{ A day of Thrifting }

We had an easy quiet morning, the kids are feeling so much better and I'm sure it's not just the extra TLC I've been showering on them, I'm sure your prayers have had a lot to do with it :)
So I thank you, from the bottom of my heart.

It's starting to heat up around here again, so we're back to short sleeves and flip flops....YAY!

While I got the car cleaned out and ready to go, the kids had fun playing with a bubble blower. It's always amazing to me how happy and thrilled they are with something as simple as bubbles.

We took off around noon today to go out to lunch at one of our favorite restaurants....you all know Cracker Barrel, it's inexpensive, it's delicious food and it's the kind of place that we could stay lost in for hours and hours. There's something about that place, perhaps the old remnants of years gone by, the burning fireplace, the antiques hanging from the roof and the homey atmosphere.

After a great lunch, we took off in search of a few more thrift stores.

I'm sure by now you all know that The Cardinals are playing tomorrow and it's absolutely NUTS around here. Now, I'm not a football fan, I don't ever watch the Superbowl but I can't help but root for The Cards, I have to support the place I'm living in right? No? Well I'm doing it anyway and besides the stadium is like 5 minutes up the street, I've showed you all photos before.

Anyway, lots of cars and people with Cardinals gear and then we see this on the street corner:

The sign says "Honk for your Cards" and you should have heard the honking going on LOL It was hilarious.

I'm sorry this one is a little blurry but we honked a heck of a lot and he got all happy, I thought this expression is hilarious.

After visiting two thrift stores, we decided that we would just head back to the Goodwill again. Look, I'm no snob and I don't mind thrift stores, but when I walk into one and it smells funky and everything is dirty and over priced, I just get frustrated and want to leave.

We lucked out again, Goodwill was having another 50% off, so I was one happy camper because now I'm going to show you what I got and you won't believe how much I paid for it all.

This is what I got....2 huge 1 lb white yarns, a small bag of pink yarn, that cute wall country clock that says "love one another", a white ceramic colander which I LOVE, a really cute plate, a wire basket and mason jars (I'll show you underneath what it's for), that adorable little pig with the basket of apples, a prim shelf, 3 lantern candle holders, tea lights and 2 pillow cases.

I also got some really cute tops for myself, NEW with the tags on, two pairs of capris, a pair of shorts for Nicholas, 3 dresses for Jasmine and some new curtains for the kitchen. ALL NEW with price tags still attached.

Now I know you're wondering how much I paid for it all right? Well, I paid $15. LOL

Yeah I know, I couldn't believe it, $15 for everything and I think I did pretty well and found very cute things.

So now let me show you why I wanted the wire basket and all those mason glass jars. See a while back I was looking at one of my favorite sites online Country Home and I saw an idea that I just HAD to make. But I didn't have what I needed and then I forgot about it, but I remembered it again a few days ago, so I've been on the lookout for everything.

Based on this idea, here's a close up showing the salt shaker.

Here's another view, I have my forks, knives and spoons in each mason jar, then I have the salt and pepper shakers and some napkins. It sits in the middle of my kitchen table and I think it will make it so much easier during mealtimes for everyone.

And here's a closer look at my little lantern candle holders....I absolutely LOVE these.

All in all I think it was a great day and I'm happy with my finds.

I think the key to thrift store shopping is to go in with an open mind and to really look, take time to get in there and look through the many things available. Half of the items I got today weren't visible, they were behind and underneath others.

Anyway, it's late and I'm about to go take my shower and then hubby and I are getting into bed and watching Fireproof together. I can't wait!

Have you watched the movie yet? What did you think?

{ Coming up to Breathe }

I've managed to climb out of the kleenex pile and take a breather, a much needed breather.

I don't have much to share with you today, I think my brain has taken a break, it's needing rest, it's needing restoration and I think I'm on the road to getting that now that my beautiful children are well on the road to recovery.

So today was a quiet, easy, unplanned, do whatever you like day for the kids. And me? I was the caregiver, the nurse, the cook and the provider, I ran myself ragged, I poured numerous cups of juice and handed out various kinds of snacks. But it's worth it, because they're feeling better.

My sweet boy playing with his cars

Miss Bella napping near Nicholas. One thing I love about the pugs is that no matter where the kids are, they are near them and especially when they're sick.

Miss Lola stayed by Jasmine's side

My beautiful girl spent the day in her bedroom, laying on her bed, watching tv, reading, crafting and just relaxing.

When the kiddos are sick, mommy lets them pick their own lunch....

So now that it's evening and they're bathed and watching a movie, I'm going to finally sit down and relax with my crochet.....but first, here's a quick recipe for you. Rotini with Chourizo and Bacon. Yum Yum!

{ Nurse Calling }

If you're anything like me, when the phone rings and you see certain names and numbers on there, you get nervous. So it went this morning when around 11 am, I was just about to start mopping and the phone rang, knowing that it's probably a telemarketer, I just wandered over and took a peek at the caller ID.

The number on there was from the kid's school and right away my heart clenches, I don't know what it is, but the minute any call comes in from that number, my mind immediately goes to "what if's".

So I pick up the phone and it's the school nurse informing me that Jasmine's teacher had sent her down to the Nurses Office with a sore throat, sore stomach and a headache. She asked me if I wanted her to just give her tylenol and see how it goes or if I wanted to come and pick her up seeing as she has been sick this week and was home yesterday because of it.

If this had been any other time, I probably would have told the Nurse to go ahead and give her the medicine and keep an eye on her, BUT being as both kids have been sick this week I felt it better to pick her up. I did go ahead and grab Nicholas too....apparently he was just going to recess. He comes walking around the corner with his little backpack on, a runny nose and coughing. Yep....I made the right decision, so they're both home for the day.

I'm a very protective mother, I don't like knowing that I'm not in control when my children are not feeling well, so having them both with me at home where I can keep an eye on them, is just what we all needed.



So that was my day, surrounded by kleenex, clingy miserable kids, blankets and teddy bears, medicine, soup and juice. I'm exhausted right now, it's hard enough when one child is sick but when they're all at the same time, it's double the work for little ol' me.

I have to tell you earlier today I felt quite overwhelmed, because at one point I had laundry needing to be switched from washer to dryer, the dishwasher open with dishes waiting to be loaded and I had both kids crying at the same time and asking me for different things. I literally felt like I couldn't breathe, like I wanted to just dig a hole and climb in and come out when everyone was feeling better.....and then I remembered this book that I absolutely love, "Diapers, Pacifiers and other Holy Things".

In one Chapter the author says "If you faithfully wipe your child's runny nose, I will give you a mansion." LOL

Which of course we know is from Luke 19:17 "Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities."

It always reminds me that in order for me to be responsible for big things, I need to be faithful in the little mundane ones.....far too often as a mother and wife AND especially military wife, there are many times that I want to throw my hands up and give up, cry out "UGH, enough, I don't want to do this anymore". You know when you're having a super bad annoying, everything goes wrong, kinda day?

But this book always snaps me back to reality, when I feel that way I grab it and I page through it and see things like:

God entrusts you with little things to teach you faithfulness in big things.

God wants you to see that each little thing you do can have eternal impact.

WOW! Yes, Yes and YES! Everything we do matters, even the little things which we think of with no significance, like cleaning runny noses and scrubbing toilets, if your motive is right.

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving."
Colossians 3:23, 24

And that's what I try to do everyday! I don't always succeed and I don't always remember this, but I try.

I did get a chance to sit down and do some crochet for Valentine's Day. Curt and I don't do anything specialy, as you already know, but I do usually make little chocolates for the kids Teachers and a nice dessert for dinner.

This year though, I'm going to take a page out of Bella Dia's book and make this adorable Crocheted Heart Garland. I've had my eye on it for so long, but alas my crochet skills were non existent. So glad I can do it now.

I'm going to stick with red, white and pink hearts for my garland and I've already made one and started the second. I couldn't believe how easy and quick they crochet. It's the perfect project for when you want to get rid of leftover yarn.

(click each thumbnail to enlarge)

Here soon I need to get the kids in the bathtub and ready for bed, I've decided to keep them home from school tomorrow, no sense in having them go back only to get called by the nurse again. Baths and pj's, milk and medicine and off to bed early, I'm sure with some good rest over this weekend they'll be healthy and ready to return to school on Monday morning.

Tomorrow it's payday so I'll be out all morning, thank goodness that Curt is home to watch the kids. So I'll be out getting groceries, running errands and picking up lunch and whatnot. It's usually an exhausting day but it feels good to come home and see the cupboards and refrigerator overflowing with food.

Anyway, I think I've babbled enough for today, hope you're all having a wonderful Thursday night. Stay warm and stay safe and God Bless!

{ Slow Cooking Thursday }

All my slow cooking recipes are now online and starting today, I will add all the recipes shared weekly to my online del.icio.us site too. So if you're wanting to find ALL the slow cooked recipes that have been shared since the first SLOW COOKING THURSDAY, here is the link for you.

Don't forget to add your name to Mr Linky and a link back to your SCT post so others can come by and see your recipe too.

As always, share your slow cooking recipes but if you REALLY REALLY don't have one and still want to participate, then you can share any kind of recipe.

With Superbowl just around the corner, here's a great recipe for the day.

Bacon Wrapped Hotdogs

1 pound bacon
1 pound hot dogs
1 box brown sugar

Wrap bacon around hot dog pieces and secure with toothpick. Place in crock pot and pour brown sugar over them. Cook on high 3-4 hours or until bacon is brown.

You can also make hotdog bites, by cutting the bacon in half and the hotdog pieces into 1/4's...wrap the bacon around and secure with a toothpick before placing in the crockpot.

{ Are you hungry? }

Because dinner is served and if you need the recipes they're over at the food blog.

Steaks with Pepper Sauce

Apple Biscuits

{ Hear me Croak }

woke up this morning sounding like a drunk frog, I kid you not, it's the weirdest sounding voice ever, so there will be lots of hot tea with lemon and honey throughout the day.

Good morning everyone, I hope you are all snuggly and warm and staying away from those crazy snow storms. I do envy you, you know that, it's times like these that I miss Idaho the most and can not wait to return soon.


Last night was interesting, both kids woke up a couple of times screaming and crying with bad dreams. It seems to go in spurts with them, months will pass with peaceful sleeping and then they'll both go through a week or so of on and off again "night terrors". I know they say it's normal for kids to have these, but it's very frustrating for the parent. Not because I'm being woken up every hour and getting literally no sleep, though I admit that it's draining, but because I feel helpless and there really is nothing we can do to stop these dreams, but pray.

Everytime they have a bad dream, we snuggle in bed and say a little prayer asking God to protect them and to watch over while they sleep. It does help!

I'm curious though, do any of you out there experience the same thing?



Today I have both kids home with me, after a restless night with no sleep, they are exhausted and both with sore throats, glassy eyes and runny noses. I hate this time of the year, their school is in a constant cycle of sick kids, pneumonia, bronchitis and ear infections are running rampant. So here they sit, in their pj's, snuggled under the blankets with these miserable expressions on their faces. There's plenty of chicken soup, juice and hugs to go around.

I'm thrilled to see so many of you wanting to Pray along with me for our husbands. It truly is the best gift we can give them and especially during the month of February which is all about love :)

So now tell me something. Do you celebrate Valentine's Day with your husband? Do you go out to dinner or a movie or buy each other gifts or cards? Do you make it a special day?

I'm ashamed to admit that we don't, we just never celebrate it in any special way. Sure we'll tell each other "I love you" and "Happy Valentine's Day". But as far as exchanging gifts or anything, we just don't. Tell me we're not the only ones out there?
And if we are, I guess I have to change that LOL

As much as I want to stay and chat more, I have little sick ones to take care of, so I'll leave you with this little prayer that I got off one of my devotionals, it goes with the Prayers for our Husbands.

Father God, I want You to know
that I want to be a friend to my husband.
I want to fulfill the role for which I was made.
Let my husband know that my desires for him
come from my friendship with him and not
from wanting to take away his freedom.

Amen

{ Good Afternoon }

Come on in and sit with me, I have hot coffee waiting. It's kinda nippy outside, I got up this morning and when I went to let the pugs out, I couldn't believe how cold it felt. Now bear with me, I know when I tell you it was 40 degrees you'll laugh until you sides hurt, especially knowing that so many of you are dealing with negative degree temps.

