Laura Vegas

so just a few random things that irked me today:

• i tried to bookmark a new blog on my computer … and i had no choice but to upgrade my toolbar before i could add it. so i upgraded … only took a few seconds. well … my bookmarks are all screwed up now. half of them aren’t even showing up … i have to go into another section to find them. argh!!! i had my list … i knew the order they were in … i  could click on them super quick. not anymore! lol!
• some idiot down the street has been working on his car again. why does the entire neighborhood need to listen to him rev his engine for 13 hours a day?!?!? don’t these guys have jobs?
• i made a starbucks run this morning … my neighbor was off today and wanted some. since i had a few minutes before the kiddos came i offered to go. luckily the drive thru was moving super quick. sadly when i got home i realized there was a hole in my straw. you just can’t drink the same when your straw has a hole.
• i was trying to take a few pictures of some layouts i completed yesterday. not sure why … but i couldn’t get a decent picture of them for the life of me. i’d take the pics and then pull them up on the computer … they’d suck. then i’d take some more and pull them up … and they still weren’t good. so frustrating to spend that much time on it … i think i actually created all those layouts in less time. lol!
• i made some more of the pizza twists tonight since the girls had to leave early for awana … figured quick and easy. except this time i have the crust pieces and cheese stuck all over my cookie sheet. i worked at it forever trying to scrape it all off. usually i would just toss the cookie sheet and get a new one … but it’s my good air-bake cookie sheet. maybe i should have greased it first or something. at the same time though … i stopped at the grocery store tonight to pick up a few things and found the tubed pizza dough and breadsticks were on sale for only $1 … normally i pay over $3 for these. must go back and get more!
• got a call about sarah’s softball team. she didn’t make the under-10’s like we wanted … technically she’s under-8’s, but we thought we’d try since it be more challenging for her and much more fun to watch. i don’t mean this in a bad way … but under-8’s are soooo boring. and apparently practice is on the other side of town … we’re talking about 15 minutes away … at 4:30. heck, i still have daycare kids around. i’m not about to pack everyone up and totel them across town when they all live right here by me. and of course practice is on wednesday (along with monday) … the same night as choir and awana which i really don’t want her to miss just to go toss a ball around in some unorganized toddler leaque. geez … can i be any more negative?!?!? lol!

i guess that’s enough griping for now. every once in awhile you just have to have a little gripe-fest … right? feels better to vent!

i had to post this layout. i told ashlen i would!

sarah and ashlen … 2 crazy girls! they were bouncing off the walls after school today. i kept asking sarah to sit down and work on her homework … and she kept chasing ashlen around. i kept asking them to be a little more quiet (joe was still sleeping after all) … and they kept making a ton of noise.

really just being themselves. and i told them how it was kind of funny since i had just journaled this layout this afternoon before i picked them up from school. guess my journaling was right on! ashlen got a little mad when i told her what i had wrote. i old her that i did write how i liked how they stuck together though … means they’ll stay friends forever. then i told her i’d post it on my blog … and that put a smile on her face! 

sorry ashlen … love ya!

btw … pattern paper, rubons, and ribbons are all lil davis. and my green journaling looks better in person. lol!

have been meaning to do a post about my hair. i think you’re all familiar with this picture … since it’s on the side of my blog (really should update that):

last week i went and saw rachele for a haircut. funny how i can’t stand my hair being to my shoulders anymore. and my hair has been acting all funky lately. don’t think i ever came out and said this … but i lost a ton of hair during the last part of the year. i’m talking handfuls of hair coming out at a time. i would get in the shower and could just run my hands through my hair and pull out gobs of it. honestly i think it was stress from all the physical stuff i had going on … and not knowing what it was. i was in constant pain for so long … and i really do think it was because of that. still in pain … but now i just accept that it’s part of my life and suck it up. i could complain … but no one wants to hear about it! lol!

but i hate the hair thing though. anyone can look at me and wouldn’t think there is anything wrong with me. i look totally fine. everything on me hurts like heck … but no one sees that. the hair loss … people can see. well i guess they really can’t see it … i have a hat on about 6 days a week. lol! although it has crossed my mind that people may wonder what my fascination with hats is since i wear them all the time. to be honest … i’m getting tired of wearing hats. i wear the same 2 all the time … by nice brown one or my nice black one. the way i talk you’d think i have no hair under there. i really do. just really thinned out on top. my head isn’t built for that … i need volume on top. if i don’t wear a hat … i pin up part of my hair and then pin on a couple of those extra hair thingies you can tie on ponytails. it actually looks pretty good … blends in with my hair color-wise (which reminds me, just about time to color my hair again … i do it myself, so easy). in this picture from christmas i have 2 of the hair pieces on:

but i want to go back to having my normal hair. but my normal hair is gone. i used to be able to wash my hair just twice a week … and it always looked great. if i worked it right … i had tons of curls … tons of volume. not now. my hair is so oily that i can barely go two days without washing it. i want to be able to put it up different ways. granted it’s not much work right now. i just wash it and let it dry on it’s own (remember, i take all my showers at night). then in the morning i just straighten it really quick with my big curling iron and flip the ends a little. not a lot of styling involved once you put a hat on or clip on some extra hair. lol!

