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take 12 challenge ...

I had fun yesterday taking photos for the Ella Publishing Take 12 Challenge.  It was nice that I was home yesterday, because I was able to capture more photos than if I were in the office.  Every month, I will be creating a layout (using one of the layout sketches from the Take 12 kit) with twelve of the pictures I captured that day.

Here are some of the photos I took yesterday.

 

 

 

Watch for my layout that will be featuring 12 photos I took yesterday.

Okay, since today is FRIDAY, it is time to give my answers to the This is Me Challenge - Fast Fact Friday questions.

There was a theme this week ... All About Food!

1. How do you like your chocolate?
2. What dessert or treat can you never say "no" to?
3. What is your favorite meal?
4. What food do you dislike the most?
5. What do you think is the healthiest thing in your pantry right now?

And my answers:

1. I love ALL chocolate, but dark chocolate is my favorite.
2. I can never say no to cheesecake.
3. My favorite meal is roasted chicken, mashed potatoes, and a vegetable (usually corn).
4. Macaroni and cheese ... I know, a comfort food for many, but not me.  The traumatic experience I once had as a child has stayed in my mind.
5. Popcorn

Thanks for stopping by everyone.  Enjoy your weekend!

100 foods to eat ...

A friend of mine took one of those quizzes on facebook, and I wanted to share it with you.  The quiz was to find out what foods you should eat before you die, and how many you've already tried.

Here is the list:

1. Abolone
2. Absinthe
3. Alligator
4. Baba Ghanoush
5. Bagel and Lox
6. Baklava
7. Barbecue Ribs - YES
8. Bellini
9. Bird's Nest Soup
10. Biscuits and Gravy - YES
11. Black Pudding
12. Black Truffle
13. Borscht
14. Clamari - YES
15. Carp
16. Caviar - YES
17. Cheese Fondue
18. Chicken and Waffles
19. Chicken Tikka Masala
20. Chile Relleno
21. Chitlins
22. Churros - YES
23. Clam Chowder - YES
24. Cognac
25. Crab Cakes - YES
26. Crickets
27. Currywurst
28. Dandelion Wine
29. Dulce De Leche
30. Durian
31. Eel
32. Eggs Benedict - YES
33. Fish Tacos - YES
34. Foie Gras
35. Fresh Spring Rolls - YES
36. Fried Catfish
37. Fried Green Tomatoes
38. Fried Plantain - YES
39. Frito Pie - YES
40. Frog's Legs
41. Fugu
42. Funnel Cake
43. Gazpacho
44. Goat
45. Goat's Milk
46. Goulash
47. Gumbo - YES
48. Haggis
49. Head Chese
50. Heirloom Tomatoes
51. Honeycomb
52. Hostess Fruit Pie - YES
53. Huevos Rancheros
54. Jerk Chicken
55. Kangaroo
56. Key Lime Pie - YES
57. Kobe Beef
58. Lassi
59. Lobster - YES
60. Mimosa - YES
61. MoonPie - YES
62. Morel Mushrooms
63. Nettle Tea
64. Octopus
65. Oxtail Soup
66. Paella
67. Paneer
68. Pastrami on Rye - YES
69. Pavlova
70. Phaal
71. Philly Cheese Steak - YES
72. Pho
73. Pineapple and Cottage Cheese
74. Pistachio Ice Cream - YES
75. Po'Boy - YES
76. Pocky
77. Polenta
78. Prickly Pear
79. Rabbit Stew
80. Raw Oysters
81. Root Beer Float - YES
82. S'Mores - YES
83. Sauerkraut - YES
84. Sea Urchin
85. Shark
86. Snail
87. Snake
88. Soft Shell Crab - YES
89. Som
90. Spaetzle
91. Spam
92. Squirrel
93. Steak Tartare
94. Sweet Potato Fries - YES
95. Sweetbreads - YES
96. Tom Yum
97. Umeboshi
98. Venison - YES
99. Wasabi Peas - YES
100. Zucchini Flowers

Okay, to be honest, I have never heard of more than half of these.  What about you?  Out of the 100 foods listed, I have only tried 30 of them.  Maybe I should be more adventurous in trying some of these foods.  Out of the foods that I haven't tried, what foods would you recommend for me to try?

r is for rob's cooking ...

