The Memetastic One!! That's Me!!

See! It says so here! Marvi Marti Over at The musings of Marvi Marti

 gave me this fun award!

There are just a few things I have to do that go along with accepting it...First of all, thanks so much Marti, for thinking of me. I hope I can live up to this...I sure will have fun trying!

MEMETASTIC!!!

As a condition of my acceptance of this award I have to demonstrate my supurb skills by writing five facts about myself.  Four of these ‘facts’ have to be 
ficticious deceptions  
 enhanced realities (some grain of truth but a lot of enhancements!).  But somewhere among the lies fibs fabrications falsehoodsAHEM *cough*cough* ::crossing fingers behind back::  embellishments, will be one solid truth.

The next part of this acceptance is that I have to pass this onto five other bloggers. 

SO feel free to comment and let me know which fact is NOT embellished and is in fact, 100% true!  I’ll post answers this weekend!

TRUE OR 
GREATLY EMBELISHED 
FALSE?

( I will first confess to borrowing the above, very cute, paragraph from Marvi Marti) 

Thank you Marti!

1. OK, this is an easy one...as any of you who are regulars to my blog must know, I am a big, big fan of ...these TV shows...NCIS, Bones, Fringe...I will not miss NCIS!! Ever!

2. We just obtained the most gorgeous puppy in the world a little over a week ago, he is a real cutie and his name is Bailey...we looked for him for weeks...he was a mush anticipated addition to our family as we have never had a pet before! There is much laughter around here as we watch his antics...he is s Samoyed!

3. In my younger years I could often be found digging around in the dirt...not that I like to be dirty or buggy, but I am fascinated with history... ancient history to be exact...my true love is archeology.  At one point, that was my course of study. Until I got sidetrack by the making babies thing, that is...

4. I am typing this on my brand new Ipad!!!!!! What fun!

5. We attended the wedding of my nephew and my new niece-in-law last weekend...at the reception my Mom and Dad surprised the parents of the groom...my brother and sister in law with the news that they had booked a room on the same cruise ship, same cruise that they are on...lol...you should have seen their daughter in law's face...lol...well, I can't wait to see all of their faces when Kirke and I show up!!! I am really excited about the whole thing for more than a few reasons...number one s the obvious one, but then there is the other one...the fact that I have never been on a cruise before!!

So those are the "facts", Ma'am! That's my story and I am sticking to it! 

And now...the five...that I am passing the torch to...

Menopausal New Mom

Never Growing Old

Snarkyville

Sugar Creek Cottage

What Would Jen Do?


Stay Pink!!

He loves me....

My hubby David is the love of my life.

I suffer anxiety quite badly and he is def my rock, He has spent countless hours talking me through my stresses- sometimes successfully, sometimes not, but through it all he has shown my over and over that he loves me and for that I am sooo thankful each and every day.

Do you spy those gorgeous chippie hearts from Scrapware!

More fab newsprint banner from here, it's my new fav go to embellie!...and if you hurry her fab give away ends tonight so get in quick!

Till next time...

Kids Cards for Church

My church cardmaking group doesn't get to do too many cards for children.  They simply don't sell well.  I think that most adults find glitzy, glossy, music-playing, pop-star or cartoon-character cards at the store.  But we do keep a few on our card racks for those that prefer that homemade touch!

Daisy Princess:

• Stamps: Daisy Princess digi from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps
• Inks: copics
• Paper: Stampin' Up Melon Mambo, Peach dsp, Pear dsp, Razzleberry Lemonade dsp
• Accessories: ribbon from Hobby Lobby, spica clear and yellow on the daisies
• Challenges: The Sweet Stop Sketch Challenge and Create, Ink ColorLab Challenge

Popcorn Bear:

• Stamps: Rubbernecker Popcorn Bear
• Inks: copics
• Papers: Stampin' Up Daffodil and Poppy dsp
• Accessories: misc gingham ribbon

Lemon Meringue Muffins

 

Lemon Meringue Pie holds a special place in my heart.  It happens to be my family's classic go-to dessert, one that everyone loved, especially my Grandpa.  My Grandpa loved Lemon Meringue Pie with a passion. Each time he took a bite, he'd rear his head back and close his eyes, savoring every bite. He'd always chuckle, as if the Lemon Meringue Pie was so good that he couldn't help but be amused by how much he loved it.  His chuckle was contagious and before long my parents and I would be laughing right along with him.  Sometimes we'd laugh our way through the whole pie, just the four of us.