sometimes i like that hats. i feel a little stylish when i wear it. sometimes i think it just looks dorky … there is such a thing has having a "bad hat day" … just like "bad hair days". but i think you have to have a little attitude to pull off wearing a hat. it makes you stand out a bit … at least a little from all the other moms i see at the school yard. lol!

this could be the reason i have such a hard time dressing down. i cannot wear sweats … never in public. my usual attire is jeans and a nice, casual shirt … most days with a zip-up sweater type hoodie on top of a t-shirt. i always wear boots … the big chunky boots with a 3-inch chunky heel on them. either brown or black. once spring hits i’ll switch over to my jean capris and t-shirts … with flip flops to match.

somehow this is turning into a post about my clothing habits. lol!

so anyways … sometimes i think i look young and hip. don’t mind that hat. and i get compliments on my hair when i wear the hair pieces … not sure how to respond to those comments … how does one reply to a comment on their fake hair?!?! lol!

but i really just want my hair back. good news though … it is growing back. when rachele was cutting my hair she said she could see all these little one inch pieces of hair growing in. which is apparently one reason my hair is all funky lately … short little hairs popping up. maybe one day i’ll try straightening my hair … and then spiking up the short little hairs on top. lol! wouldn’t i be hip and stylish then!?!?

ok … rachael ray talk. i got one of her cookbooks for christmas from my dad … but i also had another one i had bought a while back and had never even looked at it. i’m not one to really use cookbooks … i like to see pictures to know how it’s supposed to look.

let me start with the fact that i don’t cook. ours meals were always the same old thing. any time we cooked meat, it was on the bbq … i had never cooked chicken or steak on the stovetop. had never used my broiler for anything. usual meals were some sort of meat that joe would try and kill on the bbq (he seems to think you have to grill things for about an hour before it’s done) … and usually steamed rice, mashed potatoes, or some easy noodles. nothing fancy. i also can’t remember ever buying actual onions or garlic … isn’t that what onion powder and garlic powder are for? lol!

i actually started by watching some of rachael’s 30-minute meal shows. they’re on a few times a day on the food network. i have it set up to record all of them … and then i just watch the ones that sound like we’d eat them. i’ve made quite a few things after watching her make them. i have a bunch of episodes still on my DVR … have to check and see if they’re in the cookbooks before i delete them. i’ve been known to rewatch a show right before i start cooking … to make sure i got it all down.

i have picked up some tips and tricks just from watching her cook.

• EVOO is used all the time. even for browning up meat and bacon. to measure … once around the pan is about a tablespoon … twice around is two tablespoons … etc.
• you don’t have to actually measure most stuff … just takes extra time and makes for more dishes. eyeball everything. for spices and dry seasonings … a palm-full is about a tablespoon.
• always let your meat sit out for a bit before throwing in on the heat. you don’t want to add cold meat to a hot grill or pan … so let it sit to take the chill off. also when you’re done cooking the meat … let it rest before cutting into it. that way the juices have time to redistribute so you don’t lose them.
• never rinse mushrooms under the faucet … it toughens them up. just get a towel damp and give the top of the mushrooms a quick wipe. we don’t eat mushrooms … but i still remember this.
• since i now do a lot of chopping of onions and garlic i have put my pampered chef chopper to good use. i’m not a very good chopper. plus as soon as i cut into an onion i’m already in tears. and we also don’t like big pieces on onion in our foods … so if it’s cut smaller we don’t notice it as much. i use my chopper all the time when doing the onions and garlic.
• when you stick bread under the broiler … and a dish with cheese that you just want to melt … don’t forget about it. lol! i’ve burned up my cheese many times already. just a few minutes is all it takes.
• for some dishes (and i’m not sure what ones of the top of my head) it’s helpful to pour some beer or wine in the pan to deglaze the pan and get all the good flavor off the bottom of the pan. the alchohol with cook down and you can scrape up all the tidbits off the bottom.
• grill seasoning … another big one. put it in anything you’re going to grill up. also good for meatloaf and even in hashbrowns.

