Recap of Thanksgiving and what's for supper at my house...

Thanksgiving was fun.  We went to visit the extended family, saw my aunt's new house (very nice!), got to see lots of cousins I hadn't seen in a while, ate too much, watched football, did an early Christmas gift exchange, and hung out with my brother and his wife.  Oh, and all that was in three days!

My two contributions to Thanksgiving this year: with the help of the kiddos and Grandma, we made the place markers for the table, and I created my own recipe for a Tastefully Simple dessert!

The place markers were absolutely adorable - Oreo Turkeys!  In an after school craft class, one of my daughters made one, and we opted to make 30 for Thanksgiving.  I've found a pattern/recipe online here http://www.flickr.com/photos/mamakimi/2056437398/ that also has a great picture.  We added a toothpick with a paper name tag taped to it stuck in with the "feathers", and viola!  Place cards!

My Tastefully Simple dessert turned out AMAZING!  I'm calling it Nana's Apple Cake Extraordinare.
          Ingredients: (I doubled this, as I made mine for a large family gathering)
            TS Nana's Apple Cake Mix
            2 Eggs
            1 cup chopped apples
            1 cup halved fresh cranberries
            1/2 cup cinnamon chips
            1-2 Tbsp TS Warm Up Mulling Spice
            1/4 cup powdered sugar
            1 Tbsp milk

Combine first 5 ingredients.  Place in WELL greased 8x8 pan, sprinkle with Warm Up Mulling Spice.  Bake as directed Cake Mix package.
In small bowl, mix powdered sugar and milk to make icing.  When cake is done and cooled some, drizzle icing over top.  Serve warm or cold, as a dessert or a wonderful brunch coffee cake!

That brings us to supper at my house tonight.  I think I'm going to make chicken with TS Asian Honey Mustard Dressing in my crock pot this afternoon, make some rice later, add a few frozen veggies, and have a tasty Asian inspired dish that the kids will (hopefully!) eat.  I think it sounds great, but then, I am one of the adults in the house.  :)

Another few more happenings in the last couple weeks. My baby turned 2 the day before Thanksgiving.  She's getting so big!  I've consulted for a few more Tastefully Simple parties (I'm up to 7 now, with 2 more in Jan!), so that is going well.  Harry Potter 7 came out, so work at my real job has been crazy, and it's only going to get worse...

Did you know that Christmas Day is the busiest day of the year for movie theatres?  It's true, and I'll be working that day!  Maybe I'll see you there.

Working on supper already!

Happy Wednesday, all!
I'm feeling very accomplished at this point in the day.  I have placed the orders for the Tastefully Simple party I consulted for on Monday.  Hopefully, those orders will be shipped and delivered in time for Thanksgiving!
I just finished starting some pork chops for supper.  Stuck them in the crock pot with a small amount of water, salt, pepper, and some Backyard Barbeque Dip Mix from (you guessed it!) Tastefully Simple.  (My kids loved this dip mix at my last party as a hostess, so when I became a consultant and saw it on the clearance list, I stocked up!)  I'm going to let them cook all afternoon, maybe add a dash of Smoky Bacon Grill sauce later, and serve them with french fries and a veggie yet to be determined.

Now, to figure out what to have for lunch...

As for other things in my life, the kids are doing well, staying busy.  They start their next set of after school programs this week, so that will be fun for them.  Plus, we've had one Brownie Scout meeting this week, have a Daisy Scout meeting yet to come.  The Daisy Scout meeting is a field trip to my other place of employment, the movie theatre.  I get to take them on a tour, serve them popcorn, all kinds of fun stuff...  And, we'll get to laugh at all the people already in line for HP7 Part 1 - first screenings are a midnight.

Well, that's about it for now.  I think it's time to make some growled cheese sandwiches.

