We have to pay for that?!

As I woke up early on Saturday morning, the beautiful April morning sunlight was streaming into the bedroom.

I was all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed because I knew that we were going to start landscaping at our new home that we bought just under a year ago.

Because I couldn't contain my excitement anymore, I moved the cat off my legs and rolled over to nudge my husband.

After a series of groans and grumbles, he got up and we headed out to breakfast at a local diner to feast on omelets because we knew we had a big day ahead of us.

We then headed to Lowes to pick up our shrubs and trees.

We had gone out a few weeks ago to look at the various garden centers to see exactly what we wanted, so we would have an idea when we got there to buy.

The first place we headed was right to the fruit tree section.

I don't know if you are aware of this, but I think I am suffering from a disease that I like to call Marthastewartitis. This is where I think that I want to be just like Martha and raise my own chickens for eggs, and thresh my own wheat for bread and of course, have my own reserve of fruit for all sorts of baked goods and yummy jams.

So we purchased two apple trees (a Johnson and Fuiji) and two Pear Trees (a Moonglow and a Keifer).

Then we bought two burning bushes and two evergreen bushes (not sure offhand exactly what type) to place around our back deck.

For the front yard we bought two Mediterranean Heather bushes and two small Azalea shrubs.

(About a month ago we also purchased a pack of four berry bushes from Sams Club to add to our ever growing fruit garden.)

After we loaded up our cart, we realized there was a slight problem: even if we would fold down the seats in our Jeep Cherokee, we still would not be able to fit all four trees and eight shrubs into the jeep.

Luckily, I called my parents who were also on their way to Lowes and they helped transport some of our new foliage.

So as we were waiting in line to purchase all of our greenery, my husband was adding up the cost in his head for how much everything was going to cost. The conversation that ensued went something like this:

Kev: Wow. All of this stuff is costing about $200.
Me: Is that too much?
Kev: No. I just can't believe that this stuff is costing $200. Don't trees and shrubs just naturally occur in nature.
Me: Well, yes, but not at our house. The previous owner was probably afraid that the something might fall on her house and decided to remove all of the trees.
Kev: Couldn't we go and just dig some stuff up along the side of the road and plant that.

My husband also received further shock when he found out that we would have to buy bags of dirt for the shrubs and trees.

But, after all of the spending and backbreaking work, Kev and I know it was worth it to buy the plants and to "decorate" our yard.

I can't wait to see the fruits of our labor spring to life in a few years!

The Easter Bunny has Come and Gone

Here it is 3:14 a.m. and I am awake.

My husband, Kevin has to go to work at 3 a.m. on Sundays and usually I can fall right back to sleep, but for some reason I was up before he was today and I am just not tired anymore.

Last night I fell asleep to the dulcet sounds of Mr. T and the Flavorwave infomercial around 10ish, so maybe my sleep bank is all full.

Anyway, I guess I will use this time to talk about how our Easter was and to catch up on some emails.

We had a very nice Easter.

After staying up until 2 a.m. Saturday night to finish making paska bread and rolls we were pretty tired when the alarm went off around 7 a.m. But alas, we needed to get up so we could get to church on time to get a seat.

We munched on some homemade raisin toast and then decked ourselves out in our Easter finest. I had gotten a new flowered dress on sale and Kev bought an awesome shirt and tie combo at Burlington that was an orange sherbet in color. (It is a really good color on him).

Then we went to church to meet my parents and aunt.

Church ended up being very crowed and hot. I swear I thought I was going to see some people pass out.

We then had to leave, which was a nightmare. Imagine trying to play Frogger with elderly people who are trying to get home in a hurry to make Easter dinner.

We came home, changed clothes, visited Kev's parents for a few, went to my parents' house to drop off the stuff we had made and then visited with Kev's side of the family at his aunt's house.

Around 1sh, we went to my parents' house for a small celebration full of good food and then everyone came over to our place for awhile.

