Extra! Extra! Read all about it! Ev'marie's New scrap booking business

So I have decided to start a small new business for myself.  I have been into scrap booking since high school and completed quite a few albums since that time.  Recently I have started making scrap books for other friends, specifically those who have kids and have mainly focused on a "boy" or "girl" scrap book but would love to expand on that do "family albums" or other specific themed albums.  I am starting out small with the scrap books- 8x8 albums that will consist of 20 pages of different layouts. The cost will be $75 (which is about 3-4 dollars a page) which will include the cost of materials, time, and shipping and handling for when it is completed.  If you are interested please let me know and I would be glad to get started on it for you.  If not please spread the word for me, tell your friends and family! I would love to assist in making the "snap shots" of cherish-able memories even more special.  If you have any questions at all please don't hesitate to ask. Below are some pictures I have included of a recent scrap book I completed.

Chicken Spaghetti Recipe

At the request of a few friends I am posting my Chicken Spaghetti Recipe so here it is!

You will need:

1 1/2 lbs. chicken strips, cut into nugget size
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
2 lbs. block Velveeta cheese
1 small onion, diced
1 can (10 3/4 oz) Cream of Mushroom Soup
1 can (10 oz) Rotel
1 box of spaghetti
Extra Virgin Olive Oil


In a big skillet pour in 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil, just enough to cover the bottom of the pan to saute the chicken.  Heat pan on medium and allow oil to warm.  In dutch oven/deep cooking pot over medium high heat, pour in the allotted amount of water to cook spaghetti (should say on box).  After olive oil has warmed, pour in chicken and begin to saute meat until in reaches a light golden color; about 7-10 minutes.  After water for spaghetti has reached a boil, pour in pasta and cook until "al dente"- should say on box but it is generally 10-12 minutes. 


Once chicken mostly finished, toss in the diced red and green bell peppers an onion and saute for 2-3 minutes. Once chicken mixture is complete, add the Velveeta cheese block, break up with cooking utensil to allow cheese to melt quicker.  When cheese is close to melting, add cream of mushroom soup and Rotel to mixture and mix until cheese is completely melted.  After spaghetti is completely cooked, pour spaghetti into colander/strainer to remove from water.  Replace spaghetti in dutch oven and then pour chicken/cheese mixture on over spaghetti and mix well. Serve with garlic bread and salad if you like, enjoy!


From the Kitchen of: Ev'marie Peach

Another birthday, another year older

I had a wonderful birthday this year.  Despite being another year older, I certainly don't feel like I'm 26 and according to some of my friends I am still a youngin' (which I will not deny) but to me age IS JUST A NUMBER! I know that a lot people get hung up on their age and how old they are getting, especially when you reach middle age but as a life long goal for myself I am not going to place a huge value on a number.  Some of you may be saying, "well just wait till you reach your 40's or 50's and you will feel differently about it" but I genuinely want to make the best effort toward it.  I look at the age factor of being more wiser rather than older.

David and I went home last weekend to visit my family and to celebrate my birthday.  We went out to eat at Red Robin........Yum!   I absolutely LOVE their burgers, there is so much variety and their steak fries are delicious!  After that there was presents and cake.  My sister got me 2 Tinker-Bell movies and for those of you who don't know for most of my life my favorite animated character has been tinker-bell!  My mother gave me a really nice "mother of pearl" Tissot (part of the Swiss watch Co.).  I discovered that Tissot was chosen as the official olympic timer; I found this really interesting.  Pics below:

This was the idea that my sister and mom had in decorating my cake :)

The cake was so tasty, orange marmalade with cream cheese frosting!

After our trip to visit my family we had a birthday celebration in Beaumont with our friends.  We had dinner at Carrabbas which I had never been to and when some people found out this was my first time eating at Carrabbas I felt as though I had committed a sin, LOL just kidding but the reaction was quite humorous!  Carrabbas food was amazing and it was highly recommended that I try the "Polo Rosa Maria" which I have to say was excellent!  Thank you to those who recommended this entree to me!  David and I had a wonderful time that evening and we are so blessed to have such wonderful friends in our lives!

