F-R-E-E

This was on a friend's blog and I loved it so I thought I'd share. Have a wonderful, relaxing Sunday everyone!

UDI Sketch Saturday

Welcome back for another round of Utah Diva's Sketch Challenge! If you are on our round robin trip you will be coming here from Leonie's blog. This weeks sketch looked so strange to me...I had no idea what I was going to do until I decided to turn it into a birthday card for my middle son's birthday today. I have to tell you that even though this card is pretty simple (and has a stupid rock mark by the sentiment...ugh!) I really like it and I know Jon will, too! Oh, and yes...I know the golf ball is WAY out of proportion to the golf club...just go with me, k?

I think this card is pretty self explanatory but if you have any questions at all please just let me know.

If you are continuing on our little round robin of blogs then you'll go to Max's blog next. She was wonderful last week and I can't wait to see what she has done this week! If you'd like you can head back to the UDI blog by clicking HERE.

I hope you have a wonderful day! We will have 6 teenage boys at the house playing video games, eating pizza and cake and hopefully having a good time this afternoon...wish me luck!

A Trio Of Cards

Morning everyone! I hope your Tuesday is treating you well! I had a busy but productive Monday...hopefully just like today will be. Just have to point out that I like to switch up my watermark when I'm not using SU! products and I got two new watermarks a couple of weeks ago...the one with the hearts that you saw during Valentine's week and now this fun flower watermark. I like to get my watermarks from HERE. They are so cute and inexpensive...the perfect combination!

So, onto the cards. When I bought this flower set it came with a card kit to make these three basic cards. I changed things up a bit but it was fun creating from a picture and not having to think to make these. The blog that showed the cards originally is HERE. I just love the springy colors and overall ease of these cards. I have to do stuff like this more often!

Well, I'm off to get my day started. I hope you have a wonderful Tuesday!

What's for Dinner Tonight?

Morning friends! I hope you had a wonderful weekend! Today, I'm sharing a recipe for a BBQ Meatloaf that everyone in my family enjoys. I will be making this for dinner tonight probably with a baked potato and another veggie on the side. YUM! Sorry, no picture for this one.

Weight Watchers BBQ Meatloaf

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup Italian-seasoned dry breadcrumbs
• 1/4 cup cut onions
• 1/2 cup barbecue sauce,divided
• 1 pound ground round
• 2 Large egg whites
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

Directions

1.Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2.Combine meat,1/4 cup barbecue sauce,onion,breadcrumbs, egg whites, and pepper in a large bowl;stir well.
3.Shape mixture into a 7×5 inch loaf on a rack in a roasting pan.Spread remaining 1/4 cup barbecue sauce over loaf.Bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes or to desired degree of doneness. Yield 4 servings.

5 points per serving.
Calories:228 Carbohydrate:10.4g Fat:7.6 (saturated 2.6g.)
Fiber:0.5g Protein:27.7g Cholesterol:70mg Sodium:535mg
Calcium:22mg Iron:2.9:

UDI Sketch Saturday

Morning all! I hope you're having a wonderful Saturday! As you know today is UDI's sketch challenge day so I'm back to share a card with ya. Be sure to check out the sketch HERE.

For this week's sketch I turned it on its side just to make it a little easier for me to use. I stink at using circles in this way. Anyway, I wanted to make a quick thank you card with this sketch so I used some Sweet Pea paper, my Emblosslits Beautiful Wings die, and the Modern Label punch.

Today we start something new with the UDI Sketch member blogs...we are doing a round robin which just means you get to see all of the sketch members blogs from a link at each and you can get off the hop and go back to the UDI blog at anytime you would like!

From my blog you head on over to Max's blog. Max is the head UDI chick and is just so talented and FUN! I know you will enjoy that stop! If you didn't start at the UDI blog you can either go THERE or you can just start hoppin' along the blogs from here. However you do it...have a great time!

Love Monkey

Morning all! Welcome to the middle of your week. Isn't it wonderful to know you're halfway to Friday...woohoo! I'm excited as I have a Dove Chocolate Discoveries party tonight and one on Friday. Fun stuff!

Anyway, some time ago, when I was a member of a particular Yahoo group, a woman named Kim Score posted samples of her punch art and that she was selling the directions for the punch art at her blog (Paper Punch Addiction). I immediately ran over to her blog and purchase some of her punch art as my brain...yeah, not getting punch art out of it any time soon! Her directions are easy to read and follow as well as so reasonably priced. I've been following her blog since then.

Well, she had some blog candy up for grabs awhile back so I entered (and gave you the chance to see her blog by adding her link in my sidebar) and I won! I got my blog candy a week or so ago but just got to putting together one of the items yesterday and it is SO cute! Of course I want to share with you all but Kim asked that I not show the entire page to protect all of the hard work that goes into her classes and creations...so I'm sharing a peak of the Love Monkey 12x12 page that she sent me. It is SO cute and is very hard to not show you the entire thing!

