HALP ME!!!

The Zoya polish exchange is stressing me out!! Here's what I've chosen so far. The descriptions above each bottle are as per the Zoya website.

Zoya Nail Polish in Reece can be best described as: Rose metallic duochrome. A frosty hint of gold creates a unique "oil-slick" rose-gold.

Zoya Nail Polish in Delilah can be best described as: Bright red glitter in a cool toned cherry red base. The fiery, glimmering red that can add glamour to any look.

Zoya Nail Polish in Adina can be best described as: Violet metallic multichrome. A frosty hint of green and magenta creates a unique "oil-slick" look.

Here's the thing. I have to chose 3 more and I. just. can't. I had a dream about it last night - that's how stressed out this whole obsession is making me! I've put a poll up at the top of the blog. PLEASE!! Help me chose 3 more. The poll will run through the evening of June 3rd. I don't know if it'll let you vote more than once, but you're welcome to try. Some of the colors listed are a lot different than my usual choices, but I figured it's about time I step out of my comfort zone a bit! Once the votes have been tallied, I will chose the top 3 colors and order those. I'm excited to see what they end up being! Vote early. Vote often.

What are your favorite Zoya colors? Have you participated in the exchange? What colors did you get?

Listening to: Need You Now by Lady Antebellum
Mood: STRESSED

Drumroll please!

Happy Friday, Kitschies!!

We're heading in to a long Memorial Day weekend. WOO HOO!! I hope all of you have a great weekend - be safe!! And if you see a man or woman in uniform, be sure to thank them for keeping us safe in this great country of ours.

Thank you to every one of you who follow my blog. And an especially big thank you to those of you who comment - I love reading what you have to say! So, without further adieu...

I went to random.org and used their random number generator and the number it presented was 3. That means the winner of my first giveaway is...drumroll please...


Congrats, Ms Jen!! I will be sending you an email this morning - be sure to respond so I can get your goodies out to you ASAP. I will be hosting another giveaway in the near future...check back often!! I don't know how much I'll be posting in the coming week. I am on VACATION!! My parents and sister are coming to visit; my baby turns 1; DH and I get to escape sans kids for 2 whole nights (the first since before the kids were born)!! But don't fret my dear Kitschies. There will be plenty to post about once I'm back to the grind.

Take this job and...

...be thankful you have it. LOL I like my job. I can't imagine working any place else. I'm pretty lucky to work with some pretty wonderful people. Really. It's been kinda slow today, so I thought I'd do a little post to speed the time along a bit. I only have to make it through today and then I'm FREE for a week!!! Can't wait!!

Don't forget to sign up for a chance at my giveaway. Entries are accepted through today.

Just a little side note before I begin this little post of mine, I just want to comment about LOST. If you're not a fan, or if you haven't watched the series finale yet, you might want to skip down to the next paragraph. DH and I watched the series finale last night. I have had a love-hate relationship with this dang show for the last couple seasons. The first two seasons were SO good and then it got...weird. And confusing. After pretty much every episode, I would turn to DH and say WTH just happened?! I know I'm not alone. However, I really like how it ended, though I figured out where it was going about half-way through the episode. But that didn't matter because I enjoyed seeing each of the characters meet up with their match. I cried SO much!! I think the one that got to me the most was Sun and Jin - and that's mostly because of the way they killed them off. I am *still* upset about that one! How can you separate them for a majority of the season and then an episode after they're reunited...KILL THEM BOTH?! At least they died together. *sigh* I was a little sad that Hurley didn't meet up with his match, but I like how they gave him purpose to keep him on the island. BUT...if he had purpose to stay on the island, what was he doing in the "church" at the end? And if he did die (everybody dies), who took his place on the island? Or is that why Ben stayed behind? Poor Ben. I don't think he's found his purpose yet. Oh, and I'm really glad Jack's match FINALLY ended up being Kate. I liked Kate and Sawyer together, but she was just meant to be with Jack. We watched the Jimmy Kimmel Live special, too, and agree with Jimmy. Everybody has a test in this life and LOST was about Jack's test. And I love the last scene. I'm going to miss the show, but I'm glad it's finished.

OK. Enough rambling. On to the post.

I picked up Orly Blue Collar the other day while on the hunt for a blue creme. This a really pretty blue creme that is kinda camera shy. One time it shows as robin egg blue, the next it's darker. In real light it's a pretty sky blue. The formula is consistent with Orly and I didn't have any trouble with application. I had great coverage after 2 coats, but I went with one more just for the heck of it.

