Slow Cooking Thursday

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.


Here is today's recipe...YUM!

Credit for image and recipe goes to Dinners for a Year and Beyond

Carolina Pot Roast with Ginger Snap Gravy

adapted from a recipe inThe 150 Best Slow Cooker Recipes by Judith Finlayson

serves about 6

4 pound eye round roast or rump roast
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large sweet onion, finely chopped (Maui or Vadalia)
3 garlic cloves, chopped
2 tablespoons ginger root, grated
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon pepper
1/3 cup flour
3 cups beef broth, low salt
2 teaspoons beef bouillon
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup ginger snap crumbs
2 tablespoons brown sugar

Wide egg noodles, cooked and drained

Heat oil in a large saute pan over medium high heat. Brown roast on all sides. Transfer to crock pot. Reduce heat to medium and saute onions until softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, ginger, chili powder, nutmeg, beef bouillon, and pepper and cook for about a minute. Sprinkle flour over mixture and cook for another minute. Add beef broth and cook for another minute.

Pour mixture over roast, cover and cook on low for 9 - 10 hours, until meat is tender.

Remove meat and add sour cream and ginger snap crumbs. If the gravy seems to thick, add a little hot water. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve over noodles.

Back to School Blog Tour!

A vivid story of a private grief, a secret painting, and one woman’s search for hope.
Still mourning the loss of her family in a tragic accident, Lillian Diamon finds herself drawn back to the Rose House, a quiet cottage where four years earlier she had poured out her anguish among its fragrant blossoms.
She returns to the rolling hills and lush vineyards of the Sonoma Valley in search of something she can’t quite name. But then Lillian stumbles onto an unexpected discovery: displayed in the La Rosaleda Gallery is a painting that captures every detail of her most private moment of misery, from the sorrow etched across her face to the sandals on her feet.
What kind of artist would dare to intrude on such a personal scene, and how did he happen to witness Lillian’s pain? As the mystery surrounding the portrait becomes entangled with the accident that claimed the lives of her husband and children, Lillian is forced to rethink her assumptions about what really happened that day.
A captivating novel rich with detail, Rose House explores how the brushstrokes of pain can illuminate the true beauty of life.

The future is clearly mapped out for New York socialite Eugenia “Gennie” Cooper, but she secretly longs to slip into the boots of her favorite dime-novel heroine and experience just one adventure before settling down. When the opportunity arises, Gennie jumps at the chance to experience the Wild West, but her plans go awry when she is drawn into the lives of silver baron Daniel Beck and his daughter and finds herself caring for them more than is prudent–especially as she’s supposed to go back to New York and marry another man.

As Gennie adapts to the rough-and-tumble world of 1880s Colorado, she must decide whether her future lies with the enigmatic Daniel Beck or back home with the life planned for her since birth. The question is whether Daniel’s past–and disgruntled miners bent on revenge–will take that choice away from her.

Once a month, the six women of the Sweetgum Knit Lit Society gather to discuss books and share their knitting projects. Inspired by her recently-wedded bliss, group leader Eugenie chooses “Great Love Stories in Literature” as the theme for the year’s reading list–a risky selection for a group whose members span the spectrum of age and relationship status.
As the Knit Lit ladies read and discus classic romances like Romeo and Juliet, Wuthering Heights, and Pride and Prejudice, each member is confronted with her own perception about love. Camille’s unexpected reunion with an old crush forces her to confront conflicting desires. Newly widowed Esther finds her role in Sweetgum changing and is surprised by two unlikely friends. Hannah isn’t sure she’s ready for the trials of first love. Newcomer Maria finds her life turned upside-down by increasing family obligations and a handsome, arrogant lawyer, and Eugenie and Merry are both asked to make sacrifices for their husbands that challenge their principles.
Even in a sleepy, southern town like Sweetgum, Tennessee, love isn’t easy. The Knit Lit ladies learn they can find strength and guidance in the novels they read, the love of their family, their community–and especially in each other

******************************

I'm late posting these reviews and I have yet to finish all 3 books but I'm actually reading them all at the same time and I'm enjoying them immensely.

Here's a little bit more on the wonderful authors:

Author Bios:

Kathleen Y’Barbo is the best-selling, award-winning author of more than thirty novels, novellas, and young adult books, with more than a half-million in print. A graduate of Texas A&M University, she is currently a publicist with Books & Such literary agency.

