Hittin the Road

I'm sooo excited!!! Tomorrow I am going on a trucking adventure with my hubby. It's been at least 7 months since I've gone on a long run and boy have I missed it!!! Cheers to a fab week. See ya when we return. Kentucky here I come!!!

Blueberry Cream Pie

So, it's been like a year since I made one of these scrumdiddleeeumptious pies. I figured tonight was the perfect day to bring it back!! I give you....Blueberry Cream Pie!!!!! If you make this pie I bet you will not be able to eat just one piece!! It's fantastic warm or cold. So gather your ingredients and march to your kitchen!!! Your loved ones will thank ya =) P.s. I've also made this with peaches...which =DELISH!!!!

It's taken from the Taste Of Home's Contest Winning Annual Recipe book from 2007.

Blueberries 'n' Cream Pie

1/2 cup plus 1tbsp fat free milk, divided

3tbsb butter, melted

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 package (.8ozs) sugar-free cook-and-serve vanilla pudding mix

1tsp baking powder

1/8 tsp salt

2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries, thawed

1 package (8ozs) reduced-fat cream cheese

1/2 cup sugar

TOPPING:

2tsps sugar

1/8 tsp ground cinnamin

1. In a large mixing bowl, beat 1/2 cup milk, butter & egg. Combine the fluor, pudding mix, baking powder and salt: stir into egg mixtue just until moistened. Pour into a 9 inch pie plate coated with non sitick cooking spray. Arrange blueberries over batter to within 1/2 inch of edge of plate

2. In a large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar, and remaining milk until smooth. Spread over blueberries to within 1 inch of berry edge. For topping, combine sugar & cinnamin: sprinkle over the cream cheese mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until set. Serve warm. Refrigerate leftovers (if you have any LOL) Yield: 8 servings

Nutritional facts: 1 piece equals 249 calories, 12 grams fat (7g saturated fat), 60 mg cholesterol, 302 mg sodium, 31g carbohydrate, 1g fiber, 6g protein.Diabetic Exchanges: 2 fat, 1-1 1/2 starch, 1/2 fruit

2009 in review

1. What did you do in 2009 that you’d never done before? touched a dead person
2. Did you keep your New Year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year? I don't make resolutions...I like to call them aspirations. I was able achieve some of them. I like to have many aspirations
3. Did anyone close to you give birth? nobody really really really close
4. Did anyone close to you die? Ken's Nana passed away June 13th...I lost a part of myself when she passed away.
5. What places did you visit? various states in the semi and we took a lil vaca to Ontonogan, MI for my birthday to do some hiking in the Porcupine Mountains and camped.
6. What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009? game nights with family and friends, dinner parties, debt free
7. What dates from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? June 14th...just walked in the door from our camping weekend at camp & we were told of Nana's passing.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? riding my bicycle 10-15 miles per day.
9. What was your biggest failure? staying on budget as I would have liked
10. Did you suffer illness or injury? Nothing out of the norm.
11. What was the best thing you bought? The new toilet. The old bugger wasted gajillions of gallons of water per flush!!
12. Whose behavior merited celebration? anyone who stood up for what they believe in and worked to make our world a better place
13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? Not for me to judge
14. Where did most of your money go? diesel fuel for the semi!!!
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? Going camping, hiking and riding my bike. I seriously got psyched out for those 15 milke bike rides.
16. What song will always remind you of 2009? She's Country by Jason Aldean
17. Compared to this time last year, are you: a) happier or sadder? Sadder...My friend Amy died less than a week ago and another friend Josh died today... b) thinner or fatter? thinner c) richer or poorer? about the same
18. What do you wish you’d done more of? entertaining, writing and reading
19. What do you wish you’d done less of? worrying
20. How did you spend Christmas in 2009? went to Ken's grandparents on Christmas Eve & my family shin dig on Christmas day
21. Did you fall in love in 2009? I fall in love everyday with my hubby
22. What was your favorite TV program? probably Survivor
23. What did you do for your birthday in 2009? We went camping and hiking in Ontonogan, MI area for a week. It was fantastic!!!
24. What was the best book you read? The Perks Of Being A Wallflower
25. What did you want and get? another year with my fab hubby
26. What did you want and not get? debt free
27. What was your favorite film of this year? Not sure that I had one
28. Did you make some new friends this year? yuppers
29.What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? less debt
30. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2009? I wear what I am comfortable in
31. What kept you sane? a supportive and wonderful husband and my fab friends
32. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? I honestly don't get into the whole celebrity thing
33. What political issue stirred you the most? Gay marriage, healthcare reform
34. Who did you miss? Nana...it was extremely hard losing her
35. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2009. To Love me for who I am. I cannot change certain things about myself.

Seriously?

Ugh, you have got to be kidding me!!! Last night while toolin around on Facebook talking among friends I learned that yet another friend passed away. =( Seriously? He was 31, with a loving wife & small children. With all the modern technology and whatnot you'd think we'd have a cure for cancer by now!!!

First it was Amy and now Josh...I'd be lying if I said I wasn't mad. Actually I'm downright pissed off. This really tests my faith and beliefs...or what little of it I still have. Some things I will never understand.

