Happy St Patty's Day & 2 Monday Mailers

(This is posted late because I just realized it didn't get posted when it should have!!)


Happy Saint Paddy's Day to you all!  These are the cookies I made for my Mahjong group and this is what I have left!  I doubled the recipe because the single recipe said SIX Servings!  I think I would have been fine without doubling because these will be gone by Friday .... in mine & Sonny's stomach!  Although I'm having Stamp Club tomorrow so I'll tempt them with the cookies too!

Here's the recipe for the cookies .... they are really good and easy!

IRISH SHAMROCK COOKIES

1/2 C butter, softened (I used a Crisco Shortening Stick)

1 3-oz package instant pistachio pudding mix

1 1/3 C baking mix (Jiffy, Bisquick)

1 egg

1 T white sugar

• 
  
  Preheat oven to 350.  Lightly grease baking sheet. 
• 
  
  Cream together shortening (or butter) and pudding mix.  Blend in baking mix, egg, and sugar.  Mix well.
• 
  
  On lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to 3/8" thickness & cut into cookies with cookie cutter.
• 
  
  Place cookies on prepared baking sheet & bake 9-10 minutes or until lightly browned on edges.  Let cookies cook on rack.  Frost with green icing.

Now for my Monday Mailer cards!  Here is the card I made and mailed to my partner.

I found the pattern for this egg in the March CardMaker magazine.  All supplies for the card are from Stampin' Up.  The DSP is from the Good Neighbor pack that is in the Saleabration Catalog.  I ran all the pieces plus the white square through my Big Shot with the SU Texture Plate.  The felt flower and leaf are in the Occasions Mini Catalog.  The cardstock is Melon Mango and Bermuda Bay.  I love the White Satin Ribbon!!  "happy easter" is from the Abundant Hope set in the Occasions Catalog.

Here is the card I received today! 

Isn't it great?  She embossed the cardstock with the Texturz Plate and I think she inked her plate yellow when she ran it through the Big Shot.  The butterflies are from the Occasions Mini - Embosslets.  I have to get those butterflies - they are on backorder right now though. 

A little of this and that

Whew!  What a crazy busy day!  Remember  a couple of months ago when I had that spot floating around in my right eye and the eye dr. told me it was a sign of aging and was called a vitreous detachment??  Well, yesterday, I noticed with my LEFT eye, a cobweb like matter floating around in my field of vision and a couple of times, a few light flashes.  I remembered that the eye dr. had asked me if I had seen any light flashes with the right eye when I was there last month and I had not.  So this morning, I was able to get in to see the doctor right away.  Turns out, this cob-webby thing is blood.  Doesn't sound too good, huh? Last month when I saw the eye dr, my vision in my left eye was 20/20 ... today it was 2/40.   I am going to see a retina specialist in Charlotte next Friday.  This could mean that the vitreous is pulling away from the retina or that the retina itself is becoming dislodged from the inner back of the eye that contains blood, nutrients and oxygen vital to healthy function. When the retina is torn, vitreous can invade the opening and push out the retina — leading to a detachment.  Right now, my eye dr. doesn't see that but he wants to be safe than sorry.  Yeah - me too!  What I've read about this is:   "A study reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association in late 2009 found that sudden presence of eye floaters and flashes means that one in seven people with these symptoms will have a retinal tear or detachment. And up to 50 percent of people with a retinal tear will have a subsequent detachment."   So,  if you believe in the power of prayer, please say a prayer for me this week.  I'm really pretty scared.  And I just hate that there is nothing I can do but wait.

On to happier topics!  Today was the first day for my Stamp Club.  I had 7 ladies and they really enjoyed stamping.  I just need to remember to make simple cards!!  They really don't know anything about stamping and that's hard for me to remember when I was like that!  But, really, the most challenging thing to them was tying the bows!!!  We did 2 cards and a little Easter basket.  Unfortunately, I only remembered to take a picture of one card and I gave my samples away!  I am going to make the other card and the basket tomorrow for one of the ladies who was out of town so I will share it with you then.  Here is the first card we made.  I wanted them to know watercoloring because I think you can get a really pretty look very easy by using watercolor pencils or crayons.