The sun was just starting to come up and it was absolutely beautiful, actually breathtaking, so I took that moment to look into the distance and say a little prayer for a good day, a day of productivity, a day of health and a day of joy protecting us from any negativity that may try to step in our path. It felt good!

After dropping the kids off at school, I came back home to dishes in the sink and a load of laundry waiting to be switched from washer to dryer. I really need to make more use of my clothesline, but I tend to use it more in the summer and not so much in the cooler months.

So here's what else I've been doing this morning......

No matter how cool it is outside, I can't help but open the kitchen window. I love the scent of fresh air and the sound of the chirping birds outside. There's nothing like the morning air is there?

After having some breakfast, I had to make a quick run to the library to return my books and of course, browse through the new releases section. Which means, I come home with more to put in my basket.

On the list this time:

The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards
In the Woods by Tana French
The Likeness by Tana French
The Saddlemaker's wife by Earlene Fowler
The Ghost Towns of the West

Back home, it was time to clean the fridge and reorganize in there. I'm very anal when it comes to this LOL No really, I am. I like all my stuff neat and tidy and items of the same category together. I just can't function when I open the fridge door and see the ham near the strawberry jelly or whatnot.

Weird huh?

Stepping back outside, I got some more lemons off the tree. I tell you it's overflowing with them and the branches are tipping down, some of them almost touching the ground.

To have seen this tree a couple of months ago, and to see it now, is just unbelievable. But it's taught me a valuable lesson, that no matter how bad something may look on the outside, there's beauty underneath just waiting to break through.


I tidied up the couch, the kids have made this their favorite spot in the house. That is where they snuggle under the blanket with their toys, watch tv, draw, rest. Even the pugs have started loving the blanket, it's not unusual to find one of them laying there taking a nap.

Washed, folded and put away all the kitchen towels

And now I am going to sit back, have a cup of tea and read a little of my devotionals.

Who knows what I'll be doing in an hour or two, probably puttering around the house again, cleaning or organizing, but for now, I am choosing to relax and surround myself with the love of God.

Oh and before I forget, starting February 1st, I'm going to start a 31 days of prayer for my husband. You are more than welcome to join me. Every day I'll list a prayer and you can just pray along with me.

You know that I feel that behind every wonderful blogging woman I have come to know, there is an amazing man, they are the ones working in the background. The ones providing for our families, fixing what is broken around the house, giving us a hug when we're down, listening to our bad days, putting up with the constant flashing of cameras in their eyes (admit it, you tote that camera around just as much as I do LOL).

So I think they need to be recognized and admired and acknowledged for the wonderful husbands they are and what better way to do that, than to devote a whole month of prayer to them. Will you join me?

{ Tips on Tuesday }

Do you have a tip on cooking, cleaning, homemaking, kids, marriage, travel or anything that you would love to share? Feel free to join in!

It's the time to start planning the family vacations, but it's always hard when you have to take into account something inexpensive AND interesting for the kids. So here are some tips for travel:


1 - For Car travel, here are some fun things to keep them entertained

2 - One thing we do on long car trips is to print out a map of our destination and the route to get there, the kids love crossing off the towns as we drive by and it gives them a sense on how close we are to arriving.

3 - Check out Traveling Series, you can find info on anything to start your vacation planning. From Camping basics to traveling checklists and even currency converter.

4 - Traveling USA is another great resource for vacation planning. You can even find a whole section on traveling with your pet, how cool is that? You no longer need to leave your friends at home with someone else, you can take them with you.

5 - And here's another one, All Traveling Kids Family Vacations. Chock full of info.

Planning a trip can be exhausting for the parents and it can become overwhelming when you're trying to take into consideration the expenses and all the thousands of places you could go....but that's why I always use these kinds of sites, at least I have fun while doing it.

{ The baking, the cooking, the reading }

It's been a quiet day. It started with the sun coming up over the horizon and bathing the skies in a beautiful orange glow. There I stood, at my back door, in my robe, my coffee cup in hand and my pugs running around enjoying the morning air.

Thankfully it was one of those mornings where the kids were up and ready for school without any squabbling or me having to literally drag them into the car.

I think the beginning of your day always sets the mood for what will happen, it's like a snowball effect, if it begins badly you tend to be in that negative frame of mind and everything just goes wrong. Far too many times we forget to pray for a good day, we just expect it to happen and then wonder in amazement why things didn't exactly go as we wanted them to.

So yesterday, I refilled the cookie jar, you all know that Sunday's are my "refill the cookie jar" days, I sit in the kitchen for an hour or so and make a huge batch. And just as I place them on the cooling rack, they seem to disappear, little fingers slyly remove them, thinking that mommy can't see. But I do, I just pretend not to.

While the kids were at school today, I got the house clean and then I sat down at the kitchen table and started my menu planning for the next two weeks, I'm drawing a bit of a blank when it comes to meal ideas so I pulled out some cookbooks and Taste of Home Magazines and got completely lost in all the goodness on the pages, but while doing that, I had the Jets flying overhead, making this awful roaring sound that got the pictures on my walls shaking.

It annoyed me, it really started getting on my nerves, so I stepped outside for some fresh air and while I was looking up at the incoming rain clouds, I caught a glimpse of the F-16's flying above me and then it hit me. How can I get annoyed or upset? Who cares if they're making noise, the mere fact that they're flying means they're working, it means that the pilots and the crew chiefs are doing their jobs, it means they're training and practicing and keeping our skies safe. It means that I'm living inside a military base where my children can run around safely, where armed uniformed soldiers are at every corner, where I never feel scared.

It's far too easy to get caught up in the moment, to forget the big picture. I'm definitely guilty of that, so I've decided to stop and think before I go off and complain about anything.

Anyway, I had a knock at the door today and the Fed Ex man brought me a big envelope, when I opened it I found The Help by Kathryn Stockett, I'm doing a book review here on the blog on February 9th for Mom Central.com. Let me tell you, I opened the book, read the first two pages and am completely hooked, I can not wait to finish it and then let you all know what I thought, I can already tell that it's going to be one of those books that will be talked about everywhere.

Right now, I'm off to supervise bath time, help with homework and start our bedtime routine. After the kids are in bed, I plan to make myself some hot tea, grab a big chocolate chip cookie and curl up in bed with the book. I think it's the perfect ending to the day, but first I leave you with a photo of Jasmine and Lola. They looked so cute on the couch, I couldn't help myself, I just had to snap this photo.

{ Happy Homemaker Monday }

Welcome to my Monday feature, a place where I'll be writing about my day, what I've learned the past week, any new recipes I've tried, scriptures that made an impact and everything else in between.

Every Monday, I will post a Mr Linky, you are more than welcome to join me, all you need to do is grab the button, copy the categories and fill in your answers, then come back here and add your post so that others can come and visit you.





On my bedside table:
The Queen's Fool by Phillipa Gregory. I'm a huge fan of this author and have read pretty much all of her books, except for this one. I can't wait to get started.

On my TV:
Catherine Cookson's Anthology "Tilly Trotter"
The Women
Paranormal State


On the menu for tonight:
Fish Shepherd's Pie - will have the recipe up on the food blog tonight.


On my To Do List:
Laundry to put away
Bed linens to be washed and changed


New Recipe I tried last week:
Slow Cooker Barbecued Turkey Chili AND Slow Cooker Barbecued Ribs


In the craft basket:
Crocheted Granny Squares
Knitted Dishcloths


Looking forward to:
The tax refund coming in this week
A new laptop computer
The new Gooseberry Patch Cookbook


Homemaking Tip for this week:
Make giant ice cubes. Add layers of thinly sliced lemons, limes and oranges in muffin cups. Fill each cup halfway with water and freeze. So pretty floating in a pitcher of tea, lemonade or ice water.


Favorite Blog Post of the week (mine or other):
How's Andy Doing? by Mari at My Little Corner of the World. I loved this post because we get to see how the military members pass their days, it's not all about working long hours, they find time to make the most of where they are and have a little fun. The best for me was reading Andy's comment to his mom's post LOL


Favorite photo from last week:

Lesson learned the past few days:
That God loves you regardless of who you are and that we need to let Him be in charge. I know a lot of people out there are not thrilled with the way the election turned out...I'll be honest and admit that I was hoping McCain won, but one thing I've learned the past week is that though I may not understand the reason for President Obama to have been elected or why....I need to let God take over and let Him take control and work on it.


On my Prayer List:
Our new president
Curt - he will be testing for his next stripe in a few weeks
Troops overseas and at home


Devotionals, Scripture Reading, Key Verses:

Key Verse: Colossians 1:9 "Since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding"

Prayer pushes the light and hope into little dark corners of your life

{ What do you think? }

I know I seem to change my template a lot but this is the one I've been working on for about a month, on and off, when I had time. In between I've uploaded any old header and background just so I would have something to show, but this is it....this is the one I've worked on and am really happy with. Be prepared, you will see this one on here for a long time, so I hope you like it.

We spent yesterday watching movies. The weather was a little iffy and with Nicholas not feeling too well, all the plans that involved taking the kids outside, were scratched. Instead we had popcorn and chips and cuddled on the couch and watched "Hancock" and "The Incredible Hulk".

Now let me start by saying that I'm not a fan of those kind of movies, not really, I'm more of a Jane Austen, 1800's, romance, chick flicks kinda fan. But I actually sat through both of these movies and enjoyed them, of course later in the day I had to get my daily fix of my favorites with Catherine Cookson's Anthology "The Tide of Life". Loved it!

Unfortunately the problem is that I've only been able to locate 4 of these on Netflix, where the Anthology is an 8 part series. BUT, I did manage to find a whole bunch more Catherine Cookson movies and they're all at the top of my Queue.



I have to get my laundry all caught up today and while I do that, I'll make some chicken noodle soup for the sickies in the house. My kids love homemade chicken soup, it's the one meal that I can serve where they'll have seconds and thirds and still beg for more. Makes me smile :)

And yesterday I didn't get around to baking the cookies, and now I have a very sad cookie jar, it's empty, save for a crumb or two, so I think I need to get it refilled. The cookie jar in this house is used a lot, and I mean a LOT, it's our night time snack, a few cookies and a warm glass of milk, then off to bed.

Some of you asked me about the doily I made, the pattern I used is this one, it's super simple and it crochets up really fast, it took me just one afternoon.

Look what I got in the mail yesterday....

Apparently Gooseberry Patch is putting out a big cookbook "Family Favorite Recipes", it's a hardbound with over 200 recipes and color photos. YES YES YES!

You all know that I'm a huge cookbook lover and collector and I have quite a few of the Gooseberry Patch cookbooks so this is just wonderful, I'm dying to get my hands on this new cookbook. You should see some of the recipes included, Chicken Stew with biscuits, Farmhouse Pork & Cabbage Saute, Loaded Mash Potato Casserole and Cream Cheese cookie bars...and that's just a few, the previews alone are making me drool. I can't wait to try all these new recipes and share them with you.

I may just do a giveaway around the time the book arrives, maybe, just maybe...we'll see.

Alright, I'm out of here, I have two loads of laundry waiting to be washed, I have soup to make and cookies to bake and more movies to watch. It's such a great day today, it's 70º outside and the sun is shining.

Don't forget the Happy Homemaker Monday's tomorrow, if you want to join me, I would love it. I'll have the post up in the morning and Mr Linky available for any that are participating.

{ Saturday Chat }

It's been a pretty quiet week, not a lot going on, but I was still happy when Friday rolled around. Happy because the kids have been missing daddy and the weekend was upon us, they would be able to see him and play and go to the park and whatnot.

It's hard when the guys are working weird hours, Curt has been going in everyday at 1:30pm and not getting home until 2am.....12 and 13 hour shifts seem to be the norm right now. It's tough on him and it's tough on the kids who don't get to see him at all, they get up and he's asleep and they get home from school and he's already left for work, so yeah, weekends are always welcomed when these shifts are happening around here.

Nicholas came home from school yesterday not feeling too good, he ate a snack and then crawled onto the couch, snuggled under the crochet afghan and watched some cartoons. He's extremely energetic so to see him on the couch means he's really not feeling well. Poor baby. He has the sniffles and a runny nose, so I'm attacking this cold before it even gets a chance to set in. There seems to be a lot of colds, pneumonia and ear infections going on at their school. Bugger!

While he watched tv, Jasmine was in her bedroom, messing around with pen and paper. This child loves drawing and writing and could easily be entertained for hours.

Even though it was a friday night and I usually let the kids stay up later, by 8pm Nicholas was in my bed and asleep. Jasmine stayed up another hour or so but then realized that daddy wouldn't be home anytime soon, and off to bed she went.

