The Dude I Love

A few weeks back, I went to a women's retreat with our ladies at our church. I think I did not mention too much about it here because it kept me pretty busy beforehand and when I got back I was tired. It was very refreshing in sooooo many ways though.

Throughout the weekend we visited with Beth Moore. . .(ah gotcha-no not in person- hehehe through the "Retreat In a Box.") The study goes over how to love people well, hence the title, "Loving Well". There are four people whom we get the "opportunity to love." There are the people who are a joy, those who are "testy," those who are our foes, as well as, those who are far (meaning we may not have met them yet, but they are who God may have sent to us).

That's partly why I did not mention the retreat, I was trying to forget what I learned so I would not be responsible for that information, especially for loving the last three! :) So, I guess that is the story of all retreats, you come back very ambivalent-should I have gone or should I have stayed home. Well, for sure I am a better woman for having gone. I got to know ladies I would not have known otherwise-now I have Shopping In Crime Partners!

Probably the most important thing that I learned though is a new recipe!!! Not just for the sake of learning it, but to love testy my sweet husband better. :) He loves soup and especially French Onion Soup! So, my dear friend Lynn shared her recipe with me that she made the first night of the retreat. It is yummo. I am not a soup, nor a french onion soup fan, but now I am a French Onion Soup Groupie!!

Here goes the recipe that saved my marriage! :)
  • 4 large onions, sliced into thin rings (I have a pampered chef slicer that worked well for this)
  • 1/2 cup margarine (melted)
  • 2 (10.5 ounce) cans beef broth or I used 8 bouillon cubes dissolved in 2 cups water
  • 1 1/2 cups water
  • 1/2 cup white wine
  • 8 ounces sliced Swiss cheese
  • 7 slices French bread

DIRECTIONS

  1. In a large pot over medium high heat, saute the onions in the butter or margarine for about 5 minutes, or until tender. Add the broth, water and wine. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes.
  2. In individual oven-proof bowls (I used tin ones that look like they are for chicken pot pie), place one slice of toasted french bread in the bowl. Ladle in the soup and cover with Swiss cheese. Put bowls in the oven and allow cheese to melt on top.
Eat and imbibe!!! :)

The second posts of Branson


My time in Branson was just 24 short hours. In this post, I told you how we came to almost hit Rudolph in the first two hours of our trip. The remaining hour, after we had all snacked and had a little bit of a snooze, we talked about the deep things in life such as the meaning of the word "throw-up." The kids decided it either came from your stomach or your bottom. It is thrown up in the air.

Upon arrival at the beach house resort motel Gretel was gloriously excited that it included toilet paper. "Yes, when we travel Gretel, we go all out!" Thus continued the excitement. Soon we discovered we forgot to pack Hansel's underwear and he decided to not wear any that day. Lovely! So he got to prance around "undyless."

The adventures continue in the third posts of Branson. We have only begun!

I can do that in two ingredients!


The question from Rocks In My Dryer. . .what do you do if it is 5:30 and your kids are hollerin' and you only have three things in your pantry? What are those three things and what do you make for supper? I think if it were me we would have quesadillas. . . tortillas, cheese and the George Foreman Grill and that's only two ingredients! To make it a healthy dinner . . .add a can of pineapple or mandarin oranges! :) Yes, fresh is better, but hey we're desperate.

If you wanted to go all out and you have the extra ingredients. . .add chicken and salsa and yum I am getting hungry already!

Another alternative that we have regularly (like weekly) is pancakes and sausage or bacon. I make my pancakes from "Krusteaz pancake mix" and I usually get it at Sams for $5. It makes 200 pancakes. All it takes to make these incredible flapjack boys is water and a spoon!! Amazing. I usually whip out my griddle and dinner is ready in 10 -15 minutes.

There you go. . .to get more tips to help the dinnertime hollers go away, visit Rocks in My Dryer.

Happy Birthday Lime and Socks!

