Bean and Tuna Salad Recipe

For the past couple of years my mother has been making this delicious bean and tuna salad and I finally got her to sit down and write out the recipe for me. It is really easy to prepare and once you have it made, you will need to chill it for 2 to 4 hours before serving it.

Bean and Tuna Salad Recipe

1/2 cup green onions, chopped
2 tsp. lemon rind, grated
2 tbsp. basil
4 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
2 tbsp. white wine vinegar
2 tsp. olive oil
2 cups cherry tomatoes, quartered
2 (15 ounce) cans cannelloni beans, rinsed & drained
1 (12 ounce) can chunk white tuna, drained & flaked

In a large mixing bowl combine together the first 6 ingredients, stirring well. Add in the cherry tomatoes, beans and tuna. Toss to gently mix everything together. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for 2 to 4 hours before serving.

Looking for Quality Accounting Jobs

My sister just completed a year's worth of classes and finally got her accounting degree. I am really proud of her because she worked part time and went to school full time to get her degree! Congrats Crystal!

She was visiting me yesterday and we hopped online so that she could look for some accounting jobs online. She found 3 or 4 that she was interested in and will be applying for those on Monday. Are any of you in the accounting field? How long did it take for you to find a job in this particular career field?

Crystal has always been great at math and keeping records, so I think this was a great career move for her. Now that she is done, my brother-in-law, (her husband) wants to go back to school and take the same courses that she took. I think that is great, perhaps some day they can open a business together once they get some experience under their belts.

While she is out job hunting, I will get to babysit her two kids. My nephews are really fun to be around and they always crack me up. It's nice that I get to spend so much time with them.

Anyway, if you have any job hunting tips for me to share with my sister, please feel free to leave them below in my blog's comment form. Thanks & have a great Sunday evening!

Stroganoff Pork Chops Recipe

Tired of the same old pork chop recipe? Looking for a new one that is a little different but yet, still very easy to prepare? If so, this particular pork chop recipe has been a hit in my family for several years! The adults and the kids equally enjoy it!

Stroganoff Pork Chops Recipe

1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt
6 lean-cut pork chops
1/2 teaspoon ground paprika
1 pkg. brown gravy mix
1 medium onion, sliced
4 oz. can mushrooms, drained
1/2 cup sour cream

Combine the all-purpose flour, seasoned salt, and ground paprika; coat pork chops. Brown chops in a lightly greased skillet and drain. Combine gravy mix and water as called for on pkg. Pour over pork chops. Add the sliced onions; simmer, covered for 30 minutes. Uncover and simmer for 15 more mins. Remove pork chops to serving platter. Add mushrooms and sour cream to gravy, combine. Heat and pour over pork chops.

My Husband is a Licensed HVAC Tech and Service Manager

I often don't talk about my husband here on my blog but today, I am going to tell you all a little bit about him and what he does for his profession. My husband is 51 years old and is a licensed HVAC technician, plumber, electrician and service manager for a very large 600+ unit apartment complex and townhouse community here in Pennsylvania. He has been in this career field since he was 19 years of age.

Right now he has assigned me the task of purchasing him some new clothing for work. He goes through a lot of clothing when working out in the field fixing air conditioners, furnaces, appliances, hanging drywall, doing electrical wiring, etc. Every night...he comes home filthy dirty unless he got dressed up for work meetings that day.

I have been on the hunt the past few days trying to find a good pair of wing shoes with the safety toe, more specifically, steel toe boots. He would like them in dark brown or black and to come above the ankle, so that he has good ankle support. He needs the boots to be light, flexible and waterproof too!

Once I get him new boots, I will need to get him some new cargo pants, 5 or 6 pairs of those because he lost weight and his other pairs are now too big on him. He loves work pants with a ton of cargo pockets which he can stash his tools and other gear inside the pockets.

Since fall and winter are coming, I will need to get him some long sleeve thermal shirts and some flannel shirts too. He works outdoors a lot in the winter elements and I want him to be warm and cozy this winter season while working.

Anyway, I wanted to tell you all a little bit about my husband today and what he does for a living. He is a super hard worker and I am very proud of him and his career accomplishments.