So...what are you waiting for? Go check out Kim's blog...HERE. Oh, for those who are interested Kim uses Stampin' Up! punches only so these characters (and more) are great for classes, workshops, and stamp clubs. Just ask my stamp club they have gotten to make a snowman of Kim's design!

Cute & Cuddly

Good morning everyone! Did you make it past your Monday in good spirits? I had a good, laid back, kind of day with the kids home from school. Gotta love days like that at the beginning of the week, huh?

I'm sharing with you today a set that I made on Sunday for our friends who just had a baby. They were having a "come meet the baby" party and we had a gift for them so I whipped these up real quick and away we went.

As you know I can't link you to the company that these sets are from but needless to say it hasn't stopped me from ordering from them, creating with their products, or wishing I could tell you but...such is life. I'm sure if you have any specific questions and would like to e-mail me that would be fine!

Well, that is it for today. I hope you have a wonderful day!

What's for Dinner Tonight?

I thought I'd share this recipe with you this week and yes, I'm making it for dinner tonight! I have never been able to find chunky Italian-style tomato sauce in my area so I just use a little less than 15 oz of tomato sauce and add more Italian seasoning to the mixture. I've also not had tomato sauce on hand and used diced tomatoes as well (just draining off a little of the juice so it wasn't too runny and it was just as good! You could add any additional toppings that you'd like...I've added turkey pepperoni...to make it something you'll love. Add a salad or other veggie side and you are all set to go! My boys (all of them) love this recipe!

Deep Dish Pizza Casserole

1 pound ground round
15 ounce can chunky Italian-style tomato sauce
Pam
10 ounce can refrigerated pizza crust dough
1 1/2 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Cook meat in a nonstick skillet over medium high heat until browned, stirring until it crumbles. Drain, if necessary, and return to skillet. Add tomato sauce, and cook until heated.
While meat cooks, coat a 13 x 9-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Unroll pizza crust dough, and press into bottom and halfway up sides of baking dish. Top bottom of pizza crust with meat mixture.
Bake, uncovered, at 425 degrees for 12 minutes. Top with cheese, and bake 5 minutes or until crust is browned and cheese melts. Cool 5 minutes before serving. Yields: 6 servings.

Work time = 10 minutes
Cook time = 20 minutes

Calories: 277
Fiber: 1.6g
Fat:7.7g

Happy Valentine's Day!

This year for Valentine's Day I signed up for Andrea Walford's Valentine's Online class. It was wonderful and I just wanted to share the fruits of my labor. Make sure you check out her March Break Madness online class. It starts soon!

I made all of these for Todd. It was a fun process and I hope he likes them. Have a wonderful day with the one you love!

Utah Diva's Sketch Challenge

Happy Saturday! Gotta love the weekend, huh? I have a wonderful day planned today...lots of crafting! I didn't get much done yesterday as I ended up helping out at Kyler's school for most of the day. God's plans are not mine so I was exactly where He wanted me.

Now, you know today is Utah Diva's Sketch Challenge day and the fun part is that today's sketch challenge has a bonus challenge too which is to use your least favorite colors. Yeah, that is easy yet hard at the same time. I like just about every color but there are definitely some I don't use as often such as orange. This isn't really even "orange" it is called Pumpkin Pie and is a great color but not something I would use this time of the year.

I chose some paper from the Sweet Pea designer series paper pack for this card. I figured since I had to use a color I didn't like I would use paper and accents I did like. I went ahead and used my new Embosslits Beautiful Wings die which, to me, makes it seem as if the butterfly is getting closer to you and then flitting away again.

So, go check out the sketch HERE and make a card of your own...it is a great sketch!

Wanna hear something neat about our future UDI sketch challenges? We are going to do them blog hop style to make it easier for you guys to see them all! Yep, that is right...you can start here, see all the wonderful cards, check out the sketch, and then make your own card! I hope you'll come along for the hop starting next week!

Valentine Box

Good morning everyone! How has your week been? This week has just flown by for me! Lots of stuff to do...as usual! I'm thrilled that it is Friday and that I don't really have a bunch of plans for the weekend...yay!

I did get a chance to create this fun little Valentine's Day box yesterday for Miss Carol...the leader of the Kid's In Christ group at our church. I used some patterned paper that I had on hand and my new Big Shot XL Bigz Die called Shaker Box. I added a little bit of a window sheet to the inside (along with some YUMMY Dove Chocolate Discoveries chocolate inside). I love the ribbon that I used on the outside...so much flair!

Today I'll be working on a fabulous (I hope!) card for UDI Sketch Challenge day tomorrow and I have to finish up Todd's Valentine's Day surprises, too. I'm excited to give him everything I've been working on. I'll show you soon...don't worry!

So...have a wonderful Friday! I appreciate you sticking with me through my non-posting times because I LOVE to share with you when I do get crafty!

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13

Heart Boxes

Morning all! Thought I'd show you the boxes that I've made for the boys to put their candy in on Valentine's Day. While the patterned paper is not SU! I did get the template for these boxes from Andrea Walford's Valentine Class. These are super easy and quick to make...just my thing and the best part is if one of the boys see's the photos they won't know which one if for them...teehee!

