Plug Your Blog

Good day, dear readers!  I've seen this on some blogs around the block lately, and I thought I'd join in.

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Here is your chance to plug your blog. 

I don't care what kind of blog you have, I enjoy a large variety (nails, family/mommy, cooking, geek, etc).  So, even if I follow, or even if you're usually just a lurker on my blog, take a second and leave me a link to your blog.  And if I do follow your blog (and you *know* for a fact I do), leave me a link of one of your favorite blogs. 

I love finding new blogs and what better way to find them than with a little help from my friends, right?

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Boom Berry

Good evening, Kitschies!  Have you missed me?  It's been INSANE at work the last two days and I haven't had any time to blog.  I barely have time to glance at everybody else's posts (sorry 'bout that - I'll get caught up eventually).  And by the time I got home last night...I was DONE.  I was in bed before 9 last night...and fast asleep by 10 (after reading for a bit).  Tonight I have a little more energy, but it probably won't last long.  So, while Mason's yelling for Daddy from the confines of his crib and Nate and the hubs are playing Lego Star Wars, I'm going to put this post together (read: before I fall asleep). 

The hubs brought home strawberries the other weekend and he told me it was my responsibility to do something with them.  I wanted Strawberry Shortcake, but I didn't want to use the pre-made cups from the grocery store, so I grabbed my Bisquick box and mixed away.

Classic Strawberry Shortcakes
1 quart (4 cups) strawberries, sliced
1/4 cup sugar
2 1/3 cups Bisquick mix
1/2 cup milk
3 Tbsp sugar
3 Tbsp butter, melted
1/2 cup whipping cream

Heat oven to 425*. In large bowl, mix strawberries and 1/4 cup sugar. Set aside.

In medium bowl, stir Bisquick mix, milk, 3 tablespoons sugar and the butter until soft dough forms. On ungreased cookie sheet, drop dough by 6 spoonfuls.

Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown. Meanwhile, in small bowl, beat whipping cream with electric mixer on high speed until soft peaks form.

Split warm shortcakes; fill and top with strawberries and whipped cream.

NOTES: Instead of making my own whipped cream, we just used Cool Whip. Besides, if I were to make my own, I would add some powdered sugar and vanilla. Anyway...I baked these on my silicone baking sheet and they came out perfect.

To me, they resembled baked cauliflower, but they didn't taste like cauliflower.  I made these again this last weekend but substituted brown sugar for white sugar - they weren't as good (sorry, Wendi).

So good.  So very, very good!  Both Nate and Mason devoured their helpings and the hubs and I went back and shared another one later that evening.  This is super easy and super yummy - definitely something I'll be making again and again!

It looks like things are a little more calm at the clinic tomorrow...at least that's what I'm hoping.  In other news, I'll be registering my baby for KINDERGARTEN in a month.  *sigh*  He's still so little...I can't believe he's already going to be in kindergarten.  Kinda makes me sad.  But I know he'll have a blast.  I can still be sad, though, right?

Go, Drillers!

Ugh.  It's Monday.  Again.  This weekend went by in a flash.  We had the besties over for dinner, drinks and some games - it was a lot of fun and the food was GOOD (if I do say so myself), but the kids...they had their own plans.  The babies just would NOT go to sleep so they ended up leaving earlier than we planned.  And then Sunday was spent getting things organized in the house and the garage.  I wanted to go out to the park or something with the boys but it's been wicked windy here, so we hid out in the house.  Nate and I made cookies yesterday (post to follow eventually) and Mason...well...he did his thing (which includes a lot of yelling/screaming on his part because that's how he communicates for now).

A couple weeks ago I posted a request for color combinations for a funky french.  I got lots of answers, but one in particular stuck out.  One of my friends from high school recommended blue and white: our school colors.  So, this mani is for you, Lisa!

This is the first free-hand French that I've tried and I've got to say that it was much easier than I expected.  I started with Color Club Trippie Hippie for the tips and after some clean up with acetone and my round Filbert brush, this is what it looked like.  But, I couldn't leave it there...

I grabbed my Bundle Monster plates and decided that a trail of stars would work perfectly with this.  This is BM14 with SH Xtreme Wear in White On.  Lisa had suggested silver, but I wanted the stars to really stand out.  I got lots of compliments on this mani - people just can not believe I do my own nails.  Why is this so hard to believe?  It's really not hard if you have the right tools!

This is definitely a win!  I loved the colors and the white added a little something to an otherwise meh French mani.  The only drawback to this was that you can see staining on my nail beds.  It's not horrible, but I notice it.

French manis and I have a love/hate relationship.  I love them.  They're pretty.  You can do a lot of different things with them.  But...it seems that no matter what, I end up breaking a nail.  So, right on schedule, I ended up having to cut one down because it tore at the corner.  Then this weekend I ended up chopping them all off because I had another break.  Now I'm back to nubbins.  *sad Megan*

Well..I'm off to do some work.  Enjoy your day - see you tomorrow!

Pier 1 is *the* Place for Spring!

