MOMMA'S ENCHI-GOBBLES~ AKA MY TURKEY ENCHILADAS

Hot out of the oven! Thought I'd try something new with our Thanksgiving leftovers.

I used flour tortillas, green enchilada sauce, stuffed with left over turkey and left over mashed potatoes. Then I added cheese inside them (lots and lots of cheese cuz I should have been a mouse the way I LOVE cheese), rolled them up and covered them all with.........you guessed it........ MORE CHEESE and sliced olives. Bake at 375 degrees until fully heated and cheese is melted. Soooooooooooooo good!

Was a late night so I just threw the Enchi-gobbles together, heated up a can of refried beans and some of my homemade salsa.

Speaking of my homemade salsa........my youngest Rugrat went to get a spoon for the salsa, ran back to the table, slipped on the rug and hit the floor LAUGHING....

What happened my sweet Rugrat???...........

She got back to the table and Hunk had hidden the salsa....he was trying to convince her she left it in the kitchen..... those that know my Hunk are shocked and amazed that he did this......NOT.....

I put the rest of my Turkey in freezer bags and placed them in the freezer for later. I plan to make Turkey Noodle Soup and Turkey Potpie. Just going to give us a "turkey break" for a few days.

Tonight's dinner....... T-bone steak, fresh green beans, twice baked potatoes and homemade bread......yummers.......

Ciao Bellas~

MY BEACH HOUSE GETAWAY WITH A GREAT FRIEND

You all may have noticed I was away for few days. I went to our beach house with a girlfriend. A really great girlfriend. A girlfriend that I rarely get the chance to see.

She moved a few years back and we don't get to spend as much time together as we used to.

I grabbed my camera so I could take photos along the way on our trip! I was so excited.


I was heading out of our driveway and was stopped by "a deer crossing"... My first chance to photograph the beginning of our trip.....

Wow, he is coming up to my car window......brave little guy....

He is so close! I snap the photo..........and right after he heard the click of the camera he bolted...........

My friend Sharon's Hunk was driving her to meet me at the "Park-n-ride". They said they were in a black car so I stood snapping photo's of all the black cars coming in.....

So this car......is NOT them........though I do think they wondered why I was taking their photo....

I was hesitant to take this photo but really though it was them this time.....

I'm not 100% sure but I really think it is them..........I hope.....

Yes, I'm sure it is.......I'm looking through the lens of my camera but I'm sure that is them.....I'm so excited, I'm so excited, I'm so excited......

Yeah!!! It's my friend Sharon!! I love her!....

I'm so glad it was the right car.......I'm so glad I wasn't snapping a photo of my friend.......only to lower the camera and get a good look and find it wasn't my friend.....

It was Sharon and we were hittin' the highway.....I'm so glad we get to go on this trip together!

Sharon's Hunk! What a hubby. He drove her about 2 hours to meet me.

Sharon and I couldn't talk enough about how lucky we are to have our Hunks. They were both sooooooo supportive over us taking this trip together. How blessed are we?

We got in the car and didn't stop talking until we were there...... Then I remembered I was supposed to be taking photos.......

We unloaded the car and Sharon starts unpacking our goodies...... I remembered to grab my camera.......

Of course no girls trip would be complete without chocolate!

When you hear me say "It's all about the food"........this is the friend this saying started with....

Sharon lets her Hunk know that we made it and I head out to check out my tree's in the backyard...

Yep, still there. I love these trees. We had to fight for these tree's when we bought it.

The previous owners insisted on taking them..... I was so sad.... Then as they came to pic them up it started tearing up the brick patio......

Well........we got to keep the tree's.

This one has grown A LOT since I was here last.

And this is the view from in front of our house looking down at the ocean. There are stairs at the end of the street that lead down to the beach.

I can feel the stress melting away....... I LOVE water, I love the ocean, I love the lake, I love a waterfall or a pond. Any water. It is so relaxing to me. It is such a reminder of all the beauty God has created for us......

And this my friends was the last photo I took of our trip. There were MANY more photos to be taken. So many fun times to document...... But I FORGOT my camera at the house.

I just enjoyed my time with one of my very best friends.....

Sorry I had a lapse in posts.......but now you see, I was on a much needed vacation with a wonderful friend.......

Another good friend once told me "WE ALL DESERVE A LITTLE PEACE IN OUR LIVES"........and I agree 100%......and I'm so thankful I have a Hunk who agrees and supports me in my occasional getaways and that I have great friends to getaway with.

Ciao Bellas~

TWENTY ONE YEARS AGO~HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO MY HUNK OF BURNIN' LOVE!!!

Look at my Hunk.......21 years ago.......and he still makes my knees go weak...in fact more and more so with each passing year...

Love you Hunk!

Ahhhhhhhh so young........and skinny......and young........and skinny.....

My daddy walking me down the isle........I love you daddy!

My Momma with me.... sorry I made you wear hot pink and black....it was the 80's what can I say...... Love you Momma!

My Hunk and his Mom and Dad. His dad was such a funny man. He would give you the shirt off of his back and make you laugh while he did it. My Hunk is a lot like his dad..... We miss you Papa Chuck.....