and most of these meals are really quick to make. i’m actually surprised some days how quick i can make dinner. they say 30-minutes meals … mine are more like 40-minutes. but i figure i do all my cleaning while i’m cooking … hate having tons of dishes at the end.

as for recipes … i tried to find some of the ones i’ve made on her website. there are tons of recipes on there … but not the ones i made (figures). i don’t know if it’s right to post her recipes on here … never know these days. but i have 3 of her 30-minutes cookbooks and they’re all in there. here’s a few ideas that i can think of that i’ve tried:

• "cowboy spaghetti" … oh, this was my first one and boy was it good. basically ground beef, bacon, worchester sauce, tomatoes and some other basics like onion and garlic.
• "chili-dog nachos" … just made this one. ground beef, beef hot dogs, onions, worchester sauce, tomato sauce, and seasonings … all served over tortilla chips, with chedder cheese on top and stuck under the broiler to melt.
• "taco bowls" … ground beef seasoned up like taco meat. layered with crushed tortilla chips, shredded cheese, and lots of guacamole on top. i left the tomatoes out, but that would probably be good if you like them.
• "london broil" … i’ve done this one several ways. a quick marinade and then throw in under the broiler for a few minutes. once i just added worchester sauce to the meat … but i think once it involved some grill seasoning, EVOO, some tamari soy sauce. also learned that london broil is a way of cooking, not a cut of meat. thinnly slice the meat at an angle … the thinner the better.
• "teriyaki chicken" … just threw some chicken fillets in a marinade of EVOO, teriyaki sauce, some grill seasoning. put in on the grill for about 5 minutes and it was perfect.
• "italian sausage and pasta" … got some bulk sweet italian sausage and added all the fixins like onions, garlic, and seasonings. then added some broccoli, cheese, and cooked noodles. i’m not a big broccoli person … but everyone else liked it.
• "ham, pasta, spinach" … the family did not like this one. but i did. the spinach turend them off right away … i should have used a lot less. but it was a cheesy noodle based dish … with frozen spinach and lots of ham. then stuck in under the broiler with lots of cheesy bread crumbs on top to add that extra crunch. it really was good.
• "pizza twists" … made these for super bowl. so easy to make. took a tube of pizza dough and unrolled it. added some pepperoni and cheese to just half the dough … then folded it over and cut into strips with my pizza cutter. twisted them and placed them on the cookie sheet … baked for about 15 minutes and served with marinara sauce. super easy and good.

that’s all i can think of right now. check out her books or her site for more recipes. i’ve actually been cooking most nights … usually 5 or so nights a week. so far there’s only been one thing that didn’t go over to well … and that was the "sweddish meatballs". not bad … just not for us.

hope i was able to share a trick or two that you can find useful. let me know if you have any good recipes to share! tonights menu … london broil and roasted potatoes with a little salad on the side. as rachael would say … "yum-o"!!!

thanks everyone for the comments on the button tree. it is cute sitting up in my studio … even though it was tedious to make! lol!

my weekend didn’t start off that productive. friday dina and i went out for the afternoon … hit a scrapbook store a few towns away, had mexican for lunch, got starbucks. nice to get out and hang with a friend. once i got home and the girls came home from school … i was done. joe turned on a movie around 4:30 … "flicka", with my boyfriend tim mcgraw. i had already seen it at the theatre … but next thing you know the three of us (alyssa had gone to her dad’s) were stuck on the couch for the entire movie. i never watch movies … and certainly not during the day. lol! we ended up grabbing some burgers for dinner and the rest of the night was a boring blur.

for some reason i decided not to take a sleeping pill last night. not sure why. they’ve really helped the last few months … and i think with getting more sleep, i don’t have as much pain when i get up in the morning. but since i didn’t take one … i was awake the entire night. sucked! i layed in bed until 11:00 am just not even wanting to get up. not really sleeping … just had no desire to get out of bed. finally got up though and actually started some laundry and picking up around the house.

then i made myself do some cleaning in my studio. not that it was messy. i’m a very neat scrapper. but i did have some piles of stuff that just wasn’t being used. put stuff away. unpacked some monthly kits. cleaned out my pattern paper … made up a whole stack to give to a friend that wants to maybe start scrapping. then took out a bunch of the layouts that are half-finished … the ones i never got around to adding a title, journaling, or embellishments. and i finished up a bunch of them. most of them aren’t even ones i would bother sharing … just simple and plain. but they’re done. that’s what counts, right?

also stared pulling out some supplies for the scrap-a-faire classes i signed up for. 2 of the classes have huge supply lists … luckily most of it i have laying around. just trying to get it gathered up so that i’ll be all ready and actually do the classes.

