New Years Eve Mornin.. : )..

Whew.  Last minute call to go into work.  Had to do some clean up for people who hadn't gotten a fifth round eval done so I went in, put my headphones on, turned my work chat room off and dug in.  Put in close to 60 evals in 5 hours and got through the entire list that was left over.  : )..  A HUGE, huge, huge!! thanks to Chris B for graciously getting me some ice water when I really needed it!  I totally appreciated that.  Awesome!  My eval per hour count was 13.40 when it's usually around 5 or 6ish.  Lol.  I was mooovin.  It's amazing what I can accomplish with a quiet room.  Woot! 

My co-workers have really stepped it up the past week though, we were all posting some huge eval totals each day.  One op hit 96, another hit 70 on a regular basis, we had someone post 81 one day and turn around and post 61 the next.  Our two newbies were also stepping up and cranking the evals out, which is awesome!  They started in one of the craziest months (yeah, lol, wait until February!), dug in and have been doing great.  Whew.  I think we definitely need another potluck....   Or....  Another outing.  : )..  We need a little more time to gel as a group.  Lol.  Hehehe. 

Alrighty.  I hope everyone has some great New Year's plans.  I know that I do.  We are stopping by Ladoga Ridge Winery to meet up with a few friends for a quick start to our evening festivities.  I love Ladoga Ridge, they have the best selection of sweet wines around this area.  Out of 5 wines that I tried, there wasn't one of them that I wouldn't have bought on the spot.  Yummy!  One of our group is going to bring a picnic basket with some fruit, cheese, crackers, etc and we are going to take full advantage of the warm weather here by relaxing outside on the veranda.  : )..

Then, we are heading out to see our friends, Famous Seamus and the Travelbongs who are playing at a local restaurant.  Already made reservations for a table so we can camp out and have some great fun.  I have a feeling that it's going to be a great New Year's Eve.  Hope that everyone else has a great one as well.

Here's a little dose of humor for the day.  I have been enjoying "Despicable Me" lately.  Lol.  Not sure how many others have seen it, but here's one of my favorite scenes.  Steve Carrell plays a not-so villianous character who has a lot of little minions and had told the kids that they were his cousin.  Enjoy and have a Happy New Year!

"Whuut?!"  Lol.  Love that!  : )..  That's going to be my new ringtone if I can figure out how to do it.

Aww.. Passin this along so that it might help..

Here is the original video that her father made..

Whew! Friday!

Worked from 6:30pm last night until 2am, but we got far enough on our fifth round of evaluations that the three people working today should be able to finish without me.  Yay!  Woot!  : )..  Whew.  It's been a huge team effort and it will be worth it in the long run.  Two co-workers entered over 80 evaluations yesterday, three of us were right around 50 and our two newbies each put in 40, which is awesome as well.  Our boss probably expected us to tank this month, he's out on vacation until January 3rd, but I'm sure he will be impressed that we finished on time.  I'm thinkin potluck time!  I have a few ideas for that.  Hehehe.

I'm thinking about the following Pinterest Crockpot ideas:

Crockpot Buffalo Chicken

found here.

Crockpot Hawaiian BBQ Chicken

found here.

Or..

 Crockpot French Dip / Au Jus

found here.

And maybe a super quick, super ez

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

found here, which technically is

not a Pinterest recipe because

apparently, I never saved the link

to this one.  Lol.

Anyway, sounds good any way our potluck should happen to go...  : )..

Aha! Finally! Aha!

Soo.  I've had this song stuck in my head every time we stop by one of our local Chinese restaurants.  One of the songs they play has the same beginning as something that I used to listen to and love, but until now, I couldn't figure out what the song was.  It was literally driving me nuts every time that I would try and think of it.  Mind you, we have an external hard drive with over 200 artists and who knows how many songs. 

I kept thinking Plain White T's, because despite the fact that they have one pop song that hit the charts recently, surprisingly enough, the rest of that cd had some very interesting and great sounding darker tunes.  I checked that cd.  Nope.  Not the song that I was looking for. 

Modest Mouse?  Nah.  Although I love some of their songs as well, especially Ocean Breathes Salty and a few others.  Muse?  Nope.  Although, again, love some of their music as well.... 

Finally..  Finally..  Finally!!  Aha!  Eureka!  It's....  Flogging Molly!  Awesome!  Loved this song from the first time that I heard it until I finally remembered it today.  Whew.  Dang.  I think I need some Ginko Biloba.  : )..  Lol..  I think that I lost it when we bought our new computer, some of my music never got transferred onto our external hard drive, and I redid my iphone playlist with the new computer.  I am missing a lot of music until I get around to hooking it back up here in a few minutes to fix that problem.  Alrighty, without further ado..  Here is the song that I love, "Float" by Flogging Molly.  By the way, I love the video just as much as the song!  Woot!

