One Step at a Time

K's Room Makeover, Pt 2

2012-01-01T15:29:00.009-05:00

Now, for part 2 of the Room Makeover. Things to note first, K's room is small, but she's packed a lot of her personality into the room. We've pretty much let her pick everything out. Some things she knew exactly what she wanted and some we've discovered along the way. Or sometimes she knew kind of what she wanted, but didn't know where to get it or exactly what it would look like. So, I'll show pictures and share a little of her thought process....or just how it was thought out.

Ready for a lot of pictures? Let's open the door....

When you open the door and look straight ahead this is what you'll see. K's family picture collage and a vinyl quote that I picked up for her for Christmas. You can also see two of the three colors she picked for her room. She chose a dark brown, a green and a blue. She said it was like the dirt, the forest and the sky.

For this wall, she took the three framed postcards that she had hanging in her "old" room and put them in black frames. Then she took some actual photos and a couple of calendar pages to finish the grouping she wanted. Her grandma took the picture of the hawk in the middle.

The birdhouse hanging was another added touch. She loves birds and likes to keep bird feeders right outside her window so she can sit and watch them. So, it only made sense to add some inside bird decorations. This one has a little bluebird watching out the opening.

Here we step back so you can see the whole wall and her bookshelf. All of her furniture is from IKEA. The blue flowerpot is waiting for the perfect plant. She's still researching that.

Mike built a shelf above her windows years ago. It was originally white. So we pulled that down and Kristin painted it black. She likes glass bottles, so she's been keeping her eyes out for different ones. These bottles have been found at various yard sales. The empty space on the right is about to have a neat project on display. I'll share that tomorrow in the final installment.

Now, if you remember from a picture of her old room, she had a white shelf with pegs and ladybug paper on it. Well, that wouldn't do in the new design. So, they pulled the pegs out and Kristin learned to fill the holes and sand them.

Then the shelf was painted black and we put cork board on the back. There was a seam from the cork board, so she picked out a ribbon to cover it. I think it turned out rather well.

On top of the shelf you see a mason jar with rocks and fake flowers. That was one of her inexpensive projects. She also made one for the top of her dresser.

Now, we'll step back and look at it from the doorway. Her desk gives her a great view of the birds at her feeders. One of the features she really liked about her dresser was the mirror that flipped up and the jewelry tray. She can close it for more flat surface, but she likes the mirror up. I can't blame her!

For our last view, we walk in the room and turn to look at her bed. So much to talk about here. First off, K knew that she wanted some posters of animals that you could find at Yellowstone. We had no clue what or where...but we were looking for affordable. We had done some looking online and I had to remind her to be patient and that her room may not be done in two weeks. Well, just a few days later we went to Bass Pro Shop to look at camping stuff. We walked right by a section that had canvas photos of wildlife. Jackpot!! For around $20 each, we picked out two which were pretty much exactly what she had envisioned! How perfect was that?

Another tough piece to the puzzle was the bedding. We searched many places online for ideas and nothing really jumped out at us. I had picked up some really nice sheets a few weeks before, but that wasn't going to be enough! Again, we found ourselves in a store (this time Target) looking for something totally unrelated and walked right by the perfect bedding. We have the brown, the green and the blue and it has the requirement she had of having a "nature" design. It looks like she found this first and made the room around it.

A week later, she found the bird picture (also at Target) that fit with her colors and love of birds. It was an amazing design project that just came together so easily. Now that months have passed, we still find a few things here and there that would just be "perfect". Sometimes we get it and sometimes we pass. In the meantime, she's enjoying her Yellowstone National Park room and being surrounded by all her special things.

For tomorrow's post I'll share the newest updates in her room.

She has a few photos and decorations that she needs Mike to put up and has that little project that we're working on. I'll also share her idea she came up with to solve a little problem in the room. I imagine that will be completed sometime in the spring.

K's Room Makeover, Pt. 1

2011-12-31T08:36:00.006-05:00

This past year K decided that she was due for a more grown up room. Her room still looked nice, but it had been that way for over 7 years and she associated it with being a little kid. She was after all turning 12 this year. Fortunately for her, we decided that yes, this would be the year of the K room makeover. As an added bonus, her American Heritage Girl handbook had a badge for Interior Design. This was a cinch for K to complete, because she had the new look all mapped out in her head. We did this back in April and May, so I apologize for just getting to sharing it now. Honestly, though she has been adding little elements to get it "perfect" ever since! The photos will share the transformation. Since there was a lot of detail, there will be a lot of photos and I've divided the post into three parts!

First, we need to look at a few snapshots of the "old" room.

Over the years, the toys and toy bins were swapped out with a small antique desk.

These framed postcard pictures would actually be the inspiration for the "new" room!

I told you the room was designed when she was much younger!

Now, before we look at the new shots let me explain a little about the whole makeover. This was pretty much a total makeover. The theme was Yellowstone National Park. She wanted something that was earthy and would remind her of nature, especially National Forest type animals. She desperately needed a new bed and she asked for new furniture. That was chosen from IKEA to keep it affordable so that we could do everything she wanted. For paint she picked out three colors. Yes, three colors. Scared me...but she had a vision.

She learned during the whole project that sometimes you just need to keep an eye out for inspiration and for pieces that will fit your vision. You just never know when the right thing will come along and help tie the room together. I'll share examples of that in tomorrow's pictures.

She also learned that sometimes you can make things that will help decorate your room and add a personal touch to your room. Best part, inexpensive projects were chosen!! We'll look at a few of those later.

Lastly, she learned that not everything has to be done at once. Over the past few months of her living in her room, she's discovered some needs or touches that would really be nice. We've bounced around ideas and have come up with some good solutions and just need to wait for a few extra dollars and time. They aren't expensive projects by any means, but with the holidays here we've put it on the back burner for now. I'm sure I'll be sharing more pictures before Spring.

Tomorrow we will look at her "new" room, but I'll give one sneak peek.

Here is one of her personal touch projects. She made a sign for her bedroom door using a little chalk board, small river rocks and a white pen all from the local craft store. It fits the theme and gives you a clue about what you are going to walk into. You can also see a glimpse of two of the three colors and she's sitting on one of those "special finds" that pulled the room together. Can't wait to show you the whole thing tomorrow!!

Edible School

2011-10-12T13:17:00.003-04:00

The one thing that I really enjoy about schooling is being able to take different avenues to reinforce information learned. This can be done many ways. One example would be taking a field trip to a historic site that you just recently read about. I love how this brings the lesson on paper to life. Fortunately, we leave in an area that is close to so many opportunities to use this particular avenue. Another would be perhaps learning about an artist, looking at their work and then attempting to recreate their work or style. It may not look like the original, but it's often a true masterpiece and the child gains an appreciation that just reading wouldn't have conveyed.

While those all bring a richness to the education process, I'd have to say one of our favorites would be heading to the kitchen to make something edible that somehow ties into the lesson. This often means dessert for everyone. Of course, it is not always a "sweet", but those are certainly the most popular!

Here is the latest...

An edible bird nest complete with grass, twigs and mud.

A little fruit to represent bird eggs....and to make the whole thing healthy!
Yea, right!

Nope, she's not a ham at all!

Enjoying the lesson!

How to make your own bird nests:

Grass - Shred 2 large Shredded Wheat Biscuits into a bowl

Twigs - add 2 cups of chow mein noodles

Mud - Melt over low heat 1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips and 1 cup of peanut butter

Mix together. Place the mixture, divided into three piles, on wax paper. (you can make 4 if you need them or make a bunch of mini ones) Form each pile into a nest. Refrigerate until hardened. Add grapes to represent eggs and serve.

FYI: K says one whole nest (we made 4) was too much to eat at one time.

Why English Will Have to Wait

2011-10-11T13:17:00.003-04:00

We've recently returned from a much needed two week vacation. We were out of town from September 16th to October 1st. Our homeschooling began early in August and we worked extra hard to get ahead. I knew the week before we actually left it would be futile to even attempt any traditional lessons. Instead our lessons that week were more on the line of how to plan, pack, clear out the garden, and budget time. Being the 'smart mom', I knew also to allow us the week AFTER vacation to get back into the routine. We had groceries to buy, clothes to wash, things to put away, spaghetti sauce to make, people to visit, etc. It sure made what I call "re-entry into the real world" much easier!

Yesterday was our first day back to our "regular" homeschool lessons. It went well and hardly seemed like we had been away for a month. We have naturally fallen into a pattern of Bible, History, and Science first. Then a break for brunch. (because neither of us really dig eating when we first get up) After the break we get back to Language Arts and Math and whatever else needs to be covered for the day.

Well, that's the "plan" of our schedule.

Reality??

Not necessarily so...but that's alright with this homeschooling momma!

Why?

Because all around us we can find learning opportunities. I happen to believe that there is more to life, learning and schooling than what we find in our textbooks. So, today when K was eating her lunch she heard all sorts of noise and rustling out the front window. She discovered that our dogwoods were full of robins and a few other feathered friends that were snacking on the red berries. Being birds without hands and manners, they were just landing and jerking the berries right off the branches in a frenzy. Then, K remembered that she bought peanuts for the chipmunk and the squirrels. So, she grabbed the bag and made a large pile in the middle of the garden and a small pile on the rock. She sat down and waited. Eventually our little chipmunk stuck his head out of his hole and stared at her. She just sat still making little chirping noises and quietly telling him it was safe. He mustered up his courage and came out to start stockpiling for winter. K has been sitting outside for about 45 minutes just watching him and the birds. Quite the nature show for my animal lover and a front row seat to boot.

She was so excited, she asked me to join her. Which I did, with my camera, of course.

click for the larger image...he really is rather cute!

English will wait a bit longer than "scheduled", but it will get done. K will have a story to share with her dad and her brothers and whoever else will listen. In my mind, it was the better choice.

Healthy Must Try Treat....

2011-07-21T13:16:00.004-04:00

No, this isn't a bowl of sauteed kale!

It's actually Kale Chips and they are so light and crispy...with a touch of saltiness. Such a simple recipe that I just couldn't resist trying. They even passed the Miss K test with flying colors! In case you didn't know, that is a HUGE endorsement. I do NOT expect this to make it past dinner. You know what? I'm excited about that! Have you checked out the nutritional benefits of this amazing leafy green??

To make life even simpler, I used the 10 oz bag of washed and trimmed Kale from Trader Joe's. (love that store) There were a few rib pieces to sort out, but mostly it was all good to go.

Want the "recipe"?

(you can hardly call it a recipe, it's so easy)

Click below for the details and put Kale on your shopping list!

Crispy Kale Chips

Getting Spoiled.....

2011-07-01T19:05:00.007-04:00

So, my birthday is tomorrow. My plans?? Well, I actually made a point to make no plans. A weekend of doing nothing sounded good. My parents are at the beach and I told them not to bother coming home early for my birthday. My oldest son, daughter in law and grandbaby are also at the beach this weekend and I sincerely hope they have a wonderful time.

Really, this no fuss birthday weekend sounds so good. I'll do some garden work, maybe shop a little and probably read a bit. I'm sure there will be some time spent trying to get the skin on my legs to at least match the skin color on my arms....which isn't even all that tan. (but compared to my legs my arms look like I'm a bronzed goddess) I bet we'll even watch a movie or two over the weekend and grill something yummy. So, for doing nothing it sounds like plenty.

The other day, J & T gave me an early birthday present since they knew they would be out of town. I was surprised because I wasn't really expecting a thing.

Our last name means rooster.
Now, I have a cake/dessert plate that matches our decor....in theme and color. I even have a recipe in mind to "break-in" my new plate.

(The recipe just happens to be dairy free/gluten free and all chocolatey.)

Like I said, this gift was unexpected and really I didn't expect any more "unknown" presents. I had already given my mom a specific item to get me and I planned to spend some birthday money getting two more things. (all three items have me excited but would probably cause quite a few women to roll their eyes since I'm not a bling type of gal.)

Imagine my surprise when Mike got home today and changed into comfortable clothes and said, "Are you ready for dinner?" Considering that I hadn't even gotten off my chair to start the meal, I thought that was an odd question. So, K started laughing and told me that we were going to....

Well, that was music to my ears! For one, as much as I love cooking I really can't stand cleaning up after it. Secondly, there are times that a good steak just really hits the spot and I was feeling the need for some iron. Let's just say no one needed to ask me to move to the car more than once.

However, on the way to the door I found more gifts.

Yes, I do LOVE flowers!

All varieties of flowers of all colors.

So, these made me smile.

However,

next to the flowers was a gift wrapped package.

I unwrapped the box with absolutely no clue as to what could possibly be inside.

WOW, this was a REAL shocker!
They got me!!

All this conspiring behind my back took place over the week.

I live with some seriously sneaky people...

Happy Birthday to ME!!

Officially Summer

2011-06-20T22:35:00.002-04:00

I have a bowl that was given to me last year for my birthday. It's a regular bowl...not very big, not over the top pricey....BUT it makes me smile. It speaks to me. (whatever that really means!) So, maybe it doesn't say actual "words", yet somehow whenever it catches my eye I hear a little voice in my head whispering " Be Happy".

Do you know what makes my smile even brighter?? What makes me 187 times happier?

When I look in my bowl and see this......

Oh yeah, baby! Summer is officially here in my backyard!!

