Busy, busy

Been swamped! Have been working some local concerts....James Taylor, Chris Isaak, Lyle Lovett, etc and will be working Seahawk games. Those will be fun! Pretty wiped out because I am used to going to bed at 9PM and have not been getting home until 11PM or later. Starting to take a toll. Will be volunteering in the beer garden at the Seafair Hydroplane races the first weekend in August. That will be a blast!!!

Starting to do some promos for the spa buckets (as opposed to baskets) that my friend, Shari, and I make. They are really cool and SO much cheaper than others we have seen. This is one of the Blackberry buckets with salts, bubble bath, bath bomb and a scrubber. This particular bucket is only $25! That's at least 1/2 the price most we have seen.

We have a great variety of buckets and flavors. Let me know if you would like a brochure.

Made the most awesome salmon with pineapple salsa the other day. Will be posting the recipe soon. Sure wish I had taken a picture of it, it was SO pretty!!

Whoo hoo, it's Sunday!

I know that title seems odd but, it means that tomorrow Rick will be back at work and all of the time I spent on the computer will not look like I am just playing. Sheez, the majority of my puter time is spent working. Though I do adore Pogo!! HAHAHA! Seriously though, I am working very hard online to make money, create a website for my spa products, researching laptops for Nick, soccer info for Mario, writing more ads for my affiliate program (please someone click on my links....maybe I should post those here....duh!) and, of course, loads of new recipes for the next month.

Speaking of recipes, on Comcast news this morning there was a deal about a lady from the east coast who started entering cooking contests just for fun. She has won a TON!! So of course, I needed to start looking for cooking contests and then start creating recipes. I put together several this morning. After I test them on the family, I will post them. No, wait. I will post them AFTER they have been entered and accepted into contests. Don't want anyone taking them s they can win. HAHAHA!

Happy Saturday!

Hope all had an awesome 4th!! It was also our 6th wedding anniversary. :) Not sure if it is old age or just common sense but, I just stay home and avoid the traffic and crowds. Haven't seen a great fireworks show in years.

I have some new projects in the works. Click here to check them out. http://www.usfreeads.com/1308588-cls.html I have links at the end of each of my little postings that take you to some pretty cool other sites. Would appreciate you checking them out!

July is a busy month around here. Our anniversary yesterday, Rick's birthday today, Nick's on Tuesday the 8th, my Mom's birthday the 14th. I should have gotten married in April or August when there is not so much going on.. LOL!

Thought I would share a couple of the recipes I used for the teen party. They were both well received and gone at the end of the day.

PUNCH

PREP TIME
5 Min
READY IN
5 Min
SERVINGS & SCALING
Original recipe yield: 5 quarts

INGREDIENTS
32 fluid ounces cranberry juice
32 fluid ounces lemonade
32 fluid ounces orange juice
32 fluid ounces pineapple juice
32 fluid ounces ginger ale
DIRECTIONS
Chill all of the juices and ginger ale. Combine them in a large punch bowl when ready to serve.

I ended up making 2 batches of punch that each were supposed to serve 50 people. It was 85* at least so glad I had them.

PESTO TORTE

I have had this a couple of times at fancy parties, loved it and finally got around to making it myself. I use a mini cheesecake pan (no Saran Wrap) and freeze at least 15 minutes between each layer. I cut the recipe in 1/2 for the party. It is really impressive looking when served! With my small cheesecake pan, I used much less than what this recipe calls for. Just use logic when preparing each layer. You cannot go wrong with this at all. It is SO easy!

2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup butter, softened
1 (6 ounce) jar sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, drained and chopped
1 (1 pint) container refrigerated pesto sauce
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
French bread


Directions
Beat cream cheese and butter until well blended.
Mix pesto and parmesan cheese in small bowl.
Line two 8 oz.
custard cups (or loaf pan) with plastic wrap.
Divide cream cheese mixture into four parts (2 for a loaf) Spoon 1/4 of cream cheese mixture into each custard cup.
Sprinkle each with 1/4 of the tomatoes.
Spread 1/4 of the pesto mixture over tomatoes.
Repeatlayers.
Fold plastic wrap over each torte, sealing well.
Chill overnight until firm.
Unmold, remove plastic wrap.
Serve with crusty French bread slices.
Garnish with chives, parsley, or"whatever" for color.

ENJOY!

