Introducing SAKI!!

Spring has arrived in the Midwest!

70+ degrees and sunny!

Here is some exciting news:
We got a new puppy!

Here's Saki...
She's a "Woolie" or long coated
akita.

SOOO CUTE and FLUFFY!!

Saki fits right in with the other two.
Sushi is hangin' in there and we
will put her to sleep when things get worse.

In the meantime, sushi is showing her the ropes.

Winter break!!

Oh my goodness, peeps!

A month has flown by already
since my last post...

here is the scoop

Number #2 son turned 21 earlier this month!
Happy BDay-my rubber band man!
Snazzy duds for sure!

We also traveled to Erie for son #1's
White Coat Ceremony.
We are proud parents for sure!

Crafty news- Not much going on...
Just cleaning and organizing from the holiday mess.
Next up are some scrapbooking retreats!

The Great, Bad, and the Ugly...

That described my day so far...

GREAT beginning, bad ending...

My morning Zumba Gold class was a blast!
Almost 40 people this time, including 3 men.

Here are the ones who wanted to be in the picture!!
I just love this gang!!

And then it all turned bad-

I came home and our 9 year-old akita, Sushi,
was in the kitchen covered in blood.
I mean COVERED, it was pouring
from her nose and mouth.
(She was sneezing and spraying it everywhere.)

I knew she was in trouble by the amount of blood on the floor.
I rushed her to the vets in a panic.
She was put on IVs and given blood.
Apparently, a tumor had been growing in
her sinus cavity and it burst...hence the blood.

She is stable now, but her future is unclear...

Hang in there Sushi Girl!!

An old picture of Sushi watching
over her puppies. Good momma...
She is a great dog and gives fantastic kisses!
I'll post when we know more.

(Did I mention it happened during a snow storm?)

Good pictures gone wrong!!

Happy 2012 Everyone!

While looking at some of our holiday photos
I noticed some really good
family photos gone wrong!
How hard is it to get everyone smiling
AND with their eyes open?

Apparently, pretty hard.

Case in point:

We have the whole gang lookin' good,
well, Collin could have shaved off his 'stache,
and then you get to the hubby...
bleh.

For a really good laugh try looking at these family photos
awkwardfamilyphotos.com

I can spend hours at that site...
Laughing and laughing....So silly

Enjoy!

Happy New Year!

Dear family & friends,

The hubby and I wish for you
that this new year is filled
with so much love
your heart is overflowing,
and so much laughter your
face hurts!

(This is going to be a great year, I can tell...)

Welcome 2012!!!

Merry Christmas Memories 2011

Happy Holidays to all!

We had a wonderful holiday season
with plenty of food and laughter...

Plus all 4 boys are at home again!

Here are some pics...

Grandma & Grandpa with the kiddos...

Tickle, tickle tickle...

The handsome crew!

SAY CHEESE!!!
Can you tell we are related?!?

Baking away!

3 more days till Christmas!

Wrapping is done-onto the baking and candy making!!

First up SNOWBALL cookies.
My all time favorite....yum
Then peanut butter, chocolate chip
and jam thumbprints.
Pretzels dipped in chocolate are also
easy to do...and they make great gifts!

These are so simple and yummy.
(I got this photo online, these are not the ones I made)
(Mine looked just like these, too.)
Top a pretzel with a Hershey's Kiss and cook
in the oven 4-5 minutes.
Squish an M&M candy on top of the softened Kiss.

So many variations with this one...
Enjoy!

Wrapping away!

The Christmas countdown has begun...

This week has been spent
cleaning, cleaning and more cleaning
and some wrapping!

Check out these 2 cute gifts
for the little relatives in
our lives:

How about a nice game of hide and seek with
a sock monkey?!? I love games that involve more
than one player, and physical activity!

AND for the little boys:

Something nice and gross!
The players reach into the plush
head and try to pull out the "goodies"!

Happy wrapping!

Craft Fair Pictures 2011

Finally! Craft fair season is over!!

Whew! Now to get ready for Christmas...


I sell paper crafting items at area fairs.
I start in the summer and work
till the 2nd weekend of December.
( I have been working on holiday stuff since July...)

I think our display is awesome!
We use light weight wood shelving and
4" hooks to display our wares.
We always leave a sample album unbagged,
while the rest are bagged to keep them fresh...he he he,
and clean!

The albums are then separated into different sections: family,
vacation, baby, holidays, pets, etc.

And there is Mom, so happy and making a sale!

Sweet candied jalapenos!

The craft shows have been fantastic!

I have had a lot of positive feedback...thanks

Jalapeno canning time!
We had sooo many peppers this year
it was CRAZY! We ate jalapenos in everything...

SO, I made candied jalapenos with red peppers. YUM

Note the plastic gloves...
Very important when working with hot peppers!
It took a few hours to slice 4 pounds of jalapenos!

Here are the sliced peppers cooking in the syrup.
(The syrup is made of 1 cup apple cider vinegar
and 6 cups sugar.) This cooks for 5 minutes.

I used a slotted spoon to put the peppers in the itty bitty jars.

I then cooked the syrup till boiling for 7 minutes
and poured that over the peppers in the jars.
Into the water bath they go!
I think that "POP" of the lid is the neatest sound.

Candied jalapenos, anyone??
P.S. These are great over hamburgers!!