Happy New Year 2014!

I wish you all Health, Happiness and Love in the New Year.

Please remember to find joy in the little things, try not to let anger get the best of you, when life throws problems at you, take a deep breathe, count to ten slowly, take a walk and clear your head.

When society is mean and cruel and you think you can't take it any more, take it a little more, respond with a smile and keep on keeping on.

Life is short, let go of resentment, cleanse your soul in any way possible...tomorrow is a whole new start on life...make it a good one!

Peace, Jackie

 

Happy Christmas!

I like Happy Christmas better then Merry....cause Happy is Happy! So Happy Christmas everyone!
I got spoiled....Thank you to everyone, I feel so loved!!

Flowers from friends and family.

coffee maker from the hubby.

coffee!

Panda Slippers from Pat, Sammy likes them!

Snowman apron from Tanya, she machine appliqued the snowman herself!
And a new Tanya Purse, and hand knitted scarf!

Love these for scrapbooking, hand knitted fingerless gloves from Colleen!
She made the enameled buttons herself!



A canvas photo of the grandsons, Ethan and Bryce!! Love this!!



All kinds of goodies from Christy, Jeff, and Rebecca and Travis!
Shirts for Charlie, ipad case, wine signs, wine journal, lucky wallet!!


Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, like I did!!
See you next year!!!
 

Lots to say..

Just wanted to say a few words of thanks and more....

I had to have surgery on Friday, a hysterectomy due to cysts and fibroids. I still have one ovary left so I was not forced into menopause, glad for that.

My doctor is Carla Turner, she is so nice and did an amazing job in getting me into surgery ASAP as I had suffered so long. Thank you Dr. Turner.

I need to thank all the staff and nurses at spring valley hospital here in Las Vegas. Everyone was so caring and nice to me. I have to apologize for getting sick on one nurse who was trying to get the anti nausea medicine in my IV  but was just not quick enough! And the post op nurse who I grabbed by the shirt and tried to drag through my bed rails when I was coming out of anesthesia and couldn't breathe. They had to put me back to sleep and start over slowly. But it happens. You never know how your body will react but they were quick to help!

Thank you to The nurse who took care of me my first night she was so sweet. She really cared and checked on me to make sure my nausea was under control. The nurse who took my blood who liked to talk tattoos with me! Everyone so cheerful and kind. The last nurse who didn't want to discharge me cause Charlie and I made her laugh and she was worried her next patient wouldn't be so fun!

Thank you to all my family and friends who sent food, flowers, get well wishes and more, thank you, thank you!!!

I am up walking around feeling really good. I have not had to take one single heavy duty pain pill just the ibuprofen one in morning one at night!! So amazed. I just have a sore tummy from being poked and prodded and gassed up, it stretches your tummy muscles terribly, takes time for that to go down. But as this is only day 3 1/2, I am doing amazing!!!!

Last of all, I want to thank my husband who takes care of me and all my goofy demands on him. I had him cleaning and organizing my hospital room, yep, OCD from my hospital bed!
He bought me a Keurig coffee maker so I could make coffee one cup at a time from my bed. I did not need to have it near my bed as I am pretty mobile! But the thought was so great of him!!
He works so hard to pay for all I need and want, I wish he could win the lottery so he could get spoiled for once! But knowing him he would spend it on everyone else. My rock, my love, my knight in shining armor. Thank you honey bunny, I love you more than you will ever know!!

Oh last thought today.. Happy birthday to my Travis Carl who turns 30 today!! Hope you enjoy your day!!!

A little fun in the kitchen...

I stayed home one day last week and decided, I am going to try making Christmas cookies! I have never been able to bake cookies, what was I thinking?
Cakes I can do, casseroles I can do, pies I can do....but never cookies.

OH CRAP! I just realized I did not email the pics to myself and I deleted them from my phone and ipad..
I don't like to keep a lot of stuff so I delete everyday...only keep what I want...I did keep this photo...

once his head fell off, I went with it....anyone remember this guy.....OH Noooooooooo, Mr. Bill for SNL???
Basically the rest of the cookies looked the same, just lines and some sugar sprinkles, really primitive!

Tanya got me a Pizelle baker one year for a gift, still can't master the dang thing...but it is a lost art and I will conquer it one year! No picture of mine, but they came out kinda close, mine were thicker, gotta work on that, they should not be thick! These are beautiful!

Not mine, just showing what they should look like!

How the hell do these people do this???

Geez, I wish I could decorate like that!

I really want to learn to make these!!

This must me some professional, wow, they are awesome!!

Maybe next year I will try again, but for now, I am done with cookies...I don't even want to eat one.
Going to make a big pot of chili, hey, at least I know my chili is the best there is!! And there is no decorating involved!

A little taste of Vegas...

