Recipe of The Week: Homemade Hamburger Helper!

Hi my lovelies... The recipe of the week, will be followed up with pictures next time I make it, which should be very soon. I apologize for lack of visuals lately. Bear with me friends.

Since I always seem to cook for an army lol, Buying Hamburger helper seems wrong to me. Stuff is a little bland for my tastes as well. This version will hopefully prove just how easy it is to make your own yummy concoction.

Now you can adjust for larger/smaller servings.... This isn't exact.. so feel free to experiment.

1 to 2 pounds of hamburger meat. Add Adobo... I use Goya's! I tend to lean towards always buying the variety with pepper.  Use about 2 tablespoons. Brown until done in skillet. Drain any grease really well in a strainer. Set to the side, until ready to add.

In a large pot, Add 2 cups of milk. I use 2 percent milk, but that's totally up to you. Add 4 cups water. Bring to boil.

Now add in half of a block of velveeta cheese. Make sure you cube it into small pieces first, as this helps to make it melt faster. Once it is melted proceed to next step.




Now add in to the pot 2 packages of egg noodles. I use Pennsylvania Dutch Broad egg noodles, but you can use whichever brand you prefer. Let boil for a few minuits. Turn down heat to medium before your noodles are completely cooked. This ensures they are not over cooked by the time the dish is all the way done.



Now you can add in your cooked and drained hamburger. Stir well until its mixed in evenly. After about 2 min. reduce heat to low.

Stir in 2 heaping tablespoons of Sour Cream. Add a few more dashes of Adobo as well. If you like your dishes with a lil kick, add in a small dash of red pepper flakes. Mix well.

Now add in half of a container of French's Cheddar French Fried Onions. Stir in well so its evenly mixed.


Let cook on low until noodles are perfectly done. Turn off heat. Once heat is off, if its not fully thickened yet, it will when you let it rest. Just make sure you keep your pot stirred well at all times, so it does not stick on bottom.

Top with some shredded cheddar cheese, and a handful of the french fried onions & enjoy!
Now if you try this out, I want some feedback, comments and even some of your own pics. Lemme know guys what you think. My family loves it and so do I. I make this almost every week!

One hit after another....

Seems like every time I feel I am ready to start posting again... I take another hit. Well folks, I had two chest x-rays yesterday, and found out I have Pneumonia. I will be OK, just on alot of meds. Antibiotics, Steroids... etc.  So bear with me a tad bit, and things will get back to normal. Thanks again for all the emails wishing me well. I love you all!

Back! (But Sick)

O.k guys, again sorry for lack of posts and my very long absence.  I am back now for good! I am sick with respiratory illness, and on pregnisone and some inhalers, etc feeling better now. I have a Doctor appointment at 9am this morning, but will be posting more later today, or tomorrow. I promise things will get back to normal! Thanks for all the messages and emails wishing me luck, and wishing me well. I love you all! Hugs!

Here is  Hubby & Clover!

More to come today ;)

News & Updates!

Hi all my bloggy friends! My apologies for being absent for so long. There have been a lot of things going on in my life lately that have not allowed me to be online. I should be able to be on more very very soon. First I was very sick. Severe lung infection and bronchitis is how it started. As some of you may know by earlier posts I (was) living in a basement apartment on the outskirts of Pittsburgh. Well I have never rented a basement apartment before. In fact until I moved up here from Florida, I had never even been in a basement before. Well as any of you most likely know who do have basements, or have been in one before... They have drains in the floor. They are there in case you basement floods I believe. Well a landlord is suppose to put drain caps on the drains if he is to rent out a basement as a living area and mine did not. Well long story short, the drains started overflowing for some reason, and was flooding all over again, as this wasn't the first time its happened in the time I have lived there. This time it was bad. Sewage was coming up out of the drain in my bedroom right at the foot of my bed. It flooded the carpet we bought and installed and ruined it. The worst is the fact that my landlord lives upstairs, and we notified him as soon as it began to happen. He waited nearly a week before he did anything. Forcing us to not use our bedroom, so we slept in our living room. Me in the recliner and hubby on the sofa. We were breathing in raw sewage for almost an entire week (while I was sick, or perhaps thats what made me get the lung infection in the first place)! Then when he got his son to come over with a rented snake to snake the drains in the basement, they left the mess for me and David to clean. There was literal poo all over. It was disgusting.
Then to top off this wonderful living situation my landlords dog missy had been for the past few weeks attacking my dog Clover. Clover is a big big baby, and would never hurt a fly. She put several gashes in his ear, as well as got him on his face, less than an inch from his eye. He is ok now, Thankfully. Well Friday is when my husband went upstairs to pay rent. When he went up out of our apartment he let clover outside to potty in the yard, then let him back in. As David walks over to Frank my landlord... his dog attacks Clover again, right at Frank's feet basically. Instead of stopping his dog, or seeing if Clover was ok, he just starts yelling at David to pay him the rent. David told him "I'm tired of your dog attacking mine". All Frank kept yelling was give me the money, so David told him no, I'm done with the crap in this house, I'm done with my dog getting hurt, I am tired of you harassing us, I'm tired of you treating us like garbage when we pay $500 a month to live in a basement. Frank proceeded to threaten my husband. I was downstairs sleeping when all this happened. I awoke to Clover jumping on me trying to hide because he was so scarred. Then I heard Frank yelling and beating on our door to get out. I got out of bed and told him if he had a problem call the police, because I was pressing charges against him for his dog attacking mine. Well needless to say The cop came 5 mins later, and told us since we had no lease, if Frank wanted us out, we had to leave. The officer gave us 5 mins to grab our stuff and get out. I was stunned. The officer wouldn't even really talk to us. We grabbed a few clothes, the laptop and Clover before he was telling us our time was up, then made us leave. We went and stayed at a motel Friday night, and are in the process of moving into a house all this week. What makes me the maddest is all my stuff is still there, and Frank is saying I can't get my belongings. My cat and rabbit are there as well. Christina who was our roommate who lived upstairs is watching them for me till I can move them into my new house this Friday. From everyone we have talked to since about this has told me what Frank, and the officer did was illegal. In This county in Pennsylvania you have to legally evict someone through the magistrate. Making us leave on the spot within 5 mins is illegal. If this indeed is true I intend to sue! Not only that but Christina called me last night telling me he has since rented out our apartment to a new couple who were moving in last night, with all our stuff. Nobody has the right to use my belongings. We own them, nobody else...so wouldn't that be the same as stealing? This whole situation is fishy... and I intend to fix it... I will see all involved in court! Nobody better be taking my things or going through them. For goodness sakes we just put over $200 in groceries down there in our deep freezer and fridge. They do not have a right to help themselves to my food. What gets me most is the Chief of Police of Cheswick is who responded and kicked us out... who also happens to have went to school and grew up with Frank. I don't know if that had anything to do with it or not, but I know what happened is very very wrong. Thankfully we found a house for rent that the landlord is willing to let us pay the deposit in two installments, or we would have been in major trouble without a place to live.

