Today has been....

.... I don't know.... what can I say.... I haven't talked to Jason at all today, he was going to an Air show there in Northern Cali. today. And boy do I miss him today!!! My day always seems brighter while talking to him... I wish I could have spoken to him for a little bit today.... oh well.

I talked to my girls last night, well at least three of them... They certainly do like the Harry Potter Movies.... Always watching one when I call. They are apparently doing good and having fun a summer camp and swimming.

Yesterday went and donated plasma. Had a student that ended up sticking me but I could tell she infiltrated my vein. Another phlebotomy tech took her place and couldn't get it, so finally the actual phlebotomist came and got a flow so I could donate. Then she went on lunch. Meanwhile I was able to go thru two cycles of donating and then I had a low flow and ended up with another tech to adjust it. Well by the 3rd time the blood was supposed to return there was absolutely no flow. I know I had a huge clot due to all the maneuvering of the needle to get the vein. Well he pulled out the needle and tried to look for a vein on my other arm to return the blood, but he couldn't find one. So by now 4 people have worked on my one arm for donating and I was about to have another come to try to find a vein on the other.... let me tell you by this time I was getting annoyed. When the last person stuck me and couldn't find a vein, which was very painful, I just wanted it over with. Well it finally was over with and I ended up sitting there for 15 minutes and now I ended up deferred for 56 days. That was the most upsetting part for me since it is the only way I'm able to pay for gas. Plus I don't start work (Independent Contractor for demo's in Fry's Stores) until the 27th of August and that is only on weekends.... a month of NO Income!!!

 What am I to do??

Today, I saw that AmeriCopy is hiring full time so I think I will turn in an application first thing Monday. I pray that I can get it.... it will be the 2nd or 3rd time I've turned in an application with them. Plus it will help me out so much to save to move to Cali. and marry Jason.

Keeping fingers crossed that I can get something and very soon!!!

Well I did help my grandparents out a bit today with making some little booklets of family history from my grandfather's siblings. HAHA!! Staples are so much trouble!!! I think we end up using one whole row of staples to bind the books and the books weren't thick at all... But nonetheless they are done and ready for the family reunion next weekend. The journals I made for the auction are done and I still need to finish the lap quilt for it as well. I might end up helping my grandma with her's if she gets to swamped with the other sewing and mending projects she has at the moment. I won't be going up to the reunion because we don't have a dog sitter for Daisy so I'll be watching her.

Caramel French Toast

I got this recipe from the Storyteller's Cafe in Disney's Grand Californian Hotel and Spa.


Vanilla Sauce:
4 egg yolks
4 Tbs sugar
1 Vanilla bean split & scraped
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Whisk together the yolks and sugar in a small bowl. In a saucepan, bring the milk and vanilla bean & extract to a low boil, then remove from heat. Add a little heated milk to the egg mixture to temper it, then add the tempered egg mixture to the heated milk. Simmer over medium heat for a few minutes, stirring constantly, until lightly thickened, but do not boil. Transfer to a bowl and set aside in an ice bath.

Caramel Sauce:
8 Tbs butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cup heavy cream

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add brown sugar and mix well. Add cream and bring to a simmer. Keep warm until needed

French Toast:
1/2 cup milk
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp cinnamon
8 slices of texas style bread

Mix first four ingredients. Dip bread in egg mixture and cook on griddle. This step can be replaced with your favorite french toast recipe.

This is how you assemble this delicious breakfast. Place one slice of french toast on your plate top with vanilla sauce, top with second piece of french toast. And for the creme de la creme, smother with the caramel sauce. Continue with remaining pieces of french toast.

This is wonderful to serve with strawberries to dip in the sauce left on your plate.

Carmel Chocolate chip cookies

 

Ingredients:

4 Large eggs

2 tsp salt

2tsp baking soda

1 pound light brown sugar

2 cups sugar

1 cup shortening

4 cups flour

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 bag of chocolate chips

1 bag of carmel bits

Preheat oven at 350 degrees.

Combine everything but the flour, chocolate, and carmel in a large mixing bowl. Mix until shortening is completely cut it. Add flour and fold in with spatula. Then add in the chocolate chips and carmel bits.

