Taking a Blogging Break This Week

Family Comes First

My Dad is going to have open heart surgery tomorrow, so this week will be just a bit hectic for me.  Trying to keep up with my job while at the hospital is all I’m going to attempt and that will be hard enough.

Dad is 82 years old and has never had heart problems, that we knew of.  But shortness of breath recently made him talk to his Doctor. What we thought was going to be a consult with a cardiologist last Friday ended up being a series of test done immediately. The cardiac cath showed calcification in his heart and 3 blockages. One was 99.9% blocked, another 85% and another 40%.   They were unable to do stints because of the calcification.

You always hear of heart disease being the silent killer. We are very lucky that Dad didn’t have a full blown heart attack. We aren’t looking forward to the open heart and (at least) double bypass, and the recovery – but we are so very thankful that we got this chance.  So many people never have the chance because they ignore  the very sudle symptoms. One of them we didn’t realize was increased belching. Dad thought he was just having stomach problems because for the last several week he had much more belching than usual. This is a sign of a blockage.

Here are a couple good places to start if you have any concern for yourself or a loved one.

Heart Issues for Woman can be different 

Heart Disease Guide from Web MD

 

 

Columbus, Ohio Adventures

Roar and Explore Three Day Family Package!

I first posted this on my Explore Ohio with Sandy blog last July.  But I did look and it appears that you can purchase the Roar and Explore package again this year.

My family had an awesome vacation in Ohio and just outside of Ohio this year.  We started off with the canopy tour, headed down to KY to tour Mammoth Caves and then came back for a three day Columbus Adventure Package called Roar and Explore.

Here is a Video Recap of Our Three Day Adventure

Day One The Zoo

We planned our three days according to the weather forecast.  The first day was the nicest one. Clear skies and cool.  It was in the low 70′s, so perfect for the zoo, but a little cold for the water park. The animals were out…. perfect. We walked in and realized it had been awhile since we had visited the zoo. The entire entrance had been redone. It was really nice!

We went to an animal show that was just about to begin and it was really cute. Started off without any people, just different strange animals running across the stage and performing different tricks (like knowing which doors to go in that would open and let another animal out.
It was really fun day for all of us.. we were all exhausted by the end of it and ready to head back to the nice comfy hotel to rest (or go to the pool as the triplets did)

Day two – COSI

It was a bit stormy and rainy so we went to COSI (Center of Science and Industry). They had a special dinosaur exhibit that we were able to go into. This was an extra cost to get into this exhibit. It was nice and the kids had fun. To be honest I don’t know if I would have been excited if I would have paid much more to be able to see it. It wasn’t the kids favorite part of COSI.

They loved the 3-D movie (extra cost) but I think their favorite part and I know my favorite part was the outside exhibit of the construction equipment. They actually got to work some of them (with assistance of course). That was cool.

Day three – Zoombezi Bay

Ended up being a wash for Zoombezi Bay. It was storming and we weren’t able to go. The good thing is that the tickets are good until Sept when it closes for the year.

Drury Inn & Suites

We had a blast at the Drury Inn & Suites hotel. We had two nights there and I can’t count how many times the kids went to the pool. The room was really nice, there was a work out facility that had glass walls right next to the indoor/outdoor pool. Dave used it and was very pleased. We had a very nice warm continental breakfast (no charge for any guest) and the staff was lovely. I’d have no problems recommending it to anyone. The only thought I had was that I wish it were closer to the Zoo and Zoombezi Bay. The one we stayed at was in Grove City.

 

Our package was provided by ExperienceColumbus.com for our family of five.  All the pictures and videos (except the Zoombezi Bay picture) were mine and my opinion was not swayed by the complimentary package.  Thank you Experience Columbus, we had a wonderful time. No pictures or videos are to be used without my permission.

 

This post was first posted July 23, 2011 on Explore Ohio with Sandy.com 

 

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Just Do It!

How Many Times Do You Hear That?

I tell myself that all the time.  Do you wonder why we don’t always do the things we should?  It’s almost like we make ourselves our own enemy.

My struggle right now is with weight.  I like to eat, I love sugar.  Do I know it is bad for me? Yup!  Do I feel like crap at my heaviest weight? Yup! Do I WANT to be thinner?  Yup!

So it should be simple, right? Just stop eating the crap, exercise and JUST DO IT!

I actually am beginning tomorrow with a trainer once a week. I need someone to make me accountable, someone to push me, someone who I have to answer to.  I know I shouldn’t. I know everything I need to do, I know what I need to eat and not eat – but it is something about someone else believing in you and working with you and counting on you… to motivate you.

I think the same thing happens in almost any area of our lives that we struggle in, but want to improve.  That might be keeping the house clean, cooking or organizing for you.  Of course there are way too many to list.. but you understand.

Steps To Just Doing It

1) Goals & Visions

Write them out.  What do you want to accomplish?  Give yourself specific goals to reach. Make them attainable goals. Be sure to put a date on the paper when you write it, so you can monitor time.