With flash

No flash - indoor lighting (more true to color)

And to mix things up, I used Claire's Mean Green on both of my ring fingers. You should've heard people's reaction! They thought I made a mistake. LOL Come on, people! I'm just trying to give you a little something different to look at. I did get lots of compliments on my mani and I like that. Don't get me wrong...I do my nails for me, but it's nice when other people notice them, too. Today is day 2 with this mani and Blue Collar is holding up well. No chips, cracks or tip wear. Mean Green, however, is a different story. Oh, in case you didn't know...I. HATE. NEON. (See the bald spot on there? That's after 4 coats of color and 2 coats of topcoat!!) Both fingers of green have a couple chips each and since I did this to complement my pedi, I noticed one of my toenails have already chipped half off. The polish. Not the nail. LOL I love this green color and am hoping I can match it to a non neon color. *fingerscrossed*

Do you have a favorite blue? Green? And if you're a LOST-ie...what did you think of the finale?

Listening to: Automatic by Pointer Sisters (OMG look at those dresses)
Mood: happy

Whistle while you work!

Happy Wednesday, Kitschies!! Why whistle? Because I'd get in trouble if I yelled (at work).

I hope your week has been good so far. It's been the usual here: get up, get ready, drop kids off at grandma's, go to work, pick kids up from grandma's, go home, have dinner, collapse and go to bed. Lather, rinse, repeat. I will, however, have a change of pace starting on Saturday. My mom, dad and sister will be coming to visit from Cali. I can't wait!! We saw my parents in February, but I haven't seen my lil sis since July last year! They're coming to visit and to help celebrate Mason's first birthday. I can NOT believe Mr Mason is almost 1 year old. *sigh* It goes by much, much too quickly.

Enough of the stroll down memory lane. On to the point. I had a point? Wait. Oh, yeah. Over the last couple of weeks, I've added quite a few new friends to my polish stash. It is quickly becoming a collection (much to the dismay of my dear husband). This post will review my new lovelies.

First up: Goodies from Dollar Tree. I heard through the grapevine, that some Dollar Tree stores, the larger ones, carry some older discontinued products. I knew the one near my office was pretty big, so I checked it out. Low and behold, look what I found!

From L to R: LA Colors Art Deco nail art lacquer in red glitter, Maybelline Express Finish in Shooting Stars and LA Colors Art Deco nail art lacquer in silver. Not pictured is LA Colors Art Deco nail art lacquer in gold glitter.

What's great about these is they were just a buck!! Are they old? Probably. Are they still good? Yep. I haven't used the nail art bottles yet, but I plan on playing with them soon. I did, however, use Shooting Stars over ChG Spontaneous. But wouldn't you know it? I took that off last night before I remembered to take a picture. Shooting Stars is holographic micro glitter with thin metallic blue glitter mixed in in a clear base. Really pretty over a bold color. I think if you used multiple (say, 4 or more) coats, it would be ok on it's own. As for it's Express Finish claim. Bogus!! On the upside, the finish is not very bumpy considering it's a glitter. One coat of Diamond Dry and it was smooth.

Next is a little Claire's purchase. I've been drooling over everybody's mood polish posts, so I broke down and picked one up this last weekend. And of course I had to get two because it was buy one, get the second 50% off. I don't know if that's an ongoing thing, but who wants to chance it? LOL Any little justification to add to the collection is good with me.

L to R: Claire's Mood nail polish in Calm/Wild and Claire's nail polish in Mean Green.

I'm excited to try the mood polish. I was going to do this as my next mani, but I had just worn a similar shade of purple so I decided to give that one a reprieve until next time. Now for Mean Green. I. HATE. NEON. Really. I hate it with a passion. I put this on my toes on Sunday. LOVE it on my toes. But my toes don't see much daylight, so spotty application doesn't matter all that much. I hate that it dries...matte...I guess that's what you'd call a neon finish. With a topcoat applied, it's not bad, though. BUT...I decided I'd mix it up a bit and do one finger of my current mani in conjunction with Orly Blue Collar. I. HATE. NEON. It sucks because I love the color. It's a pretty minty green neon. The application is HORRIBLE. I applied 3 coats and still had blad spots. I applied a topcoat and was still pretty disappointed with the bald spot, so I applied another coat on top of the topcoat and it STILL isn't completely covered. Grrrrr!! I'll be posting about the mani tomorrow. The color: great. The formula/application: horrible. :(

Now a little bit of happiness. I've made a couple of trips to Sally Beauty. Their discount club card is a dangerous weapon...must use responsibly. :)

L to R: small glass cup, Orly Blue Collar, Finger Paints Gossamer White, ChG Blue Sparrow, Sally Girl neon pink, ChG Designer Satin and Diamond Dry topcoat.

