Portuguese Rice Pudding!

Go make it RIGHT NOW.........I mean it, I'm not joking, just get up off the computer and go make it right this second. You won't regret it, I promise.

PORTUGUESE RICE PUDDING

I'm so glad it's friday!

Ever have one of those weeks where everything drags and when Friday finally comes around you feel this immense joy????? That's how I'm feeling today....I just want this week OVER.

I hope you're all having a great friday.

I've been so busy here lately, I haven't had much time for the blog or visiting yours either, but I'm hoping to change that. My bloglines keep spitting out totals like 430 unread items and it makes me cringe, there's NO way I can get through all of them and I also don't want to just mark it all read but I may just have to do that and start fresh from tomorrow.

So this past week, we've been running around....we got Jasmine's immunization shots done (she was due for the hep and tetanus), we bought our tickets to South Africa. YES YES YES, it's official we are heading home in may and I can not be any happier, I mean I could try but I would probably explode LOL
But I'll be taking a laptop with me because we're actually going through Amsterdam and I want to take some photos and share them with you....plus everywhere I go in South Africa, you'll get updates and photos too :)

We also got the kids passports taken care of, someone to come and stay at our house and watch the doggies for us and Kruger National Park booked for when we're there.

In between all this we've had the usual work/school craziness routine.

We were able to find really inexpensive tickets and I say that lightly because if you've priced flights overseas for 4 people you will know that it's bound to give you heartburn. But anyway, we had budgeted a certain amount and actually got them for $600 less SO we got the kids a Wii, their birthdays are both in April and they've been wanting one for ever.

Don't be fooled though, this is not a KIDS toy, this is a FAMILY toy and Curt and I are thrilled, we could not have found a better gaming system for us all. The past 4 days we have spent every night together as a family playing tennis, Mario Party and bowling. What really gets me with this gaming console is that it's not one of those lazy sit on the couch and hold the remote in your hand, kinda games. You have to GET up and actually do something.

I've gotten quite the workout playing tennis LOL My arm and neck are killing me today, but whatever.....it's worth it to have all of us having fun and laughing together :)

BUT there's another plus to it......because this game is so physical, there have actually been people who have lost weight LOL I kid you not, I tell you after playing tennis I was sweating up a storm and can feel it in my whole body.

Apparently Mickey DeLorenzo, a 25-year-old living in Philadelphia, began a "Wii Sports Experiment" in early December last year, pledging to spend 30 minutes a day over six weeks playing Wii sports. He also intended to keep his other activities and eating habits constant.

On Monday this week when the six weeks were over DeLorenzo, updated his website, wiinintendo.net, with a detailed analysis of his experiment, which was positive and surprising. Apparently he dropped around lbs (4kgs and around 2% of his starting body weight of 82lbs) and went from being in the 'acceptable' category to being in the 'fitness' category".

Hey, I might as well give it a try, so here's my next purchase........by gosh I'll be dancing with the stars. LOL


But enough of games. I've been collecting lemons. Why are you laughing at me???? *snicker*
My tree has taken to dumping down 2 or 3 at a time every day, so most of them are in the freezer, thank you to the lady who left that idea on my blog. It really does help with the overflow of lemons in this house.......problem is that they get so rock hard, I went to open the freezer last night and one fell on my foot and let out this ear piercing shriek.......which I found out was actually from ME, but nonetheless......OUCH! LOL

So now I need you ladies to send me your best lemony recipes, I don't care WHAT it is....breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack, beverages, whatever....please just send me what you have so I can start using these babies up.....otherwise you'll start finding lemons in your mail boxes. I'll just start shipping these LOL



My neck pain is still here but I think I've figured out that it's not really my neck persay....it's my right shoulder and arm, it feels really tense, it hurts and I can't even lay on it cause it goes kinda numb and tingly. Definitely feels like a pinched nerve.....and what's even worse is that if I move it up and down or back and forth you hear the shoulder blades snapping and popping LOL
Wow, I'm completely falling apart aren't I???? I think by monday if this is still going on, I'll go and see the doctor, or a chiropractor, or a massage therapist, or a looney bin, I don't know whatever.....just someone LOL

I just finished massaging it with some Tiger Balm and boy is it strong, it smells something fierce but the coolness and tingly sensation feels good AND I can turn my neck without it hurting. Thank you to the lady who suggested the Castor Oil, I'm going to get some this weekend, I tried at the BX and the Commissary today and they had none AND no one knew what I was talking about.
One of the ladies at the BX took me to the Motor Oil section and pointed it out.....I nicely told her that she was very sweet but I really wasn't up for rubbing vehicle engine oil all over myself, as sexy as that may sound LOL

Alright ladies, I'm heading out for now, I have a bowling game to attend tonight in my living room and I believe I was also challenged to some Billiards.....better stock up on the snacks, we'll all be up WAY late today.