2) Make a Plan

When are you going to start? What time or cost is involved? What steps do you need to take to accomplish your goal?

3) Write it on your calendar

Writing it down is very helpful in making us accountable. If that time is set aside to accomplish your goal, then that is usually one big obstacle out of the way.

4) Find the resources you may need to help you.

It might be a personal trainer, a Professional Organizer, a chef  or, it might be finding a tutorial on Youtube, an article, book or magazine to help. It may just be your friend or neighbor that can help you.

But why does it seem that anything we need help with cost money? Have you noticed that it cost more to eat healthier? Why is that? I don’t know, but when I’m watching what I eat, I always spend more on the healthy vs the unhealthy items in the store.  Hiring a personal trainer cost money too. If you have organizing problems, hiring a Professional Organizer isn’t free either. I think we have to think of it as an investment in ourselves, our well being, our families well being.

5) Just Do It!

I know… I had to say it didn’t I?  But it does come down to that. We can’t just plan and want to do something – we have to actually do the grunt work to receive the benefit.  I know I’ll feel better once I start working out and eating right, so I’m going to just do it.

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Geneva on the Lake

The Lodge & Conference Center at Geneva On-the-Lake, Ohio

Dave and I were invited to visit The Lodge & Conference Center at Geneva On-The-Lake and I was more than thrilled! Living less than three hours away from Lake Erie, you would think that I would go up there more frequently.  But alas, other than our visit last year, this is only the second time I’ve stayed on the lake.

It is the perfect place for you to stay if you enjoy wine country – it’s in the heart of Ohio’s wine country, directly on Lake Erie just east of Sandusky. There are over 20 wineries near by to enjoy.  The Lodge has a wine shuttle that will take you several of them. But you do have to be sure and reserve your spot on the shuttle early because it sells out.

Here is a video that shows you are weekend visit.

Looks great doesn’t it?

It was Easter weekend and cool, but sunny and pretty.  Dave is hoping that we’ll get a chance this summer to come back up. He wants to take the kids on a fishing charter on the lake.

We drove up to the area Friday evening so we could visit with his niece, Jamie and her husband Brian along with Dave’s childhood friend Kevin and his wife Kym. They suggested the winery Ferrante, which is close to the Lodge at Geneva on the Lake.  We had a really nice meal, along with some fun wine tasting at the restaurant.  We wondered why the restaurant wasn’t very busy when it was so nice, but realized later it was because it was pre-season and things were pretty quiet.

We drove over to The Lodge at Geneva on the Lake on Saturday.  The town of Geneva was really quant, but we didn’t stop anywhere, we just drove through.   We found the Lodge, but it was still too early to check in. We then went on past the Lodge and found the strip of Geneva on the Lake. It reminded me of Virginia Beach or Myrtle Beach. I could just picture people walking up and down the sidewalks with all the open air places to eat and visit. I bet it is so fun! Other than being warm enough to take a boat on the lake, being able to enjoy this area I missed.

We found the Firehouse Winery open and had lunch there.  There was a small room on the second floor with just a few tables that over looked the lake.  We first thought that the winery was in the blue building, but discovered it was in the red barn looking building to the right in the picture above.

Picture this Ferris wheel with all the seats attached going around….  what a cool view that would be of the lake.

We walked along the lake, back behind the winery.  What a beautiful day!

There is plenty to do and see in the area, even off season

We went back to the Lodge and checked into our room.  Walking into the lobby you immediately had a feel of … “wow, this is a nice place”.

There are several places that have groups of comfortable seats.

Then we had to check out our room.  The room was very nice.  We had a king room with a balcony and great view of the lake. Loved that!  There are other rooms that have options such as whirlpools, family rooms with bunk beds and a couple recently upgraded two-room suites.

Check out the view we had from our balcony! See the gazebo? Guess what happens there?  Yes… weddings! Wouldn’t that be a beautiful setting? You wouldn’t have to worry about the hot sand of a beach wedding! lol

The Lodge at Geneva also has an indoor pool and hot tub (although we didn’t indulge on this trip) along with an outdoor pool that looks out on the lake.

We ate our dinner on Saturday night at the Horizons Restaurant in the lodge.  You walk into the restaurant to a really cool fireplace and buffet. It is really inviting.

 Then you look behind the fireplace and see an entire wall of windows looking out at the lake and the gazebo.  When it gets dark the gazebo is all lit with white lights… nice!

I thought it was cool to see this couple sitting out by the water on the bench. The whole feel of the lodge feels romantic to me.

We had the breakfast buffet the next morning (Easter Morning). We did not stay for the Easter bunch that was taking place in just about an hour or so.  Our breakfast was nice, not spectacular but good. . My omelet was fine, but Dave said his french toast wasn’t very good. But the coffee and atmosphere were awesome.  I’m thinking the focus might have been on the brunch since it was such a special event and not the regular breakfast.