With the kids asleep, I made my way to the kitchen, unloaded the dishwasher, tidied up a bit and then got into bed with my book. "The Yada Yada Prayer Group gets down" by Neta Jackson. I'm really enjoying this series, the first one was good and this one is too, I find myself learning something new with every page and being constantly reminded of the Lord's love and understanding and forgiveness for each and every one of us.

I also finished my first crochet doily, I can't believe I taught myself to crochet and actually made a DOILY....I'm extremely proud of myself :)

Curt wants to spend the whole day with the kids, apparently there's going to be board games, computer games, reading, movie watching, a quick trip to the park and hide and seek. I'm sure they'll all have a blast together and as for me, well, this means the rest of my day will include these things:

Watching movies from Netflix
Crochet or knit
Baking bread
Baking cookies to refill the cookie jar
Getting the ribs going for tonight's Barbecue Ribs
Reading
Laundry

I don't know about you, but looking at my list actually makes me smile, it's all the things that I love doing, I don't think I could have planned this day any better. What are your plans for the day? Are you staying in or going out? Anything interesting going on?

So I'm off, I need to make a quick trip to the store and some lunch for the hungry family.

{Rainy Day}

Peanut butter and honey sandwich

Barbecue Turkey Chili

Crochet

If you need me, I'll be on the couch snuggled underneath my afghan, either reading or crocheting.

It's a cloudy and dreary day here, we had rain yesterday and it looks like some more is on it's way, the perfect day to stay indoors.

Randomness and your help needed!

I don't really have anything in specific to blog about this morning, it's been an uneventful couple of days....that is if you don't count the power outtage yesterday afternoon.

So there I was, having finished all the housework, I had just sat down on the computer with my lunch in hand, pulled up my Google Reader and POOF. I literally jumped back from the desk, I thought I had done something wrong and my first thought was "Crap, I broke my computer". But then I looked around and realized that it wasn't just the computer, it was the WHOLE house. Everything was out.

Now if you're like me, I consider myself a pretty good handy person, I can use power tools and hand tools, I nail and screw, change light bulbs, build things etc. But for some reason, I can NEVER figure out how to turn the power back on. So I'm sitting there looking like an idiot, staring at this thing:

It's like the panel to a spaceship on Star Trek or something...I've never been able to figure it out and then I have no luck because whoever lists the according numbers to the appliances...NEVER EVER EVER....does them correctly.

I tried flipping those buttons, which have you noticed are not easy to do either? You have to grab them with both hands and push really hard LOL

Anyway, after trying for about 5 minutes, flipping these things on and off, I decided to just call Housing Maintenance and find out if there was a Power Outtage in this area or if it was just me. Yes, I know, it would have been so much easier to do this from the get go, but I never said I do things the easy way LOL

Problem is that I forgot that if power is out so is the home line, and to top it off, I go and grab my cellphone only to find that the battery is so low it's already beeping at me. Anyway, long story short, I turned on my car, plugged the charger in there and called Housing only to be told that yes, the construction people by the shoppette accidentally cut a power line, it would be at least an hour or two to get it back up.

So what's a girl to do with no tv, no internet, no phone, no radio, nothing....well, I go and clean out my Durango which was in serious need of some help. All the parents out there know what the cars look like when you have children. There's crayons and crumbs and crackers and fries and whatnot in there...so I got it all picked up and sprayed down with febreze and when the power came back up all I did was vacuum and put all the toys back in the kids toy baskets.

Ahhhhh so much better!

Ok now that I've bored you to death with my tales of woe LOL I need your help with something.

See, we haven't replaced our mattress in YEARS, I'm too embarassed to say how many, and for the most part it's been ok but it's getting to the point where I'm having a hard time sleeping and the springs (yes that old) are popping through and literally digging into my hips and ribs at night. For the past two weeks I've been in so much pain when I lay down and we've finally decided, enough is enough, as soon as the tax money comes in, the first thing being bought is a brand new comfy mattress.

So help me out....tell me which mattress you think we should get, which one you have that you absolutely love or which ones we should steer clear from. Just keep in mind that I don't want to completely blow all the money on a mattress, those things can be really expensive.

I just need something that will help me start feeling better, I truly believe a lot of my back and neck muscle issues are stemming from the horrible torture chamber I sleep on.

Slow Cooking Thursday!

All my slow cooking recipes are now online and starting today, I will add all the recipes shared weekly to my online del.icio.us site too. So if you're wanting to find ALL the slow cooked recipes that have been shared since the first SLOW COOKING THURSDAY, here is the link for you.

Don't forget to add your name to Mr Linky and a link back to your SCT post so others can come by and see your recipe too.

As always, share your slow cooking recipes but if you REALLY REALLY don't have one and still want to participate, then you can share any kind of recipe.

Today's crockpot recipe is one I tried this week, Slow Cooker Easy Chow Mein, from the Taste of Home Crockpot Cookbook. It was pretty good.

The recipe is posted over at Full Bellies, Happy Kids.

What's lurking under your couch?

I love my couch, but it's one of those things that I tend to forget about when house cleaning. Weeks will go by before I realize that I haven't really deep cleaned the couch, and that my friends, is when you step into another dimension.

I swear there's like a Twilight Zone of Couches somewhere because the things you find under those pillows will make you scratch your head, cringe, laugh and wonder just how on earth that managed to get under there. Then there's the things that you realize you didn't even know were missing until you see their dog hair covered shapes creeping out. It's like a horror movie, you know those old Mummy ones? Remember? The ones where everyone is running around screaming and you see these nasty hands and body parts coming out from under the ground?

So this morning I decided, it's time for a good cleaning and because I know I'm not the only one out there who is ashamed and embarrassed of how neglected the couches become, I'm going to show you pictures, maybe entice (more like DARE) some of you to grab your cameras and show us What's lurking under your couches.

Looks clean at first glance doesn't it? But don't let it fool you because the awful things are hiding in the back and the sides....let me show you.....

See? And look at all that dog hair and dust bunnies....Holy Mackerel, I could make a new little pug, that's ridiculous!

I'm very confused as to that cherry, look at the size of that thing? There's also a little purple crown in the middle of that mess.

Now I find tiny sunglasses, I'm beginning to think that The Littles are living in my house. Which is kinda neat though, I used to LOVE watching them on TV. *snicker*

For me the best is that Good Citizenship Award LOL Yeah....right.....how ironic is that? LOL

Don't let all this dirt get you down though, go in there, pick through the things you want to keep, and throw out the rest, then grab the vacuum and suck suck suck LOL That sounds so bad, just grab the vacuum and have fun watching the dirt disappear.

See how clean it's gotten now? What I like doing is putting down some new Dryer Sheets, it keeps the couch smelling clean and fresh until the next time you get in there and clean....which will be like.....a couple weeks.....a couple months.....you know....

In the meantime, I like to take all my pillows and throw them in the dryer with a dryer sheet for about 5 minutes or so, just to fluff them up and give them a clean and fresh look.

And THEN to finish it all off, I grab the Febreze and give it a good spray down. Voila!

Couch is good as new, smells great and feels comfy and is ready for the kids to get home from school, where they will proceed to fill it again with cereal and knick knacks until the next time I clean. Oh well....it's the circle of life isn't it?

Camera Fun!

Sometimes I think that the best way to tell who someone really is, is to look through the lens of a camera.

For that purpose, I found myself with camera in hand and just snapping random head shots of myself, the result was actually quite fun. I'm also trying to decide on my new profile pic, so you get to help me out....what do you think, which one is your favorite?

Do you know who I really am?

I am a 34 year old woman - juggling life, discovering new things about me as I get older, loving
my husband and children, making the best of my time on earth

I'm an Air Force Wife, committed to my husband and his career, determined to keep the candle
burning when he is deployed, when he is fighting for our country, when he is fighting for our freedom. Determined to do my part.

I'm a mother to two beautiful children,

I nurse boo boo's, I wipe noses, I prepare meals, I give out hugs, I support and encourage

I'm a daughter, a granddaughter, a sister and an Aunt,

keeping family values close to my heart, remembering that there is nothing more important than those you love

I'm a stay at home mom, a daughter of Christ,

full of flaws, far from perfect but happy and content in who I am.

I'm a blogger, I'm a talker, I'm a free spirit, I'm courageous and articulate, I'm crafty and nutty. I listen and I help when I can, I'm all of these and so much more.

This is who I am!

Help me pick the best profile pic...which one do you think I should use?

Tips on Tuesday

Do you have a tip on cooking, cleaning, homemaking, kids, marriage, travel or anything that you would love to share? Feel free to join in!

I know I don't get a lot of participation in this weekly feature, and I've considered stopping it, but you know, I'm just going to keep it up because for me it's a way to record some great tips and always have a place to go back and check.

So if you want to join in, that would be great, if not, that's fine too :)

HOMEMAKING TIPS

Homemaking tips for the kitchen:

To get the stains off of cookie sheets, pie pans and other cookware, soak them in a solution of borax and water.

If your jars or glasses look cloudy fill them with warm water and add a few drops of ammonia. Wait about an hour - then wash and rinse in hot water. My mother-in-law soaks them in a solution of 2 cups vinegar to a sink full of hot water.

Silver that has dulled can be shined up again by rubbing a potato dipped in baking soda. Or when you boil potatoes, save the water to soak your silver in.

Never drain grease down the sink! It will clog up your sinks over time. If you forget and do it anyway, be sure to run some hot water with dish soap. Dawn is good for degreasing. If your sink does become clogged up pour 1/4 cup of baking soda down the drain followed by 1/2 cup of white vinegar. Wait few minutes and then pour a pot of boiling water down the drain.

To clean off the oven window, make a paste of baking soda and water. Rub onto the window and let sit for about 15 minutes. Wipe clean with a paper towel and clear water.

Homemaking tips for laundry:

To make sure your clothes are fresh and your washing machine is free of bacteria and soap scum - occasionally run a cycle of bleach water.

To remove grease stains on fabric - dab a solution of thick salt water (more salt than water) on the stain and remove salt with a clean paper towel. My mother in law uses Dawn dish soap and it works good too.

To remove mildew on white fabrics - soak several hours in a wash tub with 1/2 vinegar and 1/4 cup bleach. You can also put lemon juice on a stain and set in sun to remove light stains on white clothing.

Add 3 teaspoons of epsom salts to wash water to prevent colored fabrics from fading and to help keep the colors from running.

If you spill something, wash the fabric in cold water. Hot water will set the stain.

Homemaking tips throughout the house:

Once a month flush some yogurt into your septic system to prevent buildup.

If you drip some paint on something while painting - rub with a paper towel soaked in Skin so Soft by Avon.

If you drop something into a tight corner or down the sink, try reaching it with a crochet hook.

Let the kids help with dusting! Take an old sock and let them use it as a dusting mitt - their little hands can easily get into places like chair railing, wood molding, etc. Plus they have fun doing it.

Happy Homemaker Monday!

I've decided to start my own Monday Feature, I wanted something that would bring together all my interests and daily activites.

I'll put up a Mr Linky, if you want to join in please do, if not, that is fine too. I just need a place to jot down what is going on around me, so from now on, every Monday you will see my Homemaking list.

If you decide to play along, all you have to do is use the categories and just fill in your own words.





On my bedside table:
The Yada Yada Prayer Group Gets Down by Neta Jackson. I'm enjoying this series, the first book was so good and I'm already halfway through this one, I know there are a bunch more out there so I can't wait to get ahold of them and start reading.


On my TV:
Fireproof
Hancock


On the menu for tonight:
Portuguese Steak Roll Ups - will have the recipe up on the food blog later.


On my To Do List:
Laundry
Floors to be mopped
Nicholas School Project for tomorrow


New Recipe I tried last week:
Slow Cooker Hearty Split Pea Soup (recipe will be up this morning)


In the craft basket:
Crocheted Granny Squares - Now that I've taught myself to crochet and make the Granny Squares, I can't wait to crochet a bunch to make an Afghan.


Looking forward to:
A new laptop computer


Homemaking Tip for this week:
Whip up tasty maple butter in no time...yummy on pancakes or French Toast. Just combine 1/2 cup butter with 3/4 cup maple syrup.


Favorite Blog Post of the week (mine or other):
Motivation is the key by Rhonda Jean at Down---to---earth.....Rhonda Jean's post was so good and I found myself nodding in agreement with what she was saying. Worth a read!


