Hello??? Where is Michelle you ask!!! Certainly not stamping you must be thinking…well you are indeed correct!!!

I have been busy with kid stuff, home stuff, you know life get’s in the way sometimes of what really matters to us!!!!

Let’s see: Last weekend we planned a trip to West Edmonton Mall, we would spend 2 nights in the Fantasyland Hotel, go to the Waterpark all day, do so skating, shopping & spend time as a family, well I got us all ready, hubby left early on Friday from work & off we went, we arrived at the hotel about 4PM, checked in, walked around the mall for a bit, played a round of Putt ‘n’ Glow mini golf where my kid’s fought & cried the whole time, after that we were looking for something for dinner & my son was whining the whole time that he wanted to go back to the room, we got back to the room where they proceeded to fight & whine so we put our foot down & said “that’s it, we are leaving, so I packed up (while listening to the kid’s crying the whole time saying “just one more chance Mommy” – NO! I mean how many chances do they think they deserve?) while my hubby checked us out & we were back on the road heading home by 7PM, the car ride home was horrible listening to my daughter freak out saying that she would be good, well I had enough & for once I followed thru with my decision. It was hard, but, it felt good, I was happy with what I had done. I really don’t think my kid’s take me seriously sometimes – sometimes I can be sooo weak as a parent.

Starting last Sunday we decided that we were going to plan our dinners for the week, so I got up early Sunday AM & printed out a “What’s for Dinner this Week” planner, can’t find the link now! & than I went to Kraft Canada’s website to find some new, yummy recipes, I use this website ALOT! I planned 4 of the dinners & than I asked the kid’s & hubby what they wanted, I than wrote everything down on the planner including side dishes & desserts if any, on the days that I wasn’t home in the evening, or we would be home later or I was busy during the day I would highlight that day so that I knew I had to have a dinner that was fast & easy to make or something I could throw in the crockpot first thing in the AM before I started my day. I really liked being able to look on the fridge & see what’s for dinner & what I had to do to prepare for each evening’s meal, it kept me on track & we tried out new recipes, it wasn’t boring which is what it had become since well before Christmas (when I became lazy thinking up dinner meals!).

This is what we had for dinner during the first week.

Monday – Capellini Caprese - my daughter loves Capellini Pasta so she picked this recipe, it was good but, I would use peppers next time instead of tomatoes, I’m not a big fan of cooked tomatoes & my hubby actually hates tomatoes so he picked them out & I would use a different Signature dressing & parmesan cheese instead of mozerella, but, it was still good! For dessert we had fat free Vanilla Pudding, Kiwi & Blackberries.

Tuesday – BBQ Beef Soft Taco’s - everybody loved these, they were yummy, I used Ground Chicken instead of beef though (not a huge fan of hamburger). If my daughter devours dinner than I definately know it’s a keeper!

Wednesday – Slow-Cooker Orange Chicken - Hubby prepared this Tuesday night & thru it in a big bowl & we stuck it in the fridge because I had to volunteer first thing Wednesday AM in my son’s class, all I had to do was dump everything into the slow cooker when I got home, it was good, very tasty but, I overcooked the chicken a bit (what else is new!!!). I served it with steamed rice & green beans.

Thursday – We went out for dinner (wasn’t planned but, I had an evening appt).

Friday – Beef Noodle Bowl - another keeper, the kid’s devoured this one too. For dessert the kid’s & hubby had kiwi & blackberries again with whip cream!

Saturday – Frittata – no link to a recipe. All I do is cook up bacon, than I take the bacon out & drain on some paper towels, than I cook up some hashbrowns, while the hashbrowns are cooking I whip up about 6-7 eggs in a bowl, once the hashbrowns are cooked & crispy I add the egg mixture to the frying pan, I let them cook together until cooked (no runny, slimey egg left!) than I add the bacon back to the frying pan & I sprinkle feta cheese on top, once the cheese is melted it’s all ready to eat – yummy! Served with salad.

