well I found a minute or 2 ...actually it took all of maybe 20 minutes from start to finish give or take 10 for hair combing and a lil touch of lip gloss :)



she is so sweet an smart! and where would I be without her?



I love the black and white one ...BUT I love all of them as well .....



evryone keeps hounding me to start my own biz , but for now I like the fact I am saving money NOT going to the dept stores for mediocre everyday looking shots.




the dress is so pretty, my mother (vovo)(grandmother in portuguese) sent it along with 4 others for as part of her gift! can NOT wait to see her in the others!!

Zooooooo

I am pooped!!!
80 for a high lite breeze BEAUTIFUL DAY!!!



we had a great time! such a great time I can not even walk :)
I was sad most of the Felines were eating their lunch so not too many kittys for us today BUT everyone else was hangin out having a heck of a spring weather day!!





BUT alas its over and I had to make a quick din din and as I type the sun is setting over the Rockies and my children who at this point should Be down for the count are riding their tractor as I ready them for bath and BED!!! OH the joys of BED!!!





I need to write some radio hoohaah so I must make this entry short.

so here is proof of fun and wonderment HA HA !! and good night!

InLOVE

A week ago...........BLIZZARD...today Beautiful and in the 80's so off to the Denver Zoo we go ! they have been such patient sweet children, Daddy has had our truck and being at home has been a GOOD thing but its time to stretch our legs and our minds a bit ! the zoo is a perfect place to do both! Its a Great ZOO! and lots of options
AFRICA, SEA CREATURES, SEALS, POLAR BEARS,

as I write this they are still snoozing away in their beds, we let them stay up a bit past bedtime to watch a scoby doo movie.

So I will finsh the blog and head into the kitchen and start packing our picnic
Izabel will be in Heaven ! she adores picnics, and at the zoo of all places is the Best place of all !!! she is studying baby animals in class so looking at "Habitats" seems to be a big deal these days... and even though she will be going on an end of the year trip to the zoo next week, I think Dillon will enjoy listening to his big sis explain all teh wonders at the zoo today !!

tired

Geeeshhh

I am a tired gal !! I am happy to have some creative time...BUT there is
LAUNDRY TIME

DINNER TIME

YOGA TIME


and okay everything ELSE time while still cleaning,feeding, and PROTECTING my two ducklings

so I am BEAT,TIRED, DONE............ SO why did I start pillows?? because I am a crazy person!!! no I like to have lots of stuff going on

its like a DVR for crafts in a way .....I start and then I get back to it later

I did manage to finish Dillon's Room !!! I was collecting metal cars and trucks for his shelf and it is Done and Done!!! I think it looks great! so tahts one more major project done , hubby did an awesome job as usual on the paint.






BUT I am not DONE I still have so much to do...........I can not imagine what my house would look like if I HAD my TV SHOWS to watch...I have not watched a show thet does not have a opening from PBS in way tooooo long ....

I really honestly don't mind it though.
and since the snow is ALL yes I said ALL gone the ground is a bit mushy okay REALLY MUSHY the kids have to always be drawn to the XTRA mushy muddiest of mud areas ....Izzy is OK with taking the boots off at the slider...BUT Mr. Dillon is NOT an advocate of helping mommy NOT having to mop all the time.....

in fact I believe that boy was a gag gift from my Grandmother (VoVO) up in heaven getting back at me for all the awful nasty dirty things I must have done as a child I AM VERY CONVINCED of it.......


I have 3 orders for booties this week so off to the sewing room I try to go when Dillon is Napping and Izzy is at school BUT then I look at the carpet and I have to sweep and I should really get the kitchen counters clean .....SEE it never ends

so in conclusion its clean and crazy or dirty and crazy.......I will always take clean ..

24INCHES

I laughed ....really giggled 24 inches?????/ oh come on in APRIL?? 24 inches ???

And thursday afternoon was foggy .....and rainy just a bit till Friday came and a soft blanket of snow covered the ground...it never stoped.....till Saturday at 4:00 PM 24 inches???............YES YES YES YES......

I was okay till I saw my fridge and sighed ...."WE HAVE TO GO TO MARKET"!!!

BUT with the trucks 4x4 acting up the only choice was THE BEAST

ahhhhh the "BEAST"...........its a 1978 Ford BRONCO and it means bizzzzzNESSSSS

it was my Father in laws and one summer we lived with him and he asked my husband to help him "put that engine right" ANd the y went off on the car journey (THEY ARE VERY GOOD AT ) one night I washed the dinner dishes and watched the drop lights in the drive way in the dark working into the night on the BEAST........as I washed and looked I soon jumpped and screamed as 4 foot flames rose from under the hood ....i was happy when I heard loud curse words ...they were not DEAD.......

well it was the carborator and it was obviously ready to cook both of them . they got it to run and My father in law gave it to my hubby, passed the "torch"as it were

2 of our cars are old enough to drink my truck is 7 years old and looks up to the other two with pride it knows this family means biznesssss! LOL we keep things around for ever.

