Things that make me all fuzzy inside..

Ok maybe not necessarily fuzzy, just very pleased. First off there is this.. it is a recipe called Combat Steaks and it was yummy. Its a mixture of blue and feta cheese melted over sauteed mushrooms and garlic that was smothered over some killer steak. I was suppose to use red wine in the mix..but low and behold we have none at the moment so we went without.

Moving on...

I have been wanting a new coffee table and a new dinette set for ever. The dinette set was so old. I was freshly preggo with Lily when we got that. And the coffee table..well it was just ok..I had spilled nail polish remover on it and it ate away at the finish. Not to mention had glass that constantly needed to be cleaned..you know, with the kids and now a wet nose sniffing everything, I was cleaning that thing 3x daily!

Tuesday we went to the furniture store and dude, Jerome's hooked us up! Ever see the commercial for 'the vegas'? We bought that..and then a table and also a new t.v. console. Technically speaking there was nothing wrong with the one we had..just some light colored wood thingy from Ikea, its just now..it stood out even more because everything else we have is that beautiful dark, cherry wood. So needless to say..I am done with furniture updating. Here are the pictures..we are waiting for the TV thing because it wasn't stocked..it will be delivered in 3 weeks. I am totally obsessed with the furniture..reminding kids to be oh so carefully around my newly prized possessions. And looks like I need to by pledge.

Next up its some awesome kabobs that I made tonight. I soaked all the veggies in a dressing and threw in tons of other herbs and marinated them all day. It was the best damn dinner I had in a long time! I made steamed broccoli and fried rice to accompany those tasty jewels. Of course there was steak on the kabob's also. I wish the kiddos would eat the veggies (that's why I made the broccoli, at least they would eat that).

Anywho, I am stuffed, happy with our purchases and enjoying my second beer. Ahhh..life is good. Not to mention Lost is on tonight and Idol results!

Nothing to blog about...

I have nothing interesting to blog about. I haven't cooked in a few days and I am feeling withdrawls. I love to cook, to create. Chopping and dicing is very meditative to me. Its soothing..all the bad things seem to drift away whilst mincing garlic or sauting a red onion. I would like to make some curry this weekend, however that won't go over well the my gang. I want to make an exotic dish, maybe even try some Moroccan food..maybe some fish...we'll see.
Salsa has adapted great. I love that dog so much. She is hilarious with her little pack rat, traits..I love it! Today I found a pair of Jack's undies and one of his cowboy shooters. Also this morning she tried to steal Lily's pillow out of her room. Hilarious!
We are taking the kids to Borders this weekend. Lily has finished all of her new books..and Jack wants one with ..yep..you guessed it..firetrucks. I wish I was a good reader. I have so many wonderful books that I haven't finished. Justin bought me a few books.. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle and The Art of Simple Food and never finished them yet. I suppose I could be reading while Jack naps or something but instead..I am either knitting or watching t.v. or cleaning. I want to read the books..but I haven't..
It is very windy, cold and rainy..and I hate it right now. Just not in the mood. I think I will have the hubby stop at Starbucks for some much needed coffee..its been way to long since I got me some of that.

Adventures with a Greyhound

Things have been quite stressful and chaotic since Salsa joined us. This potty training has been a pain in the ass. After a few unpleasant 'accidents' I think we have it down. *fingers crossed* She is on a schedule..greyhounds thrive on consistancy..just like children.

We pretty much have to babyproof the house..again. She already tried to eat a helicopter, a few hot wheels, and I found the remnents of a purple crayon in her doggie bed. Thank goodness they are non-toxic.

Also learned Salsa is a horder..,packrat...and thief! She ran into Lilys room yesterday upon her returning from school and quickly snagged a monkey and ran back to her bed and went to town with it. Then this morning she stole an umbrella and a little butterfly. Its so funny. And to watch this 60lb canine run crazy in your apartment at 630 in the morning is quite amusing. I make sure Jack is out of her way, because this muscle dog will barrel him over, lickety-split. His safe zone is on the couch and/or loveseat. That is a major no-no for her. Those are my new sofas and I won't have doggie up there. I taught her to lay down and speak. Its fun. Apparently I am the 'pack-leader' (according to Ceasar..a.k.a the dog whisperer). I think its my high-pitched voice she loves..You know that voice we all get with puppies and babies. Yeah, thats the one.

In other news..we are still rocking it with Rock Band..we have our own jet and a sound guy..awesome. My voice has been on somewhat of a hiatus do to a slight cold..but apparently that helped me sing Epic by Faith No More and pass. Whew..that is the hardest song on there..the nightmare song. Lily loves to sing Blink 182 'All The Small Things'..and Garbage..'Paranoid'

My favorites are Yeah Yeah Yeah's 'Maps..and Black Sabbath 'Paranoid' Oh also Weezer's 'Buddy Holly' .

Anyway..off to feed sonny boy and let the dog out to pee!

Introducing.....

The new member of the family.....

Salsa!!!

