Sunday, December 09, 2007

bowtie pasta



Tonight I made the best bowtie pasta EVER! Karen, Chris’s step mom, gave me the recipe, because it’s one of Chris’s favorites. Anyway it was delicious and filling. Mom and sisters… TRY IT!!

BOW TIES WITH SAUSAGE, TOMATOES AND CREAM

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound sweet Italian sausage, casings removed, crumbled (I use Hot Italian Sausage)
1/2 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
1/2 cup diced onion
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 28-ounce can Italian plum tomatoes (chopped)
1-1/2 cups whipping cream (I put this in “to taste” since it seems like a lot to me!)
Salt to taste if needed (salt in the tomatoes is usually sufficient so I’ve never had to add any)

12 ounces bow tie pasta
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Heat oil in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add sausage and pepper flakes. Cook until sausage is no longer pink, stirring frequently. Add onion and garlic to skillet and cook until onion is tender and sausage is browned, stirring occasionally. Add tomatoes and cream. Simmer until mixture thickens slightly. (Can be prepared one day ahead. Cover tightly and refrigerate.)

Cook pasta al dente (firm to the bite - not too soft). Divide pasta into bowls, ladle sauce over pasta. Pass Parmesan separately.

NOTE:

1. I add extra Italian seasonings - anise, fennel, basil, oregano, thyme or you can use a prepackaged Italian seasoning mix (Schilling, etc.) .

2. You can use any pasta if you can't find the bow ties - a larger pasta such as rigatoni or large shells are better with this recipe.

3. This is definitely a recipe that you do not need to follow exactly! I usually make much more than called for in this recipe because it is so good that it will not go far!

Thursday, December 06, 2007

my family is BEAUTIFUL

Today has started out nicely… very peaceful indeed. My Lily decided to sleep in this morning so NOBODY in our apartment woke up before one pm! It was nice. I woke up first (which NEVER happens) and tried to wake up Lily. I tried to say her name and told her to wake up… she didn’t respond. So I shook her bed she sat up, smiled, and went straight back to sleep! It took probably 4 or 5 tries! She’s definitely my child. Anyway we took a shower and I got her ready, I took all the butterscotch chips out of the “trail” mix I made, and then set up Lily’s new toy that Stacey brought over for me! She did it and got sick :( Anyway Lily was very relaxed today. She didn't cry, she just played with herself, and she was just acting really grown up. Anyway today was really nice!



Anyway Chris has been at FTX for the last 8 days! FTX is them going to a spot on base and pretending that they’re in the field. Chris said that he knew the real thing won’t be anything like this, because all the sergeants are trying to stress them out so they will be prepared for the real thing in IRAQ! It’s been hard without him. Not TOO hard, but more than I thought it would be. I mean I cried here and there. I could just blame it on not taking my medication, but in reality I need him. That scares me so much. I don’t want to NEED anyone. I want to WANT someone. What am I going to do when he gets deployed?… which he will. I’m just so worried! 9 days is as long as a normal vacation. 15 MONTHS is pretty much considered a move. He’s going to move away from me for longer than a year! I just can’t bare the thought of that. I’m supposed to be the strong one. I’m supposed to be the support he needs. Anyway I get to see Chris tomorrow!

Thursday, November 29, 2007

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

depression

I can’t believe that on my wedding I lost the tape of Lily’s birth. I just can’t myself get over it. That was the most important tape I ever owned… far more important that any video of my childhood. I can’t stand myself for losing such an important part of Lily, Chris, and my life. I mean Lily is so olds now and can do so much, and the only thing I have are pictures that don’t do it justice. I would give up every memory of my childhood for all of hers. I just can’t stand myself right now. Regardless of all the crap that happened during that time, there was just too much to love. I could just scream right now! Now I think I lost the one of Chris saying goodbye to us when he was going off to basic. If I haven’t lost it I think it might be destroyed. Am I not supposed to remember her time as an infant? She’s turning one in about a month and I don’t have a single video of her. I am so depressed I can’t stand it and Chris in FTX so I can’t see, speak, or write to him for 10 days. I need him so much right now. I want to somehow come across those videos and have them all back. All those memories. The videos with me Pregnant. I Love Lily so much .

Monday, November 26, 2007

Snow in AZ???

only in the mountains...




Lily wasn't a HUGE fan of actually sitting in it...













We took the air out of our bed... lily loved it!


until she got scared...

OH and Lily can get off the bed the right way! She turns out self around at the edge and the kicks her way off.
so cute!


Sunday, November 25, 2007

Black friday and Lily's outfit!
















oh and I think everyone needs to update.

Thursday, November 22, 2007

The O'Neal thanksgiving

Today was the weirdest thanksgiving... ever. Lily LOVED it. We decided to treat her. So for breakfast she got...


Oh and she got to watch her morning shows and had a "only FUN" bath!
(no lame cleaning)










Then I SLAVED in the kitchen! We ended up having grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup! EVERYTHING WAS CLOSED!!!

My hair...
Thanks for the birthday money Family!!


overall it was nice spending time with my family... but i miss everyone!

Friday, November 09, 2007

Monday, November 05, 2007

oh yeah!

Lily says momma and dada


she rocks!

UGH

How could I have done my math wrong? How could I be so stupid? I thought I was completely on top of things and then something like this happens. Chris and I both have credit scores over 700, and now who knows! I subtracted wrong and put WAY too much money in my in credit and paying off my car... and in the calculator I subtracted rent!... I don't know what happened! So if I give them a check and I don't have that amount right now, what happens when it bounces? Mom is WONDERFUL and is helping me out this month and I will pay her back on the 15th, but if they've already took the check to the bank and it bounces... what happens?

pointless contests

All the army wives when their men are deployed usually learn how and open myspace layout sites. Well lots of times they have contest to win things like a personalized layout, dog tags with yall picture and name in it, things like that. Well right now I'm in one for cutest costumes on your kids. You can only vote a few times, and only once on yourself. Well there's about 30 people who entered. This one kid in kid sized ACU's is winning so far with 14 votes and i'm in second with 11! I'm so excited! I've never been second place!!

:)