Just some thoughts

I never got around to making the apple butter yesterday but I'm going to try it someday! There's just never enough hours in the day.
The hubby ended up only working for a short time so we went to my mother in laws house to drop of 3 of the kids for the day.She has horses and dogs and all kinds of room to run so they enjoy being there.It was nice to get a little break I must say.
We only had my oldest daughter and the 2 youngest so we walked around the flea market which was hot but fun,then we ate dinner at a local place famous for it's wings. (it was actually where hubby and I had our 1st date,real romantic huh??!!)
We had a nice day.

I've been keeping an eye on the giant hurricane headed for Louisiana and it's just so frightening.I have family in Florida so every time there's a storm down there I worry.My thoughts and prayers go out to all those people in it's path. I hope they can get to a safe place. I can't imagine feeling that helpless,just knowing it's coming and not a single thing to do about it.

Autumn is coming

I can't believe it's Labor day weekend? Where did the summer go? School has started and we had our 1st big football game last night.(unfortunately is got pretty much rained out)I've never been a big game watcher but my 2 oldest started going last year and now it's mandatory around here.It is fun to see all the kids (and parents!)and the way they paint themselves up with the school colors.This town has always been big on that team spirit stuff.
This is my favorite time of the year and I usually start putting out my fall decorations around now.Well,ok truthfully I've already started but as I've been hopping around other blogs I see I'm not the only one that gets started early!
I just love the warmth of the colors and all the homey smells.I've had this recipe for crock pot apple butter that I've wanted to try for a few years now I think I might give it a go this weekend.The hubby is working all day today and I have a ton of cleaning to do but it looks pretty easy.I want to get the house all straightened up(as straight as it gets anyway)before I start bringing all the fall stuff in from the garage.I can't wait!
I actually saw a home in our neighborhood with pumpkins out on the porch already!
FUN!
September


Brierly Ashour~~


When the goldenrod is yellow,
And leaves are turning brown -
Reluctantly the summer goes
In a cloud of thistledown.

When squirrels are harvesting
And birds in flight appear -
By these autumn signs we know
September days are here.

What the heck and me feeling sorry for myself

I've noticed something very disturbing lately. I guess it started about a year or so ago but lately it's gotten ridiculous.
My hair is falling out!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I always lost some here and there and I know that's normal but this is different.It's on my clothes,in the car,on the pillow,and when I wash it I can literally pick it up off the shower floor.
I color my hair and haven't had a good cut in quite some time but would that cause it? I've heard the older you get the more you lose but at this rate I'll be bald by the time I'm 45.I also blow dry and occasionally use a straightener so that's not good either.
I'm thinking some sort of vitamin deficiency maybe? Stress? I just don't know but it's really starting to bother me alot.I have to pull it back when I cook or otherwise well...you can imagine.
I need to look into the possible causes some more I guess.I hope I find a solution cause I've never looked good in hats.

And in other compelling news around here my 2 year old now refuses to eat anything other than p,b,and j sandwiches.He calls them "butter toasts" and wants them for breakfast lunch and dinner.He's always eaten well and they're not too bad for him so I guesss it's ok.He went through a similar phase before but it was mac n cheese.

The kids 1st day of school went off well.They all seemed to have a good 1st day and it felt good to be in some sort of routine again.I took pics of course (I'll post them later on) I tried to take one of my oldest son walking to the bus but he got highly irritated and gave me the look of death when I held up the camera in front of all the kids on the high school bus.Geesh you'd think he'd be used to it by now.
I can't explain what it felt like to see my 1st born baby drive off as a"freshman". I knew I would be sad (I always am at the big milestones) but I wasn't prepared for how I've felt since yesterday. I remember his 1st day of preschool,elementary,then the big move to junior high now this.Wow.College and marriage are just around the corner.
I want his high school years to be memorable and I have so many hopes and dreams for him as he steps into this new chapter of his life.I hope he knows how much I love him and how proud I am that he's overcome some very difficult times that he's had.
Gosh wasn't he just the 2 year old under my feet now he towers over me.

School days

I've been running like a chicken with it's head cut off for days now trying to get 5 kids ready to go back to school and I think we're almost set to go!
Supplies,shoes,bags,haircuts,lunches packed,and a mound of paperwork and we're off tomorrow morning.
My oldest son will be a freshman in high school and that just blows my mind.I have my youngest daughter starting kindergarten as well so this is a big year.(how did I get old enough to have a kid in high school!!??)
So,anyway I'm feeling very "fall-ish" today so I wanted to look at some gorgeous fall colors in one of my very fave places,Tenn.
I found these on www.webshots.com and not sure who the album belongs to but you can link to it if you need to.
They got some incredible shots!