My friend Tanya, who you know by now enjoys the many splendors of Vegas like I do.... every once in awhile we get out (ditch work) to enjoy this fabulous town we live in..this day was one of my very favorites!!

Reminds me of my favorite Christmas Song, Carole of the Bells!

When you want to explore Vegas, you have to be willing to fly by the seat of your pants, you have to be willing to go anywhere, try anything, and eat what is put in front of you...sometimes it turns out to be the best time of your life!

They are still busy building the magical place!

A polar bear in Las Vegas!!

A beautiful Rocking horse in the check in area of Bellagio!

We started out going to the Bellagio to see the changing of the seasons from fall to Christmas, but they were not quite ready for us...so we took some pics anyway and moved on to, get this, Tanya told me you can hop a tram to the Aria and City Center and Monte Carlo from the Bellagio...who knew??

So we found the tram- not easy to find, just ask for help, and hopped on to the Aria, I was so excited, like a kid on the Disneyland monorail, I loved that damn ride, really, it was my favorite part of Disneyland!!! So I was grinning like a kid in the candy store...wheeeee....

We get to City Center and start taking pics of all the Christmas wonder....The decorations for Christmas in Vegas are pretty spectacular.....

The sun was shining just so that I could take a pic with the sun on top the tree! Awesome!

This tree was huge, no really huge!!

Tanya won't let me take her picture, but I snuck this one!!

Then as it is getting to be lunch time, (I have to eat every couple hours), damn low blood sugar, so I find Todd English Pub tucked in the corner and find all kinds of cool things on the menu, did I mention I was hungry, Yep, even Duck Buns and Puppy dogs sounded good!! Let's eat here Tanya! and as usual she was game, the same as me when she says "here hold this" and snaps my photo, only to find out later I am holding hair spray called Blow Pro!! hahahahaha! We make a great team!

Nothing like a mimosa when you are ditching work!

Yeah, that's how you serve a bologna sandwich!! Fabulous!!!

Don't miss this place..EVER!

So in we go to find a great place to eat, we choose mimosas to start, hey, you can't play hooky without drinking, right??? I choose the bologna sandwich and she chose grilled cheese, we split them so we can try both..Gosh Dang, that Bologna sandwich was to die for!!! I am going back for sure for that one!!!

Do not miss this little gem of a place to eat when you hit Vegas, you will not be disappointed!!

Then we decided to hop over to the fashion show mall so we could take pics of the beautiful decorations there, we shopped a little, Starbucksed a little, and then headed home....WOW, what a great day that was!!!

I can't wait for the day we go Vegas-ing and get on the new Ferris Wheel they are building, yep, she is the only one brave enough to go on it with me!! So stay tuned for that blog post, I am sure it will be a doosy!!!

It's all about the music....

I love Christmas music...I have it on all day when I am home during December...the lights are on, on my fake trees, candles are burning and christmas music is playing....
I came across this video on youtube and just had to share the beautiful music...ENJOY!

It's soup weather!

I was watching Diners, Drive ins and Dives the other day, when Guy goes to Grover's cafe in New York, I think....but anyway the lady there made Cheeseburger Soup, oh dog, Guy could not stop eating it!!
I love cheeseburgers but I can't really eat the buns and the meat anymore, but I thought maybe all liquidy in a soup might be great and no big butt bun to deal with!! And I can buy the meat my tummy agrees with!

So I searched online and found the recipe for it or as close as anyone could get, you can watch the video here: http://www.foodnetwork.com/videos/cheeseburger-soup/46957.html
I got the recipe here: havepanwillcook

The temperature dropped here and today was very chilly, only going to be in the 20's to 40's for the next week or two...perfect soup weather!

YOU HAVE to try this soup it is amazing!!

1 pound lean ground beef  or whatever type meat you desire for a cheeseburger
1/4 onion minced fine
3 tablespoons butter
1 box low sodium chicken broth 32 oz
1 two pound brick Velveeta cheese cubed
1 1/2 cups cream
2 tbsp flour mixed with some water to make a slurry
chopped tomatoes and chopped lettuce

Brown your ground beef until crumbly and set aside.
In large soup pot melt butter and add onion and cook until soft and translucent, about 10 minutes on medium heat. Add the chicken broth, the Velveeta, the cream, cook on medium heat until all melted, then add your flour slurry and turn up heat to bring it all to a boil, make sure you stir constantly and add the meat.

Now ladle into bowls and add about a handful of lettuce and a couple spoonfuls of tomatoes, stir and eat!! The lettuce freaked Guy out until he started eating it and he said the lettuce makes the soup!! He was so right, I love it!!!
Fabulous!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MONKEY!

So my son, Travis Carl turns 30 this month..Dec.23 to be exact!

