A Little Late but Nonetheless

I am a little late for the Bloggy Carnival, but nonetheless I have an excellent and beautiful prize for you. I have been perfecting my jewelry making skills and am considering even selling some on etsy. . .only if I have a lot of positive reinforcement and encouragement! :) Please feel free to tell me if you think that I ought to stick with my day job. You know. . .talking on the phone and sweeping. :)

So here she blows. What I want you to do is very simple. . .tell me what outfit you will wear with your new jewelry.
These are two pics of the same jewelry. I have had a lot of positive feedback on my jewelry and I hope that you love it as well. So comment away on your cute outfits.

This set has several different colors and bead shapes. Both pieces are primarily made up of sea blue glass beads, silver rondelles and faux white pearls with a heart shaped clasp. The earrings have a tad bit of antiqued silver and are on lever back earring wires. Both the earrings and bracelet will come in the mail to you next week. They would make a great gift for someone or a fun new accessory for you! Hope you win!!

For more great give-aways and I mean a lot more. . .visit Chiliheads Bloggy Give-aways asap!!

Also, I have updated my blog with more details on an etsy shop. . .please read this post if you are interested in the future of my creations.

Love Always,

Planting Fun

What is that growing on my pool trellis? (Please ignore the garden that has not been weeded!) GREEN BEANS! If you need something fruitful to grow like a vine. . .plant some green beans. The fun thing is that when we are swimming and we get hungry . . .there you go, a fun snack! :)This was a fun project from something I saw last summer on a farm. I made the little table from a broken fountain. I made a really bad mosaic on the top. Two chairs with flowers growing from the little mesh containers. A broken gate with a fun sign hanging. I bought the little pails at Wal Mart and planted the sweet potato vine which grows like crazy here in Arkansas.
This was my really really fun project. I guess you can figure it out. . .but this is what you do. You get a big planter and turn in upside down. Get a large round bowl and put a smaller clay planter and turn it upside down in the larger round bowl. Fill the round bowl with potting soil, flowers and greenery. Put a clay dish on top and fill it with candles or use it as a bird bath. I saw this in several magazines and I just had to make it.

Menu Plan Monday- July 28th

Day One - I have all of the ingredients for this Crockpot Thai Chicken that organizing junkie made- I made this earlier in the year and I really liked it. . . my kids were not too fond but they ate it! So there you have it.
Day Two - I have a lot of potatoes that need to be eaten so we will have Cheesiest Potato Soup; It is kind of hot for this but it's all for the sake of the budget :)
Day Three - French Toast and bacon
Day Four - Chicken Caesar Salad
Day Five - Carbin' Up with Spaghetti and French Bread for my race
Day Six - My Four Mile Classic Run- pray for me because I have shin splints and I have worked so hard to this point; pray that they will not prohibit me from doing my best; I love this recipe idea that I got off of Three Ladies and a Dad blog; grilled Sweet and Sour Chicken Packets; I will make some rice to go on the side
Day Seven - We usually have leftovers or cheese quesadillas or some kind of taco salad; I have not been buying hamburger meat lately because it is too expensive and kind of on the do not eat list! :(

Looks like it is going to be a great food week! :) I made this awesome banana walnut loaf earlier in the week as well. I made it in my Pampered Chef Four Mini Loaf Pan and we have had a loaf a day. I love it.

Banana Walnut Bread
2 cups sifted flour
1 tsp soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup margarine
3/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
3-4 mashed bananas

Measure and sift together flour, soda and salt. Set aside. Cream margarine and add sugar. Cream this. Add eggs and vanilla. Add bananas. Fold in dry ingredients. Place in well greased loaf pan. Bake 325 for 55 - 60 minutes (less if you use mini loaf pan). Test with toothpick.

Enjoy and have a great menu planned week!

Lucky Duck!

Leslie. . .you are the winner!!! See, it pays to post! :) Your earrings will be sent this week. I think you will really like the turquoise earrings with the sterling silver wrap so I will send those to you. I hope you enjoy them. They have a money back guarantee :) Thanks for everyone's comments and there will be lots more opportunities to win in the near future.

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

8 

Timestamp: 2008-07-26 02:59:16 UTC

The Construction Zone

This is our new guest bedroom. I hope our guests enjoy the breeze.

This is where I see Prince Charming most of the time. We have had a lot of "dates" there lately too. Lucky me!

The other day, Prince Charming walked in looking like the pic above and 8 year old Hansel told him that he needed to be swiffered! :)

More construction zone pics to come.

The Essential Summertime Gear

What works for me? Country time Lemonade and that cooler!!! I know it seems so ridiculous to put a cooler on Works for Me Wednesday, but it really has been something we use everyday around here. I'm not sure where you live, but where I live it is HOT! We are in the midst of a construction project, going to the swimming pool, entertaining guests, and don't forget the lemonade stand.

The reason I love these coolers so much is that I can carry them - unlike the 4 gallon version of these. These coolers hold 2 gallons. You can find them at Wally World for just under $10. My little Gretel can top these off with Country Time and fill them with water and we are out the door to whatever event the day might hold. We fill them up for dad when he is working on the roof as well. They have been used daily by my family!

Another hot (no pun intended) tip: One thing we have done in the past is use them for hot water too. They are insulators and so we fill them up with hot water and take hot chocolate powder with us to make hot chocolate when we are out and about. I'm telling you, every mom should have at least one!!! :)

Please don't forget to check out my Christmas in July post for a give-away thanks to my new hobby. Have a great Works for Me Wednesday day!!

Christmas in July

While I sit around and eat bon bons between work, kids, church duties, etc I do not have a ton of spare time, but there are pockets of my day where I have a desire to create something. . .anything!! A couple of my friends are really into making jewelry and apparently gave me some sort of virus. As you know some viruses are contagious so you better watch out.

If you are really nice and leave me a message in the form of a comment about how much you love my new hobby, Christmas might come a little bit early for you. I have several friends and family members who have some sort of "comment phobia" who I would really like to see show me a little comment love here. You know who you are!!! Friends and family are eligible for the give-away.

For my regular commenter's, thank you so much and I would really like to do a Christmas in July give-away. I will send a cute pair of earrings to a commenter and the comments will close on Friday, July 25th. Please tell me in your comments what your favorite hobby is!! Have a great day and Merry Christmas!

Menu Plan Monday - July 21st

For my poor Prince Charming's sake, I am trying to change the way I lay out my menu . He gets really upset when he sees that we are having pork chops on Monday and then we do not have them until Wednesday. Sometimes I just get busy and have to do a different meal on a different night. That is just the way it works, but for now I am going to try to change it to just a general plan of our meals. We WILL eat all of these things, it just may be in a different order. Do you hear that PC? :)

I reserve the right to change the meal plan.

Day One - Sloppy Joes and french fries because we still have them from last week due to the leftover night we had on Friday.
Day Two - Chicken on Sale at El Kroger this week. Yay!

Crunchy Baked Chicken

Defrost 2 pounds of chicken breasts - can be the tenderloins or full breasts
Dredge chicken in butter that is mixed with on package Good Seasons Italian Dressing Mix - found with packaged ranch dressing mix
Dredge and coat in Pepperidge Farm Stuffing Mix that has been crushed in a ziploc bag
Bake chicken, covered at 350 degrees for about 30-45 minutes - depending on size of chicken
Take the aluminum foil off for about 5 - 10 minutes before taking out of the oven.
This is flavorful, yummy chicken. You will love it and it can be cut up for chicken nuggets for your kids as well. It tastes amazing on the top of a salad too.

Serve with hot buttered noodles, salad or green beans and bread. OOOH La La!

Day Three - Ham that I bought on sale last week and potato salad. . .this is my all time favorite meal by far!!!
Day Four - Greek Pasta Salad and hot buttered bread - I had a version of this pasta salad last week to celebrate the end of my Vertically Inclined Bible Study and I keep thinking about it - very yummy and summery
Day Five - Ham Sandwiches or ham and cheese omelets. . whichever I am in the mood for
Day Six - busy day with a wedding to attend as well as a birthday party; probably no dinner will be cooked
Day Seven - same ole, same ole Incredible Taco Salad Madness!!!

Recipe for a Fun Night

Tonight my family and I ate leftovers, watched the Alvin and the Chipmunks Movie and ate scrumptious peanut butter honey popcorn.

I got the recipe for the popcorn from my mother-in-law. They have been making it for years and I always ate this at their house when I was dating my husband. Must be nostalgic feelings I have for the popcorn. My son and I both have a special love for peanut butter. Unfortunately, he will probably die from heart disease with all of the butter popcorn he had last year during home schooling. Every day at 10:30 he would make a bag. Now his sister is so excited about home schooling next year because she will have popcorn at 10:30. Hey, whatever motivates them!! :)

I wanted to share the popcorn recipe with you because it is easy, yummy and fun for family nights like ours.

1/2 cup of popcorn kernels - air popped (maybe two bags of microwave popcorn)

Melt 1/2 cup honey and 1/2 cup of sugar in a pot until it comes to a rolling boil. Add 1/2 cup of peanut butter and 1 tsp. vanilla to the pot. Pour over popped popcorn and toss it until it is coated all over. It's that simple. It is really, really good.

Let me know if you try and love it like we do!!

As for the movie, it was pretty good. It was not a deep movie like The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe or anything, but it had a fun, sweet feel. I think the worst word was sucks and it was only once. There were some crudish humor, but nothing my kids have not seen or heard or said for that matter. It was fun for my kids to get excited about the funny parts because they had already seen it. They kept saying, "you are going to crack up at this part."

Hope you have a great weekend!

Favorite Product These Days

My family is not much on ironing. They do not mind leaving the house with a plethora of wrinkles. I like to iron my clothes, but I am not one to sit and iron all of our clothes on a Sunday afternoon. I was talking with a friend and she mentioned Downy Wrinkle Reducer. Sounds like an infomercial, huh? Well, I ran to Wally World the first chance I had and picked some up. My family is hooked. My friend who told me about it . . . I bow down to her when I see her. It has changed our little wrinkled lives!!

Funny story: On Monday, my Prince Charming was frantically looking for the Downy because he had a ball game and he wanted his shirt to look pristine. The wrinkle releaser definitely helps when you have lettering that you cannot iron over. Anyway, I let him know it was on the table.

He was kind of in a silly mood and he started telling the kids to look at his wrinkles disappear magically. He would squirt then say voila. . .no more wrinkles. He was squirting up a storm and the kids were laughing along with him. I was kind of ignoring his silliness until I looked up and squealed, "You are using 409 on your shirt!!" He picked up the wrong bottle and his shirt was drenched with 409. We laughed and laughed until we could not laugh anymore. So the moral of the story is pick up the right bottle!!! :)

Many thanks to Prince Charming for letting me share your funny story. I love you.

Menu Plan Monday

Monday - Guys Ballgame, duty calls. . .gotta wear my cheer leading outfit; Creamy Tacos (recipe below) and home made garden salsa

Creamy Tacos
1 lb hamburger meat
1 can chili w/o beans
2 cans hot chili beans
1/2 can rotel
1 lb velveeta
1/2 pt. whipping cream
Doritoes
salad and Italian dressing

Brown hamburger meat in large pot. Drain. Add chili, beans and rotel. in a separate pan or microwave melt velveeta, mix in whipping cream until smooth and creamy. Add to meat mixture. Put doritoes on each plate. Pour some cheesy meat mixture over it and top with salad that is already mixed with dressing.

This makes a lot, but you can freeze it in smaller sections if you need to.

Tuesday - Crash, hot potatoes, teriyaki chicken legs;
Wednesday - Garden Veggie Night; fried green tomatoes, salad, squash (from a friend's garden), tomatoes with basil and olive oil. . .perhaps a little feta on top = yum :)
Thursday - Sloppy Joes, french fries
Friday - Chicken Quesadillas, rice and Mexican Layer Dip
Saturday - Marinated Grilled Chicken Breasts, Ranch Potato Salad,
Sunday - Homemade Pizza - we buy Sam's Club crusts and top with veggies and cheese = yum!

Last week, I was running low on ingredients and I made Zucchini Alfredo from and it was pretty good. My kids do not like zucchini but they ate about half of it. My husband and I enjoyed it though.

Also, for our Church Ladies Night I made "Bowl of Yum" again (recipe below) and I cannot tell you how good it is. I need to take a picture next time for you.

In a trifle,
1st layer - crumble up brownie with walnuts (the walnuts really make it good) (see note on Sam’s Club brownies, but add walnuts)
2nd layer – prepared chocolate pudding (large box of instant)
3rd layer – Cool Whip (1 8 oz. carton)
4th layer – Heath bar (1/2 to 3/4 bag)
5th layer – Cool Whip (another ¼ to ½ the container)
6th and final top layer – Heath bar (1/4 bag)

Have a great week! Remember, always cook with love (recipe for Chicken Parmesan and explanation!

Hired Out Spirituality

This post should be called The Lord, the Weed eater and the Milk to follow this post because I really heard the Lord speaking to me this morning while I was weed eating the yard. As I was doing my usual delightful yard work I was thinking of the things that I would hire out for if I could. I really do enjoy mowing the front lawn and weed eating feels like a fresh haircut or when I get my eyebrows waxed by my stylist. You just get this renewed feeling where everything feels as it should be.

I wish that I got that same sense when I swept the floor or dusted the furniture. Yes, I do like it clean I just don't want to be the one who has to do it. I like it when the closets are organized I just don't want to make the effort to do it.

I know this is a stretch for the imagination, but we cannot hire out for our spirituality either. Yes, there are lots of things you could pay someone to do, but we cannot hire out going to church to fellowship with our Christian brothers and sisters. We cannot hire someone to read our Bible to find out what pleases the Lord. Yes, sometimes when I am in a slump I would like to hire someone to go to church in my body to take notes for me, but this is not what the Lord wants from me. We each are responsible for our walk with the Lord and we each will be called to account for our life, whether close to Jesus or not. So we may can hire out for those dishes or that yard work, but we cannot hire out for our relationship with Jesus.

So what is the point of this post: to challenge myself to look at my walk with the Lord and to ask where I need that eyebrow waxing, weed eaten refreshment. . . that renewed feeling of everything is as it should be. Where are the areas that I would rather hire out with my Lord? Those are the areas that the Lord wants us to grow in. The result is not a read Bible or to be able to complete Bible drill. . .the result is a peace that surpasses all understanding. It is a knowledge of the Lord and His will for our life. The result is a love relationship with the Lord because you know that He loves you and is in control of your life.

Ok, I am finished preaching. I hope that this word encouraged you as it did me. Ok, now back to dusting, sweeping and doing the laundry. :)

I have so much to tell you!

It has been difficult for me to write lately because so much is going on. I have sat down at my computer I don't know how many times, to post and cannot express my thoughts. It is not so much that my thoughts are so incredible but I just think I don't have a lot of extra words. I know that seems odd, doesn't it. . . especially to those who know me personally.

Ok for starters, if you follow this blog at all we are adding on to our house. I cannot tell you how many blog posts that I have come up with when I am on the roof shingling. Including the title, "Look, I have shingles." I know, ridiculous. Another thing that I have pondered up there is what to do with my poor kids who are below biding their time on the computer. I felt so guilty last night when my kids came out at 9:00 pm and said that they were so hungry and I discovered when I came in they had gotten into the French bread and were eating off the ends like cats. My only thought is that I am literally "putting a roof over their heads" and until the house is "in the dry" I have to work.

The other great thing that is going on is I am doing a great Bible Study called Vertically Inclined by Mary Kassian as well as reading a book called The Shack. The Shack is a very controversial book and one that I have agreed with so far until the end where he talks about the church. If you could just pull out the last pages it is a good fiction, thinker! My Bible Study is just great. The gals are great who I am completing it with and the daily work is very enlightening.

On another and final note, I am having major Naughty Lobby withdrawal as my sweet Prince Charming lovingly calls it. I am into jewelry making and I need beads in a bad way. I have tried several websites and maybe I just have some kind of tactile deficiency, but I really need to feel as well as see the beads that I am buying. Maybe it's just the smell of Hobby Lobby that I need. I don't know, but I may have to head that whopping 75 mile direction soon.

Well, there I got the post out of my system. Maybe, just maybe there will be some fun little pics with me soon "with shingles." :)

Fruit Salsa

Today's Work for Me Wednesday post was very easy for me to come up with because I heart cooking simple, easy dips!!!

Fruit Salsa
1 tub frozen strawberries
2 kiwi - peeled
1 can crushed pineapple

Throw it in the blender until it is salsaish consistency and voila you have fruit salsa.

What do you eat with this, you ask? That is the really yummy part. Cinnamon Sugar Tortilla Strips. You have to make them though, but I promise it is worth it.

Cut a package of flour tortillas in triangles using your pizza cutter. Put them on a baking sheet with some canola oil sprayed on your pan as well as the tops of your tortilla strips. Sprinkle the tops with cinnamon sugar and place them into the oven at 350 degrees and wait until their crispy. . .not burnt (speaking from experience here). They are easy to burn. Let them cool a tad bit and eat them all up!! I have served this for my friends as well as my kids and we all love it equally!

Check out my Menu Plan Monday Links on the side for more tasty recipes. Also, don't forget to get back to Rocks in My Dryer for more great, easy recipes in 5 ingredients or less. Have a great day!

It Really Does Work. . .the Good Job Jar

A few months ago we were struggling with how to keep our kids motivated and to get tasks done around the house without having to nag them. Well, we have been trying out the Good Job Jar since February and it really, really works. The kids have had a regular "income" streaming in and it has incredibly motivated them to do all sorts of things, including having a good attitude. On Monday, I gave Hansel a list and he got three pennies (which equates to .30 cents) for each thing that he did.

• Read a book (don't normally pay them for reading. . .it just happened this once . . .I promise!)
• empty dishwasher
• 5 minute clean up on room
• empty all the trash in the house and take it out

There is a note at the bottom of the list that says whining = losing a penny

It works, seriously. . . I don't like to nag and this really helps with nagging. I give my six year old equivalent chores as well and it works for her too. I hope this works for you. My kids have decorated their jars different ways at different points and this is a great way for them to take ownership and control over their jar.

Let me know if you try it and if it works for you. Make sure to check out Shannon at Rocks in My Dryer for more amazing tips and tricks for your family. Have a great day.

Menu Plan Monday

I am so thankful for the post that lures me in each week and forces me to concentrate on planning. What would I do without a post on what we are going to have for dinner each week? I would starve or wander around aimlessly asking "what's for dinner?"!!! We would starve!

Monday - chicken legs that are calling me from the fridge; they are not pretty legs, but they are defrosted and have to be cooked

Tuesday - Sorry, mi familia. . .more bratwurst. I got a great deal at Kroger the other day so we are going to have it till the cows come home. Add some French Fries and voila. . . a meal and a deal.

Wednesday - Crunchy Baked Chicken, (the only difference in the chicken I cook and this is that I use Good Seasons Italian Dressing Mix instead of Ranch), the only thing I know is I am going to try these crash, hot potatoes because she did such a fabulous job describing them. . .oh my word, crescent rolls, green beans or salad

Thursday - spaghetti = boring but my hubs does not care and my Hansel LOVES spaghetti so there you go . . .now it = winner!

Friday - Tuesday - in Branson family reunioning!!

This week I made blackberry cobbler with fresh blackberries from the Farmer's Market. This recipe closely resembled mine except I patted out little cobbles on the top instead of fancy lattice.

As always, you can click on my link on the sidebar for weeks and weeks worth of menus. I love simple, fast and semi-healthy cooking. :)

The Lord and the Mower and the Milk

Most college students keep themselves pretty busy and I was no exception. Momhood redefines busy, but nevertheless I was busy in a college student sort of way. Most of the quiet time I had was in the shower. For most of my college journey I had a roommate and then I got married and the quietness was different, but mainly my alone time was in the shower. I heard the Lord speak to me many times while I was in the shower. One time I was told to break up with my boyfriend and other times He just led me to pray more or to get rid of other things He saw in my life.

Well, now my life is different. . .busy as most everyones and now the Lord has to pretty much shout to talk with me over the lawn mower. Yes, the showers are shorter and not much time to socialize there with the Lord. Now He speaks to me while I mow my 3/4 of an acre. Almost every time I go out to mow I hear the Lord tell me something pretty significant (for me).

Now I am about to tell you something that I do not like to admit. . .actually several things. One is that my kids do not drink milk, we have not taken supplements and we do not drink soy milk. I have tried many different things and for one reason or another we have not stuck to any one solution to not drinking milk. Obviously, my kids do eat cheese, yogurt as well as ice cream. . .anything but just a glass of white milk.

I started trying to get to the bottom of this while mowing the lawn tonight. I believe the main reason my kids do not drink milk is because I do not drink milk. I just simply do not like it. My son had a lactose intolerance of some sort when he was little and has pretty much outgrown it, but he still does not like milk. My daughter just does not like the taste. I really think a lot of it has to do with me and how I have perceived it and presented or have not presented it to my family.

Then I began thinking about how many other things besides milk I have done this with. What other things have I not given to my kids because I don't like it. . .other than food. Have I memorized Scripture with my kids. . .no because I don't do that. No, this is not a guilt ridden message. . .it is a wake up call to think of things that I have a bad attitude or a funky taste in my mouth about so that I can be proactive to teach my kids differently. I want to find the things like milk that I do not like or things that I do not regularly offer to my kids and teach them that those things are ok and actually good for you.

So what things do I need to teach my kids that I do not do? First of all, I cannot expect them to do things that I do not do. . .so modeling should be my goal.

• to drink milk. . .I think I might buy us some chocolate milk this week at the grocery store. . .that's better than nothing, right? I might even have a glass or two with them. I am going to make milk my reminder that I am exposing my kids to more things that are good for you and that they need to learn to like
  
• to stop complaining about things and be more positive. . .I want Gretel to especially learn this
• I posted about this last week, but to take time to relax and have fun. They are not going to have fun with their kids if I do not take the time to have fun with them now.

This is all I have in me right now. So tell me, what are the things that you need to teach your kids? What do you need to model to get them to be excited? What do you struggle with making yourself do as a mom that you need to teach your kids?

Work, Work, Work and Yes More Work!

This is what I came home to after my trip to Florida. This is where the carport once stood and no, the cinder blocks did not clean themselves up.
One of the next steps after cutting down the trees and cleaning up the mess from the not-so- happy carport area was to dig out the area where the footings (concrete slab that supports the foundation) were going to be.
These are my two tools that I used to tie the rebar in the below picture down so that our house would not crack. The gatorade was just a perk.Below is my friend, "Rebar. Say hi, Rebar." Each corner where the two pieces of rebar meet had to be tied with a wire "bread tie." The tool above made it go quicker.
This is the crew that helped us. The one in her gymnastics outfit is really helpful. This is one of the two concrete trucks that have been hanging out at my house. The first one poured the concrete for the footings. The other poured the concrete for the garage floor.This is a picture of the supervisor overseeing the laborer. "I think he is a little off. I am not happy with his performance."This is most everything framed in. Since this picture, I have a garage door frame and a closet for the garage which is the wall farthest away in this pic .
Earlier in the year my husband and I took some time to rejuvenate ourselves and our marriage. Now the thing is, I imagine that when most couples get together they start reflecting on how busy their lives are and how they can take it easier. . .how to make their lives less chaotic. My Prince Charming and I are a little different . . .when we get together we start making plans to stir up things. . . to shake things up a little!!

I really don't know how we started talking about it other than our carport needed to be torn down because it was rotting. Most of you know my sob story. We apparently bought it when it was rotten. . . smart move, huh? :) Anyway, it needed a little TLC. We had to do something so we decided to do a big something!! We decided to add on to our home. We love our home but we wanted to get a little more space.

Even as I type, I wrestle with the want/need side of things. I think of our church going to make "sheds/houses" for the people in Guatemala in which they were sooo thankful. Anyway, that will have to be another blog post. Obviously by our American standards we needed more space.

My closet is really squishy and I don't like my clothes squished. Also, I have posted before how I do not like my washed and dryer in our main bathroom. It bothered me. Every time I tried to relax in the tub I was haunted by the washer and dryer. They were crying out "feed me, feed me." So I am getting a master bathroom that just cries out, "clean me, clean me." :)

We are creating 600 square feet of living space and a two car garage. Most of the framing is finished now and we are waiting on trusses. Yes, we are doing most of the work ourselves. . .ie Prince Charming is sweating through about 2 loads of laundry a day!!! YUK! But it is cheaper than hiring out. We do have some incredible friends to pay tribute to though.