Smoky Mtn National Park 2006 and 2007

I even have my Pumkin Spice candle going today!(a very neat $$ store find)


I'm making one of the kids favorite meals tonight Cheesy Chicken Noodle Casserole with mashed potatoes. They're not big on casseroles but they like that for some reason.I usually make whatever they want the night before back to school.I also wanted to make some cookies but just never got to it.This mommy is worn out and seeing glue sticks in my sleep.It will be nice to get back to some routine!

Cheesy Chicken noodle Cass~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1 pkg egg noodles cooked and drained
1 Cup frozen mixed veggies~cooked
1 can cream of celery soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 soup can of milk
1 large can chicken
2 tsp parsley
salt and pepper to taste
2 Cups cheddar/Colby blend cheese
1/2 Cup seasoned bread crumbs

in a large bowl combine all ingredients (except noodles and bread crumbs) add noodles then transfer to a buttered or sprayed 9x13 casserole dish.
top with bread crumbs and parsley.
Bake for 30 min at 375 then 5-6 minutes under broiler.(you could top with more cheese if you'd like before the broiling step)

I would love to live here......

 

Coffee moments

I love coffee.I remember when I was a little kid growing up my dad would always sneak me a cup when my mom wasn't around. He would put a ton of cream and (gasp) REAL sugar in it. It wasn't made in a new fangled fancy coffee maker either,nope this was coffee slowly perked in a real percolator.I recall sitting and waiting for it to bubble up through the little clear top and anticipating that warm comforting aroma.
Christmas morning was the time I could have it with his fried eggs that he only made once a year.My mom hated them but I thought they were the best!They were all greasy and buttery and just wonderful with that sweet coffee.
Those are special memories that I have with him.I'm not sure why he let me have coffee other than maybe because he loved it so much and just wanted to share it and pass along that caffeine addiction.I'm sure that's when it started forming.
I had a dream about my dad last night and for some reason woke up thinking of those little "coffee moments" we shared.
I wonder if he even knows that I remember that? I should tell him.


.

My puffy eyed and sniffly weekend

Well this past weekend was hectic.My oldest daughter went on a weekend trip with a friend for the first time ever so I was worried senseless all weekend.We did a garage sale on Saturday then spent the rest of the day going through a bazillion dirty and dusty boxes from storage.I think I sneezed the whole way home.
I felt kind of yucky on Sunday.I'm not sure why other than maybe this cold/allergy thing I've had going on for weeks now.I just felt tired.
I sat down in the evening and found one of my all time fave movies on.Yep,you guessed it."The Notebook"!!!






I know it's insanely sappy but I adore it and I'm not ashamed.
I read the book years ago(b4 the movie came out) and fell in love with the story then and there.Oh to really find that one true love that would endure anything,even death.Does that exist?It does make you believe.Of course I cried my eyes out so today(between the allergies and my bawling)they're even puffier than normal.
This is one of the poems from the movie.Noah(older)reads it to Ally towards the end it just gets me every time.

~Nothing is ever really lost, or can be lost,
No birth, identity, form--no object of the world.
Nor life, nor force, nor any visible thing;
Appearance must not foil, nor shifted sphere confuse thy brain.
Ample are time and space--ample the fields of Nature.
The body, sluggish, aged, cold--the embers left from earlier fires,
The light in the eye grown dim, shall duly flame again;
The sun now low in the west rises for mornings and for noons continual;
To frozen clods ever the spring's invisible law returns,
With grass and flowers and summer fruits and corn. ~

~Walt Whitman



I started reading this today.

It's supposed to be the sequel to Noah and Ally's story so I'm looking forward to it.It centers around their son and his family.
My hubby actually bought me the book a few years ago and I'm just now getting around to reading it.Yea,that shows you how often I get to read.
I know it will take me forever to get through it on my limited reading time but I'm off and running with 5 pages read today!


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playing with Flickr

P.S.

