I can't believe today is the last day of 2011! In some ways it was a long, and frustrating year, but in some ways it was a fun, busy and entertaining year. I suppose all years are this way to some degree. I tend to not regret anything that happened because I don't see the point. Everything happens for a reason, and I like to believe that not just the good, but also the bad makes us a better person. I have no grand plans for 2012 nor do I have a ton of resolutions. I used to make them every year, I never kept them a single time. :)
We certainly aren't ending the year the way I'd have wanted with Jason and I both sick, but as his Kindergarten teacher used to say quite a bit, "you get what you get and you don't pitch a fit" and we too, use this phrase a lot in our house.
We will keep our tradition of a quiet, stay at home New Year's Eve where we spend the evening watching old movies. We've done it every year for years and years. This year it sounds quite appealing with it be a bit nippy and very windy and us being sick. Forget the fancy cocktails, just give us some hot chocolate this time. :)
And now my friends and family, we wish you a wonderful and happy 2012!
I can't believe today is the last day of 2011! In some ways it was a long, and frustrating year, but in some ways it was a fun, busy and entertaining year. I suppose all years are this way to some degree. I tend to not regret anything that happened because I don't see the point. Everything happens for a reason, and I like to believe that not just the good, but also the bad makes us a better person. I have no grand plans for 2012 nor do I have a ton of resolutions. I used to make them every year, I never kept them a single time. :)
We certainly aren't ending the year the way I'd have wanted with Jason and I both sick, but as his Kindergarten teacher used to say quite a bit, "you get what you get and you don't pitch a fit" and we too, use this phrase a lot in our house.
We will keep our tradition of a quiet, stay at home New Year's Eve where we spend the evening watching old movies. We've done it every year for years and years. This year it sounds quite appealing with it be a bit nippy and very windy and us being sick. Forget the fancy cocktails, just give us some hot chocolate this time. :)
And now my friends and family, we wish you a wonderful and happy 2012!
Because I truly can't figure out where it went. A year ago Kevin was working for Infocrossing, and therefore working from home 4 days a week. Jason was in 3rd grade. Michelle worked at Starbucks and Michael at Walmart. Fastforward a year and Kevin works for 1st Bank,Jason is in 4th grade and Michelle is active duty Air Force and Michael works at JCP! Wow! Crazy year for sure.
While we didn't actually have snow falling Christmas weekend, we did(and still do)have several inches still on the ground from this past week's two storms. Our street is actually still a sheet of ice!
We had a good Christmas this year. We received a lot of really nice gifts and goodies. We were able to do a video chat with Chris & Shelley Christmas Eve night and Michael spent the weekend with us.
We are taking this week off from school and Kevin took the week off work and we are going to simply relax. Everyone was tired and rundown after a hectic month and it is going to be nice to just sit and do nothing!
We hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and that you are all looking forward to a fantastic and healthy 2012!
Now I'll leave you with a bit of our past week. :)
Sometimes, like this morning, when I look outside and realize I have to shovel, or I look around my house at the folded clothes needing to be put away, or the way my 9yr old boy attempts to make his bed in the morning and I start wondering how on earth will I make a dent in getting things done. I wasn't feeling particularly good to begin with, but the chores for the day seemed like endless amounts of crapola. To top that off, Jason has been in one of his "talk NONstop for hours and hours" moods. And as a mom, you want to listen or at least pretend like you're paying attention, but if you're a mom, you KNOW that there are times where, you just tune it out for a few minutes. Of course with me, it always happens that this is the time he will actually ask for an answer or something and of course you have NO idea what the heck he just said. :) This can prove to be most tricky.
We were supposed to do school this week, but we didn't yesterday. Of course losing power had a little to do with that. Today isn't looking a lot better for it but I have hopes of doing something before the week is over. He has managed however, to take some green yarn and tie it around things and go through the ENtire house hooking it around various things. He *says* he is making a trap. For what, I do not know.
