09.30.07

Since May of this year I have been waiting for this date. Why, you ask? It is the day after the Fall Festival! Yesterday was a beautiful day with a clear blue sky and perfect temps.The Festival went so well and people commented on all of the new things and changes. We (the PTA board members) were so filled with adrenaline and excitement during it all. Even the clean up afterward was low on the stress scale. It is always amazing to me the people that volunteer to help out at the last minute. They have no idea how helpful they really are to us.

So, this morning I woke up at 6 a.m. to the sound of the neighbor dog barking his lousy head off. I came downstairs to make sure there wasn't anything crazy going on outside and then continued to listen to his bark for an hour!!! No joke. I had some really evil thoughts about that canine. And, I never went back to bed. Which gets me to the end of the blog...it's 7:00 p.m. and I am enjoying a Spiced Chai Tea in my jammies and getting ready for the premeire of Desperate Housewives tonight. I just hope I can stay up that late!

Here's a sweet little photo of Shelly:Happy Sunday to all.

09.27.07

Here is the recipe for today...this one is a yummy and easy side dish to add to any meal. Big hit with company, too.

Broiled Feta Tomatoes

Slice plum tomatoes in half and place on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning. Then crumble 2/3 cup of Feta cheese over the tomatoes and drizzle with 1/3 cup of Italian dressing. Place under the broiler and broil for 2-3 minutes. Easy and yummy.

Check out more Tasty Thursday entries at The Pumpkin Patch.

The Fall Festival is fast approaching. Lots to do tomorrow and Saturday. It gets pretty exciting as it gets closer. All thoughts are on this major project.

Happy Thursday to all.

09.24.07

Wow, September is almost over! That is almost impossible to believe. We had a nice weekend, but all of us missed John (and he missed us, as well). We greeted him in the driveway when he returned from his trip. So happy to be back together.

I have lots of little house projects under my belt...reorganized the linen closet, cleaned out Shelly's closet, reorganized the craft area in the hovel, folded all the tshirts in the house (see earlier post for video), revamped the pantry and storage of wraps, and finished laundry. So, now I am moving on to a little digital scrapbooking. Haven't done much of that in awhile. Here is what I have so far:

Tonight I am preparing this recipe:

Mexican Lasagna

Begin cooking 1 lb of ground beef, add in 1/2 pack of taco seasoning when the meat is almost done. Drain any grease. Put meat back in pan, add 1/4 cup of water and 6 oz. of Velveta Cheese. Once Cheese has melted, remove from heat, add 3/4 cup of Salsa.

Layer the above mixture with flour tortillas, adding in the Mexican Blend of Cheese in between the layers and then again on top.

Cook for approx 15-20 minutes at 400

I got it through one of those email recipe exchanges. I have actually received quite a few recipes and they all sound great.

This week promises to be busy. The big Fall Festival happens on Saturday and there is the set up the day/night before. By Sunday, I am ready to stay in bed and relax...looking forward to that. Happy Monday.

09.22.07

It's Saturday and it's quiet in our house at 11:00 a.m. Lily had a friend spend the night and they had such a good time together. It was Pirate day at school and they wore their outfits out to dinner...very cute. We came home and they made homemade body scrub, watched a little of High School Musical, ate popcorn, giggled, rearranged Lily's closet (??), and sneaked downstairs at 11:45 p.m. for some milk! I think they finally fell asleep by about midnight. I think they will be asleep early tonight. John is off enjoying some golf time with friends this weekend. So, we are keeping things calm and quiet here for the remainder of the weekend. I am looking forward to receiving these in the mail, soon. Kind of fun and funky and they just slip right on!!!

Here are some random photos:

Lily ready for dance class:

Lily and Shelly hugging: Daddy and his girls:Have a great weekend!

09.19.07

Ok, if you haven't see this ultra cool tshirt folding video...you must watch it now!!! It really works and is so fun to try.

09.19.07

Lots happening around these parts. So, blogging has taken a back seat. Perhaps I can come up with some interesting things to say one day soon! For now, just some tidbits of life around here.

• Busy helping plan the Fall Festival at Lily's school. This is one of those activities that is so fun to attend, but not nearly as much fun to plan. Looking forward to the day after...the 30th. Then I might be able to go back to a relatively normal way of living...less meetings more time to think about the holidays and family.





• Changes for John with work. This seems to trickle down and effect everyone. Keeping positive about it all is making it better.





• Lily has her pirate day on Friday at school and she asked me to create a pirate/skull embroidery on a shirt for her. I was pleased she asked me. Here she is in a trial run of her pirate outfit.
  



• Fall is coming soon and I am so eager for its arrival!!!



• Shelly is enjoying preschool and doing well in the mornings at drop off. Thankful for that.



• I took two large outdoor trash bags full of John's clothes to Goodwill along with several comforter sets that we no longer use and a printer that stopped working years ago. Feels oh so good to purge!!!