A little side note to my last entry~
I have been trying (wit no luck) for quite some time now to get all the kids (along with hubby and I) to actually SIT at the table for dinner.I can always get the little ones there but for some reason the older kids (and even hubby is guilty of this) just stand around the kitchen holding their plates while inhaling what's on them as fast as humanly possible then taking off.It's almost like a race!
I can't understand why no one can even sit for 10 minutes?? I think in these times it would do us all some good to get back to that "family dinner" time even if it's not every single night at least sit and actually speak to each other a few times a week.
How do I manage to do it??

I thought I'd post a few pics of the kiddos just cause well.....I thought they were cute.lol
They won't have too many more weeks to play in the pool.This was actually the 1st time my youngest got in.



and there she is~the mini model.She strikes this pose every time she sees the camera;op

Dinner last night

Well here is the new recipe for Salisbury steak I tried last night. I usually use a different recipe but I lost it (and was feeling lazy)so I kinda went out on a limb and made it up as I went along.
It turned out really well!! Yes,I was surprised! We've been eating so much Mexican and Italian lately that this was a nice change.
You know it's funny but growing up my mom and g-ma rarely used recipes. I remember them just flying around the kitchen adding this and that and NEVER hardly measuring anything.It always tasted good tho.

2 lbs ground beef
1/2 C bread crumbs
1 egg
1 envelope onion mushroom soup mix
1 smallish onion (sliced)
1 tsp minced garlic
olive oil
parsley
salt and pepper
cook the onion and garlic in the olive oil (use a large skillet)for a few min till tender.
add all ingredients together (except flour)and form into patties. Coat both sides in flour then add to pan. Cook till done all the way thru.
Add the following then simmer for about 20 minutes.
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 C milk
1 tbsp ketchup
1tsp mustard
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
serve over mased potatoes or egg noodles.
I also made a SUPER easy cherry cobbler with vanilla ice cream for desert! Now I very rarely make sweet stuff so the kids thought it surely must be a holiday or something.
I found the recipe in this book that I got from the library.It's a real hoot for all the southern (and us wanna-be southern gals!)
http://www.amazon.com/Puttin-Grits-Guide-Southern-Entertaining/dp/0525948686
It sounded too simple to not try.
1 stick butter(melted)
1 Cup flour
3/4 Cup sugar
1 Cup milk
1 can pie filling
mix 1st 4 ingredients together then pour into a 9x13 pan.Top with pie filling and cook till golden brown around edges



I've been looking for a work at home (online) job for a long time now and I think I might have found a couple possibilities.My biggest challenge is finding the quiet time and place that I would need to even make it work.
I'm hoping when the kids start school I can try it.
I've also been working on some weekly menus and collecting some coupons from various sites.I feel like some days the house is out of control (including me) so I'm really trying to get my organization in check and I'm making (hopefully positive) changes in our lives.
I guess I have a lot on my mind right now and I want to blog about it when I get my thoughts together.It's been another busy as a bee day around here so that may take awhile.

If I were a fairy~

What's with all the spider stuff!!?? If I were a fairy I sure wouldn't be living in a wonderland full of spiders!!! I wouldn't have them on my skirt either!

Your fairy is called Gossamer Corndancer

She is a creator of bounty and harvest.

She lives in spiderwebbed wonderlands and insect grottos.

She is only seen when the bees swarm and the crickets chirrup.

She wears tiny black spiders on her dresses. She has butterfly wings the colour of yellow corn.

Get your free fairy name here!

busy busy

I slep too late today.My hubby was home this morning so I stayed in bed till almost 10:00!! I never ever, ever, ever do that!I tried but just couldn't seem to wake up. I guess between the heat and being sick my body just decided it knew better than my head did.I hate it tho because now my day is just all out of whack.
I still can't believe school is starting in less than 3 weeks.
I am so not ready.I've done no shopping,gotten no supplies,all the kids want haircuts and my oldest 2 need to go to the dentist.Hubby is literally working from morning till night most days so he hasn't been around to help out much.
This time of year is always so hectic and now more so due to the fact I'll have 5 kids in school.
I always start longing for the crisp fall days around now too. This has been a weird summer as far as weather goes so who knows when we'll actually get a day like that.
I need to start on dinner but have clue what to make.
We've been eating at home nearly every single night ($$ issues)so I've run through all the standbys over and over.I have found a few recipe sites that have some great ideas.
www.allrecipes.com is my new fave. So many recipes and they even have reviews so you can get an idea of how they might turn out before you make it.
I'm off to do some laundry before we have to start drying off on paper towels.

