You are using smoked jalapeno peppers, so be careful not to get them in your eyes or other sensitive areas.We served this dip with crackers, corn chips, or potato chips.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Chipotle Dip
My favorite appetizer we made this past week in Honduras was the Chipotle Dip. Mix one box of cream cheese and one cup of mayonnaise with 1/2 cup ranch dip. Stir this together until it is smooth. If you want a mild good flavored dip, use one can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. If you want to kick it up 3 notches, use 2 cans. First open the can and dump all of the peppers onto a cutting board. Slice up the peppers in very small pieces and stir into the cheese mayo mixture. Be sure to get all of the sauce out of the can and off the cutting board. There is a lot of good flavor in the sauce. You are using smoked jalapeno peppers, so be careful not to get them in your eyes or other sensitive areas.
We served this dip with crackers, corn chips, or potato chips.
You are using smoked jalapeno peppers, so be careful not to get them in your eyes or other sensitive areas.We served this dip with crackers, corn chips, or potato chips.
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Crowd Pleasing Appetizers
I am looking for some crowd pleasing appetizers for Honduras next week. I am going to try to have a small special something ready for the hungry crowd when they get in off the bus. Last time I made jalapeno poppers one night roasting whole peppers on the griddle and filling them with cheese. They were a hit with the eaters, but I gagged the cooks when the capsaicum hit the small kitchen. We were coughing and gagging like when we had to take a note into the teacher's lounge back in high school (you could still smoke indoors back then.) I've thought about cheese trays or stuffed eggs. I'd like to do something Asian or Mexican too.
So if you have any ideas, please send me a comment. All I have to cook with is hot water or a griddle. I suppose I could do sushi, but one of my firm rules when traveling is don't eat raw meat.
I have to come up with 5.
Here are some other considerations:
Queso Dia
Egg Rolls (if we can find wonton wrappers)
jalapeno poppers
Chips and salsa
Sesame Chicken Skewers
Potato Skins
Fruit-k-bobs
Candied Ginger
Fresh french fries with cheese and/or gravy
Shrimp and Grits (gonna get fancy one night)
So if you have any ideas, please send me a comment. All I have to cook with is hot water or a griddle. I suppose I could do sushi, but one of my firm rules when traveling is don't eat raw meat.
I have to come up with 5.
Here are some other considerations:
Queso Dia
Egg Rolls (if we can find wonton wrappers)
jalapeno poppers
Chips and salsa
Sesame Chicken Skewers
Potato Skins
Fruit-k-bobs
Candied Ginger
Fresh french fries with cheese and/or gravy
Shrimp and Grits (gonna get fancy one night)
Friday, January 15, 2010
Cool contest I found to win free groceries for a year
Hey, I just entered this contest on Cozi.com to win free groceries for a year. All you have to do is put in your email address.
Even if you don’t enter, please click the link to help me win. (I get an extra entry for telling you.) Thanks!
Even if you don’t enter, please click the link to help me win. (I get an extra entry for telling you.) Thanks!
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Top Ten things to do at work when you are alone
For those not in the know, the City of Jackson does not have water to drink or flush in Downtown. Ever since the deep freeze the past 14 days, pipes have been bursting all over, and the city is struggling to repair them and get the pressure back up.
The Gov closed all of the state buildings and sent the workers home. But as portable toilets were set up, we've been slowly coming back to work. Management and supervisors were suppose to be here yesterday and continue working all week. And it makes sense, there are lots of inspections and trips that could be done away from the office.
But it wound up being just me on my floor. OK, there are some other folks here, but I don't hear them or see them. So Donna and I were coming up with the top ten things to do at the office when you are the only one working. Here goes:
10. Spider Man crawling across the tops of the cubicles.
9. Making a luge out of a two wheeler and setting up a course in the stairwell.
8. Riding the floor polisher in the lobby.
7. Fax relay races. Send a fax from the 6th floor to the 1st floor and see if you can run down stairs and beat the fax machine.
6. Get a library cart and a mop and go white water rafting down the cubicle rows.
5. Go reset the height and lumbar support on all of the chairs on the 3rd floor.
4. Hook the Wii up to the big presentation flat screen in the executive suite and play super mario cart while reclining on the oak conference table.
3. Replace all of the dry erase markers with permanent markers in the conference rooms.
2. Write "Jerry eats Worms" on the executive marker board and close the door so the next time someone needs it and opens it, they will get a big laugh.