The cats played with their new toys from Grandma and Grandpa and enjoyed the day as well. (I will have to get some pictures of them and their new toys and post them.)

After everyone left, Kev and I were feeling reminiscent and watched a few old home movies of when we were younger.

Watching the old movies made me miss being a little kid.

Back when you were younger, Easter, and holidays in general, were so exciting.

Each Easter morning, I would wake up so excited to find my basket from The Easter Bunny, go to church and then over to my grandparents' house for a traditional Hungarian dinner and an Easter egg hunt.

This year as I struggled to find a recipe for a traditional Easter cheese that my grandmother would make, I really regretted not being old enough to learn her recipes before she passed away. (But, thank God for the Internet and I was able to find a recipe online. And surprisingly it worked wonderfully!)

As I made my nut, apricot and poppy seed rolls I couldn't help but look out my window and see the house that my grandparents lived in when I was younger and really miss those Easters that were so long ago and seemed so magical.

I am sure that once we have our own children some of the magic will return, and we will be able to make our own family traditions.

Today is my mom's birthday, and I am not sure what exactly we are going to do, but I am sure that we will be having cake and the giving of presents later tonight.

But, until then, I have to run some errands, Kev is going to cut his parents' grass, maybe run the car through a car wash since it hasn't been washed since our wedding in 2007 and maybe squeeze in some grocery shopping.

Since, it seems like it is going to be a busy day, I am going to try and get some sleep.

I hope you and your family had a very enjoyable and blessed Easter.

The continuing of an Easter Tradition

When I was growing up, my grandmother would always make those delicious mini nut, apricot and poppy seed, nut rolls.

The buttery and sweet taste would just melt in your mouth and the sweetness of the nuts and fruits would just make you weak in the knees.

I had made the rolls once for Christmas when I was still living at my parents' house, but this year was the first year I was going to do it on my own.

I decided to make the dough yesterday, break it into five different patties, wrap it in plastic wrap and put it in the fridge overnight.

When I took the dough out this morning, to my dismay, it was as hard as a rock. I mean it was like clay that a kid left out in the sun for a few days.

Now, these Hungarian and Slovak women who originally made these rolls must have been built like battleships because rolling out this dough was really tough.

After rolling out the dough, I had to make the filling for the nut rolls.

Pretty much you get a bag of walnuts and grind them until they reach the consistency of a corn meal.

Then you add milk and sugar. I don't have an exact measurement because it is according to your taste.

My grandmother would say that you make it sweet to the point that you almost can't stand how sweet it is.

Once you make the filling you cut the pieces of dough to the size you want, put a dollop of filling and then pinch together.

The trick to making them stick together is to wet the point where the two overlap with water and then pinch. The water almost acts like a glue.

Put the rolls on a cookie sheet, lined with foil for easy clean-up. Put the cookie sheet into a 375 degree oven for about eight minutes. You will need to check the bottoms of the rolls to make sure they don't burn.

And of course, I decided to bake on the day it has reached record high temperatures for the month of April.

All in all, everything worked out, even though I started to run out of steam about halfway through.

Just like our little Finnegan, I think I am ready for a small cat nap.

Top Ten Ways.......

Top Ten Ways You Can Tell You Are a Victim of Snow-Mageddon 2010

10. You don't even bother putting the shovel way.

09. You have played at least on MMORPG.

08. The forecasters call for six more inches of snow and you don't even bat an eyelash.

07. Taking a trip to Target or McDonalds is the most exciting thing in the world.

06. You have dressed your pets up at least once.

05. You can put on your gloves, hat, scarf and jacket in under 30 seconds.

04. You understand what the Torrance family from "The Shining" went through.

03. You swear you have seen either a polar bear or The Thing walk by your window.

02. You have watched so much TLC that you can name all 19 Dugger children.

01. You have joined a Facebook group about the 2010 February Winter Storm.

The only thing that is keeping me sane right now

As a lot of the women can attest, there is nothing worse than being stuck inside and being on a diet.

