A Day Off

Yesterday morning I woke up at 4:30 as usual and prepared to go to work. I made it about three miles from my house and the thermostat on my car was almost touching the "H". I just imagined if it was that high at 5:15 in the morning with no traffic and no stopping what would happen when I drove home from work at 3 p.m. and in 90 degree heat? So I called in and headed home. Papa Bear and Lena were still up so we watched Robin Meade for a while then we all laid down and took a nap. I woke up at 9:45 and IT FELT GREAT!!! I honestly can't remember the last time I slept in that late. Even on weekends I wake up around 7:30. I made us a quick snack and then Papa Bear and I went to fix the car. It turns out there was no water and it needed water/anti-freeze mix. Once it was added the car was perfect. Even the air conditioner was colder!
After lunch I checked in my roses. We have had so much rain and thunder and lightening. The grape vine and my roses have loved it! I was so excited to see my Peace rose had three new buds!



And my double knock out now has red leaves....


I'm not sure why but I hope it's a good thing. Maybe it's the Miracle Grow for roses.

Later in the evening the girls were watching TV and I pulled out the quilt top I purchased on eBay. (Cheating I know)


Charlie had to make an appearance.





There were some patched that needed mending...


So I pulled out my white thread and quilting needles and got to work.


That's an area I patched yesterday. I liked to think i did a good job but ad you can see I patched it so well it's pulling apart again! Ha! At least I had fun trying. It was relaxing. And of course Toby wanted to be in a picture too!


For dinner CC and I made more homemade pizza. This time we topped it with cilantro lime chicken, fresh tomatos, basil and mozzarella. It was delicious to say the least!


I got so much accomplished on my day off! I cleaned my bathroom, washed all but one load of clothes. Oh and I went to college to register for summer medical transcription classes. It was definately a productive day! I wish everyday was like this. I truly miss being at home.


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Skinny Italian.. (the cookbook..not me!)

As I mentioned in my last post, on Mother's Day I got Teresa Giudice's Skinny Italian cookbook! I LOVE this cookbook!! It teaches you so much. Who knew there was such a difference in olive oil's? I didn't! Who knew that oregano has more concentrated antioxidants than blueberries or that the oil from basil can actually kill bacteria in the food near it and in your body?!? Not me!! I have enjoyed just reading this book. But the recipes .... Oh my the recipes! They are so good! So easy! Simple, fresh ingredients! I LOVE it!
This past Saturday Mom came over and I picked out a couple of recipes I wanted to try from my cookbook, namely Solerno Stuffed Mushrooms and Margherita Pizza with home made Old World Crust! The crust was so easy... A total of four ingredients.. After mixing the ingredients and kneading for several minutes ( thanks Mom for helping me with that) we formed the dough into the six balls that would later become our pizzas.



it had to rise for an hour and a half then an additional 20mins.
Once time was up and they were ready to be shaped Lena stepped in and helped us shape the dough into individual pizzas!


My baby had so much fun helping out in the kitchen!


While the dough was rising the second time I threw together the stuffed mushrooms! The fresh Romano cheese made all the difference. They were so good!


I put five slices of bread in the oven to make bread crumbs, diced the stems from the pitted mushrooms, sauteed onion and garlic and the mushroom pieces in olive oil and added the Romano cheese. It was delicious!
In all my excitement I forgot to add salt! Imagine that!! Not to worry! I just dashed some over the top and it was just as well!
There was some extra stuffing left over so I pitted out some tomatos and stuffed and baked them. My word! It was so good! I didn't get a picture of those. They went too fast!
Back to my pizzas. Being Margherita pizzas the toppings were simple and fresh... Fresh tomatos, fresh mozzarella and frah basil! Just dribble it with olive oil and put it in the oven.


Wait 8-10 minutes...


And then enjoy this!!!



The pizzas were so unbelievably good! Papa Bear told me he wishes he could eat like that everday! My response? Let me stay home and you will! And he would! Now I know I didn't bake the pizzas on a pizza stone. This is my first time making pizza and didn't want to rush out and buy an expensive pizza stone for something I wasn't sure I would do again. But this was so much fun and do good I might need to start looking around. I'm not going to spend $100 on one! But I'm pretty sure I'm going to need to invest in one... Soon!

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Presents! (B-day, Anniversary, Mothers Day)

I know this post is coming a week late... I'm really trying to catch up. My birthday (Apr 20) and our anniversary (Apr 29) and Mothers Day are all within a couple of weeks of each other. I feel that it would be greedy to expect a gift in each single occassion. Now if the dates were spread out over half the year that would be a different story! But since they are all so close I usually get a nice big gift and then we go out to dinner or make a really nice dinner at home... Sushi! This year on my birthday Papa Bear and the girls took me to Luciano's and it was THE BEST Italian meal I have EVER had!!! I posted about it if you want to see pics. So, for our anniversary Papa Bear showed me what he is making me! Oh! My! Word! It is beautiful! He's short a few stones.. So, so far the ring isn't finished.


