One of the things that I have always loved about this house, is the big yards, all the trees, flowers, and birds, you know, the fact that we're surrounded by nature.

When this time of the year comes around, the yards come alive with big splashes of pinks.


I had no clue what they were when I first saw them, I just knew that they were absolutely gorgeous, but that's where trusty google came in and I researched and found out they were Crepe Myrtles. 


There are also tons of flowers popping up all over.  I don't know, it just makes me so happy seeing all the green and different colors abound.  It's really pretty.



Tomorrow I'm going to snip down a few of the flowers to bring inside.  I always pop some in mason jars and put at least one in every room.  I count myself blessed to have such beauty around me and to be living where I want to, and kind of always dreamed of.  Ok minus the farm animals, and the actual farm, but pretty close :)


I'm still pretty shocked at how much I love Texas.  I remember hating it so much the first time I visited and swearing that I would never, ever, live in Texas.  Boy, God must have been laughing at me up there knowing what was coming my way.  Haha


I feel at home.  Truly at home!

I think from all the States I lived in, Texas has felt the most like where I belong, though I miss Arizona.  Again, I knowwwww.  You must be shocked because I couldn't wait to get out of there and was very unhappy at first. 


I've often felt that I've been put in certain situations because I need to learn a lesson, and I don't always realize that at first, so I fight it and I complain and stomp my foot and go on and on about poor me and how I hate where I am.

I don't feel like I give it a real chance because I'm so busy disliking it and finding fault with it.  I've since then learned to just go with the flow, not make any sort of decision about it until I've lived it, experienced it and gave it a real chance.


When Curt first got this job in Texas I started laughing and I remember vividly, sitting across from him and saying "You're kidding me right?  We hate Texas!". 


But I consciously decided NOT to make a big stink about it and to just accept it and go from there.  I got excited for the move, I looked forward to being in a new State and new city and trying new things.

I think that did the trick because the minute I drove into into Texas, I fell in love.  It was almost like I had been holding my breath for years and finally let it out.

I love everything about it now.  I love our house, and the acreage around it.  I love the weather, I love people and the fact that everyone says "Have a blessed day".  And police cars all have "In God We Trust" written on them.

It's really where I want to be and where I feel comfortable.  It's home.  If you were to ask me where home is in America for me, I'll proudly reply "Texas". 

Hello everyone and Happy Tuesday!!!

I spent yesterday working on today's tackle it project to share with you all.

We have a Entry Way closet that tends to get very messy and over crowded pretty quick.  I have to get in there and give it a very good clean every month.  This time it had been about two months since I'd been in there and it was desperately needing attention.

I hadn't had a chance to get to it yet, keep saying I need to do it and then putting it off, so yesterday was THE day.


I started by pulling everything out of the closet, vacuuming and giving it a good cleaning inside.

I then went through everything and got rid of what was trash, what was to be donated and what needed to go back in the closet.

It took me a few hours, but I did get it all done.  I really should have taken a photo of the before, but I completely forgot to.

Here are the after photos, and I feel so much better when a corner of my home is neat and tidy.










And there you have it, the closet it tidy, organized and clean.  It took me a while but the rewards are completely worth the time.

Tomorrow I'm tackling our big hallway closet and will take before and after pics for next week's Tackle it Tuesday.  Did you tackle any projects today?

Hello everyone.

It's after 10pm and I'm sitting on my brother's couch.  I just finished editing today's pictures and am only now getting this post up.  It's been a long day, my word.

So I'm house sitting for tonight, my son didn't want to do it anymore, he is a 14 year old teen who would much rather be in his own bedroom.  As he calls it, his "safe place".   My brother and his family will be back home early tomorrow morning, so it's really the last night we need to house sit and watch their dog.

It's so strange though, I don't mind visiting people, I don't mind going on vacations and staying at hotels etc, but it's never quite the same as being in your own house, is it?  I've been here just 2 hours and I'm so ready to go home to my own bed hahahah

I did bring my book with me, it's one that I am finishing for a review and I'm absolutely loving it.  I love the style, I love the story, I love how the author's writing just flows, but yeah, enough on that, I'll tell you more about it when I review the book.


