Fulfilling Resolutions in 2011

Howdy! I hope everyone is having a fantastic week. I know I am! You may have noticed that I spoke about resolutions earlier this month. I have a few of them. One was to reach out to you more through my blog by making regular posts. Another resolution was to start my own business and get out of the house so that I can meet new people. Being a stay-at-home momma can be really lonely at times. So, I decided that in 2011 I would make some changes.
You are now looking at an independent consultant for Pampered Chef! I am so excited. I love to entertain and cook. So, it really was no shocker to my family when I made my announcement to them. It's a great company and the products are awesome. I hear it all the time and have said it myself, "I LOVE PAMPERED CHEF!!!"
I hope to share with you my trials and tribulations from what is now known as my very own personal "test kitchen". I have to test out the tools and recipes after all, right??? I hope this information will be useful to all my friends in blogland.
Today I would like to introduce you to my very favorite Pampered Chef tool the Mix 'N Chop.
I use this bad boy at least once a week! My family loves lasagna, spaghetti, chicken enchiladas, mashed potatoes, and potato soup just to name a few recipes where I use the Mix 'N Chop. What this gadget does is cut my time down so much by chopping up my foods faster than I can with a spatula, spoon, or by hand.
I use it on my ground beef and turkey to mince the meat as it cooks in my skillet. It will chop chicken up nicely too if I am making enchiladas or a Mexican lasagna. I really hate shredding chicken by hand. Sometimes I will buy a rotisserie chicken and after I have de-boned the meat, I will chop it up by using the Mix 'N Chop too! When it comes to veggies, the Mix 'N Chop makes chopping a breeze. I can chop up cooked potatoes for "chunky" mashed potatoes or a soup. If I am making broccoli and cheese soup or broccoli and rice casserole, I like to use the Mix 'N Chop to break up the broccoli quickly. The possibilities are endless!!!!
Mix 'N Chop
Product Description:
A Pampered Chef® exclusive! Unique, beveled pinwheel blades efficiently chop and crumble foods for even cooking and seasoning. Its high-quality nylon design follows the curves of your cookware and won't scratch the surface. A soft grip and thumb rest help you comfortably grasp the handle and chop more easily. Heat-resistant to 428°F. 11". Dishwasher-safe.

There you have it! My latest news and my very favorite kitchen tool. Let me know what your favorite tools are and where you got them. Just post a little comment below.
Have a great day!

I am linked up @

A home for a hedge hog

Hello lovelies! Brrr it certainly is cold these days and we had a little hedge hog who needed a habitat. Okay so it's not really a hedge hog, but he really is cute in a pine cone sort of way. My daughter picked him out at the craft store. He is one of those creatures made from nature. While at the craft store, we decided to make a little habitat for our new friend. So, we picked out some nice moss, "rocks", and feathers too!

Add a large vase, Styrofoam ball, glue gun, and toothpics and you will be on your way to creating your very own hedge hog habitat too!

First, I cut one of the styrofoam balls in half and covered it with moss. I secured the moss to the ball with my hot glue gun then placed the flat side down inside the vase.


Once we were happy with the little mossy knoll, we sprinkled some glass "rocks" around the edges. Then we inserted a few toothpicks into the bottom of the critter so that we could secure it to the "ground". I also added some hot glue to the holes just to make sure the toothpicks would not come out.

The little hedge hog looks really happy in his new home. My daughter loved these peacock feathers and I think they add a nice touch. What do you think?

I kinda think this guy needs a name, but I just cannot come up with one. Do you think you can help me out? Please tell me in the comments section what you think this little fella's name should be.


Linked to :

Hiatus Pt. 2

It's me again Margaret! I know what you are thinking, "wow twice in ONE week?!!" I started the new year off by showing you a little bit about my newest addiction in crafting. Say it with me S W A P S!!!!
So I showed you what I sent for my first swap (Journal for a Month) and I thought you might like to see what I got in return. My partner is a bit younger than I am, so this made for a very interesting read! She was also very generous in the extra gifts she included in her package. Now, without further adieu ...


Here is the whole package I received from my swap partner. Can you see the journal in there? It's busting loose with lots of juicy reading.

This is one of the pages I liked best. I heart movies! Here is a handmade diaper/wipe caddy for my purse!

It folds out to a changing pad!!! Totally sweet.

Crochet supplies! I wish you could feel how soft this purple yarn is!

And finally some tools for future journals or scrapbooks!

I really enjoyed this swap and have since then signed up for two more. If you are interested in joining in on some swaps and would like to find out how, check out www.craftster.org, but promise me you don't hate me when you spend 8 hours browsing the many threads!

A bit of hiatus...

