The cheese post.

Finally!

Ok so this is something I have already posted on facebook waaaaay back in February. And my reasons for posting this to my blog 6 moths later are these...

A. not all my blog readers are my friends on facebook! Why I do not know, but it is what it is :)

B. I've been trying to cook more these days to benefit my family, ie... eat dinner at home with my kids all sitting around my kitchen table without interruption and well the obvious saving money issue I must always think about.

C. This is the perfect day after meal! ie... if for dinner you are planning to have spaghetti, ravioli or homemade pizza (or the likes of anything along these lines) ... you would put to good use your leftover homemade marinara/pizza sauce.

D. a friend of mine mentioned her attempted vegetarianism on the exact day I was making homemade pizza ~good timing Carly~ thus reminding me of my attempted veganism (didn't go well) upon which I invented this amazing sandwich which I do believe I could open a little restaurant based solely upon.

Because its really good.

and I want to share it with you...

because I love you.

I call this The Cheese Ball Sandwich

This is what you do...

toast 2 slices of whole wheat (careful here not all whole wheat bread is created equally)

I spread a little leftover homemade marinara from tuesdays nights vegetarian ravioli. I do believe homemade is key here. I wish everyone would try making marinara it is beyond yum and almost as easy as opening a jar of prego (blech!)

the next layer was fresh spinach

now dont get scared off here! after that i sauteed some fresh mozarella sprinkled with panko bread crumbs.

on top of that i had an egg cooked over easy (yes folks runny yolk... you can do it)

a layer of sliced avacado

few more scoops of marinara

freshly grated parmesan cheese

another layer of spinach then top it with your wheat bread.

YUMMY!

you're welcome :)

p.s.- I KNOW this is not in anyway a vegan sandwich (per my attempted veganism)

baby steps my friends. baby steps :)

p.s.s.- Lolo just reminded me to tell you that if you just can't deal with eggs... it's still a good sandwich, just not 'open a restaurant based solely on it' worthy is all. Omit the egg if you must.

A good little citizen of the United States of America!

As I was loading these pictures up I was eating cheesecake. I was like cheese... cheese... something about cheese.

and then I remembered what I had planned to post today. Plans change. Cheese will have to wait.

Unless you want me to tell you about how I once made a cheesecake that tasted exactly like cheese.

It was gross. Thats all there really is to that story.

...


Lucy finally got to start school today! She looks pretty excited don't you think?

no?

Um yeah no. BUT she did admit to having fun after the fact. We have been having some motivational issues with Lucy lately. Her main goal for every day is to stay home and play on the computer as much as possible.

She's an addict.


Perhaps it's time to move the computer out of her bedroom??


Do you think i dressed her patriotic enough for voting day? Total coincidence. I promise. I'm really not that nerdy.

Did you vote today?! I did.

If you live south of Guadalupe Rd. you probably didn't get to fully enjoy the monsoon taking place north of Guadalupe Rd. about dinner time. (it was a doozey) I got all excited to take my kids out in the rain and get some fun photos...

Pulled into my neighborhood... dry as a bone. What does dry as a bone mean anyway? I don't get it and yet I freely use it. Hmm.


conditions not being what I had hoped for I sat around and WAITED for the rain... that never arrived.

hence the flowing golden locks.

and the sky was moody, so even though the sun was up, it was hiding behind the dark clouds in the west.

Hence the graininess.

I saved this one for last.


I think because I love it most. It looks like an old photo I've seen before. I edited this photo three other ways and in the end boring old black and white is what stuck. With all the tricky B&W actions these days you'd think... but no.

Now i shall have to look through all my old photos to see why this is sticking out as familiar to me.

just a side note: my mom surprised me today. It was so sweet an unexpected. She must have read my recent blog post where I had posted some pretty things from Anthropologie... remember those pretty little vases?

They showed upon my doorstep today!!! Haha!! my mom is amazing.

love you ma! <3

(just goes to show what putting it out there can do for you!!)

cheese and tomato with a side of nostril rings

If I could choose just one word for today it would most definitely be

Sweltering!

This sweltering days is the day I happened to find myself at school for the first time in like, ummmmm... 10 years?

Wow. That makes me feel really old. But wait, community college style schooling, closer to 14 years. Crazy!

Here's my little synopsis of my time at college today...

Showed up with scant time to spare. Parked without a parking permit. What can I say? I like to live on the edge... not really though, I just didn't want to be late because I was really excited!! :)

Sat front and center so I could stare the teacher down right proper. He didn't notice.