1. Pants are optional!
The Gov closed all of the state buildings and sent the workers home. But as portable toilets were set up, we've been slowly coming back to work. Management and supervisors were suppose to be here yesterday and continue working all week. And it makes sense, there are lots of inspections and trips that could be done away from the office.
But it wound up being just me on my floor. OK, there are some other folks here, but I don't hear them or see them. So Donna and I were coming up with the top ten things to do at the office when you are the only one working. Here goes:
10. Spider Man crawling across the tops of the cubicles.
9. Making a luge out of a two wheeler and setting up a course in the stairwell.
8. Riding the floor polisher in the lobby.
7. Fax relay races. Send a fax from the 6th floor to the 1st floor and see if you can run down stairs and beat the fax machine.
6. Get a library cart and a mop and go white water rafting down the cubicle rows.
5. Go reset the height and lumbar support on all of the chairs on the 3rd floor.
4. Hook the Wii up to the big presentation flat screen in the executive suite and play super mario cart while reclining on the oak conference table.
3. Replace all of the dry erase markers with permanent markers in the conference rooms.
2. Write "Jerry eats Worms" on the executive marker board and close the door so the next time someone needs it and opens it, they will get a big laugh.
1. Pants are optional!
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Environmental Work Day
Today was another stay at home day from work because the City of Jackson has really old water pipes and lax leadership with a poor maintenance record. That may be harsh, but so be it. That's the way I see it. Who needs water when you got good scotch?
So to make it a productive day, and because it was in the upper 40's we did some green projects around the house we have been wanting to do. For Christmas we bought a rain barrel. I put it together and rearranged the downspout by the chimney in the backyard. This barrel will hold about 50 gallons of free water that we can use for grill fire suppression and flower watering. I want to get another one put in the front courtyard to help dry up our front yard some. There are some places that stay wet that I want to get rid of. This barrel has an overflow drain that will pull the water away from the foundation and a garden hose connection to fill watering buckets. It also has mosquito mesh to keep little critters from developing in the water. It seems very well made. We got it at Northern Tool and Supply on sale for about $50.
We also installed a huge rain gauge on the fence in the backyard and did some repair work on the fence. It had a couple of warped boards that are now screwed on strait. Will and I also figured out how to change the headlight in the Blazer. It took us longer to go online and get the answer to how to do it easily than it did to actually change it. Ask.com came to the rescue again with the trick on how to get to the backside of the headlight assembly.
1135 work days to go. My master's course this semester is on data analysis. One of the text books is the excel bible. I was flipping through it and found out how to build a retirement clock and take out all of the holidays and weekends between now and my planned retirement day. Having this day off in the middle of the week unplanned gave me a good idea of what retirement will be like. I want you to know that I did get up from my nap to go with Donna to pick up the girls from dance. She said I didn't have to, but I'm glad I did.
So to make it a productive day, and because it was in the upper 40's we did some green projects around the house we have been wanting to do. For Christmas we bought a rain barrel. I put it together and rearranged the downspout by the chimney in the backyard. This barrel will hold about 50 gallons of free water that we can use for grill fire suppression and flower watering. I want to get another one put in the front courtyard to help dry up our front yard some. There are some places that stay wet that I want to get rid of. This barrel has an overflow drain that will pull the water away from the foundation and a garden hose connection to fill watering buckets. It also has mosquito mesh to keep little critters from developing in the water. It seems very well made. We got it at Northern Tool and Supply on sale for about $50.
We also installed a huge rain gauge on the fence in the backyard and did some repair work on the fence. It had a couple of warped boards that are now screwed on strait. Will and I also figured out how to change the headlight in the Blazer. It took us longer to go online and get the answer to how to do it easily than it did to actually change it. Ask.com came to the rescue again with the trick on how to get to the backside of the headlight assembly.
1135 work days to go. My master's course this semester is on data analysis. One of the text books is the excel bible. I was flipping through it and found out how to build a retirement clock and take out all of the holidays and weekends between now and my planned retirement day. Having this day off in the middle of the week unplanned gave me a good idea of what retirement will be like. I want you to know that I did get up from my nap to go with Donna to pick up the girls from dance. She said I didn't have to, but I'm glad I did.
Monday, January 11, 2010
Now that is a grill!
We got it done. The last grill we will ever need. They measure the grill surface in acres. It will smoke, grill, bbq, baste, roast, fry, skewer, shish-k-bob, and cook. This cast iron behemoth took about 5 good hours of work and study to put together. We had to do some hammering and drilling to make it all work, but overall I was very impressed with the craftsmanship of the Chairbroil Professional Grill. Every hole lined up as it was intended. We did have to pop out some of the metal because we added the smoke box to the side, but that wasn't too difficult once you overcome the thought of knocking a huge whole in the side of your new grill.