To be honest though, I think things happen for a reason. We didn't want to continue living there much longer anyways. Frank was always harassing us and treating us like garbage. He would enter our apartment without notice, most of the time without even knocking. He was so lazy he wouldn't wash his own clothes, so he would throw them down the steps of the basement in a bag, and slam the door without saying anything, not even "could you wash these" nor a thanks. We would wash them, which usually was about 2 to 3 loads worth, bag them up and deliver them to his bedroom on the top floor of the house. He treated us like maids without even a thanks.

Also when we moved in almost a year ago, besides Me and David, There were only 3 other people living in the house. Its a 4 bedroom house. All the bedrooms are upstairs on the Second floor. Now there are Frank in his room. Kirk in his room. Christina & Heath in there room. James in the final bedroom. It does not stop there though. Besides the fact we rented the entire basement appartment... There is also Eddie who rents out the hall CLOSET on the second floor, its just big enough of a closet to put a cot in it. Then On the main floor... he has stuck a twin bed in the den, and rented out half of that side to a 23 year old named Mike, then partitioned off the other half of the den with 2 cabinets and cardboard and made a tiny little area big enough for another twin bed and rents it out to some couple who moved in like 2 weeks ago. They also seem to have a drug habit and leave needles laying on the ground, because Heath stepped on one. THEN... He has the back porch rented out with one side of it to Dan, and then the other side of the porch has a couch that he rents out to some drunk guy who pee's on the furniture when he is drunk. At one point he had the one couple who are in the den, renting the couch in the freaking dining room, and where they are renting now was rented to some guy named ottis, but he got kicked out last week for some reason and they switched to his bed instead of the couch. Then I have now been told he has rented out our basement apartment to a new couple now. On top of that Christina told me they are renting only half the basement... he is going to rent the other side out to. He is money hungry... and I can't stand him. If I knew who he was and what it was going to be like there, I would have never moved in to begin with. Its sickening what he gets away with. We have caught him doing & selling drugs out of the house. In fact about 2 months after we moved in, the Police came and did a drug bust on him. He's out on bail and awaiting trial for that. It was a nightmare living there. I was ashamed to call it home. Our only solace was in the fact we had our own apartment separate from everyone else. That is, when people were not coming down without knocking constantly.


Enough is enough... and something has to be done about what he has done, and is getting away with. When the law seems to look the other way for him... he thinks he is God. No man is God.

Anyways sorry for ranting. Thats whats kept me away from my blog for so long. I will be back very soon. In the meantime, if anyone has any advice for me on these matters please feel free to comment. Any help would be appreciated! Thanks!!!!

I am sorry!

I am so sorry guys, for the lack of posts lately. I have the flu, and feel really really bad! As soon as I am feeling half way human again, I will be back posting up a storm!

Recipe Of The Week! Yummy Sesame Chicken Fingers!

                                     Recipe of The Week!

I have decided to start posting a weekly recipe section in my blog. I am always looking to expand on recipes that I have yet to try, or even share some tried and true favorites of mine.


Today I want to share: Yummy Sesame Chicken Fingers. Super easy to make, and very very yummmmmmy!!!


Ingredients:

- YOUR FAVORITE HONEY-MUSTARD SAUCE! Use whichever brand you like, or make your own:
- 2 tablespoon mustard ( whole grain)
- 6 tablespoon honey
- a small pinch of brown sugar 

-CHICKEN FINGERS
- 1/2 cup sesame seeds
- 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
- 1 pound boneless skinless Chicken Breast
- (Sliced into 2x1/2" strips)
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
-  2 tablespoons of orange juice. 

- minced garlic to taste. 

Directions:

Sesame seeds replace traditional batter for these yummmy crunchy appetizers. Makes abought 20 pieces or so. In a small bowl blend mustard and honey for sauce, or use your fave brand. Set aside. In shallow pan combine sesame seeds and Parmasan, garlic & orange juice; roll chicken pieces in sesame mixture. Heat olive oil in oven proof heavey-bottomed nonstick skillet or saute pan until just below the smoking point. Add chicken strips and brown on both sides over medium heat; do not scorch. Place chicken strips on cookie sheet and bake in preheated 425* oven 8-10 minutes or until cooked through.  Serve with the  honey mustard sauce! 

These taste amazing, and are so super simple to make.  Let me know when you try out the recipe, I know you will be happy with it!

Bakers Clay Shamrocks!

Bakers Clay Shamrocks:
I was searching for some fun and easy St. Patrick's Day crafts, and came across this bakers clay shamrock idea. I wanted to post this before I make them, so you can make some to, and we can share our pictures together when we are all done.


     YOU WILL NEED:

• 1 1/2cups warm water
• green food coloring
• 1 cup salt
• 4 cups flour
• IF YOU WANT TO MAKE Silly & Fun Shamrock's with the kids You NEED:
• green pipe cleaner
• googley eyes
• different colors craft foam
• glue gun, etc!

