Saturday Salads

This salad is the only one I actually make from memory and thus have no specific measurements. It has a little sweetness to it that I love. It is my absolute favorite because my Mom made it all of the time when I was a kid, so it takes me back to the time when I didn't have bills, cars and kids to worry about. :) Enjoy!

Mom's Pasta Salad

1 box sea shell noodles

1 small container Cool Whip

Mayo

2 cans of tuna or chicken

1 package of sweet or baby peas

Garlic salt

Shredded Cheese

Boil noodles, drain and rinse with cold water. I often will spin my noodles in my salad spinner so the dressing will coat the noodles better. Add a couple big scoops of cool whip and mayo and two big shakes of garlic salt. Mix and taste, add more mayo and/or cool whip as needed. Add peas and tuna, mix and taste. When everything tastes well mixed add the cheese and refrigerate. This is one of those salads that tastes even better the next day.

Visit A List Maker's Life for more summer salads!

What to blog about?

Good evening (or morning if you've already made your rounds) and welcome to the post that is about nothing in particular but exciting just the same. Huh? Well, anyway... here is what I have to show for today:

I FINALLY cleaned my scrapbook/craft area! We are talking about years of *stuff* that has been moved from house to house and never organized. During Lent I threw away a ton of old birthday cards, school memento's that meant something at the time but years later draw a blank and other odds and ends I thought I might use. The result was a lot less to organize and slowly I have been adding appropriate shelves and drawers and the end result is this glorious area. I even finished scrapping Christmas 2007 and started Christmas 2008!!!! (yes, that is a cat on my scrap table... he can hardly believe it either, he thought all of that junk was holding itself up this whole time)

The other exciting event today, other than the awesome lack of humidity, is the discovery of an ice cream truck in our neighborhood! Okay, I admit that the kids are far more excited than me and as the summer wears on so will my patience and lack of money... but hey, for today, it was fun. I am certain the ants are loving all of the pink melty spots left by Lilly and her Pink Panther concoction. EEEWWW!

Have a great weekend!!!

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The good times never end! Yesterday, while browsing my family's Nystrom Cottage website, I came across these great pics taken by my Mom. Now I know the wedding was over a month ago... but my lack of being in pictures this week as well as how much I really like the one with all of my babies is reason enough to keep the party going.

Visit Forever in Blue Jeans for more Marvelous Moms

********************52 Weeks********************
52 Weeks is a year long challenge for YOU to be in a picture once a week for 52 weeks. We are always the ones behind the camera, this is YOUR chance to get out in front and be in the pictures with our family. We are glad you are joining this challenge. More importantly your family will really enjoy having you in the picture. Thanks for playing along! Oh, you can just jump in now with 1 of 52, you're not getting off that easy! Now go take a picture!
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Father's Day Fun

What a fun Father's Day! We started out with a special gift for Patrick, a hard bound book full of pictures of the kids. We snuck away to the park a week before Nathan left for his loooong trip to Mexico (and thus missed Father's Day) and I snapped pictures of the kids wearing three of Patrick's favorite Redwings hockey jerseys. Lilly is wearing a jersey with our last name that I had made for Patrick as a wedding gift, almost 10 years ago.

We enjoyed breakfast at Perkins, picked up a few snacks and bottled water and headed out to Michigan's Adventure! Topher had fun taking Daddy on all of the rides he is finally tall enough for, he is far more of a thrill seeker than I would have ever imagined.

Lilly loved the "flying" elephants and airplanes but freaked out on the log ride, we generated many stares from people as she screamed her head off. The water park was a wonderful and refreshing treat in the hot afternoon.

What a fun way to spend Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day!

Father's Day Fun at Fifth-Third Ballpark, 2007

this year we are heading over to Michigan's Adventure... woo hoo! Here's hoping your Father's Day is full of fun in the sun thrill rides too!

Saturday Salads

Broccoli Slaw

1 pkg broccoli slaw
½ cup sunflower seeds
½ cup slivered almonds
8 green onions chopped
2 pkgs Ramen Noodles, broken

Dressing to Toss with above
½ cup sugar
½ cup vegetable oil
6 Tbs rice vinegar
Pepper to taste

Refrigerate until ready to serve

This recipe is so great, the folks who we stayed with last summer made this all of the time so we enjoyed it daily.

Heidi's Iron Chef:Blogstyle Summer Salad challenge has a very similar salad listed, a Ramen Noodle salad that is much simpler and just as tasty... which is hard to admit because I of course want my salad to win.