Favorite photo from last week:

Me and my little Lola Pug

Lesson learned the past few days:
When Curt came home the other night and said that he had been in a jet that caught on fire, I was once again reminded that life is too short and too precious. That we need to enjoy every single second and that we need to tell the ones we love what they mean to us. No taking anyone or anything for granted. That was a lesson that I clearly needed to be reminded of.


On my Prayer List:
Our military members
Curt - he will be testing for his next stripe in a few weeks


Devotionals, Scripture Reading, Key Verses:
Psalm 116:1-2
Key Verse: Psalm 116:2b "I will call on him as long as I live"

Perfect start to the day!

My eyes had barely opened this morning, when I found the kids hovering above me with big handmade cards in their hands. My mind quickly ran through today's date, was it my birthday, mother's day, anniversary?

Nope, just their way of saying thank you for everything I do. I love my kids, they are by far the best that's ever happened to me and I thank the Lord everyday for my blessings. I groggily sat up, opened one eye and read through the cards....Nicholas' card just said "I love you, what do you want for your birthday?" LOL
Of course it was written in a 5 year old kindergartener's dialect...which was more like "I love you, what bo you want for ur birthtay", but that just makes it even cuter :)

Jasmine's said "I love you" and then she made up a whole menu and asked me to pick what I wanted for breakfast. I could hear Curt in the kitchen with pots and pans. I smiled and quickly picked one of the items on the menu, the Toasty Breakfast....Bacon, Toast and Eggs. Sounds perfect.

So that was how my day began, sitting around the kitchen table with my family, a plate with yummy food and my hot coffee.

Do you know that it's starting to warm up already here in Arizona? I know some of you are still dealing with tons of snow and freezing temperatures and my heart goes out to you, honestly, if I could, I would be sending warmth to you all...wrapped in a pretty bow with some cookies too.

Even though it's only January, we're already in shorts and t-shirts and outside enjoying the weather, here are the kids running around first thing in the morning, Jasmine hasn't even brushed her hair but she was so eager to get out there in the warm morning sun that not even "looking like a crazy woman" stood in her way.

So what happens when you finally teach yourself to crochet and make granny squares?

And you have tons of new yarn that you purchased from the thrift store?

Well, you begin this Crocheted Afghan journey, with beautiful colors, soft yarn and a smile on your face. If you only knew how happy I am to have figured this all out on my own, to know that I can make the Granny Square without needing instructions anymore, to know that I have the formula memorized in my brain, to know that in 10 minutes I make a gorgeous square with minimal amount of yarn.

I make the squares and then I lay them out and start playing with a pattern, imagining what it will all look like when it's finished. Do you also get that giddy feeling when you're starting a project?

Quite a few of you asked me about the Soap Making and a Tutorial. I don't have a tutorial to share with you, I'm not an expert soap maker, as a matter of fact, I stick to the easiest and simplest way of making it. I started with an easy Soap Making kit and they are pretty inexpensive AND you can usually find them at stores like Walmart and Target.

But once you're done with those, you can get your supplies from places like Bramble Berry, or here at Pine Meadows or craft stores. Honestly, all you really need is the soap base, the scented oil and a mold, though you can use whatever you have on hand, like little milk cartons or plastic little tubs or whatever.

Nowadays, I just use a small saucepan to melt the soap and pour into the molds. I think the main reason I love doing this is because the kids get involved, they like picking the scents and the molds, they feel like they're part of the process and you should see their faces when they give them as gifts to teachers and family. So there you go, I know you're probably sitting there scratching your head because I didn't really explain anything LOL but that's because I'm a hands on person, I am into making the stuff and am awful at trying to explain how.

I've started a new Monday Feature for myself and for anyone that wants to join in. It's called Happy Homemaker Monday, check it out just below and if you want to play along, just add your name to Mr Linky.

I'm going to get a start on my to do list so that I can sit down and whip up some more crochet granny squares.

Thank you for stopping by and visiting for a while, I hope you're having a wonderful Monday.

Thrift Store Shopping!

We set out in search of a Thrift Store yesterday. We don't know the area well and had no clue where they would be situated, but within a few minutes we had found a Goodwill AND it was having a 50% off sale. Yep, that's where we headed.

To say that it was chaotic inside, would be an understatement, but then again, everything was half off and what could you expect? We persevered and I got quite a few goodies, let me show you, but you may want to grab a cup of coffee or tea as I have a few pictures to share.

I got this bowl for $1, I had been looking for something similar and I'm so glad I found it yesterday.

These 3 square ones were $2 for the set. I mean, come on, that is just ridiculous and I love the pattern.

How adorable is this one? $ 0.50 is all I paid for it

And this huge baking dish was $1 as well. I love the green and the olive branches on it, I can already imagine lasagnas and casseroles coming out of there.

This picture/shadow box was just what I needed for my guest bathroom, everything in there has a nautical theme.....and it only cost 25c.

I couldn't believe how lucky I was to find these, I got two of them for my window sill. They are candle holders and go just perfectly with the rest of my red things in the kitchen. I paid $1 for both.

Another 25c for the cutest bird feeder ever. I'm using it as a decoration though, not a feeder.

Then I spotted a wall full of bags of yarn and I made a beeline for that area, I kept saying to the kids "hurry up, if anyone gets to that yarn before me I'll be one irritated mama" LOL

I got 3 bags of various yarn, different size balls etc. They were only 50 c for the 3 bags, I mean, come on how could I say no?

Do you know how happy I was to find The Kite Runner amongst the other books? I immediately grabbed it because I've read some great reviews on some of your blogs and I desperately want to read the book but it's always checked out at the library.

The other books are, The River Midnight by Lilian Nattel and The Magician's Assistant by Ann Patchett.

Underneath the books and the yarn is a beautiful blue knitted shawl that I can't wait to use around the house. I'll call it my Prayer Shawl for those moments when I'm doing my devotionals or reading the bible.

This little shelf is just what we needed for Nicholas room, it goes with his whole Car theme in there.

Now I start getting excited because I found this beautiful afghan for $3

After a quick wash, it smells heavenly and it feels super soft. Oh it was just pure bliss sleeping with it last night.

And if that wasn't enough, my eyes caught this beautiful crocheted afghan. And for another $2 I brought it home, washed it too and was able to snuggle underneath it on the couch this morning, with my book and my coffee. Yes, just what I wanted.

The book I just finished was "The Yada Yada Prayer Group" and I LOVED it, I couldn't put it down, I truly enjoyed this book and have already started the next one "The Yada Yada Prayer Group gets down".

What do you think? Did I make out like a bandit or not?

I know some people don't like thrift store shopping and I'll admit there are some things that I do NOT buy. Shoes and underwear and such LOL even clothes, they have to be almost new for me to even think twice about grabbing.

So tell me about your thrift store thoughts, do you love them as much as I do? Do you not like them? Have you ever found something that made you go "OH.MY.WORD that's just what I wanted"?

And what is the ONE thing you would never be caught buying from a Thrift Store?

A Day in the Kitchen!

I think if ever I was told to pick one room of the house to remain in for the rest of my life, it would be my kitchen, no questions asked, no second thoughts. It's the one place in the house I really enjoy being in, moreso than my bedroom and that says a lot.

So I've been in the kitchen today, for hours, all day long, with pots and pans, lemons, soap making items and this and that, come on in and sit with me at the table, I'll show you everything I've accomplished yesterday and today.

Before I tell you though, I just have to share these two photos, there is nothing cuter than kids asleep and especially when they are in unexpected positions and such.

This is Jasmine, I guess she had just finished praying when she fell asleep :)

And here's my Nicholas, holding his toy LOL

Even my little Lola was fast asleep on my bed, with her tiny pink tongue sticking out, I just can't help but hug her when she does that.

Last night, after the kids had their baths and were settled down in front of the tv with a movie and popcorn, I sat at my kitchen table with my hot cup of tea and paperwork and bills to be filed and sorted through. It's one of those tasks that overwhelms before I even start, I usually leave it until I can't anymore and then force myself to sit through it.

Within an hour I had everything done, paperwork filed, bills paid, budget made, kids school work put away etc. It felt good but I'm glad I don't have to worry about it for a bit.

I started the morning by getting my Hearty Split Pea Soup in the slow cooker, it's simmering away and it smells divine. I'll make some Grilled Cheese Sandwiches to go with it tonight and that will be dinner, simple but yummy and comforting.

Right after that, the kids and I got into some soap making, they got to pick their own base soap, the scent to use, as well as the molds. They had so much fun helping me.

Here is Nicholas and his blue glycerine based soap

Jasmine picked a Honey based soap and after it was melted, into the molds it went....I had some leftover and was out of molds so I used an empty cupcake liner tub and it worked perfectly.

These are the honey soap base with Ocean Breeze scent....smells so so good.

Here are Nicholas' soaps drying on the rack. He wasn't impressed when I told him that they have to dry for two weeks before he can use them LOL

He picked the raspberry scented oil and they smell so good.

I made some goat milk based Warm Vanilla soap. Oh my word, does it smell divine. I can't wait for the two weeks to be up LOL

I guess in the meantime I'll make a bunch more washcloths to use with our new soaps. If you've never tried soap making, you really should, it's so easy and rewarding at the same time.....AND.....you get the kids involved :)

After our soaps were up on the window sill drying, it was time to refill the Muddy Buddies/Monkey Munch tin.

I've cooked, I've cleaned, I've crafted and now I'm going to pick up the kids and hubby and we're heading to some thrift stores around the area. We LOVE thrift store hopping, you never quite know what you will find and hey, if I can find some yarn I'll be thrilled.

I'll come back and show you what I found, if anything. In the meantime, feel free to grab some monkey munch, but try to control yourselves, otherwise it's back into the kitchen for another batch, or two. *snicker*

WooWee, look at all my lurkers coming out

and I'm happy that so many have decided to show themselves and say hi, I can not wait to go visit everyone this morning. I'll bring some cake too *snicker*

What a night....you know when you think about military soldiers being in danger, you immediately imagine Iraq, Afghanistan and frontlines. The truth of the matter is that even the ones back home going about their normal day, are constantly in danger too. I'm talking about the Crew Chiefs, the guys who put those amazing jets up in the air, the guys who work 12 and 13 hour shifts without a lunch break or with a quick lunch break which includes scarfing down a sandwich with greasy dirty hands. I want to talk about those guys today!

Do you ever stop to think about how dangerous their job is? Because I do, every single day and every single minute that my husband is at work. It's not like working on a car, which I'm sure has it's own risks too, but working near an F-16 or F-15 or any other kind of jet is dangerous with a capital "D".

Do you know that when the jet is running, if they take just one little step near the intake, they will be sucked in?
Do you know that there are panels that when removed are extremely heave and if dropped on a foot, can break it?
Do you know that if you brush up against the side of a missile you will get a huge gash?
Do you know that when they are removing an engine they have to be sure that it is all clear and no one is in there or someone will get their head literally squashed?

From all those above, I can tell you that Curt has had to walk with crutches because of a panel that fell on his foot and even while wearing steel toe boots, it fractured it. I can also tell you that while deployed to the desert, he accidentally brushed up against the side of a missile and it cut right into his side....and I can also tell you that while stationed at Mountain Home AFB....while removing an engine from one of the F-16's, my husband had his head stuck in there and the guys pulled the engine without him giving them the ok.

I got a call at home from his supervisor telling me that he was at the hospital and his head got crushed. OH.MY.WORD! Those are not the things you want to hear, I had all these horrible visions in my mind, I mean how can someone get their head crushed and survive.

What happened is that Curt says the minute they started pulling the engine, the space where his head was got tighter and smaller and it start crushing from the top and bottom, he says he actually heard his teeth cracking and the two screws on the bottom ripping into his chin but THANK GOD, at the last minute, with the pressure, his head snapped to the side and he fell to the ground. He survived, with two holes in his chin and a huge headache, but look at how much worse it could have been?

The reason I'm telling you all this is so that you may have a better understanding of how dangerous it is for our soldiers, whether they're deployed or at home.

Another reason is because last night, I was woken up at 4:30 am by Curt walking into the bedroom shaking and pulling me from bed into a really tight hug. I couldn't understand what had happened, but apparently, he was running a jet which means they sit in the cockpit and literally turn it on etc. The jet caught on fire and while everyone rushed to get a ladder for him to get out of the cockpit, he didn't wait, he just jumped off and ran to get the fire extinguisher, by the time the fire department got there he had put out the huge fire. If he hadn't gotten off when he did.....well, we're not even going to think about that.

