Yum Yum Dessert Recipe

Recently it was my Bunco partner Shelly's and my turn to host Bunco. We had many a wonderful dish for the ladies that came to play. One was this Yum Yum Dessert. I was introduced to this one as a child and it is still one of my favorites. Granted I have made a few adjustments for my own tastes but it's still on my top 10.

Yum Yum Dessert

1 cup butter softened

1 cup flour

2 cup chopped Pecans

1 8 oz package cream cheese softened

1 cup powder sugar

2 cup Cool Whip whipped topping

1 large package instant chocolate pudding mix

1 large package instant vanilla pudding mix

4 cups cold milk

1st Layer – Melt 1 cup butter in an 8x13 inch Pyrex pan.  Add 1 cup flour & 1 cup chopped nuts.  Mix and press flat into pan.  Bake at 350° for 10 to 12 minutes until light golden brown, cool.

2nd layer – beat with mixer 1 8 oz package of cream cheese & 1 cup powder sugar.  Fold in 1 cup cool whip.  Spread on top of first layer.

3rd layer – Mix 1 large package instant chocolate pudding with 2 cups cold milk.  Spread on top of second layer.

4th layer – Mix 1 large package of instant vanilla pudding with 2 cups cold milk.  Spread on top of third layer.

Final Layer – Spread 1 cup cool whip on top of the fourth layer.  Sprinkle with 1 cup of chopped nuts.  Cover and chill overnight.

Yield: 24 squares, 294 Calories

Prep Time: 1 hour

Chill Time: Overnight

Until Next Time, SoCal Marisa

Guess What! Guess What!

THE GUEST BATHROOM IS COMPLETE!

I'm sooooo stinking excited! What I realized today is I really need to have people over more often. Brian hung up the mirror and pictures and I finished painting the baseboards and VIOLA! a finished bathroom! I'm loving it too. Just in time for the ladies to come over for Bunco!

OK, well I still have lots to do and I just wanted to share my excitement with you. Oh, and I get to cross something off on my to-do list! IT FEELS AWESOME! I love it when something gets completed. I am still on the lookout for other decorative things for the bathroom but I am in no great hurry and just over the moon excited I have one of three projects completed.

Until Next Time, SoCal Marisa

laa-la-laa-la-laa-la-laaaa!

Talk about a roller coaster sort of day today! Oh man I'm just tuckered out here. It's round about 10:15 in the PM as I start to compose this blog post and I have to say my emotions are on the raw setting. I have had so many ups and downs today it's a little weird. With those ups and downs I get the emotional exhaustion. I don't know if you are subject to exhaustion when you've gone to battle but me, yup, I get physically exhausted. So with today's ups and downs I definitely feel like I'm dragging my hind quarters around this house here. I need to spend some quiet time with God to center myself.

With that said I have to say there have been some high points too. For instance I went to Harvey's today and got me a Rosette for my Trail Mix. That's a very good thing. I spent a lot of time in the store talking to my friend there and played with the new handbags and took a gander first hand at the new Caddy and Razzelberry (think I like the Razzelberry better.) Contemplating a boxy next hopefully something will catch my eye soon ;-)  Oh man, I don't need to get as addicted as some of my friends! [silently she thinks to herself; Can't wait til the 19th to get here.]

So as we round out the 10:30 mark I realize I need to get my 20 visuals done for the OC Auction and I should get started before Friends comes on the tele. (I still find that show cute.) We have sooooo many items coming in and they are hitting us fast and furious. Getting ready and excited for this years benefit dinner. Taking a look at the list of items I notice there are a few interesting Teacher Experiences up for bid. Principal For a Day, Girls day, Build a bear, Lunch with the Librarian, and a pool party. All of these items with different teachers. I am sitting here wondering what I'm going to bid on! Man I need more income! You wanna give me a job?

All right, enough procrastinating Miss Marisa. It's time for you to get to work on those visuals. They aren't going to complete themselves! Maybe I'll sneak some ice cream too! It should make me feel better after this [a-hem] bad day.

Oh BTW - I'm down 18 pounds! teehee. OK. Time to work!

