Wednesday, May 30, 2012

World MS Day- You look so good

Today is World MS day! One of the features of the site is 1,000 faces of MS. We look so good- if you have MS you understand the meaning in that joke. If you don't let me explain. We are so often told, but you don't look sick or you look so good. That it has become a running joke.  Yes we suffer from a invisible disease, if only you could see pictures of our brains. There are many other invisible disease's so please don't judge others. I look perfectly healthy from the outside, but fatigue is the symptom that I battle on a daily basis and the one that frustrates me the most. Christine Miserandino explains it wonderfully in her essay The Spoon Theory.

One of the most frustrating things for me is heat exasperates the fatigue. Therefore I have a handicap parking permit. Many times I have been harassed or give dirty looks when I use my permit. I normally only use it when I need to go to the grocery store or take my daughters to the mall. I know that by the time I walk across the parking lot, do my shopping and return to the car I will be exhausted and my brain will feel like mush. With out the permit I would not be able to accomplish the task. I know many people abuse and over use the handicap parking. Most don't because we have invisible disease and feel embarrassed to admit they need the extra help. So you when you see those of us that look so good using those handicap spots, please don't jump to conclusions.

I have copied and pasted the essay to the end of my post. May your day be blessed and thanks for taking the time to read all of this.
Love Always
Kiki

