Month: September 2014

Do NOT Read (Seriously!) – Worst Blog Post Ever!

/ Jodi / 20 Comments

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#Writing101 – Unlock the Mind

Assignment #1:  To get started, let’s loosen up. Let’s unlock the mind. Today, take twenty minutes to free write. And don’t think about what you’ll write. Just write.

Keep typing (or scribbling, if you prefer to handwrite for this exercise) until your twenty minutes are up. It doesn’t matter if what you write is incomplete, or nonsense, or not worthy of the “Publish” button.

And for your first twist? Publish this stream-of-consciousness post on your blog.

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What is on my mind? What is my stream-of consciousness? Am I brave enough to just free type for 20 minutes and publish what comes of it?

Today is the first day of #Writing101, and our first assignment is to take 20 minutes to free type.

The “twist” is to publish it.

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Feel free to stop right now and read no further – truly – it’s not worth it!!

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Immediate writer’s block.

Paralysis.

I think I worry too much about what I will say….. Who it will affect… Will I say something that will upset someone if I say all the things that are going on in this crazy head of mine?

Mostly what I feel is love and gratitude.  Today was an absolutely gorgeous day!  (photo above)

But when prompted to share my stream of consciousness – YIKES!

All kinds of crazy things go through my head!

Who wants to hear that?

I don’t want to be like “poor me – let me tell you my woes – my heartbreaks – my betrayals – my losses – those that have lied to me……”

That is the stuff I keep tucked in the very back of my mind, because what I prefer to focus on is the good. The beautiful family that I have. A faithful, supportive husband of 32 years, two wonderful young men that are my sons, a beautiful daughter-in-law, friends that are like family to me, extended family that has come into my life late. But then there are some people I have lost – that are no longer in my life – for various reasons – in the back of my conscious – which I will not write about – will not share. It’s not the right thing to do.

So I push it back.

Why does that come into my “consciousness” for this exercise!!!????!!!

Focus on good. Focus on blessings. Focus on love. Focus on goodness.

I’ve always thought I wanted to write a book.

Probably all bloggers have that in the back of their mind.

I wonder if I could ever be disciplined enough to do it??

I wonder if I could ever feel “free” enough to truly express my thoughts and feelings??

I think of Jeannette Walls and The Glass Castle.

I think of Lenore Skomal and The Bluff.

Her words run through my mind so often.

“Write what is in your head, in your heart. Don’t worry about what others think. Your thoughts and your feelings are real, and they are yours. Own them. Share them. Express them.

But I don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings.

It’s part of my DNA. I’m a “pleaser.” My greatest pleasure in life is to make others happy – to encourage others. I don’t do it at my own expense. But I do guard.

Oh boy – already I have proofread and backspaced and erased. More worried about what this sounds like than just allowing myself to “free type.”

I’m really not as crazy as this makes me sound!  🙂

Sheesh!  I hope the next assignments are not this difficult!

Wouldn’t you rather see pretty cards and yummy recipes and nice photos?

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Now – seriously – this should not be difficult – to just free type – but I worry nobody will want to read the nonsense that comes of this.   And oh brother is this sounding like N O N S E N S E !

I know!!!!!!!!  GREAT IDEA…..

I will title this blog with a disclaimer that says you will not want to read this. LOL!

I wouldn’t as a blog follower of mine!

Oh bear with me my friends, and know that this is just an assignment – and one that I am challenging myself to do. To allow myself the freeness to do.

If you got this far, I apologize!!!!!!  SORRY!

Remember – it was a challenge to just “free type,” so it is not meant to really make sense.

I will try to find a great picture to go with it and make it a little more appealing!! LOL!!

Hey – Marty and I had our Wagyu Steaks tonight. Remember those ones I got on “SALE” for $19.95 per pound!?!??!! Oh My! They were pretty delish!

Does this photo of my dinner plate help???  🙂

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Phew – the 20 minutes is up…….

