Please Pass The Burritos.

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Mission Foods. All opinions are 100% mine.

One of my favorite foods to eat is burritos. I am a big fan of Mexican food in general anyway, but burritos are my favorite. You can make a burrito out of just about anything. Have leftovers? Throw it in a tortilla and you have tomorrow’s lunch or a quick snack. They are great for an after school snack for the kids. You can whip up a Quesada within minutes and your kids will enjoy this healthy snack.

One brand that I use often is Mission Tortillas. They are cholesterol free and have 0 grams of trans fat per serving. They come in three different sizes, 6”, 8” and 10”, which can be use for many types of dishes.

At this time, Mission Foods proudly supports Share Our Strength, a company focused on ending childhood hunger. Help out by visiting www.MissionMenusChallenge.com. This summer you can enter the Mission Menus Challenge to compete in a Cook-off and get a chance to win a $10,000 dream kitchen makeover and other weekly prizes. Visit the Mission Menu Challenge site and watch as Chef Sara Moulton speaks about the benefits of healthy and inexpensive recipes for families on a budget.

The grand prize winner will receive an all expense paid round-trip airfare and hotel accommodations and will attend the Cook-off on September 10, 2010. You can submit your original recipes until August 9 online, which must include Mission Flour Tortillas. They also must feed a family of five people for $10.00 or less.

So hurry and get your recipe in and you might find yourself at the Hard Rock Café in Los Angeles on September 10.

What Are You Having For Dinner?

Dinner is the last meal of the day and a time when families can get together and discuss their day. It is also a hectic meal for busy moms who are just getting off of work or who have been busy with other activities all day. If you are a busy mom or you know a busy mom, here are some menu planning tips to help make dinner meals easy and even fun.

1.    Schedule your meals a week in advance.  This is one of the most important planning tips for meals. Knowing what you are going to eat throughout the week means less chance that you will stop off at the closest fast food joint for a convenient, but unhealthy meal. Decide on the last day of the previous week (let’s say Saturday for the sake of argument) what the menu will be for the following week. Create your shopping list from the list of ingredients to avoid buying what you don’t need at the grocery store.

2.    Look for bargains. Clip coupons, read advertising circulars and the like to decide where the best grocery to shop is for your menu items. If one ingredient is a common denominator in many meals, consider buying in bulk to save money. Common staples like milk, eggs, bread and sugar can be bought in bulk as well. Some stores will have double or triple coupon days when you can save even more.

3.    Search online. After a while your family will get tired of chicken and rice every Thursday. You can get into a menu rut sometimes. Use the Internet to search for new and exciting recipes. Learn to put a twist on old recipes for a new taste.

4.    Have a leftover night. After preparing meals for five or six days, there is bound to be some food left over. Designate one night to be leftover night and let everyone mix and match for dinner. It saves mom from having to throw away any food.

5.    Cook your meals in advance. After deciding on a menu plan for the week, go ahead and fix as many meals as you can. Choose a day when the entire family can help like Saturday morning or Sunday afternoon. Each person can take one meal and fix it for the following week. Once everything has cooled, store it in sealed containers or casserole dishes to be frozen until the night it is needed.

6.    Do prep work in advance. All of the meals can’t be cooked at once. Some foods just taste better freshly prepared. For them, so as much prep work in advance as you can. Enlist your kids to help chop (give them the kitchen shears instead) vegetables, dice cooked meat and mix together dry ingredients. The night of the meal, all that is needed is to add the wet ingredients and bake.

Meal time doesn’t have to be all on mom. The entire family can help with dinner so it is a relaxing meal for everyone.

Happy 100th Birthday Aunt Jessie! You Go Girl!

I have an Aunt, her name is Jessie,  today she is 100 years old. Yes. you read that right. 100. Amazing. Really, it does not surprise me, because she was always very spunky and out there. I mean that in a good way. I remember my mom showing me a picture of her and another Aunt all decked out in Flapper attire. For those of you that are too young here is a brief explanation of Flappers. I equate it with the Hippies of my generation. Even though I was still a child in the sixties, I could see the romance of the era, as I sure my Aunt Jessie saw the romance of the Flapper era.

She raised two boys on her own in a time that is what not the norm. She did a great job. She lost one, just like Cinderella, only he was much older. I am not sure that matters though. She also lost a grandchild, just like me. Enough said.

