Turkey Potato Meal

I am all about throwing something in the crock pot and letting that wonderful machine do its magic and cook me and my family a meal with no fuss! I cannot stand cooking things first before the hit the crock pot, however, so this recipe is perfect for truly throwing and going!

1lb. ground turkey

5 cups raw potatoes, sliced

1 onion, chopped

1/2 tsp. salt

dash black pepper

one can cut green beans, undrained

one can cream of mushroom soup

Crumble the uncooked ground turkey into the slow cooker. Add potatoes, onions, salt and pepper. Add the beans and pour soup over the top. Cover and cook on high 4 hours or on low for 8 hours.

It doesn't look the prettiest...but me and my boys lapped this up! I also like that this meal has a rather "home hearty" feeling to it, but it is actually rather healthy.

The Sweetest Bouquet!

This has to be the sweetest bouquet of flowers I have ever received! My son was outside playing yesterday when he came in with these lilacs from the yard. He said that one bunch was for me and that one bunch was for him. Since he picked them right at the end of the flowers, there really wasn't a stem to put them in water...but I worked my mommy magic and filled these vases VERY full, so that the flowers could sit on top of the openings. The tall one is Mommy's and the little one is Jonathan's! And I thought Mother's Day wasn't until Sunday....

Update On "Green" Paint

Okay....as promised, here is an update on my "greenly" painted living room. When we purchased our house two years ago, this pale yellow color was everywhere. It was really just starting to look like dirty walls to me, so it was time to get rid of the old owners' taste and insert mine. (because my husband really doesn't have a say when it comes to these sort of matters, lovingly.)

It started by removing a bench they had used to cover up an old brick planter...which we didn't realize was there until we took out the bench. Luckily, my husband didn't listen to my advice on that one, because I told him to take a sledge hammer to it. He very neatly cut holes to remove the bench out of the way of our front door and saved his wrist!

Then painting began! I chose a color called "Flatland" from Dutch Boy's line, but used the Pittsburgh environmentally friendly line of paint. This color went on most of the walls in the living area...

I chose a lighter green to paint the farthest wall of the room that leads into our dining area called "Basketweave." I plan to extend that color into the dining area too...eventually. Here is the final product!

I love these shelves from Ikea...they cost a whopping $12 a piece! The rest of the items on the shelf was either a gift (the wonderful frame given to me by my mother-in-law) or from my garage sale addiction. OH...and the bench has been replaced by my favorite spot of the room...my glider!

This is the hallway that was painted "Basketweave." I love my new more modern living room! And I was friendly to the environment!


Stay tuned to see what I plan to do with the bricks that were torn out.....

Go Red Luncheon

Today I am going red! I am attending the Michiana Go Red For Women Luncheon. I am very excited that the keynote speaker is the First Lady of Indiana, Cheri Daniels. Over 250 women will be attending and getting valuable information on how to live heart healthy. The American Heart Association, of course, puts on the event, and there will be many booths for women to browse and learn how to prevent heart disease.

They are also fundraising in a fun way...with "purse" alities. They are purses filled with different items to bid on. Very cute!

Check back and I'll post some more information after the event!


Here are some facts from the AHA website:

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) ranks first among all disease categories in hospital discharges for women.

Nearly 37 percent of all female deaths in America occur from CVD, which includes coronary heart disease (CHD), stroke and other cardiovascular diseases.

CVD is a particularly important problem among minority women. The death rate due to CVD is substantially higher in black women than in white women.

In 2005, CVD claimed the lives of 454,613 females; cancer (all forms combined) 268,890.

In 2005, coronary heart disease claimed the lives of 213,572 females compared with 41,116 lives from breast cancer and 67,894 from lung cancer.

At age 40 and older, 23 percent of women compared with 18 percent of men will die within one year after a heart attack.

Stroke is a leading cause of serious, long-term disability; an estimated 15 percent to 30 percent of stroke survivors are permanently disabled.

Misperceptions still exist that CVD is not a real problem for women.

More Earth Day News

Disney is releasing its new film titled "Earth" today! The movie follows three sets of animal families for the course of a year and is the first film in Disney's nature series. The film follows polar bears, African elephants, and humpback whales. If you make sure you see the film in its opening week, Disney plans to plant a tree in Brazil for every ticket sold!

I know that my little animal lover will enjoy seeing this, so it is on our list!

Earth Friendly Painting

Happy Earth Day!


I have to admit, that I am not ga ga over going green....but I have been very conscience of my environment and for years have been doing things that now seem to be "chic." Like recycling, for instance and replacing my light bulbs with more friendly versions of the typical light bulb(even though I really don't care for the light they give off.)


I recently repainted my living room and decided to go with an environmentally friendly paint, but was a little leery on whether or not it would really be good paint. I am now ga ga over Pittsburgh Paint!

I purchased this paint at Menard's and went with their "pure performance" line. It was on sale and they were offering a rebate, which made my environmental journey a little easier on my wallet...in fact it ended up being cheaper than most of the other paint lines. I used the "egg shell" type of paint vs. flat or glossy and am so happy with that choice! It has a little shine too it, but doesn't not glare when the sun comes shining through my wall of windows.

What I love the most about this paint is that it is low odor!!!! I can't stand having the house smell like paint for days when doing a painting project...and I love that paint is an easy way to update a look of any room, so I tend to paint often. I didn't even really smell a paint odor. There was a slight smell...but not an obnoxious odor at all!

I will definitely use Pittsburgh Paint's pure performance line again, and would recommend it to anyone....even those that are not so ga ga over going green...which, by the way, is the color I decided to paint. Pictures are on the way!

Spring Break?

My husband is a teacher and was on Spring Break this week, so we thought it was a good opportunity for him and our son to have some quality time together...but we didn't expect to wake up to a good couple of inches of snow on Monday morning.....but when life gives you snow, you make a snowman!

And since we are at it...might as well take time out to make a snow angel!




I hope he remembers this when he gets older!