This uses the stamp set, Abundent Blessings from the Occasions Mini Catalog.

I also colored this panel in different colors to give them another idea of how to do their flowers:

Most of them just did the yellow flowers but I did have one lady who "stepped out of the box" and did multi-colored flowers.

After the ladies left, Sonny and I hopped in the car to meet a group of his Golden Boy members at the movies.  We saw "The Green Zone" - a real action packed movie.  The focus of 'Green Zone' is on the early stages of the 2003 US Iraq invasion.  The war being fought in the film is more between the Pentagon and the CIA than the US vs Iraq which makes it all the more interesting and the film allows you to see things from Iraq's perspective for a change.  No matter what your view is of the Iraqi war, this film will make you think as it deals with looking for the non-existant WMD (Weapons of Mass Destruction.)

Idol Results

The very first one up on stage is Paige Miles and she is in the bottom 3.  I am surprised.  I thought she did good last night.  Plus, I thought she would get the sympathy vote because she had laryngitis.

Tim Urban is in the bottom three.  That is not a surprise to me.  I predicted him.

Lacey Brown is the third one in the bottom three.  Another surprise for me.

Well, America voted for Lacey to go home.  I don't agree. I don’t think she was a contender to win it, but I would have sent home 2 or 3 others before her.   I think it should have been Tim or Andrew before Lacey.   The judges can save her so she does a final song for them.   They are all huddled together, pretending to discuss whether or not they are going to “save” her. Sure, with 11 contestants left, they are going to use the save tonight? I seriously doubt it.  And they don't. 

Rolling Stones Night on American Idol

Well, we've made it to the Top 12 on Idol and now the fun begins!  Tonight the contestants are singing Rolling Stones songs.  I was never a big Stones fan so a lot of these songs didn't do it for me.

• Big Mike Lynch singing "Miss You"  I'm not familiar with this song but thought he did great!  He's a real showman.  The judge loved it ... but of course, Simon had to add his two cents worth - thought his dancing was a little corny. 
• Didi Benami - "Play With Fire"  I thought it was a little "dragging" but guess I was in the minority - all the judge thought it was one of her best performances.
• Casey James "It's All Over Now"  It was just ok for me.  Of course Kara loved it and thought it was one of his best.  Not Simon though.
• Lacey Brown "Ruby Tuesday"  I liked this one.  I hope she makes it back next week.  Her outfit was just a little strange!
• Andrew Garcia "Gimme Shelter"  No - too pitchy; just not great.  His family interview was weird - his mom is like a zombie!
• Katie Stevens "Wild Horses"  The beginning wasn't so great but then she got into the groove and did a great job.
• Tim Urban "Under My Thumb"  I'm with Randy and Ellen - I didn't like the Rolling Stones Reggae version!  I do give him kudos for trying something different though.
• Siobhan Magnus "Paint It Black"  WOW - best of the night so far!!  I can see her as a front runner for winning this competition.  She looks so different tonight with her hair all curled.
• Lee Dewyze "Beast of Burden"  I like it!  He's one of my favorite of the guys.  I love his voice.  As Randy says, "it was dope!"  I'd love to hear him sing country!
• Paige Miles "Honky Tonk Woman"  Wow - she really surprised me!  I didn't think she would do good with Stones songs but she hit the big notes with this song and worked the stage.  According to the judges, she had laryngitis this week.  Don't think she'll get voted off this week.
• Aaron Kelly "Angie"  Another good solid performance.  He has a good voice and he chose a good song for his range.
• Crystal Bowersox "You Can't Always Get What You Want"  Still my #1 Favorite!!  She is just awesome.  She was born to do this.  I wonder about her family life.  During her family interview, no mention is made of her mom.  If it weren’t for Siobhan, I’d say  just give Crystal the American Idol titleand send the rest  of them home.

It's going to be tough to vote someone off this week.  My pick for the bottom 3 is:  Casey, Tim and Andrew.

50 Years and still Laughing!

Uh oh - I thought I posted this already - oh well, here it is - Marianne turned 50 Tuesday!!


