Tuesdays at the Table!!

I'm jumping in with the gang over at All the Small Stuff where we are sharing some good eats! I made my Aunt Rame's Taco Salad this weekend and I think I may have shared this a long time ago but I don't remember.. We haven't had this in forever so it was time!

Mae Mae's Taco Salad

What you need to gather.....
1 bag of Doritos
1 bottle of Italian Dressing (medium Size)
1 pound Hamburger or Ground Turkey
2 cups of Grated Cheddar Cheese
Iceberg Lettuce
1 can of Kidney Beans
Tomatoes (diced)

I'm using ground Turkey.. Put in in a skillet and brown it up, if you are using ground beef make sure you drain it when it's done before you add it to the bowl. Grease is Bad um' k!

Next you will need a big ol' Bowl w/ a sealing lid.. Depending on how much of this stuff you will be making. It's perfect for those summer picnics of family gatherings . We never had one without it! If we did Aunt Mae had to go home and make some before she could return to the party!! I'm not kidding.. 

Put your meat in the bowl and throw in your grated Cheddar.

Rinse & Drain your Kidney Beans, chop up your lettuce and tomatoes.

Then put the lettuce, beans & Tomatoes into the bowl with the cheese and meat. 

Now here comes the fun part... Well I think it's fun! Take that bag of Dorito's open it up a bit and then crush it!! Not too much but so your chips are in small pieces. 

Then add them to the bowl as well! 

Up next is that bottle of dressing.. usually you add the entire bottle, but this is a new ear and we are a bit more health conscious then we used to be back in the day.. So add to taste I use 3/4 of the bottle.. I will say DO NOT use Light Dressing, it taste horrible with this recipe. Just adjust to your taste. 

Once you have all your ingredients in the bowl.. 

Put that lid on good and tight and SHAKE, SHAKE, SHAKE!!!! 

And this is what ya got!! So GOOD!! This is not a make ahead, your chips will get soggy. If you are taking it to a party or gathering, add the chips and Dressing once you get there just before you are going to serves it.. It's also not good as a leftover (not that there is ever any left! ).

Now head on over to Cole's Blog and see what everyone is cooking today! 

Wreath Making 101

This post is crafty!!! I love looking at Wreaths in the stores around the Holidays and have always wanted one but we move a lot and they would get destroyed.. 2 years ago at X-mas I bought my first and I love it!

I wanted one for every season to hang on my door.. But I couldn't find a container for that one I purchased. Don't get me wrong their were some out there but they didn't fit the one I had.. So, I hung it on the back of my door for storage! 

Finally last year I came across a plastic container to store it in.. Bought it and you know that thing didn't fit!!

I still have my wreath but, I thought I'm going to make my own that way if it gets ruined in a move or lack of storage space I don't need to cry over how much it cost. So, here goes my first attempt at a Wreath for Halloween (my Favorite Holiday)..

This is one of those Grapevine Wreath from a craft store.. $2.50 on Sale.. I painted it with some Glossy Spray Paint  I used a %50 off coupon for so it was $3.25. The leaves you see in the middle actually keep falling all around my work area and I just sprayed them while they were there (idea I didn't use)  Spray each side and edges letting it dry in between flipping sides.. Take your time and get in all those spaces.

Next you need some of these things.. Not sure what they are called but I called them stems..lol Buy more then what you think you will need, you can return them.. I bought 6 @ $1.99 each and took 3 back.. So total cost $5.97 for 3.

Now cut them apart so you have just the individual pieces.. You will need Wire Cutters for this and I used my Stampin' Up! Rubber Scissors for the plastic.. Take your time on the Pumpkin heads they are foam and not sturdy. 

Oh and while you are digging out your Wire Cutters, find that hot glue gun you know you have around the house somewhere (or in my case you find 3 of them because you forgot you had one, more then once obviously, why else would you have 3?).

And let me just say that Hot Glue was invented by a Man because that stuff is EVIL!!! It will kick your behind up and down for several hours and burn you a few times no matter how proficient you are with Hot Glue.. Don't pretend like it never happens to you, I see ya grinning! 

I know my friend Andrea has had her fair share of fights with Hot Glue during the Holidays.  Glue the leaves and pumpkin heads and start attaching it on the wreath where you want them.. I would suggest lay them around first and get a feel for how it's going to look.

Now the next step is really important, text a pix of what you have to your Mother and BFF and ask them what they think.. Because you know it needs something but you aren't sure and what if it's too much? Should you stop now? Add some Chipboard letters more leaves etc... Insanity!!

Just attach some Black Grosgrain Ribbon to the top.. I used Stampin' up! 5/8" and loop it around and tie a knot.. I left it alone but knew it needed something else.. So, I went back to the store and got some ribbon I wanted a bow and my husband was driving me nuts saying it didn't need one or maybe I was driving him nuts saying it needed one..

Anyways.. Here I added the bow, my first attempt at a bow.. I'm not Martha Stewart but I think it came out pretty good for my first attempt and all for under $14 the wreath I bought for Xmas.. A whopping $25 at Target! I like this way better, minus that darn hot glue! If you've made a wreath I wanna see..

That bling makes me Smile!!!! Have a great weekend...

Day to Remember..

Take time today to reflect on where you were and what you were doing 9 years ago on this day. Take time today when you see a Public service member Police or Fire and Military members and say Thank You to them. This is a day I have not forgotten and never will.



I was in HI we had just moved there a month before from GA I was a few months pregnant with my first child and my husband was out to sea on a deployment. I always sleep with the TV on when he is gone, and I woke up around 3am to lots of commotion on the TV. This is the first image I saw!



