Kizmet's twin

My friend is thinking of adopting a 2nd cat. There was 1 that she was interested in, so I went on the MSPCA's page to see the cat she liked. I accidentally went on the Boston page, not the Methuen page. Methuen is near me & where I use to volunteer. Anyway, a picture of a cat named Lucy came up. I thought she looked so much like Kiz. I wish we could adopt her. It would be cool to have twin cats. Anthony says no because of vet bills for a yearly check up. It said she is friendly & likes kids & other cats. But then it said ask about my health problems. So I'm not sure what is wrong with her. So there's probably no way I can talk Anthony into adopting her if she has health issues & it's going to cost more $ to have her.

Kizmet Sassy.

Lucy.

Fibro update

This week wasn't too bad since Tara was on school vacation & sick. So we stayed in a lot & chilled. My neck & feet always hurt, 24 hrs a day, but I wasn't running around crazy doing errands & other things that make me more exhausted & confused. I'm now taking gabapentin 4x a day, so we'll see how that goes. My doctor mentioned me taking acai berry powder & ground flax seed, not together. More for digestive issues, but lots of people with fibro have digestive problems. So I went to Vitamin shoppe yesterday & got both. The acai berry is in packets that you put in water. It's suppose to give you more energy. I tried 1 today & I didn't love the taste, but if it gives me more energy that is great. I haven't napped the past few days, but I've also been sleeping later since Tara is on vacation. Today I had lots of energy, not sure where it came from (that was even before I took the acai berry powder), so I did lots of cleaning & organizing, but of course didn't finish everything. We get an extra day this month too, to get more done. I love doing Spring cleaning. That's what I am planning on doing this week. I'm also going to try to not have any doctors appointments in March. To try to save $ & not pay co-pays etc...

Blogiversary. 8 Years of Blogging

So I've been blogging for 8 years. Hard to believe. My blogiversary was actually yesterday, so I missed it by a day. So much has changed in 8 years. My blog has changed from having a 3 month old to an almost 9 year old, so it will change as we change. I love writing & sharing things with people. Things have been slow lately & I haven't been posting every day. I need to schedule posts ahead of time, so if I can't blog, at least it is already scheduled or typed up. Can't wait to see what lies ahead for my lovely blog.

Nail Files. Week # 246

Happy Friday. I have been thinking that I might change Nail Files to another day. Since I'm the only 1 doing it, I guess it doesn't matter which day I do it. So it might not be every Friday, but I will do a Nail files post once a week. This week I have on Wet n' Wild Megalast~Coast to Coast & Sally Hansen, Hard as Nails Xtreme wear~Lacey Lilac. The Lilac is in really bad shape, it's lumpy & bumpy. I need to add some nail polish thinner to it before I paint my other hand. I didn't notice until I started painting them.

Currently

Reading: Shopaholic Ties the Knot~Sophie Kinsella. My goal is to finish it by the end of Feb. I think I can do it.
Watching: Rehab Addict on diy.
Playing: Believe it or not, cards. I'm not a card person, but T has been teaching me Crazy 8s & I don't hate it.
Trying: New recipes. I made a new 1 tonight. I didn't love it, but it's an easy 1 & I usually have the ingredients in the house. Maybe I'll post it in Tasty Tuesday next week.
Drinking: Starbucks Dark chocolate sea salt hot choc with whip cream. So yummy.
Loving: The weather. It was 60 degrees today & felt like Spring.
Hating: That Tara is sick & has strep throat again, on a school vacation week.
Feeling: Tired, but hopeful.
Hoping for: No more snow & early Spring.

Books

Who are some of your fave authors & genres? I love Cozy Mysteries (Laura Childs) & Chick Lit (Sophie Kinsella). I'm currently reading "Shopaholic ties the Knot". It's the usual Becky Bloomwood getting herself into trouble. It's a cute book. I should be done with it soon. I want to finish it by the end of the month.

Drama Queen T

Guess What My Fave Color is?

Nail Files. Week # 245

I love holo nail polishes. I really need to order more. There are tons of indie polish sites that have awesome holos. They are usually more expensive though, plus you have to pay shipping. This is KB Shimmers~What are you Wading for?

Ready for Spring

I'm so ready for Spring. February has been a really long month, even though it's 1 of the shorter months. I've fallen twice on ice in the past week. Not good for fibro. So I'm ready for birds, butterflies, dragonflies, flowers blooming & all the wonderful things that Spring brings.

Wordless Wednesday (Sort of)~Fibro awareness

Late Valentine's day, Lunch Date

We don't get to go on many date nights & we never do lunch dates, but yesterday we got to. We went to Texas Roadhouse. It was so nice to get out with my hubby.

Mommy & Me Monday (Flashback)

This is an old pic, I think maybe from 2010. Our poor baby JoJo is no longer with us. I adore this pic of us all.

Linking up with Krystyn from "Really are you Serious?"