Sat there kinda awkwardly for near 5 minutes whilst the rest of the class filed in.

and guess what! I WASN'T the oldest person in the class!! Woot! There was this one guy that was noticeably oldish. He gave me a wink and a nod, I think he was acknowledging our common condition. That being people over the age of 20. But just for the record oldish dude... no more winks or nods please.

When Mr. Williams started talking it went alot like this...

This is my first year teaching here, he said. I have previously taught at ASU, the labs here are much nicer

Yeah Yeah!! I like where this is going :)

At this point you can't wipe the smile off my face.

I was sitting next to Taylor. He has a liking for body piercing. Really that is just a guess... he had something shiny and loopy in his nostril. He is the only person I took any real note of and mostly because of his shininess. And maybe because he was sitting next to me. And I could smell him alot.

very smokey shiny little fella.

and then just like that Mr. Williams piped up again

This should be a short class, we can't really do anything without cameras.

Wait what? You people didn't bring your cameras?!?!?!?!!

*cue smile fading*

further along whilst reading from 'required materials' list

you guys will need to purchase a camera, I recommend thePromaster 2500PK with 50mm f/1.7 lens.

Wait what???? You people don't even have a camera yet??!?

oh and by the way, there's no class on Wednesday... take that time to gather your materials

and then it was over, just like that.

What? I feel so jipped off!

Sooooooo I packed up my camera and headed over to Tempe Camera to gather all the other supplies on the list. it was a long list. $191 long.

In all fairness it does say in bold type and underlines: $$$ Photography is very expensive!!! Expect to spend up to $400 for materials

So I guess that includes the camera?

But don't get me wrong. I am still super excited for the days that class is actually in session, which apparently is next week.

Remember the post I did a while ago with shots of Natalie that I did with my photography group? I kind of forgot to show you that one image I talked so highly of. Remember? It's the one Rhonda took.

Still. LOVE.

Here it is for you guys...



Something about it I just kind of adore :)

I had other postings planned for today but they will have to wait until tomorrow. Just think CHEESE.

Everybody loves cheese right?

well... until you eat too much that is. Then you suddenly don't.

Dear Lolo,

Do you remember that cheese and tomato salad I made you that one night? Remember how it was literally just cheese and tomatoes drizzled with oil and vinegar? Still one of my favorite salads, I mean if you add the cracked pepper and basil its better but we do what we can with what we got.

love, Jill

p.s.- That has nothing what-so-ever to do with the next post. Just a happy thought I'm passing along :)

Bad Idea Jeans.

Do you ever have those days that are just full of bad ideas?

and did you know that bad ideas can be caused by wearing the wrong jeans?

It's true.

They're called bad idea jeans. Everyone owns a pair. You should stay far away from them.

I wore mine yesterday { by mistake of course }

Early in the day (about shower time) I carelessly left a pile of clothes on the tile floor that would later cause lucy to split her chin wide open...

bad idea jeans!


8 stitches later my 4 year old has blue whiskers :)

and of course I took a detailed shot to gross you all out!


I knew you'd look.

I made Lu hold a paper towel up to her chin even after the bleeding slowed down. Something i learned about myself yesterday...

I'm kind of a wimp when it comes to blood and gaping wounds. Who knew?

The bad ideas didn't stop there!

See this ball of moss?


it has a name.

I call it...
piece of stupid huck get off my fingers ow i burned myself smells like a swamp shoulda just bought it dang who do i think i am martha stewart dead lumpy ball of mossy horror

I had some time to think the name over a bit. Seemed fitting.


and it all started when i saw this odd ball vase. if you can call it that...

and in it sat a perfectly adorable styrofoam ball covered in something that appeared to be a moss type substance.

and the price of the moss ball was $8.

Who are they kidding? That is moss glued to a ball! I can totally make that!

problem #1:

styrofoam ball, $4
bag of moss, $4

Now anybody can see what just happened here. I paid the same as I would have for the perfectly pre-made ball of moss as I did for piece of stupid huck get off my fingers ow i burned myself smells like a swamp shoulda just bought it dang who do i think i am martha stewart dead lumpy ball of mossy horror

and normally this wouldn't be a problem except do you know what bagged moss smells like? and did you know its real moss? which I'm guessing is why it smells so divine. and did you know it comes with real dirt? and dead spots? and it ain't that easy to glue to a styrofoam ball?

Neither did I!

Upon showing Chad my lumpy creation he said... why didn't you just buy the mossy ball at the store?



THANK YOU! I think I shall next time :)

Lucy: Can I put this down now? it stinks.

haha!!! even Miss Stitches wants nothing to do with it!!