She raised those two sons as a single mom while working at a prominent home for orphaned boys. Her two sons went on to live productive lives. One who served in the United States Air Force and one leading the faithful as a Methodist Minister.

She lived far from me, so I did not get a chance to see her much. When I was sixteen, I had a bit of trouble. I went to stay at her son’s home. She picked me up at the airport and then drove me to her son’s home. It was a long drive. She spent a lot of time speaking to me on that drive. I learned that it was ok to make mistakes as long as I learned from those mistakes. I also learned that she was a bit of a rebel in her day too.

She now spends her time reading and listening to University of Nebraska football. She is a BIG fan! Since this is where she was raised and lived, this does not surprise me. When her husband was still alive they traveled to some of Nebraska’s bowl games, primarily Fiesta Bowl and Sugar Bowl. Also, went to many games in Lincoln.

Aunt Jessie will have a party on the 18^th of June which will include lots of friend and family. I wish I could be there, as does my mom, her baby sister.

Just know Aunt Jessie, we are all there in spirit. Also, know that I think about you often and you are an inspiration in my life. Thank you for guiding me all those years ago. That summer was one of my most memorable times in my life and even though I went on to make a few other mistakes, I eventually got it right.

So, Happy 100^th Birthday to you!

Please leave a comment and wish my Aunt Jessie a happy birthday. I will make sure they get to her.

Happines Project – Butterfly’s Birthday

Happiness is watching my granddaughter, Butterfly prepare to lick the icing off the candles on her birthday cake. She is nine years old as of June 5th. We had a Hawaiian party at my house on Saturday complete with leis, grass skirts and plenty of Hawaiian decorations.

Four little ladies feasted on sub sandwiches, macaroni salad and of course, cake. They also beat up a pinata and scrambled for candy. Sweet day!

Happy Birthday my sweet Butterfly!

Topsey Turvy Strawberry: Weapon of Mass Destruction

So, for Mother’s Day I received a Topsey Turvy Strawberry thingamajig. What I really wanted was a strawberry pot. You know, the pots with multiple openings for the strawberry plants. Well, Corvette only went to one store and then gave up the search. I was a little disappointed, but I accepted it and bought the plants and put them in the thingamajig.

I did not water it until after we hung it since it would become heavy after watering. Guess what? It was heavy even without the water. We hung it up and I watered it and that was that. I watered it about every two days since them because it it nearing 100 degrees here these days.

The other night Corvette was telling me that we should put another line on because the line was stretching. I said, we can take care of it this weekend. Yesterday I was watering the berries as usual and I put the hose in the top and just let it run. It is hot outside and I do not want stand and hold that hose up to it. I went in the house to do a few things and a bit later, maybe 10 minutes, I came back out and this is what I saw.

The Topsey fell right into a pot of pansies and the pansies exploded all over my back porch. At first sight I thought, “Oh no”, but then I just started laughing. As you can see, my big red dog, Lucie was a bit shocked too!

Well, I man handled the Topsey out of the pot and yes, it is much heavier when wet! Here are my poor pansies. Kind of looks like a crater in the pot.

Unbelievably, some of the pansies actually survived the impact.

As for the Topsey Turvy thingamajig, it presently resides on the back porch, awaiting a METAL line to hang it on.

Note to Corvette; Next Mother’s Day, just find the strawberry pot. Please!

As a side note, Corvette also wants the TP tomato planter and the TP Hot Pepper Planter.

Nooooooooooooo!

See How My Garden Grows – Part 2 Summer Series

So, I planted my garden in March. I wanted an early start since I live in the Desert Southwest and it usually gets hot here early in the spring. As it turned out, we are still experiencing cool weather. It is almost May, and normally, we would have 90 degree weather by now. But, no it is still cool and we even had snow in the mountains the other day! Do not get me wrong, I am loving this weather, although it is not normal for us. My main concern was my garden would not thrive, but as you will see with the pics, it is doing very well.

Also, my crate, that was at first ripped away from me, but then returned to me because of several awesome ladies at work, is already reaping my planting efforts. My corn is coming up and that makes me a very happy gardener!

