Friday, June 29, 2012

High/Low + Freebie | June 29, 2012

My LOW this Week is that this week has been kind of hard as we are trying to make a pretty big decision for our family.....I'm sure I'll share more when I know more.

My HIGH for this Week is that its my birthday and I spent the day NOT cleaning and mostly spent it catching up with things on the computer, being with my kids, watching HEARTLAND, and having my favorite dinner - Olive Garden's Chicken Alfredo.

I have an additional freebie for you today! It is a StackZ that coordinates with my Forget Me Not Kit! Have a great weekend!

DOWNLOAD LINK



High/Low & Freebie Friday | www.designzbydede.com
High/Low + Freebie Posts | Each Friday, I get a little personal and share my high and low points of the week and then I offer a digital scrapbook freebie for everyone to download for FREE.

Thursday, June 28, 2012

Recipe Thursday - Triple-Decker Mexican Pizzas



Each Thursday, I am going to be sharing a recipe with you!I will pick a recipe from my collection and I will be sharing where I got the recipe and everything. But I am going to include my own photo of the finished food, the original recipe, and try and share the things I changed when I made it!

I would love your help too! If you have a great recipe, especially week-night dinner recipes (but I would love all kinds of recipes) - please share it with me, by emailing me at dedesmith32@gmail.com. I will try it out and feature it on my blog! If you have cooking tips or anything else in regards to cooking and food - please email me!


This week's Recipe:
This makes for a quick and fast meal or a perfect snack! We loved these!  We had too big of tortillas to really make this work for triple deckers - but it was still great!


Triple-Decker Mexican Pizzas

by Pennies on a Platter


3 (14.5 oz) cans black beans, drained and rinsed or pinto beans/refried beans
* I think it could be good with taco meat too!
12 small (5- to 6-inch) flour tortillas
1 1/2 cup shredded cheese, or more or less to your preference
3 cups salsa
Salt and pepper, to taste
Sour cream, for serving


Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray the tortillas with cooking spray and bake for 3 minutes, flip, then bake another 3 minutes until crisp. Set aside and keep the oven on.

In a large saucepan, mash the black beans with a potato masher until only some lumps are left. Stir in 3/4 cup of the salsa then season with salt and pepper, to taste. Cook over medium heat until heated through.

To assemble the individual pizzas: Spread a thin layer of the beans on a tortilla, then drizzle with salsa and sprinkle with cheese. Top with another tortilla and repeat the layers ending with cheese. Top with a third tortilla and repeat again ending with cheese. This makes 1 triple-decker pizza. Repeat with the remaining tortillas to make a total of 4 triple-decker pizzas. Bake on a baking sheet for 5-7 minutes, until cheese is melted. Serve with sour cream.

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Wednesday Sayings - 6/27/12

Each Wednesday, I am going to be sharing a quote/saying with you!I am a collector of quotes/sayings/scrapbook titles, etc. and I love to hear new ones! So, each week, I will share a quote/saying with you that I hope will inspire you and make your day a little better! If you have any great quotes/sayings - feel free to send them in to me at dedesmith32@gmail.com - I would love to use them!

This week's quote:

If you want a rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.
- Dolly Parton

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Family History TuesdayZ | Summer Day

Here is this week's journal prompt :





Each Tuesday, I am going to be offering prompts or ideas. If you don't write in your journal regularly - I am going to encourage you to write just ONCE A WEEK and answer the question/idea that I give on Tuesdays. These ideas hopefully will spark a memory and you will be able to capture that in what you write/record so that it can be left for your children/grandchildren/family/friends. Give as much detail as you can when answering.

Will you do this for me? Will you do this for your families? You can write it down in a journal, you can type it up on a computer or journaling software, you can take a recorder and talk, you can videotape your answers, you can even scrap a page with the journaling. It doesn't matter how you do this - it's just important that you do it. The memories, the dates, the information is the only real thing we can leave to our families when we are gone.

If I come up with other family history ideas - I will be sure to share it here too - and if you want to share with me your ideas - that would be wonderful and I'd be glad to share them here too. Just comment here or email me at dedesmith32@gmail.com.

