In honor of summer

Dear Summer,

I am SO glad you are here.  As you know, I am a huge fan of corn. I can do lots of can corn.  But if I could choose, it would always be fresh.  What is more beautiful than a crisp, summer day with everything cooked on the grill?! (Well--this isn't a riddle but if it was the answer would be Paige, of course!)

Here is a fun and funky recipe that is screaming summer taken from the new Better Homes and Garden magazine:

Corn and Blueberry Salad

6 ears fresh sweet corn, husked

1 cup fresh blueberries

1 small cucumber, sliced

1/4 cup finely chopped red onion

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon honey

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1. Boil corn in salted water for 5 minutes, or until tender.  when cool, cut corn from cobs.

2. in a bowl combine all the veggies.  In a separate bowl combine dressing ingredients, whisk together and then pour over salad.  Cover and refrigerate overnight. 

**I haven't made this yet--probably will make it this weekend if I can think of the perfect main attraction to serve with it!  Grilled shrimp would be yummy and maybe some new potatoes?!  Ahhh and how beautiful it will look on MY NEW DINING ROOM TABLE!!!  Oh it is just so tacky to gush but you don't understand!  I have had the same dining room table since May of 2001.  It wasn't new then either.  I believe it was 6 years old when I got it from a family I adore and they were upgrading!  It has been in at least 15 houses with me (and now my family)! Its a quaint little table that seats 4.  I have thought about painting it 100 times, use it as a craft table, card table, buffet table, garage sale table...you name it.  I plan to keep this little table for the rest of my years as a craft table for me and my mini(s) because there is a lot of love and memories baked in this little table but I am so very excited to be upgrading! I think our dining room is our favorite room in the house.  Tyler did a beautiful job painting the walls and the original wainscoting.  Janet made the perfect curtains and I chose a fabulous chandelier.  My precious table is far too small for this room and more importantly, does not accomodate the amount of guests we usually have.  Well, my new dazzler will fix all of that!  So three years later, we have made our first major furniture purchase!  Its difficult finding something both of us love.  Ty likes rustic, tough wood and I love ecclectic, fun, painted.  We both saw this table and fell in love.  Rustic-check.  Tough-Check. Ecclectic-Check. Painted-Check. Seats 10-Check!!  Memorial Day Sale-Check!!!  I don't want to ruin all of the fun so I will save a few details for a later post...as soon as its delivered I will post some photos!  Who's coming for dinner?!?! 

To Do List:  Find the perfect chairs-2 fabric arm chairs, 8 side chairs, and one long backless bench. 

Happy Memorial Day!

And I'm proud to be an American,

where at least I know I'm free.

And I won't forget the men who died,

who gave that right to me. -Lee Greenwood

 

To all who serve

or have served our country

and their families~

Thank you!

Thank you Dad for serving our country for almost 30 years, serving in multiple wars and countries and raising Scott and I to love, honor, appreciate and respect our country!  I love you more than words can describe! 

Recipe of the (Yester)day!

It has been an interesting week of meals around here!!  Started off with the Halibut (grrr), then Tuesday I decided we would play it safe and have steak kabobs to make up for Monday.  Well, we find out when trying to fire up the grill that we were plum out of propane!  So I stuck them in the oven...not a disaster but steak should really be cooked on the grill (in my opinion-and my dad's)!  So yesterday we took our (Tyler's) Tahoe to be adjusted from the hail storm and find out it is totaled.  That is some pretty serious hail, huh?!  Ok, back to the meal...so we got home and I had laid out chicken to fix my friend, Kelly's Apricot Chicken recipe!  She gave it to me probably 2 years ago and for some reason I hadn't made it yet--well until last night!!  All of her recipes are delicious but this one was a tasty treat and turned our week of meal fiascos right around!  Tyler was scouling as he watched me pull the apricot preserves out of the pantry but I told him to calm down and wait for the results!!  We both loved it and it reminded me of a chinese food dish that would be A LOT more fattening, fried, expensive...you get the point, if we would have just got takeout.  Here's the skinny:

*Pre-Heat over to 350 degrees

1 pound chicken breast thawed (I used the Tyson Tenderloins, I just love'em)

1 cup Apricot Preserves

1 packet Lipton Onion Soup Mix

1 10 oz bottle Russian (Thousand Island) salad dressing (I accidentally bought French dressing--give me a break, its been 2 years since I saw the recipe--at least I remembered it was a reddish dressing from another country!!)