I have a Dove Chocolate Discoveries party tonight so I'm baking cookies an getting all set to go today! Fun stuff!

Anyway, I hope these hearts make you smile and that your plans for Valentine's Day are coming together!

Grandpa's Birthday

Morning all! I know, I know...can you believe it a card!

I needed to make my grandpa a card for this birthday this weekend so I sat down and created on Sunday so I could get it in the mail yesterday...which I did. This card, while seeming a bit strange, my grandpa will LOVE. He and my grandma LOVE to play cards and sometimes when I call he'll not be able to talk because they have friends over to play cards...I love that! He will be 84 this year I believe. I love that man so much and I am so blessed to have him be a part of my life!

Just real quick on what I used to make the card. I bought this paper from SU! some time ago to make grandpa and grandma some score pads for their card games, haven't done it yet but I'm gonna, so I thought I could use the paper for his card instead. It's called Jackpot and has a couple of stamp sets that I don't own but would like too at some point! Go figure, I want new stamps...lol! The label stamp and the sentiment is from the SU! SAB set called Vintage Labels. I cut the label out with my Label Punch, ran some black card stock through my Big Shot with my Movers and Shapers Die, and then cut the inside and outside of the label shape out and adhered it to my card. A little ribbon, the wonderful sketch by CPS for the week and I was all set!

So, the next couple of days I have a couple of Valentine's Day things to show you or maybe just a couple of more cards...we'll see. Either way I hope you have a very blessed day!

What's for Dinner Tonight? -Dessert Edition

I know that this isn't a dinner recipe but with Valentine's Day coming up I know that some people are looking for a light weight way to make it sweet and yummy so I thought I'd share this recipe with ya.

Chocolate Marshmallow Fudge

POINTS® Value: 2
Servings: 36
Preparation Time: 10 min
Cooking Time: 5 min
Level of Difficulty: Easy
Ingredients

	1 spray(s) cooking spray
	1 2/3 cup(s) sugar
	2/3 cup(s) fat-free evaporated milk
	2 Tbsp reduced-calorie margarine, or light butter
	12 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)
	14 large marshmallow(s)

Instructions

• Coat an 8- X 8-inch pan with cooking spray.
  
  
• In a medium saucepan, stir together sugar, evaporated milk and margarine (or butter); bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, stirring constantly, about 3 minutes.
  
  
• Stir in chocolate and marshmallows; remove pan from heat and stir until smooth.
  
  
• Pour mixture into prepared pan and refrigerate until firm, about 2 hours. Cut into thirty-six 1 1/3-inch squares and serve. Yields 1 piece per serving.

Notes

• Store fudge in refrigerator. Or freeze for a firmer consistency.

I'm hoping to get back to posting a little more frequently this week. I just haven't felt the uumph to get on here and post but I have been creating and I hope you have, too! See you soon!

What's for Dinner Tonight?

I don't know about you guys but I LOVE spaghetti!I was planning on making spaghetti tonight and thought I'd see if there was a Weight Watchers recipe...low and behold there is! Enjoy!

Spaghetti With Tomato Meat Sauce

POINTS® Value: 5 Servings: 6 Preparation Time: 20 min Cooking Time: 15 min Level of Difficulty: Easy Works with Simply Filling

We all need comfort food from time to time and this meat sauce does the trick. It's wonderful spooned over pasta, baked potatoes, couscous or barley.

Ingredients

	2 tsp olive oil
	1 large onion(s), chopped
	1 medium carrot(s), finely chopped
	3 medium garlic clove(s), minced
	1 pound(s) uncooked lean ground beef (with 7% fat)
	28 oz canned crushed tomatoes, in tomato puree
	1/4 tsp table salt
	1/4 tsp red pepper flakes, crushed
	1/4 tsp dried basil
	3 cup(s) cooked whole-wheat spaghetti, kept hot

Instructions

• Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, carrot and garlic. Cook, stirring frequently, until onion is translucent, about 6 minutes.
  
  
• Add ground beef to skillet. Cook, breaking up clumps with a wooden spoon, until browned, about 4 minutes.
  
  
• Stir in tomatoes and tomato puree, salt, red pepper flakes and basil; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes for flavors to blend and for sauce to thicken slightly; spoon sauce over spaghetti. Yields about 1/2 cup of spaghetti and 2/3 cup of sauce per serving.

Notes

• Refrigerate extra sauce for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 2 months.
  
  Add a delicious Parmesan-infused crumb topping to spaghetti recipes: Heat 1 teaspoon of olive oil in a small nonstick skillet. Add 1/3 cup of coarse whole-wheat bread crumbs. Cook on high heat for 1 minute, shaking skillet constantly, until crumbs are aromatic and slightly browned. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of grated Parmesan cheese and shake well to coat. Remove from heat and sprinkle 1 tablespoon of crumbs over each dish just before serving. (Adds 1 POINTS value per serving.)