also made another successful rachael ray dinner tonight. i need to do my post on this subject … will do that tomorrow. i’m totally addicted to cooking her meals. which i think the family likes at times. but other times they get a little scared. lol!

want to see what i’ve been working on for the last 2 months …

yes … 2 months! not that it took that long to make. just that i kept putting off finishing it. i saw this idea over on 2peas back in december … aren’t they just the cutest idea. and we all know i have enough buttons that need to be used. lol! all of these colors were in a mix that i had, so that worked out perfect. and i figured that the colors would go good displayed in my studio. i’ve had this sitting out with bags of buttons, containers of pins … just waiting to be finished. i think i’ll call it done!

havn’t been feeling well these last few days. stomache thing … sucks. hopefully i’ll be back to normal by tomorrow.

did pick up a couple cd’s today. 2 of them were for the girls … the new ashley tisdale cd and the new jordan pruitt cd. both of them disney channel girls. i’m sure i’ll be listening to them a ton. but i have to admit i love all that kind of music. lol! and i got the new katharine mcphee cd … from american idol last season. i wasn’t sure about this one. i loved her the first part of the season … but then she started bugging me a little. i think she just came off kindof funny. which she admits now … that people didn’t really get to know much of her personality. i’m more of a country girl … but i branch out every now and then. i can say that i love the 2nd song on the cd … "over it". good song.

off to find a home for my button tree!

total random stuff:

• saw today that making memories is doing another "mm idol" contest. of course you know i’ll enter again. love their products … and am in awe of their designers. hopefully i can come up with a few new designs … otherwise i’m sure i can use a few of my recent things.
• have you heard about the scrap-a-faire going on at the end of the month? check it out … lots of fun classes by such talented designers. i signed up for erin’s journaling class … got a sneak peek and it’s going to be great. and also signed up for both of tracy’s classes … stamping and tons of fun flowers. i know deneen is signed up for a few. dina, get signed up so we can get together and work on them! lol!
• went through all my fun stuff i got from lil davis. so much chipboard and ribbons … i love chipboard and ribbon! unpackaged it all and got things in my jars and baskets … all ready to be created with.
• got around to cleaning my stove-top, microwave, and sink today. ugh … they were filthy. and when i say clean … i meant scrub like crazy.  i hate trying to clean the burner grate things. jenn told me to stick them in the oven and run the self-cleaning oven cycle (is that the right way to explain it?) … and that it will take off all that black stuff that is stuck on. figure i’ll try it later this week. and how bad is it that i’ve never cleaned my oven!?!?! lol!
• alyssa turned in her state report today and did her presentation. that was a lot of work … a written report, tons of picture pages, a oral presentation, and a visual. and i now know that i can never go back to school … i have zilch concentration for that kind of thing!
• didn’t have any daycare kids today. but i couldn’t get myself moving this morning. decided to make a run to target … was totally out of diet pepsi and chocolate. jenn passed me on the way … so i called her on her cell phone and we met up for lunch … along with ady. some good oriental chicken salad at applebees. thanks jenn!
• have officially taken over joes flannel pj’s. i realized that i was down to one pair of jammie pants … and they really weren’t that cute any more. i always get the old navy flannel pants … they must not have had any good ones this year. but i found a couple pairs in joe’s drawers. love big, baggy, comfy flannels! i can’t stay in jammies in the morning (get dressed right away) … but come 6:00 and i’m ready to put them on.
• really should have stopped at the grocery store today … need some avocadoes. i made a fun "taco bowl" yesterday for the super bowl party at my brothers … a rachael ray recipe. would’ve been a little better if we had eaten it right when it was ready … hate making something and then by the time you get to it, it’s cold. i have plenty of extras of everything to make some more … but need some avocadoes to put on top. will have to ask joe to bring some home in the morning (advantages to working in grocery!).
• btw … i’ve turned into such the cook lately. rachael ray has totally inspired me. will have to make a seperate post about all the neat tricks i’ve picked up.

and like most of my random posts … my mind just totally went blank! lol! so that’s it for now!

i actually got some pictures of sarah today! sad to say … but my girls run from me whenever i take the camera out. guess they’ve had too many years of me taking pics of them. lol! but she was "heelying" around … whatever you call it when they’re skating around with those shoes that have the wheels on the bottom. i managed to catch her for a few shots. and if you look at her eyes … you can see me!

