Something New!

We got this beautiful hutch this week and I love it!! It's used, but in very nice condition, and it is providing a lot more storage for my dishes, linens, and more. A very nice addition to our home! (By the way, that's not a wine bottle, but balsamic vinegar on the lower shelf. ;) )

I had planned to share some recipes tonight, but I find I'm running out of energy and I just want to head for bed soon . . . so perhaps tomorrow or Monday, I'll get around to posting them. We had a busy day today, mainly working on cleaning up the garage/Jim's workshop. It's a big mess! But we're definitely making progress. Somehow we need to get everything organized down there . . . then he can work in a more inspiring environment. When that's done, we need to concentrate on getting organized here in the upstairs! Hopefully we can devote most every Saturday to some house projects.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend and enjoying some sunshine, as we did today.

This 'n' That on a Snowy Day

We woke up to beautiful flakes fluttering down outside. After a Saturday that felt like spring (high 50s--weird!) and a cold Sunday, today was back to traditional winter. Very pretty to look at, but not so much fun to go out in. We did, though--I went to a dr. for help with a UTI (see my preg. blog for more on that), but thankfully Jim was willing to drive me there.

After a kind of lazy day, I now have a chicken roasting for supper and potatoes boiling on the stove, for mashed potatoes. I'll probably cook some frozen veggies to complete the meal . . . sounds good for a winter night. Here's a tip for roasting chicken that I tried recently--use Montreal Chicken seasoning on it. Just sprinkle on liberally and roast as usual. This makes a fabulous, tender chicken that will melt in your mouth!! And it smells oh-so-yummy while cooking, too. :)

We were at Sam's Club on Saturday and I found Pride and Prejudice (A&E version) on DVD for $16.97. Just couldn't pass that up, so there went the rest of my spending money. :) We have been enjoying watching it over the weekend, though.

Here are a couple bumper sticker quotes for your enjoyment:
"Midwives help people out." (seen in my midwife's office)
"Ted Kennedy's car has killed more people than my gun ever has." Gotta love that one!!

Well, I better go check my potatoes and play with my son while supper finishes cooking. Have a lovely evening, everyone!

Today's Accomplishments

Ahhh, I love it when my bathroom is gleaming! Theoretically, if I was keeping up with my chores the way I'd like to, it would be gleaming every day. :) But I hadn't given it a thorough going-over since before our vacation, so it was high time for some scrubbing. It looks much happier now! The only thing left to do is the shower, which I hope to tackle tomorrow. Somehow, tubs/showers seem to need a day of their own in order for me to have enough energy to do a good job.

Since Thursday is my errand day, Sam and I got out as early as we could manage and went to the grocery store and Walmart. Then we took some flowers and a get-well card to my Grammie, who is recovering from gallbladder surgery. After a nice little visit with my grandparents, who always enjoy getting to see Sam, we headed up the road to my parents' house and had lunch with them. I could see that Sam was winding down after lunch (nap time!) so we headed home and he promptly fell asleep, before we even got off my parents' road. I managed to get all the groceries in, then get him transferred from carseat to crib, where he is thankfully still asleep! His nice long nap has given me the chance to put away groceries, read a few blogs, have devotions, and clean the bathroom . . . not to mention write a bit here! :)

After a dreary day of rain yesterday, we are enjoying some warmish weather and blue skies today. The best thing about the rain, though, was that it melted all the ice that was on our driveway! So now I feel a lot better about driving in and out.

It's been a while since I shared a favorite recipe. Here's what we had for supper last night--one of our favorites. It is a bit time-consuming to put together, but I found it went a lot smoother and easier when I got an early start on tearing up the lettuce, making the "crunchies" and stirring together the dressing and marinade.

Marinated Chicken Salad

Dressing:
1/2 c. oil
1/2 c. white vinegar
1/2 c. sugar
2 T. soy sauce

Chicken Marinade:
1/2 c. soy sauce
1/4 c. lemon juice
1/4 c. water
2 T. white vinegar
1 T. brown sugar
2 T. oil
1/2 t. pepper

Crunchies:
2 pkg. Ramen noodles, without flavoring
4 T. butter
2 T. sugar
1/4 c. sesame or sunflower seeds
3/4 c. slivered or sliced almonds

3-4 lbs. boneless chicken breasts, cut in strips
1 16-oz. can mandarin oranges
2 heads (approx.) leafy greens of your choice

1. Combine dressing ingredients in a tightly-sealing jar. Set aside.
2. Combine marinade ingredients in a large measuring cup. Set aside.
3. To make crunchies (can be done ahead):
~Break noodles into tiny pieces (I just crush 'em up with my hands while they're still in the package)
~Melt butter in large skillet
~Add sugar, noodles, seeds and almonds
~Brown over low-med. heat until golden in color and toasted
~Be careful not to burn--stir frequently
~Let cool and set aside
4. Pour chicken marinade into large skillet and add cut chicken strips to marinade. Cook in marinade over med. heat for 15-
20 minutes. (I find it doesn't usually take nearly that long, though.) Stir frequently to be sure all the chicken is cooked
evenly.
5. Wash greens and tear into bite-sized pieces; place in large serving bowl. (Do this ahead if you have time.)
6. Drain mandarin oranges and place on top of greens in bowl.
7. When chicken is cooked through, remove from marinade with slotted spoon and place on top of greens. Discard
marinade.
8. Just before serving, place crunchies on top of greens.
9. Shake the dressing thoroughly immediately before serving and pour evenly over salad. Toss to combine.
10. Serve and enjoy!

~~A few notes of my own: We usually use iceberg lettuce, just because that's what I usually have on hand. I know it's not as healthy, but when I buy leaf lettuce, it usually ends up going bad before I remember to use it. We have found iceberg works just fine. Also, when I'm making this just for our family of 3, I cut the recipe in half. The original recipe which I have shared here makes a huge salad! This is so yummy and really quite filling if you serve it with a nice hearty bread or rolls. We just love it. I hope some will try it and enjoy it as much as we do!

