Hilary, With One "L"

Sick Day

2012-01-30T14:25:00.000-05:00

Uggggghhh. . .I feel like crap on toast. My nose is so stuffed up, I swear someone jammed cotton balls in there when I wasn't looking. It's so plugged, I can't taste anything. That actually might be a good thing because my throat is so raw that swallowing feels like a dozen tiny swordsmen are sharpening their steel on my tonsils. I'm so tired because I can't sleep because I can't breathe. I've turned into a droopy eyed, dry-lipped, mouth breather. Let me go take some Tylenol with an orange juice chaser. Keep your fingers crossed for rebound for tomorrow.

How Charming

2012-01-24T10:56:00.000-05:00

Hilary with One L's Charm Bracelet

I don't wear a lot of jewelry. My wedding rings, my watch and I'm out the door. I'm so rough on my hands, I'm afraid that I'm going to snag a bracelet or a ring on something and either rip the setting apart or lose the whole piece entirely. Still, when I'm feeling fancy or really want to dress up something as basic as a tee shirt and jeans, I turn to my charm bracelet that Craig started for me several years ago. The first charm was the round T& Co charm for a Christmas gift. The second was the little blue box because, who doesn't like to see a little blue box? My third charm was the number 7, which holds special significance to me. My last charm was the apple which was given to me by Craig. Without getting too personal, let's just say that after many married years, I'm still tempting to my hubs the way the apple tempted Adam and Eve. I think there's room on there for one more, and I've got my eye on something like this:

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Do you prefer a charm bracelet that has a specific theme or one that tells a story about who you are?

Solid Gold Victorian Charm Bracelet

Bookish Charm Bracelet

Coco Chanel Inspired Charm Bracelet

Fairy Tale Wonderland Charm Bracelet

Parisian Charm Bracelet

Tennis Charm Bracelet

Come on out, Baby!

2012-01-23T10:49:00.004-05:00

I promise, I'm not going to turn into one of those bloggers who, once they start popping out kids like Pez , they don't have anything else to talk about except stretch marks, poopy diapers, and cracked nipples. I will say, however, observing the girls and their reactions to my pregnancy has been pretty hilarious.

So, the other day, we were on our way home from school when Coever announced from the backseat that come June, when it's time for the baby to be born, I will, "go into the bathroom and poop it out."

Her sister, also known as Fountain of Infinite Knowledge, said, "Uh no! When the baby is ready to be born, the doctor will cut it out of Mom's tummy."

If I hadn't been doing 35 on a twisty road, I'd have banged my head on the steering wheel. Repeatedly. *Le sigh* Where to begin.

I opened with asking the girls what they knew about muscles in the body. What are muscles and how do we make them grow? No problem. They answered that like Ken Jennings on final Jeopardy. I went on to say that men and women have different muscles and that the place where a baby grows is a muscle unique to women called a uterus. I flicked my eyes up to the rear view mirror to see if they were still with me or if I needed to turn back to Absolutely Mindy on Kids Place Live. My girls were hanging on my every word, so I plunged ahead.

A uterus, I went on to explain was a muscle that was like a house for the baby. The muscle grew to accommodate the baby as the baby grew.

"And then they cut you open to take the baby out!" Morgan finished for me. She was delivered via C-section and has heard the story so well, you'd think she actually brought herself forth from the inside out.

"Well, sometimes a doctor has to make an incision to take the baby out because the baby is facing the wrong way or is in trouble and has to come out fast. Most of the time the baby comes out another way."

"When you poop!" Coever announced! This girl and her poops, what is up with that?

"Not quite," I went on, wishing that we were at home instead of hitting every single red light between the school yard and house. My brain was whirring and ticking as I thought on how to thoughtfully explain the whole uterus/cervix/vagina extravaganza that is natural childbirth. So, I went back to the uterus and likened it to a house where the baby lives until it's ready to be born. "In order to get out of the house, what do we go through?" I asked them, pretty certain they'd get it.

"A door!"

"Right," I said, gaining momentum. "So the uterus is the house and the vagina is the door the baby goes through to come out into the world.

Dead silence.

And then the plaintive exclamation from Morgan, "But it's SO small!"

Nothing gets past her. Not a thing.

"Well," I said, trying to wrap this up as quickly as possible, "that's true, but after the baby is born, everything goes back to the way it was." If you're lucky, I added under my breath. Thankfully, we were wheeling up the driveway at that point, so I was able to redirect that conversation to more important things like the collection of backpacks, mittens, snack wrappers and other junk. Later on, when I was retelling this to Craig, I realized, better to have a conversation about how the baby was getting out instead of how the baby got in. We're going to need more than an after school pick-up to discuss that one.

