Bad Blogger! Bad!!

Oh, this blog has been calling me for weeks, but I just couldn't find the time!  It has been crazy!  So, just like all my previous posts, I will be catching you up!  Hahaha!!  Be ready for picture heavy craziness.  Are you ready to go?? :)
 
First of all, I DID finish the 30 Days of Lists challenge!  I also finished it. . . . .drum roll, please. . . .in SEPTEMBER!  Yea!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  (Think Kermit dancing!)  If you know me, you'll realize that me finishing something on time (well, something crafty) is a strange thing!  I was determined to finish in September.  I got behind, but I also got caught up!  It just makes me happy! 
 
** No worries if you missed the September edition of 30 days of lists.  If I understand correctly, it should be back in March! 
 
Ok, here are a few of my favorite lists from the second half of the month:

List 19: Events I'd like to attend:

List 23: My Current Favorites:

List 27: The Bravest things I've done:

 
List 28: Little Joys in my Life:

 The 30 Days of Lists was a lot of fun!  It was neat to record a snippet of my life in lists! Plus, it will be a fun way to look back!  Next time, I think I will make it a little easier to complete.  I plan to just do a little journal or Moleskine notebook with maybe a picture and a simple hand written list.  Nothing fancy and no pages to make.  However, in doing this challenge and mini-album, I allowed myself to use whatever supplies I had in my stash.  It helped me to see great uses for the items I had in my scrapbooking stash.  I think it safe to say that I know have a new-found love for letter stickers and their versatility!  LOVE them!  Hee hee.

In addition to the 30 days of lists, the end of September held other exciting things including the DallasChocolate.org's Chocolate Conference and Festival!  My boss at Sublime Chocolate allowed me to help with our booth.  It was so much fun, but it was so crazy!  There were an enormous amount of people there.  By the end of the day, my throat was sore, and I was exhausted.  It was a great experience, though!

 
We made so many chocolates for this event.  We brought three truffles, and we made around 700 of each kind.  Plus, we brought a traditional Aztec-style hot chocolate (made with cocoa, water, lavender, chili peppers, and honey- spicy, but tasty!!), chocolate covered dates stuffed with an almond and a pistachio, and our Melange which is a layer or dark chocolate and toasted coconut, a layer of milk chocolate with pistachios and a white chocolate lattice on top!  People streamed by our tables all day!  When we had a few minutes, each of us got to walk around and see the other chocolatiers and chocolate makers and try their products!  It was fun, but by the end of the day, I was completely chocolated-out!  Yep, me! 

October came, and I can hardly believe it is nearly half over. Can you? Where has this year gone???  With the new month, came my awesome loot from the Studio Calico Swap Your Stash swap!  I was paired with Nicole (gothamgirl).  (Ironically, Nicole and I knew each other from 2Peas!)  She was so very generous!!!  Look at what I got!!!

 
This picture is just cute.  One of my dogs, Emma, is my Parrot-Dog because she likes to sit on my shoulder.  I finally got a good picture of her and I with my phone!

The Texas State Fair is one of the things that Hubby and I do together every year!  It is just something we love to do.  Eat and enjoy the sites and sounds plus spending the day together.  This year, we tried Fried Somoas!  Yeah, you know, the Girl Scout Cookie??  They were fantastic!  Look: 

 While we were at the Fair, we looked at all the people selling their products.  While we were walking through a tent, we saw a lady demonstrating this little guy.

She drug the stick (in his mouth) across the scales on his back and them tapped his forehead.  It made the sound of a frog.  It was so awesome.  I had to stop.  I tried all the different ones she had out.  I decided I had to take one home.  Hey, he's an instrument!  (For those of you who don't know, I'm a musician.  I have always loved instruments.  I always buy fun ones along with traditional ones.  I hate to see neglected instruments, and I always take them home.)  Naturally, this guy had to come home with me!  Love him!

October 6 was World Cardmaking Day!  Studio Calico had challenges on their blog (which you can still participate in until October 15!)  I created two cards.  I hope to get a couple more done, but I don't know when I'll have time.  Here are my first attempts!
 

 

The next picture is just one I had to share.   Hubby and I were playing bowling on the Wii.  I was laughing at his posture.  He would roll the ball and then hold the pose.  Funny, huh?