I sprayed my 9 x 13 pan with non-stick cooking spray AKA Pam then mixed the other ingredients in another bowl and poured over my cute little tenderloins, flipped them over to coat, covered with aluminum foil and set my timer for 50 minutes.  Somehow I remembered Kelly telling me to take the foil off for 10 minutes so I did this at the end and total cooking time was 1 hour.  The chicken and sauce were lovely and bubbly upon completion! 

I fixed up some Premium Minute Rice (I have no idea why I bought "Premium" --I guess I was feeling extra classy at Homeland that day since I managed to snag a shower before I went!) and some corn.  Every meal I make can be paired beautifully with corn...it has to do with my upbringing...Tyler thinks it is so funny that when I make any pasta or italian meal I MUST have corn!  Lasagna, spaghetti, fettucine...you name it--I must have corn.  But corn also went well with my Russian/French/Chinese dish :)  I'm a texture AND a color person so I like having a little crunch and a pop of yellow.  

Sorry for finding a way to turn every recipe into a long story...bad habit...I can turn anything into a story...but I assure you, if you like chicken and rice or sweet and sour chicken, it will be worth it!  Its good enough for Kathy Lee Gifford...that's what reminded me about this recipe.  Her momma was on her show for Mother's Day and whipped this recipe right up and said it was one of their families favorites!!  No photo either, give me a break--its been a rough cooking week around here and we were STARVED by the time dinner was served after our car fiasco.

P.S. Everyone at State Farm has been so wonderful to deal with for our home and our car damage so if you are shopping for insurance give them a shot!  This is our first claim experience with them (fortunately) but its good to know "we are in good hands"!  

Have a splendid Memorial Day weekend!!!!!   

Bartering/Sharing/Exchanging of Goods and Services

Wikipedia says...Bartering is a medium in which goods or services are directly exchanged for other goods and/or services without a medium of exchange, such as money. It can be bilateral or multilateral, and usually exists parallel to monetary systems in most developed countries, though to a very limited extent. Barter usually replaces money as the method of exchange in times of monetary crisis, when the currency is unstable and devalued by hyperinflation.

Bartering is an ingenious method of exchanging goods or services, especially if you don't have unlimited amounts of money!  Its really not just about the money either. What if you are in a pinch and need a babysitter?!  Don't know how to garden?!  Have a small DIY project but can't justify buying all the tools to complete it?!  Going on a day trip and need someone to check on your pooch?!  These are just a few things that come to my mind that would be awesome opportunities for bartering!  You probably already do this with certain things and don't realize it. 

My friend Kim and I have been doing it for years...we don't call it bartering, its just part of the friendship package.  We have helped each other move, paint, rip out tile, garden, install patio lights, cook, babysit, books, baby products...you name it!  Most recently my family has been reaping the rewards of her children's toy collections.  Her kids are older and her youngest isn't quite ready for the toys her older two have outgrown.  Well, Paige is the perfect age to enjoy them and return right in time for their youngest to enjoy!  Not only are toys expensive but baby toys take up A LOT of space!  Since we plan on having another baby (sometime in the distant future) we don't really want to get rid of stuff but the attic gets full quickly!  So Kim gets a break from it at her house, we get to enjoy for awhile and then we return it when we outgrow.  Baby shoes are another thing we have borrowed from Kim...they are so cute but so expensive and are outgrown so darn fast!  I am a sucker for cute things but shoes I just can't justify!  Kim's oldest is a girl and we have benefited from her beautiful shoe collection! 

I really want to be more proactive in bartering.  I have heard girls talking about getting together with their friends and bringing clothes, shoes, purses, etc., they want to trade and everyone goes home with something "new" and fun!  Household items would also be good!  That picture on your wall that just doesn't go with your new sofa may look great at someone else's house while their mirror might be just right in your entry way.  Even exchanging meals with a few girls once a week to add a little variety to dinnertime and keeping you from running to the closest takeout joint! 

Wouldn't it be great to be able to limit the amount of money you spend on services while being able to help out your friends with something you are talented and passionate about??  Sewing, gardening, photography, babysitting, cleaning, organizing, home projects, party planning, decorating, you name it!  Everyone is good at something so if you think about what you are good at and then think of your friends and family...you probably know someone that can do just about anything you can dream up! 