As I was saying, it was a long busy day for me.  I didn't have to go anywhere, but I did a lot of work around the house, mainly tackling a project that has been needing some attention for about 2 months or so.  It will be featured in tomorrow's Tackle it Tuesday.


While in the middle of that big mess you see above, I had a knock on the door.  It was the postman delivering yet another few packages.  It's been my life the past month, I see the postman every single day, or every other day, with a package or two of books to review.  I love it.


The books that came in today were, The dress in the Window by Sofia Grant and two cookbooks that I'm super excited to review.


Here's a little sneak peek....


I've been trying really hard to up my water intake again, I've been abusing the sodas and I can feel a huge difference.  At my age I shouldn't be abusing the bad stuff anyway.


For dinner tonight we went to Texas Roadhouse to celebrate my husband's new job.  We haven't gone to a good sit down restaurant in a very long time.  It felt good sitting with my husband and kids, talking, laughing, and sharing an amazing dinner.

I ate too much though and am paying for it now.   At one point, right at the end of the meal as we waited for our ticket, I actually thought I was going to be sick.  Never happened to me before, and I hope it never happens again.  That was a bit of a scary moment there lol

I kept looking around to see where the exit was and how I could make it out of the restaurant quickly without embarrassing myself or ruining the meal for others.  That would have been awful.

Well it's 10:35pm and I'm thinking I need to get some sleep as I need to be up bright and early to leave this house, go back to mine and make coffee for my husband before he leaves for work. 

I hope you all have a wonderful, restful night :)

Good morning everyone and Happy Monday!!!

How was your weekend?

I had a pretty good one, but honestly could have used another day of weekend before the new week came at us.  I'm sure I'm not the only one.  



The weather:::
It's cloudy and rainy today, which I'm quite thrilled about as I do love a good rain shower.  Here's a look at the rest of the week:



Right now I am:::
Working on this blog post, also talking to hubby as he gets ready for work.  Today he starts his new job as a federal employee.  No more contracting work, thank goodness.  You can read all about that on my post  Grocery Haul, Cosplay, Blood Work Results and some GREAT news. 


On my reading pile:::
News of the World by Paulette Jiles and The Light in Summer by Mary McNear


Movies or Shows I watched this weekend:::
Last night we all sat down and watched Smurfs 2, and I mean ALL of us, the parents and the two kids.  It never happens, so it was such a nice time, made me miss the old days.  


On my TV:::
General Hospital
The Outsiders (really curious about this show so giving it a go)
ID Discovery Channel


On the menu for this week:::

Monday
Outback for dinner to celebrate hubby's new job  
Tuesday
Slow Cooked Barbecue Ribs, Corn on the Cob, Maple Bacon Baked Beans    
Wednesday
Roasted Chicken Leg Quarters with Potatoes and gravy
Thursday
Chicken and Sausage Ragu, Garlic Bread  
Friday 
Fried Chicken with milk gravy, mashed potatoes   
Saturday
Instant Pot Chicken Casserole, Butter Garlic Spaghetti 
Sunday
Spaghetti, Salad 
 

On my to do list:::
Laundry......One load of whites, Jasmine's comforter
Living rooms....Pick up Marley's toys, Dust, vacuum, carpet clean
Kitchen.....unload and reload dishwasher, sweep and mop
Blog.....Continue on with the blog to book, Order 2008 and continue with 2010


What I am sewing, crocheting, knitting or creating:::
Just started Part 5 of the Atlanticus, even though Part 6 was released today.  I'm not really too worried about being behind or needing to stay on top of it, just going as I can. 




Looking around the house:::
It's a bit of tip right now, I need to give it a good cleaning after the weekend.  It's not dirty, but it's messy in some areas, things just left around from the weekend etc.     


From the camera:::
From the Animania Convention.    



What I'm wearing today:::
Usually I'm still in pjs at this time, but I had to go and pick up my kids early this morning so had to get dressed earlier than usual.  For today I'm wearing some grey sweats with the words Brooklyn down the side of the left leg, and a tank top, plus my slippers of course.   I'll get dressed in something nice later this afternoon before we head to dinner. 
  
One of my simple pleasures:::
Dipping my ham and cheese sandwich into my coffee.  I know some people will turn their noses up at it, but it's something I've been doing since I was a child and absolutely love it.


Inspirational Quote, Bible verse, anything you want to share:::
Simple and poignant

We've been busy working on the yards, not just because they are huge and need a lot of mowing and attention, but also because we are having a barbecue on the Fourth of July and really want to get things ready for that.

Pops of red, white and blue are starting to show up, we put up the flag, a few other smaller flags, got some more mowing done today and I started my Fairy Garden.

A few years ago, the kids made their own fairy gardens in one of our previous homes on base.  Since then I've wanted to have one myself, but the opportunity never really presented itself.

Couple months ago I purchased a few little things to start and then set them aside, and honestly forgot about them for a while.  Life got busy as always and things get forgotten, you know how that goes.


There's something so magical about a Fairy Garden, isn't there?  Do you have one in your garden too?


I am so in love with it already, it has the bare minimum right now, but I'm going to add to it as time goes.  Just a piece here and there, and then grow it, adding other houses, trees, little fairies and so on.

I really can't wait to see it come together :)

I did my usual grocery shopping on Friday morning.  At first I had mentioned sharing the haul and maybe doing a video and so on, but I decided against it, matter of fact I had already made the video and was rendering it when I cancelled it.

Here's the thing, I'm a blogger, I write.  I am not a vlogger, I never will be and I really don't much care for videos or putting myself on camera.  I tried and I have done it a couple times, but it's just not me.  So I really don't want to pursue that.

Anyway, Friday morning I headed to the commissary and did my grocery shopping for the next two weeks.

I will say that I am now quite sure my grocery budget needs to be adjusted and increased, because the past two grocery runs have cost about $300.  Not surprising with the prices of everything going up.

I had a really busy day though, right after the grocery store, I came home and had a quick bite to eat since I was the only one home and had to run back out within the hour.


After lunch and putting all the groceries away, I went to pick up my kids, brought them home and then had to get right to work on finishing up Jasmine's Cosplay Gun.  It was done but not until the last minute, we were still hot gluing pieces and doing paint touch ups.

This morning, Jasmine, Curt and I headed to the Animania Convention.  It was the first time it was being held here in town so we were quite looking forward to seeing how it was.

Jasmine looked absolutely beautiful in her D.Va Cosplay, who is one of the characters from the game Overwatch.

I have tons of pictures, but I'll share my favorites and if you want to see the rest you can just head on over to my Flickr Album.






Did I tell you Jasmine wants to pursue a career in Performing Arts and Theatre?  Yeah, that's what she wants to do and I am quite certain she would do really well :)

We didn't stay for too long and were home around 1:30pm, we were supposed to return but Jasmine's feet were really hurting and she didn't want to go back anymore.  I spent the rest of the afternoon editing photos, doing laundry and basically relaxing after a week of rushing and hours on end making a gun out of foam.

On the topic of blood work, I still don't have my allergy panel results back, I think I'm actually going to call them on Monday morning to find out what is going on with that.  Everything else came back as normal, the urinalysis, and my cholesterol and diabetes, everything is just right so I'm very happy with that.  Cholesterol and Diabetes runs in my family so I've been very blessed to not have either.

And lastly, the big exciting news is about my husband's job.

You know that we moved to Texas so that he could take a job as an Instructor at Sheppard AFB.  But, this job was as a contractor, which means that every year, the contract runs out and is up for auction again.  There's always the worry and fear that another company will win the bid, come in and fire the previous employees and rehire new ones.  The past two years, Curt has worked for 3 different contractors.

We've been blessed in the sense that he was able to get a job, but we also had to deal with him being laid off last year.  All this time, he had been putting in for a GS position on base which would make him a federal employee with benefits and a secure job.

He kept being passed up for others with more experience, or others who had friends in the know and so on.  It was frustrating, it was scary, it was worrisome for us, and we even began wondering if making the move to Texas was a good idea.

Of course as always, it's all about God's timing and not ours.

We found out about 2 weeks ago that one of the GS jobs he applied for, he was chosen for.  I couldn't say anything until now, had to wait until it was all official and so on.  He starts on Monday and we are both beyond thrilled and so happy.  This means a secure future and we can finally start building roots and looking into buying a house in Texas.

So there ya go, that's what has been happening the past two days.

I'm off to bed, cause you know, I'm such a rebel to be staying up until after 9pm on a Saturday.  Be jealous friends, be very jealous :)

Ok, it's been 5 days since I've had proper sleep, I feel a little zombified at this point.  You know when you haven't slept well for a while, and you get to that cranky, yawning every five minutes, nobody must look at you, stage????

I'm there folks.  I actually got irritated with myself earlier because I'm so cranky and irritable that my own voice was getting on my nerves.  Haha

I've mentioned it before, Bella is very old and for the most part she is doing well, but she goes through these phases every month or two, where for 3 or 4 nights she is restless, walks around, whines and cries and keeps us up all night.  This just so happened to the be that week, so I'm struggling to make it during the day, and on top of that I have Jasmine's cosplay weapon to finish for Saturday, was dealing with the sinus and allergy thing, and my usual responsibilities around here.   So yes, just a bit of crazy hectic week for me.



Curt came home from work the other day with more fresh farm eggs for me.  How beautiful are they?  And yes I said beautiful, I always find them to be the most prettiest of brightest yellows. 


I also received my Blog Book for 2007 and again I'm so impressed and happy with the results.  It makes me so happy to see the actual book in my hands.


I've only quickly paged through it.  I was going to read the books, but then I decided that I want to wait until I have all my books, and I can sit down and just start reading from the very beginning.


I worked on my menu plan today.  I am trying to keep to the budget which has been hard to do lately, everything is getting more and more expensive.

My last grocery trip two weeks ago was $320.  I about died right there on the spot, I have NEVER, like NEVER spent that much on groceries for 2 weeks.  Everyone keeps saying to me, that's nothing, my actually still cheap for groceries, and I guess I need to take a second look at my budget and up the food total, but golly, I wasn't expecting that.


I'm not going to go crazy and throw caution to the wind and all that.  I still plan on trying to stay under $300.  Let's see how I do this time around.  I plan on doing a Grocery Haul for you all.  Not sure if I'll do video or just photos, but there will be one tomorrow for sure.


Jasmine's weapon is coming along.  It's giving me headaches, making me question my sanity at times, and wanting to just say forget it.  But I like a challenge and this is definitely in that category. 

I took that photo yesterday, it looks different already today as I've started adding the final pieces and details, but I'll wait until it's complete to show you.


As I was saying though, it has given me a bit of a run for my money and at times I have to stop, step back and go do something else for a bit. 

I've finished Part 4 of the Atlanticus, and I'm really hoping I can finish Part 5 this weekend (need to pick up more yarn though).

So yeah, that's what's been going on around here.  It's almost 9pm and I'm going to go ahead and brush my teeth, take my meds and try really hard to get some good sleep.  :)

Hey everyone, welcome to another Slow Cooking Thursday.  I haven't tried this one yet, but it looks really good.




 

1lb Chicken Breast (cut into bite size pieces)
1lb Smoked Sausage (kielbasa, farmers sausage, garlic sausage, etc)
1lb Shrimp, raw and shells removed (I left tails on for more flavor)
1 Onion, diced
1 Green pepper, diced
1 Hot pepper, (jalapeno, serrano, scotch bonnet, habanero, etc) (optional!!!)
3 ribs Celery, diced
1 can Diced tomatoes (28 oz)
3 tsp Garlic, minced
2 C Chicken broth
1 Tbsp. Cajun spice (or more if you prefer)
1 tsp Thyme
1 tsp Oregano
1 1/3 C Rice (cooked)


1. Combine all ingredients in the slow cooker, except for the shrimp and the rice.
2. Cook on low for 6 – 7 hours, stirring occasionally
3. In last hour of cooking, salt the shrimp lightly, and then add them to the crock pot
4. In the last half hour of cooking, add the rice and stir. Replace cover. You want the rice just to warm through and take on some of the cooking flavors.
5. Serve with crusty bread, and enjoy!