I read a blog post with these words….”If you’re motivated to create a page using supplies that have been in your stash for a while”…what?..If I’m motivated? That really made me laugh to read.  I have so much '’stash” that it would be impossible not to use something I’ve had for a while!  The blog was looking at papers released in 2007 and acting like they were so passé, give me a break. Now I feel justified in my rant and rave about this because if you know me, you know my crack is paper and I can’t stop myself from buying papers that make me happy….and that means LOTS of paper in my scrap room. IMHO, you buy paper because it appeals to you, not because you want to be trendy. 

Sometimes I think the scrapbooking world is becoming a bit snobby and out of control.     Did you know that you can take classes to become a “certified” scrap booker!  What, does that mean??…you get to charge more for your designs or you get to charge your friends to look at your pages?  You get to lead classes at a shop and charge more than the “non-certified” instructor?…. Who get’s to decide this stuff and who really cares?

And then after further research I found that getting certified included an “intense 2 day training program”  LMAO…..sugarbunnies, I say let’s put on another 2 day retreat up at Dawnie’s lake house, enjoy loads of wine, food and scrapping and certify ourselves!  I know if we set our minds to it we can be “INTENSE.”

I really can’t talk about Dawn’s lake house and not  be reminded of our little scrap weekend a few years ago when the birdies were flying up at the lake.  (I can hear the “no you didn’t” comments when they see this post)…..

You just have to love friends that show you such affection!

On to another subject, this week is Jackson’s turn to be BMOC and have HIS 1950’s party at Simpson Elementary. He’s been waiting a long time for this event.  So as I get out the jeans, white t-shirt and hair gel for my little cool cat, I’ll share pages about Clayton’s and Shelby’s 50’s party:

My stud muffin Clayton in 2007 (age 11).  Look at that little belly he had on him…sweet boy. How could it just be 3 years ago!!!


My cute cheerleader Shelby in 2008 (age 11).

OMGosh, they were so cute…taking photos of Jackson on Thursday will surely motivate me to get some new pages done.

Well here’s some good news I read in the paper today. The new health care law requires chain restaurants that have more than 20 locations to display calorie information next to the food item on the standard menu. Temporary specials appearing on the menu for less than 60 days, condiments and test market foods are exempt.  Well, that’s good news.  The last time I was at Ted’s I asked for the nutritional information and they brought me a notebook to look at.  The waitress actually said, “you won’t want to eat here once you read this.”  Stunning statement, and basically so true.  I did have their vegetarian burger which was excellent, not so good was their roasted asparagus…it could have been called barely heated asparagus but NOT roasted!

Speaking of roasted, I mentioned in an earlier post that I am obsessed with roasting vegetables.  I have been roasting the usual suspects (mushrooms, asparagus, broccoli, zucchini, butternut squash) but Michelle told me I could venture on the wild side and try other veggies and it opened a new door for me.  I started with cauliflower.  I love it sliced and my favorite spice to add is cumin…love the taste of cumin, gives it a bit of a nutty flavor.  Then I tried parsnips, a vegetable I didn’t have much experience with until I visited Ireland and had some marvelous parsnips there.  I cut them into thin rounds and roasted them with sea salt and spices.  I had to leave the house before they were finished so I turned off the oven and just let them cook down.  When I got back, they had crisped up into crunchy little chips…so tasty.

I have tried roasting carrots, but they have not turned out as well as the other veggies.  I wash them and leave the skin on (do you skin yours or leave them intact?).  Here’s a photo of some carrots I made, drizzled with honey……

But my favorite vegetable has to be brussel sprouts.  Oh how I love those little green babies!  Aren’t they cute wearing their little purple mesh shower cap!

Here are the spices I used for this batch of my lovelies.

Olive Oil spray, Garlic Powder, Cumin, Nature’s Season spices,
Onion Powder, Sugar Free Syrup

I cut my sprouts in half and sometimes in quarters when they are super big.  I toss them with olive oil spray (or a Tbsp. of Virgin Olive Oil) and spice to taste.  I like lots of spices and salt on my veggies.  You may not, to each his own!  Here are my babies roasting in my pampered chef stoneware pan.  (ignore the messy oven) I roast them at about 375 degrees for 45 minutes or more.  I always roast my veggies a bit more than called for as I like them soft and thoroughly cooked.

Ahhhh, here are my babies all cooked and ready to eat.  I sprinkle each serving with fat free parmesan cheese  and a little sugar free maple syrup.. 

When it comes to Weight Watcher points, all veggies are about a cup per serving and range from 0-2 pts.  Wonderful way to keep the diet interesting.  I know this will be a winter cooking method for me. I plan on grilling most of my veggies when we start cooking outside more….but I’ve loved my roasted veggies this winter!

