By request.....

this is for you Ryann...& well a few others who have asked for the recipe.......

The oh-so-yummy, don't-even-ask-how-many-calories-are-in-them, totally-rockin POPCORN BALLS

14 Cups of plain popped popcorn (do not use buttered)

1pkg (14oz)caramels

1-2pkgs of semisweet chocolate chips

10-12 popsicle sticks

Sprinkles(optional)

1.Place popped popcorn in a very large bowl

2.Melt unwrapped caramels & butter in a medium saucepan over low heat. Cook & stir until melted & smooth (about 5 minutes).

3.Remove mixture from heat & pour over popcorn... Working quickly, mix with a large wooden spoon until popcorn is coated evenly. Let cool slightly.

4.When popcorn mixture is cool enough to handle, grease hands with butter or nonstick cooking spray. Shape popcorn mixture into baseball sized balls (or a bit larger); place 1 popsicle stick into each ball.

5.Melt chocolate chips by double boiler method or place in microwavable bowl. Microwave on HIGH for 1 mintue; stir. Continue to microwave on HIGH for 30 second intervals until chips are completely melted. Stir until smooth.

6. Dip each popcorn ball into melted chocolate & shake sprinkles on the chocolate. Place on waxed paper until chocolate is set.

Enjoy!!!!

Sunday night TV is destroying my life......

Yep...I have officially become a Sunday night TV addict. Especially Grey's Anatomy...OMG!.... I love that show! To understand the enormity of this situation you must realize I have miraculously escaped all the TV crazes of the last decade. Up until now I hadn't been sucked into any of them...not Friends, not Survivor...none of them. But this one has infiltrated my life in the most bizarre way. I wanna BE part Grey's Anatomy! I don't want to be an actress or work on the show itself. And I don't want to be one of the characters. I just wanna be their pal & hang with them. George moved out, so I think I'll go knock on Meredith's door & see if she has a room available. It's worth a try, don't ya think??? Now don't try to convince me that it isn't real & that they are just all actors...I simply don't buy it. I am so dysfunctional that I would make a perfect friend for Izzy, Meredith & the gang. Hey I've had tons of experience already.....my sister Femmie is Yang's identical-personality-twin.
Seriously...I must be losing it....seriously...........

A girl's gotta love "FREE"

& this girl does! Let me 'splain......I had a credit for free merchandise coming to me at my favorite scrapbook store, The Craft Garden. So today I used it up to treat myself! And look at the goodies I got......

* a Silent Setter ~ I bet K. wishes that is one scrapbook purchase I had made before now....uhm, did I mention I was using my old one with the hammer all through the Super Bowl....he he
*some uber cool Heidi Swapp"Traveler" tape.....did I tell you lately that I wanna be Heidi Swapp when grow up??

~And check out these adorable little bottles of paint....the colors are absolutley YUMMY! I played around with them tonight.....soooooo fun!

Anyway, these little goodies were the highlight of my day......my day that included over 6 inches of snow. What the??? I am about done with winter & somehow I do not think the weatherman got the message.....hmph! Has he not figured out that it is all about ME????? ***okay, it's late & I am getting a bit slap happy.....I should sign off before I say something I will regret :)

A Cup O'Love......

This morning I went to the scrapbook store & made my girl Heather one of my "oh-so-coveted" personalized travel mugs. It turned out uber cute!! Now I'm gonna have to make one for myself... the catch??? I don't drink coffee :)












Do you wanna hear something wild????? One of my sisters called today to give me some very interesting news......our grandma won 1/4 of a million dollars in the Ohio lottery last night! BLING! I am so happy for her.....but here's the really sweet part. I called to congratulate her.....

Me: Congratulations Grandma! You really deserve it!

Gma: Thanks!! (she was giddy with excitment)

Me: That is a way cool birthday present (her 75th was on Sunday)

Gma:(very matter of factly) It wasn't a birthday present.

Me: Huh??

Gma: It wasn't for my birthday. It was the first Valentine's gift Don has sent me in years . (my grandpa passed away in the early 90's) But he did really good this year.

I was in tears...how sweet. Although the whole family misses him, I have to admit I don't often stop to think about the enormity of her situation......the love her life is gone, and she is still very much in love with him after all these years. I can't describe how that conversation touched me......it's one of those things I'll carry with me for the rest of my days

Valentine's, Vegas & variations.....

where to begin???
Valentine's day was pretty good. I finished the popcorn balls & they were was a HUGE hit!!! The kids scarfed them up, as my 7 year old would put it! And the kiddos had a great time at the party! And let me tell you .....wrapping all those little suckers up was soooooo not fun!!!! But boy were they ever cute!!!! And a girl's gotta love being the "Cool Mom" for the day :)







Can you say "Yummy"??????





