Embroidery & Screen Print Help

So as many of you know I took on the PTF secretary at Cole's school.  And since I can't help but always raise my hand when someone needs help I volunteered to help to get pricing for T-Shirts, Polo's and Sweatshirts for the PTF to sale to students/parents.  

Now comes the easy part right?  YUP I called around thinking it would be easy.  So I set out last week called a few local places and then waited for the quotes to come in! AND I waited and finally a week later I called again and got oh yeah we'll get to that .... really you'll get to that?  I'm calling with possible business I know it's not tons of cash but it would be a steady every year order!  So finally I'm getting some quotes and not exactly what I'm looking for way expensive.

So I'm calling out to all my bloggy friends does anyone know of a great place to order these from.  Oh please help.  Here is the Logo on the T-Shirt we use:

Yup I have no shame and will ask everyone :) ... lol

Turkey Burger with a Twist

On Pinterest the other day I saw a Turkey Burger filled with veggies!  I started a new diet this week to try to jazz things up a bit.  The diet is a very low calorie and no carbs, this is a hard one for me but I'm on week two and holding strong!  I even held out and ate the dinner I brought while getting my hair done and everyone at some yummy pizza.  Oh man it was hard but held strong.  I hate when I'm dieting to make everyone suffer with me so I try to find meals that they would like too.  I found this Turkey Burger with Veggies in it.   The veggies they used are not on my allowed veggie list so I tweaked it a little and it came out very yummy.  I added cheese to the boys burgers which they of coursed loved, and just a little grumbled at bit about ground turkey.

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground turkey meat (prefer thigh meat)
1 Red Bell Pepper (This is what I added)

1/2 Bundle Green Onion (This is what I added)
1/2 cup fresh parsley, minced (or whatever fresh herbs you like)
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt (I used Sea Salt)

1 tsp Mrs. Dash (I added this)
1 tsp pepper
cheese (optional)

* Original recipe: I omitted - 1 medium red onion, finely chopped

Mix ingredients together and form 4-6 patties. Grill on medium heat for 7 minutes a side. 2 minutes before burgers are done, place a slice of cheese (optional) on each patty. Serve hot.

Hope you enjoy!

A Sweet Center like Me :) Caramel Stuffed Snickerdoodles

A while back I made the Caramel Stuffed Apple Cider Cookies that were a huge hit with my family so when I came across a Caramel Stuffed Snickerdoodle on The Baker Chicks site I just had to make it.  The cookies spread a bit too much for my liking next time I'll have to play around with the dough recipe but still they LOOKED amazing and I was told they were very yummy.  YES I didn't even eat one, I started my new diet that day and was dead set on sticking to it (and I lost 3.8lb this week on it).  I didn't even take ONE taste of the dough, it's amazing you get the right number of cookies the recipe calls for when you don't eat any of the dough ... who would have thunk it!  (Added Note: as I say not one of my favorite dough recipes I'd use the one below.  These spread and I even put them in the fridge for 45 minutes before baking).

I've been told this is a winner recipe:

Ingredients

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons cream of tartar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter

1/2 cup pure vegetable shortening

1 3/4 cups sugar, plus more if needed

2 tablespoons ground cinnamon, plus more if needed

2 large eggs

48 soft caramel candies or Rolos unwrapped

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees, with one rack in top third and one rack in bottom third of oven. Line baking sheets with Silpat baking mats or parchment paper; set aside.

Sift together flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine butter, shortening, and 1 1/2 cups sugar. Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl. Add eggs, and beat to combine. Add dry ingredients, and beat to combine.

In a small bowl, combine remaining 1/4 cup sugar and the ground cinnamon. Use a small (1 1/4-ounce) ice-cream scoop to form balls of the dough. Break the ball into two and place the caramel into the middle. Form one large ball and roll in cinnamon sugar. Place about 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Bake until the cookies are set in center and begin to crack (they will not brown), about 10 minutes, rotating the baking sheets after 5 minutes. Transfer the sheets to a wire rack to cool about 5 minutes before transferring the cookies to the rack. Store in an airtight container up to 1 week.

Make the Cookie Part:

Caramel Filled:

The Snickerdoodle recipe she used was Martha Stewarts, I believe I will use Mrs. Siggs Snickerdooles HERE is the post I made and they turned our fluffy.

Things Under the Bed ......

Things have been a little somber around here, but dad is doing well in a lot of pain and on the road to recovery.  So trying to lighten things up a bit around here I thought I'd share what I found under Caden's bed last night.  Having boys sure is fun and what you find under their beds is always fun (ok people they are 8 and 5 so we're talking about food items ... lol).  So hang on here we go.

