Thursday, April 30, 2009

Show Me Where You Live...Kitchen Edition



One of the blogs I follow has started 'Show Me Where you Live' where all us bloggers show a little piece of our homes. Well here is my kitchen for this week :)




The kitchen is huge and open and hopefully one day we can add an island in the middle for more counter space.






Yes, yes there are dirty dishes from today. I wanted it to look real so I didn't bother to do them lol
The light fixture is one of my favorite this in the kitchen/dinning room





Here is my coffee noock where I go every morning for the hot fresh cup of joe








I had painted these words, while preggo with Sydnee, to go with my kitchen theme which is black, red, and white and chief theme













Here is out engagment picture and all our wedding guests signed the mat around it. The picture on the left was from my baby shower and all the ladies that attended signed. The frame on the right will have a cute picture of the girls once I get around to it lol





I have had this votive candle holder for a very long time. I would love to have more one day



One cool thing about the kitchen is we have a hide-a-way like pantry























So here is the chef theme for my kitchen based on these towels. A wish list of mine is to have a chef cookie jar. I think it would look cute.













So we have this built in noock in the kitchen and I still haven't decided what to put there. Any ideas?

Lasagna Rolls


What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God.
Micah 6:8

So I have a new weekly theme...atleast once a week I will cook a new recipe or do a new craft and post the results and pics. Sound fun?
So to get started I made lasagna rolls for dinner. It was easy to make and really good. This is like a veggie on cause no meat :)
The rolls:
1 (15-ounce) container small curd cottage cheese or ricotta (I prefer cottage cheese)
1 (10-ounce) package frozen or chopped spinach, thawed, squeezed dry (I used canned cause I didn't have any frozen
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
1 bag of shredded mozzarella
1 large egg, beaten to blend
3/4 teaspoon salt, plus more for salting water
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil
12 uncooked lasagna noodles
2 cups marinara sauce (two small cans of tomatoe sauce, one small can of tomatoe paste, one tomatoe can of water, and garlic salt, garlic powder, parsely, oregano, thyme, however you like your sauce. Simmer all while preparing the rolls)
  • Preheat oven 450 degrees
  • Boil lasagna noodles according to package with 1 to 2 TBSP of oil so they dont stick
  • Combine all ingrediants for sauce and simmer while making the rolls
  • Thawn and drain spinache or just drain if in can
  • Combine cottage cheese, spinache, 1 cup of mozzerella, 1 cup of parmesan, egg, and dash of garlic powder and mix well
  • Drain noodles and lay out straight
  • Spray a 13x9 baking dish and then add a small amount of sauce to the bottom so rolls dont stick
  • Spoon and spread about 3 TBSP of filling on a noodle and then roll and place seam down in pan
  • After all are rolled and in the pan pour rest of sauce on each roll and then top with the rest of the mozzerella cheese
  • Cover with foil and back for 20 minutes
  • Then take cover off and bake for addition 10-15 minutes until cheese is golden and bubbly
  • When done let set for 10 minutes and then enjoy


Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Practicing my digital collages


Mornings in the park


"As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you; and you will be comforted over Jerusalem."
Isaiah 66:13
The girls and I have been taking morning wakes in our new double stroller and yesturday morning we found a little park for us! Its brand new with fresh sand not the wood chips. Its a 30 minute walk from our house to the park, we then stay for about 30 minutes, and then walk back. Its good for the girls to get some sun and fresh air for me to walk. I need to drive there to see how many miles it is. Probably 1 mile I'm guessing. We leave about 8am cause there are no other kids there.
When we went this morning we had the park to ourselves then 10 minutes later a at home daycare group of about 8 4-5 year olds came lol. Addi was practicing her social skills so I tried not to smuther her and let her do her thing. To my surprise she was pretty good. Sydnee and I sat in the shade and ate cherrios and took pictures. We are trying to do this every morning and I think it will be good for us. I took a TON of pictures.


Our new found park
Silly face




Addi eating her snack












Working on my photography skills












Sydnee stated to get tired for her morning nap







I wrote this and then sent a picture for Aaron...all together 'AAAWWW'






From our first walk






















The new stroller best $40 spent lol








Here I am working on my profile and black/white pictures:











































































Monday, April 27, 2009

What is Friendship?

One definition:

Friendship is an in-depth relationship. Friends are comfortable and relaxed. Friendship requires meeting the needs of both friends. It is an in-depth relationship combining trust, support, communication, loyalty, understanding, empathy, and intimacy.




Well what does the Bible say?




'Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls for he has no one to help him up.'


Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 New King James Version




or




'A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.'


