LOL!!!

I've said this before, Chris can be quite funny. Not always but sometimes he'll say or do something that has me laughing so hard I'm crying. Tonight was one of those nights. I'm in the room working on the computer and I can here Chris in his office LOL (laughing out loud.) I think "whatever" he's suppose to be working. Well, this is what he was working on.

Earlier tonight he received this email from Mike:

That moment just before the pain begins...

OK so the moral is VOTE.

But it didn't end there for Chris. He thought picture number five was so funny it needed commentary. Here is his interpretation:

(Click on the picture to view it in full size)

I didn't know that...

I had this email forwarded to me and thought it was interesting. I know it's long but it's really got some fun tips so take a minute to look it over.

Bananas
Peel a banana from the bottom and you won't have to pick the little 'stringy things' off of it. That's how the primates do it.

Take your bananas apart when you get home from the store. If you leave them connected at the stem, they ripen faster.

Cheese
Store your opened chunks of cheese in aluminum foil. It will stay fresh much longer and not mold!

Peppers
Peppers with 3 bumps on the bottom are sweeter and better for eating. Peppers with 4 bumps on the bottom are firmer and better for cooking.

Greasy ground beef
Add a teaspoon of water when frying ground beef. It will help pull the grease away from the meat while cooking.

Eggs
To really make scrambled eggs or omelets rich add a couple of spoonfuls of sour cream, cream cheese, or heavy cream in and then beat them up.

MMMM...
For a cool brownie treat, make brownies as directed. Melt Andes mints in double broiler and pour over warm brownies. Let set for a wonderful minty frosting.

Garlic
Add garlic immediately to a recipe if you want a light taste of garlic and at the end of the recipe if your want a stronger taste of garlic.

Quick trick-or-treat
Leftover snickers bars from Halloween make a delicious dessert. Simply chop them up with the food chopper. Peel, core and slice a few apples. Place them in a baking dish and sprinkle the chopped candy bars over the apples. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes!!! Serve alone or with vanilla ice cream.

Reheat Pizza
Heat up leftover pizza in a non stick skillet on top of the stove, set heat to med-low and heat till warm. This keeps the crust crispy. No soggy micro pizza. I saw this on the cooking channel and it really works.

Easy Deviled Eggs
Put cooked egg yolks in a zip lock bag. Seal, mash till they are all broken up. Add remainder of ingredients, reseal, keep mashing it up mixing thoroughly, cut the tip of the baggy, squeeze mixture into egg. Just throw bag away when done easy clean up.

Expanding Frosting
When you buy a container of cake frosting from the store, whip it with your mixer for a few minutes. You can double it in size. You get to frost more cake/cupcakes with the same amount. You also eat less sugar and calories per serving.

Reheating refrigerated bread
To warm biscuits, pancakes, or muffins that were refrigerated, place them in a microwave with a cup of water. The increased moisture will keep the food moist and help it reheat faster.

Newspaper weeds away
Start putting in your plants, work the nutrients in your soil. Wet newspapers put layers around the plants overlapping as you go cover with mulch and forget about weeds. Weeds will get through some gardening plastic they will not get through wet newspapers.

Broken Glass
Use a wet cotton ball or Q-tip to pick up the small shards of glass you can't see easily.

No More Mosquitoes
Place a dryer sheet in your pocket. It will keep the mosquitoes away.-or-Can't wait to try this in the summer! **Was at a deck party awhile back, and the bugs were having a ball biting everyone. A man at the party sprayed the lawn and deck floor with Listerine, and the little demons disappeared. The next year I filled a 4-ounce spray bottle and used it around my seat whenever I saw mosquitoes. And voila! That worked as well. It worked at a picnic where we sprayed the area around the food table, the children's swing area, and the standing water nearby. **

Squirrel Away!
To keep squirrels from eating your plants sprinkle your plants with cayenne pepper. The cayenne pepper doesn't hurt the plant and the squirrels won't come near it.