Hunk with my whole fam-damily......ahhhhh look at my little sis.....I love you little sista'!

If only I had some friends....... then I could have had 20 bridesmaids.....of course 20 gals in pink may have permanently blinded you......but hot pink sounded perfect at the time......so did 5,384 bridesmaids..or maybe it was only 5...... the hotpink makes it look like so many more....

Twenty-one years later.... I'm not so young......or so skinny.......or so young......or so skinny..... whatever....

Twenty-one years later....... My Hunk........sighhhhh........

Here is to another twenty-one years....... I love you Hunk......You are an amazing husband and father to our four Rugrats. The love you show to me and to our friends and family makes me fall deeper in love with you each day.

You are my rock and have proven to me you meant the vows you said to me twenty one years ago. For better or worse, in sickness and in health, you are right by my side.

Ok sappy stuff is over.......and besides I don't want Hunks head to explode..... not on our anniversary......not on Thanksgiving.....it might make us lose our appetite and frankly today is not a day to lose your appetite.....way too much food to eat.....

Hmmmmmm wonder why I'm not as skinny as 21 years ago....... could it be 21 Thanksgiving dinners?......ya whatever.......

Gobble, Gobble......and thanks so much for going through the trouble and making such huge meals today to celebrate our anniversary with us! ;)

I hope you all enjoyed your Thanksgiving and your time with loved ones.

Ciao Bellas~

MY CANCER STORY~ PART NINE

I KNEW IT! I KNEW IT! I KNEW IT!

I read about this online!

He said that he would send it to two different labs for the tests to be done and he was going to be meeting with a group of doctors and they would be discussing my case and they would call us with their recommendations.


He explained a little more about how rare the cancer is and how it is known for returning. He assured us he would do everything he could for me and stated that he planned to keep a very close eye on me.

Hunk and I left in a bit of a fog. It was real, it was happening, but sometimes it felt like it wasn't really happening. Does that make sense? In my strange little head it does.....

We now needed to go home and start breaking the news.....OR could I wait until I heard from the doctors as to what they were going to do... I didn't know what the "right" answer was.

I didn't want to tell my Rugrats, Christmas was coming and I didn't want them to worry. I didn't want to tell anyone. I didn't want to have to start answering questions from everybody. I wasn't ready to hear everyone tell me how sorry they are.

In some weird way I thought if I didn't tell anyone then maybe it would go away. Maybe there was still a chance to wake up from this nightmare.

I just wanted things to be back to normal.

I wanted to be the mom working in the kids classrooms. I wanted to be the wife running the office, I wanted to be the daughter visiting her parents, I wanted to be the big sister helping out her little sister with her new baby, I wanted to be the Aunt rocking her nephew and loving on him. Most importantly I wanted to live. I wanted my life back. I didn't want to miss a minute of anything.

I knew I had to accept that the best I could hope for was a "new normal". If I could live to see my children grow up and have more time with my Hunk then I would accept any "new normal" that was dished out to me.

On the way home Hunk and I decided that we would wait until we heard back from my oncologist before we told anyone. We wanted to be armed with all of the information before telling the Rugrats. We wanted to be able to answer questions.

Our Rugrats were 14, 11, 6 and 5. We knew our Rugrat daughters were so young they wouldn't really understand so much but the boys, especially our oldest, he was going to have lots of questions. After losing Hunks Aunt to cancer we knew that would cause more alarm.

We got home and relieved my parents from Grandma/Grandpa duty and went to bed.

We layed and talked about how if I had to go thru chemo that I could get different wigs and Hunk could go to bed with "a different woman" each night. I stated that I may end up being bald but at least I'd be skinny..we were trying to ease the tension, ease the pain.....laugh....if even only for the moment.... Hunk is always good for a laugh.

I fell asleep in Hunks arms knowing that tomorrow was going to be a very busy day.

To be continued....

THANKSGIVING TURKEY RECIPE~ EVERY MAN WILL LOVE THIS RECIPE!

Want to make the perfect turkey for your Hunk this Thanksgiving?

This year our Wedding Anniversary lands on Thanksgiving day.

I've been looking for a "special" turkey recipe to make for my Hunk this year, to celebrate. Instead of the way I cook it year after year after year.

You know, spice it up a bit for our "special occasion". I'm just thoughtful like that... wink... wink

I'm so excited!! I just received this Thanksgiving Turkey Recipe from my friend Kristin this morning and it's perfect!!!

Just in case you were looking for an extra special turkey this Thanksgiving I just had to share.

It is sure to be a hit at any Thanksgiving Table.


Ingredients:

• 1 whole turkey
• 1 large lemon, cut into halves
• salt and pepper to taste
• butter or olive oil, whichever you prefer
  

Directions:

Heat oven to 350 degrees

Rub butter or oil over the skin of the turkey until it is completely coated.

Sprinkle with salt and pepper and any other seasonings you prefer.

Take a knife and gently separate the skin from the breast meat; Slide lemon halves under the skin with the peel side up, one on each side. This way the juice from the lemon will release into the breasts.