Jeeter and Arod - My Pet Turtles

I love animals and about 4 years ago I got my first red-earred slider turtle. At the time I was a big Yankees fan so I decided to name him Jeeter. (he is the smaller one, but the older one). About 9 months later I received another red-earred slider turtle as a gift and decided to name this one Arod (he is the large one, but younger one).

These two turtles are much beloved here in our household and our grand-wee-one adores them too! They live in a beautiful 50 gallon aquarium that my hubby set up for them. They are extremely people friendly since we have owned them as babies and we socialize with them often.

When we got them...they were about the size of 1/2 dollars, they are now the size of grapefruits so trust me when I say, they eat a lot!!!!

Refinished Old Wooden Bar Stools - Flea Market Bargain!

A few weeks ago my husband and I went to our local flea market and found 6 solid wood bar stools that were in great shape! They needed refinished but other than that, solid and sturdy! We purchased each one for only $2.50 each! What a bargain! (photo above shows one stool not sanded yet, and one stool completely sanded).

We brought them home and used our electric palm sander to sand off the old wood stain and varnish. This took us about 5 minutes per stool. Once done, we dusted off the dust with a damp cloth and left them sit for an hour to dry from the dusting.

We then used Thompson's Water Seal Outdoor Wood Stain that comes in a spray can in a pretty golden pine color. We lightly sprayed the wooden stool and then used a soft cotton cloth to wipe off the excess stain. We only needed to apply one coat since we sanded off all of the old crud.

We sat our stools out in the hot sun to dry (90 degree day) so it only took an hour for them to dry. Wow, what an improvement! One can of the Thompson's Water Seal spray did 3 stools! It only took 2 cans to do all 6 of the stools we were refinishing.

We used their outdoor wood stain spray as we entertain a lot outdoors and wanted these stools for primarily outdoor use on our patio & deck. I think they turned out beautifully!

Onto our next home remodeling project!

Disclosure: We received complimentary products from Thompson's Water Seal and were not required to write a positive review. All thoughts, opinions and ideas in this post are 100% mine and were not influenced by the company. I did not receive any monetary compensation for this post.

Lamb Chops with Walnut Glaze Recipe

We don't eat lamb meat very often (just a few times a year) but when we do, my husband loves this very easy to prepare lamb chops with walnut glaze recipe. At times I have substituted the walnuts with finely chopped peanuts or cashews and it came up just as good!

Lamb Chops with Walnut Glaze

4 lamb chops
1/4 cup honey
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup walnuts, finely chopped
2 tablespoons dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Place the lamb chops on an unheated rack in a broiler pan. Broil 3" from heat for 5 to 6 minutes. Season with the salt and ground black pepper. Turn, broil for 5-6 minutes more. Combine honey and lemon juice, stir in the finely chopped walnuts and parsley. Spoon nut mixture over chops, broil for 1 additional minute. Remove and let cool for 5 minutes before serving.

Getting Married? The Wedding Planner Infographic

Are you a wedding planner and looking for some new resources for wedding supplies? If so, check out this super nice infographic supplied below. It's very informative and lays it all out for you nicely.

Sometimes finding wedding supplies for planners can be a difficult task. You want high-quality supplies, pretty supplies and you want them all at an affordable price. As a wedding planner, you want to help each couple have the wedding of their dreams and you want to do it in a low-stress way.

Do you know what the average cost per wedding is? I learned from the inforgraphic that it's $24,000...wow! I better get busy saving up a lot of money as my daughter is 27 and getting married in 2 short years! If the infographic is not displaying correctly for you, scroll to the bottom of this post and click on the link to open it in a new window.

Infographic Provided by EquipSupply

Getting Crafty Creative with Astrobrights Papers #GoAstrobrights

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Astrobrights Papers by Neenah Paper for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

For the past few weeks I have been blogging about all of our home remodeling projects and the things that we are doing over at our new house. We are hoping to get moved into our new house come late September. In the meantime, I have been fitting in some crafting time as I want to get better organized before we move and I wanted some new crafty items for the house.

I went on a hunt for some brightly colored papers for all of my new craft projects and discovered Astrobrights papers! Have any of you ever used them? These fun papers come in very vivid colors which really get all of your paper crafting projects noticed! With 23 bright paper colors available, you can really mix & match the colors until your little heart is content! These are high-quality papers that are great for paper crafts, business pamphlets, calendar making, recipe cards, school projects, scrapbooking, personalized paper gifts, etc. You can really do a lot with these papers!