We checked out the marina on Saturday.  It seemed strange seeing a marine without any boats. Come May it will be full of boats.

What a nice place to visit! It is actually just a walk from the Lodge at Geneva on the Lake.

There are so many things to do. Obviously boating and fishing, but there is also canoeing, hiking, nature walks, golfing, a tour of historic covered bridges, lighthouses, museums, Underground Railroad sites, restaurants and entertainment. wow!

I would not hesitate to recommend The Lodge at Geneva on the Lake to anyone and I am recommending it to all of you!!

 

The Lodge & Conference Center at
Geneva on-the-Lake
4888 North Broadway
Geneva-On-The-Lake, Oh 44041

440-415-1527
www.TheLodgeatGeneva.com  

 

Our Saturday night stay, dinner and breakfast at The Lodge & Conference Center at Geneva on-the-Lake. This did not influence my opinions. The pictures and video are all my own and are not to be used without my permission. (You are welcome to pin the pictures on pinterest though)

Ohio Event

Utica’s Sertoma Ice Cream Festival

Each Memorial Day Weekend for the last 38 years the Ye Old Mill in Utica Ohio has been the home of Old Fashion Velvet Ice Cream Festival

It is a yearly tradition for our family, along with many zillions of other people!  I mean really, who can resist Velvet ice cream?

These pics are from one of our visits in 2010.  I had posted on my Explore Ohio with Sandy blog, but wanted to share with all of you too! I can’t wait until we go this May.

My video gives you the feel of the Velvet Ice Cream Festival.

The water mill works and is just pretty cool.

The Mill is on one side of the street and you can sit by the water, eat your ice cream and check out the extensive car show.

You’ll find carnival games and foods galore!

Then you can cross the street to find more food….. and a large craft show

But the best part about the Utica Old Fashion Ice Cream festival is the Velvet Ice Cream!

Alex opted for the shake this year.

But not Zach. Notice the ice cream on the nose. lol…. oh so good!

Elise’s favorite is the mint chocolate chip.

Mine happens to be the Moose Tracks… oh yum!

Dave and I enjoying the day with the kids.

I just thought this was a cool pic of Zach.

More information

Utica Old Fashion Ice Cream Festival site
Facebook pageSchedule of Events

Dates

May 26 – 28, 2012

Location

Velvet Ice Cream The Ye Old Mill
11324 Mount Vernon Road, Utica, OH, 43080

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Time Management

Managing Your Time

Do you always find yourself running late? Missing appointments?

Some people take it for granted, but it can cost you business deals, jobs and friends.  Don’t just assume that “everyone knows I run late”.   We always have times that are exceptions to the rules, I’m there with you.  Getting lost (I’m good at that), cars breaking down, an event running late – I hear ya.  But all it takes is a phone call.  Be considerate of the person you are meeting or is counting on you.

Here are some of my tips for staying on time.

Set alarms

Have one on your phone?  Use it! If not, download an app.  I set mine all the time, even when I am home working. I often get very involved in what I am working on and time can get away from me.

Give Yourself Extra Time

Always give yourself more time than you think it will take.  If it is something close by, it may only need to be an extra 15 minutes you add onto your schedule. If it is something across town, a further distance or during a rush hour, you may need to add on an extra 30 – 60 minutes.   It is much easier to sit and work on a project or answer emails when you are at your destination a little early, than being late and costing your reputation.

Be Considerate of Others

As much as we may feel that we are the only ones who are important, it isn’t the truth.  Being late all the time portrays that  feeling to others.  By keeping others waiting for you consistently, it is rude in my book.  Again, I’m not talking about the occasional event that happens to all of us. I’m talking about those who are consistently and expectedly late.

Teach Your Children To Watch Time Also

Start your children early. If someone is picking them up for school – make sure they are ready and waiting either outside or watching out the window. Don’t make them wait while your child puts on the shoes, hunts for their book bag and grabs their lunch. Why should those people who are doing you a favor by picking up your child – be late (when they were on time to pick up your child) because you/your child aren’t paying attention to the clock.

Likewise – if your child is ready and waiting to go somewhere, how frustrating is it for them to be late because the person picking them up is running late?

 

 

 

 

Canopy Tours

Zip Line From Tree to Tree- Hocking Hills Canopy Tours!

This was a highlight from our trip last year that we would LOVE to do again this year!  If you have had this experience, it is well worth it! Believe me, if I can do it…. anyone can!

 

We drove just over an hour to get to the Hocking Hills Canopy Tours.  We of course just called it Zip Lining! The kids were excited, but a little scared.  We arrived early, but went ahead and checked in.  There is a little club house where you check in that has a gift shop and a place to get some lunch.  There is a golf course right there also .

There is a video playing, so you can see what you are getting yourself into, or just decide if you want to do the canopy tour or the super zip.

