Thankfulness Thursday

1. It's cozy inside the house today. Looks like rain is comin'. We don't have to go anywhere today and that makes me happy.



2. Sent the boys out to rake and blow leaves. They came in 12 times to complain that they rake and then the wind just blows more leaves down. I kept sending them back out and telling them to get every last one of them. They love me.



3. Two hours later, they are done (only because I took pity on them and they need to do SOME schoolwork today). I look out at the yard and it doesn't look like they raked at all. But there is a WALL of leaves leading out to the forest. Too funny!


4. Went to Sam's Club yesterday and got lots of BIG food. I love Sam's Club. I also found these little treasures. So yummy and fun.






5. Got to have a sweet date with my Sweetie last night. Walkin' the mall sippin' on my coffee. I love it when the coffee shops come out with their Christmas cups and Reindeer blend coffee. Too yummy.



6. It's my birthday in two days. I love my birthday. I pretty much want to wear a tiara on my head all day long and announce to everyone that it is MY day.


my sister and I wearing our matching tiaras at Disneyland a few years ago, I think she still wears hers.


7. I dropped out of choir last night. Yep. I love our music at our church, the worship is always stellar and so worshipful. I love to sing, seriously, LOVE to sing. But me singing in a mediocre crowd is fine and dandy. But me singing with a group of people that took music in college, can sight read the music, have a range bigger than one note, could totally sing a solo if they needed too....well, I'm just not up to par. Many assured me that it was all fine, but I was done being humiliated and trying to screech out those songs. I kept flitting from soprano to alto, not really knowing what I sing. Finally realizing that I really sounded better with the Tenor's in the back row. I WAS NOT GOING TO STAND IN THE BACK ROW WITH THE GUYS!!!! So I quit. :o)

I'm having flash backs to ballet lessons and either being thrown out of the class (I was 8) or my parents gently suggesting I should give it up. Whatever! The same with dance class in High School. The teacher was so excited about getting me, because she'd had my sister for the 2 years before. After a few months in class she asked my sister, "What's up with Dena?" As if I was adopted and of NO blood relation to her. Whatever!

But looking forward to this season of no singing stress. So I don't care, and now Sweetie and I can have a little date night on Wednesday's when the boys are at their youth activities.


this little cedar tree in our forest, I just love it, look at it's skinny little trunk and big chubby body, too cute



8. I have a renewed sense to loose weight. Really, this time for real. I'm serious, I'm gonna do it. Don't try to stop me. And seriously, don't try to tempt me. Don't be sending me any box of See's Candy, SARA!!!! I'd say I'd post a before photo, but who are we kidding. Don't you know I go through all our photos and DELETE most of the ones of me, unless, of course, I'm standing behind someone. :o)




9. My Daisy Maiser snuggled and napped with me on the couch the other night. She loves me most out of everyone in the house. She's learning to walk on the leash EVEN better. Thanks to Miss Lynne training her this morning on our walk, thanks Miss Lynne, you're the best! She's such a sweetie puppy, even if she did pee on Calvin yesterday in the car AND peed under the dining room table this morning. I still love her, and I'm thankful for the no carpets.


10. The guys are going hunting today. First time this season for the two of them. That would be Calvin and Sweetie. It was Calvin's Christmas present last year to get his gear, safety classes, license & gun. Of course, Sweetie swiftly figured out that that would mean he'd have to go as well. :o) He's a happy-happy man. I'll post pictures tomorrow of them all suited up and please join me in prayer today that they won't actually kill anything, because I like getting my meat from the grocery store, where God intended us to get it. Thank you very much.




Have a Thankful Day.

Cookin' (UPDATED)

I enjoy cooking. But I don't really like cookbooks. I have lots of them, and I will look through them, and sometimes make something precisely from a cookbook, but for the most part, I make things up. I've been doing it for a long time and my family loves it. I don't really make gross things, and they are pretty sweet about just indulging me, plus they were trained early on by my Sweetie and his Mom (their Granny, my mom-in-law), that they can eat what I make or have some dirt. Seriously, that's what we would tell them, dirt...cracks me up.