Every time I see anything resembling Lemon Meringue Pie I am reminded of my Grandpa and all the fun times we had as a family gathering at the table. Ironically, I stumbled across this recipe for Lemon Meringue Muffins the day before what would have been my Grandpa's birthday.  It seemed fitting to make these on his special day and I'm so glad I did.

 

Lemon Meringue Muffins

Adapted from Taste of Home

Makes 12

6 tablespoons butter, softened

1 cup sugar, divided 

2 eggs

1/2 cup plain yogurt (I used greek yogurt)

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 tablespoon grated lemon peel

1/4 teaspoon lemon extract

1-1/3 cup all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

2 egg whites

In a large bowl, cream butter and 2/3 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the yogurt, lemon juice, peel and extract. Combine the flour, baking powder and baking soda; add to creamed mixture just until moistened.

Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups three-fourths full. Bake at 350° for 18 minutes. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, beat egg whites on medium speed until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in remaining sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, on high until stiff glossy peaks form and sugar is dissolved.

Transfer meringue to a heavy-duty resealable plastic bag; cut a small hole in a corner of bag. Pipe onto muffins. Bake 5-8 minutes longer or until meringue is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the muffin comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack. Serve warm. Refrigerate leftovers.

Nutrition Facts: 1 muffin equals 188 calories, 7 g fat (4 g saturated fat), 52 mg cholesterol, 135 mg sodium, 28 g carbohydrate, trace fiber, 4 g protein.

 Notes/Results:  This is one exciting muffin!  The muffin itself is light and lemony with a very tender crumb.  The meringue topping is billowy and fluffy and makes these muffins a very special treat.  The entire family loved these muffins, but I do think a little layer of lemon curd between the muffin and the meringue would be especially nice.  As far as muffins go, these are pretty light and not so bad for you, making them a pretty good choice in the muffin department. 

Eating pie with Gramps

homemade tortilla chips & loaded nachos

Yummers! We found another dish that's a definite keeper. It tastes great, is healthy and even looks pretty. I got the Homemade Baked Tortillas Recipe at Two Peas and their Pod who was guest posting their Loaded Nachos recipe on the Make and Take blog. The chips are awesome! Every store brand we try is always way too salty for us, so these are a delightful change.

Homemade Baked Tortilla Chips

1 package of white corn tortillas, taco size, cut into wedges (I used a pizza cutter and it worked great.)
Cooking spray ( I used canola oil Pam)
Sea salt

Preheat the broiler. Put corn tortilla wedges on a large baking sheet. (I fit 24 wedges on a sheet.) Don't overlap the chips.

Spray the tortilla wedges on both sides with cooking spray. Sprinkle with salt.

Bake under broiler for about five minutes. Turn chips over and bake for another five minutes or until chips are crisp and golden brown. (Watch them close, my first batch got a little overdone.)

Loaded Nachos

Homemade Baked Tortilla Chips (worth the extra time!)
Shredded cheese
Black beans, rinsed, drained and heated
Diced tomatoes
Chopped cilantro
Diced avocado (lots!)
Chopped green onion
Olives
Jalapeno slices
Squeeze of fresh lime juice

Place chips on a large plate. Top chips with shredded cheese and heat in microwave for 30 seconds or until cheese is melted. Add your choice of toppings.

I love that everyone can add what and how much they want of each item. Enjoy!