 
Here is a quick look at the Washi tape I got from Rosalie in the Studio Calico Washi Tape swap!  Aren't they the coolest!  I LOVE washi!

 

One last thing that happened at work yesterday. Troy and Sublime Chocolate were filmed for an episode of Storage Wars Texas. Apparently, a spray rig with a little chocolate in it was found in a storage locker.  They contacted Troy to have him talk about it.  They came to the shop yesterday to film.  They were there for about 3 hours for what will be a 3 minute clip!  Crazy, huh??  Oh, to quench your excitement, I will not be in the episode.  They asked us workers to stay as much out of sight as we could.  However, it was still very exciting.  The episode will air in January, so keep and eye out!

 

 This is Troy, Bubba, and Ricky in front of our store (and the store next door!)!

 

 

Thanks for sticking with me. . .even though I'm a bad blogger! ;)

30 Days of lists updates and more. . .

I know, it has been two weeks since I blogged.  It has been so crazy around here!  Today, I'm taking a little time to blog.  There will probably be more pictures than words!  Oh well.

First of all, I've been busy doing my daily lists for 30 days of lists!  It has been fun, but I'm always behind!  Here are all my new lists:

List 2: Goals for September

List 3: How my friends and family describe me

 List 4: When I need a break, I. . .

 List 5: Reasons to start. . . .

 List 6: Reasons to quit. . . .

List 7: Favorite Snacks

List 8: Outside my front door. . .(I did outside my back door)

List 9: Today, you can find me. . .

List 10: I'm at my best when. . . .

List 11: My favorite smells...

List 12: Fictional Places I'd like to live. . .

This is as far as I've gotten.  I hope to get some done today!

Of course, I'm still a Studio Calico addict.  Recently, my new add-on for the Central High kit arrived.  I haven't been able to subscribe to the kit for financial reasons, but I buy an add-on each month if I can.  This month, I purchased the Road Show add-on.  It arrived on Monday, and I was so excited to tear open the box.  With my Chai Tea Latte from Sublime, I was ready to go!!!

Here is what I received!  I'm so excited!  I haven't done anything with it yet, but I will!!!  Just need to print some photos!!!

Also, in my quest to be a trendy yet frugal scrapper, I'm always on the look out for great items at cheap prices.  I love washi tape, and when I saw on Instagram that people had found washi tape at Target, I had to go.  Sure enough, I discovered Target's washi tape along with a great little wash tin in the dollar section.  Aren't they great?  The mini binder clips are from Wal-Mart!  Great stuff, and I got all of it for under $15!!!

 

Oh, and I'm horribly addicted to Instragram (if you can't tell by my photos!!!!!)

I am still cooking and trying new things!  The other day, I forgot to get a roast out of the freezer, so I had to improvise dinner.  I knew I had some chicken breasts and some left over Swiss cheese.  Through the day, I thought about what I should do with those ingredients.  I knew I wanted to add mushrooms because there is almost nothing better than mushrooms in dinner.  This is what I created:



 

 

Seasoned Chicken breasts stuffed with Swiss Cheese, Roma Tomatoes, and Sauteed Mushrooms

 

Ingredients:

2 large chicken breasts

2 Roma Tomatoes, sliced

8 oz sliced mushrooms

Swiss cheese, sliced (I used about 8 oz, but the amount is up to you)

Spices (Oregano, Basil, Thyme, and black pepper)

lots of toothpicks

cooking oil

minced garlic

lots of tooth picks

 

Heat oven to 375F

 

1. Add a little cooking oil to a pan and sauteed the garlic and mushrooms until mushrooms are tender.  Remove mushrooms from pan leaving garlic and juice.

 

2. Add chicken breasts to the pan with the garlic.  Brown both sides of the chicken breasts.  Even brown the sides if breasts are thick.

 

3. Remove chicken from pan.  Butterfly breasts.  The inside should still be a little raw.  Layer cheese, tomato slices, and sauteed mushrooms.  Close the breasts and secure with toothpicks.  Sprinkle desired spices on breasts.  Spray breasts with cooking oil and place in a shallow baking dish.

 

4. Put chicken in preheated oven and cook for 30-35 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and the cheese is melted.

 

It was delicious!  If you try this recipe, leave me a comment and let me know how yours turned out! 

 

That's it for now!  Hopefully, I'll be back sooner!  Come visit me at Sublime Chocolate in Allen if you can.  See you soon!