Keepsake Kanz - Harley Davidson

I helped my dear friend on this Harley Davidson Keepsake Kanz.  I was able to help out by using Sure Cuts a Lot 2 (SCAL2) and my baby bug to create the Harley Davidson logo.  Be sure to like her Keepsake Kanz page on FaceBook and check her selection often as she is hoping to have a few college logo and seasonal kanz available soon.

Thanks for KeepinUpWKaren, until next time.
~K

Texas Caviar

My husband introduced me to Texas Caviar last year when someone at school made it and he brought it home to share.  It was so good that I decided to make it for a few recent events.

Texas Caviar is more like a salsa than a dip. It goes great with the Blue Corn Tortilla Chips.  The combination of beans, fresh vegetables, and spices are indescribable.  You will have to make it and see for yourself.

A few people asked for the recipe I used.  Enjoy!

Texas Caviar

Ingredients:1 yellow bell pepper
1 orange bell pepper
1 red bell pepper
2 jalapeno peppers
1 (15 ounce) can black-eyed peas
1 (15 ounce) can black beans
1 (11 ounce) can white shoepeg corn
1 (16 ounce) bottle Italian dressing
4 roma tomatoes
1 bunch cilantro

Directions:1 Remove membranes and seeds from peppers. 2 Dice peppers and place in a large plastic bowl (jalapenos should be finely chopped). 3 Drain and rinse the black beans, blackeye peas, and shoepeg corn and add to peppers. 4 Add italian dressing and stir well. 5 Cover and marinate in refrigerator for 8 hours. 6 Drain. 7 Dice roma tomatoes and cilantro and stir into mixture. Serve with tortilla chips.

I modified it a bit by adding the following:
dash of ground cumin
dash of chili powder
dash of hot sauce
dash of sugar (to taste)
splash of apple cider vinegar
I also threw in some diced green pepper
Mix all ingredients in a medium bowl; cover and refrigerate 2 hours or up to 2 days. Before serving, adjust seasonings to taste, adding extra vinegar and sugar. Transfer to a serving bowl using a slotted spoon.

Karen's Courvoisier® Rose Summer Soiree House Party™

I was so excited to be selected to host my own Courvoisier® Rosé Summer Soiree House Party™.  House Party made the event so easy by sending me party favors (how awesome were the tote bags with the Courvoisier® Rosé logo???), conversation cards (they were so much fun!), and recipes for their signature cocktails.  All I had to do was invite a few dear friends, prepare food, and the event unfolded [perfectly] on it's own. It was so exciting being able to sample the Courvoisier® Rosé before it is released to the general public.

You should look into hosting your own House Party! I cannot wait to do it again!!!

What is houseparty.com?

houseparty.com connects people through parties. Use the helpful tools to plan your party, create invites, join sponsored events, share pictures and video and explore thousands of parties being held in homes around the country.

Thanks for KeepinUpWKaren, until next time...

~K

CNN Question of the Day 21-JUL-11 (Video)

CNN Question of the day

This morning when I logged onto Twitter (keeping abreast of the daughters' overnight activities), I came across a Tweet from CNN. Today's Question of the Day was to share your funny hotel story. It was early and without thinking, I adjusted the iPad for better lighting, tapped the link, and submitted my story. I was surprised to see that it actually made the segment, even more surprise that my brief synopsis was un-edited and read verbatim. I am such a CNN junkie, this made my day!

As soon as I can figure out how to do it, I will upload the actual video.

Thanks for KeepinUpWKaren, until next time.
~K

EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY: E-mail Coding System

I am on the phone with my oldest daughter (and my older sister in Virginia, along with her twin daughters that were in the car with her)... Anyway, I was asking my daughter if she read the article that I e-mailed her the other day. She responds by saying "I don't know, you mail me so many things." DID SHE REALLY JUST SAY THAT TO ME? Then, my sister chimes in to suggest I need to start coding my messages.

So, effective immediately, the following codes will be used in the subject line of my e-mails:

A - Read Immediately

B - Item of Interest

C - For Your Information / File

D - Print for Reading Later in the Bathroom

Thanks for KeepinUpWKaren, until next time.
~K

Update on my Recovery

Just a quick note to let you know I made it through the most grueling procedures ever (tonsillectomy, bi-lateral turbinate's, and septoplasty). I would deliver a set of twins naturally before having this done as an adult.