Flexible vacuum
To get something out of a heat register or under the fridge add an empty paper towel roll or empty gift wrap roll to your vacuum. It can be bent or flattened to get in narrow openings.

Reducing Static Cling
Pin a small safety pin to the seam of your slip and you will not have a clingy skirt or dress. Same thing works with slacks that cling when wearing panty hose. Place pin in seam of slacks and -- ta da! -- static is gone.

Measuring Cups
Before you pour sticky substances into a measuring cup, fill with hot water. Dump out the hot water, but don't dry cup. Next, add your ingredient, such as peanut butter, and watch how easily it comes right out.

Foggy Windshield?
Hate foggy windshields? Buy a chalkboard eraser and keep it in the glove box of your car. When the windows fog, rub with the eraser! Works better than a cloth!

Reopening envelope
If you seal an envelope and then realize you forgot to include something inside, just place your sealed envelope in the freezer for an hour or two. Viola! It unseals easily.

Conditioner
Use your hair conditioner to shave your legs. It's cheaper than shaving cream and leaves your legs really smooth. It's also a great way to use up the conditioner you bought but didn't like when you tried it in your hair...

Goodbye Fruit Flies
To get rid of pesky fruit flies, take a small glass fill it 1/2' with Apple Cider Vinegar and 2 drops of dish washing liquid, mix well. You will find those flies drawn to the cup and gone forever!

Get Rid of Ants
Put small piles of cornmeal where you see ants. They eat it, take it 'home,' can't digest it so it kills them. It may take a week or so, especially if it rains, but it works & you don't have the worry about pets or small children being harmed!

Bee Stings
If you don't have a bee sting kit handy after being stung, use that lucky penny! Directly press the penny on the bee sting & in minutes the pain will reside! So don't forget to include a penny in that first aid kit or in your pocket at the park!

INFO ABOUT CLOTHES DRYERS
The heating unit went out on my dryer! The gentleman that fixes things around the house for us told us that he wanted to show us something and he went over to the dryer and pulled out the lint filter. It was clean. (I always clean the lint from the filter after every load clothes.) He told us that he wanted to show us something; he took the filter over to the sink, ran hot water over it. The lint filter is made of a mesh material I'm sure you know what your dryer's lint filter looks like. well,...the hot water just sat on top of the mesh! It didn't go through it at all! He told us that dryer sheets cause a film over that mesh that's what burns out the heating unit. You can't SEE the film, but it's there. It's what is in the dryer sheets to make your clothes soft and static free that nice fragrance too, you know how they can feel waxy when you take them out of the box, well this stuff builds up on your clothes and on your lint screen. This is also what causes dryer units to catch fire & potentially burn your house down with it! He said the best way to keep your dryer working for a very long time (& to keep your electric bill lower) is to take that filter out & wash it with hot soapy water & an old toothbrush (or other brush) at least every six months. He said that takes the life of the dryer at least twice as long! How about that!?! Learn something new everyday! I certainly didn't know dryer sheets would do that. So, I thought I'd share! Note: I went to my dryer & tested my screen by running water on it. The water ran through a little bit but mostly collected all the water in the mesh screen. I washed it with warm soapy water & a nylon brush & I had it done in 30 seconds. Then when I rinsed it the water ran right Thru the screen! There wasn't any puddling at all! That repairman knew what he was talking about!Everyone go wash & rinse your dryer filter now - we can't be havin' anyones house on fire!!

NOW YOU KNOW!!!

Fun in the sun

Last week we meet Jodi and Will for a day at the pool. It took Anna abit to get used to the water, she is just so cautious. But when she finally did they had a blast.

Anna not happy I made her pose for a picture

What's up with the funny faces??!!

Poor Lukie...he was not feeling well!