Today's News

Well, after posting last time about our need to pinch pennies, I feel sort of silly admitting that we bought a new mattress yesterday. :) I think I've mentioned a couple times on my pregnancy blog how I have been experiencing sciatic nerve pain now and then (it happened with my last pregnancy, as well.) The time it is the worst is when I wake up in the night, having to use the bathroom or just turn over. I noticed that while we were in Ohio, I had hardly any trouble with it at all. When we got home, we realized that sleeping on a good, firm, brand new mattress in Ohio must have been what made the difference. Because every night since getting home, I would wake up in such pain that I could barely move, let alone get out of bed. Jim was determined that it was time for a new mattress, although I was protesting that we could save money and just buy a new egg crate topper, or a memory foam topper. After checking prices, we discovered that memory foam toppers aren't cheap, and it made more sense to just buy a memory foam mattress at Sam's Club, continuing to use the boxspring we have under it. Last night was our first night on the new mattress. I have to say it was totally worth it, because I had only a slight twinge of pain in the night; nothing compared to what I had been experiencing. So Jim was right after all (as usual!) and hopefully this investment will last us a good while. Memory foam is a lot different than a regular mattress, so it takes some getting used to, but it's very comfortable and supportive.

We also got a new couch today (new to us, that is--but it was free). Most of our furniture has either been passed down to us from others, or bought used at very low prices, or handmade by Jim. This couch was from some friends from our old church who were redecorating and bought new living room furniture. It's actually not quite as comfy as our old couch, but it is in better shape and the biggest plus is that it has a hide-a-bed, which will come in handy when we have guests. I'm still debating whether to leave it as is, or buy a slipcover to go over it. It's very neutral colors, and goes fine with the living room--I'm just thinking a nice slipcover might dress it up a little. No hurry, anyway--it looks perfectly fine, but if I decide to I can always cover it later.

My grandmother is in the hospital getting some tests done today. She's been having some stomach pain and ended up in the ER, to try and figure out the cause of it. I haven't heard any news for a few hours on how she's doing, but hopefully everything is OK. It's so hard to watch my grandparents getting older and less healthy. I have so many happy memories from when I was younger, of all the things we would do together. I know that aging is a part of life that will happen to all of us, but it's not easy to see it happening to those we love.

We had a lot of rain last night that caused some icy/slushy conditions this morning. All the local school had 2 hour opening delays because of it. Today is my day to go shopping, but Jim thought I would be OK getting in and out of the driveway, since it was more slushy than icy. Well, I was OK going out, but when it came to getting back up it, I ended up stuck and unable to make it! It all worked out, though, as he and Nathan (the guy he works with) came by at lunchtime with the couch, and so they were able to get it un-stuck for me. :) I didn't attempt to go out again, though!

I had a hankering to eat homemade doughnuts last night--don't know if it was a pregnancy craving or what, but anyway, I decided to make some today. Got everything ready, only to discover I didn't have enough oil to fry them. Bummer. I guess I will make chocolate chip cookies instead. Jim and Sam will be happy, anyhow . . . but I still want some doughnuts!! And not just any--I really want the homemade, old fashioned kind. Maybe I'll venture out tomorrow and get some more oil. :)

Well, I suppose I should stop jabbering now and get something done around here, like making cookies. Supper is all ready, except for making a salad, so I'm all set there. I'm trying a new recipe tonight, a salmon casserole. It was really easy to make; now we'll just have to see how it tastes. :) I hope to post some pictures from our holidays very soon, so stay tuned for that!

The Year of the Pinched Penny, and Other Goals

Jim and I are dubbing 2006 the "Year of the Pinched Penny"--because we really need to! Every year, I set a goal of getting on track with our finances, and staying there, and every year it doesn't happen. This is not to say that we are in debt way over our heads, or next door to bankruptcy, or whatever, but we are very bad about budgeting and sticking to it, and not too good about saving, either. We don't use credit cards (aside from Jim's Home Depot card for business), but we do use our debit card extravagantly, and a lot of times we buy things just on a whim, because we want something and don't want to wait and save for it. Then we find ourselves wondering where all the money has gone. So, this year our big financial goal is to create a working budget, make ourselves stick to it, and tithe, save, and live as frugally as possible. We did make some small steps toward these goals over the past year, so it wasn't a complete failure. One of the best things we did was set up a "Freedom Account" (a term borrowed from author Mary Hunt. I'd highly recommend her books Debt Proof Your Marriage and Debt-Proof Living, by the way.). This is another checking account where we set aside money for things like insurance, property taxes, Christmas gifts, etc. We try to put a good size amount in there most every month, and it is truly a lifesaver when it comes time to pay those big things like taxes or insurance, that we only pay once a year. Instead of having to "steal" money from our savings account for the big things, it's already set aside in the Freedom Account. We're also trying to put at least 10% of every paycheck into our savings account.

Some of my other goals for this year are:

~To have a consistent, daily walk with God
~To eat more healthy (as in more fruits, veggies, salads, etc., and less sweets and fat)
~To exercise more regularly (specifically, go for walks)
~To drink more water (aiming for 64 oz. a day)
~To give birth to our new baby, in the comfort of our home
~To be more patient with my husband and children
~To get organized with all of my paper piles--find places for everything, and keep it there!
~To get back into the Flylady system with my housekeeping
~To work hard at decorating and beautifying our home
~To work at developing an even happier marriage, and communicating better with my husband
~To read books that will help me grow spiritually, as a wife and mother, and help me in organizing and caring for my home

Seems like a big list, but I'm sure there are many I've left out! Anyway . . . I know I won't achieve all these overnight, but I'm hoping to take some baby steps toward meeting my goals. I often set goals for the new year, but often don't have them written down somewhere so I can go back and see how I'm doing. Hopefully having them written here on my blog for myself and everyone else to see, will help me work harder at achieving them.

By the way, we are back home now. We arrived around 1:30 am on Sunday, and took the whole day to rest up a bit. Today Jim is back to work, and Sam and I are trying to fall back into our normal routine. I've been able to unpack most of our stuff from the trip, as well as un-decorate the Christmas tree, so hopefully we can get it out of the house tonight when Jim gets home. It's really dry! It will feel good to get all the needles vacuumed up and the furniture moved back to its regular places.

