Happy Homemaker Monday!

The weather in my neck of the woods:
50's, mild~ it was 60 at 5:30 am, and now it's like chilly cold? LOL!


Things that make me happy:
Pumpkin pie with cool whip~ yum!


Book I'm reading:
Magnolia Wednesdays and Calico


What's on my TV today:
We are listening to "The 100-year-old Secret" a 2011 Sequoyah Nominee as a family. I'm not sure that counts for "on TV" but it is our entertainment. ;)


On the menu for dinner:
Leftovers, or maybe Spaghetti


On my To Do List:
Bathroom deep cleaning
Take trash to curb


New Recipe I tried or want to try soon:
Eggplant Enchiladas ~ YUM!



In the craft basket:
I wonder if I'll ever finish Kelly's blanket. -.-


Looking forward to this week:
Payday. ^.^


Tips and Tricks:
Follow your heart.



My favorite blog post this week:
No blog reading yet


Blog Hopping (a new discovered blog you would like to share with the readers):




No words needed (favorite photo or picture, yours or others you want to share):




Lesson learned the past few days:
Sometimes people are hard to understand, and the sheer ambiguous nature of the world takes me by surprise. I'm trying to say what I mean, and mean what I say with as few words as possible to cloud up the meaning. "Yes." instead of "Yeah, if I have time." etc etc!


On my mind:
The Bourlands and their struggles with their childrens' school environment. School should be a place for learning, and all this other non-sense needs to be seen and addressed by teachers long before it reaches the ears of parents. As a nation we need to revitalize our education system, even if it means pulling our kids out and teaching them ourselves. Passion for learning and knowledge isn't going to be learned from a bitter ninny of a teacher who just wants to retire.


Devotionals, Scripture Reading, Key Verses:
Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for him to act. Don’t worry about evil people who prosper or fret about their wicked schemes. Stop being angry! Turn from your rage! Do not lose your temper—it only leads to harm. For the wicked will be destroyed, but those who trust in the Lord will possess the land. ~Psalm 37:7-9

Black Friday

Thanksgiving is over, leftovers have invaded the refrigerator and are now occupying it, and most of the world's population is taking advantage of the outrageous sales at almost every store in the world.

My brother's new fiancée, Ashley is probably somewhere exhausted over the sales! She worked hard to be there at 4am for the opening! I can't think of any good reason to be at a sale that early, myself. -.-

It is cold outside, the kids are out of school, and I'm content to sit around and do as little as possible. :)

Thanksgiving!

Some of my best, and worst, memories surround this wonderful holiday. The whole season is a time for love and family, and it really ought to last the whole year through. Good food, good friends and beyond that? Love!

I remember my first Thanksgiving with Kelly. I spent the whole night getting up and basting a turkey, roasting it in the oven to golden perfection. The first time I ever cooked the holiday dinner by myself. It was like a little ball of chaos in the bit of my stomach, because I didn't know him as well as I do now, and I was so worried I would burn something or he wouldn't be happy with my cooking! (My how far we have come from those panic-filled moments watching him take the first few bites!!!)

7 years later I know he will eat literally anything I set in front of him, no matter how burning hot, freezing cold, half cooked, burnt, or otherwise inedible it may be. :D

After we moved back to Oklahoma I have become the one who cooks Thanksgiving dinner for not only my husband and five beautiful wonderful amazing children, but also my parents and my two sisters and brother. This year it is extending out to include family friends, my brothers fiancée and perhaps her mom, and anyone else who walks through the door! (While I don't really mind cooking for all these people, I can't help but relive some of the bad memories I've endured at the hands of people who are closest. It is a real drag to hear echoes of laughter from melting cranberry gel sauce that was home made, to the burnt pie left in the oven and forgotten because of having too much going on.)

Stronger than the sad memories are the happy ones. Watching everyone sit down together for the only meal all year that everyone is together for. Thinking of the past years the same scene at different and far-flung tables. Loved ones lost grace our table in shades of the past as they were when they were with us. It is a strong together feeling, and it is a blessing every year to be able to share this time with family.