The little glass cup is to help with clean up. I have a big bottle of acetone and pretty soon the brush isn't going to reach to the liquid without me dropping it in. Orly Blue Collar is SO pretty. It's a bright blue creme that reminds me of The Simpson's sky in their intro. In the pic it looks more Smurf-like, but it's deeper than it pictured. I did a mani with this color (along side Claire's Mean Green) and I love how it turned out. I'll post about that tomorrow. Finger Paints Gossamer is a pretty sheer pale pink that I plan on using with French manis. Blue Sparrow. Blue Sparrow. You're so pretty in the bottle. But, have I mentioned...I. HATE. NEON. I had high hopes for this one, but I should've put it back. I debated over this one for a while and then decided to go for it. SO disappointed. Not only does it dry that weird neon matte, it's bumpy, too, because of the glitter. A topcoat helps a little with the finish, but it's still so bumpy. To add insult to injury, this chipped on at least 3 nails before I even got out of the house. Neon pink. 'Nuf said about that one. May use it on my toes eventually. Designer Satin = my signature color. I blogged about this one last week. Here's the LINK for that one. In short, love the color, the formula is consistently good like most ChG and the wear is excellent. Finally, Dimaond Dry. I got this because Sally's is having a buy 2 ChG and get Diamond Dry topcoat free. I'm always in the market for a good topcoat and this was fast-drying, so why not?! I used this last night - I really like it. I really sped the drying process. I didn't have those annoying sheet prints when I woke up this morning, so that's a score in my book. And they're pretty shiny. Score two!

So, girls and boys. What have we learned today? I. HATE. NEON. ChG has some great colors. I found the blue creme I was searching for. Dollar Tree has some great deals on old-ish polish. Oh, and...I. HATE. NEON.

Listening to: Can't Fight This Feeling by REO Speedwagon
Mood: industrious

Yummy Chicken & some Freecycle love

Good evening, Kitchies!

This is one of my favorite chicken recipes. I made this for my parents during their visit in February and they loved it. All the garlic and Parmesan in this recipe makes it smell SOOO good in the house. Though it's really better to have this when it's cooler (takes a while to bake and who wants a hot house?!) but it sounded so yum, I decided to make it anyway. That, and my eternal slow 3-year-old eater doesn't usually turn his nose up at this one.

Oven Fried Parmesan Chicken

1 clove crushed garlic
1/4 pound butter, melted (1 stick)
1 cup dried bread crumbs
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground black pepper
1 (4 lb) chicken, cut into pieces


Preheat oven to 350*.

In a shallow glass dish or bowl, combine the crushed garlic with the melted butter or margarine. In another small bowl mix together the bread crumbs, cheese, parsley, salt and pepper. Dip chicken pieces into garlic butter, then into crumb mixture to coat.



Place coated chicken pieces into a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking dish. Drizzle with remaining garlic butter and bake uncovered in the preheated oven for 1 to 1 1/4 hours, or until chicken is cooked through and juices run clear.

NOTES: I love garlic so I used about 1 1/2 cloves. No fresh parsley around? I use dried and it works just fine. I have never cut up a whole chicken in my life, and I wasn't about to try it the other night. I substituted 4 large boneless, skinless chicken breast halves instead of the whole fryer. This reheats well for leftovers.



I first hear about Freecycle through Getcha Nails Did. If you haven't heard about it, it's basically like Craig's List, but you don't pay for anything and you don't have to deal with the people one on one. Win, win. So, I thought I'd give it a shot. I posted WANT: Nail polish. Pretty. Ugly. New. Old. Doesn't matter. I've gotten two responses so far and was able to pick up the first group last night on the way home. I kept my expectations pretty low and it's a good thing because this first Freecycle swap was kinda a bust.