Monday, June 25, 2012

New Release Monday 6/25/12



I am so excited to release SUMMER BREEZEZ!
A year ago, I created this kit for a 3Scrapateers Club Kit, and now I finally have the opportunity to share it with all of you! It's just a fun kit to scrap your summer memories! I hope you love it!



You can purchase this product at the following stores:
My Blog
- Summer BreezeZ

3Scrapateers *
MyMemories * ScrapWow

iScrapbook - Coming Soon
ScrapDelicious

Friday, June 22, 2012

High/Low + Freebie | June 22, 2012

My LOW this Week is

My HIGH for this Week is


I have a freebie for you today! 
It is a ScatterZ that coordinates with my MomentZ Kit! 
Have a great weekend!

DOWNLOAD LINK




High/Low & Freebie Friday | www.designzbydede.com
High/Low + Freebie Posts | Each Friday, I get a little personal and share my high and low points of the week and then I offer a digital scrapbook freebie for everyone to download for FREE.

Thursday, June 21, 2012

Recipe Thursday - Egg-Stuffed Potatoes + Potato Puffs



Each Thursday, I am going to be sharing a recipe with you!I will pick a recipe from my collection and I will be sharing where I got the recipe and everything. But I am going to include my own photo of the finished food, the original recipe, and try and share the things I changed when I made it!

I would love your help too! If you have a great recipe, especially week-night dinner recipes (but I would love all kinds of recipes) - please share it with me, by emailing me at dedesmith32@gmail.com. I will try it out and feature it on my blog! If you have cooking tips or anything else in regards to cooking and food - please email me!


This week's Recipe:
This is a great change to the normal stuffed potatoes! We loved these and it goes great with the little potato puffs!


Egg-Stuffed Potatoes + Potato Puffs

by Sara from Our Best Bites




baked potatoes, slightly cooled
melted butter
kosher salt and black pepper
shredded cheese (cheddar, gruyere, fontina, pepperjack, or other of your choice)
eggs
additional fillings of your choice: sauteed vegetables, green onions, bacon or ham, etc.


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Slice a layer off the top of each potato. Use a spoon to gently scoop out insides, leaving a thin layer of potato against the skin and avoiding puncturing the bottom. Reserve scooped potato for another use.

Brush inside of each potato with melted butter and sprinkle with a little salt and pepper. Sprinkle a layer of shredded cheese into each potato and add fillings as desired (vegetables, diced meat, etc.) Fill each potato about 3/4 full. Crack one egg into each potato. Sprinkle with a little more salt and pepper. Top with additional cheese and toppings if desired.

Place potatoes on a baking sheet and cook for about 20 minutes. Egg whites should be set and yolks soft.


Potato Puffs:
What to do with leftover potato pulp?: Make some potato "puffs"...

Add an egg to the leftover potato pulp, ham, chives, cheese....Mix thoroughly.

Place in buttered mini muffin tins... sprinkle with extra cheese and chives.

Bake at 350 until nicely puffed...


Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Wednesday Sayings - 6/20/12

Each Wednesday, I am going to be sharing a quote/saying with you!I am a collector of quotes/sayings/scrapbook titles, etc. and I love to hear new ones! So, each week, I will share a quote/saying with you that I hope will inspire you and make your day a little better! If you have any great quotes/sayings - feel free to send them in to me at dedesmith32@gmail.com - I would love to use them!

This week's quote:

Only love can be divided endlessly, and still not diminish.
- Anne Morrow Lindbergh

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Family History TuesdayZ | Marriage Place

Here is this week's journal prompt :





Each Tuesday, I am going to be offering prompts or ideas. If you don't write in your journal regularly - I am going to encourage you to write just ONCE A WEEK and answer the question/idea that I give on Tuesdays. These ideas hopefully will spark a memory and you will be able to capture that in what you write/record so that it can be left for your children/grandchildren/family/friends. Give as much detail as you can when answering.