Not sure I like this……

Cheers & Hugs,

Jodi

Gearing up… for Fall & #Writing101

/ Jodi / 28 Comments

white christmas fall hello ppa219

I know – for all of you literalists out there – it’s not officially Fall until September 22 (at 10:29pm)  – (remember – we already talked about this here?!) – still 8 more days of “Summer.”

But will you indulge me to share one more Fall card – BEFORE it’s officially Fall??

I had so much fun on Saturday just “goofing around” at home.  We had no plans this weekend, and I told Marty I just wanted to “craft,” especially since the weather was so Fall-like.  🙂

I made a few cards, and I wanted to share this one that I made for the Pals Paper Arts Color Challenge (PPA219). 

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The challenge was to use these three colors:  Crushed Curry, Always Artichoke, and Cajun Craze (Fall colors – right?!)

I used the SU White Christmas stamp for the trees and sponged a combination of only the three challenge colors to create other hues of oranges through blending.  I used the fun Flower-Soft again for the Fall leaves and a Wplus9 framelit for the “hello” greeting.

I’m really happy with how the card turned out, and its vibrant colors are helping me in my quest to embrace Fall!

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Tomorrow I begin a WordPress #Writing101 Challenge.  It will be a 30-day challenge that provides a daily topic and a twist to the topic to challenge a blogger’s creative thinking and writing.  I’m looking forward to sharing with all of you.  Not sure where this will take us, but glad to have you along for the journey!

Another new adventure at life in between.

Cheers & Hugs,

Jodi

You Know You’re Getting Old When…………………… and Peach Cookie Cobbler

/ Jodi / 7 Comments

peach cobbler cover

You know you are getting old when…………

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So I dialed the number I know by heart.   It’s our Friday evening ritual.

The pleasant voice on the other end of the line asks, “Is this Mrs. M?”

“Why Yes,” I say, with a bit of a startle and a big grin – wondering whether to be flattered or concerned….

“Delivery to Blankety Blank Blank Road?”

“Yes!”    I’m either more excited or more concerned….

And I go about ordering our usual Friday night pizza/salad delivery from our favorite Mars Pizza.

Yep – that’s our Friday night ritual.

And yep – that means we are getting old.

When Friday night is your earliest go to bed night, earliest get in your jammies and sit in front of the television and eat dinner night – you are getting O L D!

But I LOVE IT!

And what is even better?

When the delivery boy tells you they are extremely embarrassed about the condition of your grilled chicken salad and a credit is going on your tab for next time.  SCORE!

And I thought the salad was just fine.

So anyway – since dinner is so much effort on Friday night, the least I can do is make a sweet treat for the Hubster.  (Is Marty lucky or what?!?)  🙂

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My guys love peaches, but not when they get very ripe.  I had a few “more ripe than they like” peaches that I thought I could do something with, and then I had this tube of refrigerator sugar cookie dough from who knows when in the fridge, so put that together…..

and I come up with Peach Cookie Cobbler!

peach cobbler cover

So, since this was just a wing it recipe (I should have measured thinking I would blog the recipe!) – we’ll give a shot at remembering the ingredients.

But I do want to tell you, friends – Don’t be afraid to wing it!  Just like cooking, baking does not have to be an exact science.  Experiment.  Improvise.  Use what you have and what tastes good or “right” to you!

So I gathered the peaches.

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After peeling and slicing them (and munching on one!) – I squeezed some fresh lemon juice over them, added some sugar and cinnamon and a bit of flour to thicken.  (My guesstimate is about 1/2 cup sugar, 1 Tbsp cinnamon, and 1/4 cup flour to the 6 peaches)

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I put this mixture in an 8 inch round baking stone.

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Then I just pulled pieces of the cookie dough off and crumbled all over the top of the peaches.

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I sprinkled a little more cinnamon sugar on top and baked at 350 for 30 minutes.

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And Voila!  A quick and easy peach cookie cobbler.

This would work wonderfully with apples too!

Enjoy!

peach cobbler cover

Cheers & Hugs,

Jodi

When things get blurry, stay focused!

