Ray and Kasi

2010-09-25T07:30:00.000-07:00

Once again, Ray is stuck at work in PA. We just bought a new house, and I'd really like to move in, but I'd also like Ray to be home when it happens.

Ray went to work on September 8th, and as it sits right now he won't be home until October 21st. Sometimes his job is so ridiculous.

2010-07-21T07:19:00.001-07:00

So, Ray's been gone to work since July 9th, and won't be home until the 29th. Eight more days! :) He had to leave earlier than usual for meetings over in PA. He's getting tired of the traveling and having to deal with some of the people over there, but we're so grateful for his job. He comes home incredibly tired and stressed, and it usually takes him a day or so to calm down from the week. I am so grateful that he does all of that for me. To give me the easy life I have. I know that I complain sometimes that things aren't perfect or because I have to do things (such as mow the lawn and take care of the "man" duties of the house, while he's away), but I know things could be so much worse.

I got two cake orders for this week. The first is due tomorrow and it's for a 5 year old little girl who loves puppies and the colors blue and purple. lol... Good luck to me. :P The second is for a little boy who love Lightening McQueen from "Cars". That one is going to be a pretty simple one. I'll post them when I get them done. :) I always get so stressed when doing a cake, because it never turns out exactly how I picture, but I haven't had any complaints -- yet. :P

Hmmm... I really have nothing more to say. Nothing new every really comes up in the Lemieux life. lol... Hope all is well for the rest of you! :)

Gracie's Twilight birthday cake

2010-06-19T11:17:00.000-07:00

Okay, so Gracie begged to have a twilight birthday. :) She's probably read the books a million times. lol... The party was really cute; twilight paper plates, twilight cake, even a big cut out of the twilight characters. :) The girls at the party got to make cute little twilight bracelets, and I made one too. I don't have pictures of everything that went on, but I'm sure Cynthia does.

My contribution: The cake.

Poor Oreo

2010-05-06T06:24:00.000-07:00

So, I took Oreo and Sadie to the groomer for the regular grooming routine, which I do about every 6 weeks. It's starting to get hot, and Oreo is losing her winter fur -- thus, filling my home with fur!! I decided to talk to the groomer about having her shaved down. She said that's actually pretty common practice to shave a border collie, so I decided to try it. Oops...

The cut I can eventually get used to, though it's going to take me awhile to get used to those "bat" ears. lol...

She didn't mind it at first, but now her "stubble" is starting to rub when she walks, and it's really starting to hurt. :( I haven't decided if I'll have the groomer do this again, though I'm REALLY enjoying her lack of shedding!! IF I decided to have her cut down again, I think i'll suggest a longer guard. Maybe that will help with the stubble itch. lol...

Sadie, of course, had her usual cut. Close trimmed body, poofy head and ears, and pompoms on her tail and legs.

Tinkerbell Cake

2010-05-05T22:57:00.000-07:00

Okay, so it's been a LONG time since I've blogged. lol... But I was logged in and decided I might as well update.

I was asked to make a birthday cake for my friend's daughter, Hailey. She turned 5. She loves tinkerbell, so my friend bought some cute little toys and asked me to put them on her cake. I also took Hershey's hugs and kisses and made little "toadstools" with them.

I had a bit of a difficult time getting the buttercream smooth, but all in all I was pretty proud of it. lol...

I guess this is why I don't update, there's never anything new to say. :P

Halloween

2009-11-06T13:08:00.000-08:00

Okay, I'm really slacking at this blogging thing. Since starting Etsy, whenever I am online I'm busy with that...

I don't really have alot to update on, but I do have a couple of Halloween pictures. Ray and I didn't have a Halloween party this year, as we do most years, since we really didn't know what his work schedule would be. He actually ended up having it off, so we just sat home and watched scary stuff on TV. I dressed up, since I had already gotten the teeth for my costume.

Ray didn't dress up, but he did do all of the candy giving, and ended up getting a little too "festive" with the candy eating, himself. And, YES!, he will kill me when he finds I've posted this picture. :P

Ray is currently over in Pennsylvania. He left Wednesday and won't be home until the 19th. Then his rig here in town should be going out, so he still won't have any time off. Halloween was the only days off he's had in at least a month. But as he says, "too much work is better than no work at all..."