Spoon cookie dough on cookie sheets and bake for 10 to 13 mins or until golden brown edges. Let them cool to the touch and serve with vanilla ice cream or glass of milk.

This dough makes a lot of cookies... atleast three dozen. I can usually get about 60 cookies out of it.

Cheese Buger Pizza

Hamburger
Shredded Cheddar Cheese
Pizza crust dough
mustard
ketchup
lettuce, chopped
tomato, diced
onion, diced


Pre heat oven according to directions on dough package. Brown the ground beef, drain. Top the crust with the hamburger and cheese, cook until dough is cooked and cheese is melted. Then top with lettuce, tomato, onion. Drizzle ketchup and mustard on top. Slice and enjoy!!

You can also add cooked crumbled bacon on top.

Saucy Apricot-Glazed Chicken

This is a slow-cooker rendition of the ever-popular chicken glazed with a mixture of apricot preserves, Russian dressing and dry onion soup mix that's usually baked in the oven. Serve over wild rice or white rice; or try basmati or jasmine rice, cooked on top of the stove.

RECIPE INGREDIENTS:
1 cup good-quality chunky apricot preserves
3/4 cup bottled Russian dressing
1 1.15-oz. envelope dry onion soup mix
12 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, trimmed of fat (about 3 1/2 to 4 lbs.)

1. In a medium bowl, mix together apricot preserves, dressing and dry onion soup mix until well blended. Arrange three of the chicken breast halves in the bottom of a 3 1/2-quart electric slow cooker. Spoon a fourth of the apricot mixture on top. Add three or more layers of chicken with the apricot mixture in between and on top. 2. Cover and cook on the High heat setting for 1 hour. Reduce the heat setting to Low and continue cooking, covered, 2 1/2 to 3 hours, or until the chicken is tender and white throughout; do not overcook or the chicken will toughen. Serve the sauce over the chicken. Makes 8 to 10 servings.

Apricot Lemon Chicken

With a hint of both sweet and sour, this zesty, slow-cooker dish is a favorite with kids, especially when served with fluffy white rice and peas.

RECIPE INGREDIENTS:
2 pounds of boneless breast of chicken
1 lemon, quartered
1 teaspoon Kosher salt (or a 1/2 teaspoon of regular salt)
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1/4 cup coarsely chopped dried apricots
1/4 cup orange juice
1 teaspoon thyme (or 3-4 four sprigs fresh thyme, if available)

1. Pull chicken breasts apart and place them in the bottom of a 4 1/2 quart (or similar) slow cooker. Squeeze the quartered lemons over the chicken meat, and drop the squeezed lemon quarters in the pot. Pour orange juice over the chicken.
2. Add the remaining ingredients and stir until well mixed. Cook on high for 4 hours.
3. Serves 6.

Short cut Chicken Manicotti

Prep Time:10 min
Total Time:1 hr
Makes:4 servings, three stuffed manicotti each

1 can (10-3/4 oz.) condensed cream of chicken soup
1-1/2 cups water
1/4 lb. (4 oz.) VELVEETA Pasteurized Prepared Cheese Product, cut up
2 cups frozen broccoli florets
12 manicotti pasta, uncooked
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch strips
1/4 cup KRAFT 100% Grated Parmesan Cheese

PREHEAT oven to 400ºF. Mix soup, water and VELVEETA in microwaveable bowl. Microwave on HIGH 3 min. or until VELVEETA is melted and mixture is well blended, stirring after 2 min. Pour one-third of the soup mixture onto bottom of 13x9-inch baking dish; set aside. Add broccoli to remaining soup mixture.
STUFF pasta with chicken strips; place in baking dish. Cover completely with remaining soup mixture. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Cover with foil.
BAKE 45 to 50 min. or until pasta is tender and chicken is cooked through.

**Note: I found it pretty bland and ended up adding sauteed onions. The soup mixture doesn't quite cover all of the manicotti so I doubled it.**

Remembering....

....why I love Jason so much.

ME : would you please tell me something that makes you attracted to me?