RITA Award-winning Beth Patillo combines her love of knitting and books in her engaging Sweetgum series. Pattillo served churches in Missouri and Tennessee before founding Faith Leader, a spiritual leadership development program.

Tina Ann Forkner is the author of Ruby Among Us. Originally from Oklahoma, she now lives with her husband and three children in Wyoming, where she serves on the Laramie County Library Foundation’s board of directors.

You can also check out more at Random House.

These are the perfect end of summer reads, those good books that you can't put down but nothing too deep or heavy, just right for a good day sitting at home after dropping the kids off at school and enjoying a cup of coffee.

Happy Homemaker Monday - August 31

<a href="http://familycorner.blogspot.com" title="hhm by jasnicmommy, on Flickr"><img width="150" alt="hhm" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3362/3608789834_4d1bac04e0.jpg" height="150" /></a>

The weather in my neck of the woods:
Still way too hot....it's so irritating in a way, there's no need for this heat LOL


One of my simple pleasures:
Sitting down with my cookbooks and looking through the yummy pictures.


On my bedside table:
3 books to review


On my TV:
General Hospital
Little House on the Prairie Season 4


On the menu for tonight:
Skillet Enchiladas - Recipe will be up on the food blog later


On my To Do List:
Finish off the laundry, fold and put away
Mop the floors
Change the bed linens


New Recipe I tried last week:
None, but this week I have a bunch to try and post for you all.


In the craft basket:
Absolutely nothing.


Looking forward to:
General Hospital LOL I know I'm like a broken record but I'm just loving my soap again. Also looking forward to Jasmine starting band, she's playing the Clarinet and is so excited about it.


Homemaking Tip for this week:
An easy for me to decorate the window sill, is to put up a few glass vases, fill them with water and then add different food colorings to each. It's cheap, it's easy and it looks adorable.


Favorite Blog Post of the week (mine or other):
I'm leaving this one blank, I didn't get around to any blog reading.


Favorite photo from last week:






Lesson learned the past few days:
To persevere, to keep encouraging my son to go to school and to give it his best, to give it his all and to allow himself to enjoy the school year. It's a hard lesson to learn because the minute he turns to me with those big beautiful eyes and says he would rather stay home with me because "I miss you so much when I go to school", my first instinct is to grab him and keep him home. Tough love is just that....TOUGH!


On my Prayer List:
Family and Friends


Devotionals, Scripture Reading, Key Verses:

Show me the right path, O Lord;
point out the road for me to follow.

Psalm 25:4 (New Living Translation)

Slow Cooking Thursday

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.

I have no recipe to share today because.....well......I kinda thought it was Wednesday LOL

Lord I'm really loosing my mind.

Anyway, please add your recipes to Mr Linky, I will definitely share one next week, just as soon as I jot it down on my calendar and add it to my cellphone reminder too LOL

Well hello there....

It's been how long now since I've gotten down to actual posting without relying on a meme? *snicker*

Life has been C.R.A.Z.Y. Crazy and busy and sometimes a little weird but nevertheless, crazy and GOOD. You know it's something when you can look at the chaos around you and smile and still have that "I wouldn't want to be anywhere but here" thought.

So what have you all been up to? Have you forgotten me? Moved or started a new job, maybe had another baby or two while I was gone?

I want so badly to come and catch up with everyone but I doubt I have the time to sit through the hundreds and I mean HUNDREDS of posts that are looming on my Google Reader, just beckoning me, it's like the bad guy in a scary movie standing in the car inviting you to go and join him and you KNOW that if you do you'll never come back *snort*

So let's see what is going on here?

Well, school is well under way and I'm still having some issues with Mr Nicholas, today was a little better but yeah, we're still dealing with the morning "do I have to go to school?" dilemma.

Topping all this off is the fact that everyone around here seems to be sick right now, walking the kids to their classrooms you're surrounded by sniffles and coughs and it breaks my heart but it also makes me wish my kids lived in bubbles made of disinfectant LOL

School just started and yesterday, guess what? I had both kids home with low grade fevers, sore throats, congested noses and a bit of a cough. Today they went back to school, no fevers, but still not feeling that great.