Speaking of which, there are only 4 days left to vote so head on over to Sacred and Profane and vote for my Pepperoni Pasta salad, ya know, if it's your fav of the three.

Saturday Salads is hosted by Katie at A List Makers Life, go on over and see what everyone else is tossing together today.

Father's Day Card

Taking some of the fun pictures from our park adventure last week I made this collage, printed it as a 4x6 photo and attached it to blank cream colored card stock. Wah-la! A fun homemade Father's Day card for pennies that is so much more meaningful than a store bought card. It was a huge savings so I was able to send one to not only my Dad but my Grandfathers too.

I also put together a super great gift for my husband but since he checks my blog I will have to reveal just what that is on Sunday. Have a great day everyone!!!

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I don't know what to say except... I indulged my sons whim of having a pipe cleaner mustache and it was contagious.

Visit Forever in Blue Jeans, these Mom's are great and proud to show it.

********************52 Weeks********************
52 Weeks is a year long challenge for YOU to be in a picture once a week for 52 weeks. We are always the ones behind the camera, this is YOUR chance to get out in front and be in the pictures with our family. We are glad you are joining this challenge. More importantly your family will really enjoy having you in the picture. Thanks for playing along! Oh, you can just jump in now with 1 of 52, you're not getting off that easy! Now go take a picture!
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Catch Up

Where has the time gone? It is already Wednesday and if I see correctly my last post was Saturday... it may not be summer weather but we are definitely summer busy.

There is one little lady who isn't minding the rain showers one bit~

this past weekend we had fun with Grandma Schweri~

played a friendly game of 4-square for hours and hours~

celebrated a special niece's graduation and enjoyed some outside fun with oversized toys~

went to a Trader Joe's for the first time to find the ingredients to make a competitor's salad from the Iron Chef:Blogstyle challenge (there is still time to vote for me!)~

and wrapped everything up with fake mustaches at dinner - which is of course how all great things should end!

Saturday Salads

Chicken nuggets on a salad? You bet and it tastes soooo good! I've made this several times and it is so easy and gives grown ups and "excuse" to enjoy nuggets once again. The first time I made this salad was also the first time I realized there was a difference between grated Parm and shredded Parm... who knew there was life outside of the grated kind?

(photo from Taste of Home.com)

Chicken Nugget Caesar Salad

Ingredients:
8 to 10 frozen breaded chicken breast nuggets
6 cups torn romaine
1/2 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
3/4 cup creamy Caesar salad dressing
3/4 cup Caesar salad croutons
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Directions:
Bake chicken nuggets according to package directions; cut into fourths. In a large bowl, combine the romaine, mushrooms and chicken. Drizzle with dressing and toss to coat. Sprinkle with croutons and Parmesan cheese. Yield: 4-6 servings.

Saturday Salads is hoted by A List Maker's Life, a fun blog with great recipes today!

p.s. there is still time to vote for my Iron Chef:Blogstyle salad at Sacred and Profane

12 of 52

School ended this past Friday and so far we have stayed pretty busy, avoiding the "I'm bored" syndrome.

The last day was sad for the mommas, especially my friend {and previous PTO president} Sherry (green shirt) whose youngest "graduated" from 4th grade and will move to the Intermediate school for 5th and 6th next year. My other awesome PTO Mom friend Andi {and next years president} and I are sad because Sherry will not be around next year to help with all the fun and super busy PTO activities.

I have been very absent in my blogging lately and since I find that highly annoying when I regularly check other blogs {if it goes a more than 3 days anyway...} I want to apologize for falling in to my own hypocritical slump. Sunday thru Tuesday I just couldn't think of what to blog and spent much needed time attending to my house and *not* waking up to my alarm clock. hee, hee Wednesday I made the 2 hour trek to Alma to drop my oldest off at my parents house for his 2 week trip of a lifetime.

Last night was tough for us all. I brought home one of my Dad's dogs to help out while they are gone, so that alone was an adjustment for us, Wesley (the handsome dog below) and Nathan's cat. At bedtime it really came out how much the other kids missed their brother because they refused to go to sleep in their own beds. As we battled that never-ending battle the handsome young Wesley began to bark and bark and bark and... well you get the idea - it was driving us crazy. By the end of the night and many bed switching episodes later Patrick decided to just stay awake until the kids were asleep and he could move them. Wesley, however, had the privilege of sleeping in the bed all night long and still claims it as his own this morning. I think he is smirking at me in this photo...

So the moral of the story is this - I will do my darndest this summer to keep up on my blogging though if the sun does ever decide to shine long enough to warm this frozen tundra we live in it might be tough. Thanks for sticking with me!