http://www.worldmsday.org/1000-faces/1000-faces/wall/

The Spoon Theory

by Christine Miserandino www.butyoudontlooksick.com

My best friend and I were in the diner, talking. As usual, it was very late and we were eating French fries with gravy. Like normal girls our age, we spent a lot of time in the diner while in college, and most of the time we spent talking about boys, music or trivial things, that seemed very important at the time. We never got serious about anything in particular and spent most of our time laughing.
Cartoon image of Christine Miserandino holding a spoon
As I went to take some of my medicine with a snack as I usually did, she watched me with an awkward kind of stare, instead of continuing the conversation. She then asked me out of the blue what it felt like to have Lupus and be sick. I was shocked not only because she asked the random question, but also because I assumed she knew all there was to know about Lupus. She came to doctors with me, she saw me walk with a cane, and throw up in the bathroom. She had seen me cry in pain, what else was there to know?
I started to ramble on about pills, and aches and pains, but she kept pursuing, and didn’t seem satisfied with my answers. I was a little surprised as being my roommate in college and friend for years; I thought she already knew the medical definition of Lupus. Then she looked at me with a face every sick person knows well, the face of pure curiosity about something no one healthy can truly understand. She asked what it felt like, not physically, but what it felt like to be me, to be sick.
As I tried to gain my composure, I glanced around the table for help or guidance, or at least stall for time to think. I was trying to find the right words. How do I answer a question I never was able to answer for myself? How do I explain every detail of every day being effected, and give the emotions a sick person goes through with clarity. I could have given up, cracked a joke like I usually do, and changed the subject, but I remember thinking if I don’t try to explain this, how could I ever expect her to understand. If I can’t explain this to my best friend, how could I explain my world to anyone else? I had to at least try.
At that moment, the spoon theory was born. I quickly grabbed every spoon on the table; hell I grabbed spoons off of the other tables. I looked at her in the eyes and said “Here you go, you have Lupus”. She looked at me slightly confused, as anyone would when they are being handed a bouquet of spoons. The cold metal spoons clanked in my hands, as I grouped them together and shoved them into her hands.
I explained that the difference in being sick and being healthy is having to make choices or to consciously think about things when the rest of the world doesn’t have to. The healthy have the luxury of a life without choices, a gift most people take for granted.
Most people start the day with unlimited amount of possibilities, and energy to do whatever they desire, especially young people. For the most part, they do not need to worry about the effects of their actions. So for my explanation, I used spoons to convey this point. I wanted something for her to actually hold, for me to then take away, since most people who get sick feel a “loss” of a life they once knew. If I was in control of taking away the spoons, then she would know what it feels like to have someone or something else, in this case Lupus, being in control.
She grabbed the spoons with excitement. She didn’t understand what I was doing, but she is always up for a good time, so I guess she thought I was cracking a joke of some kind like I usually do when talking about touchy topics. Little did she know how serious I would become?
I asked her to count her spoons. She asked why, and I explained that when you are healthy you expect to have a never-ending supply of “spoons”. But when you have to now plan your day, you need to know exactly how many “spoons” you are starting with. It doesn’t guarantee that you might not lose some along the way, but at least it helps to know where you are starting. She counted out 12 spoons. She laughed and said she wanted more. I said no, and I knew right away that this little game would work, when she looked disappointed, and we hadn’t even started yet. I’ve wanted more “spoons” for years and haven’t found a way yet to get more, why should she? I also told her to always be conscious of how many she had, and not to drop them because she can never forget she has Lupus.
I asked her to list off the tasks of her day, including the most simple. As, she rattled off daily chores, or just fun things to do; I explained how each one would cost her a spoon. When she jumped right into getting ready for work as her first task of the morning, I cut her off and took away a spoon. I practically jumped down her throat. I said ” No! You don’t just get up. You have to crack open your eyes, and then realize you are late. You didn’t sleep well the night before. You have to crawl out of bed, and then you have to make your self something to eat before you can do anything else, because if you don’t, you can’t take your medicine, and if you don’t take your medicine you might as well give up all your spoons for today and tomorrow too.” I quickly took away a spoon and she realized she hasn’t even gotten dressed yet. Showering cost her spoon, just for washing her hair and shaving her legs. Reaching high and low that early in the morning could actually cost more than one spoon, but I figured I would give her a break; I didn’t want to scare her right away. Getting dressed was worth another spoon. I stopped her and broke down every task to show her how every little detail needs to be thought about. You cannot simply just throw clothes on when you are sick. I explained that I have to see what clothes I can physically put on, if my hands hurt that day buttons are out of the question. If I have bruises that day, I need to wear long sleeves, and if I have a fever I need a sweater to stay warm and so on. If my hair is falling out I need to spend more time to look presentable, and then you need to factor in another 5 minutes for feeling badly that it took you 2 hours to do all this.
I think she was starting to understand when she theoretically didn’t even get to work, and she was left with 6 spoons. I then explained to her that she needed to choose the rest of her day wisely, since when your “spoons” are gone, they are gone. Sometimes you can borrow against tomorrow’s “spoons”, but just think how hard tomorrow will be with less “spoons”. I also needed to explain that a person who is sick always lives with the looming thought that tomorrow may be the day that a cold comes, or an infection, or any number of things that could be very dangerous. So you do not want to run low on “spoons”, because you never know when you truly will need them. I didn’t want to depress her, but I needed to be realistic, and unfortunately being prepared for the worst is part of a real day for me.
We went through the rest of the day, and she slowly learned that skipping lunch would cost her a spoon, as well as standing on a train, or even typing at her computer too long. She was forced to make choices and think about things differently. Hypothetically, she had to choose not to run errands, so that she could eat dinner that night.
When we got to the end of her pretend day, she said she was hungry. I summarized that she had to eat dinner but she only had one spoon left. If she cooked, she wouldn’t have enough energy to clean the pots. If she went out for dinner, she might be too tired to drive home safely. Then I also explained, that I didn’t even bother to add into this game, that she was so nauseous, that cooking was probably out of the question anyway. So she decided to make soup, it was easy. I then said it is only 7pm, you have the rest of the night but maybe end up with one spoon, so you can do something fun, or clean your apartment, or do chores, but you can’t do it all.
I rarely see her emotional, so when I saw her upset I knew maybe I was getting through to her. I didn’t want my friend to be upset, but at the same time I was happy to think finally maybe someone understood me a little bit. She had tears in her eyes and asked quietly “Christine, How do you do it? Do you really do this everyday?” I explained that some days were worse then others; some days I have more spoons then most. But I can never make it go away and I can’t forget about it, I always have to think about it. I handed her a spoon I had been holding in reserve. I said simply, “I have learned to live life with an extra spoon in my pocket, in reserve. You need to always be prepared.”
Its hard, the hardest thing I ever had to learn is to slow down, and not do everything. I fight this to this day. I hate feeling left out, having to choose to stay home, or to not get things done that I want to. I wanted her to feel that frustration. I wanted her to understand, that everything everyone else does comes so easy, but for me it is one hundred little jobs in one. I need to think about the weather, my temperature that day, and the whole day’s plans before I can attack any one given thing. When other people can simply do things, I have to attack it and make a plan like I am strategizing a war. It is in that lifestyle, the difference between being sick and healthy. It is the beautiful ability to not think and just do. I miss that freedom. I miss never having to count “spoons”.
After we were emotional and talked about this for a little while longer, I sensed she was sad. Maybe she finally understood. Maybe she realized that she never could truly and honestly say she understands. But at least now she might not complain so much when I can’t go out for dinner some nights, or when I never seem to make it to her house and she always has to drive to mine. I gave her a hug when we walked out of the diner. I had the one spoon in my hand and I said “Don’t worry. I see this as a blessing. I have been forced to think about everything I do. Do you know how many spoons people waste everyday? I don’t have room for wasted time, or wasted “spoons” and I chose to spend this time with you.”
Ever since this night, I have used the spoon theory to explain my life to many people. In fact, my family and friends refer to spoons all the time. It has been a code word for what I can and cannot do. Once people understand the spoon theory they seem to understand me better, but I also think they live their life a little differently too. I think it isn’t just good for understanding Lupus, but anyone dealing with any disability or illness. Hopefully, they don’t take so much for granted or their life in general. I give a piece of myself, in every sense of the word when I do anything. It has become an inside joke. I have become famous for saying to people jokingly that they should feel special when I spend time with them, because they have one of my “spoons”.
© Christine Miserandino