Left to right: Revlon Top Speed in Storm, Cutex Strong Nail in Crystal Clear and Vision Nail Lacqure in a nameless medium purple creme.

The only promising one in this trio is the Revlon Top Speed in Storm. It's a really pretty dusty lilac with darker purple shimmer. However, this polish has got to be at least a couple years (read: 5+) old and is really goopy. I might pick up some thinner to see if it's able to be salvaged, but I have a feeling it may beyond the "best when used by" date. The Cutex Strong Nail is your run-of-the-mill top coat. Plus it's SUPER thick. If you turn it on it's side, it takes 30 seconds to level out. Seriously. I counted. LOL And Vision Nail Lacquer in nameless purple creme is...well...nameless purple cremes are a dime a dozen and I already have a purple (or 3) in my expanding collection and this does not need to be another. But, with most dark clouds, this does have a potential silver lining. I now have 6 polishes I can trade in for Zoya's polish exchange program that runs through the end of June!

And don't forget! My follower numbers are growing and growing!! In the world of emoticons, that would make me colon and capital d. :D (Like my Big Bang Theory reference there?) You have until Thursday to enter the giveaway. Here's the LINK to that post. In the words of Apoo: Thank you! Come again!

Listening to: Come Original by 311
Mood: chilly

It's giveaway time!!

I logged in to blogger this morning and found that I gained 4 followers overnight! SWEET!! You know what that means, right?! It's giveaway time!!!

First, before I get too far, let me thank you all for joining me on this new journey of mine (you have Ms Makeup Zombie to thank for that). I have really enjoyed putting my blog together and LOVE the blogging community and the blogs I follow. You girls give me inspiration daily!

Second, a big hug to my hubby - he's been patient enough to let me spend some "together" time in the evenings and weekends to do this. AND he doesn't give me a hard time about taking picture after picture of...well...everything. Oh, and by the way, he's got a little project of his own on the horizon. Check it out: Ego Comics. I'm inspired by his imagination, determination and abilities.

Now on to the good stuffs. One lucky follower will receive 6 recipes from my personal collection, handwritten on cute 4x6 recipe cards from Katie Kouture, 6 additional blank recipe cards to help organize your collection (because if you're like me, you need all the help you can get in that department), a bottle of nail polish and a little something else. Just a little thank you for helping me get my blog off the ground.




And now for the rules.
1. You must be a follower of this blog (duh!).
2. Comment on this post with the name you follow with.
3. In that comment, please let me know how you heard of me so I can thank them.
4. That's it - nothing complicated for this giveaway. :)

Entries will be accepted through Thursday, May 27th.

First photo property of www.katiekouture.etsy.com

Listening to: Don't Turn Around by Ace of Base
Mood: Meh - it's Monday

When life gives you lemons

You make lemon Bundt cake, of course! Today I bring you an awesome lemon cake. I took this to work with me on Friday and got rave reviews. It's super easy, super moist and it tastes great!

Lemon Bundt Cake
1 (18.25 oz) package lemon cake mix (without pudding added)
1 (3.4 oz) package instant lemon pudding mix
3/4 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1 cup lemon-lime flavored carbonated beverage

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease and flour a 10 inch Bundt pan.

In a large bowl, combine cake mix and pudding mix, then stir in the oil. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then stir in the lemon-lime soda.

Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool.

Glaze: 2 Tbsp lemon juice, 2/3 cup powdered sugar. Mix together until powdered sugar has dissolved. Once cooled, drizzle over cake.


Bonus picture spam. :) My beautiful boys, Nate and Mason. We took a quick trip to the park before we went grocery shopping this morning. I think it's funny that Nate kinda looks like the face on his shirt!


PS: It's *almost* giveaway time. I only have one more (yes, ONE MORE) follower to reach 15! Thank you to everybody who follows my blog. It's nice to know you like what I have to offer/say and I hope you've enjoyed my noob blog as much as I've liked creating it. Have a great rest of the weekend! I hope the weather in your neck of the woods isn't too hot...yet!

Listening to: DH & Nate playing Star Wars Legos
Mood: headache!

Friday Fun Facts

1.What shoe size are you?
About an 8.5 (thanks post-pregnancy spread)

2.Where do you work?
I'm a medical assistant and "She-who-knows-all" for Southwest Integrative Health Center for the past 7+ years.