Me & the kiddos...........





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Vegas...........

We had a blast!!! It went entirely too fast but I enjoyed having the time alone with my man! I can hardly wait to go again......

Of course I enjoyed my fair share of yummy foo-foo drinks! You gotta love the "yard-stick" margaritas. And my absolute favorite was the frozen Bellini from Fat Tuesday's at the Dessert Passage shops at the Aladdin. And look at the size of that thing!


I was pleasantly surprised with the Riviera. The hotel was hosting the World Archery Festival & so that 's how we ended up there. It was actually pretty nice. Not 5 stars or anything, but all-in-all it was nice. Plus they had a stand that sold yardstick margaritas in house! Score!!! Plus the gambling was great. I won over $750 0n penny slots! Score again....mind you, I spent quite a bit of my winnings on the aforementioned margaritas...but anyway......... :)
I'm sure those of you who have been to Vegas have seen this sign...but Keith & I always get such a kick out of it......Bikini Bull Riding, as well as Cold Beer & Dirty Girls under one roof.....dare to dream...........
I LOVE this huge neon sign...it's hot pink & a foo-foo drink...OMG! Talk about perfection! I am trying to find the perfect place in the house for it....just kidding :)



my main squeeze....(it's not the greatest picture, but what can I say???)

















One of the things I gotta say about Vegas...the casinos have the coolest freakin' bathrooms!!!! Much better than ones at Pikes Market in Seattle (*snort* Femmie....Don't worry I won't share that photo). But check this out............the ones in the Desert Page had a shelf built in the wall to hold all your carrier bags! How cool is that????? K. wasn't that impresses, but any chic would truly appreciate it.....

We walked a lot, ate a lot, drank a lot **hiccup**, saw a lot....oh the things we saw....... and we can't wait until we go back. K. is already planning to go for next year's tournament. Oh...I almost forgot.....I gotta share....I used my winnings to buy (well, a little bit of it) to buy this adorable Brighton purse! Notice...it's pink! Love it!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Okay...now I gotta share with y'all what awesome friends I have!!!!! Not one, but 2 of my friends surprised me in the last 24hours with valentine goodies. First, my girl Heather popped in last evening with an awesome gift bag! She soooo rocks!


First there were these super adorable pink cleaning gloves......how fun is that????





Then there were these hilarious temporary tattoos.....notice the box says they are 'naughty'. Boy are they ever! There are some really raunchy ones to be honest! Hysterical!!!!! Heather & I have decided we are gonna string together a totally X-rated sentence & tattoo an unsuspecting Bunko buddy this weekend...hehe!!!!

Then today my friend Julie surprised me at the school with this adorable flower arrangement! What a doll! These 2 ladies totally made my day!
I was so reminded of how blessed I am & what great friends I have!!! Love you guys!!!

Back & hit the ground runnin'.......

That's what K. always says we you gotta get down to business "I gotta hit the ground runnin". Well that sums up my here & now.....
I got home around 3 a.m. from Vegas & am totally exhausted but it was well worth it! I then officially earned the "Bad Mom of the Year" award.... I let D. skip school to be home with me today (read: my ass was too exhausted to have her at school by 8am) :) And now I am trying to get in the groove.....I have to unpack, love on my kids, do laundry, love on my kids, make some phone calls, love on my.....okay you get the picture. But the big event today is making......drumroll, please....gourmet popcorn balls for D.'s school for tomorrow. Uhm...who's freakin' brilliant idea was that???? Oh, yeah...mine, before I went to Vegas. You know, when you are in pre-vacation mode & you think you are invinsible! Like when you think you can drink your weight in alcoholic foo-foo drinks in just 3 days in Sin City...okay, I digress......
Anyway, last week when I was in supermom/over achiever mode, I promised D. we would make this fabulous recipe. Gourmet popcorn balls, dipped in choclate & sprinkles for her whole class. Plus you gotta make several extras for other people who are at the class party.....so we are looking at about 40 popcorn balls. No big deal for a girl who is practically a pro......I mean, in the past I've made loads.....let me count how many........well.......uhm, does eating a popcorn ball count????? You guessed it...I haven't made a single one. So here's to the big adventure.......more later.

I promise once I finish the above, I'll post some Vegas pics & give you all the scoop! And please don't envy me for the fab photo above.....you know, the "tired, dumpy & terrified of making a gooey mess" look is soooooo chic right now........