Friday, May 25, 2012

Memorial Day Remembered

I wanted to remind everyone to take a few moments this long holiday weekend to remember what we are celebrating. I know we all love the official start of summer, all of the barbeque's, trips to pool, and camping trips. All wonderful memories being made with our families.

I want to thank all of the families that have made the ultimate sacrifice to our country. Thank you for allowing our families to continue building memories. I thank you for continuing to move on after such a loss and building memories with the family that you still continue on with and treasuring the memories of those lost. 

My husband spent 22 years in the Air Force.  We traveled the world and have wonderful memories of those he served with, I count them as extended family.  Today many soldier's are participating in the flags in at Arlington National Cemetery. They are being reminded of what their service to our country could require of them. My family has a long history of military service. Most came home, a few did not. Many came home with memories that still haunt their dreams.

Thank you to all who serve and protect our rights even when you don't agree with the politics that put you in harms way.

Kiki

Friday, May 18, 2012

First week end with our Grandson

Well I am feeling better and it is a good thing! We have a very busy weekend, Sunday is my son-in-law's birthday and my daughter took him to New York for the weekend. That means we have are grandson and 2 grandpuppies for the weekend. They left on Thursday evening and will return on Saturday. We will meet them at Dave and Busters for a celebration. Shh! It is a surprise.  I am enjoying my time with Enzo and the dogs, but this house is not big enough for 2 extra dogs, we already have 2 of our own and they aren't little ones.  Sunday is one of our friends daughters 1st Birthday! This a great celebration since she was born 6 weeks premature.  

With Enzo crawling now he seems to be into everything! I think his favorite toy is the dogs water bowl- lol. We have one of those water bowls with the big bottle attached and he loves to stand up holding on to the bottle dipping his toes into the water or splashing his fingers in it. I have nightmares of knocking over the water bottle and having a gallon of water to clean up before the wood floors are damaged.  Have a great weekend and enjoy some time with those you love. Remember family is not always the ones you are related to by blood. I need to run remove the baby from the water bowl.