Recipe Friday

2012-01-20T07:41:00.000-05:00

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I don't feel like I get a ton of magazines, but there are a ton of magazines laying around my house. Usually, when I'm reading one, I rip out choice articles or recipes that catch my eye. Then, instead of deep sixing the mag, it ends up on the coffee table or in the gaping maw of the magazine basket next to the fireplace. Eventually, I'll go through those mags that have made the cut. I'll do a quick flip through to see if I've missed anything before I really and truly throw it away.

During one of my last purges, I came across an old copy of WonderTime magazine. Do they even print this anymore? SN: The better question is, am I getting charged for this 'cause I haven't seen a new issue in a while.

A quick Google search and come to find out, it's not in publication anymore. That's a shame. I used to love this magazine! It was like Real Simple and Parents had a baby and voila! WonderTime. You can still check out some offerings online, but nothing beats the weight and heft of a well designed magazine.

Like most mags, they offered some recipes that were family friendly. In one issue, there was a contest called "Beat This", where participants submitted what they considered to be their best recipe for a certain dish. Other readers were encouraged to beat it, basically prove that they had a better recipe than the one featured. I never did submit anything, but I guess in the back of my mind, I was going to see how good this woman's lasagna really was -- hence the saving of a now defunct magazine.

I went to the grocery yesterday for some odds and ends, and wouldn't you know it, the ingredients for the lasagna ended up in my cart. I must be crazy because Craig is now doing Paleo and I'm pretty sure you can't pick lasagna off a tree, dig it out of the ground, or spear with with a bow and arrow as it leaps across a grassy knoll. The girls? I predict that Morgan will give it a courtesy bite and Coever will opt out entirely in favor of salami and crackers. Thankfully, my dad is in town. He's like Mikey from the Life cereal commercials.

I think it's going to be pretty tasty. I made it last night and am going to cook up it tonight for supper. I'll let you know how it turns out!

I ripped my copy of the recipe out of the issue of WonderTime, but you can find it here.
Buono appetito!

Serves 6 to 8

Ingredients:
1 pound ground beef or ground turkey (or cooked chicken, Italian sausage, seafood, andouille, etc.)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
26 to 28 ounces (about 3 cups) pasta sauce
Salt and pepper
r 2 tablespoons red wine (optional)
1 cup chicken stock
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons white wine (optional)
12 ounces (3 cups) freshly grated mozzarella
6 to 8 no-boil lasagna noodles
2 cups cooked, well-drained broccoli, spinach, peas, or other vegetables (optional)
1 cup (about 4 ounces) freshly grated Parmesan

Heat oven to 400. Grease a 9-by-13-inch pan. Thoroughly cook the ground beef, garlic, and herbs in a large skillet, stirring frequently and breaking up the meat. Stir in pasta sauce and bring to a simmer for about 2 minutes. Season to taste and add the red wine, if using. Set aside.

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, bring chicken stock to a boil. Add cream cheese, turn heat to low, and whisk until smooth, about 6 minutes. Season to taste and add the white wine, if using.

Spoon half the meat sauce into the pan as evenly as possible. Sprinkle 1 cup grated mozzarella over the meat mixture. Top with 3 or 4 lasagna noodles. If using vegetables, toss them evenly over the noodles.

Pour the cream-cheese sauce over the noodles and cover with another cup of grated mozzarella. Arrange 3 or 4 lasagna noodles over the cheese, then spoon remaining meat mixture over noodles as evenly as possible. Top with the rest of the mozzarella and the grated Parmesan. Bake until brown and bubbling, 35 to 45 minutes. (You'll need the longer cooking time if you have made and chilled the lasagna in advance.) Let cool for 10 to 15 minutes or it will be too gloppy to cut well. That would drive you crazy this late in the game.

Gimme, gimme, gimme

2012-01-19T12:36:00.002-05:00

There are a couple of things that I have decided that I desperately need. Of course, I can't find them anywhere.

1. Six years ago, Target had a line of pajamas, the name of which I totally forget. Among the designs were a pair of gray pajama bottoms with the Eiffel Tower stamped all over them in red. I wore them all.of.the.time, especially when I was out there pregnant with Morgan. I need those pajama bottoms or any drawstring pajama bottoms with the Eiffel Tower on them. Someone, please get on that.

