Have you guys seen these ADORABLE t-shirts! I have been checking them all out and trying to decide which one I might want and then I noticed it - their giveaway! And am now following along trying to get multiple entries into the drawing! Though, I'm feeling kinda scared cause the more of you that go and do makes the chance of my winning a bit slimmer and slimmer....
Anyhoo, go check them out...
http://wildolivetees.com
Good luck!
Friday, December 11, 2009
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Family Tradition
When I was growing up the tradition was that every year you got a new Christmas ornament - it was such fun choosing from the available selection each year, heartbreaking when you could ONLY choose one and joyous to find the "prime" location for the new ornament to be front and center on the tree each season. There were a few years where ornaments were not purchased but made possibly at school, blue birds, campfire girls or FHA.
I wish I had photos of our Christmas tree from when I was younger but to say it was comical is being too simply stated. My brother and I would inevitably put OUR ornaments on our "side" and mom was good about letting us decorate the tree as we saw fit but it never went unnoticed that J's hotwheel ornament somehow invaded my "sanctuary" of treasures. When I left home - my ornaments came with me - as a remembrance of childhood joys and time spent with family, friends and places that I gladly recall as I look at each one whether they get placed on the tree or not - there are several that don't get put on the tree simply because they are "fragile" with age.
I have the same tradition with my kids and it has been interesting to see what has been chosen over the years - there are quite a few Eeyore/Winnie the Pooh ornaments as K's selections and Scooby Doo as D's selection but every now and again the kids surprise me with their choices - K who was still WAY into Eeyore chose a Harry Potter ornament the year the final book came out and D chose a bird series once stuck with it until the end.
But as I sit here writing - the artificial tree has just been put up, ready for its branches to be spread to all their glory in anticipation of the ornaments to come as we decorate it on Thanksgiving day, burnt out lights to be discovered and replaced, my English lace tree skirt spread beneath and the top looking a little lost and bare without the angel who still sits safely in her box and yet as I find myself a little melancholy....
I think about how much my children have grown over the years and those ornaments that bring back so many memories of Christmases past and am overcome by feelings and emotions. The thought that someday soon those ornaments that hold so many memories will be on the kids trees, in their homes, with their "new" families overwhelms me.
Will they hold the same memories of their childhood for them that I remember as is each one is unboxed and placed upon their tree?
While I will ALWAYS have the memory of sweet voices saying "Can I have this one, Mommy, please?" I will admit that as I sit looking at my bare tree, anxiously awaiting its adornment - I am dreading the thought of the bare spaces left behind when those chosen treasured ornaments go to their next "home" but anxiously awaiting the stories that I will get to hear as a grandma about why a particular ornament was chosen and get quite emotional at the thought that someday I will get to hear "Can I have this one, Grandma, please?" Because as we all know - Life moves on.
I wish I had photos of our Christmas tree from when I was younger but to say it was comical is being too simply stated. My brother and I would inevitably put OUR ornaments on our "side" and mom was good about letting us decorate the tree as we saw fit but it never went unnoticed that J's hotwheel ornament somehow invaded my "sanctuary" of treasures. When I left home - my ornaments came with me - as a remembrance of childhood joys and time spent with family, friends and places that I gladly recall as I look at each one whether they get placed on the tree or not - there are several that don't get put on the tree simply because they are "fragile" with age.
I have the same tradition with my kids and it has been interesting to see what has been chosen over the years - there are quite a few Eeyore/Winnie the Pooh ornaments as K's selections and Scooby Doo as D's selection but every now and again the kids surprise me with their choices - K who was still WAY into Eeyore chose a Harry Potter ornament the year the final book came out and D chose a bird series once stuck with it until the end.
But as I sit here writing - the artificial tree has just been put up, ready for its branches to be spread to all their glory in anticipation of the ornaments to come as we decorate it on Thanksgiving day, burnt out lights to be discovered and replaced, my English lace tree skirt spread beneath and the top looking a little lost and bare without the angel who still sits safely in her box and yet as I find myself a little melancholy....
