No More!

Dear Hollywood,

Usually you bring me endless hours of happiness and joy but there is one little peeve that has been sticking with me the last couple of years....the remake. There is no way possible you could have run out of ideas, so why do you continue to recycle old movies?  Why do you take good movies from the past and destroy them or even worse, take old show and make them into movies? No more! Please!

The latest reincarnation of Judge Dredd actually looks better than the one of my youth, but still...c'mon, have you been to a comic book store lately? There are million others to choose from. While we are on the subject of comic books, enough with making movies and shows from graphic novels! You will never ever do them justice, so just stop. I'm begging you. Just stop.

Because I want to help you out, the following movies are off limits:

• The Thin Man (I've heard this is being remade with Johnny Depp, I don't care how cute he is-hands off Nick and Nora!)
• A Christmas Story
• Big Lebowski (unless it's 2 hours of Sam Elliott, than okay...I'll let it slide)
• Plan 9 From Outerspace (you really can't mess with greatness)
• Roadhouse 

If I hear that you are remaking these, I will personally come to your house and guilt you even worse than your mother does! It will not be pretty!
 
In conclusion, please give us more silly monster movies, more movies with Sam Elliott and will it kill you to throw me a Willie Nelson movie-just make sure that the ideas are NEW and FRESH! Recycle your cans, not your movies.


Hugs and butterfly kisses,
Your biggest fan,
 Pam

Finally!

I can not believe that I finished this HUGE cross stitch piece! You guys! I am not kidding when I say she is GIANT! The cross stitch is over 2 feet (24 inches) in length.



Now that I am finished with her, I don't want to see it for a very long time. Do you do that with big projects? Once it's done, it can go away?


I don't think people really grasp how long this took me and how I wanted to call the news stations when I was finished.


Did I mention that she is giant size and that I love this poem, but mostly that she is giant size?

Salivating Saturday

I have been on a quest to take all of my home cooked meals and make them a little healthier for OMP. This is a process that has required a lot of trial and error..lots and lots of error. 

Recently, I decided to incorporate a Meatless Monday into our dinner rotation. You may think this is an easy thing to do, but finding a meal that is healthy with veggies, that both of us would like, can be a little trying. I refused to give up and found the perfect dish!  Portobello Mushroom Lasagna.

Portobello Mushroom Lasagna

This recipe is for two people.

4 Portobello mushrooms

1 can no salt diced tomatoes or diced fresh tomatoes from your garden (2 big tomatoes)

1/2 cup of low salt spaghetti sauce (again, if you want to mash up some fresh tomatoes, that would be fine)

1 teaspoon garlic 

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/2 cup shredded part skim mozzarella cheese 

1/2 cup low or no fat cottage cheese

2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 425. Place mushrooms on baking sheet, cap side down and sprinkle with a little salt (about 1/8 of a teaspoon). Roast for 7 minutes each side. Reduce oven temperature to 350.

While the mushrooms are roasting, combine tomatoes and seasonings in a small bowl. If you like, you can add more garlic or other seasonings to taste. Basil would be so fab with this.

In another small bowl, combine mozzarella and cottage cheese. 

In a baking dish, spread your spaghetti sauce on the bottom, this will stop the mushrooms from sticking to the bottom. 

Cap side down, place the spoon full or more of your tomato mixture onto the mushroom. 

Now grab your cheese mixture and layer it on top of the tomato mixture (think of it as layering a lasagna). Use all of your cheese mixture but make sure you saved some tomato.

Take the other mushroom and place it on top and with the remaining tomato mix, pour over mushroom. 

Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and bake uncovered for 20 minutes. 

It may seem like a lot of work but it is so worth it! The cottage cheese cuts down on the salt and the calories  and if you can use your fresh tomatoes, you have just cut the salt even more! We paired this with a salad and it made the perfect dinner. 

Per serving, the calorie count is around 215 and 7 grams of fat and 21 grams of carbs.

Coming Clean

via little black book

Hi all of you happy campers! I know I have been MIA lately and I think it's about time I came clean. 

A lot has happened within the past couple of weeks. Last week alone tested every fiber of my being. I am happy to say that my head did not explode from all the stress. 

We got some bad health news over at Casa dePedersen. My sweet grumpy OMP is having some health problems that will require surgery. I can't go into too many details at the moment but it's pretty serious and we both are kind of scared but also know that it's for the best. 

As if that wasn't bad enough, last week my father's wife had a major stroke. The doctors did an amazing job and removed the clot. 

Still not enough for you....I was exposed to whooping cough via my boss. 

Ready for more? Our A/C, microwave went out and Pete peed on my clothes...so yeah, last week was the sucking suck suck that ever sucked.  The only thing missing was the rain cloud over my head.