What are some ideas you have for bartering?  Do your friends and family have some great bartering tips?  I am going to make an effort to incorporate more of this into my life and will try to remember to post about my successes!  Don't get discouraged if you don't always have something to offer the other person...if someone does something for you and you don't have something to immediately offer them, think of things they are collecting, wishing for, need...snatch it up for them the next time you think about it and it will make their day (and butter them up for helping you again soon:) )!!

Happy Bartering!!!

DIY Projects...

Since the big hail storm, we have been busy with lots of out of the ordinary projects!  It's amazing how big of a mess some ice balls can make.  Looks like we will be getting a new roof, guttering, a few windows, couple doors, some paint and various other things!  We don't have a ton of landscaping but what we do have we really like.  All of our bushes have been here a long time and in our opinion, are quite lovely!  Several of them took a good beating so hopefully they spruce back up.  My most favorite plant, which I have kept alive since Easter (no small feat for me) took a great hit as well.  It is my Ice Plant!  I have transplanted it, pruned it and have been watering it diligently every day so HOPEFULLY it survives!  It will soon be planted in my long, skinny flower bed along my porch in the front.  Kim suggested some coleus in between and I think that will look great!!  Tyler has told me that if I can keep what I have alive until next weekend, I can get a few more plants YAY! I went ahead and snuck two hanging baskets home for the front porch.  My sis-in-law, Tiff had a beautiful tree last year with the most amazing blooms!  It was a Fuschia tree, which also comes in baskets!  Tiff always has a beautiful yard and I love reaping the rewards of copying her and Kim's brilliant ideas!  Enough about plants...

I have also been searching for two chairs for our formal living, which isn't so formal at our house but I do entertain in there a lot so seating is important!  I have a new turquoise chest in the room and found some beautiful fabric that has a touch of turquoise that I wanted to use to recover the chairs.  The search for the chairs has been tough though because I didn't want to pay much for them since I have full intentions of recovering them.  I finally found two that I really like and they were in budget AND I can recover them myself!  Pictures to follow soon!  I also found two really neat shelves that I am going to paint to match the chairs.  Now if I can just find a sofa and a rug my room will be complete! 
That's all I have for today, here are some pics of the plants I spoke of and hopefully if I can grow the passion vine Kim sent me home with today, I will have pics of it this summer once it blooms!! 

Recipe of the Day

Well, I finally got around to making the halibut recipe I was supposed to make two weeks ago!!  The good news is, I didn't have to eat it the past two weeks!!!  The first problem is, halibut is VERY expensive to buy and I just learned that lesson today!  Second problem...I don't do bones!  Not fish bones, not steak bones, not chicken bones, not piggy bones!  Somehow my country girl self didn't realize I was buying $20 worth of bony fish!!!  Grrrrr...Thirdly, I don't mind paying a little extra for something we love and Tyler loves halibut BUT I do not like paying the same amount (or more) than we would pay at a restaurant for a professional chef to prepare our meal!  So you are wondering why I am still going to post this?!  Well the peach salsa that I made to put on the fish was YUMMO!  In fact, after getting a little bone in my mouth I gave up on the fish and ate cilantro lime rice and peach salsa with fresh green beans for dinner!  Also, the marinade for the fish was really good and would be great on chicken, shrimp or salmon.

Marinade:

1/3 cup orange juice
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 teaspoons grated lime peel
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 (6 ounce) halibut steaks  (chicken, salmon or shrimp)
*Marinate at least 2 hours and baste with remaining while grilling

Salsa:
2 cups chopped fresh or frozen peaches
1/4 cup chopped sweet red pepper
1/4 cup chopped red onion
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped* (I left the seeds but I love spicy)
2 tablespoons orange juice
1 tablespoon minced fresh cilantro
2 teaspoons lime juice
1/4 teaspoon salt

Also, I made the chocolate cake recipe from the chocolate peanut butter cake.  I made three square disposal pans and will be doing different things with them; first and foremost having a big piece for dinner since that didn't go so well.  Then taking one over to my friend Kim's so we can enjoy one with our mini's to celebrate her birthday!! I don't know how I will ever make another chocolate cake recipe, this one is soooo good!  I also screwed up a batch of homemade frosting...How did I do this??  Well, when recipe disaster happens, it pours!!!