I realize things got off to a rough start. I began this journey in Blogland with the intentions of filling virtual pages and pages with loads of useful information. I had hopes of reaching my fellow moms-in-charge and forming friendships by networking and exchanging ideas and thoughts. And of course life got in the way - the holidays happened - and I had to go on hiatus for a while.
But, I believe I am back! I think... One of my resolutions this year is to get back to blogging here. And the first thing I would like to share with you is a little corner of the world called craftster.org. I stumbled upon this little piece-o-heaven when I was looking for something crafty to do. Basically it's a virtual community where you can find all sorts of crafty projects, tutorials, challenges, discussions, and swaps. What's a swap you ask? Well, this is my new addiction!!!! Back in October, I signed up for my very first swap on craftster. A swap is where two people exchange crafted items, gifts, and/or crafting supplies. Below is the official definition of a swap found on the website:
"Swaps come in many shapes, sizes, and forms, but the basic idea is that you make a great crafty package that meets the swap's theme and requirements and takes into consideration your partner's wishes and preferences. You send the package you created to them and they send the package they created to you! Swaps are lots of fun; they can motivate you to create something really great and it's often a fun challenge because there's a certain theme to follow. Plus, you get something original in return!"
For my very first swap, I decided to do the "Journal for a Month" swap where I created a journal from paper lunch bags and documented my life for 30 whole days! This was a huge challenge for me and I think I was a little on the insane side to choose this as my first swap, but I pulled it off and my partner really enjoyed the package I sent to her. Well that's enough blabbing your eyes off! How about some photos of what I sent for my very first swap? YES!




My handmade journal constructed from paper lunch bags and a cereal box for the cover.

A page from my journal.

An insert from the journal. I tucked this inside one of the pockets of a lunch bag. The little monster holding the bow is a clip from a loaf of bread. I just painted it green and added a cute monster face :)

Don't panic - it's fake! One of my posts for the journal was about something that really gives me the creeps. Well, the one sure thing that came to mind was a cockroach. Where I am from - these guys get huge! *shudders* I was afraid my partner would hate me for hiding this little fella inside one of the pockets, but she wasn't - she did mention that she screamed though when she turned to it. Ha!

Here is a picture of the whole package. Along with the journal, I sent her a little festive journal for the holidays, some colored pencils she wanted and sketch pad, a mini journal with some shrinky dink Invader Zim charms, and a crocheted bag with detachable flower for the hair. I added another Invader Zim charm to the flower. In her questionnaire she mentioned that Invader Zim was one of her faves.

I hope everyone had a very merry Christmas and safe New Year and that you all made at least one resolution to work on this year. Who knows, maybe together we can accomplish a new goal :)

Happy Pumpkin Tree

Hello again! Things have been quite busy around the house lately. With the holidays approaching soon, we have lots to do to get ready for them. My husband brought the Halloween decorations down from the attic today. As I was going through them I decided I had everything I needed to decorate a little black tree I had purchased from the fabric store. They were having a 50% off sale on all Halloween decorations - SCORE! I picked one up knowing that this day would come.


I found my old trick-or-treat pumpkin - you know the one - made of plastic with a thin black handle that always falls out and makes it super hard to carry when you actually fill it up with candy. I could never get rid of it though - I mean that pumpkin and I have lots of history together! Well that little fellow now has a new purpose - it is now the base of my Happy Pumpkin Tree. I stuffed it with cotton batting and newspaper then laid a piece of burlap on top so that when I dropped the tree inside it would gather around the base nicely filling any gaps.


I have a big black cauldron where I keep little toys and for the kids that visit my house on Halloween and decided to raid it for tree decorations. SCORE! yet again - I found these cute little mini pumpkins that I had purchased a few years ago. These are PERFECT for my Happy Pumpkin Tree - They are colorful and look very happy.


Now my little dull black tree was looking more lively. To top it off, I decided to tie a pretty Halloween bow from some ribbon I already had and voila! I give you the Happy Pumpkin Tree...

I am linked up @

Hello World .... It's me!

Hi there! Here goes my first official blog about life, family, and friends. I hope to keep this blog as a place where I can share the many projects and ideas which are constantly developing and changing. I also wish to stay connected with family and friends and hopefully make new friends along the way :)

So, let me introduce myself - I am Domestic Engineer #1, part of a team of two of stay-at-home ladies. I have been married to my husband for 9 years and we have two daughters. We are more in love with each other now than the day we said our vows. Each year our love for each other seems to grow stronger and deeper as we continue our journey through life together. We have a teenager and a toddler and have enjoyed every minute watching them grow.

I look forward to this new adventure in blogging and also hearing from others who enjoy similar interests.

Emily