It may include wrestling kids into sitting at the table, a three ring circus in the kitchen, months of shopping and menu planning, days filled with baking cookies and candies, 5 turkeys, pounds upon pounds of side dishes~ but when it is all said and done and we're still eating left overs a week later it sort of seems worth it! I know I'll curse Thanksgiving while I'm finishing up tomorrow in a crazy flurry of activity! I'll throw my hands up and crash in bed after dinner leaving someone else to worry about any left over dishes. I'll happily do it again next year. ;)

Life is full of moments, and these are some of the best ones available.

The Countess

The Countess by Rebecca Johns is based on the infamous Countess Erzabet Bathory de Esched.

During the late 1500's and very early 1600's there was a woman in Hungary named Erzabet Bathory. Her infamy grew around names like the Blood Countess, or Countess Dracula, for the many murders she is said to have committed. While she never went to trial, 4 of her most loyal servants did go to trial and were burned for being skrata (witches) for the parts they had in the murders. While they only got convicted for 80 murders, there was said to be closer to 650 murders of young women in her various estates. So many stories were spread about these events, one of which saying that Erzabet went so far as to bathe in the blood of her victims to maintain her youthful beauty. The evidence was so thin that many believe it may have been nothing more than lies to gain control over her very wealthy lands during a time of war and unrest. Erzabet herself was never tried, although she was walled into a set of rooms in 1610 where she lived out the last 4 years of her life in solitary confinement.

As a child she was raised by a governess, and betrothed at the age of 11, married at the age of 15. Her husband was a brilliant soldier, frequently away on campaigns. He became known as the Black Bey of Hungary for his ruthlessness in battle. During the course of her life her father, mother, brother, two children, and her husband passed away. It is after her husband's passing that her murders were mostly reported, lending more power to the argument that it was all a set-up and political maneuvering on the part of the palatine to aid her two sons-in-law and the guardian of her underage son heir who openly supported the shift of power in Hungary at that time. Many people believe she was never tried and put to death because her death would have reverted all her lands to the crown with no male child of age to claim the titles and rights of her family. This is a small sacrifice on the part of the crown who had owed her and her husband a great deal of money for loans made during the wars, which the king then never repaid.

Overall Erzabet Bathory sounds like a normal noblewoman of the time period, and I can honestly say I don't know to which side I lean as to if she was a torturing murderer, or a helpless widow trapped in the political mechanizations of nobility after her husband's death.

As for the book: it is well written and left me relatively upset at the way she is said to have treated people. I had a difficult time reading it because the author seems to feel sympathetic with her at times, painting her as a wounded woman with a slim grasp on her faith. Other times she made her sound like a madwoman with no control over her emotions at all. There is at least one point where she writes her as a woman completely at odds with the world around her, beset at every side by hatred and jealousy which causes her to lose her grip on reality and makes her seem as if she were the victim.

I would suggest this story to anyone who has a love of historical fiction, although there are a couple of gory parts it is much more focused on the trials of Erzabet as a noblewoman than it is on her as a "demon woman" who "bathed in the blood of her murder victims." I enjoyed the use of Hungarian words throughout the story, and wish there had been slightly more facts on the war included~ but the narrow perception of a noblewoman fits with the story better, I suppose.

Happy Homemaker Monday!

The weather in my neck of the woods:
LOVELY! Upper 60's, sunny skies and a fair breeze!


Things that make me happy:
Kelly and Zachary and their nerd giggles ringing out at random times over silly things. ^.^


Book I'm reading:
The Countess by Rebecca Johns


What's on my TV today:
House? I don't know, it depends on what's new on fancast. <.<


On the menu for dinner:
oh, crap.


On my To Do List:
Put away laundry
sweep out some corners. :D


New Recipe I tried or want to try soon:
Pecan Divinity. I can't wait to get boxes together to send people! :D



In the craft basket:
Kelly's blanket, still. I have never made a blanket before and this seems like a rather large undertaking. -.-

Looking forward to this week:
TURKEY DAY!! :) I can't wait!! I may not like all the people I will be spending the day with, but I know I can hide myself away with Kelly and the kids and ignore them! :D


Tips and Tricks:
I found the best recipe ever last year. Bacon on the turkey before you cook it! You weave the bacon over the turkey and hold it down with toothpicks. While the turkey roasts the bacon cooks, and lends the flavors to the turkey, while also crisping the skin and holding in moisture! YUMMY!!!!