Our trip home was almost eventful, but thankfully not quite. When we were just a couple hours into our trip, traveling a fairly busy highway through the Akron/Canton area of Ohio, a small car suddenly cut right in front of us. It seemed there was no way to avoid hitting it; Jim slammed on the brakes, squealing the tires and swerving as best he could, but I was sure we would crash into the other car at any moment. I'm convinced we had some angels holding us back, or giving the other car a swift push, because we never did hit it. It was quite the scary experience, but all's well that ends well! In retrospect, it was rather amusing that the other car's license plate read "ZERO." We had a good time speculating if that stood for his IQ, or for what he wanted to turn his car into, or what. It seemed appropriate, at any rate.

Well, I suppose I should make myself get up and do something profitable before Jim gets home. I'm so happy I've had the chance to update my blog at long last, though. Thanks to anyone who's still reading after my long absences! :) Till next time . . .

My Seven 7s

Samara tagged me ages ago to do the seven 7s, and I keep not getting around to it . . . so here goes!

Seven Things I Hope to Do Before I Die

~Raise my children for the glory of God, and see them go on to honor and serve Him with their lives
~Have a consistent walk with God, including daily quiet time and prayer
~Be the very best wife I can be, so that my husband will "rise up and call me blessed" (Proverbs 31)
~Publish at least one book, but hopefully more--in other words, achieve my dream of becoming a real writer!
~Reach my goal weight and be able to stay there! :)
~Be involved in a small church again, hopefully in the music ministry and working with teen girls
~Lead others to know my Savior

Seven Things I Cannot Do Well

~Lie (that's a good thing, right?!)
~Exercise consistently
~Stop eating chocolate and pizza
~Keep a secret
~Keep my emotions in check, especially when I'm stressed, tired, or pregnant!
~Whistle
~Write with my left hand

Seven Things that Attract Me to My Husband

~His beautiful blue-green eyes
~His large, strong hands
~His love for God and desire to do what's right
~His love for our family
~His ability to do just about anything he puts his mind to, from fixing a car to building a house!
~His fun-loving personality
~His great work ethic

Seven Things I Say Often

~"I love you!" (to Jim and Sam)
~"No, no!" (to Sam)
~"Cool!" (Yes, I say this way too much)
~"What?" (Because I often don't hear Jim the first time when he's trying to tell me something)
~"Hold still!" (Usually when I'm trying to change Sam's diaper or get him dressed)
~"I need to get more organized!"
~"Can I have a hug?" (to Jim or Sam)

Seven Authors, Books, or Series I Love

~the Bible
~L. M. Montgomery (Anne of Green Gables, etc.)
~Jan Karon (Mitford series)
~J.R.R. Tolkien (LOTR and The Hobbit)
~Lawana Blackwell (The Gresham Chronicles)
~Maud Hart Lovelace (Betsy-Tacy books)
~Janet Lambert (Penny Parrish and many other series)

Seven Movies I Watch Over and Over Again

~Anne of Green Gables 1 & 2
~Secondhand Lions
~Lord of the Rings trilogy
~Charade
~Sarah, Plain and Tall trilogy
~It's a Wonderful Life
~The Parent Trap

Seven People I Want to Do This

Anyone who feels like it! :)

Happy New Year!

Well, I must apologize that it has taken me so long to update here again. And I STILL need to update on my last prenatal appoinment on my other blog, as well!! The new year has just started and I'm already behind. :)

Backing up to Christmas . . . we had a very nice family day. Since it was Sunday, I didn't want to fix a big dinner when we got home from church, so I ended up making crockpot lasagna, which is a favorite of ours, and we all enjoyed it. It was nice to have church on Christmas day for a change, although it did make things different and we all got a little more tired. Still, it helped us focus more on the true meaning of the day.

I got some very nice presents; I won't take time to describe all of them, but the three that Jim gave me were: a comfy red bathrobe, a really nice Wenger (Swiss army) watch, and a new large non-stick frying pan, which I really needed. I haven't had a chance to try it out yet, but hopefully soon!

The day after Christmas, Sam came down with a really bad cold. I haven't seen him have such a bad one for a long time--runny nose, cough, and general lethargy and clinginess. So for about 3 days I didn't get much done, other than holding and comforting him. My mom came over and helped me out for several hours on Tuesday, which I was very thankful for. At least I got the house straightened up a bit!

On Thursday, Sam was a lot better and spent a good bit of the day at my mom's, enabling me to do some more housecleaning and preparing for our trip to Ohio. We had planned to leave either Thursday or Friday, and ended up finally being ready around noon on Friday. We were a little nervous about the prospect of a long road trip with a toddler, but Sam did really well and slept a good part of the way. We actually made the trip a little faster than usual, in about 14.5 hours, arriving here in OH around 3:30 am. I was amazed and so pleased that after a long trip, and getting woken up to a new house and grandparents that he doesn't remember, Sam made himself at home immediately and went right to his Grandma and Papa. They had waited up for us (they don't get in from work till early morning anyway), so we all took some time to unwind and visit for a while before heading to bed around 5 am.

That evening, the rest of the family arrived--Jim's older brother Joe, and younger brother Josh and family. Sam was very excited to have 3 boy cousins to play with!! The boys have mostly been getting along really well. It's so cute to see them running all around the house together. All of us adults stayed up till after midnight that night, but the funny thing was that we never really even noticed that it was 2006, till about 12:30 am. :)

On Sunday we had another Christmas celebration--I think we have officially had enough Christmas now. :) The kids all got pretty tired, but had a lot of fun too. Yesterday we headed over to Jim's grandparents' to spend the day with them. Again, it was a tiring day and a late night, but we really enjoyed the visit and the time for our boys to spend with their great-grandparents.

