Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Random things I love...

I love that is looking a little like fall...even if the temp did creep up to 88 today...

I love that Katie just said "I want it to be winter... I love cold weather..."   I'm teaching right...

I love that just when I think we've discovered all of Elvis's weird things we just discovered that he now hates Ronald McDonald...weird dog...he's going to have to give up watching t.v.

I love that I have a great job where I can leave early if I need to meet the washing machine repair man...

I love the washing machine repair man that just left even though he did not have much more personality than the machine itself... maybe that's why he was so efficient...today that is, he forgot to show up yesterday...

I love that now that he's been here we can have clean clothes again... if he didn't show today I was going to Walmart tonight for underwear and towels...

I love the CakeBake candle I discovered and the Scentsy cupcake and cinn. roll flavors... I just love when my house smells like fall...

I love that we can eat dinner at church tonight...

I love my Wed. night Bible study...

I love that it's clean sheet night...

Sunday, September 26, 2010

Not much

I was  just looking at how long it had been since I blogged... that led me to think about how there is really not a lot going on to talk about...
really... nothing... nothing. at. all....
here are the highlights:
  • a little virus
  • cleaned some closets
  • made Homecoming mums for a couple of Katie's friends
  • the washer started pouring water out of where the detergent goes in the front... wonder what that will cost me...
  • since I couldn't do laundry I took a little nap, must be left over from the virus... I never take a nap...
  • breakfast for dinner

That's it... that about summed up the week....I just read Jennifer's blog and seems she's had the same issues...guess that's why we haven't talked much this week...wonder if I need a new hair product or something to spice up my week...

Saturday, September 18, 2010

I cooked and cooked

I feel like we have run and run the last few weekends and today I had no plans. 

You know I LOVE a day at home but I love a productive day at home even more.

I was out of the house by 8:30 to run my errands and go grocery shopping....
Even at 9:00 this morning the grocery store was crazy with people buying their tale gate food for the Texas vs Texas Tech game.  I've never seen that many people shopping for meat and beer!
I was back home by 11:00 with everything done.

I had decided to do a mini version of cooking for a month today.  I had my menu all planned out...shopping done and was just getting started when Kellie and her friends decided that they really really really needed lunch at Chuck E Cheese... so, I'm not sure why but I agreed...
When they had their fill of expensive pizza and won enough tickets for some lovely plastic jewelry I got back to cooking...

I listened to my ipod, cooked and enjoyed the quiet afternoon...oh, and Jennifer B. have I told you how much I miss you when I do this all by myself???

On the menu:

Beef Lombardi
Crock pot Lemon Chicken
Mexican Chicken Stew
Crock pot Steak and Gravy
White bean Chicken Chili
Wild Poultry Casserole
Zesty Chicken Burritos
Marinated Pork Chops
Home made Pop tarts

The homemade pop tarts may have been a mistake... They are really really good.

I also made a batch of sugar cookies and decorated them for a shower I am helping give next week...

I need to tell you that using brown food coloring to try to get a dark brown icing is really not a pretty process...almost made me want to gag... just say'n...

I think it's a little unnatural how much I love to plan a shower or a party.  My asst. principal asked me to cater a "tea" for a church group this fall and I can't tell you how excited I am...

So, except for the for couple of hours at Chuck E Cheese it was such a good day....food wise anyway...

Friday, September 17, 2010

Let me get my chauffeur hat on and I'll be right there


I am completely amazed at how much different this year feels with Katie in high school. 
I just thought I was busy driving the girls around before...
Now, Katie seems to always have an after school choir function, ball game, pep rally, movie to go to, need to run by a friends house, or some place else we she needs to go.

After Mike and I are both home at some point in the evening there is always a debate over who is going back out to pick up kids from dance, ball games, movies, etc... 

I usually loose. 

He uses the 'you have an easy job and I have a hard job' argument way to often! 
And that's ok, because in a couple of years she won't need me to pick her up or run her around.  She'll want to drive herself every where...

and since I know she won't care if I beg to drive her just to spend time with her, I have a plan...

Soon after she is driving, I plan on finding some issues that would cause her to have to drive me around...and while she's driving I'm going to only half listen to her while I text all my friends...  But, I'll be with her....


I had to stop in the middle of this post to go and pick her and the best friend up from the movie and then to her house.  They wanted to sleep at the house closest to the high school since they are leaving from there at 6:30 a.m. for a choir trip... they wanted that extra 5 minutes of sleep...
And that my friends, means I don't have to get up at 6 a.m. like I thought I did to take them! 

Happy Weekend!