HIM : the way you make me feel like i am important and not someone on the back burner

 i also think that you are very beautiful

ME : ty honey i needed that

HIM : how about you what about me attracted you to me

ME : honey you look past all my faults and accepted me as who i am.... you know my past and know that i'm not perfect but love me anyways..... you make me feel important to you and will do anything to make me happy...  i know you are the only one i have ever felt comfortable with meeting and talking about anything with... i knew that someday i would be with you because of how comfortable it is to talk with you and at the reception i was very comfortable being around you 

you are very handsome to me also

HIM : as was i with you

ME : i have never been that comfortable around anyone, not even my ex, until the day we met... it felt natural

HIM : very much natural

ME : ty honey this is helping me feel much better

HIM : so are you doing better

ME : yes much

Re-reading things like this from our chat conversations always helps me. I don't know why it does. Well, maybe I do know... I guess sometimes I need to remember why I love him so much. It all comes down from not knowning in my first marriage if my husband loved me or not. I'm sure he did at one point but somewhere in everything it was lost. I would ask him and always got generic answers like "you are beautiful" or "I don't know why". Mostly the latter one. With Jason it's never "I don't know why".  The way I feel about him is the same way he feels about me.

Busy??? Maybe...

I wish I could truly say I'm busy with work and such, but it wouldn't be truthful. I have been busy looking for work but have kept coming up short. Donating plasma twice a week is my way of getting out of the house. It's also the only way I'm making any money (gotta save to move to CA).

 Talking to my girls on the phone for about 15 minutes is the highlight of most of my Friday nights. Sad, huh?

My current craft projects, yes I do mean plural projects, are a dress, 2 to 4 different quilts. One quilt is for me and Jason once we are married and the other's are for a family reunion that is coming up in August. The dress is one I'm making to wear at the Temple. However the progress on the dress came to a halt when my grandmother told me about the family reunion and needing something for the auction. Same with the quilt I'm making for Jason and me. Gotta love ADHD with mulitple things getting done. NEVER boring!!

So most of the time quilting is all I'm doing even when I'm talking to Jason on Skype. Granted he does usually get called to get something for his mom or take the dogs out for a potty break. I love how he is caring for others. Gotta love it!

Updates

I realized I haven't update on here for 5 months and I need to change that. I have been doing good. Currently I'm engaged to a wonderful guy, Jason. Hopefully before Christmas, we will be married and I'll be in CA. Also I hope that the Temple Cancellation will be here before then, too.
Jason and I met thru a mutual friend at the time (neither one of us are no longer friends with her) at my sister's wedding back in March. We hit it off right away, but unfortunately he was with someone and we could only be friends. That relationship he was in wasn't a healthy one and he did eventually break up with her, after much, much prayer. From then on it has been non-stop getting to know each other's personalities. Jason likes to do conventions like Star Trek and dress up as a Klingon, yeah a total trekkie... but I love him anyways. ;) He is totally into family history and believes families are very important. That was good to know, especially when I told him about my past. He didn't push me aside and say that I wasn't what he was looking for. He embraced who I am and that I have faults and is not perfect. He loves me anyways (my ex always thought I had to look like what I did before we were married after have 4 kids).
Jason is a kind and very giving person. That is part of why I love him. In some ways he reminds me of my dad (kind and giving), but don't tell him that he might take it the wrong way. :) We are on Skype everynight talking and dreaming, since it's our current way to date right now.

My girls are doing great and enjoying their summer vacation. The older 3 are taking swimming lessons and loving it. The older two have dived into reading books this summer. Veronica has started to read the Harry Potter books and just finished the second one, she's a quick reader just like me. Angelina seems to be have a little difficulty but she loves the book she reading, don't know the name because everytime I ask she says it so quietly. Mira and Kadee (Kristina) are just having fun. I can't believe that they are already 5 and 3. I miss them so much.

I don't know how Aaron is doing but then again I don't really care all that much. I do hope he is good but don't care for him asking me for a background check on Jason. I never asked for a background check on his former fiancee`, so why does he feel the need with mine? Oh well, to each his own.

That is pretty much all I have to update with and hope everyone is good in their neck of the woods.