So I think that tells you a bit about our past week, in a nutshell! It's kind of gone by in a blur. To all of you whom I owe emails to, I apologize--I probably won't get a chance to write until we get back home. But at least if you read this, you will know we're still alive. :) We will be here till either Friday or Saturday, so probably next week will be a time for catching up and getting back to "normal"--if there is such a thing. :) I hope to get time to blog again before then, but we will see. I have lots to write about, including sharing my goals for the new year. I hope all of you have had wonderful holidays and that your new year has gotten off to a good start, as well.

Merry Christmas from Our Family to Yours

This is one of the family pictures we had taken for Christmas. It's not the main pose, but we got a few prints in this pose and actually ended up liking it better than the main one. I thought it would be fun to share here on my blog.

We just got back a while ago from celebrating Christmas Eve with my side of the family. We're winding down now, and hopefully heading for bed soon. Tomorrow will be a busy day, with church in the morning, then celebrating our own little family Christmas here at home. We may try to see my grandparents and parents later in the day; we're not sure on that yet. It will probably depend how tired we all are!

Earlier today, Jim and I watched "It's a Wonderful Life" while wrapping presents. I love that movie! Definitely a Christmas tradition, along with my long-time favorites, "Holiday Inn" and "White Christmas."

Well, I had better move along and try to finish up a few things so I can get to bed. I hope each one of my readers has a lovely and blessed Christmas! I'll try to write more about our holiday sometime next week. Till next time . . . have a safe and happy weekend!

What I love about small town life . . .

Today Sam and I were out and about for several hours, getting new tires put on the Suburban, going to the bank, then Walmart, then the post office. At both the bank and the post office I was reminded of why I love small towns. :) The lady at the bank (I was in the drive-thru) sends out a sticker for Sam, even though she can't see through my tinted back windows . . . but because she knows who I am, and knows I have a little boy, she remembers to send out a sticker for him. The sticker just happens to be a Thomas one. :) And she doesn't even know about his great love for Thomas! At the post office, I'm getting Sam out of the carseat while the post office lady is outside getting mail out of the outdoor mailbox. When she sees Sam she gets all excited--"Hey, Handsome!!" (She calls him that every time she sees him. :)) I'm there to buy Christmas stamps for the Christmas cards which I have definitely procrastinated on this year. Unfortunately she is almost all sold out ("and we even ordered twice as many this year as last year!" she laments), but she offers to sell me the last 2 sets of the cookie and Santa ornament stamps off her display board. Yep, I love small town life. :)

A busy weekend!

It has been quite the weekend so far! Yesterday Jim took the day off from work, taking time to do a few errands and also work on some Christmas presents he's building (and hoping to finish on time!). We got a bunch of snow yesterday, so Sam and I stayed home and didn't venture out anywhere. I'm a big chicken about driving in snow, so if I don't absolutely HAVE to be anywhere on a snow day, I stay in. :) It was a nice cozy day in the house.

Jim returned safely from his errands and got to work down in his shop. In his travels, he had stopped and picked up our family pictures at Walmart, buying a sled for Sam at the same time. So of course, a little later on he and Sam had to try it out. I went outside with them and took pictures of the fun. This was Sam's first time to go sledding, or "sliding," as we say in NH. He definitely loved it! He was bundled up in his snowsuit and looked like a little marshmallow. Now the next thing we need to invest in for him is some snow boots. All he has right now are his work boots, which don't do too good of a job at keeping the snow out. :) He never complained about being cold, though, and I think he would have stayed out a lot longer than Jim or me, if he had the option! They took a bunch of runs down the driveway. Probably around the 10th time or so, they ran over a hump of frozen dirt and the sled cracked. :( Jim found they could still use it if they turned it around so it was facing backwards, so they went down a few more times. He wants to see if we can return it since it broke the first time we used it, but I'm not sure if they'll go for that . . . however, we'll see. He purposely got a Made in USA sled, hoping it would be better quality, but nope. He says they don't make sleds like they used to! Here's a pic of my 2 cute sledders:


A while after we came inside, Jim decided it would be a good time to go get a Christmas tree. By this time the snow had stopped, and the roads were a bit clearer. We all piled into the truck and away we went. Last year we got a huge tree, probably 10-12 feet, since we have a cathedral ceiling in our living room. We weren't living here yet, but it was fun to have a tree here to enjoy, just the same. This year it is so much MORE fun! We didn't get as tall of a one this year, since now that we have furniture to work around, we couldn't put it in the same place as last year. We opted for one that's about 9 ft. tall, and put it in front of the middle window in our living room. When we got it home, we realized it's not as full as we would have liked; still, it's very pretty. We splurged and picked up chicken pesto paninis at the grocery store on the way home, as well as some Cape Cod jalapeno & cheddar chips. It made for a yummy, quick supper, which maybe should become a tradition for "getting the tree night" from now on! :) After supper, Jim got out the decorations and we set to work on the tree. Sam helped some and played some; he was pretty good about not getting into too much that he shouldn't. We let him "help" by putting some of the non-breakable ornaments on the tree. He apparently decided one in particular is "his" to move around and take on and off as he sees fit . . . we're trying to break him of that notion, but it hasn't worked yet. :) We were able to wire the top of the tree to a nail in the wall, so at least he won't be able to possibly tip it over! We still have some finishing to do with the decorations, but it's mostly done. It's so nice to have it looking and smelling Christmasy in here! :)


This morning Sam and I headed over to my mom's to make Christmas cookies with her, my sister-in-law and her two girls. Sam, Sarah and Mackenzie had a wonderful time helping with the cookies, as you can tell from the pictures! We may have to make this an annual tradition. It was fun (although a little crazy with 3 children age 4 and under!) and we all came home with a bunch of cookies to enjoy. Sam was exhausted by the time we left Mom's, and fell asleep on the way home. He's currently still asleep on our bed, 3 hours later! Hope he sleeps tonight! It's been nice for me to have a few hours to myself, to catch up on housework and catch my breath. :)




So that was our busy weekend, so far. Hope everyone else has had as fun of a weekend as we have!

Catching Up!