Friday, May 4, 2012

MIA due to MS

Sorry Dear Readers,

I have not blogged in over a week. I have been sick with a spring cold and those who also have a auto immune disease know that those colds hit us harder than the average person.  I started noticing it before I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) but once I was diagnosed I at least knew I wasn't just a wimp. The best way I can explain it is when you have an auto immune disease a cold makes you feel like you have the flu. The flu feels like pneumonia, etc. With MS you also have a mild increase of your typical symptoms. They call it a pseudo-exacerbation, a exacerbation is a flair of your MS symptoms and are often treated with round of steroids to suppress the immune system and limit damage done to the nervous system. Well a pseudo-exacerbation is symptoms being increased due to your immune system flaring up to fight an illness. The doctors don't want to use steroids to suppress your immune system because you need it to fight the illness and the possible risk of over steroid use, plus the symptoms go away when your illness does as well. 

Sorry if all of this is a little boring. I want to share the MS experience with my readers so we can increase awareness. I don't like to complain about my MS either because we all have a cross to bear in life and I don't want to be a burden. This disease has a risk of making me a bit of a burden and high maintenance, but I don't want it to be so as long as I have a choice, so I make a choice to be as active and low maintenance as I can. I do have symptoms each and everyday- I can no longer work full time in the classroom, but I am not able to collect Social Security. I have much in my life to be thankful for so that is where I try to focus my energy.

Thank you for taking the time to read my ramblings. Take time to live to the fullest and bear whatever burden you may have with dignity.
Love always
Kiki

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Favorite Curry Chicken from Japan

One of the most popular dinners at our
house. All the kids manage to be home for curry!
Many of you know that my husband is retired military. We spent 4 years in Japan and 4 years in Germany as part of our travels, a few other places as well. I found one of my favorite ways to learn about a countries culture was to explore craft stores and grocery stores. In Japan the craft stores were much harder, not only do you have a language barrier but alphabet as well. I took a few classes at the base and in the community. I learned to make washi eggs and a few other Japanese crafts. Then there is the foods. I love Japanese food and there is a lot more than just sushi! One of my families favorites is curry chicken. it is really simple to make and I hope your family will love it too.

I use the golden curry mix is one of our favorites. I used mild today, I often mix mild and medium. My girls don't like the spicier flavor, that is why I mix them.

For this dinner I used:
1lb chicken breast cubed
2 cups chopped potato
2 cups chopped carrots
2 packages golden curry mix (we also like the Vermont Curry brand)

I chop the 1 lb of chicken breast meat and potatoes and carrots. I use about 2 cups of each. Then the chicken is browned in a large soup pot. Then I add the vegetables and 5 cups of water. Cover the pot and bring to a boil, then turn down and simmer about 30 minutes until the vegetables are tender. Finally break up the curry bars and stir in until the curry is dissolved and the sauce is thickened. Serve over rice. Yumm
It is almost ready just a bit more of a stir and simmer.

Thursday, April 19, 2012

Hello Discovery, Good-bye Enterprise

Today we are going to head to Udvar Hazy Center http://nasm.si.edu/udvarhazy/  We want to say good-bye to Enterprise and hello to Discovery. They are removing the space shuttle Enterprise(the only shuttle to never go into space and named for Star Trek) and replacing it with Discovery.  Enterprise will be heading off to New York City to take its place on the Intrepid. One of the things I love about living in the D.C. Metro area is the advantage of taking my children to explore history and the opportunity to allow them to live history.