I can hardly wait until my bowl looks like this.

Knowing what you're eating....

2011-06-14T19:25:00.004-04:00

We just had one of those yummy "can name all the ingredients" meal. I love serving those kind up for the family!

Tilapia was drizzled with olive oil and baked with lemon slices, salt and pepper. Peas were picked just minutes before and quickly sauteed and then I just added some garlic. Black bean salad with veggies and a lime dressing was made this morning. Coleslaw (cabbage, carrots and celery) made without mayo has dried cranberries and almonds added for flavor and added nutrition. Fresh fruit was just washed and served...no added sugars.

No gluten or dairy in sight. No mixes or overly processed stuff. No drab single colored meal.

Yes, it was my kind of meal!

So, what's on the menu at your house?

Getting Excited About Harvest 2011...

2011-06-07T21:25:00.005-04:00

It's that time of the year again! All the vegetable plants are safely in the ground, the sun is warm and the days are long. Woohoo!! We were late getting the summer veggies in the ground this year because I underestimated my spring harvest time, but they seem to be taking to the dirt like a duck in water.

Speaking of water....I wish it would rain every once in a while. It was all kinds of wet around here until I planted one week ago. Then, BAM, the waterworks from the sky shut off. Personally, I don't see why it just can't rain every night from 1 am to 4 am. Yep, that would do the trick! Sure wish we could arrange that. For now, I'm spending my evenings in the garden watering and weeding. Hopefully soon, I will add harvesting to that list. Of course, it is awfully peaceful and quiet in the garden...

Hmm, maybe I don't need the rain!

My oregano has grown bigger than I ever imagined. Need to look up recipes using oregano! Have any to share?

We have at least 4 different pepper plants this year. I see signs of peppers on all of them.

I just love when cucumbers grab onto things. It's so cute. I know these will be coming out my ears soon. They usually do really well, here.

See those tomatoes already growing! Yum! The two in the back are sweet 100's. They should be called sweet 1000's, because they produce UNBELIEVABLE amounts of yumminess.

Just trying to be patient and waiting til mid July.

These peas are so delicious. We picked a bowl yesterday and ate them all.

I had to pull this one because it was too crowded. Well, that and I wanted to see how they were coming along. It actually looks like a carrot!

No garden is complete without the squash section.

We have other herbs and veggies growing, as well. I'll share more as they grow and I discover new ways to prepare them.

How is your garden going this year? What do you do when certain vegetables overtake your kitchen table?

I'd love to hear!

What I was looking for.....

2011-06-05T21:08:00.007-04:00

I am going to get a little wordy here, but I really can't help it. I'm about to share about a wonderful organization that we've had the privilege to be involved with and honestly I'm being brief here tonight. Click on any of the RED underlined words and it will take you to their website where you can learn more.

My older boys were involved in scouts from a very early age and all three went on to become Eagle Scouts. I loved the Boy Scout program and always wished that I could find a similar organization for Kristin. Yes, I know the Girl Scouts are out there....but for various reasons I just wasn't comfortable with being a part of their organization. So, we never joined. About 8 years ago, I read about an organization that had begun a few years earlier that sounded exactly like what I wanted. Alas...there were no groups in my area.

A few years ago a friend, who has boys in Boy Scouts plus a younger girl, mentioned her desire to find a good program for her daughter. I shared with her the group I had read about. She looked them up and still.....no program in our area. Fortunately for me, this friend never lost hope and kept checking the website on and off. One night last August, she called me up barely able to contain her excitement. YES, finally a new group was going to start that wasn't too far from us and WE were going to join!

So, this past school year, Kristin and I joined the American Heritage Girls. This program has been everything I wanted for her. She has met new friends, been encouraged to grow in leadership, gained confidence, learned and earned many badges, been exposed to new experiences and has found that she loves more things than she thought. This past year she went on her first camping trip, paddled her first kayak, built her first fire by herself, led her first Color Guard, performed in her first campfire skit, and for the first time had opportunities to speak in front of an audience larger than her family. There were many other firsts too numerous to mention, but all were positive and in one way or another helped my little girl mature.

Badges are a part of the AHG experience. They are broken down into 6 frontiers (Our Heritage, Personal Well Being, Family Living, The Arts, Science and Technology, and Outdoor Skills) and the girls are encouraged to work in all 6 areas. This way they are exposed to various topics and skills and often find that they are interested in something that they really didn't know about before. At the same time, they can work on badges that they already know they like, but are encouraged to explore a little further and to share that knowledge with the other girls. Kristin worked hard on her badges and set goals for herself. She had a notebook with all the badges she wanted to work on and a little schedule of when she would spend time on them. Later this week, I promise to share (with pictures!) her work on the Home Decorating badge. Wait until you see her project. I think you'll be impressed. I know, I was!!

AHG is a Christian based organization and they do not hide that fact. There are opportunities for the girls to work on religious awards for their denomination, they are also encouraged to serve in their community and some of the badges even have the girls dig deeper into their faith and their relationship with the Lord. Meetings begin and end with girl led prayer and the leaders have all signed a statement of faith. Like I said, they do not hide it.

The girls move up levels according to their grade/age. At each level they have an opportunity to earn what is called a level award. Normally, the girls have 2-3 years at each level to earn this award. (they receive it as they are bridging up to the next level) However, this was the very first year for this troop. Amazingly though, several girls still decided to work extra hard to earn this award. Kristin was one of those girls. She had to earn at least one badge in each of the 6 frontiers that I shared above. She also had to perform service hours, attend special events, visit the older girls' meeting and she had to plan and carry out a special event for her troop. Kristin joined up with one of her new friends, Rachel, and together they planned, organized, promoted, carried out and cleaned up after a Memory Maker Badge day for the troop. What an incredible learning experience for them.

We are very proud of her accomplishments this year and I can tell that she is as well! Tonight was the Troop MD 1208's Court of Awards. As much as I love my girl and as hard as I work to help her learn and grow, I couldn't have given her that self esteem and sense of accomplishment on my own. This evening, she stood a little taller than her 5'6" body normally allows, she smiled a little wider than usual and she had a bit more confidence in herself as she received her badges, service stars, patches and Lewis and Clark Award.

Like I said at the very beginning, I have so much more to share about this program, but then I run the risk of scaring everyone away with a super long post. Instead, I will just share along the way as Kristin moves towards her goal of earning the Stars and Stripes Award. I have only great things to say about American Heritage Girls and would like to encourage everyone that has a girl....or knows a girl....to check into this program and spread the word.

Now, no more words.
Just take a look at some of our wonderful AHG girls enjoying each other, learning new skills and sharing a camping experience together.

6 Recipes that SCREAM Summer to Me

2011-06-02T16:12:00.005-04:00

I find that there is quite a difference in the types of recipes I use according to the seasons. I love to take advantage of fresh ingredients that are in season as they have a much better taste AND they are more affordable. Who really enjoys what they call "tomatoes" in the grocery store during the winter? Another thing that dictates the types of recipes I consider is the weather. Let's face it...cooking a soup that takes 4 hours isn't quite as appealing in the blistering heat of August as it is in the bone chilling frost of February.

Last night while we were eating dinner, I pulled out a notebook and started quizzing the family on recipes for the summer. What were they looking forward to eating? For some reason, I had a mental block going on and was feeling all kinds of stressed out just thinking about menu planning and grocery shopping this week. After dinner, K and I pulled out my big disorganized recipe binder and went through pages of favorites that had been stored (stuffed) between the cover. Now, I'm not so sure why I had the temporary lapse into freak-out mode, because there were some yummy recipes in there calling my name and waving the summer friendly flag.

Lucky you, I decided to share my top 6 'Can't Wait' to make again Summer friendly dishes!

6. Black Bean Salad with Lime Dressing: This one is so incredibly good. I like to make a big dish of it and then we pick on it for lunches and even snacks during the week.

5. Thai Turkey Lettuce Wraps: My whole family loves these so I have to triple if I even want a chance of having leftovers for lunch! I do actually serve this during other seasons, but they are great for a summer meal when it's so hot you don't want anything heavy. I usually make some rice and cut up some fresh fruit, like pineapple, to go along with the wraps. Oh, and if you have a Trader Joe's close by, look for their Thai Lime and Chili Cashews. They add some extra wow to this dish and I'll admit we don't stick to the amount called for in this recipe!

4. Quinoa Taco Salad: This recipe never fails me. I add the black beans, avocado and tomatoes. This is another one that I like to double and then use the leftovers for lunch. I think I could make this weekly and be happy about it!!

3. Hawaiian Burgers: Well, I don't have a link for this one, but the recipe is quick and easy so I'll share here.

Hawaiian Burgers
2 lbs. ground turkey
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
2 T low sodium Soy Sauce
2 cloves garlic minced

2 scallions chopped
1/2 c. hoison sauce
2 tsp. sesame oil.

Mix together and form patties. Grill. Also, slice fresh pineapple into rings (or you can use canned) and grill them. Add a grilled pineapple ring on top of each burger. Delish!!

2. Cilantro Lime Dressing: While this isn't a dish, it is a dressing worth making anytime! Because of this very recipe we intentionally bought extra cilantro plants for our herb garden this summer. My 12 year old pretty much inhales this stuff and any salad it's drizzled over. (and that's a good thing!) I've even drizzled it on my rice and veggies before.

And now for the number 1 recipe on my can't wait to make again and let the sun blaze down on me list....

1. Pineapple Black Bean Rice Salad: It's on the menu for next week and I can hardly wait. You can eat this as a side or main dish. Throw a couple of ears of corn on the grill or maybe grill a few skewers of shrimp and let the feasting begin.

So, what are some of YOUR favorite summertime recipes? I'm always looking for fresh ideas and maybe I'll even add it to my "a little more organized this yesterday" recipe binder!

Leaving them out...

2011-06-01T19:46:00.010-04:00

Way back many years ago when I was a kid I loved visiting the library. I'd checked out as many books as I could carry each and every time. That's something that hasn't changed over the years and I find homeschooling helps feed that book monster living inside me. I've noticed that K seems to love the library as much as I do and frequently enjoys settling down with a good book. That makes her mama very happy.

One of the curricula we use for school is My Father's World (which I cannot say enough good things about!!) and they encourage using the library to check out books relevant to what you're studying. They suggest putting them in a basket and have Book Basket Time when the kids just go and spend some time reading and going through the books. We use to have a basket, but lately we've just been putting them on a shelf. Consequently, I've noticed we don't seem to really spend as much time going through the books...and that is a shame.

So, the other day I had K pull them out of their "hiding place" and put them right smack in the middle of the dining room table. And we left them there! (leaving a random pile of books scattered across a table is not something I normally do!)

However, I noticed that when you leave them out....

...more of this goes on without you having to ask.

K would take her lunch out to the table and before I knew it her nose was buried in a book or two for the next hour. I don't mind that disruption to a school "schedule" at all.

In fact, she wound up reading a lot more than I expected.

Good informative books like these....

(although I don't think I needed a book to know that!)

Oh, yum.....not! K's review was both thumbs up.
She said it was about Japanese holidays and their traditional foods that they eat. It made her really start looking forward to Christmas! I'm going to have to go check out this book!

Lots of information in this book that pretty much enforced what we had just gone over. Don't you love it when that happens. Really helps them remember things when it's repeated in a different way.

She found this one interesting....and gruesome all rolled in one.

This one was a little rough, because she was reading it before we even talked about Japan's history. Reading about all the dynasties and trying to even GUESS how to say the Japanese names was a little frustrating. We'll review it after we've had a few more days under our belt.

K says this story was very good and then she proceeded to tell me all about it.
I won't spoil it for you.

(again...I don't think I needed a book to know this! I do love their titles, though!)
This series happens to be a GREAT series. K has enjoyed the three that she has read. The other one was You Wouldn't Want to Live in a Medieval Castle.

(note: I just went and looked at some more titles from this series...and now I'm going to go check the library system. Good summer reading material for my little history buff!)

By the way, K has been quiet for the past hour. I called her to my computer to ask her opinion on a few of these books. She walked out here carrying the above book. Yes, she's been laying on her bed reading. (this mama heart is really gonna burst!) She reviewed the individual books I shared and recommends them all. I think I'm going to have to continue just...

...leaving them out!

My gain...

2011-05-30T21:36:00.003-04:00

The past few months K has found her interior design diva and redecorated her bedroom. I'm not talking about just slapping on a fresh color. This project called for the "WORKS". I'll be sharing that later this week...she did a great job!! One of the things to come out of her room was a small unfinished end table. We had intended to paint it to match her room, but never got around to it. She used it as her nightstand, but with the new design there was no longer room for it.

One day the little table was sitting in my kitchen area waiting for us to decide it's fate, when suddenly an idea popped into my head. I guess my interior design diva came out, as well. It's been transformed and is now doing exactly what I needed.

What do you think?

Who Knew?

2011-05-29T20:44:00.004-04:00

I am not a gardener even if sometimes I pretend to be one. Pretending is very different than actually being a seasoned pro filled with all sorts of handy agricultural knowledge. I want to be that person, but my life is currently being filled with other sorts of knowledge and there is only so much I can take in at once! Maybe in my next season...for now, I'll just keep pretending.