I just updated my pregnancy blog, and now I'm hoping to post a long overdue update here, as well. It's been frustraing lately, because I keep thinking of things I want to write about (usually when I'm trying to fall asleep at night), and then during the day I'm trying to get housework done, etc., and before I know it, another day has gone by without blogging. So this post will probably be a jumble of random thoughts and happenings. :)

This picture cracks me up! He loves his bubble bath, but apparently doesn't love wearing a hat made of bubbles. :)

I've been working on the potty training thing with Sam a little harder this week. Today we haven't tried it at all, due to the fact that the morning was taken up with errands, etc., but hopefully this afternoon and evening we can work on it a little. I'm trying to take it very gradually and keep it fun for him. I'm hoping he'll catch on to the concept before too long, though. It would be very nice to get him trained by the time the new baby comes along, but that may be a long shot . . . however, it doesn't hurt to try.

Playing with Thomas

We cut back on his movie watching time this week--I don't mind his Thomas movie (the only one he will sit and watch all the way through) at all, although it can get a little old after a while, but he was asking to watch it once or twice a day, and he was also getting to be pretty ornery last week, so we wondered if the idle time was somehow related to his attitude. That may be far-fetched, but it won't hurt him to watch it less, anyway. So since last Friday, the only time he's watched it was yesterday, when we had some friends over to play. They're into Thomas, too, so they enjoyed it. But none of them sat and watched it continuously . . . they would go play, come back and watch for a while, etc. So it worked out well. Sam's attitude actually has been better this week, and he's been wanting to read and play more (with . . . guess who . . . Thomas, of course)! :) We went to a toy store last weekend that sells a ton of Thomas stuff, and they have a whole nice train table with a bunch of the track, accessories and engines on it. He had a blast playing with that! Too bad it's not closer to us; I would take him there more often!

I picked up a book about the new Narnia movie today in Rite Aid, just to check it out. Of course you can't tell for sure from just looking at a picture book, but it looks like the movie will follow the book quite closely. I hope so! The children also looked just right (in my opinion, anyway) for the characters in the books, which was one problem I had with the older movie version of "The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe." The Lucy in that version, in particular, just didn't look right! It looks like this version will be a lot better as far as things looking realistic, particularly Aslan and some of the other unusual characters. I can't wait to see it! Who knows when we will get to; likely not till it comes out on video, but hopefully that won't be too long. I would be pleasantly surprised and delighted if a movie coming from Disney actually stuck closely to the original book. I don't know for sure when this opens in theaters, but I'll be keeping my eye on PluggedIn Online for a review of it.

Last night I made a batch of brownies and accidentally left out all the vanilla! Fortunately they are still edible, although not as good as they should be . . . :( Can I blame it on having good ol' mother brain? :)

I found a copycat recipe online for Pizza Hut pan pizza, so I tried it out on Sunday. Do you know the way they make that fabulous crust is by putting a ton of oil in the bottom of the pan, then cooking the pizza at about 500 degrees, so it "fries" itself in the oil? No wonder it's so good! I don't think I'll make a habit of it . . . but for once in a while, it's a fun treat. We hardly ever actually go to Pizza Hut anymore, since Jim found out they're owned by Pepsi, which is in favor of gun control! I don't even want to know how many other companies are owned by Pepsi . . . :) Ahhh, politics are everywhere. My biggest problem with making this pizza was that I made it in a 13 x 9" pan, rather than a deep dish 14" pizza pan, as I don't currently own one. (I've found on online that I'm hoping to get, though!) Anyway, I think there was too much dough for the pan, because the crust was really thick, and wasn't cooked in the middle, although it was fine on the top and bottom. We just microwaved the pieces to cook the middle crust, and it was fine, but I think with the right size pan, it would work better.

Walkin' in a winter wonderland . . .

I think winter has finally arrived here . . . not much snow yet, but it's COLD outside and windy. I would like to be taking a walk every day, but the past 2 days have been too cold to venture out, especially for Sam. Even when I have him bundled up really warm, I don't have anything to cover his whole face, so that gets too cold.

Our family pictures should be ready to pick up at Walmart tomorrow. Not sure yet if we'll make a trip down to get them then, or wait till Sunday. (We have them done at a different Walmart than the one near here, because this one doesn't have a photo studio.) Now I just need to get our Christmas letter written, buy some Christmas cards, and get the photos ready to go in them!

Well, I better finish this up for now, even though I could chatter on all day! :) It has been nice to catch up a bit here. Hopefully I'll get a chance to post more soon, as I still have all kinds of things rattling around in my brain to write about. Hope everyone is having a wonderful week!

Thanksgiving

I know it is a day late, but I wanted to write a little about our Thanksgiving. We enjoyed having our first Thanksgiving in our new home! Normally we get together at my parents' house, with a bunch of my dad's family, but this year we decided to eat dinner at home and then go over there later for dessert. I'm happy to say that my first Thanksgiving dinner, made all by myself, turned out great! Fortunately I was able to make a lot of the food the day before, and so the only things I had to cook on Thanksgiving Day were the turkey and sweet potato casserole. Since it was just the three of us, I didn't make as many side dishes as people usually have on Thanksgiving, but just made our very favorites, to save time and cut down on leftovers. :) Here's what I served:

Roasted Turkey
Make-Ahead Mashed Potatoes
Sweet Potato Casserole with Marshmallows
Honey Rolls
Cranberry Sauce
Homemade Gravy
Apple Cider

and . . . Pumpkin Pie for dessert, of course! :)

I also made another yummy pumpkin dessert to bring over to my parents', so we have a little of that leftover, as well. I'll try to post some of these recipes later; I don't know if anyone would be interested, but the mashed potatoes and honey rolls in particular, are well worth adding to one's recipe collection! :)

Sam took a 3 hour nap yesterday, from 11-2, so we actually ended up eating dinner without him, around 1:30. It was kind of nice to be able to take our time and not have to feed him at the same time! But we did miss having him at the table with us, too. When he woke up, he was grumpy, and all he wanted to eat was yogurt! So he never did have his turkey dinner, but that's OK. All the more for Jim and me!