Sunday – Pita Pizza’s - again no recipe. I use whole wheat Pita’s, pizza sauce, peppers, onions (whatever you like), I use black forest ham or Canadian Back Bacon for the lean protein & than top with feta & mozerella cheese, the kid’s love these!

We now have lots of leftovers in our freezer too which is great for hubby’s lunches!

We all got our hair cut finally, our daughter decided to cut off 7 inches of her hair which was news to me, I didn’t know she was thinking of doing it until we got to the haircut place, I thought we were just going in for a trim! than she informed me that she wanted her haircut like her music teacher’s…well it does look cute on her, but, she looks much older now :{

She couldn’t stop smiling the whole time!

We all really, really like her new hair cut, this is her first “hairstyle.”

My son is as handsome as ever!

I could just kiss him forever!

I on the otherhand have been “itching” with restlestness & boredom, kind of antsy (do you ever feel this way?) even though I have been busy running here & there I’ve been itching to do something different & that usually means changing my appearance, so I cut my hair shorter too (I’ll post a pic once I can get a good one!) & I got my 7th tattoo today! I love, love it, once it heals it will lighten up & be nice & vibrant. I found a tattoo artist that works out of his home in Panorama after much searching & emailing back & forth & viewing some of his work I decided to go & check out his home studio, I was impressed, so if you are looking for a place to get a tattoo let me know & I can tell you all about my fantastic experience.

I was suppose to get my 6th tattoo fixed today also but, we are going to sit on this one & figure out exactly how I want to fix it, I will go back in about 3 weeks. I got that one in August 2007 & have never been “satisfied” with it, out of all my tattoo’s this was the only one I was honestly disappointed with & it’s on the inside of my right arm, so in the Summer it’s all out in the open & I absolutely love what it stands for: “FAITH“. Every one of my tattoo’s has meaning & they are all tasteful & if I choose to they can all be covered up, heck in the Winter no one even knows I’m tattooed!

Since the New Year I’ve been back on the work out wagon, weight loss is slow going right now but, I will keep at it, I am sick of Winter though, the cold & snow here is getting to be a bit much & I can’t wait to get back outside walking every AM – I miss that time to plug in, walk & be lost in my thoughts.

I’ve seen a couple of movies:

I really, really enjoyed this movie, dark but, what a great story.

I was expecting more from this movie, don’t get me wrong it’s good but, very, very SLOW! Secret affairs, lots of drinking & smoking…Kate Winslet & Leonardo DiCaprio do have amazing chemistry of course, but, towards the end of the movie you can definately see where they are heading with the ending.

We purchased a Cuisinart Espresso machine last weekend, I have a weakness for latte’s, I don’t drink coffee just latte’s!!! (ya ya I know it’s coffee!) & now I have my hubby hooked too! So we thought by purchasing an espresso machine that in the long run we would save money! So after spending months looking & searching my friend introduced me to the Cuisinart one, she showed me how it works & made me a latte one morning, yummy! So after that I was sold & I searched for it on sale & I found it on sale at London Drugs – yippee!!!

I have now been trying to perfect the perfect latte, I’m still struggling with steaming & frothing the milk but, it will all come together soon enough, it’s definately fun, it’s like learning a new hobby all over again!

Well both the kid’s have birthday parties this weekend & next week is shaping up to be another busy week for me, I have a Copic class that I am taking at The Scrapbook Pantry which I am very excited to be taking, I have been waiting forever to take a class & I also start my Fundamentals of Photography class here in Airdrie which I have been waiting to take for a long time also, I’m hoping that my photography skills will improve immensely or that I’ll at least know how to use my camera in manual mode instead of auto all the time!

Well if you are still reading this post than thank you, you really do care about what I’m up to!!!

I do plan on stamping sometime this weekend for Viva la Verve! Week 4 challenge & I do have some other projects that I would like to complete.

Stay tuned…