The following day I was treated by my boss/friend and other coworkers to Olive Garden for my birthday.  We had a really good time, we always find different topics of discussion to entertain ourselves-- needless to say we had a good time despite the horrible service we received.

To top off this wonderful birthday week, I got a call from my sweet sister-in-law Crystal who I haven't talked to in ages.  Crystal and Aaron (David's brother) just got back from Africa after being in the mission field for almost 2 years.  David and I are so glad that they are back in the states and will now be much closer to family!  We know that the Lord has great plans for them and we are eager to see how He will be working in their lives!  

David wanted to make me a home made dinner for my birthday so we picked up some Fillet Mignon from the store and cooked it on the grill along with some corn on the cob.  David nor I have ever cooked Fillet Mignon on the grill before, most of the time it's been in a pan or under the broiler.  So we sit down to eat and after a few bites of what I thought would be the most delicious meat and I become a bit nauseous.  I'm not sure if it was the seasoning that it was pre-marinated in or what but I just couldn't finish it.  I felt so bad since David had worked so hard on this wonderful dinner.  I apologized profusely to him and how much I appreciated his efforts for a wonderful birthday dinner.  

Thank you all for the wonderful birthday, this will truly be a birthday I will always remember!

Bound For Success Graduation Ceremony!

For the past year I have been working with a group of students in a college preparedness program at work.  I have had the pleasure of working with 14 great high school seniors throughout the 2009-2010 school year.  During the summer they had a 6 week internship at various organizations in Beaumont where they gained some real life work experience and were required to attend weekly workshops to help prepare them for their last year in high school and begin college.  In the fall we traveled to many different colleges- U of H, Rice Univ, Prairie View A&M, Texas A&M, Baylor University, SMU, and UT Arlington.  On one of those trips it was a 2 day adventure where they stayed at a hotel in Dallas which I know for some of these students they haven't had the opportunity stay at a really nice hotel and to be able to pick whatever they wanted to eat and not have to worry about the price of food!  I really enjoyed the trips with my kiddos!

For the spring I was able to help the students apply for FAFSA and other scholarships and financial aid forms.  One of my students applied for a state-wide scholarships- TX NAHRO- which is through housing and he ended up winning a $1,000 scholarship to help pay for college.  What was even more exciting was to be able to go to the TX NAHRO conference in March and see my student receive his scholarship in person...... in South Padre Island. Below are some pictures of my time in South Padre-- a few hours at the beach (Portuguese Man of War) and the lunch/dinner awards ceremonies.

The back door of the hotel, right off the back dock area.

Really cool Man O War Jellyfish

Say cheese!

My awesome boss and friend Allison!

My wonderful kiddo and his mom!

Congrats on the scholarship Devin!

Picture with Devin and his mom!

We had a really good time in South Padre even though it was a really short trip, right around 48 hours.

The home stretch during the spring time was getting kiddos to apply for colleges and receiving acceptance letters.  They applied to many different colleges throughout the state of Texas, Louisiana, Georgia, and even towards the east coast and mid-west.  In the end all 14 of my students were accepted to a college!  To end the year with a bang we had a Graduation Ceremony for sticking with the program the entire year, graduating from high school, and getting into college.  During the ceremony I individually recognized each student for their accomplishments during their high school years and where they would be going to attend school after high school.