I know. . .we're weird, but I just couldn't resist. We found our cats outside of our house last year right before Christmas. They were probably born around this time. I mentioned the idea of a party to my kids and they were all over it. After all, what's a family without a little bit of fun every now and then. So we planned it. . .presents, place mats, cards, party hats, and to top it off canned salmon. Just a little side note on the whole lighted candle and salmon thing. . .make sure that your cat does not go bazirk smelling the stuff and accidentally singe his hair on the lighted candle because he cannot wait. Not that that happened or anything :) Please don't report us. . .we really love our cats; the kids told us not to light the candle or the cat might get hurt and we did not listen. It just smelled a little like singed cat hair and salmon for a little while.

Also, Lexy (the nine year old wiser cat) came in fashionably late to join in the fare. No, we do not normally let the cats eat at the table with us, but it was their birthday! :)

Tackle It Tuesday


I have a lot of tackles today, but the main one is this drawer that is driving me crazy!!! Everytime I open it it gets stuck on something. Can you imagine why?


The other is the Christmas Cards which I have given myself a deadline of December 10th! I hope to beat that, but sometimes I have to give myself a little grace :) Happy Tackle It Tuesday!

Menu Plan Monday


Here goes my Monday Plan! I don't know about you, but planning my meals helps me so much. I cannot tell you how many times in my married life that I have walked into the kitchen without a plan and it only ends in gloom and doom. This Menu plan is one of the best things that I can do for my family each week. Also, putting it in writing has helped me to see how I am feeding my crew. Veggies and fruit are good things, right? :)

Monday - Pigs in a Blanket - Hot dogs wrapped in crescent rolls/macaroni and cheese
Tuesday - beef enchiladas (recipe on back of the jar)/refried beans/salad
Wednesday - pancakes and sausage/blueberries and yogurt
Thursday - Chicken Spaghetti/broccoli and cheese/crusty bread
Friday - chili/fritos and cheese
Saturday - BBQ/cole slaw - mom shopping with the gals; dad you're on!!
Sunday - guess what? taco salad!!!!

Fruit for the week: pineapple, apples and caramel, banana shakes after school

Holiday Baking:
Crock Pot Candy - Peppermint and White Chocolate
Crock Pot Candy - Chocolate Peanut

Mini Loaves of Bread - probably banana nut

The Five Posts of Branson

Twenty-four hours is all the time that we spent in Branson, MO codeword for "mini-Las Vegas Mickey Mouse style" this weekend and I have at least five posts from our time there.

The first experience I would like to share would be our time in the car. The travel time is only about three hours, but I can alway use a good snooze. I had just shut my eyes when my husband screamed, "Deer!" I thought he was saying "Dear!" so I said what? As soon as I opened my eyes I swear to you that a DEER was right in front of my side of the car and we missed it by a foot at the most. It had a full rack of horns and I am thankful that it was fast. Hansel was sad to have missed it because he wanted a deer rack to add to his hunting/camping bedroom decor. Well, the excitement gets even better from here so stay tuned to find out what else we did in the next twenty two hours.

Ok, I'm bragging!

I am two presents away from being finished with my big Christmas shopping.

The two that I have left are my son and a cousin of mine. Neither of them are that difficult, I just have not gotten to the place to buy the present. Yippee Skippee! I do have friends and neighbors to bake for, but that is it. The hard part is almost over. . .now I can enjoy my time with my family instead of being hmm. . .how could I say it politely?
NAZI-CHRISTMAS-GOTTA-GET-IT-FINISHED-AT-ALL-COST-CAN'T-
THINK-OF-ANYTHING-ELSE-MOM!
Thought I would post this picture. Let's just say that my kids got inspired after watching Charlie Brown Christmas. Yeah, it's in my front yard and my neighbors are extremely thankful for us because we help their house value skyrocket with these decorations. I hope your family is having a memorable Christmas season.

Yummy Smelling Holiday Decorations





One of my very creative friends got me started on this and I my kids love to do it. . . Zesting lemons and limes. This is fun to do with girlfriends as well, but these are pics of my kids being creative.
I want to mention too (from a teacher standpoint) that this activity works with small motor skills, as well as, is very good with working with the senses. . .smell, possibly taste, and touch. . .it also lets the creative juices flow!
The how to:
  • buy a bag full of lemons, limes . . .you can do oranges as well, but lemons and limes work best.
  • Buy a couple of zesters and have your kids use rubberbands to make the design that they want to zest. It can be anything. My kids were 5 and 7 when they did this just to give you an idea at the skill level that it requires.
  • Zest out the design
  • stick cloves in the design to give it a little more umph.
  • Place in a pretty bowl for display throughout the holidays
Now this is the yummiest part. . .put the zested lemon and lime pieces in a pan with some cloves and add some water. Let it simmer on the stove to give your house the smell of Heaven. It works for this family! Check out more Works for Wednesday ideas with Shannon at Rocks in My Dryer.