Sometimes, at least on the surface, it is hard to tell the difference between a pro and a pretender if you just give a quick glance. Sure, if you look at my front garden you might be impressed with my Hostas the size of small economy cars. However, if you thought about it, you'd know a real gardener would have already divided those babies and spread the Hosta love. I'll admit it. This pretend gardener is a wienie when it comes to actually digging in and breaking up my beautiful plants. Next year, I will have no choice....as several of them are beginning to overtake my dogwood tree. At least this summer, I can sit on my porch and gaze upon them as if I really had ANYTHING to do with their beauty. (more pretending going on here....)

Where you would have really found me out was in my backyard, though. Last summer we had a successful vegetable garden and for the first time ever the beds were ready for some spring planting this year. So, I picked up some seeds at the local Lowes Hardware. There were seeds of the Pea, Lettuce, Radish and Carrot variety in my bag. Due to the weather being a little wacky and actually very cold late March, I didn't get them in when I had hoped. I have NO idea if they would have been fine or not....but again, I'm NOT a gardener.

Radishes were very successful. Almost too successful. I only like to eat a couple of radishes...and I found that really no one else here really likes them. So, maybe I didn't need to plant a hundred or so...but they were very good for the pretend gardener ego.

(Also, maybe I didn't really plant a hundred....or maybe I did.)

Carrots...well, WHO KNEW that they actually took so long to mature. I am going to have some success with them...but they are in the way of my summer planting and many of them are getting pulled early. Lesson learned for next year. It was exciting to pull them out and see little orange carrots....about the size of the skinniest little baby carrots in the baby carrot bag that you sometimes hold up and say, "AWW, look at this wittle baby one." Now, don't even PRETEND that you've never done that!

Peas are now producing and are actually pretty yummy and sweet. We got our first handful yesterday and by the looks of things I expect we will have many, many handfuls. I think I might have even gotten this one right on the first try. Today we had to tie a few of them up to clear the rest of the bed for beans, but they are actually looking good. Even a pretend gardener can get lucky every once in a while.

Now, about the lettuce. I can't say it wasn't successful. Hehe...but, I can say it was TOO successful. WHO KNEW that those little bitty seeds would produce more lettuce leaves then we could eat in the entire summer? K would go out and cut a bunch to fill a bowl for dinner. Before the week was over the spot was filled back in with new leaves. We've had some incredibly yummy salads this spring. Unfortunately for us, lettuce doesn't do well in the sweltering heat AND besides I needed the space for my beans. So, last night we pulled the lettuce.

By the way, if you're in the area and need some tomorrow....just let me know! I already invited my neighbor over last night and I told her to bring a big bowl. I still have about 6 gallon bags full in the fridge that need to be cleaned and eaten this week.

Guess what's on the menu this week!?

Just maybe I'll be a real gardener one of these days!!
Til then, I'm doing fine just pretending!!

Back to the routine....

2011-01-10T20:13:00.004-05:00

Well, it's a week later then I had hoped. However, today we got right back into our routine. After taking an unexpected extended break due to sickness on both ends of my "scheduled" December break, I was so looking forward to hitting the books with K, getting back to regular cleaning chores and cooking. Sure, I cooked during the past 6 weeks. It just doesn't seem the same though, if I'm not trying to schedule it around math, spelling and laundry.

Now, while I must admit mentally it felt great to be back in the saddle, I just need to say....it's exhausting!! Morning came too early and it took hours before I really felt awake. Only to find myself ready for bed a few hours after that. Of course, I'm still up. My brain just went to bed.

K did terrific. Now, she may try to deny this, but deep down
she really does like school!

THE END

PS. Don't tell her I said that.

Diving right in...

2011-01-09T11:26:00.007-05:00

With the holiday season just behind me and a nasty bug visiting the house, I was feeling a tad overwhelmed. I get that way when my little "non-routine" routine gets thrown out of whack. So, I found myself looking for some order to help me feel "right" again and my kitchen seemed to be the center of disorder. There was an incredible desire to attack and conquer the clutter. Possibly this was because I was desperately trying to stay out of all germ infested rooms and my kitchen was the safest! (there was no way I had allowed any sick person to touch anything in my kitchen) OR...maybe it had to do with the fact that I was determined we were going to eat healthier this year. That determination had me going to several different grocery stores and buying all sorts of healthy ingredients to make all the recipes I had found. With the hustle of the season, all those ingredients had then been stuffed into cabinets. Honestly, I had no clue as to what I had purchased, what I still needed, what was overstocked or what was running low. It was time to tackle the hot mess and I did so the only way I knew how and that was by diving right in, of course!

First step was to pull all food items out of the cabinets. I discovered that I had pasta in the tall black cabinet and in the corner cabinet. I had baking ingredients in three cabinets. I told you...a HOT mess!

These containers were all holding little bits of stuff past it's prime. They will all be placed back into commission once they go through a little clean up time.

It was time to get some containers labeled clearly, especially ones that I want to stay gluten free.

Here are some of the goodies I purchased on my shopping spree. I have high hopes for the yumminess that will be cooked up with these ingredients. These are all now listed on my inventory sheet that will help me know if I have what I need next time I discover a recipe.

I had no clue that I was running dangerously low on one of my staple items.
That is something you do not want to find out just as you are making a quick dinner!

I also discovered I was way overstocked on sugar. Since one of our goals is to cut the sugar consumption way down, I won't be needing to buy this for a while. Maybe we can make some sugar scrubs for bath time.

Having everything pulled out at once, allowed me to group similar items together.

Also, you want to take the time to consolidate if you can. I found two opened bottles of rice vinegar and it worked to just dump one into the other. I use it often enough, that I don't have to worry about it going bad.

Now, it was time to start putting things back. This cabinet will look even sharper when I put those containers above to work in here. Right now, I'm just happy that I know what is in here and that the items are grouped together.

This was a big relief to get this cabinet stocked and to know that all pasta is together once again!

Putting this cabinet back together was probably the most satisfying. I was able to really make sense of what went into here. Also, by grouping things together I was able to eliminate the need for taking up space in yet another cabinet.

Best part....I still have some growing room.

That time spent in the kitchen really did help me gain a sense of control. I was able to make menu plans and grocery lists knowing exactly what I was doing. As we get rid of processed stuff in the kitchen, my goal is to replace it with more whole ingredients. I love knowing exactly what goes into the food we are eating. It's also easier to control my diet and keep unwanted gluten and casein out.

I plan to take a look at my kitchen again in the summer to see how far I've come in my quest to get rid of junk in our diet. I'll be sure to share here.

Did you say...PLAN?

2011-01-06T11:10:00.006-05:00

So, we had a lovely holiday break and I was gearing up to get back to the routine. Oh, the lovely routine!! Even though for years I swore I had no routine...I've lately discovered, that what seems like my lack of routine IS indeed a routine after all! <--We'll talk about that another day.

Anyway, the beginning of a new month is usually only mildly noticed around here. I happen to notice the day, because it means a new month of food budgeting and that means grocery shopping day! This is normally a very busy day with trips to not one, not two, but three OR four grocery stores. We restock our supplies and then shopping during the rest of the month tends to be a much milder affair.

Now, the beginning of January is a much bigger deal. It's a celebrated holiday. Well, throw that in with my need to restock the pantry and my overwhelming need to get back to routine....and you probably get a pretty chaotic looking picture. (maybe even experienced the same in your home!)

Mike was off on New Year's Eve and we went out for a nice lunch with some family and then off to grocery shop. We hit Whole Foods and Trader Joes. With the new year and my food intolerance, I've decided to buckle down and serve more whole foods, more raw foods, even some vegan meals...mixed in with our meaty meals to keep a balance. For us, 2011 is time to back away from processed foods and sugar overload. I've been researching and have found so many yummy recipes and blogs. So, I was set and ready to get rolling.

So, shop we did. However, the cabinets were already stuffed with holiday food and leftovers galore. Being that it was New Year's Eve and we had made some plans for the evening, there was really no time to sort, clean out, or put any thought into the kitchen. Everything was just put away...out of sight.

Monday is always a good day to get back to routine, right? For some reason, it seems like we always designate certain days and months to do things....and MONDAY is ALWAYS the day to start something. (anything... Just start it on a MONDAY, whatever you do!!)

I know the fridge is full of fresh produce, the cabinets are stocked with special ingredients to create new foods for us to enjoy....and somehow I'll weed out the bad, old stuff later. Come on, Monday. I am ready to steam, roast, soak, blend, and whatever else it takes to whip this family into total specimens of excellent health.

That's the plan! Oh...did I just say....PLAN?? Have I not learned?

Well, to HECK with the plans, early Monday morning....12:10 AM to be exact.....a nasty little bug decided it was time to rear it's ugly little head. It's claimed 3 out of 4 in this house, while leaving my fridge full of fresh produce just sitting there.

Tomorrow, I'll share what I did with my "free" time.

Funny thing about plans...

2011-01-05T14:59:00.007-05:00

We ALL know that when you have PLANS, things are surely going to go awry. That pretty much sums up my long blogging break. No big catastrophic events took place. Nope... just a bunch of little glitches, wonky plans and one incredibly adorable baby that took my attention and time. (No, not MY baby...my GRAND baby!)

Since I last blogged, we've done some summer sight seeing, celebrated a few birthdays, enjoyed the harvest of our garden, started school back up, lost my computer and ALL my pictures(still hoping to recover those), said goodbye to too many friends that were moving out of state, enjoyed holidays with family and friends, further honed in on my food intolerance, tried many new recipes, and most importantly.....

spent MANY hours loving on this baby girl!

Isn't she precious?

Goose, goose, duck....

2010-08-10T20:02:00.005-04:00

One of K's favorite things to do is to take a trip to the pond and feed the ducks. We ventured there today and the geese far outnumbered the ducks. They behaved themselves and were very mild mannered....although we did watch our backsides. Let's just say we've met nasty geese in the past that didn't mind their manners. Fortunately for us that wasn't an issue and I was able to snap pictures instead of worrying about getting goosed.

Doesn't he look like he's calling a meeting to order? Is this even a "he"?

The word "gaggle" suddenly made sense today.

These ducks didn't stick out at all...

OK, I'll admit it. I love their feet!
They just look so cute on their sleek bodies.
It's like they are wearing black rubber galoshes.

Summertime Nature Part Two....

2010-08-09T18:02:00.006-04:00

Today is all about mushrooms.

The past few days we've been watching two mushrooms grow in our front yard and it's actually been quite entertaining. They seem to grow right in front of your eyes. Yesterday evening we pulled out the camera to capture a few shots to help us remember them.

Yep, like I said....whatever interests Miss K.

The larger one started out smaller than this one, just a few days ago.

Going in for a closer look....

The undersides always fascinate me.

Doesn't this look like soft draping fabric?

Summertime Nature...

2010-08-08T20:16:00.004-04:00

If you've been around long enough you already know that Miss K is a bit of a nature nut. Fortunately, we have quite a bit of it going on in our own yard. We live in a suburb that's been around for a while and we're fortunate to have one of the larger lots in our community. It backs up to a little creek, although I'm not really sure what qualifies as a creek so it may not be a technically correct term. Anyway, that's what I call it.

Now this area is not really that wide, but it does put a little distance between us and our back yard neighbors. In between these two streets you will find lots of critters. In fact, the other week a deer made an appearance. I have no clue where this deer lives, but I am pretty sure he does not live in this tiny patch of woods. I'm regretting that I did not have my camera handy, because in over 20 years of living here she was our first deer!

I was looking through my pictures of the past few months and have noticed how I've been influenced by my own child. I seem to snap pictures of things that she appreciates....and well, she takes my camera and snaps pictures of things she appreciates. This makes for quite a few pictures of flowers, bugs, mushrooms, animals, clouds, etc.

We're gearing back up for school, which we are starting on the 16th, and at the same time I'm getting back to my hobby of blogging. This coming week we'll be busy going through books, schedules, closets, etc. (Hey, we take back to school seriously here and I must have my closets in order to start the year off right!! Right??) For your viewing pleasure, I decided I would start with a week of nature pictures just giving you a glimpse of the world as people like K see it. In fact, she happened to snap these three photos.

Summertime nature...

A little surprise....

2010-07-22T21:48:00.004-04:00

The past few days we have had some good thunderstorms roll in during the nights. This was good, because it meant I didn't need to water my veggie garden. That saves me about 45 minutes. It also meant that I didn't have to go out in this horrible muggy heat and stand in the garden, so I chose to stay put right inside with the AC cranking and the fans blowing. That's what you need to do to survive around here during the "Muggies". OK...so really, that's what I NEED to do! Go ahead, call me a wimp. I don't care....much.

Anyway, it seems my fresh veggies were still stacking up on my counter. K would go outside and come in with a few(hundred) cucumbers and a ripe tomato every once in a while. Sometimes, Mike would go out, look around and walk back in and plop a handful of teeny grape tomatoes in my bowl. I would just look from my back window and see the plants still standing and that was good enough for me.

This morning I realized I had a whole tray full of big ripe tomatoes and I wasn't about to let those babies go bad. So, I gathered them and made the most delicious homemade spaghetti sauce. I even sent K out for some parsley, oregano and basil fresh off the plants. There is such an incredible feeling of satisfaction when cooking from your own garden. It also didn't hurt that around the dinner table the prevalent sound was "yummmm".