My Etsy Shop

2009-08-18T14:34:00.000-07:00

Okay, I've been working on my shop on Etsy for about a week now. I have a few items up for sale, though I still need to go back through and take better photos of them. I was in such a hurry when I put them on that I wasn't worrying about the quality of the picture. lol... Yeah, I know that's bad. You're photo is what sells your merchandise. Anywho... I chose my shop name to be "The Red Canary" lol... I thought it was cute. :)

Etsy
Buy Handmade
theRedCanary

I've been having fun making things for it. I even have a custom stamp with the url ordered and on its way, and I have sew in clothing labels. :) yay!

I'm not doing this as a job or anything. I just love making things, and there's only so many things you can have around the house. :P I figured this way I can continue to make things as a hobby, but have a reason for it as well. If they sell, great, if not well... I had fun making them. :)

More cake.

2009-08-03T10:23:00.000-07:00

So, I decorated a couple more cakes this weekend. One was for my dad's family reunion. They were doing a Mexican theme, so I made little red chili peppers to place on top of the sheet cakes.

The other cake I made was a two layer cake made for my mom's birthday. I used butter recipe chocolate cake mix, and I filled it with bittersweet chocolate ganache. Yum! Her favorite color is light yellow, so I made yellow roses. I went to Allred's (floral nursery) and found a cute little hummingbird pick for flower pots, so I place it in the cake as well. :) I had a hard time getting the icing smooth, but for my first attempt at a 2 layer, I think I did okay. :)

It took me nearly 8 hours to make, but I'll only get quicker in time - I hope... Lol.

Course 2 complete

2009-07-31T09:27:00.000-07:00

So, last night was Jen and my last day of Wilton II. Wilton III starts next Thursday. To complete the class we had to assemble our final cake with all of the flowers we made and dried throughout the course.

The first picture was taken on my phone, so it's not quite as clear:

I had this next picture on my phone, and while I was transferring them to my computer, I figured I'd share it. This was when Summer came out to stay the week before the family reunion. My mom and dad both had to work, so I was watching her for the day. My mom couldn't leave work for lunch, so Summer and I took lunch to her. While we were visiting, I guess Summer decided that I needed a facial, so here it is:

Then these are just a couple of pics of Sadie cuddling in her mommy's lap. :) She's so cute.

Cake time!

2009-07-07T21:32:00.000-07:00

So, Jen and I have passed course one in the Wilton cake decorating class. Thursday starts course two. Can we do it? YES we can!!! (okay, I've apparently watched too many kids shows with the kids.)

I made a chocolate cake with a mint center. I had once slice of it after class, but luckily I had a friend (Brandy) who was daring enough to take it home and eat it with her family. lol... Thank goodness because I probably could have eaten the entire cake! Yum!!

Okay, so originally planned on making a white cake with a strawberry jam center. I stayed up extremely late Wednesday night baking the cake, and figured I'd let it cool and ice it in the morning, before leaving for the city. Well, The next morning I uncovered the cake. I went upstairs for, and I'm not exaggerating, about 1 to 1 1/2 minutes. I came back down to this:

Sadie had been eating my cake!!!! So, I chucked it. Luckily, cake mix was on sale 2 for $3.00, so I had bought two cake mixes the night before. I had a chocolate cake mix on hand, and had to hurry and bake the cake, let it cool, level it, tort it, fill it, ice it, and smooth it before leaving around 1pm. Needless to say, my cakes now cool on top of the refrigerator.

Our instructor insisted we get pictures of our cakes, and of ourselves with our cakes, holding our certificates. I look like I'd been through the ringer, but I'll share anyhow. :P

I did my roses peach. I was pretty proud of the roses, even though they kept toppling over. I still can't quite get sweet peas, and I definitely need help on the bow. lol... My practice ones were so much better. :P Oh well, practice makes perfect, eh?

I'm excited to start course 2 on Thursday. We're going to start learning some really neat flowers. :) Wish me luck!!

Crawfishing.