My post and picture today go hand-in-hand ... A to Z challenge for letter "R," and One Little Word Captured for my word PATIENCE.

My post is all about the times when Rob (my husband) cooks for us.  Let me tell you first that whatever he creates (usually the recipe is something he comes up with himself) is delicious.  I think I only remember one meal he created that we tossed in the garbage in all the 12 years that we have lived together.

Anyway, even though he does make great things to eat, he is the MESSIEST cook EVER.  When he is done, there is stuff spattered everywhere, and I can't stand it.  When I cook, I am the type of person that cleans up as I cook so there isn't a huge mess to clean up after dinner is made and we have eaten.  Just knowing that I have to clean up his mess in the kitchen after we eat stresses me out.

The other night, he made onion rings.

 
There was a greasy, splattered mess everywhere.  I hate frying food on the stovetop (our Fry Daddy is so much better and less of a mess).  There is nothing more disgusting than grease splattered everywhere.

So, I just need to learn that if my husband is going to make a meal for us, especially on the days when I get home from work at 6pm or later, I need to find the patience of dealing with the cleanup afterward.

For more One Little Word Captured photos from this week, go here.

Enjoy your evening everyone.

k is for kentucky fried chicken ...

I know, Kentucky Fried Chicken is not healthy for you, but I just LOVE their original chicken, and can NEVER pass up their mashed potatoes and biscuits.  There have been times (not recently) that I have just gone through the drive-thru to get a container of mashed potatoes.  What are some of your favorite places to stop for a non-healthy quick bite to eat?

For more A to Z challenge posts for letter "K", click the link to the right.

It's a day earlier than my normal posts for One Little Word - Captured, but I thought I'd share my picture with you today since I just captured it about five minutes ago.

 
 
Here is Rebecca refusing to take a nap today.  It's already been a very LONG day, and now this little one is going to be very grumpy as the day goes on.  So my "patience" lesson this week is to accept that this little girl may not want to take a nap everyday (just hope it's not EVERYDAY from now on).

For more One Little Word - Captured pictures, please go here.

Hope everyone is having a happy day!

f is for food network magazine ...

My post today for the A to Z challenge is all about the Food Network Magazine.

I am a fan of the Food Network channel and a huge fan of the Food Network Magazine.  I'm always looking for a new recipe to try (even if I may not be the best or most creative cook).

There are so many cooking shows on the Food Network channel that I try to tune into as often as possible.  Shows like:

• Iron Chef America
• Ten Dollar Dinners
• Paula's Best Dishes
• Giada at Home
• Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives
• Ace of Cakes
• Unwrapped
• 30 Minute Meals
• Good Eats
• Semi-Homemade Cooking
• The Next Food Network Star

When it comes to the magazine, there are always so many great articles that are featured every month.  I LOVE how they showcase their Recipe Index listing all the recipes, a picture of what the finished product should look like, and the page you will find the recipe.  I also love that you can search the magazine by a particular Star (i.e., Giada De Laurentiis).

Every month they list a calendar and highlight a food/beverage that you can incorporate into a meal everyday ... so fun!

In the May issue, there is an article listing 100 of the greatest cooking tips of all time.  Some of my favorites that they listed are:

1. If you are cooking for someone important, never try a new recipe and a new ingredient at the same time.
2. After working with garlic, rub your hands vigorously on your stainless steel sink for 30 seconds before washing them.  It will remove the odor.
3. Do not use oil in the water when boiling pasta; it will keep the sauce from sticking to the cooked pasta.
4. Don't overcrowd the pan when you're sauteing, it'll make your food steam instead.
5. Always measure what you're baking.  No shortcuts in pastry - It's a science.
6. Make sure the handle of your pan is turned away from you so you don't hit it and knock it off the stove.
7. To help keep an onion together while dicing, do not remove the root.
8. Always start with a smoking hot pan.
9. To optimize the juice you get from a lemon or lime, roll it hard under your palm for a minute before juicing.
10. Clean as you go .... THIS ONE I LIVE BY.

For more great tips and great recipes, pick up the May issue of Food Network Magazine.