Today, take for instance, I wanted to make some sort of chicken and butternut squash thingy that would go into the crockpot. My crockpot sitting on the counter cooking my dinner while I clean the house makes me happy. And having squash during the fall is just WHAT YOU'RE SUPPOSE TO DO.

I finally realize how I come to make up pretty good recipes on my own. I first read lots of recipes from other people, whether it be from the internet or my cookbooks. Then in my mind I start making a list and formulating a plan.

Then I go to my kitchen and start throwing that plan into action. What results is probably just a compilation of different recipes that I just read about. Through reading tried & true recipes I get a feel for what foods go good together and what spices and condiments compliment them.

This is what I came up with today:

CHICKEN & BUTTERNUT STEW

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, slightly thawed so they are really easy to cut, cube them (don't we just LOVE boneless, skinless chicken breasts?)
1 whole butternut squash, peeled and cubed (this was my muscle workout for the day)
1 onion, coarsely chopped

Turn your crockpot on low and spray with non-stick spray, then drizzle the inside with olive oil (I don't know why but it seemed like a good idea and we need some fat in our foods). Then sprinkle the sides and bottom of pot with salt & pepper (again, I'm not sure why, it just made me feel like a chef, and I love it when I feel like a chef).

Place chicken and veggies into crockpot and stir together with hands (because that's what the chefs do on TV). They should be big chunks, slightly bigger than you'd put into your mouth in front of your grandmother.

Next I poured in 1/2 c. dry white wine (I don't even know if my wine was dry, but it sounds good, doesn't it?), 1/2 c. chicken broth, and 1/2 c. water.

Then sprinkle over the top, 1 1/2 tsp. rubbed sage, 1 tsp. thyme and lots more pepper & some salt; also, a spoonful of minced garlic. These measurements are not exact as I really don't use measuring spoons, I just grab with my fingers and start sprinklin' till it feels good in my soul.

Then I add 1 handful of barley (again, I'm not sure why, except that I love barley and I add it to anything I put into the crockpot most of the time; it's fiber, it's good for you, and I like adding 'just one more thing'.)

I stir all this together (yes, with a big wooden spoon this time, otherwise my hands smell like garlic the rest of the day and that just isn't good) and then put the lid on it and let it go for about 6 - 8 hours on low.

I'll have to let you know tomorrow if it's any good. :o)

It was SCRUMPTIOUS! Except that I should have browned the chicken in a little oil in the skillet before putting it into the crockpot. But GREAT flavor!

Makin' Me Laugh

So for Sweetie's birthday last weekend, he got several cards. Some he had on his desk in the office, and these two ended up on the mantle. EVERY TIME I walk by I just laugh. We have some very sweet friends that got him a nice Christian card that said such sweet things and was a real blessing. Then there's the card my sister and her family sent him....Yep, you guessed it, the butt one. Isn't that just so nice??? It's just hilarious and the contrast of the two makes me giggle everytime I walk through the living room.


***********************************************************************

On a different note, it's been a couple of days since I've posted a picture of The Daisy Maiser (that's her new name). She's been learning to walk with me on her leash and she's doing SO good. She went on the WHOLE walk yesterday and pretty much took up residence on the couch the rest of the day. A little tuckered out I think. Isn't she just precious???



***********************************************************************



This little birdie has moved to my house. He came on a long journey from the kitchen counter in my Mama's house on the West Coast all the way to my kitchen counter. I've always loved this little bird in my Mama's house, and told her that I really should have it since the red Cardinal is our state bird and because I like it so much. Well, on Sweetie's last trip to CA, she slipped it into his suitcase. Thanks Mama. The Little Birdie is very happy. I think he misses your better cookin' but he does like teasing the cat. Question though: What should I put in his back side? (And by backside I mean 'back' not '...' well, you know.) There is a little cut-out for a tea-light, but since I'm all anti-candles, what should I put in it??? Any ideas?

I'm off to brave the Grocery Stores on a Saturday, Sweetie is swamped at his desk with work, the boys are workin' on their schoolwork. It's a little chilly outside, the leaves are fallin', and the rain seems to be clearing a little. Hope y'all are having a good Saturday whatever you might be doing.