While the sauce was simmering, I decided to take a little inventory. I used up ALL my big tomatoes with the sauce. I have a little bowl of grape tomatoes to use, but I have some plans for those involving avocados and jalapenos. My jalapeno bowl is getting a little full, so I made plans to freeze them tomorrow. The cucumbers, WELL....I try not to think about the cucumbers. They are my "zucchini" this year. You know...the vegetable that just keeps coming and coming. Other than those pesky cucumbers, which I do love but can't manage to eat 6 a day, I was feeling a little on top of my game this evening. No veggie is going to rot on my watch!

When we came home from errands this evening I said to Mike, "Hey, meet me in the garden. We have a few minutes of light left and we should probably poke around. I hope we have some of those purple beans ready. I would like some for dinner tomorrow." hehehe...

There are purple beans out there, but it was too dark in the bean pole teepee that we made, so I'll get them tomorrow. Besides, I was too busy picking these veggies. Our peppers are finally turning red, which was exciting. Notice the cucumbers....sigh.....

However, this would be considered a nice harvest from our backyard garden, but NO....this was not all. In fact the picture below doesn't show it all. We had flashlights out there, but the mosquitoes chased us in the house before we could finish. The neighbors probably thought we were a tad loony if they were listening to us at all. "Squealing with delight" is the best way to describe the sounds heard from our garden this evening!

Guess, I need to get busy again.

Signed,
"No longer feeling on top of my game"

it has begun....

2010-07-08T19:34:00.003-04:00

Earlier this season I had a battle with creatures of the winged variety. Yes, the early bird was getting up before me and checking out the garden. I have no problem sharing for the most part....but I must draw the line on some things. I have been waiting since last summer for a nice, sun-ripened, homegrown tomato. Our plants are so full and their poor branches are sagging from the weight of large GREEN tomatoes. We bought three plants that produce the smaller cherry tomato variety. One reason I made sure to plant the cherry tomatoes was to tide me over until the big boys ripened. I waited and waited and was beyond excited to see a hint of pink on a few of the little cherry ones. I knew the time was coming and I'd be able to just pop that baby right in my mouth and squeeze out the juicy yumminess. Imagine my shock to come out one morning and find what was to be my very first tomato of the 2010 season pecked to pieces!

Ugh!!

Well, I quickly told myself it was ok. I figured this was some sort of testing of character or perhaps there was a lesson on patience that I should be gleaning from this...and I certainly didn't want to fail any test or opportunity to grow. Plus...there was another tomato that was just about ready! It was so close that I was sure another 24 hours would do the trick. I could wait...

Next day...it, too was pecked to pieces. I officially (well, posted on Facebook..that's official, right?) declared war and got some wonderful advice from friends. I didn't have to do anything because it seemed like my little feathered friend had left town overnight. I thought maybe word got out that I was about to go ugly on him and he packed his little bags and hit the road. (I didn't hurt him...I promise!!) Well, apparently he just went to visit his cousin to let my jets cool....because he's now back and busy pecking tomatoes that are just about ready.

So...this weekend netting is going up.

Nobody messes with my tomatoes!!

Here's a bowl full of the ones the little birdie missed along with some fresh basil picked from our garden.

It went into a veggie dish for dinner that the family declared a winner!

Cucumbers...

2010-07-06T15:35:00.003-04:00

It's 101 degrees outside and I think it might as well be 200 degrees. I don't do well in 101 or 200 degree weather. Well, unless I have a nice ocean breeze blowing over me while I sit under a big beach umbrella and someone keeps bringing me frozen concoctions. However, since I'm at home and last time I looked we did not own beachfront property, I'm staying inside. Inside where the air condition is trying it's very best to blow cool air. I have fans blowing in several rooms and one can find some relief by standing directly in front of the fan...not that I keep doing that or anything.

This morning I went out early...thought I'd beat the heat...(hahahahahahaha NO)...and checked out the garden. When I brought in my basket of goodies, I decided that I could no longer ignore the cucumber "situation". You know what I mean. That's when the amount of cucumbers in the house exceeds the number of people in your family x a bazillion.

I kept saying I would make pickles, but I have to admit....I was just a tad intimidated. Sure I went out and bought supplies and all, even read some recipes online. In order to postpone the inevitable I went ahead and made several quarts of freezer pickles, which are yummy...but they are sweet. And we can only eat so many sweet pickles at a time. I had promised K that I would make some yummy pickles and I promised Mike that I wouldn't let the cucumbers rot.

Well, I decided today was the day to face the fear head on and get myself busy pickling. I had two recipes that I wanted to try. One recipe was for making refrigerator garlic dill spears and the other was using a package of Mrs. Wages pickling mix. I decided to make chips with that batch. The refrigerator recipe was the easiest. However, you have to store them in the fridge and eat them up in a month or so. That limits the amount I could get away with making. The downside of that recipe is waiting a week or so to even open the jars to try them! At least we can try the other kind in 24 hours to help keep our mind off of the spears.

I love hearing the pop that lets me know all is going well with my pickles and they are sealing. That is such a sweet, satisfying sound. It helps (a teeny tiny bit) lessen the discomfort of realizing that my kitchen is now 101 degrees.

Think I'll go stand in front of the freezer for a bit...need to check on those freezer pickles!

The Sparrow Family...

2010-06-17T21:03:00.003-04:00

K made a birdhouse a few years ago and has had it hanging on the pine tree ever since. We've had a couple of sparrow families move in and move out over the seasons, but I guess I never really took the time to just watch them.

This year, I made time. Mr. and Mrs. Sparrow work as a team. They built their nest together, took turns sitting on eggs, and now they are busy feeding the babies. I sat outside on the patio and watched them for about 15 minutes and discovered something. I thought having to feed newborn son #1 every two hours around the clock was rough. Well, these poor parents have to be near collapse due to complete and utter exhaustion. Well, unless they are wired differently then we are...and of course, I suspect they are.

Here's a glimpse of 15 minutes.....
(remember you can click on the photos to enlarge them...and some are worth it)

Here's momma sparrow.

She's giving the little whippersnappers something yummy to eat.

Daddy's turn to feed them.

Ah, momma is back with some tasty tidbit.

Here's Daddy again. I kid you not!! These are taken in order.
Look at those two hungry mouths.

Here he's telling me that very same thing. "Will you just look at these greedy little piggies, I mean birdies?"

Momma to the rescue with yet more food.

Then they left for a few minutes and I took the opportunity to change my angle...

"Hello out there? Are you my mother? Have any food?"

"Where did they go? Don't they know we're starving?"

"Help! We haven't eaten in like 3 minutes."

Yes, Mr. and Mrs. Sparrow seem to be doing a terrific job and they certainly know how to work as a team. However, they make me tired just watching them.

I wonder if they even know how awesome they are.

Bounty

2010-06-16T20:05:00.003-04:00

Yea, harvesting has begun!! We've been eating squash and cucumbers for a good week now.

The cukes are coming in like crazy. Tomorrow, I plan to try a freezer pickle recipe I found online. I wish I grew up on a farm and this kind of stuff didn't scare me....but it does!!

There are bushels of peppers ready to pick, so I'm hunting for pickled pepper ring recipes, too. Yet again, scaring myself silly. I figure I might as well jump right in and send myself right over the edge.

Oh, and to make it even more frightening, I'm venturing into gluten free baking. Oh, yes I am! This week I will be attempting chocolate zucchini muffins. Who knows, by the end of the summer I may no longer shake (and sweat!) when the mere thought of canning, preserving or gluten free baking enters my mind. It could happen!

You may notice there is a lot of green and yellow in the picture. One color is missing....RED! I have a pesky bird (or two or twenty) that is delighting in ripe tomatoes. MY ripe tomatoes!! The very ones that I have been watching and drooling over for weeks. I've gotten lots of good suggestions and I've declared war. I will win! My plan of making homemade spaghetti sauce and salsa hinges on my victory.

I can almost taste it...

garden time...

2010-06-06T20:18:00.008-04:00

This year our garden has taken off with a bang. It's amazing to go out there each day to see the changes. Last year the garden was lame and that was sad. This year, we just keep on smiling.

I find it hard to believe the squash has only been in the ground for 3 weeks. We'll be eating fresh by the end of this week.

Just thought I'd share a few (hundred) photos of our vegetable garden.

I didn't get any close up of the bush beans over there on the right, but they are doing well and are covered with blossoms.

Patty Pan Squash

Our Squash bed

Summer Squash

Zucchini

Cucumbers

Anyone have a good pickle recipe?

We just added some bamboo poles for the cukes to keep growing.

Hungarian Wax Peppers

Jalapenos

Pole Beans
These beans will be purple, but they turn green when cooked.

Tomato Berry plant
Don't they look like little green strawberries?

We have 16 tomato plants this summer.

I'm hoping for bunches and bunches of tomatoes.
Remind me I said that come August....

How is your garden growing?

Saying goodbye.....

2010-06-02T14:58:00.000-04:00

Saying goodbye to a Faithful, Furry, Friend is never easy.

K has been drawing to express her feelings.

And she designed this stone for his memorial.

We will miss you!

VEGGIES....

2010-05-25T13:40:00.004-04:00

I love when things just happen to fall together like they were planned. It just so happens that I have a couple of veggie posts that I planned to make over the next week AND today I came upon a wonderful veggie loving blog that is having a contest!! :) A contest? Where? What? Well, keep reading. Details are below.

First, I have two words...

ROASTED BROCCOLI....

or asparagus, or cauliflower, or tomatoes, or....

OK, maybe that was more then two words. I have to tell you though, you are seriously missing out if you don't roast some veggies and try them. What's that you say? You don't like broccoli....well, try it anyway. K doesn't care for broccoli, but she scarfs these little nuggets up like she's fighting for them. Of course, that could be because everyone is standing around the pan grabbing the best ones.

Here, let me show you what they look like fresh out of the oven....

Um...well, the pan WAS full and I HAD just pulled it out minutes before. Yes, they are that yummy and yes, I'm ashamed (proud) to admit the family did stand around the pan grabbing broccoli and popping them in their mouths. How barbaric!

I, personally, do not care for asparagus. However, roast those little spears and I'm there burning my fingers. Who can wait for a fork? Not I! I can't explain it, but roasting is the way to go. (it's also easy and we all know easy in cooking is a welcomed thing!)

Clean your raw veggies and prep them for cooking. Drizzle a little olive oil over them and add some salt and pepper. You can add a little fresh minced garlic, or garlic powder...a dash of red pepper flakes or any other seasoning that floats your boat. Usually, I stick to the basics. Spread them out on a pan and pop them in the oven. I generally roast my veggies between 350 and 400 degrees. Why the range? Well, I make it work with whatever else I am cooking. If there is nothing in the oven, I turn it to 400. Then roast them for 10-20 minutes, depending on the size of veggie and the temp of the oven. You want the veggies to get a little brown.

That's a good thing. I promise!!

Be prepared to always roast your veggies. My whole family gets disappointed now if I serve steamed veggies!

NOW, about that contest!!!!

Check out Leslie Loves Veggies. (just click on the name) She's having a giveaway for a cookbook called "You Won't Believe It's Gluten Free". Then take the time to look around over there. She has tons of reviews and several contests in the works. Good luck!

Moving in....

2010-05-24T21:32:00.002-04:00

K loves all things animal. So, she was beyond thrilled to catch this sight the other day.

Looking out our backdoor she noticed that there seemed to be some activity going on in her birdhouse. Being the bird lover that she is, she quickly ran out front and cut our dead grass in the garden.

She made a little pile in the middle of the yard and sat back watching.

Yes, Mr. Sparrow did use it for nesting material. Mrs. Sparrow is safely snug inside and the Mister is now making food runs for his sweetie. K couldn't be happier.

Springtime Feelings....

2010-05-23T12:10:00.005-04:00

Ack....I feel like I've fallen off the face of the earth here. For some reason, this time of the year always gets hectic for me and I get that "itchy-can't-believe-it's-almost-the-end-of-school" twitch . This particular feeling consumes me and while I enjoy it and actually look forward to it from January on, it still leaves me a little overwhelmed. Hmmm....more like a LOT overwhelmed. I'm absolutely positive that I'm ready for it and then BAM...it hits and I feel unprepared! Have we done enough? Too much? Can we finish and still enjoy summer? How do I settle this urge to spring clean for days on end AND buckle down and finish the school year strong AND handle that "Oh heck, it's almost summer, so let's just quit now" feeling? Some days it overpowers me and I wind up doing NOTHING. I hate those days.

Am I the ONLY one in the world that experiences such inner conflict!?

This year, school was finishing out strong and the house was getting in order. Key word...WAS. Mike took off his annual May week. (we celebrate K's birthday and our anniversary, by doing a mini-stay at home vacation) We had fun...until K decided to get sick. Fortunately(?), that was at the end of the week, so it wasn't too much of a buzz kill. Now I have to find that momentum again and crack the whip TOMORROW. How did TOMORROW get here so quickly? UGH!!

We WILL finish strong, spring cleaning WILL be finished and we WILL enjoy our summer!!

I can almost taste it.

It tastes like....M&M's.

Oh, wait....that might just be from my little snack.

Introducing...

2010-04-05T18:20:00.005-04:00

Yes, the above is what it appears to be....a precious little babe.

I've been holding back this little news for months and it is now time to shout it out.