  Directions:

Mix water and salt, stir until dissolved,(add food coloring to water). Add flour and knead for 5 minutes. Roll out dough - about 1/4in. thick. You can cut shamrock shapes with cookie cutter or a pattern, or roll and shape them by hand like I intend to do. Put on cookie sheet and bake for 30 minutes or until hard. Let them cool completely. Cut mouths and noses out of craft foam,you can also craft hats for them out of craft foam, cut pipe cleaner in half and make bows to glue on the stem. they are very cute and fun this way especially if you are planning to make these with kids. Variation: You can also simply paint the baked clay with green paint to add more color, and decorate with sparkles, etc! You can add and decorate these however you see fit. I will be making my classic style, without the googley eyes etc. I will be using different shades of green with acrylic paint. I will also be making a special one for me and David with our initials painted on the middle! Have fun with this,and please share yours with us to! You have any St. Patrick's Day craft ideas you would like to share, or possibly even guest write it on my blog, please feel free to comment or email me anytime! 

Joss & Main!

So I got a very interesting Email today, and checked out a new site: Joss & Main. It's an exclusive private sale site that CSNStores recently launched. It offers exclusive sales on top brands and designers for the home at up to 70% off retail. Sales only last 72 hours, but new ones are launched daily and all are backed by the high levels of customer service and quality that you’ve grown to value from CSN.  Pictured above is one of the awesome things they have for sale at Joss & Main! I so have to get me the Sous Living: Halve Glass Jar Bookends! I would so use them as shown with the fishies! ;)


Also For each person that joins through you and makes a purchase using your personal link they give you when you join the site,  you’ll receive a $15 credit to use yourself on Joss & Main! There’s no limit on the amount of credit you can receive.  How cool is that?  So if I were you, I would so take advantage of this amazing offer, as well as they have super amazing deals for you to check out! What are you waiting for???

St. Patrick's Day Cookies: Rainbows!

St. Patricks Day Rainbow Cookies!!!!!!!

Hi guys, I was recently looking for some festive ideas online to do for St. Patrick's day that is coming up and since I love anything rainbow, I decided to share these darling and very yummy cookies with all of you to.

Play Dough Cookies (allrecipes.com) (I altered recipe slightly to fit my taste better btw)
* 3/4 cup butter, softened
* 3 ounces cream cheese
* 1 and a half  cup sugar
* 1 egg
* 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* assorted colors of paste food coloring (to make your rainbow colorful)
* 24 lollipop sticks (optional if you want them to be like cookie lollys)

1. In the electric mixer, cream butter, cream cheese and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla; beat until smooth.
2. In a medium bowl combine flour, baking powder and salt. Add dry ingredients to the creamed mixture. Stir till soft dough forms. Divide dough into fourths. Tint each with a different food color. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 2 hours.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Working with half of each color, shape dough into 3/4 inch balls and for each cookie place 1 pink, 1 green, 1 blue and 1 orange ball together to make 1 rainbow.  Place cookies 3 inches apart on lightly greased baking sheet. Carefully insert lollipop sticks into bottoms of cookies if you want to make them into cookie lolly's.
4. Bake cookies for 8 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool and store in an airtight container. 

I made 2 batches already to test and they came out great. The second batch I made with sugar sprinkles on to adorn them further.  Make them however you feel like decorating them, or just leave them how they are. I plan to put them on a gold plated platter, to associate the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. 

Enjoy!

Clover

Hi guys, I was updating some stuff on my computer and came across a picture I took a long time ago that I adore! This is Clover... My baby, My dog, He is now almost 12 years old. This was taken by me right after I got him. He was 5 and half weeks old in this picture. He is sooooo adorable! I cannot imagine my life without him. He has been through my first husband with me and now hubby dearest..AKA David.  He has been through the bad and the good times with me!

This was taken when I lived in New Port Richey, Florida. He now lives with me in Pittsburgh, and loves it too, just like me!

I wanted to share this with you. I hope you will share your beloved babies with me sometime!

And The Winner is...

Hello, Hello all you fine a beautiful people! I know I am a bit late on posting the winner, but without further ado, the winner of our very first giveaway is: rajashree prasad over at: http://www.raji1082.blogspot.com/

The winner was chosen randomly by me, by writing all the entries down on little bits of paper, mixing them in a large bowl, and picking with my eyes shut! Congrats to the winner, Please email me at: DeviantlyMe@gmail.com  within 3 days and I will send you your $15 Gift Certificate! Thanks to all who entered, you all picked out some lovely lighting by the way!

I will be posting more in a bit! Did you all enjoy the giveaway? If so let me know and I will do others!
Take care and see you soon!

CSN Giveaway!

Well Hello all. I am excited to announce an awesome Giveaway. I will be giving away a $15 CSN Gift Certificate. CSN Stores have over 200 online stores where you can find anything you need whether it be Lights, cute cookware and everything in between! They have so many amazing things for you to check out! 

 I will be picking a winner at random in two days!  All you have to do is leave a comment for this post, and tell me at least one item you like from:  www.csnlighting.com and I will choose one lucky person who comments to receive a $15  Gift Certificate.

I personally am in love with: 

The Rose Six Light Chandelier

 By: 

Schonbek

That is what is shown below! 

Good Luck & Happy Commenting! ;)

Yay For Maya!

Hello, Hello all my favorite bloggy people! I hope you are all wonderful today.
My last post was one of my weekly weekend posts about my fave blogs. I featured one of my all time favorite blogs: maya*made. In my last post (feel free to go have a looksie) I had mentioned how Maya had been to busy to do an interview. I was checking replies and emails, and Maya gave me a heads up to go read her newest post at the time, as to why she didn't have the time. She posted a post on her blog: The big one. ( go read it, you know you want to)!!! Well ladies and gents... She is getting her book published!!! YAY *huge grins & Hugs*
So be sure to go check out her blog and read up on her success, and give her lots of hugs and support. We love you Maya!