Teen parties

One of these days, I will get used to adding to my blog every day. I love it when people say they would be so bored to be a stay at home Mom. Say what??!!!

My oldest, Nick, graduated on Friday, June 13th from Nathan Hale high school in Seattle. Yep, Friday the 13th! Told him he will never forget the date of his graduation. Mario, my youngest, will graduate in 2 years and it most likely will be on his birthday, June 11th. Poor kid. His birthday got pushed around so much this year because of senior awards night, a huge program Mario's class put on another night, graduation night and too much more. Nick will be starting college at UW Tacoma come September. Very proud of that young man.

I was up for 46 straight hours the day of graduation. I was the number one fundraiser for the class all night party and had agreed to work the party. (I would be happy to help anyone who is raising money for their school!!) It was a blast!! We kept 165 kids from drinking and driving on their big night. It was the largest turnout ever for the all night party. We did good!!! Mario has told me I need to make his party even better. I am the procurement chairman for the class of 2010 and know I will do a great job.

Last Friday, I hosted a party for about 15+ teens to celebrate the graduation. Warning!!! It would probably be cheaper and easier to just take them all to a restaurant!! Silly thing cost me $300 and 2 days of cooking, cleaning and weeding. It was scheduled to go from 1-7PM. However, it actually started at noon and the last of the group did not leave until midnight. They all had so much fun!! I love all of these young people so I had a great time, too.

Completed a big landscape project while getting ready for the party. And worked for about 25 hours in my own yard. It is not done but, looking a lot better.Now that I have recovered, I am ready for another project. Need to have another plant sale, too. Trying to get rid of what I have left.

After winter lasting until last week, we hit 100* on Friday. Wow!! A tad cooler Saturday and Sunday. Only 75* today. Easier to work outside.

Hope everyone has an amazing week!!

Happy Saturday!
Mario is off to Bellingham, WA (about 2 hours north of here) for the LPTs। LPT= League Placement Tournament। It is a big deal for Select soccer teams। It basically ranks your team। The higher your ranking, the more likely college scouts will come to see you play. That, hopefully leads to college scholarships.

The team's name is Ajax (pronounce Eye-ax) named after Holland's national team। This is Mario's 2nd year with the team.

We won 3 games last weekend in Bellingham and lost a heartbreaker. We played a team 2 ranks above us, had WAY more shots on goal but it went into double overtime. Then to PK's (penalty kicks). We lost by 1 after more than 2 hours. We were SO proud of all the boys!


OK, enough of that....let's talk gardening tips!

I never buy insecticides or pesticides! It is amazing and wonderful what you can make with stuff in your cupboards. Things that are not toxic to your family or the environment.

Here are some recipes I use:


Aphids: smash 3 cloves of garlic. Add to 2 cups of boiling water. Add red pepper flakes to the water. (Save those packets of pepper flakes you get with your delivered pizzas!). Remove from heat and steep overnight. The next morning, strain the mix into spray bottles.

****Important to remember is that you MUST spray aphids at least 3 days in a row or it won't do any good. As I have said before, aphids are born pregnant. Be glad you are not an aphid. :)

Blackspot and rust: 1 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1 T canola oil, 1/2 tsp liquid dish soap, 1/2 cup white vinegar, 1 gallon water. Mix all together and pour into spray bottle. Shake well before each use and spray top and undersides of leaves. Works on roses and hollyhocks. Be sure to remove and throw away (not in your compost bin!) all diseased leaves.

Rose tonic: This is great for powdery mildew and black spot. Stays on the leaves for a few months. 2 tsp baking soda, 2 quarts water, 1/2 tsp liquid soap or Murphy's Oil Soap. Mix well and add to spray bottle. The soap increases the moisture on the leaves so no spores can germinate.

I know everyone is bustin' their tails to get all of the weeding done. Would be nice to have some warm sunny days to make that job easier and maybe a little more enjoyable. So I am wishing you sunshine, weeds that just jump out of your gardens and an amzing weekend!

Back again...finally

Wow! The days just fly by! I have been swamped with fundraising for the senior class graduation party. What a huge success! I am now known as the "procurement queen" at Nathan Hale high school. 5 moms have been working on this for 2 years and we are being told that this will be the best Spree (the name of the party) ever! More students will attend and we have so many extra goodies for the kids that no other class has had. I am now the procurement chair for the class of 2010. Whatever will I do when Mario graduates and I have no more kids in school? Maybe start a bon bon addiction?

