Well Hello! It's been awhile! Life certainly does change. I tried to start this blog in 2009 to sort out my life a bit and see where I might be headed. As you can see from the posts, I did not do much of that process here. But the process has been continuing. I still want to write, more so every day. I have other passions that are overtaking me in this part of my life as well. I think I might be ready to do more of it here, and maybe this really will focus my energy a bit. Life has been rough over the last 7 years. Many changes and most of them were not good. I lost friends and family to cancer and other illnesses. I've watch what I thought would be my job into retirement, dry up and vanish before my eyes. While I thought that would surely be the end - it was not. Thankfully, I have found other employment when necessary and still have hopes and dreams that are much better and more life changing than the loss of that corporate job. Not saying times haven't been trying, nevertheless I continue to find purpose and help those around me to as well. So in saying that, I will try to revitalize this endeavor. I have aspirations in writing, decorating & design (especially recycling & up cycling), cooking and eating fresh whole foods, maintaining the best possible health that I can as I age into my golden years. I will touch on these things, hopefully you will find them interesting and follow along. If you are reading this, thank you for taking an interest. I'd love to hear comments and stories, responding as much as I can. So Happy Thanksgiving, lets see where we go now!

Tasty Cornbread

Boston Market Cornbread Recipe - Recipe X-Change by ☯§ɦσɳąʂʂɩɛ√v^√v^√♥ on Polyvore.com

Gingham Basket - Costumes
$15 - buycostumes.com

Meatball Bubble Biscuit recipe

Meatball Bubble Biscuits by ☯§ɦσɳąʂʂɩɛ√v^√v^√♥ on Polyvore.com

Meatball Bubble Biscuits
Servings: 16


Ingredients:
• 1 (16 1/3 ounce) can ready-to-bake refrigerated buttermilk flaky biscuits (or other LAYER biscuits)
• 8 frozen cooked Italian meatballs, thawed, each cut in half
• 1 pkg mozzarella or Italian blend cheese
• 1 tablespoon grated or shredded parmesan cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 cup marinara sauce, heated


1) Heat oven to 375°F.
2) Separate dough into 8 biscuits.
3) Separate each biscuit into 2 layers.
4) Between wax paper, press each biscuit layer with the bottom of a glass to form a 3-inch round.
5) Place 1 meatball half, cut side up, and sprinkle cheese over the top, in center of each dough round.
6) Wrap dough around meatball and cheese, pressing edges to seal.
7) Place seam side down in single layer in ungreased 8 or 9-inch round cake pan.
8) Sprinkle evenly with Parmesan cheese, Italian seasoning and garlic powder.
9) Bake at 375°F for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown and biscuits are no longer doughy in center.
10) Remove the biscuits from the pan.
11) Serve warm biscuits with warm marinara sauce for dipping.
Variations:
A) Reduced Calorie – Use Reduced Fat Grand’s biscuits, reduced fat or skim cheeses, turkey meatballs (add additional Italian spice blend, sprinkle over meat ball before sealing to add flavor) and organic marinara sauce.
B) Substitute pepperoni slices, chunks of sausage (smoked, sweet Italian, Andouille) for the meatballs.
C) Vegetarian – Use 1 tablespoon of sauce and cheese to fill biscuit, add small pieces of black olives, mushrooms, peppers, or even pineapple. Spinach, Alfredo sauce and feta cheese can also be used instead for a different twist.
D) BBQ Chicken- Use pre-cooked diced chicken, and BBQ sauce instead of meatballs and marinara. Sauce can be added inside or used for dipping after cooking. Want more flavor? Add bacon bits over chicken and cheese before wrapping and baking.
E) Chicken Alfredo – Use diced pre-cooked chicken, and pre-washed and cooked spinach chopped in small pieces or broccoli chopped in small pieces, and 1 tablespoon of bottled or fresh Alfredo sauce to biscuit before wrapping and baking. Have additional Alfredo for dipping.
F) Hawaiian – Use chopped Canadian bacon or Black Forest Ham, and pineapple tidbits for the filling. Shredded mozzarella, provolone or Havarti can be used to adjust the flavor. Use a smooth, not chunky marinara sauce, and prior to adding the sauce to the biscuit, or for dipping, mix in the juice of the pineapple to taste, and use this “improved, sweetened” sauce for this recipe. Think the pineapple juice is too strong or acidic? You can use table sugar to slightly sweeten the sauce as well, without getting the extra acid from the juice.