• Tomorrow I am dropping off over 100 pieces of clothing at the consignment sale at Shelly's school...another oh so good feeling!

Shelly wearing a crazy wig and using a shoelace as a belt!

Lily working on her homework...she is a hard working student!

Off to organize and clean a few rooms!!!

09.14.07

I love organizing stuff. That in itself doesn't always mean I am organized, but I do get a kick out of attempting to make our lives easier. So, here are some of my favorite spots to check out for organizing ideas:

1. http://www.lifeorganizers.com/school-family/

2. http://declutterit.com/

3. http://personal-organization.daytimer.com/home-organizers/Tri-Fold-Organization-Center-with-Coastlines%20174-Calendar/A0F0FD47ACF544159598076ABEDD96A3/False/11286

4. http://www.organizemag.com/index.html

5. http://www.realsimple.com/realsimple/channel/organize

6. http://www.containerstore.com/

7. http://www.flylady.net/

8. http://www.seejanework.com/index.asp

9. http://unclutterer.com/archives/home_organization/

10. http://www.organizes-it.com/

Ok, those are just a few for you to get started. More later.

09.13.07

My entry this week is a yummy side dish. If you know me well, you know I'm not a big lover of the potato, but this recipe was so good even I enjoyed it. Find more yummy recipes at the The Pumpkin Patch!

Cheesy Ranch New Red Potatoes

INGREDIENTS
12 small new red potatoes, scrubbed and halved
1 cup Ranch-style salad dressing
1 (8 ounce) package shredded Colby-Monterey Jack cheese
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Place potatoes in a large saucepan over medium heat, and cover with water. Bring to a boil, and cook 10 minutes, or until tender; drain.
Place cooked potatoes on an ungreased cookie sheet with the cut side up. Spread a spoonful of dressing on the top of each potato half. Sprinkle with cheese, and lightly dust with pepper.
Bake in the preheated oven for 5 minutes, or until cheese is melted.

09.13.07

Ok here is a tip for the day...back up your computer's hard drive on an external drive/portable flash!!! Go to the store and buy one and do it NOW!!! Really! Why....because my desktop's hard drive died today and I lost a few bits of important info. Good news - my photos are always being backed up at the end of the month. Also, here is a good tip: upload your photos to a site like Winkflash or Snapfish and you'll have them all there waiting for you even if they are lost on your dead hard drive! Main things I lost were recipes, PTA stuff (although I have hard copies of that), and my iTunes library. So, back it up!!! The guy at Dell was so kind when he told me..."well, you'll just need a new hard drive because everything else is working fine". That was funny...you mean my monitor, keyboard and mouse are all working just fine??? Really? Wow, that's great news, because a hard drive is oh so cheap to replace in comparison. Please benefit from my unfortunate experience and get it all on a backup copy. I know I have read this same tip from others about 4-5 times in the last month and I did not heed their advice.

On a happy note, this little girl had a great day at school. And, tomorrow is Friday!

Works for Me Wednesday

Wow, this is going to be my very first WFMW post. Really excited about it! Here is a tip I learned awhile back from a friend. The night before your trash goes out, clean out your refrigerator. This way you never have leftover stuff in there for long and it will go out to the trash the next morning. Also, a nice guarantee that the fridge is cleaned out weekly. Hope it Works for You. Check out other great ideas at this site: http://rocksinmydryer.typepad.com/

09.09.07

So, on Thursday afternoon Lily had a friend over after school. We were all downstairs talking about Lily's hermit crab, Sandy, and Claire was telling us about the death of her hermit crab. The girls went upstairs to check on Sandy and came down with big news that the hermit crab was out of her shell. This was exciting for all of us. The next bit of big news was not quite as exciting...sadly, Sandy the crab had died. Lily was upset, but fortunately Claire was here to make her feel better. On Friday night we had a ceremony for the hermit crab's burial complete with a Bible reading (2 Corinthians 1:3-5) and farewell prayer. The crab is buried right near the watermelon patch.

The watermelon is another story. Last year, Lily planted some watermelon seeds from a watermelon slice she had at lunch one day. The seeds grew and grew and eventually produced about 15 large and yummy watermelons. My very smart mother saved some of the seeds from their watermelon (that came from our patch) and gave them to Lily. We planted them and guess what??? A watermelon is peeking from the vines. We have been told that watermelons are difficult to grow, so it has been so much fun to see that these watermelons are growing in our little patch. Here are some photos of the girls watering the melons and a picture of the little watermelon getting ready to be a big watermelon!

Also, some photos of the wire girls that I got for a great deal at the Pier 1 Kids going out of business sale. The heads are in Shelly's room and the walking girls are in Lily's room:

It's time to play the Tasty Thursday blog game. So, the topic is football appetizer foods. So, here is one for you (an easy recipe that is a crowd favorite!):

Bit O' Brie

3/4 cup finely chopped pecans

1/4 cup Kahlua

3 T. brown sugar

14 ounce Brie

In a pie plate, microwave pecans on high for 4-6 minutes. Stir every 2 minutes until toasted.

