Some woman with dark hair stole my car...

If I wanted to live a life of crime, yesterday would have been a good start. It started out so innocently...then...a trip to the fabric store gone wrong. Here's the scoop! Run to fabric store to buy adorable fabric for mystery project soon to be blogged. Park Ford Explorer. Spend 45 minutes drooling over fabric. Make purchase. Leave store and jump into car. Throw purchase and purse in front passenger seat. Look down and notice papers which do NOT look familiar. Look around some more. Realize...I AM NOT SITTING IN MY OWN CAR...I AM SITTING IN A CAR THAT JUST LOOKS LIKE MY OWN CAR! SAME COLOR, SAME INTERIOR, SAME, SAME, SAME! Then look up. See Ford Explorer parked right in front of me and know that IT belongs to me. With speed that would rival even superman, grab stuff and jump out of NEARLY HIJACKED CAR. Run to Ford Explorer that DOES belong to me. Jump in! Try not to hyperventilate...on way home contemplate my near brush with the law! Know I would make a great Bonnie, but not so sure my husband would make a good Clyde!

P.S. If you have preschoolers, don't miss the April Bright Beginnings Preschool link down on the right hand side of my blog. Fun idea for Spring!

Spring Break 2...

Spring Break has been fabulous...I took everyone's advise (even my mom's) and I haven't cleaned a single thing all week. No walls...no windows...nada. I have been exercising, creating, reading, and relaxing all week. I figure the dirt will still be here on Monday...and I can't wait to show you what I have been creating! So I am off to endulge myself yet another day...(even though I feel a slight bit selfish) but I will leave you with this funny little tidbit which I do NOT make up. Hopefully it will brighten your day!

A few years ago during preschool class I bent down to pick something off of the floor. A cute little guy was standing behind me watching. When I stood up he commented,

"Mrs. Anderson, your bottom looks just like my mom's."

To which I asked,

"Do you mean it looks big?"

To which he replied,

"Uhhhh, Yeeaahh!"

Don't call me...

I am doing the happy dance this morning because it is Spring Break here and I have a whole week to do as I please. Well, not exactly as I please because I started out my first day of spring break getting up at 6am to finish up our taxes so we could meet with our accountant at 8am...so if I was REALLY doing what I pleased, I would still be laying in bed reading a good book! But for the rest of the week don't call me until after 10am! Did you get that?

Actually...I am feeling that creative energy that I often get when spring arrives and I am witness to all the potential for beauty in my world. I love walking around my yard just watching for the first buds on our Canadian Red Leaf Cherry tree (that's a mouthful)...the first green tips of the daffodils as they push through the rich brown dirt. All these new beginnings make me want to sew, crochet, scrapbook, and quilt! They also want me to grab a bucket of soapy water and wash every wall in my house and all the windows too...wash the bedding on all the beds...put the winter clothes away and then throw open the windows and french doors and let all the cool, clean, fresh air indoors! It is going to be a great week, I can just feel it! Here's a peek at a few of the projects I will be working on during the coming week:

I want to quilt this for a bedroom I am redoing...

And finish crocheting a receiving blanket for a friend mine...

And work on my own personal cookbook...

Whatever your plans...I hope you have a fabulous week!!!!

Summer's a comin'...

The weather has been fabulous for the past few days...sunny and warm with bright blue skies! It's just a tease because I know we will get a few more flakes of the white stuff yet. I remember not that many years ago that it snowed in June! And a few years after that, the Fourth of July fireworks were cancelled because it was so cold and windy! But for now it looks like Summer is on it's way...that time of year for barbeques and picnics and long walks in the morning and sitting on the deck in the evening! I am so, so ready!!!!!

This is one of our favorite summertime recipes. Make this for a crowd...serve it on some crusty rolls...with some chips and homemade ice cream and it's a party!!!!

Note: Digiscrap elements from Shabby Princess: Wild Love.

Toilet paper love notes...

I am a working woman....but who isn't? Well, maybe men are not working women,(Insert little smiley face here)but nearly all of the women I know work. And they work hard.

Some of the women I know work in their homes cleaning and cooking... scrubbing and serving... dispensing bandaids, hugs, and a little advise between loads and loads of laundry. They don't get near enough credit for their heart-felt efforts. But--having had that experience I have to admit there were days when I longed for some adult conversation and something on the TV besides Sesame Street! And I will admit that sometimes...particularly when the baby was teething, and the others were quarreling , and it was time once again to cook another meal...I wondered, just a wee bit, what in the world I had gotten myself into. And then a miracle would happen...the teething baby would smile...or one of my daughters would run up and give me a quick hug...or my husband would write "I love you" in toilet paper on the living room floor...and I would take a deep breath and think, "All is right in my world...".

Some women I know do all of the above and work at a job too. They cook and clean... scrub and serve... dispense bandaids, hugs, and a little advise between loads and loads of laundry but... they do all of it in the early morning hours of the day and again in the evening when they are most likely exhausted. And they don't get near enough credit for their heart-felt efforts. But--having had that experience too, I have to admit there were days when I longed to be just standing in my kitchen making sugar cookies...or watching TV with my girls. And I will admit that sometimes...particularly when the baby was teething, and the others were quarreling, and I didn't have the slightest clue what I was going to fix for dinner...I wondered, just a wee bit, what in the world I had gotten myself into. And then a miracle would happen...the baby's teeth would finally pop...my girls would become little women and fix dinner...and my husband would give me some flowers with a little card that said---

"For this I will be grateful all my life:

My children's blessed mother, my own dear wife-

The sweetest gift that Heaven could ever send,

At once a guardian angel,

a sweetheart and a friend."

and I would take a deep breath and think, "All is right in my world...".