My favorite blog post this week:
anything on Kelly's blog. I'm so happy he's blogging again! :D


Blog Hopping (a new discovered blog you would like to share with the readers):
none


No words needed (favorite photo or picture, yours or others you want to share):





Lesson learned the past few days:
He who laughs last, tends to sound awkward because they didn't get the joke. -.-


On my mind:
Thinking up ways to make money since I never hear back about the applications I'm putting out. I love being at home with the kids, but I would rather make money so we could be in our own house in Idaho!!


Devotionals, Scripture Reading, Key Verses:
Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one's youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate. Psalm 127:3-5

Still SICK

I still feel like I've been hit by a truck today. I slept until 3 in the afternoon, LOL! Ah, but I had at least enough energy to make dinner and clean up the kitchen.

We watched a couple of movies tonight. Charlie St. Cloud and Disney's A Christmas Carol which was AWESOME. The first movie was a bit too sappy for me, and I was cooking during the serious part. So my review of it may be a bit biased towards the dislike side. I also think Zac Efron should've been the one to play Edward in Twilight. Moving on! The new Disney version of A Christmas Carol boasts stars like Jim Carrey, Cary Elwes, Gary Oldman, and Bob Hoskins. They made it with some new fangled animation thing, so if you see this film I suggest you also watch the "making of" option on the disc. It is pretty neat to see how they did it!

Well my headache is flaming back up, but my dad forgot to turn on the roaster when he started the turkey this afternoon. This means it was started at 7pm so it won't be ready to be cut up and put away until midnight. :( Which means~ I volunteered to carve it up so my parents could go to bed! What a stupid move. I think I'll just go lay down and set my alarm for midnight! :D

<3 THANKSGIVING IS COMING! <3

The Elephants Within

Sandra from familycorner.blogspot.com has been so kind as to share the elephant she has sitting on her head and upsetting her sinuses. Thus, I feel as if I have an elephant sitting on my head upsetting MY sinuses.

I've been sleeping a lot all week.

That's all.

Happy Homemaker Monday!

The weather in my neck of the woods:
cool and cloudy/rainy

Things that make me happy!
Listening to kids help eachother with homework.

Book I'm reading(listening to):
Dragonsdawn by anne McCaffrey

What's on my TV (fancast!) today:
Nothing!

On the Menu for Dinner:
Spaghetti. Should've been Ham and Beans, but I forgot to soak the beans. -.-

On my To Do List:
reorganize clothing
laundry :(
bathroom

New Recipe I tried or want to try soon:
Cheesy Hashbrown Chicken
Y-U-M!

In the craft basket:
I am STILL working on Kelly's blanket. I finished the hats for Amaya and Sarah, and a purse for Amaya!

Looking forward to this week:
Gearing up for TURKEY DAY! :D

My favorite blog post this week:
none :\

Blog Hopping:
http://driftwoodandsanddollars.blogspot.com/
Kelly doesn't post much, but his entries are always well thought out.

No Words Needed:

I know it says "No words needed" but it's sort of hard to tell...those little geese are laying in a small puddle of water!! The momma goose is just looking around like "I can't believe my kids are doing this!" It was such a cute family moment. :D


Lesson learned the past few days:
Working hard isn't enough, sometimes you have to work harder.

On my mind:
Family and friends.

Devotionals, Scripture Reading, Key Verses:
A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity. Proverbs 17:17

:\

I'm so sad that the surgery I had to make me feel better is causing me more stress than the situation that caused the surgery. I've never really understood people and their complete distrust for doctors until now. I'm getting bills from doctors I have never heard about for things I never recalled having done! They're all spiteful and I'm sure that every doctor who walked past my room has billed me and jumped on the bandwagon of "GIVE ME MONEY NOW BEFORE OBAMA CARE KILLS US ALL!" or something similar. It just doesn't make any sense!