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Almost Fall

A couple of weeks ago, when we had the cool snap with the perfect weather, I got a little too ready for fall!

It was cool enough to wear a jacket a couple of nights.

I went to the high school football game with jacket on...

I bought a new fall scent candle...

I made chili...

I baked those ginger snaps....

I got obsessed with a fall sign I saw out in Internet land....

BUT, this week the heat returned.  I think it was hotter than all summer this week. 

And today it is HUMID.  I walked outside to go to church and it felt like Dallas....

And among a million things to do this weekend, I squeezed in time to make the sign.  I like how it turned out.


Now I can read that to remind me that fall is coming even if it is hot and humid outside.

Sunday, September 5, 2010

Memories of molasses

The other night I had a dream about my Aunt and Uncle...
I spent a lot of time at their house when I was growing up... It's where everyone gathered... He planted a big garden that we all shared so most every summer day was spent there...when my mom was ill and in the hospital I would stay with them. My cousins were 8 and 10 years older so there was much torture and much fun with them.  I can remember waiting up for them to come home from dates. 

My Uncle was the sheriff of our small home town.  Think growing up in Mayberry but with odd people always stopping by to see if they can get their family member out of jail, borrow money for gas, or get Uncle Red to go to talk to someone about something...

One of the things I recall is how many odd things came his way because of being sheriff in a small town...I've tasted moonshine, gone joy riding in cars that were confiscated and remember people frequently bringing him fresh watermelons and Sorghum molasses....


Quite frequently for breakfast at their house we had biscuits and syrup (molasses)...After I was grown and not living there, anytime I would come back my aunt would ask what I wanted her to cook for me and my request was always biscuits and syrup and rice and gravy... If she got up not wanting to fix homemade biscuits my uncle would coax her into it for me...

I can remember the syrup was in a big can with a lid you pryed off like a paint can and it sat permanently on a plate because it was stuck to the plate... I bought a small jar of it recently and don't think it's quite the same without the big can.

I remember as a little girl, someone stopped by and brought him a fresh can of syrup one afternoon and he decided we needed to make cookies with it.  My aunt was not happy about him in her kitchen and if I recall correctly, there was no recipe involved only a fun loving uncle who took great pleasure in bothering his wife!
All went well until he burned up the motor on her hand mixture...
Those were good cookies that left a great memory.

My same sweet uncle gave me away at my wedding and though my kids haven't been around him much, they L.O.V.E. him to pieces!  But, all kids do... I wish we lived near by so my kids could have a grandfather figure... he was a great stand in dad for me!

So, after dreaming about him the other night, I told Kellie we needed to make him some Molasses cookies and mail to him. 

He would be ashamed of me because she said "what is molasses"?



We made them today... We will mail them if there are any left...They are exactly like I remember from being a kid and wish I had doubled the recipe!!!


Ginger Molasses Cookies  (adapted from Tastee Kitchen recipe)

•1 whole Egg


•1 cup Sugar

•¾ cups Margarine

•4 Tablespoons Molasses

•1 teaspoon Cinnamon

•1 teaspoon Ginger

•2-½ teaspoons Baking Soda

•¼ teaspoons Salt

•2 cups Flour

•1 cup Sugar, For Rolling Cookies In
 
Mix the egg, sugar, margarine, and molasses until combined.


Sift together cinnamon, ginger, baking soda, salt, and flour. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until combined. Don’t over-mix. Form into small balls and roll in sugar. Place dough in fridge for a about an hour makes rolling into balls easier.  Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes.

Really, your going to want to double this recipe!

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Is it Friday or Tuesday or a full moon...

So, I knew I shouldn't have commented on how smoothly the first week of school was for me....

Today is Wed. but at different points today I have been very confused.. thinking maybe it was only Tuesday for a while but then by the time I left I was telling someone I'd see them Mon.... you know, like I was leaving on a Friday afternoon...but a conversation with Jennifer left me thinking it was Tuesday again...

The new wore off at school and the crazy has begun.  This week I'm seeing my regulars... stomach aches, sore throats, rocks in ears, you name it...
I left to pick up lunch today and two kids who were playing outside followed me all the way to my car wanting to fill me in on their ailments...

At home I have math to help with that I don't understand, fights to break up over important things like borrowing a shirt, worrying and praying for sweet friends going through a rough time, some very ill family members and as always, some crazy family thrown in the mix too...

Really, I'm a little confused, is it Friday yet???  Is the moon full?  What happened to that bottle of wine I had???  And I do you think my daily walk will count if I walk to Baskin Robbins?