J & T are expecting and the tech is 80% sure this is a little girl. The next sonogram will be more definitive, but for now....we are calling and thinking of the baby as a girl. Thankfully, this will not inflict any real emotional damage on the baby if in fact "she" turns out to be a "he". Our love will stay the same. Right now it's just nice seeing her grow and wiggle as we get little video snippets from the sonograms. (sometimes technology is a wonderful thing) Our hearts will never forget our precious grandson, Peyton, but they will expand as we welcome his little sister(or brother) into our lives.

In fact, she already has a very special place in my heart.

a little taste of my own medicine...

2010-03-30T18:39:00.004-04:00

I love to cook and create yummy foods. It's fairly easy for me to combine a few recipe ideas, delete some ingredients, add a tad of this, and a pinch of that and wind up with a unique dish. Recipes are generally considered ideas in my book. Now, I do sometimes follow recipes if it is something I've never made before and always if it's something baking related. However, the rest is just fair game. Some meals have been wonderful and some have been "eh" at best. The thing that drives Mike crazy is that I often don't make the exact same thing twice. If he really loves something he wants to have it again. However, it might not come out the exact same way! I have gotten better and when I find a winner I do try to make note of what I did....you know, before I forget. (which some days can be frighteningly quick! Anyone else out there finding their memory getting shorter??)

Another problem is sharing recipes with friends. Some are much easier to share than others. However, it tends to be the "little bit of this, a little bit of that" recipes that get requested the most. UGH! It's frustrating on my part to want to share with them and having to exercise my brain as I figure out how to explain what I did. Of course, I never really considered the frustration on their part. That is until this......

The other day I was planning to make roasted potatoes as part of our dinner. I had been using a seasoning blend that K had put together from an Emeril cookbook that she borrowed from the library. The cookbook had been returned and I realized that I had never copied the recipe. Well, now the mix was gone and I was going to just have to wing it.

K said she would take care of it. Next thing I know spices are flying...and she is creating her very own "a little bit of this and a little bit of that" recipe. I know some of the stars in the mix were celery seed, oregano, garlic powder, onion powder, basil, thyme, dill weed, chili powder, Hungarian paprika, salt, and pepper.

The potatoes turned out "oh so delicious". However, I can't ask K for the recipe.

That frustrates me!

(and oddly pleases me at the same time)

Yes, my very own daughter is giving me a little taste of my own medicine.

Menu Plan Monday

2010-03-28T23:10:00.004-04:00

Thinking ahead and planning meals is a real timesaver for me. Unfortunately, I don’t always follow through every week. On the weeks that I don’t have a plan, I find myself totally uninspired by Wednesday. I also notice that I wind up wasting fresh produce because I never get around to using it all before it spoils and that frustrates me. So, I do always try to at least get a basic menu plan together.

This is what we'll be having this week. A few are new recipes and I included the links for you. Some recipes are really non-recipes and just involve me using what ever I have on hand, like our fried rice dinner. Some meal ideas are solely for me to use up something before it spoils, like our Monday dinner.

Monday:
Spaghetti with ramped up sauce
Big tossed salad (I have sprouts and lots of fresh veggies that need to be eaten!)

Tuesday:
Fried Cabbage and Noodles (a dish I learned from my Hungarian mother in law)
Fresh Fruit

Wednesday:
Broiled Sockeye Salmon with Citrus Glaze
Brown Rice
Roasted Broccoli (a family favorite)

Thursday:
Baked Chicken
Red Potato and Tomato Salad
Green Beans

Friday:
Fried Rice with veggies and leftover chicken
Fresh Pineapple
Potstickers

Saturday:
Eating out

Sunday:
Big Family Easter Dinner (final menu still in the works)

If you’d like to check out other menu plans and find some new recipes to try, check out the list over at I’m an Organizing Junkie. You’ll find hundreds of links to check out from fellow bloggers just from this week alone. Some menu plans are even gluten free or vegetarian. I like checking them out, especially if I feel I am in a cooking rut and need a little push. Have fun!

SMACK...

2010-03-28T14:48:00.003-04:00

It seems that no matter how much you prepare yourself and no matter how rational you consider yourself, there comes a time when the fact that your children are growing up still sneaks up and smacks you along side the head. Now, this happens more than once in a lifetime...I can assure you of that fact. Yet, you never really get used to it or find yourself ready for the sting. It's funny that it doesn't even take much to trigger the smack. There is no need for a monumental life event, although those always tend to leave a little impression for you to rub later as you pout and accept the fact that yes, indeed they are growing up. You do not have to give permission or even accept the fact, but time marches on and you are powerless.

Fortunately, I tend to have what I consider a fairly healthy outlook on both life and my children growing up. I gave birth to them and invested time, love, direction and energy...lots and lots of energy....with one thing in mind, to raise them up to be adults. That was and is a large part of my purpose in their lives. We try to provide all the essentials and a firm foundation for them to build their lives on and we proudly step back as they flap their little wings and attempt to fly on their own.

Anyone with children knows that they flap those bitty little wings a lot and sometimes with such abandon that it's hard not to giggle. Along the way, they reach milestones and they show independence in ways that just take us by surprise. We look at them and wonder just how in the world they got to this point without us really noticing that it was coming. However, we embrace the fact that they are taking steps to adulthood, even if some of those steps may drive us insane. Laughter, tears and hair pulling (your own hair, not theirs!) are all considered normal on this journey.

Those little smacks upside the head could be triggered when your little one first sleeps through the night or when they head into a classroom without tears or perhaps when they make their own lunch. Even their growth can trigger one...like when you realize your little boy is now taller than you, or you are looking your daughter straight in her eyes without having to look down and she hasn't hit 11, yet. (yes, I speak from experience there!) Still, I find even the little innocent triggers still leave that temporary sting and shock, until you remember that it is OK and that life is marching on as it should.

So, what triggered my smack upside the head today? Oh, really it was nothing big. K came up to me with some wonderful smelling bath salts that she had just put together herself. I didn't even know she had pulled her spa kit out or was even thinking of making anything. However, she did it on her own and decided, of course, that a nice hot bath was in order. Then she told me that she thought candlelight would add some peacefulness and relaxation to her bath time.

SMACK

When did she grow up?

Fortunately for me, today the sting was lessened when she brought me the candle and the match. Apparently, I am still needed for some things and I am good with that.

Ok, just maybe.....

2010-03-25T13:44:00.004-04:00

I've always loved this time of the year. Finally, after months of blustery, cold, short days we get breezy, warm, longer days. What's not to like? It makes me so happy that I wind up getting this weird decluttering urge. It's time to throw open the windows, clear the cobwebs and make some space in your house!! I generally don't hold onto too many things and my mantra is "You can't organize CHAOS." I'll admit that wasn't always in my vocabulary, but years ago I discovered Flylady and she changed my way of thinking. It's incredibly freeing once you get her easy baby steps down pat.

Somehow, while it took me years to discover and embrace Flylady's concepts, I gave birth to a baby "Flygirl". Before she even knew how to read, she would grab something, hold it up to my face and say, "Do you NEED this, USE this, REALLY LOVE this?" If the answer was no, then the next action was simple....toss it or donate it. My little girl is tough.

K started getting on my case a few months ago about something she considers a

"problem" of mine.

I mean REALLY? A ten year old is going to uncover and counsel me through a

"PROBLEM" area?

Just who does she think she is?

Geesh...

I just have a little lotion for dry patches.

Everyone has a bottle....

...or two.

Hmm, well maybe I have a few more...

I know most of you have at least this amount. There is a need for different types of lotion ....right?

So, then you all understand that......

....this is NOT a problem. We have stuff for faces, body and even our feet.
All is well, right? There is no need for K to shake her head anymore. You all agree with me.
I can feel it.

Oh...you think that perhaps I'm holding out a little on you.

Would I do that?

Sigh....

Ok, just maybe I have a little bitty problem in this area.
(this doesn't count the purse size bottles I just remembered...)

You would think my skin would be SOFTER than a baby's bottom by now, but that would mean actually following through and USING the lotion. I never, ever finish a bottle!! (except for my Mary Kay stuff...I love my Mary Kay stuff!)

So, this does go against my mantra and the sweet K is right. I need to get a grip and use it or lose it. My plan is to start using it up and actually empty a bottle or two or six. No new bottles, not even the good smelling stuff, until I discard a few of these. I think two for one is a good goal. If I get a new one, two have to go. Since I'm also a frugal nut, that means I have to actually USE the stuff up first!! During this process if I uncover a miracle lotion, I'll report back. Promise!

I know that not everyone is blessed with their very own "flygirl", but take this week to really look around and see if you might have an area or two that needs to get under control. It's the perfect time of the year to take charge!!

If you do, don't forget to share your story. I'd love to hear about it.
(makes me feel better....)

Well, Hello Spring!

2010-03-19T14:31:00.005-04:00

Yippee!!

Yes, it's that time of the year. I just love spring and for once our weather is cooperating. This weekend is supposed to be absolutely gorgeous. Which is perfect for a weekend of spring cleaning and free Rita's Italian Ice!! While I do feel bad for some that I hear are expecting....snow...tomorrow, I'll be doing a happy dance in the morning as we throw open the windows and shake out the cobwebs. (Don't hate me!!) Just look at my daffodils and repeat after me,

"Spring HAS sprung!!"

Sharing my latest addiction with the world.....

2010-03-18T14:16:00.008-04:00

Those that know me well or are connected to me on Facebook, probably already know that I fell in love with Thai Spring Rolls. Oh, yes I did! I fell head over heels in love....

I discovered them at a local restaurant over a year ago. They are refreshing and grease free because they are rolled in rice wrappers and served cold. The only thing cooked in them is the shrimp. They are served with peanut sauce for dipping. The best thing is when I discovered I can't have gluten or dairy, these things still made the cut!!

Well, they are $5 for two...so I don't get them as often as I want....esp. since someone else here likes them, so it always costs me $10 and then the other shorter someone says "Oh, I need the orange chicken because I don't like the rolls and you guys are going to eat in front of me and I just LOVE the orange chicken and I think I'll die without it and besides there is NOTHING at all here to eat...." <---she can say that in one breath!! Yea, good thing we only do this when the tallest someone is at work or I'd NEVER be able to afford them!!

About a month ago, I decided they are simple enough that I should just make them at home. Since I am eating gluten and dairy free, I've been craving these bad boys! So, we bought another round of them....um....for research purposes. Yep, they still looked as simple as they did the last time I got them. Off to the store, I went. I couldn't find the rice wrappers and our local oriental market shut down. However, son #2 works with the guys that make sushi at the seafood dept in Giant and they hooked me up. :)

I am in no way an expert on making these and still need to figure out exactly how to get them rolled a little tighter, but they do the job of holding my peanut sauce. Oh...and that brings me to another sticky point. I can't give you a recipe for a great peanut sauce, because I am still searching. I made one that inadvertently included wheat and gave me a roaring headache. Reminder...read ALL labels if you have a food intolerance. sigh.... I made another that was good...but not quite "it". I bought two different kinds...one was OK and the other was yucky(and I discovered ALSO had wheat). Why didn't I listen to my own reminder??? The past week I've made it twice and have been pleased with it. I can't tell you amounts, yet. I can tell you the ingredients, though. Oh...and I'm not being "stuck up" and not sharing the amounts with you until I get it "perfect!". Nope, I can't tell you the amounts because I have no clue. It's one of those "pour a little of this, sprinkle some of this, shake a little of that, and spoon a couple of these" deals. Sorry...

Some have asked me to share more on how to make these spring rolls....and I will do that. And I will tell you, this is just to be an "idea" kind of recipe. No need to follow exactly and it will be probably much better if you don't!

These are the rice noodles I picked up last time. You don't have to get these kind. Feel free to experiment, I know I will. They come dried and need to be soaked in some hot water. Then drain, rinse with cold water and I squeeze them dry. (not like a sponge...but just squeeze a bit of the water out or you'll have a big dripping mess)

Here are some cucumbers cut into little strips, some shrimp that I halved because they were kind of fat, the rice noodles and baby spinach. Usually I use Romaine leaves, but I was out and had a craving. I figure baby spinach is good for you and would fill in nicely. (it did!) You can also cut carrots into little matchsticks and use them. I have....but I was too hungry today. Some recipes call for adding some leaves of sweet basil, mint and cilantro.

I keep it simple.

Here is the rice paper I got.

The sheets are flexible, but still hold their shape until....

....you put them in warm water. You have to swish it around in the water and go by feel. You want to do one at a time and finish making your roll before you put another one in water. They soften up pretty quickly.

Lay your wrapper out and put some shrimp and cucumbers on it.

Add your greens and some rice noodles. (basically add whatever you are going to put in the roll)

Pull the wrapper (closest to the bottom of the picture) up and over the stuffing. Give it one roll and then tuck the ends in like when you make a burrito. Finish rolling and you should have something that looks like this...

Don't worry if you don't. I've eaten a few mistakes myself. Just plop them in a bowl and add some peanut sauce. It will be fine and no one has to know!!

The wrappers do break and get holes....they are thin skinned. Notice the little baby spinach stem that poked right through!

Here is the peanut sauce I just made. I poured it into my empty peanut butter jar for storing in the fridge. Pretty clever, huh?