My parents had a much smaller group than usual this year, only about 10 people, and most of them left just as we arrived, so we didn't get to spend much time with them. After a little while, we headed on over to visit some friends, where we traditionally get together every Thanksgiving night for more desserts, fellowship, and games. Sam and Beka played around on their own pretty well, and the rest of us ended up playing a game called "Apples to Apples." We headed home around 9 pm, and finally got to bed around 11. So it was a LONG day, and we were pretty tired this morning, but hopefully tonight we'll get to bed earlier.

Today we mostly hung around home all day. In past years, we've hit some of the early sales at Walmart or Sears, but this year we really didn't need anything, and decided not to join the crazy shopping crowds. I got a little cleaning done. The biggest project I tackled was cleaning up and vacuuming the back entryway. It was a MESS! It looks a lot more spacious and organized, now. It's amazing how junk piles up around here, way too fast. Jim worked on doing some more mudding on the sheetrock in the office. We'd like to get that room finished up before too long--it will need sanding, paint, and hardwood floor--and then we can move his desk and the computer and all office type stuff in there. Sam and I took a nap this afternoon; he's still sleeping, but I got up so I could take advantage of a little uninterrupted blogging time. Jim is currently out looking for deer. :) We got about 3 inches of snow yesterday, so he should be able to do a little tracking, although not for long, since it is getting dark quickly.

Before I finish, here are a couple more pictures from yesterday:




What are you thankful for this year? For us, there are too many blessings to count, but here are a few:
*God's love and gift of salvation
*The gift of family and our love for each other
*Being able to be in our new home!
*The good health of our son
*Hearing our new baby's heartbeat this week and knowing everything is going well with the pregnancy so far


Please go ahead and share some of your blessings, as well! Hope everyone had a very special Thanksgiving and a nice holiday weekend, too.

Our Date Night

I just finished an entry on my pregnancy blog about my appointment yesterday. After the appointment, Jim and I had a dinner date, which was a nice change of pace. :) We went out to one of our favorite local places, which is a little on the pricey side, but we had a coupon which saved us half on one of our meals. We started off with the complimentary crackers and garlic cream cheese spread, then moved on to salads and bread. Then came the main course. Jim had a filet steak with gorgonzola sauce, on top of a potato pancake, with a side of squash. I had the "Mixed Grille," which was less money than Jim's meal, but more food! It was a sampler which included a piece of filet steak, chicken breast with rhubarb chutney, and a crab cake with red pepper mayo, plus sides of garlic mashed potatoes and squash. Yum yum!! I could only finish half of my meal and had the rest for lunch today. :) Getting our money's worth! Seriously, we don't usually spend a lot of money on eating out, especially not at an upscale type of place, but for once in a while, it is a real treat. We both came away very refreshed (not to mention full!).

Sam has had a bad cold for several days, and we finally got him some cough/decongestant medicine last night, which definitely helped him sleep better. He's been rather cranky today, but fortunately Jim has been home due to rain (plus the fact that he has a sore throat, too), so he's been able to help out a lot with Sam. And Sam's been napping quite a lot today, as well, which I'm sure will help him get better faster. I was able to go out and run a few errands, not the most pleasant job in the pouring rain which couldn't decide whether or not to turn to snow, but at least I got them done. :)

Well, now I've got to figure out what we're having for supper, and hopefully make a start on Thanksgiving preparations, such as making the pumpkin pies tonight. Hope everyone is having a great week so far, and also a wonderful Thanksgiving, in case I don't get to write again before then.

Recipes, recipes!

I just finished posting several recipes, which I hope others will find fun and enjoyable to try. I have a few more that I hope to post on here eventually. I've included my mom's yummy chicken pie recipe, along with her pie crust recipe, an awesome fish chowder recipe (both these things are favorite cold-weather meals!), and the recipe for the sugar cookies that Sam and I made last week.

We are taking a trip to Walmart tonight to get our family Christmas picture taken. Thus, I must stop for now and take a little time to "paint the barn," as my dad would say (put on makeup, in other words), and figure out for sure what I'm going to wear. Maybe I'll get a chance to post more tomorrow, either here or on my pregnancy blog.

Baked Fish Chowder

2 lb. haddock, hake or pollock fillets (probably most any mild white fish
would work fine)
4 med. potatoes, peeled
2 1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. freshly ground pepper
1/4 t. cayenne pepper
1/4 t. chili powder
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 bay leaf
3 med. onions, cut in chunks (I sometimes use 2 or 3 green onions, snipped, instead)
1-2 T. butter, cut in 2 pieces
1/4 t. dried dill weed
2 c. half and half OR 1 can evaporated milk (I always use the evap. milk
and it comes out YUMMY!)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Put fish in a 3 qt. casserole dish with a cover, or a Dutch oven. Layer potatoes on top of fish. Sprinkle with the salt, pepper, cayenne, and chili powder, then add garlic and bay leaf. Top with onions, butter, and dill. Pour in 2 1/4 c. boiling water. Cover and bake for 1 hour. Stir evap. milk or half and half into the chowder. Remove bay leaf and serve hot with crusty bread or crackers.

**I have a covered stoneware roasting type dish that I make this in and it works great!

**This is probably the easiest fish chowder recipe I’ve ever seen, and it is fabulous! The spices give it a nice flavor and an unusual “kick.” This is so yummy on a cold night. I can’t usually afford fresh fish (especially since seafood prices skyrocketed this summer), but I like to use the frozen pollock that you can buy at Walmart for under $3/lb.

Mom's Chicken Pot Pie

1 3-lb. chicken OR 3 lb. chicken breast (I usually just use 3 large bone- in chicken breasts
1 onion
2 stalks celery (I usually omit these and the broth is still plenty tasty)
1 pkg. (10 oz.) frozen peas and carrots, cooked
1 c. frozen baby onions, cooked
2 large potatoes, cooked and cut in cubes
1/3 c. margarine
1/3 c. flour
3 c. reserved chicken broth
juice of 1/2 lemon
salt and pepper to taste
Pastry for 9” 1-crust pie

Place chicken, 1 onion, and celery in a large pot. Cover with cold water. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat and simmer 45 minutes to 1 hour until meat is tender. (Tip: When using the bone-in chicken breast, I often just throw them in frozen and the cooking time is still plenty for them to get done--I usually simmer for the full hour.)