The loot!

Because we need a snack: Fruit Snacks & Crackers

Well at least fruit: Grape & Raisin

Of you get thirsty: Water & Kool-Aid Jammers

More food: Popcorn, Pretzel and of course breading from a corndog.

Oh there is my necklace, well part of it!

Lego's 

Cole's scissors this could be a plant from his brother

YUP that is all the fun!!!

Hope you enjoyed the laugh like I did that is after a stern talking to AGAIN for the umptenth time about food in one's room!

The Day Our Hearts Dropped ...

For you who follow me on FB know that this weekend we had a horrible accident happen.  Saturday am I talked to my dad made plans to me to come pick him up and take him to his motorcycle @ 4:30pm.  I took the kids to a birthday party and didn't even see my phone ring 2x, I looked down saw Rick called twice and called him.  I called and started to say Rick dad and I already made plans and I'm to be there at 4:30pm it's only 2pm.  Doing my usual talk over him, so he finally had to yell at me to stop talking and listening to him.   He said your dad was in an accident in a truck a lady hit him head on.  My mind immediately went to the lady (think dad was in his big F250 it's high and big), he said she caused the accident crossing the center line coming at dad head on and died.  It then hit me to ask about my dad, Rick told me to calm down that my dad was in the hospital and I needed to find the host of the party to pass the phone to.  Thankfully I was at one of my best friends house she talked to Rick got the details and grabbed her best friend.  Her best friend a nurse calmed me down and was so kind a drove me to the hospital to see my dad.  I got to the hospital and they just told him about the lady, he was very upset.  

They took X-rays and found that dad had a broken femur, foot, a laceration on his knee, and one hand pretty banged up.  They stitched him up were they could and then he was transferred to another hospital for a ortho specialist for his leg and foot.  We got him settled in for the night.  Rick and my mom went back the next day to be with him and get him in surgery that afternoon.  I came to relieve my mom and we ended up waiting in the recovery waiting room for a hour and half then I called the front desk and found out that they had already taken him down to his room.  We packed up and went back down to his room, my mom went back home to get some rest and I sat with dad.  He finally got his pain med and was able to get him to get some sleep.  He is doing ok, in a good deal of pain but we Thank God he is alive and we're praying for her family.

Also I know some of you are not religious but yesterday I couldn't get to church so I listened to it online while I was working.  On came the song "The Healing Has Become", I'm a new Jesus person but I can no longer call things coincidence anymore and know that was what I needed right then.

Thank you again for all your thoughts and prayers, I have felt you all with me!

Here is what we know so far she just got her hair done in the neighboring town, no drugs or alcohol were involved.  Dad only remembers driving and then a flash.  From witness we heard that she came over to his lane (both cars doing speed limit around 50).  Her car went under his bumper the force actually flipped my dads truck once and it thankfully landed on it's wheels.  The lady behind dad was a nurse and thankfully took care of dad until the paramedics came.   

Here is what the crash looked like, I have posted pictures of dad on FB but didn't want to put it here.

Here is the crash

Here is upclose of dad's truck

Here is the news report: http://www.kirotv.com/news/news/1-killed-1-hurt-head-collision-pierce-county/nRKb8/

Thank you again for all your kind words and prayers.

The Reveal of the New Do!!

I'm so excited about my new do it turned out so cute.  She colored and styled it to fit me and my personality and I'm just love love loving it!!  She was even sweet enough to cut the boys cuts too for school!!

Check us out we are a styling family!  What do you think?

Fall Color Time Again

Most of you know I love to change up my hair color with each season.  I know we're still in Summer but I only get my hair done every 8 to 10 weeks so I wanted to be ready for a fall color.  Ok I just want something new and I'm going with it!  My amazing cousin is a hair dresser and she is so sweet and allows me to come to her house on her day off and she does my hair.  I love it, I get a great deal and I like that I can give her the cash instead of the salon where the owner probably would take a chunk of it.  She is so sweet she is even going to cut the boys hair so they are ready for school which is coming up in 12 DAYS!!!  Thank you God I didn't think this summer break would EVER end.  Remember I work at home and having them home along with a hubby that is out of work makes for FUN days for me!!!

So on to my new do!  Since my 30's hit I've always done shorter do's, to avoid the pony tale look which I do if I have long hair since I'm hair lazy.  PLUS working at home I get to wear PJ's and bed head so short hair goes great with my head set ... What it acts like a headband!

So I hit up my board "Make Me Over" on Pinterest and came across this photo.  I loved the cut and the colors so I sent a note to my cousin and we are all set for tomorrow!  I will have to reveal the finished product when I'm done and of course with good lighting (that is key in my world).