I have learned a few things though yesterday and this morning. First, always keep your cell charged because if you lose power, you can't charge it! Second, when the power goes out, the dishwasher stops. It doesn't just start back, you actually have to start it again. Third, try though as I might, I simply am not as young as I used to be, and sometimes it becomes quite evident! And fourth, I remember when Jason was a baby(well, when all 3 boys were babies)thinking how much easier it would be when they were older and could do things by themself. How nice it would be to not have to watch them every second. Now, with Jason approaching 10, double digit age, I realize how much I truly miss my babies being babies! Every now and again he'll look at me and I see glimpes of a little kid still in there, but at the same time, there are instances where I see glimpes of a a little man!
At the end of any day, regardless of how tired I might be, or bad I might feel, I do realize how truly blessed I am to have 4 amazing kids and the most wonderful husband in the world and they're ALL mine! For that, I am truly grateful!
Love, love, love this recipe! I normally make regular taco soup with ground beef or sometimes ground turkey, but had never tried it before with chicken. YUM. And with it being so cold and windy and snowy, it is perfect on a night like tonight!
Chicken Taco Soup
Place 1 small chopped yellow onion, 1 small can of corn(not creamed)1/2 can black beans, 1 8oz can tomato sauce, 1 can of diced tomatoes with green chiles, 1 can cream of chicken soup, 12oz beer, and 1 envelope taco seasoning(or make your own)in a crockpot and mix together. Place 3 boneless, skinless chicken breast(could use thighs) on top and submerge in mixture. Cook on low for 5 hours and remove chicken to cool and add 1/3 cup cream, 1/2 & 1/2 or milk. Shred chicken and return to crockpot and heat on warm setting for about half an hour and mix thoroughly.
It IS a bit spicy, but not TOO bad. Very yummy with crackers! Will definitely make this again.
Not the best week but it did end nicely. Got the heart monitor turned in Monday, that was an adventure! The rest of the week seemed to fly by somehow. I was quite busy so perhaps that something to do with it? We got Starbucks last night and rode around Falcon looking at Christmas lights. Saw one house that looked like they were putting up lights and just gave up, and we saw some houses that were so lit up you could see them from the moon. The best by far had a tree in the window but in an upstairs window had a virtual Santa. It was the coolest thing we'd ever seen. It looked real!! Kevin came home and googled and sure enough you can buy it for $300.
Recipe for this blog, roast.
3-5lb roast
1 packet onion soup mix
black pepper
1lb portabello mushrooms
12oz beer
Chop the mushrooms and layer on bottom of crockpot. Put roast on top and spread onion soup mix and sprinkle with pepper. Pour the beer over. Cook on low 8ish hours. It smelled awesome and tasted even better.
One more recipe for the night, onion pie.
Cook a small onion in 2T butter until soft. Add 1/3 cup cream and cook for a minute or so to thicken . Sprinkle with a bit of salt and pepper. Take a frozen pie shell and set on a cookie sheet. Take 3 eggs and mix with 3/4 cup shredded cheese. Put onion mixture in pie shell and cover with egg mixture. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Very yummy and goes great with the roast!
Gonna share tonight's dinner recipe to not only share, but as I've mentioned before this gives me a 2nd or 3rd place to store recipes. I have not tried this but it sounds wonderful. Can't say it won't be a heavy meal, but it does sound like a good one if you're trying to have a day or two weekly with no meat.
Mushroom Pie
Prep Time: 20 minutes Cook Time: 40 minutes Ready in: 1 hour
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 (10 ounce) package fresh mushrooms, sliced
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 4 slices bacon, chopped
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup shredded Swiss cheese
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 teaspoon chopped fresh dill
- 1 (17.25 ounce) package frozen puff pastry, thawed
- 1 egg, beaten
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
- Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms, onion and bacon; cook and stir for about 5 minutes, or until vegetables are tender. Reduce the heat to medium, and add the cream and dill; cook and stir for about 10 more minutes. Remove from the heat, and stir in the cheese.
- Place one sheet of puff pastry on a well oiled baking sheet, and pour the mushroom filling over the top. Cover with the other sheet, and press the edges together to seal. Make some holes in the top with a fork. Brush the top with beaten egg.
- Bake for about 40 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown. Cool, then cut into squares to serve.
In reading some of the homeschool blogs I frequent, the main theme for this month is homeschool & December. It got me thinking how true some of the posts were that I was reading. Not *only* in December, but the entire year. Our year, month, week, and day would I assure you, not look like a normal public and or private school day. And you know what? I can't think of anything more wonderful!
