Kaleena's baby shower

My cousin made this cake. It was her first professional cake ever. I was so impressed. Kaleena loves Koala's and that was her theme.


This diaper cake was a gift from the Derixson's. Hannah, Shelley and I put it together because the Derixson's were not able to be there. Shelley made the bow's and is trying to teach me. I think it turned out really well.

Were you drugged by your parents?

This is the tribute for Hannah's dad

It sure is hot in Kansas

I have been in Kansas for the last several days and it sure is hot. It was 108 the other day. This was an ice cream truck spotted in Wichita the other day. lol

How much water do I need?

Drinking water at certain time maximizes it's effectiveness on the body:
2 glasses of water after waking up - helps activate internal organs
1 glass of water 30 minutes before a meal - helps digestion
1 glass of water before taking a bath - helps lower blood pressure
1 glass of water before going to bed - avoids stroke or heart attack

Seasoned chicken breasts

Properly sauteéd chicken breasts are completely excellent, and I'm going to offer you a tutorial here for just that.
You can do what you like with them when they're done: make the simple pan sauce and eat them as is, or slice them up to top a salad or pasta or to fill sandwiches or burritos. Try combining this recipe with a side of easy sauteéd mushrooms as they go very well with chicken. Buttered egg noodles make a great accompaniment, since the delicious juices seep over on the plate and season them perfectly.
Ingredients
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 pinch kosher salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup chicken broth and 1/2 cup dry white wine or just use 1 cup chicken broth or another tasty liquid of your choosing if the wine is going to be too wine-y for your kids
1 handful fresh chopped parsley
A few tips on sautéing chicken:
Thick breasts take too long to cook, and the middle insists on remaining bland. Use very small chicken breasts, cut each one in half to make 2 skinnier breasts, or pound them using a meat tenderizer.
In a non-stick pan, the chicken may be disinclined to brown correctly, and the brown is where the flavor is here. Try to use a non-non-stick pan.
Don't be afraid of heat. You want to brown the chicken very well, and you want to do this before the inside turns to quilt batting. The chicken will seem, at first, like it's sticking, but once it's properly browned it will loosen itself as if by magic.
Slice each breast up crosswise before serving: this allows the sauce to get inside, making it more appealing to eat.
Directions
Begin by trimming the chicken breasts if they need trimming. I use my beloved kitchen scissors and snip off any shaggy bits of fat or gristle.
Pat them dry with paper towels (to helps them brown) and sprinkle them with some kosher salt.
Heat a very large pan over medium-high heat and add the butter, which should melt and foam, and the olive oil, which should stop the butter from burning. When the fat is all very hot but not turning black (recipes say "when the foam subsides"), add the chicken breasts in one layer. Now leave them alone for 5 or so minutes while the bottom gets nice and crusty and brown.
Use tongs or a spatula to flip them over as they brown, and then cook another 4 or so minutes until the bottom is very brown and the chicken is cooked through. You may want to cut a piece open to check, but pressing a cooked breast with your fingertip will give you a feel for its doneness, which will develop over time into the skill of knowing when it's done without cutting it.
Pile the chicken on a heat-proof plate and pop it into a 200ºF heated oven while you "deglaze" the pan. Pour the wine in and scrape with a spatula to dissolve all the yummy browned bits while the wine bubbles and boils furiously in the hot pan.
When the wine has cooked down about halfway, add the broth, turn the heat to high, and cook until the sauce seems syrupy and delicious. Taste it for salt, then drizzle it over the chicken, sprinkle with parsley, and serve. Sometimes, if the chicken has browned but doesn't seem quite cooked through, I leave it in the pan while I make the sauce so that it can simmer in there a bit longer.
recipe source: http://family.go.com/food/pkg-family-approved-recipes/recipe-777767-basic-sauteed-chicken-t/

Tamalie Pie

This is one of those straightforward, inexpensive, one-pan meals that everybody loves and anybody can throw together. Use what you have in your fridge: ground turkey, if that's what you like, canned beans you have in the pantry, and feel free to skip the corn if you haven't got any. It makes a mildly spicy meal that is pleasantly smoky and tangy but not overly complicated.
Hands-On Time: 30 minutes

Ready In: 50 minutes

Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients 3 tablespoons canola oil, divided

1 smallish onion, chopped

1 large clove of garlic, finely chopped

1 pound ground beef (or turkey)

½ teaspoon chipotle puree or smoked paprika (or more to taste)

1 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, divided (or half as much table salt)

1 tablespoon plus1 teaspoon sugar, divided

2 teaspoons white vinegar

1 8-ounce can Hunts tomato sauce

1 15-ounce can beans (I used pinto here, but black or kidney are good too)