All you want to do is eat comfort food, but you can't.

Thanks to Hungry Girl (HG), this awesome Web site that gives low fat/calorie options on favorite foods, I can have some of the foods that I love.

One thing that I love are cupcakes! (But, who doesn't.)

Cupcakes, and cake, are such a staple in our culture that it is hard to imagine going to a party and not eating one.

But HG is to the rescue with her Yum Yum Brownie Muffins recipe.

You take a box of cake mix (HG suggests that you use devil's food but I have used white cake mix as well and it has turned out really good) and a 15 oz. can of pumpkin.

You mix the two together and don't add anything else. (I know you are thinking who in the world wants pumpkin in their chocolate cupcakes, but just trust me.) The batter will be really thick, but don't add anything else.

Dispense the batter into 12 muffin tins that are sprayed with Pam or have the cupcake papers in them.

Stick them in an 400 degree oven for 20 minutes and BAM, you have the most deliciously moist cupcakes you have ever tasted, with no pumpkin flavor insight!

Here is the best part, each muffin is 181 calories, 3.5 grams of fat and 2 grams of fiber. For those of you doing Weight Watchers that is three points!

The only problem with the recipe, at least where I live, is trying to find cans of pumpkin. My DH went to the store and bought me three of the five cans of pumpkin that were left on the shelf.

I guess the secret about the Yum Yum Brownie Muffins is out!

My Alli

According to recent statistics one out of three women and one out of four men, at any given time, are on a diet.

If that dieting statistic is not enough for you, Americans spend over 40 billion dollars, that's right it reads BILLION, a year on dieting and dieting supplies.

America is the land of milk and honey, and outrageous diets to purge ourselves of the milk and honey.

I have had my fair share of milk and honey and tries at weight loss.

I am the queen bee of diets.

I have tried the peanut butter diet, the ice cream diet, Richard Simmons Food Mover diet, the hospital diet, Slim Fast, Weight Watchers, counting calories and those are the ones that I can remember at this time.

I even tried meeting with a nutritionist for a year, in which I was on a low-carb diet and lost about 50 pounds with the diet and prescribed diet pills.

But, after the pills stopped working so well, my doctor pretty much said that I would have to lose the weight on my own and really did not give me any options.

I had felt like I had failed, just like I had done with all the other diets.

So, I did what I do best when I get upset and I ate and put on about 20 of the 50 pounds that I had lost.

This brings me to about a month a go when I decided I really need to lose this weight, and lose it for good.

My biggest motivation is the cruise we are going to be taking in October. Since most of our time will be spent in a bathing suit, I want to make sure I feel comfortable. (Notice I said "feel comfortable" not "look good" not "look hot." This is one of the biggest changes I have had to make in my mindset; I need to just be comfortable with who I am, not be skinnier or look better than the girl next to me.)

So after we signed the papers for the cruise, I decided to dig out my Weight Watcher books and give it a try again. The diet was fairly simple. I could eat what I wanted to as long as I remained in my allotted amount of points for the day.

I also have decided to give the diet pill another shot and this time I am trying Alli.

I know everyone has heard about the "treatment effects." But, if I stay in my allotted amount of fat, than I have nothing to worry about. This will at least keep me honest.

So this morning, I took my first pill. I am a little nauseous, but that could just be my nerves because of ingesting a new pill.

I also used my Wii Fit this morning and I had lost 5 pounds since I last weighed myself 24 days ago!

I am just determined to make it work this time and say farewell to the fat for good!

If anyone is reading this, and has any questions about Alli or Weight Watchers please feel free to leave a comment and I will get back to you.

Chocolate, Hearts & Roses!

After taking a hiatus because of the holidays and the gloomy winter weather, I am back with a vengeance and the February edition of "Living With Martha."