I think about how much my children have grown over the years and those ornaments that bring back so many memories of Christmases past and am overcome by feelings and emotions. The thought that someday soon those ornaments that hold so many memories will be on the kids trees, in their homes, with their "new" families overwhelms me.
Will they hold the same memories of their childhood for them that I remember as is each one is unboxed and placed upon their tree?
While I will ALWAYS have the memory of sweet voices saying "Can I have this one, Mommy, please?" I will admit that as I sit looking at my bare tree, anxiously awaiting its adornment - I am dreading the thought of the bare spaces left behind when those chosen treasured ornaments go to their next "home" but anxiously awaiting the stories that I will get to hear as a grandma about why a particular ornament was chosen and get quite emotional at the thought that someday I will get to hear "Can I have this one, Grandma, please?" Because as we all know - Life moves on.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Lasagna Chicken Rolls - serves 6
1 onion, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup cottage cheese
3 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 egg
1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
2 cups cooked chicken, cubed
1 teaspoon basil leaves
6 lasagna noodles
2 cups prepared pasta sauce
1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
In a heavy skillet, saute onion in olive oil until tender and taranslucent. Remove form heat and ocol for 15 minutes. In a medium bowl, combine next 6 ingredients. Mix well until blended and creamy, then stir in onion, chicken and basil.
Slightly undercook lasagna noodles. Drain and rinse with cool water. Place noodles in a single layer on a clean kitchen towel. Spread each cooked noodle with chicken mixture and roll up starting on a short end.Place 1/2 cup pasta sauce in the bottom of a 9 x 9 square baking dish. Place filled rolls over pasta sauce. Pour remaining sauce over all. Cool in refrigerator, then wrap, seal and label with recipe title and cooking instructions.
Place mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese in a small Ziploc and attach to dish. Wrap and freeze.
To serve: Thaw casserole in refrigerator overnight. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 - 40 minutes, until hot and bubbly. Sprinkle cheese over all and bake 5 - 10 minutes longer or until cheese begins to brown. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.
If serving immediately after preparing: sprinkle reserved cheese over casserole and bake at 350 degrees for 40 - 45 minutes or until bubbly and cheese is golden brown.
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup cottage cheese
3 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 egg
1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
2 cups cooked chicken, cubed
1 teaspoon basil leaves
6 lasagna noodles
2 cups prepared pasta sauce
1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
In a heavy skillet, saute onion in olive oil until tender and taranslucent. Remove form heat and ocol for 15 minutes. In a medium bowl, combine next 6 ingredients. Mix well until blended and creamy, then stir in onion, chicken and basil.
Slightly undercook lasagna noodles. Drain and rinse with cool water. Place noodles in a single layer on a clean kitchen towel. Spread each cooked noodle with chicken mixture and roll up starting on a short end.Place 1/2 cup pasta sauce in the bottom of a 9 x 9 square baking dish. Place filled rolls over pasta sauce. Pour remaining sauce over all. Cool in refrigerator, then wrap, seal and label with recipe title and cooking instructions.
Place mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese in a small Ziploc and attach to dish. Wrap and freeze.
To serve: Thaw casserole in refrigerator overnight. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 - 40 minutes, until hot and bubbly. Sprinkle cheese over all and bake 5 - 10 minutes longer or until cheese begins to brown. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.
If serving immediately after preparing: sprinkle reserved cheese over casserole and bake at 350 degrees for 40 - 45 minutes or until bubbly and cheese is golden brown.
Friday, November 6, 2009
Potluck Recipe
Today I am going to a potluck and thought I would share the recipe since it is also one of our favorite once a month cooking (oamc) recipes!
Cheesy Chicken and Broccoli Casserole - serves 6
1 can cooked chicken, rinsed and drained
4 cups cooked broccoli
1 can cream of chicken soup (or any cream of ... we have tried several varieties)
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (recipe called for 1/2 cup but we like more)
bread crumbs (plain is fine but we like Italian seasoned)
Combine soup, mayonnaise, lemon juice and curry powder. Spread broccoli in a greased 2 qt. baking dish. Evenly distribute chicken over broccoli and cover with soup mixture. Top with cheese. Sprinkle lightly with bread crumbs. Bake 45 - 60 minutes at 350 degrees or until heated throughout.