3.Favorite piece of clothing you own :
Hooded sweatshirt from Dewar's Ice Cream Parlor in Bakersfield, CA (my hometown).

4.Your favorite blog?
You mean other than my own? LOL I love them all for different reasons - can't just chose one.

5.Do you have any pets?
2 lazy-ass cats and 2 dogs I can't stand. That's on top of two nonstop kids and a busy husband.

6.How many siblings do you have?
One younger sister - I wish I could see her more often.

7.If you could live anywhere where would it be?
Somewhere far, far away. But closer to my extended family. Oh, and Wendi and her brood have to be able to join us.

8.What were you doing before this?
Working. Meh.

9.Your favorite food?
Summer foods - BBQ, picnic, salads.

10.Do you have a middle name?
Marie

11.Your favorite websites?
Ummm...don't have just one, but among them are FB, blogspot and the blogs I follow.

12.Who do you tag? YOU!!

Happiness is Designer Satin

After a total disappointment in a polish choice earlier this week, I decided to go with a color that I was sure to please me. On a recent trip to Sally Beauty, I was on a mission to find a perfect berry. Since I just started wading in the cool waters that are lovely nail polish, I decided I needed to find my "go to" color, especially after the failure of China Glaze Blue Sparrow. I was SO sad about that color - it's gorgeous in the bottle...blue base with lots of lighter electric blue glitter...but it's a neon and I've decided I'm not a neon finish kinda girl. That, and it was not smooth at all, even after 3 coats of Orly Glosser. Not to mention it chipped on at least 3 fingers before I even left the house the next morning. Color me: sad. I digress. With Blue Sparrow, I also picked up China Glaze Designer Satin. It's a light-medium berry creme. I debated between this one and another ChG that was a little darker, but I think I made the right choice. This is just the right shade for my skin tone. The application was great and only needed two coats. On top of the good application, it's officially lasted 24 hours and that's even with cleaning the kids' bathroom AND giving them both a bath tonight! The cherry on top? I got quite a few compliments from people today (WOOT!). I'm MUCH happier with this ChG experience. Next mission? Find an awesome blue creme. Any suggestions?






As I sit here finishing up this post and smelling the lemon Bundt cake I'm taking to work tomorrow, it reminds me that I am *almost* to 15 followers. You know what that means, right? GIVEAWAY!! What am I giving away? It's a surprise (read: I'm not exactly sure yet)! Whatever it ends up being, I think you'll be happy.

Coming up soon: Recipes for Dilled Chicken & Vegetables and the aforementioned Bundt cake (yum); a year in review - my baby turns 1 *gasp* on June 2nd.

Listening to: Is it Any Wonder by Keane
Mood: domestic

Sunday Dinner

I decided to make Sunday dinner easy this week and made pulled pork in the slow cooker. Neil works for food brokerage company and occasionally gets goodies to bring home. Friday he brought home 5 lbs of pork cushion meat. Yeah. I know. That sounds...gross. But, it's basically like a pork roast. It's from the shoulder and has had the majority of the fat trimmed off which means it's a pretty lean cut of pork. I have never made pulled pork before and went on a hunt for a good recipe. I didn't know what else to have and Allrecipes recommended potato salad as a side. I came across a good looking recipe and decided to try it, too. It's a night of firsts.

Pulled Pork Sandwiches

3 1/2 lb pork roast
1/4 cup water
1 cup spicy BBQ sauce
1 small red pepper, thinly sliced
1 tsp chili powder
12 sandwich buns

Place pork roast into slow cooker. Add 1/4 cup water. Combine BBQ sauce, red pepper and chili powder. Pour over pork. Cover and heat on low for 6 to 8 hours. Remove pork from slow cooker and shred with 2 forks. Combine with sauce in slow cooker. Serve on buns.

NOTES: I used 4 lbs pork cushion meat, Jack Daniels Spicy Original BBQ sauce, small orange pepper (the reds looked bad at the store), cayenne pepper powder and wheat burger buns. I had this two days later for lunch - I think it was better the second time around.

The finished product

Warm Dijon Potato Salad

5 medium red potatoes
1/4 cup reduced-calorie mayonnaise
1 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
1 green onion, chopped
2 tsp cider vinegar
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground pepper

Place potatoes in a large saucepan and cover with warm. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until tender. In a large bowl, combine the remaining ingredients. Drain potatoes and cut into cubes; add to the mayonnaise mixture and gently toss to coat. Serve immediately.

