Friday, October 29, 2010

Halloween Recipes

I love holidays! Here are some fun recipes for your family to celebrate this upcoming Halloween:
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Mummy Meatloaf, as seen in Family Fun Magazine

Ingredients:
Meatloaf from your favorite recipe
American cheese
Olive slices

Make your favorite meatloaf recipe and shape the loaf to resemble a mummy's body with crossed arms. Bake the loaf until it's cooked through. Let it rest about 3 minutes, then lay 1-inch-wide strips of American cheese across the body as shown, leaving a narrow space on the head for the olive slice eyes. Trim any overhanging cheese with scissors and return the mummy to the still-warm oven to slightly melt the cheese, about 1 minute.
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Ghosts in the Graveyard, Kraft
Ingredients:
2 pkg. (3.9 oz. each) JELL-O Chocolate Instant Pudding
3 cups cold milk
1 tub (12 oz.) COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, thawed, divided
15 OREO Cookies, crushed (about 1-1/2 cups)
Assorted decorations: Milano Cookies, decorating gel, candy pumpkins, candy corn pieces

BEAT pudding mixes and milk in large bowl with whisk 2 min. Let stand 5 min. Stir in 3 cups COOL WHIP and half the cookie crumbs. Spread into 13x9-inch dish; sprinkle with remaining crumbs. REFRIGERATE 1 hour. Meanwhile, decorate cookies with decorating gel to resemble tombstones. INSERT decorated cookies into top of dessert just before serving. Add candies. Drop large spoonfuls of remaining COOL WHIP onto dessert to resemble ghosts.

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Candy Corn Smoothie, Disney

Ingredients:
3 red apples, peeled and cored
1 tablespoon lemon juice
6 cups low-fat plain yogurt
3 tablespoons sugar substitute
2 cups frozen peaches or mango
2 cups frozen pineapple
Red and yellow food coloring

Chop apples into chunks and toss with lemon juice. Place in a shallow dish in the freezer until frozen, about 45 minutes. In the work bowl of a food processor or blender, place 2 cups of yogurt along with the frozen apples and sugar substitute and blend until smooth. In the work bowl of a food processor or blender, place frozen peaches or mango and 2 cups of yogurt and process until smooth. Add 4 drops of red food coloring and 8 drops of yellow food coloring for a strong orange color. In the work bowl of a food processor or blender, place frozen pineapple and remaining 2 cups of yogurt and process until smooth. Add 6 drops of yellow food coloring for a bright yellow color. If not serving smoothies right away, store all three layers separately in three separate airtight containers in the freezer. Thaw slightly before serving. Spoon a layer of the apple yogurt mixture into bottom of glasses. Carefully spoon a layer of peach or mango mixture on top. Top with a layer of pineapple mixture. Makes 6-12 servings, depending upon size.

Friday, October 22, 2010

It feels like my heart has been ripped from my chest.

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Make mine a venti; Seattle Starbucks selling alcohol - CTV News

CTV British Columbia - Make mine a venti; Seattle Starbucks selling alcohol - CTV News

Saturday, October 16, 2010

A review.

Even though I know that anyone can start a free blog, I feel very blessed that I have the opportunity and the right to express my opinions in a public forum. And for that reason it gives me great pleasure knowing I can share the following review with you all.

I used the cell-phone provider, T-Mobile, for several years and recently switched to another provider. I will NEVER again use T-Mobile. The company is dishonest, and the have no consideration or compassion for customers who have given them both a significant amount of time and money. When the cell phone I purchased broke yet AGAIN (after upwards of 3 or 4 full replacements and another half dozen troubleshoots in the store), I was told that the phone was no longer made/sold and I would have to purchase another phone for near-full price. Considering I was 16 months into the one-year contract I had asked for, I decided to switch and partner with my husband's plan. That's when everything went south... fast. I was flooded with hourly phone calls, and I responded by making my final payment by check. The calls continued and eventually a nice representative let me know that my check was finally received and there would be no more calls. I wish that had been true. It was at that time they began to demand a termination fee. I reasoned that I should be on month-to-month terms and no fee would apply, and they agreed and reversed the fees (and also discovered TWO mis-charges on my bill, and STILL asked me to pay an additional $24 for God-knows-what). Again I was compliant and made the payment and was assured that my account was now closed in good standing. Long story short, the harassing phone calls started up again... I re-explained to more associates.... fees were reversed again... and then un-reversed... and more phone calls, and explaining... and their "Supervisors" refuse to hold true to their word of offering me the contract I asked for, and following through on the fee reversals they promised. Needless to say, while I didn't initially leave on bad terms, I will now never, Ever, EVER return to this company or recommend them to anyone I know.

Apparently I am not the only one with these sorts of issues. Check out THIS blog post I stumbled upon.


And, that's my rant about that.

Friday, October 15, 2010

Spinning Dancer.

Last night I was introduced to an Optical Illusion I hadn't seen before. The video is a silhouette of a woman whom, depending on whether you're "left brained" or "right brained", spins counter-clockwise, clockwise, or both. I know from more intensive research that I am, without doubt, left-brain dominate. I am systematic almost to a fault, and rely on my common sense and hard facts (not creativity or theory) to guide me through all my thought processes. Because I most often see the dancer spinning clockwise and only see a change in direction when I look with my peripheral vision, I don't believe that this test is really linked to your brain dominance, but it's still pretty interesting. Let me know which direction you see the dancer spin!

Sunday, October 10, 2010

The #1 Halloween Costume of 2010:


Can you believe it?! This is FOR REAL! Antoinne Dodson became an overnight internet sensation when his auto-tuned news clip hit YouTube last month. I featured the VIDEO CLIP when I first saw it, and gave you the UPDATE when his song sold 91,000 copies on iTunes. Now you can sport your very own Bed Intruder costume this Halloween... all for under $20! You'll receive the wig, bandana, black tank top, and [best of all] an autographed rolled up paper to shake around!

Check out http://www.bedintrudercostume.com/ to buy yours today!

Saturday, October 9, 2010

October 9th is National Dessert Day!

I baked Double Chocolate Chip and Sugar cookies, and Cinnamon Struduel. How will YOU celebrate?!

Friday, October 8, 2010

kids + Disney + cookies + frogs



Riley and I have been hard at work, creating and sending cards to terminally ill children all across the country. I could not be more impressed with both her creativity and compassion. A few days ago I bought some kid-friendly postage stamps, and came up with a new idea:: starting now, for every order sold through my Etsy site, we will send an additional card to a sick child. Your purchase will ensure a customized "cheer" card is made and mailed! Thanks in advance for your contribution.

Speaking of Etsy, I decided to branch out from only cards and am now selling some other paper crafts as well. I currently have 3 Disney princess cut-out packs for sale which you can check out HERE.

As for a personal update, I have tried to make the most of my four day weekend. The kids got haircuts yesterday, then had a playdate with Miss Kelsi. This morning I woke up and baked three types of cookies, including sugar, which my kids enjoyed frosting for Halloween with their buddy, Rylee. After baking, we went out for lunch, then they spent the afternoon playing outside. At one point I had to call my son in to capture wild frog that had decided to take up residence in our downstairs! Everyone knows I hate frogs. Luckily Noah saved the day!

Thursday, October 7, 2010



Saturday, October 2, 2010

business cards!

My business cards, stamp, and labels are here! They look amazing. My first batch of cards are also in London Couture as of Friday, so be sure to check them out if you're out in Tacoma! I'll post a photo tomorrow... as for today, I'm too exhausted to think straight. Still recovering from bronchitis and needing rest. Stay tuned.