It's not polished up so you really can't see how very pretty it is... Or how pretty it will be!


I just hope he remembers to order the remaining stones and finishes it! I can hardly wait to wear it!
For Mothers Day the girls bought me this super wonderful candle!



It has such a soft subtle scent. I love it!! My other gift took some looking to find!


If any of you watch the Real Housewives of New Jersey, then you KNOW Teresa... a.k.a the table flipper! She just published her Skinny Italian cookbook full of recpies for great Italian food that's healthy for you and tastes amazing! My next post will be completely devoted to this cook book. It is so informative and I have really learned alot! I can't wait to share it all with you!

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Owwwey!

When we were moving CC's new bedroom set into the house we propped up the head board agdint the fireplace. It has a slight "sleigh" shape to it, so I moved it around to keep it sturdier against the couch. BUT... When I moved it two large screws on both sides if the headboard were sticking out. I told the girls over and over to be careful and watch out and if possible, just avoid that side of the living room altogether. Well... I was heading to the grocery store in a rush to beat the 5 o'clock traffic .... and....



I cut myself real good! Suprisingly I didn't cry. I don't know how that is even possible. It was open so wide and such a long cut.
As soon as Papa Bear came home and after I finished cooking dinner and cleaning the kitchen we went to the MedClinic. The doctor determined that it was not deep enough for stitches but would leave a big white scar! Nice!! Now today, 10 days later it's getting better and not as wide open.


My calf is not really that fat! I'm got it rested on the ottoman and it's spread out! The red lines around it is from the band-aid I wear constantly, which is probably why it hasn't healed all the way. So I had to a tetnus shot. Man it hurt!! Now I know why I let so many years pass before getting one. I wouldn't have gotten this shot if I hadn't hurt my leg! Just these past couple of days my arm has not been hurting.
Well... That's about it. I can't wait to post tomorrow about the wonderful dinner I made for us tonight.

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Unbelievable Freebies

We had friends that moved here from Russia and bought a house... It was supposed to be thier vacation home. They left after two or three months and never came back. Just last week their house sold so they asked us if we would help the movers pack their belongings and ship it to Russia. They had an entire house full of furniture! The wife is an interior decorator and these people spared NO expense decorating! They have been our good friends and they needed help... Imagine having a house-full of furniture, clothing and dishware in another country and no way of knowing how you were going to get it home! So a week and a half ago Papa Bear and I went to meet the movers and get things packed and ready to ship. Andrey, the husband, tells my husband there are things they don't need to be shipped over and we can take them if we want...
A complete Queen size bedroom set, complete with the mattress that you can jump on and the wine glass doesn't spill... Used for two months by a 15 yr old!


The bedding was included and a TV/DVD combo...a seven drawer dresser with cabinet...


And a three drawer night stand..


We also were given the lamp sets but only kept two.


I have been wanting, no...needing, new pots and pans but didn't want to invest more money in a good set. Well, they had an entire set of new... Yes, NEW Cuisinart pots and pans that were not needed and they gave those to me as well! I was beyond excited!


That's a portion. The rest are in the dishwasher. I am LOVING using these. They work so good and I wonder now how I made it all these years without them!

I also was given a new pasta pot! I love, love, love Italian food and was thrilled to get this. And like pretty much everything else it was new and unused!


We got two new restroom shelfs. One in white and one in silver.


A little out of order but these are Lena's lamps. Well just a pic of one...with my phone so it's not the best quality.


The base is a really pretty oiled bronze.

I've been wanting to change up my mantle for quite a while and they didn't want mantle clock so it gave me the oportunity to change it up!






And there is so much more I haven't even tried to take pictures of. 2 DVD players, an electric lawnmower, lots of gardening supplies, an endless amount of hair straighteners and irons, more spa products and masks than I've ever seen in my life and practically brand new shoes with hardly any wear on the bottoms. The shoes were all handmade in Italy. There is even a brand new pair of Prada sandals.

When agrees to help them pack and make sure their belongings get to them safely we had NO idea they were going to give us all these things. We just wanted to help them out and take some stress off of their shoulders. In return we were blessed with so many unbelieveable freebies!

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Mommy and Daughter day...

I'm trying so hard to catch up on my postings! I intended to do this one yesterday, but I was hardly even at home.
Last Saturday Lena and I decided to spend the day together just doing things we wanted to do. The night before I took CC to see the new Nightmare on Elm Street movie so it was now Lena's turn. We started off our day at Barnes and Noble. We knew we wanted haircuts so we browsed through magazines until we each found a cut that we liked. Next up was le Madeleine...


Anytime Lena and I do a girls day out she picks le Madeleine. It's her favorite place to eat!



Lena ordered her favorite... Meditterian flatbread and a mini fruit tart.








