the new year

2010

Funny thing... I don't hate the New Years like I have in the past, you think I would being that I am home by myself, well I have a dog a three year old and a 2 month old here, so yes I am still pretty much by myself.
Normally I have anxiety in the days leading up to Christmas, because as soon as it comes it's gone. All the get togethers the good food and various activities and traditions, they are over till next year. I haven't had that this year.
I have been looking forward to the new year. I suppose its because this last year has been ummmm, not fabulous??? I was pregnant for nine months of 2009, and for those of you who know me, my body does not do well when i am growing a babe inside me. I am so grateful that I am able to have children, don't get me wrong, but being pregnant was the pits, just imagine feeling REALLY CAR SICK for three months and then "just" kind of regular car sick for the last 6 months...not fun. But yes, worth my little Enoz.
Giovanni has been WAY busy with work and school and starting his business. I pray that 2010 will give us more time together. I miss him and he isn't even really gone. It could be worse so I am grateful that I have a husband and he is a hard worker, that he has work and that he is starting something that he loves and will (soon) start paying the bills (and then some!). But is it wrong to want to be with him more and not have to say goodnight on the phone every night???
The past year has been filled with good things too, I don't want to sound like a "debbie downer" (you should really click on that link. i promise you WILL laugh!!!) I had a healthy baby boy and a three year old who is healthy as well. So many wonderful people have blessed my life in ways they will never know. I am grateful for friends and family who are thoughful and kind and loving, you are what keep me going and brighten sad days. The Lord really does use us to bless the lives of others, so many of my prayers have been answered by the people around me.
With all that said. I feel excited for the new year, to set new goals and accomplish lots of...stuff (for lack of a better word, but truley, more or less it is just STUFF).
So everyone, goodbye 2009. It has been fun and hard and sad and happy and long and busy and sometimes crazy. Thank you for everything, I have learned a lot and grown even more and now I am ready for another NEW year.

cheers! to a new year!!!

(don't worry about it. it's just a shot glass full of "fick milk". that would be heavy cream.
yes my child is drinking heavy cream from a shot glass. doesn't your child???)

HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE!!!
MUCH LOVE.

hello again

In the last year, more or less, I...

became pregnant and sickly(me trying to make easter fun, while being sick...the ears are a good look don't you think?)

Armani turned 3

I did this to the Jaguar...on Giovanni's birthday...not my fault...still scary though
poor car.
happy birthday?!?

We took our annual trip to Carlsbad
(a week at the beach left him tan and very very tired)

I put new shutters up (with the help of my man slave...aka: husband)

Armani started preschool

I remodeled Armani's room to make room for the babe and the bathroom too
I don't have final photos, sorry. However this is the mess I (and a wild 3 year old) created while in the process of beautifying.

My sweet husband surprised me with grass for the back yard for our anniversary.
You might think that is a funny gift but oh he knows me so well! This was a FANTASTIC surprise for me.

Alpine slides

FINALLY A BABY!!!
(1 day old)
Vincenzo Romeo Niccoli
8 lbs 8 oz
22 in

Halloween
Captain "Jackson" Sparrow
(armani and jane)
armani looks like he thinks he is mister cool guy here

My 26th birthday

More baby Enzo
how is that chin, i mean, those chins! yes, he is well feed, no worries there.don't you just want to kiss those lips??? i know i do.

Christmas
(limited because the battery in the camera died and the charger was at giovanni's shop...boo hoo)

Happy Holidays one and all!
Until next year!
(that way if I post sooner I will feel really good about my self!)

Happy Valentines!

According to the Greeting Card Association, an estimated one billion valentine cards are sent each year, making Valentine's Day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year. (An estimated 2.6 billion cards are sent for Christmas.)

Approximately 85 percent of all valentines are purchased by women.

Interesting.

I made a LOVE-ly breakfast this morning for the LOVES of my life...

(not a picture from breakfast. we don't get ready for breakfast at our house.)
We had over-night french toast, but I cut hearts out of the bread for the top layer! It was pretty cute, I think I am the only one who appreciated it though.

I also made pink whipped cream and of course, BACON, which they both appreciated. Give them BACON and CANDY and they will love you forever! They are two peas in a pod.



So now that I am married and have a child, valentines is really more just about showing my family and those that I love, that I do.
I try to make it special, with little things like HEART overnight french toast and such. But I do plan on hanging the fact over my MAN's head that he is working today, how am I supposed to do nice special things if he is not even here?
Armani and I are going to go to
HAPPY SUMO
&
CONFESSIONS OF A SHOPAHOLIC
Just kidding.
Maybe Geej and I will do that next week. WINK. WINK.
(He doesn't even read this, so I am winking at nobody.)

JBN
(just be nice.)
(a pinegar reunion theme)
and
just LOVE everyone!

I did these myself, on myself. Tricky. Festive, don't you think???

HAPPY VALENTINES!

spell check...