The Super Zip is one long, very fast zip.  You also are positioned on your stomach (the kids say like Super Man) which increases the speed and thrill.

The tour (what we did) is a 3,300 course that has 10 zips and 5 bridges on it. You are up to 70 ft high at some points (although it seemed higher than that) It takes about two hours.  They say to plan on about 2 hours and 45 minutes as you have to suit up and have some training first.

Dave and the kids played some corn hole while I took pictures and sat at the picnic benches in the shade while we waited for our turn.

We had to fill out release forms and information for both us and the kids.  Kids have to be at least ten years old before they can zip.  The triplets are ten, so it worked out great.

When your group is gathered your guides will take you over to this building to get suited up and ready.

They have everything laid out for you and walk you through everything.  They also will lock up your car keys, wallets, glasses or cameras for you in the locked lockers before you go (you don’t want to worry about losing your car keys out there! )

I had a little pouch that they tied onto my straps for me. It had my little camera (I so wanted my DSL for all these cool pictures, but I wasn’t going to risk it), my flip camera and a back up flip camera, along with a set of batteries.  I think they thought I was crazy!  I wish I had gotten a picture of me with this little pink thing hanging from my straps.

There was plenty of instruction the entire time.  Our guides were CJ and Brenda and they did a great job.  CJ was telling jokes to the kids and omg have we heard them again and again and again after we left there. When they think of the canopy tour, they think of CJ and jokes too. (Yeah thanks CJ!) For instance (just so you have an idea)…  CJ, “Say the word Silk five times fast”   Triplets, “Silk, Silk, Silk, Silk, Silk”   CJ, “What does a cow drink?”  Kids, “Milk!”  CJ, “No… a cow drinks water silly!”   Ugh… LOL

Once we went through our training to learn how to zip and stop, we loaded up in the jeep and they drove us through the woods to the first zip line.(This is another group coming in, not our group – but it does look like Brenda and CJ standing on the back of the jeep)

Enjoy the video of our zip line adventures!!

We had SO much fun!! When I zipped, I was able to try and hold my camera pouch up for a little bit, but had to let go to use my hand to break near the end, so the camera looks back off to the side again. Wish I could have had a helmet cam! lol

The kids had a fantastic time as I’m sure you can see on the video.  Alex isn’t too sure in this picture. He didn’t like trusting the straps to lead off the edge of the tree platform. It is hard to tell from this picture, but we are way up in the air and they are leaning back off the edge.

When we got back we were heading to our car and saw this guy in the tree…. and he was kind enough to pose for us.

He looks sweet doesn’t he?  The kids were talking about the movie Elf and how Elf tried to give one a hug.  LOL

I totally recommend you trying this!!!   It is a bit expensive ($85 per person for the canopy tour – 2011 rates) but it is over a two hour adventure, is exhilarating, makes you take some chances and an experience you will never forget.

I actually wasn’t scared, I was excited. I was concerned I wasn’t going to be able to do it. I have been having some real problems with my shoulder and have very limited range of motion. But I was able to reach up in front of me. They had me break with my right hand rather than the traditional left.  There were only a couple times when I was getting up onto the platform after zipping that I had a little pain because I had to pull myself into a standing position. But I am in terrible physical shape right now.  The zipping isn’t hard, the walking isn’t hard. We did have to walk up a short incline going from a bridge to the next zip on a hill, but it wasn’t bad.   I sure did a lot of sweating (result of being out of shape), but I had a blast and would do it again in a heartbeat.

Be sure to make reservations!

Hocking Hills Canopy Tours
10714 Jackson Street, Rockbridge
OH 43149

Web Site: Hocking Hills Canopy Tours

Call: 1-740-385-9477
Email: info@hockinghillscanopytours.com

 

You can also see this post on my Explore Ohio with Sandy blog 

Our tours were compensated.  My opinions, photos and videos are my own and were not influenced by this.

Fawn

Perfect Timing

Dave and I were taking a drive in Coshocton county looking at great views. It was raining off and on so we couldn’t ride our 4-wheelers at his farm yet. We came down this back country road and see a deer and this tiny fawn walking in the road. The fawn was so tiny I wasn’t even sure that was what I was seeing. I mean it was little! Legs were wobbly and Dave feels sure he saw an umbilical cord.

Of course Mama ran up the hill. He drove really slow so we could see if we saw the fawn. I said, “Stop!”. Right down in the ditch area along the road was this tiny little thing all burrowed in the weeds. If we had been going even a tiny bit faster I would have missed it. You really can’t tell from these pictures how tiny this was. But I’ll bet it didn’t weigh but 10-15 pounds at best. Certainly the smallest fawn I have ever seen.

She just laid there looking at me. Not moving a muscle. Dave said that is their defense mechanism when they are that small. They can’t run away. They have very little scent and hope that predators will walk right by. He said there were several times in the woods that he literally almost stepped on one before it moved.
I just loved it.
We then saw Mama deer waiting right on top of the hill. We took some pictures and slowly went on our way.
How cool was that?

