Care for a spot o' tea?

These two have really become good playmates, especially when it comes to tea time! 

Can't a girl get any rest around here!! 

Cajun Chicken Pasta

We had a friend over for dinner who is in town from Fargo this evening. It was fun to see Jen Quast again... hopefully they will be making the move out West sometime soon!!

I haven't posted a recipe in some time - so thought I'd share this. It was pretty good and made Leif's MAKE IT AGAIN list.


INGREDIENTS:
4 ounces linguine pasta
2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, sliced into thin strips
2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning
2 tablespoons butter
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
4 fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 green onion, minced
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon lemon pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
DIRECTIONS:
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add linguini pasta, and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, or until al dente; drain.
Meanwhile, place chicken and Cajun seasoning in a bowl, and toss to coat.
In a large skillet over medium heat, saute chicken in butter until no longer pink and juices run clear, about 5 to 7 minutes. Add green and red bell peppers, sliced mushrooms and green onions; cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce heat, and stir in heavy cream. Season the sauce with basil, lemon pepper, salt, garlic powder and ground black pepper, and heat through.
In a large bowl, toss linguini with sauce. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese.

Ovarian Cancer

This has been a dificult weekend for me as I was back in Fargo at my dear friend Kelly's mom's memorial service. Connie Bates battled ovarian cancer for a courageous 61/2 years. The service was a beautiful tribute to an amazing woman. Connie was an advocate for ovarian cancer education and research. At the service her family had printed placards with symptoms of the dreadful disease. I wanted to share this information with all of you.

Symptoms of Ovarian Cancer:
Ovarian cancer is difficult to detect, especially in early stages. This is partly due to the fact that these two small, almond shaped organs are deep within the abdominal cavity, one on each side of the uterus. These are some of the potential signs and symptoms of ovarian cancer:
*pelvic or abdominal pain or discomfort
*vague, but persistent gastrointestinal upsets such as gas, nausea, and indigestion
*frequency and/or urgency of urination in absence of an infection
*unexplained weight gain or loss
*pelvic and/or abdominal swelling, bloating and/or feeling of fullness
*ongoing unusual fatigue
*unexplained changes in bowel habits
A pap smear DOES NOT detect ovarian cancer!

Listen to your body. Be your own advocate. After all, no one cares for your body like you do.

And remember, a cancer free world will happen not because we wished for it, but because we worked for it!
http://www.ovarian.org/
http://www.komen.org
http://americancancersociety.org/docroot/home/index.asp

33rd Birthday

I celebrated my 33rd birthday all weekend. Friday Leif came home with flowers, gifts, dinner and dessert and we had a little party on my actually birthday. On Saturday night, we dropped the kids off at Gina's house and she kept them overnight. Leif and I went out to dinner at Salish Lodge and had a great, romantic evening. The next morning we slept in, went to Barnes and Noble for coffee and browsing and then to Gina's house for another birthday party. Campbelle, Christian and Gina greeted us at the door all decked out in party hats and shaking their 'pom-poms'. Gina and Campbelle hung streamers and made cake. It was a fantastic little party. Campbelle was so proud of what she'd done. With a great weekend like that, I'll never have an issue with getting older!! 

Belly Baby

Is this an inherited trait from Grandpa Jerry, or maybe Uncle Bill?!?! Christian ate so much at dinner time, we thought his stomach might explode!! 

New Children's Museum now OPEN!

This morning, my girlfriends and kids headed to Factoria and the new Children's museum. It was so cool. The kids LOVED it. Good thing we got a membership - we could probably go there everyday! It is so much fun to see Christian become this independant kid, and explore and play with things on his own and not necessarily care where I'm at every second. Campbelle, on the other hand, has never really cared where I'm at in places like this. I think we'll be seeing alot more of that place. 

All the girls of our group playing dolls - Rena, Sydney, Sarah and Campbelle 

Cameron and Campbelle and what might be the world's best Brio train station - it was HUGE! 

Who is that handsome man?! 

At the water area.... Christian is a little too young for this section... he would have been soaked from head to toe without much supervision. 

He just never sits still enough for Campbelle!! 

The Gingerbread Disaster

Seems as if a huricane has swept through.... 

Leif was trying to teach Campbelle how to take pictures (we just watched a very good movie about children photographers "Born into Brothels" and Leif must have been inspired to enlighten her). As you can see, she has some room for improvement.