Rusty - special thanks for cutting down the trees and not letting the three trees fall on my house
Stan - part of the Arkansas Chainsaw Massacre
Ken- part of the Arkansas Chainsaw Massacre
Brent- part of the Arkansas Chainsaw Massacre
Caleb P.- helped with laying electrical line and covering up the hole, poured concrete and helped smooth it for the footings
Roy - FRAMING EXTRAORDINAIRE - he helped Prince Charming finish the footings, floor the house and frame the first two major walls. They began work as soon as they got up and worked until it was so dark they couldn't work anymore
Mikki aka GB - helped raise the walls and move about 500 cinder blocks to the correct area!! and did countless hours of jaw aerobics with me while they were visiting; it was awesome!
Marvin - our neighbor; helped lay the foundation with cinder blocks and concrete; gave Prince a good start to understand how to do it
Glenna - our neighbor; she saw us in a bind when we were raising one of the garage walls and came to help hold it up while we got ourselves together. . .not a fun experience
Tim - lots of phone consultation for Prince Charming and some very nifty tools

Prince Charming, you are amazing. Can we have a talk about this time next year on how to make our lives less chaotic?!! :) I have loved all of this experience and it is a really neat family project. Who needs Home Depot's once a month family building projects. You can get a family building project every day of the week here!! More updates to come soon. Gotta work!!

I Have a Condition

Do you struggle with loss of concentration at work, shaky hands, watery eyes and irritable chore syndrome? If so, then you may have a serious condition called jewelrymakingcrazynessitis. I am going to have to go to Jewelry Making AA.!!! It is so addictive.

Last weekend we had a ladies' night at church where we all went to dinner and followed it up with some jewelry making. A friend showed me how to make earrings and lets just say that I will not be needing any new ones anytime soon. Since Friday . . . today being Monday I have six new pairs of earrings and five new bracelets. My birthday is in September and I already bought my birthday present at what Prince Charming now calls "Naughty Lobby" aka Hobby Lobby.

It is so fun and I cannot wait to wear all of my new accessories. . .not at the same time of course . . .but it is tempting.

Menu Plan Monday

Wow. . .here we go, Monday again!!! I had a great weekend and I have a recipe to show you that I made for my sweet hubby. He has been asking for one of his favorite soups and Father's Day was the perfect time because of all of the fresh produce available.

Sunday - Father's Day Gazpacho! He had three bowls of this before I went to bed so I know he liked it. I used a combination of real and canned diced tomatoes. I did not have beef broth so I substituted chicken bullion. We had fresh basil as well as some green bell peppers from the garden which makes cooking exciting!! Also, I added spicy V-8 instead of tomato juice. My kids even ate this with tortilla chips like it was salsa. It is really good for you too. . .please don't tell them! :)

Monday - Gretel's last t-ball game; frozen bag ravioli (don't worry. . .I am going to cook it! :)), green beans and texas toast

Tuesday - running clinic; preparing for the Four Mile Classic-note to self: do not eat salsa before you run at night; Cabbage (slice it. . butter and salt and pepper it, wrap it in aluminum foil and put it on the grill) and Bratwurst on the grill. . .I may eat when I come back! :)

Wednesday - We have been invited t o a Family Birthday Party so I am off the hook for cooking. . .Hip Hip Hooray for Birthdays

Thursday - BBQ chicken drumsticks and thighs, fried okra, fried green tomatoes and biscuits. . .did I tell you that I was born in Georgia. . . bless your little pea pickin' heart! :)

Friday - chicken caesar salad; We had this salad last week too and it is really really good; I cannot wait to have it again!

Saturday - breakfast for dinner; french toast and bacon = yum

Sunday - taco salad

I have tons of things to share with you this week on our construction progress, my new hobby and what my kids have been up to so make sure to check back. Also, remember for more yummy recipes to check into Laura's fabulous I'm an Organizing Junkie Blog. If you post your menu this week, she make pick you for her give-away!!! Yeah!! Have a great Menu Plan Monday!