Vacations are wonderful..

I am currently in Florida right now and enjoying every minute of it with my family and my in-laws. The weather has been pretty nice so far and the beach and ocean and the view is just spectacular. Isaac - poor little guy- has had some troubles. On the way to Florida when we stopped for gas, we let him out to run around a bit and he took a nose dive to the ground and cut his lip and right under his nose. That is healing nicely, but just Sunday he started getting a rash. I think it's a heat rash, but so far it isn't getting better - but it's not getting worse either. It has been really itchy for him and last night was a horrible night of sleep (or no sleep) for both him and myself. He just kept wiggling around and itching and couldn't get comfortable. We gave him Benadryl this morning and put some anti itch cream on him which seems to be helping. It sure helped him take a nice long nap this morning. I think we've decided to keep him inside for the remainder of the trip - or at least no more long hours on the beach for him. Maybe just a short trip to the pool here and there. I just feel so bad for the little guy.
Well, we are enjoying our stay here - thanks so much to Joe's parents. We always have a great time. Last night we enjoyed a delicious meal of seafood at Landry's Seafood House. Nothing beats good, fresh seafood cooked to perfection! This trip will be over before we know it, but we are enjoying our time here while it lasts.

Free Giveaway

I love looking at other people's crafty blogs and one I especially love is Stardustshoes. She has a yarn and craft bag giveaway on her blog today and I thought I'd pass this along to those who love knitting and would like to look at her other crafty and fun projects on her blog. Enjoy! Click here for her blog.

Cute baby slippers

I just made these slippers the other night. I found a tutorial online that I thought I'd try out. The first one I made didn't turn out exactly right, but after that I figured it out and the next two I made were quite easy. Hope my little nephew enjoys these for his birthday.

Cars: Love 'em or Hate 'em

I've had an interesting day. It all started on my way to bring Isaac to my friend's house. My car started overheating. Funny thing is we were planning on dropping it off at the shop this afternoon to get looked at before we head to FL in a few weeks. So my dear friend, Eryn, threw both her son and Isaac in her car and followed me to the shop to drop the car off. Then delivered me to work. Work was insanely busy since we are getting ready for a seminar this evening at another branch and all the other normal stuff...just extra busy. I went out for lunch with some ladies from work to celebrate a co-workers birthday and then had them drop me off at Eryn's and she would bring Isaac and me home. Little did she know she left her lights on this morning (since she had to take two boys out of her car and she's 17 weeks pregnant...she's amazing!) and her car battery was dead. Since both of our husbands were busy teaching classes she called her dad - he's so awesome. He tried jumping her car with his, but it didn't work. So he nicely brought Isaac & I....well, first to the car shop to get my house keys I had left on the key ring (which I thought I had done and they ended up being in my purse after I all - but I didn't dare tell him for fear of him thinking I'm quite the ditz). He then dropped Isaac & I at home and he returned to work. I don't know what we would do without our car, but I really hate car trouble and dealing with it all. They really should make you take car repair classes in high school so you could fix your own car - I guess that would mean we'd have to have all the right tools then also. Ughhhh!!! Cars can be so frustrating. Thanks to Eryn and her dad Isaac & I were safely brought home and now are stranded until we get the car back. Which is fine because now I'm forced to stay home and not worry about all the errands I need to run, etc. Maybe I'll try to get some scrapbooking done...we'll see.

For those who love chicken...

I've recently posted a few recipes I've made with seafood. I have to admit that we have been craving seafood lately because in 3 weeks we will be leaving for Florida. We can't wait to have some fresh, perfectly cooked seafood...YUM! A friend asked if I had some good chicken or beef recipes. The following recipe is one I quite often make in the summer and it's quite simple, but tastes awesome! These were taken from www.kraftfoods.com. For awhile Kraft would send you their cooking magazine for free, but now you can sign up and receive it only by email. I would suggest signing up for it. The magazine has lots of nice pictures and easy recipes that don't take a lot of time, but taste delicious. Enjoy!

Grilled Chicken Bruschetta
(To view a picture of what it looks like click here)

4 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves (1 lb.)

1/4 cup KRAFT Sun-Dried Tomato Dressing, divided

1 tomato, finely chopped

1/2 cup KRAFT Shredded Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella Cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil or 1 tsp dried basil

PLACE large sheet of heavy-duty foil over half of grill grate; heat grill to medium heat. Meanwhile, place chicken in resealable plastic bag. Add 2 Tbsp. dressing; seal bag. Turn bag over several times to evenly coat chicken with dressing. Refrigerate 10 min. Remove chicken from bag; discard bag and dressing.

GRILL chicken on uncovered side of grill 6 min. Meanwhile, combine remaining dressing, tomatoes, cheese and basil.

TURN chicken over; place, cooked-side up, on foil on grill. Top with tomato mixture. Close lid. Grill 8 min. or until chicken is done (165ºF).

And for a side dish we usually make this recipe to go along with the chicken:

Grilled New Potato Packet

(you can view the picture and recipe here)

1/4 lb. each red and white baby new potatoes (about 2 each)

2 Tbsp. water

2 tsp. oil

3 Tbsp. KRAFT Sun-Dried Tomato Dressing

2 Tbsp. KRAFT Grated Parmesan Cheese

1 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley

HEAT grill to medium heat. Place potatoes in center of large piece of heavy-duty foil. (Or, use a double layer of regular foil.) Drizzle with water and oil. Bring up foil sides. Double fold top and ends to seal packet, leaving room for heat circulation inside.

GRILL 18 to 20 min. or until potatoes are tender.

CUT slits in foil to release steam. Open packet. Drizzle potatoes with dressing; sprinkle with cheese and parsley.

Shrimp Bisque

I love watching the Food Network (although I don't watch it too much, because it makes me hungry all of the time). I happened to watch Paula Deen make this recipe and thought I would try it. It is delicious! I will definitely make it again. Plus it was easy to make and didn't take a lot of time....I like that part also. Since it was so delicious I had to pass this recipe along to others. So if you like shrimp and creamy soup this dish is for you! Enjoy!