I wanted to get all of my clipped recipes in order before we move so I sat down one day and typed them all into my computer. I then printed them out on the colored paper and trimmed them down to size. I used a different colored paper for each food category so that they are organized & easily recognizable. I then placed them all into a 3-ring binder for storage.

I needed a new calendar for my daughter's office so I found some free calendar templates online and printed out all of the calendar pages onto Astrobrights paper. I used a different color for each month and it looks super cute! I might just make one for myself.

As you all know, I am really big into scrapbooking and cardmaking. I needed to make a few handcrafted greeting cards and I used my left-over Astrobrights scrap paper as accents on some birthday cards, anniversary cards and baby shower cards that I needed to make. I love the bright colors and they really make my cards stand out. In addition, I have a plastic envelope template and used some of the papers along with a glue stick to make some colorful greeting card envelopes too! They are darling!

I wanted to tell you all about the "Give a Brighter Year" sweepstakes that Astrobrights is currently sponsoring. You can enter the sweepstakes and support your local schools. If you are a sweepstakes winner you could win a really nice prize and the school of your choice would win $30,000 in much needed school supplies. We all know that schools need as much help as they can get, so I hope you take the time to enter today!!!

In addition to that, Astrobrights is sponsoring a family-friendly "Make Something Astrobright" design challenge where you and your family can unleash your creativity in style! Winners will be eligible to win some very cool prizes and you can grab the information from Astrobrights on Facebook. How fun is that? Totally fun! Are you going to participate and what do you think you will design for the challenge?

Are any of you paper crafters? If so, have you ever used Astrobrights papers in your crafting projects? I would love to hear how you all use the papers in your crafting projects which will help to spark some ideas for me! Thanks!

The New Scion FR-S with Infographic

My husband and I finally paid off our truck a few months ago and now it's time to think about trading in our family car and getting something new. Our children are all grown up and we want a sporty looking car with a lot of hot-looking class.

We have been looking at what's new for 2012 and found the brand new Scion FR-S which is sleek, modern, sporty and definitely classy looking! This hot new car was just released in June of 2012 and isn't it beautiful? I think so! It is definitely at the top of our list for consideration. What do you think?

It is available in 7 beautiful colors and the color we like the most is the "ultramarine" which is a beautiful shade of deep metallic blue! Gorgeous! I think everyone in our neighborhood would be envious of us if we selected this hot car! wootwoot! Please check out the infographic below to learn more!


Brought to you by the all new Scion FR-S

Throw the Perfect Kids Party + Party Tips!

Throw the Perfect Kids Party
By Mersene Norbom, Conway Confidential

Kids’ parties can be a handful, but with a few cleverly constructed “play stations” your next kid’s party will be a breeze. Spread a few play stations out over your living room inside your home, or outside in the back yard, far enough apart so there’s no overflow and the kids can focus. These are play stations I’ve used for my kids – they were not only a huge hit but they made the parties kerfuffle free.

1. Cookie Decoration – Have a cookie decorating station with different color frostings and sprinkles. The kids will love giving the cookies that bling, then having them for a snack too.

2. Video Game Station – Having a video game station for the boys is a must. Put a play time of 15 or 20 minutes per couple of boys so that everyone gets a turn. Have some snacks at the station like Twizzlers and peanuts so they can munch while they destroy evil alien invadors.

3. Card Making – A card making station is so much fun because the kids can make a card for the birthday girl or boy if it’s a birthday party, or any celebration card. Have different colored markers, crayons, and even some glue with glitter so the kids can really create one-of-a-kinds.

4. Paper Airplanes – The simplicity of the paper airplane still remains a go-to activity to this day. Having a paper airplane station with markers so the kids can decorate their airplanes also gives them a nice token to bring home at the end of the party.

5. Flower Arranging – Kids love flowers as much as we do and arranging is an art they can enjoy at a party and also bring their arrangement home as a trophy to be enjoyed for days to come. Have several different types of flowers, cut and ready to be arranged in small vases. You can even be more creative and arrange the flowers in take-home mugs or tall glasses and they’ll have another party keepsake.