But the experience shook him up, he said he couldn't stop shaking for about two hours after the incident. His life literally flashed before his eyes and he realized again, just how close he had come. So when the words "You could have been a widow tonight" came out of his mouth, all I could do was hug him tight and thank the Lord for once again looking after my husband.

It's a fact, all military spouses think about never having the doorbell ring and opening it up to a Chaplain on the other side. You can't help but think about it, it's just a way of life, and every single day that you have together is a blessing.

So I want you to thank all the soldiers you know, even the ones at home, no matter what their job is. Thank them for everything they do because the military is kinda like the borg if you think about it LOL One mind with thousands of bodies, everything works together, it's all for the same purpose, they can't manage without the other. So thank them and let them know they are appreciated, you have no idea how much it means to them to hear those words. A lot of the guys back home hate the fact that they can't be on the frontlines fighting with the others, but I think it's important for them to know that what they're doing here is just as poignant and that we do appreciate them.

Every morning I wake up and say a prayer before my day starts, because I know that I have absolutely no control over what may happen, but when I pray, I feel that whatever MAY come my way, will be easier having God at my side, and I also know that He will be watching out for all of us and ensuring we have a safe day.

I got up early one morning and rushed into the day;
I had so much to accomplish that I didn't have time to pray.

Problems just tumbled about me, and heavier came each task.
"Why doesn't God help me?" I wondered. He answered "You didn't ask."

I wanted to see joy and beauty, but the day toiled on, gray and bleak;
I wondered why God didn't show me. He said, "But you didn't seek."

I tried to come into God's presense; I used all my keys at the lock.
God gently and lovingly chided, "My child, you didn't knock."

I woke up early this morning, and paused before entering the day;
I had so much to accomplish that I had to take time to pray.

----Author Unknown

Come on out and show yourself!

BTW....apparently this was going on and I had NO clue. Oh well, it's the story of my life LOL

So come on, I want you to delurk, drop in, say hi....it doesn't matter if you're one of my usual readers or a new one. I just want to see how many people actually read what I write....then again that may be scary and I'll get stage fright or something LOL

Menus, Grocery Shopping and that wonderful

feeling of seeing your cupboards and refrigerator packed.

After dropping the kids off at school, I came back home, had a cup of coffee and then grabbed the Grocery List and headed to the Commissary. I like going right as the doors open, it's quiet, it's practically empty and I can do my shopping in a peaceful and calm way. Now rushing, no crowded aisles and "Excuse me, can I get by" and no long queues waiting to pay.

Some of you had asked me before how I make my grocery list....well like I have said many times, being military we get paid on the 1st and the 15th of each month. I don't do weekly shopping trips, they don't work for us and I find that I spend way too much money by going in every week. So the day before payday, I sit down with my cookbooks, my family recipes AND the internet, and I plan a Menu for two weeks.

From that Menu I write up the grocery list and then I walk around the house and look through the bathroom, pantry, kitchen shelves and refrigerator etc....and fill in anything that is missing or needing to buy.

When I write up the grocery list, I also keep it by section....Frozen, Dairy, Meat/Poultry, Canned goods, Paper and Plastic, Cleaning supplies etc. It helps that I can remember pretty much all the aisles of our commissary and what is where, it's like drawing up a map as I write the list, I know where I'm going, and I know what is there and I can write the grocery list as if I'm actually walking the aisles. It helps, it really helps to have it all separated into the write category.

But I was never this organized, I remember my first year of marriage. I already did Menu Planning having learned from my Stepmom as we grew up, it was just the way things were always done at home. But when it came to grocery shopping, I didn't have a set way of doing it, I just jotted down a bunch of things on paper and headed out and I quickly realized that it wasn't working. I kept missing things and forgetting others and it was frustrating. So yeah, knowing what I'm getting and keeping things separated even on paper, saves you time and money.

How do you do your meal planning and grocery shopping? I would love to hear.

When I get home from the store, I just want to run away because this sight is enough to overwhelm me

But I plow through it, because it has to be done. I guess it's one of the house chores that I really dislike LOL I love going shopping but it's the packing away that I don't like LOL

I take this time to get rid of anything in the refrigerator that has expired and to clean the shelves and doors. I do a quick wipe during the week if something gets spilled but grocery day is when I really get in there and clean it up good. It just feels better knowing that I'm putting fresh food into a clean space.

Is that how you do it too?

And here's a question for you? Do you buy according to brand name or price? Are there certain items you refuse to buy cheap or those that you just have to have that certain brand and nothing else?

Because I have learned to shop for what is affordable, I have no problem using store brand items, but I do admit that some products can't be replaced with a cheaper version, in the long run you end up paying more and not getting the results you wish.

So here's a few of mine, I would love to know what yours are:

Toilet Paper - Cottonelle (I have tried many brands but this one I love, it's soft, it's thick and it lasts a long time)

Laundry Detergent - Here I admit I go for whatever is on sale or cheaper, I just can't bring myself to pay over $10 for a small bottle of any kind. Today I bought the Ultra Downy 120 loads, Ocean Breeze. It smells really good and it was only $7 which is not bad.

Laundry Softener - Snuggle Creme Jojoba Essence (smells SO good and pretty inexpensive too)

Dishwasher Detergent - Usually Cascade but today I picked up Palmolive Eco with Lavender Splash. It wasn't expensive and I love anything lavender, so we'll see how this works.

Everything else is just on a "buy as I see fit" basis. I don't have set brands for anything but if I do buy something and I really like it, I try to stick with that unless the prices rise dramatically, then I'm on the look out for a cheaper brand.

And because I have no problem talking about budgets and such stuff.....this is how much I spent for the next two weeks. Now remember this includes everything, all the food, toiletries and cleaning supplies, snacks etc. $260

I'm sure there are some out there doing much better than me, but for a family of four, I've found out that this works perfectly.

So now that we've talked groceries, menus and brand names, I need to get cleaning on my house, it's not too bad, but there are two areas that need my attention today.

Why is it that the kitchen counters become the catch-all for everything in the house? I have found the weirdest things on my counters, from toys to movies, to games to pens and pencils to a sock....one of Nicholas socks???? I mean WHY? LOL

But yeah, I need to file all that correspondence and I need to go through my basket and file and throw out whatever needs to be done.

My breakfast and lunch dishes are piled in the sink, those include leftover tupperware that has been emptied from the refrigerator cleaning.

And then when I'm done with this stuff, it's dinner and homework and baths and books and bedtime routines. I could scream at this point, but what for? It actually makes me smile :)

Slow Cooking Thursday!

All my slow cooking recipes are now online and starting today, I will add all the recipes shared weekly to my online del.icio.us site too. So if you're wanting to find ALL the slow cooked recipes that have been shared since the first SLOW COOKING THURSDAY, here is the link for you.

Don't forget to add your name to Mr Linky and a link back to your SCT post so others can come by and see your recipe too.

As always, share your slow cooking recipes but if you REALLY REALLY don't have one and still want to participate, then you can share any kind of recipe.

Image credit: cookanythingonce

Stuffed Pasta Shells

From the Kitchen of: Mona

This is a family favorite.

18	jumbo	pasta shells
1	lb.	lean ground beef
1		onion, chopped
1	clove	garlic, minced
2	c.	Mozzarella cheese, shredded
½	c.	seasoned bread crumbs
1	tbsp.	parsley flakes
1		egg, beaten
2	jars	meatless spaghetti sauce (15½ oz. each)
½	c.	grated Parmesan cheese

Cook pasta shells according to directions, just until tender and drain. Meanwhile, brown beef, onion and garlic on stove top, drain. Add Mozzarella, bread crumbs, parsley and egg. Stuff shells, set aside. Pour 1 jar of sauce into crock pot. Arrange stuffed shells in sauce. Top with other jar of sauce and Parmesan cheese. Cover and cook on low 5 to 7 hours.

NOTE: Mr Linky is not working, so I am not able to put it up...if you are sharing a recipe, leave the link in the comments and I will manually add them to the post :)

Mari - Busy Day Beef Stew
Jen - Orange Chicken
MJ - Hot and Spicy Sloppy Joes
Sarah - Crockpot Mexican Chicken
Stephanie - Taco Casserole
Peggy - Italian Chicken Thighs
Tamy - Chicken and Linguine
Vicki - Pot Roast and Vegetables
Michelle - Lamb Stew with Squash and Mint
Lorie - Roast Chicken
Kirstin - Hot Sausage and Beans
Melonie - Slow Cooker Bread Pudding
Naomi - Vegetable Curry
Blessed Beyond - Santa Fe Chicken

Because I don't do enough

Honestly, I think I like living surrounded by unfinished projects and lists.

I already have so many ideas floating around in my head, but just this morning I remembered that it's been a long time since I've made soap, I couldn't even remember what supplies I had. So I set off in search of my soap making box and found a lot of things, most of them still in their original wrappings. How happy it made me.

Tomorrow guess what I'll be doing? I'll be setting down the knitting needles, oh not for long at all, but just for a day or two while I dive back into soap and scents and molds....and yes, I'll share on here what I make.

This morning I got a craving for an old Portuguese cake dessert, so I spent a couple hours in the kitchen, baking, going through recipes and old cookbooks. It really is therapeutic for me, being able to open the kitchen window and let the breeze come in, the radio playing softly in the background and my measuring spoons and bowls scattered around the counters.

The results are these

Guardanapos (Napkins) and a Jelly Roll with an egg custard filling. Terribly addicting and not for the weight conscious....trust me.

A couple of you asked me to post the list of my 10 favorite books from the video I made earlier in the week, so here they are:

1. Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers
2. Can't Wait to get to Heaven by Fannie Flagg
3. Grab a Broom Lord, there's dust everywhere by Karon Phillips Goodman
4. Remember Me? by Sophie Kinsella
5. Every Storm by Lori Wick
6. The Constant Princess by Phillipa Gregory
7. Christy by Catherine Marshall
8. The Daughters of Lancaster County by Wanda E. Brunstetter
9. On the Way Home by Laura Ingalls Wilder
10. Becoming a Woman of Spiritual Passion by Donna Morley

I've come down with a horrible headache the past hour or so, it's one of those annoying pounding pains that make you want to crawl into bed and not come out. Unfortunately that is not an option, I have to start the dough for tonight's pizzas and then I still have to make make the menus for the next two weeks AND the grocery list so I can head to the commissary in the morning.

Nope, no sitting down for mommy, but I figure that if I can get all this done quickly, I'll be able to head to bed earlier and maybe get a good night's rest.

I'll be back in the morning with the Slow Cooking Thursday!

Dreaming out Loud!

As the years go by and Curt's retirement creeps up on us (only 2 years away), we find ourselves talking about the future, where we're going, what we're doing, where we will be living, what kind of house we want to buy. It thrills me, it gives me chills because it will be our first home together and we have the chance to get exactly what we want, it's like getting your dreams and making them a reality.

As we talk about these things, we sometimes just chat back and forth about the kind of house we want to own and we're both on the same wavelength because we're thinking about something between a cottage, farmhouse, ranch house kinda thing. We want land, we want space, we want a chicken coop with chickies running around, we want fruit trees and we want veggie gardens and a porch and big windows and a fireplace and my dream kitchen. But we're also realistic and we know that chances are.....BIG CHANCES.....that the home we buy may not be exactly all we want it to be at first, but that's what makes it more exciting right? Knowing you can build it whichever way you want it.

So I'm dreaming out loud today, I'm throwing it all in here, the first step is to know what you want and then you work towards making it happen. Mind you, what you'll see here may make you shake your head at times, but that's what makes dreaming fun because there's no limitations on what you can have.

Oh it's just what I envision,I think it would make me really happy to drive into our own Ranch one day....I can almost smell the fresh air.

Yeah, this would definitely make me smile.

You think this chicken coop is big enough *snort*

And this is how you know it's a dream, because we all know how well I do with keeping plants of any kind alive LOL

But hopefully one day, I'll have a beautiful vegetable garden.

The kids of course, want a horse....which I guess in a way is my dream too, I've always wanted a big property with horses and goats running around LOL

I'm sorry, I'm starting to laugh because I just picture myself amongst the goats probably freaking out everytime one came my way.

All joking aside, how amazing would it be to wake up every morning and walk out onto the porch with a beautiful view, hot cup of coffee in your hand and nothing but the sound of the animals around you?

