21 Drinks Sure To Get The Relatives Drunk This Thanksgiving

21 Drinks Sure To Get The Relatives Drunk This Thanksgiving

Candied Bacon Wrapped Smoked Pork Chops



 

This is my very own recipe.  I made it last night for dinner and it was wonderful!  I hope you like it too . . .

 

Ingredients:

 

• 2 Center Cut Smoked Pork Chops (or any type of a smoked pork or ham meat that you prefer)
• 1lb. Non-smoked Bacon
• 1C Brown Sugar
• 3 Tbs Unsalted Butter

 

Prep:

• Pre-cook bacon in the oven at 350 for 15-17 mins.  You don't want it to be crispy just yet, just done enough that  you can wrap your chops without it breaking on you.  Once it's done set it aside to cool a little bit. 
• In a small sauce pan add the brown sugar and butter and stir until butter is melted.
• Coat each side of the chip with half the brown sugar/butter mix.
• Place 3 - 4 pieces of bacon on each side of the chop.  It's not technically wrapped but the brown sugar/butter mixture helps it to stick nicely to the chops.
• Coat both sides of the chops again with the remaining brown sugar/butter mixture
• Bake at 350 for 30 mins and VOILA! 

Celebrate Your Patriotism in Style with TheFlagShirt.com

Click here to read my review!

Are you looking for that perfect item to wear or display to celebrate and show your patriotism?  Then look no further than TheFlagShirt.com.  They have a wonderful array of clothing items for men, women and children along with accessories and much, much more.  Click on the link to read my review and see for yourself!



 

 

Good Sandwich vs. Bad Sandwich: Great Tips on Enjoying This All Time Favorite a Little Healthier!

Here is a really great article about sandwiches and some great alternatives.  A lot of it is common sense and things we've all heard before but I thought it was well written and gave me some great information to back up why an ingredient was good or bad for me and gave some nice alternatives and ideas.  Enjoy!

Click here to read this article:  The best and worst ingredients for your sandwich.
  Photo by Getty Images

Celebrate Your Mother & Daughter Relatioinship with Monaco Addict!

Click here to read my review!

There is no love stronger than than the love that we, as parents, have for our children.  Every relationship is special.  Show the world how special your mother & daughter relationship is.  Check out my review of Monaco Addict's very first mother & daughter clothing line.  The shirts really were spectacular and I can't wait to order my own!

Start your day off right with belVita Soft Baked Biscuits by Nabiso!

Click here to check out my review!

 Looking for a great new breakfast product to try?  Check out my review for belVita Soft Baked Breakfast Biscuits.  My family loved them!  As a matter of fact, my husband polished off an entire box the very first night we got them!

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Having Your Cake and Eating it too - Aggie's Cakes & Pastries

Cake is a very serious topic for my daughter Codi.  We just celebrated her college graduation this past Sunday and purchasing the cake for this event was her No. 1 priority!  One of the places we went to was Aggie's Cakes and Pastries located at 1800 E. Howard Ave, Milwaukee, WI. 
I first learned about Aggie's while I was working temporarily at a company.  My first decadent bite was taken from a cake bought for a going away party.  It was so moist and so good.  After that I tried a birthday cake that was purchased and it made me love yellow cake.  I have never been a fan of yellow cakes because they were usually dry and bland. Not Aggie's! From what I understand they put pudding in their yellow cake batter, oh yum!

Here's what I didn't know . . . Aggie's once had a location on the corner of Howell & Rawson in Oak Creek, WI.  My daughters and I used to go there for hot ham and rolls once in a while on Sunday's. It was our favorite place because the ham and rolls were awesome and they played "Sinatra" music.  These are some of our most cherished memories and imagine how excited I was to find them again.  My daughters and I are very exicted to go there again one of these Sunday's!

 Codi and I enjoyed our cake tasting very much.  The "Sinatra" music was playing, the staff was great and the cakes were beautiful!  If you're looking for a place to buy a cake for your upcoming event give them a try.  You will be so glad that you did!



Wonderful Staff!

Beautiful Cakes!

You can also follow Aggie's on Facebook.

