Ahhh, Spring!

Hopefully the snow has all melted where you are, but if not, you can live vicariously through these pictures I took today. :) The weather was beautiful (76°) but a bit windy. What else is there to do in the wind but fly kites? So that's exactly what we did. My mom and dad even stopped by and played along. Aaron was cracking me up! He'd never really flown a kit before, and he just kept giggling and acted like a total pro about it. He knew exactly how to get the kite in the air and how to make it do flips and all kinds of stuff...where did he learn that?!?!

Scrapbook & Cards Today Magazine

Soooooo excited!!! :) Check out page 52 of Scrapbook & Cards Today magazine. The first layout on the page is one I did based on one of my sister's sketches AND using a kit from The Scrap Room! Advertisement for both of these great sites. :)

On Friday (the 26th), the online version of the magazine should be up, and you can view it online if you don't subscribe. Btw, I highly recommend subscribing to this magazine! The pages are thick quality, and there are lots of great ideas and sketches in the articles. You can check out the Winter issue now, but be looking for the Spring issue on Friday! :) This issue will be in stores on March 26th.

A Quick Disney Layout....

I did this layout the other day. It was inspired by a layout done by Jamie Harper at scrapbook.com. Journaling reads: Aaron loved hugging all of the fun characters at Chef Mickey's, but Minnie got more than a hug. She got a little smooch right on the nose! :)

Gettin' My Scraps On

Here are two recent layouts I've done.

This first one was made with The March kit from The Scrap Room. I got done with all of my Design Team assignments and still had plenty to make more layouts, so I made this one with the Bella Blvd. part of the kit.  I also did this layout for the "March Mystery Item" Challenge by Paula at Have Your Way With Paper.  She sent us all some clock embellishments to play with (bottom left corner):



This second one is based on my sister Trisha's sketch at Sketch Inspiration.  Look at my little man all ready for his first day of preschool!!! *tear:



I'm busy working on the April kit for The Scrap Room as well....but those layouts will have to wait until reveal time! :)

We're a Meat-n-Taters Kinda Family!

Tried another new recipe tonight, and it was another hit!  Hubby said this was his favorite out of all the ones I've tried so far.  Both he and my oldest son had seconds.  It made plenty for leftovers tomorrow too. :)  I only wish this was healthier because it truly was delicious and filling.  I made it with a side of green beans.  Here's the recipe:

Recipe #6: Potato and Ground Beef Gratin:

INGREDIENTS

1	lb lean (at least 80%) ground beef
1	teaspoon salt
1/2	teaspoon pepper
3	tablespoons butter or margarine
1	small onion, chopped (1/4 cup)
3	tablespoons all-purpose flour
2	teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves
3	cups milk
3	cups shredded mild Cheddar cheese (12 oz)
6	medium white potatoes (2 1/2 lb), peeled, thinly sliced (6 cups)

Paprika

DIRECTIONS

Heat oven to 375°F. Spray 13x9-inch (3-quart) glass baking dish with cooking spray. In 10-inch skillet, cook beef, salt and pepper over medium-high heat 5 to 7 minutes, stirring frequently, until beef is thoroughly cooked; drain. Meanwhile, in 3-quart saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat. Add onion; cook about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tender. Stir in flour. Cook 1 to 2 minutes, stirring constantly, until bubbly; remove from heat. Stir in thyme. Stir milk into onion mixture. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 minute; remove from heat. Stir in 2 cups of the cheese until melted. Spread half of the potatoes in baking dish. Top with beef; spread remaining potatoes over beef. Pour cheese sauce over potatoes. Cover with foil; bake 45 minutes. Sprinkle remaining 1 cup cheese and the paprika over potatoes. Bake uncovered 15 to 20 minutes longer or until top is brown and bubbly and potatoes are tender. Let stand 5 minutes before serving. So simple and sooo yummy!  We will definitely be making this one again.  As always, I'd love to hear your opinions if you try this one out.  Have a great night, and don't forget to wear GREEN tomorrow!! :)

Spring Break Sleepover!

Wow....what a night!  For the second year in a row, my hubby hosted a "Spring Break Sleepover" at our house for our niece, nephew, and boys.  My niece and nephew came over around 7:30, and the fun began!  Hubby had it all planned out with games and contests and fun things for the kiddos to do.  He made a giant dice that they would roll, and then whatever number it landed on, that would be the game or event they got to play next.  We did things such as:

• Dance Party in the living room (always fun!)
• A fun game of "Don't Make Me Laugh" (hysterical!!)
• Popcorn, juice, and a couple episodes of Loony Tunes
• MarioKart on the Gamecube
• Hide & Seek
• Tent City in the living room (my WHOLE living room is full of tents and tunnels!)
• Breakfast by Uncle Van 

So much fun!  The kids had a blast and finally went to sleep late last night.  I think it's so sweet that my husband puts so much thought into making this a fun thing for the kids.  They will hopefully always have lots of fun memories from this little tradition. :)

The only problem was when that sweet hubby of mine burned a whole bag of popcorn and stunk up the whole house!!!  OMG, is anything worse than burnt popcorn?!?!  Seriously....there was smoke billowing out of my microwave...it was BAD.  We had to open up doors and windows and turn on every fan in the house to try and get rid of the smell.  It's still not all the way gone...it's making me gag!  Oh well, lesson learned....he'll read the instructions on the back of the bag and not leave the microwave unattended next time.  Right, honey?  ;)

The house is quiet now as my niece and nephew have gone home and my little guys are about to eat lunch.  There are still 2 or 3 tents in my living room, but they will be put away by the end of the day as well.  Spring Break started today, but it's cloudy and cold outside, so we will have to find something to do to entertain ourselves.  But for now, we will recoup from last night and take it easy.