But for now, I'm moving away from the dream and tuning back into reality, where my wonderful family, my crafting, my cooking and my homemaking surround me, bringing me joy no matter where in the world I'm living.

Like the looks on my children's faces when they went off to school this morning wearing their new gloves and smiling because mommy made them.....no matter that I was up late just to finish them because the reward I get is worth every minute of lost sleep.

So simple and easy to make and the kids LOVE them...they were very impressed because as they said "wow, I can still play and write like this". Yes, Yes you can :)

I've started on another pair for Jasmine, she's requested ones that go all the way to her elbow, apparently it's in fashion, so she says LOL

In the middle of all this knitting frenzy, I sent off Curt to pick up the kids from school yesterday afternoon, while I fixed some Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting...it was their afternoon snack and boy were they happy.

Today is going to be filled with cleaning, menu planning and grocery list making and computer searches for the perfect laptop for me. It will be my first, I've always had a desktop but I find myself missing the ability to carry my puter with me wherever I go, to be able to fix dinner while working on the next recipe for the blog, or to check email while sitting in bed under the warm covers.

So I'm on the lookout for my very first laptop, I don't need it to have all the bells and whistles but there IS one specification I told Curt I absolutely need. It HAS to be pink! He called me "such a girly sometimes" LOL Yes I am!

Tell me that is not the cutest thing?

Oh and I'm also working on making a list of things we need to replace in the home, or buy, or bills we want to pay off completely, for when the tax return comes in.

This year we won't be able to make it to South Africa, so we're staying close to home and planning just a short vacation, maybe a trip to the beach in California OR a camping trip in the mountains OR 2 weeks of just cramming in as much entertainment nearby as we can...day trips, trying out new diners and restaurants, hitting the Theme Parks or who knows?

But yeah, to get any of that done, I do need to get off this computer, as much as I wish I could stay and chat the whole day....but look, you're free to stay and relax, I'll even leave you some Pumpkin Cupcakes and hot cuppa.

Tips on Tuesday!

EDIT: Mari, thank you SO much for letting me know I forgot to put up Mr Linky...I don't know what I was thinking LOL

Do you have a tip on cooking, cleaning, homemaking, kids, marriage, travel or anything that you would love to share? Feel free to join in!

I know I don't get a lot of participation in this weekly feature, and I've considered stopping it, but you know, I'm just going to keep it up because for me it's a way to record some great tips and always have a place to go back and check.

So if you want to join in, that would be great, if not, that's fine too :)

Here are some tips for saving money on groceries:

1. Plan meals from what you already have at home. Find out what you already have at home in the pantry, freezer, and the fridge before you go shopping.
2. Check your calendar to see when you may need to have easy/fast meals during the week. I have a few crockpot recipes that are very easy–and so nice to come home to–my favorite is beef roast, potatoes and carrots.
3. Keep your favorite recipes handy. Make copies of favorite recipes from cookbooks and keep them in a binder (even better if you use sheet protectors to keep the pages clean).
4. Make a shopping list and only buy what’s on the list. Actually, I do include a few dollars for extra special buys I may find along the way. Last week I found a bargain and couldn’t pass it up–olive oil! The store was re-doing their olive oil shelves and olive oil/extra virgin olive oil was a BARGAIN at .92 to 1.49 for several medium-size name brand bottles.
5. Make some meals for the freezer. Even pre-cooking a few pounds of ground beef for easy tacos or spaghetti can save you from getting fast food for dinner.

Getting to know me!

First of all, thank you all so much for the questions, I had no clue there would be so many LOL

Here's the answers, you might want to grab a cup of coffee and sit down for a little or rather, lengthy chat with me *snicker* (Or you can just scroll down really fast and laugh at my expressions, it's pretty funny actually, I had no clue the videos would pause at such unflattering images LOL)

You'll notice that I look tired, I was up all night with allergies, they're doing construction around here and it's just awful......You will also notice that I started with a sweater on and ended up without LOL

If you didn't get a chance to ask a question, no problem, we'll do this again, maybe next week or so?

Enjoy!


MikeGolch:
Sandra,have you done any of the meme's that are out there and if not why not???


Anette:
I was wondering what kind of photo editor you use for your pictures? They always look so nice!


Nothing Too Fancy:
Sandra, I'd love to hear a bit about your background. How did you meet your husband? How did you end up in the States? How many places have you lived?


~TAMY 3 Sides of Crazy~ said...
Love the new look - what program do you use for your templates?


Posh And Trendy Back to Basic's said...
May I ask you a question that they say you're not supposed to ask a woman?
How old are you?


Raggedy Girl said...
Where do you get all your great recipes? Oh can I have two. I think it is so neat that your titles have a box of color under them. I am so computer stupid that I cannot even think about how you do such a clever thing, care to share, if no I understand about trade secrets. I just love your blog.


Lulu said...
was going to ask how did you meet your hubby, but someone already asked..:) Here's the link for you to read the whole story


Tina said...
I'd love to know your top 3 duty stations!


Niki said...
What are your top 10 favorite books of all times?


Our neck of the woods said...
Hi Sandra,
I am interested in becoming a doula so naturally I want to know how your pregnancy/deliveries turned out. Any crazy cravings? Any more children in the future?

Original Video - More videos at TinyPic

gail@more than a song said...
How many places have you lived in the States? Any place you'd really like to move to or someplace you wouldn't want to move to?
When and how did you become a christian?


Blessed Beyond said...
Sandra, you know I love your blog and t hink you are awesome! I was going to ask how you met your husband as well, and too I'd love to hear more about your background!

Original Video - More videos at TinyPic

Michelle said...
I personally that you should go into blog design,would you consider that???
How do you stay slim with all of your yummy recipes?
ok that was two...I have more up my sleeve ya know..

Original Video - More videos at TinyPic

Lara Gisela said...
As for the question, well, I was going to ask the same as Michelle: how do you stay slim with all of your yummy recipes. But let me think of another one. Do you speak Portuguese or English with your children?


Katrina said...
hey sandra
I have a qestion
what is your favorite meals and why

Original Video - More videos at TinyPic

autumnesf said...
I'm curious to know if you think you will retire in the states or if going back home is a possibility. I've known several military couples that the man has decided to take his wife home and got a job there so I was just wondering!

Original Video - More videos at TinyPic

Cheri said...
I want to know what if you prefer baking or cooking and what your most favorite meal is to cook.


Jen said...
Let me think a bit. What is your favorite television show...only one. The one you look forward to and cant live with out.


Sharon said...
Um....a question....what type of camera do you have? Your pic's are in super sharp focus.


Andrea said...
What is your recipe for hot chocolate muffins? Do you crochet or only knit? I crochet, I have no idea how to knit, but would love to learn someday. Oh and one more question-sorry-how long did you have to shake the cream before it turned to butter?

Original Video - More videos at TinyPic

Alright, here's your chance....

I'm opening my blog to you, for you to ask me a question, any question, anything you want to know about me or the blog, or my life or the military or whatever....just go for it.

And you know what? I'll even answer you in video, just try not to ask something very weird because then, well...I may just blush or stutter or whatever.

Ask away!

A little bit of rest and everything is better in the morn...

Thank God for a comfy bed, tons of pillows to prop my neck and back, Mcleod's Daughters AND my knitting basket.

When I wasn't in the kitchen fixing dinner, I was in my bedroom, on the bed, in my little nest, with the clicking of the needles and the sound of characters on the TV....I got so relaxed and so into it that before I knew it I had knitted a bath mitt for myself and let me tell you, I tried it last night and it's just wonderful....I won't be going back to washcloths ever again.

and one of my fingerless gloves. So quick, SO easy, you won't believe it.

Jasmine and Nicholas took one look at it and begged me to make them some, so that's what I'll be doing today.

Even if you're a beginner knitter, you just have to give these a go, within 30 minutes you'll have yourself a nice glove....then you can either knit the remaining one or go for the cool look with just the one glove on your hand LOL
But you'll likely be called Michael Jackson, like I was when I showed hubby the finished one I had LOL

Now for all the McLeod's Daughters fans out there, the ones who are watching it through Netflix....it ends with Season 7, but Season 8 has been playing on the TV in Australia and just ended I think this past fall...but it hasn't been released yet on DVD, so what is a girl to do? Wait for months until that happens? Nope, you go to YouTube and you watch the last Season, and you cry like a baby, and you stop yourself from throwing things at the TV because nothing makes sense and you're frustrated and irritated and you feel like a fool sobbing over this.

But if you're like me and can't wait, go ahead and go watch. Don't say I didn't warn you though and don't come back and complain of red eyes ok?

Me? I'm just going to go putter around the house, put away all the laundry that I just washed, give this living room a quick sweep and then sit down with my knitting. I am feeling a lot better but still not 100% and I do NOT want to push it.

I'll back tomorrow. Hope you're all having a wonderful Sunday, whether you're in a sunny place like we are, or in a snowy place like so many of my favorite bloggers are.

Here's what's for dinner!

Tonight's dinner consisted of a Meat Pie and some Spicy Creamy Potatoes. It got the approval of the family, there were seconds all around and it's been put on the favorite's list. Go on and check out the recipes at Full Bellies, Happy Kids.

MEAT PIE



CREAMY SPICY POTATOES

If you need me, I'll be in bed

Remember that neck muscle I pulled? Well I thought I was fine but unbeknownst to me, I must have done something else wrong because by 7pm last night, I could hardly move my neck. It's very much like the problem I had last year around the same time where I had that excruciating pain at the top of my spine. UGH.....me and my neck need to sit down and have a serious conversation.

Thankfully hubby came home from work early last night, it was 8pm, and after seeing me so uncomfortable and trying to deal with kids, he sent me to bed. Have I ever told you I have the best husband on earth? After a full day's work with jets and all the military stuff, he is still willing to take on the kids for a few hours just so I can get better. There are few good men out there and I'm glad I snagged me one, I hope you got yourself one too LOL

So I got into bed with my knitting and my McLeod's Daughters and that is where I remained for the rest of the night.........a cup of tea, my knitting basket, my favorite show on the tv and my wonderful pugs snoring next to me.

I LOVE my crochet socks, my stepmom made them for me years ago, as a matter of fact they came with me all the way from South Africa. They're comfy and warm, so much so that Jasmine keeps trying to steal them from me LOL

Here's the Waffle Dishcloth completed, I love the way it turned out and the fact that it only takes me a few hours from start to finish, and that is with all the interruptions.

I need a bunch more, so I'm going to keep knitting these. Who knows, I may knit a set of 3 or 4 to give to one of my readers, that is if anyone would be interested in them.

I keep all my kitchen dishcloths in this basket on my window sill, not only does it look cute but I like having them handy.

A couple of you have shown interest in knitting and want to learn, I say, GO FOR IT. It's is so easy and once you start you'll never want to stop. If you have never knitted before, there's some great sites out there who will teach you, like this one here, there's a Lion's Knitting Guide here, and here's another video to teach you how to knit.

Once you're comfortable knitting, you can go to Sugar and Cream and look through their free patterns, you can even change the level to Beginner, Easy, Hard etc...so you'll be able to find wonderful patterns for whatever skill of knitting you're at.

Today is going to be all about taking it easy for me, no cleaning, no organizing or mopping or whatever. Nothing!

I plan on watching some movies, catching up on my reading, knitting a few more dishcloths and some bath mitts for my kids. Later today there will be cooking and possibly some bread baking, depending on how my neck is feeling, and a new recipe on the food blog too, but I'll let you know when that is up.

I'll leave you now with some Saturday Linkies, places I think you'll enjoy.


Pea Soup - I love this blog especially for all the hand knitted goodness going on.

A Life full of Blessings - Wonderful blog that I enjoy so much.

A View from the Green Barn - another of my favorites

Codlins and Cream - You all know how much I love England and Castles etc...so this blog just makes me smile. I could sit all day just going through the beautiful photos the author posts.

Let's make meatballs....

Here is tonight's dinner, wonderful meatballs swimming in a homemade tomato sauce, sprinkled with mozzarella cheese and baked in the oven.

I have a feeling you'll think twice about using spaghetti sauce from a jar or frozen meatballs again.

This is by far, my kids favorite, they beg me to make it and refuse to eat this meal any other way.

MEATBALLS AND SPAGHETTI

Let's talk Housework!

I know there are a lot of people who don't like Housework and I'll admit that I went through that stage too, I honestly did not want anything to do with it. I felt like it was torture and just boring and annoying LOL

But as I got married and had children and became a Stay at Home Mom, I came to realize that housework is a part of my life, it's simply a part of making my home comfortable and cozy for my family.