Will you do this for me? Will you do this for your families? You can write it down in a journal, you can type it up on a computer or journaling software, you can take a recorder and talk, you can videotape your answers, you can even scrap a page with the journaling. It doesn't matter how you do this - it's just important that you do it. The memories, the dates, the information is the only real thing we can leave to our families when we are gone.

If I come up with other family history ideas - I will be sure to share it here too - and if you want to share with me your ideas - that would be wonderful and I'd be glad to share them here too. Just comment here or email me at dedesmith32@gmail.com.

Thursday, June 14, 2012

Recipe Thursday - Italian Pasta Toss



Each Thursday, I am going to be sharing a recipe with you!I will pick a recipe from my collection and I will be sharing where I got the recipe and everything. But I am going to include my own photo of the finished food, the original recipe, and try and share the things I changed when I made it!

I would love your help too! If you have a great recipe, especially week-night dinner recipes (but I would love all kinds of recipes) - please share it with me, by emailing me at dedesmith32@gmail.com. I will try it out and feature it on my blog! If you have cooking tips or anything else in regards to cooking and food - please email me!


This week's Recipe:
I really loved this and I can see this being the perfect summer meal! Great flavor too! I will be making this one a lot!





Italian Pasta Toss

by Cozi




1 box (16 oz) pasta (such as farfalle, penne or rotini)
2 cups chicken, cooked and cut into bite-sized pieces (about 2 breasts)
1 tsp salt
1 cup Italian salad dressing *I added a whole bottle
16 oz frozen vegetables of choice
optional: grated Parmesan

Prepare pasta according to package directions.

Warm salad dressing in a large skillet. Add vegetables and cook until heated through.

Add chicken and pasta and warm until heated through.

Serve with Parmesan cheese

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Wednesday Sayings - 6/13/12

Each Wednesday, I am going to be sharing a quote/saying with you!I am a collector of quotes/sayings/scrapbook titles, etc. and I love to hear new ones! So, each week, I will share a quote/saying with you that I hope will inspire you and make your day a little better! If you have any great quotes/sayings - feel free to send them in to me at dedesmith32@gmail.com - I would love to use them!

This week's quote:

I went into the woods because I wanted to live deliberately. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life...to put it out all that was not life; and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.
- Henry Thoreau

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Family History TuesdayZ | Family Traditions

Here is this week's journal prompt :





Each Tuesday, I am going to be offering prompts or ideas. If you don't write in your journal regularly - I am going to encourage you to write just ONCE A WEEK and answer the question/idea that I give on Tuesdays. These ideas hopefully will spark a memory and you will be able to capture that in what you write/record so that it can be left for your children/grandchildren/family/friends. Give as much detail as you can when answering.

Will you do this for me? Will you do this for your families? You can write it down in a journal, you can type it up on a computer or journaling software, you can take a recorder and talk, you can videotape your answers, you can even scrap a page with the journaling. It doesn't matter how you do this - it's just important that you do it. The memories, the dates, the information is the only real thing we can leave to our families when we are gone.

If I come up with other family history ideas - I will be sure to share it here too - and if you want to share with me your ideas - that would be wonderful and I'd be glad to share them here too. Just comment here or email me at dedesmith32@gmail.com.

Monday, June 11, 2012

Monday Magic - Finding Happiness



Each Monday (that doesn't have a new release), I am going to be offering a little Magic to start your week. It might be a fun idea, some inspiration, a tutorial, or just sharing some thoughts - Whatever I feel like! So come back and share your thoughts too!


This week:
Today I am just going to give you a little thought that I found on my friend's blog a couple of weeks ago. Melissa is just amazingly inspiring and I really appreciated her post. As you all know (if you read my blog), I am currently suffering through some depression/anxiety. I've had a rough 6 months or so, and I'm still trying to find my way to happiness, despite the struggles. So her message really helped me. She talked about how the key is to learn to be happy while still collecting the pieces and I'm really trying to put that into my mind and the way I think. I really want it to resonate in my heart.

Finding Happiness
While Collecting the Pieces of Your Dream


Do you struggle with still being happy amidst trials?  Or is it just me?