/ Jodi / 13 Comments

geek is chic spectacular MFT

I’ve gone my whole life up until a few years ago without needing glasses.
I was always kind of proud to say I had 20/10 vision.  (not that I can take any credit for it)
Not 20/20 – – – but better!

And then it happened………
It seemed like overnight…
things got blurry…
I started moving things further out to focus in on…
I couldn’t read the “small print”…

I had laughed at Marty for years asking if I could hold the menu for him 10 feet away so he could read it when he stretched his arm out as far as he could to see it more clearly.

Payback is a bitch!

But it couldn’t be just that, I thought to myself.

So I went to the eye doctor telling him something was really wrong with my eyes, and that I suddenly seemed to need glasses.
We went through the whole rig-a-ma-roar of testing – and alas – he smiled and chuckled.
I still have 20/10 vision, he assured me…
For distance that is.

“But you see my dear,” he gently chuckled, “when people get around your age, they often need reading glasses.”

How did that happen?

Uh – Look in the mirror, Jodi! You are 51 years old!

Dang!

So – yep – I’m part of that club that has a pair of glasses on top of my head or the tip of my nose as I walk around, and then I have to pull them down or push them up to read my iPhone or computer, or a book, or a recipe, or basically anything that is not FAR AWAY!

I’m in that club that has a pair of reading glasses in every room of the house, 2-3 pairs in my purse, a pair in the car, in my briefcase…

I’m in that club that can never find a pair of glasses when I need them.

I am in that club where husbands and wives borrow each other’s glasses in a restaurant to read the menu because one of us forgot ours.

And wouldn’t it be nice if we could just leave them on…… but NOOO – then you can’t see the object or person 10 feet away, because now distance is blurry through the reading glasses!

So……. it’s up and down…….   off and on……..   in and out…….   round and round!

Oh well – I keep reminding myself that I was 20 once, and 30 once, and 40……

As my friend, Pam (aka Bub) would say, “Be glad to celebrate growing old.” As a cancer survivor, she helps me remember the blessings of the opportunity to grow “older.”

And so I embrace it, and I chuckle at it, and I loved this stamp set and had so much fun making this card to celebrate the “gift” glasses are to me at this stage of “the game.” 🙂

Life is SPECTACULAR, and I’m looking forward to sharing this card with one of my “club members.”

Because life does get blurry sometimes — right?

Literally and in oh so many other ways!!

stay focused MFT geek is chic

Remembering 9/11

/ Jodi / 16 Comments

9-11Photo_byJimMacMillanThere are no words…

Remembering the almost 3,000 people who lost their lives on this day in the Tragedy we call “9/11.”

We remember…

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and we honor…

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Hugs,
Jodi

Happy Fall y’all!

/ Jodi / 23 Comments

Wondrous Wreath Fall PP212

I know – Fall doesn’t officially begin until September 22, 2014 at 10:29 pm…  (impressed with my precisional detail? – my own made-up word, “precisional” 🙂 )

There are still 12 more days until the Autumnal Equinox, and I can assure you I am going to embrace every last moment of “Summer.”

But  – – – in my quest to also embrace Fall, I’m going with it here folks!

And… The Paper Players Design Team has a “Happy Fall y’all” Theme Challenge  (PP212) this week, so I thought I’d play along.

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And… I know exactly who I am going to send this card to!

She is someone I work with, who L – O – V – E s Fall.

She always puts her Fall wreath on her front door for the first day of school.

Not sure if Jamie even reads my blog, but this card is going in the mail to my Fall-lovin’ friend, and I hope she enjoys it.

For my card, I used SU’s Wondrous Wreath and For All Things stamp sets and had a little fun embellishing with Crystal Effects on the berries and some fluffy, fuzzy Autumn Flower-Soft on the bow and acorns.

Happy Fall y’all!

Cheers & Hugs,

Jodi

The Babies are Here!

/ Jodi / 6 Comments

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Ok – I know – I know – some of you are out there shouting at me reminding me they are called “cria.”  Baby alpacas are called cria.

But they are so doggone cute, and I was so excited to see them, and they are the sweetest little “babies.”