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Fav Pin Friday Linky Party – #Pinterest Week 10

Easter Ideas from Pinterest!

There are some of the cutest ideas for Easter floating around out there!  Who doesn’t love bunnies and all the spring colors.    I saw this idea from Pinterest and thought it was SO cute!

Peep S’Mores

Make a Peep S’More.. at home!   You use your typical graham crackers and Hershey chocolate bars – but you add a Peep for the Marshmallow (after all it is marshmallow).  You put just the bottom half (1 cracker, chocolate and Peep) in the microwave for about 8-12 seconds I think. I know marshmallows really puff up huge in the microwave. I can’t wait to try this with the kids!

You can find this post at Eclectic Recipes 

Lori found the Peep S’mores on Pinterest and she put another spin on them.  What a neat idea this is! She made up Peep S’More packs for her kids parties at school.  She got the little bags and then she printed up the instructions and put on the back.  Hopefully the kids will wait until they get home to open and make them, rather than opening and just eating all the ingredients out first!  I LOVE this idea!

You can find this darling idea at My Wood Spoon

Bunny Cupcakes

Isn’t this cupcake darling?  So simple, yet looks so awesome!  I first saw just the backside shot of the bunny in the cupcake. When I went to the post I found this pic with the front of the bunny done up too.  It is a blog written in spanish, but some awesome recipe. Worth hitting the translator for.

You can find this idea at Cupcake Perfecto.

Angry Bird Easter Eggs

How cute are these?

You can find the post for these on The Tip Junkie party ideas

 

Would love for you to link something you would like pinned!

Guidelines

1) Add a link from one of your blog post you want pinned.
2) Be sure to use the picture you want pinned for the picture we see on here.
3) Would love for you to tweet this out, or stumble or pin it. (Only pin my Fav Pin Friday button, not any of the pics I put up from pinterest please – those aren’t my pictures.)
4) Be sure to pin a couple other pins you see on here too!
5) Please click on the pictures, it will take you to my pinterest boards where I pinned these pics.  Please repin these pictures, as it will help the people who originally posted the picture. Visit their posts to help them out.

If you like the pinterest parties you can go to Kim’s at Crafty Mama of 4. She has Pin it Friday 

If you need some help knowing how to link up, this link party tutorial should help.

Fishing

Dave and the kids go Fishing

These pictures were from a couple years ago when Dave took the kids fishing. I just loved them and wanted to share.

Dave getting the triplets rigged up.

Dave helping Elise get ready to fish

Alex fishing

Drew fishing on his own a little further away from us. (smart! LOL)

I just liked this picture of Elise

The bait. The kids found bag worms and centipedes along with regular worms (that no one could find in the can) while at the farm.

Dave and Zach whistling the Andy Giffith Song on their way back.

No fish…but lots of fun.

Spring Flowers

There are always such beautiful flowers at the farm.

I love the Red Bud trees. I always think of my mom when I see them because she used to love when they were in bloom.  My boys got me a red bud tree the year before last for Mother’s Day, but it got blown over and broke in a wind storm.  I might try to transplant  one from the farm.  They are all over there.

Wild Flowers in the orchard at the farm. Not a “working orchard” anymore. It used to have apple trees, not just a big open area with a picnic shelter that has always been called The orchard.

St. Patrick’s Day Milkshake

Surprise Your Kids with Green Milkshake!

Saint Patrick’s Day can be a lot of fun.  You can do something as simple as give your kids a green milkshake and they will be thrilled.

Fun thing about it, is that it can be a really healthy shake and they don’t realize it.

It tastes like banana and peanut butter, so the kids will not even realize there is spinach in it (if you don’t want them to know).

Recipe for Green smoothie Shake

1/2 cup vanilla low fat yogurt
1 cup skim milk
1 banana
1 Tablespoon peanut butter
3-4 Cups leaf spinach
5-7 ice cubes

I haven’t tried this but you could substitute ice cream for the ice cubes if you wanted.

Makes about 48 oz of shake.

You can see my full post here for Green Spinach Recipe

 

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Organizing and DIY Monday Link Party – Week 11

Flowers – Just Because!

Dave will surprise me every month or so with flowers, for no real reason.  I always love them.  Many times it’s when I’m having a hard day or I’m frustrated about something and he knows it will make me feel better.

This single rose he brought me a couple weeks ago. It was so pretty. Just so sweet…  and I lasted a long time.

 

 

 

Can you tell it made my night?  My man is the bomb!

 

Link up to my Linky Party! I’d love to see your spring cleaning, organizing or DIY projects!

1) Link to your specific post – not your blog
2) Please Link back to my blog with my button or link (url code under button tab )
3) Blog post related to Organizing or Cleaning or DIY or crafts or decorating are WONDERFUL!
4) No sales pitches or web sites.
5) Feel free to link up more than 1 post.