Sunday, June 10, 2012

Weekend with Mallory



The last week in April, I got a call from my brother.  He had decided to take his wife on a fun little train trip for their anniversary, but they needed someone to take care of little Mallory. Of course, I was delighted to do it for them.  A few days later, Cody and Becki and Mallory spent the night at our house and then in the wee hours the next morning, they left on their adventure.

Having a 2-year-old around the house was an adventure as well, but one that I enjoyed so much. It made me miss having a toddler pretty bad. I enjoyed getting to know Mallory more and we had a great time. 


After getting the kids off to school Friday morning, Mallory and I had the house to ourselves. We watched a bit of tv, ate some breakfast, and ran some errands. And of course we had to hit the park for a little while. Mallory adores swinging on the swings at the park!  We did a little grocery shopping and visited Uncle Joey at work for a bit.  We had lunch and then I got to sing to Mal and we both had a bit of a nap before my kids got home from school.  JJ adores his cousin and he loved coming home and getting to play with her. I swear he is the only one who can make her laugh so hard. I always love to see the special relationship that Mallory has with JJ. We ended up going to the little park in our trailer community for some playing too.  Then of course we had to watch "Meet the Robinsons, " which I'm pretty sure is Mal's favorite movie. It was darling to see her giggle and enjoy it. We had Chili for dinner which Mal just gobbled right down.  After getting my kids to bed, it was a bit of an adventure trying to get Mallory to go to sleep.  She was missing her parents pretty bad. I sang to her and we watched part of Meet the Robinsons yet again. We hit a snag, where she kept asking me to sing, "the dog song." I couldn't figure it out, so I ended up calling Becki, where I was informed that she was saying "duck" not "dog." So once we solved that mystery...we sang "5 Little Ducks went out to play" and she calmed right down. I thought she would sleep with me, but for some reason she really didn't want to sleep in my room, so she ended up sleeping on the air mattress. Once she got to sleep, she slept all night.

On Saturday, we went to the park again and Mallory loved swinging. We came home and had Mac & Cheese for lunch. We played and played and played.  The kids loved playing outside with Mal.  We also finally got Mallory to take a little nap before her Aunt Ashley came over to take her for a little while. I spent some time with my own kids and we had dinner and cleaned up before Mallory came back to us.  After getting my kids showered and off to bed, it was some special one-on-one time for Mallory and I (Joey had gone to a movie with a friend.). This was probably my favorite couple of hours that I had with Mallory the whole weekend. We watched some tv, sang some songs, and I finally felt like we really connected. We started actually having a conversation and giggling and snuggling. She would not go to sleep, but I was enjoying her too much to really make it happen. I was kind of sorry to hear the knock on the door and see Cody and Becki arrive back. I had been having so much fun with my niece. But Mallory was so glad to see her parents and she just wouldn't let go of them.  It was fun to visit with Cody and Becki for awhile. Joey came home soon after they did, and we all stayed up and talked for awhile, before all heading to bed.

It was such a fun weekend with Mallory!

Friday, June 8, 2012

High/Low + Freebie | June 8, 2012

My LOW this Week is

My HIGH for this Week is



I have a freebie for you today! 
It is a StackZ that coordinates with my MomentZ Kit! 
Have a great weekend!

DOWNLOAD LINK


High/Low & Freebie Friday | www.designzbydede.com
High/Low + Freebie Posts | Each Friday, I get a little personal and share my high and low points of the week and then I offer a digital scrapbook freebie for everyone to download for FREE.

Thursday, June 7, 2012

Recipe Thursday - Mexican Shells & Cheese



Each Thursday, I am going to be sharing a recipe with you!I will pick a recipe from my collection and I will be sharing where I got the recipe and everything. But I am going to include my own photo of the finished food, the original recipe, and try and share the things I changed when I made it!

I would love your help too! If you have a great recipe, especially week-night dinner recipes (but I would love all kinds of recipes) - please share it with me, by emailing me at dedesmith32@gmail.com. I will try it out and feature it on my blog! If you have cooking tips or anything else in regards to cooking and food - please email me!


This week's Recipe:
A great change from ordinary Mac & Cheese!  Next time, we'll add some taco meat to it!