I grew up in the 'burbs of Dayton Ohio, so aviation is was a way of life for us. Kitty Hawk may have the first flight, but the Wright brothers are Daytonians and we have the first plane and many other aviation firsts. So I guess aviation is bred in our genes, or highly encouraged by our society. Ohio does have a lot of aviation firsts- Wright brothers: first flight, John Glenn: first to orbit the earth: Neil Armstrong: first to walk on the moon and a total of 24 Astronauts are from the Buckeye State.  Of course we have the "Best Dam Band in the Land" as well! O-H-I-O go Buckeyes!


Enterprise and Discovery -nose to nose.

So we will be at the Udvar Hazy center watching the final step, in the retirement of the space shuttle. As sad as it makes me, I am glad to have a chance to live this moment in History, and remembering the high price of space exploration made by many families. Thank you for your sacrifices.
Always
Kiki
Discovery enters the hanger!

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Space Shuttle Discovery arrives at Dulles

Here she is! We spent most of the morning waiting and watching the sky. I wasn't very productive in the shop, but I couldn't miss a moment in history. My grandson and I waited outside on the deck from 10:00 until close to 11:00 when we were finally rewarded with this shot.

I was  very excited to get the shot. I almost missed it.  I had stepped inside to start feeding E. I had held him off as long as I could. The deck is right off the kitchen so I figured if it came by I could step out and get the shot.  To be honest I had just about given up and decided it was landing from the south instead of the north, and it did. On the last go around it flew over our house.  Most of the planes going into Dulles land from the north and fly over our home. It was just my luck that today the shuttle might not. I would like to thank the pilots for taking that one last loop. It made the plane noise we live with everyday so worth it.

I am glad I got to watch the final approach, even if it was such a quick glance. I am even happier that I got to watch it with my sweet boy. Even if he will never remember.

Always
Kiki

Monday, April 16, 2012

Humorous Bath Towel

I just created a new listing in my shop. I was so excited I wanted to share it with you now. The Heads & Tails towel fits my quirky sense of humour just right. I hope you all love it as much as I do. I created it when my friends daughter came home for Thanksgiving break with all of her laundry. Apparently she had not done any laundry since arriving at school in the fall. My friend was telling me this over a cup of coffee and the conversation grew until I had created the concept for this towel.

In case you are wondering.  Yes, I did send one to my friends daughter with note of thanks for the inspiration. lol

https://www.etsy.com/your/shops/KikiCloset/stats/listing/97685229

I have been honored with the Liebster Award

What is the Liebster Award and who Awards it?

After a little research this it what I have found.

" I had never heard of it before yesterday. And after doing a tiny little bit of research it seems that the origin of the award is very unclear. This is what I found":
'Liebster' means 'favorite' or 'dearest' in German. This award, which originated in Germany, recognizes up and coming bloggers with less than 200 followers.



In accepting the award, the recipient agrees to:
Thank the person that gave the award and link back to their blog.

Copy and paste the award to your blog
Reveal the 5 blogs you have chosen to award and let them know by commenting on their blog.

Hope they pay it forward by accepting and awarding it to bloggers they would like to honor.

I found this information on ToppyToppyKnits blog http://toppytoppyknits.blogspot.com/2012/04/i-was-honored-with-liebster-award.html

Lulu Divine who I have met through The Handmade Circle on Etsy is the one that honored me with the award. Here is a link to her blog http://divinelulucreations.wordpress.com/2012/04/16/i-was-honored-with-a-liebster-award-23/ and you should be sure to check out her Etsy shop she has a lot of wonderful creations.


Of course coming up with 5 blogs to give the award to has been really hard. Much harder than I thought it would be. There are so many great blogger's. I decided that I would honor Etsy Blogger's, especially the blogger's from the Handmade Circle. They have given me so much support and encouragement since I found them. It is only fair that I pay it forward and back at the same time.