I can't just keep them home if they're not running fevers and I also don't want them to start missing so much school already, not that it even matters, because the school themselves don't want any kids there that are sick. Seems the whole H1N1 Flu is still a big panic over here.

Anyway, let me show you some recent photos of the kids, my family is begging to see some since it seems like forever that I've posted any.

Oh you know what? Funny story, when I went to take the pictures, my camera had a little hiccup. Poor thing hasn't been used in a while either and I guess she forgot what her job was, I told it to take a picture and it just sat there with a blank look on it's LCD, then 5 minutes later it snapped the photo.....AFTER I had pointed it at the ceiling LOL





Last week my little one lost two teeth in one day, he was beside himself with joy, even more so when the Tooth Fairy left him $5 for his second tooth. Really....where was this generous fairy when we were growing up?

Let me think, what else? Oh the school.....the school *she says under her breath*.

There are a few things that are frustrating us so badly, one of them being the fact that the kids have 15 minutes to eat. Yes, from the moment they step into the cafeteria to the time they leave for recess they have 15 MINUTES to eat....without taking into account waiting in line to get their lunches.

A couple of us moms started noticing that our kids were coming home starving and when we do send in cold lunches, they are returned pretty much the way we sent them off, with maybe a bite or two of the sandwich. Kids have all been complaining that they don't have time to eat and that the teachers are constantly yelling at them to hurry up.

Please tell me I'm not the only one thinking this is unacceptable? I mean, honestly, come ON!

I've decided to go sit through one of the kid's lunches and see exactly what is going on and I promise you my children will eat everything they want to and no one is going to yell at them to hurry up.

Anyway, so there you have it, my life in a nutshell.....as you can see I'm still the same old babbling fool, talking way too much and jumping from subject to subject. *snicker*

Well it's time to get on out of here, I have some sick little ones waiting for mommy to slather on the vicks on the feet and backs/chests and then tuck them into bed for the night.

I hope you're all having a wonderful evening, I won't make a promise that I'll around to all the blogs tonight, but I will try to visit as many as I can.

God Bless,

Happy Homemaker Monday - August 24

<a href="http://familycorner.blogspot.com" title="hhm by jasnicmommy, on Flickr"><img width="150" alt="hhm" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3362/3608789834_4d1bac04e0.jpg" height="150" /></a>

The weather in my neck of the woods:
We got some rain this weekend and it felt wonderful, just wish we had more on the way.


One of my simple pleasures:
Taking a super long shower


On my bedside table:
A few books to review
TV control
Nail polish


On my TV:
General Hospital - I'm counting the hours until the show starts. If you're a Jason and Sam fan you will understand why LOL


On the menu for tonight:
Pizzeria Pot Pie


On my To Do List:
Two loads of laundry
Clean bathrooms


New Recipe I tried last week:
Haven't tried any new ones in a long time, I've hit a bit of a blah phase and have been relying on old family favorites.


In the craft basket:
Absolutely nothing.


Looking forward to:
Driving my Durango again, it's finally fixed and up and running and I'm all giddy about it LOL


Homemaking Tip for this week:
Trying to get rid of the weeds growing the cracks of your sidewalk or driveway? Pour some straight vinegar on them.


Favorite Blog Post of the week (mine or other):
I'm leaving this one blank, I didn't get around to any blog reading.


Favorite photo from last week:




Lesson learned the past few days:
Just when you think your kids are enjoying school, they turn around and show you otherwise. Nicholas loved kindergarten last year and is hating first grade this year, it's been a nightmare every morning to get him to school. I've learned that I have a lot more patience than I thought I did.


On my Prayer List:
Family and Friends


Devotionals, Scripture Reading, Key Verses:
If you are really eager to give, it isn’t important how much you are able to give. God wants you to give what you have, not what you don’t have.
2 Corinthians 8:12

Short Hiatus!

Gonna take a tiny, teeny little short hiatus from the blog.....I mean nothing big, just until next week Monday.

There won't be a Slow Cooking Thursday post up tomorrow either, last week there were only 5 links added and only 7 comments, so I figure no one will miss it for just one week.

I will be back in a few days with a new blog look and things to talk about.