2009-07-01T22:01:00.000-07:00

So, Ray and I have been trying to catch crawfish all season long! With this unpredictably cold weather, we've had no luck. Well, we decided we had better give it one last try, before calling it quits. We went up to Monas (sp?) Creek, threw the traps in and decided to go for a ride around the country side. We went up to the canyon to scope out some camp sites, and then came back. After and hour and a half we pulled our traps and...

Crawfish!! Okay, so not the biggest catch in history, but it was pretty exciting to us. lol... We put the crawfish in the cooler, threw the traps back in the water, and headed to my mom and dad's house to freak my mom out with them. We even made her watch, as we boiled them and ate them. (and yes, I sucked the head. lol...)

When we went back to gather our traps, we had a few more crawfish in them. We ran to the store, bought some shrimp and decided to make it dinner. There wasn't enough to justify pulling out the big outdoor crawfish pot, so I just boiled them on the stove. I put so much cayenne in the pot, that walking in the house was like being sprayed in the face with mace. lol... Ray loved it, I got heartburn. lol... It was worth it though. :)

A couple of days later, Ray and I went camping. I made my first quilt to put on the bed in the camper. Not the best quilt in the world, but it's just a camping quilt. Tada:

This was Sadie's first camping trip, since we never found the time to make it out last summer. She had a blast! I had too many pictures to just post one at a time, so I made a slide.

Unfortunately, on our way home Tuesday morning Ray checked him voicemail, since there's no service on the mountain, and he ended up being called to work early. There were some problems with Ray's relief on the rig, so they needed him to come out and fix the problem. Hopefully the guy they've hired to replace Ray's old relief will be able to keep things together enough that Ray can actually spend his entire days off, actually off! :P

Father's Day

2009-06-22T08:06:00.000-07:00

Once again, Ray worked on Father's Day. He was actually going to have it off, but his schedule changed so he worked it. I can't remember a Father's Day that Ray has had a chance to see his dad.

I, as we all know, went to Heber with the fam. :) It was fun seeing everyone, even though I ate 2 cookies and 2 pieces of Laverne's rhubarb cobbler, yum! :P It was a little stormy driving out. We hit a massive hail storm and had a hard time not sliding all over the road. The drive home was much calmer.

Sherie showed me the quilt she's making. So cute! Now I'm jealous. I haven't dared venture into quilt territory with my sewing machine, yet. lol...

Jennifer, Steven, Summer, Violet, Ray and I got my dad a new flag for Father's Day. His flag on the flag pole was getting tattered from the wind. He was REALLY excited about it. We put it up last night, and he just sat outside and stared at it. :) His flag pole is pretty special to him.

After putting up the flag, my mom came over and helped me set up my patio set. I figured that now that I have a back yard, I can actually enjoy it out there! :) (I'll take pictures when I get the patio cleaned off. lol.) Ray bought me the set for my birthday a couple of years ago, but we never really enjoyed it too much because we didn't like eating dinner out there in the dirt. lol... Then we colored her hair and watched Amazing Wedding Cakes and Bridezillas. I don't think my mom knew there were people out there that actually act like that. lol... It was pretty funny. Oreo and Sadie were pretty excited to see her, and they mauled her do death! They drive me crazy!!! lol...

Wow, the excitement of my life. lol...

Birthday and yard work

2009-06-18T08:06:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I didn't get the crawfish boil I asked for for my birthday, since we had to get the yard ready for sod, but I still had a good day.

Ray took me out to Stockman's for dinner. I ordered all-you-can-eat steak, but of course I was only able to eat half of one. :P Ray had a burger. After dinner, we went to my mom's for yogurt pie, YUM! :) Tony and Cynthia were there, as well as TJ and Summer. Gracie stayed home with her grandma Cordie -- she wasn't feeling well.

I got some really great gifts. :) Jennifer gave me a Barnes and Noble gift card last Thursday, while I was out there for class. I've already used it online, and received my books. lol... I didn't waste any time on that one. Tony and Cynthia gave me a gift card to Maurices -- very needed since none of my clothes fit anymore. I guess they must be tired of seeing me wear clothes that practically fall off. lol... Mom and Dad gave me a really cool tupperware set, that I've been wanting, and some spending cash for cake decorating supplies. :) Yay! My mother-in-law gave me a beautiful bouquet of flowers, and Ray let me pick out a new cage for Frankie, which I can't wait to show up. This is the one I picked:

Oh, and here are the flowers Ray's mom gave me. :)

On top of the great birthday, I now have a backyard. :) Very exciting. Ray's dad came over and helped dig the holes for the sprinkler system.