Just so nobody thinks I am really really dumb, in the post below, I said that we are going to bread Gwen. No. We are going to BREED Gwen, not bread her.
Just to clarify.

IN HEAT

Some of you know, we have an English Bulldog, and we are planning to bread her.
Crazy?
Yes. Probably.
At any rate she will be 2 this August and has not gone "into heat", until this morning. Exciting..ISH.
We went to the store, got some depends and what not, hence the "ish" part of exciting. Puppies, yes exciting! Taking care of lots of puppies, "ish". Lots of puppies in my little house, "ish". Armani playing with little puppies, exciting! Me playing with little puppies, exciting! Too bad we have to wait till her next cycle to breed her though.
THIS IS GWEN WEARING DEPENDS AND SOME HOMEMADE...SUSPENDER TYPE THINGS
SHE HAS MORE PERSONALITY THAN A DOG SHOULD BE ALLOWED. SHE WOULD NOT LOOK AT ME. SHE IS MAD THAT I PUT HER IN THIS LITTLE GETUP.STILL NOT LOOKING AT ME. WANTING TO GO OUTSIDE, BUT I WONT LET HER.Once again Geej has a catering event, on a weekend, surprise surprise! Well, he just called to say HI and check to see how Gwen is doing. First of all, he didn't ask how I was handling it and second, he NEVER calls to see how I am doing when it's my TIME OF THE MONTH. He said "poor thing". I never get any sort of sympathy, and I am pretty sure it is a little more tough on a human than a dog, plus that lovely time comes EVERY month, for a dog it is only twice a year!
I just needed to get that out.
I feel better now.
Thanks for listening.
I'm really not mad, I just found it interesting that the dog is getting my sympathy that I do.
I will remember this in the future...
I am done now.

Sugar Cookies

Giovanni had a catering event so Armani and I made some delicious sugar cookies, a Valentines staple.

During the course of the evening I was called, Big Mama, Big Mama Chef, Big Mama Santa Clause, and Big Mama Cleaner. My little Handsome never ceases to crack me up, even if it is at my expense.

I said something about not droping a single one (sprinkles) on the floor and he got all excited and said, "SingleLadies?". There is no space for a purpose, he says it as though it is one word. Let me explain, a while ago we watched "All My Single Ladies" music video, which Beyonce sings, needless to say he LOVES it. You can watch it HERE.
Am I a horrible mother? I suppose there are a whole lot worse things I could be letting my child watch. His eyebrows pop up and his head cocks to one side when he hears it come on. The kid LOVES music and dancing, he is our little entertainer. I just want to squeeze him (and I do), he is so deliciously cute!

Whipped Cream

So I was sitting peacefully on the couch one evening when my dear husband, sat down to chat with me. He, knowing that I am extremely ticklish, kept digging his elbow into my thigh, acting like he had no idea what could be the problem. I kept telling him to stop, anyway I tried to bump his water that he was taking a drink of, mind you it didn't do ANYTHING. Then he took a big gulp and stood up and leaned behind me and spit it down my neck!
WAR.
He ran into the kitchen and I followed, not sure what I was going to do to get him back.
Oh, what is that on the counter? A bottle of Whipped Cream?
Perfect.
I went after him spraying with all my might.
Somehow I got the worst of it. It's only cause his arms are longer though. I had a big mess to clean up but we did get a really good laugh from it all! My plans to get back always seem to backfire.

I didn't make it.

Truth be told, I didn't not complete my little challenge of NOT going to the store for a week. I suppose I could have done it but we did run out of MILK and who can really go to the store and ONLY get MILK? Not me. I did make these though...

The Pioneer Woman is AMAZING. I love her. I don't really know her, but I know that she loves food and so far I have LOVED everything I have tried.
These little ditties in the picture are French Breakfast Puffs
They are TO - DIE - FOR, really, they could probably cause an instant hear attack from all the butter... They were worth every single calorie and fat gram, I have no idea how much there is exactly but even if I knew I would still make these and eat them again!
I also made these
Onion Strings.
I may need to go get my cholesterol checked.
They were very tasty.
Oh and another delicious item....
LITTLE CAKES
These are my sister Breanna's little German Chocolate cakes she made.
Are they not SOOOOOOO cute?!?!
I ended up making them on Sunday. My cake was a little thicker it seems so I only did two smaller circles. They were so delicious. And cute! Remember my new motto?
"you are what you eat, so eat something cute!"
I should feel sick about all this food I ate over the last week.
I don't.
I feel happy that I ate lots of good stuff!

Deliciousness

My dinner last night was DELICIOUS!!! I did not take any photos, I was pretty hungry and just thinking about eating, plus Geej got home later than what I thought so we watched American Idol while we ate, plus I think a picture would only have made it look not-so-good, you know??? (at least my food photos)

the menu

Homemade BBQ Sauce
(Pan) Grilled Chicken
"Crash Hot Potatoes"
and salad with ranch

It made me feel a little like it was summer. Oh how I wish it was summer...
Doesn't it seem like the days are getting slightly longer? Maybe the sun has just changed positions, because in the afternoon the sunshine is coming through my blinds in my dining room and it makes that room all nice and warm - temperature and color.
ANYWAY.