I guess SPRING finally decided to show up! :)

It's a gorgeous day here in Texas! We are just about at 70°, sunny, not a cloud in the sky, and a slight cool breeze is blowing occasionally. My sister and I decided we would take the kiddos out to my parents' place in the country this morning and try to get some pictures. They weren't being very cooperative...probably because they have been cooped up in the house so long, they were more than ready to run around outside and play! Can't blame 'em.

So, here are a few shots that I got. Enjoy your Saturday!!! :)

Snow Pages

Yeah, I know. I'm sick of snow too. But, the good thing about snow is....it usually makes a great background for some cute pictures! hehehe Here are a couple of pages of my little guy from our trip to New Mexico back in January.

This first one is based on a sketch by my sister, Trisha. I also used my December 2009 kit from Scrapbook Deals 4 U:




This second one is based on a sketch by my buddy, Paula, and is also this month's Sketch Challenge at Have Your Way With Paper!:



I'd love to see your page based on this sketch too. If you have a chance, please join us at HYWWP and show us what you create! :)

Recipe #5 - Another Good One! :)

This past week, I tried out another new recipe. This is #5 for me this year....halfway to my goal of trying out 10 new recipes for 2010. Yay! :)

I found this one on the Pillsbury website. They've got a lot of good, easy recipes. I can't wait to try out some of their baked goods...they all look so yummy! This was a breeze to make, and my family loved it.


My little sister ate with us when I made this, so it fed my family of 4, plus my sister, plus I had 2 servings left over. I had my hubby take these 2 extra servings to his grandparents' house so that they could have lunch the next day. We had Van's uncle's funeral on Thursday, so I wanted to give Van's grandmother a break from having to worry about a meal.

Here ya go!

Crescent-topped Burger Bake:

INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 lb. lean ground beef
1/4 cup chopped onion
3 cups frozen seasoned chunky-style hash-brown potatoes (from 28-oz. pkg.)
1 bag (12 oz) Green Giant® Valley Fresh Steamers™ frozen mixed vegetables
2 (12-oz.) jars beef gravy
1 (8-oz.) can Pillsbury® Refrigerated Crescent Dinner Rolls

DIRECTIONS
1. Heat oven to 375°F. In 12-inch skillet or Dutch oven, brown ground beef and onion over medium heat until beef is thoroughly cooked, stirring frequently. Drain.
2. Add potatoes, mixed vegetables and gravy; mix well. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium; cover and cook 8 to 10 minutes or until vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally.
3. Spoon hot beef and vegetable mixture into ungreased 2 1/2 to 3-quart shallow casserole or 13x9-inch (3-quart) baking dish. Separate crescent dough into 8 triangles. Place triangles over hot mixture with points in center and wide ends around outer edge of casserole.
4. Bake at 375°F. for 14 to 17 minutes or until crescents are golden brown and mixture is bubbly around edge.

This is a great, home-cooked tasting, hearty, fill-you-up meal. Another great thing about it is...you don't necessarily have to make any side dishes or anything to go with it since it contains so many veggies, meat, and bread. Enjoy!

(P.S. - I'd love to answer your questions! Please see the "ask me anything" box on the right-hand side of my blog. Simply type in your question(s) and hit send...you can send them anonymously or let yourself be known. To see my answers, click here: Jenny's Formspring Page)

March Kits from The Scrap Room!

Another awesome kit this month...this time, full of BRAND NEW products from Winter CHA!!! It was so fun getting to play with these new goodies. Check it out:

Cosmo Cricket "Material Girl" Collection:




Basic Grey "Origins" Collection:



Jillibean Soup "Old World Cabbage Stew" Collection:



The "Priceless" layout was based on our exclusive monthly sketch from Julie Bonner (see post below).

Bella Blvd "Man of the House" Collection:

This is my Recipe Card layout, where I made a 2-pager with instructions that is exclusive to kit club members.

Remember, with these monthly kits, you also get a free sample of flavored gourmet coffee! I heard this month's flavor is ALMOND AVALANCHE....delish!

Blog Award :)

I received a sweet little blog award from someone I admire very much....Julie Bonner! You probably know her as an awesome sketch designer from the very popular 52 sketches...52 weeks site. Thanks for the blog award, Julie! :)

This was a nice little gesture that lifted my spirits. We got a call from Van's mom last night, telling us that Van's uncle had passed away. :( Your prayers are much appreciated.