John Meyer

This weekend a group of us surprised Amy for her birthday by taking her to the John Meyer concert. The wives and Alan prepared a picnic dinner. Joy made very tasty chicken pesto wraps and mint brownies. I made corn salad and brought store bought cookies. I know so lame because I was suppose to make chocolate chip cookies but just ran out of time. Fortunately the were Amy's favorite cookies. Shannon was in charge of paper products because we all know how much she prefers to not cook. And finally Alan brought Kettle chips and Vitamin water. He was such a good sport to humor Joy and I by bringing Kettle chips. We had a great time the only disappointment was that John Meyer didn't play "Wonderland", ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!!! Of all his hits this is my favorite and most of our groups favorite and he didn't play it. SO LAME!!

Thanks Amy for letting us be a part of your birthday!

Materpiece

Anna's Masterpiece. She even signed it with an "A"

This morning after breakfast I decided to get Anna and Lukies creative juices flowing. I thought it would be fun for them to make a picture with some house hold food and glue. I don't usually do this because I'm always thinking of the clean up. You know that feeling when the last thing you want to do is clean up a mess you already foresee. I am so glad I ignored my first instinct because the kids had so much fun. Anna is obsessed with glue. She'd probably play with it all day if I let her. It's like play dough, she loves the stuff. She spent about an hour gluing pasta, rice and beans to her board. She even said that the bow tie pasta looked like butterflies, so we had to add antennas.

Lukie on the other hand wanted nothing to do with the food, he just wanted to play with the glue. smearing it all around his board. I tried to put some rice on the glue and he threw a fit. I had to wipe it all off just for him to stop crying. Neat Freak!!! I know this is a project we'll do again real soon.

Chicken and Mango Skewers

Gotta love the Williams-Sonoma catalog. Up until a few months ago I never realized that the WS catalog featured such great recipes. I've made a few but this one is by far my favorite summer meal. The best part is that it's so easy.

Chicken Mango Skewers

To slice a mango, peel the fruit and then stand it up on one of its narrow edges, with the stem end pointing toward you. Using a large, sharp knife, cut down about 1 inch to one side of the stem, just grazing the side of the pit. Repeat with the other side. Place the halves, cut side down, on the cutting board and cut into cubes.

Ingredients:
6 Tbs. olive oil
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
Zest of 1 lime
1 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp. salt
1 Tbs. sugar
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut into 1-inch cubes
3 ripe but firm mangoes, peeled and cut into 2-inch cubes
Directions:
In a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lime juice, lime zest, chili powder, cayenne, salt and sugar. Add the chicken and mangoes and stir gently to coat with the marinade. Cover and refrigerate for 2 to 4 hours. Prepare a hot fire in a grill. Remove the chicken and mangoes from the marinade and thread onto metal skewers, alternating the pieces and dividing them evenly. Arrange the skewers on the grill and cook, turning once, until the chicken is nicely charred and cooked through, 6 to 10 minutes. Transfer the skewers to a warmed platter and serve immediately. Serves 4.
Williams-Sonoma Kitchen.

YUCK!

One of my cute beehives sent me this. Seriously, I am never going to look at these foods the same again. OK, OK common sense tells me they are bad for me but 200 grams of fat bad for me! Just fill a needle with fat and inject it strait into my butt!!! Even worse my heart!!!

TOP 20 WORST FAST FOODS

20. Worst Fast Food Chicken Meal Chicken Selects Premium Breast Strips from McDonald's (5 pieces)with creamy ranch sauce. sauce. 830 calories 55g fat (4.5g trans fat) 48g carbs. The only thing "premium" about these strips is the caloric price you pay. Add a large fries and regular soda and this seemingly innocuous chicken meal tops out at 1,710 calories.

19.Worst Drink JambaJuice Chocolate Moo'dPower Smoothie(30 fl oz) 900 calories10 g fat 183 g carbs(166 g sugar). JambaJuice calls it a smoothie; we call it a milk shake. In fact, this beverage contains more sugar than two pints of Ben and Jerry's Butter Pecan ice cream.

18.Worst Supermarket Meal Pepperidge Farm Roasted Chicken Pot Pie (whole pie) 1,020 calories 64 g fat 86 g carbs. The label may say this pie serves two, but who ever divided a small pot pie in half? Once you crack the crust, there will be no stopping. Pick a Better Pie: Swanson's pot pie has just 400 calories.