It has a gas grill section, a charcoal grill section, the aforementioned smoke box, and a side gas fired eye that doubles as an eye for cooking and a starter for a charcoal chimney. I think I could easily smoke 4 slabs of ribs for dinner and cook a case of burgers for lunch all at the same time.
The funniest instruction was "Do not consume alcohol or recreational drugs while putting this grill together." That's funny because they have obviously been sued by some poor rednecks widow whose last words were, "Here, hold my beer while I light this baby up!"
Friday, January 8, 2010
Hijacking someone's Blog is Wrong
I feel bad about hijacking my sister's blog. I did it to encourage her to get back in the habit of blogging. Then we have the whole kettle black pot thing to go through. It was misguided to allow the public to assume that she is 45 years old.
So, I am sorry Sabrina. It was wrong of me to get into your account and post a blog about how you don't blog when I have also been lax. You see, my sweet wife has taken to blogging like a toddler to cheerios. She can do more stuff than I can, fancy stuff like advertising and backgrounds and whatnot. Her new blog is Mississippi Momma. It is really good. Tiki Travelers has fallen to my responsibility.
So in the spirit of doing a blog that is worthy of your time to read, I will tell you what we did to save money this past week. First off, it is cold cold cold! I like to say it is colder than a witches bosom in a brass brassier. We went shopping for the insulation cones to protect the outdoor faucets. None were to be found, so we improvised. 3 old towels and some duct tape sealed the deal. The boys wrapped up the faucets and secured them for the winter, so we won't have to call the plumber for that fix this spring and no leaking water in between.
The big money saver this week was the rejection of the landline telephone. I called AT&T (dreading it by the way) cause they always want to argue with you about spending your money. We don't ever use our home phone, so we decided to cut it off. AT&T was real nice about it and helpful. She then told me about the new fiber optic cable in our neighborhood and ended up getting me to switch from Directv to AT&T for television. We are going to end up with the same level of TV service, double our internet speed, put DVRs on all of our TVs and save $70 a month. And that $70 is going on the mortgage (baby step 6 as it were).
So, I hope you enjoyed my return to blogging. Next up will be the construction of my new grill I got for Christmas. We are cranking up the fire place on Saturday and building the grill and smoker inside the house. Here's hoping it will fit going back through the door when I am finished!
So, I am sorry Sabrina. It was wrong of me to get into your account and post a blog about how you don't blog when I have also been lax. You see, my sweet wife has taken to blogging like a toddler to cheerios. She can do more stuff than I can, fancy stuff like advertising and backgrounds and whatnot. Her new blog is Mississippi Momma. It is really good. Tiki Travelers has fallen to my responsibility.
So in the spirit of doing a blog that is worthy of your time to read, I will tell you what we did to save money this past week. First off, it is cold cold cold! I like to say it is colder than a witches bosom in a brass brassier. We went shopping for the insulation cones to protect the outdoor faucets. None were to be found, so we improvised. 3 old towels and some duct tape sealed the deal. The boys wrapped up the faucets and secured them for the winter, so we won't have to call the plumber for that fix this spring and no leaking water in between.
The big money saver this week was the rejection of the landline telephone. I called AT&T (dreading it by the way) cause they always want to argue with you about spending your money. We don't ever use our home phone, so we decided to cut it off. AT&T was real nice about it and helpful. She then told me about the new fiber optic cable in our neighborhood and ended up getting me to switch from Directv to AT&T for television. We are going to end up with the same level of TV service, double our internet speed, put DVRs on all of our TVs and save $70 a month. And that $70 is going on the mortgage (baby step 6 as it were).
So, I hope you enjoyed my return to blogging. Next up will be the construction of my new grill I got for Christmas. We are cranking up the fire place on Saturday and building the grill and smoker inside the house. Here's hoping it will fit going back through the door when I am finished!
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Christmas Cookie Rules
CHRISTMAS COOKIE RULES
If you eat a Christmas cookie fresh out of the oven, it has no calories because everyone knows that the first cookies is the test & thus calorie free.
If you eat a Christmas cookie while drinking a diet soda, the cookie has no calories because the diet soda cancel out the cookie calories.If you eat a Christmas cookie fresh out of the oven, it has no calories because everyone knows that the first cookies is the test & thus calorie free.
If a friend comes over while you're making your Christmas cookies and needs to sample, you must sample with your friend. Its calorie free...goes back to rule 1. It would be rude to let your friend sample alone and, being the friend that you are, that makes your cookie calorie free also.