Until Next Time, SoCal Marisa

OC Auction!

Yes, it's that time of year again! Right now my life is all about our schools auction. Ontario Christian is gearing up for this years Benefit Auction Dinner. (that link will take you to the benefit website) So if you try to get in touch with me or try to distract me in anyway it may take more effort. AUCTION! AUCTION! AUCTION! AUCTION! I'm all about the visuals right now baby!

This is one of our biggest school fundraisers and it's rather large and consuming. Luckily I am not the only person pulling it off. We have a rather large committee and several chairs that are committed to making this night a hit.

Somehow I have found myself part of the input committee. (Shocker, I know) Our job is to make sure every item donated is accounted for, logged into the system and website and a visual is made for it. But that's not the all of it. Since we know the inventory we are part of several other committees simply by osmosis. My partners and myself are going to be eating, sleeping, and yes, dreaming auction. But don't get me wrong, if you know me then you know how much I enjoy doing stuff like this.

The closer we get to our Benefit date of April 1, 2011 the more you'll probably see me online late at night and more than likely not making any sense at all! If you see me on campus it's ok to stop me and talk to me, I won't bite you.

If you have never been to our benefit auction dinner then you just have no idea the great things that are in store. Without giving too much away when entering the hotel banquet rooms where we have set up you will find many, many tables set up and displaying all of our silent auction items donated by people and businesses all around us. Our teachers get into the spirit and donate their time for special parties and sleep overs or things like that. One year I purchased a swim party for Elena and she got to have a swim party at her teachers house with a few close friends. Talk about a memory! What's funny to see are the bidding wars that go on at the end when we are closing out the tables. I love the spirit of competition!

When we close the tables we move to our Benefit dinner. Our auctioneer then opens bidding on our live auction. We auction off trips, large or more expensive items donated, Our more popular classroom experiences. Some of our classrooms create artwork and that is then made into a quilt. The excitement over these quilts will just baffle you the first time you see it in action. Our students work hard on their artwork in the hopes of being chosen for the quilts. We get some really amazing quilts from them! Our bidders dig deep into their pockets to give back to the school. Many are Alumni, or have students and they want that personal memory.

The first time I went to auction I was just floored by the momentum of the place. Just when I got used to the whole silent auction part we moved into the live auction part and those paddles were flying high in the air. Our auctioneer of last year was invited back again. He's entertaining and brings excitement to the room. I can't tell you exactly what's in store for our other entertainment this year (it's a surprise) but you definitely will be moved and will be sad you missed it.

Now that I have told you where I will be this next month you're thinking to yourself this can't be that big. Oh, but it is. Anyway, I need to get back to work. I just wanted to take a break from designing the visuals to say hi and share what I have been up to lately. I'm sure you will hear from me because I will need sanity breaks every now and then. Not only that but I do have a life outside auction and I do live it. So there will be updates on what goes on in my world. Of course I'm going to be my usual sarcastic self. I'm going to be running all over the place as I pick up donations. BTW - if you want to donate something to the auction let me know....

Anyway, there is still some time before we take control of the DoubleTree's Banquet rooms and begin setting up for our night. So much to do yet so little time. Gotta run for now. Remember, it's ok to stop me and say hi!

Until Next Time, SoCal Marisa

Minestrone Soup Recipe

Vegetable Minestrone Soup with a hunk of buttered bread

I am watching my calories and am always looking for good meals that are low in calories. I found this really good recipe and only changed a few minor things to accommodate our taste buds. The family just loves this minestrone. I only include Cannellini beans and forget the kidney beans. We don't like those. Hope you enjoy! You can add meat like sausage, bacon, or other fatty full flavored meat if you really need the meat but it's really not necessary. The soup is pretty hearty without meat.