Which brings us to this week. I don't have whooping cough, our A/C is working again, we got a new microwave and my dad's wife is on the mend and doing excellent. OMP is not out of the woods yet, but we have a game plan for his surgery and Pete...well, Pete is...Pete.

I might not be around as much as I like but I will definitely keep everyone updated, keep bringing you crafty projects and cocktails and of course, pictures of cute animals. My only request is that you stick it out with me, send us some healing happy vibes and stay awesome! 

Love you guys mucho!

Nice Melons

You've been invited to a family reunion or a neighborhood BBQ... what will you bring? The same old watermelon slices? No! I refuse to let that happen! You will not be the laughing stock of the party! Go to your kitchen right now and make this yummy, fabu watermelon shark!

So, watermelon sharks aren't your thing...fine, whatever...you can make this adorable teapot for your next tea party and be the talk of the town, for the good reasons this time.

Oh yeah, almost forgot, here's the video!



There ya go, you yummy little pieces of sunshine! Have a blast carving up some watermelon fun for your next party!

Tie One On Tuesday

A lot of you are asking for yummy summer nonalcoholic drinks that are also healthy for ya-and by a lot of you, I mean one person and by one person I mean OMP. Well, OMP-here ya go!

Watermelon is in full swing right now so why not make a watermelon slushie. It is so easy, I'm almost embarrassed to post the recipe.

Watermelon Slushie
Unseeded watermelon chopped into cubes
ice
a squirt from a fresh lime
Add ice, lime and watermelon to blender and crush until somewhat smooth. I like mine more crushed ice than super blended, but that is totally up to you. Garnish with a lime and wedge of melon. The lime takes off the sweetness of the watermelon.


Maybe you are more in the mood for something that is more on the tart side. Oh, you little puckerpuss, I've got ya covered.

Orange Fizz
2 cups Orange juice
Juice from half a lime
8 ounce ginger ale
Mix orange juice and lime juice together, freeze in an ice tray.
In blender, add orange juice and ginger ale. Blend until smooth
Serve with an orange wedge 


I love sangria but man oh man, I do not like the headaches you get the next day. UGH! Here is one sangria that won't leave you with a nasty hangover.

Pomegranate Sangria
1 quart pomegranate juice
2 cups mango juice
1 orange
8 strawberries
2 kiwis
Slice up all fruit and remove skin
Place all fruit into juice and sit in the fridge for 2-3 hours or overnight before serving.

There ya go! Super fruits, super good for you, super yummy and if you want to rum them up-go right ahead! You have my permission. 

New Media Monday

The internet is awesome for finding new music, but what about older music? It seems like the majority of the stations and music sites out there focus on what's new and hip now and the oldies stations are playing music from my high school days-which by the way, I do not appreciate, cause that music is not old! What if you want really great music from yesteryear? Well, the internet has you covered!

KBRD is a station out of Olympia, Washington that makes me happy on a regular basis. If you want music history, check them out. They play music from 1890's up until the 50's (maybe a few sixties thrown in there for sprinkles on top). KBRD is a nonprofit station, so if you listen and like what you hear, contribute so they can keep giving us melodic history lessons.

I am a sucker for a good old fashion country song. It's true, put on some Willie Nelson or old Johnny Cash and it makes this girl swoon. KVET plays everything from George Jones to George Strait. The station is out of Austin and it is AWESOME! They do play some new country and some alt country, but trust me, you won't think you just turned on a pop station. They are 100% Texas country music. Last summer, I was listening to their count down for the season and the top 10 were either George Strait songs or Willie Nelson. I felt like I died and went to heaven.

What do cowboys listen to on the open range? Why Range radio, of course!  This station plays the good old fashion cowboy songs that you may remember from the film serials and old cowboy movies when you were a kid. I can just imagine cowboys riding the range and singing these songs. The music is soothing and takes you back to a time where life seemed a little more simple yet, with more purpose.

I love the Rat Pack and all the music that was created during that time period. Swing 1270 plays that kind of music and more. Each week they have swing time, playing the best in swing music and they have a show dedicated just for Frankie and his pals. This station makes me want to put on my fanciest dress, pop open a bottle of bubbly and take OMP in my arms for a little swing around the house.


Check out these stations for all of your vintage music listening pleasure. You will be whisked away to another period with each and every song. Whether you want to be an old cowhand on the range or one of the eleven for Mr. Ocean (can you guess that movie?), these stations will not disappoint. Enjoy cow pokes and kittens!

Scrappy Dog Sunday

It has been sooooo long since my last Scrappy Dog Sunday. What have the dogs been up to? Being scrappy, of course!

Lola has spent way too much time on the computer.


Pete finished his last term at handsome boy modeling school. He is such a natural.
 

Jujube has been practicing her destroying skills, just in case she ever encounters a real threat in the backyard. 


All in all, it's been a pretty laid back summer for the pups, just like spring, and fall and winter. Sigh, I want to be my dogs.