Any cookie calories consumed while walking around will fall to your feet and eventually fall off as you move. this is due to gravity and the density of the caloric mass.
Any calories consumed during the frosting of the cookies will be used up because it takes many calories to lick excess frosting from a knife without cutting your tongue.
Cookies colored red or green have very few calories. Red ones have 3 and green ones have 5 ~ one calorie for each letter. Make more red ones!
Cookies eaten while watching "Miracle on 34th Street" have no calories because they are part of the entertainment package and not part of one's personal fuel.
As always, cookie pieces contain no calories because the process of breaking causes calorie leakage.
Any cookies consumed from someone else's plate have no calories since the calories rightfully belong to the other person and will cling to their plate.
AND we all know how calories like to CLING.
Any cookies consumed while feeling stressed have no calories because cookies used for medicinal purposes NEVER have calories. Its a rule.
So, go out and enjoy those Christmas Cookies ~ we only get them this time of year!
I can't claim credit for that brilliant piece of dietary rules...I copied it from an email my sister sent to me this morning.
However, let me reiterate and clarify a few things, just in case it didn't sink in..cookies have no calories if you eat during a movie, right out of the oven, with a friend, steal from anothers plate, are stressed, lick the icing knife, are broken or drink a diet drink.
This sounds like the beginning of a great new Christmas tradition to me...invite all your friends over to bake, decorate and consume. You eat off everyone else plate and no calories! And just to be safe...watch "Miracle on 34th Street"...better safe than sorry.
Changing from red to green was stressful...time to go find some Christmas cookies!
Happy Munching!!!!!
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
9 more Days
Its only NINE (9) more days till Christmas.
Are you ready?
Are you wishing everyone you see a "Merry Christmas"? I don't know why happy holidays is getting spoken so much but we are saying Merry CHRISTmas.
I absolutely, positively, undoubtedly love this holiday more than all the others combined. I love the music, decorations, shopping, movies, wrapping, special food, church programs, and all the kids being home. Then there are the secrets, surprises and smiles.
I marvel at the fact that the Lord loved us so much that he sent his son Jesus to this earth. I think about Mary & Joseph and their reactions to the news the angel brought about the birth of the Messiah. I think about King Herod & his jealous, hatefilled heart. I think about the shepherds tending their flocks in the field when the heavenly hosts of angels appeared to them with the news of Jesus birth. And the Magi who traveled over long distances to bring gifts & worship the new King. The kids and I love to watch the "Nativity Story" in December. It is a great depiction of the story of Jesus birth. And even though it is a movie, it seems to closely follow the scriptures telling of the birth of the Messiah.
I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas & a very Happy New Year.
And as Tiny Tim says in "A Christmas Carol", God bless us everyone!
Are you ready?
Are you wishing everyone you see a "Merry Christmas"? I don't know why happy holidays is getting spoken so much but we are saying Merry CHRISTmas.
I absolutely, positively, undoubtedly love this holiday more than all the others combined. I love the music, decorations, shopping, movies, wrapping, special food, church programs, and all the kids being home. Then there are the secrets, surprises and smiles.
I marvel at the fact that the Lord loved us so much that he sent his son Jesus to this earth. I think about Mary & Joseph and their reactions to the news the angel brought about the birth of the Messiah. I think about King Herod & his jealous, hatefilled heart. I think about the shepherds tending their flocks in the field when the heavenly hosts of angels appeared to them with the news of Jesus birth. And the Magi who traveled over long distances to bring gifts & worship the new King. The kids and I love to watch the "Nativity Story" in December. It is a great depiction of the story of Jesus birth. And even though it is a movie, it seems to closely follow the scriptures telling of the birth of the Messiah.
I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas & a very Happy New Year.
And as Tiny Tim says in "A Christmas Carol", God bless us everyone!
Friday, November 27, 2009
Traveling back to Mississippi & Black Friday Thoughts
The children and I have been in Georgia for the past 2 + weeks, helping Mom after her knee replacement surgery. We can all hook her up into the CPM (continously moves her knee to help with flexiblity & keep it limber), help with therapy, & the biggie...keep the floor clear of any junk that could trip her up. Sounds like a nursing course to me! They also brought their school books and finished math & our history course till Jan. Their last co-op till Jan. is next Friday, then school is officially out till after the New Year. Yeah...hooray...balloons & streamers falling!!!!!!!!!!