Mix Kahlua and sugar and add pecans. Remove top of Brie. Place on pie plate and top with Kahlua mix. Microwave for 1-2 minutes until soft and bubbly.

Very yummy...I promise!!!

09.05.07

Wow, I'm on a bloggin' roll! Another post...well, all is well. I have been cleaning, decorating for Fall, and spending quiet time at home with Shelly today. I like the fact that most Mondays and Wednesdays we are home together with no place to go. I also enjoy my days out on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Makes for a nice balance all the way around.

I have been looking around the web at some fun things. This is a nifty site where you can list what interests you...check it out. I am still working on my list of all the cool things I run across.

Always enjoy this gossip site for the latest happenings.

And finally, adding a little You Tube video from a classic favorite of mine. Loved this when I was a little girl...I had the record, the book, and loved the program.

09.04.07

Another first day of school around here. This time for Shelly. She was so excited to get going and walked into the class with only a slight bit of apprehension. Once inside the room, she saw several other children who were sad and ranged from mopey to all out pitching a fit. I think this threw her off her game and she also got sad and began crying. I finally was able to let her go and the teacher took her into the room. I stayed in the hall for a few minutes and the other moms assured me that she was fine.

So, off I went to run my errands. I completed the following and felt good about it: (and people ask what I do during my BIG 8 hours a week that I am alone!!! LOL)

• Bank
• Notary
• Dry cleaners
• McDonald's for the $1 Large unsweetened iced tea with lemon (a savings of 37 cents from last year's Chik-Fil-A tea)
• Pier 1 Kids going out of business sale
• Barnes and Noble to use a gift card on a sewing book and this magazine
• Michael's to buy crows for Fall decor (this amused my mother)
• Target to check out this organizational system for the girls' toys
• Quizno's for a little lunch (where they specially made my double cheese melt...no longer on the menu)
• Dollar General for paper towels and plastic wrap
• Kohl's (where I saw the new Vera Wang line...cute...although this piece was reminiscent of Maria in Sound of Music)...wow, apparently this new line is really under wraps and you have to go to the store to check it out...sorry no images of the designs on the web.

So a good day overall. When I picked up Shelly all had gone well and she was very enthusiastic about her day...her teachers, her friends, the playground. All good. And she took a little snooze once she got home.

09.02.07

Good Sunday Morning to all!!! We slept in until about 8 a.m. and got up to make a buffet of breakfast items...mini cinnamon buns, eggs, french toast sticks, waffles, coffee, milk, and chocolate chai tea. Then finished up some laundry, straightened up the house a bit, cleaned up the kitchen, and wandered through a blog or two. All this time (post breakfast) John has been working on a Soduko puzzle...for like an hour and a half!!! He's sharpening those mental skills...good for him.

So, now for a recent Target purchase update. I bought Lily the cutest pair of simple black flats at KMart a while back and have been trying to find a pair for me that I liked and fit me well. Finally, Target came through with the perfect pair and I also found some in leopard print on sale, so had to have those as well. And I'm thinking this pair would be a cute addition to my winter wardrobe (LOL...not quite sure what my winter wardrobe consists of at this point).

We are looking forward to a little cookout this afternoon at our friend's home. Made some of the Italian appetizer bites and Ghiradelli brownies for the event. Taking it easy on Labor Day. Cheers to all.

09.01.07

Can you feel it??? Fall is in the air...well, kind of. It is still warm here, but the temps promise to stay in the 80s for a couple of days and it's September!!! Surely that means that crisp fall air will soon be here. I love this time of year. It always feels fresh with new beginnings. As a teacher, I loved the idea of a new classroom full of students, new school supplies, and new teaching ideas. Now, as a mom, I love the start of a new routine and schedule, a new teacher, and new school clothes for my girls.



It was a successful week at school for Lily. She loves her teacher and the students in her class. She had a great time at recess playing with all of her schoolmates. Shelly went to the Open House at her school on Thursday to meet her new teacher, Mrs. Lori. Lily also had Mrs. Lori when she was in preschool. Shelly was shy and reserved, but I think she'll have fun. There will be 9 girls and 3 boys in her class this year and she knows several of the children from last year. Our major obstacle will be potty training. Yes, at 3 and a half Shelly still isn't potty trained. This is something that doesn't really bother me. I feel very confident that she will do her thing in her own time. But, the school (for obvious reasons) is asking that she wear Pull Ups to school and they will take her to the bathroom just like those who are potty trained. So, we'll see how it goes. Maybe she just might decide to give it a try...or maybe she won't. Such is life.



Here's to a long weekend and sleeping in later!!! Oh, and here are the pictures for this post:

Lily greeting her sister as she gets off the bus on the first day of school

A pail of homemade chocolate chip cookies for the bus driver

A bag of homemade cookies for the kids as they got off the bus on the first day of school