Here's one of my favorite songs at the moment, it's David Cook's version of Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean". Just AMAZING.......he has now become my favorite.

Slow Cooking Thursday!

All my slow cooking recipes are now online and starting today, I will add all the recipes shared weekly to my online del.icio.us site too. So if you're wanting to find ALL the slow cooked recipes that have been shared since the first SLOW COOKING THURSDAY, here is the link for you.

Don't forget to add your name to Mr Linky and a link back to your SCT post so others can come by and see your recipe too.

Cheesy Italian Tortellini

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 pound ground beef
• 1/2 pound Italian sausage, casings removed
• 1 (16 ounce) jar marinara sauce
• 1 (4.5 ounce) can sliced mushrooms
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can Italian-style diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 (9 ounce) package refrigerated or fresh cheese tortellini
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

DIRECTIONS

1. Crumble the ground beef and Italian sausage into a large skillet. Cook over medium-high heat until browned. Drain.
2. Combine the ground meats, marinara sauce, mushrooms, and tomatoes in a slow cooker. Cover, and cook on LOW heat for 7 to 8 hours.
3. Stir in the tortellini, and sprinkle the mozzarella and cheddar cheese over the top. Cover and cook for 15 more minutes on LOW, or until the tortellini is tender.

Lemon Bars!

I LOVE lemon bars, it's one of those desserts that I could eat constantly, so here's the recipe I use to make mine.

LEMON BARS

What a pain in the neck...........

Well it's been a while, I have been away since last week thursday.....wow.

See life is crazy and life is busy and then there's stuff bugging me and hurting me so I tend to not get a chance to be on the computer.

About 3 weeks ago, I woke up in the middle of the night and pulled a muscle on my neck....now you know I've always had issues with the right side, my shoulder and arm hurt a lot when I try to sleep on it and then once a year I'll be doing good ol' normal stuff, like cleaning or mopping or something and I will pull a certain muscle and not be able to move for a week or so.

Well this time, I pulled the muscle on my right side of the neck and it hurt for a week, then the move came up and it was just Curt and I doing everything so I think I just made it worse and THEN we took the kids to the carnival on base and I went on 3 rides with them. One of the rides was this ship kinda thing that pulls you to the right side and spins you......the whole time this ride is going your neck is strained trying to stay straight.

So now it's been about 3 weeks and I wake up every morning really stiff and sore on the right side of my neck and upper back, it goes away during the day but it does if I try to look over my shoulders.

I think it also doesn't help that our mattress is 10 years old and my pillow is old too, it's pretty much non existant, it's so flat and so uncomfortable that I throw on a smaller pillow and sleep on that. ALL of this together has made it impossible for my poor neck and back to recover....needless to say I haven't been in the greatest of moods and haven't felt like doing much or being on the computer.

I went out and bought one of those therapeutic pillows for the neck and spine and I've slathered on Tiger Balm about an hour ago and it really does seem to be helping.

Please say a little prayer that this neck strain goes away once and for all, I'm literally SICK of it.




My lemon tree is thriving and almost every single day we have another lemon on the ground, I'm quickly filling up my refrigerator with them......so I realized, it's time to put them to good use.

I just finished making some Lemon Bars and I'll have the recipe up on the food blog later.



Jasmine had a sleepover this past friday, the girls have a lot of fun together but boy is there bickering at times. One minute they're all playing well and the next someone is yelling or fighting or crying LOL

But they did have fun putting on a fashion show and playing Scene It.



WHAT I'M DOING:

Put away laundry



WHAT'S FOR DINNER:

Mexican Chicken Soup courtesy of MJPuzzlemom. It smells SO good, I can't wait to try it.



WHAT I'M WATCHING:


American Idol
Dancing with the Stars Results Show
Primetime: What would you do?