Mersene Norbom is a designer and the owner and founder of Indulge by Mersene. For more ideas, visit Indulge by Mersene.

The Beach in Wildwood NJ :: Almost Wordless Wednesday

My "Almost Wordless Wednesday" post for today is a photo of me standing on the beach in North Wildwood New Jersey. I chose to share that photo today because in exactly one month, I will be down in North Wildwood enjoying my final one week vacation for this year!

I have been to a LOT of beaches up and down the eastern seaboard but the beach in North Wildwood (not Wildwood) is my absolute FAVORITE beach on the east coast! I love that it's a big, wide, sandy beach and it's free! Not only that, it's super clean and very roomy!

I can walk right out our condo and within 2 minutes be standing on the warm, soft sand. I am a total beach lover and I look forward to us moving down to North Wildwood once we retire.

Have any of you ever been to North Wildwood yet? If not, you really should check it out! We love it there!

Time to Get New Bathroom Accessories

Last week I published an updated blog post here on my blog about the big bathroom remodeling project we are working on over at the house we purchased. Well, both of the ugly bathrooms have now been gutted! Yeah!

We are now onto the fun part of the bathroom remodeling and that is shopping for high-quality bathroom accessories.

We are doing both the master bathroom and the guest bathroom in a relaxed coastal beach theme and going with brushed nickel bathroom fixtures. Above each bathroom sink we will be hanging some beautiful pendant lighting which will really add a lot of modern class to each bathroom.

The master bathroom got a new shower, sunken whirlpool tub, pedestle sink and toilet. The new flooring is going in first and then the accessories. I can't wait to see it once it is done! The guest bathroom got a new shower, sink and toilet. My hubby is laying the new floor down this weekend and then it will be decorated nice and pretty.

My photo above shows the ugly guest bathroom and in a few weeks I will blog again and show you the "after" photos. I assure you, they will be beautiful!

Strawberry Summer Fun Smoothie Recipe

August 1st marks us more than halfway through our summer. With increased consumption of pool-side cocktails, sun damage and chlorine stripping your hair and skin, it’s time to give your body a boost!

Here are some quick tips and recipes from Omega Juicers and Blenders to help keep you healthy, hydrated and energized throughout the summer homestretch.

Strawberry Summer Fun Smoothie Recipe

· 5 Cut Strawberries
· Six Ounces of Vanilla Yogurt
· 2 Cups Orange Juice

Blend the ingredients in your Omega Blender.

Omega Skincare Tip: Your skin may currently have that healthy tan but that doesn’t mean it’s healthy underneath. The sun has had its fair share with it-but nothing papayas and raspberries can’t help fix! Papayas improve pore clarity to give your skin that healthy glow-minus the redness and raspberries are rich in anti-oxidants. So make this raspberry and papaya smoothie a staple either before or after the beach!

Tropical Joy Juicer Recipe

1/4 Pineapple, cubed
2 Triangle Slices of Watermelon, cubed
2 cups coconut water
10-15 frozen blueberries
1/2 Banana

Juice all of the ingredients through your Omega Juicer.

Omega Health Tip: At almost 13 g per serving, low-fat yogurt offers more than 1/4 of your daily protein needs. Protein improves hair quality and growth to counter all the damage its been put through from the sun and chlorine. Make yogurt smoothies by blending yogurt with antioxidant-rich orange juice and fruits such as blueberries, strawberries or bananas.

Back-to-School Deals with Famous Footwear BOGO + 15% Off Coupon

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Famous Footwear for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

It's that time of year again, when parents are busy shopping and buying all of those back-to-school supplies that our children need! I don't know about all of you, but this year, I am looking to save as much money that I can! Yes folks, I am a bargain hunter!

Well today, I wanted to share some great news with all of you about the fabulous BOGO + 15% off Famous Footwear Coupon that I found online! You can go right over to their web site and print it out NOW! It is valid from August 2nd, 2012 through August 18th, 2012. Plus, if you are a Famous Footwear Rewards Member, you can get an additional 5% off! Wow, what a deal!