Valentine's Day

Fairy Garden

Today we went to a local garden shop & T did a fairy garden with her friend. 

This is the finished project. I really should have gotten a better picture.

We walked around the store. They had lots of cute fairy type things & ideas.

I've been wanting 1 of these gazing balls & I love blue, but they are kind of expensive.

Nail Files. Week # 244

This week I'm back to pink.Sorry that my nails are so wicked dry. It's been so cold around here. It's suppose to be 12 degrees on Sunday, Valentine's day. The color I have on is Color Craze~Pizzaz. It's a very pretty pink.

RIP Cousin Lisa

I found out today that my cousin Lisa passed away. She had a heart attack over night. My Dad had actually talked to her last night. We are all just in so much shock. So sudden, never expected. She lives way in AL too. So we can't even go pay our respects. I'm hoping to send some flowers. I will miss her smile. She also loved to take lots of photos & scrapbooked too.

Wordless Wednesday~Our current Fave kids book

Tasty Tuesday~Sweet Corn Chowder

I made this last week & it was so good. I didn't have corn on the cob, so I used a can of corn & also didn't use jalapenos.

SWEET CORN CHOWDER (From Maebels.com)

 Photo from Pinterest/Maebels.com

INGREDIENTS:

1 small sweet onion, peeled and chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
6 ears sweet corn, husk and silk removed and cut from the cobb
2 fresh jalapeños, seeded and chopped
2 cups chicken broth
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
4 ounces reduced fat cream cheese (room temperature so it melts well)
 ⅓ cup heavy cream
1½ cup shredded sharp white cheddar cheese (Cabot New York Vintage is my favorite)

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Heat a large sauce pan or dutch oven to medium heat.
2. Add olive oil and chopped onion, sauté for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Add corn and chopped jalapeños, sauté for 2 more minutes.
4. Add broth, cumin, garlic powder, paprika, salt and pepper and stir well.
5. Cover and reduce heat to medium low, let simmer for 20 minutes.
6. Remove lid and add cream cheese, cream and cheddar, stir well. Let simmer uncovered for an additional 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
7. Garnish with cilantro and green onions if desired.

Pretty Girl

Our neighbor straightened Tara's hair last night. It looks so pretty straight. Her hair wasn't as straight tonight, but looks really long. I think we are taking her this weekend to have her hair trimmed. Only an inch if it's up to me.

Valentine's day is on the way

Any special plans for you? We're planning on going out to Texas Roadhouse for lunch on President's day. We have a gift card for there that we haven't used yet, so it will be a date night. Tara has school that day. She'll probably be sad that she can't go.We'll pick her up at school at 3:00. So she should be happy about that. I'm thinking of make some chocolate truffles or maybe some brownies. We'll see. We're planning on making sangria for the weekend. What are your plans? Fun & happy or romantic & dressy. It's suppose to be really cold next weekend, so we'll all have to cuddle up & keep warm. Have fun what ever you do & be safe.

Dream

Nail Files. Week # 243

This is a pink week. I love this color so much. It's Orly color blast~Speak your Mind. It's so bright & pretty.

Hello February

I'm a bit late on my Hello February (goals) post. At least we already have almost 4 days of Feb over. Not 1 of my fave months.

1. Get more 2015 scrapbook pages done.

2. Make more new recipes.

3. Cut down on certain foods.

4. Finish the book that I'm reading.

5. Write in my fibro journal more.

Wordless Wednesday-what I'm reading

Tasty Tuesday~Homemade Chicken & Dumplings

Homemade Chicken & Dumplings (from Eat at Home Cooks)

Ingredients:

about 3 cups cooked chicken
 6-8 cups chicken broth
2 cups flour
2 Tbs. butter
½ tsp. baking powder
salt to taste (I just shake some in)
about a cup of milk, maybe a bit less

Instructions:

1. In a bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Cut the butter into the dry ingredients with a fork or pastry blender. Stir in the milk, mixing with a fork until the dough forms a ball.
2. Heavily flour a work surface. You’ll need a rolling pin and something to cut the dumplings with. I like to use a pizza cutter. I also like to use a small spatula to lift the dumplings off the cutting surface. 3. Roll the dough out thin with a heavily floured rolling pin. Dip your cutter in flour and cut the dumplings in squares about 2″x2″. It’s okay for them not to be exact. Just eye ball it. Some will be bigger, some smaller, some shaped funny.
4. Use the floured spatula to put them on a heavily floured plate. Just keep flouring between the layers of dumplings. If they will be cooked soon, this method works well. If I’m going to cook them later in the day I layer them on a cookie sheet with wax paper between and lots of flour. You can also freeze them like this and then transfer them to a ziplock bag.
5. To cook them, bring the broth to a boil. Drop the dumplings in one at a time, stirring while you add them. The extra flour on them will help thicken the broth. Cook them for about 15-20 minutes or until they not doughy tasting. Add the cooked chicken to the pot and you’re done!