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You may recall our friends, Don and Christina Wright, owners of Four Points Alpaca Farm, who I featured in a blog post a few weeks ago when I was just smitten with my first visit to their amazing farm, Inn/Bed & Breakfast, and Alpaca Apparel Shop.

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At that time, ten of the Mama Alpacas were due to have babies (cria), and now they are here!

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Just in time for showing off at the Four Points Annual Pig Roast!

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I think Marty was more interested in the pig…..

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and it was way more delish thank it looks – even all “dressed up.”

Look how excited these little cuties were to get their picture taken with Miss Piggy.

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Even an unseasonably cool early September Saturday couldn’t suppress the fun, and a couple of our favorite girls won the Corn Hole Championship!

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They had a blue grass band, farm tours, games and giveaways, and even a demo of spinning alpaca wool.

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And, of course, some amazing food!

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But once again, the views STOLE the show where to the East, a beautiful rainbow appeared at the end of the day…

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and a bit later, and turning to the West, we enjoyed an amazing sunset.

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Another great day, with some great friends at Four Points Alpaca!

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Zesty Italian Roast Beef Sammies

/ Jodi / 5 Comments

italian roast beef sandwich

Ooooo Laaaa Laaaa – I’ve got another delish sandwich to share.

I’ve been hearing about this roast beef that goes in the crock pot with a jar of pickled banana peppers (even from one of the guys I work with), so I was anxious to give it a try.

Pair this tender, shredded zesty Italian roast beef with a nice thick slab of mozzarella and a generous shmear of basil mayo on a toasted potato roll – and O. M. G!  It had me at “Zesty!”

The recipes I found consisted of mainly three simple ingredients:  roast beef, a package of Italian dressing mix, and a jar of banana peppers.

So I threw a 3 lb hunk of chuck roast in the crockpot (and – B T W – since when did chuck roast cost almost as much as filet mignon!?!??! – I guess the grocery industry realized what a tender, delicious roast this is if cooked properly.  It used to be considered “scrap!”)

I dumped a 12 oz. jar of mild banana peppers on top.

And then – this is when I realized I did not have an envelope of Italian Dressing Seasoning Mix…..

But no problem – isn’t that what cooking is about – improvising, experimenting, making it your own?!…  (not to mention the virtues of Googling!)

So I made my own Italian Dressing Mix with guidance from AllRecipes.com:

1 Tbsp Garlic Salt
1 Tbsp Onion Powder
1 Tbsp Sugar
2 Tbsp Dried Oregano
1 tbsp. Black Pepper
1/4 tsp Dried Thyme
1 tsp Dried Basil
1 Tbsp Dried Parsley
1/4 tsp Celery Salt
2 Tbsp Salt

italian roast beef in crock pot

I  sprinkled about 6 oz. of this mix on top of the roast beef, and then added 1/4 cup of dried minced onions and about 1/4 cup of leftover sautéed fresh banana peppers from my garden that I had prepared for some grilled pizzas a few nights ago.  So either way will work – the homemade one or the package of Good Seasons or some other Italian Dressing Mix.

I turned the crockpot on high for about 4-5 hours, and then went and watched the Steelers game (thankfully we squeaked out a victory against the Cleveland Browns – oh yep we did Bub! 🙂 ), had a G&T, chatted with Marty and “Oh Rob,” and then enjoyed a delish dinner of a Zesty Roast Beef Sandwiches, Fresh Corn on the Cob, and a Spinach & Arugula Salad with Dried Cranberries and Walnuts – and guess what kind of dressing???  Homemade Italian Dressing made by using 2 Tbsp. of my new seasoning mixed with 1/4 cup vinegar, 2/3 cup oil, and 2 Tbsp. water.

A great Sunday dinner – with a couple great guys.

And BTW – if you didn’t want to have sandwiches (or didn’t have buns or bread!), I’m betting this roast beef would be great served with creamy mashed potatoes or wide egg noodles too.

italian roast beef sandwich

Cheers & Hugs,

Jodi

 

Peanut Butter & White Chocolate Chip Cookies

/ Jodi / 1 Comment

pbwc stack

I made some pretty yummy cookies for a picnic we went to yesterday.