2. Speaking of the Eiffel Tower, I need it. Specifically, I need a replica. Preferably an 18 inch wire/mesh type that I can plunk down on this sideboard we have to complete a little Parisian theme we have going in the hallway. Two, three weeks ago, those things were all over HomeGoods, Marshalls and TJ Maxx? Today, all of those stores look ransacked and on the verge of collapse. Gotta love the post-holiday return and exchange crush.

3. Yoga pants. Really, this shouldn't be so hard and yet, I am about to have an aneurysm because I can't find any decent yoga pants. Part of the problem stems from the fact that I will not fork over my money to an establishment whose clerks and service providers do not acknowledge me in the store. Can I get a greeting? Can you help me find something without me having to chase you through the store only to have you evade me by popping into the Employee Only black hole of coffee-breaks and inventory rooms? Yes, I'm looking at you, Lululemon salesperson ::stinky side-eye::

4. A car that works. My car just up and decided to deflate the other day. I mean, I went outside and the back-end looked like it had been filled with bricks. The front end had it's nose in the air like a trained seal. I couldn't figure out what was going on. Turns out the air suspension was blown or shot or whatever. Bottom line? It wasn't working. So, it goes to the dealership and my sweet hubby brings home a rental car. I'm thinking something with four-doors, like a Honda Civic or a Ford Focus. Nope. I get this:

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Uh yeah, that would be a mini-van.

And I die.

Seriously? Oh, this thing is fully loaded with leather seats, two DVD players, the automatic rear sliding doors on each side and all manner of jingly bells and whistles. The girls consider this a serious upgrade and I'm sure there will be tears when it's time to turn it in. As for me? I'm not trying to knock the folks out there who drive around in their Odysseys, Quests, and what not, but I'm just not that girl. There have been times when we've been up against a wall with respect to car options. We were pushing my dad's old Lincoln Town Car there for a while (like driving your living room around town). But see, I've been an SUV driver for as long as I've had my license and an SUV is about as big as I want to go. Truth be told, if I had my way, I'd be sitting pretty in one of these:

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And I even like the color. . .(if you know that reference, give yourself 2 million cool points). Boo-hoo for me, I don't think Mercedes makes this body style any more. Craig said he'd get me one for my 50th birthday. I had to specify that I meant the actual car that I could fit into and drive, not some Hot Wheels or Micro Machines knock-off. Gotta be specific.

I've got a serious case of the gimmes with no discernible end in sight. What's a girl to do?

Thems the Rules

2012-01-17T17:21:00.004-05:00

So, we told the girls pretty early on that Trip was going to be joining us in June. I debated for a while as when to break the news to them, but the decision was kind of made for me when I kept having to stop making breakfast to go hug the toilet bowl every morning. There's really no creative way to re-direct the children from the sound of you horking up an offering to the porcelain gods.

In any event, once we explained to the girls that there was a baby on the way, you'd have thought they'd won the lottery. Coever was fist pumping and marching around the kitchen, while Morgan just laughed and giggled. Not a bad reaction. Everyone has said that I've got two great helpers on my hands, and the girls certainly seem willing to do their part.

Morgan has taken Coever under her wing as they prepare to transition into big sisterhood for the second and first time, respectively. Over the last couple of weeks, Morgan has been doling out little nuggets of sisterly advice for Coever to keep on file when the mantle of "Big Sister" falls onto her shoulders. Once, while the girls were picking up crayons off of the floor, I overheard Morgan say to Coever, "You'll want to throw out pieces like that. You wouldn't want the baby to put it in it's mouth and choke and die."

Coever studied the nub of crayon, shrugged her shoulders in a "Hmm, good point," kind of way and tossed it in trash. Another time, Morgan saw Coever coming into the kitchen carrying a pair of scissors incorrectly. Quickly, she reprimanded her sister, saying, "You shouldn't carry the scissors like that! The baby could carry the scissors like that and trip and poke themselves and die."

I'm was seeing a pattern develop here, so I talked with Morgan about it. We decided she should come up with some rules for Coever on how to be a big sister, but more importantly, rules that don't ultimately end with the untimely demise of Trip.

Without further ado, I give you the Big Sister Rules, according to Morgan, a four and a half year expert on the subject.

Number five sums it up nicely, I think.

