FWF #4 - We're back! And off again...

Well, I'm pleased to say that Marika and I more than survived in Vegas - though the driving was pretty excruciating (3.5 hours there, 4.5 hours to return), the girls played really well and ended up making it to the championship (undefeated!) and losing in a shootout (this means the game was tied and it went down to penalty kicks against the goalie). We didn't get a post-game picture because all the girls were sobbing...it was so sad...it made ME want to cry!

But, one of the parents is a photoshop editing whiz and made this team picture...fabulous, right?

We're about to dash off to State Cup (another tournament) but I squeezed out some time to make a card...

Sketch from CAS(E) this sketch...

 And used Unity's newest January 2016 Sentiment Kit - Worth it All.

 

My recipe for this week is Dessert Pizza - totally yummy!! DaddyDude had requested it, after we had it at a team party (but the lady didn't share the recipe - don't you hate it when people do that? Thank goodness for pinterest!). I would totally make this again...but have more people around to help eat it!

FWF #3 - Vegas, Baby!

Just a short post before I zip off - Marika has a soccer tournament up in Vegas so she and I are driving there tomorrow (it will be 3.5 hours if I'm lucky, longer if I'm not!). I'm really nervous, because I've never driven longer than 2.5 hours (I've been very fortunate) and usually DaddyDude takes care of the long drives - but he has to stay at home to cart Mika to her softball practices so...it's just Marika, WAZE (love that app!), and me. Wish us luck!!! At this point, all I want to do it get there in one piece, and return home in safely. Low expectations are the key!

Mika's teammate has a birthday this weekend, so I found this great sketch from Freshly Made Sketches and rotated it 90-degrees counter-clockwise - specifically so it would be PERFECT for that Unity stamp I love so much...

Candles and Cake {Wit & Wisdom} is one of my go-to stamps. Love it!

Looking at the recipe I chose, you can tell it was one of those days that I didn't have many vegetables left in the fridge! I felt like eating rice and so, it was Kung Pao Chicken night for us! Having kids in the house, I couldn't spice it up as I wanted (boo!) but the flavoring in this recipe was REALLY good! Next time, I should at least add some celery! But seriously - Rasa Malaysia food blog is an excellent place to visit... :)

P.S. I'm sad to see that Unity has discontinued their "Friends with Flair" hop, but I'm going to try and continue posting a project a week. One of these days, I want to get back to making layouts!

FWF#2 - An Exciting Beginning

The second week of 2016 brought lots and LOTS of rain (the mountains to the north and east of us are all snow-covered!). The kids are finishing up their third week of winter break (yes, three weeks, I kid you not!) and DaddyDude took off this week for vacation. The dog was depressed he couldn't go outside very much, but DaddyDude made him feel better by finally making his wood pallet bed (based off this pin I found)...

The plan is to paint it (I'm not sure what color yet) and to make him a nameplate sign on the front, using some Unity stamps, of course! I just need to buy a couple more brown baskets from Daiso (Japanese version of the Dollar Store, but things are $1.50 or more). The only sad thing was...I had to give up two of my remaining wood pallets to a friend, because DaddyDude was all crabby about the space they were taking up. *sigh* Oh, well...

On to crafty stuff now...

 I chose this wonderful sketch from CAS(E) This Sketch...

And used it to make a birthday card for my mother. Unfortunately for her, she had to begin her new year with an angina heart procedure - BUT it went well and her doctor pronounced that everything looked good. That was great news! I used two Unity stamps for the front (butterflies are from All About Hope {May 2013 Sentiment Kit} while the birthday sentiment came from Lilacs & Birthdays {Floral Collage} by Graciellie Design) and and another for the inside sentiment (not shown - "May All Your Wishes Come True" from Sabrina {Fashionista}). Oh, that reminds me - be sure to go shop at Unity's Garage Sale!

My new recipe for this week was Italian Chicken Tortellini Soup - with all the cold and wet weather, this soup recipe was PERFECT. Instead of making their chicken nuggets, I just used leftover chicken (I slowcook a chicken once a week - it usually makes enough for 3 meals for this family of four). Everybody loved it!

