This is a yummy recipe that I found in a Diabetic cookbook. I wanted to share because it is easy, fast and delicious!


BLT Cukes

3 slices crisp-cooked bacon, chopped
1/2 cup finely chopped lettuce
1/2 cup finely chopped baby spinach
1/4 cup diced tomato
1 tablespoon plus 1 1/2 teaspoons fat-free mayonnaise
Pinch salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 large cucumber
Minced fresh parsley or green onion (optional)

1. Combine bacon, lettuce, spinach, tomato and mayonnaise. Season with salt and pepper; set aside.

2. Peel cucumber. Trim off ends and cut in half lengthwise. Use spoon to scoop out seeds; discard seeds. Divide bacon mixture between cucumber halves, mounding in hollowed areas. Garnish with parsley. Cut into 2-inch pieces.

Nutrition info per serving (1 piece):
Calories: 26, Calories from Fat: 50%, Total Fat: 2g, Saturated Fat: >Cholesterol: 3mg, Sodium: 72mg, Carbohydrates: 2g, Dietary Fiber: >Protein: 2g

I have been busy spreading the word around town and the web about Cards4Cancer presented by Spirit Jump and Bloggers Unite. The goal of Cards 4 Cancer is to deliver at least 100,000 cards to cancer patients on or around April 10th. Spirit Jump has done an amazing job helping those going through cancer by having donors send a little bit of cheer their way. It's really heart warming to see how many people have been involved and how far this even reaches around the world!


There is less than a month left until the official Cards 4 Cancer day! I've started getting cards in and of course have been using my creativity for making my own cards. I have a lot more verbal commitments than have actually signed up, but I think a lot of people sign up at the last minute. Please let me know if you would like to join our team and help bring a smile to cancer patients in Austin, TX. You can join my team at www.cards4cancer.org and my team name is Hill Country Spirit Jumpers. I'll send an email to you with the address to use to send cards.

Here are a handful of the cards I've made so far ~~




I also have the machine embroidered cards available on my ArtFire shop and $1.00 will be donated back to Spirit Jump!!!

Do You Think IRS Will Accept Handmade Instead of My Taxes?

I've always enjoyed numbers and math. I was probably born with that crazy gene which makes math fun for me. My Dad is also a numbers man, so maybe it isn't the genes, but that I picked it up from him over the years.

I have my corporate taxes due in 8 days. Yikes! Ummm, can't really say that I've started them yet. I've been attempting to start for about a week by clearing off a table to sort receipts and stuff. The craziest part of all this is that I can't tear myself away from my sewing machine! I have so many ideas running through my mind that I can't stop being creative and settling in on those now boring and non-creative numbers.

So wish me luck on getting those taxes done. I wonder if the IRS would like a nice set of embroidered coasters instead of all my paperwork? Please, tell me to, "Just step away from the Bernina"!

Off the Rack

I had a wonderful weekend with some good friends. A friend and I went to the book signing of a dear friend of mine named Genae Girard. Get to know her name, because she is a talented, funny insightful and intelligent author. Her first book just came out and I read it with my morning coffee today and I could not put the book down. It truly is a page-turner. She is a young breast cancer survivor so this book chronicles her battle and shows her true warrior side. As a fellow breast cancer survivor I have a real hard time reading books about the disease and what others went through. Those types of books all seem to be "woe is me" and remind me of the negative side of the disease. Although she still had to be treated for breast cancer and had some set backs along the way, Genae's humor and way of expressing herself had me laughing and I couldn't put the book down until I was finished! Please pick up your own copy here and enjoy the musings of Off the Rack!

Happy Dog Biscuit Appreciation Day!!

I have become addicted to Twitter. I use TweetDeck and it's the first thing I open up when my computer boots up in the morning. I have to go and read each tweet that comes in to make sure I don't miss anything. Anything as in I might miss that somebody is at the Barnes & Noble on some street in Oklahoma or some other random thing about somebody I don't know. Truly there are a ton of tweets that I actually follow the link and learn something or find a great new crafter. One Tweeter that I follow is @AnswersDotCom. I just wanted to share with everyone that today I learned from @AnswersDotCom on Twitter that today is International Dog Biscuit Appreciation Day! See what you're missing if you're not on twitter :) Come follow me on Twitter!



Yummmm, peanut (not peanut butter) dog treats! These are made by Buckaroo Bones, which is an animal rescue assistance based business. They started the bakery as a means to help finance their dog and cat rescue efforts. Check out their rescue pages under Empathy Program Lab Rescue at www.petfinder.com. Buckaroo Bones is continually doing research for dog friendly, all natural human foods that are nutritionally beneficial for dogs. You won't find fad ingredients or dubious claims of health benefits here. Click on the above picture to see the actual listing for these delicious treats that come in a 1/2 lb. package and you can find Buckaroo Bones on Etsy for all of their delicious and fun treats. Make sure you take a look at their profile page there to see where else you can find them.

Birthday Sale!

My birthday is coming up next week so to celebrate I have marked everything down in my ArtFire and Zibbet shops! My birthday is on 2/8/10 and that adds up to 20 so everything has been marked down 20% off! All Christmas items were already marked down 40% so they are now 60% off! Now that is a great deal and I'm practically given those items away. Stock up now for next Christmas.

Spirit Jump and Cards 4 Cancer

Cancer just sucks. Plain and simple. As a two-time cancer survivor I know this firsthand. Even when the best support group surrounds you, the diagnosis, treatments, doctors, emotions, etc. can really bring you down. There is a great organization that is working to lift the spirits of those battling cancer. The group is called Spirit Jump and please watch this great little news clip that explains how they help.




Spirit Jump has partnered with Bloggers Unite for the 1st Annual Cards 4 Cancer day. On April 10th patients at cancer centers all over the world will be honored with cards delivered from volunteers. It's amazing the impact that a simple card or gift from a stranger can do to brighten the day of someone battling cancer.





I have signed on to deliver cards in the Austin, TX area. I am looking for team members to join Hill Country Spirit Jumpers to make this day a huge success! Please send me a card, tell all your friends and neighbors, hold a card making party, and inform everyone you know. Tweet, Facebook. blog about this day and lets make it an awesome experience for all the cancer patients that need their spirits lifted. You can contact me at hillcountryspiritjumpers@gmail.com for my mailing address or any other questions you have about participating. I look forward to hearing from you soon!

Winner of My Twitter Giveaway

I had a giveaway to one of my Twitter followers at the end of January. Homespun Alley was randomly chosen as the winner! She received a $20 gift certificate to my shop! She sells here on ArtFire and also here. One of her newest listings is these cute little matchbook notepads. They are even refillable!



I also adore this pocket photo holder ~



Wondering what she picked from my shop? She chose these great machine embroidered drink coasters.



Click on the pictures to take you to their listings.

Winter Wonderland Winner

Well, the voting ended on January 31st for the You Can Sell It Guild contest. The theme was "Winter Wonderland" and my Blue Ice Bracelet won with over 50% of the votes!!! Here is the bracelet and now that the contest is over, you can own this award winning piece of jewelry! Find it on my ArtFire or on my Etsy.