Mexican Shells & Cheese
by The Daily Smash



2 1/4 cups small shell pasta
3T butter
3T flour
2 Cups milk
1/3 cup green onions
1 4oz can green chilis
1 T taco seasoning
2 Cup Mexican shredded cheese













* Try adding some taco seasoning to 1 lb hamburger and adding it to it!

Topping
1 T butter
1/2 T taco seasoning
1/2 Cup plain bread crumbs


Heat oven to 375 spray a 8x8 inch pan with nonstick spray. Cook pasta until desired doneness and drain.

In a pan melt butter add the flour cook 1-2 min until bubbly add milk slowly stirring until boils and thickens. Add onion, chilis and 1 T taco seasoning.

Add pasta to the sauce and mix well. Pour half the mixture in the pan and top with cheese and remaining noodles. * Add Taco Meat.

Mix together the topping ingredients and sprinkle over noodles in pan.

Bake 25-30 min or until hot and bubbly and the breadcrumbs are brown.

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Wednesday Sayings - 6/6/12

Each Wednesday, I am going to be sharing a quote/saying with you!I am a collector of quotes/sayings/scrapbook titles, etc. and I love to hear new ones! So, each week, I will share a quote/saying with you that I hope will inspire you and make your day a little better! If you have any great quotes/sayings - feel free to send them in to me at dedesmith32@gmail.com - I would love to use them!

This week's quote:

Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.
-Emerson

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Family History TuesdayZ | Natural Disasters

Here is this week's journal prompt :





Each Tuesday, I am going to be offering prompts or ideas. If you don't write in your journal regularly - I am going to encourage you to write just ONCE A WEEK and answer the question/idea that I give on Tuesdays. These ideas hopefully will spark a memory and you will be able to capture that in what you write/record so that it can be left for your children/grandchildren/family/friends. Give as much detail as you can when answering.

Will you do this for me? Will you do this for your families? You can write it down in a journal, you can type it up on a computer or journaling software, you can take a recorder and talk, you can videotape your answers, you can even scrap a page with the journaling. It doesn't matter how you do this - it's just important that you do it. The memories, the dates, the information is the only real thing we can leave to our families when we are gone.

If I come up with other family history ideas - I will be sure to share it here too - and if you want to share with me your ideas - that would be wonderful and I'd be glad to share them here too. Just comment here or email me at dedesmith32@gmail.com.


Monday, June 4, 2012

New Release Monday/Creative Inspiration | Silly MonkeyZ

I am so excited to re-release SILLY MONKEYZ!
A few years ago, I created a cute monkey kit, an add-on, and a couple of word albums. I have always loved this kit and I have decided it needed to be in the spotlight again! I have also created a new add-on - a ClusterZ StackZ & ScatterZ product! SO ENJOY!


JUNE 2012 - 3Scrapateers Download-a-Day
From June 1-30th, come over to the 3Scrapateers Forum to download a piece every day! You won't want to miss it - if you do miss a few days, you can do some layouts to make it up and still get the download links - check out the DAD Forum for details!  This kit works perfectly with all of the Silly MonkeyZ Collection! If you don't want to wait - the product is available in my stores now.





Also check out the other products in the collection (the word albums are only available in my blogstore)!





You can purchase these products at the following stores:
My Blog
- Silly MonkeyZ, TearZ Add-on, CSS Pack, Boy Word Album, Girl Word Album & BUNDLE

MyMemories
iScrapbook




CREATIVE INSPIRATION
FROM THE TEARZ CREW

by Dannethia

by GreenfieldOriginal


by Holly




Sunday, June 3, 2012

Line Drawn



Beth can get pretty particular about things and she enjoys bossing her brother around. He's pretty good about letting her get her way, although sometimes he has to break free and do his own thing. Both of my kids can go through lots of blank paper, drawing their little hearts out.

One day, as I saw we were getting low on paper, I just tore off a big sheet of my brown butcher paper and let them have at it. It keep them busy for a couple of hours, filling every inch of the thing. But the first thing, that Beth had to do was draw a line down the middle. She had to make sure that things went her way and that the drawings were separate. Silly kids.