My only problem is Corvette thinks I did not plant enough! Ok, dude, the master plan is to plant in waves. We are just two people and since I need to learn about canning, we can only eat so much. You, Corvette, just take care of the weeds and me, juliannah will grow the veggies, thank you very much!

Anyway, here are some pics of my garden and flowers. On a side note, when we had this house built, the backyard came as is, no landscaping. Then with our hours cut at work, we were not able to financially do anything with the yard. So, I decided to let the yard evolve,  and it has. I would like to landscape it, but time will tell.

Enjoy the pics and I welcome any gardening advice. Plus, I need to learn about canning and any advice on that subject will be welcomed.

Please come back to see how my garden grows!

p.s. Grandma M, please tell me how to can the cucumbers!

Lucie, my big red dog, and the start of my garden

Starting to plant.

Me and Lucie, planting.

Garden in.

Ahh, Da Crate!

Corvette drilling holes for drainage.

Corn planted.

Garden thriving.

Scenes from my yard.

More scenes from my yard.

Love my pansies.

A rose for Genie. Our faithful Lab who lives in heaven.

Pretty daisies.

Busy Moms Need Relaxing Too!

It seems like there is no rest of the weary.  And, the weary person is usually mom.  Moms take care of family and home, but who takes care of her?  If you are a busy mom, learn to value yourself as a person and schedule personal time.

Personal time is a right of being a person.  Each of us has the capacity to nurture others but that type of care takes its toll.

A car is filled with gas to make it run.  Eventually the gas runs out and your car won’t move unless the car is replenished with fuel.  The same goes for you.  Emotional issues can develop when you don’t take the time to take care of your emotional well-being, not to mention the physical results of emotional neglect.

Mom time refuels the tank so that you can give to your family as well as yourself in equal measure.  Don’t be ashamed to sit for fifteen minutes doing nothing.  In the springtime, relaxing in a hammock under a tree is the perfect getaway from the pressures of the day.  Reading a book for 30 minutes can also seem like heaven to many moms.

Here are a few tips to help you fit in much needed “mom” time:

1. Get up early if you have to.  When you have kids, the day begins at a hurried pace.  Once you hit the ground running, there is no stopping you.  Waking 30 minutes to an hour ahead of time means quiet solitude to drink your coffee, read a book, meditate or listen to music.

2. Turn ordinary experiences into major events.  When you take a bath, add candles, bubble bath, quiet music and/or an inflatable bath pillow.  Your regular bath has now become a spa level experience.  If you watch a movie, turn out the lights, pop a bag of microwave popcorn and curl up on the couch.

3. Ask your significant other for help.  Kids love their mothers but time spent with dad is important too.  Let them bond with dad while you go shopping for a new outfit or root around in the garden.  Since the time is yours, do whatever you like.

4. Use the Boy Scout motto.  Always be prepared and you can spend more time in a relaxed mode.  Fix lunches the night before.  Iron clothes for the next day and place backpacks by the front door so kids can grab them on their way out.  The fewer things you have to do throughout the day, the calmer you will be with your family and not experience burnout.

5. Take exercise breaks.  When you get a few minutes the last thing you want to do is exercise but getting a little physical activity in your day has far-reaching implications.  Exercise helps you to think clearly and stretches the muscles.  Also, stress will drain away as powerful endorphins are released into your system.  Do jumping jacks during a television commercial or jog to the bus stop to pick up the kids.

6. Laugh at regular intervals.  Keep a funny calendar cube on your desk or subscribe to a daily joke site.  Laughing releases stress and can lift your spirits significantly.  It also keeps the abs tight.

Moms, take care of you.  Your family would miss you if you were not around to love and care for them.  You owe it to yourself and you deserve a break from the daily hustle and bustle.

Munk Yourself!

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Alvin and the Chipmunks. All opinions are 100% mine.

I absolutely love this! "Alvin and the Chipmunks" was one of my favorite cartoons as a child. I know, I just dated myself, but nevertheless, I loved those little chipmunk boys. Alvin was always getting into trouble and Dave was always shouting "Alvinnnnnn!" One of my first albums was the Chipmunks sing the Beatle's hits. I rocked out more than once in my bedroom to Alvin and the Chipmunks.