Ingredients:

2 Tablespoon Olive Oil

1 Yellow Onion, diced

2 Large Carrots, peeled and chopped

2 Large stalks Celery, peeled and chopped

3 Garlic Cloves, minced

1 Pound Fresh Spinach

1 Large Potato, peeled and cubed

1 Fresh Rosemary Sprig

1 14 Ounce Can Diced Tomatoes in their juice

1 Can Cannellini beans (white Kidney beans), drained and rinsed

4 Cups Chicken Broth

1 Ounce piece of Parmesan Cheese Rind (Just get the wedge of Parmesan cheese next time and instead of dumping the rind keep it for your soup. It will keep in the freezer until you are ready to use)

1/4 Cup Dried Macaroni Pasta

Look how happy the soup is in that pot. Look closely and you can see the cheese rind just perking away giving it's nice salty flavor to the soup!

Directions:

Heat Olive Oil in a large pot. Add onion, carrots, and celery. Saute until onion is translucent, add garlic and stir. Add spinach and potato to the mixture. Saute until the spinach wilts. Add Chicken Broth, rosemary sprig, and tomato's to the mixture and stir. Add Parmesan Rind and pasta to soup and let simmer until potato's and pasta are cooked. Add beans and cook until soup thickens. Remove Parmesan Rind and Rosemary stem and serve.

We eat with crunchy sourdough bread and butter with a nice green salad.

Serves 6, 221 Calories Per serving using myfitnesspal.com

Until Next Time, SoCal Marisa

Breaking Paradigmes

Hello My Wonderful Friends,

I am admitting to being in a rut. It snuck up on us. I don't even know when we officially reached rut status. However, we did. Complete and absolute rut! Last night hubby and I were talking and preparing for our little trip today and we realized it will be 2 years in August of this year since we have taken a vacation, and mini breaks are non-existent let alone day trips. Um, yeah, rut. We so need a change!

We talk about going places but lately we have been house bound. Enter 4th Grade Mission Reports. Thankfully Elena was assigned a Mission Report so we talked and deliberated on where to go. We couldn't decide between San Diego or Santa Barbara. San Diego has a Mission none of us has been to and then afterwards we could have gone to the Balboa Park, listen to the Spreckles Organ, Gone to the Botanical Gardens and hang out. It's one of our favorite places. Or we could have gone to Santa Barbara, to Stearns Wharf, and the zoo. Both wonderful days spent. I'll admit. I love Santa Barbara and if I had the money I would so live there!

Santa Barbara was our destination choice. Our plan: Wake up, pack a lunch and leave by 10am to drive up the coast to beautiful Santa Barbara. Spend some time at the mission, eat lunch, then head to the zoo. End our day at Stearns Wharf. Sounds like a good plan hu?

We had the lunch and kids packed in the car and left a little after 10am. When we left the winds were blowing and they were hot-hot-hot! Didn't look like it was going to be a good day for our neighborhood. Oh well, good thing we weren't hanging out here!

Our drive was an easy one. Super Bowl Sunday and hardly anyone on the road. The drive up the Coast Road was so wonderful. The sky was so blue and the water looked like glass. Everything was green and lush not like our arid climate. Cresting the hill and seeing all that green farmland with the ocean behind it is an instant relaxer for me. Camarillo, Ventura, Carpinteria, and 2 1/2 hours later we arrive in Santa Barbara. Aaaaaaah!

We decided to drive the long way around to the Mission, just sight seeing on our way up the hill. I love those cute little houses, they look so homey and seem to fit the landscaping. One of these days it would be nice to own one of those homes.

We pull into the Mission driveway, find our parking space and took a stroll around the grounds of the Mission. We spent about an hour checking everything out before we even set one foot into the Mission itself.  It's amazing how beautiful the Mission looked with the blue sky as it's backdrop. The day was a perfect 75 degrees with a slight breeze and we easily reduced our pace to leisure. Once on the grounds we inspected the front fountain and tried to count the fish swimming in the water. Unfortunately they were unhelpful as they wouldn't stay still for us. Either way we were entertained watching them swim.

A little later we returned to the truck and grabbed our picnic, found a nice shade tree, shook out our blankets and indulged in our repast of sandwiches, oranges, chips, and homemade trail mix. I don't know exactly how much time we spent under that tree but we weren't really in a hurry. Sated on Turkey sandwiches we later re-packed what remained of our lunch, returned the ice chest to the truck and entered the Mission for our tour.