This month's cover of Martha Stewart's Living is full of sugary sweet hearts and pink colored goodness. That can only mean one thing: Valentine's Day!

As usual, Martha has included my favorite part of each month's magazine, "Martha's Calendar".

This month, she has activities such as hand washing sweaters, sanding cast-iron garden urns and repaint them and organize basement and take inventory of wines.

But, as we know, all work and no play makes Martha a dull girl, so she has some fun activities scattered about like Mardi Gras dinner (beads optional), watch the Super Bowl and watching the Winter Olympics.

Martha wants to make sure her readers understand the importance of a good breakfast. So in her "from My Home to Yours" section she shares some of her favorite breakfast recipes.

The recipes actually look really good and they include Maple Granola, Donn's Waffles, Steamed Salmon with Avocado and Breakfast Quinoa (whatever that is).

What really gets me about this section is not the recipes, or even the fact that she is cheer leading for team breakfast.

It is the photo on the front of this section. There is Martha all decked out in a quilted vest holding a china teacup filled with some foamy hot beverage in one hand, and a live chicken in the other. What is really scary, it is probably her chicken from her farm.

Now, if you know chickens, you know how they will almost peck at anything that moves. But, not this chicken. It is sitting, no posing, without a drop of blood lust in its eye.

I think they drugged the chicken. But, do not let PETA hear me say that or else they will start going after Martha.

If anyone knows me, they know that I love cupcakes!

I love how cute they are, I love how they taste and I love that they can come in a variety of colors.

Under Martha's "Good Things," she shows how to do Filigree hearts to place on top of your sweets for your sweetie!

These delicate chocolate hearts are just the perfect addition to her raspberry cupcakes with pink butter cream frosting.

Actually, the hearts don't seem that hard to make.

Basically you trace a heart cookie cutter on some parchment paper, melt some chocolate, put it into a piping bag and trace the hearts. Pop the bad boys into the freezer for about 15 minutes and ta-da, beautiful delicate chocolate hearts!

Continuing with her Chocolate theme, Martha profiles a couple who sells specialty chocolates on an island located in Maine's Penobscot Bay.

The couple who own Black Dinah Chocolatiers, make beautiful handcrafted chocolates in fun shapes like multi-colored frogs and exotic flavors like blueberry-pepper truffles.

After reading this article, I want to move to my own island in the sun and sell chocolates.

My husband loves to make bread. I can tell it is going to be a great day in our home when he brings out his old 1990s bread machine that he purchased from Ebay a few years ago.

Even though it is a little old, the bread machine, not my husband, it manages to turn out some really great bread. (As I type this, the smell of baking bread is wafting into my office at home!)

This month, Martha shares with us some of her bread recipes.

Of course she does not use a bread machine, but some of the recipes look easy enough I might just try a few.

She shares the recipes for classic white bread, multi grain, rye and my favorite cinnamon-raisin.

In a beautifully photographed article, Martha takes a closer look at the poster child for Valentine's Day, the rose.

I never knew there were so many varieties of roses available. I knew they came in beautiful pinks, reds, oranges and lavenders, but I never knew of the softer almost grey colors and and the almost brown oranges.

I think I will need to demand that my husband bring me home orange roses sometime!

Even if you do not feel like reading the entire article, you must just enjoy the beautiful photos.

Along with the roses, Martha takes an even closer look at rice. She talks about how to make the best steamed rice, fried rice, Persian rice and even mouthwatering mushroom risotto.

After you have had your fill of rice, we get to what I love most about Valentine's Day, the crafts.

Martha has outdone herself and shows how to make sweet tarts, a bejeweled box, a beautiful necklace, jewel candies and cloud cupcakes.

In my eyes, those were the noteworthy parts of the February edition of Living. There are other articles and little treasures for you to discover at your newsstand or supermarket checkout counter.

All-in-all the magazine is a great buy because it really gets you into the Valentine's spirit.