We have gotten lots of quilt piecing done and watched movies every night. Mom got out a couple of times during the 2 weeks and we got a little Christmas shopping done. Tonight we brought up her Christmas stuff from the basement since she is not stair climbing, and actually if she could, she couldn't tote anything up!
Yesterday we totally and thoroughly enjoyed too much food at my sisters house for Thanksgiving. It sure was good. And I didn't go back for seconds...too stuffed. Last nights dinner was "Fix your own" and I warmed up a piece of dressing, yum!
Greg and I got up really, really early this morning to go shopping. Did you believe that? Actually, we got up at 7:15. First stop was Target...not a creature was stirring, because they were standing in lines that wrapped around the inside of the store to get to the registers in the front. We put down the 2 things we had picked up and departed. That was insane. Next we went into Belks, got something Mom had pre-purchased (to get the door buster price) & left. Then Old Navy, they had a queue line set up, I wasn't standing in that either, did enough of that at Disney last month! We found a couple of things at Staples and then breakfast at Chick Fil A. Yummy chicken biscuit and sweet tea! Then we hit Greg's "toy" store, Northern Tool & Supply. My dearest found some tools, a rain barrel, blue jeans, work gloves, and some goodies for the kids. Then my "toy" store, JoAnn's. Fabric for the back of my quilt, flannel for gowns for the girls, and quilt batting for all our projects. Then I got an early Christmas gift, a sewing machine bag on wheels! It is wonderful, no more toting that bag to a class or to GA. I can wheel it to the car! And just for your info, we spent more at Northern Tool than at JoAnn's...Greg was shocked.
Shopping today made me very, very thankful that I do not work retail. Everyone I encountered today was nice & patient, but I know they were tired. I hope the restaraunts were busy too, cause the waiters need to make some money too! Especially Allen. Ya'll don't forget to tip your waiters in this recession, seems like folks are eating out but not tipping well. (Just my little "sermonette" as the Mom of a waiter!)
Tomorrow we are headed back to Mississippi. Next week starts the busiest week of our year. Its our churchs annual Living Christmas Tree. Greg & I will help with the tree lights, James is running one of the spotlights, Andy, Katie, Will & Amy are singing and Rob is playing the bass, I think Allen is working. We will be at the church Sunday, Wed, Thurs, & Friday nights and Sat & Sun afternoon & night. Busy, busy, busy!
Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving........now onto Christmas~! HoHoHo!
We have gotten lots of quilt piecing done and watched movies every night. Mom got out a couple of times during the 2 weeks and we got a little Christmas shopping done. Tonight we brought up her Christmas stuff from the basement since she is not stair climbing, and actually if she could, she couldn't tote anything up!
Yesterday we totally and thoroughly enjoyed too much food at my sisters house for Thanksgiving. It sure was good. And I didn't go back for seconds...too stuffed. Last nights dinner was "Fix your own" and I warmed up a piece of dressing, yum!
Greg and I got up really, really early this morning to go shopping. Did you believe that? Actually, we got up at 7:15. First stop was Target...not a creature was stirring, because they were standing in lines that wrapped around the inside of the store to get to the registers in the front. We put down the 2 things we had picked up and departed. That was insane. Next we went into Belks, got something Mom had pre-purchased (to get the door buster price) & left. Then Old Navy, they had a queue line set up, I wasn't standing in that either, did enough of that at Disney last month! We found a couple of things at Staples and then breakfast at Chick Fil A. Yummy chicken biscuit and sweet tea! Then we hit Greg's "toy" store, Northern Tool & Supply. My dearest found some tools, a rain barrel, blue jeans, work gloves, and some goodies for the kids. Then my "toy" store, JoAnn's. Fabric for the back of my quilt, flannel for gowns for the girls, and quilt batting for all our projects. Then I got an early Christmas gift, a sewing machine bag on wheels! It is wonderful, no more toting that bag to a class or to GA. I can wheel it to the car! And just for your info, we spent more at Northern Tool than at JoAnn's...Greg was shocked.
Shopping today made me very, very thankful that I do not work retail. Everyone I encountered today was nice & patient, but I know they were tired. I hope the restaraunts were busy too, cause the waiters need to make some money too! Especially Allen. Ya'll don't forget to tip your waiters in this recession, seems like folks are eating out but not tipping well. (Just my little "sermonette" as the Mom of a waiter!)
Tomorrow we are headed back to Mississippi. Next week starts the busiest week of our year. Its our churchs annual Living Christmas Tree. Greg & I will help with the tree lights, James is running one of the spotlights, Andy, Katie, Will & Amy are singing and Rob is playing the bass, I think Allen is working. We will be at the church Sunday, Wed, Thurs, & Friday nights and Sat & Sun afternoon & night. Busy, busy, busy!
Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving........now onto Christmas~! HoHoHo!
Friday, November 6, 2009
48 more days
Wow! 48 more days till Christmas Day! Actually, though, Christmas starts here the day after Thanksgiving. Since we will be in GA. with Mom that day, it will start at our home Sunday after Thanksgiving! I love to get down my zillions of boxes of Christmas decorations and start decorating. Zillions is probably a slight exaggeration but not much...just ask my box totters. They will tell you I've got alot.
The panicky, I've got to get busy feeling is slowly subsiding. I've gotten busy and made almost everything that needs to get made. We have been on a number of shopping trips and found some goodies. I have hit the big "let's get rid of this halloween candy and put out the christmas candy sales". (Come on, they are just wrapped in different colored foil...my kids won't complain! They will inhale) So the Christmas Stocking Stuffers are pretty much complete. But, now my closet looks like a war zone!
Tonight we are going on a family date night and seeing the new Disney 3D "A Christmas Carol" and out to eat dinner. It will be fun, we really like the 3D movies at the theme parks. And we will probably take some of that candy I just bought! Going to the movies is not a frugal activity and when the popcorn cost more than the movie ticket...there is just something wrong with that!
Tomorrow, we are going to our dr.'s office to help separate and pack pills for our Honduras Mission Trip in Jan. They are going to ship everything down early, since the airlines now charge for each suitcase you take. I think there are 236,000 pills to get done tomorrow! I've never done this, so it should be a challenge. We will also need to discuss all of our cooking utensils. We've always taken them before but wi
th the airline charges, it will probably be cheaper to buy new ones down there and store them at the farm there. Then we can just use the same ones every year. I know that will be easier than toting those large rubbermaid containers into and out of the airport! Gotta work on the menu's too!The picture at the top is our house during the snow last year (2 weeks before Christmas)! It was pretty while it lasted. We don't get much snow here in Miss.!
And, when you build a snowman (or 2) in your backyard beside the pool, they need the proper clothing...straw hat and sunglasses or life jacket and goggles! I have got some creative children! And a backyard with alot of leaves! They just helped hold the snow together!
Sunday, October 25, 2009
60 Days
Wow! Its just 60 days till Christmas. I am already getting that "panicky, I am not ready" feeling in the pit of my tummy.
These months are so busy for us with homeschool, dance classes, church activities and just life! We also took a week off from reality and went to Disney.
Now, we have found out that my Mom is going to have knee replacement surgery. The kids and I will be packing up the schoolbooks and probably sewing machine (gotta work on gifts) and going to GA to help nurse! She was wanting to wait till the beginning of Feb. for the surgery but its just not going to work, knees have a mind of their own sometimes.
I know that everything will get done in the next 2 months and if it doesn't I am the only one who will ever know.
Its beginning to look alot like Christmas....everywhere you go.....well at least at Hobby Lobby!
These months are so busy for us with homeschool, dance classes, church activities and just life! We also took a week off from reality and went to Disney.
Now, we have found out that my Mom is going to have knee replacement surgery. The kids and I will be packing up the schoolbooks and probably sewing machine (gotta work on gifts) and going to GA to help nurse! She was wanting to wait till the beginning of Feb. for the surgery but its just not going to work, knees have a mind of their own sometimes.
I know that everything will get done in the next 2 months and if it doesn't I am the only one who will ever know.
Its beginning to look alot like Christmas....everywhere you go.....well at least at Hobby Lobby!
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Tiki Travelers at Epcot's Food & Wine Festival
Tuna Roll-- Greg and Will liked
Beef Roll that all the girls loved. This was sweet and yummy!
Creme Brulee from France...Greg didn't know us girls were eating eclairs and mousse when he bought this!
Samuel Adams Beer from the USA. Lets just say, we wanted the cup. They would not have wanted my personal evaluation of this beer.
Funnel Cake from the USA pavilion. Powdered sugary goodness.
Amy's pasta dish from Italy.
This dish was from Marakesh and good but spicy...I don't remember the name of it.
This beef on the stick was served on Mashed Potatoes, really good.
Beef & Sweet Potato dish from Africa...this was my personal favorite!
The snails from France (to each his own)
We ate our way around the world at Epcot's Annual International Food & Wine Festival...not once but twice (different days).Besides the usual food stands and restaurants that are in the countries all the time, Epcot brought in more countries with lots and lots of good food.