Now to stuff in my life...
I just got a new laptop, (new to me that is) It's a Sony Vaio. I am hap-hap-happppy! This will make a lot of things in my life so much easier. It also allows hubby dearest to get much needed time on the computer when I usually am hogging it. ;)
I will be making some custom graphics this week for my blog, and some print work for my Etsy shop. If any of you would like some banners or graphics made for your blog or site, feel free to hit me up via comment or email! Email me at: DeviantlyMe@gmail.com
Also I told you last week how I had gotten the job at ChaCha, which is great becuase it is a great company, and it lets me work as little or as much as I want, and I set the time, even if its 5 mins at a time lol....
If anyone else is interested in a job with ChaCha, please email me, and we can talk. They are having a contest with us employees to see who can bring in the most new employees this month. I would love it if any of you would be interested. Just lemme know!

I also started a new painting a few days ago, so when its done I will post pictures. Somehow I got sidetracked on the one project I was planning, but I am sure to get back to it soon. I also recently took a whole bunch of new pictures so I could share with you, but for some reason the computer I am on now is not reading my memory card from my camera. This is weird... and I am trying to fix it asap. I tried it this morning on the new laptop, but the card is the wrong size... which has me really perplexed about this situation. I would just use the camera cord... but hubby dearest informed me yesterday that he can not find it right now. Hmmm... looks like I have some digging to do! *smiles*

Well I am off for now. I will be back soon! How have you all been? Be awesome and  please  read my post on Pay It Forward if you have not already. Comment to get in on it! Thanks and many many hugs to you all.

Blogs I Love *Share Time* (maya*made)

Good Morning all you awesome people out in the Blogospere today. I hope you are all well. I am doing well, and am most excited to bring you the Second installment of the weekend post: *Share Time*!

This week I though I would do one of my very favorite blogs, and one I am sure most have you have read, or at least heard of. So My blog I love this week is maya*made, and the author of this most fantastic blog is of course Maya! She is not only a blogger, but an artist, with the flair for reinventing, reusing, and crafting some very truly great things. She also happens to be married with two beautiful children.

One of the things I love about Maya's Blog and of course Maya herself is when I read through her posts, I feel in-tune with all she is saying. She makes me smile inside and out. I myself have a tendency to hoard craft supplies, or be gifted/given many many  things by my family or friends, so when I saw a recent post the other day, I immediately could see the same thing in my life. Well except my mother does not sew. She recently posted how her mother had been Spring cleaning and gave her all of about a million sewing spools. I have things like this happen all the time, so it just made me laugh, however what she posted also included some pictures, and explained how her daughter had already started to use them as blocks, and formed the spools into tiny little tables for her felines tiny little Valentine tea party. So adorable and imaginative!

Check out her post & more of Maya's pictures by clicking this link!

That post in itself, made me also start to wonder about how when we were all little, and we had full blown imagination coursing through every vein, even every cell of our little bodies, running around inventing the perfect pastime, where it goes as we grow up. Some of us, like Maya keep most of it, as we grew into adulthood. It just saddens me a bit thinking just how much we may have lost. Well for those of us who kept as much as we could, I know we will create beautiful things for our beautiful world!

So I asked Maya a few days ago if I could include her Blog in my weekly segment, and I also asked if she had time, if I could do a short interview. Unfortunately she did not have the time right now for an interview, but I plan to ask her at a further time, if we could schedule one perhaps in a month or so when hopefully she has a bit more time on her hands. In any case, I was just happy she replied back to me, so she knew I was posting about her and her awesome blog.

Well of course as I was getting ready to write this today, I opened her blogs before hand, so I could copy some links to her pages, and read her newest entry: New phone and temp slip. This made me smile even more, because apparently we have, or I guess I should now say had, an issue with phones in common. Up until now she has used regular ole cell phones with no glitz, glamor or text messaging! Now she has finally caught up to most of the world and got an iPhone. Which leads me to think if Maya can do it... Maybe so can I? You have to go check out her post, as she has thrown together the most adorable green leather cover for the phone... and of course the blog post comes with the pic of it! YAY!!! Maybe if I do suck it up and ever go get an iPhone of my own, she could make me an uber awesome cover too! ;) I can always hope.. hehe.

O.k well I am almost done with my sharing for now, But since I have shared some of my favorite things over at maya*made, I also have to throw in a nice lil link to her Etsy Shop while I am at it. Be sure to go check out her blog & her shop. I promise, Maya is amazing and I know you will love her blog!

Until Next weeks *Share Time* bask in the Maya awesomeness... and I will see you later all you lovelies!

Thanks & Much Love,
  Tiff
P.S. Sorry I missed a week of *Share Time* but This last week or so I have been having some breathing problems, and have been not feeling good in general. Instead of whine on here, I used my inhaler, and tried my best to rest when I could. Muah!

Pay It Forward!

So my lovelies This is a current event going around our awesome Blogospehere. I think its an amazing way to reach out to everyone while getting people involved, and shall be a ton of fun. I already have in mind exactly what I shall make and send. I am so excited! 

Here it is:

I promise to send something handmade to the first 3 people who leave a comment on this post saying that they will also participate in Pay It Forward - 2011. 

Those 3 commenters must fulfill the following requirements:

1. You must also participate in Pay It Forward on your blog, making this same offer to 3 other people.

2. The rules are that it must be handmade by you and it must be sent to your 3 people *sometime* in 2011.

Easy peasy, right?  I soooo love this! So be one of my first three commenters and get something handmade by Yours Truly! Just make sure you post it on your blog first. In order to participate, you must be a follower of my blog as well. 

Then I'll contact you for further instructions. So Guys, get some ideas in mind, and hurry up and post. Spread the LOVE and this idea along! After all, all who participate will have fun, and will be so happy to open the mailbox to something handmade and special! 

Love,

  Tiff

The Red Elephant!

Hello, Hello all you awesome people in the blogosphere! I hope today finds you all well.
I was surfing the net, and decided to check out whats new and catches my eye on http://www.allmodern.com
and came across the most Awesome Red Elephant ever!!!