Salsa is a 2 1/2 year old Greyhoundd we adopted today. She is so sweet and she even smiles!!! She is so perfect for us. She is more like a cat-dog..as this 59 lb dog cuddles with you on the bed. We love her so much. What a love bug she is! She is a retired racing dog from Phoenix, Az. Cozy is her middle name.

We bought her her own bed and some holistic dog food. Jack wants to get her a football..or a firetruck..(you know Jack's obsession with firetrucks!) She will be 3 on Cinco De Mayo! Another reason to have margaritas! Welcome Salsa! We love you!

Rock Band Rocks!

Here are a few pictures of the kids plus Jack's buddy getting ready for a gig with rock band. So fun!

Awesomest Thing..Ever

Justins friend came for a visit on Saturday and brought with him his son to play with Jack. He's almost 4 and a game called RockBand for the Xbox 360. It comes with the game, a guitar, drums, and a microphone. I really didn't think Justin would be into it. See, you play the instruments to a wide variety of songs and if you aren't good or not in sync you get kicked off the stage. Its a riot! It was so much fun..we played for hours!
So the next day..(yesterday) we were sitting around, bored..and we decided we needed more. We went to target and dropped the $170 for the game and instuments. We played for a long time last night. You can customize your band member..create a band name, buy some cool gear, either punk, rock, or goth. We switch off but for the most part, I am vocals, Justin on drums and Lily is bass..and you know what..we totally kick ass and it is the best $170 we've spent in a long time. What a fun family thing to do. I love video games now! Its kinda like karaokee but so much better! Weeee!!!! (p.s. pardon and grammer errors as for some reason my spell check doesn't work any more, wtf?)

Its all good yo!

Ahh...so much better! Wonders what vodka can do for you..
Kicking back listening to this and laughing my ass off! Its hilarious!

Serenity Now!!!

This morning was by far the worst I have had with Lily. I won't go into details..but lets just say I will be having my share of stiff drinks tonight.
She is only 8 for crying out loud. If this is just a preview of whats to come in the teen years..I am in way deep. She's trying to give me grey hair, I just know it.
Calgon take me away!!!

Ms. Manners where are you?

Yesterday I made a vegan shepards pie..a awesome recipe from

How It All Vegan. I had made this before years ago when I was a vegetarian for a Thanksgiving supper. And at that time Justin ate it..in fact he had seconds.

First you dice up some celery (I was out), onion, spinach,carrots and tomatoes. You also need a cup or so of cooked lentils.

Then you need to boil some chopped potatoes and then mash them with some milk and butter.

Then saute all the veggies until the carrots are tender.
After that, add the mashed lentils to the mixture. Then lightly oil a pie plate and put the veggie mixture in it. Then top it with the mashed potatoes.

Pop it in the oven for maybe 20 minutes and you have a savory dish. yum. However..it didn't win over my peeps. When the hubs found out what I was making he immediatly asked wheres the meat? Not today yo! Then he began to inform me he won't eat anything that is mixed with mashed potatoes..he likes them alone. Whatever. Jack cried..didn't even want to try. After what seemed like forever..(only really like 5 minutes) he took a bite and he said.."mm this is so good" Lily..well she took a bite and I told her to keep the comments to herself. Because anytime someone says anything..all the sudden everyone agrees with the said comment, besides the fact the were just scarfing it down. Justin made a turkey sandwich. He asked Lily if she wanted some. And you know what she said that little booger..she said "Oh ya, then I won't have to eat this garbage!" I 'bout choked on my food. WTF!! I was totally enjoying the dish and I had hoped the children would too, not to mention that is chock full of healthy things. Justin scolded Lily and said how that is rude.. and then went on how Mama is so sensitive about things when normally if it would have been said to him or her, they just laugh it off. Pft.. whatever. And after all that, she still never apologized. Jack ended up only eating maybe 4 bites and then had some of Justins massive turky sammy. I had seconds of the shepards pie. I absolutly love that. Maybe I shouldn't be so sensitive about that. Maybe I should just let it roll off me like raindrops on your shoulder... but thats just not me. Sure it would be alot easier..than to have to mull things over and over again and analyze every little detail about things that were said and done. Blah..I am tired of this post now..I am off to read.

Biscuit Calzones...

I decided to make home-made calzones the other day. Sausage and cheese was the filling. But to make it a little different I used those rolls of biscuits instead of pizza crust..I thought they would puff up and get golden. Perfect for a calzone.

I mixed some cooked sausage with ricotta cheese, mozarella, parmesean and fresh flat leaf parlsey, two eggs and a crap load of seasonings..can't remember what I threw in there. They turned out ok. The filling was awesome..but it kinda clashed with the biscuit taste..oh well, they were still good, I was just in the mood to be adventuresome. Next time I will definetly use pizza crust. After they cooked I sprinkled shredded parmesan and some more herbs. They looked pretty. :) We dipped them in some tasty marinara sauce.

Here is the filling:

This is where I rolled out the biscuits:

Stuffing the bad boys:

Ready to cook:The finished product: