Cooking Thursday - September 30

Won't you join me and share with us one of your new recipes, or an old family favorite, you can even throw in a recipe for homemade soaps or detergents (just remember to specify).

For the guidelines, you can go here.

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Chili with Corn Dumplings
Credit: Gooseberry Patch Cookbook

4 1/2 lbs ground beef
2 1/4 c. chopped onion
3 (15 oz.) cans corn, undrained and dividided
3 (14 1/2 oz.) cans stewed tomatoes
3 (15 oz.) cans tomato sauce
1 T. hot pepper sauce
6 T. chili powder
1 T. garlic, minced
1 1/3 c. biscuit baking mix
2/3 c. cornmeal
2/3 c. milk
3 T. fresh cilantro, chopped

Brown ground beef and onion in a Dutch oven over medium heat; drain. Set aside 1 1/2 cups corn; stir remaining corn with liquid, tomatoes, sauces, chili powder and garlic into beef mixture.

Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 15 minutes. Combine baking mix and cornmeal in a medium bowl; stir in milk, cilantro and reserved corn just until moistened.

Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto simmering chili.

Cook over low heat, uncovered, 15 minutes. Cover and cook 15 to 18 more minutes or until dumplings are dry on top. Serves 10.

Wanna see what I got today?

If you're not into yarn, you may just wanna completely skip this post because really, I'm just going to babble endlessly about all the goodies I got this morning.

One of my friends was getting rid of a bunch of yarn and of course, being that I'm constantly buying it I said I would take them.  I'm so glad I did.

I ended up with a box and two baskets of yummy yarn.

I sat on my couch surrounded by the soft balls of yarn and tried to contain the ideas that just started flowing from my brain.

Granny Stripe blankets, doilies and runners and scarves and oh my goodness, I don't even know where to begin.

What I choose to do, I can envision lots of quiet time with my yarn and my hooks, but maybe the first thing I should make is another crochet bag to hold all these in. 

Yes, I think that's where I'm going first, so I'm going to leave you for I'm about to go sit back on that couch and ooh and aah at the pretty colors.

Downton Abbey!

Boy do I have a new British period drama to share with you.

You know how I've said many times that my favorite shows to watch are all from England?  Oh how I wish I could get those networks here in the States.  Then again it might be a bad idea because I would have a hard time getting anything done around my house.

But anyway, I have a whole new lavish period drama to tell you about....it's called Downton Abbey and it's ITV's newest series.  It premiered this past Sunday, the 26th and it's already got many people talking about how wonderful it is.  I had heard about it, I had seen the previews and I wanted to watch it so bad and I just knew that there would be no way for that to happen unless I found it online.  Thankfully I DID and I have to thank the wonderful folks in England who actually take time out to put these on the internet and to make them available to us.  

Downton Abbey follows the lives of the aristocratic Crawley family and their servants at Downton Abbey. It is April 1912, and news arrives of the sinking of the Titanic with the loss of Downton's heir James and his son Patrick.

The Dowager Countess Violet hopes that the title and estate will pass on to the current Earl Robert's oldest daughter Mary, who was in line to marry Patrick.  But Robert, whose wife Cora's money is intimately tied up in the estate, decides not to name Mary his heir, and after discovering that a distant cousin is set to inherit instead, invites the young man to Downton. Meanwhile, new valet John Bates is given a hard time by the staff as an old war injury threatens his job at the stately home. 

 The minute I read the summary for the new episode I literally smirked like an idiot.  This is just up my alley, it's the kind of show I want to watch, it's bound to have good drama, beautiful costumes and stunning scenery being that it is filmed on location at the HighClere Castle in England.

 Before I tell you more about it, here is the Trailer, I'm sure if you love these shows as much as I do, you'll be jumping for joy as well, or if nothing more,  it will just be something new for you to add to your list of things to watch.



Dame Maggie Smith who I absolutely adore is joining the cast and so is another of my favorite British actors,  Hugh Bonneville.

There will initially be seven episodes and they're all penned by the brilliant Julian Fellowes who is most known for the wonderful Gosford Park, another one of my favorites.  So yes, to say that I'm thrilled about this new series is an understatement.

If you've seen the first episode let me know what you think, if you haven't but would like to, just shoot me an email :)

I'm off to soak up all the info I can on this drama.

Happy Homemaker Monday - September 27

The weather in my neck of the woods:
It's 80 degrees outside, even though we never really get very cold here, this time of the year the temperatures drop quite a bit and feels wonderful outside.


Things that make me happy:
Watching a good movie


Book I'm reading:
Sookie Stackhouse Series by Charlaine Harries


What's on my TV today:
Sister Wives - It started yesterday and I DVR'd it, going to watch and see what I think.


On the menu for dinner:
Beef and Mushroom Stir Fry

On my To Do List:
Finish all the Laundry
Change the bed linens
Filing and paperwork


New Recipe I tried or want to try soon:
Not new to me, but Homemade Breadcrumbs, which you can find on my Food Blog.

In the craft basket:

Halloween Stitchery...got some cute ones I'm working on.

Looking forward to this week:
Just a good happy productive week at school and work.


Tips and Tricks:
Bite your lip and ignore it. Dust and dirt are not pretty but in the grand scheme of life, it matters little whether your house is June Cleaver clean.



My favorite blog post this week:
Chiot's Run "Shoes or No Shoes"....great post.


Blog Hopping (a new discovered blog you would like to share with the readers):
Finally started going through my Google Reader, I'm sure it will take me a while longer to get to them all and to come visit my friends, but I'm getting there.    Old Centennial Farmhouse is a blog I accidentally stumbled upon a while go, just love it.


No words needed (favorite photo or picture, yours or others you want to share):

Lesson learned the past few days:
That sometimes closing the door to the outside world for a weekend, is SO good to the soul.  That's exactly what we did, we spent Friday, Saturday and Sunday in our home, just us 4, we laughed, we watched movies, we ate junk food, we stayed up late and slept in later.  And now we're ready for another full week of work.


On my mind:
So many things....my To Do List is a big one.


Devotionals, Scripture Reading, Key Verses:

The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray.

1 Peter 4:7

I'm so awful at blogging lately aren't I?

Well the good news is that things are going back to normal after our *broken wrist* incident.  Jasmine is doing well, she's still not able to write with that hand even though she tries as hard as she can.  The Ortho saw her last Tuesday and took an x-ray of her wrist.  He says it looks perfect, the bones are healing, the one that was deviated is still in place and everything looks great.

She goes back on the 4th of October to have this long arm cast removed and to put on the shorter one below her elbow, she is dying for that one so she can better move her arm.

Thankfully, she hasn't had any itching with this cast and the doctor says it's because we're keeping it nice and dry.  That's good.

So yes, things have been a little hard with me practically having to do everything for her, from helping her dress, to brushing her teeth and to doing her homework which is driving me insane, but that's a whole other post for a whole other day.

As I was saying though, things are finally getting back to somewhat normal so I'm hoping this means I'll be able to drop by more often, dust the cobwebs off the ol' blog and chat with you more.

I've spent today puttering around my home, doing a little of this and a little of that and now that the housework is all done, dinner is over and the kitchen is clean, I can sit on my bed with my trusty laptop and try to put together a little post. 

I used to complain, a lot, about the fact that our house has no carpet in any room.  I do still wish that I had some at least in the bedrooms, but when it comes to the living areas, I'm actually thankful for this typical base housing flooring we get.  It's not the prettiest and even though I feel like I spend my life mopping and sweeping, I think it's the perfect flooring for kids and dogs.

I spent a lot of time in my kitchen, baking, cooking and making Homemade Breadcrumbs.  Let me tell you, if you've never tried them before, you don't know what you're missing.  Throw out the store bought, stop wasting money on something that you can make yourself for much cheaper and they're tastier too.

My laundry room is another place I spend a lot of time in.  Does it ever end?  I know I've asked this before but it still shocks me every day, just how much laundry I have.  See that big basket?  That's all clean, but then of course I have to fold and put away (the only part of housework I really dislike).
After a few hours in and out of that little room, I finally got it all done.  Thank the Lord.

If you come by my house on the weekends, you're bound to see a lot of this going on, between times of playing with toys, watching movies, taking naps or just plain hanging out on the couch chatting.

I think it's why I love weekends so much, well other than the fact that I have my husband and children with me.  I swear if I could freeze time, those would be the days I would do it.

But now that I'm finally relaxing, I can think about the next book I'm going to read.  I picked all those up at the library last weekend, I'm in a Charlaine Harris mood.  She's well known for her Sookie Stackhouse (True Blood) series and I'm enjoying reading those, but I had no idea she had a few others out too, so I'm thrilled to get into these.

Oh before I forget, I need to tell you about a series that I just started watching and which I'm really enjoying.

I'm sure you remember McLeod's Daughters, an Australian series which I fell in love with and pretty much watched non stop until all the seasons were done.  Well Heartland is set in Canada but it's very similar, also set on a ranch and there are horses and two sisters and a grandfather etc.  I love that it's just a clean family show and the fact that it's centered around saving neglected and problem horses, just makes it even better.  Give it a try if you're looking for something new to watch on Netflix, let me know what you think.

Alright I'm out of here, I think I'll watch some Celebrity Ghost Stories or whatever else I may find on tv.

Have a great night everyone!

Tag, you're it!

 

It's been forever since I've done a meme, I don't even remember the last time, maybe a year, two?  Really that long?

Anyway, my wonderful bloggy friend Susanne at Living to Tell the Story, tagged me with this fun 8 questions meme, she asks me 8 questions, I answer them and then I tag 8 people and ask them 8 new questions.  Got that?  Did I confuse you?

So here we go, these are Susanne's questions:

1. What is your greatest joy?  

Without a doubt, it has to be my children.  Now I know you're probably sitting there laughing or thinking "like we didn't know that was coming" LOL  But really, it's my babies, they have brought me the most joy in my life and I feel so blessed to have them.

2. What do you do when you're bored?  

Well now, there is no such thing as bored in my vocabulary, I don't have time to be bored, but when the occasion does present itself once in a while, I read, or cook, or watch a movie.  

3. Are you a sweet or salty snacker?  

Both, which is just not good at all for my thighs, but I am actually one of those snackers that can never figure out what she's in the mood for, so I end up eating whatever I find, sweet, salty, doesn't matter.  I like it all.

4. Beach or mountains?  

Wow that's a tough one.  I would say both, but if I absolutely had to pick one, I would say a log cabin in the mountains, surrounded by beautiful trees and a stream nearby.  Perfect for me!

5. Favorite things on a burger.  

Bread and Butter pickles, Provolone cheese, mushrooms, fried onions.  Oy I could go on forever.

6. Would you rather have someone else do your laundry, clean your house or do your yardwork?   
All of the above.  LOL  But if I have to just pick one, then my yard work.

7. Are you a one book at a time person or have many on the go at once?  

I have tons at once, I think I actually have a book in every room of the house and read as I go, I am not one to get confused between the books I'm reading, so I've been known to read as many as 4 books at the same time.

8. Favorite scripture or quote. 

“But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” Joshua 24:15

And now I get to tag 8 of you....and please don't run away the minute you see your name pop up.  LOL 

If you don't want to do it, that's fine.  If you haven't been tagged and still want to play along, that's great too, just let me know in the comments so I can come see it :)

Mari, Mary, Nicole, The Lady, Conny, Autumn, Jayleigh, Lori

Here are my 8 questions:

1.  What is your biggest pet peeve?
2.  If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?
3.  Have you ever been searched by the cops? (LOL inquiring minds want to know)
4.  What is the one thing on your mind right now?
5.  Favorite song right now.
6.  What talent do you wish you had?
7.  Favorite drink.
8.  In one word, how would you describe yourself.

Cooking Thursday - September 23

Oh boy, what a morning. My internet went out and only returned now, so I apologize for this going up so late.


Won't you join me and share with us one of your new recipes, or an old family favorite, you can even throw in a recipe for homemade soaps or detergents (just remember to specify).

For the guidelines, you can go here.

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Irish Potato Salad

* 6 white potatoes
* 1 cup sour cream
* 1 cup mayonnaise
* 1 tablespoon green onion, minced
* 1 clove garlic, minced
* 3 strips bacon, cooked and crumbled
* salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:
Place peeled and sliced potatoes in a large pot and boil for 20 minutes, or until tender. While potatoes are boiling, cook bacon until crisp. Allow to cool slightly before crumbling.

Giveaway - Chiquita Smoothies & T-Shirts

A while back I did a review for Chiquita Smoothies, they were SO good. Have you ever tried them?

You can find them in the freezer section of your local grocery store and they come in a variety of delicious flavors, such as Banana Colada, Peach Mango, Mixed Berry, and Strawberry Banana.

New Chiquita Frozen Fruit Smoothies are all-natural, provide 100% DV Vitamin C, and provide 1/2 cup (1 serving) of fruit per eight-ounce smoothie. Chiquita Smoothies are available nation-wide in your grocer's freezer aisle, with a suggested retail price of $2.69 (less than $1 per serving). Just blend and serve!

They are super easy to prepare, all you have to do is pop them into a blender and add water or juice and some ice. Easy peasy and the kids will love it.

Chiquita's website also has recipes for even more fun taste sensations and a $1 off coupon!

Now to help some of you try these great smoothies out, Chiquita Smoothies has given me some t-shirts and coupons to give away to 4 lucky winners.

Each winner will receive a Medium size Smoothie Operator T-Shirt and 4 coupons, 2 each for the Peach Mango and the Strawberry Banana.



How to Enter:

- Leave me a comment telling me which of the flavors you think you would enjoy the most.

- The giveaway will end on the 29th of September.

- Please make sure you leave an email address or a way to contact you, I will email the winners and post their names here. Winners will have 48 hours to respond or new winners will be chosen.

- Open to US residents only.

Good luck!

Thank you to the wonderful people at Old Orchard Brands for providing Chiquita Smoothies for the review and giveaway

What's cooking????

I've been busy in the kitchen, not that it's a shock to any of you, I mean if I had a choice of where I would like to sleep and do everything in, it would have to be my kitchen. LOL

So go on over to my Full Bellies, Happy Kids and see what's been going on around here.

IRISH POTATO SALAD

BOSTON CREAM CUPCAKES

CHICKEN STROGANOFF

Happy Homemaker Monday - September 20

The weather in my neck of the woods:
Kinda cloudy and not as hot.


Things that make me happy:
Rain


Book I'm reading:
Sookie Stackhouse Series by Charlaine Harries


What's on my TV today:
The Gates - catch up on new episode from last night


On the menu for dinner:
Spaghetti a la Philly

On my To Do List:
Laundry
Mopping and Sweeping


New Recipe I tried or want to try soon:
Just made Chicken Stroganoff the other day, I have the photos and the recipe ready to go on my food blog this morning.

In the craft basket:

Granny Stripe Crochet Blanket. Poor blanket has been in there forever.

Looking forward to this week:
My children having a good day at school. I am just not impressed at all with the way their school has been this year, just too many things that I don't agree with on the teaching and behavior level. I tell you, I'm counting down the days until this year is over so I can finally start homeschooling my children.


Tips and Tricks:
I got absolutely NOTHING today.


My favorite blog post this week:
No blog reading last week, didn't get around to it.


Blog Hopping (a new discovered blog you would like to share with the readers):



No words needed (favorite photo or picture, yours or others you want to share):

Lesson learned the past few days:
That sometimes all you need is a good laugh to get you through the hard times.


On my mind:
My kids, their cruddy school and believe it or not, CHRISTMAS. LOL


Devotionals, Scripture Reading, Key Verses:

"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you."

Matthew 7:7

Sometimes all you need is a little laughter

To say that we've had a pretty stressful week would be an understatement.

When you think about things going wrong, like broken bones or accidents or whatever, you always think it's something that touches other people, and you feel bad and you sympathize but you don't really think it will affect you, then when it does it kinda knocks the wind out of you.

Suddenly you're in that group, the group of people who can see "Oh, yeah, I know how you feel, we went through the same thing".

Not always the coolest club to belong to, but nonetheless.

So, it's been stressful but things are finely getting back on track and returning to some normalcy around this household.

If I said that I've been doing lots of laughing, I would be lying through my teeth and I'm sure you wouldn't believe me anyway LOL

But sometimes all you need is a little laughter, and thankfully that's what we got going on around here.

Jasmine had a sleepover last night and invited her closest friends, five girls, 5 ELEVEN YEAR OLD GIRLS. Need I say more? Ha!

For one, I can tell you that she's extremely lucky to have such good friends, I mean these girls are not only the sweetest things around but they are funny as all get out. They make me laugh and they make remember what it's like to be that age again.

At one point, there was ear piercing screams and laughter resonating through the house, and all I could do was just laugh right along with their goofiness and their craziness.

They love life, they enjoy life and they're at that age where the possibilities are endless, everything looks brighter and exciting and they can't wait to get out there and explore it all.

The funniest part is watching my husband through it all, he just sat in his little corner on his computer, with his headphones and the volume way up high. LOL At one point he said "I had no idea 11 year old girls could be so loud".

Honey, obviously not because you're a GUY, now us ladies know exactly what it's like to be that age and at a sleepover right?

I think the best part for me, has been to reflect back on my childhood, to remember the days of sleepovers and hanging out with my friends. Of doing and saying the goofiest things and then laughing hysterically until I couldn't breathe.....Of staying up pretty much until the sun starts to come out and laughing and playing games. Of sharing secrets that to you are the biggest thing on earth, even though in reality they're not big deal.

Quite frankly, it tugged at my heart, it made me want to go back in time and experience it all again, even if for just one day.

Then it got me thinking, if I did get the chance to do it all again, how would I spend it, with which friends, doing what, eating what, listening to which music?

I guess I could just step back in time virtually, since physically it's just not going to happen LOL

But we would definitely be sitting in the house that I couldn't stand, the one with all the ghosts and weird stuff going on. It would be me and two of my friends, sitting in my bedroom giggling and listening to the radio, which would definitely include these songs:

We built this city - Starship
Crazy for you - Madonna
Take on Me - A-Ha
Don't lose my number - Phil Collins
Smooth Operator - Sade

OR we could be watching some tv....like Gummi Bears, or Growing Pains or maybe even Rags to Riches. Do you remember that show with the young girls living with the dad, and they would sing songs? Ha! I used to absolutely love that show.

One things is for sure though, whatever we may have been doing, we would have had no responsibilities, no worries, no fears. The extent of my problems would have been if the boy I liked, liked me back....or if dinner included anything that I wouldn't want to eat...or, or, the worst thing for me....if my stepmom would make me take that teaspoonful of cod liver oil again. BLECH!

What would YOU be doing if you were 11 again for one day?

Cooking Thursday - September 16

Won't you join me and share with us one of your new recipes, or an old family favorite, you can even throw in a recipe for homemade soaps or detergents (just remember to specify).

For the guidelines, you can go here.

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I apologize for this going up so late, I have a lot going on right now and haven't had a chance to get on here at all, don't even have a recipe to share today.

But please, share your recipes with the rest of us and I promise next week I'll be back with a yummy one.

Faithful by Kim Cash Tate - Book Review

Faithful

Trade Paper

By Kim Cash Tate

Three life-long friends experience life-altering struggles. Will they find the strength to be faithful to the covenants they've made with God...and each other?

Cydney Sanders thought she knew God’s plan for her life. She’d marry, have kids, and then snap her body back into shape with Tae Bo. But she’s celebrating her fortieth birthday as the maid of honor at her little sister's wedding . . . and still single. Why would God give her this desire to marry, but no husband? And why is her life suddenly complicated by the best man—who’s the opposite of what she wants in a husband?

Cydney's best friend Dana has the perfect marriage. But when Dana discovers her husband’s affair, her world goes into a tailspin. And Phyllis is out of hope after six years of unanswered prayers for her husband to find faith. When she runs into an old friend who is the Christian man she longs for, she's faced with an overwhelming choice.

With life falling apart around them, can they trust God like never before?

My thoughts:

Let me start by saying that the minute I received this book, I was captivated by the cover, I just loved it and I couldn't wait to get into the pages and start reading.

I'm a very visual person and usually with books the covers tend to factor into my thoughts about the story overall. But I have had times where the cover didn't do much for me but I enjoyed the story nonetheless.

This one is a winner though, from cover to page after page of amazing writing by Kim Cash Tate, to the wonderful lessons and reminders about God's love.

One of the things I most struggle with, and which I've been extremely vocal about here on my blog, is the acceptance of things as they are, of learning to trust that God knows what is best for me and in what time I should have it. This book again reminds me to accept things as they are instead of fighting it and trying to change it to how I want them to be.

The author touches on extremely important things, such as honoring your vows and opening yourself to the Lord's love.

It's such a good book, it's a good chick lit but also a Christian fiction and the resounding message through it all is Faith. I loved it.

This book was provided for review by Booksneeze! Thank you!

The Calm AFTER the Storm!

I don't think I need to tell you that it's been a pretty stressful and tiring time around this household, I'm honestly just looking for a little break, a little chance to take a breather and get back to normalcy.

I think we're well on our way to that.

First I need to thank you all for the out pour of support, thoughts, advice and prayers that you have showered onto me and my family, it hasn't been unnoticed and truly, I can say that if it weren't for the wonderful family, friends (blogging included), I don't know how I could have made it through all of these ups and downs without curving into a ball and crying my eyes out.

We were up at 4am this morning to make our way to the Hospital for Jasmine's surgery.

To say that I'm dead on my feet right now would be a total understatement, I have visions of my warm soft bed beckoning me to join it and I want to....so badly.

It felt weird driving so early in the morning, the sun barely awake and slowly creeping over the mountains.

Usually, if we're out at this time of the day, it means we're on vacation, heading to a fun place, not to a hospital.

After the usual checking of vitals and answering of a plethora of questions, they had her set up all nice and snug in Pre-Op. The thing that bothered her the most was the IV needle, but thankfully due to a very sweet older nurse, she got it in one try and didn't even bother messing around with her hand, she went straight for the place where she knew she could get it done without causing much pain at all.

Jasmine was thankful and so were we.

She had an amazing team work on her, from the wonderful doctor, to the Ortho from Base who came out to observe, to the sweetest nurses who made her feel so at home, which I'm extremely thankful for, there's nothing worse than having to say bye to mommy and daddy and being wheeled into a room with strangers.

They had told us to expect it to take longer than usual and not freak out, but I tell you, they took her back, we came to the waiting area and 10 minutes later the nurse came out and said "she's done, she's awake, everything's good". LOL

The doctors and the anesthesiologist came out and told us that it went amazingly well, they pretty much put her to sleep, popped her bone back into place in like 2 seconds, put on the cast and she woke up and was talking and laughing with them LOL

The ortho said "I wish all my patients were like her, that was just awesome" LOL

She did NOT get the colored cast as they didn't have that at the hospital, but her Ortho said that she needs to have a follow up appointment on Monday or Tuesday of next week, and when she goes in he will give her whatever color she wants, so she's thrilled she gets it signed twice. HA!

And I think this last pic perfectly expresses it all!

It's been scary, it's been stressful, it's been a whole new experience for us, but it's also bonded us even more than we already were, and for that I'm thankful!

God Bless!

Heading to Surgery

I'm just a mess right now.

So after the whole broken wrist thing, we were told by the ER doctor that it was a clean break, they wouldn't need to straighten it or re-set it, nothing.....to just wait 2 days and then go to the Orthopedist and get the cast put on.

After waiting two days, we got an appointment on base this afternoon and went in to see him, he took one look at the X-Ray and called us into his offce.

Apparently, her outer bone which I think is called the radius, is deviated about 40 to 50%.

How the heck did the ER doctor not notice this????

So anyway, here I am, again reaching out to you all, I feel like I've been doing this a little too much lately, but I would appreciate any and all prayers for her surgery tomorrow.

I'm sure you can tell that this is the first time any of my children have had to have any kind of surgery and I'm a little apprehensive, trying to be strong for her because she's scared, but deep down I'm kind of feeling the same way, just for different reasons.

This mama is not only physically exhausted right now, but quickly becoming emotionally too.

Anyone have a rewind button??? I would like to go back a few weeks and stop certain things from happening. *sigh*

Trees for Troops

I received an email this morning from Brittany that talks about something which is close to my heart......our Troops.

Here is what she said:

After my Dad retired from the Navy, I wanted to find some way to give back to the military community I lived with for so long. So, I recently began volunteering for The Christmas Spirit Foundation. Specifically, I'm helping them create buzz around their Pepsi Refresh Everything application for Trees for Troops.

"Trees for Troops helps to make the holidays a little brighter for military families - especially those who are far away from their families. The gift of real Christmas trees bring a touch of home to those who sacrifice in order to preserve our freedom. The trees serve as a token of love and appreciation... Many tell us that the gift of a tree frees up a few dollars to be used on gifts, a nice holiday meal or gas money to go visit family."

The trees are delivered for free by FedEx, and will be given out to thousands of military families at bases all over the country during the holiday season. The Pepsi funding would allow them to reach an additional 5,000 families this year, but we need more votes!

Voting for the Pepsi funding ends September 30th, but donations will of course be accepted for the rest of the year.



So if you have a minute, won't you please vote, it would mean the world to a soldier and his family.

Happy Homemaker Monday - September 13

The weather in my neck of the woods:
68 degrees right now, it feels SO SO good.


Things that make me happy:
A hot bubble bath


Book I'm reading:
Sookie Stackhouse Series by Charlaine Harries


What's on my TV today:
The Gates - catch up on new episode from last night


On the menu for dinner:
Chicken Stroganoff


On my To Do List:
One more load of laundry
Mop floors


New Recipe I tried or want to try soon:
I'm still wanting to make the Beef and Cheese Empanadas. I keep moving it from one menu to the next to the next but somehow it never quite makes it to the table.

In the craft basket:

Granny Stripe Crochet Blanket.

Looking forward to this week:
Jasmine getting her permanent cast and returning to school, she hates being home and away from her friends. Looking forward to Nicholas feeling better so he can also return to school tomorrow.


Tips and Tricks:
I got absolutely NOTHING today.


My favorite blog post this week:
No blog reading last week, didn't get around to it.


Blog Hopping (a new discovered blog you would like to share with the readers):



No words needed (favorite photo or picture, yours or others you want to share):

Lesson learned the past few days:
Oh boy, so many, but I guess the biggest ones is again, to leave it in the Lord's Hands and to Let go. When you get a call from the school nurse about one of your children, it literally feels like you got punched in the stomach, it's the most helpless, hopeless gut wrenching feeling you can ever experience. I once again had to remember that God was with her when I couldn't be and that He would be with her through it all too.


On my mind:
My beautiful girl, hoping for a swift recovery to her broken wrist.


Devotionals, Scripture Reading, Key Verses:

I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death.

Philippians 3:10

Trip to the ER

As a mother, the worst thing for me is getting a phone call during a school day and seeing the school's name on the ID. My heart always lurches in my chest and I find myself almost out of breath until I get through with that call.

So it happened today, at 12:30pm, the phone rang and it was the nurse, informing me that Jasmine had slipped and fallen at recess and was in a lot of pain, it seemed that she hurt her wrist and she wasn't sure if it was broken.

After picking her up from the school I had to do the usual referral dance with Tricare and the base hospital, so frustrating and another reason this base irritates me to NO end. Our previous base had a fully functional hospital WITH an Emergency Room. This one? We're lucky to even get an appointment on base.

Anyway, we were seen at the West Valley Hospital, thankfully the whole staff was exceptional and we were seen without having to wait too long.

My poor girl was in excruciating pain and hungry because this happened right before lunch, but I tell you, she is SO strong. There were a few tears, mostly because she was supposed to have her best friend over for a sleep over and that had to be postponed.

They took her back for X-Rays and then the doctor came in and told us that she broke her wrist. She actually chipped one of the bones on the base of the hand and broke the two bones in her arm, right at the wrist. Thankfully both breaks were under the growth plate, so there is no need for it to be set or straightened.

She is in a splint for the next 2 to 3 days until the swelling goes down, then she'll be getting a cast for 4-6 weeks.

What a day, it's the phone call you don't want to get and it kicks in that adrenaline like nothing else.

She's ok right now, they have her on pretty strong meds for the pain and I'm sure once she's in her cast, it will be easier.

I just feel like my girl's had a bad start to the school year, if it's not one thing it's another.

Cooking Thursday - September 9

Won't you join me and share with us one of your new recipes, or an old family favorite, you can even throw in a recipe for homemade soaps or detergents (just remember to specify).

For the guidelines, you can go here.

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Zucchini Melts
Adapted from Real Mom Kitchen

2-3 medium zucchini, sliced into 1/2 inch slices
Season salt
Mozzarella cheese

Slice the zucchini into rings and place in a 9x13 glass baking dish, or on a cookie sheet.

Sprinkle the zucchini slices with season salt.

Roast the zucchini in the oven at 350 for 10-15 minutes, or until zucchini becomes crisp/tender. Then, sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.

Return the pan to the oven and broil until the cheese is browned. (my kids don't like the cheese browned, they like it just as it melts, so that's what I do with mine)