You will want to add these recipes to you collection. I promise.

BBQ Sauce

• 2 cups ketchup
• 2 cups tomato sauce
• 1 1/4 cups brown sugar
• 1 1/4 cups red wine vinegar
• 1/2 cup unsulfured molasses
• 4 teaspoons hickory-flavored liquid smoke
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon celery seed
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large saucepan over medium heat, mix together the ketchup, tomato sauce, brown sugar, wine vinegar, molasses, liquid smoke and butter. Season with garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, paprika, celery seed, cinnamon, cayenne, salt and pepper.
2. Reduce heat to low, and simmer for up to 20 minutes. For thicker sauce, simmer longer, and for thinner, less time is needed. Sauce can also be thinned using a bit of water if necessary. Brush sauce onto any kind of meat during the last 10 minutes of cooking.

The sauce keeps for quite a while, so make all of it and just keep using it. It is so good!
When Armani woke up from his nap yesterday he laid his head on my shoulder and said "mmm that smells good" and I said, "do I smell good?" and he said "no. that dinner smells good." I was letting the BBQ sauce simmer while he was sleeping, so the whole house smelled like it!

Now, the "Crash Hot Potatoes" are originally from The Pioneer Woman's blog, but I saw them on Vegan Yum Yum. I thought if two "FOOD PEOPLE" are blogging about them. They have to be tasty. So here is a new way to do potatoes, just click on the link for the directions!


I absolutely LOVE food. I love to cook and try new things. I love to read blogs about food. You get the idea. So don't be surprised if I post more about food in the future. If I try something tasty, I feel the need to share. BTW, if you like food too, take a gander at some of the sites I listed under FOOD, over to the right. They have some DELECTABLE photos and recipes, even if you don't try them, they are just nice to look at and wish you were eating it!

I'm Out.

I really hate when I run out of things. I'm sure its just because I am out, but it seems that I need whatever it is, twice as bad, when I am out of it.
On top of being out of plastic wrap, I am out of eggs, and a few other items that are not quite as high on my list of STAPLES, I had decided to NOT go to the store this week, UNLESS we run out of milk. PERIOD. Make it do or do with out...does that fit here?
(I am thinking too much about that phrase now and it sounds all wrong.)
Anyway, I have tons of stuff in my freezer and cupboards that I just don't use, but I could use. I always have leftovers, that are never used as leftovers, the poor things. I do not what to be a waster. I want to have more room in my house for the things that I use and need. (my house is small and storage is, what would you say...nonexistent, yes that is it, nonexistent.) I am not going to throw away my boxes of rice-a-roni, I am just going to use them up and then not buy them again, because I don't tend to reach for those when I go to make dinner.
This is not going to be easy. At this point last week I had already been to the store twice! I am sick of going to the store! From this week forward I will use more what I have and plan more so I don't have to go to the store EVERYDAY.
I feel good that I got that out!
Sorry for the not so interesting post, but I don't think I have anyone who reads this anymore, anyway.
None the less, I will let you know how it goes.

No, our home was not broken into.
I was enjoying the peace and quite in the kitchen,
cleaning up dinner with my sweet husband.
HMMMM.....
it has been REALLY quiet for a while, meaning Armani hasn't come in screaming for one reason or another, he hasn't asked us to come play with him, etc...
the Husband went to check on him and found that the "little RAT", and I mean that with all the love in my heart, had DESTROYED every corner of his room.
Lovely.
Just lovely.


p.s. notice his outfit? he will not wear anything else. If I can somehow bribe him to wear other clothes when we leave the house, you will find these clothes underneath. Not to mention they are from last summer so they are a bit too small. Oh, the joys of a two year old! I do love however that he has an opinion, even if it is not mine...

you MUST try this place!!!

So I just went to this place today. Today is their grand opening.

The Sweet Tooth Fairy Bakery,
Click HERE to go to their site.
The shop is darling.
The Cake Bites are delicious.
The Cupcakes are CUTE & TASTY.
Plus they have others cute little item for sale, like aprons and cupcake bath fizzers!
The whole experience was very YUMMY!
Above the door it says
"You are what you Eat so Eat something CUTE"
I think that is my new motto!!!

How cute is this???

So my friend Bekah makes these and sells them on her ETSY shop. If you are like me, you take your camera with you in your purse. If you are like me, there may be some crumbs from something either you or your child ate at one point and the remainder was stored in...your purse. If you are like me you like cute things, I feel cute when I pull out my camera (because I have one of these cases!!!) I think I need this one though, it's pink, why wouldn't I want it! And if nothing else for $13 bucks you can protect your camera or ipod or phone from all the ailments of a purse.

Anyway. Bekah I hope you don't mind that I posted about you on my blog.
I just think these are SUPER cute! And VERY VERY functional!