I hope that you will enjoy them as much as my family does.  I find it to be one of many little hidden jewels that more people should know about.  Have fun!

93-year-old veteran parachutes into Normandy again

As a new blogger I have really been struggling with what to say and how to say it.  One of the things that I truly believe in is following  your dreams/passions.  We only have one life to live  and I truly believe that we should live it to the fullest in whatever way is appropriate for you.

This man is a hero twice over for me; not only did he bravely serve our country but he decided that he wanted to parachute into Normandy again 70 years later.  He did not let his age get in his way and he followed his dream.  This was important to him and he did not let anything stand in his way. Not his age, his sex, his race, his religion or anything else, he just did it!

Hats off to you Mr. Martin!  May we all have the strength, courage and zest for life that you have.  You have truly inspired me!



Photo courtesy of:  FOX 12 Oregon

93-year-old veteran parachutes into Normandy again: 6/5/14

Littlest Pet Shop: Strike A Pose

If you're looking for a fun/cute DVD for your little ones to watch then I highly recommend The Littlest Pet Shop: Strike A Pose.  Click on the link below to read my review.  Taylor and I highly recommend that you do!

Click here to see my review!

AttachaPack for all your Summer Outings!

Click here to check out my review!

Try Exederm for Ultra Sensitive Skin Care this Summer

Click here to check out my review!

Congratulations Codi Peters!!!

There are no words to express the pride that I feel for the beautiful young lady! 

Let's talk about following our dreams for just a second . . .words cannot express the feelings of love and pride that I have for my daughter.  She has faced many challenges in the past couple of years but she took them all on and continued to move forward and to succeed.  She is a true testament to what it means to persevere.  She is an inspiration to me and makes me want to continue to move forward and achieve my goals and dreams and I am lucky enough to be able to call her may daughter and whenever she calls me mom my heart swells with pride.

Let Codi be a testament to us all.  Don't ever give up and don't be afraid to follow  your dreams.  Maybe the path you started out on isn't the one you will end up on but it just might end up being a better path . . .

New Cicalfate HAND Restorative Hand Cream

Click here to check out my review!

Bear pulls cub to safety from busy highway | GrindTV.com

Bear pulls cub to safety from busy highway | GrindTV.com

How do YOU Aioli?

Click here to see my review!

African elephant frolics in surf in odd place—Florida | GrindTV.com

African elephant frolics in surf in odd place—Florida | GrindTV.com

SM Pilot Mom: Save the Children – Anniversary of Oklahoma Tornad...

SM Pilot Mom: Save the Children – Anniversary of Oklahoma Tornad...: Save the Children – Anniversary of Oklahoma Tornadoes Save the Children needs your support to draw attention to the often overlooked nee...

Save the Children – Anniversary of Oklahoma Tornadoes

Save the Children needs your support to draw attention to the often overlooked needs of children in disaster – and to inspire more people to prepare ahead of time. We can all do more to protect children before disaster strikes. That is the goal of our “Get Ready Get Safe” initiative.

Assets:

www.savethechildren.org/Oklahoma

Here you will find a slide show with Save the Children’s inspirational champions for children from the Oklahoma tornadoes.

• The “our champions” button takes you to their storify page with full captions. Direct link to this page is: http://www.savethechildren.org/site/c.8rKLIXMGIpI4E/b.9124485/k.429F/Get_Ready_Get_Safe_Oklahoma_Storify.htm
• Toward the bottom of this page you will find a video playlist. Please help them share the first video, which is a dramatic story of rescue and resilience at one Moore, OK child care center. Child care centers often don’t qualify for any official recovery assistance, even though they are vital to children, families and communities in the wake of a disaster.
• Direct link to the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PL5r9JTlp4xXWrienVxWBopkcBaMuvGe9q&v=rpLj-gGKxco
• If you click on the “Be a champion” button you will find their resources page with disaster planning checklists for families and your children’s caregivers. Please help them get people to take action. The page is also found at www.savethechildren.org/checklists and you can grab the images of the checklists there. There are also 10 tips fact sheets on protecting children from tornadoes and other disasters.
• Press release will be updated on May 13 with a special celebrity announcement (look for it!) and probably again on May 19 right before the anniversary.