Holiday Baking Hour With Clappy Shoes

Here's the best thing you could do for your neighbors and friends. Spread the Love with cookies and candies! Guaranteed to mend any broken fences and hearts!!

Crock Pot Candy

1 lb. chocolate almond bark
1 pkg. chocolate chips
3 Tbsp. cocoa
1 Tbsp. oil
1 jar (24 oz.) salted or lightly salted roasted peanuts (I usually buy Planters in the jar)

Instructions:

In crock pot, melt bark and chocolate chips. Add oil, cocoa and peanuts; stir well. Drop by teaspoonfuls on waxed paper (Pictured above with my cute dude). Cool. And it is cool to give to your neighbors! :)

An alternative and something else that I am going to make that is yummy!

Peppermint Bark:

1 lb. white almond bark
1 pkg. white chocolate chips
1 Tbsp. oil
1 tsp. peppermint extract
1 package of crushed peppermint; I sometime buy the candy canes and crush them, but that is a lot of work (but cheaper)!

Instructions:

In crock pot, melt bark and chocolate chips. Add oil, extract and peppermint; stir well. Drop by teaspoonfuls on waxed paper. Cool. And it is cool as well to give to your neighbors! :)


Now my friend just gave me this recipe and apparently it is to die for so I will be making this for a Christmas party that I am having at my house.

Copycat Starbucks Peppermint Brownies

Another of my specialties of the season is this adorable Snowman.

My son helped me make this last year and we had so much fun and it was a super big hit at our Christmas party.

Ok, that is enough to keep you and me both busy for awhile. Happy Holiday Baking!!!

Menu Plan Monday

I don't know about you, but it's hard for me to think about food! We ate so much last week with our friends that we are still stuffed turkeys! So here is the scoop on "The Week of Cooking Dread!"

Monday - leftover BBQ/cole slaw also leftover turkey pot pie (recipe below)

I love my own pot pie-way better than the kind you buy at the store!

1 lb cooked ckn or turkey chopped
1 can cream of chicken
1/2 cup milk
1 can of veg all (brand name. . .located by green beans and corn in a can)-drain liquid, but keep a little
salt and pepper
2 pie crusts

Mix all of these ingredients together and pour in bottom pie crust

I get deep dish from Kroger ( cut edge off of top one and place it on top of the bottom one with ingredients in the bottom one)

Cut an X in the top so that it will not spill over.

Place it on a baking sheet. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes until golden brown on top. My kids love this recipe and ask for it a lot. Plus, it has veggies. Yay! Make sure that you let it rest for a minute because it is not only juicy, but very hot!

Tuesday - sausage and pancakes and I better add fruit before the fruit nazi's get onto me for neglecting my children. . .dad has a meeting this night

Wednesday - chili/cheese/crackers

Thursday - Mushroom-Chicken Bake, rice, green beans and rolls

1 2 1/2-3 lb broiler fryer ( I will probably use chicken thighs)
1/2 cup zesty Italian dressing
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp pepper
1 can sliced mushrooms, drained
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Place chicken in a greased 9 X 13 baking dish. Drizzle dressing over chicken; sprinkle with 1/4 tsp paprika and pepper. Bake uncovered at 350 for 30 minutes basting occasionally. Turn ckn and add mushrooms; sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and remaining paprika. Bake 30 more minutes or until ckn is tender.

(Prep 6 minutes and and Cook 1 hour)

Friday - Homeschool Trip to Governor's Mansion; I will probably be tired when I come home; may go to in-laws, but if I don't. . .Grilled Cheese with Chips and Salsa

Saturday - Local Christmas Parade. . . our church always hands out hot cocoa and cookies for free because we are located on the parade path. Fun stuff! May run by Sonic or may have leftovers.

Sunday - you guessed it. . .Taco Salad

Holiday Baking- (recipes coming next week cuz I am running out of time on this post. . .lots of work today)

Peppermint Bark
Mini Banana Nut Bread Loaves-bought pampered chef mini loaf pan and will give these out as Christmas presents to friends and neighbors
More Crock Pot Candy-since we just about ate all of our Christmas presents last week! :)

Just When You Think You've Got Stuff Cleaned Up

Isn't that just the pits? Just when you think you've got things cleaned up, you move a piece of furniture and there's some more junk. Do you think that is how it is in life? Just when you think you're presentable to the Creator; you've got things just spic and span. Then, He moves some stuff around and there she blows. . .more junk. More junk to work on.

I guess that's the whole refining thing that He does to make us look more like Him. For now, we're just pretending things are all cleaned up. . .please don't look under my cushions. :)

Nurturing All Things


I hope this isn't what all the things I nurture and take care of look like. Surely not, right?

I Want My Money Back


This post inspired me to buy these cute photo calendars for Christmas from Lillian Vernon. I was so excited and I ordered them right away. Then after I accidentally signed up for their promotional emails, I saw that they went on sale for $3.00 less than what I bought them for only two days after I purchased them. It would not have been worth it for me to pitch a fit and demand my money kindly call them and explain my situation and ask for my $3.00 back, but I ordered 6 of them.

After going through about ummm 5 customer service gals I explained what happened and she credited my money back to me with no problem at all. The queen of customer service said they always credit your money back there if it has been within 30 days. Hey, that worked for me!! How about you!?

Are there other stores that have credited your account after you bought something only to find it went on sale shortly after? I would love to hear. To see more Works for Me Wednesday ideas, visit Shannon at Rocks in My Dryer.

Scary or Exciting? You Vote!

In just two days time span, there have been two incidents of random acts of kindness by my children.

My son apologized (without me asking him to) to his sister for yelling at her. It was about 15 minutes after the incident and out poured from his sincere little lips "I am sorry for yelling at you for throwing my Webkinz." You vote. . . scary or exciting?

Yesterday, while I was under extreme duress and frantically making dinner and working at the same time I was not paying attention to, carefully watching every move my children make when my daughter walks in to let me know she had a surprise for me in the bathroom. Wince, Shudder. . ."oh, wonderful honey. . .what ever could it be?" I doth not exaggerate. . .she started a load of clothes for me. She is six years old, ya'll! She had also cleaned out the sink with one of her moist wipes that we use for her little bottom. I did ask if she wiped first. . .I know it was wrong. ..but I couldn't help it! You vote. . .scary or exciting. I know my reaction was probably the scary part.

They are growing up indeed. I am savoring every little morsel.

The Beauty of Community


This picture is taken of my community group stuffing candy bags for Halloween Night in our little town. We passed out candy and an invitation to a free pancake breakfast for the following week. Last night, my family and I celebrated Thanksgiving with these sweet folks. It was absolutely fabulous. We indulged in turkey, ham, sweet potato casserole, my (if I do say so myself) yummy potatoes and green bean bundles!

For dessert we were so stuffed and full of food that we could barely get the dessert down, but we managed! We had a plethora of pies. Oh my! Then we went around the room and told what we were thankful for (appropriate, ey!) Our community group has families, singles and tons of wild well-behaved kids running around.

We all have a story of where we have been and where we are going. We circled around the room, everyone of us thankful for the church and the love that we feel there. The sense of unity and the bond of peace. Wow, amazing. As a pastor's wife, I never dreamed that the first place where God would put us would be so loving and gentle and beautiful. There are so many saints in our church that I never feel alone. All of my burdens they are eager to bear with me. Yes, indeed we have much to be thankful for this year.

Enough of the mushy stuff, well our community group is also full of laughter. . .much laughter!!! My hubby jokingly said that we need to loosen up when we meet back again in January. If we loosened up much more I think we would all be burping and passing gas together. I'm telling you that we hoot and holler and snort and laugh together as much as we pray together.

We share our daily lives together and I tell them about my blogging world. They think I am a silly little blogger. One in particular thinks that computers are a phase! :) We kidded him about that last night. They ask me how my blog is doing each week and I tell them the fascinating facts and that they could hop on the internet anytime and see what I cooking up for supper. They were not as interested as you are! :) They decided that if I get enough traffic and I start having critics that the critics would rename my blog, Crappy Shoes or Crabby Shoes :) Crabby Shoes strikes again, the critic would say. Naughty people. They just don't know what their missing, do they!? Of course, all of this is in jest and we just laugh about it.