I also have a Pinterest Favorite Pin Friday Linky Party! Be sure to watch for that!

Looking for other link parties? I have a whole list of them. Thumbnail via day above and keep scrolling down to find a more extensive text lists by day on my link party list. If you aren’t sure how to link up… see my link party tutorial here. It is simple. If You Are On A Reader and Want to View All the Great Link Up’s on this post please Click here 
This party will be open until March 18, 2012 at 11:59pm

Spagetti Tacos Recipe

If iCarly Can Eat Them, The Triplets Can Too!

Want to surprise your kids? Tell them you are going to make them spagetti tacos!  Chances are they will know exactly what you are talking about.

I can’t tell you how excited three 11 year olds were when I asked them if they wanted Spagetti Tacos for dinner. I got several … “What?” and then “Do you know who eats Spagetti Tacos?  iCarly does… and Victorious had them on their show just last night!!”  They were beyond excited!! What a riot… a meal that isn’t particularly healthy (not at all) it was a real winner with my kids.

I heard about this recipe from @MamaBzz who had them on her blog a couple weeks ago.  I told her I would have to try it!  I just now went to her blog to pick up the url and realized she had topped her with shredded cheese…oops… I forgot that on mine!

Ingredients:

Taco shells
Spagetti Sauce
Ground beef /Venison(I used)
American Cheese
Spagetti
Shredded Cheese (optional for top – that I forgot)

Directions:

Ground the meat
Boil your spagetti
Heat your spagetti sauce
Microwave (or heat in oven) your taco shells

Oh… look at this idea I had to use to hold my taco shells (I think I was as excited about this as I was at the recipe… I might have seen it on pinterest, but I’m not sure – they might have been using something similar)

Turn your cupcake tins upside down and use to hold your taco shells. It worked awesome!!!

I have to tell you.. I was super excited about this! lol

Line your taco shells with a slice of American cheese

The cheese will melt when you put the hot spagetti in it.

 Drain the spagetti, mix in the sauce and meat and spoon into your shells.  I found these tongs to work a little easier.  

Serve!  - This handy holder works great to also carry them into the table!

Yes.. these would look better with shredded cheese on top! You could also use parmesan cheese on top if you preferred, but my kids didn’t miss it.

 

The happiness followered. Alex was trying to decide how to eat that first bite. lol

Elise just dug right in!  She decided that this is what she wants for her birthday dinner this year!

Enjoy!

Favorite Pin Friday #Pinterest Party – Week 7

What Would You Like Pinned?  Link it Up!

 

Entryway Landing Stations

I always love these!  A central place where you can leave your bookbags, coats, shoes etc. and have your family organized for the day.

 

I think this one is the most innovative.  I love when you have the room for the “locker” feel so that everyone has their own place for their coat and book bag.  I also like when there is some kind of bench to sit on to take on and off shoes.

 

Guidelines

1) Add a link from one of your blog post you want pinned.
2) Be sure to use the picture you want pinned for the picture we see on here.
3) Would love for you to tweet this out, or stumble or pin it. (Only pin my Fav Pin Friday button, not any of the pics I put up from pinterest please.)
4) Be sure to pin a couple other pins you see on here too!
5) Please click on the pictures, it will take you to my pinterest boards where I pinned these pics.  Please repin these pictures, as it will help the people who originally posted the picture. Visit their posts to help them out.

If you like the pinterest parties you can go to Kim’s at Crafty Mama of 4. She has Pin it Friday 

If you need some help knowing how to link up, this link party tutorial should help.

Pin It

Wedding Dress

What Do You Do With It AFTER The Wedding?

There are several options for what you can do with your wedding dresses.

1) Sell them – on Craig’s List, ebay etc
2) Donate them – There are plenty of woman who can’t afford a nice wedding dress and would LOVE your generosity.
3) Save them  - You can have them preserved by a cleaners
4) Recycle them

 

For my first wedding I did the whole (preserving) the wedding dress routine. I remember paying $75 at Swann Cleaners back in 1982 (which was a lot of money back then, to me) in order for my dress to be packed up in a box… not to be opened until it was to be used again by my daughter. It was sealed.

So I moved that big box with me to each of my homes throughout my almost 20 years of marriage, never opening it, never breaking that seal.  When my divorce was pending I knew (having four boys) that I wasn’t going to have a daughter to wear it, and also knew it was out of style anyway. Some of my friends in my neighborhood and I had a fun idea. Another one of the gals also was going through a divorce. We decided to get out our wedding dresses and put them on!  (That will have to be another post! lol)

I was shocked to find that mine (opening the seal for the first time in 20 years) had yellowed spots on it.  So I couldn’t sell or donate it anyway.

What I did with my 2nd wedding dress.

When I married Dave, I knew that even if I kept my dress, the chances of my step daughter wanting to wear my dress was so minimal it was not worth keeping packed away.