Absolutely Almond Joy Pound Cake

Happy November, everyone!
I've been a little busy with the kiddos, work, TS, and more work!  Plus, I've completely a few projects recently. I've made a few Halloween costume hats, a few other hats, wrote my own pattern for some AWESOME fingerless gloves, and did some cooking.  Oh, also in there, I had an Envy Purse Party (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lincoln-NE/ENVY-PURSE-PARTY/203797320615?ref=sgm) for which I made a few snacks and got a free purse just for hosting!

So, on the cooking front - tonight I made what I am going to call Absolutely Almond Joy Pound Cake.  It starts with (yes, you guessed it) Tastefully Simple Absolutely Almond Pound Cake Mix.  Prepare as directed. Pour into greased loaf pan.  Then I topped it with a generous drizzle of chocolate syrup (I think next time I will swirl it into the batter and then add chocolate chips on top), covered that with sliced almonds, and covered those with coconut.  Bake in a 325 degree oven for 55 minutes.  Cool, cut, enjoy!

Yes, this is very similar to the cupcakes I made last month.  However, I think this is easier to eat, and a MUCH faster prep time!  Today's was made in honor of my husband's birthday, which was yesterday.  We ran out of time to make a cake yesterday, what with life and all happening around us.  So, tonight I baked him this cake, which we are enjoying at 11pm while the kids are asleep.  They can have some tomorrow.

That's about it from here.  I will post my crochet pattern and pictures in the near future.  Some minor tweaking is still needed.

A great month so far!

Well, so far October has been a wonderful month for me!  I had my first Tastefully Simple tasting party with a wonderful host, Shaina.  It went really well, and Shaina earned $50 in free products as well as Fudgy Popcorn and White Fudgy Popcorn as part of the October Host Incentive!  Yeah for Shaina, and yeah for me!  Nothing like a great success to get you motivated to do more, right?

Also, we had pork chops on Wednesday night, baked with some Garlic Pepper and Smoky Bacon Grill Sauce on top.  Kids ate them pretty well, and Husband and I really enjoyed them.  That's the first time I've used the Smoky Bacon Grill Sauce, and it is tasty!  If Mary happens to read this, it would be wonderful on meatballs!  :)

In my other job, last night was insane.  Today is the release of Paranormal Activity 2, and we had advance showings last night.  One at 10pm, and THREE at midnight!  All of them sold out, as well as having several other movies do really well.  It was just insane and tiring for a Thursday night.  Buzz on the movie is that it's better/scarier than the first, so it will probably have some legs, and do really well for a while.  Especially this weekend and next.  My recommendation - if you plan to see it, get tickets early, get to the theaters early, and plan to stand in lines!

In other news, the last day of this month will be my husband and my 12th anniversary and our 14th anniversary.  Our 12th wedding anniversary, and the 14th anniversary of our first date...  Isn't that fun?  I think I'll take him out to a nice dinner, and maybe a movie.  Then we'll probably take the kids trick-or-treating.  Fun, fun!

It's been a while...

Sorry - it's been a while since my last post, but you know how life gets in the way of everything else!
We've been busy with Girls Scouts (Daisies and Brownies), trips to the Pumpkin Patches, work, more work, babysitting, and all the other stuff!
I made my super tasty chicken the other night - chicken breast topped with TS Backyard Barbeque Dip mixed with shredded Co-Jack cheese, and wrapped with ham.  Bake at 350 for about 25 minutes.  The kids actually gobbled it all up!  You can do this with almost any of the TS dip mixes and get a tasty result!  The ham is even optional - I was just going for a twist on Cordon Bleu.  I've made it using Sundried Tomato Veggie Dip, and next on the list is Spinach & Herb Dip.  Serve with rice or whatever your choice of side dish is...  I'm thinking pasta alfredo.
My last TS Host Pack went out the door this morning - counting my husband's catalog party, that is 4 parties in October!  Yay me!  Off to a good start!  Lori is very excited for me!

I think that's it for now from me.  I have one home sick for a while this morning, so I'd better go deal with that.

IDEA WORKS!