In future posts I will tell you more about Stan the Sloth Man and his adventures and The Shoe Extraodinairre and her Adversary! But for now, I need to go teach Hansel! Have a wonderful day and I hope you have much to be thankful for this week!

The Things We Do When We Don't Have Time

Only four more days till company's coming (Hip hip hooray-I'm super excited) and I decide to make them some privacy curtains for my french doors which shows into our living room! No funny business while you are at my house :)


and put up some more curtains


and touch up paint the room where they will be staying


and make a goody basket for parent teacher conferences - to ensure that my gal gets all A's! Just kidding!Oh, and make some curtains for the bathroom. Yuck, it looks like camo in my bathroom-never mind the curtains. . . .how about table napkins.


I am getting ready to head out the door for our Ladies Retreat for my church. I am in charge of food. . .yikes. . .and decor so I better hop off and cook! :) and go to Wal Mart! Happy Weekend to everyone.

Awesome Opportunity and Almost FREE Rent!!



Now I know this post is a little out of the ordinary, but let me tell you it REALLY WORKED for My Prince and me!!! In 2003, my kids were one and three. My husband was a youth pastor for a small church when he really "felt called" to go to seminary (through some hard stuff) and get his Masters of Theology. He had been taking online classes through a seminary, but he really thought that we needed to move in closer to a seminary to just buckle down and get through it.

No, I did not agree initially, but God can work miracles, you know. It was approximately one month until classes started when we decided to move and we had just bought our first house the previous year and both of our families lived very near (and I am a momma's girl). Ugh! Ok, Lord what are we going to do?

Prince JM started talking to people he knew who went to the seminary that he chose and someone mentioned a thing called CARES. The guy that Prince JM talked with said that CARES Teams were like event coordinators who built relationships with the residents as well as planned events to get the community together. You can imagine that we had a lot of opportunity to love on the residents as well as our neighbors. We did have to pay a $250 CARES fee, but that was it! They supplied a two bedroom, two bath apartment in return for our service there. So we applied and got accepted and it was one of the best experiences we have ever had. We served as a "CARES Team" for almost three years and now Prince JM is a pastor at a small church in Arkansas. We still have pancake breakfasts in honor of our time there flipping pancakes.

Let me tell you, if you are interested in serving the Lord in an apartment (i.e. moving) and you have a few hospitality/administrative skills then this is the thing for you. It is awesome. Email me or check out their website if you have questions.

I do have to say that I work for them as an admin/applications gal, but I felt like this was a little secret that needed to be shared. It is in nine major cities and you might just move to one of them one day so you need to know about this. Also, I do not get a "bonus" for this, but I just love CARES! Had to share! Hope this is a blessing to you or someone you know.

To ck out more Works for Me Wednesday ideas, visit Shannon at Rocks In My Dryer.

Tackle It Tuesday



I had a little motivation other than wanting to get organized! :( My motivation was a little black bug that I kept finding in my cupboards. I guess they were wanting me to clean things up a bit! They kept running around saying, "Use high powered cleaner on me and kill me!" Ok, so maybe not. I found the source, the organic flour that I was always too scared to use in my recipes. Make sure you check out the link if you see the pests wandering around your cabinets.

The Before:



The After:
Check out Tackle It Tuesday if you are looking for inspiration to tackle the jobs around your house. Or you can just invite some bugs into your cupboards!

Menu Plan Monday


Monday, Monday Monday. . . here it comes faster than you ever expect it. My house is still a wreck and there are plenty of thing that I have not accomplished as a Motivated Mom, but I will not have an unplanned Menu of Eats for the Week! No way, no how!

