dogs to love (between us + my family – Scarlet, Gracie, Ziggy, Sarge, Yoda, Daisy, Oskar, Belle, Otis & Pepper)
6 Cats to love (between us + my family – Nala, Darby, Simon, Bunnie, Cuddles and Goldie)
17 Classes taken at UCD (not including the 16 or so that came before those)
250+ books read (rough estimate)
1 Bachelor of Arts degree in International Relations
6 jobs
3 cars
300,000+ miles driven
124,000+ of those miles in my current car
2 car accidents
1 set of crutches
1 walking boot
1 3-day, 60-mile Breast Cancer Walk completed
$2,250 raised for Breast Cancer Research
16 weddings
7 of those weddings were my cousins
2 of those weddings were my siblings
18 babies born (rough estimate, off the top of my head!)
7 of those are related to us somehow
1 of those is my adorable nephew
1 First Kiss… that led to
1 Whirlwind romance… that led to
1 Perfect wedding… that has resulted in
Being married to my best friend.

Best. Decade. EVER. :)
This next decade has a lot to live up to!

How about you? What did the last decade add up to for you?

2010: All about the love!

Supplies used: (Re)Collection Kit from Songbird Avenue, 1942 Report font

My one word I want to live by the year is simple. Love. Love my family, my friends, myself, our home, our pets. Love life in general. What goals have I penciled in that fall within that list of loving my family, friends, self, home and pets?

1. Spend more time with family, friends and the furballs in our house.
2. Nuture our relationship, hopefully by continuing to spend quality time together.
3. Workout 3-4 days per week.
4. Continue eating healthy.
5. Finish all the projects on that long list of mine.

So far, this year is all about those things.
January - a trip to LA with Nancy.
February - a 5k with Andrea, a visit from my brother, which will include a trip to Disneyland with the family for my 30th birthday.
March - a month to focus on the house and time with Brian.
April - a trip to Florida with the girls.
May - the nephew's 2nd birthday and a trip to Pennsylvania to visit my brother.
June - still in Pennsylvania in the beginning....
the rest of the year is up for grabs still! Well, except for the first weekend of October, where we will be celebrating our 5th anniversary. How time flies!

So what are you resolving to do this year?

Recipe #7: Vanilla Spice Oatmeal

YUM. Give this recipe a try! I made this in less than five minutes by taking a scoop of oatmeal, adding some water and microwaving for three minutes in a bowl. I then sprinkled with cinnamon, nutmeg, a splash of vanilla extract, a spoonful of brown sugar, a little milk and a handful of raw pecans. Stir and eat. So tasty!

I skipped posting recipe #6 for biscuits. Had not made this recipe before, but they turned out great! Used butter and instead of Gold Medal Flour, used White Whole Wheat by King Arthur Flour. They went great with our homemade "KFC" dinner of pan fried chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy and steamed broccoli!

Off to take down the Christmas decor and finish cleaning out + reorganizing two of four closets in the house!

2009 in Review

Back in January, I decided wanted to create in 2009. I think I accomplished my major points:

1. Finish old projects, once and for all. I got a lot of projects finished, a lot of new ones started and completed, but not many that were on the original list got finished and they continue to follow me into 2010. oh well! Trying again....

2. Continue creating our home. Lots of little things got done. Replaced light fixtures... reorganized and cleaned out. Brian finished his wall, but the economy caused us to put a hold on spending any money on the painting and landscaping. We have it mostly planned out and as soon as we can, we'll be jumping in again!

3. Create new routines. Ironically, the one I labeled as the toughest, ended up being the one I stuck with the most. I still am not a morning person, but I have a much better routine. One that includes weeknight group workout classes, regular time with Brian and a normal bedtime of 10 to 11 pm and wake up time of no later than 7:00 am on workdays. I am claiming victory on this one! :)

4. Create great memories. Definitely accomplished. My brother got married in April. I got my weekend with the girls in May by the ocean. Celebrated with our family as the nephew turned one. My sister got married in August. We watched our nephew for a whole week in August. Watched lots of Law & Order. Made some lifelong great new friends. Enjoyed great times with old friends. I went deer hunting for the first time. We planned and booked our next big vacation for 2011... a Disney cruise to Alaska with some good friends. :) Lots of time with the family. Lots and lots of great memories this year. :)

5. Create new traditions, new favorites. Didn't quite make that many new recipes this year, but this endeavor will continue in 2010. Brian learned to make excellent french bread from scratch. I made some new cookies and main courses that made it into the permanent recipe box. I'm sad to say that I still haven't made marshmallows though... I have a book, but haven't made it past drooling over the recipes. :) Definitely plan on making some soon though!

Still trying to decide what to resolve for 2010, but I'll think on it tonight and make a decision for tomorrow. Until then, happy new year from our house to yours!

Recipe #5: Asian Beef Stirfry

I found this recipe and changed it from skewers to stirfry. I heated a skillet with a little canola oil, added steak that was precut fajita style. Added the onion after a few minutes. While that was cooking mixed up the sauce, then poured it into the pan once the beef was no longer pink. Added a tablespoon of cornstarch to thicken up the sauce, then added some fresh cubes of pineapple. Served it over rice instead of pasta. Yum! Brian and I both liked how hot this one was. Another keeper!

Recipe #4: Chocolate-Peppermint Cookies

These are a definite favorite that will get made frequently. (And no, that is not what my cookies looked like!) Think Girl Scout Thin Mints...yum! So I got the recipe here. I made some definite revisions to the recipe though, so here is my version of the same recipe.