Ricky~

From Billboard Magazine today~~

"Rick Springfield charges in at No. 28 with "Venus in Overdrive," giving the singer his best debut ever, as well as his highest charting album since 1985's "Tao" went to No. 21. The New Door set starts with 16,000 -- Springfield's best sales week since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking data in 1991.

YIPPEE!!
One of many good reviews~
http://www.ktvu.com/entertainment/16970535/detail.html?taf=fran

In case I never posted about it before,I've been a die~hard fan for 26 years now.
I'm happy.:o)
Rick Springfield - What's Victoria's Secret?

Blogging and other stuff

I really enjoy blogging and there are so many interesting blogs out there to read,you can get lost in them.
Some are very specific such as parenting,cooking,decorating,homeschooling,gardening,etc etc etc!
I guess my blog is having an identity crisis.I don't really know all the "BLOG ETIQUETTE" but I generally blog about what's going on in my life at that time.It could be about my kids,a recipe,something that inspired me,my home. I don't feel the need to be"blog specific".
There are so many things going on in my life that there is no way I could only write about one topic every time.
I also don't blog ever single day,I just don't have time.There are many days I have the intention to but just don't get around to it.
Some people seem to dislike music on the blogs,hmmm I like it.I visit certain blogs at times just to listen to it while I'm working around the house.

I read many various blogs on any given day and some I enjoy and some I do not.There are many wonderful and creative women out there and I'm almost always inspired by a photo or a sentiment.I rarely leave comments but I should. (another blog rule I break)There are also blogs I've read that tend to be very sarcastic and negative.I try to stay away from those and really wonder why you would take the time to put so much energy into writing something that might bring others down.
Anyway I want my blog to reflect me and who I am and also what makes me feel good (or bad)
I hope someone who might be reading will get a chuckle or be inspired by something I've written or by sharing some small part of my sometimes crazy life.
Isn't that what blogging is really about?

So anyway....I have this wonderful recipe that I found on www.allrecipes.com for "Amish Meatloaf".(I tweaked it a tiny bit)
I made it last night and it was a switch from the same ol recipe that I always make.I really liked it and even hubby ate the leftovers before he went to bed.(not the smartest choice but whatever,lol)

Here it is,it's a bit sweet but really flavorful.It would be great with some sort of cheesy potatoes.

2 lbs ground chuck
2 eggs
2 Cups crushed butter flavor crackers
1/2 c ketchup
2 TBSP brown sugar
2 TBSP grated onion(I love onion but if the kids actually SEE one they won't eat it!!)
dash of seasoned salt and pepper
3 tBSP dried herb stuffing mix
(my little trick that I use when making meat loaf,it adds so much flavor and makes it super moist,no one even knows it's in there)

topping~1 Cup Ketchup
2 TBSP mustard
dash of apple cider vinegar
1 tsp brown sugar
pinch of allspice

Combine all ingredients and bake at 375 for about an hour.I put 1/2 the topping on prior to cooking and the other 1/2 about 20 minutes before it was done.
YUM!!!

I have an upper respiratory infection and so here I sit in the dead of summer drinking hot tea and eating chicken soup.I hate that! I always get sick this time of year.

I have so much to do today and the kids STILL need to be registered for school.I always drag my feet on that but I need to get moving. It's only 20 days till school starts!!! Where did July even go!!!???

The Simple Womans daybook 1st entry

I've seen this on several blogs in the past and wanted to try it myself.
so here goes.
If you'd like to join here is the link.
http://thesimplewoman.blogspot.com/2008/04/join-simple-womans-daybook.html

Today is Tuesday August 5th~~

Outside My Window...I see alot of sunshine after a morning of rain and a night of storms.
I am thinking...I need to finish dinner
I am thankful for...my children,my home,a good dinner
From the kitchen...I smell Amish meatloaf (new recipe!)
I am wearing...a purple t shirt and sweats
I am creating...dinner and working on my blog
I am going...to the store later
I am reading..."That Summer Place"~I only get to read about 10 pages a day but I'm enjoying it
I am hoping...to get the kids all registered for school this week
I am hearing...my 2 yr old yelling at his brother
Around the house...it's unusually quiet,but I know that won't last long!
One of my favorite things...today would be my new Bob Evans coffee I bought!YUM!
A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week:School stuff,cleaning,tackling my dining room
Here is picture thought I am sharing...I'll add this later!

Gatlinburg,Tenn

I love Tennessee. I would move there in a minute.
It has a place in my heart that no other place can fill.I miss it and I can't wait to go back and visit.