Our neighbors, The Nebergalls, saw Ray and I outside trying to lay sod and rake dirt, so they volunteered to come and help. They're a very nice family, but unfortunately they're moving away from the neighborhood. We did have a bit of trouble this winter with the youngest boy, Ben, but after an apology letter from him, and his labor shoveling the driveway, things worked out. lol...

All of the hard work paid off, for we now have lawn!! :D

2009-06-15T16:55:00.000-07:00

I made another new recipe tonight, found on Spark People. It was pretty good, and very filling!! I added a can of black beans to the recipe, as well. It made TONS! Figured I'd share. :) It looks aweful, lol... but it tasted great.

Oh, also. This recipe says to cook in a casserole dish in the microwave. I figured that just gave me one more dish to clean, so I just cooked it in the same pan as I browned the meat.

No Bake Mexican Casserole

Ingredients

1 packet of taco seasoning
2 cups hot water
1 box of macaroni & cheese (do not make as directed)
1 cup salsa
1 can whole kernel corn, drained
1 pound lean ground turkey breast (I used 93% lean ground beef)
1/2 cup fat free sour cream

Nutritional Info

Fat: 7.8g
Carbohydrates: 39.0g
Calories:306.0
Protein: 21.6g

Cook ground turkey until brown

In a 2 quart microwavable bowl, mix taco seasoning, hot water, mac and cheese, salsa, corn and ground turkey and the dry cheese mixture

Cover and cook in microwave for 8 min and than mix

cover and continue cooking for 6 min

stir in sour cream, cover and let sit for 2-3 min before serving

This dish serves 6

Frankie

2009-06-13T07:19:00.000-07:00

So, we have a new addition to our little family. :) I'm definitely my mother's daughter, and share her love for birds. (well, I pretty much love ALL animals. Bit of a freak about it, really.)

This is Frankie:

Sadie is pretty excited about him. She hasn't moved from that cage all day long!!

I named him Frankie because he sings and sings and sings... Just like Frank Sinatra (one of my faves.)

I caught him trying to bath in his little water dish today, so I figured I'd let him have a real bath. lol... I don't have a bird bath yet, so I used a shallow plastic container. lol... He didn't seem to mind.

I had to put Sadie outside for this one, she's just way too excited. Hear her in the background? :P

Oreo, of course, is just being calm as can be about it. She's such a good dog.

Ray's rig moves to Colorado

2009-06-05T08:42:00.000-07:00

So, Ray is finally back to his normal schedule, and won't be at half pay anymore. Yay! His rig is moving to a place called Hotchkiss, Colorado. Of course, the place is full of environmentalists who like to throw rocks at their trucks, and flip them off and such, but Ray says it's just fun to smile and wave. lol... What a sweet guy... lol!

Ray and I are actually pretty big on the whole, protect the environment, thing. But some people take it to a whole new extreme.

Anywho, he's in Colorado today for a big meeting, and then the rig actually gets moved over on Monday. It'll be quiet nights for me, once again, but maybe I'll get some sleep - without Prince Snores-a-lot next to me. lol...

We are so grateful that, with the recent horrendous oilfield crash, he still has his job. He came home with a big grin on his face yesterday, because he was so excited he spent the day hiring people back. He felt really bad when people had to be laid off. He puts up a pretty aggressive front, but he has a huge heart, and doesn't like to see anyone struggle.

I'm very proud of him. He's accomplished so much in his career, and really made quite the name for himself in the industry. He's a hard, dedicated and loyal worker, and Pioneer is very lucky to have him. :)

I made a purse!

2009-06-01T15:52:00.000-07:00

So, I bought a sewing machine about a week ago, and haven't been able to stop sewing. lol... I've made myself alot of grocery totes, and I made a messenger bag for my laptop. I also made an apron, and a sling tote. Today, I made a purse. :) Pretty exciting. lol...

Food at the Movies.