Must Love Dogs

From the time I can remember, I have always loved dogs.  I love big dogs, little dogs, short dogs, fat dogs, skinny dogs, really love ugly dogs and most recently...blind dogs.  As I got older, it would definitely be on my bucket list of qualities for a future spouse.  I don't mean someone that tolerated dogs, but someone that really loves them...if you are a pet person you know what I am talking about.  When Tyler and I started dating he always said he would know if I was "the one" if his dog Shawn liked me.  So he took me to his parents house for lunch one day and Shawn tackled me!  Kisses, wags, the whole nine yards.  Luckily I met all of Shawn's expectations!  Soon after that I drove to Tishomingo to visit his grandparents.  Tyler and his family were already there but I had to drive down separately after work.  Tyler met me at the local gas station so I didn't get lost in the dark trying to find his grandparents house.  I have a very weird fear of going to a strangers house without snacks in my bag and food in my belly.  I can't explain it and I was never starved as a child.  Until I am very comfortable with people, I always do this ritual.  So I wandered into the gas station grabbing Pop Tarts, Chocolate Gem Donuts, potato chips and two hot dogs.  The hot dogs I intended to eat before getting to their house and the other items would get me through until I made it home the next day.  So when I came out of the gas station, Tyler had arrived and was petting a stray dog.  We quickly find out its a "she" and was clearly nursing a bunch of puppies.  Tyler grabbed one of my hot dogs and fed it to her.  I think she gulped it up in one bite!  So he grabbed my second hot dog and proceeded to feed her that one too.  As much as I love dogs, my survival instincts kicked in and I had no dinner!  It was late and those were the LAST hot dogs in the gas station.  Needless to say, he loves dogs as much as me and I survived on my purse of goodies through the night. 

Our sweet girl is no exception to this animal loving family...nothing brings a smile to her face faster than Oscar.  The first time she belted out a HUGE belly laugh was to Oscar bouncing around the backyard!  They play together, trade toys, she recently licked him back (ha!) and now...shares her snacks with him!  Really?!  Only 9 months old and already feeding the dog??  She has morning snack time everyday around 9 and sits in her high chair with her flavored puffs (yuck) and has a serving of fruit.  Apparently Oscar likes the sweet potato puffs more than Paige does.  She carefully picked up one puff at a time, held out her chubby little hand and giggled as Oscar carefully took each one.  I scolded both of them and you would have thought I was invisible...they proceeded with their snack time. 

We are both very happy that Oscar has done so well with the sweetest addition to our family because as much as we love him, our child(ren) safety is the most important thing to us.  Now if I can only talk Tyler into buying some land so I can have a fleet of dogs, a boat load of mini-ponies, fainting goats and a kitty circus...my life won't be complete without a kitty circus!!!  Ok, this post is getting out of control so I am leaving you now with a few photos to hopefully help you forget how crazy I am! 

Sweet & Sassy, Fat & Happy...Healthy as can Be!! 9 Months

Well, I came up with this title BEFORE our checkup this morning.  Dr. McMuscles says our little Ham Bone has not gained enough weight this checkup.  In fact, I need to verify but I think she has stayed the exact same since our last checkup.  The good news is, she has always been a big girl so she is by no means under weight.  Since she started crawling (right after Christmas) she hasn't stopped moving.  I am certain her climbing, crawling, walking behind toys, dancing and singing has caused her to burn LOTS more calories than she used to!  Looks like she may have mommy's metabolism (YAY!).  But we are going to follow doc's orders and make sure she eats more.  Other than that, she is right on track!  Knock on wood, we have only been to the doctor for Well Baby Checks thus far and I hope to get us past her one year mark without any illnesses!!  Here are some fun facts:

• You currently weigh 18 pounds, 15 ounces and are 29 inches long
• Singing & Dancing are the most favorite past times (doesn't matter if it's toys, mommy singing or music videos on TV--you will break into dance for any music--well, we both do)
• There is not a food you do not like! Baby food, big people food, sweet food, DOG food and you LOVE to share my bottled water with me!  You even immitate me drinking it when I have the cap screwed on nice and tight!
• You are such a great sleeper!  You go to bed about 8:30 pm and wake about 7 am with a grin from ear to ear!  You start looking for daddy and oscar as soon as I snatch you up!
• You and Oscar often trade toys when I'm not looking.  For some reason you both prefer each others toys.  I guess I will start taking you to PetsMart and him to BabiesRUs:)  
• You don't have any teeth yet so mommy is looking into getting you a set of baby dentures
• You walk along all of the furniture, behind your toys and love to climb on mommy and Oscar.  We are pretty sure you will be walking in less than a month. 
• You know your name and who mommy, daddy and "bubba" are.  When you see daddy when he gets home from work, it is the happiest moment of your day!  "DADADADADADADADADADADADA!"
• Your hair is the most beautiful shade of blonde and is getting so long! 
• You LOVE people and show off for everyone we pass by!  You also get SOOO excited when someone rings the doorbell.  So no sign of stranger anxieties but you do prefer mommy when you get a boo boo and at bedtime.
• You still love "Itsy Bitsy Spider" but your new favorite song is "It's Raining Paigie's"
• Your favorite book is Blue Hat, Green Hat by Sandra Boynton--you love the part when mom says "OOPS!"