Awesomeness.  Yay!

Today is Wednesday.. Soo.. That means..

I have less than a week of "vacation" left.  Didn't work yesterday, but put some time in today.  Got up super early, got in, got a lot done, got finished for the day (can't work overtime during my regular shift because I'm already being paid vacation for it), hit Wal-Mart and picked up some crafty little items for a few projects that I have in mind.  All in all..  It was a pretty productive day.  Until now..  Lol.  However, once I am done here, I'm starting on housework..  Yay..  Yay for me!  : )..

 Here is my second white elephant prize from the other night.  Luckily, we took two presents so we both got to draw.  I won a Wal-Mart gift card but then someone stole it.  Lol.  Guess who stole it from them?  : )..  Ha!  My dh!  He had my back.  He loves these bowls because we are forever trying to find something to put diced veggies in when he makes homemade pizza (Yummy!  We have a bread machine so he makes his own delicious crust.), fajitas, tacos, etc.  I gave him the bowls and he gave me the card.  Works for me!

 Umm.  My favorite crafty little "project"?  Smirnoff Ice for the grenadine that I already had waiting at home.  I wish that I could have bought some of the nice weather that was in that picture!  But, unfortunately, Wal-Mart refuses to sell that.  I know.  I've asked.  Repeatedly.  Even told them that it wouldn't matter how much they charged for warm weather, I could find enough people to pitch in!  Lol.  The closest answer I ever gotten?  They can sell me a ticket to someplace warm.  Sigh.  It's not the same.  Lol.  Although, it is pretty mild outside, temps in the mid 50's with upper 60's tomorrow.  Woot!  Bring it on!

 I'm looking forward to this project.  : )..  I bought some of the floral tape, now I just have to stock pile some of the little sample size bottles.  Should be fun!  I love patio lights and this idea is just too great to pass up!

And I couldn't forget my babies.  I got them a couple squeaky alligators.  One of them already lost a leg when Emmy and Milo were playing tug.  Aye Carumba.  They don't make puppy toys like they used to.  Thankfully, they were only 94 cents.  We had a couple other alligators in the past and Milo loved them.  He tore them up as well and it took me forever to find them again.  But!  I finally did.

Housework time.  Yay.  Unless there's something on Pinterest.  Lol.

Addendum:  Beware!  Lol!  Spritz!  Not spray!  Cough!  Hack!  Cough!

Cough..  Hack..  Cough..

Tuesday Mornin..

Despite the fact that I am still on vacation, I am going to put in a little time at work today.  We are trying to make it to the end of our fifth round of evaluations, and I'm betting that it's probably going to be close and that we need a little boost.  Every little bit of work helps.  At least I won't have to be there, so it will fly by.  : )..  It probably won't be the only day that I go in either.  Lol.

Rachel Ray is my hero.. : )..

Sooo, one of my favorite treats is deep fried ice cream.  I tried it for the first time at a restaurant in St. Louis called Casa Gallardo.  : )..  I loved it then, I love it now.  There are a few places around here that make it, but by the time we eat dinner, we rarely want to add dessert on top of that.  Sooo, that leaves the option to make it on my own.  I watched Martha Stewart once as she made it.  Loved the fact that I actually could make it, if I actually felt like taking that long and doing that many steps. 

She scooped the vanilla ice cream, placed them on a cookie sheet and then froze them until they were hard.  She then drizzled them with honey, crushed corn flakes and then flash fried them and then added her toppings.  I'm not one to want to wait long enough for the ice cream to freeze, and I'm not sure how long to actually flash fry it.

In comes Rachel Ray.  One of my co-workers was bored and flipping through the channels at work one nite.  He stopped on Rachel's 30 Minute Meals show.  I am sooo glad that he did.  Her dessert?  Fake out deep fried ice cream!  Fake out?  Ohh, yeah.  Here it goes...

Put your vanilla ice cream in a bowl.. 

Crush the cornflakes (those haven't been crushed yet) and put them on the ice cream..

Add a little bit of honey..

Add a little dash of cinnamon..

And any toppings that you want..

Whipped Cream, chocolate, cherries, etc..

Whatever you like..  : )..

And then..  enjoy!

What?  No freezing the ice cream?

Hopefully, it should be frozen enough..

What?  No flash frying?

Nope!  It's fake out deep fried ice cream..

There is no flash frying involved..  At all..

Layer your ingredients and dig in!

Yes..  It really is just as easy as that!

I love Rachel Ray..  : )..  Don't ya'll?

I'm linking up to Debbie Doo's Newbie Party again..  : )..