Of course, even the bills I HAVE paid keep coming back because they "have no record" of my payment, even though it has gone through the credit company and been paid in cash as well!

What a headache, and a heap of stress.

I wonder if they'll give me a refund if I take the gal bladder back. >:|

Menu and Such!

Menu is all planned out, unfortunately the shopping isn't done yet. Crest is having their annual holiday pricing on turkey, so we are buying our groceries in $25.00 chunks. LOL! :)

Dinner Menu~
Sunday~
Cheesy Hashbrown Chicken (from Sandra's full bellies blog!)

Monday~
Ham and Beans

Tuesday~
BBQ Chicken

Wednesday~
Pot Pies

Thursday~
Spaghetti

Friday~
Arozz con Pollo (family recipe!)

Saturday~
Pork chops & baked potatoes

Sunday~
Cheeseburger Meatloaf (from Sandra's full bellies blog!)



I made Amaya this adorable hat!! Unfortunately it is too big for her, so Sarah is wearing it. I'm going to make Amaya a smaller one! :)

It didn't come out exactly like the picture, but it is still pretty cute! :)

That's all for now!

It's Almost HERE!

MY BLOG HAS TURKEYS!!! ;D

CUTEST blog background possible for the upcoming TURKEY DAY!!! :D

Thanksgiving is one of my FAVORITE holidays!

I love cooking, especially for my ungrateful and often horribly mean family. (Not my husband and kids, the other people! My husband and kids love me and my exploratory cooking style!!) It is a time for making yummies and enjoying the people you love and even expressing how awesome and wonderful they are! Sort of like Valentine's Day, only so much more fulfilling!

I went shopping today and bought my first turkey of the season! Overall I will end up cooking 3 or 4 with different flavors and styles of cooking! It's going to be an amazing and delicious dinner, to say the least! :D

Today we had leftovers, and I sliced up some ham and fried it up for Kelly and me to eat. I added some shredded cheese to make it melty yummy~ but then I had a bad idea. I thought it if put a little mayo on it, then it would be JUST like a ham sandwich without the gluten rich bread we used to eat sandwiches on!

.........Just in case you've never tried to make a sandwich with two slices of ham, cheese, and mayo let me help you and tell you it is a terrible idea. I think this is the first time my cooking made Kelly gag. HAHAHA :D Aw, well it sounded like a good idea in my brain! :)

I also made some delicious chocolate chip cookies. The recipe did not call for any plain white sugar, and so I was nervous to say the least. It came out pretty well, but the cookies pretty much collapsed. They looked all ...weird. Here, take a look!



You can't really tell, but the dough is all flat and the chips look like huge bulbous things. They look lumpy and while they are delicious, they are not big fluffy gooey cookies like I favor!

This is the recipe I used tonight:

1 1/4 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
3/4 stick Crisco Butter Flavor shortening stick
2 tbsps. milk
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 3/4 cup flour
1 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup semi-sweet mini chocolate chips (we used regular size for both!)

Heat oven to 375.

Combine brown sugar, crisco, milk and vanilla in large bowl. Beat at medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat egg into creamed mixture.

Combine flour, salt and baking soda. Mix into creamed mixture until blended.

Stir in chocolate chips.

Drop rounded tablespoonfuls of dough 3 inches apart onto ungreased baking sheet. (I use parchment paper because it makes cleanup SUPER fast and easy if you have any accidental burnings!)

Bake 8-10 minutes for gooey cookies, 11 to 13 minutes for crisp cookies.

Cool 2 minutes on baking sheet on a cooling rack. Remove cookies to cool completely. (This step seems pointless, because the cookies don't last 2 minutes out of the oven!)

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Anyways, as I said~ an odd recipe in my opinion. We tried it! It was yummy but I didn't like the texture much, so we probably won't be including these ones in holiday boxes!

SO ANGRY!