NOTES: I ended up using 1 1/2 times the recommended amount of ingredients for the potato salad (save the potatoes). If you make as is, it would be really dry. My hubs liked this and he usually *only* likes his mom's potato salad.

The finished product

Listening to: Under the Bridge by RHCP
Mood: Productive

Sparkly Goodness

When I first re-started my love affair with nail polish, I spent quite a bit of time on various blogs trying to find what I was looking for. At that point, I didn't know what I was looking for. Until I found holographic polish. I was instantly in love. Of course I couldn't find the brand I was lusting for (China Glaze OMG collection) and I wasn't about to pony up for Nfu Oh (yet), so I was on the hunt. Eventually I found out that Milani also has a holo collection. Milani? We have that everywhere! Off to Target I went. And what did I find? The entire holo collection. Decisions, decisions. After much deliberation, I landed on HiTech; a beautiful spring lime green with lots of sparkle and holo goodness. Usually I do NOT go for green polish - especially lime green! But I had to make an exception for this. I did this NOTW the middle of April. The formula was a little thin...it took at least 3 coats to cover all the bald spots. And the wear? Well, it wasn't the greatest. I think it chipped after three days. However, all the attention and compliments my nails got were worth the short wear. Once I go through the other colors in my collection, this will be at the top of my list to wear again. These pictures don't do the rainbow holo justice - very rainbow-y in person.

Inside with flash

Inside with flash

Outside, bright sun

Now what am I looking for? The perfect: super shiny top coat, berry creme, bright/neon pink that lasts and doesn't apply flat and cuticle remover.

What color do YOU want to see next? If I don't have it, I might just have to go find it!

I'm doing a new recipe tomorrow night for dinner. If it's any good, I'll post the recipe with pics (of course) for you. AND...don't forget to invite your peeps to check out my blog - giveaway will happen when I reach 15 followers. Only 4 more to go!


Listening to: Glee on the TV in the living room
Mood: Can I go to bed yet?

Wakey, wakey!

Once upon a time, I didn't care for green chile. I thought it was slimy and just...not...good. Flash forward to present day. I love the stuff!! Having been in New Mexico for over 10 years now (!), it's become part of my every day menu. We put it on everything!! Eggs, potatoes, breakfast burritos, chips, fries, burgers, etc. Now, I'm not talking about Ortega chiles or jalapenos. I'm talking the real deal, New Mexico Hatch roasted green chile. In the late Summer, you can have a bag of it roasted at virtually ANY grocery store or market. That is one of the best smells ever (partly because it signals the coming Fall). So, today I offer up a breakfast recipe that I love (with green chile, of course).

I originally made this for a recipe challenge on a message board. Since it was open to all over the country, I used canned ingredients to be sure I could pass on the recipe to others. I think this would be even better if you have fresh ingredients (ie: diced green chile and green chile enchilada sauce), but it was pretty good anyway. Enjoy!

Breakfast Enchiladas
Serves 8**

1 (16 oz) package frozen hash brown potatoes
1 cup diced cooked ham
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 (4.5 oz) can diced green chile peppers
1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese, divided
1 (28 oz) can green chile enchilada sauce

Preheat oven to 375*.

Brown hash browns and ham in 1 tablespoon of oil in a medium skillet over medium high heat. Stir in diced green chilies and 1/2 cup of Cheddar cheese. Cook until cheese has melted.

Coat the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish with a small amount of enchilada sauce. Dip each tortilla in remaining sauce, and fill with potato-ham mixture. Roll each as tightly as possible and place in the baking dish, seam side down. Top with remaining sauce and cheese, and cover with tin foil.

Bake, covered, in the preheated oven for approximately 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake for another 10 minutes, or until lightly browned on top. Serve immediately.

**This really didn't make as many as it said it would, at least the way I made them. If I wanted it to make 8, I would *easily* double the ingredients.**






Ooooh!! And I'm happy to announce that I'm up to 10 followers! This makes Megan happy. :) Remember - invite your friends (or your enemies) because there is a giveaway to be had once I reach 15 followers. If you like the recipes so far, you'll love the giveaway.