Davin has a corvette....A 1987 , its a great car lots of fun , not to practical these days, BUT I gotta tell you when you have a mommy daddy date IF YOU GET A MOMMY DADDY DATE.........its a great time and makes you feel young.

so back to the subject at hand THE BEAST!!!

well we pulled out the BEAST today we all piled in and laughed as the neighbors waved from their mountinous piles we carved a path and slid and laughed the little man was in awe......WOW WEEEEE what a cool truck he was thinking in his 2 year old noggin.

we made it to the main roads which were already sparkling and wet the snow had already began its untimely departure... I din't get upset BUt for a little while ,
come its pretty and the forcast for teh next week is in order.....59-64-76-77-
so why be sad.....

24....23..22...21..20...19..18...17...16..etc.........

SPRINGposyShoozee

My friend Beth asked me to create a feminine sweet lil shozee for her cousin's new lil girl Sooo here is what I came up with hope you like it.

MASSA

S. Miguel (Sao Miguel), known as "The Green Island", is the largest and most populated island of the Azores as well as the home to the Presidency of the Autonomous Region of the Azores. S. Miguel island has a surface area of approximately 293 square miles (759 km2). S. Miguel's population is around 150.000 inhabitants. so essentially it fits into NEW YORK CITY TWICE

this Island was home to my parents and all their parents and so forth .......

it is amazing to me that this little island in the middle of the Atlantic has so much influence on how I live my holidays and in my cooking style MOST ordinary days.

Living in Colorado has been So wonderful and even though BOSTON calls to me in my dreams usually in the form of a loud Red socks fan Or a Giant cup of frozen Dells lemonade
it is always whispering in a thick south shore accent "Ahhh Come Awwn AwReady don'tCha wanna come home huh Huh?"

and I feel a bit of sadness. But If being away means being around the Rocky mountains ??? Then I am AwwwRIGHT Fah Now!

BUT the challenge here has been BAKING!! ahhh yes they do scare the tar out of though when you move here..."oh you gotta get use to things Never turning out right ...never rising etc......."

so your scared from the get go of how the heck you are going to make all your sea level yummies work UP HERE!!!!!! up in the clouds....the highest peaks the sky!!

AT GODS FEET!!!!! HOW WILL YOU MAKE BROWNIES WITH GODS TOES IN YOUR WAY!!!!!!!!!!

Geesh, its enough to make you pack it all in and head to safeway and NEVER think of even opening your oven unless your heating a frozen pizza or something....

SOOO baking Portuguese Easter Bread was a pipe dream it was just another page in my cookbook of my moms handed down recipes that would sit and wait till the day ....Well I move away OR they dig a tunnel underground Denver where weary moms who miss baking can sneak off to and bake.

I TOOK THAT ALTITUDE CHALLENGE!!!!

and by GOD I WON!!!!!!!!!

I carefully read the recipe prepared my ingredients and started at 9AM sharp! Saturday morning....And watched as they rose, and watched as they baked and there they were in all there sweet bread Goodness!!!! rising rising rising!!!!!!

Easter significance???? Coincidence??? I think NOT !!!

I feel very proud and terribly happy! from Azores to the US to my home in Highlands Ranch Colorado.....tradition lives on !!!

GOODgreatamazingsuperduperFriDAY

Good Friday....................REALLY .......GOOD????

I think its greatly understated...

AWESOME ....AMAZING........spectacular.......SUPER DUPER over the TOP......FRIDAY

yes much better.....

Portuguese traditions are so orthodox .....my dad came home from work at 12 noon so he could pray and he would fast at lunch and go to services at 3 pm

mom would too but she was not as devout as my father. later when I got older he would ask if I would refrain from wearing make up on Good friday I always did to make him happy and be respectful.

Easter WAS such an important holiday at our home, It was much more solenm then Christmas but much more important as a family to observe I STILL try very hard to
apply the traditions as best as I can.

tasty fish Dinner on friday, Prayers of meditation with family. and ready ourselves for Holy Saturday I am attempting to bake PORTUGUESE EASTER BREAD this year MASSA
attempting because I live at 6000 ft and its hard to bake sometimes at this altitude.

so I am praying for a good dough !!!

we'll see tomarrow !!!! and I will post photos!

today we painted eggs !! always fun !

and pretty

PintSizeDIVA

My gift to Izzy for her Big 6 was a day at the new lil girls spa SWEET AND SASSY

what a time we had it was worth spending a lil bit on my lil gal! she had a great HANNAH MONTANA time !!! everything in theplace has some kind of sparkle or glitter or jewel!!!! sequins, ribbons shiney happy gals all getting pretty!!! AS A PISCES I MUST TELL YOU THIS FISH WAS IN HEAVEN !!!!! SPARKLES EVERYWHERE!!!




she got her ears peirced as well ....very brave about 5 tears rolled down her lil cheeks .

she looks so sweet!


we headed to Barnes and Noble to look at books and have a snack ! what a great day

AndTHENsHeWAS6

well Izabel is 6 ...I was really Good,no crying no lamenting .I kept a stiff lip and made it through all the wonderful pink fluffy fun with grace and smiles....what a party it was pink and fluffy fizzy and Fun!! and mostly FANCY!!!!!



I made my famous Chicken salad sandwiches,ham sandwiches,strawberry rice chrispy treats and the cartoonish pink cake that was fudge and strawberry layers!!




the weather did a weird turn days prior snow , sleet and rain ....so hunting for eggs the day of the fancy party was NOT in the cards BUT hubby did good !! he hid them well in the basement all around the bar and play room the kids ran down the stairs and went bounding to fetch hand fulls of colored plastic eggs filled with goodies!





Happy Birthday to you!!!