As far as the sauce goes, I told you I would tell you what is in it. So, here you go....coconut milk, brown sugar, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, hot pepper flakes, ginger and peanut butter. There are recipes that call for other ingredients...but that is where I get in trouble with the wheat. So, I'm sticking with ingredients that I know I can have.

So, while it is not an exact recipe or "how to" post, it does give you an idea of a yummy lunch to make. Don't be afraid to play around with it and come up with your own combinations. You don't like shrimp? Skip it! You love lime? Drizzle a little on your shrimp or veggies.

Have fun and eat up!

because she cares....

2010-02-25T14:27:00.000-05:00

I'm so fortunate to have a crafty daughter that loves me.

She surprised me the other day with a handmade coaster for my nightstand.

Here it is personalized just for me.

It so happens the colors are based on the decor in my bedroom.

Yes, I do have an orange bedroom!

The felt has been added to help absorb the condensation from my cup of ice

water that I bring to bed every night.

Like I said....she loves me!!

frogs

2010-02-24T14:23:00.000-05:00

When I laid my eyes on this....

I fell in love with frogs.

It was that easy...

another visit with the snow....

2010-02-22T21:18:00.000-05:00

We are thankfully in the melting phase and I can see some patches of ground here and there. Not really much in my yard, but I know it won't be long. Poor Dodger sure hopes the thaw comes quickly as his old legs just don't bring him much confidence to navigate the yard. So, he's been confined to a small patch that the kids have dug out for him and every once in a while he ventures a little ways out on top of the snow. It isn't long before he turns around and heads back with his head hung low.

I couldn't let this storm go without posting some of the gang playing in our backyard. K loves when the older brothers and sister in laws come over, especially when there is snow to play in.

K is enjoying her ringside seat at the

"Wrestling in Snow Show"

Looks like a standoff....

Seamus loves catching snowballs.

I would say what a sweet guy giving out piggy back rides...but this one ended with him plopping down backwards right into the snow on purpose.

She still loves him. :)

While the snowfall was very pretty and family time was priceless,

I am ready for spring.

In fact, even K groaned when we mentioned snow flurries in the forecast!!
Let's hope this is the last snow post for winter 2010.

Baked Rice...

2010-02-21T22:16:00.006-05:00

I love brown rice, but Mike was never really a fan. In my quest to eat healthier meals, I just made the brown rice and he suffered through it like a trooper. That is....he suffered until I discovered Baked Brown Rice. Now, he loves it as much as I do and truthfully, this really is the only way I want to cook the stuff now. It comes out so yummy!

This is the recipe I use. I keep it in my handy dandy recipe binder which stays right in my kitchen. To get your own copy click here.

I double the recipe and use a 9x13 pan. Of course, one of the downsides of making brown rice is that it takes an hour to cook. It just so happens that I have a tip for you.

Bake two 9x13 pans at once. Let them cool just a bit and measure the rice out in freezer bags. Pop them in the freezer laying flat, so they can stack. Then when you want brown rice, you just have to pull a bag out and heat the rice up. I add a little liquid and pop it in the microwave for a few minutes. However, you can heat it on the stovetop or even put it in the oven for a bit. We love it with roasted veggies and a bit of broth for flavor.

This recipe has never failed me and even picky K eats it!!

Really?

2010-02-11T12:50:00.003-05:00

Yes, really!

They are calling for MORE snow on Monday!!

Really??

I wasn't going to do this....

2010-02-08T16:39:00.003-05:00

I decided earlier today that I was going to take a break from snow pictures. I did get quite a few goods ones yesterday when the older kids came over and played out back together...but I put them on my facebook page to share with friends and family and figured my blog needed a snow break.

Then we got news that another 10 inches is on it's way. I thought about it...nah, still going to stay on that snow picture break. Then I looked out my window and suddenly all snow picture bans were off. This is our life right now and it's actually quite monumental for around here. After all, we will need a record of this just to show the grandchildren someday.

So, what sight did I see that changed my mind? Son #2 walked by the window and all I saw were his feet! Yep, that's right. I went over to the window and pulled it up and told him to stand still. I put my camera right on the bottom sill and took a shot....

I had to lean out the window and look up to get a shot of his face.

Notice his hand resting on the roof!

Now, you know I'll have to take more shots if we do get the predicted snow storm.

Consider yourself warned.

...and it's still coming down

2010-02-06T16:28:00.009-05:00

Random afternoon shots...

Looking at the corner of our fence...the drifts are just about covering it.

Backyard beauty

Love those pine trees.

Dodger is very appreciative of his path.

The wind is doing funny things to the snow.

Another wind creation.

Working on a fort.

A pile of snow about to be tunneled through.

She stayed out for quite a while.

K's hideaway...

Yahtzee, DS, ipod, playdough, chocolate bar, blanket, pillow and flashlight...

What more does a girl need?

What's this?

Well, it's snowman face kits. The cloth button eyes have been painted and yarn cut to make a smile. Just need to grab a carrot. Hats and scarves are folded right next to the face kits. She is prepared!!

Here's her homemade flag ready to stake claim to the fort.

Dodger is visiting inside the hideaway.

Soups on!

And now for a followup on the poor birds out back. The snow has
temporarily (?) stopped. Out our side window we could see the bird that had been sitting in the snow earlier. Looking further away we could see other birds doing the same thing.

What were they doing??

Take a look.....

He has his head down and you can see all the ice on the back of his head.

He kept shaking his body and wings and doing a little tail wag. It was cute. Just wish there was some sun to help him out.

Remember, you can click on the pictures to see them bigger.

Too bad I can't send out the smell of our homemade chicken soup.

Mmmmmm........

Blizzard update....

2010-02-06T11:59:00.009-05:00

The weather man says our area is one of the hardest hit and it's still coming down. There is a heavy band of snow above us right now and they say conditions are deteriorating once again. We enjoyed bagels and lox for breakfast and after a quick clean up around here, I think I'll work on a puzzle with K and then curl up on the couch to finish my book.

Here are a bunch of morning pictures....

K was out early this morning checking it out.

What potential is in this yard for some major snow battles.

Here is an interesting sight out the side window....

This poor guy was just sitting there all hunched over.

While his friend watched from above.

We made some noise to scare him off....because we were all sure if he stayed on the ground where he was there was no way for him to survive the storm.

He very clumsily made it to a tree. Ice is hanging on him and he sure didn't look graceful as he landed there. It's been two hours and they are both in the same spots. In fact, in a very close by tree there is another one. Poor things are just trying to ride out the storm.

Here's the view out the front porch.

The wind is creating some very pretty scenes.

This is out back along the house.

Looking towards our neighbors you can see more of what the winds are doing. Much of the snow is coming down at an angle.

Now...here's something to think about....

Is it any wonder why the dog stops dead in his tracks when you open the door for him?

This was the path that was dug out earlier for him. Doesn't really look all that inviting now, does it?

Now, I'm off to play with the family....INSIDE.

If you are in the area....stay safe and warm!!

Morning has come...

2010-02-06T09:06:00.003-05:00

It's almost like waking up in a magical place. The snow is still falling and the wind still lets out a gust every now and then. In the back yard I see a few branch casualties, but overall things seem fine. Our power must have stopped last night, as I find a few clocks are flashing. Our bedroom clocks are still on and at the correct time, so it must not have been more than a flicker. We're very happy (and warm) about that.

Standing on my front porch looking out.

I love pine trees in the snow.

And then, here's the traditional photo of the table. Just to help get the feel of this snowstorm.

8:30 AM Back Patio

And it keeps on coming.....

2010-02-05T22:53:00.003-05:00

10:45

Wow...I can hardly wait to see it in the morning!

Just getting started....

2010-02-05T19:29:00.004-05:00

There isn't a whole lot on the ground, but that was actually predicted. They still are calling for the worst of the storm to be overnight....hopefully while we are all tucked safe and sound in our beds with the heat ON.

Can you all tell we've lost power before in the winter? It was no fun....

I still obsess a little (much) about that.

What can I say?

It was three days!!

Son #2 is home from work and even though he only had two miles to go, he said it was a rough two miles. The snow is so wet it packed on the tires and made traction impossible. We're so glad he made it home safe and sound that we cheerfully opened the box of chocolates I picked up today! I knew there was a reason I bought them.

All 4 of us stood around that box at the counter and had a family bonding moment as we carefully picked up the candies and sampled them offering up our personal reviews.

(Ok...so really, we were just being little piggies and we tore into the chocolate...pretty much inhaling the contents of the box. It sounds better the other way, but HEY, I wasn't buying it either.)

7:00 PM Back Patio

Tree shots...I love snow in trees.

Blizzard of 2010

2010-02-05T16:15:00.003-05:00

The weather predictions keep going up and up. We are well stocked and ready for it to fall. The only thing we are NOT ready for...at least mentally...is for the power to go out. So, we're holding our breath on that one and praying it stays ON. I'm going to just do a series of updates on here to share with friends and family how we're holding up.

Back Patio 3:00 PM

Notice that there is already some snow on the ground from the last storm earlier this week. Remnants of a large snowman are just beyond the table. We're looking forward to watching that grow! At 3:00, the snow was just starting to come down harder and hadn't quite gotten to the sticking on the roads part. It looks pretty though and everyone in the house feels like a kid all over again.

Yes...we love Blizzards.

brrr....

2010-02-03T18:20:00.004-05:00

When it looks like this outside....

I like to stay inside with this....

and stare at these.

Warm summer days can't get here soon enough!!

Dodger Dreams

2010-02-02T15:22:00.006-05:00

A little less then a week ago, our aging buddy here had surgery. I'm happy to report he's doing well and resting comfortably. He's probably having some mighty sweet dreams while he convalesces. After all, I think we did spoil him a little bit before and after surgery. Just a wee little bit. What? Doesn't everyone cook up some chicken for their pooches and set up extra fluffy warm quilts for them to rest on and shower them with all sorts of junky human treats?

Anyway...I'm betting that his dreams are probably along these lines.....

(cue Born Free music track now)

Don't you see the PURE BLISS on this pooch's face as he enjoys a beautiful spring day?

In fact...my dreams are also along those lines...BUT I'll spare you the pictures!!

breakfast for the champions....

2010-02-01T18:53:00.004-05:00

We have our own version of a champion breakfast around here. I've been trying to get some healthier foods in K's diet...(all of our diets)....for some time now. A few weeks ago, I hit the jackpot and found a combination that she enjoys. Actually, I enjoy it and "even Mikey likes it"!

One thing I know is that she likes yogurt. Up until a few weeks ago, she insisted that the only yogurt she really likes comes in little containers. We would buy them on sale, but what I really was hoping was that one day I could buy one of the big containers of vanilla and just go from there. Well, that day has come. Now, I feel like I can make something yummy and healthy AND still save a few pennies. Every little bit counts.

We start with a bowl of fresh fruit. Today's blend was strawberries, bananas and clementines. The strawberries were leftover from our little dessert experiment. I can hardly wait for summer fresh fruit!

Next, add some vanilla yogurt. We used Trader Joe's Whole Milk Organic Yogurt. Sometimes, we add a tablespoon of raspberry preserves to add some zip. Then I top it with ground flax seed (yippee, finally found a way to get that in our diets) and some chopped walnuts...for those that like nuts.

K doesn't....but we don't hold that against her!

Menu Plan Monday

2010-01-31T15:14:00.009-05:00

Working with a menu plan for the week sure makes my days go smoother. The questions seem to start early in the day and it is so satisfying to have a ready answer. I love knowing just what to pull out of the freezer and if I get a few minutes early in the day I can often start some prep for dinner.

That's why I love participating in

" Menu Plan Monday"

So, what's on the menu this week in our house? I'm glad you asked....

(By the way, I shop on Friday so my plans tend to run Friday to Friday)

Yesterday:

Pork and noodles with homemade peanut sauce
Edamame Salad
Fresh Pineapple

Monday:

Baked Fish
Rice with Roasted Vegetables, Kalamata Olives and Feta
(plan to use tomatoes, zuchini, mushrooms, onions and garlic)

Tuesday:

Pasta with a homemade fresh tomato sauce
Roasted Cauliflower and Carrots

Fresh Pineapple

Wednesday:

Homemade Orange Chicken
Brown Rice
Salad

Thursday:

Black Beans and Rice and all the fixin's

Friday:

Steak
Mashed Potatoes
Peas

Be sure to check out other menu plans over at Laura's blog.

That really seems to keep me from falling into a cooking rut!

creative yummies

2010-01-30T21:39:00.005-05:00

If you ever wonder what to do on a snow day, I have an idea for you. Put your creative thinking cap on and come up with a dessert recipe as a family. In the afternoon, Mike cleaned off the car and we bundled up and hit the road. Fortunately, the grocery store is right down the road from our house. It was surprising to see as many cars in the parking lot as there were, but still the store seemed empty. After a few minutes of shopping, we were back on the road heading home.

We attempted a few things that did NOT work, but we won't dwell on those. We'll just try again another day. Instead, I will show you what did work!

Here's a bowl with mascarpone cheese, whipped cream, confectioner sugar, vanilla and orange zest. It was a rather yummy concoction.

K put sliced strawberries in individual dishes and Mike scooped the cream mixture on top.

We brushed phyllo dough layers with melted butter and I sprinkled cinnamon sugar on the top layer. These were baked for a few minutes until they turned crispy and browned.

