What could I be allergic to???

Who would have guessed that I would have to move to West Texas to have allergies? 40 years in South Mississippi and Texas and no allergies... 8 months in the dry, treeless area that is West Texas and it is an allergy party in my head! Two weeks with this drippy nose, stuffy head, sneezing, watery eyes and I'm getting annoyed... sorry, just had to complain to someone....

Other than the allergy issue we're having a run of the mill week at our house.
The mother-in-law is coming this weekend... wondering what we can do... wonder if I picked more apples if she'd like to peel, we're almost out of the apple butter...I always have a hard time trying to find things to do when she visits...
I think this Sunday we are going to finally join the church here we've been going to... I'll be glad to be part of a church again. It has been the hardest issue I've dealt with in moving.
Off to take more benadryl.

A Productive Saturday

Since the girls have started dance we have been eating out more than ever. They have dance on opposite nights so we someone is at dance by 5:00 Mon. - Thurs. So in an effort to change that here's what I made today for the freezer:
Steak and Mushroom Gravy
Beefy noodle casserole
Chicken fried Rice
Chicken wraps
Taco meat 2 batches
Twice baked potatoes
Meatloaf muffins
Sweet and Sour chicken
Chicken and dressing casserole
Baked egg brunch casserole
Quiche in a bag-2
Chicken in balsamic BBQ sauce
I quit before I made the Oven baked chicken strips...maybe tomorrow. At least now we have something to pull out and heat up instead of McDonald's and Taco Bueno so often! I have done this one other time with a good friend, it was sure a lot more fun than today when I did it alone! I think we'll order pizza for dinner... don't think I can cook another thing!

Love me some breakfast

One of my favorite things when we have company is getting up and fixing good breakfasts that we wouldn't ordinarily have.
Sat. morning we had the Blueberry Banana bread and breakfast taco's. My favorite find lately has been uncooked flour tortillas you buy in the refrigerator section of the grocery store. You grill them for about 20 seconds on each side and you have fresh tortilla's when ever you need them. It's great!
This morning I made a Apple puff pancake (since I'm still trying to get rid of apples) and a new Egg recipe I found. Both were SO good!
I wanted to take a picture of Apple Puff Pancake but before I could it was gone!!!

Southern Breakfast Scramble

12 eggs
1 TBSP sour cream (don't skip this)
1 C shredded cheese
1/2 diced ham or bacon
1/4 C diced onion
salt and pepper
4 TBSP Butter

Mix eggs, salt and pepper to taste and sour cream and wisk till smooth.
In a lg skillet melt butter over med. heat. Add onions (may also add mushrooms or diced bell pepper if you want) and saute till translucent and tender
Add diced meat and stir.
Pour egg mixture over the bacon and onions. Sprinkle cheese on top. Stir as it cooks until the eggs are no longer shiny.

Apple Puff Pancake

4 lg apples, peeled and sliced
4 tbsp butter
3/4 cup Flour
3/4 cup milk
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp sugar
4 lg eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
Heat over to 400 degrees
I use a lg. cast iron skillet, you can use two 8" cake pans.
Put skillet in oven with butter in it to melt.
In bowl, beat flour, 1/4 tsp baking powder, 1 tbsp sugar, milk and eggs till smooth.
Arrange apple slices in skillet in butter. Pour egg mixture over the top. Mix cinnamon and sugar and sprinkle over the top.
Bake till puffed and golden brown, about 25 minutes. Serve with warm syrup if desired.

These are both keepers for me, easy, not many ingredients and the company thought I went to a lot of trouble!!

Blueberry Banana Bread

ooh, did the Blueberry banana bread turn out good! Easy, easy recipe and yummy!

Blueberry banana bread
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup reg. sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder, plus
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup coconut
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/3 cup milk
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 medium mashed bananas
1 cup chopped pecans
2 cups frozen blueberries
Directions
In large bowl, mix all ingredients except blueberries for about 30 seconds.
Fold in frozen berries.
Pour into 2 greased 8 1/2x4 1/2x2 1/2 loaf pans that have been greased on the bottoms only.
Bake in 350º oven for 55-60 minutes, til toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
Cool slightly, loosen sides with knife from sides of pan, turn out onto rack to cool.
When cool, wrap tightly with plastic wrap, keep refrigerated.
Best the next day!

Friday Coffee

Rachelle Ann at Home Sanctuary offers everyday small things to help make your home your sanctuary. She has started Coffee Friday to share what "small things" we have done or enjoyed this week...

Anyone who knows me knows that I love to entertain and have company. We have company coming again tonight and actually have 3 hrs home alone tonight to straighten up and try to make one of the girls rooms inhabitable for our company to sleep in.

I am off to make homemade Blueberry Banana bread for us to have for breakfast tomorrow...

If you're visiting from the Coffee, see my post below on An Apple a Day... I actually did my making from scratch a week to soon, but it was quite the production!

The girl wants to sing

The CMT awards were on tonight we discovered... when the little girl saw this she wouldn't change channels! She sang along to every song she knew and some she didn't..

we had Taylor Swift and Carrie Underwood right here with us tonight...this is prob. as close to the CMT awards as she'll get...