These peanut butter and white chocolate chip cookies pretty much MELLLLLT in your mouth!

I was looking for something new and different and came across a similar recipe on one of my favorite baking blogs, Cookies and Cups.  Shelly made me chuckle with her description of her “big-boned” version!

I didn’t want mine to be quite as “big-boned,” so I used another favorite blogger’s recipe (Sally’s Baking Addiction) for soft peanut-butter cookies.

Combining Shelly’s idea with a tweak or two to Sally’s recipe, I came up with a winning version (at least according to my guys – – –  and there were none left at the picnic either!).

pbwc stand

Here’s the recipe:

Peanut Butter & White Chocolate Chip Cookies

  • 2 cups (4 sticks) salted butter, softened to room temperature
  • 2 cups light brown sugar
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 4 large egg
  • 3 cups creamy peanut butter
  • 4 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 tsp baking soda
  • 5 1/4 cups all purpose flour
  • 2 bags white chocolate chips

Cream butter and sugars together in mixer until light and fluffy.  Mix in peanut butter, egg, and vanilla. Slowly mix in the dry ingredients. Do not overmix. Chill dough for at least 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Remove chilled dough from fridge and roll into balls.  Then flatten slightly as these cookies will not spread very much.

pbwc balls

Bake for 9 minutes until the tops begin to start cracking slightly.  Do not over bake.   Cookies may not look done, but they will firm up as they cool.

pbwc rack

I got about 7 dozen from this recipe.

(And I was sure to set a few aside for a certain sweet someone whose favorite candy bar is White Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups that I think is going to LOVE these!)  🙂

Mikey is always such a big helper in the kitchen too!  He always cleans the floor for me.  All I need do is brush crumbs from the counter to the floor, and they magically disappear.

choosey dogs choose Jif

Choosy Dogs Choose Jif!

And since we polished off this jar of Jif, Mikey took care of cleaning it out for me before we put it in the recycle bin.

Enjoy!

Cheers & Hugs,

Jodi

The Best Sandwich I Ever Made!

/ Jodi / 8 Comments

…or maybe I was just really hungry….

… but O. M. G. – I made the BEST tomato sandwich for lunch yesterday!

This was after staring at the overflowing bowl of tomatoes I picked the day before that is sitting on the counter with the abundance that is finally coming out of my tiny, little neglected 😦  garden.

(I AM going to do better next year – –  – she says every year!)

Oh  why do they have to come all at once!?!  Wouldn’t it be nice to have about five or six a week ripen throughout the whole year?  But NOOOOO – – – we get 30 at once for a couple weeks – then NOTHING!

And homegrown ones are so much sweeter than what we can get around here in Western PA the rest of the year at our local grocery stores.

tomato cut

So I plopped a couple slices of honey whole wheat bread in the toaster, smeared some mayo on them, then sliced (now this is a WHOLE new experience for me!!) some

SMOKED BUFFALO MOZARELLA cheese

I bought last weekend at Penn Mac in the Strip District.

Oh people – let me tell you….  actually – I can’t describe how YUMMY it is!!!

My favorite before this was smoked gouda, but WOWZERS, did this make for a good tomato sammie!!  (and I’m thinkin’ I must have a thing for smoked cheese…)

smoked buffalo mozarella

On top of the sliced cheese, I layered some fresh basil as if it were lettuce (oh how I love the anisey, licorice-like taste and smell of fresh basil!), then finally the tomatoes, a pinch of salt, and smooshed it down.

tomato sammie whole

And seriously – I’m sorry I did not get a very good photo, but I did not have the patience to check it before diving into it, and then it was too late for any retakes. 😐

tomato sammie

So I hope I described it well enough to get you to try.  A simple, but oh so delish sandwich for a hot summer lunch or dinner or snack!  Heck – – – I’d even eat this for breakfast!

Enjoy!

Cheers & Hugs,

Jodi