This looks like alot of food, but we usually ordered one plate and split it 6 ways. That way we could taste more and keep the cost more affordable. We did not split the Escargot...Greg & Will ate it. And Will wanted it the 2nd day too (he liked it and he liked the gross factor of eating snails!)
We don't have pictures of the chocolate eclair and the chocolate mousse that Mom, Amy, Katie and I found in France at a Bakery. It was absolutely delicious!
We also ate Fish & Chips in the UK, Nacho's & quesidilla's in Mexico and Potato Pierogi's in Poland (I had never had a pierogi before but I really liked it.)
Epcot is one of my 2 favorite parks at Disney (Magic Kingdom is the other). We spent 3 lovely days at Epcot and honestly, we went the third day just to eat more of our favorites. The last day, Greg gave us the option of picking 2 yummies that we didn't have to share. Oh my, those were hard decisions. The beef dish from Africa was my very favorite, followed by the beef roll from Japan, and the bakery delicacies from France.
And a commercial for the Food & Wine festival...its during the month of October every year. The dishes cost between $4 - $7 each (thats why we shared)!!!
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Finally, the 2008 Christmas Gift
On Christmas morning last year, my children unwrapped a Minnie Mouse ornament. The attached note said..."Minnie says, see you in October!" Katie, Will and Amy were so excited. Amy has been to Disney several times, Katie and Will have never been. The time has come....we drive to Orlando on Friday!
We are staying in a timeshare in Kississimee about 10 minutes away from the front gates of Walt Disney World Resort. The clothes are packed, the food we are taking is prepared and frozen, we've got projects to work on in the car and books to read.
My Mom is going with us!
We are ready to roll.
There are just 2 little hitches in our plans but they aren't stopping us. My Mom has developed arthritis in her knee and has now gotten 2 cortisone shots to help with the pain...so we are taking Katie's wheelchair for Mom to ride in. This will be the first time I have been to Disney in 25 years and not had a stroller, but we have a wheelchair! And Amy got a runny nose yesterday and we went to the dr. this morning, she has an ear infection and upper resperitory infection. She also has an antibiotic shot in her hip and 2 prescriptions.
Walt Disney World here we come!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We are staying in a timeshare in Kississimee about 10 minutes away from the front gates of Walt Disney World Resort. The clothes are packed, the food we are taking is prepared and frozen, we've got projects to work on in the car and books to read.
My Mom is going with us!
We are ready to roll.
There are just 2 little hitches in our plans but they aren't stopping us. My Mom has developed arthritis in her knee and has now gotten 2 cortisone shots to help with the pain...so we are taking Katie's wheelchair for Mom to ride in. This will be the first time I have been to Disney in 25 years and not had a stroller, but we have a wheelchair! And Amy got a runny nose yesterday and we went to the dr. this morning, she has an ear infection and upper resperitory infection. She also has an antibiotic shot in her hip and 2 prescriptions.
Walt Disney World here we come!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Its Fair Time
Friday is the big day we turn in our entries to the Mississippi State Fair. The girls still have to finish the bindings on their small quilts and then they are ready. We've got to frame 3 cross stitch pictures, one that each of us did. And I have to hem a smocked jumper (its a fair entry and a gift).
After we turn in our fair entries on Friday, Tiki Travelers and their RV are hitting the road and driving to Starkville, MS for the MSU vs Ga Tech game. Greggie got us tickets on the 50 yard line. So hot dogs, hamburgers, chips, etc are all on the menu for this weekend!
Then we will be home for 2 1/2 days and then drive to GA to get Mom and drive to Disney! We are ready! This will actually be one of the few family vacations we have taken where Greg is "on vacation". I'll have to hide his blackberry so he can't read work emails! ( Shhhhhh, don't tell him) We are all excited and ready for this trip!
We are all decorated for fall...lots of scarecrows, pumpkins, and pilgrims and Indians. Here is a picture of my new Turkey...Greg got him for my birthday!
He is standing on the buffet in my dining room waiting for the big day!
After we turn in our fair entries on Friday, Tiki Travelers and their RV are hitting the road and driving to Starkville, MS for the MSU vs Ga Tech game. Greggie got us tickets on the 50 yard line. So hot dogs, hamburgers, chips, etc are all on the menu for this weekend!
Then we will be home for 2 1/2 days and then drive to GA to get Mom and drive to Disney! We are ready! This will actually be one of the few family vacations we have taken where Greg is "on vacation". I'll have to hide his blackberry so he can't read work emails! ( Shhhhhh, don't tell him) We are all excited and ready for this trip!
