Wordless Wednesday

Not Me Monday

Ok Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

So this is what I may or may not have done:

I did not sit at our table with my youngest son on Saturday for six, let me say that again SIX, Yes S-I-X (6) hours helping him with one assignment for his English IV class. Now mind you this was an assignment he had already done most of the work on. The help I provided was typing and a few ideas. I do not think that all these kids should get T-shirts when they pass this class that say "I survived Ms. West's Class!"
I did not however, enjoy spending that time with him or being able to help him (even though it was tiring.)
I did not plan to ccok supper that night but then realize it was 8PM when we were finished so we did not order "Cock of the Walk" and bring it home to eat it. (It was not very good, just as I remembered from the last time we got it.)
I am not concerned that he is stressed about that class, scholarships, college, money for college... Not concerned at all.
My husband did not mess with my new lamp causing it to topple. I certainly did not scream like I was being assaulted when I thought it was going to fall over and break. That would be silly, I wouldn't scream like that over a lamp.
I am not behind at work, and I am not thinking about it while I am at home.
I do not think of teeny tiny Avery each and every time I see a commercial for "The Duggars" and their little Josie.
I did not bow out of a Saturday with Avery at the zoo because of sheer exhaustion from a very busy week at work. (Josh was not glad I skipped the zoo!)
I did not make the most delicious Calzones for lunch yesterday that were FABULOUS! (Thanks Emily!)
One of my feet is not smaller than the other, and I absolutely most definitely did not stuff a crumpled piece of paper in the toe of my right shoe to make it fit better. Never would I do that.

Golfing

Saturday was a beautiful day. I mentioned earlier that we went to Miss Jami's for Bunny pictures for part of the day. While we were doing that the guys went golfing. Even Todd went with them this time. I was so surprised. He usually doesn't go because of the time it takes. But he decided he wanted to go this time and really enjoyed himself. I was happy for him. When we were finished with the pictures, we headed out to catch up with them on the golf course. Wanna guess who LOVED it? Little Avery Grace had a SUPER time. She ran, and explored, and pointed, (In this picture she was pointing to the cart and wanting to get in.) -Thanks for grabbing the camera Casey-So Avery drove. She smiled, jumped,
helped out, and had a very nice time. She even took a little lesson from our own personal golf pro. She spent some quality time with Josh. It is kinda strange how she used to be so enthralled by him she would just sit and watch him for the longest periods of time. You could just sit her beside him and she would just gaze up at him for a while. Now, not so much. She is a little unnerved by him for some reason. lol She thought the golf cart was fantastic though. When we stopped, you know for a small reason like for the guys to, you know, golf; she would say, "Go, go". She was ready to get back in the golf cart.

I was lovin takin pictures. Then we saw this. What an excellent idea. Pictures on the bridge. So Casey, Charlie, and Avery got onto the bridge. Ready, Aim, Click --- Nothing. My battery was dead! Aaaahhh! Oh well. Since Todd enjoyed this so much I think we may take another trip or two there at some point in the near future. I will be camera ready and heading for the bridge next time. We had so much fun on Saturday. It did start to get cold before we left. Who knew it would be freezing when we got up on Sunday. Even saw a few snow flakes. Craziness!

He Will

Saturday we got to go to Miss Jami's and take pictures with the bunnies! She liked holding the bunny until it tried to move. Then not so much. And of course true to form, she took some pictures and did fine until she was DONE. Then it was certainly time to move on. But thankfully Jami got some good shots.

Before we headed out to see the bunnies we did our own photo shoot out in our driveway.

I think Avery has a little story to tell us for today.


What? What's the problem?

Lift your eyes to God above!

He will take care of you!

Now that will make a girl twirl!

Giggles

Tonight 3/20/10, I tickled Avery as she was getting ready to lay down for the night. Kissing her sweet little cheek before bed. She giggled the longest, sweetest, loveliest, most wonderful giggle I have ever heard before.

I remember when we, well okay "I", was waiting and waiting for that LONG AWAITED FOR first smile. Man did she make me wait forever. Tonight's giggle was almost breathtaking. It just made my heart melt! So of course I did it again, and again. I am sure her mommy didn't appreciate me boosting her energy level but I just couldn't help it. And I am not ashamed to say I WILL DO IT AGAIN! As a matter of fact I plan on tickling tomorrow as soon as possible.