So, I actually baked my Absolutely Almond Pound Cake idea...  Ready for this?

Mix up the cake mix according to the regular directions.  Now, I tried this two different ways, and the second one stays together better...

Spoon batter into mini muffin pan (with papers).  Top each mini with sliced or slivered almonds and coconut.  Bake in 325 degree oven for 15 minutes.  Once they come out, top with mini chocolate chips.  Let cool and enjoy!

OR -
Mix about 1 cup almonds, 1 cup coconut, and 1 cup mini chocolate chips into batter, and spoon into lined mini muffin pan.  Bake for 20 minutes in 325 degree oven.  Let cool.

Enjoy your Absolutely Almond Joy bites!

I have an idea...

I have an idea for a recipe involving Tastefully Simple Absolutely Almond Pound Cake.  Granted, I'm only thinking about this because I have some pound cake mix in my cupboard, but still...  However, it would require a trip to the store to get a couple of ingredients for the idea, and my baby is still sleeping.

And I have 47 billion other things to do, too!  Ok, maybe not 47 billion, but some days it feels like that.

Oh, so I almost forgot about my work story.  This is not from last night, but a while ago.

It was a day when I was managing by myself.  A guest knocked on the office door, which is unusual.  The staff has been told not to send people to the office without warning, and I received no warning.  However, I was on my way out of the office anyway, so just stepped out to meet him.  He was older than me, maybe in his 40s, wearing jeans and a white T-shirt with a faded blue design near the right shoulder.  To me, it looked faded from many washings, not the intentionally faded looking design on a new shirt.  There was a red spot on his stomach about the size of a 50 cent piece, obviously from him drinking either our fruit punch soda or fruit punch ICEE.
Anyway, I walk out of the office to meet him, and he says, "I got an ICEE from (employee name here) over there, and it was too full and got on my shirt.  What are you going to do about it?"
Huh?
"I'm sorry, sir.  I'm not sure I understand.  My concession person spilled the ICEE on you?"
"NO, she filled it too full and it dripped on my shirt.  It's ruined.  What are YOU going to do about it?"
I would like to take a second here to simplify a scientific fact - water (along with most liquids we drink) expands when it freezes.  I'm very sure that most of you know this already.  So, the water in an ICEE expands as it freezes.  Sometimes, it doesn't have room to expand while still in the enclosed machine, so it expands in the cup while or after it is dispensed.  So, we fill the cup to what we think is the normal level, and then the ICEE expands, and your cup in now somewhat overfull.  Meaning, we don't overfill it on purpose, but it's not always a predictable thing as to when it's going to expand.  Most people notice when they start to grab the cup that it's full and they should take a drink or two before trying to walk off with it.
"Sir, your shirt should not be ruined.  I've gotten ICEE on my clothes, the vending staff wears white tuxedo shirts, and it washes out well.  Your shirt should be fine."
*snicker* "Well, I hope so, but I still want to know what you're going to do about it."
"I'm sorry for your inconvenience, sir.  What would you like me to do?"  I nearly offered him the chance to strip off his shirt now - we do have a washing machine in the back room - so it could be washed right away.
"Well, you should do something since she ruined my shirt."
So, I offered him a movie pass, which of course, he took.

This was one of the days when I was just amazed by what people are willing to blame on other people, and what they are willing to complain about, or what they think is a valid reason to get something free from a business.

Another day...

Yes, I know that phrase usually ends with another dollar, but not so much today!  Although I am working on that, you know.  I've spent a good portion of the morning designing business cards that are super cute.  Now, if only I had a printer and some business cards to print!  Ha!

Really not a lot to blog about today.  Just trying to get some things sorted out, putting together a package for my mom (who incidentally is nearly as excited as I am for my TS business), debating about what to mix up for tomorrow, and thinking that there is more I should probably be doing.