Like making the beds. Do you know how many friends I've had over the years who have said "what's the point, you just going to get back in there again and mess it up" LOL Well yeah, if you think about it that way, it's true, it's kind of pointless, but I see it as putting together a wonderful comfy area for our bodies to rest after a hard day. For me, there's nothing better than climbing into a clean and tidy bed.

Laundry couldn't be any easier if you think about it. I remember from my childhood, having to wash clothes and scrub them on the washboard, and forget dryers, the baskets of wet clothes was hauled outside to hang on the clothesline. I think that's where I developed my love for air dried laundry.
Nowadays, you chuck them into the washer and then switch them to the dryer and most don't even iron them anymore....whereas I remember from my childhood, everything was ironed, including underwear.
So yeah, laundry for me is not hard to do at all, time consuming because it seems to multiply by the hour, but not a difficult job.

Cooking and baking, well I don't think I even need to explain do I? LOL I think everyone and their mother knows what I feel about being in the kitchen and making food for the family. I feel like I'm contributing to their well being, being able to produce a homecooked meal and having my family enjoy it and appreciate it. The fact that my children tell anyone they meet that mommy makes the best food, makes me happy, and it's worth all the time spent in the kitchen.

Then there are the chores that I could do without but it still doesn't bother me to do them. I mean, scrubbing toilets and bathtubs are not on my list of enjoyable things to do, but yet they're an integral part of homemaking and creating that wonderful place for my family.

But like I said in the beginning, I know there are those out there that dislike housework and I'm not going to tell anyone that you have to enjoy it and embrace it, I'm just going to say that maybe you could look at it as something you do for yourself and your family, just remember that all it takes is a change in your way of thinking. That's how it worked for me, I stopped fighting it and hating it and going into it with annoyance and negativity because when I did I found that everything went wrong and it was pure torture to get through the day of cleaning, now I just pop in some music, or turn on the TV and actually enjoy housework.

So now you tell me, where do you fall in the housework category:

• You enjoy it
• You don't enjoy it but it doesn't bother you
• You would rather have a root canal than do any kind of housework, it's torture
• You refuse to do it at all

Let's chat shall we.

And before I go, let me just show you my Library Book Basket, I just refilled it this morning with some titles that I'm really looking forward to reading.

Here's a closer look at the books, if you see one you've read, let me know what you thought ok?

The Still

I used to hate the quiet, absolutely wanted nothing to do with it, I preferred the noise and the hustle bustle of life, but as I get older and with the kids both in school this year, I've come to love the Stillness, the moments of nothing, those moments where you actually stop and think "what should I do?"

So with things back to normal, with the little ones and hubby at work/school, I find myself able to dive back into the simple things that I love.

Really old books circa 1905 - my fascination with books goes back as far as I can remember, and I especially love vintage books, those really really old ones with stained pages and beautiful words.

And if the old ones don't keep me busy, I can always turn to this bookshelf. The bottom basket holds my library books, I like keeping them in there so that I always know where they are when it's time to return them.

The bookshelf behind the basket is my TBR pile....wonderful treasures found in a box I had forgotten about. After all the moving we've done the past year, I realized that there were one or two boxes still packed away in the hallway closet, to my surprise, one was mine and it held a ton of books I have yet to read. You should have seen how happy I was when I opened it up.


My knitting basket is filled with yarn of all colors and textures and I can't wait to get in there and start some new projects....first of all I need to make myself some more dishcloths/washcloths, I can't get enough of those and I love how soft they are. The kids love the washcloths for their baths.

In between all of this there's baking and cooking and new recipes to be tried and family favorites to be revisited.

There's also blogging, reading and posting and most importantly there's God, there's the yearning that I feel to reconnect and to draw closer to Him, my need to devour all the Christian books I can get my hands on, my need to stick to the devotionals every morning, to stick to reading the Bible everyday and to live a spiritual and fulfilling life. I really can't ask for more than that can I?

BTW I want to thank you all for the comments on yesterday's post. If I had known that putting my face on video would bring me so many readers and comments, I would have done it a long time ago LOL Who knows, maybe I'll make it a weekly thing, that way you get to listen to me babble about something or other, once a week.

I'm off to pick up the kids from school, then it's homework and dinner time and all that stuff, so I leave you with one of my favorite quotes.


Helen Keller: "The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quiet, alone with the heavens, nature and God. Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be and that God wishes to see people happy, amidst the simple beauty of nature."

Slow Cooking Thursday!

All my slow cooking recipes are now online and starting today, I will add all the recipes shared weekly to my online del.icio.us site too. So if you're wanting to find ALL the slow cooked recipes that have been shared since the first SLOW COOKING THURSDAY, here is the link for you.

Don't forget to add your name to Mr Linky and a link back to your SCT post so others can come by and see your recipe too.

As always, share your slow cooking recipes but if you REALLY REALLY don't have one and still want to participate, then you can share any kind of recipe.

Mexican Beef Stew
© Crystal Miller

This is a great tasting crockpot recipe I am sure your family will enjoy!

3/4 pound lean beef stew meat, or an inexpensive piece of beef roast-- cut into 3/4 " cubes
½ large onion -- chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced or a large spoonful of chopped garlic from a jar
1 can Rotel tomatoes
1- 15 oz. can whole-kernel corn -- undrained
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano leaves -- crushed
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
2 tablespoons yellow cornmeal

Put all the above ingredients into your crockpot except the cornmeal. Cook on low for about 8 hours or until the meat is tender. Turn the crockpot to high and stir the cornmeal in and allow to cook and thicken for about 25 minutes. Serve with tortilla chips or cornbread or even rice.

Accent or no Accent???

I noticed a couple of you asking me about my accent and wondering if I have one or not, so I decided to do something I've never done on my blog before......post a video of me.....UGH!

If you only knew how much I dislike seeing myself on camera but I think it's the only way you can see for yourself whether I have an accent or not. So here you go....I would love to hear the comments on this one, and be nice, remember....I'm not a camera friendly person and you're pretty lucky that I did this video right after returning home from dropping the kids off at school and running some errands.

You would be running for the hills if I had done this first thing in the morning LOL

I love my life!

Do you ever sit down and say "I'm so happy, I completely love my life"?

I find myself doing that quite often. I'm not rich in the wealthy, money kind of way, but I am absolutely filthy rich in love from my family. I don't think there is anything that I would change about who I am and where I live....well maybe that part yes, you know I really don't like Arizona LOL....but other than that I'm content and I'm happy and I am thrilled to be on this roller coaster we call life.

I try to live every moment to the fullest, try to live without leaving anything undone or put off for a better day. So far I think I've succeeded in becoming one of the happiest women alive. No really, I'm not joking, that's how I feel. Do you ever get that feeling?

So I'm sitting here this morning and my back is feeling so much better, after a hot bath Curt rubbed some Icy Hot on the painful areas and I took to bed....what a difference it made. Thank you for your well wishes :)

I've done no housework today, other than the small things like cleaning up after breakfast or throwing in a load of laundry, thankfully with all my cleaning done the previous days, I can get away with a day or two of minor tidying up, which is just what I need right now.

But you know, I couldn't pass up the opportunity of picking some fresh lemons for a Lemon Pie later today. My tree is over filling with ripe, yellow, citrusy scented lemons, so much so that some of the lower branches are dipping to the ground.

Let's take our bowl and go pick some nice ones for our pie, shall we?

Oooohhhhh I'm already drooling just thinking of that pie for dinner....but you know what? This picture made me realize that my camera lenses has a dirty spot. See it there on the middle right? Looks like a smudge doesn't it? Guess I'll be cleaning that before I forget.

I updated the food blog with another recipe this morning, Creamy Oven Chicken and later today I'll have the one for tonight's dinner up......I'm making Beef and Bacon Pinwheels. Yum!

Now let's talk, a couple of you have asked me how I get so much done during the day and quite frankly I don't know how to explain, see for me, I don't think I'm getting much done, I think that over the years I've come up with a Daily Routine that works for me and as the kids get older and start school etc, I just adjust it to whatever is going on. As a matter of fact, my routine sometimes changes from year to year according to what is happening around me.

For the most part though, it remains the same, here it is for those who were curious. One trick I've learned over the years.....ALWAYS schedule in time for yourself, give yourself an hour to do whatever you want, be it reading or knitting or crafting or just sitting down with a big bowl of ice cream watching trashy TV. It works and it recharges you during the day and does wonders for your attitude....try it.

And don't think that if I veer off the schedule the earth will end, it won't....some days I don't need to do laundry do I use that time for something else, or there will be no errands to run, so I'll do yard work or look through cookbooks or plan my menus or something.

One thing is for sure, I don't leave any minute of the day free.

Right now I have laundry finishing up and I'm going to figure out some lunch for Curt and I, he goes in to work in about two hours.

Thank you for stopping by and chatting with me for a bit.....


Feeling - Inspired

Drinking - Nothing right now

Writing - Ideas for the family vacation this summer

Thinking - that I need to drop the extra pounds I've put on from the holidays...UGH

Contemplating - A sandwich or a salad for lunch

Knowing - that life is wonderful

Listening - to the sound of the keys on the keyboard as I type

Jumping - for joy that things are back to normal after the crazy holidays

Savoring - Nestle Caramel Chocolates...mmmmm

Resisting - The temptation to eat chips

Eating - Nothing yet

Hiding - from nothing

Tips on Tuesday!

Do you have a tip on cooking, cleaning, homemaking, kids, marriage, travel or anything that you would love to share? Feel free to join in!

I know I know, it's been a while since I've done this, but honestly you understand with so much going on it's easy to forget some stuff along the way.

Some of us are starting the new year by decluttering...so here are some tips to make the work easier and to keep things from getting overwhelming again.

Tips from one of my favorite sites on the web, The Family Homestead (thank you to the wonderful reader who left me the link a couple of days ago)

1. Don’t let piles build up. Put things away when finished with them.

2. Deal with things as they come into the house. Toss the junk mail, file the bills, set the personal mail on your desk and read and respond as soon as possible.

3. Set times each day to walk around the house and put things into their correct place. My father use to always say, “A place for everything and everything in its place”. This may not be original but that is where I first heard it. I let that little phrase dance through my head when I deal with my things. So, make a spot for all items that you have. If the items are keepers then make sure you have a shelf or a tote or box to deal with each item. There will be no question as to where something goes if it has a prepared place.

4. Throw away anything that you really do not need and is not worth making a place for. Remember you just most likely can’t keep every piece of art work your child brings home, or every issue of your favorite magazine, or every recipe that you print out. If it has value to you then make a file for the art work and resign to keep only a couple pieces each year, Buy a few large 3-ring bingers for the magazines and the recipes so that they have a neat organized place to be. Figure out what to do with the things you really want, toss or give away the rest.

Hello....anyone out there???

It's finally here, the moment I've been anticipating for weeks now.....that new week of the new year....aahhhhh!

The kids are back at school and Curtis is back at work and it's deafeningly quiet here in the household. I can hear myself breathing, that's how quiet it is, quite creepy actually if you think about it, but good nonetheless.

I love the holidays and the craziness that starts around Halloween and goes right through until the 3rd or 4th of January, but I have to admit that I love the return to normal, the quietness that comes with being in the house alone, the possibilities of knitting or sewing, baking or reading or whatever I want to do without having to think about putting those things aside to get something else done first.

Like my new template, nothing like having uninterrupted time to sit on the computer and mess around.

Right after this was done, I got to work on the house, cleaning from top to bottom and it looks wonderful and it smells clean and fresh and I'm in pain. I blame the darn vacuum, I have this love/hate relationship with it, every once in a while I will be vacuuming something and BAM, I pull a muscle on the right side of my back. It's always on that side and it's those annoying little twinges that go from the neck all the way down to the ribs and make it painful to breathe. I tell you, it's times like these that you discover muscles you didn't even know existed.

So I'm taking it easy the rest of the day, I'm going to fix dinner and then I'm taking a hot bath and climbing into bed with a good book. Curt is home for the day and he has offered to take care of the kids so I can just relax my back. I honestly think I overdid it today, between the vacuum, the sweeping and mopping and rearranging....errr.....did I say that out loud?
Yes I rearranged Nicholas' room and so I'm paying for it, but that's fine, the house is clean LOL

I'm making this a super short post, there's not much going on around here and frankly sitting like this is just making me hurt more.