2009-05-31T12:01:00.000-07:00

Ray and I went to the drive in last night. We saw Monsters vs Aliens, and Star Trek. The movies were good, the food was better. lol...

I tried to be good, and even took my own pop secret 100 calorie popcorn, since a big bucket of theater popcorn can have around 1200 calories and 100g fat!!! Of course, the Drive In here has the best food. So, I ended up eating a box of Muddy Bears, a taco, and a Diet Pepsi, along with the popcorn I took. I love their tacos. :P A year ago, though, I could have had a bag of theater popcorn, an extra large regular Pepsi, a king sized Snickers, a chili cheeseburger and a footlong... So, I guess I did better than I could have. :)

Since being on sparkpeople.com, I've become amazingly aware of the garbage I used to shove in my face. Now that I've gotten used to eating better, and not binging all of the time, it's become quite easy to stay in my 1200 calorie a day range... In fact, there are some days I have to make myself eat something just to give myself enough calories.

36 lbs lost. That still amazes me. I'm still very overweight, but I'm getting there. I haven't seen this weight since I was in high school. I've set my goals, and for the most part I've stuck to them. I'm definitely not known for sticking to anything, so I'm actually proud of myself. :)

Luncheon.

2009-05-29T21:38:00.000-07:00

Okay, I know that Jodi already posted pics from the luncheon, but since not everyone who reads my blog can see Jodi's I figured I'd post, too. :P

I had alot of fun at the Luncheon, and I was really glad that Ray and I could make it out. It was a quick trip, but worth the drive. :) Plus, I got to see Jen's new car. Yay! :) Cute car...

Anywho, here's a pic from the Luncheon... It's the only picture from it I have, and I'm just too lazy to copy them from Jodi's blog. lol... :P

Easter pics

2009-05-04T17:27:00.000-07:00

Okay, I'm a little late on this, but I just barely DL'd my camera software on my new laptop. :) I had WAY too many pics to just post individually, so I did slideshows instead.

So, here's Gracie, TJ, Summer and Vi coloring eggs.

And All of the kids finding eggs! :)

Mexican Chicken and Rice Casserole

2009-05-04T12:02:00.000-07:00

Okay, I don't have any kids to share stories about, so I'm posting another recipe. lol... This is one of the easiest meals I've made in a long time. And it was REALLY delicious. yum!! I made my own taco seasoning mix instead of using store bought, and if you don't want it to be spicy don't get the tomatoes with chiles. Regular tomatoes will work. If you want it spicier, throw in some jalapenos or some crushed red pepper flakes. :)

Mexican Chicken and Rice Casserole

6 frozen - boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 can low fat cream mushroom soup
1 can low fat cream chicken soup
1 can water
1 pkg taco seasoning mix
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can diced tomatoes with chiles
1 1/2 c rice, uncooked
cilantro and green onions chopped (optional)

Spray 13x9" pan with cooking spray. Whisk soups, water and taco seasoning together, and pour into pan. Sprinkle uncooked rice over sauce. Place frozen chicken breasts on top of rice. Pour beans and tomatoes over chicken, and top with cilantro and green onions. (I left the cilantro out, since I don't like it. and I didn't have green onions)

Cover with foil and bake in a 350F oven for 1 hour and 40 minutes. (if you want it done sooner, cut the chicken into smaller pieces.)

I actually made this with only 3 chicken breasts, since it's just me and Ray and that's all I had in the freezer. :P Mine was done in only 1 hour and 20 minutes. :)

Serves 6

Calories: 480
Fat: 6g
Carb: 38g
Fiber: 8g
Protein: 65g

Cajun Shrimp and Beer Bread

2009-04-23T14:51:00.000-07:00

So, I've lost 15 pounds. :) If you actually go by my weight about a year and a half ago, I've lost 27, but I've just been going by my weight at the start of this year.