If you were to come to our home on any given day, I can pretty much guarantee you'd see what to you, looked like total chaos and a home that appeared to be in desperate need of cleaning. Not cleaning as in everything is dirty, cleaning as in most days you're gonna find dishes in the sink to be washed. Most days you're gonna find laundry that needs to be done. You might realize we need to dust in some spots. But, I can tell you it isn't as it seems. You see, I'm thrilled to see dishes in my sink in need of washing. Why, you ask? Because that means I've cooked something hot and healthy for my family. If there were never dishes in there, well then that would mean I don't cook. Now mind you dear readers, this is certainly not to say we never pertake of fast food. I am after all, human.
We do not live by public school rule. We do not have a set 8-3 school day. Some days our *school* day doesn't resemble a school day at all. Is Jason learning? Yes, he is. At his own pace. If he doesn't "get" something, say his 8's muliplication, I can do that in math every single day for a month if I have to. When we come across things that he just gets, or already knows, we can blow right through that without spending sometimes more than a day on it. I can tell when he's not paying attention and seems bored. I now know this his a clue to me that he does indeed, "get it" and it's time to move on.
I will not make this a post on what public schools do or don't do. I truly have nothing against them and he had a good 1st grade as well as 1st grade teacher. But something happens out here, perhaps all over I don't know, but definitely out here. The kids in 1st-maybe 6th grade "seem" to learn an awful lot. Almost "too" much it would seem. Then by the time they graduate high school, they "seem" to know nothing. NOTHING. I won't go on and on, but back when I was in high school, we had what, 6-7 periods in the day? We were taught what we needed to know to go forward after graduation. The high school in our district has what they call, "A-day and B-day". I'm sorry, but I just do not understand this. Why do they feel they need to give them a zillion classes, and all lasting maybe 40-45 minutes? WHAT are they learning? In homeschool, we have the freedom to teach only the basics. Jason knows about tolerance and such, but I don't have to spend an hour a day with a cultural awareness class.
This brings me to December. I love December. I love what I can do at home this month that Jason wouldn't be getting in school. We can talk about Santa. We can have a Christmas tree. We can discuss the true meaning of Christmas and the birth of Jesus. We are in fact, currently doing a Christmas Unit Study by Amanda Bennett dealing with the real meaning. Some he already knows from kid church, but he is eager to study it every day and I think that is wonderful.
We can have days where all we do is bake cookies. Yes, that would be the school for that day. You can use math and science. Some days we do clean and yes, you guessed it, that can be used as a school day, too. Life lessons I call them. Laundry, shopping etc.
So, our day to day schooling is totally nothing like a regular day you'd think of, but at the end of the week, we've done what we need to do and he's learned what he's learned. At the end of a year, he is at least grade level on some things, and way above on others.
I certainly don't begrudge the public school system and I happen to know a few teachers! :) I admire them all for what they do. It can't be easy sometimes. But for me, and our family, homeschool is the only option. We control what our child learns, and when. And with that said, "Merry Christmas"!!
Ever have one of those weeks where it's Sunday morning and you think to yourself, "wow, a whole week ahead of me", only to wake up again, and it's Sunday morning and you think to yourself, "wow, where did Monday-Saturday go".......Yeah, that kinda sums up my week.
Sunday the 4th was rather icky, really. Cold, foggy, windy, flurries and a nice little tummy bug. Yucky day. Monday wasn't a whole lot better. The only difference was the flurries turned to snow, and the tummy bug was a little better. Kevin worked from home due to the weather. It was either that, or spend 4 hours on the road to get up to Denver. He chose work from home.
Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday were spent baking and making cookies and candies. I had the whole can't have caffeine for 24 hours that started Thursday morning. THAT wasn't fun. Friday I had heart tests that weren't a lot of fun, either. I also got to have a monitor hooked up to me to wear until Saturday morning. Even tried to sleep with one? You can't! I was so happy to take it off.
Today was much, much better. Relaxing morning with Kevin, fantastic church service, awesome food at Cracker Barrel and a trip to Barnes and Noble. Oh, and a stop at Starbucks. ;)
Hoping this week is a little bit more relaxed and that we get some school done.
Even sitting here typing this I am asking myself, "why "this" color and why "this" size font" and yet I'm still typing and using it.