In other news...Mika has had three weeks off some team softball practice, but all the players were told to do something softball-related six days a week. She's been diligently training at her speed/agility classes three times a week (she loves it! I love that she's all sweaty and stinky - and happy - when she gets into the car!) and working with DaddyDude on her fielding/batting. Being only 12 years old, it's hard for her to see the long-term picture of reaping the rewards, but...

She and DaddyDude were so very pleasantly surprised when they went to her organizational fielding class last Wednesday. Marty (founder of the Corona Angels) runs a fielding clinic every Wednesday  and Mika goes to the late 9-10 pm session because her father likes to take her. She's with the older girls (14-18), which makes her work harder - and they inspire/encourage her. Last Wednesday, though - some of the college girls came back to train and one of them plays for the University of California at Berkeley (we are both Cal alumni) - Kylie Reed!

 

There were also a few more alumni there...these are all girls who went to a Division 1 school...Tennessee, Oklahoma, Nebraska...! 

 

So, when you're 12 years old, it's like meeting a bunch of softball celebrities (like Jennie Finch - who she DID meet and take a photo with last year, when at her camp). She got to work out with the college girls for the entire hour and when she climbed back into the car to come home, she texted excitedly "I CAN'T BELIEVE I GOT TO SPEAK TO KYLIE REED!!!"

I'm so grateful to these college girls for talking with her and posing for a photography - they probably remember what it was like to be twelve and looking starry-eyed at the ones who had made it to the Division 1 schools. Maybe one day - Mika will be in their shoes!!!

I can only hope - but in the meantime, I am so proud of her for working hard for her dreams. :)

Happy New Year! FWF #1



Happy New Year! Have you made your 2016 resolutions yet? I have only made one... and that is to get our upstairs organized again. It sure would be nice to clean up my craft area and make layouts again!

 



I almost missed this week's "hop" - what a shame to blow my streak of posting for every FWF for the past two years! So, I hopped onto Pinterest to find a sketch that grabbed me... 



This screams for "washi", right? Love this sketch!

 

So since my crafting area is such a mess, I used the first Unity "washi" kit I stumbled upon - Washi This Love, as well as To the Bitty Moon (currently on sale for $2.79!). The chippies are from Love Confetti by UmWowStudio (you should check out DeeDee's store and blog - she's amazing!).

 

 

Ah, food - glorious food! I haven't decided if I want to continue making one new recipe a week or not. But in the meantime, here's another one - Chipotle's guacamole recipe. I'm not sure it's really their recipe, simply because although it was good, it was HOT! I'm a bit skeptical that they add any jalapeno at all (maybe some serranos, I could see that) but if I make this again, I'm going to leave that out!



FWF #52 - Time for 2016 Resolutions...?

Hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas! Ours was very simple and quiet - just the way we like 'em! We celebrate with just our immediate family and manage to avoid most unpleasant family drama. Unfortunately, since both kids had a tournament during Thanksgiving weekend, we never got around to putting up our tree. Instead, we just put up a little one (no assembly required) and stacked the presents around it. It worked and on the bright side, we have very little clean-up. :) The dog didn't even try to rip the legs off the Santa door hangers, even though I could tell he was tempted!

 

For my last FWF card (I don't know if Unity's having another one before the end of the year), I made a thank you card for Marika's friend and mom, for taking her to see "Peter Pan" at the famous Pantages theater in Pasadena (it's on my wish list to go there one day). The ticket was originally destined for another friend, but she got sick and Marika got lucky - she had a blast and enjoyed recognizing various actors from Disney TV. They even got to sit next to the family of Sabrina Carpenter - how cool is that?

So I used this very versatile sketch from Freshly Made Sketches (#217)...

And used two stamps from two different Unity monthly sentiment kits - the embossed snowflakes (and inside sentiment "a blizzard of thanks" - not shown) are from Like a Snowflake (December 2014) and the banner and "Thank You" sentiment are from Basically Said (June 2014).

 

My final recipe for 2015 is Cheesy Ham Breakfast Casserole, which I made on Christmas morning - it was pretty tasty and a nice treat for Christmas morning. Next year, I will prepare everything (except for addition of the liquid eggs) the night before. Unfortunately, I did not wake up as early as I had hoped, since I was still frantically finishing up a mini-album for DaddyDude the night before.