I've mostly just been eating healthy... I do try to exercise, but I'm not doing as well on that as I should. I'm pretty lazy. :P

Tonight, for dinner, I'm making Creamy Cajun Shrimp and Pasta. Here's the recipe:

Creamy Cajun Shrimp and Pasta

1 cup water
14 oz chicken broth, low sodium
1 pound shrimp
12 oz Healthy Harvest thin spaghetti
1 tsp olive oil
1 large red bell pepper sliced
1 - 8 oz pack sliced mushrooms
2 tsp flour
1 tsp cajun spice mix, sodium free
1 can petite diced tomatoes, low sodium
2/3 cup evaporated skim milk (not condensed)
1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley

Put broth and water in large pot and bring to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 min. Add shrimp and simmer for 3 min or until shrimp is cooked. Do not drain.
In skillet, add olive oil. Add peppers and mushrooms, saute for 4 min. Add flour and cajun seasoning. Heat for 30 seconds. Add tomatoes. Stir in milk and heat for 1 min. Add sauce and parsley to pasta.

Serves about 6.

Calories: 335
Fat: 2.8g
Carb: 54g
Fiber: 7.6
Protein: 28

I've made this before, and Ray couldn't get enough of it! He loved it! :) If you want it spicier, add extra cajun seasoning, or even just some cayenne pepper. If you hate shrimp, I'm sure you could make this with chicken, just make sure it's cooked first. :) Chicken doesn't cook nearly as quickly as shrimp. Also, I don't use mushrooms, I put onions in instead and I don't use low sodium ingredients (though I should).

Also, I baked a fresh loaf of beer bread. There's really no simpler bread in the world, and yes, the alcohol cooks out. :P

Beer Bread

3 cups self rising flour
1/4 - 1/2 cup sugar (I use 1/4 cup)
1 - 12oz can or bottle beer

Preheat oven to 350F.

Mix all ingredients in a bowl with a spoon, just until blended.

Grease and flour bread pan (I use pam with flour). Place dough in pan, even out as best you can and bake for 45 minutes.

Makes about 12 servings, and my nutrition info is based on using 1/2 C sugar.

Calories: 156
Fat: 0.3g
Carb: 32.7g
Fiber: 0.8g
Protein: 3.3g

For anyone who has tried the beer bread from the Hollow Moon Cafe, this is pretty similar. So good. :)

Applesauce Oatmeal Muffins

2009-04-16T10:46:00.000-07:00

I found a recipe on Sparkpeople.com. It actually turned out pretty good. :) So, I figured I'd share the recipe.

Applesauce Oatmeal Muffins

Ingredients

1 cup old fashion rolled oats (not instant)
1 cup non-fat milk
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 egg whites
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. sugar
raisins or nuts (optional)

Soak the oats in milk for about one hour.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Spray muffin pan with cooking spray.
Combine the oat mixture with the applesauce and egg whites, and mix until combined.
In a separate bowl measure and whisk the dry ingredients together.
Add wet ingredients to dry and mix until just combined. Add nuts or raisins if desired.
Do not over mix the batter or the muffins will be tough. Spoon muffin mixture into muffin pan.
Combine the cinnamon and sugar and top each muffin with some of the mixture.
Bake for 20-25 minutes or until done.
Remove from pan, cool and enjoy.
These can be frozen and reheated in the microwave for a quick breakfast.

Nutritional Info

Fat: 0.5g
Carbohydrates: 20.5g
Calories:93.5
Protein: 2.9g

Number of Servings: 12

Weekend flowers

2009-04-08T15:38:00.001-07:00

So, Ray actually got last Saturday off. He brought me some beautiful flowers, and took me out to dinner at Hollow Moon. I love that place. The Chicken Cordon Bleu is to die for! :D Sure, it ruined my diet, especially since I chased it with a piece of cheesecake, lol... but it was worth it. :)

Hopefully, he'll be able to take some time off to hang out over Easter weekend. :)

2009-03-26T17:57:00.001-07:00

We found a new groomer for Sadie! I absolutely love her, she did a great job... :)

My haircut

2009-03-19T12:34:00.000-07:00

I cut alot of length off of my hair today. It was actually getting really long.

It's nice to have it off of my neck... Ray wasn't too excited about it when I told him I was going to cut it all off, but he said he'd like it anyway... lol.. We'll see when he actually sees it tonight.

I just took these pictures with my cell, so they're not very clear.

Diet Sprite Cake

2009-03-12T15:33:00.000-07:00

I'm baking a cake that I found on sparkpeople.com. It's called Diet Sprite Cake. :) I decided to try this one after I made the Diet Soda Brownies... I'll give you both recipes.