I seriously considered donating it, but when I had an offer to make a memory quilt I decided to use part of my wedding dress.  I sent my dress off and they used part of the dress in the quilt and they also used part for a pillow.

I love my pillow… it captures the bodice of the dress that I loved so much.

This is the back of the pillow which reflects that back of the train of the dress.

The quilt company sent the rest of my dress back, so I had plenty of fabric.  I did had Christmas stockings made for myself and my step daughter that matched by a seamstress here in town.

I got an “S” for my stocking and an “E” for her’s.

 

I also had her make several “silkies” that I will be able to give my Grandchildren (God willing). She made them about 12″ x 12″. The wedding dress silk fabric on one side and then I got a soft flannel with a baby pattern and had her back them with that.  You know how babies love the blankets that have that silky feeling on them?

Where is Your Wedding dress?

Organizing & DIY Link party – Week 7

Link Up Your Posts or Get Some New Ideas!

What is Valentine’s Day like at Your Home?

We have a special dinner which is a bit different. We have chocolate chip pancakes! I did it one year for fun and the kids haven’t forgotten. When they mention Valentine’s Day, they mention chocolate chip pancakes! I have done them in heart shapes, but I didn’t last year when I took these pictures. We’ll see what tomorrow brings when I make them this year.

This is what Dave had waiting for me for Valentine’s day one year. I came in late that night from a trip and this was on the table for me.

Share your DIY, crafts, decorating, organizing projects and Valentine’s Day posts!

You can find the link for my button on my top “Buttons” Tab. (right now I only have the Organizing Mission Monday button, so it is fine to continue to grab that) 
1) Link to your specific post – not your blog
2) Please Link back to my blog with my button or link (link just above underneath my button)
3) Blog post related to Organizing or Cleaning or DIY or crafts or decorating are WONDERFUL!
4) No sales pitches or web sites.
5) Feel free to link up more than 1 post.

I also have a Pinterest Favorite Pin Friday Linky Party! Be sure to watch for that!

Looking for other link parties? I have a whole list of them. Thumbnail via day above and keep scrolling down to find a more extensive text lists by day on my link party list. If you aren’t sure how to link up… see my link party tutorial here. It is simple. If You Are On A Reader and Want to View All the Great Link Up’s on this post please Click here 
This party will be open until Feb 19, 2012 at 11:59pm

Jewelry Keepsakes

And Divorce Diamonds – What To Do With Them?

I’m going to go over two different situations, much with the same results.

Here is my current engagement ring – Let me tell you the story behind it.

I was divorced in 2001 after close to twenty years of marriage.  I had accumulated not only my engagement ring, but several other diamond and gemstone rings. I didn’t know what to do with them.

From my ex husband starting out in jewelry early in our relationship, I was shocked to see how little people actually got back for their rings if they tried to sell them back. Ebay or Craigs list was always an option.

I considered giving them to my son’s, but it just seemed like “divorce diamonds” weren’t a real great gift to give your boys to give to their future wives.

Dave and I discussed an option when we were dating, knowing we were getting close to being engaged. He knew I had a pretty good idea of a ring I wanted to have, and I knew he was a pretty frugal guy. We didn’t have a lot of extra money to put into an engagement ring.

Dave did want to surprise me (which he did…. another story) when he asked me to marry him. He did go ring shopping and picked out an engagement ring, but also told the clerk there was a really good chance he would be returning it.

What we did, was to go to a jeweler that I knew and trusted and we designed my ring.  I took in the several rings that I had, including my engagement ring and we did an exchange.  Dave would not agree to let me use the main diamond from the old engagement ring (we picked one out together) but we did use all the little diamonds from the different rings in my new ring.  To get the perfect sizes etc the jeweler actually exchanged them out evenly so none of the exact same diamonds are now in this ring.  He also used the gold from those ring for the gold in my new ring.  So we only had the cost of the main diamond and the jewelers time.  The rings also helped pay for some of the other costs.

I got the ring I wanted and ended up saving Dave over $2,000 from the ring he originally had picked out for me.

The ring has both yellow gold and white gold in it (which I wanted). I kept my wedding band super simple since my engagement ring was fairly ornate. It is cut to fit snug to the engagement ring, but isn’t in these pictures.

There is scroll work on the sies of it (that is hard to see in these pictures) and the jeweler was so pleased with it, he made it one of his “signature” rings. He won’t repeat the same ring, but he said he has only chosen about 50 pieces in his long career that he has made his signature pieces. It has his initials in one of the small gold circles on the sides.

My Mom and Grandmother’s Engagement Rings

My Mom passed away in 1999.  Her engagement ring was slated to go to my older sister.  Mom had her ring, and she also had a one diamond out of the double diamond ring of her mother’s (my Grandmother).

My sister doesn’t wear rings much at all, and she was going to take Mom’s diamond and make a necklace out of it.  I was going to get Grandmother’s loose diamond and make a ring out of it.  So she decided the best thing to do was to give me Mom’s ring and she would take Grandmother’s diamond.