 

And now, as the year winds down, it's time to consider my resolutions for 2016. Have you made yours...?

FWF #51 - Finally, It's Winter Break!

It's difficult to believe that the end of the year is almost upon us - time to start thinking about resolutions for 2016! But first - are you ready for Christmas...? I am so relieved that both kids are finally done with school for awhile. Marika has already begun her break from soccer and Mika has only one more softball practice tomorrow...I am definitely looking forward to a more relaxed schedule.

For this week, I chose sketch #259 from My Favorite Things...

And it all came together pretty quickly - with the awesome Unity sentiment (Be Merry and Have Joy) and some fabulous MME Christmas paper...

For my recipe of the week, I decided it was time to try another fish recipe. My family likes fish, but we usually eat salmon - I wanted to dress up some tilapia and found this recipe that worked really well with it - The Very Best Fish Recipe Ever. Marika thought it was too cheesy (*gasp* Is there such a thing?!) but the rest of us thought it was quite yummy - and very quick to make.

Hope you all have a wonderfully Merry Christmas! Be well!

FWF #50 - Good week for hardware!

More than a week has passed since the terrorist attack in San Bernardino (the next town over) and despite the community being a little on edge, I have been pleasantly surprised by the unity within. Everything still seems extremely surreal - but life continues to go on...

And as Christmas approaches, it was time to make cards for some teachers/coaches...

This cute sketch is (apparently) an old one from The Paper Players...the pin I used didn't track it back to the original post, but at least I have a picture!

And here's my take on it, using Santas, Stockings, Candy Canes, Etc (from the Wit & Wisdom line at Unity). I just love this style of stamp so much, I had to use it with another sketch...

I thought this sketch from Freshly Made Sketches lended itself nicely to use with this stamp...

So fun! I love this stamp!

 

And on to food - this week's new recipe was Honey Cashew Chicken from RasaMalaysia - scrumptious! You really cannot go wrong with any of her recipes!

 

Speaking of good things...it was nice to have some positives after a tragic week. Mika's team won their second tournament in a row (American Athletics Toys for Tots Tournament - a wonder toy drive hosted by the U.S. Marines for underprivileged children) - and it was against some of the top teams in the country. One strong competitor from Texas had to fly home early (but I'm sure they'll play each other again at the PGF National Championships next July) and so, it came down to playing Power Surge-Bachtell, a powerhouse of softball out of San Diego. The Corona Angels Red team did it, beating them 4-3. It was a tough game!

 

Mika didn't get to play at all the first day (Saturday's pool play), but she did get to play in all four bracket play games on Sunday. The regular second baseman (who is AMAZING, by the way - you take one look at her and you can totally see her on ESPN later, playing for a big Div 1 school), wasn't feeling very well so Mika actually got to start and play the entire game of the semi-finals. She did pretty well, considering how much pressure there is (screwing up isn't tolerated at this level!) - every time the ball came near her, I thought I was going to throw up from nervousness!

However, I have faith she will continue to get better, as she earns more play time. Mika was on the field playing, when the championship game ended, though - yay!!! Mika's day began at 7:30 am that day and didn't end until about 8:30 pm but I gotta tell you - it was TOTALLY worth it. :) Yes, she's still working to earn her stripes, but you can only learn to be the best if you play with the best!

 

 

And in other news... Mika finally had her last running meet of the year - whew! I don't know why, but several of the top runners weren't there, so Mika ended up doing really REALLY well - she actually placed sixth and the top ten runners got medals. Woohoo! I am proud of her for never quitting and trying to push herself to do better each meet. She's never going to win a race, but that's okay!

Now that being said - I am so ready for school winter break...and a little rest from all the running around... :)

FWF #49 - Never Think "Never"

This week has been incredibly surreal - most of you know that there was a mass shooting this past Wednesday. It struck a little too close to home, as San Bernardino is the next city over (and the location was only about 15 minutes away from our house) and the residence of the suspects is just across town. We've always thought this was a pleasant little town in the suburbs and that NOTHING terrible would ever happen here. We didn't know anyone who lost their lives but are so sad for those that did.