Also, I have to work my second job tonight.  In case you haven't been counting, I have three, or maybe four.  Number one is primary caregiver to my children, number one A (or number two, depending on how you think of it) is childcare provider for my nephews, Number two is Assistant Manager at a multiplex downtown, and Number three is Tastefully Simple.

So, that being all spelled out, I have to work at the movies tonight, and tomorrow night, and Friday night, and Saturday, and all day Sunday.  But, you know, money...

Well, I think that's it for now.  Maybe I'll come home from work with good stories, and that will be fun to blog about.  Ooo, I just thought of a good one for another blog!

And the plans fall to the wayside...

Well, my fantastic baked chicken didn't happen tonight, due in part to Parent/Teacher Conferences.  On a good note, we did learn that all three of the kids are very well-behaved in school, and are doing very well.  No real complaints from any of their teachers or anyone.  Yay, kids!

So, since it is now almost 7 and supper is not yet on the table, and there is still instrument practice and homework to be done tonight, pizza rolls it is.  Faster than my trying to assemble and bake chicken, and it's what the kids wanted, or at least said they did.

*shrug* Baked chicken will happen at another time, though I don't really know when.  The rest of this week's evenings are booked with work.

Day 2 of Blog (or Day 8 of being a consultant)

Happy Tuesday!  Last night was my first team meeting with Tastefully Simple.  It was fun, but a bit overwhelming.  A lot of the people there have been doing this for quite a long time, so their ideas, while fantastic and very helpful, seem a little beyond my reach at this point.  But, it could happen!

So, plans for today include making more lapboards.  I made one yesterday, the prototype, and it turned out pretty good.  You can see it at the left.  The top is a zipper file folder with a smooth surface for writing.  Order forms and catalogs fit inside, and since it has a covered cardboard back, guests can keep it on their laps during a party, make notes on their order form, or complete their order form.  There's a pen loop and corner catch on the right side for note cards or a business card, maybe.  The covered back is just simple cotton.  It's a little more in depth than that, but I don't want to give away all my secrets!

I want to make a tweak or two on the remaining ones, but I'm hoping to get at least 4 more done today.  They will be a rainbow assortment of colors, which is why I chose the bright stripey ribbon for the pen loop and corner catch thing.  It will match the 5 colors I have!

Other plans for today - play with H.  I really love the days when it's just her and me!  Then, we pick up the other three from school, and things get chaotic again.  But, what did I expect with four kids, right?  It's alright, we generally enjoy the chaos, and the kids seem to be thriving.  The oldest, and my only boy, has his band instrument lesson during school today, and his first band practice this afternoon after school.  He is enjoying it a lot, which is fantastic.  Both my older girls can't wait for the next couple days when they start some fun classes in the CLC program, which is new to their elementary school.  I'm not sure what CLC stands for, but it's something about community learning - Community Learning Classes, maybe?  Anyway, one of them will be cooking, and the other is painting ceramics or some type of pottery.  They are both looking forward to it.

Also, concocting a new baked chicken recipe for supper tonight.  I'll have to blog later about how it turns out.  Hopefully, I finally end up with one the kids will eat, rather than just us grown-ups!

I think that's it for this morning.  Again, Happy Tuesday!

Well, here we go...

I've started a blog.  I know, I know, I'm YEARS behind the times.  Oh, well.  And this one will probably end up like others I've tried over the years in that I get busy with all the other stuff going on in our lives here, and it goes to the wayside until it disappears forever into the ether of "THE INTERNET."

Part of the reason for this new blog attempt is related to my new business venture.  I have recently become a Tastefully Simple Independent Consultant.  So, to keep people aware of what's going on with my business and my ideas and recipes, my husband decided I should have a blog.

So, this is my blog.  Life with kids, work, and Tastefully Simple.

On tomorrow's menu at my house - chicken breast pieces with TS Backyard Barbeque dip mix and mozarella cheese wrapped in ham and baked, probably rice, and green beans.  We'll see if the kids eat it!  I'll keep you posted.  :)