Meet the 4 Legged Family Members

I just wanted to take a minute out of this day to share with you my 4 legged Family Members.  I have a Jack Russell named Anchovy.  He's a mess to say the least.  Very active and has to have his nose in everything.  He's my mischievous one.   In the picture above he has his nose in my mushrooms that I have cultivated on these logs.  He is sure to check out everything and if anyone or anything comes on the property he is sure to let us know.  Wouldn't trade him for anything.  :-)  Then there is sweet timid Lily our Brussels Griffon, cute as can be and at times you wouldn't even know that she was around.  She is sometimes bullied by Anchovy, probably why.  She's a sweet and loving dog with a personality all her own.   She likes to hide under the old house on the property and the picture is of her coming out from under it.  I didn't do so bad on her hair cut.  Did I? ;-)    I'm hoping one day to turn that old house in to a crafty haven.  Then there is Ash, who goes to work with Thomas everyday and at one time she ran with him at least a hundred miles a week.  Now she has a bum leg and can't do the running part anymore.  She loves the outdoors and would still run if you'd let her.  She's a Dalmatian/Bird Dog mix.  We thought she looked like ashes, so that is how she got her name.  Love all my pets dearly, but the one thing that drives me crazy is the HAIR!  You would think they'd be bald by now with all that hair loss. :-)  Hope all of you are having a beautiful spring day and I would love to meet your family pet/pets. 

Put A Little Spring in Your Cards

Good afternoon everyone and what a beautiful day it is.  Taking a minute out of this busy day to share a couple cards I made recently and a Birdhouse that I made from a template that I got from a blogger on Pinterest.  Pinterest is great place for new ideas for crafting and DIY projects and recipes.  I love it and  been hanging around on it way to much.  LOL    For my cards I used the Glitz "Dance in the Sunshine" Collection and the "Blissful" Collection by Authentique.  For the Birdhouse I used Pink Paislee "Love Blooms".  For the roof of the bird house I used corrugated cardboard and inside is a bird seed treat; which would make a great gift for a bird lover.

Don't the names of the papers just say, "SPRING"?!  Also, I hate to admit it, but I'm very picky about my paper.  Tee Hee.  Really, it has to be quality or else it just won't do, and these papers are just that.  You know what I'm talking about.  Hope you like and thanks for taking the time to peek in.  Enjoy the rest of this glorious day!  Oh, I forgot to mention, the daisies on the flower pot cards are from "I Am Roses". 

To Run A Hundred Miles.

Brenda Carawan "Graveyard 100 Champion"

John and Thomas "Graveyard 100 Finishers"

To run a hundred miles is an amazing feat to say the least.  I could never do it.  This past weekend was the Graveyard 100 over in the Outer Banks, NC.  Beautiful place, but the temperature got down into the low 30's during the night of the run.  Many didn't finish because their bodies just couldn't handle the cold.  Thomas ran and his finishing time was 25:20 and I was the person following him along the way giving him whatever he needed (water, food, electrolytes, and even pain relievers).  This was my first time crewing and I have to say it was exhausting, but not nearly as exhausting as what the runners went through.  A friend of ours, Brenda, ran it in 16 something.  Wow!  She set the precedent for this run and for runs to come.  She is an amazing woman, but then again all of the runners are amazing.  John also another local here from Virginia Beach came in just behind Thomas.  Congrats to all of you, it is well deserved and then some!!   

Pretty Spring Easter Gift Baskets

I'm trying to get a jump start on the Easter Holiday, so today I made these pretty Easter Baskets for my Grand Daughters.  Again I used my Silhouette Cameo along with Authentique Paper Line "Uncommon".  Authentique has some nice quality paper.  I Love it and I also need to use it up!  These measure approx 6.5Tx5Wx2.5D, I increased the size from the original.  As in the picture they will hold several small items. 

Thanks for stopping and hope you visit again soon.

Glorious Spring!

I don't know about you, but I love spring.  The weather here in Virginia has been wacky to say the least.  Today is a high of 85.  Can you believe it?!  My perfect temp.  I would love for it to be this temperature all year long.  A girl can dream.  :-)  I am loving that I can see signs of spring even tho they may be early.  But, I always say nature knows more than we do at times.  Some of my fruit trees are budding out and my peach tree even has glorious blooms and I wanted to share the beauty with you. 

Fantastic Fish Tacos

Ingredients For Taco
Tilapia Fish - Not the breaded kind - Cook enough - I usually cook 2lbs
Corn tortillas - not the crunchy kind
Flour Tortillas
Cabbage - Use instead of lettuce - shredded
Mayo - 1/2 cup
Chipotle Tabasco Hot Sauce
Chile Powder
Garlic Powder

Ingredients for Pico De Gio
Chop all these ingredients by hand - makes for a better Pico than doing in a blender or chopper.
Roma Tomatoes - about 8 to 10 of them
Red Onion - bout 1/2 of it
Jalapeno - 3 of them deseeded
Banana Pepper - 1 deseeded
Cilantro - a good handful
Garlic - the kind in a jar or you can chop fresh.  I like it garlicky so I put a lot
Apple Cider Vinegar - about 1/4 cup
Salt and Pepper - to taste


Sprinkle Chile and garlic powder on top of tilapia and place on grill that has been lined with foil.  Be sure to spray foil with cooking spray 1st.  Cook till fish is done.  Don't over cook or else it will be hard to remove from the foil (yep I've done this).

Mix mayo and chipotle hot sauce together.  Mix enough hot sauce in until it turns almost a salmon color.  This will be somewhat thin.  Think I may try sour cream next go around.

Heat the flour and corn tortillas in a frying pan (I use cooking oil spray on them, but do what you like) and place in a tortilla warmer until you get the amount you want.    You will use two shells per taco.  The flour on the outside and then the corn one then spread some of the mayo sauce on top and then top with fish.  Add shredded cabbage then top with Pico.

Cheese is always an added plus.  I like Seriously Sharp Cheddar by Cabot.  

Well, I hope you enjoy!

Bacon Wrapped Water Chestnuts

Bacon Wrapped Water Chestnuts

2 cans whole water chestnuts
1 lb raw bacon
½ cup brown sugar
¼ cup chile sauce (in a ketchup-like bottle).  I use Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce
¼ cup mayo

1. Wrap each water chestnut in a single layer of bacon and secure with toothpick. Each piece of bacon wraps 2 chestnuts
2. Place on bar cookie sheet and bake for 30 minutes at 350 (until bacon is done).
3. Scoop fat out of pan and discard.
4. Mix remaining ingredients and pour over water chestnuts.
5. Bake an additional 10 minutes.
6. Try not to eat them all in one sitting all by yourself.

I added some extra Chili Garlic Sauce to the mixture to give it a little bite, cause I like things HOT!

YUMMY!!!