God Bless,

Happy Homemaker Monday

<a href="http://familycorner.blogspot.com" title="hhm by jasnicmommy, on Flickr"><img width="150" alt="hhm" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3362/3608789834_4d1bac04e0.jpg" height="150" /></a>

The weather in my neck of the woods:
Sunny and beautiful, I love this time of the morning, it's not too hot yet.


One of my simple pleasures:
Sitting in front of the tv on Sunday nights watching True Blood LOL


On my bedside table:
A few books to review
TV control
Nail polish


On my TV:
General Hospital - Seriously, you will have to excuse me for the next two or three weeks because I'll be glued to the screen watching my couple reunite. I know that sounds so corny but whatever *snort*
Little House on the Prairie Season 4


On the menu for tonight:
The next two week menu is all about family favorites and tonight is one of my husband's, special dinner since he's returning home. Creamy Oven Chicken.


On my To Do List:
Clean the house
Finish the laundry


New Recipe I tried last week:
Nothing new, I'm slacking on my food blog but don't worry, I have some new things to put up.


In the craft basket:
No crafting lately, I actually miss it and need to get back into it.


Looking forward to:
My wonderful husband returning home and getting that first hug as he walks through the door.


Homemaking Tip for this week:
Wash dishes as you cook or at least rinse them and throw them in the dishwasher, it helps cutting out on the piles of dishes afterwards.


Favorite Blog Post of the week (mine or other):
There were quite a few I found today and now I can't think of one LOL


Favorite photo from last week:

My sleeping babes :)




Lesson learned the past few days:
That even if you don't think you do.....you DO take your husband for granted and that realization hits you hard once they step out the door for a while.


On my Prayer List:
Family and Friends


Devotionals, Scripture Reading, Key Verses:

Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

Galatians 6:7-9

Book Giveaway Winners!

Thank you to all who participated in the giveaway.

I've used Random.org to select two winners.

1st place winner for "The Friends We Keep" is #9 Melissa at Frugal Creativity.

2nd place winner for "How to Build a Lasting Marriage" is Jenn at A Country Girl's Rambling.

Congratulations to both, please email me at bourlandcs {at} msn {dot} com, with your addresses so I can ship this out as soon as possible.

It's so hard at times......

I'm a proud Air Force wife, extremely proud of my husband and the rest of the soldiers and for the most part this is a life I wouldn't trade for anything in the world.....except for the little part when you get to say goodbye to your husband as they leave on a deployment or TDY.

Every military wife knows that it doesn't matter whether they're leaving for a day, a week, a month or a year, the pain is the same and the kids don't understand what is happening, and how do you comfort them when you're wanting to cry yourself?

Luckily my husband is only gone for this weekend but the pain is just the same as when he leaves for months on end, because the heart knows no time, the heart only knows what it's missing.

Curt is in Chicago as we speak and he'll be back Monday afternoon, not that long, if only I could convince my heart otherwise.

The fact is that he walks out the door and we're lost, we're incomplete, we're left missing him and hoping that time flies until we see him walk in the door again.

I think for most military wives, the sight of his back turned away from you and walking away is what burns in our minds, you always wish you had hugged him a little tigher, told him you loved him one more time, kissed him that much longer. It's hard.

The nights are the worst, when you get into bed and he's not there.

I'm the kind of woman that can't really sleep or relax without my husband around.....he needs to be there, at least in the house somewhere, even if he's in the next room watching tv, that's when I feel the safest. Needless to say last night was spent tossing and turning, but I did get a very sweet "Good Morning" text at 5am. Had it been anyone else I would have been irritated for it being so early *snicker*

So it's me and the kiddos for now, just going through the motions.

Jasmine misses her daddy but being older she understands a bit more, Nicholas on the other hand is 6 years old, he's still my baby and he still doesn't get what is going on. He went to school crying yesterday and he went to bed miserable again, all he talks about is his daddy and where daddy is and what daddy is doing. But you know what, they're tough little cookies, I think all military children are!

Anyway, I'm sorry for venting, I think I'm going to go blog hopping and visit some of my favorites, I'm falling behind again in my reading AND posting. I've been awful at it lately haven't I?

Well I'm off to go spend some time with my kids. Hope you're having a good weekend and if your hubby is nearby, be sure to give them a big hug and thank the Lord that you can.