Apparently, anything is possible - anywhere. Don't take anything in life for granted!
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Changing the subject here... I have no idea what happened to this week's Friends with Flair, but I'm going to post my creation for this week anyway.

I'm always touched when friends bring back souvenirs for my little girls. So, I made a thank you card for Mika and Marika to send to their friends.

I loved this Freshly Made Sketch #215.

 

 

 I thought it would be PERFECT for the Unity Stamp Kit - Kindness Matters. 

 

My new recipe for this week was Roasted Jalapeno Poppers by Rachel Ray. I had made some a few weeks ago but didn't like the breaded part - so I was pleased to find this one. OMG - these were WONDERFUL!!! And so easy! A real winner!

And finally...I'd like to end this post on a happy note. We enjoyed a lovely Thanksgiving together but then had to part ways on Friday - Marika and I went down to San Diego for a soccer tournament while DaddyDude drove Mika to Las Vegas for a softball tournament (they returned back home, Monday morning at 3 am!). Marika's soccer team didn't advance but Mika's softball team took first place at the 12A Winter Classic in Vegas. Woohoo!



It's the first time Mika has ever been on a team that won a tournament and as I've mentioned before, she earned a spot in September on one of the top fast-pitch teams in SoCal. Mika didn't get to start any games, but did well when she did get to go in.

 

Here's our girl with her four coaches - they've been pretty encouraging and supportive of her, and we're looking forward to having Mika work her way up. I think it's a good life lesson for her to EARN her way - not to be afraid of hard work and seeing that it will pay off. Maybe not immediately, but eventually.

Everything is a work in progress, as every top-level team works towards winning the National PGF Championship in July 2016. That's the brass ring, baby!

FWF #48 - Happy Thanksgiving!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! And so...another Black Friday approaches. It's pretty overwhelming how many email offers come flying into our inboxes, isn't it? Remember when life used to be slower...? We didn't get mail service on Saturdays and stores were NEVER open on Sundays. Remember...? Or, am I just showing my age...? LOL!

We have a soccer tournament this weekend (Mika is heading out to Vegas with her dad for a softball tourney out there). It has, however, been a very peaceful Thanksgiving and for that, I am very grateful. :)

Marika's teammate had a birthday party last Sunday so I looked for a sketch that could feature a giant soccer ball...

My card was very CAS, so I am not going to link it up with Sunday Stamps, but it worked well enough to showcase two different Unity kits...

 

The front sentiment came from Birthday Jubilee (July 2013 Sentiment Kit) and I used a huge sentiment from Here's My Thought (August 2013 Sentiment Kit). Her friend was delighted to get a soccer card. :)

 

And while the kids were at the party (it was at a location about 30 minutes from our house), I dashed out to the local Asian grocery store there to grab some dumplings - and stopped by the produce area to oooh and aaah over the vegetables. I saw some long beans (see below) and immediately wanted to eat some.  

 

I don't know what it is with these things, they intrigue me! I am constantly looking for recipes on how to cook them up. Yum yum... and it's pretty hard to feel guilty about eating vegetables...LOL!

 

Spicy, dry, sautéed long beans - pretty tasty! I didn't add the optional hoisin sauce at the end but next time I will (the flavoring was good, but there are certain times I like it heavier).

Hope everybody has a safe and fun weekend - if you're braving the crowds this weekend, GOOD LUCK! And be safe!

FWF #47 - Already!

Can you believe it? It's already week #47 for FWF and woot woot! It's time for Unity Stamp Company's famous Brown Thursday sale! Time to go shopping!

This week, it was time to make Mika's second thank you card for our other neighbor...my eye was caught by this CAS design of Freshly Made Sketch #213... (after all, it was supposed to be masculine in nature)...

I ended up using stamps from two different kits - Kindness Matters (I never get tired of this awesome stamp!) and Thanks Above and Beyond (April 2015 Sentiment Kit). 