This is the Vitra - Eames Children's Elephant by Charles and Ray Eames! I not only think this so majorly adorable, but functional and neice & nefew would love this. I think I would become the most favorite aunt in the world to them! ;)  I can also admit that even though I have no children who live with me, I would so put this in my house to enjoy the awesomeness of the Red Elephant! I don't think hubby dearest would mind either.  :)  So if you fell in love with this like I did, be sure to check out the links above.

On another note, We went grocery shopping today. Stocked up for the week, and decided to make Hamburgers on our foreman grill. I was thinking... when you guys make cheeseburgers... what type of cheese do you use? I personally love a slice of provolone cheese on mine, on a nice toasted roll. I add a little mayo, and Heinz 57 and Yummmmmmmm!!! I pair it with a handful of Baked Lays and Boom, super simple yummy quick dinner. I sometimes pair the burgers with tots or fries, coleslaw or salad. What do you guys do?

Well I am off to get some badges on Pogo. I will post more soon guys. Have a wonderful week!

Love,
  Tiff

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New Book! Yay!

So I ordered this a few days ago from Amazon, and just got this in the mail today. I'm excited. I have not yet had time to read it, but I skimmed through it a bit, and it looks very promising. I'm a book freak, and I usually buy hard bound copies of books, but this one spoke to me even as a paperback.  It is called: Handmade Home: Simple Ways to Repurpose Old Materials into New Family Treasures!  I will be sure to give you a full book review once I have sat down and read it cover to cover. I have no doubt that it will indeed give me lots of awesome new ideas!

I also talked yesterday about a new project I am starting, and the magnets I ordered last week in the mail arrived, so I can get started tomorrow. I have them, and my acrylics, brushes and wood all set up on my art workstation. Now all I have to do is pull out my wood burner, and I am ready to go. I'm excited, and I will share more details soon, as well as lots of pictures. When my project is done, they will be available for sale in my Etsy Store!

Well I am off to ChaCha for now. I will be back soon. How was everyones day today? Have any of you read this book before? If so lemme know how you liked it!

Love,
  Me

Valentines ChaCha!

I know, I know... I have not been updating as frequently lately. I have been a tad bit busy. I do apologize. I hope everyone had an amazing and romantic Valentines Day. I had a great one. Me and David spent some quality time, watching movies, and doing married people stuff hehe. His gift arrived in the mail on Valentines just in time for me to open. I didn't even know he had ordered me a gift. It was a super cute Nintendo Shroom Tote. Bright and colorful, and very very adorable.. so my style. He hit the nail on the head with that gift. I love it hubby dearest, I really do.

So My big news??? I GOT THE JOB at ChaCha! Yay!!!!!!!!! I did indeed pass the test that I was so worried I goofed up on. When I got the email from ChaCha I was so happy and relieved! I started working for them about 4 Days ago. I really do enjoy the job so far. It is interesting and fun, which makes it not even feel like a job. This really did make my week.

I am working on a project that I will share soon. They will be super cute, and handmade and of course for sale on my Etsy. When I am a little more into the project, I will share some more info, as well as pictures! I know you will be excited.

O.k all my lovelies, I am off for now to go ChaCha it up. I will post again as soon as I have an extra few minutes to spare. I hope your Valentines has been magical.  What did you do for Valentines Day?

  Love,
  Tiff

ChaCha

So I went through training for ChaCha today and took the readiness test. If I pass I will get emailed in a few days and know that I can start working an an expediter. I am nervous though, as I hit submit to one of the answers just as I realized I misspelled a word. They do not allow misspelling, so I know that one mark off from the questions. There also was on that was a questionable answer.. I just hope I answered it how I should.  Crossing my fingers on this, because I cannot retake test.. its a one time deal! Wish me luck!

I have not been feeling all the well, so sorry I haven't been posting as much these last 2 days. I will post more tomorrow. Hope everyone is doing well. What have you all been up to?

  Love,
     Me

Free Album!

So I was scoping some things out this morning, (Good Morning By the way) and came across by total accident:
Sister Hazel: 11411 [Amazon MP3 Exclusive] All 100% Free MP3's of the album! 11 songs in total. I downloaded them for Hubby Dearest, as he loves Sister Hazel! I figured I would share this with you, as I'm sure at least a few of you like Sister Hazel, or know someone who does and would love the free downloads! Gotta Love Free & Gotta Love Amazon! YaY!!!

I have been listening to a few of the songs I downloaded, and as of right now I am really liking #9: Firefly.

So then I started looking around and found alot of free albums and downloads from other bands. Here are a few to check out (in no particular order)
QuarterFly: Addiction
Projekt: afar
Rubix: Sunshine
Default: Turn It On
and alot more... if you wanna search some more yourself... I found it easiest to just look on of of the links above, and scroll down to the: Customers who bought this item section... and you will find alot of other free MP3 downloads of other bands/artists! Hope you enjoy. I always like free. I can't believe I never noticed the free albums/MP3's that Amazon has to offer. Wow!

Ok, Im off for a bit, will be back to post some more later, as well as work on my Etsy shop. Have a GREAT Day my friends! Also, what is your plans for Valentines Day this year? Lemme know in comments, as I'm in need of some ideas on how to surprise Hubby Dearest this year. Thanks!

 Love,
    Tiff

Yummmm-o

So I was taking a break from my Dice-City-Rollers game over at pogo.com (which I am so addicted to pogo btw) So that I could get some bloggy good reading done for the night. A great blog I enjoy is Libby's Blog: pinkshirtsandcarwrecks, which I was checking out some posts I had missed and I just had to share some of the yummy info on my blog. Thanks Libby for sending me on the path for finding my desert for tomorrow!

