Quarantined Karaoke Thursday:) Sealed With a Kiss 💋

“Love can be expressed in a myriad of different methods, but the most timeless and most treasured will always remain the classic love letter.”
― Auliq Ice

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I heard this song the other day and it brought back memories of way back when I was young and this was a popular song, I have always loved the concept of the love letter. Very nostalgic. “Sealed With a KISS.”

https://youtu.be/BTjAGkFSPho

Happy Quarantined Thursday , my friends. 🎤

Wednesday:) What’s Cookin’ Miss Toni

“Recipes, we don’t need no stinkin’ recipes!”

~Toni Armenta Andrukaitis

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As promised, or threatened, depending on how you look at it, I wanted to share my awesome secret un-recipe for tuna salad. I made a whole bunch of sandwiches on Good Friday to share with my senior artists at Towne Creek.

One package of cream cheese softened. I mix and soften with my mixer to soften before adding about 1/4 jar of Miracle Whip or mayonnaise. I just used what was left in my jar. If you don’t blend the cream cheese first, sometimes the mayo doesn’t blend smoothly. (Learned the hard way)

What makes it really special, I sauté one onion and about 3 stalks of finely chopped celery. The onions brown and get sweet. Uncooked onions can be sharp and bitter. (I learned the hard way.)

Then, I added 6 cans of drained tuna. When I blended it together, it was still a little thin, so I added 2 more cans of tuna. The cream cheese will firm up when refrigerated. I kept It in the fridge until getting ready to leave, and made the sandwiches fresh. No one likes soggy tuna sandwiches. I know, that’s a lot of tuna, but I made a lot of sandwiches and had some leftover for me.

I added a little finely shredded lettuce into the mixture before spreading on the bread and buns. I waited till the last minute to make up the sandwiches.

An easy way to make a lot of tuna sandwiches for any occasion. This would work with canned or fresh shredded chicken too, it just happened to be Good Friday and I couldn’t eat meat. (So, no one eats meat.)

Of course, a lot of cupcakes were made too!

Tuesday:) Toni’s Tips For Today

“They say a person needs just three things to be truly happy in this world: Someone to love, something to do, and something to hope for.”

~Tom Bodett

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Normally I try and make a time-lapse video, but I’m exhausted and plum out of ideas for an art project today. I finished cleaning up my kitchen, did laundry, went to lunch, stopped at the store, walked 2 1/2 miles, trimmed some dead bushes, took out the trash and collapsed. So, I’m sharing some tips from my Facebook friends for this lovely busy Tuesday.

Don’t feed bread to water fowl. It’s so commonly done.

Plant these shrubs and trees for pollinators,

Montage Monday:) A Week In A Peek

“Stick to the basics, Hold on to your family and friends-they will never go out of fashion.”

~Niki Taylor

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What a fun week. Great weather, great friends, bluebonnets, and blessings.

Happy Easter Sunday:) Friends, Family and My Firefighters.

“The very first Easter taught us this: that life never ends and love never dies.”

~Kate McGahan

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Easter Sunday is such a special day. It’s more than bunnies and colored eggs and baskets. It’s about faith, Resurrection, and the ultimate rebirth. I don’t have to bother with sharing the Sunday Sermon. Everyone knows what today is about. The tomb was empty.”He has risen.”

After watching Mass on my iPad, I proceeded to frost and pack up the zillion more cupcakes I baked late last night. Chocolate this time.

Almost finished. Some to take to the Murphy’s, some for some neighbors, and a whole bunch for my firefighter friends.

I was invited to spend Easter with the Murphy clan. I’m an unofficial/official member of the family.

Thank you Sherri and Michael!

When I got home, I frosted more cupcakes then made a few stops to visit my “peeps” at a few fire stations. Some were working a mandatory overtime double shift instead of being at home with their families. I really appreciate these fine men and women in blue.

I even had time for a walk before it got dark. I took a few more cupcakes nextdoor and then walked over a few blocks away to drop off a couple for Mr. Danny. He was so sweet. He called me this afternoon to wish me a Happy Easter and see if I was doing OK.

Family, good friends, and good neighbors. That’s what it’s all about. (Not to mention lots and lots of cute cupcakes.)

I finished the evening with a FaceTime call with my little girls and a 2 mile walk.

They opened all the Easter presents that Grandma sent them.

I am so blessed! Happy Easter my friends!

Saturday:) A Special Day With a Special Friend~ Bluebonnets and Backroads

“The best sights are seen on the backroads with a best friend.”

~Toni Armenta Andrukaitis

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My awesome friend, Sherri Murphy…AKA…Thelma, called me up and invited me to check out the backroads and some Bluebonnet fields this afternoon. Yippee! I never have done that, and seeing as Sherri took me to see some amazing sunflower fields last fall, we have a flower field theme going on.

Sherri picked me up and even brought some fun girlie hats to use for our photo ops.

We took some backroads and pulled over on the side of the road to photograph some old barns and beautiful wild flowers.

We stopped for lunch at the Hula Hut in Little Elm and had an awesome lunch overlooking the water.

We took turns sitting in the big girl chair outside.

Lunch was yummy. They have the greatest burgers and fries. I was afraid this big sturdy chair wasn’t going to hold me. After I ate all that food.

Then, off to the bluebonnet field next to an old cemetery.

Good friends enjoying the backroads and the Texas Bluebonnets! Thank you Sherri Murphy for an awesome day.

Friday:) Finally Back at Towne Creek, Friends, Food, and My McKinney Firefighters.