it was actually a gorgeous day out. too bad i wasn’t in a gorgeous mood. lol! did a few things around the house that we’ve been putting off since it’s been so cold out. cleaned out the garage some … we had about 20 totes and boxes that needed to go up in the attic (including all the christmas stuff). then i even did a little yardwork. all the plants in the backyard are totally dead. i know stuff dies out in the winter … and it’s been super cold … but i don’t think they’re going to come back to life. trimmed some things down though … figured i might as well fill up the lawn bin since the garbage dudes pick it up this week. it’s just depressing looking outside … everything is dead and brown and covered in dirt. everything needs a big cleaning.

tomorrow we’ve got a super bowl party at my brothers house … but we can’t go until we get alyssa’s state report all done. this is her first big report … with a visual and written report and a presentation. she has to present hers on monday … so we need it totally done. and to top it off … she’s getting sick. poor thing doesn’t look so good … you can just tell she’s miserable. gave her some cold medicine before bed. so hopefully she’ll be good to go in the morning.

not much else here. did get my goodie box from lil davis yesterday … tons of great product. havn’t even had time to really go through it … maybe tomorrow night. i feel some layouts coming on! and the tax thing went ok … i guess i have to wait for the final numbers. last year she did them while i was there … but she did say that i was her very first appointment this year … so hopefully it won’t take too long to find out. just want to have an idea of how we did.

sorry such a boring post. i’ll try and make it more exciting next time! lol!

couldn’t get motivated yesterday for nothing. so i pulled out my stack of layouts that need to be put away. i think it was about may of last year when i spent like forever setting up my albums and getting all my layouts organized and seperated. worked out my system.

well … this is what i’ve done since then. this apparently is about 6 months worth of scrapping. i usually just throw them all in a pile until it gets to big to fit in the cabinet. lol! so i sorted them out yesterday and put most of them away. i couldn’t put away all the layouts of the daycare kids and the girls friends … need a few more extension posts before i can add my refills in the albums.

i had a hard time just throwing them in the albums though. i like to have my layouts in order … kindof a rough estimate time-wise of when they were taken. but i had some layouts with much older pics … but couldn’t work them into the album without taking them apart. it was really hard for me to just put the layout in the back of the album … even if it should have gone 2 albums back in the front. lol! i guess some day when i’m like 85 … i can spend weeks on end getting them all straightened out. lol!

well … off to finish up my paperwork for taxes tonight! wish me luck!

so tomorrow is feb 1st … where did january even go?!?! before i get to that i thought i’d share my last layout i finished up for lil davis for the month. was waiting to see if i got my box of new goodies in time to do my last layout … but it hasn’t come yet, so i had to pull out some older stuff.

had these canvas numbers and wanted to do something with them. i was sitting up in my studio a few nights ago when i took a few pics of alyssa sitting there watching tv. i NEVER take pictures at night … don’t know why, but i don’t. so was happy these actually turned out. i uploaded them, edited them, made a collage, and printed it out … all within about an hour of taking the pictures! so cool! so then came up with the idea of doing a layout about her favorite channel on tv … and the shows she likes to watch. wasn’t too sure when i plopped that blue flower on this afternoon … but i needed a little more color. think it’s kindof cool.

so, the 1st of the month. always good for a few things.

• new kits go up over at poppy ink. i know people are on waiting lists trying to get signed up for this kit … so glad i’m already in. it’s total eye candy over there too … so much fun stuff to look at. i’ve been good too … havn’t ordered any add-on kits. but still love to look and tempt myself! lol!
• new garden goes up over at 2peas. once again … more eye candy. love seeing what the garden girls come up with each month. i don’t always remember to check this on the 1st of the month … but i’m on top of it this time.
• like knowing that i can start a new folder in "my pictures". i sort all my digital pics into folders for each month. i have seperate folders for daycare pics and family pics. my system has worked pretty good for the last year … although feeling the need to rethink a little now that i’ve been shooting in "raw" (for all of a week now!). but my january daycare folder is huge … since ady has been my main subject this month and since i’ve been doing tons of practicing. so glad to start up a "february" folder!
• and this next one isn’t the 1st of the month … but on the 2nd i go to get our taxes done. made the appointment early this year. maybe too early since i don’t have joe’s w-2 yet. lol! still need to get some of my daycare paperwork in order … nothing like leaving it until the last minute. hopefully we do well this year … we could really use it right now.
• got all my lil davis layouts done for january … so on to february. and i’m convinced the fedex guy is going to actually stop here tomorrow and drop off my design team box … instead of driving by and laughing at me for waiting on him! lol! maybe some new products will get me inspired!

i’m sure there’s more stuff going on the 1st of the month that i’m not thinking of. oh yeah … gotta send off the mortgage payment! lol! i totally forgot about that!