Baked Chicken Alfredo

I found a really easy, but yummy recipe on Pinterest.  So I decided to try it.

 I started by browning the chicken breasts in olive oil and seasoning with salt and pepper.

 I cooked pasta.

 Mix the pasta with the cubed chicken.

I cheated - I then added a jar of Alfredo sauce.  

I know, I should have made homemade. I do have a really good recipe.

Next time.

 I placed half of the mixture in the baking dish, added grated cheese and

parmesan cheese, then finished with the top layer.

Baked at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.  

Yummy!

And I'm off...

Today was my first day driving in 4 weeks.  I was really nervous about it, but I ended up having a very productive day!  I haven't seen this view from my car in what seems like forever!

Here's the list of what I had hoped to get done today - depending on my driving capability.

You can tell I got it all done.  I started off going to the Arizona Children's Business Fair held on the grounds of the Arizona Center.  Children create products, sell them, and determine if they made a profit.  I believe there were over 100 booths - quite a few young entrepreneurs.  Kylee and Myah had a booth, so I wanted to show my support and check out the fair.  Here's what I found:

I wish I could have supported more booths, but I only purchased from 5 booths.

This first booth had a combination of magnets and ribbon products.

 In the picture below, Kylee and her friend are ready for a crowd!  

They made and offered lotions, lip balms, perfume, and candle kits in a jar.

Myah made coasters and magnets.  

From what I understand, they made a profit.  Way to go!

This booth was solely handmade cards by this 8-year-old.

Since I love card making, I really wanted to encourage her.

 These three boys made magnets or pins.

 This little girl sold homemade products related to pets and birds.

 From Myah, I selected Cat in the Hat coasters.

I bought two lip balms and a travel size container of hand lotion from Kylee.

Other items I bought: 

The cards were made to look mosaic - she used broken egg shells

on which she had colored with crayons. Creative, right?

I bought four magnets (buy 3 get 1 free!) from the boys.

I bought a Snoopy bottle cap magnet.

Then I bought homemade dog treats made of pumpkin and molasses.

Sophie and Jack absolutely loved the treats.

I really enjoyed the fair - I hope the girls do it again next year.  

One thing I really miss

Since I am not supposed to pick up anything over 5 pounds, I really miss cuddling with my two little ones.

 Jack...

and Sophie!

Plus, they need a bath!

I would like to say ...

I am just simply showing you my tree from this last year.  And, well, yes, I am doing that, but I am also looking at it right now.  Yes. This. very. minute.

Since I was gone for a good part of December and a week in January, I decided to leave my tree up a little longer than normal - simply to enjoy it.  If you read my blog from Sunday, you see that I had a nasty fall and am now not able to take the tree down.

So, I am back to enjoying it as long as it is up.  And I have to say - I AM enjoying it.

Now I remember...

I have really had a lot on my plate.  In August I had a water leak due to my hot water heater and it caused drywall damage.  Then in October, I had a pipe break behind the wall in my kitchen.  Cabinets had to be taken out and drywall replaced.  Here are a few photos of the repair work - which was finally done in November just before Thanksgiving.  We were not able to cook or run water in the kitchen for about 5 weeks.   One thing lead to another and I ended up getting a new dishwasher out of the deal... 

 This is under the sink in the kitchen.

This is my sink resting on the disposal (got a new one of those, too).

One night Kim and I were standing in the kitchen and the sink simply fell out.

In the repair of both water leaks, they found asbestos in the texturing of the drywall,

which brings the repair work to a complete halt

until they are sure the air is completely void of asbestos particles.

Rooms were quarantined.

Then they start the repair work.

Thank goodness for homeowners insurance 

and a homebuyers warranty!

At least my water heater is new.

Pipes are new.

Dishwasher is new.

Cabinets are rebuilt.

And everything appears to be working well.

Keep your fingers crossed.  

You're Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile...

There's more to this story - or at least a beginning...

 Here I am - fully dressed - with a smile on my face.

I fell on January 22 breaking my humerus bone in 4 or 5 places.  Ouch! is an understatement.  You can see I have 5 pins (which will need to come out later).  After surgery, I was out of commission for a week.  They don't cast this type of break, so I am in a sling for about 6 weeks, give or take.  I went back to work part time for two weeks.  This week, I plan to go back full time.  The day before I went back to work, I felt I needed to do a trial run, so I got up, changed out of my jammies into regular clothes, and ran a few errands with my daughter.  It went pretty well and I am glad we did it.  Until recently, I needed help getting dressed.  I am thankful for my two daughters, Kate and Kim, who stayed with me while I was in the hospital and back at home.  I could not have done it without them.  I still can't drive, but am hoping that will change by the end of this week.

Yes, I dropped off the face of the earth...

just for a while anyway.  I am not really sure why I stopped blogging, but I remember that things got crazy at work.  Then I probably got out of the habit.

My dad, who was 91, took a turn for the worse and passed away in early January.  I am very fortunate that I spent about 10 days with him in December just before Christmas.   I could see he was not the same and I was really happy to spend my days with him.  He really wanted to get his Christmas cards out, so I was able to help him with that.  As we were going through family photos, we came across two that I had not seen before:

 I am guessing my dad was in his early 20's in this picture, 

but I don't know the actual date.

 My dad LOVED to fish!  Obvious, right?

I believe he retired to Florida so that he could fish all year round.

I took this picture of my dad and my Aunt Mae in December.

Dad is 91 and Aunt Mae is 98!

She is the last living sibling of my mother and

she is such a kind, loving soul.

I had to add this picture of my mom and dad.

We went through so many photos and I wanted to share this one.

Another place, another time - It is so much fun to see them

early in their marriage.

They were married 67 years before my mother passed away.

I learned a lot about my dad at his service, both of my parents actually.  Because there are five children in my family, I believe we each have different memories of my parents - different because of what they were going through at the times we were growing up.  I am so proud of both of them - I couldn't have asked for better parents, and I am thankful for that.  I have to say it is a different feeling having both of your parents gone, but I know they are together again.