Prov 17:17 New International Version




It is pretty clear in christian and non-christan words that a friend is something everyone should have. Why is it though that this day in age genuion friends are hard to find? Friends should be like your sister, your breathing diary where all your secrets are kept, the one that holds your hair when you drank too much and sneaks you out so you wouldn't be embarassed. Even TV is desensitizing friendship with shows like Paris Hilton My BFF. You don't want a friend so you can get something out of them or for them to take advantage of you. They are purely there to be with you cause they love YOU and who YOU are.


I have had two of the greatest friends in my life:




In middle and high school Krystal and I were joined at the hip. We started the first day of school dressing in the same clothes, sat next to each other on the bus. We were best friends. She was my only friend for a very hard and dark time in my life. She saved me from hurting myself and was the person that I relied on. She is a strong, very smart, clear headed woman. She is working on her PhD and does everything possibly to live the way that is best for her. This is us the first day of high school. August 16,1998




Faye has been my best friend for 6 years. We have been though pregnancy, divorces, living next door to one another to then states apart. She has been my closest confidant. She has never judged me, stabbed me in the back, been two faced, or hurt my feelings. She has encourged me in everything. She flew from California to Arizona to be the only person on the 'bride side' and was my maid of honor. She is putting her self through school getting her Masters in Nursing while being an awesome single mom to two great kids. She is such an inspiration to me and I love her so much. This is us on my wedding day.
True friendship is hard to find. I am so thankful for these women in my life. Even if time has distance us a bit or miles are between us these women are who I aspire to be. When you do find people who are true honest people and want nothing from you but to be your friend keep them close because they are hard to come by.

Long update..

'Are you asleep?...Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.'
Mark 14:37-38





The above verse is very true for all of us..we mean well and don't want to fall for temptation, but our human bodies are sometimes to weak to resist. It has been about a week since i have really blogged. A lot has been going on in the Klein klan this past week....

I have now a Blackberry Curve 8900 to help work with a loan modification group to help with income. Its really fun and addicting so after playing with it for a few days I am limiting my 'fun' time on it :) I am now doing my Twitter more often so you can follow me here. I update it all the time with random stuff. kind of makes me feel important lol.





















Aaron is now working at Ace Hardware and training for his next PT test on June 17. He is getting full time hours which is not easy to come by in this economy. We are praying for God's help with decisions and finances. We are keeping close to Him.

Speaking of God we went Aaron's parents church because his brother Caleb was being recongized for his accomplishments in Caravans (like church boyscouts). He has earned many patches and medals and next week he will receive a special pin for his sash..here is some poor quality video lol






Aaron and I were blessed to go on a date this past Saturday. Just to dinner for a few hours alone. We wanted to try a new place called Sauce. To us it seemed like a gourmet pizza resturant. When we got there we order at the counter and then they bring you your pizza. Not exactly what we were looking for on a date night. We decided to go to Chandler and find something there. We decided on BJ's and had some very awesome chicken pot stickers, pizza, and a few cocktails. Here are some pictures from the night..Oh by the way it was apparently prom night for a school so the resturant had a bunch of prom goers eating dinner before the dance. We really enjoyed the time together.



Aaron thought we looking like tourist with me taking pictures so he didn't want his taken lol. That was our pager for the table.



















Had to get one of myself :)










Aaron drank his first beer in 5 minutes





This was called a 'Prom Punch' very yummy

Aaron fake smiling



Me after some cocktails

















Our yummy pizza..Aaron got Buffalo Chicken pizza and I got the Mediteranian pizza

















Yummy




























This was a cantalope martini..very strong and sweet



















Our take home box
















I have been trying to lay out every day during Sydnee's naptime so I have to find something for Addi to do so I bought her a small plastic pool to play in...


Here is a drawing i did for addi with the chalk. Our little family

Yummy homemade choco chip cookies..they are now gone

This picture reminds me of when I was little and watching Sesame Street learning my ABC's

And baby Sydnee eating (or should I say lundging for) her yogart

So I am thinking of a theme to do one day of the week. Having it be on the same subject on the same day of each week. Leave me a comment with suggestions on what it should be :)

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Tell Me The Secrets: Treasures of Eternity by Ron DiCianni

Lord, I step back. I take my hands off this situation. Work Your will in Your way. When troubles come, remind me, Lord; every struggle is a struggle of faith.

This is a book my mom had when I was growing up. I love this artwork. Also the pictures 'Forgiven' and 'Watchers of the Night' are by Thomas Blackshear. This are very inspirational pictures and I wanted to share.
The above picture is called 'Watchers of the Night' my Nana had bought this picture for me when I was a teenager and I hung it in my daughters room. This is my favorite.

The Servent


The Promise


The Cross




The Chisel





The Messanger

















Spiritual Warfare


























Forgiven

















Heaven's Loss




Jesus and a Child








The Lion and the Lamb