Now that she is fast asleep I can sit here and think about it and remember it.
:) Can you feel me smiling?

I AM BLESSED!

Isn't God Grand

Today I decided to do a little yard work. Very little. Anyway as I got outside and was mowing down some high patches in the yard I noticed my Redbud Tree had little purple buds all over it. I was so excited! I love my Redbud tree. The kids got it for me a long time ago for Mothers Day. I dont remember what year but I know they were pretty little. Even though it did grow a little crooked I still love it and was pumped that it had the buds all over it. Then I moved on to the front yard, mowing down patches of fresh thick clover! Ahhh Spring. Then I noticed my Japanese Maple that the kids got me last year for Mothers Day! Here is a picture of that lovely day! Anyway, I have been just a little nervous since Winter set in and this tree lost all it's leaves. Of course I know that is Natures Way. Maybe I havent mentioned it on my blog before but I really dont have a green thumb. As a matter of fact its probably on more of the blackish end of the color wheel. So today when I looked at my Japanese Maple and saw the tiny buds I was sooooo happy! I think it SURVIVED! Woo Hoo! Spring is GREAT! After seeing the buds on two trees I opened up my eyes and saw fresh greenery on my rose bush, (cant wait for those blooms.) I saw new growth on the Green Olive Bush, (Cant wait for that fragrance!). I also saw not one but TWO butterflys! Wow

Spring time is awesome. I LOVE Spring Break. I love being off of course. But it is great to see new life bursting forth everywhere. Its like a peek at the hope of things to come. A sign that things, even dry dead looking things are about to become new!

Isn't GOD GRAND?!

So as I think of Spring, I think of things that may look dry and dead around me, and I know GOD IS GRAND! He can make ALL THINGS new. (2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new) Also Revelations 21:5 "I make everything new" Man, thats exciting. Just as exciting as seeing new buds on my trees. Even moreso!

Great Recipe Post

We had a DELICIOUS supper tonight if I do say so myself. Well I do say so, but I am not going to keep it all to myself. I am going to share with you! Thus - A RECIPE POST!

So I started with desert first of course. (That's best according to my friend Pattie, especially if it involves chocolate!) It does involve chocolate, and lots of it. I got this recipe for Truffles from The Pioneer Womans blog. I don't read it often but have checked it a time or two. Recently I clicked on it and this was the recipe she had up. Well this is my version of her recipe. Here goes:

These are the ingredients you will need for these truffles. Bakers Baking Semi Sweet and Unsweetened Chocolate Squares. An 8 oz. box of each, 1 can of Eagle Brand Milk, Vanilla Flavoring, 2 boxes of Bakers Dipping Chocolate. (Normally I would use Almond Bark but this is what the store had so I used it and I like it.)

First you break up the pieces of chocolate and place in a double boiler. I do not own a double boiler so I used a glass bowl in a saucepan of boiling water. Make sure you dont have too much water in the saucepan so it doesnt overflow when you put the bowl of chocolate in like I did. Wait a few minutes for it to begin to melt and then before stirring add the can of Eagle Brand Milk. Fold together. It will become a pretty thick mixture. When it is all mixed well add a teaspoon of vanilla flavoring. Mix well and transfer to another bowl, cover with foil, and place in freezer for an hour and a half - or more if you are busy in an hour and a half. Next remove from freezer and roll into small bite sized balls and place on waxed paper. Then place all "truffels" into freezer for 30 minutes. Next melt the dipping chocolate or almond bark, dip truffels, and place onto waxed paper. Now for a trick that I would never have tried in a million years. Sprinkle a little of this onto them while they are wet.
I did about 3, then sprinkled, then 3 more, then sprinkled... The sea salt on the truffels is GREAT! Seriously, try it! Now I didnt go buy the Sea Salt especially for this. I already had some. Why, you ask? Todd got it one time when he was COOKING supper. He was grilling steak, and baking potatoes. He bought the potatoes that come in some package with INSTRUCTIONS! That was part of the instructions so he got it and followed instructions! LOL Anyway on with MY supper.