What do you think?

Me vs Spanks ... The Olympics of dressing up

Last week Rick and I got to go on a double date with my best friend and her hubby.  The men love buffet's but we're not big eaters so it's always a waste for us.  She found a local casino had a deal for $12.95 for the month of August.  So we figured that was what we would pay for a normal meal so we can go along.  Going on a date sounds all great until you have to get ready for one.  So we start the Olympics of getting dressed.  Get your Spanks ready here we go (insert some fun music here):

• Do you Wii Zumba (saying a little pray to loose 30 lbs before getting dressed)
• Step on the scale (say a few nasty words) not even close to a 30lb loss
• Get in shower, turn into an acrobat putting legs up to shave them!  
• Step out see you miss a patch have to sit on the tub and try to do a dry shave an nick yourself.
• Say a few more not so nice words look for a band-aid
• Find an Angry Bird one and think yup that is sexy!
• Find a dress you have been praying would fit, put it on husb says you're wearing that? 
• "What do I look bad?" "No it's just fancy" - GIVE him Hair Eyeball
• Take it off second guessing yourself and put on Capri's and feel frumpy
• Go back to dress, now feel self conscious.
• NOW the hunt for Spanks that fit, finally find a pair
• NOW the spanks pull up, FEELING like the lady in Steel Magnolias that looks like 2 pigs wrestling under her dress ... YUP that is how I looked pulling those suckers UP!
• Put on pretty shoes
• Tell the babysitter good bye and hit the car.
• Of course hit traffic and have to sit in said spanks not so comfy
• Hit the casino crawl out of the car praying "Please legs work, let you have circulation" 
• Get in and the cold air hits me and now I must pee ... Damn it sucks getting old
• Hit the bathroom and pray as I roll the spanks down that they don't shoot off like a rubber-band
• Everything goes good, I do have to do the 2 pig dance to get them back up, Knock my head and elbow on the stall but all is good!
• Hit up dinner and actually able to sit for a night of dinner.
• Then of course comes the need to pee again ... YUP we repeat the dance and the knocking of body parts!
• Another ride home and time to release the spanks ... yup those suckers flew off like a rubber-band and on went the pink cupcake PJ's oh yes sexy I am.

Thank God we only go out every few months!  How do ladies wear those every day??

Getting our Eggplant on!

I saw some great eggplant at the store the other day and wanted to make it with the chicken I had marinated for dinner.  I knew I needed a clever way to prepare it so ALL the boys in the house would at least try it before giving me that face!  Cole even turned to me after eating a few bites this is really good mom ... yup score for mom!  I went on a Google search and found on Food.com a  Recipe for a Easy Cheesy Eggplant Casserole and ran with it.

1 cup spaghetti sauce Barilla 

3/4 cup shredded low-fat mozzarella cheese 

3/4 cup nonfat cottage cheese 

2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese (grated) 

3/4 lb eggplant (slices 1/2-inch thick)

Grill eggplant on George Foreman Grill for about 5-10 minutes until soft. Spray 8x8 baking pan with nonstick spray. Put eggplant on bottom of pan. Spread spaghetti sauce over eggplant. Mix cottage cheese and mozzarella, and spread it over sauce. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake at 350º for 30-35 minutes and serve hot. 2 Serving Size : 4

Alexis Notes:  I used my inside grill to grill the eggplant.  I also doubled the recipe in hopes that everyone would eat more :).  I used a low fat marinara sauce I love.  It is thicker and not so runny like regular spaghetti sauce.

A yummy way to get your family to eat Eggplant.

A thank you Gift that is SWEET!

Our lovely neighbor was outside playing with his son and was so sweet and let the boys come hang out and play.  He even took them down to the church by us to play kickball and catch!  I was so grateful I had a ton of work and needed all the quiet time I could get.  He gave me 3 hours of peace time!  I wanted to do something sweet for him and his family and came across a Blackberry Custard Pie on Columbus Foodie Blog's.  I made a quick trip to the grocery store to pick up some blackberries because I'm lazy and didn't want to spend an hour picking some.  YUP I know but what can I say for $6 I caved to the grocery store blackberries!

Blackberry Custard Pie

1 unbaked 9 inch pie shell (I used deep dish I recommend this)

2 cups Fresh Blackberries

4 Eggs

2/3 Cup Sugar

1 1/3 Cup Milk (I may next time only use 1 cup it was a little too much)

1 tsp Vanilla

Lemon Zest (This was my add on)

Place blackberries in bottom of pie shell.  Mix beaten eggs, sugar, milk and vanilla together and pour over blackberries.  Bake at 400 degrees for 50 minutes or until custard test done with a knife coming clean when stuck halfway between the rim and the middle.  I also used my pamper chef pie crust (it is very nice goes over the rim of the pie to keep it from getting burned).