 

We found Grandmother’s engagement ring in Mom’s jewelry box, with the two empty shanks where her diamonds had been. (one diamond had gone to Mom, the other to her sister). Kathy was fine with me having Grandmother’s empty ring also.

I decided that I wanted one ring – with both Mom and Grandmothers engagement rings attached.  I took my idea and the rings to several jewelers. One wanted to do some fancy ring that didn’t look anything like their rings with the materials I had. I told him that wasn’t what I wanted. I wanted the ring to look just like their rings. It was in their memory.

I had another jeweler tell me that would look dumb. I left.

Then I went to Michael of Jewelry by Michael. He was nice, he worked through what I wanted and he made me a ring that I cherish and wear everyday on my right ring finger.

Mom’s ring is the single diamond and Grandmothers is the double ring.  The rings are both white gold, but I wear both yellow and white gold so I had him put yellow gold inbetween them to attach them.  There isn’t a time that I look at this ring and  don’t think of Mom and Grandmother.

These rings could have sat in my jewelry box, gather dust… but instead I wear them everyday in memory of my Mom and Grandmother.

See if there is a solution for special keepsakes to actually enjoy them and use them.   As for the divorce diamonds, you could also give the rings to a child (if you can’t use them) and have them exchange the materials for a ring for someone else (if you are comfortable with that).

Just be sure to find a jeweler that you can trust and that you know will do right by you.

Organizing & DIY Link Party – Week 6

Link Up Your Posts!

I wanted to share some organizing ideas I found on the Better Homes & Gardens Blog

This is your typical plastic door shoe holder used for kitchen gadget storage.  They have it labeled nicely and secured it well at the top.  Check out that tiny trap door at the bottom! What’s up with that? Is it for a small dog, cat or a friendly mouse? lol

 

This mobile office could really come in handy for someone without an actual office in their home.  It could easily slide into a closet or the corner of a room.  It could also be transformed easily for a dinner party (change out the pencil/pen cups and put silverware cups in it’s place).

 

I always love these message centers.  Using the inside of your cabinet doors.  The key is to make sure you have the space to close the door. Especially where they have the sticky note holders, you would have that much less room for storage inside the cabinet.  Not an issue with the chalkboard section.  You can also use some metal as an insert and have a magnetic board. But it can still prove to be a very useful solution for many.

Share your DIY, crafts, decorating, organizing projects!

You can find the link for my button on my top “Buttons” Tab. (right now I only have the Organizing Mission Monday button, so it is fine to continue to grab that) 
1) Link to your specific post – not your blog
2) Please Link back to my blog with my button or link (link just above underneath my button)
3) Blog post related to Organizing or Cleaning or DIY or crafts or decorating are WONDERFUL!
4) No sales pitches or web sites.
5) Feel free to link up more than 1 post.

I also have a Pinterest Link party on Fridays!! Be sure to check them out! Favorite Pin Friday!

Looking for other link parties? I have a whole list of them. Thumbnail via day above and keep scrolling down to find a more extensive text lists by day on my link party list. If you aren’t sure how to link up… see my link party tutorial here. It is simple. If You Are On A Reader and Want to View All the Great Link Up’s on this post please Click here 
This party will be open until Feb 12, 2012 at 11:59pm

Pin It

Fav Pin Friday – #Pinterest Linky Party

Link Up A Post You Would Like Pinned

If you are going to help pin on this post, please only pin my Fav Friday Badge (which I would really appreciate).  I do not want anyone pinning pictures that aren’t mine.  I did link the pictures up to my pinterest board where they are located. I would love for you to go and repin those, and that will help the person who originally pinned the item.

 

Look at the awesome use of space under these stairs.  I love this.  You do have to have the proper set up to be able to use this space. In my home, you can’t get under the stairs like this, so I couldn’t do it.

But I have also seen this used in basements (and the shelves hold extra pantry goods or such). I’ve seen it in a garage /workshop where there was an upstairs room.  He had his tools and had organized containers to hold his supplies and had them on the stairs.

 

 

If you know me, you know I have shoe envy.  I can’t wear these, but I sure do appreciate and love them!

 

Aren’t these darling?  Someone pinned them as Valentine boxes for boys, but I went to the web site where she made them. They are actually Tattle Monster boxes.  She made these for the teachers, and the kids can put their “tattles of other children” in here, to help reduce the tattling in the classroom.

Guidelines

1) Add a link from one of your blog post you want pinned.
2) Be sure to use the picture you want pinned for the picture we see on here.
3) Would love for you to tweet this out, or stumble or pin it. lol
4) Be sure to pin a couple other pins you see on here too!

If you like the pinterest parties you can go to Kim’s at Crafty Mama of 4. She has Pin it Friday 

If you need some help knowing how to link up, this link party tutorial should help.

If you would like an invitation to join Pinterest, please let me know in the comments and I’ll invite you.

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