So I scoured the internet to find unique way to celebrate with him, he lives in

California and I can't go see him due to my surgery on Dec. 20th....

After reading tons of ideas, I came up with this:

I sent a box to arrive by Dec. 1st inside is 23 gifts for him to open!! One per day!!

Here is Gift #1 he opened today! Cool shirt I found on etsy at http://www.etsy.com/shop/Tees2Express
 

I think is going to try out for Duck dynasty or the Boston red sox????

I will update later in the month with more of the gifts I gave him, some were funny, some were serious. I hope he likes them and has a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Hope you had fun!

The Chef! (me)

The Spread!

The basic dinner: Turkey, stuffing, potatoes, green bean casserole, cranberry, gravy, rolls.

Got to get on my treadmill now, maybe for the next 24 hours....ugh! Oh, I made a pumpkin pie for my hubby, I am not much of a dessert eater, but he loved it! Hope everyone had enough to eat, be safe if you are out shopping or driving this weekend!

Today...

Be Safe, Be Happy.....

Holiday Shopping?

I love to shop online and buy from artists, people who still make things with their own to hands and their creative minds.
Etsy is my favorite, you can even buy vintage stuff there too!
One of my favorite vintage items I found on Etsy were these 2 little boxing kittens:


The absolute cuteness kills me!!

But the best things are fun jewelry, like the harmonica necklaces I just added to my shop:

Goddess of Love and Music



Peace, Wine, Music

Don't forget to support your starving artists and shop Etsy.com this year, or you can shop at

WWW.PEACELOVEANDARTSHOP.COM

I offer free shipping to the USA, plus, you can shop in your pajamas, don't forget the coffee!



 

French Bread Pizza!

Tonight we stayed in and made homemade french bread pizza! Yum!

That's mine, jalapeno, mushroom, bell pepper, pepperoni.

Hubby can be so boring,,,pepperoni and jalepeno.

All done, it was fabulous!

Here is how we got it done:

2 loaves French bread cut in half then cut in 4's.
2 jars pizza sauce, they only had small jars??
pepperoni slices
mushrooms
bell pepper
Italian cheese blend shredded
Parmesan cheese
red pepper

heat oven to 450*

I like to saute my mushrooms and bell pepper in butter and olive oil once it is cooked through, crank up the heat and throw in a cup of white wine and let it reduce to nothing...fabulous!!

Now you can ladle on sauce onto your bread, add cheese and ingredients and bake at 450* until cooked through and cheese is all melty...about 10-15 minutes..let it sit up about 10 minutes then dig in to homemade pizza!! It was awesome!!

I would like to add up the cost of this compared to ordering a pizza from the corner....I will be back with that info shortly.....
Ok, I figured it out at about 15.00 and we have leftovers, I love cold pizza so breakfast tomorrow is taken care of! If we order a pizza from the corner pizzeria it is about 15.00 but it is good pizza not cheap cardboard pizza..so we decided we loved making our own pizza, the flavor was outstanding! And we could really customize, the corner pizzaria only gives us a large pepperoni with half jalepeno for the 15.00, here I had my mushrooms, and bell pepper added for no charge more.

Rod....

I have not been feeling well but it did not stop my friends from inviting me to see the lengendary ROD STEWART at caesers palace! Yeah, they both scored tickets on houseseats, so I was in either way...Well, I can only hope...
Wow, so glad I went...he sang all his old classics, songs I love from the 70's & 80's...he rocked the house...it was one of the best I have seen!
Thank you Tanya and Colleen!!
Here are two of my favorites....I love them both!!
Way ahead of it's time..The killing of Georgie...about gay bashing...so awful, I think if people love each other it should not matter if you are black, white, man, woman, woman, man, man... as long as there is love.....I think this song taught me that long, long before I was even old enough to know what it all meant...thanks Rod!


And this one...Old flames burn bright and burn long....

A Happy Homemaker Hint

I got a couple emails full of useful tips around the house and I also see lots of good tips and tricks on Pinterest. I finally remembered to try one this morning!
I make my own roast chickens to use for chicken salad or chicken tacos, etc. I used to buy the rotisserie chickens already done at the store, but they had started to be too dry and overcooked, they have to over cook everything now days, so I taught myself how to roast my own, it is not cheaper, precooked 5.99, raw is approx. 7-9.00 but mine comes out juicy and delicious every time!! I'll take it!

