**Make sure you turn off my blog music at the bottom of the page to hear the video...:)
Monday, July 27, 2009
Awesome Wedding Video!
I thought I had seen it all, but this wedding video is awesome! This couple really knew how to make their wedding unforgettable and entertaining with such a cool entrance. If Michael and I ever renew our vows, we just might have to steal this idea! That is if Kyle and Laura don't steal it first!
Monday's Menu
It's been amazing how posting these weekly menus has really helped me to stay committed to fixing our meals at home. We've saved quite a bit of $$...not from just 'eating in', but as I plan my menus, I also check the pantry/fridge for ingredients I need. Instead of buying dinner ingredients on a whim (and many times buying things I already have), I am able to plan and even center meals around items we already have available.
One thing I've really enjoyed (and Michael too!) is that over the past 3-4 months, I don't think I've repeated more than 2-3 meals. I've really begun to enjoy thumbing through my cookbooks (instead of using them for kitchen decor only!), trying new recipes of friends, and browsing the internet/TV for some new ideas. There truly are tons of EASY, FAST ideas out there...it's just taking the time to look :)
Monday: Sweet n' Sour Pork Chops, saffron rice, broccoli n' cheese, honeyed carrots.
Tuesday: Burrito Pie, Fruit Salsa w/ cinnamon tortilla chips
Wednesday: Chicken w/ peppercorn sauce, garlic potato cakes, tomato salad
Thursday: Lasagna, pepperoni bread roll
Friday: French onion beef roast, carrots and potatoes, Caesar salad
Weekly Recipes:
Pepperoni Bread Roll:
1 Tbsp. butter
1 (13.8 oz) refrigerated pizza crust dough
24 pepperoni slices
1/4 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning
1 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Melt butter in microwave safe bowl. Lay pizza dough flat on work surface and spread butter evenly over dough. Sprinkle evenly with remaining ingredients. Fold over one side of dough (about 2 inches wide) and gently pat down folded side. Continue to fold over until seam is on bottom. Cut 1/2 inch slits in top of dough about 2 inches apart. Place on baking sheet and bake 15 minutes. Serve.
From Publix Apron's Simple Meals Recipes
Chicken w/ Peppercorn Sauce:
1 lb. chicken tenderloins
1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
3/4 c. reduced fat milk
1 (1 oz. ) pkg. peppercorn sauce mix
Preheat large saute pan on medium heat for 2-3 minutes. Place chicken and mustard in medium bowl; toss chicken to coat evenly. Coat pan with cooking spray. Place chicken in pan using tongs; cook 2 minutes on each side. Stir in remaining ingredients. Cook 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently. Serve.
From Publix Apron's Simple Meals Recipes
Sweet n' Sour Pork Chops:
8 thick boneless pork chops
1/3 c. soy sauce
1/3 c. chili sauce
1/2 c. honey
Place pork chops in a shallow baking pan. Combine soy sauce, chili sauce, and honey; pour over chops. Bake, covered, at 325 degrees for 50 minutes. Delicious over yellow rice!
From my Sumner County School Nutrition Cookbook...submitted by Tamera Clark
Friday, July 24, 2009
It's Christmas in July!
Last summer, a friend of mine hosted a 'Christmas in July' party at her home for her kiddos and their friends. Cole and I went and had such a fun time!
I loved the idea of having a playdate centered around such a cute theme, so I decided to host a party of our own this year.
I sent out Christmas invites, gathered red/green decor, and pulled out my Christmas CD's to really give our party a holiday feel. Yes...I even found my candycane and holly headband which I wore proudly throughout our fun day :)
We had 9 moms and 11 kiddos join us at our home for the fun. The Lord blessed us with a gorgeous, sunny day for pool/water play, and the tent Michael placed in the yard was the perfect amount of shade for us moms to sit and chat.
Alexis, Jacob, Dagen, and Cole enjoying the water
Andrew loved mowing the grass
The Hall crew in the pool...Casey, Alexis, and Jacob
Jessica and sweet Jonah...he'll really join in the fun next year!
Briley and Jonah playing while the 'big' kids do a craft
After an hour of fun in the sun, we ate a delicious potluck lunch, let the kids exchange gifts (they each had a name prior to the party for easy shopping), decorated Christmas trees with crayons and sequins, and decorated Christmas tree sugar cookies with icing and sprinkles (which Cole helped me bake the night before).
Exchanging gifts...
Cole loved his sidewalk chalk and Thomas book from Preston
Trying to get a pic of Preston and Cole...Cole was too interested in the book :)
Decorating Christmas trees...
Decorating and eating yummy cookies!
Before heading home, everyone came inside for some dry clothes (and cool air!)...and of course the kids spotted the train set. It was hilarious watching all of them playing with the set in a not-so-big room. I must say, with a room full of 1-3 year olds, they shared and played very well :)
We had so much fun and will definitely host this again next year. I believe it will be a new summer tradition for us. Merry Christmas!
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Michael's New Ride
Yesterday we ventured to Harley Davidson of Cool Springs to pick up Michael's new bike. Now, I'm no expert on motorcycles, but I really like what Michael chose. It's a 2006 Harley Sportster 883 Custom. All I know is that it's LOUD! :)
Thanks to Larry Yarger for letting us borrow the motorcycle trailer to haul it home AND to my dad for pulling the trailer and helping unload.