Thanks for stopping by!

a to z challenge ...

I just came across a new blog today called Tossing it Out, and they have a challenge that starts tomorrow that sounds like fun, and probably will be a bit challenging at times, but I'm going to participate. 

The challenge is to post something on your blog every day in April (except Sundays) using the letters of the alphabet (i.e., April 1 will be a post about something that starts with the letter "A").  Sounds like fun, doesn't it!  I'm already trying to think about what I'm going to blog about for letter A.

Tonight I'm hoping to start working on my layouts for the Big Picture Classes class Just Curious that I'm participating in.  The intent isn't to create layouts for the daily challenges, but I want to, so I'm holding myself to get it done.

There are some other goals that I plan on starting to work on in April, like starting to eat healthier and getting exercising back into my week.  I've just been feeling very down on myself about how I look these days and I want to feel better about how I look and feel.

The one thing that hasn't been helping much this week is that there is a bag of these ...

 

 
in my pantry.  They are little pieces of heaven.  Have you tried them?

And for the American Idol fans out there ... who do you think is going home tonight?

happy first day of november ...

We definitely had a crazy, fun-filled weekend.  With the school activities on Friday, a Halloween party that Nicholas attended on Saturday, and visiting with friends and then trick-or-treating on Sunday, it was non-stop.  I sure wish that I took today off from work to relax.  I'll be back later this week to post some Halloween pictures. 

Since November is a great time to eat cranberries (i.e., Thanksgiving), I thought it would be fun to list some things you can do to incorporate cranberries into your meals.  These ideas were found from the November issue of the Food Network Magazine.

• Serve a World-Series-inspired snack ... mix some dried cranberries into a bowl of Cracker Jacks
• Make autumn trail mix ... toss dried cranberries with mini marshmallows and salted roasted cashews and peanuts
• Start the week with a good breakfast ... mix dried cranberries with oatmeal and top with yogurt
• Freeze cranberry juice into ice cubes ... use them in a pitcher of water on Thanksgiving
• Fold cranberry sauce into whipped cream as a dessert topping ... it's great over brownies
• Spoil yourself .... put a few chocolate-covered cranberries in your cereal

And, you would be proud to know that I completed LOAD for the month of October.  Below is my layout from Day 30 ... I'll post what I created last night some time later this week.  So happy with my accomplishment of getting 31 layouts created this month. 

 

Enjoy your evening!

i have a new addiction ...

Oh my gosh ... have you tried these yet?

A friend from work was talking about these yesterday saying that she has still been unable to purchase a bag of these ... well, not me.  I had to go to Shoprite after work yesterday and went down the candy aisle.  Lucky me, there was a big bag of these babies ... and let me tell you, they are YUMMY!  Thing is, Nicholas likes them too.  That only means that the bag won't last long in our house.

The other night I felt like creating, and since I have so many sketches that I want to use to create layouts, it was the perfect moment.  I used one of the sketches from the Inspired Blueprints site.  It represents the first photos of Rob holding Becca ... such a special daddy/daughter moment.

 

I'm sending out my old hard drive from my work PC tomorrow ... I'm hoping the "forensic" team can save my data (at least my pictures).  I will keep all of you posted.

Hope you all have a wonderful evening!

loving these salad toppings ...

I confess, when I was younger and probably into my twenties, I was not a fan at all for eating salad.  Now, I try to eat salad at least four times a week for lunch, and possibly once a week for dinner.  I was in Shoprite the other day and found some really yummy salad toppings.  They are made by a company called Fresh Gourmet.  So far, my favorites are:

I've actually made little tortilla strips before and ate them with a salsa dip.  I just cut up tortilla wraps into strips and threw them in the oven until they got crispy.  Boy are they yummy.

For those that are wondering ... I have still have not been able to retrieve anything (including pictures) from my hard drive from my work PC.  They will be sending out my hard drive; however, they may still not be able to retrieve my data.

So, I'm thinking of possibly taking a new online scrapbook class:

Adventures in Scrapbooking: Use Your Stash

Still not sure ... it starts on September 2, so I have some time to think about it.

Hope you are all doing well .... be back soon!