Our weekend has been cold and snowy. Mostly cold. Thursday we had snow but it was so windy it's merely a guess at how much we received. Friday was cold, cold. I did make a recipe I had found two years ago for leftover Thanksgiving food. Not particularly sure why it took me two years to do, but I did, and it's pretty good. Basically you use pie crust, the fridge variety, not frozen, or use homemade. You cut little triangles(you can make them as big as you want)and fill them with turkey and gravy and either mashed potatoes or dressing and could probably use sweet potatoes. Plop some on a piece of pie crust and cover with another piece of the same size and seal the edges and cut a little slit in the top. Spray them down with a little cooking spray and bake until done. I forget how long it said to bake, but it wasn't right. I just had to watch them. They bake at 400 degrees though. You make a sauce out of cranberry sauce and chili sauce and that is it. Warm it and dip the little boogers in it. Not bad. Not bad at all.
Saturday it was flurries and cold but we braved it and went to Village Inn for brunch and did some shopping at Dick's Sporting Goods and and stopped by Starbucks and came home! I made some yummy soup last night but there is no recipe. I litterally made it up! But it was delish on a very cold night.
Today is cold again but we haven't seen snow, yet, although they say it's coming, 4-6 inches between 2:00 Monday morning through noon Monday. No word yet on what tonight's food choice will be. I'm feeling particulary lazy. =)
We did watch some football yesterday. I don't see how anyone can look at LSU and think they aren't the best team in college football this year. They just are. Yes, that means my team isn't. ;) We had our year last year and Bama in '09, but from where I'm sitting it's all LSU in '11. I also think OK ST made a pretty good argument for a BCS run after last nights' womping of OK. Regardless of what happens I'll be sad when the season is over and will wait somewhat patiently for the '12 season to begin. ;) Hopefully the Braves will kick some booty during the spring and summer.
And two recipes. One, the first actually I'm not totally sold on, but since some people really like Red Velvet(myself included)I'll post it.
Red Velvet Pancakes
Ingredients
1/2 cup mascarpone cheese 1/4 cup creme fraiche 2 tablespoons white sugar 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest 1 cup all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt 3 tablespoons white sugar 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder 1 large egg 3/4 cup buttermilk 1/4 cup creme fraiche 1 tablespoon red food coloring 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Directions
Prepare the mascarpone glaze by whisking together the mascarpone cheese, 1/4 cup creme fraiche, 2 tablespoons white sugar, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract, and lemon zest in a bowl until smooth. Set aside.
Prepare the pancake batter by whisking the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, 3 tablespoon sugar, and cocoa powder together in a bowl; set aside. Beat the egg in a separate bowl with the buttermilk, 1/4 cup creme fraiche, red food coloring, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract until smooth. Stir in the flour mixture until moistened, then add the melted butter, and continue stirring until only small lumps of flour remain. If batter appears a little thick, add more buttermilk.
Heat a lightly oiled griddle over medium-high heat. Drop batter by large spoonfuls onto the griddle, and cook until bubbles form and the edges are dry. Flip, and cook until browned on the other side. Repeat with remaining batter. Drizzle pancakes with the mascarpone glaze to serve.
Nutritional Information
Amount Per Serving Calories: 520 | Total Fat: 35.2g | Cholesterol: 153mg
The 2nd, something that has definitely sparked my curiosity....
Microwave Divinity:
Place 2 egg whites in the bowl of a heavy duty stand mixer;let stand until room temperature for 30 minutes.
In a microwave safe bowl, combine 2 1/4 cups sugar, 1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup light corn syrup and 1/8 tsp salt. Cook uncovered, on high for 4 minutes. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Cook 6-8 minutes or until a candy thermometer reads 260(hard boil stage(. Stirring every two minutes. During last 2 minutes of cooking, beat egg whites on med to med high speed until stiff peaks form.
With mixer on high speed carefully pour the hot syrup mixture in a slow but steady strream. Continue beating just until it loses it's gloss and holds its shape. Approx 15 minutes. Immediately stir in 1/2 cups chopped pecans and 1 1/2 tsp vanilla.
Quickly put spoonfuls onto waxed paper to cool and harden.
And now it's time for the fireplace folks!