Each dish got a crispy topper and a fresh scoop of fresh whipped cream (sweetened with a little confectioner sugar). Then topped with a strawberry slice.

Doesn't it look yummy?

Yes....it was!!

guess what we're studying....

2010-01-07T18:57:00.002-05:00

With the holidays behind us, we've jumped right back into our schooling. It had been a long enough break and I think even K was ready for some learning. Today we had a project.

Oh, how she loves project days!

Start with a box of Sugar Cubes.

Dump them on a plate for easy access.

Start gluing them together
as you build....

... your pyramid.

As simple as this project was, K really enjoyed herself.
She said it was one of the best projects ever, but
then she started rattling off all her other favorite projects and they all came
from the source.

I think I have found the perfect curriculum for this child!!

Of course, I then made her give me a little report on all that she has learned this week.

Quite Impressive!!

Going Green....

2010-01-04T10:42:00.003-05:00

The other day I finally caved and bought the crate of clementines for K. Don't think I deprive her of fruit. Our kitchen is full of apples, oranges, pineapple and bananas...but NO she wanted clementines. Anyway, I found a good deal and couldn't pass them up. Now, I will have to give her credit, because after just a few days they are almost all gone.

Yesterday, I noticed the few leftover clementines sitting on the counter and didn't think much about it until I noticed K missing AND quiet!! That always means some sort of project is underway.

You take one empty clementine crate,

glue, construction paper and stickers.

Put it altogether and what do you have?

The perfect bed for your favorite stuffed animal.

Here's Brownie trying out his new bed.

Digging out...

2009-12-20T10:46:00.007-05:00

It's a beautiful morning in our neck of the woods. Some people in this household have been dreaming of a White Christmas and it appears that their dreams have come true!! Of course, having a Winter Wonderland suddenly dump down in your yard does not come without sacrifice.

Today is digging out day. Around here the snow never lasts very long, so we often skip the digging out part. We know that if you hang tight for 24 hours all will be clear. Not this time. Temps are supposed to stay in the 30's and while the sun will diminish the fluffy stuff, I don't think it will be able to clear it all out by Friday.

Here they are getting the job done.
Notice Princess K doing her part supervising the whole deal.

Good thing she has her leggings, jeans and snow pants on!

While they were working....

.... I began my part of the deal.

Eggs, Sausage Gravy with Biscuits, Home Fries, Hot Chocolate, and Mocha Frappucinos.
I'll toss in some fruit and call it good.

For those that saw the earlier back table pictures, here is the current photo...

Frosty Seats, anyone?

Above: just a random shot from the back door.

Below: We dug a little path for the dog yesterday. Needs to be done again.

Poor dog does not like dragging his belly in this stuff.

Plans for the day...

Eat that yummy breakfast, clean that messy kitchen and

WRAP, WRAP, WRAP!

(wish me luck... I am not fond of that particular task)

Still falling....

2009-12-19T18:01:00.002-05:00

That was then....

and

this is NOW.

I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas....

2009-12-19T10:33:00.004-05:00

A little dusting and...

...still counting!!

Ho Ho Ho....

2009-12-15T14:38:00.007-05:00

Every year since K was around 5, she has set up a Santa's Sleigh scene and plopped herself right in the Santa seat. The first time I was in the kitchen and I knew she playing in the next room. Suddenly, I heard HO HO HO in as deep a voice as a little girl can manage. Chuckling to myself, I popped my head into the room to see my little Santa and was surprised to find her with her "reindeer".

Yes, her two little reindeer with their kleenex antlers were whizzing her around the world. Her red cooler was packed, as any Santa bag would be, with little toys.

A few things have changed over the years...

She's developed her very own white beard...although it was dripping after a few minutes.

This year she had a pillow belly and a sidekick.

He started out as a puppy in Santa's sack and ended the morning as....

....an elf helping Santa check the list.

The reindeer not only have new stick antlers,

there are more of them!

However, even with the differences over the years some things will never change...

The room is filled with laughter and a DEEP

HO HO HO, MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

The Gang

2009-12-13T15:01:00.002-05:00

Here's the gang posing for their 2009 Christmas gift to us. A friend asked how we got them all together. The answer....WE didn't! Oldest daughter in law (not really a catchy title, huh?) made a point to coordinate the gang and have them all in one place at one time ready for picture taking. Personally...I love it.

I took the photo and headed right over to SeeHere and picked out free Christmas cards. It's too late for that special, but you can head over there and see their current offer...free overnight shipping on select photo gifts. Oldest son and daughter in law, J & T, also had their pictures taken together and went to the site for their free Christmas cards. Want to hear something funny? I'll tell you anyway... Out of the many, many choices for backgrounds for cards we picked out the exact same ones and our second choice was even the same.

Scary, yet cool!!

the many faces....

2009-11-08T19:47:00.007-05:00

Last week my nephew was spending a day with us while his mom worked. K was trying to get some school done, yet still help keep A entertained. He's all of 4 years old now. What's funny is that he has an incredible imagination. Sure, K has quite an imagination and you've all seen some of that here on this blog. However, A likes to pretend that he is someone or something else. While he is at it, he goes ahead and assigns a character to you and anyone else in the house. Since he was at my house, he didn't have his box of dress-ups or props to swap on and off to at least give you a clue as to just WHO he was. This made it slightly confusing as it was a multi-character day for this young man. So, after lunch while he was just chilling on the bar stool I got a sudden flash of pure genius. (yeah, I get those once in a while!) I kept calling out the cast of characters he had been and he would strike a pose for me. Now I can just refer to this handy dandy list to help keep track, cuz it really irritates him when I call him the wrong thing!! Hehe...and we all know that I would never do that on purpose! (wink, wink)

So, here are the many faces of A.

See if you can spot the differences.

He's a King.

He's a Spy.

He's a Werewolf.

He's Spiderman.

He does take his characters quite seriously and perhaps you can see why it got confusing!

However, he did keep himself occupied and that was a good thing.

A magical place....

2009-11-05T13:30:00.008-05:00

Far, far away in a distant land tucked deep in a little girl's mind there is a happy place. A place where little animals gather to play. There are no worries about winding up as someone's dinner that night. There are no competitions about who is bigger, stronger or more fierce. All that matters is the fun time spent together enjoying each other's company.

This magical land is full of surprises and has everything a little animal would possibly need to make a grand day.

There are safe play areas with swings, bridges and slides.

AND...

...there is a special homemade fort which was carefully crafted with love.

This is where dogs and cats love to spend time looking over the vast land. They wouldn't dream of fighting or teasing, instead they bring their flashlights and tropical drinks served in coconut shells just in case they decide to stay a while.

On the other side of this magical land there is a pretty pink and purple puppy palace. (how's that for alliteration?) Here the puppies are treated as if they are royalty and in this land perhaps they are indeed royalty. They have plenty of food, fun and cozy quarters. Now sometimes, they like to go visit the play area to see the other critters. Unfortunately, this is a quite a distance for such a little puppy and if they traveled it on foot they would be quite worn out by the time they arrived. That would mean having to take a nap as soon as they made it to the playground and that just won't do!!

So, they beckon the Royal Elephants to carry them across the great land.

Wait a minute!!! Royal HAIRY Elephants???

Hmmm, looks like Jimmy has gotten roped into yet another magical fantasy game.

He's such a good sport.....

...and doesn't he have just the cutest little lips!?

Mr. Worm.....

2009-11-04T14:03:00.004-05:00

K does have a lot of schoolbooks. Fortunately for her, we don't go through every single one every single day. However, yesterday for some reason quite a few of them wound up in the kitchen. We had my 4 year old nephew over, so we brought our work to the kitchen to keep him company and to try and squeeze in a little learning for K. Here she is hard at work.

She's working on a lesson from her art book. Every time we work on art I have to hear how she doesn't like it. She loves drawing, she loves crafts, she loves colors....she just doesn't love having to do something a certain way or having to practice it. Fortunately for her, (she certainly IS quite fortunate!) this book has short easy lessons and yesterday's lesson had a fun little exercise. K has actually repeated this exercise for fun today. I love when that happens.

Here's Mr. Worm from yesterday. I think he's rather cute.

edible projects are the best...

2009-11-03T14:05:00.006-05:00

This week we've been learning about early civilizations. Yesterday, we covered how they wrote using cuneiform. The suggested activity for today was to practice with little "tablets" made of sugar cookie dough.
I'm not one to let a fun project go, especially one involving cooking!

So, today we looked online at quite a bit of information. We copied some symbols and then set off for the kitchen to have some fun.

K colored her work in with food coloring. I read earlier notes from quite a few people that their kids were disappointed to see their work had disappeared once the cookie had baked. I figured at least the food coloring would leave some sort of visual behind.

My nephew was here and did a few cookies, too...with everything but cuneiform characters.

This project was easy and fun, but hands down, the best part

was eating the work!!

a curious little find...

2009-11-02T16:36:00.004-05:00

The other day, Halloween as a matter of fact, K walked out the back door. I'm not sure what she was doing, but I do know she discovered a very interesting specimen. She quickly ran inside to tell everyone that they just had to come see this spider with an orange pumpkin on it's back. I told her it was a spider in his costume for the night. Yea, she believed that one.....not! So, we all had to go outside and look. It really was quite a sight....a little squirm inducing for a few minutes, but my curiosity won over. I stayed outside and took pictures, while K and her brother looked it up online. We now know quite a bit about our little friend. She is allowed to stay, as long as she obeys the boundaries. Her place is outside....thankyouverymuch!

Can you imagine finding this in your bedroom one night???

Meet our friend, Araneus marmoreus AKA Marbled Orbweaver.

(again...the term friend hinges on her obedience to stay in her space and avoid my space....guess, that doesn't make me much of a friend, huh??)

my little flower...

2009-11-01T16:27:00.003-05:00

Here's my little flower....

and with her friend, the bumblebee.

Pumpkin Carving Night...

2009-10-31T20:51:00.004-04:00

Earlier this week we had our big pumpkin carving night. K was beyond excited about it and was extra helpful clearing up after dinner. Then she quickly assembled the necessities required to make the evening a smooth event.

First step was laying out her plastic map to help the pumpkin gut clean-up go quickly.

Then the carving tools were carefully laid out.
(looks like an operating room)

Patterns were picked.

The victims (um, pumpkins) were gathered.

Holes were cut...

and guts were picked through.

We toast the seeds. :)

This one was scraped clean.

After a little (LOT) poking and sawing,
here are our finished Jack O'Lanterns.

Out front this evening....

Beware....

2009-10-31T12:45:00.004-04:00

This could be found on K's door the entire month of October!!

Let's go inside her room....

She admitted she is ready for Halloween to be over.

Now, onto Thanksgiving....

Fall Family Fun

2009-10-30T13:29:00.017-04:00

A few weeks ago we took a family trip to a pumpkin patch in Virginia. It was nice to get together and share in the fun and provided a chance for K to spend time with her grown up siblings. Something a child 10 years younger then her youngest brother doesn't get to do as often as she'd like. The day even had a bonus of two sister in laws!! Can't get much better than that.

The place had quite a few animals which makes this farm a winner in K's book.

We met this curious little creature....

...and even fed him. He followed us around after that, but that just meant I could get some more pictures of his cuteness.

Take a look at those long lashes. Go ahead...click on the picture and take a closer look. I'll wait.

I caught him in the corner trying to blend in with our group. He's just hanging around enjoying the family vibe...or maybe it was the bag of kettle corn in our hands.

Nah...he just wanted to come home with us.

Okay, enough about him....or her.

The farm had goats. I adore goats. Don't know why, but I do. I'm sure that probably says something about my character....

something...

WONDERFUL, NO DOUBT!!

Turkey, anyone? These just happen to be some unattractive birds,

BUT....

turkeys are quite handsome compared to this!

There was no sign cluing us into what kind of bird this was. If you know...drop me a line.

Like any good farm, there were

cows,

pigs, and

piglet races.

You can't possibly have more fun than watching piglets race!! Those little oinkers were FAST, too.

The day was filled with...

jumping,

time out for....

a few unruly family members,

slide races between

brothers and spouses,

embarrassing photos,

AND

swinging bodies and

swinging golf clubs!

Great Country Farms even had a....

pumpkin

or

two or three or a hundred million.

When it was time to go the pumpkin patch, my kids did what they do best.

Quickly divide and conquer!

Everyone secured the "PERFECT" pumpkin in less than two minutes.

While I just took in the scenery (in less than two minutes!).

All in all, I cannot think of a better way to spend a few hours on a cool fall day.

Here's one more animal picture, just because....

Good thing this little bunny was behind a cage. I think either K, T or I would have found a way to sneak him home otherwise!!

A happy coincidence...

2009-10-15T19:55:00.006-04:00

Today I was reading Lynn's blog over at Midday Escapades. On Wednesday the 14th she posted about journaling. (go ahead, check it out) At the end of her post she asked readers which journal she should pick. I was feeling a little journal envy and kind of wishing I had a new one to write in. Don't you just love fresh pages in a journal or notebook???

So, wouldn't you know less than an hour later our mail came and there was a bunch of junk mail AND a large padded envelope for ME! A little bit ago I entered a blog contest over at

Forever Daisies
and Kim AKA: Crazy Daisy let me know that I had won one of the prizes. It had slipped my mind....but I was so excited when I saw the envelope.