Check out her site, especially if you are a newbie!

She's got a lot of great things on there!

Thanks for always inviting us Debbie!

Emmy and Milo's Christmas Mornin..

Milo says Santa left him a frozen sock outside!  Lol.  Santa might have left something for Emmy too, I saw her sitting by the shed eating something.  I don't think that I really want to know what it was!  Lol.  I'll let her keep that between her and Santa.  : )..  Here's a quick video of our pups enjoying Milo's treat!

Hope everyone else's Christmas was just as joyous and carefree!



White elephant fun..

Not sure that I like the whole white elephant game or not. Well, the gifts are great, as long as you don't get a gag gift.  'Sup with that?  Really?  I'm going to spend good money and get what instead?  Lol.  I think those that bring gag gifts should have to put them in a pile and that's all that they get to pull from.  The rest of the group can pull from the actual presents.  Anyway, here is our contributions to the game.  : )..

Ceasar helped me wrap them.. 

 I'm usually terrible at wrapping, but actually faired pretty well this year..

 And what would the day be without a little dose of humor?  Lol.

Hope that everyone has a safe, joyous, peaceful and Merry Christmas!

Vacation Day Number Two.. : )..

Yesterday was nice, filled with puppies and naps, pork chops, cheesy taters and yummy salad.  Today was filled with a short nap (stayed up too late last night and got up too early this mornin) and then some quick shopping for a couple White Elephant gifts for a Christmas party tomorrow night.  Then we took our pups, Emmy and Milo out for a little treat.  My dad, who loves dogs, lol, sent each of our dogs $5 for a Christmas present.  Lol.  We went to one of the local Petco's and got Emmy a new hedgehog spiky ball and both of them some yummy treats.  We usually buy Milo replacement squeakers because he will tear a toy up in a minute to get to the plastic squeaker inside.  Petco doesn't sell them like PetSmart does, but luckily, we still have a couple of them on hand, so he won't know that his toy had to wait.  Lol.  : )..  Emmy loves her new ball and has been carrying it everywhere.  Happy little puppies for sure!

Here are some fun pics for the day..  Lol..

 And my favorite one for the day...  Lol!

December 22nd..

I'm soo thankful.. : )..

I have a lot of things to be thankful for.  I have great family and friends, loving puppies who get soo excited if I come back through the door five minutes after I went out because I forgot my phone.  I have a warm house and plenty food to eat, not to mention a dh that cooks 95% of it.  I've got a lot of great things going on.  I do see my glass as being half full.  Thankfully.

However, I am also thankful for the fact that a fisherman caught one strange looking little sea creature, and that someone out there thought...  Hmm..  I bet that little thing would be tasty!  I'm thankful that they were right, and that they met up with a culture who thought...  Hmm..  I bet that would be tasty after being grilled with onions, wrapped in a flour tortilla and topped with some cheesy sauce!  I am soo thankful, not only that they were right, but that they are so willing to open their doors and let me buy some.  : )..  I looove me some shrimp or seafood chimichangas.  Shrimp are crazy looking little things, but ooooh, they taste sooo good!  I could eat shrimp 24/7/365 and never get tired of it.

 Not quite sure if I would have thought, yummy!  Lemme cook that!

 Especially after watching Paris Hilton's My New BFF once.  : (..  That looks delicious though!

And that?  Now that's what I'm talkin about!  We have four great Mexican restaurants near us that have seafood chimichangas.  However, I would love to be able to make my own, anytime that I want...  Soo...  Here's a recipe that I want to try...

Ingredients:

1½ lb	Shrimp, shelled and deveined
2 tsp	Old Bay Seasoning
2 Tbsp	Unsalted Butter
2 Tbsp	Olive Oil
1	Small Onion, chopped
2	Garlic Cloves, minced
1× 10 oz box	Frozen Chopped Spinach, thawed and drained
1× 10 oz can	Rotel Tomatoes, original flavor
½ tsp	Ground Cumin
½ tsp	Salt
¼	Pepper
1 cup	Heavy Cream
¼ cup	Fresh Italian Parsley, chopped
2 cups	Grated Monterey Jack Cheese
8	Large Flour Tortillas
1× 48 oz bottle	Vegetable Oil

Directions:

Heat butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Toss shrimp with Old Bay seasoning and add to skillet. Cook for about 3 minutes until shrimp begin to turn pink, stirring constantly (shrimp should be slightly undercooked). Remove shrimp from skillet and set aside. Heat olive oil in skillet and add onions. Cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 1 additional minute. Stir in spinach, tomatoes, cumin, salt and pepper. Add heavy cream and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 5-8 minutes until sauce is thickened. Remove from heat and stir in shrimp and parsley. Working with one tortilla at a time, place a tortilla on a work surface and spoon shrimp filling down center. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of cheese over filling. Fold bottom of tortilla over filling and then fold sides over. Fold top of tortilla over folded sides and secure with wooden toothpicks. Place fold side down. Repeat with remaining chimichangas. Heat vegetable oil in a deep stock pot to 360 degrees. Using tongs, lower chimichanga one at a time, into hot oil with folded side down. Cook until golden brown on all sides, about 3-5 minutes. Drain chimichangas on paper towels and repeat with remaining chimichangas. Remove toothpicks and garnish with cilantro, green onions, tomatoes and sour cream.