Cover and bake for 30-45 minutes.

Remove cover and continue to roast until juices run clear, basting every 15-20 minutes.

If you've followed these steps correctly, your turkey should look like the one in the picture below.

Bon Appetit!

Sorry, I just couldn't help myself......

Happy Hump Day!!

Ciao Bellas~

WHEN YOU ARE IN A HURRY- DON'T DO THIS

Hunk was working out of town the other night so I had to get up and take my Rugrat son to the bus stop .......this is something Hunk normally does for me.....

I was a bit rushed to get him to his bus stop, come back and take my Rugrat daughters to theirs.

The window was fogged over. I turned on my defrost and slowly started backing up.

I noticed a folded paper blowing on the dash. I grabbed it and opened it to see what it was............still very slowly backing up....

I say "Oh, I need to remember to fill this out and give it the girls"... I set the paper down, press on the brakes and put it in drive........

I feel a "sinking" on my rear end.......well, not my rear end (I just realized how much I wish this line could read "I SEE a "shrinking" in my rear end"....).. but the rear end of my car.

Moral of the story, no matter how slow you are going, don't back up while looking at a paper......or this can happen....

Don't put it in 4 wheel drive but try to go before it engages...... or this will happen....


When it looks like this and your Hunk isn't home, it's time to call a friends Hunk and have him come pull you out........ Thank you Melissa's Hunk....

Thanks to Melissa's Hunk, I was able to get my Rugrat daughters to their bus on time but I had to drive my son to school....this did allow me to get a Starbucks coffee....

Could have been worse...... I could have continued to roll down into the lake and then I could be picking fish out of my car.... Thank goodness I didn't read the entire paper.....

After realizing what a bozo move this was these came to mind:

• The lights are on but nobody is home.
• One fry short of a happy meal.
• One stick short of a package of gum
• One card short of a deck
• One donut short of a dozen
• A couple of bananas short of a split.
• A couple of bugs short of Windows '95.
• A few bricks short of a Lego set.
• A few candles short of a birthday cake.
• A few cans short of a six-pack.
• A few clowns short of a circus.
• A flower short of the arrangement.
• All foam, no beer.
• Body by Fisher, brains by Mattel.
• Bright as a two-watt bulb.
• Doesn't have all his cornflakes in one box.

And the one that fits the best:

• Engines running but no one's at the controls.

Have a TERRIFIC TUESDAY!!!!......kinda cheesy but I mean it, so does that make it less cheesy? lol

Ciao Bellas~

URBAN CIRCUS~ WARNING PICTURE OVERLOAD!!

My rugrat daughter before her last performance of Urban Circus! This is the production my rugrat daughters have been practicing for since September.....

It was so much fun. EVERYONE did an excellent job. I will admit I'm ready for a break from all the practices but the girls just can't wait to do the next one!

A HUGE thank you to Miss Teena Weena who donated all of her time, energy and creativity in putting this together for the children of our little community!

My lil' rugrat....... she is so excited!

Miss Teena who donated all of her time also runs an "Assisted Living Home" here in our community and these were the adorable residents who came to watch!

In these scene they were looking to see if they could see an audience. They played a game that had them trapped where there was no color and in the end color got in and they got out......

The Lions and Miss Teena was the trainer.... look at those claws on those cute little lions!

The choreography and costumes were great!

TADA!......So cute!

My Rugrat daughter is one of those faces!

ooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhh.........ahhhhhhhhhhh...... ;)

There is my lil' Rugrat daughter walking on here hands.....(wheelbarrow style)

Tada (again)! My lil' Rugrat is the clown in the middle....

Did my lil' rugrat really just stick her tongue out at me? Okay so it wasn't at me, they were making silly faces and I captured this one!

Miss Teena's hubby was the clown for our intertainment between acts. He was a crack up.

Look at those rugrats move..........

I LOVED this! "URBAN"

CIRCUS!!

And the "BAGS" Act was so much fun to watch! It was equally fun trying to figure out which rugrat was mine.......

Too much fun.....

This was a crack up! Little "mini me clown" was assisting the clown with his tricks. She was ADORABLE!!

Look at that little face! And her smile LIT UP THE ROOM.....

This was during their THRILLER routine.

Still "Thriller"...look at that adorable little rugrat on the right with the black and white hair......isn't she the cutest thing you have EVER seen?

OH WAIT! She is MY RUGRAT......well my goodness, I didn't realize that......ok, I did.......but she is adorable.....right? Even in her "thriller" costume.....

I remember doing this as a child. I'd be the legs and my sister (or a girlfriend) would be the body.

This boy did that cackling laugh at the end of Michael Jackson's "Thriller" song, he did it perfect to the music...........creepy....

Look at those girls get so high up in the air!

And the show is over........ These rugrats all worked so hard, and so did Miss Teena.

And there is Miss Teena, thanking everyone for coming and thanking parents for allowing her to teach their children.

Thank you Miss Teena!!

OKAY, I warned you it would be "picture overload" but just had to share what my rugrats have been working on for the last couple months.....

Ciao Bellas~