One last thing, I found this interesting recipe on one of my favorites sites for WW recipes, Gina’s Weight Watcher Recipes.  Sautéed Brussel Sprouts. Have you ever thought of cooking sprouts this way?  Click here for the recipe (only 1 point for 1/2 cup).

Sautéed Brussel Sprouts

My darling Shelby may not be happy with this picture (or maybe she’ll get a good laugh over it).  Mommy selected a really bad side to sit on to try to take photos at Shelby’s first Volleyball Tournament (you think?).  The good news is you can really see Shelby’s strong thighs…At practice they do amazing strength building exercises and it shows.  I can do about 10 squats in a row then I need to stop because my legs are wobbly, she easily does 20 and then goes on to lunges and crunches….I’m totally in awe.  Also, as is evident in these photos, she has an adorable tush!  And you can see her lovely long hair even though it’s braided here.

I love the Thundercats volleyball uniforms (but… she looks much older than she is in it, it’s very clingy).  Shelby is one of three 7th grade girls on her team, all the others are 8th graders.  She is also one of the best players, if I say so myself.  She has an amazing serve and she is improving by leaps and bounds now that she is playing club volleyball. She even rotates in to serve for 8th grade girls who STILL can’t get it over the net!   

This tournament was down in Dunwoody on February 13th.  We didn’t know it until the first game, but this was a Power Tournament, not a Club Tournament….let’s just say, the teams our girls played had been together for years and they were amazing, the cream of volleyball teams.  We lost all our matches, but kept several of them close in score. A great learning experience for the team. The other coaches came over after our games and told us they were amazed that our team had just formed in January AND that it was our first tournament. They were impressed with our potential….the girls can be so proud of their play that day.   While our girls may have looked like deer caught in headlights, they played their little hearts out and the team showed great potential.  Go Thundercats!!!

“You don’t lose weight, you “take it off.”  Sometimes when you lose things you find them again!”  Isn’t that the best diet quote!  Got it off a Weight Watcher handout today.

Well, I went to weigh-in and I have “taken off”  a couple more pounds.  Now, that is not what I was hoping for, but at least I understand why I “took off” some more.  I have added jogging to my workouts and last week I got in 3 runs each about 2-3 miles.  When you add something like jogging or resistance training to your workout, you tend to drop a bit whether you want to or not.  I’m on the bottom end of my BMI so I think I need to add an additional point(s) to my daily point allowance.  Since I’m considering doing a 5K at the end of April and I don’t have any desire to lose more weight, I’ll have to make some adjustments to my meals.  Guess it’s…..”Hello again” to Ted’s Bison Burgers!

Michelle sent me this photo of Willie and all I could think about was it’s not fair that kitty’s look so cute with additional lbs. and humans don’t, LOL.  There is nothing I love more than kitty bellies (well…maybe kitty noses, eyes, purrs, fur, ….oh let’s face it, I love everything kitty).  While he is adorable with his big belly….I ask you, is this picture a reminder to “take it off” or what!   It reminds me of how I felt last summer laying on my lounge tanning and having a hard time standing up due to the weight that had migrated to my belly!  Never again!!  But isn’t he the cat’s meow! 

And Willie, please don’t feel self conscious about me using this photo of your cute big belly.  I did a scrapbook page of Yoko when she was just a baby showing her in pretty much the same pose:

Sunlight shining through the delicate petals
of some of my favorite daffodils. 
  3/20/10

Have you ever bought the “As seen on TV” products?  Yes, some are real duds but some actually work.

  Princess Paula told me she had bought the Perfect Brownie cooking tray and it worked.  Well…..if Princess says it works, that’s good enough for me…so I bought one.  I put it up in a cabinet and hadn’t even opened it (dieting doesn’t usually include homemade brownies), then today I remembered I had to make a dessert for the 7th grade teachers luncheon at Pinckneyville Middle School (PMS…aren’t those the best initials for a school full of teens!)  So to get back to my story, I pulled out that Perfect Brownie box and used a brownie mix I had on hand. 

Well, let’s just say, it is a FABULOUS product!  Look at how perfect my brownies came out.  I was truly amazed.  It was sooooo EASY! The inner tray that makes the squares slid out with hardly a crumb on it.  I just lifted them off and put them on the cooling stand.


Once cooled, I put chocolate icing on them for that sweet extra touch (love those 7th grade teachers).

I think the key to the cooking tray is to generously spray the pieces with PAM.  Especially the square separator.  Other than that, the thing just works and I’m looking forward to having perfect little squares of cakes and brownies in the future. I’ll let you know if a cake mix comes out as good as the brownie mix did.  Princess, what a good call on this nifty little gadget!