Colorful

We ended up not doing any school yesterday. But the yard got cleaned up pretty good from all the leaves and Dave perfected his car washin' skills on my Camry. The weather was just PERFECT and the trees are just so beautiful. I know it won't last, we'll have cold dreary days soon upon us, so we decided to be out in nature yesterday. Skipped school, went on a long drive to take pictures and got lunch. It was a fun day, just me and my boys.

Here's my lame attempt at capturing the beauty. Either I need photography lessons or a better camera. Either way, enjoy.

viewin' off the back deck


the friendly neighbor fence


seeing the forest through the trees


out for a country drive

Hope you're seein' a little bit of color where ever you are today.

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Today is my Daddy's birthday. Isn't he handsome? I miss him. Love you, Daddy! Hope you have a great day!


He sent me this photo when Calvin was in town with them. All it said was, "See ya, we're on our way to Mexico!"....yeah, he's a funny-funny man!

It's a Birthday Bash

It was Sweetie's birthday this past weekend. We took him away. He needed to get a break from work for a couple of days. We had the best time.

Took the boys and left early Friday. Drove up to Blowing Rock. Dave can't sleep in the car, so he was pretty much miserable and bored.

What you can't hear is the snoring and we had just wiped the drool from his chin, didn't want to embarrass the kid.

The cheapest place I could find was this place. Yeah, we scored. It was in the heart of downtown, so we could just walk everywhere. Too cute and quaint.



Lots of family time, lots of laying around, lots of "wait, get together, I wanna take your picture."







Drive to Valle Cruces, so beautiful and found an old general store, while I was shopping inside, the boys were out back doing stick races in the creek. One of Jay's favorite past times, a sport not given enough recognition, he thinks.





At first I'm taking pictures of the races, then I start to get a little distracted.



I love this man.



I love his strength and that he leads our family so well.



I also think his butt is cute.

We also had a pull-up contest at the local park. Jay was totally killin' it. Dave was no slacker either. Calvin did one. And that's all you really need to know about the contest. Really.









Drove to Grandfather Mountain. Stopped off at the Museum so Calvin could see a bear. Yeah, okay, whatever. I indulged him. There you go, boy, there's your bear. Can we go now?



Then we saw this...



Yeah, that would be the real LIVE bear. They had four of them. Right there. I'm used to the bears at the San Diego Zoo (remember Daddy?), yeah, those were at a nice safe distance. These were 'reach out and touch me' bears. The boys were just mesmerized and I now have 30 pictures of the bears in all sorts of poses.

The museum had a little zoo thing in the back. With a Golden Eagle, Cougars, Otters, Bears and of course Deer. Really, deer? I get those in my yard everyday. I don't need to take pictures of your deer. But the rest of the wildlife was VERY cool.


Mr. Eagle, he was HUGE!


The Cougars that wanted to snack on all the little kids.


Mr. Cutie Patootie Otter


And of course, Mr. Teddy Bear

Next we drove to the hiking trail that leads to the top of the mountain. Our goal for this weekend was to do as much walking and HIKING as we could. The hike was 1/2 a mile. Wow, we really set our sights high, don't we. At the top, there was the swinging bridge. I LOVED it, Dave was fine with it, Jay was VERY quiet, and Calvin was crying like a little girl. (just kidding, he's too old to cry, but there were some very girlie squeals comin' from him)
















On the last day we went out to the Blowing Rock. I was trying to tell the boys the legend about it, and they interrupted me, and told ME the story, as it was taught to them last year in their history book. Don't tell me they aren't learning anything in school!

We missed the peak of the fall colors by about 2 weeks we think, but when we went out to the blowing rock, it was GORGEOUS. The pictures don't even do it justice. It was WAY more vibrant.







Yes, this is my guy. Hanging off the Blowing Rock. He's trying to re-create a pose he did, way back when he was young. But the cliff back then was WAY up high and MUCH scarrier. If I knew how to use our scanner I'd show you. But he wanted me to show you that after 25 years, he's still got it! :o)





It was one of those perfect trips. Where when I was driving down the mountain to come home, I was just in awe. Not just of the amazing beauty that God put on this earth. But for blessing us with such a special weekend together, we are so very thankful.


Back home, Sweetie got his Birthday Cake. Too yummy. Red Velvet Cake with butter cream frosting drizzled over the top.


Lighting the bonfire. 45, it's a good year.