We found a new great recipe this week - but not gourmet by any means! When I met DaddyDude in college, he was still making Hamburger Helper. As a male that cooked, he was still light years ahead of most of his friends! When I saw this quick recipe for "Homemade Hamburger Helper" (and I love one-pot recipes!), I thought it might be appealing to the kids...and I was right! Not only was it easy/quick to prepare after a soccer practice, but it was just the right amount for a family of four (no leftovers!). It will certainly be added to a regular rotation of favorites...and DaddyDude didn't find it "too stroganoffish" (the kids LOVE beef stroganoff - but he does not). Win-win for everyone!

FWF #46 - When the chips are down, you can count on good friends!

This past week was much better - thank you, everyone, for sending good vibes my way!

Fundraising is one of the more difficult issues when your kids do club sports, but it's even harder when the team decides to hold a poker night - and the event is an hour away from your house - and you don't really know anyone who plays poker! So, when we were told we had to try and get five people to come, I was very worried. But, two of our neighbors were kind enough to help out. One is actually going to come (he always does VERY WELL in Vegas) and the other was willing to sponsor two players (he's so appreciative because DaddyDude dispenses free professional advice). Whew! And we were so touched by their generosity! DaddyDude will be our fourth contribution - and really, he's just handing our money over because he has no clue how to play poker!

So, I thought it would be nice if Mika wrote a thank you note to these kind neighbors. I've finished one so far...

This sketch from CAS(E) This Sketch (#148) looked like an interesting way to combine a few Unity stamps.

I used the sentiment from Everything Wonderful (June 2013 Sentiment Kit), the frame from Everything More, and Kindness Matters.

My new recipe for this week was Easy Garlic Alfredo Tortellini - delicious! There's something about Italian sausage that makes everything taste so yummy!

FWF #45 - Finally Feeling Like Fall is Here

It finally feels like fall out here in southern California - we finally got rain and temperatures actually dipped below 50. Woohoo! Bo agreed to pose while I took a shot of our neighborhood street - love the poofy clouds, you can almost feel the cool crisp air!

I'm finally feeling more relaxed, having survived last week - Bo tangling with an opposum (and getting covered by fleas as a result) AND having some crook steal our credit card (topped off by our bank NOT catching the fraudalent activity and allowing a $1500 charge to happen...and lying to us about Fedex'ing our replacement card...and sending it snail mail instead).

But all is well that ends well - Bo (and the oppossum) is fine and our new cards arrived yesterday. I was so bummed to have missed Unity's last sale, but hope everybody else was able to score some great goodies!

One of Mika's favorite middle school friends is having a birthday party later this week, so I was really happy we could buy stuff at Amazon again - her friend is into making friendship bracelets, so it was fun to shop for gifts. :) Today, I made a card for her, using this lovely sketch from Viva La Verve.

I used stamps from three Sentiment Kits - Everything Comes Full Turn (September 2015), and Butterflies & Sunbeams (August 2015) and Everything Wonderful (June 213). I added one more butterfly than the sketch, but only because I *love* insects and didn't think it was possible to have too any butterflies on a card! LOL!

And as for my recipe of the week...I developed a strong craving to make Baked Jalapeno Poppers after talking to another parent on Marika's soccer team about them. Mmmmmm...these were pretty good, but I had a hard time getting the breading to stick - so next time, I would probably skip that step. Also, I totally forgot to make the dip. BUT, they were pretty tasty without it - and the jalapenos weren't spicy at all, after the insides had been stripped away. 

 Thanks for visiting! Hope everyone is enjoying their fall weather!

FWF #44 - Owl We Need is Each Other

This is going to be a super quick post, it's been a busy week and it's not over yet! Yikes!

Unity has been coming out with so many cute stamps, it's hard to keep up! Once I saw this sketch (from Sweet Sunday Sketches) on pinterest, I knew it was time to showcase an owl kit!

 

 

I chose Going to be Owl Right.. who doesn't love an owl with big eyes???

 

And for my recipe of the week... this was a quick and easy pasta side dish called Creamy Garlic shells (obviously, I didn't use shells because once again, I used whatever was in my pantry!). My only mistake was to double the recipe - it got boring as a leftover but was a nice side dish for the main meal. Apparently, I need to buy some parsley flakes or something, too, because it looked a little boring!

 

Hope you all have a wonderful week and Happy Halloween!