We are all decorated for fall...lots of scarecrows, pumpkins, and pilgrims and Indians. Here is a picture of my new Turkey...Greg got him for my birthday!
He is standing on the buffet in my dining room waiting for the big day!
Friday, September 25, 2009
Busy Fun Week
I've done several posts over at Mississippi Mama about coupons, and bargain hunting, etc. so come on over for a visit.
The big new this week was that I had a birthday, and as my loving 20 year old son told me...I am halfway to 100 (like I didn't know how old I was). I got lots of neat surprises starting with Katie, Will and Amy fixing me waffles for breakfast. Yummy! Then we took a school holiday and did fun stuff. Greg took us all out to Applebees for dinner. Here are some pictures from the day.
Now we've got the weekend. Homemade Pizza for dinner tonight and our homeschool groups Fall Kick- off party is tomorrow. Then hopefully we can get some tile work done. This is our last weekend at home for the next 3 weeks. We've also got to finish our State Fair entries because we have to turn them in next Friday!
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Picture
Don't ya just love the picture? This was taken at 6 Flags over GA on our 1st date...surrounded by our 6 chaperones. All the boys got to hold their weapons so they stood still long enough for the picture. I would love to get another one of these done...we just have to find a place that does them and have all the children with us at the time. Hummmmm, this is gonna be hard!
Monday, September 21, 2009
Top Ten Rejected Names for Donna's New Blog
10. Landing a Man with Mac & Cheese9. Making Chihuahua Cheese
8. 2 Quarters of a Century of Experience
7. 7 Kids and a Husband too!
6. Hangin' Out with the Sheets
5. A Georgia Peach in Mississippi Mud
4. Cucumbers and Other things you can stuff in a jar
3. Southern Nursing Home Living
2. Five Decade Diva
1. My First Days of Being Old
Great Weekend
We had a great weekend and it ended way too quickly.
Friday night we made Sloppy Joes for dinner and they were yummy! It is so easy to whip up and everybody likes them.
Saturday morning, Greg and I went on a "date" meaning we went out to eat breakfast and ran our errands. Our breakfast place was the new "Chimneyville" on Lakeland beside Lowe's. We both ordered a breakfast and brought at least 1/2 of each one home. My heavens, what plates of food. If the kids had been there with us, we would've had enough for all 5 of us. It sure was good. Then we hit Lowe's, Michaels, Penneys, CVS and Walgreens.
I have wanted my broom closet turned into a pantry for several months now and it was built on Sat. as a birthday gift to me. The kids did a great job of painting the inside white to lighten it up and then they helped Greg with installing the shelving and baskets. After the construction was complete, Amy, Will and I started organizing and filling it. Then we cleaned out some other cabinets and organized them also. I've said it before but it bears repeating many times....I love industrious, helpful children.
Sunday was church, lunch, cross stitch, nap and meeting at church. It was a nice lazy afternoon.
By the way...leftover sloppy joes used as the meat on nachos for Sunday lunch doesn't work real well...the meat is too sweet. Back to taco meat!
I have posted some recipes over at Mississippi Mama, so come on by for a visit.
Friday night we made Sloppy Joes for dinner and they were yummy! It is so easy to whip up and everybody likes them.
Saturday morning, Greg and I went on a "date" meaning we went out to eat breakfast and ran our errands. Our breakfast place was the new "Chimneyville" on Lakeland beside Lowe's. We both ordered a breakfast and brought at least 1/2 of each one home. My heavens, what plates of food. If the kids had been there with us, we would've had enough for all 5 of us. It sure was good. Then we hit Lowe's, Michaels, Penneys, CVS and Walgreens.
I have wanted my broom closet turned into a pantry for several months now and it was built on Sat. as a birthday gift to me. The kids did a great job of painting the inside white to lighten it up and then they helped Greg with installing the shelving and baskets. After the construction was complete, Amy, Will and I started organizing and filling it. Then we cleaned out some other cabinets and organized them also. I've said it before but it bears repeating many times....I love industrious, helpful children.
Sunday was church, lunch, cross stitch, nap and meeting at church. It was a nice lazy afternoon.
By the way...leftover sloppy joes used as the meat on nachos for Sunday lunch doesn't work real well...the meat is too sweet. Back to taco meat!
I have posted some recipes over at Mississippi Mama, so come on by for a visit.
Friday, September 18, 2009
New Blog Adventure
I am starting a new blog dedicated to cooking, crafting, and homemaking skills. Its address is www.MississippiMamaof 7.blogspot.com. This will be my girlie, Mom stuff blog!
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