Life's Journey

Life is an incredible journey! I have been on one lately that defies my goals for this point in my life. Funny how fate seems to always throw you a lemon just when you've had enough lemonade!! Check out my set on Polyvore, if you want to know what's up http://www.polyvore.com/live_before_its_too_late/set?id=16289704

So in spite of all of that, I am returning to work on 3/17 (Good day for an Irish-Woman to be working) for better or worse. With that being said, I am making an all out effort to find a new job in the near future. I won't take the first thing that pops my way, but I am looking for a big change. We shall see if that will be in the cards for me.

I am also re-focusing my free time on re-decorating my sadly neglected house, and doing some new crafts to post in my Etsy shop. As with any adventure, the take off time seems to go on forever, but I expect to be at cruising altitude by summer, barring any more health problems!

So tune in and let's see where all this goes!

The House of my Dreams (after the Artist's House of course!)

The Weather Outside is Frightful...

Oh how I long to be warm!!  The sun today was so deceiving, and I was thinking about jumping into the car and heading off to the lakeshore to get some of those famous frozen lighthouse pictures from Lake Michigan.

We've had so much lake effect snow since before Christmas, that unless you had to go to the lake, it just wasn't a good idea. Snow squalls come up in a matter of minutes and complete white outs result. Suffice it to say driving is not recommended.  South Haven Schools have now used up all of their snow days for the year and if they need to close anymore, (pretty much guaranteed at this point), they will have to make up the days in the summer.  If you must see for yourself, here is a link to the photo diary at our local CBS news afiliate in Kalamazoo, MI: http://www.wwmt.com/share/gallery/?plckGalleryID=f7b67355-b1c5-45ab-bf49-f53edf865c55   It really does get like this in the North, LOL!!

I have been chuckling over a blog I follow of a dear gentleman in Key West, as they go through the worst cold spell there in recent memory.  While I know how hot it gets there in the summer, and that they are not used to it, I still have a hard time thinking 50 is cold. Even with a strong north wind and rain, to me that is just good football weather (minus the rain, of course!)  While he laments over 40 degree wind chills tonight, I will be dealing with 7 degrees, and that is without windchill.  It will bottom out at or near 0 with a high of 22 tomorrow.  I know he would say that I choose to live here, which is only half true. I don't choose to, I just can't convince my husband that we need the sunshime more than he needs that job in the auto industry.  Maybe someday, I can convince him to see the light, literally! LOL!!

So while I spend a night snuggled in flannel sheets, with layered pj's, I'll be thinking of the Florida Keys.  What an opportunity to catch some of those stunned iguanas and get them the heck out of the area! LOL!!!  I don't know, do chickens hibernate there at those temps as well?  You could make a run at getting rid of some of them too!  They fare here pretty well into the single digits, so I imagine they might not like the cold, but won't be as still as the iguana's will be! 

Just finished a wonderful book, American by Choice, by Craig Ferguson.  I am amazed at how one person can do so many things wrong, and land on his feet every time!! I know he is Scottish, but from his luck, I would think he has a wee bit of the Irish in his background somewhere!! Great read if you are interested!

Song of the day: Stand and Deliver, Adam Ant ( and as my daughter has shown me, No Doubt)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrwF5kt9wtA   Adam Ant
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yV4vrptMwU8&feature=related  No Doubt on Gossip Girl

Taylor Lautner coming to WMU??

OMG!! My daughter was jumping up and down this morning as the gossip mill is buzzing at Western Michigan University!! Taylor Lautner is rumored to be coming to the university as a student in the 2010-2011 school year!

For those of you who aren't quite up to date on the teenage heart throb meter, Taylor Lautner is the muscle bound hunk "Jacob" in the Twilight saga.  He is from the Grand Rapids, MI area , and there have been confirmed sightings of him on campus at Western, touring the arts department and picking up an application.

My daughter is really geeked over this possible happening as she is a student at WMU and firmly ensconched in their marching band, and a  film/video/photography student, and that would place her directly in his path while attending Western.

I have to admit, that I told her if she brought that piece of eye candy home to meet her parents, I might just have to kiss her! LOL!!  I might be a mom, but I still have eyes, and a gorgeous young man he is!  Well, all joking aside, I hope this is true, Western is an up and coming little institution who has fostered a few famous people for being so remote. Tim Allen, and Matt Giraud of American Idol Fame to name two. And I know there are a few others as I have seen them at the football games on Alumni days, just their names escape me now.  I can totally see it happening, as he would be about 45 minutes away from his home, and with the new film industry that is starting to make a real presence here, he could have his pick of rolls in his down time.

Just a bright spot for these kids in a really dreary winter in Michigan!