So without further a do the features are:
  1. Go Green with Red http://sewmanybagsandaprons.blogspot.com/ she has a great blog about the going ons in her life and shop. I love checking out her blog for inspiration and lust of her bags. Check her page out and I am sure you won't be disappointed.
  2. Shelby's Enchanted Bowtique http://shelbysenchantedbowtique.blogspot.com/ she is new to blogging and like myself suffers from a auto-immune disease. I find it encouraging to see that others are balancing illness, family and starting a small business. It is a challenge to balance one auto-immune disease and she manages two. I am so impressed and awed at her success it makes me believe I can do it too.
  3. Angela's Artistic Designs http://angelasartistic.blogspot.com/ I have enjoyed many of her writings and especially enjoyed the blog about shop envy. I have been there and done that. Shop envy is something we have all had. We just need to know that we are doing what is right for us. Comparing ourselves to others is never good. We must have confidence in our story and path. Their path is not ours. Thank you for reminding me of this.
  4. Constantly Unfolding http://constantlyunfolding.blogspot.com/ What a great way to show the many dimensions of our lives and promote the goings on in our shop. It is about laundry and the origami that makes up life. It is just a small part.
  5. Flowertown Originals http://flowertownoriginals.blogspot.com/ I love the way she opens the door and lets us see the magic of her shop. Our dining room tables look similar, actually I think hers is more organized. I also love the craziness of this endeavor. It is allows me to be home with my Grandson and enjoy his company.
Thanks for listening to me gush on about all the wonderful blogs and etsians.  Remember to always pay it forward and back. Thanks for the Liebster ToppyToppyKnits http://toppytoppyknits.blogspot.com/2012/04/i-was-honored-with-liebster-award.html I agree this is a great way to connect us all in more ways. We are a community and it is great to get a chance to act like one.

Have a great day in your shop. Don't forget to enjoy the people in the room around you as well as those on-line friendships.
Priscilla


Saturday, April 14, 2012

Spring cleaning equals yard sales

I had a great time this morning going to all of our wonderful community yard sales. Our community has two days a year set aside for a yard sales through out the community. It has become as much of a tradition for myself and my daughter as going out on black Friday. I know you think we are crazy, but we love it.

It used to be a greater necessity than it is now. My husband is retired military and many in our society don't realize the cost of serving our country is also reflected in our pay checks. As a family and as a whole we enjoyed the experience of serving our wonderful country. Yes of the entire family serves.

I digress- we had a wonderful time and got some really good deals, so what did we get?

We got one of these for E and only spent $10.00.

http://www.amazon.com/Baby-Trend-Snap-Go-Stroller/dp/B002U44XOI/ref=sr_1_30?s=baby-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1334452172&sr=1-30


I bought this for at my house for $5.00.

http://www.amazon.com/Step2-Push-Around-Buggy-Red/dp/B00000IZEM/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1334452310&sr=1-1-catcorr
&id=3B7F47B
I also bought one these for $4.00.

I also found a really cool chess set for my son. I spent $10.00 for this lovely set.

I hope everyone gets out and gets to know their neighbors this summer. Visiting neighborhood yard sales is a great way to stretch your budget and get to know your neighbors.  It is also a great place to find vintage buys for your Etsy shop. http://www.etsy.com/shop/KikiCloset

Have a wonderful week-end.







Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Under Pressure- Pressure Smoker review

I enjoy cooking. Being that I am a busy Mom I have to find balance. I use my slow cooker a lot. I love that it doesn't heat up the house during the summer. I can come home from work and have dinner ready with out the insanity of trying to get it all done and still have time for homework, etc.

I have also discovered the joy of a pressure cooker. The Hubs and I received a special pressure smoker for Christmas. I had my doubts at first, but I have come to love it. The Hubs is a die hard charcoal cooker, that makes grilling during the winter a real challenge her in Mid Atlantic region. I really like the smoker. I can't say as though I would have purchased it for ourselves but since it was a gift I had to try it out. Our friend know I love kitchen gadgets and he loves to grill so it should be perfect right? Well it was. So far I have used it to smoke salmon, turkey breast, game hens and pork tenderloins(notice the plural) more than once. I would say the pork tenderloin is my favorite, 4lbs smoked in 40 minutes. What isn't to love. I also used it to pressure cook without smoke the corned beef for St. Patrick's day. One of the things that impressed me with that was after smoking it maintains a bit of a smoky odor, but I did not notice a smoke flavor in the corned beef. I cooked the corned beef released the pressure, pulled it out to stand. Then I added the vegetables into the cooker, replaced the lid and cooked the veggies for 10 minutes under pressure. Not only were they soft and tender, but flavored as if they had been slow cooked with the meat. Yummy!