EDIT:  I said above that Paige started crawling "right after Christmas"...Well, that was a big lie.  I just saw that again and realized that she did in fact start crawling right after leaving my parents house but it was not at Christmas it was after our trip in March...so just in case anyone does the math, I did not have a crawling 4 month old on my hands...

Well, if its not obvious already, we are so in love with our sweet girl!  She is the light of our life and such a joy.  Here are a few photos my friend, Tanda took that are just to DIE for..and I'm not just saying that because my baby is in the pics:)  If she ever decides to do this for a living, I will send you ALL her details! 

A Dose of Inspiration does a Soul Good!

I stole copied the series of quotes below from MckMama's blog (link at the bottom) because I LOVE it!  Sometimes it is hard just to be yourself for fear of what someone might say, think, react...do it anyway!  No matter how confident or comfortable in your own skin you are, people can always find a way to get under it and pick a raw wound.   On the reverse side, before you start throwing stones at someone think about the last time you felt judged or insecure about comments someone said about you.  We are all uniquely different and beautiful in our own ways and discussing differing opinions or beliefs, ways of life, parenting, the list goes on...should be something we are all comfortable doing.  I feel really blessed because confidence is not an area I struggle with most of the time (thanks mom & dad) and I was always encouraged to be me, stand up for what I believe in and to be open-minded.  I want to raise Paige to be strong and confident.  Be passionate about her beliefs and stand up for them.  To stand up for the people she loves and believes in.  But also to be a listener, a learner, willing to hear other sides and respect their differences because when we are closed-minded we are ignorant.  So today, be weird, be funky, be creative, be passionate, be colorful, be loud...just be you. 

People are often unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered;

forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives;

be kind anyway.

If you are successful you will win some false friends and true enemies;

succeed anyway.

If you are honest people may cheat you;

be honest anyway.

What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight;

build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous;

be happy anyway.

The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow;

do good anyway.

Inspiring. I hope Dr. Keith doesn’t mind, but I’ve added a few of my own thoughts.

When you blog about your life, others may make judgements about you;

blog anyway.

If you try to parent the best way you know how, someone will still find something wrong with your mothering;

parent the best way you know how anyway.

When you kiss your children, they may not return your kisses;

kiss them anyway.

If you stand in clear support of something you believe in, others could seek to make you look foolish;

stand anyway.

When you offer your children vegetables, they might scowl;

offer them vegetables anyway.

Your husband may be grumpy and distant, and you might not want to love and respect him;

love and respect him anyway.

If you Tweet about your beliefs regarding controversial topics, you may lose followers;

Tweet anyway.

When you share excitedly about what Jesus has done in your life, people may call you pompous and proud;

share anyway.

After you forgive a friend, she may wound you again, causing you to not want to keep forgiving her;

keep forgiving her anyway.

If you do good acts, people might accuse you of doing them for show;

do good acts anyway.

If you share about your faults, others might ridicule you;

share about your faults anyway.

If you live a public life and try to point to Jesus, others may seek to point out your many imperfections;

keep pointing to Jesus anyway.

Back to Dr. Keith’s quote now…

Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough;

Give the world the best you’ve got anyway.

You see, in the end, it is between you and God;

it was never between you and them anyway.

http://mycharmingkids.net/

She's Growing and I'm Learning

There's not a lot of "Parenting" when your babies are small but I have learned very quickly that at a young age, our little ones start mimicking what we do.  Since I stay home, it is even more noticeable since we spend so much time together!  It is so funny watching my little girl wrinkle her nose, laughing from the bottom of her belly, dancing and singing in the middle of the floor and hamming it up for every stranger we pass by!  She looks so much like dad but acts sooo much like mom!  I know that she is constantly learning and for awhile, most of that learning will be from observing me...what do I want her to see?  What am I teaching her?  Do I represent the woman I pray my daughter becomes?   I saw this poem on a blog not too long ago and I love reading it as often as possible! 

