Vegas baby....and another Diet Monday

We spent the weekend in Las Vegas...we had to go to a wedding......so we took advantage of the weather and laid out by the pool...this was at 7:00 PM...and still nice and warm and sunny! We were at the Trump, and that is the Wynn and the new Encore in the background. The thing we enjoyed about the Trump, besides the awesome cozy bed and the jacuzzi tub, was the fact that there is NO casino in the hotel, which means no noise and no smoke...it was wonderful, and within walking distance of the strip and all the smoke filled casinos that we needed.

Have any of you fallen for the tomato tree commercial??? well, I did......and maybe Im niave but I kind of expected PLANTS in the mail, and least seedlings, but all I got were these peat pots and I have to start them myself.....LOLOLOLOLOl, can we say rip-off!!!!!!!! I will keep you posted......

I realized I had not been keeping you up with my CVSing...so here is my latest haul, for about 27 cents out of pocket....

The weather was beautiful here last week and Sadie took full advantage of the sun, she laid in it all day!
So...tonight....Elton John and Billy Joel...I cannot wait!!! We saw them a few years ago and it was one of the best concerts I have ever been to......and hubby just scored some last minute tickets, nosebleed seats Im sure, but we will rock out anyways!
OK...diet challenge Monday...........after a weekend in Vegas, and the Trump breakfast buffet, I STILL lost a pound.....so Im down 6 pounds.....34 to go.....AND Im managing to jog about a mile of the 3 I walk every day.....so Im on a roll....

A Box of fun...and room in progress....

THIS box came the other day, and whenever a box comes from New England my heart skips a beat!!!! Glenni knows me so well, and she knows what I like.....and I LOVE it all!!!!!


Yummy scrappy fun to do the next pages in my year in my life album....



I LOVE birds!!!!!!!! and I LOVE the charm..I LOVE it ALL..thanks my BFF!!!!!!!!!
OK, remember the other day I showed you the project table that I got, and I promised updates on my progress....well, after dragging about 50% of my crap, I mean fabric, paper, etc.....upstairs, its looking good.....one more day of hauling stuff should do it, then I need to hang stuff on the walls.........



What do you think so far?????? I LOVE the barstool, and I put it together all myself....I almost gave myself a stroke doing it when I realized I screwed up 1/2 thru and had to take it apart....but hey, I did it.....now maybe I can tackle that yellow cabinet????? I think not.......
So Im hoping by tomorrow I can pretty much say its done.....about 1/2 of my scrappy stuff will have to stay downstairs in a big cupboard....who HAS this much crap????????
Beautiful weather here in So Cal....it just doesn't get any better than this..the birds are all fighting over the birdhouses in the back yard, soon they will be full of hungrey babies, and thats my favorite time of the year!!!!

Diet Challenge Monday..I'AM the biggest loser,lolol

Last week Sharon and I went to Ikea to get that darling yellow linen cupboard I had seen in Country living, we also managed to pick up a few other things, matter of fact, we could not have fit one more thing in her truck!!! Here she is....she just cant resist playing with fire, or in this case, electricity!!!!!




My bedford project table arrived saturday...boy it sure fills up that little room!!!! I will be taking pictures as the room progresses, it will be my new sewing/scrapping room, and this table is perfect for both, I love standing up to do projects, so its perfect! I put together the bar stool Sunday that I got at Ikea to go with the table......THAT was interesting let me tell you. I'm not sure if I even want to think about tackling the cupboard I got there....anyways, as I get things in there and fixed up, I will post my progress.


Heres my little Sadie after she decided to tear up a birthday card.....now how could you be mad at that face?
OK........Diet Monday......can I just say hip hip hoorayyyyyyy!!!!! After confessing my sins last Monday I decided to get serious about my diet.....and it was a difficult week since I had not one but TWO birthday dinners out....BUT...I still managed to lose 3 pounds....thank you carb master yogurt and cottage cheese!!!! Nothing unhealthy went into my market basket yesterday, tonight will be a stir fry with lots of vegies......I can do this!!!!!!This week I will be getting a great workout dragging all my sewing scrappy stuff upstairs! Thanks to all of you who gave my a kick in my rather ample ass......Im back onboard and Im NOT gonna fall off again!!!
Things to be sad about...no more Big Love....boo hoo

More birthday fun......

I seem to be celebrating my birthday alot....and I LIKE it!!!!! Last night I got to have dinner with cupcake and Ms. NoBlog and it was a blast!!!! We were having so much fun taking pictures we barely noticed the lady in the next booth giving us dirty looks......seems like everytime we took a picture she would give us the ugliest looks you can imagine......it didnt dampen our spirits, we just took MORE pictures!!!
The girls spoiled me rotten.......they really did!!! all my favorite things....

Some Sally Jean goodness.....thanks Cupcake!!

This adorable picture.......again thanks cupcake!!

OH, there we are again??????

This darling cupcake plate...

Can you believe these flower gals, LOVE Lori Mitchell, and I love Ms. NoBlog toooooo!!!!!!! Thanks Nancy, they are awesome!!!!!!!

Is this purse to die for????????? thanks Cupcake!

The girls got together and got me this cake, cuz they know Im on a diet, and LOOK what was inside, a silver charm bracelet and they put a cupcake charm on it...I LOVE it!!!!! Can you see that quilt topper in the backgroud, Sharon made that for me TOO!!

Sharon had a couple of martinis, dont mind her.....shes having fun annoying the lady in the next booth.....
Sharon gave me a little notepad with a cupcake on it and the coolest saying and I think it sums everything up....here it is..."They are like sisters,they cry at the movies,they crave sudden things, they love being alive"......
I love being with my sistas, and they made this a very special birthday.....thanks girls, I love ya!!!!!!

Loser Monday and a Confession......