So here she blows:

Sunday: We had taco salad after church and this wonderful dip that we have been making for several years. Some call it "Texas Trash" which I take offense to since I lived there for a couple of years! But here is the pic and the recipe. Every place that my Prince and I have taken this to makes us their "Instant Recipe Winners for the Day!" If you want to be an instant recipe winner then take this to the next event. The both healthy and tasty ingredients are as follows (from Southern Living Ultimate Cookbook- a few ingredients we always add ourselves)

1 can rotel
1 avocado (chopped)
1 1/2 tsp. cumin seeds (toasted)
2 cans black beans (drained and rinsed)
1 can whole kernel corn (drained)
1 red onion (minced, 1 c)
1/2 cup fresh cilantro
1/2 cup parsley (optional, really)
1/3 cup lime juice (have substituted with lemon or without)
1/4 lime juice
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. dried crushed red pepper
1/2 tsp black pepper

Combine all ingredients. Cover and store tight in fridge for up to 1 week.

Now this dip is the best with chips or on chicken quesadillas or even egg burritos! Yummo!

Monday: Chicken Quesadillas with Black Bean Salsa or "Texas Trash" if you are not worried about being pc.

Tuesday: Chili in the crockpot, crackers and cheese

Wednesday: Pancakes, Bacon

Thursday: Normal Chicken (one thing that might be normal in our house :) ), Saffron Rice and Broccoli

Friday: Spaghetti (Dad knows how to cook this. . . I am going to a Ladies Retreat)

I'm in charge of food at the Ladies Retreat. . .we are having hot soup/Salad/bread

Saturday: Sandwiches. . .I'm going to be tired and already picking up these ingredients for lunch for the ladies retreat

Pancakes and sausage for the ladies with blueberries or chocolate chips as ingredients! Yay!

Sunday: Taco Salad-I know again, but it was such a hit today with my fam!
"Preparing for the Holidays Baking":

Pumpkin pie to freeze
crock pot candy-possibly making for the retreat and for Christmas gifts
peppermint chocolate and candy
Pumpkin Roll
Chocolate Revel Bars

Update from Last Week's Menu Plan Monday: Everything I made last week was fabulous. I especially loved the Monterey Chicken. We had saffron rice and green beans with brown sugar and worstershire. My whole family loved it and I think my Prince was especially delighted to come home to this dinner after a hard week of work. Enjoy your week's worth of Cooking with Love!

The Best Gifts Ever


As I was thinking about Christmas (who isn't! even if you are trying not to), I wanted to share with you the best gifts that I could have ever been given. . . better than this or this (and no I have not ever received those two things). This might give you a brain surge of thoughts to give to your hubby or gal this Christmas.
My mom gave me this tapestry. I very rarely cry and this teared me up!! It is so true and it hangs on my wall to remind me of how important each day and each moment is on this side of Heaven.

Underneath the tapestry is a beautiful picture of my kids. My in-laws own a sign business in Little Rock and let me just say they are amazing (yes, it's a shameless plug)! They just took a regular pic of my kids and put it on some kind of backing and everyone that comes in the house sees the picture and compliments me on it. I guess I am not only thankful for my picture of my gorgeous kids, but also my very talented and giving in-laws.
Before the days of laundry and diapers came this gift. Prince JM gave this memory box to me before we were even engaged. It was filled with chocolate kisses . . . because he had made a vow to God to not kiss a girl before he was married. I like to think of it as a symbol of how many times he wanted to kiss me and didn't. :) The interesting thing that he did, or I guess didn't do, is put my last name on it. . .just my first and middle because he knew that "someday" my last name might change. hmmm. . .I think he knew there was a spark of hope even then. . .sneaky little guy.
The best gift that I have really, really ever been given was my new life in Christ. I could go into all the details of how ratty and green I was, but we all were before Christ entered the picture. What a beautiful gift to give to your friends and family this Christmas. How about it? You don't even have to spend money on that!!! Talk to that one family member who needs Christ more than ever. Do you have a friend that is lost and desperately needing new life? Do you have a neighbor who needs to know that there is hope?Be the light of hope this season. After all, tis the reason for the Season!

To see some more gift giving ideas, check out "Don't Try this at Home."

Wow! Great Ideas!

Yesterday was such a fun day for me. Check out the comments on my post from mismatched furniture and dead flowers. Guess what I am going to be doing this weekend. I am going to be planting all sorts of flowers under that tree of death! Hopefully, I can post pictures in the spring to show you just how wonderful your suggestions were.

Also, now I am totally convinced that my house is perfect. . .well livable with the mismatched furniture. Thank you for your sweet comments about my home.