17.Worst "Healthy" Burger Ruby Tuesday Bella Turkey Burger 1, 145 calories 71 g fat 56 g carbs We chose this burger for more than its calorie payload: Its nameimplies that it's healthy.

16.Worst Mexican Entree Chipotle Mexican Grilled Chicken Burrito. 1,179 calories 7 g fat 125 g carbs2,656 mg sodium, Despite a reputation for using healthy, fresh ingredients, Chipotle's menu is limited to king-size burritos, overstuffed tacos, and gigantic salads —all of which lead to a humongous waistline.

15.Worst Kids' Meal Macaroni Grill Double Macaroni 'n' Cheese 1,210 calories 62 g fat 3,450 mg sodiumIt's like feeding your kid 1 1/2 boxes of Kraft mac'n' cheese. Your Best Option: The 390-calorie Grilled Chicken and Broccoli

14.Worst SandwichQuizno's Classic Italian 1370 calories 86 g fat 4490 mg sodium. A large homemade sandwich would more likely provide about 500 calories. Cut the Calories:Isn't it obvious? Order a small —or save half for later.

13.Worst SaladOn the Border Grande Taco Salad with Taco Beef. 1,450 calories 102 g fat 78 g carbs2,410 mg sodium. This isn't an anomaly: Five different On the Border salads on the menu contain more than 1,100 calories each. The Salad for You: The Sizzling Chicken Fajita Salad supplies an acceptable 760 calories. But remember to choose a non caloric beverage, such as water or unsweetened iced tea

12.Worst Burger Carl's Jr. Double Six Dollar Burger. 1,520 calories 111 g fatCarl's brags about this, but also provides convenient nutrition info on its Web site —so ignorance is no excuse for eating it. A Simple Solution: The Low CarbSix Dollar Burger has just 490 calories.

11.Worst Steak Lonestar 20 oz T-bone 1, 540 calories 124 g fat. Add a baked potato and Lonestar's Signature Lettuce Wedge, and this is a 2,700-calorie blowout. Choose with Your Head: The golden rule of steak restaurants is this: Limit yourself to a 9-ouncer or smaller. After all, that's more than half a pound of meat. You won't walk away hungry.

10.Worst Breakfast Bob Evans Caramel Banana Pecan Cream Stacked and Stuffed Hotcakes. 1,540 calories 77 g fat (9 g trans fat) 198 g carbs(109 g sugar) Five Egg McMuffins yield the same caloric cost as these sugar-stuffed flapjacks.Order This Instead: The Western Omelet has 654 calories and 44 grams of protein.

9.Worst DessertChili's Chocolate Chip Paradise Pie with Vanilla Ice Cream. 1,600 calories 78 g fat 215 g carbs Would you eat a Big Mac for dessert? How about three? That's the calorie equivalent of this decadent dish. Clearly, Chili's customers get their money's worth. Don't Overdo It: If you want dessert at Chili's, order one single-serving Sweet Shot; you'll cap your after-dinner intake at 310 calories.

8.Worst Chinese EntreeP.F. Chang's Pork Lo Mein. 1,820 calories 127 g fat 95 g carbs. The fat content in this dish alone provides more than 1,100 calories. And you'd have to eat almost five servings of pasta to match the number of carbohydrates it contains. Now, do you really need five servings of pasta? Pick Another Noodle: P.F. Chang's Singapore Street Noodles will satisfy your cravingwith only 570 calories. Or try the Moo GooGaiPan or the Ginger Chicken & Broccoli, which have 660 calories each.

7.Worst Chicken Entree Chili's Honey Chipotle Crispers with Chipotle Sauce. 2,040 calories 99 g fat 240 g carbs "Crispers" refers to an extra-thick layer of bread crumbs that soaks up oil and adds unnecessary calories and carbs to these glorified chicken strips. Switch Your Selection: Order the Chicken Fajita Pita: At 450 calories and 43 grams of protein, it's one of the healthiest entrees you'll find in a chain restaurant.