Diet Soda Brownies

1 Box Brownie Mix (I used 50% reduced sugar, since you add sweet soda to it)
1/2 can diet soda

Simple mix the brownie mix and diet soda together, and pour into a greased 8x8 or 9x9 inch pan. Bake according to directions on brownie mix box.

If you cut into 12 squares, the nutrition information is as follows:

Calories: 114 Fat: 2g Sodium: 138mg Carb: 23 Protein: 1

Diet Sprite Cake

1 box white cake mix
1 can diet sprite

Mix sprite and cake mix together and pour into greased and floured 9x13 inch pan.

Bake according to directions on box.

Let cake sit 15 minutes and poke holes in it. Dissolve a package of jello in 1 cup boiling water and then add 1 cup cold, just like on the box. Pour over cake and place in fridge for several hours.

Cut into 15 pieces.

Calories: 150 Fat: 3g Sodium: 257mg Carbs: 29g Protein: 1g

Now, both of these are based on an average of boxed mix nutrition facts, I'm sure it's different if you use the 50% less sugar mixes... And also, I'm adding light cool whip to the top of my cake, and fresh strawberries...

I haven't tried the cake yet (still in the oven), but the brownies were great! :) Just make sure you wait until their cool to cut them. I made a big mess of mine. lol...

Irreversible Pulpitis

2009-03-11T12:16:00.000-07:00

Irreversible Pulpitis. That's the diagnosis I received at the dentist today. Sounds pretty scary, eh? Irreversible Pulpitis...

Okay, so that basically means that even though the tooth and x-ray of the tooth looks great, my root is going bad. It's on a molar, and so I have to go to a specialist in endodontics for a root canal. I was given several different names to call and decide which one to go through. So, I can go to SLC, Vernal or Provo... Just think, Jen! If I get it done in SLC you can babysit me again! ;) Oh what fun.

Why do such simple things have to have such scary names? Irreversible Pulpitis. Makes it sound like I'm dying. No worries, I'm not... Well, not from irreversible pulpitis, anyway. ;)

My new obsession...

2009-03-04T10:55:00.000-08:00

I have a new obsession, spending too much time on spark people. It makes it really easy to keep track of calories, fat, carbs, etc... I really enjoy it. I joined on February 17th, and I've lost 5 lbs so far! Most of it within the last week. I have a really hard time eating right when Ray's home. It's just too much fun to cook big meals, or go out to eat when he's around.

It also has really great recipes on it, with all of the nutrition facts. I've added a few of my own recipes as well. :)

I also have a new obsession with my own homemade laundry soap. 100% natural, of course. And I no longer use fabric softener. I don't like knowing I have build up on my laundry, and I'm pretty sensitive to smells. I usually just put vinegar in the fabric softener dispenser, and it helps with the static. And no, my clothes don't smell like vinegar. lol... When I do want fragrance in my laundry, like sheets and such, I throw a dryer sachet in the dryer. I make those with organic dried flowers. Yeah, I've somehow become pretty hippy... lol! Ray teases me for it all of the time. :P

Seriously, I hope no one actually reads my blogs. Then they'll really know how extremely dull my life really is. lol... I like it, but I'm sure its not much to read about. lol...

2009-03-03T12:47:00.000-08:00

Okay, okay... It's been forever since I've blogged. I'm probably just too lazy for this. lol... Btw, the pics on here are from my cell, so they're not as clear as they could be.

So, I don't have any kids to show pictures of, but I do have dogs. Yeah, having to look at pictures of people's dogs is probably a little weird, but DEAL WITH IT! ;)

Sadie has gotten so big...

She's around 50 lbs now...

And poor Oreo is around 50 lbs, but should only be about 35 - 40... No, I don't feed her too much, she's just lazy... lol...

Goodness, I really do have a boring life. lol... Not all that much of interest going on...

Ray's at work, of course. We spent last week doing a big spring cleaning on the house. We had to take 2 trips to the garbage dump to get rid of all the extra crap we had around the house. Mostly empty boxes.

I'm getting ready to paint my bedroom. I bought a new bedspread around 6 months ago, and still haven't put it on the bed. It's beige and black, and I'm going to paint my walls beige with on wall being a plum purple. Hope I'm not sorry... I'll have to take a picture when I get it done.