Today when I picked the kids up from school they were shivering! Of course it was like 50 degrees outside, and raining and dreary! The REASON they were all shivering is because the teachers at their school made them sit on the COLD, WET concrete waiting in the "car rider" line! Their pants were soaked, and they were shivering cold!!!

The principal had already left for the day, so she won't hear from me until Monday. I'm hopping mad!! Who makes kids sit in cold rain water?!!? Worst of all, we are all recovering from a pretty nasty cold (Kelly is still in bed with it!!) and I'm so worried it will be another week of coughing kids and nagging headaches! My poor babies! I'm so mad mad mad mad mad!!!!

In other news, I spent all day making yummy chicken and rice soup.



It is deeeelicious!! :D

Also, we had a girls day out at the library! It was a lot of fun, but I forgot the library here closes early (6pm!) on Friday nights, so it was an EARLY fun night! This is okay though, because we had soup waiting at home as well as Star Wars Clone Wars!





Aren't they cute reading together!?!?!? :D

We had a lot of fun, we found a lot of great books, too! I'm looking forward to listening to another Dragonrider book, which I've probably already read but I'll enjoy listening all the same! :)

<3

Thursday

I'm making a blanket for Kelly. In my opinion it is going to be very cute, even though it will be crudely made. (No pattern, and I'm really not very good at crochet anyhow...so...yea.) Sort of like the socks I made him. (Poor guy! But he wears them all the time and swears he loves them so, I guess it is okay they look horrible!)

Anyways, blanket. It is going to have a little pouch on the end for his feet to go into, and then it will be long enough to cover up his legs. It gets pretty cold in here during the winter, and this will help keep him warm when he's at his desk. :)

We got the kids' school pictures back today. (Well 2 yesterday, 2 today, and I guess Zachary will bring his home whenever it is the "cool" thing to do. LOL) They are so cute! They sent home magnets and plastic laminated "gift tag" pictures, which are cute but sort of "what in the world would I do with them?" So I think we'll only be keeping the magnetic ones to send out to family. YAY!

I made "mulligan" for dinner tonight. It is a family recipe and every time I make it my mind gets flooded with memories of my grandfather who was the genius behind the recipe. He taught me how to fish when I was teeeeny tiny, and I still remember spending time with him at his cabin...he had flannel sheets, and it was nestled right up against a lake...so beautiful! Thinking back on the amazing life he had, and the amazing memories I had with him, it makes me feel very bittersweet that I drifted so far away from him as time went on.

Anyways, it is now 10:30pm, and I suppose...I should head to bed. ^.^

Happy Homemaker Monday!

The weather around here:
56, mild and clear

Things that make me happy:
Report cards!! Yay good grades!!

Book I'm reading(listening to!):
Dragongirl by Todd McCaffery

What's on my FanCast:
House
Glee
Castle
Cougar Town

On the menu for dinner:
Homemade Chicken and Rice soup

On my To-Do List:
Kick this cold's patootey

New Recipe I tried or want to try soon:
Herb & Cheese burgers from Sandra! YUM!

In the craft basket:
Kelly's blankey!

Looking forward to this week:
Parent/teacher conferences today!

Tips and Tricks:
Because my parents disagree on what a good dish soap is, I have found that adding some bleach to dishwater will cut grease like nobody's business!

My favorite blog post this week:
<.<

Blog Hopping (a new discovered blog you would like to share with the readers):
Girl Gone Primal - http://girlgoneprimal.blogspot.com/
I love the recipes I find here!!

No words needed (favorite photo or picture, yours or others you want to share):




Lesson learned in the past few days:
Think before you speak.

On my mind:
Family and friends.

Devotionals, Scripture Reading, Key Verses, Inspirational Quote:
Be the change you wish to see in the world. ~Ghandi

Blarg.

I finished reading the comic at http://www.xkcd.com (to date) which is 816 strips long. It made me laugh a great deal, and scratch my head at times. (I still don't understand the Higgs Boson, but Kelly says this is because it is theoretical and isn't supposed to make sense.) ANY way, that's my main accomplishment this week. This is a great comic for nerds because there is a lot of math and science integrated into the humor. (For those of you who cringe at the thought of math or science being funny, this probably wouldn't be a good comic for you!)