2 cups frozen corn, thawed in a sieve under a hot tap

1/3 cup flour

2/3 cup cornmeal

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 tablespoon sugar

½ cup buttermilk

1 egg

1 cup grated cheddar cheese
Directions
Heat the oven to 400ºF. In a 10- or 12-inch heavy oven-proof pan, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil over medium-low heat and sauté the onions until they are translucent and browning around the edges -- maybe 7 or 8 minutes.
Add the garlic and sauté for another minute, then crumble in the ground meat, raising the heat to medium, and cook, stirring and breaking it up until it's nice and browned and crumbly and does not look all raw-meaty.
Stir in the chipotle puree, ¾ teaspoon of the salt, 1 teaspoon of the sugar, the vinegar, the tomato sauce, the beans, and the corn, and simmer all of it together for a few minutes until everybody in the pan gets well acquainted. Taste it for seasoning--it should be tangy and savory and delicious.
Now whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, remaining ½ teaspoon of salt and remaining tablespoon of sugar in one bowl, and whisk together the egg, buttermilk, and remaining 2 tablespoons of oil in another (I actually do this latter whisking right in the cup where I measured the buttermilk).
Pour the liquids into the dries and combine with a few decisive strokes of a rubber spatula before stirring in half the cheese and pouring the mixture over the filling in the pan.
Top with the remaining cheese and bake 20 minutes--though you might want to check it at 15. When the cornbread is nicely browned and cooked-looking, it's done.

recipe source:http://family.go.com/food/recipe-778723-tamale-pie-t/

Tuna Cakes

I've taken my traditional tuna cakes recipe and revamped it replacing salted top saltines, whole egg and baking rather than frying. The result is just as delicious but far healthier.

Hands-On Time: 5 minutesReady In: 21 minutes
Yield: 4 servings Ingredients
2 cans (6 1/2 ounces each) tuna in water - undrained
1 sleeve no salt tops saltines - crushed
2 egg whites
1 Tablespoon soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
2 tablespoons each finely diced red, yellow and green pepper
Directions
Heat oven to 350 degrees F and lightly grease a baking sheet.
Place crushed saltines in a bowl and add tuna with water, egg whites, soy sauce and garlic powder. Mix until well blended.
recipe source:http://family.go.com/food/recipe-630319--tuna-cakes-t/
Add peppers and stir until well distributed.
Form mixture into 8 evenly sized patties and place on greased baking sheet.
Bake for 8 minutes and turn over. Bake for another 8 minutes.
See more recipes from Anne Coleman (aka Short Order Mom).

Almost Lasagna

We make a version of lasagna that I call "Almost Lasagna" that is very versatile and easy to make ahead and heat later. Add a crusty bread and bagged salad, and dinner is complete!
Ingredients
1 pound elbow macaroni, cooked (or other similarly shaped pasta-like small shells)
1 pound Ground turkey (or beef, chicken, sausage or tofu crumbles)
1 jar Pasta Sauce (26 ounces)
freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 selects eggs
1 pound Ricotta cheese
2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
2 cups Veggies (diced zucchini, matchstick carrots, etc.)
salt and pepper
Directions
Brown meat and drain well, if necessary.
While meat is cooking, stir together eggs, ricotta, grated Parmesan and salt and pepper.
Mix cooked meat, macaroni, sauce and veggies. Add ricotta mixture and blend well.
Coat a 9-by-13 baking pan with cooking spray or olive oil and spread half of macaroni mixture evenly over the bottom. Top with a cup of mozzarella and a healthy sprinkle of grated Parmesan. Add the remaining macaroni mixture and top with another cup of mozzarella and another sprinkle of Parmesan. Cover with foil.
Coat a 9-by-13 baking pan with cooking spray or olive oil and spread half of macaroni mixture evenly over the bottom. Top with a cup of mozzarella and a healthy sprinkle of grated Parmesan. Add the remaining macaroni mixture and top with another cup of mozzarella and another sprinkle of Parmesan. Cover with foil.
Heat your oven to 350 degrees F and bake the casserole for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake for another 10 to 20 minutes until the cheese on top is lightly browned and bubbly.

Craigslist ad

I found this over at Paratus Familia: http://paratusfamilia.blogspot.com/

A friend gave this to Sir Knight, but I got a chuckle out of it.
Whether it is a real ad, we will probably never know

.An Actual Craigslist Personals Ad
To the guy who tried to mug me in downtown Savannah night before last.Date: 2010-09-27, 1:43 a.m. E.S.T.

