Finally!!!

Finally a new post

Finally getting back on track 

Finally getting organized

I am almost embarrassed to say that I honestly just didn't want to write or craft other than the gifts that I was making and honestly I couldn't share those without spoiling the surprise.

I could make lots of excuses and say lots of things to make it sound so much better than it is but why bother, lying here is just lying to myself. 

So why bother.

I do have a few new posts a few projects that I am planning a few that I made for Christmas gifts and I even got a DSLR for Christmas so I am hoping to learn how to use the camera properly and start trying out some of the photo challenges out there as well.

So here is to a New Year and getting back on track! 

I hope that you had a Wonderful Holiday and I wish you all the best in the New Year. 

Tell the Truth Thursday! We're Moving!

Yep you read that right were moving! 

If you follow on twitter your likely thinking this is old news... we know that already but hey not everyone follows on twitter yet... 

What you don't know is that we are moving in with my sister...

Yep, my sister!

And when I have told the peoople that I see on a regular basis that we are moving in with her I have gotten every possible reation.. from "Wow thats so great!" to "Are you sure that you wanna do that?" to "Are times really that rough??"

And I'm sure that some of you would react the same way... right!

Well No times are not that rough, my sister has a big old house and it's just her and her cat living there, plus my sister is one of my best friends, she loves my kiddos as much as I do and we have lived together before... after childhood that is. And Yes kinda times are that rough not specifially for us but the rental market is CRAZY right now and lets all face it we aren't in the place to buy a house right now. 

Yes I am very sure that I want to do this and so is Robyn. sure it wont be easy and sure there are going to be times that we don't all get along but we need the space she wnats us to live here and were family at the end of the day we have to work it out and get along!
After all in the end your family will be all you have!

And yes this is so great it's awesome! I'm super excited to live DOWNTOWN again! Did I mention that my sister lives two streets away from the downtown and while that may not sound all that great it's just where I want to be! There are so many perks to living there that I wont go into a list right now but it is going to be an amazing time for us!

So this is why I have been away from the blog and not really crafting much, I have been packing and throwing away and donating.... more on that soon!

But in the evenings I have been working on a few new things and I am planning on posting about them next week! 

Make it Monday! Mashed Potato Bake!

If you know me (and if you read this blog frequently you can pretty well say that you do...) you likely know that I like a good KRAFT recipe...  but since they usually use brand name products or items that I usually don't buy when I make their recipes I am typically 

"inspired by" 

them not really making them... 

So here is another "inspired by" recipe that I found through Kraft.

This is a super simple recipe that you can make ahead or make on the spot. The original recipe can be found here. 

However this is how I made them...

6 potatoes (peeled and cut into chunks)

1/3 cup ranch dressing

1/2 to 3/4 cup of cheese shredded 

(I used cheddar but you could mix it up with your favorite cheese)

Bacon bits (optional)

Chives (optional)

Boil potatoes, mash with ranch dressing, press cooled mashed potatoes in an oven safe dish and top with cheese, bacon bits and chives if using. 

Chill in the fridge over night or bake "on the spot". 

Bake at 350 for 30 mins until heated through if made ahead 

or

at 350 for 20 mins if made "on the spot".

This makes for an easy side or a great pot luck dish that you just warm up once you reach the party!

And its super yummy too!

Happy Monday!

Giveaway Winner!

It's official my FIRST giveaway is over!

This turned out to be a pretty bad week to run a contest it seems... 

Max got Delaney's stomach flu and has been sick all week so I have been away from the blog (and the internet in general) for the majority of the week... 

But there were a few entries... so without any further suspense the winner is.... 

Terry from These Peas Taste Funny who is a new Facebook follower

(I used a random number generator to choose the winner and the lucky number was 4)

She will get to personalize a sign for FREE!!!!!

Congrats to Terry I have sent her off an email to let her know that she is the winner and as soon as I have her sign finished I will post a picture or two to let you in on what she choose and how it turned out!

Hope you have all had a better week than I have... 

If I won the lottery...

While checking my twitter today and being very unproductive I clicked over to The Not So Functional Housewife, where she had a pretty personal post about what she would do if she won the lottery. Its kinda silly but I think we all know what we would do or have at least had a conversation about what we would do with the winnings.

Robyn and I have such great plans for lottery winnings but we rarely buy tickets... a little illogical hey!

But since the housewife shared what she would do I thought (since I am not feeling very crafty while tending a sick Max, prepping for the move and being sick myself...) that I would share our top 10 things we would do.

1) Buy a house! 

(or maybe build my dream house... which looks a whole lot like Katie Bowers house)

2) Take a LONG vacation in Hawaii. 

(I have a bit of a thing for Hawaii)

3) Pay off student loans and other debt!

4) Give our family members money or make their "dreams" come true.

5) Put away a trust fund/college fund for the kids.

6) Buy a NEW car 

(like off the lot new)

7) Take the kids to Disney 

(ok I want to go too...)

8) Open a restaurant.

9) Go back to school.

10) Go see Ellen 

(in the audience of her show not like a stalker or anything...)

So what would you do if you won the lottery? If you post it on your blog join me in linking up with the Housewife!