45 minutes.....

til the limo picks me up for the airport. :) Yep, I said limo. Bet ya think I am pretty cool...like a superstar, right....huh? huh??? No, seriously, we live about 50 miles from he airport & there is a limo service here in our town that provides airport transfers cheaper than the cost to park your car at the airport garage for a couple days. Plus they provide service 24/7. And no going out to a cold car.....very important when living near the Arctic cirle. So yes...I am going in style...he he!!!
So I am packed...ready to go...kids are gone to their 'sleepovers'...and I am finally starting to get excited. K. is already there & I can't wait to see him in the morning. Oh, yeah...& I can wait to get one of those frozen peach drink things at Treasure Island!
***Notice the uber-cute cheetah print luggage....it's D.'s......yes, my 7 year old daughter is way more stylish than me. What can I say???
Catch ya on the flip side!

T- 8 hours until I leave for the airport......

& this is exactly how much I have packed, not to mention the kids stuff which I haven't touched....I know, so NOT looking good here.......
I just am so exhausted & distractable &...okay, enough excuses...I gotta get back to it :(

Too stinkin' cute!!!!

Heather gave me an early birthday present this morning & I just had to share the card! Freakin' adorable!!! I love it!! And I love her too!!! A girl's gotta have great friends, right??? :) Thanks Heather!!! Girl day SOON, okay??? ;)
Love ya, VQ!!!!

Just 1 more sleep.....

and, do I ever need it!!! I pulled an All-Nighter last night finishing up the album for my grandma's birthday. And, no, I did not put it off to the last minute...I just received the last of the photos for it a few days ago. Thanks-a-freakin'-lot!!! Nothing like waiting until the last minute people! I truly have nothing better to do...(if you haven't pick up on the heavy dose of sarcasm her, then you have issues....) Anyway...I am way exhausted, but the album is finished & cost me just $48.00 to send 2nd day. What the??? I definitely think I got the short end of the stick on the flippin project. Over $120 in supplies to make the bloody thing, all the time & then the shipping. From here on our, I think I am gonna become that shit relative that sends nothing for birthdays & Christmas! So "HA!" (slowly steps down from soapbox....)

So now I am in Veags mode.....Viva Las Vegas!!! Sing it with me!!! K. is on a Vegas bound plane right this very minute & will arrive there around 8am Thursday morning. Then Thursday evening I will head to Anchorage International to catch the red-eye (the only way Alaskans travel) to SLC & then on to Vegas. I will arrive Friday morning around 8a.m. I can hardly wait. But before I leave I first must face the dreaded list. Anyone who knows me, also knows my alter ego is "Stacy the Tree Killer:List Maker Extrodinaire" I have atleast one going at all times. And usually this close to a trip, I would be much better prepared. However, the last few days have been devoted to the album so now it's time to kick "Trip Prep" in high gear. In case you are wondering....this is my real list (silly doodles & all). I also have the ones with all the crap that needs packed plus this one carries over to the back of the page. Lucky me!!! :)

On a different note, swimming lessons started back up tonight & it was R.'s first lesson ever. Well let me tell you~ Little Dude rocked the Palmer Pool....well as much as a 3 year old can! He was so cute. And D. did stupendously, as well. She is in Level 4. Pretty good for a kid her age. She is dying to get to Level 5 so she can swim in the Polar Bear club, a recreational swim team. I think I gave birth to amphibians! :)

Later gators!!!

Just 7 more sleeps....

the countdown to the trip continues. And I am, slowly but surely, trudging through my 'to do ' list. The good news is the taxes are DONE! Yipee! And we are getting a refund! Now I just need to focus on the rest of the list. Wish me luck!!

8 more sleeps!

That's how my kids count down to any special event. So I have 8 more sleeps until I leave for Vegas! I am starting to get excited!
Before I go I have to
~finish my grandma's album & send it off
~ finish the mini-album for K. for Valentines Day (which is also his birthday)
~finish my taxes & submit (I'm 98% finished)
~the never ending laundry & more laundry
~figure out what the hell I am going to wear while I am there
~pack, obviously :)
~do all the prep for the kids V-day parties (I get back 24 hours prior to the first one)
...I'm sure there is more...AHHHH!

But right now I can't think about it, 'cuz my mind is consumed with all of the stuff I am excited about:
~spending three days with the love of my life
~going somewhere warm here it is -6, there it is 60 Damn!
~seeing some of the stuff we didn't have time for last year
~playin' me some nickel slots...you got it I am one big spender! Those things are a blast!!!!
~flying all by myself! AHHH! although I love to travel as a family, the idea of flying all alone almost sounds luxurious! The last time I flew alone was when we left England in 1996!
~ I can't wait to get one of those yummy frozen peach drinks at Treasure Island
~oh, did I mention open container laws??? Wahoo!!! (seriously, I don't drink that much...maybe once a month, if that....but just the idea of it makes me giddy! Ya know, like I am getting away with something!)
~and the food....need I say more!!

Okay...I need to stop daydreaming & get back to all the crap that needs done!