Chocolate-Peppermint Cookies

Ingredients
Makes 6 3 dozen.

1 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for surface
1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 ounces (5 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
3/4 teaspoon pure peppermint extract
8 large candy canes or 30 peppermint candies or about 15 mini candy canes, crushed
2 pounds white chocolate, coarsely chopped Note: Do not use white chocolate chips, they will not melt down enough!

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Sift flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into a bowl. Beat butter and sugar with a mixer on medium-high speed for 1 minute. Reduce speed to medium-low, and add egg, then yolk, beating well after each addition. Beat in peppermint extract. Slowly add flour mixture, and beat until just incorporated. Shape dough into 2 disks rectangles about a 1/2" thick, wrap each in plastic, and refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour (or up to 2 days).

2. Roll out 1 disk of dough on a lightly floured surface to 1/8-inch thickness. Freeze until firm, about 15 minutes. Using a 2-inch round cutter, cut out circles, and Work with one rectangle at a time (keep the other in the fridge), cut into 1/2" by 1/2" by 1/2" cubes. Working quickly, on a floured surface roll all the cubes in hands to form small balls of dough. Press to 1/8" thick with a flat-bottomed drinking glass. Generously use flour on the bottom of glass, your hands and the dough. It will not show up on the cookies once they are baked. The longer the dough is out of the fridge the stickier it gets, so work quickly! Once you have pressed the balls of cookie dough flat, place 1 inch apart on parchment-lined baking sheets. Roll and cut scraps once. Freeze cookies until firm, about 15 minutes. Repeat with remaining disk. Bake immediately, no need to freeze.

3. Bake until cookies are dry to the touch, about 12 minutes. Transfer parchment, with cookies, to wire racks, and let cool. (Undecorated cookies will keep, covered, for up to 3 days.)

4. Sift crushed candy, and separate larger pieces from dust, reserving both. I didn't do this and they turned out just fine! Melt chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pot of gently simmering water. Remove from heat. Dunk cookies into melted chocolate. Using a fork, turn to coat, let excess drip off, and gently scrape bottom against edge of bowl. I ended up spreading the melted chocolate on the top with a knife. I wouldn't recommend using white chocolate chips -- not the same! Next time, I may even just use milk chocolate because it will coat better. Place on parchment-lined baking sheets, and sprinkle 1/4 teaspoon of either candy pieces or dust on top. Repeat, sprinkling half the cookies with pieces and the rest with dust. Refrigerate until set, up to 3 hours. Decorated cookies are best served the same day. Again, I disagree. They tasted great until yesterday, a full 2 days after making! I don't think they would have lasted any longer, but they will taste just as good if you make a day or two ahead of serving or giving them to people!

Definitely adding to the recipe box in our house!

Recipe #3: Baked Chicken Meatballs

So I saw this recipe over on the Smitten Kitchen blog. Hop on over there for the recipe. A little on the salty side to us, but I think that's the pancetta talking. Only change I made was to put a little shredded mozzarella on the top before putting in the oven. Very tasty and definitely going into our recipe box.

Recipe #2: Lime Meltaways

Remember Lemon Coolers? They were this tasty lemon cookie covered in powdered sugar that lived in a green box in the grocery store? Oh how I miss those cookies!

So when I saw the Lime Meltaway recipe in this cookbook:


Martha Stewart's Cookies

I HAD to try it!


You can get the recipe here.

Now we want to make using lemons too. Delicious! :)

Recipe #1: Sweet Fire Chicken

Recently, I tried a new dish at Panda Express -- the Sweet Fire Chicken. YUM. But I knew that it was somewhat unhealthy and probably easily recreated in our kitchen. I was right!


Other than knowing for sure it had pineapple, red bell pepper, onion, chicken and sweet chili sauce, I wanted to make sure I was not missing anything. I turned to google to see if anyone else had created a recipe for it yet. I found this great resource and used this recipe to help me formulate a healthier chicken replacement for the deep fried chicken I know is in the original!

So this is how it all came together:










(Sorry for the less than fabulous picture -- this was taken mid-feast on my phone before we consumed it all!)

Amanda's Sweet Fire Chicken

2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into approx. 1" pieces
1 cup flour
salt & pepper, to taste (we hardly use any salt and add more pepper)
canola oil, just enough to cover the bottom of the pan or PAM cooking spray
1/2 of a red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1/2 of a small onion, chopped
1 cup fresh pineapple, chopped (could substitute a can of pineapple, drained)
Thai sweet chili sauce (I used about 1/2 cup, but we both would have liked it hotter, so next time I'll probably add more)

Chop and prepare all ingredients before starting. Heat oil in pan on stovetop. Mix flour, salt and pepper in a gallon ziplock bag. Add chicken pieces and coat evenly. Once pan has heated, add the chicken pieces. Throw out the leftover flour mixture. Cook 4-5 minutes, stirring several times to cook chicken. If the pan surface gets dry, spray some additional cooking spray on the surface or add a little bit more oil. Once the chicken has browned, add the bell pepper and onions. Stir in and cook about 3-4 minutes. Add the sweet chili sauce and stir. Then immediately add the pineapple and stir. Allow to cook for 2-3 minutes. Serve over rice immediately.

SO yummy. Definitely adding to our list of regular dinner menu items around here!