For the main course. I marinated a nice thick sirloin steak last night. I used Emeril Lagasses Steak Seasoning, EVOO, Worchestershire, a little cooking wine, and ground pepper. It sat overnight in the fridge and soaked up all that goodness. So all I had left to do for that was throw it on the grill tonight.
The last recipe I have for you is one I got from a Rachel Ray show recently.
First I cleaned some new potatoes and popped them into boiling chicken stock. I used one box of chicken stock, and also some frozen stock I had saved from the last time I boiled chicken. (I cant remember why I boiled the chicken, but anyway I am glad I froze the stock.) Let the potatoes boil for 30 minutes until tender. Then comes the good part. Remove them from the liquid and add half a stick of butter. Now take a flat edge like a glass and squash each potatoe gently and allow them to brown. When browned flip each potatoe and brown on the other side. (Rachel Ray then added some freshly grated Parmesian Cheese, but I had to skip this part since I am the only one in this house that would enjoy that) I served them as is. They were GREAT!

Then I just made some butter beans and rolls and the meal was complete. When I took the Sirloin off the grill I let it sit for about 5 minutes so that when I cut it the juices wouldnt all run out. Then I sliced in at a slight angle to serve. So this was our meal tonight! And this was our desert!Yum Yum! I think I'll go have some seconds. hehehe

Celebrations Again!

2010 is proving out to be a year of celebrations just as I felt it would be. Our High School Basketball Team just won the State Championship this last weekend. When we got to the Semi Playoffs I wanted to go to that game so badly but it was on a Tuesday and both Todd and I had to work on Wednesday. Not only did we have to go to work Wednesday but Todd of course had to be there at 3 am. Us getting home at 1:30 would not have worked to say the least. So we didnt go. But when they made it to the final game which was played on Friday, I REALLY wanted to go. Now Todd has to work on Saturdays as well, and he still has to get up for work at 3 am. I was concerned as to how this was going to work. I asked him to please see if he could get someone to work for him that day. His job is not like most where you can just call in and not come to work. He explained to me that 'so and so' was working out of town and that there was no one to do it. First thing the next morning I gave him a call to see if he had "worked it out yet". LOL He hadnt. But that afternoon after talking to his boss, it DID WORK OUT! I was so excited. We knew we didnt want to drive back that night getting in at 1:30 in the morning. (The game was in Lafayette, La) So we stayed in a Drury Inn there in Lafayette. When we got to the hotel we were informed that they were serving SUPPER which was included in the price of the room! Wow, so we ate Chili Dogs, Baked Potatoes, Salad, Chips, and Salsa. There was also popcorn and a few other things we didnt try. It was nice and saved us an expensive meal out. Then off to the Cajun Dome! It was so exciting. Tons of people from Vidalia were there. It was so nice to see such support from the Vidalia fans. We were so proud of our boys and their coaches for doing such a wonderful job. We made it to the Finals last year as well and got the 2nd place trophy then. It was so awesome to be able to come back this year and give it another try. So no matter how it ended up we knew we were proud of their effort and talent in this sport. But low and behold these guys stepped it up once again and blew their way right to the Championship Trophy! Did I mention that it was exciting? Now to back up a bit, my plan was to switch the lens out on my camera on the trip to Lafayette. But Todd wanted me to drive so he could rest a bit on the way up since he had been up since 3 am. So I did. That resulted in me forgetting to switch my lens out and not realizing it until we were at the Cajun Dome. I knew if I left the regular lens on the camera the pictures would not be what I wanted from so high up in the Dome. So I chose to leave the camera in the car. :( No pictures from the exciting game. I do hate that because as you all know I am a PICTURE FREAK! But I did make up for it the next day when the State Champions returned to their home town! Many of us greeted them at the school when they pulled into town. That was exciting too. Josh was already in the caravan that went out to meet them and follow them in. He has really been behind them and is a great fan of the team. If we had known they were doing that we would have been right in there behind them. But we jumped in from there and followed them all through town! It was fun going through the neighborhoods and honking horns and waving flags and yelling for our team. Finally we made it back to the school for hugs of congratulations, hand shaking, and a bit more celebration. We are proud of the Vidalia Vikings Basketball Team who are the Louisiana STATE CHAMPIONS!
What a great time we had this weekend. :)