Today he took his first ride and met Cole and I at Chick-Fil-A for lunch. He loved the way it handled and was so excited to be living out one of his dreams.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
What An Eventful Day!
Yesterday was a wonderful day. Not only was the weather gorgeous (it felt like September!), but so many exciting things took place to truly mark this as a special day.
#1: Kyle is ENGAGED! Yay!! I'm so happy for my sweet brother and his fiance, Laura. Kyle proposed on the beach at sunset yesterday in Florida. He visits there every year with Laura and her family. It was the perfect place for such a special moment. She was so surprised! I'll be sure to post pictures of the happy couple when they return next week.
#2: We celebrated my Grandaddy's b'day yesterday evening. We've made it a tradition for our family to gather mid-July to enjoy the summer weather and celebrate my grandaddy. We enjoyed a few games of Cornhole (my team was the champ!), some good food, and a sweet time with those we love.
Wes and Callie
Cole (with a mouthful of food) and Mommy
Cole collecting sticks and rocks for his trucks to haul
Happy Birthday Grandaddy!
Blow out the candles!
Cole giving everyone fist-bumps before they leave
Listening to his music on Daddy's IPod while we finished our Cornhole game. Can't believe it was cool enough for a jacket!
Hugs for all!
#3: This is probably the most exciting for us...Michael bought a HARLEY!!! Yep...a Harley Davidson Sportster (go ahead and pray for me...daily!). Last summer, he took the Motorcyle License course at Vol State and finished top of his class. Ever since, he's been saving up and looking to find the perfect bike. On Friday, he test drove a bike from the Harley dealership in Rivergate. That's when I knew he was getting serious, and I was getting nervous! Yesterday, he headed to Cool Springs to check out the lot there, and found a beautiful bike. Chromed out, amazing sound, 2006 model, only 1,000 miles, and in his price range.
He kept calling me throughout the morning with all the details. With every call, I could hear the excitement build in his voice and was just waiting for the words "I bought it". When he came home around 2:00 with a smile stretched from ear to ear, I knew that he was now the proud owner of a motorcycle :)
Although I'm still getting used to the idea of being a biker babe (ha!!), I'm so happy for Michael. He was diligent in saving and looking to find exactly what he wanted. This has always been his dream and I'm happy to share this moment with him. He'll pick the bike up tomorrow and I'll post pics of my handsome hunk on his new ride :) Pink chaps...here I come!
Friday, July 17, 2009
Our First Letterboxing Adventure
I've gotten so much wonderful feedback from friends after sharing with you all about letterboxing. Lots of you have tried it with your families and are having a blast! Many of you keep asking if our family has tried it...well, now the answer is 'YES'!
Yesterday, Cole and I went to Hobby Lobby to purchase our family stamp and some ink pads. We got lucky and happened upon a stamp sale where all stamps/ink pads, etc. were 50% off :) For our family stamp and 4 colored ink pads, I only spent $8.00! There were so many stamps to choose from...it was somewhat difficult to decide on one that was perfect for our family. I thought about doing an individual stamp for each of us, but couldn't really find the 'perfect' ones for our personalities. So...I decided on one stamp for the family. I chose one that says "Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good." Not only will this be a witnessing tool to all the letterboxes that we find, but it truly sums up what our family tries to embrace. We strive to give thanks to the Lord daily for his blessings in good times and in bad.
Now that we had all of our tools (stamp, ink pad, pen, family journal), we were ready to look up some clues and begin our hunt. I recommend using www.atlasquest.com. You can type in your region/city in the top right corner and choose a mile radius from that location that you'd like it to search. I typed in Hendersonville with a 10 mile radius. MANY letterbox clues appeared...most of which are located right down the road from our home at the park. We selected a few for the evening and set out to embark on our new adventure.
Our tools...
Cole just had to try out all the ink pad colors before we left :)
After a quick dinner at Subway, we headed to the park to start hunting. Cole loves to feed the ducks (thank goodness we had some leftover Subway bread), so we let him play for a moment before we began.
After feeding the ducks, it was off to find our first letterbox. The first one was a bit tricky, but with some help from my manly husband (climbing through all the trees, brush, and probably some poison oak), we spotted it and placed our first stamp in our journal.
Here we go!
What a man!
Cole contributing by collecting rocks and playing in the mud :)
We found it! Our first letterbox...'Aaaarrrrgggghhhh' was the title.
Checking out all the stamps of the people that found this letterbox before us...very interesting!
Putting their stamp into our journal.
Putting our family stamp into the letterbox journal and signing our name/date.
After finding our first letterbox we decided that we had enough time to search for one more. Michael and I both really got into the whole 'scavenger hunt' idea...it's so much fun and I can tell will be very addicting!
Heading back to search for letterbox #2
We found it! Tweedle-Dee-Doo was this title.
Of course, before leaving the park, Cole had to play in the sand and run around on the playground. We didn't mind at all...the evening was cool and the park wasn't crowded. It was the perfect evening.
We had so much fun and can't wait to hunt for more soon! If you'd like to join us, let us know and we'll plan a date!
Our first stamps in our journal...can't wait to get more!
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