I was confused and scared...I was glued to that TV for the next few days.. and I didn't know if my husband was coming home anytime soon..

5 things I can't live without!

So, have you ever wondered or thought about those things you cannot live without? I'm not talking get all mushy like.. I can't live without my husband or my kids or air!! I wanna know what are those meaningless items in your everyday that you MUST have!

My 5 things I can't live without would be......

1. Caffine! I'm new to coffee but I've long been a drinker of Tazo Chia Tea & Pepsi.

2. My hair stuf.... Having a head full of naturally curly hair is a curse! Yeah, yeah we all know everyone with strainght flat hair would kill for curly hair. When it's humid look out I need to tame this main with my Bed Head Foxy Curls!!

3. Chocolate! I guess this kind of goes along with Caffine but I need it.. maybe not everyday but at least once a week, the darker the better!

4. Nail polish... Yeah I know weird right? But I'm a nail nitter addict and if I don't have some polish on those puppies I will chew every last one of them off and it's not a pretty site to see.. Been that way since I was a child... Then one day as a teen I painted them neon green to go to a POISON Concert (Yeah, I'm that old!) and I haven't bitten them since..

5.. Last but not least my Baby Face bar from LUSH.. I can't stand it when my face feels dirty.. you can wash with soap but then it's all itchy and uncomfortable.. This stuff ROCKS... gets make-up off and gets the skin so clean and soft I love it!!

So what's your guilty pleasure?.. Leave a comment or post it on your blog and let us know what you just can't live without!!

Bloggy, Blog, blog..

I don't know why I try to keep 2 separate blogs going.. I think I'm insane! I try to so hard to keep updates for Family and Friends but man what do you write about after an update.. So, here I go again at trying to keep this blog updated..

The kids are back to school.. they are in 2 different schools which has posed a bit of a problem, but we are working that out.. They schools are very far apart and they seem to get on buses 20 minutes apart in different locations and arriving home they seem to be coming at the same time and at 2 different locations..

The first day of school for Austin was exciting to say the least.. If you follow me on Twitter or Facebook you know the school lost him! Yes, I said lost him... they lost my 8 year old non-verbal Autistic child!! Needless to say all my faith in the Anne Arundel Public School system is shot and will be until further notice.. I'm a complete basket case putting that kid on the bus and waiting for him to return each day.

It was a mix up but still not an excuse and should never happen to a child who cannot speak!! We were very lucky that he was in the hands of a capable bus driver who handles special need children. My husband and I waited at the bus stop for his bus to arrive and it was 15 minutes late.. I started to get a bit concerned and I called the bus company to see if it was running late or something happen.. And was told that my child  wasn't on the bus he was suppose to be on and then she called the school was told that he went home with his dad. When she told me that my heart stopped!! Every horrible thing you can imagine was going through my mind. My husband was at the bus stop with me you see there is no way he had Austin.

I called the school and said my child was missing and they need to call the teacher and find out what happen and where he is.. and I went into hysterics because they just keep saying he went home with his Dad and then he was one the right bus.. this was happening at 4:30 pm Austin got out of school at 3:25pm. My husband called the school and went postal and said we were calling the police and reporting him missing and just went nuts. Which in the 17 yeas I have been with him I have never seen him do..

The school said they have to call me back and see if they can figure out where he is at and what happen. I'm like what do we do? It was bad ya'll, very bad!! I'm like you have to call me back? WTF!!! So anyways I called the bus company back because we all know after a certain time there isn't going to be anyone answering the phone at the bus company or the school they will have all gone home for the day!

So, I told the bus lady that the school didn't know where he was and that he wasn't on the right bus, could she check to see if there are any kids on buses that didn't get dropped off or seem to be in the wrong place? I don't know the ladies name at the bus company but I love her!! She was awesome, she checked and double checked and said she found him. The bus that had him had Austin.. just the wrong Austin! So we found a place to meet the bus and we drove to get him.. Austin got off the bus at 5:30pm!! I don't ever want to experience that again EVER!! And are you ready for this? The school called back at 5:20pm and said that Austin was on the right bus and should of been on his way home.. So they still didn't know where he was!!

Now here is what gets me.. Not once did someone from that school call me that night to apologize or check on Austin.. Needless to say he wasn't riding the bus again and I didn't want him back in that school period.. Incompetent asses!! Mix up happens don't get me wrong but they cannot happen to special need children... There were 2 Austin's and one Austin did go home with his Dad and then My Austin was put on that Austin's bus as that Austin.

I drove him to school the next day and was planning on talking to everyone their.. Well they were waiting for me. I think they new I would be livid!! And they know I could of raised all holy hell about this.. The Principal was upset and said that the person responsible for Austin getting on the wrong bus would be dealt with.. and she was. And they wanted me to have faith that this wouldn't happen again and that I could trust them with my child. I picked him up that day too..

He has been riding the bus now for a few days and I can say that he has arrived home safely each day and that new measures have been put into place to prevent that from happening again.. I'm still upset by how the school handled it overall.. But, when you have a special needs child sometimes you get limited to schools they can attend and you have to do what's best for them overall. This program is what he needs and with Elvis at a different school in Kindergarten I can't be in 2 places at once so I need that bus..

So how's that for an update!!!  Elvis started Kindergarten and he lost his first tooth!! He loves school so far.. Other then that not much else has been happening around her. It's still really hot, I'm ready for winter... Yes I said that bring on the snow!!