I send you hugs and kisses and wishes of everything nice and for all the sickies out there, hope you feel better soon. I'll be back in the morning, refreshed and hopefully able to type without feeling like my fingers are going to snap and break. Oh the joy of muscle strains.

PS By the way, how many of you watched "Superstars of Dance"? I did and I really enjoyed it, it helps that South Africa is on there too and I have to root for my home country right? But I have to tell you I want United States or Ireland to win. I LOVED the Irish Group dance.

The Simple Woman's Daybook!

Hi everyone, come on in and see what's in my daybook!

If you want to join in, just go visit Peggy over at The Simple Woman, read the guidelines here and then add your name to Mr Linky. There are so many other participants sharing their day, I'm sure you'll enjoy looking through them :)

FOR TODAY

Outside my Window...
a chill in the air....it's pretty nippy out there, goodness. The rain stopped but there's that scent in the air, that wet earth delicious scent which I just love.

I am thinking...
that it feels wonderful to have the whole house to myself, Curt is back at work, the kids are back at school and it's just me and the girls (pugs). It feels good!

From the learning rooms...
nothing this week

I am thankful for...
a New Year, a new opportunity to better myself, to close the gap between me and God. For me there's nothing better than knowing that I have 12 months ahead, still new and still waiting for me to make the most of them.

From the kitchen...
For breakfast toasted bagels with Whipped Berry Cream Cheese, Lunch for myself will probably be a Grilled Cheese and Tomato sandwich and dinner is Creamy Oven Chicken Breasts with Garlic Mashed Potatoes.

I am wearing...
Jeans and a pink tank top, slippers. The minute I walk in the door, my shoes go off and I slip into my comfy slippers, I just love it.

I am reading...
Just finished The Redbird Christmas by Fannie Flagg and loved it, it was such a wonderful Christmas book, full of love and family and second changes. I've started The Forbidden by Beverly Lewis and I have book #2 and book #3 also waiting to be read.

I am hoping...
to get a good cleaning on this house today. With everyone gone, I'll be tidying up the living room and putting away all the toys and games that have accumulated from the past week of having the whole family home. I'll be putting away laundry, scrubbing toilets, washing all the little rugs around the house, cleaning the bedrooms and sweeping and mopping all the floors. I'll be really busy for the next few hours but I can't wait to have my house back to normal.

I am creating...
a knitted shrug for myself and a knitted blanket too.

I am hearing...
the heater just coming on, my computer tv tuned to Sonoran Living and the pugs snoring on the couch.

Around the house...
Games, Toys, cluttered computer desks, laundry baskets waiting to be emptied and beds that need to be made.

One of my favorite things...
Sitting down to dinner with the family, talking about the day, laughing and joking and enjoying a home cooked delicious meal.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week...
I have to make a run to the BX later today to pick up birthday cards for the family in South Africa who is celebrating this month and next. Other than that, absolutely nothing, just getting back into the groove of normal schedules after all the holidays.

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you...

Curtis snapped this photo of me and I just love it, because this is who I am, this is what you will most likely see every single day. Me.....puttering around the kitchen.

Updated the Food Blog!

It had been a few days at least, since I updated the food blog, but I finally got around to doing it, so go on over and check out the latest recipes....there will be more to come this week.

Lazy Sunday Turkey Chili

Smothered Burgers

Ham and Bacon Bread (Bola de Carnes)

It's been a LONG time since I've slept in

I don't even think my body knows that it's an option, it's so used to slipping out of bed in the wee hours of the morning and moving in a daze for the first hour OR until that first sip of hot coffee hits the taste buds.

But we've been going to bed super late and I think our bodies just finally collapsed. All I know is that it started raining last night and it hasn't stopped yet, and somehow the sound of the raindrops on the window and the roof paired with the exhausted body, made for a sleep in.....until 9:55 am. WOW!

The only reason I got out of bed is because my body started hurting, my sciatica kicked in and it was just painful to lay in bed. So I got up with a big smile on my face and feeling completely refreshed, it's funny how you forget just what a good night's sleep can do for you soul.

So here I am, with my hot cup of coffee and my toast slathered in Homemade Butter. I tell you, I don't think I'll ever again go without homemade butter in my house. Every bite I take transports me back in time, this is like sitting around the kitchen table with my great grandmother, watching her with her Butter Dish, with every bite of the bread she took, the knife would instantly move back to get some more and she would cover every inch of her bread.

At the time I thought "why are you doing that?" but now it's one of those guilty pleasures of mine, sort of like a way to reconnect with her. I will sit on the kitchen table and repeat her actions and smile, it's like I can feel her with me, probably laughing at what I'm doing.

So yesterday I tried to watch Helen of Troy and I did not like it at all. It's weird because I'm a huge fan of movies and series like that but this one, UGH....I didn't even make it through the first disc and have already removed the rest from my Netflix Queue, what a waste of time.

I guess I'll spend a bit today adding more stuff to the Queue and by the way, if you know of any series or shows I would like, let me know. Anything like Anne of Green Gables, Road to Avonlea, Mcleod's Daughters, Christy etc. Bring on the suggestions!

I'm off to do some cleaning around here and maybe just maybe, snuggle up on the couch and watch a movie.

I hope you're having a great Sunday, stay warm, stay safe and God Bless......I'll leave you with this song, I first heard it on Grey's Anatomy and immediately fell in love with it, I think for me it's not just the melody but the words....

"All of these lines across my face
Tell you the story of who I am
So many stories of where I've been
And how I got to where I am"

"you see the smile it's on my mouth
it's hiding the words that don't come out
all of my friends who think that I'm blessed
they don't know my head is a mess
No, they don't know who I really am
and they don't know what I've been through like you do"

I hope it makes you smile like it does me.

The Story Video

Cooking, Cleaning and other things......

You may be wondering where I disappeared to for the past two days, I mean, only this morning was I able to go around and visit my Slow Cooking Thursday participants. I didn't want them to think I forgot about the great recipes, but it's just that having the family all at home for the past week has been wonderful but crazy. Overwhelming....fun....messy....joyful....all those things.

Come on in and sit with me, I have some fresh bread straight out of the oven and what is better than a slice of hot bread with homemade butter? Yes you heard right, homemade butter.

I've been wanting to make some for a long and just kept forgetting, until thursday when I ran out of butter in the house and couldn't make it to the commissary because....well because for the past 3 days I have been trying to go there and I can't beat the crowds. I don't know what is going on, but everytime I've walked in, I've been met no shopping carts and the line to pay going all the way around the store and to the frozens. Yes, that bad!

But going back to the butter, we needed some and had none, so I finally pulled out the whipping cream and set to work. If you only knew how easy it is to make your own butter, you would be shocked, and it's not just any kind of butter, this is the creamiest, yummiest butter you've ever tasted. Just ask Katy over at The Country Blossom. I tell you we seem to be on the same wavelength with everything, it's actually creepy sometimes because I'll be doing something in my home and then visit her blog only to find she did the exact same thing LOL

This morning I really need to go and try to weave my way into the commissary again, I just can't hold it off any longer, I need chicken and turkey for my menu this week.

Other than that, I'll be in the kitchen cooking, or you will find me puttering around the house, there's beds to be stripped and linens to be washed and floors to be mopped and toilets to scrub. I love my family but dagnabit when they're all home for a week or two there seems to be a constant dark dirty cloud hanging over head. Just how much of a messy can one husband and two children make? Well if you have one or all of the above, you know the answer.

Yesterday we went out and bought Rock Band. Ummm....I will be honest and tell you that while it's fun to have the whole family playing together and laughing, it's really not worth the price. I don't like any of the songs on there, 90% of them I've never even heard and when I end up having to be the singer and belting out lyrics like "Yeah rebel girl" and "Bat....er.....ry". Yeah not really my cup of tea. But it was fun playing with the kids. We had Jasmine and Curt on the guitars and Nicholas on the drums.....great way to get the family involved, just hope they make better music for it.

I need to head on out, so I guess I better get off the computer, but I'll leave you with what's going on around me.

On my bedside table:
The Redbird Christmas by Fannie Flagg
Standing in the Rainbow by Fannie Flagg
Letter from Home by Carolyn Hart


On board from Netflix:
McLeod's Daughters Season 7 Disc 4
Helen of Troy Season 1 Disc 1


Latest interests:
Homesteading


On my mind:
Cleaning the house
Finding some more good shows on Netflix


Learning:
To crochet
To be patient
To distinguish between wanting and needing stuff


Making:
Homemade Butter
Portuguese Dishes


Looking forward to:
Everyone returning to work and school
A family vacation next year


Enjoying:
Guitar Hero World Tour
Watching my children playing drums and guitar
Cooler temperatures

Resolutions...do you? Or don't you?

I'm not one to make New year's resolutions. I used to be but I never followed through and ended up feeling like a failure, so a few years back I decided to stop making a list for myself and if I accomplish something during the year...GREAT....if not....oh well!

But I was reading one of my favorite blogs this morning "La Dolce Vita" and she posted something on there that made me stop and think, maybe making this resolution for myself won't be so bad.

Stop wanting stuff;
it keeps me from seeing what's real.
When I want stuff,
all I see are things.

Boy is that the truth. How many times do we get so focused on the material things that we become blind to what we really need around us?

So I'm going to try....key word TRY, to stick to that, to stop wanting stuff, honestly I can tell you that there really isn't anything that I need. I'm blessed to have nice things around me and a wonderful family, whatever else I may think I want is just extra. But if it comes at the price of loosing my focus on the emotional part of life or my relationship with God or my family, then it's not worth it.

Here we are, a new day of a new year, and so much ahead, what will happen in the next 12 months? I prefer not to think about it because it will drive me crazy not knowing *hahaha*

What about you, do you make resolutions, do you stick to them? What is that ONE thing that you are hoping you do or achieve this coming year?

For myself, it's getting closer to God and working on that relationship, because when that is going well everything in my life just falls into place. I have the courage, I have the strength, I have the wisdom to deal with everyday life and whatever hurdles may come my way.

Christian Resolutions

How can I use the New Year

To better serve my Lord?

I'll read my Bible every day,

And be more in accord.

I'll find new ways to serve others;

I'll love my neighbor, too.

I'll focus on "give" instead of "get"

In everything I do.

I'll forgive the people I'm mad at;

Angry feelings I'll discard;

I'll try to love my enemies,

Even though it's hard.

In the new year, I'll lift people up,

Instead of putting them down.

I'll fill my heart with love and joy,

And never wear a frown.

I'll let go of my worries;

I'll put it all in His hands;

I'll repent and try to sin less,

And obey all his commands.

These new year's resolutions

Are difficult, at best,

But there's something I can do each day

That will put my soul at rest:

I'll love my Lord with all my heart,

With all my mind and soul,

And if I do that essential thing,

All the rest will be in control.

by Joanna Fuchs

Slow Cooking Thursday!

All my slow cooking recipes are now online and starting today, I will add all the recipes shared weekly to my online del.icio.us site too. So if you're wanting to find ALL the slow cooked recipes that have been shared since the first SLOW COOKING THURSDAY, here is the link for you.

Don't forget to add your name to Mr Linky and a link back to your SCT post so others can come by and see your recipe too.

As always, share your slow cooking recipes but if you REALLY REALLY don't have one and still want to participate, then you can share any kind of recipe.

Mexican Red Chili

1 lb Hamburger meat (lean)
3 lg Jalapenos, seeded and chopped
1/2 lb Hot sausage
1/2 lb Stew meat
1 c Chopped onion
3/4 c Chopped bell pepper
2/3 c Chopped celery
1 cn New Orleans kidney beans
3 tb Chili powder
1 ts Salt
3 lg Garlic cloves; minced
1 c French onion soup
1 cn Chopped green chilies
1 cn Tomatoes
2 cn Tomato sauce
1/2 ts Sugar
1 tb Cayenne
1 ts Oregano
2 tb Jalapeno juice
1/4 ts Garlic powder
3/4 ts Tabasco sauce
1/2 ts Cumin
1/2 ts Onion powder

Marinate stew meat with jalapeno juice, onion powder and garlic powder. Refrigerate 24 hours. Brown hamburger meat with onion and garlic and bell pepper and cumin. Brown sausage; remove brown stew meat. Mix all meat. Add soup, tomato sauce, tomatoes and beans (drained). Add jalapenos, chili powder, cayenne, oregano, celery and chili peppers, salt, sugar, Tabasco. Cook at medium heat 2 hours.