To make "kit": Combine chicken, soup, mayonnaise, lemon juice, curry powder and mix well. Spoon into qt. size Ziploc. Measure cheese and put into small ziploc. I use frozen broccoli so I will also measure this out into a ziploc as well. Label a gallon sized ziploc with recipe name and layering and baking directions . Place the smaller ziplocs into a gallon ziploc to create a "kit". You could also measure whatever amount of breadcrumbs you think you might like on top (I generally use bewteen 1/8 - 1/4 cup depending on my mood) and include this in your "kit".
When ready to use your "kit" - thaw it overnight in the refrigerator. Layer cooked broccoli, chicken/soup mixture, cheese and breadcrumbs. Bake for 45 - 60 minutes at 350 degrees or until hot throughout.
I know some of you will feel that using so many smaller baggies may be wasteful - however...
I label my broccoli, cheese and breadcrumb bags as well as my gallon bag for reuse - so I am ONLY throwing away the soup/chicken mixture bag. After I have put the recipe together I put the smaller bags back into the gallon bag and throw it back into the freezer. It helps me know what recipes my family has eaten and what recipes I need to make again when I start my next cooking session.
Hopefully this all makes sense but if you have any questions feel free to ask!
Cheesy Chicken and Broccoli Casserole - serves 6
1 can cooked chicken, rinsed and drained
4 cups cooked broccoli
1 can cream of chicken soup (or any cream of ... we have tried several varieties)
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (recipe called for 1/2 cup but we like more)
bread crumbs (plain is fine but we like Italian seasoned)
Combine soup, mayonnaise, lemon juice and curry powder. Spread broccoli in a greased 2 qt. baking dish. Evenly distribute chicken over broccoli and cover with soup mixture. Top with cheese. Sprinkle lightly with bread crumbs. Bake 45 - 60 minutes at 350 degrees or until heated throughout.
To make "kit": Combine chicken, soup, mayonnaise, lemon juice, curry powder and mix well. Spoon into qt. size Ziploc. Measure cheese and put into small ziploc. I use frozen broccoli so I will also measure this out into a ziploc as well. Label a gallon sized ziploc with recipe name and layering and baking directions . Place the smaller ziplocs into a gallon ziploc to create a "kit". You could also measure whatever amount of breadcrumbs you think you might like on top (I generally use bewteen 1/8 - 1/4 cup depending on my mood) and include this in your "kit".
When ready to use your "kit" - thaw it overnight in the refrigerator. Layer cooked broccoli, chicken/soup mixture, cheese and breadcrumbs. Bake for 45 - 60 minutes at 350 degrees or until hot throughout.
I know some of you will feel that using so many smaller baggies may be wasteful - however...
I label my broccoli, cheese and breadcrumb bags as well as my gallon bag for reuse - so I am ONLY throwing away the soup/chicken mixture bag. After I have put the recipe together I put the smaller bags back into the gallon bag and throw it back into the freezer. It helps me know what recipes my family has eaten and what recipes I need to make again when I start my next cooking session.
Hopefully this all makes sense but if you have any questions feel free to ask!
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
WE WON!
So.... we have a history with drawings - we RARELY ever when one and USUALLY when we do win it is the one thing we DON'T want of all the lovely things that are being offered.
I say history because it has been happening for MANY years! When K was 3 the local card shop was having a drawing for a limited edition Barbie ornament - did we win the cute lil Barbie ornament - Nope, not even close! What we won instead - a 3 foot tall stuffed Barney that when K sat on the floor in front of it - it could rest its chin on top of her head. Do we win the iPods, iTouches, trips, or beautiful pictures a friend often gives away on her photography site - NO.
I say history because it has been happening for MANY years! When K was 3 the local card shop was having a drawing for a limited edition Barbie ornament - did we win the cute lil Barbie ornament - Nope, not even close! What we won instead - a 3 foot tall stuffed Barney that when K sat on the floor in front of it - it could rest its chin on top of her head. Do we win the iPods, iTouches, trips, or beautiful pictures a friend often gives away on her photography site - NO.