Super fabulous non-ugly lumpy ball of moss for sale... $8

:)

do. as in don't not... get it?

Ever been to a little beach town in CA by the name of Ventura?!

go.

seriously, don't not. Do, go that is. It is completely adorable.

There was the cutest little camera shop there.... Dexters. All the vintage cameras in the window immediately caught my eye. I had to go in. Oh. my. goodness.

You should see it! The whole wall is filled with cameras but the top three shelves were all old vintage cameras!

So of course I had to ask... are these for sale??

If you really want one we could work something out.

:) yes please!!


Pretty cute isn't she?

you're drooling aren't you?! haha!! ok fine. Maybe it's not drool worthy. I only paid $25 bucks for it and that was probably too much, though i haven't looked so i am not sure!

They said it works so...

{ note to self: search for film online }


haha! Look at me all "look at my awesome cameras and my giant tri-pod and whatever you do don't forget to notice the red square lucy stamped on my arm earlier today"

Did you really think I had a red square birthmark? It's not like its unheard of you know. But yeah no. It's ink.

But the real question is... did you notice my earrings?

This is where i let you in on a little secret ;) !!

About a year ago I was sitting in Relief Society just enjoying the lesson... seriously can't remember what it was even on... but thats ok because it's not crucial to my point. Someone spoke up and mentioned how they try to wear earrings everyday, because it makes them feel pretty and 'dressed'...

and wouldn't you know I didn't own one pair of earrings at that point! And then as I was walking through Anthropologie soon after, the earring rack caught my eye and this lady's words came back to my mind. So I bought some.

I want to feel pretty! ... and 'dressed'!

So I wore those earrings, like everyday. I still love them actually they're my favorites :) and you know what?! This works! You gotta try it. I could be wearing 20 year old pajamas and not showered for a day (even earring have limits people... one day max, after that take a shower!) as long as those earring are in I feel dressed. No joke. Try it!

And you know what else?! I notice people noticing them :) I see them seeing my earrings and i am almost positive they're thinking, wow this girl is dressed!

You laugh and mock me now but you will see. That earring rack will catch your eye and suck you in! Don't worry it's all for the best. I now own 4 pairs of earrings. This is good so people don't think I'm some wacky superstitious girl that HAS to wear the same earring everyday. haha!

Dangly. I love the dangly ones :) LOVE!!


See that shirt I'm wearing? The lady at the store (oh please, you KNOW what store!) anyhoo, the lady at the store said this was a dress. A dress??

I will be wearing it as a shirt! thank you very much ;-)

Can you even imagine?? Sheesh!

*eyes rolling* yeah let's get back to some good camera talk!

So... I shined this baby up! The lens still looks dirty. Gotta work on that, or do I?? maybe the dirt is fun?! I wish I had film, I love the oldschool viewfinder. It's on top. You look down into it! Here see for yourself!


Can you see it? Here's a closer view...


it's Lucy sitting on my mom's couch watching Charlotte's Web :)

Pretty rad huh!

I had my camera on me everywhere i went today. And since I am unfortunately addicted to Anthropologie I found a way to work it into my 'to-do' list for the day...


found some stuff I am fairly certain I need! Like these fantastic bowls.

{ things you didn't previously know about me: I am a dish person. }

you know everything else. Seriously I have too many dishes. I love them. I will show you sometime I am quite certain of that!



oh and aren't these to die for?! pretty pretty pretty. want. want. want.

Hey maybe since I let you in on the little earring secret you could pick me up one of these snazzy vases whilst you get yourself some lovely earrings?!

Just thought I'd throw that out there and see what happens.

g'night!! <3

p.s. did I tell you that i signed up for a photography class at the community college?!

SO EXCITED!

She's not as terrified as she looks... I promise :)

Remember my first favorite photo from our Newport Beach adventure??

yes, well I have a second favorite too :)

This ought to bring a smile to your pretty little face!
...



A chance capture, lets face it you can't plan for images like these :) but you can relish in delight when you score one!!

Woot! Woot!

good friends. good times.

She said I would never think of them the same after this.

she. was. so. right.


You're going to think I'm a nerd...


when you hear...


I got little emotional...


as I was editing these...


{ the above photo is my most favorite from the whole trip... just BTW }


and I will agree.


a thousand times over!






Could you guys be any more perfect?



















But just so you know... we had an amazing time. Thank you so much for thinking we're cool enough to hang with night and day.

Lots more to come but these here are especially for Amy & Josh!

p.s. they taught me how to play hearts... I still don't get it. haha!!! one of these days...