I’d like to be settled into somewhat of a normal life. Somewhat. I know it’s never going to be completely normal.

Michael Jordan

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Well, today was the day. The first time in exactly a year since Helene and I were able to go to Towne Creek Senior Apartments for our arts and crafts group. We were both so excited. We took enough food, drinks, snacks, and art projects to last a month. I’ll show you the baking and food frenzy another time.

The ladies made all kinds of Easter projects. Bunny bags, wooden cross hangers, and cross book marks.

Helene and I made up bag lunches with lots of food and goodies, plus extra to take home for later. It was a fun afternoon.

On my way home, I stopped off at Station 9 to drop off some Peep cupcakes. I had stopped at 1:30 on my way to Towne Creek, but everyone was out on a call. On my way home around 6, I caught them in the middle of dinner. Just in time for dessert.

It’s almost 9 pm, I’ve been on my feet all day and I’m exhausted… in a good way. Thank goodness it’s Friday.

Cheers, my friends!

Thankful Thursday:) My New Puppy~RAMBO

. “Dogs laugh, but they laugh with their tails.”

~Max Eastman

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Yesterday, my neighbor Kathy wanted to go over to the SPCA of McKinney over on Stacey Rd. She asked if I’d ride along with her because she was planning on getting a new kitty. She had seen several that she liked on the website. She had two cats, but one got sick a few weeks back and he went to kitty heaven. Poor Mo was missing his buddy Stan, so she wanted to get him a companion.

We drove over there and all the dogs were yelping and barking and wagging their tails. And, the cats were doing their elusive, “Yah, what are you looking at, Lady.” She found the tabby kitty that she was looking for and was elated. In the meantime, I was admiring the cute tiny puppies and the larger older dogs, with absolutely NO intention of bringing one home.

All of a sudden, this gorgeous white dog barked at me, then bowed down at the edge of his cage and whined a long sad song. I bent down to say hello, and he rolled over on his back as if to say, “Pet me, love me, take me home.” I thought to myself..”Absolutely NOT!” I like my freedom too much.

I’ve been lucky these past five or six years to doggie sit for Mr. Mike and kitty sit for Kathy or Diane. So, I really didn’t miss having a dog. We used to have dogs. When I was married, HE…the EX…A.H, would just bring home a dog or find a dog at a breeder’s website and just bring him home without ever consulting me. That’s why I always called them his dogs. I never had a say in it. I just had to feed them, walk them, and take care of them.

When this adorable dog picked me out, I thought, why not. I get to pick and choose this time. I’ll have a say in this decision. Mr. Mike has moved away, so I don’t get to watch Bella anymore. When I inquired why this adorable calm dog was there at the shelter, the volunteer said, “Mr. Rambunctious” is a handful. He has too much energy and can’t sit still. He’s come back three times when the owners said they couldn’t handle him. This adorable dog was just lying there quietly, submissively, and asking to go home with me with those big brown eyes.

So, Kathy got her kitty and I brought home RAMBO, short for Rambunctious.

Puppy kisses.

Hopefully I got you! HAPPY APRIL FOOL’S DAY!!!!

This is really my neighbor’s dog, Maisey. But, she does love me and I’m still pretty happy that I don’t have a dog to take care of, not even this beautiful well behaved pup.

What’s Cookin’ Miss Toni? Chunky Chocolate Chip Cookies

“The best cookies are the ones made with love, lots of chocolate chips, and a lot of leftover Valentine’s Day candy.”

~Toni Armenta Andrukaitis

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Well, I’m down to my last roll of chocolate chip cookie dough in the freezer. Oh no! Only one left. I think I started out making ten. Where did they go? (In my tummy, maybe?”) To be honest, I did give more away than I ate.

So, when I get the urge to bake some cookies, I take out a roll of my homemade chocolate chip cookie dough from the freezer. I had several boxes of those cute heart shaped Valentine’s Day candy lying around the kitchen. I know! Who has left over candy? I bought a whole bunch to give away, and ended up with some left over. I saved the cute little heart shaped boxes for some future arts and crafts project.( Artists don’t throw anything away that can become a craft.)

I sliced the candy in half, then took a slice of cookie dough, and covered it up with the dough and flattened it out. A surprise in the middle. Who doesn’t like surprises?

I filled up two baking sheets and had a bit of dough left over, so I made two giant cookies with all the remaining cut up chocolate candy. Some had caramel and some had mint filling and others with all kinds of fun fillings. I couldn’t waste the candy, right? They were so good, especially right out of the oven. Yum!

Toni’s Tuesday Time-Lapse Video- Easy Easter Cross

“When you have so much fun playing and creating crafts and artwork, ya just gotta share.”

~Toni Armenta Andrukaitis

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This was a fun little project. I was trying to think of a few quick and easy projects to use when Helene and I go to Towne Creek this Friday. We haven’t been able to meet with our senior art friends in just about a year now. We are going to wear masks and distance, with only one person per table, but it will be so good to see everyone again. Yay!

I just used a wood shape for a template to trace and Crayola washable markers and water.

https://youtube.com/shorts/dYBoU0wqWYs

Here’s another one with a similar concept, but then I glued a small wooden cross in the middle for a 3-D look. SO EASY! (I made a regular time video of this, but it’s taking forever to upload, so I may give up on adding the video now. Yep, taking forever. I’ll see if it ever uploads and I’ll add it on later on tonight. 🤦‍♀️

OK…an hour later… here’s the other video…

See ya later alligator… oops, or is it a crocodile?