My baby sister, Marianne, turns 50 today!!  It is hard for me to believe she is that old!  Our winter has been one for the books this year, but in 1960 when Marianne was born, it was another one to remember.  It snowed or sleeted every Wednesday that month!  And Marianne was born on a Wednesday!  It was really weird because we don't usually have that much cold weather in March.  I remember that we got out of school a day or two every week that month!  I was 11 at the time so that was a big deal especially since I had to walk to school!! 

We celebrated Marianne's birthday a little early this year.  Her husband, Greg, surprised her Saturday night by taking her to The Melting Pot Restaurant.  We surprised her by picking her two boys up earlier and beating them there so we were at the table waiting when she got there.  Oooh that chocolate was good .... as you can tell by the picture of Marianne licking the plate!

Last night, we continued the party at my house.  My mom and sister, Angela, came over.  Angela brought balloons and decorations and the guys cooked Ka-Bobs out on the grill.  I made a chocolate cherry cake (yea - we like chocolate!!).  It was a fun family get-together.

Here's Marianne and her husband, Greg.  She's trying to blow out the candle!

This is one of the cards I made for her.

Here's the other card I made her.

I also made this photo tray.  It is from 7Gypsies and I bought it at AC Moore.  I tried to find different pictures through out her life to put in it as well as family sayings.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SIS!!

Fifth Avenue Floral Gift Set

I made a card box a couple of months ago with some cards from Fifth Avenue Floral.  I've just realized I did not share them with you!  What was I thinking???  I used the set for a hostess gift.  I enjoy making a gift set of cards and a box to give away.  It always impresses the recipient.

This is the acetate box I made to hold the cards.  I used the paper from Night and Day DSP.

The roses are the watercolored roses.  You spritz the Shimery White Paper with water and use your Aqua Painter with reinkers.

Picture Perfect Challenge

I promised you a card today!  I found a new blog today that was offering a challenge so I took the challenge!

I decided to work those colors into an Easter card.  Here is what I came up with:

This stamp set is part of a clear set from Inky Antics that I forgot I had!!  I used my Nestabilities ovals for the bunny.  The black scallops are from the Scallop Trim Punch in the Saleabration Catalog.

Don't forget .... only a couple more weeks to get FREE items from the Saleabration catalog.  It will be all over March 30!!

American idol Top 12

Just a quick post before going to bed.  I'll be posting a card tomorrow afternoon for you.  Today I attended a luncheon at a friend's house.  There were 7 of us there and each of us chose a recipe from Jan, Feb or March issue of Southern Living Magazine.  It was really good and I got to taste some things I probably wouldn't have tried. I don't eat asparagus but I tried the salad and it was good.  Our menu was:

Appetizers - Pancetta Crisps with Goat Cheese & Pears & Spicy Pickled Shrimp
Tomato Soup
Roasted Asparagus Salad
Linguine with Sun Dried Tomatoes
Lemon Drop Squares (my contribution)
Maple Coffee and Mango Tango Tea

We were also supposed to have Oven Chicken Risotto but the girl who was bringing that forgot and didn't show up!! 

I watched Idol earlier and was shocked at the results tonight!!!  I hate that Lily Scott went home.  I think that was not right.  The others that were voted off were Toddrick Hall, Alex Lambert, and Katelyn Epperly.  So, I only got one right this week and that was Toddrick Hall although I did mention in my previous post that Katelyn might be in trouble.  Next week they will be performing songs from Rolling Stone so it should be interesting!  I thought Crystal Bowersox didn't look well.  She never even smiled when she made it to top 12.  I hope she is ok. 

Off to playing mahjong tomorrow. 

Week 3 - The Guys on Idol

Lee Dewyze singing Fireflies - he's one of my favorites.  Sonny & I both don't think he beats the last two girls from last night though but he was good.

Alex Lambert singing Trouble - he's not one of my favorites but I thought he did ok tonight.  Just hope he doesn't become a "cocky banana" as Ellen said.  Don't really know what that means!!

Tim Urban singing Hallelujah -Wow!  Just when I thought it was his turn to go home, he surprises me with that great performance.  I'm with Ellen - she ran on stage and hugged him and told him "fantastic."