I love teens and would be so happy to help anyone who is working to fundraise for their school.

My oldest, Nick, will graduate next Friday, the 13th. Told him he will never forget that day. I attended the senior breakfast yestrday at Salty's at Alki in West Seattle. What a wonderful event! About 30 kids won awards. Nick won "most changed since 9th grade". Boy has he! The winners all got fun gold crowns. There was a fun video that had been produced at school interviewing basically all of the students and they all received their yearbooks. Great job Hale on the books...they are awesome!

Mario, my youngest who will be 16 next week, is in Bellingham for the 2nd week in a row for a Select soccer tournament. I had a blast last week but, am staying home this weekend because I am so far behind on my plant sales. The weather has been no help at all. Fingers crossed for sunshine tomorrow for the soccer games and the plant sales.

I have started posting on www.usfreeads.com also. So far, just a recipe for the most amazing lasagna. I will have links to other companies as an affiliate to help make some extra pennies.

Wishing everyone the most awesome weekend!

Good morning!

This is my first time posting on a blog. Never set one up before either. I just love talking about gardening, cooking, crafts, good books.I guess first is to let you know a little about me. I am 52 years old, married, Mom of 2 awesome teenage boys and live in Shoreline, WA....just north of Seattle. Seattle is pretty much zone 8 but, I am in what is known as a "convergence zone". So we are hotter in the summer and colder in the winter. We might have 5-7" of snow and Seattle will have nothing. We are just 10 miles north of the city. Anyway, we are more of a zone 7 here.

I also own a very small nursery and a line of great spa (bath) products that I make with my dear friend, Shari. The nursery and the spa products all go by the name Little Creek. Little Creek runs through my backyard and through the greenbelt that adjoins our property.Just so I can get cooking going here, too, let me say I like to plan my menus about 2 weeks in advance. It cuts down on trips to the grocery store and, on busy days/evenings, all I have to do is look at my list and I know right away what will be on the table. I can spend hours at www.recipezaar.com and www.allrecipes.com. I love those sites because recipes are rated by users and you can start your own cookbook to include the recipes you have found that you like or want to try.Had to switch the meal plan in a hurry yesterday. All of a sudden i had 2 extra teenage boys here. Since cabbage rolls are not high on their list of favorites, I changed dinner to a great taco bake and homemade refried beans. They all loved it. Whew!

What I am hoping is to have a fun place where we can share our ideas, successes, goofs (I don't really see them as failures if we learn something from them), great "different" ways to improve our gardens, control pests, neat tricks. Same applies to cooking, crafts and whatever sounds interesting to you that would tie in with all of this.Do not want to talk about politics (aren't you tired of it all already?), nothing that doesn't have anything to do with the list in the first sentence. There are plenty of other places where we can rant or rave about all of those other issues. The goal here is the have fun and share great ideas!

How did I come up with this name? Like I said, I have a small nursery. The sales run typically from the end of April through September. The hubby wants the sales to not last as long this year so I can redo our front yard. Dang! The Mother's Day sale is big. I will have around 75 hanging baskets, up to 3000 gallon pots, a variety of herbs and veggies in 4" pots and a bunch of fun funky old containers all planted with great annuals and the occasional perennial or evergreen. I collect the old containers during the year and can basically plant in anything that will hold soil. My favorites have been watering cans (of course!), milk cans, cool old rusty wheelbarrows and big funnels. Oh, and I grow all of the plants myself....except for the basket/container stuffers. Flats take up a lot of space in the greenhouse and they are not all that expensive to buy.

I love to share my recipe for getting rid of aphids. Oh, the ladybugs are great but, sometimes not quite enough. Smash a couple of cloves of garlic and throw into a pot of boiling water. Add one of those packets of red pepper flakes you get when you order a pizza. Can buy that stuff bulk at your grocery store, too. Remove from the heat and steep overnight. The next day, strain your concoction into a spray bottle and you are good to go. Now go spray those aphids!! BUT! You have to spray them at least 3 days in a row since aphids are BORN pregnant. Be glad you are not an aphid!So this gets us started.

My nickname is Yadda (and Terri-yacky....hence I got Terriyaki) for a reason and I probably could have just chatted up a storm here all by myself but, want others to be able to get a word in, too. Have fun and welcome to my world!!!!