Friday Randomness

2012-01-13T16:32:00.001-05:00

I must be having some DWTS withdrawal or something. I heard this Prince song today and immediately thought, "They should totally do a tango to this song!" Then I looked around to make sure I hadn't said that out loud.
Fun fact for you: This song was released in 1986 (feeling old, much?). It still gets fingers poppin' and toes tappin'. In the video, Prince sports tight pants and high heels with such panache, I'm sure there are quite a few females out there taking copious notes. XOXO and Happy Friday, y'all.

Word Girl

2012-01-10T12:52:00.000-05:00

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The thing with reading quite a bit is that you pick up a number of new words for your vocabulary. What I find even more interesting is that once you come across a new word, then you see it everywhere. In the last four or five books I've read, the following words have appeared several times.

meme (n) - an idea, behavior, or style that spreads from person to person within a culture.
As a matter of fact, I saw this word again today while reading an article about the "Sh*t Girls say. . ." phenomenon that has exploded all over YouTube. Weirdly enough, every time I see the word meme, in my head I always say meem. Now I have doomed myself to say it incorrectly, especially when I'm trying to impress someone with my wordiness.

peripatetic (n) - pedestrian, traveller
Really? This seems like a gratuitous use of an inflated synonym. Just say pedestrian, or someone having a walk-about. Especially when you use the word in such a way that there aren't any context clues to help me figure out and then I get all douchey by whipping out my iPhone to look it up on my dictionary app. Yes, use of the iPhone that is unrelated to making phone calls, sending emails, checking your position on the GPS, or entertaining your child while you get the grocery shopping done leans towards douche-baggery. Sorry, I don't make the rules.

scrofulous (adj) - having a diseased, run-down appearance; morally contaminated; affected with scrofula.
*head slap* Of course that's what it means! I think I read this word first in "The Witch's Daughter" by Paula Brackston. The story takes place in England, so I figured scrofulous was a British word that had an American counterpart. You know like the way the Brits say "boot" instead of "trunk" or "crisps instead of "chips" or "Kate Middleton" instead of "Girl, eat a damn sandwich and step away from the eyeliner".

I've gone 33 years and not once ever heard or seen the word scrofulous before. Then *poof* at least twice in two different books over the course of a week. Say it out loud, just once. "Scrofulous". The prefix (if it can be called that) scrof- reminds me of how people describe how voraciously they've been eating. You know, "Oh man, I was so hungry. When I finally ate, I was like scrof, scrof, scrof. . ."

And yes, I'm laughing at myself, by myself, for typing that sentence.

Scrof, scrof, scrof is like Om, nom, nom but only if you are so hungry you're about to gnaw on your own forearm. I've been that hungry before. All decorum goes out the window.

So, I'm wondering what word or words I'll come across next. I'm about a quarter of the way through "A Clash of Kings" and haven't seen any of the aforementioned words. Of course, this book is teetering on 900 pages, so there's still time. I did read a post at PIWTPITT where the author describes Donald Trump as a megalomaniac. Not my first time at the rodeo with that word, but haven't seen it in a while. Such an awesome word. "Megalo-" is kind of melodious when taken on it's own. Megalo, megalo, megalo. . .like some word an old curmudgeon (ooh, curmudgeon!) would say to himself repeatedly as he contemplated a chess move while worrying a pawn in his scrofulous fingers.

See what I did there? Now, how to work all three into one sentence. . .

Busy As A . . .

2012-01-09T12:42:00.000-05:00

For some reason, I have really been into bees lately. More specifically, the bee motif. I've been stung enough to know that these little winged creatures are best admired from a distance or when they're serving as inspiration for a crafty project. There is just something about Apis Melifea that makes a really striking theme. Several years ago, Restoration Hardware featured embroidered bees on a number of there bath towels and linen sets. We scored a king size duvet and sham in a champagne color with white bees emblazoned on it.

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I love this set and am loathe to part with it even though the sun has pretty much faded it into a ombre facsimile of what it once was. SN: What drives me nuts is that this is such a popular set and yet, RH discontinued it and has no plans of bring it back. Believe me, I've checked in the stores. Numerous times. Had I known that it would be discontinued, would I have at least closed the curtains to protect it from fading? Maybe a couple of times, but this is a girl who throws hand wash only items in a laundry bag on the gentle cycle and crosses her fingers.

Anywhoodle, I'm really into bees and am thinking that's going to be the theme for #3. Morgan had giraffes, Coever had. . .um. . .oh yeah, pickles and ice cream, so it's only fair that Trip (short for Triple) has his/her own banner. Thankfully, there is quite a bit of bee stuff out there; of course, most of what I'm looking at is with me in mind. I mean, I'm the Queen Bee around here. . .(sorry, I couldn't resist).