If you have not seen these movies with you kids you can now enjoy them in the comfort of you own living room. You can get the DVD, "Alvin and the Chipmucks: The Squeakqel on March 30th. You can also purchase the movie on Blu-ray or through digital download. Plus there is a double DVD Pack that includes "The Squeak Along" Bonus Disc. This disc lots of fun things for the the whole family. You can buy it now and your family can start enjoying the Chipmunks like I did as a child and continue to as an adult.

In addition, you can visit you http://www.munkyourself.com/us/ and choose a funny chipmunk that you can accessorize, add audio and have fun playing with the chipmunks. Hey, mommies, your kids will love it.

Nothing like More Munk Mayhem for a little extra fun! Check this out for some great family fun today!

Enough Already!

*Warning! If you have a weak stomach, you might not want to read this.*

Me and Corvette had dinner at Chilis the other day. Corvette always gets the Baby Back Ribs. He loves them. He always brings the bones for the dogs because they love them!

So, I gave the bones to the dogs and they enjoyed them as always. Everything seemed fine. Lucie, my big red dog wolfed down her bones. Buddy, who has some missing teeth because of age basically knawed his bones. Everyone was happy.

Fast forward to later in the day and all of a sudden I hear it. That sound dogs make when they are going to yak. I run into the hallway to find Lucie hacking up the bones, all over my floor. Yuck. I don’t do well with anybody or anything throwing up. I had trouble with it with my own kids for pete’s sake!

Of course, Corvette is not going to clean it up. The only time he ever cleaned up pet yak was a time I was out of town and Angie my kitty yaked on the fireplace. Anyway, I go get some paper towels and clean it up. But the story does not end there. Next, I made a big mistake. I throw it in the toliet and flush it. Guess what. The yak plugs up the toliet! Eee gads! Also, we do not have a plunger!

Ok, so now I have to tell Corvette what I have done.

“Why did you put it in the toliet?” he says.

“Because it smelled!” I reply. Makes sense to me!

Well it was late in the day and neither one of us wanted to go to the store. Corvette says he will stop and get one the next day on the way home from work. Luckily, I have two bathrooms.

Ok, done. Over with. So I thought. We go to bed and right around 2am I am awakened to the yaking sound again. Yep, Lucie is doing it again, but this time it is in my bedroom on my carpeting. I jump out of bed in my sleeping stupor and try to get her outside, but of course that did not happen. Cleaning time again. Luckily, this time there wasn’t alot so I go in the bathroom to grab toliet paper. All of sudden Corvette is yelling for me not to throw it in the toilet! No duh dude!

I get done and go back to bed and thankfully the rest of the night is uneventful. Now you might think the story is over. Not. even. yet.
The next day I go to work. Then I come home after work. I feed the dogs. I feed the cat her “wet” food because she will not leave me alone until I do. I turn on the TV and my laptop and sit down on the couch to write an email. The cat jumps up of the arm of  the  couch and sits down. All of a sudden I hear it again. Yak sounds! I look up at the cat and see she is facing me and getting ready to let loose! NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

I lunge at her to try and get her off the couch. I did not quite make it. I did however manage to move her head away from the couch so her head is pointed towards the floor. Can you believe it. She projected it halfway across the room! I have never seen an animal do that. Ever.

Enough Already!

Needless to say I once again cleaned up animal yak. This time it was all over the floor and running down my couch. Luckily, I moved her head or it would have been all over my open laptop. That would not have been pretty.

I made up a new rule. If you can not keep the food inside then your not eating. Just kidding. Oh and by the way. I decided to spare Corvette the one about the cat. What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him.

Prayer Call

When Corvette and I first moved to the Desert Southwest from California, we had a hard time adjusting. We had no family here and it was a hard because we were used to spending time with our family especially around holidays.

Anyway, not long after moving here, I met my special best friend ever. A girl with flaming red hair and the person that is always there for me. As I try to be for her. Funny, she has red hair as does my big red dog, Lucie, and as did my grandson, Lolly Pop Kid.

Anyway, her family welcomed us into their family. Right now her uncle Gary is battling cancer. His wife Carol is by his side. (Yes. I will leave their real names so that you will pray for them). My friend did not tell me about this when it first happened because of everything going on in my life. I appreciate this gesture, but I am glad I am able to think, pray and hope for people that went out of their way for me and my family.

So please pray for these people, Gary and Carol and their family. Thank you.

Please read about my special friend and what she is doing for me.