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Pier 1. All opinions are 100% mine.

Good day, Kitschies!  I have an awesome site for you today.  Pier 1 - it's *the* place for your outdoor entertainment needs this Spring.

With the weather warming up, it's time to get outside!  And what better way to celebrate Spring than with family and friends?!  If you're like me, your outdoor arrangements need to be...spruced up a bit.  With a little help from Pier 1 Imports, it's easy to transform your drab Winter backyard to an comfortable inviting destination.

These colorful Rock Point outdoor chairs come in great Spring colors and stack for easy storage.   Throw on some whimsical garden square bistro cushions and you've got a comfy, colorful seat, too!

You've gotta have a cute table to rest your pitcher of fruity drinks on, right?  And you've got to have something to match those great chairs, too, so why not add this cute Daisy outdoor Plicker table to your new arrangement?

Even though the days are warming up, the nights are still a bit cool.  So, once you're finished having fun outside, come inside and curl up in the famous Pier 1 Papasan chair (one of *my* favorites - ours gets TONS of use by me, the hubs and both boys) and a comfy cozy Popcorn throw.  Light some First Rain scented candles and you've got the perfect ending to a great Spring day!

But don't take *my* word for it...click HERE to locate a Pier 1 Imports near you!  And be sure to check out the Pier 1 Tweetups to see if they're coming near your town.

Flashback Friday: March 30

Happy Friday, Kitschies!!  I hope you made it through your week relatively unscathed.  It was another busy week at the clinic.  And now I'm home with Nate because he's a sneezing, whining, boogery pile of goo.  Joy!  He's eating lunch and I'm taking a moment to do my flashback post.  I'll be eating soon, too, but I have to wait for my artichoke to finish cooking (which will be another 30 minutes).

March 30th.  That date holds special meaning to me.  Twice.  Well, kinda three times, but we won't talk about that.  We'll talk about the good things that happened on (or very close to) March 30th.

First up is March 30, 2002.  On that date, I met the hubs for our first "date".  We had been talking emailing for quite a while and finally decided to meet.  How'd we first "meet"?  Through match.com.  Seriously.  And this is the picture he had on his profile (only in black and white):

Nice, right?  LOL  I figured he had a sense of humor if he used that as a profile pic, so I responded.  We traded lots and lots of very long emails before we ever decided to meet.

Anyway...our first date was awesome, though not your typical first date.  We met at Alameda Open Spaces and went for a long walk.  We talked and talked and walked and walked.  And then...when we got back to our cars...my stoopid ex-boyfriend was there.

Long story short, the hubs got him to leave (he protected me, but not in a physical kind of way, you can see he looks kinda threatening with that light saber - LMAO) and we went on our way.  We stopped by my house so I could change shoes (my Docs gave me a wicked blister) and then we went to McDonald's (how romantic?) for ice cream and then went out to the mesa to look over the city.  It doesn't sound like much, but it was really nice.

I kept him around.  Actually, we were together pretty much 100% of the time after that first date.  He kinda moved in and didn't leave - until I had to leave that house rather suddenly, but that's another story.  A year goes by and things are awesome.

Then...on March 29, 2003, he proposed!  Of course I said yes!  And do you know what's extra awesome about that?  He asked my Dad's permission first.  He scored extra brownie points with that one! 

To top off the end of March that year, my first day at the clinic was March 30, 2003!  As of 2 days ago, I've been with Southwest Integrative Health Center for 8 years.  8. years.  I can't believe it's been that long!  I love the docs I work with - they're great docs AND they're good people.  So, between the two of them (the hubs and the clinic), they're my longest running relationships and I hope they stay that way.

This is a pic of the hubs and the boys on top of a dormant volcano on the outskirts of Albuquerque.  The hubs is a great Dad and a good husband.  I love them so, so much!

One more pic for good measure.  This is the hubs and me at a friend's wedding a couple years ago.

I love you, hubs!  I'm so glad I found you and I hope we have many more anniversaries of our first date to come! 

Born Pretty Store - A Review

Good morning, Kitschies!  It's a little less chaotic here in the clinic today - thank buddah.  I was about ready to pull my hair out by the end of the day yesterday.  What a difference a day makes, right?

Today I have my first official review for you.  A couple weeks ago I was contacted by Kevin at Born Pretty asking me if I'd be interested in reviewing some items from their store.  I roamed around their site and came across a few things I had already had my eye on (score!) and placed my order.  About 10 days later I got my package in the mail, which is pretty quick considering how far it has to travel!  Let's see what I got, shall we?

I picked the 5-piece 2-way dotting tool set.  I love that these come with different colored acrylic barrels with a fun swirl insert.  The sizes of the tips range from pretty big to itty bitty and there are more options than previous sets I've tried before.  The quality of these tools is better than others I've tried before - they have a good weight in my hand and the tips are well-anchored so you won't end up with a wobbly tip a few months down the road.  Of course I had to take these for a spin.  Wanna see?