My little add of the lemon zest added a little extra to the mix.

This smelled so great I almost died when it was ready to take over they weren't home.  Thankfully they came over shortly after and I had the boys pass it off before I took a fork and dug into it.

Another Wonton Recipe!! Hawaiian BBQ "Cupcakes"

Yes it's no secret by now that I'm in love with Wonton wrappers.  They are low in fat and perfect for weight watcher recipes and easy meals that are portion controlled (that is if you don't pop as many as you can in your mouth .. yes I have had this problem in the past).  

I found yet another amazing recipe on my favorite weight watch gal's site Emily Bites for Hawaiian BBQ "Cupcakes".  These were a hit at a party a while back and I recommend them for heck just about any night!  Easy to make and the kids even like them with the chicken and pineapple how could you go wrong?

Ingredients:

1 2/3 cups cooked boneless, skinless chicken breast, chopped up small or shredded
½ cup chopped fresh pineapple (if you can’t find fresh you can use canned. Just drain it and don’t buy anything in syrup)
4 T spicy barbecue sauce
1 T chopped scallions (plus more for garnish, if desired)
16 wonton wrappers (typically found in the produce section)
4 oz (1 cup) reduced fat 2% shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:
1.    Pre-heat the oven to 375. Lightly mist 8 cups in a muffin tin with cooking spray and set aside.
2.    In a medium bowl, combine the chicken, pineapple, scallions and barbecue sauce. Stir to combine until fully coated.
3.    Push a wonton wrapper into the bottom of each of the eight sprayed cups in the muffin tin. Using about half of the chicken mixture, spoon evenly into the wonton wrappers. Sprinkle about half the cheddar cheese evenly over the top of each cup. Press another wonton wrapper on top and repeat the layering steps with the remaining ingredients.
4.    Bake for 18-20 minutes until golden brown. Let cool 5 minutes before removing from muffin tin.

Yields 8 “cupcakes.” WW P+:  4 per cupcake

Lex Notes: I put my chicken in my crockpot and cooked it then used the mixer to shred my chicken (mental note don't let it spin to long it will go from shredded to mush).  I used canned because that what I had on hand.  I used our favorite BBQ sauce Sweet Baby Ray's.  I also used my favorite low fat cheese in the mexican blend. I also doubled the recipe since we had a good amount of people at the party.

Enjoy, I promise every bite will be amazing!

Broccoli Salad ... Lighter Version!

I love broccoli salad, it was one of my favorites growing up.  BUT as I watch what I eat and working out my usual broccoli salad just doesn't work, I found a great version on Eating Well's Website and I must say it was pretty tasty.  I never have add water chestnuts to my previous versions and it gave it a nice crunch!  I recommend this as a great alternative for your summer snack.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup low-fat mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream
• 2 teaspoons cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 4 cups finely chopped broccoli crowns
• 1 8-ounce can sliced water chestnuts, rinsed and chopped
• 3 slices cooked bacon, crumbled
• 3 tablespoons dried cranberries
• Freshly ground pepper , to taste

PREPARATION

1. Whisk garlic, mayonnaise, sour cream, vinegar and sugar in a large bowl. Add broccoli, water chestnuts, bacon, cranberries and pepper; stir to coat with the dressing.

NUTRITION

Per serving: 89 calories; 4 g fat ( 1 g sat , 1 g mono ); 8 mg cholesterol; 12 g carbohydrates; 1 g added sugars; 4 g protein; 3 g fiber; 200 mg sodium; 193 mg potassium.

Sorry I didn't get a pretty plated picture of it.  Enjoy!!

Sometimes you just need a little cheese!

The other night I made some yummy pork and then steamed up some broccoli.  I wanted to have something a little yummier then just broccoli (we've been eating it a lot lately).  I looked up cheese sauce, I wanted the version my mom use to make but I didn't want to weigh in to include cheese sauce!  I hit up weight watcher recipes and found this Broccoli with Cheese Sauce. 