6.Worst Fish Entree On the Border Dos XX Fish Tacos with Rice and Beans. 2,100 calories 130 g fat 169 g carbs4,750 mg sodium. Perhaps the most misleadingly named dish in America: A dozen crunchy tacos from Taco Bell will saddle you with fewer calories. Lighten the Load: Ask for grilled fish, choose the corn tortillas instead of flour (they're lower in calories and higher in fiber), and swap out the carbohydrate-loaded rice for grilled vegetables.

5.Worst PizzaUno Chicago Grill Chicago Classic Deep Dish Pizza. 2,310 calories1 62 g fat 123 g carbs 4,470 mg sodium. Downing this "personal" pizza is equivalent to eating 18 slices of Domino's Crunchy Thin Crust cheese pizza. Swap Your Slices:Switch to the Sausage Flatbread Pie and avert deep-dish disaster by nearly 1,500 calories.

4.Worst Pasta Macaroni Grill Spaghetti and Meatballs with Meat Sauce. 2,430 calories 128 g fat 207 g carbs 5,290 mg sodium. This meal satisfies your calorie requirements for an entire day. Downsize the Devastation: Ask for a lunch portion of this dinner dish (or any pasta on the menu, for that matter), and request regular tomato sauce instead of meat sauce. You'll cut the calories in half.

3.Worst NachosOn the Border Stacked Border Nachos. 2,740 calories 166 g fat 191 g carbs 5,280 mg sodium. The only way you should ever consider eating these is if you're rolling with a crew of eight. Turn away: You won't find a decent option on the appetizer menu. Instead, turn to the Chicken Tacos on the entee portion of the menu; at 250 calories a pop, they make as good a start to your meal as you can hope for.

2.Worst StarterChili's Awesome Blossom. 2,710 calories 203 g fat 194 g carbs 6,360 mg sodium. Hard to believe that a single onion can wreak so much nutritional havoc, but batter and fry anything and serve it with a rich dipping sauce and your bound to do some damage. Start properly: At Chili's, take a detour to the "Sides" menu and try the Garlic & Lime Grilled Shrimp. 4 shrimp will only cost you 160 calories.

1.The Worst Food in AmericaOutback Steakhouse Aussie Cheese Fries with Ranch Dressing. 2,900 calories 182 g fat 240 g carbs. Even if you split this "starter" with three friends, you'll have downed a dinner's worth of calories before your entree arrives. Follow this up with a steak, sides, and a dessert and you could easily break the 3,500 calorie barrier. Front-load: Start your meal with a protein-based dish that's not deep-fried. A high-protein starter helps diminish hunger without putting you into calorie overload. At Outback, that translates to either the Seared Ahior the Shrimp on the Barbie.

Sunday Afternoon

Hanging out on a Sunday afternoon.

Luke is playing with his toys. He loves to pull all the soft toys out of a big basket and then put them back in. He could do it for hours with anything like blocks in a basket or his dinosaurs in a bag.

Chris practicing his violin. He still won't let me video tape his practice sessions. But I have to say that he is pretty good for only playing for six months. His teacher told him last week that he is the best adult student that she has ever had. Chris is a wonderful example to our children. They love to play the organ while he practices.

Anna and I spent the afternoon trying out a new cupcake recipe. It's the famous Magnolia Bakeshop vanilla cupcakes. OH YES! They are my new favorite. I love how dense they are yet still moist. Even Chris liked them and he usually won't eat anything unless it's chocolate. He even ate two. So thumbs up on this recipe. My favorite part of the cupcake was the frosting. So thick and sweet. I could just eat it by the spoon full.

The only part of cooking I hate is the clean up. I wish I had a clean up fairy to say "poof" it's clean! Good thing there were yummy cupcakes to enjoy!