Strain off broth into a bowl and place in refrigerator until needed. Remove meat from bones in large chunks. Discard bones, onion, and celery.

Place meat in a 13”x9” pan with cooked peas and carrots, baby onions and potatoes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In medium saucepan, melt butter. Add flour; stir until bubbly. Gradually stir in 3 c. reserved broth and cook, stirring, until thickened.
Add lemon juice, salt and pepper. Pour gravy over meat and vegetables in pan.

Top with pastry which has been rolled out to fit top of pan. Cut several slits in pastry. Bake 35 to 45 minutes at 350.

MOM’S OIL PIE CRUST

1 1/3 c. flour
1 t. salt
1/3 c. oil
3-5 T. milk

Stir together flour and salt in a small-med. bowl. Measure oil into glass measuring cup, add milk to oil. Pour milk and oil into the flour/salt mixture. Combine with a fork till it forms a nice ball of dough. Take a wet dishcloth and wash off a section of your counter. Lay a large piece of wax paper on the wet area (so it’ll stick). Put the dough on the wax paper and lay another piece of wax paper on top. Roll out the dough to desired size and shape between the 2 pieces of wax paper. This works really well and saves you having to flour the counter!

**Many people don’t like an oil crust, but this is what my mom and I use for nearly all our pies, and we really like it. Jim also loves it. It’s good and easy, and tasty too. :)

Sugar Cookies

1 1/4 c. butter, softened
2 c. sugar
2 eggs
5 c. flour
1 t. salt
4 t. baking powder
1 t. nutmeg
1/2 c. milk

Cream together butter and sugar. Add eggs and beat until fluffy. Sift together dry ingredients and add alternately with milk. If the dough is sticky, add flour if necessary to make the dough easier to handle.

Roll dough 1/4” thick on a well-floured surface, and cut with cookie cutters of your choice. Sprinkle with colored sugars or sprinkles. Bake on ungreased baking sheets at 375 degrees for 8 minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool. Makes about 100 cookies, depending on the size of the cookie cutters you use.

First Snow!

Today we woke up to see the first flakes lazily fluttering down. They didn't really amount to much (thankfully!) but we had snow flurries off and on all day. In honor of the first snow, I turned on some Christmas music, and Sam and I made our first batch of Christmas cookies together! We had so much fun. I knew he would be a little young to get the hang of it, but he actually did pretty well with cutting them out, most of the time. When it came to decorating them, he mostly ended up trying to either eat the sprinkles or dump them all on. :) I'm hoping to make at least one batch of cookies every week so I can freeze a bunch and have them all ready to go for Christmas. If I can actually accomplish this, it will be the first time I've really made a whole bunch of Christmas cookies since we've been married. I hope to start some cookie baking traditions like my mom did with us!

Here are a couple of pictures I took of Sam, the baker:

Cutting out the cookies


Testing the finished product :)


Jim went out hunting today for the first time, but didn't see any deer. Lots of tracks, but that was all. He didn't stay out more than a couple hours or so, though. I'm sure he will be trying again.

I'm so excited that the final Mitford novel (by Jan Karon) has been released this week. I'm dying to get it, but am restraining myself for the moment, since I'm currently working my way through 3 other books, plus I have a few things selling on Ebay this week and I'm hoping to use the money I make from them to get the book. I love, love, love the Mitford series and highly recommend it. I never thought I would enjoy books about a 60-something Episcopal priest, but I was wrong. They are so good and so like real life. Jim enjoys them, too. We've read through the series once together, and are working our way through it a second time. I was hoping we'd be ready for the new book (Light from Heaven by the time it came out, but we're not there yet. However, maybe by the time we drive to Ohio for New Year's we will be up to that point, and can read it on the trip. :) As a side note, Mitford is responsible for one of my closest friendships, with a lady I've never met in real life! We met on an Anne of Green Gables message board back 4+ years ago. I happened to post a topic about the Mitford books, having just finished the series (I borrowed them from our library before eventually buying my own set), and she and I struck up quite an online conversation about the books, since she was a big fan of them too. We ended up exchanging email addresses, and have been "pen pals"--mostly via email, but also sometimes snail mail--ever since. We even call each other from time to time. Since she's in the south and I'm way up here, we haven't yet worked it out to meet in person, but hopefully someday it will happen! I have also met some other great ladies on the Mitford Books website, which I have a link to in the sidebar. I don't visit there too much anymore, as it's just gotten huge and too hard to keep up with, but it is a nice message board and website.

Well, I should close here and get this posted. It looks like Jim and some friends will be tearing the roof off our old trailer tomorrow. We had been planning to demolish the whole thing, since it hadn't worked out to sell it, but then my uncle found someone who will take it for free, but the roof has to come off first. So hopefully they can get that taken care of tomorrow and then it will not be hanging over our heads anymore. :) It will be nice to have one less thing to think about!

Hope everyone has a terrific weekend with many blessings!

Something fun for you!

Here's a little questionnaire that a friend emailed to me. I thought it would be fun to post it here, along with my answers, and then anyone who wants to can post their own answers in the comments section. I know I already emailed this to a bunch of friends/family, and of course no one needs to feel obligated to do it . . . but I enjoyed it and thought others might, as well.


1.IF YOU COULD BUILD A SECOND HOUSE ANYWHERE, WHERE WOULD IT BE?  Oh, this is tough . . . I have lots of ideas! Either PEI, Colorado, Montana, Wyoming, or maybe Alaska
 
2. WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE ARTICLE OF CLOTHING? This is a tough one . . . probably my Eddie Bauer jeans, although they now have a big hole in the knee so I only wear them around home--there's no point to get another pair till after I have the baby! I also love my long black skirt from Gap, and all my cozy sweaters, and my flannel PJs :)

3. THE LAST CD YOU BOUGHT?  "Higher Ground" by the Steve Pettit Evangelistic Team, and Christy Galkin's CD--can't remember the name right now

4. WHAT TIME DO YOU WAKE UP IN THE MORNING?Lately, anywhere between 4:30-5:30, whenever Sam wakes up. But I usually go back to sleep for a while with him in our bed. If you asked what time I would LIKE to wake up . . . probably around 8!

5. WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE KITCHEN APPLIANCE? Hmmmm, I think it's a tie between my bread machine, Kitchen Aid mixer, and dishwasher!!
 
6. IF YOU COULD PLAY AN INSTRUMENT WHAT WOULD IT BE ? I already play piano, so other than playing that better . . . I would love to learn the violin.
 
7. WHICH DO YOU PREFER, SPORTS CAR OR SUV? definitely SUV!

8. DO YOU BELIEVE IN AFTER LIFE? Yes.

9. FAVORITE CHILDREN'S BOOK?  I have way too many to just pick one favorite . . . but one that especially comes to mind is "One Morning in Maine" by Robert McCloskey . . . or just about anything by him . . . "Lentil" is another favorite :) 

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SEASON? Autumn, with Spring being a close second

11. IF YOU COULD HAVE ONE SUPER POWER, WHAT WOULD IT BE?  Being able to time travel!
 
12. IF YOU HAVE A TATTOO, WHAT IS IT? no tattoos here, now or ever!
 
13.  CAN YOU JUGGLE?  no
 
14. THE ONE PERSON/PEOPLE FROM THE PAST YOU WISH YOU COULD GO BACK AND TALK TO?  This is a tough one, too . . . maybe Laura Ingalls Wilder, or Abraham Lincoln

15. WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE DAY?  Any day that Jim is home, and we get to do something fun as a family, either at home or somewhere else. I think, weather-wise, it would be a sunny, slightly breezy day in the early fall, with a bright blue sky.

16. WHAT'S IN THE TRUNK OF YOUR CAR? no trunk--Suburban--but the biggest thing in the back of it is a jogging stroller

17. WHICH DO YOU PREFER, SUSHI OR HAMBURGER? Hamburger!!!!!!! Never tried sushi, and I'm not about to start. :)

18. FROM THE PEOPLE YOU WILL EMAIL THIS TO, WHO'S MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND FIRST?   Hmmm, maybe either Mom or Joanne or Mindee? (That puts you on the spot, guys!)

19. WHO'S LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? Christen, b/c she sent it to me :)

20. WHO DID YOU RECEIVE THIS FROM? Christen

21. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE FLOWER?  blue hydrangea and lily-of-the-valley
 
22. WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM?  Moose Tracks (the kind w/the vanilla base) or Reese's peanut butter cup (especially if it's in the sundae from Friendly's!)

23. BUTTER, PLAIN, OR SALTED POPCORN? Butter and salt
 
24. FAVORITE COLOR? blue blue blue!! I also like gray/black

25. WHAT KIND OF CAR DO YOU DRIVE? Chevy Suburban

26. FAVORITE SANDWICH? currently the steak bomb from the Village Store (but I also love D'Angelo's steak and cheese)
 
27. ON VACATION, WHERE WOULD YOU GO?  I would love to go to tons of different places! Europe, the Mediterranean, Alaska, British Columbia, Western US, New Zealand, Australia

28. FAVORITE BRAND OF CLOTHING?  probably Eddie Bauer . . . I also love a lot of the clothes from Kohl's
 

Monday Musings

It's a pretty day again today--chilly, though! And very windy. I had written a nice long post on Friday, but for some reason Blogger wouldn't let me post it, and it wouldn't save the whole thing, either, so I finally gave up and am trying again now.

Uh-oh, my blogging time may be short-lived . . . Jim just came up the driveway! He's a bit early to be home from work already; who knows what he is up to. ;)

Well, I will continue and see how far I get. We had a nice week and a good weekend, too. Jim was able to be around more than he has been on a weekend for quite a while, so that was a treat. On Friday, Sam and I had our monthly get-together with some friends. Poor Sam is the only boy at these occasions, but he doesn't seem to mind too much. He enjoys playing with his little friend Beka! I'll include some pics of them at the end of this entry. We enjoyed a delicious lunch and a great time of fellowship and catching up on one another's lives.

Sam has been saying more and more words lately. He is real good about saying "thank you" when we remind him to. :) I got him to say it to the lady and the post office today when she gave him a sticker, and she was so tickled about it. It is also a lot of fun when we read to him now, to get him to fill in some of the words in the story. I've been amazed to realize how true it is, that their memories are so good when they're little. He has this Thomas the Tank Engine catalog that came with one of his track sets. He just loves that thing, and pores over it. His favorite engine is apparently Toby the Tram Engine. He loves to say "Tobytobytee!" (His name for Toby.) Anyway, I also tell him the names of the other engines when he points to them, and now he's getting so he can point to them and tell me the names himself. "Oliver! Duke! Dodge! Diesel! Harvey!" Of course he doesn't say them all that clearly, but enough so you can usually tell what he's saying. :) It's so cute to watch him learn. We get such a kick out of him.

I watched the newer version of "The Parent Trap" last week, just for the fun of it. I love the Hayley Mills version, and wasn't expecting this one to be anywhere near as good, so I wasn't disappointed. :) It did have its cute parts, but I don't think it'll be on my list to watch again. After all, no one can compare to the hilarious tension and onscreen chemistry between the original parents (Brian Keith and Maureen O'Hara), or the fabulous job Hayley Mills did as the twins. I thought one of the most fun parts of the remake was the cameo appearance by Joanna Barnes (the original Vickie)--I recognized her right away! And what a great idea to make her the mother of the evil girlfriend, Meredith. :) All in all, it was fairly entertaining, but I missed the 50s style and fun of the original.

Well, I've had more publishing issues trying to get this posted with Safari, so I'm now working on it in Explorer. Methinks I need to download Firefox. That, and we really need to get an external hard drive for our poor computer and free up it's overloaded memory. :) In closing, I'm adding a few pictures of Sam and Beka for your enjoyment.

Getting ready to eat lunch


Beka in Mr. Potato Head's glasses!


Mr. Potato Sam :)