Libby posted about Chad Robertson of Tartine Bakery while reading an article last month from Martha Stewart Living. The post showed some most delicious looking bread, and links that I followed to marthastewart.com
where "Life of a Loaf: "Make a Week's Worth of Meals with This Long-Lasting Bread"  &Chad shares his basic loaf and seven recipes in which I found the perfect desert to make for me & Hubby Dearest tomorrow night! Yummmm-o
Thanks Libby, Martha & Chad! You all rock ;)


So be sure to check out the linky-dinks above, and this desert idea/recipe of Chad's!
Cinnamon Breadcrumb-Sprinkled Ice Cream
Great idea for using your old bread so you don't end up wasting it, right? In this day in age, wasting anything is ridiculous anyways. I am so sure you would agree!
So after checking out all that, you should go check out:: Tartine Bread [Hardcover] Book By: Chad Robertson over at Amazon. I will be ordering it very very soon. I can hardly wait!
Amazon.com is another of of my guilty pleasures. I am always buying books and goodies from them! I so wanna indulge and get a kindle, however I do love the smell of books, and collecting them to admire in person to!Amazon is a Great site for sure, but  I am willing to bet you already know that. hehe
Check out some great blog posts below from Amazon Blogs that I also enjoy and recommend highly. Hmmm My whole post theme, and seeing all the yummy post goodness of everyone else today is making mouth water. I think its time for a snack ;)






So anyways, I will be heading back over to pogo in a few, or maybe WoW and was thinking. I'm a paid member at Pogo.com and with that comes several guest passes to give out to friends and such. The passes give the person a week free as a premium member, no strings attached. So I was thinking... if anyone who could use one or want, comment with your Pogo name and/or link to your Pogo profile and I would be more than happy to send one to you! Right now I have 7 available to give away. When I get more, Ill let you all know to. If your not a member of Pogo already, check it out for sure. Its free and alot of fun! Also anyone who wants to friend me on Pogo... I'm: DeviantlyMe there. We could maybe play togther sometime, it would be awesome good fun hehe ;)

So with all that said... Take care sweeties, I will talk to you more soon. I promise!

   Love,
Tiff

Etsy & Super Bowl!

OK So I finalized making my shop just now at Etsy! YAY!!!!
So Without further Ado, I present: Freak Unique Designs!
(BTW Please don't be to disappointed that I have not added any items for sale yet. I promise they are coming very very soon!)

~FREAK Unique Designs! The Write Way~

Ok well I'm back off to finish watching the Super Bowl with hubby dearest & Christina. She is rooting for our hometown (Pittsburgh) & Me and David rooting for Green Bay! Go Teams Go! Honestly both teams rock! Have a Happy Super Bowl lovelies!

Muah! Love,
         Me

Freak Unique!

Good Morning Guys! I hope you are all well this fine and dandy day!
So here is the scoop. I have been a member of DeviantArt for a very long time. Active and Inactive on and off for years. When I first started my account I was married to Mike my now very ex-husband. I could not change my name on DA which by the way confuzzles me beyond belief. You would so think that they would give people the option to change the name associated with the account. Well anywho I got remarried as we all know by now to hubby dearest, aka David Ooley. So because I no longer want my art, or anything else for that matter associated with just Layden... I started a new account.

Freak Unique Designs!

Anyways, I have not posted much yet, as I want it to be a fresh start for my art, so I won't be adding my art from my other account. If you want to see it, the links to both my New & Old accounts are to the right, under: ~Links Links Links~ section. Please check out my new account often to see my new pieces, and if your a D.A. Member please feel free to add me, or comment me. Thanks!!!

On another note, Christina & Heath are fighting again, and he had for Daniel bawling this morning. I had to step in and take him downstairs with me. Chris followed down, which was great... I didn't want her up there anyways. He was acting like a true A$$!!! He then proceeded to try and come to my door of my apartment screaming, being foul and then slamming my door. I feel for Chris and Dan, they do not deserve to be treated like that. Send them good thoughts today, they sure could use them.

Well I am off for now. Going to go play some pogo and eat a bowl of cocoa pebbles. Yum Yum!!!

Have a Spiffy day my freaks, geeks & dearies.

Love,

   Me

A Rose...

I told you the other day, that one of my goals to get myself out of the crappy mood I have been in lately is to settup an ETSY shop. I signed up for ETSY, and am well on my way to opening my shop! YAY

Well after I posted *Share Time* below, I decided to dig around a little at the many wonderful shops on etsy. I was just window shopping, or monitor shopping so to speak when I came across a ring I am soooooo in love with. I had to share it with you!

asecondtime's shop has so many wonderful things to fall in love with. It was hard to pick one, but this is a piece of jewelry I would wear everyday, so it was the choice for me. I could literally drool over almost everything in the shop though. *huge grin*

So be sure to go check out the shop, and the stunning Steampunk Rose Ring! Isn't it sooo Yummy!!! I so have a guilty obsession with silver jewelery. Not to mention asecondtime's shop/designs are Eco-friendly! How awesome is that?

This Steampunk Necklace:-wonderland- Is also one of my favorites. I will def have to get hubby dearest to add these to the list of possible valentines day gifts. hehe ;) I would be so lucky to get one of these as a gift, as would any lucky girl! I hope you enjoy seeing these as much as I do!

Ok More to come later! Take care! Peace and Beauty and Art to All...

Love,

   Me

Blogs I Love *Share Time*

In my last post I forgot that I wanted to start doing a weekly Post on weekends either Sat. or Sun. With a Blog or two that I have just fell in love with and had to share!!!

I will call these weekly posts: Blogs I Love *Share Time*

So without further ado my very first weekly roll out of the blogs I love will have to start with:
Artist: Abbey Hendrickson's Blog Aesthetic Outburst
She has a simply amazing yet addicting blog that I literally just came across last night and spent about 3 to 4 hours reading and only stopped because my eyes were so heavy I had to go to bed! Her and her gorgeous family span the pages of her blog, along with stunning art, craft diy how-to's, and everything in between. She even has an amazing ETSY shop: How Now Design!
I fell in love, and I'm sure you will to. Be sure to check her blog out, I know you won't be disappointed.
Just look at this beautiful peice of her artwork... then get on over and check her blog out!!!

http://www.etsy.com/listing/67054914/original-mixed-media-drawing-by-abbey

Ok, check next weekend for more *Share Time* blogs that I love. I will see you all tomorrow!

Love,
   Tiff

Chris is back!

So I woke to find Christina and her son Daniel on my couch watching underworld with David today. I was happy to see she came to visit, BUT GUESS WHAT? She is back. At least for now, but maybe for good. We will have to see.