Magnolia's Vanilla Cupcakes
1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions:
1. Line 24 muffin tins with cupcake papers.
2. In a small bowl, add the flours; stir to combine; set aside.
3. In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter using an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth.
4. Add the sugar gradually and beat for 3 minutes or until fluffy.
5. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
6. Add the dry ingredients in three parts, alternating with the milk and vanilla.
7. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated but do not overmix.
8. Spoon the batter into the cupcake liners, filling about 3/4 full.
9. Bake in a 350° oven for 20-25 minutes.
10. Cool the cupcakes in the tin for 15 minutes.
11. Remove cakes from the tins and cool on a wire rack before icing.
12. Ice with tinted Vanilla Buttercream.

Vanilla Buttercream
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
6-8 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Directions:
1Place the butter in a large mixing bowl.
2Add in 4 cups sugar, then the milk and vanilla.
3On medium speed of an electric mixer, beat about 3-5 minutes or until smooth and creamy.
4Gradually add the remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating well (about 2 minutes) after each addition, until the icing is thick enough for good spreading consistency (you may not need all of the sugar).
5If desired, add a few drops of food coloring and mix thoroughly.
6Use and store the icing at room temperature because icing will set if chilled.
7The icing can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
8**If making a 3-layer cake, use the following proportions: 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, 8-10 cups confectioner's sugar, 3/4 cup milk, and 1 tablespoon vanilla extract.

TREAT yourself...

I put this jar together for my aunt Lily for her birthday. She loves candy and I thought it would be a cute way to package all her favorites together. Oh the possibilities...let's see who's birthday is next! Can't wait to fill another jar with someones favorite treats!

Viva La Vida

This past weekend Chris and I went to the Cold Play concert in San Jose. It was so amazing. I can't believe how pure Chris Martin's voice is. There wern't alot of frills it was really about the music and we LOVED it! It was like Chris Martin was just singing in his own world. Not this big fancy production. He even messed up on two diffrent songs. The first mess up came at the end of the song, he was suppose to sing the last verse but acctully sang the wrong words. He just laughed it off and said "I guess we all make mistakes." Then on another song he didn't quite hit the note he was suppose to so again he just laughed, appligized and resang the note. I loved the honestly of that. Suprisingly it was a pretty mellow concert. For the most part most people just sat in their seats and grooved a bit, but not me I just wanted to be up dancing and singing. Good thing it's so loud because I'm totally tone deaf. They sang all the songs off Viva la Vida and some old ones. My favorite was "Fix You." Oh only a few more years and they will come out with another album and we will be the first in line for concert tickets.

We made a night of it and stayed at a 'swanky' hotel. It was so modern with it's clean lines and monogramed everything. Chris's favorite part was the candy bowls place around the hotel.

We made the most of our time with no babies. On our walk home from the concert we stopped by a movie theatre and decided to watch the midnight showing of Batman. Can you just say... freaky! Heath Leadger completely commits to his part.
Saturday morning we slept until 10am and then headed over to Santa Row for some window shopping. That's right just window shopping because I couldn't afford anything at the shops. Gucci, Jacadi, Burberry and so many other high end shops. We did however have a relaxing lunch at El Jardin. A charming out door mexican restarant. Crispy Ceasar SaladPollo Torta with pesto mayo and grilled onions.
I was also excite to find a tea house that sold drinks with boba. I had the coconut milk with boba. So yummy. Cocunut milk, whole milk (my favorite), cocunut meat and boba. I would surly be addicted to these if I could find them close. Chris was grossed out by the tapioca like pearls. After lunch we headed home. Good thing because I was really starting to miss our babies. I don't think they missed us much they were to busy with my mom and lupe.

On the way home we stopped a Shell station for a drink and I found the latest and greatest in soda dispesing. Check it out, you can add vanilla, lemon or cherry to any of your drinks. Oh YEAH! Cherry for me!Final thought: Chris said on the way to the concert "do you think we are to old do be going to concerts? Don't you usually do this kind of stuff in high school." My thoughts are you are never to old to have fun and do things you really enjoy. And like I told Chris I'm so happy to have him to enjoy life with! Thanks for a great weekend!