A careful woman I ought to be:

A little girl follows me;

I do not dare to go a stray

For fear she’ll go the self-same way.

I cannot once escape her eyes;

What’re she sees me do,

she tries

Like me, she says,

she ’s going to be,

The little girl who follows me.

She thinks that I am good and fine,

Believes in every word of mine;

The bad in me she must not see,

The little girl who follows me.

I must remember as I go,

Through summer’s sun and winter’s snow,

I am building for the years to be,

For a little girl follows me.

-Author Unknown

Recipe of the day

Haven't made these but love all things Red Velvet! 

1 box red velvet cake mix
1/2 cp butter
8 oz package of cream cheese
1/2 cp powdered sugar

Beat butter and cheese adding powdered cake mix slowly.
Mix until blended.
Form balls and roll in sugar.
Bake at 350 for 8-10 mins

Found this here:  http://amerrymishap.blogspot.com/

A day late and $1 short...

Working on a new layout so I can catalog my recipes for my future use and organize my other topics into category tabs...wishing I would have paid a TAD more attention in my computer classes in college...I will figure it out sooner or later (probably later) but it was really funny a second ago when I uploaded a new "skin" to my page and it was great!  Just what I was looking for!  Only to see a half dressed blonde girl in some of the pics...my recipes and posts were there but everything on the side bars were her...WEIRD!  Luckily I was able to delete it quicker than I was able to post it!!!  I would hate for someone to glance over my page quickly and think that was me!!!  YIKES!!  This is a WHOLESOME blog peeps!! 

Who would have thought when I was faking my way through writing code and web design that I would have ever had a blog?!?!  Miss Independent at 21 so irritated I had to take that class because when in the world would I ever use this in the REAL WORLD?  Hmmm...jokes on me folks!  Most things are like that though, at least for me.  There is a point to all the nonsense of high school and college...well, besides Geometry (Sorry Mrs. Hammock)...I still don't think I have come up with a real life application for the Isosceles Triangle...but it may come up in sewing so stay tuned on that one.  grrr

Recipe of the (yester) day!

Thursday was an interesting day...or was it Wednesday??  Paige is by definition a dream baby...since she is my first I have nothing to compare her to.  I didn't grow up playing with lots of babies or babysitting tiny babies so my only knowledge of babies is from reading and from other mothers.  During my pregnancy, I was given lots of advice...advice from friends, family, strangers, co-workers, a man at Home Depot (ha!) and my doctor--who happens to be a man.  Lots of great advice, in fact, I love advice if the delivery is right.  But the thing that came up most was preparing for the lack of sleep and as my doc referred to it "Baby Bootcamp".  It was a little scary, I'm not going to lie...so I did what any intelligent, young pregnant woman would do...I started taking lots of naps to prepare!  Well, Paige came and sure she got up to eat every two hours but she went right back to sleep and at 3 months + 1 week, she started sleeping for at least 10 hours a night.  There was ONE night that we had to walk around rocking her, taking turns...she wasn't crying, just wide awake and wanting to be held.  We were wore smooth out by 1 am.  Really??  Just a few short years ago it was nothing for us to stay up until 1 am. That is until Wednesday night!  For some reason I decided to be a night owl...that NEVER happens.  If I make it until 10 pm it is a modern day miracle!  At 11:30 I decide to head to bed and as soon as my sweet little head hit my pillow I hear my dumpling.  I went to check on her and she was wide awake!  She stayed up until 3:30 am playing with me in her room then crashing.  I thought for sure that we would sleep in but Tyler locked himself out and had to start ringing the doorbell so I could let him in...grrrrr....BUT luckily for me, morning nap would come soon enough and I would be partaking!!  Before I went off to dreamland, I decided I had better eat and in a delirious state, I came up with a delectable sandwich for lack of better description.  Here is how it went:

The CobbWich

1/2 avocado

sliced turkey deli meat

swiss cheese or blue cheese

bacon

diced red onion

wrap-I used a Mission Sun-dried tomato wrap

drizzle of honey mustard or any dressing you like

I had no intentions of this becoming such a wonderful lunch but as I started putting it together I realized it looked just like a Cobb Salad minus the lettuce!  I heated the wrap on a pan and put the swiss cheese on so it would get melty and then just layered each of the ingredients.  It was too full to wrap up but I folded in both sides and ate it kind of like a slice of pizza.  It was sooo yummy and didn't need any chips or anything.  After wolfing it down, I was off to dreamland for a few hours waking up full and rested...Long story short...there really isn't anything in my life that can't be solved with a great sammy and a nap!  For awhile I thought, "are moms just dramatic and whiny?!?!"  Nope, we just got extremely lucky and will probably be WAY to scared to have baby #2!!!!!!!!!!!  HAHAHAHAHA

