Ten on Tuesday-SUPER BOWL STYLE!

Now, as you learned, I will not take pictures while the food is cooking, but there's nothing wrong with doing it once the cooking is DONE!!

1. White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies-YUM-Target Brand White Chocolate Chips, recipe on back of bag, OMG, TO DIE FOR!

2. Andes Mint Cookies, these are becoming a FAST FAVORITE around here!

3. The Pioneer Woman's Stuffed Mushrooms, YUM-O

4. Bean Dip, Football Shape!

5. Mini Bagel Hot Dogs

6. Half Moon Wings

7. Ham, Cream Cheese, and Pickle Rolls, don't knock them until you try them-DELISH!

8. Cheese and Sausage Platter

9. Chili-totally didn't take a picture! Grandma makes it EVERY year!

10. Antipasto Salad, my mom makes it and likes to think she created it, when really, she stole the recipe from a restaurant :-) NO PICTURE OF THAT EITHER-main course must have been when the wine started to kick in, LOL!!!


OMG-I spent all day Sunday taking pictures of the food, and they won't upload, maybe tomorrow, but for not, you can have sweet dreams of food!

The Pioneer Woman

OK, so I am kind of obsessed with her, and I love EVERYTHING I make from her website (try the Ginger Steak Salad-so fresh), but OMG, she must have the patience of a Saint because I would never STOP in between the cooking to take pictures of the steps!!!! I can hardly complete a recipe from start to finish without a major panic attack!

I made the Stuffed Mushrooms for the Super Bowl party tomorrow, I am telling you that Pat and I made them together, and I still wouldn't have stopped to take a picture. RIDICULOUS! Anyway, I have made these mushrooms before, and I couldn't stop eating them, such a bad thing, BUT so much easier when Pat and I did it together!

Have I mentioned I love her? I bought myself her cookbook for my birthday, and I was hiding behind the couch reading it the other night so that my kids wouldn't get out of their bed and see me already using my birthday gift!!! I wrapped it myself too!! I pretend like these things bother me, but really, I like buying my own gifts because then I know I get what I want, and I don't worry about opening the gift and hating it. I bought myself Season 2 of Melrose too! Season 1 coming your way soon, Karissa, then you have to mail it back to my mom, it is a CHAIN!!!!

Don't THESE Buttered Rosemary Rolls look incredible, I am so making them one day!!!

Ten on Tuesday

1. I love to remain in bed AS LONG AS POSSIBLE on Sunday morning. The rest of my family doesn't understand that! I just like to lie there and do nothing! Ahhhhhh!

2. WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO January came and went, we didn't go to the doctor for ONE WHOLE MONTH! My kids both need well checks, but I refuse to take them until absolutely necessary because once I take them, we will have to return once they pick up some crazy germs at the doctors office.

3. Jackson is EVIL lately! He talks back, doesn't listen, it is the WORST I have ever seen him, and nothing matters to him. Yesterday, I told him he lost his privelage of going to tennis lessons (WHICH HE LOVES), he turned around and told me, "Thank you, I didn't want to go anyway!" OMG!

4. I burnt the CRAP out of the rice last night, I combined the "cook like pasta" directions with the amount of water from the "cook like rice (I don't know if that's what it is called, just sounded funny)" directions, and it resulted in a huge, flipping mess of burned smokey rice. We ate it, but it was TERRIBLE, so Pat and I had Dairy Queen last night-ANYTHING to get that disgusting taste out of my mouth-if only the kids would listen and behave, they would have had some DQ as well!

5. My house is never the right temperature, it is either too hot or too cold!

6. I saw TWO movies this weekend, When in Rome and It's Complicated. When in Rome, SUPER CUTE! Mindless entertainment, and Kirstin/Kristen Bell-whatever her name is-has the most amazing teeth, and they look INCREDIBLE on the big screen! It's Complicated was HYSTERICAL-Pat and I were laughing so hard the whole time, and we were the youngest people in the theater by like 20 years, we are OLD SOULS!

7. We also watched The Invention of Lying-made me REALLY uncomfortable the first 45 minutes, and then it became kind of long and boring.

8. SUPER BOWL SUNDAY this weekend-what's your favorite Super Bowl snack, tradition?

9. People (including my husband) would DIE if they knew how much I pay for Jackson to eat lunch at school, but it is sooooooooooooo much easier, he likes it, and it mixes it up!

10. mmmmmmmmMMMMMMMMM going to Macayo's tonight for Happy Hour, I CAN'T WAIT!!!

One Darling Little Girl

One Darling Little Girl, Chelsea Parise (far right),



has become a BEAUTIFUL young woman!