We spent a good amount of time at the mission when we left it was after 4pm and we realized we really could not visit the zoo and enjoy it. A quick change of plans and we were headed to Stearns Wharf one of our favorite past times. Being that it was Sunday, Santa Barbara typically hosts Art in the Park and sure enough the artists were set up all along the avenue. Some of that artwork is Ka-razy! But the kids weren't in the mood to look at art so we walked on. At Stearns Wharf we poked our heads into shops here and there and just really enjoyed the afternoon. As all things come to an end it was now time to head back to the truck and head home.

We really needed to spend some quality family time together just the four of us. It's been so long since we have connected on that level. Elena said it was the best day in a really long time. We decided we really don't need to spend a lot of money entertaining ourselves. All we have to do is pack a lunch and head on out. We took 148 pictures today. A good portion of them were for Elena's report on the Santa Barbara Mission, the rest were of us enjoying our day together. Who knows where we will be next weekend but it's now time to start planning that little trip, pack a lunch, and just go!

Until Next Time, SoCal Marisa

How To Make Tea Party Hats/MOPS Challenge

OK. So in a previous post I had indicated my MOPS table got together and we made hats for our Tea & Testimony. Sure we could have bought them. After all the Kentucky Derby is soon and appropriate hats are readily available. We could have individually purchased our hats and shown up on our designated date wearing them; but where is the bonding? Where is the fellowship? Where is the spirit? Where are the memories?

MOPS is what you make of it and why do things half way? Why sell ourselves short? Why take away bonding opportunities and time spent with friends? So we put 4 dates on our calendars. Day 1: Day for us to individually go shopping for our hats. Day 2: Day for us to get together to go shopping for ribbons, bows, butterflies, feathers, and whatnot's. Day 3: Assembly Day. Day 4: Tea & Testimony Day.

Day 1 is pretty obvious. Most of us went to Michaels to purchase our straw hats and other little findings and fixings. However, not everything was purchased. Day 2 is a day where some of us were able to take a trip down to Long Beach and go to this warehouse where they sold all sorts of ribbons and bows, tulle, and the like for very reasonable prices. Come on, lunch, and shopping with the girls, Good fun! Day 3 is our assembly day. Hot glue guns, and all assembly pieces in hand we gather for a morning of eating, gabbing, crafting, and laughter...[I have an awesome table]. Day 4 we show up proudly wearing our individually designed hats to Tea & Testimony.

Again, sure they could be purchased. But take a look at mine. See those peacock feathers? Those peacock feathers came from Beth's peacocks. Yes, her real live peacocks. No she didn't chase a bird around and pluck it of its handsome plumage. they drop feathers now and again and she's collected them. Those feathers are special to me because they came from Beth's birds. OK, I'm a sentimental schmuck. We've already established that.

The hot pink tulle I wouldn't of thought to use without the girls suggesting it to me for the pop! The feather boa...the butterfly...all were purchased but we all laughed and played and had a good time building our hats. So my hat is special to me because not only did I make it, which to be honest was a lot of fun. Disregard the hot glue fingers one gets when playing with hot glue, we had a great time. The memories we shared as a table will stay with us.

I don't know about your table but my table is very involved. We meet for breakfast. Playdates. Movies with the kids. MNO's. All outside of the pre-arranged MOPS functions. We are INVESTED with each other. If you aren't then you should try a few get togethers.

So my challenge to you, if you should choose to accept it, is to get more involved with your table. So what if not everyone can attend. So what if its just two or three of  you that show. Get together and have fun ladies! I mean that's why you're hear right? To find commonality with your peers. To build friendships? How you gonna do that unless you work at it? Invite! Invite! Invite! Learn to say yes sometimes!

Go shopping. Meet for coffee or lunch. Go to the movies together. Take the kids to the park. Go to Disneyland together. Do a movie night at home. Have a slumber party. Get your nails did. Have a game night. Scrapbook. Sew. Bake. Start a cooking club. Take a special class at the gym together. Hike. Go to the SPA. Find something most of you can agree on and jump in! You're reward for accepting this challenge? Genuine friendships that last.

Until Next Time, SoCal Marisa