today's recipe

"Veggie" Quesadillas

1 cup salsa
1 cup drained, canned black beans, rinsed
1 zucchini, shredded
8 (6-inch) fat-free tortillas
3/4 cup Monterey jack cheese, shredded

In medium bowl, combine salsa, beans and zucchini. Spread 1/4 of mixture over each of 4 tortillas. Top each with 3 tablespoons of cheese; cover each with another tortilla.
Heat skillet over medium heat. One at a time, cook each quesadilla, turning once until cheese is melted. About one minute on each side.
Cut each quesadilla into quarters, serve immediately.

4 servings; 5 POINTS per serving.

I mix the beans, salsa and zucchini together and take one quarter out for my own quesadilla, refrigerating the rest to have another day.
I serve these with light sour cream and avocado. mmmmmm
Try these - you won't be sorry!

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sweet!

beware though - if your recipient is paying for each text message they receive this idea only works well for you! :)

From Real Simple Magazine
January 2009

de-lish dinner

I guess I need to let you all know I'm doing weight watchers again. It's all her fault. It's not a new year's resolution or anything, I just want to take better care of myself. And my back which Cami said is "taxed". I asked her if she was calling me fat. No, just taxed. That girl, I swear. She'll be the death of me but what a way to go - laughing your ass off.

So the last few days haven't been great for me with my diet. Don't freak out because I said "diet" it is what it is - my diet. Yes I'm changing my eating habits, living a new life blah, blah blah but what I'm talking about here is my food intake - my diet.

So tonight for dinner I wanted something quick and easy. I took a tortilla, scrambled an egg with an egg white and added Canadian bacon and cheese. That was dinner. 5 points of tastee and totally portable! Cause I'm a girl on the go you know.

We'll see how this weight watchers thing goes. I'll keep you posted.

family photo

This is my big brother Al and his sweet family. Aren't they just so cute? I snagged this picture from my mom's blog because I had to post it here too. It's part of that abundance I mention in the next post.

Love you, Butch. :)

blessed with abundance

As I sad down at my computer this morning I looked at the desktop picture I changed last night. I adore Kelly Rae Roberts and one day I'll have an original. Once in a while I come across a new post on her site where she shares her work. Yesterday this one caught my eye - the colors, the sweet expression on her face and I immediately right clicked-set as backgrounded her.

Today I saw her message - blessed with abundance and I realized, I am. Even as I sit here with a terrible head cold, few dollars in my bank account and only one working car I can say I am blessed with abundance. Are you?

Thanks Kelly Rae.

like it's 1999

We really partied hard up in Michigan! I think we're all still recovering.

Here are the promised pictures:

Me on the left, Ken's sister, Donna on the right

and Ashley doin' her thing in the middle.

Girl-child has been dying to use this line on someone when they say, "you look really familiar."

"Did we . . ." as she points back and forth between them. This guy was so funny. He was like, "DAMN! Did we hook up?" Um, no. :D

This next picture captures part of what makes girl-child so special. She didn't know this old guy from Adam but he was sitting all alone so she went up and wished him a happy new year. I don't think he'll be forgetting her any time soon.

Charlie and Roo:

And here they are being dumb asses and wrecking a perfectly good picture. :)

A good time was had by all. We're already looking forward to the next road trip.

road tripping and naughty monkeys

Good morning and Happy New Year!

Blogging from the road. I decided to tag along with girl-child and her friend on a little road trip vacay up to Michigan to see her aunt.

Ya'll - we have had THE best time. My vocal chords may never recover - we've been laughing since we pulled out of the driveway two days ago. My girl ROCKS! I'll post some terrific party shots tomorrow. I swear, when we go out, she's the girl who makes every head in the room turn when she walks in. And why wouldn't they with these on her feet:

Meet girl-child's Naughty Monkeys. You think I can get these in a 10?

And her friend, Charlie. . .there aren't even words for this guy. I know I'm getting ahead of myself because last you all heard she was getting married. Ashley came home a few weeks ago after making the tough decision to get out of a relationship that just wasn't a good fit. I've been watching her blossom back into her old self these past few weeks and now, I think I'm watching her fall in love.

Good things are coming this year. I can feel it.

you're it!

If you're reading this, consider yourself tagged. Go to your photos folder on your computer. Find the fourth picture in the fourth file and share! Here's mine:

So fun!

Ken and I built these adirondack chairs two summers ago. I painted them fun funky colors and every time I see them outside, even today, they make me smile. They remind me of the good time we had working side by side, completing a project together.

Ok, so here's the real fourth photo:

The chairs are actually fourth from the bottom. But since they didn't specify, I used the better picture. This one evokes memories of sweat and sawdust which ain't all bad but just doesn't hold the same charm. So, good pictures or bad, let's see 'em!

Oh, and if you play along, be sure to leave me a link where I can see yours!

koolhaas hat

This pattern should be called kickhass hat. Number one, it is a totally kick ass pattern. That Jared sure knows what he's doing. Me? Not so much. I seem to be more proficient at UN-knitting this pattern. I need to just relax and trust the pattern. When it says 'knit the next two stitches through the back loops' but doesn't say 'knit them together' then maybe, just maybe I should follow the pattern and not decrease the stitches by half the first decrease round. Maybe it's just me. OK, so it's totally me. I swear, I've unknit the first decrease round about 17 times. But seriously, this is a fantastic knit. The cabling pattern is so distinct it's super easy to find your mistakes. Lucky me! When I did get stuck I emailed Jared and he politely walked me through. How's THAT for customer service?!

I know I've been saying this for the last three days but really, today I will finish this hat!

I got super behind in my blogging. I can't (un)knit AND blog! So, for those interested, I posted some of my Santa collection in my google album. Click the Santa below to visit.

Hope your holidays were merry and bright.

ETA: Koolhaas hat DONE! This is by far, the coolest thing I've ever knit. It's not perfect but it is done and it's still lovely.

santas great and small

I love being a Santa collector. I think some people view him as the father of commercialism but to me, Santa represents the spirit of Christmas. He is the spirit of giving, the wonder and magic of the season.

Here are a few of my favorites:

He's a big one!
and this one was a gift from Ashley:

and this one is Ken's favorite. He's impossibly small and impossibly cute.

11 days till Christmas!
Ornaments coming soon.