It says you can use it to brown foods before cooking and as a steamer. I have not tried these features yet.

This is our sweet little baby:
http://www.hammacher.com/Product/79504
disclaimer I received no gifts or payment from the manufacturer or the hamacher in exchange for this review.

Monday, April 9, 2012

Kiki Closet will Donate to Autism Care

April is Autism Awareness Month. The numbers of diagnosed cases of Autism have reached alarming numbers for this generation of children. To support the families facing dealing with this condition, I will be donating 10% of all sales in http://www.etsy.com/shop/KikiCloset for the month of April to Brighter Day Care http://www.brighterdaycare.com/index.html a local non-profit day care providing after school care to special needs children.

Slow Cooker Mosticolli

I have said before I love my slow cooker, it makes life much more manageable. To save time when I come in from the grocery I brown the ground beef that will be used to make recipes that require browned ground beef. I drain it and let it cool, then package 2 cups of crumbles(about 1lb) in a quart sized freezer bag and freeze flat.  It saves me one more step when it comes time for meal prep. I hope you find this time saving plan useful.

So on to the recipe:

Slow Cooker Mosticolli:

ingredients
mosticolli or penne pasta 1lb uncooked
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 jar spaghetti sauce
1 can cheddar cheese soup
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 can seasoned diced tomatoes undrained
1/2 can water
1lb of ground beef (if you are using the crumbles
1/2 cup of chopped onion (to save time and energy I use frozen)
1/2 cup of bell pepper (again I use frozen)
one clove garlic (or 1tsp crushed garlic from the jar)
I also highly recomend the slow cooker liners for this recipe for easy clean up! I have fallen in love with them as well and think they have contributed to my love of the slowcooker. They make clean up so much easier.

If you are using the pre cooked beef crumbles I take them out the night before and thaw in the fridge.
In the morning I saute the frozen or fresh onion, bell pepper and garlic in olive oil. If your beef isn't pre cooked brown it all at the same time.
In the lined slow cooker, add 1/2 the cheese and all other ingredients give a nice stir to mix everything.  Spread the remaining cheese on top cover and cook on low for 6 hrs. 

When I come in from work I make a loaf of garlic bread and a bag salad and dinner is on the table in 10 minutes.

I hope your family enjoys this recipe as much as my family does.


Sunday, April 8, 2012

Mount Washmore

Wow- Spring break is almost over and I have almost conquered Mount Washmore! I always swear I am not going to let it get backed again, but sometime life happens.  I also swear I am going to make the teens do their own, but I don't want to waste the resources.

It has also been a busy week in the shop. I have been doing a lot of promoting and it has payed of with two orders this week-end. So Happy Dance. My only frustration is I don't think I can manage all the promoting during a typical week. So I will just keep plugging along. I really enjoy the people I have met through Etsy and the Handmade Circle especially. So it is worth the work, even if it doesn't pay much. At least it supports my sewing habit. I can make a few things for E, my grandson, and buy the girls a few of the things they love on Etsy with what I make. 

Speaking of http://www.etsy.com/shop/KikiCloset I am donating 10% of my sales this month to http://www.brighterdaycare.com/index.html April is autism awareness month, and many of the students at BDC are autistic or on the spectrum.  I love working there, the kids are a blast, the parents are wonderful and I love the people I work with. They are all awesome.

Thanks for taking the time to read my rambling post and have a wonderful rest of Spring Break.
Kiki