DAD Update!!!!
Finally after days and days of trying to get a hold of my mom to no avail, I decided to look up the hospitals number in Florida on google. I was not even sure what hospital he was in, or if he was even in the hospital anymore. I called the first one that came to my head. I guess I hit the nail on the head, because when I asked the receptionist if they Had a Mr. Gard as a patient, she said: I will connect you to his room miss.
My mom answered, and of course I burst in with why the hell have you not called me back? I have been so worried. Why is dad still in the hospital, its been over a week, more like almost 2 weeks. Whats going on???
I freaked out to say the least, at the same time feeling relieved that I at least got to speak to one of them.
I got to talk to both of them. Apparently he has had a few blood transfusions and is extremely anemic. The shaking has not gotten any better. He is really really bad off and they don't know why. The only good news I got out of all of this is knowing he is alive. I'm still worried, but I do have the room number now to call everyday to check in. Please keep your thoughts and prayers with him if you can, he really needs them! Thanks so much!

On another note, I applied for 2 work at home jobs today. One was the KGB, you know the one place you can text any question to and they text back the answer. The other was ChaCha which is basically the same thing, but its a free service to the people asking the questions. I passed the first test on KGB to become an agent, and will know back more in a week or so. Ill be waiting back on ChaCha for a few days to. WIsh me luck guys!!!
I can't work due to several illnesses. I can't be a cna anymore, nor can I sit at a desk for extended periods of time, or on my feet. This work at home, I can do a little at a time and take breaks. It may be exactly what I need!!!

More later my lovelies!
  Love,
     Me

Yay For Tax Returns!

So as I said last blog post, I was scheduled for direct deposit on the 4th from the IRS for my tax refund, and sure enough, it came on time. YAY *Big Smiles*
So caught up some on stuff. Paid Frank $300. Did the usual kibbles n bits, cat food pick up to top off the animals, as they come first, as always. David picked up a couple of pizza's for supper & of course stocked up on my pepsi. I'm a huge soda freak... have to have my caffeine.

Thats one thing I have to get used to living in Pa. I'm used to calling Pepsi/Coke etc: SODA! Up north everyone says: POP! I am slowly getting used to it. At first I will admit, I was a little bugged, but now I find myself saying it at time. *smirks*

Another thing that confuses me is the term: Neb or Nebby, neb nosed... etc!
I was like huh, what? WTF???
Northerners say those terms instead of Nosey. For example, My neighbor is being nosey about my trash cans outside.
They would say: My neighbor is being nebby about my trash cans. OR: My neb-nosed neighbor is at it again about our trash cans outside.
WEIRD right??? It is to me. I like it though. I had just never heard it until I moved to Pa. The first people I heard say it was Jaime and Amanda. Christina said it the other day to. I just find it curious is all I guess!

Oh yeah, I almost forgot. Right before I woke up today, David was here at the computer and Christina came down to tell us she was leaving today. Leaving as in MOVING out!!! David didn't think to wake me up I guess. I got up like 15 min later and she was already gone. I have no idea where she moved to. She told David she would call us when she gets a chance next week. I didn't even get to say goodbye.  I really liked her. It sucks she left. I told you guys though, nobody sticks around in this house very long!

Well anyways, I guess when Heath got home, he found out she left. Heath was her boyfriend. They moved in here together like a month ago or less. They have been having problems, she didn't like it here, I know that. Well I guess she didn't tell heath she was leaving. I guess she came down to us first, then up to franks room and then left. When he got home, I guess Frank told him, then he came down here asking what she said. I helped her file her taxes on H&R blocks site via efile. She does not have a bank account, and neither do we, but I have my visa that can get direct deposit, so I let her get hers deposited on mine like we did for our taxes.   We needless to say, she made the mistake of telling frank. One of the things Heath asked was about the money. She told David before she left, she would call us next week and get up with us to get her money, minus the $50 she owes us for selling her our DS and games for her son. Which of course is not a problem... EXCEPT Heath said tonight: When the money gets deposited give it to him, not Christina!!! Now that does NOT sit right for me. Its her money, her taxes. She is my friend! Now the problem is if I give it her, then Heath and Frank get on my ass about shit. Which I can't deal with. If I give it to him, its just plain wrong, plus illegal. What am I suppose to do??? I hate being in the middle! That just means I have to get creative! I have to find a way to talk to her before either the money comes or they find out its here, and find a way to get myself out of the middle at the same time as doing the right thing and giving her the money she is owed! Its her taxes.... not his, she earned them! Now I'm starting to see why she left him maybe!!!

Ok enough from me today. Ill talk to you soon. BTW no updates on my dad. Take Care guys!

  Love,
    Me



(P.R:300)

Tax Time

So I filed David & I's taxes with H&R Block this year. Instead of doing rapid refund, like me and Mike (My ex-husband) always did, We instead filed a simple return via efile on the website. We are not getting that much back this year, but something is better than nothing, right? :)
Anyways, I checked the website and the IRS site and it says my payment is scheduled to be deposited on the 4th. I'm keeping my fingers crossed, we need that money badly.

I have also decided to keep logs in my blog for daily/monthly stuff. Its inane stuff that nobody but me will care about. So if at the end of a blog, there is a bunch of letters/numbers... just ignore it... Thats my way of charting stuff for future reference. Thanks!

Hubby has been stuck on a resident evil kick, playing code veronica... so my background sounds at all time behind me is zombies moaning. The sad thing is, I'm starting to get used to it lol.

I tried to call my mom yesterday, at her house and Granny's, but no answer. That means still no updates on my dad. I figured she would see I called on the caller ID and call me back this morning... but guess she has been super busy. I hope she is o.k to, not to stressed.!

Well not much else to say today... it was mundane and not a bit unusual lol
I will post more later. Take care guys!