Also, working on finishing Dragongirl by Todd McCaffery. It is an audiobook, which means I have to listen at the rate someone else reads (slow) and I have to find time when I can actually LISTEN to the book, which is more challenging than I thought it would be. I have also found that it is very difficult for me to listen to a book. As with most of the books in this series, I'm really enjoying it! I would love to live on Pern!

Making chicken soup for dinner in an attempt to kick the cold out of my head. I dislike the lack of energy almost as much as I dislike all the mucus that comes along for the ride. Also my left eye looks like something from the black lagoon. It is red and swollen and very angry. Very. Angry. Indeed.

This morning the local gas company has their meter readers out in our neighborhood. The funniest thing, really, is that this is a new guy. He has no idea where our meter is. Why would I know? I never have to look at the blasted thing!

Oh yea, HAPPY MONDAY. -.-

Something..

So often these days people are very thoughtless. They don't even consider the impact their words could have on other people before they speak. This happens a lot online especially because people have zero accountability online! However, my concern is more for the face to face interactions that people take for granted every day.

Adults need to be extra careful especially when they speak to small children they don't know very well. For instance, a young man who has hearing problems and has had them his whole life will probably not take snide comments from someone he looks up to very well. Has it really become so okay in today's society to say the phrase "Are you deaf?!" that we don't even consider the hearing capability of a child before saying it?

I know I'm guilty myself of saying mean things when I'm angry.

"ARGH! I just want to STRANGLE you sometimes!"
"What part of NO is too complicated for you?!"

Just to name a couple. I'm sure there are more I say that I would be ashamed to admit to after I've calmed down, and I'm not a mean person by nature! I would like to think I was never so out of my facilities that I would utter such a hateful phrase as "Are you deaf?!" in anger to a child who really had hearing issues.

I think it is about time everyone became more aware and started watching their language when interacting with other people. For sure I will be watching my own from now on, because even though I'm not a mean person I realize that my words are just as dangerous of a weapon as a knife when wielded the wrong way against someone you love.

Out-Of-School Friday

So much going on it's like a little slice of CHAOS!

The kids got their report cards, and so many good grades! I think we only had one C between the four big kids, 2 B's and the rest~ A's!!!! Brilliant children! :)

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Today is the grand opening of Freedom Crossing at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas. I'm feeling some mixed results about this. First of all, it looks like an awesome shopping center for military people! They say it sports a theater, playgrounds for the kids, a nice array of specialty stores, and a respectable food court. It sounds like the perfect small mall for any large military installation. The only real problem I have is the talk of it being open for the general public. I don't think any land on a military base should be used for the general public, it just isn't safe. Also, it isn't supposed to be about making money but about helping out the members and family of our military! This sounds like a money-making venture to me, and it shouldn't be on the base! Other than that, it sounds like an awesome deal and I hope they find a way to make this as safe as possible.
News Story:
http://www.elpasotimes.com/news/ci_16527738?source=most_viewed

Our thoughts and prayers remain with the families effected by the recent shootings on Fort Bliss!
News Story:
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/09/20/shooting-fort-bliss-army-base/

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Last night for dinner I made Herb & Cheese Stuffed Burgers from Sandra's Full Bellies, Happy Kids food blog!
Link:
http://fullbellies.blogspot.com/2010/11/herb-cheese-stuffed-burgers.html

The meat we used was waaayyy to lean, 93/7 and so they came out a tad bit on the dry side. I would suggest 80/20 as the perfect meat for this! Even though they were a little dry they were AMAZING! It was even easy to make, which is a huge bonus in MY books!

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The kids are out of school today. We have parent/teacher conferences on Monday ~ which I'm sure will be uneventful since all of my children are quite brilliant! ;D

They are currently watching Toy Story 3 with my sisters, and are going to have yummy Arby's sandwiches and CHOCOLATE TURNOVERS for dessert! YYUMMMMM!! :)

We are prepared for a fun weekend ahead!