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Bookworm

2012-01-04T20:53:00.001-05:00

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So, I had every intention of jumpstarting 2012 with some posts: a Monday message, a few recipes, a couple of funny tidbits about the girls and what they've been up to. And then, on the last day of the Christmas Break 2011, I cracked open the first of George R.R. Martin's series A Song of Fire and Ice, the first book being. . . "A Game of Thrones."

And cut to me still sitting on the sofa, turning pages.
I didn't check my email.
I didn't get on Pinterest.
I didn't get on Facebook.
I didn't watch TV.
I may have fed the family a time or two, but mostly, I read.
And I read.
And I read.

Seriously, it's not like I didn't watch the HBO series with the rest of the world. The entire first book is exactly what I saw Sunday after Sunday. And yet, I still couldn't put it down. Craig had warned me; he and his brother had read the books way before the show came out, but they had returned to them just as the series was starting. Keep in mind, these books top off at about 900 + pages in paperback. We're talking door-stops here, and yet both of them just burned right through it. So, I picked up my copy of book one and that was all she wrote. I couldn't.stop.reading it.

I finished the first book yesterday and busied myself with some long overdue chores just so I wouldn't inhale the second book. Given our book-wormish tendencies, I didn't doubt we had the entire series somewhere upstairs on a shelf. I had seen the last two books, most recently released, come into the house via Amazon not that long ago. I even remember chastising Craig, gently imploring him to take his time reading it because the next book wasn't going to be released for a while (he didn't listen, but I can't say that I blame him; a good book is a good book). Anyway, I folded clothes. I put laundry away. I cleaned up the Christmas ~~crap~~ decor and stored it in the attic. I straightened up the playroom (don't even get me started on that disaster). I did everything I could think of to keep myself from bee-lining to the office and ripping the book of the shelf. When I had finally put in enough work, I went straight for shelf only to find, it wasn't book 2 at all. It was book 3. What the what?

Remember all those boxes left-over from the great office clean-up? Yeah, I went rooting through those looking for the book. It was ridiculous; "A Clash of Kings" became my Holy Grail for the afternoon; I had to find it. I even texted Craig at work like, "Stop fooling around. Where's the book?" His response?

"Are you kidding me? You finished Game of Thrones already?"

Uh, yeah.

So, no "Clash of Kings" in the house. What to do? What to do? I got online and checked the public library. Success! They had one copy on the shelf. Now, I knew I could put a hold on a book via on the online system, but I needed that book. As in right now (yes, I am totally outing myself on how crazy I am). I called the library and asked how soon I could get the book if I placed an online hold. The lovely librarian explained that the online hold would have go through a cycle, blah, blah, blah, or he could just pull it for me now if it was available and I could pick it up later on.

Ka-ching! I know what our after-school activity was going to be!

Between securing the book and right now as I type this, I haven't had a chance to crack into yet. You know, there was homework to be done, kids to feed, the usual. Plus, I was feeling kind of badly that everyone else on my blog-roll has updated their blogs with Happy New Year/Back to the Blog/Did You Miss Me type posts. I had nothing say since I'd been so absorbed in Winterfell, King's Landing, Riverrun, and the rest of the Seven Kingdoms.

Whoa. . . I really just said that. Next I'll be going to Toys 'R Us for my very own Dungeons and Dragons playset.

In the Books

2011-12-24T08:46:00.000-05:00

Boy, another holiday season has come and gone. It really does feel like just the other day we were unpacking the moving truck and hauling boxes into our new house. I remember telling Craig, even on that blistering July day, I really wanted to have Christmas in our new house this year. That Craig, he always delivers.

The girls have been out of school for close to two weeks. I had envisioned them spending a few days with my parents while I got the rest of the holiday festivities in order, but unfortunately, my mom fell ill and my folks weren't able to make it up for Christmas. It was different not celebrating with them, but my in-laws filled the house with their presence and presents. Family is family and that's is what makes the memories.

The girls were staying up way past their regular bedtime over the break, even getting to stay up to wait for their Uncle Brandon to come in from NYC late Christmas Eve. While they waited for him, they prepared for the arrival of another favorite fellow of theirs.

Then, with much pleading and cajoling, we got them to go to bed. Teeth brushed, pajamas on, snug as bugs in their make-shift camp-out on the floor. Their heads hit the pillow and the silence was golden.

Why yes, Coever sleeps with an eye pillow. Beauty rest assured.