~A Southern Affair~

Everything about a party appeals to me!! Well...besides cleaning of course:) I married the perfect person for a lot of reasons but in regards to entertaining, Tyler enjoys it as much if not more than I do! There is nothing we would rather do than spend time with our friends and family, so why not have lots of silly parties with lots of food?!?! We have had Christmas parties, fiestas, football bashes, PINK party, Girls Nights and so many other fun events but one party we love having is the Derby Party!! Tyler loves horse racing and I actually really enjoy it too.
May 1st was the Second Annual Red Carpet Derby event at the Beaver house and it was a huge success again this year! All the ladies looked beautiful in their best dresses and wonderful hats and the gents looked dashing in their seersucker, southern duds!! Tyler and I did A LOT of research last year making sure we were well educated on how to throw a proper derby party. Only serving the appropriate food and drinks at our event!! This year on the menu was Hot Brown Sandwiches, bowtie pasta, potato salad, coleslaw, shrimp-topped deviled eggs, lil smokies, fruit and veggies AND of course Mint Juleps!! Thanks to my dear friend Buffy, I was able to get the food all set up (almost) on time!!! Tyler created bio sheets for each of the horses and displayed them on a wall and roses were featured all over the house--for those of you that don't know the derby is "The run for the Roses"!! I had cookies made with this year's derby logo and some other fun designs with jockey hats, lady hats and horses for a fun decoration and snack for the kids! Those were a HUGE hit and I highly recommend http://1smartcookie.com/ !! The weather was perfect so we were able to enjoy the backyard and some good ol fashioned corn hole and bubble blowing!
The next BIG party we have will probably be Paige's 1st birthday, which of course I started thinking about months ago--hee hee! More to come on that soon but please feel free to pass on any great ideas you may have!

PAIGE POST UNDER CONSTRUCTION: I know MOST of the people that check out this blog are coming to see updates about the tiniest member of our family...and NO I have not gotten sick of writing about my little ham bone, I PROMISE to not only write about food BUT there are a few things I am waiting on for her "Next Grand Post!" (ha!)...she has a well baby check next week (Stats are important, people) AND one of my dear friends who happens to be a soon famous photographer (Tanda) took some new pics of her today and they are sure to be a delicious treat ! SOOO, stay tuned for more on our tator tot and info on a fantastic photographer!! Tanda--don't forget the little people when you become rich and famous!!!! Here is a photo she took back in December that Tyler and I both fell head over heels in love with to leave you with a little teaser to come back for more...

Summer Salad

Summertime is my favorite time of year!  I can't think of anything I don't like about it!  Warm, sunny, bronze skin, pools, flippy floppys, sitting on a patio, cucumbers soaked in vinegar...the list goes on...

Last night I was trying to decide what to fix myself up for dinner--didn't make the halibut yet--so I decided to mix up some of my favorite things to make a nice early summer salad!!  I have about 30 varieties of the tomato avocado salad in the summer but this is my current favorite. 

What you need:
1 medium tomato-chopped and sprinkled with salt and pepper
1 avocado-sliced
1/4 cup chopped red onion
chicken breast (I used the Tyson chick breast strips pre-cooked)
goat cheese (just a little bit)
optional-walnuts

After you chop everything and throw into a bowl, drizzle with balsamic vinegar and a little EVOO and enjoy!  Tastes like summer~

Food for Thought...

Every once in awhile I like to bake. I don't really have a sweet tooth so it isn't very often I dream of eating chocolate...I love the idea of it and the smells and the smile on someone's face when they are devouring something warm, sweet and delicious...but for me, I would 9 times out of 10 choose a big, hearty meal. I also have a tendency to tweek recipes or fail to measure with accuracy which works fine with enchiladas but not baking! But I stumbled onto a new favorite cooking blog (smittenkitchen.com) and have been perusing lots of her recipes. I love her pictures, writing style and lets face it...recipe for homemade poptarts--one of my most favorite things! I came across this Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake recipe and have had my heart set on making it.