Ingredients:

• 1 lb fresh broccoli florets 
• 1 1/2 cups nonfat milk 
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour (I used Whole Wheat Flour)
• 3/4 cup low-fat cheddar cheese, shredded 
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard 
• 3/4 teaspoon salt (to taste)

Directions: 1 Bring 1 inch of water to a boil in a large pot. 2 Place broccoli in a steamer basket and set over water. 3 Cover and steam until crisp-tender, about 5 to 6 minutes; drain and return to pot. 4 Alternatively, you can cook broccoli in microwave. 5 Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, whisk together milk and flour until blended; place over medium-high heat and bring to a boil, stirring often. Reduce heat to low and simmer until slightly thickened, about 3 minutes; remove from heat. Whisk in cheese until melted; whisk in mustard and salt. 6 Pour sauce over broccoli and toss until coated. 7 Yields about 1 cup per serving.

Mine looked a little odd since I used a whole wheat flour but it still tasted yummy!!

Yummy I promise no one will know the difference between the full fat and this light fat version!

Well I tackled one room!

So after work yesterday, Rick was home so he took Cole to Sylvan and I was able to clean clean!  Ok I only cleaned ONE room but I did it!!  I actually went threw all of my clothes don't fit into (THIS is a good thing they are all too big ... YUP 4 sizes down).  So all to big clothes are going into the to be sold pile and I actually even cataloged and put them up on Craigslist.  I'm giving them 1 week to sale if not they will be donated and NOT allowed back into my closet!  YUP I'm on a mission!

Then I caught up on all the laundry, that included I swear every piece of clothing of the boys hung up and put in their drawers.  I can now see my floor and the desk in my room who knew I had so much space!!  I now can see my bed and was able to put our new comforter set on.  Looking good!

And now for some fun pictures of what our weekend was!  

The adults enjoying some sun and floating, putting Cole to work, Caden playing of course on my phone.  Then chilling on the dock, yup he's not a water baby!

S'More Time!!

My parents brought over the Jetski and pulled the tube!

The small boys made their own jetski on land ... lol

YUP lot's of sun!  Now let's see if I can get another room done!  I also was able to walk my 3 miles last night while the boys including Rick rode their bikes, Good Family time!

It's Summer time ... Means No Clean Right?

Source

We are finally having a summer here in Washington.  It's been sunny and hot (for us), which means after work I have had about my wits end of the kids running around the house and must get them out before we all loose it.  We have been playing in our pool, taking late night walks and heading up to the lake (where I grew up) to sit by the dock, let the kids swim and us adults can relax.  That is all great and the kids and I are enjoying some time together (yes even the 3 mile walk I do they get to ride bikes so they are happy). BUT my house looks like a tornado came threw it!  I may just be on the next Horder's show .... OK it's not that bad but it's looking CRAZY around here.  I so need to buckle down and this place cleaned up.  Let's see today I have to work then take Cole to Sylvan, get my 3 mile walk in, get dinner together and catch up on some laundry.  YUP no problem the house will be spotless by .... hmmmm ok I'm shooting for September!

Wish me luck!!  Ok anyone have tips?  I need help, besides hiring someone to come clean which may just be what has to happen ... lol.

Mini Strawberry Shortcake "Cups" for my Sweets

Cole comes back today and I wanted to have something special made for him.  On one of my favorite sites Emily Bites (kick butt site for Weight Watcher) had a strawberry shortcake cookie recipe that I used and put into my mini cupcake pan to make little cups of pure joy!!

These Mini Strawberry Shortcake Cups are easy to pop in your mouth and so yummy!

Ingredients:
12 oz strawberries, hulled and diced into ¼” pieces
1 T fresh juice from an orange
½ cup plus 2 T sugar
½ t orange zest
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup white whole wheat flour
2 t baking powder
½ t salt
6 T cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
2/3 cup fat free half and half

Directions:
1.    Preheat the oven to 375. Lightly mist 2 Mini cupcake tins with cooking spray or line them with parchment paper.
2.    In a medium bowl, combine the strawberries, orange juice and 2 tablespoons of the sugar. Stir until combined and then set aside.
3.    In a large bowl, add the other ½ cup of sugar with the orange zest and massage them together with your fingertips until well combined and fragrant. Add the flour, baking powder and salt and whisk together to combine. Add the cold butter and cut the butter into the flour mixture using a pastry cutter or two sharp knives, the way you do when making scones, until the butter is cut very small and you have coarse crumbs. Add the half and half and stir together to form the dough. Add the strawberry mixture and gently fold it in until well combined. 
4.    Drop 36 heaping tablespoons of dough onto the prepared mini cupcake tin cups. Bake for 10-15 minutes until lightly golden. 

Enjoy you will love every bite!  Her's were in a cookie shape mine in mini cupcake cups so the same # of servings.  WW P+: 2 per cookie; 3 P+ for two!  Thank you Emily again for a yummy recipe!