Andrew Garcia singing Genie in a Bottle - This one didn't do it for me tonight.  I hope this doesn't send him home.  The judges feel like maybe he peaked too early.  He was so great during Hollywood week and I thought he was going to be THE one.

Casey James singing You'll Think of Me - I love this song!  He was pretty good - not great but good. Ellen loved it - Kara is getting back on the "Casey train"; Randy thought it was safe; Simon thinks it's forgettable but he sounded great.

Aaron Kelly singing I'm Already There - Well, it's interesting to hear a 16 year old sing this song - how can he understand this song?  He started out not so good but got better as he went on.  It wasn't great to me.

Toddrick Hall singing Someone to Love - Well, that was one of the best tonight!  He was comfortable on stage and singing a Queen song!!  He's definately theatrical and should be on Broadway.

Michael Lynch singing This Woman's Work - He IS my favorite of the boys and he didn't disappoint me tonight!  The judges loved him.  As Randy says, that was DOPE!  Ellen thinks he's the one to beat.

It's hard to guess who's going to get eliminated this week.  My guess would be Andrew Garcia, Aaron Kelly or Toddrick Hall.

411 Challenge

I've had a busy week so far.  Monday, I played bridge.  Yesterday I worked the Soup Kitchen in the morning, making my Chicken Spaghetti Casserole.  It was a big hit!!  But, we made way too much.  The day before they had served 148 people and I bet we hardly had 100.  We made 6 large pans of the casserole and had 2 1/2 pans left over!!  Several people came back for seconds and a few had us give them tinfoil so they could take it home and have it for dinner.  We have decided that that casserole will be the Newcomer's signature dish!  One of the gals I was working with is a big volunteer with the Red Cross and she got a call about a big apartment fire in Charlotte that had displaced about 165 people.  Sonny & I were asked to help with a shelter that they were setting up at an elementary school in Charlotte the next day ... or so I thought.  They said they needed us from 10:30 to 7 and I assumed they mean 10:30 AM to 7 PM on Wednesday.  When I got home that afternoon, Sonny had already talked with the Red Cross and was prepared to go help at the shelter at 10:30 that night!  I wasn't going to go because Linda needed me to help her the next day entering the clients in the computer.  Sonny ended up going to Charlotte and returned home at 4 AM.  He was not a happy camper!  They ended up having only ONE person in the shelter!!  I think earlier there had been 4 people but 3 of them left and didn't come back!  I talked to Linda today and asked her why keep the shelter open for one.  Why not just put him up in a hotel?  A lot of it has to do with $$ - the Red Cross is strapped for funds just like everyone else in this economy.  And of course, at the time, they thought more people would be coming but they evidently found family and friends to put them up for the night.  Of course, today, they are back and needing places to stay - probably only about 15 families and they are putting them up in hotels now.  It just doesn't make sense to me.  I'd tell those people if you don't come to the shelter, forget about a hotel!  Linda did tell me that the local hotels were calling with some great offers.  They were able to get rooms at Howard Johnson for $140 for 7 days!

Here's my recipe for the Chicken Spaghetti if you are interested:

1 large chicken

1 8 oz pkg spaghetti

2 10 oz cans cream of mushroom soup

1 med. onion, chopped

1 4-oz can sliced mushrooms

1/2 cup olives

salt, pepper

2 C shredded cheddar cheese

Cook chicken until tender.  Remove, reserving broth.  Cook spaghetti al dente in reserved chicken broth; drain; reserving broth.  Cut chicken into bite sized pieces.  Combine all except cheese in large bowl.  Add small amount of broth.  Pour into lightly greased 10 x 13" pan. Top with cheese.  Bake 350 45 minutes.  

Saturday and Sunday I did a little stamping.  I decided to do a challenge from Stamping 411.  You can follow their link on the left side of my blog.  They post a sketch every Saturday and I haven't done one in a while. Here is the sketch: 

Here is the first card I did.  I used a retired SU stamp set, Summer by the Seam my oval Nesties and a Cuttlebug embossing folder.

Then I decided that I didn't really follow the sketch to the "T" so I did another one that was a rectangle instead of an oval.  This card I used Crazy for cupcakes, a felt flower and the background is from a wonderful two step stamping set, Greenhouse Garden.