As Save the Children’s new ambassador for its “Get Ready Get Safe” initiative, Lassie visited Moore, Okla., to help show children preparedness can make them feel safe, not scared. Photo by Brett Deering/Getty Images

Nancy Goodrich’s strong commitment to emergency preparedness at her Moore, Okla., child-care center protected dozens of children from harm during last year’s tornadoes. Photo by Brett Deering/Getty Images

 What can people do?

• Share the video to raise awareness on the importance of child care recovery: https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PL5r9JTlp4xXWrienVxWBopkcBaMuvGe9q&v=rpLj-gGKxco
• Complete the disaster checklists to protect children before disaster strikes: www.savethechildren.org/checklists
• Take the pledge to protect children from disaster: http://www.savethechildren.org/c.8rKLIXMGIpI4E/b.6217027/k.5398/Advocate_for_Children/siteapps/advocacy/ActionItem.aspx?c=8rKLIXMGIpI4E&b=6217027&aid=520816
• Donate to Save the Children’s current tornado response in Mississippi. www.savethechildren.org/tornado
• Share the champions for children stories to inspire people to be champions for children too (slide show or storify page)

 Save the Children’s Oklahoma tornadoes response

Save the Children mounted an immediate response in Oklahoma, and our long-term recovery work continues today. In all, we’ve reached more than 18,000 people – more than half of them children. We set up child-friendly spaces in shelters where children could play and start to recover, helped children attend summer camps to find a happy routine amidst the post-tornado chaos, helped restore and open 35 child care centers that were damaged or destroyed – and brought our Journey of Hope program into the schools. This emotional recovery program lets children discuss their emotions in a supportive group setting and learn critical coping skills. Finally, we are conducting our “Get Ready Get Safe” workshops and trainings in schools and child centers to boost emergency preparedness and help children see that preparedness can help them feel safe not scared. Our full progress report is linked on the landing page and available here: http://www.savethechildren.org/atf/cf/%7B9def2ebe-10ae-432c-9bd0-df91d2eba74a%7D/SAVE_THE_CHILDREN_OKLAHOMA_TORNADOES_ONE-YEAR_REPORT.PDF

Save the Children also responding to recent tornadoes in Mississippi

In late April, 117 tornadoes tore through the Midwest and the south. At least 37 people died, including 14 In Mississippi alone. Save the Children is responding in Tupelo and Louisville, where low-income housing projects and a number of child care centers were totally destroyed or severely damaged – leaving many already disadvantaged children extremely vulnerable.

Destiny’s Day Care in Louisville is one of the destroyed centers we have helped reopen. When the tornado came, two caregivers and two little sisters were in the center. The caregivers huddled with the children – 9 months and 4 years old – in the bathtub and tried to shield them with their bodies. But then the tornado barreled through the center and lifted the bathtub into the air and smashing it down. One caregiver, Marcus, felt himself being sucked across the debris by the tornado and then it stopped. He saw his colleague and the 4-year-old appeared to be okay, but the 9-month old was missing. Although a brick had smashed Marcus’s head, leaving a hole in his skull, he knew he had to find the baby. Then he heard her weak whimper and he knew she was alive under the debris. He prayed for her to make another sound and when she did, he was able to find her and pull her out. He carried her half a mile through destruction to find someone who could drive them to the hospital. His heroic actions got the baby – Za’toriah, the urgent care she needed. Today, she is healing from a head wound and has a broken leg. But she is back in day care! Save the Children is helping restock the new temporary location with all the items Za’toriah and 35 other children need to help them continue learning in a safe, nurturing environment.

How to make the Six Cycle - Tipsy Bartender

Shhh! Litter Box Odor Control

Click here to see my review!

It's stories like this the keep my faith in humanity alive . . .

http://gma.yahoo.com/blogs/abc-blogs/balloons-travel-35-miles-bring-strangers-together-heart-180431389--abc-news-topstories.html?vp=1

OPA Greek Style Yogurt Dressings by Litehouse

Click here to see my review!

See more Paintings by Zaria Forman.  These are absolutely beautiful!!!  I love art and I love pictures like this.  My mother-in-law also has this kind of talent and I'm lucky enough to have a few of her paintings on display in my home.