So getting back to the household tip, it is the one about peeling garlic in 10 seconds by shaking them in 2 metal bowls. I use about 6-8 garlic cloves when I roast my chicken so I needed to get them peeled. I did not have two metal bowls so I looked around the kitchen and found a canning ball jar, hmmm, I wonder if that will work. I dropped my 8 unpeeled cloves in and put the lid on and shook the dickens out of them! Opened the lid and waa-laa, peeled cloves!!! Yahoo! that was quick and easy! I popped 3 in the bird and the rest around the bird, rubbed him with olive oil and covered with lots of spices, onion powder, lemon pepper, celery salt, salt and pepper, poured some chicken stock in the bottom of the deep dish roaster and shoved him in the oven. cook 1 hour, remove lid, cook 1/2 hour more and you have your own chicken meat for what ever you need it for! I am making chicken tacos tonight!
I hope you remember to use some of the helpful handy tips, if you have any to share, leave a comment!
Watch here:

My life....

I woke up to a wicked head cold, the sneezing, coughing, achy head, fever, can't sleep kind!
So this will be my life for the next week! UGH!!!!!
Be back after my head explodes or implodes...either way I would be better off!!!

KWS BAND!

I am so lucky! My friend Tanya called me yesterday afternoon and offered me 2 tickets to go to see Kenny Wayne Shepherd with her! She knows Charlie and I have been sitting home pinching pennies and trying to save money. I have an upcoming surgery in December, (Gotta get a handle on some pesky fibroid's) and work is slow so getting to go out was a real treat!
We met at the Orleans and grabbed some burgers for dinner, then headed in to see the Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band! I have been a big fan of his since his idol is Stevie Ray Vaughan, his guitar playing is wonderful! He is self taught and been playing since he was 3!
And I love Noah Hunt's vocals, he could sing the dictionary and I would be mesmerized by that voice!
It was a great concert and thanks again to Tanya for letting us tag along!

Fall foods!

Fall Fox!

The one thing I do love about fall is the food. I love making comfort food, mac and cheese, homemade of course, did you know once you make homemade mac and cheese you will never go back to a box, Thanks Colleen Myler for teaching me that! Yes, homemade mac and cheese is just as fast and easy, try it!
I also love making casseroles, chicken pot pies, etc....

Today I decided to try Salisbury steak and mash potatoes with gravy and green beans.
I know my hubby grew up eating Salisbury steak probably from a TV dinner but he still loved it, I never really tried it or knew about it, but it sounded like a good fall meal.
Wow, it was fabulous!
I made the recipe from Pioneer woman's site:
Salisbury-steak

I made mash potatoes and green beans to go with it, those are no brainers. But the best tip I have learned with mash potatoes is to heat a stick of butter and a cup of milk in a pan while the potatoes boil, drain the potatoes and then add the warm butter and milk and mash. The perfect pan of mash potatoes and they stay warm with the warm butter and milk added!! So there you go, a nice comforting fall meal! Enjoy!!

November!

Made this wonderful pumpkin bread today, it is very good, very moist and pumpkinny!

I also put some chicken and white bean soup in the crock pot this morning. It is very fallish in this house today! Nothing can beat soup and bread! Enjoy!

(Chefs catalog sent it to me this morning in an email)

Coffee House Pumpkin Bread

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cardamom
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Cooking Instructions
Grease and flour a 9x5x3 inch loaf pan. Preheat the oven to 350 F. 

MY NOTES: I DID NOT HAVE CARDAMOM NOT SURE IF I MISS IT, AND I DID NOT PUT SEEDS IN OR ON MY BREAD. ok carry on....

In a large bowl sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, cardamom, cinnamon, allspice, and cloves. Stir in sugar. In a small bowl beat together eggs, pumpkin, oil, and vanilla. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Be careful not to over mix batter

Immediately pour batter into prepared pan. If desired, sprinkle top of loaf with a 1/2 cup of salted roasted pumpkin seeds. Bake in preheated oven for 45 to 50 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean. Cool, in the pan, on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Turn out bread onto cooling rack and let cool to room temperature.

Awesome for Boston!

Oh I am so so so HAPPY for Boston!!

Those boys gave all they had, every bat, every catch, they wanted this so bad for Boston and to prove to the world they were not just a bunch of bearded misfits! From worst to first, they did it!!

Yes! They were walking on air!

I cried happy tears last night as I am sure much of Boston did!!

I was watching the pre game interviews each night
and got to know a little of the men behind the beards.

Gomes, Pedroia, I already know about Napoli.

Gomes suffered a heart attack in 2002, only to come back and become "The Grinder" for his style of play!

Pedroia was told he was to short (he is 5'7) by a scout early in his start, guess that scout had no idea dynamite comes in small packages, what a bunch of amazing catches he made during the series, oh, and he took a huge pay cut just to stay with Boston, because he says  "it is not about the money, it is all about getting to play baseball in a town you love and that loves you!!

And Victorino and Big Papi! What a great group of guys that play hard and give even harder of themselves, together they created a team that surely will go down in the history books not just for winning the world series in 2013 but for being who they are and what they stand for!

BOSTON STRONG!!!