I have been able fulfill all my dreams. I own my own business and have a job that I love. I have the support of my husband and daughters. They worked as hard as I did to make my business and our family a success! No...they worked harder! I have been able to be there for my girls when I needed to be and wanted to be and now they are my best friends. I am so, so blessed!

Babies and Karate....

Just a little peek at one of the many projects I have been working on. I love to sit our living room in my favorite comfy chair...feet on the ottoman...crocheting an edging on an adorable baby blanket.(click for a better view, it works!) AND while I am crocheting said blanket I am dreaming about some adorable little baby wrapped up tight in the same blanket with little duck-down hair...eyes closed...sweet little lips pursed in a dream...smelling just a little bit like heaven. This particular bit of lime-green love is for my friend Julie's daughter, who is having her first baby. Julie's first grand baby! I know it's not pink but I love this fabric so much. It was fabric love at first sight! Where, you might ask, did I get this adorable stuff? Well, it is a story of perseverance and desperation to be sure. A couple of Thanksgivings ago, my daughter Lindsey wanted some baby flannel to make into receiving blankets for her many friends who had the audacity to marry and then have babies before her! We saw this darling flannel at JoAnne's Fabric and a woman at the store told us that on the day after Thanksgiving the same flannel we were loving would be on sale for 97 cents a yard. We couldn't believe it! This fabric was divine(it was nice heavy flannel, not the thin, cheap stuff)! So Lindsey did what any intelligent and sensible woman would do, when the store opened at 6:00a.m. she was waiting in line with 500 other women, to get her hands on some of that stuff...say 4 or 5 yards. Those women hit that store like fleas on a dog and you know how women can be when they find a bargain. Lindsey, on the other hand, had never experienced anything like it! Not to be out numbered or out maneuvered, she wrestled a few bolts from the pile, protected it with a few karate chops and got in a line of about 200 women with 20 bolts of fabric each. She waited, and waited, and waited, and waited. They had 2 women cutting fabric and more customers coming in the door. She had been there a couple of hours when she heard a voice yell, "If you are interested in buying full bolts you can come directly to the back table to check out." That's all it took. Lindsey was at the back table in record time. She didn't even think about how much fabric she was holding in her arms OR what she was going to do with all of it! She just bought it! She was out of that store in no time, the proud owner of 50 yards of flannel. And that my friends, is how I acquired this adorable lime-green love. Oh, and some baby-blue love too! Lots of it!!!!!!!

Late Night Pasta...

I actually have someone at blogspot who is trying to help me find answers to my picture problems...but until I get it all figured out here is the Late Night Pasta recipe you can't read or click on to enlarge in the previous post in an easy-read form with the promise that it is still delish-e-o-s0!

Late Night Pasta

1 lb. spaghetti

8 slices bacon, cut into 1 inch pieces

2 Tbsp. olive oil

2 Tbsp. thinly sliced garlic

1-2 Tbsp. chopped shallots or green onions

1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper

1/2 tsp. salt

1 large egg, beaten

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

In a large skillet or pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook until crisp. Add the garlic, shallots, pepper, and salt and cook, stirring, until fragrant and the garlic is soft but not brown, about 1-2 minutes. (I pour off some off the bacon grease, but Emeril does not.)

At the same time bacon is cooking, bring another large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the spaghetti and cook, stirring to separate the strands, until the pasta is done al dente, about 7-8 minutes. Drain in a colander, reserving 1/4 cup of pasta cooking water. Add pasta to cooked bacon mixture.

Remove the pan from the heat and add the beaten egg and reserved pasta cooking water, stirring quickly until the mixture thickens, but the egg does not scramble. Sprinkle with cheese and serve immediately!

Add a crisp tossed salad and Italian garlic bread and you will win some serious brownie points with your family!

My Friend Emeril....

A few weeks ago, Laura asked for a few "go-to" recipes from her blogging friends because she was in a cooking rut. I was too busy trying to find and organize my recipes(read previous post "A Recipe for Disaster") to give her one then, but now I am ready! This recipe came from Emeril Lagosse's cooking show. It's quick, easy, delicious, and a hit with everyone in my family. In fact, my daugters and I have been arguing over who was going to post it first. I won because I am THE MOM and because I made it first. Really...I don't know anyone who doesn't love it...serve it up with a crisp green salad and Italian breadsticks and you're set. Plus you'll get some serious brownie points for making this fabulous meal. Makes my mouth water just thinking about it!

Click on the recipe to enlarge. Believe me it is really big! I am just starting to do this Digital stuff and I don't have it down yet. So I can't get the recipe downloaded to my blog at a decent reading size but when you click on it it's huge. I'll keep working on it! Many thanks to my daughters, Shelly and Ashley for their patience in my digital efforts. I can get really grouchy when I don't understand or it doesn't work! And it didn't work the way I wanted it too!

Edited: On my computer you can't click on the recipe and have it come up in a new window in a larger size. I am frustrated and I am working on it. But I have got to go now. Try tomorrow!