I have been a Rewards member for several years and if you are not signed up yet, you really should! It's a FREE program and for every dollar you spend at Famous Footwear, you earn 1 point. Those points really add up quickly and you can save them up & cash them in to earn Famous Footwear gift certificates! Plus, members are notified of exclusive deals & promos when they announce them! How cool is that? Totally cool and it's a great way to save even more money!

I love shopping at Famous Footwear as their stores are set up really nicely. I have never encountered a long-line or wait! They have thousands of pairs of shoes in-stock and ready for you and your entire family. It's a great laid-back & casual shopping experience! You can go in and get your entire family's shoe shopping done in less than 30 minutes! I love that because I am super busy and I don't have time to fight the crowds in big department stores.

If you are really busy and/or just prefer to shop online, well, You are in luck! You can order your shoes from Famous Footwear online and have them delivered to your local store and guess what? Shipping them to the store is absolutely FREE! Not only that, you will find thousands upon thousands of pairs of shoes in their online store and their prices are fantastic!

I need to get Little G a new pair of sneakers, a pair of casual shoes, a pair of dress shoes and some winter boots so that she is ready for the fall & winter school year. With these BOGO offers, I can get everything I need in just one shopping trip when I go to Famous Footwear!

Finally, I think I deserve a little "treat" too and going to get myself a new pair of clogs for fall! I love clogs and often find great clogs at Famous Footwear!

So, head on over to their site today and print out that fabulous BOGO coupon and if you haven't signed up for their Rewards program yet, make sure you do that too! See ya at the store & Happy Shopping to you!

Summer Sangria Recipe with VOGA Italia

As guests arrive to your next BBQ or pool party, greet them with their own personal bottle of VOGA Italia Sparkling Wine. “Baby VOGA Sparkling” is a unique and eye catching way to give your guests special attention, without having to spring for pricey champagne flutes. No need to sacrifice style for taste – sip Baby VOGA with a straw for an ultra fem and sophisticated look. After all, your outfit is way too classy to walk around with a beer bottle right?

As the party unfolds, bring out some homemade Summer Sangria to wow your guest once more. Sometimes the August heat can be intense, so offer guests a chance to cool down with crisp and refreshing Summer Sangria made with VOGA Italia Wine, Sparkling ICE, and seasonal fruits. The combination of seasonal fruits, VOGA Italia Moscato wine and Pomegranate Berry Sparkling ICE takes your taste buds for a ride! It is the perfect blend of fruit, sweetness, and sparkle.

Summer Sangria with VOGA Italia and Sparkling ICE

1 Bottle of VOGA Italia Moscato Wine
1 17 oz. bottle of Pomegranate Berry Sparkling ICE
3 oz. Triple Sec
2 sliced peaches
2 sliced limes
1 sliced Granny Smith apple
1 sliced lemon
1 sliced orange
1 cup of raspberries
1 cup of blueberries
½ cup of cherries

Preparation: Pour wine and Sparkling ICE in a large pitcher and add fruits. Next add triple sec and stir gently. Cover and chill from 2-24 hours (the longer, the better!)
Before serving, stir gently to mix the flavors. Serve over ice. Makes about 15 servings.

Disclaimer: You must be age 21 years of age or older to consume alcoholic beverages. Please drink responsibly.

Our New Rapid Reel Hose Reel and Garden Hose

As you all know, my hubby and I purchased a 60 year old home that we have been remodeling for the past 2 1/2 months. We are gutting the home, remodeling it and of course, modernizing it!

Well, we needed a new hose reel and a new garden hose so that we could work on our outside remodeling and landscaping projects. Today, I thought I would show you all what we got because....we absolutely LOVE them!

Our new hose reel is called the Rapid Hose Reel! While it more expensive than other hose reels we looked at, it is high-quality and worth every dime! It is super easy to install (we put ours on the back of our house) and is really easy to use. We love that hose reel!

The new garden hose we got is a 50 foot Tuff-Guard Garden Hose and it is the best garden hose we have ever owned! It is super light-weight and it's a kink-free hose! Other hoses we have owned in the past don't even come close to how nice this hose is!

We highly recommend both of these products to folks who are looking for a new hose reel and/or a new garden hose! We love them!

Disclosure: Complimentary product received for our review. We received no monetary compensation and were not required to write a favorable review.