I wanted to try something different and ordered the Chicken Friand.


It was this amazing flaky crust stuffed with chicken breast and mushrooms and served with a mushroom cream sauce.


Oh! My! Word! It was so delicious! Of course I had to finish off with my favorite... Tiramisu tart...


After lunch we headed to the salon to get our haircuts. We had our haircuts picked out and were ready to go! I think in the end we both ended up ALOT shorter than either one of us intended!!









My hair is so short I can hardly make a ponytail! But I know in a couple of weeks it will be perfect. But I do have to style it every morning... And when I have to wake up at 4:30 a.m. it's not fun at all!! But I LOVE Lena's hair. I told Mom it looks like a flapper style haircut!
Next we went to Petsmart to see Toby. Lena informed me if I didn't take her she wouldn't speak to me until she got to hold him. Well, she got better than that... She got to bring him home!!
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Lots of Changes!

Man...it has been a while since I last posted. And I must admit it...I'm feeling guilty. Blogging is such a stress relief for me. It gives me time to think things through and often see things in a new light. Plus is gives me a few brief moments of "me" time...which is something that doesn't happen very often!

About a month or so ago CC bought a Betta. She had been asking for a pet for quite some time and we both thought that a Betta would be good for her. Plus they are so pretty! So we bought her a Betta and then I bought her this much bigger tank for him. His name is Bubbles.

We thought he needed some companions in his huge tank and she then purchased him three ghost shrimp and two tetras. One ghost shrimp in particular was very aggressive and quickly established what was her area of the tank. Her? Yes.... her....two of the three were pregnant! The biggest, meanest and most aggressive of the g.s. ate the smallest one in about two weeks. Then the middle one has her babies and died. The largest one remained. She had her babies and we watched her eat them! GROSS!! This morning we saw that she too passed away. We think she overate herself! Sierra's response...."Hallelujah!"

Bubbles is enjoying be the only fish in the tank again! Then Lena decided she too wanted a Betta. Fast forward two weeks and we are at Petsmart getting her a Betta. We found a lovely cat that we all fell in love with and wanted to bring home. But.... this trip was about Lena and her Betta. Say hello to Schatzi!
Lena liked that kitty so much at Petsmart and we took Mom to see him and she fell in love to. But to be honest, he was quiet expensive and I already have my Charlie and I didn't think it was right to bring another cat home.

Toby, that cat, was all Mom could think about and she talked and talked about how she wishes she had a nice cat to snuggle with.... Her Bella is a grouch and demanding and your typical Russian Blue. Plus, she had already tried to bring a kitten home and it ended up coming to my house because Bella would not tolerate it!

We went to Petsmart again last week to look at Toby and we knew the pet adoption people would be there and this way Lena could hold him at least... She had been begging me daily to take her so she could just touch him.... So we went and he played and played with us.. Lena wore him out! I saw two ladies come in and they were looking right at Toby....with boxes in their hands! Now, we were planning to buy him closer to Mothers Day for my mom...but this was crucial..! So I blurted out the words that would make everyone so happy....

"We'll take him!"

Please meet Toby!

As I said he was supposed to be for my mom. But once he came home with us he crawled on Papa Bears chest, snuggled up and went to sleep. That was it! It was the defining moment that guaranteed he was to stay with us. Emil is always so jealous of me and Charlies snuggling, so when Toby snuggled with him he fell in love!
We love his unique markings... he is so sweet and so very, very playful!

Once we got him home Lena really wanted him to be her cat since I have Charlie and CC has Luigi... but Toby kinda claimed CC and her room as his!

Charlie is not too happy. They have each slapped each other a few times. At thier first meeting Toby walked up to Charlie to sniff him and Charlies hissed very nastily at Toby. So, their next meeting Toby ran up to Charlie, slapped him, hissed at him and chased him. Don't worry, Charlie still remains the king of the house...

But Toby has a best friend and ally.....

He and Luigi LOVE each other ... Luigi is always cleaning Toby and Toby gives him butterfly kisses....

And Luigi couldn't be happier!

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I have been really wanting to change my blog design for some time. I looked and looked and nothing just struck me as something I couldn't live with out....until.... I stumbled upon Babbling Brookes Custom Blogs! She has the cutest blog designs.. and tons of free designs as well. Her custom blogs are amazingly priced. She just happened to be having a giveaway and I entered... Imagine my surprise when she contacted me to let me know I was the winner! "April was the winner of the April Blog Makeover!" Oh yes... I was so happy. I just haven't had time to sit down and pick out my design. I will be doing that this weekend!

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There is so much more to tell you about... free bedroom set, Cuisinart pots and pans, tetnus shot.... oh yeah! But that will be another post another day. Today and tomorrow we are having beautiful weather in the 80's. Next week all week we will be in the 90's which really means around 100 for us! I'm going to enjoy this weather while I can....

What plans do you have for this weekend?