In the morning, the girls showed remarkable restraint and let everyone sleep in until about 7:15. Everyone was pretty agreeable to that time frame, though I did think Mo and Co were going to shank Brandon when he didn't get out of the bed after their multiple attempts to rouse him. While we waited for him to ~~come to~~ get up, the girls were content to decimate their stockings before the main event.

And finally, to the gifts! Months and weeks of carefully hiding and wrapping, storing, and planning on my part: decimated in a matter of minutes. Their smiles and cries of, "I got what I wanted! I got the whole set!" -- priceless.

In the aftermath of the great unwrapping, there was food, lots of food. Remarkably, we showed restraint this year and just had a modest brunch followed by a deliciously cooked dinner from my dear hubby (I like how at Thanksgiving and Christmas, Craig helms the kitchen!).

There was lots of loving to go around, too.

And the requisite silliness that comes with a revolving door of family and friends.

In the midst of all of this, I realized I have been living the past two weeks like it's my first time home on a college break?

Sleeping in? Check.

Shuffling around in yoga pants all.day.long? Check.

Grubbing down on food? Check.

Hitting up the movies? Check.

Reading books? Check.

Date night with the hubs? Check.

Spending time with family? Check.

Generally avoiding schedules and just letting the day unfold? Check and check.

I weaned myself off of Pinterest and Facebook a bit, too. Talk about Christmas miracles. The past two weeks have been great and it seems appropriate that it all comes to a close just as this year does, too.

I can't even begin to remember where I was 365 days ago. Despite years of conditioning to improve myself as the new year rolls around, this time last year, I kept it realistic and adopted a "new year, same Hilary" mentality. That was not a hard resolution to follow.

In truth, however, I did do some things this year that lead to a better me.

*I started a business and am enjoying the successes that have come with it.

*I wrote more. Last year, I blogged 80 times. This year, this post included --128.

*I broke some old habits (nail biting) and picked up some new ones (Pinterest).

*I stayed active and hung up my running shoes in favor of kettlebells.

*I flossed. . .occasionally.

*I was a better wife and mother than I was last year.

Not a bad go round, if I do say so myself.

So I'm sitting here in the living room New Year's Eve with Craig dozing across from me on the couch. Our tree is naked, save a few strands of lights. It's shedding like it knows we're about to haul it out to the curb and it wants to leave a few thousand reminders of its presence. The ornaments and the scant decorations we did have up are ready to be tucked back into the attic. The fridge is puzzle of ziploc bags and tupperware containers of leftovers, gonna-eat-its, time-to-toss-its and a few cans of Fresca. The girls are up to their eyeballs in Christmas: Part Deux at my parents house. 2011 is steadily putting one foot in front of the other, coming to a graceful end, while 2012 is stretching out it's hammies in preparation for the journey ahead.

I'm ready.

Oh! I almost forgot. I started another new project, but it won't be ready until June. Here's a preview:

Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas

2011-12-23T13:04:00.002-05:00

Hilary, With One "L"

Sick Day

How Charming

Come on out, Baby!

Recipe Friday

Gimme, gimme, gimme

Thems the Rules

Friday Randomness

Word Girl

Busy As A . . .

Bookworm

In the Books

Merry Christmas

Recipe Friday

Sunday Sauce with Meatballs (recipe found here)

Sparkles

Cookie Monsters

Christmas Countdown

Recipe Friday

bacon- wrapped scallops w/ spicy cilantro-mayonnaise

Ingredients:

Directions:

Tips:

Shutterbug

Monday's Message

Happy Week-End!

Write On

Fun with Photography

Dive Right In

Giving Thanks

Monday's Message

Office Space, Part II

Office Space

Recipe Friday

Keep, Toss, Donate

Mondays Message

Spare a Dime

Recipe Friday

Om, nom, nom

Monday's Message

Guilty

Recipe Friday

Monday's Message

Recipe Friday

Monday's Message

Recipe Friday

Monday's Message

Recipe Friday

Thank you, Mr. Jobs

No Compliments to the Chef

Lunch

Monday's Message

What Else is Cooking?

Gross

#55

Waiting

What's Cooking

Customer Service

Pumpkin

Too Much Birthday?

Four

A Request

Back To School: Part 2

Something New

Back to School

Let There Be Light

Thankfully Prepared

Six

Signature

Who's the Fairest?

Keys of Life

Dreams Really Do Come True

Like Pulling Teeth

Take 5

Odds and Ends

You Can't Handle the Tooth

30 Minutes

Feeling Boxed In

Popsicles