Now, what started this tyrant some may ask...? Do you care? Not really? Well, then just skip the whole next paragraph - cause it really won't interest you...
This past weekend we had grand plans to clean up the garden, build the rest of the firewood racks and move the remaining firewood (just to make sure we DON'T have any more rattlesnakes out there somewhere) but at Howard's recheck with the doctors on Friday they told him to take it easy SO none of that got done. So, while doing nothing and listening to the radio while we did it - we kept hearing ads for the grand opening at Lauren's Preserve - a new subdivision here in town. So, that is resting right, just walking through houses so we went over - nice houses with outrageous price tags. We enter the drawing - do we win any of the terrific prizes that we could see ourselves using, abusing and loving? Nope! What we DID win we a pedestal sink and mirror set! Something we have absolutely NO use for - something that totally DOESN'T fit in the decor of our home - something that is now taking up prime real estate in our already bulging garage!
So... Is anyone remodeling a powder room or know someone who is? Because we have a very nice pedestal sink and mirror combo that I'd really like to get out of garage before it gets damaged - otherwise we will be looking to sell it on craigslist or ebay in the next week or so.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Never a Dull Moment...
There is rarely a dull moment around here but yesterday was a bit more exciting than most.
I was expecting to spend some of the day at Huntsville Hospital visiting with B & W while they waited for lil man L to get the okay to go home - that would have been okay - not that L being in the hospital was okay - cause it wasn't - but he was getting to come home! Yay!
I was not, however, prepared for the way the day played out! I woke up to hear the shower water running, thinking it surely must be close to time for K to get up and ready for seminary/school I look at the clock and it is 4:30! I go in to ask H if he had forgotten to tell me about a meeting or something only to find him covered head to toe in hives! So off we go to Walgreens to get some Benadryl - get home dosed up, back to sleep, call into work for him and make him a doctors appt. He goes to the doctor while I run S to an ortho appt. As I drop S off at school I find out he is still at the doctors and he "suggests" I come by. I had no sooner walked in the door until he calls and says that the doctor wants him to go to the hospital and just called in an epi-pen for him and could I go pick it up and bring it back to him and take him to the hospital - so I turn around and head out the door. While I am waiting at the pharmacy the pharmacist turns to me and says they just cancelled the order and want you back over there ASAP as they just called an ambulance for your husband! So I jet back over, check in with him to see how he is doing and start making phone calls. Between the time I last saw him and the time I got back to the doctors office the hives had doubled in both count and size, his left eye was swollen shut, the right eye was starting to swell and he was starting to swell around his mouth and they were concerned his airway might be compromised. D was with me so I called B (who was still at the hospital with W & L) and ask him to meet us in ER so he & D can give H a blessing. Call our home teacher/friend at work and let him know what is going on. Call our emergency contacts that are able to get K from school and give them a heads up so she won't have to drive herself to the hospital (since 1 she would be a wreck and 2 she has never driven on parkway by herself and wouldn't know where to go once she got over that way).
Anyway, to cut a long story a bit shorter - the doctors office had done everything the hospital would have (more Benadryl & steroid injection), he got an iv on the ambulance ride along with some epinephrine and then got to spend a few hours sleeping the day away in the ER while I watched. I had sent D home with B, W & L once L was cleared to go home. We may never know what triggered the attack and he has to follow up with the doctor Friday. I for one am going to ask for an Epi-pen just to be on the safe side!
It has been a very hectic few weeks here - two car accidents, head lice, puppy bitten by a rattlesnake, lil man L bieng admitted and trying to help B & W out as much as possible, K got stopped for speeding - only got a warning but still and then THIS. Here's to hoping things will calm down a bit for us!
Monday, August 31, 2009
Oh... I forgot!
As I was blog-surfing today I came across this site...
http://bedifferentactnormal.blogspot.com/2009/08/princess-clips.html
I so wish Katie was still little so I had an excuse to make some of these!
http://bedifferentactnormal.blogspot.com/2009/08/princess-clips.html
I so wish Katie was still little so I had an excuse to make some of these!
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