Listening to: Yellow (live) by Coldplay
Mood: allergic

Mother's Day (with link)

I had a great Mother's Day! It started off with a little bit of sleeping in, though not as much as I would have *really* liked. Neil made breakfast burritos for us and Nate made a nice card. While eating breakfast, I opened my gifts. I got a great, and soon to be handy, recipe organizer. I am horrible at keeping my recipes in one place, not to mention in one media. I'm trying to convince Neil that we need a computer monitor in the kitchen so I'll never have to print a recipe again, but he's not going for that. LOL I also got a necklace I had not so subtly hinted about. It's silver and has the names Neil, Nate and Mason stamped on 3 individual tags and a freshwater pearl. It was from an Etsy shop: Silver Pie.

After breakfast, we all got ready for a trip outdoors. The fam hooked up with the Bendi clan (our BFFs) and headed out to Jemez Springs, Soda Dam and Battle Rock picnic grounds. The kids ran around and had a great time playing on the rocks and throwing frizbee and kicking the ball. At one point, I decided to take Nate exploring and we ended up finding a little waterfall. Of course I didn't bring my camera, so we hiked back but ended up going again so we could take pictures. Both trips we had my son, Nate, and Bendi's son, Dade, with us. All in all, it was a good trip. I wish we could spend more time outdoors. A big thank you to Neil for making my day special. xo

Me and the boys at Soda Dam

My cheesy boy, Nate

Mason slept a lot of the time, so we didn't have many pics of him

Nate took this one...not bad!

Listening to: Gasoline by Seether
Mood: Kinda irritated

Full-on Addiction

No, this isn't going to turn in to a nail blog or a beauty blog. But...my BFF has awaken a full-on nail polish addiction and I had to share the awesomeness. When she was over last weekend, we were scrolling through a couple nail blogs and saw this gorgeous polish. I've seen it on a couple blogs lately and it's probably one of the must-haves for the season. Anyway, she posted I.MUST.HAVE! the other day and the hunt was on! I'd be lying if I said it took that post to get me to start searching because I had started looking for that specific polish the Sunday after she was at my house. *hides her head in shame* The other day I had to stop by WalMart for something for work and I thought I'd scope out their cosmetic section - you know - just in case. Just when I was about to throw in the towel...I spotted it!! AND there were two bottles. I snagged them both (one for me and one for MZ). I had on a pretty mani that I loved so I was torn. Today, though, it started to chip (oh, darn). I had my chance!!

I now present: Hidden Treasure (Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure)! Now, the black is really out of my comfort zone as far as nail colors go, but it really makes Hidden Treasure glow, so I decided to take the leap. My nails are nowhere near are beautiful as many, many of the real nail bloggers, but I just had to give this a try. I LOVE IT!! Hidden Treasure really is a treasure - if I hadn't seen it swatched on various blogs, I would've never given it a second look. It looks like fish scales in the bottle but over top of black, it's red and green and gold depending on what angle you're viewing it from.

The top pic was taken with flash - I couldn't get a good capture of the flakies. The bottom two are taken without flash. The bottom pic is the closest representation to the real thing, though it STILL doesn't do this treasure justice.


The low down:
True Ice in Black Rage - glossy ink black
Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Hidden Treasure - iridescent irregular glitter flakies in clear base the bottle; red, green & gold when applied over dark color
Finger Paints top coat

Listening to: Mardy Bum by Arctic Monkeys
Mood: Munchy

You smell like a monkey

This last Friday, both Neil and I took the day off. We decided we should take the boys on a trip to the zoo. Little did we know that it was going to be easily one of the coldest days of April. It was overcast, breezy and we had snow flurries. Yes. Snow flurries. In APRIL!!! Anyway, we went despite the cold and had a good time. There were some really pretty bearded iris blooming - don't see too many of those in Albuquerque.


But, because it was cooler, some of the animals were a little more active. The cats were out sunning themselves.


Even the polar bears were more in their element. They were playing with a huge ball - they threw it over the edge but they never got in the water.


And lastly, it seems the monkeys were enjoying a lazy Friday afternoon. One of the chimps had what looked like their favorite blankies with them...and then he sat down and read the paper. Over in the gorilla enclosure, they were enjoying a little...something....else. LOL


We were pretty much finished with the zoo experience after the primate section *cough* experience. Didn't want to field too many "Mommy, what is that monkey eating?" questions from Mr Nate. *sigh* Gotta love wild animals.

**Clicking on any image will bring up a bigger version**

Listening to: Smile Like You Mean It by The Killers
Mood: TIRED