Doesn't this look yummy!

Recipe courtesy of

Velvet d'Amour Official Fan Page

I definitely want to try this.  As soon as I do I will post pictures of how mine came out.  This recipe just seems heavenly!

Keeping Dry with DRYPro

 

Click here to see my review!

 

38 Most Pinned Recipes

Hey all, I have been very remiss in my blogging efforts.  Please bear with me as I work through the process of learning how to use all of the social media websites and figure out what I want to blog about and how to do it properly.  I am always open to suggestions and would love to hear yours . . .

With that being said, check this out . . . these recipes all look amazing!  I will definitely be trying some!  Especially the Mongolian Beef, my husband and I always order this whenever we go to P.F. Chang's.  Enjoy!

http://www.food.com/slideshow/popular-pinterest-recipes-115?nl=FCW_050614_subfeat0cta&sni_mid=135766&sni_rid=135766.311.171284&c32=c128f56e6ac7b884c6073075ebf581d0#pinterest-top-picks-our-38-most-pinned-recipes-115/more-recipes-worth-sharing-39?&_suid=1399409605204012210771426191902

Mediterrameam Stuffed Sweet Peppers

I am definitely going to try this!  I'll let you know how they turn out . . .wish me luck!

http://www.landolakes.com/recipe/3805/mediterranean-stuffed-sweet-peppers

Wing Night at Clan McCann's!

For my first recipe post I will share what Jeff & I made for dinner last night. It was super easy! We deep fried 5lbs of wings in a large stock pot for about 30 minutes. I did not do any prepping of the wings before cooking. We used 2 sauces (Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ Sauce and Sweet Baby Ray's Buffalo Wing Sauce) and covered half the wings in one sauce and half in the other. We broiled them for 4 minutes on each side, using the very top rack in your oven. They came out great and were not fatty or chewy. For anyone that is like me and doesn't care for spicy food but enjoys the Buffalo flavor, I highly recommend the Sweet Baby Ray's . Bonn appetite'!

 

 

Hello Blogger World!

Hi Everyone,

I'm the SM (Social Media) Pilot Mom.  Let me tell  you a little bit about myself.  I'm middle aged with two grown daughters.  My oldest daughter, Jess, got married a little over a year ago and is working on growing her family.  My youngest daughter, Codi, is graduating from college this May with a degree in fine arts.  She will be the first college graduate from my "branch" of the family tree.  I couldn't be more proud of these two young women and their accomplishments.  They make their momma proud every single day.

I am re-married to a wonderful man named Jeff (pictured above).  Instead of children we decided to raise cats together.  We have 3 (Moshi, Cuddles and Poofy Kitty).  They each have their own personality and we love them dearly.  I always have a crazy cat story to share, that's for sure!

I am also a later in life college student working towards a BS in Anthropology.  I lost my job about 5 years ago and after a year of tyring, in vain, to find a job I decided that it was time to go to school.  I've discovered that Cultural Anthropology is where my true interests lie.  I find people and their cultures, past & present, to be absolutely fascinating.  It has also given me great insight into the vast differences in our communities and why those differences exist.  I also have a very deep love of ancient history.  What I'm going to do with this in life . . . I have no idea!  It's interesting and a college education was on my "bucket" list so here we are!

I have a private pilot's license (ere go Pilot Mom), which was the very first thing on my "bucket" list.  I got it about 15 years ago or so and was so very excited to be able to accomplish this feat.  I haven't flown in a long time but it is something that I am very proud of. 

I have many other things on my "bucket" list; like traveling the world and learning to fluently read, write and speak French.  I truly envy those that can switch languages at the drop of a hat!  With that being said, that is really what I want my blog to be about.  Following  your dreams and not being afraid, no matter your age, race or whatever it is that sets you apart from everyone else.  I've always been a "square peg" attempting to fit in a round hole and I've discovered that I rather enjoy being a "square peg".  It keeps life interesting. 

I look forward to talking to  you all and sharing our different life experiences, funny stories, travel ideas/stories as well as recipes because I love, love, love to cook!  So be prepared for me to share lots of recipes and ideas with you all!