I'm Thankful for Friends

Can I tell you how much I enjoy my friends? Today I got a phone call from a teacher I worked with and she is coming to town this weekend... it was quite the surprise since she had also moved away, didn't think I'd be seeing her again...and of all weekends, we're already having company this weekend.. I think she was to afraid to stay here with tons of people, she chose the hotel and I don't blame her. We are getting together though, my girls are very excited...
I really thought we would move to West Texas and never see anyone again, but I have been pleasantly surprised how many people come here for something and we get to see them or they come just to see us...
Oh, and you friends who are reading this and haven't been here...I'm waiting... what weekend is good for you???
And such a blessing... I got up this morning with one of my friends on my mind and when I checked my cell phone on the way to school I had a message from her. God has taken care of an issue that I have prayed for her about for a VERY long time. I am always amazed that God's plan is better than what we can think to wish for. We discussed this afternoon how difficult it is to wait. To wait on God's answer, His provision, and more times than not, it's not the answer we were praying for. I know he has good reasons for the time of waiting... but still it is not easy...

I was telling her about being a little lonely at my new job...wanting someone to visit with, then I realized I have nothing to complain about. I know how fortunate I am to have such good friends, it's ok if they don't work with me... I've just been spoiled in that area over the years. I'm sure there is a friend there I just don't know about yet....
I am so grateful for answered prayers and I'm very thankful that God has given me great friends.

Wow, this weekend went fast!

So, Friday off should have really made for a long weekend but it has flown by!!! My sister and brother in law came on Fri. night and they left this a.m....

The guys and little girls did the high school football game Fri. night and the Tech game last night... My sister and I did a little shopping and just hung out and visited.

The beautiful fall weather has come back today. The sister and husband had to change to their long pants on the way out today as it was a blustery 68 degrees! They are very funny about the weather issues...football games presented hard decisions for him... to take a jacket or not, long pants or not... oh the decisions... we laugh at this quirk every time we are around them!

And since they were in town, their daughter that is in school here at Tech was around off and on all weekend... That always offers up the drama of the college life stories and how tough it is! She's a bit 'blond' also... this provides for some good chuckles and stories to share after everyone is gone home...

Next weekend we have friends coming to town for another ball game... I'm loving it!

Off to open the windows, read the paper and enjoy the rest of a lazy Sunday! Oh, and tomorrow I just remembered, I only have school 1/2 a day... teacher work day in the afternoon, but for some reason they said we could leave by 12:30... again, I'm loving it!!!

Rainy day Friday

It's been raining here in Lubbock for about three days. The first couple of days it was showers off and on... Yesterday it rained constantly. We got about 8" in 24 hours... here's the odd part...Lubbock doesn't have any drainage systems... I heard them say last night on the news that the roads are designed to be the drainage system...What??? How will that work??? Oh, wait, that doesn't work!!!!

When we were trying to get to dance last night, the boat would have been a better choice! It was crazy!!!

And here's the craziest part, school was canceled today. School. Canceled for rain and flooding??? I am just finding this to be the strangest thing!!! Since its not raining now I think I'll try to get to the grocery store and then come home and enjoy the rainy day at home... Maybe I can call some city officials and explain that if the roads weren't the 'drainage system' for the city we could be at school today! Maybe no one has ever pointed that out...

But I am thankful for the treat of a Fri. off!

Fall, is that you?

Highs in the low 70's, lows in the 50-60's, cloudy, beautiful weather!!! I know it is to early to be excited but I think fall may be here or at least I would like to believe that the cool weather will be a lasting thing. My sister and brother-in-law are coming this weekend... they'll have to bring coats, they think anything below 80 is cold front (they're odd that way).

If only I could stay home to enjoy the wonderful weather... open the windows, light the pumpkin candle, and read a good book...

He changes times and seasons; he sets up kings and deposes them. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning. Daniel 2:21

An apple a day

If an apple a day keeps the Dr away then my cold should be gone and I should stay healthy for quite some time...

I drug the kids to the apple orchard on Sat. They actually enjoyed it until we saw ants the size of small dogs... I have never seen anything like those ants. Then we had to stand in line to pay for all the apples we picked, that's were they got hot and grouchy and were over the fun of the apple orchard. They enjoyed it so much in the beginning that they both insisted on their own cart to fill and wanted to check out many different rows of trees for just the right apples...

I didn't think of three carts of apples being a problem till I peeled 18 lbs of apples and still had a ton left! We have taken apples to all of the neighbors and I still have a whole drawer in the fridge full! I made a very large batch of apple butter and two apple pies.

Having grown up in a family that every summer would can vegetables, make 85 different kinds of pear preserves from one Aunt's huge tree, and buy 50 pounds of shrimp and put them in the freezer, 'putting up' things is a normal thing for me. My kids however, wanted to know if we needed food for the winter, was that why I was putting apples in jars. The youngest explained to me that she recalled seeing apples in the stores all year long...

If you need apples this winter, let me know.

I needed a little dose of that...

Last night I went with some girls to see Chonda Pierce, a Christian comedian...It was a good night of fellowship! She was very funny...it was nice to hear such funny things that were clean also. What a treat. Her end topic was about being real and not 'wearing masks' around people who care, like the church should be for each other...she was very insightful about a lot of those issues.
Love me a little girl time!
But girl time is over and now I'm being forced to watch a husband pick movie! Off to see how much torture this will be....
oh, and because I'm ready for fall and enjoying the beautiful weather we've been having, I'm dragging my girls to an apple orchard tomorrow... Neither one wants to go, but nothing says fun like forcing your kids to go and experience apple picking... then I may really torture them and make them help me make apple butter or something fall-ish like that!

A very relaxing weekend

Jennifer and Allison came Sat. morning for the weekend. We didn't do too terribly much. We mostly relaxed and visited. We did go to the lake for a few hours to make sure they went back with a little sunburn. (amazingly we didn't loose anything or have any boating issues)We went to see Mama Mia last night and Allison talked the little girl into brushing her hair several times a day. I hated for them to go home today!

I've spent the afternoon sitting around, watching the weather channel about hurricane Gustav and enjoying the last hours of the three day weekend. It was such a treat it was.