This post will be short and sweet.....well, not too sweet......I have not been good, I have been bad. I have not been trying, I have been avoiding my diet and in denial. My mind just has not wrapped around it.....BUT, I have hit rock bottom and I will be hopping back on the bandwagon, back in the challenge, back in control. It will be summer soon.....thats incentive enough. So , I dont know if I lost anything yet, I have been walking a lot, and for the last few days, I have been watching what Im eating....so Im hoping I have good news next Monday....

There is a GREAT give away.....

Go here for one of the best give aways I have seen in a while......I REALLY need to win this....

Prim RaBbiTs 4 SaLE....

I asked my good friend Leighanne of Raggedyoldfriend to make me a prim rabbit for Easter....and here he is......and she has agreed to make a few more if anyone is interested........just email me. He is so prim and cool, I love him, thanks Leighanne!!!!!!!

Cioppinno...my way

Well, of course my pictures came up backwards, and I really do not have time to do this upload thing one more time so bear with me...
I make cioppino for hubby once a year on Christmas Eve, but this was his dinner request, so I made it for his birthday......







Heres how I make it:
Start by sauteeing 1/2 an onion, 1/2 a bell pepper, 4 cloves of garlic minced, in evoo......just until tender.
then add 2 big cans diced tomatos, and 1 big can of tomato sauce....
then add, and I never measure this.....about a spoonful of basil and oregano, dried, mash it up in the palm of your hand to bring out the flavor, and salt and pepper, I use kosher salt. Then, the most important thing, the WINE, use a nice red wine that you would like to drink...add about 1/2 cup (or more,lol).....simmer for as long as you want, I simmer for about 2 hours, then add about 1/2 a bunch of chopped FRESH parsley, has to be fresh.....simmer some more....
Then comes the fun part.....add a can or 2 of clams....some nice shrimp, cooked or uncooked, doesnt matter, and whatever other kind of fish is on sale or looks good. This time I added tilapia, and scallops, but sometimes I use sole, halibut, just whatever loooks good.....simmer until the fish is done. You can also add mussels in the shell, and I have added clams in the shell too, whatever suits your mood.
This is so yummy and so low cal and low fat. Sometimes we serve it over rice, sometimes not, serve a nice salad and crusty bread, and you have a great gourmet meal thats sooooooooo easy!!!!!
OH, and dont forget to drink the rest of the wine!!!!!!!

I'am NOT the Biggest Loser...and Birthday pics..and Valentines goodies..whew

March in my family is birthday month....there are so many of them, and we usually get together to celebrate....only thing that is missing is Tracey, so here Honey, heres a piece of home......everyone says hi. We had a big Spaghetti dinner, and Aunt Linda made an awesome cake. AND it was nice enough to enjoy being outside in the sun....It dawns on my that I didnt get any pictures of Aunt Linda and Uncle Don for you....Probably because they were so busy keeping us happy and fed...and washing dishes...THANK YOU my dear sister for a wonderful day...and Im going to hold you to the promise of helping me make my yard look pretty, my sister has a green thumb like you cannot beleive.....


If it says Barbara Cheatley on the bag you KNOW you are in for a treat, just look at this sweet bunny my sister got me for my birthday...now my birthday isnt for another week and a half, but thats the nice part about all the birthdays being celebrated at once, I get MY goodies early!!!!!!

Heres the goodies Chelsey got me.....check out the shopping bags, she knows I LOVE birds and owls, these are sooooooo perfect.......AND the movie I have been wanting to see....AND look at the PEACE bracelet from Brighton...what a nice surprise and I adore it all..........

In other news, the sistas and I got together for dinner and drinks, we have been trying to get together since Valentines Day but one thing after another, BUT we finally made it.....and here are my Valentine goodies from Ms.NoBlog...omg, the cutest little purse she made, and the awesome RED cake stand...plus tons of other goodies, and you can see us modeling our cool shades here and here.....I think that was after our drinks..........as usual we had a great time, lots of laughs, and we are already planning our next outing......always fun with these two!!!
OK.......so I'am NOT the biggest loser, I'am not a loser at all.....this is diet challenge monday.......and I know the diet master is checking up on everyone, so I dont want to suffer her wrath.......but let me tell you.....between the spaghetti and the birthday cake, especially the CAKE, well, I say no more.
I will say that I HAVE been exercising, I have walked most mornings, ome morning I didnt even let the light showers stop me, and I have been doing a little time on the eliptical machine, VERY little time because its sooooooo hard.....my goal is to work up to 1/2 hour, but it just is so borning I cant stand it.
I must say last week was a VERY good tv week,lol..between BIG LOVE, American Idol and Brothers and Sisters, very good week.......does anyone else out there watch BIG LOVE?????????? I never want it to end!!!!!!!!!!!!

12 Hours of Bliss.......

Now these are some BIG tools ladies......are they having a duel???? This is my friend Sue in the second picture, she thought HER tool was big until she met Sandy, and when Sandy whipped out that bad boy, Sue realized shes no longer as big as she thought!!!!!
I spent the entire day yesterday at the Red Bee in Tusin, and they did a great job....awesome lunch and dinner, snacks,dessert, and 2 starbucks runs, who could ask for anything more!!!!!!
I got my vacation album finished (except for journaling) and did a few pages on my 2009 album that Glenni is putting together for us monthly...did a little shopping.....enjoyed a lot of fun and laughs with the ladies...








OK, now to the burning question of what happened to Annie...or more specifically, YES, Annie's HAIR.........the first COMPLETE answer that I was looking for was Sadie did the dreadful deed.............and Kim and Lorraine both said the DOG did it, but Calamity Jane said Sadie did it........Soooooooooo,in fairness, all 3 of you will be getting some good smells in the mail as soon as you email me your addys.......