One thing I know...two wonderful, amazing people leave behind families, friends, children and a world that sooo loved them and wasn't ready to see them go. May their family find peace in their passing. RIP Josh...

I'll never go back

Oh, about a year ago I found myself wanting to do my part and "go green" as much as possible. It also had to do with longing to have a simpler way of life and being frugal. Plus, I get my kicks on those little house on the prairie, do what our forefathers did type things. But, whatever I tried had to work and do it's job, or surpass the commercial products job. Well by golly I found one such homemade product that I swear...I'll never go back to buying the name brand crappolla filled with nasty chemicals and formaldehyde!! Yup, formaldehyde!! Instead I make this:



with this:

2 cups Borax
2 cups washing soda
2 cups baking soda
1 bar napatha bar soap grated

Use 2 TBSP per load...and you'll have some fresh, clean laundry in no time at all

All of this costs about $8.00...Each batch lasts me about a month & I get about 4 batches with the 3 boxes of powder. All I have to do is purchase the Napatha bar soap, grate it up & whalaaa I've got another month's supply. Sooo, for 4 months worth of fabulous, natural, fresh smelling, CLEAN, whites are white, colors are colored laundry all I have to spend is about $12!!! That's pretty darn tootan fantastical if you ask me!! Want to know sumthin else? Ken's allergies are sooo much better since I started using this and we are able to clean our eyeglasses on our tshirts without them getting all smudgy from that other crappolla =) There are several other earth friendly cleaners I use in our home. I will totally do a post all about that!!!

Christmas

Christmas trees start going up in our house on November 1st. Yup, I said Trees, meaning plural. Three big trees to be exact and 5-10 table top and various sized trees find their way into every nook and cranny.

The front of the house can be seen from Main street...which is 4 blocks away...

The den tree is adorned with a couple hundred multi colored lights and all the homemade ornaments.

The main living room tree had a few new additions this year. My friend Brandy made two of these ornaments for me back in August in memory of our babies. Ken purchased our angel ornament this year & he also found a fantastic humming bird ornament in memory of his Nana.

We all know we need to have a tree in the bathroom to provide that ambiance as we sit on the throne!!

We couldn't pass up the opportunity to take a self picture. Not very often you see us razzle dazzled up.

We rent a hall for Christmas seeing there are 32 of us and face it, who's house can accommodate all of us? Here I am with my big sis Laurie. I just realized her shirt matches my scarf...p.s. the scarf was put on AFTER we consumed our fab meal...to hide the bulging belly!!!

This is only one side of our big circle where we play a gift game. Clearly one heckuva fun event!!!

My brother Kelly

Jay & Osten...Jay's my brother Bruce's boy & Osten his his son.

Me with my lil brother JJ

And back to our living room tree

Of course our bedroom needs a tree!!! We took a big honkan bag of pine cones back from Nana's yard Massachusetts back in June when we went for her funeral. I can't think of a better way than to have them on our tree. =)

If you dare to venture up our windy staircase with tiny steps you'll see this at the bottom landing. I guess I don't have pics of the kitchen trees or the one on the upstairs landing. Believe me, those rooms didn't go without yuletide joy!!! My electric meter knows so!!!!

Sleigh Ride

I organized a sleigh ride for my family on New Years Day. Once Jim realized the Casino was not county road 551 & made it to the farm we were on our way. There were only 20 of us...12 were either sick, thought it was too cold or poor Dave & Lindsey were dealing with furnace issues. We originally had 2 sleighs reserved but they were able to fit us all on one. Can we say tight squeeze?

We meandered through the woods & on our way back the owners stop & we have a lil bonfire, roast marshmallows, hotdogs, have cocoa...fun times. This is my brother Bruce's youngest sone Jason & his lovely wife Jen.

trying to get ourselves all sandwiched in & covered up...

My brother Pat & his wife Kim chillin by the fire.

My lil bro JJ took his girlfriend Meghan. My brothers Mike & Kelly are all bundled up & pretty unrecognizable too. It was one heckuva chilly night!!!

We left as the sun was going down. My cousin Julie, sister Laurie & her boyfriend Ernie took part in the fun too.

My oh my...we were packed like sardines in the sleigh!!!

My niece Ellie & lil brother Jesse peeking at me.

And then you have Ken and myself...all bundled up, noses numb, toes tingling in pain but having a BLAST!!!! We'll definately be planning this again!! Maybe in the autumn when the leaves are in full color and it's not so jeepan cold!!

Amy

My friend Amy lost her battle with cancer. Please keep her an her family in your thoughts and prayers. Another person gone too soon...

Although it's difficult today to see beyond the sorrow, May looking back in memory help comfort you tomorrow.~Author Unknown

2010

I had to have my pic taken with Tom!! =)

And my main squeeze =)

Then with Sammi & Pat

No better way than ringing in the New Year than with snowflakes, fireworks, good friends & my handsome hubby =) May 2010 be one of happiness, health & wunnaful times.

My bright idea at 3am

Last week I found myself tossing & turning in bed while Ken snored away. It was around 3am when I had what I thought was THE BEST christmas cookie idea. I woke Ken up excited to tell him all about my idea. Ken, being the amazing guy he is smiled, shook his head, chuckled & went back to bed. The idea??? Snowglobe sugar cookies of course!!! =)