AND TODAY, she embarks on one of the most EXTRAORDINARY adventure. She is traveling to Kenya to study Wildlife Management. Extraordinary, YES, but really scary for her former baby sitter who has known and loved her since she was in preschool. I absolutely ADORE this family and would appreciate any prayers you may send in keeping her safe on this adventure. Click the link to follow her journey in Kenya! I love you Chels-BE SAFE!

Tyler's New Bed

These are a few pictures I snapped of Tyler her first night in her big girl bed!

Dynamics

I have a lot of different groups of friends. I feel it takes me a long time to make friends, but when I do make a friend, and you are a good friend, friends forever! There are some things I have noticed about "groups" of friends though. I seem to struggle with belonging to a group of friends. I am a HUGE ORGANIZER! So, I feel like the roll of organizer is usually adopted by me. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy doing it (mostly because I usually get to choose the place we go, and I love it!)-BUT, there is a huge BUT here. . .when people then choose to organize side events/activities, and I am not included, it really hurts my feelings. Once or twice, I get, obviously we can't do everything together all of the time, schedules will clash, people need one on one time (THEN DON'T TALK ABOUT IT IN FRONT OF ME), it is totally understandable. BUT, with some friends, the only time I hang out with them is when I organize it, when I have them to my house, when I suggest something. I feel sneaky and deceitful if I try to go out and not include everyone. It just starts to grate on my nerves eventually, and honestly, it is on my nerves today! Thanks for listening to my little rant. I swear writing on this blog is therapeutic for me, and I often think my readers might have great advice!!

Ten on Tuesday

1. Tyler got her big girl bed. She is so proud of it. She kept coming up and hugging me, thanking me for getting it for her!

2. WHICH BRINGS ME TO #2! I am willing to pay a LITTLE extra for IKEA to up their customer service. I had a flat cart with the pieces on it that I was pushing, and a cart full of pillows, comforter, sheets, etc that I was pulling behind me. The employees would just stand and stare at me. I LOOKED LIKE A FREAK! For the love of monkeys, I only have about ten feet until I make it to the check out, couldn't you please help?

3. I was double stressed because Jackson was in the child care, due to the fact that I was boycotting his school that day. AT FOUR PM on Thursday, I received an email telling me all about the very special Daddy's Day they were having the next morning at EIGHT O'CLOCK AM!!! I am sorry, most people need a little more than 14 hours notice. I quickly called Pat, who had to be in court to see if he could make it, and what do you know, he couldn't make it. MOST OF THE TIME, this would annoy me, didn't annoy me, I KNOW YOU CAN'T CHANGE COURT, most definitely cannot change it at 4 PM the day before. So, Jackson and I went to IKEA, had a cinnamon roll, got a bed and accessories, met daddy for lunch and had our own special day!

4. I scanned in a bunch of picture for facebook from grade school, and it was such a trip down memory lane, the matching hair accessories KILL ME!!!! I know that anytime I see a matching hair accessory, it most definitely came from Wet Seal or 5*7*9! What were we thinking???





OMG-and the body suits, I am happy my mom never let me wear them-thanks MOM!



5. I despise LIARS and people who claim not to remember what they said. Really, I would have to put that down as my TWO biggest pet peeves. DO NOT OPEN YOUR MOUTH and SPEAK unless you are going to remember what you said, BECAUSE TRUST ME, I will! This dear friend of mine, Stacy Nonno, I have known her since first grade, and we recently reconnected on facebook said, "Colleen, you have an insane memory...i'm going to use you as a lifeline someday!" YOU BETTER BELIEVE IT SUCKERS!!!

6. This is just for the mere fact that my mom will have to see this picture again-OMG, she HATED HIM! I was truly in love with him-my first real case of true love!




7. Still waiting on Pat to confirm the dates for our Knott's Berry Farm trip, nothing like waiting on him. Did anyone else book a trip? Let me know if you plan on going, maybe we can meet up for a chicken dinner or TWO!!! Can you believe Pat has never eaten at the Chicken Dinner Place-AH, he will probably hate it, since I love it :-) TRAVELZOO ROCKS!

8. My friend, Jen, recently did this blog about her BFF's wardrobe, I haven't laughed so hard in a LONG TIME!!! (1) I could TOTALLY see Karissa showing up in this and me mocking her like Jen mocked her friend (2) I want to be the next edition in Jen's makeover series because she rocks, has incredible style, and I want to be just like her!

9. I walked from Jackson's school to Tyler's school Monday morning. It was great and all, but if you saw me today, you would REALLY think I had been snowboarding because my cheeks are so wind burned. I forgot my SPF, who would have thought?

10. The Mario obsession continues over here at our CASA!!!