What did I win???

A brand new journal. What a happy coincidence!!

Now...what to write??

Taking it all in....

2009-10-13T11:10:00.009-04:00

One of my favorite things to do this time of the year is to get out of the house and enjoy the changing season. I love sunny days with a slight chill in the air. If you add a little wind it's even better.

I happen to have a lovely daughter who is a "Nature Beast". She loves all things living and fortunately loves taking the time to quietly observe what's going on around her. This is something that I think is so important to start teaching our children at a young age. They don't have be crazy in love with nature...nor do you. However, I believe it's an incredible gift to pass onto your child. I just know how much calmer and focused I feel after taking the time to just walk around slowly and take in all that is occurring around me. Listen, look, smell, feel....and taste if you happen to know what's in front of you.

The best part...we don't even have to leave our yard. Sure, taking a walk in fresh new territory is exciting. However, you don't even have to have a lot of time or energy to get out and enjoy nature. It's happening in your own yard.

The past few weeks we've been walking around our yard just checking out things. We've listened to a squirrel complain quite loudly about something bothering him. We've felt the sun's warmth and the cool breezes chasing away that warmth. We've looked at the changing autumn landscape and K showed me her favorite "looking" spot in the yard. We've smelled pine as we walked under the trees and also the smell of our neighbor's fireplace. We've tasted the last of the honeysuckle and hold onto the expectations of next year's bounty.

Here are a few snapshots of our nature walks around the yard. Click on any picture to see it up close the way we did. Wish I could share the sounds, feels, tastes and smells....

Take the time to get out and really experience what's going on around you. Teach a little one how to stand still and use their senses.

It's worth it!!

Menu Plan Monday

2009-10-05T09:43:00.001-04:00

I must say that having a Menu Plan for the week last week made a huge difference in how my week flowed. There was only one bump in the road on Wednesday and I had to ditch the plan. The pork loin was bought, but was a whole pork loin and I hadn't had time to cut a roast out of it. That certainly wasn't going to happen early in the morning as I was preparing to head out for a whirlwind of activities. So, we will revisit that meal idea this coming Wednesday. Only this time I will be prepared.

Still, I was having some mixed feelings about coming up with my next meal plan. You know how you can talk yourself into thinking something is going to be a bigger ordeal than it is in reality? Yes, I did that to myself. Even though I viewed it as a positive thing I was just so sure it was going to eat up so much of my time that I almost decided to skip it. However, I'm not one that easily likes to admit defeat....and only having participated in Menu Plan Monday over at Organized Junkie ONCE would be considered a failure. So, I sucked it up and pulled out my big recipe binder. After taking a quick glance in my freezer to see what was available, I sat down and turned the pages in my binder. I used the recipes for inspiration and knocked out a plan in no time at all.

Here's my second menu plan:

Monday:(busy day)
Leftover Steak
Fried Potatoes
Salad

Tuesday:

Pineapple Rice (I'll try and write down the recipe and share it...it's GOOD!!)
Trader Joe Potstickers
Chinese Cole Slaw (I'll halve the recipe)

Wednesday:
Pork Roast with Potatoes and Onions (crockpot recipe from Fix it and Forget it)
Green Beans
Salad with homemade Ranch Dressing

Thursday:
Fish (the guys caught blues during the summer)

Broiled Zucchini and Potatoes with Parmesan Crust

Fruit Smoothies

Friday:
Spicy Southwestern Style Pork with veggies (using leftover roast...and I'll make up a recipe here)
Brown Rice
Marinated Black Beans

Saturday:

Quesadillas
Leftover Marinated Black Beans
Fruit Smoothies

Sunday: Family Dinner

Cream Cheese Chicken in the Crock Pot
Fettuccine
Steamed Broccoli
Fresh Fruit

Well, that's the plan for the week. Go check out Menu Plan Monday and visit a few other blogs that are participating. You'll have enough ideas for months of meal plans. Make sure you have a snack before browsing....I am not responsible for what it will do to your grocery budget if you dare peek while hungry!!

Adjusting the attitude...

2009-10-03T10:51:00.009-04:00

I'm typically a spring/summer kind of gal. I love everything blooming and growing, the days getting longer, the temperatures warming up, the days getting longer, all the vibrant colors popping out all over the place and not just the flowers, and the days getting longer. Oh...did I mention....I love the days getting longer?? Yes, I seem to need light!

However, no matter what I do every year in September I can't help but notice signs of autumn approaching. I never can find that pause button that keeps the sun shining longer or the freeze button that keeps the leaves green and hanging onto their branches.

I look around and see...

the leaves that lost their fight,

the hosta that is very tired,

and the dogwood that is just giving up.

Kind of depressing if you look at it that way, huh? So, this year instead of being defeated I am trying to change my attitude! Life is flying by far too quickly to not enjoy every single season that I'm allowed to be a part. (Now...someone may need to remind of this in February!!) For now though, I have to admit I am loving fall.

I love the cooler temperatures, the colors of fall happen to be my very favorite colors, and the mere thought of the holidays approaching fills me with a bunch of warm fuzzies. Take note, I did not say I love the shorter days....because I am not "there" yet and don't know if I will ever get "there"!! But I am choosing to focus on what I do love and not dwell on the not so favorite parts.

In order to help adjust my attitude I decided to warm up the home with some fall decorations. Isn't that always a help?

Welcome! Lets check out some of my new "attitude adjusting decor".

Our foyer table has been overtaken with these adorable pumpkins of the best kind...

ones that can't rot.

This little guy smiles at me as I walk into the dining room and reminds me that I'm working on attitude.

Since I love little tin containers, I can't help but smile at this.

The summer sunflowers are taking a rest.

And I found this cute little pitcher on clearance. How could I resist adding yet another rooster into our house?

It also helps that the weather has been gorgeous on most days and has allowed me to open all the windows...which happens to be in my

top 10 list of all time favorite things to do

in my house

to make it all fresh and clean feeling!

Crock Pot Wednesday

2009-09-30T21:44:00.004-04:00

I decided it was time to dust off the crock pot the other day when I was faced with 15 minutes to make dinner and Mike had the same 15 minutes before he had to head out the door again. We ate take-out that night. I then realized that every Wednesday for the next 5 weeks was going to look similar....not to mention our Mondays are almost as crazy. I can't justify eating out every Monday and Wednesday....nor could I fit that in the budget. So, time to get a plan in motion. I came up with leftovers on Monday or in the event there are no leftovers we'll have soup and sandwiches. And on Wednesdays we'll use the crock pot. Perfect solution for us!!

So...now the only thing left to do is to come up with what to put in the crock pot. Lucky for me I found that Debbie over at Dining with Debbie is hosting Crock Pot Wednesdays. (it's like it was meant to be) If you need any inspiration head over there and check it out. There is a whole list of people participating with their own crock pot recipes.

Where's my recipe?? Well...actually I already posted my absolute favorite recipe and you can check it out HERE. Next week I'll come up with another one. I promise!! Have fun checking the recipes out and don't forget to let me know if you have a winner recipe. I'd love to try it out.

what kind of day is it??

2009-09-29T13:23:00.009-04:00

Let's check out what kind of day it is in our neck of the woods.

Ah...yes, it's a wonderful, sunny, windy, fall day. I'll take it over a rainy one anyday!!

Flags aren't the only thing flying and flapping about in this neighborhood...

What's this?

Hmmm....

Are we surprised to find this girl on the other end of the string?

So...what kind of day is it, really??

It's a "I don't have a kite, but I going to use this trash bag and have mommy feel so sorry for me that she forgets that I have schoolwork to do!" kind of day.

What kind of day is it in your neck of the woods?

Menu Plan Monday

2009-09-28T20:03:00.001-04:00

Life around here has kicked into high gear and after scrambling the past few weeks with meals, I decided to actually plan them out for the week. Well, duh! Menu planning used to be the "norm" for me and I'm looking forward to getting back into that habit. If you are looking for inspiration check out Laura's Menu Plan Monday over at I'm an Organizing Junkie. There are well over 300 people participating this week. You can click on any of the them and see their weekly menu and many include recipes.

Have FUN!!!

Monday:

Take out from Three Brothers

Tuesday:

Chicken Caesar Pitas
Buttered noodles
Roasted Asparagus

Wednesday:

Pork Roast with Potatoes and Onions (crockpot recipe from Fix it and Forget it)
Green Beans
Salad

Thursday:
Burritos featuring Black Beans and Brown Rice and all the fixin's
Corn

Friday:
Mexican Chicken Lime Soup
Plus any Leftovers

Saturday:
Spaghetti
Salad
Flat Bread

Sunday Family Dinner:

Grilled Steaks with Onion Blue Cheese Sauce

Cauliflower Soup
(rest of meal to be determined)

Lion Piggie....

2009-09-27T16:15:00.004-04:00

Some days...ok, everyday...it's a treat to have a child that is creative, imaginative and resourceful. You wake up in the morning and you just don't know what she's going to do to make you laugh. However, you can rest assured it will be something.

The other day, K walked in the room carrying Jimmy. I had no clue as to what she had been up to...yeah, yeah bad mommy, but she's 10 and generally a well behaved child. So this took me by surprise and made me giggle.

Meet Jimmy....

Doesn't he look scary? That is his lion's mane...in case you were wondering. K disappeared for a while.

When she made an appearance she was sporting her own mane. Umm, honey....you guys don't really look all that ferocious.

There....that's a little better. K has her mean face on and Jimmy...well, he's just being Jimmy. I don't think he has a tough bone in his little body.

Let's go closer for a better look....

If you squint and tilt your head to the left....um...nope, still looks like a sweetie pie.

What's that you say, Jimmy??

"I am lion piggie, hear me ROAR!!"

I stand corrected.

Rainy Day List...

2009-09-26T18:07:00.009-04:00

After a busy week, I was so glad that Saturday was finally here. Best part was I had absolutely no preconceived idea at all of how this day would play out. It has been one of those wonderful "get little things accomplished and feel oh so productive" kind of days. It's cool outside and all the windows are open airing the house out. The afternoon even turned cloudy and rainy, but for some reason that didn't hamper my progress. If anything it fueled the relaxed, lazy kind of attitude that is needed for accomplishing teeny, tiny projects. You know the attitude required so you don't feel like you SHOULD be doing something else....BIGGER.

I started my day by getting up before Mike and K. Still unsure of the direction of the day, I plopped on the couch and watched something off the DVR list. Of course, when I was finished watching (and yes, I did zip through commercials) I deleted the program. Geesh, no one is going to call me unproductive today!!

Soon enough, everyone was up and we ran out...ok, drove (don't want you all to think I was THAT productive) to the nearest Starbucks. Then, they wanted a pastry....and not any of the kinds offered at the coffee shop. So, we ran (there I go with that word again...just assume anything to do with running does not involve me huffing and puffing or breaking a sweat) into our local grocery store. Since we were there...I filled up the cart with things that were on my list back home. There we go....being productive.

So, seeing it was going to be a productive day of sorts I decided that I can go with that. At this point it would just be easier to list some of the day's activities....

Spent some time in this room....

and proved that these can actually be emptied. Who knew?!?

Made a most delicious smoothie thanks in part to the above mentioned grocery store pitstop.
Ingredients included an apple, black seedless grapes, blueberries, strawberries, baby carrots, lemon juice, 2 handfuls of baby spinach, ice and a small scoop of protein powder. May not sound all that wonderful....but it was VERY good. I will repeat....probably tomorrow for lunch.

Organized my favorites on my computer. Stop laughing...that is a very productive thing to do. I had tons and what a pain it was to scroll through them all while I was looking for my hummus recipe bookmark! So, I got all of those put into nifty folders.

This led me to my next task. I decided to go through the Blog Folder and sort through them. I had tons in there and really no time to read all of them. So, I spent some time clicking through them and browsing. Some made the cut and some didn't. Some took my mind in different directions and I had to fight to stick with the plan.

Well, maybe I did get a little sidetracked. I found that one of my favorite things is happening again. Callapidder's Fall Into Reading Challenge is going on. Woohoo!! Check it out. So, you know what I spent some time doing....yep, checking out people's reading lists, starting my own and checking the library website to put some books on hold. I'll have my list up later this week. It's being tweaked.

And while I was organizing I found the recipe that started me in that direction for the afternoon.

No bonafide lazy productive day would be complete without some time being spent on taking pictures for your blog. So, I did spend some time snapping away....even got a picture of the lovely day outside to share on here.

A gray rainy day in my neck of the woods...

People started rumbling about dinner, so I went out and started cleaning this room....

just so I could mess it all up again. Something is VERY wrong with that, people!!

Found this potato recipe online...I'll let you know. Smells good!!!

If you've ever gone to a Pampered Chef party and wondered if you should shell out the bucks to get this piece.....DO IT!! My chicken will be ready in 30 minutes and will be cooked in the microwave! Yes, it won't have crispy brown skin....but it will be tender and juicy...and FAST! It's great for a "I spent too long on the computer" dinner.

Up next....We'll watch a netflix movie that needs to get out of here and then update my queue. Oh boy, the productivity meter in this house has shot through the roof.

Overall, a "very laid back, yet get some things done" kind of Saturday. I almost hope it rains next weekend.....

ALMOST!!