Love,
  Me



(b/stoped/Started 3rd. Lasted 3h)

Sick Yet Still

Oi Oi Oi
My neck and back are killing me. I stayed in bed late because I feel like death warmed over. My throat hurts. My feet are swollen with fluid, and not sure whats going on. It feels like my tootsies are going to pop. I'm coughing and wheezing like no tomorrow. I feel like i'm falling apart. I wish I had medical insurance or the money to go to the doctor.

Poor David... His eye has a sty or pink eye or something. Its swollen shut almost, red and scabby with puss. We have been flushing it out with eye drops constantly. It started yesterday, and looks a little better today. My poor hubby! We are both falling apart at the seams. Anyone got a good sewing kit to fix us up with? ;)

So this big storm rolling in that we have heard so much about, well turns out its suppose to be an ice storm, not snow. Disappointed on that one... that means no money to be made. I hate being broke as a joke.

I'm just going to keep hoping for the best. Us getting negative about things will just make it all so much worse.
No news about my dad yet either. Ill keep you posted. Take care & Talk to you more soon!

Love,
   Me

Jan. 31rst

O.k So no new updates on my dad in the hospital so far. Thats neither bad nor good, but at least he is not getting worse. I on the other hand still feeling like crap on a stick. I also found a really hard lump on the back of my neck, and my neck has been killing me. Not sure what to do about it yet though.

I didn't do much today besides sleep. I did sign up for an ETSY account, so looking forward to doing more with that later.

I also got Photoshop installed on this computer finally. Thats a great thing!

From what I hear, there is a storm making its way towards us, bringing more snow! Crossing my fingers on this one... because that means maybe David can get to do some snow removal at his work and pick up some much needed cash.

I'm still waiting on my direct deposit from the IRS from my H&R Block efile tax return. I need it asap to catch back up on rent. Frank keeps asking if I got it yet, and we keep telling him its the IRS, its not like I can make them hurry lol.

On an update about a post I made a few days ago... (Idiots)
I did leave out someone else in the house roomie-wise who isn't an idiot and is pretty cool: Dan! I thought I would clear that up, as I would hate for him to think I don't like him. I do.. very much so!

Christina made dinner for everyone tonight. It was wayyyy Yummmy! She made homemade chicken strips and homemade thick cut fries. Perfect thing to wake up to after my nap, when I had my headache. Thanks Chris, you rock girl! Dinner really hit the spot. Also much thanks to her for picking up the list I made for when she went to the store. We don't have a car right now, so its difficult for us to get to the store to do shopping. Her and Kirk went to WalMart so I made her a small list of things I needed. Clover also thanks her because among the list was his favorite: Kibble N Bits!!! So now he will be a happy baby once more!

Well Like I said, slow day, not much happened. Off now to play some pogo or WoW for a bit. Maybe watch a movie with the hubby. Take Care all. Ill post again soon.

Love,
 Me

La De Da.... ;)

   So Ive been in a depressed lazy mood, not feeling well at all lately and not doing much. I gotta get out of this slump. Tomorrow is Monday, so I'm going to set a few goals for the week and see where it goes from there. First of all, I'm going to try and post at least every other day to this blog, if not more. It helps me get things out of my head, and later it reminds me of things I may have forgotten. It also makes me see things in retrospect that I cant usually see at the time of posting, because its still so fresh, and full of emotions, etc...

Secondly I'm going to Paint more. I love art, and I love making it even more. It just seems that when I'm down in the dumps, or sick/hurting I tend to disregard that painting makes me feel better, and it gets laid to the side for a better day.  My goal is at least once a week I will paint something, anything, everything ;)

Third... well I want to take more photographs, so I want to pull out my  camera at least once a week if not more and snap a few shots. Ill post a few of the good ones to hehe

A few side notes to my goals I would also like to start working on: (in no particular order btw)
~Art/Posting for My Main DeviantArt Account
~Making Jewelery and Crafting (also setting up an etsy account and maybe selling my wares)
~Making some custom logos and banners for my blog, etc
~start putting together ideas, designs to build a website because I dig doing that kinda stuff
~Delve more into my creative abilities as a whole
~Try and Be Happy/ Less Stressed (This will be hardddddddddddddd)

Wish Me Luck Guys! I May Need Some Support!!!!

Also still no more news on my dad in the hospital, but when I know I will let you know for sure. Keep him in your thoughts and prayers. BTW David is still laid off until March, and still no luck finding temp winter work so wish him luck and send us lots of prayers and thoughts for him, we really need it! Thanks!

Love,
 Me

My Dad

Well Thursday My dad went in for spinal Surgery. Him and my mom live back in Florida, where I just moved from 7 months ago. I don't get to talk to them much as I want to or should. My Mom called today to let me know how my dad is. He is still in the hospital. He was in the operation for 8 hours. The surgeon said his disks were cracked and cutting into his nerves, which in turn were cutting the circulation off in his legs, and if he didn't have the surgery he would end up in a wheel chair within less than a year, most likely less than six months.  The surgery itself went o.k we thought, but now he has been having really bad shakes throughout his entire body, much like Parkinson. They are getting way worse by the day. My mom can't seem to get a hold of his doctor or his surgeon to talk to them, to see what is causing this or if he will be o.k.  I'm hoping its just a reaction to maybe on of his meds he is on perhaps and if they change it or the dosage, the reaction will subside. So far we have no clue. I'm worried, and so is my mom.

Your Thoughts and Prayers would be much appreciated by me and my mom. I will let you know more when I know more, to keep you updated.

Thanks,
 Tiff

Idiots

Most of my roommates are idiots. We have the basement apartment. This is a three story  old house in Pa. Whenever someone walks on the floor above the basement we hear them. So you would think they would do so with a little understanding that we are below them, instead... They are stomping around like a herd of elephants. Its not quite 5am yet... and they have been up 3 times stomping around in the last 2 hours, this last time (which was just now) Making enough noise to wake the whole house... not just me and David. Good thing I was already awake. Have some freaking consideration. The majority of them I dislike or merely tolerate, however Christina is cool, as is her son. I hope she stays awhile. Most people who move in here leave after a month or two because of Frank though... Go Figure lmao.........

XxX
  Me