Friday, February 12, 2010

You've Got Mail

I made this cute little mailbox for my college daughter for Valentines Day. The inside contains some yummy chocolates of course and a gift card. The mailboxes can be found at craft stores or on orientialtrading.com. I decorated the mailbox with Topstitich level 2 paper pack, Colonial White mini medleys, Topstitch stickease, ribbon, sparkles and Dimensional Elements-Hearts.
Front of mailbox

Side view of mailbox

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Tri-Shutter Valentine

Ready for a fun and unique Valentine? This tri-shutter card is always a hit. It's very easy to make and tons of fun. Click on Tri-Shutter TUTORIAL to download my detailed instructions on how to make this fun card.

I used the following supplies for the card that can be orderd on my website by clicking the following links.

Paper: X7107B That's Amore
Stamps: D1254 Soul Mate
Inks: Chocolate, Hollyhock
Accessories: Sparkles, Chocolate ribbon rounds, Dimensional Element-Hearts

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Region Champs

Well last week was full of tons of excitement, but also lots of emotions. Since Alyssa is a Senior this was our last Region meet. We have State this weekend. I know I will be a basket case as I watch her swim her final meet.

Alyssa is going to follow in her sisters footsteps and decline swimming at the college level. She feels that it's time to move on with her life and focus on other things besides the bottom of the pool. I totally agree and support her, but Ohhh my gosh I just love watching them compete. After all I have been doing this since my girls were 6 and 8 years old. So this next weekend as I watch her take her final swim will be one of the saddest moments in my life.

Anyway here are just 2-3 of the thousands of photos I took at the region meet. The first photo I really love. I love her beautiful form. Alyssa is the swimmer at the top. It's a bit of an optical illusion. It looks like she is jumping over the top of her teammate, but she is actually in the lane next to her. This in the 200 free which Alyssa won the event and placed 1st in the region.



Of course this is every parents dream. To watch your child be so successful and in the end be so happy. Alyssa is accepting the girls trophy. Bingham girls team and boys team won the regional meet. It was one of the best moments ever, and a great way for Alyssa to finish out the season.


Alyssa was interviewed by a local newspaper. Click HERE to view the article. We were very excited. You see, the sport of swimming just does not get the newspaper coverage that other traditional sports get. So it's always a great moment to read something about swimming in the paper. However, the reporter did change things just a little and tried to get Alyssa to talk trash about other teams and the boys team, but he just could not get it out of her. I guess the reported didn't realize that swimmers are a tight knit group and they are best friends with each other HAHA. We were very proud of her.

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

What's on The Menu Tonight?

I love my crockpot. It is the greatest thing ever invented, especially for busy people. So anytime I can find crockpot meals that the family loves I jump for joy.

I was talking to a friend today and telling her I was making "Hawaiian Haystacks" for dinner. She had never heard of Hawaiian Haystack. OHHH my gosh I told her that we have them at least once a week.

I love it when the kids come home and say "mom whats for dinner" when I reply with Hawaiian Haystacks the usual response is "OHH SWEET"

This meal is so easy, very nutritious and each person can customized there own haystack. So have fun and play around with different toppings. There is no right or wrong to this recipe. Actually there is not a set recipe that I use, but this is how I do it.

Place three to four boneless, skinless chicken breast in the crockpot and cook all day on low (or just a few hours on high) while you go about your day. Make sure the breasts are covered with water.

SAUCE:
1) When the chicken breasts are done take them out of the crockpot and dice them into small chunks and set aside.
2) Pour 2 cans of cream of chicken soup in a large saucepan. Add enough of the broth from the chicken to make the soup as thin as you would like. I usually add 3-4 cups of the broth. It all depends how thick you want your sauce. We like it fairly thick.
3) Add spices. I seriously just open my spice cabinet and add any spices that pop out at me. I usually add some garlic powder, seasoned salt, chicken bouillon, parsley, curry just to name a few. Just season to taste and heat
4) When sauce is warm, add the chopped chicken to the sauce and keep warm until ready to serve.

RICE:
1) Make some rice according to package directions. I use white rice, but just use your favorite rice.

TOPPINGS:
This is a list of topping suggestions, but you can use as many or as few toppings as you want. Have fun and experiment with different toppings.

Cheese (this is a must)
Chopped Celery
Pineapple Chunks
Mandarin Oranges (if you are feeling really fruity)
Cashews
Diced Tomatoes
Diced onions
Peas
Chow Main Noodles (I use LaChoy)
Soy Sauce

HAYSTACK ASSEMBLY:
Load plate with rice, pile some chicken mixture on top of the rice. Add the different toppings that you want on top of the chicken mixture. I then usually add just a little more chicken mix on top of the entire haystack to melt the cheese. YUMMY. I hope you enjoy as much as we do. If you have questions or topping suggestions let me know.

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