We made it home Friday just after lunch and I was feeling great (yep, the anesthesia gave me an extra kick in my step); looking awesome in my teal blue dress (with a fresh pedicure) and compression hose. I was thinking this was going to be easy breezy then Friday evening came and something from another planet had taken over my body. Despite the discomfort, I wanted to follow the discharge orders 110% so I was eating my popsicles, applesauce, and drinking lots of water... but it all kept coming back up. thinking this was normal, I persevered. I was also doing my nasal flushing 10+ times a day (they said 4 times a day but then I spoke to Frances’ husband and he scared the crap out of me so I wanted to have clean nostrils for my post-op) . I applied my ice packs throughout the day and took my meds according to the instructions.

I do not remember Saturday, except that I was in pain but felt that I needed to get up, shower, and continue my routine. I would only request assistance to get my icepacks or bring me a frozen treat every now and then. Sunday morning, As instructed, I took the pain meds at 2:45am on the dot, then again at 6:45am. Sometime after that I realized that I was taking narcotic shots and that my head would severely ache (more like someone hitting me upside my head with a bag of books) in the 3rd hour. I made the [un]consciousness decision to stop the pain meds right then and there, not even weaning off by dropping the dosage or cutting back the time. I would later regret this.

Sunday evening came and everyone was getting ready for bed, and I realize that I have barely had any sleep and that when I do fall asleep I am waking up with a violent cough that causes me to ... let’s just say gag (but it was worse than that).

I was OK with not sleeping Monday night as HSN was revealing the 5th Anniversary Cricut Expression 2 at 12:01am ET... so like the #1 Cricut fan I am, I stayed up, watched the broadcasts, and then ordered this wonderful $345 machine (I must tell you that I already own 3 other versions of this machine already – but this was the SPECIAL anniversary edition and HSN let’s you pay in interest free installments!!!!. Ooopppss.... I seem to recall something in my discharge paperwork about not making any big decisions or purchases while recovering. Oh well, I am pretty sure I would have ordered it if I did not have the surgery. Now to come up with a plan on how to hide it and then act like it has been here all along.... I will deal with that later.

...Where was I????

OK, Tuesday, was just like Monday except I was coughing and gagging worse and now my chest felt as if someone was standing on it. I had a bad history of pneumonia and bronchitis in Virginia and that got much better after moving to Georgia. I felt as if I had pneumonia without all of the other symptoms. My fever held steady at 99.9, so I went to the internet for answers. Note to Frances: DO NOT GO TO THE INTERNET FOR ANSWERS. Here I was plugging in my symptoms and became 100% convinced (and I convinced the doctors and nurses along with my family) that I was suffering from a pulmonary embolism.

After spending most of the night at the ER (watching Coleman watch the playoffs on a 19” tube TV), I was reassured that I had healthy lungs but somewhere out of the blue I have developed acid reflux and have scarred (BURNT) my esophageal lining.... WTF????? I was put at ease to know that a heart attack has the same symptoms, but my EKG and chest x-ray were picture perfect. So after the nurse jacked up my IV, had me gagging at the site of blood (think goodness I could not smell), I was administered some great meds and went to sleep. They woke me to discharge me, I rested a few hours at home, the pain came back at 5:30am and then I got up to get ready to go to the doctor.

Three barf bags later (one was a grocery bag that held the intake nurse's lunch and iPod), my doctor came in and was surprised by the change of events. After convincing him that I have only had heartburn during pregnancy and that I have never had any issues like this, he agreed that we should blame the anesthesiologist and just deal with this issue head on and get it under control. Then he decided to gag me by looking down my throat and then announcing that he had to remove the stiches, splints, and then flush my nose...... I was not a happy camper but then by the grace of God (and a lot of pain), I felt air in my nose. I was actually breathing through my nose.... so it was all worth it and based on the condition of my tonsils after extraction he was 100% sure they were infected which caused the jaw pain.. neck pain.. loss of hearing.... are we having fun yet?

I go back to work in 2 weeks. In the meantime, I am on the road to recovery and now learning how to live without spicy foods and carbonated beverages.

Just wanted to give you a QUICK update. I am back home, starving, still miserable, but on Prilosec (waiting for it to kick in) and looking pretty good after dropping at least 10 – 15 pounds.

~K

PS – Since most of you have weak stomachs, I have left out a LOT of the details (I know Rhonda and Frances want them) and did not want to send the gross pic from this morning (please let me know if you like to see it).