The other thing that I am excited to report is my squishy little bathroom is getting cooler!! I cannot wait to be finished so I can surprise you with pictures. I've been doing a little shopping at the antique store downtown (my Prince JM probably says, "What's new!") Blog World, you are master re-decorators and I don't even have to pay you a penny (I am sure a big thanks from hubs too)! Thanks so much!

Mismatched Furniture and Dead Flowers



Believe it or not, I have struggled finding an appropriate question for this issue of Backwards Works-for-Me Wednesday! It's not that I have everything figured out. . .I guess I just have a lot of things that do work for me!

I am deciding between two things. One would be my mismatched furniture. . .my couches match each other, but all of the wood on my entertainment center, bookshelves, curio cabinet, etc. is mismatched. Any help there? I mean some of the wood is dark, and some is light oak color. Someone who is quite decorator saavy said that oak is kind of country. If the shoe fits, huh?! If you tell me to refinish it, then please tell me how or refer me to a site cuz this girl don't know nothin' about refinishin' no furniture!

The other dilemma is that I have this tree in my front yard is perplexing me. I planted verbena and petunias under it this spring and all of my pretty flowers died. The only thing that lived was this weed/herb called yarrow. Anyway, this area is mostly shade during the summer with all of the leaves on the tree, but during the winter and early spring it does not have leaves (I guess that would be called deciduous or something, right?) Any feedback would be more than welcome. I was thinking about planting tulip bulbs for the spring as well as pansies that would be in bloom now. What do you think? I guess one thing to note is that I live in the south. I would love for all of you with a green thumb to chime in!

Have a lovely day!

Menu Plan Monday

This is my first Meal Plan Monday. Of course, I have planned a couple of weeks worth of meals before. But, this will help me a be a little more proactive at the grocery store tomorrow. (argh, I have had a cold all weekend and have not made it to the store yet.) I am sad that I do not have half and half for my coffee and I do not have the ingredients for my Monday night dinner yet. Not a great way to start the week. . .but there are definitely worse things that could happen to a gal.

Ok, here goes.

Monday - taco soup
Tuesday - Chicken Stir Fry
Wednesday - Breakfast for Dinner (pancakes, bacon, sausage and fruit)
Thursday - Monterey Chicken and Cauliflower Bake
Friday - Bratwurst/French Fries
Saturday- Buffalo Chicken Salad
Sunday - Taco Salad

Begin the week with taco and end the week with taco and you know it's going to be a great week! Next week, I am going to try to make my own spaghetti sauce like this gal with the tomatoes that I froze from the garden.

Update: After a very rough trip to the grocery store with my two kids after school and a hissy fit on the phone with my poor husband we saved over 40% on our groceries. They have this cool section in Kroger where they do not have room for the items on the shelves so they discount them to like 20 cents to a dollar. Like pasta, kid treats, mayo etc. Very cool stuff! Also, the taco soup is clearing my sinuses as we speak! Very effective medicine! :)



My Bankie!

On Thursday of this last week, my Motivated Mom's to do list said that I had to clean out the master bedroom closet. I gave Prince JM a head's up early in the week so that he would not have a panic attack when I asked him to help since a lot of it is his stuff. On Friday, we were finishing up Thursday's to do list (go figure) around the house and we got to the master bedroom closet. In rummaging through the various crap antique items, Prince JM came across Hansel's blanket from when he was born. It is the rattiest thing you have ever seen. He had and still has some type of oral fixation and his blanket proves it. He carried that thing around like Linus for at least two - three years of his life. When he was old enough to talk he named his blanket as well as various others he had collected. There was bankie #1, "White" and #2 and #3 "green and blue." Creative little guy! :) We called him in to the room to remind him of his younger years and he just stared at, "White" with big open eyes, and said "was this my blanket?" He grabbed it and swiped it across his face and held it for a long time.

Today, I was doing the dishes (on the Motivated Mom's list) and Hansel, now 8 years of age, looked at the comforter from his bed that he has now and said, "Mom, where did I get this blanket?" I replied, "It was my blanket in college and I handed it down to you for your bed." He said, "What did you call it?" I smiled and said that I did not give it a name, what would you call it? He said, "definitely green." Cute guy.