Helpful Tips:

Serve with chopped fresh cilantro, chopped green onion, chopped fresh tomatoes and sour cream.

From: http://mexican.betterrecipes.com/shrimp-chimichangas.html

Yummy!  : ).. 

One day of work left and then..  Vacation!  Awesome!

Hmm.. Lessons Learned.. : )..

Mm..  K..  Sooo..  Found a great project idea on Pinterest (which I love and am addicted to), so I decided to try it.  It's still a learning process.  Here's what the project should look like..  Lol..

 Thought this was a really neat idea..

 Sooo, I bought this at a thrift store...

 Placed my stickers on there..

  Painted over them..

And peeled them off..

The things that I've learned from this..

1. Pick a regular canvas picture..

2. Use bigger letters..

3. Use a roller paintbrush..

4. Hope that it turns out well..

And of course, I had to go with a Cairn Terrier / Toto theme because of these..

 That's one of my favorite pics from CafePress.com.

 Our sweet little Toto puppies..  : )..

They really do look sweet and innocent..

Don't they?  Lol..

Don't be fooled though..  Lol..  It's just a disguise..

Oooh, whatta sweet little puppy!

: )..

Think I'm linking up to Debbie Doo's Newbie Party again this week.

Click HERE for her link, check her page out!  She's got a lot of great ideas!

My co-workers are so awesome and funny!

I was pulling a call for an evaluation tonight where the police were calling in to see if we had someone responding to an alarm activation.  Our poor operator looked at the history and told the officer that we had spoken with someone who said a moose probably set it off..  Then she stopped and repeated, "A moose?!" then went on with her call.  I was listening to the call before the history of the account came up and I checked the history.  "Spoke to 'John Smith' (names changed to protect the customer's privacy), said a mouse probably set it off."  Lol.  A Moose?!!  Mic-key M oh oo se..  : )..  Co-workers.  They make my day!

Three days to go.. : )..

I am sooo looking forward to some vacation time.  It's been sooo long since I've had time off.  I am sooo ready.  Still working on my project, but, whew, it's slow going.  I won't really be able to sit down and work on it until Thursday either.  I'm thinking it may be a next week reveal.  : )..  Not that it's really that exciting, mind ya.  Lol.  It's a craft project that I've been wanting to do for a while though, so I'm glad that I'm working on it at all.

Here are some pictures of things that I would love to have around the house.

 That looks so comfy, although probably hard to get out, unless you roll out of it.  : )..

 A nice little outdoor retreat.  : )..

I would really love to have a sun room to relax in.  Especially one that I could open the windows and let my cats enjoy a breeze every once in a while.  : )..

Great outdoor idea, especially after hearing that parts of the country might end up with over 16 inches of snow! Ack!  We might get some, but it doesn't sound like that much.  We had over 20 one day last year.  Thankfully, I'm in a job where I could schedule a vacation day back then and didn't have to go to work.  I am soo not ready for snow.  Lol.  Good luck to those who are getting it, or who are anxiously waiting for some!  : )..

A quiet Sunday..

Spent a quiet Sunday workin on a project that might take a little bit.  Lol.  I'm about 1/5th done with it, and am thinking it's going to take forever.  I just hope that it turns out like I think it will.  : )..  It'll be worth it though.  Been kinda slackin on the home projects and my dh has been doing most of the cooking lately.  Anyway, until I can get my dealio finished, here are some more pics.

 And finally, I am sooo not a fan of this song, but this lil pug is just tooo cute!  Lol.

Alrighty, back to the project.  : )..

It's Saturday.. And.. That means...

I only have to work three days this week and then I'll be off work until January 2nd.  : )..  Yay!  Oooh, vacation, how I've missed you too.  Saved 90% of it until the end of the year because we were thinking about going somewhere and of course, never did.  Sooo, now I get to reap the rewards for still havin time left.  Ahhh.  The puppies won't know what to do.  Lol.

 And finally, one of my favorite websites ever (although beware, she does drop an f-bomb every once in a while), Hyperbole and a Half.  : )..  Click HERE for the link....