I was the guy wearing the black Burberry jacket that you demanded that I hand over, shortly after you pulled the knife on me and my girlfriend, threatening our lives.
You also asked for my girlfriend's purse and earrings.

I can only hope that you somehow come across this rather important message.
First, I'd like to apologize for your embarrassment;

I didn't expect you to actually **** in your pants when I drew my pistol after you took my jacket.
The evening was not that cold, and I was wearing the jacket for a reason... my girlfriend was happy that I just returned safely from my 2nd tour as a Combat Marine in Afghanistan.

She had just bought me that Kimber Custom Model 1911 .45 ACP pistol for my birthday, and we had picked up a should holster for it that very evening. Obviously you agree that it is a very intimidating weapon when pointed at your head, isn't it?

I know it probably wasn't fun walking back to wherever you'd come from with **** in your pants. I'm sure it was even worse walking bare-footed since I made you leave your shoes, cell phone and wallet with me. (That prevented you from calling or running to your buddies to come help mug us again).

After I called your mother or "Momma" as you had her listed in your cell, I explained the entire episode of what you'd done.
Then I went and filled up my gas tank as well as those of four other people in the gas station, - on your credit card. The guy with the big motor home took 153 gallons and was extremely grateful!

I gave your shoes to a homeless guy outside Vinnie Van Go Go's, along with all the cash in your wallet. (That made his day!)

I then threw your wallet into the big pink "pimp mobile" that was parked at the curb...after I broke the windshield and side window and keyed the entire driver's side of the car.

Earlier, I managed to get in two threatening phone calls to the DA's office and one to the FBI, while mentioned President Obama as my possible target. The FBI guy seemed really intense and we had a nice long chat (I guess while he traced your number, etc.).

In a way, perhaps I should apologize for not killing you....but I feel this type of retribution is a far more appropriate punishment for your threatened crime.

I wish you well as you try to sort through some of these rather immediate pressing issues, and can only hope that you have the opportunity to reflect upon, and perhaps reconsider, the career path you've chosen to pursue in life. Remember, next time you might not be so lucky.

Have a good day.
Thoughtfully yours,
Semper Fi,
Alex

Life goes on

At Hannah's dad funeral her aunt who's daughter died in a car wreck just a few weeks ago was there. Its been a hard summer for this family. I hugged her and murmured a few words of condolence mostly just gave her a look that said more.

After the funeral dinner this aunt had to get going because one of her other kids had something they had to do.
We spoke for a few minutes about how they almost had not had a birthday party for their surviving daughter because the aunts brother had just died when she realized that he would not have wanted that at all. I whispered to her that life goes on and she agreed.

When you are grieving you lose track of time and it seems unreal that yours is the only life that seems to have stood still. Life is still going on around you.

I realized last night that one of the reasons I feel that I don't know what to do to comfort my daughter is that when my husband Charlie died 16 years ago I was so wrapped up in my own grief that I really left the older girls to deal with it on their own. I am sorry for that. This time I am grieving but its more for Hannah and that side of the family than it is for myself and I don't know what to do for her.

Never Argue with a Woman

Never Argue with a Woman
One morning, the husband returns the boat to their lakeside cottage after several hours of fishing and decides to take a nap.

Ahough not familiar with the lake, the wife decides to take the boat out.

She motors out ashort distance, anchors, puts her feet up, and begins to read her book.

The peace and solitude aremagnificent.

Along comes a Fish and Game Warden in his boat

.He pulls up alongside the woman and says, 'Good morning, Ma'am.

What are you doing?' 'Reading a book,' she replies, (thinking, 'Isn't that obvious?')

'You're in a Restricted Fishing Area,' he informs her.

'I'm sorry, officer, but I'm not fishing. I'm reading.''Yes, but I see you have all the equipment.

For all I know you could start at any moment

.I'll have to take you in and write you up.''If you do that, I'll have to charge you with sexual assault,' says the woman.

'But I haven't even touched you,' says the Game Warden.'

That's true, but you have all the equipment.. For all I know you could start at any moment.

Have a nice day ma'am,' and he left.

MORAL: Never argue with a woman who reads.

Part 2

Have you heard about this?

A sweet poem

WALKING WITH GRANDMA
I like to walk with grandma,
Her steps are short like mine.
She doesn't say "Now hurry up",
She always takes her time.I
like to walk with grandma,
Her eyes see things like mine do
-Wee pebbles bright, a funny cloud,
Half hidden drops of dew.
Most people have to hurry,
They don't stop and see
I'm glad that God made Grandma.
Unrushed, and young like me.


~Poem by Thena Smith~

I found this poem here:http://oldfashionedsimplyliving.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2011-05-23T12%3A01%3A00-07%3A00&max-results=10