So, I have dark red hair now.

I like the color, but having dark hair tends to show how thin my hair really is. Oh well...

Ray's hair is still the same color... lol... Maybe a few extra grays here and there, but that's about it.

Okay, I could ramble about pointless things all day, so I better end this now.

Sadie Liberty Lemieux

2008-07-01T18:59:00.001-07:00

Wow, it's been awhile since I blogged. So, I'm sure everyone knows now that Oreo is home. :) 9 1/2 days after she went missing, she returned.

The night Oreo came home, Ray had taken me to the city to pick up a new puppy. I didn't want to spend another week, while Ray was at work, home alone. I chose a cute little chocolate Standard Poodle. Her name is Sadie Liberty.

We got home from getting Sadie around midnight on Sunday/Monday the 22/23rd. Around 4:00 that morning Sadie started to toss and turn in bed (she was sleeping with me and Ray), so I figured she needed to go outside. I took her out to the lawn and I heard the sound of a collar and tag banging together and feet running down the street. It sounded like a big dog, so I scooped Sadie up so she wouldn't get hurt, and turned around. It was Oreo coming home!! Can you believe it. The next day we took both of the dogs in to get chipped, tested, dewormed and vaccinated. Oreo came home with some cuts and scrapes, and her feet were so torn apart that they bled for days. But her bandages are off now, and she's just about as good as new! :)

Her and Sadie are getting along great. :) I'll post more pictures as I get them.

ksl ad.

2008-06-17T00:15:00.000-07:00

I posted an ad for missing Oreo on ksl.com

Click here to see it.

First "Blogger" Blog.

2008-06-15T08:57:00.000-07:00

Exactly, what am I thinking? I have a couple other blogs that I try to keep up on, and now I'm adding another? lol... I guess my others are more like journals, so sorry guys... You don't get to see them. ;)

Let's see... What's going on in the Lemieux family? I guess I'll talk about our Friday the 13th. I first get a phone call from my mom, letting me know about Dad's test results from the doctor. Not good news... I couldn't leave the house because I had to sit around all day waiting for the hot tub repair guy to fix the stereo controls on the tub. I expected him around 9am, but of course he didn't show up until around 4:30pm!! What a wasted day. Things got a little better when my friend, Casey, took me out to an early birthday dinner at the Hollow Moon. It was pretty good! :) When we got home we sat around, feeling too full to move, and then got a call from my mom. She was so calm. This is our conversation:

Mom: Hey, what are you doing?

Kasi: Nothing much, just watering the dog.

Mom: I have a big favor to ask you, if that's okay?

Kasi: Sure!

Mom: Could you take me to the ER... I think I broke my arm.

Now, what kind of person is calm enough to consider a ride to the ER an actual need to ask a favor?! Of course I'll take you to the ER, you crazy woman!! ;)

So, Casey and I took her into the ER around 8:30pm. They took some X-rays and sure enough, it's broken. All across the Radius, right by her wrist. They didn't put a cast on her yet. They told her she had to wait a week, for the swelling to go down. She is pretty bandaged up, though. All the way past her elbow. Not too fun.

Well, we got home from that around 11pm, and I went to let my dog in. She was no where to be found. I called my parents and they went out looking for her, while Casey and I drove around looking as well. We called dispatch, but no one had called her in. Casey and I looked around until nearly 2am, and never found her. The next morning I got up, made flyers and Casey and I took them around. (She slept at my house Friday night. It's sort of our every other weekend, girl's night tradition.) We called the pound, Animal control and the Vet clinics. No sign of her. Ray's out at work, but he's been calling and checking in every couple hours to know if there's any news. No news... My dog still isn't home with me, and my house is pretty lonely. As silly as it is to get this worked up over a dog, I still can't help it. She's pretty much our baby.

So, the Lemieux home is pretty much a heart broken house as of right now... I'm praying constantly that she'll come home... People keep telling me to keep my hopes up, but I feel that would pretty much be setting myself up for failure. She's not coming back, and I need to realize that.

So, how's that for my firt "Blogger" blog? lol... We're such a happy bunch, eh? :P