Embedded Embossing

This morning's SplitCoast Sketch Challenge was very simple so I decided to try to "fancy it up" with fun new techniques and it gave me headaches!  I can always tell that the card isn't going well when my desk looks like this:

I just keep pulling stuff out hoping that something will come together!

But I am happy with the final result!

I did add some shimmer and bling that is better seen in this close-up:



It is cardmaking week at our church and very soon, I will be in full panic mode putting together kits for very clean and simple cards - nothing fancy, no new techniques.  But I like bringing some new ideas to our group, as we have some very advanced crafters who are thrilled by the new stuff.  So, before I hit panic mode, I tried a new technique on this card - embedded embossing, also called inlaid embossing.

It's quite simple - you just place some punches on your cardstock and then emboss the whole thing together with a detailed embossing folder.  The punched shapes "embed" into the paper and appear to be part of it.

I first saw the idea here on Andrea's blog.  Then I saw it again today, here on Gretchen's blog. 

Another quick tip - I must tell you that I HATE cutting things out.  And I really hate fussy cutting.  And I truly despise craft knives.  So many people do amazing things by cutting - mine always looks totally messy and ragged.  So when I had to cut out the inside of the teacup handle, I refused and did it this way -

Here's my first ragged attempt.  Don't do this! 
Just leave the inside uncut.

Stamp the teacup on white paper and cut
around the outside of the inside of the handle??!!
It's still cutting, but at least it's not "fussy-cutting"!

Apply adhesive to your small white piece and adhere
if over the uncut patterned paper.  It looks like
you "fussy-cut" it!!

• Stamps: Flourishes
• Ink: Stampin' Up Markers: Razzleberry, Blushing Bride, Old Olive, Pear Pizzazz
• Paper: Stampin' Up Old Olive, Blushing Bride, Razzleberry, Chocolate, Blushing Bride dsp
• Accessories: Martha Stewart hydrangea punch, EK Success leaf punch, Stampin' Up lattice embossing folder, Smooch Illuminate, Stampin' Up gems 
• Challenges: SplitCoast Sketch Challenge and Picture Perfect Creations Color Challenge

Faith Butterflies

I combined a number of challenges this morning with a spectacular stamp set.  It would be hard to go too wrong when you use these gorgeous butterflies and sentiment.

This card is very different from my normal style.  It's as close as I ever get to the popular shabby chic style which was the Crazy 4 Challenges theme.  But when I saw the SplitCoast Color Challenge of River Rock, Basic Gray and white, then had these new stamps on my desk - it all came together and I am thrilled with the results!

An update on my rant from yesterday.  The temperature today is not supposed to break 0 degrees F.  That's really cold (and I usually like cold!)  Schools all over the Denver metro area are closed because of 40 below wind chills and concern over the kids waiting for busses (that would likely be late due to the ice on the roads!)  None of the schools have said anything about tomorrow but tonight is supposed to hit 18 below regular temp - I don't know what the chill factor will be - so I can't imagine they will let the kids hang out at bus stops tomorrow morning!  I don't know what I think about this - most of you know what it was like back in our days - uphill both ways in the snow!

FYI - for those that have never been near Colorado, you might be thinking we should be used to this.  NOT in the Denver area.  When you hear about cold and snow, it is almost always in the mountains.  Denver is on the prairie, not in the mountains.  In the Denver area, we often golf in January.  It may snow for a day or two, but then the sun comes out, the snow melts and it gets into the 70s.

Happy News on this cold day: my warm little coffee cups card was picked as a courtier (runner-up) at colourQ.

• Stamps: Our Daily Bread Faith
• Ink: Stampin' Up Basic Gray, River Rock
• Paper: Stampin' Up Basic Gray, River Rock CS and River Rock dsp, Whisper White
• Accessories: Nestabilities Lacey Circle, Martha Stewart butterfly punch, Stampin' Up Basic Gray taffeta, pearls (colored with copics), misc lace
• Challenges: SplitCoast Color Challenge, Stamping 411 Sketch Challenge and Crazy4Challenges Shabby Chic challenge