Originally when the students joined the program they were told that if they made it through the entire program they would receive a $2,000 scholarship to help them pay for school.  Well it just so happens that we were able to provide a little more than that..... we were able to award each student $3,500 in scholarships!  When I announced this information at the awards the kids and parents were so happy it was as the heavens had opened singing praises!  It was quite an evening and I can honestly say this one of the most amazing and rewarding experiences of my life.  After the bulk of the ceremony all my kiddos lined up in the back of the room and then proceeded to the front of the room and gave a huge speech as to what I mean to them, each handing me a rose and giving me a huge once they finished speaking. In addition I received a nice plaque for all the hard work I had done with the program.  This was the most emotional part of the night for me, I tried to keep it together but when one of the guests (who was a teacher of one of the students) came up and started singing to me "You are the wind beneath their wings" I just completely lost it!!! Anyway, it was such a great evening and below are some pictures that captured the evening.

View of the Ballroom

The Buffet Line!

City Councilman Mr. Jamie Davis as guest speaker.

Dei Dei receiving her ceritifcate

Me honoring the graduates

Kayla receiving awards

Keshlea giving me my award :)

Kids giving their speeches!

Announcing the increase in scholarship money, woo hoo!

Our Executive Director, Robert Reyna

The class clowns :)

Troy receiving awards

Me and my kids. I could not be more prouder of them! Good luck to you all and I will miss you dearly!

Audiology Crawfish Boil

David's Audiology Department had a end of the year bash in April out at a park in Nederland.  We brought our grill and were masters at the hamburgers! We had a lot of fun but the best part about it was that David and I had crawfish for the very first time! Man talk about some zesty spices and with the potatoes and corn, it really topped off the meal!!  The crawfish was really good- I thought it tasted a lot like a combination of shrimp and lobster not to mention it takes a lot of WORK for very little meat.  But hey it was a really great cultural experience in the Southeast Texas/Louisiana area.

 During the evening they gave away small awards that were voted on by all the students and David received the "Best Audiology Clinician" in his class!  Way to go honey!! I tell David all the time that he works so hard at his clinic sites and yet feels as though he hasn't learned nearly enough.  Needless to say he is learning and growing a lot not only has a audiologist but also as business person especially since he eventually wants to own his own practice one day.

Overall we had  a really great time and I enjoyed getting to know David's classmates and professors. We cannot wait until the end of the year bash for next year!!! 

Happy Birthday David!

Today is David's 29th Birthday! I am so blessed to have such a wonderful husband and even though next year he will be 30 I think he has a lot to look forward to within the next few years. He will graduate with his clinical doctorate when he is 30 and begin to start his Audiology degree. After he has been in his profession for a few years we will be able to start our family, Lord willing! I think being in your 30's is the prime of your life; a lot of new beginnings!

We spent this past weekend with my family to celebrate David's birthday. We ate out at a new restaurant in Arlington (which originated in Austin) called Mandola's Italian Market. It is a really neat place to eat. It is a casual dining experience but has a deli where you can purchase their homemade meats and cheese, a coffee and dessert bar, and market section to buy a variety of their specialty sauces, pastas, wines, condiments and more. Check out their website at: http://www.mandolasitalianmarket.com/

After dinner, David opened gifts and had cake and ice cream. The design on his cake was quite a surprise for him since I was pretty secretive about it (my family has always liked to keep the design of cake a surprise ever since I was
young). Here are some pictures of David opening his gifts:

     

A Wok to grill veggies and rib racks where I can grill up to 5 racks at a time!!

                              I promise I'm not peeking!

       

My very own tool set for the grill and no more using Eve's spatula on the grill!!!!!!!!!

And now for the cake! I worked really hard on this to make it special.  Some may know that David and I love Apple/Mac products i.e macbook computer and iPhones. Well I decided to have his cake look like a iPhone! When I called the bakery and they said they could do this I was SO EXCITED! So below are a few pictures of the finished product. The cake is a raspberry lacquer with buttercream icing (one of David's favorites and the exact type of cake used for his groom's cake at our wedding).

       

 I thought it turned out pretty great and David's reaction was......

                                   

                                     

     Happy Birthday Honey!

We are looking forward to celebrating David's birthday tonight at the Brazos Cattle Company with our Beaumont friends.