I know...it's a pedi...so sue me.  Anyway...I started with a base of Sparkly Smurf (a Franken color I'll post on later) and then using red, orange, yellow and green acrylic paint, I dotted a rainbow on each big toe.

I've been kinda meh about my pedies lately, but I really like this, and it's mostly because of the little rainbow.  Using the dotting tools was super easy and they cleaned up nicely.  Sometimes it's hard to get all the paint off the tips of the tools, but I didn't have that issue with these. 

So...go now to Born Pretty and check out their dotting tools.  A set of 5 (seen at top) run $4.74.  Not bad, right?  Especially good since Born Pretty offers free shipping (a similar set on Amazon will run about $6 +shipping). 

The items reviewed in this post were provided to me by Born Pretty Store.  The information provided is my honest opinion and has not been influenced by the products in any way.

Did Somebody Say Ranch?

Holy shitballs, people!  What the heck happened to the day?!  It was super chaotic today.  First, my cell phone beeped at 6:10 this morning.  It was my co-worker telling me she wasn't coming in because she's sick.  Not a big deal; I'd rather her stay home with her sickness than share it with me.  Second, I get to work and I hear that one of the other medical assistants isn't coming in because she had to take her daughter to the doctor.  Nice.  So, I'm short-handed on my end of the world and now the *other* end of the world is minus an MA.  Luckily there was somebody else to cover because I was really busy with my two docs.  THIRD...the powers that be (read: the docs) decided to fire one of the front desk girls and we had a replacement starting this morning.  This means the front desk is doubly short-handed because one regular is gone and the other regular has to train the noob.  *sigh*  And add in there one of the new practitioners coming down to my station every 30 minutes to tell me about something he wants me to do with his EMR form (I told him he's not allowed to come to my part of the world anymore - he's used all his passes for the week.  Somehow I don't think that matters).  This was all before lunch.  Somehow, it all kept flowing and I got a lunch.  A 45-minute lunch!  The afternoon was much better but at that point, I realized I forgot my flash drive with all my blog pics.  Can I go home yet?  I finished out the afternoon and got out only 15 minutes later than usual.  The boys were pretty quiet on the way home, which is good because I am exhausted!  So, here I am...it's 8:15.  The boys are bathed and in bed.  The hubs has gone to Planet Ego.  My nails are done.  Glee was a repeat.  I have to do a load of laundry and finish this post.  And then...I don't care if it's before 9...I'm going to bed. 

Enough of that.  On to the food!

A couple weeks ago, the hubs decided that he wanted to try a new recipe.  The hubs is really a good cook.  He just doesn't like to make things that require a recipe.  So I was pretty excited when he said HE wanted to try something new.  He went digging through a bunch of my recipe books, stickied the pages he was interested in, and then passed them over to me for my opinion.  You know...as long as he wants to make dinner and it doesn't contain fish or lamb, it's all good with me.  We both agreed on a promising looking recipe from Best Burgers, a recipe book we got who knows when.  I don't know if we've ever used a recipe out of it...until now.

Ranch Burger
1 1/4 lbs lean ground beef
3/4 cup prepared Ranch dressing
3/4 cup dry bread crumbs
1/4 cup minced onion
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper

In a large bowl, combine beef, salad dressing, bread crumbs, onion, salt and pepper.  Shape into 6 patties.  Grill over medium-hot coals 5-6 minutes until no longer pink in center (160*).  Place on sesame seed buns with lettuce, tomato and red onion slices, if desired.  Serve with a generous amount of additional Ranch dressing.

Choppin' the onions.  I don't know what it is, but the hubs has a *thing* for red onion.  I'm not complaining, but that's the first thing he grabs for when I tell him I need an onion.

The mix.  Bread crumbs, Ranch dressing and onions.  I don't have anything against bread crumbs, but they don't belong in a burger.  They just don't.

The blob 'o meat.  When I saw this, all I could think of is this...

Meatwad a la Aqua Team Hunger Force.  No, I've never watched it, but there was a time when his image was inescapable on the internets.

All prettily shaped in to patties.  3 adult-size and 2 little kid-size. 

I don't know if it was the dressing, but these got the Cajun treatment.  And for once, it wasn't me who burned the chicken.

The finished product.  Isn't it pretty?  We had some spicy fried onion petals for added spiciness (we also added a piece of pepper jack to the adult burgers).

Now...as I was saying...bread crumbs do not belong in a burger.  Meatballs?  Sure.  Meatloaf?  Sometimes.  Burgers?  Never.  The bread crumbs made the burgers all mushy and more like a big flattened meatball than a burger.  Next time I'll opt out of the bread crumbs and change the prepared Ranch dressing for Ranch seasoning...the kind in a packet.  Overall, I wasn't too impressed with the flavor of these.  Or the consistency.  On a scale of 1 to 5, I'd give these a 2, but with a few changes, these could be 4-star burgers!

Have you ever tried a recipe that looked good on paper but ended up being less than stellar?  Do you rely on recipes or do you wing it?  I'm definitely a recipe kind of gal.  It takes me a LONG time to be comfortable enough with a recipe before I try to mix things up.