Tuesday Tidbits

A hippo. Flamingos. A goofy Gorilla.

We had such a great time on our travels & stopped in for a full day at the Calgary Zoo. The kids were amazed at all the animals - Need to work on a scrapbook page for that day!

Oh, and ....

A couple of websites you'll want to check out -

1. The Buck Stamps Here
2. Jennifer McGuire Ink

Enjoy your day,

.j.

The Replacement.

A few small differences on this card that I quickly made yesterday, hiding in my room so she wouldn't notice :) LOL. I didn't drag out {her} cuttlebug to make my tan circle and of course the design paper is different, a little bolder. I thought {in a pinch} was good :) We had a wonderful day, spoiled & pampered and just AHHHHHHhhhhhhhh.... love those kind of days. I guess they're so special because them come like...ummm.... once a year!

What did you do this past weekend?

.j.

Happy Mother's Day.

Here's the non-simplified version of the same card. :) I added some design paper (Stampin' Up!) and for the tan circle, I used my cuttlebug & nestibilities to give it a scalloped edge & embossed layer. I sewed on a few buttons from my stash as well. My Mom got me those darling flower buttons (this card is for her) and I thought the soft purples would go well together. BUT.... as I've searched AND searched for the special place I put this card... I simply CANNOT find it now. Here I thought I was all prepared ahead of time so yesterday I was scrambling to get a card pulled together to give her with the stash of supplies I brought with me... I'll show you the card next week.

We had a big "Easter" turkey dinner yesterday (love how my family waited for our arrival to include us in the feast - isn't family wonderful!!!) so now we're basking in Mother's Day today - hope you are enjoying yours!
.j.

Mother's Day Weekend.

I managed to get my mother's day cards done before we moved and all my stuff was packed up. I got my inspiration here at this link:

http://silkeledlow.blogspot.com/2009/04/occ-sketch-challenge-ic175-butterfly.html

I used Stampin' Up!'s textured cardstock - love the textured cs, but it doesn't stamp well, so I always pull out my rubons for sentiments when I'm using textured papers. I hope you have a wonderful weekend, with lots of spoiling & even some pampering!

.j.

Thursday.

We're slowly getting organized here in our space. 5 of us in two rooms, makes it cozy, but my Mom did an amazing job at getting furniture & beds for everyone so there's a place to put everything (That makes ALL the difference!) I am looking forward to getting my stuff organized as well, I'm hoping to get into my scrapbooking while I'm here. I don't scrapbook very much, so I thought it would be good in this *transition* to document it a bit. :)
A lot of boy birthday's coming up, so I've been in male-mode as I've made up cards. I find them the hardest, you? Here's a simple one I came up with. Megan thought the yellow "glow" was too bright, I agree... but seriously, not too many males I know actually KEEP their cards :)
I colored this with my Copics (yes, brought those with me!!) and the sentiment is a rub on from my stash. Ribbon is from Stampin' Up! (love all their ribbons!!) and the paper are bits & pieces from pile I'm using up! :)
Enjoy your day - any survivor fans out there?! :)
.j.

Manicotti made easy!

This is one of those meals that takes a bit of time (but worth the effort!). It's a nice big recipe so it's possible to have one for dinner tonight, and put one in the freezer for later! LOVE those kinds of meals. One mess, two meals! I make both the meat & cheese filling... and put a mixture of the two in a 9x13 pan. Kids do prefer the cheese ones though.

Manicotti with meat filling

18 manicotti noodles (I never use these, they break far too easily! I just use lasagna noodles instead, cut them in half after they're cooked, spread mixture on & roll them up - WAAAAY easier!)

1-1/2 lbs. ground beef

2 TBPS. vegetable oil

3 slices of bread, crumbled

2/3 cup milk

1 egg, beaten

2 cups grated mozzarella cheese

1 tbsp. chopped parsley

1/2 tsp. salt

dash pepper

28oz. (796mL) spaghetti sauce

1/4 cup grated Parmesan Cheese

MAKE IT:

Cook noodles according to package. Brown meat & drain. Combine bread & milk. Allow to stand 2 min. Add cooked meat & remaining ingredients except spaghetti sauce & Parmesan cheese. Fill noodles.

Manicotti with CHEESE filling:

18 Manicotti noodles (lasagna noodles)

3 cups ricotta cheese or cottage cheese

2 cups grated mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 TBSP. chopped parsley

2 eggs, beaten

dash nutmeg

1/2 tsp. salt

dash pepper

28oz (796mL) Spaghetti Sauce

1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese

MAKE IT:

Cook noodles according to package. Coming all filling ingredients except spaghetti sauce and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Fill noodles.

COOK IT:

Divide 1-1/2 cup spaghetti sauce in bottom of two 9"x13" pans. (yes, if you're using BOTH fillings you can get up to FOUR pans out of this!) Arrange filled manicotti (or rolled lasagna noodles) in each pan in a single layer.

Pour over remaining sauce.

Divide the 1/4 cup of grated Parmesan Cheese & sprinkle on top.

Bake COVERED, in 350 oven, 45 min, or until thoroughly heated.

Nice big salad, warm crusty bread.... YUM! Leftovers are great too. This is a great time to share as well. Have the gang over for dinner with this one, send a pan to someone you know who's not feeling well, a friend who's just had a baby.... and you'll still have some in your freezer for a busy day in the future!

enjoy!

.j.

We've arrived.

Wow, what an insane week. Between no trailers to rent, a storage unit that seemed to shrink in size as we filled it, to a second one becoming available 30 minutes before our request, to having to move out earlier than anticipated to ..... yeah, quite a week! But, we're here. We've arrived. And as we try to relax, we've been back & forth with a possible sale on the house. Exciting and stressful and discouraging all at the same time. Emotions are at an all-time high! LOL.

But the worst is behind us (right?). And although the truck starting acting up on our trip, it brought us here. We had a fabulous time at the Calgary Zoo - and dinners in bed in our hotel room - love that! Need to focus on the good, and try to push out the stresses.... a good day of stamping will cure that I bet! :) Ha. Need to unpack and organize all that good stuff! Next week, next week.

This is a card I made for a male :) Thought it used up scraps & worked....
Both image & sentiment are by Penny Black.

Thanks for the few comments while I've been away - love to hear from you, even if it's just a hello :)

.j.