Go to Forever in Bluejeans and get your picture on!

********************52 Weeks********************
52 Weeks is a year long challenge for YOU to be in a picture once a week for 52 weeks. We are always the ones behind the camera, this is YOUR chance to get out in front and be in the pictures with our family. We are glad you are joining this challenge. More importantly your family will really enjoy having you in the picture. Thanks for playing along! Oh, you can just jump in now with 1 of 52, you're not getting off that easy! Now go take a picture!
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Saturday Salads

Update: my salad has been picked for the Iron Chef:Blogstyle competion over at Sacred and Profane, thanks Heidi! To be fair, try all three salads and then vote for mine, er, I mean your favorite!

Happy Saturday! Here in Michigan the weather is still pretty chilly but it is promising to get pretty warm in the days ahead, which means cooking on the grill! This salad recipe is my go-to for an easy and quick fix for any occasion. Normally I don't like pasta salads with an oil based dressing but this is one tasty exception. I orginally posted this for Saturday Salads and now am going to enter it in the Iron Chef:Blogstyle at Sacred and Profane this month. The theme is BBQ/Picnic Salads.



(photo courtesy of Taste of Home.com)

Pepperoni Pasta Salad

Ingredients:
2 cups uncooked tricolor spiral pasta
1 cup cubed cheddar cheese
1 cup coarsely chopped cucumber
1 small tomato, chopped
2 green onions, chopped
28 pepperoni slices
1/2 cup zesty Italian salad dressing

Directions:
Cook pasta according to package directions; drain and rinse in cold water. In a large bowl, combine the pasta, cheese, cucumber, tomato, onions and pepperoni. Add salad dressing and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate until serving. Yield: 4-6 servings.

Saturday Salads is hosted by A List Maker's Life, head over to see what others are tossing today!

Last Day of School

Today was the last day of school for the 08-09 year

There were photo op's with friends...

...memorable photos with great teachers...

...and a well deserved trip to the beach to cap the evening!

Great job boys, we are so proud of you!

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This is my friend Tina, she thinks she is pretty funny.

This past weekend was Tina and her husband Alex's 10th wedding anniversary. They have actually know each other for 21 years, which is just amazing to me. When they were first married it was not in a church as that was not important to them at that time. Now they live in Ohio where Alex attends seminary school and so it was very important to each of them to renew their vows in the church.

It is our husbands who were friends first back in college but it is us girls who have been the ones to stay in touch. Men!

Congrats Alex and Tina on 10 wonderful years - I wish you many, many more!

Thanks to Forever in Bluejeans for this awesome carnival, Moms need to be in more pictures!

********************52 Weeks********************
52 Weeks is a year long challenge for YOU to be in a picture once a week for 52 weeks. We are always the ones behind the camera, this is YOUR chance to get out in front and be in the pictures with our family. We are glad you are joining this challenge. More importantly your family will really enjoy having you in the picture. Thanks for playing along! Oh, you can just jump in now with 1 of 52, you're not getting off that easy! Now go take a picture!
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45 Lessons Life Taught Me

Written By Regina Brett, 90 years old, of The Plain Dealer, Cleveland,Ohio

"To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me. It is the most-requested column I've ever written."

"My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is the column once more":

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.

3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.

5. Pay off your credit cards every month.

6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.

8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.

9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.

10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.

12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.

13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.

15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.

16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.

18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.

19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.

20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.

21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.

22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.

23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.

24. The most important sex organ is the brain.

25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.

26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five years, will this matter?'

27. Always choose life.

28. Forgive everyone everything.

29. What other people think of you is none of your business.

30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.

31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

33. Believe in miracles.

34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.

35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.

36. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.

37. Your children get only one childhood.

38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting
everywhere.

40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's,we'd grab ours back.

41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

42. The best is yet to come.

43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

44. Yield.

45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift."

Friends are the family that we choose for ourselves.

Wordless Wednesday - Finally, Wedding Photos!

My Mom, Step Dad Bob, brother (groom) Ryan, new SIL Claudia, and my brood

I don't remember what was so funny but here is my Step Mom Angie, my little Lil' lookin' grumpy and me, laughing about something

I didn't realize any one snapped this one, but I like it! Aren't my flowers beautiful? I couldn't bring myself to throw them away until yesterday and that was tough even though they were all dried and falling apart.

Wordless Wednesday is hosted by 5 Minutes for Mom - there are lots of link ups today, check it out.