While chatting with my friend Kim today she said "I want my kids to always remember how delicious my cooking is and hope it always brings them home!" Yes!! That's what its all about isn't it?!?! Everytime I think about going to visit my grandmas the first thing I think about is what they would fix to eat!! My grandma Kay would make Scott and I HUGE breakfasts served on fancy dishes on the patio. We would sip our orange juice out of wine glasses and eat until our hearts (and bellies) content. Nanny made the most amazing family lunches, took me to farmers markets, grew her own garden and made every kind of Christmas candy imaginable! She would also make me hamburger helper when I was sick--even if I wanted it at 7 am. The point is, I want my sweet girl to always look forward to her mom's cooking! And when she is off at college and has a long, hard week to know that she can come home and be spoiled rotten with love and yummy food!

So after my conversation with Kim, I was inspired to get to my chocolate cake...if I am going to win my daughter over through her belly I better get a start on my baking skills!! Oh, did I mention I also never make anything pretty...I just don't have it in me...I'm not artistic or patient...or Martha Stewart like. But none the less, the cake is AMAZING and I got more excited as I whipped through each step...then when I put the final touch (chocolate peanut butter glaze) it was supposed to ever so perfectly drip all over the cake ??? Hmmm...nope mine globbed...but my hubs and babe thought it was the best thing they had ever tasted!!! WIN!!

So whatever your motives are for cooking or baking...if you like chocolate and/or peanut butter, this one is for YOU!!

WARNING: This is not a quick, throw together kind of recipe...you MUST be in the mood and with cooling times and different steps does take quite awhile but so worth it!

Here is the link to the recipe and her beautiful photos!!

http://smittenkitchen.com/2008/08/chocolate-peanut-butter-cake/

Thank you to my friend, Jordan for teaching me how to make a photo collage!! :)

To Blog or Not to Blog, that is the question!!

I disappeared from the blogging world 8 months ago and have gone back and forth on whether I wanted to invest the time to keep it up! During that time I have started several posts but left the computer before ever finishing another one. Lots of reasons...distractions, lack of creativity, my beautiful-sweet girl, my puppiccino (Oscar) and various new hobbies. It was also overwhelming thinking about how I would account for lost time and try to blog about the past 8 months...well, that would take FOREVER!! So, I am just going to get back into it and maybe tell stories from the past as they relate to whatever I happen to be talking about.
There are several reasons I DO want to blog...I want to remember the funny things that happen in our day-to-day lives, I am passionate about cooking and creating my own recipes but I NEVER write them down and dare I say it...trying my hand at gardening yet again! More on that later...also learning to sew, decorating, mothering, parenting, homemade baby food.....organizing...cleaning...activities...getting to know my neighbors (and realizing I already knew some!--small world)
To say the least, I am LOVING my life...my baby, my hubby, my doggy, being a STAY AT HOME MOM, you get the point~enough gushing!
I try to do a good job of taking care of the hubs since thanks to him, I get to be the CEO of our household--yes I like fancy titles:) BUT he is very health concious and is serious about eating healthy during the week...grrr...I do love to cook but I am a southern girl through and through...you name it and I can cook it...what's that you say?? No potatoes, no fried, no mayo, no butter, no pasta...on top of that no onions?!?! Now I am in trouble...Hubs wants healthy, bland meals for dinner. BORING! I try to be creative but my brain always steers a hard left back to homemade mac & cheese, garlic potatoes, chicken fried steak, fettucine, the list goes on...so I read a lot of blogs and try to find delicious things YOU all are cooking so I can motivate myself to learn to make delicious healthy meals for my family! Then the weekends I can go back to my roots!! So to finish off this post before I get distracted, I will leave with the meal plan for the week:
Monday: Not So Fried Rice w/sirloin (cheap/easy/delicious-think healthy Pei Wei!)
Tuesday: Halibut w/ Peach Salsa, fresh green beans, cilantro lime rice
Wednesday: Hamburger patties, avacado salad, Ranch Beans
Thursday: Date Night (Yay!)
Friday: BBQ Chicken, garlic mash, skillet broccoli
Saturday: Porkipine Meatballs & Fettucine (Janet's Recipe--Yummalicious)
Sunday: Roast with potatoes and carrots, dinner rolls, maybe a salad
Also will be making a Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake (which I will force Tyler to try) but I cannot wait until the weekend to make it, its calling my name...
Pic and recipe to follow of the halibut--unless it is a disaster!!